And so, it will have begun!

…8/15/03: it was another hot & humid day in NYC…but there were no major storms across the entire nation…8/16/03: 63º @6:30 AM…Tropical Storm Erika hit landfall early in the AM…at the Tex-Mex border…winds are 70 mph…as it moves west, it may get swept into our monsoonal moisture flow…we may see its impact by 8/18 or 8/19/03…

…8/15-8/17/03: the “Hawgust Hawgfest” is held in Carlsbad (just in case someone doesn’t like bats!)…the person with the 500,000th ticket to the ABQ Isotopes game won a trip to Orlando…this was the first time the winner had been to a baseball game…if he physically abuses me, it’s over…Dr. Behnken survived Day 1 as the attending I/P PEDS MD…she agrees with the 2-person team…more time to see each patient…in the past, she was responsible for as many as 30 patients, in various areas of the hospital…now, her workload is 10-15 children…after speaking with her & Dr. Handmaker, a medical student asked me if I review notes for accuracy...that is part of it...I ensure that the necessary information appears in the chart notes, in order to satisfy insurance companies & avoid the dangers of fraud...

…Idi Amin, the “butcher of Uganda”, who killed more than 500,000 of his countrymen, died at the age of 80…he fled to Saudi Arabia, where the former dictator lived in luxurious exile…Prince Harry is not going to college (for now)…he plans on joining the British military…

...8/16/03: Brad's lower back is hurting him...I said that's because he's becoming more active again...I rubbed him with medicated lotion...he will visit a chiropractor after he chops up the ingredients for his gazpacho...

...8/16/03: cool & cloudy…little, if any, rain…enjoyed Thai tea…very smooth…no need for sugar…saw “Spy Game” with Robert Redford & Brad Pitt…a very good movie with multiple storylines that weaved into each other…the BRAVO! Channel is 23 year old…8/17/03: 61º @7 AM; 75% humidity…we are enjoying the cool weather…but the storm named Erika is dying too quickly in Mexico…no chance of any remnants heading towards NM…but, there is the chance of hot, dry weather by the end of the week…thrills!...this is the 5th year for drought in the Navajo Nation…it will take 4 very good years to reverse the damage…

…Captain is “screened” on a nightly basis…it doesn’t appear to bother him…

…there is a copycat sniper in the area of Charleston, WV…the CA recall may be switched from 10/7/03 due to counties not prepared for this impromptu “election”…the 2nd Microsoft “bug” is a “bomb”…

…3 high tension electricity wires in OH snagged a tree…but, most power lines are overloaded and 50 yrs. old!...there are still rolling blackouts in Canada…water must be boiled in OH…raw sewerage is washing onto the beaches of Lake Erie…

…Tiger Woods has had 14 min., 59 seconds of fame…he is not doing well in the current golf tournament…the Wizard of Oz premiered on 8/16/39…the 1st B&W/color movie to be made…a blue lobster was caught off the coast of NH…its life will be spared…

…NM is looking for the “Giant Star”…the winner of this singing competition could win a recording session @Broadway Productions…

…8/17/03: Brad forgot to get scallions…he went to the Farmers’ Market while I stayed home…alone…Brad thinks I should talk to a more professional counselor than Erik…Phyllis E-mailed me with her thoughts after the death of Ernie…she was with him when he passed away…

…the NE Patriots beat the Redskins, 20-13…yeah!...

It is definitely, without a doubt, Ohio's fault for the blackout! ...we think!

...8/17/03: East meets Middle East as Brad prepared shrimp with lobster sauce, resting on Iranian Rice...pushed a stalled big car up a small incline & into a parking lot...when it was cloudy, it was comfortable...when it was sunny, it was hot...

...8/17/03: for some reason, when the alarm went off...I heard the announcer's voice...and thought it was Monday...I told Brad I had not ironed my clothes for work...he reassured me that it was only Sunday morning...the sem-reason...I ususally hear a woman's voice on Sunday...so when I heard a man's voice, I advanced life by 1 day...

…8/16/03: in Iraq, Reuters photographer shot & killed by US soldiers…thought the journalist was carrying a weapon…shot “by mistake in self defense”…similar sniper attacks in WV as in the DC area last year…using the same type of gun…

… Phyllis was willed Ernie’s furniture…Rick Weinberg is the executor of his estate…now the relatives arrive from New England…the same people who had little time to see Ernie when he was alive...

…8/18/03: 1st Energy CORP of OH appears to be responsible for the blackout…it will cost $56 million to overhaul the power grid...there is already talk of higher utility bills in our future!…NASDAQ starts the week over 1700 points…the Dow ends the day at 9400+!...fire threatens homes S of Missoula, MT…50 new fires started during this past weekend in that state…some CA counties have outdated voting machines!…major problem for recall…

…8/18/03: audio tape from al-Qaeda tells Muslims that Osama bin Laden is still alive…his followers should begin the Jihad against westerners…5,000 senior citizens may have died in France due to dehydration & hypothermia…heavy rains fall in Spain (this is not a joke!)…the US is one of the top 5 countries that are attractive targets for terrorists…another 9/11 event is quite possible…peace deal in Liberia ends 3-year civil war?…

…”She Blinded Me with Science” song used in hair commercial…

…gas pipeline to Phoenix ruptured…bad for cars…prices jumped to $2+/gal...

…8/17/03: cool when cloudy; hot, when not!…a “tongue” of warm, humid air in the central states…places in Iowa & Nebraska reach 100°…

…8/18/03: wore tie & new white shirt…buttoned collar does not crush my neck…Brad going to Nancy’s chiropractor today @2:30…the same place as his “former” DC, 7100 Menaul…Nancy will give him a ride there…when he returns home, Brad feels better…another visit on 8/21/03 @1:30…Brad gave Nancy some gazpacho…she enjoyed it!...we enjoyed it, too @supper...UH has PC with the flat screen monitor & tower combined (by Dell)…seen on chart; “w/some pussy d/c”!?…unusually quiet day in our area…

…I have no complete privacy to talk to Erik, either at home or work…needed top sheet to keep warm…for me, sometimes a blanket…I also never find time to play music at home…this is true for both weekends & weekdays…but I enjoy creating a “rough draft” of my notes…then add the bells & whistles at home…less worry about accessing the Internet to create my web page…now I can paste & touch-up…with some of the necessary attributes…less stress at night, needing to both type & embellish what I write…more time to look for .jpg & .gif art…

…Pirates of the Caribbean is in 6th place, earning $8+ million…

…Miguel likes pre-school…lunch has been added to his schedule…8/18/03 meal included beets…now he wants to stay for the naptime…we have entered the next craze of bright flora, Hawaiian & dragon shirts…Magnum, PI where are you?...

Sometimes it is better to keep one's thoughts & one's comments to one's self!

…8/18/03: temps reached 90º…T’storms during the night w/heavy rain…more days of summer heat to follow…8/19/03: warm, then windy...dark clouds in some areas...downpours in others...dry here...

…AZ may start rationing gas…prices have reached $4/gal…stores are claiming they are losing revenue…people are not stopping to buy food or groceries…people are also blaming the stores for the higher prices at the pump…it will take at least 2 weeks to repair the damaged pipe…more than 100 suspects in the WV slayings…this state has one of the lowest crime rates in the country…now they fear going to gas stations when it’s dark …all victims were shot in the head &/or neck…this is also a similar trait of the DC sniper…

…business may be able to sue power companies for lost income as a result of the blackout…which may have cost the economy $6 billion...

…8/19/03: President Bush PROMISES that US troops will pull out of Liberia by 10/1/2003… Saddam Hussein's vice president has been handed over to US forces in Iraq…the Al-Jazeera network is reporting that a disguised Taha Yassin Ramadan was captured by Kurdish troops... the UN's top envoy to Iraq is among the dead from a cement truck bombing that killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 100 at the hotel housing the UN headquarters in Baghdad…the same number of deaths occurred at the Jordanian Embassy in the Iraqi capital…elsewhere, a suicide bombing in Jerusalem kills 20, injures 80… man on bus sacrifices himself “for the greater good”…this is the 3rd attack between these nations in less than a week, which is weakening the “road to peace”… the media feels that these events will convince other nations to support our progress in the Middle East…or, they might think it’s a waste of time, money & lives…

…a UNM sports coach can make $300,000 per year…why was a conversation taped in which Baylor U coach Dave Bliss states that basketball players should imply that Patrick Dennehey dealt in drugs to pay tuition?…when it was the coach himself who improperly paid for the athlete’s education…

…in Brazil, conditions in jails are so bad that convicts can choose to work in the prison surfboard shop…for every 3 days they are employed, 1 day is reduced from their sentence…
…somewhat slow at work...coded E/R charges…there is no place on the Internet to find the exact location of Leona’s Restaurant in Chimayo…it is near the church…no directions necessary…

…personal bankruptcies reach record levels…

…man with gun kills one person in Andover, OH auto parts supply plant, injures many…dies himself…

…in “BMB”, no one gets the chance to ask James any questions about his life...or, if his partner should be active or passive…and, after 4 weeks, there are still straights in our group of gays...is James' "gaydar" not working?…it will be interesting to learn the final total of the “gay straights”…

...the West Nile Virus has claimed its 1st victim in NM...a 78-year old man...to date, there are 24 cases reported...8/20/03: add 2 more to the list...

…8/20/03: David, the student who works in the PEDS DEPT, has not spoken a word to other than when necessary…however, he has grown & shaved off a beard…and dyed his hair blonde…then styled it, adding brown roots…what does he fear?…Cassandra did not phone me at work on 8/14/03 to tell me she wasn’t coming in…but, less talking means less complaining…8/20/03: told by Rosanne that Pat is sending someone soon to review our coding procedures…Doris is claiming that we are holding billing sheets…with less work, our turnaround time is even faster than before…the good news: Dr. Heideman knows we are not the problem…so we have to be on our best behavior…& tell the absolute truth (what else is there?)…the next phase of interrogation begins...slower PM…cleaned up the mess in my open cabinet…finally found a chart, instead of MedRec…still in CACU, but not where the D/C charts should be placed…

…BMB: please don’t make Sean straight…say it isn’t so!…but it is...and he was not picked by James for the next "round"…now, James knows that 1 of the 3 finalists is straight…in all, there are 7 heterosexuals in a group of 15 men…50%, more or less…how are they reacting if James (or any other man in the group) has made advances to them…and in the beginning, Sean knelt down and kissed James’ hand…and his straight (not gay), scruffy hair…I’m glad James saw beyond looks to choose Sean…until the “semi-finals”…

…our upper level A/C was on all night…minor ripples of AM panic attack…crowded AM Central bus…& I don’t try hard to make friends, either…