If You Use Firefox...

I think I may have found a way for you to subscribe to this blog so that you get updates whenever I write something. This is good for people like me. If I added content every single day, then you could just check in each day, but since I'm so irregular, it might help to have some kind of notification in case I start writing interesting material. Go to http://kentwalter.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss, and you should have the option of subscribing with Firefox's Live Bookmarks. If you use Safari, I think you just have to bookmark the feed page, and in that case, you could just bookmark this page itself. I don't know, I'm still figuring it out myself, so if it doesn't go perfectly for you... My apologies.

In case of flood, proceed uphill. In case of flash flood, proceed uphill quickly.

I know it's lazy to just hop on the computer, post a link to what someone else has written, and pop off. I also realize that the topic of asinine warnings/instructions/disclaimers has been beaten to death in one epidemic e-mail forward after another, but just in case it's been a while...

Also...

Two things.
First of all, I listened to Svefn-G-Englar again this morning and realized that it really is perfect. A few years out, and it looks like it'll be timeless after all.
Second. Guilty pleasure, schmuilty pleasure. "Pop! Goes My Heart" is awesome.

Relocation

Many people will tell you that Lynchburg is a black hole, and they're kind of right. I can't even count the friends that graduated from school, with plans to leave town and everything, and stayed right here. Almost as many as have graduated school, left, and then somehow found their path headed right back into town. (Guilty.) The main arteries of this town run in a sort of circular way so that if you go far enough on any of them, you somehow end up where you were before, still in Lynchburg, kind of like Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle. Or Joust. It must be the same with the roads elsewhere, all leading back to Lynchburg, because people just keep coming back. Well, Kirsten and I managed to break free of the black hole, I believe. That is, unless its pull is strong enough to lead us back all the way from across the country. See, we're moving out to Washington at the end of July.
The short version of the story is this:
In March, I found out about the possibility of my position here at Liberty (teaching in the English Language Institute) becoming a full-time, salaried, benefited position in the coming year. Benefits mean free grad school, and Liberty's starting an M.A. in English, so I decided to apply for that. I got accepted, and that was the biggest reason we planned on staying here for a little while. As it turned out, the full-time position didn't happen, I can't afford tp ay for grad school myself, and my job may be disappearing as well, and those circumstances put me on the job hunt. The Seattle area is where we want to end up at some point anyhow, so we figured it was as good a time as any to go. I don't want to sound like it was a snap decision, either. There were prayers involved, and a long and quite detailed list of pros and cons (Leaving behind the raccoons that dig through my trash in VA vs. living where bears and mountain lions occasionally come to visit, for example; of course we opted for the more adventurous option. Also, better salmon but no Chick-Fil-A. I trust you can see the gravity of this decision.), and we really feel like we're taking a somewhat measured and very good step.
We're heading out there with no jobs lined up, though, so it sure will be an adventure. If you know anyone in the Seattle area that A) wants to hire me in some sort of writing position, B) is just cool and wants to hang out, or C) is both a lottery winner and an exceptionally altruistic person, do let me know, won't you?
I also considered resolving to be more regular with my blogging, but then I had to step back, examine myself, and accept the fact that while moving clear across the country on faith may be entirely reasonable, expecting myself to actually hold to a writing schedule is entirely out of the question. Like they say, I may be stupid, but I'm not dumb. All the same, I would like to be writing more. It's amazing how creativity increases with exercise. We'll see what actually comes of this.
One more thing: anyone have experience using buses and bikes to commute in the greater Seattle area? I'm intensely interested. Talk to me.
I'll try to post from the road as we make our way across the country in a few weeks. Which is to say you'll probably hear from me when we have our first child in a couple of years or something.