job security + on the road again

I made it home. Driving wasn't too bad until I hit St. Louis. (Check out my posts from the car on July 31.) I did stop for gas and breaks, once picking up a $1 box of Oreos (like 12 Oreos, which I did not eat all in one sitting). When I was reading the nutrition facts, I saw:

• Serving Size: X CookieS (x grams)

Ah, yes. The capitalized letter at the end of a word, which makes me laugh because it seems pretty rare to find a mistake on a food label like that. But you just know someone hit that shift key a moment too soon. And thanks to people like that, there are people like me (editors) who feel a little more confortable about the security of their jobs.

Friday night I stayed in KC with my friends Ann, Meredith, and Monica. I got up early on Saturday and had breakfast with Lindsey before my mom stopped in and picked me up to drive to Columbia, Mo. to see my sister and brother in law. We stayed the night and they helped me create a budget for the next couple of months.

Saturday afternoon Erica, my mom, and I rode the Katy Trail -- a bike trail that runs from KC to St. Louis. We rode 11 miles. It was fun.

Drove to Burlington this morning. My mom and I were heading to the grocery store when I saw a gigantic turtle in the yard sticking his head up from the grass. He was the size of a dinner plate. I got out of the car, picked him up, and carried him across the street to the pond where he will likely have a better life.

I got my diploma today from K-State. After 2.5 months, it arrives to say that I have earned a degree: "Bachelor of Arts." Period. There is no mention of English (with an emphasis in literature!) on it. At all. C'mon. "Bachelor of Arts" could be anthropology, art, art history, dance, music, theater, philosophy, American ethnic studies, kinesiology, English, any modern language, speech, women's studies, and so forth.

I know they were printing a few thousand diplomas, but really, it's pretty important to get the information right. My diploma is something I'll frame and hang up in my office someday. I've e-mailed a couple of people and hopefully K-State will fix it and send me a new one.

Here today, Tuesday, and maybe Wednesday before driving back to Nashville.d

"Not Mom's Favorite"
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