A Creative Fountain

For more than 2 and a half years I thought I had completely lost my memory. I had an external hard drive that one day stopped working. It had a few years worth of Genealogy work, more than 60 GB of music, all of the digital pictures we have taken since we met in 1999 and many other things I was STRESSED about losing. When I took it to Best Buy, I was told it was unlikely that anyone would be able to recover the data. They offered to send it out, but advised it could be sent out. That would only cost $1500. For obvious reasons, I decided NOT to send it out.

Shortly after it happened I saw a truck in an OfficeMax parking lot. There was a sign on the truck for a company called Life on the Go, offering computer repair and more. I wrote down the number and then lost it. A few weeks later, I found it again. When I called, I spoke with Patrick and he told me he thought he could fix it based onthe error message I told him. He said it would only take about $150. BIG DIFFERENCE!!! That was right before Christmas 2 years ago and I didn't have extra money for trying it out. So I waited until I did.

Last week, I called Patrick. He came to pick it up this week, called to say it was done and that he had been able to save everything! He just dropped it off and I am rejoicing in amazement at the wonderful things still on this drive. My genealogy, music, pictures and lots of files. So, if you ever need computer repair done and would like to talk to Patrick, just give me a call. I can get you in touch with Patrick.

Well, road construction in Michigan can be a pain! But once we got to Melissa's party we relaxed and had fun. Again, lots of old friends. Tons of family. It was great to see Melissa interact with everyone. She was careful to make sure she spent time with everyone there. I am so proud of the young woman she has become.

It was fun to see the entire Roberts family and meet the Mike and Bernie's new baby. He is so adorable. Just like his big sister and cousin.

Wally was quite entertaining. He played hard and was ready for bed by the time we got home.

Yesterday I went to the wedding of my friend Becky. It was great to see her and Dustin start their new life together.

While I was there, I got to spend time with lots of old friends from Mesaba. Wasn't I just saying how great it was to spend time with old friends? It really is! I sat at a table with all Mesaba people and there was a table next to us of Mesaba people. I spent the whole evening catchng up with everyone. To each and every one of you I say, I hope to see you again soon!

Becky and Dustin - my best wishes to you for a lifetime of love and happiness.

20 Years ago this very day, I graduated from high school. How did I mark the anniversary of this important life event? I went to the graduation ceremony for my remarkable niece, Melissa. Although Melissa is not my daughter, she has always had a very special place in my heart. I was overwhelmed with pride for her today. I am also extremely excited about the life ahead of her.

My favorite things about my favorite niece... Yes, Melissa, I know you are my only niece... She is intelligent, kind, compassionate, considerate, thoughtful, beautiful inside and out, talented, creative and a great role model for her young cousin, Wally.

We have watched her grow up. We went to her first band concert, saw her head to her first homecoming dance, watched as she learned to drive, thrilled at her excellent report cards and witnessed her fall in love. Through all of it, she had gained confidence and an amazing sense of who she is at 19.

Melissa has a world full of opportunity. She will be attending Baker College in the Fall. Can't wait to see where she goes from here.

Tonight, Rick's Cousin, Jaime Hendra married the love of her life, Randy Kulchy. It was a beautiful day for a wedding. The sun was shining bright, the temperature was perfect and there was a slight breeze. The chapel was simple but elegant. The reception hall was perfectly decorated.

Jaime was stunning and the look in Randy's eyes was priceless. What a great couple!

I am so happy they are beginning their life together. I wish they lived closer, but am glad to have family to visit in New Hampshire.

How do we let time take away so much? It is sad to me how seldom we see people who mean so much to us.

There are people in my life who are in my thoughts so often. Yet how often do I spend time with them? How often do I take the time to call them? How much time would it take to drop an email to see "Thinking of you. Hope you are well. Miss you."

And when we do finally talk, or even better when we get to spend time together, I wonder why we didn't make this happen before. I am going to be better about this. I look forward to talking to you and hope to spend time with you soon.

Yes, this means YOU!

And to those of you with whom I have recently spend time after so long, Thanks! It was great to see you. Let's not let so much time pass again.

Today Rick, Wally and I met Aiden Joseph Hirsch. He is the 2nd son of our friends, Andrew and Amy Hirsch and baby brother to Charles Joshua (CJ) Hirsch. He is so precious and tiny. It is hard to believe that less than 3 years ago, Wally was even two pounds smaller than Aiden is now. I don't remember him being that little.

Wally and CJ played outside for a little while Andrew and Amy were making diner. It is so much fun to see them interact and become friends. They are both learning to share. Although, I must say CJ seems to be better at it and he is 13 months younger than Wally.

As you may know, I registered for Geology 104 for the summer semester. It is an online Weather Class that I registered for two reasons. First, it is an online class allowing me to work at home over the summer and not worry about missing class during our busy summer. Second, it was the only online class available to me this summer which met any of the requirements for my degree. It counts meets the Natural Science requirement.

The fact that I registered for a "Weather" class was a surprise to many. Why? Well, I do NOT like weather. This may be due to the fact that I have absolutely NO control over the weather. I have no interest in learning anything about the weather. But I figured, it is only 12 weeks and if I have things I do not understand, Rick can help. After all he LOVES the weather.

I got my books and DVDs, read the syllabus and once the first week's assignments were on Blackboard, I realized there was a lot more involved than I am willing to make time for. In addition, during the first week, I received several emails from the Professor that left me dumbfounded.

In the first, he stated "I am not on campus so use my email only if necessary." Although this is an online course, I attend a small community college and have had the option of actually calling or meeting with my instructors whenever I need to.

This is the next email, copied and pasted directly from my inbox. "class, don't be surprised if i answer all emails, db's and comments in lower case. no, i am not an illiterate professor who flunked english. it's just much faster this way when you have as much typing as i do with this class rather than the formal way. i do, however, expect you to show me your best english, spelling and sentence structure. oh, the power of being in charge! thanks for your cooperation.....d" What is this???? I am speechless.

The final straw...Four days before our first homework is due... "class, there are only 4 days left in this week's work and only 1/5 of the class has completed the assignments. please don't swamp me with 75 assignments to grade on monday or you will wait a week for your grades. get in the habit of scheduling something each day. let's get goin!!........d" Seriously???? It is four days until it is due and I have never been told that I have the option of turning it in early. Not that I would even given the option. I take my grades very seriously. So I will spend every last minute possible with my work before I turn it in. And was that actually a threat? don't swamp me or you will wait a week for your grades! Please! You do your job and I'll do mine.

So I decided to drop the class for all of the reasons above. I have enough going on this summer without the added stress of that class. So now I have freed up some time to enjoy other things this summer. Maybe I could even read a book for the first time since before Wally was born.

That being said, I still LOVE a good thunderstorm.

After a complete redesign of my website, I am finally ready to upload the site to the server. I am anxious to hear feedback so please let me know what you think.

I am pleased that my second semester of school is over. It was a hectic semester and left me wondering how people manage their time with a full class load. I just had 2 classes.

Now that the semester is over, I need to find a way to adjust my mindset to be pleased with getting a B in any given class and not gettng down on myself if I don't get an A. Any suggestions?