#39: "The little man is healthy, happy, and as loud as his daddy"

[cindilu2]

Wheeee!! Bonjour, preden and welcome to the board! :thbighug-1:

[preden]

Wheeee!! Bonjour, preden and welcome to the board! :thbighug-1:

Thank you. You know I didn't notice that the baby's head could be seen.

[Couch Tomato]

just giving lessons in posthoing LOL...

Looks like people like the pin so we're waiting on proof 2...get some general feedback on that one and we'll list one or both by the weekend... "hoping" get get them done and back before opening night part deux, but it will be close.

ETA: I think Cindilu2 had a lot of we and us in her post but it's all her design.

[annabear]

annbear, luckiest1 -- wanna join me in this?

:all_coholic: :trink3:

Is Clay Aiken CUTE? :lmaosmiley-1: :bier:

:arg-dancing-welcome-whitebg-url preden!

[aikim]

Welcome Preden!

I love Thursday afternoons because I am off on Fridays; so it just means it is closer to the week-end!

They finally finished tearing up the old tile around lunchtime and so mercifully we had a quieter and less smelly afternoon, but then the AC must not have been working because it was very warm in the library and just sticky. I was walking around looking for missing items and by the time I finished I was actually sweating.

Off to get a shower and then dinner.

Kim

[preden]

annbear, luckiest1 -- wanna join me in this?

:all_coholic: :trink3:

Is Clay Aiken CUTE? :lmaosmiley-1: :bier:

:arg-dancing-welcome-whitebg-url preden!

OH how sweet! Clay is gorgeous!!!!!

[Scarlett]

This is NOT Scarlett. See, I knew being "good" doesn't get you anywhere except frickin' Newark frackin' Airport....

I went to bed at two this morning. Woke up cheerfully at 4. My car service was at my front door promptly at 5:30. Scarlett even actually answered her phone as we went off to pick her up. Of course, whatever the hell code she told us didn't actually work. But hell, we were at the airport and through security and sitting our butts in the President's Club by 6 frickin' forty-five. That's some sort of goddam record. Our interim flight (remember that word, INTERIM) to Newark was supposed to leave at 8 so we trot our happy asses down to the gate at 7:25. Yeah, you read that right. We didn't haven't run, skip OR jump! Of course I was battling Chase at that time since I was trying to explain to them I really would be using my card in China. Yes, me. Yes, I'm sure I'm me. No, I don't know the date or amount of my initial deposit, you idiot, because I've been banking at your fucking bank since sometimes in the 90's. I know perfectly well I submitted freakin' security questions, why don't you frickin' ask me those. Give me a supervisor RIGHT NOW. And of course while I'm in the middle of my reasoned discourse with Chase, the gate agent is explaining that they have bumped me from my bulkhead seat, and as if that isn't bad enough, they have to put me in an aisle seat. In the back of the plane. Because the plane is so very goddamn full. I growl, accept my new boarding pass and leave a message for my Continental agent. I notice that there seems to be a lot of empty seats. A LOT of empty seats. And as the heifer sitting next to me whines for the fourth time in seven minutes how she was first on the upgrade list and they put someone in there before me, I am eyeing two completely empty rows in front of me with eager, yet jaundiced eyes. They announce they are shutting the door. I make a leap for the empty seat. They then announce that oh by the way, we're opening the doors to let some more people on. I sullenly move back to my seat because of course I know that they will just let on enough to take up the open rows. Which they do. We then take off an hour late. And get to watch "Leathernecks", which George Clooney should be ashamed to attach his name too. We land only 40 minutes late because even though the pilot made up twenty minutes, we had to sit on the runway for another ten. We hop off the plane and check with the gate agent about the correct gate for our flight. It was originally C121 and they had moved it to C90. That's all he said. We figured we had an hour to kill instead of the original two hours. And since it was afternoon, alcoholic libations were calling my name. We go upstairs to the President's Club and as we pass the Arrival/Departure monitors, I notice our flight. Which was now at Gate C99. But instead of departing at 3 pm - it now said departing at...

11:55PM. I swear to God.

I made some sort of noise. I think it was a bad word. It caught Scarlett's attention, who then made some sort of noise. We went to Customer Service, hoping beyond hope that we had become partially illiterate and had made a mistake. Oh now. That would have been TOO easy. Customer Service said something about a typhoon. In Hong Kong. Scarlett immediately comments, "I TOLD you it was typhoon season". Which I don't believe is true. She said it was Monsoon season. Which is much better. So there. We call the hotel to explain we aren't gonna show up when we said we were and that we don't wanna pay for a night we aren't gonna use. Scarlett got to make that call in order to use the charm offensive. Which worked. Of course, they say it's not raining there now.

Happily, me and Scarlett have memorized the entire fuckin' Newark airport but we have promised ourselves no iGallops this trip.

Sigh.

[gbmifan]

Talk about work, I have another 12 hours shift tomorrow. I complained the other day to you that I was pulled to the NICU and would just be taken care of little ones only there to grow. I went to work and they put me in the acute nursery. All those babies were born around 26-27 weeks. All really sick, and on ventilators. Did not sit down much, my patient had meds every hour, along with tube feeding etc. I am not tall, and while I was changing the isolettes bedding I realized I was holding this little guy in that nice secure football hold. He was a real cutey even if he was really tiny.

[playbiller]

Oh man, Sorry I am not home to take you to a nice quiet restaurant with a real big bar. I turned toward Newark, while standing in the ocean and waved at about 4Pm, Guess I will have to have that few hundred feet again, to stand on the beach in he dark and wave again. I am sure you will be able to see me stadning in the total darkness, who else will be there?.

[Scarlett]

Scarlett says keep up the waving, play! You've only got 5 hours to go!

I like both Anne of Green Gable and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel.

I'm also trying to keep Scarlett from kicking all the people who are boarding instead of us, the deserving!

[Claymatron]

Sending big hugs to Scarlett(KAndre) :thbighug-1: and Scarlett(Scarlett)!! :thbighug-1: I know you're having a helluva time, but your recap is a hoot! (ahem....OK, maybe just from my POV...sorry!)

...and a big hello and welcome to preden, who I had the privilege of meeting on the weekend! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[Couch Tomato]

lol.... I didn't know the travel logs would begin so soon...and so rocky!! Have fun at the airport!

[aikim]

:F_05BL17blowkiss: to our Happy Wanderers!

We have a connection, I have been to Newark Airport and it was not a pleasant experience...good thing you don't need to rent a car!

Kim

[Scarlett]

(Scarlett as Scarlett again...)

Look at the bright side:

- We know Newark airport better than any other, including our main one in Houston.

- And the people here already know us or at least they seem to think we look vaguely familiar

- Without even turning, both KAndre and I can name all the fastfood kiosks in our section, and identify the only one that stays open 24 hrs (Mickey D's)

- The last time we were marooned here for half a day, we got an iGallop out of it

and lastly...

- If Clay were already doing Spamalot, we'd be so trying to get to Times Square rigtht now (and back again at midnight!)

ps. How strange is it that while we're wrestling with this big typhoon NURI, another typhoon named KAREN is about to make landfall in the Philippines today. (Edited to correct this info: Typhoons Nuri and Karen are one and the same!) I TOLD YA it's Typhoon AND Monsoon season!!! They're both on from June to September. I know this. Growing up there I only had one, ONE!! birthday party outdoors in July. The average number of rainy days in July and August is 17 each! If you want nice weather in Southeast Asis, come between October and February!

*this is going to be such an exciting trip, LOL!*

Thanks for the hugs, Claymatron and thanks for the waving, playbiller! *waves right back*

Also, belated wecome to preden!

ETA: Hee, aikim! Hope you didn't wind up with an iGallop too!

ETAA: Typhoon Nuri IS the same as Typhoon Karen!! Karen is the PHilippines' local name for Nuri

---------------------------

On the more somber side, Nuri/Karen already made landfall yesterday and caused a lot of damage, killing 5.

[aikim]

Nah, just a plain old Ace rent-a-car; but spent an hour on the the phone with Visa to get an okay to up our credit limit so we could actually rent the car (don't ask, suffice to say this was a few years ago when our credit card was getting a heavy workout). We were in NJ for my Godparents 50th Wedding Anniversary and I really did not want to call the family and tell them we were stranded in Newark because "just charge it" had become our rallying cry!

It all worked out in the end; we got the car, made the celebration and paid off the credit card and are now much more responsible charge card users. Lesson learned.

Kim

[Ansamcw]

BANNER CHANGE!!!!

in Honor of Clay's return to spamalot and our two globetrotters that are stuck in Newark airport needing some diversion....maybe you guys can just watch the fascinating animation brought to us by the talented...

Cindilu2...Thank you!!!

and thanks for the great pin designs....love them all!!!

Welcome Preden!!!

and thanks to all for sharing the baby stories and pictures!!! I keep meaning to add my own stories and pictures but have been too busy with work and kids ...I am usually too tired by the time I finish catching up.

But I am so happy we all can find all kind of things to talk about .. :F_05BL17blowkiss: :F_05BL17blowkiss:

OK ...one more week of summer...Next Thursday the girls are back to school...YAY!!!

but first...back to school shopping...shudder...

[keepingfaith]

ps. How strange is it that while we're wrestling with this big typhoon NURI, another typhoon named KAREN is about to make landfall in the Philippines today. (Edited to correct this info: Typhoons Nuri and Karen are one and the same!) I TOLD YA it's Typhoon AND Monsoon season!!! They're both on from June to September. I know this. Growing up there I only had one, ONE!! birthday party outdoors in July. The average number of rainy days in July and August is 17 each! If you want nice weather in Southeast Asis, come between October and February!

So is it monsoon season in Houston too? It has rained most of the day ... again!

[aikim]

Love the new Banner and Cindilu great job on the pin!

Kim

[cindilu2]

Scarlett and KAndre - I swear you two ought to get together and write a travelogue. I'm pretty sure there's at least a mini-series in your adventures. And it's day one!! :lmaosmiley-1:

Hope the rest of the journey goes more smoothly!

[annabear]

So sorry for the rocky start to your Hong Kong adventure, Scarlett & KAndre, but I'm loving the pre-caps!

Clay's got his fingers crossed that the rest of your trip goes off without a hitch!

Love the banner of our brave Sir Robin! Hee - when I first signed in, it got stuck for a few seconds on PANTS! and I thought, Whoa! A smutty banner!

ETA: Stinking 'My Coke Rewards' contest! If only they chose the winner based at least partly on the effort it took to get a Coke product home from the store...

I stopped at Krogers to pick up some Diet Coke with Lime. I'm carrying the 12 pack by its handy dandy cardboard handle down the frozen foods aisle, when riiiiiiiip, clang, bang, whirrrr... the box tore from end to end, diagonally across, and every.single.can dropped to the floor and rolled. And rolled. In all directions!

There were no other customers in the aisle at the time, but there was a worker, unloading frozen food. Do you know that he didn't even blink, let alone help me chase my poor, dented, but thankfully not exploding, runaway cans of Diet Coke with Lime?

I think it should be worth well more than the 10 points I got from the barely salvaged end of the stinking box!

[Scarlett]

Cindilu, I forgot to say that I love the pin and would like to have two!

Aikim, hugs on the memories. Yes, I know what that's like and it's a matter of taking ownership & moving forward with a better attitude.

Ansa, annabear, cindilu2 & everyone, thanks for the good wishes. We're ok actually -- better to be warm and dry here, waiting it out. If we had taken the Guam route, it could have been much, much worse!

[wandacleo]

I can't think of too many places I'd hate to get stuck in MORE than the Newark airport!

I NEVER trust airlines anymore. It's sheer luck to get anywhere on time.

Preden Welcome to this motley crew.

P.S.

I'm feelng in a very North Carolina frame of mind. I found a recipe for NC pulled pork (apparently some combination of east and west NC) and made it--crockpot. It's actually not bad.

[djs111]

I just talked to playbiller, and she is still waving at the airport! Not really!

Anyway, have fun, y'all!

[Claygasm]

So.... since Clay is revisiting Spamalot, we thought maybe it would be nice for us to do it,too... in the form of another Sir Robin pin. This is what we came up with. It is a die-stamped pin, so it should look kind of like a coin when it's done. We'd like to get an idea of how many people might be interested, so if you could give a yay or nay, that'd be awesome.

I'll do an attached image too - for those who can't see photobucket.

Also... we are working on a second, non-Spam related pin as well - proof for that one should be along soon.

Beautiful pin!

But, but, but..... We MUST have another "Doing Clay" pin! Musn't we? Its tradition!!! I mean, just because he's a father now doesn't mean we can't still do him, right??

Muski - Have a wonderful time with your wonderful family!

Hope KAndre and Scarlett make it out of Newark!

Me - I am just excited to be going to NY for the weekend!!

[playbiller]

DJS lies. I ave gotten out of the water, showered and am on my way to a fresh Jersey crab dinner - eat your hearts out. I will be back walking my dog at midnight and then I will face north and wave to the skies.

It wouldn't be a normal non-business trip if there were not some unexpected crap. At leas you get to the president's club, I wander around Newa way to frequently. Did no one tell you guys that , although I always go through there, it has the worst record for take offs and landings?

yum Yum, off to dinner.