it's taken me a few days to put everything into perspective. tuesday night's news keeps ringing in my head like an alarm clock on snooze. i'll get to the point where i am comfortable, forgetting what's happened and then BUZZ here it comes again.
my kansas friends (minus jess and brynn) don't get it. my sf friends don't get it. but luckily my dmb friends do. it's hard to describe why i am so emotional over the death of someone whom i didn't really know. a man who has been a part of my life for the past 13 years; and yet the only contact i've ever had with him is saying "happy birthday" in the parking lot of sandstone at his birthday show in 2005, as he passed by on his segway.
this band is my solace. other than my friends and family, they've been the only constant staple in my life throughout the past 13 years. 13 YEARS. people don't even stay married that long anymore. it's also the reason for so many relationships i currently have. i never would have moved to kansas if not for the band. i surely wouldn't be married to the love of my life if not for the band. and lastly, i wouldn't have the close friends i've made over the past 10 years if it weren't for the band.
as more of the story begins to surface, i'd rather not know that roi had checked himself out of the hospital against doctors orders in early july. i wish i hadn't read the details of what transpired last tuesday in roi's last hours. but as most people, i thought i did. so many questions are running through my head right now. was the band with him? did they know how bad off he was? did they say anything to him? in reality, it's none of my business but in this day and age, you can find out anything. and sometimes it's not the best thing for me.
last night we honored roi in a memorial dinner/celebration with jess and brynn. john put together a playlist of roi's greatest moments and i listened, in a way i never had before. focusing solely on the sax. on the flute. on the penny whistle. or any other instrument he picked up.
at the end of the night, john had 4 songs he had saved for just to listen to. he was pretty drunk so i didn't think much of the song choices until he started to bring "our" stories and mixing them into the songs.
like the first time i came to visit john, he played me the benchwarmers show from 1994, specifically "one sweet world". his brother had been at benchwarmers that day and was asked to buy "the violin dude" new strings. or when we went to champaign on a whim in 2002 because uncle mikey had sent us tickets and they played "loving wings" which i chose to walk down the aisle to at our wedding. and of course, our wedding where our first dance was to "lover lay down".
this band, as others have said, has been the soundtrack to my life. it won't be the same without roi and his amazing solos and bashful smile, but somewhere, he's looking down thinking that he did good in his short life.
thank you for everything, roi. you will be missed terribly.
8.23.2008
8.06.2008
it's been a while...
it's been pretty busy round these parts.
i started my new job on july 14th and it's been nothing but chaos. the first week was AWFUL. we stayed in our old building from monday until thursday afternoon. on friday we showed up to our new "office" and nothing was set up. no network connections. nothing. we spent 6 hours of the day working with IT to ensure our network connection as well as making sure our applications were all in tact. the second week was absolute hell. i don't even want to discuss it, it was THAT bad. last week, things got better, and i am beginning to feel comfortable with what i am doing and producing quality work.
having said all of that; we have had some bad news as well. john's dad was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in the beginning of july. last wednesday, he underwent surgery to remove the mass, a layer of lymph nodes and 70-80% of the underneath of his tongue. at this point, there is no prognosis but the doctors are confident that they got all of the cancer. he was moved out of icu yesterday and is improving on a daily basis. once he's released from the hospital, he will have to undergo chemo and radiation as precautionary measures. the surgeons indicated a 50% chance of reoccurance and they want to do everything possible to ensure that it doesn't come back.
as you can tell, it's been a long month. i will try to update more regularly within the next few weeks.
please keep john's dad in your thoughts and prayers.
i started my new job on july 14th and it's been nothing but chaos. the first week was AWFUL. we stayed in our old building from monday until thursday afternoon. on friday we showed up to our new "office" and nothing was set up. no network connections. nothing. we spent 6 hours of the day working with IT to ensure our network connection as well as making sure our applications were all in tact. the second week was absolute hell. i don't even want to discuss it, it was THAT bad. last week, things got better, and i am beginning to feel comfortable with what i am doing and producing quality work.
having said all of that; we have had some bad news as well. john's dad was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in the beginning of july. last wednesday, he underwent surgery to remove the mass, a layer of lymph nodes and 70-80% of the underneath of his tongue. at this point, there is no prognosis but the doctors are confident that they got all of the cancer. he was moved out of icu yesterday and is improving on a daily basis. once he's released from the hospital, he will have to undergo chemo and radiation as precautionary measures. the surgeons indicated a 50% chance of reoccurance and they want to do everything possible to ensure that it doesn't come back.
as you can tell, it's been a long month. i will try to update more regularly within the next few weeks.
please keep john's dad in your thoughts and prayers.
7.11.2008
sister mary...shayna?
at our "lights out" party there was a photo booth that i took advantage.
i am sorry if you find it offensive. i think it's rather funny. it's what got me through the day.
i am sorry if you find it offensive. i think it's rather funny. it's what got me through the day.
7.01.2008
it's a nephew!
i got a call yesterday from rach and derrick telling me that their little peanut is a boy! i am so happy for them - rach is going to be an amazing mom!!
6.08.2008
so take a minute just to breathe...
last week was insanely exhausting. i spent the week traveling in the beautiful state of colorado conducting employee benefit meetings. while it was great to be out in the field spending time with employees, by the time friday came around, i was more than excited to head home.
as i previously mentioned, i missed david cook's visit to the office. i am pretty bummed out about the whole thing mostly because i spent over an hour with beth on saturday at the heart walk and she didn't mention anything to me about his visit. although, i can see why she wouldn't tell me ;) and, i really don't think i mentioned that i was leaving the following day for colorado. i am sure my time will come, eventually. maybe in august during the idol tour? cross your fingers and toes for me!
in other news, the sale date for my company has been pushed out once again. we were targeting a july 1 close date and now that's been postponed until july 26. if the sale doesn't close by august 10, the companies involved have to go back to their respective boards to get re-approval of the deal. my guess is that this is all political (utilities have that reputation) and the missouri commission will wait as long as they possibly can (august 9) to close. i just wish that they understood the effect the delays are having on the impacted employees. the next few weeks are going to be completely nutso but that's partially my fault. i could spent more time organizing and less time obsessing over david cook. although, if the whole dc thing didn't happen i am sure that i would be 10x less engaged right now. wow, that was rather h.r. sounding!
so there you have it. it seems like life gets this busy every summer. and with the impending birth of the first cramer grandchild (my sis is 13 weeks pregnant!), the close of the sale, the annual dunn family canoe trip and my cousin's laguna beach wedding - i can already tell the next few months are going to be a little busy. just a little.
as i previously mentioned, i missed david cook's visit to the office. i am pretty bummed out about the whole thing mostly because i spent over an hour with beth on saturday at the heart walk and she didn't mention anything to me about his visit. although, i can see why she wouldn't tell me ;) and, i really don't think i mentioned that i was leaving the following day for colorado. i am sure my time will come, eventually. maybe in august during the idol tour? cross your fingers and toes for me!
in other news, the sale date for my company has been pushed out once again. we were targeting a july 1 close date and now that's been postponed until july 26. if the sale doesn't close by august 10, the companies involved have to go back to their respective boards to get re-approval of the deal. my guess is that this is all political (utilities have that reputation) and the missouri commission will wait as long as they possibly can (august 9) to close. i just wish that they understood the effect the delays are having on the impacted employees. the next few weeks are going to be completely nutso but that's partially my fault. i could spent more time organizing and less time obsessing over david cook. although, if the whole dc thing didn't happen i am sure that i would be 10x less engaged right now. wow, that was rather h.r. sounding!
so there you have it. it seems like life gets this busy every summer. and with the impending birth of the first cramer grandchild (my sis is 13 weeks pregnant!), the close of the sale, the annual dunn family canoe trip and my cousin's laguna beach wedding - i can already tell the next few months are going to be a little busy. just a little.
6.02.2008
the mystery guest at work
i'm in beautiful pueblo colorado. please don't be jealous.
i woke up to a text from my wbff telling me that david cook came to visit our office today.
guess who missed it? shay shay. :(
5.21.2008
you reel me out and then you cut the string.
the whole trip to la for the ai finale was always up in the air. mostly because i had never solidified tickets. however, my bff told me a few weeks ago that she didn't see any reason why her friend kevin wouldn't be able to get me tickets. he's a club promoter in la and whenever a certain ai host wants to go out, kevin gets him in and taken care of.
my bff is pretty pessamistic so when she told me that it wouldn't be a problem, i thought everything would work out. i proceeded to book my plane ticket and make plans for my friend, sara to meet me in la.
on saturday, my bff called and said, "don't pack yet". and so began the frustration. i changed my ticket to leave a day later just to be safe but at that point i knew that if she's telling me not to pack, it wasn't going to happen.
so, that's the story in a nutshell. there's more but i won't bore you with that.
the good news is that i am going to the "live watch party" down in our newly renavated downtown area. i'm thinking about wearing a tiara so that people will notice me. thoughts?
my bff is pretty pessamistic so when she told me that it wouldn't be a problem, i thought everything would work out. i proceeded to book my plane ticket and make plans for my friend, sara to meet me in la.
on saturday, my bff called and said, "don't pack yet". and so began the frustration. i changed my ticket to leave a day later just to be safe but at that point i knew that if she's telling me not to pack, it wasn't going to happen.
so, that's the story in a nutshell. there's more but i won't bore you with that.
the good news is that i am going to the "live watch party" down in our newly renavated downtown area. i'm thinking about wearing a tiara so that people will notice me. thoughts?
5.19.2008
don't dream, it's over.
saturday was shitty.
today was even shittier.
i can't believe i am sitting in my cube today instead of heading to LA for the ai finale.
i can't believe i thought this was actually going to happen and missed hanging out with esther.
seriously, i could cry my eyes out right now.
today was even shittier.
i can't believe i am sitting in my cube today instead of heading to LA for the ai finale.
i can't believe i thought this was actually going to happen and missed hanging out with esther.
seriously, i could cry my eyes out right now.
5.09.2008
5.05.2008
shhhhh...
i booked my airfare to LA for the AI finale.
let's cross fingers and toes that he makes it! :)
let's cross fingers and toes that he makes it! :)
4.30.2008
the david cook obsession
back in january, i mentioned david cook and his american idol audition that was going to air, soon. three months later, he's in the top five and has been praised on many occasions as being "the one to beat". i seriously cannot believe that all of this excitement is going on. admittedly, i do run over to beth's cube on friday mornings to get her recap of the week in la. she's got so many funny stories to tell and it's so exciting to feel a part of the whole american idol experince. especially since i have been a fan of the show for so long. and, john had to upgrade my cell phone to unlimited texting because i managed to send 1300 texts to vote in the month of march. it's a good thing because last month i voted over 2500 times. i know, i am insane. but it's all worth it.
with only a few weeks to go, i am waiting with baited breath to see if david will make it to the final two. if so, i am on my way to hollywood for the season finale.
it's been awesome to be so close to this experience and for david to be as successful as he has been. it really is unreal!
with only a few weeks to go, i am waiting with baited breath to see if david will make it to the final two. if so, i am on my way to hollywood for the season finale.
it's been awesome to be so close to this experience and for david to be as successful as he has been. it really is unreal!
4.23.2008
where is shayna, where is shayna?
here i am!
the past few weeks have been insanely busy.
first i got super sick with bronchitis. then john went camping (who goes camping in march? this guy.) and brought some other virus home, resulting in another bout with bronchitis. and for those of you who don't know, bronchitis sucks. i was literally sick for a week. i stayed home from work for four days. FOUR DAYS. i've never stayed home more than two days due to illness. (i am such a role model employee.)
last week is a complete blur. my sister in law's mother passed away and we had a nice drive with john's mom(insert sarcasm) down to van buren, missouri for the funeral. john and i both felt it was very important to be there to support tim and susan. it's been a rough two months for them. even though her death was probably the best thing because she'd been so sick, i cannot fathom what it would be like to lose a parent...
last thursday, i headed to dallas to spend some time with the family. it was actually a really nice trip. i got a little caught up in rock band (cody and i have an awesome band, scrantonicity III) and that threw me off my game. due to my addiction, i missed hanging out with lovely heather :( (i'm so sorry!!!) and probably could have done more shopping. oh, well.
THEN (oh yeah, there's more) monday, john left for miami, leaving me with the doggies. lordy. i could never be a single parent. i can't even handle two dogs on my own. monday night was a complete disaster and last night, i went to the bon jovi (shut it!) concert. when i got home, the doggies were completely wired and it took them forever to calm down. of course, i had to watch david cook perform before going to bed, so it all worked out.
but back to bon jovi...i never imagined in a million years that i would have as much fun as i did. i was also amazed at how many songs i knew. they did a really great job of playing a lot of old songs and mixing in a few new ones. my favorite part of the evening was when jbj (that's what us cool folks call him) ripped open his shirt to expose his abs. holy cow - i thought i was going to go deaf from all of the screaming. anyway, long story short - great show. daughtry opened and i actually enjoyed them a lot, too. they played a few songs where chris would use a megaphone to sing into...it took me back to deer creek 2001 and mega.
so, that's my life. john gets home today and i am super excited to see him. i know it sounds cheesy, but i miss him so much when we're apart :(
the past few weeks have been insanely busy.
first i got super sick with bronchitis. then john went camping (who goes camping in march? this guy.) and brought some other virus home, resulting in another bout with bronchitis. and for those of you who don't know, bronchitis sucks. i was literally sick for a week. i stayed home from work for four days. FOUR DAYS. i've never stayed home more than two days due to illness. (i am such a role model employee.)
last week is a complete blur. my sister in law's mother passed away and we had a nice drive with john's mom(insert sarcasm) down to van buren, missouri for the funeral. john and i both felt it was very important to be there to support tim and susan. it's been a rough two months for them. even though her death was probably the best thing because she'd been so sick, i cannot fathom what it would be like to lose a parent...
last thursday, i headed to dallas to spend some time with the family. it was actually a really nice trip. i got a little caught up in rock band (cody and i have an awesome band, scrantonicity III) and that threw me off my game. due to my addiction, i missed hanging out with lovely heather :( (i'm so sorry!!!) and probably could have done more shopping. oh, well.
THEN (oh yeah, there's more) monday, john left for miami, leaving me with the doggies. lordy. i could never be a single parent. i can't even handle two dogs on my own. monday night was a complete disaster and last night, i went to the bon jovi (shut it!) concert. when i got home, the doggies were completely wired and it took them forever to calm down. of course, i had to watch david cook perform before going to bed, so it all worked out.
but back to bon jovi...i never imagined in a million years that i would have as much fun as i did. i was also amazed at how many songs i knew. they did a really great job of playing a lot of old songs and mixing in a few new ones. my favorite part of the evening was when jbj (that's what us cool folks call him) ripped open his shirt to expose his abs. holy cow - i thought i was going to go deaf from all of the screaming. anyway, long story short - great show. daughtry opened and i actually enjoyed them a lot, too. they played a few songs where chris would use a megaphone to sing into...it took me back to deer creek 2001 and mega.
so, that's my life. john gets home today and i am super excited to see him. i know it sounds cheesy, but i miss him so much when we're apart :(
4.16.2008
4.03.2008
tomorrow!
i am totally asking my mom to bring my nkotb tour jacket to me when she visits later this month.
4.02.2008
3.21.2008
singstar debacle
i am obsessed with singstar. i know i have mentioned this before but this week a new version came out and i was obsessed with obtaining it.
originally the game was going to come out on march 18th. shannon and i were going to go to best buy and make the purchase. on tuesday, i checked the website and it said the release date was actually going to be on march 19th. on wednesday, i called the store close to my office and they didn't have it yet, but they anticipated it would arrive by the end of the day. so, i stopped by the best buy on my way home. guess what? they didn't have it.
yesterday, i checked the best buy website to see if any stores in the area had received the game yet. sure enough, every store but the store by work and on my way home had it in stock. since i had a doctor's appointment yesterday after work, i ordered it for pick up at the location by my doctor's office (the doctor is a completely different story - this week has been a mess!). after work, i headed to best buy, brought the target ad (it was on sale at target), got my game and headed home.
when john got home he wanted to know why i wasn't playing. i told him that i promised shannon that i wouldn't play until saturday when she and dan come over.
and then he wanted to know why i was so obsessed with getting a game that would not be played until saturday...
because i needed new microphones!!! which was NOT a good enough excuse. at least to him.
originally the game was going to come out on march 18th. shannon and i were going to go to best buy and make the purchase. on tuesday, i checked the website and it said the release date was actually going to be on march 19th. on wednesday, i called the store close to my office and they didn't have it yet, but they anticipated it would arrive by the end of the day. so, i stopped by the best buy on my way home. guess what? they didn't have it.
yesterday, i checked the best buy website to see if any stores in the area had received the game yet. sure enough, every store but the store by work and on my way home had it in stock. since i had a doctor's appointment yesterday after work, i ordered it for pick up at the location by my doctor's office (the doctor is a completely different story - this week has been a mess!). after work, i headed to best buy, brought the target ad (it was on sale at target), got my game and headed home.
when john got home he wanted to know why i wasn't playing. i told him that i promised shannon that i wouldn't play until saturday when she and dan come over.
and then he wanted to know why i was so obsessed with getting a game that would not be played until saturday...
because i needed new microphones!!! which was NOT a good enough excuse. at least to him.
3.10.2008
a whirlwind weekend
on wednesday night, elise's husband called me and asked if i wanted to go out to sf for the weekend and surprise elise for her birthday.
HECK YEAH!!!
i left friday after work and returned late last night. she was soooo surprised and we had a great weekend. wine tasting, outlet shopping AND sushi in one day.
i miss sf so much.
HECK YEAH!!!
i left friday after work and returned late last night. she was soooo surprised and we had a great weekend. wine tasting, outlet shopping AND sushi in one day.
i miss sf so much.
2.26.2008
american idol - tonight
don't forget to watch american idol tonight and vote for david cook. it's my understanding that he will perform 9th which will put him on stage at about 8:30 in the midwest.
2.21.2008
glamor shots!
yeah, we had professional pictures of the doggies taken.
this is the ONLY one that was somewhat decent.
2.14.2008
jigsaw falling into place
shannon and i got PIT TICKETS for radiohead in st. louis. i am SO excited!!!!!!
2.13.2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
