Pretty Scary Ghostie...

Just got back from a quick trick-or-treating venture with Greer. Alex made a wonderful mummy costume for his Halloween debut. We followed my cousin and her family through a near freezing night, to visit her grandma at a nearby rest home. The place was crawling with kids moving around in a circle of senior citizens with candy bowls. The easiest trick-or-treating game in town. In 20 minutes, Greer had filled his green plastic pumpkin - and was ready to put his mumminess to rest for the night. He was wonderfully cute in his homemade wrappings....

Going to place a small pumpkin with the girls tomorrow. It's been a couple of days since I last visited. Even with all that has been going on, I still feel the pull to be with them - and miss it when I haven't been by.

My nerve pain hasn't abated much since I last posted. I've been to physical therapy several times, but neck traction only offers temporary relief. Since the injury appears to have happened to a nerve in the neck vertebra - the therapist seems to think the healing process could take from 6 months to a year. As of today, l'm having to load up on Ibuprofin to beat back the pain....and am starting to have problems sleeping again. It's a real thorn in my side at the moment.

Alex and I had a great (if truncated) time at the Grand Lodge for our 5th anniversary. Even though neck/arm pain kept me up at night, we still enjoyed dinner/breakfast - and all the couples time we could muster. It's so hard to wrangle space for each other these days...

Oh....congrats to Jenn and Aaron on their recent geeky wedding. A fun time was had by all...

That's about it for now.....

Late night update

It's past 1:30am, and my left arm is tingling. It's been two weeks since I damaged a nerve in my shoulder during a freelance gig - a nerve which radiates down my arm and terminates in three fingers on my left hand. It feels like that part of my body is consistantly "waking up" from being asleep (i.e. pins and needles/tingling). It's a pain...and has been disrupting sleep for as long as it's been around. I'm hoping to get some physical therapy soon to help the process along.

Alex is doing better after dealing with an ugly little infection (multiple absceses, etc.) that had us worried for a bit. I'm hoping that the two of us will rally about the same time....as it is, our bathroom slightly resembles a pharmacy - what with all the antibiotics and muscle relaxers between the both of us.

My beloved had a fun birthday last month....as my folks came over and fixed us dinner. Alex got this great original pen/ink drawing of a murderous lawn gnome from her sister. It currently lives in a place of honor near the dining room.

Greer is doing well....his hair is getting bushy/curly again....and will need to be cut back....even though it is quite dashing in a Prince Valiant sort of way. Most recently, he's said "I love you" to both of us....which - of course - makes our day. His language skills continue to expand - as does his desire to push boundries (tv time, dinner-table manners, etc). "Lion King" is his current favorite film....which means I've got "Hakuna Matata" on the brain. Additionally, it looks like his grey front tooth is here to stay. We'll watch it - and make sure it doesn't get any worse.

Looks like my career as a Bluto-look-a-like is at an end. The 2006 Animal House Celebration was pretty much a bust this time around. Ended up going south with a friend and my brother, Chris. We were all ready for a good time - and arrived at the Eugene Hilton about an hour after the party was to have started. Sadly, there seemed to be more people staffing the event than actually attending. The band played to an empty dance floor - and the few that attended seemed stuck in their chairs. Had it not been for a couple of young co-eds (and their mom), we would have left much earlier. As it was, we were about the only ones dancing - and hung it up about an hour before things ended. As the evening streched on, we wandered by the U of O campus, looking for an alternative party option. But....three 30something guys in togas began to get old very quickly. The later it got, the older I felt. It was good to take the sheet off and crawl into my rented "magic-fingers" bed. Selah.

My recent dealings at the Clinton continue to hit and miss. My attempts at midnight movies on Friday have been less than exciting. Crater Lake Monster and the Toga Party were both slim in attendance - although highly amusing. My recent Vortex I reunion was better attended - and bode well for its return in 2007.

On the job front, I'm currently interviewing with a software firm in Beaverton. I just finished doing some online profile testing and am waiting for the results. On-site interview or no? We'll see. Other than that, it continues to be pretty quiet.

Well....I should try to hit the sack again. Better to sleep at night - than during the day.