Lonely in Scottsdale - Ready to Go Home

The thing with traveling is it gives you a new perspective. I've gained many perspectives in my on-campus class this week, but I am talking about the actual act of living/residing in a different place. On my previous trip, the week in Florida, I stayed with Mommy and felt at home right away. Here in Arizona, I stayed at a beautiful hotel. Accordingly, I was largely on my own, without the creatures or comforts of home. Really, simply, its just plain lonely! I was thinking I could never just up and move somewhere alone, especially without my dog! I am a person who loves my alone time, sometimes more than my time with other people. But being alone every night is not something I like. That said, I am happy to be heading home today to people I know, places I know and reside, my dog and cute puppies, places with a fridge I can use to store something bigger than a coke, places where I don't have to hide my valuables, my own bathroom, my own closet - without the suitcase in it, my own sofa and most importantly, my own bed! Now if I could just eliminate the 6 hour drive between here and there....I would be a happy kid!

The last day of class has been largely uneventful. We have all settled down, we're all close to exhaustion, and we all finally know what we're talking about. For the first time in the entire 5 day class we met with people from our specific program. I was pleased with my group, these are all people I have worked well with or would have liked to work with. I guess I identified with these guys, which should be a good indicator of our commonalities. My group consisted of the Canuck, Father, and a Foreigner. I was the youngest and indisputably the most female, okay the only female. But it was nice to finally see who's with who, or more appropriately, who's doing what. Thankfully, Hallelujah and Rico Suave were no where near my group!

We are now doing our final wrap up and getting ready to take pictures. In less than two hours, my first residency will be complete. I have to say, I think I am better for it! We have joked all along that this is just a different form of therapy, and in many ways, it has been. We've found other people with similar struggles, talked about our future fears, and figured out some nagging concepts. That's therapy is it not? So again, I am better for it and now I'm ready to begin the next steps.

Okay, you can puke now.... :-0 = {
;-)

Really?!? Like Really.....? Day 4 of Class

So this deep relaxation thing isn't all that bad. I enjoy it for the most part, I just have to make sure I don't fall asleep and start snoring in class! If you have ever been hypnotized, the process is similar. So I do it and don't mind the break, then we go about our day. If only today could have been the same! In this case, I will readily admit to having a closed mind. Religion and belief in god is highly personal, and for the most part, should be kept out of the classroom. But once again, Hallelujah has found a way to annoy the crap out of me! And several others. Nevermind that her annoyance was unintentional, I have been offended and violated! I am disgusted! Okay, not really. I simply did not enjoy having religion forced upon me, especially not on top of a task that I am already not terribly excited about! Hallelujah, in true Hallelujah-fashion, insisted on playing her "calming and meditative" track/recording during our daily deep relaxation. A little jazz music is nothing to complain about, but the speaking or voice recording over the music was a little much. The entire time it was her voice talking about god and letting him relax you and being one with god and on and on and on! (Now if you're on this level with your god, you may sincerely enjoy this - and good for you, but that's not me). At least five minutes of this! Probably closer to 8. Now my philosophies of god aside, I am not fond of preaching. And the idea that I am supposed to relax and take in this forced preaching is paradoxical for me! As I said, I just did not and could not appreciate her need to force this on us as a diverse class of students. At least 5 out of the 15 students were isolated from this activity due to either our disgust or our opposing beliefs. For example, we have an admitted atheist in the class. You can't tell me she wasn't offended by this activity! At this point, the only course of action is to ignore the behavior. However, if it happens again, opposing voices will be heard!

I have noticed the inordinate amount of time spent on this woman, I honestly can't wait to be done with her! But I will miss the classes and the face-to-face interaction. The coursework has been fun in many ways, but I can't help imagining how much more productive this time could have been. Oh well! Besides the time's not over yet....

Beginnning to Make Sense - Day 3 in Class

Somethings are really starting to come together in terms of educational concepts. Its nice to have a few ah-ha moments about things that have been covered in previous classes that now finally make sense, such as synthesis! However, there are still many things I still hear and say "Huh?"

I had one of those moments about Professor today. She is apparently nuts! We do a "weather report" every morning where we say how the weather is in our heads/lives for that day. I generally make some smart ass remark about how its always sunny in San Diego. :-) So we go around the room and basically state our mood via weather terminology. Today I said morning fog, clearing to a sunny day, aka June Gloom. This takes places, of course, after our morning relaxation and meditation... Well after mentioning her weather, sunny, she mentioned her favorite type of clouds, cirrus, and that she loves rainbows, and somehow we got to her saying she loves balloons. And not only does she love them, she goes home and blows some up to play with every night! At first I figured she had to be kidding, I mean a Ph.D. with a balloon fetish?!? Well worse things are true, so I figure she can't be that far off! But how do you react to that?!? Well, Super-Gay Straight Guy (SGSG) summed it up nicely, he said "I don't think that's something you should tell people!" I agree! And now I'm a little weirded out...

BTW SGSG is ricking his third pair of glasses today. Apparently glasses are his favorite accessory. I am beginning to wonder how many pairs he has. I mean, is it like underwear with the dates on them? These are his Saturday glasses, tomorrow he'll rock his Sunday glasses.... :-D

Oh lord, help me! Hallelujah decided to switch up her seat today and guess where she decided to plant her bum. Yeah, uh-huh, god help me, she sat right next to me! Oh my, this is going to be a long day!

Okay, one more note for today. If someone could please explain the term "situatedness" to me, that would be great!

Stuck in Class - Day 2

Oh the joys of on-campus learning...I just love sitting in a classroom for 8 hours a day! No wonder I am in an online program! Here's the latest from Day 2:

I can already tell, Hallelujah is going to be a pain in the ass, specifically in mine! In the course of an in-class assignment, I was paired up with my favorite person, lord help me! Our purpose was to read and criticize each other's work. For some one so intent on being heard, she sure didn't have much to say in her assignment! She definitely took the easy way out on this one! As I was delivering my criticism, she was within 18 inches of my face, staring, unblinkingly, into my eyes. Talk about eye-contact overload! When it was her turn to do the same, she had to preach to me about the assignment and how wonderful my work was (thanks, but yuck!). And within a minute she was already preaching to me about how amazing learning is (she's a teacher, she can't help it) and how smart her grandson is and blah blah blah. I definitely stopped listening somewhere around "learning is amazing." I really couldn't get away fast enough, but of course she had to take my hand (in both of hers) and bless me. Heavenly father I have sinned! Forgive my bias, but this just ain't my thing!

As part of the same assignment, I got to work with one of the Foreigners. That was at least a pleasant experience! We were able to work easily and effectively and even achieved the goal of combining, or "synthesizing," our ideas. I really can't say what I got out of working with Hallelujah! What I did get from her later was a bit of "social education." Apparently she just wasn't receiving enough attention from her peers...and was receiving too much attention from the Professor! Since these two have serious personality clashing issues, their interactions have gone from bad to worse to downright painful! Well, Hallelujah is done! Lord help her she is through! She managed to convince herself and others (of her own color) that Professor is racist! OMG is that a reach! I can understand where she is coming from, yes, she is being singled out, but she is the one doing it! Professor has treated the class fairly, griping and snapping at almost every student so far. Hallelujah, however, cannot handle the directions, or lack there of, and keeps making scenes about her discomfort. Seriously, I am sorry that you can't handle a situation without traditional boundaries, but really, playing the racism card? Almost half of our class is of color and no one else is feeling it, or seeing it. When you think every one else is wrong, well then its time to look at yourself and see where the problem really lies. The scary/sad/disturbing part is that Hallelujah is a teacher and/or school administrator! I would flip a lid if my kid came home with the stuff she is spewing. No don't get me wrong, Hallelujah is a wonderful and kind person, she just doesn't get it!

Saturday Morning - this is one is for you! Rico Suave shares your favorite saying, "that's what she said." He's only about 50 and sitting in a doctoral class, and he pops that out of his mouth?!?!? OMG. He just 10x more obnoxious! But at least the class is catching on to his BS! Thank goodness for small miracles!

Please note, I am learning and progressing as a student. I just find time to make some fun observations along the way ;-)

Boring Girl (Actually) Goes to School

This week, this boring girl is spending her time "enjoying" the company of her fellow doctoral candidates. Once a year my program requires an in-person class, where we come in from all parts of the country (and beyond) to sit face-to-face and converse. Looking forward to this week, I wondered what my fellow students would look like, act like, and offer in a new environment. Would the obnoxious members of my team be equally obnoxious in person? Would their online personalities begin to make sense in actual conversations? Well I may never know! Unfortunately, the "children" on my most recent team are not in my class this session. Okay, maybe I should say fortunately, because they were fully annoying and bickered constantly! I do, however, have a whole new group of people to observe and "enjoy."

Over the course of the first day, I watched my classmates develop in to separate and significant "characters." The interactions of these characters takes on a whole new level of comedy, and frustration, especially when you consider the context of a class of doctoral candidates! Think The Office with less time to develop and more time spent annoying each other! If you thought the Hillary Swank debate was ridiculous, try having that arguing four or five times per day! Except the topics here are far less interesting, such as what is scholarly writing or how do you define reality or what are your preconceptual distortions, and asking each other "reflective" questions (where someone asks you a question that you're not even supposed to answer, just to consider and reflect on in your own thoughts). So with all of this in mind, here are some of the characters...

The most immediate "character" I discovered was Hallelujah. Oh lordy! Yes, ma'am! That's right! Amen sister! Oh Hallelujah is our touchy-feely, super-intense, slow as syrup, loud-mouth, with nothing really to say! Oh but does she talk... The comedy here is that our professor is short, to the point, and blunt to the point of being rude. These two together is all fireworks, with a little fire and brimstone! Lord save us from Hallelujah!

Nest obvious character has to be Rico Suave... he is a school teacher, who walked in late and unprepared. He's got his shirt unbuttoned to show a little skin and, of course, his gold chain. He's smooth with the ladies, at least with the ones who don't recognize the load of crap he's feeding them! Like any teacher, he can deflect questions from the rest of the class while making sure everyone else knows what his opinion is. He's greasy with all his golden bling, and quick to speak up....and like Hallelujah, he has no idea what he's talking about. The upside here is, the class is catching on quick to his bullshit. He's lovin' me man, all it takes is me to roll my eyes and he thinks "affectionately" of his ex-wife! Smart woman, that's all I can say!

The characters just keep poppin' out, here's a few more...

Cliche- she can't let go of her cliches and gets mad when our ideas and discussion doesn't fit snugly in to her little box. She's sweet, just a little stiff.

The Foreigners - one's from Trinidad & Tobago and the other is from Thailand (via New Mexico). You can't understand most of what they are saying, but you love to hear them talk. I get so lost in their accents, that I don't hear their words anyway!

The Mama's - these two are nurturing and sweet and caring, but straightforward and will knock you on your bum if you do wrong! They will take care of you and then make sure you can take care of yourself. Gotta love them.

Super-Gay Straight Guy - he's straight, but you wonder if he's gay about every other minute! He has trendy glasses, but dresses like a dork! Totally flamboyant when he speaks, which is always okay because who doesn't love gay guys! Oh, and he's a nurse...

Super Woman - her kryptonite is her computer, which she is constantly yelling at, but damnit if she doesn't look fabulous! (BTW you are so gay if you read that as fab-U- LOUS!!!!!) She can do it all...just watch! And be prepared to look away and laugh, because she is the only one who thinks she can do it all! Still, who doesn't like super chicks?!?

The Artist - She rarely speaks, is entirely abstract, thinks power point presentations are another outlet for showing off her work, and she just doesn't seem to understand this whole business and education thing.

Last but not least, everyone's favorite....

The Canuck - OK, so we make fun of Canada a lot, well apparently there is a reason for it! This guy is off-topic and is generally lost as an accountant among teachers, nurses, educators, and administrators. The keeper of the money must keep his guard up, defending himself with true geekiness! He's simple and sweet, but when he talks...crap, he's smart?!? I know, the Canadians are always confusing....


Alright kiddies, that's enough! You know you're jealous!

Leaving Florida

My time in Florida was great, but I felt a little guilty leaving. While Miss Jordyn had been quite the easy keeper for most of my stay, you could tell she was beginning to get the hang of the whole crying thing. She is beginning to figure out what those lungs are for and Mommy is beginning to understand just how difficult a newborn can be. Since Daddy went back to work and Mommy couldn't rely on him to help her with Jordyn, Mommy's stress-factor is building. Somehow, Mommy's mom and I managed to schedule our trips at the same time. We enjoyed each other's company, and Mommy enjoyed having us there...but when we both had to leave on the same day, I am sure Mommy was left a little flustered. I felt bad leaving her alone with a two-week old. She has some support in her current hometown, but not the kind of support she would have if she was back in San Diego. I can't imagine having a newborn and not having family around to help out, especially my own mom. Any newborn is a challenge, regardless of actual time spent crying, but a first born has to be a greater shock. Mommy is used to playing part-time mommy to her step-daughter, where the little one goes back to her own mom for every other month. Somewhere along the line Mommy is going to be hit with the hard reality of Jordyn being around for good. Now, don't get me wrong, Mommy can handle it. She just needs to convince herself of this and remind herself of this daily...



It has only been a few days and I am already missing Jordyn and Mommy terribly. I loved our afternoon naps and listening to her little baby noises. Admittedly I don't miss the constant diaper changes and bits of crying, but I don't mind them for a little while... I can't wait to get back and would love to see Jordyn grow. I will definitely miss that....



Here's one last pic of sweet baby J.

Are All Babies This Easy?

I know the answer is no, but still! If all babies were this easy, new mom's wouldn't have much to complain about! Miss Jordyn has had a very good day, a very good few days really. She sleeps well, eats well, and only cries when she's being changed. For example, today we had a nice two hour nap where she was laying on me while I was reading a book and snapping some photos. She'd squirm a bit and flip from one cheek to the other...but that was about it. We even went out for "lunner" at Moe's (think Rubio's but without that baja deliciousness) and mosied around Wal-Mart. I think she slept through it all. Here is today's pic from nap-time. Mel said she loved my laptop so much that she was going to steal it! So I offered a trade, my laptop for her baby. Not surprisingly, she turned me down. Oh well, can't blame a girl for trying, right?

Me & Miss Jordyn, isn't she sweet?

Freezer Burn

So Mommy's "pootie" is on fire but frozen. And we have heard about it all day. I can only imagine that birthing a child through one's "pootie" would be a traumatic experience, for both the mom and the "pootie." After much pushing, pun moderately intended, Mommy finally asked her doctor about why her "pootie" is so bothersome. His first response was "pootie?!?" Mommy more clearly defined her question and proceeded to bust out more vocabulary that he was unfamiliar with, at which point the doctor, Lt. Dr. Hotness, had to stop her to laugh for a bit. We boiled it down to her "pootie" has freezer burn. It hot and its cold, its yes and its no, its black and its white, its wrong and its right....ok not really, but you get the idea. Lt. Dr. Hotness came to the conclusion that he is definitely working for the "New Navy" and that the freezer burn is really just the healing process for having a baby. His reaction was great, he tried to keep breaking it down in medical, proper, terminology, but had trouble keeping a straight face in this discussion. At one point he said, you can still do anything you want to do, except the one thing her told her not to do. Here's Mommy talking about "pooties" and freezer burn, and poor Lt. Dr. Hotness can't even say sex! It made for an awkward few minutes for him, but Mommy certainly enjoyed it!

Oh the things to look forward to when having children! Miss Jordyn is still terribly cute and wonderfully quiet. She enjoyed her trip to the salon with Mommy, but wasn't as tolerable to her trip to see Lt. Dr. Hotness. Maybe she can't appreciate his likeness to Jake Gyllenhal, but the rest of us certainly can!

Restaurant Week

San Diego Restaurant Week involves over 100 restaurants in San Diego showcasing their awesome food in a three-course affordable meal. Last year we headed over to Indigo Grill for one of the most amazing meals I have ever had, also one of the biggest meals ever! I had high expectations for this year...and they were met, for the most part. This time around we tried another Cohn Restaurant, Kemo Sabe. I had the Arizona Roll for the appetizer, which was great! Everything else on the plate was not so good....and fairly confusing. I tried some of the chicken potsticker from a friend's plate, and that was awesome! It wasn't your traditional pot sticker, this one was baked or fried. Totally yummy. For the main course, I had Blackened Satay Chicken Stack. This was pretty much awesome! It is a stack of grilled pineapple, chicken breast, and corn cakes with a side of fruits and 10 spiced grilled plantain. It was a great mix of flavors and spices and pure deliciousness. And dessert....hmmm that was nothing short of amazing! I had a potted brownie with Kahlua ice cream and a chocolate dragon. That's right, a dragon...made of out of white and dark chocolate, you know you want it! All in all, last years was better, but this year will definitely keep me coming back.

On a side note, the Cohn family of restaurants are awesome. They are having a special deal from January 22nd - January 28th, $20.09 for the same menus as restaurant week. I highly recommend it, so check it out!

Meeting Miss Jordyn

My best friend is now a Mommy and I finally made it out to Florida to see both Mommy and her new baby girl, Jordyn. She is only 10 days old, so she is still tiny and cute as a button! Since this is the first one of my friends/family where I can be around for the newborn days and see Jordyn gro from the very beginning, it has been quite an experience. For example, fresh of the red-eye flight from San Diego to Jacksonville, we bundled up and headed over the the Naval hospital to take a class on baby massage. After that and some nursing in the lobby, its home for more nursing and tons of diaper changes. Luckily, Jordyn is prety quiet and sleeps most of the time! Here's the first of many pictues. I'll be here for a week and I am sure there will be several more bloggable moments. Stay tuned....

The New Job

I’ve known pretty much from the beginning that my new job was a positive step in the right direction. I am happy to report that I have confirmed this suspicion! I do miss select people at my old gig, and am pretty sure an ex-coworker was in line behind me at Subway today… But the new crew is awesome. It makes all the difference in the world to work with people you like. My boss rocks and seems true to her word. My coworkers and I have a lot in common and are equally productive and chatty. I think I’ve found a new (good) home here. Yay!

Recipe Resolution

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to try one new recipe a week. Like most people, it is still early enough in the game (aka year), that I am still true to my resolutions. Proactive in fact! Knowing that I would be out of town for a little bit, I tried two new recipes this week. Ok, really Saturday Morning and I tried two new recipes this week, seeing as how she really did the work for the second recipe. Along the way she also had the idea to document the progress of cooking with a picture every week. Sort of proof of accomplishment if you will. This week’s recipes were for Chicken Rolled with Ham and Provolone and Stuffed Mushrooms.

By the way, I had a bit of a rude awakening a few months back. I absolutely love the stuffed mushrooms at Olive Garden! I have been eating them for years, almost a decade really! So imagine my surprise when this fish-allergic, shell-fish despising, bottom-crawler resistant, picky eater finds out that there are CLAMS in the stuffed mushrooms!!! Eeeeeeewwwww!!!! I can no longer enjoy that dish, and have serious gag reflex when reflecting on how many I have had over the years! I am traumatized. If you’ll note, the recipe above DOES NOT include clams! Although it does taste nice with the lemon and butter reduction from the Chicken dish…

Here are the recipes and proof of completion....

Garlic Stuffed Mushroom
Great Food, Great Beer The Anheuser Busch Cookbook
2 Heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled.
1 Cup heavy cream
1 Cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or plain dried bread crumbs
1 Teaspoon salt
24 Large button or cremini mushrooms, stemmed
2 Teaspoons olive oil
¼ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small saucepan, combine the garlic and cream over low heat. Slowly cook until the garlic is soft enough to mash with a spoon, about 45 minutes. (The cream will be reduced and thick). Remove from the heat and mash the garlic into the cream with a fork, making a rough puree. Stir in the Panko and salt, mixing thoroughly.
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lay the mushroom caps, top side down, on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush the edges with olive oil and fill the centers with the garlic mixture.
3. Bake until starting to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to plates or a platter, discarding any released liquid. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.
Makes 4-6 servings


Chicken Roll-Ups with Ham and Provolone
Reader’s Digest – Great Chicken Dishes Cookbook

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to ¼ inch thickness
½ Teaspoon salt
¼ Pound thinly sliced Virginia ham
2 Ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese
12 Large fresh basil leaves
1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ Cup chicken broth
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut up

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt. Place chicken breasts smooth-side down. Place ham on top of chicken. Top with provolone and basil leaves. Starting at short end, roll each chicken breast up and secure with toothpicks.
2. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add chicken roll-ups and sauté, turning chicken as it cooks, 10 minutes or until golden.
3. Add broth to pan, cover and cook, turning chicken over, 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer chicken to cutting board and slice crosswise into ½ inch slices. Transfer to dinner plates.
4. Add lemon juice and butter to pan and swirl over very low heat until creamy. Spoon over chicken.
Makes 4 servings

Invisible Girl

Its about time I introduced the new roommate to the blog. I haven’t had to vent any frustrations about this one, mainly due to the fact that I never see her! And when she is home, she’s so quiet I forget she’s there! So allow me to introduce the newest character in the laundry-list of roommates…”Invisible Girl.” She has been a great roommate so far! She’s never noisy, pretty clean, doesn’t randomly stand in other people’s rooms and watch them sleep, she knows that toilet paper should be disposed of in the toilet, she doesn’t slam doors, she doesn’t have someone over so often that we think there’s a fourth roommate, etc.! Saturday Morning and I have only one complaint to date, she doesn’t talk enough! We’re thinking she’s shy and hasn’t broken out of her shell yet, not to mention being sick for most of the time she’s lived with us. We’re pretty sure she’ll come around when she realizes we’re laid-back and drama-free, hopefully.

Puppies By Proxy

It has been a long day of telephone calls. Since 7:15 this morning, my mom has been feeding me puppy updates. McKenzie went into labor at about 7am and dropped the first puppy at 8:20. Over the course of the last 9 hours, she has continued to pop out puppies…to a current total of 10!!! In a quickie pool, we all guessed around 4-6 puppies! We laughed at Mr. C for guessing 12 and I guess he is the one laughing now! I have been updating my coworkers all day…and we’re all starting to wonder when she’ll be done. That has to be one very tired dog!

The funny part has been the phone calls back and forth. Somehow my timing was spot on, every time I would call, she would drop another pup! I stopped calling around 2:00pm in hopes that she would stop having puppies, but 9 and 10 still appeared. I have yet to see the pups, but cannot wait! One of them is set to be mine….let the picking and naming begin! We have a bit of an Irish theme to the current dog names, so of course the tradition must continue. I’m currently leaning toward Kenadie, Katy, McKinley, or Rory. I’ve a whole list of names for the other pups, but they may end up with numbers for a while…

What's Your Resolution?

As is tradition, I have come up with a few resolutions for the new year. After much short deliberation, I have come up with a few do-able tasks that may help to break me out of my box and could even have positive consequences! I didn't pick one of the classic top three resolutions of losing weight, paying off my bills, or quitting smoking. But this is mainly because losing weight is more than a resolution, I pay off my bills every month anyway, and I never started smoking, so there's no need to quit. I started with the premise of doing things that make me uncomfortable, and this is what I came up with. Here are my resolutions for 2009:

1. Try a new recipe every week. This could be for a new drink or a whole meal, but it has to be something I have never made before. I never cook, and, frankly, its about damn time I expanded my repertoire.
2. Date at least five guys. I realize this may seem pathetically easy for some, but my recent track record demonstrates a significant lack of boy toys! Hopefully this will be achieved in part by completing number three.
3. Accept all invitations. I am hoping this will accomplish a number of goals, such as having a more active social life, increasing my circle of friends, and of course, achieving resolution two.

I may come up with a few more, but this looks like a good place to start. Now I want to hear your suggestions and your own resolutions, no matter how dumb! Even if it is getting out of bed before noon....

New Year, New Explosions!

Its 2009 and what better way than to ring in the new year than with firecrackers! In the middle of small side road in a cramped beach town with four drunk boys and a bucket full of firecrackers, we...well, we almost blew up Aggie's truck. Not to mention I almost lost some part of my body when one of the rockets exploded a little too close to me! For a "party" I wasn't too keen to go to, we had a great time downing a handle of Crown Royale while doing an irish jig to Flogging Molly. And when you have to tell your friend to stop biting and to make sure he isn't peeing in the mason jar his champagne is in, you know its gonna be one hell of a night! Somewhere along the way one of the guys made a hat with a brim and ear flaps out of a coors light box, which later became a lauch pad for bottle rockets while still on his head. I must say that one of the other boys had a firm behind, which I was instructed to slap as hard as I could. And between pornoprahic texts to Saturday Morning (who may never forgive me), cell phone pics of my boot coming down on Aggie's...um, lap, and listening to Rhythm Nation all the while wondering when we were going to fall through the floor of a junker shack that cost $1500-1600 dollars a month, it was a good night. 2009 definitely began with a bang!