Out of touch

I just have to show a few pictures of this little town I've been in for the past few days. This is Idaho City, ID. 450 residents, one scary hotel, and no cell phone service.

Here is a complete shot of main street.


They even still have the old wooden boardwalks.

False Alarm

Elaina and I decided to have an alarm system installed at our house. With my travel and Elaina sleeping during the day with a fan running we thought it wouldn't hurt.

This week I was staying in a hotel in Boise, ID. At about midnight my phone rings with an unfamiliar number. The voice on the other side says, "Hello this is Monotronics. We have an alarm at your front door, is everything ok?" I know that Elaina is at home this night and tell him that she probably went out take the garbage out and forgot to turn off the alarm. I'll call her to make sure everything is ok. He warns me that the police will be called in 30 seconds.

I calmly call Elaina... no answer. Call again... answer. With each passing minute I try again and again and again. No answer.

Now I'm pacing back and forth in my hotel in a complete panic. I call the police in Couer D' Alene to see if the dispatched officers have made it there yet. She tells me they just arived and haven't reported in.

I keep calling and calling and calling.. No answer.

Finally after 20-25 minutes, she finally picks up the phone.

She had taken Charlie for a late night jog. She left the house with her headphones on and didn't hear the warning beeps to disable the alarm.

As she walked into our neighborhood she saw the police cars parked next door. First she was intrigued by some possible drama, but then saw the police officers standing at our door. She apologized up and down and they very nicely told her to give me a call as I was very worried.

After the dust had settled they asked her the real question.... "What are you doing going for a jog at midnight?"

What is the word to represent a puking noise?

I should have heeded Elaina's advice when dipping from the sample bowl of salsa at our local deli. But it's soooo good! I couldn't resist! I have partaken from said sample bowl dozens of times in the past.

I have never had food poisoning before and I hope to never have it again. This was the worst 24 hours of my life. Well, second worst.

It reminded me of the time that Elaina and I both had a horrible flu at the same time. Charlie was just a puppy then and was barely housebroken in our apartment in Coeur D' Alene.

We were so sick and so exhausted we just laid in misery. We had a serious discussion about just letting Charlie go on the floor and deal with the consequences later. Nothing sounds worse when you have the flu than taking your dog outside to pee. Not to mention that going outside means 15 degrees, down the stairs, and standing there while your dog sniffs for 25 minutes before finding the perfect spot to hike his leg.

Later that night I decided we needed some medicine from the store. In perfect health you can make a round trip from Albertsons in about 15 minutes. My trip took about 45 minutes. I was so exhausted that after five minutes of driving I had to pull over and take a little nap. Then I pulled into Albertsons and had to take a little rest. My Zombie walk to the medicine isle seemed to take forever. I think I scared little children along the way.

When I finally returned home Elaina had wondered if I died along the way, but was too sick to care.

We were laying in bed complaining about our misery and it suddenly turned funny. We laughed so hard it nearly made both of us pass out. That must have been the moment I knew Elaina was the girl for me.

The White House

Today was a big day for our company. We signed the final papers for our new office. It's called The White House and is right downtown in Coeur D' Alene. It is a local landmark and has been used as a wedding reception hall. We'll hopefully have it unfrillied soon (i think I just created a new word!).

We will take posession on the first of November and will start construcion for our offices inside. We're hoping it will only take a month, but will be lucky if that happens. For some reason I only move houses or offices in extreme hot or extreme cold. We'll see how this one goes.... I predict snow.

Speed Racer

Have you ever seen those radar signs the police put up in residential neighborhoods? You know, the ones with a radar gun that tells how fast you are going?

There was a radar sign in front of our house tonight and we put it to various tests.

I really wanted to throw a baseball by it (like on The Rookie). But, A) I didn't have a baseball... B) Even if I had a baseball I didn't really want to chase it down the street.... C) I could have Elaina catch it on the other side, but it was pretty dark and I'm not exactly bullseye thrower.

I hopped on my bike though... 17 MPH on the first try (tires were flat, give me a break). Then I ran. In bare feet (flip-flops weren't having it). The sign flickered from 17MPH to 13MPH. I think I ran 17MPH. Elaina thinks the sign is broken.

Triple Play Olympics

It's Saturday Night... what kind of trouble can we get in? Not much. Elaina and I decided to compete head to head in the distinguished activities of ski-ball, video games, air hockey, pop-a-shot, and bowling at our local Triple Play.

I can't believe how many teenagers were there. I'm glad I wasn't that annoying when I was a teenager :) (no comments from any friends or family please!!)

Elaina cleaned up at video games and pop-a-shot. Our air hockey tournament came down to a nail biting two out of three. The score was 6 to 6 on our final game... next point wins.... I snuck one in for the win. It was nice to finally win something after 2 hours.