First off, here are pictures of Jim's NEW patio. It was okay being all "butch" and doing it ourselves; but I did tell Jim that if he ever has this idea again, to just hire a bunch of cute, sweaty boys with a cement mixer. We'll drink margaritas and watch! ;)

WooHoo!! It's really summer up here (for a change. LOL). The last couple of summers really sucked. (that information is on my webpage. LOL Look at Aug 2000 to see me finishing up the porch-screening in the cold.) I've been going over to Jim's pool every chance I get (and I make a lot of chances. ROFL). This year, I'm actually getting a tan! WooHoo! Normally, all I can manage is a nice deep red (which is called a "burn", not a "tan").

I've got some good news about work. I sent my boss an email (oooh. he just "hates" that. LOL Cause then he has to "listen" to me. ROFL) telling him that I seem to have adjusted to my meds fairly well, and thought I was able to go back to my old job of labeling cars (although that isn't my first choice of things to do. I'd rather keep doing these "projects" rather than walking those parking lots.). After discussing it with me and the general manager, my boss decided not to let me go back to that position. First, the company that we have had doing my job is finally getting the hang of it after these last two months. Secondly, and this shows what good guys I work for, they are worried that if I go back in this heat and having just been on the meds a month, that I might get sick again. Plus, of course, they might not be able to get that company back having given them the boot so soon after they finally got all the bugs worked out. LOL  It seems everybody is on the "look-out" for me and I try to listen to them when they tell me not to do too much. So I will continue being the computer-guru for my shop! WooHoo!

Even though, I was going to try to take it easier, I've still been really, really busy. Besides being at the pool as much as I could, I helped Jim install garden walkway lights at DO's house (we bought her two sets for her birthday. see the picture to the right); had a pool party with Cliff and DO (where we all drank quite a few margaritas!); watched Clifford (drinking with his buddy) cut down a tree (see the picture to the left); gave one of Jim's cats a haircut (his Persian kitty gets matted this time every year); got email from an ex-Northsider (ah, high school memories); got email from an ex-neighbor (Jackie Pickett - any other family members remember him? The internet makes this such a tiny little world sometimes, don't you think?); put out the Waikem Wheel newsletter; hooked up DO's new stereo; sold Cliff and DO a car (yes that's right! I SOLD a car. The boss is soooo proud!); finally gave blood to the hospital so I can get some proof the new meds are working (and they sure seem to be! WoooooHooooo!); and now Jim and I are trying to decided what sort of trip to take for his vacation (boy, am I glad the boss DIDN'T take me up on my offer to get back to work all the way). So, next week, I'm either going to have pictures from Cedar Point (Yeah! Roller coasters), D.C. (yeah, democracy!), or Las Vegas (yeah! Slot machines!). And to finish off this week, DO, Clifford and I all ended up at Jim's pool on the last hot day of a string of eleven days of 90 or above. After swimming and before the thunderstorms, we headed to Akron for a little shopping and a great lasagna dinner at a favorite little place that Jim knows. (He he he. Friday night, Jim and I have plans to go back to Akron; but this time for drinks and dancing!!! I must be feeling better!!)

The Kidz @ the front door	The Kidz @ the back door

BUT I'm not wicked, so I don't understand why I haven't been able to rest yet. LOL

Ever since I started feeling better from the medicine, I've been hoping for some time rest. Instead, I've still been on the move. My best friend, Jim, kept putting his vacation off until I felt better, so that I could go along with him (I can't say I blame him. Going on a vacation all by yourself has got to suck.) We spent this week going to, not one, but two amusement parks!! On Monday, we hit Cedar Point, which is about an hour west of Cleveland. This should have been a 2-hour trip; but we must have hit a Borg trans-warp conduit (not a trekkie? then ignore that line. LOL), cause it only took about an hour and 15 minutes to get to the park. Cedar Point has the biggest, highest, longest and most roller coasters of any amusement parks in America. The weather was hot, the sky was only partly cloudy, and we had a great time!

Rides in clockwise order: the Mean Streak - a truly awesome wood coaster; but one that is a little too rough for me to get on again. The Millennium Force - 310 feet tall, running up to 93 mph with 6990 feet of track. The Magnum XL - tall, fast and utterly scary as it zooms you towards Lake Erie. The Towers of Power - you can be flung up to slowly drop, or ride the other towers to ride up slowly, and plummet back to the ground. In the center - the Raptor - this was the 6th time that I've ridden this ride in the front car and, boy, is it worth it!

CEDAR POINT WEBCAMS
High atop the Demon Drop, this cam gives you a birds-eye view of the main midway!
	See the Millennium Force in action from a cam mounted at the top of the Power Tower!

Only two days later, on Wednesday of the same week, Jim and I went with Richard, Angie, Ritchie, and Becca to Six Flags. This amusement park adventure was much different from our first trip. Although it should only be about a 50 minute trip to the park, the last 10 miles took nearly an hour and a half - resulting in a 3 hour drive in the hot sun! We finally arrived at the park about 1pm but didn't get across the lake to the rides (Six Flags bought up Geauga Lake Park and Sea World, combining them into one park with a lake in the middle) until 2pm!! Shoot, after all the walking from the first trip, I was wiped out by the time we started riding anything. Jim, Richard, and I did get to ride 3 awesome rides.

the top row: the Serial Thriller - kind of a "Raptor"-lite ride where you dangle from the tracks. Superman - zips you forward up a spiraling track before zipping you backwards up the other side. (that's the top end of the Mind Eraser hanging over part of this ride.) the second row: the newest attraction is X-Flight - after strapping into this ride, you are lowered backwards to lie on your backs as you go up the first hill. The car is then flipped over and you find yourself facing the ground and flying through the air. WooHoo!

Even though it would have been nice to take another day off to recuperate from our thrilling adventures, it wasn't really "my" vacation, so I headed back to work - to find I was required to attend a special internet meeting with AutoTrader, and to help one of the Waikem brothers (Chip - Doug's older brother, who runs the original Ford dealership) retrieve his email since his PC had crashed. I tell you, I'm awfully glad it's the weekend, and might even be a rainy one. First, we NEED the rain. Secondly, it's keep me from having to go to a water park this Sunday and will give me some time to rest before work again next week.

But, wait! There's even more news!! (Good and Bad)

The Bad news first, cause it ain't so bad. :)
The ELO (Electric Light Orchestra from the 70's) concert in September, that Jim already got us tickets for, has been canceled. Some of the band members are going to go play with The Guess Who instead of playing as ELO. (Those bastards!) :P

The GOOOOOD news:
Can you say "WooHoo!" ? Well, you better learn, because I got blood results back from the 6 weeks that I have been on these medications again. My T-cell counts went from (remember, that 1000 is a normal good count) 44 up to 199. Since they haven't been over 300 in the decade, that's not too shabby of a climb. The viral load count (that's how much of that crappy virus is busily replicating inside me) went from 174,000 (eek! way, way, WAY too high of a count, so let's NOT discuss that one) down to 459!! Now, I bet you have learned to say "WooHoo!"

Aug 19th: Lastest News!

Although this news is technically from week #3 of this month, I felt that since it's the weekend, it's the "end" of week #2, so this little bit of info goes here.
While at Cedar Point, Jim had a temporary armband tattoo inked onto his arm. (I bought a home-kit so I could try out a facial tattoo to see how much everyone will freak, although I think that facial tattoos are KOOL!) Jim liked the fake tattoo so much that he got a REAL armband tattoo.

Jim in the chair, getting his first "ink"	Jim's New tattoo!

And if you know me at all, you know where this story is leading.
Yeppers, I'm the proud owner of FIVE tattoos now, the newest one being my "biohazard" emblem, tattooed on my back, just above my pants waistband.

If you'd like to find out all about ALL of my tattoos,
view the new tattoo Page
that I just added to my website!

Bad news: My digi-camera has become ill. Every picture looks like it takes correctly; but when I check the actual file, it seems to be overexposed. The good news is that I have a four-year warranty. So the camera has been sent out and I'm hoping it comes back soon.

Trying to squeeze a little more out of summer, Jim and I decided to visit a state park about an hour up the road. From the road, Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park looks like nothing more than a big hill hidden behind the trees; but once past the tree line, it becomes something totally different. Retreating glaciers left huge (and I mean HUGE) boulders in a gigantic pile. We spent several hours climbing over, and under, and through, and around, and on top of these boulders. (Damn, I wish I had my camera. I should have borrowed the one from work!)