Happy Birthday, Newlywed!

...and the good times keep rolling for Chrissy this month!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOLL!

...oh, I just wanted to add that I start back at work this Wednesday. I am on 1/2 days for 2 weeks, and then will be re-evaluated for full days. Not too happy about leaving the cave, but it must be done.

In physical therapy news, I have graduated from the pool to "land". I have been doing a lot of work with Pilates machines - I like them very much! I've been continuing with my walking every day, and have been adding exercises to my home repertoire.

Finally, I went to my Fantasy Football draft yesterday, and feel very confident in my team. akjn is also just looking forward to the beginning of football season. ak put a sweet program on my iphone called Draft Central 2008 for .99, and I that is all I walked into the draft with. All players are listed by rank and also name, and as you and your league are picking, you just mark(tap) that person going to your team, or someone else's, and then the pick shows up as drafted on all of the main lists. It also lists your team exclusively. For less than a dollar, this little application was worth it.

ok, that was it :)

Peace Out!

Chrissy & Eric ... Happily Ever After

...so after texting back and forth Saturday, and then playing phone tag on Sunday, Chrissy & I finally connected Sunday evening, and this is how the first part of our conversation went:

jmn: Hey! What's up? How's Block Island?

cns: Good, good....guess what we did?

jmn: (increased pitch & volume) OMG -are you engaged? Are you married? Are you guys having a baby?

cns: (giggling) The second one.

jmn: (hollering & crying) So happy, tell me everything! etc. etc. ....

..we then proceeded to have what I consider one of the best telephone conversations ever!

I also gave my congratulations to the groom, whose smile I could feel through the phone & across the miles :)

CONGRATULATIONS,

Mr. & Mrs. Eric Schmidt!

Recovery Reads (so far...just keep scrolling down)

Sin In The Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, And The Battle For America's Soul
Karen Abbott

Edgar Allan Poe, Selected Poems & Tales *
Edgar Allan Poe; Gaiman, Neil; Summers, Mark

Sparkles
Louise Bagshawe

Colorstrology: What Your Birthday Color Says About You
Michele Bernhardt

Boom!: Voices Of The Sixties Personal Reflections On The '60s And Today
Tom Brokaw

Possible Side Effects & Running With Scissors
Augusten Burroughs

Black Girl/White Girl
Joyce Carol Oates

Life With My Sister Madonna
Christopher Ciccone; Wendy Leigh

Be Nice (Or Else!): And What's In It For You
Winn Claybaugh

Candy Girl: A Year In The Life Of An Unlikely Stripper & JUNO: The Shooting Script (2)
Diablo Cody

109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer And The Secret City Of Los Alamos
Jennet Conant

The Front
Patricia Cornwell

The Collected Poems Of Emily Dickinson *
Emily Dickinson; Wetzsteon, Rachel

Dominick Dunne: Three Complete Novels (The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, People Like Us, & An Inconvenient Woman) & The Way We Lived Then (4)
Dominick Dunne

A Hopeless Romantic
Harriet Evans

Paint It Black: A Novel
Janet Fitch

Bright Shiny Morning & A Million Little Pieces * (2)
James Frey

Love In The Time Of Cholera
Gabriel García Márquez

The Little Black Book Of Style
Nina Garcia

Something Blue & Something Borrowed (2)
Emily Giffin

The Beach House & Swapping Lives (2)
Jane Green

Down River
John Hart

The Drowning Season, The Ice Queen: A Novel, Property Of, Seventh Heaven, & The Third Angel: A Novel (5)
Alice Hoffman

Dead Sleep, Sleep No More, & Blood Memory * (3)
GREG ILES

Gods In Alabama
Joshilyn Jackson

San Francisco Stories: Great Writers On The City
John Miller

Anybody Out There?: A Novel
Marian Keyes

Candy Everybody Wants (P.S.)
Josh Kilmer-Purcell

If I Am Missing Or Dead: A Sister's Story Of Love, Murder, And Liberation
Janine Latus

Lady Chatterley's Lover *
D. H. Lawrence

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
Tucker Max

Behaving Like Adults: A Novel, Getting Over It, & A Tale Of Two Sisters (3)
Anna Maxted

Confessions Of A Nervous Shiksa
Tracy McArdle

The Time Traveler's Wife *
Audrey Niffenegger

Harvesting The Heart: A Novel, Perfect Match: A Novel, Picture Perfect, & Songs Of The Humpback Whale: A Novel In Five Voices (4)
Jodi Picoult

CSI: Nevada Rose
Jerome Preisler

Cost: A Novel
Roxana Robinson

Olivia And Jai
Rebecca Ryman

The Heroin Diaries: A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star
Nikki Sixx; Gittins, Ian

Names On The Land: A Historical Account Of Place-Naming In The United States
George R. Stewart

Lost Boy, Lost Girl
Peter Straub

Teach Yourself Visually Knitting
Sharon Turner

The Art Of War *
Sun Tzu

Certain Girls: A Novel
Jennifer Weiner

Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel
Lauren Weisberger

The Complete Stephen King Universe: A Guide To The Worlds Of Stephen King
Stanley Wiater; Christopher Golden; Hank Wagner

The Writing Class
Jincy Willett

The Handbook Of Style: Expert Fashion And Beauty Advice Every Woman Should Know
Sarah Woodruff

* = reread ( ) = multiple books by same author

The total is somewhere around 70 books. I did not include any of the puzzle books or magazines, either. I am waiting on an amazon order as I am writing this!!

I wish I could link you guys right into my personal library with Collectorz-it is so cool! They offer a zillion ways to organize your books, dvds, games, music, and comics. All information about a book is available, and I am able to sort the library by author, cover art, # pages, date purchased, etc.

I am having a ball with the scanner playing store, and am trying to figure out the best way to tackle the 20+ boxes of books sitting in the Rita Room right now. If I can do a box a day, it would be good.

Recovery note: I have been walking every day since July 31. ak got me a cool pedometer, and I am averaging 5284 steps per day/approximately 2.6 miles. My goal is 5 miles by September 22, so I think I am on track. I actually did 7170 steps yesterday, so it's not that far off :)

I hope everyone has a FAB weekend!

Not Worth It + Sweet Redemption

Just in case you are all rushing out to get the "tell all" Madonna book written by her brother Chris - DON'T!
I eagerly anticipated the arrival of this book, pre-ordered on amazon with expediated shipping. I have been horribly let down. It is another biography of Madge's life ... been there, done that. There was no earthshattering or groundbreaking information revealed.
What a completely disappointing waste of paper! This book is taking the trip to the resale book store next week, believe it or not. You know I am not one to reject books, and am continuously adding to my library, but this is not fit to grace my shelves.

However, a book that has made up for that travesty completely is one about another of my obsessions, Stephen King. The book is titled The Complete Stephen King Universe, A Guide to the Worlds of Stephen King, and it is remarkable! 98% of King's stories/novels/screenplays/collaborations, etc., can all be connected together to form one huge story. The book examines each peice of King literature, and shows the links, some obvious that I have been aware of, and some that were so subtle and hidden that it was like getting hit in the head, once revealed. Basically, all of his writing directly revolves around the Gunslinger novels, the 7 book quest series.
Ak calls the book my Stephen King Stalker Guide :)

Have a FAB Sunday, y'all!

5 Weeks

I am happy to report that I am feeling super, thanks for asking! I still have some soreness, numbness and minor pain in areas, but they are only minor annoyances. All of my scab & yucky adhesive suture stuff has fallen off, and the incisions don't look too bad. AND I am down to 1/2 the pain meds.


I have been to therapy 3 times now, and I love it! The pool is so cute, and I really like my therapist. The hour workout does tire me out, though, and I come home & take a nice shower then a nap afterwards. I feel like a kid again, smelling like chlorine in the summer, with my suit & towel hanging to dry in the backyard :)

below is a picture of the therapy pool...isn't it precious?















I managed to get ak out of the house last Monday night ... Rob & Dave called Monday morning to see if ak was intersted in seeing Sting and Elvis Costello at a venue close to our house that evening. At first he wasn't too enthused, but they swung by early evening and just took him. He had a great time, & I was happy for him to get out for a few hours, enjoy some music, & hang out outside with his buddies. He brought home a cool poster.
Elvis Costello was one of my first concerts in high school. We saw him at the Tower, & hung out at one of Bri Kelly's brother's houses before the concert, drinking and smoking. Elvis played an amazing show, and had a big huge wheel with the name of each of his songs on it, & he would ask someone from the audience to come up after each song to spin the wheel to decide what song he would play next. It was awesome.

I am totally excited that Project Runway started this past week. It could be my all time favorite show! This season promises to be very spicy - a bunch of freaks & fruits all together with sewing needles and scissors - it's going to be good.

Anyway, the reading of the books is out of control.

And I have completed all the crossword puzzle books, too.

I stole the neighbors Sunday paper just to read the comics and do the puzzle page.

I have been ordering every 3rd day from Amazon, and pace the mailbox between 2-3:30pm every day for arrivals. Sooooooo, I stepped outside of my library realm, and ordered a knitting kit. Ak's mom has been knitting for 2 years and has been trying to get me to start. I really don't think I have the patience for it, but in a moment of shopping weakness, I purchased yarn & needles to make a scarf. I have read the instructions about 100 times, but I still haven't picked up the needles. I'll let you know how this goes, OR someone will be receiving the kit as a gift sometime in the future.

Other news - ak stood in line for the new 3g iphones last week and is loving it. That means that yours truly has a new phone (the old iphone) and new digits. I am very excited with the iphone, and have been working with it every day to get to know it, as we hardly know each other. Texting is very different as there is not a button keyboard, & you tap the screen with the ball of your fingertips, not the nails. It's a bit to get used to. The solitaire & mahjong games are FAB, & there is a program to make your grocery lists, & a funny one that make the phone look like a cold glass of beer, & when you tip the phone, the beer looks like it is pouring out. I will let you guys know as soon as the Treo get turned off & the new digits- prolly at the end of the month.

That's all for now, peeps! Peace out :)

**p.s. I am accepting any books for the recovery fund - please! Media mail is cheap :):)

Recovery Update

So I am 4 weeks out from surgery, and doing quite well, thank you!

I had my physical therapy evaluation yesterday, and will start pool therapy on Monday. I am looking forward to it, as I can tell my muscles are a mess-either totally tightend up, or completely weak and shaky. I got some simple streching excersises to start with yesterday, so I am doing those frequently. I had to order a bathing suit for this....all my other suits are definately cruisewear, and say on the labels "no chlorine", so I have a sweet black speedo coming to me.

I am walking aroung better, and my gait is definately straighter and faster. Hopefully I can get rid of the bathroom apparatus within a few days, but I am not going to push it. I have ventured out of the house 3 times now, and those short trips have been great! We have just gone to our few food hotspots, and I got to go to the bookstore yesterday, so that was super sweet.

My routine is very regular. I get up between 5-6am, go downstairs and have my fist cup of java, and sit out on the back patio to drink it with a crossword puzzle. Then I do the dishes, and move to the "greeting" station...I have taken over our bistro table with my card supplies. I check to see if any correspondence needs to go out, prepare and sticker the correspondence, then take it out front to the mail slot. I then hang on the front patio and call mom and chit chat with her for a bit, then make any other calls needed. I'll go back to my puzzles, or pick up my book, and hang downstairs on the couch for a bit, then at around 11:30, I have some lunch, then head back upstairs for a nap. After the nap, ak and I hang in the office, or head out for lunch or an errand, then cook dinner anywhere from 7-9pm. I am usually am in bed reading by 11pm, and totally out by midnight. It's not too bad, and ak and I are really enjoying being together all day again, like in the West Chester treehouse...good times :)

Anyway, I continue to order online like a fiend, and I am going through a book a day, depending on it's size. It's pretty out of control, so I am glad amazon drops something off here daily. After my 6 weeks, I will post the list of books I read during the time - it should be interesting. We absolutely need a bigger bookshelf!

Thanks for all of the comments, texts and shout outs from you guys, checking in on me - it means alot! It's been very wonderful to be checking the blogs again on a daily basis, and being able to post more frequently - I feel better in touch with the pulse.

Also, here is a Belated Birthday shout out to Sophie...Happy 10th, girl!

Peace out, players.

New Look

I decided to make some changes here at the home office. The new color scheme is due to the discovery of my personal "color" ...see the new Colorstrology link. I am enjoying this new look already!

Next recovery update soon...I can only sit for 15 minutes at a time right now :)

CONGRATULATIONS!

akjn received a call from Armand yesterday - he and his girlfriend Katie got engaged in Washington, D.C.on July 3rd!
YIPPEE!

Recovering

Today marks exactly 1 week and 1 day from my back surgery. I am doing ok. This recovery process is definately different from the other 2 back surgeries, and as always, has been an adventure so far.

.....Rewind to last Wednesday:
7am-12noon: Frantically & unsuccessfully trying to wrap up loose ends at work. Due to my new job starting and the my old position not being filled yet, it was a huge challenge for me to leave for 6 weeks and feel as though I had done everything. Finally, I had to just leave some things as is, and say oh well.

1:30pm: Pick up Axel's mom from the airport, finally begin to relax at home. We have a wonderful home cooked meal, then I did some last minute Amazon book purchases, ending the evening with a call from the anesthesiologist working on me the next day. He was friendly, reassured me that the surgery would be fine, and kind of put me in a zen-like calm state.

4:00am: Zen-like calm state has flown out the window, and I am convinced that I am going to die during surgery, or that I will be paralyzed as a result of the surgery. I shed some tears, smoked my last Camel for a few days, and got my ass in gear. Put on the brave front for Ak nad his mom, both big hospital haters/strong dislikers of.

Thursday
6:30am: Arrive at hospital check-in. I am freaked out again. They begin "processing" me for surgery by giving me a Valium to start ( bless them ), getting me into my garb, height-weight-temp-blood pressure tests, then finally they start my IV after 3 bad attempts (old nurses- please retire!). Ak has been with me throughout, and I can feel his torture at seeing me go through this, so I try and stay as positive as possible, even with the death/paralysis thoughts filling my brain again.

8:20am: Kiss to Ak, then wheeled up to surgery. Meet the anesthesiologist, Dr. Chow, and he just starts with the nice talk and the good gas, and that is all she wrote until I woke up in my room about 4pm. The surgery took 5 hours and 45 minutes, and was a success!

Thursday-Friday: Loving the morphine drip!! I always forget how good it is. My mighty-morphine machine does have a bell on it, so it dongs everytime it hit the button for more juice. Well, at some point, I had a melody going due to my speed pushing. I got all paranoid for 10 seconds, then started making music again. I found out from the nurse later that it gave me a dose every 10 minutes, whether I pressed the button or not, so I definately felt a bit better.
My surgeon came by and said GREAT! The occupational and physical therapists came by and said GREAT, so the next thing you know, I am on my way home and back in my own bed by 6pm Friday night.
I was sent home with amazing parting gifts: a walker, a commode chair, a picker upper (long and short varieties for reaching things), and sock putter-onner, and underwear and pants puller-upper, and a shoe putter-onner. DELIGHTFUL!

There is nothing like being home, and I was really feeling good :)

Saturday arrived, and I was able to take a shower. It was awesome, until I caught a glimpse of my three incisions -HOLY MOTHER! I am so Frankenstein-yikes.

1:00pm: My girlfriend Julie and her 2 girls plus our friend Rob come over for a visit. I am feeling so good and so high on Vicodin that I am walking all over the place (very stiffly, mind you), chit chatting, laughing and smoking, until Julie's oldest girl smacked me across the back. I don't think she believed I was hurt, and was trying to see if I was lying or not. Well, the visit was over as you can well imagine. The three of us had another lovely dinner, and then I was off to bed*.

*Getting in and out of bed: Occurs 10-15 times a day = most painful parts of my day. It requires sitting, kind of free falling from sitting to laying on the bed on my side, aligning my spine still on my side, then rolling on my back with a pillow between my legs, then rolling from side to side to get positioned, then elevating my legs (requires ak's help), at this point, I am hopefully comfortable and can catch 1-3 hours of sleep until next pain med dose or tinkle -time. Repeat in reverse to get out of bed.)

Sunday: Took another shower - feeling super.....until at 4pm, I notice that my right knee, calf, ankle and foot are starting to resemble sausage. Immediately go to bed, feet up, getting up only to use the bathroom.

Monday am: Right leg is worse. Contact surgeon, who immediately directs me to go to the ER to ensure I don't have a life threatening blod clot...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Within 10 minutes, we are back at the hospital, where it takes 3 1/2 hours to get a sonogram and determine that I don't have clot, but I have to stop trying to act like I didn't just have back surgery and rest all the time. 6 weeks for recovery means 6 weeks.

So...here we are at the end of my first recovery week, and I can say thay my attitude has improved towards my limitations, and I am not allowing myself to feel anything but good things. For example, it still hurts to get in and out of bed, but not as much as yesterday.

Ak has been amazing. He has HUGE amounts of patience with me, and also is able to calm me down when I get upset or completely panicked. For example, a few times that I have woken up, I have forgotten about the surgery, and when I can't get out of bed, I start panicking and freaking, because it feels like I am a turtle stuck on it's back. Also bad are the RARE occassionas that I oversleep my medication time, and wake up pretty much crying and yelling.
My boy deserves a medal for hanging in there with me.

So there you have it. All is pretty good, and each day gets better than the next! I am alive and not paralyzed, and with the help of modern medical technology, I now have the ability to set off airport alarms :)

39: A Study

Thirty-nine is:
· In the title of the John Buchan novel and subsequent films (one by Alfred Hitchcock), The Thirty-Nine Steps

· The code for international direct-dialed phone calls to Italy

· I-39 is the designation for a US interstate highway from Normal, Illinois to Wausau, Wisconsin. I-39 is the 39th shortest of the primary "two digit" Interstates.

· The eternal age of comedian Jack Benny, and many other people as they grow older

· The traditional number of times citizens of Ancient Rome hit their slaves when beating them, referred to as "Forty save one"

· Japanese Internet chat slang for "thank you" when written with numbers

· "'39" is a track on Queen's album A Night At the Opera. If the tracks on Queen's original studio albums are numbered in sequential order starting with their first, "'39" does in fact fall in the thirty-ninth position

· "39" is a song by The Cure on their album "Bloodflowers"

· The duration, in nanoseconds, of the nuclear reaction in the largest nuclear explosion ever performed (Tsar bomb)

· The number of Scud missiles which Iraq fired at Israel during the Gulf War in 1991

· World War II broke out in Europe on September 1, 1939

· Pier 39 in San Francisco

· The retired jersey number of former baseball great Roy Campanella

· Uniform of former Pittsburgh Pirate Dave Parker

· Uniform of football's Larry Csonka of Miami Dolphins; Hugh McElhenny of the San Francisco 49ers; and Steven Jackson of the St. Louis Rams

· Super Bowl XXXIX, a Super Bowl in the 2004-2005 National Football League season between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in Jacksonville, Florida.

At age 39:
· Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong became the 1st person to set foot on the moon
· Charles Goodyear led the way to the effective use of rubber
· Jimmy Connors reached the U.S. Open semifinals
· Joseph Smith Jr., Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated

Vegas Pics

The Palazzo

ak in the massage chair in our room

ak & Jeffe by the canal

Tao Beach club, aka MTV Spring Break

drunk (bald) Elvis and akjn

showtime!

one last look ... until next time!

Super fun, super cool ... we had a blast! The LOVE show was worth the whole trip!

VEGAS, BABY!!

Yes - we are heading to Sin City this weekend. We are celebrating our birthdays a little bit early. Our friend Jeffe will be there for a convention, so we decided to go for it.

Poker Pro - will you be there? The WSOP is going on this weekend. it would be very cool if you were there!

We are staying at the newest place, The Palazzo, the new part of the Venetian. AKk booked us a phat room that is bigger than our townhouse. He's made best friends with the concierge, and got us a Saturday cabana by the Tao beach pool, tix to the Love/Beatles Cirque du Soleil show on Saturday night, and complimentary entrance to Jay-Z's 40/40 club at The Palazzo. It promises to be a fabulous time.

I know it sounds like a lot of activity for akjn, but we are resting up and getting ready to hit it hard! Spray tan Thursday night, ak haircut tonight - we are not messing around.

Other than that, things are going well. I finally got a surgery date - June 19th. I was expecting to be out of work for about 2 weeks, but to my surprise, this surgery requires 5-6 weeks off. I am just looking forward to getting it done and over with. The vicodin and I are a bit too friendly, recently. I am like Pavlov's dog - I start salivating every 6 hours & I know it's time for a pill!

Work is interesting. We moved to our temporary office last Tuesday, while the main office is gutted and remodeled. We are in 2 apartments with the wall knocked down - it is totally cool! It was also pretty amazing to do the whole move process with a business, between tranferring 12 phone lines, internet connections, and about 1200 files. Our IT department re-wired the apartments for business use, and they had us up and running only 1 hour after the movers started. Our new space is completely different, and there's been a lot of "have you seen..." and "where is", but we're finally settled in. Construction at the real office should take about 4 months, which actually means 6. One of the master bedrooms is actually my office, so it is huge, and I can totally rock out on the ipod now. And I have my own bathroom - loving it!

Spring has sprung - our plants are jungle like and gorgeous. The sun has been shinning and so warm the past 3 weeks, but the temps are still in the low 60's, and we still have the heat on at night. You definately need a coat/fleec in the am and pm if you are out. However, it's nice to have a slow start to the summer, rather than being hot immediately.

Happy Easter to any Orthodox readers out there!

Enough blabber - miss you guys!

Proust, Anyone?

In the back of each month's Vanity Fair, they ask a celebrity to answer the following questionnaire. I have always though of completing it, and today I did.

Proust Questionnaire

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
No sickness-anywhere, anyone, anytime.

What is your greatest fear?
Loss.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Fierce friendships.

Which living person do you most despise?
Despise is a strong word; I dislike many.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Books.

What is your current state of mind?
Uncertain but optimistic.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Charity.

On what occasion do you lie?
To spare feelings.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My legs.

What is the quality you most like in a man?
Great sense of humor & patience.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Great sense of humor.

Which words or phrases do you overuse?
Motherf*cker.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Axel!

When and where were you happiest?
Penncrest and ODU –carefree living with no responsibilities, and finding out who I was.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
More patience.

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to sing.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My relationships.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
No coming back - I think once will be enough.

Where would you like to live?
Arhus, Denmark, or Munich, Germany.

What is your most treasured possession?
My books and my honey.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Not being able to express myself.

What is your favorite occupation?
Reading.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Boo Radley.

What are your favorite names?
Thomas, Zeno and Hilmar. And of course, Axel :)

What is it that you most dislike?
Authority.

How would you like to die?
With dignity, my feet up, and the remote in my right hand.

What is your motto?
If it’s free, it’s for me.

Here is some additonal info on Proust and the questionnaire, if you are interested:
http://www.chick.net/proust/question.html

I am intersted in how you guys would answer some of the questions :)

Down Low

In usual akjn fashion, a bunch of crap hit the fan at once the past week.

1. Our APC unit in the office had a power surge, which in turn took down ak's half of the office. Only my 'puter is working. Serious shizzit-6 drives bit the dust.

2. We lost a beloved family member, and a dear neighbor, on the eastside. My mom is freaked. I actually ran out of sympathy cards.

3. Finally saw the spine dude.
Here is my future: http://www.lajollaspine.com/stmi_lumb_xlif.shtml
I am freaked. Supposedly not that bad, and the 3rd time's the charm, right?


Hence the down low mental and physical state. A lot to process and take in. Weather is great :)

VD 2008

Have a Happy Heart Day!

Coming Up for Air

I have just surfaced after a reading marathon that began Friday night when ak purchased the new Stephen King novel, Duma Key, for moi. Yummy, delicious ... 611 pages.

Whew - it was amazing, and I am already re-reading it. Yes it's scary, but smart scary. Also, it is set in the Florida Keys, rather than Maine, which is a big change for him. We were in the Keys in early December, so I was feeling that connection.

I almost couldn't go to work the past 2 days due to the draw of the book :) But I tore myself away, and raced home the past 2 nights to have ak literally handing me the book as I came into the house.

Anyway, one of the best parts about the book was the last page. Not the conclusion of the book page, but the "acknowledgement" page directly following, where Mr. King lastly thanks :
'And you, my old friend Constant Reader; always you.'
I love this - being thanked for reading.

Excited about the weekend's game, but sad for the end of another football season. Stone Crabs and fixins' have been ordered from Joe's in Miami and will be delivered Saturday - akjn is ready!

Agador Spartacus - thanks for everything :)
Your visit was the best, hilarity abounded despite the dampness in The Cats.

... I am tellin' you ... no no NO NO WAY!

CONGRATS ON THE NEW J O B!

ok ... on to brownie baking for a work meeting tomorrow. Bye!

Reunion

It's taken a while to work up to this post ... it was something.



The evening started off with cocktails at Missy and Ob's house. The house was full of friends, fireplaces going and drinks flowing. We were having such fun that the time slipped away from us a bit, so we hurried into the huge white Hummer limo, complete with fireplace. I think there were 13 of us in it. Of course we brought our roadies. A big thanks to Jerry and Lynnie for coordinating the sweet ride - it was not only cool, but smart thinking.



We arrived at the reunion about an hour late. I know this because Kelly immediately hassled me for the one hour of quality time that we had already missed together. Anyway, the first of several trips to the bar began, and Ak was a trooper. He had a good edge on other spouses, since he resided in our fair town for a bit, so he did feel pretty comfortable. He was also approached about possibly "swinging" with another couple...ak DID look good that night! Due to the drinks, the evening is quite hazy, but according to the pictures, we all look like we've each won a million bucks.



It was bizzare to see some of my classmates, but I was proud to say I worked the room and tried to speak to as many people as I could. Ak even picked out a name tag and cruised the reunion as Andy Eunson-he pulled it off pretty well. The dynamics of the evening were fascinating. The core group would mingle then re-group over fresh drinks. I remember yick-yaking in the ladies room holding Kimbo's martini and telling her her drink tasted like dinner. I remember freezing my butt off smoking outside. I recall asking Penny Burkham if she remembered her mom kicking me out of Girl Scouts. I recall doing a drunken tango with Mike Oether - yikes. I remember being in the front of the group shot posing like Rita Hayworth. Was there a professional photographer there?



It was like a wedding - over too fast, too many beverages + lousy food.



Confusion ensued after the formal affair was over. We went back to Missy and Ob's in the limo, but ended up in Media again at Picasso's....it was the worst!! The music was soooooo loud, and there was a strobe light on. I was hoping for subtle lighting and good background music so we could possibly chat with each other. Instead I felt like I was in Berlin at a rave. We exited quickly, and made a last attempt for drunken normalcy at the Plummy....mistake. I love the Plummy, but this was something else. Missy and I were like conjoined twins-we couldn't move an inch. We finally got out of there and back to the O'Briens.



The next thing I remember is waking up in a pink paradise - literaly. Ak and I slept in one of their daughter's rooms in which every single thing in the room, everything, is a shade of pink. It was startling and soothing at the same time. We dragged our sorry bodies back to Judith Lane. I hit the couch, ak my old bedroom, and my mom hydrated us back to health. It did feel like I had just been at a high school party.

Erick & Chrissy

getting it together in the limo

Susan, Chrissy & Missy (Kelly hidden)

last pic of the evening....

Pat L. and yours truly...I don't remember this at all, but I look like I am having the time of my life, so I guess that's ok :)

Thanksgiving 2007

The day before Thanksgiving, Georganne brought the Greek Meatball and his brothers over to mama's house for a visit. The boys had a grand time tearing it up in the yard.



Georganne & Mom























Nicky, Alexander & Evan




Nicky & me

I love this little guy so much, and miss not being able to jump in the car and go see him!















Two of my personal faves, my mama and ak
















Thanksgiving was very quiet - it was just the three of us, and traditional greek fare for vittles. We hung around watching football, eating and making calls to friends and family. It was delightful not to have to drive anywhere or host anyone - we all stayed in our pj's. I also knew I had to conserve my strength for the next evening's much anticipated reunion!

Rock Band

While we were in Media for Thanksgiving and reunion fesivities, we started off our visit by forming a band Wednesday night. The band officially formed in Swarthmore, I think our name is Class of '87, and we are from Paris.

Shown below are rare photos from our first jam session. Although we are now split on each coast, the energy of that first night will never be forgotten. Cnn and Eric have scored a tour bus, and are very close to obtaining a jet - then we can play together once again.

Class of '87

cnn - vocal /lead guitar

eric - drummer

ak - lead guitar

jn - vocal / photog

Ripkin - mascot










We had a fantastic Christmas, and wish you all did, too!
2008 is right around the corner, and akjn hopes that each of you makes it out west to see us within the next 12 months!

Is it really 12/20/07?

Sorry for the absence...we've been pretty much away since Thanksgiving, and since we've returned home from the cruise late last week, things have been a bit crazy, to say the least!

BAD:
1. YES, I will need a third back surgery.
2. Crazy eye infection over the weekend, thought I would never read again.
3. I want to quit my job.

GOOD:
1. Ak's mom arrived today!
2. I just got someting from CNN in the mail!
3. It's the holidays!
4. Andre comes on 12/31 for 2 weeks!
5. Eye all better, hoping for the best with my back!
6. I have great health insurance!

As aways (Thank God), the good outweighs the bad!

Hope everyone has a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year.....pictures and fun posts to come in 2008.

Missing ALL of you....

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Once again, the holidays approach like a freight train. How does time pass so fast? AKJN arrives in the Media area on Tuesday night on 2 VERY overpriced plane tickets, so y'all better make it worth our while!!

As you are aware, 75% of our quaint blog community will be attending our 20th high school reunion the day after mass turkey consumption. This boggles my mind, because in my mind I am still only 17 years of age! AK has agreed to attend, God bless him. The gals are all a-twitter over what to wear, of course. I am definately vetoing the Sr. prom dress idea....padded shoulders, sequins, PURPLE, and the fact that I would look like I couldn't find my way back to the Dynasty set. I think my regular uniform of black pants and white shirt will be quite sufficient, thank you.

Bad news - I think I screwed up my back again. As I write, I am bound in a back brace with a bag of frozed peas shoved in....LOVELY. Unfortunately, I stumbled off an uneven curb while conducting a property walk on Tuesday, and tried to fool myself that I had just pulled muscles in my left leg. But Friday morning, I got out of bed and fell right down, and had to crawl on my hands and knees until the pain meds kicked in....JOY. Becuase it happened at work, I completed the necessary workman's comp. paperwork and spent 4 hours in a clinic. Xrays show severe inflammation, so it is not known yet if I re-herniated the L4-L5 disc for the THIRD TIME in less than 6 years. I go back for more xrays Monday. AKJN is in disbelief over the possibility of a THIRD BACK SURGERY. My script diet is delightful: steroids for the inflammation, Valium for my nerves, Vicodin for the pain, and something for the tummy so it doesn't fall out from the other stuff...YUMMY! All denominations of prayers accepted at this time.

Anyway, some good news is that I've been consistently in second place in the fantasy league, and my win last week secured me a playoff spot. Here's my profile picture that displays in our league:

Pretty silly, huh? But very distracting to the boys in the league...they comment on my avatar hotness weekly, so it's working in my favor :)


Good luck to Mini Pinf in her quest for Hannah Montana tickets - don't forget to vote for her!

Hope to see most of you next week...maybe we can do a blogger coffee meeting at 7 stones. Chuck's bench looks good for my back.

Later peeps!

... the earth was shaking ...

this just in....we just had a 5.6 earthquake, orgin in San Jose, at 8:05pm, approximately 13 minutes ago!

the only thing that fell over was a stack of cds, but we were definately swaying. I was downstairs and I thought ak fell over in his chair playing one of his games/fell alseep, and ran up the stairs to make sure he was okay, and it felt like a fun house hitting the steps and rounding the 2 corners.

akjn all ok....just another day in CA.


p.s. holding strong in 2nd place in fantasy land :)

caja fuerte del fuego*

translation: we are safe from the fire

AKJN had an unprecedented number of phone calls and emails this week questioning our proximity to the current wildfires blazing in Southern Cali.
From Denmark, New York, Palm Beach Gardens (gracias, Pinfers), Media, etc., friends and family touched base to make sure we were ok.

We are absoulutely fine :) We are approximately 341 miles away, but that number doesn't seem like alot, does it? We are hoping the Santa Ana winds die down, and that the weather cooperates next week for all of thoes involved down there.

Thank you so much for the concern....it means the world to akjn :)

Called Out

I got called out today for not blogging in a timely manner. I didn't realize how long it had been.

AKJN UPDATE

Work:
Work has been nutty! We are currently renovating 10 units a month with new appliances, cabinetry, flooring and carpeting, and I am the liason between the property and the construction crew. I have my own hardhat in white, as they really don't make them in pink. Maybe a new business venture for me? Anyway, I am learning a great deal and enjoy working with these dudes. They give me respect because they know my dad was a shop teacher....they think that is cool.
The new general manager is working out well. He is a sales genius, I am the operations genius, so we are a pretty formidable force. He claims that I am the best manager he's ever worked with...not bad for having a 4 year hiatus.

Personal Appearance:
Late in September, I went in for my fall hair make-over. I am back to the dark brownish/red hair (aka Cinammon Bisque) and got 4 inches cut off. It was quite dramatic the first few days, but ak and I are used to it know, and I feel pretty!

Sorority:
There is a huge Pi Beta Phi alumni group out here - I get an evite weekly for events. I have not attended any yet - CA Pi Phis kind of scare me with all the blonde & bubbles, but there is one woman who contacted me personally. She also graduated from Old Dominion, only in 1966. We had a great chat about the sorority house (still the same) and all of the changes that have taken place on campus since we both graduated. For the record, I graduated in 1992. I am looking forward to meeting her in a more private setting, as we had a great conversation, and she is also an east coaster.

Visitors:
Our buddy Jason (aka Bird) from ODU, his wife and adorable son Zach visited San Francisco in mid-September. They had a wedding up in the city, so we met them for a day of fun. We met them at Crissy Field, the park that has a panorama view of the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, and a stunning view of the city. As it turns out, Bird bought a kite to fly with Zach, and we got to Crissy Field only to discover a whole kite contest going on - it was so cool! Kids making kites, kites in the sky as big as our townhouse, beautiful kites that looked like works of art...there was an announcer talking about each of the kites and interviewing the flyers. Needless to say, Zach had a ball, and we did, too! I can't tell you the last time I flew a kite, but I look forward to doing it again soon! We had a great time with them - you guys might remember them from the engagement BBQ. Bird fell in love with the city and CA in general...he's got the bug.







Also, last weekend, Jeffe and his wife Kristin came out for a balls-to-the-wall weekend visit. They arrived Thursday, hit the city, then came down and had dinner with akjn and Mark, then came back to our shack. Friday they went to Napa all day, then Saturday we all went up to Boulder Creek to pick up Rob, then headed to Big Basin Redwoods Park, walked among the trees, then drove a bit and hiked to Chicken Scratch Rock.....it was a glorious day, and we relaxed and sunned ourselves, looking out over the redwoods, Santa Cruz and the Pacific. We then travelled down to Santa Cruz to Steamers Lane to watch the surfers and catch the sunset. There had been a surf contest during the day, so there was a good deal of activity. Then we went to the pier to see the seals - it is still a wonder to me how big they are. And loud! The view of the lights at the boardwalk and rides was spectacular. Afer an amazing dinner, we heading back over the hill home. Then all of a sudden it was Sunday and they had to leave.....it was so much fun, but too short. They promised that the next trip out would be for a longer period.



Homefront:
We finally got our act together a bit, and got 80% of our stuff stashed away in the proper places, and the place looking pretty tight. We've been avoiding it like the plague, but with guests coming we knew we had to put on our big pants and dive in. All that 's left to do is to hang the art, and it will feel like akjn again.
We've had some rain the past couple of days. It never lasts for more than 30 minutes. The plants are thriving! I think we are finally settling into the house thing: the absent/weird landlord, the neighbors, and the neighborhood. Sundays are spent watching the games, which we are enjoying tremendously - what a great season so far! I am doing well in the fantasy league, and am currently in third place.

Real time 8:18pm 10/18/07: ak is on the phone with Pinf, walking him through an ipod restore ... historic moment

Okay - that's all I've got. I feel I stepped up to the plate sufficiently :) Thinking about all of you!
Oh, before I forget, a quick true or false test:

1. Does cnn now own a dog?
2. Does MofC have a girlfriend?
3. Does PPro need a colonoscopy to remove the 20 ouncer?

OUT OF SORTS ... sort of?

Well, many things have happened since the last post, some good, some not so good.

Unfortunately, I am currently suffering with a sinus infection, and on my second Z-pac trying to knock it out of my system. I believe that one reason I got sick in the first place is that I have been working a great deal, more than any of you (including myself) ever thought I was capable of. My bookkeeper visited her native Nicaragua for the month of August, as she does every year. This wasn't too bad except my General Manager had announced in late July that he would be leaving the company for another opportunity. This was a huge disappointment for me, as I got along with this guy famously, and the rest of the staff was muy content with their management package. It was a pleasure working with him. It has been a long time that I have had this much respect for a co-worker. I still talk with him on a weekly basis - Fantasy Football, and all. Anyway, he departed around the 4th, and then there was one.

While this is happening in the foreground, in the background, my good buddy Tom, one of the Maintenance Supervisors, and a big reason I came back to this specific property, decides to take a position in Gig Harbor, WA, at another one of the company's properties, and take his wife, Terry, with him. Terry works part time in my office as my admin. assistant.....so, I am literaly losing people left and right. These are good people, people that we actually left the house to do things with, and their goodbye was painful.

Okay, time for a bright spot in the gloom....one of the activities we did with Tom and Terry and a select gang was go to the horse races up at Bay Meadows in San Mateo. It's an old racetrack, but clean, with good drinks and food. Of course it is slated to be torn down and turned into high rise condos for the SF airport view in the distance. I had NO idea what was going on with the betting, and the simultaneous broadcasts from Delmar and Saratoga, but by the 4th race I was on it. I was not to be stopped: in one race I individually picked each horse to win, and in another I let T&T's 4 year old grandaughter just scribble in my bet book and I went with her interpretations. I was consistant in picking any horse/jockey combo with pink in it to win, and I always bet a trifecta. Akjn was up $160 at one point, but came home with 2 vouchers-one for .20, and one for .50. Good fun, though, and akjn looks forward to doing that again.

Another fun thing.....I joined a Fantasy Football league with the GM guy and his buddies. They were surprised to discover I was a "chick" at the party, but due to some serious help from PokerPro and Paul, I proved to be a contender. I was the scribe, and I am the treasurer! It's been fun so far, and I realize how much more invovled you get with the games...I was glued to the pre-season games, and enjoyed some good ball over the weekend, and watching the 'niners game as I write this. Ak is right there with me, trying to get all these fantasy programs on my phone for me. He called Comcast last week to ensure his girl had all appropriate channels for the season.

So.....I was in bed from Thursday afternoon to last night. I had talked to CNN Wednesday, and thought I would blog over the weekend, but I just didn't feel like it, and then was worried that I might not feel like it ever again!

Well, now it's Monday, I had to go back to the grind, 2 people called out sick (including the bookkeeper), my email was over quota and my auto archive doesn't work so it took 2 hours to sort and manually archive my emails before I could even send one today, had to do the dog and pony show with our insurance carrier rep, and the fax broke. I knew that tonight I would blog.

Take it light...

Oh...I almost forgot! I have received 2 books so far from the chain letters! The first is John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, that was received from __?__ Creek, GA (sorry, threw out the envelope), and the second, Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife, I received today from Scotts Valley, CA. I LOVED the Steinbeck....written in 1962 but so fresh, and I just started the Time Traveler. Got an invite in the mail to join the Friends of Los Gatos Public Library in the mail today, too! Karma :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CNN!

XOXOXO akjn :)

July in Pictures, Part I

The beginning of the month found us in town a bit, trying to get familiar with our surroundings and their offerings. Early in the month, we had a surprise visit from and old friend, which was awesome!

July 1 - Girls Day at the Los Gatos farmer's market







Julie & Hannah perusing the veggies




at Campo di Bocce for lunch / Hannah in front of our bocce court













July 4th


downtown high-rise condos from the 60's

lexi on the main drag




Mark and ak













July 9 - Bobby's visit

Bobby is my mbna (now bank of america) buddy who came out to company headquarters in Concord, CA. We were able to get together twice while he was west side :)

AT&T park for the Home Run Derby, having some drinks and catching up

Bobby and Robert Wuhl, our famous sighting for July, outside the park checking out the Willie Mayes statue



Bobby and a rare shot of ak, w/east and west coast battle gear on

Bobby and Jojo

... July in Pictures, Part II, coming soon ...

Jojo's

I just got these amazing pictures from Pinf, as he and Sophie travelled to the Keys this past week. I am trying to incorporate into the blog, of course!! THANK YOU, PINFERS!

What's new here?

I just made sure that the new Harry Potter book is set to be delivered to our doorstep on July 21st....very important! AKJN is super-pysched for the movie at the end of the month, too!

Ak just purchased the iPhone this past Thursday, and I have to tell you, it is the most futuristic device I have ever seen! The purchase was made so that AK and I can be in constant comunication when he goes to Germany and Denmark later this month. It is way cool, and I am already asking if I can have it when he returns :) He did wait in line for it, but was able to secure his line number throught the Apple store via email. They guy behind him showed up with a briefcase with 10K, but was told he could only purchase 2 phones at a time. This guy then went through the line and gave people $500 a piece for getting him additional phones! This whole thing has been nuts, and we are down the street from the Apple complex....very interesting social experiment.



I realize that the weekend I am planning to travel back to Media is the same as the Saratoga, NY horserace weekend, so I may not see CNN and Poker Pro.....very bummed. I can see myself sitting in the Plummy with Chuck and Norman....maybe my mom will come out, too! I am still very excited to see my mom, and the Greek Meatball godson.



Well, we are heading out to the weekly farmer's market in town for some yummy crepes and fresh produce. I will post more pics soon.....I just realized that ak disconnected my card reader for feng shui purposes as he is arranging the ultimate office. I'll get some shots up soon.



Finally....Pinf - Thank God you are okay, and are on the path for continued wellness and health. None of us would be any good with out you, buddy! Call Flash for immediate yoga infusion!



Holla.....