Off to a Good Start in 2010

Seems impossible that two weeks ago today we were in Disneyland, Liz had run the coldest Disney Marathon (the full marathon) in history in a shade over 5 hours (30 mins over her best marathon time), and Robbie and I had met Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  Here photographic proof of at least part of that:

Disney was really cool--though we did visit the Magic Kingdom far more often than all the other parks combined.  My favorite two rides were at Disney Hollywood--Tower of Terror and Rock and Roll Rollercoaster.  Working around engineers most of my professional life did take away some of the thrill.  While everyone else was screaming and thinking "Are we going to die?",  I was thinking "Wonder how many redundant systems Disney built into this?  I wonder how much margin went into the design?"  I also figured out that those of us who were in the "flying off of aircraft carriers" business have to have an unblinking trust in technology to start with.  On roller coasters, there's no fear that the car is going to jump the track or that our head is going to hit that sign, freeing us up to just enjoy the ride.  That said, the R&R Rollercoaster is the closest thing I've felt to tactical aviation since March 1986 in the Philippines (my last Tomcat ride).

The smartest decision we made was NOT going to the Animal Kingdom the day before the marathon, though we reached that decision after we had ridden the bus to the park and were walking toward the gate.  It was 36 degrees and spitting rain, and Liz and I both realized at the same moment we would be out in this crap all day.  Our package was such that we could only visit one park each day, so once we passed through the gate, we were stuck with frozen gazelles and shivering hyenas all day.  Liz did get what I thought was a pretty good pic of Robbie and me on the bus ride back, though.

Let me show you another way we knew we were at a Disney resort and not a Holiday Inn.  When you walk behind a Holiday Inn, you see a loading dock and dumpster.  When you walk behind a Disney resort (specifically the Grand Floridian (and please, do Google it)), you see this:

Technically, this is in front of the Grand Floridian, but I actually had seen the Cinderella coach behind the hotel being polished earlier in the morning.  Funniness:  You can see the liveried coachman driving the team of six white ponies here.  What you can't see are the other men in livery accompanying the coach.  I wondered about their jobs, until one or two of ponies unleashed a hail of what we euphemistically used to call "road apples" on the pavement in front of the hotel.  Without missing a beat, one of the coachmen grabbed an ever-so-fancy dustpan and broom from the back of the coach and began sweeping up the aforementioned  pony fruit.  I can just hear the conversation:  "So you work for Disney, huh?  What do you do?"  "Well...".

Liz heads for Seattle for two weeks starting tomorrow morning, so Robbie and I will get more quality time together.  I'm in training all week this week, learning how to be a Supervisor (where was this class back in 1984 when I was first a branch officer?).  Next week I have an appointment at Georgetown on either Tuesday or Wednesday.  I'll be lining up the emergency backup pickup team early this time.

Medically, things progress.  I have two more Revlimid tablets to take in the second cycle of my latest treatment.  So far everything is fine, but the same could be said after my first two cycles of chemo last Spring.  I'll wait until after the third (and fourth (and fifth)) before I get too cocky.  As to how it's treating the CLL, no real clue.  I still have enlarged lymph nodes, which may or may not be shrinking.  It's hard to tell when you feel them everyday.  Also, I may be fighting the first symptoms of a cold, which will make your lymph nodes swell.  I just take the pills and wait for the next marrow biopsy.

One last to leave you with:  if you need a good laugh and want to hear a cool song, click on this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lLRBiEBRAc)  or go to YouTube and search on "Code Monkey Dance". [Warning:  contains one bad word and one rude hand gesture; some familiarity with computer programmers will be useful] It features a young lady named Emily doing an interpretive dance to a great song called "Code Monkey" (go figure) by a guy named Jonathon Coulton.  A lady in my office turned me on to JoCo (as we insiders call him), and I found the video courtesy of my friend Stephanie.   If you like the video, buy the album on ITunes, and watch Emily's other video, the "Don't Make Me Dance" dance.  Hope you enjoy