i couldn't make this up if i'd tried.....

it starts out as a pretty uneventful thursday and i'm on a call with a client when my roommate calls. obviously, i let it go to voicemail as to not interrupt the training i'm finishing up. i'm curious though cause she almost never calls during the day so i figure it's gonna be somewhat important. i listen to the voicemail and she says that there's been an "emergency" at the house and to call her before i head home. now i'm intrigued! a few minutes later i get a text from her with the message to "call me asap" so now i'm seriously curious what's going on at home that's so urgent!

i finish up the training and have all kinds of theories running around in my head as to what could've happened: we were robbed and my bike was stolen, pipes burst and the house was flooded, fire/smoke damage, she and the other roommate had a fist fight......etc. i call my roommate back and find out what the house "emergency" is and couldn't believe my ears as it was no where near one of my theories! she was rearranging her room and heard a thumping noise coming from our entry so she went out to investigate. she found a hawk had gotten in through the open front door and was trying to get out though was just hitting closed windows!!

the hawk had gotten in around 3 and at the time i called her back it was 6:30 which meant that everyone she could attempt to contact either was closed or didn't handle that kind of animal extraction from a residence. it seemed as though we were stuck with a hawk in our house over night! the best advice given was to shut of all the light in the house, leave both back and front doors open, and hope that it eventually figured it's way out of the house based off outside light. well the problem with that theory is that there's a huge window above the front door so the hawk could see out and see the street due to the street lamp across from our house so it couldn't figure out how to get out.

when i got home around 7, i snuck my way into the house through the laundry room which was kind of eery due to all the lights in the house being off and i had no clue where the bird was. we holed up in my roommate's room and had some sandwiches i picked up on my way home and checked every half hour to see if he'd figured out how to leave....no such luck. ryan wasn't terribly helpful as his suggestion was to feed the hawk either the cat or the dog by getting either to run through the open front door. his dad's suggestion - poke it with a stick! seeing as neither were good options, we called one last person in hopes he could help and with luck he could! well, luck and $125.

we decided to grab our flashlights and make our way outside to meet him when he got closer to the house (about an hour and a half after he agreed to come and help us out). i got two flashlights out of my room and left my door open not thinking anything of it. we went downstairs and i flashed the light up a bit to where the hawk was to see what he looked like. he got freaked out by the light and started skwaking and flying around so we screamed and bolted out the door and waited for our help to arrive.

help arrives and we all enter the house with flashlights lit attempting to locate the hawk who now could not be found. we figured we'd just hit a run of good luck when i realized that i'd left my door open to my bedroom and a light on.....damn! we head upstairs and sure enough, there was our new friend perched upon my bed!! the guys shut the door and we heard some banging around and eventually they head out with the hawk under a blanket. i didn't see any damage or birdy presents anywhere and was relieved! we let the hawk go, paid our hawk removal men, and shut our doors so we wouldn't have any other wildlife attempt to sleep with us that night.

i surveyed my room again as i was getting ready for bed and still didn't see any damage to the room! i figured i'd gotten away lucky and was about to settle into bed when i saw it......the hawk had left a present on my pillows!! unhappily i went to clean the pillows so that the hawk leftovers didn't stain or ruin them. all in all, i suppose we did get away pretty luckily and the hawk most likely won't return after his traumatic experience.

i have to reflect back though and laugh on the whole situation as it is pretty ridiculous! i've never heard of anyone having this problem before and don't know how we were so lucky to have had such a friend in our home for a few hours. one thing is for sure, we learned our lesson about keeping doors without screens shut :)

~danban

what's behind and what's ahead

i am not sorry to say that i am not sad that the past decade is done. it had it's difficult moments and it had it's wonderful moments. i'm hopeful that this next decade will bring more wonderful than difficult as i know myself and my family could use a bit of a break! no, i'm not going to do a review here as most of it is common knowledge to those who know me well. i would like to give a few shout outs though to those who have made a big impact over the last 10 years :)

to katie, my simmones, and the avery: i love you three and am blessed to have had such fulfilling and long lasting friendships with you! i am confident that the next ten years will bring more adventures, laughs, ridiculous moments, and more frequent vacations together! you've always been there when i needed someone to help keep me grounded, bring tough situations into perspective, or just make me laugh! i'm excited for what our futures hold together and as individuals. love you..... mean it!
to kate: you've meant more to myself and my family than i think you realize! you have been a rock for myself and bry and a sounding board to both i'm sure. you've always been a shoulder to lean on when things have gotten to their worst. some of my best memories are with you in them and you always find a way to make me smile or laugh. you really are my sister and an important part of my family. i love you and hopefully you know how much!









now onto a new decade and new adventures! so far the year is starting out on a positive note with a new set of tri goals, a wonderful group of friends, a very patient boyfriend, and an ironman to finish! and i'm excited for what the next ten years will hold and know that no matter what, i have amazing friends and family who will be with me every bump, step, and smile along the way :0)





much love and many hugs,
~danban