Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Seminars, Toyota Trucks and Together Time but oh so busy

Sorry sis, I have been a baaaad blogger. I have been very, very busy non-blogging, however. It has been an incredible beginning to our new year (um, for those just dropping by our new year began March 21st) and we have hardly been able to catch a breath hopping, leaping and jogging from project to project.

Some how or another I am on a planning committee for our (mumble-mumble) class reunion. We have decided it is our last one. After this we will just gate crash the class reunions of those who graduated BEFORE we did, then we will always look younger. We thought it was a pretty good idea. I hope we stick to it!

Of course there is always NCO and all the changes there. Working out the bugs, learning new ad programs, lightly marketing (don't want to get too many orders until we get the ad software worked out - er understood - er okay the manual partially read and some sort of comprehension on what goes where when without calling support every half hour). On top of that, actually doing the writing that I wanted to do which was the reason to get involved in the first place. We need more writers!

I attended a Parkinson's seminar/conference with my father this past weekend in Eugene. It was really a good conference with a lot of information. Dr. Langston with the Parkinson Institute was the keynote speaker giving a presentation on the current state of Parkinson research. He said that although stem cell research has been approved by Obama it is almost obsolete, already.

A technique that scientists have come upon uses an adult's own cells to create adult stem cells which, because they come from the person's own body, work better within the body. He also discussed new research that may reveal where Parkinson's comes from. Langston's own belief is that it is not caused genetically but environmentally and like many diseases everyone has a different way in which they are succeptible to the disease. I am trying to pull all the info we learned together for a presentation to the support group. We meet again on the 13th. There's so much, tho, that I think we will have to spread it out over two or three meetings.

One odd thing that happened in Eugene, someone stole the NCO car magnets from both sides of the car. They may have blown off but that doesn't seem plausible. They made it all the way down there, and it was really, really bad weather on the way down but they were on the doors when we got there. When we stopped in Lake Oswego they were gone. Sigh.

Hubby and I are giving a semi-intensive training for facilitators of the RUHI curriculum. Thursdays and Fridays all the month of April (as well as the last week of March) from 2 pm to 8 pm. Yes, long days but envigorating and we love the curriculum so it makes the time fly by. That still means preparing for 12 hours worth of curriculum/lessons each week, and that part can be difficult, finding time we are both home to get it done. Hubby has been taking trainings out of town all spring, anywhere from 2-5 days. It is very nice to finally get to spend some time with him on this semi-intensive. We do work well together and love it. Now, if we can only get a field trip to New York thrown in our class would be perfect!

Talking about hubby, he finally jumped off the deep end and bought himself a truck that cost more than the price of gasoline for a year. A Toyota Tundra. He studied, read carfax, Kelley's Blue Book, Craig's List and drooled over all the online ads for over six months. We were getting daily phone calls from Lum's and Crest Auto. And then he waited for me to go out of town for the weekend and finally cracked and bought it out at Lum's.

It is a nice truck, with a sun roof that rolls back and a back window that rolls down and a sound system that rocks. When I got home we took it for a cruise through Astoria, windows down and music up. I giggled imagining all the people on the neighborhood watches flinging back their curtains in disgust at the loud bass shaking their homes, knowing they were going to catch some "hooligan" teens and instead watching a couple almost 50s just enjoying their new truck (and come off it for pete's sake, it wasn't even 9 pm!).

We have the yearly elections for LSA coming up on the 21st as well as the nine day Ridvan Festival. Right after that is Declaration of the Bab and Ascension of Baha'u'llah.

No rest for the ... um ... righteous? Hahahaha! I'd never make it as a comedian, I laugh too much at my own jokes.

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