1. How much time do you spend online each day?
I'm online all day at work. At home the time varies. I try to get online once every day at least long enough to check my e-mail.
2. What is your browser homepage set to?
My other webpage on Roadrunner. I put a search box on the main page, so I can quickly run a search. It also serves as a constant reminder to work on getting my web page updated.
3. Do you use any instant messaging programs? If so, which one(s)?
At work, I use Instant Messenger. It's the quickest way to communicate with several of my vendors, who would otherwise be tied up on the phone, to get availability, pricing, etc. When I first discovered instant messaging programs, several years ago, I was on MIRC and ICQ whenever I could. Looking back, I don't see how I had the time for all that chatting. However, I did meet some interesting people.
4. Where was your first webpage located?
St. John Fisher College's server .
5. How long have you had your current website?
I've had my Geocities website since October of 2002. My one-year anniversary is fast approaching!
I just checked, and I haven't posted a Friday Five since June, and I haven't posted a "substantial" entry since who knows when! (Where does the time go?) I haven't had a chance to post about when we flew to Tampa to visit my sister, Sharon and her family: Fiance': Warren, Daughter: Terri, Son: David.
As you may recall, I had a hard time convincing my husband to get in a plane once my sister bought us the airline tickets. But, with a little help from Xanax, we got him up in the air and we arrived in Tampa without incident.
While we were visiting, we were able to meet my other nephew, Nick. He is the son of my half brother, who died suddenly in 1999. Unfortunately, I never got to meet my half-brother, Billy, although we spoke on the phone a few times. That is another tragic story that I'll have to write about some other time. He came in for the weekend from the other side of Florida. While Nick was visiting, we visited with family, spent time in and around their pool, and went to the Florida Aquarium.
We rented a car for a few days of site-seeing, but just one day exhausted John.
But we did have a great time visiting the team at Tech Data. in Clearwater. (Yes, that's me with my eyes closed.)
That same day, we also ran visited John's Pass, Tarpon Springs, and Honeymoon Island State Park.
Swimming in their pool was very therapuetic for my back and neck injuries from the car accident. My physical therapist said that being in the pool was the best thing for me. My nephew, David, wanted us to buy the house next door to theirs, so I would be able to swim year-round.
How many places can you look out the front window and see a live crane walking across the yard!
We were still in Florida on Mother's Day. It was the first Mother's Day since Kevin was born, that I didn't get to see him all day. My niece, Terri, bought a Mother's Day cake for both her Mom and I, so I felt better, but it wasn't the same as spending time with my "baby".
Speaking of babies, Kevin and Ashley should be proud parents any time now. The due date is September 1st, but you never know.... Ashley's Mom and I had a baby shower for them two weeks ago. Who would have thought I would be a grandmother before I turned 40!!!! You can check out Ashley and Kevin's Baby shower pictures on my Yahoo photo site.
More recent news around here is the PGA is in town. I haven't gone to watch, and I don't intend to either. I could never figure out why anyone would want to watch golf. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems too boring. There's so little action, and the crowd just goos "oooohhhh" or "aaaahhhh". I heard that Tiger Woods has been throwing temper tantrums, though. That might be interesting to see. Although I've never been interested in watching golf, I did start to learn to play about 6 years ago. My golfing days are over though, since the car accident, and I've already given away my clubs. The last time I just played miniature golf caused my neck and back to go into spasms. Have you ever been kicked hard by horse? That's what it feels like, except it doesn't go away as quickly.
It's very frustrating for me to still have to deal with this BS from the car accident. But, I just have to tell myself when I get like this that at least I'm not paralyzed or dead. It's easy enough to say, but when your frustration is running high, and you're tired and in pain, it's hard to maintain a "good attitude". Well, enough of me whining. On to other subjects:
I can't end this post without mentioning the "Blackout of 2003". I was at work when the power and the phones cut off. The generator kicked on, so we had limited power, but we were unable to make outgoing calls. Somehow, one of our sales reps in the Syracuse office got through to me using her cell phone. She indicated that she had just found out that power was out at her home also. That's when I realized that the power outage wasn't just limited to our area. I was able to use instant messenger, and a vendor in South Carolina said that the entire Northeast was without power. Nick got on CNN, which had a breaking news report that a major power grid had gone out.
I tried to devise a route where I would't have to go through non-working traffic lights. However, the only way to do that was to make a left hand turn out of the driveway onto a 4-lane road. This is where my I had my accident. The 2 right-hand lanes were stop and go with the traffic light 50 feet down the road, but the 2 left-hand lanes had too much moving traffic. After a few minutes, I gave up, and made a right, then another right once I got up to the traffic light.
That put in me in a situation where I would have to make a left hand turn at a light to get back home. Fortunately, when I reached the intersection, everyone remembered the rule about turning a dead traffic light into a 4-way stop, and I made my turn with no problem. Going by the mall was another story, though.
With no power, the malls were closed, and hundreds of cars were trying to get out of the parking lot. Drivers were forgetting the 4-way stop rule, and were rather rude and impatient. I'm surprised I didn't witness an accident or two. Once I got past the mall, I made my right to head home, and it was clear-sailing all the way, on country roads without any traffic.
Once I got home, I tried contacting Kevin and Ashley. With her being 8 and a half months pregnant, I was concerned about her and the heat. She wasn't home, and I tried to call Kim, but her cell phone was not working. Sharon called and gave me a play by play on what they were reporting on TV. We had meatloaf sandwiches for dinner, and went out to a local store that was still open to get ice for the coolers. We weren't in the dark for long. We lit candles and were sitting outside on the porch when the power returned at 9:00.
We finally got through to Kevin and Ashley, who had been on their way to Lamaze class when the power went out. Ashley's Mom had gone out of town for the weekend, and had stocked up on groceries, so we took our coolers of ice out to them. Their power returned sometime in the middle of the morning.
People were idiots out on the road at night. Not only was there total disregard for the 4-way stop rule at traffic lights, but people weren't even stopping before turning. I wish someone would invent a device that caused cars to send an electronic message whenever the driver did something stupid. Like KITT in Knightrider: "Michael, you need to give up your license..."
All in all, it was uneventful. Fortunately, I do not live in a big city, where I could have been stuck in an elevator or a subway. We were more concerned with about Sharon and Terri flying out of Tampa to vacation in Biloxi during Tropical Storm Erika this morning. That seems to be fizzling out too.
That's all I have time for tonight. Goodnight!
Thanks for reading!
Ann Marie
