News Report

Okay, I had my first physical therapy appointment today. It went very well, considering. Not a whole lot happened, but I think the first appointment is mostly dedicated to figuring out a strategy anyway. Aunt Jo picked me up from school, took me to the appointment, and then without being asked, she waited for me and then brought me home!!! What a babe!

I've made a lot of progress on my application for Grad School. I've got my letters of recommendation secured, I've got transcripts coming from Ft. Lewis, I've got my portfolio at least theoretically constructed (now I have to get the pictures taken/writing pieces printed), the app itself mostly done, and I'm registered to take the GRE this Saturday...Things remaining on the agenda: Finish the app itself, send them the fee, get the portfolio FULLY done (and mailed), get transcripts requested from Metro and CU, TAKE the GRE. Whee! this is so fun! (NOT) Oh well, I feel accomplished. If I can multitask like this as an undergrad, look out world!

Thursday I got two handouts that, when I tried to read them today, I saw that they were both even-sides-only. Whoops! Well, lightens my load for tonight (but probably makes it heavier tomorrow).

I move up to my higher (but not full) dose tomorrow. I anticipate more severe stinging, more severe side-effects and possible site reaction. Wish me luck! I go back to working out tomorrow, and that's a good thing.

Also, I'm thinking wedding! Just to let you parents know, I really want to be involved in selecting the photographer. WHEE!

Also, I got my FAFSA for next year filled out and my state taxes filed. Now I just gotta do federal. Look how on the ball I am!

Hmm. I don't know. Brothas, yous guys gots to post more. I miss you! You're both bad at calling and e-mailing (like I'm much better), but we can meet here...in cyberspace!!! Anyway, this concludes this broadcast of The Elly Show. <3

a very bad guy

I spent the week in Pagosa Springs with a very bad guy. Jury trials really are the most interesting part of my job. I haved to make a million little decisions along the way, to make sure both sides get a fair trial, but the ultimaste decision falls to 12 citizens of Archuleta County, carefully chosen through decisions made by attorneys from both sides, each hoping for people receptive to their side of the case. The allegations against the guy are terrible- a 33 year old hispanic woman, possessed of neither privilege nor extensive education, whose husband had just been released from prison was living in a small motel room with him and their 15 year old daughter. Both were out of work and being supported by their church. Desparate for money, she allowed herself to be hired by a stranger to clean his cabin for $100. Once there she claims to have been hit, shoved around and raped at knifepoint. I can only assume he chose who he perceived to be a vulnerable victim who wouldn't report him, because he released her afterword. She did report, and when he was arrested his story was that she had agreed to have sex with him for $100, and was only making up the story of rape because he didn't have the money to pay her. Once in custody his information was put into the national crime computer and oops, he's wanted in two other sexual assault cases in the previous 60 days, one in Ohio and one in Missouri. And oops, he's been in prison for sexual assault before. And oops, the other two pending cases involved the same knife and other actions towards the victims too disgusting to describe, but similar enough to this case to believe it is the same guy. Bad news for the bad guy. Selecting the jury was wild, as it always is. Due to the nature of the allegations, it is obvious that a person who has been the victim of sexual misconduct in their lives should not be seated as a juror, since fairness to both sides of the case would likely be difficult. Thus every potential juror is asked about such isues, and it is always astonishing to me what a high percentage of people, mostly women, have such experiences in their pasts. Jury selection takes place in open court, but if potential jurors indicate they are uncomfortable discussing an issue in front of a group of strangers, we retire to my chambers, with both lawyers, the court reporter, the defendant and myself present to explore the circumstances of the juror in question. Many are still living with their past experiences very vividly, and much kleenex is gone through. Anyway, jury selection took most of two days, and the evidence began on Wednesday. We went through Friday, adjourned for the weekend, and will commence again tomorrow with the hope that a verdict will be reached by Tuesday, the birthday of Mom the Great. The victim testified on Thursday- scared to death to be in the room with the bad guy, nervous, inarticulate at best. I found her to be convincing, but we'll see what 12 jurors think. Through a complicated series of rulings I made, the victim of the Missouri rape was allowed to testify in this trial. A 67 year old grandmother of six, travelling from Wyoming to North Carolina to spend Christmas with the family of one of her sons, she got a room a t a small motel in Booneville, Missouri. A knock at the door and a cean cut young man is telling her he just accidentally hit her car in the parking lot and needs to talk to her. She opened the door, a decision that now haunts her, and in barged the guy telltale knife in hand. Hit her, shoved her, duct taped her hands behind her back, taped over her mouth and took all her cash and raped her, Used a condom- no DNA. Locked her in the unheated bathroom where she shivered all night until she finally ripped the toilet seat off the stool and battered her way through the bathroom door and called the cops. She was a much stronger and more articulate witness than the Pagosa victim. The bad guy says she's wrong about her ID, that someone else did it to her. But oops, records from the casino located 3 miles from the motel show the bad guy had been gambling there the same night as the rape, had presented his Ohio driver's license, was driving the same car he stole from the woman he is alleged to have raped in Ohio, the same car he drove his Pagosa victim to the fateful cabin in. There are many other connecting and explanatory facts and circumstances which time and taste do not permit me to include, but the evidence has satisfied me that the correct guy has been put on trial and I hope the jury can see through his stories. I still have the duty to be sure he gets a fair trial- I wouldn't want a conviction overturned on an appeal. Anyway, stay tuned- the verdict will get blogged this week. On a much lighter note, Snowdown week has arrived. Mom and I are going to the Follies gala show on Wednesday with Henry Philips and his wife Terra (at whose wedding I performed the vows at Blue Lake Ranch two years ago this May). Other than that not much new. I'm practicing not watching football today- it's the week off before the Super Bowl. Go Bears, but who cares. Noah and Cody are away from home practicing their crafts in Ft. Collins and Milwaukee- hope the crowds were large and the performances strong. Elly representing at home, apparently too busy socially last night to speak to us on the phone- hope a great time was had by all. You all make me very glad to be alive- don't forget to take care of yourselves. Elly starts PT tomorrow- just think of it as having a personal trainer! I love you guys- dad

I feel like I'm talking to myself!

So, today I went and worked out after class as I've been doing, and for the first time I could sorta feel my motor start running again. I was able to keep up the pace on the elliptical machines, whereas before I was mostly plodding my way through it. I feel like a major key to keeping my symptoms or "attacks" down is to keep working out, or at least maintain that level of physical activity. My legs (feet especially) were being weird before the workout...pins and needles that came and went in waves, very strange, but after the workout I can feel my whole body (except my stomach). Anyway, keep having good thoughts for me and encouraging me to keep up the good work!

School Schedule

All right guys, here's my school schedule (in case anyone but mom & dad care :) ) Schedule.

Back again

Hey fam! By about 11:30 I was feeling a lot more human--but since my breakfast came up with my painkillers, I still didn't have the fuel I needed to work out. Tomorrow though, for sure.

I returned that horrible Shakespeare book today--$91.52 back in the bank! Whee!

Hmm, what else...well, I got a new computer in the last week or so, and it's super awesome. It's a 64-bit system, duel core, with 2Gb RAM, a bitchin' video card, and a 250Gb hard drive...if you don't know what it means, trust me, it's good. With my nifty new computer, I've been developing the Crabtree Brewing Website. This is just a rough draft, but it's pretty much what the site will look like. I spent about 5 hours on it yesterday, which translates directly into $$...go me! Boo's website is next on my agenda, but since it seems she'd rather give Mom messages to give to me than to talk to me directly, this may be a complicated transaction. :\ Anyway...Love to everyone!

Yecchhh...

Last night was my 4th shot, and since I'd been getting zombie-like the next day but no other symptoms, I thought it might have been because of the Tylenol PM. WRONG. I didn't take any Tylenol last night, woke up this morning with a splitting headache, took two Excedrin and promptly threw them back up. Had to go to school anyway, but no gym for me today. Will post more later...

What it izzzzz....

Hi Y'all,
I got a late start out to Vallicito Rez yesterday. Wasn't sure what the conditions would be with the sun on the snow, etc. But it was my day off...no excuses. Might as well check it out. Dad's in Pagosa this whole week w/a sex offender trial (yuk) and, turns out, he took the wax pack w/him. Quick stop to pick up some blue wax, then off to the woods. It was sublime!! Absolutely perfect snow...fast downhills and just enough grip on the ups.I got back to the car (Saab did great and skis fit inside!) after an hour....and turned around and went back out again. Felt the Pod was a bit blasphemous in the great outdoors, but nooooooo...turned it off for awhile;but mostly jammed. I accidently bit off the end of my camelback. Opps!! Water everywhere...couldn't dance and get the end back in...soaked my gloves and froze my fingers off. Regained body temp after shower this am.

Okay, let's talk skating.
Did that this am. for a coupla hours before work (See: todays' am. shower) I usually scare the one to three people on the rink w/me into the middle fairly quickly,then it's the rink to myself. I had a very nice and demure wipe-out this morning trying to do some backward, one skate up trick (I just hope I wasn't singing too loudly (out loud) at the time w/my ...you kno what...POD!!!

Noah tell us that the Jeep blew a power steering pump and he should be back on the road soon. Thank god for those magic plastic cards...you just present them instead of money. Elly is entering week 2 of shots and continues to "show us how it's done"...You are AMAZING darling girl. Cody's travelling to Milwaukee for work. Good Luck buddy. Noah, do you have a recording of "Misunderstood"? I want that on my pod. I have" 2wings2flap" multiple times (I can't help it...I love that song!!!) and "Nothin' to do" a coupla times. U rock.

Tomorrrow Im going to Pogasa after work to be w/dad. love to yous all

Nimrod's Travels

Hey Folks . . .

So, for the past couple of days, I've found myself shamefully avoiding the blog because of that nagging "I have nothing to report" excuse. And, while that may be true, I've decided to push through anyhoo. So here goes.

Broomball season is in full swing (literally). As far as league sports go-it's a pretty short season. Four or five weeks. I'm on two and a half teams, and last week was an endurance test. Game on Tuesday (we lost due to a forfit-but scored 8 goals to their 0 in the subsiquent "practice"), game on Thursday (Debut game of the "Bad News Brooms", featuring Skylar and Scotty-ended in a 3-1 loss), Game on Saturday (The Grim Sweepers were victorious in an epic 1-0 battle royale!), game on Sunday (Not sure of the team name . . . I was brought in as a ringer, and helped them to a 2-2 tie), and I'm prepping for the next Grim Sweepers game tonight! So far, we haven't had any substitutes for any of these games, so it's been a great workout. The teams are a lot of fun-they're all co-ed with a wide range of talent, so the games are usually pretty laid-back and fun. What with the travels I have coming up, I'm going to have to miss several games, so I'm trying to get as much ice time in as possible. And Speaking of Travel:

I'm off on Thursday for Milwaukee. Two shows (Friday and Saturday) at the Pabst Theatre. I love it when I get to perform in a venue once graced by the Rolling Stones. It should be a blast. I'm flying from Minnesota to Milwaukee, then on Sunday, I'm either taking a bus or the train to Chicago for a couple of days to meet Olivia . . . check out first-hand to see if she passes the test. Then, I'm flying back out of O'hare on Tuesday. The company is covering the flights, so it should work out just fine.

After the Milwaukee/Chicago trip, I'm back in Minny for just over a week (and 5 more broomball games), and then it's off to Everette Washington for ten days. It looks like a lovely little town-about a half-hour north of Seattle. Over the 10 days, I'm doing 6 shows, so I'll have some free time to check out the Pacific Northwest. Maybe they'll let me harpoon a whale?

So, then I'm back in Minny on the 19th or so . . . home for about a week again, and then it's off to Vegas for a couple of days for Scott's 40th(!) Birthday. It's nice to be working again . . . getting paychecks and whatnot . . . and it's nice to know exactally where that moola is going to be blown! $500 on Double Black on the Roulette Table!

So, there's an overview on my upcomming month of travel. I'll get some broomball pics up here soon, and I'll be giving updates about the places I visit.

Elly-great to hear you've been hitting the gym! I've been getting in with suprising frequency myself. If you really want to freak people out, give yourself your shot while your at the gym. Then hit the weights like some sort of Barbarian. If anybody looks at you sideways, take a bite out of a puppy! Yeah . . . that'll show them! Hope all is well, and I look forward to hearing updates!!

peace

Second Shot

Hello familial units! I have to keep this short, 17 minutes till class. Last night I had my second shot--my first unaided by professionals! It stung more than the first one, but that was because of the medicine, not the needle. [As an aside, I have this neat little device that clips the needles off syringes. VERY convenient because it can hold 10 years worth of needles, and otherwise I'd have to throw every syringe away in a specially marked container made of thick durable plastic. Now I can just toss the neutered syringe into the trash, and go about my business.] I was a trooper, and it was easy. I got to use the auto-injector, and that made it a lot less scary. I took some Tylenol PM right beforehand. I was able to stay awake long enough to finish my homework reading, but man, it knocked me right out. I slept like a baby. Also yesterday, I worked out, unfortunately for the first time since coming home but not the last!!! Working out again today after classes.

<3 to everyone!

Officially, it's Thursday...

...but for me it's Wednesday still, and I can't sleep. So I decided to come in here and vent. "Yesterday" I started my shots: exhilarating, terrifying, and somewhat comforting...I'm the most interesting kid on the block right now. Of course, a good portion of my friends have a paralyzing fear of needles, so they don't actually express much interest...but oh well. Branden has been invaluable and a very stabilizing presence in my life, which is good.

School started yesterday, before my shots. It's shaping up to be a paper-filled semester: one 15-pager, one 10-12 pager, one 6-8 pager. *whew* TGIGIM. (Thank God it's graduation in May.) Other than that, this semester should be cake.

My "Shakespeare for non-majors" teacher today told our class that despite the fact that many of us already have the Complete Works of Shakespeare, we really have to have the $86 monstrosity from the bookstore for its invaluable cultural context. Haha, I'm more clever than a speeding bullet, more slick than a locomotive. I bought the book, and over the weekend I'm going to look through it and make copies of whatever "cultural context" is different from my own personal copy...then return it for full price. Muahahaha.

Anyway, I love everyone, hope everyone's doing well. And remember, no noose is good noose!

You think our Chimney's Hot? . .

Bummer about the Slammer. But, pretty cool that we have been in the presence of a combustion-controlling device known as a "slammer". The cool points nearly equal the dollar amount . . . nearly. We'll always have the Kiva. Not quite as convienent as the slammer, but probably just as legal.

Well, I'm back from Baton Rouge. It was a great trip. That was the deepest into the dirty south that I've ever been, and it's a different world down there. Both the Manship Theatre and my hotel were downtown, and like the downtowns of most cities I've experienced, it was pretty dead over the weekend. Dead like, there were only two places that I could find to eat at outside of the Hilton (and within walking distance). The Capital Grill provided delicious delights, though somewhat pricey, and Poor Boy Lloyds provided deliciouser delights at rock-bottom prices. I ate more delicious fried bayou food over the past four days than I could shake a crawfish at. Mmm. . . It's true what they say about Southern cookin'!

Due to press and unexpected technichal hold-ups, I didn't get to explore as much as I wanted to, but I did get to see a bit of the city. I got over to LSU to eat a couple of times. And I saw both the old and new State Capitols. Here's the old, castle-like capitol . . . the one where what's-his-name who ruled this town was shot. (The History is eluding me right now.)



The shows kicked ass. Lot of folks starved for entertainment down there . . . it was pretty obvious pretty fast how the folks in that area were still reeling from Katrina (whoever she is?) Well, I've mismanaged my time, and I've got to take off for the first broomball game of the season tonight (finally). I'll get back here soon. Just for the record, and in the spirit of comradare, I've decided to start my new injection routine today as well. . .

Love you guys, and talk to you soon!

the Slammer, or, How I Spent Martin Luther King Day

I've had a crappy cold and spent all day Saturday and Sunday on the couch watching TV. It was the football playoffs, which was helpful, and the Bears won. It was my plan to spend my Monday, today, the MLK holiday, being more productive. So far so good. Lounged around reading and watching mom do exercises for a couple of hours. Got out of my pajamas for the first time since Friday and took mom to work. I then reluctantly surrendered to my office and worked for a couple of hours and Packed up the computer for the trip to Pagosa tomorrow. I headed home at 2 pm for a rendezvous with fate- I was about to encounter The Men Of Ashes Away. I believe you were all present on the evening at our house over the holiday- it may have actually happened on Christmas night- when we were burning logs in the upstairs fireplace and smoke started coming out of the downstairs fireplace. A first time occurance in the history of the house. This event led mom and I to face the inevitable need to have the chimney cleaned, for which we retained the services of Ashes Away, a local fireplace sales and maintenance company. Unlike government employees these men do not take Martin Luther King Day off. The scheduled appointment was today at 2:30, for which The Men Of Ashes Away showed up exactly on time. I can't remember their names, but they were earnest and personable fireplace professionals. The lead guy was about my age, the other guy probably in his early 40's. We went right to work. Both were truly intrigued by what had happened. Despite his years of experience working in an industry clearly requiring frequent contact with chimneys, the older guy had never seen one that served two fireplaces, like ours does. Up and down the stairs we strode, speaking man talk and solidifying in their minds the layout and what had happened that night weeks ago when smoke came out of the downstairs fireplace. The younger man explained the intricacies of the dual-fireplace chimney to the older man, which was followed by sopme brainstorming, and then, at last, action. You can picture the fireplaces- the downstairs is the same as when the house was built- the upstairs one is a metal stove insert into the original hearth. The older man kneeled down and stuck his head in the upstairs fireplace and looked upward with a match. His body language slumped slightly and he said in a soft but firm voice "shit-........ it's a slammer" This news was greeted instantly by a soft gasp from the younger man, next to whom I was standing. The older man stood back up. The entire encounter by this point had been going on about 15 minutes, and being Men we had accompanied our conversation with much direct eye contact. There was no eye contact for a few moments as The Men Of Ashes Away, not looking forward to giving me bad news, rubbed their lower faces and prepared themselves. Brimming with empathy, The Men resumed eye contact and explained to me what a slammer was, and over the course of another ten minutes, involving another trip down and up the stairs and much man talk back and forth, the case was solved. At great expense of course. A slammer is a metall fireplace which is "slammed" into a fireplace without there being an accompanying chimney liner attached. Our upstairs fireplace is a metal insert placed inside the original brick hearth. We can't see it from the outside but it has a hole in its top wall for smoke to vent out and up. A non-slammed, properly and more expensively installed stove would have a chimney liner- special metal pipe which attaches securely to the hole in the top of the stove and extends to the top outlet of the chimney. Then, instead of cleaning the whole chimney, only the liner needs periodic cleaning. Obviously when chimneys or their liners are scrubbed and cleared, much debris falls down them. Our chimney has no liner so not only can naturally occurring things like leaves ann enter from the outside, but the accumulated sticky disgusting pitch, soot and other flotsam and jetsam caused by previous chimneysweeps over the years (who unlike The Men Of Ashes Away failed to diagnose this particular design defect) has been falling on top of, behind and all around our stove ever since it was slammed in there, which was who knows how long before we moved in in 1990. None of this is visible, of course. It slowly became clear to us, through our thoughtful and to the point man-discussions, that there must be a huge accumulation of finieu (gross stuff) impacted all around the stove inside the hearth, that there must be constant contact (and great heat transfer) between the exterior of the slammed stove and the built-up crap. Not only that, but the dreaded waste has undoubtedly permeated into every possible crevasse within the chimney at or below the level of the stove, including the connection to the downstairs fireplace. Revelation followed hypothesis and we concluded that on the above discussed fateful evening over Christmas the smoke emanating from the downstairs fireplace was not the smoke from the logs burning in the upstairs fireplace, but from the toxic ooze which has built up within the slammed system which had finally combusted. The Men Of Ashes Away informed me gravely that there had undoubtedly been a huge heat buildup inside the chimney to have caused such a thing, which if left to its own progress would have caused an extremely intense and hard to put out house fire. They could not tell me how close we came to disaster, but there can be no more fires until our fireplace is replaced with a complying system. Probably $3-4,000, depending on if we go wood or gas. The Men Of Ashes Away would be glad to sell us and install the system of our choice. We parted friends, The Men and I. Handshakes with yet more full eye contact. Having observed the hands of these fireplace professionals throughout the course of our encounter, I knew they were pitch black, and I internally winced before the handshakes, but bonding had occurred and the ritual could not be foregone. Amazingly, no hand transfer took place. It was permanent, perhaps clean dirt on their hands. Hands which gladly received my $40 check. Who says MLK Day is boring? I seem to have blogged the remainder of the afternoon away. Big changes with school starting tomorrow- courage needed. Cograts on Baton Rouge Cody- on to Milwaukee! I love you all so much- stay strong dad

It's Mid-January!!

Brrrr. It is cold in Durango...and beautiful! The temp is keeping the snow around. It is, once again, great to work for the government. Dad's off today for MLK day. I however am going in to work shortly. First: Exercise! Strappin' on the iPod.

Congrats to Cody for a successful run in Baton Rouge. Hope your travel back today is smooth. Milwaukee next, and then where is it again near Seattle? Good luck with tomorrow's audition. Got some good brews brewing?

Elly and Noah are back in classes Tuesday, also. Oh boy...back to the grind. Wow. Last semester for sis! Good luck. Home health nurse is visiting w/E on Tues also for "administering shot training". I wish I could be there with you honey.It's gonna be fine, I kno. Just keep up that great attitude of yours! You are an inspiration for all of us!!

Noah, I hope the Jeep check-up doesn't prove to be too major. Grrrr...damn autos. We did have Brittains do the pre-purchase inspection. They thought it looked sound. Let us kno. Have you been recording? Oh yeah, you might want to tell your wait-listed class teachers about your fin. aid hold up right away. Might speed it up?

Ok..no more procrastinating. Time to pump it up(haha). Love you all sooo mom

Pharmacists, Lifelines, nurses. *sigh*

So, I got a call from the "mail-order pharmacy" that will be distributing my Rebif last night five minutes before they closed, and my phone was out of batteries. So I called them back this morning and got some figures on what this medicine is gonna be costing. Whew. All I can say is, thank goodness for insurance. That's going to be delivered tomorrow, probably around noon.

Also, just now, after starting this post, I got a call from the Rebif nurse who's going to be coming to help train me on the injections. We got that set up for Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 2 pm (if anyone wants to come). I e-mailed Aunt Jo about it already, will call if I don't get a response.

In other news, I got my loan money today and promptly ordered a new computer, which should be arriving soon, so I'll be able to post more often.

Well, I'm about to go take a walk downtown with Branden, just wanted to let you guys know where I'm at with all this medicine stuff. Love you all! TTYS!

Online MS Support Group

http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=32

this site looks pretty cool. it has all types of resources and a forum where MS patients can talk about what's going on with them and get help and advice from one another. Everyone check it out!

Nanu Nanu

Before I blog, I found this on wikipedia:

Factors triggering a relapse

Multiple sclerosis relapses are often unpredictable and can occur without warning with no obvious inciting factors. Some attacks, however, are preceded by common triggers. In general, relapses occur more frequently during spring and summer than during autumn and winter. Infections, such as the common cold, influenza, and gastroenteritis, increase the risk for a relapse. Emotional and physical stress may also trigger an attack, as can severe illness of any kind. Statistically, there is no good evidence that either trauma or surgery trigger relapses. People with MS can participate in sports, but they should probably avoid extremely strenuous exertion, such as marathon running. Heat can transiently increase symptoms, which is known as Uhthoff's phenomenon. This is why some people with MS avoid saunas or even hot showers. However, heat is not an established trigger of relapses.

Pregnancy can directly affect the susceptibility for relapse. The last three months of pregnancy offer a natural protection against relapses. However, during the first few months after delivery, the risk for a relapse is increased 20%–40%. Pregnancy does not seem to influence long-term disability. Children born to mothers with MS are not at increased risk for birth defects or other problems.^[12]

Many potential triggers have been examined and found not to influence relapse rates in MS. Influenza vaccination is safe, does not trigger relapses, and can therefore be recommended for people with MS. There is also no evidence that hepatitis B, varicella, tetanus, or Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG - immunization for tuberculosis) increases the risk for relapse.^[13] In fact, recent studies have shown that the tetanus vaccine may actually have a protective effect against the development of MS.

Elly- read it and pay attention to the parts ab0ut heat (sauna, showers, etc.) and the vaccinations.

I am feeling like SH#@ today! 2nd day of the cold, and I'm hoping that I am at the peak of rock-bottom (huh?). I'm fine though, just sneezing and sore throat and whatnot....HOW COME ELLY GETS ALL THE ATTENTION HUH???? Just kidding of course. The show was sweet the other night! We brought more people than any of the other acts, and were paid accordingly (a whole $10 apiece- needless to say, I bought myself something pretty). I'm getting back in the groove of performing, but I still have losing-my-voice issues. Work is fine, minus the sickness, and there's not much else that is noteworthy at this time. Delia came down for the show, and is coming down to visit for a few days tomorrow as well. Between you guys, Ricky, and Delia, I am managing not to let the Joneses get me down, at least for the time being. I miss you guys. I am officially blogged-out!

HAXX0R!

All right, so I hacked the blog--I logged in as Dad to publish one of his drafts to see if it would work. It did. (It is now down at January 4th--go read it.) Dad, for future reference, to edit and publish your saved drafts, log in as usual, then when you get to the dashboard, you'll see something to the right of "New Post" which says "Manage: Posts". Click on that, and then, above the list of posts, click on "Drafts." Then, click "Edit" to the left of the blog entry you want to publish, then at the bottom hit "publish". I hope that wasn't too complicated and helps your blogging experience.

Anyway, things have been pretty uneventful here in Boulder. When I got home, the drive that my computer's Operating System was on had fried, so my computer's out of service for now. Which explains my absence from the blog.

My symptoms have kept getting worse, it's really daunting to go up and down stairs, bend over and pick stuff up (I lose my balance a lot), and generally just move at all. I've been moving anyway. On Thursday Branden and I took a walk that was very nice. The snow has been daunting, though, because it's even harder to walk in and I'm afraid of falling over. But I'm trying to stay positive and active! Yesterday B and I went to Steph, Shad and Dan's house to watch a movie. Their street is never plowed, so we took a chance and parked (Branden's old car which Shad is loaning us, a tiny 20lb Geo Storm) on the unplowed, partially packed street. When the movie ended, we had to unearth the car--Branden and I pushed it out all by ourselves!! I was proud. It was hard work and rewarding. (I kinda hoped we were going to have to, because I like doing stuff like pushing cars out of snow.)

Anyway, Mama-llama's here now, we're going to my appointment tomorrow. Hopefully we'll know more, maybe I can get on medication quickly and start functioning somewhat normally again.

Love to everyone!!!

All on Board!

Well done Dad . . . and welcome to the Blog!

It's Suday, and the Jets and Pats are locked in a tie. Big whoop. I've been about 5 minutes from cleaning our house for about 2 hours now. Sure is easy to find distractions. The morning started off well . . . I was at the Y at 7:55am, and had to wait around with the other early birds until it opened at 8. Then, sweaty, I did some shopping to stock the cubbords. Since then, I've been sitting around deciding what to do next. Ahh. . . Sundays.

I'm planning on some serious brewing over the next couple of days. Tomorrow, I'll be bottling 2 brews-a delicious Blueberry Stout and a "light" beer of indeterminate background. I'm planning on brewing up a Steam Ale, a Rye IPA, and an experimental "Butterbeer" a la Harry Potter. We'll see.

I got another Caveman booking yesterday . . . Feb. 9th-19th in Everette Washington (about an hour north of Seattle). That'll be pretty cool. I take off Thursday for Baton Rouge, and I'm looking forward for that. A long weekend in 70 degree weather. Awesome.

So, good luck to Mom and E tomorrow! I'm looking forward to hearing about it. I'll be thinking of you, and sending good vibes! We've all got to remember to stay cool and positive regarding this adventure. Let me know if there's anything I can do from afar!

Love you guys.

this is a test

i am now testing

BABY!!

Olivia Elizabeth Lyman. Welcome, and Good Luck!

Report Card

Strike Two . . .

This CAR situation I've gotten myself into is a pain in the ass. Maybe, just maybe, I'll learn some lesson in this about better money management. Historically speaking, however, that's a long shot. I spent an hour yesterday talking to a loan officer in Anoka (a northern suburb) yesterday, and things were looking pretty good. Then I got a call from her today saying that because I don't Live, Work, or Worship in Anoka, I wasn't elegible to "team up with them." I responded by saying I'd Worship their office of something could be worked out, but I don't think she saw the humor.

Or maybe it was just a bad joke.

So, I talked today with a different company, and the ball is rolling again. I'm expecting to hear back from them Monday afternoon. Stupid Weekends, ruining my schwerve. So, this weekend I'm going to try not to think/worry about it. Being carless has helped a bit with health, though. For the past 3 days since returning, I've walked downtown to the YMCA for workouts. It's a little over two miles door-to-door (uphill both ways through snow to my armpits), and the walks have been nice. The weather has been mild, so we'll see what happens when it starts getting super frigid.

The mild weather has already screwed up broomball, however. I'm on 2 teams this year, and this was supposed to be our first week. Appearantly, the city thinks it's "not safe" to play on lakes that aren't "completely frozen". Cowards. I guess there's a cold front heading this way, so hopefully we'll be swinging the sticks next week!

I had an audition this morning (through Moore-my agency) that I felt really good about. Who knows . . . It's for a live event for a Restraunt Conference in Vegas at the end of February. Keep your fingers crossed. It would be nice, because we're probably bringing Scott out there for his 40th (!) Birthday party . . . the same week at this potential gig. Nothing wrong with a free plane ticket!

Tonight, Sky's making some delicious Asian dinner (great green globs . . . ), and I'm bottling beer! I'm expecting great things from this one . . . it's a repeat of a recipie that I concocted earlier, with a few changes. The beer has been aging in the glass carboy (next to the buckets) for over a month now, and should be delicious.




Hope everyone's doing great. First weekend of the New Year! Love-

Hello all you shnibs out in blogville. This is my maiden voyage to your planet. The return to full time employment has been a bit rocky, but gradually I'm getting resigned to it. It has actually been nice to see the people I work with, most of awhom I like very well. Jay the cake-man sends his regards to Elly- feel free to email him. The dreary slog of the citizens through divorce court continues unabated, punctuated by moments of grace. The untold story of divorce court is that it is publically defined by its exceptions. The jerks get all the attention, while most people work through it keeping their children foremost in their minds, putting aside their heartaches as best they can. In those ways they are heroes, but sad ones at best. I try to let them know that those efforts are worthwhile- some hear it, some don't. Anyway, mom and I went over to Steve Brittain's house for dinner on Tuesday night- it helped us not dwell on our empty house. We're in the second night alone here- no problem, we're doing fine. I got an email from U Ken today- aphoto of Kelly and Dustin in their hospital room. Kelly's water broke at 1 this afternoon, so the baby should be due at any time- keep all fingers crossed for them. Of course this triggered a long conversation by mom and I reliving each of your births- easily the three most exciting days of our lives. I guarantee you that playing in the NFL is nothing compared to what they're going through tonight. Noah is performing tonioght in Denver with Melvin- our thoughts are with you dude, we know you'll knock'em dead. Mom has developed a sleeping disorder- awake from 3 am on- 15 or 20 years of psychiatric treatment should clear everything up. Mom says hi- too pooped to blog tonight. It was so great having you all home together- I look forward to the next time. Talk and blog soon- LOVE, dad

heyheyhey...i think i'm posting. also emailed tonight explaining that i failed at blogging and will try later. Whoopee!! Nobody's safe now. Thx for instructs, Elly and for directions to apt. Thats all for now Love U

Back in the Icy Midwest

The flights were smooth. DIA had a bit of a feeling of recovery . . . the halls were still echoing whispers of despair from the recent setbacks, and there were areas that smelled like people had been camped out for a few days. I had no problems though-I had exit-row seats for the both planes, and I managed to sleep quite a bit.

The sandwich was delicious . . . the apple a bit soft.

Sky picked me up at the airport, and we navigated the icy streets of Minneapolis with little adventure. Last night there was much rejoicing as we all reconnected and celebrated "micro-christmas". I'm too exicted about the gift I got from Sky and Scotty . . . again, I'll be the biggest 10-year-old on the block:

Heelies.




No more mere walking for me . . . now I roll.

So, I've got an audition today-a nonunion jobbie for a financial investment firm (ironic). The shoot dates conflict with Caveman in Baton Ruge, but I'm heading down anyway. In anticipation of the audition, the beard is gone . . . I've benuded my face. After the audition, it's off to the Y for a workout, then to the bank to begin project "car recovery".

Love you guys

Trip home!

Well, I think that the parents are going to be struck next! All I want to say is, drive slowly, Mom and Dad...


So, Noah and I got off to a slow start this morning. About an hour after we were planning on leaving, we were finally on the road. We went and had lunch with Dad, and in Del Norte we stopped for a bathroom break. Everything was going great. But then, we stopped for gas in a tiny flyspeck town 40 miles outside of Bailey. When we stopped, we noticed that the car was making odd noises and Noah said that it was hard to turn the wheel. I got some power steering fluid, and we started to get back on the road, but when Noah started up the car again, it growled like a large angry predator; a kind of sound a dinosaur might make if it was furry. Anyway, he turned the car off again and got a quart of oil, which he fed the car though it was unnecessary. And the car proceeded to make (quieter) unhappy noises the entire way back to Boulder, which we both felt lucky that the car had reached.


Noah lost his keys, as we know, and that included (as we thought at the time) his outside apartment key but not the inside apartment key. So he was going to go home and hope a neighbor was home to let him into the building, and then he'd be gold.


Unfortunately, when he got there, he discovered that he had lost both apartment keys. So now he's crashing with a friend.


The point is, Leave Your Cars At Home For The Next Month Or So, And Pay Your Loan Payments. Parents, they're only bad luck. ;) Love yous all!

the readiness is all

I miss you guys already

everybody's here yea!!!

Happy New Year to us....we are awesome. Oh Yeah......

Me bum hurts!!!

AHA!!! We have figured it out!

Jan 1, 2k7 . . . the future is now . . . .

First post of Team Lyman. We're up and Running!