tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51314252007-05-22T22:10:40.544-04:00FrankBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-52530757195731963202007-05-22T21:37:00.000-04:002007-05-22T22:10:36.067-04:00Ok... this is big: Yup! I shaved my head. Well, I didn't do it- but the hair is gone. Melissa says i have just as <span style="font-style: italic;">many</span> hairs, just not as <span style="font-style: italic;">much</span>. So why did I do this? Good question! I am now still pondering this. Perhaps this was an attempt to look more like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0293662/Ss/0293662/TP-01.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0293662">Jason Statham</a> and less like <a href="http://www.tarfumes.com/political/dick-cheney-angry.jpg">Dick Cheney</a> :) Or perhaps it was silent protest to my hair-cutter of choice deciding to quit and start a bakery business... Yes, the hair-cutter who could be a clone of NCIS character <a href="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f14/Mrs_McGee/NCIS/Abby/ncis-germany-de_as_00021.jpg">Abby</a>. Was this a good choice? Or a huuuuge mistake? You be the judge:<br /><br />Before photos (with <span style="font-style: italic;">some</span> hair):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/IMG_0642-757062.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/IMG_0642-756395.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/P9010026-783736.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/P9010026-782978.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After photos:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/IMG_0925-716529.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/IMG_0925-715283.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/IMG_0931-790516.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/IMG_0931-789586.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/IMG_0925-716529.JPG"> </a><br /><p><br /></p><embed allowscriptaccess="never" saveembedtags="true" src="http://www.polldaddy.com/poll.swf" flashvars="p=42622" quality="high" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="beta3" salign="tl" scale="autoscale" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="348" width="252"></embed>Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-946650637322044702007-05-22T21:29:00.000-04:002007-05-22T21:36:24.904-04:00Let's see... since my last post in August 06, what has happened in my life? umm...<br /><br />I jumped out of a plane!<br />I got married!<br />I have driven and flown up and down the east coast from Boston to Florida and back several times!<br />I honeymooned in Belize with Melissa!<br />I have met many new friends!<br />I have lost loved ones!<br />My sister Caitlin got married! .. In Aruba! (i got to give her away)<br />I redesigned DeafSpot.net!<br />I've painted a house! ... not mine :( <br />oh... and I password-protected this site to prevent access by future employers and past clients.<br /><br />Basically... I've lived.Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1155665664115536032006-08-15T14:05:00.000-04:002006-08-15T14:14:24.186-04:00Happy Birthday to me! :) Oh.. and Happy Anniversary to Deidre & Dave. <br />So... we have finally booked our honeymoon. Nothing like waiting til the last minute, huh? We will be in Belize, Central America from September 5-14. We will spend the first portion of the trip at <a href="http://www.hamanasi.com">Hamanasi Resort</a> where we will stay in a TREE HOUSE and go jungle river kayaking and snorkeling. Then we'll head to <a href="http://www.maruba-spa.com">Maruba Spa Resort </a>where we will relax, visit some mayan ruins, and go tubing through caves! <br />If you haven't visited our wedding site yet, go to <a href="http://www.FrankandMelissa.net">www.FrankandMelissa.net</a> and check it out. <br />This week we're doing a lot. We're meeting with Ginny and Dan, friends who generously offered to manage the music at the wedding. Then I'm going Skydiving with my best man, Joe. If anyone still wants to join... visit <a href="http://www.skydive-virginia.com">www.skydive-virginia.com</a> and make an appointment for the 11am jump. I think you have to be there by 8am for training, paperwork, etc. <br />Also... if anyone knows someone who wants to watch <a href="http://static.flickr.com/53/109075994_b05457cc7e.jpg?v=0">Holly</a> during our wedding and honeymoon, shoot me an email.Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1154709543166679612006-08-04T12:30:00.000-04:002006-08-04T12:39:03.170-04:00Okay... some of you might have noticed that i cheated and wrote some back-dated entries in order to make it look like I actually post here regularly. My sham was cleverly detected by Martin who noticed my error in dating one entry nearly 2 weeks in the future! To those of you who are still convinced that I'm psychic: the numbers are 11-18-25-41-36 and the powerball is 4 (I expect a 49% cut if anyone actually plays these and wins). <br />Our poor Holly Dog has <a href="http://www.lyme.org/otherdis/ld_symptoms.html">lyme disease </a>and is now recovering well after $460 worth of medication. Talk about inflated medical costs. She was lethargic at first, then started limping and eventually led to some paralysis. But now she's back to her active self. Now we're off to Boston today to get our marriage license, attend a family wedding, meet with the photographer, and of course visit family. <br />We should be back by Wednesday night, and hopefully our landlord will have our rusted out kitchen drain fixed when we get back. "Let's ride" (try to envision me saying that as Nicholas Cage in 'Gone in 60 Seconds').Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1154709038755377392006-07-16T12:25:00.000-04:002006-08-04T12:30:38.756-04:00Congratulations <a href="http://csabis.livejournal.com/">Chris </a>and <a href="http://mabesty.livejournal.com/">Mab</a>! They were married today in Nashville, TN. Beautiful ceremony... and more importantly, tasty food afterwards. You gotta love a wedding reception in Tennessee where a Cannoli recipe from Boston is used! :)Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1154708344968252262006-07-09T23:44:00.000-04:002006-08-04T12:24:38.683-04:00This weekend, we were in Philadelphia. Melissa finished her first real triathlon! She informed me that the last one wasn't real because she didn't pay an entrance fee or get a promotional t-shirt as part of it. So this time it's official (official race photos <a href="http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=13699&BIB=400&amp;PWD=">here</a>). She did the <a href="http://www.cgievents.com/cgiracing/pwt/index.html">Philadelphia Women's Triathlon</a>.<br />On a side note-- Holly didn't let Don, the dog walker into the house... so Nadine came to the rescue at the last minute and stayed with her! Yay!Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1154708199396008022006-06-28T12:16:00.000-04:002006-08-04T12:16:39.396-04:00Happy Birthday Mom!Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1154620972771988362006-06-25T11:53:00.000-04:002006-08-04T12:16:04.810-04:00This weekend, there was a suprise wedding shower in Boston. It was great! It was in my sister Caitlin's house and a lot of my family was there. Melissa's parents and maternal grandparents even made the trip up from Florida! There was tons of food, and the best brownies ever(Meredith's secret recipe). We also ended up with lot of the stuff from our registry. So we are now ready to do some cooking in the new place. The comforter and sheets that we got perfectly matched the bedroom in the new place. We couldn't match the wall-color any better if we had tried! I also got to see my newest cousins Aivry and Matthew!Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1154620165962120082006-06-18T23:26:00.000-04:002006-08-03T11:53:27.066-04:00Today...was the Adams-Edelman Trans-State Party!!! In other words, we moved from the ghetto of DC to Catonsville, MD (suburban Baltimore). We had the help of 21 amazing people... in spite of the 95 degree temperature and two flights of stairs to get into our new place. Thanks to Nadine, Leo (and his 2 friends), Martina, Adam, Iris, Steve, Marisa, John, Mosen (of 'ghetto pizza'), Stephanie, Regina, Erin, Joe S., and the painters from next door! We loaded the truck in record time (Iris and Marisa showed themselves to be Tetris champs!). We got some great pizza from Ghetto Pizza (corner of I and 11th SE)- using a recipe I helped revise. Then we drove up to MD and unloaded the truck in the scorching heat... and followed it with a cook-out! We had random drawings for gift certificates (Starbucks & The Cheesecake Factory). Now to unpack. eek!Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1150555772725302662006-06-17T10:49:00.000-04:002006-06-17T10:49:33.500-04:00<p class="mobile-photo"><img width="320" src="http://www.frankpadams.com/mobile_images/Photo 128-772725.jpg"/></p><p class="mobile-post">Melissa Edelman, Triathlete crosses the finish line at Haines Point! <br />Yay Melissa for finishing your first triathlon!</p>Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1148915316714560462006-05-29T10:54:00.000-04:002006-05-29T11:08:36.726-04:00<a href="http://www.boxshop.ca/images/site_pics/moving_boxes1.gif"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 206px; CURSOR: hand" height="149" alt="" src="http://www.boxshop.ca/images/site_pics/moving_boxes1.gif" border="0" /></a><br />Okay... we've decided on moving day (June 18th, Father's day). Absolutely anyone who can help... it would be much appreciated. We'll need some people who can help load the truck in DC... and a few who can come on up to Baltimore to help unload. Pizza and cold beverages anyone?? Anyway, it's pretty exciting.Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1148317329469458202006-05-22T12:48:00.000-04:002006-05-22T13:02:09.480-04:00<a href="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/newhome-784640.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.frankpadams.com/uploaded_images/newhome-778256.jpg" border="0" /></a>After much search and agonizing, we finally found a new place to live. It's the 2nd and 3rd floors of a house in a great residential neighborhood. That's our entrance on the right side of the house. Yes there are stairs, but no more ghetto. It's within 2.2 miles of my externship and 7 minutes from one of the schools Melissa works in. The price is right, it has a back yard for Holly (with a grill), and is near a 24-hour diner and a Bally's Gym that has 2 pools. We're pretty excited. We technically get the place June 15th, but won't be moving in 'til the first weekend in July. The first floor will be rented out shortly after we get in there, and there's already a guy renting out the basement. One more stressful thing off the to-do list. Yay!Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1146509540716298032006-05-01T14:52:00.000-04:002006-05-01T14:52:21.026-04:00<p class="mobile-post">The next President of Gallaudet University is: Jane Fernandes post <br />your thoughts in www.gallypost.com<br />--Frank P Adams</p>Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1146507617605815252006-05-01T14:20:00.000-04:002006-05-01T14:20:17.916-04:00<p class="mobile-post">Stand by for announcement of gallaudet's next president. I am at the <br />conference ctr now</p>Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1143555766268422592006-03-28T09:22:00.000-05:002006-03-28T09:22:46.520-05:00<p class="mobile-post">I've been selected for a jury. I cannot share any other information <br />until the trial is over.</p>Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1143467458366130422006-03-27T08:50:00.000-05:002006-03-27T08:50:58.576-05:00<p class="mobile-post">What is the state of the US Justice System? Believe it or not... Bush's <br />appointments may not be the worst of it. I am now sitting in the DC <br />Moultrie Courthouse. Jury Duty. The jury pool has decided what they <br />want to play on the Juror Lounge television: Jerry Springer. I believe <br />that's grounds for a mistrial!</p>Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1142368017545056812006-03-14T15:15:00.000-05:002006-03-14T15:32:35.143-05:00Long day. Yesterday I dec?ded to join a business trip of my <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.com">couchsurfing.com</a> host. We took a plane this morning (had to wake up @5 am) to <a href="http://www.allaboutturkey.com/diyarbakir.htm">Diyarbakir, Turkey </a>and then after perusing the bazaars, dipping my hands in the famous Tigris river, and visiting the city (of 1 million people... twice the pop of DC)... we took a dolmus bus to <a href="http://www.allaboutturkey.com/mardin.htm">Mardin</a> on the Syria border. Beautiful city. In Mardin, I ate at a restaurant that is 700 years old (2 and a half times the age of the USA). Tomorrow ? will spend the day in Mardin.Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1142027506845321732006-03-10T16:42:00.000-05:002006-03-10T16:51:46.873-05:00Istanbul: Day 2 -<br />I love the call to pray that is announced5 times/day by speakers throughout the city. I have absolutely no idea what they're saying... but it's like an authentic soundtrack broadcast throughout the entire city. So... what did I do today? Quite a bit of walking. I did the Blue Mosque. I got an unofficial tour by a guy sometimes referred to as "the 6th minaret (tower) of the Blue Mosque". He's been giving tours there for 30 years and took me to some areas that tourists are not normally allowed. Then... the Haiga Sophia- a mosque turned church-turned tourist attraction. Tons of photos to follow. There are wild cats everywhere here.. and one followed me throughout the city for the larger part of the day. Did some minor shopping at the Grand Bazaar. Then noticed that the shopping districts are VERY specialized here. A street entirely devoted to leather shops... another full of underwear stores... and yet another entirely full of wedding invitation shops! I had dinner with a couple from Canada that took 2 years off to travel the globe.... and then spent some time in a bar with a guy from Malaysia, an Italian man who just graduated from a Renaissance Literature program, and a French woman who is studying history in Italy. Tomorrow I will switch from the Hostel to <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.com">CouchSurfing</a> fun! Until then!Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1141913230892887072006-03-09T09:01:00.000-05:002006-03-09T09:07:10.903-05:00I made it. I am in Istanbul. In spite of my horrible sense of direction, I managed to get from DC to Milan and board the correct plane for Istanbul. Even more remarkable... I navigated the Istanbul Metro system and figured out where I needed to transfer to a tram. I didn't even get lost once! (why can't i do that in DC?)<br /><br />Tonight I am staying at the Istanbul Hostel. The owner is incredibly friendly... in a genuine way that almost throws me off because we're so unaccustomed to that back home. <br /><br />I enjoyed the flight (incredibly close to the Alps)... and am now going to take a walk around the city. This hostel has free internet access (would you expect any less from me?), includes breakfast, has comfy beds and nice clean showers.... for only $10 a day!Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1138770813895709132006-02-01T00:08:00.000-05:002006-02-01T00:13:33.906-05:00Where's the Beef?<br /><br />Is it me, or did the State of the Union completely lack substance? Bush spent an hour talking in truisms such as how people need healthcare, we need to protect America, and we need to do something about our mounting national debt. What I did not hear is any actual content that hinted toward how these objectives might be addressed. <br /><br />I suppose I have the same impression as Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) when he said "America deserved more from President Bush tonight. It just wasn't credible to hear him talk about making America more secure and honoring our troops or making America energy-independent or making health care more affordable without hearing him explain why he's done just the opposite for the last five years."Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1136578235602965042006-01-06T15:02:00.000-05:002006-01-06T15:10:35.616-05:00<a href="http://www.turizm.net/cities/images/map_istanbul.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.turizm.net/cities/images/map_istanbul.gif" border="0" /></a><br />I haven't posted here quite as much as I would've liked in the past month. Melissa and I went to Boston for Christmas and celebrated Hanukah as well. We brought Holly (the dog) and stayed at my aunt Barbara's beach house in Marshfield, MA. We had the house to oursleves and Holly loved running on the beach. Christmas was relatively low-stress this year. I did nearly all my shopping online and it helped quite a bit.<br />We decided to come back to DC before New Years- so we'd have time to really relax before starting back into the daily grind. The next year is going to be crazy as far as travel goes... this is what it looks like:<br /><br />Jan 27th - Frank & Melissa go to Fla for Iris' marathon, Melissa's grandmothers' bdays, and visit Melissa's parents in Boca and Frank's friend Michelle Smith in Miami.<br />March 8-20th- Frank is going to Istanbul, Turkey... on a solitary adventure :) Yes, Turkey.<br />Summer- wedding planning trips to Boston<br />Sept 3, 2006- Frank &amp; Melissa's wedding in Scituate, MA (<a href="http://www.frankandmelissa.net">www.frankandmelissa.net</a>)<br />Honeymoon- Belieze<br />Nov- Thanksgiving in Florida<br />Dec - Christmas in Boston<br />Dec- New Years in Aruba (Frank's sister Caitlin's wedding... Yay Caitlin &amp; Chris)Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1134095534245950592005-12-08T21:31:00.000-05:002005-12-08T21:38:50.136-05:00I'm just trying out the new Windows Live Local (Microsoft's answer to the amazing Google Earth). I can get a pretty good picture of my house. <a href="http://local.live.com/?v=2&sp=adr.1225%20I%20St%20SE%2c%20Washington%2c%20DC%2020003~aN.38.879309_-76.989429_1225%20i%20street%20SE_see%20the%20view%20outside%20the%20front%20window%20with%20the%20%22ghettocam%22%20at%20www.frankpadams.com">Check it out</a> (click the "birds eye" link on the top left of the side-bar). The website is a little tempermental / buggy, so you can't always get a good look at the "virtual bird's eye view"... but if you can get it to show up, it's pretty good. The photos are clear and crisp... Dare I say it... they are higher resolution than the Google Earth pics. I smell a fight brewing. Fortunately for Google, the images aren't nicely joined into a seamless globe, like Google Earth. Windows Live Local is still just a series of photos with some idea of how they fit together.Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1133848764466734782005-12-06T00:53:00.000-05:002005-12-06T01:01:25.730-05:00Melissa and I have just made a little wager.. We're both trying to lose a couple of pounds before the wedding... and it's probably just a good idea for our health. So after watching 'The Biggest Loser' - we sort of stole their formula and added gambling to it. The formula is this:<br /><br />(starting weight - ending weight/starting weight) + (starting bodyfat % - ending bodyfat %)<br /><br />Whomever has the most points by the end of the bet ( Aug 1 2006), wins. What did we bet? Frank could a big screen TV and Melissa could get a Weekend in NY city including a new dress, hotel, and Broadway play of her choice. Who will win? We don't know. If anyone's feeling crazy and wants to help finance this little wager, just click on the "virtual tip jar" on the right column of this webpage.<br /><br />Our weapons: Melissa has chosen the LA Weight Loss program. Frank has chosen the taking-care-of-a-hyper-dog-program. To the victor go the spoils. Let the contest begin (well, as soon as our e-store order from Bed, Bath, & Beyond arrives (bathroom scale with bodyfat monitor).<br /><br />Hey... check out the ghettocam... we have snow (link to getto cam is at the top of this site).Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1133819553551378612005-12-05T16:52:00.000-05:002005-12-05T16:52:36.103-05:00<p class="mobile-photo"><img width="320" src="http://www.frankpadams.com/mobile_images/Photo 95-753551.jpg"/></p><p class="mobile-post">No company is as honest as costco about their mediocre customer <br />service. Apparently the following employees have shown excellent <br />customer service: Nobody.</p>Franktag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131425.post-1133125014656777532005-11-27T15:56:00.000-05:002005-11-27T15:56:55.356-05:00<p class="mobile-photo"><img width="320" src="http://www.frankpadams.com/mobile_images/Photo 32-714656.jpg"/></p><p class="mobile-post">Here's the newest addition to our family...Hollywood. I inherited her <br />from my uncle Tom.</p>Frank