Western Dispatch

We are back home after our time out in Oregon. We are pretty wasted from our travel day today. Our flight was really early in the morning in Oregon, but at least it was a nonstop. The flight was actually hot, and there was this constant bathroom line for the last 2 hours of the flight which was weird. Then we lost our gate and had to sit on the runway for an additional hour (I did a grampa Simpson change into my short sleeved tshirt on the plane in my seat I was so friggin' hot). Oh the joys of NY area airports! We touched down at 2:30 and we did not drive out of long term parking until 4:30 (only to meet the traffic in Queens!). JFK is a pain in the arse. At least we did not get stuck in some random connection city. The terminal for Delta really gets me on edge. It is loud, crowded, and disorganized. You should have seen us wandering around trying to find departures on the way out. I have never been confused about such a thing before in an airport (except for the car return in Paris with the incorrect airport map).


We headed first to visit Pat, Lhes, and Shua. Shua was pretty excited when we got there and immediately was seeking playmates. It was cute. We ended up camping the night we arrived at Mirror Lake (near Mt. Hood). Shua was dancing with his flashlight, playing in the lake, and singing. The sky was clear and amazing. We spotted a ton of satellites and occasional shooting stars. We tested the echo across the lake which was OK since we were the only ones camping there! Lhes and Shua did well for their first backcountry excursion. The party was over in the morning since Shua did not feel good. Poor little guy. He kept saying he did not like camping! I think he is OK with camping again now. When we got back, we played Wii and found out how unfit we are on Wii fitness.

Summer Wrap Up

I have been busy trying to enjoy summer before it slips away. We have the last few weeks all booked up. Concerts the first few weekends followed by travel. We will be out of town the next 2 weekends when we are in Oregon.

We went to Newport and raced a tri on Saturday. There are hardly any Saturday races, and it was fun to get it over with so we could enjoy the rest of the weekend in Newport. I was not going to obsess over watching the Olympics on Saturday since we were out on the town, but we ended up ducking in a bar to watch swimming. Never in my life did I expect the bar to turn the music off, change all the TV to the relay, and cheer for a swimming team. I could not believe that everyone was into it so much. That will never happen again! The only wrinkle in our plan was that our timing leaving Newport was bad and we got stuck in a never ending traffic jam in Connecticut. We ended up playing the alphabet game (and license plate) which was challenge since there are not billboards along 95. The only signs were official highway signs most of the way. Mike's only complaint was that it was sort of a vision test so it was not fair for him! We managed to get further than I expected, but we suspended play when we reached high speeds to avoid accidents. We also celebrated somebody's birthday over the weekend.

Sia - Soon We'll Be Found (SXSW 2008)

We saw her this weekend at All Points West, and she was one of the most amazing singers I have seen live. I immediately downloaded her music. It is fun to find new music. I had listened to her on KCRW before, so we made sure that we did not miss her show.

Micheal Phelp's father

So, I am used to seeing all of the coverage of his mother all over NBC, so I wondered what is the deal with his dad? Don't you think he would come out for at least the Olympics? I figured he was alive since they did not do a somber "swimming for my dead dad" up close and personal piece. So I just dug in the internet, and he may be actually at the games (one website said so, but who knows what it was?). The consensus is that his parents divorced and he is not close to his dad. It is just weird to see his family mentioned over and over without one word about his father.

DCP

Here is the update: This scary picture is actually an IMPROVEMENT from last night. It actually got worse throughout the day despite all of the steriods and antihistamines. I looked it up further and my sources said the venom takes about 24-36 hours to fully hit you, so hopefully I am over the hump. I now assess my appearance as a demented cabbage patch doll. I am not treating again today so I keep my client caseload. Mike suggested that I get out today, but I do not want to cause a public disturbance.

The answer!

I actually look much worse today. The swelling spread across to my other eye, so I went to the Dr this AM for some meds.

Mike and I were enjoying a terrific bike ride at dusk. Then thwak! and something hit me in the eyebrow with immediate pain(I guess I must ride fast). Then I realized what hit me was still in my eyebrow stinging me. I popped my feet out of the pedals, whipped my glasses off, and finally had to pull out the buzzing insect (I do not know if it was a bee or wasp, but it hurt like hell when it hit my forehead). I was more upset about disrupting my bike ride and I thought I could keep going. Mike over-ruled me immediately and made me go to a 7-11 to buy ice for it right away. Needless to say I cancelled my entire day! I did not want all of my 18-24 month clients traumatized by me further!

Come play along!

A cash prize will be awarded to the individual who is able to guess why my face looks like this!

Iconic stone arch collapses in southern Utah park - Yahoo! News

Iconic stone arch collapses in southern Utah park - Yahoo! News

Olympic fever

Holy crap, that 400 free relay tonight was friggin' incredible! I am all amped up, and I need to go to sleep!

Tourist Trap

wcbstv.com - Tourists Trapped In Empire State Building Elevator
I just thought my headline was slightly better.

8-8-08

I am excited for the Olympics as usual. I am a junkie and I love watching the games (although I am sad that I do not have access to CBC, perhaps I can get it on the web). I am not an opening ceremonies lover though. I just like watching all of the sports that never get coverage (and of course seeing swimming on TV). I think a lot of them are cheaters.

I am planning on making Gazpacho this weekend. The farm market is abundant with good tomatoes, and I saw some at Whole Foods yesterday that got me thinking about it. I figured I could whip it up at a fraction of the price, and it is good for summer. Hopefully it works out well.

We are going to All Points West festival on Saturday. That should be an experience. They are acting all eco, so you have to take light rail from Jersey or the ferry from Manhattan, so logistics should be interesting for us. The location for the ferry in Manhattan is not the easiest for us, but parking in Jersey City may also be a challenge. I am psyched to see Radiohead.

thewinger.com » Black Cherokee

thewinger.com » Black Cherokee
By the way, the video does not have "adult" material, so I do not know why they had you click OK.
There is this dude who is always right by the FDR drive. We have been seeing him as long as I have lived here. Last night we drove by his spot, and he was gone. He had all these signs up saying, "Google Otis Houston". So that I did and I learned some more about that dude we always see there. It appears that they are doing construction on his spot so maybe he got kicked out. It is like a small scale Tyree Guyton sort of thing I suppose.

2 down, 1 to go

Last night we saw the Police way out in Jersey. They sounded awesome, and there are not too many concerts that you go to that you really know all of the songs. It was disappointing only due to the fact that it is a Pine Knob like set up, but we could not see the stage at all (even getting to the venue on time). They allowed lawn chairs, and there were tons of people getting in later than we were that had to sit in the food court. It was even hard to see the big screens showing them. I have never been to a venue like that and not been able to see the stage from afar. It was still fun, and we got home at a reasonable hour.

Tonight we caught up with Ed, and he told us a lot of cool stories about Nairobi and his adventures. He is there until the end of next year, so who is up to go out and visit?

Happy Birthday J!

Wishing a very happy birthday to J who is 6!

Conflict averted

In March, I tried to sign up for a race we like nearby, and the entries sold out in less than 2 hours. I did write a bitter post here as I recall. I whined in an email, and they told me we were on the wait list. Well I got an email on Thurs AM that I was in, but they did not say if Mike was in or not. So, do I forge on without him? Thankfully I emailed back and they told me that I could register Mike as well, so now we can gear up together and finish holding hands! The only crappy thing is that the race is so friggin' expensive! At least it benefits charity, but I am sure I can not write it off. So now we have to get off our sorry arses and actually train this summer.

Tommorrow begins our social life. Of course nothing has been going on for weeks, but when it rains it pours. Sunday night we are seeing the Police with Anita, but it is way out in Sandy Hook, NJ. Monday we are getting together with Ed in the city. Tues we are meeting with Regina and Igor as well as Tracey, Marcello, and baby Stephanie. It never fails that all our plans fall at the same time.

Saw a good flick last night. It was a French thriller called, "Tell No One", and I give it a thumbs up. Catch it at an artsy fartsy screen near you!

Bear hunt under way in Harrison | lohud.com | The Journal News

Bear hunt under way in Harrison | lohud.com | The Journal News

Maybe they need a pic-a-nic basket! That is right up the road from us!