Happy 2006!

Here’s a little something for the netops:

🙁

I’ve finished two of the eight Nutcracker’s of this season. Everyone was so nice to me down there. My host, Dan, the loquacious and gregarious owner of The Inn was most helpful, and if you’re ever in the neighborhood, this is where you should stay.
I took a few moments today to update pictures of Tess at her various birthday parties. Here’s an example:

I’m off to Dalton, GA Wednesday to continue my run.

File this one under the this kind of thing only happens to me department.

So, it’s after 3:00AM and I’m trying to finish up this Policies page for a client. I’m upstairs at a beautiful bed and breakfast and I’ve got a shaky WiFi connection to someone’s network. It�s really horrible. I’m also developing a nic-fit.
    I decide to go downstairs on the front porch and smoke, hopefully with a more reliable signal. Getting out front, I’m surprised by the amount of traffic for this time of day in such a tiny town. I chase down a solid light on my wireless card and end up sitting on the banister on the far side of the house, my back resting on a column. Finally, I get to work.
    I’m about half-way through my task when I hear a trunk slam shut. I see a sedan parked in the parking lot cattycornered to the Inn. There’s a person walking my way. I turn back to my computer and only notice slightly that it’s starting to rain and I wonder where this person’s going. I’m also glad they didn’t ask me for anything.
    A little while later. I hear someone yelling, “Would you please help me?!” It’s coming from the direction of the car, only this time there�s a red Pontiac of some kind and a lady standing by the driver window. She’s about 150 feet away so I can’t really tell what’s going on. She’s not yelling like she’s in danger, more like she’s annoyed. It’s about 3:30 at this point. I think to myself, “Hmmm, maybe I should get my phone and call for help.” So this I do on my way over to the car. When I get there I understand the woman’s problem.
    It was her slamming the hood of the car shut earlier. That car had broken down and she walked over to her sister’s house and borrowed her car. She stopped back by to get some things out of her broken-down car and had somehow managed to lock her keys in the Pontiac. With it running. And stuck in reverse. So she was holding the car so it wouldn’t roll backwards. Good grief!
    So, I run back to the Inn, hop in the Beetle and drive over and park behind her car to keep it from going anywhere and so she can let go. She won’t let go. Meanwhile, the little sprinkle of rain is now a legitimate downpour. This lady is in jeans and a t-shirt. No hat, no jacket, and she’s getting soaked. I dig up the Venetian umbrella Tam bought when her Dad took us on the extravagant cruise two summers ago. So, the cop finally arrives and I’m standing there holding an umbrella over this lady. I can only imagine what he thought was going on. I try to explain it to him, but Stacy (we’ve introduced each other by this point), cuts me off. He listens with a kind of blank look on his face and pulls his cruiser around to the front of the Pontiac and gets out all manner of tools to break in.
    He’s got a wedge and a slim-Jim. No good. So he disappears into his car and comes back with this crazy pouch with a little hose sticking out that’s got a balloon squeezer thingy attached at the end. He shoves this thing between the roof of the car and the car door. He inflates the pouch which gives him enough room to fish for the lock control with a long, blue, metal stick. Stacy and I go to the other side of the car with a flashlight and try to help him find the lock. He gets it after a
Crazy.

Tomorrow, I’m off to start my 24th year of Nutcracker. It has definitely coming down to putting on tights to keep the baby in diapers. I really hadn’t intended to dance anymore this season, but it obviously didn’t stick.
Tam and I have had a great time visiting family and eating way too much food. Today’s big event was getting the family portrait with Saint Nick:

She’s just irresistable, no? What you can’t see is the lady to our right jumping up and down, sounding a whistle, and flapping a crazy bird puppet to make Tess smile. Tess wasn’t unhappy, just tuckered out. I should have thought to take a picture of that lady, she was a pro!

I can hardly believe it. She’s almost walking by herself completely and her babbling is taking a turn towards the coherent. Tammy’s going to beat me if I sit behind the computer for one more second. We really do need to get on the road.
Tam’s ready to kill me, I’m going to get in the car right now!

Whew!

I’m experiencing some serious Apple envy. The new Dual Core Dual 2.5 G5’s came out and I’m not above begging. The links to the right help, so visit the sponsors! I only need $5600.00. Oh yes it will be mine.

Well, I made it. 16 hours and too much time on I95. I start tomorrow and I’m already exhausted. I will take pictures as soon as I get some tape in the camera and have time to catch my breath: in other words, probably no time soon. In the meantime, I’m feeling like I’ve been everywhere and I’m missing Tam and the little one terribly. I’ve been told about how the parenting thing changes everything. I’m receiving an object lesson about this. It is nice to see Lance and Susan and see what it’s like to be an MIT grad student.

If you haven’t yet received your GHP 2005 DVD, please let me know. If you ordered one, you should have it by now. If you don’t get it by Wednesday, please email me (benjie@westafer.com) and I will track it down. You also might notice I’ve added a link on the right for you to order a DVD if you want one. You might also notice that the price has increased: this is because PayPal takes money from me each time and I might have to refund an order if I can&#8217t prove an affiliation with GHP (the DVD is really for those close to the show and not the general public). Mainly, the PayPal thing is an experiment.
Those of you with DVD’s, please let me know what you think. I’m very interested to hear your comments, complaints, etc. Hope things are going well, stay in touch, and enjoy your ballet classes!
Love,
B.