Monthly Archives: October 2005

Longest Game in World Series History

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Maybe I can get in the Houston Chronicle again if I blog about the Astros in the World Series again. It won’t have quite the appeal as last time since I’m blogging from Dallas instead of Budapest, but at least I’m trying. This is becoming a pattern (me staying up until the wee hours watching the Astros).

As I sit here at 12:36am Central Time, it is 5-5 in the bottom of the 13th inning. They just announced that it is the longest World Series Game by time (as opposed to number of innings) in history at almost 5 hours so far. The Astros are lucky to still be in the game after the meltdown by Oswalt in the 5th inning. I don’t know why they left him in so long. I think Garner was taking a nap. It made me so mad that I stopped paying attention until the Astros scored run number 5 to tie it up.

The game has been going so long that I just called Valerie because she just woke the kids up for school in Budapest. They are now watching the game on the internet and she is going to keep them home from school until the game is over (Houston Chronicle, are you listening???)

If the Astros lose tonight, it’s over. More later

12:55AM – Bummer!! Geoff Blum goes yard to make it 6-5 after an unbelievable double-play by Ensberg. Not looking good, but the Astros have come back before.
1:05AM – Astacio walks in another run. This thing is getting outta reach. Maybe the boys will make it to school on time.
1:17AM-I was about to type the post to say that it was over, but Uribe boots a ground ball from Ausmus. The winning run steps to the plate in Adam Everett.
1:21AM – Everett pops up to second. That’s it for this game and probably the series. The Astros had plenty of chances to win this one. It wasn’t meant to be. Sorry boys, I guess you are off to school. I’m off to bed. Good night

Happy 100th Birthday to Mamaw!!!

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MamawBdayjpg

Originally uploaded by Budapest Tom.

Yesterday, I attended Valerie’s grandmother’s 100th Birthday. It is the second time that I’ve attended such an event without Valerie. I went to the 95th birthday as well when I just happened to be in Texas. Valerie is totally bummed out that she couldn’t make it.

We had a great time celebrating! The country cooking was wonderful as well. It was fun to see Valerie’s family and celebrate MamMaw’s 100th year. I’m already making plans to leave Valerie at home so I can go to the 105th.

Click on the image to see more pictures!!

Stars Sighting

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Stars Sighting

Originally uploaded by Budapest Tom.

Today we went to the Dr. Pepper Stars Center in Frisco (north of Dallas). In the paper this morning we saw that the Southwest Regional Figure Skating Championships were going to be there and we thought it would be a fun, free thing to do.

We enjoyed the figure skating and watched it for about an hour or so.

After the figure skating, we walked passed the 2nd rink and the Dallas Stars were practicing. WOW!! It was unbelievable to see the size and speed of major NHL hockey. We were able to stand right on the glass while they practiced. The picture is a shot of the Stars’ top player Mike Modano (in the middle standing upright.) He was a head taller than most of the team. We jumped out of our skin several times when shots missed and hit the glass right in front of us. My ears are still ringing.

We had a great time and the chance to see the Stars was unexpected and really cool. Grant, Cooper and I could have stood there all day.

Dinner with Amy, Grant & Kids

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I’ve been having a great time hanging out with my sister Amy and her husband Grant. Here we are at a Mexican Restaurant in Plano, Texas called Ojedas. You can see my neices and nephew (Cooper, Camber & Cayden) as well.

I think I’m up to 3 mexican meals in 4 days!!! I love this country. Check out the enchilada dinner. Best cheese enchiladas I’ve had.Ojeda's Excellent Cheese Enchiladas

Shopped till I dropped

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One thing that you never think about living in Budapest is that it forever changes trips to the US. A major part of every trip is shopping. It isn’t casual shopping, but power shopping. Valerie sent me a list of things that we can’t get in Budapest (cake mixes, velveeta cheese, wolf brand chili, and much more). Also, birthday and Christmas shopping have to be done at once. While living in the US, you have the luxury of spreading your shopping out over a month or two. I’m doing it all in 2 days. I’m learning to close my eyes at the checkout counter. I have a don’t ask don’t tell policy as to the total. I just get what I need and go by faith.

It is fun to be able to do everything in english, but it sure is stressful to try to find everything.

At least today, I was joined by my sister Amy and her husband the famous blogger, Grant. Their three kids Cooper, Camber and Cayden were there too. They drove down from Little Rock to hang out for a few days!!! We had a great time together. It sure beat doing it all by myself.

Doctor says “Go Home!”

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I got an answer I didn’t expect. Dr. Gill was wonderful and I had a very pleasant visit with him. Here’s what he said.

First of all, he said that the surgery I need is a Disc Replacement. If I just have a disc removal, then I will still have pain. He showed me that artificial disc and it is a plastic material with two pieces of metal that connect to the vertebrae. It is inserted through a small incision in the stomach. People go back to work in only a week.

Secondly, he said that the best person in the world to do this surgery is an Austrian doctor that does surgery in Vienna. Dr. Gill said that he has done 100 of these surgeries while the Austrian doctor has done 1400. Also, only Version 1 of the artificial disc is available in the US, while in Europe Version 2 of the disc is available and that is what the doctor there uses. Also, Dr. Gill works and speaks with this doctor regularly. He is going to Vienna in January to do surgery with him. His practice is first class and the hospital conditions are very similar to the US.

I’m leaning towards taking this option. Who would of thought that the best place to get this done was only 150 miles from my home. I will contact the doctor tomorrow and see if everything will work. If so, then I’ll probably have the surgery there. If something doesn’t work out, then I might try to have it hear.

I’m so excited to have a definitive answer. Also, it is a surgery that should leave me with no pain and fully healed. That is awesome. Pray that I would have wisdom about whether to do it in Vienna or here.

Thanks for your prayers.

“Back” in the US

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Well, I made it. I’m in Dallas safe and sound and awaiting my doctor’s appointment in the morning. The flight was uneventful and I didn’t have much pain. After my last experience on a plane coming back from Kiev, I feared the worst. The flight was a little long, but my back was okay.

Please keep the appointment in your prayers. 7:45am Central Time. I’ll keep you posted.

SuperMom finishes another race!!

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Valerie & Jessie after the Race!Valerie ran in another race today!! She and Jessie ran in the Coca-Cola Women’s 10k. They ran a relay where Jessie started and Valerie finished. It was a beautiful day on Margaret Island (an island in the Danube river right in the heart of Budapest, sort of like New York’s Central Park). The kids played on the slides and jumping toys. We had a picnic lunch. Then, we watched the race.

Race T-ShirtI’m so proud of my wife. She has become quite the athlete. I hope that I can keep up with her when I get this back thing taken care of.

Valerie says that she enjoys racing for two reasons. First, you get to run in beautiful parts of the city where she doesn’t normally run. Second, is the really cool T-Shirt with Hungarian words on it!!!

Back Update

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Just wanted to let you know that I was able to confirm my doctors appointment. It is at 7:45am in Dallas on Tuesday morning, Oct 18th. Please keep me in your prayers and pray that the doctor will have wisdom. I’ll be sure to post after the appointment and let you know what the plans are.