Newsletter Archives:  January through June 2001

Christmas 2000

My New Year’s Resolution

Hopefully all of you received my annual Christmas letter and enjoyed reading it.  My friend Holly sends a shorter message to all her friends and family EVERY WEEK, and she has inspired me to do the same.  I’ll shoot for every week, and eventually I’ll probably taper off to every other week, but I hope I can keep it going all year!  If you find this boring and would like me to take you off my list, please just let me know.  I won’t be offended, and I will remove your name right away.  

We went to the UP from December 22-27th, and I've been sick and exhausted ever since then.  I had all kinds of plans and projects for my 5 days at home before classes start again, but my energy is ZILCH.  Seeing family and friends again in the UP was wonderful of course, although it didn't stop snowing for 5 days straight!!! Well it stopped, but only for a few hours at a time. I can't believe how much snow there is in Michigan this year! 

Let's see...what else has been happ’nin’. I have been corresponding more often with a nice lady from California that I met online in August (Holly). Hey, it’s the 00’s way of meeting new friends:  chat rooms!  Of course we were very cautious at first because you never know WHAT kind of weirdos you might bump into in cyberspace, but it turns out she and I are the exact same kind of weirdo.  We even look alike!  Every day we find out something more that we have in common.  I always had pen pals when I was a kid, and I’d forgotten how much fun it is to have friends in far-away places, with whom you correspond only by mail.  So Holly, welcome to my circle of friends!  I’ve thought about how fun it would be for me to visit California and meet her and her husband in person. No solid plans yet, but I'd love to do it one day. If I can get over my fear of flying....

Pool has been very exciting for the last couple weeks. Larry Ross, who won the Big Game Lottery (after taxes about 60 million) bought a pool hall and started having tournaments on Thursday nights. He’s been changing the face of pool in Detroit for several months now, adding money to local tournaments and sponsoring select individuals in their pro-tour aspirations.  But this new room is his own, and last week he added $3,000 (!) of his own money to the prize fund, and over 100 players showed up. That kind of money for a $20-entry fee tournament is virtually unheard of, so it draws the best players around.  I was in the same room with some of the best players in the country. And I didn't realize how many friends I have in the world of pool who HONESTLY seemed to miss seeing me around. So I got to have some nice conversations with those people, and catch up on old times. Derek did well in the tournament; he was still in it when they had to close the room on Thursday night at 2:00 a.m.  The rest of the players were asked to come back and finish on Saturday, but we had to depart for the UP on Friday.  So he had to forfeit his matches. 

When we were on the way up north, we dog-legged over to Traverse City to see a friend of ours. We stayed overnight in a REALLY nice resort room that during tourist season would have gone for several hundred dollars a night.  It had a jacuzzi in the bathroom and a little living room out back, with a porch that walked right out onto the beach of Lake Michigan (which is now frozen, of course). The only bad part was we were only there long enough to sleep and shower. But I DID make time for a jacuzzi! :o)

While we were in TC we found a pool tournament that was a grand opening for a new pool hall. Derek and I both entered the tournament, and I nearly beat the best player in Northern Michigan! He had no idea who I was, and he does play better than me, but I was just really hot. I couldn't miss. The only trouble was I kept scratching. I would run all the balls down to the 8 or 9, and then the cue ball would take a funny path and scratch. Then he had ball in hand and only had to run one or two balls, so of course he ran out. He won, but he acknowledged that I played the match better than he. He came up afterward and talked to me for 10 minutes about how much he admires my stroke, and how I CAN'T retire because it would be such a shame. That was pretty cool.  Of course there were the other typical pool hall jerks with their macho, chauvinistic attitudes. At least 3 of them offered me advice after I'd just BEATEN them. “Hey lady, you could be a real good player if you would just.... (fill in the blank)”  Dude, I just BEAT you, and you're offering ME advice!? I just can't understand that! Don't they have any f*@#ing clue how arrogant and stupid that sounds?  Derek tells me that would be the perfect time to ask them to play for money, but I’m usually too busy being offended to think about turning it in my favor.  :o)

I ended up getting 5th place, and Derek finished 2nd. He was by far the best player there, but each match was only 3 games out of 5, which is a really short match by tournament standards. The shorter the race, the bigger advantage the weaker player has. And so this one guy who played *pretty* well lucked out and beat Derek 3-2. Then Derek played with him afterwards and showed him WHO'S THE MAN!!! :o)

Well, that’s all the news for now.  You probably all know that I will talk forever if someone doesn’t stop me, so I’ll have to censor myself and impose a 1000-word limit on these weekly messages.  I’m already over by 50+ words this time! 

As always, hope you are happy and healthy,

Betzry Christmas!

January 6, 2001

Hello again, friends and family of the Pogirski/Sundholm team!

A day after my last message, I finally started feeling better and regained some energy.  I managed to sort through several boxes of miscellaneous stuff that we'd lugged over from our old house on Edgewood.  Much as we tried, we didn't quite get rid of everything we didn't need before moving.  So whenever I have some spare time, I try to sort through at least one box, finding a place for the stuff we want to keep and finding a new home for the stuff we don't (often the trash can).  I also condensed 3 boxes of "reunion stuff," from the 2 reunions I've coordinated in the last 3 years, into one small box, and transcribed all the documents onto our computer instead.  The wonders of technology!

The one big project that was on the top of my list but didn't get finished was putting up the new tile backsplash over our kitchen sink.  But I did learn that Home Depot has a how-to clinic every Saturday, so I might try to do it without having to call upon sister-in-law Kristin or my boss Deb, who so graciously volunteered to help when I'm ready. 

Two of Derek's good friends, Fred and Jay, came over for dinner and a movie on December 30th.  It was just like old times.  Derek and Fred used to be roommates on Edgewood, and Jay was also there pretty often.  They had a regular golf foursome, so they would be at our house like clockwork every Sunday after their round, watching the PGA on TV in search of inspiration (or at least that's how I saw it; they might explain it differently).  It felt weird watching The Sixth Sense with them instead of the Back Nine. 

Derek and I rang in the new year very humbly (especially compared to last year) in our pajamas, watching the ball drop on ABC and toasting with raspberry sparkling water in champagne flutes.  We had fun seeing all the stuff around Times Square on TV, now with an entirely different perspective because we've been there twice this year.  Dick Clark said that the view of the Times Square Jumbo-tron and partygoers below is hands-down the best from the 12th floor of the Marriott Marquis, where we stayed during our visit in March.

Derek took a bit of a break from pool this week.  By that I mean he played only 5 days instead of 7!  :o)  All the recent tournaments in the northeast suburbs of Detroit have been very exciting, but making the drive twice a week in rush-hour traffic has taken its toll.  We watched several movies and ate more meals together than I can recall for SEVERAL months.  Best movie we watched:  Road Trip, with Tom Green and a bunch of teeny-boppers (perfectly silly).  Worst movie we watched:  Eye of the Beholder, with Ashley Judd and Ewan MacGregor.  (Has Ashley Judd ever made a good movie?)  We also watched the brilliant American Beauty DVD again, which was a Christmas gift from my mom. 

It was back to the old grind for me on January 2.  I fought urges to go in to the office on December 30th and 31st just to get a leg up before the start of classes.  I usually do that during breaks, telling myself 'just go work for a couple hours,' but inevitably find that having no one around, I can get SO much done that I end up staying the whole day.  But I'm glad I convinced myself to stay home.  I was away from the Michigan Union for 11 whole days, and can you believe it (?), the place was still standing when I got back!   

This was the craziest week of the semester for the SORC (the student-staffed facility that I manage, which provides advertising services for nearly 1,000 student organizations and departments on campus).  But with hard work from all my great students, we made it through the week with many happy customers and most of our sanity intact.  Tomorrow we are all going out to a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate our successful week.  Business at the Billiards Room was fairly slow this week and several of my student employees returned early, aching for hours to make up for all the money they'd spent at Christmas.  Much to my appreciation, that lightened my load a LOT. 

Wow, this *must* be a good year.  I just realized I'm not working this weekend, which is the first time in memory that I haven't had to work on the first weekend of a school semester.  That just makes me worry that there's something I'm forgetting.  Hmmm….

Last night we had our friends, Aaron and Stacy Toth, over for the evening.  They treated us to Chinese take-out because Aaron is very pleased with the new Honda he bought on Derek's recommendation.  He also happened to pick one out in Derek's favorite color combination:  dark green exterior with tan leather interior.  Derek offered him an even-trade:  his 1995 Accord 4-door for Aaron's new 2-door.  Aaron's response was merely a chuckle and change of the subject.  He was grateful for the recommendation, but not THAT grateful!  The boys retreated to the basement for pool, while Stacy and I watched Lethal Weapon 4 on DVD.  It's one of those movies that are much better the second time around. 

Well, I guess it's time to close.  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the pile of Christmas cards (to be updated in the address book), this week's mail (to be recycled, paid or filed), and a warm little black kitty cat that wants to play.  Hmmmm… which one shall I do first?  Come here, Little Ratso!…..….

January 13, 2001

Salutations!!!! (In the words of my favorite pig, Wilbur from Charlotte's Web. Wilbur is second only to that lovable little Babe)

The day after my last note, my friend Jane replied and told me about how "sappy" she felt this Christmas, and how she has started a journal-like book in which you write about your life so your children have a history of your life and childhood memories to pass down through the family. In this case, Jane, "sappy" is clearly a very GOOD thing. Who wouldn't agree that Christmas should be more about "sappy" and less about "retail" ?

Jane's book reminded me of a cookbook that mom and I are putting together for my brother's fiancée. (Ssshhhh…it's a surprise!) Sean and Celina are getting hitched in May, and we will be giving them an "Heirloom Cookbook" containing all our favorite family recipes, as well as photos of aunts and cousins and funny stories about some of the recipes. We've only just begun, but something tells me that Mom and I will have more fun putting it together than Celina will have using it.

I took a nasty spill on an ice patch Tuesday evening while trying to scurry out of the way of a university bus. It was one occasion on which I am grateful to have a posterior with plenty of cushion! I'm sure the bus driver got a good chuckle, as did the student who was with me.

Our washing machine broke down last week. Derek bought a new one this Tuesday while I was at work (our old one would no longer agitate, which really agitated us--har-de-har-har). My first thought was skepticism, imagining that he'd chosen something way beyond our needs and price range; then I feared he might have picked out something that didn't have *enough* features. But it was delivered on Wednesday and is just fine. I should realize that sometimes in order to get nice things done for you, you have to relinquish a little control. Am I really a control freak????

Wednesday is one of Derek's regular pool tournament nights, so if I don't go with him, I usually work late. I stayed at the office for 11 hours that day and really got a lot done. My cats were clearly peeved when I got home at 10:15 p.m., but moments later they were asleep and had completely forgotten about what a neglectful Mom I am.

The much-needed break in the weather means Derek is back to work again--at least for a few weeks. He worked a full day Thursday, Friday, and today, and has jobs lined up for Monday and Tuesday (Sunday is reserved for football and couch-potatoing, for both of us). He's going to get in as much work as possible before his upcoming trip to Kentucky for a BIG pool tournament. He'll be gone for over a week! He will eat, drink, sleep, and breathe pool for about 200 hours straight. It's his version of heaven.

Thursday proved to be my most stressful day of the year at work. I coordinate an annual Intercollegiate Recreation Tournament, including Bowling, 9-Ball, and several other events. Wayne State University (the host) does not have bowling lanes, but I found an off-site place that seemed to be perfect in September. Trouble was, I failed to have them sign a contract. The day before Christmas break, the General Manager called me to tell me his leagues were threatening to sue because he asked them to change their times to accommodate us. So we had no bowling site, 7 weeks away from the event date. As soon as I returned from break, I called several places around Detroit, and thought I had a good site lined up on the 8th. But it turns out the center I lined up has a REALLY bad reputation for crime, gangs, and "other" unsavory stuff. I guess I forgot for a moment that it IS Detroit, and even though it's getting better, there are still some very unsafe places.

Every other state in the country is waiting on this, because without my region's site, we can't get the blanket sanction license that covers all the regional tournaments. So I was on the phone for 4 hours Thursday, calling nearly every bowling alley within a 25-mile radius of the city. It was terribly discouraging. All the good places are booked, some of them until next fall. During about the third hour of phone calls, my phone rang. It was the Head Bowling Coach for Saginaw Valley State University, whose team has not competed in this event in several years because, to be frank, the people who coordinated it before me were not very good at it. SVSU is a consistent national contender, and they had bigger fish to fry. Turns out they have an "off" week this year, and would like to come to our tournament again. Here it is: my opportunity to win them back, to boost the numbers in a struggling program that is in danger of getting cut, and I don't have a bowling site.

In the midst of all this, the University Locksmith informed me that our vault in the Billiards Room has irreparable damage to the door, so I had to find a secure place to store thousands of dollars in cash for the weekend…in itself not a big deal. But this meant I had to completely revamp the operating and deposit procedures--and rewrite and communicate them before I left that day. And to top it all off, two of my new trainees decided that the job at SORC is too much for them. So the recruitment and interview process begins again. And of course if I don't act fast, everyone who's looking will have a job already. With the market like it is, it's hard enough to find employees when you ARE the early bird, let alone when you have to start again in mid-stream and everyone else's hiring process is well underway.

Well, I made it through that day. The problems didn't disappear, but they are at least under control now. After talking to the SVSU coach again, it looks like he might have pulled some strings for us with his friend, who owns a top-notch bowling center in Troy. Friday was a very fruitful day (was it a coincidence that it was a "good hair day"? I think not) and I think that by Wednesday I'll have the biggest problem--the bowling issue--solved.

I whittled Saturday away doing laundry (in that wonderful new washing machine!!!), making lunch for Derek--it's a pleasure when you don't get to do it very often--and doing a little shopping. Sean and Celina gave us a Media Play gift card for Christmas, so I picked out three DVDs: "The American President" for Derek, and the "Toy Story 2-pack" for me, and a couple CDs for both of us. We also watched a few other movies this week, mostly repeats:

The Matrix (becoming a classic in our household)
The Cell (the only one neither of us had seen before--weird, but it has fantastic cinematography)
Cliffhanger (it was much better the first time--pretty corny this time around)
Gattaca (this one's growing on me)
A Clockwork Orange (I hadn't seen it before--an important piece of movie history, but still weirded me out)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (have caught this one on TV a few times--heartwarming)

Well, I have gone over my 1,000-word limit for the first time. I guess it was a pretty eventful week. Either that, or I'm getting SOOOO into this weekly message that I need to practice a little more self-censorship. We'll see how I do next week.

Be happy and healthy.
XO XO
Betz

January 20

(Remember, if you don't want to receive my weekly notes, just let me know!)

Last week I mentioned that Sunday was reserved for couch-potatoing. Derek did exactly that--through two entire football games and beyond. I worked almost all day in the kitchen, the laundry room, and the (home) office, but still managed to find a little time for doing absolutely nothing. Never been one to just sit and watch TV. Give me a basket of laundry to fold or something!

I finally got an answer from my best lead for an intercollegiate bowling site on Tuesday. The answer was NO. However…there is a silver lining to this cloud. They were able to recommend a place that has good lane conditions and (much to my convenience) does not have tournaments or as many leagues as some places. I spoke with a bright and helpful woman named Laurie Tuesday night and hashed out the basics of an agreement in 5 minutes on the phone. The details were to follow by fax later in the week, but that night, with this BIG monkey off my back, I slept like a baby! I awoke Wednesday feeling as if I could take on the world. I turned quickly to my tasks at hand when I got to work and had a very productive day.

Derek was also a busy beaver this week, with more roofing jobs than he would ever expect with still a foot of snow on the ground and freezing temperatures every day. But he's finding a lot of motivation to work hard now so he can enjoy his 9-day trip to Kentucky without worrying whether the bills are getting paid at home. He, too, has a big monkey on his back with a job that has taken FOREVER! It's a huge house west of Ann Arbor, where he has been working off and on since early November. This place is amazing…10 acres, 10,000+ square feet, indoor pool, 3 stories, 4 fireplaces, and dozens of full-sized trees brought in to make it look as if they've been there a while. Estimated cost: about 4 million bucks. I just can't even fathom having a home of that kind of value. My goodness, even ONE million dollars would be amazing! We are more than happy with the one we have now. But Derek's just had one problem after another with the place, and he's very anxious for the day it's finally finished.

Movies we watched this week:
The American President (the only "sappy" movie Derek will watch…and ssssshhhhh…just between you and me, he LOVES it!)
Toy Story I and II (they get better every time!)
Breakdown (I love Kurt Russell in this role)
Trigger Happy (mob comedy--Derek liked it but I didn't think it should have been in the "Comedy" section if you know what I mean)

Can you believe that in just two days of forgetting to pick up the mail, our mailbox was completely full? And take a guess at how many items were actually LEGITIMATE pieces of mail. Four. 4. Quattro. Fyra. Quatre. I am sitting here, staring at a pile of papers that is easily 8 inches high, and this is after I've extracted the aforementioned "real" mail. There oughtta be some kind of law against junk mail, I'm telling ya! (Listen to me…I'm sounding more like my Grandmother every day… "That really jerks my chain. I'm going to write a letter!!!!!" Oh right. Writing a letter clearly wouldn't help THIS problem. Oh, the irony….)

And speaking of tangents, remember Trigonometry? (har-dee-har-har)

I had a budget meeting on Thursday that made me realize that I am at a major crossroads in my life. For a long time I've wanted to go back to school for my MBA. About 2 years ago I realized that this was NOT possible if I keep my current job…the hours are just too demanding. I gave my boss 18 months' notice last February, in hopes that I could find a better-paying, less-demanding job by August 2001 and start my MBA at my alma mater, Cleary College, in September. They have a new, intensive, one-year program, and as an alumnus, I have several advantages, most notably that I wouldn't have to take the GMAT. I was flattered to hear the Director of the Union say that she would do whatever she could to keep me on her staff and STILL allow me to go back to school….cutting back hours, dropping one facility, whatever. The only thing she CAN'T do is pay me more, which is what I really need. U of M has a fairly decent tuition reimbursement program, but there's a per-semester limit that would mean I'd only get back 5-10% of my tuition. So that's hardly worth it. If I was to take classes at U of M, I could get nearly 100% tuition reimbursement, provided that I spread out the schooling over several years. And that's, of course, if I even get *accepted* at U of M. With one of the top business schools in the nation, acceptance is questionable at best. Look at this...I've already been going on for a very LONG paragraph, and I have only mentioned about HALF of the factors weighing my decision. My point is that NOW is the time to decide, because we are preparing budgets for the 2001-2002 school year. And I hate the situation I'm in…I hate having to decide about this RIGHT now.

I was a little depressed about this whole situation, so Derek treated me to dinner Friday night at one of our favorite local bistros…Smokehouse Blues. When you sink your teeth into those juicy BBQ ribs and the lights are low and the old-time jazz surrounds you, graduate school and career choices are the last thing on your mind...even if only until the check comes. It was perfect. Smokehouse is next door to Ming Tree (formerly King Wok Express) and directly across the street from Don Carlos…three of our favorite places to eat. We call them our "Trifecta" of restaurants.

It's Saturday night, and Derek has just returned from a tournament in Jackson. He is disappointed that he's home so early, but I have to admit I'm glad he's home…not glad that he lost, but looking forward to curling up on the couch, lighting some candles, munching on some of the still-warm cookies I just baked, and watching some completely pointless TV (of course I will be folding laundry). We rented Magnolia, but I don't feel like tonight is a "Magnolia" kind of night. I'm kinda thinking Saturday Night Live is just what the doctor ordered….

January 28, 2001

When I was 14, football was my LIFE.  I could name every player on every NFL team and rattle off some pretty impressive statistics about almost every starting player and head coach.  I recorded all the scores of all the games in my little play booklet as if it was a homework assignment.  And I wasn't too bad a player either--usually chosen 4th or 5th out of 30 when we picked teams in grade school, after only the *toughest* boys my age.  But today, I am one of a handful of Americans who ISN'T glued to the television for football.  Instead I sit at the computer plunking away at the keys, listening out of the "corner of my ear" to the dull roar of the Tampa crowd on TV. I skitter to the living room only when the roar quiets and the frogs start to talk.  It's a sure sign I've outgrown my once-beloved sport:  my favorite part about Super Bowl Sunday is the commercials.

Did you know that today is the second-largest day of consumption in America?  Only on Thanksgiving do we eat more food.  And what's even more amazing is that there is a branch of the FDA whose sole responsibility it is to keep track of this information.  The way I see it, today marks our collective last brouhaha of holiday excess:  we pig out on the last Sunday in January, and then Christmas is officially OVER and we can start worrying about how we're going to look in our bathing suits again. 

This was an odd week.  On Sunday night I felt an annoying tickle in the back of my throat.  I didn't have any other cold symptoms, but it worsened on Monday at work, and that night I didn't sleep a wink.  My lungs felt like they were filled with fluid.  Sure enough…I had a bad infection, which the doc called acute bronchitis, a.k.a., "walking pneumonia."  It put me out of work and confined me to bed for 3 days, which couldn't have come at a much worse time.  Of course, there's never a good time to get sick, but I have several large programs that are at critical stages of the planning process….not to mention that it's budget time, so I'm supposed to be putting together my two budgets for the 2001-2002 academic year.  But I'm very proud of my students; they pulled everything together and handled the daily emergencies wonderfully while I was sick. 

By Thursday night I was well enough to get out of bed and have dinner with Derek.  He normally goes to a tournament in Detroit on Thursday nights, but knowing that he'd be leaving for Kentucky in only a matter of hours, he decided to stay home.  We enjoyed our Thursday TV night and shared pizza with my student manager and good friend, Katie.  She and I had a very productive conversation about next year (this is my big "crossroads" decision I mentioned last week; her future with the organization is also a factor).  We came to a decision that will, at the very least, buy us a little time to see what's going to happen in our lives before next fall.  I won't bore you with the details, but I feel much more at ease than I did last week. 

I started to rebuild my resumé on Thursday so I can start getting it "out there" to see how easy it will be to find another job.  I haven't posted it yet, but within a couple weeks I'll have it on monster.com and hotjobs.com, so I can hopefully get a few interviews.  I never had to go through that process for my current job, so at the very least, this will be good experience for when I have to do it "for real."  And if I happen to find something perfect, well then I guess I'll gladly snatch it up and consider myself a lucky fool once again. 

I mustered the energy to go in to work Friday afternoon, if only for a few hours.  There were, as expected, piles and piles of work…but there were also several really good messages regarding the big Recreation tournament I've told you about.  I now have a table tennis director from the Olympic training site in Flint, a Bowling director who is one of the top collegiate coaches in the country, and the honor of having an Olympic athlete participate in our tournament.  A student from the University of Michigan-Flint played on the Canadian Olympic team in Sydney, and he will represent his school next month at our ACUI tournament in Wayne State.  It's getting more and more exciting every day. 

Derek geared up for his week-long pool trip on Friday, tying up loose ends on all his roofing jobs so he could enjoy his vacation without worrying what's going on at home.  We spent a quiet Friday evening at home together with a late dinner of Chicken fried rice (why is it that Chinese food only tastes good when it's cooked in a restaurant by Chinese people?) and a Woody Allen movie:  Small Time Crooks.  Say what you will about Woody Allen's moral behavior (what a boob), but his movies are classic!  Derek left early Saturday afternoon and won't be back until late next weekend.  You will read a noticeable difference in the tone of my weekly news next Saturday, because by then I will be sorely missing him!

Last night my college roommate Angela (with whom I've remained very close) came over for a good old-fashioned slumber party.  I'm told it takes more than two girls to make a slumber party, so we tried to include the cats in our activities.  They amused us for a while but drew the line when we tried to paint their nails.  <wink>  So Angela and I went out to a movie:  Miss Congeniality.  We both really like it.  It was the perfect choice for our slumber party weekend.  We stayed up late, got out of bed late, and enjoyed a long, yummy, leisurely breakfast.  Derek called to let me know he'd made it safely to Kentucky and was already rubbing elbows with the world's best pool players.  Now can you see why he's been looking forward to this for so long? 

Angela and I wrapped up the party with a little shopping today and discovered the eighth wonder of the world:  Designer Shoe Warehouse.  I have a feeling I'm going to regret having found that place.  SHOES as far as the eye can see!!!  I came home with a really funky pair of sneakers with pink and black snakeskin uppers for only $5.94.  I was very proud that that's all I bought.  Then we came home for lunch, and she went home just before the Super Bowl started. 

Shortly after that, I sat down at the computer to type this message.  Now it's the end of the third quarter and I'm starting to get excited for MY Super Bowl:  the premiere of Survivor II.  The only thing I don't like so far is that all the new contestants are all model-beautiful…even the ones that are in their 60s.  I LIKED that they had Richard Hatch and Rudy the crotchety old fart last time.  If I want to see a bunch of beautiful people, I'll tune in to Baywatch!  But I'm willing to give it a try, out of respect for the first Survivor and how much I loved it then.  If I hadn't enjoyed it so much last time, I would never have met my new friend and soul sister, Holly.  I will surely have more Survivor comments next week.  Have a great week, everyone!

Betsy

P.S.  For those of you who have commented that these newsletters are more about me than about Derek, you're right!  I wish I could get him to share more of his thoughts.  But think about it…when he and I are around, which one of us does more of the talking?  Exactly.

February 4, 2001

Hi everyone!

I consumed myself with work last week, trying to catch up from the sick days I had to take the week before.  I’m still not 100% well (coughing, congested), but well enough to see how much work needs to be done.  And since Derek was gone, I was in no rush to get home, so I found myself staying at work until 10:00 or 11:00 every night.  (Don’t worry--I don’t start work at 8AM like most folks, so 10PM isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds).  I got a lot accomplished, but my cats were not the least bit pleased.  But a little can of Fancy Feast (which is a BIG treat for them) was all it took for them to muster forgiveness.

As I said, Derek’s been gone all week, and by now the critters and I are REALLY missing him.  I was actually expecting him home yesterday, but the tournament and pool action continued longer than he expected, so he stayed another day.  He should be home tonight, anxious to fill me in on all the great fun he had immersing himself in pool and hanging out with hustlers for 8 days. 

This has been a week of tournaments for me too, but at the collegiate level.  You’ve heard me talk about the upcoming regional tournament; well, this was our week for U of M campus qualification in all the events:  Spades, Foosball, Chess, 9-Ball, Table Tennis, Bowling, and Euchre.  In fact, I’m off to run the 9-ball & Euchre tournaments immediately after I finish this message.  It’s weeks like these that I don’t feel bad about regularly starting work two hours after most other people at the Union.  While I was monitoring the Foosball at 11:00 Tuesday and Wednesday nights, many of those 8AM-ers were already sound asleep!  And of course, today is Sunday.  I’ll bet a hundred bucks I don’t run into anyone else I work with today!

Thursday night I didn’t work late because that’s my sacred TV night.  I’m still irritated that the networks put my two favorites opposite each other, but I guess that’s just what they have to do.  My VCR was working overtime that night!  I was very pleased with the premiere of Survivor 2, and I really like the social diversity of the characters.  My only wish is that they’d have a few more older people and normal-looking people.  Everyone’s young and beautiful.  And while I thoroughly enjoy watching it, I know that the producers are manipulating the footage and carefully choosing *what* to show the viewers so it’s nearly impossible to predict the outcome.  I believe firmly that they did that with the first winner, Richard Hatch--that people didn’t hate him nearly as much as they made it appear, so when he DID win, it was a big surprise. 

So that being said, I’d like to go on record with my prediction:  I predict that Mike Skupin will be the winner of Survivor 2. 

Oh yeah, this week’s ER was very good too, with Kerri Weaver realizing that she might be gay. I think the writers are doing a fantastic job with that story.

Friday night a few of my students came over and brought the Coyote Ugly DVD with them.  I didn’t enjoy the movie as much as they did, but it was a fun night nonetheless.  And it certainly wasn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen.  Maybe I’m just a smidge jealous that all of the people frolicking around on the screen were young, beautiful, tall, and thin.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching an absolutely PHENOMENAL movie:  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.  Derek’s sister and her family had plans to see it downtown at 4:30, and I am SO glad that they thought to invite me.  The Chess tournament finished early (only 4 campus competitors, sad to say), so I left my car where it was and walked the 3 blocks to the theater.  If it doesn’t get nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture (and I don’t mean just Best Foreign Picture--I’d say it’s nearly guaranteed that award), the Academy will be making a horrible mistake. 

And speaking of the Oscars, I am really bummed out that I will not be able to have my friends over on Oscar night this year (it’s a pretty big event in my household).  I will be in Toronto for a work conference--which will be really cool--but the timing is crappy.  So be prepared:  I may be calling on one or two of you to set your VCRs for me!  I need it for the Sundholm film archives!  ;o)  You think I’m kidding?  Come look at my VHS cabinet one day!

Ok, I’m off to work!  Have a great week, everyone!

February 11, 2001

This was a week of highs and lows for us.  Derek returned to work and is now just *hours* away from finishing the job on the big house that’s been giving him troubles for so many months.  His muscles and joints are slowly and reluctantly readjusting to the rigors of roofing, but he is happy to be building the bank account back up again.  I had an incredibly productive week at work, as final plans for the Recreation Tournament next weekend are coming together very nicely.  It looks like we will have record numbers in attendance, including 5 schools that haven’t participated in many years. 

The low point of the week was on Wednesday evening, when we heard that our friend Ann Murphy succumbed to cancer at the age of only 46.  She was a charming, intelligent, funny, beautiful woman who we will both sorely miss. 

Derek returned from Kentucky last Sunday, exhausted from a week of late-night pool action but filled with road stories that will stick in his mind for years.  He had a memorable encounter with a player named Danny DiLiberto.  They sat near each other in the bleachers and eventually struck up conversation.  Danny started to analyze one of the matches they were watching, predicting each player’s next move.  Then he apologized, saying, “I bet you don’t want to listen to my voice going on about this match, huh?”  Derek said, “Well, believe it or not, I listen to your voice almost every day.”  When he’s not playing pool, Derek loves to watch Accu-Stats videos.  Accu-stats is a company that films matches in professional tournaments and then sells the videos, particularly videos of a game called one-pocket, with commentary by legendary players such as Grady Mathews, Billy Incardona, and--you guessed it--Danny DiLiberto.  So he got hours and hours of insightful color commentary for free, though he usually has to pay $23.95 per video for it!!! 

I think this is the first week we didn’t watch a single movie!  I worked late almost every night, and Derek has been gone almost every night to Detroit to play pool, so movies have been low on the priority list.  Oh wait…I did watch The Godfather, Part II on the USA channel today.  It loses the great Godfather effect when they break for commercials.  Still a classic though.

I was sad to see one of my favorites, Maralyn, get voted off of Survivor 2 this week, but I have to say if I was in that situation and thinking strategically, I would have voted for her too.  My prediction that Mike will win is looking grim, judging by the promos for next week.  It looks like he’s heading for the looney bin!  Surely they’ll vote him off if he keeps up his boar hunt (aka, ‘wild goose chase’)….although they might vote off the older, weaker Rodger and keep Mike for his strength.  Who knows?  (and some of you, I’m sure, are thinking, “Who cares!?”)

Tomorrow I face a new adventure:  kitchen tile work over the sink.  My old boss is coming over to espouse her grout wisdom (and share tile-cutting tools) in the afternoon.  She’s SO cool.  I have yet to discover something that woman *doesn’t* know how to do.

So with that I will close.  Next week I might have to skip the Weekly News, because I’ll be in Detroit all weekend for the big tournament I’ve been telling you about since I started writing in January.  Events wrap up late Sunday afternoon, but I’m sure by then I’ll be completely exhausted.  Let’s wait and see!

February 26, 2001

Hello again!  It’s only been 2 weeks since my last message, but it feels like months!   

On Thursday the 15th, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the dress rehearsal for the U of M student production of “The Vagina Monologues.”  My student manager and good friend, Katie, was one of the stars.  The show was on the 16th, but I had to be in Detroit that night, so I got to see the next best thing.  Sitting in an empty theater, especially one with the rich history of the Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor, is a unique experience.  I’ve never been involved in theater or the arts, so it was really cool to hang out with the girls in the show and see how much time and effort they put into the sound and lighting checks.  What a fun, dynamic group!  It made me appreciate all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a stage production.  The monologues were insightful, funny, eloquent, and inspiring, and I wish I could have been there the next night to share the experience with 1,699 other people.  The show SOLD OUT!  Well, it was free, so “sell out” doesn’t really apply.  But every seat in the theater was full. 

In the final days before the recreation tournament, 12-hour days were the rule rather than the exception for me.  I wanted everything to be *perfect*.  It’s amazing how much you enjoy pouring so much time into something when you love doing it.  I told the Regional Director of ACUI that I must resign this position next year, since I can’t do it if I’m no longer an employee of an educational institution.  It’s the one part of my U of M job that I’d hate to leave.  While it was a volunteer position, my supervisor and the director of the Union fully supported my commitment to ACUI and allowed me as much time and as many resources as needed to work on the tournament (provided, of course, that everything else was running smoothly).  So we are looking at different ways in which I can remain involved.  At the very least I will be an advisor and “coach” to the lucky soul who takes my place. 

All those hours of hard work paid off.  The Recreation Tournament was a HUGE success.  Everything went very smoothly and all the participants seemed to have a wonderful time.  Wayne State had superb facilities in which to hold the events; it’s a shame they can’t do it every year.  It’s an enormous amount of work for the host school, especially for a primarily commuter campus that doesn’t have much activity on weekends.  They had to be open and heavily staffed when they normally aren’t.  But they were all pros, and the whole weekend went off without a hitch.  In fact, all the events on campus finished early on Saturday, so the building staff didn’t have to come in on Sunday!  They were all grateful for that, and so was I, because it meant that I got to watch the last three games of bowling and present the awards myself upon completion.  Usually the event director has to do it because 2 or 3 events finish at the same time and I have to pick one.  You know me…I always pick pool.

There were some incredible performances, including a 300-game, a 9-game average of 244 (men) and 209 (women), and a table tennis match that one might expect to see in the Olympics!  U of M Flint player Kurt Liu was, in fact, on the Canadian Olympic team.  And last year’s winner, my teammate Ashoo Jain, recently won a spot on the U.S. National Team.  They played an amazing match in the finals (Liu won).  After watching those athletes perform, I can understand why they don’t like people to call it “ping pong.” 

On a sadder note, another family friend was taken by cancer last week, and while he lived a much longer life than Ann, we have a superstitious fear about who will be taken next.  My mom used to say that things like this always happen in threes.  I hope she’s wrong.

The roofing business has been slow the past couple weeks, so Derek has been reading a lot.  He stumbled onto an article about Stanley Kubrick in one of my old issues of Vanity Fair, and now he’s determined to rent every movie the man has ever made.  We started with A Clockwork Orange, which we actually saw a few weeks ago, before Derek started reading the article.  He had seen it before, but I hadn’t.  That movie was made the year I was born, but it still has social relevance today.  It was disturbing, but an important piece of movie history.  Very well made.

Next we rented Eyes Wide Shut, which we agreed was eerie and weird but--again--very well made.  It sort of reminded me of Caligula.  A lot of people thought of Kubrick as a visionary and a genius; to me he just seemed like a creepy old man.  And boy, was he sexist.  His movies are insightful and thought provoking, but I don’t see why it’s necessary to put naked women on display in order to achieve that.  Next on the docket is Full Metal Jacket, which I’m told is a very good war movie (“good war movie” is an oxymoron to me).  I’m anxious to see how he incorporates naked women into that. 

Other movies we rented recently are Anatomy of a Murder, Drowning Mona, The Watcher, and American Graffiti.  We enjoyed all of them--Drowing Mona the most.  Drowning Mona earned the prestigious Sundholm/Pogirski “We have to watch that one again” award.  It was a witty, dark comedy with an All-Star cast who gave excellent performances.  Hilarious stuff.  Derek called it “Ruthless People meets A Fish Called Wanda meets Throw Momma from the Train.” 

The Survivors have said good-bye to two castaways since my last message:  Mitchell and Kimmi.  I haven’t seen the episode with Mitchell yet because that was the night of the V.M. dress rehearsal, but a friend of mine taped it so I can see it if I would just get my butt over there to pick up the tape.  Kimmi definitely deserved to be the next to go.  I’m happy that they didn’t oust Rodger just because he was older and less athletic.  I’m sticking with my original prediction that Mike Skupin will be the winner, even though he’s had some troubles fitting in, being looked down upon as the beast slayer, and next week’s previews lead us to believe that he might be the victim of the “accident” on the show, in which they show a medical helicopter lifting away one of the castaways.  I’m anxious to see how it pans out.  I think it was Nick Brown who got injured, because they didn’t show him at all in the previews.   

We still haven’t finished the tile work in the kitchen, but at least we’ve decided on which tiles we’re going to use.  We’ve changed our minds about a half-dozen times and finally settled on fruit (mostly white with the occasional fruit tile).  They’re taped up in position so we can see how they look, just waiting for the next step (adhesive) when Deb has time to come over. 

With the warm weather and melting, the “pond” has reappeared in our back yard.  It’s even bigger than it was last year.  Derek was only half-kidding when he suggested turning on the hose and making it into an ice rink. 

Tomorrow I head up north for a few days, to take Mom out for birthday dinner and check in on my brother’s wedding plans to see if I can help.  My bridesmaid dress, which wasn’t supposed to arrive for a couple weeks, came in early.  So the timing is perfect; I can take it with me to show mom and Celina.  And…ahem….to snag Mom for her alteration expertise instead of paying big bucks for the bridal shop to do it. 

Derek and I celebrate our 10-year anniversary this year.  Can you believe it!?  We’re not married, but April 24, 1991 was our first date (also the same day Snooker came into our lives as a tiny little kitten--hard to believe she once fit in the palm of my hand).  So that’s the day we consider our anniversary.  We’ve been talking about doing something special to celebrate.  Right now our top choice would be a long weekend in Florida <Wink, wink, Mom and Ted!!!>, with maybe a day cruise out into the Gulf of Mexico.  If that doesn’t work out we’ll probably go to Chicago or Toronto.  We’d love to see the Blue Man Group again. 

Ok, I guess that’s all.  This is a whole lot easier to do when you only have to remember a week’s worth of happenings instead of two, so I think I’ll try to keep to my weekly schedule.  If it gets too boring, just let me know!  ;o)

March ?, 2001

Howdy!  This has been a wonderfully relaxing week for me, with a trip to the UP for a visit with my Mom, my brother & his fiancé, and my best friend from my Arnold years.  It was U of M's Spring Break, so one of my facilities was closed, and the other was only open half-time.  I take these rare opportunities to go on vacation myself  (otherwise I'd never get away).  The drive was taxing (I put over 1500 miles on my car), but the sun shone every day and I had no problems whatsoever with the trip.  What a life! 

Derek, on the other hand, has had a cold all week.  It's very rare that he gets a cold, but when he does, it's usually a whopper.  He's finally resting now, after several nights of tossing and turning.  Poor fella.  Truth be told, he finally took my advice and took some over-the-counter medicine instead of trying to heal himself with Vitamin C.  That's helpful, but it's just not enough. 

I enjoyed Sunday and Monday *completely* away from the Union, returned Tuesday for a half day (but with the door closed so I got SOOO much more accomplished), and departed for Arnold on Wednesday morning.  I met Mom in Escanaba (where she works) that night and treated her to a Birthday steak at a newly-renovated old restaurant/bar called the Buck Inn.  It was excellent. 

Mom had to work on Thursday morning, so I got back into the car and drove a  hundred MORE miles to the western part of the U.P. to meet Sean and Celina for breakfast.  They were kind enough to drive part-way to meet me, shortening my 3.5-hour drive to about 2.  Since we met at a restaurant (actually a casino--of which there are PLENTY in the UP), I wasn't able to try on my bridesmaid dress and model it for them, but at least they got to see it.  We talked about the wedding and Sean's new job all through breakfast.  I can't believe my baby brother is getting MARRIED.  Let's see…the magic day is May 19, so that gives me 75 days to compile my list of embarrassing childhood stories <insert demonic laughter here>. 

We finished earlier than I expected because the "kids" had to go to work, so I decided to take a different route back home and surprise Mom after her eye doctor appointment in Marquette.  I was also anxious to drive toward Bruce Crossing again, because that's where we saw a wolf last summer.  Looking at the map, I saw that the route would also take me through the site where dozens of moose were implanted (by airlift) from Canada several years ago.  I've never seen a moose, and I thought, 'Boy!  Wouldn't that be something to mention in my weekly letter!'  But <sigh>…no moose, no wolf, not even so much as a bald eagle.  Plenty of deer, raccoons, and skunks, but heck, I see THOSE in my own back yard!  But it was a gorgeous drive nonetheless.

I found a neat resort on Lake Michigamme where I'd love to spend a week this summer.  It's got everything fun about the UP packed into one place:  boating, swimming, nature hikes, fishing, and spectacular views.  There are dozens of hiking and biking trails just north of there, where the moose were released.  (One way or another, I am determined to see a moose).  In fact, were it not in April, it would be a great place to spend our anniversary. 

I met up with mom in Marquette, had a late lunch, and then headed home for the night.  I can't remember what we did that night.  Mom, do you remember?  I think it we turned in early because we were both pretty exhausted. 

On Friday, Mom had to work again, but I met her, as well as my old friend Leslie, in Escanaba for lunch.  We ate at The Swedish Pantry, which serves AWESOME Swedish food.  It was SO good.  My stomach hurts just thinking about how stuffed I was after that yummy meal.  Everyone else was having soups, salads, and sandwiches because it was lunchtime, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to sample those wonderful traditional foods.  I ordered a combination plate with a sampling of:  köttbullar (meatballs), potatiskakor (potato cakes), potatiskorv (potato sausage), and rågbröd (sweet rye bread).  On the side was cole slaw (ignored it) and whipped rutabagas (yuck, gave those to Mom).  Mmmmm, mmmm, mmmm. 

They also have a great little gift shop in the front of the restaurant with all sorts of cool Scandinavian stuff.  I found myself a great little tile/trivet for the wall in my kitchen that says "Var så god."  I was very careful to pronounce it to the old Swedish lady who was working, summoning all my memory of the Swedish I studied in college.  I thought surely if I mispronounced it, she'd be quick to correct me.  What a surprise when I took it to the counter and she said, "What does 'Varr sah godd' mean? (she butchered the pronunciation).  Nice little ego boost for Betsy.  ;o)

I was very excited to hear that I'll have another chance to see Leslie again in about a month.  Her nephew races his motorcycle competitively, and he'll be coming down to do so in the Pontiac Silverdome in April.  The whole family is coming down for the day to cheer him on.  So I've shamelessly adopted myself back into their family (it'll be just like old times, because I spent as much time at HER house when we were kids as I did at my own). 

On Friday night we hopped down to the Knotty Pine Bar for dinner and a few drinks (in our case, pop).  The Knotty Pine has a lot of memories for me.  I spent a lot of time there with my friends as a teenager, and it's where I first discovered my love of POOL!  I visited with some old friends and reveled at how all of the kids I used to babysit are all adults now.  Quite depressing.  I returned yesterday evening, exhausted, well-fed, and very pleased that I got to see my family and friends.  I think this was the first time that I've gone home to visit mom without eating a single meal at Mom's house. 

So much for my prediction that Mike Skupin would win Survivor II.  On Thursday, he fell into the campfire and burned the skin on his hands so badly that he had to be air-lifted off the show.  What an idiot.  I guess now I'm pulling for Jeff or Alicia.  I would prefer Alicia, but I think she's going to rub too many people the wrong way with her New Yorkness.  I think Jeff has the best chance of going the distance.  This week the tribes merge, and I don't think any of the Ogakor people (although I like them better) are bloodthirsty enough to play the game to WIN. 

Derek did some work for his Pool Table Business today, illness and all.  I tried to talk him out of it, but his partner can be very persistent.  As it turned out, he said, the job wasn't bad.  They replaced the felt on three pool tables in a retirement home in Ypsilanti, and everything went very smoothly.  When he got home, he finally took me up on my suggestion to take cold medicine, and is now sleeping soundly with two of the cats purring contently at his side.  He is wisely taking tomorrow off from roofing and vowing to do absolutely nothing so he can heal (although he did offer to do some laundry while I'm at work).  :o)

So now I have to get back into the "work" mode by 12:00 tomorrow.  This break was just not long enough, as always. 

Number of things on my "To Do Today" list when I got up this morning:  9

Number of things on my "To Do Today" list as of bedtime:  7

Oh well!  There's always next weekend!

March 11, 2001

It was back to the old grind this week, after a much-too-short Spring Break.  Mother Nature toyed with us on Monday, when it warmed up and out came the SUN--something we hadn’t seen in a while.  By the end of the workday, however, the temperatures had dropped drastically, turning the wet roads to ice.  I had one of the most frightening experiences of my life on the freeway on my way home.  I was in the rightmost lane of three lanes on I-94, with a semi truck on my left.  Two lanes of traffic merged with us on the right, and as luck would have it, another semi appeared to my immediate right.  We were all going about the same speed, but I needed to get over to the far right for my exit.  Because of the dropping temperatures, I didn’t want to make any sudden moves, but I sped up just enough to pass the semis and get over.  Just as I started to speed up, two cars in front of me hit some black ice and started criss-crossing over all 5 lanes.  They had completely lost control of their vehicles and were missing each other by *inches* as they criss-crossed.  There was nothing I could do but hope for the best.  I took my foot off the gas and grabbed the wheel tightly, keeping my eyes wide open in case I needed to respond.  I knew the absolute worst thing I could do was swerve.  A few seconds seemed like hours, but fortunately the cars got out of the way.  One spun off into the right ditch (unhurt) and the other recovered from his spin and kept going.  I let the semis pass me as I slowed to about 30 mph (along with nearly every other driver who had just witnessed it) and crept over onto my exit.  Whew!  Was I glad to finally get home!

On Tuesday we started a series of phone interviews to fill my supervisor’s vacant position.  I’m happy to be on the selection committee, but it’s very time-consuming.  We narrowed the initial batch of applicants down to about 12 before phone interviews, but each interview takes about 30 minutes.  While very interesting, it eats a big chunk out of one’s day!  So far I am really pleased with the diversity and qualifications of the applicants.  It will be very difficult to decide which ones get to come to campus for a personal interview.  A side benefit of serving on the committee is that I’m learning some things about interviewing that will help me in my own upcoming job search.  I’ve never had to interview for a job!  I learned about it and conducted simulated interviews in several classes and workshops, but I have gotten all my jobs by luck of the draw or just “moving up,” none of which required formal interviews.  I have to say it’s one thing I’m not looking forward to.

The weather is not QUITE warm enough to start roofing again full-throttle, which is fine by Derek, because he’s not ready to give up his pool night life yet either.  He has been helping his sister with their student rental properties one day a week, a never-ending list of odds and ends.  There are a lot of things they need to do when the students are gone, so Spring Break was an important week.  April and May will be very busy times for both roofing and the houses.

He was very excited on Wednesday to receive by UPS the last piece of his golf net for the back yard.  After talking about it for years, he finally went and ordered the darn thing.  (I swear, if they made an attachment for our John Deere that picked up golf balls like the carts at a driving range, he would BUY one and hit balls into the field behind our house).  I think he will have paid off the net in a month with money saved at the driving range.  He also got gym mats for the basement--you know, those ones that fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle--and has all his exercise equipment set up down there.  He has a new weightlifting contraption that he’s very excited about.  He got it from a friend for about 1/10 of the original price.  I’m pretty excited about it too.  Maybe we can get motivated and work out together a few days a week in our new little “gym.”  I’ll have to start off with the easiest one--the stationary bike--and maybe a little weightlifting.  We’ll see how that goes!

On Thursday evening my good friend and former student employee, Julie, came over for a Thursday night tradition:  baking chocolate chip cookies during all the good TV shows.  Last year, we did it pretty often--at least once a month.  But we hadn’t done it since October, so it was that much more enjoyable.  We had a great time chatting away…and topped the night off with a yummy cookie sandwich:  warm out-of-the-oven cookies on top and bottom, and a small scoop of ice cream in the middle.  MMmmmmmmm.  Even more reason to hit that exercise equipment!

Well, my Survivor hopes were dashed once again, as my next-place choice to win the game got voted off.  Last week I wrote, “I think Jeff has the best chance of going the distance.”  Well he got the boot this week, all because of his SINGLE vote from Debb in the first episode, which Kimmi (big mouth) leaked to the other tribe before she left.  Darn.  I’d like to hope that Alicia will win, but her odds are substantially lower now.  Ogakor is in a position of great advantage, since they have 5 remaining members to Kucha’s 4.  They all have very strong tribal loyalties, and I believe the Ogakors will try to pick off the Kuchas one by one.  But who knows what will happen as the days go on and NEW loyalties begin to form!  I sincerely hope Jerri is the next to go.  I think she should have been gone a long time ago.

Derek left for a tournament in Toronto in the afternoon on Friday, so I went in for a while in the morning, and then returned home to see him off for his Canadian adventure.  I returned to the Union for an evening program called “Michigras,” Michigan’s version of Mardi Gras.  It’s one of many programs the U does for Little Sibs’ Weekend.  Hundreds of students came to the Union with their little brothers and sisters, ranging in age from 4 to 17, and they all had a blast playing blackjack and roulette with chips, which they could later trade in for raffle tickets to win prizes.  I got a nifty court-jester hat out of the deal, in the traditional Mardi Gras colors, which the cats LOVE.  It has about a dozen dangling bells…what more could a cat want?

On Saturday afternoon I volunteered at U of M’s Dance Marathon, where a couple hundred VERY energetic students danced for 30 hours straight to raise money for children’s hospitals.  There are hundreds and hundreds of volunteers who come to cheer them on, and “moralers” who come in lengthy shifts to keep up the dancers’ enthusiasm levels, give them massages and encouragement, and dance with them.  There is also food and constant entertainment for the dancers (they needn’t dance the whole time; only stay on their feet), so my friend and former boss Deb does “Artsbreak,” where they can come and make artsy-craftsy stuff while staying on their feet.  Last year they made photo frames out of Popsicle sticks, and took a Polaroid shot while dancing to put into the frame.  This year they made baseball cards, with their photo on front and “stats” on back.  It was loads of fun, especially seeing all the courageous little kids from the hospitals.  Some of them could barely walk, but their smiles were a mile wide, and they did their best to boogie with the dancers.  The excitement and determination in their eyes was truly inspirational.

Today I did lots of housecleaning and laundry (still not caught up, of course) and prepared a huge feast for my two student managers who work so hard throughout the year.  We enjoyed grilled steaks, lettuce salad, red potatoes with garlic and dill butter, broccoli/raisin/bacon salad (tastes MUCH better than you might expect), lasagna, veggie squares, and biscuits.  We all stuffed ourselves silly and then sat down to watch “Me, Myself, and Irene.”  I also watched the classic “Caddyshack” while cleaning and cooking today.  Yesterday I took in the original “Godfather” on TNT, and this morning taped “Eat, Drink, Man, Woman” by Ang Lee on Bravo so I can watch it later.  I was so pleased with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” that I will seize every opportunity to see his work from now on. 

Finally, Derek came home to me late tonight, and we are about to turn in after an exhausting weekend.  He shared more great pool stories--this time about how the French Canadians (of which there were many in the tournament) are entirely different from all the other Canadians we know.  He said he felt like he was in a different country.  Oh wait.  He WAS in a different country.  (LOL).  But really, he said he felt like he was in Paris or something--they all dress very nicely, smoke fancy cigarettes, and are rude to Americans.  The Canadians we know are all basically Detroiters who live on the other side of the river!

Next weekend he heads to the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant for one of the last tournaments of the year.  I might actually go with him this time!  My aunt and uncle will be in Lansing (he’ll be refereeing the state finals of high school basketball), and we’re hoping to get together with them for dinner and maybe some fun at the gambling tables.  However, since Uncle Joe went to high school with and was a longtime buddy of Mike Izzo’s (Michigan State’s head coach), I think they might choose to visit Mike, who’s something of a celebrity in Michigan, instead of us.  I can’t blame them; I would probably do the same thing!  ‘

Have a fantastic week!!!

March 20, 2001

I’m a few days late with this week’s “newsletter” as I’ve started to call it.  It’s been a flurry of activity around here, so it’ll be tough to keep this short. 

I came home to an empty house Monday evening (3/12), soon to find that the light was on in the big garage.  I went out to find Derek and his buddy Brian giggling like schoolgirls…well, at least to the extent that full-grown men--roofers no less--can giggle.  He had called Brian, a good friend and fellow golf nut, over to help assemble his new golf net.  It’s like a new toy (a very BIG toy).  But I can already imagine how much dough he’ll save by practicing at home instead of at the driving range.  Now I know where to find him if his car is home but he’s nowhere to be found. 

I’ve always been too sheepish for my own good, but on Wednesday I became--if only for a day--the Queen of Confrontation.   In the morning I fired a student whose performance and attitude have been horrible since day one.  Rather than racing to get it over with as quickly as possible like I usually do when I have to fire someone, I really let him have it…for a good 20 minutes.  He argued; I rebutted.  It was GREAT!!!!  How liberating!  Later that day I initiated a very frank discussion with a co-worker who’s been annoying the H*** out of me with his odd office behavior (addressing personal style differences like this is something I would normally NEVER do).  Finally, that night I told a good friend something that she didn’t want to hear, but that was the truth.  Again:  telling a friend something that’s painfully true but not necessary is I would normally never do.  There’s something to be said for turning 30!  Looks like I grew a backbone!

That night, I accompanied Derek to one of his weekly tournaments in Warren.  I had a BLAST!!!  I met up with my college roomie Angela and shared laughs at the pool hall over ginger ale (me) and a coke (her).  We giggled at a couple of drunk guys who were torn between staying for more beer, or making it for ‘last call’ at White Castle.  Ultimately they gave in to their beef craving and left, but not before we convinced them that she and I were BOTH Derek’s girlfriend, and they stared at him in awe.  “Wow!  That guy plays pool great, AND he has two women!!!”  We could hardly keep a straight face.  Angela’s husband later joined us, and he got a big kick out of our story.  Then all 3 of us cheered Derek on to a 5th-place finish in the tournament.  He was hoping to improve on his 3^rd-place finish last week, but it just wasn’t in the cards (or in the pool balls, as the case may be).

Early in the week I started to chat with a man I’ve seen on the bus nearly every day for at least a year.  He doesn’t seem very outgoing, and his clothes and belongings are always slightly worn/dirty.  I get the impression that he doesn’t have a family or very many friends.  The possibility that he was homeless crossed my mind, but I noticed that he always wears clean, relatively expensive shoes.  Intrigue has gotten the best of me over the months we’ve shared a bus, so I’ve tried making eye contact with him several times lately, in hopes to strike up a conversation.  But he seems extremely shy and rarely looks up.  I finally caught his eye and said hello on Monday, but a nod and an apprehensive smile back was all I could get. 

But by Friday, using a little of that leftover “Queen of Confrontation” gumption, I had him chatting away.  Now he seems very happy to have made a new friend, and he initiates conversations with me instead of the other way around.  It turns out he’s a professor at U of M.  Can you believe it!!!!  He teaches Greek and Latin, and speaks at least 6 other languages fluently.  Judging by his accent (and the fact that he is black), I think he is African, but I can’t be sure.  He said he’s been to all the countries that “own” the languages he’s learned, but can’t really decide which place he enjoyed most because he didn’t get to do much while he was there.  “Too busy indoors studying.”  That’s really all I’ve had time to learn because my bus ride is only about 3 minutes long, but this is one individual I am anxious to learn more about.  I’m sure he has some fascinating stories to tell! 

On Friday, Derek left for a weekend tournament Mount Pleasant, the home of Soaring Eagle Resort & Casino.  We had been there once before for a tournament and really enjoyed ourselves, so even though I wasn’t going to play, I decided to drive up for an overnight stay on Saturday.  I am not a big casino gambling fan (pool gambling is another story), but we had some fun playing the slot machines.  What I enjoyed most were the whirlpool (aahhhhh), meals, and, as usual, visiting with old friends from the pool world. 

Derek’s traveling partner is a high-stakes Craps player, so he gets nearly everything for free when he goes to casinos.  He treated us to dinner at the Resort’s steakhouse on Saturday night.  We were seated really late, so the service was poor and the food was just good (not excellent like they said it had been the night before).  But the appetizers were two of the best I’ve ever had:  marinated Portobello with herbs and tomato sauce, topped with parmesan, accompanied by sea scallops wrapped in bacon, served with herbed rice on the side.  Mmmmmmm!!!! 

It was a HUGE tournament, so there were bunches of people from years past that we had a rare opportunity to chat with.  Derek played well but did not take home any winnings.  Usually if you win twice as many as you lose, you finish “in the money,” but for some reason 4 wins and 2 losses was not enough to get any cash back this time. 

We slept in on Sunday and checked out of the resort around 11:30.  We stuck around long enough to have the buffet (for free thanks again to Mike) and play a few more slot machines, then headed home.  On Sunday night, for a change, we did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  There was a TV, a couch, and a bowl of snacks involved, but nothing else!

On Monday evening we finished the next phase of our kitchen tile work:  We stuck the tiles to the wall…for good this time, not just with duct tape!  Thanks to Deb’s expertise and a little elbow grease from all of us, they look great.  But even with my 5 trips to Lowe’s, we still do not have everything we need.  We have one more row to lay before we can mix the grout.  Derek did not have exactly the right kind of saw for what we needed, so it was hard to cut with the precision that was necessary.  So I need to pick up a few more tiles to re-cut.  Deb says she expects me to have the other two walls in the kitchen measured, cut, and adhered by the time she comes back in two weeks, so we can grout the whole darn thing at once.  After working with me for so many years, she really knows how to motivate me!  We’re using all white (no decorative tiles) on the other walls, so it will be much easier.  I think I am going to go for it!

Correction to last week’s news:  Michigan State’s head coach is TOM Izzo, not Mike.  (I’m sure you all noticed and were FUMING at such an egregious oversight!)

Talk to you again soon!

April 1, 2001

Hello!  What a horrible surprise to wake up to an inch of snow this morning (you other Michiganders will sympathize).  Even though it hasn't been especially sunny lately, the warmer temperatures were very, very welcome.  Considering today's date, is it too much to hope for someone to pop in and say, "April Fool!" and make the snow disappear? 

I have to warn you: this week's newsletter is a lot more about me than Derek.  It's usually slanted in my direction, but this time it's dramatically so.  I was gone for six days, during which Derek worked and we didn't speak very much.  So to be honest, I don't know a lot about what happened in his life during that time.  

It's been a while now since I've written, so turn back your imagination to Wednesday, March 21.  That was the first day I played a computer game called "Snood," against which I am now battling full-blown addiction.  This happens to me every now and then.  I don't play computer games very often, but every once in a while, one comes along that grabs me.  Then I have to play it until I can figure out the secret.  After that, I completely lose interest and often never play again.  So far I have "conquered" only 27 of the 50 levels on Snood, so it might be a longer battle than I anticipated. 

That night, I finally sat down to the computer and figured out how to use the software that makes CDs.  I cleaned out our office closet in the process, frantically searching for the blank CD we got with the purchase of the computer in June.  They give you so much CRAP with anything you buy these days--who really has time to look through it all until you need something specific? 

As I've said before, we are more than happy with our house, but I think every new homeowner talks about the 'final touch' that would make it just perfect.  For me it would be a deep, spacious bathtub for soaking and bubbling and losing oneself.  This was not a priority for Derek until he decided to take a bath last week to ease his aching muscles (roofing is *very* demanding on the body, especially after not doing it very much through the winter).  Our little tub has an overflow-prevention valve that only allows the water to fill up to about 6 or 8 inches.  So we shared a "wouldn't it be nice…." thought that day, and then I forgot about it.  But he didn't.  I woke up Thursday morning to hear him on the phone asking a friend (the contractor who built our big garage) about how much it might cost, how much time it will take, and how much room we need for a bathtub/jacuzzi in our master bathroom.  I'm not getting my hopes up for it to happen right away, but at least we've planted the seed. 

I'm losing my student staff like flies.  I felt no choice but to fire another one who didn't show up for her scheduled shift on Friday the 23rd.  For a long time I have wondered:  are the quality and work ethic of students getting lower, or are my standards getting higher?  What I LOVE about my job is that I work with students.  What I HATE about my job is that I work with students. 

On Saturday the 24th, when I normally would have been composing my weekly tome to you, I was on a train to Toronto for the annual conference of the Association of College Unions International (this is the same organization for which I coordinate the annual recreation tournament).  What a nice ride!!!!  To me, the train is the best way to get to Toronto, or anywhere within 6 hours for that matter.  Driving might be slightly faster, but LOOK OUT! when you get there and have to pay for parking.  And I think you all know how I feel about planes <shiver>.

We arrived around 6:00 p.m. and, after settling into our rooms, sought restaurant advice from the bellman.  We decided to try a seafood restaurant called Filet of Sole, a few short blocks from the hotel.  The atmosphere was superb, highlighted by a gigantic octopus made of cracked glass and orange marbles, hanging upside-down from the ceiling.  His tentacles spanned at least 30 feet of the ceiling.  The food was just so-so, and the service could have been better.  But having not had lunch, we were all so hungry that we didn't care.  And the octopus kept us amused for a while.

On Sunday morning we conference-goers were invited to our choice of tours of the city.  I picked the Art Gallery of Ontario and Textiles Museum.  They were both wonderful highlights, with my only complaint being that they crammed into two hours what a person could *easily* spend a whole day enjoying.  That afternoon was the opening keynote, with a lot of speakers (yawn) and a Native American elderwoman offering a spiritual blessing for all 900 of us.  We also heard from Diane Dupuy, founder of the Famous People Players, which I'll explain more below.  After our regional meetings in the late afternoon (the country is divided into 15 geographical regions), we reconvened for the opening banquet.  More speeches, awards, blah blah blah.   

After dinner we enjoyed a theatrical performance by Toronto's "Famous People Players," a black-light puppetry troupe consisting mainly of performers who are developmentally challenged.  It was an utterly amazing show.  The performance would have been impressive if the puppeteers were what we call "normal."  But considering their obstacles and how beautifully they brought their puppets to life, every audience member was blown away.  The troupe has opened for Liberace in Las Vegas, did a brief stint on Broadway in the 80s, and has wowed audiences in Asia, but now they have settled down to a regular dinner theater in Toronto.  If you ever find yourself in Toronto MAKE TIME to go see their show.  You won't regret it.

I raced out of the opening banquet to my friends Kelli and Benita's room to catch what was left of the Oscars.  I really missed being home to have an Oscars Party like last year.  But we made the most of it, enjoying all the glitz and glamour as best we could on the tiny hotel room TV.  Like every year, I picked my winners in all the major categories before the show started.  I couldn't beat my record from last year:  17 of 19 winners.  This year I only picked 11 <sigh>.  Truth be told, there were some pretty big upsets:  Marcia Gay Harden as Best Supporting Actress and Russell Crowe as Best Actor.  I think Kate Hudson and Tom Hanks were the favorites in those categories.  I love Julia Roberts and am glad she won, but I thought her speech bordered on pompous.  Russell Crowe, on the other hand, seemed honestly surprised when his name was called.  I don't particularly care for him as a celebrity (role model), but unlike Julia's, his speech was humble and articulate.  I was also impressed by Bob Dylan's acceptance.  I've never been a big fan of his or really enjoyed his music, but I appreciate his poetry and talent for making music, and even moreso applaud his no-bullshit attitude.  And his speech, reflective of that attitude, was humble and honest.       

Monday was less exciting (workshops, education sessions, and keynote speakers), but we did have a fun dinner out at "The Bishop and The Belcher," a nifty pub that offers American, Mexican, British, and Indian food (yes, you did read that right).   There were too many items on the menu to choose.  Ultimately I decided to try a Cornish pasty, more out of curiosity than anything else.  I had to see if they were anything like the pasties we had when I was a kid (which I always thought were a Scandinavian creation, not Cornish).  To my Yooper friends and family: rest assured that ours are MUCH better.  They're bigger, moister, and tastier.  

After dinner the whole conference constituency went to Hart House, which is U of Toronto's version of a student union.  It's a spectacular old building, but its gothic style sort of creeped me out.  It was a very fun night, though, because I agreed to be on our team for the Battle of the Regions, a tournament in the "varsity sport of the mind," College Bowl.  It's a Jeopardy-style quiz game but with teams of four and, in my opinion, much harder questions.  After a long history of losing in the first round, we managed to take THIRD place!  It was a blast. 

After that, there wasn't much time to explore the building, but I did see their great hall, our version of a ballroom, with 50-foot ceilings and stunning stained glass.  And they served finger desserts and coffee with musical accompaniment from a very talented student pianist.  The baklava was the 2nd best I've ever had (the best being the scrumptious stuff that Derek's mom, Carol, makes for special occasions). 

Tuesday was my favorite day of the conference.  I attended two ed sessions and a keynote in the morning, a trip to the top of the CN Tower at lunchtime, and a FABULOUS tour in the afternoon.  They took 50 of us by busload to the Spadina Museum and Casa Loma.  The Spadina Museum is the historically preserved 1866 home and gardens of wealthy Toronto financier James Austin.  It was very interesting, but in retrospect I wish they'd saved more time for us to see Casa Loma, which is next door.  It's a Medieval-style castle built in 1911 to suit the eccentric tastes of Toronto businessman Sir Henry Pellatt.  The cost:  $3.5 million (remember, that was in 1911).  The number of years and men it took to build:  3;300.  The number of years he got to live there before going bankrupt:  9.  Well, HELLO-ooo!!!!  I'm not a wealthy financier but even I could figure out that sinking one's entire wealth into a castle just *might* be a tad risky.  This tour is another thing I would HIGHLY recommend if you find yourself on Toronto, looking for something to do.

That night I went to dinner with the International Recreation Committee, discussing plans for the future considering we've just lost our biggest sponsor, Brunswick Billiards.  It was actually quite an honor for me, a mere Regional Coordinator, to be invited along with the International Directors.  Although the conversation was a little depressing, the food was fabulous.  I don't even remember the name of the place, but it was Italian.  My involvement in ACUI, particularly on the Recreation Committee, is what I will probably miss the most about leaving the University of Michigan.  If I weren't planning to leave, I would definitely set my sights on one of the positions on the International Team.

After three consecutive nights of constant activity and very little sleep, my roommate Debbie and I decided to turn in early.  We rented "The Contender" on the hotel TV and watched in our PJs.  The plot had a lot of holes, but I can see why Joan Allen and Jeff Bridges were nominated for their performances.  It was very similar to Primary Colors, although I didn't enjoy that as much.  Kathy Bates should have been nominated for an Oscar for her role in that movie.  I'm still pissed off about that.  

Wednesday was the last day of the conference, and not a day too soon.  I attended the now-ritual ed sessions in the morning, conference lunch at noon <more speakers and a promotion for next year's conference in Albuquerque>, and my final and most disappointing city tour in the afternoon.  They called it a Tour of Toronto, but basically the bus just zigzagged down all the streets we'd already become pretty familiar with after having been there for 4 days.  It wasn't a bad tour--just could have been a little more inclusive.  We really only saw downtown.

The grand finale of the conference was the closing dinner, the only time during which everyone was encouraged to get dressed up.  And if we hadn't gotten our share of speakers and awards by now, they were sure to give us some more.  This was actually not bad, because they gave the "BIG" award of the year to Susan Maul, the Director of the University of Illinois Union.  This award is presented each year in the style of a good old-fashioned roast.  Susan was born in China and although she grew up in the states and speaks English very well, she still gets some phrases mixed up.  The man who presented the award shared many embarrassing stories (at times making Susan want to crawl under her seat), but the funniest was his recollection of how she once confused two popular American idioms and combined them into:  "Shit or get out of the kitchen."   I've been giggling about that one ever since.  In fact, I may use it sometime!!!!

Exhausted, my U of M compatriots and I returned home on Thursday.  I could feel the beginnings of a head cold by Wednesday night, so the trip back was less than pleasant.  Derek was anxious to regale me with stories of his trips to the Motor City Casino while I was gone.  You see: he knows a secret to the slot machines.  It's not a guarantee, but it's a clue that some machines give when they are about to pay off.  So for someone with a keen eye and some time to kill, there is a profit to be made.  He has played the slots several times now, and although I'm probably his biggest skeptic, he hasn't lost any money.  His winnings have been meager so I'm not jumping on the bandwagon just yet, but he usually comes home with more money in his pocket than when he left. 

Friday at work was miserable, but I knew things would only be worse if I waited until Monday to go into the office.  So I struggled through the day and collapsed at home on Friday night.  Derek made another evening jaunt to the casino and came home $250.00 richer this time, which pleased the cats and "momma" just fine.  We rented "Meet the Parents," with which we were both a little disappointed, and "A Bug's Life," which I loved, like most Disney animated films. 

Derek left Saturday morning for a pool tournament in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I slept nearly all day.  It was a strange sort of flu bug, which didn't have much in the way of congestion, but kept me coughing and completely wiped me out.  The good thing is it's mostly gone already.  I have only a little cough, which is how it all started.  Derek returned from Fort Wayne less than an hour ago, having finished 16th out of 96 in the tournament.  And I'm afraid he's got the cold now.

We're both looking forward to the next few weeks and hope that they return to us a sense of normalcy.  Derek knows that roofing jobs will abound as the weather warms, so he will gradually turn his attention from pool to work and, of course, golf.  I picked up some great gardening tips from my co-workers on the train, so I'm hatching some ideas for my flower garden this year.  I'm also about to launch my job search (I can't believe April 1 got here so fast).  We are also anxious to see Derek's parents, who return from Florida this month.  And the final steps of laying our kitchen tile still await, so we have plenty to look forward to in April!

Peace and love to you all,

Betsy & Derek

P.S. To my friend in California, Holly, whose weekly note (like mine) talked about the happenings in her vegetable garden, which is almost ready for harvest, GRRRRRR!!!

April 7, 2001

Today is a very special day in Ann Arbor community, particularly around the U of M campus.  The first Saturday in April is a day of rebellious celebration for some, an annual menace to others.  Thousands of folks come from near and far to share a common love.  Ah yes, today is Ann Arbor’s famous Hash Bash.  Weedapalooza.  Grass day.  A day when it appears, for all intents and purposes, that marijuana is legal…at least in the 1/2-mile square called “the diag.”  As I gaze out over the horizon, if I look very closely (and *really* use my imagination), I can see Ann Arbor, engulfed in a happy, mellow, munchie-inducing cloud of smoke.   

This was a pretty uneventful week for us.  The flu bug that wiped me out last weekend was NOT gone like I thought.  It kept me home from work on Monday, and the hacking cough has stuck around all week.  For the first few nights of the week, I got very little sleep.  The few naps I could take were very restless because I was constantly awakened by the cough.  Now, unfortunately, I’ve passed it along to Derek.  He’s been sleeping in our “cat-free” guest bedroom all week because his allergies occasionally flare up, and he has to go where there is as little cat hair as possible.  Also, with my coughing, there’s no way he’d be able to get any sleep either.  The back bedroom is the one place in the house that is Off-limits to the cats, so he can sleep fairly peacefully in there.  But it drives the cats NUTS when there’s a closed door and they know someone is on the other side of it. 

This week we broke out the barbecue grill and have “charred mammal flesh” as the Coneheads would say it, nearly every night.  Boy, do I enjoy not having pots and pans to clean! 

Yesterday (Friday) we went to the Motor City Casino in Detroit for Derek to once again test his slot machine skills.  I’m not a big fan of hanging out in the game room, especially on a Friday night when it’s so crowded, so shortly after we got there I found a lounge and read the newspaper.  We had a nice dinner at a Mid-Eastern restaurant in the casino called “La Shish.”  We had Derek’s favorite, stuffed grape leaves, for an appetizer.  He ordered a beef shish kebab, and I chose the sautéed lamb with vegetables.  It was excellent!  And to make it even more memorable, there was a belly dancer doing her thing throughout the whole meal to LIVE music by 3 old men and 3 even older instruments.  Like I said, it was memorable! 

Derek’s slot machine venture paid off again, and we came home with $170.00 more than we had when we got there, less the $50.00 for the meal at La Shish.  So all in all, a good night!

On the way home we had a scary experience with a Detroit thug.  A lot of the freeways are shut down on weekends for construction, so we had to drive out of downtown on city streets.  Some areas of Detroit are just fine, but our route took us through some pretty rough neighborhoods.  It was 2AM so there weren’t many cars on the road, but we noticed that there was this one vehicle that was purposely driving at the same speed as us, on my side of the car.  Whenever we came to a stoplight, he would make sure he was right next to us.  I glanced over just once, and he was the meanest looking dude I’ve ever seen.  And he did NOT look happy.  So I made sure not to look back in that direction again.  I could tell he was trying to get our attention, but I ignored it.  He was not just looking to make friendly conversation.  The last couple lights we stopped at, I could hear him shouting something to get our attention, and his tone was clearly not that of “Hey, how y’all doin?”  I started to get *really* scared; this guy definitely looked like someone who’d have a gun, and for some reason he didn’t like us.  Fortunately, he finally made a right turn without any confrontation (ironically he turned as soon as we reached the Detroit City Limits), but as he turned and we kept going, he laid on his horn and shouted some more angry words at us.  We were both very relieved to have *that* little episode over with.  

Snood update:  I have conquered 43 of the 50 levels on this terribly addictive game.  Katie, who got me hooked on the darn thing in the first place, crowned herself “queen” this week by finishing all 50 levels.  I don’t know if I’ll EVER manage to do that.  The high ones are very tough.  If any of you are dying of curiosity about this game, go to www.snood.com and you can download it.  But I’m warning you!  It’s like a drug, man!

This morning we slept in, had a late breakfast at our favorite breakfast place (a truck stop called Chesy’s), and went shopping for a tie.  Derek is going to be an usher in my brother’s wedding, so we thought it would be nifty if his tie matched my bridesmaid dress.  As luck would have it, we found a great shirt to go with the tie, and MAN does he look sharp!  I think we can safely say it will be the first and only time he will wear PURPLE. 

After our 1-hour shopping spree (that’s Derek’s idea of a shopping marathon), we came home and watched the Master’s golf tournament while running laundry and some other overdue chores.  Tiger Woods is absolutely amazing.  Oh how I wish I’d asked for his autograph back in 1991, at the ripe young age of 15, when we watched him play at Radrick Farms. 

I also dug up some of last year’s dead flowers and started to prep my flowerbed for next month’s planting.  I am happy to see some stray tulips coming up, which the previous owner of this house must have planted 2 years ago.  I must have clipped them last year before they had a chance to grow.  I like what Derek’s mom calls these unexpected surprise flowers:  “Volunteers.”  :o)

After playing in the garden for a while I came in and posted my resume on monster.com.  It still needs some fine-tuning, but at least it’s out there.  I’m not optimistic, though, considering the market and the downturn all the economists are predicting.  We’ll see what happens!

Peace and love to you all,

Betsy & Derek

April 15, 2001

Last Sunday I joined up with my old friends who lived across the street when I grew up.  My best friend from those years is Leslie, whose nephew was to race his 4-wheeler at the Pontiac Silverdome.  There was a dirt track already set up for the Supercross, which was Friday and Saturday night, so they used it for the National Amateur championship on Sunday.  A bunch of his aunts, uncles, and cousins drove all the way from the UP to watch him race.  Unfortunately, they were running *really* behind schedule, so I never got to see Kevin race.  But I spent several hours hanging out with the family, which was just like old times.

Monday was an extra special day at work because it was MEATLOAF day!  I have the convenience and good fortune of a very good restaurant in the Michigan Union, which serves a full daily lunch menu PLUS an extensive salad bar for a very good price (especially for staff).  And along with a handful of other carnivorous co-workers, I get very excited when meatloaf day rolls around.  It’s the best meatloaf ever.  We get WAYYYY too excited about it. 

Monday was a far more exciting day for Derek than for me.  Rather than singing the praises of ground beef like me, he went to Windsor, Canada for a consultation at the Windsor Laser Eye Institute to find out whether he is a good candidate for Lasik surgery.  He has been considering this surgery since he first started hearing about R/K 5 or 6 years ago.  But Lasik is more advanced, faster, cheaper, and requires less than 24 hours’ recovery time.  His vision is pretty bad, so they couldn’t tell him yeah/nay until after the head honcho looked at his chart.  So he had to wait all week for the results of the test.

After the visit to Windsor, Derek took his sister, Kristin, who so generously drove him home from the pupil-dilating experience across the border, to the Motor City Casino to share his slot machine mastery.  That evening we got to know our neighbors a little better.  We’ve had a slightly rocky road with them since we moved in, but we’re *gradually* coming to a place where we can be a little more than civil. 

On Tuesday I finally got a big monkey off my back by getting a pocketless 3-cushion billiards table, which was being donated by the family of a 1930s faculty member (now deceased), moved out of the family home and into the Union.  I also got my teeth cleaned and dental X-rays taken that day (yippee! no cavities!)  Derek was a BIGGGGG winner at the casino on Tuesday, coming home with a nifty $800 in his pocket.  We celebrated by going to the grocery store (how exciting).  We hadn’t been shopping in several weeks, since that was the last time we were both home in the evening to do it. 

Wednesday was an emotionally distressing day for me, finding out that one of my friends is having a very rough period in her life, and even more disturbingly, that another close friend has developed racist and homophobic behavior.  I guess it’s the feeling of helplessness is what distresses and depresses me…knowing that I can’t help the friend who’s having trouble and I can’t change the person who’s developed this awful hate.  I left work early that day--just not in a state of mind in which I could expect to get anything accomplished or even dream of providing any kind of quality service to any customers. 

Talking about my Wednesday strife with a few friends, one of whom is a social worker who gave me excellent advice about how to approach the racism/homophobia problem, really picked me back up by Thursday.  I don’t remember a single thing about what happened at work, and that’s a GOOD thing.  At home I made my favorite at-home meal, Chicken Marsala, for dinner.  Derek turned in early after a hard day’s work without having had enough sleep the night before, but I stayed up to clean the kitchen and watch my beloved Thursday-night TV lineup.  I was surprised to see that Amber got the boot on Survivor.  So far the only Ogakor member who has stayed true to their original pledge to vote off all the Kuchas one by one is Colby.  He gave in when the rest of the gang wanted to oust Jerri, but he clearly had a bout with his conscience over it.  I think Colby’s loyalty will weigh heavily on the jury.  At this point he is my favorite to win the whole shebang.  I firmly believe Keith is the next to go.  NBC aired what I think was the E/R pilot last week (if anyone knows differently, please let me know).  I love to see early episodes of any show, so you can see how much the characters have evolved.  I think the one who’s changed the most is Benton. 

Derek got a message from the Windsor Laser Eye Institute on Thursday that he IS a candidate for Lasik.  His big date is May 24.  Keep your fingers crossed for an easy-as-pie surgery and speedy recovery! 

I worked on Friday night, so Derek went to the casino again.  He came home slightly ahead, but not before digging himself into a pretty big hole.  He hit a jackpot at the last minute to pull ahead, but after being down all night he didn’t feel like a winner.  But he learned a good lesson, and so did I.  From now on, the ATM and credit cards come OUT of the pocket and go into Betz’s purse before he leaves for the casino. 

Friday night was the opening reception of the College Unions Poetry Slam, of which I have been a planning committee member all year.  Student poets from Yale, UC Berkeley, our own Michigan, Louisiana State University, Case Western Reserve University, Southern University, and Eastern Michigan University came to our fine city to knock heads in a performance poetry playoff.  Slamming is something that is growing rapidly in popularity across the country, because it is a fun, exciting way to hear original poetry performed by the artist.  This ain’t no boring scholar reading words from a page that put you to sleep.  This is pulse-pounding, ass-kicking, blood-pumping, SLAMMING!!!!  Friday was the first time they met each other, and based on their impromptu introductory pieces, I picked UC Berkeley, Michigan, and Yale for the top 3 finalists. 

Saturday was a LONG day for Derek on a rooftop in Madison Heights and for me at the Michigan Union.  I arrived at 11AM to help set up for the preliminary Slam rounds.  The most outstanding thing about this competition is that while every single person on every team wants to win so badly they can TASTE it, they show tremendous support for their opponents, whom they just met less than 24 hours before.  I witnessed some of the best performances of my life that day, and when 10PM rolled around and I could finally go home, it was worth every minute. 

But going home was not in the cards for me, as Derek’s sister was having a party to celebrate her brother-in-law’s new marriage.  We went over to their house for several hours and had a ball.  It’s a darn good thing Derek didn’t have to work Sunday morning and I didn’t have to “report for duty” until 12:30, because we were SOOOOOOO tired. 

Sunday afternoon, yes, EASTER Sunday (not my idea) was the finals of the 1st annual College Unions Poetry Slam.  As I predicted, Yale, Berkeley, and Michigan made it to the finals.  (I will probably write more about this next week because of its impact, but for now I am running out of time).  Based on my recount of the fantastic performances on Saturday, Derek even decided to head to the Union to be a witness.  I can’t begin to explain to you how talented and expressive and insightful and funny and giving these poets are, but the experience has changed my life.  This weekend taught me that I should have more poets and artists in my life…or maybe just more poetry and more art.   

Peace and love to you all,

Betsy & Derek

April 22, 2001

Hello!

Since I worked 20 hours over the weekend at Poetry Slam, my interim supervisor was more than understanding when I asked to come in late on Monday. This was a meeting-intensive week for me, as we finished on-campus interviews and tours with the 5 final candidates for my boss' job. Selection by team is a democratic and enriching process, but it's very time-consuming. Fortunately, the hard work seems to have paid off. I think we are all in agreement the top two candidates; the final decision rests in the building director's hands, but I think we would be pleased with whichever one she chooses.

The short day allowed me to come home early and make an experimental dinner. It was a success!!! Try this: take a boneless, skinless chicken breast and put it on a piece of plastic wrap. Sprinkle with garlic salt and fresh or ground ginger. Put another piece of plastic wrap on top. Find a rubber mallet. Now pound the HELL out of the chicken. Heat a skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil. Coat the chicken lightly on both sides with flour, then fry in the olive oil until golden brown. Serve with pasta, rice, or potatoes and a side vegetable. Enjoy! This dish is not only healthy and delicious; the involvement of a large pounding tool makes it extra fun!!!

Tuesday night marked the end of winter classes and another University of Michigan tradition: The Naked Mile. Ever heard of it? It's such an unbelievable, unique thing that it has made national news. In fact, when Derek and I went to New York City, we saw Mujibur in his souvenir shop near the Ed Sullivan Theater (remember Mujibur and Sirajul from Dave Letterman?). We asked for a picture; he happily obliged, and then asked us where we were from. We said Ann Arbor, Michigan, and he burst out with excitement, "The Naked Mile!"

It all started decades ago, when the seniors on the Men's Crew Team would strip down to their bare essentials--and by that I mean their tennis shoes only--and run from one end of the campus to the other, on the last night of classes. It has grown immensely, and eventually became a tradition not only for crew team members, not only for men, and not only for graduating seniors. Anyone who had the…..ahem…how shall I say?…gumption to do it, would streak across campus amidst thousands of onlookers who were cheering them on.

Well, this year was much different than years past. The university launched an anti-Naked Mile campaign last year, since many of the 10,000+ people who come to watch it are creepy old men with video cameras who wouldn't give a second thought to groping or assaulting the runners. It's no longer a wild, fun tradition for students; it's potential porn-website fodder. So the U and The City of Ann Arbor (I think) discouraged students from running by threatening them with arrest. Runners also stood a chance of being listed on the state sex-crime offenders' registry. This seems a little backwards to me, but I know that they can't do anything to the creepy people who come to watch, who are, in my opinion, the REAL criminals. So this year, anyone who was seen naked was either arrested or told to put their clothes back on immediately or face arrest. So much for THAT tradition.

Wednesday was another Queen of Confrontation day for me. I have this vendor who has been a major pain in the patootey for many years. Nearly every week for the last 8 years, one of my students has complained that he either (a) lies to get free pool, (b) argues about how much he owes, or (c) is generally rude and obnoxious. He also totally oversteps his bounds with regularity. He has often walked behind the desk as if he owns the place; used our cue-tipping machine to put tips on cues for customers and kept the money they pay; and borrowed materials from the Billiards Room to do his own side jobs. After an incident last month in which he failed to share information about a donated table and it ended up costing the Billiards Room money, I decided I'd had it. I have always put up with his behavior because the quality of the work he does is exceptional. But the next time I saw him, I vowed, I would tell him that we no longer required his services.

Well, Wednesday was that day. He showed up at my office (as always, unannounced) and I asked him to sit down. For the next 20 minutes he argued with me that this was a personal problem of MINE, because I clearly have difficulty getting along with people. There's nothing wrong with him, he alleged; it's all because my expectations are unrealistically high and I am impossible to satisfy. The OLD Betz would have either (a) started crying from nervousness or (b) given in to his coercion after about 5 minutes of being criticized and personally attacked. But little did he know, he was arguing with the new, improved Betz….the Betz who doesn't take shit from anyone….the Betz who doesn't shy away from interpersonal conflict. I like to call her SuperBetz. She is my new best friend. His parting words were that he's going to sue me AND the university (for what I have no idea), and that I am "completely delusional." By then, I had a hard time not laughing when he said that.

Last week when we moved the sofa to vacuum under it, we discovered a little fake fur mouse, long since abandoned by Snooker and Simonis, but Little Ratso immediately took to it. Smart boy that he is, he soon realized that it "plays" better on the hardwood floor than on the carpet. So he developed a habit of picking it up in his mouth and running from the living room to the kitchen with it. (For you dog people, it's pretty uncommon for a cat to carry things around in his mouth like a dog). Well of course, since our life lacks excitement and need a little more than just caffeine to get us going in the morning, Derek and I have developed a breakfast ritual of "fetch" with Little Ratso. We throw the mouse into the living room on purpose to watch him retrieve. We humans are so easily amused.

On Wednesday night, I sat down to a late dinner by myself, perched on the floor in the living room as I often do when Derek's not home. After a few bites, I noticed Little Ratso's anxious green eyes at the back door (glass), with his little fur mouse in his mouth. "Hmmm," I thought, "Derek must have let him out before he left for the tournament. I can't believe he dragged that mouse all the way outside with him." As I got up to let him in, I realized that it was a REAL mouse, and he was trying to bring it inside with him so he could show me his first kill!! I praised him and patted him on the head, and when he wasn't looking, snatched the mouse with a double-layered rubber-gloved hand and threw it away. Grrrosssss!

Late Thursday afternoon, I took some time for a rare treat: a few games of pool. My Student Manager and very good friend, Katie, vowed as a freshman that she would beat me at pool by the time she was a senior (she is graduating next weekend). We usually managed to play one or two games each semester, and as of Thursday she still hadn't beaten me. But she made true on her pledge, finally edging me out when I scratched on my last ball and left her with only the 8-ball. If I know Katie, if she hadn't won that game, she would have used physical force to make me stay and keep playing until she finally won...even if we were there all night. Tenacious, that one. (That's what I love about her).

This was a very, very sad week on Survivor. All of the 5 remaining castaways had an opportunity to chat online with their families at home for a couple minutes. Of the three men and two women, the men were BY FAR the most shaken by the experience. They didn't realize how much they missed their families until they made contact with them. And Rodger--dear, sweet Rodger--sacrificed his own stay on the island to allow his buddy Elisabeth to stay a little longer, because he thought she needed the money more. What a great friend!!!! I'm going to stick with Colby as my pick to win the whole thing. Even though he can't stand Keith, he stuck once again with his tribal loyalty and voted Rodger off. As my friend Holly pointed out, he might keep Keith with him until the Final two, when the jury of booted castaways decides the ultimate winner. Putting himself against someone that many of the other folks don't like is strategic genius! (I would be horrible at this game because I just don't think that way. "Get rid of all the assholes!" would be my motto, just because I like everybody to get along. Keeping one asshole makes perfect sense, but it's something I would not have thought to do on my own).

Derek came home from his regular Thursday night tournament with big news: there are a bunch of road players (professional hustlers) in town all of a sudden. So there's all kind of action all over the city after-hours. It's kind of weird--there's no big tournament or anything to draw them here like usual. So we're anxious to see what's going on and why they're here.

On Friday night we rescued a toad that had gotten caught in the window of our basement. He wasn't moving much, so we thought he was injured. Derek put him in the bathroom sink in some lukewarm water. Within minutes I'd named him Todd…Todd the Toad. We decided to keep him in our empty aquarium to see if he'd eat. Since we have no idea what toads eat (we were fresh out of flies), we gave him a little smorgasboard--1/2 teaspoon each--of broccoli greens, ham, and cheese. When we got up Saturday morning, he had moved but only a little bit. The food and water were untouched. We ultimately decided he had a better chance out in the yard than in our tank, so we let Todd go. He didn't move at first, but eventually hopped away. That was our Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom moment of the week.

On Saturday afternoon at Meijer we ran into our old neighbor, Cindy. It was SUCH a treat. We visited with her in the parking lot for about 15 minutes, promising to get together for dessert one night in May. That's what we did the first time they visited us in our new place: instead of a whole dinner, we just got together for dessert and coffee late in the evening. So here's my challenge to you this week: invite someone you haven't seen in a long time over for coffee or dessert or board games or for no reason in particular. Make some NEW memories with old friends!!!!

Peace and love to you all,
Betsy & Derek

April 29, 2001

Hello on this gorgeous, sunny, warm Sunday! I don't know what the weather's like where YOU are, but in my opinion today is one of the nicest days we've had all year. Of course, weekdays don't count because then I'm stuck inside at work!

I forgot about a couple things that happened last weekend…on Saturday I had my students over for a "BYOG" Barbeque: Bring Your Own Grillin'. We had everything from black bean veggie burgers to hot dogs to NY Strip steaks. The highlight of the day was presenting two of our graduating seniors with their "SORC Lifer" Awards. Anyone who works for me at the SORC for all four years of their school (we also give 3-year veterans "silver" awards) is considered a "lifer" and receives an acrylic paperweight with the U of M seal, and their name on a plaque at work.

We also had a staff pool tournament in the basement, the winner of which took home a 2-foot stuffed Tweety Bird that I won on a pool game at the State Fair last year. That's one of Derek's and my favorite things to do: go win our limit of prizes at the pool games at carnivals and then give them away to little kids on the way out. We play the game for the attention, not for the prizes! (Besides, most of the prizes you get at carnivals are crap anyway--no name-brand stuffed animals. That's why Tweety came home with us in the first place; it was a REAL Warner Brothers Tweety!)

Derek took advantage of the mild weather on Sunday and went out golfing. He came home in a VERY good mood, so I knew he must have had a good round. His first few rounds of the year were very disappointing (which is usually the case when he tries to overlap his pool and golf seasons). But he proclaimed his score, as usual, before saying anything else when he walked in the door. "81" was all I heard before his fists went up in the air in a happy gesture of victory. Later in the week he finished 2nd place in the VERY tough Thursday night pool tournament (remember last week I told you about all the road players that are in town?), so maybe my theory about overlapping seasons is wrong!

Nothing memorable happened in my life on Sunday or Monday. The most important things I wrote down in my Weekly News notes were that I bought some Celosia plants and kitchen tiles at Lowe's on Sunday, and it was 80° on Monday. BORING!

But what Sunday and Monday lacked in excitement were more than made up for on Tuesday, when we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of our first date! I told you months ago that I was going to plan a long weekend somewhere, but we decided that with work dramatically picking up and finances still relatively tight, we would settle for a day off (me) and a night on the town. I had a long list of things to accomplish on the day off but ended up going back to bed after making coffee and lunch for my boy, and just going shopping for a couple hours in the afternoon. I only go to the mall a few times a year, and a couple hours is MORE than enough once I get there.

Like usual, it was up to me to pick a restaurant, and as of Tuesday morning I'd decided on a Japanese Steakhouse downtown. That's always fun. But between then and 7:00 when we actually headed out, I changed my mind half a dozen times. (Hey, what kind of a GIRL would I be if I wasn't indecisive?!) I finally settled on Cousins Heritage Inn, a converted Victorian-era home in Dexter. I remember Derek saying that his sister's rehearsal dinner had been there, and since she's such a great cook, I figured we would do well to take her choice of restaurants. It was one of the best meals we've ever had. The service was impeccable, the atmosphere exquisite, and the meal--from the appetizer down to the last bite of our dessert--was unforgettable. We started with creamed morels over puff pastry for an appetizer. Scrumptious. Could've made a whole meal out of those. Then came the salad, which was very fresh and tasty, but I didn't like the dressing I chose. No big deal--just passed it to Derek and saved more room for dessert!

Oh, I forgot to mention that Cousins' menu changes every day, and they only have about 6 entrées to choose from. Derek chose the baked halibut, served in a garlic cream sauce on a bed of rice. I couldn't decide between the veal Marsala and the Duck à l'orange. Chicken Marsala is always one of my top choices when we go out, but I had just made it at home a few nights before. And even though I love meat, I always feel a little guilty eating any baby animals, so I decided against the veal. I had Duck à l'orange once before at another nice restaurant and it was the best meal I ever had. This duck, which was ironically served with the *exact* same side items, was DARN close. Purple cabbage, pureed sweet potatoes, and steamed green beans must have the perfect taste variations to serve with duck. Anyway, we savored every bite.

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, then came dessert and coffee. Apparently Cousins is widely touted for its desserts, but we didn't know this. We figured it out, though, after we chose from the gorgeous array the server brought to us. Everything had raspberries--either in it, on it, or beside it. Fine by me, since I would choose fruit over chocolate any day. Derek chose the--get ready for this; it's a mouthful--white chocolate mousse mint cheesecake with raspberry glasé. It's very rare that Derek has dessert with a meal, so I knew he must have been impressed by how it looked. I chose the crème brulée (with raspberry garnish of course), and it was so good I wish I could have taken another one home with me. From the time we walked in the door until we pulled out of the parking lot, it was a wonderful experience. We will definitely go back for another special occasion.

OK, I guess I spent a little too much time describing that meal, but I tend to overindulge when it's something I really love.

After the fancy dinner, we did a 180-degree turn in culture: we went to the movie theater to see the white trash flick-of-the-week, Joe Dirt. It was silly and stupid, but we enjoyed it for what it was.

Back to the mundane…nothing interesting to report on Wednesday or Thursday except Derek mowing the lawn and discovering a tutorial on our computer with a little animated character that looks like a pool player we know.

Friday was an emotionally tough day because I had to say good-bye to my Student Manager of the Billiards Room, Ben Cooke. He's only been working there for 8 months, but we've grown very close. I have hired and supervised over 300 students in my 12 years at the Michigan Union, and he's one of the most memorable…a real "keeper." He's off to Seattle with his girlfriend to start looking for a job. I admire his courage to move so far from home, but I know he has an adventurous spirit, and even more importantly I know he's a good person. I have no doubt he will go incredibly far in life. I just hope he remembers his days here when he's rich and famous someday. I know I'll never forget him. The only thing that's going to be worse is in a few months when Katie, my Student Manager at the SORC, leaves to start her new life too. I'm even closer to HER than I am to BEN. I'm going to be a basket case.

On Friday night, Derek was out in the backyard checking on his pump (our house was built on a pond, so we constantly have problems with drainage) and suddenly a coyote--Yes I said a COYOTE--appeared less than 30 feet from him on the back edge of our lot. I saw it before he did but was dumbfounded. Standing in the glass door on the backside of the house, I could do nothing but point with my mouth wide open for a good 10 seconds. Then I finally warned him, and the crazy vermin kept on going (the coyote, not Derek, ha-ha!). Just glad, once again, that our critters were inside and safe. He was trotting along, not pausing even for a second, clearly looking for something to eat. And a housecat would have made a nice meal, I'm sure he thought.

Saturday was one of my annual busy-as-a-beaver days: Commencement Saturday at U of M. In addition to advertising services, the SORC also provides a balloon decoration and delivery service for the student organizations and departments at U of M. As you might imagine, there are parties and brunches galore on Commencement weekend. There are also NO students around who can work. The ones that are still there are usually at the commencement ceremonies (can you believe I can't talk them into working!? Hmmmph! Where are their priorities!? :o) ) Then after a brief break in the afternoon to bring Derek and his crew lunch on the job site, I returned to work the afternoon Billiards shift (same problem: lots of anxious customers but no student staff).

I returned home, exhausted, at 9:00, 12 hours after leaving for work in the morning. I was very excited to find that Derek was not planning to go to the casino, because this would be my only chance to spend time with him this weekend. We rented Scary Movie (which I've seen 3 times but Derek hadn't yet), Almost Famous, and The Legend of Baggy Pants (did I say Baggy Pants? Oh silly me, I meant Bagger Vance.) I saw that last summer at the theater but I rented it again because I know Derek will like it. In fact, I am going to close this letter in a minute and watch it!

Derek arose early today to go to work. Yes, work on a Sunday. Sundays are usually reserved for golf, but he has too many jobs this week and has to take a few days to help his sister with their rental properties, so he felt he had no choice. He worked all morning, then returned very briefly for a shower before heading to the golf course (I told you Sundays are reserved for golf, one way or another). I worked for about 3 hours on the yard while he was gone--pulling weeds, trimming bushes, turning soil, and mending two small spruces that were uprooted by all the wind we've had. I think I was able to save them, but only time will tell. In the gorgeous weather, that part was fun but only took about 45 minutes.

I spent the remaining 2 hours breaking my back on the pile of dirt that has been in the back yard since last summer. When his garage was built, we asked that the dirt they had to dig up be moved to the back perimeter of our property so we could turn it into a lovely burm like the one Derek's family helped us build last year, with junipers and spirea plants. I have been asking Derek to work on said pile of dirt for many months, but I refer once again to my original statement that Sundays are reserved for golf. I am still trying to figure out what happened to all the other days of the week.

Did anyone rise to my challenge last week to call an old friend for dessert? I would love to hear about it! I have another suggestion this week, but this one is self-serving. As a novice gardener, I would love to hear your suggestions for what to plant in our new burm! I'm looking for something perennial, colorful, not too tall to block our view of the field, low maintenance, and something able to withstand day-long direct sun. Oh yes, and something with an anti-coyote mechanism would be just lovely. The Betz & Derek Weekly News just got interactive!

Peace and love to you all,
Betsy & Derek

P.S. Attached is a picture from Toronto.

 May 6, 2001

I have a lot to write about and it’s already 11PM, so I’ll get right down to the nitty gritty….

Expecting to have to work Monday night, I took the morning off.  I ran a lot of errands that I normally run on the weekend, pleased to not have to wait in line as long as I usually do.  I even brought Derek and his crew lunch at the job site.  This was, of course, convenient for them, but it also gave me the opportunity to have a word with one of his workers, who acted like a COMPLETE butthead when he was at my birthday party.  I hadn’t seen him since the party, because he spent the winter in Florida.  When I got there, I didn’t even have to bring it up.  Before I could say a word, HE apologized.  Impressed that he took it upon himself to do so (with no prompting from Derek, he swears), I wasn’t as brutal as I would have been.  But I still took the opportunity to confirm that yes, he was drunk, obnoxious, and asinine at my party, and that I expect him to apologize to my 3 friends that he was persistently  and VERY assertively hitting on.   Apparently he took more crap from the crew the rest of the day for having had his “ass chewed out by Betsy” than he took from me for being a jerk in the first place.  (tee-hee)

I also picked up some lovely hanging begonias at The Produce Station in Ann Arbor on Monday.  (For those of you not interested in gardening, skip to the next paragraph).  I’ve changed my mind a half-dozen times about what color and type of annuals I’m going to plant, but I finally settled on “a little bit of everything.”  I am still working on the master plan for the new berm in the back yard, but for now I am just focusing on the two flowerbeds in the front of the house.  On the left, I have peonies, lavender, ivy, and mums, which have already come up.  A couple things that grew there last year didn’t come back up, so I needed to supplement with some annuals.  I finally decided on pink celosia and white gerbera daisies (my favorite flower) to complement the pink peonies.  They will also look nice with the mums when they bloom later; those are sort of plum-colored.  On the right, I have a bed with lava rocks, which I wish we’d put some perennials in last year.  I didn’t realize what a pain it was going to be to plant annuals in rocks.  But I had already bought some red, orange, and yellow celosia (those are just very interesting to me) before I really thought out my master plan, so I put them in the ground this week.  They’re complemented by the bright orange begonias hanging nearby, but I have more to do in that bed.  Any suggestions for a creeping ground cover that has delicate yellow flowers?  I have lots of fun things in mind for the big berm out back, but I will wait until that gets further into the developing stage before I explain.  I am still learning the basics! 

As it turned out, I found someone at the last minute to work in the Billiards Room that night, so I only worked a half-day.  I didn’t feel guilty, considering I’d put in about 14 hours over the weekend with commencement activities. 

On Tuesday we both worked all day.  Since I was “stuck” at the SORC (staffed usually by my students), I took advantage of the time and resources to make a banner for Sean and Celina’s head table at the wedding.  Most of you will be there, so I won’t explain what it looks like.  I want it to be a little bit of a surprise, mostly for Celina (who’s reading this note!). 

Wednesday at work was forgettable (in fact, I already have), but Katie and I had a fun evening.  She came over and helped me move heavy shovelfuls of dirt in exchange for dinner.  She scaled another foot or so off the top of the berm to make it look more natural.   We also raked it smooth so it’s darn near ready for plantin’!  She also brought along her favorite movie:  “Shag:  The Movie.”  And when she tells people that, she immediately says, “No, it’s not a porno.”  It’s actually a very cute coming-of-age movie from the late 1980s starring Phoebe Cates and Bridget Fonda.  It’s all about falling in love, rebelling against your parents, and shagging.  Dancing, that is.  :o)

On Thursday I spent nearly the entire day doing simple web site maintenance to my facilities’ two web sites.  I took a basic course 2 summers ago, but without using it, I forgot most of what I’d learned.  I remembered that it made sense when I was learning it though, so it wouldn’t be difficult to re-learn.  So I pulled out the handout from the class and got to work!  With a lot of help from Katie’s kindhearted friend Reena, who just graduated with a degree in Computer Science, I made a lot of corrections and updates to the SORC & Billiards sites, and even spent a little time creating my OWN web site.  I hope to work on that this week (more pictures) and will give you the web address in the next newsletter!

Of course most of you know by now that Thursday is my sacred TV night.  I knew it was close to the end, but I didn’t realize it was THE final episode of Survivor.  FOUR hours later, after constant coverage of the final days on the island, and then the live announcement of the winner and hour-long interview of all the castaways with Bryant Gumble, even *I* was on Survivor overload.  Once again, CBS gave us a surprise ending.  I must say I was disappointed when they announced Tina’s name instead of Colby’s, but I think they are both good-hearted, deserving people and that makes it a lot more tolerable than when Richard Hatch won the first time.  He just seemed like a heartless, arrogant snake.  I think for Survivor III, I’m going to predict who I think is LEAST likely to win, and that will be the winner. 

Derek went to bed early Friday night because he had to work yesterday morning.  I, on the other hand, stayed up late and watched Almost Famous.  Very good movie….EXCELLENT acting.

On Saturday I stayed up when Derek left for work (even though I didn’t go to bed until after 2:00) and brought him lunch again on the job.  After that I spent the rest of the day working in the yard--mowing the lawn, tearing out weeds, trimming misshapen shrubs, and (the best part) planting my pink and white annuals.  I also spent over an hour at Coleman’s with my basic gardening book, comparing the “real thing” to the pictures I’ve been looking at in the book all winter.  I didn’t spend a penny, but I got some great advice from the main horticulturist, who really knows her stuff!  I went there again today for over an hour, and when I know what I’m going to do with the berm, I will be back.  They have the healthiest, most colorful plants around.  Before I dig ONE hole, though, I am waiting to get a few hours of my most respected expert’s time:  Derek’s mom.  (Carol:  I have been doing a lot of research and have a nice long list of full-sun perennials and shrubs for you to say “yea” or “nay”). 

As the afternoon drew to a close, I plugged in the hose and started to give a nice drink of water to all the little soldiers I’d just sunk into the ground.  I was going about my business for about 5 minutes when suddenly I heard Derek screaming from inside, “Turn it off!  Turn it off!”  A pipe had burst, and the water was GUSHING into the basement.  It’s very fortunate that he was home and heard it, because I had NO idea.  We went downstairs to inspect the damage (minimal, fortunately) and realized that when the City of Ypsilanti Water Authority came out this winter to install an external water meter, they drilled a hole RIGHT THROUGH our pipe.  At least that’s what it looks like to Derek, who had a much better view of the pipe than I did.  Our neighbor Kathy said it probably burst because we didn’t turn off the valve during the winter. 

Today was a very long day….much longer for Derek than it was for me.  He arose at 7:00 to head to the golf course, and as soon as he got home he headed over to his student rental property to help his sister with some more work.  He got home around 7:00 and worked in the yard for another 2 hours.  He also replaced 3 shingles on our roof that have been missing for A LOT longer than I’d care to admit, considering that he is a roofing contractor!  (LOL)  I slept in today, but kept very busy once I did finally get up.  I planted the rest of the celosia, mowed the rest of the lawn, spent another hour at Coleman’s (learning), did a little basic-supplies shopping, tore out some old edging that was bugging me, and laid a basic plan for my next challenge:  another flower bed on the north side of the house for shade-loving things like foxglove, bleeding heart, and several more I have yet to discover!  Derek crashed about an hour ago.  I’m sure he’ll sleep like a baby tonight. 

Peace and love to you all,
Betsy & Derek

P.S.  If any of you remind me how much I used to HATE gardening, I am going to have to kill you. 

May 12, 2001

It has been a relatively lackluster week in the Pogirski/Sundholm household. 

On Monday Derek took the day off to help Kristin with final clean-up of their rental house.  We arose bright and early to take his car to the collision/repair shop to have the bumper fixed (it was damaged in a minor accident during winter).  Then he headed to the rental house, and I headed to the Union.  I had stopped in a couple times during the course of their work and thought about how grateful I was that I wasn’t working on it, because it seemed like and endless job.  But on Monday it looked like a completely different house!  They did a fantastic job!

I busied myself with cleaning and filing on Monday, taking advantage of the moderately cool temperatures (filing and cleaning are no fun when it’s hot, which is *most* of the time when you’re on the 4th floor of a 100-year-old building).  So I opened the window, seized my fleeting moment of ambition, and got to work.

Absolutely nothing worth mentioning happened on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

Thursday was one of my favorite days of the year:  Mother’s Day balloon delivery.  Each year we deliver a balloon and sometimes a flower to all the women in the Michigan Union who are moms.  It’s a tradition I started about five years ago when I was having an especially lonely year away from my mom.  The first year I delivered only to the moms in my office and paid for it out of my pocket, but it was so well-received that the following year it was funded by the Michigan Union and the list increased to EVERY mom in the building--about 40 in all.  It also expanded that second year to include recognition for Father’s Day.  Staff recognition has always been something I felt the university doesn’t do very well, so I’m rather proud that this popular and very personal recognition program was my brainchild.  

Thursday night was one of those nights that you just stand outside, breathing in the cool night air and thinking how great it is to be alive.  We stood outside for about 15 minutes, staring up at all the billions of bright stars and marveling at how vast the universe is.  One of our favorite trivia tidbits to tell people:  take your arms and hold them in the form of a circle out in front of you, as if you were holding a large bucket.  Now pretend that that circle represents the circumference of our solar system.  The nearest star would be 2 MILES away.  These are the kinds of things we talk about when we stand outside on a beautiful, clear spring evening and look up at the sky. 

On Friday, Derek picked up his car from the collision place and dropped it off at the Honda dealership for brake work.  He thought it needed brakes and struts, but the place that replaced the struts said his brakes are fine; he just needs a sensor replaced.  Unfortunately, the dealership had to order the part and it is scheduled to arrive Wednesday (I’m supposed to leave for the U.P. on Tuesday).  Worse yet, ever since he picked up the car from the collision shop, the battery has not been able to hold a charge.  He had to get a jump-start at the dealership as well as in the parking garage at the casino Friday night, and it’s been sitting in the driveway now for two days, dead.  So it looks like the list of things to finish before departing for the wedding on Tuesday continues to grow. 

We arose bright and early on Saturday morning to head to ‘The Rock Connection’ for mulch.  We picked up 7 yards of cedar mulch and dropped off about 40% of it at Kristin’s house.  The rest came home with us, along with a bunch of great ideas from The Rock Connection.  I grabbed a sample from all their different rock piles so we can decide what to put on the south border of the house.  The weeds currently there are dying as I speak (thanks to Round-up) and in a couple weeks we will spray again and turn the soil.  Then comes some top soil and shrubs (yet to be chosen) and finally the stones.  I have my heart set on alabaster white, and Derek likes black, but we will probably compromise on a purplish-brown stone. 

We spent the ENTIRE day in the yard yesterday.  Derek did some intensive and extensive cleaning of the big garage, and I spread the mulch on the front berm, mowed the grass, mulched 4 trees, weeded two flower beds, watered a struggling tree, and schlepped the leftover mulch by the wheelbarrow-load from the far front edge of the lot to the far back edge, about 300 feet.  After about 6 loads, I called it a night and hit the shower.  Derek followed suit about an hour later, and we were almost asleep on the couch when our friend Jay called.  (He feeds the cats and takes care of the house for us while we’re gone).  We suddenly got a burst of energy at the notion of having Jay’s kids over, so we urged him to come so we could give him a key.  It took some convincing, but they finally came over and we watched Toy Story 2, much to everyone’s enjoyment.  I also baked chocolate chip cookies (I’m telling ya, I don’t see kids in my future but I am going to be the coolest aunt in the world), which were a big hit.  Jay’s kids are amazingly intelligent, mature, and most notably polite!  I am especially fond of his daughter, Emily, who I swear has the mind of a 35-year-old woman in the body of an 8-year-old.  She inherited her dad’s love for movies, so of course I can sit and talk with her for HOURS. 

We arose early again today and had a breakfast of pancakes, ham, an egg, coffee, and orange juice.  YUMMY!!!  Soon after that Derek headed back out to the garage for more cleaning, and I set to work getting the house and the food ready for his family, who came over at 4:00 for a Mother’s Day barbecue (my ulterior motive was getting gardening tips from Carol, to which she happily complied).  We enjoyed a big meal of Greek-marinated chicken breasts, grilled polenta, coleslaw, and Greek vegetable salad, topped off with a cup of decaf cinnamon coffee and leftover chocolate chip cookies.  Then we “girls” talked about gardening while the “boys” watched something golf-related on TV (I don’t even pay attention anymore).  Then we decided to take a quick trip to Coleman’s before they closed.  Neither of us came home empty-handed.  I picked up 8 more celosia in a stunning deep magenta hue to complement the pink ones I planted last week, and Carol found some lovely lavender pansies to accent her hostas.  She gave me a TON of great information about my plans for the berm and the “north garden” as I’ve started to call it, so I am very anxious to get on with planting as soon as I return from the wedding.  I am beginning to see what Memorial weekends holds in store for us! 

Peace and love to you all,
Betsy & Derek

May 20, 2001

What last weekend lacked in excitement was more than made up for this week!

Monday was a busy day for me, as I prepared to head northward for my brother's wedding. Derek has been telling me this for years, and although I hate to admit it, I always get a little freaked out before a trip. I like to have the house cleaned and all the laundry done so there is a comfortable, clean place to come home to. But what ends up happening is I try to get TOO many things accomplished before departure, and get frustrated when they don't all happen. We also had some struggles with the dealership on last-minute work they did on Derek's Honda, so getting on the road was a big challenge. But once I finally departed around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon (a few hours behind schedule), the trip was fairly smooth. It rained all the way to the Mackinac Bridge, and I postponed my crossing by about 45 minutes until the lightning subsided. I arrived at my Mom's house around midnight on Tuesday; Derek and our friend Katie were to follow on Thursday.

Wednesday was not terribly busy. Mom had to work, so I tried to help out with a few things at her house. Her partner, David, was working hard on their new deck, so I helped him with a few screws and cuts of the saw. For a man in his sixties who is "retired," he sure works hard! I also took Sean and Celina's dog for a walk and gathered rocks, which I later wrapped in mylar foil and used to hold down the balloons at the wedding. In the evening I finished painting the banner for Sean and Celina's wedding, which I had been working on for several weeks at home but didn't quite finish.

On Thursday, mom still had to work (the world doesn't stop turning even when you're the mother of the groom!), but I met her in Escanaba for a late Mother's Day lunch. I picked up a few necessities for a salad I was to make for the wedding, and then headed back to Arnold. Katie and Derek arrived around 4:00 after an exciting 24 hours en route to the UP. They stopped at a casino in Mount Pleasant, after which Katie declared herself Derek's "hustler apprentice." Katie was very excited to arrive, having never been north of the Mackinac Bridge before. She grew up in rural Michigan, but stated that Arnold gives new meaning to "the middle of nowhere." So to demonstrate this point even further, the first thing we did was go to David's camp, which is over two miles into the woods on a dirt road. THAT'S the middle of nowhere! It was a great way to get started, but I got stung by a vicious bee (Derek suggested it was a "bald-faced hornet." Has anyone every heard of such a thing?) and lost some of the feeling in my arm for a few hours. Undeterred by this nasty encounter with Mother Nature, we decided to go fishin' at Katie's behest. David lent us his fishing pole, and we headed for the lakeside cottage we rented in Little Lake, about a mile from the American Legion Hall where the wedding would be held….but not before stopping at my hometown pub, The Knotty Pine Bar, for one of their awesome hamburgers and a couple games of pool. Katie followed a Knotty Pine tradition by writing a message on a one-dollar bill in black marker. Her dollar will be tacked, along with literally thousands of others, to the ceiling of the bar. This tradition started over 20 years ago; all those dollar bills on the ceiling (and even a few twenties and hundreds) from the bar's patrons throughout the years are quite a sight to see!

At the cottage (what a bargain! $55 a night for two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, porch and living room), we were greeted by a pair of loons floating peacefully on the lake. Derek headed to the golf course for a few holes before dark, and Katie and I headed to the banquet hall to help decorate. I got to meet the seventh bridesmaid (the only one I hadn't met) and scope out the facility to see what quantity, shape, and size of balloons would look best. That seventh bridesmaid, Casey, has a fantastic knack for decorating! After only a few minutes, I realized that she had an excellent and well-thought plan, and happily offered up my services as a worker bee.

At around 10:00 we retreated to the cottage for a little fishin'. Katie used to fish a lot with her dad, so she felt right at home with the pole, line, sinkers, bobber, and all that other stuff. My sole responsibility was holding the bait (commensurate with the extent of my knowledge about fishing). We didn't catch anything but had a wonderfully serene time just hanging out on the dock and soaking up that amazingly clean air. The U.P. sky had its usual stunning clarity, but being on the lake gave us an even more spectacular range of visibility.

Derek had to get up at 6:00 for golf on Friday, but Katie and I slept until around 9:00. We headed to Marquette, first to run a couple wedding errands, but mostly to show Katie some of the highlights of the Lake Superior shore. We had lunch at a 50s-style diner called Hudson's, where I ran into one of my favorite teachers from high school: Terry Parlato. He was my teacher for 3 of the 6 math classes I took in high school. I chatted with him, his wife, and his mother-in-law for a few minutes, flattered that he remembered me from his classes. I was even MORE flattered that when he introduced me to his wife, she remembered my name too. I had a little bit of "age shock" when they told me that their son, Tony, who was one year behind me, is the new "Mr. Parlato," and the old Mr. Parlato retired several years ago.

We drove around Presque Isle and stopped so Katie could climb down some rocks and dip her hands into Lake Superior. Then we headed west out of Marquette for moose country. About 20 years ago, Michigan air-lifted some moose from Canada to the land north of Michigamme, where there are hundreds of square miles of unsettled terrain, hoping that the moose would reproduce and eventually become a common sight in the Upper Peninsula. The moose have done pretty well, and many people have reported sightings all over the U.P., indicating that they have survived and thrived. But despite reports from many friends, I have never seen one myself.

Every map that the state of Michigan produces has two little black moose on it, indicating the area where the moose where dropped. So, determined to have a moose sighting of our own, we found a narrow road as close to those two little black moose as we could, and started to drive. What an adventure!!!!! We instantly became moose experts (in our own minds), looking at every little clearing in the woods or bend in the river and declaring, "oh, this DEFINITELY looks like moose territory." We drove and drove and drove and drove and drove, chatting and joking and having a grand old time. Didn't see a single creature. Not even so much as a deer or a raccoon or a skunk. We finally decided we didn't have the proper "gear" for moose-huntin'. We don't know exactly what this "gear" would entail, but we figure maybe a hat or helmet of some kind (perhaps with antlers) and some brown clothing. (Please don't remind us of the odds of finding one of 60 moose in an area that is over 5,000 square miles). We are still very determined that on our next trip, with some more research and the necessary "gear," we will see a moose. We just hope we see him before he sees us.

After moose-hunting, we headed back to the cottage. The wedding rehearsal was at 6:00, so that morning we agreed to meet Derek at the cottage at 5:30. He had driven from the golf course to the Hannahville Casino and finally back to Little Lake, a VERY big triangle. He was victorious at the casino that day, bringing him back up to the above-even mark for the week (he and Katie lost a little bit on the way up).

The rehearsal at the church went smoothly; the pastor who performed the ceremony was a very cool guy, which definitely put Sean and Celina at ease. After the rehearsal, we headed to the banquet hall for a fish dinner and the final decorating. Casey's decorating looked DARN good without our balloons, but we decided we would do them Saturday morning anyway, since we'd already paid for the helium tank. We returned to the cottage around 10:30 and got to work on the salad I made for the wedding. I would never have guessed it would take almost two hours to multiply a recipe by five! I finally finished the salad and headed to bed at around 1:00.

We awoke fairly early, knowing that the wedding start time of 2:00 would come VERY quickly. We showered and headed to the American Legion hall to do the balloons at around 9:30. Silly me, I didn't stop to think that there might not be anyone there to let us in that early. We drove all over town looking for the manager, finally tracked a key down from the post commander, and got into the hall at 11:00 and quickly got to work. We noticed that the helium level was lessening much more quickly than it should have, but we couldn't figure out why. But by then we just wanted to finish what we could and get me back to the cottage so I could get into my bridesmaid dress and over to the church by 1:00. So we did what we could, and Katie dropped me off at the cottage. She returned to the hall to finish, and discovered that the nozzle had an inaudible leak. We were only able to finish about 100 balloons instead of 200, so I hope that Sean was able to get a partial refund when he returned the tank to the rental place (they ripped us off on the price anyway; it was nearly twice what I pay for a tank twice the size).

Derek, who was an usher for the wedding, and I arrived at the church at 1:05, relieved to find that we were the second ones there. He reported to the pastor for seating instructions, and I went downstairs with Celina's mom to the wedding party's prep room. The rest of the girls arrived one by one, and our collective nervousness built until the final moment. The church was nearly full, and the ceremony went off without a hitch. There were a LOT more tears than I expected, both from myself and from my brother (yes, that would be my brother the GROOM). His best man bet him $10.00 at the rehearsal that he would cry. At the time, Sean confidently took the bet and scoffed. Of course he was a little sheepish about the whole thing later, but I think every woman reading this newsletter would agree that we LOVE THAT! It shows men's sincerity and a moment of weakness, which in some circumstances is not a bad thing!

After the ceremony we took countless pictures; then after all the guests left, the bridal party went out for the usual horn-honking, noise-making celebration. THAT'S when things started to get crazy. Our first stop was the Hideaway for a round of drinks on the best man. We also played a few games of pool (I'm merciless--kicked my brother's butt on his WEDDING DAY!) and I ran into my old math teacher again. Then we all loaded back up into the noisy vehicles and headed for the next bar, but not before Sean laid rubber tracks on the road with his Camaro and all his buddies driving behind him cheered and tooted in victory. *Boys will be boys*. We reached the Happy Hour for round #2 of drinks, but I decided not to have anything. (It's only in the last couple years that I can even drink one glass of wine without getting very hot and throwing up, so I figured that one wine cooler for the time being was more than enough). I am sworn to secrecy as to the exact details of our visit to the Happy Hour, but I will say that there was dancing on the tables, brief nudity in the bar (of the posterior of three groomsmen, specifically), and once again as we passed Brown's Tavern. We couldn't stop there because we were running late for the reception, but the boys wanted to show their best side to anyone in the parking lot at Brown's who happened to be looking.

The reception was also a BLAST. We all enjoyed a big meal and some mingling with Sean and Celina's guests; the music started at 7:00 or so. I saw about 20 people I haven't seen in at least 10 years (and only a few I'd prefer not to have seen at all). I danced and danced and danced and danced and fell down and got up and danced some more. The falling down was indeed related to drinking too much, but not my own. Someone spilled his champagne on the dance floor and I got a little too excited during a polka (polkas will do that to you). Everyone seemed to have had a wonderful time, and I'm sure it's a night Sean and Celina will never forget.

Derek, Katie, and I returned to the cottage at about 12:30 but none of us went to bed immediately. Still too excited. I didn't want the night to end, so I *almost* got back into the car and drove back to the reception, but eventually sleepiness got the best of me and I turned in.

Sunday we arose at 8:30 to get packed and on the road as early as possible. There were some things I needed to return to my mom before we left, so I was pretty worried about how we'd get them to her in Arnold--about 30 minutes out of the way--and still get on the road in time for Katie to get back to Ann Arbor by 7:30. Luck turned our way as mom pulled into the cottage at about 9:45 to say goodbye to us and some other family members who were staying at the cottages. We packed up the cars and stopped for breakfast so we'd have plenty of energy for the arduous trip.

Our final stop was at the Legion Hall on our way out of town, just long enough to pick up our leftover balloon supplies. I was sad to see the bride and groom cleaning up the hall without any help from the other people in the bridal party. We stayed about 20 minutes and helped a little bit, but the guilt of leaving ate at my gut for the entire drive. I talked to Sean later that night, though, and he assured me it was OK. It also made me feel better that they loved one of the gifts I gave them: an Heirloom Cookbook. For the last several months I have been gathering family recipes from aunts, cousins, close family friends, and of course, MOM. I hand-wrote all the recipes into the pages of the book, along with a little family history of Mom's family and Sean's dad's family. Then I got a big basket it and filled it with all the unusual ingredients for the recipes: the things a new bride wouldn't have just lying around the house if she decided to try one of them. This is a wonderful wedding gift idea, and I welcome you to steal it for the next wedding in your family!

Well, this newsletter is already twice as long as usual, so I will close here. If I think of anymore important wedding notes, I will include them next week!

Peace and love,
Betsy & Derek

Remember: If you don't want to receive this weekly newsletter anymore, just let me know and I'll promptly remove you from the list!

Subj: Re: The Betsy & Derek Weekly News
Date: 5/23/01 7:49:24 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: jabedan@umich.edu (Jim Daniels)
To: DerekBetsy@aol.com

Go to Isle Royale - we saw moose almost every day, even ran across one
swimming to an island while we were boating. August is best per those in
the know - the theory is that the moose tend to congregate near Rock Harbor
on the northeastern end that time of year (either they are calving or the
wolves are looking to fatten up prior to winter, I'm not sure), taking
advantage of the fact that wolves despise being around people. Rock Harbor
is where the ferries come in from the U.P.

At 01:27 AM 05/23/01 -0400, you wrote:
>About 20 years ago, Michigan air-lifted some moose from
>Canada to the land north of Michigamme, where there are hundreds of square
>miles of unsettled terrain, hoping that the moose would reproduce and
>eventually become a common sight in the Upper Peninsula. The moose have done
>pretty well, and many people have reported sightings all over the U.P.,
>indicating that they have survived and thrived. But despite reports from
>many friends, I have never seen one myself.



Jim Daniels
Systems Technical Services and Support
IT Communications Services
University of Michigan
Phone: 734-647-8571

Subj: Re: The Betsy & Derek Weekly News
Date: 5/23/01 8:36:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Lynn.Reddinger@storaenso.com
To: DerekBetsy@aol.com


Hi Betz; Don't know if you had time to talk to Tara at the wedding as I
know things were crazy (even for us who weren't in the wedding party) but
thought you'd be interested to know that she works at Hudson's in
Marquette. She started about a month ago - decent tip money and she
basically can have off whenever she wants to. My only concern is that she
inherited our family's clutsiness (sp?) but hasn't hurt anyone yet, to my
knowledge. Gotta run - lots to do and no time to do it!

Love,

Aunt Lynn

June 3, 2001
First things first:  I want to apologize to those of you who received a strange email a couple weeks ago from liescher@aol.com, with pictures of a baby named Sadie.  That’s someone I went to high school with.  I haven’t been able to reach him yet, but he must have inadvertently sent the pictures to my entire weekly news list.  The funny thing is:  I was probably the intended recipient, but I never got the message myself!  Anyway, I’m sure it was an accident.  Please let me know if that ever happens again.  I’d also like to reiterate:  if you don’t have time or desire to read this message, just let me know!  I will promptly take you off the list so you don’t continue to receive messages that you delete before you even open them.  (But then again…if you delete before opening, you wouldn’t be reading this now, would you?  I’ll have to look into that….)

Now that it’s summer and I’m not spending as much time inside at the computer, the “Derek & Betsy Weekly News” might become the “Derek & Betsy Every-Ten-Days-or-So News.”  Hope y’all don’t mind.  And the next newsletter, even if it doesn’t come for two weeks, won’t be as long as this one.  It’s been a pretty exciting couple of weeks since the wedding.

I took off the Monday after the wedding because I KNOW HOW I AM.  After a long trip, I always have troubles heading straight back to work on Monday after driving all day on Sunday.  Who doesn’t, right?  One of the great things about working at U of M is the amount of vacation time you earn, so whenever I go somewhere now, I “splurge” and take an extra day to unwind, unpack, and rejuvenate.  I find that I am a MUCH more productive employee that way.  It rained off and on all day, but Derek put his roofing crew to work anyway.  I made the most of my last day of freedom.  That, of course, meant sleeping in!  I had a leisurely breakfast (ahem…. “brunch”) and unpacked all our clothes.  Derek’s sister had told me about a nursery about 25 minutes away that has 32 greenhouses and rock-bottom prices on their plants, so my neighbor and I took a field trip to that place on Monday.  Surprisingly, they had a limited selection, but we both came away with a few treasures.  I found some foxglove and astilbe, and she found a bunch of different things. 

When Derek got home from work, we headed to Best Buy.  For several weeks, since he finished his workout room in the basement, he has been hankerin’ for a TV down there.  He’s also been talking ever since we moved in about getting a TV in the kitchen/dining room so he can watch the weather channel as he eats breakfast in the morning.  So we are now <sigh> a multiple-TV household (although, at the moment, one TV is still in the box).

I dug up a 3X5-foot patch (my least favorite part about gardening--digging up grass to get at the soil) as the sun went down and planted my 4 pretty new foxglove plants and 2 astilbes (which I discovered are two different varieties, doggone it!)

I returned (reluctantly) to work on Tuesday to a nice surprise:  my friend and former student employee, Tom, was home from Connecticut.  I actually knew that he was coming home, but had forgotten that I’d scheduled lunch with him that day.  So it was a nice surprise!  His mom, Jan, was there too.  Very neat lady…did a fabulous job of raising Tom.  Tom will be getting married to his longtime girlfriend, Dianna, this August in Connecticut.  I hope to be able to make it out there for the wedding and a visit to my aunt and uncle in Rhode Island.  I won’t be able to decide for sure until I see what my summer job search yields. 

My brother returned the leaky helium tank on Tuesday and talked them into a 50% discount because of the problems with the tank.  He must have gotten some of those confrontation genes from his sister!

Wednesday was a dreadful budget meeting day.  It seems that every year, I go away for vacation on the same day that our “budget books” come out, and inevitably they are due the day I come back.  And budgets are something on which the deadline is FIRM.  So that meant that I spent all day Tuesday crunching numbers and all day Wednesday explaining them.  No picnic, especially considering that there were some fairly urgent facility matters that developed in my absence that deserved my attention. 

Wednesday night was the monthly township zoning board meeting, and our neighbor’s variance request FINALLY got put on the agenda.  Wait, let me back up a second…our neighbors to the north, Sandy and Frank, have spent at least two years and thousands of dollars on a lawyer to prevent a crooked builder from developing the land behind our homes.  The three families that bought these pieces of land did so because the field and woods behind were only accessible by an easement on Sandy’s property (hence, they expected to be able to enjoy the beauty of nature behind the houses for MANY years, at least until the farmer decided to sell all of his land, making the property accessible from the other end, a mile away).  Well, it appears that not only is the builder crooked; so is the township.  He requested a permit to create a road to the land--a road so wide that his intentions were clear:  subdivision.  The township, seeing dollar signs, approved his building permit under very suspicious circumstances, although it was expressly forbidden by several laws and ordinances.  This meant Sandy and Frank would have an access road running less than 2 feet from their garage and would have to tear out thousands of dollars of landscaping.  They immediately hired a lawyer, and they’ve been fighting it ever since.  To make a long story short (believe it or not, this is the *abridged* version), their ultimate compromise with the builder was to make a narrower road, which can only serve as a one-home driveway.  So at most there will only be one home on the 3-acre parcel behind us.  In order to get this compromise approved by the township, we all had to go to this Zoning Board meeting and voice our support.  After waiting 2 hours through heated arguments on other topics, we finally got our moment in the spotlight.  In less than 5 minutes, the zoning board voiced its approval and we were finally out of there.  Now it’s just a question of *where* the house will be built.  But what a waste of time!  Had our request been first on the agenda, we would have been able to leave a long time before any of the hotly-contested issues came up.  I could go on for pages and give you all kinds of eyebrow-raising stories about the township, but I have plenty of other HAPPY things to talk about.

Like Derek’s LASIK surgery (most people say “Lasix” but that’s incorrect)!  His mother accompanied him to Windsor on Thursday the 24th for his big day.  I was more nervous than he was!  I probably would have driven him, but I’d set a lunch date with two old friends over a month earlier, and since his mom was willing and able, I decided to go to work.  Back to the Lasik in a minute…

The lunch date was very fun.  Back when I started working in the Billiards Room at age 18, I quickly befriended two older guys named Bill.  Bill Paradise, who was almost 70 at the time, worked behind the counter at the Billiards Room (for more about the history of the Billiards Room, go to www.umich.edu/~billiard; it’s actually a pretty cool story), and Bill Shurtliff, who was in his late 60s, worked at the Library and came to the Billiards Room every day for lunch.  Our fourth compatriot was Steve Holzhauer, who worked as a custodian in the Michigan Union.  Nearly every day, we would share lunch, a couple crossword puzzles, and stories about our lives.  This went on for about 5 or 6 years, and we became very good friends.  In 1995, though, Bill Paradise had a severe heart attack, followed by a stroke, and had to retire to Illinois so his niece (only living family member) could care for him.  Soon after that, Bill Shurtliff also retired, and our little lunch klatch disassembled.  I still see Steve in the Union pretty often, but only in passing.  So we try to get “Mr. Bill” to come to campus every few months for a lunch for old times’ sake.  He still brings his crossword puzzles and stories about his life, but we always struggle to fit all we have to say into an hour. 

Shortly after lunch, knowing that Derek would be getting home soon, I anxiously awaited his call.  Hearing his rather drugged voice, Betz the worry-wart raced home to check on him.  He was sleeping peacefully (thanks to the little blue pills the docs gave him) but I felt more comfortable if I could be there to check on him every half hour or so.  So I stayed home until around 6:00 that evening before going back in just for a couple hours to finish some urgent budget changes due the next morning.  When I got home at 9:00, I woke him up.  Only 10 hours after the surgery, his vision was 80% corrected!  He did say his eyes itched a lot, though, especially his right eye.  But given strict instructions not to touch or rub the eye, he left it alone.  He tried to go back to bed around midnight, but the itchiness worsened and by morning his was having a LOT of discomfort.  I had an early-morning balloon order to finish, so fortunately his parents were able to drive him back to Windsor for the 24-hour follow-up.  Turns out there was a CONTACT LENS lodged in his upper eyelid!  After the surgery they told him they’d put contact lenses in his eyes to help the incisions heal, but because of the sedatives, he forgot (I was kind of pissed that they didn’t give him a handout with important post-op information to take home).  So with that obstruction removed and two different kinds of drops and a thumbs-up from the doctor, he had a great day.  In fact, he went to the casino that night and won $450!!!

On Saturday Derek was already back to work.  He reported that he could see far-away better than he ever expected (in fact, he kept challenging me to “can you read that” contests, ha!), but since he was near-sighted, his close-up vision will not be great for a few months.  He will need reading glasses for a little while.  But he is INCREDIBLY pleased with the surgery and highly recommends it to anyone who is considering having it done.  I spent the day cleaning up around the house (which has become synonymous with “Saturday”) but took some time for fun things too.  Derek’s sister, Kristin, offered me some pretty yellow ground cover from her back yard, so I went over to claim that.  I’m glad it’s hardy because, a week later, I still haven’t found the time to plant it.  

On Sunday Derek and I saw Shrek.  Such a cute movie!!!  A great first post-surgery movie for Derek to see, too, because the graphic quality was amazing. 

I worked harder and longer on the yard and garden on Monday (Memorial Day) than I have any other day this year, and I didn’t regret a second of it (well, maybe a little when my muscles tightened later that night).  I weeded for a good 3 hours, then treated myself to one last trip to Coleman’s before planting.  I picked up a few more daisies and one more perennial that wasn’t in my master plan:  candytuft.  Derek came home from golf and helped by digging up more grass on the north side of the house (this is very time-consuming and laborious, so we are doing a little at a time).  I spent the next 2 hours planting about 50 baby plants in the berm:  artemisia, Shasta daisies, sedum (“blue spruce”), candytuft, and 4 little pepper plants (I thought:  what the heck!  We’ll give it a try!).  That’s all the therapy I need.  We capped of Monday with a delicious turkey dinner over at Derek’s parents’ house.  I also came home with some hostas from Carol’s garden, for my shade garden on the north side of the house.

I’ve been trying to work my way through about 8 videotapes that I recorded at one time but forgot to label.  We stumbled on a great piece from two years ago:  The American Film Institute’s Top 100 Screen Legends.  Here’s a fun question:  Who would YOU choose as the number one male and number one female American screen legend of all time?  Derek and I both agreed with the star they chose as the number one man, but both disagreed with the #1 woman.  Answers next week!  (I’d love to hear back with your responses, but please, if you reply, just reply to me, not the whole list).

The rest of the week flew by, with no noteworthy events (except Derek’s continuing improved vision) until Thursday.  We drove to Ferndale to do an estimate for Larry Ross’ (remember the Big Game Lotto millionaire dude who’s a pool player friend of ours?) sister.  She’s a really cool lady, but her house needs some major carpentry repair before Derek can do the roof.  If and when he does, though, she has offered to give me some lovely ostrich ferns from her back yard.  Of course I can pick some up from Coleman’s (in fact, I almost did last week!), but free stuff is always good!  Plus, won’t it be funky to have FERNS from FERNDALE!?  LOL

We hooked up with my good buddy Angela for a little while that night.  We had fajitas at Chili’s (very disappointing compared with the ones we used to enjoy at the Chili’s by our house in Ann Arbor) while Ange sipped an iced tea and told us about her honeymoon.  She and Jim got married over a year ago, but have both been working too hard to get away.  They had a lovely trip from here to Mackinac Island and, from the sounds of it, EVERYWHERE in between! 

On Friday we had some electrical outlets installed in the basement and also got Derek’s kitchen TV hooked up.  Derek drove to Windsor for his one-week checkup and I stayed home to meet the electrician, an old friend of ours from the Billiards Room.  I must admit, I was not very supportive of the TV idea at first, but now that it’s up, it’s pretty damn cool.  Things didn’t go exactly according to plan (we had to put the TV in a different spot because of complications with the concrete column in the basement that supports our porch), but for the most part we’re very pleased. 

Feeling inspired with the progress in the basement, Derek wanted to order some artwork for the walls down there.  We logged onto a very cool web site yesterday (Saturday) and ordered almost 20 movie photos/posters of some famous people playing pool.  I don’t want to ruin the surprise for those of you who are coming to Derek’s Birthday party, but let’s just say we’re VERY excited about some of the folks we found to be pool enthusiasts!!!

Peace and love,
Betsy & Derek

June 18, 2001

Hot off the presses!  The mid-June edition of the now-biweekly Derek & Betsy News!

Turn your internal clocks back to June 4 for a moment….

After a dismally cool and gray May, the first couple weeks of June have been lovely.  A few days were a lot hotter than we Michiganders would prefer, but for the most part, everyone was just happy to see the sun. 

On Sunday the 3^rd Derek and I made what we thought would be our last pilgrimage to Lowe’s to get the tiles cut for our kitchen wall backsplashes.  Four visits later, on June 15, we finally got everything we needed and managed to finish before Derek’s birthday party on the 16^th (more below).  Every time we went there, we expected it to be our last trip.  But there were two unexpected breakages because of inconvenient placement of the electrical outlet switch plates.  They were positioned such that a very fine cut of the tile was necessary, leaving two of the edges only about 1/4” wide.  Hence, it was very fragile.  I spent all day on Friday the 15^th cutting and trimming and fine-tuning the tiles, and put them up with tile adhesive that afternoon.  Derek’s sister, Kristin, came over on Saturday and did an excellent job of laying the grout while I dealt with a flooded washing machine (yuck, what a mess) just hours before the party.

On Monday the 4th I discovered a web site that movie buffs will really enjoy:  www.afionline.org.  Remember in the last newsletter, I asked your opinions about who you think are the number one male and female screen legends of all time?  I only got a response back from JD, who gave some very good guesses.  In fact, he chose Katharine Hepburn as the number one female, and AFI agreed.  His choice of Cary Grant was also an excellent guess, but AFI placed him in the #2 spot.  AFI chose Humphrey Bogart as the #1 man.  My personal favorites of Ingrid Bergman and Clark Gable were number 4 and 7 on the lists, respectively.  For the most part, I think the list was pretty accurate, but there were some glaring omissions of modern-day actors who should have been included.  Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, Glenn Close, Tom Hanks….why omit these people simply because they are still alive?  (Only 8 of AFI’s top 50 stars are still alive, and of those, only 2 or 3 are still making movies).  My guess is that since AFI’s mission is preserving old movies, their opinions lean heavily toward previous generations of film.  I’m interested to know who the general public would choose if scientifically polled.  There is an online voting option on the website, but I think the people that use the web, in general, are too young for the results to be accurate.

I’m sort of skipping around on my timeline here, but on Tuesday the 12^th, AFI aired its newest list:  The Top 100 “Thrillers” of all time.  If you go to the website, you can find the list, but I’m curious to know what you all think are the best heart-pounding movies before you look at the list.  This time I was right…I guessed what AFI would pick as the #1 movie long before the show even started.  As we neared the end of the show, Derek and I knew which three movies would be the top three, but we disagreed about their order.  So we bet a million dollars on which movie would be Numero Uno, and I am proud to say that he now owes me two million bucks!  (I won the first million in a dispute about whether Lansing is more WEST of Ann Arbor, or more NORTH of Ann Arbor.  Suckkkker!).   

On Tuesday the 5^th my neighbor and I went to a Creative Memories party, hosted by my former boss and good friend Deb.  NOW I AM ADDICTED!  I spent a couple hours every night that week putting together old photos and laying them out.  I don’t know how long I’ll stay interested, since I’ve now finished the pages dedicated to my CATS, but it sure is a fun thing to know how to do.  I’ve asked my neighbors if they want to have a “bee,” rotating between our three houses for a few hours a month, sharing coffee, dessert, and supplies, but they aren’t as interested as I am.  C’est la vie!

The sun made its first appearance in several days on Thursday the 7^th.  I arose earlier than I have in MONTHS, as I had a large balloon delivery to an off-campus V.P. retreat that started at 7:00.  Knowing that my route would take me through some of the heaviest rush-hour traffic in Ann Arbor, I left 30 minutes early and things went great.  (That is one thing I REALLY appreciate about my unusual work schedule:  there isn’t a heckuva lot of traffic at 9:30AM and 7PM).  Derek took advantage of a late-starting job that day and spread our first-ever batch of weed & feed on the lawn.  It’s funny how my newfound interest in gardening has changed my opinion about the lawn.  For 30 years I lived by the mantra “It’s just grass,” but seeing how nice our neighbors’ lawns are has given Derek and me both a little bit of the “keeping up with the Joneses” syndrome.  No major sod undertakings in the works, but we are definitely mowing according to a “plan” and doing things like weed & feed, which don’t take a whole lot of effort but spruce things up a bit.

On Friday the 8^th I got home to a nice surprise:  the 6 piles of dirt that have been in our back yard since we built the big garage last fall were FINALLY spread out!  We have been trying half-heartedly for several months to get this independent landscaper dude, recommended by our neighbor, to come out and spread the dirt around to fill in some major dips in our lawn.  But since the party was coming up, Derek started calling him more aggressively in the beginning of the month.  He did a great job, but I’m a little surprised at how little a difference those big piles of dirt seem to have made.  We could use three times as much and still not fill all the low-lying swampy areas.  Our neighbor is trying to convince us to just give up and make our own pond, but Derek is very much against that idea.  It’s not a lot of work for someone who doesn’t have a job, but for us full-timers+, it would be just another thing that we don’t have time to take care of.

Derek and I saw two movies that weekend:  “What’s The Worst That Could Happen?” with Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito, and “Animal,” with Rob Schneider.  We enjoyed both of them for their silliness.  The first one got off to a slow start and nearly lost my interest, but I’m glad I stuck it out.  Martin Lawrence’s humor started to shine toward the end.  ‘Animal’ might not have quite as big an appeal to the rest of the country as it did to us long-time Saturday Night Live fans, but out of morbid curiosity they might get Survivor watchers to pay $8.00 to see it (the leading lady, Colleen Haskell, was a favorite castaway on the first Survivor).  Then again, I didn’t think it was as funny as Schneider’s “Deuce Bigelow, Male Gigolo,” which did badly at the box office and has been heralded as the bomb of the year on late-night TV.

Derek’s vision has steadily improved over the last couple weeks.  His only continued struggle is with “halos,” which the doctors say will get better with time.  He hardly needs his reading glasses any more (which makes me sad because I think they make him look CUTE!), and he can read road signs almost as well as I can.  I think his vision is almost 20/20 now (he alleges that mine is better than 20/20.  It may be true--I’ve amazed several travel partners over the years by reading directional signs from a great distance away.  A couple people have even called me a flat-out liar.  “That’s impossible!  You must have been here before!”  Yeah right, I go to Kent, Ohio all the time, just to memorize the road signs and impress my friends!  The downside to having really good vision is that my eyes are extremely sensitive to light.  I never turn on the overhead fluorescent lights in my office because by mid-day, they give me a pounding headache.  I also have a lot of eyeball pain if I go outside on a very sunny day.  My mom says her vision used to be just this good, and now, at only age 51 (sorry mom), she needs reading glasses.  So it’s safe to guess that my vision will “burn out” at a young age too.  Damn genetics.

I finally moved the last 6 wheelbarrow loads of mulch from the berm out front to the one out back.  I could probably scale off another load or so, but I’ll save that for touch-ups here and there.  In fact, I read that foxgloves, which I planted a few weeks ago, LOVE to be mulched, so that’s on my list of things to do.

Last week we got a taste of some HOT weather, which always makes me WILT like a daisy.  Anything over 80 degrees with substantial humidity, and I am completely useless.  Almost all week it was around 90 with 80-100% humidity.  All I can say is “Thank Goodness for air conditioning!”   We were very fortunate, though, to have had an absolutely PERFECT weekend for Derek’s birthday party (once again, more below).

I had a crazy person experience on Monday at my bus stop.  As I parked my car, I saw a young couple standing at the stop, and an older Chinese woman brandishing an umbrella like a sword.  She was chasing after them shouting, “You’re NOT from Santa Barbara!  No, you’re not!!!”  The couple, who appeared to be visiting the area (great impression of Ann Arbor, huh!?), had no idea what to do.  As the bus pulled up, she swung violently at them with the umbrella and wasn’t going to let them board.  Fortunately, the driver, a buddy of mine named Kevin, recognized her and got off the bus before she could get on.  He had a little *chat* with her (basically told her to either behave or she could not ride), and then she calmed down.  He also took away her umbrella-sword. 

Last Wednesday was Derek’s birthday, so we went to dinner at one of our little “trifecta” of bistros:  Smokehouse Blues on Washtenaw.  As it was late, we were the only souls there, and had a great time chatting with our waiter.  They have the BEST baked beans in the world.  The ribs are not the best I’ve had, but they are darn good, and the atmosphere and old jazz tunes drifting through the air more than make up for it. 

On Thursday I enjoyed a sit-down lunch with Kristin at the Union’s U-Club.  Many of us who work in the building eat take-out from there several days a week (with our discount, it costs like a buck for a good green salad, slightly more for prepared salads or items from the hot bar), but it’s a rare occasion that I sit down for a meal.  It was a blistering hot day too, so Kristin enjoyed coming in from outside to the A/C for a break from her painting duties at one of their student rentals. 

I took Friday off to prepare for the party, most importantly to finish the tile work.  Derek took the day off too, and although we didn’t “work” in our classic sense of the word, we worked our butts off!  We did a little of everything (I won’t bore you with details), but the most rewarding was framing and hanging our new pool photos.  I don’t know if I mentioned this in the last newsletter, but we ordered a bunch of 11X14” photos of famous movie stars playing pool.  We bought Target’s entire stock of black matted frames and hung all but two of them in the basement for the party.  Pool photos of movies like The Hustler and The Color of Money are pretty easy to come by.  And to a certain extent, so are photos of famous pool players.  But we found this unique website that has hundreds and hundreds of photos of obscure movie posters that feature pool.  We got some legends:  Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Marlon Brando, and Kirk Douglas, just to name a few.

On Friday night, we went to the casino with our party guests from Dayton, Steve and Cathie.  We all stuffed ourselves silly at the Motor City’s famous seafood buffet.  Not too stuffed to gamble, though, Derek, Steve, and Cathie headed upstairs to the slot machines.  I have completely lost any iota of interest I ever had in casino gambling, so I sat at the bar and watched the NBA finals.  There was also an EXCELLENT band that started just as we were leaving.  They were the perfect mix of blues, jazz, and Motown classics. 

Saturday was the big party, which was of course loads of fun, but as always, a lot of work.  Since I’d taken Friday off, my list of things to do on Saturday was not overwhelming….that was, until I got home from the grocery store and found that the washing machine had flooded.  Soaking up what was on the linoleum was not much trouble, until I realized that it had seeped through the floor to the basement, and dripped DIRECTLY into the cat litter box, causing it to overflow…not pleasant to ANY of one’s senses.  Between the 2 hours I spent cleaning and the 2+ hours Derek spent de-stinkifying (yet another word I’ve made up), our afternoon was shot.  Kristin was a HUGE help though, doing far more than just grouting, and we were ready for the party in plenty of time.  Here’s a list of all our friends who were there, so the rest of you who know them can be jealous and lament over having not come:

 ….and we all had HEAPS of fun, especially after David & Iman’s little “incident,” so if you didn’t come:  Nanny, nanny goo-goo!

We wrapped up a perfectly nice weekend with a yummy dinner of Turkish food on Sunday night, courtesy of Derek’s mom.  We girls (Carol, Kristin, and myself) soaked in the gorgeous, warm, bug-free evening out on the porch, talking about gardening and a little bit of everything else, while the boys sat in the basement and watched a bunch of other boys on TV chase after a little white ball.  It ended--rather DIDN’T end--very dramatically, with a virtual unknown three-putting from 12 feet out to force a tie-breaker on Monday.  Every golfer I know talks about how brutal this game is, and yesterday was a hyperbolic example of that.  What I, as a non-golfer, continue to wonder is:  if it’s so brutal, why bother?

Have a great week.  Talk to you later this month! 

Subj: Re: Derek & Betsy Biweekly News
Date: 6/19/01 8:50:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: CTrim10400
To: DerekBetsy

This is one of your best newsletters!
The party "guests" are a hoot
Cath

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