I've been out of commission for a while -- "Dark Territory", as they called it in Under Siege 2. There are a few reasons for this.
1. It's been really hot. And when it's hot, you slow down a bit; sometimes, you don't feel like doing anything at all. You might think that this is where the stereotype of the slow-moving, rocking-chairing, julep-drinking Southerner comes from. Not true! Instead, that image may have been influenced by the prevalence of hookworm in the American South. Barefoot Southerners would walk to the outhouse, hookworms would penetrate their feet, infect them, and take some of their body's iron. "Lazy" Southerners were probably just anemic!
2. I've been reading. A lot. Largely because
3. My internet connection has been flaky -- not related to the router issue earlier this summer. Instead, I can't access Blogspot https for some reason. It's weird!!! But it's just as well, because
4. My right wrist and arm hurts. It hurts to type, write, and grip a Playstation controller. As a result, I'm in a self-imposed exile from such activities.
4a. If you're wondering how I'm typing this, given #4, it's through an annoyingly hybrid method: normal left-handed typing and hunt/peck with pinky finger right-handed typing.
4b. Feel free imply that my wrist injury is due to chronic masturbation!!
Now...
I understand that the Thanksgiving date won't be convenient for everyone. I know that the holidays can be busy!! However, there is upside to having the reunion near a holiday. Many people will be off work that Friday, and won't have to take additional vacation time. Many will already be travelling to Wichita that weekend.
Knowing that any one date would be imperfect, I wanted to set the date as early as possible, to give everyone plenty of time to make arrangements. The annoucement, 16 months in advance going by the internet date and 15 months in advance measuring from the Fall '06 Aquila date, meets that goal.
I hope this lead time will give everyone a chance to rearrange their schedules as needed: asking off from work, switching the Thanksgiving/Xmas trip to the in-laws, getting a cheap flight in from South Africa or from the pineapple farm in Hawaii, etc.
I hope we have a great turnout in November '07!
(Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to my spider hole.)
60 comments:
Please keep your masturbation/porn(grow up!) comments to yourself. It's quite sad and embarassing.
My vote is also Homecoming weekend.
Thanks for pointing out the obvious benefits of the chosen date for the reunion, Dan. Hopefully we can move towards choosing a location now rather than continuing the banter about a date.
Michelle
And I'd have to thank Keith for pointing out the obvious drawbacks of the chosen date.
We need a vote with everyone's name attached.
I second the motion for a vote. The day after Thanksgiving is the largest shopping day of the year.
For anyone who works in the retail industry, which is a large industry mind you, it will be next to impossible to get that day off. The only way those classmates will be able to take vacation time is if they are willing to give up their first born child. As all of us "breeders" know, we'd rather give up our very lives than give up any of our children. Secondly, changing your year with the inlaws or vice versa is unheard of, could cause fatal injuries or it might possibly cause the Earth to fall off its axis. So please, for everyone's safety and sanity, can we please just have a democratic vote? Thanks Dan!
Emily
If you look back, people were given the opportunity to cast their vote on one of Dan's first posts, and the concensus showed that the chosen date was preferred.
If this next called for vote doesn't appease some people, are we just going to revote and revote and revote?
The last poll was too quickly assessed.
If you didn't want people's opinions, then you shouldn't have created a blog website.
My vote is still for Homecoming Weekend. And, honestly, I think this whole thing is getting beyond embarassing and childish. I'd be more than happy to sit on a committee or be in charge of an event, as I am sure are other people. I would like to think that we are planning this reunion with everyone in mind and not just a certain group or those who happen to be getting fired up over this site.
Angie Taylor
I disagree that the discussion was too quickly assessed. 17 days passed from the request for input until the date was announced.
I think that Dan deserves credit for having asked for as much input as he has via this site. I highly doubt that most reunions are put together by opening up discussion for everyone.
Kuddos, Dan.
Michelle
My parents just handed me the Aquila last weekend when I was home visiting. Went to the site to find all of these changes. The most shocking being that Dan was a chronic masturbater.
Most reunions are on Homecoming weekend. That's why they call it Homecoming weekend. I enjoyed football games in high school. As I'm sure others who played, were managers, were part of the band, or mere fans did as well.
I have recently spoken to classmates who have yet to see the site or do not have internet to begin with. So I also think that two weeks was too short a time to make a decision. (was it already made?)
Employers should have no problem when they hear of a request for time off in September for that reason.
Ticket prices are far more expensive during the holiday weekend even if you buy tickets in advance. I don't know about others in Texas but I just visit my family over Christmastime. Two flights a month apart for my family is too much. We could drive in September when the roads are nicer.
Personally, I think it's great that Dan's a chronic masturbator. Things can get awfully boring in a spider hole.
Just for fun, how about considering a "pre-planning" gathering...say at the approaching Homecoming game at BC this year? It wouldn't have to be anything serious, just an opportunity to voice ideas or suggestions. Might be fun to see who all would turn up!
If it's a go, I would think it a wise idea for either Millie or Dan to attend, since they are predominantly in charge. What does anyone else think?
Can I just say...ENOUGH of discussing Dan's habits!!! Last time I checked, this wasn't his personal blog site.
If I'm not mistaken, a pre reunion planning session is already in place for Friday after Thanksgiving this year at Millie's. Is this correct?
Michelle
I don't think I'll be shaking Dan's hand.
Yes, it is correct that preplanning is taking place at Millie's the Friday after Thanksgiving. Please feel free to send comments, if you are unable to attend, to mvoboril@yahoo.com before that time.
While I respect the idea of preplanning at the Homecoming game, have you been to any of their games recently? They're really loud! I think it would be really hard to get any actual planning done, which is what is needed at this point.
And may I reiterate my request for brainstorming? The date is set; let's start making a list of what we want to do that weekend. So far we have (not in any particular order):
1. tour
2. dinner
3. fancy dinner and dance at a hotel (planned by the capable Angie Taylor)
4. mother's group meeting Sat. morn; children welcome!
What other ideas do you have, Class of 97?
I'm still more than happy to help, but I am doubting the Friday after Thanksgiving is going to work for me!
Angie Taylor
That is, I don't think that I can make the planning meeting.
angie
Sorry! Guess I missed the post about the planning meeting at Millie's! :) And no, I have not been to a game recently. Just thought it may have been an opportunity to visit about the reunion, get ideas and have fun at the same time.
I am willing to move the planning meeting if that's better: would Homecoming weekend this year be better for a planning meeting?
I would stick with Thanksgiving weekend for the planning meeting.
The reunion itself?
Homecoming weekend.
As God intended.
Not the tall guy with deep-rooted insecurities about relationships and athletics.
And an addiction to porn and chronic masturbation.
Note on the above: I am actually only six feet in height. Not short, but also not very tall. You might have me confused with a man of greater stature, such as George Schneller or Abraham Lincoln.
I wonder what everyone else, like the BC front office and everyone else who has an Aquila and looked up the site think.
Confused? Maybe.
Embarassed? Probably.
Way to go everyone. Especially
Mr. President himself. A decade has made you even less likeable.
Pleas refrain from writing editorials on your shortcomings as a person from now on.
Just plan a reunion. One that will make the majority happy. Or let Angie. She really wants to do it. I have a feeling that you don't want the job anyway.
Amen! Short, sweet & to the point.
Look, maybe Dan's adult, secular, in-your-face brand of humor isn't for everybody. Maybe you think it's childish and embarrassing. Fine. To each, their own. But it's no more childish and embarrassing than taking your personal attacks and condescending comments ("grow up", "a decade has made you less likeable", etc.) to a public forum like this. (Especially when you don't even have the stones to attach your name to your comments.) I'm a lot more concerned with all of the self-righteousness, than i am with simple jokes about self-gratification and wrist injuries.
Let's get the discussion back to being focused and friendly.
p.s. Maybe some of you are just being sarcastic. If so, let me tell you from experience, it doesn't translate well when it's written. (Sorry Michelle)
Secular?
I thought it was a cry for help. Sorry.
So Shawn, how long have you been in college?
Peter Goico
How you like my stones now?
Don't worry, Shawn....my attempts to be sarcastic in my response to you obviously didn't come across well either. No hard feelings here! :-) In fact, shoot me an email sometime.
I concur with Shawn that even if you don't like Dan's brand of humor, we all have had to deal with people who aren't to our liking before, so just deal with it and stick to the task at hand. If the BCCHS office has issues with the site, they have every ability to handle it however they see fit.
Will try to brainstorm for you soon, Millie. :-)
Michelle
A lot of us have families. I do not see it as being self-righteous as having standards on what we see and read. I do not see Dan's lengthy updates on himself as an attempt at humor though he tries to be humorous in them. Sadly, he fails miserably and now we have this mess.
Defend your buddy all you want. That's fine. But the last thing you should be concerned about are our moral standards.
I did not vote for Dan. I did not vote at all. I cannot complain about when or where the reunion is held but I can be very disappointed in Dan's handling of the situation. At one moment he acts the fool and at another moment he is trying to be the level headed one depending on the reaction to his statements.
I also feel that people can be anonymous if they feel like it. If Dan did not want anonymous opinions then there should not be the option.
Anonymous
Aren't we supposed to be Catholic?
At one time maybe?
And how about that vote?
When is Homecoming weekend? I suggest that we have a braingstorming/planning meeting that Saturday after the game; that could be the deadline for submitting "suggestions" and then the planning would be done by Dan, Millie, whoever without complaint. Maybe it could be at Players or some other location that would be laid back.
And, no, I don't REALLY want to plan this. Believe it or not, I just thought it might actually be fun to see some old faces from high school while having a good time.
Angie
Homecoming weekend is Sept. 29th & 30th. I like Angie's idea about moving the meeting up from Thanksgiving weekend. I won't be able to make either date for the meeting, and I'm okay with that. I would just like to know that plans start moving in the right direction. It's been getting a little thick as of late! :)
Sara Good
So it's been firmly established that not everyone will be able to make it regardless of which weekend we have it on. So rather than continuing with ad hominem attacks, why not try to make it positive and productive, eh?
Is there any reason under the sun why we couldn't supplement the gathering with another one on the diminished weekend? Granted, I do not know what kind of resources we're working with here, but IF the determination is made to keep it on the Friday after Thanksgiving, THEN why don't we also have something on Homecoming weekend? Sure, the "main" weekend will consist of several activities across several days, but why can't the other one have just an evening gathering where everyone who favors that particular date can get together and get a good look at each other?
Now, I'm certain a number of anonymous individuals have sufficiently pejorative reasons for why my proposed idea is completely devoid of merit and reflects on my own ignorance, moral deviance and general idiocy, but rather than telling me what I already know and discounting my idea out of hand, how about redirecting that exuberance towards finding an accomodation that is least distasteful to all interested parties?
Mmmkay. Just wanted to let whoever know that I can't make either of the dates in question for a planning meeting. However, I AM fully supportive of something productive happening. I don't care when the acutal reunion is held. Let's just have one!
Sara
I say we let Phil come, but force him to read his junior year paper on the Primacy of Peter. :-)
Michelle
Pete was always condescending. Do we at least get to vote for Phil to stay home?
Yeah. Sarcasm really does not work on this board.
I thought Phil was condescending and we should vote for Pete not to come.
Wow! We're all grown ups. Can't we do this without being mean to each other? Why bother even going through this much trouble to plan a get together when we can't even be civil to each other.
Anyways, I also missed the vote because I don't check this page all that often. Maybe the vote should have been open a little longer?
Our class isn't what you'd call an exemplary class. I don't think anyone is really proud of us.
I am.
Beth Chawk is the voice of reason?
This reunion is going to be great!
I don't know about the rest of you, but the nasty comments and childish banter makes me all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about seeing you all again. Wow, have we really not matured at all?
Yeah, he'd shepherd us to the promised land.
Who says we weren't an "exemplary" class? Didn't we win a spirit stick or donate 4,000 pounds of ramen noodles to the homeless or something? Sounds pretty exemplary to me...
Let's analyze the class shall we?
We have Tony Healy in med school and Angela D'Annunzio in osteopathy school. Tricia Gosche and I are pharmacists. Degraffenreid runs a successful chiropractic practice. I heard that Pete Hoeller and Ratzlaff were in law school. Millie was Benedictine's valedictorian. Dan Neises is an epidemiologist. Mike Simmons is an expert in pineapples. Adam Keiter is in the seminary. Nathan Vogeli contracted a tropical disease. Isn't Anna Sommerhauser in the Peace Corps? Isn't Eric Elston a sergeant? Brent Human is a police officer. So is Shannon Fisher. Amanda Erwin was Ms. Rodeo Kansas. Gabe Ponce is an EMT. Tracy Klein was a kindergarten teacher. Nikki Klein(Iseman) is an accountant. Danelle Orth has 6 daughters. Not to mention everyone else who can measure success with a great family. A lot of times that is far more important than a college degree. I've spoken to a number of people who were so happy that they just found their niche in life either working as an electrician or in carpentry or whatever.
That was just off the top of my head. People, feel free to add whatever but our class did alright for themselves.
Frank
Jill Emming is a nurse.
who's Jill Emming?
.....right
Nathan didn't contract a tropical disease - he contracted a disease in the tropics. Big difference.
it all makes sense now
Keith Heier is a co-manager of a Wal-mart in Dallas. Anna Thomas is a supervisor for Farmers Insurance headquarters in Olathe. Danelle Orth is also a teacher.
ROBYN GORDON AND MARK ISEMAN WORK AT CARGILL.
Christy Nelson is a nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita
Nathan contracted a disease in the tropics? Is he okay?
Should be alright. Poor boy may never walk again though.
There isn't going to be a vote is there?
I have had a GREAT time reading all 61 entries, now I would like to add a few comments if I may...
1. I think Dan is funny.
2. I think Shawn is funny.
3. I think Millie is funny.
4. I think Karen Gomez is funny.
5. I find sarcasm funny. (did you know it comes from two greek words meaning "tearing of flesh"?)
6. I don't care when the reunion happens, people will make it a point to show up if they are inclined, whether it is on Christmas Day or June 10th.
7. I think this site is a great idea, even though it appears to make some people uneasy and worried about the state of our souls.
8. Nikki is a CPA at Gutschenritter & Johnson, I am in sales for Cargill Meat Solutions (EXCEL)
9. We just had our first child, Vincent Michael on June 13th.
10. A mother's group on Saturday morning???
11. Chances are if you didn't get along with someone in high school, you probably won't now.
12. Frank and Katy were at Engaged Encounter at the same time as Nikki and I. (fun fact)
13. Seriously, if you can remember who you voted for in the class elections, what have you been doing for the last 10 years?
14. Will there chaperones at the "fancy dance"? (sarcasm)
I am out of comments for now but I just wanted to catch up on the rambling that has preceeded my entry.
Mark
I missed out on the vote, but it doesn't matter. Just stopped by to read and laugh.
Josh Cavender almost joined Phil Green's band but decided to be an assistant principal...odd right?
Don;t forget Blake Blasi played minor league ball and is now an FBI agents.
Grant Culver owns his own car dealership?
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