I have to say that this state sickens me.

I cannot move because my wife wants to be close to her aging parents, whilst I sit back and swallow her mother's constant snide critiques meant merely to piss me off half the time.

North Carolina holds no more for me than a martini glass holds an olive - sure it's pretty to look at, but most only come for the liquor and not their daily vegetable intake.

If they wanted vegetables, Florida's down the coast and the humidity is practically at greenhouse levels.

North Carolina has weathermen that treat precipitation guesswork like the new state lottery. North Carolina's state lottery is called the Education Lottery, and yet our classrooms are still overcrowded and our teachers still get pensions as useful as a cop's salary.

My wife wants to make a living illustrating children's books, but I don't see that happening in NC.

I would love to own a coffee shop two stories tall with a small array of books and indoor smoking.

I need either a college town or Seattle, WA.

She can take her pick, but either way you swing it her sister's rent discount doesn't amount to jack when you have absolutely NO one else to talk to, and no work to be found.

I should be working right now - but employment sucks as much as the real estate market. That, and I am sick of working for high-and-mighty bosses who think they've accomplished something because they manage a local Wendy's or Sam Goody.

This is my altered state in fluid ignorant motion...I just hope my daughter has better opportunities than me, and a strong mind to deal with the world's problems in her backyard.