Two Weeks in Review

Thursday, October 20
We went to the Virginia Tech vs. Maryland football game in College Park. We had purchased two over-priced Hokie Tailgate tickets and a parking pass so we wouldn’t be stuck shuttling in from West Virginia. We figured it was worth the extra expense to be within walking distance of the stadium so the food would essentially be a bonus. Well, they should have paid US to eat that “food.” This was the menu: undercooked hamburgers (I think they were hamburgers, but I can’t really be sure), hot dogs (that may or may not have been actual dog food), sauerkraut, red cabbage, bland potato pancakes, and ice cream bars. That’s it. I guess the vegetarians took a plate of pancakes and called it a night. PATHETIC. Needless to say, the food was awful. But hey – parking! Anyway, it was all about the game. We had decent seats and a few other Hokie fans sprinkled around so we weren’t too outnumbered. A group of four guys sat down next to us, and the one right next to me was a chatty guy. He mentioned how he’s a civil war buff and a history teacher from Connecticut down for the game because one of his buddies used to play for Maryland. To make a long story short, all these guys were from Derby, hometown of Roy Pettengill. Not only that, but Roy’s niece works for the same high school this guy teaches at and he knows a bunch of other family members as well. Small world. Anyway, this guy was a closet Hokie fan since he had put down a bet in Vegas over the summer for them to win the National Championship (as did Doug). Anyway, despite some sloppy play by Tech, the Hokies won 28-9.

Friday, October 21
Doug had lasik surgery. I’ll let him write his own blog on the experience but I did get to watch the procedure on video. I was surprised how quickly the actual surgery went – he was in the room for about 10 minutes at the most. First, they prop the eyelid open, slice open the cornea, leaving a flap, and peel it back. Next the laser shoots into the eye for a few seconds. Then the doctor swabs the eyeball, peels the cornea back into place, sponges it down, puts some drops in, and that’s it! Pretty amazing. Doug had a lot of pain for the first few hours and he had some inflammation for a few weeks but other than that no ill effects. His vision is great and still improving.

Thursday, October 27
Another Thursday night football game, this time in Blacksburg vs. Boston College. We drove down Thursday morning and had a nice long tailgate. Probably one of the best meals yet – grilled chicken sandwiches on ciabatta bread with avocado, tomatoes, and red onions. Doug had carved his annual VT jack-o-lantern also. We left it lit during the game and when we returned to the lot, it was still burning strong! Chilly weather too, we actually needed gloves and hats. First night game of the season in Lane Stadium, always a fantastic atmosphere. The Hokies beat a very tough Eagles team 30-10. That night, we stayed at the Super 8 in downtown Christiansburg. Probably the loudest hotel we’ve ever experienced, and we’ve certainly stayed in a few noisy places. The icing on the cake was the garbage truck arrival at 5:30 in the morning. We won’t be staying there again. Anyway, only three more Hokie games to go, two of them home games. Up next – Miami. This one will be a true test.

Monday, October 31
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I love the costumes, the pumpkins, the candy - what’s not to love? Besides Doug’s VT pumpkin, we carved 4 others this year – the grim reaper, a skull, a bat, and a wolf. We always get a lot of compliments from the trick-or-treaters. We only had 42 trick-or-treaters this year, down from 60 last year, and even more the year before. Not too many good costumes either, seems people aren’t as creative as they used to be. When I worked at Busch Gardens we used to have a Halloween costume contest every year, people would go all out. I really miss that; my current office is too stuffy to do something like that. Maybe next year someone will invite me to a party so I can dust off that Dorothy costume and ruby slippers…