Monday was the last day for one of the higher ups at my office and the event was marked with a lunch time going-away party. Midway through the party, the fire alarm started going off. There had been signs posted by the elevators that morning to announce fire alarm tests, so we stayed put and listened to several short speeches. After the alarms had been going off for nearly 15 minutes, someone came into the room and announced that the building really was being evacuated.
As we walked out of the building, we saw a group of firefighters walking in, all wearing their heavy fire jackets, several carrying fire extinguishers, dragging hoses, and one or two lugging breathing apparatus. MC heard one of them saying the fire was in the building’s basement.
They let us back into the building a half-hour later. As we were walking up the stairs, several of us noticed the smell of smoke. Either there really was a fire, or else it was one heck of a realistic fire drill.
Rumor has it that the fire started when someone threw a cigar into the landscaping and the mulch caught fire. Evidently it was right in front of the intake for the building’s ventilation system. That’s how we came to have smoke in the building.
Regardless of what really happened, this is the only party I’ve ever attended that really did end with the fire department arriving.
Category Archives: Photos
Entries with photographic accompaniment.
The Legend of Bunny Foo Foo
Back in February of 2002, AJ lost a bet. A few weeks later, she found herself standing in a crowded restaurant, wearing bunny ears, and singing “Little Bunny Foo Foo.” Two months later, in May, she wound up doing a repeat performance, this time in front of the entire Maryland Jaycees. When AJ loses a best, she doesn’t mess around!
The result of all this singing is that over the past few years, AJ has become known throughout the Jaycees as “Little Bunny Foo Foo,” a role she’s come to wholeheartedly embrace.
In April of this year, AJ was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, a form of cancer. Adding insult to injury, within a few weeks of starting the chemotherapy, she ended up losing her hair. So when her husband, Mike, said that “anything to make her laugh” would be good, her friends jumped at the opportunity.
Because of the chemotherapy’s impact on her immune system, AJ was unable to attend the Jaycees’ quarterly convention in May. So to cheer her up, more than 70 people posed for photos to be put in an album for her. In the photos, everyone held signs bearing personalized messages, and everyone wore bunny ears.
This past weekend, I had the privilege of escorting AJ to the formal dinner at the November Jaycees convention. We paused at the door, waiting to be announced. As people throughout the room grabbed their cameras, the emcee, momentarily speechless, turned away from the microphone. Turning back, she softly said, “I never thought I’d be happy to see those again.”
As the flashes subsided, we were introduced and stepped forward grinning. Perched atop AJ’s head, topping six weeks worth of new hair, was a pair of bunny ears.
As we crossed the room, the emcee softly added in a tone equally laughing and wistful, “Welcome back Bunny Foo Foo.”
Zombies
Growling and snarling while you chase people through cornfields tends to leave you with a sore throat. Just in case you’ve ever wondered.
Naptime at Camp Barkalot
Riley and Wylie look just so angelic…
You’d never guess that just a few hours earlier they’d been out carousing.
Pirates
Avast ye Scurvy Dogs! As ye may be knowin’, September 19 be known throughout the Seven Seas as International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Are ye ready?
Fashions from Hogwarts
I’m not entirely certain how, but somehow I’ve found myself on the mailing list for the Ralph Lauren factory outlet. I got a mailing from them a couple days about an upcoming sale, just in time for Back-to-School.
It probably has something to do with what I’ve been reading lately. In reality, the crest in this photo is the Ralph Lauren logo. But I can’t help thinking this is meant to be an example of what the well-dressed Hogwarts student is wearing this fall.
Shore Leave Highlights
This year was my first time as co-chair for Shore Leave (or any other convention). All in all, it was a great weekend with no major problems that I had to deal with. (There were a few minor glitches, but nothing huge.) This is also going to be my last time chairing a convention for the foreseeable future, but that’s more to do with setting some priorities for my time rather than any particular hassles.
One of the highlights of the weekend involved attending my first ever “Klingon Banquet.” Having no desire to dress up in any other sort of costume (let alone the incredibly warm and heavy Klingon garb), I opted to dress as my usual self. To my surprise, I wound up seated next to Gwynyth Walsh – the guest of honor – and during the course of the evening, several people somehow reached the conclusion that I was her spouse. I’m not entirely certain how that happened, though I didn’t particularly object. My only request was that they not tell her husband!
Continue reading Shore Leave Highlights
Time to Mow
It’s been a few weeks since I last mowed the yard.
That photo’s from May of 2003, but if anything, it may actually be higher this time, if not quite as thick. Either way, I don’t want to take a chance on getting lost in my own backyard again!
Matt's Falcon
Matt and I were among the people who spent some time Saturday helping the Mt. Airy Jaycees with their spring yard sale. This was my first time attending and I soon discovered that the name is somewhat misleading. This “yard sale” takes over the local fairgrounds!
During the course of the morning, Matt told us about some of his and Anna’s pets, including a pair of rats. In the early afternoon, he acquired one more critter. Several carpenter bees had been hovering around the table and after one was knocked out of the air, Matt went over and picked it up on the end of a pen, and then transferred it to his arm. (Carpenter bees supposedly don’t have stingers. I was quite content to let Matt do the verification.)
Matt had always wanted a Peregrine Falcon, this is similar.
Honey? Can I keep him?
Have You Seen Sarah Connor?
This wasn’t exactly a planned purchase; but I was in the midst of a wardrobe overhaul/update and decided to try on a new jacket or two. I really liked the way this one fits and in the end decided to buy it. (Thank goodness for some pretty huge post-season discounts at the outlet stores!)
The photo’s a bit washed out, but that perhaps makes it a bit more dramatic.
I wonder what Linda Hamilton is up to these days…