Travelogue and other sundry items

Quick update on Rebekah: She's walking! It's official. She was doing a little bit of walking before I left for Utah, but now she is full on walking. She can actually get almost around the whole house without falling. Jen and I are so proud of her. She has also done a lot more talking. Well, talking isn't the right word. Gibberish is the right word, but it is sounding more and more like real words. It was really tough to leave her and Jen to go away and I missed them like heck the whole time I was gone. Jen was a trooper though and took care of the child care duties while I was gone and I commend her for that. Gold star! Jen and I have also decided to enroll Rebekah in a "Little Gym" so she can meet other children, have some exercise, and socialize a bit. We went for a "free trial" on Saturday and Rebekah had a ball. She couldn't have enough fun. There were balls, an air filled bouncy thingy, bubbles, songs, and free play. Basically, she was in toddler heaven. I guess we did have to fork over the money to get her in the Fall semester which will start in August. Every Saturday Daddy will be going with her and Mommy will be coming along on the weekends she has off. I really do think its a good "investment", so I won't complain too much....

So I went out to Salt Lake City (SLC from now on) and got my learn on. Some items from the flight out: 2 layovers instead of one really messes with your head. I don't care how much one stop costs. From now on I am doing a MAX of one stop. Thankfully they didn't lose my luggage, but it was still a hassle to change planes twice and navigate 2 airports. I think that if they make you pay for your bags, the airlines should guarantee that your luggage will arrive with you. Maybe I am off-base, but if this was the case, then I might not mind (as much) paying to check my suitcase. I was so sick going out to SLC. And by sick I mean ill. Really, really ill. I had the worst head cold I have had in a long time. Taking off and landing was heck on my head. I pumped myself full of Sudafed (the real stuff that's behind the counter not the crappy PE garbage you can get OTC) and ibuprofen around-the-clock to be able to function adequately. Oh yeah, and a lot of vitamin C (not that it really helps that much, since you pee out anything your body doesn't need, but it makes me feel like I am doing something). With all that medicine coursing through my veins, you would think I'd feel better. Well, it took about 2 days or so before all the junk was gone, but I am still dealing with the plugged sinuses, chest congestion, cough, and runny nose. Hopefully I'll feel better soon. When I arrived in SLC and could see Great Salt Lake it was really cool. I could actually see downtown from the plane with the state house and temple and big buildings and everything. Then I took a cab (a $35 cab, mind you) to the University of Utah to check into the dorms.


The dorms weren't that bad, considering I didn't have to share a room with anyone. I don't know why that was, but I wasn't going to complain. Especially since I had my own bathroom. There was no TV though, which was actually OK. I proved to myself that I could go a whole week with out TV. I knew I could do it though, since I had no TV for the first couple months of freshman year in college. I just had to read the newspaper. I had internet, but by the time I got back to the room after a long day of meetings, I just didn't have it in me to go on and watch TV. The problem with the dorms was that they were WAY too far away from where the conference was held. I walk fast, and it still took me a good 20 minutes to walk to the conference. Thankfully, after the first day, they had buses running and this significantly shortened my walk. Also, I had the students I was with drive me back after the sessions usually. More on that later.


SLC is a very clean city, with wide roads (which were labeled very strangely) and a back drop of the Rocky Mountains. Brigham Young said something to the effect of he wanted wagon drivers to be able to turn around in the street without resorting to cursing, which is why the roads were wide. It was very difficult, though, to find something to eat on Sunday, after our sessions. We were starving and couldn't find anything open. We finally settled on a McDonald's 24 hour drive through after about an hour of looking. I didn't think it would be THAT hard to find something open, but apparently it was. The dry air was my only complaint because it was killing me. Chap stick became my best friend and water became my drink of choice. There was a "humid" day (45%?!), but this was not humid by my standards, especially coming from temps in the upper 90's with heat indicies of 110's. The weather as a whole though was very good: not too hot or too cold and it didn't really rain. I guess this was the time of year to go to Utah.



While the conference was pretty basic on a scientific level, I did learn a lot about the different psychosocial interventions, 12-step programs, and personal stories of people who were addicted. I think addiction can happen to anyone. I did have a good time and like I said, I did gain some knowledge I didn't have before, but overall I don't think I really need to go back again. Once was enough for me and it will enable me to understand better what is going on with someone who has alcoholism or any kind of addiction. I guess I can take something from the conference and use it in my every day work: empathy.

In the evening, most every night (well every night really) I went out. The first night was a Sunday and other than I couldn't find anything open at which to eat, it wasn't a bad night. The next night I was able to see a friend from high school who I honestly haven't seen in person since high school. It was really good to catch up and reminisce with her. We had awesome barbeque at Famous Dave's which is apparently a chain, but I have never heard of it. Most of the other nights the students and I hung out at various places: the Olympic ice skating rink, Temple Square (which was awesome, I wish I had more time there), Einstein Bagel, and many other places. It was actually kind of nice to hang out with some of my students, even though I am still their teacher. It was an interesting dynamic and it was weird to be called "Dr. Lorenz" in public when I am not at work. I still don't really know how I feel about it. I didn't want to impose on the students, but they kept inviting me out so I kept going. It is safe to say a good time was had by all. And there were TONS of "that's what she said" jokes. I will refrain from giving any specific examples, but let's just say it got only a little out of hand.

Overall, the experience was a good one. I learned. I had fun. I was a teacher. Vini, vidi, vici. My old latin class is coming back to me... I was glad to come back home though and be with my family who I missed a lot. We had a great weekend with each other and I wish every weekend was like this last one.

I guess I can't get away without mentioning something about Michael Jackson. He was a groundbreaker and I LOVED his music when I was younger. He got all weird towards the end (some would say he was always weird) but he should RIP. I didn't even hear about it on the news; I heard it from a student who got a text message. That is one drawback to not having any TV and minimal internet access: no news. This is why I started reading the newspaper when I was in Utah. Also, I can't believe Ed McMahon AND Billy Mays are dead as well. Just weirdness.

Anyway, that's probably more than enough for now. It is time to go have some ice cream. Have a good week!

Travels and Travails

So I am gearing up to travel to Salt Lake City, on Father's Day, having to change planes twice for a total of almost 9 hours of travel. While that sounds kind of daunting (especially the long flights), I am looking forward to going for a couple of reasons. I get to attend a conference on alcohol and substance abuse at the University of Utah which will help me further my career (and the college is paying for it). I also get to visit a state and city I have never been to before and poke around. I am looking forward to seeing all the different church sites like Temple Square. But I am also really excited to visit with a friend from high school who I had lost contact with. After meeting up on Facebook, we discovered we had more in common than ever. So it will be good to catch up and hang out.

The reason I am going to SLC is really as an advisor to the 26 students from the pharmacy school who are attending the conference. I guess even grad students need a chaparone? No, probably not. I think because the material is intense and there is a lot of information given, it is good to have someone the students can go to to ask questions and what not. I know almost half the students who are going since they are at the local campus. The rest I am sure I have met, but won't remember until I see them because they are at the main campus. The downside to going and staying at U of U is that the "hotel" is really code for "dorm room". They don't make any excuses for this and we will see how I like dorm living now that I have my own house. Its been almost 10 years since I was in that situation. I guess I am going to be getting good use of my flip flops.

As my usual OCD self, I made a list of everything I need to bring in order to make it a successful trip. Hopefully I don't forget anything. You have to bring your own towels and pillows, so packing light otherwise (so I only have to pay for one checked bag) will be paramount. The only negative is having to leave Jen and the baby for a whole week, but I think it will be a nice change. In other trip related news, Jen and I are heading (sans Rebekah) to Portland, OR in a few weeks for a good friend's wedding. She was in residency with me and we have stayed in contact ever since. We have never been to Portland and are looking forward to experiencing new things. If anyone has any suggestions for what to do while we are there, we're all ears! This will be our vacation (note the lack of quotes) for the year. For next year: beach house on Folly!

Rebekah is getting closer and closer to walking. She will walk for a couple steps between Jen and I when we are sitting on the floor, but doesn't really initiate the walking on her own. It's only a matter of time before she is. She wants to play with the other kids her age at church, but they are all walking and I have a feeling she feels left out. So maybe that will get her motivated to walk. Rebekah has also been quite sick the past few days. She has a stuffy nose (which when she sneezes comes out in torrents that are subsequently wiped by her hand all over her face and everything else), a pretty good cough, and has been running a fever. With a lot of tissues, a quick hand, lots of Tylenol, a cool mist humidifier, and some cooperation with Rebekah, she has been getting better. Hopefully we are on the tail end of this illness, which we think she picked up while we were in NY and/or traveling. Otherwise, since it's been mid ninties (actual temperture, heat index mid 100's) Rebekah has been pretty house confined. We don't need her getting heat stroke on top of being ill! Indoor activities she will tolerate are far and few between, so any ideas anyone has for entertaining a 13 month old are welcome. She has also learned that she can feed the dogs with her finger foods. She takes one of the Gerber puffs of the table and puts it in her mouth and then throws another puff on the floor for Maude. We have been trying to discourage this behavior with limited success. Perrin has caught on that he needs to be in on this deal so he's been playing nice with Rebekah, which heretofore, he's been reluctant to do. Maybe the way to Perrin's heart is through his mouth? Yeah, most definitely.

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there! I don't know what I'll be getting, but I know what I won't be: a motorcycle or motorcycle safety course registration. It seems Jen is pretty set on me not getting either of those things for a long while. And every time I mention it, she gets a little upset. So I guess Ray will be motorcycle-less for a lot longer. :-( Here's to hoping though!

I think I may start to write reviews of books, TV, music, etc. on here, but we will see if I have the ambition for that. That's about it for what's going on here. Random quote: "My girlfriend was telling me to take my medication, so I smacked her across the mouth for disrespecting me. The voices told me God would forgive me for putting her in her place. I don't see why that's a problem." Very wrong, I know. Don't ask me why he doesn't understand the need for his medication....

Triumphantly I return

In the category of new Rebekah tricks, she has decided that she doesn't like to use her pacifier normally. What I mean by this is that when she has the business end of the paci in her mouth, she needs to have the ring part tucked up under her nose. It is quite interesting and slightly dismaying. I don't really know why she needs that specific configuration, but it is causing a minor blister to form under her nose.

So my "vacation" went really well. We had a great time with family and friends. All of our planning and list writing really helped make the trip a success. We only forgot one thing: Swimmy diapers, which we had to buy so Rebekah could go swimming. She loves swimming. I think she would rather be in the water than out. So swim diapers are a necessity. We initially tried to use a regular diaper, thinking "it can't be all that much different". Well, I am here to tell you it is. You see, apparently regular diapers are made of some kind of material which sucks up water. In any form, regardless of whether it is coming from inside (i.e. from the baby) or from the outside (i.e. from the pool). After using the regular diaper to go swimming it was so full and heavy there was no way it was going to be able to hold any baby urine. I have never had a diaper THAT full. Ever. I don't know what the technology is that allows swim diapers to not expand when they get wet but still absorb urine, but I thank that inventor whole heartedly.

On the plane ride up there, Rebekah did reasonably well. She was about 10 minutes away from a melt down when we landed in Rochester, so if we needed to circle the airport waiting for an opportunity to land we may have had a significant issue. But as it was, she didn't really care about any of the toys we had, or the DVDs we brought or really anything other than wanting Mommy to hold her. She was very cranky that first day since she was woken up by us at 3:30 AM and didn't really have a nap until well after noon. Needless to say, she slept the entire ride to Auburn where we were staying. Speaking of sleeping in the car, that was the only way we could get her to nap the whole trip. There was one day when I rode around in the car with her for over an hour and a half just to get her to sleep. It was a fun day. If any of you are familiar with Central NY geography. I drove from Syracuse to Oswego and back again. It was a long drive. On the flight back, I think she was so exhausted from not sleeping and meeting so many new people that she slept most of the way back. This was a serious blessing. There was only one incident when we were landing in Atlanta where she was completely inconsolable because of her ears popping. We had the pacifier and the Tylenol, but it didn't really help.

Like I said, it was good to catch up with Jen's family. We used to be close to most of them, and I guess we still are, but it is different not living in close proximity to each other. I always enjoy hanging out with her cousins and aunts; they are really fun people. The wedding was beautiful and we had a good time, except for having to leave way early because of an absolutely done little toddler. Stephanie's graduation party was fun as well. I hope she enjoyed it. There were so many people there, more than half of which I had never met or even heard of. It wasn't too hot and there was good food, drinks, and conversation. Rebekah was able to crawl around and not be fussy most of the time which was good. The coolest thing that happened was that Rebekah was asked to be a flower girl in Amber's wedding in Charleston next May. We are very excited and happy for her and Evan, and almost as excited to have an excuse to go back to Charleston (like we need one). We are probably going to be renting a beach house on Folly Beach so that will be even more awesome.

We really enjoyed reconnecting with some old friends who we haven’t seen in forever and hanging out with my old college roommate and his wife. It was also very fun seeing some of Jen’s old friends from when she lived in Auburn. You know you have good friends when you can just pick up and talk like we've been living next door to each other when in reality we haven’t seen each other in years. It’s very good to have that connection with people.

We also were able to get professional pictures of the family done for free (thanks Delia!). Rebekah loves the camera and it shows in the pictures for sure. Unfortunately, I didn't get an electronic copy of the pics, so you all will have to wonder just how cute Rebekah is (trust me she's ADORABLE). We were also able to tour some historic church sites in Palmyra. This was probably the most peaceful and relaxing time of the trip. I wish we could have stayed all day. I know when we go back to NY next time, we will block off more time to visit there.

Anyway, that’s the major part of the "vacation" experience. We were very busy and we were going non-stop for 6 days, but it was worth every second and every instance of FBS (fussy baby syndrome). When will we be back to NY? I don't know, maybe not for a couple of years. I know when we do return, we will be just as busy again! But that doesn't preclude some of our NY friends from visit us here in podunk Alabama!!