Subject: Weekend Update: April 8-10
Date:    Mon 4/12/99  9:06am

One day last week on my way to work I thought I saw a leaf in my
windshield wiper well being fluttered by the wind.  But it was an odd
sort of movement that caught my eye and I soon realized that it wasn't
a leaf at all for it had moved directly in front of me.  What I saw
next was a pair of beady eyes and fuzzy little ears peer at me over my
wiper as if to complain that I was driving too fast or too rough.  I
wondered if this was the chipmunk that had burrowed under my brick
walkway and had gleeful chuckles first of flipping it into the air
with my wiper then about taking it for a 20-mile ride and leaving it
at Cadence.  It disappeared under my grill and I stopped laughing when
I started to think, what if the critter came into the car through the
air vents?  Doh!  By the time I got to work, I opened the hood and
found nothing, and I haven't seen him since.  I can only hope that he
got off while I was on the highway, but if he waited to move out after
I got to work, I don't begrudge him his freedom.

On Thursday, Joy scheduled me for a haircut.  I felt like a poodle
going for its clipping.  For those of you who haven't seen me in a
while, I had let my hair get rather long, especially in the back. It
still is (long in the back, less 3 or 4 inches), even though I did get
my clipping.  But I say that to say this: Joy also went out to get her
hair cut.  The last time she cut it this short was just after Miranda
was born.  When she walked through the door, I was expecting less of
the same, perhaps 8 inches or so, but I was shocked (no other word for
it) and couldn't disguise it.  I saw the same googely-eyed,
gaping-mouth look on people's faces at church (sometimes accompanied
by a remark like "Mark let you cut your hair?").  Her hair now comes
to the base of her neck. (My hair is longer in the back than hers.)
Why did she do it?  Well, men buy motorcycles (or let their hair grow
long); women cut their hair.  Joy did donate her hair to children who
need it because of the ravages of chemotherapy.  (The hair must be
free of dye and perm.)  I admit that I will miss her long tresses, but
she is still very beautiful.  (Eric Magnuson said the hair cut made
her look ten years younger; she now looked 39!)

On Friday, the tickets came for our second honeymoon cruise.  In less
than three weeks, Joy and I will embark on a Caribbean excursion to
celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.  Our itinerary is packed with
six islands in seven days.  We have a suite in the lowest part of the
ship on the inside - I think it is called the Utility Closet, but we
only plan to sleep (sparingly) there.  We do not plan to watch the
Poseidan Adventure or the Titanic prior to our cruise.

We worked at a beaver's pace on Saturday.  I cleaned out the pond and
other chores while Joy created a small brick patio in the vegetable
garden.  We are trying hard to get the yard and gardens in order.  Joy
has added interest in getting things set up because she goes into
surgery this Thursday (4/15) and doesn't know when she'll be able to
get back to the taxing tasks of the estate.  I won't elaborate to the
wide distribution about the particulars, but if you're the praying
type, think of Joy on Thursday.

Have a great week, folks!

Mark
Mark Metcalfe, Sr. Tech Writer  ,                     ___\__      Cruisin'
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.  : \_0__,               |______\_____
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