rickccollins.com

Today was really a wash at work, mainly due to the news I received from Erin today regarding her father and their trip down to Duke. Erin has created a web page you can view it here.

rickccollins.blogspot.com

UFO Kitchen

UFO Kitchen. An intriguing title for a blog entry... Let me explain how I got there. This morning I work up earlier than usual. Seeing that I could not get back to sleep I headed downstairs, flipped on the TV and while watching the TV guide channel saw an infomercial for 'aerogarden'. After watching for approx. 5 minutes I remembered that I had received one of these for Christmas! I ran downstairs, grabbed it and brought it to the kitchen for assembly. I put the thing together in about 15 minutes, plugged it in and the 'grow lights' lit up the kitchen, see the picture above. It should be growing fresh herbs as I type...


Now to the UFO part. As I walked outside this morning I not only noticed snow on the ground, but the entire front of the townhouse was lit up with the strange glow from the 'growth lights'. It very quickly reminded me of the light that shines out of UFO's doors in movies. I can only imagine what people will think as they see our place from a far... And on top of that I wonder what they think we are growing when they look in the window?

I just called a client..

and I said "just shoot me an email"

today is a sad day...

Saving Chef Boy-R-Dee

Last night a couple friends of ours came over. Erin apparently refers to them as our “Yard Sale Friends”. I’m still not quite sure what to think about that one. If she said that around others they may think that we get together and go yard sailing often, maybe we should start?

I cooked dinner last night, something I have not done in a while. I miss it and can see doing a good bit more of it in the weeks/months to come. It came out tasting pretty good and I have at least 3 witnesses to speak on my behalf. While we were eating, Brian, our guest, told a story of his runaway Chef Boy-R-Dee can. In short the story is something that commercials are made out of.

Long story short he decided to take a large can of Chef Boy-R-Dee in for lunch. He is a PhD student at Virginia Tech and like the rest of us he gets a craving for the Chef’s Ravioli every once in a while. He tells how he hopped out of his vehicle, loaded up his arms with books, slung a computer case over his shoulder and last but not least tied on a Kroger bag holding a large can of the Chef’s finest. And then it happened, the Kroger bag could not contain a can of that size. The bag ripped and the can went rolling, Brian had a decision to make. Was he going to chase the can across the parking lot, weaving in and out of traffic, possibly under cars and the like? Or would he let it go its own way?

He chose the former, hands loaded with the knowledge of chemists throughout the ages and a computer worth thousands, head into the wind, chasing down the large can after it had tried to outmaneuver and outrun him. These are the things heroes and good commercials are made of…

He shoved the can in his pocket and went to cross a small stretch of road to his building. I wish I could say this was the end of the story, but alas it was not. He approached the crosswalk as cars stopped and lined up awaiting his crossing. Just then, in the middle of the road the can made a jump for it. There it lay, in the middle of the road. Split second decision, to pick it up or ignore it with all of the onlookers. Our hero chose the tough road of stooping down to swoop the can up. This just goes to show how much the Chef means to him…

As for the ravioli, it made one last escape attempt. At approximately lunch time the can was opened and dumped on to a plate a little too small, then the ravioli one by one tried to escape the confines of both the can and the plate…

Hope this story finds you well; it had me crying last night. I am thankful for friends and good stories, we all need both.

Dongles Dodgeball?

So after reading my friend Scott's post on basketball I thought I'd share a little of my endeavors in dodgeball:

Go to this website:
http://blacksburg.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=7

Select the game from April 25, 2006: Dodge Ball Game of the Week (Atomic Balls v. Dongles)

Play starting at about 10:30 and watch the magic...

I'm the one in the "all gray ensemble"

Don't make cookies with a picnic table cookbook...

Chicken & Cookies: Last night I did a little cooking. Chicken, Spinach, wine, garlic, butter, etc. Dinner came out wonderfully. So I decided to make homemade chocolate chip cookies out of the ‘better homes’ cookbook. You know the one it looks like a picnic table has wrapped itself around the book. Well this is the second time I have made cookies out of this book and I think it will be the last. They have all come out looking like small piles or mounds and less like flat cookies. Something you’d buy at a coffee shop and dunk in your coffee, with the consistency of biscotti (hard and crispy). The only thing that really saves the cookies are the chocolate in them. Next time I follow the toll-house recipe…

Also watched the ‘State of the Union Address’ after finishing up a game of spinner (dominos game). I promise you the game of spinner was more interesting and included a lot less clapping and standing up. However it did not include those that were part of the address:

-In the gallery: Wesley Autrey, the construction worker who saved a man who fell onto the New York subway tracks; Dikembe Mutombo, an NBA All-Star with the Houston Rockets, and five Iraqi veterans were among the guests seated with first lady Laura Bush.

But with 2-8 possible players it could have included a few of them!

A trip to Duke

A short weekend that consisted of spending time up in Salem with the Collins family and a Sunday that consisted mainly of watching the football playoffs. Saturday I worked on helping shuffle the Collins financials in order to best meet the pending medical bills. Rick has an appt today at the Duke University Medical Center regarding a clinical trial. The family headed down yesterday to beat some bad weather that headed into the area. Rick, his wife Carol, my wife Erin, Rick’s mother and Erin’s sister Kim all headed to Durham for the appointments that will take place on both Monday and Tuesday.

At this point I am hoping something is done soon as he has yet to have treatment and his condition is getting notably worse as the weeks have passed on. I was pretty exhausted Sunday morning and slept right through church. I was really looking forward to seeing some friends, but no such luck. The body needed the rest.

Well, until the next update.

Long lost friends

Last night Erin and I spent at a Japanese Steak House celebrating the birthday of Jeff Lang. Jeff and I have known each other for about 7 years now and 4 of those years we have lived together in one place or another. He now lives a town (10 minutes) away and I don't see him all too often. Funny how we can talk to someone 10 years past, yet I don't often see a friend just a town away.

Caught breakfast at Gillie's this morning. It's a small vegan place in downtown Blacksburg and a great place to grab breakfast with friends. This morning a lot of our talk revolved around Monica getting married this Labor Day and cancer. Seems like everyone is effected by it in some way or another. There were 4 of us at the table and the odds are one of us will get it at some point in our lifetime. Given my father-in-law's current predicament this has become a lot more real than ever before. The thoughts running through my mind when faced with issues of mortaily have been interesting, I'll save those for another post.

My father-in-law

Well here we go, have not blogged in a while and have noticed that a few of my friends (namely the Cachinator) has become really good at it. It’s been a great way to keep in touch over the years and I’d like to get back to that. There has been plenty to blog about…

First off right before Christmas, after the passing of my Great Grandmother Erin & I found out that her father had a brain tumor. It’s really surprising news as I have never known anyone with a brain tumor. I hope to document thoughts, feelings and observations as life marches on. I’ve learned a LOT about this particular type of disease, clinical trials, types of brain cancer, the medical field, insurance, finances, medications and the like. It feels like my next big project after the wedding and I feel I work harder to understand this than I do at work. Maybe because it is new, maybe because it is more complex?

The short is my father-in-law has been diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Multiforme, it is the most aggressive type of brain cancer and is inoperable as it sits right in the center of his brain. Average median survival time w/ conventional treatment is 14 months. He is debating clinical trails between his bouts of sleep, headaches and confusion.

He is taking dexamethasone, a steroid that reduces brain swelling. It makes him much more active and takes away the migraine like headaches. He is also taking all kinds of other things and his medication schedule has taken on a life of its own. I’ll write more as time goes on regarding the different types of medication, including the $1,700/month out-of-pocket Chemo drug Temodar (and that is 20% of the total cost).

And my father-in-law’s spirits are up and down. Some days he loves having everyone over. Other days he hides himself in a room and gets angry when others bother him. And sometimes both of these happen on the same day. I have a hard time putting myself in the same situation, knowing how I would react. Part of me tells me I’d react the same way, part of me thinks that I’d be researching this thing full time. Only time will tell what this thing will look like.