My Father, the Hero

2008 ~ Mililani Band Fest

Yes, it's been a while (about a week) since I've last posted. The main reason is because intersession has ended and I've been trying to get back in the swing of things at work. It's been an interesting process. All I have to say is that I completely, 100% L-O-V-E my team! I don't think that I'll ever be this lucky again! Usually there is one person that I want to strangle but this year my team makes me gush with love and happiness!

Color guard is FINALLY over and it's a relief. I'll miss these girls (+2 guys) a lot but I'll be happy reclaiming my Saturdays. At the last tournament (Mililani Band Festival) I was standing at the back of the stadium watching them perform and I felt a sudden jolt of pain... not a pain of loss (the end of a season) but a pain of FIRE radiating form the area between my crotch and my thigh. I grabbed the affected area of my jeans and squeezed and mashed in case it was something horrible like an ant. Then, I'd remembered my senior year in high school the night before prom when I was sleeping and I suddenly felt a similar jolt of pain. I had a dream that I was on fire. I woke up, turned the light on and searched my abdomen for a clue. There is was... as though Edward himself (think Twilight) had sucked blood out of my midsection, a vampire-like bite. I called urgently to my father for help. He came in and for an hour and a half (approximately 12:00-1:30am) he searched furiously for the offending insect. It was hidden cleverly between the mattress and box spring but MY dad had found it. He was my hero. We hit it again and again but it still managed to travel with alarming quickness. I remember cutting it in half and watching to the ends wriggle in desperate panic until it finally died. In any case, when I got home from the tournament I took my jeans off and sure enough there was a juicy centipede mashed up in the fabric. The entire next week I alternated sleeping with a bag of peas and a "Foodsaver" preserved bag of frozen pork between my legs to keep the swelling and pain away. The affected area, once the size of a quarter, had increased to the size of a dollar bill. I went to see a doctor where he prescribed some great medicine and after a single dose it has all but gone away! The miracle of drugs, I tell ya!

This was so hilarious! Joseph wanted his father to read a book to him. Unfortunately, it was a musical book where you had to sing along with the tune. It was so funny to hear Joe "singing" and trying to keep up with the melody. I probably couldn't have done any better but it was just SO funny! Joseph couldn't tell the difference, anyway. He loved it!