Okie(s) in Florida

Well, Florida, you weren’t my mistress for long. It’s back to the southwest.

Yes, it’s true. I’ve taken a job at the Dallas Morning News and that means in about a week I’ll no longer be an Okie in Florida. I’ve had a great time here, but the situation was right to head on back to Big 12 country. I’ll scoot in just in time for the yearly disappointment that comes with being an OSU fan.

I think I may fall under the daywalker category.

Allison, you are no longer allowed to eat in the cafeteria.

Only in Florida…..

FORT LAUDERDALE - The wife of Police Chief Frank Adderley roused him from bed with a gunshot and then chased him from their Plantation house to a neighbor’s, squeezing off more rounds as he ran away, authorities said.

Spent yesterday watching The Revolution on the History Channel. Good times.

Yes, the wife is out of town, which means I can lay around on the couch in total sloth.

Anyways, here’s a July 4th nod to our friends overseas. Especially my good friend Jeff, who is in the Green Zone of Baghdad.

And why not take a different twist for Independence Day? On this day, which recognizes our independence from the British Empire, why not give a nod to the country that today remains our best friend in the world?

Happy July 4th!

I thought only little kids got ear infections. But apparently that’s not the case.

I’ve been battling an ear infection all week. Basically, my ear was a little sore and felt like it had liquid in it. But I just thought I’d tough it out, with the only side effect being that I was waking up in the middle of the night because my ear was sore.

So I went to the doctor. He says he can’t figure out whether it’s an inner- or outer-ear infection. Prescribes me drops AND amoxocyllin. Plus some Vicodin for the pain (which I thought was overkill until the next day).

By the end of work, I’m in so much pain. My lymph nodes are swollen, my jaw hurts and I’m in the most pain I’ve had since I broke my finger a couple years back. Who would’ve thought?

I left work early. I was worried that it was getting worse AFTER starting the meds. So I called the doc’s office. The nurse told me, “It gets worse before it gets better. It’s going to suck for a few days.”

I woke up this morning and just couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed and get ready for work. I was in freaking pain, not to mention I had woken up in pain several times during the night and had to plug some pain pills.

Who woulda thought?

But I found it riot funny that this drunk lost his arm to a gator while swimming near NUBBIN Slough.

And while you’re at it, check out this database of alligator attacks we built.

I know it’s been a while since I last posted. Things have been a little, shall we say, stressful at work.

You see, layoffs are coming at the Sun-Sentinel. And it’s not just a problem at our newspaper. The whole Tribune Co., which owns the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, our sister paper up in Orlando, Allentown Morning Call, etc. In other words, we’re a big f-ing company.

With a big f-ing debt problem.

So my question is this: Let’s say I survive this round of layoffs…if we can’t pay our bills come December, what does that mean? More layoffs? Bankruptcy?

And it sucks here at my paper, which was traditionally the cash cow for Tribune. Now the real estate bust in Florida has left us high and dry for the time being. This is a paper that has assembled quite a group of reporters and editors, numbering somewhere around 300.

Just since 2000, we’ve been a Pulitzer finalist three times that I can think of, most notably for some kickass FEMA coverage that exposed the fraud, waste and mismanagement there before the Katrina debacle ever became an issue.

And now we’re going to slice and dice.

So that’s where we’re at these days.

On a happier note, Firefox 3 is out. Firefox 3 is out. Firefox 3 is out. And while I use lots of their add-ons for practical purposes, such as FireFTP and some tools that help me inspect the HTML of pages, I think this one is particularly cool. Check. It. Out.

That’s all for now. I’ll try and post more often. Or at least as long as I have a job and can afford the cable/electricity bill.

… makes Kathryn a bitch.  Seriously.

There’s just something about my not getting any quality down time that turns me into a crazy person.  And the last few weeks at work have been ridiculously busy.

But the Memorial Day weekend was just what I needed.

We went to the mecca of furniture.

That place is beautiful.  It’s even more beautiful than words can express.  Nevermind the fact that the prices there are better than anyone else’s sale price.

Even better?  I found our new furniture set for our bedroom:

Say hello to Hemnes.

Ahhhh.  Very Pottery Barn-esque, no?

Thank you, IKEA.  I’m not bitchy anymore.

-Kathryn

Or that’s what Allison said.

And she’s right. I’ve fallen down on the job.

We’ve been pretty busy lately, both at work and at home. We spent most of yesterday writing the much-belated thank you notes for the wedding gifts. That took several hours. But I think it will be obvious to most of you whether the note is from me or Kathryn.

Being the journalist who likes to keep things short and sweet (not to mention my typical guy behavior), I typically wrote things like, “Hello. Thank you for X and X. It was a wonderful gift. We’ve put it to use X. Thank you for everything. Sincerely, Ryan and Kathryn.”

My handwriting sucks. It has always sucked. In fact, I used to get a “U” for “unsatisfactory” in writing back in the day at Roy Clark Elementary School in Tulsa. Represent!  

Kathryn, on the other hand, wrote long, flowing adjective-filled notes. Hers are better than mine.

Anyways, we have lots of pictures I need to post. And yes, Allison has scolded me for this as well. We took a snorkling trip a couple weeks back and went out with some coworkers on Friday.

This weekend is a shuttle launch.

I’ll write more later.

—ryan