Where DOES the time go?
2008-12-08, 8:15 p.m.

Day 1568

Boys & I met with Annette Friday. Did a dry run of our �family meeting� event. Annette tried to play the part of Cindy and be a disruptor � counter attacking, denying, questioning, counter attacking again. As flustering as it was tehn, I donlt thin it will compare to the live event. The live event which has been rescheduled for Tuesday night.

It�s been rescheduled because The Bob is in the hospital again. Not for anything physical he just gets confused, agitated, sometimes can�t be re-directed, or will refuse to take his rhino tranquilizer. His doctor had been weaning him off of one medicine before starting him on another in an effort to find where his threshold is. Think we�re there.

So. What with all the shit going down there, we just keep putting the meeting back a day, then another. Plus I think Cindy has some ESP thing working. She�s actually been trying to be civil and except for getting thoroughly trashed Thursday night and sneaking in at least one large screwdriver Sunday afternoon (the drink, not the tool) she�s been, well, relatively sober for a week and a half. But there ARE those bottles of vodka and whiskey in the hutch � too much temptation I think. So it�s going to be Tuesday. Come home from work, offer up a bit of a warning a la �Remember that conversation you had with the boys a couple of weeks ago? I�d like to expand on that. The boys are on their way over right now . . .� and hope for the best.

Outside of worrying a hole in my stomach thinking about this confrontation, I�ve been sucking in a lot of drywall dust. I have a picture or twelve I�ll be posting soon(ish) that shows the progress being made on all of our various projects. One will prove I am NOT a coal miner.

Did I post an entry about Lefty bowling a 300 Thursday night? The day before his birthday? Can�t recall, and big brother here kinda blocks my d-land access. Anyhow � he did. That was his second 300 game. Quite thrilling to watch really. So � if he gets to bowl a 30 the day BEFORE his birthday, what might I get bowling ON my birthday, hmmmm? I�m willing to bet a 300 isn�t in the cards. Something about talent & natural ability and the lack thereof . . .

Ahhhhh, heck with it. Stole a few minutes and did some formatting.

Looking from somewhere near the middle of our back yard, here�s how the back porch is coming along:

And now from the opposite side:

This is what a couple hours of sanding joint compound will do to you:

Wish I was good enough with this crap to make sanding unnecessary. Does hide the gray hair nicely though, eh?

Stole a meme from somewhere � don�t even remember who the victim was now. It�s another �things you�ve done� list. Bold the entries you�ve done, add comments where desired. Here goes:
1. Started your own blog. D�oh!
2. Slept under the stars. Usually in a sleeping bag, but yeah, been there, done that.
3. Played in a band. 7 years in school. Trombones rule!
4. Visited Hawaii. Like to, just once
5. Watched a meteor shower. The Perseids (August) many times, the Leonids (November) once that was spectacular. Have also witnessed several random, gorgeous fireballs. It pays to keep looking up.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. I give, but why give so much you need it yourself?
7. Been to Disneyland. Disneyland, Disneyworld, Euro Disney � NEVER!!
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. That�s some scary stuff. (singing AND having to listen to it. Poor people.)
11. Bungee jumped. No, but not for lack of curiosity or want.
12. Visited Paris as a teenager that couldn�t really appreciate it all. (But the hookers in Amsterdam were awesome!)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. No, but I have watched one from the vantage point of a high mountainside at the Yakima Firing Center as it swept across the valley and pounded Yakima Wa. Really a sight to see.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child. No � but my parents took in foster kids when I was young (over 20 of them all told), and I married an adopted child. Close, eh?
16. Had food poisoning. Oh. I thought maybe it was just a little gas.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. No, but I have seen it in person, both from shore and from a plane.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked. Dumb idea, but I was young & immortal.
23. Taken a sick day when you�re not ill. Sometimes ya just gotta.
24. Built a snow fort. I�ve lived in New York, in a lake effect snow belt my entire life. You can�t NOT build a snow fort around here.
25. Held a lamb. Lamb, no. Deer, yes. Oh. You mean alive?
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon. No � but I have a couple 100 mile bike rides under my belt.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse. Total, partial, solar, lunar.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Please � Spin class starts at 5:30 and we face east.
31. Hit a home run. Gobs of them.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. It�s 60 miles from home. My dad was born there and learned to swim in the Niagara river (BELOW the falls)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. Been to the countries at least.
35. Seen an Amish community. In the north east? Hard to miss them.
36. Taught yourself a new language. I�ve learned bis & pieces of several programming languages. Does that count?
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. Only when I didn�t know any better.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. Sweet Home, Oregon, 1979. Shut up. (Sweet Home is in the cascades, east of Lebanon & Corvalis)
40. Seen Michelangelo�s David.
41. Sung karaoke. Never did the Macarena, Chicken Dance or hokey Pokey either.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. One of these days . . .
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance. I�m assuming it counts if I was driving it.
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Been to the bottom. Have (had?) a picture to prove it. You�d like the 17 year old me. Studly even.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. Snorkeling. For me, it seemed harder than they make it look.
52. Kissed in the rain. Just kissed? (unfortunately, yes)
53. Played in the mud. Heh. I played football before there was artificial turf all over the place. We had LOTS of mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. Let me check my gender. Nope. Never sold �em.
62. Gone whale watching. Not on purpose, but I have seen an orca or two in the Puget Sound.
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma. 3 gallons & holding.
65. Gone sky diving. No, but watched the crazies do it into the quad in front of our barracks. I could do a small hunk of an entry on THAT experience,
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp. I would like to so I could get a better feel for the enormous wrong being committed there.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. Why?
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square. What a freak show just people watching!
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. Right after I quit because they wouldn�t give me the day off to go play a football game in Canada with my team.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London. Witnessed the changing of the guards in Ottawa, Ont. Canada, though. Very similar. And one of the guard dudes passed out. They marched over him. Politely.
77. Broken a bone. Couple times. Ouch.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. � Been on, driven, been towed by (while on a pedal bike no less)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. (Does from a plane count?)
80. Published a book. (Only if that project Todd W. & I did in 5th grade counts . . .)
81. Visited the Vatican. (God�s aim is too good. He�d whack me with lightning before I got in . . .)
82. Bought a brand new car. � 3 times. Eh.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. But NeonGolden is gonna help next time, right?
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone�s life. No, But I broke someone�s ribs once doing CPR. Turns out he was pretty much dead already anyhow. At least he didn�t feel it. Sorry Mr. Merritt.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous. Mary Tyler Moore, Mark Roth, the late Senator Daniel Moynihan (D. NY)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby. Let me check my gender again. Nope � no uterus. Does being a dad count?
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake. Drove by @ sunrise once. June, 1980.
97. Been involved in a law suit. (Thankfully)
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee. Oh man, have I been stung.
100. Read an entire book in one day.
If you have a blog, you are hereby invited to adopt and modify this one. It�s a way for us to know a bit more about one another.

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