May '07 - Update

It's been a busy couple of weeks since my last blog, so I'll dive right in. Earlier this month, way back on Friday the 11th Sandy and I attended a special Padres game. PetCo gave Sandy's Department access to their Suite at the ballpark. She got tickets for herself, her dad and I. The game was great, and good times were had all 'round. The Padres won over the Cards 7-0 on Retro Night. It was a shutout game that included 11 strike-outs by Padres pitcher Jake Peavy (1st Padre to get 10+ Ks in 4 consecutive starts), a "Star" caliber catch by Giles, and 3 Padre HRs. About 2/3rds through the game, Sandy & her dad were able to sit in the PetCo Dugout section seats for a couple innings.

On Saturday, May 19, 2007 Sandy & I went to Kirt & Karen's daughter Sarah's 2nd Birthday Party. Steve, Fran, Karen's parents, and others were there. Sarah's actual b-day is March 2nd, but life gets in the way sometimes. Heh. Ladybugs were the theme, hence the red and black colors. Pizza, cake, & ice cream were eaten along with personalized M&M candies. Very posh. The kids played games and enjoyed frame making crafts and coloring. Also Kirt & Karen's new van was debuted.

Sandy & I purchased DLR 1Day Parkhoppers for Mom & Dad for Mother's & Father's Day. The announced closing of DLR's VMK Central on June 3rd prompted the early trip without Sandy (who wanted Mom & Dad to get their final Quests) on Dad's day off. So last Tuesday (05/22/07) we three went on up to Disneyland. We had a fantastic time completing the quests and trippin' the park. Some highlights included the Jedi Academy show (1st time I'd ever sat through the full thing, it's cute, and would be cuter still if I knew any of the kids in it), Billy Hill & the Hillbillies, got pictures with Jack Sparrow and I had a "Dreams event" when I was given a pair of Tinkerbell Dreams pins (that I gave to Mom & Dad, of course).

Thanks to Memorial Day I got a four day weekend. It was nice and relaxing. On Sunday (05/27/07) Amy, Sandy, & I went up to Disney's El Capitan Theatre on DLR Annual Passholder Day to see Pirates of the Caribbean III - At World's End. While waiting in line at the El Cap, I took pictures of the theatre and the cast of Pirates that were there to entertain the crowd. Once inside we had time to visit the Prop Room. Prior to the movie we were entertained by a restored 1920s Wurlitzer organ - Amazing! The theatre was decorated and lit to set a Piratey Mood. What a great movie! Lot's of fun, and full of fan-service in-jokes. Sure the story had some unneeded threads, but who cares?! It was a great ride. After El Cap, we cruised on down to DLR on the way home so Amy & Sandy could pick up their final VMK Quests. I scored a 2nd set myself, along with 4 cast-only lanyard pins. We took some time to ride a few rides, and got the VIP Gimp treatment since Amy was in a wheelchair due to her recent foot surgery. The highlight of which was going Up the Haunted Mansion's Stretching Room, watching all the pictures restore their subjects to life. Creepy. Thanks Amy!

I learned last week that my brother Jeff (still stationed in Germany) is being re-deployed to Iraq in August for fourteen months. That was muy no bueno news to be sure. On the upside, I found on Monday (05/28/07) that he and his family are coming here to visit in July! That was grand to hear!!

Finally, a couple links for you surfing pleasure. I had time this last weekend to process and post some pictures from last year including the 4th of July and Halloween '06. Shane posted pictures of his recent Galapagos Trip (Wow!). Lastly, here's a Lost Season 3 Recap that Sandy sent to me, funny stuff.

Retro Post - Ride the Tide

I first met Jodie's beau Harry when they came down to join us for a day at the San Diego County Fair, themed a watery Ride the Tide to Fun. Besides Jodie, Harry & Sammy there was Mom & Dad Lee, Amy, Mom & Dad, Sandy, Kirt, Karen, Trevor, & Sarah. A whole posse there to have a grand time eating food, riding rides, eating food, petting ameenals, eat food, looking at exhibits, eating food, etc.

SD County Fair Pix

This Week In Bob - Episode IV

On Saturday 06/03/06 I saw X-Men: The Last Stand (IMDb) with Sandy, Amy, and Dad. It was good. I didn't like it as much as the first two, there was just something lacking in the story and too many inconsistencies between certain scenes that bugged me, but over all I enjoyed it. I was happy to have seen it on the Big Screen and would pay to see it again. It's like those certain comic issues where not much happens to move along the plot, but there sure is a lot of action.

I would love for them to continue the series, but I doubt they will. Maybe we'll get a "New Mutants" type thing with Ice Man, Kitty, Colossus and the other "kids" from the school. And of course there's much buzz about a Wolverine movie. I sure hope it becomes a reality. I've always liked the Wolverine character and I think Hugh does a fantastic job at it.

Disneyland was the destination for Sunday 06/04/06. Mom, Dad, Amy, Sandy and I went up to the Happiest Place on Earth so the first three could be Born in the Park.

The New Borns completed all In Park Quests (with some help, hehe) and Sandy and I completed the High School Musical Quest. We got to ride many of the rides as it wasn't too busy. We tried to make up poses for the pictures. Here we are doing Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, and See No Evil on Space Mountain.

Another fun thing to do at Disneyland is posing with the characters. Here's a shot of myself with one of the rarely seen Face Characters, the Evil Queen from Snow White.

Early in the evening our party was joined by my Riversidian friends Shane and Kellie (yes, I know Kellie doesn't actually live in Riverside - HA). And we all got our picture taken with the Mouse Himself.

Not much else happened the rest of the week. Sandy and I had dinner at her parent's house on Wednesday. I played a ton of VMK throughout the week and on Friday I won a Space Mountain Guest Room in one of the Arcade Games. I was very happy about that. I was also a trading maniac and got lots of nifty stuff that way. I'm thrilled to see that the Newsletter is showing pictures of a Pirate Piano (Organ?) and Jack Sparrow costume. Oh, I can't wait! You can't either? Check out Disney's Pirates page.

I really need to make the time to do this on Mondays or Tuesdays, instead of telling about the previous weekend three or four days later on Thursday or Friday. Heh. This up coming Sunday the plan is to hit the San Diego County Fair which opens this weekend. Mmm Yummy food! HA! Until then, thanks for tuning in, and I'll catch ya next time. Happy Journeys!

This Week in Bob - Episode I

This is Episode I of This Week in Bob. Since I am often too busy and/or too lazy to blog every day, I will try to update about once a week from now on to keep you in the know about happenings in my life. In this first edition I'm going to go back a little further than 7 days to catch up with recent developments. I figure it's worth repeating, that Jeff's wife Steffi had their second child on Saturday 05/06/06. Colin Patrick Clemins was born at 7lbs, 7oz. and almost 21". Here my new nephew is pictured with his older brother Julian (who's just over 2 years old).

On Tuesday 05/07/06 Kirt and I went to Magic Mountain. We were there the whole day the park was open (10a-6p) and boy howdy did the Roller Coaster Gods Smile upon us! The park was empty. I swear there were more employees in the park than guests. We rode every open ride at least once, and most we rode several times. For example we rode Viper and Super Man three times each and Goliath was ridden eight times (pictured here on our fifth go)! The only down side to the day was that Déjà vu, Psyclone, and Revolution were closed.

But the highlight of the day was the new Tatsu roller coaster. It wasn't scheduled to open until Saturday 05/13/06, but they were filming a commercial the day we were there so we got to ride the new beast three times in a row. Wow, what an amazing ride! It is tied as my favorite all time ride with Goliath. It is a flying roller coaster and it's an amazing flight! I can't wait to go again!!

Saturday 05/13/06 morning Sandy, Amy, Ted, Riley, Xander, and I participated in the 12th Annual San Diego Humane Society and SPCA fundraiser Walk for Animals. I got $200 to support the cause - Thanks to all who sponsored me! It was a nice day and we saw many animals including hundreds of dogs, a few cats, a pair of miniature donkeys, and some snakes, lizards, and birds. A regular menagerie.

On Mother's Day (05/14/06) Sandy, Amy & I threw a Tea Party for our Dear ol' Mums. Sandy & I hosted it on our patio which we had spruced up for the event. We had decorated with flowers and fine china and so forth. We had finger sandwiches, fruit, cheese, scones, cookies, cakes, and little gift bags. And tea. Though no one drank any, heh, preferring-strawberry lemonade or Pepsi. The weather was warm and clear, but thanks to the umbrella loaned to us by Kirt & Karen, the hot sun was kept at bay. The over doted Ladies greatly enjoy themselves as you might imagine.

Thanks for tuning in, Happy Journeys!

General Blog Entry

The gang was supposed to go to Disneyland tomorrow, but that got cancelled. SoCal is in the midst of a big storm. And we San Diegians can't handle this strange wet stuff that falls from the sky. Maybe we'll go next weekend.

I've recently been in a creative mode and have been tinkering with my webpage. I've been trying to come up with a new color scheme. So far, no luck, but don't be surprised if you see some changes. Or not...

I've done some updates to Jeff's Page and finally bought him a domain name, jeffclemins.com.

Sandy, Amy, and Mom & Dad have also recently been set up with domain names (charleyd2.com, aeris75.com, and danandpat.com respectively). I also finally bought fjiejo.com. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I'm sure I'll Spread the Word and Keep it Sacred. Heh. I'm hoping one other domain becomes available. It's currently in a "RedeptionPeriod." Maybe the previous owners will let it die?

I hope... I hope...

This year's river trips are planned and I'm quite excited about that. I'll be going on a two day trip with the Riversidians at the end of June, and a one day trip at the end of July with Sandy, Amy, Dad, Nol, and Chris. I can't wait!

Last weekend Sandy & I cruised on up to Riverside for an Oscar party Shane was hoasting complete with BBQ, fruit, cookies, chips, dips, whips... The usual. We had a great time and it was good to see my Northern Friends Shane, Kellie, Ron, and Jay, and to meet some new ones. Sandy won the "Who's Going To Win" Contest, beating out Shane on the final award for Best Picture. Good times. Good times.

Hello and Happy New Year!

New Year, New Blog! I'll start it off with an End of 2005 summary: I had a fine holiday season which began with our annual trip to Disneyland. Which was a great time, of course! Christmas Day was fun, Santa was quite good to me, and Sandy & I hosted brunch for our parents (and Amy). New Year's Eve was nice, spent the day with the Lees and Midnight was brought in quietly with Sandy and Ted.

Mom Rides Space Mountain!

Mom and I went to Disneyland today.

We actually drove up the last night. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe and checked out Downtown Disney. We stayed at a local hotel and were there for the park opening this morning, something Mom had never done.

Mom rode Space Mountain for the first time in her life! We spent the whole day there, ate at the Blue Bayou (right on the water's edge), rode every ride we wanted to, shopped around, and just had a splendid time!

Wisdom Teeth

On Friday May 13, 2005 I had oral surgery to remove all four of my wisdom teeth. The surgery started at about 1:30p and I was home by 4:30p. I was given nitrous-oxide by a nose mask, an IV injection that practically knocked me out (though, technically I wasn't completely put under), and full mouth/jaw nerve block via needle injection. They did it in that order and by the time the IV was in, I didn't feel or care about much else. I have only a vague (and in my opinion humorous) memory of the event:

During the procedure I remember becoming aware of a scrapping or scratching noise in my mouth. I began to lift my arm towards the nitrous mask hearing a voice say something to the affect of "Ah, here comes the inevitable nose itch" and they removed the mask presumably to let me scratch my nose. What I actually wanted was for them to up the dosage, and after some hand movements and assorted grunts (I couldn't talk - stuff was in my mouth), they got the message and returned the mask. My guess is that they acquiesced, because the next thing I remember I was lying in the car's passenger seat and Dad was driving me home.

I don't remember anything more coherent from the surgery. I have some odd images, but nothing I could describe, and nothing bad. I don't remember setting in the recovery chair, and I don't remember how I got in the car.

Dad got me home and helped me ice my mouth. I took a full dose of the Vicodin that had been prescribed to me days prior to the surgery. My jaw and tongue stayed numb and tingly until the next morning, and I slept most of the rest of Friday (though I did eat some Jell-O and pudding at various waking points). By Saturday morning I was feeling pretty well, and by the evening I felt pretty good and was taking only minimal doses of the pain-killers.

It's now Monday afternoon and I've been off the Vicodin for over 24 hours. My mouth doesn't feel perfect, there is still some tenderness where the teeth used to be, and I have to be careful not to get food caught back there, but it feels good all in all. I can actually feel relief. For the last year or so there has been pressure and irritation in the back of my mouth and in between my jaw. That's all gone!

I have a few more days of healing to go, and a follow-up appointment on the 24th. I have plenty of soup, Cream of Wheat, Jell-O, and pudding to eat. I'm feeling great and am happy to have finally done this! Thank you to Dr. Seul for the excellent work, and to my parents and Sandy for all of your help and support.

About my Weekend

On Saturday, Sandy and I saw the movie Garden State and tried a new place in El Cajon called Ali Baba's Family Restaurant. The movie was just ok. I thought it was well made (everyone was believable as who they were playing, etc.), but it was a downer movie and overall just ho-hum. Didn't really do it for me. Our lunch was great as the food at this Mediterranean eatery was yummy. I highly recommend it.

On Sunday I got together with Josh and Kirt. We three played Magic and then went to see the movie Hero. Kirt had bought some of his own cards and used them for the first time. It was also his first time playing a game with three people. The movie was great. I thought the martial arts were beautifully done and the store quite entertaining. The movie was reminiscent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, though a bit more artsy.

Yesterday I got a haircut and then hung out with my Mom. We went browsing at City Lights and then had lunch at Olive Garden.

Today's Site Update: Check out the new Bob & Sandy Photo Gallery.

Parents to Germany, Disneyland Loner

I took Mom & Dad to LAX early this morning. They're on their way to Germany to see Jeff, Steffi, and Julian. We got on the road at about 3:20a, arriving at the airport (after a breakfast stop) at around 6a. Their flight was scheduled for takeoff at 9:15a. It's a good thing we were there so early. The International Flights desk had just opened and we got in about third in line. By the time we got up to the desk the line stretched back over a hundred people!!! Whew! After getting their boarding pass and checking their luggage I left them at the security checkpoint on their way to the gate.

On the way home I went to the Disneyland Resort. Yup, to D-land all alone. I've never done that before and it was great! I got there as the park opened at 8a. I took the early morning time to look at some of the Main Street Shops while they were still empty. It was nice to have the stores to myself. Usually, they're so crowded! I learned about Mickey's All American Pin Festival. To play I had to answered seven Olympics-related questions on a card. I then took that card to various locations within the park, where they would check my answer (and if I didn't know, give hints until I got it right) and give me a stamp. At the final stop I got a free pin. :) Way cool!

I also experienced the joy of the Single Rider Line. Basically, as a single person you can go into the exit lane of most rides and skip the big line. You get put into any available seat on the ride. With Stand-by Line wait times between 30-60 mins I was able to ride California Screamin', the Maliboomer, and Mulholland Madness (each five times in a row) in about 90 mins. That was great fun! I also by-passed a 90 min wait for Splash Mountain and got on that in about 5 mins.

I stayed at the park for about 9 hours, and leaving at around 5p, got home at about 7:15p. A wonderfully long day indeed!