When Answers Aren't Enough
You have faced the mountains of desperation
You have climbed, you have fought, you have won
But this valley that lies coldly before you
Casts a shadow you cannot overcome
And just when you thought you had it all together
You knew every verse to get you through
But this time the sorrow broke more than just your heart
And reciting all those verses just won't do
When answers aren't enough, there is Jesus
He is more than just an answer to your prayer
And your heart will find a safe and peaceful refuge
When answers aren't enough, He is there.
Instead of asking why did it happen
Think of where it can lead you from here
And as your pain is slowly easing, you can find a greater reason
To live your life triumphant through the tears
When answers aren't enough, there's still Jesus
He is more than just an answer to your prayer
And your heart will find a safe and peaceful refuge
When answers aren't enough, He is there.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Cancer Update - September 2003
GOOD NEWS!!!
My last CT scan came back completely clear this week, that makes TWO clear CT scans, which means I'm officially IN REMISSION!! For the layman, that means that the cancer is gone. Provided it STAYS gone for five years, then they'll tell me I'm cured. Can you imagine? Cured of cancer. It boggles the mind. I never really had any doubts, since they gave me such a good prognosis in the beginning, but what a trial to have to go through. Blech.
I'm scheduled for a PET scan on October 17th, which is additional insurance that it's all gone, but my oncologist is confident that it will be, since my response to the treatment was so excellent from the get-go. The PET technology is very new to Anchorage - it's only been here for a few months. Providence will have the second one in town available soon, but they're not up and running quite yet. For those of you not familiar with it, it's amazing. A CT scan shows anatomy…a PET scan show activity. In other words, a CT scan will show tumors, a PET scan will show individual cancer cells running around (if there are any, which there won't be, because, did I mention that it's all gone? Well, it is).
Anyway, provided the PET scan is all clear, too, then I can have the surgery to get this blasted port out of my chest, then it's just periodic CT scans for the next five years to make sure it doesn't come back. At the end of five years, I'm done. Dr. Stewart will say, "Go - get out of here and live happily ever after. I don't ever want to see you again unless you find another lump somewhere." Which won't happen. Because I'm not going through this again. Because it's gone. And I'm not letting it come back. Ever.
Needless to say, I'm ecstatic. So is my family. My last treatment was on September 17th. The last few were getting rougher. It was taking longer and longer to recover. But I've managed to make it through with my hair intact and no funky things happening to my fingernails or anything else. Very minimal side effects. I'm convinced the enzymes were a big help and all the prayers and thoughtfulness of all of you an even bigger help. It's pretty easy to keep a good attitude when somebody is telling you every day how much they love you and care about you. Thank you all so much for all the support. Each one of you gave in your own special ways and my family and I appreciated every single gesture. What wonderful friends and loved ones we have. I hope you all know how much we appreciate you and love you in return.
Over the last few months, many of you have asked me two basic questions that I've had to put some thought into and I promised I would answer them in this forum. The first question I heard most often is, "Have you made any drastic changes in your life as a result of this?" The answer is no. A trial like this would cause anyone to pause and take stock in their life, and I'm no different. When I did my assessment, I concluded that I'm very happy with my station in life. My relationships with loved ones are good, I'm happy with my level of education, my family life, my spiritual life, my career, my hobbies, everything. The only minor change we've made as a whole family is in our diet. We're trying to eat more organic foods - the freshest, rawest, highest quality food we can find. Other than that, I have nothing to report, and I'm proud of that.
The second question I've been asked a lot is, "Have you learned anything from this?" Well, quite literally, I've learned a lot more about cancer than I ever wanted to know. Beyond that, I've also learned that there are a whole lot more people that care about us than I ever knew about. I think this is probably the case with most people. It's unfortunate that that we have to go through challenges like this to learn that lesson, though. This is going to sound very cliché, but I have found a lot of meaning in this, too: Just because somebody doesn't love you exactly the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all that they have. I've learned to accept whatever people want to give, in whatever manner they want to give it, and to appreciate the gift for exactly what it is. Sometimes it's hard to accept and love somebody just the way that they are, and not judge anything about them, but if you can do this, your relationships with people will be much, much closer. I've also learned that everything happens for a reason. God is in complete control. We live in a fallen world and sometimes the horrible events in our lives are a result of that, but nothing happens except by permission from God. This lesson really tested my faith and I had to explore it a great deal to come to that conclusion, but I'm confident it's right. There's a great deal of peace that comes with a greater understanding of the sovereignty of God. Thank you to Rich, for sparking that interest in my spirit - I'm not done with the journey, but I've learned a lot so far!
The most difficult thing has been to put life on hold for six months, especially for a Type A like me. I'm so looking forward to celebrating the holidays this year. Jacquelyn is a year old now and at such a fun age. I'm going to pull Jaden out of pre-school after October and just play with my girls all winter. Jaden will be in Kindergarten next fall and I will get started on building us a bigger house, but until then, I'm going to savor every moment I can with them and make a whole bunch of precious, blessed memories.
Just wanted to share the good news and get those questions answered for you. I probably won't send out any more updates since it's essentially over. Unless there's some bad news after the PET scan or surgery, but I'm confident there won't be. My next correspondence will likely be our annual Christmas letter.
Again, thanks to every one of you for the prayers and thoughts. They worked!! Praise God!!
Much love,
Tiffany
P.S. A shallow, vain little sidenote for the ladies: Revlon Colorstay nail polish. I saw a short clip on the Today show how the chemists at Revlon studied vehicle paint to come up with this formula. I've had one application on for 10 days and counting, two trips to the pool, numerous dishwashings, house scrubbings, kid's baths and my own showers, and not one nick, peel or fading of color. Not even a dull on the shine. Trust me. Buy it.
My last CT scan came back completely clear this week, that makes TWO clear CT scans, which means I'm officially IN REMISSION!! For the layman, that means that the cancer is gone. Provided it STAYS gone for five years, then they'll tell me I'm cured. Can you imagine? Cured of cancer. It boggles the mind. I never really had any doubts, since they gave me such a good prognosis in the beginning, but what a trial to have to go through. Blech.
I'm scheduled for a PET scan on October 17th, which is additional insurance that it's all gone, but my oncologist is confident that it will be, since my response to the treatment was so excellent from the get-go. The PET technology is very new to Anchorage - it's only been here for a few months. Providence will have the second one in town available soon, but they're not up and running quite yet. For those of you not familiar with it, it's amazing. A CT scan shows anatomy…a PET scan show activity. In other words, a CT scan will show tumors, a PET scan will show individual cancer cells running around (if there are any, which there won't be, because, did I mention that it's all gone? Well, it is).
Anyway, provided the PET scan is all clear, too, then I can have the surgery to get this blasted port out of my chest, then it's just periodic CT scans for the next five years to make sure it doesn't come back. At the end of five years, I'm done. Dr. Stewart will say, "Go - get out of here and live happily ever after. I don't ever want to see you again unless you find another lump somewhere." Which won't happen. Because I'm not going through this again. Because it's gone. And I'm not letting it come back. Ever.
Needless to say, I'm ecstatic. So is my family. My last treatment was on September 17th. The last few were getting rougher. It was taking longer and longer to recover. But I've managed to make it through with my hair intact and no funky things happening to my fingernails or anything else. Very minimal side effects. I'm convinced the enzymes were a big help and all the prayers and thoughtfulness of all of you an even bigger help. It's pretty easy to keep a good attitude when somebody is telling you every day how much they love you and care about you. Thank you all so much for all the support. Each one of you gave in your own special ways and my family and I appreciated every single gesture. What wonderful friends and loved ones we have. I hope you all know how much we appreciate you and love you in return.
Over the last few months, many of you have asked me two basic questions that I've had to put some thought into and I promised I would answer them in this forum. The first question I heard most often is, "Have you made any drastic changes in your life as a result of this?" The answer is no. A trial like this would cause anyone to pause and take stock in their life, and I'm no different. When I did my assessment, I concluded that I'm very happy with my station in life. My relationships with loved ones are good, I'm happy with my level of education, my family life, my spiritual life, my career, my hobbies, everything. The only minor change we've made as a whole family is in our diet. We're trying to eat more organic foods - the freshest, rawest, highest quality food we can find. Other than that, I have nothing to report, and I'm proud of that.
The second question I've been asked a lot is, "Have you learned anything from this?" Well, quite literally, I've learned a lot more about cancer than I ever wanted to know. Beyond that, I've also learned that there are a whole lot more people that care about us than I ever knew about. I think this is probably the case with most people. It's unfortunate that that we have to go through challenges like this to learn that lesson, though. This is going to sound very cliché, but I have found a lot of meaning in this, too: Just because somebody doesn't love you exactly the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all that they have. I've learned to accept whatever people want to give, in whatever manner they want to give it, and to appreciate the gift for exactly what it is. Sometimes it's hard to accept and love somebody just the way that they are, and not judge anything about them, but if you can do this, your relationships with people will be much, much closer. I've also learned that everything happens for a reason. God is in complete control. We live in a fallen world and sometimes the horrible events in our lives are a result of that, but nothing happens except by permission from God. This lesson really tested my faith and I had to explore it a great deal to come to that conclusion, but I'm confident it's right. There's a great deal of peace that comes with a greater understanding of the sovereignty of God. Thank you to Rich, for sparking that interest in my spirit - I'm not done with the journey, but I've learned a lot so far!
The most difficult thing has been to put life on hold for six months, especially for a Type A like me. I'm so looking forward to celebrating the holidays this year. Jacquelyn is a year old now and at such a fun age. I'm going to pull Jaden out of pre-school after October and just play with my girls all winter. Jaden will be in Kindergarten next fall and I will get started on building us a bigger house, but until then, I'm going to savor every moment I can with them and make a whole bunch of precious, blessed memories.
Just wanted to share the good news and get those questions answered for you. I probably won't send out any more updates since it's essentially over. Unless there's some bad news after the PET scan or surgery, but I'm confident there won't be. My next correspondence will likely be our annual Christmas letter.
Again, thanks to every one of you for the prayers and thoughts. They worked!! Praise God!!
Much love,
Tiffany
P.S. A shallow, vain little sidenote for the ladies: Revlon Colorstay nail polish. I saw a short clip on the Today show how the chemists at Revlon studied vehicle paint to come up with this formula. I've had one application on for 10 days and counting, two trips to the pool, numerous dishwashings, house scrubbings, kid's baths and my own showers, and not one nick, peel or fading of color. Not even a dull on the shine. Trust me. Buy it.
Cancer Update - July 2003
Hi all!!
I've been trying to attach a scan of an article that I promised some of you I would send out, but Outlook just doesn't want to send it. If any of you have any suggestions, it would be much appreciated. The alternative therapy doctor I'm working with, Dr. Miller, gave me permission to send it out. It's general healthy diet guidelines. Like I said before, it's not rocket science, but it can be difficult to do on our society. We just fight our battles where we can. I think some of what this article says may surprise you. For example, no vegetable juices. The juice alone has nutrients that are toxic without the fiber of the vegetable. It's important that you get the pulp to protect you from the toxicity. Also, she wants me to eat a lot of organic, which is not surprising, but organic whole milk, real butter, no sugar substitutes, real sugar (but in moderation, of course), free range meat, etc. I think you'd find much of this very interesting. I'll keep working on it, I promise. Dumb software. Aargh.
Anyway, I'm more than halfway through treatment now and feeling pretty okay. Treatments #4, 5, 6 and 7 haven't been that bad. I have my chemo on Wednesdays, I'm tired and feeling puny for a few days afterward, but am back in the saddle by Monday. Mom continues to take the kids for those days and she calls me every single day to check on me. The girls love the schedule, Grandma's house is one big vacation. My house is very quiet for those days and it seems to be easier to get back on my feet. The nausea has subsided to almost nothing and there's been no appetite suppression. In fact, I'm putting on weight. For a few days after a treatment, my throat and nose and mouth feel like I swallowed some bleach. There's a definite burned feeling and "chemical" taste in my mouth that doesn't go away. I gnaw on everything in my cupboards to cover the taste. Then I lay around all day because I'm tired. It only lasts for 3-4 days, but it's a deadly combination. The scale hasn't been my friend lately. Here's some good news though....I STILL HAVE MY HAIR!!! In fact, it just keeps growing. I'm convinced it's the enzymes I'm taking. Dean was sitting with me during my last treatment and one of the nurses told me that it was extraordinary that I still had it. I told her that it was thinning still, but only coming out in strands, not clumps. Then Dean asked her if there was a way that we could make only the GRAY hairs fall out. Yes, everyone in the room laughed at the comedian. Sigh. He can't be serious anywhere, not even in a chemo room full of cancer patients. Ha. Ya gotta love him. Since I haven't been feeling as badly as in the beginning, my attitude is back on track again, too. I have treatment #8 this Wednesday, then only 4 more to go, and I'm done. I'm on the downhill side of this, and am starting to see the finish line. I've never wished for winter to come so badly. Ha.
More good news - I've discovered a massage therapist who is working toward a specialized certification in oncology massage. She's taken me on as a case study and gives me a free massage after every treatment!! What a find, eh? I think a professional massage is the ultimate luxury, and I am thoroughly enjoying being her guinea pig.
Finally, here's the best news - I had a CT scan after treatment #4, and it showed that the cancer is ALMOST gone. When they staged the cancer in the beginning with the baseline CT scan, it showed tumors all throughout my lymphatic system - groin, abdomen, chest, between my lungs, armpits and neck. After 4 treatments, it only showed tumors in my abdomen and left armpit, and they were very close to 1 cm, which is considered a normal sized lymph node. Dr. Stewart was thrilled and said my "response has been excellent"!! Needless to say, I'm thrilled, too. I have one more treatment (#8, next Wednesday the 23rd), then we'll do another CT scan and we're expecting it to be completely clear. I still have to do the remaining 4 treatments, "just to make sure". It really stinks, but I really don't want this to come back, so I'm willing.
That's all I have time to write for now. More later...
Love you all VERY much!! Tiff
I've been trying to attach a scan of an article that I promised some of you I would send out, but Outlook just doesn't want to send it. If any of you have any suggestions, it would be much appreciated. The alternative therapy doctor I'm working with, Dr. Miller, gave me permission to send it out. It's general healthy diet guidelines. Like I said before, it's not rocket science, but it can be difficult to do on our society. We just fight our battles where we can. I think some of what this article says may surprise you. For example, no vegetable juices. The juice alone has nutrients that are toxic without the fiber of the vegetable. It's important that you get the pulp to protect you from the toxicity. Also, she wants me to eat a lot of organic, which is not surprising, but organic whole milk, real butter, no sugar substitutes, real sugar (but in moderation, of course), free range meat, etc. I think you'd find much of this very interesting. I'll keep working on it, I promise. Dumb software. Aargh.
Anyway, I'm more than halfway through treatment now and feeling pretty okay. Treatments #4, 5, 6 and 7 haven't been that bad. I have my chemo on Wednesdays, I'm tired and feeling puny for a few days afterward, but am back in the saddle by Monday. Mom continues to take the kids for those days and she calls me every single day to check on me. The girls love the schedule, Grandma's house is one big vacation. My house is very quiet for those days and it seems to be easier to get back on my feet. The nausea has subsided to almost nothing and there's been no appetite suppression. In fact, I'm putting on weight. For a few days after a treatment, my throat and nose and mouth feel like I swallowed some bleach. There's a definite burned feeling and "chemical" taste in my mouth that doesn't go away. I gnaw on everything in my cupboards to cover the taste. Then I lay around all day because I'm tired. It only lasts for 3-4 days, but it's a deadly combination. The scale hasn't been my friend lately. Here's some good news though....I STILL HAVE MY HAIR!!! In fact, it just keeps growing. I'm convinced it's the enzymes I'm taking. Dean was sitting with me during my last treatment and one of the nurses told me that it was extraordinary that I still had it. I told her that it was thinning still, but only coming out in strands, not clumps. Then Dean asked her if there was a way that we could make only the GRAY hairs fall out. Yes, everyone in the room laughed at the comedian. Sigh. He can't be serious anywhere, not even in a chemo room full of cancer patients. Ha. Ya gotta love him. Since I haven't been feeling as badly as in the beginning, my attitude is back on track again, too. I have treatment #8 this Wednesday, then only 4 more to go, and I'm done. I'm on the downhill side of this, and am starting to see the finish line. I've never wished for winter to come so badly. Ha.
More good news - I've discovered a massage therapist who is working toward a specialized certification in oncology massage. She's taken me on as a case study and gives me a free massage after every treatment!! What a find, eh? I think a professional massage is the ultimate luxury, and I am thoroughly enjoying being her guinea pig.
Finally, here's the best news - I had a CT scan after treatment #4, and it showed that the cancer is ALMOST gone. When they staged the cancer in the beginning with the baseline CT scan, it showed tumors all throughout my lymphatic system - groin, abdomen, chest, between my lungs, armpits and neck. After 4 treatments, it only showed tumors in my abdomen and left armpit, and they were very close to 1 cm, which is considered a normal sized lymph node. Dr. Stewart was thrilled and said my "response has been excellent"!! Needless to say, I'm thrilled, too. I have one more treatment (#8, next Wednesday the 23rd), then we'll do another CT scan and we're expecting it to be completely clear. I still have to do the remaining 4 treatments, "just to make sure". It really stinks, but I really don't want this to come back, so I'm willing.
That's all I have time to write for now. More later...
Love you all VERY much!! Tiff
Cancer Update - May 2003
Hello all,
First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who has called, emailed and sent cards. I'm so sorry that I can't reply to every one of you individually, I'm doing the best I can to stay on top of it, but the chemo has me very tired most of the time, and when I do have energy, there are other things that have been a higher priority, such as spending some lost time with my kids and family.
Anyway, I want you to know that I get every message, and read every card and email. They really do help, so please, keep them coming. Most of you just simply want to know how it's going. I thought I'd wait until I had a few treatments before I answered that question:
The first treatment was a breeze. My hopes soared after that and I thought this was definitely going to be do-able. All I had was a mild headache that never did go away until just recently, but that was it. They told me my hair would fall out about two weeks after my first treatment, so I had my friend, Barb, cut my hair VERY short in sort of a tousled, spikey-ish style all over my head (think, Halle Berry or Racquel Welch). My mom thought it would make the transition to "cue ball" much easier. Not just for me but for those around me that have to look at me all day. Especially my little ones who don't completely understand what's going on. It looks really great, she did a terrific job. The first day I went out, I had two different women with long gorgeous hair walk up to me and say, "Oh… I WISH I had the courage!! What a great style!" Barb and another friend, Diane, also bought me a bunch of great scarves and a book on how to wrap a bunch of different head-styles. What beautiful, thoughtful friends I have. My mom cautioned me against wearing it too turban-like. She doesn't think that would be the smartest thing to do right now. Ha. Just kidding.
The good news is, here it is, seven weeks after my first treatment, and I still have my hair. The chemo nurses are a little pessimistic and they keep telling me that it will fall out eventually, but I'm thinking positive, and we'll just see. It is thinning a little bit. There are a few more strands on the sink in the morning than there usually is, but I've always had a head full of thick hair, so it's going to take more than a few strands to make me look like a chemo patient. It certainly isn't falling out in clumps like they said it would. It has kind of ruined my idea for a halloween costume this year, though. Jacqui and I were going to go as Dr. Evil and mini-me. Hee hee.
The second treatment was definitely no fun. The headache got really bad and the nausea really hit me good, too. Dr. Stewart said the headache was a nerve reaction to the "V" drug in my "ABVD" regimen. She said it happens in about 10% of patients and should resolve itself by the third treatment. I spent all day in bed one day. It took me about four days to start feeling somewhat normal again. Mom went home then I had to have her come back again because I was exhausted just trying to take care of Jacqui during the day and get Jaden to school and back every day.
The third treatment was even a bit worse. I don't think it would've been so bad, except that the family was passing around a cold, and I caught it, too. It took me over a week to feel okay again.
Then one night last week, I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and we had to go to the ER at 4:00 a.m. Chemo makes your white cell count drop and if you have a fever, the doctor gets very concerned because that's one of the bodies responses to an infection. With no white cells to fight it, it can get very serious very quickly. Well, they gave me a shot of a drug called Nupegen in the ER, which stimulates the bone marrow to make more white cells. It worked really well, but it caused a lot of achiness and throbbing in my bones. Very weird and painful sensation. This happened the day before I was supposed to get my fourth treatment, but Dr. Stewart put it off until Tuesday, so I was able to relax and enjoy Memorial weekend, and get healthy again. I honestly felt better this past weekend than I have in a couple years. I had lots of energy and it felt so good. Just a side note, the doctor in the ER was someone Dean and I knew in college, Megan Hendricks. We didn't know she'd become a doctor and were very proud of her and had a few laughs while we were there (for FOUR hours, but that's another story I don't feel like whining about here).
Hopefully, the next treatment won't be so bad, since I don't have the cold to contend with anymore. I'll be a third of the way through (12 treatments, minimum). I'm supposed to have another CT scan soon, I think, to see how well it's working. I can tell you that I can't feel the lumps on my neck anymore, and they were the size of grapes at the beginning, so I know it's working. That's the only thing that keeps me going back. I can't believe that I actually get in the car and drive myself there willingly to let them do this to me every other week. It's all starting to mess with me mentally, a little bit. I realized last week that I haven't really felt 100% since I got pregnant with Jacquelyn, which was a year and a half ago. I'm really sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I'm already ready to be done with this nonsense, and I still have nine treatments to go. Sigh. Dad keeps telling me to "get my Smith up". :-) I'm trying.
They do have good drugs to counteract the side effects. One of the nausea prescriptions I have is $75 PER PILL!!! Can you believe that?! You have to wonder if the drug companies or the pharmacies aren't taking advantage of sick people who really need these drugs. But it works, and I'm grateful. I HATE throwing up, that has to be one of the worst feelings in the world. The Nupegen shots are $250.00 apiece. Crazy. Thank God for insurance. I'm also taking the enzymes, and Dr. Miller thinks that they're the reason why I still have my hair and am not experiencing drastic side effects. The chemo nurses tell me I'm just "sailing" through this. Whee. I have a dozen prescriptions in my cupboard to manage side effects. I can't imagine what they think a difficult patient is. I feel like I'm popping pills all day long.
Also, my neighbor, Colleen, and another friend, Bobbie, are coordinating meals to be brought to our house three nights a week by our friends in the hockey community. I can't believe that there are enough people out there in the hockey community who want to do this that nobody has to bring a meal twice in a six month period. That amazes me. Many of them don't even know me, they just know Dean and want to help HIM out. I'm just the lucky one who married the guy. The meals have been an absolute God-send. Most nights, I don't feel like cooking, and when I'm tired like this, we would probably end up doing a lot of take out or mac-n-cheeze. That's not how I should be eating, especially when I'm sick. Also, the chemo can suppress the appetite, but the meals have been fabulous and very appetizing. I'm getting a lot of good recipes, too. I'm defintely going to pass this kindness on one day, it's a terrific idea.
In total, it certainly hasn't been fun, but I am finding little bits of happy news here and there. Most of all, I’m so thankful for my mother. She's been amazing. She stays with me for a whole week after a treatment and takes care of my kids and house. She knows exactly what time Jaden has to be at school and never forgets show and tell or snack day, she knows how I like my towels folded and how Dean likes his meals cooked. She knows when to spoon feed me and when to tell me to get off the couch and get it myself. If she wasn't married, I'd marry her myself and move her in for good. I honestly don't know how people do this and continue working and living their lives. Maybe it's just because I don't HAVE to go to work, but I really can't fathom it. I guess I'm a wimp.
I'm going to email out a photo of the new hairdo and my kids as soon as I fix an error in my scanner. Again, thanks so much for all the emails, cards and phone calls. Thanks, more than anything, for the prayers. I believe in their power and that God is the great physician. If I'm meant to survive this, he'll see to it. Keep em coming. Our family doctor is a Christian man and he told me that this was a great opportunity to be a wonderful testimony for those around me and also that it gives me credibility in the future to support others who have to suffer through this or worse fates. I found that so inspirational. I hope I can use this somehow, someday. We'll see what He has in store.
I'll email again when I have more news. Until, then….
Much love, Tiff
First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who has called, emailed and sent cards. I'm so sorry that I can't reply to every one of you individually, I'm doing the best I can to stay on top of it, but the chemo has me very tired most of the time, and when I do have energy, there are other things that have been a higher priority, such as spending some lost time with my kids and family.
Anyway, I want you to know that I get every message, and read every card and email. They really do help, so please, keep them coming. Most of you just simply want to know how it's going. I thought I'd wait until I had a few treatments before I answered that question:
The first treatment was a breeze. My hopes soared after that and I thought this was definitely going to be do-able. All I had was a mild headache that never did go away until just recently, but that was it. They told me my hair would fall out about two weeks after my first treatment, so I had my friend, Barb, cut my hair VERY short in sort of a tousled, spikey-ish style all over my head (think, Halle Berry or Racquel Welch). My mom thought it would make the transition to "cue ball" much easier. Not just for me but for those around me that have to look at me all day. Especially my little ones who don't completely understand what's going on. It looks really great, she did a terrific job. The first day I went out, I had two different women with long gorgeous hair walk up to me and say, "Oh… I WISH I had the courage!! What a great style!" Barb and another friend, Diane, also bought me a bunch of great scarves and a book on how to wrap a bunch of different head-styles. What beautiful, thoughtful friends I have. My mom cautioned me against wearing it too turban-like. She doesn't think that would be the smartest thing to do right now. Ha. Just kidding.
The good news is, here it is, seven weeks after my first treatment, and I still have my hair. The chemo nurses are a little pessimistic and they keep telling me that it will fall out eventually, but I'm thinking positive, and we'll just see. It is thinning a little bit. There are a few more strands on the sink in the morning than there usually is, but I've always had a head full of thick hair, so it's going to take more than a few strands to make me look like a chemo patient. It certainly isn't falling out in clumps like they said it would. It has kind of ruined my idea for a halloween costume this year, though. Jacqui and I were going to go as Dr. Evil and mini-me. Hee hee.
The second treatment was definitely no fun. The headache got really bad and the nausea really hit me good, too. Dr. Stewart said the headache was a nerve reaction to the "V" drug in my "ABVD" regimen. She said it happens in about 10% of patients and should resolve itself by the third treatment. I spent all day in bed one day. It took me about four days to start feeling somewhat normal again. Mom went home then I had to have her come back again because I was exhausted just trying to take care of Jacqui during the day and get Jaden to school and back every day.
The third treatment was even a bit worse. I don't think it would've been so bad, except that the family was passing around a cold, and I caught it, too. It took me over a week to feel okay again.
Then one night last week, I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and we had to go to the ER at 4:00 a.m. Chemo makes your white cell count drop and if you have a fever, the doctor gets very concerned because that's one of the bodies responses to an infection. With no white cells to fight it, it can get very serious very quickly. Well, they gave me a shot of a drug called Nupegen in the ER, which stimulates the bone marrow to make more white cells. It worked really well, but it caused a lot of achiness and throbbing in my bones. Very weird and painful sensation. This happened the day before I was supposed to get my fourth treatment, but Dr. Stewart put it off until Tuesday, so I was able to relax and enjoy Memorial weekend, and get healthy again. I honestly felt better this past weekend than I have in a couple years. I had lots of energy and it felt so good. Just a side note, the doctor in the ER was someone Dean and I knew in college, Megan Hendricks. We didn't know she'd become a doctor and were very proud of her and had a few laughs while we were there (for FOUR hours, but that's another story I don't feel like whining about here).
Hopefully, the next treatment won't be so bad, since I don't have the cold to contend with anymore. I'll be a third of the way through (12 treatments, minimum). I'm supposed to have another CT scan soon, I think, to see how well it's working. I can tell you that I can't feel the lumps on my neck anymore, and they were the size of grapes at the beginning, so I know it's working. That's the only thing that keeps me going back. I can't believe that I actually get in the car and drive myself there willingly to let them do this to me every other week. It's all starting to mess with me mentally, a little bit. I realized last week that I haven't really felt 100% since I got pregnant with Jacquelyn, which was a year and a half ago. I'm really sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I'm already ready to be done with this nonsense, and I still have nine treatments to go. Sigh. Dad keeps telling me to "get my Smith up". :-) I'm trying.
They do have good drugs to counteract the side effects. One of the nausea prescriptions I have is $75 PER PILL!!! Can you believe that?! You have to wonder if the drug companies or the pharmacies aren't taking advantage of sick people who really need these drugs. But it works, and I'm grateful. I HATE throwing up, that has to be one of the worst feelings in the world. The Nupegen shots are $250.00 apiece. Crazy. Thank God for insurance. I'm also taking the enzymes, and Dr. Miller thinks that they're the reason why I still have my hair and am not experiencing drastic side effects. The chemo nurses tell me I'm just "sailing" through this. Whee. I have a dozen prescriptions in my cupboard to manage side effects. I can't imagine what they think a difficult patient is. I feel like I'm popping pills all day long.
Also, my neighbor, Colleen, and another friend, Bobbie, are coordinating meals to be brought to our house three nights a week by our friends in the hockey community. I can't believe that there are enough people out there in the hockey community who want to do this that nobody has to bring a meal twice in a six month period. That amazes me. Many of them don't even know me, they just know Dean and want to help HIM out. I'm just the lucky one who married the guy. The meals have been an absolute God-send. Most nights, I don't feel like cooking, and when I'm tired like this, we would probably end up doing a lot of take out or mac-n-cheeze. That's not how I should be eating, especially when I'm sick. Also, the chemo can suppress the appetite, but the meals have been fabulous and very appetizing. I'm getting a lot of good recipes, too. I'm defintely going to pass this kindness on one day, it's a terrific idea.
In total, it certainly hasn't been fun, but I am finding little bits of happy news here and there. Most of all, I’m so thankful for my mother. She's been amazing. She stays with me for a whole week after a treatment and takes care of my kids and house. She knows exactly what time Jaden has to be at school and never forgets show and tell or snack day, she knows how I like my towels folded and how Dean likes his meals cooked. She knows when to spoon feed me and when to tell me to get off the couch and get it myself. If she wasn't married, I'd marry her myself and move her in for good. I honestly don't know how people do this and continue working and living their lives. Maybe it's just because I don't HAVE to go to work, but I really can't fathom it. I guess I'm a wimp.
I'm going to email out a photo of the new hairdo and my kids as soon as I fix an error in my scanner. Again, thanks so much for all the emails, cards and phone calls. Thanks, more than anything, for the prayers. I believe in their power and that God is the great physician. If I'm meant to survive this, he'll see to it. Keep em coming. Our family doctor is a Christian man and he told me that this was a great opportunity to be a wonderful testimony for those around me and also that it gives me credibility in the future to support others who have to suffer through this or worse fates. I found that so inspirational. I hope I can use this somehow, someday. We'll see what He has in store.
I'll email again when I have more news. Until, then….
Much love, Tiff
Cancer Update - April 2003
Dear Loved Ones,
First and foremost, I want to thank every one of you so much for all the support these last couple weeks. When we got the big phone call, it was quite a shock, and it has taken some time for it all to sink in. I want you to know, though, that the more I learn about this and educate myself about it, the better I feel about it, and the more confident I am that it's beat-able. My attitude right now is pretty positive.
Here's the latest: I had a CT scan last Monday and it showed the cancer is spread throughout my lymphatic system, but there is no organ involvement at this point. The bone marrow sample they took came back negative for malignancy as well, I was VERY happy about that. When you get this type of cancer, they "stage" it on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being the best case scenario (tumors localized in one area) and 4 being the worst case scenario (it has spread outside the lymphatic system with organ or bone marrow involvement). I am at a stage 3B (the "B" means that I've had systemic, or system-wide, type symptoms, such as fatigue, fever/chills, and night sweats). Even at this advanced stage, they still give me an 85% prognosis. That means that, statistically, 85% of past cases in stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma have been cured.
I had an internal catheter put in my aorta last Thursday, which is where they'll administer the chemicals every two weeks. I get my first treatment this coming Thursday morning at 10:00. They'll give me treatments every two weeks for the next six months. At some point along the way, they'll do another CT scan to make sure it's working. At the point when the CT scan shows no more tumors, they'll give me two more treatments, then call it done. It will then be "in remission" for five years, and if there's no recurrance in that time, they'll start using the word "cured" with me. If I can get to that point, then it's life happily ever after for me. It doesn't reduce my life expectancy at all, although it does put me at a slightly higher risk to develop other types of cancers later in life. The goal of Hodgkin's disease treatment is total cure, not simply tumor mass reduction or life extension.
Due to various circumstances, I haven't actually met my oncologist yet (Dr. Mary Stewart), but I've talked with all the nurses, lab technicians, and other doctors that I've been dealing with, and they all sing her praises like she's an angel. A wonderful reputation preceeds her, so I'm not too worried. I'll meet her for the first time this Thursday when I go in for my first treatment.
I am also working with an alternative therapy doctor who will be my guiding light on nutrition and digestive enzyme therapy to support the chemotherapy. She's amazing and has given me tons of information already. It amazes me how much we study diet and nutrition in our society and yet so many of us really haven't a clue. I want to encourage all of you to go to this website and educate yourself a little bit, just about digestive enzymes, and what they do: www.loomisenzymes.com I think you'll be surprised. We try so hard to eat healthy, and although it's not rocket science, it is difficult to do 100% correctly in a Western civilized society. Much of our food is over processed, especially when we eat out in restaurants and such. But the key is, if your body toxic and is not digesting well, it doesn't matter how good you eat, it doesn't do much good. My goal with the alternative therapy is just to be the healthiest cancer patient I can be, if there is such a thing. Chemotherapy is poison. Basically, they try to kill the cancer before they kill you. I want my organs to be as healthy as can be so they can process the toxins quickly and get them out of my body, and that's where Dr. Miller comes in. Fatigue is one of the most severe side effects of chemo, so the nutritional support should also help me with energy levels so I can continue to function day to day. As if it's not fatigue-ing enough, chasing two little ones around all day, eh?
They've come a very long way with chemo in the last several years and they tell me that the side effects aren't nearly as severe as they used to be. They have good ways to combat the nausea and other toxicities, without reducing the effectiveness of it. The fatigue and hair loss are still pretty inevitable, but I can deal with those. I'm kind of looking forward to not having to shave my legs for six months - ha. Needless to say, Dean's looking forward to it, too. Some nights he swears he's sleeping with a sasquatch. Ha. Actually, many people are able to continue working and living their lives fairly normally anymore when they go through this, so I really believe it will be okay. The chemo nurse tells me that if I get the chemicals on Thursdays, my worst feeling days will probably be Saturday and Sunday when my white cell count drops. As that count climbs back up again, I should start to feel better and better. So it's going to be a bit of a roller coaster the next six months, with good days and bad days.
That's about all there is to know at this point. Again, I'm pretty confident with the 85% prognosis. I feel that's a good, strong number and it makes me feel pretty confident. I really just think this is a bump in the road for me. We'll just deal with it, get through it and then get on with life. At this point, I don't believe in my heart that the Lord intends to take me home with this one, although I haven't figured out yet why I'm supposed to go through this trial. I'm sure it will be revealed to me when the time is right. The Lord commanded us to be strong and of good faith, for He is with us wherever we go. I'm trying.
Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart, for caring so much. I'll keep you posted as often as I can. I love you all.
Tiff
First and foremost, I want to thank every one of you so much for all the support these last couple weeks. When we got the big phone call, it was quite a shock, and it has taken some time for it all to sink in. I want you to know, though, that the more I learn about this and educate myself about it, the better I feel about it, and the more confident I am that it's beat-able. My attitude right now is pretty positive.
Here's the latest: I had a CT scan last Monday and it showed the cancer is spread throughout my lymphatic system, but there is no organ involvement at this point. The bone marrow sample they took came back negative for malignancy as well, I was VERY happy about that. When you get this type of cancer, they "stage" it on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being the best case scenario (tumors localized in one area) and 4 being the worst case scenario (it has spread outside the lymphatic system with organ or bone marrow involvement). I am at a stage 3B (the "B" means that I've had systemic, or system-wide, type symptoms, such as fatigue, fever/chills, and night sweats). Even at this advanced stage, they still give me an 85% prognosis. That means that, statistically, 85% of past cases in stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma have been cured.
I had an internal catheter put in my aorta last Thursday, which is where they'll administer the chemicals every two weeks. I get my first treatment this coming Thursday morning at 10:00. They'll give me treatments every two weeks for the next six months. At some point along the way, they'll do another CT scan to make sure it's working. At the point when the CT scan shows no more tumors, they'll give me two more treatments, then call it done. It will then be "in remission" for five years, and if there's no recurrance in that time, they'll start using the word "cured" with me. If I can get to that point, then it's life happily ever after for me. It doesn't reduce my life expectancy at all, although it does put me at a slightly higher risk to develop other types of cancers later in life. The goal of Hodgkin's disease treatment is total cure, not simply tumor mass reduction or life extension.
Due to various circumstances, I haven't actually met my oncologist yet (Dr. Mary Stewart), but I've talked with all the nurses, lab technicians, and other doctors that I've been dealing with, and they all sing her praises like she's an angel. A wonderful reputation preceeds her, so I'm not too worried. I'll meet her for the first time this Thursday when I go in for my first treatment.
I am also working with an alternative therapy doctor who will be my guiding light on nutrition and digestive enzyme therapy to support the chemotherapy. She's amazing and has given me tons of information already. It amazes me how much we study diet and nutrition in our society and yet so many of us really haven't a clue. I want to encourage all of you to go to this website and educate yourself a little bit, just about digestive enzymes, and what they do: www.loomisenzymes.com I think you'll be surprised. We try so hard to eat healthy, and although it's not rocket science, it is difficult to do 100% correctly in a Western civilized society. Much of our food is over processed, especially when we eat out in restaurants and such. But the key is, if your body toxic and is not digesting well, it doesn't matter how good you eat, it doesn't do much good. My goal with the alternative therapy is just to be the healthiest cancer patient I can be, if there is such a thing. Chemotherapy is poison. Basically, they try to kill the cancer before they kill you. I want my organs to be as healthy as can be so they can process the toxins quickly and get them out of my body, and that's where Dr. Miller comes in. Fatigue is one of the most severe side effects of chemo, so the nutritional support should also help me with energy levels so I can continue to function day to day. As if it's not fatigue-ing enough, chasing two little ones around all day, eh?
They've come a very long way with chemo in the last several years and they tell me that the side effects aren't nearly as severe as they used to be. They have good ways to combat the nausea and other toxicities, without reducing the effectiveness of it. The fatigue and hair loss are still pretty inevitable, but I can deal with those. I'm kind of looking forward to not having to shave my legs for six months - ha. Needless to say, Dean's looking forward to it, too. Some nights he swears he's sleeping with a sasquatch. Ha. Actually, many people are able to continue working and living their lives fairly normally anymore when they go through this, so I really believe it will be okay. The chemo nurse tells me that if I get the chemicals on Thursdays, my worst feeling days will probably be Saturday and Sunday when my white cell count drops. As that count climbs back up again, I should start to feel better and better. So it's going to be a bit of a roller coaster the next six months, with good days and bad days.
That's about all there is to know at this point. Again, I'm pretty confident with the 85% prognosis. I feel that's a good, strong number and it makes me feel pretty confident. I really just think this is a bump in the road for me. We'll just deal with it, get through it and then get on with life. At this point, I don't believe in my heart that the Lord intends to take me home with this one, although I haven't figured out yet why I'm supposed to go through this trial. I'm sure it will be revealed to me when the time is right. The Lord commanded us to be strong and of good faith, for He is with us wherever we go. I'm trying.
Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart, for caring so much. I'll keep you posted as often as I can. I love you all.
Tiff
Michigan Pro Hockey Tour - September 1998
Hi all!!
Hope this letter finds you well. Dean and I have had an exciting summer. I have so much to tell you I don’t know where to begin. I suppose chronologically would make sense.
Dean finished off the hockey season last spring with the Milwaukee Admirals, and did very well. They made it to the second round of playoffs and ended up getting eliminated by the team that ultimately won the championship. He got a lot of ice time and scored more goals there in 10 weeks than he did all season in Grand Rapids. It pays to have a good coach who believes in you, I guess. I drove back and forth between Milwaukee and Grand Rapids that last month I was there and got to see some of his games at the Bradley Center and at the Rosemont in Chicago. The Bradley Center is huge, they played in front of about 15,000 people regularly - that was exciting.
I spent April going back and forth between Michigan and Alaska. I had applied with ad agencies in Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, and I sent only 2 resumes to Anchorage. The Nerland Agency in Anchorage was the only one that bit and they made me a very nice offer. I interviewed for two days and they ended up offering me a higher position with more responsibility by the time we were finished, so I must’ve impressed them. There are 25 employees and I report to the President (Rick Nerland) - he’s a really good guy, I like him a lot. I love working there, it’s everything that I’ve always thought an ad agency should be. It’s a creative powerhouse and the atmosphere is so fun all the time. Even the decor is fun. There are teal walls and yellow walls, teal leather couches in the reception area and games and things to stimulate creativity everywhere - Rubik’s cubes and other tavern toys, putting greens, hula hoops, basketball hoops, there’s even a heavy bag hanging back in the creative area for those really rough days when you need to get out frustrations (people really do use it - it’s great!) There’s a whole area set up and designed especially for brainstorming sessions and the formal conference room is designed for client presentations. There’s always music playing and laughter and yet, people work their hind-ends off. It’s not uncommon to see the AE’s or the Creative Director there still working at 7:00 - 8:00 at night. They love what they do and it shows. And it’s contagious - it’s a great team to be on. I plan on staying for quite a while.
Rick is paying for my college tuition, too, so I’m back in school hacking away at that MBA. I’m on schedule to graduate in the spring with a 4.0 and have already begun work on my thesis. It should be interesting, I’m going to try to quantify the value of having a corporate intranet. The Nerland Agency has an interactive department where we do CD-ROM development, interactive kiosks and a large amount of corporate intranet content, so hopefully my research can be used as a tool for us to acquire more clients like that. We’re working on a pitch right now that could be worth a million dollars to the agency if we get it. I’d meet my entire years quota in one fell swoop, so I’m working like crazy to pull it together. We give the presentation in two weeks and they’ll probably take a month or more to decide. If we get it, it will definitely be party-time in Anchorage that night!!! I’ll keep you posted.
If all goes according to plan, I’ll graduate the first of May, then deliver a baby a couple weeks later. Yes, we’re pregnant again, and taking it very easy this time. I’ve stopped working out for the time being and do a lot of studying laying flat on my back on the couch!! My first doctor appointment is in two weeks, so I’ll at least wait to get the okay from him then. We’ll see. Dean is a gem, he cooks breakfast every day and calls 2-3 times a day to check on me. My big, rough, macho, professional wrestler wanna-be has turned into a pussycat. Ha - bless his heart. We’re just about 6 weeks along now (the heart just started beating, according to my books - way cool) so we have about 2 weeks to go, to beat our last record. I sure hope this little guy hangs on, we’re excited all over again. I said last time that we would probably wait to tell anybody the next time it happened, just to make sure, but we can’t stand it. I took four tests that morning, just to be sure it was positive. What an obsessive, eh?
We closed on our very first home the same day we found out we were pregnant. Talk about a big day for the Trboyevich’s. I didn’t think closing was ever going to come for this condo! We lived out of a suitcase for 4 months while we waited for it to be built, then, because of complications with the builders financing, we had to wait another month to close. It was ridiculous. Apparently, Dean & I were the only ones in the association that wanted to go with conventional financing (we wanted to put 20% down), so the builder never qualified for that type of financing. When we made our offer, and told them that’s what we were going to do, they had to jump through a bunch of hoops and pay a $2500 fee for us to be able to do that. So that drug it out longer that it should have. But, we’re in and settled and life is good. I love the place - it’s 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, about 1800 square feet. I got to pick out all the colors and had some custom things done, like a jacuzzi tub and a gas fireplace. I had a french door put into the office and it’s so pretty!! Dean doesn’t see the practicality in having see through doors inside the house, but he tolerates it because I love it. Ha. What a guy.
We did discover, however, upon unpacking our stuff, that we’d had a bunch of things stolen (by the movers in Grand Rapids) Every time I find something else missing, I just get livid. I get furious all over again and it takes me hours to calm down. I’ve never been so angry in all my life. We’ve valued everything that’s missing so far at over $10,000. Our stereo and all of our CD’s are gone (about 300), my pearls and other random stuff - blankets, trivets, some books, all my software CD’s, my calculators, my Bible, and even our college degrees, which I thought was really odd. I think they were probably just in the box with something else that they wanted. I’m fighting with the moving company right now, but they tell me that they’re only liable for .60 / lb. I screamed at the guy on the phone “How much do you think a rope of pearls weigh???!!! You’re telling me you’re only going to reimburse me .60 for a $1500 string of pearls!!!???” I was totally irrational at that point. I’ve since talked with a lawyer and the police in Grand Rapids are investigating it. Just so everyone knows, DO NOT use University Movers in Grand Rapids. If they don’t make this right, and soon, I’m going to hassle them to death. I’m going to write the ombudsman and the editors of all the local rags. I’ve never been a vengeful person, but I’ve never wanted to hurt somebody so bad in all my life. There’s nothing worse than a thief. I know that it’s all material, and can be replaced, but the Bible was a gift from my brother’s wife, when I was 14, the year after he died, and the pearls were a family heirloom - a gift from my grandmother. I wore them on my wedding day as my “something old.” They had such sentimental value and it makes me sick to think that they’re probably in some sleazy pawn shop somewhere in Michigan. I haven’t been able to bring myself to tell grandma yet. I keep hoping they’ll turn up. We had insurance, so everything is covered, but I want the movers to pay for it, if at all possible, and I think it’s worth the fight.
Anyway, if I stay on this subject, I’m going to work myself up again. I know it’s not worth it, but it’s really hard not to get mad. I’ve got enough on my plate as it is, like I really need to fight with these people in addition to everything else. Sigh.
I don’t mean to stay so negative, but this summer has been awful in terms of weather, too. It’s been one of the coldest, cloudiest summers I can remember. We’re due to have a stormy winter, too. The air force base here is predicting 159 inches of snow!!! And they’ve never been more than 3 inches off in their predictions! Can you imagine?? We’re looking at over 13 feet of snow!! Dean is chomping at the bit to rev up his snowmobiles, he can’t wait, he’s so excited. We have a garage for the first time ever and I’m so thankful. Dean doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal (he’s grumbling because he had to paint it and seal the floor) but he’ll appreciate it this winter, I’m sure.
He signed with the Anchorage Aces again this year, and it was all over the news that he was back in town. He had a really nice write up in the paper, too. He told them that he could probably play one or two more seasons at the IHL level, but his wife has talents and goals, too, and we decided to come back here so I could pursue those. What a sweetie - they actually printed that. He’s got a job in sales at an industrial supply place, and he’s going to work that this winter, too. They’re a big sponsor of the Aces and they’re completely supportive of him. They’re going to buy him a laptop so he can work on the road and give him the time off he needs to travel. They want their company name on the back of his jersey, too, so it all worked out really well there. He’s working with some really nice people and likes it so far. He’s still going to pursue firefighting when that opportunity comes around next fall, but wants to develop some other skills in the meantime, which I agree is smart. I hope we’re both able to see each other this winter, I think we’re going to stay pretty busy!!
He went fishing for halibut this weekend and brought home about 25 meals worth. I love fresh halibut - we’re cooking some tonight out at my parents house. And that brings us up to date as far as what we’ve been doing. I’m really getting into school, and have a lot of work to do to graduate in May, so I probably won’t write much again until Christmas break. I hope you all have a wonderful fall - I’ll be thinking about you!!
Much love,
Tiff and Dino
Hope this letter finds you well. Dean and I have had an exciting summer. I have so much to tell you I don’t know where to begin. I suppose chronologically would make sense.
Dean finished off the hockey season last spring with the Milwaukee Admirals, and did very well. They made it to the second round of playoffs and ended up getting eliminated by the team that ultimately won the championship. He got a lot of ice time and scored more goals there in 10 weeks than he did all season in Grand Rapids. It pays to have a good coach who believes in you, I guess. I drove back and forth between Milwaukee and Grand Rapids that last month I was there and got to see some of his games at the Bradley Center and at the Rosemont in Chicago. The Bradley Center is huge, they played in front of about 15,000 people regularly - that was exciting.
I spent April going back and forth between Michigan and Alaska. I had applied with ad agencies in Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, and I sent only 2 resumes to Anchorage. The Nerland Agency in Anchorage was the only one that bit and they made me a very nice offer. I interviewed for two days and they ended up offering me a higher position with more responsibility by the time we were finished, so I must’ve impressed them. There are 25 employees and I report to the President (Rick Nerland) - he’s a really good guy, I like him a lot. I love working there, it’s everything that I’ve always thought an ad agency should be. It’s a creative powerhouse and the atmosphere is so fun all the time. Even the decor is fun. There are teal walls and yellow walls, teal leather couches in the reception area and games and things to stimulate creativity everywhere - Rubik’s cubes and other tavern toys, putting greens, hula hoops, basketball hoops, there’s even a heavy bag hanging back in the creative area for those really rough days when you need to get out frustrations (people really do use it - it’s great!) There’s a whole area set up and designed especially for brainstorming sessions and the formal conference room is designed for client presentations. There’s always music playing and laughter and yet, people work their hind-ends off. It’s not uncommon to see the AE’s or the Creative Director there still working at 7:00 - 8:00 at night. They love what they do and it shows. And it’s contagious - it’s a great team to be on. I plan on staying for quite a while.
Rick is paying for my college tuition, too, so I’m back in school hacking away at that MBA. I’m on schedule to graduate in the spring with a 4.0 and have already begun work on my thesis. It should be interesting, I’m going to try to quantify the value of having a corporate intranet. The Nerland Agency has an interactive department where we do CD-ROM development, interactive kiosks and a large amount of corporate intranet content, so hopefully my research can be used as a tool for us to acquire more clients like that. We’re working on a pitch right now that could be worth a million dollars to the agency if we get it. I’d meet my entire years quota in one fell swoop, so I’m working like crazy to pull it together. We give the presentation in two weeks and they’ll probably take a month or more to decide. If we get it, it will definitely be party-time in Anchorage that night!!! I’ll keep you posted.
If all goes according to plan, I’ll graduate the first of May, then deliver a baby a couple weeks later. Yes, we’re pregnant again, and taking it very easy this time. I’ve stopped working out for the time being and do a lot of studying laying flat on my back on the couch!! My first doctor appointment is in two weeks, so I’ll at least wait to get the okay from him then. We’ll see. Dean is a gem, he cooks breakfast every day and calls 2-3 times a day to check on me. My big, rough, macho, professional wrestler wanna-be has turned into a pussycat. Ha - bless his heart. We’re just about 6 weeks along now (the heart just started beating, according to my books - way cool) so we have about 2 weeks to go, to beat our last record. I sure hope this little guy hangs on, we’re excited all over again. I said last time that we would probably wait to tell anybody the next time it happened, just to make sure, but we can’t stand it. I took four tests that morning, just to be sure it was positive. What an obsessive, eh?
We closed on our very first home the same day we found out we were pregnant. Talk about a big day for the Trboyevich’s. I didn’t think closing was ever going to come for this condo! We lived out of a suitcase for 4 months while we waited for it to be built, then, because of complications with the builders financing, we had to wait another month to close. It was ridiculous. Apparently, Dean & I were the only ones in the association that wanted to go with conventional financing (we wanted to put 20% down), so the builder never qualified for that type of financing. When we made our offer, and told them that’s what we were going to do, they had to jump through a bunch of hoops and pay a $2500 fee for us to be able to do that. So that drug it out longer that it should have. But, we’re in and settled and life is good. I love the place - it’s 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, about 1800 square feet. I got to pick out all the colors and had some custom things done, like a jacuzzi tub and a gas fireplace. I had a french door put into the office and it’s so pretty!! Dean doesn’t see the practicality in having see through doors inside the house, but he tolerates it because I love it. Ha. What a guy.
We did discover, however, upon unpacking our stuff, that we’d had a bunch of things stolen (by the movers in Grand Rapids) Every time I find something else missing, I just get livid. I get furious all over again and it takes me hours to calm down. I’ve never been so angry in all my life. We’ve valued everything that’s missing so far at over $10,000. Our stereo and all of our CD’s are gone (about 300), my pearls and other random stuff - blankets, trivets, some books, all my software CD’s, my calculators, my Bible, and even our college degrees, which I thought was really odd. I think they were probably just in the box with something else that they wanted. I’m fighting with the moving company right now, but they tell me that they’re only liable for .60 / lb. I screamed at the guy on the phone “How much do you think a rope of pearls weigh???!!! You’re telling me you’re only going to reimburse me .60 for a $1500 string of pearls!!!???” I was totally irrational at that point. I’ve since talked with a lawyer and the police in Grand Rapids are investigating it. Just so everyone knows, DO NOT use University Movers in Grand Rapids. If they don’t make this right, and soon, I’m going to hassle them to death. I’m going to write the ombudsman and the editors of all the local rags. I’ve never been a vengeful person, but I’ve never wanted to hurt somebody so bad in all my life. There’s nothing worse than a thief. I know that it’s all material, and can be replaced, but the Bible was a gift from my brother’s wife, when I was 14, the year after he died, and the pearls were a family heirloom - a gift from my grandmother. I wore them on my wedding day as my “something old.” They had such sentimental value and it makes me sick to think that they’re probably in some sleazy pawn shop somewhere in Michigan. I haven’t been able to bring myself to tell grandma yet. I keep hoping they’ll turn up. We had insurance, so everything is covered, but I want the movers to pay for it, if at all possible, and I think it’s worth the fight.
Anyway, if I stay on this subject, I’m going to work myself up again. I know it’s not worth it, but it’s really hard not to get mad. I’ve got enough on my plate as it is, like I really need to fight with these people in addition to everything else. Sigh.
I don’t mean to stay so negative, but this summer has been awful in terms of weather, too. It’s been one of the coldest, cloudiest summers I can remember. We’re due to have a stormy winter, too. The air force base here is predicting 159 inches of snow!!! And they’ve never been more than 3 inches off in their predictions! Can you imagine?? We’re looking at over 13 feet of snow!! Dean is chomping at the bit to rev up his snowmobiles, he can’t wait, he’s so excited. We have a garage for the first time ever and I’m so thankful. Dean doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal (he’s grumbling because he had to paint it and seal the floor) but he’ll appreciate it this winter, I’m sure.
He signed with the Anchorage Aces again this year, and it was all over the news that he was back in town. He had a really nice write up in the paper, too. He told them that he could probably play one or two more seasons at the IHL level, but his wife has talents and goals, too, and we decided to come back here so I could pursue those. What a sweetie - they actually printed that. He’s got a job in sales at an industrial supply place, and he’s going to work that this winter, too. They’re a big sponsor of the Aces and they’re completely supportive of him. They’re going to buy him a laptop so he can work on the road and give him the time off he needs to travel. They want their company name on the back of his jersey, too, so it all worked out really well there. He’s working with some really nice people and likes it so far. He’s still going to pursue firefighting when that opportunity comes around next fall, but wants to develop some other skills in the meantime, which I agree is smart. I hope we’re both able to see each other this winter, I think we’re going to stay pretty busy!!
He went fishing for halibut this weekend and brought home about 25 meals worth. I love fresh halibut - we’re cooking some tonight out at my parents house. And that brings us up to date as far as what we’ve been doing. I’m really getting into school, and have a lot of work to do to graduate in May, so I probably won’t write much again until Christmas break. I hope you all have a wonderful fall - I’ll be thinking about you!!
Much love,
Tiff and Dino
Michigan Pro Hockey Tour - April / May 1998
Hi everyone!
Well, guess what? This will be my last letter because Dean and I are moving home and I’ll get to see most of you on a regular basis and can tell you in person what happening in our lives. For everyone who doesn’t live in Alaska, I’ll still keep in touch, though, just probably not monthly.
A lot has happened in the last two months so I won’t keep you in suspense: Dean was traded to the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday, March 25th. The Griffins owed them a player and out of everyone on the team, they wanted Dean so that was quite a compliment. Dean’s happy about the trade because he thinks the Admirals are a better team, they’re battling fewer injuries than the Griffins, and he thinks they’ll go further in playoffs, thus earning him a bigger bonus. His first weekend, he played in front of 15,000 people at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee and he got a goal and an assist. He gets a lot of ice time and more scoring opportunities so, again, he’s very happy to be there.
I spent the first weekend in Milwaukee with him, but then he left to go on a 10 day road trip and I came back to Grand Rapids. A couple days later, on April 1st, I flew to Alaska for a job interview with the Nerland Agency and they liked me so well, they ended up offering me a management position in the agency, rather than the account executive job that I applied for. I was very excited and yes, I accepted the job. My first day is April 27th. Also, payment for schooling was part of the job offer, so if all goes according to plan, by the end of next summer, I’ll be the proud owner of an MBA. I’ll keep you posted. Dean will just fly to Alaska instead of Grand Rapids when playoffs are over.
I stayed with my sister while I was there, and Pete and I were flipping through the channels one day and Fox had one of Dean’s games on TV! It was so neat to watch him on television! He was part of the play of the game, so the camera zoomed in on him for about 30-40 seconds while the color commentators talked about how he was a great addition to the Milwaukee team, a very strong defenseman and very solid on the defensive line. They told a little bit about his history and everything. It was so great! No honorable mentions about the wife at home, though. Oh well. Ha.
I came back from Alaska last week and headed to Chicago where Dean had one more game. It was his last regular season game on Easter Sunday. Chip Aiken and family joined me and it was great to see them, they’re doing well. Nathan graduates this year and they had all just returned from a trip to Nashville and Orlando, where Tiffany and the marching band she plays in got to perform down main street at Disney World. Chip and Annette were chaperones for all the kids. VERY generous parents, aren’t they? I’m glad Dean didn’t play for Chicago this year because it was a boring performance. The hockey was good, but it’s such an entertainment industry anymore and I missed all the fun promotions and games that they usually have between periods. Shannon Miller, the gymnast, was in the crowd that day, and they showed her on the readerboard but that was about it. At the beginning, when they introduced the players, they had laser lights and fire and smoke, so that was neat, but pretty standard anymore. I spent most of the time visiting with the Aikens.
After the game, I went back to Milwaukee again with Dean until he had to leave for playoffs in Houston, TX. Just to kill some time, we took a tour of the Miller Brewing Company. That was a fun couple of hours. We went with one of the other guys on the team and his wife. They didn’t really explain the brewing process so much, but rather, gave a history of the company and showed us the bottling, canning and shipping areas. Did you know that their canning machines can a case of beer every second? Amazing. Their shipping warehouse is 200,000 square feet and stocked full of beer from floor to ceiling. Every last bottle and can in there is shipped out and restocked every 48 hours. That’s a lot of beer, America. We saw the huge vats where they make the mash and process everything. It was about 90 degrees in that room from all the boiling wort. We also walked around in the cave where they stored the beer in the 1800’s to keep it cool during the summer. Then at the end of the tour, we sat in this great little tavern and they let us try 8oz samples of different Miller products. That company makes a LOT of beer. I was surprised. Although I don’t know why, I am married to a hockey player, after all. Dean told me that the refrigerator in the locker room is always stocked from donations from the company and the guys certainly take advantage of it.
Anyway, I’m back in Grand Rapids now to pack up the house and say farewell to everyone. My computer will be packed up next Wednesday and I won’t unpack it again until we get settled in a house in Alaska. It may take a couple months to find a place and close on it, but as soon as we do, I’ll send out an email and let you all know our new address for your Christmas card list. In the meantime, I’ll be living with Dad and Mom in Eagle River and you can reach me there:
c/o Ron & Gayle Smith
PO Box 770884
Eagle River AK 99577
(907) 696-2293
smith1000@prodigy.net email
Aside from all the above excitement, it’s been a great couple months. I had a good birthday in March. Mom sent me a present from her trip to Mexico and wanted me to open it right away but I made her wait until my birthday. I called her and had her on the phone while I opened it. It was a gorgeous chess set. It’s hand carved from green and ivory stone and has an Aztec design on it, so it matches my southwest decor. The green pieces look like English royalty with the king, queen, bishop, knights, and the pawns are men dressed for battle in armor. The white pieces are Aztec Indians with a chief, his squaw, and Indian warriors for pawns. It’s so beautiful, I absolutely love it and Dean & I have played several games on it already. Dean had a hockey game the day of my birthday, so the night before, we tried to go out to dinner, but it was blizzard weather. We tried several restaurants in town but every place closed early. We ended up going to the grocery store and we came home and I cooked. We went to Charley’s Crab a couple days later, though, and it was wonderful. Also, as a little gift to myself and the women in my family, I had a picture done of my great grandmother, grandmother, mother, sister and niece. FIVE generations of women in one photo - it is SO neat. I framed it and I’ll cherish it forever.
Dean’s birthday is coming up in June, but if they do well in playoffs, he’ll be in the championship round at that time. If they make it that far, and I manage to get us in a house by then, I’m going to buy him a big screen TV for his birthday, then have a party at our new house and we can all watch the games on his TV! ha. Could be a lot of fun, yes? I hope it happens.
Last week, we had a fantastic thunderstorm. I love watching electric storms because we don’t really get them in Alaska. Not like they do here in the midwest. Lightning flashes every 10 seconds and it’s amazing to watch. I AM going to miss the weather here. There was still quite a bit of snow in Alaska last week when I was there and it’s been warm enough to wear shorts all week here. The grass is green and the flowers are blooming. The trees all have leaves and the apartment complex turned on all the fountains in the little ponds around here, so when I open my porch door, I can hear the water splashing. That is one thing I will definitely miss about this place is the warm summer. Oh well.
March was actually a pretty boring month. I was unemployed with nothing to do but job search and that’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” type stuff. I discovered that I have to stay active or I go nuts. I bought some MBA textbooks to read to get a jump on classes, did our taxes (we had to file federal, state AND city taxes here - blech!), I cleaned out every nook and cranny in the house, went through all our stuff (the goodwill people know me by name now), cleaned out all our files, took up yoga, and I even started brushing up on my Spanish. Yikes. I told Dean that when I start taking inventory of toothpicks to have me committed immediately - I’ve lost it completely. I spent a lot of time on the computer in March, too. Ask me anything about Windows 95. If I don’t know the answer, I can figure it out, I guarantee it. We discovered how to record, mix and edit sounds and send them as attachments to email files. I can also answer the telephone using the microphone and speakers, and use the computer as voice mail when I’m out. I’m still trying to figure out how to call long distance using the internet connection so there’s no LD charges. I need a new program, but I’m told it’s really easy.
I also auditioned at a local modeling agency and they booked me for a couple shows so that was fun. I volunteered to be the meeting leader / emcee at a local speaking contest sponsored by Toastmasters, International. They asked me to come back and do it again at the area wide contest, so I did that, too. It was fun and I learned a lot listening to the more advanced speakers. Some of them are so good.
Dean grew a goatee this month, and I thought it looked great on him, but it drove him nuts so he shaved it off while I was in Alaska. It took almost three whole weeks for it to look full. Ha. He’s such a babyface. Shortly after he started growing it, he caught the butt end of a stick in the chin during a game and got four stitches. With the blood and scraggly hair, he looked really tough for a while, let me tell you.
I saw one of the greatest moves I’ve ever seen in hockey the week before Dean got traded. Danton Cole, a Griffins player, had a puck coming at him through the air about eye level. Now, I didn’t know this, but you’re not supposed to be able to catch a puck like that with your hands then put it down and continue playing. If you do, the ref is supposed to blow the whistle and you face-off again. So to keep the puck in play, Danton bent his head down a little bit and head-butted the puck back down to the ice, he took it down and then scored!!! The crowd was on their feet - it was so great! Those guys are so tough, who else but a hockey player would have the nerve to head-butt a flying puck? Of course, it could just be stupidity from being hit in the head one too many times from flying pucks. Ha. Just kidding, actually it was a well thought out move and I was in awe. It hit his helmet so there was no blood or pain (so he says.)
On April 1st, Dean & I realized that we’d met exactly 10 years ago for the first time at a party in college. His buddies had left him at a party and both he and I lived in the dorms. I offered him a ride back. I figured it was safe enough because I had three of my girlfriends with me (hi Nat, Fran and Regina – remember that night?) He came back to our dorm and sat at our kitchen table with us until about 5am, being Mr. Entertainment and making us all laugh for hours until we were all crying. I fell in love immediately, and now here we are, living happily ever after. Sigh. I can’t believe it’s been that long.
Well, that’s all the news. It sure has been a fun year and I’m sad to see it end, but looking forward to my new job and being with my family again. I’m anxious to finish my MBA and get started on our own family again, too, so we’ll keep you posted as life trucks right along!
Much love,
Tiffany
Well, guess what? This will be my last letter because Dean and I are moving home and I’ll get to see most of you on a regular basis and can tell you in person what happening in our lives. For everyone who doesn’t live in Alaska, I’ll still keep in touch, though, just probably not monthly.
A lot has happened in the last two months so I won’t keep you in suspense: Dean was traded to the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday, March 25th. The Griffins owed them a player and out of everyone on the team, they wanted Dean so that was quite a compliment. Dean’s happy about the trade because he thinks the Admirals are a better team, they’re battling fewer injuries than the Griffins, and he thinks they’ll go further in playoffs, thus earning him a bigger bonus. His first weekend, he played in front of 15,000 people at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee and he got a goal and an assist. He gets a lot of ice time and more scoring opportunities so, again, he’s very happy to be there.
I spent the first weekend in Milwaukee with him, but then he left to go on a 10 day road trip and I came back to Grand Rapids. A couple days later, on April 1st, I flew to Alaska for a job interview with the Nerland Agency and they liked me so well, they ended up offering me a management position in the agency, rather than the account executive job that I applied for. I was very excited and yes, I accepted the job. My first day is April 27th. Also, payment for schooling was part of the job offer, so if all goes according to plan, by the end of next summer, I’ll be the proud owner of an MBA. I’ll keep you posted. Dean will just fly to Alaska instead of Grand Rapids when playoffs are over.
I stayed with my sister while I was there, and Pete and I were flipping through the channels one day and Fox had one of Dean’s games on TV! It was so neat to watch him on television! He was part of the play of the game, so the camera zoomed in on him for about 30-40 seconds while the color commentators talked about how he was a great addition to the Milwaukee team, a very strong defenseman and very solid on the defensive line. They told a little bit about his history and everything. It was so great! No honorable mentions about the wife at home, though. Oh well. Ha.
I came back from Alaska last week and headed to Chicago where Dean had one more game. It was his last regular season game on Easter Sunday. Chip Aiken and family joined me and it was great to see them, they’re doing well. Nathan graduates this year and they had all just returned from a trip to Nashville and Orlando, where Tiffany and the marching band she plays in got to perform down main street at Disney World. Chip and Annette were chaperones for all the kids. VERY generous parents, aren’t they? I’m glad Dean didn’t play for Chicago this year because it was a boring performance. The hockey was good, but it’s such an entertainment industry anymore and I missed all the fun promotions and games that they usually have between periods. Shannon Miller, the gymnast, was in the crowd that day, and they showed her on the readerboard but that was about it. At the beginning, when they introduced the players, they had laser lights and fire and smoke, so that was neat, but pretty standard anymore. I spent most of the time visiting with the Aikens.
After the game, I went back to Milwaukee again with Dean until he had to leave for playoffs in Houston, TX. Just to kill some time, we took a tour of the Miller Brewing Company. That was a fun couple of hours. We went with one of the other guys on the team and his wife. They didn’t really explain the brewing process so much, but rather, gave a history of the company and showed us the bottling, canning and shipping areas. Did you know that their canning machines can a case of beer every second? Amazing. Their shipping warehouse is 200,000 square feet and stocked full of beer from floor to ceiling. Every last bottle and can in there is shipped out and restocked every 48 hours. That’s a lot of beer, America. We saw the huge vats where they make the mash and process everything. It was about 90 degrees in that room from all the boiling wort. We also walked around in the cave where they stored the beer in the 1800’s to keep it cool during the summer. Then at the end of the tour, we sat in this great little tavern and they let us try 8oz samples of different Miller products. That company makes a LOT of beer. I was surprised. Although I don’t know why, I am married to a hockey player, after all. Dean told me that the refrigerator in the locker room is always stocked from donations from the company and the guys certainly take advantage of it.
Anyway, I’m back in Grand Rapids now to pack up the house and say farewell to everyone. My computer will be packed up next Wednesday and I won’t unpack it again until we get settled in a house in Alaska. It may take a couple months to find a place and close on it, but as soon as we do, I’ll send out an email and let you all know our new address for your Christmas card list. In the meantime, I’ll be living with Dad and Mom in Eagle River and you can reach me there:
c/o Ron & Gayle Smith
PO Box 770884
Eagle River AK 99577
(907) 696-2293
smith1000@prodigy.net email
Aside from all the above excitement, it’s been a great couple months. I had a good birthday in March. Mom sent me a present from her trip to Mexico and wanted me to open it right away but I made her wait until my birthday. I called her and had her on the phone while I opened it. It was a gorgeous chess set. It’s hand carved from green and ivory stone and has an Aztec design on it, so it matches my southwest decor. The green pieces look like English royalty with the king, queen, bishop, knights, and the pawns are men dressed for battle in armor. The white pieces are Aztec Indians with a chief, his squaw, and Indian warriors for pawns. It’s so beautiful, I absolutely love it and Dean & I have played several games on it already. Dean had a hockey game the day of my birthday, so the night before, we tried to go out to dinner, but it was blizzard weather. We tried several restaurants in town but every place closed early. We ended up going to the grocery store and we came home and I cooked. We went to Charley’s Crab a couple days later, though, and it was wonderful. Also, as a little gift to myself and the women in my family, I had a picture done of my great grandmother, grandmother, mother, sister and niece. FIVE generations of women in one photo - it is SO neat. I framed it and I’ll cherish it forever.
Dean’s birthday is coming up in June, but if they do well in playoffs, he’ll be in the championship round at that time. If they make it that far, and I manage to get us in a house by then, I’m going to buy him a big screen TV for his birthday, then have a party at our new house and we can all watch the games on his TV! ha. Could be a lot of fun, yes? I hope it happens.
Last week, we had a fantastic thunderstorm. I love watching electric storms because we don’t really get them in Alaska. Not like they do here in the midwest. Lightning flashes every 10 seconds and it’s amazing to watch. I AM going to miss the weather here. There was still quite a bit of snow in Alaska last week when I was there and it’s been warm enough to wear shorts all week here. The grass is green and the flowers are blooming. The trees all have leaves and the apartment complex turned on all the fountains in the little ponds around here, so when I open my porch door, I can hear the water splashing. That is one thing I will definitely miss about this place is the warm summer. Oh well.
March was actually a pretty boring month. I was unemployed with nothing to do but job search and that’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” type stuff. I discovered that I have to stay active or I go nuts. I bought some MBA textbooks to read to get a jump on classes, did our taxes (we had to file federal, state AND city taxes here - blech!), I cleaned out every nook and cranny in the house, went through all our stuff (the goodwill people know me by name now), cleaned out all our files, took up yoga, and I even started brushing up on my Spanish. Yikes. I told Dean that when I start taking inventory of toothpicks to have me committed immediately - I’ve lost it completely. I spent a lot of time on the computer in March, too. Ask me anything about Windows 95. If I don’t know the answer, I can figure it out, I guarantee it. We discovered how to record, mix and edit sounds and send them as attachments to email files. I can also answer the telephone using the microphone and speakers, and use the computer as voice mail when I’m out. I’m still trying to figure out how to call long distance using the internet connection so there’s no LD charges. I need a new program, but I’m told it’s really easy.
I also auditioned at a local modeling agency and they booked me for a couple shows so that was fun. I volunteered to be the meeting leader / emcee at a local speaking contest sponsored by Toastmasters, International. They asked me to come back and do it again at the area wide contest, so I did that, too. It was fun and I learned a lot listening to the more advanced speakers. Some of them are so good.
Dean grew a goatee this month, and I thought it looked great on him, but it drove him nuts so he shaved it off while I was in Alaska. It took almost three whole weeks for it to look full. Ha. He’s such a babyface. Shortly after he started growing it, he caught the butt end of a stick in the chin during a game and got four stitches. With the blood and scraggly hair, he looked really tough for a while, let me tell you.
I saw one of the greatest moves I’ve ever seen in hockey the week before Dean got traded. Danton Cole, a Griffins player, had a puck coming at him through the air about eye level. Now, I didn’t know this, but you’re not supposed to be able to catch a puck like that with your hands then put it down and continue playing. If you do, the ref is supposed to blow the whistle and you face-off again. So to keep the puck in play, Danton bent his head down a little bit and head-butted the puck back down to the ice, he took it down and then scored!!! The crowd was on their feet - it was so great! Those guys are so tough, who else but a hockey player would have the nerve to head-butt a flying puck? Of course, it could just be stupidity from being hit in the head one too many times from flying pucks. Ha. Just kidding, actually it was a well thought out move and I was in awe. It hit his helmet so there was no blood or pain (so he says.)
On April 1st, Dean & I realized that we’d met exactly 10 years ago for the first time at a party in college. His buddies had left him at a party and both he and I lived in the dorms. I offered him a ride back. I figured it was safe enough because I had three of my girlfriends with me (hi Nat, Fran and Regina – remember that night?) He came back to our dorm and sat at our kitchen table with us until about 5am, being Mr. Entertainment and making us all laugh for hours until we were all crying. I fell in love immediately, and now here we are, living happily ever after. Sigh. I can’t believe it’s been that long.
Well, that’s all the news. It sure has been a fun year and I’m sad to see it end, but looking forward to my new job and being with my family again. I’m anxious to finish my MBA and get started on our own family again, too, so we’ll keep you posted as life trucks right along!
Much love,
Tiffany
Michigan Pro Hockey Tour - March 1998
Happy March everybody!
The highlight of my February was a fun-packed, three day weekend trip to Orlando, Florida with Colleen and Kristin. We had SUCH a blast together that we decided we had to make it an annual event. Friendships like that are just too few and far between to let fall by the wayside simply because there are miles separating us. Only next time, I think we'll probably go to a town that has absolutely nothing to do but stay at a resort. That way we never have to leave the resort, beach, pool, whatever, and we can just relax. It will probably be somewhere further south and later in the year so we can have 90 degree weather because we discovered that Orlando in early February was NOT warm. Yes, it was very disappointing. I really wanted to hit a water park or lay by the pool. Oh well. Now I know, right?
We did get up Saturday morning and saw some deceiving sunshine out the window. We thought it was going to be a warm day so we left our jackets in the hotel room. By the time we got to the monorail to take us to Epcot we were feeling quite foolish because we were quite frozen. Our teeth were chattering but we tried to be tough Alaskan women. I don’t think we succeeded because the first thing we had to do when we got to Epcot was head straight for the gift shops to look for sweatshirts! We all ended up buying the same one (doin the “girlfriend” thing) and many of our pictures turned out great because they’re of a brunette, a redhead and a blonde, and we all have on the same navy blue “Walt Disney World” sweatshirt. We got a really great one of the three of us with the Epcot “golf ball” (Spaceship Earth) in the background. It’s my favorite – what a great shot.
Kristin drove down from Georgia in her convertible Mustang and picked me up at the airport late Thursday night. We stayed at a military hotel called Shades of Green (very nice, very cheap) and we stayed up all night talking and catching up. Then on Friday, we got up and went to the Disney World Marketplace. We had lunch at Planet Hollywood then wandered around the marketplace, just window shopping. We happened upon a crowd of people hanging around outside of what looked like a boarded up shop. Turns out, it was a magic store that was getting ready to open and it was owned by David Copperfield. We asked somebody what everyone was waiting for and he said he’d heard that David Copperfield was going to be making an appearance. No sooner did he say that, when the door opened and out he came! Kris and I got both our pictures with him. Sigh. He is so good looking. I wanted to ask him how he did the trick of making me feel tingly all over. Ha ha. Kris thinks he was looking at me. He does like blondes, you know. Just kidding. There were a bunch of young cheerleaders, apparently in town for a competition, going ga-ga over him, and he made them all do a cheer for him before he would sign autographs. Too funny. We were telling Colleen about it later at the airport and she mused that it really would be fun to be able to make people do silly stuff like that for no reason, just to have a picture with you. Ha. He’s coming to Grand Rapids to do his “Dreams and Nightmares” show on March 25th. I was thinking about getting some of the girls together to go, because the guys are on the road that day, but tickets are over $50 each. Ouch. We’ll see.
Then Kris and I went to the airport and picked up Colleen. She was just bursting to tell us that she had just had the most interesting conversation with man on the plane all the way from D.C. He told her he has put in over 7000 hours of study of demons, alien encounters and how it all relates to the Bible. Apparently, she was convinced that he had proven many of the facts he presented her with. She was so excited to tell us all about it when she got off the plane and we ended up talking about it late into the night. We stayed up until 3am both nights talking a hundred miles an hour like teenagers. I told her my theories based on what I knew and we batted everything around in our minds for hours. She ended up getting so freaked out that she was scared to get up and go to the bathroom in the dark. Ha. Colleen is also on a personal mission to convert the whole east coast to friendly-ism. She's converted the whole building she works in and has now aspired to higher mountains. She started with the guy at the ticket counter when she checked in for her flight. He was so charmed by her graces that he upgraded her to first class just for being nice! That was how she got the opportunity to sit next to this interesting man. Neat, eh? It just goes to prove that a smile or two can go a long way if it’s genuine. Didn’t mom tell us all that?
Anyway, the three of us went to Pleasure Island on Friday night. It’s a little pedestrian mall right by the marketplace that’s all shops and clubs, each with a different theme. There was a bar that we sat at for a while called “Surf’s Up” and it had a beach theme. There was a mediocre band there, but not much to report, we didn’t stay there long. Then there was a 70's bar called 8 Traxx that we went to where we danced for hours – they were playing all the music that we liked and the place was packed. We also went to a comedy club that was ALL improvisation. It was SO impressive! There was a cast of 6 characters and all the comedy they did was based on material that they got from the audience. They had songs and rhymes and entire monologues that were customized for the people in OUR audience. It was one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen. What I would give to have the talent to think on my feet that well! It was really incredible. There was also a big stage out in the street, and the Spinners were performing there. We watched them while we were standing in line for the comedy club but not much longer than that because it was drizzling rain and pretty cold. We also went to a place later called The Adventurers Club, which had an off-the-wall British theme to it and there was a short comedy skit going on in there, too. They made everyone do a salute where you have to say, “Kongaloosh!”, we drank a fruity drink called a Kongaloosh, and learned a beer drinking song to the tune of Do, Re, Mi from the Sound of Music. The three of us called Bill’s voice mail and sang it for him, laughing our heads off the whole time, I can’t imagine that he heard a single word of it. I’ll share it with you, but it was really one of those times where you had to be there to truly appreciate the humor. You understand, of course. Here you go:
(to the tune of Do, Re, Mi from the Sound of Music)
Do - the stuff I buy beer with
Re - the guy I buy beer from
Mi - the guy I buy beer for
Fa - the distance to the store
So - I think I'll have a beer
La – (pause) La la la la la la
Ti - No thanks, I'll have a beer
and that will bring us back to do, do, do, do...
I’m giggling just typing this again. It was soooo funny at the time!! (Kongaloosh, girls!! Wahoo!)
The next day (Saturday) we got up, went to breakfast (Mother Colleen insisted that we start our day off with a nutritious meal), then headed to Epcot. After we bought our sweatshirts and the hottest mocha we could find, we went to a 3D presentation called, “Honey, I shrunk the audience.” It was based on the movies and actually went a step beyond regular 3D shows. For example, Rick Moranis’ young son was playing with one of the inventions and dropped his pet mouse into a machine called a “multiplier.” It cloned the mouse and you saw thousands of little mice running and squeaking all over the screen. Well… all of a sudden, I could feel about a hundred mice ACTUALLY RUNNING UP MY LEGS!!! All three of us screamed at the top of our lungs and stuck our legs right up in the air as high as we could! Good thing it was dark in the theatre because that would’ve been hilarious to see! It was the creepiest feeling!! My skin was crawling and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck bristling! It’s giving me shivers again just thinking about it. We couldn’t figure out how they did that, we were looking for wires sticking out of our seats or something when the show was over, but we found nothing. I’m telling you, I could actually feel hundreds of little, tiny claws grabbing at my legs trying to climb up. (yeeeeek!) It was awful.
Then at the end of the show, when we were “enlarged” back to normal size again, the already normal sized dog somehow got in the way of the ray and became huge. He stuck his head out from behind the curtain to take one last look at the audience, then sneezed. We had water sprayed all over us and man, talk about a gross feeling!! Blech! The whole show was great. At one point, when the audience was still “small,” the older son’s snake (which was huge compared to us) was slithering around and stuck his head right in our faces, then opened his mouth wide and hissed. Trying keeping your eyes open looking at THAT in 3D! Yikes.
Of course we had to go on the “Spaceship Earth” ride because it was sponsored by AT&T. That’s the golf ball looking thing that’s in all the Epcot brochures. It’s not as big as I thought it would be, but I guess I’m not sure what I expected. I’d never given it much thought. Anyway, it’s all about the history of communication and was pretty interesting. The characters in there looked very lifelike and we couldn’t exactly figure out if they were real or not. We decided that they were mannequins that looked almost real and the ones at the “American Experience” show that we saw later were real that looked and moved very wax-like, thus looked like mannequins.
We walked around the lake and saw all the countries represented. Each one had some sort of music or dancing or something going on in front of it. At the Canada stop, there was a man carving an enormous totem pole out of a huge cedar log. It smelled wonderfully potent and we talked with him for a bit and discovered that he was actually an Indian from Ketchikan, Alaska! Go figure. So, yes, we had to get a picture with him, too.
We stopped to get a bite to eat and while we were snacking on some Mickey shaped chips and salsa in front of Mexico, the most incredible creatures came along and captured the attention of all three of us and held us completely captive until they had walked on by. They were so beautiful and intriguing that we all felt hypnotized just looking at them. I’ll try to describe them for you, but it’s going to be really hard. They were actually just people in costume and make-up that were walking on stilts. But it appeared that they were riding on the back of an animal that looked like a cross between some type of dinosaur or ostrich and a peacock, because they were really bright colored. They looked like something you’d see in an exotic jungle somewhere. They were about the size of an adult ostrich and very elaborately decorated. They were made entirely out of one inch bands of metal, so they had a cage-like appearance to them, and you could see through the spaces of the bands that they were made of. The stilts were the animals’ legs and then there were fake (but real looking) legs hanging over the sides that looked like they belonged to the “rider.” The riders used a series of “reins” to move the animals’ heads and bodies around to make it look like they were looking at something in the sky or eating something off a tree and the way they moved was so lifelike that it was absolutely mezmerizing!! Definitely something so creative that you’d only see it at Disney. It was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t get enough pictures of them, they were so gorgeous and captivating.
That evening we went to a buffet on the other side of town that was all seafood and we stuffed ourselves on lobster, crab & shrimp. We were going to go to Dean’s hockey game (they were in town for the weekend playing the Orlando Solar Bears) but we were so full and tired that we couldn’t move. We decided we would just catch the ending of the game and say hi to Dean, but we didn’t get there in time for that either. He’d already caught the bus back to the hotel. Tim Paris, the trainer was still there packing up equipment, though, and he told us that most of the guys were headed over to Church Street Station, which is a street that’s closed off to traffic after hours and is just solid clubs for about 4 blocks. So we headed over there. We went into one club called Sloppy Joe’s for a while then decided to leave because it was too smoky. We never did see him and when I got home the next day, he told me that he WAS in the bar at the same time we were. We talked about a dance contest they had going on and both of us had watched it from the opposite sides of the dance floor and never did see each other! Oh well. Just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.
Our last day there, Sunday, we were going to tour the Tiffany museum, but it was finally warm out, and after breakfast (Colleen!) we just laid on some loungers by the pool and soaked up the sun for a few hours. Colleen and Kris chatted and I dozed. It felt so good, I love being toasty warm! On the way back to the airport, we finally got to ride in the convertible with the top down! It was a great weekend and I burned up about four rolls of film so the memories are forever documented! Thanks, girls, for a fantastic weekend! I’m really looking forward to next year already!
Back in Grand Rapids, things still hadn’t improved with my job situation and I decided I didn’t care to watch Wayne chew people up and spit them out anymore, so I turned in my resignation. He didn’t take it very well at first but later asked me to keep in touch, so I’m not sure what to make of it. I figured out that I wasn’t going to learn anything more by being there so it was time to make a change so I could keep progressing. I’m working on another position so I’ll keep you posted.
Dean and I found a club here in Rapids (called Tinseltown) that is similar to the one I told you about last month in Las Vegas where they have “dueling pianos.” They played a lot of the same songs, took requests, did a lot of the same fun stuff, but for some reason, it just wasn’t nearly as rockin and wild. There’s no dance floor and the guys are funny but not quite as energetic as the ones at New York, New York in Vegas. Still, it’s something fun to do on an occasional Saturday night.
Just a couple tidbits from the hockey world here: Gordie Howe was at one of our games recently and I got to talk to him for a while and get his autograph. He’s a pretty friendly man. Dave Allison, the Griffins head coach was fired and the General Manager, Bob McNamara is taking over double duty for the rest of the season. I guess Davy’s temper finally cost him. Dean has mixed feelings about the situation, but hopefully it will work out for the best. And the Griffins also have clinched a playoff berth so we’ll at least be in the first round of playoffs starting April 16th. As long as we’re winning, we’ll stay in the running, but as soon as we lose a round, everyone goes home for the summer and the winning team advances to the next round. Each round is seven games and whoever wins four of the seven, advances. The fourth and final round of play could go as late as June, but would mean big bonus checks for all the guys. Cha-ching!!! $$$$$ Wish us luck! Also, Dean came home with a new haircut the other day, a George Clooney / Ceasar style. I wasn’t sure, at first, but it’s a 90’s look, I guess, and it’s growing on me.
Also, I have to print a retraction that I forgot about last month. In December, I wrote about a Christmas party at Danton Cole’s house where there was a picture on the refrigerator of him and his wife and children sitting around the Stanley Cup. I saw him wearing a red jersey and wrote to you that he had played for the Blackhawks. Gerry Kroll immediately emailed me to inform me that the Blackhawks had the longest championship dry spell of any team in the NHL and Danton must be REALLY old if that were true. Ha. Being a hockey wife, of course, I feel foolish. It was a New Jersey Devils jersey, which is also red, and he played for them in the Stanley Cup championship in 1995. For you hockey historians, that was also the year Mike Peluso played for them. Mike is a childhood friend of Deans and a former UAA hockey player, too. Thanks, Ger, for the insight.
Okay, that’s the news for February. See you again next month!!
Much love,
Tiffany
The highlight of my February was a fun-packed, three day weekend trip to Orlando, Florida with Colleen and Kristin. We had SUCH a blast together that we decided we had to make it an annual event. Friendships like that are just too few and far between to let fall by the wayside simply because there are miles separating us. Only next time, I think we'll probably go to a town that has absolutely nothing to do but stay at a resort. That way we never have to leave the resort, beach, pool, whatever, and we can just relax. It will probably be somewhere further south and later in the year so we can have 90 degree weather because we discovered that Orlando in early February was NOT warm. Yes, it was very disappointing. I really wanted to hit a water park or lay by the pool. Oh well. Now I know, right?
We did get up Saturday morning and saw some deceiving sunshine out the window. We thought it was going to be a warm day so we left our jackets in the hotel room. By the time we got to the monorail to take us to Epcot we were feeling quite foolish because we were quite frozen. Our teeth were chattering but we tried to be tough Alaskan women. I don’t think we succeeded because the first thing we had to do when we got to Epcot was head straight for the gift shops to look for sweatshirts! We all ended up buying the same one (doin the “girlfriend” thing) and many of our pictures turned out great because they’re of a brunette, a redhead and a blonde, and we all have on the same navy blue “Walt Disney World” sweatshirt. We got a really great one of the three of us with the Epcot “golf ball” (Spaceship Earth) in the background. It’s my favorite – what a great shot.
Kristin drove down from Georgia in her convertible Mustang and picked me up at the airport late Thursday night. We stayed at a military hotel called Shades of Green (very nice, very cheap) and we stayed up all night talking and catching up. Then on Friday, we got up and went to the Disney World Marketplace. We had lunch at Planet Hollywood then wandered around the marketplace, just window shopping. We happened upon a crowd of people hanging around outside of what looked like a boarded up shop. Turns out, it was a magic store that was getting ready to open and it was owned by David Copperfield. We asked somebody what everyone was waiting for and he said he’d heard that David Copperfield was going to be making an appearance. No sooner did he say that, when the door opened and out he came! Kris and I got both our pictures with him. Sigh. He is so good looking. I wanted to ask him how he did the trick of making me feel tingly all over. Ha ha. Kris thinks he was looking at me. He does like blondes, you know. Just kidding. There were a bunch of young cheerleaders, apparently in town for a competition, going ga-ga over him, and he made them all do a cheer for him before he would sign autographs. Too funny. We were telling Colleen about it later at the airport and she mused that it really would be fun to be able to make people do silly stuff like that for no reason, just to have a picture with you. Ha. He’s coming to Grand Rapids to do his “Dreams and Nightmares” show on March 25th. I was thinking about getting some of the girls together to go, because the guys are on the road that day, but tickets are over $50 each. Ouch. We’ll see.
Then Kris and I went to the airport and picked up Colleen. She was just bursting to tell us that she had just had the most interesting conversation with man on the plane all the way from D.C. He told her he has put in over 7000 hours of study of demons, alien encounters and how it all relates to the Bible. Apparently, she was convinced that he had proven many of the facts he presented her with. She was so excited to tell us all about it when she got off the plane and we ended up talking about it late into the night. We stayed up until 3am both nights talking a hundred miles an hour like teenagers. I told her my theories based on what I knew and we batted everything around in our minds for hours. She ended up getting so freaked out that she was scared to get up and go to the bathroom in the dark. Ha. Colleen is also on a personal mission to convert the whole east coast to friendly-ism. She's converted the whole building she works in and has now aspired to higher mountains. She started with the guy at the ticket counter when she checked in for her flight. He was so charmed by her graces that he upgraded her to first class just for being nice! That was how she got the opportunity to sit next to this interesting man. Neat, eh? It just goes to prove that a smile or two can go a long way if it’s genuine. Didn’t mom tell us all that?
Anyway, the three of us went to Pleasure Island on Friday night. It’s a little pedestrian mall right by the marketplace that’s all shops and clubs, each with a different theme. There was a bar that we sat at for a while called “Surf’s Up” and it had a beach theme. There was a mediocre band there, but not much to report, we didn’t stay there long. Then there was a 70's bar called 8 Traxx that we went to where we danced for hours – they were playing all the music that we liked and the place was packed. We also went to a comedy club that was ALL improvisation. It was SO impressive! There was a cast of 6 characters and all the comedy they did was based on material that they got from the audience. They had songs and rhymes and entire monologues that were customized for the people in OUR audience. It was one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen. What I would give to have the talent to think on my feet that well! It was really incredible. There was also a big stage out in the street, and the Spinners were performing there. We watched them while we were standing in line for the comedy club but not much longer than that because it was drizzling rain and pretty cold. We also went to a place later called The Adventurers Club, which had an off-the-wall British theme to it and there was a short comedy skit going on in there, too. They made everyone do a salute where you have to say, “Kongaloosh!”, we drank a fruity drink called a Kongaloosh, and learned a beer drinking song to the tune of Do, Re, Mi from the Sound of Music. The three of us called Bill’s voice mail and sang it for him, laughing our heads off the whole time, I can’t imagine that he heard a single word of it. I’ll share it with you, but it was really one of those times where you had to be there to truly appreciate the humor. You understand, of course. Here you go:
(to the tune of Do, Re, Mi from the Sound of Music)
Do - the stuff I buy beer with
Re - the guy I buy beer from
Mi - the guy I buy beer for
Fa - the distance to the store
So - I think I'll have a beer
La – (pause) La la la la la la
Ti - No thanks, I'll have a beer
and that will bring us back to do, do, do, do...
I’m giggling just typing this again. It was soooo funny at the time!! (Kongaloosh, girls!! Wahoo!)
The next day (Saturday) we got up, went to breakfast (Mother Colleen insisted that we start our day off with a nutritious meal), then headed to Epcot. After we bought our sweatshirts and the hottest mocha we could find, we went to a 3D presentation called, “Honey, I shrunk the audience.” It was based on the movies and actually went a step beyond regular 3D shows. For example, Rick Moranis’ young son was playing with one of the inventions and dropped his pet mouse into a machine called a “multiplier.” It cloned the mouse and you saw thousands of little mice running and squeaking all over the screen. Well… all of a sudden, I could feel about a hundred mice ACTUALLY RUNNING UP MY LEGS!!! All three of us screamed at the top of our lungs and stuck our legs right up in the air as high as we could! Good thing it was dark in the theatre because that would’ve been hilarious to see! It was the creepiest feeling!! My skin was crawling and I could feel the hair on the back of my neck bristling! It’s giving me shivers again just thinking about it. We couldn’t figure out how they did that, we were looking for wires sticking out of our seats or something when the show was over, but we found nothing. I’m telling you, I could actually feel hundreds of little, tiny claws grabbing at my legs trying to climb up. (yeeeeek!) It was awful.
Then at the end of the show, when we were “enlarged” back to normal size again, the already normal sized dog somehow got in the way of the ray and became huge. He stuck his head out from behind the curtain to take one last look at the audience, then sneezed. We had water sprayed all over us and man, talk about a gross feeling!! Blech! The whole show was great. At one point, when the audience was still “small,” the older son’s snake (which was huge compared to us) was slithering around and stuck his head right in our faces, then opened his mouth wide and hissed. Trying keeping your eyes open looking at THAT in 3D! Yikes.
Of course we had to go on the “Spaceship Earth” ride because it was sponsored by AT&T. That’s the golf ball looking thing that’s in all the Epcot brochures. It’s not as big as I thought it would be, but I guess I’m not sure what I expected. I’d never given it much thought. Anyway, it’s all about the history of communication and was pretty interesting. The characters in there looked very lifelike and we couldn’t exactly figure out if they were real or not. We decided that they were mannequins that looked almost real and the ones at the “American Experience” show that we saw later were real that looked and moved very wax-like, thus looked like mannequins.
We walked around the lake and saw all the countries represented. Each one had some sort of music or dancing or something going on in front of it. At the Canada stop, there was a man carving an enormous totem pole out of a huge cedar log. It smelled wonderfully potent and we talked with him for a bit and discovered that he was actually an Indian from Ketchikan, Alaska! Go figure. So, yes, we had to get a picture with him, too.
We stopped to get a bite to eat and while we were snacking on some Mickey shaped chips and salsa in front of Mexico, the most incredible creatures came along and captured the attention of all three of us and held us completely captive until they had walked on by. They were so beautiful and intriguing that we all felt hypnotized just looking at them. I’ll try to describe them for you, but it’s going to be really hard. They were actually just people in costume and make-up that were walking on stilts. But it appeared that they were riding on the back of an animal that looked like a cross between some type of dinosaur or ostrich and a peacock, because they were really bright colored. They looked like something you’d see in an exotic jungle somewhere. They were about the size of an adult ostrich and very elaborately decorated. They were made entirely out of one inch bands of metal, so they had a cage-like appearance to them, and you could see through the spaces of the bands that they were made of. The stilts were the animals’ legs and then there were fake (but real looking) legs hanging over the sides that looked like they belonged to the “rider.” The riders used a series of “reins” to move the animals’ heads and bodies around to make it look like they were looking at something in the sky or eating something off a tree and the way they moved was so lifelike that it was absolutely mezmerizing!! Definitely something so creative that you’d only see it at Disney. It was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t get enough pictures of them, they were so gorgeous and captivating.
That evening we went to a buffet on the other side of town that was all seafood and we stuffed ourselves on lobster, crab & shrimp. We were going to go to Dean’s hockey game (they were in town for the weekend playing the Orlando Solar Bears) but we were so full and tired that we couldn’t move. We decided we would just catch the ending of the game and say hi to Dean, but we didn’t get there in time for that either. He’d already caught the bus back to the hotel. Tim Paris, the trainer was still there packing up equipment, though, and he told us that most of the guys were headed over to Church Street Station, which is a street that’s closed off to traffic after hours and is just solid clubs for about 4 blocks. So we headed over there. We went into one club called Sloppy Joe’s for a while then decided to leave because it was too smoky. We never did see him and when I got home the next day, he told me that he WAS in the bar at the same time we were. We talked about a dance contest they had going on and both of us had watched it from the opposite sides of the dance floor and never did see each other! Oh well. Just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.
Our last day there, Sunday, we were going to tour the Tiffany museum, but it was finally warm out, and after breakfast (Colleen!) we just laid on some loungers by the pool and soaked up the sun for a few hours. Colleen and Kris chatted and I dozed. It felt so good, I love being toasty warm! On the way back to the airport, we finally got to ride in the convertible with the top down! It was a great weekend and I burned up about four rolls of film so the memories are forever documented! Thanks, girls, for a fantastic weekend! I’m really looking forward to next year already!
Back in Grand Rapids, things still hadn’t improved with my job situation and I decided I didn’t care to watch Wayne chew people up and spit them out anymore, so I turned in my resignation. He didn’t take it very well at first but later asked me to keep in touch, so I’m not sure what to make of it. I figured out that I wasn’t going to learn anything more by being there so it was time to make a change so I could keep progressing. I’m working on another position so I’ll keep you posted.
Dean and I found a club here in Rapids (called Tinseltown) that is similar to the one I told you about last month in Las Vegas where they have “dueling pianos.” They played a lot of the same songs, took requests, did a lot of the same fun stuff, but for some reason, it just wasn’t nearly as rockin and wild. There’s no dance floor and the guys are funny but not quite as energetic as the ones at New York, New York in Vegas. Still, it’s something fun to do on an occasional Saturday night.
Just a couple tidbits from the hockey world here: Gordie Howe was at one of our games recently and I got to talk to him for a while and get his autograph. He’s a pretty friendly man. Dave Allison, the Griffins head coach was fired and the General Manager, Bob McNamara is taking over double duty for the rest of the season. I guess Davy’s temper finally cost him. Dean has mixed feelings about the situation, but hopefully it will work out for the best. And the Griffins also have clinched a playoff berth so we’ll at least be in the first round of playoffs starting April 16th. As long as we’re winning, we’ll stay in the running, but as soon as we lose a round, everyone goes home for the summer and the winning team advances to the next round. Each round is seven games and whoever wins four of the seven, advances. The fourth and final round of play could go as late as June, but would mean big bonus checks for all the guys. Cha-ching!!! $$$$$ Wish us luck! Also, Dean came home with a new haircut the other day, a George Clooney / Ceasar style. I wasn’t sure, at first, but it’s a 90’s look, I guess, and it’s growing on me.
Also, I have to print a retraction that I forgot about last month. In December, I wrote about a Christmas party at Danton Cole’s house where there was a picture on the refrigerator of him and his wife and children sitting around the Stanley Cup. I saw him wearing a red jersey and wrote to you that he had played for the Blackhawks. Gerry Kroll immediately emailed me to inform me that the Blackhawks had the longest championship dry spell of any team in the NHL and Danton must be REALLY old if that were true. Ha. Being a hockey wife, of course, I feel foolish. It was a New Jersey Devils jersey, which is also red, and he played for them in the Stanley Cup championship in 1995. For you hockey historians, that was also the year Mike Peluso played for them. Mike is a childhood friend of Deans and a former UAA hockey player, too. Thanks, Ger, for the insight.
Okay, that’s the news for February. See you again next month!!
Much love,
Tiffany
Michigan Pro Hockey Tour - February 1998
Hi all!!
Well, January was a MUCH better month, thank goodness. I have LOTS of fun news to report.
First of all, I’m typing this on my new Gateway. This thing is so sweet. 300 MHz Pentium II processor, 32MB RAM, 17” monitor, 4Gig Hard drive, 24X CD-ROM, 56K modem, awesome speakers, SOMEBODY STOP MEEEEEE!!! I love it. It feels good to join everyone in the 90’s with Windows. . I’m now trying to sell my MacIntosh. What a joke. Wish me luck. I’m also listening to Celine Dion’s new CD in the CD ROM drive while I type this. Too cool. She sings the love theme from the Titanic on this CD and I really like it. I saw that movie a couple weeks ago and was so moved by it. It was 3 hours, 15 minutes, and felt like it was over in 30 minutes. I remember being taught about the Titanic in elementary school, but I’ve never stopped to think about what it must’ve REALLY been like. Absolutely terrifying. I can’t even imagine. The movie had a wonderful love story as part of it, of course, but the whole package was very powerful. Incredible movie – I highly recommend it.
My work atmosphere still stinks to high heaven, but I created a bunch of opportunities for myself this month to keep learning and that really turns me on, so I’m hanging in there for the time being. (I don’t know how much more I’m willing to take though, so I’ll keep you posted.) The first thing I did was make an appointment to take a tour of our film house. They’re color specialists and basically they’re a middle man between the agency and the printer. They create the films that create the sheet metal plates that go on the press that prints out the brochures and ads. I won’t bore you with all I learned but it sure got ME excited. I also went to our printer in Kalamazoo and thought it was so interesting to actually see the computerized presses and how the inks are applied to the papers, how they’re folded, cut and bound. The quality control is unbelievable. I also looked at sreeen pictures on brochures that seemed like a perfectly crisp and clear photo, but when you look up close, through a jeweler’s loop, you can actually see all the dots that make them up. The dots are bigger or smaller depending on how dense the color is and each individual dot has more than one color that makes it up. I learned all about 8 color process, mezzo, line screens, ghosting, half tones, the list goes on and on. This is probably boring for the average Joe, I know, but I was fascinated.
I’m on the local speakers circuit now, too. I gave a 30 minute speech at the Business Marketers Association monthly luncheon last week. It was on “The Creative Process.” I was so excited to give it, I really couldn’t pay attention to how well it was received. I think it was good, I got a few compliments from members and requests for more information so that’s a positive.
The highlight of my month was my vacation. Of course it was too short, only a week. I left on 1/5 to go to Las Vegas for business, then took the following week off to visit with family and friends in Vegas and Phoenix. The business portion of it was the CES show. What an incredible trade show! It was so overwhelming, there’s no way to see it all in just four days. I actually had to map out my days and plan which booths I wanted to see and which seminars I wanted to attend.
The first seminar was Steve Forbes. He talked about the economic outlook, of course. His forecasts are always interesting and pretty accurate. Then I saw Scott McNeally, CEO of Sun Microsystems, Inc. He was talking about the chips that they manufacture and how they’re in everything these days. They’re in your coffee maker and there’s about 150 in the average automobile. He talked about taking the smart card to the next level and basically having everything in your wallet on one plastic card with a chip embedded in it. The chip would have all the information on your drivers license, all your credit card numbers, frequent flyer numbers, medical history, everything. He even said that he believed in our generation that we would be embedding these chips in the gumline of a newborn or on the back of their hand. That scared the daylights out of me. I’m not ready for that to happen yet.
The best speaker, of course, was Bill Gates. I wasn’t overly impressed with the hand held and palm top computers until I saw his presentation. I can definitely see uses for them now. I went to the Microsoft booth and their big release this year is Windows CE for the car. It runs in your car and operates the whole system from speaker cell phone to regulating the temperature in the radiator to global navigation. They were having a drawing, giving away a version of it and wrapped around it was a brand new silver Porche. No, I haven’t heard from them yet, so I’m not sure when it will be delivered to me, but I’ll keep you posted.
After the show, my parents drove up from Phoenix in their brand new motor home. It has a slide out living room so it’s very spacious when it’s all set up. Very plush. Sheesh, I wish I could retire. Ha. During CES, I stayed at the Mirage, which, to be honest with you, is not as impressive as I’d expected, but it was cold out, so I didn’t get to do the pool. Maybe that’s what was disappointing.
One of my good friends, Shannon, lives there now. Her husband is an electrician and there’s so much construction in Vegas right now. He was working on a brand new hotel right by the Mirage, called the Bellagio. Talk about first class. This place is all suites, has a dress code in the casino in the evening, and even has an elevator that you drive your car right onto, and it takes you (in your car) up to your floor to park on that level, get out and walk straight to your suite. Unbelievable.
Shannon and I went out one night to a club at the top of the Stratosphere. That’s the tower at the end of the strip that looks like the Space Needle in Seattle. There was a complete panoramic view of the strip and the city and it was breathtaking at night. It’s 110 stories high and I’m not afraid of heights but when I got up there and looked out over the railing, there was nothing underneath me because of the way it was shaped, and my knees went a little weak. On top of the tower, outside, there’s a roller coaster and an ejection seat. That would’ve been fun to do, but it was actually really cold out, so we decided to save it for the next visit. It was so good to catch up with Shannon. She was one of my three bridesmaids in my wedding and I haven’t really been able to see her in a few years. She’s absolutely hilarious and absolutely gorgeous, too. She’s about 6’1” and about as big around as me. She really turns heads when we go out. We tore up the town and when I got back to the motor home (at 5am), Mom was making my bed up. She told me to go to the back of the bus, because she was up for the day and didn’t want to work around me. Ha.
The Griffins came through town for a game while I was there and my whole family and I went. There were sixteen of us there and we had a blast! Dean’s mother came down for a couple days, too, and she and I were sitting together at the game. The camera focused on us and we got our mugs on the readerboard in the middle of the game. We yelled, “Go Griffins” and waved – too fun. All the guys gave Dean grief about wanting so many tickets for a road game and he just said, “I’ve got fans in every town, boys, get used to it.” Ha. The next night, they were in Salt Lake City and he had to get some tickets for a friend there, too. The team travels in such style, I’m telling you. They were staying at the Luxor, which is my FAVORITE hotel on the strip. We all went over there afterwards to play in the casino for a while and my parents and mother in law and cousins got to see Dean for a little while. That was nice, we had a good time.
My mom started out on one of the slot machines with twenty dollars (80 quarters), and had the machine up to over 600 quarters! She was really on a roll, then my cousin, Shane (ornery brat) came over, with a wicked grin on his face and said, “How ya doin, Gayle?” She said, “Fantastic, don’t touch anything!!” So what do you think he did? He hit the “cash out” button on the machine and laughed like crazy. All her quarters came crashing out and she filled up an entire cup with them. I was laughing so hard. Then we all kept dipping into her cup when we were out of money so the rest of us could keep playing. By the end of the night, it was all gone, but we had a blast. Poor mom. She never gets any breaks. Ha. It’s a good thing she has such a great sense of humor, or we all would’ve been dead years ago. Shane is actually one of my favorite cousins. He’s a policeman in Mesquite, NV, and that night he gave me his coat which has a logo on it for a program they started: D.A.R.E. to keep kids off drugs. He told me he would be HONORED to have me wear his coat. Aaawwww. He’s such a sweetie, eh? He and his wife, Marci, had us all over to their house earlier that week for dinner, too. All I can say is, they have a really nice home so policing in Mesquite must be profitable. Ha.
When I was Miss Alaska, one of my prizes was a cruise from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico. On that cruise, there was an entertainer by the name of Loretta Holloway. I got to meet her at the midnight buffet and we really hit it off, she’s really a neat lady. I never kept in touch, though, and now I regret it because she was performing at the Luxor. I went into the lounge and watched her all night one night. She’s as incredible as ever and still the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen hit the stage. Very impressive.
Mom and Dad and I went to the Star Trek experience at the Hilton hotel – that was pretty neat. It’s a motion simulator ride where there’s a wide angle screen that’s concave and it appears (by optical illusion) that you’re flying through space. The seats we were sitting in rocked and jerked around according to what was happening on the screen and a couple of times, my stomach flipped, even though we really weren’t going anywhere. It was so fun, my parents are such little kids at heart. They’re so much fun to play with.
We also watched the pirate battle and ships sinking at Treasure Island. I didn’t get to see that last time I was in Vegas – what a neat little show! It’s actually very elaborate for being something they do every hour for free. You can feel the heat from the cannonballs and all the good looking pirates (without shirts) fall off the ships into the water and fight it out with each other. Whew. I REALLY enjoyed that. Tee hee.
I also did the Fremont Street Experience downtown with my mom and mother-in-law – more lights and sound effects and very “Vegas” feeling. I liked that, too. Then the next day, we had to say good-bye to mom-in-law and my parents and I hit the road to Phoenix to spend some quiet time with my Grandparents. We saw Hoover Dam on the way, too. It’s a good thing they have all that hydroelectric power from Lake Mead because I can’t imagine what the electricity bill would be for one of those Vegas casinos. While I was in Phoenix, I did make time to see one of my high school girlfriends who just got married last summer. I saw all the wedding pictures and caught up on her life. I’m so proud of her, she’s about to finish her PhD at ASU and really found a terrific guy, too. (Hi, Fran Fu)
Bill was going to be in Vegas the last day before I had to head home so I flew from Phoenix to Vegas a day early so I could hook up with him. It was so good to get caught up and we had such a blast! I realized that I’m really just homesick for my friends, more than anything, not so much the state (and definitely not the weather.) We went out to dinner at the Harley Davidson Café then went to a piano bar at New York, NewYork. That place was such a hoot!! I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard. The piano players were so talented, they played songs like Sweet Home Alabama, Old Time Rock and Roll, Shook me all night long, and New York New York. They took any and all requests and did just about anything you wanted them to. During NY, NY, they made the crowd stand in a circle around the pianos and do a kickline. During “Joy to the World” they had hand motions that went along with it that were too risque to mention here. Ha. One guy had a birthday and they made him sit on top of the piano while the whole crowd sang (to the tune of itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny, yellow polka dot bikini) “He’s got an itsy, bitsy… I’ll let you fill in the rest. They sang all kinds of songs where they changed the words like that and made them hilariously filthy. I laughed so hard all night, my stomach muscles hurt the next day. Those guys really had the crowd rockin and they never slowed down all night. They jumped up on the piano to dance and the room was just packed. We didn’t shut it down until about 4 am. We met a newlywed couple in the kickline – her name was Patti and his was Furman. I couldn’t remember Furman because it’s kind of unusual and I kept calling him Femer (as in the thigh bone) He was good natured about it, though, and they bought us a couple drinks. I’ll never forget that place as long as I live, what a fun time!!!!
I REALLY didn’t want to come home the next day, I wasn’t done being on vacation. I had waayyyyy too much fun there. I told my friend, Cindy Greig, that it’s a good thing the laws are looser in Nevada, because I was pushing it!!! Ha. I don’t know if, even yet, I’m out of vacation mode. Next month, I’m going to Orlando, Florida for a long weekend with Colleen and Kristin. The guys have a couple games there and we’ll go to one of them, at least, but for the most part, I plan on picking up where I left off on the last vacation. Wahoooo!! I’m loving all the cheap airfare from Michigan. Flying anywhere from Alaska is so cotton pickin expensive that it makes a lot of travel unaffordable. I warned Dean when we moved down here that I wanted to do some travelling and he said okay. I think he regrets that now. Ha. Colleen emailed me last week and said she saw a rate in the paper for a round trip ticket, DC to Madrid, for about $300. She wanted to know if Kristin or I were interested in another long weekend trip. My hand shot up!! I felt like a kid in elementary school, saying, “Ooh, ooh, pick me!!!” I hope it works out, we’re going to talk about it some more in Orlando.
When I got home from Vegas, I had 87 emails waiting for me. Yikes! If I haven’t answered you yet, please be patient, I’m working my way through them one at a time, and trying to get this letter finished so I can get it out before February is gone.
Angie Richards had her baby, she’s the one who miscarried twins a year ago and was so supportive for me during our miscarraige last month. In fact, her husband, Travis had to fly home from Vegas early because she went into labor. They had a healthy baby boy, and named him Riley Richards. I’m so happy for them, they’ve been panicky and anxious the whole pregnancy, hoping nothing would go wrong this time. That was such a blessing because they were so worried.
On Super bowl Sunday Dean finally got to go snowmobiling. Bruce Ramsey took my sled and went with him – I guess they had a pretty good time. They came back soaking wet. I thought it would help get it out of his system, but it just made him want more. They’re already making plans again for next weekend. My girlfriend (Bruce’s girlfriend, too), Jen, won the football pool that night and got about $400. She was so excited she jumped up in front of a room of about 40 people and did a little victory dance. I was howling. The assistant coach had the party at his house and earlier that day all the guys were playing football in the snow. I guess it got pretty rough but they had fun. I had some projects around the house to get done, so didn’t show up until later, but didn’t mind because I’m not really the cheerleader type anyway. Ha.
I went to a luncheon put on for the wives at Centennial Country Club two weeks ago. We all were given a gift certificate at a local salon and I’m thinking about using it to get another massage. Sigh. What heaven. Also at the lunch, they had a guest speaker that was a handwriting analyst. She had everybody draw a tree then diagnosed the picture based on whether we drew bark lines in the trunk, individual branches or leaves, knotholes, flowers, apples, birds, squirrels, etc. According to her analysis of my tree, my family is very important to me (because I drew roots), I worry a lot, have a strong desire to deal with the public, I act a little bit more like my father than my mother and I’m very competitive. I began to break away from my parents and establish my independence at the age of eight, and never had any traumas that affected me in a major way. When I showed her my signature to analyze, she took one look at it and said, “Oh my. Oh my goodness, yes. This signature screams confidence in every aspect. You’re very comfortable in your own skin and all the other traits that you have are very strong, also. In other words, you’re not somewhat confident, you’re extremely confident. All the other traits you have are just as powerful. You’re fastidiously organized, fiercely competitive, don’t like change unless you’re the one who initiates the change, you’re very decisive, independent, very emotional and VERY affectionate. You’re highly intelligent and probably never had a problem academically and you’re very good with numbers. You’d do well in banking or finance or accounting.” I kind of made a “blech” face when she said this and she said, “It doesn’t matter whether you’re interested in it or not, I’m just telling you that you’re good at it. Also, because you’re very confident, you may not feel a need to always be social because it doesn’t bother you to stand alone at a party or social function and it may make you appear somewhat standoff-ish so be aware of that.” It was very interesting, I felt like she was pretty on target, but then, just about everything she said was positive and, of course, I want to believe her. Ha. She said to do a full, in-depth analysis, she needs about a full page of handwriting. I wonder what she would charge to do that, I think it might be a great way to get to know yourself or your spouse better. Dean said he doesn’t know if he buys it or not, but this woman had some pretty high credentials. She’s been doing this for 30 years and has done FBI work, analyzing ransom notes, suicide notes, even Secret Service notes threatening the president.
Okay, well that’s the news for now. It’s been a pretty good month and I’m keeping it on the right track so far. I’m going to end this letter a bit abruptly because I really need to get it out to y’all. Have a great February and keep those emails comin – I LOVE them!!
Take care,
Tiffany
PS - I took a short walk on the wild side the last week of the month. I
don't know what possessed me but I decided to go MUCH blonder than before
with my hair and I also got a gold bellybutton ring!! My girlfriend Jen,
has one and every time I've seen it (at the gym or when she wears cropped
tops) I have just thought it looks so sexy. It's very subtle, you don't
notice it unless you're looking for it and I absolutely love it, but I
think I've really shocked some of my friends and definitely my family.
It's pretty far out in left field for me, and Dad, Mom and Tracy were just
laughing. Jen went with me when I had it done and took me to a place that
smelled of incense and had a big iguana in a corner cage. There was also
somebody groaning behind a wall and I asked what that was, Jen said they
were getting a tatoo. Talk about the total experience, I was laughing and
giggly the whole time. Jen took pictures for me so it's forever documented
thanks to Kodak. Yes, it hurt like the dickens for about five seconds,
then was over and now it looks great! I've never liked my belly because
that's where I gain weight when I put it on, but now I'm looking for short
summer tops already! Ha. I can't wait for the weather to warm up!
Well, January was a MUCH better month, thank goodness. I have LOTS of fun news to report.
First of all, I’m typing this on my new Gateway. This thing is so sweet. 300 MHz Pentium II processor, 32MB RAM, 17” monitor, 4Gig Hard drive, 24X CD-ROM, 56K modem, awesome speakers, SOMEBODY STOP MEEEEEE!!! I love it. It feels good to join everyone in the 90’s with Windows. . I’m now trying to sell my MacIntosh. What a joke. Wish me luck. I’m also listening to Celine Dion’s new CD in the CD ROM drive while I type this. Too cool. She sings the love theme from the Titanic on this CD and I really like it. I saw that movie a couple weeks ago and was so moved by it. It was 3 hours, 15 minutes, and felt like it was over in 30 minutes. I remember being taught about the Titanic in elementary school, but I’ve never stopped to think about what it must’ve REALLY been like. Absolutely terrifying. I can’t even imagine. The movie had a wonderful love story as part of it, of course, but the whole package was very powerful. Incredible movie – I highly recommend it.
My work atmosphere still stinks to high heaven, but I created a bunch of opportunities for myself this month to keep learning and that really turns me on, so I’m hanging in there for the time being. (I don’t know how much more I’m willing to take though, so I’ll keep you posted.) The first thing I did was make an appointment to take a tour of our film house. They’re color specialists and basically they’re a middle man between the agency and the printer. They create the films that create the sheet metal plates that go on the press that prints out the brochures and ads. I won’t bore you with all I learned but it sure got ME excited. I also went to our printer in Kalamazoo and thought it was so interesting to actually see the computerized presses and how the inks are applied to the papers, how they’re folded, cut and bound. The quality control is unbelievable. I also looked at sreeen pictures on brochures that seemed like a perfectly crisp and clear photo, but when you look up close, through a jeweler’s loop, you can actually see all the dots that make them up. The dots are bigger or smaller depending on how dense the color is and each individual dot has more than one color that makes it up. I learned all about 8 color process, mezzo, line screens, ghosting, half tones, the list goes on and on. This is probably boring for the average Joe, I know, but I was fascinated.
I’m on the local speakers circuit now, too. I gave a 30 minute speech at the Business Marketers Association monthly luncheon last week. It was on “The Creative Process.” I was so excited to give it, I really couldn’t pay attention to how well it was received. I think it was good, I got a few compliments from members and requests for more information so that’s a positive.
The highlight of my month was my vacation. Of course it was too short, only a week. I left on 1/5 to go to Las Vegas for business, then took the following week off to visit with family and friends in Vegas and Phoenix. The business portion of it was the CES show. What an incredible trade show! It was so overwhelming, there’s no way to see it all in just four days. I actually had to map out my days and plan which booths I wanted to see and which seminars I wanted to attend.
The first seminar was Steve Forbes. He talked about the economic outlook, of course. His forecasts are always interesting and pretty accurate. Then I saw Scott McNeally, CEO of Sun Microsystems, Inc. He was talking about the chips that they manufacture and how they’re in everything these days. They’re in your coffee maker and there’s about 150 in the average automobile. He talked about taking the smart card to the next level and basically having everything in your wallet on one plastic card with a chip embedded in it. The chip would have all the information on your drivers license, all your credit card numbers, frequent flyer numbers, medical history, everything. He even said that he believed in our generation that we would be embedding these chips in the gumline of a newborn or on the back of their hand. That scared the daylights out of me. I’m not ready for that to happen yet.
The best speaker, of course, was Bill Gates. I wasn’t overly impressed with the hand held and palm top computers until I saw his presentation. I can definitely see uses for them now. I went to the Microsoft booth and their big release this year is Windows CE for the car. It runs in your car and operates the whole system from speaker cell phone to regulating the temperature in the radiator to global navigation. They were having a drawing, giving away a version of it and wrapped around it was a brand new silver Porche. No, I haven’t heard from them yet, so I’m not sure when it will be delivered to me, but I’ll keep you posted.
After the show, my parents drove up from Phoenix in their brand new motor home. It has a slide out living room so it’s very spacious when it’s all set up. Very plush. Sheesh, I wish I could retire. Ha. During CES, I stayed at the Mirage, which, to be honest with you, is not as impressive as I’d expected, but it was cold out, so I didn’t get to do the pool. Maybe that’s what was disappointing.
One of my good friends, Shannon, lives there now. Her husband is an electrician and there’s so much construction in Vegas right now. He was working on a brand new hotel right by the Mirage, called the Bellagio. Talk about first class. This place is all suites, has a dress code in the casino in the evening, and even has an elevator that you drive your car right onto, and it takes you (in your car) up to your floor to park on that level, get out and walk straight to your suite. Unbelievable.
Shannon and I went out one night to a club at the top of the Stratosphere. That’s the tower at the end of the strip that looks like the Space Needle in Seattle. There was a complete panoramic view of the strip and the city and it was breathtaking at night. It’s 110 stories high and I’m not afraid of heights but when I got up there and looked out over the railing, there was nothing underneath me because of the way it was shaped, and my knees went a little weak. On top of the tower, outside, there’s a roller coaster and an ejection seat. That would’ve been fun to do, but it was actually really cold out, so we decided to save it for the next visit. It was so good to catch up with Shannon. She was one of my three bridesmaids in my wedding and I haven’t really been able to see her in a few years. She’s absolutely hilarious and absolutely gorgeous, too. She’s about 6’1” and about as big around as me. She really turns heads when we go out. We tore up the town and when I got back to the motor home (at 5am), Mom was making my bed up. She told me to go to the back of the bus, because she was up for the day and didn’t want to work around me. Ha.
The Griffins came through town for a game while I was there and my whole family and I went. There were sixteen of us there and we had a blast! Dean’s mother came down for a couple days, too, and she and I were sitting together at the game. The camera focused on us and we got our mugs on the readerboard in the middle of the game. We yelled, “Go Griffins” and waved – too fun. All the guys gave Dean grief about wanting so many tickets for a road game and he just said, “I’ve got fans in every town, boys, get used to it.” Ha. The next night, they were in Salt Lake City and he had to get some tickets for a friend there, too. The team travels in such style, I’m telling you. They were staying at the Luxor, which is my FAVORITE hotel on the strip. We all went over there afterwards to play in the casino for a while and my parents and mother in law and cousins got to see Dean for a little while. That was nice, we had a good time.
My mom started out on one of the slot machines with twenty dollars (80 quarters), and had the machine up to over 600 quarters! She was really on a roll, then my cousin, Shane (ornery brat) came over, with a wicked grin on his face and said, “How ya doin, Gayle?” She said, “Fantastic, don’t touch anything!!” So what do you think he did? He hit the “cash out” button on the machine and laughed like crazy. All her quarters came crashing out and she filled up an entire cup with them. I was laughing so hard. Then we all kept dipping into her cup when we were out of money so the rest of us could keep playing. By the end of the night, it was all gone, but we had a blast. Poor mom. She never gets any breaks. Ha. It’s a good thing she has such a great sense of humor, or we all would’ve been dead years ago. Shane is actually one of my favorite cousins. He’s a policeman in Mesquite, NV, and that night he gave me his coat which has a logo on it for a program they started: D.A.R.E. to keep kids off drugs. He told me he would be HONORED to have me wear his coat. Aaawwww. He’s such a sweetie, eh? He and his wife, Marci, had us all over to their house earlier that week for dinner, too. All I can say is, they have a really nice home so policing in Mesquite must be profitable. Ha.
When I was Miss Alaska, one of my prizes was a cruise from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico. On that cruise, there was an entertainer by the name of Loretta Holloway. I got to meet her at the midnight buffet and we really hit it off, she’s really a neat lady. I never kept in touch, though, and now I regret it because she was performing at the Luxor. I went into the lounge and watched her all night one night. She’s as incredible as ever and still the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen hit the stage. Very impressive.
Mom and Dad and I went to the Star Trek experience at the Hilton hotel – that was pretty neat. It’s a motion simulator ride where there’s a wide angle screen that’s concave and it appears (by optical illusion) that you’re flying through space. The seats we were sitting in rocked and jerked around according to what was happening on the screen and a couple of times, my stomach flipped, even though we really weren’t going anywhere. It was so fun, my parents are such little kids at heart. They’re so much fun to play with.
We also watched the pirate battle and ships sinking at Treasure Island. I didn’t get to see that last time I was in Vegas – what a neat little show! It’s actually very elaborate for being something they do every hour for free. You can feel the heat from the cannonballs and all the good looking pirates (without shirts) fall off the ships into the water and fight it out with each other. Whew. I REALLY enjoyed that. Tee hee.
I also did the Fremont Street Experience downtown with my mom and mother-in-law – more lights and sound effects and very “Vegas” feeling. I liked that, too. Then the next day, we had to say good-bye to mom-in-law and my parents and I hit the road to Phoenix to spend some quiet time with my Grandparents. We saw Hoover Dam on the way, too. It’s a good thing they have all that hydroelectric power from Lake Mead because I can’t imagine what the electricity bill would be for one of those Vegas casinos. While I was in Phoenix, I did make time to see one of my high school girlfriends who just got married last summer. I saw all the wedding pictures and caught up on her life. I’m so proud of her, she’s about to finish her PhD at ASU and really found a terrific guy, too. (Hi, Fran Fu)
Bill was going to be in Vegas the last day before I had to head home so I flew from Phoenix to Vegas a day early so I could hook up with him. It was so good to get caught up and we had such a blast! I realized that I’m really just homesick for my friends, more than anything, not so much the state (and definitely not the weather.) We went out to dinner at the Harley Davidson Café then went to a piano bar at New York, NewYork. That place was such a hoot!! I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard. The piano players were so talented, they played songs like Sweet Home Alabama, Old Time Rock and Roll, Shook me all night long, and New York New York. They took any and all requests and did just about anything you wanted them to. During NY, NY, they made the crowd stand in a circle around the pianos and do a kickline. During “Joy to the World” they had hand motions that went along with it that were too risque to mention here. Ha. One guy had a birthday and they made him sit on top of the piano while the whole crowd sang (to the tune of itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny, yellow polka dot bikini) “He’s got an itsy, bitsy… I’ll let you fill in the rest. They sang all kinds of songs where they changed the words like that and made them hilariously filthy. I laughed so hard all night, my stomach muscles hurt the next day. Those guys really had the crowd rockin and they never slowed down all night. They jumped up on the piano to dance and the room was just packed. We didn’t shut it down until about 4 am. We met a newlywed couple in the kickline – her name was Patti and his was Furman. I couldn’t remember Furman because it’s kind of unusual and I kept calling him Femer (as in the thigh bone) He was good natured about it, though, and they bought us a couple drinks. I’ll never forget that place as long as I live, what a fun time!!!!
I REALLY didn’t want to come home the next day, I wasn’t done being on vacation. I had waayyyyy too much fun there. I told my friend, Cindy Greig, that it’s a good thing the laws are looser in Nevada, because I was pushing it!!! Ha. I don’t know if, even yet, I’m out of vacation mode. Next month, I’m going to Orlando, Florida for a long weekend with Colleen and Kristin. The guys have a couple games there and we’ll go to one of them, at least, but for the most part, I plan on picking up where I left off on the last vacation. Wahoooo!! I’m loving all the cheap airfare from Michigan. Flying anywhere from Alaska is so cotton pickin expensive that it makes a lot of travel unaffordable. I warned Dean when we moved down here that I wanted to do some travelling and he said okay. I think he regrets that now. Ha. Colleen emailed me last week and said she saw a rate in the paper for a round trip ticket, DC to Madrid, for about $300. She wanted to know if Kristin or I were interested in another long weekend trip. My hand shot up!! I felt like a kid in elementary school, saying, “Ooh, ooh, pick me!!!” I hope it works out, we’re going to talk about it some more in Orlando.
When I got home from Vegas, I had 87 emails waiting for me. Yikes! If I haven’t answered you yet, please be patient, I’m working my way through them one at a time, and trying to get this letter finished so I can get it out before February is gone.
Angie Richards had her baby, she’s the one who miscarried twins a year ago and was so supportive for me during our miscarraige last month. In fact, her husband, Travis had to fly home from Vegas early because she went into labor. They had a healthy baby boy, and named him Riley Richards. I’m so happy for them, they’ve been panicky and anxious the whole pregnancy, hoping nothing would go wrong this time. That was such a blessing because they were so worried.
On Super bowl Sunday Dean finally got to go snowmobiling. Bruce Ramsey took my sled and went with him – I guess they had a pretty good time. They came back soaking wet. I thought it would help get it out of his system, but it just made him want more. They’re already making plans again for next weekend. My girlfriend (Bruce’s girlfriend, too), Jen, won the football pool that night and got about $400. She was so excited she jumped up in front of a room of about 40 people and did a little victory dance. I was howling. The assistant coach had the party at his house and earlier that day all the guys were playing football in the snow. I guess it got pretty rough but they had fun. I had some projects around the house to get done, so didn’t show up until later, but didn’t mind because I’m not really the cheerleader type anyway. Ha.
I went to a luncheon put on for the wives at Centennial Country Club two weeks ago. We all were given a gift certificate at a local salon and I’m thinking about using it to get another massage. Sigh. What heaven. Also at the lunch, they had a guest speaker that was a handwriting analyst. She had everybody draw a tree then diagnosed the picture based on whether we drew bark lines in the trunk, individual branches or leaves, knotholes, flowers, apples, birds, squirrels, etc. According to her analysis of my tree, my family is very important to me (because I drew roots), I worry a lot, have a strong desire to deal with the public, I act a little bit more like my father than my mother and I’m very competitive. I began to break away from my parents and establish my independence at the age of eight, and never had any traumas that affected me in a major way. When I showed her my signature to analyze, she took one look at it and said, “Oh my. Oh my goodness, yes. This signature screams confidence in every aspect. You’re very comfortable in your own skin and all the other traits that you have are very strong, also. In other words, you’re not somewhat confident, you’re extremely confident. All the other traits you have are just as powerful. You’re fastidiously organized, fiercely competitive, don’t like change unless you’re the one who initiates the change, you’re very decisive, independent, very emotional and VERY affectionate. You’re highly intelligent and probably never had a problem academically and you’re very good with numbers. You’d do well in banking or finance or accounting.” I kind of made a “blech” face when she said this and she said, “It doesn’t matter whether you’re interested in it or not, I’m just telling you that you’re good at it. Also, because you’re very confident, you may not feel a need to always be social because it doesn’t bother you to stand alone at a party or social function and it may make you appear somewhat standoff-ish so be aware of that.” It was very interesting, I felt like she was pretty on target, but then, just about everything she said was positive and, of course, I want to believe her. Ha. She said to do a full, in-depth analysis, she needs about a full page of handwriting. I wonder what she would charge to do that, I think it might be a great way to get to know yourself or your spouse better. Dean said he doesn’t know if he buys it or not, but this woman had some pretty high credentials. She’s been doing this for 30 years and has done FBI work, analyzing ransom notes, suicide notes, even Secret Service notes threatening the president.
Okay, well that’s the news for now. It’s been a pretty good month and I’m keeping it on the right track so far. I’m going to end this letter a bit abruptly because I really need to get it out to y’all. Have a great February and keep those emails comin – I LOVE them!!
Take care,
Tiffany
PS - I took a short walk on the wild side the last week of the month. I
don't know what possessed me but I decided to go MUCH blonder than before
with my hair and I also got a gold bellybutton ring!! My girlfriend Jen,
has one and every time I've seen it (at the gym or when she wears cropped
tops) I have just thought it looks so sexy. It's very subtle, you don't
notice it unless you're looking for it and I absolutely love it, but I
think I've really shocked some of my friends and definitely my family.
It's pretty far out in left field for me, and Dad, Mom and Tracy were just
laughing. Jen went with me when I had it done and took me to a place that
smelled of incense and had a big iguana in a corner cage. There was also
somebody groaning behind a wall and I asked what that was, Jen said they
were getting a tatoo. Talk about the total experience, I was laughing and
giggly the whole time. Jen took pictures for me so it's forever documented
thanks to Kodak. Yes, it hurt like the dickens for about five seconds,
then was over and now it looks great! I've never liked my belly because
that's where I gain weight when I put it on, but now I'm looking for short
summer tops already! Ha. I can't wait for the weather to warm up!
Michigan Pro Hockey Tour - January 1998
Hi everyone!!
December was an emotional roller coaster for Dean and I. I'll tell you the bad news first, and I'll try to keep it short and leave out all the gory details, then I can get on with the good news and concentrate on that.
I spoke a bit too soon in my last letter about our pregnancy. If you haven't already heard, we miscarried around December 10th, about two weeks after our big announcement. We were six weeks along. For the first week, I felt like my heart would break, but Dean, bless his heart, always helps me stay focused on the positive and we decided there was one good thing that came out of it: at least now we know that we can conceive. We've never tried before so there's always that initial worry that there might be unknown problems. Of course I felt a little foolish because then we had to go back and tell everyone that it was a false alarm, and I had even made the comment that I probably wouldn't be so quick to tell people the next time it happened. But Angie, a friend I've made here, miscarried twins a year ago, FIVE months into her pregnancy. One was stillborn and the other died in her arms. It doesn't matter how good or bad you think you've got it, somebody can always top your story. I can't imagine her grief. Anyway, she told me that: 1) You can't help yourself but to get excited when you discover you're pregnant, so don't even try to supress it and 2) If I don't allow myself to get as excited the second time as I did the first time, I'm not being fair to the second baby or myself. I had to agree with her so as soon as we have news again, I'll tell right away.
I was also going to go to New York this month with my girlfriend, Marlo, for some Christmas shopping and see Greenwich village and Rockerfeller Center, etc. but at the time I had to arrange for my ticket with only a seven day advance, I wasn't sure if I was actually miscarrying. We were waiting for the results from blood tests and the doctor told me to lay low so I had to cancel the trip. Marlo is married to a doctor and she's pregnant herself so she completely understood but we were both disappointed. I'll get there someday.
Later in the month, Dean sustained an injury in a game in Cleveland that stopped my heart when I heard about it. It's the type of injury every athlete's wife has nightmares about. He was racing into the corner after the puck and he had a Cleveland forward right on his heels so he was going at top speed. The guy tripped him and sent him headfirst into the boards. Knocked him out cold. They revived him and he skated off the ice himself but he doesn't remember anything about the game before that time. He ended up with a mild concussion, but he's lucky he didn't break his neck. He couldn't play in any games for a week. He was allowed to practice but no contact. Then one day (yes, there's more) the coach decided he wasn't getting enough of a workout just going through the motions at practice so he told Dean to stay after and ride the bike. Normally, this isn't a big deal, guys have to do it all the time and oftentimes, they do it anyway, of their own accord. Dean especially, because he's such a rink rat. This day, however, coach wanted Dean to ride for a full hour at the highest level. He came home exhausted and was still sweating two hours later. All he could do was flop on the couch and he was drinking water as fast as he could. WARM water so it would absorb faster (blech.) About three hours after he got home, he rolled off the couch holding his legs and screaming in agony. He couldn't even talk to me and I didn't know what was wrong. I wanted to call an ambulance because he was scaring me but after a few minutes the pain lessened and he said he was just cramping really hard in his thighs. He said it was just because he was so dehydrated and he couldn't push the water fast enough. Goodness, I'll tell you what, being a professional athlete isn't always the cake walk some people think it is.
Okay, enough wallowing, on with the positive stuff.
The Griffins had their annual Christmas party at a resort in Traverse City, right on the northeast shore of Lake Michigan. It's about three hours north of Grand Rapids and the resort that they put us up in for the three days was gorgeous. We were going to go snowmobiling and skiing but we weren't sure at the time if I was miscarrying or not so under doctor's orders we just took it easy. I spent the weekend at the spa. :-) I told Dean that I was supposed to relax so a massage was definitely in order. He just chuckled and said, "whatever." One of the other wives, Josette, and I had to come back a day early for work so while everyone else rode together in the bus, we drove separately in the car. It was nice to spend the time getting to know her and Todd a little better. Some of my friendships here are starting to get a little closer, finally.
Christmas was actually really nice this year. We weren't sure what to expect, being just the two of us this time. Usually we're surrounded by lots of people and we have a big Christmas dinner with about 30 of my aunts, uncles, cousins and friends, it's all turkey and games and kids and wonderful chaos. But we made it very special and started some of our own traditions (none of your business :-) ) We made our own little turkey breast, some gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing and corn. We even thought about making a jello mold for dessert, just because, but we were both so stuffed neither one of us wanted to get up to make it. Ha. Santa was good to me, too. He brought me a remote car starter for my car, a new 300 mHz Gateway computer, a couple of big goose down pillows for our new bedroom set, a cappucino maker so I can have hot chocolate with steamed milk in the morning, a new space heater for my office (old faithful finally gave up the ghost), a few CD's I had been wanting, including the soundtrack from Mystere, the Cirque de Soleil, which was a show we saw in Vegas, and a couple boxes of my favorite chocolates - Bavarian mints.
Dean got a couple of his favorite movies, some guitar music books so he can play something besides "Rocky Top" (and save my sanity), ping pong paddles and balls, socks & underwear (kind of an annual joke), a heating massage pad and lots of spicy jerky and salsa from my sister, DOTS and licorice (his favorite), a nose hair trimmer (he's obsessed about getting as much oxygen to his muscles as possible) a few CD's of his own, and a moose picture mouse pad from my aunt Linda, so he wouldn't be homesick for Alaska, and a Donald Duck tie and a Jeff Foxworthy calendar from Kristina, a cousin. He also got a wall calendar with twelve beautiful pictures of outhouses as a joke from my sister. Thanks, Tracy, I was hoping for Anne Geddes. The Griffins gave all the guys a beautiful wool and suede jacket with the Griffins logo on the front left. He was happy this year.
I also wanted the CD soundtrack to On Golden Pond, but we couldn't find it anywhere. The orchestral compositions in that movie are sooooo great, and the movie itself is simply a classic. Oh well, we'll keep looking. If anybody happens to come across it, please tell me where I can get it. Thanks. I also bought some board games after Christmas because we don't have any at all and Dean and I taught ourselves how to play chess - finally! Little Jimmy Butler was an inspiration for me. What a great game this is!! Right now, all we really know is which ways each piece can move but as soon as we get the new computer running (more on that later), I'm going online to look up some strategies for attack. Dean's job is all about strategy so he works in it every day and thinks that way by habit. What I'm trying not to say is that he's very good at anticipating my next moves and he's kicking my patoot in chess and I'm starting to get mad! I'll keep you posted because we're starting to keep score as to who wins how many games. Right now, he's only a little bit ahead, it just seems like I have to work at it a lot harder than he does. He goes after my queen all the time and if he manages to capture her, I lose every time. Aaaargh!! This game is as great / frustrating as golf. I love it.
The team captain, Danton Cole, had a Christmas party at his house this year. This is one of the guys who has a Stanley cup ring - he played for the Blackhawks when they won a few years ago. He's got pictures on the frig of he and his wife and daughters posing around the cup and another one of him drinking out of it. Neat. He and his wife, Debbie, are two of the sweetest people I've ever met and their two little girls are adorable - both with bright blonde hair and the cutest personalities. Maddie, about three years old, kept asking all night what we were going to do next and when Debbie or Danton told her, she would say, "THEN can we open presents?!" Ha. Later, on a whim, we decided to play the game "Outburst." I don't know if you know how this game is played, but it gets really loud and with twenty drunken hockey players in the same room together, I couldn't even hear myself think. I was laughing so hard my stomach muscles were sore the next day.
The next night was Christmas Eve and another one of the guys and his wife had a party, too. Everyone was kind of whipped from the Coles' party, though, so we just sat around and chatted by the fire, then went home early. The new goalie that I told you about in the last letter, Patrick LaLime, is French Canadian and his fiance was in town visiting for Christmas. When they left the party that night, they went around the room and gave everybody a kiss on each cheek and a hug. Some of the guys were a little uncomfortable getting a kiss from another man and I was just laughing. I thought it was sweet and I made them do it again for me at the New Years Eve party. They loved it.
Being the party animals that we are, we usually ring in the new year sound asleep in bed, but this year, Charley's Crab (GREAT restaurant) offered dinner to the team and wives so we went there after the game that night. I've never actually been in the east coast time zone to watch the ball drop in Times square so that was kind of neat to see it AS it happened, live, instead of four hours tape delayed. The team equipment manager, Tim Paris, passed out hats, noisemakers and streamers and everyone got a glass of champagne and there was a piano player that played the music - it turned out to be pretty fun. Dean's New Years kiss was pretty light, though, because in the game that night, he'd been hit in the mouth with a stick and about an inch below his bottom lip, the flesh was split all the way through and he had about four stitches. Oh well. Later, when we went home, we called my sister and brother-in-law in Alaska and were marvelling at how it was 1998 for us and still 1997 for them, and yet, we were talking real time on the phone. Ha. It doesn't take much to entertain us, I guess.
Regarding his split lip, when it happened in the game that night, there was no penalty called and the coach went ballistic. He was cursing so much that the ref threw him out of the game. I got there a little late and I knew the girls would be downstairs in the green room watching the game on closed circuit, so I headed that direction. On my way there, I passed a hallway that the coach was going through on the way to the locker room and I heard all the yelling. It was amazing, I heard cuss words I didn't even know were words. He definitely took about five years off his life with that tirade. Later in the game, Dean raised his hand to block a cross-check and caught his pinky between the two sticks. Almost lost the tip of his finger. He says that fingertip injuries hurt incredibly bad because there are so many nerve endings in your fingertips - they're very sensitive. My dad had one of his fingertips cut off in an accident a few years back and he agrees. I think the big strong men just want a little attention and TLC. Mom and I are on to the charade, but play along willingly.
As far as that new computer goes, it's wonderful, but it doesn't work yet. Apparently, the video card slipped a bit in shipping and when Dean turned it on for the first time, impulses went across more than one node at a time and it shorted out the card. I called tech support and was on the phone for 30 minutes before we figured this out and "Matt" said he would arrange for a new card to be shipped to us right away. We were supposed to have it on Friday. Well, the UPS fellow typically comes around 4 p.m. but by 6 p.m., when there had been no knocks on the door, I assumed there would be no delivery for the Trboyevich's that day. I called Gateway to get the UPS tracking number so I could call them to find out exactly when it was scheduled to be delivered. Gateway informed me that it actually hadn't left their dock yet and that UPS would pick it up on Monday to be delivered to us on Tuesday. I informed them that that was unacceptable as that was four days later than promised and what kind of compensation was I going to get for the extra long wait and hassle? This girl said, "Well, I suppose I could send you a pen or a mug or something..." I said, "How about some software or something instead?" She said they have a contract with Microsoft and can't give away their software. I said, "Well, what about a printer or a video cam or a scanner or something like that?" I knew I was shooting high here but you just never know until you ask. She said she couldn't give away such expensive items. I said, "Fine, send me a large T-shirt, maybe my husband will wear it and won't mind looking like a Gateway cow." Needless to say, I think she was happy to get me off the phone. Anyway, hopefully my next letter will be from Windows instead of this old Mac. It amazes me that four years ago, this computer was the hottest thing to hit the shelves and now, ugh.
Work is still going sort of okay, but I'm liking it less and less all the time. This man that I work for, Wayne Leistra, has such a short temper and he blows a gasket at the slightest thing. Last week, at the Monday morning staff meeting, he wouldn't even sit down, he just kept pacing the conference room for an hour, screaming at people. He doesn't give constructive criticism or even talk about their work, either, he attacks their character, calling them lazy slobs without an ounce of creative blood in them, blah, blah, blah and lots of cursing in between. He hasn't attacked me like this yet but everyone tells me my day will come, whether I deserve it or not, nobody is sacred. I don't know if I want to wait around that long, I'm having a horrible internal moral conflict watching him treat other people this way. I think he has a lot of insecurities, and I'm beginning to understand why he keeps a corporate psychiatrist on retainer. I suppose that actually says a lot about the man, eh? He's gone back on three promises that he made to me, too - one was even in writing on my initial job offer. I was supposed to get a great new computer set up with a laptop to take when I travel and a docking station for when I'm in the office. Instead, I got an old hand-me-down that nobody used and it's on it's last leg. I have troubles with it every day, he doesn't even realize how much money it's really costing him. Then he went back on his promise to pay for my tuition to continue with my masters degree this semester. Instead, now I have to wait until I'm employed for a year, and the latest, he's not paying for my ticket to Vegas to the CES show. That part of my trip is for business and I called him on all these things last week and fully expected it to be "my day" in the incinerator, but he just calmly said he wasn't going to do any of it and that was that. Live with it or don't, he didn't care. I gave him an earful and walked out, my heart was racing. We'll see if I still have a job on Monday. It didn't really seem to bother him, I get the impression that he gets yelled at a lot. I had to go home and tell Dean that now we had to buy the ticket, right after Christmas. A $400.00 charge because of my dishonest employer. I'm very frustrated with him. I guess I'll have to get everything in writing from now on. It's going to cost him even more money in the time it will take me to type up all our conversations, but oh well. He can live with it or not, I'm beginning not to care, too.
I was complaining about all this to Bill on the phone later that day and he reminded me that I do have a long term goal in mind and to just remember that I'm there to learn as much as I can. I wasn't sure if I could remember to stay focused on that so I actually put it on a piece of paper and taped it to my computer so I would have a constant reminder. As soon as we hung up the phone, I started writing down all my questions, such as terms that I had heard used in coversations that I needed to know definitions for, and then I made an appointment with one of our printers next week to go take a tour and see firsthand what happens to all our stuff when it leaves our office. I've resolved to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can, that way, if I decide not to put up with the heat anymore, I can leave with no regrets and a lot of knowledge under my belt. I've already spent a lot of time over the last couple months getting involved with creative output, learning what film separations are, varnishes, typography, good design, copywriting and the whole creative process, but I still have a lot to learn. I had actually never really thought of being creative as a "process", I always thought some people were just blessed with the ability to come up with great ideas, but there really is a method to the madness and steps to go through to get to those "slam bam" ideas. An organized way to be creative - what a concept. It's perfect for me. Ha. One thing is for sure, though, my skin is definitely getting thicker working for him, so that's a blessing in a convoluted sort of way, I guess.
I really am looking forward to this trip to Vegas in January, I've wanted to attend the Consumer Electronics Show for few years now. I'm scheduled for a seminar to hear Bill Gates speak, too, so that should be interesting, I hope. We'll see what's on the horizon for Microsoft. I'll have much more to tell you about next month, I have lots of other plans while I'm there, too. I have the whole following week off for vacation and Dad and Mom are going to drive up from Phoenix to visit with me. I get to stay with them in their brand new motor home. They bought one of those huge things that have the whole living room area that slides out on the side about another 8 feet so it's very spacious inside. Sigh, I wish I could retire. Ha.
I hope it's warm enough to take my golf clubs, because I've been gearing up for this trip going to an indoor driving range here. It's about 4 miles from my front door, and get this: it has two levels to hit off of. I was intrigued because I've seen them, but I've never actually been to a double decker driving range. Last week, we were on the top level and I couldn't miss, I was smacking them against the back wall every time. That's actually only about 100 yards, but, hey, they were straight as an arrow, and that's what counts. Of course, Dean was the only one with me to witness and he refuses to admit when I'm doing something better than him that's physical in any way, shape or form, so he'll never tell you what a great day I was having. Besides, at one point, he had dumped a bunch of balls on the ground to hit one right after the other, and when he hit one of them, he knocked about five others off the roof down below (we were on the second level) It made quite a clatter and I was laughing my head off. That didn't help, of course, but I couldn't help it. Also, when we went to the pro shop to get the tokens for a bucket of balls, the guy behind the counter noticed Dean's Griffins jacket that he got for Christmas and asked where he got it. Dean said it was a gift to the players from management and the guy freaked out. He told Dean to come on back anytime and he'd never have to pay for tokens again, he'd "totally" set us up. Good grief, I can't take him anywhere. Any more attention from this town, and Dean's head won't fit through our front door! It's a good thing he doesn't need a bodyguard.
We finally received our bedroom set a few weeks ago- it's absolutely beautiful. It's a dark mohagany wood (Queen Anne flavor) with a modernisitc twist. The design has arches, spheres, squares and it has little pyramids for handles on drawers and doors, etc. I wanted it to look like something out of Victorias Secret. We got a nightstand, an armoire, and a king size bed frame although we still only have our queen sized mattresses. It looks a little funny right now, but we'll get the mattresses soon. I couldn't justify another $1000 at the time. I'd like to get the matching dresser and mirror eventually, but considering that I was only supposed to get an armoire that day when I was out shopping, I figured that much extra would be too hard to explain to Dean when I got home. I guess I chickened out because I didn't want to make him toooooo mad. A little mad and I can deal with my guilt, tooooo mad is no good. I end up returning stuff and that's really a downer for the salesperson.
We've got some party animals that moved in next door. They've been up vacuuming at midnight, and partying til 4 a.m. regularly. Of course, their living room is right on the other side of our bedroom wall. The particular wall that happens to be six inches from the top of my head when I'm sleeping. Argh. Am I getting old? The music was so loud one night it was vibrating the bed and it actually made me mad. Five years ago, I could've found a positive in that somewhere. Sigh. I was so frustrated late one night / morning I stood up on the bed, let out an indian battle cry and threw my pillow at the wall. I thought Dean was awake, too, he's a very light sleeper, but apparently not. I scared the daylights out of him. He was a lot smarter than I was that night because he went to the junk drawer earlier and found some earplugs that he used while working construction last summer and put them in. He was sleeping like a baby and then awoke to find his wife standing on the bed screaming at a wall. Ha ha. Poor guy, he just doesn't know what to do with me sometimes. I called the management office the next day and they sent them a letter telling them to cool it so we'll see if it works. I just need my own house on my own piece of land, nice and secluded - this apartment living is for the birds.
My apologies, this letter has been a lot more negative than I intended. Either I'm getting cynical or it's just been a bad month. I'll shape up next month, I promise. Just two more bad things, then I'm done. Dean went into a depression last week because he found out one of his heros died, Chris Farley. Then he found out that Sienfeld was calling it quits on the same day. Poor guy, I didn't know how to console him. Mom never told me there would be days like this.
I guess in light of all that's happened this month, Dean and I should be thankful that we haven't thrown ourselves off the side of a building. It's amazing that we don't do drugs, either. Ha. Just kidding. We know that we have a lot to be thankful for and we've been blessed in many, many ways. Don't worry, we haven't lost sight of that. I just hope that next month will be a much more cheerful letter with lots of good things to report. Talk to you then!
Much love,
Tiffany
December was an emotional roller coaster for Dean and I. I'll tell you the bad news first, and I'll try to keep it short and leave out all the gory details, then I can get on with the good news and concentrate on that.
I spoke a bit too soon in my last letter about our pregnancy. If you haven't already heard, we miscarried around December 10th, about two weeks after our big announcement. We were six weeks along. For the first week, I felt like my heart would break, but Dean, bless his heart, always helps me stay focused on the positive and we decided there was one good thing that came out of it: at least now we know that we can conceive. We've never tried before so there's always that initial worry that there might be unknown problems. Of course I felt a little foolish because then we had to go back and tell everyone that it was a false alarm, and I had even made the comment that I probably wouldn't be so quick to tell people the next time it happened. But Angie, a friend I've made here, miscarried twins a year ago, FIVE months into her pregnancy. One was stillborn and the other died in her arms. It doesn't matter how good or bad you think you've got it, somebody can always top your story. I can't imagine her grief. Anyway, she told me that: 1) You can't help yourself but to get excited when you discover you're pregnant, so don't even try to supress it and 2) If I don't allow myself to get as excited the second time as I did the first time, I'm not being fair to the second baby or myself. I had to agree with her so as soon as we have news again, I'll tell right away.
I was also going to go to New York this month with my girlfriend, Marlo, for some Christmas shopping and see Greenwich village and Rockerfeller Center, etc. but at the time I had to arrange for my ticket with only a seven day advance, I wasn't sure if I was actually miscarrying. We were waiting for the results from blood tests and the doctor told me to lay low so I had to cancel the trip. Marlo is married to a doctor and she's pregnant herself so she completely understood but we were both disappointed. I'll get there someday.
Later in the month, Dean sustained an injury in a game in Cleveland that stopped my heart when I heard about it. It's the type of injury every athlete's wife has nightmares about. He was racing into the corner after the puck and he had a Cleveland forward right on his heels so he was going at top speed. The guy tripped him and sent him headfirst into the boards. Knocked him out cold. They revived him and he skated off the ice himself but he doesn't remember anything about the game before that time. He ended up with a mild concussion, but he's lucky he didn't break his neck. He couldn't play in any games for a week. He was allowed to practice but no contact. Then one day (yes, there's more) the coach decided he wasn't getting enough of a workout just going through the motions at practice so he told Dean to stay after and ride the bike. Normally, this isn't a big deal, guys have to do it all the time and oftentimes, they do it anyway, of their own accord. Dean especially, because he's such a rink rat. This day, however, coach wanted Dean to ride for a full hour at the highest level. He came home exhausted and was still sweating two hours later. All he could do was flop on the couch and he was drinking water as fast as he could. WARM water so it would absorb faster (blech.) About three hours after he got home, he rolled off the couch holding his legs and screaming in agony. He couldn't even talk to me and I didn't know what was wrong. I wanted to call an ambulance because he was scaring me but after a few minutes the pain lessened and he said he was just cramping really hard in his thighs. He said it was just because he was so dehydrated and he couldn't push the water fast enough. Goodness, I'll tell you what, being a professional athlete isn't always the cake walk some people think it is.
Okay, enough wallowing, on with the positive stuff.
The Griffins had their annual Christmas party at a resort in Traverse City, right on the northeast shore of Lake Michigan. It's about three hours north of Grand Rapids and the resort that they put us up in for the three days was gorgeous. We were going to go snowmobiling and skiing but we weren't sure at the time if I was miscarrying or not so under doctor's orders we just took it easy. I spent the weekend at the spa. :-) I told Dean that I was supposed to relax so a massage was definitely in order. He just chuckled and said, "whatever." One of the other wives, Josette, and I had to come back a day early for work so while everyone else rode together in the bus, we drove separately in the car. It was nice to spend the time getting to know her and Todd a little better. Some of my friendships here are starting to get a little closer, finally.
Christmas was actually really nice this year. We weren't sure what to expect, being just the two of us this time. Usually we're surrounded by lots of people and we have a big Christmas dinner with about 30 of my aunts, uncles, cousins and friends, it's all turkey and games and kids and wonderful chaos. But we made it very special and started some of our own traditions (none of your business :-) ) We made our own little turkey breast, some gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing and corn. We even thought about making a jello mold for dessert, just because, but we were both so stuffed neither one of us wanted to get up to make it. Ha. Santa was good to me, too. He brought me a remote car starter for my car, a new 300 mHz Gateway computer, a couple of big goose down pillows for our new bedroom set, a cappucino maker so I can have hot chocolate with steamed milk in the morning, a new space heater for my office (old faithful finally gave up the ghost), a few CD's I had been wanting, including the soundtrack from Mystere, the Cirque de Soleil, which was a show we saw in Vegas, and a couple boxes of my favorite chocolates - Bavarian mints.
Dean got a couple of his favorite movies, some guitar music books so he can play something besides "Rocky Top" (and save my sanity), ping pong paddles and balls, socks & underwear (kind of an annual joke), a heating massage pad and lots of spicy jerky and salsa from my sister, DOTS and licorice (his favorite), a nose hair trimmer (he's obsessed about getting as much oxygen to his muscles as possible) a few CD's of his own, and a moose picture mouse pad from my aunt Linda, so he wouldn't be homesick for Alaska, and a Donald Duck tie and a Jeff Foxworthy calendar from Kristina, a cousin. He also got a wall calendar with twelve beautiful pictures of outhouses as a joke from my sister. Thanks, Tracy, I was hoping for Anne Geddes. The Griffins gave all the guys a beautiful wool and suede jacket with the Griffins logo on the front left. He was happy this year.
I also wanted the CD soundtrack to On Golden Pond, but we couldn't find it anywhere. The orchestral compositions in that movie are sooooo great, and the movie itself is simply a classic. Oh well, we'll keep looking. If anybody happens to come across it, please tell me where I can get it. Thanks. I also bought some board games after Christmas because we don't have any at all and Dean and I taught ourselves how to play chess - finally! Little Jimmy Butler was an inspiration for me. What a great game this is!! Right now, all we really know is which ways each piece can move but as soon as we get the new computer running (more on that later), I'm going online to look up some strategies for attack. Dean's job is all about strategy so he works in it every day and thinks that way by habit. What I'm trying not to say is that he's very good at anticipating my next moves and he's kicking my patoot in chess and I'm starting to get mad! I'll keep you posted because we're starting to keep score as to who wins how many games. Right now, he's only a little bit ahead, it just seems like I have to work at it a lot harder than he does. He goes after my queen all the time and if he manages to capture her, I lose every time. Aaaargh!! This game is as great / frustrating as golf. I love it.
The team captain, Danton Cole, had a Christmas party at his house this year. This is one of the guys who has a Stanley cup ring - he played for the Blackhawks when they won a few years ago. He's got pictures on the frig of he and his wife and daughters posing around the cup and another one of him drinking out of it. Neat. He and his wife, Debbie, are two of the sweetest people I've ever met and their two little girls are adorable - both with bright blonde hair and the cutest personalities. Maddie, about three years old, kept asking all night what we were going to do next and when Debbie or Danton told her, she would say, "THEN can we open presents?!" Ha. Later, on a whim, we decided to play the game "Outburst." I don't know if you know how this game is played, but it gets really loud and with twenty drunken hockey players in the same room together, I couldn't even hear myself think. I was laughing so hard my stomach muscles were sore the next day.
The next night was Christmas Eve and another one of the guys and his wife had a party, too. Everyone was kind of whipped from the Coles' party, though, so we just sat around and chatted by the fire, then went home early. The new goalie that I told you about in the last letter, Patrick LaLime, is French Canadian and his fiance was in town visiting for Christmas. When they left the party that night, they went around the room and gave everybody a kiss on each cheek and a hug. Some of the guys were a little uncomfortable getting a kiss from another man and I was just laughing. I thought it was sweet and I made them do it again for me at the New Years Eve party. They loved it.
Being the party animals that we are, we usually ring in the new year sound asleep in bed, but this year, Charley's Crab (GREAT restaurant) offered dinner to the team and wives so we went there after the game that night. I've never actually been in the east coast time zone to watch the ball drop in Times square so that was kind of neat to see it AS it happened, live, instead of four hours tape delayed. The team equipment manager, Tim Paris, passed out hats, noisemakers and streamers and everyone got a glass of champagne and there was a piano player that played the music - it turned out to be pretty fun. Dean's New Years kiss was pretty light, though, because in the game that night, he'd been hit in the mouth with a stick and about an inch below his bottom lip, the flesh was split all the way through and he had about four stitches. Oh well. Later, when we went home, we called my sister and brother-in-law in Alaska and were marvelling at how it was 1998 for us and still 1997 for them, and yet, we were talking real time on the phone. Ha. It doesn't take much to entertain us, I guess.
Regarding his split lip, when it happened in the game that night, there was no penalty called and the coach went ballistic. He was cursing so much that the ref threw him out of the game. I got there a little late and I knew the girls would be downstairs in the green room watching the game on closed circuit, so I headed that direction. On my way there, I passed a hallway that the coach was going through on the way to the locker room and I heard all the yelling. It was amazing, I heard cuss words I didn't even know were words. He definitely took about five years off his life with that tirade. Later in the game, Dean raised his hand to block a cross-check and caught his pinky between the two sticks. Almost lost the tip of his finger. He says that fingertip injuries hurt incredibly bad because there are so many nerve endings in your fingertips - they're very sensitive. My dad had one of his fingertips cut off in an accident a few years back and he agrees. I think the big strong men just want a little attention and TLC. Mom and I are on to the charade, but play along willingly.
As far as that new computer goes, it's wonderful, but it doesn't work yet. Apparently, the video card slipped a bit in shipping and when Dean turned it on for the first time, impulses went across more than one node at a time and it shorted out the card. I called tech support and was on the phone for 30 minutes before we figured this out and "Matt" said he would arrange for a new card to be shipped to us right away. We were supposed to have it on Friday. Well, the UPS fellow typically comes around 4 p.m. but by 6 p.m., when there had been no knocks on the door, I assumed there would be no delivery for the Trboyevich's that day. I called Gateway to get the UPS tracking number so I could call them to find out exactly when it was scheduled to be delivered. Gateway informed me that it actually hadn't left their dock yet and that UPS would pick it up on Monday to be delivered to us on Tuesday. I informed them that that was unacceptable as that was four days later than promised and what kind of compensation was I going to get for the extra long wait and hassle? This girl said, "Well, I suppose I could send you a pen or a mug or something..." I said, "How about some software or something instead?" She said they have a contract with Microsoft and can't give away their software. I said, "Well, what about a printer or a video cam or a scanner or something like that?" I knew I was shooting high here but you just never know until you ask. She said she couldn't give away such expensive items. I said, "Fine, send me a large T-shirt, maybe my husband will wear it and won't mind looking like a Gateway cow." Needless to say, I think she was happy to get me off the phone. Anyway, hopefully my next letter will be from Windows instead of this old Mac. It amazes me that four years ago, this computer was the hottest thing to hit the shelves and now, ugh.
Work is still going sort of okay, but I'm liking it less and less all the time. This man that I work for, Wayne Leistra, has such a short temper and he blows a gasket at the slightest thing. Last week, at the Monday morning staff meeting, he wouldn't even sit down, he just kept pacing the conference room for an hour, screaming at people. He doesn't give constructive criticism or even talk about their work, either, he attacks their character, calling them lazy slobs without an ounce of creative blood in them, blah, blah, blah and lots of cursing in between. He hasn't attacked me like this yet but everyone tells me my day will come, whether I deserve it or not, nobody is sacred. I don't know if I want to wait around that long, I'm having a horrible internal moral conflict watching him treat other people this way. I think he has a lot of insecurities, and I'm beginning to understand why he keeps a corporate psychiatrist on retainer. I suppose that actually says a lot about the man, eh? He's gone back on three promises that he made to me, too - one was even in writing on my initial job offer. I was supposed to get a great new computer set up with a laptop to take when I travel and a docking station for when I'm in the office. Instead, I got an old hand-me-down that nobody used and it's on it's last leg. I have troubles with it every day, he doesn't even realize how much money it's really costing him. Then he went back on his promise to pay for my tuition to continue with my masters degree this semester. Instead, now I have to wait until I'm employed for a year, and the latest, he's not paying for my ticket to Vegas to the CES show. That part of my trip is for business and I called him on all these things last week and fully expected it to be "my day" in the incinerator, but he just calmly said he wasn't going to do any of it and that was that. Live with it or don't, he didn't care. I gave him an earful and walked out, my heart was racing. We'll see if I still have a job on Monday. It didn't really seem to bother him, I get the impression that he gets yelled at a lot. I had to go home and tell Dean that now we had to buy the ticket, right after Christmas. A $400.00 charge because of my dishonest employer. I'm very frustrated with him. I guess I'll have to get everything in writing from now on. It's going to cost him even more money in the time it will take me to type up all our conversations, but oh well. He can live with it or not, I'm beginning not to care, too.
I was complaining about all this to Bill on the phone later that day and he reminded me that I do have a long term goal in mind and to just remember that I'm there to learn as much as I can. I wasn't sure if I could remember to stay focused on that so I actually put it on a piece of paper and taped it to my computer so I would have a constant reminder. As soon as we hung up the phone, I started writing down all my questions, such as terms that I had heard used in coversations that I needed to know definitions for, and then I made an appointment with one of our printers next week to go take a tour and see firsthand what happens to all our stuff when it leaves our office. I've resolved to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can, that way, if I decide not to put up with the heat anymore, I can leave with no regrets and a lot of knowledge under my belt. I've already spent a lot of time over the last couple months getting involved with creative output, learning what film separations are, varnishes, typography, good design, copywriting and the whole creative process, but I still have a lot to learn. I had actually never really thought of being creative as a "process", I always thought some people were just blessed with the ability to come up with great ideas, but there really is a method to the madness and steps to go through to get to those "slam bam" ideas. An organized way to be creative - what a concept. It's perfect for me. Ha. One thing is for sure, though, my skin is definitely getting thicker working for him, so that's a blessing in a convoluted sort of way, I guess.
I really am looking forward to this trip to Vegas in January, I've wanted to attend the Consumer Electronics Show for few years now. I'm scheduled for a seminar to hear Bill Gates speak, too, so that should be interesting, I hope. We'll see what's on the horizon for Microsoft. I'll have much more to tell you about next month, I have lots of other plans while I'm there, too. I have the whole following week off for vacation and Dad and Mom are going to drive up from Phoenix to visit with me. I get to stay with them in their brand new motor home. They bought one of those huge things that have the whole living room area that slides out on the side about another 8 feet so it's very spacious inside. Sigh, I wish I could retire. Ha.
I hope it's warm enough to take my golf clubs, because I've been gearing up for this trip going to an indoor driving range here. It's about 4 miles from my front door, and get this: it has two levels to hit off of. I was intrigued because I've seen them, but I've never actually been to a double decker driving range. Last week, we were on the top level and I couldn't miss, I was smacking them against the back wall every time. That's actually only about 100 yards, but, hey, they were straight as an arrow, and that's what counts. Of course, Dean was the only one with me to witness and he refuses to admit when I'm doing something better than him that's physical in any way, shape or form, so he'll never tell you what a great day I was having. Besides, at one point, he had dumped a bunch of balls on the ground to hit one right after the other, and when he hit one of them, he knocked about five others off the roof down below (we were on the second level) It made quite a clatter and I was laughing my head off. That didn't help, of course, but I couldn't help it. Also, when we went to the pro shop to get the tokens for a bucket of balls, the guy behind the counter noticed Dean's Griffins jacket that he got for Christmas and asked where he got it. Dean said it was a gift to the players from management and the guy freaked out. He told Dean to come on back anytime and he'd never have to pay for tokens again, he'd "totally" set us up. Good grief, I can't take him anywhere. Any more attention from this town, and Dean's head won't fit through our front door! It's a good thing he doesn't need a bodyguard.
We finally received our bedroom set a few weeks ago- it's absolutely beautiful. It's a dark mohagany wood (Queen Anne flavor) with a modernisitc twist. The design has arches, spheres, squares and it has little pyramids for handles on drawers and doors, etc. I wanted it to look like something out of Victorias Secret. We got a nightstand, an armoire, and a king size bed frame although we still only have our queen sized mattresses. It looks a little funny right now, but we'll get the mattresses soon. I couldn't justify another $1000 at the time. I'd like to get the matching dresser and mirror eventually, but considering that I was only supposed to get an armoire that day when I was out shopping, I figured that much extra would be too hard to explain to Dean when I got home. I guess I chickened out because I didn't want to make him toooooo mad. A little mad and I can deal with my guilt, tooooo mad is no good. I end up returning stuff and that's really a downer for the salesperson.
We've got some party animals that moved in next door. They've been up vacuuming at midnight, and partying til 4 a.m. regularly. Of course, their living room is right on the other side of our bedroom wall. The particular wall that happens to be six inches from the top of my head when I'm sleeping. Argh. Am I getting old? The music was so loud one night it was vibrating the bed and it actually made me mad. Five years ago, I could've found a positive in that somewhere. Sigh. I was so frustrated late one night / morning I stood up on the bed, let out an indian battle cry and threw my pillow at the wall. I thought Dean was awake, too, he's a very light sleeper, but apparently not. I scared the daylights out of him. He was a lot smarter than I was that night because he went to the junk drawer earlier and found some earplugs that he used while working construction last summer and put them in. He was sleeping like a baby and then awoke to find his wife standing on the bed screaming at a wall. Ha ha. Poor guy, he just doesn't know what to do with me sometimes. I called the management office the next day and they sent them a letter telling them to cool it so we'll see if it works. I just need my own house on my own piece of land, nice and secluded - this apartment living is for the birds.
My apologies, this letter has been a lot more negative than I intended. Either I'm getting cynical or it's just been a bad month. I'll shape up next month, I promise. Just two more bad things, then I'm done. Dean went into a depression last week because he found out one of his heros died, Chris Farley. Then he found out that Sienfeld was calling it quits on the same day. Poor guy, I didn't know how to console him. Mom never told me there would be days like this.
I guess in light of all that's happened this month, Dean and I should be thankful that we haven't thrown ourselves off the side of a building. It's amazing that we don't do drugs, either. Ha. Just kidding. We know that we have a lot to be thankful for and we've been blessed in many, many ways. Don't worry, we haven't lost sight of that. I just hope that next month will be a much more cheerful letter with lots of good things to report. Talk to you then!
Much love,
Tiffany
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