BeyondExquisite Blogging
4.30.2003
Finally coming out of "anesthesia brain fog". It's nice to be able to focus my thoughts, and actually feel like writing something again. I feel sorry for people who have to be under anesthesia for really long operations. It must take them a month to shake it off. I was only under the stuff for less than 2 hrs, and it's taken me almost a week to really pull out of it.
More blues skies and sunshine in Albuquerque this week. I'm just lazing in the sun each morning, getting my energy back.
I'm so thankful for my husband. He's really been here for me through this trying time. Thanks, Wayne.
4.24.2003
Finally got a pic of my favorite billboard of all time on my website. We call him The Yellow Man. It's an ad for National Geographic TV, and the intensity of this image is amazing. It's located at the Carlisle exit off of I-40W in Albuquerque. I hope they leave it there forever. It's been there a long time already. I dread the day I drive by there and i'ts gone. Thanks to Wayne, the image has been captured for posterity's sake.
I'm feeling really good considering I just had surgery on Apr 22. Thank goodness for modern technology. I'm on the road to recovery!
4.17.2003
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WAYNE!!!! Looking forward to celebrating many more with you!
4.12.2003
WOW! What a Home Opener for the brand new Albuquerque Isotopes!!!
It was more than we ever dreamed or expected! The brand new Isotopes Ballpark is simply gorgeous, and, considering it was the first game ever, all the services flowed very smoothly. It was a sold-out capacity crowd of 12,215. All the concessions had lines, but quite surprisingly, the bathrooms only had short waits. How incredibly refreshing for a sporting event!!!
The opening ceremony was truly classy. Even Gov. Bill Richardson managed to speak well, and didn't turn it into a platform for anything else but BASEBALL! Homer & Bart Simpson were there! Four Air Force F-16s blew our doors off, blasting over the stadium about 100 ft above our heads!!!! AWESOME!!! Not only were there some fireworks right before the first pitch, but there was a beautiful 20 min. display immediately following the very good game of baseball. Even though the 'Topes lost it 5-3 to the OK Redhawks, it was just great. Hey! The crowd even managed a respectable round of WAVES going around the stadium! And, they were actually selling beer in the stands -- something I hadn't witnessed since it was banned in Oakland and San Francisco back in the late 80s.
THANK YOU WAYNE & MARK!!!! for standing in line for over 3 hrs to pick out the awesome seats in Section 201! The view of the mountains behind the giant screen/scoreboard is simply awesome, and we really got in with a good and fun crowd of other baseball fans for our season 8-pack! Sitting next to Mark & Mary Jane is something to look forward to for the remaining 7 games with our 8-pack.
I have only one tiny, insignificant peeve about last night's game. I was hoping for some GARLIC FRIES. Well, at the "Batter Up!" concession, they were, indeed, selling GARLIC FIRES. I paid $5 for these GARLIC FRIES. Unfortunately, even though they were high-quality FRIES, they were only PSEUDO-GARLIC FRIES. I am afraid I have been totally, hopelessly, thoroughly spoiled by having REAL GARLIC FRIES at Candlestick Park (oh.... I mean 3COM Park) and at PacBell Park in SF. Their REAL GARLIC FRIES are prepared by dumping the freshly fried potatoes into a giant bowl, and tossing them in the freshly minced garlic just before they are served to salivating customers. The aroma is indescribable, and the taste is superbly garlic. The fries they were selling in Albuquerque were simply tossed with garlic salt. Sorry guys, but those weren't the REAL GARLIC FRIES I was looking for, and I won't buy them again. Next time, I'll go for the Chicken Tenders w/Fries for only $4.50. Or.... a veggie burrito from Santa Fe Trails concession -- highly recommended by Todd & Cynthia.
That's a wrap on the Home Opener for the Isotopes. We are totally stoked, and looking forward to our next visit to Isotopes Park for some more fine baseball in a truly enjoyable and spectacular venue.
4.11.2003
WOO-HOO! Albuquerque Isotopes FIRST-EVER game at home... Home Opener TONIGHT!!! First pitch is at 7:11pm!!!
Let's Go 'Topes!
The weather is gonna be perfect for tonight's game, and I'm counting on a perfect cup of cold beer to go along with it! I am wondering if they will take a tip from the SF Giants and serve GARLIC FRIES. Guess we'll see when we get there.
A good baseball game is the perfect antidote to a highly stressful week (and my massage therapy last night certainly helped). The new VPN installation connecting the Abq home office with the Pasadena, CA branch office went really well -- only a couple minor glitches. We were all ecstatic at work about how well it went, and I am patting myself on the back for that one. Yes, I definitely deserve a cold brewskie at the game tonight! :)
4.08.2003
I'm sitting here with Melody while we're waiting on Pasadena to set up the DSL.
4.06.2003
Nothin' like a some loud surf guitar music to lighten up a sunny Sunday afternoon. Jim Thomas of the Mermen is simply in a stratosphere all his own, and I sure do like going to that part of the stratosphere! Try it, you'll like it!
According to their website, they're gonna be rocking out in Albuquerque at the divey Launchpad on May 31. I will definitley want to be checking out that groove. Last time they played here we actually got to shake Jim's hand! That was a treat.
Another good thing about surf guitar is that it totally makes doing housecleaning much less of a chore. Just dust & vacuum and turn the speakers up louder than the vacuum cleaner, then groove along...
4.04.2003
Let's Go 'Topes!!!
Woo-hoo!!! Albuquerque Isotopes won their first game ever!!! Yesterday they beat the Memphis Redbirds 3-2 in Memphis!
Can't wait til the home opener one week from today!!!
4.02.2003
This is what happened last night in Palestine, WV (Wirt Co), hometown of Jessica Lynch, who was recued in Iraq:
Church bells rang. Four firetrucks and a tow truck parked around the courthouse flashed lights and sounded sirens. About 50 people cheered, clapped and sang along to Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." played on a portable CD player plugged into a long extension cord running out the front door of the courthouse.
Wirt County volunteer firefighters in full gear waved flags in front of the courthouse while children danced.
It sure does sound like the kind of town you'd want to live in.
