Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Cape Cod Kayaking
Mother (Not ours) - "One of those rocks could skip up and hit one of those kayakers in the head killing him and making him drown, then how would you feel?"
Child (Not us) - "Mom, I'm two with the arm strength of an kitten, and I don't know what drown means, so I mostly feel confused."
Mother (Not ours) - "And what if one of those rocks hit the kayaker in the eye and he was blinded for life?"
Child - (Not us) - "Uh... Once again, I must defer to Kitten Strength."
Mother - (Not Ours) - (muttering to self) - "Guilt, guilt. I must instill a healthy dose of childhood guilt."
A Roiling Sea of Humanity...
But eventually that died down and I my ears stopped bleeding from the Bansheenettes, and I was able to enjoy Kenny Chesney. I have to say that Kenny Chesney puts on a fantastic show. He played his hits and then had Uncle Kracker come back out and they did "When the Sun Goes Down" and "Drift Away". They also did some other great songs and even "Cheeseburger in Paradise." The last song they did was only with instruments but it was "Sweet Child of Mine" while Kenny signed autographs. All in all it was a good night and we had a great time with Jen and Beth. Here are some photos from the parking lot.
The girls: Allison, Beth & Jen |
Here's the crew tailgating before the concert |
Allison and I |
Allison's Boots |
Kenny Chesney
Books, Books, Books
Lamb
My supervisor just talked to me about my trip last week. Apparently the site thinks I just took off on Friday. Which is what I really wanted to do of course but is not what actually happened. However they are up in arms about the visit altogether. I am fortunate that the folks at work know what kind of specialist I am and how this is not reflective of me in any way.
Sorry about today's trivia. I can't imagine who would actually know some of those questions. They are so nitpicky. Tomorrow will be something better.
Boys Night Out
Back from the Cape
We had a BBQ today with Mom and Dad, Shelby, Tara, Erik, Renee, Grandma and Grandpa B., Grandpa Rick and Uncles Wayne and Roger and Aunt Cathy, and Sister Bernadette and Fr. Felix, and Jerry. It was nice to see everyone.
I spent most of the day on the beach reading "Lamb:The gospel according to Biff Christ's Childhood Pal." Yeah I was laughing out loud almost all day. I'm nearly finished. I need to finish quickly since Allison is anxious to read the book too.
Harold and Kumar go to White Castle...
I wasn't expecting much from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. The previews looked funny, but with most previews I figured that all the jokes were in the preview. I was wrong, this movie had so many jokes and punchlines I was laughing throughout the whole movie. Allison was right to not want to go with me because of my boisterous and embarrassing laugh. It was full force tonight baby.
The cameos in the movie were hilarious. Christopher Meloni from Law and Order SVU has one of the most funny and disturbing cameos in the whole movie. And of course Neil Patrick Harris as himself was pretty funny too.
I was planning to go see Tom Papa at Mohegan Sun tonight but I finished in NY early so I just came home. Now I'm back at the house and Comedy Central presents has Tom Papa. Go figure.
Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House
And then other people showed up... As Derek says, "This place would be great, except for the people." I was there all by myself and then a late aged couple came in and since I have the world's most fantastic luck they were seated right next to me. The couple, I'll call them Horace and Lenore and proceeded to let me know everything that was on the menu and the story about Ruth's Chris Steak House and how the name came about. I also had the pleasure of hearing how much everything cost and Horace's discovery that this restaurant was an a la carte one. Oh Horace and Lenore weren't talking to me they were just talking so loudly and complaining that it was like I was seated right at the table with them. Why can't people just sit down and shut up. Or try and keep their conversations to themselves.
I was also subjected to my other favorite pet peeve the open mouth chew. And since it is my favorite pet peeve I was able to hear with excellent clarity each chew of Lenore's open mouth as if her mouth was one inch from my ear. Which was the case yesterday while I taught some people from the hospital. Two women spent two hours straight talking and rapid fire gum chewing that sounded distinctly like hyena's tearing apart a wildebeest. And since we were huddled around the computer their open mouthed chewing was inches from my ears. By the end of the day I felt like I had been the test subject of a sadistic experiment on dissonant sensory stimulation overload.
Sharon Houston is miffed, I'm in New York
So I'm in White Plains for the week teaching reports to another specialist's hospital. There are quite a few other specialists down here working at various other hospitals that are part of the same group. But since my trip was last minute I'm off at a hotel by myself while everyone else is staying in the city. Not that it is a big deal but I'm bored out here. And for some reason this area is packed with dozens of highways and no matter which one you get off of you can't get back on to go the opposite direction. I spent most of yesterday afternoon "try-roading". And finally ended up finding a nice little pizza shop for dinner.
I'm almost finished reading "Chi Running" and have begun reading "The Time Machine".
Harry Potter News
I found a website for smilies and emoticons. This one makes me think of Pac Man driving KITT. Gotta love the 80's.The site is called Clicksmilies.com.
Garden State - Part 2
Deception Point
Comments are gone.
Busy Weekend.
Today we went to the MEDITECH picnic. It was rainy but still a very nice day. Lots of food, a little volunteering and I got to meet Frank's family, that was really nice. Allison and I had a good time at the picnic.
After the picnic we went to Jordan's Furniture to see Spiderman 2 in IMAX. Man, that was an awesome follow up to the original Spiderman that came out a couple of years ago. Spiderman is one of my favorite franchises. Seeing it in IMAX was the best way to see it, I'm glad I waited. If you haven't seen Spiderman 2 yet, go to Jordan's and see it. IMAX is the best way to experience this movie.
Pawapollooza
French Onion Soup
Neil lent me a book called Lamb : The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It is said to be a very funny book. I'll be posting a message about it once I finish reading it.
John Heffron won the Last Comic Standing 2, last night. I was sad to see Gary Gulman come in 3rd but I think John Heffron was the strongest performer and I am glad he won. John will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno this evening.
Trivia Challenge
I Met My ChemoBuddy!!
My Buddy is a woman with Breast Cancer who lives in York, PA. While we were in Harrisburg for Elise's wedding, we met with my buddy, Lisa, for breakfast. It was so wonderful to finally meet the person I have been writing to for the last nine months and hear that she is well, her most recent surgery returned positive results and she may be graduating from the ChemoAngels program soon!
She brought me a beautiful crystal cube with an Angel etched inside and thanked me for helping her through her treatment. It was so very sweet of her.
If you'd like to make a difference to Cancer Patients or Housebound/Nursing Home-Bound Elderly folks, please check out the ChemoAngels web page for more information.
Lisa and me after breakfast
Finally finished
Elise's Wedding
Friday night was the rehearsal followed by a very nice dinner at the Commissioned Officer's Club at the Naval Supply Activity in Mechanicsburg. It was a delicious dinner and a very nice evening. After dinner we went to the Elephant & Castle, a pub which was located in our hotel. We got to meet a lot of Elise's family from Maine and have a few Yuengling Drafts!
At 9:00 the next morning, the bridesmaids converged on City Looks to get all coiffed. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Leis, her sisters Mara and Amy and her friend Erika. (Charles' sister Deb was a bridesmaid, too, but did her own hair.) We went to Leis' house to finish getting ready and were off to the church to get in our dresses and have some photos taken.
The ceremony was beautiful. The bride was beautiful. The bridesmaids were beautiful... (he he) We took some pictures afterwards, then did some outdoor photos at the Country Club. Amy was quite the ham, posing for the camera!!
The reception was tons of fun!!! I danced a lot and visited a lot, too. Saying good-byes was the hard part (as always when I leave my SU friends) but I made it out of the Country Club with very few tears.
The pictures below tell the rest of the story!
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Buchanan |
Me and Leis' Brother Matt exiting the church |
Heading to the Reception in style |
The big Pose! |
Vicki, Emily, Jen and Erin |
Me and Erika |
Cutting the cake |
Me and Leisee |
Me and Drew dancing - Why do I look like I'm in pain? |
The SU/ZTA Crew: (back) Me, Leis & Vicki (front) Jen, Erin & Emily |
Sparky Caught the Bouquet |
Drew making a valiant Effort, but losing to Amy's date, Tom |
The garter just went on... |
Leis' dad & me in the Conga Line |
Justin & Vicki |
Me & Drew dancing - Good shot, Zach! |
Me & Jen |
Me & Ems |
(ZLAM! I love my little sister! ZLAM!) |
Me & Amy at the end of the evening |
Cabela's
My 3-Day Experience
Day 0 - We arrived at Topsfield Fairgrounds to watch the orientation video and Register. The video taught us our most important lesson of the 3-Day: Our motto, our mantra, our mission, our jingle (sing it to whatever tune you choose) - NO WHINING!!
After Registering Mom, Sherrie, T.R. and I went to the Hotel to check-in, relax in the pool and then went to dinner with Beth, Jen & Nate. It was a nice night, we were off to bed early... We had a 3:30 am wake up call so that we could make the 5:00 am bus to Opening Ceremonies!
Day 1 - We hit the road early and were all geared up for the Opening Ceremonies to start. They were touching and inspiring and with lots of cheering and enthusiasm, we hit the road. Sherrie, T.R. and I walked together, meeting lots of people. After Lunch some time, we met Laurie and Bonnie, who we stuck with for the rest of the weekend, in some way or another. Along the way we (and MANY other walkers) discovered Cherry Hill Creamery and stopped for some ice cream (I had Lime sorbet - YUM!) to cool off. What an nice treat on a hot afternoon! One mile from the finish was our cheering station for the afternoon. Dad and Drew and Harry were there to cheer us (and all the other walkers) on as we made our way to Camp. It was so wonderful to see them at the end of a long, hot day. After that we marched on to our one and only Camp at Beverly High School! We visited the Mess Tent and had dinner with Mom (Yeah!)
Day 2 - We got going later than we expeced, which made for a tough day - and the humidity and heat didn't help any. I had a tough time with my hip - and I managed to get some nasty blisters on the base of my heels, which made walking tough. I got them covered and protected, and slathered some Biofreeze on my hip and walked as much as I could. After seeing Dad, Drew, Harry, Steven, Elaine and Otis and visiting for a bit, TR and I forged on. I finally decided to skip the last 6 or so miles of the day so that I'd be able to walk Sunday. It was a tough decision to make, but I knew that it was worth it to cross the finish line on Sunday.
The sign I wore on my back over the weekend. |
Mom, Me and Sherrie after Sherrie & I crossed the finish line. |
Sherrie, Me & T.R. walking into Closing Ceremonies |
T.R. and me stretching our legs and getting the blood moving after Closing Ceremonies |
Drew, Me, Dad, Mom, Nate & Sarah |