6. My Brother's Cooler

Scanning the MSN site tonight I happened upon a story that has everyone amazed. Apparently, a 22-month-old boy (Cole) is water skiing and amazing everyone. "It's in his blood," says his mother who began skiing at 3 years of age. There's even video footage to be seen. (Check it out here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14190491/?GT1=8404 ) The article also mentions a 5-month-old sister who has not yet been out on the water. The bar has been set high, however.

With all this hoopla, I fail to be impressed. My nonchalance is due a similar story. Back in 1984, my brother Kevin accomplished the same feat at 21 months--my parents just didn't have the PR savvy to boot him into the media.

Here's how it happened: Kevin was in the boat while his older sister (ie myself) was waterskiing, and back then it was quite a record to have a 3-year-old bouncing across the waves. Inspired by my performance, he pointed out to the water and said, "I do. I do." He has been a master water sportsman ever since.

Cole, you may be the one with the limelight right now, but don't let your head get too big. If you work hard and get lucky, maybe you can be like this guy someday. Sorry to be the one to tell you, kid, but my brother's cooler.
Kevin '04 (21 yrs old)

5. Thieves' Blessing

Our Stolen Vehicle
My last post was facetiously titled "Robbed". It turned out to be quite prophetic. About two weeks ago, we lost our car to a bunch of beer toting thieves.

Noticing a rumble and pop in one of the front axels, we took our car in to see the mechanic. While parked on the mechanic's lot, it was stolen, assaulted, and forced to take part in a hit-&-run involving a tree, a shrub and a fence. The two men fled the seen, leaving our car (and 1/3 of a 36 pack of Bud) idling on someone's front lawn. The homeowner, shotgun in hand, chased (and almost caught) the two. However, they managed to escape both the homeowner and the police. Our car--the nice car--was pronounced "totaled" two days later, and we were given a check by our insurance company. (BTW, we recommend PEMCO. They were excellent to work with.)

Lesson: Two days earlier, we'd been talking about the car situation. Do we sell and get a nicer one? This one was starting to nickel & dime us. Or do we try to hold out a little longer? We settled on praying about the matter. Our answer came faster than we thought it would.

We soon discovered how difficult it is to find a Subaru wagon under $13G and nicer than $3G. Being an excellent investment (vehicle-wise), Subarus are snapped up when they're about 3 years old and driven til they're almost ready for the junk heap. We could afford something about 6-9 years old with 100s of 1000s of miles to go. (Note: A well maintained Subaru can last more than 300K miles and still be quite reliable. We have a '90 with 320K.)

I remember praying about finding a good used Subaru within our price range. I'm not sure how to describe it. God didn't speak or even whisper. It was almost like a thought or a realization that came to me: "Just watch Me work."

We'd been looking for almost 2 weeks with not much to go on. We were coming the end of our rope. Every time we found something, it turned out to be not exactly what we were looking for. For example, who wants to invest $7995 and then have to fix the leaky head gaskets or the rusty roaters? Not I.

I happened to browse through the Sunday paper, not really expecting much. Only 3 were in our price range, and one sounded like a real piece of work (as in not so great). I called all 3 numbers listed, and left messages with each. The next day we got our call.

High mileage had perhaps scared off potential buyers. However, an entire engine replacement (documented) gave this vehicle less miles than any of the others we'd looked at. It was well maintained, since the owner was a high ranking employee for one of the biggest autoplexes in Spokane. In fact it was in the same condition and had 50K less miles than a 2003 we'd seen. The owner hadn't been planning to sell this car until he learned that the Baja was being discontinued. So having bought a Baja, he now did not need this car and was selling it at a price lower than we'd yet seen. We bought it--loan free.

It's the most beautiful car we've ever owned. It's more car than we thought we could ever afford. It's fun to drive. We may be living on a teacher's salary, but we feel like the wealthiest people when we're in it.

So, did God cause our other car to be stolen? Did the devil do the dirty work? Those questions aren't so important to me. What I do know is that we entrusted our unknown future to a God that can work all things for good. I know our old car was stolen at the right time. I know that we were lead to this car. I also know that every good and perfect gift is from Him. I know that everytime I've let Him do the work, I've never been disappointed. Chalk another one up for the Big Guy.

* * *
"Ask, then; ask, and ye shall receive...to every sincere prayer
an answer will come. It may not come just as you desire,
or at the time you look for it; but it will come in the way
and at the time that will best meet your need.
The prayers you offer in loneliness, in weariness, in trial, God answers,
not always according to your expectations, but always for your good."
-EG White

4. Robbed

For once in my life, I am ahead of the times. Today as I logged onto the web, I noticed a familiar--and unwelcome--face. Yes, it was Elwood--a recent guest of this blog. Not distracted by his sparkly collar bling, I immediately recognized the ugly swollen tongue hanging out the corner of his mouth. You can see it for yourself:
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?type=ss&launch=13540751,2&pg=5

Then I looked a little closer. Not only was that my topic but my title, too! I would like to point out this example of how the big guys (MSNBC) squash on the little guys (that would be me). I do believe that my blog was posted days before MSNBC's Week in Pictures was released. I enjoy partaking in a photo montage every so often. Yet I must admit I was surprised (and indignant) to find my material plagerized. Doesn't MSNBC have highly paid executives and techies to maintain their information empire? Or are they really a posse of .com thieves?

I mean really, I don't expect a check in the mail. But it would've been nice to at least received some credit. Didn't they learn how to reference sources? To be honest, it doesn't take a huge stretch of the imagination to link plagerism & the internet. It's a student's favorite resource. Apparently that's how theses MSNBC flunkies do business.

Just remember that you saw it here first.

(c) copyright 2006

PS this one is for my sis
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?type=ss&launch=13540751,2&pg=3

3. A Face Only a Mother Could Love...?

I know that everyone thinks that their dog is the cutest thing that ever walked the earth on 4 legs. I know I often fall prey to bragging and boasting about the lastest cute thing that Zoe just did. But really, I do have reason. She is very cute and smart and so darn cuddly. Just look at that face!

Sometimes "funny" people comment about my little rat. They chuckle at their humorous wit, ruffling Zo's head with large hands and expecting me to get it. I don't. I'm not sure what kind of rats these people consort with, but Zoe is no rat my friends.

Earlier, however, I witnessed a horror of nature. I saw a show on TV (late night of course) that was broadcasting the results from the recent "Ugly Dog Contest"--a showcasing of true rat dogs. The contest is held yearly in Petaluma, California. (This to me is a bit of a contrast. Think California and you think sunshine, palm trees, and beautiful people with beautiful pampered boot wearing dogs swathed in Versace. Not the case in Petaluma. It's a wonder that Extreme Makeover Dog Edition hasn't tackled this parade of dog-ugly dogs.) Take a--brief--look at the contestants. People with weak stomachs should turn away.

The winner of the 2006 Ugly Dog Contest:
Archie
But wait, there's more. Meet Lucille Bald.

This is Elwood.
He is often mistaken for Yoda, according to his owners.

Munchkin is a former champion.
He (or she?) snorts like a pig when breathing.

Pee Wee, in my opinion, is a born champion.
He took 2nd place.

Sam will forever be the reigning champ in my book.
Thank goodness he's dead.

Again, Sam. I'm assuming this is his crazy owner.
Does she not see what she's holding?

So really, is there any contestation? I think not. Those things are ugly. Zoe is not a rat.

2.

As the school year is coming to a close, I'm feeling the loss of my classroom. True I have been in school this whole year, but there is something to be said about being on the other side of the desk.

Teaching, although hectic and draining, was quite fun. From about spring break to the end was my absolute favorite. The weather's nice, the kids have energy again, and we're all making the most of our time together because it soon will be over.

This spring I am probably more excited about the end of the year than I have in all years past. I'm wrapping up my health science requirements for my new career: Dental Hygiene. Having mastered the spelling of "hygiene" I am now looking forward to things to come.

As already mentioned, I'm finishing up some great science classes: Physiology (can you say "alimentary system"?), Biochem (hooray for metabolic pathways) and Microbiology (favorite microbe: Pseudomonas aerugenosa--see figure at right). I'm down to about 2 tests (including finals) in each class. Mark is probably as happy as I am about the finish. I've been haranguing him with "interesting" (to me) tidbits of information since I started classes last June. I can't understand why he doesn't get excited about the pylorus, endothermic metabolic pathways or the guinea worm.

My real purpose for this post is to psyc myself up for all things dental. Being that it's an exciting Saturday night, I Googled "teeth" images. This is my upcoming future. Enjoy the show.

The next two are beyond the help of the hygenist. Orthodontia is perhaps a good start.