Home Visit

I do not know where to start. I want to thank everyone for a great visit home. I tried to see and spend time with as many people as possible, but with limited time and busy schedules, it is very difficult. I did learn a few things. I have the best family and friends that you could ever ask for. It was non-stop fun and excitement the entire time I was home. I also learned that this blog is read in many parts of the country, county and world. I cannot believe how many people knew what was going on just from my blog. That is a very nice pat on the back.

Anyway, so to give you a quick update. Here is a brief summary of my time at home.
I flew into Morgantown about 1 hour + late, it was snowing and all the other flights out of Dulles to the PA/OH/WV area were being cancelled, so I am glad ours was finally able to make it. We did a touch and go and had to circle around again in Morgantown. I think it was either wind or deer on the runway, or both. I got off the plane and there was a great friend of mine standing with a sign. Keep in mind the Morgantown airport is really small, and there were 6 people getting off the plane. Don’t think she would have got lost in the shuffle. It was really cool, however. She took me back to the trailer and I got the mail and my truck and headed to the hotel. (My work pays for me to stay in a hotel during my home leave…since I have no place to stay…my house is rented…and there is no furniture.) I got to the hotel and crashed. I stayed up the entire flight and connection, this allowed me to switch back over very easily.
The next morning I headed to Fairmont to go to the dentist. I got my cleaning and got some new impressions made. Afterwards, I headed to Yann’s to have some world famous hot dogs. Mmmmm. Soon, I was back on the road headed towards the Spa City. I got back to town and stopped and saw mom, then sis and Dad got home. It was a great homecoming. We had a great dinner and a great time catching up.

The next day was basically me just visiting around town. Family, friends, EMS, etc. All the regulars. Plus I got really motivated and did my taxes and got a haircut. Very cool. Thursday we headed to Rio, which there is no need to tell you what transpired there. We finished off the evening with a stop at the Irish Pub and the Black Bear. Can you tell I am back in the greater GBR?

Friday I visited some more folks and then headed to see Carrie teach. That was a cool experience. Aunt Pam about knocked me over when she saw me in Carrie’s class. It was really fun to see Carrie go from nice fun teacher to mean teacher so quick. After a while at the school and hanging in the teacher’s lounge….(for those of you that don’t know…like I was…the teacher’s lounge is the place to be. The ‘teacher’ persona gets checked at the door and you really get to see what happens when teachers are on a ‘planning’ period. After school I headed to Roanoke to visit another great friend. We had dinner and had ‘tasty’ beverages late into the evening.
The next morning I headed back to WSS. Stopped to see the parents and have lunch, as well as a few friends. Then it was off to Morgantown.

Donnie met me in Morgantown and I went to pick up a few items at the store and then headed to the Brew Pub to meet Jon and Julie. It was a good time with some great friends. Sunday we visited the future President McClintic-Coates-Gore-Clinton-Obama who had a house full of kids. We grabbed some Quiznos and then headed to the WVU game. Thankfully, we dominated Seton Hall, so it was a good game. After the game we stopped by the house to get some laundry that I did and then headed to the Beanery to do some dinner and hanging out. After much conversation and fixing many of the world’s problems, we headed back to the hotel.

Monday after breakfast, Donnie headed out and I went to spend some time at EMS. It was good to see everyone and catch up. I have such high hopes for EMS, but I think the health system is holding them back (no surprise). I chatted for a long time while my truck was getting an oil change and trailer brake hooked up. (Funny, I am out of the country and ask the family to drive my truck once in a while…when I get it back it has many miles and needs an oil change…what do you think?) Monday afternoon I caught up with Kelly and we had dinner. It was nice to see that she is doing well and continues to expand and grow in her job.

Tuesday was a work day. We had a conference call that I attended in Pittsburgh with the people that are usually in Pittsburgh, however they were in Qatar and I was in the states. So I went to their office and they were at mine and we met for a few hours. I got some things put into motion and cleaned it up pretty soon. Primanti brothers was on tap for Lunch and our Overseas Secretary and myself went to indulge. Mmm….What a great lunch. Tuesday evening it was Porter, Michelle, Sarah and myself went to grab some wings at BW3. There were supposed to be more attendees, but we had some cancellations. After wings, I headed to Dan’s new house and got to see the boys. They were having a poker game (kinda-sorta in my honor). We went and played and it was a good time. Got to see Bill, Dan, Jeremy, Josh, Luke, Dylan plus some new faces I have not yet met.

Wednesday and Thursday were just Visiting friends and family. It was so great to get to see everyone. Plus there were some preparations for Pipestem. Friday morning I got up early ate breakfast and went and got the stereo. Then it was off to Shinnston to pick up Chad. After loading the car we headed to the Greater Greenbrier valley. We started at Route 60, then hit up Rio and then headed to the Irish Pub. We also somehow ended up at the Black Bear in WSS. What a full night with lots of good friends and family.

Sat was extremely busy. Chad helped mom cook (he is into that cooking stuff). I made some rounds and picked up some more supplies for the next week. At about 3:00 the family started arriving for our Christmas dinner. Mom had left up many of the Christmas decorations and we actually had a full Christmas dinner. It was nice. Most of the family was there and it was good to catch up with everyone. After dinner Dad, Myself, Chad and Josh headed to Sugar Camp for an evening with friends.

Sunday morning we got up and headed to Beckley. It was time for Sams and Wal-Mart Supercenter shopping for Pipestem. We got a large amount of supplies and went back down the Mountain to meet Carrie. She didn’t understand until she saw how full my truck was why we needed her to drive Dad’s down with the Stereo and our Luggage in it. When we go away for a week and shop for 7-8 people, you acquire a lot of stuff.

The week of Pipestem was great. It is one of the most relaxing weeks every year. I look forward to it constantly. Plus, the fact that we have reservations tied up for 2 years in advance makes it hard to get off our mind. It was great seeing everyone and catching up with all of my EMS buds from all over the state.

After Pipestem, I headed home. Laundry was needing done and it was such a nice day Sunday and I felt pretty well I decided to undertake a project. When I opened the Garage to put the cooler back in you could not see past the door. Since I had all afternoon, and the weather was awesome…I decided that I was going to clean the Garage. I pulled everything out. Organized it, and put it back in some sort of order. You can now actually walk in there. It was fun going through all of MAMA’s stuff as she kept some really neat things. Plus she left notes in everything, which I know surprises no one.

Monday I helped Dad with some odds and ends around the house. Around noon, Carol, one of my close friends happened to be in the states and stopped by to hang out for a while. We hit up April’s for lunch and then I showed her around town. We hit up EMS, the Fire Department, Memorial Park, and The Greenbrier. After the tour, we took Mom and Dad and met Susan, Jeff, and Carrie at the Irish Pub. After happy hour we headed home and had dinner at the house. The night ended with all of us going to Lara’s to play Nintendo’s Wii.

Tuesday I ran around and said my goodbyes to everyone. Dad and I headed to Beckley, but with the impending storm and the fact that my flight was already 2.5 hours late we made the decision to drive to Dulles. Thank goodness Dad did not have to work the next day. We stopped back by the house and had a quick lunch with mom and then headed to DC. I love him for that quick decision to take me all the way to DC. It was good getting many hours to chat and catch up. My dad is truly a great wise man and I love him dearly.

So after a few hours in the lounge and catching up on some news and happenings it was time to board. I started feeling a little bad the day before but I thought it was just my allergies because the weather was so nice. Well, I was wrong. The fight over was miserable. When we started to descend into Doha, I could not equalize. The pain and pressure in my head was killer. Finally about 10 feet off the ground I was able to get the pain out of my head.
I was hoping it was just a bug, but Thursday morning I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Fever, coughing, aches, chest and sinus congestion, runny nose, sore throat. I stayed home and worked from my office. I needed to clean our my emails and do some computer work anyway. Thankfully Carol had some antibiotics, and told me where her key was to her house. So I am about 12 hours into some antibiotics and feeling a little better. You guys that know me know I am sick because I have been so cold. I actually woke up freezing last night and went and got my other comforter from my other bedroom and put it on my bed. It did not help much. Today I woke up cold and now I am burning up and sweating.

I did go get my car yesterday, so if I need to get out I can. I picked up some milk and some other items so I have some things to eat for the weekend. It will probably be a lot of computer time and some time with The Family Guy.

So anyway, I had a great trip home. I am truly blessed with all the family and friends I have all over the US and the world. Everyone is so warm and welcoming. I love you all and cannot wait to see you again. Those of you that say I don’t blog enough I am sorry. I will try to pick up the pace. It is hard to write when not much happens on a day to day basis. Thank you all for a wonderful experience. See you all soon!