Every episode of House, as told by Jaime

1- The people get a patient.
2 - They think the patient is getting better.
3 - Boom! The patient almost dies.
4 - They either kill the patient or the patient is saved.

Exhaustion

So, my mother-in-law passed away on Monday, so it's been kinda bizarre. I did my semi-hibernation, but figure it's time to come back up for air, so here I am. Although Jimmy and I have been married over a decade now, I only met his mother a handful of times due to her living in Florida. It's a bit strange to mourn someone you mainly knew long distance. Overall, not the best of weeks...

It also brings up all sorts of unwanted memories of my own father's death, so I really wasn't prepared for that. I guess it's kind of selfish of me to feel that way, but I'm dealing with it. It's just tiring and I'm sick of being surrounded by death.

Anyway, it's time for me to de-stress by killing stuff on World of Warcraft. Ironic, isn't it? (well... that and kind of geeky, but I'm sure that's not a surprise to anyone...)

One year later...

So, today it has officially been one year since my dad died. The past two years have been the most difficult years of my life, first with Dad's cancer and his slow decline, then with the year after going through so many milestones... The first post-dad Christmas, birthday, Father's Day, etc... And it sucked. It really, really sucked. Words cannot express it.

Which is why I was so surprised to find myself waking up this morning actually feeling pretty good. I'm not sure why I feel good, but it was a pleasant surprise. Maybe it's because I made it through all those first milestones already and this was the last one. Either way, I'll just take the gift for what it is. I still miss my dad and still often feel angry that he's gone, but I guess that's just how it is. Either way, I'll toast to his memory.

An open letter to the guy who keeps sending me right wing spam

First of all, if you're going to send me a chain letter, at least check it out on Snopes.com to make sure it's true. I know it's really hard to do and those ten seconds could be better spent sending another e-mail, but try it. Just so you know...

• President Obama is not a muslim. Nor is he the antichrist. Though if he was muslim, why is that such a big deal? Seriously...


• He does however, wear mom jeans.

So if you want to mock him for this, have at it. He does look pretty silly. Maybe he can hire Sara Palin's fashion consultant for all those clothes she had to return after the election.

By the way, he really is an American citizen. There was no grand conspiracy. Please don't send me an April Fools joke that you weren't sharp enough to pick up on...

• The ACLU is not trying to take away the military's right to prayer and they aren't planning to. Believe me, I know. I was in the Army and remember all too well reading the entire New Testament in basic training because the only things we were allowed to read were our handbooks and religious material. Of course, the minute we were allowed to read civilian material again, I was all over that...
• Gay marriage is not going to destroy your marriage. I certainly haven't started contemplating divorce just because two guys want to get married. And if you truly think that gay marriage is a real threat, maybe the real problem is that your marriage isn't that strong enough to begin with...
• Iraq wasn't involved in 9/11. In fact, most of the people involved were from Saudi Arabia. In case you weren't aware, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are completely different countries.
• George Carlin did not write the Bad American piece you keep attributing to him. Please stop. I'm sure he would've appreciated that.
• The President is also not a socialist... or a marxist. In the words of Inigo Montoya, "I do not think that word means what you think it means."
• If you actually think a mass e-mail is going to change my political stance, it's not going to work. If anything, it's probably just going to annoy me.

Bargain Bookshelf Time

I just can't decide which cover is more awesome...

Weekend travelogue

So, this weekend Jaime and I took our trip to Coney Island. I'd been promising her I'd take her all summer, so considering Labor Day is almost here I thought it was time to follow through. We stopped at Nathan's for our requisite (and tasty) hotdogs, then headed out to the boardwalk. Jaime was disappointed that the Cyclone was closed that day because of the predicted hurricane, but she was still excited to put her feet in the ocean.


Despite the gray skies in the pictures, it actually turned out to be a really nice day in the end. Unfortuntately, the Wonder Wheel was also closed due to the hurricane fears, so I guess it gives us a good reason to return.

Overall, it was still a good time. We visited the aquarium and saw the sights. Jaime bought her knick-knacks and was pleased overall. We also had time to see Times Square again at Jaime's request. I suspect her main motivation was visiting the Buildabear Workshop, however...

We also had dinner with my friend Brian at an awesome restaurant in Manhattan before leaving, so that was a good end to the day.

My original plan was to drive back home that night, but some nasty fog got in the way and after some white-knuckle driving, I decided it would be easier to just get a hotel and finish driving the next day. This also gave us the opportunity to visit Bushkill falls, a.k.a. The Niagara of Pennsylvania. And it was amazing...


The trails are absolutely gorgeous and brutal to walk at the same time. I had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into, but it was well worth the countless stairs we climbed to get to the bottom (then back up again).

Then for yet an extra bonus, Jaime and I made another stop in Scranton to eat at Alfredo's Pizza Cafe. And yes, my motivation for this was because it was featured in an episode of The Office...

The pizza was good, too. It's Old Forge style pizza, which originated in Old Forge, PA. It may look kind of like sicilian pizza, but it's a completely different beast altogether. Its also very tasty... Anyway, it was worth the stop. (Though I'll admit, I still like Pizza Perfect in Trucksville, PA better...)

Overall, a good weekend.

Phoebe still lets me do anything to her...

Good dog...

We don't need no education

Just when I thought the P&C was back on track...

Still here...

I have been neglecting the blog again. I really wanted to get myself back in the habit and the best way to do so is, of course, more P&C signs! Enjoy...

Mmm... Camel covered apples.