David Cook and Kristi Yamaguchi.

If you watch reality TV, you know what I mean by saying these two names. And if they don’t win their respective TV reality competition shows, well then, they should have.

This is when I usually tell you what to look for in Max tomorrow, however, I have been home all week (and hopefully all next week too) recovering and healing from surgery on Friday. So, I can’t really tell you about Max. You will have to find out what’s in it when I do. I am sure they have been working hard on it though.

Since I can’t talk about Max, I can talk about other stuff. I was sent to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville for my surgery because I had a rather large softball-size cystic mass on my right ovary. Apparently, it is safest to let a doctor more knowledgeable about cancer to do the surgery just in case. You never know for sure if it’s cancerous or not until the surgery happens. Fortunately, it was definitely NOT cancerous. So, that was some good news.

I must say that my experience at Pitt Memorial was wonderful. Well, as wonderful as it can be being in a hospital. For those who haven’t seen it, the hospital is huge and so clean and beautiful. The nurses were all great. The doctors were plentiful and incredibly smart. There were a lot of medical students around too, since ECU is a big medical university. That was cool. They are learning from the best.

And when I went into surgery, I was totally impressed with how the whole system just flowed like a well-oiled machine. They were organized and kept my parents informed at all times of where I was, or at what point I was at, during and after surgery in recovery. They gave them a beeper and my doctor called upon them when the surgery was done to tell them how it went. They also checked in with them while they were in the lounge waiting, and asked if they wanted the nurse to find out how I was doing. It’s a wonderful hospital. If you ever have to go there, I would not worry at all. You are in awesome hands.

My all-liquid diet kind of sucked Friday after my surgery, but that’s the way it goes. They wouldn’t give me anything but soda, which I thought was cool. After surgery around your stomach is probably the only time they won’t give you water and will only give you soda. Apparently, somehow water may make you nauseous. The food wasn’t very good but let’s face it, nothing is perfect. At least I got some chocolate ice cream.    

They had me walking by Saturday (which hurt like @*@@!, but it was good for me) and out by Sunday.

So, I am one ovary and a softball-size cystic mass short. Maybe I lost that extra pound I wanted to lose. Now, I have to deal with my dangerously-high blood pressure, which is probably why I am not at The Daily News right now.  

Here’s a heads up on what to look for in Max today (5-8):

1. Aniesa did a story on the USO dinner cabaret show to be held May 16-17. The event will consist of a four-course dinner and a show filled with classic Broadway tunes.

2. Take 5 talked about Las Vegas and Donny and Marie, J-Lo having her own reality show and John Mayer dating Jennifer Aniston.  

Incidentally, I was ecstatic to see a whopping 23 people had voted for our last Max online poll question. Hey, that’s pretty good for us. I would love for more people to vote. Please go to www.maxmag.com and vote. Our questions are usually pretty fun. They are usually based on a topic we covered in Take Five that week. Last week’s asked which of the women on our list was the sexiest. The votes were pretty spread out, but two Jessicas (Biel and Alba) both received six votes. I would love to print the results from each poll weekly in Max, but I need to have more people take part in the online poll question.    

3. Rachel and Melissa went with the rest of America this weekend and to see the blockbuster hit “Iron Man.” Like everyone else, they both found the flick to be pretty sweet. Check their reviews out in the print edition or at www.maxmag.com.

4. Our next contest is “Fight a Rock Star.” The winner will receive two tickets to the Five Finger Death Punch concert at Hooligans on June 1 AND two passes to private game time with one of the band members playing Nintendo Wii boxing. It’s a pretty cool prize. How often can you get a chance to knock a rock star out? Just make sure it’s all virtual and in the name of fun. Go to www.maxmag.com and click on the contest icon to enter.  

5. In our print edition, we dedicate a full page to movie listings at Carmike Cinema in Jacksonville. The chart contains a little information about what all the movies are about, the main actors and showtimes. It’s a pretty handy thing to check out every week.

In earlier blogs, I have stated that I am not a person who is comfortable with change. In fact, I hate it. I have a deep loathing for it like Donald Trump has for Rosie O’Donnell, or Richard Simmons has for a triple chocolate brownie with whipped cream on top. 

But we all know that as much as we hate change, it’s pretty much inevitable. Otherwise, we would be living like robots doing the same exact things day in and day out. I guess that would eventually be pretty boring.   

I have been working for The Daily News ever since I graduated college in Pennsylvania in 1995. I have been through a lot in this wonderful town of Jacksonville. Two failed marriages, a beautiful daughter and almost 13 years in at The Daily News, where I have learned so incredibly much, I have made the very hard decision to move to Raleigh at the end of July. I have met an amazing guy who lives there, and I think it might be good for Kayla and I to have a change in our lives. Sometimes, as much as you hate it, change could be a pretty good thing. I’ll talk more about Shawn and the sadness I feel of me leaving the area and The Daily News as time gets closer to my last days.  

But as much as I hate change, I have found that I hate packing and the act of moving even more. It has given me some interesting times to reflect though.  

I have only packed up two very small areas of my house so far. It is interesting what you come across when you start packing things up for a move. This weekend, I came across some things that brought back great memories. As I sat looking through these things reflecting on the great times I have had in my life, I could almost hear Trace Adkins’ touching song “You’re Gonna Miss This” playing in the background. It would have been a perfect scenario for his video.  

I came across my high school yearbooks and read the things my friends wrote throughout the books. I looked at my pictures and how I really haven’t changed all that much, except for gaining weight of course. I came across tons and tons of old Neighbors fronts and Max issues that I had designed. I thought about how much I enjoyed designing pages for the paper and my attempt to add a little flair visually to our staff’s already wonderfully written stories. I also saved the first issue of The Daily News that came out the morning after Sept. 11, 2001. I remembered being extremely pregnant and wondering what kind of future my unborn child would have as I was driving on my way to the airport to do some 9-11 coverage that fateful day. I came across a huge bag of beautiful sea shells that I collected to paint and thought I would keep them and maybe pick that hobby back up while I am in Raleigh. I came across my medals I had kept from being in the band throughout high school. Those brought back tons of great memories as well. I even came across a nice, huge sketch pad that the gang I used to work with (when we had Jacksonville Printing and The Globe) gave me years ago. They had given it to me for my birthday and had all signed birthday wishes on the front page of the sketch pad. They knew I love art (drawing and painting). I loved working at the building that used to be Jacksonville Printing and The Globe and The Shopper (now it holds the main office for Freedom ENC). We were such a tight-knit group who all truly enjoyed working together and would do anything to help each other out. I miss that whole crew.        

Those were only the memories I had found in one rather large box in my bedroom. Who knows what other memories will come back to me as I pack the rest of the house. As much as packing is a total pain in the ass, it is nice to come across things that remind me of where I have been and what has helped shape me into the person I am today. And knowing that I came out of all those changes and transitions in my life pretty well, it makes me look even more forward to what I can achieve in another town.

I’ll write more about my moving experience and what I will miss about Jacksonville in later blogs, so stay tuned. I am going in for some minor surgery in Greenville this Friday, so maybe I can get some good entertaining tidbits for my blog to share with you when I come back from the hospital. I mean, hospitals are full of laughs, right?   

Above: Me as drum major my senior year in high school.

Top right: A pic of me my senior year of high school in 1991. See, I told you I really didn’t look all that different.  

Here’s what you will find in Max Entertainment Magazine tomorrow (5-1 to 5-7):

1. Melissa did a story about the MCAS New River Air Show which will be held Saturday and Sunday. It’s always a fun, family event for the public. Check out the story for what you should and shouldn’t bring.

2. Aniesa did a story on the Onslow County Parks and Recreation Department’s annual Noon Tunes series to be held every Friday in May. Come down to New River Waterfront Park during your lunch break and enjoy some local entertainment by the view of the river. See the story for a schedule of performers.

3. Take Five talked about the sexiest woman in the world online poll by FHM, Gary Coleman on TV’s “Divorce Court” and Jimmy Fallon taking over for Conan O’Brien in 2009.

4. Rachel and I discuss the Harold and Kumar sequel, “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay.” There’s some crazy stuff in that movie. You either like that sort of sick, twisted stuff, or want to stay far, far away from it all. But that Neil Patrick Harris … what a character!

5. The band 2U will play The Dive Saturday. It doesn’t take a genius to probably figure out that they play U2 hits, and who doesn’t like a little U2 now and then?

6. Don’t forget to check out the entire calendar listings online. There are so many things going on since the weather is getting warmer. It’s impossible to fit everything in the print edition.

Go to www.maxmag.com to find some of the stuff mentioned above.

NEXT WEEK: We will start a contest to win a cool prize for another show at Hooligans. Make sure you get next week’s Max to check out the details.

Most know pretty Julianne Hough as one of the incredibly talented professional dancers on “Dancing with the Stars.” Over the weekend, I was watching videos on CMT and saw her video for “That Song in My Head.” That’s right. Hough is now trying her hand at being a country singer, and I must say I was impressed. She isn’t a bad singer at all. I mean, it was no “Blue” from the likes of LeAnn Rimes, but it was good. The video was pretty good too. If the rest of her choices of songs are just as good (or hopefully even better) than this debut song, I think she just might have a future in country music. In fact, ironically I had ”that song in my head all day.” It’s a really catchy, fun, upbeat song. A good choice for her very first single to be released to the public. It definitely shows she has promise. I can’t wait to see what else she can bring to the table as she furthers her country music career. Good luck to her though. She seems like a sweet girl. And let’s face it, she definitely has the beautiful looks for being a star. Click here to hear her new song: http://www.juliannehough.com/.

JUST IN: I was just typing some calendar info for Max and Hough is set to perform at Raleigh’s Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek July 19 with Brad Paisley, Jewel and Chuck Wicks. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 2 at 10 a.m. Wow … with Brad Paisley. She landed a pretty darn good gig real quick in her career. Her manager must be awesome. He or she deserves a raise already.

Here’s what to look for in Max Entertainment Magazine tomorrow:

1. Take Five talks about Morgan Spurlock making a documentary titled “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?” You know him, I mean Spurlock. He’s the guy who ruined the super size for all of us at McDonalds with his “Super Size Me” documentary. Apparently, now he has gone to Afghanistan in search of bin Laden. Maybe he’ll go to the North Pole in search of Santa Claus next. The group also talked about the United Arab Emirates getting the largest theme park playground in the world, and the new Hard Rock Park theme park that just opened in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Myrtle Beach is only about two hours away from Jacksonville. Check their Web site out at www.hardrockpark.com. It may be worth the trip.

2. Rachel and I saw the hilarious comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” with Jason Segel. I don’t want to give my review away, but I just absolutely loved it. Totally hilarious if you don’t mind raunchy, sexual humor. If you are in search of a good laugh, I suggest going to see it.

3. Aniesa did a story about the Beaufort Wine and Food Weekend, which began today and continues through Sunday. Personally, I’m not into wine or champagne but I know a lot of people in this area are. It is a great event for people who love wine. There are various events going on the entire weekend. As for me, I’d rather have a chocolate milkshake or a sex on the beach.

4. The rock band Anew Revolution filled out our band Q&A, so check that out. They will play at Hooligans Friday night.

Next week, we plan to have something on the New River Air Show and Noon Tunes. See next week’s Max to find out what those events are about.

Most of the above stories (and the entire calendar listings) will be available at www.maxmag.com. We are also having another contest in the next week or two for tickets and another prize to a concert at Hooligans. Keep checking the print edition of Max for more info on that.

Kayla and I stopped at Deppe Park today on the way back from her dad’s house in New Bern. It just opened Friday and is a really nice park. It is spacious, away from the busy roads of Jacksonville and has a large parking lot. The playground even has these cool tube-like things like those that the dad Who used to talk to Horton in the movie “Horton Hears a Who,” which was a cute movie. You talk into the tube and your kid can hear your voice come out from the other tube a few feet away. It’s kind of cool and totally made me think of the movie.

I love new things. The smell of a new car or new shoes. The joy of learning a new trade or hobby. The success of landing a new job. The look of a brand, spankin’ new park. New things are great. 

The park could maybe use a few more benches, but other than that, it’s very nice and refreshing. If you’re ever on your way to New Bern or Maysville or happen to live out there on the outskirts of Jacksonville, take your kids in the great outdoors and check the park out. The only sad thing about new things is that they don’t stay new for long.    

Here’s what to look for in this week’s (4-17 to 4-23) Max Entertainment Magazine, which is inserted in The Daily News every Thursday:

1. Take Five talked about a lot of stuff. I had to narrow it down to Matchbox Twenty canceling a performance at a large rodeo event out of “concern for the animals”; Flavor Flav has his own TV show now on some network called MyNetwork TV; the show “Secret Talents of the Stars” gets the boot after only one episode; and the new movie “Zombie Strippers,” with Jenna Jameson, opens this weekend.

2. Rachel and I did reviews for the movie “Street Kings” with Keanu Reeves.

3. Aniesa did a story on the Voodoo Vixens, a roller derby team in Jacksonville. Pretty cool.

4. We announce the winner of the tickets to the Theory of a Deadman concert at Hooligans and tickets to meet them at a private BBQ party. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. Look in future issues of Max for announcements of more contests with Hooligans.

5. Check out Max Pix. There is a highlight of the bigger events going on this weekend, and one next week.

6. As always, go to www.maxmag.com and check out the calendar with all kinds of stuff going on and things to see and do.

Thanks for reading Max.  

By the way, I forgot to mention that I took in the new “American Idol”-type show on CMT after the CMT Awards show the other night. The show is called “Can You Duet?,” I believe. As you would expect from its title, duos compete to be in the competition, however, the judges (which include Naomi Judd) can choose to only pick one of the two, or both but not as a duo. I’m not sure how the rest of the show will go. The first episode they were just doing the tryout process.

But, I wanted to let people know that I saw The Karg Boys on the show. They tried out and were awesome. I know they have performed around our area pretty regularly, on base and elsewhere for different things. I know I was supposed to interview them at one point, but they happened to be here when I was going on vacation so it fell through at that point. But, I got their CD and loved their music. They sound so great together. And, they know how to work Naomi Judd. They got through that first round. I guess we’ll have to see how far they get.

Hopefully, I can interview the Karg Boys at some point. I am sure they will come around here again in the future. I love talking to anyone in the Nashville area and music business because it’s such a fascinating place and business to be in. Besides that, the Karg Boys are extremely good (and easy on the eyes too). I had never seen them perform, but I was extremely impressed from watching them on the show. Good for them. I hope they go far.