Friday, April 28, 2006
Goin' Home Again
Well, I'm flying back up to Michigan tomorrow for Grandpa's 90th Birthday Bash. It's like deja-vu. It feels like I was just there. Oh, right, I was. It feels like I've spent more time in Michigan this month, than Orlando. I think this will be my shortest trip ever, though. I think I will be home just over 24 hours before heading back on Sunday.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Sweet Home, Michigan
Yesterday, I flew in from the Sunshine State to find, much to my surprise, more sunshine! I would have hardly thought that I had left Florida had it not been for the lack of palm trees and blooming flowers. I had a very nice flight, though. I flew AirTran for the first time. It was actually quite nice. It wasn't full. In fact, I had a whole row to myself. The plane had XM radio in the armrests, and since no one was sitting next to me, I could easily switch between the Tiger game and another music station (in between innings and whenever I got frustrated with their losing). The digital display even showed the inning, outs, and the score (so I really didn't even need to listen). Mom & Gramps were there to pick me up.
I love coming home. I don't think I could begin to describe the comforting feeling I get when I walk in the door and drop off my luggage in my old bedroom. I can't believe Dad actually asked where I was planning on sleeping. There's NO way I would sleep anywhere but MY room. After getting settled in, Mom & I went up to the loft in the barn, which had just been cleaned out (see Persevere). I couldn't believe how clean it was. I did manage to go through some of my stuff though, and found a few of my architecture textbooks to take back with me. One such book is The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice. Another book that I found wasn't a text book at all, but is vital to my career. It is the book which inspired me to become an architect. It was my FAVORITE book from my childhood. It is Need A House? Call Ms. Mouse! by George Mendoza. I loved this book. It was all about Henrietta Mouse, "an artist, a designer, a dreamer, a builder, a creator, all that and more. too." She designed homes for all her forest friends: a "spaceship" treehouse for the Squirrel, an underwater Atlantis for Trout, and a million-dollar mansion for Pig." But it was the illustrations by Doris Susan Smith that were truly captivating. I would look at this book for hours on end, then close my eyes and imagine myself living in any one of these houses.
I love coming home. I don't think I could begin to describe the comforting feeling I get when I walk in the door and drop off my luggage in my old bedroom. I can't believe Dad actually asked where I was planning on sleeping. There's NO way I would sleep anywhere but MY room. After getting settled in, Mom & I went up to the loft in the barn, which had just been cleaned out (see Persevere). I couldn't believe how clean it was. I did manage to go through some of my stuff though, and found a few of my architecture textbooks to take back with me. One such book is The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice. Another book that I found wasn't a text book at all, but is vital to my career. It is the book which inspired me to become an architect. It was my FAVORITE book from my childhood. It is Need A House? Call Ms. Mouse! by George Mendoza. I loved this book. It was all about Henrietta Mouse, "an artist, a designer, a dreamer, a builder, a creator, all that and more. too." She designed homes for all her forest friends: a "spaceship" treehouse for the Squirrel, an underwater Atlantis for Trout, and a million-dollar mansion for Pig." But it was the illustrations by Doris Susan Smith that were truly captivating. I would look at this book for hours on end, then close my eyes and imagine myself living in any one of these houses.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Kaboom!
I had a LOUD awakening on Saturday morning. At about 10 after 7 in the morning, a near-by parking garage (about 1,000 feet away) was imploded. I was actually awakened at about 6:45 with all the helecoptors hovering nearby. I had planned to actually go and watch it. I mean, how often does a building get imploded right outside your front door? I had almost reached the "public viewing area" when I heard the blasts go off. I started running, but by the time I got there, all I could see was the cloud of dust. So I just went back inside to watch the replay on the news (click on the title for a video/slideshow). As it turns out, I really didn't miss much. The garage was only 4 levels high and partially obstructed by the highway. It was still kinda cool and very loud. It took all of 8 seconds for the garage to come down. This implosion is the beginning of a major road construction project to help relieve some of the traffic problems in downtown. Here's my thought on this. The project is supposed to help traffic in the long run, but during the actual construction, traffic problems or only going to be worse. And by the time they finish the project (in 3 years), there will be 10 times even MORE traffic in the area because this place is growing so fast.
The last time a building was imploded in downtown Orlando, it was actually used for a movie. If you've ever seen Lethal Weapon 3, the building that explodes in the opening sequence is the old City Hall (it was imploded in October 1991).
Oral (Surgery) Report
So here's how it went:
Becky drove me to the oral surgeon's office friday morning. We arrived at about quarter to 8 and I filled out all the forms and such. Shortly afterward, the nurse escorted me to a small room with a chair in the center of it. I sat down and they started hooking me up to all the equipment (blood pressure, pulse, etc) and started the IV. It wasn't long before I started to feel fuzzy and couldn't keep my eyes open (it was still early in the morning so I wasn't entirely awake in the first place). I remember them calling me a lightweight. The only bad thing was that I wasn't ENTIRELY out of it. I could still hear what was going on and I even felt it. I tried to make some sort of noise (but with my mouth propped open there wasn't much I could do) to signal that I was in pain, but it didn't do anything to make them stop. When I did wake up after they were finished, I was crying. Becky was unable to stay because of work, so she had called Jon who was waiting in the recovery room when I was finished. I laid down on the table, trying to control my crying, and I remember the nurse telling Jon that I was a little emotional. In an attempt to cheer me up, he proceeded to tell me of his experience with having his wisdom teeth pulled. After some time in the recovery room, they put me in a wheelchair and rolled me out to Jon's vehicle and we went home. It's a good thing that he is my neighbor and it was his day off. He took care of getting my prescription, getting me some food (yogurt, apple sauce, ice cream, etc) and just checking up on me every hour or so. I pretty much slept until about 2:00. I felt fine the rest of the day. I wasn't really in any pain (that came the next day). In fact I probably could have gone to the Piston's game like I had originally planned, but I watched on TV instead (I can't believe they lost!). Like I said, I didn't really start to feel any pain until Saturday, but it wasn't unbearable, just a little tender. I was able to get out of the house and go to a jewelry party and even an engagement party for Jon & Becky. I'm thankful for all my friends who helped me during this time, with driving me around, bringing me snacks, and just caring. Thank you for your prayers. I had no idea what to expect from this, but all in all I think it went rather well (and I'm glad it's over).
Becky drove me to the oral surgeon's office friday morning. We arrived at about quarter to 8 and I filled out all the forms and such. Shortly afterward, the nurse escorted me to a small room with a chair in the center of it. I sat down and they started hooking me up to all the equipment (blood pressure, pulse, etc) and started the IV. It wasn't long before I started to feel fuzzy and couldn't keep my eyes open (it was still early in the morning so I wasn't entirely awake in the first place). I remember them calling me a lightweight. The only bad thing was that I wasn't ENTIRELY out of it. I could still hear what was going on and I even felt it. I tried to make some sort of noise (but with my mouth propped open there wasn't much I could do) to signal that I was in pain, but it didn't do anything to make them stop. When I did wake up after they were finished, I was crying. Becky was unable to stay because of work, so she had called Jon who was waiting in the recovery room when I was finished. I laid down on the table, trying to control my crying, and I remember the nurse telling Jon that I was a little emotional. In an attempt to cheer me up, he proceeded to tell me of his experience with having his wisdom teeth pulled. After some time in the recovery room, they put me in a wheelchair and rolled me out to Jon's vehicle and we went home. It's a good thing that he is my neighbor and it was his day off. He took care of getting my prescription, getting me some food (yogurt, apple sauce, ice cream, etc) and just checking up on me every hour or so. I pretty much slept until about 2:00. I felt fine the rest of the day. I wasn't really in any pain (that came the next day). In fact I probably could have gone to the Piston's game like I had originally planned, but I watched on TV instead (I can't believe they lost!). Like I said, I didn't really start to feel any pain until Saturday, but it wasn't unbearable, just a little tender. I was able to get out of the house and go to a jewelry party and even an engagement party for Jon & Becky. I'm thankful for all my friends who helped me during this time, with driving me around, bringing me snacks, and just caring. Thank you for your prayers. I had no idea what to expect from this, but all in all I think it went rather well (and I'm glad it's over).
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Oral Surgery
With all of Amanda's talk of her dealings with her dentist, I feel I should mention one of mine. Tomorrow morning I have an appointement with an oral surgeon to have my wisdom teeth extracted. I'm not really looking forward to it because everytime I mention it to someone, they keep giving me their horror stories about how painful it was or how sick they got. I'll say that the only thing I am looking forward to is having the whole day off work and being forced to eat ice cream and jello.
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