My version of a Christmas letter

Now is the time of the year where I actually get things in my mailbox that do not require payment or head straight to the shredder.
It is the season when you get adorable pictures of kids and the past years updates from friends and family in a Christmas letter.

Since I don't have any kids, and not much to write as an update I feel I owe my friends and apology.
So this year I decided to write my Christmas letter in a blog, don't you just love technology.

So I thought to myself “how could I make this cute and snappy?”
Especially since I am not much for the mushy and sappy.

So here it goes a Christmas letter from the ramblings of Newtie.
My friend Promise came up with that nickname and frankly she’s a bit fruity.

Now every good Christmas card should have at least a few pictures that are cute.
But I fear for me this year that might a very fruitless pursuit.
You see I have no kids, but I do have Joey, one old, grumpy cat.
He's approaching 15, sheds a lot, is very aloof, lazy and fat.



Oh then there is our bad dog Grover who is always on the move making it hard to get a good shot.
The only time he is still is when he is sleeping, eating, or outside taking a squat.
He will chew on anything he can get his teeth on, from paper towels, cat food, soap dispensers, and even dirty socks
But his favorite place to grab a snack is from what he thinks is a buffet, also known as the cat's litter box.



Now both pets lack manners and do not know the definition of polite.
You see the way they play, and say I love you is to open wide and bite.



Now is the time for the year in review,
I can’t believe how fast this last one flew.
Well I decided it was time to get a degree so I headed back to school.
I thought it can’t be all that bad, Then I remember about homework, so uncool.
I have had a few great teachers whose teaching style made it seems like less of a chore.
I also have had several classes with Hanna that helped keep things lively when the class was a snore.

There was no magnificent vacation this year but I will share what I did just the same.
I went to Joshua Tree national park, the scenery was great but the company was LAME.


There were also two short trips made to Las Vegas which were rather a waste.
It could be said that looking back they were about as fun as eating paste.


Then there was not one but two 500 mile drives up to to Maine.
The traffic was bad in spots but at least there was no rain.
I am convinced Maine is stuck in a time warp and the whole state feels like a small country town.
At least they have general store where you can buy cold beer, guns and your wedding gown.

There will be one more drive to Maine this time it will be much colder and there will be lots of snow.
I will head up on Christmas Day to spend some time with that side of the family minus my little bro.


So you know I am a bit off center so you might wonder about my family group.
As you might expect just like me they are slightly nuttier than squirrel poop.




So this past summer my mom turned the big six zero
Anyone who can wear that hat and shirt is my hero.





For the big day we had visits from Lois, Jamie, Jeff, Ryan and their dog Willie
This was Jeff’s first trip to the area so I got to play tour guide around Philly.






We of course had to go to Geno’s for a famous Philly cheesesteak.
Then off to the Rocky statue and a run up the Art Museum steps to make your legs ache.



Now SEI is where I still work and collect my paycheck
Although a finance company I still work in the area of tech.
However in my limited free time I am still busy with my photography.
Maybe one day I will be famous and someone can write my biography.


There really isn’t much else to report
This year has not been the overly exciting sort.
Perhaps next year I will have more entertaining news.
Maybe I will get a couple of piercings and a few bizarre tattoos.


For now I will leave you with just one final thought
This holiday season should be about more than presents to be bought.
Remember it should be about the Savior’s birth this time of year,
Not all about that chubby dude and his flock of flying reindeer.

Love to you all and Happy Holidays

The Santa Cause

So every year at work their is the opportunity to "adopt" a person or family for the holidays. It is called the Santa cause. The team I work on "adopts a family each year. This is the second year I have been the one to collect the money and do the shopping for the family. I had some help from a fellow co-worker, Tom, which was good when it came to collecting the money oh and heading into the scary part of town to pick up the gift certificate from Pathmark.

Yesterday was the day I drag everything in and get some help wrapping the gifts. Now you don't think the team on all guy I work on would wrap gifts willingly and without Bribes do you? Naturally we get them to help wrapping by feeding them. we order pizza every year on the day we wrap.

It is a great thing to be able to help give a family Christmas each year, even if it is a lot of work to collect the money and do the shopping and try to keep things as even as possible for each member of the family. next up in the holiday season is the SEI holiday party down in Philly tomorrow night which i have decided not to go to. next week on Wednesday we have our First annual holiday Beer exchange. (Yes Beer not cookies, again what happens when you work with all men) and on Friday we have our annual technology luncheon which usually consists of pizza, sandwiches, soda, beer and wine. there will also be a holiday Texas hold em tournament on Friday too.

More holiday season news to be reported later...

Another reason to celebrate

Its the holiday season and there is lots to celebrating, for a myriad of reasons. Near the top of my list this year is completing yet another semster of school. 7 Classes(22credits) in total have been completed since staring over the summer. I am 1/3 of the way done with the classes I need to take for graduation. Just have to make it through without completly buring out.

So yes I am happy another semester has come to a close. My last class for the year was on a Monday night and I am ready for the break. For some reason this last class was a struggle for me to get through. Of course I have registered for spring classes and i have another monday night class... Oh well hopefully this one will be easier to get through.

Christmas Party Season

It's December so that means it is time for the holiday parties to hit in a big way. I have decided to once again skip the big SEI holiday party but we will have several smaller ones at work which I will be part of, it is all part of that mandatory fun we do at work.
However the first party to hit this holiday season was the ward Christmas party. Being on the activities committee it was a given I would be there. So aside from helping out in the kitchen and beign in charge of decorations, and set up I also brought my camera along so I could get a few shots for a bigger project I will be working on over the next year for the Activities committee.
The night was a good one and the program was fun since it got people involved singing hymns, even if one of the wisemen had further to travel than the others and was a little late to shower his gifts on the Christ child.

So here are a few of the pictures I took during the night.

A blast from the past

So this weekend there was an 80's themed 30th Birthday party for Cody Skinner and Dave Arthur. I was asked if I would like to do the music for the party and of course I accepted cause waht could be more fun than some playing some 80'music. everyone got in to the spirit dressing up for the evening as shown in the pictures. I wish our ward did fuun activities like this one. The dental students really know how to make things fun. It is great.


I can't believe it is December already. This year has flown by...

Another blog worth sharing

Lots of great blogs out there with scans of old pictures from the great catalogs of the 70's this one has some great pictures.
http://janceedunn.typepad.com/wwwjanceedunncom/2007/09/jc-penneys-19-1.html

I think my favorite picture is this one On might think it is from a Halloweeen costume catalog but nope it was from the 1975 JC Penney Catalog and there attempt to capture the superfly market. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but this one might be worth quite a few more.



I think it might be time to do some digging and find some old catalogs since they are ripe with Blog fodder.

"Signs" that you are in Maine

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now but for some reason I keep starting it and have yet to finish it.

I went to Maine in late September for my Grammy’s 80th Birthday. The trip was a lot of fun and I got a lot of good pictures again. However I think I will focus on a few of my favorite pictures for this Blog. I saw a few signs while I was up there that to me really say Maine to me.

For instance here are a few signs I saw while in Boothbay Harbor Maine.





No McDonalds for the poor kids that live here. I wonder if seagulls taste like chicken. I don't think I want to find out for myself on that one.



Apparently all the animals are happy in Maine since they all seem to be smiling, well except for maybe the seagulls they might not be smiling.





For those that have never spoken to someone from Maine you might not realize they have great issues with the letter "R" at the end of words so they just remove it, as seen here on this Laundry which has a Pepsi sign, not sure I get that either.






Apparently someone didn't get the memo that there are not supposed to be any signs at this intersection.



While driving along a stretch of raod I was thinking I really could use some organic beef but I also really was in need of a good used car and time was limited. Luckily I saw this sign that would allow me to get both.



Now you can't go to Maine without having Seafood. I am so glad Bob has a place that sells seafood. (Bit of an insode joke with this sign based on some postcards we saw where the Lobster was named Bob)



Now apparently when naming towns in maine they were lacking some creative juices so they just named them after various countries. For those that get tired reading through the list you can take a load off and sit on the bench.


Now as if the rad sign is not enough to make you scratch your head the folks that own the house on the corner by this sign thought they woudl give you a little something more to scratch your head over. Click on the pictures to get a bigger view of this yard.






However the best sign I was able to snap a picture of was the one that give a whole new meaning to "shotgun wedding". I guess there really are rednecks everywhere you go.



Here are a few more shots of the General store. You can see a few of the other items they offer on the sign on the front of the building.





Yep you have to love the uniqueness that is Maine.

Blogs worth sharing

Sometimes you come across a blog that just makes you laugh. This is one of those. It is well worth the read. I have had it sent to me several different times so I decided to share it here.

http://15minutelunch.blogspot.com/2007/10/strap-in-shut-up-and-hold-on-were-going.html

November already?????

Oh my word, where has the time gone. I can’t believe it is November already. The last couple of months have really flown by. School has kept me busy and I am glad I only have 1 class for the second half of the semester instead of two classes like the first half. Still we have lots of reading and homework to do for the class so 1 is keeping me plenty busy. We will also have a big group project we will be working on. Most of the class is a carry over from one of my classes last semester. So we already know each other a little bit. It is my 4th class with Hannah which is cool. We are also in the same group for the project which I am happy about. She is easy to work with and get along with.

Halloween this year was a non-event. I didn’t even hand out candy this year because I end up eating too much of it myself. I went to our ward Trunk or treat party. I am now part of the activities committee so I was there to help out. The next big event we will be planning is the upcoming Christmas party. We will meet this coming Sunday to discuss what we are going to do for the party. We will also be trying to plan some of next year’s activities or at the very least getting them on the calendar so we know when we will be having the various activities. I am really pushing for an 80’s dance/party. I think it would be a lot of fun and I already have the music aspect covered along with a bunch of ideas for decorations and activities for the evening. I probably have more ideas then we could possibly use for one event, and I know others will come up with things I had not ever thought of so we can all chose the best of the best.

For those wondering about my eyes they have improved quite a bit and are probably as good as they are going to get but I am still not sure if I am happy with it or not since it isn’t as good as I was hoping for. Reading is still difficult and distances still pose a challenge.

The weather here has gotten considerably cooler over the last week but you would not know it here at work. For some reason it is an oven on our floor. We have had doors and windows open for the last few days trying to cool things down in the afternoon. I hope in the dead of winter when it is really cold out that it is still warm inside.

Tonight I will be shooting a corporate event and last weekend I shot a wedding reception. I will probably also being doing family portraits for a few freinds over the next few weeks as the holidays approach. It is nice to be able to use my camera at least a little again. Hopefully when I am done with school in a little over 1 1/2 years I will be able to do more with my photography. Of course oif either of the other business ventures I am working on take off I still might be too busy... Only time will tell. Oh and for those wondering we decided on "The ChellGar Group" as our company name.

New photography website

I decided to do a little photography website as a mini portfolio. I don't have much time to work on it right now so I am sure it will be a slow work in progress but feel free to check it out when you have time. Check back fro time to time for updates.

http://www.freewebs.com/chellsshots/

Where has the time gone

I have not been bloggin much lately since my eyes have been in the healing stage but now that they are slowly getting clearer each week I hope to start blogging more for my dedicated fans. LOL


Well it has been 4 ½ weeks since my PRK laser eye surgery and there has been a vast improvement from before surgery but I am still having trouble with my vision and at my appointment this morning they said it will be at least another 4 weeks. Apparently my close-up vision will be the last to stabilize. That has made reading for school and working a bit more of a challenge but hopefully it will get better soon.

This is my last week for the 2 classes I am currently enrolled in. So that will be another 6 credits completed and 46 more to go before graduation. (then I need to decide about going for a MBA or some other graduate degree but I am guessing I will pass on that since I will be pretty burned out by then.) Then next Monday I start my new class which is class #3 for the fall semester. I have things basically mapped out now through graduation with about 6 credits that I don’t know what I am taking yet to fulfill but have a good idea of which semester I will try to get them completed in. The toughest challenge is spacing things out so that work pays for most of what I am taking. Anything over 2 classes a semester comes out of my pocket and I am trying to not have too many classes that I do that with since it is expensive and I really don’t have it budgeted. So as of right now I have one 2 credit class this fall I am paying for and one 4 credit class I will pay for in the spring and possibly another 2 credit class next fall. The killer will be the one this Spring. The 2 credit ones are a little easier to absorb into the budget.

I took my framed photos down for the art show display here at work this morning. They will be up for 84 days. Thanks to everyone who let me know which ones they liked best. Speaking of photography I have not been doing as much with it since my eye surgery since I just can’t see things as clearly as I would like. Thank goodness for auto focus. I will be shooting a wedding reception in 1 ½ weeks and the following weekend I will be doing the Awards banquet for McNeil. I am looking forward to both.

I am in the process of helping my uncle get his business up online. It is kind of slow going since he is super busy as am I and my father who is also helping him. Plus add in the fact that they both live in Maine and I am in PA and the logistics are not the most ideal but as my uncle funnels information to me I will get things rolling. In the mean time my dad and I are moving forward with our plans to start a business which although slow going is definitely progressing in the right direction and we really are just trying to get everything situated so that we can really run with it come the new year. We are both very busy with our full time jobs and church callings and me with school so we do what we can when we have time and energy. Plus neither of us want to jump into anything without a good solid plan in place. I am hoping this will go well so that I have something that I can set aside for retirement I addition to my other investments. If the people that owe me money would pay me back I would have most of what I need to get things up and running but I am not counting on having that money and am trying to save what I need on the side.

Three weeks and counting

Well it has been a little over 3 weeks since I had my eye surgery and I am still not able to see all that great. I have to admit it is frustrating to say the least. I have had things I wanted to Blog about but just have not felt up to it with the eyes being the way they are. They are pretty tired and mostly too fuzzy to see th computer screen after work, and when I can still see I am trying to get homework done.
If I had any idea I was still not going to be able to see that well after 3 weeks I might have rethought the whole surgery, or at the very least chosen a better time to have it done.

Hopefully in a couple more weeks I will be able to see well enough to start blogging again regularly.

An update on the eyes and other things

So I thought today would be a good day for a Blog update. It has been 10 days since my PRK laser eye surgery and I just got back from the eye doctor. Apparently there are 2 kinds of patients when it comes to PRK. The type that completely heal in 7-10 days, also known as the ones I despise and want to kick and the ones like me that can take 6-8 weeks to heal up. So that means another 4-6 weeks of not so great vision for me. I was assured though it will get better, good thing since right now my vision isn’t good enough to be considered legal to drive at night. It has been a bit frustrating but I have to tell you after talking to Dr. Grey today I felt a little better about the fact that things are still fuzzy and hazy. She had the same surgery that I did and it took her about 6 weeks to heal completely. Still it is a bit frustrating and it makes doing homework, and working a bit more of a challenge and the headaches are not all that fun. So for anyone reading this considering getting PRK done make sure you know there is a chance you could fall into the group that takes weeks if not months to completely heal. There will be good days and bad days. The last 2 days have been good ones for me, as far as the fact that I am seeing the best I have since the surgery but for some reason on Sunday it was one of the worst days I had, so it will fluxuate.

Aside from that I came out of my house this morning to find my car had been vandalized and robbed. Not a great way to start the day. If I wasn’t going to be out of town this weekend I would be cleaning out my side of the garage to get my car in it. Hopefully mom will at least get started on it so the following weekend we can finish it up.

I did manage to get ½ of my homework for this week completed which is a good thing. Now I just need to get the rest finished up by Thursday. This semester is not going as smoothly as my first two this summer but I am not overly concerned at this point. I will just do my best to get things completed on time. I will have to take some work with me when I go to Maine this weekend but I don’t want to fall behind so it is a necessary evil.

I hope I am able to see well enough to take all the picture I want to take while I am in Maine this coming weekend. Thank goodness for auto focus cause there is no way I could manually focus a camera with my eyes like this. Hmm that reminds me I need to get my submission for the art show sent in. I will post the ones I end up submitting in a blog later this week.

1 week later

So it has been a week since my eye surgery and my vision is not as good as I thought it would be by now. My vision is very hazy and I am hoping that it is temporary and that it will clear up soon. I still don’t know if I will be glasses free or if I will still need them once my eyes stabilize. I am hoping for the being glasses free option. My right eye is still the weaker of the 2 eyes and I am really hoping it starts to get clearer, and the fact that both eyes are considerable worse than they were yesterday is a bit concerning. I really hope by next Friday my eyes are clearer before my drive to Maine.

Last night I left the house for the first time in a week to go some place other than the eye doctor, granted it was just to go to class but it was nice to be out of the house and driving again. I probably should not have been driving but I made it to school and home safe and sound. Tonight I start another class so I will get to venture out again. I am looking forward to this new class even though it is a Friday/Saturday class but it is only for 3 weekends. I am just glad to be starting to get back into the land of the living. I have been working from home for the last few days but the not being able to leave the house thing is getting old.

PRK laser surgery or Alien abduction

So I had my PRK laser surgery last Friday at Kremer laser eye center and here I am at day 7 and still can't see that great and am second guessing the whole thing but I just need to give it a bit more time. Hopefully things will get better soon...

So the actual process felt a little bit like I imagine an alien abduction and eye probe would feel like but hey I survived... So there I was in a slightly darkened room, reclined back in what felt uncomfortably like a dentist chair, with bright lights above me and a masked individual telling me to relax. Before I knew it my eyes were being pried open with a contraption that would prevent me from blinking. Then I was told to stare into the light and they put some sort of drops in my eyes that felt like acid burning them and then I was quickly given more numbing drops so the stinging would stop. Then I was told to stare at the light again and the popping of the laser started. My vision faded out and when it was done they were flushed with water, really cold water. Both eyes were done in less than 10 minutes. It was weird walking around without my glasses and not being able to see anything. I kept wanting to put my glasses on.

For the more technical look at the procedure here is what PRK essentially is. PRK is very specific wavelength of far-ultraviolet light energy which will literally vaporize fractional layers of human cells, leaving an incredibly smooth undamaged tissue surface.. When you arrive for the surgery your eye is prepared with a cleansing solution to help guard against infection. Anesthetic drops, to fully numb your eye, are added to assure your total comfort while they vaporize those cell layers off your eyeballs (I needed some extra of those drops because when they started putting other drops in my eyes they both felt like they had been dipped in acid and it really stung for a few minutes. No needles are utilized which is a very good thing since I am not a big fan of needles. Then during the procedure you are asked to look at a light and hold your eye still. See kind of still sounds like an alien abduction and eye probe to me.

Now the entire procedure takes only a few minutes. The actual laser application takes 15 to 60 seconds per eye to complete. You are then released by the aliens from their mother ship, which is oddly shaped like an office building, about an hour later.

So I returned home and promptly went upstairs to rest my freshly lasered eyes.
Day 1- The day of Surgery Friday was lots of resting and pain medication. Everything was very blurry and I was in a bit of pain. I had on my protective contact bandages and tinted goggles; hmm I thought the point of this surgery was to get rid of eye wear not to have to wear extra...

Day 2 Saturday the vision was a little better but I still could not see well enough to read or even watch TV so there was a lot of lying around listening to music and such. The pain was still pretty bad, and I was beginning to rethink the whole thing. I was still really light sensitive so the goggles or a pair of sunglasses stayed on all day.

Day 3 Sunday was the worst day pain and vision wise. Then add to that the discovery of the small pond in the basement from the hot water heater that was leaking and it was just not a fun day. I could not see well enough to turn the gas off to it and I also could not see well enough to be sure I had actually turned the water off. My mom was out running errands and I could not track her down so I call my grandmother who came over and helped me make sure the water was turned off and then helped me clean up the minor flooding we had. Once mom got home I went upstairs to lie down since my eyes felt like they were on fire and everything was so blurry I could only just barely make out shapes.

Day 4 Monday- no vision improvement but the pain was slightly less. I didn't rest my eyes as much as I probably should have since we had the hot water heater being replaced. I still could not read at all or see well enough to get online; eyes were still really light sensitive. I was starting to get really frustrated and depressed that I could not see and was not really able to do anything of value, or entertaining. I was really bored too since I could not even see well enough to watch TV.

Day 5 Tuesday. Vision in the left eye had slightly improved but the right eye was still not any better. I had a check up with the eye doctor and the contact lens bandages were removed. My eyes felt a little scratchy but I was glad to have them out. My eyes were really light sensitive still and I probably over did things a little in the afternoon trying to read to get my homework done for the week. I finished my weekly assignment but still had my paper to do.

Day 6 - Wednesday Left eye had slightly improved but right eye was still not improving. Still light sensitive and still not even close to being able to drive. Again I pushed it and was working from home during the day and online all day, and had to write my paper for class. I had such a terrible headache and was not able to see well enough by late afternoon to keep going so I sent in my paper as was and will just have to do what I can to make sure my next one is better and that I do well on my mid term and final. I am rethinking the whole timing of this surgery. I really hope it doesn't impact my grades too much. I might lose my 4.0 GPA but as long as I get at least a 'B' I will be happy.

Day 7 - Thursday today. Wow what a difference a night can make. I can see 10 times better than yesterday. Vision is still not great but I think I can probably drive myself to class tonight. Everything has a general blurry haze at all distances. Eyes are still light sensitive, and it is still difficult to read and the left eye is at least 3 times clearer than the right which is so odd since it was the left eye I was concerned about due to the scar tissue I had in that eye. But since I can see some and I promised to blog about this I decided to get an update posted.. I have envy for those people that get to have the Lasik surgery and walk out of the office being able to see. So unfair…

I am taking a much needed break from some technology…

Okay so what does that really mean? I will be “offline” from Friday to probably the following Monday, maybe longer depending how the eyes heal after surgery. I am having my PRK laser surgery done Friday and will not be “online” for a few days while my eyes heal. I am actually looking forward to the forced break. I work on a computer all day, my classes at school require at least some online work, I have 2 blogs, a myspace page, a facebook page, at least 5 active email addresses, and I have various chat programs, (Google Talk, AIM, MSN, and Yahoo). Plus I use the internet all the time for various different things like shopping, research, etc.. It is just so over whelming to keep up with it all. So now I will get the break if only for a few days while I recover. I will also not be driving, reading, working, or watching TV, but if I get bored I might listen to it. LOL Really I am hoping to at least get some real resting done, and get caught up on a little sleep at least, since I will have a lot to get caught up on once I am online again and able to drive again and head back to work. As soon as I am back online I promise an update on the eye surgery here on the blog.

Hmm a life without glasses?????

Well I would first like to thank all those that have picked out their favorite pictures from below. I think I heard from about 20 people in total, ½ on here and ½ that emailed me their favorites. I will be narrowing down my entries this weekend. I really appreciate all of your support.

Not much new is happening here. I have decided to go ahead and get laser eyes surgery done. I can’t go with the traditional kind where you can actually see the next day. I have thin corneas (Figures the one thin thing about me is the one thing you really don’t want to have be thin.) So this means I will be getting PRK done so I will not be able to see for about a week and it will take a month before it is completely healed. For those that are not familiar with PRK it basically means they burn the top layer of your cornea (the epithelium) off with a laser, then use the laser to reshape the cornea, the stick a protective lens over the cornea for a few days while the epithelium starts to grow back. Sounds painful and from what I hear it will be for a few days. Plus it means very blurry vision for about a week, and several weeks before the vision is stabilized while the removed layer of the cornea grows back. But I should be able to see well enough to drive and get back to my normal routine about a week after surgery. I promise to blog about it after I get it done. I am still working out the scheduling of it since I will need to take a week off from work while I recover.

Hopefully I will be seeing well enough 2 weeks after for my already planned road trip to Maine for my grandmother's 80th birthday..

Submitting for an artwork show at work......

Okay readers I need your assistance. The company I work for recently sent out an email asking for all serious hobby artists to submit jpeg’s of their artworks for consideration in an upcoming exhibition “SEI Artists” in the SEI Gallery. Works can be paintings, drawings, photographs, printmaking, wood works, craft pieces, etc.. A focused series of work and commitment to the medium is necessary for consideration. What they are concerned with interesting images, interesting content, etc.

Well I have decided to submit some of my photography and decided to do a nature series specifically flowers. Below are the pictures I have narrowed it down to but I need your help to pick out the top 5 favorites. (I got it down from 62 to 27) So please look below and leave me a comment letting me know which 5 you like the best and think I should submit… Help me pick the most interesting images. Let me know if there are any you do not find interesting at all. I will probably do something in addition to the flowers if I can figure out what I want that to be…. Feel free to add any suggestions you might have.

Thanks and I will let you know which ones I submit and if I get chosen or not. With as many people that work here I am guessing there will be a lot of people submitting things.

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Okay let me know your favorites, if you can't just pick 5 keep it to no more than 10.