Chris G.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:38:20 GMT

Just now completed "The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse" on Super Nintendo. I've played it a few times before, of course, but this is the first time I actually took the time and patience to beat it :-D

The game is fairly short, simple; not too hard, but fun!

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:58:21 GMT

If you're out there in LJ land *pokes* Wishing you a very Happy Birthday today vidmaker_19 I hope it's a great one! *hugs* :-)

Happy 4th of July!

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 23:48:07 GMT

Wishing everyone a very happy and safe 4th of July!! :-)

Enjoy it and let freedom ring!!

-Chris-

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 12:18:31 GMT

Can love keep Big Lots? Sequim residents hope store will stay

By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News

SEQUIM - When it comes to customer loyalty - no, make that love - this store's the envy of the retail universe.

"Big Lots, don't leave us," pleaded Austin Reeves, a retired architect also known as "the prayer lady," in an e-mail to the discount chain's customer care office in Columbus, Ohio.

Earlier this month, Big Lots corporate spokeswoman, Amy Stocker, said the Sequim store will close by mid-May.

The reason: poor performance.

One would never guess that from the fervor among devotees of the 7-year-old store.

The Big Lots of Bell Creek Plaza "is an incredible, affordable community resource," said Reeves, 59.

"When they get something new in, people call each other about it . . . it's a small community store, and we don't want to lose those community things."

Reeves recently hosted a wedding reception for her son and daughter-in-law in her home.

"It was elegant," she said, "and romantic."

It was also maybe $500 for the elaborate decorations.

"People asked, 'How did you do it?' and I said, 'I went to Big Lots.'"

"People shop there for so many different reasons," added Linda Lyon, another frequent shopper.

"It fills a certain slot . . . a lot of us are involved with community organizations involving children. It's a terrific place to get prizes and little gifts.

"And a lot of seniors aren't there for all those little fun items. They're doing their grocery shopping," she added.

So Lyon and Reeves got busy.

They urged friends, family and acquaintances to e-mail Big Lots' customer care office - at talk2US@BigLots.com - to call for a reprieve.

"Move, don't remove," wrote Reeves in an e-mail asking the company to consider "downsizing" its store to a smaller space.

Big Lots' Bell Creek Plaza store covers 22,000 square feet, according to manager Ade Weedman.

Big response
Big Lots' Matt Baker, recipient of those customer-care e-mails, called the flood one of the biggest responses he's seen since the chain began closing some 160 of its 1,400 U.S. stores.

How many messages came in from Sequim?

"A lot," was all Baker would say.

To Reeves' entreaty, he wrote: "I will forward your message to the Real Estate Department and believe me, we have talked to many of your co-citizens as well."

Stocker, however, did not return calls seeking comment for this article.

Yet Reeves is holding out hope.

She's a deaconess at Sequim Community Church, and organizer of a group that meets each Wednesday to pray for people suffering from illness, teens in trouble and other concerns.

Big Lots prayers
So has she prayed about Big Lots?

"Are you kidding? Of course I have been, first of all for the employees, for them to find work somewhere else, and also for the management at Big Lots, that they see the error in their ways."

The campaign to keep Big Lots, in a sense, exemplifies what Reeves likes about Sequim.

The workers are cheerful - and know exactly where to find everything, she said.

Reeves and her husband, Clark, moved here from Redmond 10 years ago.

"It's the first time in our lives we've had this kind of community with people."

Big Lots employees Lyne Tremlin and Cliff Silliman are already making plans for other work.

Silliman will probably increase his hours with Father & Son's, the Sequim lawn service he runs.

And Tremlin plans to open a business, though she's not quite ready to divulge what kind.

But in Big Lots' final seven weeks or so, life is likely to get harder for the 18-member staff.

The store has seen its last shipments of merchandise, Silliman said.

Customers are lamenting - in some cases, loudly - the impending loss.

"I hear a lot of people say, 'What am I going to do?'" Tremlin added.

She can only hope that, as shelves empty, customers don't take their frustration out on her.

"Go easy," she said.

Last modified: March 20. 2007 9:00PM

Well, I emailed my letter concerning the matter just a bit ago.

We've got roughly a month and a half until it shutters.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:17:16 GMT

Sending out well wishes for a very Happy Birthday to jakethebear Hope it's a great one! *Hugs* :)

Another update on Port Angeles High School Vandalism.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 07:21:05 GMT

Just a couple days late posting the news, but that's alright.

Port Angeles High School was vandalized twice, court records reveal

By Randy Trick, Peninsula Daily News

"PORT ANGELES - Police say that one man charged in the weekend vandalism spree at Port Angeles High School confessed to them and said that the school was actually vandalized twice that morning, according to court documents.

The Port Angeles Police Department filed a court document Wednesday with details of what they said 18-year old Christopher Brogan, who was charged Tuesday, told them.

The police statements also shed light on how officers came to arrest two others in the vandalism: a 14-year old boy and Nathan Terry, 18, who was formally charged in Clallam County Superior Court on Thursday.

Officers were led to Terry by high school students who heard him and the 14-year old brag about the vandalism, according to the statement.

Terry and Brogan have each been charged with second degree burglary, second degree arson, first and second degree malicious mischief and third degree theft.

Terry had been held since Monday. Charges were filed against him Thursday.

Two rounds of vandalism
The Port Angeles police say that Brogan confessed to the vandalism after he was arrested Monday, but said he did little damage.

Brogan told police the 14-year-old came to his house two blocks from the school at 3 a.m., saying he had broken into and trashed the school, the police statement said.

Brogan, Terry and the juvenile returned to the school, the police statement said.

Most of the damage was done during the second visit, but Brogan said he did little of it, the statement said.

The trio ran home when a car alarm sounded after one of them shattered a car's rear window, the statement said.

The three stole $150 from a cash drawer in the bookkeeper's office and split the money, the police statement said.

Brogan's statement to police matched information from the school's video surveillance in the main 100 Building, the police statement said.

Port Angeles Police Officer Thomas Kuch, who works at the high school, wrote that when school resumed Monday, students told him they heard rumors that Terry was bragging about breaking into the school.

Kuch said one student told him that Terry and the 14-year old had visited her house a few hours after the vandalism and was bragging about the spree.

Terry called the girl's house when Kuch was there and asked if the police were looking for him, Kuch's statement said.

Relatives react
Brogan's confession did not come as a surprise to his mother, living in Montesano, near Aberdeen.

Christine Brogan said her son may have been in trouble a lot, but that he always told the truth up when confronted.

"I know, as his mother, deep down in my heart that there is a good kid there," she said.

"I just wish we could find out why these other things happen for him."

She adopted Brogan when he was 18-months old.

Before he was arrested, he was two weeks away from being admitted for treatment through the Clallam County Drug Court.

Christine Brogan said he has tried to reach her, but she cannot accept collect calls from the Clallam County jail.

She plans to visit him in Port Angeles.

"I've never missed a court date down here in five years," she said of his 13 juvenile arrests in Grays Harbor County.

She said Thursday that she wrote him a letter in the meantime.

She said she wrote that she is worried about him, and that he needs to learn to stay out of trouble.

"I support him and love him, but he needs to get it together," she said she wrote.

Meanwhile, Terry's father, reached by the Peninsula Daily News at his home in Snohomish, said publicity over the vandalism has not been good for his son.

"He will probably not get a fair trial in that county," he said."

Sequim's "Big Lots" bargain store to shutter.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:12:14 GMT

I'm kinda sad to see this store close even if it is located in Sequim (next city over) it was always fun for my mom and I to look around in, they have such a great variety and you almost can't beat the prices! Their slogan - "Big Lots, brand names close-out prices." It will be missed, the Sequim community still needs this store. I was a bit surprised when I first saw this, but than again, not really. It's too bad.

I do like our Port Angeles Dollar Store and Dollar Tree, but I don't go in those very often, well I don't/didn't go into Big Lots much at all either. Monday was the first time in a very long time that my mom and I went in there (hey, she was finally feeling well enough to go out, well sort of).

The target closure date is set for May 15th.

Big Lots has been in Sequim's QFC shopping center for more than six years, but that's just how competition goes, I suppose.

To have a larger (more readable) view of the artical, click the same picture provided in this link: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4ge5hkp

Updates on Port Angeles High School Vandalism: arrests have been made.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:38:13 GMT

I can't post the pictures here or even begin to describe the damage done early morning last Saturday at Port Angeles High School. I'm just glad that police are able to catch ones who did this, with the help of surveillance cameras. As far as I'm concerned the ones involved in this godawful vandalism should be the ones to clean up the mess and come up with all the money in damages, besides their jail sentence.

"By Randy Trick, Peninsula Daily News

PORT ANGELES - More than a dozen fires were ignited in Port Angeles High School on Saturday during an early morning rampage that spanned four buildings, leaving television sets and computers broken and one cash drawer empty.

Only one fire - a blaze that burned most of the staff mailboxes in the administrative area - had to be put out by fire crews who arrived at 4:30 a.m.

Other fires had self-extinguished by that time."

Needless to say the damage was very severe.

The reason I am posting this news is because Port Angeles, WA is the small city I live in, and I was almost in complete shock when I saw this tonight on Q-13's ten o'clock news.

It said on the news that it was an estimated $100,000 in damage.

This world is a sad sad place sometimes, I can't even imagine someone wanting to do something like this. It does much more than just disturb me!

"Man, 18, arrested in Port Angeles High School vandalism investigation

By Paige Dickerson, Peninsula Daily News

PORT ANGELES - An 18-year-old man was arrested Monday and two juveniles were sought in connection with last Saturday's vandalism rampage at Port Angeles High School.

Christopher Douglas Brogan was arrested and booked into Clallam County jail for investigation of the vandalism, which included more than a dozen fires and dozens of computers and video equipment damaged or destroyed, Port Angeles Police Chief Tom Riepe confirmed.

"We have one in custody, and the detectives are working very hard to get the other ones involved in this crime," Riepe said.

No further details - including Brogan's place of residence and connection, if any, to Port Angeles High School - were revealed.

"We are very grateful for all the time [police] have put into this," Port Angeles School District Superintendent Gary Cohn said of the arrest.

There is still no cost estimate of the damage, much of which was cleaned up Sunday by staff, teachers and volunteers.

The vandals early Saturday entered four buildings on the 33-acre campus, set the fires, destroyed at least two large television sets and broke computers in the library and in a classroom.

Fire crews - summoned by a security alarm - arrived on the scene at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, but most of the fires had already self-extinguished.

But one blaze which consumed much of the faculty mailboxes in an administrative area was put out by the crews.

*Alarm structure reviewed
The campus' security alarm structure was reviewed Monday following the weekend vandalism.

Police and school officials had varied views of how the high school's alarm went off early Saturday - allowing so much damage to be done.

Security varies from building to building, said Scott Brodhun, director of facilities technology and maintenance for the district.

Cameras, motion detectors and other security features are included in only some of them, he said.

Police and firefighters arrived at the scene after a security alarm went off, Brodhun said.

"Police did respond to an alarm," he said.

School officials wouldn't confirm the location of that automatic alarm Monday.

Riepe said the alarm didn't immediately activate, but only alerted authorities after damage was done to it.

"I will be replacing the security and alarm system on the campus," Cohn said.

He added that he will also be considering other security upgrades.

Until then, the high school campus will be guarded 24 hours a day, Cohn told the Port Angeles School Board at a meeting Monday night.

Some of the areas where the fires occurred have only manual fire alarms, which must set off by hand when smoke is seen or smelled.

Other areas have smoke-detection systems, Brodhun said.

The area where the largest fire occurred - the 100 Building, named so because of the room numbering system in the building - is equipped with manual fire alarms.

*Students attend classes
Students returned to classes as usual Monday after much of the building was scrubbed clean and repainted the day before.

The first portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning tests - known as the WASL - will start as scheduled today.

Administrative staff whose work areas were most affected were relocated Monday to conference rooms, a small office and a desk in the main office, Principal Scott Harker said.

In the meantime, risk management teams evaluated the damage for the district's insurance.

The total cost is not yet known, Cohn said.

In the process of vandalizing four of the school's 11 buildings, 13 windows were broken ranging in size from two feet by two feet to some larger than four feet by five feet.

In the library, 16 computer monitors were destroyed and 10 computers were toppled.

"We are still assessing the potential damage to the computers," Brodhun said Monday.

"There still could be more that we thought were working that could crash.

"That has happened today already."

Three Apple iMac computers in the school's newspaper and yearbook room were destroyed.

Two large TVs were knocked over.

"We still don't have an evaluation on office furniture, but we are still working on it," Brodhun said.

While cleaning up, maintenance crews who were repairing the damaged areas, boarding up windows and getting the building ready for complete repairs logged 80.5 hours between Saturday and Sunday.

"We did as much as we could yesterday when all the volunteers were here," Harker said.

"Then we had a crew up here painting from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m."

The custodial crews picked up 74 hours and the technological staff worked 26 hours over the weekend.

"We also had an enormous number of hours put in by volunteers who just showed up to see what they could do to help," Brodhun said."

Two more arrested in Port Angeles High School rampage.

By Randy Trick, Peninsula Daily News

"PORT ANGELES - Police have arrested two more teens - one a juvenile - in the wake of fires, broken windows and smashed computers at Port Angeles High School on Saturday morning.

A 14-year old boy was arrested at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday and placed in Clallam County juvenile detention.

Because of his age, police would not release his name or any connection with the school.

Two others, both 18 and with lengthy criminal records before their Monday arrests, made their first appearance in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Christopher Douglas Brogan, 18, of Port Angeles faces five charges: second degree burglary, second degree arson, malicious mischief in the first and second degree and third degree theft.

Nathan Wayne Terry, who did not provide an address, was arrested late Monday.

He was told in court Tuesday that he is being held for investigation of the same five charges, and may be formally charged in court Thursday.

Clallam County Superior Court Judge George Wood set $100,000 bail for each man.

*Prior run-ins with the law
Both Terry and Brogan have long arrest records, mostly as juvenile offenders.

And both are facing previous felony charges in Clallam County.

Brogan was charged last November with three counts of third degree theft and three counts of second degree vehicle prowl.

He is wanted in King County Superior Court on charges of second degree vehicle prowl and third degree possession of stolen property, according to court records.

In Gray Harbor County, where he grew up, Brogan was arrested 13 times for crimes ranging from third degree malicious mischief to second degree assault.

He was acquitted on the assault charge, but pleaded guilty or was convicted on the other 12.

*Personal Web page
On Brogan's myspace.com page, part of a social networking Web site, he proclaims: "My anger management class [bleeps] me off!"

But that is not the Brogan that a family friend knows.

"He's always been a sweetheart to me," said Darcy Milbourn.

Brogan is a sweet kid with a loving heart, but has a penchant for getting in trouble, Milbourn said.

"I love Christopher; I've loved him since he was little."

Brogan was adopted by Christine Brogan when he was 18 months old.

He grew up in Montesano, the 3,000-person Grays Harbor County seat east of Aberdeen.

Growing up, he was a bright but quick-tempered kid. Milbourn said.

"He has a good heart, but I really don't know what's going on right now," Milbourn said.

"He gets in trouble, gets out, and jumps into deeper trouble."

Montesano being a small town didn't help matters, Milbourn said.

"This a small town, and once you get a name, people always say 'Brogan did it.'"

*Moved to Port Angeles
When he turned 18, his biological mother contacted him, and Brogan moved to Port Angeles to live with her - just four blocks from the high school.

In court papers filed in conjunction with the November theft and vehicle prowl charges, Brogan wrote: "I was an idiot for my actions, and will do whatever it takes to correct it and myself."

Milbourn said the last time Brogan got out of juvenile detention in Grays Harbor County, she told him how hard his mother takes it when he is in trouble.

Brogan cried; his mom is his best friend, she said.

"He's honestly remorseful and doesn't want to hurt his mom," Milbourn said.

"Christine called this morning and asked me to pray for him."

*Arrested 10 times before
Terry was arrested 10 times as a juvenile in Clallam County on charges ranging from motor vehicle theft to telephone harassment.

He pleaded guilty or was convicted of eight of the charges.

Terry was charged in Clallam County Superior court in February for second degree theft for allegedly stealing his mother's computer and digital camera, then pawning them.

According to court records, Terry was involved in breaking into Sequim Bible School in March 2005.

According to a police statement at the time, Terry and two others ransacked one room of the church and stole keys to the school's van.

The statement said a motorist in Bothell spotted three youths smoking and leaning against a van that said "Sequim Bible School" on the side.

The Bothell Police Department was contacted and arrested the three youths.

Terry was also arrested for vandalizing a car parked at Sequim High School the same day he broke into the Bible school.

At that time, Terry's judicial officer wrote in the court file that "Nathan has embraced a criminal lifestyle and is at a high risk to reoffend."

No more Bonkers... :-(

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 10:55:01 GMT

They ruined Toon Disney channel a long time ago (at least for me and a number of others) and now this:

Bonkers has not aired for a little over a couple of years on Toon Disney. It was set to air this coming Friday (March 16th) as a mini marathon of 4 episodes (as they've been recently doing with some of the older shows), according to the schedulers on Toon Zone and TV guides, yes I checked the TV guides and it was there from 11am - 1pm (the times on my Satelite guide). Well I was just now taking a browse on Toon Zone, now to my surprise they redid the line-up and took Bonkers off, replaced it with The Legend of Tarzan. I took another look at Zap2it's TV grid and Bonkers is gone! I was really looking forward to this, so I could see Bonkers again. I even had a blank tape so I could record it, but I can't now, and I ain't happy about that. Their trend with last minute schedule changes with TDis really disappoint me!

Okay, on the good side I did get Pepper Ann (not a big favorite of mine, but it hasn't aired in so long) and 101 Dalmations: The Series, but Bonkers was the main one I was waiting for. Though I am glad I got to record 101.

*sighs* Why?! :-(

Oh well. My little rant is over. Sorry for that.

Baby, among smallest to survive, released from hospital.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 05:26:05 GMT

I was actually looking to post a different article about something very breathtaking that I saw on TV this evening, but it seems that they don't have anything posted on it, or not yet at least. I got to looking at some of the older news topics and found this one posted on February 20th to be a miracle!

*Quote from article. "MIAMI (AP) - A premature baby that doctors say spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant is to be released from a Florida hospital Tuesday.

Amillia Sonja Taylor was just 9½ inches long and weighed less than 10 ounces when she was born Oct. 24. She was delivered 21 weeks and six days after conception. Full-term births come after 37 to 40 weeks."

http://www.komotv.com/news/health/5943906.html

This is truly a miracle baby!

I myself was born premature at only 2 pounds, 8 ounces.

'America's Oldest Worker' Still Going Strong at 104.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 06:35:38 GMT

I found this article while looking through the Sunday Seattle Times. Really enjoyed the article, it was good news to hear(for once). What a hard worker and amazing man, Waldo McBurney is!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003459332_waldosworld03.html

This link below is fairly the same, but has a neat picture slide show with a few more photos.

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/americas-oldest-worker-going-strong-at/20061103232709990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:20:44 GMT

Recently I got two packages in the mail from Wal*Mart.com, sending me another copy each of the DWD and TS DVD sets. We sent them back the other duplicates they mailed to me last time and then it's like they mail them right back :P We called them and got it straitened out I think. They are supposed to be sending us something in the mail to return them. I was kinda wondering why a charge of $6.11 for Shipping from them was on my online bank statement. My money has been refunded and hopefully it's all taken care of now.

Went to a skin doctor in Sequim with my dad (he had some skin conditions to get checked too) last week to take a look at my four black moles. Have one on my stomach and three on my upper back. I was glad to hear that they are not cancerous.

Been playing Zelda: Wind Waker lately. I'm now up to the Tower of the Gods.

I'm a bit upset with Wal*Mart.com :-(

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 01:47:02 GMT

I'm not upset with anyone here at all though :-)

You see I ordered my copies of TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck volume 1 DVDs from Wal*Mart.com at around midnight on the 29th. I also ordered a video game. I payed nearly $17.00 extra so that I could get 1-day shipping. I recieved the game yesterday, and today was the deadline of when the DVDs were supposed to come in, but never arrived. So we called UPS and they never got it, then called Wal*Mart. They didn't know what happened, they either never shipped it or lost it. They are refunding the extra money I payed for fast shipping, but due to the weekend and holiday, it's now not going to come in until Wednesday or Thursday of next week. So, I'm just a little disappointed about that part, but I guess it gives me something to look forward to nonetheless.

I had a hunch feeling that something was up when I saw this message when trying to track the packing online from UPS:

*UPS has received shipper's billing information electronically. Billing information received does not indicate shipment pickup or drop-off. Please contact the shipper for more details.

Unless I missed it, I don't believe the other package had this tracking message. I still waited till the deadline day, to be sure.

Hey, I understand that mistakes happen. Bummer though!

They didn't have the game I wanted at the Wal*Mart here in town. So I thought I'd just order the DVDs along with my game.

But I'll certainly still be getting them.

It was nice to be able to play S.T.U.N Runner on my GameCube yesterday when my Midway Arcade Treasures 3 came in.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:17:05 GMT

We returned to Port Angeles at about 3pm on the 27th. Been home for a few days.

Tammy is doing very well from surgery. She should be near/at full recovery after this week is over.

While down in Ritzville my dad took the girls to get new clothes for school in Moses Lake. I went along and while down there I bought an HP wireless optical mouse at Wal*Mart, which is very handy, a great improvement from the old one. I also picked up this mini wolf & mate figurine at the Shell Station across from the hotel. I have it on top of my TV, and it looks quite nice there too.

I ordered my copies of the TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck volume 1 DVD sets on the 29th at around midnight from Wal*Mart.com. I paid for 1 day shipping, so they should come in tomorrow, if not, then the next day!! I also ordered Midway Arcade Treasures 3 for my GameCube, mainly so I could play S.T.U.N Runner.

The game should be here by morning I'm guessing, because I recieved an email confirmation about it being shipped earlier today, but I haven't got one for the DVD's yet, so I think those won't arrive until the 31st.

I'm really looking forward to this! :-)

Here's Ultimate Disney's complete review for the TaleSpin set:

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/talespin-volume1.html

And here's the one for the Darkwing Duck set:

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/darkwingduck-volume1.html

Sadly it seems that the TaleSpin set does not include the unedited Pilot "Plunder and Lightning". Rebecca's song is missing. It's not the original two hour movie special, as most (and I) were hoping for.

Regardless of a few drawbacks these are going to be great sets to have in our DVD collections!

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 06:50:21 GMT

Tammy's surgery was successful yesterday. It ended up being stones she had near her gal bladder that needed to be removed and at the same time she also got the hernia fixed. We were at the hospital for quite a while yesterday afternoon visiting her in the hospital room. From just getting out of surgery mostly all she really wanted to do was sleep. We eventually left and went back to the hotel so she could get some rest. Thayne stayed with her, until he needed to get back home to the kids for the night.

Tammy stayed overnight at the hospital and came home today at around 2pm.

I got up at around 9:30am. My dad and I went to the house to pick up Kayla and Sam, so we could have lunch at the Blue Bike, but Natalie's volleyball schedual changed and we had some time to kill. I took my nephew, Sam, swimming at the pool for about an hour while we were waiting for Natalie to get done with her volleyball pratice. We picked her up at the gym at 12:30 and went to get our lunch. I had a BBQ burger with their homemade chips and a pear jet tea. After lunch we went back to the hotel to pick up my mom, stopped at Harvest Foods for minute to get some easy foods that Tammy could eat, then went to the house to visit Tammy and thayne up until about 5:30. She can't do very much right now, pretty much she just wants to take it easy and rest on the couch. She should be getting her strength up in about a few days.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 06:45:27 GMT

I got up at around 11am this morning to make the trip with my parents down to Ritzville, WA to be with my older sister Tammy during her surgery at the hospital in Pasco, WA. She will be leaving early tommarow morning to go down there to have the surgery.

We arrived in Ritzville at about 7pm. We just passed Tammy and the kids driving by the Best Western hotel right when we got into town. My dad and I checked in. We all went to are rooms, Tammy and the kids, came up to visit with us for a while. My parents and I had a bluecheese burger from the Blue Bike Cafe for dinner, the kids each had something from McDonalds. Shortly after I ate, I went swimming at the pool for about an hour, got some snacks across the street at the gas station. Some ice cream bars, poptarts, iced tea, and a sobe adrenaline rush, for me, and a few things for my mom and dad. Decided I'd come down to the hotel's guest computer for a bit. I will probably have to be up by at least 10am tommarow to go down and meet my sister at the hospital while she's in surgery. I should be at the hospital most the day.

Haven't got to see Thayne yet. He was working, but I will see him tommarow when we go down to the hospital.

I'm going to get back to my room and relax for the night.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 06:10:00 GMT

As of 6pm last night I am now finished with school for the summer! I turned in my finished notebook and took the final exam for my ECE class. Not sure how I did on the exam, but I don't think I did too bad...hopefully not. Yvette said she would email me when everything was graded so that I could come up to her office at the college and pick up my notebook and grade, and see how I did on the exam. I got my participation video tape back on our conference yesterday.

Last week I had my last day working at Serenity House and my last participation at the EduCare Center. They were really sorry to see me go at Serenity House and even threw me a small "thank you" party. I can always go back to working there if I decide I want to, it's open, but I'm going to be working with Kathy to try and get me a new job, and learn some new job skills. I had an enjoyable last day at the EduCare Center. I really enjoyed all the time I got to spend there working with the kids.

Now I can just kick back and relax, nothing I have to do for quite some time! :)

I found out early this morning that we switched to the "Everything Pak" on Dish Network, so we now basically get every channel they carry.

My niece, Kayla, is flying down to Seattle tommarow and my sister is going to drive down and pick her up and bring her to Port Angeles. She's going to be over here visiting till August 16th.

A few days ago my Uncle Tony had a lazer brain surgery in Seattle to help with his excessive shaking called "gamma knife surgery" (no cutting is involved). It's all done by lazer. All went well for him and they followed my dad home after he got released from the hospital (my dad was up there with him while he was having the surgery) ,so that they could pay us a short visit. They only stayed overnight at a motel, but I did get to see my Uncle Tony and Aunt Celeste for a short bit, it's been a long time since I've had a change to see them.

Here's the picture I got in the mail with the "thank you" card Deborah sent me not too long ago:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/chrisno51/Picture023.jpg

You can enlarge the picture by clicking on it.

She took this picture of me while she was up here visiting her mom (My Aunt Mary) in the hospital, and we had time to do some walking in town. I love this pictue, I just think it turned out great :)

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 20:54:10 GMT

Borrowed from spats_bear and leepengyu

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me -- it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this in your journal so that I may leave a word about you.

Broken sewer pipe in Port Angeles!

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sat, 27 May 2006 04:48:49 GMT

"PORT ANGELES - Repair crews are making progress on a broken sewer pipe in Port Angeles."

http://www.komotv.com/news/story_m.asp?ID=43587

Wow! Very sad to hear. Looks like the beaches are closed for the time being.

Quick Thinking By 9-Year-Old Saves Several Lives.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sat, 27 May 2006 04:40:51 GMT

"PIERCE COUNTY - Quick thinking by a 9-year-old boy saved his family from a sure disaster."

http://www.komotv.com/stories/43630.htm

Kids really can make a difference! I was very glad when I heard this on komo 4 news this evening. It sure is great to hear some "good" news once in a while. You hear very little of it on TV.

7- year - old boy breaks record in Alcatraz swim.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sat, 27 May 2006 04:27:30 GMT

"SAN FRANCISCO -- A 7-year-old boy from Arizona became the youngest ever to swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco's Aquatic Park on Monday."

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/9255879/detail.html#

Personally, I think this is pretty amazing. I first heard about it while watching "ABC World News Now". The link has a cool video with it as well.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sat, 27 May 2006 03:45:18 GMT

Last Tuesday I went and saw "Over the Hedge" with my dad and nieces, and it's a great film. I would recommend it! It was very funny and I loved the characters. I like the fact that the raccoon's name is R.J. he's also my favorite character.

Yesterday at 2:45, after I did my participation at the EduCare Center, my dad and I had an IEP meeting up at the high school with Gary Beatty. Craig and Gina were also there. It was a great meeting and I found out some fantastic news! I'm doing just fine on credits and after this school year, which is only about 2 more weeks, I will only have to complete the rest of my english and contemporary issues that I'm doing with Craig, and my employment support, then I will be all done with school! Although I most likely won't take my diploma till I turn 21 so that I can continue to get support through Morning Side.

Wednesday when I went into work at Serenity House I was a little irritated. Right when I walk in Peggy informs me that I won't be doing register today. They didn't want me up there during the 1/2 price sale that was going on, now that I can understand, but they now have this new lady up at the register they are training during the time I am supposed to be up there. I can't work register now unless I go and switch my day to Tuesday or Friday, and I'm not switching my days again, for the small amount of time I'll continue to be there. I can understand if they need to put someone else in my place, however it would have been nice to know ahead of time instead of right when I walk in the door, after all I am a loyal volunteer. I'm only going to be working there for two more days anyway, then I'm taking the summer off (I'm not doing anything in the summer except kicking back and relaxing), then I plan to get help from Kathy to get me a position somewhere else. Not because of the register thing, but because I've kinda lost interest in working at Serenity House (although I really enjoyed the few times I had at the register) and would like to try out some new job skills elsewhere.

My Aunt Mary is doing much better. She's come out of the hospital and has been in Crestview Convalescent for about a week and a half, and might be able to go back to her apartment on Wednesday. She is on dialysis three times per week and will have to be on it for the rest of her life.
I've got to send an email out to Deborah. She lost my email address once she got back to California.

My mom seemed to have an okay Mother's Day. We went over to Kim's house and had a lasagna dinner. Kim also invited Deborah over, since she was up here for a while visiting her mom (my Aunt Mary) in the hospital.
I got my mom this for Mother's Day: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E4ARFU/qid=1148700612/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-1049618-9492130?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=3367581
She loves it and to my knowledge hasn't taken it off since she opened and put it on.

The Toon Disney watch that I bought off of Ebay came in last week. Although it's too small for me to really wear, that's not the reason I got it. The seller on Ebay, whom I bought it from was very friendly and patient. I'm very pleased with the watch. I really wouldn't mind also getting the Toon Disney mug, but Ebay currently doesn't have it and I don't where else I could get it. If I ever do see it on Ebay as a "buy it now" item I'd probably get it.

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Thu, 11 May 2006 07:37:59 GMT

Worked at the cash register at Serenity Thrift Store today. This was my second time working at the cash register. I'm getting trained to work at the register since it's a good job skill to have. It's really not that hard once you get the hang of it. I'm doing very well with it and enjoying it. I am doing it every Wednesday from 3-5. As of now this is taking the place of stocking, and the other things I did there on Mondays.

After work my dad and I went to the hospital to pick up Deborah. It was my first time meeting her, She's one of my Aunt Mary's daughters. She flew down from California today to come be with her mom since she is not doing well at all. Mary's not going to live much longer, the Doctors said there's really nothing they can do for her :( Deborah was at the hospital with Mary from about 1-5, till when we picked her up. The three of us ate dinner at The Landing. Her and my dad ordered fish and chips and I had oysters. During dinner my dad asked her how old she was, he hasn't seen her since she was just a kid. Turns out she's 42! She does not show her age at all, she looks more in her early 30's. It was very nice meeting Deborah, she's really nice and easy to get along with! We took her to Safeway to get some things she needed while staying at my aunt's apartment. My dad waited in the car while her and I went inside. She offered to buy me ice cream, which I passed on the offer, and bought flowers for my mom since she was not feeling well, and she's never even met my mom before! What a heartfelt person! We then took her to my aunt's apartment and helped her carry her things inside.

My dad and I went to see Aunt Mary just yesterday, before Deborah was here. She was not looking good at all. She was extremely shaky, which she has been for the roughly two weeks she's been in there, her skin is a dark brownish color; not normal, and it's very hard to understand her when she is talking. I could just barely make out the few things she was saying to me.
She was supposed to be released from the hospital today, but they kept her in. Today when Deborah came into her room Mary started looking a little better and was just very excited to see her. It was very hard for Deborah to see her mom in the condition she was in.

Deborah said she might go to breakfast with my dad and I tomorrow morning before I go to the EduCare Center at 8:45. So I need to be up by no later than 6:30 in the morning. This is only her second time in Port Angeles, and she really likes the area.

Now I'm going to get offline, take a quick shower, and try and get some sleep.

Chapter 3 of "Spread Your Wings" is up!

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Sun, 07 May 2006 14:27:38 GMT

kit_lee and I just finished the third chapter last night. This is also the last chapter.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2822423/3/

Enjoy! :)

-Chris-

chris_no51@yahoo.com — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 00:46:02 GMT

Last Thursday I started back at the EduCare Center. It is good to be back there, I do enjoy the time I spend there.
I recently got my grade for the class from last quarter and it turned out to be an 85% a B! Didn't do too bad on the exam either. Also got a great evaluation from Susan, one of the main teachers I work with in the center.

I'm going to start working at the cash register being a check out clerk at the thrift store. The only thing I've really done there is stocking. I'm a bit nervous, but excited at the same time. I've never worked at a cash register before, it should be fairly simple to learn though. Peggy will be there to help me out and I get along good with her. It is a good skill to know for when I start looking for a job. I will be volunteering there Wednesdays 3-5 instead of Mondays starting next week.

A couple days ago my Aunt Mary went back into the hospital for kidney trouble again. Were watching her dog while she's staying in the hospital. We are not as close as we once were. I'm really hoping the best for her. Sad to say, she only has one kidney and the way things are going for her I don't think she has much longer to live :(

My CD player broke, so on Friday I went down to Wal*Mart and purchased an mp3 player. It can also store photos (a feature I'll most likely never use) and has an FM radio. I'm very pleased with it, quite expensive, but worth it. Of course best of all, you just go online and purchase the songs you want for about $1.00 each and transfer them onto the mp3 player. Far better than a CD player!

Yesterday I got a surprise visitor at the house. An old friend of mine, Josh, came by and paid me a visit. Haven't really seen him in at least a couple of years. Had a nice visit with him. Glad he stopped by for a bit!

As of last night I'm reading a book called "Firebird". It's an okay book. I'm also going to take a look at "Animal Farm" to see if I like it, which I very well may, not sure.

Tomorrow I'm going to the job fair with my employment specialists, Kathy and Gina. Safeway will be there, so we could ask about stocking jobs- what kind of hours some one works, how often that job becomes available, etc. Several other employers from Port Angeles jobs will be there also. They will be picking me up at 4:30 and we'll be there till 6:00.