sunflowery's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's Hotter Than Hades I can't believe the weekend is almost over. It went by so quickly. Friday after work, I met some co-workers for drinks at a near-by Irish pub. The old Holiday Inn is now the new Marriott and they refurbished the restaurant. It's very nice. I had my first Mojito. Not very Irish, but a very good drink. I'd order one again. One of my very favorite co-workers is changing jobs. While he won't be leaving out building, he will be leaving our department and our floor. It just won't be the same without him. We all went out for drinks to celebrate his new job and say "goodbye". He gave me a big hug and said thanks for always supporting him. He's my dad's age and kind of a wise guy and I'm going to miss him wandering by my cube and telling me to get back to work. Saturday, Bob and I volunteered with the MDA American Thunder Harley Ride. The link to the photos are here. We had SO much fun. It was 97 degrees and so humid, but we managed to stay in the shade, and drank tons of water. The MDA crew was expecting 500 bikers, but we ended up with only 200 or so. I guess a couple of years ago, a woman died on the ride after a rock kicked into her tires and froze the bike and she was thrown off. The year after that, there wasn't a ride and last year's ride was tiny. This year's ride wasn't really advertised, so 200 bikers is a pretty good turn out. I took a card full of photos, there are 80 posted on my Snapfish site. I wish there was a way to post the sound of 200 Harleys starting their engines and riding past us. It was really an awesome experience and one we hope to repeat next year. I have to say, though they look pretty rough, most of the bikers we met were friendly, polite, funny and down to earth. We met one couple who looked like aging hippie bikers. They both had grey hair and tan skin with fine lines and wrinkles. We chatted with the woman and she said she and her husband were the full time personal care attendants for her husband�s parents. They were able to be on the ride because a nurse friend of hers volunteered to care for his parents over the weekend. Another couple had a son with a form of Muscular Dystrophy and they were riding on his behalf. Another gal rode for MDA whenever she could, just because it was a good cause and she said she always met the best people. We met several new faces to us among the volunteers. Sadly, there was a couple there with their 6-year old son, Wyatt. He was just diagnosed with Duchene�s last September and they are still working through their shock, anger and grief this diagnosis brings. Wyatt is still pretty mobile and active, but both Bob and I could see down the road to where this disease will bring him. We see it every year at the holiday party. Kids that were mobile last year come to this year�s party with walkers or wheelchairs. Kids who were in wheelchairs last year now have respirators and need help feeding themselves. Kids with respirators last year are no longer with us this year. It�s hard to believe this bright, active 6-year old has this horrible fate to look forward to. We grieved for Wyatt and his parents as we drove home. We are thankful for our local MDA and all the education, support, and help they provide. If you have ever thought about volunteering for a community organization, may I suggest you contact your local MDA office? They can always use help with events, office administration, donations, and whatever else they can find to put your hand to. Today was our day to work the nursery at church. This was Bob�s first time working in our church�s nursery, but I think he took to it quite well. We started with four kiddos. Two of them were 2 years old and left half-way through to attend Sunday School. So then we had an 8-month old and an 18-month old. It went really well. Bob did a tremendous job. We figure it�s good practice for when we have our own kids. I have to say, the kids we had today eyed his wheelchair with big, bright, round eyes. I realized that when we do have kids, my standards are going to have to be a little more relaxed. Bob will be the stay at home parent and it will be all he can do to feed and change the little codger. My cleanliness standards will have to be adjusted. Not to mention how quickly things get done. It�s good to get an idea of this stuff ahead of time. After church, Bob took me out to lunch at Olive Garden. It was wonderful! So yummy. Not only that, our food order got lost for a bit and it took so long to get to us that we were given a free $25 gift card. Whoot! We will use it. We weren�t even upset over the time it was taking. We were just enjoying each other�s company and the yummy salad and soup. More time for my tummy to empty in preparation for the main course. It didn�t matter though, by the time our food arrived, we were both so stuffed that we ended up boxing it to go. Good food for later tonight. After lunch, we came home and I worked on the invitations for my parent�s 40th wedding anniversary open house. I created quite the cute design, incorporating their wedding photo and a retro 60�s feel. Then I created a mail merge and was able to print all their addresses on the reverse side. So cool. I LOVE computers and color printers. After that, Bob and I went for a quick swim. While we were swimming, it started to rain. Not that we minded because we were already wet, but we didn�t want Bob�s chair to fritz out, so we went in. Then I began to work on more of our vacation stuff. I got a student loan refund check from my school, so we wanted to make reservations and pay for a hotel on the beach for our last 3 days in Florida. I found a great little motel directly on Daytona beach with a Jacuzzi suite. I called, it was available, so we booked it. Before booking it, though, I checked around the internet for reviews of this place and most were favorable, so book it, we did. We are set for our Florida vacation as far as our flights, our lodging for the first 7 days and our lodging for the last 3 days. Now all we need to line up is our rental car, the 2 theme parks we plan on visiting and the cash we plan on bringing. The big stuff is out of the way, at least. The weather people here are saying we can expect a 20 degree drop in temps overnight. So far, that hasn�t happened. Nor have the storms they�ve been predicting. I wish we would get a big whopper of a storm. So, I finally got my grade from my first class. I got an 86, a B+. Not what I was shooting for, but it�s not bad for my first class after a 7 year absence. I should have the grades from my second class this coming week. Then I can submit my tuition bill to my work for reimbursement. Tomorrow is the start of the rat race again. I�m not ready for it, but I�m glad for the job and the opportunity to make a living for me and Bob. The good news is that New Girl is no longer working for us and a new New Girl is starting tomorrow. Hopefully she will be great. I�ll keep you posted. 8:18 p.m. - Sunday, Jul. 17, 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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