Fur-licious

We've been thoroughly enjoying our furlough here in the Jones casa. Yep, me and Adro have both been on a temporary layoff the last four days. Tomorrow is a paid holiday. We return to work on Monday.

But we've been enjoying the heck out of the time off.

Happy New Year to everyone. Stay safe out there tonight. Me and Adro are going to stay in and quietly celebrate here in the new house while watching a few movies.

What do u call a pizza buffet that's not a buffet? Pizza hut's buffet on broadway in wichita. Waitress brings u 1 slice evey 10 min. What the hell is that?

Bella Boom's B-day

A couple photos from Bella Neuteboom's birthday party two weekends ago. Great party. After the cake and ice cream, Evey and Grey started following each other around this loop in the Averill's house. Then Rick started doing a Donald Duck impression every time the kids came by, which just slayed them both. They couldn't get enough of it. The middle two photos are them laughing at the Donald Duck voice. The other two photos are of Bella enjoying some cake and Bella feeding her Grandpa J.P. some of the cake.

It does occur to me that the end of the 00s is right around the corner. In honor of this event, I'll be listing a few top 10 lists. Top 10 albums, movies, TV shows, etc. If you have any suggestions, shoot me a comment.

Tomorrow is my last day at work for a while. We're off the 24th and 25th, then we're all furloughed again for the following week. I'll return to work Jan. 4th. Hopefully I'll get some stuff up here in the time off...

Four more shopping days...

I can't believe Christmas is already here.

I also can't believe the 00s are almost over.

Where does time go? How did I get here?

Evey as an elephant -- the video

Last week I posted some photos of Evey deomstrating her elephant call... here's the video!

Some original Evey Jones art

I haven't really challenged Evey at her art at all. I just hand her the crayons and let her scribble. She's 3, after all.

Maybe I should try to focus her more. Somewhere along the way, Evey learned how to draw a face. I didn't show her. Maybe she picked it up at daycare? Maybe you taught her?

Regardless, it's an early flash of brilliance. Notice how Evey avoids the common
"smiley face." Her face is more stoic, not quite sad, not quite happy. Introspective.

Looking for the perfect Michael Jackson Christmas gift?

Of course you are!

I still have a few copies of my first every full-size comic, "What Would Jacko Do?" I have approximately 10 copies left of the original 100-issue print run. Don't hesitate! Email now!

If you're one of the next ten people to buy "What Would Jacko Do?" I'll include an original sketch of Bubbles the Chimpanzee!

For just $4 you can own this piece of Michael Jackson non-HIStory! I'm standing by to take your email NOW!

(I also have ONE T-shirt left! It features the front cover on a white T-shirt. Size is large, $15 gets you the shirt and the comic.)

Makes for a great stocking stuffer!

Minutes away from taking Adro out on a date

Where are we going?

The basement.

And no, "The basement" isn't the name of some cool, hip, new underground club in Kansas City. It's really OUR BASEMENT.

Adro had a great idea today. Judy is babysitting for us. We get Evey in her pajamas, kiss her goodbye, open and close the garage door, and then... lock ourselves in the basement. MOVIE NIGHT!!! I'm excited. My boss, Ed, cracked me up when I told him my plan. "Wow, think of how far you've come... you now have a babysitter so you can... STAY IN!"

I think we'll watch Tropic Thunder, then maybe RocknRolla, if Adro is still awake.

I'm scanning some stuff right now for my "Seth's Got Tix!" blog. Check out my ticket to the Thom Yorke show! Man, that was an amazing show. I need to do a huge write-up on that show someday, so I can totally lose all my readers.

My Boulevard Wheat is dry. I've timed it, I can go downstairs, refill my beer, and be back upstairs in one minute...

Will's pics of Evey

Will was in town a few weeks ago and snapped some shots of Evey. Here are a couple.

Where the wild thing is

Here are some shots of Evey, uh, celebrating her elephant towel after a bath. Actually, the photos are from two different nights. When she's in this elephant towel, she just goes crazy. But, for some reason, Evey \believes that elephants make a sound that goes, "neigh! neigh! NEIGH!!!"

Don't worry, I've got it on video, too...

Ear update: Hearing is almost back to normal. Went to a specialist today, just to be sure. He said there's still fluid in the ear, but no permanent damage. He thinks it'll resolve itself. If not... he suggests maybe lancing my eardrum before my next flight...

Birthday song

Evey gets a birthday serenade at Casa Agave in Lawrence.

Birthday girl!

Today is Evey's 3rd birthday! (And it's my Grandpa Nick's 84th birthday!)

Happy birthday sweetie! You're growing so fast!

Pancake breakfast, thoughts on biscuits and gravy

Took Evey out for a pancake at Hy-Vee this morning. This is the photo I snapped of her with my camera-phone as we waited for the food to arrive.

Qualities that I think makes a good biscuits and gravy:

• First and foremost, the gravy has to be HOT! So hot it can warm my soul.
• The gravy should not look like paste. Smooth gravy is not necessarily best. I want to see some texture that shows me this stuff was actually made by someone.
• Lots of sausage.
• It should have a little kick -- a little bit peppery.
• The biscuits need to be giant and fluffy.

The b&g at Hy-Vee was just "OK." The b&g at Anthony's in Eudora is pretty awesome.

She likes balloons!

I've told you this before, but... Evey really likes balloons.

She tells us that for her birthday, she wants "five balloons." That's all she wants. Balloons.

Evey's birthday is only days away. Now you know what she wants. Balloons. And any comics with Steve Ditko art.

I can't believe she'll be 3. It goes so fast. And she's literally growing before our eyes. She got in the tub the other day, and I was like, "what the heck? She got taller?" Something about seeing her with that static background, I realized how much she had grown in recent weeks. Uncanny.

Not much else to report. I haven't been blogging much lately. I think this is because 1) the office is easily bypassed on my way to bed each night (at the old house, I had to walk right past the computer to get to bed) and 2) the office is the one room in the house that isn't "finished" yet, and I think that if I'm in here, I should be working on the room, not typing on the computer.

More later. I have to work on this office...

Furlough's over!

BACK TO WORK!!!

Defeated. Stop at burger king. Ease the pain.

Full disclosure -- Adro's $320 shrunk to $220. Damn. You gotta be in it to win it, tho.

I see another guy walking around with a book, like me. But he isnt holding Marvel Team-Up vol. 1, collecting all of Spider-Man's 1970s team-up adventures. Nerd.

...and i'm busted. Lost $40 gambling. Spent $40 on booze. Damn. Somewhere, Mango dives into a plate of green bean casserole, while reesing does another l*ne.

Babysitter (Alison) reports evey is getting sleepy. Good. Daddy is getting broke. (down $34 and looking bad) meanwhile, i must admit -- casino music aint bad.

My mom, still crackin me up. "dammit! I only have 8 cents left on the machine." yeah, mom, it's a quarter machine. Jones is down $30.25. FURLOUGH!!!

Just got off the phone with solo (he buzzed me -- 'r u at the bar?' 'nah, casino.' 'even better.') sadly, he could not get me two more 8s. Tall order, tho.

Just did a shot of Jack with my mom, to my dad. My toast? "to dad!" mom's response? "and to making me feel better." that almost got me... Shit.

Just showed mom how to text. Will she ever use it? Doubtful.

And hello to Abasolo -- sorry i keep missing your call. I'm betting u left me a couple good voicemails after my "eudorians for mark mangino" vm, tho...

Mom reports that she 'messed up her luck going to the bathroom." my machine got a little hot, now down $13.

Mom just missed a royal flush by one card. I'm down $23... Having more fun texting. Hello to copy j, who's poker tourney i could be playing in right now.

Just texted the babysitter. Bought more time. Text messaging is super-cool. (who am i kidding, this is the first time we've ever had a sitter that wasnt Judy!)

Can u tell i'm bitter about the game?

Not much to report. Floundering. Back to $20 down. Bartender in kerry meier jersey just served me a drink. Lucky sign? Unlikely.

8s over aces this time. I'm looking for a gunman. Down $15.

Aces and 8s. Dead man's hand. King of bad omens in cards. I'm going to get mauled by an MU fan, aren't I?

...During the HOLIDAYS.

Now gambling directly across from where i was after 20 minute walk. Trying to gamble slow, let's face it, i have as much chance as mangino on weight watchers.

I'm going down faster than todd reesing in his own endzone. Down $20. A smoker has moved in on the machine next to me. No quicker way to get me to move...

Still losing. Playing video poker, my preferred game. Switching to double bonus video poker...

Seconds later (literally) Adro shows up... She hit $320!!!

At casino. Haven't blogged in a while. Been on furlough. Here to MAKE MY FURLOUGH MONEY BACK. So far? Down $4.75. C'mon, cards...

Back from the future?

I had a disturbing meeting the other day.

I was at Dillons on 6th and Wakarusa. Walk towards the door, Adro is with me. Older gentlemen -- a Dillons employee -- short, salt-and-pepper hair, opens the door for me.

He says something to me. Sounds like he said, "I like your jacket," or something, hard for me to tell -- I'm having this problem hearing. So I just say, "Thanks." Then he mutters something else. I say, "What?" thinking maybe I misheard him. It's at this moment that I realize that the Dillons doorman is somewhat mentally challenged, and perhaps the reason I'm not understanding him clearly isn't just because of my ear.

Then he says, more clearly this time, "You look familiar."

He has a bit of a crazy look at this point, so I just say, "OK!" and move along.

That's when he hit me with it:

"Are you... me?"

I look at him. He looks at me.

"Uh, no, I don't think so."

I walk away.

There's no way this guy was me. From the future. He was shorter. Much shorter. Like, 5'5" to my 6'3".

But you know what? Other than the height... we did sort of look alike.

So now, I'm freaking out. What if my time machine... causes me to shrink? And what if it has an effect on my mind?

OK, that settles it. There's no way in hell I'm ever time-travelling.

I like ballons

You ask Evey a question... like "Evey, do you like grilled cheese?"And she'll reply, "No, I don't like grilled cheese, I like balloons..."

The Super Evey/Daddy Tag-Team

I haven't been able to hear out of my right ear very well since I flew back from Boston. The doctor has me on a slew of meds (again) and if my hearing doesn't improve in two to three weeks (two to three weeks!) I have to go see a specialist.

If I ask you to repeat yourself multiple times, I'm sorry. I can't hear shit, especially when I'm eating (all I hear are the sounds inside my head).

***

This is how you change the time on my clock in my car:

"Press the Mode button (M) and the display will flash mode. Then hold the select button (SEL) until it changes to display something else. Hit left and right seek until you find clock M and clock H. Hit select again and use the volume button to change the time."

Man, that is not easily accomplished.

***

Evey is getting good at Shinobi, my 1980s arcade game. She can shoot the first couple bad guys no problem, and she even knows to duck when the first gunman comes out.

It's my goal that she'll one day rival her father at Shinobi. We'll play two players, and it'll be like two super-hero virtuosos going at it. Like Batman and Robin. Or Flash and, uh, Catwoman.

Evey reads The Simpsons

Loving the new house. On Sunday, I organized the garage, and that enabled me to pull the Impala in. The Impala has a roof over its head for the first in almost five years. This would make my Dad happy. (It makes me happy too.) In fact, everything about my new house would make my Dad happy. I think this thought often, about 200 times a day.

***

I can't understand Evey and teeth brushing. One day she fights it off like we're taking her to the gallows, the next day she does it herself. Teeth brushing, man, it's stressful.

***

I saw a license plate the other day. It said, "A House Divided." One of the logos was a Kansas Jayhawk. The other logo was a Pitt State Gorilla. How is that a house divided? Those teams don't even play each other (OK, they did yesterday). That's like me saying me and Adrianne have a house divided, because I root for the Jayhawks, and she likes World Market.

***

The band TV on the Radio is just too weird for me. I like "Wolf Like Me," but otherwise, I can't get through this CD. The new Pearl Jam CD, btw, is excellent, if you haven't already picked it up. My next CD purchase will probably be the new Muse CD, although that single is getting way overplayed on 96.5.

***

Evey is now a fan of The Simpsons. I'll take full credit for this. The other day, I got in trouble for this, as it was a Halloween episode, and a giant pumpkin was eating people -- it was a little creepy for Evey. Since then, I've introduced her to the comic book. There was a random copy of The Simpsons laying around our old place and she picked it up, started checking it out. Since then, I've given her a few more issues, including an old trade I had. She's digging the trade, we read it at night before bed. In the first issue of the trade, Homer is turned giant by Mr. Burns, and starts eating everything, becoming a public menace.

Evey points to the comic and says, "Let's find out why he's mean!" We'll read a few pages, then she'll ask me again, "Why is he mean?"

It's sort of hard explaining to a 2-year-old that Homer is mean because Mr. Burns shot him in the head with a ray gun that turned him giant.

That doesn't mean I don't try, though.

Pumpkin patch '09

Here are a couple photos from this year's trip to the pumpkin patch... taken a few weeks ago.

(We're still busy getting unpacked over here!)

EUDORIA

Big, big news.

The Jones family has MOVED!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

That's right, we moved on Halloween. We are now Eudorians. We are very proud.
Here are a couple photographs of the house. Front, with Evey proudly standing in her new front yard, and back, with Evey letting herself out into her new backyard.

I'm really excited about that back deck. That's a 350-square-foot back deck there. Yep.

A big thanks goes out to all of our movers:

Sean
Copy Jesus
Danny P.
Bart
Neuty
Jeff H.
Jeff K.
John
Ted
Brent
Chesty
Lindsey

More on all of this soon. For now, we're busy unpacking!

Biggest disappointment

About CHEERS in Boston? Only one TV had the Celts/Cavs game on. The rest had World Series of Poker.

LAME.

Just trust me

I'll have some updates later this week.

Right now... I have to pass out.

Flash Forward

Hey, good episode of Flash Forward tonight. Way better than last week's. After last week's episode, Adro had a "Flash Forward" that we wouldn't be watching this show for much longer. But this episode brought us back a little bit. Exciting ending, too.

Some thoughts:

• Why doesn't the L.A. FBI branch just say, "Hey, don't like our stuff? Look at this... at the Detroit Tigers game... see that? That guy isn't blacked out!" That's their smoking gun right there. Use it!
• Is there a more unlikable character on the show that Dr. Bedford? Come to think of it, ALL the characters are unlikable... and that's what had me so mad last week. Who am I supposed to root for? Agent Noh sucks. Aaron can't act. Agent Bedford is obsessed with his wall and his future drinking. The only guy I kind of like is Bryce, and he's seemingly a minor character.
• Back to Dr. B -- why wouldn't she just be like, "Hey dude, you were in my vision... but I'm married, so get out of my life?" Similarly, why wouldn't Agent Noh just say, "You know what? I'm quitting my job, and I'm going to go camping in the Rockies for the next six months, but I'll tell everyone I'm back-packing Europe."
• So, did the President call in the hit, or is that a curveball, and really, it's some Flash-Forward insiders after our LA Feds? Just a thought.

OK, that's all for now. Probably only two other people who read this blog are watching this show over "Survivor" anyway, right?

Hey, anyone know anybody who is looking to buy two adult GA tickets to the KU/OU game this Saturday? I'm leaning toward not going, I think I'm not yet well enough to sit out there in 50-degree weather.

Check out that image from MY Flash Forward. Yeah, like I said, playing shuffleboard, Rick's, my team is winning... but something strange: I don't think I live in Lawrence anymore. And Rick's has added a mirror to their men's room?

These 'flash forwards' can't be true, right?

New camera

My blue camera broke on me a while back. The screen went out. It would still take photos, but you couldn't see the picture you were taking. So every photo I was taking looked like this:

Adro did some QVC shopping the other day and showed me the "Today's Special Value." It was a Kodak EasyShare C190, 12 meg, 5X zoom digital camera. Now I can see what I'm shooting, and photos look more like this:

So far so good. Still learning on it.

The toy in front of Evey is a play cake that you can stack up, 10 layers high. Each layer is numbered. She likes building it up, saying the numbers aloud in English then Spanish, then knocking the whole thing over triumphantly. I have to admit, I enjoy this too. No muss, no fuss.

Evey is also obsessed with Play-Doh. I am NOT a fan of Play-Doh. But Evey thinks it's the best thing EVER.

Tomorrow is Thursday. This week is going by kind of fast...

Happy Anniversary!

Three years ago today.

Love you, babe.

Four quick Evey stories

Feeling better today, thanks!

After a really rough night Sunday/Monday, Adrianne drug me back to my doctor. She even drove me. She was pretty sure they were going to throw my butt in the hospital today, I think. She woke up before me (although my sleep was intermittent at best) and she heard how bad my breathing was... think Darth Vader, with a Yoda-sized loogie trapped in his throat.

Anyway, long story short, Doc agreed I sounded like a mutant, and he gave me a steroid prescription. After one dose, I'm feeling a lot better, able to take much deeper breaths now... I'm planning on going to work tomorrow!!! It's been so long since I've been to work I'm excited!

***

Evey has been really cute lately. Want some cute Evey stories? I'm overdue here, aren't I?

The other day Evey looked at me and asked, "Dad, are you feeling better?" I said, "Yes, sweetie, I'm feeling better." She looked at me and said, "Dad, I'm happy. I'm happy because you aren't sick anymore." And then she hugged me around my neck.

I called for Adrianne to come in to the living room. I had Evey repeat what she just said. "I'm happy because Dad's not sick anymore," she repeated. That caused an instant family hug.

Yeah, that's a pretty general, but her sentence forming is just getting really good (unlike, apparently, my 'sentence forming'). I like hearing her string together longer sentences. Now, she'll still mumble jibberish every once in a while, or talk like a baby, but she also has some really impressive sentences.

***

Real quick one. Me and Evey are driving in the Z. I've got my new Jon Spencer Blues Explosion CD on. Evey is kind of digging it. She's dancing, clapping. So I try to get her to sing along.

"Evey! Say, 'The Blues is No. 1! The Blues is No. 1!'" (A common lyric of most JSBE albums.)

She responds, "No, Daddy! The Blues is No. 2!"

She would not tell me who No. 1 was. I even volunteered myself. But she was only insistent that the Blues was No. 2.

***

At the doctor's office today, waiting to be called in. Evey and Adro with me (like I said, Adrianne thought the next stop was the hospital!) One other couple in the waiting room.

Evey is coloring, chattering away, talking about the pumpkins, the colors, etc. Tells Adro that her favorite color is gray (hopefully not because of a boy named Grey).

The woman next to us smiles and asks Evey her name. "I'm Evey Jones!" Evey proclaims. She then asks how old Evey is. Evey says, "I'm two!" Adrianne agrees, "You are 2, but you'll turn 3 in December!"

The woman was floored. "I would have guessed her at 4! I have a 5-year-old... she isn't that far behind her!"

I smile, and say, "Yeah, she's really tall for her age."

The woman comes back, "Well, my daughter isn't much taller, but I'm talking about how articulate she is! She doesn't seem like a 2-year-old at all!"

So, yeah, I was smiling even though I was sick.

***

Adrianne took me and Evey to Casa Agave after the appointment. Here's some news.... CASA AGAVE might be my new favorite Mexican restaurant in town! Man, that's some good stuff! Sorry, Ixtapa.

Anyway, we get seated. The hostess gives Evey some crayons. "Evey, what do you say?" I say. "Gra-ci-as!" Evey sings back. The hostess looks at us, "She speaks Spanish?" "Poquito, (a little)" I say. The hostess was all smiles. She spoke a little bit more to Evey, I missed that conversation, I was headed to the bathroom at that point.

Apparently word had spread that there was a little white girl with white parents who was speaking Espanol at table 42. Our waiter comes out. "She speaks Spanish?" he asked. We told him to see for herself.

"Quantos anos tiene?" (How old are you?) "I'm two!"

"Como se llama?" (What is your name?) "I'm Evey.... Melosa.... JONES!"

Now the waiter is just floored. "How does she know Spanish?" Adrianne explains that, though he might not believe it, we are a half-Mexican family. So then he looks at us and just starts speaking Spanish. "De donde eres?" (Or something close to that, I knew he was asking me where I was from.) I told him I was from Wichita, but the Mexican side of my family originated from Chihuahua.

We now had a new best friend at Casa Agave. We got some extra queso, Evey got a globo (balloon), and I think we were offered a free dessert, but he severly overestimated our Spanish by that point. (Hopefully I wasn't rude, I just smiled and said 'la quenta, nada mass' -- 'the bill, nothing else.')

So, there are a couple Evey stories for you.

PNEUMAN!

There's a new poll to the right of this post. My question is, basically, "How do you like your fries?" I'm praying that I won't be asking that question professionally anytime soon...

Rough weekend. And not just because of the KU game or because I had to garbage disposal three of my top 10 gross items to garbage disposal (coffee grounds, cold gravy and curdled milk).

No, it's because I've got pneumonia.

Seriously.

I've had to call in sick the last two days. Called in sick again for this Monday. I'm going back to the doc to see how this is progressing. He told me I should feel significantly better by Monday. I think that being unable to take deep breaths precludes me from the "significantly better" category. We'll see.

But, yeah, pneumonia. Now I'm that guy. That guy who was sick for a while, and everyone warned, "Don't come down with pneumonia, man."

Well, I tried not to. But I guess I didn't try hard enough. Doc said this isn't walking pneumonia, but it's not the kind of pneumonia that's going to hospitalize or kill me, either. So at least I was able to half-ass pneumonia. Doc gave me a 7-day antibiotic. I'm on day four.

Anyway. Not much else to report. I've been staring at the walls of my house for four days straight. Starting to get stir-crazy.

Photo is of Evelyn Jones putting some of my comics (DC comics letters A through C, specifically) to some good use. As a step stool.

Email me home remedies for pneumonia. And don't forget to tell me how you like your fries.

The band's back together

I like these photos because they look like those photos bands take when they're doing a shoot for Rolling Stone or Spin or whatever. The cameraman shouts, "OK, Five Solos, act natural! Except for Kaiden and Evey, I want ANGRY!!!" And then another photo, "OK, Five Solos, everyone look at me, except the girls... uhm, Lexie, you play with your hair, Evey, you try to mimic what Lexie is doing!"

"That's beautiful, beautiful! You're all really working the camera now... now, I want you to all to try to project... a giant chicken monster! PERFECT!"

One month today (14th)

It was one month ago that Dad died.

Still pretty shocked.

I think I've had about four, maybe five nights that I haven't dreamed about him.

This photo is of Dad and me at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. This is the game I referenced in my eulogy to Dad. The photo was taken about ten years ago.

Great, great memory! I'll tell you that story sometime...

Top 10 things that gross me out

when I put them down the garbage disposal:

10. cottage cheese (I don't eat it, never will, because it's just plain ol' GROSS)

9. spaghetti noodles (looks like brains or something)

8. refried beans (mostly because it makes me sad)

7. cold gravy (I know someone who drinks that stuff, too... and she reads this blog!)

6. cheese and beer (just kidding, we don't let those go to waste here)

5. mashed potatoes (especially if cold)

4. scrambled eggs (especially when I'm hungover)

3. Coffee grounds (I HATE COFFEE!!!)

2. Bread (wet bread is slimy)

1. Curdled milk (thanks Evey Jones!)

Did I miss anything?

3-D!

Me, Adro and Evey went down to Wichita last Saturday to visit my Mom for a while. We also stopped in to visit my Dad's grave.

Saturday was a good day. I got up early and got a haircut. By the time I got back, Evey was still asleep, so Adro took off for the 6-hour sale at Hy-Vee. She came back in less than six hours with a TON of food. Good stuff, at a fraction of the price.

Her best deal -- she bought a bunch of the sausages, you know the ones, they're either "smoked sausage" or "polska kielbasa" or whatever -- they're all good. Regular price, $3.99. A price I'm happy to pay.

But that price is WAY TOO MUCH FOR ADRO!

Because she bought them on sale, half off! Only $1.99!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

There was a $1.50 off coupon right there next to the things! So she grabs a stack... and checks it out. She grabs four of these sausages on round one. Cha-ching! They ring up at 50 cents each.
So she goes back for five more!

Hell yes, I've got a lot of sausage!

After the 6-hour sale, we jump in the car to head to Wichita. And yes, I'm freaking out. Because I wanted to be rolling by a certain time, and we were now about 10 minutes off my certain time. How quickly I forget 50 cent sausages. Sorry, Adro.

But we got to Wichita in time! In time for what? For Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3-D, that's what!

I bought tickets on-line the night before and we met my Mom at the theater. A good time, Evey enjoyed it but she wouldn't wear the 3-D glasses (DORK!) We ended up staying for both movies, something I wasn't sure we'd be able to do, but the girls were all ready for more, so we stayed.
The 3-D looked pretty good and I think everyone enjoyed the movies. The jumbo popcorn and Pepsi both came with free refills, so we all were overdosed on those, but still, a good time.

After the movie we went one block East to visit my Dad. They still have the green netting on top of the spot, no headstone yet. Left some flowers, exchanged a few hugs with Mom, Adro and Evey. It's still shocking to go there and think... this is forever, I'm not seeing that guy again except for in dreams, in photos and a few videos. We have a football game this Saturday and... Dad isn't coming. Shocking, I was there, I know, but sometimes it just doesn't seem real.

From there we went a few blocks West. There's all these fancy restaurants out in this area (13th Street) of Wichita. Like P.F. Chang's and... other stuff. I'd rather they just had some normal food out there. But eventually we decided on Fox and the Hound, which is LAME-ASS. I'd like it if I was a young guy trying to act/look cool. But I'm not that anymore. I'm an old guy who wants to get some food. If you fit that demographic, then I'd suggest you avoid Fox and Hound, if possible.

After dinner we went back to our respective homes, Mom to Mulvane, us to Lawrence. I had a 6 a.m. flight to catch the next morning so we couldn't stick around any longer.

A great trip, with the usual sad moments sprinkled in here and there that we're still not used to.