Archive for June, 2005
4/25/05 4:00PM:
OK, everyone, I have a plan.Sometime soon, like maybe in a couple months, at the start of summer, I’d like to host a big picnic at a park somewhere, for all my new blogging friends. It will be a fun day of getting to know in person all the people we blog with daily. At this point, this is basically kind of a general idea, but just off the top of my head, I was thinking that I would provide all the hot dogs, hamburgers, condiments and what-not, and then I would ask everyone attending to bring a food or drink item as well.
If there is enough interest, I will take on the task of coordinating everything with all the guests, securing a place, arranging games and activities for everyone, and everything else. I just need to know that enough people will be interested in attending to make it worthwhile. I future-dated this post so it stays at the top of this site for a while, but this isn’t necessarily the planned picnic date.
Please leave a comment if you think you might like to attend, and be sure to pass the info along to anyone else who might be interested that may not otherwise visit here regularly. If you don’t want to leave a comment, you can email me from the link on the left. Also, feel free to link to this post (http://www.igetsomad.com/?p=85) from your own blog or website. Seriously, spread the word, your friends are my friends!
4/25/05 9:10PM Update:
It just wouldn’t be the same without the loved ones, husbands, wives, S.O.s, kids, etc., so bring ‘em along!
4/26/05 7:10PM Update:
Clarification: If there is enough interest, I will be reserving a picnic spot at a public park somewhere in the Portland, Oregon area. I’ll try to get one with some sort of barbecue contraption, plenty of tables, and maybe a covered eating area. I’m still looking into all the options, so at this point, I don’t know specifically where it will be (any suggestions?)
June 30th, 2005
We attended Lexi’s Mini Olympics gymastics event today. Of course, I had the camera with me, and took a bunch of shots. Unfortunately, it was a pretty big auditorium, so the flash wasn’t effective at all. Pictures taken with the flash on are way too dark, and very grainy after using Photoshop to lighten them up. When I turned the flash off, the camera’s exposure time is lengthened enough to let in plenty of light, but that made them blurry from the gymnasts’ motion. Oh well, take a look at the pictures anyway. They’re in the Photo Gallery.
June 25th, 2005
Go here and here to see what this is all about.
1) You have unlimited funds to buy Kathy ONE gift. What do you buy her and how do you present it to her?
I’m going to veer off the reality highway and rush headlong into the realm of make-believe. I would go back in time and give Kathy a proper marriage proposal. Allow me to explain why: I proposed to Kathy over the phone. No engagement ring, no tearful soul-baring on bended knee, no man-to-man talk asking for her father’s permission; nothing but a “Hey, would ya marry me?” She deserves so much more than that.
In my defense, I was only 16 years old, and didn’t know any better. Yes, 16. Kathy and I have been going out since we were 16. We were married at 19, and our first child was born when we were 21. That’s how we can be about to celebrate our 17th anniversary, have a son who drives and will be a sophomore in high school, and still be just 36 years old.
But if I knew then what I know now, I would have made sure to do it right, and I’ve regretted it ever since I knew enough to know that I should be regretting it.
2) Tell us a secret….
I once ate an entire 1/2 gallon carton of Breyer’s Cookies and Cream ice cream (the original, not that newfangled stuff with Oreos) in one sitting.
3) You’ve just laid the deed to your house on the black jack table. You’ve been dealt a seven and a five; the dealer has a nine showing. Do you take a hit? Tell us your thought process.
Take a hit? I didn’t even inhale. Drugs are bad, mm’kay? Now pass the Doritos, I got the munchies reeeal bad.
Seriously, I’m not a gambler, I don’t know anything about playing the odds in blackjack. I guess I’d take another card and hope for the best, and whatever happens, happens. If I lost the house, I guess I’d be pretty ticked, but I’d do what I’ve done in the past: Start over. One thing I’ve learned over the years is no matter how bad the situation is, you can always start over, especially when it comes to something as insignificant as money. The things that are really important can’t be lost in a card game.
Quick example: When Billy and Matt were babies, I was working three jobs (yes, three) to support us, and Kathy had broken her ankle and so she couldn’t walk or even take care of the boys. I had to drive them down to L.A. to stay with her mom while she healed for several months (driving straight through and back in one week-end with no sleep, ’cause I couldn’t take any time off), and I wasn’t able to even talk to them for several weeks since our phone had been shutoff. I even missed seeing Matt take his first steps. At the time, I felt like a complete and total failure, and pretty much worthless. Now, 13 or so years wiser, I realize that a person’s worth isn’t measured by how much money they make, or where they live, or how many letters are after their name on their business card (or if it says “trainee” on the nametag on their uniform.)
4) It’s all up to you; does the United States re-instate the draft or instate a mandatory two-year military commitment from everyone over eighteen? You must choose one, and state why.
Whoa, tough one. My dad was in the Army when I was tiny (I was actually born in a military hospital on an Army base in what used to be West Germany.) His service was up and we moved back to the States when I was about two. I have no recollection of any of his service, so I’ve never considered myself the son of a military man. My brothers and I have never served either.
Billy and Matt have occasionally mentioned that they might like to join the military when they get out of high school, to help with education, serve their country, gain experience, etc. Not much serious talk of that recently, however.
As much as I may disagree with idea of forcibly inducting some people into the armed forces, I guess I am even more strongly against a mandatory stint in the military for all adults. That just seems more un-American.
5) Why do you get so mad?
Stupidity makes me mad.
People can be ignorant, and people can be stupid. Ignorance is not bad. All of us are ignorant of most things. If something goes wrong with my car, for example, I can’t fix it for the life of me. I’m ignorant of the knowledge needed to make it start working. That’s OK, because I don’t really have a desire to learn it, it’s not worth my time, and I’m fine with paying someone else to fix it who does have that knowledge.
However, if I keep driving when I notice the “check engine” light come on instead of taking it to a mechanic, and my engine explodes, I’m not being ignorant, I’m being stupid.
OK, so I’m supposed to extend the invitation to be interviewed by me to the first five people who request it. However, seeing that it took almost three days just to post my answers to RM’s questions, I probably won’t get around to coming up with five interesting questions for five different people within our lifetime. So… I’m going to extend this invitation to just two people. I know, I’m probably going to suffer a terrible accident for “breaking the chain” or something, but I’m willing to risk it. Any takers?
June 23rd, 2005
And I don’t mean incredible in a good way.
As you read in my previous post, Kathy was hospitalized last Sunday the 12th with a severe asthma attack. It was also the last week of school for the kids. They go to three different schools, at three different times in the morning, and get home at three different times in the afternoon. Needless to say, I was busy feeding them and shuttling them around, plus taking care of the two cats and six dogs (oops, I mean five dogs… more on that in a moment.) Between all this, I made sure I was at Kathy’s side at the hospital as much as possible, and that the kids got to visit her at least once each day.
The first few nights, I sit with Lexi as she cries herself to sleep because she misses mommy, and she knows that mommy won’t be there to wake her up in the morning. I explain that I will be there in mommy’s place each morning this week. This does not make her stop crying, which makes me feel even worse. At least she likes the breakfast I make for her.
Some friends from church brought me and the kids dinner on Wednesday, which was a wonderful relief. I didn’t have to cook anything, and we didn’t have to go out for fast food. Again.
Then comes Thursday. I get the kids off to school, the adult dogs are brought in from the backyard, the two puppy’s kennel is cleaned, and I notice that the smaller of the two puppies (the apricot colored one) is barely able to stand on his own. I put him by himself so he can eat as much as he wants before his brother pigs out, but he barely touches any food, and doesn’t seem to want to drink any water either. His eyes are closed, and his hair is starting to fall out (poodles don’t have fur that sheds, they have hair that continues to grow, just like people.) I go to the hospital to have lunch with Kathy again, then rush to make it back home before I have to pick up Lexi at school, not knowing that her school let out an hour early on that last day. When I get home, she is already home and is having a snack; she had walked herself home. It is only 1/2 mile or so, but she is only seven, and has never walked it alone. She is mad at me for not being there waiting for her. I feel like a monster.
Billy has already arrived home, and is giving the apricot puppy a bath because he stinks. We think it is because he has been wetting himself, but we will soon find out otherwise. Billy, Lexi and I take the puppy to the vet. He is 11 weeks old, and weighs only 1 pound 1 ounce. His temperature is ten degrees below normal. He is skinny and dehydrated, and he still stinks. Since the other two dogs from the litter are fine (one was sold a few weeks ago, and the other is active, and weighs almost twice as much), the doctor thinks this one has some sort of congenital liver and kidney problem that is not uncommon in small breeds. When the organs start failing, the body in effect starts secreting through the pores the toxins that are normally filtered through the kidneys. Basically, the puppy is sweating urine, and he is dying. I pay the doctor $25 for the office visit, $35 for euthenasia, and $1.12 for the cremation, based on the weight. Lexi is hysterical, wants me and the doctor to make the puppy healthy, and is mad at me because we can’t just take the puppy back home. She cries again for hours.
Kathy slowly got better towards the end of the week, and she came home yesterday morning. She was in the same tiny room for the entire seven days, leaving only to be wheeled to the X-ray lab a few times, and to walk around the nurses station the last couple days when she started getting better. She was going crazy being cooped up. Most of the nurses were great, but one of them was straight out of school, literally (this was her first nursing job, and she had been employed at the hospital for just two weeks.) Kathy had to actually tell her how to administer one of the medications into her I.V. (”NO! WAIT! You have to flush the line first! FLUSH THE LINE! Then you can inject it!”) She is now on twelve different prescriptions, at a grand total of $185 out of pocket. I shudder to think how much all of this would have cost if I didn’t have good health insurance.
I missed work every day last week, but everyone at the office was really great about everything. I have a bunch of forms I have to turn in to HR, some of which I had the doctor fill out, and I can charge the 40 hours against my sick leave. I went back to work today. Duirng the week I was out, I guess I kinda forgot how completely swamped my department is. By the time I left today at 4:00, I actually had more things outstanding than when I first got there at 7:00.
Still, just about anything’s going to better than last week.
June 20th, 2005
Update: Click here for the latest on the Blogger picnic!
Well, it looks like we are going to have to reschedule. Most people who I wanted to attend have other things going on that day, plus the weather looks like it is not going to cooperate on Saturday, anyway.
The biggest reason I need to postpone it, however, is personal. Kathy has been in the hospital since Sunday afternoon. She has had asthma all her life, and she is in the middle of the worst asthma attack she has ever had. So far, she is not getting better, and even with oxygen tubes in her nose, she is not getting enough oxygen in her blood. We’re not sure at this point when she is coming home. Even if she got well enough to be off the oxygen and was discharged today, none of us are in a very picnic-y mood right now.
I’ll try to post some updates as soon as we know more. In the mean time, we sure could use everyone’s thoughts and prayers right about now. Feel free to leave comments here, and I’ll pass them along to Kathy.
June 15th, 2005
We did it. The kids and I finally convinced Kathy to try sushi, so we all went out for dinner tonight. She liked it OK, but mostly stayed with the mainstream stuff: California rolls, shrimp, fried bean curd rolls (like little won tons). I got even more adventurous than last time, and I tried octopus, raw salmon, and eel (Unagi). I actually left the restaurant full, and people who really know me know that it’s not easy to fill me up.
June 9th, 2005
Mark your calendars for June 18th!
Here are directions to Raleigh Park:
Take Hwy 26 West
Take the Sylvan exit, #71B
Turn left on SW Scholls Ferry Rd at the top of the exit
Stay on Scholls Ferry for about 1 1/2 miles
Turn right on SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy
Stay on Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy for about 1/2 mile
Turn right on SW 78th Av.
The park is about 1/2 mile down, just past the library.
Link to the park on Google maps
The park has an outdoor public pool, which I’m told will be open on that day from 1:00-3:00, and from 3:30-5:00. The cost is $4.50 for kids and $6.00 for adults, so bring your suits if you think you may want go in for a dip.
Plan to show up at about noon or so. I have the picnic tables reserved until 6:00, so we pretty much have all day to goof around. I have at least one fun activity planned for everyone, and I may try to get creative and plan more. I also have goodies for all the kids, and prizes for the activity winners.
I will be supplying hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, condiments, plates, cups, napkins, and utensils, as well as the barbecue stuff (like briquets and starter fluid, etc.) I would really appreciate everyone’s help with the rest of the picnic-type stuff. Here’s a list of what I was thinking:
- Potato salad
- Chips and dips
- Watermelon
- Drinks (soda, juices, bottled water, whatever)
- Anything else you desire (Gardenburgers, chicken, brats)
Please leave a comment here to indicate what you can bring (like a high-tech sign-up sheet), and also to confirm once more who is going to be able to come. I understand that we’ve lost Tabitha to a prior engagement 
, but hopefully we’ll still have a good turnout.
June 9th, 2005
The headline of this story caught my eye.
This guy is a genius.
I wanted this story’s reporter to get to the heart of the story; mainly, why was the woman drinking out of the bathtub?
June 7th, 2005
Matt and I made a trek to Grocery Outlet recently.
As always, I had the cell phone camera ready.
As always, I found weird food to photo.
As always, I’m going to share those photos with you.
Here is the first. It is some sort of high-fiber breakfast cereal called “Good Friends”. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that this product’s target audience is old people. What makes this weird is something that the marketing people decided not only needed to be noted, but had to be featured prominently on the front of the box, with a bright yellow attention-drawing swoosh underneath it. Click the picture to see a close-up:
Yummy.
June 1st, 2005
