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).

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.

Hot, Hot HOT!!!

I know, last weekend I was complaining about the "chilly" weather. It was actually a beautiful weekend. I was still able to lay out by the pool and work on my tan. I was only out for about an hour before I felt myself beginning to burn then went inside. Even though the air was on the cool side, the full sunshine is still quite intense. This weekend, however, it will be near 90! The good news though, is that the humidity will be way down (less than 50%). There's been much talk about the dry air and how it increases the threat for brush fires. While I understand their concern, I'm still not complaining. The low humidity makes SUCH a difference.

Last Game

This weekend I attended my last Tiger game of the season. It was a cool day (62 at gametime), but PLENTY of sunshine (it was nearly 70 by the end of the game). While I didn't have any guests with me this weekend, I didn't let it hinder me from having a good time. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. I could come and go on my own schedule. Like halfway through the game when I decided to leave my regular seat and go sit on the berm in left field. There I could just lay in the full sunshine (and the berm just happened to block most of the wind, too). What of course made it a good game was the 4-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. The Tigers are off to a great start. They are 16-11 which puts them in 3rd place in the American League and tied for 4th in the Spring Training Grapefruit League. Will the Tigers actually have a winning season this year???