james_kieliszek (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} james_kieliszek) wrote,@ 2005-10-31 12:13:00 |
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Ithacan Odyssey: Hooray for everything!
This past weekend was the best I've had in quite a while. I spent it in Dryden (Ithaca), at Sean and Kelly's annual halloween party. We cut down some trees, installed a seriously over-engineered wireless connection to "teh intarwebs", and partook of much fine food and beverage. After a visit to a (surprisingly small) specialty meat store, I enjoyed some ostrich, elk, and buffalo along with some salmon and shrimp dishes. Everything was great, but Adam's pan-seared elk and Tourist's salmon & shrimp shanghai noodles stand out as the best of the weekend. Ln2 was obtained, and Josh made ice cream from fresh strawberries. The icecream was incredible, better than Potter's. I brought a mixed six-pack of Ur Weisse and Val Dieu, and used these wares to try to bring Matt Girard into the larger world of beer consumption (which was at least a partial success). I also brought a growler of CB's Hazel Nut Brown (which survived for me to enjoy at home, thanks to the cornucopia of beverage choices we had on hand at the party), as well as a bottle of wine. On a trip to a local liquor store (for cooking ingredients, we had plenty to drink), Knapp wines were being offered for tasting. I was pleased to see Prizm on display; it was the only wine from the Fingerlakes Wine Festival this summer that I haven't been able to find in Rochester. I bought a bottle (it was great with the elk dish), and left it at the house; I'm unsure if it got finished. The weather all weekend was mostly clear and crisp, which was a relief after wunderground.com warned me I might be in for some snow. While cutting down the trees, we didn't need to endure anything worse than light drizzle, the moisture from which quickly baked off in the sun; by the time we finished clearing the brush, I had stripped down to a t-shirt. The weather was nicest for the drive home on Sunday - I turned off the radio and drove with the windows down as soon as I was off the highway.
Last Sunday morning I turned in 6 games of bowling, averaged around 150, and felt good about improvements I'd made to my consistency. I then bowled another 3 games that night, and managed to give myself a large blister on my thumb and slightly sprain my wrist. After a week-long hiatus, I resumed bowling last night and bowled my first 500 series (166, 180, 160). This is very encouraging, as I feel like I'm finally achieving some consistency, and am able to string some strikes together. After bowling, I played poker on floor, where I split the pot with Fotios around 2am.
Had a follow-up appointment today with my surgeon. The numbness and scaring are to be expected and may be permanent, and while the condition of my leg is sub-optimal, it wins the lesser-of-two-evils contest with the pain and limited mobility of the bone tumor by a country mile. My health insurance is covering all but $80.13 of the surgery costs; I'm happy to be working for a small company with good health insurance.
Basically, everything's looking up, and I'm pretty darn pleased with my situation.
This past weekend was the best I've had in quite a while. I spent it in Dryden (Ithaca), at Sean and Kelly's annual halloween party. We cut down some trees, installed a seriously over-engineered wireless connection to "teh intarwebs", and partook of much fine food and beverage. After a visit to a (surprisingly small) specialty meat store, I enjoyed some ostrich, elk, and buffalo along with some salmon and shrimp dishes. Everything was great, but Adam's pan-seared elk and Tourist's salmon & shrimp shanghai noodles stand out as the best of the weekend. Ln2 was obtained, and Josh made ice cream from fresh strawberries. The icecream was incredible, better than Potter's. I brought a mixed six-pack of Ur Weisse and Val Dieu, and used these wares to try to bring Matt Girard into the larger world of beer consumption (which was at least a partial success). I also brought a growler of CB's Hazel Nut Brown (which survived for me to enjoy at home, thanks to the cornucopia of beverage choices we had on hand at the party), as well as a bottle of wine. On a trip to a local liquor store (for cooking ingredients, we had plenty to drink), Knapp wines were being offered for tasting. I was pleased to see Prizm on display; it was the only wine from the Fingerlakes Wine Festival this summer that I haven't been able to find in Rochester. I bought a bottle (it was great with the elk dish), and left it at the house; I'm unsure if it got finished. The weather all weekend was mostly clear and crisp, which was a relief after wunderground.com warned me I might be in for some snow. While cutting down the trees, we didn't need to endure anything worse than light drizzle, the moisture from which quickly baked off in the sun; by the time we finished clearing the brush, I had stripped down to a t-shirt. The weather was nicest for the drive home on Sunday - I turned off the radio and drove with the windows down as soon as I was off the highway.
Last Sunday morning I turned in 6 games of bowling, averaged around 150, and felt good about improvements I'd made to my consistency. I then bowled another 3 games that night, and managed to give myself a large blister on my thumb and slightly sprain my wrist. After a week-long hiatus, I resumed bowling last night and bowled my first 500 series (166, 180, 160). This is very encouraging, as I feel like I'm finally achieving some consistency, and am able to string some strikes together. After bowling, I played poker on floor, where I split the pot with Fotios around 2am.
Had a follow-up appointment today with my surgeon. The numbness and scaring are to be expected and may be permanent, and while the condition of my leg is sub-optimal, it wins the lesser-of-two-evils contest with the pain and limited mobility of the bone tumor by a country mile. My health insurance is covering all but $80.13 of the surgery costs; I'm happy to be working for a small company with good health insurance.
Basically, everything's looking up, and I'm pretty darn pleased with my situation.
