The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow (Right?)

Boy, do I hope so. Today completely sucked. I know that I have agreed (with myself) not to vent too much here about things that could get me into trouble, but today bit the big one. I have a least favorite person today, and I have a strong feeling that he'll be my least favorite person tomorrow. At least I got to vent at happy hour. That's always a good time. Thanks, friends. :)

As crappy as today was, tomorrow I have higher hopes. I have (yet) another eye appointment in Bel Air, and I am hoping that I can get my final eye surgery scheduled. For those of you that don't know, I've had two eye surgeries in the past two months to correct my eyes. My eyes are quite healthy, but they were too bad to be fixed by LASIK alone. If it means anything to you, each eye was around -12 or -13.

To date, I have had ICLs (implantable collamer lenses) implanted in each eye (see here for an animated video of the surgery). I still have one more surgery (probably LASIK) to fix the (now minor) corrections. At this point, I am very anxious to get this whole thing over with. It's been a long road.

To commemorate this day, below are pictures for all of you of each eye after their respective surgeries.

This is my right eye, which was first. I needed a lot of valium for this one!






My left eye was second. The pupil was bigger here because they used drugs to keep it open longer. It helped with the pain; don't ask me how.

Aren't they beauteous?

One Week Down

So congratulations me, I've been blogging a whole seven days now! No, I promise I won't say that every week, but it still seems new, so I figured that I'd mention it at least once. All-in-all, I think this blog business is going to be very good therapy. Instead of rehashing my daily frustrations all night long, I can hop online and BLOG. Blessed be the Blog.

Over the past week I have found a few blogs that I think are interesting... so today I thought that I'd share a few, and maybe reach out to a few bloggers along the way.

Baltimore Crime:
A digest of crime in Baltimore City, Maryland.
This is going to scare my Ohio friends and family, but Baltimore's problems with crime are well known to those of us that live here. Granted, this usually happens in certain parts of town (I've only had one murder in my neighborhood, and it was domestic violence), but it's unavoidable. We're halfway through the year, and there have been 112 homicides. Don't fret... it's down from the 270 we had last year. I'll spare you the details, but if you are curious, the statistics are just a few clicks away. Check out this blog here: http://baltimorecrime.blogspot.com/

Bags in Trees
On a lighter note, this site is dedicated solely to bags in trees. I love the description, "Bagsintrees.com is a photoblog dedicated to showcasing the beauty of the omnipresent plastic accessories that adorn the trees of Baltimore, MD." So eloquent. I've seen a bag in a tree on my walk route... so I am definitely going to contribute soon. Click here to check it out: http://bagsintrees.blogspot.com/

Strange New Products
"Strange New Products is a look at the weirdest, funniest, stupidest, and ingenious new products entering the marketplace." This is way cool and funny. This blog highlights new product ideas that borderline on the insane. From what I can tell, these are legit, because the blog author includes links to external sites. It's crazy, check it out here: http://www.strangenewproducts.com/

On a personal note, I had a doctor's appointment with my neurologist today (yes, I said "my" neurologist), and all is well. It's pretty much an annual checkup to confirm that nothing has happened, that I feel fine, and please renew my prescription. Very exciting.

Happy Memorial Day

Today Antonio and I went to Rob, Jill, and Rocky's house for a good 'ole BBQ (see photo of Rocky, left). Well, the barbecue itself was more like a grease fire at times, but the burgers were still delicious, nonetheless (as were Jill's mystery bars). We watched the dogs run around outside, played some horseshoes, and the boys played ping-pong. Most of the afternoon, we split our time between inside and outside, because it was supposedly in the mid 90s.

Here are a few photos from our day...

Jill and Charissa enjoying limited amounts of sunshine.





Rob and Heather enjoying a mean game of horseshoes (Do people in Ohio play horseshoes? I don't think the Costas ever did. I think this was my first time!).


By the end of the day, 'Tonio and I were plain worn out. As I finish this blog entry, he's been passed out in bed for hours, and here I am typing even though I have to get up and go to work tomorrow. Lucky dog.

LA Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals

Final score: 4-10

Michael, Dan, Emily and I all went to a Washington Nationals game today. It was AT LEAST 86 degrees in DC, but it was probably a lot hotter with some 30,000 plus fans in RFK Stadium. I had the spiciest italian sausage I have ever had in my life... so hot that I couldn't finish it because I couldn't feel my lips. I drank at least 3 or 4 bottles of water, and I have burnt shoulders as my souvenir for the day.

A three-run homerun in the third inning, five homeruns in total, and an impressive diving catch by Marlon Byrd to end the eighth inning... Boy, do I love baseball. Thanks, Dad.

Neat Website!

So I know that Katherine said she found the coolest website the other day, but I really think that I might have found it instead (Sorry Katherine!).

Most of you know that I've stepped up my exercising over the last eight weeks or so, and I have been walking/jogging at least 2-3 miles about 4-5 times per week. This site that I found is a part of Google Maps, but it calculates distance based on a specific route that you lay out. It's the Gmaps Pedometer, and you can check it out by clicking HERE.


My current route is 3.15 miles.

All you have to do is "flag" your route on the Google map, and it will calculate the distance automatically (without you having to drive your whole route in your car). There's also a calorie counter, but I'm not too sure how accurate it is.

Some things I discovered:
- It's only 2.75 miles from my front door to the Inner Harbor (or just 3.35 miles to Camden Yards).
- Fort McHenry (birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner) is a mere 5.29 miles (walking around the entire harbor) from my house.
- If I wanted to walk to work (assuming I took Route 40 and Philadelphia Road), I would walk 9.84 miles.
- It's 1.8 miles to walk Wexford Blvd. to Saybrooke to Smokerise to Wexford (Partridge Highlands). It's only 1.08 miles to Stow High School.

Too cool.

Friday with Friends

Last night we ventured out to Max's in Fells Point, which is about 5-10 minutes from my house. Once again, we were celebrating Richie's birthday. Max's is crazy because they have 72 beers on draft and 300 bottled beers. Of course, I stay true to my love for Mexican beer and drink Modelo Especial, but at least the boys are happy. (Richie and Rob, below)

We had a fun time... I got hit by a lot of coasters by boys playing coaster frisbee, met a kid that will go to Kent State (my alma mater) in the fall, and got to wear Donny's motorcycle helmet.
Jill and Donny







Charissa sporting Donny's motorcycle helmet. Maybe I'll become a biker. Just a thought.

Good times were had by all!

Note: Email me if you want a link to the full set of pictures.

Happy Birthday Happy Hour

So some of us from work did the happy hour thing last night to celebrate Richie's birthday (can I get a Happy Birthday Richie?), and we stayed out a lot later than I planned to, that's for sure. It was a lot of fun, and the owner of Bayou swung by our table for ideas on how to get a bigger happy hour crowd. We were all full of ideas, and to thank us he bought us all a round. With the exception of Jack (the owner) invading Jill's personal space, I'd say it was all worth it.


This is a photo of Jill, Heather and me at Bayou. We aren't too sure what was on Heather's mind here, but it certainly wasn't an indication of her having a poor time. See?

I'm completely LOST.

I don't even know what to say, except 'Good Job LOST writers.' Somehow they were able to answer some much needed questions (such as 'why did the plane crash?') while still building the story up enough to leave me totally hanging. And hanging for about four months. So do we assume that the crash was accidental? Some crazy experiment? Does that mean they weren't chosen? If it was completely random, why is Locke walking?

I can't stop thinking about the last 5 minutes. Who are those snow people? How is Penny involved? Is Desmond really dead? Or... more importantly... WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT PENNY AND DESMOND WHEN NEITHER OF THEM HAVE BEEN AROUND THE WHOLE SEASON? That's some good writing to make me think about two people who (almost) only show up in the last episode. Good writing, I say.

Man, oh, man.

I was thinking this week about the first season and how the second season has been so different. For instance, was the scary invisible monster ever explained? Or the wild boars and the polar bear? Maybe we are supposed to assume that those things went away because Walt was taken by the Others, but if he's that special, why did they let him go? Or did they? I don't know.

What I do know is that I am totally LOST as to what is going on. I am sure the next few months will be spent pondering possible scenarios and debating theories with many of you. But I am mucho impressed.

Grey's Anatomy. I love the show, but the finale didn't leave me hanging. She has to choose Finn, because that creates the best story line. Leave McDreamy to suffer. Now that's some good tv.

Desperate Housewives. Damn, I hope Mike isn't dead; but am I going to spend my summer worrying about it? Nope. Sure, I like the character a lot, but it's not like they are killing off Terry Hatcher or anything.

So it's back to LOST. I find myself wondering what the 'look' was that Jack and Kate gave each other right at the end. But I'm not going to know any time soon. Damn shame. It's going to be a long, long summer.

OH... in case you didn't watch, my boy, Taylor Hicks, won this year's American Idol. I knew it. I called it. I was right, right, right. But hey, I don't want to gloat about it. That's just not like me.

True Dat

Taylor will be the new ‘American Idol’
Vote here on MSNBC

SOUL PATROL!!!

YES... I've been watching American Idol, and for the record, Taylor Hicks was my favorite from the get-go. Tonight was the finale, well... the finale performances anyway, and as amazing as Katharine McPhee is (she honestly has a fanTABulous voice), she's just no Taylor Hicks. I mean, the boy's got style! Just like Elvis, he's got his own swagger, and although he looks pretty awkward every time he does it, you can't help but wait for it and yell out a little "woo-hoo" when he boogies.

Last year, my landlord (George) and I bet on American Idol, and I believe he still owes me a six pack. I don't think he was willing to risk it again this year, but if I was a bettin' girl, I'd say Taylor is gonna win this thing, and I can't wait! Tune in tomorrow at 8 PM EST to find out (yes, folks, I'm taping LOST, but I'll be switching back and forth, too)!

Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!

In the Beginning...

So here goes nothing. I finally did it. My own blog. As chatty and opinionated as I am, it's kind of weird to think that this will all be so easily broadcast to everyone I know (and even some whom I don't know). I don't have babies to write about or baby pictures to post, but I am, at least, the only single gal left from our high school group and living 400 miles or so away from home. That has to be mildly interesting, right? Ok, well.... we'll just say it is.

So I saw the DaVinci Code on Sunday. I read the book a good 3 years ago (I read the whole thing in 24 hours), and listened to the audio book all last week as a 'refresher.' Overall, I'd say it was as good as it could be. Having just listened to the book again, I certainly noticed every tiny discrepancy between the movie and the book. I got a little irritated with the cute jokes and one liners that had obviously been added to keep the story "light," and a number of events and revelations happened out of order from the book, which irked me.

The movie was good, and I enjoyed it, but it was more of a crime story with religious twist than a religious story with a splash of crime. Fiction or nonfiction, I guess what I liked best about the book was lost in the movie. When I read the book, I enjoyed the ten page explanations regarding symbolism or the history of the Knights Templar. The book was so rich with information, everything from the origin of the cornucopia to learning that Mary Magdalene wasn't a prostitute after all... shocking! (It's true... read here: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12893635/site/newsweek/.

Anyway, it's those tidbits of detail (whether ultimately fictional or not) that make the original story so exhilarating to me. I don't question my belief in God when I see a movie or read a book like DaVinci Code, but I admit that I start to examine the (sometimes weak) foundations on which I have built some of that faith. Religion is a history... faith is certainly related, but it's still independent of the history that brought us to today.

Next steps: I am now listening to Holy Blood, Holy Grail. It's a nonfiction book of French history, myths, legends and the authors' theories or hypothesis on how they are all related. I find myself rewinding a lot to listen to things again. It may take awhile to get through it (9 and a half hours!), but I'm sure I'll have plenty of random thoughts along the way.

So... how's that for my first blog entry? :)