John's Letter

Hello everyone! Welcome to this weeks letter!

Cheese Month
I forgot to mention last time, when we went to visit Darci for dinner we stopped at Larry's Market and they were celebrating cheese all month. They had tasty free samples, and we ended up getting a slab of Janel's favorite cotswald.

Hitch
On Sunday we went to the theater to see Will Smith's new flick, "Hitch." It's good, funny and feels real, with the exception of the chick flick moments (the weak climactic pitch rubs weary by the time it happens, and the happy fluffy ending scene). If it's not in my DVD collection, Janel will have it. The movie had a good balance of what we both like in a film. I also really enjoy Kevin James (from King of Queens), and he was just as good here.

Mark Tecero
For the last two weeks Mark has been engaged to Fabiola. She has been up here for two years from Chile and they have known each other for quite a while. Anyway, Mark was in the area and they stopped by to introduce us for about an hour or so. He has been up in Oak Harbor and they are looking for places in Bellingham. The only part that seems weird/funny about it he says (and we agree) is that she is his sister-in-law's sister. They are roughly planning to tie the knot in June.

(2.27.05) Mark & Fabiola

Caroline's Manual
This past week I began assisting Caroline with a user manual for the program she has been developing for a company. She needs it finished by the 21st. So what started off as an editing job evolved into more. She has a few other clients so time has been an issue. Working from a laptop I have been collecting screen shots and entering basic directions. All the while, I keep track of bugs and report them to be fixed as soon as possible. She will be writing a bit this week, (subject to change) and then I will edit and format it some way. It is a lot like writing constitution and by-laws!

Visiting With Ned
On Friday met up with Ned to see a Sonics game. This was the first time I had been to their new house. As I drove down through a bunch of old Seattle homes, there was one that stood out… and I laughed. Sure enough, this is their home.

For about an hour or so Ned and I caught up talking about music and so on. Then we picked up a quick burger at Dick's and headed off to the game. We sat in section 120 Row 21 seat 1 & 2. Ned said that the Sonics were more of a fourth-quarter playing team. During the game I became a fan of Danny Fortson #21, and Antonio Daniels #33. Susie stopped by while on the job, and that was as much as I saw of her. A lot seemed to happen near our section. A gentleman returning from military duty was acknowledged to our left, guess the song contestants were just to our right, and security came down to warn an “unruly” member of the audience to rows in front of us. A bunch of housing break dancing guys came running out on the floor doing their thing. Apparently they are the Boom Squad for the team. The Sasquach was running around everywhere. At one point he was scrambling over wobbly chairs in stopped at our aisle seats for good old-fashioned high-fives and posed for other people taking pictures further down our line. There was a funny interactive audience moment, where the TV screens showed players individually kissing, and the words kiss the girl popped up. The camera with then show two people in audience, most kissed and some didn't… they even showed two players on opposite teams, who faked it. Very funny.
At one point in the game, a remote-controlled beer blimp flew over the audience, dropping tickets on occasion. The guy flew it all crazy, and took it up into the nosebleeds.
Then the game picked up when a flat shot bounced back and forth inside the rim. Everyone went wild about the shot, then they retook possession of the ball and the crowd to louder. They made another basket, and people were on their feet. At times like this you notice the difference between basketball and any other sport. After short victories they take long breaks for everybody to scream and holler. We witnessed a brief fight down and to the right of us on the floor. I didn't last long, but security was standing by us trying to pinpoint the situation. The crowd was watching back and forth, the last minute of the intense game and the region where the fight was. In the last four seconds the gentleman who was “unruly” was escorted away.
After the game Ned and I walked down to “Seattle sips” had a beer and listen to a reporter for KJR who himself was only four feet away. Some of the players were going to come up for an interview, shake hands, etc. But we didn't want to wait for 40 minutes. From there we went to visit Tim, and James Radback. Where we talked and joked around for about an hour. They just received a foosball table they got for 50 bucks. All they had to do was fix the legs. Tim even gave me a book to read.

John and Ned taken after midnight

Neighbors Fight
On Monday night around ten pm, the downstairs neighbors were singing loudly and having a good time. By 11:40, there was chaos. Angry shouting and plenty of thuds and swearing. Around midnight glass shattering compelled us to call the police (and someone outside using a cell phone did too). They had moved to the outside and one of the two men fighting had his arm go through the first floor window. Blood all over the place. The people living on the first floor didn't even know it was their own window till later. The police showed up, but the event had already ended. I think most had left. The police would not come over out of their cars. They stayed put in the parking lot for about half an hour or so.

Death in the Family
Janel's grandfather's younger sister Mauzelle lost her husband Jim this weekend down in Arkansas. I met him at the reunion last summer and soon afterwards he was diagnosed with something to which they didn’t expect him to be around for more than a few months. So, it did not come as a huge surprise, but is still unfortunate. I was at the Sonics game when Janel received the news. Fortunately she was not alone since our CWU friend was visiting and staying the night, and earlier she hung out with the department teachers.

Auction Saturday
Lindberg high school’s booster club held an auction over the weekend. Janel and I volunteered for the event, which she said raised more than $60,000.

Birthday Wave
On Tuesday Janel celebrated her birthday feasting on tacos at Kristen’s house along with Jason and Caroline.

Gift Pose

Lighting

Wednesday morning (her actual birthday) I had placed out cinnamon rolls, purple streamers, packed a lunch, purchased a couple of magazines and wrapped a gift (all the night before), which all surprized her when she woke up to get ready. After her meeting at school, we went out for teriyaki and picked up her brothers old dresser.

Then on Thursday, she will be celebrating the summer for friends and then this weekend . she will celebrate along with Matthew over in Wenatchee. The original party was canceled, but a new one has evolved in its place.