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Showing posts with label Sandy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sandy. Show all posts

Sunday, June 3, 2007

DLR Pirate's Lair

Yesterday Shane, Kellie, Sandy & I went to DLR to check out the new Pirate's Lair attraction. John-George & Devon met us for half the day. We turned in our last VMK Quests (as DLR VMK Central closes for good today), and got to see the new Subs ("Resurfacing June 11") in action as Cast Members sneak a peak. The Pirate's Lair had neat effects and was lots of fun. They have integrated the Pirate's the Caribbean mythos with Tom Sawyer's Island and given Jack Sparrow a new home in Disneyland.

Click for Gallery

After the island, Shane and I ride the Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes. This was his first time ever on the boats. The evening closes with a Monorail trip out to Downtown Disney's ESPN Sport Zone for dinner to watch the Ducks in a Stanely Cup game. Not only was the restaurant busy for the game, but there was a prom going on. In fact, we only got seated "so quickly" (waited an hour) because someone left and gave us their buzzer. The name was Soap. Heh. Shane, Kellie, Sandy & I had a great time eating and chatting. It was good to shoot the bull with friends.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Star Wars author Karen Traviss

Jeff's favorite Star Wars author, Karen Traviss, was in town for a book signing. Jeff has chatted with Karen virtually over Yahoo and they've become a sort of friends. Since Jeff is off in Germany (and soon to be Iraq again), Sandy & I went down to get her latest book signed for him. The event took place at Mysterious Galaxy Books in San Diego. The staff at the bookstore were all very friendly and helpful, passing on well-wishes for me to give to my brother. The store was populated by fans and members of the 501st Legion.

Click for Gallery

Karen had a Q&A segment followed by the signing line-up. When it was our book's turn to get autographed, she happily remembered her Sgt. Clemins and was glad to meet him "by proxy," graciously posing for a couple personal pictures. She expressed her hope for his safe return from deployment and to one day meet Jeff over a pint.

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.

Click for Gallery

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.
Click for Gallery

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).
Click for Gallery

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!
Click for Gallery

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.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Red Vine Gone Wild

Sandy posted to her blog the other day the following:


Can't say I never shared anything educational

For those of you who might be curious about this kind of thing....

With the right amount of force, a Red Vine licorice WILL, in fact, leave a red welt on a person's thigh for about a day and a half.

No thanks are needed. I'm here to help.

Here's the picture of the welt that I left in her leg and the offending confectionary. I especially like the pattern left...



This presentation of When Candy Attacks has been brought to you by the letters O and W. And by the number 8.

Friday, April 27, 2007

New York Trip Blog

In July I will be taking a trip with Sandy to New York City, meeting Kirt & Karen (and family) in Cooperstown a few days later. I've started a blog:

http://nytrip07.blogspot.com/

Click the link on the left of that page - "About this Blog" - for more info.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Star Wars Exhibit

On Sunday (04/22/07) Amy, Tony, Michelle, Steve, Sandy & I drove up to the California ScienCenter in LA for the Star Wars - Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit.


Click for the full Gallery
Click for full Gallery

I'd never been to the ScienCenter, frankly I'd never even heard of the place, but a few months ago Sandy found out about this show and we all thought it would be fun. It sounded similar to the exposition Sandy & I saw back in '98 at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

This presentation was quite different. It wasn't near as big as the Smithsonian version and it had a lower "production value." But the Center made relations between modern technology and SW tech. For example, next to the medical droids was a display on real life cybernetics and implants. And next to the Land Speeder there was a display about mag-lev trains and other uses for magnetism. This included an interactive demonstration with magnets attached to Legos and a train track so you too could build your own bullet train. Unfortunately the Legos were all busted and/or missing.


Sandy & Land Speeder

All of the similar "hands-on" demos that I looked at were similar busted. The place was packed and I saw few, if any, staff to keep an eye on things... Plus this is near the end of the exhibit's run, so there you go, disappointing.

Still, I had a good time seeing the props and models. There was a Millennium Falcon cock-pit "simulator" that we sat in. It didn't move, but ran a mini-movie narrated by Anthony "C-3PO" Daniels and R2-D2 about the exploration of our solar system and galaxy. Movie was ok, but it was most nifty to sit in a replica Falcon pilot seat. We weren't supposed to take pictures inside, but I snuck one... Heh.


Inside the Falcon

There were a couple dozen people wandering around in various Stormtrooper and Rebel Pilot costumes. I don't think they were officially associated with the Center, but they appeared to be welcomed and given VIP status. Hmmm... Perhaps they were volunteers. I didn't think to ask. They were quite accomodating when asked for pictures.


Me, Rebel Pilots, & Sandy

After we'd had our fill of the SW Exhibit we found they had a Rose Garden outside. It was beautiful. We spent quite some time wandering around. And after Steve's story about how honey bees are disappearing it was pleasing to see them doing their jobs.


Minding their Bees-ness

The day finished with a stop on the way home in San Marcos at The Old Spaghetti Factory. I ate the usual (Manager's Favorite with Meat Sauce and "ala Homer"). A perfectly satisfying end to a fun day.


Monday, March 26, 2007

CJ's Blog, R2-D2, and Picasa.

First let me welcome CJ to the wonderful world of Blogging which you can visit here. Welcome CJ! At first I too felt pressure to supply regular content, now I do as my time/motivation allows and realize that it's all good. I'm happy you've found the same to be universal. Heh.

Speaking of the universe, 30 long years ago in a galaxy far far away, St. Lucas created Star Wars. The US Postal Service is honoring Star Wars with its own stamp series. USPS Jedi Master.com has the details. The promo features postal boxes decorated as R2-D2:

Click for full album.

Which brings me to Picasa. The above photo album is hosted there and you can check out my full gallery here. I've just started adding pictures and have only 11 albums online as of this writing (with many more to come, so check back often). I've found that Kellie has a gallery in which she shows off her new house. Go Kellie!

Unlike other photo hosting services that I've tried and/or seen others use - this one allows the viewer to download a full-sized/resolution photo entirely free and anonymously.

Again - You do not have to pay, sign up, or give any information to view or download the photos at the full rez uploaded by the author. To download a picture, go into the album, click on the picture and then click the "download" link on the right. I prefer to upload an "Optimized 1600" format of my pictures. These are at a high enough resolution to use for most wall papers and printouts and yet compact enough to be web friendly.

If you choose you can sign up, have your own free (or pay) account for posting and hosting photos, you can buy prints, etc. But this is all optional. Let me know your gallery link so I can add you to my favorites as I did with Kellie.

Besides the service there is a Picasa program that you can install on your computer to get all sorts of nifty features. For starters, when looking at an album you can download all the pictures, instead of each picture individually.

The program will organize, edit, and generally process the photo collection on your PC. It has caption editing, search screens, red eye removal, printing and blogging features, etc. I'm still learning how best to use it and working the bugs out. Some things I like, others I don't like, but overall I'm glad to have it. The red eye fix for instance can be picky on what it will and won't clean up. Some eyes are done perfectly. Others, not so much. And then there are the "original" poops. The program backs up a copy of the pre-edited photo in a hidden folder. This is nice if you ever want to go back to the original version, but once you're sure you want that red eye gone you have to go in and manually clear this bloat out of the way. There are some other "features" that seem quirky that I'm still working out, perhaps I'll write a full review someday.

Thursday, November 2, 2006

Retro Post - DLR Halloween Time, Treat, & VMK

On Halloween Sandy & I stayed in the Red Roof Inn in Anaheim, a Friend of Disney. This was our VMK Stitch Travel Package stay and the first year that Disneyland has truly decorated DLR during "HalloweenTime" including a special DCA event: Disney's Halloween Treat. At the event Sandy & I met some VMK friends, Pumpkin, Little Pumpkin, & Zooks. Sandy & I came back to the park yesterday for Goofy's Kitchen to find the Halloween theme gone and Christmas decorations fast in place.

Click for Gallery

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Retro Post - One Boat, One Day Rafting

Just as August last year, Dad, Sandy, Amy, & I drove up to the Lower Kern on Friday 07/28/06, stopping in Riverside at the Spagetti Factory. We stayed the night in Ridgecrest traveling the remaining distance to the River yesterday (Saturday 07/29/06) morning. But this year we met Nol and Chris at Frandy Park. The six of us went down the Lower Kern on the 1-Day Big Water Run. This was Nol & Chris' first rafting trip, my fifth.

Click for Gallery

Sunday, June 11, 2006

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

Friday, June 9, 2006

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.

Mom, Dad, and Amy being 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.

Where's See No Evil?

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.

Who's More Wicked than Me?

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.

The whole posse hanging out with Mickey!

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!

Thursday, May 25, 2006

This Week in Bob - Episode II

On Friday 05/19/06 I went to Best Buy and purchased a new digital camera. This is *my* first digital camera (any other that I've used was either Sandy's or one from another friend or family member). I bought a Sony DSC-T9. I also bought a 2GB Pro memory card and a spare battery. Awesome camera! I can't believe how small it is (as pictured). It's smaller than a deck of cards! Besides some practice shots, I used it extensively at Disneyland on Sunday and it produced some lovely pictures.

For scale, here is my new Sony DSC-T9 camera, a deck of cards and a shiny new quarter.

Saturday 05/20/06 was a nice and relaxing day. I enjoyed some time futzing around on my computer while I waited for someone to come and fix our toilet (it had stopped working Friday night - all fixed now). I added The Cars, OMD, Dead Can Dance, and most of my Enya to my iTunes Library. Oh, but wait, I haven't talked about this in TWiB yet. I have over 800 CDs and I am working to rip the songs from those CDs and put in them on my PC and iBob. I am keeping a spreadsheet that includes the number CDs remaining and so forth. Right now I am at 30.5 omplete. Still a long way to go. At some point I'll put a list of my Library online for all to view and envy over. LOL

In the evening I hung out over at Kirt's house. We chatted and shot the bull. Ate Cold Stone ice cream. Played Trivial Pursuit, heads up. And we both sucked. We know nothing.

I also got an e-mail from CJ about this site. Had me laughing my ass off! CJ if you're watching, here's a Shout-Out to you!

As mentioned above, on Sunday 05/21/06 Sandy and I went to Disneyland. The day was cloudy and cool and the park was busy, but only in a medium way - not so crowded really. Sandy joined VMK and I won a couple of rounds of an impromptu VMK Scavenger Hunt. She completed the Tomorrowland and 50th Anniversary Quests (which I did when born back in April with Shane and Kellie) and we both did the Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Frontierland Quests. We got mucho codes!

With the upcoming Pirate movie not too far off, DLR is loaded with all sorts of new merchandise. There were lots of new pirate pins, including several with Goofy which made me happy! Here you can see Sandy and I sporting in our new Pirate Mickey Ears. Very spiffy, these new ears, complete with hoop earring and red scarf. I can't wait for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride to reopen!

Cute Couple Sports Pirate Mickey Ears

And speaking of new rides, there is a new feature in the Haunted Mansion. It's still mostly the same old great ride, but they've completely renovated the attic scene. The new Bride is amazing! You'll have to see it for yourself!

On Monday 05/22/06 I received an e-mail from my brother with another picture of him and Colin:

My Brother and Nephew

Tuesday 05/23/06 was a lazy day. I played VMK, of course. I also I updated and added some content to my VMK page including some useful codes. Sandy added a cute story on Ted's Website. Yes, my dog has a website. - sigh - - LOL

Last night (Wednesday 05/24/06) Sandy and I went out with Amy, Michelle and Chris to PF Chang's. It was a good time, food was ok (I'm not really into Chinese, but when it comes to Chinese, Chang's is very good), company was better. This was the first time I'd ever really hung out with Amy's friend Chris. He's a cool guy!

Michelle, Amy, Chris, & Sandy

One last little tid-bit, check out this Superman Returns Trailer. The end shot especially is so Money! Thanks for tuning in, see you next week! Until then, Happy Journeys!

Thursday, May 18, 2006

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).

My Nephews!

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.

Fly baby fly!

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!!

Tatsu Page

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.

The Walkers

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.

And Bob was there too.

Thanks for tuning in, Happy Journeys!

Friday, March 10, 2006

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.

Sunday, January 1, 2006

Hello and Happy New Year!

Mom, Sandy, Dad, Santa, Amy, Bob, & Mom Lee at Disneyland

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.

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Retro Post - One Day Rafting

For Father's Day '05 and Amy's 30th B-Day Sandy & I took Dad & Amy river rafting with Whitewater Voyages on the Lower Kern River's 1-Day Big Water Run. We drove up to stay the night in Ridgecrest Friday evening, stopping at the Riverside Spagetti Factory for dinner. Yesterday morning we continued on to Kernsville and took our trip down river. This was Dad & Amy's first rafting trip. Coincidentally our guide was Rob (the same Sandy & I had just a few months earlier). It was a fantastic trip!

Click for Gallery

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Lower Kern Rafting

Sandy & I went rafting over the last two days (06/13/05 - 06/14/05) with White Water Voyages on the Lower Kern. We went with a large group of friends as you can see if you click on the picture. We had an awesome time! When I get more pictures, I'll post them.

Update - Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Pictures now available here.

Monday, May 16, 2005

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.

Saturday, September 25, 2004

Retro Post - Disneyland for Amy's Birthday

Amy, Michelle, Sandy & I go to the Disneyland Resort to celebrate Amy's 29th Birthday.

Click for Album
Amy's B-Day at
Disneyland

Monday, September 13, 2004

New Employer: National Stores - Fallas Paredes

I started my first day of work for Fallas Paredes (the company that purchased my former employer Factory 2-U). I am working at my old desk in the same building as before, though I am no longer responsible to answer the F2U Helpdesk Line, nor to handle any of their Support. During the next 30-90 days I'll be working to facilitate the merging of the two companies. No details have been figured out, yet. So for the next few days, at least, I've got nothing to do but show up and get paid. When "They" decide on a plan of action, I'll be here to Make It Happen. Of course, then I expect it to get quite busy.

And once the transition is complete, and Fallas fully takes over, I'll be back in charge of their POS Helpdesk and working out of their new Support Center which will exist down in Otay Mesa.

Larry started work today too, in the same capacity as myself. Sandy and Amy are still employed with F2U, and it's still uncertain for how long.