11.27.2002
Chris and I are working half days today and will be leaving this afternoon to spend Thanksgiving in Georgia with my mom's side of the family. Thanksgiving has snuck up on me this year, somehow. Usually I start looking forward to it in August or September, but this year was different. November seemed to pass by in an instant and it wasn't until this past Sunday that I really got it through my head that Thanksgiving was this week. Anyway, just because it came up on me quickly doesn't mean I'm any less excited about going. I've not missed a Thanksgiving with my extended family in my entire life, as far as I know, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them. Even better, it looks like the weather will cooperate on Friday for the first time in a few years, making it much easier to decorate the tree outside on Aunt Rexie's deck. Hope all of y'all have a happy Thanksgiving, and if you're traveling, a safe journey. May I not see you stuck in traffic on I-85 South!
11.26.2002
I got great news this morning in class... I am exempt from the final exam!!! My test average plus extra credit work just barely got me past the cutoff point for exemption. I had no idea this was a class policy -- I've done a horrible job of keeping up with administrative details in this class. Anyway, I am SO glad, because the final is the Tuesday after an RR mini-tour weekend, and I was wondering how I was going to find time to study. I only have to go to one more class (next Tuesday), and then only if I feel like it, so I can pretty much cross this class off my to-do list.
Aside from what I've learned about networking and computers this semester, I've realized how difficult it is to work full-time, have a very time-consuming extracurricular activity, take care of things at home, and take a class (even one as non-demanding as this one has been) at a school that's a 30 minute drive from home. It's one thing to go to school when that's all you have to do, but it's a whole 'nother thing to juggle it with lots of other things going on. I have newfound respect for people who've gotten any part of their education this way. I, however, am a wimp, and won't be taking a class next semester. I don't think a new degree is part of my life plan - certainly not now, and probably not ever. (A class here and there for fun - can we say photography? - sounds like a good idea, though.)
Aside from what I've learned about networking and computers this semester, I've realized how difficult it is to work full-time, have a very time-consuming extracurricular activity, take care of things at home, and take a class (even one as non-demanding as this one has been) at a school that's a 30 minute drive from home. It's one thing to go to school when that's all you have to do, but it's a whole 'nother thing to juggle it with lots of other things going on. I have newfound respect for people who've gotten any part of their education this way. I, however, am a wimp, and won't be taking a class next semester. I don't think a new degree is part of my life plan - certainly not now, and probably not ever. (A class here and there for fun - can we say photography? - sounds like a good idea, though.)
I just drank my first-ever mini Coke. It was quite cute to look at and fit in my hand nicely, but I had the vague feeling that I really should have been on an airplane. Ah, well, whatever it takes to cut back on caffeine. It is nice to see a product being offered in a smaller quantity, rather than the all new mega jumbo giant size.
Re-reading that last entry, I just wanted to clarify what it is that I don't like about Martha Stewart. It's fine to have figures in society you can look to for advice on cooking, decorating, entertaining, and so on. I just think that she crosses the line - it's not like she's just a resource, there if you need her. Instead, it's more like she's prescribing a lifestyle and implying that if you don't do it her way, you might as well not even bother.
11.25.2002
Some time ago, I signed up to receive emails from Martha Stewart Living (yeah, I know, I know). I still get at least one a week, and from what I can tell, nothing about Martha has changed a bit, even with all the trouble she's in. I'd like to know how she has the gall to send out these advertising messages -- doesn't she have any shame? I think it's time I unsubscribe...
11.22.2002
If this doesn't put me to sleep, I don't know what will... 100 things about me:
1. Before I was married, the last letter of my first name was the first letter of my middle name, and the last letter of my middle name was the first letter of my last name: Katherine Elizabeth Hames.
2. I played basketball when I was in 5th, 6th, and 8th grades.
3. In 5th grade I was a guard, in 8th grade I was a center.
4. The mattress on our bed today is the one I got when I got my first bed at age 3.
5. I think it's time for a new mattress.
6. I love any and all things Curious George.
7. Nicknames I've had include Kat, Floriana, Hames, George, and Gidget. No one has ever been allowed to call me Kathy except for my grandmother.
8. The first CD I ever bought was by the Spin Doctors.
9. These days I cringe and change the station when their songs come on the radio.
10. I've played handbells almost every year since I was 8 or 9 years old.
11. I started piano lessons when I was in third grade, but only took about 3 years total, off and on through high school.
12. In 5th grade I signed up for band at school. I wanted to play the clarinet.
13. My mom made me try the trumpet, since we owned one that my sister had played.
14. Pretty soon I didn't care about the clarinet anymore. I played trumpet through my freshman year in college.
15. My senior year of high school I played the mellophone in marching band.
16. Oh yeah, I had another nickname then, as section leader: Big Mama.
17. Not counting college and graduate school, I attended 7 different schools while growing up.
18. I've lived in 12 towns/cities in 8 different states.
19. I have a sister who is 12 years older than me and her birthday is the day after mine.
20. Two of my earliest choices of career were milkman and baseball player.
21. Right now I'm a research associate.
22. Two of my favorite foods are my mom's fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I also love strawberry pie.
23. I like to make cheesecake and am working my way through a cheesecake cookbook put out by the Philly Cream Cheese people.
24. In general, I enjoy making any type of dessert.
25. I have never broken a single bone.
26. When I was about 6, I was at a circus when the bleachers we were sitting on sank into the mud. My foot got caught and I lost my saddle shoe.
27. We went back and found my shoe later.
28. Which was probably too bad, because I hated wearing saddle shoes.
29. When I was about 7, I had some shoes that had Kermit the Frog on them and maybe a little zipper pocket to put coins in.
30. Scooby-Doo was one of my favorite cartoons.
31. Harriet the Spy was my favorite book as a child.
32. I wanted to be a spy or a detective and developed my skills by spying on my parents and taking notes on what I saw and heard.
33. Handel is my favorite composer, and the Messiah is my favorite work.
34. I love Skittles.
35. I took several geology classes in college and really enjoyed them.
36. I'm trying to cut back on caffeine and soft drinks, but my favorite ones are Mountain Dew and Mello Yello.
37. Sweet tea from Chick-fil-A is the best if it's made properly.
38. I worked at Chick-fil-A for 7 years off and on during high school, college, and even grad school.
39. I became a NASCAR fan in February of 2001 and haven't missed a race since if I could help it.
40. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is my favorite driver.
41. My favorite actress of all time is Audrey Hepburn.
42. I don't think I have a favorite movie, per se.
43. Or a favorite actor, either. I guess I'm not big into movies.
44. I would like to see the new Harry Potter movie in the theater, though.
45. My favorite shoes are my Birks. I wear them in the winter as much as possible.
46. My feet have always tended towards being cold, even before I discovered Birks in winter.
47. I thought I'd lost said Birks on summer tour with the RRs.
48. Fortunately, they were found by another RR, who quietly put them in the back of the van in which we were traveling.
49. I sing, and I'm an alto heading towards tenor.
50. I've never smoked a cigarette in my life.
51. I can flip my tongue so that the bottom is right-side-up.
51. It really grosses my husband out when I do this.
52. I've never learned to wink without involving my whole face.
53. I write with my right hand, but I do most everything else left-handed, especially sports.
54. I used to insist that boats had wheels after seeing them on trailers.
55. Chris and I had handbells at our wedding - the choir that I rang in when I was in college.
56. I am proud of whatever Southern accent I have left after my stint in Pennsylvania.
57. My first car was a 1986 Chevy Celebrity station wagon handed down from my parents.
58. I named her Rita.
59. The other two cars I've had since then have gone nameless.
60. I do not like the Wizard of Oz movie. The flying monkeys scare me.
61. I dislike violence on TV and in movies - but I have a strange fondness for a bad movie on the Lifetime channel every now and then.
62. Sometimes after returning home from a trip around town in the car, I just like to sit there and be still for minute before getting out. This puzzles my husband.
63. The entire time I was at Penn State I never attended a football game.
64. I never attended a football game at William & Mary either, but that's understandable.
65. I took recorder lessons when I was in 5th grade.
66. I won't eat anything if I've just brushed my teeth, which is too bad, because I'm hungry right now.
67. I like to polish my toenails.
68. I have a nice fall orangey color waiting to be put on my toenails but I just haven't gotten around to it.
69. I have a pencil collection (wood pencils, not mechanical).
70. Other things I've collected include baseball and basketball cards; screws, nails, nuts, bolts, and other "junk" found on the street; stickers, and stamps.
71. I am never sure what color my eyes are. Lately they seem to be green.
72. I think they were blue when I was a kid.
73. When I was 9 I was told by the opthalmologist that I was legally blind in my right eye.
74. I hated that opthalmologist. Come on, you don't say that to a kid.
75. Other fast food jobs I have held include McDonald's and Rally's.
76. I love photography, and I want to learn more about it.
77. I met the Indigo Girls when I was in college.
78. I once saw Evander Holyfield in the Atlanta airport.
79. I was on the same flight as Kordell Stewart and Hines Ward, from Pittsburgh to Atlanta.
80. I went to the same schools as Carl Pickens (he was a senior when I was in 7th grade), and Ronde and Tiki Barber (they were seniors when I was a junior).
81. I couldn't care less about the NFL.
82. I am sprouting gray hairs here and there on the top of my head.
83. I recently decided to stop pulling them out.
84. I remember using gopher and lynx on the internet.
85. I can't get over the fact that there are people alive today who have no idea what it's like to have to get up to change the channel on the TV or stay in one place while they talk on the phone.
86. I like to watch dog sports on Animal Planet.
87. I took a rock-climbing course in college but haven't been climbing in several years.
88. I used to lift weights on a regular basis, and I miss that.
89. Squats were my favorite. I hate the bench press - my arms are weak compared to my legs.
90. It's true, I cried while watching Frosty the Snowman when I was three, and I didn't watch it again until I was in my late teens.
91. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, with Christmas as a close second.
92. I have never dyed my hair.
93. Sometimes I wish I had the nerve to cut my hair really short.
94. I like to do laundry.
95. I don't particularly like to go shopping.
96. I rather enjoy going to the dentist.
97. I am a Georgia Tech fan by birth, because that's where my dad went to school.
98. I prefer silver jewelry to gold.
99. I am grasping for straws to finish this thing.
100. I am definitely sleepy now.
1. Before I was married, the last letter of my first name was the first letter of my middle name, and the last letter of my middle name was the first letter of my last name: Katherine Elizabeth Hames.
2. I played basketball when I was in 5th, 6th, and 8th grades.
3. In 5th grade I was a guard, in 8th grade I was a center.
4. The mattress on our bed today is the one I got when I got my first bed at age 3.
5. I think it's time for a new mattress.
6. I love any and all things Curious George.
7. Nicknames I've had include Kat, Floriana, Hames, George, and Gidget. No one has ever been allowed to call me Kathy except for my grandmother.
8. The first CD I ever bought was by the Spin Doctors.
9. These days I cringe and change the station when their songs come on the radio.
10. I've played handbells almost every year since I was 8 or 9 years old.
11. I started piano lessons when I was in third grade, but only took about 3 years total, off and on through high school.
12. In 5th grade I signed up for band at school. I wanted to play the clarinet.
13. My mom made me try the trumpet, since we owned one that my sister had played.
14. Pretty soon I didn't care about the clarinet anymore. I played trumpet through my freshman year in college.
15. My senior year of high school I played the mellophone in marching band.
16. Oh yeah, I had another nickname then, as section leader: Big Mama.
17. Not counting college and graduate school, I attended 7 different schools while growing up.
18. I've lived in 12 towns/cities in 8 different states.
19. I have a sister who is 12 years older than me and her birthday is the day after mine.
20. Two of my earliest choices of career were milkman and baseball player.
21. Right now I'm a research associate.
22. Two of my favorite foods are my mom's fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I also love strawberry pie.
23. I like to make cheesecake and am working my way through a cheesecake cookbook put out by the Philly Cream Cheese people.
24. In general, I enjoy making any type of dessert.
25. I have never broken a single bone.
26. When I was about 6, I was at a circus when the bleachers we were sitting on sank into the mud. My foot got caught and I lost my saddle shoe.
27. We went back and found my shoe later.
28. Which was probably too bad, because I hated wearing saddle shoes.
29. When I was about 7, I had some shoes that had Kermit the Frog on them and maybe a little zipper pocket to put coins in.
30. Scooby-Doo was one of my favorite cartoons.
31. Harriet the Spy was my favorite book as a child.
32. I wanted to be a spy or a detective and developed my skills by spying on my parents and taking notes on what I saw and heard.
33. Handel is my favorite composer, and the Messiah is my favorite work.
34. I love Skittles.
35. I took several geology classes in college and really enjoyed them.
36. I'm trying to cut back on caffeine and soft drinks, but my favorite ones are Mountain Dew and Mello Yello.
37. Sweet tea from Chick-fil-A is the best if it's made properly.
38. I worked at Chick-fil-A for 7 years off and on during high school, college, and even grad school.
39. I became a NASCAR fan in February of 2001 and haven't missed a race since if I could help it.
40. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is my favorite driver.
41. My favorite actress of all time is Audrey Hepburn.
42. I don't think I have a favorite movie, per se.
43. Or a favorite actor, either. I guess I'm not big into movies.
44. I would like to see the new Harry Potter movie in the theater, though.
45. My favorite shoes are my Birks. I wear them in the winter as much as possible.
46. My feet have always tended towards being cold, even before I discovered Birks in winter.
47. I thought I'd lost said Birks on summer tour with the RRs.
48. Fortunately, they were found by another RR, who quietly put them in the back of the van in which we were traveling.
49. I sing, and I'm an alto heading towards tenor.
50. I've never smoked a cigarette in my life.
51. I can flip my tongue so that the bottom is right-side-up.
51. It really grosses my husband out when I do this.
52. I've never learned to wink without involving my whole face.
53. I write with my right hand, but I do most everything else left-handed, especially sports.
54. I used to insist that boats had wheels after seeing them on trailers.
55. Chris and I had handbells at our wedding - the choir that I rang in when I was in college.
56. I am proud of whatever Southern accent I have left after my stint in Pennsylvania.
57. My first car was a 1986 Chevy Celebrity station wagon handed down from my parents.
58. I named her Rita.
59. The other two cars I've had since then have gone nameless.
60. I do not like the Wizard of Oz movie. The flying monkeys scare me.
61. I dislike violence on TV and in movies - but I have a strange fondness for a bad movie on the Lifetime channel every now and then.
62. Sometimes after returning home from a trip around town in the car, I just like to sit there and be still for minute before getting out. This puzzles my husband.
63. The entire time I was at Penn State I never attended a football game.
64. I never attended a football game at William & Mary either, but that's understandable.
65. I took recorder lessons when I was in 5th grade.
66. I won't eat anything if I've just brushed my teeth, which is too bad, because I'm hungry right now.
67. I like to polish my toenails.
68. I have a nice fall orangey color waiting to be put on my toenails but I just haven't gotten around to it.
69. I have a pencil collection (wood pencils, not mechanical).
70. Other things I've collected include baseball and basketball cards; screws, nails, nuts, bolts, and other "junk" found on the street; stickers, and stamps.
71. I am never sure what color my eyes are. Lately they seem to be green.
72. I think they were blue when I was a kid.
73. When I was 9 I was told by the opthalmologist that I was legally blind in my right eye.
74. I hated that opthalmologist. Come on, you don't say that to a kid.
75. Other fast food jobs I have held include McDonald's and Rally's.
76. I love photography, and I want to learn more about it.
77. I met the Indigo Girls when I was in college.
78. I once saw Evander Holyfield in the Atlanta airport.
79. I was on the same flight as Kordell Stewart and Hines Ward, from Pittsburgh to Atlanta.
80. I went to the same schools as Carl Pickens (he was a senior when I was in 7th grade), and Ronde and Tiki Barber (they were seniors when I was a junior).
81. I couldn't care less about the NFL.
82. I am sprouting gray hairs here and there on the top of my head.
83. I recently decided to stop pulling them out.
84. I remember using gopher and lynx on the internet.
85. I can't get over the fact that there are people alive today who have no idea what it's like to have to get up to change the channel on the TV or stay in one place while they talk on the phone.
86. I like to watch dog sports on Animal Planet.
87. I took a rock-climbing course in college but haven't been climbing in several years.
88. I used to lift weights on a regular basis, and I miss that.
89. Squats were my favorite. I hate the bench press - my arms are weak compared to my legs.
90. It's true, I cried while watching Frosty the Snowman when I was three, and I didn't watch it again until I was in my late teens.
91. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, with Christmas as a close second.
92. I have never dyed my hair.
93. Sometimes I wish I had the nerve to cut my hair really short.
94. I like to do laundry.
95. I don't particularly like to go shopping.
96. I rather enjoy going to the dentist.
97. I am a Georgia Tech fan by birth, because that's where my dad went to school.
98. I prefer silver jewelry to gold.
99. I am grasping for straws to finish this thing.
100. I am definitely sleepy now.
I'm home from RR rehearsal and I can't sleep. I don't know that I really have anything to blog about - I haven't been in the blogging spirit lately - but sometimes when I can't sleep, writing helps.
We've been teaching Henry to roll over. He pretty much picked it up in one night and then we've been doing "reminder sessions" to help it stick. He is so calm and easygoing that it was very easy to teach him. It's too bad Hannah struggles and kicks the way she does, because she needs a refresher course. When she was a puppy, she knew how to roll over, and she did it well. Now when you tell her to roll over, she stands up, spins around in a circle and looks at you expectantly, waiting for the praise and a treat. She's a goof.
We've been teaching Henry to roll over. He pretty much picked it up in one night and then we've been doing "reminder sessions" to help it stick. He is so calm and easygoing that it was very easy to teach him. It's too bad Hannah struggles and kicks the way she does, because she needs a refresher course. When she was a puppy, she knew how to roll over, and she did it well. Now when you tell her to roll over, she stands up, spins around in a circle and looks at you expectantly, waiting for the praise and a treat. She's a goof.
11.19.2002
11.18.2002
I had a good trip to Roanoke this weekend, and got home at a reasonably decent hour last night, even though I got lost near Martinsville. Fortunately, I don't think I wasted too much time being lost, and I also finally got to see the racetrack. All this time we've been taking the bypass around Martinsville, the track was just about a half mile away from our exit. Next time we're up that way in the daytime we'll have to check it out more closely.
11.12.2002
Whew, I've about had it with the rain. The closer I got to school this morning, the harder the rain beat against my windshield. The short walk from my car to class left the entire left side of my body soaking wet, and my feet were slimy in my sandals. Couldn't we have a little fall sunshine, please?
11.08.2002
Tomorrow is Hannah's birthday, and I won't be able to blog, so I thought I'd go ahead and do a birthday post for her now. She entered our lives before this site existed, so there are few written records of our experiences with her in the early days.
I can't believe the best girl in the whole world - a.k.a. Punkinhead, Poocher, Hannah-Bo, and Han-Han -- is going to be 3 years old. Time has flown by since that day we drove her home through a blizzard. But wait, backing up from that day, the Hannah we know and love wasn't actually the original Hannah. We'd put a deposit on a puppy from a different litter (same breeder), and that puppy had already started learning her name and maybe even a command or two. A few more weeks went by, and suddenly it was December 28, 1999 and Chris and I were standing on the breeder's doorstep at 9 or 9:30 in the morning to pick up the puppy. When the breeder answered the door, we knew immediately by the look on her face that something was wrong, and she said she had good news and bad news. The bad news was that the original Hannah had died due to a disease that had swept through the kennel; the good news was that the breeder had another puppy from a different litter that was ready to go. We went into the house and sat down at the table while the breeder went downstairs to get the puppy. For some reason, I concluded that this new puppy must be a black Lab, not the yellow we'd requested, and I was sure I couldn't go home with a black puppy since it had only been 5 months since my black Lab Sunshine had succumbed to bladder cancer. I was communicating all of this to Chris in whispers when the breeder stepped into the room holding the most gorgeous yellow pup I'd ever seen. We must have spent three hours there that morning, letting what had happened sink in and getting to know this new girl. Needless to say, we came home with her - the "new" Hannah.
What a drive that was. We got in the car and I soon put her in the floorboard, thinking she might find the vibration soothing. Only a couple miles down the road from the breeder's, Hannah crawled behind the center console at floorboard level and ended up tangled in Chris's feet and the gas and brake pedals! I ended up holding her most of the rest of the way. We literally were driving back to State College in a snowstorm, slipping and sliding all over the road. We had the heat going, too -- after all, it was COLD! Hannah didn't agree, and she used various methods of cooling herself off, such as climbing into the rear shelf of the car and pressing her body against the rear window, or licking the side windows. When we finally got back to my apartment, she tore around the place as fast as she could, growling at us. I had no idea what I'd just gotten myself into.
The next year was filled with training, treats, walks, classes, and pictures, lots of pictures! Now, as she turns 3, Hannah's become a true best friend, and I enjoy her antics and craziness. This is a dog who loves her ball, good food (or food of any kind), and a walk. She understands tears and pain (even pain she's inflicted on you with a toenail or a particularly bony joint) and cherishes being allowed on the bed for a nighttime snuggle.
She's also brave and protective of her humans. Late one night Chris and I were returning to State College from a trip down South, and we had stopped off of I-81 in Winchester, VA to get gas and visit the McDonald's drive-through. I took over the driving and headed down the on-ramp to the interstate. Traffic was thick with lots of 18-wheelers, and our car was heavily loaded, making it next to impossible to jump out in front of traffic that was bearing down on us. I finally had to stop on the on-ramp, forcing the car behind me to stop. The third car in line failed to stop and rear-ended the car behind me. Even though I wasn't involved, I pulled off to the side to wait for the police, thinking I had a responsibility as a witness. After a minute or two passed, Chris and I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a man charging up to our car. He came to the driver's side and demanded that I roll the window down. I did, but only about an inch. He started screaming at me, telling me that I had caused him to get rear-ended and shouting a lot of other nasty things. His female companion was screaming at him, saying "Don't do this! Please stop! Please stop!" and I was convinced I was going to be shot right then and there (although I never saw a gun). As soon as the screaming started, Hannah stuck her face up near the window, behind my head, and growled and barked at the man. To this day, I believe that she had something to do with him finally going away and leaving me alone.
I was horribly shaken by what had happened, but waited a few minutes more until I thankfully saw the flashing blue lights of a state trooper. The trooper came to our car first and as I explained what had happened, Hannah started to growl and bark. As I tried to quiet her, I explained that she was upset because the man in the car behind me had come to our car and screamed at us. I will never forget the trooper's response. He simply said, "That's a good dog you've got there." He saw no reason to keep us, so we got on the interstate and got out of there. I pulled off at the next exit because my limbs were weak and shaking, and I knew that Chris would have to drive the rest of the way home. I also wanted to talk to my mom, so we left Hannah in the car and went over to a pay phone. When we returned to the car, we discovered that Hannah had found the bag of food from McDonald's and helped herself to a double quarter pounder with cheese and some fries. We considered it a reward for her protectiveness and had a good laugh. Before that night, I had always wondered what Hannah would do if Chris or I were in danger. I think we found out that night, and the trooper was right... she's one good dog. Happy Birthday, Hannah.
I can't believe the best girl in the whole world - a.k.a. Punkinhead, Poocher, Hannah-Bo, and Han-Han -- is going to be 3 years old. Time has flown by since that day we drove her home through a blizzard. But wait, backing up from that day, the Hannah we know and love wasn't actually the original Hannah. We'd put a deposit on a puppy from a different litter (same breeder), and that puppy had already started learning her name and maybe even a command or two. A few more weeks went by, and suddenly it was December 28, 1999 and Chris and I were standing on the breeder's doorstep at 9 or 9:30 in the morning to pick up the puppy. When the breeder answered the door, we knew immediately by the look on her face that something was wrong, and she said she had good news and bad news. The bad news was that the original Hannah had died due to a disease that had swept through the kennel; the good news was that the breeder had another puppy from a different litter that was ready to go. We went into the house and sat down at the table while the breeder went downstairs to get the puppy. For some reason, I concluded that this new puppy must be a black Lab, not the yellow we'd requested, and I was sure I couldn't go home with a black puppy since it had only been 5 months since my black Lab Sunshine had succumbed to bladder cancer. I was communicating all of this to Chris in whispers when the breeder stepped into the room holding the most gorgeous yellow pup I'd ever seen. We must have spent three hours there that morning, letting what had happened sink in and getting to know this new girl. Needless to say, we came home with her - the "new" Hannah.
What a drive that was. We got in the car and I soon put her in the floorboard, thinking she might find the vibration soothing. Only a couple miles down the road from the breeder's, Hannah crawled behind the center console at floorboard level and ended up tangled in Chris's feet and the gas and brake pedals! I ended up holding her most of the rest of the way. We literally were driving back to State College in a snowstorm, slipping and sliding all over the road. We had the heat going, too -- after all, it was COLD! Hannah didn't agree, and she used various methods of cooling herself off, such as climbing into the rear shelf of the car and pressing her body against the rear window, or licking the side windows. When we finally got back to my apartment, she tore around the place as fast as she could, growling at us. I had no idea what I'd just gotten myself into.
The next year was filled with training, treats, walks, classes, and pictures, lots of pictures! Now, as she turns 3, Hannah's become a true best friend, and I enjoy her antics and craziness. This is a dog who loves her ball, good food (or food of any kind), and a walk. She understands tears and pain (even pain she's inflicted on you with a toenail or a particularly bony joint) and cherishes being allowed on the bed for a nighttime snuggle.
She's also brave and protective of her humans. Late one night Chris and I were returning to State College from a trip down South, and we had stopped off of I-81 in Winchester, VA to get gas and visit the McDonald's drive-through. I took over the driving and headed down the on-ramp to the interstate. Traffic was thick with lots of 18-wheelers, and our car was heavily loaded, making it next to impossible to jump out in front of traffic that was bearing down on us. I finally had to stop on the on-ramp, forcing the car behind me to stop. The third car in line failed to stop and rear-ended the car behind me. Even though I wasn't involved, I pulled off to the side to wait for the police, thinking I had a responsibility as a witness. After a minute or two passed, Chris and I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a man charging up to our car. He came to the driver's side and demanded that I roll the window down. I did, but only about an inch. He started screaming at me, telling me that I had caused him to get rear-ended and shouting a lot of other nasty things. His female companion was screaming at him, saying "Don't do this! Please stop! Please stop!" and I was convinced I was going to be shot right then and there (although I never saw a gun). As soon as the screaming started, Hannah stuck her face up near the window, behind my head, and growled and barked at the man. To this day, I believe that she had something to do with him finally going away and leaving me alone.
I was horribly shaken by what had happened, but waited a few minutes more until I thankfully saw the flashing blue lights of a state trooper. The trooper came to our car first and as I explained what had happened, Hannah started to growl and bark. As I tried to quiet her, I explained that she was upset because the man in the car behind me had come to our car and screamed at us. I will never forget the trooper's response. He simply said, "That's a good dog you've got there." He saw no reason to keep us, so we got on the interstate and got out of there. I pulled off at the next exit because my limbs were weak and shaking, and I knew that Chris would have to drive the rest of the way home. I also wanted to talk to my mom, so we left Hannah in the car and went over to a pay phone. When we returned to the car, we discovered that Hannah had found the bag of food from McDonald's and helped herself to a double quarter pounder with cheese and some fries. We considered it a reward for her protectiveness and had a good laugh. Before that night, I had always wondered what Hannah would do if Chris or I were in danger. I think we found out that night, and the trooper was right... she's one good dog. Happy Birthday, Hannah.
I'm so glad it's Friday. This has been a long week in some ways. Tonight I'm going to try to do some housecleaning, if I have any energy left when I get home from work. I think the early darkness makes me lazy. I know that sounds dumb, but I think it makes me just want to crawl in bed or lay down - it certainly doesn't motivate me to be active or productive. I wish we could just stay on daylight savings time all the time - who cares if we lose an hour every year? That's a small price to pay for more daylight each day.
Anyway, tomorrow I'll be in Hickory (pronounced Hick'ry for those of you non-NC residents) with RRs for workshops and a concert. It'll be a long day - I'll leave the house around 7:45 and won't get back until 1 or 2 AM, but it should be a good time. We're going to fellow RR Andy's church, and I hope to finally meet his mom, who has bestowed several nice comments on some of the work I've done in the past few months.
Anyway, tomorrow I'll be in Hickory (pronounced Hick'ry for those of you non-NC residents) with RRs for workshops and a concert. It'll be a long day - I'll leave the house around 7:45 and won't get back until 1 or 2 AM, but it should be a good time. We're going to fellow RR Andy's church, and I hope to finally meet his mom, who has bestowed several nice comments on some of the work I've done in the past few months.
11.07.2002
Last night I was flipping through Sunday's Parade Magazine when I saw a notice of a class action suit against AIWA involving their mini stereo systems. I eagerly took in the entire notice, and it read like it had been personally written for me and my lovely NSX-V8000. The only problem is that I may not be able to gather up the paperwork I'd need to file a claim. The last repair I had done that I paid for out of my own pocket was about 3 years ago, when we lived in State College. Just before we moved to Raleigh, I threw the stereo in the dumpster and after a check of the file cabinet last night, it's pretty apparent that all of the paperwork was trashed too (I guess that's what I get for going against my natural packrat tendencies). One phone call last night and I've got old credit card statements coming my way, and today I've got to give a call to the repair shop in State College and see if they might by any chance still have a record of the work they did. Anyway, if any of you out there own or have owned (from 1992 to 2000) an AIWA mini system that's been plauged with CD troubles, I urge you to check this out... it's about time someone called them on this.
UPDATE! I just got off the phone with a guy at Electronics Unlimited in State College - big ups to them for having records of the work they did and being willing to look it up and send it to me! Woo-hoo! AIWA's finally going to have to pay for all of the times I put a CD in and it clicked and ground to a halt - score one for the common woman!
UPDATE! I just got off the phone with a guy at Electronics Unlimited in State College - big ups to them for having records of the work they did and being willing to look it up and send it to me! Woo-hoo! AIWA's finally going to have to pay for all of the times I put a CD in and it clicked and ground to a halt - score one for the common woman!
11.04.2002
This turned out to be a really good weekend. The RRs went to Rockingham yesterday for a 6 pm concert, and the trip and the concert went well. The NASCAR race was in Rockingham yesterday... it started at 1 and probably ended by 5, so we actually didn't encounter too much race traffic, but we did drive by the track on the way out of town. There were lots of people still camping, but I didn't see any haulers -- I guess they were long gone by 9 pm. What I want to know is why didn't Dale Jr. come to our concert?!?!?
Quite a few people have asked me how Jefferson's doing, so I thought I'd give an update on him here. He's been on the prednisone for about 10 days now, and tomorrow we start the next phase of tapering his dose (he started at 1 pill every 12 hours, right now he's taking a half pill every 12 hours, and I think tomorrow he goes to taking a half pill every 24 hours). His appetite and energy levels are normal and the hair on his belly is starting to grow back. He and I will both be glad when he's done taking pills - neither of us enjoy the pill administration process very much, though to be fair I should say that he is cooperative for the most part.
Not much else is going on. I haven't given a lot of thought to what lies ahead this week, which is kind of nice - I'm still sort of in a post-weekend glow or something. I do know that today is the day the black and white pictures I shot in Buffalo are supposed to be ready for me to pick up, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Wal-Mart handles B&W film.
Quite a few people have asked me how Jefferson's doing, so I thought I'd give an update on him here. He's been on the prednisone for about 10 days now, and tomorrow we start the next phase of tapering his dose (he started at 1 pill every 12 hours, right now he's taking a half pill every 12 hours, and I think tomorrow he goes to taking a half pill every 24 hours). His appetite and energy levels are normal and the hair on his belly is starting to grow back. He and I will both be glad when he's done taking pills - neither of us enjoy the pill administration process very much, though to be fair I should say that he is cooperative for the most part.
Not much else is going on. I haven't given a lot of thought to what lies ahead this week, which is kind of nice - I'm still sort of in a post-weekend glow or something. I do know that today is the day the black and white pictures I shot in Buffalo are supposed to be ready for me to pick up, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Wal-Mart handles B&W film.
11.02.2002
It feels a lot later than it really is right now... it feels like it should be 11 or 12 already. I spent most of the day at the Capital Area Handbell Festival, and had a pretty good time. I got to really catch up with one friend, and visited with a few other people as well. It was fun giving a concert (with The RRs) for a bunch of enthusiastic bell people. Whooping and hollering at a bell concert - kinda cool.
I think Chris and I are going to make Halloween cookies now. So what if we're 363 days early? We got new cookie cutters and I want to use them!
I think Chris and I are going to make Halloween cookies now. So what if we're 363 days early? We got new cookie cutters and I want to use them!
