Older News Entries

Wednesday, December 27, 2006		entry by: Jason
	We have to thank my mom again... As our Christmas present this year, she paid for us to purchase a set of propane gas logs and have them installed! Now we can finally take down the little picture of a fire that's been taped to our fireplace since we got the house, and enjoy... almost the real thing! Burn, baby, burn! :)

Saturday, November 18, 2006		entry by: Jason
	After tonight, I'll never look as a garbage can the same way again. Or a newspaper. Or anything, really. Diane & I went to a touring production of Stomp, the rhythmic percussion show, and it was sweeeeeet!

Friday, November 3, 2006		entry by: Jason
	We're so taken by the acting bug that we've decided to wander around the local theatrical landscape. Tonight we went to a performance of The Foreigner at my old high school. It was a great play, and the kids did a fantastic job!

Sunday, October 29, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Our 6-show run of Meshuggah-Nuns came to a close this evening. The show was an absolute blast, and we had so much fun with it... we'll have to see what the future brings in the way of more performances!

Thursday, August 3, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Well, it's official! Diane & I are both going to be starring in Meshuggah-Nuns, which is an offshoot of the Nunsense musicals by Dan Goggin. Never heard of em? Neither had we! :) Diane is playing a Catholic nun and I'm playing a Jewish actor. We (being myself, Diane, and three other nuns) have been brought together to entertain a cruise ship audience after the regular performers became seasick. Seems like it should be a fun show!

Tuesday, August 1, 2006		entry by: Jason
	A thespian in the making? (Yes, I said "thespian", not... oh, nevermind!) I guess I could be. Our local theater group held its first of two audition sessions for their upcoming musical, and Diane convinced me to try out. Funny thing is, it looks like both of us may stand a decent chance of getting a part! We've been called back to the second audition and they sent us home with a script to practice. Can't be a bad sign, eh? The only thing is I've got to learn a Yiddish accent, and fast! :)

Monday, July 31, 2006		entry by: Jason
	I went into work today only to find out that Paul Shaver, one of the original developers and investors in the Outer Banks area, died yesterday in an ATV accident. He's one of the developers of the resort that I work for, plus he owns a couple of popular restaurants around here, as well as an aerial tour company. He's always been the adventuresome type, flying experimental aircraft, racing across continents, driving NASCAR for a while, that kind of thing. Just came as a bit of a shock is all...

Saturday, July 29, 2006		entry by: Jason
	We finally got the air conditioning fixed yesterday after waiting and dealing with this company for at least two months now. They came out and did a quick fix which lasted until maybe this past Monday, and we were in the heat the whole rest of the week. And of course, it had to be the hottest week of the summer so far! We also found yesterday that our fish Charlie, who we'd had since just before we got married, had died. I don't know if it was just his time... just over two years seems decent for a betta from Wal-mart... or if it was a combination of temperature change and slightly icky water conditions, but he had a good life. I'm sure we'll be posting pictures of Charlie II shortly if we decide that he should have a successor.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006		entry by: Jason
	We attended a local arts school's production of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown tonight, and it was really good despite the fact that they shortened the show down to an hour. That means that our local theater group will not be doing Charlie Brown this year, as they had thought. Man, I was looking forward to trying out for the lead role... :)

Saturday, July 15, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Well, we made up for the whole "not being able to see Chigaco the musical" debacle... Diane & I just got back from D.C., where we did the whole Smithsonian thing, and then went to a production of Chicago in nearby Vienna, VA. It's the same touring production that we had to miss before, and the only bad thing was that this was at an outdoor theater and it was a hot hot HOT day! But it was a great show and I'm glad we got a chance to see it. :)

Thursday, April 13, 2006		entry by: Jason
	We've certainly got a lot going on in the not-too-distant future. We've planned a weekend excursion to Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg, we have tickets to see the touring production of Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and we're arranged to steal away for another weekend to visit our friend Heather and see the Champions On Ice figure skating tour with Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen, Irina Slutskaya, and so forth. We'll be quite busy for the next few weeks!

Sunday, April 9, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Today was the last performance of Diane's play, "Something To Hide". Counting dress rehearsals, I saw the play seven times. I wasn't planning to see it today, since it was running while I'm supposed to be at work, but my boss said it was okay. I'l glad I went too, because they has a nice little recognition at the end of the lady who's retiring as their board president. And I think of the seven performances, this one was my favorite. Extremely smooth, responsive crowd, very nice. :)

Friday, April 7, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Alas, tonight was the night that we regrettably had to sell our tickets to see the touring production of Chicago at our local theater. Diane's play is running again this weekend, which makes everything better. :)

Wednesday, April 5, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Heh heh, I just won tickets on the radio to go see Diane's play. That means that after this weekend, I will have seen it a total of six times, counting the dress rehearsal! I'll have this thing memorized by the time I'm through! From what I've heard, they found out that I can sing, and they're trying to recruit me to be in their next musical. They're thinking about doing You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown which would be pretty cool. I loved the Peanuts comics and movies when I was growing up. We shall see...

Saturday, April 1, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Well, the play is going wonderfully... I went to dress rehearsal Thursday night, and then went with co-workers Cheryl & Larry last night. Tonight my mom is going, plus a big group of people from work. Should be fun!

Friday, March 31, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Tonight is opening night for the local theater's production of "Something To Hide", a murder mystery play by British author Leslie Sands. Diane plays the part of Stella, the snooping maid, and this is her first theater appearance since moving to the Outer Banks area. I helped her type her drama resumé the other day, and she was really active in theater back in Oklahoma. She's been in lots of stuff like Gypsy as Mama Rose, Grease as Rizzo, Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as The Narrator, Little Women as Marmee, Wizard Of Oz as Glenda The Good Witch, and the list goes on! I jokingly thought about making up a drama resumé for myself, with my little five plays that I did in elementary school, heh heh. :)

Thursday, March 9, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Emily has left the building... She's decided to move back to Oklahoma with boyfriend Dennis in tow, so that she can be closer to friends and start college and all that life-fulfilling stuff, heh. :) Diane & I will both miss her, but we're looking forward to lots of alone time again, and starting the process of reclaiming the house. :)

Saturday, January 7, 2006		entry by: Jason
	Ah, Rock & Bowl... I remember it fondly. After my approximate three-year absence from bowling, Emily, Dennis, Diane & I headed to Nags Head Bowling Center last night for some fun. Dennis had come down to visit Emily, and we first went to see The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, then had dinner at Outback Steakhouse before heading to Rock & Bowl. One price, and you bowl all you want from 10 pm until 1 am every weekend. Dennis & Emily made it through 3 games before bailing, then Diane & I played 3 more. I can't remember the last time I broke about 80 in a game, but I was consistently bowling over 100, with a top score of 133, and Diane bowled a 109! Plus, I had whipped both Dennis and Emily at air hockey just before we started bowling. I am the king of low-physical-activity sports. Woo!

Monday, October 17, 2005		entry by: Jason
	We have GOT... to HAVE... a YARD SALE! We came to this conclusion a couple of weeks ago, after having finally moved ALL my stuff from my mom's old shed into our new shed. I had completely forgotten that I had approximately 50,000 cardboard boxes full or junk from my youth. So now the sorting begins... some of it will be kept for nostalgia's sake... some for future youth to play with, and some... will go away from this place forever (for a low, low fee). It'll probably take until spring to go through everything and get it ready for sale... what a mess.

Saturday, August 27, 2005		entry by: Jason
	Well, as of today, we are the proud owners of a nice, shiny drum set. I don't know why the impulse was there to own this particular instrument, as my time behind a drum set could be measured in hours, as opposed to days or years. All three of us are having fun trying though... We're all wannabe rock stars! :)

Sunday, July 31, 2005		entry by: Jason
	I was watching a special on the Food Network last night about Julia Child and her impact on Public Television, and it got me thinking... I grew up on Public Television... reruns of Julia Child and Graham Kerr in their kitchens, Justin Wilson telling inane cajun stories and cooking Louisiana specialties, Bob Ross turning brush strokes into happy little trees and clouds, and of course, Mr. Rogers inviting me into his neighborhood each day. I also grew up reading Dr. Seuss books, Charles Schultz's Peanuts comics, and Roald Dahl books about chocolate factories among other things. As I got older, I turned to late night humor from Johnny Carson, and from Saturday Night Live-ers like Phil Hartman and Chris Farley. I'm saddened to think that every single person I've mentioned here has passed away (with the exception of Mr. Kerr, but he's no longer on TV to entertain me). I don't know where this whole thought process was going... I shall have to boycott television if it continues to get me thinking this way...

Saturday, July 9, 2005		entry by: Jason
	If anyone out there has any more cars they'd like us to buy, now is the time to act! Heh, seems like that anyway... :) So we went yesterday down to a local dealership and got Emily hooked up with a "new" used vehicle. Then today we drove four hours to Jacksonville with Diane's old car in tow, and came home with her "new" used vehicle! Both girls now have sunroofs and CD players, and they're ready to do some cruising! :) Anyway, I hardly had any sleep last night, and just finished an exhausting drive, so I'm out...

Sunday, June 12, 2005		entry by: Jason
	Ah, the big ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! We had some fun, ate some cake, and all is well. Friday night, Diane and I went out and ate some Irish food, then went to see the touring production of Evita at our local theater. Then on Saturday, Emily, Diane and I all went to see Miss Congeniality 2 at Cinema Cafe, then to a mystery dinner theater thing which was pretty cool.

Friday, June 3, 2005		entry by: Jason
	Well, Diane's sister Emily arrived safely today from Oklahoma. She's going to live here with us for a while until she gets on her feet. We're excited to have her here, and I'm sure she'll get used to moving from the fourth largest city in Oklahoma to the nothingness that is our area, heh heh.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005		entry by: Jason
	After much deliberating and plan changing on both ends, it looks like Diane's sister is going to move here and live with us for a while! We're both happy to have her, and of course now Diane will have her cute-clothes-shopping cohort back, heh heh...

Friday, February 18, 2005		entry by: Jason
	Well, we hated to do it, but our little Loner kitty refuses to learn how to use the litterbox, and as SuperNanny JoJo would say, that's "simply unacceptable". He's been adopted by my aunt, and is now living outside with his sister C.C./Fred.

Sunday, November 7, 2004		entry by: Jason
	These kittens are getting to be too much... Our original plan was to keep the little girl kitty, who we had named C.C., so as not to have two stinky boys in the house. Our little girl had different plans though, as she opted not to learn to use the litter box properly. So today, she was officially adopted by my aunt, and will live as an outside kitty. By process of elimination, we are now keeping Loner, who may end up with a new name, as he has become quite outgoing. Three kitties is enough! :)

Monday, October 25, 2004		entry by: Jason
	Diane & I got back from a Busch Gardens adventure this weekend in Williamsburg, VA. She had never been before, and I had never been during the "Howl-O-Scream" festivities. We had a blast!

Friday, October 22, 2004		entry by: Jason
	After a long period of Diane & I thinking that we were destined to end up with 5 cats in the house, my mother found a home for our little Hodge kitty. Gray Boy has been renamed "Simon", and is doing just fine in his new home. Hodge is to be renamed "Rusty", and I'm sure he'll be happy too. Two down, one more to go... :)

Thursday, October 7, 2004		entry by: Jason
	Well, tomorrow is the kitties' 7 week birthday! We gave little Gray Boy away tonight to a coworker of mine. I think we have a few prospects for Hodge & Loner as well, and of course, we're keeping C.C., our girl. :) Dusty loves all the kitties to death, and licks them and protects them whenever he can. He's also gotten into licking Sheba... which is a bit odd. The old, pre-kitten-delivery Sheba would never stand for that, and would smack Dusty a good one. I guess that's a good thing that all our babies are getting along though. :)

Saturday, August 28, 2004		entry by: Jason
	Today marks Day 1 of me learning to play the banjo. That's right, the banjo. Diane and I went out to the local music showcase again last night after I won tickets on the radio. They really have some talented musicians, and I decided that I'd like to learn a semi-obscure instrument. As if 8 years of playing guitar wasn't enough, now I want to play the banjo. Diane's keen on learning the violin, better known in these parts as the "fiddle", as her sister plays violin as well. My family's had a bluegrass group for longer than I can remember, consisting of guitar, bass, mandolin, and dobro. They've had friends stand in with other instruments over the years, but they haven't really had a permanent banjo or fiddle player, and I think that could really help the group. I'm having good luck learning so far, but I've already busted a string, and have a couple of new sets on the way, thanks to the Musician's Friend website. We shall see how this all goes... :)

Monday, August 23, 2004		entry by: Jason
	We went to the John Mayer / Maroon 5 concert yesterday for Diane's birthday. Maroon 5 put on a great show, and John Mayer was decent, even though some of his songs start to sound the same after a while. I never knew that John Mayer was such an accomplished guitarist though... that never comes across too much on the radio tracks, but he went into some extended musical jams last night that made me wonder if I'd wandered into a Santana concert by mistake! Then they went into this move that I can't explain where John Mayer stood with his back to his other guitarist, reached behind his back, and played the other guy's guitar. Then the second guitarist reached around and played John's guitar in front. Awesome stuff, really.

Saturday, August 21, 2004		entry by: Jason
	Sheba had her kittens last night, starting around 8:45 pm and ending around 11:15 pm. Three boys and one girl, all varying shades of black and gray. I think we've already decided to keep one, probably the girl, and my mom might actually want one too. We shall see... Dusty is being a good boy too, staying away and playing nice. We were wondering how he might react to the new additions, but I think he's taking it very well. Pictures and updates to follow...