11 Years and Stronger Than Ever!

You tell me you're the lucky one
But I see things differently
And I have just begun to show you that you mean
Everything to me
I still feel the need to

Love a little stronger, dig a little deeper
Go a little farther, anything to please
you, girl
Tonight I'm gunna start all over
Show you girl what's in my heart
Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, gunna love a little stronger

"Love a Little Stronger" (second verse and chorus) by Diamond Rio, via AskLyrics.com

DAYTON, Ohio -- It was 11 years ago on this date that I first told Jennie Doddy that I loved her. While some may consider this insignificant, we don't. What began on Valentine's Day 1993 had grown into true love, and I wanted the moment that I confessed it to her to be a memorable one.

Every Memorial Day weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio, where we lived, there is a festival called "A Taste of Cincinnati," in which downtown streets are closed, and they are taken over by vendors and various musical acts.

My best friend, Praveen Cherian, and I had set up the double date. Sometime during that date I would walk Jennie across the Roebling Suspension Bridge, which is romantically lit up at night, to the middle. As we would look out over the Ohio River, I would profess my love to her.

Unfortunately, it began to thunderstorm, and we all decided to go to a movie instead. I needed to get some money, so while the other couple waited at a Hardee's, Jennie and I walked to the bank ATM.

And it was THERE, ladies and gentlemen, underneath the shelter of the bank's ATM machine, that I said to Jennie

You know, I really love how our relationship is going right now. And I love you, too.

Jennie was so excited to have finally heard me say those important three words. She echoed my sentiments.

Arm in arm, we walked to the grocery store, and I bought her a rose. By the time we returned to the Hardee's, we were all ready for the date to be over anyway.

Eleven years later I must say that my love for her has grown stronger and deeper. I've made her my wife, and we have a lovely daughter. You could say that I'm just as sappy as ever.

Look for 4th Season of Alias in January 2005

ABC announced Tuesday (May 18) that the fourth season of its cult-hit spy series is being held back until midseason as way to solve the on-this-week, off-the-next-two-weeks scheduling that has plagued the show.

It will be back in January 2005 with 22 consecutive episodes. Way cool.

Goin' Back to Cincy?

We may be moving back to Cincinnati this fall, when our lease is up at our current apartment. Both Jennie and I grew up there, and we still have family connections there. The strong connections that have kept us here in Dayton don't seem to be here anymore.

I pray for God to continue to give us wisdom as we investigate and make plans. More to come later, perhaps.

'Alias' No More?

It was a great season finale this past Sunday. I read in USA Today ABC's plan for the fall schedule, and Alias is not on it. I'm very disappointed. It's like the X-Files all over again.

Maybe I can get them to reconsider. When I was a kid, I wrote the independent network when they cancelled "The Monkees", and they wound up putting it back on. Who's to say that we can't do this with Alias?

UPDATE, 5/27/2004: As if I had nothing better to do with my life, I Googled "Alias cancelled ABC" and found a discussion forum that has the scoop. Alias will be returning midseason, in January 2005 with 22 episodes instead of 20. In addition, they will be consecutive; i.e., we won't have any repeats.

GMail not working

The PC at the library is not letting me sign in to my GMail account. Specifically, the login form is not being allowed to display. I was able to register and login before, but it is not today.

Crud.

Cicada and Home PC Update

Greetings once again from the library. I'm with Keisha tonight, and she's upset with me because I pulled her off her computer to sit next to me. I know she'll get over it, especially since I sent her off to get some books, etc.

As I've walked our dog this past week, I've examined the trees in our area for cicada larvae. They haven't shown up where we live in Harrison Township yet. I heard from a coworker over the weekend that they're in West Carrollton, specifically Cox Arboretum.

It's been so long -- I think since March -- since I last had our home computer turned on. In addition to the motherboard going out on us, the monitor appeared to have gone bad, too. I'm not that surprised, since we've had the PC since December 1999. I got another monitor for it (used), and I'm going to hook it back up and turn the PC on this week to see what happens.

A great friend from church gave me an old Toshiba laptop she had from her job. It has Win95 on it, also Microsoft Office apps. I've had to clean off a lot of other stuff, but I'm glad that we have it to use.

These are some random thoughts I'm having right now. I have more to post, later.

originally entitled "Insert Generic Post Title Here"

Get Ready for Cicadas

• The Invasion Is About To Begin
• Cicada Mania - Your Source for Cicada Information on the Web

I've been eager to post about this for over two months now, since I realized that the 17-year cicadas (aka Brood X) were coming this spring. Apparently, we could start hearing and seeing them any day now.

A few weeks ago, I was reminded of this in Parade magazine(The Invasion Is About To Begin). In the Midwest area of the United States, the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati has a website dedicated to this year's emergence (Welcome to Cicada Watch 2004!).

Mom told me that in 1970, shortly after I was born, she'd have to put a blanket over my stroller to keep them from getting on me. In 1987, I was a junior in high school, and I recall taking some pictures of dead cicadas in our backyard. I remember that our dogs liked them, too. WEBN, one of the local radio stations, spoofed a local pizza chain's commercial. The pizza chain was Snappy Tomato Pizza, but in the spoof, the pizza chain was called Snappy Cicada Pizza.

I've linked to the Cicada Mania website, which is probably the most comprehensive site available to describe what all the hubub is about.

The site reports that as of Saturday, 5/15/2004, the cicadas were spotted in Illinois, Michigan, and Delaware.

There are apparently some cicada recipes, and even a wedding planner.

Check out the brood map for Brood X at the Great Lakes Cicada web site.

I'll be sure to report back soon.

Movies, TV, and Stuff

Jennie and I saw "8 Mile" for the first time over the weekend. I thought it was a good movie. For the next 24 hours, I kept hearing the song "Lose Yourself" in my head. Eminem should continue to pursue acting.

I came home from work Sunday night, and Jennie had the Survivor: Reunion special on. Since I hadn't found out who won, I avoided her and the living room until 11 PM. She had been taping the stuff for me, and I was able to find out on my own what happened. Wow.

Be sure to vote for rupert(see the previous post) while there is still time!

"everyone go vote for rupert...now ! "

I'm in.

Power Down... again

Our home is once again candlelit and flashlit. Apparently we didn't send enough money to the power co. to keep the juice on. Yesterday they shut it off. We'll have to wait until Friday (payday) to pay the amount needed to get it turned back on.

Jennie was really upset by it all while I was not as much. I felt resigned to living the next few days without electricity again. We talked about stuff last night, and an argument ensued just before she left for work.

For awhile I was really upset because by nature I want harmony in my marriage. But time, it appeared, had helped heal the damage. When she got home this morning, she seemed to be a lot better, which helped put me at ease.

Fortunately, the weather is not cold like it was in March, when we last had the power shut off. In Dayton we've been blessed with summer-like weather; neighbors have actually turned their air-conditioning on. We probably will, too, at some point. Keisha and I looked at some fans yesterday while getting some more candles. Unfortunately, the only battery-powered fans are those little handheld ones. Maybe we'll get another electric one after we get the power back on.

Happy Anniversary, Dad and Linda!

My Dad and stepmother Linda celebrate their wedding anniversary today. They were married at the Boy Scout campground in Camden, Ohio.

Doing Battle

I've spent the past five hours at a friend's house doing battle with her computer system. Specifically, it's the wireless network. I was fortunate enough to find out that her PC was not affected by the Sasser worm.

I just look forward to heading home to see my wife and daughter soon.

BTW, the phrase 'doing battle' is a quasi- kung fu - related term. A former coworker and I would talk about 'doing battle' as we mouthed what were English dubs for Chinese words in an old kung fu movie.

Crew Worker in the Midst

"If you have a job without aggravation, you don't have a job." -- Malcolm Forbes

I've begun to settle in at work, it seems. There are some aspects of it that I enjoy, that are really good for the "high stimulus" craving I have. Other aspects I could do without; namely, the politics, the inconsistencies in following procedures.

The inconsistencies in following procedures is something I'm figuring out how to live with. I liken my behavior to a detective who doesn't always "go by the book" on things and yet still accomplishes the organization's overall goal.

I don't consider this to be a long-term assignment, but it works for right now.
[cross-posted to Get That Job!]

I was late, but I had good reason

Today the President of the United States journeyed into town. Last year he came by plane, but today he was on the bus tour, coming south from Michigan through Ohio. The meeting was at Hara Arena, which is just a couple minutes from where we live.

Jennie and I were leaving to head to an appointment south of town at the time the bus tour was heading from Hara. Traffic was halted to make way for the entourage, which we were able to see. Knowing that traffic toward I-75 southbound was going to be a mess, we decided to head through town.

Overhead we saw military helicopters. All exit and entrance ramps to the Interstate were closed for a time. I was late to my therapist appointment, but I was able to have it nevertheless.

• "Yes, America Can" Bus Tour
• GeorgeWBush.com - Official Blog