552 miles... 1 million more smiles.


My Recent "Tweets"

Monday, January 31, 2005

Panic in the Peach State Posted by Hello
(or, as we call it everywhere else I've lived: "Winter")


All day Friday, weathercasters around the south were in a tizzy. "Winter Storm!" they shouted! "Take Cover!"

We weren't too worried here in C-Town. We were supposed to hit 33 degrees for an overnight low. At worst, we might drop down to 31 or 32, and that meant the rain would freeze. At best, we might stay at 33 or 34, and we'd just get plain ol' rain.

It started raining late Friday night. I woke up briefly at about 5:30 in the morning, and all seemed well. I woke up again a little later, but this time, I had no idea what time it was, because the power was off. I grabbed another comforter and burrowed a little bit deeper, and went back to sleep.

Turns out we got freezing rain here... The first, I've been told, in thirty-some years. Our power didn't come back on until about 1:00 in the afternoon Saturday. Kristi, one of our co-workers, still didn't have power as of Sunday afternoon.

There were a lot of downed branches, like this one near our apartment.
Posted by Hello


I might add, that every time we have any kind of storm, that particular tree sheds a branch. I thought she would have been bald after our crazy hurricane season this summer. I guess she still had another limb to shed.

Anyway, events all around C-Town were postponed or cancelled on Saturday, though Tim Hudson's annual baseball camp went on as scheduled. One or two school districts in neighboring counties have already cancelled classes for Monday. It really is a foreign world to me. Growing up, it took a blizzard for our schools to get cancelled... and even then, it wasn't any guarantee. One winter, when I was teaching at Truman, we had a horrible ice storm. Half the trees on campus collapsed (one of our colleagues said the campus looked like a war zone, he felt like he was in Beirut). The building that held my office lost electricity... and even then, they wouldn't cancel classes.

By the way, things here are mostly back to normal. The ice had melted off all the trees by mid-afternoon on Saturday, and our temperatures were back in the low 50s and the skies were partly sunny. So I guess winter's over for now. Good thing, too, since CSU starts baseball season on Wednesday!

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Thursday, January 27, 2005

Pot Dealer

By the way, I'm halfway through my second pottery class, and I'm looking for suggestions for projects. Any good ideas out there?

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FYI

Channel-Surfing last night, a happy, happy discovery. It's "FYI Week!" Murphy Brown is now on Nick at Nite. Not so long ago, I wanted to be Murphy Brown when I grew up. Now I'm grown up... and I still want to be her. Or Linda Cohn. Or Michele Tafoya. Whatever.

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Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Break Out Your Vintage Valentino...

...It's officially "Awards Season!"

It started last week, with the Golden Globes, and Star Jones Reynolds providing the worst pre-event coverage I've ever seen. If you didn't see it, only two words can be used to accurately describe it: Train Wreck.

Today, the Oscar nominees were announced, and they have a few people, my pal Mike included, up in arms.

Me? I'm more excited about the nominees for the 25th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards.

Drumroll, please.....

WORST PICTURE
ALEXANDER
CATWOMAN
SUPERBABIES: BABY GENIUSES 2
SURVIVING CHRISTMAS
WHITE CHICKS


WORST ACTOR
Ben Affleck / JERSEY GIRL and SURVIVING CHRISTMAS
George W. Bush / FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Vin Diesel / CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
Colin Farrell / ALEXANDER
Ben Stiller / ALONG CAME POLLY, ANCHORMAN, DODGEBALL, ENVY and STARSKY & HUTCH

WORST ACTRESS
Halle Berry / CATWOMAN
Hilary Duff / CINDERELLA STORY and RAISE YOUR VOICE
Angelina Jolie / ALEXANDER and TAKING LIVES
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen / NEW YORK MINUTE
Shawn & Marlon (The Wayans Sisters) / WHITE CHICKS

WORST SCREEN COUPLE
Ben Affleck & EITHER Jennifer Lopez OR Liv Tyler / JERSEY GIRL
Halle Berry & EITHER Benjamin Bratt OR Sharon Stone / CATWOMAN
George W. Bush & EITHER Condoleeza Rice OR His Pet Goat / FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen / NEW YORK MINUTE
The Wayans Brothers (In or Out of Drag) WHITE CHICKS

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Carmen Electra / STARKSY & HUTCH
Jennifer Lopez / JERSEY GIRL
Condoleeza Rice / FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Britney Spears / FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Sharon Stone / CATWOMAN

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Val Kilmer / ALEXANDER
Ah-Nuld Schwarzenegger / AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAZE
Donald Rumsfeld / FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Jon Voight / SUPERBABIES: BABY GENIUSES 2
Lambert Wilson / CATWOMAN

WORST DIRECTOR
Bob Clark / SUPERBABIES: BABY GENIUSES 2
Renny Harlin and/or Paul Schrader / EXORCIST 4: THE BEGINNING
“Pitof” / CATWOMAN
Oliver Stone / ALEXANDER
Keenan Ivory Wayans / WHITE CHICKS

WORST REMAKE OR SEQUEL
ALIEN v PREDATOR
ANACONDAS: HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAZE
EXORCIST 4: THE BEGINNING
SCOOBY DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED

WORST SCREENPLAY
ALEXANDER, Written by Oliver Stone, Christopher Kyle and Laeta Kalogridis
CATWOMAN, Written by Theresa Rebeck and John Brancato & Michael Ferris and John Rogers
SUPERBABIES: BABY GENIUSES 2, Written by Steven Paul and Gregory Poppen
SURVIVING CHRISTMAS, Written by Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont and Jeffrey Ventimilia & Joshua Sternin
WHITE CHICKS, Written by Keenan & Shawn & Marlon Wayans and Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden and Xavier Cook

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Monday, January 24, 2005

A Milestone

At 9:24 pm, Sunday, January 23, a new era was born.



I'm proud to say that I put all but about seven of those miles on my 1996 Pontiac Sunfire, which I bought brand spankin' new back in February, 1996. I special-ordered it through General Motors, and was the first person in Kirksville, Missouri to have a Sunfire. People used to stop me on the street and ask me about it. I remember, the first week that I had her, I'd park her across the street from our house and my roommate and I used to watch people as they checked out my new ride.

Posted by Hello


My baby's all grown up now. Nearly nine years later (I can't believe I've had her that long!), she's a little worse for wear. Then again, we've both seen better days.

A couple of minor accidents... a collision with a raccoon and a hit-and-run by a shopping cart... meant that she needed some body work and a new paint job a few years back. The paint is peeling now, but from a distance she still looks nice. She needed a new air conditioner, but other than that (knock on wood), she's still doing pretty well.

I talk a lot about what car I'd like to get next. I know I've mentioned the Pontiac Solstice more than once. But the day I get rid of my baby, I know I'll cry. Maybe I'll wait 100,000 more miles.

A side note:
The above picture was taken in July, 1996. A few of us, including my pal Amy Woods, took the Kissymobile to a wedding in Schaumburg, Illinois. The not-so-happy couple's been divorced for several years now... so my car's lasted longer than their marriage.

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Saturday, January 22, 2005

The Chocolate Bar with the Cookie Crunch

The funniest thing anyone said to me at work tonight... a co-worker (name withheld to protect her identity) asked if I had $0.35.

"For some reason I really need a Twix bar," she explained, laughing.

I dug in my purse, and came up with a handful of change, handing her a quarter and a couple of nickels.

As she was leaving for the vending machine, she shouted "My ass thanks you."

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Friday, January 21, 2005

Nooooo!!!!!

Say it ain't so, Trevor... Say it ain't so.

This guy had the right idea. Skunks, indeed.

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Outed

Poor, poor Spongebob.

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Paging Dr. Howser

Our waiter at dinner tonight looked just like Neil Patrick Harris. To protect his identity, I won't tell you where we were dining, just in case it actually was the aforementioned Mr. Harris. Actually, I'm pretty sure that "Doogie Howser" is still acting, and not waiting tables. He had a funny turn in "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle" last year.

By the way, Doogie Howser makes a much, much better doctor than he does a waiter.

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Reason #1,492

...why life in the South is so foreign to me:

"A surprise 1-inch snow that turned to ice on frigid roads crippled North Carolina’s capital, trapping motorists in epic traffic jams and stranding some 3,000 pupils overnight at schools. The governor urged people to stay home Thursday." (www.msnbc.msn.com)

Actually, the first time I ever visited Atlanta, a similar thing happened. It was January 2000, and I was in town to cover the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. The day before the big game, Atlanta got (gasp!) snow and (eek!) ice. The roads were indeed treacherous, since cities in the South don't invest a lot of money in road salt and snowplows... and understandably so. The roads were made much, much more treacherous by the people who decided that they could still drive their usual 85 m.p.h. on the ice-and snow-covered highways.

Fellow Yankees, feel free to scoff.

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Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Bad Tidings

2005 started so well. But in the last two days, I've gotten two pieces of bad news. If it's true that bad things come in threes, I'm in for a doozy tomorrow.

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Falling Behind

Here we are, 2 1/2 weeks into 2005, and I already feel as though I've fallen behind.

You may have noticed that I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions. I didn't make any last year, either, though there was a brief mention of a diet on the blog on January 5th. Considering the way my jeans fit, the diet must not have lasted long.

I guess the closest thing to a resolution that I made last year was my quest to read a book a week last year. My friend Kelly (a librarian) started the quest, and I copied the idea from her. If you count books on tape, I made it. If you only count the printed word, then I finished two short of my goal. I could have applied the book-a-week philosophy to other important issues in my life... like applying for one new job every week. I'm sure I exceeded that goal by far, but I don't feel the need to humiliate myself by listing every single television station that's rejected me week-by-week. It would be far too depressing.

I've decided I should do "52 books in 52 weeks" again this year... unfortunately, here it is, January 18th, and I've only finished one book, "Sock" by Penn Jillette of "Penn & Teller" fame. And here's the really sad thing... I started reading it in the first week of December. I just never got around to finishing it until last night.

So, like I said, I've fallen behind. One sad, pathetic book.

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Sunday, January 16, 2005

Cory's New Best Friend Posted by Hello

As you can see, my chipmunk-cheeked fiance has become very fond of his bag of frozen peas. I caught them having this tender moment together on the couch about half an hour ago. Look at the wistful look in his eyes... the Mona Lisa smile on his lips... the red marks left on his swollen cheek from snuggling with his new sweetie.

As you can tell, I'm getting a little jealous.

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Always Learning

Cory just informed me that "fiance" is the male version of "fiancee." I never knew there was a difference. Who knew that being betrothed could be such an educational experience?

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Saturday, January 15, 2005

Trial Run

In honor of our engagement, Cory's giving the whole "In sickness and in health" thing a test drive this weekend. This morning, at approximately 11:00 a.m., Cory had three of his wisdom teeth removed.

Happily, he hasn't been nearly as much of a wuss about this as I would have been (or as I probably was... I don't really remember much about my getting my wisdom yanked, since it was 18 years ago).

Seeing him come out of the anesthesia was pretty funny. For those of you who don't know Cory, he's a big dude. Somewhere in the vicinity of 6'5", 280. (ding!) So they had to give him a lot of drugs. And apparently, it was pretty good stuff. They plopped him into a wheelchair, rolled him out of the office, and the whole time, he had a big, goofy, swollen, bloody smile on his face. He was also a total chatterbox the whole way back to the car (with about half a pound of gauze in his mouth, which made everything he said sound like "mmmpfh, fttthphh, muffaah, thppath.") So anyway, we get in his truck for the drive home, and he's grinning at me like a big swollen goofball.

"How ya feelin'?" I ask.
"Mmmmmm.... Euphoric." Cory responds.

Like I said, they gave him some good stuff.

Since then, the euphoria has worn off a bit. Cory's somewhat swollen... despite the fact that he's been sitting around with bags of frozen peas pressed to his cheeks all day.

So, what have we done today? Aside from my trip to WalMart for prescriptions (Hydroco/APAP, which is like extra-strength Tylenol with a powerful narcotic added), gauze, and tea bags (some freaky home remedy to stop the bleeding... but it worked, so I'm not questioning it), and my trip to Piggly Wiggly for soft foods (Applesauce, bananas, pudding, ice cream), we haven't done a whole hell of a lot. Mostly, we sat around and watched all the shows that we've TiVo'ed since Christmas.

That's what I forgot to tell y'all... I got Cory TiVo for Christmas. Sure, it's not as cool as an engagement ring, but I think major electronic purchases are just as indicative of a serious commitment, right? Anyway, it's been great so far... We would surely have missed at least one episode of Lost, 24, or Alias already this season otherwise. We're completely caught up on all our favorite shows (which, since we both work nights, it's hard to keep up). The only thing we still have unwatched is the movie Smallpox, which aired on FX when I was in New Orleans.

As awesome as TiVo has been, the most useful Christmas gift this year came from Jan & Steve. They bought us a washer and dryer. No loading the car with laundry baskets every time I need clean undies. No hurried trips to the bank for more quarters while our clothes are in the spin cycle. Very nice.

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Friday, January 14, 2005

The Return of Bridezilla

By the way, my wedding obsession rages on. I found myself at the outdoor mall with nothing better to do yesterday, so I went to Party City and wandered the aisles of wedding-related crap. And I do mean "crap." Most of it was the type of stuff you'd see in a wedding at the fairground (and yes, I've been to weddings at the fairgrounds. It's the nicest place in Kirksville to have your reception. I've also been to a rodeo, a demolition derby and an REO Speedwagon concert there).

I also spent some of my Barnes And Noble gift card (from Cory's mom) on yet another Bridal magazine. This time, it was InStyle Weddings, and I justified it because I love Law & Order, and Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU was on the cover.

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Investment Opportunity

I am worth $1,870,420.00 on HumanForSale.com. Of course, I must now know how much you're worth.

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Thursday, January 13, 2005

Job-Related Hazards

One of the most difficult parts of my job is pronouncing the names of various athletes. Hockey players are, of course, the most difficult. Lots of lenghty Slavic surnames. Some African-American first names stump me (for example, is "Jonquis" pronounced "JOHN-kwiss" or "John-KEES?"). Usually, I'll know how to say the name when I sit down on the set, but when it comes up in the script, and I'm narrating play-by-play at breakneck speed, I sometimes stumble over the names.

Thank goodness we don't cover Stetson University. It would probably take me an entire basketball season before I could spit out the name "Grlenntys 'Chief' Kickingstallionsims, Junior."

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Wednesday, January 12, 2005

On the Other Hand...

I may be an insane, wedding-obsessed nutcase, but at least I don't have to go back to work until Sunday.

"What?" You say, stunned. "I thought the Sportslady never got days off."

Ahhh, so true, my friend, so true. However, the sportslady had to sacrifice a week of vacation, plus her Christmas and New Year's "holidays," plus her usual two-days-off-a-week in order to cover the Sugar Bowl. So Sportslady's taking a little time off.

And don't ask why the Sportslady is speaking in third person. The Sportslady just felt like it.

So, the good news is that I get three days off this week. The bad news? I'll be spending Friday and Saturday nursing Cory back to health after he has four wisdom teeth removed. Ah, at least we'll be spending time together. That's two days more than we get in most months.

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Uh-Oh...

Despite my earlier assertion to the contrary, I'm turning into a Bridezilla. For God's Sake, we probably won't get married for two more years, and I'm already obsessing about the tiniest wedding details.

Last night, we were at Walgreen's on our dinner break, and I couldn't walk down the magazine aisle without looking at bridal magazines. Tonight, I broke down and bought one (Elegant Bride, if you're curious. And I know you probably aren't).

I'm hoping this is just a phase, like the one I went through a couple of years ago. Please, let this just be a phase.

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Sunday, January 09, 2005

News Blues

One of our reporters, Gretchen, sent these to me at work tonight. Not everyone that reads this blog works (or has worked) in television... but I think a few of you might appreciate these:

Q: How many C.G. operators does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Fuor

Q: How many live truck operators does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The light was leaving here fine - the problem must be out on YOUR end.

Q: How many assignment editors does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: WHAT? There's a LIGHT BULB OUT??? I'll make some calls.

Q: How many news anchors does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Just one to hold the bulb, while the world revolves around them.

Q: How many directors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: It's too late to make any more changes!

Q: How many News Directors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: "Send everybody. I want to open with a live shot." (and "team coverage," no doubt...)

Q: How many sports anchors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: I don't know.. isn't it on the wires?
(Ed. note: I'm not a "sports anchor." I'm a sports anchor/reporter/producer/photographer.)

Q: How many sales executives does it take to change a light bulb?
A: I don't know, how many can you afford?

Q: How many engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: What did you do to it? Never mind, fill out this "maintenance request form" in triplicate, and leave it on the bench.

Q: How many producers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Only one, but before it's all over, they're gonna change ALL the light bulbs.

Q: How many reporters does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Three.. two.. one.

Q: How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: It's okay, I unscrewed the bulb for the dramatic effect!

Q: What's the difference between God and a news anchor?
A: God doesn't think he's a news anchor.

Q: How many station department heads does it take to change a light bulb?
A: You know, this issue strikes at the very heart of one of our core competencies. We need to think outside the box, and be proactive on this. Here is the bottom line: at the end of the day, we need to leverage our knowledge base and find a viable solution that fits synergistically. All right people, let's put together a game plan that makes sense, and tomorrow we'll touch base and see where we're at on this.

Q: How many Business Managers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Did you requisition this bulb? If so, I haven't signed off on it. Oh and by the way, once it's approved in Movaris make sure you order online through Staples. The $.03 credit will show up on your repair and maintenance line next month.

Q: How many General Managers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: (Assistant:) He'll give you an answer as soon as he gets back from golf with a very important customer, but I'm sure he's going to want to know why we need to replace it, since it's only been out for a few days.

Q: How many Promotions people does it take to change a light bulb? (Cory, by the way, is a promotions writer.)
A: If this light bulb isn't changed soon----your FAMILY, your HOME, even your DOG-may all be at risk!
Change this bulb tonight or you may spend a lifetime in darkness!

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Thank You...

For all your kind words and well-wishes. It's amazing the people you hear from when they hear that you've gotten engaged. If I'd have known all the nice things that people would say, I'd have gotten engaged a couple of dozen times! Ha!

Seriously, though.. I don't think I've been hugged this many times in one week. One of our co-workers, a generally gruff older guy, gave Cory a big hug in the middle of the newsroom when he found out. Another co-worker gave us a really sweet card, and she's someone that I rarely even talk to.

So thanks, everyone. And now I have a favor to ask... please, please, please, don't ask us when the wedding is. We don't know. We're just trying to enjoy this "engaged" thing, and are hoping that we might get to take a day off together sometime in the next year.

And I promise... I won't talk about getting married non-stop on this blog. Just let me get it out of my system for the next couple of days, and I promise I won't turn into "Bridezilla."

Not yet, anyway.

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Saturday, January 08, 2005

"Welcome To The Rock" Posted by Hello
(all apologies to Sean Connery)


After spending about an hour online, fruitlessly trying to find a picture of a ring that even slightly resembles mine, I gave up and just took a picture of my own ring instead.

Yeah, yeah... I know... you can't see much detail in this picture. Give me a break. I'm a professional video photographer... not a professional still photographer (though I do know enough about photo editing to airbrush a few wrinkles on my face and smudge out that ugly mole on my left hand).

Cory did a good job, though he says he was really worried that I wouldn't like it. He remembered that I don't like round diamonds, and that I love princess cut (square) diamonds. All of the stones are princess cut (don't ask me how big the center stone is... I have no idea), set in white gold. I think the white gold is what worried him the most.

I told him that it could look like dog poop and I'd still love it... however, it doesn't look like dog poop. It's gorgeous, and it's exactly what I would have picked out for myself.

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Thursday, January 06, 2005

By Popular Demand

Ok, now that I've been back from New Orleans for a day, had time to catch up on sleep (sort of), and spend a day away from work (kind of), I actually have a little time to tell the story. The abbreviated version has been on Cory's blog for days.

For those of you who didn't already know, I spent a little over a week in New Orleans, covering the Auburn Tigers, reporting live every day, and producing/reporting/anchoring a one-hour pre-game special that aired on our station. Fun, right? Not so much. About 90% of the time, it seriously sucked. I worked a couple of 18 hour days, when I got up, immediately started working, and only paused to take a shower and for room service. One day, I didn't even leave the hotel until 4pm, and that was to do my live shots from across the street. Then I went back to the hotel and didn't leave again until 4pm the next day.

But I digress. Jan (my mom) was still visiting from Michigan when I left, so Jan and Cory followed us down to New Orleans. I really didn't get to see much of either of them. The first night we were in town, the six of us (including Elizabeth, David and Eric from work) went down to Bourbon Street for dinner. We ate at the Cajun Cabin, a touristy, but very fun place. There was a Zydeco band playing (Mitch Cormier and the Can't Hardly Playboys), and we all took a turn up front playing with the band.

The next day, we worked until about 6pm, then headed out for dinner at the Gordon Biersch Brewery (if there's one in your town, I highly recommend it).

The day after that was New Year's Eve. We stopped in at the media party at the Top of the Dome lounge (Which was actually at the top of the Hyatt, the media hotel), then Jan and Cory and I tried to meet up with some friends for dinner. Problem was, we never found them. So we ended up at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro for dinner, then headed back to the hotel. From there, we caught the bus to the French Quarter, then headed towards Jackson Square for the big New Year's Eve festivities.

It's at this point, I should probably tell you how horrible I looked. My feet were killing me from two days of wearing heels (probably only the seventh or eighth time all year I'd worn heels), but the only comfy shoes I'd bought were brown. So I was wearing brown loafers, black pants, a red shirt, and a black leather jacket. Now, I'm no fashion plate, but I know better than to wear brown with black. sigh. To make matters worse, it was raining. Actually, it was drizzling, and foggy, and humid, so I really wasn't looking my best. Of course, everyone else probably looked like drowned rats, too.

At some point, we stopped in a corner store, and Jan bought some champagne and a couple of plastic cups. If you've never been to New Orleans, it's here that I need to mention that there are very lax open-container laws there. People roam the streets with giant plastic cups of daiquiris and "hurricanes" that they buy at roadside stands. On New Year's Eve, everyone has a cup of something in their hands. So we poured our Champagne into cups and continued our trek down Decatur Street. Decatur & Toulouse

We ended up at near the corner of Decatur and Toulouse, about a block away from Jackson Square. It was the closest we could get and still see the ball drop. By this point, it was about 11:45 and it had stopped raining. Everyone was caught up in the festivities, probably because they were all half in the bag. A woman standing near us was wearing a white feather boa with little sparkles and sequins in it, and I jokingly said to Cory, "Hey, when we get married, I want to wear a sparkly white feather boa."

We drank our champagne, jockeyed for position with the other 100,000 people standing in the street, and waited for the ball to drop from the top of the old JAX brewery building.

Midnight came, we shouted "Happy New Year," and hugged and kissed. I was worried about our PDA. Then, Cory leaned in and said, "remember what you said about the lady with the feather boa?"

"Yeah," I answered. Come on, how could I forget? It had only been fifteen minutes!

"Will you marry me?" He asked.

"Of course." I said nonchalantly. I didn't think anything of it. We've always talked about getting married.

Then Cory got down on one knee (yes, in the puke and urine-soaked streets of New Orleans he actually got down on one knee), and pulled a ring out of his pocket. I was floored. I don't know what I did. I think I just stared at him, with my mouth gaping open, as he asked me again if I would marry him. I noticed people around us pointing, and saying "awwwwww" as they he kneeled in front of me.

Cory held the ring out, and I'd never seen anything so shiny or beautiful in my entire life. He slipped the ring on my finger (almost a perfect fit), and we hugged and kissed, and of course, I said "yes." People around us mouthed "congratulations" and gave us the thumbs-up sign as the crowd started to disperse.

Jackson BreweryGator Country
Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to bring my camera, so we had to memorize the spot where we were standing. On one side of the street, the entrance to the Jackson Brewery building. On the other side of the street, a souvenir shop called "Gator Country." If you look at the picture on the right, we were standing just about where the horse's front hoof is planted on the pavement.

After that, we headed over to Bourbon Street, which (no surprise) was so packed that we could barely breathe. I swear, it took about ten minutes to walk a block because of the throngs of people. At one point, I stood under a balcony, pointed at my ring, and shouted "I got engaged!" and some girl chucked some beads at me.

I told Cory later that the crowds on Bourbon Street didn't bother me. I felt like I was floating all night.

The next morning, we had brunch, and then Jan and Cory had to leave to go back to C-Town. So, we got engaged, and then Cory left town. David and Eric joked later that it was Cory's backup plan; In case I said "no," he could get out of town quickly.

As if I would have said "no."

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Saturday, January 01, 2005

The Future Mrs. Cory O'Donnell

Cory Proposed to me tonight!!!!
Details are forthcoming.

Happy New Year everybody!

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