Does She Remember? November 6, 2009

I found this today, and it made me think of you. Do you remember it?

So my Huckafriend and I had this tradition back in college. Any time either of us went on a trip (no matter how insignificant), the trip goer always bought a cheap, snappy trinket from whatever place she had visited. Most of the time there was a rule (her rule of course, because I would never have been against nicer things) that the item could not cost more than $2. This, of course, meant that the gifts were sometimes quite inventive.

I remember several of the trinkets I was given…the gem you see above was from a trip to Gulf Shores that I couldn’t go on. Then there was the neon yellow plastic change purse from somewhere exotic (actually I don’t remember where that one came from), a vinyl change purse with the Chicago skyline (that I can only assume came from Chicago). Really…and to think at the time I was glad I didn’t wind up with the nail clippers (of course at that time I still didn’t do my own nails, so the clippers would have been of no use to me).

The cool thing about these trinkets is that they were never about getting something…never about trying to impress…never about earning respect. The trinkets were simply a gesture of friendship…a little something to let the other person know you were thinking about them.

I think we’ll have to revive this tradition, because I really miss it. And I think there are some pretty cool things I could come up with from some of the places I pass through on the way to the Huckafriend’s house.

By the way, I only remember one of the trinkets I ever brought you from a trip, and it is the set of stolen chopsticks from the restaurant in San Francisco. I kinda feel bad about stealing the chopsticks, but I still have my set proudly displayed on my bookshelf at work, so I obviously don’t feel that badly about it.

I hope my Huckafriend enjoyed the stroll down memory lane.

Just Wondering… November 6, 2009

Maybe you’ve never experienced this, but I have. I’d like to know how I should feel about it. I suppose I’m happy that my church is growing, but I miss the feeling of home my church once had.

See, I grew up in my church…like I started attending services in late November of 1980 (the month and year I was born). I’ve only been away from my church for 3 years of my life (the three years I spent as a youth minister at another church a couple hours away). Now I’m back there. It should feel like home. But it doesn’t so much anymore.

Nothing is the same. While I’m not a traditionalist by any stretch of the imagination, I do long for things to be somewhat similar to the way I remember them. I miss having our annual back to school cookout and picnic at a local park/lake. We played loads of sand volleyball, dads fished with their kids, grandparents watched grandkids fly kites, we ate our fill and we created community…community like we don’t have anymore. Since we have grown so much, we have 5 Sunday morning services to accommodate all the people. I never see 3/4 of those people. Our paths don’t cross. I miss our annual Hanging of the Greens celebration complete with a church-wide supper to benefit youth mission trips. I miss the togetherness we experienced as each table offered their own rendition of one of the 12 Days of Christmas for the sake of good-natured competition. I miss the church home I always took for granted. I regretfully admit that I wasn’t always excited about attending the church-wide events. But now that they are gone, I miss them.

Something else that I miss is knowing everyone. We always have a couple of minutes within our worship service set aside for greeting each other. Just last Sunday, a nice man in his mid-to-late-40s came smiling toward me. I teach his daughter in Sunday School once per month and see them all the time in church. He said, “Are you new here?” I said, “No.” He said, “My family and I’ve been coming here for three years.” He said it like he owned it…like it was some sort of badge. Would it have been rude for me to say, “Oh, that’s nice. I’ve been coming here for almost 29 years.” I bit my tongue. I know he wasn’t trying to be an ass, but it rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I was overly hormonal…whatever. I shook his hand and moved on. But then he was introduced as the new president of the administrative board at church, and my piss-poor attitude toward the man popped back into my head. I should be happy that he has jumped in to serve the church, but I’m not seeing a lot of service going on in my church these days.

Way back when my church was mission-minded. Our youth served others. We were better for it. Now our youth go on fun trips to camps at the beach. That’s fine. They’re even raising money for water wells in Kenya. That’s fine. But they aren’t getting their hands dirty serving others. They are simply throwing their parents’ money at a problem. This is how their parents are raising them…to throw money at problems, but not to offer their services.

When I joined the United Methodist Church, I promised to serve it with my prayers, presence, gifts and service (we’ve since added witness). I meant it. I want others to mean it too! When you leave out part of that puzzle, you miss out on your own growth.

Perhaps the smiling man who will be taking over our administrative board doesn’t understand the commitment that we UMs have made. Maybe the transplants are the reason my church isn’t mission-minded anymore.

Or maybe I’m reading too much into all this and should just quietly bite my tongue.

Souls, Personality and Animals November 5, 2009

Tonight at church (after teaching 6th grade Bible study), several church staff members and a friend and I were talking about pets and somehow wandered into a discussion on whether or not we thought animals would be in heaven.

A particular pastor at our church (but not one who was there for the discussion) once told a group of kids that animals didn’t have souls, so they couldn’t possibly be in heaven.

We (the ones having the discussion tonight) all felt very strongly that animals do in fact go to heaven. There is scriptural evidence that animals are present in heaven. All creatures were created for the glory of God. Beyond that, (not that I want to bring up Revelation…) there are at least 5 horses present for Christ’s return. Plus, Romans 8:19 says, “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.”

So…first off, I can’t believe a pastor would ever tell a room full of children that their pets weren’t going to be in heaven. You just don’t go there. Children have to remain hopeful (and hopefully childlike) if they are to grow into a childlike faith. If we crush their innocent beliefs of the Kingdom that we (as adults) can’t quite comprehend, then we have done more to harm their growing faith than to nurture it.

Perhaps if more of us still held onto our childhood visions of what heaven is like, we would be better for it.

Secondly, I like that the scriptures back up my theory of animals in heaven, because I can’t imagine a heaven void of puppies…lots of sweet and cuddly dachshunds. I do, however, hope that there is a lack of snakes, spiders and mosquitoes.

I also think that my three dachshunds definitely have souls and unique personalities. Dach knows he is the boss of us. He’s a bit egocentric, but all in all he’s a good dog. He comforts you when you are sick or crying, and he knows when he has done something wrong. Chip is childlike and innocent. He is a protector. If he doesn’t know someone who enters a room, his one and only job is to guard his family. Then there’s Archie. He’s sweet, a bit needy, and content. He understands our bond and really can’t stand when I’m not by his side. He is a master cuddler, and wants nothing more than to share his love with anyone who will let him. In my college philosophy class nearly ten years ago, my professor said that if one has a personality than one has a soul. If his theory is correct, then my three dachshunds definitely have souls, because they each have their own distinct personalities.

What do you think?

Medical Minute November 3, 2009

Okay, so any of you who follow my blog (or who know me personally – who am I kidding you’re all one in the same!) know that I have had some pretty intense medical issues throughout 2009.

Here’s a Reader’s Digest version of the past 6 months:

I had severe headaches, neck/shoulder pain and double vision. My family practice doctor (who is also a family friend) freaked out and sent me to a neurologist. Apparently you don’t play around with headaches. I visited the neurologist, who ordered a CT of my brain and started me on Topamax for the migraines he thought I was having. My jaws were also very sore (from loads of TMJ problems), so I also consulted my dentist who recommended a specialist in another city. My family practice doctor also recommended that I see my optometrist to see if anything had changed with my eyes to cause the headaches and double vision.

I went to the optometrist. My vision was slightly different, though not significantly. However, because the double vision had increased since my last visit, my optometrist adjusted the prism prescription in my lenses. They didn’t really help, and I still had the double vision.

I visited the TMJ guy, who said I had Occipital Atlas Dysfunction (coupled with my TMJ), which was causing the neck pain (and perhaps even the headaches and double vision). He also knew he could fix the TMJ, so I was fitted with pivot splints (which have been working…thankfully).

Meanwhile back at the ranch, my neurologist got the results to my CT scan and said that I was fine. That’s nice. But I wasn’t fine. I was still in pain. I was having frequent headaches and my neck and shoulders were killing me. So the neurologist ordered another CT (this time with contrast). Whatever…that one didn’t find anything either. So he ordered an MRI of my brain. Still nothing. So he ordered an MRI with some sort of dye. Still nothing. He said he was convinced it was migraines. I was not convinced. I wasn’t light sensitive, and noise didn’t bother me. I just hurt!

Throughout all of this I had been doing physical therapy. The physical therapists were funny, but not too helpful.

4-5 months after my first visit with the neurologist, I finally convinced him that I was having neck/shoulder pain that wasn’t associated with my brain. I begged for him to check it out (thinking he’d order an MRI). He ordered a CT of my cervical spine, which showed bone spurs. He sent me to a pain management specialist.

I visited the pain management specialist. He was very strange. That’s another blog entry entirely. He asked why the neurologist only ordered a CT when an MRI would have shown the discs more clearly. Like I’d know the answer to that! Anyway, he ordered an MRI of my cervical spine, which showed herniated discs…no wonder my neck and shoulders have been hurting so badly.

The pain management guy said I should try an epidural. I did. I did NOT enjoy it, nor did I enjoy the fact that four nurses were holding me down while he inserted the big, scary needle into my neck. I also rather hated the fact that he said, “Oh, shit” at one point during the procedure. Like I wasn’t freaked out enough by the fact that four people were holding me down while a very strange doctor inserted a needle into my neck!

I was nearly guaranteed that the epidural would “work.” It did not. The only thing it succeeded in doing was making my right hand/arm numb and tingly.

Right. So, the pain management specialist referred me to a neurosurgeon, because apparently there’s nothing else they can do for the neck as far as pain management is concerned. The minimally invasive surgical procedures they can do for the lower back haven’t been approved yet for the neck. Go figure.

So, my appointment with the neurosurgeon isn’t until December 17th. I’ve tried to get in sooner, but that is the first available appointment until March at this point.

Nevertheless, today I went back to my TMJ specialist for my monthly appointment. Usually the appointment entails getting my pivot splints adjusted, letting the doctor feel around on the joints, opening my mouth repeatedly and this really cool procedure that makes my headaches disappear immediately. He pulls on my head to stretch my neck. It feels a bit awkward, but makes the pain go away after a couple rounds. Today, however, he wouldn’t do the stretch, because he was afraid to do anything to my neck since he knew about the herniated discs. Damn. So now I have neck/shoulder pain and a nagging headache.

I’m taking muscle relaxers, but I can’t work and take them, so I endure the pain all day until I get home. It sucks, but it is my routine.

Hopefully I can get some relief at some point. I’m considering seeing a chiropractor, but I’m not sure that’s what I need. Ugh!

Excuse #1 November 3, 2009

Dang! I just knew I’d be able to keep up with the whole post a day thing. However, my wireless has been on the fritz tonight, and I’m just now back online. So I swear this counts as November 2…really! I’ll even have a post for November 3.

 

Is it too early to put up the Christmas tree this weekend? I already put one up in my office at work, and I already put my smaller tree up in my bedroom. But when should the main tree in the living room appear?

 

Also, Tuesday (like later this morning) I’m headed to my TMJ specialist. Details of that visit will follow. I’ll also detail the pain progression and how things are looking at this point as far as my health is concerned. So, I guess you’re in for a treat tomorrow (or later today).

My Three Shunds (pronounced “Sons”) November 1, 2009

I have three dachshunds…precious dachshunds.

The thing is…they all have slight idiosyncrasies. There’s Dach – the oldest – who thinks he is the king of the house…seriously. He is definitely the alpha male. He prances around like he owns the place. He growls at you if you tell him “no.” Then there’s Chipper – the middle child – who is a bit special…like ed. Really…he is. He’s cute, but he just doesn’t quite get the whole bonding thing (except with my little brother who is Chipper’s idol). He’s a man’s man (er…dog). Then there’s my baby Archie – the rescued baby boy – who is just now beginning to understand that he has a family who loves him. He is a precious, bouncing ball of energy, and is curious about everything.

The one thing they all have in common…they all hate costumes.

But aren’t they precious?

Not My Kids September 23, 2009

I’ve been hesitant to post this, because there are people who say I don’t know what I’m talking about because I’m not a parent. I suppose I don’t understand that theory. No, I probably don’t know all there is to know about children, but I don’t see how having not popped out a child makes one uniquely unqualified to offer her opinions on life.

My church has issues. What church doesn’t? Lately, however, I’ve been disgusted by the lack of parenting so-called child experts are exhibiting. Moreover, I’m disgusted at how those in their 30s to 50s are letting children rule the roost…and how so-called spiritual leaders are accepting self-centered behaviors as the norm and not doing anything to motivate real change. I see change…the wrong kind of change. Apparently my church’s 6th grade class has a problem with bullying…and it isn’t coming from the boys. That’s right…it’s the girls. They are catty, mean-spirited and couldn’t care less about their classmates.

My county (as silly as it is) has 6 separate school districts (plus a handful of private schools)…not schools…SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Let me lay them out for you (stereotypically speaking). There’s the elite school across the bypass, the inner-city school in the heart of the community, the redneck country school on the west side of town, the tiny-under-funded-hole-in-the-wall school outside of town, the I-send-my kids-there-because-there-are-no-minorities school on the outskirts of town, and the I-grew-too-fast-and-now-I-have-issues school across the railroad tracks.

What’s that got to do with the issues at church? Apparently everything! There is one little girl in the 6th grade class who goes to the redneck country school on the west side of town. All the other girls either go to the inner-city school or the elite school. Let me say this first…the inner-city school is NOTHING like a true inner-city school…it just has a higher minority population than any other school in our community, so it gets a bum reputation. So the clique-driven girls from those two schools have been making fun of the girl from the RC school. They say things like, “You’re not pretty,” “You’re poor, so you can’t talk to us,” and my favorite “Your parents must not make any money if you live in that school district.”

Mind you, if they redrew the school district lines in a fair manner, most of those kids would actually attend the RC school, but their parents have thrown fits and have built their school into an elitist colony. They make the best test scores (but they teach to the tests AND have the most parental involvement, because most of the moms don’t work), they have the best facilities (they have people constantly donating money to see to it that their kids have the best) and they find the most accommodating teachers.

Nevertheless, one girl in the 6th grade is made to feel less than everyone else because she comes from a different school. I understand bullying at school (I don’t like it, but I understand it). I can’t understand bullying at church. Church is different. It should be a sanctuary for these kids to feel safe and secure…a place where they don’t have to worry about the pressures of the outside world. The parents should be encouraging children to be respectful and kind to everyone (not just at church), but sadly the parents are the same way. Jesus called us to love the least, the last and the lost…and to help the poor. We’re not helping when we make fun of them!

I recently heard that a family moved their membership to my church. I was happy for them. I’ve always loved my church and the people in it. But then I heard her talking about the switch. She switched from another United Methodist church in town to our UM church because she was “sick of her money going to all those black kids.” Really? I’ve always thought of my church as a mission-minded congregation, but apparently we have strayed from that image. And though we still help with the local food pantry, a youth facility for kids to get nightly meals and help with homework, mission trips for adults and various other mission events/activities, we’ve lost our way in the world. Do we really want church members who don’t want to help fellow man…regardless of skin color? It baffles me.

Faith Exercise on Retreat

When I was a kid growing up in the same church I still call home, we were about as missional as possible. We helped the United Way, we went on lots of mission trips/camps, we helped the elderly in our own community, we worked as a team to help with big church events and activities that were for the smaller children. We loved it. We had fun while serving others…but more importantly serving God. We were taught to serve God, the church and fellow man. And most of us are still active in all three of those areas.

Mission Trip 1999

Mission Trip 1998

United Way Day of Caring 1995

The youth group now goes on big, over-priced, fun trips to the beach. Sure, it’s a church camp complete with some avenues for spiritual growth, great worship and fellowship. But while they’re serving themselves, God, the church and their fellow man are being left out in the cold! The youth no longer help with our church’s VBS. The youth no longer help with our church’s Easter Egg Hunt. The youth no longer help with our church’s Fall Festival. The youth no longer are a visible sign to the younger generations of how to model good behavior. I still remember the teenagers I wanted to be like when I was a child. I will never forget wanting to be just like (and I’m not changing any names) Sarah, Rien, Dixie, Jana, Jennifer, Matt, Charles, Jason and Wyatt.

Ski Trip 1999

I’m not saying we didn’t have our fair share of fun…we went on ski trips, had swimming parties, stayed up way too late at lock-ins, and had lots of other fellowship opportunities. But those weren’t our focus. Those were the rewards for staying focused.

Swimming Party 1998

Sadly, this generation’s youth are not providing that example for the children. The behavior I see every Sunday morning as I teach Sunday School is pitiful, disrespectful and callous. But even more sad is the fact that nobody is learning to serve the church! Who will teach Sunday school when the blue-haired ladies die?

I’m all for the United Methodist Church’s Rethink Church campaign, but not if rethinking church means that you never have to serve it in any way! I am appalled at what my generation and the generations that have gone before me are allowing from their children. I expect better. And while I don’t have any children of my own, I think these kids are more than capable of what my generation was capable of…they just haven’t had good models…either at church or at home!

Mission Trip 2009

Oh…one more thing: not all youth are being led this way. There are still many youth who participate in mission trips. In fact, even though my church’s youth minister won’t go to one particular mission camp that our church is quite fond of, there is a father to one of the youth who has made it his duty to make sure that the youth still have an opportunity to serve God and others every summer. He takes his vacation to take a group of about 15 (a far cry from the 60-75 we used to take…but it’s a start) every year. So, I’m proud of those kids and wish there were more like them.

Splint Raising Good Time July 29, 2009

So I went to my TMJ guy yesterday, and he increased the thickness of my pivot splints. I’m wearing them 22 hours a day now (instead of almost 24). I take them out for and hour in the morning and an hour after dinner.

He also said that he still thinks I’ve got lots of muscle issues going on around my neck and shoulders, and isn’t convinced that pain management is the right route. He said he thought traction could help, and then he stretched my neck, which felt pretty good.

I don’t see the pain management folks until August 28th, so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

Utter Randomness…and then some July 27, 2009

1. I have not abandoned ShoeShe. I’ve just been really busy at work and haven’t had a lot of time that I wanted to spend on a computer while at home.

2. I have started a new blog…My First Rodeo, and am having a blast taking on this new endeavor that sort of has a point. You can feel free to check it out, leave comments, or don’t. It is really more for my benefit than anything else. I want to prove that I can do something new every day (or at least 3-5 days per week).

3. Medical Update – I went back to my neurologist today, and I apparently have bone spurs on my cervical spine. I’ve been referred to a pain management specialist for some sort of injection. Ouch! Anyway…the double vision is still gone (but the doctors are baffled as to why/how…especially since my vision tests the same as it did while I had the double vision). The headaches are sporadic at this point. I have a pretty bad headache about once every week or two…but nothing like before. One of my doctors said that it is possible that the double vision was due to the severity and frequency of the headaches. Once the headaches were eliminated (at least mostly), I’m able to focus more easily and with less effort, thus minimizing the double vision. My jaw is doing much better, though is still hurting around the jawline on both sides and by the condyle on the left side. I see my TMJ specialist tomorrow to get my splints readjusted (a monthly process…which has turned into an every three weeks process for me and my “special” case). I love my TMJ specialist. He’s friendly, his office staff is friendly and his furniture is hilarious. Plus he really knows his stuff! I like that part the most!!!

4. I wonder if asking a child if he is dumb is the same thing as calling him dumb…either way I feel horribly about doing so, but you’d just have to see this kid in action. I swear he’ll wind up in prison someday. He’s just awful!!! And, when you tell his mother some of the things he does (while in Sunday School), she just says, “boys will be boys.” That’s when I want to snap and say…”No, mam…brats will be brats…so long as their parents allow them to be brats! You can teach your son to be polite and respectful of adults.” But I always just give up. It turns out that this “blessed little boy” treats his mother as badly ALWAYS (if not worse) than he treats me every Sunday. I feel for her, but I mostly loathe her for not teaching her son how to behave (especially in church). It should not be my place as a Sunday School teacher to be a disciplinarian…for reasons other than the fact that I’m terrible at it.

5. Insurance companies and medical billing procedures suck!!! I’m in the midst of a battle over some services that occurred in 2007…why they just now surfaced is further proof that something needs to be done about those procedures. I am adamantly opposed to Obama’s healthcare plan, because I think it opens a can of worms that needs to remain tightly sealed. While I think that we are in desperate need of healthcare reform, I don’t think the current plan on the table is the right solution. It could be what loses Obama his second term. The people that his plan would help could care less. They are already receiving free or greatly reduced healthcare services in overcrowded ERs. Those people won’t stop going to ERs either, because that’s how they’ve been trained. Nobody taught them to have a proper family physician to see for that pesky earache or low-grade fever. Nope. Their parents lugged them to the ER for every such occurrence as children. I suppose society is partly to blame. It is a bit of a never-ending cycle. And while Obama’s plan might help a few, I fear it would hurt the rest of us. Once employers no longer “have to” provide medical insurance for their employees, customer service will be at an all-time low. It is already hard enough to get answers from private insurance companies. Picture this: the government is in charge of answering those same questions. I don’t think we would ever be able to peel back enough of the red tape to get our questions answered. As for medical services, I also fear the worst! Picture this: my grandfather who has twice beaten the odds against cancer wouldn’t have even been given a chance to beat those odds, because the government says a full cure is unlikely, and thus leaves him to die. That’s not a world in which I want to live. While we can dream of a happy society where we have 100% national healthcare, the fact of the matter is that our society has not been trained to think that way. It could never work. Do you really want your grandmother’s cardiologist to be making $60,000 a year as a government-paid doctor? Heavens no! I like that my grandmother’s cardiologist makes almost 4 time that amount. Why? Because I can expect more. I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you my other concerns.

6. I’ve become quite good at cooking. I get to practice almost nightly, and I love it! It is so much fun…and it provides me with an outlet for my creativity. I realize that some of you remember my not-so-good-at-cooking days from college. Let me assure you that I haven’t tried to make any Death Chicken or Chocolate Stuff in years…nor will I ever!

7. My 10 year reunion is in October. I graduated from high school in 1999. Some days it seems like forever ago, and other days it feels like it was just yesterday. Why is that? I didn’t keep in touch with hardly any of my classmates…even the ones who were my best friends, but have since become their “friends” on Facebook. That seems odd to me. I don’t talk to you in 7-8 years, then all of a sudden we’re besties on Facebook…that’s weird! I feel badly about not keeping in touch with some of my friends, but at the same time in the back of my mind I remember that most of my teenage years were not fun for me. When I was in 7th grade, I paid two girls on my basketball team to be nice to me. It seems so pathetic now…it was even more pathetic back then. They made fun of me all the time, but if I gave them gum or money they laid off for a day or two. What was I thinking? Why didn’t I tell an adult? Why didn’t I talk to someone about how it made me feel instead of keeping it all inside? In 11th grade I went to a residential school for really advanced (and mostly socially awkward kids) to avoid the teen angst I was experiencing. When I moved back to my school (because I hated being with all those socially awkward kids…I am not socially awkward – and never really was) later that same year, I discovered that I had lost all but one of my friends. It sucked. All my other friends had moved on to drinking and mild drug use…or to the “popular crowd.” I did not. And while I don’t regret not ever drinking or experimenting with any drugs while I was in high school, I wonder what my life might have been like had I experienced some of the normal teen behavior. Would I have made new friends? Would I have stressed less over perfect grades? I guess it is weird that I even think these things. Oh well.

8. I didn’t have my first drink until my 21st birthday (in Chicago on a Model UN trip with Mrs. Huckablog). Later that year, I got wasted on two wine coolers on a different Model UN trip. I loved Model UN. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t a good idea to drink alcohol while taking heart medication. I am now off all my heart medication, and I love mojitos!!! They are my alcoholic beverage of choice these days.

9. I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Saturday. Parts of it were nothing like my expectations from the book, but other parts were exactly as I envisioned them. It was well-done. I was impressed. And for all the book purists, I think you have to separate the book series from the movie series to get a full appreciation for the movies. Otherwise, you sort of get hung up on the things they leave out of the movies. Don’t you realize that if they made the book into a movie with all the details, the movie would be an 8-hour movie? My favorite book (and movie) in the series remains Goblet of Fire.

10. I haven’t read any of the Twilight books yet. I’m not sure why. But if it is any consolation, I didn’t read any of the Harry Potter books until 3 years ago, and I now love them. I guess it takes me a while to get on the pop culture bandwagon.

A-Holes & B-Holes July 13, 2009

This commercial makes me sick. If you have small children, you probably shouldn’t watch this clip around them (unless you want them repeating “A-hole” over and over again).

It’s one thing for companies to rely on innuendo, it is quite another to do this…

I can’t wrap my brain around this. Either companies have run completely out of creative juices and this is the end result OR companies think the public is too stupid to understand anything but potty humor (not exactly potty-ish, but kinda the same). Either way, it is ridiculous. I could have written better copy as a child (and it wouldn’t have been as childish).

I’m sorry if this is not the post you’ve been anxiously awaiting. There’s more to come, but I’m pretty busy right now, so this is all you get for a couple of days.