I've Been Had

So, I'm sitting on the stand, ready for Sacrament Meeting to start - everything is ready, except the speakers (Chaelomen & MJ) are nowhere to be seen. The text message exchange goes like this:

Me: Donde esta?

Chaelomen: I'm not sure we'll make it today.

Me: What's up?

< No reply... I start pulling together notes so that I can talk fill 40 minutes... my First Counselor is gone and my Second Counselor filled in for a no-show last week. Then Chaelomen and MJ walk in and sit down, and a message shows on my phone: >

Chaelomen: I think it's the Plague cough cough.

So, be careful when asking members of your family to speak. You may get more than you asked for. However, the talks were definitely way above average, not that I'm biased.

I am Legend

We picked up the movie a couple of weeks ago and started watching it for a date night. It was getting a little too scary for mom (plus, it was dark outside), so we put it on the back burner. Chaelomen was willing to watch it with mom so she wouldn't get too scared. (I finished watching it the next day, but also promised to watch it again later).

Tonight we watched the last half, and while Jack-Jack napped, Chaelomen joined us. I neglected to mention that I was playing disk #2 with the alternate ending. I enjoyed the look on his face (probably more than the movie) when the movie didn't proceed according to the script that he'd seen, even though he maintained a poker face until the movie was over.

The movie was only "okay" in my mind. (STOP here if you haven't seen it). I was willing to suspend belief for the premise of a miracle cure gone bad, but were I the last survivor in the city, it doesn't seem remotely plausible that the utilities would still be running - especially with the state of decay that was shown, or that there'd still be a supply of gas and food years after the catastrophe. Also, too much violence for my preferences.

First Responder

We had "finals" Monday night; Samara passed them all: Medical, Trauma, and CPR. I passed CPR & Medical; I checked my brain at the door for the Trauma test: victim had fallen 20 feet from a tree, broken leg & bleeding from the nose & mouth. We had a new c-collar and I tried putting it on inside out, then upside down, before I figured it out; the backboard had an unusual strap configuration, which threw me, so I forgot everything else on the check list - didn't check vitals, didn't maintain airway.

I'm glad that there were some "new" wrinkles in the test that weren't on the prior practices. It keeps it interesting, even if I fell apart; there's still next week. "Finals" again next week....

Happy Birthday Grandma

I hopped a plane on Wednesday to go wish Grandma a Happy 80th birthday. After getting to town, I found out that she wasn't home because of a flood in the assisted living center and the related evacuation. It kind of messed up her lunch plans; she spent a day or so at my brother's.

I got to eat a gyro with Carebear, and then hop a plane back home. Long day - - - then off to church for the regular Wednesday night stuff;

Miles: Wed: 9 mile round trip, with side trip. (and I just checked - those 6 mile round trips to the Church are really 8.6 miles, without side trips); Thurs: a Welfare Assistance trip: 8 miles; Friday: a followup Welfare trip: 3 miles on lunch break to pay a phone bill; Saturday: 8.6 miles to cleanup church; Sunday 8.6 miles + 6 miles for YW Mtg.; Mon: 40 mi RT to Crew Mtg... June total to date=121+126+83 = 320.

Cub Scout Day Camp

The Crew is doing medical support for some of the local Cub Scout Day Camps, so I put on my Crew shirt and drove Samara to Cub Scout Camp. We were there for a couple of hours. So were the mosquitos!!!! I spent the last 15 minutes of our stay in the car to keep from being eaten alive. First aid requirements were at a minimum. Samara taped a 3X3 on a cub to dress a scrape.

I'd forgotten how small Cub Scouts are.

Mileage: 67 today; 40 for yesterday's Crew meeting + Sunday = 126 miles this week.

Father's Day

Father's Day was nice. Cinnamon rolls & milk at church for all the fathers, then leftover cinnamon rolls for all the youth, then a second round of cinnamon rolls for the youth. Burgers, brats, dogs, potato salad, ... family & fun (Killer Bunnies). A good time was had by all. I found the perfect car yesterday. We'll see if someone else had the good sense to buy it before I get back to the dealership... more later, maybe.

Mileage update: 3 more 6 mi round trips to the Church Friday & Saturday last week, but only one of which was in my official capacity - the other two were dropping off & picking up Samara. Total for last week: 121. This week starts today with 19 miles today: home - church - city hall - bank - a couple of visits - and back home. It's this kind of day that I would have typically counted as "6 miles", not counting the "side" trips.

I Sneezed!!!!

Up until now, Jack-Jack has been totally oblivious to my sneezes. The sneeze that makes babies cry and wakes the dead has not even fazed him. However, tonight he was a bit fussy, and we were in the same room when I sneezed. The wide eyed startled stare and stunned silence that followed was amazing.... and funny... I guess you had to be there.

Mini Car

We stopped by a couple of the car dealerships on the way home from the Temple on Tuesday; one was the Mini dealer. Of course mom loves the car. I was just glad that the sun roof was OPEN - it left some place for my head to go when I got in the car. We also stopped at the Smart dealership; it was closed but they did have two cars on the lot and I had to look.

Mileage: 40 + 6 miles round trip to the church tonight = 115 miles for the week, so far.

Water Rescue

Tonight the Venture Crew conducted training in a swimming pool: water rescues. Shallow and deep water with a buoy, back boarding in the water. Everyone that wanted to had a chance to be victim or rescuer. The games and pizza after an hour and a half in the pool wasn't bad, either.

I have had trouble remembering to declare all my mileage for tax purposes (schedule A - charitable miles). I'm going to try and log mileage here for a bit to see if I can't keep better track. As a committee member, theRound trip 63 miles, counts.

Add 12 miles for two round trips to the Church yesterday: 75 miles so far this week.

The Coolest Car in the World

We got word that there was a 2007 Smart Car for sale for $1,600. Needless to say, I left the office, and high tailed it to the car lot, where I caught up with mom and a couple of her co-workers. Turns out there were a couple of minor details that were left out... like it was an import that wasn't street legal in the USA (supposedly the upgrades would cost about $6,000), ... the decimal point was misplaced in the asking price, so my check book stayed in my pocket.

BUT, I DID GET TO TAKE IT OUT FOR A TEST DRIVE. The 768cc engine was enough to make the car run, and run well; the tap shift was cool - no clutch, so it's a bit hard to kill the car. It behaves like a standard transmission or with the touch of a button, it switches into automatic mode. Although, it only seats 2, the front seat room was about the same as in a Festiva (and have you heard? Ford is starting up production again for the US small car market - granted it's the Fiesta, not the Festiva, but that will still be a cool car).

The search for a used Smart Car continues...