Friday April 12, 2002 The search for job; an Alliance with a Muse; Terrance Chua and my Mom come to visit

Well, my month of severance pay has about run out, I've filed for unemployment insurance, and I'm registered for a Java, Advanced Java, and CIW Webmaster Certification starting this Monday and Wednesday for the next 15 weeks.  It was looking rather bleak when, out of the blue, the networking filking community worked its magic.  I'd told Andrea Dale my plight, and she told Jodi Krangle (of Urban Tapestry and Muse's Muse fame.)  Jodi recently launched an Internet Market Services business, and found herself in need of association with someone with my particular skills.

  So, I joyfully joined Jodi's alliance.  We hammered out the details of who will be doing what, for whom, and so on; I created a web page that Jodi placed in her web site, and an Alliance was born!   Thank you Andrea and Jodi!

  Terrance Chua arrived in the U.S. after a brief stopover in Toronto for FilkOntario (which we had to miss this year... darn!)  He's here for a couple of weeks to record his first CD with Bedlam House Productions.  Just as the work got started, Bill dashed off for a few days in Cairo, Egypt teaching a class for HP.  What to do, what to do....

  Well, it turns out that Terrance is a Civil War aficionado.  In fact, he's hoping to eventually do his Masters Thesis on the Orientals who served in the Confederate and Union armies during what we here in the South refer to as The War of Northern Aggression or That Recent Unpleasantness.  And, it just so happens that, being located in Marietta, we are perfectly primed for day trips to several key Civil War battle sites.  One of them is just right up the road a piece on Kennesaw Mountain.  I collected Terrance and we headed off for a fun-filled afternoon.  First we hit the Museum /  Book Store where he acquired several books, t-shirts, tapes, and a snazzy Yankee cap.  Then we deposited his booty in my car and took off up the mountain.

  Kennesaw Mountain sticks up like two spiny plates of a stegosaurus, and the pathway up it is very steep.  I mentioned at the outset that I was terribly out of shape and would need to pace myself.  Almost half way up and several panting stops for rest later, Terrance casually mentioned that he suffers from high blood pressure.  I make a joke about how, if I should have a heart attack he is not to stay with me but just run on down the hill.  I notice that Terrance isn't laughing.  Actually, he's very pale and having difficulty breathing.  I scoot off the bench we are sitting on and he lies down and stays down until his racing heartbeats slow.  Then, 3/4 of the way up the mountain, we turn around and slowly make our way back down the hill to the taunts of other climbers who think we're just being wuses.

  We spend the rest of the day exploring the battle sites that are on level ground winding up at Chatum Hill where I got these great shots of Terrance and a 12 pounder.

As you can see by his choice of cap, Terrance sided with the Yankees.	He has great hopes of enrolling at UGA's history department to do his masters degree on the Civil War, documenting the involvement of Oriental people who fought on both sides of the conflict.  Terrance related the story of one man who was a cook for the Confederate troops.  The fellow was captured by the Federals who weren't sure what to make of him.  He wasn't white and he wasn't black.  They asked the man what it would take to induce him to leave the Confederate side and join their Army.  His reply, "Make me a brigadier general."  Eventually the fellow escaped and rejoined his unit only to die, blown to pieces by canon fire at the battle of Gettysburg. Fascinating!
Wrong end, Terrance!

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