Vacations and Outings

Wed - December 29, 2004

The ghost of Christmas. Past.

Dropped everyone off at the airport this morning. Mom, Dad, John, Leigh Ann, and Marvel (my grandmother, for any new readers out there) came to California to join Corey and I for Christmas this year. (Click the picture to go to the photo album.) They spent about three full days with us, and we had a BLAST. It was so nice to have family here.

And now they're back in Ohio. And we're not entertaining guests any more.

So we slept. Got home from the airport and crashed for about six hours. It was a beautiful thing. We've been going so hard for the last month -- cleaning, organizing, painting, moving furniture, preparing food, etc. etc. etc. -- that it was wonderful to just STOP.

And now we have this wonderful week of vacation. We haven't put anything on the schedule yet, so we get to just make it up as we go along. I imagine there will be some shopping involved. I imagine we'll be doing some cleaning. And I imagine there will be a great deal of napping, too. But I look forward to it. It's been a great Christmas, and the rest of the holiday week will be just as nice.

Posted at 02:18 AM Read More

Thu - November 25, 2004

Today I am grateful for . . .

Sleeping in.
Hilarious party games with family I only get to see once or twice a year.
Winning some games.
Losing some games.
The love of a small dog named Heidi.
My amazing husband.
Good food.
Sleeping in the same bed as my husband after fourteen days of not.
Corey's mom and dad.
Corey's extended family.
Our dear friend Adam.
New opportunities at work.
Making Corey's ninety-year old Grandma laugh.
The new battery John got me for my Powerbook.
My "team" from ACT XI, my i-impact training class.
My mom and my dad.
My brother Brian and my brother John.
A holiday that invites us to get together with each other in the spirit of love and gratitude.
The opportunity for Corey and I to ruthlessly pick on our seventeen-year old niece's new boyfriend (he handled it well, though).
A long drive with a good audiobook.
An hour of gridlocked traffic that gave me the opportunity to catch up with my brother Brian.
New levels of understanding and a deepening of the love Corey and I have with each other.
My cousin Julie, who is pregnant!
A thoughtful email from a friend.
Galaga. On our TV!

and . . .

wait for it . . .

Really good cole slaw. You gotta give it to those Pennsylvania Dutch women. They know how to make a good slaw.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. My hopes and wishes to you and yours for another year of things for which to be grateful.

Posted at 09:28 PM Read More

Tue - November 23, 2004

Tidings from the windy city

A one-hour layover in Chicago. Nice airport. Flight came in earlier than expected. Just finished my lunch, waiting to board . . .

I noticed a new security sign when I was checking in this morning. I have to admit that it troubled me a little. There was a big picture of a gun on it, and it said. Firearms must be UNLOADED and you must declare them to your airline.

Say what? I can't bring my nail clipper on board, but as long as I take the bullets out of my gun, I can bring it with me???

I'm sure that's not what it meant. That's just silly.

I have to say that the entire check-in process this morning moved like clockwork. Southwest had about 25 ticket agents working at 7:30 this morning. The long line moved very quickly. My bag was selected for "special" inspection, which was handled by a very professional, very polite, very together crew of Transportation Safety Administration people. Very impressive.

My luggage checked, I then got in line for security and I was selected for "special" inspection once again. Why is it that I never once went through the belt/shoe/frisk treatment when I had long hair and a beard, but now that I look . . . I don't know . . . less hairy . . . that I stick out like a security risk? Or maybe it's really just random selection now and it's all a funny coincidence.

Last night, while I was taking care of the last hundred or so details for my trip, I really had the opportunity to notice how my four months of "life training" has helped me transform my life. I had a very long list of things to get done, and I accomplished almost all of them. The ones I didn't accomplish were replaced with a "by when", so I know they will get done.

I was still awake at about 12:30 last night, knowing that I would need to be up at 6am, and unlike in the past, I was really fine. Not so tired that I couldn't get my work done. And I actually pushed a little and cleaned up the kitchen and the bathroom and tidied up the living room and bedrooms, so Corey and I will have a relatively clean apartment when we get home. I've always heard about people doing such things, but never believed in them myself. Who wants to go through all that work??? Vacation is starting!!! Let's go play!

And that, right there, is the miracle of transformation, folks. Douglas chose tidiness over sleep. Those of you who have known me since birth will need to pick your lower jaw up from the floor and re-attach it to your face. And it's not such a rare occurrence for me these days. Kind of normal for me to get only six hours of sleep and be fine. (And I still don't drink coffee or other caffeinated-type things. Don't get me started on that!)

I'm noticing that my absence on this blog over the last several months has dulled my writing focus. For now, anyway. I remember it was like this when I started, so I'll just keep plugging away. Expect the entries to get more interesting as the weeks go along.

Time to board.

Posted at 01:18 PM Read More

Sun - November 21, 2004

Leavin' . . . on a jet plane . . .

Hi folks,

Yes, it's really me. I'm back. At least today I'm back. Cleaning the house and getting ready for a trip back east for the holidays. My brother John just bought me a new battery for my laptop, so I plan to do some air-blogging. I'll catch you up on my activities over the last four months. (Lots to tell!)

We almost had a computer meltdown this week, which would have included my entire weblog. Thankfully, just the operating system (and its corresponding disk partition) were affected. I keep my data on a separate partition. And I now have a big fat external hard drive where things are backed up properly.

Talk to you soon!

Posted at 01:49 PM Read More

Sun - June 20, 2004

pictures from my trip

Pictures are up from my trip. Click the photo above to see them.

Posted at 03:18 PM Read More

Tue - June 8, 2004

on retreat

Been busy around here, but I promise to share all the details of my fun little vacation soon. I'm leaving in a few minutes for Light on the Hill Retreat Center in upstate New York. I'll be living in a little hut for three days and two nights, praying and listening, living mindfully, and being present with my spirit.

I think I've needed this more than anything else these last several months. When life gets all dramatic and full of stress and turmoil, I often forget who I am and what I'm about. It's so important to reconnect with that.

Plus, I get to see Ithaca in the summertime, a nice little bonus.

Posted at 06:37 AM Read More

Sat - June 5, 2004

a little taste of California

I was meeting Brian and his friends last night at 8:30. I was running a little early, and I didn't want to show up before Brian, so I needed to kill some time. Across the street from the place we were meeting was a Unitarian-Universalist church, and I noticed that they were having a rummage sale, so I chuckled to myself, parked the car, and walked in.

I don't think I had realized, until that moment, how different things are in Cleveland. I guess that, because I grew up here, I dissolve right into the Cleveland mentality without even thinking about it. But it's really not who I am any longer. And when I walked into this church, I remembered that.

Posted at 09:15 AM Read More

the neff brothers at the poker table

All three of us made it into town last night for Brian's Friday poker game. I guess he and his friends have been having this game for awhile, with usually no more than five or six people. Last night, along with two additional Neff's, about a dozen of his friends showed up. (Brian's house is large by California standards, but not by Las Vegas poker room standards.) After a few people were eliminated from the first table, they ended up starting a separate game, so we finished the night playing with about seven or eight people at a table. I shouldn't say "finished the night", because I didn't stay past 12:30. They were going to play another game, tournament-style, where the top three players from each table would play each other for the big money. John was staying at our parents' house with me, so he left shortly thereafter.

Posted at 08:58 AM Read More

Thu - June 3, 2004

back in cleveland

Home in Cleveland now. Flight was uneventful, which is nice, but also boring. At least if everything is going wrong you have something at which to focus your energy. Not today. Each flight took off and landed when it was scheduled. I brought enough food so that I was not hungry through the six-hour trip. Got my luggage back just fine. I had quiet seat-mates on each flight.

Really, nothing at all to complain about.

I did find it interesting (and a little frightening) that the nice people at airport security felt it necessary to open up my flatbed scanner (brought it home to digitize another batch of old family photos) but they never batted an eye at the swiss army knife I had neglected to remove from my carry-on bag. And the worst part is that I think I got through security with it last time, as well. Hmmm. I probably shouldn't be ranting about it, but I did find it a little disconcerting.

And I did forget to bring some mind-numbing reading material, which was a very big mistake, as I was forced to spend way too much time flipping through the Skymall catalog during my flight. Speaking of which, doesn't that catalog make you wish you had a rich aunt or uncle who was always traveling, and the only way they could get you a birthday gift was by shopping for all that cool stuff? And then UPS would arrive at your door the morning of your birthday with a radio-controlled blimp or an inflatable hockey rink for the backyard or six pounds of fresh Maine lobster . . .

Gandhi says that we should "be the change we want to see in the world," so maybe I should just strive to become that rich traveling uncle. Of course, I would need a niece or nephew before that can happen . . .

Posted at 09:09 PM Read More

Wed - May 12, 2004

baseball with the giants

Well, the Giants lost. Big time. 10-4. We were both really tired, so it was probably a good thing that the game wasn't very interesting. (No trouble with leaving early.) It was really nice to be at a baseball game on a clear night in San Francisco. SBC Park is right on the bay, but there was really no wind at all last night, so it was very comfortable. And you gotta love the architecture of these new baseball parks. We were up in nosebleed territory, but they were still great seats. It was like we were watching baseball being played on our coffee table. Really cool.

Like I said before, it's been about eight years since I've been to a baseball game, and what I noticed most was the improvements made to both the advertising and the concessions. First of all, advertising. There was like an 80-foot long Coke bottle in left field behind the bleachers. SBC logos were absolutely everywhere. And the little (from our seats) television screen in center field had all kinds of little things to sell us. Giants merchandise was available around every turn, in the form of hats, bats, shirts, pins, and anything else you can put a logo on.

Posted at 10:22 PM Read More

Fri - March 5, 2004

shopping in spain

Sometimes it's nice to get away from the younger generation for a little while. I had a wonderful surprise this afternoon when Rachel suggested that two folks from our Dementia care unit (the "Terrace") join us for our monthly shopping trip to Petco.

A little backstory: Our long-term care facilities subscribe to a philosophy called the "Eden Alternative". One of the benefits of this program is lots of animals to keep our residents company. Animal supplies can be expensive, so we applied for a grant from the Petco Foundation. And Petco, in their infinite wisdom, granted our request. They give us a carload of pet supplies every month. All we have to do is pick it up. And today, two wonderful ladies (let's call them "Joan" and "Beatrice") joined us for the ride.

Posted at 09:35 PM Read More

Tue - February 10, 2004

Christmas photos are finally up

I finally posted the photos from Christmas (now that Valentine's Day is almost here). To view them, click here or click on "My Photo Albums" in the list of links to the right.

Posted at 03:42 PM Read More

Thu - January 22, 2004

News from the Thailand-ers

Got an email from Gina and Rachel today. They stayed in Bangkok for five days, and are headed off to Koh Samui (the beach). That's a picture of their hotel. Weather has been 82 and partly cloudy all week.

Posted at 10:53 PM Read More

Fri - January 16, 2004

and they're off!

Gina and Rachel left this morning for Thailand with their pals Molly and Davina. They're gone for two weeks, so it's just me and the dogs (and a lot of empty boxes).

Posted at 10:57 PM Read More

Sun - January 4, 2004

the long road home

Aero-blogging again. Northwest Airlines. Philadelphia to San Francisco.

Today has been a day of pilgrimage. And I just want to get home. I feel like I'm on the Federation Starship Voyager, and we've been stranded 700 million light years from our solar system, fighting and struggling and plodding onward, while battling all manner of strange and terrible foes . . . with only the smallest glimmer of hope that we will ever see home again.

But I whine.

Posted at 07:24 PM Read More

Sat - January 3, 2004

saying good-bye to Pennsylvania

Yup. We're packing the bags and heading back to California. Sad to say good-bye, but looking forward to getting back home, seeing Meera, starting school on Monday, and sleeping in my own bed.

Posted at 09:56 PM Read More

Fri - January 2, 2004

a trip to wilkes-barre

Jarret Leonardo Gorham, celebrating his first New Year's Eve with new pal Doug.

One of our best friends from college, Joe lives in Wilkes-Barre with his wife and children. It's still amazing to believe that one of our college friends has kids!!! Anyway, we met Genevieve last New Years (I think the photos are still available on My Photo Albums page) and this year we had the distinct pleasure of meeting Jarrett Leonardo.

Posted at 06:50 PM Read More

Thu - January 1, 2004

some new year's advice

EVEN if you are feeling like crap;

EVEN if your throat is full of plegm and gunk and nasty things;

EVEN if the friends you are visiting offer you a bottle of Robitussin;

Posted at 06:48 PM Read More

Tue - December 30, 2003

mobile blogging

Planes, trains, and automobiles, right? Right. So I did the plane blogging thing and now I'm writing to you from the front seat of a Mazda pickup. We're making the trek from Cleveland to Rebuck (Corey's parents) and it's about six hours. Since we weren't planning to drive the truck, we only brought CDs with us, so we have nothing to listen to in the truck.

And radio sucks.

Posted at 09:51 AM Read More

Sun - December 28, 2003

a neff family christmas

Things have been pretty crazy here at the Neff house, which has prevented me from getting to my blogging duties in the manner to which I am accustomed. So here I am, one in the morning, trying to get back on the horse. I promise to update you on all that has gone on the last few days, but tonight, you just get a quick preview:

Posted at 10:32 PM Read More

Fri - December 26, 2003

the morning after

(Corey's Dad and his niece, Kellie)

Wonderful Christmas at Corey's parents' house. Went over to "Dolores and Ronald's Place" for dinner, which was nice. Four generations of family in one place, more food than you can imagine, joking around, playing cards, and a Bingo game for everyone. With prizes, even!

Posted at 07:25 AM Read More

Wed - December 24, 2003

Christmas Eve

No pictures today. Just spending time visiting with family and going to church. We went to the church Corey grew up in. Very small Lutheran church here in Northumberland County. This will give you an idea of scope. Corey told me that all of the members of the choir (about sixteen of them) were in the choir when he was a young boy AND when he was older and in the choir himself. Things change slowly out here.

Posted at 06:56 PM Read More

Tue - December 23, 2003

little heidi

Heidi is a little rat terrier who loves to play. She looks pretty fierce, but really she's just a sweetheart.

Posted at 06:00 PM Read More

Mon - December 22, 2003

safe and sound

(Meera got to open her gifts before we left.)

Safe and sound in rural Pennsylvania now. And glad to have internet access, even if it's only dial-up.

It's nice to be here at Corey's parents' place. Very cozy house, situated in an idyllic little valley. Rolling hills of grass, lots of trees, snow and snow and more snow. There are drawbacks, though. The house feels a bit like a Hobbit-hole, constructed for people much shorter than myself. The nearest anything is a half-hour drive away, through windy roads that don't appear on road maps.

Posted at 03:13 PM Read More

Sun - December 21, 2003

the mile-high club

I think a man feels more like a man if, when traveling on an airplane, he fires up his Powerbook at least once, just to show the other passengers that he is a member in good standing of the international order of techno-geeks.

And I think it's a rule somewhere, too. You can't lug that thing on board without taking it out at least once. Otherwise, what's the point?

Posted at 02:27 PM Read More

halloween photos are up

yo-ho-ho and a bucket of Halloween candy

carving the perfect pumpkin

pumpkin carving!

come get lost with us!

children of the corn!

preparing for halloween

anniversary weekend

happy birthday to me

back for more mini-golf

mountain winery