Wow, what a great night last night.
Aly asked me to be on her team (with her friend) several weeks ago. I wasn't sure if I'd have to work or if I could stay all night, but I said I'd help.
The week of the race, I found out I'd have an early shift at work starting at 7am, so I'd definitely have to call it an early night…but then…
I got there about an hour late, so the race was already on the way. The race had a Mardi Gras theme and the booths along the track were all decked out in gold, green and purple. I had to do some searching to find the booth, but after about 10 minutes, I found both of them and dropped off dinner for Aly, and then began to walk. The first hour was a little warm, but once the sun went down, it was very nice conditions - a slight breeze and clear night. The track was quite packed, so I ended up walking in the outer lanes for the first half of the evening (but avoiding the runners in the very left lane, tricky at times).
There was a cute contest going on – the Miss Relay – in which young men dressed as girls and then walked the track (or just stood in the track) and begged for money. The one with the most money would win the contest. I think the cutest one had a pink dress (with bloomers!), but what made it was the pigtails, the chest hair, and the beard. He even would say “donations” in a high pitched voice. He got a few dollars from us, but unfortunately, he didn’t win the contest, although I think I taught the winner (the name sounded very familiar, but I was too far away to see who it was).
So I continued walking, and walking, mixing in some running at points. Besides the general “tiredness” ache, my legs felt great. I ended up doing 20 miles and stopped around 2 in the morning so I could get a few hours of sleep. If I hadn’t had to work the next day, I think I could have kept going. I came fairly close to doing a marathon distance and may try it again soon just for giggles.
Oh, next day, my legs still feel great (a little achy, but not much) but I’ll wait until tomorrow to make sure. I’ve been doing more and more running lately (going from a 5 minutes of walking and 2 running, to 5 minutes running to 2 walking on hard days) and my knees feel fine; only a little sore on stairs, but not a problem otherwise. In fact, I notice that they ache after a few days of not exercising. So, again, oh what a night!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Weed wars: 2010 version (Parts 1-2)
It all started with the mailbox. In it, a letter. I’m sure they sent out this letter to almost everyone, but I knew our time was up. Yes, our yard has weeds. It has for years. Big weeds! Why, because usually I’m working too much and do not have time to do them, unless I go out at midnight, which isn’t happening. I already have trouble keeping the inside of the house clean (to my standards) without looking for more work.
But it’s spring break, and I haven’t seen the sun much lately. So…
Part One: Battle Preparation
Looking through our tools, I have a few that I already need. A rake and shovel, of course, and also a scythe…Not Like That One Er...Ho. Ho. Ho. It has a handle, of course, and a long blade parallel to the ground, most effective when swung back and forth (almost like golfing or swinging a bat)
.
After work, I went off to Wal-mart to get some supplies. I bought a huge sprayer-tub of round-up. (I know this isn’t much use right away, except up front where the weeds are very small). I figured I could use it once I get the majority of the weeds down. I also got a new set of hedge trimmers for some of the larger weeds. And off we go…
Part 2: Commencing the War
I knew I wouldn’t have much time to work with only two hours of light left, but I went after the front of the yard, cutting some of the larger weeds with the shears. It worked fine at first. I even enlisted some help from Mike and Aly. Aly had the great idea of pulling out the weed-whacker…unfortunately, it only lived for about 10 minutes before dying. She spent the next half hour fiddling with the screws trying to get it working again. Mike took a shot at some of the weeds, but due to his shoulder, that didn’t last too long either. He did use the entire bottle of roundup (it only covered 400sq.ft. not much of the yard) and sprayed down by the street and the front. I was also having troubles with the larger weeds being too much for the shears. With the sun going down, we stopped for the night
Part 3: Resupply
I went (again) to Wal-mart, this time to get a pair of pruners and some more round up. I found a refill bottle for $30. It would cover another 5000sq.ft., but then a man stopped and told me this other product worked better and it was $5 a bottle (due to part of the directions being torn/moldy), so I picked up two of those. It had better work!
Part 4: 2nd Wave
I got home around 9 and began to use the pruners on the larger weeds. They worked great. I saw it labeled as “telescoping” but I didn’t try it until I was home. Now, these larger weeds were all over 5 feet tall (some as tall as I was) and several feet wide as well
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They were really bushes! The telescoping worked by untwisting the handles and extending them, then re-twisting to hold the new position - very cool! I could reach near the root to lop off some branches, and once a few were down, I could really get to the “root of the problem” (sorry! It had to be said). I worked on all of these first, which took about four hours. Some of the bushes/weeds were already dead and dried out, so on those I found I could use the pruner to grab near the root and just pull. Whole branches would come out at a time - again, very cool!
Once some of these larger bushes were done, I could use the scythe/blade tool and cut the smaller (uh…relatively speaking) weeds. I went back and forth between the tools and cleared out the whole back of the yard, which hasn’t been like this in years (maybe even since we moved in!), and the side of the house. I quit around sunset, so 630, with only a small break here and there.
I know I’ll feel it in the morning, but it sure felt good to be outside and working. I was going to go to the gym, but figured I got a good workout. My arms, especially the forearms and hands, are a little sore right now, along with my back and obliques…not really painful, but more like a good workout. I’ll try not to whine too much in the morning, but I think I may just do something easy…like clean house. I also need to go make some dahl…yum!
What a spring break! At least later this week will be fun/busy in San Francisco! Woo-hoo!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Cars, Cars, Cars...
Seems like all I blog about anymore.
My old Hyundai Elantra was the greatest little trooper. It was my first car and rarely gave any troubles; most of these were troubles were covered under warranty (except the clutch and flywheel, but that’s a whole other story). It gave about 96,000 in the 8 years I owned it; however, in the last year, more problems began to arise. A cracked steering coupling, a blown alternator, etc.…and finally, the straw that broke my little Hyundai, a simple Air Bag light.
I took the car up this morning to see what they could do. At first it seemed like it was just a malfunctioning sensor and that all they needed to do was reset it. They tried…again and again…no go. Repairs would’ve cost at least $2000 for the parts, much less the labor. And this didn’t include the steering issue that would’ve been another $500 at least. One of the dealers even suggested trading the car in…as if! It’s paid off! I drove home and really wondered if I needed airbags and I could hold off on the repairs (I know, dumb, but crazy ideas do cross the mind unfiltered).
Upon returning home, I discussed it with Mike and checked the value on the car. The repairs needing to be made were way over the cost of the vehicle. We discussed options and decided to see the dealer on what they could do for us. The dealer showed us a nice, slightly used (a rental car return, like Mike’s car), Sonata and we took it on a test drive. Interested to see what they’d do, we had them check the payment…way too much.
After several rounds of too high prices, we began to check the other used cars on the lot (the only new ones we may have qualified for the payment we wanted would be an Accent…uh..NO!) We were offered a used Accent, two Elantras with/over 100,000, and a Tiburon. We checked out the Tiburon just to see how it drove. It has rips in the seat, the right passenger window didn’t roll down (using either control), and if you hit a big bump the radio would turn itself on. That and the exterior was red and the interior black…ug! Mike tentatively said we’d switch, but I really didn’t feel comfortable with it.
Just then, they came back, offering more for our trade-in (knowing it had problems) and adjusting the price to make the payments what we originally asked for. (On a side note, what’s up with that…we told you what we could pay, why play with it for two hours? Seriously!) On the down side, we’d have a car payment again. The plus, we’d have a 60,000/6 year warranty, working air bags, a brake light switch that’ll likely stay hooked up, no rattling from broken couplings, and lots of new features such as a CD player on the radio (with controls on the steering wheel…fancy!) ABS, a sunroof…and more.
Needless to say, we signed the deal and I am now the proud owner of a Hyundai Sonata!
My old Hyundai Elantra was the greatest little trooper. It was my first car and rarely gave any troubles; most of these were troubles were covered under warranty (except the clutch and flywheel, but that’s a whole other story). It gave about 96,000 in the 8 years I owned it; however, in the last year, more problems began to arise. A cracked steering coupling, a blown alternator, etc.…and finally, the straw that broke my little Hyundai, a simple Air Bag light.
I took the car up this morning to see what they could do. At first it seemed like it was just a malfunctioning sensor and that all they needed to do was reset it. They tried…again and again…no go. Repairs would’ve cost at least $2000 for the parts, much less the labor. And this didn’t include the steering issue that would’ve been another $500 at least. One of the dealers even suggested trading the car in…as if! It’s paid off! I drove home and really wondered if I needed airbags and I could hold off on the repairs (I know, dumb, but crazy ideas do cross the mind unfiltered).
Upon returning home, I discussed it with Mike and checked the value on the car. The repairs needing to be made were way over the cost of the vehicle. We discussed options and decided to see the dealer on what they could do for us. The dealer showed us a nice, slightly used (a rental car return, like Mike’s car), Sonata and we took it on a test drive. Interested to see what they’d do, we had them check the payment…way too much.
After several rounds of too high prices, we began to check the other used cars on the lot (the only new ones we may have qualified for the payment we wanted would be an Accent…uh..NO!) We were offered a used Accent, two Elantras with/over 100,000, and a Tiburon. We checked out the Tiburon just to see how it drove. It has rips in the seat, the right passenger window didn’t roll down (using either control), and if you hit a big bump the radio would turn itself on. That and the exterior was red and the interior black…ug! Mike tentatively said we’d switch, but I really didn’t feel comfortable with it.
Just then, they came back, offering more for our trade-in (knowing it had problems) and adjusting the price to make the payments what we originally asked for. (On a side note, what’s up with that…we told you what we could pay, why play with it for two hours? Seriously!) On the down side, we’d have a car payment again. The plus, we’d have a 60,000/6 year warranty, working air bags, a brake light switch that’ll likely stay hooked up, no rattling from broken couplings, and lots of new features such as a CD player on the radio (with controls on the steering wheel…fancy!) ABS, a sunroof…and more.
Needless to say, we signed the deal and I am now the proud owner of a Hyundai Sonata!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Blown tire…is it Groundhog Day? (yes, we’re fine)
This weekend, Aly and I made a trip up to Flagstaff to see one of her high school friends. We took the Pontiac (Mike’s car) as mine had some issues that needed repair. Things were going fine until Milepost 108 - About there, our driver’s-side rear tire blew. We were in the left lane going about 75. All of a sudden, our ride got very noisy and rough…and scary. I attempted to slow down and pull over, but with our speed, we began to skid. I tried to correct it (which would normally work, I think, but with the flat, not a chance) and ended up swerving a few times. At one point we were looking to hit the guardrail, so I turned the wheel left and we went into a spin. Thankfully (and absolutely luckily!) we ended up off the road. We were facing toward oncoming traffic (again, very scary) but we were on the left shoulder and out of the way. I’m sure we could’ve ended up in the ditch that was there, but (again luckily) we were just on the shoulder. I was able to pull it off the road a bit more for safety.
I must admit, I was shaking quite bad that it took a minute to get the hazards on and call. Aly had to dial as my hands were none-too-steady (probably going into a mild shock, as she noted). We called 911, set up a flare and waited on the side of the road. Aly got three pictures of the damage to the car. On one you can see the remnant of the tire actually pierced the plastic.
A very nice highway patrolman showed up and made sure we were ok. He (quite bravely for me) helped us change the flat (as we were facing the wrong way, he was very close to the traffic), told us our spare was a little low on air and to take it easy on it until it was filled, pulled off the panels that were about to fall off (for safety – don’t want them flying/dragging off!) and watched us until we were on our way. We drove down the breakdown lane to the next town, filled the spare, and then on to Flagstaff.
There was some damage to the rear panels on the car, but considering how we swerved, that it was a mountain road frequented by trucks and it was dusk, I think we were extraordinarily lucky/blessed.
The big issue the next day was finding a place open to get a new tire so we could get back home. I never realized that these places were closed on Sundays until I needed one. There was one place that was open 24/7, so I went over in the morning. We had a nominal fee for a weekend, but in 15 minutes, we had a new tire and we were good to go.
I’ll have more on the rest of the trip shortly, but we are ok (the only injury was a sore back from the stress and a bruised knuckle – no idea on how I did that).
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
There and back again...
About a week ago, Aly and I went to San Francisco to visit Dee and Kent. Due to ongoing problems with my car and the cheap airfare, I found it was actually easier and cheaper to fly there.
I don’t mind flying too much, but I really don’t like the take-off and landings anymore. So I went online and ordered our tickets, making some adjustments for Mike’s schedule. Unfortunately, with the changing, I apparently chose flight that first went to LA and then San Francisco. Another extra take-off and landing…oh goodie! At least the pilot was entertaining. He made some hilarious announcements along the way, all said with a great deadpan voice, including “ladies and gentlemen, we are about to land, so we ask that you turn off all electronic devices including cell phones, I-pods, laptops, mp3 players, weedwackers, hedge trimmers, nose-hair trimmers..(etc)…thank you.” And one that went like “for those of you who are continuing on to San Francisco this morning, please stay in your seat so we can get an accurate count…for everyone else…GET OFF!” The crews switched In LA, but the rest of the flight was pleasant.
Dee picked us up from the airport (thanks!) and we discussed novels on the way to her house. The house is actually a very beautiful three level house. I love the wooden architecture and the bay windows of the homes in the area, and that each house looks different and unique, not the cookie-cutter houses in most modern developments. This uniqueness gives the home character.
There are also some fantastic places to eat within a few blocks of her house. We had an amazing lunch at a Thai place and later found a wonderful Italian restaurant where we all cleared our plates, even Aly. Dee and I both had an orecchiette pasta with mushrooms and cauliflower. WOW! And the dessert was Tiramisu and a chocolate cannoli. Double WOW!
We also got a great workout while in town. I remember seeing the steep streets on television, but actually walking up and down them is a whole other story. After one day, I think both Aly and I had shinsplints and cramped calves. We kept going out on excursions each day, so another time down the hill at the start and up the hill at the end. I really enjoyed it since I had been missing the gym…the challenge was to make it all the way home without stopping. We had also prepared for cold weather (at least for us) but I’m glad we layered as it warmed up quickly while going back up the hill.
I must also say, I love the public transit of a larger town. I had discovered how good Denver’s was right before we left seven years ago, and I found the one in San Francisco so easy to use. We quickly became the masters of transfer tickets and switching buses. On Saturday our first night in town, we went with Dee out to the shopping district and I found a cute new jacket (I had left my good one at school) and then off to meet Kent and the aforementioned Italian dinner. Sunday I went to church in the Castro church, and then we headed off to Japantown for the obligatory visit and buying of books. On Monday, Aly and I headed out to Golden Gate Park (which I remember pieces of from childhood), and went to the Japanese Tea Garden. On Tuesday, we went to Fisherman’s Wharf for a bread bowl with clam chowder and a pizza, another visit to Japantown (gifts for a friend) and then out to the Legion of Honor to view the artwork. The only issue was waiting for the busses in the cold rain. (I think this was part of the reason I got a cold for Thursday and Friday).
On Wednesday, we headed back to the airport using BART. I was a bit stressed, but it went smoothly, at least until we hit the airport. I’m glad we left extraordinarily early, because the line at the counter was HUGE. At least 100 people to check in with only four people on duty and eight computers. It took a good hour to get through the line, and at times, I thought we wouldn’t make our flight. We were fine, but some of the other people in line had flight an hour earlier than ours. We let these people in front of us to help them make their flights (though I was a bit grumbly about it, but it was more about the wait than the people cutting ahead). While we were checking in, the computers were blaring a signal that these people were checking in “late”. The man behind the counter was a bit snippy about it, too. He was telling them that they checked in late and they might have to pay for their bags to be sent to them and it didn’t matter they had been in line for an hour before and it was their fault for being late due to weather problems in part of the country. Excuse me?? I’m hoping he was just frazzled from being short staffed, but are we supposed to psychically know that there is weather delaying other flights and to get to the airport three hours early in anticipation of waiting in line for an hour? The flight back was very smooth and we had a nice dinner in Vegas.
I don’t mind flying too much, but I really don’t like the take-off and landings anymore. So I went online and ordered our tickets, making some adjustments for Mike’s schedule. Unfortunately, with the changing, I apparently chose flight that first went to LA and then San Francisco. Another extra take-off and landing…oh goodie! At least the pilot was entertaining. He made some hilarious announcements along the way, all said with a great deadpan voice, including “ladies and gentlemen, we are about to land, so we ask that you turn off all electronic devices including cell phones, I-pods, laptops, mp3 players, weedwackers, hedge trimmers, nose-hair trimmers..(etc)…thank you.” And one that went like “for those of you who are continuing on to San Francisco this morning, please stay in your seat so we can get an accurate count…for everyone else…GET OFF!” The crews switched In LA, but the rest of the flight was pleasant.
Dee picked us up from the airport (thanks!) and we discussed novels on the way to her house. The house is actually a very beautiful three level house. I love the wooden architecture and the bay windows of the homes in the area, and that each house looks different and unique, not the cookie-cutter houses in most modern developments. This uniqueness gives the home character.
There are also some fantastic places to eat within a few blocks of her house. We had an amazing lunch at a Thai place and later found a wonderful Italian restaurant where we all cleared our plates, even Aly. Dee and I both had an orecchiette pasta with mushrooms and cauliflower. WOW! And the dessert was Tiramisu and a chocolate cannoli. Double WOW!
We also got a great workout while in town. I remember seeing the steep streets on television, but actually walking up and down them is a whole other story. After one day, I think both Aly and I had shinsplints and cramped calves. We kept going out on excursions each day, so another time down the hill at the start and up the hill at the end. I really enjoyed it since I had been missing the gym…the challenge was to make it all the way home without stopping. We had also prepared for cold weather (at least for us) but I’m glad we layered as it warmed up quickly while going back up the hill.
I must also say, I love the public transit of a larger town. I had discovered how good Denver’s was right before we left seven years ago, and I found the one in San Francisco so easy to use. We quickly became the masters of transfer tickets and switching buses. On Saturday our first night in town, we went with Dee out to the shopping district and I found a cute new jacket (I had left my good one at school) and then off to meet Kent and the aforementioned Italian dinner. Sunday I went to church in the Castro church, and then we headed off to Japantown for the obligatory visit and buying of books. On Monday, Aly and I headed out to Golden Gate Park (which I remember pieces of from childhood), and went to the Japanese Tea Garden. On Tuesday, we went to Fisherman’s Wharf for a bread bowl with clam chowder and a pizza, another visit to Japantown (gifts for a friend) and then out to the Legion of Honor to view the artwork. The only issue was waiting for the busses in the cold rain. (I think this was part of the reason I got a cold for Thursday and Friday).
On Wednesday, we headed back to the airport using BART. I was a bit stressed, but it went smoothly, at least until we hit the airport. I’m glad we left extraordinarily early, because the line at the counter was HUGE. At least 100 people to check in with only four people on duty and eight computers. It took a good hour to get through the line, and at times, I thought we wouldn’t make our flight. We were fine, but some of the other people in line had flight an hour earlier than ours. We let these people in front of us to help them make their flights (though I was a bit grumbly about it, but it was more about the wait than the people cutting ahead). While we were checking in, the computers were blaring a signal that these people were checking in “late”. The man behind the counter was a bit snippy about it, too. He was telling them that they checked in late and they might have to pay for their bags to be sent to them and it didn’t matter they had been in line for an hour before and it was their fault for being late due to weather problems in part of the country. Excuse me?? I’m hoping he was just frazzled from being short staffed, but are we supposed to psychically know that there is weather delaying other flights and to get to the airport three hours early in anticipation of waiting in line for an hour? The flight back was very smooth and we had a nice dinner in Vegas.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
It was a dark and stormy night…no really!
I had been hoping for a storm since Monday when I first saw the pictures of Hurricane Jimena headed towards the Baja peninsula, but as the week progressed, it didn’t look like much would hit us.
Earlier in the day, I was near Sam’s Club doing some shopping and had a few sprinkles. There were lovely looking clouds, but they weren’t doing much. That’s quite typical of this area, it looks like the r*** word, but it never really does (we don’t say it often, as we believe to mention R-A-I-N, it won’t - Whoops! Hope typing it doesn’t jinx us for the rest of the year). Sometimes we get isolated sprinkles, but that’s usually north or south of our house.
Well, as we were settling into bed around 10pm, and after turning out the light, I noticed a lot of flashing from the window, but no sound. And off to sleep.
I awoke to loud rain hitting the roof and the wind blowing madly; it seemed noisy, but also quiet. And that’s when I realized the AC wasn’t on due to the power outage. Crap! It was only around 11pm. I got up briefly and walked into the darkened front room and found Mike and Aly up too. She was lighting candles, but since I had to work in the morning, I went back to bed. The storm continued, the power outage continued, and I didn’t sleep for at least an hour (I think the stuff in the fridge survived). It was mostly the noise of the rain and the heat that kept me awake (no AC sucks in BHC). I couldn’t get comfortable and the lack of noise from the AC and fans is off-putting, something I normally notice when we turn it all off in the winter. Finally, the rain dropped off and it was absolutely quiet, for about 10 minutes, and then the power (YES!) came back on. Now THAT was a STORM!
There doesn’t appear to be any damage. In years past, after a storm like this, our roof would be in pieces around the yard, but the new one appears to be holding. And it says we picked up 0.38” of rain. Not bad for a desert.
Earlier in the day, I was near Sam’s Club doing some shopping and had a few sprinkles. There were lovely looking clouds, but they weren’t doing much. That’s quite typical of this area, it looks like the r*** word, but it never really does (we don’t say it often, as we believe to mention R-A-I-N, it won’t - Whoops! Hope typing it doesn’t jinx us for the rest of the year). Sometimes we get isolated sprinkles, but that’s usually north or south of our house.
Well, as we were settling into bed around 10pm, and after turning out the light, I noticed a lot of flashing from the window, but no sound. And off to sleep.
I awoke to loud rain hitting the roof and the wind blowing madly; it seemed noisy, but also quiet. And that’s when I realized the AC wasn’t on due to the power outage. Crap! It was only around 11pm. I got up briefly and walked into the darkened front room and found Mike and Aly up too. She was lighting candles, but since I had to work in the morning, I went back to bed. The storm continued, the power outage continued, and I didn’t sleep for at least an hour (I think the stuff in the fridge survived). It was mostly the noise of the rain and the heat that kept me awake (no AC sucks in BHC). I couldn’t get comfortable and the lack of noise from the AC and fans is off-putting, something I normally notice when we turn it all off in the winter. Finally, the rain dropped off and it was absolutely quiet, for about 10 minutes, and then the power (YES!) came back on. Now THAT was a STORM!
There doesn’t appear to be any damage. In years past, after a storm like this, our roof would be in pieces around the yard, but the new one appears to be holding. And it says we picked up 0.38” of rain. Not bad for a desert.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Off and running
What happens when the fire-marshal visits your school? They tell you to lower your class sizes.
The class numbers are in flux and I can make so sense of it. I think they are leveling other core classes, which is wrecking havoc in a few of mine. I’ve had a few students dropped from some of my classes only to be added to my biggest class. I’m up to 45 (thankfully there always seems to be a few absences!) but others have it worse. I’ve heard of a class of 48 today, and in another class I heard 75 (ouch!). I’m counting my blessings as of right now that they are well behaved and working with very little disruption (knocking on wood!). I’ve heard rumors of a new English teacher next week…we’ll see!
It’s two weeks in and I still don’t have all the names down. I think that portion of my brain has given up. Actually, I’ve learned the names of several students only to have those ones pulled from my classes. Perhaps I should talk to the counselors and ask them to switch the ones I don’t know. :) Ah, well, I have most of them, with a few more days, I think I’ll get them.
I found out that I won’t be doing the after school tutoring, which I’ve done for the last five years now. I applied and am obviously qualified, but they gave it to the daughter of another teacher/community member. I’ve heard she is also a new teacher at the school. Do I smell nepotism? I’m a little annoyed, because I was looking forward to the money, but since Mike is beginning to scrub (YEA!) I’m not too worried. Well, I guess I have more time to work out!
Speaking of which, I am getting close to running 40 minutes non-stop, which I haven’t been able to do in years. Over the summer, between the other classes, I’ve been putting my time in on the treadmill. That sounds bad…I actually enjoy working on the treadmill at the gym. For one, it has AC and fans. Two, it has TV’s and most of the time I can watch Food Network. And three, I can control my pace and keep track of my workouts easier. (I’ll probably head outside once it cools off)…well, I’ve been trying to walk less and less and on my last workout I walked 3 minutes, ran 18, walked for 2 and ran the rest, and cooled down for 5. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.
Oh and Aly has been doing her countdown to her 18th birthday. Her speaking of “5 days” was not quite as her scary rendition two days ago. She was walking around the house and sneaking up on me saying (in a creepy whisper) “Seven Days!” Quite scary! It would have been even funnier if she had called me (perhaps next time). That would have been absolutely creepy!
The class numbers are in flux and I can make so sense of it. I think they are leveling other core classes, which is wrecking havoc in a few of mine. I’ve had a few students dropped from some of my classes only to be added to my biggest class. I’m up to 45 (thankfully there always seems to be a few absences!) but others have it worse. I’ve heard of a class of 48 today, and in another class I heard 75 (ouch!). I’m counting my blessings as of right now that they are well behaved and working with very little disruption (knocking on wood!). I’ve heard rumors of a new English teacher next week…we’ll see!
It’s two weeks in and I still don’t have all the names down. I think that portion of my brain has given up. Actually, I’ve learned the names of several students only to have those ones pulled from my classes. Perhaps I should talk to the counselors and ask them to switch the ones I don’t know. :) Ah, well, I have most of them, with a few more days, I think I’ll get them.
I found out that I won’t be doing the after school tutoring, which I’ve done for the last five years now. I applied and am obviously qualified, but they gave it to the daughter of another teacher/community member. I’ve heard she is also a new teacher at the school. Do I smell nepotism? I’m a little annoyed, because I was looking forward to the money, but since Mike is beginning to scrub (YEA!) I’m not too worried. Well, I guess I have more time to work out!
Speaking of which, I am getting close to running 40 minutes non-stop, which I haven’t been able to do in years. Over the summer, between the other classes, I’ve been putting my time in on the treadmill. That sounds bad…I actually enjoy working on the treadmill at the gym. For one, it has AC and fans. Two, it has TV’s and most of the time I can watch Food Network. And three, I can control my pace and keep track of my workouts easier. (I’ll probably head outside once it cools off)…well, I’ve been trying to walk less and less and on my last workout I walked 3 minutes, ran 18, walked for 2 and ran the rest, and cooled down for 5. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.
Oh and Aly has been doing her countdown to her 18th birthday. Her speaking of “5 days” was not quite as her scary rendition two days ago. She was walking around the house and sneaking up on me saying (in a creepy whisper) “Seven Days!” Quite scary! It would have been even funnier if she had called me (perhaps next time). That would have been absolutely creepy!
Friday, August 14, 2009
A New School Year and Old Technology
Had my first week back at school and to say the classes are large is an understatement. I currently have five classes (4 senior, 1 junior) with my smallest” regular” class at 35 and my largest at 43. I also have one smaller class of 29 for a “lower level” class, which has 29 (so they can get more personal attention, but it’s all the same work) up from the usual 10-20 it has been in previous years. Seriously people! I do need to eat and sleep! And I am not alone; it appears that most of the English department is overwrought with students.
We did have one English teacher quit the week before school started. At first they needed people to give up their prep hours and cover these classes. So being the helpful, loyal person I am (and after finding out it could add an extra $7000 a year/$200 a paycheck) I volunteered for this. Fortunately, the did find someone to sub for these classes and gave him one of my English 11 for another English 12 so he could have all Junior classes. He is a very pleasant fellow who has been on the school board and has taught college, but he hasn’t taught high school before. I think he is acting as a long term sub until they can find a qualified teacher (for the core areas, you have to be certified for a permanent position). Since I’m right across the hall and teach that level, I will be helping him out quite a bit (I usually try to help out new teachers anyways, so nothing new there). His class sizes are just as high….which might be a dilemma for me.
See, as aforementioned, I did volunteer to give up my prep hour and it just happens to be when this man and another teacher have very large classes. The school is looking to lower some class sizes…so I may be taking on another 20-30 students. The real crux of this is: Are they going to ask others to help lower MY larger class sizes at the same time? I doubt it. I suppose I could say no, but I feel for this man and I really could use the extra money…decisions, decisions…
As for the old technology, it was really Aly’s doing. We only have one TV in our house (I KNOW!) which is used for all our TV, DVD, video games, etc…so if someone is watching TV, you are out of luck if you want to play…oh…a video game. Especially when you just got a PS2! So Aly went outside where I’ve been storing some items from our storage area. I had an old TV I was thinking to giving to charity or something and then got busy, so it’s been out on our porch for several months. I figured it was ruined. She cleaned off all the spider webs (literally), wiped the dust, and brought it in…It worked! Now this TV is so old that it only has a coaxial cable attachment (no, not even RCA attachments…wow it’s outdated)…so off to Wal-Mart to buy an adapter for coax to RCA and a coax cable. (And since our house sucks, we also had to run another extension cord to the unit so as not to blow a fuse) All plugged in and SUCCESS! Now she can play her games on a ……13” screen! She seems to be happy, but I think I may need trifocals now.
We did have one English teacher quit the week before school started. At first they needed people to give up their prep hours and cover these classes. So being the helpful, loyal person I am (and after finding out it could add an extra $7000 a year/$200 a paycheck) I volunteered for this. Fortunately, the did find someone to sub for these classes and gave him one of my English 11 for another English 12 so he could have all Junior classes. He is a very pleasant fellow who has been on the school board and has taught college, but he hasn’t taught high school before. I think he is acting as a long term sub until they can find a qualified teacher (for the core areas, you have to be certified for a permanent position). Since I’m right across the hall and teach that level, I will be helping him out quite a bit (I usually try to help out new teachers anyways, so nothing new there). His class sizes are just as high….which might be a dilemma for me.
See, as aforementioned, I did volunteer to give up my prep hour and it just happens to be when this man and another teacher have very large classes. The school is looking to lower some class sizes…so I may be taking on another 20-30 students. The real crux of this is: Are they going to ask others to help lower MY larger class sizes at the same time? I doubt it. I suppose I could say no, but I feel for this man and I really could use the extra money…decisions, decisions…
As for the old technology, it was really Aly’s doing. We only have one TV in our house (I KNOW!) which is used for all our TV, DVD, video games, etc…so if someone is watching TV, you are out of luck if you want to play…oh…a video game. Especially when you just got a PS2! So Aly went outside where I’ve been storing some items from our storage area. I had an old TV I was thinking to giving to charity or something and then got busy, so it’s been out on our porch for several months. I figured it was ruined. She cleaned off all the spider webs (literally), wiped the dust, and brought it in…It worked! Now this TV is so old that it only has a coaxial cable attachment (no, not even RCA attachments…wow it’s outdated)…so off to Wal-Mart to buy an adapter for coax to RCA and a coax cable. (And since our house sucks, we also had to run another extension cord to the unit so as not to blow a fuse) All plugged in and SUCCESS! Now she can play her games on a ……13” screen! She seems to be happy, but I think I may need trifocals now.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Do you know where your brake light switch is this evening?
You learn something new every day, and today I discovered that my car has a brake light switch. I don’t know much about it. It all started when we went to the store and as I was putting groceries in my trunk, I noticed that my brake lights are on…great…on top of college and dentist, how about a car repair? I did all the usual: turned the car on/off, pushed the brake on/off, pushed the emergency brake on/off…you get the idea…nada! Still on. So I returned home and asked Mike to help. He did really try, and also went through the same spiel (love that word) and came to the same conclusion…yes the lights are on, and I have no clue what to do next...
Then TA-DAH, brilliant idea! Hey, I’ll go look on the internet. So after conferring with several sites, I found that none of which had my make and model. I did find some close that all stated to check the “brake light switch”. Huh? Ok, so that may be the problem, but what is it? They all said it was attached to the brake pedal (ok, I know where THAT is) and it’s under the dash (uh-oh). With a little more searching, I found a replacement part picture so I know what the part looks like and a very fishy picture (see above) that took a few seconds of staring to make the picture in the background look 3-D…no, not really, but I had to figure out the “landmarks” of what I recognized and use those to locate said “brake light switch”.
So armed with a book light (hey, it’s better than a flashlight, I can set the angle!) and set out to the car. I stooped into the driver’s side and followed the brake up…and was amazed at all the gizmos and thingamajigs. I theoretically knew those were all there, but to see them is something else…I mean, COOL! Looking up the brake, I found the correct part. It took a bit of angling to reach UNDER the dash, but UP above the brake and actually get to the part I needed. I spotted the end and pushed…snap (in a good way). Getting out and looking at the rear lights, they were finally off. Using the “24 days away from 18” daughter, I checked the brakes to make sure they turned on when I pushed the pedal…SUCCESS!
(I’ve included the aforementioned picture so you too, can find the unicorn or dragon…it’s there, just keep staring!)
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Selling back and wising up
Looking to get a little more cash for the account until I get my next paycheck, we made the rounds today. First we took our coin jar to the casino to cash in. We use a large plastic jug and it was filled at least half way, which is a good sign. Made just under $100.
Next, we took some of the books, audio books, and movies (mostly mine, but I kept my favorites) we had picked up over the years to turn in at Hastings. Considering it was mostly books, I was glad to see we make $130. I didn't think it would be quite that much, so a pleasant surprise. They even took back books I had bought used (using my discount).
I now have blank space on my bookshelves! Yea! I think I've finally discovered that I can get about any movie, audio book, or movie I may want from the library. I use the Laughlin library, which in itself is larger than the BHC library, so I've gone there for years. It is also better cared for and I sometimes just sit in the quiet and read. I have found it also convenient to use between the time I get off of work and the church service an hour and a half later. To boot, it has Wi-fi, so I can bring my laptop and work in the AC with a view. But by far, its greatest benefit is it is part of the Clark County Library District, so if the book I want isn't there, I can have it delivered from any other branch to Laughlin. I have gotten a lot of TV series DVDs, audiobooks, and even books in Russian, Japanese, and German. How cool is that?
I still have many "stripped" books I get from work (one a week) but I think I might give most of them to charity (either troops overseas or the battered woman's shelter)
I also placed myself on availability to work/cover a shift, and I have an eight hour shift tomorrow. With that, I think we'll be fine!
Next, we took some of the books, audio books, and movies (mostly mine, but I kept my favorites) we had picked up over the years to turn in at Hastings. Considering it was mostly books, I was glad to see we make $130. I didn't think it would be quite that much, so a pleasant surprise. They even took back books I had bought used (using my discount).
I now have blank space on my bookshelves! Yea! I think I've finally discovered that I can get about any movie, audio book, or movie I may want from the library. I use the Laughlin library, which in itself is larger than the BHC library, so I've gone there for years. It is also better cared for and I sometimes just sit in the quiet and read. I have found it also convenient to use between the time I get off of work and the church service an hour and a half later. To boot, it has Wi-fi, so I can bring my laptop and work in the AC with a view. But by far, its greatest benefit is it is part of the Clark County Library District, so if the book I want isn't there, I can have it delivered from any other branch to Laughlin. I have gotten a lot of TV series DVDs, audiobooks, and even books in Russian, Japanese, and German. How cool is that?
I still have many "stripped" books I get from work (one a week) but I think I might give most of them to charity (either troops overseas or the battered woman's shelter)
I also placed myself on availability to work/cover a shift, and I have an eight hour shift tomorrow. With that, I think we'll be fine!
Monday, July 27, 2009
More gym tales and other tales, too
On my last post, I talked about the pilates class...so on from there. I did return to do pilates several times now and while still difficult, knowing the routine seems to help. I must say that while my arms and legs are strong, my abs suck. Now they've never been my strong point. While in the Army, I would barely do 50 situps in 2 minutes, usually just doing the last one at time. I'm finding now that I can do more, but how impressive is three sets of 8 before having to stop? I mean really...and if we go into obliques, it is so much worse, but I'm keeping on. Maybe one day I can do 32 at a clip! Woo!
I've also returned to the weights class a few times, and no more elbow problems. In fact, I've had less grinding in the one I broke. I also got the idea after missing this class one morning that the Tae-bo class right after it would be fun. I thought pilates was hard...but it was also fun. We began with the warm ups of punching motions and lots of twisting...and a break. Ok so far...then we began adding kicks...and then kicking combos. I swear my brain was understanding what the instructor wanted us to do, but my body just didn't want to listen. He even laughed when I told him that! And then we went into advanced abs work...ha ha ha ha ha! But it was fun and I may try it a few more times before giving up. The only problem is that it is offered on the same night as pilates (right now it's in the mornings, but once school starts, that isn't happening). Maybe I could switch off every week.
I also tried another class. I went to the gym to "run" on the ellipse machine one night and the desk clerk came around asking if any of us wanted to try a class. I figured that it was other than running (for cross training) so I went to join the class. It was a spin/yoga class. So I grabbed my “Greg LeMond” bike (funny, since the Tour was in week 2) and did my first spinning class. I understood the different positions, the tightening of resistance, and so on. What I couldn’t understand was the resting bars on the bike. From what the instructor said, you only hold the ends of the bars and do not lean on them. Why have them, then? I don’t get it…any-hoo did the spin for 30 minutes and then relaxed for a few moments and went into yoga (also new to me) for 30 minutes. Not bad, but guess what night of the week it is on…yes! The same night as pilates and Tae-bo!
As far as running, I’ve been improving. I started with 30 minutes of running and walking. At first it was 3½ minutes running, 1½ walking. Now I’m up to 40-50 minutes (includes warmup/cooldown) and running 8-12 minutes and walking 2 minutes. Pretty soon I’ll be running non-stop again.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…
We’ve been watching some great things on DVD lately (love the library – no rental fees!). Mike has a series called Farscape. It’s quite fun. A pilot gets sucked through a wormhole and becomes part of a crew on a prison transport. A lot of conflicting personalities/species makes things fun. It also has creatures from the Jim Henson Workshop as characters. I’ve also become addicted to NCIS. Mark Harmon is such a cutie and Abby is hilarious. Again all about conflicting personalities.
I’ve also completes some more books. Finished all the Scott Westerfield Uglies series already, but added Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West the book the play is based on. In short, the unknown history of the Wicked Witch and how she is misunderstood. World War Z is a great book on a zombie war, and I HATE zombies, but the book was intriguing and hard to put down. I reread Turn of the Screw a fantastic little horror story, by Henry James, where you are never sure of what happened.
In non-fiction, I read a book called Heat about New York kitchens and Mario Batali. After becoming enthralled by Wicked I read the Grimmerie about the creation of the play. Also I’m currently reading Isaac’s Storm on the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the weatherman stationed there. I’ve also been reading a lot of cookbooks :)
Books still on my shelf (only a week and a half to finish…uh-oh) Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (Issac’s Storm, Devil in White City), Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbruck, and Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult are the main ones I want to get done, but there are always others.
I've also returned to the weights class a few times, and no more elbow problems. In fact, I've had less grinding in the one I broke. I also got the idea after missing this class one morning that the Tae-bo class right after it would be fun. I thought pilates was hard...but it was also fun. We began with the warm ups of punching motions and lots of twisting...and a break. Ok so far...then we began adding kicks...and then kicking combos. I swear my brain was understanding what the instructor wanted us to do, but my body just didn't want to listen. He even laughed when I told him that! And then we went into advanced abs work...ha ha ha ha ha! But it was fun and I may try it a few more times before giving up. The only problem is that it is offered on the same night as pilates (right now it's in the mornings, but once school starts, that isn't happening). Maybe I could switch off every week.
I also tried another class. I went to the gym to "run" on the ellipse machine one night and the desk clerk came around asking if any of us wanted to try a class. I figured that it was other than running (for cross training) so I went to join the class. It was a spin/yoga class. So I grabbed my “Greg LeMond” bike (funny, since the Tour was in week 2) and did my first spinning class. I understood the different positions, the tightening of resistance, and so on. What I couldn’t understand was the resting bars on the bike. From what the instructor said, you only hold the ends of the bars and do not lean on them. Why have them, then? I don’t get it…any-hoo did the spin for 30 minutes and then relaxed for a few moments and went into yoga (also new to me) for 30 minutes. Not bad, but guess what night of the week it is on…yes! The same night as pilates and Tae-bo!
As far as running, I’ve been improving. I started with 30 minutes of running and walking. At first it was 3½ minutes running, 1½ walking. Now I’m up to 40-50 minutes (includes warmup/cooldown) and running 8-12 minutes and walking 2 minutes. Pretty soon I’ll be running non-stop again.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…
We’ve been watching some great things on DVD lately (love the library – no rental fees!). Mike has a series called Farscape. It’s quite fun. A pilot gets sucked through a wormhole and becomes part of a crew on a prison transport. A lot of conflicting personalities/species makes things fun. It also has creatures from the Jim Henson Workshop as characters. I’ve also become addicted to NCIS. Mark Harmon is such a cutie and Abby is hilarious. Again all about conflicting personalities.
I’ve also completes some more books. Finished all the Scott Westerfield Uglies series already, but added Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West the book the play is based on. In short, the unknown history of the Wicked Witch and how she is misunderstood. World War Z is a great book on a zombie war, and I HATE zombies, but the book was intriguing and hard to put down. I reread Turn of the Screw a fantastic little horror story, by Henry James, where you are never sure of what happened.
In non-fiction, I read a book called Heat about New York kitchens and Mario Batali. After becoming enthralled by Wicked I read the Grimmerie about the creation of the play. Also I’m currently reading Isaac’s Storm on the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the weatherman stationed there. I’ve also been reading a lot of cookbooks :)
Books still on my shelf (only a week and a half to finish…uh-oh) Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (Issac’s Storm, Devil in White City), Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbruck, and Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult are the main ones I want to get done, but there are always others.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Eye Problems and Pilates
First the problem - my glasses. This all began in March when I had to get a new set of glasses after ruining my old pair.
When getting the eye exam, we worked to get my left eye focused. We couldn’t get it unfuzzy, but got as close to focused as possible. When he uncovered both eyes, I commented on the letters doubling, but he seemed to dismiss this.
When the glasses arrived, the left eye was horrible. I commented again I couldn’t see, but they said to give it a week. If I looked at something far away, like the mountains, it was clear, and if I looked directly at something, it was clear, but everything in my peripheral vision was doubled and distracting; this was especially bad when reading. Luckily around this same time, they said they could buff my old contacts, and we got them working again. On the glasses, I reverted to the old frames in which I could see.
A few weeks ago, after school was out, I went back to get them fixed. Another eye exam, where I said I couldn’t see close up, so we switched to bifocals. When they arrived, I still had the doubled vision. Third try, he brought in a set of lenses that I could modify myself. In the exam, I was finally able to get the left eye sharply focused. When we uncovered the right, it looked great. When the glasses arrived, the left eye is still screwed up! I am trying them for a week, but I really have a hard time understanding on how it was so clear in the exam, and now it is STILL fuzzy. I am about ready to just cough up $50 and have someone else do an exam to see if they can get the numbers right. I’ve spend over $200 on these frames so far and it’s really annoying.
On another track, last week, I did my Pilates class. It was quite fun, but I found out just how weak I’ve gotten. That evening I began not feeling well, and had the stomach flu again. I wasn’t sure what pain was the stomach cramps and what was from the Pilates class. Needless to say, I tried to slept the whole day. This Tuesday, I did a weight training class which focused on the upper body. Again fun, but really felt it the next day. In fact, I can’t straiten either arm very well, but especially the left, which I broke (radial head fracture) a few years ago. I’ve been icing it, which helps. Luckily, I’ll have about a week off when I go to Colorado, and then I’ll give it another shot. I may have to skip the weights class if it has this effect, as I like using my arms.
When getting the eye exam, we worked to get my left eye focused. We couldn’t get it unfuzzy, but got as close to focused as possible. When he uncovered both eyes, I commented on the letters doubling, but he seemed to dismiss this.
When the glasses arrived, the left eye was horrible. I commented again I couldn’t see, but they said to give it a week. If I looked at something far away, like the mountains, it was clear, and if I looked directly at something, it was clear, but everything in my peripheral vision was doubled and distracting; this was especially bad when reading. Luckily around this same time, they said they could buff my old contacts, and we got them working again. On the glasses, I reverted to the old frames in which I could see.
A few weeks ago, after school was out, I went back to get them fixed. Another eye exam, where I said I couldn’t see close up, so we switched to bifocals. When they arrived, I still had the doubled vision. Third try, he brought in a set of lenses that I could modify myself. In the exam, I was finally able to get the left eye sharply focused. When we uncovered the right, it looked great. When the glasses arrived, the left eye is still screwed up! I am trying them for a week, but I really have a hard time understanding on how it was so clear in the exam, and now it is STILL fuzzy. I am about ready to just cough up $50 and have someone else do an exam to see if they can get the numbers right. I’ve spend over $200 on these frames so far and it’s really annoying.
On another track, last week, I did my Pilates class. It was quite fun, but I found out just how weak I’ve gotten. That evening I began not feeling well, and had the stomach flu again. I wasn’t sure what pain was the stomach cramps and what was from the Pilates class. Needless to say, I tried to slept the whole day. This Tuesday, I did a weight training class which focused on the upper body. Again fun, but really felt it the next day. In fact, I can’t straiten either arm very well, but especially the left, which I broke (radial head fracture) a few years ago. I’ve been icing it, which helps. Luckily, I’ll have about a week off when I go to Colorado, and then I’ll give it another shot. I may have to skip the weights class if it has this effect, as I like using my arms.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
OK! OK! here it is!
As many of you know, Aly graduated this year. I'm getting a DVD shortly and will post more on that when I get it.
We went to Georgia for one reason, Jim's wedding, and also found another great reason to go, meeting Aly's dad again.
Our trip began with a long drive, as we chose a flight from Phoenix instead of Las Vegas due to our tight budget (gas and meals figured in). So we left at 6am on our drive. We began listening to World War Z, a zombie novel told from the point of view of those who survived. I heard the first few chapters before falling asleep. With only one stop in Wikiup, we made it to the airport and found out our plane would be late. With some time to spare, Mike and I ate some Sbarro pizza, but it didn’t agree with Mike as his slice was underdone (this is a national chain, and usually it’s really good). We went to a bar and each ordered a drink. His beer seemed to settle his stomach, but my $10 margarita (not even top shelf!) made my stomach sour and to not do that again.
We had a very uneventful flight to Georgia (thankfully!) and was on a flight long enough to watch a film! It was Bride Wars, and while cute, it seemed to grate on my nerves at points. It did keep my mind off of being in the air for two hours, so that's a bonus as I seem to not enjoy flying as much as I used to. In fact, I'm surprised I was awake after taking the Dramamine. For the remainder of the hour, I listened to The Music Man (which Aly and I had seen recently in Las Vegas) and was actually able to figure out all the lyrics on the opening song. It was the original stage version of the play with Robert Preston, the only Music Man.
Arriving in Georgia, we picked up our rental car, and drove to his Aunt Carolyn’s place. She was very happy to see us as was Jim. We were a bit late due to our flight, but she had a delicious chicken casserole for us.
The next day entailed some shopping (Aly’s present from Aunt Carolyn – two summer dresses of Aly’s choice) and I found a dress as well as a few scarves, one of which matched the dress I planned to wear to the wedding (same dress as I wore for Aly’s grad as well). Aly chose two short, cute dresses that were her style. One was low cut, but with the scarf she had, she wrapped it around her under the dress and it looked so much better! She wore this one to the wedding the next day. On our shopping trip we also searched for pink flamingos (inside joke – I’m not sure what) but we never found them. Instead we bought mass amounts of bubbles and a poster board for Aly to decorate. We then went shopping for several kinds of fruit for kebabs.
That afternoon we went to Sherry’s place and met her family, all of whom were friendly and fun. I quickly joined the “porch people” out on the deck and we talked for hours. Upon returning home, we realized that we still had to do the fruit kebabs. Carolyn wasn’t back yet and Jim complaining, so I roused the troops (Mike and Andy) and began cutting – get this – One whole watermelon, 3 cantaloupes, 2 honeydew, and 2 pineapples. That’s a lot! It took us over an hour and we finally went to bed after midnight.
The next day, Mike and I were ready for the wedding early, but others were not. Aly was getting ready, as was Aunt Carolyn, and we waited for her neighbor, Connie. We were supposed to leave at 8am, but didn’t get out until after 9am. We were on the way, driving much slower than we wanted, not sure we’d make the wedding. About halfway through the trip, Aunt Carolyn pulled into a McDonalds to get her breakfast. Mike was incensed! I was flabbergasted! We are already running late and you’re getting breakfast! We continued to follow her after her brief respite and made it to the ceremony as everyone was gathering on the porch; in fact, the pre-ceremony music was already playing. Luckily we had made it.
The ceremony was simple and lovely in its simplicity. Jim and Sherry were dressed nicely, but not formally. One of the daughters sang songs throughout the ceremony. They exchanged vows and kissed. After the ceremony, we were posed in groups for various pictures, only two of which involved us (If I get copies I’ll get them to all). One of the cutest was Sherry’s mother with her great grandchildren. Yes, four generations were present, very cool! After the ceremony, we continued the pleasantries of the previous day. Aly made her poster and we surreptitiously placed it in Jim’s truck (again, I hope to get a photo). Many of the family saw it, but we left before the newlyweds, so I don’t know their reaction.
We then headed to Buford to meet with Toby again. He had reservations for a place, but only Aly had a clue where we were going at the time. We sat visiting and then we were off again. He had made reservations for Medieval Times, a jousting reenactment. When we arrived, we were given our crowns and escorted to take a picture with the king (who I still say has a heavy metal band somewhere – just has that “look” to him). We waited an hour watching the events, then were escorted inside. Toby had gotten some kind of package deal, so we sat in the front row. We each received a picture from the opening, a DVD of the performance and a commemorative booklet. It was very fun and the food was great. Among the entertainment were a falconer, several horse trainers, and the aforementioned jousting/fighting. Our knight (as is usual for me) was out in the first round, but of course the prince and good knight triumphed in the end. Afterwards, Aly and I made the rounds for the signatures of the knights. Most were very pleasant and we commented on our having a good time. The blue knight, our last signature, did give Aly a hard time and was seriously flirting with her. I told her afterwards that he was cute, as were all the knights. She began commenting on how she’d like to work at this kind of place. Oi!
The next day we sat around with Toby and Betty and talked for awhile before heading out. Toby took us to see Aly’s paternal grandfather. He was very surprised to see her and was very happy. We talked for a bit, and then Toby, Mike and Aly wandered off. I was left with Joe and his wife, both of which are very kind. He kept commenting on how good it was to see her and how he never thought he’d meet her. He also said he’d been getting on Toby’s case about it recently and hoped that helped. I’m sure it did, but I think Toby was also ready to meet Aly. Joe also seems great on twisting the truth, as Jim and Mike do, so I saw him apply his craft on some of his “grandkids,” two girls in the neighborhood. When the others returned, we picked up Betty and went to Shogun, a Ginsu style restaurant. I hadn’t been to one in years. The show was great, with the exceptions of the rich rednecks, who had spent all day at “the lake.” It reminded me of the Californians who visit our area and visit “the river.” They had seemed friendly at first, but then it was apparent they were drunk. They shouted across the restaurant to their friends from “the lake” and was rude to our chef. They also doused their food in buckets of sauce and refused parts of the meal (guess who was sitting right next to them?!) They had disappeared outside for a moment, and while we thought they had jumped their check, no such luck. They returned, but didn’t say too long (the man didn’t want the “sherbet” and made a show of how he was going next door for “vanilla” ice cream, and how his truck was faster that his girl’s porche!) Once gone, it was quiet and the food was very good (without sauce, btw).
We spent the night with Toby again. At about 4am, we woke and said our goodbyes and left again to meet with Aunt Carolyn. We were supposed to meet with her the previous evening, but called and stated Aly needed more time with her dad, which Carolyn understood; however, we still felt guilty for breaking our dinner date with her. We knew we had left a few things behind, but once arriving, along with the earrings and book, we found our car keys (what luck we decided to stop!). We visited for about an hour, plenty of time for our flight, and left for the airport. We got caught for a bit in Atlanta travel and also got lost with our off-main car company. I made a few decisions along the way that probably helped us make the flight. One was at the car rental, we were waiting for another couple, and I said we had a flight to catch, so we left without the husband, who would catch the next shuttle. I also found an incredibly short line at security, and we made it through relatively quickly. While Mike said we weren’t the last to board (more on that in a minute), we left fairly quickly after boarding the plane and one wrong misstep, we’d have missed our flight. We made to Phoenix (I watched episodes of Bones throughout the flight), picked up our car and made it back on World War Z.
Luggage and our trip were quite an experience. We each had one carry-on and one personal item, but it seemed we were always in the wrong spot in line. On the flight out, we were told there was room for our carry-ons in the back, but once we arrived, there was no room, so we had to try to get back to the front compartments with all the people boarding. On the return trip it was worse. We boarded, and there was no room, so they began checking bags about 5 people after us in line. Once we boarded, there was no room for our bags. Not wanting a repeat of the “excuse me” plight of our incoming flight, I ushered all of us (mostly our group, but one or two others) to the back of the plane, let everyone else get settled, then check our bags and sit down. It worked well, but we were still a bit miffed that so many people had non-airline compliant carry-ons that we had to check our bags.
We went to Georgia for one reason, Jim's wedding, and also found another great reason to go, meeting Aly's dad again.
Our trip began with a long drive, as we chose a flight from Phoenix instead of Las Vegas due to our tight budget (gas and meals figured in). So we left at 6am on our drive. We began listening to World War Z, a zombie novel told from the point of view of those who survived. I heard the first few chapters before falling asleep. With only one stop in Wikiup, we made it to the airport and found out our plane would be late. With some time to spare, Mike and I ate some Sbarro pizza, but it didn’t agree with Mike as his slice was underdone (this is a national chain, and usually it’s really good). We went to a bar and each ordered a drink. His beer seemed to settle his stomach, but my $10 margarita (not even top shelf!) made my stomach sour and to not do that again.
We had a very uneventful flight to Georgia (thankfully!) and was on a flight long enough to watch a film! It was Bride Wars, and while cute, it seemed to grate on my nerves at points. It did keep my mind off of being in the air for two hours, so that's a bonus as I seem to not enjoy flying as much as I used to. In fact, I'm surprised I was awake after taking the Dramamine. For the remainder of the hour, I listened to The Music Man (which Aly and I had seen recently in Las Vegas) and was actually able to figure out all the lyrics on the opening song. It was the original stage version of the play with Robert Preston, the only Music Man.
Arriving in Georgia, we picked up our rental car, and drove to his Aunt Carolyn’s place. She was very happy to see us as was Jim. We were a bit late due to our flight, but she had a delicious chicken casserole for us.
The next day entailed some shopping (Aly’s present from Aunt Carolyn – two summer dresses of Aly’s choice) and I found a dress as well as a few scarves, one of which matched the dress I planned to wear to the wedding (same dress as I wore for Aly’s grad as well). Aly chose two short, cute dresses that were her style. One was low cut, but with the scarf she had, she wrapped it around her under the dress and it looked so much better! She wore this one to the wedding the next day. On our shopping trip we also searched for pink flamingos (inside joke – I’m not sure what) but we never found them. Instead we bought mass amounts of bubbles and a poster board for Aly to decorate. We then went shopping for several kinds of fruit for kebabs.
That afternoon we went to Sherry’s place and met her family, all of whom were friendly and fun. I quickly joined the “porch people” out on the deck and we talked for hours. Upon returning home, we realized that we still had to do the fruit kebabs. Carolyn wasn’t back yet and Jim complaining, so I roused the troops (Mike and Andy) and began cutting – get this – One whole watermelon, 3 cantaloupes, 2 honeydew, and 2 pineapples. That’s a lot! It took us over an hour and we finally went to bed after midnight.
The next day, Mike and I were ready for the wedding early, but others were not. Aly was getting ready, as was Aunt Carolyn, and we waited for her neighbor, Connie. We were supposed to leave at 8am, but didn’t get out until after 9am. We were on the way, driving much slower than we wanted, not sure we’d make the wedding. About halfway through the trip, Aunt Carolyn pulled into a McDonalds to get her breakfast. Mike was incensed! I was flabbergasted! We are already running late and you’re getting breakfast! We continued to follow her after her brief respite and made it to the ceremony as everyone was gathering on the porch; in fact, the pre-ceremony music was already playing. Luckily we had made it.
The ceremony was simple and lovely in its simplicity. Jim and Sherry were dressed nicely, but not formally. One of the daughters sang songs throughout the ceremony. They exchanged vows and kissed. After the ceremony, we were posed in groups for various pictures, only two of which involved us (If I get copies I’ll get them to all). One of the cutest was Sherry’s mother with her great grandchildren. Yes, four generations were present, very cool! After the ceremony, we continued the pleasantries of the previous day. Aly made her poster and we surreptitiously placed it in Jim’s truck (again, I hope to get a photo). Many of the family saw it, but we left before the newlyweds, so I don’t know their reaction.
We then headed to Buford to meet with Toby again. He had reservations for a place, but only Aly had a clue where we were going at the time. We sat visiting and then we were off again. He had made reservations for Medieval Times, a jousting reenactment. When we arrived, we were given our crowns and escorted to take a picture with the king (who I still say has a heavy metal band somewhere – just has that “look” to him). We waited an hour watching the events, then were escorted inside. Toby had gotten some kind of package deal, so we sat in the front row. We each received a picture from the opening, a DVD of the performance and a commemorative booklet. It was very fun and the food was great. Among the entertainment were a falconer, several horse trainers, and the aforementioned jousting/fighting. Our knight (as is usual for me) was out in the first round, but of course the prince and good knight triumphed in the end. Afterwards, Aly and I made the rounds for the signatures of the knights. Most were very pleasant and we commented on our having a good time. The blue knight, our last signature, did give Aly a hard time and was seriously flirting with her. I told her afterwards that he was cute, as were all the knights. She began commenting on how she’d like to work at this kind of place. Oi!
The next day we sat around with Toby and Betty and talked for awhile before heading out. Toby took us to see Aly’s paternal grandfather. He was very surprised to see her and was very happy. We talked for a bit, and then Toby, Mike and Aly wandered off. I was left with Joe and his wife, both of which are very kind. He kept commenting on how good it was to see her and how he never thought he’d meet her. He also said he’d been getting on Toby’s case about it recently and hoped that helped. I’m sure it did, but I think Toby was also ready to meet Aly. Joe also seems great on twisting the truth, as Jim and Mike do, so I saw him apply his craft on some of his “grandkids,” two girls in the neighborhood. When the others returned, we picked up Betty and went to Shogun, a Ginsu style restaurant. I hadn’t been to one in years. The show was great, with the exceptions of the rich rednecks, who had spent all day at “the lake.” It reminded me of the Californians who visit our area and visit “the river.” They had seemed friendly at first, but then it was apparent they were drunk. They shouted across the restaurant to their friends from “the lake” and was rude to our chef. They also doused their food in buckets of sauce and refused parts of the meal (guess who was sitting right next to them?!) They had disappeared outside for a moment, and while we thought they had jumped their check, no such luck. They returned, but didn’t say too long (the man didn’t want the “sherbet” and made a show of how he was going next door for “vanilla” ice cream, and how his truck was faster that his girl’s porche!) Once gone, it was quiet and the food was very good (without sauce, btw).
We spent the night with Toby again. At about 4am, we woke and said our goodbyes and left again to meet with Aunt Carolyn. We were supposed to meet with her the previous evening, but called and stated Aly needed more time with her dad, which Carolyn understood; however, we still felt guilty for breaking our dinner date with her. We knew we had left a few things behind, but once arriving, along with the earrings and book, we found our car keys (what luck we decided to stop!). We visited for about an hour, plenty of time for our flight, and left for the airport. We got caught for a bit in Atlanta travel and also got lost with our off-main car company. I made a few decisions along the way that probably helped us make the flight. One was at the car rental, we were waiting for another couple, and I said we had a flight to catch, so we left without the husband, who would catch the next shuttle. I also found an incredibly short line at security, and we made it through relatively quickly. While Mike said we weren’t the last to board (more on that in a minute), we left fairly quickly after boarding the plane and one wrong misstep, we’d have missed our flight. We made to Phoenix (I watched episodes of Bones throughout the flight), picked up our car and made it back on World War Z.
Luggage and our trip were quite an experience. We each had one carry-on and one personal item, but it seemed we were always in the wrong spot in line. On the flight out, we were told there was room for our carry-ons in the back, but once we arrived, there was no room, so we had to try to get back to the front compartments with all the people boarding. On the return trip it was worse. We boarded, and there was no room, so they began checking bags about 5 people after us in line. Once we boarded, there was no room for our bags. Not wanting a repeat of the “excuse me” plight of our incoming flight, I ushered all of us (mostly our group, but one or two others) to the back of the plane, let everyone else get settled, then check our bags and sit down. It worked well, but we were still a bit miffed that so many people had non-airline compliant carry-ons that we had to check our bags.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
shave and a haircut...two bits
I hate razors. I bought one that has been really good, or so I thought. I replaced the blade, which I've done before without problem, then began using it. I think the blades are off or something, because I got razor burn on both legs and under my arms. Ouch! I really didn't notice it too much until I put on some lotion. Double Ouch! I finally found some burn gel in the house, which helped a bit, and took a few Advil. I also had to buy a whole new razor, since my old one is discontinued. Man, they've gotten expensive! The replacement cartridges are between $12-20 for 8 of them. Eight! Shall we play a game of "when I was younger...." (I remember we used single blade razors *gasp* How did we ever survive the blood loss from those!)
We also got a haircuts last Friday. Aly actually asked for one, which is surprising as she hates getting her hair done. She still has relatively long hair, but it does look much better. The split ends are gone and her bangs are blended better. I chopped of a few inches again. I got my usual long layers and, on a whim, asked for a small set of bangs, which I haven't had in years. As she was cutting my hair, we discussed Colorado, as she was from there, but my mind was on what a mistake the bangs were. What had I done?! I asked Aly to get some superglue and perhaps we could piece my hair together again.
After the completion, I had to go buy some hairspray and pull out the hairdryer again, and even contemplated the dreaded curling iron. I played with it and found I could reasonably style it without too much trouble and without the curling iron. I went to school on Monday, and I'd say at least 30 of my students commented on how they love it and said it looked great. Other teachers and coworkers made the same kinds of comments. I guess the bangs weren't such a bad idea.
I'm also getting a new set of glasses this week. Hopefully they work better than the last set I received - I wore them for three weeks and I was never able to see well, so I went back to the set from 4 years ago. They also said they might be able to buff my contacts so I can wear them again, but this is not guaranteed. They're down to a $150 each...a little less painful, but still a major wound! Insurance would only cover $100 of that. Even my glasses cost extra because the prescription is too powerful. I end up paying an extra $25 for the lenses in addition to the cost of the frames. Man do I need to get LASIK! Save a lot of money in the long run.
I'll add some pictures when I get the new glasses.
We also got a haircuts last Friday. Aly actually asked for one, which is surprising as she hates getting her hair done. She still has relatively long hair, but it does look much better. The split ends are gone and her bangs are blended better. I chopped of a few inches again. I got my usual long layers and, on a whim, asked for a small set of bangs, which I haven't had in years. As she was cutting my hair, we discussed Colorado, as she was from there, but my mind was on what a mistake the bangs were. What had I done?! I asked Aly to get some superglue and perhaps we could piece my hair together again.
After the completion, I had to go buy some hairspray and pull out the hairdryer again, and even contemplated the dreaded curling iron. I played with it and found I could reasonably style it without too much trouble and without the curling iron. I went to school on Monday, and I'd say at least 30 of my students commented on how they love it and said it looked great. Other teachers and coworkers made the same kinds of comments. I guess the bangs weren't such a bad idea.
I'm also getting a new set of glasses this week. Hopefully they work better than the last set I received - I wore them for three weeks and I was never able to see well, so I went back to the set from 4 years ago. They also said they might be able to buff my contacts so I can wear them again, but this is not guaranteed. They're down to a $150 each...a little less painful, but still a major wound! Insurance would only cover $100 of that. Even my glasses cost extra because the prescription is too powerful. I end up paying an extra $25 for the lenses in addition to the cost of the frames. Man do I need to get LASIK! Save a lot of money in the long run.
I'll add some pictures when I get the new glasses.
Monday, March 16, 2009
the bigger they are...
Yes, I am very talented and apparently 37 years is not enough practice, and if you've seen an early video of me walking, I have/had a unique style.
While at the Riverside on the riverwalk, I was goofing around with Mike walking back to pick up Aly. Trying to smack him on the butt, I knocked myself off balance and went down hard. Face-first. I now have many scratches and contusions including my right cheek, (so alarming close to my eye that I also got a shiner), road-rash on my right shoulder after ripping my shirt (it was lace and not much protection), bruising both legs and cutting my left knee up (but it didn't rip the pants?) and scratching my fingers. I remember getting scratched up as a kid, and man, this is nothing like that. Either that or I'm getting wussy in my thirties. Achy! And it's taken two days to get my glasses bent back into reasonable shape so I can use them. I hit so hard that it not only bent the frame, but popped out the lens. Am I good, or am I good. Everything 100%, even falling!
Good thing I'm not doing much this week so I can recover.
While at the Riverside on the riverwalk, I was goofing around with Mike walking back to pick up Aly. Trying to smack him on the butt, I knocked myself off balance and went down hard. Face-first. I now have many scratches and contusions including my right cheek, (so alarming close to my eye that I also got a shiner), road-rash on my right shoulder after ripping my shirt (it was lace and not much protection), bruising both legs and cutting my left knee up (but it didn't rip the pants?) and scratching my fingers. I remember getting scratched up as a kid, and man, this is nothing like that. Either that or I'm getting wussy in my thirties. Achy! And it's taken two days to get my glasses bent back into reasonable shape so I can use them. I hit so hard that it not only bent the frame, but popped out the lens. Am I good, or am I good. Everything 100%, even falling!
Good thing I'm not doing much this week so I can recover.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Young Life camp stories...
I was talking with Aly tonight and she wanted to go to a camp with some of her friends in March, which led me to telling some stories from Young Life camp. Two immediately popped to mind
1. We were settling into the cabin and decided to go as a group (counselors too) to the boys cabin to say "hi." Well, no one was there so we began snooping a bit in their things. One girl picked up a shirt from our guys and his underwear fell out of the shirt. Giggling ensued. We noticed the size on the tag...more giggling. So we decided to cut off the tag and keep it. Well, we then figured out a great way to meet guys was to ask for their underwear tags and we carried around scissors to help cut them off. A contest between the girls, now divided into teams, began and I think the other team won if memory serves corretly by collecting over 140 tags.
2. We were lead out to the field in our prospective teams. (Our team was Malibu and we seemed to be the hippie team, lead by our sponsors, as opposed to the other teams boisterous shouting and yelling. I think all the teams were named after beaches.) Anywho, we made it to the football field and it was divided into four sections and was wet (not sure if this was intentional, but it worked). Each team was given several bags of marshmallows. The goal of the contest was to keep all the marshmallows off your section of the field by throwing them onto another teams field. When the contest began, the field lights were turned out (I seem to remember strobe lights, but can't be sure) and we began throwing marshmallows, dry ones at first, but it got gooey and messy quite quickly. Many were smashed into opposing teams hair and such. It was so much fun, I can't remember who won.
1. We were settling into the cabin and decided to go as a group (counselors too) to the boys cabin to say "hi." Well, no one was there so we began snooping a bit in their things. One girl picked up a shirt from our guys and his underwear fell out of the shirt. Giggling ensued. We noticed the size on the tag...more giggling. So we decided to cut off the tag and keep it. Well, we then figured out a great way to meet guys was to ask for their underwear tags and we carried around scissors to help cut them off. A contest between the girls, now divided into teams, began and I think the other team won if memory serves corretly by collecting over 140 tags.
2. We were lead out to the field in our prospective teams. (Our team was Malibu and we seemed to be the hippie team, lead by our sponsors, as opposed to the other teams boisterous shouting and yelling. I think all the teams were named after beaches.) Anywho, we made it to the football field and it was divided into four sections and was wet (not sure if this was intentional, but it worked). Each team was given several bags of marshmallows. The goal of the contest was to keep all the marshmallows off your section of the field by throwing them onto another teams field. When the contest began, the field lights were turned out (I seem to remember strobe lights, but can't be sure) and we began throwing marshmallows, dry ones at first, but it got gooey and messy quite quickly. Many were smashed into opposing teams hair and such. It was so much fun, I can't remember who won.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Here's the bit: Start with the first letter of your first name, and have all answers start with that letter also.
1. What is your name: Heather
2. A four letter word:
3. A boy's name: Henry
4. A girl's name: Holly
5. An occupation: horticulturalist
6. A color: Heather :)
7. Something you wear: hi-tops
8. A food: habenero
9. Something found in the bathroom: hairspray
10. A place: Helsinki
11. A reason for being late: Held up in traffic
12. Something you shout: "Hell!"
13. A movie title: "Holes"
14. Something you drink: Hot tea/coffee
15. A musical group: Hotel Tokio (per Aly)
16. An animal: Hell-cat
17. A street name: Havana
18. A type of car: Hyundai
19. A song title: "Hotel California"
20. A verb: hefted
and Aly's too lazy to post on her page so...
1. What is your name: Aly
2. A four letter word: Anon
3. A boy's name: Alex
4. A girl's name: Alix
5. An occupation: Anthropologist
6. A color: Auburn
7. Something you wear: A ring
8. A food: Apple
9. Something found in the bathroom: Almay [make-up]
10. A place: Atlantis =D
11. A reason for being late: Awoke way too late
12. Something you shout: "'Ayo!"
13. A movie title: "Attonement"
14. Something you drink: Apple juice
15. A musical group: All-American Rejects
16. An animal: DrAnteater
17. A street name: Arapahoe RD
18. A type of car: Altima
19. A song title: "Alleluia" [Bach motet IV]
20. A verb: Alight
1. What is your name: Heather
2. A four letter word:
3. A boy's name: Henry
4. A girl's name: Holly
5. An occupation: horticulturalist
6. A color: Heather :)
7. Something you wear: hi-tops
8. A food: habenero
9. Something found in the bathroom: hairspray
10. A place: Helsinki
11. A reason for being late: Held up in traffic
12. Something you shout: "Hell!"
13. A movie title: "Holes"
14. Something you drink: Hot tea/coffee
15. A musical group: Hotel Tokio (per Aly)
16. An animal: Hell-cat
17. A street name: Havana
18. A type of car: Hyundai
19. A song title: "Hotel California"
20. A verb: hefted
and Aly's too lazy to post on her page so...
1. What is your name: Aly
2. A four letter word: Anon
3. A boy's name: Alex
4. A girl's name: Alix
5. An occupation: Anthropologist
6. A color: Auburn
7. Something you wear: A ring
8. A food: Apple
9. Something found in the bathroom: Almay [make-up]
10. A place: Atlantis =D
11. A reason for being late: Awoke way too late
12. Something you shout: "'Ayo!"
13. A movie title: "Attonement"
14. Something you drink: Apple juice
15. A musical group: All-American Rejects
16. An animal: DrAnteater
17. A street name: Arapahoe RD
18. A type of car: Altima
19. A song title: "Alleluia" [Bach motet IV]
20. A verb: Alight
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Back from Flagstaff...
Yesterday we (Aly, Mike and I) went to Flagstaff for her regionals for choir. The bus was packed and Mike and I had to share a seat (Those seats are a lot smaller than I remember!) for the three hours there and back. We had to be at the school at 545am and returned at 1130pm. What a long day. We didn't get to see Aly do her performances, as we were watching the kids' stuff; however, at the end of the day, we all crammed in a small room and watched the ensemble choirs perform. They were outstanding. I really enjoy when the judge "critiques" them as she always explains, very pleasantly, how they can improve their performances. She has them do some drills, or re-sing it (gearing her comments to all the kids, not just the ones performing) and then has them re-perform the selected area to show the improvement. Very fun to listen to.
At one point on the return trip, Mike and I were talking about sharing a blanket to make the trip more "enjoyable", but, lo and behold, two students from the other school beat us to the punch. Now these two students were quite friendly on the way up to Flagstaff, and now they'd be on a darkened bus. We quickly informed the mother, who was also a chaperone, and the blanket was removed. Awww!
So today, we are recovering from the cramped quarters of the trip and lack of sleep. I think I'm going to grade some, but I just recently posted grades, so I can leave some for later this week and watch the Superbowl and play my new game (bought with a gift card). It has some really fun games, but the best is the namesake “Pirate game show”. There are three bonus games: first is “Crows Nest Bonus” in which you try to make your way to the mast and earn money by choosing pirates chests; if you choose one with money you climb, but choosing the wrong chest ends the game. Second is the “Poop deck” which you play a game like Let’s Make a Deal, so you can “deal” or choose a new curtain. Third is “Walk-y the Plank-y” which is extra spins, which you earn any winnings; you might also get a skull and crossbones which brings your character closet to the end of the plank. When you reach the end and fall off, the bonus game ends. Two other fun games are one based off of King Kong and another that has bugs. Well off to the games…
At one point on the return trip, Mike and I were talking about sharing a blanket to make the trip more "enjoyable", but, lo and behold, two students from the other school beat us to the punch. Now these two students were quite friendly on the way up to Flagstaff, and now they'd be on a darkened bus. We quickly informed the mother, who was also a chaperone, and the blanket was removed. Awww!
So today, we are recovering from the cramped quarters of the trip and lack of sleep. I think I'm going to grade some, but I just recently posted grades, so I can leave some for later this week and watch the Superbowl and play my new game (bought with a gift card). It has some really fun games, but the best is the namesake “Pirate game show”. There are three bonus games: first is “Crows Nest Bonus” in which you try to make your way to the mast and earn money by choosing pirates chests; if you choose one with money you climb, but choosing the wrong chest ends the game. Second is the “Poop deck” which you play a game like Let’s Make a Deal, so you can “deal” or choose a new curtain. Third is “Walk-y the Plank-y” which is extra spins, which you earn any winnings; you might also get a skull and crossbones which brings your character closet to the end of the plank. When you reach the end and fall off, the bonus game ends. Two other fun games are one based off of King Kong and another that has bugs. Well off to the games…
Monday, January 19, 2009
I was going to post this on Friday, the day after the concert, but our internet was out over the weekend.
Aly and I saw the most amazing concert at her school on Thursday night. This Canadian group has been all over the world and has been on TV, and stopped, of all places, in Bullhead City as part of the "enrichment" series. He plays so fast, plays with the audience, and is just a delight to watch. Here's a brief video and his website
www.pavlo.net
All in all, just keeping busy and keeping up with grading and all. If you haven't heard, Mike did get the job here (cleaning medical tools for now at the hospital) and will be back in town the Wednesday after next (the 28th, I think).
Aly and I saw the most amazing concert at her school on Thursday night. This Canadian group has been all over the world and has been on TV, and stopped, of all places, in Bullhead City as part of the "enrichment" series. He plays so fast, plays with the audience, and is just a delight to watch. Here's a brief video and his website
www.pavlo.net
All in all, just keeping busy and keeping up with grading and all. If you haven't heard, Mike did get the job here (cleaning medical tools for now at the hospital) and will be back in town the Wednesday after next (the 28th, I think).
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
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