What will I have to say this week?
There was another week at the office. There was a weekend to follow. There was another trip to the hospital. There was the onset of a cold. Oh, and there was a graduation.

What can I say about work? While I enjoy my job, I still have those times where I’d rather be just about anywhere else. Last week was like that. You go to work, but you’re there in a literal sense only. Your mind wanders at every oportunity and the time seemingly stands still. I obviously survived, but it wasn’t easy.

Beth “graduated” from pre-k on Saturday. I thought the idea of graduating from pre-k was kind of silly, if not a little cute. Beth and her classmates got to dress up in full graduation garb and walk down the isle with pomp and circumstance. Beth had a grin on her face most of the time so I think she enjoyed it. Lisa and I were tickled to discover that a new family tradition would live to see another day. At the end of the ceremony the class walked in procession to the front of the stage where stairs awaited them. The stairs disappeared behind a wall which the kids emerged from at the bottom. Beth was following right along and began to slowly disappear behind the wall. She got about half way down when she disappeared suddenly, appearing in the middle of a sudden flury of action where the floor met the stairs. Ah well, Beth is in good company – you know who you are.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of fatigue and illness, the kind that leaves you lost in that zone between consciousness and sleep. I can’t blame it all on the cold. To avoid further discomfort, I switched antihistamines, going for my tried and true cold formula: Actifed and Motrin. My runny nose and congestion were quickly put behind me, but the side effects are always a killer. Fortunately, I was awake long enough to see my Celtics take a beating at the hands of the Nets. Thank goodness for that.

This leaves me at the hospital, waiting for Dad to come out of surgery and typing this week’s entry. I’m here with mom. If you know either one of us you probably know how much conversation is going on. That’s o.k., we’ve got plenty to do. I’ve made two trips to the hospital cafeteria, giving me more confirmation for my theory: hospital cafeterias have something against heat. This holds true for humans and food alike. The dining room, aka the refrigerator, is cold enough to chill and preserve last night’s leftovers, which brings me to the food. I was there for lunch just as they were setting it out. You would think that this would be your best shot at getting fresh, hot food. Well, I’m glad I’m here to set you straight. I can’t speak with certainty about the freshness (although I could guess), but I can say that the food was anything but warm, with the lone exception being my Sprite. I could have put a couple of my brocolli spears in my Sprite to cool it off. It was a shame that the food was so bad because it was not a good reflection of the rest of the hospital.

Now for the highlight of last week, celebrating the eighth anniversary of my marriage with Cheryl. Cheryl’s parents graciously agreed to look after Beth while we went out for a long overdue date. We had a lovely, if not pedestrian dinner at the Outback Steakhouse, followed by a trip to the movies. We saw what I consider one of this summer’s must see movies: Star Wars Episode II, Attack of the Clones. Unlike the previous movie in the series, this one lived up to my high expectations. It did everything I wanted it to do. In short, it filled in the gaps and introduced some of the history that is behind the original trilogy. The end left me somewhat satisfied but craving for more. It is sure to be a long three years until the release of episode III.