California Fires

  California is burning.  It does so every summer, but it means a lot more to me this year because I have a few friends out there fighting the fires themselves.  The fires this year are raging all over the place (with some 1,100 fires confirmed), and our boys are having quite a time keeping up(not enough crew there to take care of all the fires). 

   Thank goodness for BC, New Zealand, and Australia who are sending many of their own fire fighters to help battle the flames.  And yesterday New York State sent many of their own crew over to join the fight.  And for the past fourteen days our California boys have been working alongside several crews from Northern Colorado.  These crews from Colorado were called home today, due to infections they acquired in the area they were working in.  The forest they were battling in was filled with heavy poison oak which gave them horrible rashes (yes, even through their suits), and made breathing difficult (and dangerous) due to the fumes emanating from the oak as it catches fire.  Another crew from Colorado is going to ship out to take their place soon.

(Smoke from the mountains around Big Sur fills the sky)

  The fire in Big Sur started about two weeks ago from lightning, and has grown to be one of the largest and most dangerous at the moment.  The crews from New York are stationed here in Big Sur, doing their best to get this massive blaze under control. 

Gov. Schwarzenegger wrote to President Bush a few weeks ago and requested help from the military and other fire stations to get a handle on the fires blazing across the state.

"The newest firefighters battling the massive wildfires in California are fresh off of overseas duties. That's because they're among 200 National Guardsmen being asked to help with the more than 320 fires burning across the state.  It's the first time in 30 years that guardsmen have been used to battle wildfires in the state. Fire officials say the guardsmen are a huge relief since many of the firefighters have been battling the blazes nonstop for months."

  Many of you know Manuel V, a legendary Schola student and inventor of Doffee.  Well, he is out there in the thick of these fires battling alongside his fellow firefighters.  I'm not sure exactly where he is, but he's there and doing his part to help.  Please pray for him while these fires rage across the state.

Please be praying for the residents of California as these fires burn uncontrolled in the forests and mountains near their homes.  Be praying for Gov. Schwarzenegger and the officials as they make decisions on whether to call in more help.  And please please please pray for all the brave men out there fighting the flames in order to save homes and lives, and risking their own lives by doing so.  Where would we be without them? 

Mwahahaha...

  Guess who's working at West of Paris tonight? 

  Last night was technically my training night, and I had a lot of fun. I think I did pretty good, although I did make a few mistakes.  The biggest one that I made was when I succeeded in knocking over a bottle of wine!  Thankfully I managed to do it behind the counter, so no one saw it (but I bet they heard it). David and I struggled to not laugh out loud, but as I said - it was a struggle. On the one hand I felt really stupid, but on the other hand, I'm glad I got it out of my system last night.  The way I see it, I was allowed a small mistake or two last night since I was still "in training".  But not tonight. Tonight I need to get it right.  So hopefully since I did it last night I won't do that again tonight.  That's what I'm hoping, anyhow.  *crosses her fingers*

  I'm really looking forward to it, though.  I've always loved dining at West of Paris, so I'm excited about (hopefully) being a part of what makes it so enjoyable.  I want to to make it as enjoyable for others, just like it is for me. 

  Wish me luck!

P.S. I know how to fold the napkins West of Paris style!! 

The song you are now hearing...

... (and it may take a moment to load) is Viva La Vida by Coldplay.  It is also probably THE best song that Coldplay has EVER come out with.  Even topping Fix You, Viva La Vida was last month's Song of the Month (in my book anyhow).  Everyone is going crazy over it, it seems.  On the radio the DJs play it at least once a day, people set their statuses on facebook to lines from it, you hear it blaring out of apartment windows when walking through college campuses, and you see it everywhere in the stores (both locally and online).  Viva La Vida is a hit.  A huge one.  And in my opinion, it could hardly do otherwise. 

 Listen and enjoy. 

Banned from the Callihan household

  Calling all Callihans!  Calling all Callihans!  All Exxon gas stations are now strictly prohibited from our use. 

  ... At least, the one in Moscow is. 

  It all started years ago.  The first thing that really bothered us about the Exxon station is that it beeps CONSTANTLY.  It beeps while it processes your card, it beeps while it waits for you to "lift the nozzle", it beeps while you're filling up the tank, it beeps while it prints the receipt, and the list goes on and on.  It drives us crazy.  The only reason we go there in the first place is that it's right on our way out of or into Moscow, and usually that is right about where we remember we need gas. 

  Then, one by one, the pumps started going "out of order".  You never really knew which one would work when!   The "dudes behind the counter" were always rather freaky, and the place is just in general not nice. 

  Well, the last straw came about three weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon.  We were on our way home from church, and dad decided to get gas before heading to Potlatch.  Robert and I headed home in Johnny, not knowing all the excitement we were missing. 

  Apparently, the pump Dad was trying to use was astronomically slow, and after waiting ten minutes for $5.00 worth of gas, he gave up and went to Tesoro.  But only after condemning Exxon to perish in hell forever, and vowing never to return.  Respecting our father's judgement, none of us have gone there either since then. 

  This is the end!  Exxon has been banished from the Callihan household, and may this be a lesson to them.

2008 Geniuses of Insanity Awards

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the third annual Geniuses of Insanity awards!!

  *wild cheering from the crowd*

  Yes, welcome, everyone to this auspicious event in history. The past two award givings have been a huge success, and I expect that this year shall be every bit as exciting. And I would like to thank you for being so patient, as the release date was set back to well over a month. This year's winners were hard to decide on, and we were unfortunately not prepared to post the event on the designated date of March 27. But perhaps you'll find that it was worth the wait! Last year we only had two winners, but this year we are returning to our original number of three.

"Get on with it already! "

  Yes sir, I beg your pardon. Let the 2008 Geniuses of Insanity awards commence!

  *more cheering from the audience*

  In Third Place ... a member of the WHAP/WACK .... and fellow defender of the rights of Schola students... Commander of the Icy Regions... the Captain of the Polar Bear Riders himself...

   ... Aaron Mortipos!

  *thunderous applause from the crowd*

  Yes, he is very excited to be here. 

  Some of you may know Aaron as "Aapwv".  Others simply know him as "that guy with the polar bears from Greek class".  Well if either of those are what you're thinking, then you are right.  Yes, Aaron is very proud of the stories of his two polar bears.  And although he has taught them well, I do remember one or two occasions where they got a little too interested in their computer games, and he had to kick them off in order to get to his Greek class in time. 

  Aaron's stories are always very entertaining, and they become more elaborate each time.  It is these stories that have won him Third Place in the Geniuses of Insanity Awards.  *hands Aaron Third Place award*

  *crowd cheers*

  Yes, congratulations, Aaron! 

  And now!  In Second Place ... slayer of dragons ... driver of bulldozers .... avid defender of Coka cola .... and the Flutie of high school Football himself...

  ... Ethan Brant!

  *audience goes wild*

  My sources have informed me of many events which our winner Mr. Brant was a part of.   For example, on one occasion Ethan Brant and another Ethan in Schola's Great Books 3 class built a virtual ice cube-throwing robot and used it as a weapon against the girls in the class, who in turn built a giant fortress to keep the robot out.  On another occasion, he was informed that if he didn't come to the 2005 Summer Academy, one of his classmates would throw a walrus at him, and he retaliated by saying that he would simply commandeer a bulldozer and catch said walrus, keeping it as a hostage.  He didn't come to the Summer Academy, and the adventures of the walrus and bulldozer continue to this day.  I myself once spent almost ten minutes arguing with him about how if he ran over a great dane it would be a result of his careless driving rather than a result of the politicians in the area. 

  Anyone who knows him will agree with me when I say that he is, in short, a genius of insanity.  Congratulations Mr. Brant!

  *wild cheering from the audience*

  *the room goes dark*

  *cheering fades as a voice comes from somewhere in the darkness*

  And now .... it is my pleasure, pride, and all the rest of that jazz .... to announce the First Place winner of the 2008 Genius of Insanity award. 

  Aaron Wells!!

  *crowd goes insane*

  Please remain in your seats, ladies and gentlemen!  Thank you!

  Now, as most of you know, Mr. Wells was recently married.  However, that hasn't exactly toned him down.  His wife is every bit as hilarious as he is, so they've made a great couple.  But the event which I shall *always* remember happened before they were married.  Before he was even courting her! 

  The setting is atop a mountain range just north of Moscow (Moscow Mountain, for those of you who know it).  My father had taken eleven of us up the mountain to watch the moon rise.  It was incredibly windy and cloudy, however, so we ended up just driving around and walking about for a while.  It was dusk, and mist was rising from the trees below us.  The twelve of us stood on the side of the mountain looking out at the lights of Moscow, "glittering and winking in the dark".  The wind was swirling through the trees, and the sound of it gave us the chills.  And then a voice came from the darkness, "This is exactly the time that the sasquatch comes out."  We looked over at Aaron.  His face was completely serious as he looked back at us.  "You don't believe me?  It's true!  He comes out of his dark den at dusk, when the wind is howling through the trees.  You see, then his footfalls are not heard from the noise of the wind.  He haunts the mountains, searching for lost, stranded people."  Knowing he was making it up, or at least passing on a story, we kept him going, and he ended up telling an enormous tale about the sasquatch.  As we drove back down the mounting, he pointed at the mist rising from the trees and said that it was the smoky remains of the sasquatch's dinner.  "Wait, I heard it was Bigfoot who cooked his victims," I said, wondering if he could get out of that.  After a pause only lasting a second or two, he said, "Well actually, few people really know about that.  It actually goes like this ..." and he proceeded to tell us the tale of Bigfoot, and from there he went to the story of the miners who were trapped in their hut with the five monsters surrounding them in the darkness. 
  I shall never forget that night, and Aaron's stories, entertaining us as we walked about the dirt road, the wind blowing up the dust in front of us, with the moon's light emanating through the clouds. 

  That is probably the best example I can give of Aaron's insanely geniusness, although there have been countless occasions in which he has had people rocking with laughter.  Aaron is the Genius of Insanity, and he well deserves it. 

  Congratulations Mr. Wells!

  Please come again next year for the 2009 Genius of Insanity Awards.  It being my first year in college, I'm sure that, hehe, I'll have quite the group on insane geniuses next spring.  Thank you, everyone, for being such a wonderful crowd!  God bless, ladies and gentlemen, and have a wonderful year!