An over-committed weekend...

When I made this year's resolution to have at least one blog post per week for 2014, I thought that between the books on the list and the minutiae of my life, I would have no difficulty coming up with post topics. If nothing else, I could always ponder some deep thoughts that no one else would have any interest in reading. Fortunately, this past week was chocked full of story-worthy events.

Ready for action

The first story began last week during a routine visit to the dentist. I mentioned to the hygienist that I had noticed something that felt like a blister on my gums. Upon examining it, she proclaimed that I had an abscess. Since the infection was located near some teeth that had already been tagged as having to eventually be removed, the decision was made to go ahead and take them out. Unfortunately, after four painful attempts, the dentist could not get me numb enough to actually extract the teeth, so I was sent home with an antibiotic prescription in hand and a return appointment the following week. Fast forward seven days and it was like Ground Hog Day. After four more attempts and a sparking nerve, I now have an appointment to see an oral surgeon. I guess those two teeth were determined to accompany me on vacation at the end of month.

Friday night, my dear friends Cathy and Arjay hosted an "Opening Ceremonies, Ceremony" party in honor of the Winter Olympics. The invitation was to choose a country and bring a dish representative of your country. Somewhere I got the ideas that this was a costume party, so while the Chipotle Lime Chicken Thighs with Jamaican Rice was finishing up, I put together my costume. In honor of Bob Marley's Birthday, I was going dressed as the Jamaican Bob (Marley) Sled Team. And you guessed it - I was the only one in a silly costume. Regardless, the party was great fun. There was Borscht, Swedish Meatballs, Cheeses, Sausages, Potato Skins, and Toblerone accompanied by White Russians and Arjay's delicious homemade Beer.  Based on the tiny little headache I had all day Saturday, I think it is safe to declare the party a great success.

Staging Area

But a tiny little nagging headache was not going to keep me down - especially since my most politically active friend, Clodagh, had extracted a commitment from me to attend the Moral March on Raleigh to protest recent laws passed by our legislature. After a hearty breakfast at Big Ed's, which has probably never had that many liberals dining at one time, we headed to the march's staging area. We were surprised to see people with signs lined up in front of my condo, which is three blocks from the staging area. However, once we arrived on Wilmington St, it was pretty obvious that the staging area was not large enough to accommodate the attendees.

While the only unifying aspect of the protest was last year's legislative agenda, it was quite refreshing to see people showing up on a cold winter day to stand for their beliefs. The event was well-organized, ran smoothly, and exceeded all expectations for attendance. The original permit request was for 20,000 people. Estimates on actual attendance are around 80,000.

As free-lance protestors we were able to navigate through the crowds and close to the stage. The red arrow points to where we were standing.

After the protest march, I attended a will writing seminar then celebrated my niece's 19th birthday with the family.

Thank goodness for Sundays. I am exhausted.