February started with great excitement and great sadness.
February 1
With great excitement, I jumped out of bed the moment the alarm went off at 5:30 AM. Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely "jump" out of bed. It's usually more in the order of three snoozes later, I grumpily lumber to bathroom to start my morning process. But this time, I was anxious to get the day started. Yesterday, I rented a Nikon D100 digital camera and a Nikkor 400mm f2.8 lens and I was ready to put my photo shoot plans into action. The trick was how to get Susan motivated to go, too... just kidding :-)
As I gathered my equipment and loaded the Honda, Susan packed the cooler with her special dietary foods and water. We were walking out the door when Susan told me she heard on the radio that NASA lost contact with the Space Shuttle. I told her that it is common for the shuttle to lose communications during reentry and I briefly wondered why the news was reporting such a common event.
We drove up Highway 20 to Sedro Woolley to shoot some photos of Bald Eagles with the enormous 400mm lens.
When we returned, we learned that the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed upon reentering Earth's atmosphere over Texas. It is hard to believe. We are emotionally numb.
February 5
Went to North Seattle Community College with Susan and worked on my web page outside her classroom.
February 8
Fulfilled promise: scrubbed the shower, watched Signs.
February 10
Cooked beef stew in Crock Pot.
February 14
Dropped AOL, sent holiday pictures to the Pearces, nice dinner with Susan, bought Samsung SIR-TS160 HD tuner and Terk powered TV antenna.
February 15
Cleaned clogged drain on Susan's sink, installed wall outlet for antenna/phone in living room, installed antenna in the attic.
The antenna in the attic didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. With me in the attic and Susan in the living room, I'd adjust the angle until Susan said the picture was good. Then she'd change the channel and find that the picture was bad again. I'd adjust some more, only to find that the original clear channel was now gone. We're going to need a better antenna...
February 17
Tom hits the big 4-0! Finally saw Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at Cinerama.
February 21
Gary Payton traded to Milwaukee for Ray Allen.
February 22
Museum of Flight moves B747 and B727 across E. Marginal Way, Northwest Aviation Conference in Puyallup, met Hal from Microsoft, went to Tom's birthday party.
February 23
Beautiful day: washed the Honda, Girl Scout cookies arrive, worked on taxes, applied to LendingTree.com.
February 24
Filed tax return electronically, took pictures from Queen Anne at lunch.
February 26
Dentist appointment, haircut, dropped off Infiniti for 90k tune-up.
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