Holiday Meals With Friends

Josie and Sarah and company invited us to join them in their Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in their home this year. And so the turkey I had purchased to cook for Thanksgiving - all 18lbs of her - was kept frozen until this past week when Kelly and I offered to host dinner and games at our home.

It was the first time I had ever cooked a whole turkey by myself. With the help of mom's own recipe, and some searching for other "tricks" online, I pulled it off! The bird tasted pretty good! :-D Hahaha... I just wish I had taken a picture of my cooking labour prior to us all digging in.

But here's a picture of our spread after all was had.

And so with this, I would like to return the thanks to Josie and Sarah for making us feel like part of the family, and now, we truly have a family with whom we can play the many games we all enjoy!!! Hahaha.. A sort of belated Happy Thanksgiving in a way.

Here's to many special gatherings together!

Happy 2008 to all.

Feng Shui

This past weekend was all about cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

Kelly was on call and had to field a lot of patient and hospital calls but otherwise this weekend was devoted to getting our place back in order. After some 5 weeks since we last cleaned (the floors) we decided we had not another minute to lose, and so we got to work.

And so since we were already moving furniture and stuff around to gain access to as much floor surface to clean as possible, I figured I'd go ahead and rearrange the furniture. You know, do a bit of Feng Shui.

What a difference! It always amazes me how much positive energy I receive from viewing (and occupying) our living space with slightly different positioned furniture. Try it!

I started with the living room area and ended up re-positioning all of Noomsie's furniture in his room.

The floors are spic and span, and though not any one method of cleaning floors I find spectacular for the job, I must say the whole "Swiffer" line of products really you should *not* be without. I mean, dust is dust, and sweeping with a broom just does not collect this stuff. You need something that attracts and holds the easily airborne particles. And then a good ol' fashioned mopping is needed. Voila!

And so here's to a safe and happy Holiday Season to all our friends. May the New Year bring you all much blessings.

Jetlagged & Sick

We made it back home! After some 30 hours plus of travel we made it home from Singapore to Blue Ridge. The journey, difficult enough as it is for a single, healthy person, was made that much more daunting for many reasons: (1) Ethan and Kelly were both sick, (2) we lost one seat on the return flights for Ethan and were down to two for the three of us though we paid for three seats, (3) we had 2 huge checked in luggages and 5 (five!) carry-ons (is this even allowed?) plus a stroller, (4) Blue Ridge is still a two hour drive from Atlanta after all those flight hours, and "so on and so forth" :-D

Our colleague, Renea, picked us up from the airport. Luckily she had spoken to our supervisor and colleague, Dr. Tidman, and was told by him that we would be delayed through immigration in Atlanta so to not arrive when our flight arrives but 30 minutes to an hour later. Boy was he right! And we had totally forgotten to remind Renea before we left or even while we were in Singapore that we would be delayed through immigration.

And so, we arrive in Atlanta airport, and are greeted by long lines queueing up for immigration officers. Not surprising, everything takes that much longer in the U.S. and you just can't help but harbour all these negative thoughts and feelings for why the officers take so long to do their job (compared to the many airports we had passed through on this trip in other countries). Lest, finally, it was our turn, and a cue on my passport always signals "special" - for "special registration" that is. And off we were for another hour in a smaller, stuffy room where persons born from certain countries are always detained a bit and screened. Myself, I was born in Iran - probably the *number one* country being flagged these days by the U.S.

But the veteran that I am, now having gone through this NSEERS process half a dozen times or more, I was patient and answered questions briefly and succinctly and in time was granted the stamp I needed to proceed to baggage claim. By the time we had arrived to the carrousels, the place was literally desserted. It had taken that long through immigration for me, that only our lonesomes from our flight of hundreds were left to collect luggage.

And anyone who's flown into Atlanta's Heartsfield-Jackson (??) airport knows how confusing and long the walk from baggage claim to your car can take!!

Alas we meet up with Renea who had been waiting some 30 minutes - though would have been a heck of a lot longer had she not been fortunate enough to speak to Dr. Tidman before picking us up.

Atlanta was 38F, few degrees above freezing. Penang, Malaysia was 32C (90F?). So it was a change to get used to :-P I am the type that enjoys having four seasons. I welcome cool to warm and back, but this was extreme even for my liking.

A 2 hour drive later, and we were home! Lug all our stuff and we were inside our home, but still freezing since we had put our thermostat way down while away. A few hours to warm up the whole house later, then we were fast asleep -- at 4pm! LOL

We awoke at 10:30pm, did some unpacking, ate something, went back to sleep at just past midnight or 1am. Ethan woke up (and so we all did) at 5:30am for good to start our day.

And this patterns has continued for the past couple of days, each getting slightly better and back to our regular cycle though still not right. Two days ago was bed at 6pm instead of 4pm, and waking at 12:30am, back to bed at 2:30am and up at 6am for the day. Last night was bed at 8:30pm, up at 4:00am, and well.. I'm still up and probably will be for the rest of the day today. So sort of getting back to normal, progressing 2 hours a day it seems.

Now it is my turn to be sick. I now have what Ethan and Kelly had the last few days of our trip. Funny, when I am sick and tired, it seems like I just cannot remember the last time I was healthy and without these symptoms. Sniffle, sniffle, cough, cough.

Malaysia

As we did on our '05 trip to Singapore, a major part of our journey was to meet all the relatives on both mom and dad's side of the family, who all live in Malaysia (mostly on the island city of Penang). And so this reunion also, we made our way and met all the uncles and aunts and cousins -- and of course grandparents, Ah Ma and Ah Gong.

A special trip was planned this time (which we did not have time to do in '05) to visit the village in which Ah Ma and Ah Gong live, and where Kelly's mom (and dad) grew up - Pantai Acheh. The journey to this tiny village was arduous, driving through steep mountain passageways, that are both narrow and extremely windy/curvy. Of course this made for some fantastic views of such steep mountain slopes, dressed in dense dense foliage that end only when the land dives into private coves of glassy water. But of course the reason the drive was made that much more difficult was not the mere route we took, but the fact we had a full car load - 7 adults, 3 toddlers. Fun!

And in time, we see the welcome sign to Pantai Acheh, and arrive at a humble home, decorated with lush vegetation and potted plants and flowering trees and shrubs and fruits -- Ah Gong's garden was indeed impressive, of which (no surprise) I admired greatly.

Outside this mountain village home were many fruit trees including one I recognized from my early childhood living in the Philippines -- water apples! The distinctive taste brought back long forgotten memories of the fruit (and climbing the trees) in our home in Cebu. Ah Ma and Kelly's aunts were busy collecting and cleaning the fruits, which were bagged while still on the tree, to prevent from being eaten by the many bugs and insects, but also to aid in their ripening (??).

Inside the home were family portraits and also individual portraits of Kelly's mom's siblings, parents and grandparents (Kelly's great grandparents, Ethan's great great grandparents!~). There was even a picture of Ethan on one cabinet! To think, from "far away" Blue Ridge, Georgia, USA to Pantai Acheh, Penang, Malaysia. I guess there are many evidences these days to show for the "smallness" of our world. But still amazes me.

And so compared to '05 where all I was concerned with was addressing the many relatives by their titles or family positions correctly (in Chinese!), this time around, I really enjoyed myself and evening taking initiative to have photos taken with Kelly's grandparents, and uncles and aunts. I even feel a lot closer to many of them now.

So the 5 day trip (within a trip) to Penang has been the jewel of this vacation. I am glad Ethan got to meet his great grandparents. We were unable though to have a meeting with Kelly's (paternal?) great grand aunt - Kelly's longest living relative, not necessarily by age but by generation. Had we found time to meet, Ethan would have met his great great grand aunt :-D (significant probably only in photo, as Kelly puts it, even she hardly knows her great grand aunt).

Not Much Going On

With Dad, Kelly and Ethan feeling under the weather, little has gone on the past two days. The weather has not been cooperating either, with the sun only breaking today after several days of rain (at times extremely heavy downpours). So, I have found time to sit and post several pictures on Facebook, and also blog a little.

Tonight we have another dinner planned with some family friends. We have done most of our shopping that we hoped to do on our trip, but disappointingly for me, not a lot of site seeing in Singapore -- partly because it is so difficult to get everyone ready to go anywhere (especially with three boys), partly because everyone but me has lived or grown up in Singapore and so the "downtown" or "Esplanade" or certain shopping centers are all but "been there, done that, don't really want to do that for some time to come", but also because of the weather and illness that's been going around. What ever the reason, it is quite a loooooong journey to then be cooped up at home all day, no?

There's always 2010 for the next family reunion?!

Last night, Ethan had another wheezing episode (or few) and Kelly and I had little sleep. Early this morning, mom and dad and Kelly took Ethan to the hospital to get some oral steroids to help with his breathing, as well as a nebulizer since the one we own is not portable, and we did not take with us on this trip. Personally, it has been sad and frustrating to see Ethan suffer so much. And to think this is now likely going to be a part of our everyday and travels. Ethan is doing marginally better now, and Kelly is taking a much needed nap (actually has been napping most of the afternoon now, though not without being disturbed by Ethan who wishes only to be with mama all the time). So not very restful, but at least something. Poor, Kelly!

Mom has now taken Ethan for a walk around the block.

Adeline has been working hard the past two days on completing her Master's thesis corrections.

Yuske and Michelle have been back at work the past couple of days, and the boys to school (pre-nursery for Ryu and nursery-1 for Jun), so they are gone literally the entire day until mid/late evening.

So it is looking like this vacation is coming to a halt far earlier than our return flight to the U.S. :-(

Short Blurb

Hi Everyone!

We're back in Singapore after spending the past few days in Penang (Malaysia). Kelly's relatives met Ethan for the first time. We had many dinners, shopping trips, close encounters with wreckless (Penang) drivers -- or perhaps US driving habits are simply very tame in comparison -- and 499 pictures which are downloading as I type this entry!

With one more week to go until we are back in Blue Ridge, I will be sure to post a lengthy many entries and photos.

Love y'all,
Max

"Vegas, Baby!"

Everyone seems to be saying it. :-D

Next investigator meeting will be in Las Vegas, NV! And this time, I will be able to attend! The last meeting which was sponsored by Roche was held at the Ritz Carlton in Key Biscayne, FL. I missed that opportunity for family reasons. And now, I get to go to the Regeneron meeting which will be at the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort (Jan 10/11, 2008). Kelly had the opportunity to go since she will be sub-investigator for our site for this study, but someone's got to be with Noomsie. Instead, it will be the boss (Ray) and I.

USD v CAD

The US dollar is back on top! Hahaha... For the first time in nearly two months (the Loonie took over the US dollar on October 4, 2007) the American buck is worth more. The fluctuation of world currency probably means that soon after I write this entry, the Loonie would have edged ahead again, but so be it. At least levels are more or less on par now, compared to a month ago when on November 7th the Canadian dollar was worth more than $1.10 USD!~ (a record high). This does not mean that the US economy is doing any better. At least all the news you hear or read depict a grim outlook especially with the housing market at an all time low, and consumer spending this holiday season expected to be the lowest in years. But I am optimistic a rebound is around the corner! Crazy, but I've been following this currency tug-of-war DAILY for the past two months. Obsessed, I know. I get my world currency rates from www.xe.com which updates every few seconds!

Mountain Medical Potluck

We leave for Singapore in three days, and we have a lot to do before then.

Work aside, we have to: (1) find a new home for Sparky (and permanently since we think Ethan is allergic to her) and (2) prepare to host our colleagues and work friends for a potluck dinner at our home (yes, the night before we leave!). Pretty crazy, I know. But we have more or less packed for our trip already. Toiletries and the usual chargers for cell phones and the like for which we will be using up to the point we leave our home, remains to be added to our luggage.

It will be nice to host our co-workers in our home. Kelly and my contribution to the potluck will be Adobo (chicken) and Islanboli pollo (Persian tomato rice dish -- with green beans, and with or without meat).

Josie and Renea have kindly offered to bring us to and from the airport. So we're pretty much all set to go. Will add photos after we return from our trip on Dec 16th.

More Photos!

A DVD full of photos arrived in the mail! Thanks, Mom and Shar! I have uploaded several onto My Picasa, although it crashed on me several times due to our weak wireless internet connection upstairs. And I have noticed, viewing the pictures that were uploaded successfully, that some others have indeed been missed. I will have to delete some photos before uploading the rest though since I am running out of space on My Picasa. (already used up 90% of 1,024MB). They keep expanding the space given on the these free photo sites but setting a limit is just never a good idea (never enough space I say :-P ). So thanks, Mom, and though some repeat, I hope y'all enjoy!

Sharks! Whales! (And An Emergency Hospital Visit?) -- Oh My!

What a trip. Total exhaustion. It all started with Ethan wheezing early Friday morning. His breathing was so laborious that Kelly was actually worried and wanted to take him in to Fannin's (Regional Hospital) Emergency. We were thinking of cancelling our trip altogether. We had booked into the Glenn Hotel and already had tickets for the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke museum. But Noomsie was sick.

So we took our time getting ready, to see if Ethan's condition would improve and whether or not he could take a 2 hour drive to the big city. And actually, if he could, then we would rather take him to Scottish Rite, a children's hospital in Atlanta. And so Kelly administered a medication using a nebuliser (a piece of equipment that aerosolizes a liquid medication to be breathed in). This usually helps Noomz with his breathing, and it did the trick, though to last for the duration of the car ride we were not sure.

But with Ethan seeming his usual self and breathing with less "effort" we decided ok we will take to the road.

Just minutes into our trip Ethan fell asleep, but his breathing had returned to wheezing (Kelly had her stethoscope on hand and was checking Noomsie periodically). So our first destination was going to be the ER at Scottish Rite. There, Noomz got a double dose of some steroid and other breathing treatment (again through a nebulizer) and had a chest X-ray taken. He was also given Motrin for his fever which was at 102.2F. His X-ray was clear and so no worries of pneumonia or other. We arrived at the ER around 11:30am and we were not discharged until nearly 4pm. So a good start to our trip (spending hours in a hospital)! But all for Ethan as he is our precious.

His usually smiley self, I couldn't help but take some pictures of him in his baby hospital "gown". I am just glad he is doing better, though still sick, but not seriously, and quite manageable for now. We know he will suffer from asthma (if not these string of wheezing episodes are already alluding to) since both mom and dad have had asthma as kids and both grandfathers currently have this respiratory ailment. But we hare hopeful that Ethan will outgrow it somewhat.

Not taking any chances, we bought an air purifier and a new humidifier for his room.

Once we were discharged from the ER and on our way, we decided to check into our hotel room. The Glenn Hotel is smack in downtown ATL and very close to our other destinations for this trip -- namely the "largest aquarium in the world" (the Georgia Aquarium) and the museum that is all about "happiness", the Coca-Cola museum (or the World of Coke museum).

First we went to the G.A. It was huge, but to be honest, the Singapore aquarium seemed more "grand". For some reason, the G.A. did not really live up to my expectations, though some tanks were downright enormous -- have to be in order to hold whales I suppose.

Ethan was out asleep the entire time we were there, which was unfortunate. He woke up when Kelly and I were nearly through the gift shop on our way out. So we decided to turn back and have Ethan go through one (of the many) section to at least see a few aquatic animals.

After the aquarium we rushed to meet up with my aunt Tita Flong and her friend, Chari, for lunch at the Hong Kong Harbour restaurant. A typical "hole-in-the-wall" type of restaurant, where the quality of food is far more invested than the surrounding decor, we enjoyed dim sum while Ethan made sure to make more work for the restaurant staff by ripping any piece of paper or napkin he could get his hands on.

My camera had run out of batteries but luckily, through eating lunch and waiting some, the battery "recharged" enough somehow to take one more picture before dying again. We new the picture was taken since the flash went off, but we could not even turn the camera on again to check to make sure.

So no batteries and no camera and still had the Coke museum to go to, and Ethan was awake. All in accordance with this trip I suppose -- nothing going as planned that is. And already I have plenty of pictures of fishes and sharks and jelly fish from our Singapore trip of '05. Why did I not save my battery!!! Aahhhh.. so frustrating. So anyways, again waiting to recharge a batter, I managed to capture the large coke bottle on the top of the museum. Check My Picasa.

But totally useless trip in terms of memorable pictures, though it was so nice to see Tita Flong and Chari and to spend time with them, and for them to see Ethan for the first time too! They both agreed Ethan looks more like Kelly.

And so I got progressively ill as the trip went on. Very chilly and damp, and not a great time to be sick and around a lot of people. But heck, trips we seldom take so darn it, we were going somewhere.

We did do shopping as planned, and bought a Zanzibar (safari-theme) small table and two chairs for Ethan -- toddler furniture -- and a toy chest also the Zanzibar theme. We bought tofu for Ah Ma and some other gifts for the boys when we go to Singapore. (which is in 6 days!)

I bought Kelly some Givenchy earings and Dior (Miss Cherie) perfume and gift set from Macy's -- belated anniversary present. And so shopping-wise this trip was as planned. But the crowds and traffic were almost more than we could handle given our congested heads and stuffy noses.

Back at home, we've been unpacking, getting rid of garbage and packaging and now cleaning and going to pack. Let's hope we can kick all this sickness before our flight!

Thanksgiving Dinner With Molly & Cupid

[the giant pumpkin weighs 479lbs]

Dinner this evening was far better today (than last night). We ate around 2PM. Thanksgiving dinner was held at Josie's place, and it was a good old fashioned turkey spread with all the fixin's and even a dash of eastern european flavours. A long dining table seating some 18 friends, gathered and shared grace, good food and better company.

To work off the meal we had just ingested, some of us went down to the barn to visit donkey sisters, Molly and Cupid. Click the link to My Picasa (on right) to find more photos ("Thanksgiving 2007").

It was pretty chilly out today (and damp -- we had several thunderstorms all night last night) and so back indoors we had hot drinks and dessert waiting. We played games including Catch Phrase and Apples to Apples.

What a warm evening shared by a gathering of friends!! Thanks Josie & Co!

Brasstown Baby Bust

Our anniversary dinner at the Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris was not exactly what I had hoped it would be. But babies as they have the natural tendency and ability to do, they steal all of your time and attention. And so our dinner was quick and was the typical struggle to feed Ethan (when there were so many other distractions to occupy his interest). Dinner was a buffet, though they did have various salads and entrees and a carving station with prime rib and a desserts station as well. I ate prime rib and salad. No surprise there. But I was in no mood for chicken parmessian, or ratatouille, or italian sausage with grilled peppers and onions (though this latter dish was a bit tempting). But no, I stuck with red meat, green leafies, and tomatoes - litterally all I ate. Kelly ate even less, with her focus being more on what Ethan was (or was not) eating. Dinner was short, few pictures of Ethan were taken. And Kelly was on call at the hospital.

Happy Thanksgiving

[Kelly (and Ethan) on an autumn afternoon stroll]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! One of the busiest (if not THE busiest) time of the year for travel in the U.S., some 40 million folks are expected to travel 60 miles or more, most of them by road. Ourselves, we are here in Blue Ridge, but no longer by our lonesomes (as Kelly had mentioned we would be in her "status" on Facebook). We have been invited to join Thanksgiving dinner at Josie's house (Josie is Kelly's nurse). She has some family and other friends, some 18 people in total I think, will be getting together in a few hours. Dinner starts at 1pm :-D But not all is well. Noomsie is again sick. This morning he had some wheezing and runny nose. I guess his rate of being sick the past month or more is completely expected being with other children all week, and being cooler and damp with winter looming. I just hope he recovers in time for our LONG flight in 9 days :-D

And tomorrow, the shopping begins. Also a time for major "sales", many stores are opening tonight at midnight or early morning hours like 3 or 4am with great deals. A lot of it is hype, and not many great deals are actually found. But as a family we are travelling to Atlanta to do some shopping and meeting up with Tita Flong (my aunt - mom's sister) for lunch (dim sum?) on Saturday at the Hong Kong Harbour restaurant on Chester Bridge Rd. Tita Flong recommended we go to this restaurant since it was a "regular" of Shar's and Babak's and they, too, enjoyed the place a lot.

We wish more family could be around us during this "family" time of the year. But this is a reality that I am slowly coming to accept with each passing holiday. With Kelly's visa hopefully secured during our Singapore trip, we hope and plan to be more mobile and utilize our new found "freedom" to visit some of you as we can.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY, and God bless!

10 Days To S'pore

Less than two weeks and we will have our family reunion in Singapore.


Ohh... could not make it three in a row blog entries.. Noomsie is up!

Today Marks 3

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Three years ago today, Kelly and I "tied the knot" in good ol' Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club. Oh God, what glorious times those were! (again reminiscing the past - see entry below)

Now we are gaining momentum and refining our ways as we strive to be this well-oiled married machine. Ha!

I love you, Kelly.

And so tonight, Ethan, Kelly and I will celebrate with dinner at the Brasstown Valley Resort.

What a day, the morning being it's usual hectic rush to get out the door. But being Wednesday today, Kelly has her half day in the morning, and I go to to work in the afternoon, each taking turn to look after Ethan (currently napping). And in the rush and through breakfast, I forgot to wish Kelly a Happy Anniversary! And so I sent her a "text" message. :-D

We have a professional photo shoot for work today as well, and so busy all around.

How time just marches on...

Reminiscing The Past

A sort of redundant (entry) title, I have been thinking of the past lately. Not sure how constructive this all is, but nonetheless...

A very dear friend just submitted her doctoral thesis (or dissertation if you will) and though some time still before her defense and the title of "doctor" is bestowed upon her, I can't help but feel nostalgic, and a bit critical of what has happened (to me) after those quite enjoyable days of undertaking a PhD.

It is like, where once you know precisely what must be done to achieve your goal, the next you find yourself simply being "mediocre" and going about your day in the minimal of ways. You still have "goals" but the arena suddenly changes: you are no longer a student! For the first time in nearly a decade, you are no longer working towards a degree, a qualification.

I am telling all of my friends who are pursuing a graduate degree (specifically a PhD) - the same thing told to me close to my (then) completion date - that there really does exist this "post PhD blues" and to be ready for it. For some, this period characterized by the lack of direction and motivation does not begin immediately after the defense. This was my experience however, but I attribute this to the fact that I was far away from home. When you are "done", you hope to surround yourself and "take a break" with your loved ones. And so for me, my blues came nearly immediately. But my colleagues have described feeling this "lull" during the few months after graduation, or later still, well within their next endeavour (usually a postdoctoral position).

Now more than four years removed from these emotionally turbulent (but also exciting) days of PhD completion - and the novelty of being called "doctor" all but discipated - I sit and reminisce and think of how blessed I've been to have so many friends and family who have supported me. Everything my heart has desired I have been given: I am married to a loving, brilliant woman and we have a son.

Enter new arena!

But my lack of contentment will not abate, I don't think, until I obtain what I think I am seeking all this time, and that is some sense of purpose in my daily, professional life.

Congratulations my friend, and may you keep shining.

www.riverbirchresearch.com

My friend Frank is helping me create a website for our clinical research company, River Birch Research Alliance, L.L.C. So far we've managed to register the domain (see blog entry title) for the site, but little else. Still work-in-progress, but I am very excited as this will be one step closer to getting our name out into the wider community, as the current existing website for our research work is not great.

There will be a "home" page that lists all the various tabs/pages, as well as pages for: (1) our company (brief history), (2) our philosophy (mission statement), (3) our team (list of providers, research staff and me), (4) information for sponsors (pharmaceutical companies) and CROs (clinical research organizations), (5) information for patients (how to enroll in studies, etc..), (6) current/ongoing/upcoming clinical trials studies and our past research experience and (7) a "contact us" page.

The site will be simple and clean, with a lot of white spaces and calm nature pictures of the Blue Ridge area, with easy flowing text. Easy enough to envision, but it will probably be a greater task to communicate effectively cross continent with my friend Frank in getting it done just right.

It's exciting! And thanks, Frank, for lending your time, and expertise! I will work to get you justly reimbursed or rewarded for your time.

Miller Time

Baby Miller is here! Born last night, 6lbs 11oz, to proud parents Susan and Kalib, and even more proud, grandparents, Lee and Ray. Congratulations to you all, and we hope to see more of the new addition very soon. Will post pictures too upon approval. And I just heard word that Kelly will be Miller's pediatrician!~ Our love and thoughts with you all :-D

Chamber Of Commerce Banquet

On Saturday, Kelly and I attended the annual banquet hosted by our very own Fannin County Chamber of Commerce.

Considered by many who live and work in the region to be THE most anticipated event of the calendar, this year's event was held at the ultra-posh Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, GA.

Our place of employment (Riverstone MD, PC) is a corporate sponsor of the event, and so we had a table for eight reserved for our group. For dinner, I enjoyed prime rib with roasted asparagus and a ball of mashed potato, while Kelly had the pecan stuffed grouper (fish) with wild rice and grilled vegetables.

Jody Davis, who is the chief financial officer (CFO) of Riverstone, was elected as Member of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce for 2008. It was nice to see a member of our group achieve the position, and Jody was clearly the most junior of the inductees -- he is only 29 or 30 years old. Congratulations, Jody!

Many awards were given out during the evening, and since Kelly and I are new to the community, we only recognized a couple of names. One (name) that markedly stood out to us was that of the Mercier family. The late Mr. Mercier (passed away this summer) and his wife, Mrs. Mercier, were awarded a Lifetime Honorary Member of the COC for their family's contribution to tourism and general support for community life in Fannin County. The Mercier family own the largest (and oldest) apple orchard in Blue Ridge - some 200 acres and thousands of apple trees - and for generations have been a huge attraction to the region. Our family has made a couple visits to the Mercier (store) just outside the orchards and especially love the deep friend apple pies! Yum!

The evening nevertheless was short for us. We essentially ate dinner and left while the live band hired for the evening played their first song. It is not that we were being antisocial, rather, with a 40 minute drive back to Blue Ridge, and Ethan being in Linda's care for the evening, we had to make good time to bring Ethan back home.

Linda Gray and husband Jimmie (?) are just lovely folks, and very caring. Our family will likely return to Brasstown Valley Resort to celebrate Kelly and my third year wedding anniversary, and we will be sure to bring Ethan to enjoy the sights.