EMBARASSING

Ok, so heres my "Im a dumbass" embarassing story of the day. Or you could also call it the "Gee, I sure think highly of myself" story of the day.

Im driving up to Dayton tonight to go out to dinner for dad and gpas birthday to Clancy's Tavern. Misti Calls.

Misti and I played rugby together and her husband plays for the wolfhounds who are playing in San Diego next weekend. (read more at www.wolfhoundsrfc.com )

Anyhoo, she's going out to SD, so is Stacy (Casey plays for the hounds too) and a few other kelts. Its really a huge deal and Im jealous they get to go....so exciting!

So anyway, Misti calls.

Shes all, "Hey Fort, can you email me a picture of your face?"

"Um ok, sure. I can do it tomorrow.... why?"

She says, "Im going to take you to San Diego"

Now, before I go any further, let me just say that ive dedicated the last two alumni weekends to toting Dave Learys head around on a stick and posing him with all sorts of fun things at alumni weekends. The absentee head on a stick is totally like, my thing. I really should have put two and two together.

sooooo, why did I REALLY think that she was telling me she was going to take me to San Diego???

I really dont know why, but all the sudden these thoughts started going through my head...."Oh man! Did they win the lottery or something?....Do they have an extra ticket??? I cant let them do that!!! I coudlnt possibly leave John here all weekend! Thats so not fair!! We're going to be at the lake that weekend!! Oh, thats just much too much....

So, then im all, "Misti, we're going to be at the lake that weekend, I cant go to San Diego! Thats our vacation week"

And she's all, "Um, I was just going to put your face on a stick for some pictures"

Oh.

Seriously, I just started laughling to myself, Im blaming it on chemo brain, I dont know what the hell I was thinking. I was quite embarassed, but I am still excited about the idea of getting some in absentia photos of me in SD for the weekend.

I can only imagine what must have been going through Misti's head...."um, yeah, Fort. We're gonna fly you to San Diego. You know how much Tony wants us BOTH there."

oh geez....>red face<

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD & GRANDPA!!!
MAY 31st - See you Tonight!

Just in case anyone was wondering....this is what they've got me on now:

http://www.cancerbackup.org.uk/Treatments/Chemotherapy/Combinationregimen/Gemcitabinecisplatin

The treatments are longer than what Ive had in the past (Three hours) and Ive always pushed for friday morning treatments.....and it looks like im stuck with Tuesday afternoons. The chemo room just isnt jumpin like it is on Fridays, but its still three hours of watching tv so I cant complain.

Of all the side effects, Im primarily just suffering from low white counts. Other than that I just need to stay hydrated. Ive had some itchy skin and a hint of nausea but other than that im still feeling fine!

Just looking to get back into the swing of things at work. I feel like Ive been gone a week!

Happy Wednesday All!

Relaxing weekend at Norris Lake

Look at these cute little things. I would have thought for sure that these two would squirm in these restrictive jackets, but they did just the opposite. The jackets and the boat ride had them passed out for alot of the time. Im just going to give you the vacation slide show. I can only write so much about sitting, and boating, and eating, and sitting, and eating........

The A-Frame (Front)- The Schnieber family was nice enough to let us use the house for the weekend. Thanks!
The A-Frame (Back)
Inside looking out:
The towel matched the suit, so Stacy and I went all Olan-Mills on her:

Hottest bunch of married broads on the water:

Alisa's husband David's friends were down at Norris lake too. We spent Saturday here, and no, thats NOT a hotel:
More "I-cant-believe-we-just-hung-out-here" shots upon our departure. (Alisa and I had just 20 minutes before, been swimming off their dock, watching countless boat after boat slow down to see this, and the other monstrosities that dwarfed the hillside. I thought about how they must be looking at us, wondering WHERE we got all that money and I told Alisa, "Its not what you have, its what people THINK you have." What a great day of pretending to be butt-ass loaded.)

Ok, these two are just adorable.

Stacy, Emma and Casey walking back to the A-Frame. Thats the neighbors house behind them. If you know them, dont tell them we used their dock all weekend. Talk about a waste of a great lake house!

Look what psychos all wore their OU rugby alumni shirts on the same night! (Stacy 06- Alisa 07, Me- 05)
The Men:
Well, thats it for the slide show- I cant believe I go back for more chemo TOMORROW. One week has seriously flown by. Im feeling ok, I may need some of this anti-nausea medication this time around. I never get sick like that but my body was just feeling sort of icky all weekend, and it aint gonna get better anytime soon!

I thought the nervous anticipation of this post should be loosened up a bit. I took this picture just up the street where they're doing construction on Winton road. Hilarious.

Since this past Friday, things have just keep getting crazier in my life. Three big things pretty much occupying every waking second of my life when Im not at work....

Last Friday they put my grandma, Marie into Hospice. She hasnt been doing well for the last few months. Having trouble eating, and loosing a lot of weight. She was surrounded by family all weekend and died Sunday evening. I was in Athens for most of the weekend for Rugby Alumni but was able to see her Sunday evening when I got home which was nice, although I have to be honest, I did feel guilty for leaving all weekend, but I really hated seeing her in that condition. I think everyone did. There are few things more awful to see than an elderly person without their teeth, mouth wide open and completely out of it. She just looked miserable and im relieved that she's out of pain and playing with JP.
Of course Friday I had my blood work and PET scan so maybe thats why I just felt like I needed to get out and have some fun. I knew the results werent going to be good. Ive had pretty bad hip/bone pain for the last three weeks or so even though I kind of knew it would be bad, once Monday rolled around, Ill admit it. I was really scared.

Dr Romers nurse called me Monday (which was really early - I was thinking it would be Tuesday or Wednesday) my Tumor Marker went up from like 87 to 127 (which, keep in mind, is still half as low as it was a year ago) but as for the PET scan.....ouch. Not too good at all. A lot of bone progression....hips, femur, spine, shoulders, etc. But the good news is that there was no involvement in the kidneys, spleen, liver, lungs, brain. He also said that sometimes the cancer will make a home in the bones and not leave for a long time. It likes a good bone apparently. Who doesnt?

So anyway....I say to make me an appt ASAP - the following day. Tuesday at 1020a. Im there. I decided Sunday that in light of grandmother passing, I wouldnt say anything to my mom about this until next week, after the funeral. I told some friends, and Angie begged to let her go with me, "because someone needs to listen to the doctor" and "Someone needs to write things down"....blah blah blah. Shes right. Everyone knows Im about as attentive as a 2nd grade t-baller in left field when I go to these appointments. but I told her I wanted to go it alone.

Then I talked to my mom.

"Did you get the results back yet?"

"No, I told you, I think It will be Wednesday"

"Are you lying?" My mom doesnt have to make angry accusations when she thinks im lying. She knows that all she has to do is ask and Ill come clean.

"ok, they called. I have an appointment tomorrow at 1020"

She asked why I didnt tell her and I told her I just didnt want to upset her, especially this week. She said she's been making herself sick waiting for Wednesday and she would have been more pissed if I hadnt said anything at all...and lets face it, I cant lie, and Im glad I told her.

I called ang and she said she wanted to go....I was on the fence until she offered to pick me up and take me. I cant pass up an offer like that with the gas prices the way they are!!!
So she picked me up around 930 and we met mom at Romers where we got the news. They said they could fit me in at 1p for chemo and so we went out for lunch and I came back. Mom and Ang ran some errands and I got started.

Of course the chemo nurses were all great - Joni and I got back into our usual, inappropriate treatment room conversations and behavior:
This is what I look at during treatment:
And this is my IV pole - AYE CARUMBA!!! More bags than ever! Is it wrong that I was looking at everyone elses IV pole and making sure that I had more bags of chemo than everyone else? Always the competitor:
Actually, I think a few of those were saline. One of my drugs burns when it goes in, so they add some saline to dilute it a little bit, but it still burned.

Sadly, though, I was again approached about this "Situation" about my ovaries. As many of you DONT know, my period did in fact come back a few months ago. My "Secret plan" was to try and get pregnant and if it happened, THEN we would deal with it.

But with all of this going on, Romer brought it up again. He told me wanted to have them removed and add another chemo...but they had to be gone. He asked me how I felt about it and I just sat there. Becaused If I talked, I would cry, and I have this "thing" about crying in front of my mom....or anyone else for that matter.

So he took the reins again and explained that this was the only way we could really "Throw the whole kitchen sink at this thing" and lets face it, pregnancy hormones would be like dumping gasoline on the match of my cancer. So I discussed it with John and I think thats what we're going to do. I mean, we just need to get back in that whole "rah-rah foster care" mentality and I think we'll be fine.

We didnt take the classes in the fall because he was coaching rugby, now Im coaching volleyball, so after the season is over we'll revisit it. No biggie.

After chemo was finally over around 4p, we all headed over to see Shrek at "The Greene" in Beavercreek/Kettering. What the hell! Has anyone been to this place? I asked my dad who the mayor was of The Greene. I mean, you have to see this place, its rediculous. Or dont go. A lot of snobby, expensive stores that I couldnt shop in if i wanted to.

Shrek the Third was good, although I think the second one is my favorite. I was excited because I heard Amy Sedaris was going to be one of the voices of the princesses, and I couldnt even tell which one she was!!! I was expecting it to be the voice of Jerri Blank from Strangers but it was unrecognizable. Oh well.

Then we headed over to Adobe Gilas for dinner and a few drinks. I had 2 margaritas but I had to keep chugging the water. One of the chemos im on is a real killer on the kidneys - ive got to drink TWO 2-liters of water a day to keep it properly flushed at all times.

You know whats funny? I always bitched and moaned that chemo NEVER made me loose ANY weight....and whadda ya know, now Ive got to chug water all day so Ill probably start losing weight because of that.>rolling eyes

Ok - now what you've all been waiting for...the Rugby Alumni recap.

First of all, this weekend was made most exciting my Stacy's find: Rooms available at Bromley Hall. For those of you not famillar to Athens, Bromley hall is an old hotel that has been turned into an upperclassman dorm. Apparently theres a block of rooms, 6 or so, that can be booked for alumni if the university hasnt put guests in there first.

This was a huge score and we could not stop talking about it before or during alumni weekend. Statements like, "Hey, can you belive we're staying in Bromley?" or comments to others at the party, "Hey, did we tell you we're staying in Bromley?"

I guess this is such a huge deal because at this point, we have no friends that still live in town and close to the bars. Amy is 15 min out and Bacon got deported. So we were screwed. We did have a hotel but it meant taking cabs, which isnt THAT big of a deal but NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING compares to the joy of a short walk back to a bed with clean sheets. I mean....NOTHING.

As Stetson reminded me in the Gift Shop: "I mean, Fort. Its Bromley......LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION"

We got in Friday night and made our way to the Cats Eye of course, and saw some famillar faces. Jon Watts, Simmons, Matt Hess, Richie Ohms and a gaggle of ruggers from the 70's who started showing up a few years ago. The crowd was thinned considerably due to Leary being in Iraq, Casey staying home because of the National Tournament in CA in a few weeks, and THREE count em, THREE idiot alumni who planned their weddings on Alumni Weekend....i mean.....WHAT in GODS NAME WERE YOU THINKING! Im so over it.

We had a great time...and like I explained to Kristen, I just want to sit at the same bar, drinking the same coors pounders, with the same people, making fun of the same people, telling the same stories, over and over and over again.

Friday night we also got another surprise - the after party was going to be at 24 MONTROSE.....next door to 28 Montrose, the best rugby party house ever! Stacy, Jami and I all lived there our Junior year. This house was great. Just standing by it made Stacy and I so excited she could hardly contain her self......(thats 28 Montrose behind us)

Saturday we headed to the pitch. I brought my cleats but didnt play because my legs were a little sore, and I didnt think we'd even end up playing....although Stacy, Alisa and Kristen all played - heres some footage of the pitch after the womens game followed by post game interviews of the girls:

I would have to admit that the highlight of the afternoon was our friend Lytle discussing his new obsession with ripping phone books. Its a long story about how he got into it, and unless you've met this guy, you have no idea how delivery affects a story. Although some of his finer points of ripping phonebooks cant be repeated...theres just no way to explain how funny it was. I wish I could. Of couse upon arrival at the afterparty, someone provided him with a catalog of some sort - still a minor feat, although not a Columbus sized phonebook - and he begrudingly went to work on it. Thats my husband John standing next to him, clearly amused:

The highlight of the evening though, was getting to see 28 Montrose again. We stood outside at the party and I kept poking Stacy...

"Hey! Lets go knock on the door and get a tour!"

"Im not NEARLY drunk enough yet"

I thought that was a lame answer, but I waited patiently. About 8 beers later, I approached her again, and she caved. I grabbed her by the arm and speed walked to the front door. There were no lights on so it didnt look good.

Stacy jiggled the handle, knocked on the door. No answer. One shoulder pop by stacy and we were in. Im not one for breaking and entering, but it was 28 for Christ's sake! Stacy yelled,

"Foooort......STAAAACCCYYY" Partly to wake up anyone inside, partly as a cover that we were looking at friends, and partly to just amuse me since she was hollering for people who hadnt lived there in EIGHT YEARS.....and we were those people.

Definitely men living there. We walked up stairs. My old door was locked, stacys wasnt. We walked in, looked around, stacy went to the bathroom and we ran out. I left the light on and everyone told me to go turn it off. About a half hour later, the lights were back on, and I grabbed stacy by the arm and told her we were "Going back in!"

We jumped back onto the porch only to see some girl passed out on the couch. We waited a while and finally saw some dude walk by. We knocked. He answered.

"Hey!" we said, "we used to live here!...mind if we have a look around?"

The guy is like, "Yeah sure! Help yourself! I dont live here though."
Upon further investigation, we found out that this guy was from Manhattan visiting a friend, and this house was his brothers friends cousins brothers house or something.

But we were still "Cool to look around" .....super.

Then a young man skipped down the stairs, about 10 minutes out of the tanning bed. He happily obliged in giving us a tour of the rooms that werent locked, we busted into stacys old room and took this picture:
What was funny is that the kid who actually lived in that room was there, lying in bed, talking on the phone, as we loudly chatted with mystery 28 montrose man about "old times"...Im sure he wanted us to get the hell out, but of course, it felt like we were letting THEM into OUR place. It really did.

Heres some more random party pics: Below- A game called "Spoons" Ive already typed too much....let me just give you this piece of advice: If someone asks you to play spoons, say "NO".

Me, Carl, Andy, Aaron & Stacy:


Random Party Fun:


Wine Cooler Chugs:

Our rugby alumni shirts for the past three years always say on the front: "Back to the Cats Eye"......but what could just as easily say, is "Back to Souflakis". Many of you know I worked for Souflakis for a few years while I was in Athens. Hazem started running the place right around the time I quit and when I worked there, we did not get along!! at all! I dont know when everything changed, but we're good buddies now. And going to Athens and NOT going into Souflakis is NOT ALLOWED!

Nothing washes down a night load of draft beer like a Beef & Lamb Gyro or a Grilled Chicken pita with spicy fries and (for stacy) an Egg Roll. Stacy talks about Souflaki Egg Rolls as if they were a fine delicacy that should be reviewed in Bon Appitit. For Real. So good!!

Heres me with Hazem and his wife Faryel. Good people! Miss you guys!

Jami- these pictures are for you - check out JEFF HILL! its grassed! and look! Its the 28 montrose kitchen!!
Of course Dave Leary made his apperances from Iraq - looking forward to July when he's home for good!



Here are the alumni men expressing to Casey how much they miss him: (IF YOU HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN, TURN THIS DOWN!)

Hey all-
I apologize for not having the time to update you all, especially after my recent PET scan there are TONS of updates but its 6am and I just wanted to let you know I will get around to it TONIGHT!!!

For starters, my grandmother, Marie Rotert, died on Sunday evening. She was surrounded by her family at Hospice and is now relaxing with her son Steve and JP. The viewing is in Dayton Thurdsay night and the funeral is on Friday.

This past weekend was rugby alumni weekend and was a blast. I have a TON of pictures AND Video for you viewing pleasure, and some great stories as well.

And of course, my recent pet scan. They called me yesterday and the PET scan did not come back good. Much progression in the bones, however, the good news is that there has not been any spreading to the liver, spleen, lungs, brain, etc. He said that sometimes it just hangs out in the bones for a long time and doesnt leave. and they have drugs to fight the cancer and make the bones stronger so I said gimme what ya got.

My appt was at 1020 yesterday and they got me back in to the treatment room at 1p for a THREE HOUR chemo. Longest Ive ever had to sit in there. Alot of it was saline since one of the drugs burns while its going in and they have to dilute it.

Afterwards, mom,dad, angie and I went to see Shrek III. Not as good as II, but still funny. Then we headed over to Adobe Gilas for some dinner. and then on home.

Ill write more about the appointment and all the fun stuff that goes along with it tonight.

I have volleyball open gym till 6, and then we have to get EVERYTHING ready for the next six days, since we'll head straight up to Dayton after work tomorrow, be there for Friday, and then Friday afternoon head to the lake.

Ill write more tonight with LOTS of pictures (and hopefully I can get the videos up as well)

PLEASE HELP TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY!!!!
Ok, I know I have a new post below, but I have to get this out before I got to bed or Ill be thinking about it all night. I was reading that "uncle John's Bathroom Reader", and I read this interesting tid-bit. That the most popular Posthumous song was "Just Like Starting Over" by John Lennon.

Which reminded me that one of my pseudo-obsessions in college was to play the song if I saw that someone had the cd....because a friend in high school once told me that if you listen to the song, about halfway through, theres this strange voice that says "Late at night....you will be killed....Mark David"......(but it was released BEFORE He was killed by Mark David Chapman!!!)

It always freaks everybody out because it sounds so scary....so when I read that "fact" tonight, when I should have been sleeping...I came down to the computer to see if I could shed somelight on this mystery. (I didnt have google in college) And to my dismay, FOUND NOTHING ON THIS!!! For those of you older folk....is this just a hoax that was debunked long ago?

Can someone shed ANY LIGHT ON THIS??? Here, listen for yourself: at 3:45 into the song, you will hear a drum solo followed by a voice that says, "Late at night...you will be killed....mark david"....and then something else I cant figure out:

Love you MOM! Looking forward to Friday and seeing Shrek Three! Yee haw! :)

Tracy & Ross's Couples Shower!

Bone & Crystal hosted the party in Kettering...props to Ang & Co. for putting out a hell of a spread and plenty of beer, cornhole and fun that lasted from 3pm till literally the next day!
Here's Tracy and her sisters Shannon & Stephanie, or as I like to call them, "Three people who will make me look even fatter in this bridesmaid dress"...just kidding. I mean, they WILL make me look fat but im not hatin. I tried it on for the first time today and its cute...Ill live. I anticpate it being covered in beer by the end of the night anyway, as most of bridesmaid dresses are.

After it got late and the hard core partiers made their way into the garage for a game of "asshole". I pass on drinking games, as Im not that good at drinking games, I cant "chug" or do things like "waterfalls", and I like to think I drink at a nice steady clip with out a deck of cards dictating anything faster. Check it out! Bone and Crystal have made a fine home for the beer pong championship banner - plenty of face time with the community. Just as I had expected.

Wow! What an incredibly cute, obscenely close shot! Can you count our pores?

Awww....Me and the boyz....Bone, Jo-Jo getting fresh, Cunningham and Vince. Vince was my date for winter formal once in high school. I dont think he wanted to go and I recall sort manipulating the situation since all our friends were going with each other. And he was a hell of a sport, seeing as I wore a dress with skirt too short for most hookers and platform shoes that put me a good 3" taller than Vince. Good times, indeedy!! (I just tried to go and find the picture and couldnt. Ill keep looking...I think it might be at mom and dads..its worth lookign for)
around 11 we headed over to Taggarts, where the girls danced, and Ross and J-mac.....well....its nice to know they'll be keeping each other company for the rest of eternity. They're both excellent at holding down a table. (ok, ok, they DID get up and dance at some point..im being unfair)
Here's the lovely couple to be! Very cute guys. Thats Ross dancing by the way.

Ang was givin' the love to everyone, whether they liked it or not.
We've got a big weekend ahead. Rugby Alumni is just around the corner. On a crappier note, my Grandma Rotert is in the hospital and not doing well. Send your prayers and positive energy her way. It seems as though she drifts away a little more each time we see her so nobody knows if she's going to take a turn for the better or worse. I just want her to be comfortable.

I also have a PET scan and bloodwork on Friday. Im a little freaked out as ive had some pretty bad back and hip pain in the last two weeks that Im hoping is just due to all the painting, pulling carpet and tack strips, but im pretty realistic about all of this and Ive always kept an open mind about future battles. Im a smidge worried that if the pain is in the bones, I might find myself back in the treament room sooner than later. But again, Im not worrying about it because A) I dont have the results back from anything yet and B) Ive always responded well to all the chemo and Ive always known that a future battle would be inevitable, although I was sorta hoping itd be a few years down the road. Either way, im cool with whatever, you know I dont worry too much about this stuff anymore.

Everyone have a great weekend!

So, I started my Friday in an unusual way.....

I headed out to stake out a train of private cars that was heading from Cincinnati to Chattanooga. My boss always tells me about "foamers", people who foam at the mouth when ever a train comes. They stake out the on coming trains and take pictures and notes and we all laugh at the seemingly boring obsession....>shrug<.....Today....I officially went public as a "foamer":

I knew the train was coming over this bridge (below) and I thought about filming it from that spot below, but thought the close up was better.

TAKE ONE LAST LOOK at the BLUE ROOM, People....its GONE

I pulled the carpet, which was an annoying chore, only to find quite a bit of white paint smeared and dropped on the floor. I was worried that we were going to have to sand and refinish the floor, but I went to the hardware store and found this stuff in the small tin container....Goof Off I think it was....worked great! I think I got up about 90% of the paint....and got up ALL the big spots, so that was really all I was looking for....THANKS GOOF OFF!!! All done! Heading up to Dayton tomorrow for Tracy and Ross's couples shower and then hanging out with mom on Mothers day. Should be fun. Nick and Meredith are in Hawaii this week. He won the trip through work. Im not Jealous. Not one BIT.....

My Blog "To Do" List:

I actually pulled out a piece of paper today and wrote down five things I wanted to remember to write about today. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Aliens

2. Nose Breath

3. Not Hungry

4. Chocolate Malts

5. Blue Room

So, in no particular order....lets start with the obvious. The blue room is blue no more. It lasted all of a year and I finally had had enough. I think maybe the biggest thing I hated about that room, other than the blinding blue latex paint that was made worse by being latex, and reflecting a white glow, was the carpet. I guess it doesnt look that bad in the picture, but its just gross. Smelly, dirty. I rented one of those steam cleaners from Kroger a year ago and the water turned BLACK and it still didnt do the trick. So, In addition to painting it, Im pulling the carpet.

Nice hardwood floors below, although Ill need to sand off some of those paint stains but all in all, Im gonna be happy with the end result. And in case you were wondering? The paint colors are the following, (Purchased at Lowes - American Tradition) Top, Lighter color is Willow Wind 6004-3b and the bottom is Jekyll Crane Cottage Green 6004-3C. I painted the top while watching "Sweet Home Alabama" and the bottom while watching "The Color Purple"...two of my favorite movies. This is what it looks like now, although I have started prying off the tack strips, which is turning into an annoying task. Splinters abound!!!!

Yesterday I had to go to a CPR/Sports Med training class at 9a, then to the Kelts game (way to go on the win guys).....which leads me to #4 on the "To Blog" list. Chocolate Malts.

John had to work yesterday and he got off right about the same time as the Kelts game was over so we called each other and agreed that we'd be home in about 15 minutes. Ive felt so bad for all the overtime and weekends he's been pulling so I thought Id pick him up a little treat. Maybe 2-3 times a year we'll treat ourselves to UDF shakes & Malts. I usually get a vanilla shake and he'll get a chocolate malt.

So I swing by UDF and get myself a small shake and a large Chocolate Malt for Jmac. I get home, and put the malt on the counter and he comes home about five minutes later. He walks in and I say all cutesy, "Shmoopy! Ive got a present for you in the kitchen!!"

He smiles back, and his hand are behind his back.

"Ive got a present for you too!" He presents me with a bag of chocolates. From Graeters Ice Cream.

"you went to Graeters?"

"Yeah, why?"

"what did you get?"

"A Chocolate Malt."

"I got you one too!!!!" He didnt belive me and then went into the kitchen and there it was! It was such a cute situation I almost vomited. (I think he may have almost vomited after sucking down a second large chocolate malt!!!")

I then finished the rest of the day painting. Sunday we went to mom and dads for a cookout for G-mas birthday....heres Meredith, me, grandpa, grandma & mom.

Ok - so here come the next three - looks like ive gone in complete reverse order - #3 "Not Hungry"

So Nick and John are grazing at the food and Nick says , "I dont even think im that hungry."

John is stunned, and comments that he doesnt think hes EVER heard my brother utter that statement ever.

Nick responds, "I didnt say I wasnt going to EAT."

#2 Nose Breath.

After I finished telling my story about the Chocolate Malts, Nick says, "I can top that."

He tells me that the other night, he and Meredith were laying in bed, and Nick leans over to Meredith and says, "Do you think Nose Breath smells like regular breath?"

Meredith excitedly responds that she had just proposed that question a few days ago at work.

Im thinking they may have been the only two people pondering that.....at least in this hemisphere!

And lastly, #1, Aliens:

Nick and Meredith also added another "eerie" event that occured at their apartment.

Nick claims that a few nights ago, he woke up on the couch and didnt know how he got there, and remembered dreaming about aliens that night. The next morning when Nick told her what had happend, Meredith said that she woke up that night and saw two aliens standing at the door in her bedroom, fingers to their mouths as if to "Shush" her.

Creepy!!!!

We still havent gotten the shower issue fixed. The leaking is so bad that we're just shutting the water off when we go to work. Hopefully we can get that fixed this week.

Question of the week:

Whats the best way to get that paint off the floors?

Am I the only one completely emotionally drained from this two hour episode of Grey's? What the hell?? I knew that they were going to spin off Addison onto her own show, but I felt a little blindsided by this double-decker of an episode. I dont remember hearing that this was going to be teaser for this new episode, so right off the bat, I was rolling my eyes at the crafty programming of ABC...


And then all of the sudden, Im WAY into this new show....actually the new show was better than Greys!


Big props for bringing back that dude from "Wings"....what a hottie! And Omar Epps as "Dr. Feelgood?" You aint kidding!



So anyway...im pumped for what ever new show they've got on the burner, even if they did trick me into watching it.


We havent had a question of the day in a long time.



Today I noticed a driving habit that ANNOYS the CRAP out of me...and I will not shy away from saying this is ALWAYS a guy thing.....


What is the deal with guys making a turn and having "Make it wide"....you know what im saying? Like, Im driving in a two lane road and the guy to my left almost comes into my lane before making a left hand turn. I HATE THAT!!! IT IS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!!!! This is not Hazard and you are neither Bo or Luke Duke. Does anyone know what Im talking about? Is any one else annoyed by this??



Another thing that drives me crazy, is that face people make when they're blowing on hot food. You know, when you purse your lips and flare your nostrils to let out a strong and directed blast of air to hot soup? I dont know if I have some genetic aversion to this "look", but to me, its like scratching my fingernails on a chalkboard.

On a funnier note, Stetson wrote a blog about what annoys him most. A piece entitled, "Jimmy Buffett is a talentless Hack"....you can find it on his myspace page. He rants on and on about his deep seeded hatred of Buffett, or more importantly, parrotheads. Here's an excerpt:

"I was wondering what I'd do if I somehow managed to get free tickets to see Buffett? At first, the obvious choice seems to be selling them on ebay. But, I had an even better idea. I think I would go down to the concert and tailgate for a little while. Then, when people started to make their way into the show, I would move up to the front gate while announcing, "Hey guys, I got 2 free tickets right here…front row. I can't go, anyone want them???" Then as they started to get excited I'd yell, "Too bad!!!" and light them on fire. As they are reduced to ash, I'd yell "Jimmy Buffett Sucks!" and skip away to a chorus of boos and middle fingers. I don't think you can put any monetary value on pissing off some parrotheads and denying them good seats."

I guess if you're not from around the midwest, or worse, Cincinnati, you might not know of the absolute obsession people have with Jimmy Buffett around here. Riverbend at times have sold out three or four shows in one weekend. I wont deny that I went to two Buffett Concerts, one in high school and one in college....but in my defense, I was so drunk that hardly even saw the concert at at one, I was making out in the parking lot the whole time, so I would hardly consider myself a parrot head. But let me tell you how awkward it is hopping off the chartered bus, 18 years old and wasted, only to see your volleyball coach hanging out with a group of people, doublefisting margaritas....

So anyways, we were driving over to Stacy and Caseys last night and there it was, a car in front of us with a "University of Margaritaville" sticker in the window, a Margaritaville licenseplace frame, and of course, vanity plates that read "FINZ 1" (Fins to the left, fins to the right)

but a question - if you hate Buffet so much, how come I saw you at one of his tailgates??? Hmmmm????

So what do you folks know about plumbing? (Please pass this quandry onto any knowledgeable person you have in mind....)

Sooo...we need to replace the shower faucets/showerhead. The knobs are old and its gotten to the point where we turn them shut as hard as we physically can, and the water is still running...sometimes a steady drip, sometimes more. Id like to pick one of these up (Below) but, just as every bull$hit thing in our lives....I have a feeling its going to end up being even more difficult and more expensive than just plugging these new parts in. Given all our previous plumbing issues, I fear that the leak may not be remedied by a few shiny new parts. Has anyone encountered this "project" before in a similar situation?

If it wasnt as easy as just replacing the faucets, exactly what (read: how much $$) was involved???

On an even more depressing note, one of the highlights of my trip to DC has been gutted by fire. This is a really great article that did a good job of describing the atmosphere and history of the building. When my mom's friend Patty took us there, you could tell it was a real source of pride for the community and is a devistating blow to the locals. I feel fortunate to have had a chance to experience it in all its glory. Here's to hoping they're able to bring it back the best they can.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043001716.html