On the road again

After nearly a four-month stint in one place, I'm off on a road trip bright and early tomorrow morning. It'll be me, a selection of mix CDs, and my rental car - which, I should add, has a built-in GPS system but lacks cruise control - against the open road, all the way to South Carolina, but I'm hoping to come home with some good information. One of the other interns is also traveling this week, but in North Carolina. Sounds like someone's getting a phone call tomorrow...

The rental's built-in GPS means I won't have to rely on my new TomTom, which is sad, as I had programmed my unit to give me directions in the voice of Yoda. "In 50 yards, right you must turn" might get a little old after a while, but it would make me laugh. We'll see if I can't pull my faithful Jedi TomTom out at some point this week.

In other vehicular news, my Beetle is being repainted in the morning so it will no longer look like this:

Lovely, isn't it? I'm so good, I scare myself. The car was going to feature in a photo shoot today, even with its scrapes, but alas, the weather refused to cooperate and the shoot was moved, meaning they'll need another car. Too bad for me.

Finally, a moment of "Dear God, why does everyone think I have an accent?!?" randomness: while standing in line at Panera, waiting for my lunch, the lady next to me commented on my necklace and asked where I'd bought it. I told her it was from a Fair Trade store in Edinburgh.

"Is that where you're from?" she asked.
No, I explained, I just went to school there.
She seemed confused at this and asked where I lived. Eventually, we established that I'm a native, to which she gave me the old "You have a bit of an accent" line.
Yes ma'am, I know. I know.