What was I doing up at 2:30 in the morning you ask? I was struggling to yank the GD chirping smoke detector off my ceiling, that�s what. For whatever reason, an every-thirty-second, high-pitched beep began in the middle of the night. Removing the battery didn�t work, since the device was also hard-wired electrically. Finally, after using a step ladder and butter knife, I removed the plastic annoyance and climbed back into bed. Too bad I didn�t fall asleep for another two hours.

Arriving to work this morning (late, of course), I ran into HR Lady. She said there�s a designer who used to work here who is doing his own thing now� supposedly successful and all that� but someone who is �well connected in the design community.� She wants to take me to lunch to meet him. I�m assuming she feels a little guilty for my moving here then the company turning upside down. I very much appreciate her gesture, and hopefully some good will come from meeting this guy.

Yesterday I spent some good, hearty distraction time clicking through the "bio" section of a local news website... deciding which anchors were cute, who had good names, etc. A poor man's version of hotornot.com, if you will. Then I took it a bit further, analyzing for 'gay clues.' When their bio wraps up with education background instead of "such-and-such has a wife, two kids and blah, blah�" they're gay. Or possibly just hot, successful and single. Gay.

At the grocery store last night, I made an observation. Dallas people are like northerners in a way. They seem so wrapped up in their own space and zone, that they won�t acknowledge someone walking toward them, passing them, etc. People are afraid to just look up and say �hello� or �Excuse me� or just smile. I had noticed myself adapting to this behavior, since my �hellos� and �how are yous� seemed to make people uncomfortable. That�s just stupid. I�m determined to spread a little Tennessee into this town. I refuse to let my surroundings change me.

Oh yeah, back to the store� so in my ongoing quest for more protein-rich foods, I bought some �Kashi� cereal. At first, you think it�s like �Super O�s� or �Frosted Crunch� � the generic store-brand knock-offs� but it�s simply a health cereal. It has 13 grams of protein per cup (unheard of for cereal), low fat, high fiber, etc. Well, I tasted it today� and see why it�s probably not flying off the shelves. I suggest adding fresh fruit. Or maybe a pound of sugar. I guess I should�ve lowered my expectations when one of the features on the box was �Twigs of fiber.� Seriously. Marketing wizards they are not.