Time Flies.

Man it seems like only yesterday it was January 24th... A few days before I traveled to Little Rock for work. Being a lung surgeon can be really exhausting sometimes.

My trip to Little Rock was pretty benign... I didn't get to see Freda if that's what you were wondering. Apparently I have to go to Seattle for that. I miss her.

The car I got wasn't nearly as cool. She was stiff, unwelcoming. Nothing I did relaxed or soothed her. Needless to say, we didn't hit it off. Maybe my hands were too rough, my butt too big or perhaps I just wasn't her type.  She was jumpy and every bump, pot hole, corner we encountered resulted in a squeak. In all the cars I've driven, and trust me, I've driven a lot of cars, I have never needed/wanted/resorted to outside sources of lubricant. It has always just worked itself out. Not this time. WD-40 was an absolute necessity.

Most of my trip to Arkansas was filled with one set of lungs after another. Really, if you've seen one pair you've seen them all. The subtle differences in size and coloring are nothing to write home about. Some people are fascinated by the mere site of them. Not me. In my opinion you can't really appreciate a good pair until you've handled them.

Other than the prude car I drove around, and the obvious lung handling, I saw the big dam bridge. It was a big dam bridge. Big. and over a dam. The dam was in the Arkansas River. That's a big dam river. Here's a pic.

I did get to see my brother for a bit. He's a lung surgeon too. (He helped me through medical school. Such a good guy).  Seeing family on business trips always keeps things interesting. Nothing like being in the operating room and having your brother say "I'm telling mom you said that." So mature bro.

Anyways. Yet another exciting business trip under my belt. I think I am due for a free plane ticket soon. Some how it seems slightly lopsided that I have to fly like 87 times to qualify for a free plane ticket. Whatever.

Peace Out.

Top Ten: 2007 Holiday Adventures

Okay, so it's been a while for Top Ten Tuesdays... But I'm bringing them back. This week its the top ten adventures from my 2007 Holidays.

1. Surprising Manda's family for Thanksgiving. I thought her grandmother was going to have a heart attack she was so surprised. Luckily, she lived through it. Manda's cousin Brandy had the best reaction. She actually cried. I love people that cry (in a good way) at my surprise presence.  (Actually she was happier to see Manda. Which I guess is understandable since they've been best friends their whole lives.)

2. Learning to knit. My mother is famous for asking me to make her things for Christmas. Last year it was a quilt. This year it was a hat and scarf. To make things interesting (and to encourage the early onset of arthritis) I decided to teach myself to knit. It was a long, painful success. Mom loved her scarf (and I loved making it for her). The hat however was a disaster and I threw the bastard away.

3. Spending two hours talking to Manda's dad about being a firefighter-paramedic. This is an adventure because it was the first conversation he's ever had with me that consisted of more than 3 words. The entire time I was racking my brain for questions about a topic I know nothing about. AND to make it even more crazy, he looked me in the eyes the whole time.  I do believe he might like me.

4. Finding a vibrating "massager" in Manda's grandparent's house. It had attachments. Glad to know her grandparents still have the energy. Enough said.

5.  Traversing the strip in Las Vegas to make our dinner reservations at the Bellagio.  Running through crowds, dodging the "scary" people and laughing our asses off is always fun.

6. Sleeping curled up on a bench, with my neck at a ninety degree angle, while freezing my ass off in the Vegas airport. It took days for the kink in my neck to go away, but it was worth it.

7.  Taking Garrison and Lucy to the dog park on Christmas day. It was cold. The wind was cranking. And I forgot my jacket.  I couldn't leave though, the puppies were too ecstatic not to be stuck in the house watching me knit. I cut glass with my nips for an hour, but they loved every second.

8. Buying my directionally challenged girl a GPS unit for Christmas. I searched several stores only to find it out of stock everywhere. I ended up paying a fortune to express ship it... but it was all worth it. She not only loves it, but can now find her way anywhere! ... *sniff sniff* She's just growing up so fast...

9. Attending Manda's work Christmas party. She got TRASHED. In four and a half years, this is only the 2nd time I'd seen her drunk. Getting her to do anything was like herding a cat. She was adorable though. I've never been told I was "so beautiful" so many times. Thankfully, despite the A.D.D. issue, she's a cheery, happy, funny drunk.

10. Getting a gnarly upset stomach at Manda's parents house. Then being directed to use the "semi functional" guest toilet only to find that it wasn't functional at all AFTER I tried to flush. The toilet overflowed and was so clogged Manda's dad had to scoop my poo out with a cup into a bucket. I then watched as Manda carried this bucket down the hill to the woods by their house and dumped it out... more than once. The best part of this adventure? Manda told her dad  that she did it. In fact her exact words to her dad were: "Bet you never thought you'd be cleaning up my sh*t again." I love this woman! :o)

Hope your holidays were equally as adventurous!

Peace Out.

The Boys.

Stoney and Tony. Our two best friends.  They're like the gay brothers we never had... and well, sometimes. They're like sisters as well. Just depends on their mood. :o)

We rang in new year's 2008 in Vegas with our boys. Nothing like flying into Vegas at 7pm and flying out of Vegas at 7am. Call it a Vegas quickie if you will. :o)

Our evening started out fantastically. Our flight was delayed an hour. I'm sorry. Let me lay on the sarcasm a little more...

fantastically

. We had dinner reservations to catch. In fact if we missed our time slot, the price for dinner rose to $300 a person. No pressure.

With forty-five minutes to spare, we caught a taxi from the Vegas airport.  Really though. I should call it a "scenic tour of the area surrounding the strip". We were taken for a ride. But is a trip to Vegas really complete if you don't get taken by a taxi driver? It is all part of the Vegas experience.  Plus every quickie starts with an unimpressive "you're gonna do what?" beginning... ha ha ha.

We couldn't get dropped off at the Bellagio (where we were eating dinner) because of traffic restrictions. What this meant for our time line was: after our 20 minute tour, we had a 20 minute scramble from the MGM to the Bellagio.  Normally this wouldn't be hard. But with a gazillion people and road restrictions everywhere, we felt like the obligatory gay couples on the Amazing Race.

We arrived with 5 minutes to spare. Granted we were sweaty and breathing hard. But what do you expect from a quickie?

Dinner was fantastic. And this time I really mean it was fantastic. No sarcasm.

Now this is where the bragging starts. Manda and I... we're pretty high rollers. With all our bling, people are constantly ogling us in casinos. We walk by slot machines and they speak to us. "Pull my lever and I'll give you a quarter"... Don't hate.

Like I said. I don't want to brag. We're pretty experience gamblers.  It took me five minutes to lose $3 on the two cent slots. It took Manda ten minutes to lose $5 on the nickel slots.  Stoney and Tony... well, let's just say they lost more than we did. :o)

However, our loses paled in comparison to a lady we met in the Paris. She was having a bad night. Not only was she drunk off her ass. Not only had she lost $12,000.  Not only did she wear black nylons under her jeans. She tried to hit on Stoney. Poor girl.

This wasn't our first New Year's in Vegas. However. It will be our last. At 4:30am, as we were sitting crouched together at our gate in the airport.  We'd just waited outside (32 freaking degrees!) in line for an hour to catch a shuttle to the airport. We were freezing. We were tired. We desperately wanted to brush our teeth. We realized, our asses are too damn old for this crap.

Although our quickie in Vegas allowed us to ring in the new year with our two best friends. It left us much like quickies do. Mostly satisfied, but tired, disheveled and needing a shower.

Who wants to spend new year's 2009 playing Parcheesi and Monopoly at our house!?

Happy New Year Folks!!

:o)

Occasionally. Things get awkward.

Disclaimer: this 5 minute interaction with Ms. Wandering Hands was more comical than anything else. She was drunk and I'll probably never see her again. Which is good. Good because I don't feel like being felt by her. :o) 

On occasion, people find me attractive. I'm not saying it happens often. Just saying it happens.

Recently, I was out with friends. Sans Manda. Which means I was without a buffer. I had to fend for myself. I'm not very good at fending.

Not long into the evening she approached. Her. Ms. Wandering Hands. The molestor.

I didn't feel threatened by her. Not her presence. Not her lack of recognition of my personal space. But then again. I have a weakness for cute girls with southern accents.

"Can I buy you a drink?" ... that's how it harmlessly started. I had a full glass in my hand. Maybe she didn't notice it? I'm pretty smooth. I replied with, "No thanks. I'm good."  I think she needed confirmation of my goodness. Why else would her hand find its way onto my forearm? Not in a casual way. More in a "your skin is so soft" kind of way. Don't know if you're familiar with this method. It requires friction. Rubbing up and down.

I managed to gently extract my forearm from her grasp. Relief. That's what I felt. This isn't awkward. It would be okay.

No it wouldn't. Turns out I have such strong biceps. I must work out. Or at least that's what she told me. I do work out. So I flexed for her. She was impressed. I don't mean to brag, but I can bench press like 50 pounds. I'm just saying.

My bra size. That's what she was trying to figure out. Maybe she needed to borrow a bra. Maybe hers didn't fit right. Maybe she was thinking of getting implants and my size looked good. She might have been shy. Too shy to simply ask. Regardless, she attempted a hands on examination of my goods.

Normally, I like to help people out. I'm a giver. I sometimes cry at Hallmark commercials. I care. I feel for others. Turns out, others feeling for me can be awkward. Really awkward.

Like I said, I'm smooth. I have reflexes like a cat. I only froze for like 5 seconds. Ten tops. It's really all a blur. I know I smiled. She smiled. I think she thought I was going to give up my size. Instead, I handed her hands back to her and walked away.

Kind of anti-climatic. I realize this. But when you're as smooth as me, actions speak louder than words. I am confident she got the message I was sending. "You totally didn't say please first!"

Manda was ecstatic when I told her about the girl who wanted to know my bra size. Really though. I think her laughter sounded a little forced.

Peace Out.

Cruising.

On occasion I travel for my profession. Not every lung transplant happens locally. (Who knew?)  There were half a dozen lungs needing new homes in Seattle. I decided to help them move in.

Although I reserved a Porsche with the rental car company. They were idiots. A ford focus? You're kidding. Please be kidding. Surely you have something larger. Something that doesn't depend on hamsters to move.

Lindsay. Meet Freda. Freda's a ford focus.

Sexy. That's what Freda was. The green paint contrasted nicely with the blue waters and concrete freeways. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, Freda matched my eyes.

It rained. Freda handled the slicks and puddles well. A hydroplane here or there is good for blood circulation. Not to mention my fellow drivers enjoyed the opportunities to flip me off and honk their horns. Within days, my nickname was "learn how to drive!"... *sigh*... the memories.

Manda spent the weekend with me. She was fortunate to spend time with Freda. Since my hotel was actually outside of Seattle, Freda escorted us across Lake Washington several times. Because Freda was so well built, I didn't even notice the bridge across Lake Washington was a floating bridge. You'd think "floating... surely you got sea sick". Maybe in lesser cars. But not in Freda. I didn't bob up and down. Not once.

Manda and I had a blast zipping around. Freda was so agile. First to expensive restaurants. Then to the Seattle Aquarium (cute little fishies). Next to the Space Needle (The name is misleading. It is not in space. I kind of felt ripped off.) Eventually we found our way to the Seattle Underground. (It was underground. No misleading there) Sure we were tourists... but with Freda's Washington license plate, we felt like locals.

Freda was so different from the others I've driven. There wasn't an awkward period in the beginning. We clicked right away. She was perky. Eager to please. She had tight curves. Sure her head lights weren't as large as others, but she was beautiful on the inside. You could ease her gently or make her squeal. When I begged her to stop, she did. She was just so responsive. *sigh*

Seattle was great. Sure. I spent a good chunk of time moving lungs around. But then Freda spent a lot of time moving me around. Having Manda there to experience new things with me made it even better.

Manda. Freda. Me. Almost sounds like a kinky 3some.

Peace Out.

Lindsay

Airport Antics.

OK, so it couldn't get worse?  HA....the trip from hell had only just begun.

After Lindsay decided to try re-arranging the skin on her fingers via a fast moving dog leash, we left for the airport.  We stopped to get a quick bite to eat before trudging through security.  Taco Bell was the fast, cheap, easy and on the way decision.  We order our usual, 3 crunchy tacos each and a drink to share.  The drink request was Sierra Mist.  You know how you have your mouth all prepared for one thing and take a big ole drink of it?.....then SURPRISE, it's actually Pepsi!  Yeah, it was interesting.)

So, we pull into the parking garage to begin the unbelievably fun task of finding a parking spot when all of a sudden, out of NO WHERE, this guy in his P.O.S. little Honda Accord comes flying out of his parking spot backward.  "Jerk Face" (this is the cleaned up version of what I actually called him) didn't even look before he pulled a Jeff Gordon in reverse and almost took us out.  Of course we did the same thing any normal person would do, honked the horn and gave the evil eye.  Well, "Jerk Face" laughed and flipped us off!  FLIPPED US OFF!!  Can you believe that?  *sigh*  My blood pressure just shot up thinking about it.

Alright, where was I, "Jerk Face" got me all discombobulated...so, we get inside the airport and stand in line to get through security when the TSA Nazi's confiscate half our toiletries.  Who knew they changed the ounce requirements.  Who knew having a 5 oz bottle of lotion that was only half full was "against the rules?"  We wait in line, go through the cattle call that is necessary to board any Southwest flight.  All this with only a minor 30 - 45 minute delay.  (if you travel at all, you know a 30 - 45 minute delay is fantastic!)  We pick our seats and settle in for the "long" flight to Vegas.  Ahhh, finally we will be able to relax and get ready to throw down in Sin City, right?  RIIIIGHT.  We're airborne and the flight attendant gets everyone their drinks, typical flight shenanigans.  Suddenly, there is a shuffling noise, three heads in the seats in front of us pop up....then, Lindsay's feet, my feet and both of our backpacks are covered in Vodka Tonic.  My disbelief is only compounded when I hear what one of the "Intellectually Challenged Klutz's" say, "Uh, the plane like, just went up."  (Ok, let me think about this for a second....first of all, I don't know about you, but when I am on a plane, it is in the air and I am not to my destination yet, I am DAMN glad it is "up"....isn't the other alternative down?  My second observation at this moment was....if the plane "just went up" wouldn't the drinks that were sitting on the tray in front of Lindsay, the lady beside us, myself AND EVERYONE ONE ELSE ON THE PLANE have spilled every where too?  Just curious.)  On with the story...we land in Vegas and are getting ready to deplane when I notice something about the "Intellectually Challenged Klutz's" attire.  One of the girls had on this little dress that barely covered her "junk" and it was SOAKED in Vodka Tonic, one of the other ICK's looked like he had downed an entire gallon of water and didn't quite make it to the potty.  Isn't justice divine?

Checking into the hotel was a breeze, I caught myself thinking "this trip might turn out ok"....shouldn't we know better than to tease ourselves with this line of thinking?  Lindsay and I go see the bride-to-be and her pals in their room and head to our room to call it a night.  Nothing like crawling onto a slab of freshly laundered concrete and curling up with a sandpaper blanket to catch some zzzz's.  Finally, sleep takes over and I am dreaming of beautiful meadows when suddenly a dark figure appears in the meadow with a FOG HORN blaring in my ear....wait, that isn't a dark figure with a fog horn, that would be an obnoxiously loud alarm going off in the hotel.  *sigh* I get up and open the door expecting smoke or fire or a crazy bastard with a gun and I see nothing, NOTHING!  (Oh, by the way, it happens to be 7 A.M.)  I crawl back into the slab and pull the sand paper back over me and try to re-visit the meadows when a VERY, VERY LOUD voice begins speaking to me.  I look at Lindsay as if to get confirmation that she heard them too.  She is wide-eyed and questioning her sanity as well.  So, we both stop to listen to what the voice has to say....."YOU MAY HAVE HEARD AN ALARM.  PLEASE STAY IN YOUR ROOM AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.  SECURITY IS CHECKING INTO THIS."  (who knew there was a loud speaker IN our room ABOVE our bed?)  Nice.  Stay in your room so you can get blown up or some weirdo can come kidnap you.....  Do they expect us to go back to sleep now?  Honestly!  Lindsay and I do what any good guest would do, we open the door and look around...no, really, we lie in bed and "await instructions". Are you wondering what those instructions were?  "PLEASE DISREGARD THE ALARM. EVERYTHING IS FINE."  However, they couldn't say this and be done.  No.  They repeated it 10 times, VERY, VERY loudly.  Did I mention VERY?  We gave up, got out of bed for breakfast and went to the little store down stairs to purchase toiletries, thanks to the TSA Nazi's.

SO....later that day, we decide to try out the new toiletries.  Seriously, the shower was the worst thing about the whole trip.  No.  Really.  I turn the handle to hot and cannot believe what comes out, or doesn't, depending on the way you look at it.  There is barely a trickle when it is pointed to hot and you had to turn the handle to cold to have a stream of water very similar to what comes from a garden hose without a nozzle on it.  Washing my hair was a blast.  Bathing was even better.  The Sahara SUCKS!  Never EVER stay there.

Keep in mind, while all of this is going on, I am still having to play "Firefighter" and get the "baby" her ice for her savaged fingers.  Ironically, the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.  (if you call penis sip cups and penis bopper head bands uneventful....)  We got home relatively unscathed and lived to travel again.

Our next trip was quite interesting too...I should write a book about all the interesting airport antics we experience.  =o)

L8R.
Manda

Gonna take a Trip?.

One might call us accident prone, or clumsy. Personally, I would simply describe us as a disaster in the days before catching our flight to Vegas for Dana's Bachelorette Party. Of course, this is meant in the funniest way possible. Funny. Because people hurting themselves is always funny.

Kidneys are important for several reasons. So, imagine my surprise when 4 days before we're supposed to leave, the act of peeing became painful. Manda suggested I call the doctor. But what rational sense did that make? Really the doctor? Simply because it hurts to pee? Nah. That's a waste of 3 or 4 perfectly good minutes of my day.

What's that saying? Hind site is 20/20?

Two days later, intense abdominal pain finally prompted me to contact my doctor. Personally, I think he overreacted with the suggestion to go the ER. Really, it was just intense abdominal pain. Antibiotics would clear that up.

And they did. What I didn't see coming was my hip going out the very night I started the antibiotics. Yes, one day before our flight to Vegas. Despite the antibiotics, I still had pain while peeing because it hurt to sit down! I tried peeing standing up, but after having to change my socks 3 times, I just gave up on it. Women were just not meant to pee this way.

Two doctor visits and a muscle relaxer later, I found myself taking the puppies out to pee before we left for the airport. This innocent and often repeated act, took a turn for the worse when Garrison's retractable leash attacked me. Yes. Attacked me. Three of my much needed, and often used, fingers were savagely strangled and burned. It hurt. A lot. I screamed. But not a girly scream. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me.

After throwing the leashes in Manda's direction, I limped, yes limped. (remember the hip thing?) back into the house, and stuck my hand under the faucet. I needed to put out the flames that were arching off my fingers. Unfortunately, *sigh* anyone who lives in Phoenix knows there is no such thing as cold water coming out of a faucet in the summer. Impossible. Not gonna happen. Please try again in 6 months.

At this point I was jumping up and down (This helps the pain. Try it. It works) yelling things I hope small children didn't here. This situation was serious. Thankfully, a firefighter (she was short, blond, really cute.) arrived with ice. It was from the freezer. It was perfect. The pain subsided. Temporarily.

For the next 12 hours, I walked around with an ice pack on my hand. If the ice melted, which it did on occasion, I would cry until additional ice was found. Yes. I was a baby.

Things couldn't get worse could they? Right. I'll let Manda take it from here.

Peace Out.
Lindsay