family – Page 16 – The Books are Taking Over…

I almost forgot to post this

My brother is currently doing a stint in Peru with a Habitat for Humanity like group. This is the manner in which he met his girlfriend (who is no holds barred awesome) and this is how he spends his vacation time every year. I think the last far flung destination he went to was Cambodia. Anyway, when he first arrived, I got this email from him. My brother has, um, a way with words.

Subject: not dead‏

Hi everyone,

I arrived safely in Lima on Monday afternoon. The flights were uneventful and shorter than I expected the flight time from Dulles to Panama was about 4 hours and the flight time from Panama to Lima was a bit over 3 hours. In the southern hemisphere I expected water the flow the other way, time to go backward and gravity to be inverted but sadly none of those things happened. The Fuller boss (for lack of a better word) has an incredibly interesting history. He used to work in Los Alamos in the 70s and for a while in the 80s he was a wanted man by Shining Path. Currently I´m in La Florida which is about 100 miles south of Lima. We got there by means of a 2.5 hour bus ride down the Panamerica highway along the Pacific coast. I´ve always been disgusted by the Porsche Panamera due purely to its looks. Now that I have been on the road (on which the race used to be run) after which the car is named I am offended that the beauty of this road has been usurped by Porsche for the monstrosity they call a car. Enough of that. La Florida is very dry and almost desert like. And although it´s not as immediately beautiful or exotic as Cambodia, it´s starkness is quite striking. We had our first build day today and it is occurring in a small village about 20 minutes away from our hotel. The construction methods are similar in that concrete columns and beams are used as is brick. Although it is built sturdier with more rebar here due to earthquake dangers. Anyway we´re about to go to dinner so I have to get going. I´ll try to write again soon.

Matt

The best part about all of this was that I got to be the one to text him with the news that bin Laden was dead. When he first got my text he thought it was SPAM. Once he realized it was from me he wrote me back for verification and then shared the news with the rest of the Americans on the work site, whereupon there was a small celebration.

Anyway, that’s the news from Peru. If he sends me another email I’ll post it here.

~Kelly

Storm update for North Alabama area

I talked with both my sister Maddie and her husband Mark in the last couple of days and they filled me in on a lot of things. They have no power, and most of North Alabama has no power. Their phones are working, and most of the time I have been able to get through to them. There are problems with landline phone lines in a lot of places, though. Most cell towers are no longer working due to the power loss. Internet connections seem to still be up, at least depending on who the ISP is and how long they can run their generators. One of the tornadoes (probably this one – http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=HUN&issuedby=HUN&product=PNS&format=CI&version=8&glossary=1) knocked down the main transmission lines from the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, which knocked out power for a LOT of people. There are now something like a million people in central and northern Alabama with no power, and power will likely not be restored for much of them for 5 to 7 more days, although parts of Huntsville should have power restored by Monday. The church near their house in Madison has lost its steeple, and there is a lot of visible damage in their area. There is now a dusk-to-dawn curfew for all of Madison and Limestone Counties, and for other areas of Alabama as well. Several thousand National Guard have been called up, since many small towns are overwhelmed and there are already problems with looting. There has already been at least one incident in Huntsville of someone shooting and killing a looter who broke into a gas station. Most people are unable to get gas for their cars or generators because so many gas stations have no power to work the pumps. Most schools are closed until at least Monday, and some may be closed longer. UAH is closed. All non-essential personnel from Redstone Arsenal have been told to stay home. Most businesses are closed, although some (like Publix) are open with reduced hours as they manage to keep their generator running.

This site shows you before and after of some of the damage, as seen from the air. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/04/alabama_tornadoes_close-up_sat.html

The total casualties for this are still unknown, but the official count for the state is now up to 254 dead (remember, that is just Alabama) and the number of injured is almost certainly into the thousands, as I have seen reports of hospitals in the Tuscaloosa area alone taking in 900-1,000 injured.

So yes, although it is quite a mess and I have not spoken with all of the people we know, at least immediate family and friends are ok.

Reports from Alabama

Just posting quickly to let everyone know that we’ve heard from just about everyone and so far the news is good. Minor damage to homes, people without power, but everyone is alive and has a roof over their heads. People who were without water have it more or less back.

Our friends who were close to the F4 wedge in Limestone county were REALLY close. It is only because of a miracle that they still have a home. There is storm damage, visible tornado tracks, dead animals, and wiped out subdivisions within 6 blocks and less of their home.

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and prayers.

~Kelly

Alabama devastation

Hi folks,

I just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who have called, commented, emailed, etc. Geoff and I really appreciate it. So far all family members are safe and accounted for. For that we are truly blessed.

We can’t say the same for our friends. Many of them don’t have land lines and cell towers and power lines are literally gone. Some of them live in the hardest hit areas of AL. We’ll let you know when we know what’s going on. We’re keeping calm and making calls and hoping that they, too, have been spared, but we just don’t know yet. Please keep them and everyone who is suffering in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks.

~Kelly

A very long but good weekend

Geoff here – Kelly and I managed to survive the very epic weekend, and what’s even better is that we actually had a pretty good time all around.

Kelly’s mom – Jo – arrived Thursday night and we picked her up from the airport. After I got off work on Friday we went out to dinner at the Fireplace. Jo had never been there, but she seemed to really like it. The food was pretty fantastic, as usual. I tried something different and got a special – hake. Boy, it was good. And Kevin, the awesome manager, actually donated some gift certificates to their “Fireside Chats” special events for us to sell at the auction. It was very cool of him. Stuff like that is why we like the place so much and are glad to have our rehearsal dinner there.

Saturday we had to split up as Kelly and Jo went off to do their own errands, and I had to run a bunch of my own before my police detail. The detail ended up being a lot of fun, as we got to meet the Red Sox mascot, Wally, the Green Monster. So I got his autograph for Kelly and then got some pictures with him. I will post those as soon as I can. After the detail was over, I ran home to shower and change and then the three of us went to the auction at our church. Kelly and I had contributed several items to the auction: a series of dog training lessons from Kelly; a few hours of IT tech support from me; and an entire home-cooked four course Portuguese dinner with table and dessert wines. So together Kelly and I raised over a thousand dollars with our donated items. It turns out that the family who bought the dinner from me is pretty interesting – the husband was the auctioneer for the church, and his wife is the one who kept bidding on the dinner. I am looking forward to making them dinner.

Kelly has already talked about the concert, but I wanted to throw in my two cents worth. I had a slightly different perspective, since I was running around at the front tables and doors while Kelly was running around inside and then performing. We were quite pleasantly surprised when people kept showing up, even after the concert had started. I think the last ticket I sold was at around 4:15, well over an hour after the concert started. But people seemed to really enjoy it, and the reception afterward was a lot of fun too. I got to watch one of the Deputy Superintendents talk with our landlord, who it turns out was in the CAPD himself from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Apparently they knew a lot of the same people. And this couple from our church had nothing but praises for all of the help that they got from the officers on the detail. So although we were pretty exhausted by the time we got home Sunday night, we were quite happy that everything had gone so well and everyone had such a good time.

Thank you!

I don’t even know where to begin, but I owe a lot of people a lot of thanks. Today was the St. John Passion concert that I feel like I’ve been preparing for for months. In fact, it felt like the least of my duties was nailing my aria. I was coordinating with the St. Paul Adult Choir (SPAC), I was running everything relating to the Front of House, I was marketing my fool head off, arranging for flowers with the florist, proofreading the program book, the list just goes on. It feels like this has been a really long process and now that it is over, I feel awesome.

Was the performance flawless? No. Live performances never are, which is something that we, as a CD listening society of studio perfected work have come to forget. Was it spectacular? Yes. Do I feel like I left the best version of my aria in the room for the concert? Absolutely.

As a concert manager did I learn something from this? Oh HELL yes. Did everything I organized run perfectly? Of course not, it never does and it never will, such is human nature. But that is ok, there were no catastrophes, no major fires, and everyone seemed pleased. I can absolutely live with that.

So, in no particular order, to the Cambridge Auxiliary Police Department officers on our detail, to our crack Ushering Corps, to the Stage Crew, to the women of SPAC who helped coordinate everything with me between the two groups, to John, Jim, and most especially Jennifer, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. The words seem inadequate, but there they are.

To our fabulous and supportive landlord Marvin who came out to hear this concert when I am sure there were a 1,000 other things he could have been doing and for being so generous as to take us out to dinner afterward. Thank you, sir. You are a true gentleman.

To Amanda, Leigh, Mackie, Donna, and every single member of COOS who braved Harvard Square parking to come out for this concert, and to my Mother and Liza who braved the TSA for this concert. I thank you. You have no idea how much it meant for me to see friendly faces in the audience.

And to my betrothed, my darling, Geoff, who was the Head Usher, the liaison with the CAPD, who worked his behind off all day and way above and beyond the call of duty. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to know that you’ve got my back. Thank you and I love you.

Till next time,

~Kelly

My dad sent us this

Geoff here – Kelly and I both thought this was the coolest thing we had seen in a long, long time.

Kittehs!

Back in December my parents lost their Elder States Kitty, Maxx, to cancer. It was right around Christmas and both of my parents have missed him a lot since. Maxx was… particular. The offspring of a tiny calico who formerly lived next door and a GIANT neighborhood Tom who was probably part or all Maine Coon, Maxx had a tiny head, huge body, and was all love. He was a lap and shoulder cat who liked to sit in the chair in the living room with my Dad when he read or, ahem, “rested his eyes” and either cuddle on his lap or perch on his shoulder as if reading whatever my Dad was reading.

About 2 weeks ago my parents got to feeling that it was about time to add a new feline or two to the house. My sister went online and looked for Maine Coon cats that needed a new home. They found two 6 month old brothers who had been surrendered by their owner due to lack of time to care for them. They had been surrendered at a high kill shelter in the south and had been transferred to a no kill shelter near where my parents live. They applied, were approved, and were able to pick up the boys this past Saturday.

Introducing Meezer and Moon. Pictures and commentary provided by my Mom. All photos were taken at the shelter before the boys were picked up and taken home.

Here is a picture of a very tired Meezer. He is more laid-back than his brother Moon, but they are both full of energy and love to play with a black shoe lace on the living room carpet.

This is Moon. I can tell because he has more fur coming out of his ears. This is an unusually quiet moment for him. He usually does not want to miss anything and will bring you a toy to play with, even if it belongs to Jasmine!

This is Moon again. When not taking a kitten nap, he is alert and ready to play, or attack your sweater zipper. He also is the most vocal and is not shy about telling you that he wants your attention.

Here is Moon again!!! I think he also likes to have his picture taken. As you can see, these photos were taken at the rescue shelter before we brought them home. They have been with us only 3 days, but are acting like they own the house already. The first day they arrived, both kittens jumped onto Dad’s lap when he sat in the red chair. That is what he misses most about Maxx, the chair time, so he was very happy. Meezer stayed on his lap, but Moon climbed up on his shoulder just like Maxx used to do.

Moon woke me up this morning at 5 am, by climbing under the covers and sleeping on my pillow. Without using his claws, he grabbed my face and started licking my chin. How can you not like that? I am wondering if this is basic Maine Coon behavior or did we just get lucky.

So, those are the newest family members. I am hoping that we’ll get more photos from my Mom and Dad soon. Enjoy the pretty kitties.

~Kelly

Brain Scans: Day 4- Flowers!

This morning as I was in the hours between taking my morning meds and finally dropping off to sleep (total time awake almost 24 hours) a nice old man with a Southie accent arrived and delivered my flowers! Very exciting. They are from my Mom, Dad, Brother, and Sister. 😀

Flowers and Pizza Box: a Hospital Still Life

Sorry for the crappy cell photography. I tried to make up for it with artistic sounding titles. /CheTONGUEek

~Kelly

Much belated Duck Tour photo

Geoff here – I have been meaning to get this photo scanned and posted for a while. It was great to see Matt, Shayna and the kids and it was nice to meet Shayna’s sister Tonya whom I had never met before. The kids had a lot of fun that day on the Duck tour and walking around in Charlestown. For some reason they were hung up on pirates that day – I think it was because we told them the U.S.S. Constitution had been used to fight pirates a long time ago. Campbell got to drive the Duck so he was pretty excited about that. Believe it or not, this was actually my first time to ever go on one of these tours.