The Incredible Journey

The day we left Phoenix was Vivien's 3rd birthday. At breakfast, we put a "3" candle in her food and sang Happy Birthday.

Windy didn't mind eating at the table, but Vivien isn't quite built for that. She prefers hers on the floor.

Remember that movie where two dogs and a cat cross the country on their own? We had our own version of that, only it was two dogs, two cats, and three people.

Leaving Sunland Avenue

Luckily, the trip was fairly uneventful, but I'll list a few random highlights.

Dad rigged a cage, covered with thick blankets, in the bed of the truck. At times, the cats were back there, and sometimes Windy rode there. Vivien is a total basket-case in any moving vehicle, so we kept her in the cab with us the whole time.

Johnny Cash Live at Tundra Prison

Still lots of snow north of Payson. None falling, just banked up on the sides of the road.

Here's a typical configuration: Ling Ling sleeping on my lap while I drove, Cash in the middle, and Windy sitting in Dad's lap, or at his feet. Vivi was in the backseat with Alex.

Due to the slowness of pulling a loaded trailer up the mountain, we made bad time. Normally Phoenix to Tijeras is 8 hours. It took us closer to 11. We left Phoenix at 3:30 and got into Uncle Doug's about 2:30. We didn't even stop for dinner. We ate veggie burgers that I'd made the night before.

Had a nice breakfast with Uncle Doug and Aunt Lynn. The trailer tongue was nearly scraping the ground, so Uncle Doug lent Dad a different trailer hitch. We loaded up and left around 10:30.

Four Eury men and their dogs (probably the first time Vivi has been in a tree)

Stopped for lunch/dinner in Amarillo, at an ice cream/hamburger place called Braum's. Good stuff.

From Tijeras to Alabama, the wind was gusting like crazy. It felt like a hurricane. We stopped at the Oklahoma welcome center to walk the dogs and it almost felt like you needed to hold on to something to keep from blowing away. The strong wind played havoc on the truck's cruise control, so for a huge stretch of the trip I had to drive manually.

I can't remember where this was (one of many stops for gas) but both the dogs were snuggled together. Ling Ling was on the floor, and Cash sat beside the dogs.

We got to our KOA cabin in Alma, Arkansas close to 3 am. Ugg.

As we were packing up to leave the cabin, Alex offered to drive.

Saturday, the last day of driving. It's all kind of a daze now. State after state, mile after mile. The day went on forever. We ate at a Huddle House north of Birmingham, Alabama.

We were so cramped that Vivien even resorted to sleeping in the litter box. Ewww!

Since the I-40 west of Asheville was closed due to landslide, we had to go around, which added close to 80 miles. We chose the Memphis-Birmingham-Atlanta route.

I tried to drive as much as possible, since Dad had driven the entire route by himself just a few days earlier. The only parts Dad drove on the way back were Phoenix to Fort McDowell (the first half hour or so of the trip), a couple of hours in Oklahoma, and a couple of hours or so in Alabama. Not too bad.

Since we were getting in to Asheville so late (2:30 am) and I needed to get to Bonnie's to catch a plane the next morning (just 4 hours or so after we got there, actually) Dad dropped me off at Bonnie's and then went on to his house with Alex and the animals. I chatted with Bonnie for a little while, set my cell phone to wake me at 4:30, and then crashed on her recliner. I tried to sleep on the sofa with her dog, but it was a little crowded. He's a big dog. But the recliner was more comfortable anyway, as Bonnie had told me.

All our stuff safely stored in my parents' basement

Mom and Dad decided to put the futon in their living room

The futon, with temporary makeshift cover...and cats

Lynn and Hershey came over Tuesday night

Paul McCartney

Sunday morning, Cristina and Bella picked me up from the airport in their pajamas. After a quick breakfast, Bella went to church with Eliana and I went to bed for a few hours. Cristina got me up around 1:30. I showered, and Sofia and I headed off to Glendale for Wrestlemania.



Random weirdness: on the way there, we passed a Mercedes on the side of the road, engulfed in flames.

Traffic to the stadium was horrible, so we got there late. Wrestlemania started at 3:30 and we didn't get to the parking lots until close to 4. The stadium parking was 20 to 30 dollars. But Jobing.com arena, where Paul McCartney would be playing, was right next door and had some free lots. But the parking lots for the arena were closed until 4:30. We saw the parking guy let someone in, so Sofia told me to ask him. He asked to see our Paul tickets, and then he let us through. All thanks to Sofia's assertiveness!

Even though we thought we had missed the beginning of Wrestlemania, by the time we got inside the stadium and found our seats, the countdown clock was at about 5 minutes. So it was actually perfect timing.


Wrestlemania was about what I thought it would be. Loud, flashy, with lots of drama. Some of the wrestlers are good guys, some are bad guys. I was surprised at how quiet the actual fight part was. They make a lot of noise leading up to the fight, blaring videos and fireworks and such, but then the fight was rather quiet. I was also amazed at how many people are so into WWE. People were yelling stuff during the fights the way people yell at college football games. Bizarre. The guy behind me kept making comments to the person he was with. Very sincere, astute observations like "He's wearing him down," or "He's got him right where he wants him." I kept thinking, "Don't these people know this is fake?"

Afterwards, when I talked about how the fights are choreographed, Sofia was surprised. She didn't realize it was fake! Of course, the wrestlers can still get hurt doing the moves they do, but it's certainly scripted out. I'm not sure if she was disappointed. Probably not. Sofia really approached the whole ordeal with an anthropologist's point of view: observing this strange ritual from a somewhat detached view.

The arena was supposed to open at 6, and we wanted time to get some food and buy shirts. So we left Wrestlemania around 5:30.

None of the restaurants around the stadium or arena looked promising. There were so many people between the two events that every restaurant had a line out the door. I thought for sure there would be some food stand selling pizza by the slice, or hot dogs, but no such luck. There was one place selling bratwurst, but Sofia wasn't too keen on brats and they were $8 each.

It was close to 6, and the crowds were massing at the gates of the arena. We decided to take our chances on the arena selling food inside. We joined the people waiting.

They didn't open the gates till close to 7. Never did find out why they waited so long to let everyone in.

We got our shirts. They had a lot of choices, and I wish I had taken a picture of them. Sofia and I wound up buying the same shirt. We both wanted one that listed all the cities on his tour, and there was only one choice that had that.

We grabbed a burger and hot dog and made our way upstairs to our seats. Not terrible, but pretty high up. But we both commented that we were just glad to be there. We weren't going to be so picky as to complain about the angle of our seats.


The concert started about 8:30 (an hour late). Paul was in fine form. I thought the audio quality of the vocals could have been better (a tad muddy at times), but that was probably more an arena issue than a Paul issue. His voice sounded great. In fact, he was hitting some higher ranges that surprised me. As singers grow older, their range lowers, and they often compensate by singing certain lines differently. He did a little bit of that, but mostly he was spot on.


My favorite moments from the concert were the songs "Two of Us" (a song Steve and I have played together a lot) and "I've Got a Feeling" (a personal favorite of mine). I also loved the little moments in between songs where he talked to the crowd. That's the good stuff that you don't get on a live album. For example, before he played "Two of Us," he said "I'd like to do a song from the 60's...which was before my time." (It's at the 1:03 mark in part 2.)

He did 5 songs off the "Band on the Run" album, which surprised me (Band on the Run, Jet, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Let Me Roll It, and Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five). After Mrs. Vanderbilt, which has a chorus of "Ho...hey ho!" he said he had done that song in Kiev, Ukraine and the people went nuts for it, he guessed because all the "Ho, hey ho's" have sort of a Russian sound to it. I'll probably never hear that song again without thinking of his comment.

He did plenty of Beatles stuff, a couple of the Fireman songs, and lots more Wings stuff than I expected. He even started off with "Venus and Mars/Rock Show," which was how his concerts started off during his "Wings Over America" tour in the 70's. I had Sofia watch a Wings documentary the night before, so she was well-versed in his Wings years. Oh, another nice surprise was him doing a couple of John's songs: "A Day in the Life," which morphed into "Give Peace a Chance." Awesome. He also gave George's "Something" the full treatment, starting with ukulele and then blossoming into the full band version.

Paul knows how to put on a show. I love watching someone do what they absolutely love to do with their life. Paul doesn't need to tour. He's a billionaire. He's a legend. He's not touring to promote his latest album. He's touring because he loves to play live in front of a crowd. It's a win-win situation: we love his music and want to see him play, and he wants to play for us. He played a nearly 3-hour set. He did everything that was expected and more. 3 encores, all the classics, ending appropriately with "The End," which rocked, and ended the concert with a bit of poignancy, just like how "Abbey Road" ends. Perfect.

It's been about 14 years since I went to a concert, and even then it was Natalie Merchant (not exactly the rocking type). My ears were ringing after the show. But I loved every minute of it, and I especially loved sharing it with Sofia. I wish I could have afforded to take Alex as well. Paul has already said this would not be his last tour. Alex, next time is your turn!

Ringo is touring this summer, and his tickets are cheaper. He'll be in Florida in July. Sofia says we should go. I think I'm going to try to make that happen. We will more than likely be in Gainesville for the month of July, so it'll be easy enough to pop over to St. Augustine to see another Beatle.

Here are my videos from the concert. It's a lot, so I doubt many of my readers will watch all 40 minutes. But I wanted to put it all on there for Sofia, who didn't see the video before I left for North Carolina Monday morning. Definitely gives a nice overview of the whole concert, though my battery died before "Hey Jude," which is Sofia's favorite song (I think). I did manage to squeak out about 10 seconds of battery during the "Na na na na's." So at least there's that. "Live and Let Die" is always so impressive, I recorded the whole thing. I guess I should have conserved my battery. Oh well!

Asheville Airport

I'm sitting in the Asheville airport, waiting for my flight to board. It was a long tiring drive across country with my Dad, Alex, and four animals. But we made it safely and now I'm headed back for a day of wrestling and Paul McCartney. Man, that sounds weird.

It will be very surreal to be back in Phoenix after just driving for three days.

I think this is my first time inside the Asheville airport. Hmm. It's small. I got frisked by security. I guess a single male passenger with no checked bags gets flagged for a little feelie-feelie. Whatever. Is this the first time I've ever flown out of a regional airport? It might be. I fly to Atlanta first, then I switch planes. It's only a four hour drive from Asheville to Atlanta, so I'm guessing that the plane will hardly get up in the air before it's coming down again.

Bella wanted me to bring her a surprise, but I barely had time to get an hour of sleep, let alone get her something. She'll have to wait for my second return, next Sunday.

I have plenty I could blog about regarding the past 3 days, but I'm so mind-numbingly tired and dazed that I just wanted to check my email and then take a nap. I have a Netflix movie I need to watch. We'll see if I get to it.

When Dad dropped me off at Bonnie's, I tried to collect everything I might need or want for this little return trip, but I left one important thing in his truck: my camera. I'm so bummed. I really wanted Sofia and I to both have our cameras for the concert, but I guess we'll only have hers. Well, at least she has a good camera. It could be worse. At least I wasn't foolish enough to bring the concert tickets with me, and then leave them in the truck. The tickets are safe and sound at my house in Phoenix.

I'm ready to board. Let's get this party started!

The Journey Begins

Today is Vivien's birthday. She's 3 today. Happy birthday, Chocolate-Chip Meat-Muffin! We all sang to her at breakfast while a "3" candle burned in her food dish. She got to stand on the table (with Alex assisting her) while we sang, and then I gave her a piece of bacon with her breakfast. That's her birthday present.

The trailer is loaded. The animals are ready. I gave Vivi a bath this morning. The cats harnesses are adjusted and they spent a few hours in the crate on the back of the truck yesterday to get used to it.

I'm at work right now, my last day before the trip. During my planning period, I ran to Fry's and the bank, tying up some final loose ends. It's crunch time, so from now till April 5, it's going to be pretty hectic. But fun. The drive should be memorable with my dad, Alex, and 4 animals.

I'll have my laptop with me, but I'm not sure when I'll be checking in. I'll try to take pictures and video throughout the trip, and get things posted on the blog whenever I can. Bella especially would like to see how the animals are doing.

The only stress (sort of) is my self-imposed deadline: I have to be at the Asheville airport by Sunday morning. But the weather looks good and we've got plenty of time. It'll be great.

I've got a box of veggie burgers all wrapped up and ready to go, so we don't even need to stop for dinner tonight. If we can get to my aunt and uncle's house before midnight (AZ time) I'll be satisfied with today's leg of the trip.

Paul McCartney

On February 22, I found out that Paul McCartney was kicking off a new concert tour, and the first place he's playing...is Phoenix! The last time he came here was 2005 and back then I thought about getting tickets to take Sofia, but they were expensive, she was only 9 years old, and I wound up not getting the tickets. I regretted that, because afterwards I realized that it may have been our last chance to see him. Paul McCartney seems healthy enough, but he is getting older (he'll be 68 this June). And who knows how many more times he's going to tour? So I decided over the past few years that if he ever toured again, I would bite the bullet and take Sofia, so at least she would have a chance to see one of the Beatles perform live.

The timing was perfect, in a way, because of Sofia's recent increase in appreciation for all things Beatles, her 3rd quarter presentation about the Beatles, etc. Plus, at nearly 14, she's at a great age for her first real rock concert.

There was only one complication.

The concert is on Sunday, March 28. The day Dad, Alex, and I are scheduled to be arriving in North Carolina with a trailer-full of stuff.

I wracked my brain over how I could still make this work. One option was to get two tickets and let Cristina take Sofia (and someone would have to watch Bella). But Sofia and I have this special Beatles connection that, while Cristina is appreciative, she just doesn't quite share. I really want to do this with Sofia. Finally, I decided that if I could get tickets (not a guaranteed thing, as they sell out quickly) this is what I'd do:

I'll take Friday off of work, allowing Dad, Alex, and me to leave from Phoenix Thursday, March 25. We'll follow the same travel schedule, staying Thursday night in Tijeras, Friday night somewhere around Fort Smith, Arkansas, and getting to Canton by dinnertime on Saturday. Basically just sliding the whole trip up one day. Then Sunday, I fly back to Phoenix, go to the show with Sofia, and fly back to NC Monday morning. Alex will stay with my parents for the 24 hours or so that I'm gone.

I know it sounds a little crazy, but I think it's the best way to do it. I got a decently priced flight from Asheville Sunday morning, and then I fly back to Charlotte Monday afternoon, where Mom and Dad can pick me up at the airport.

The night before tickets went on sale, I did a little research. I haven't gone to a big concert in years. I've seen Paul McCartney twice before, once in 1990, and again in 1993. Both times, I camped out at a Spec's music store to buy tickets. Well, with the internet, camping out for tickets is a bit antiquated, thank goodness. I found a helpful website where a guy explains his tips for getting tickets online through Ticketmaster. Pretty cool. It involved stuff like an atomic clock download so you can synchronize your computer's clock to an atomic clock, therefore guaranteeing that the second tickets go on sale, you can hit the button to start the purchasing process. Good stuff.

Armed with all my newfound ticket-buying knowledge, I went to work the next day and anxiously waited for 10 o'clock to come. I had to proctor the AIMS test that morning, so at 5 till 10, I ducked out for a few minutes to get to my computer (another teacher was administering the test with me).

10 am came. I did my thing, and I got two tickets. They're upper level, but we're in.


Then I had to keep it a secret from Sofia, which was hard.

I wasn't even sure if she knew that he was coming to Phoenix. Cristina was at a store with Sofia a few days later, and someone mentioned Paul McCartney coming. Cristina hoped Sofia didn't hear, and she didn't. Then when I took Sofia on the drama field trip to Tucson, on the way back to Phoenix, we passed a sign for McCartney Road. The bus driver pointed it out and said something about Paul McCartney coming to the Valley. But Sofia was reading and didn't hear him or see the sign.

Finally, on March 11, in the car after Sofia's presentation on the Beatles and the Counterculture, I broke the news to Sofia that I'd be flying back on the 28th from North Carolina to go to Wrestlemania with her. She was confused. Then I handed her the envelope with the Paul McCartney tickets and said, "And I thought after Wrestlemania was over, we could walk over to the arena and use these." (Paul McCartney is performing at Jobing.com arena, just across the parking lot from University of Phoenix Stadium, where Wrestlemania will be.) It took a few moments for her to figure it out, but when it finally sunk in, she was shocked and surprised. She had no idea he was coming to the Valley. I think she was in awe for a while that she was going to see Paul McCartney, one of the legends she'd been researching and learning about so much for the past few months, live in concert.


A few days ago we were in Fry's grocery, and "No More Lonely Nights" was playing in the store. She wasn't familiar with the song. When we got home, I put some of Paul McCartney's solo albums on her iPod, including his greatest hits. She's got some catching up to do before the 28th. She's getting fairly astute with the Beatles, but she's got to bone up on his solo work.

Stay tuned for the blog about the concert itself...

Frogs iz durty

Alex got a fish last summer. A betta. We started out small, with one fish in a simple 1-gallon fishbowl. The problem with a bowl that has no filter is that it has to be cleaned every week.

That got old fast.

So I picked out a larger, but still modest, 5-gallon tank that came with a filter. The good news with this set-up is that we only needed to clean the tank once a month. That I could handle.

Plus, the larger size allowed us to add a few more creatures. Bella bought a snail with her own money. Alex bought a tiny catfish and a frog.

They all seemed to love their new home.

I kept careful records of when we cleaned the tank. Before the first month with the filter had passed, the tank was already looking pretty dirty. But I held out for the one month mark, because I wanted to be efficient. Like clockwork.

When the one month mark arrived, I cleaned the tank, the rocks, the fake plants, the filter. The tank was filthy after a month. When I poured the water out in the tub and sifted the rocks into a net, it smelled like a putrid fisherman's wharf. Really nasty. But after a thorough cleaning, it was perfect. You could almost hear the fish sigh with relief as they were placed back in their pristine tank.

And then the frog died.

I don't know why the frog died. It may have been completely unrelated to the tank cleaning. It may have been a congenital defect. Maybe it was something he ate. I don't know.

I cleaned the tank again after the dead frog was out, just in case any dead frog essence remained in the tank. If I was a betta, I wouldn't want to be swimming around in the cloud of my dead ex-roommate. The catfish and the snail didn't care. Bottom-feeders.

We meant to have a proper funeral for the frog, whose name was Rainey (the betta is named Sunny and the catfish, who is milky-white in color, is called Cloudy...sorry, the meteorology names end there. Bella's snail is named Shelly). Rainey's corpse sat floating in a plastic container on the bathroom counter until everyone got tired of seeing it, and Alex's emotional attachment had ended. Rainey got flushed.

But here's the amazing part of the story.

A month went by after the post-mortem tank cleaning. Things were really busy and I didn't get around to doing it on the one-month mark. Besides, the tank looked fine. It looked just as clean as when I had first cleaned it. Soon we got to the 2 month mark. Now I really felt like I was pushing it. But things got busy and it got put off. It's easy to put the fish tank low on the list of priorities, and there was always something else that needed doing that bumped it on the schedule.

It had been over four months since I cleaned the tank, and this morning I decided I'd better stop pushing my luck and clean the tank.

And you know what? It wasn't even that dirty.

I mean, sure. It was dirty. Cleaning it was the right thing to do. But after four months, it wasn't even close to the level of dirtiness that it was after one month when the frog was living there.

Which leads me to one conclusion.

Frogs iz durty.