My Space, Your Space, We All Scream For Myspace

Apparently, my two ...umm... housemates, Megan and Sheri, have started myspace pages. Welcome to the new millennium, guys. I think Sheri started her page when she moved in with us, to keep in touch with her recently deployed husband in Iraq. Megan got caught up in the enthusiasm, I guess.

Anyway, you should check out their pages and request to be their friend. I'm adding my wife's page to the links column. If you happen to stumble upon my page, you'll notice that I used a familiar picture for the background.

mp3: "A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger" by Of Montreal

I'd like to thank Carl for introducing me to this band. He added one of their songs to a mix cd we had in Wyoming. After just one listen, I really liked their new album. I thought they had a unique blend of 1960's psychedelia and 1970's disco.

A Stork Visited the E.R.

At night, if a pregnant person in labor comes to the E.R. they're immediately taken up to the obstetrics unit, for obvious reasons. Last night, we received a paramedic call stating they were bringing in a 17 year old female in her second trimester with labor pain and fetal parts presenting. As soon as they came to our door, I asked if they could be immediately taken to obstetrics. One nurse, Drew, snapped me to my senses and told me I should take a quick look before she went to the elevator, just to make sure immediate action wasn't required.

As we were wheeling her stretcher into one of the resuscitations bays, the patient let out one loud, long scream. I pulled back the sheet and saw the entire head of a full term baby exiting our patient (looks like someone got their dates wrong). By the way, I hadn't delivered a baby since I was in medical school (roughly 1999), and that was under someone's supervision. I took one deep breath to prepare for the procedure, and then the patient gave one push and the rest of a full term baby boy came out (what a relief!)

The E.R. staff and I spent the following minutes giving each other high-fives and gushing over the newborn. One of the nurses, Christina, got to cut the cord. I told her "whoever cuts the cord pays for college." I turned to the new 17 year old mother and cheerfully asked if she was ready for the baby, and she gave me a look of horror and shock. I guess this wasn't how she pictured delivering her firstborn.

The entire staff was cheerful for the rest of the shift. We deal with so many drunks and psychotics attacking and cursing us, that it was nice to have a baby's birth to re-energize us.

Myk-Food Post #6-10

Feb 10, 2007
Baked chicken with the same sesame ginger dressing. I like to put it under the broiler for the last couple of minutes to get that nice color.

Feb 18, 2007Shepherd's Pie. Perfect comfort food for these cold winter days.

Feb 21, 2007Grilled chicken breast with a mango curry marinade. It was the first warm day in a long time, so we nabbed the opportunity to grill.

Feb 22, 2007
Burgers. It was another fairly warm grill day. They were so good, I ate them before I could take a picture.

Feb 24, 2007Chicken noodle soup, southeast Asian style. Shitake mushrooms, carrots, baby corn, scallions, chilies, ginger and lemongrass made it very aromatic. This was Megan's project and it reminded me very much of the soups of my youth.

Megan's New Toy

She's committed now. With all this new gear, she's obligated to practice and get better. Anybody want to join us on Blue Mountain?

mp3: "Heart of Hearts" by !!!

Happy Valentine's Day

mp3:"You Really Got a Hold On Me" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

AddendumHave you ever seen a fruit bouquet? Well, thanks to Megan this is my first one. Those chocolate covered strawberries do look good.

"Everything's Just Wonderful. I'm Having the Time of My Life"

February has been a very busy work-wise. For the first time this month, I had two consecutive days off. They were busy too, but in a good way. Sunday, I went on a last minute snowboarding trip. Monday, I babysat Paige, and that night, I saw Lily Allen in concert with Derek. Life has been good.

Lily Allen was surprisingly great in concert. Her previous television appearances came off as a little sterile and sedate, but the the real live experience was just the opposite. The band rocked, playing more muscular interpretations of her studio tracks. The live horn section made a big difference. Lily was really energetic, bouncing around the stage and working the crowd up. She had this cool dub sound effects pad that she would occasionally mash on. The audience energy helped, too. They (we) got as equally excited over album tracks like "Friday Night" as much as they did over singles like "Smile." I believe the group standing next to me knew every lyric from her album.

There were certainly charming moments too. She giggled through the Kooks cover, when she accidentally sang the first verse twice. During the refrain of "Not Big" she held up her pinkie, and afterwards apologized to the men saying "it's the motion in the ocean that counts." The best crowd pleasing moment occurred when she directed one of the songs to "everybody who's kept you down like politicians and Prime Ministers" and then, bashfully "Presidents" which, of course, got the crowd hootin' and cheering.

The setlist:

LDN
Nan You're a Window Shopper
Knock 'Em Out
Shame For You
Littlest Things
Cheryl Tweedy
Everybody's Changing (Keane cover)
Naive (Kooks cover)
Not Big
Absolutely Nothing
Everything's Just Wonderful
Friend of Mine
Friday Night
Smile
Blank Expression (Specials cover)
Alfie

Which of those songs should I post online?

... In With the New (Board)

My first snowboard was the Burton Cascade (the blue and grey one pictured above). I purchased it five seasons ago, when I didn't know anything about snowboard technology. It was stiff and heavy, and it proved to be perfect for west coast conditions where it floated beautifully on deep powder. It was a little tough to jump and land though.

On my last day at Jackson Hole, I visited the demo center and tried out some floppier and lighter boards and found out that they performed very well in the terrain parks. Then I returned home to tax-free-shopping Delaware and on my first day off work purchased the Burton Custom (black, blue and yellow). Anxious to try out the new deck, I called all my friends who lived within a six hour radius to come to Blue Mountain with me. Three days later (yesterday), I was cruising and hopping on my new board.

Blue Mountain was where I learned to snowboard five years ago. It had the longest continuous pitch in Pennsylvania and was a great cruising mountain back then, perfect for practicing my turns. Yesterday, I found its character had greatly changed. Now, nearly 50% of its acres were terrain park (a smart move for an East Coast resort, which didn't offer much in natural snow or natural terrain). Now, it was perfect for practicing my jumps. I learned something very important. A board designed for jumping didn't necessarily make me a better jumper. Bill, who came with me, told me I got great air, but my landings were ugly. I even hit another snowboarder on my landing once. In my defense, it was a crowded weekend day and the guy was sitting within the landing zone.

Blue Mountain was still a great cruising mountain and we still had plenty of opportunities to ride at top speed screaming like idiots. We had the added fun of dodging the masses of weekend skiing/boarding warriors. Bill has gotten much faster, by the way. I remember once turning around to give him time to catch up and finding out he was just a few feet behind me.

We also went with Will and Nadia, first time boarder and skier, respectively. Like all first-timers, they fell every ten feet. However, both were among the most positive learners I have ever met, raving afterwards about what a good time they had. Well we all need practice, so I'm looking forward to going with them again. Hopefully, Megan, learning to board, can go too.

Myk-Food Post #5

Pan-seared tuna with a ginger and sesame marinade. A fish-monger just set up shop within walking distance of our house. However, we didn't actually walk there. It's eff-ing cold outside.

mp3: "Red Rabbits" by the Shins

Myk-Food Post #4

Chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese. There's a back-story to this one. Megan made a spicy spinach and cheese dip for Pam's Superbowl party. It was a hit, but we had a lot left over. We've been using the remaining dip in creative ways (i.e. omelet filling). Tonight was a nice one. Megan pounded the chicken breast flat and rolled it around some of the spinach and cheese mix. She breaded and pan fried the outside and then finished it in the oven. Delicious.