This months News and Views (April 2000)
- Paula's loss is no one's gain
OK, the cats out of the bag.Paula has been losing weight like an anorexic on a diet!
She started this change of life style in February of this year. She says it's a change of lifestyle instead of a diet, because she's changing everything she's done wrong in the past.
The great news is that she's been doing it sensibly. She's limiting her caloric intake to 1200 calories a day. Some times more, some times less, but usually around the 1200 mark. The results have been tremendous. At the end of the month (April), she has already lost 40 pounds, 6 inches in her waist, and several dress sizes.
She's combining eating smarter with exercise, as she attends the YMCA step and aerobics classes several times a week. Now, the Level 1 classes aren't a challenge, and even during the Level 2 classes, she barely breaks a sweat!
Now, if my pay check can handle all the new clothes, we'll be OK!
- Steve turned, umm, older this month
We won't talk about how old Steve is, let's just say that he's older, and getting closer and closer to "Lordy Lordy, look who's 40 milestone." The good news is that's still 2 years away.
The kids got me some interesting gifts. My favorite was Worms Armageddon for the Nintendo 64. This game is a blast! Up to 4 people can play, and it's worm versus worm, and the last worm standing is the winner.
The most enjoyable part is the worms talking trash to each other, and how some of the worms meet their doom. It's rather hilarious; you've got to see it to appreciate it.
They also gave me a watch, several very sweet birthday cards, and a home made laptop computer.
- Easter in Alabama
We told the Easter Bunny, you know, the one at Concord Mills Mall, that the kids would need their presents delivered to Alabama, instead of Concord, and explained why. He accepted these terms, and was more than happy to oblige with our request!
As you can see from the picture to the right, Micah was not too thrilled to see the Easter Bunny. He had no problem with Santa Clause this past Christmas, but the Easter Bunny was, evidently, quite different.
Well, as I mentioned earlier, I was in Philly, and Paula was in Alabama over the Easter holiday, so we had to coordinate our departure with the Easter Bunny.
Easter Bunny (You know who you are), you did a superb job.
- Carowinds finally opens
Carowinds, a theme park owned by Paramount near Charlotte, finally opened this month.
One ride in particular, Top Gun, is really awesome. It's an inverted roller coaster, meaning your legs dangle as you enjoy the ride.
And, there are two full inverted loops during the ride which are breath taking.
To the right is a frame of video I pulled from our camcorder. From left to right is Brad, Jessica (Our baby sitter, who had a blast), and me.
Brad and I ride this first when we get to Carowinds. Often times, if it's early in the morning, we'll get to ride it 4 or 5 times in a row without having to get off the ride, and get back in line.
Clint wants to ride this ride, but he's got some growing to do. He's at least 3 inches too short, and yet he still insists on checking every time we go to see if he's tall enough. Maybe next year, Clint.
But, Clint is tall enough for Thunder Road, a wooden roller coaster that has two tracks. One track faces forward, while the other faces backwards.
He's also tall enough for The Hurler, another wooden roller coaster in the Wayne's World section of the park. Both of these rides (The Hurler and Thunder Road) are wooden roller coasters, and are a blast to ride.
The kids have fallen in love with a new ride called Nickelodeon's Super Saturator.
It's an inverted roller coaster that 4 people ride at once. And, you WILL get wet when you ride this ride.
To the right, you'll see a picture of the Super Saturator. The occupants are going through one of the many water blasts, and getting totally drenched.
I don't have a clue who these people are, but this snapshot gives you a clearer picture of the ride, and it's drenching fury!
You will get very wet, usually drenched. Being a new ride, the line is usually at least a 45 minute wait, which gets frustrating at times, but the kids really enjoy this ride.
That's when Paula and Micah head to Animation Station to ride some rides without us!
Here, you see Clint and Jessica as their ride on the Super Saturator comes to an end.
As you can see, Jessica's hair is drenched, and Clint is not too dry either! But, both had a blast on the Super Saturator.
Micah has followed in the other boy's foot steps by liking to ride amusement park rides. He enjoys the planes, the helicopters, the swings, the self driving cars, and a small roller coaster call Scooby Doo Ghoster Coaster, and the Scrambler.One problem we've had in the past was coordinating who was going to ride what, and where we would meet afterwards.
Well, we've got the perfect solution for anyone else facing these often frustrating scenarios. Get to Wal-Mart, and get a pair of personal 2-way radios. We purchased a pair of Ranger Plus (Can't remember who they're made by) radios for $40 each, and they have been quite useful. They have a 2 mile range, and after some testing, that's pretty accurate.
So, if Paula and Micah decide to drift over to Animation Station, and Brad, Clint and I decide to go ride the Hurler, Thunder Road, and possibly The Drop Zone, getting back together for lunch, or whatever is quick easy, and painless.
These radios are becoming popular with families, and we've even picked up other conversations from people using these radios.
So, we switch channels, test for a few minutes, and continue on. Just be careful, people MIGHT be listening in on your conversation!
- Paula and Steve split for a while
First off, the pictures in this section DO NOT represent the content of this section. There were just too many cute pictures from Carowinds, and I doubt anyone would be interested in pictures of Philadelphia. So, here are some more pictures from Carowinds, with unrelated content!
I had some Oracle training in Philadelphia, PA that I was required to attend.
Strangely enough, the boys were out of school for spring break that week. You know what THAT means - ROAD TRIP!
Paula and the boys packed up, and headed for Alabama while I was in Philly, sampling a Philly cheese steak, and seeing the sights in Philly.
Oh, and, yes, there was training, which I attended on a daily basis, only occasionally having fun! Honest.
In Philly, I stayed in the historic district, which means everything is old.
I did get to see quite a few interesting things. For example, if you've seen The Sixth Sense, a lot of that movie was filmed in Philly (The director is from Philly).
I watched the movie again when I returned home, and recognized a LOT of things from the city.
Remember at the beginning, when Bruce Willis says "You've enter a private residence on 47 Locust Street...", well, I was on Locust Street, but I didn't remember the actual address until I returned home.
Ever seen Trading Places, with Eddie Murphy, and Dan Akroyd? Remember the beginning, where Eddie was pretending to be a cripple, and was on a board, rolling around, begging for change?
That scene was shot in front of a building in Philly. It's some type of political building, for Young Republicans, or something like that.
Does anyone admit to watching the Rocky movies? Remember when he ran to the top of the stairs, as he was training, and jumped in jubilation in the first Rocky movie? That was on the East side of the Museum of Art. Tourists were running to the top in waves. Seems like a lot of people have watched that movie!
I also visited the NJ Aquarium, the Philadelphia Zoo, and got to see Huey Lewis and the News in concert. The concert was for all conference attendees, and a good time was had by all. Huey's a little older, but he sounds the same as he did in his hits "Power of Love" (From the Back to the Future movie), "Doing it all for my baby", and "Happy to be stuck with you".
I also brought back several goodies for the kids. Since I stayed in the historical district, I picked up several historical gifts for Paula and the boys. I got the boys a tin flute, a Jew's harp, a buzz saw string game, a replica of the Liberty Bell, a miniature rifle, a shirt, and other odds and ends.
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