Its a train and its going 60 mph..
Our track ends after 40 million miles, where our ride takes us off the side of a mountain in the clouds.
We know it ends, but we don't care. On our ride, we can look out the window at all of the beautiful things.
We can't become a part of them because our train won't stop.
But we can love all that we see.
And it is beautiful.

- Weightlifting: 'This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing.'
- Dressage: 'This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother.'
- Paul Hamm: 'I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.'
- Boxing: 'Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious.'
- Softball: 'If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.'
- Basketball: 'He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces.'
- Rowing medal ceremony: 'Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew.'
- Soccer: 'Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field.'
- Tennis: 'One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them...
Oh my God, what have I just said?'

  

Waldorf apartments: 888-848-8107, 103 McKnight Circle, Pittsburgh, PA  15237, $527-$750,
http://pittsburgh.apartmentfinder.com/Pittsburgh-Apartments/Waldorf-Park-Apartments
Its near work. It looks a little run down, but there's several buildings on that hill that look interesting.
Allegheny Center Apartments: (412) 231-3400, Allegheny Center Mall, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, $590, Heating/Cooling,
http://www.alleghenycenter.com/apartments/
Its near downtown, but I'm not sure what to think about it yet. There was one park in front of it with about 50 black people, and another park next to that with about 30 white people. I don't know if that means anything or not, but my gut instincts tell me 'run'.
Presidential Arms, 888-260-8422, 9815 Presidential Drive, Allison Park, PA
http://www.apartmentfinder.com/Allison-Park-Apartments/Presidential-Arms-Apartments
Its near work, but the drive takes awhile because it winds down a 25 mph backstreet. It looks like frat houses. Each buidling has a name, like Beta House, and it reminded me of Animal House.
InTown Suites: (412) 931-6624, 4595 McKnight Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237,$229.99 weekly
http://www.intownsuites.com/
No, they don't look like this in Pittsburgh. The plus is, all utilities are included. The minus is, they are very small.
Hickory Hills: (866) 517-5273,100 Arthur Dr, Wexford, PA 15090, $610

The job is GREAT !
I'm in a small shop on the fifth floor. They have three perm Tandem people.
We ended up at the Intown Suites.
Its a week-to-week rental, but it's pretty nice.
We've been combing the streets of Pittsburgh, searching for the best sights.
It looks like we may have to go far to see the best of this area.
So far, we've seen the
- River Walk along the Allegheny River
- Mt Washington with a spectacular view of Pittsburgh
- Pennsylvania's 2nd largest mall
- Been all over downtown
We've seen some pretty historical areas.
I'd guess that most people would find this town to be too old,
But we've been enjoying its nostalgia.

LIFE IS GOOD!

I finally did my taxes for 2007. It wasn't so bad.
Now I'm faced with half a year of pure income, no taxes taken out.
Ahhhh, but what happens at the end of next year.
If my recruiter fills out my 1099-Misc for Florida, I save $5,000 in state taxes.
If my recruiter fills out my 1099-Misc for Pennsylvania, I pay $5,000 to Pennsylvania.
Ouch and/or Hmmm.
Once again, its not what you did, its what people say you did that counts.

We drove a total of 2700 miles in one week. It was all about getting unemployment. Washington requires you to call from a local phone. Its been suggested that I could have simply had someone there call unemployment, then get me into a 3-way conversation, and mute their phone. Well, that would have worked, but, it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.
I saw a whale surface on the ocean, just before I got a job via cell phone.

I keep wondering what would have happened if I didn't go to Washington to get on unemployment. I wasn't getting paid from my other contracts. I spent over $10k in San Diego for lodging. Anyway, things were looking pretty grim and I started looking at other income alternatives before the trip. One of them was a work-from-home contract. I was also going to get certified for Asp, Html, and Sql (which I should still do).
I did learn that getting unemployment compensation is ridiculous for an interstate contractor.
The demands are too high. Everything seems to be set up on a state-by-state basis and each state has its own set of rules. I'd much rather save the 6% of my income that I've been paying out to unemployment insurance. It cost me $1k to go to Washington to call from a local phone. I've spent $6k on unemployment insurance in the last year, and for what ?
One thing, the unemployment insurance people said
and I still can't get over this, is that I'm not activelly seeking work by placing my resume on Dice or Monster. To the unemployment people, that isn't looking for work. They want to know about the applications I've filled out and I don't fill out applications. I talk to recruiters and sign contracts. I only sign one contract per job. I have little control over where I'll be working next.

We took off at 2 am from Coos Bay.
I couldn't sleep a full night in that motel. I think someone was dealing drugs from one of the rooms there.
I think night driving is best when your not taking the scenic routes.
We got to Reno at about 2 pm.
Surprisingly, Circus Circus still had empty rooms available. We ate at their buffet, which was excellent, for about $35 for two people. I couldn't stay awake.