It was just 2 weeks before Melody’s visit this past weekend that the right side of my jaw began to ache. Mistaking it for a toothache, I went to a local dentist despite not having dental insurance, and found out that I was more likely suffering from TMJ. Apparently, sleeping with my face in the pillow and recent stressors at work may have contributed to the night time teeth grinding that resulted in this condition. Between hot compresses and jaw exercises, I picked up my wife from the airport on Thursday. With leftover Indian food and a fresh pot of homemade bun rieu, we alternated between sleep and wake throughout the night to adjust to the jet lag. On Friday, we had Q Shack for lunch, then after yet another cryptic Assassins Creed game ending, went to the American Tobacco district for dinner at L’uva. While looking for the next game to play, we chanced upon the Stanley Parable – a re-released version of a Half-Life mod that explored the concept of choice and free will from an office cubicle with witty British-accented narration. We finished the game that same night, just in time to drive down to Raleigh Saturday morning for the NC State Fair. After satisfying our Korean crave at Seoul Garden, we entered the fair grounds to continue our feast of soft-serve ice-cream, funnel cakes, and frozen bananas while watching pig shows and pig races. That night, we aptly dined on delicious NC-styled BBQ pork at The Pit to round out the experience. With an accumulation of leftovers in our fridge, we spent Sunday vegging out at home chowing down while watching the most recent Star Trek movie and episodes of Buffy and Arrested Development. Every one deserves to live like piggies once in a while.