Scrubs: Payback

Scrubs is my absolute favorite t.v. show and the following clip is probably my favorite of the entire series. Watching Dr. Cox "get the spirit" is too funny.

Kevin Did It!

Congratulations to my little brother who graduated from college on December 15th! He graduated with a degree in Graphic Design.

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

This is too funny! Be sure to watch it all the way to the end. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Judy!

Days 8 and 9 from Honduras have now been posted and we all know what happened on Day 9, don't we Ben?

Gingerbread Egg Nog

I love Egg Nog but last night at the grocery store i found Gingerbread Egg Nog!! It is so yummy. It's like liquid crack. I'm sure I'll go into sugar shock but it will be well worth it! Once Egg Nog hits the shelves in the store that's my cue that i can start celebrating Christmas. I haven't put up my tree yet but i have started listening to Christmas music. Next to baseball's Opening Day, Christmas is my favorite season of the year!

July 4th in Honduras is now posted. Click on the link to the right called My Honduras Experience.

Anyone but the Cubbies

As the 2006 World Series Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals, head to the locker room to hang up their gloves and wash their cups and say good-bye to the 2007 season, they will be watching the post-season this year. As a Cardinals fan it is in my DNA (and just common sense) that I hate the Chicago Cubs. This year the Cubs have made it to the playoffs. Unbelievable!!

Anyway, i was watching Scrubs last night and the janitor walked up to JD and said the following:

"JD, how depressing is it to be you? Do you equate it with being a life long Cubs fan or being born without any lips?"

Side note: For those of you who don't follow baseball the Cubs haven't won a world series since 1908.

I think the janitor hit the nail on the head! I love that t.v. show!

Picture that my brother took when the Cardinals won the World Series. Yep, he saw it live!

High School Musical 2

I saw High School Musical 2 this past weekend with my 5,8, and 11 year old cousins and now i'm hooked. I liked the first High School Musical but 2 is much better. I am ashamed to admit that i'm almost 30 years old and as of today I am the proud owner of High School Musical 2 soundtrack. It's actually "Fabulous."

"What team? Wildcats! What team? Wildcats!"

Greetings from Dallas!

I've been in Dallas this week for work. I do have a couple of stories for everyone but those will have to wait. It's a quarter to 9:00 and we are still at the hospital. There's lots to do before i can issue the audit report. Hopefully we can leave soon. My tummy is growling. Hopefully i can update my blog with all the funny stories that have happened on the past 3 trips next week when I'm in Virginia Beach for another audit.

Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso are my heroes

It is a known fact in my department that i am not a morning person, especially when we travel for work. I have decided that a couple of my co-workers are slow learners and must have ridden the short bus to school. Here's why...

We hired a couple of new people so I understand if on their first audit with me they have no idea not to talk to me before 10:00 a.m. We were in Arlington driving from the hotel to the hospital. There are four of us in the car. I'm in the back seat with the newbie. I have my head leaning against the window, my eyes are closed, and i'm not saying a word. Ten minutes down the road, Newbie says to me, "Hey! Are you tired? You have your eyes closed!" I tried to ignore him because i was sleeping. He asked me again and my response was, "I was sleeping till you woke me up." One of my best friends who also works with me was in the front seat and informed him that i'm not a morning person and it would be in his best interest if he didn't talk to me (unless work related) before 10. Ok, not a big deal because this was Newbie's first trip with me. He didn't know but now he does.

Fast forward to Salt Lake City. I NEVER speak to anyone when we are eatting breakfast, never. Apparently Newbie didn't realize this. He starts talking to me and the only response he gets from me is the occassional grunt or moan. Thank goodness the third person on our audit team finally made it to breakfast so he could talk to her and leave me alone. This is the normal routine for about 4 days. On Thursday we walk into the audit room, i sit down at my computer and start working. It's going on about 8:45 and i have not said one word to anyone. Newbie, who is sitting across from me, says to me, "Either you are not a morning person or you don't like us?" If looks could kill! I lifted my head and said, "yes - in the morning" Seriously, did you ride the short bus? Are you a slow learner? You have been told that i am not a morning person so DO NOT talk to me.

So, the next trip was to Philly. I have another newbie with me and it was worse than having the other Newbie. I think we hired 2 really slow learners because how many times do i have to ignore you in the morning, how many times do you have to be told before you realize i don't start chit chatting with you till 10:00???? I don't have a problem talking to you before 10:00 IF if is work related because after all, that's why i am here. But i do not care about the new road or the new type of bread you found at Wal-Mart.

I don't feel bad when i don't talk to them since they have been told that i'm not a morning person. Good grief, are you really that slow? My not being a morning person also extends to the office. Why, oh why, as soon as i walk in the morning does Newbie #1 feel the need to tell me about every piece of useless knowledge he has obtained since 5:00 yesterday.

At this point, the Newbies are lucky if i even turn around and look at them when they talk to me. I feel like Dr. Cox from Scrubs. I think i'm going to take a page from Dr. Cox the next time any of the newbies walk up to me before 10:00 without a work question.

J.D.: Dr. Cox...
Dr. Cox: Newbie, if the next two words out of your mouth aren't 'See ya' then the third word will be 'Oh my god. My crotch. You've punched me in my crotch.'.
J.D.: See ya.

Great, i have to go. I hear one of the Newbies walking over to my desk. I think I may try this quote on the Newbie today...(Insert "Lester" where you see "Dr. Kelso.")

Dr. Kelso: Hey, guess what has two thumbs and still doesn't give a crap? [Points at his face with his thumbs]
Dr. Kelso: Bob Kelso! I think we've met...


P.S. Can i get a shout out from all those who are fans of Scrubs?

American Idol and Ground Hog Day

Have you ever seen the movie Ground Hog Day? Well, today was one of those days. You know you have spent too much time traveling when you are sitting at the airport and start to recognize (or think you do) people in the airport. I'm still waiting for the day when i start to go through security and they treat me like Norm from Cheers..."Lester!!"

Anyway, I'm in Philadelphia this week but let me tell you there's not any brotherly love coming from this southerner. Let me tell you about the car we rented from Hertz. We always rent a full-size car when we travel such as a Ford Taurus. Today was no different. I rented a full size and what we got was a toy car a.k.a a Dodge Calibur. I could not get the door locks to work. I couldn't get the back door to unlock. I tried several times but was unsuccessful until my boss realized i kept hitting the lock button and not the unlock button. Once we got the back door opened we realized there was no way we could fit 3 suitcases and 3 computer bags in the back. We had to lay down part of the back seat just to get everything in the car. We have so much luggage i can not see out the back window. I do have pictures but will post them when i get back to Nashvegas. We drove around for about an hour looking for some place to eat that looked safe and that had past a health inspection. We finally got to the hospital at 3:00. We worked for 3 hours and then left for dinner. Dinner was great except for the church service and debate that happened. One girl started preaching and after about 15 minutes i reached for my purse which they asked what i was doing. "oh, i'm getting out my purse so i can write a check because i know at any minute we are all going to stand and sing 'Just as I am' and pass the collection plate. The debate was over....drum roll....speaking in tongues. By the end of dinner I wanted to rip out their tongues.

We leave the restaurant and head back to the car. Just as i get in the car i am struck with a sudden urge to pee. I knew that we were not too far from the hotel so i decided to hold it. Bad, Bad, Bad idea. In order to get to the hotel we have to drive around Independence Hall (it's sort of like a round-about). As I see the turn i need to make i realize that i am in the wrong lane so i tried to change lanes but i can't see jack b/c of all the darn luggage in the car. I have no idea if there are cars behind me or not. The entire back of the car is a blind spot. I miss our turn so we have to drive around Independence Hall again. It takes about 2-3 minutes to make the entire trip around the Hall. My bladder is starting to hurt. Long story short, we had to drive around the Hall a THIRD time. We finally make it to the street our hotel is on...I can see. I start to tell myself, "i'm going to make it." I pull up to the street and it's blocked off because of road work. We finally make it to the hotel, i parked on the street, left the car running, jumped out and ran inside to the lobby. I can't find the bathroom b/c it's on the lower level and i'm on the second level. I have never ran down a flight of stairs so fast as i did tonight. I make it to the bathroom, and oh, sweet relief.

Did i mention that American Idol is not too far from the hotel holding try-outs.

Kevin, Uncle Bob, and Elvis

Little over two years ago my Uncle Bob passed away. My brother, Kevin, was really close to him and his passing really affected Kevin. One thing that Kevin and Uncle Bob shared was their "love" of Elvis. My uncle actually grew up with and was friends with Elvis. When they were in high school Elvis and my uncle and their friends were all sitting around listening to Elvis play the guitar. My uncle actually told Elvis, "Too bad you won't be able to make any money playing that guitar." My uncle and Elvis grew up in the same projects in Memphis, Lauderdale Courts, which is located right beside St. Jude. Anyway, last night was the big candlelight service at Graceland. Below is an email i received from kevin this morning.

As you all know today is the 30th Anniversary of Elvis' death. From 2001-2004 Uncle Bob and I would go to Graceland on the night of August 15th for the festivities and the Candlelight Vigil...we always had so much fun. We would always get a hamburger at Checkers on Elvis Presley Blvd...take it to one of the stages and eat it while we watched "Elvis" perform. We would walk around some more, go into the gift shops, and make our way the the big screen and watch concert highlights...then we would make our way to the street and always sit in front of Graceland and watch the fans make their way up the coffin. Every year I made Uncle Bob tell me all of his Elvis stories...they never ever got old. We made so many memories together down there from Uncle Bob tripping on the sidewalk and both of us laughing until we cried, to him always always running into to someone who had, at some point, bought some Elvis memorobillia from him.

The 25th Anniversary year Uncle Bob and I couldn't believe how many people were there for Elvis. I think there were about 30,000 people there. I remember clear as day when Uncle Bob said, "I just can't get over how many people are here for just one man. I can only imagine what it will be like for the 30th Anniversary. I bet there will be about 75,000 people here that year (wouldn't you know it...he was right!!). I hope I'm still around for the 30th" When he told me that I replied, "Well, if you're not around I'll come down here for the both of us." I felt like at that point Uncle Bob had found a pretty good Elvis buddy.

So, I had plans to go down there by myself last night but Melanie said she would go with me because I think she knew it would be kind of hard on me to go there by myself. I'm so glad she went. We got down there and she was so amazed at how many people were there. She said, "All of this for one guy!" I said, "Yup..and Uncle Bob knew him". I found Uncle Bob and mine's spot in front of Graceland in the middle of Elvis Presley Blvd. We sat down in our chairs and I started telling all of Uncle Bob's Elvis stories as best I could. She enjoyed them. I attached some pictures from last night..the last one is a guy drawing with chalk..really impressive.

I had fun but it was not near as much without Uncle Bob for obvious reasons. Every year we went to this Uncle Bob and I got a little closer and that's what I looked forward to the most. As I was sitting in front of Graceland last night I kept wanting to look over and talk to Uncle Bob and ask him an Elvis question and it was so hard realize that he was sitting right beside. It was so odd being at Graceland without Uncle Bob. Towards the end I realized Elvis and Uncle were looking down last night watching us...and that brought a smile to my face.
Kevin at Graceland

Melanie and "Elvis"

If You Choke Don't Look to the Reeves' For Help

This past weekend I went to Montgomery and was able to spend a little time with two of my favorite of aliens – Judy and Rudy. It was so nice to hang out with them. As soon as I got back to Nashville I went straight to Margaret and Terry’s house for dinner. While we were eating dinner Nate and Niño kept making all of us laugh uncontrollably. I leaned over and told Margaret that they had to stop talking long enough so I could drink some of my tea. I was afraid to take a sip of tea for fear of getting choked on the tea from laughing at the boys. About 2 minutes later as I was telling a story, Nate made some comment that really wasn’t funny but the delivery was priceless right at the same time I started to take a drink. The next thing I know I was reenacting Ryan’s choking scene from Honduras. I started laughing and then choking. If that wasn’t bad enough I had sweet tea coming out of my nose and my mouth. I kept waiting for someone to come to my rescue like Ben did for Ryan but no such luck. All I got was Nate and Niño trying to decide how many “points” they should get for making me choke. Nate said he should get at least two points. In between trying to cough everything up and catch my breath I hear Niño say, “Nate, I concur. Two Points!” I finally feel Margaret slap my back and then I hear Nate, “I think we get Three Points if she dies.” Dang, tough crowd!! I would have been fine had the boys not kept talking and kept making me laugh. It was absolutely hilarious. Both Margaret and I had tears running down our faces.

Thriller

Can I get a shout out from all my peeps that at one point in their life knew some of the "Thriller Dance" This is a group of 1,500+ inmates dancing to thriller. This is awesome!

Betsy, Alicia, and Me

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of the passing of my best friend Betsy. I received a phone call at work that Betsy had a seizure while she was sleeping and passed away.

Betsy and I met at Lipscomb. She was an RA in Elam. We lived down the hall from each other. Our friendship grew from her checking my room at curfew. I can’t tell you how many times she would check my room and forget to finish room check because we would just start chatting.

My senior year in college I was an RA in Yearwood. My head resident was none other than Judy Mitchell. One night Betsy and I went to a hockey game with Brett and Judy. This was during the time when Amy Grant was getting a divorce from her husband and Vince Gill was getting a divorce from his wife because Amy and Vince had an affair together. Amy Grant walks out onto the ice to sing the National Anthem and Judy yells from the nosebleed section “HOOKER!” It was absolutely hilarious. Betsy and I started laughing and I think we stopped laughing sometime during the second period. Ever since that night Betsy and I called each other “Hooker.” It was a term of endearment. The term eventually evolved into another phrase that Betsy “Hooker” Rachal would say, “Are you being Hookerific?” We never signed cards with our real names but with Hooker Rachal or Hooker Woods.

Betsy and I lived 2 houses down from each other the summer after I graduated. We said that we had the best job in the world but the benefits sucked. We were both unemployed which meant we were both broke. Every night Betsy and I would make a Kroger run to buy Kroger cheesy bread and a marble sheet cake. We would come back to my apartment to enjoy our treats and watch A League of Their Own. We would watch this movie every night because like clockwork Betsy would ALWAYS fall asleep during the movie. It didn’t matter if we started at 7:00 or 11:00, Betsy was going to fall asleep. Betsy never found out how the movie ended. Every time I watch A League of Their Own I always think back to that summer and how much fun we had even though we were broke.

Betsy like to run, actually, she loved to run. She loved it so much that she ran the Country Music Half Marathon in 2004. In 2005 she tried to convince me to run it with her. I couldn’t train with her due to my schedule but I promised her that no matter what I would run the 2006 Half Marathon with her. Betsy died in 2005 so I never got to run with her. So, when it came time to start training for the 2006 Half Marathon I knew I had to run the race because I promised her the year before that “no matter what I would run the 2006 Half Marathon.” I recruited 7 other people who were friends with Betsy and we became Team Betsy. By the time race day rolled around there were 4 of us that ran for Betsy – Me, Keri, Meridy, and Nathan. It was a hard race due to the emotions we were all dealing with but Betsy was with us. My time was the exact same time Betsy ran in her first race in 2004 and Keri and Meridy’s time was the same time that Betsy ran in her 2005 race. How strange is that!! Betsy was absolutely with us that day.

Nathan, Meridy, Keri and Me after the 2006 Country Music Half Marathon

Betsy was the person that knew exactly what I was thinking before I ever said it. She knew me better than anyone else in the world. Betsy and I had been through a lot over the years. Betsy taught me a lot about life and about myself. I think that I get some of my personality from her. She taught my how to enjoy life and to look for silver lining in a bad situation. She taught me that the clouds don’t stick around forever – the sun will eventually shine and above all God always has you in his hands.

After I received the phone call at work that Betsy had died, I left and went to Laura’s house – which is where everyone was meeting. I left Laura’s house around 10:00 and headed home. On my way home I checked my voicemail on my house phone. I had two new messages. Both of the voicemails were from Betsy! Betsy called me at 9:00 p.m. on Monday night. She left two messages because the voicemail she left was so long it cut her off. Can you guess what the first sentence out of her mouth was? “Hooker! Are you being Hookerific?” We were told that they estimated she died around 10:00 p.m. – an hour after she left me my messages. It was so weird to hear her voice again knowing that I would never hear it again. I still have those two voicemails saved. Betsy always told me that she had one fear – having a seizure when she alone because she might die. I know that I couldn’t have saved her even if I had been on the phone with her that night but at least she would not have died alone. There is still some guilt that I carry with me and I probably always will. Why couldn’t I have been home when she called that Monday night??!!!??

It’s been a tough two years. Two years ago part of my heart died when Betsy left this world. I still feel lonely and lost from time to time without her. I miss having her around. I miss having a partner in crime that knows everything about me by looking into my eyes. I have not been back to the cemetery since the funeral. I’m just not ready. I still struggle with trying to move on without her because I can’t seem to make my heart understand (or my mind) that moving on doesn’t mean that I don’t love her anymore or that I’m going to forget her. For all of you who knew Betsy you know how much your life was blessed by knowing her.

Hooker Rachal,
I still love you dearly and miss you more and more each day. It’s been two years and I just can’t seem to grasp the fact that I’ll never have another 3 hour phone conversation with you. You brought so much joy and laughter into my life. I know that I will see you again some day and I am looking forward to the day that I look up and see you standing at the gate waiting to greet me. I love you, forever!
Hooker Woods

This song came out not too long after Betsy died and it sums it all up for me.
Who You’d Be Today
Kenny Chesney
Sunny days seem to hurt the most.

I wear the pain like a heavy coat.

I feel you everywhere I go.

I see your smile, I see your face,
I hear you laughin' in the rain.
I still can't believe you're gone.

It ain't fair: you died too young,

Like the story that had just begun,

But death tore the pages all away.

God knows how I miss you,

All the hell that I've been through,

Just knowin' no-one could take your place.

An' sometimes I wonder,Who'd you be today?

Would you see the world?

Would you chase your dreams?

Settle down with a family,

I wonder what would you name your babies?

Some days the sky's so blue,I feel like I can talk to you,

An' I know it might sound crazy.

It ain't fair: you died too young,

Like the story that had just begun,

But death tore the pages all away.

God knows how I miss you,
All the hell that I've been through,

Just knowin' no-one could take your place.

An' sometimes I wonder,Who'd you be today?

Sunny days seem to hurt the most.

I wear the pain like a heavy coat.

The only thing that gives me hope,

Is I know I'll see you again some day.

Hooker – I will see you again some day!!

To all of my friends,
Thank you all for being there for me during the past two years. I know that in the beginning there were times I know you felt as though you were "babysitting" me but thank you for always being there. Thank you all for helping me during one of the darkest times of my life. I love you all!

No One Wants To See Your Thong

Last night my department at work went out to eat to celebrate the promotion of one of the girls in the department to controller at our hospital in Chicago. Nine girls went to Chili's and the employee who waited on us was wearing a thong. We didn't actually see the thong until the employee leaned over the table in front of us. Y'all know me - i started laughing and couldn't stop. The girl sitting beside me started laughing and the rest is history. Nine girls are laughing but yet we are trying not to call attention to our table or make the employee feel bad. Then I realized the appearance of the thong was on purpose. The WAITER had HIS shirt tucked into HIS apron strings so HIS low rise jeans would show off HIS thong. It's one thing to see a girl's thong but it is a completely different thing to see a guy's thong. That's a whole new level of distrubance. I realize that sometimes i don't have much tact and in this case i was fighting the urge to say something. You are a waiter in a restaurant, either pull up your pants or untuck your shirt from your apron strings because NO ONE WANTS TO SEE YOUR THONG!

Two Toilets?

Our last night in Colorado Springs we decided to dine at a small restaurant called Gertrude’s. The food was incredible. I had pork chops that had an amazing pineapple mango salsa. Towards the end of dinner one of my co-workers went to the bathroom. When she came back she was laughing. She began to tell us of the bathroom stall set-up. I didn’t believe her so I went to check it out myself. I took a picture of the bathroom. Let me know if you find anything weird about this picture?





Yep, that's two toilets in the ladies bathroom but there is no partition. After we had a good laugh i finally asked our waiter. I know he thought I was crazy but i finally got an answer. There is no partition so a wheelchair can easily fit into the bathroom. Apparently the men's bathroom is too small for a wheelchair which meant the ladies bathroom had to be used as the handicap bathroom.

Oh, the men's restroom is too small for a wheelchair. I went and looked myself.

Garden of the Gods & US Air Force Academy

After many requests I’ve decided to blog about my trip to the Garden of the Gods and the Air Force Academy. A few weeks ago I traveled to Colorado for work. I flew in a few days earlier than the rest of the audit team so I could do a little sightseeing.

Flag inside the Cadet's s Chapel at the US Air Force Academy

The flight was ok. I sat beside a girl who was probably around 5 years old and her mom. The little girl complained for about half the trip because I was sitting beside the window and she wasn’t. Anway, as we flew into Denver we could see the Rocky Mountains. The view from the airplane was absolutely breathtaking. Of course the little girl wanted to look out the window thus she leaned all the way across me. At this point I really didn’t care. Over the 2 hour flight she grew on me – plus she was so stinkin’ cute. She was equally amazed at the view of the Rocky Mountains as I was but she made a comment to her mom that was rather profound for a 5 year old.

As we flew into Denver the sun was starting to set. The purple, blue, organge, and red sunset was an amazing backdrop to the mountains, of which a few of them had snow caps. It was unbelievable. My little 5 year old friend looked at her mom and said, “Mom, how can someone not believe in God? Why can’t we make people who don’t believe in God fly over the Rocky Mountains? After they see this there is no way they would not believe in God.” Out of the mouth of babes…

Visiting the Garden of the Gods was also incredible. Words can’t describe it and the pictures don’t do it justice. For those who haven’t been to the Garden of the Gods basically is a park that you can hike, horseback, or drive through. The park contains these massive red rock formations. I drove around the park for a couple of hours.

After I left the Garden of the Gods I went to the Air Force Academy’s Cadet Chapel. From the outside it looks a bit dull but once inside it is beautiful. The chapel has a vaulted ceiling and a huge organ. Did I mention the beautiful stained glass windows? Check out the pictures.

Hot Dogs and Hairy Rick

This past weekend my brother came to Nashville. Saturday Kevin and I went to Atlanta to see the Cardinals vs. Braves. We had such high hopes for the Cards since they beat the Braves the night before. Once we arrived in Atlanta we rode Marta from Buckhead to Turner Field. While we were standing in line my brother looked at me and said, "Hey sis - that guy over there reminds me of Hairy Rick." (Judy, i'm doing the hand motion just for you). This guy had more hair coming out of the top of his shirt than he had on the top of his head.

The former lead singer of Trick Pony, Heidi Newfield, sang the National Anthem. I was pumped about that since Trick Pony is my favorite country group. Heidi did an excellent job. The only thing it was missing was Collin's fireworks extravaganza. (clap clap! clap clap!)

We paid $30 for our seats which included all-we can eat arm bands. Kevin had 5-6 hotdogs (i lost count), peanuts, sunflower seeds, and i think 4-5 cokes. I vaguely remember seeing nachos. He was putting away the food so fast i'm not sure what all i missed while i was actually watching the game.

It was NASCAR night at the ballgame as well. In between innings, twice, 3 NASCARS drove around the field - one of which was Dale Jr.'s car. I have never seen so many camera flashes go off at once. I was looking for my raincoat because it looked like lightning. It was so funny. The only thing that would have made this crowd cheer louder and take more pictures would be if Lynard Skynard walked out.

The game itself, um what's the word i'm looking for - oh yeah, stunk! Molina and Rolen did not play. The fact Rolen didn't play put a damper on my entire evening. Pujols didn't play the entire game but the drunk guys behind us didn't pick up on that small detail. During the 8th inning the drunk guys kept yelling at first base at "Pujols" but little did they know Pujols had been out of the game for an entire inning. I have no idea what the score ended up being because I lost count after the Braves scored 10 runs. My brother said it best when he said, "If this had been a high school game the Cardinals would have been run ruled."

If nothing else i can mark Turner Field off of my list of Major League Ball Parks I've visited. It was good to spend time with my brother this weekend.

Oh, the next night the Cardinals beat the Braves in extra innings. Scott Rolen hit a 2 run homer in the 10th! I wish i could have seen it in person and not on ESPN.

In Colorado I'm a T.V. Star

Today for lunch we went to a little pizza place located in downtown Colorado Springs. As we are enjoying our pizza our waiter walks up to me and asks if i'm on t.v. Of course, after I said no we all started laughing. He said that the person i look like is on Fox and is "sports reporter." At this point I have a good idea who he thinks i might be. Five minutes later, he says "Are you not Summer Sanders?" (Summer is an olympic swimmer who now hosts random t.v. shows). After i told him i wasn't Summer he walked off. Thinking that the conversation was finished my co-workers and i continued to enjoy our hour away from patient accounts, census, and fixed assets. Um, we were wrong. Dude walks up to me one last time just to make sure that i wasn't Summer. This time he told me i'm a dead ringer for Summer. After i convinced him I was Lester and not Summer he finally left us alone.

This is not the first time I've been told I look like Summer Sanders; however, i've never had this much trouble convincing someone I wasn't Summer. Google Summer Sanders and let me know what y'all think - do I look like Summer Sanders?

Must Eat Before 8:00 and Have Cash

Yesterday as my co-workers and i were packing up our computers to leave the hospital for dinner we were given a few dinner suggestions. We were told that after we leave The Garden of the Gods we should eat dinner in downtown historic Manitou Springs because they have a lot of neat places to eat. We always try to not eat at chain restaurants when we travel since we can usually get that food in Nashville. The little town located at the foot of Pike's Peak is a cute town; however, that's were my love for the little town ends. After we drove around for 30 minutes looking for a place to park we headed to Mona Lisa's Fondue Restaurant for dinner. Um, yeah, they are closed on Mondays. We then decided that we would go to Adam's Mountain Cafe because it had outdoor seating. I knew this place was opened on Mondays because all 4 times we passed the cafe looking for a place to park we saw people eatting there. We walk up to the restaurant and they were closed. They closed at 7:00. It was 7:05. So, our third choice was another restaurant that had outdoor seating (this was important because how often can you eat outside and look at the Rocky Mountains). This place was actually opened. Nicole and I sat down while Kristin went to the bathroom. Our waitress takes our drink order and Nicole just happened to notice that this place does not accept credit cards. Are you kidding me????? Who doesn't accept credit cards these days. So, none of us had cash so we got up and went to the next restaurant P.J.'s Bistro. This place did take credit cards but it closed at 8:00 and it was 7:15 by the time we got there. Side note - all of these restaurants were not very close together. By the time we arrived at P.J's we were all hungry, hot, and sweaty.

When we walked into P.J's the hostess looked at us rather funny and i asked if they were still serving dinner. Her response was, "Let me check with the kitchen. Sometimes if the cooks get tired they will just close the kitchen at 7:00." I think all of us had this look of unbelief because a waitress who had a Polish accent verified - word for word - what the hostess just told us. Much to our surprise the kitchen was still open however they had run out of a lot of their main menu items. The waitress told us that the following items were sold out - potato pancakes, goulash, potato pancakes, soup, and potato pancakes. We were told multiple times that they were sold out of potato pancakes. Here's what we were told we could order, "we still have pork chops, a few sandwhiches, and cabbage. Potato pancakes usually come with a sandwhich but we don't have any more potato pancakes." Really? Who knew there would be a run on potato pancakes and goulash in Manitou Springs before 7:00 p.m. We were so frustrated we left and ended up dinning at Maccaroni Grill. We were so hungry and tired that i don't think any of us said a word during dinner. I think our waiter felt sorry for us because he gave us a free dessert.

Moral of the story: if you plan on eatting in Manitou Springs eat on a Tuesday before 8:00 and bring cash.

On the Road Again

I just spent 13 days in Honduras and had the most incredible experience. I had no way of knowing just how much the trip would effect me but boy did it ever. I am ready to go back right now. I'll write more about my experience later.

Right now I am in Colorado for the week for work. After i walked into my hotel room tonight i realized that over the past 9 days i have lived in 6 different hotel rooms. I think i packed more for 5 days in Colorado than I did for 13 days in Honduras. Hopefully I'll have more time to write later on in the week but right now I need to go to sleep. I'm so tired I'm starting to see double.