Saturday started off pretty well.
My friends (Cass and Ellen) were in the neighborhood and decided to stop on by for lunch. Apparently, there is a company located near us that offers 3-D videos of your baby while you are pregnant. Suffice to say, it was definitely good to see Cass and Ellen. It appears that Cass has amassed quite a collection of Singamajigs already for their upcoming baby. (I think the Singamajigs may be more for Cass.)
Later than night, Karen and I attended a tree trimming. Unfortunately, I suck at tree trimming. And naturally, that is when things started to go downhill for me. Every year, my friends (Marc and Kelley) host a tree trimming party to celebrate the holidays. This year, in particular, their party coincided with a UFC fight. So, they were gracious enough to host the party and the UFC pay-per-view.
Anyway, I was pretty excited about the UFC fight. Sadly, things never really go according to plan. The tree trimming was great. My usual group of friends (Garv, Leeann, and Andrea) showed up. Cass was there. Marc's family were there. My BFF (Kerry) was there. My friends (Adam and Kim) were there. My friend (Amy, the Czar) was there. It was definitely good to hang out with everyone.
Unfortunately, it was probably due that I would mess things up. And as a general rule, when I mess things up... I mess things up. I think I've become "that guy". Needless to say, you know things are bad when you wake up the next day not knowing where you are.
And sadly, that is what happened. I woke up at 4 in the morning with one of Marc and Kelley's cat sitting in my lap, a bucket next to me, and the faint smell of vomit in the air. It didn't take too long for me to piece together that the smell of vomit must have been mine.
I say "must have", because unfortunately I have no memory about the incident. Quite frequently, I seem to suffer from alcohol-related amnesia. The last thing I remember was hanging out and chatting with Adam in the kitchen. I have since been told that I actually went to watch the UFC fight, only to never finish watching it due to my purge. I'm not exactly sure how much time elapsed since that moment in time in the kitchen to my inevitable purge.
Some people have an unhealthy relationship with food. I seem to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. No doubt, I have done physical damage to my liver and brain. I think what is probably the scariest part, aside from putting a strain on my relationship with my friends, is not remembering what happened at all. I could have probably murdered someone in my inebriated state and wouldn't even know it. Heck, I would be the perfect person to frame for a murder.
I think as I am getting older, my symptoms are getting worse. Earlier in my days, I could tell when things didn't feel quite right. I would get "huggy" as it may be. And I would perhaps sway a little. These days, there's just the swaying... and by that time, it's already too late. There are no signs that I'm passed that point.
After all, like I said, I remember talking with Adam in the kitchen. The best way I can describe the feeling is that it's almost like a switch that gets turned off. It feels that quick. And my memory seems to immediately shut down with it, which is pretty sad because my memory is poor to begin with. Throw in the vomit and well... perhaps that is a sign that my body just can't process alcohol like it used to.
Needless to say, I'm not too proud of my latest drunkenness. I feel awful for ruining Marc and Kelley's party. I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to make it up to them or anyone else at the party who had to witness or even help me. It's yet another in a long line of things that I am regretful for.
It's funny. One of the reasons why I titled my blog "I suck at..." is because of incidents like these. Granted, these incidents that I'm not proud of are not all alcohol-induced. Seeing Amy The Czar did bring back some memories where I wasn't exactly the nicest of nice, a fact only reinforced by my recent rummaging through of old high school crap that my mother brought over after cleaning out her attic.
It goes without saying that I am sorry for letting all of my friends down. I'm sorry that I'm a bad reflection on Karen. And right now, I'm even sorry that my baby daughter (Briana) has me as a father. At almost nine months, Briana thinks I'm like the greatest thing on the planet next to her milk. It's amazing how good I feel whenever Briana looks at me and smiles, because I know she simply adores me. Unfortunately, she doesn't know any better. I'm not even good at taking care of myself.
Monday, December 13, 2010
I Suck At Double Features
On Friday, I fed my movie addiction by watching a double feature of movies. The two movies I watched were The Skulls and Avatar. I don't think there was any connection between the movies, other than they were simply on. Needless to say, I suck at double features.
The Skulls stars Joshua Jackson (of Dawson's Creek fame) as Ivy Leaguer who dreams of getting into a fictional secret society known as the Skulls because the society is well connected. (For anyone curious, the movie is based on theories about Yale and its own Skull and Bones society.) Things of course, aren't what he imagines once he becomes a member. Paul Walker also happens to be another member of the Skulls.
I wasn't really expecting much from the movie. So it's probably no surprise that I thought the movie was pretty blah. Interestingly enough, there are apparently direct to video sequels to this movie. Who knew? On a whole, the movie was not all that bad. I have seen worse.
After The Skulls, I ended up watching the much hyped movie, Avatar. The movie did get nominated for nine Academy Awards, one of which was Best Picture.
(The video below is a trailer for Avatar.)
Naturally, I had to see what the movie was about. And truth be told, the movie was good. It was definitely enjoyable. I'm not sure if I would consider the movie a Best Picture, but then again I don't agree with many of the choices for movies that make the Best Picture list. I remember seeing The English Patient and was perplexed as to why that would be a Best Picture movie. But like I said, that's just me.
Anyway, the double features were a nice way to kill time and be entertained.
The Skulls stars Joshua Jackson (of Dawson's Creek fame) as Ivy Leaguer who dreams of getting into a fictional secret society known as the Skulls because the society is well connected. (For anyone curious, the movie is based on theories about Yale and its own Skull and Bones society.) Things of course, aren't what he imagines once he becomes a member. Paul Walker also happens to be another member of the Skulls.
I wasn't really expecting much from the movie. So it's probably no surprise that I thought the movie was pretty blah. Interestingly enough, there are apparently direct to video sequels to this movie. Who knew? On a whole, the movie was not all that bad. I have seen worse.
After The Skulls, I ended up watching the much hyped movie, Avatar. The movie did get nominated for nine Academy Awards, one of which was Best Picture.
(The video below is a trailer for Avatar.)
Naturally, I had to see what the movie was about. And truth be told, the movie was good. It was definitely enjoyable. I'm not sure if I would consider the movie a Best Picture, but then again I don't agree with many of the choices for movies that make the Best Picture list. I remember seeing The English Patient and was perplexed as to why that would be a Best Picture movie. But like I said, that's just me.
Anyway, the double features were a nice way to kill time and be entertained.
Friday, December 10, 2010
I Suck At The Wolfman
On Wednesday, I ended up feeding my movie addiction. The movie that I ended up watching: The Wolfman. Now, I suck at The Wolfman.
(The video below is a trailer for The Wolfman.)
The film is a remake of the 1941 classic of the same name. And truth be told, I found the movie rather lackluster. Of course, I was never a big fan of werewolves to begin with. I guess that means if I had to choose, I would be on Team Edward as opposed to Team Jacob. And really, Teen Wolf did nothing to make me like lycanthropes any more either.
I think one of the main reasons I was not impressed with the movie was because the plot felt rushed. Benicio Del Toro's character is the protagonist looking into the murder of his brother. In a span of what felt like minutes, his brother's fiancee falls in love with him. Even the climatic battle at the end seemed to have only lasted a few minutes.
Needless to say, I thought the movie was rather blah. I think I would still choose vampires over werewolves.
(The video below is a trailer for The Wolfman.)
The film is a remake of the 1941 classic of the same name. And truth be told, I found the movie rather lackluster. Of course, I was never a big fan of werewolves to begin with. I guess that means if I had to choose, I would be on Team Edward as opposed to Team Jacob. And really, Teen Wolf did nothing to make me like lycanthropes any more either.
I think one of the main reasons I was not impressed with the movie was because the plot felt rushed. Benicio Del Toro's character is the protagonist looking into the murder of his brother. In a span of what felt like minutes, his brother's fiancee falls in love with him. Even the climatic battle at the end seemed to have only lasted a few minutes.
Needless to say, I thought the movie was rather blah. I think I would still choose vampires over werewolves.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
I Suck At Attending A Service For Remembrance
In addition to being my first time in work's new office location of Danvers, yesterday was the 18th Annual Service of Remembrance at the Old South Union Church which is directly across from South Shore Hospital. The service is held for families who have lost children. Too bad, I suck at attending a service for remembrance.
It has been over two years since Karen and I lost our son (Braden). As much as I hate to say it, I have not thought much about my beautiful angel in quite some time. Like many people I'm sure, I have been caught up in trying to raise a baby daughter (Briana) while balancing other aspects in life.
Sadly, I think my original fears are coming true. Shortly after Braden's passing, I was concerned that I would forget about him. I was afraid that I would forget his beautiful face. I was afraid that I would forget what his skin felt like when I kissed him goodbye. And now, it's almost like it is coming true. That sensation I felt when I kissed Braden goodbye doesn't seem as real as I once remembered it being. It really irks me that I can't remember that feeling anymore.
So needless to say, I was looking forward to attending the service for remembrance just so that I could have some dedicated time to thinking about my beautiful son. With such a hectic schedule, especially during the holidays, I thought it was definitely much needed.
In case anyone is curious, the service seemed shorter this year, which was probably just as well because Briana was with us. And truth be told, Briana was very well behaved during the service. She only made a couple of brief peeps during the service, but nothing distracting (unlike the children sitting behind us).
Anyway, it was a nice service. I hope Braden enjoyed the service as well. Happy holidays, Braden! Even though Daddy forgets things, he still loves you.
It has been over two years since Karen and I lost our son (Braden). As much as I hate to say it, I have not thought much about my beautiful angel in quite some time. Like many people I'm sure, I have been caught up in trying to raise a baby daughter (Briana) while balancing other aspects in life.
Sadly, I think my original fears are coming true. Shortly after Braden's passing, I was concerned that I would forget about him. I was afraid that I would forget his beautiful face. I was afraid that I would forget what his skin felt like when I kissed him goodbye. And now, it's almost like it is coming true. That sensation I felt when I kissed Braden goodbye doesn't seem as real as I once remembered it being. It really irks me that I can't remember that feeling anymore.
So needless to say, I was looking forward to attending the service for remembrance just so that I could have some dedicated time to thinking about my beautiful son. With such a hectic schedule, especially during the holidays, I thought it was definitely much needed.
In case anyone is curious, the service seemed shorter this year, which was probably just as well because Briana was with us. And truth be told, Briana was very well behaved during the service. She only made a couple of brief peeps during the service, but nothing distracting (unlike the children sitting behind us).
Anyway, it was a nice service. I hope Braden enjoyed the service as well. Happy holidays, Braden! Even though Daddy forgets things, he still loves you.
Monday, December 6, 2010
I Still Suck At Holiday Parties
Sunday continued my 128 North weekend. Having taken 128 North from Norwell to Salem for my BFF's (Kerry) holiday party on Saturday, Karen and I took 128 North again for our annual family holiday party (only this time from Norwell to Lowell). I can't wait to take 128 North yet again for my commute to and from the office in Danvers too. That will be three trips up 128 North from Norwell in four days. Fun.
As usual there is a lot to like about Lowell (or so the city will have you believe). Like last year, Karen's aunt (Denise) was gracious enough to host Christmas for the family. Denise had scheduled the family party for this past Sunday because it just so happens that Karen's aunt and uncle (Sandy and Billy) from Georgia were up visiting this weekend. Too bad I still suck at holiday parties.
As far as family gatherings go, it was an interesting get-together. For me, the highlight of the party, of course, was the annual silly swap. Although I must say, the catered food was a close second. I'm not normally one for deli meat. The roast beef, however, was quite delicious. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.) I must have eaten about a pound of it.
I got to unload my old hardly-been-worn high school band jacket during the silly swap. That's right. I was in band... albeit very very very briefly. My instrument of choice: drums. My fondest memories of my band days (among not being able to paradiddle on the drums) was sadly marching in one of Quincy's parade. And by marching, I mean bumping into the backside of my friend (Kathy) with a huge bass drum. Apparently, I could not march either. Interestingly enough, I think it may even have been the Christmas parade that I marched in. So it's only fitting that my band jacket be swapped during the holidays.
Needless to say, it was nice to finally put that band jacket to good use. I actually never wore the jacket while I was in high school because I had my track jacket instead. It was not until recently that I even got a hold of the jacket, thanks to my mother who was cleaning out her attic. Naturally on a whim, I jokingly wore the jacket to my friends' (Cass and Ellen) not too long ago. And yes, the jacket is a lot smaller than I remember.
Karen's Aunt (Mary) ended up with the band jacket. Aunt Mary is actually the younger sister of Karen's Nana. As far as crazy family members go, I would say Aunt Mary is up there. Mary is likely to say something crazy... forget... and then say the same exact crazy thing again... forget... and then repeat the cycle again and again. This was even before she needed assisted living.
I imagine talking to Mary is a lot like talking to me. So I suppose it's only fitting that she receive a stylish high school band jacket. When she put on the jacket, which actually had my name on the sleeve, it was like we were back in high school and we were "going steady". Hubba Hubba... Mary.
Anyway, it was an interesting family get-together as usual.
As usual there is a lot to like about Lowell (or so the city will have you believe). Like last year, Karen's aunt (Denise) was gracious enough to host Christmas for the family. Denise had scheduled the family party for this past Sunday because it just so happens that Karen's aunt and uncle (Sandy and Billy) from Georgia were up visiting this weekend. Too bad I still suck at holiday parties.
As far as family gatherings go, it was an interesting get-together. For me, the highlight of the party, of course, was the annual silly swap. Although I must say, the catered food was a close second. I'm not normally one for deli meat. The roast beef, however, was quite delicious. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.) I must have eaten about a pound of it.
I got to unload my old hardly-been-worn high school band jacket during the silly swap. That's right. I was in band... albeit very very very briefly. My instrument of choice: drums. My fondest memories of my band days (among not being able to paradiddle on the drums) was sadly marching in one of Quincy's parade. And by marching, I mean bumping into the backside of my friend (Kathy) with a huge bass drum. Apparently, I could not march either. Interestingly enough, I think it may even have been the Christmas parade that I marched in. So it's only fitting that my band jacket be swapped during the holidays.
Needless to say, it was nice to finally put that band jacket to good use. I actually never wore the jacket while I was in high school because I had my track jacket instead. It was not until recently that I even got a hold of the jacket, thanks to my mother who was cleaning out her attic. Naturally on a whim, I jokingly wore the jacket to my friends' (Cass and Ellen) not too long ago. And yes, the jacket is a lot smaller than I remember.
Karen's Aunt (Mary) ended up with the band jacket. Aunt Mary is actually the younger sister of Karen's Nana. As far as crazy family members go, I would say Aunt Mary is up there. Mary is likely to say something crazy... forget... and then say the same exact crazy thing again... forget... and then repeat the cycle again and again. This was even before she needed assisted living.
I imagine talking to Mary is a lot like talking to me. So I suppose it's only fitting that she receive a stylish high school band jacket. When she put on the jacket, which actually had my name on the sleeve, it was like we were back in high school and we were "going steady". Hubba Hubba... Mary.
Anyway, it was an interesting family get-together as usual.
I Suck At Holiday Parties
Feeling that there was very little time between now and Christmas, I spent most of Saturday putting up our Christmas tree. Luckily for Karen and I, our Christmas tree is artificial and does not require much effort to actually place in a stand. Had Karen and I gotten a real tree, things would have taken a lot more time.
Needless to say, our Christmas tree is up and decorated. As well, Karen decorated the rest of our house with holiday items. For anyone curious, one of my favorite holiday decorations is this tiny little glass frog with a Santa hat on it. The tiny glass frog was something that Karen and I just happened to pick up while on vacation.
Anyway, we were able to finish decorating the house for the holidays just in time for my BFF's (Kerry) holiday party that evening. For anyone curious, I suck at holiday parties.
This was the eighth annual holiday party that Kerry has hosted. If I had to guess, I would guess that her holiday party is one of the things that she looks forward to every year. Because of that fact, I have attended every single one of her holiday parties thus far, with the exception of one. (And for anyone curious, that exception happened to be a result of the party being scheduled on the birthday celebration of another friend.)
Shortly before the party, I received a call from my friend (Carlos). The Check Engine Light appeared in Carlos's car as he was coming back from the gym. Hesitant to continue driving the car, especially from Quincy to Salem where the party was being held, he asked for Kerry's number to notify her that he could not make the party. Naturally, I offered him a ride instead.
It was definitely good to see Carlos again. Prior to the week before at the Quincy parade, I had not seen Carlos since probably February. So it has been a long time. I thought the drive both to and from the party would be a nice way to catch up on things. And it was. Among the things that I do miss about working in downtown Boston is hanging out with Carlos. Hanging out with Aimee and Hot Amy are other things too that I miss. And of course, I also miss the food.
Anyway, the holiday party itself was an interesting time. I think a bunch of us got to learn some new friend facts. Granted, most of those facts centered around Kerry's friend (Steve). Steve was thought to be a long time Rhode Island resident, since that is how all of us came to know him (via Kerry and her connections to Rhode Island). It turns out, Steve is from Massachusetts.
Another random fact: Steve also scored a 1440 on his SAT scores. I happen to remember this fact only because immediately after he told everyone, I thought about my friend (Sam). Back in the day, Sam scored a 1300 on his SATs. And to make sure that everyone knew about this amazing feat, Sam kept his SAT results in his wallet. Sam would then promptly (and proudly) show anyone who asked about his results. Naturally, that led me to wonder if Steve did the same thing with his scores.
Karen and I had a nice time. I think it was good to get out of the house without our baby daughter (Briana). For sanity reasons, I think it's always good to do things without feeling handcuffed by your child.
Luckily, Kerry's adults only party provided the much needed relief. Interestingly enough, I think Karen and I may have been the only ones at the party who even had a child. Regardless, it was fun. As usual, it was good to hang out with friends at the party. Joining in on the festivities this year were our friends (Cass, Ellen, Marc, Kelley, Garv, Leeann, and Andrea). So all in all, it was a fun time.
Needless to say, our Christmas tree is up and decorated. As well, Karen decorated the rest of our house with holiday items. For anyone curious, one of my favorite holiday decorations is this tiny little glass frog with a Santa hat on it. The tiny glass frog was something that Karen and I just happened to pick up while on vacation.
Anyway, we were able to finish decorating the house for the holidays just in time for my BFF's (Kerry) holiday party that evening. For anyone curious, I suck at holiday parties.
This was the eighth annual holiday party that Kerry has hosted. If I had to guess, I would guess that her holiday party is one of the things that she looks forward to every year. Because of that fact, I have attended every single one of her holiday parties thus far, with the exception of one. (And for anyone curious, that exception happened to be a result of the party being scheduled on the birthday celebration of another friend.)
Shortly before the party, I received a call from my friend (Carlos). The Check Engine Light appeared in Carlos's car as he was coming back from the gym. Hesitant to continue driving the car, especially from Quincy to Salem where the party was being held, he asked for Kerry's number to notify her that he could not make the party. Naturally, I offered him a ride instead.
It was definitely good to see Carlos again. Prior to the week before at the Quincy parade, I had not seen Carlos since probably February. So it has been a long time. I thought the drive both to and from the party would be a nice way to catch up on things. And it was. Among the things that I do miss about working in downtown Boston is hanging out with Carlos. Hanging out with Aimee and Hot Amy are other things too that I miss. And of course, I also miss the food.
Anyway, the holiday party itself was an interesting time. I think a bunch of us got to learn some new friend facts. Granted, most of those facts centered around Kerry's friend (Steve). Steve was thought to be a long time Rhode Island resident, since that is how all of us came to know him (via Kerry and her connections to Rhode Island). It turns out, Steve is from Massachusetts.
Another random fact: Steve also scored a 1440 on his SAT scores. I happen to remember this fact only because immediately after he told everyone, I thought about my friend (Sam). Back in the day, Sam scored a 1300 on his SATs. And to make sure that everyone knew about this amazing feat, Sam kept his SAT results in his wallet. Sam would then promptly (and proudly) show anyone who asked about his results. Naturally, that led me to wonder if Steve did the same thing with his scores.
Karen and I had a nice time. I think it was good to get out of the house without our baby daughter (Briana). For sanity reasons, I think it's always good to do things without feeling handcuffed by your child.
Luckily, Kerry's adults only party provided the much needed relief. Interestingly enough, I think Karen and I may have been the only ones at the party who even had a child. Regardless, it was fun. As usual, it was good to hang out with friends at the party. Joining in on the festivities this year were our friends (Cass, Ellen, Marc, Kelley, Garv, Leeann, and Andrea). So all in all, it was a fun time.
I Suck At Making A Gingerbread Man
Friday was quite the interesting day.
Earlier in the day, I discovered that my garage door was not properly working. And by not properly working, I mean that the remote control was not opening the garage door. Naturally, my initial reaction was that the battery needed to be replaced in the remote control.
After replacing the battery, I tried the remote control again. Nothing. The door did not budge. Looking at the wall panel in the garage, I noticed the wall panel had a flickering light on it. So after rummaging through my tool bench, I finally came upon the instruction manual for the garage door.
Following the troubleshooting tips in the instruction manual, I tested the wires and the safety sensors connected to the garage door opener. There were no problems. Yet for some reason, the remote control was not working.
And as proof that sometimes parents know best, my mother who was over to watch over my daughter (Briana) suggested that I search the web. Sure enough, I found someone who experienced a similar issue. Turns out, the cause was that the wall panel in the garage has a lock function. The lock function apparently... locks the remote control from opening the garage door. (Shows you how often I use this feature.)
Somehow this button was pressed on the wall panel. So simply hitting the button again releases the lock. Yes, it was that easy of a solution. When I clicked the remote, the garage door opened! Yay! I guess I probably should have read my instruction manual a little more closely. Oh well.
Anyway, following my garage door incident, Karen, Briana and I went to a cookie swap. Prior to last week, I had never been involved in a cookie swap. And now, I have been to two cookie swaps in six days. Needless to say, the swap was great.
The cookie swap was held by someone involved with the Norwell Public library. With Karen being a similar member of the library group, she was invited to partake in the swap. And as Karen's spouse, I got to partake in the fun. It pays to be involved with the public library.
For me, it was a nice to meet other people who live in the town. I was not expecting much. After all, all I knew about the event was that it was a simple cookie swap at someone's house who was equally involved with the library. I was picturing a bunch of older women... with Karen.
Oh how wrong I was. For starters, the house was absolutely amazing. I don't know
if any words can describe how gorgeous this house was. And the host and her family were so down to earth. In fact, I'm not sure how their family does it. I have trouble with just one child. Their family consisted of seven children.
Interestingly enough, they would have had eight children were it not for the fact that they lost one. As bizarre as this sounds, I find it interesting when I learn that other people have lost children. Losing children seems more common than I realize (or television would have you believe). Having lost a child myself, I guess I find some solace to know that I am not alone.
Anyway, I was amazed with this family. Their children were all well behaved. And I must say, the mom must be like mom of the year or something. To say she is talented is an understatement. From the cookies she made for the cookie swap, to raising seven children, to making gingerbread men, there seems like nothing that his woman could not do.
Speaking of gingerbread men, I had the opportunity to make my first gingerbread man. Too bad I suck at making a gingerbread man. This woman had baked a gazillion gingerbread men and women and babies for all of us to decorate. It was... amazing. Like I said, I'm not sure there is anything this woman cannot do.
For anyone curious, Karen was excited to make a purse for her gingerbread man out of Necco wafers. My gingerbread man looked a little puffy. I covered my gingerbread man in mini marshmallows. My thought was to put a white puffy down jacket on my gingerbread man... to keep him warm. Sadly, it looks like my gingerbread man is the bastard child of the Stay Puft Marshmallow man.
Regardless, I had a fantastic time on Friday. I was not expecting to have so much fun at the cookie swap. I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it.
Earlier in the day, I discovered that my garage door was not properly working. And by not properly working, I mean that the remote control was not opening the garage door. Naturally, my initial reaction was that the battery needed to be replaced in the remote control.
After replacing the battery, I tried the remote control again. Nothing. The door did not budge. Looking at the wall panel in the garage, I noticed the wall panel had a flickering light on it. So after rummaging through my tool bench, I finally came upon the instruction manual for the garage door.
Following the troubleshooting tips in the instruction manual, I tested the wires and the safety sensors connected to the garage door opener. There were no problems. Yet for some reason, the remote control was not working.
And as proof that sometimes parents know best, my mother who was over to watch over my daughter (Briana) suggested that I search the web. Sure enough, I found someone who experienced a similar issue. Turns out, the cause was that the wall panel in the garage has a lock function. The lock function apparently... locks the remote control from opening the garage door. (Shows you how often I use this feature.)
Somehow this button was pressed on the wall panel. So simply hitting the button again releases the lock. Yes, it was that easy of a solution. When I clicked the remote, the garage door opened! Yay! I guess I probably should have read my instruction manual a little more closely. Oh well.
Anyway, following my garage door incident, Karen, Briana and I went to a cookie swap. Prior to last week, I had never been involved in a cookie swap. And now, I have been to two cookie swaps in six days. Needless to say, the swap was great.
The cookie swap was held by someone involved with the Norwell Public library. With Karen being a similar member of the library group, she was invited to partake in the swap. And as Karen's spouse, I got to partake in the fun. It pays to be involved with the public library.
For me, it was a nice to meet other people who live in the town. I was not expecting much. After all, all I knew about the event was that it was a simple cookie swap at someone's house who was equally involved with the library. I was picturing a bunch of older women... with Karen.
Oh how wrong I was. For starters, the house was absolutely amazing. I don't know
if any words can describe how gorgeous this house was. And the host and her family were so down to earth. In fact, I'm not sure how their family does it. I have trouble with just one child. Their family consisted of seven children.
Interestingly enough, they would have had eight children were it not for the fact that they lost one. As bizarre as this sounds, I find it interesting when I learn that other people have lost children. Losing children seems more common than I realize (or television would have you believe). Having lost a child myself, I guess I find some solace to know that I am not alone.
Anyway, I was amazed with this family. Their children were all well behaved. And I must say, the mom must be like mom of the year or something. To say she is talented is an understatement. From the cookies she made for the cookie swap, to raising seven children, to making gingerbread men, there seems like nothing that his woman could not do.
Speaking of gingerbread men, I had the opportunity to make my first gingerbread man. Too bad I suck at making a gingerbread man. This woman had baked a gazillion gingerbread men and women and babies for all of us to decorate. It was... amazing. Like I said, I'm not sure there is anything this woman cannot do.
For anyone curious, Karen was excited to make a purse for her gingerbread man out of Necco wafers. My gingerbread man looked a little puffy. I covered my gingerbread man in mini marshmallows. My thought was to put a white puffy down jacket on my gingerbread man... to keep him warm. Sadly, it looks like my gingerbread man is the bastard child of the Stay Puft Marshmallow man.
Regardless, I had a fantastic time on Friday. I was not expecting to have so much fun at the cookie swap. I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it.
Friday, December 3, 2010
I Suck At Punkin' Chunkin'
On Wednesday, Karen, our baby daughter (Briana) and I hung out with our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). On the agenda for the night: Punkin' Chunkin'. Now, I suck at Punkin' Chunkin'.
For anyone curious, Punkin' Chunkin' is a competition whereby pumpkins are hurled over great distances by any mechanical means. Sounds awesome, right? The weekend after Halloween is the big World Championship Punkin' Chunkin'. The competition is held in Sussex County, Delaware.
Needless to say, all of us were pretty excited to watch the competition as Marc and Kelley had recorded the show on their DVR. Some day, all of us will have to go to Delaware and actually watch it live. That would be quite the experience! (And truth be told, I would rather go to Punkin' Chunkin' than a parade.)
Regardless, it was a good time watching pumpkins get hurled into the sky. Of course, it also helps that Andrea made a Wendy's run and brought Frosties. There were definitely some good laughs.
Following the competition, we ended up watching another show about Marc's seemingly favorite food: bacon. I think he may have been in heaven. All in all, it was a fun time hanging out with everyone.
For anyone curious, Punkin' Chunkin' is a competition whereby pumpkins are hurled over great distances by any mechanical means. Sounds awesome, right? The weekend after Halloween is the big World Championship Punkin' Chunkin'. The competition is held in Sussex County, Delaware.
Needless to say, all of us were pretty excited to watch the competition as Marc and Kelley had recorded the show on their DVR. Some day, all of us will have to go to Delaware and actually watch it live. That would be quite the experience! (And truth be told, I would rather go to Punkin' Chunkin' than a parade.)
Regardless, it was a good time watching pumpkins get hurled into the sky. Of course, it also helps that Andrea made a Wendy's run and brought Frosties. There were definitely some good laughs.
Following the competition, we ended up watching another show about Marc's seemingly favorite food: bacon. I think he may have been in heaven. All in all, it was a fun time hanging out with everyone.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
I Suck At Commuting
Yesterday was my last day in the quaint little town of Marblehead. And while I will miss the scenic beauty of the town, I will most definitely not miss the commute from Norwell to Marblehead. Yes, it's true. I suck at commuting.
My office is moving from the town of Marblehead to the town of Danvers, which is yet another location on the North Shore that I know nothing about. Named for Danvers Osborn, a colonial governor of New York, the town of Danvers is apparently known for the 1692 Salem witch trials.
One would think that Salem is known for the Salem witch trials. It turns out that there is a historic landmark in Danvers related to the Salem witch trials. Rebecca Nurse, one of the convicted witches, has a house that still stands in Danvers.
In addition to the historic landmark, Danvers is also apparently known for its asylum, the Danvers State Hospital. Danvers State Hospital is also known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, The Danvers Lunatic Asylum, and The Danvers State Insane Asylum. It is believed that the Danvers State Hospital was the inspiration for Arkham sanatorium from H.P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep", which in turn was the inspiration for Arkham Asylum, the psychiatric hospital known to many Batman fans.
Anyway, it almost seems fitting that on my last visit to Marblehead, the commute home would drive me crazy. Clocking in at two hours, the commute from Marblehead back to Norwell definitely made my bum fall asleep. I am hoping the new office location will be better for my sanity... and my butt cheeks.
And to celebrate, of course, Karen and I ended up going out for dinner at Not Your Average Joe's in Norwell. We briefly visited Karen's grandmother as well, just to make sure she was doing well since the passing of Karen's grandfather. But after our visit, we were too lazy to make dinner. Hence, Not Your Average Joe's.
Not Your Average Joe's, by the way, was delicious as usual. I'm afraid the last time I went to Not Your Average Joe's, I did not particularly enjoy my meal which was no fault of the restaurant. The last time I went to Not Your Average Joe's, our baby daughter (Briana) was not exactly too happy. Consequently, I ate my meal after calming her down. And eating a cold burger is definitely not the same as eating one that is nice and hot.
My office is moving from the town of Marblehead to the town of Danvers, which is yet another location on the North Shore that I know nothing about. Named for Danvers Osborn, a colonial governor of New York, the town of Danvers is apparently known for the 1692 Salem witch trials.
One would think that Salem is known for the Salem witch trials. It turns out that there is a historic landmark in Danvers related to the Salem witch trials. Rebecca Nurse, one of the convicted witches, has a house that still stands in Danvers.
In addition to the historic landmark, Danvers is also apparently known for its asylum, the Danvers State Hospital. Danvers State Hospital is also known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, The Danvers Lunatic Asylum, and The Danvers State Insane Asylum. It is believed that the Danvers State Hospital was the inspiration for Arkham sanatorium from H.P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep", which in turn was the inspiration for Arkham Asylum, the psychiatric hospital known to many Batman fans.
Anyway, it almost seems fitting that on my last visit to Marblehead, the commute home would drive me crazy. Clocking in at two hours, the commute from Marblehead back to Norwell definitely made my bum fall asleep. I am hoping the new office location will be better for my sanity... and my butt cheeks.
And to celebrate, of course, Karen and I ended up going out for dinner at Not Your Average Joe's in Norwell. We briefly visited Karen's grandmother as well, just to make sure she was doing well since the passing of Karen's grandfather. But after our visit, we were too lazy to make dinner. Hence, Not Your Average Joe's.
Not Your Average Joe's, by the way, was delicious as usual. I'm afraid the last time I went to Not Your Average Joe's, I did not particularly enjoy my meal which was no fault of the restaurant. The last time I went to Not Your Average Joe's, our baby daughter (Briana) was not exactly too happy. Consequently, I ate my meal after calming her down. And eating a cold burger is definitely not the same as eating one that is nice and hot.
Monday, November 29, 2010
I Suck At Parades
Yesterday, Quincy had its annual Christmas parade. The city of Quincy annually has a Christmas parade the Sunday after Thanksgiving. And for anyone who knows me, they know that I am not a big fan of parades. In fact, I suck at parades.
I try to avoid parades as much as I can. Unfortunately, this year the baby clause took effect. Karen was going to bring our baby daughter (Briana) to this year's Christmas parade in Quincy whether I attended or not. Karen, after all, loves parades.
Naturally, I did not want to miss my daughter's first parade. And so, I begrudgingly attended. Besides, I think Karen's mother was looking forward to seeing us for the parade. Granted, she was probably looking forward to seeing Briana more than us. Karen and I just happened to be the means of transportation in getting Briana down to Quincy.
Needless to say, it was an interesting parade. Joining our little group of parade watchers were Karen's mother, our friends (Jen, Bill, Carlos, and Hot Amy), my BFF (Kerry), Hot Amy's fiance (Mark), and Jen and Bill's parents. For me, the best part of the parade were the bagpipers (because I seem to like all things Irish) and the majestic clydesdale horses.
Karen seems to think that Briana enjoyed the parade a lot. For awhile, Briana was bouncing up and down on Karen's lap watching the parade. I, of course, disagreed with Karen because shortly thereafter Briana ended up falling asleep on my lap during the parade... despite the loud sirens and whatnot. So the verdict is still out on Briana's stance on parades.
It was also good to see Jen, Bill, Carlos and Hot Amy. Wake aside, I had not seen any of them in quite a long time. So it was nice to see them again.
Speaking of Jen and Bill, following the parade we headed back to their place for a cookie swap. I have never done a cookie swap before. As it turns out, neither had Karen. Luckily, I had enough time on Sunday morning to bake some cookies. Based on the available ingredients that I had in the house, I ended up making soft raisin cookies. And thanks to the internet, I got the recipe online.
It was actually fun to bake the cookies. I actually do like to bake. I just never have a particular reason to bake. Thankfully, Jen came up with the idea this year. Granted, my baking is not as good as my friend (Kelley), whose chocolate chip cookies I absolutely love.
Interestingly enough, Kelley and my friend (Marc) did stop by Jen and Bill's. Sadly, there were no chocolate chip cookies from Kelley. I think the cookie swap was a fun idea. I suppose it's not surprising since I also enjoy the idea of potlucks.
Anyway, it was good to hang out after the parade and catch up on things. And I can successfully say that I sampled all of the cookies. Sure, I was quite full afterwards, but I sampled them all nonetheless.
Later that night, Karen and I did something that we have not done in awhile. We watched a movie together. That movie: Leap Year.
(The video below is a trailer for Leap Year.)
The movie, starring Amy Adams, is a romantic comedy about a woman who travels to Ireland to propose to her boyfriend on leap day (February 29). Apparently, there is an Irish tradition whereby a man must accept a wedding proposal when asked on leap day. Needless to say, her plans go awry.
Although Karen had already seen the movie before, I figured that the movie would be a good date night movie to watch together. And naturally, because I like all things Irish, I figured the movie could not be all that bad. And truth be told, I did enjoy the movie despite the predictability. All in all, it was a good way to end the night.
I try to avoid parades as much as I can. Unfortunately, this year the baby clause took effect. Karen was going to bring our baby daughter (Briana) to this year's Christmas parade in Quincy whether I attended or not. Karen, after all, loves parades.
Naturally, I did not want to miss my daughter's first parade. And so, I begrudgingly attended. Besides, I think Karen's mother was looking forward to seeing us for the parade. Granted, she was probably looking forward to seeing Briana more than us. Karen and I just happened to be the means of transportation in getting Briana down to Quincy.
Needless to say, it was an interesting parade. Joining our little group of parade watchers were Karen's mother, our friends (Jen, Bill, Carlos, and Hot Amy), my BFF (Kerry), Hot Amy's fiance (Mark), and Jen and Bill's parents. For me, the best part of the parade were the bagpipers (because I seem to like all things Irish) and the majestic clydesdale horses.
Karen seems to think that Briana enjoyed the parade a lot. For awhile, Briana was bouncing up and down on Karen's lap watching the parade. I, of course, disagreed with Karen because shortly thereafter Briana ended up falling asleep on my lap during the parade... despite the loud sirens and whatnot. So the verdict is still out on Briana's stance on parades.
It was also good to see Jen, Bill, Carlos and Hot Amy. Wake aside, I had not seen any of them in quite a long time. So it was nice to see them again.
Speaking of Jen and Bill, following the parade we headed back to their place for a cookie swap. I have never done a cookie swap before. As it turns out, neither had Karen. Luckily, I had enough time on Sunday morning to bake some cookies. Based on the available ingredients that I had in the house, I ended up making soft raisin cookies. And thanks to the internet, I got the recipe online.
It was actually fun to bake the cookies. I actually do like to bake. I just never have a particular reason to bake. Thankfully, Jen came up with the idea this year. Granted, my baking is not as good as my friend (Kelley), whose chocolate chip cookies I absolutely love.
Interestingly enough, Kelley and my friend (Marc) did stop by Jen and Bill's. Sadly, there were no chocolate chip cookies from Kelley. I think the cookie swap was a fun idea. I suppose it's not surprising since I also enjoy the idea of potlucks.
Anyway, it was good to hang out after the parade and catch up on things. And I can successfully say that I sampled all of the cookies. Sure, I was quite full afterwards, but I sampled them all nonetheless.
Later that night, Karen and I did something that we have not done in awhile. We watched a movie together. That movie: Leap Year.
(The video below is a trailer for Leap Year.)
The movie, starring Amy Adams, is a romantic comedy about a woman who travels to Ireland to propose to her boyfriend on leap day (February 29). Apparently, there is an Irish tradition whereby a man must accept a wedding proposal when asked on leap day. Needless to say, her plans go awry.
Although Karen had already seen the movie before, I figured that the movie would be a good date night movie to watch together. And naturally, because I like all things Irish, I figured the movie could not be all that bad. And truth be told, I did enjoy the movie despite the predictability. All in all, it was a good way to end the night.
I Suck At Funerals
On Saturday, Karen's grandfather was being laid to rest. For me, this was my first funeral. To quote Karen's grandmother at the cemetery, "I don't do this that often." Sadly, I suck at funerals.
I thought the funeral mass for Karen's grandfather was nicely done. The church itself was nice. I think Karen's grandmother was almost embarrassed when Karen's cousin (Doreen) recounted the story of how their grandfather shot an enemy soldier in the butt during the war just because he grew tired of seeing him on patrol. (Karen's grandfather was a sniper during the second world war.) Needless to say, it was a comical story that I remembered him telling me one time.
If there were one thing that I thought was a little peculiar about the mass, it would have to have been the obviousness that some of the people in attendance were not everyday church-goers despite the Catholic label. I just found that pretty funny because I am by no means religious. Yet I seem to know more about things like how to take communion than say... someone who is Catholic and can actually take communion. Again, I attribute that to the growing list of things that make no sense with organized religion.
Regardless, the burial was nicely done. It's definitely not what you see on television, that's for sure. Based on television, I imagined that we would see the casket being lowered into the ground while Taps was playing. That was not the case. Nevertheless, it was still nice.
Following the funeral and the social gathering after the funeral, Karen simply crashed. It has definitely been a long week for her family. She was so exhausted that she did something that she doesn't get to do that often: take a nap.
When Karen finally woke up, she decided to go out with some of our friends for dinner. Prior to the unexpected passing of her grandfather, Karen and I had plans to go to the Cape this weekend. The idea at the time was to celebrate Karen's birthday (even though it was in October) with a bunch of friends. I think some of our friends just wanted to be there when Karen had her first taste of alcohol since the birth of our baby daughter (Briana).
Those plans were canceled due to obvious reasons. In its place, the dinner plan for the night involved going to Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell with our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea), my BFF (Kerry) and Kerry's significant other (Pat). Naturally, I offered to watch Briana while Karen went out. After all, I think Karen needed the fun more than I. Plus, I don't think my friends were as interested in seeing me drink as they do her. But Karen wanted me to come along. So she asked my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) to watch Briana while we went out for the dinner.
Well, let's just say that idea did not go well with Briana. Janine contacted us shortly before our food was about to be served, notifying us that Briana was uncontrollably crying. I figured this would happen. I assume like most babies, Briana is going through a phase. This phase, unfortunately, happens to be a separation anxiety phase.
I must say, this is a frustrating phase. And without sounding like a crazy overprotective parent or anything, I am not so sure people who do not have children really understand what it feels like to have a child go through this phase. I can say that because... well... at one time, I was one of those people. I thought the simple solution was to get a babysitter. End of story. Sadly, that is so not the end of story.
In the case of Briana, she is all about her daddy right now. (And really, what's not to like about her daddy, right?) I have a feeling that some of my friends think I can simply go out and do things. Unfortunately, it's not that easy while our baby is in this phase. In fact, I have been getting recent flack about attending events (or possibly attending events). It's frustrating because it's not like I enjoy the feelings of being trapped. I don't really know who does. But whatever. I can only control what I can control.
Regardless, I had to leave Not Your Average Joe's to pick up Briana. I was, however, present long enough to see my BFF make a nice toast to Karen's afterbirth. And no, she was not inebriated. Yay afterbirth! (And yes, she meant something else.)
Anyway, Briana was fine once I arrived at Janine's. Janine's BFF (Gretchen) apparently knew I had arrived because she didn't hear the uncontrollably cries anymore. It was that quick. And after Briana calmed herself down even more, she was back to her usual self... smiling at Gretchen and whatnot. I felt terrible for Janine, PJ, and Gretchen because they looked exhausted over Briana. And nothing adds to that feeling more than eating a cold burger. Yum!
Eventually I took Briana back home. By that time, Karen and our friends had gone back to our house. Everyone was having fun watching Scare Tactics. I think Pat may have gotten a kick out of seeing old pictures of Kerry. It was all good. I think Karen had fun, which was the goal.
I thought the funeral mass for Karen's grandfather was nicely done. The church itself was nice. I think Karen's grandmother was almost embarrassed when Karen's cousin (Doreen) recounted the story of how their grandfather shot an enemy soldier in the butt during the war just because he grew tired of seeing him on patrol. (Karen's grandfather was a sniper during the second world war.) Needless to say, it was a comical story that I remembered him telling me one time.
If there were one thing that I thought was a little peculiar about the mass, it would have to have been the obviousness that some of the people in attendance were not everyday church-goers despite the Catholic label. I just found that pretty funny because I am by no means religious. Yet I seem to know more about things like how to take communion than say... someone who is Catholic and can actually take communion. Again, I attribute that to the growing list of things that make no sense with organized religion.
Regardless, the burial was nicely done. It's definitely not what you see on television, that's for sure. Based on television, I imagined that we would see the casket being lowered into the ground while Taps was playing. That was not the case. Nevertheless, it was still nice.
Following the funeral and the social gathering after the funeral, Karen simply crashed. It has definitely been a long week for her family. She was so exhausted that she did something that she doesn't get to do that often: take a nap.
When Karen finally woke up, she decided to go out with some of our friends for dinner. Prior to the unexpected passing of her grandfather, Karen and I had plans to go to the Cape this weekend. The idea at the time was to celebrate Karen's birthday (even though it was in October) with a bunch of friends. I think some of our friends just wanted to be there when Karen had her first taste of alcohol since the birth of our baby daughter (Briana).
Those plans were canceled due to obvious reasons. In its place, the dinner plan for the night involved going to Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell with our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea), my BFF (Kerry) and Kerry's significant other (Pat). Naturally, I offered to watch Briana while Karen went out. After all, I think Karen needed the fun more than I. Plus, I don't think my friends were as interested in seeing me drink as they do her. But Karen wanted me to come along. So she asked my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) to watch Briana while we went out for the dinner.
Well, let's just say that idea did not go well with Briana. Janine contacted us shortly before our food was about to be served, notifying us that Briana was uncontrollably crying. I figured this would happen. I assume like most babies, Briana is going through a phase. This phase, unfortunately, happens to be a separation anxiety phase.
I must say, this is a frustrating phase. And without sounding like a crazy overprotective parent or anything, I am not so sure people who do not have children really understand what it feels like to have a child go through this phase. I can say that because... well... at one time, I was one of those people. I thought the simple solution was to get a babysitter. End of story. Sadly, that is so not the end of story.
In the case of Briana, she is all about her daddy right now. (And really, what's not to like about her daddy, right?) I have a feeling that some of my friends think I can simply go out and do things. Unfortunately, it's not that easy while our baby is in this phase. In fact, I have been getting recent flack about attending events (or possibly attending events). It's frustrating because it's not like I enjoy the feelings of being trapped. I don't really know who does. But whatever. I can only control what I can control.
Regardless, I had to leave Not Your Average Joe's to pick up Briana. I was, however, present long enough to see my BFF make a nice toast to Karen's afterbirth. And no, she was not inebriated. Yay afterbirth! (And yes, she meant something else.)
Anyway, Briana was fine once I arrived at Janine's. Janine's BFF (Gretchen) apparently knew I had arrived because she didn't hear the uncontrollably cries anymore. It was that quick. And after Briana calmed herself down even more, she was back to her usual self... smiling at Gretchen and whatnot. I felt terrible for Janine, PJ, and Gretchen because they looked exhausted over Briana. And nothing adds to that feeling more than eating a cold burger. Yum!
Eventually I took Briana back home. By that time, Karen and our friends had gone back to our house. Everyone was having fun watching Scare Tactics. I think Pat may have gotten a kick out of seeing old pictures of Kerry. It was all good. I think Karen had fun, which was the goal.
I Suck At Black Friday
The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. The day is traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Unfortunately, I suck at Black Friday.
It seems like every year, I get tempted with the idea of experiencing the Black Friday shopping frenzy just to see what it is like. This year was no exception, thanks in part to my friend (Aimee) who apparently loves a good deal herself and told me about some of the deals to be had. And of course like every year, I usually choose sanity and sleep over shopping (this year included). And sadly, I missed the Black Friday shopping experience yet again. Perhaps some day, I will get to experience the Black Friday madness.
It was probably just as well that I missed the shopping madness. After all, Friday was shaping up to be a busy day. Karen's grandfather recently passed away and his wake just so happened to be on Black Friday. For me, it was the first wake I ever attended from start to finish. And in case anyone is curious, it was also the first wake for my niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ).
I must say, it was an interesting experience. The part I found most peculiar about the wake was how the priest randomly interrupted everything for a reading. People would be talking amongst themselves and then... BAM! The priest started reading aloud scripture. To me (a fellow non-Catholic), it seemed out of nowhere. Apparently, that is a common tradition.
As well, I had missed an interesting comment from one of Karen's relatives. While I was out picking up our baby daughter (Briana) and bringing her to the wake, I guess one of Karen's relatives mentioned to Karen how amazing it was to see the number of Karen's friends attending the wake.
I never really thought much about it, probably because I may have taken it for granted. But Karen and I are lucky to have a large number of amazing friends. It probably is unusual that both Karen and I still maintain friendships with our childhood friends. In comparison, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) joked that she only had one friend. So I guess we are lucky to have such a large number of great friends.
Speaking of which, Karen, Briana and I headed to our friends' (Cass and Ellen) house following the wake. For awhile now, Cass and Ellen have been hosting a Black Friday party in which everyone in attendance would bring their Thanksgiving leftovers. I guess you could call it a potluck of Thanksgiving leftovers. And yes, it was on Black Friday where I had my famous steak-choking incident.
Needless to say, Karen and I were late to the party for obvious reasons. Cass and Ellen encouraged us to attend while at the wake, in the event Karen needed a break. And for Karen, I think it was a much needed break from the day. It was definitely good to see some friends.
As a side note, I forgot to mention that Cass and Ellen were an apparent hit at the wake because of the lovely floral arrangement that they sent for Karen's grandfather. Karen's relatives were raving about the flowers. This is proof yet again that parents love Cass... which is why he should run for mayor of Quincy.
Anyway, all of us just hung out at Cass and Ellen's. Also in attendance were our friends (Marc, Kelley, Kerry, Andrea, and Meredith) and Meredith's baby (Xander). Like I said, it was good to hang out... probably more for Karen. It was definitely a good way to end the night.
It seems like every year, I get tempted with the idea of experiencing the Black Friday shopping frenzy just to see what it is like. This year was no exception, thanks in part to my friend (Aimee) who apparently loves a good deal herself and told me about some of the deals to be had. And of course like every year, I usually choose sanity and sleep over shopping (this year included). And sadly, I missed the Black Friday shopping experience yet again. Perhaps some day, I will get to experience the Black Friday madness.
It was probably just as well that I missed the shopping madness. After all, Friday was shaping up to be a busy day. Karen's grandfather recently passed away and his wake just so happened to be on Black Friday. For me, it was the first wake I ever attended from start to finish. And in case anyone is curious, it was also the first wake for my niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ).
I must say, it was an interesting experience. The part I found most peculiar about the wake was how the priest randomly interrupted everything for a reading. People would be talking amongst themselves and then... BAM! The priest started reading aloud scripture. To me (a fellow non-Catholic), it seemed out of nowhere. Apparently, that is a common tradition.
As well, I had missed an interesting comment from one of Karen's relatives. While I was out picking up our baby daughter (Briana) and bringing her to the wake, I guess one of Karen's relatives mentioned to Karen how amazing it was to see the number of Karen's friends attending the wake.
I never really thought much about it, probably because I may have taken it for granted. But Karen and I are lucky to have a large number of amazing friends. It probably is unusual that both Karen and I still maintain friendships with our childhood friends. In comparison, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) joked that she only had one friend. So I guess we are lucky to have such a large number of great friends.
Speaking of which, Karen, Briana and I headed to our friends' (Cass and Ellen) house following the wake. For awhile now, Cass and Ellen have been hosting a Black Friday party in which everyone in attendance would bring their Thanksgiving leftovers. I guess you could call it a potluck of Thanksgiving leftovers. And yes, it was on Black Friday where I had my famous steak-choking incident.
Needless to say, Karen and I were late to the party for obvious reasons. Cass and Ellen encouraged us to attend while at the wake, in the event Karen needed a break. And for Karen, I think it was a much needed break from the day. It was definitely good to see some friends.
As a side note, I forgot to mention that Cass and Ellen were an apparent hit at the wake because of the lovely floral arrangement that they sent for Karen's grandfather. Karen's relatives were raving about the flowers. This is proof yet again that parents love Cass... which is why he should run for mayor of Quincy.
Anyway, all of us just hung out at Cass and Ellen's. Also in attendance were our friends (Marc, Kelley, Kerry, Andrea, and Meredith) and Meredith's baby (Xander). Like I said, it was good to hang out... probably more for Karen. It was definitely a good way to end the night.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
I Suck At Thanksgiving
Thursday was Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Too bad I suck at Thanksgiving.
I sometimes wonder if Native Americans enjoy the holiday as much as Non-Native Americans. After all, if the holiday is about giving thanks (which in and of itself sounds like a great idea), what are the Native Americans thankful for? Are they thankful that their land was taken from them, causing them to live on remote strips of reservation land? Are they thankful that settlers introduced disease and alcoholism? Are they thankful for casinos? I was just curious.
Karen and I celebrated the holiday by spending time with Karen's parents. The holidays for us are usually small as it is generally Karen's parents, my parents, and Karen and I. This year, Thanksgiving was even smaller as my parents were having dinner at my cousin's house. For anyone curious, my cousin (Tiffany) recently purchased a new house in Canton and consequently wanted to host Thanksgiving for my relatives.
Thus, Thanksgiving was a small affair this year. As usual, my in-laws prepared a great meal. I've always been more into the side dishes than the turkey itself. And it turns out, my baby daughter (Briana) may be too. In addition to the sweet potato and the squash, Karen decided to see if Briana would eat some cranberry sauce. Needless to say, Briana devoured the cranberry sauce with reckless abandon. Who knew? I probably should not have been surprised. After all, I too enjoy cranberry sauce.
Anyway, following the delicious meal, all of us headed to the nursing home to spend some time with Karen's grandmother, also known as Nana. And personally speaking, I think that is what the holidays should be about: spending time with family and friends. When my family and friends are no longer among the living (and hopefully are not zombies), I want to look back with no regrets and say that I spent my time wisely with them. But that is just me.
I guess it goes without saying that I am thankful for everyone in my life... past and present.
I sometimes wonder if Native Americans enjoy the holiday as much as Non-Native Americans. After all, if the holiday is about giving thanks (which in and of itself sounds like a great idea), what are the Native Americans thankful for? Are they thankful that their land was taken from them, causing them to live on remote strips of reservation land? Are they thankful that settlers introduced disease and alcoholism? Are they thankful for casinos? I was just curious.
Karen and I celebrated the holiday by spending time with Karen's parents. The holidays for us are usually small as it is generally Karen's parents, my parents, and Karen and I. This year, Thanksgiving was even smaller as my parents were having dinner at my cousin's house. For anyone curious, my cousin (Tiffany) recently purchased a new house in Canton and consequently wanted to host Thanksgiving for my relatives.
Thus, Thanksgiving was a small affair this year. As usual, my in-laws prepared a great meal. I've always been more into the side dishes than the turkey itself. And it turns out, my baby daughter (Briana) may be too. In addition to the sweet potato and the squash, Karen decided to see if Briana would eat some cranberry sauce. Needless to say, Briana devoured the cranberry sauce with reckless abandon. Who knew? I probably should not have been surprised. After all, I too enjoy cranberry sauce.
Anyway, following the delicious meal, all of us headed to the nursing home to spend some time with Karen's grandmother, also known as Nana. And personally speaking, I think that is what the holidays should be about: spending time with family and friends. When my family and friends are no longer among the living (and hopefully are not zombies), I want to look back with no regrets and say that I spent my time wisely with them. But that is just me.
I guess it goes without saying that I am thankful for everyone in my life... past and present.
I Suck At Boston Pizza Company
My office closed early on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. So with the additional time, I decided to run some errands with my mother who was down to babysit my daughter (Briana). The errand at hand: making a simple bank deposit.
Some of my friends still make fun of me for actually going to the bank to make deposits. I am not sure when the last time was for my friends in which they actually interacted with a bank teller. They seem to prefer the electronic method of depositing additional funds. For me, I actually enjoy seeing the familiar faces at my local bank. I think my enjoyment stems from my past experience working as a bank teller and occasionally singing the chorus to that Melissa Etheridge song, "Come to My Window".
Anyway, after eating leftover pizza from the Boston Pizza Company, my mother and I headed off to my local bank. By the way, I suck at Boston Pizza Company. I have actually never been there. The first time was on Tuesday at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine).
The pizza was pretty good. I would definitely eat there again. Heck, I devoured the leftovers, so it had to be good. For anyone curious, my mother enjoyed the pizza too. It has been a while since she has eaten restaurant pizza as my dad prefers the frozen pizza found at the local grocery store. Sad, I know.
After making my deposit, my mother also asked that I show her how to use the ATM. My mother has never used the automated teller machine (ATM) before. She recently got her bank ATM card, complete with PIN number, and was pretty excited about using it. Naturally, being the favorite son (and the only local son), I was asked to show her how to use it.
Needless to say, showing my mother how to use an ATM was an interesting experience. I first walked her through the steps as I made an ATM cash withdrawal. After my withdrawal, I had my mother attempt one.
I don't know how much more I can explain to my mother about how to use an ATM. To me, it is simply read the screen and select the appropriate button that lines up with the choice.
Well, her first try didn't go too well. She withdrew the incorrect amount. Well, technically speaking, her first try resulted in an invalid PIN combination. Her actual withdrawal was for the wrong amount, to which she asked me how come she got the wrong amount.
Naturally, I could only shake my head in frustration. I had her run through the process again, making sure she read everything on the screen before selecting a choice. Don't get me wrong. I love my mom. She does, however, drive me nuts at times. The ATM experience may have been one of those times. Eventually, my mother withdrew the correct amount that she wanted to.
Later that night, Karen, Briana, and I headed over to my friends' (Marc and Kelley). Joining us for the night was our friend (Andrea) who recently moved into her new place. To say that Andrea is excited about her new place is an understatement. Andrea is absolutely thrilled about owning her own place and living by herself. I myself can't wait to see her new place.
Needless to say, we spent the night hanging out and having some fun while watching Punkin Chunkin. It was a good way to end the day.
Some of my friends still make fun of me for actually going to the bank to make deposits. I am not sure when the last time was for my friends in which they actually interacted with a bank teller. They seem to prefer the electronic method of depositing additional funds. For me, I actually enjoy seeing the familiar faces at my local bank. I think my enjoyment stems from my past experience working as a bank teller and occasionally singing the chorus to that Melissa Etheridge song, "Come to My Window".
Anyway, after eating leftover pizza from the Boston Pizza Company, my mother and I headed off to my local bank. By the way, I suck at Boston Pizza Company. I have actually never been there. The first time was on Tuesday at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine).
The pizza was pretty good. I would definitely eat there again. Heck, I devoured the leftovers, so it had to be good. For anyone curious, my mother enjoyed the pizza too. It has been a while since she has eaten restaurant pizza as my dad prefers the frozen pizza found at the local grocery store. Sad, I know.
After making my deposit, my mother also asked that I show her how to use the ATM. My mother has never used the automated teller machine (ATM) before. She recently got her bank ATM card, complete with PIN number, and was pretty excited about using it. Naturally, being the favorite son (and the only local son), I was asked to show her how to use it.
Needless to say, showing my mother how to use an ATM was an interesting experience. I first walked her through the steps as I made an ATM cash withdrawal. After my withdrawal, I had my mother attempt one.
I don't know how much more I can explain to my mother about how to use an ATM. To me, it is simply read the screen and select the appropriate button that lines up with the choice.
Well, her first try didn't go too well. She withdrew the incorrect amount. Well, technically speaking, her first try resulted in an invalid PIN combination. Her actual withdrawal was for the wrong amount, to which she asked me how come she got the wrong amount.
Naturally, I could only shake my head in frustration. I had her run through the process again, making sure she read everything on the screen before selecting a choice. Don't get me wrong. I love my mom. She does, however, drive me nuts at times. The ATM experience may have been one of those times. Eventually, my mother withdrew the correct amount that she wanted to.
Later that night, Karen, Briana, and I headed over to my friends' (Marc and Kelley). Joining us for the night was our friend (Andrea) who recently moved into her new place. To say that Andrea is excited about her new place is an understatement. Andrea is absolutely thrilled about owning her own place and living by herself. I myself can't wait to see her new place.
Needless to say, we spent the night hanging out and having some fun while watching Punkin Chunkin. It was a good way to end the day.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
I Suck At Hanging Out With Grandparents
Today is a sad day, and not because news has come out that Warner Bros is rebooting Buffy the Vampire Slayer without creator Joss Whedon or any of the original cast members from the beloved television show. Say the news isn't so!
Although I must say, I did get a chuckle from reading Whedon's response:
"This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths — just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself."
Anyway, Karen's grandfather passed away today. It has actually been somewhat of a strange day in general, Buffy news aside. It was only nine days ago that Karen and I took our baby daughter (Briana) to visit her grandparents.
It's too bad I suck at hanging out with grandparents. They say hindsight is 20/20. If someone were to tell me that Karen's grandfather would pass away nine days from that last visit, I probably would have taken Briana to their house every day. After all, Karen's grandparents were all excited and filled with joy over seeing Briana.
It's a shame that Briana, at eight months, will probably never really remember her great grandfather because he did love her so. He used to refer to Briana as "he". Whether that was intentional or not, I'm not sure because he knew he was doing it. But you could tell from the way he rocked Briana in her car seat with his foot, to how he would hold her, that he did have a great time with Briana.
Karen's grandfather did appear to be doing well this past Saturday when Karen had visited him in the hospital. It is amazing how quickly things can change in a matter of days or hours or minutes. I remember thinking that as well when Karen and I lost our son (Braden). For anyone curious, Braden was lucky enough to have been visited by Karen's grandparents before his passing.
Life can be an emotional roller coaster at times. For me, the experience of losing Braden has led me to cherish more the things that I currently have... like friends and family... as opposed to the material things that I want. I feel that the passing of Karen's grandfather only reinforces my feelings about the importance of family and friends.
Anyway, Karen's grandfather had a goal of reaching 100 years of age. Sadly, he did not accomplish that goal. I think he was a little over 2 years short of 100. Regardless, he lived a long full life. He lived through the depression. He served in the second World War. He had a lot of great and interesting stories to tell, especially about the war.
To say that his death was sudden does seem somewhat peculiar because he was, after all, 97. Nevertheless, I was somewhat surprised to find out that he passed away in those 9 days since our last visit. I am blessed to have known Karen's grandfather. He was a good man. I'm sure he will be telling Braden all about his little sister, Briana.
Although I must say, I did get a chuckle from reading Whedon's response:
"This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths — just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself."
Anyway, Karen's grandfather passed away today. It has actually been somewhat of a strange day in general, Buffy news aside. It was only nine days ago that Karen and I took our baby daughter (Briana) to visit her grandparents.
It's too bad I suck at hanging out with grandparents. They say hindsight is 20/20. If someone were to tell me that Karen's grandfather would pass away nine days from that last visit, I probably would have taken Briana to their house every day. After all, Karen's grandparents were all excited and filled with joy over seeing Briana.
It's a shame that Briana, at eight months, will probably never really remember her great grandfather because he did love her so. He used to refer to Briana as "he". Whether that was intentional or not, I'm not sure because he knew he was doing it. But you could tell from the way he rocked Briana in her car seat with his foot, to how he would hold her, that he did have a great time with Briana.
Karen's grandfather did appear to be doing well this past Saturday when Karen had visited him in the hospital. It is amazing how quickly things can change in a matter of days or hours or minutes. I remember thinking that as well when Karen and I lost our son (Braden). For anyone curious, Braden was lucky enough to have been visited by Karen's grandparents before his passing.
Life can be an emotional roller coaster at times. For me, the experience of losing Braden has led me to cherish more the things that I currently have... like friends and family... as opposed to the material things that I want. I feel that the passing of Karen's grandfather only reinforces my feelings about the importance of family and friends.
Anyway, Karen's grandfather had a goal of reaching 100 years of age. Sadly, he did not accomplish that goal. I think he was a little over 2 years short of 100. Regardless, he lived a long full life. He lived through the depression. He served in the second World War. He had a lot of great and interesting stories to tell, especially about the war.
To say that his death was sudden does seem somewhat peculiar because he was, after all, 97. Nevertheless, I was somewhat surprised to find out that he passed away in those 9 days since our last visit. I am blessed to have known Karen's grandfather. He was a good man. I'm sure he will be telling Braden all about his little sister, Briana.
Monday, November 22, 2010
I Still Suck At Going Through Stuff
Box number 6 is done.
Yesterday, Karen had a baby shower to attend to for our friends (Cass and Ellen). So while she was out, I took care of our baby daughter Briana. And by taking care of Briana, I mean I strapped her into an infant carrier and started cleaning up the house.
It's amazing how long it takes to vacuum a two story house with a baby strapped to you. Of course, it's also amazing how quickly the house falls back into disarray after being vacuumed. It's like a matter of minutes before the house is dirty again. That is very frustrating.
Cleaning the house with a baby is like working out: it takes forever to get the desired results, and it takes simply no time to fall back to square one. Add the fact that it seems like a vicious cycle... and there you go.
Anyway, following my hours of vacuuming, I decided to go through yet another box of stuff that my mother brought over after cleaning her attic. Now, I still suck at going through stuff. I believe this is the sixth box. The contents of the box were yet more junk from high school.
And junk there was. In addition to class notes, which were mostly in French, there were the usual things like report cards and homework assignments. I sometimes wonder if I ever went to class as well because there were a vast amount of signed passes in the box. The passes were signed by various teachers allowing me to go certain places. One of the passes was signed by my French teacher to go to her car to retrieve supplies. I thought that was funny.
There were also many of my old writing assignments which I had totally forgotten about. Apparently, my English class wrote poetry one year because I have a collection of poems from my classmates. It was that same English class where I also started my foray into screenwriting as one of the assignments in the class was to keep a daily journal... much like this blog. Of course, this was back in the day when we had to actually write our journal ideas in a book. Nevertheless, my daily entries into my journal included skits that I would write involving the day. And as usual, the skits would include my friends and people I knew.
Also in the box that made me chuckle were my designs for the yearbook. Being on the yearbook committee, my sole responsibility was to come up with a few designs for the yearbook. I apparently came up with four designs. Sadly, none of my designs were selected for the front cover. Instead, that honor went to my friend (Ngoc). One of my designs, however, did actually make the cut for the back cover.
It's too bad none of my designs were selected for the front cover. (Or conversely, it's probably a good thing that none of my designs were selected for the front cover because our yearbook was absolutely atrocious.) My favorite design that did not get selected involved a stick figure representation of our school mascot. I thought that design was pretty cute. Sadly, no one will ever know what it looked like (except for Karen whom I showed later).
I definitely kept a lot of junk from high school. If I didn't know any better, I could be a candidate for that show, "Hoarders". After all, I also had a collection of silverware in the box. The flatware was pilfered from various eating establishments while I was in high school. Why I thought I would need them? I have no idea. Crazy teenager...
Anyway, I had a good time looking through the stuff and reflecting on my days growing up. After all, those learning experiences whether good or bad have shaped me into who I am today. And perhaps maybe it is because the holidays are coming up, but it was nice to see that I have so many good friends to be thankful for.
Yesterday, Karen had a baby shower to attend to for our friends (Cass and Ellen). So while she was out, I took care of our baby daughter Briana. And by taking care of Briana, I mean I strapped her into an infant carrier and started cleaning up the house.
It's amazing how long it takes to vacuum a two story house with a baby strapped to you. Of course, it's also amazing how quickly the house falls back into disarray after being vacuumed. It's like a matter of minutes before the house is dirty again. That is very frustrating.
Cleaning the house with a baby is like working out: it takes forever to get the desired results, and it takes simply no time to fall back to square one. Add the fact that it seems like a vicious cycle... and there you go.
Anyway, following my hours of vacuuming, I decided to go through yet another box of stuff that my mother brought over after cleaning her attic. Now, I still suck at going through stuff. I believe this is the sixth box. The contents of the box were yet more junk from high school.
And junk there was. In addition to class notes, which were mostly in French, there were the usual things like report cards and homework assignments. I sometimes wonder if I ever went to class as well because there were a vast amount of signed passes in the box. The passes were signed by various teachers allowing me to go certain places. One of the passes was signed by my French teacher to go to her car to retrieve supplies. I thought that was funny.
There were also many of my old writing assignments which I had totally forgotten about. Apparently, my English class wrote poetry one year because I have a collection of poems from my classmates. It was that same English class where I also started my foray into screenwriting as one of the assignments in the class was to keep a daily journal... much like this blog. Of course, this was back in the day when we had to actually write our journal ideas in a book. Nevertheless, my daily entries into my journal included skits that I would write involving the day. And as usual, the skits would include my friends and people I knew.
Also in the box that made me chuckle were my designs for the yearbook. Being on the yearbook committee, my sole responsibility was to come up with a few designs for the yearbook. I apparently came up with four designs. Sadly, none of my designs were selected for the front cover. Instead, that honor went to my friend (Ngoc). One of my designs, however, did actually make the cut for the back cover.
It's too bad none of my designs were selected for the front cover. (Or conversely, it's probably a good thing that none of my designs were selected for the front cover because our yearbook was absolutely atrocious.) My favorite design that did not get selected involved a stick figure representation of our school mascot. I thought that design was pretty cute. Sadly, no one will ever know what it looked like (except for Karen whom I showed later).
I definitely kept a lot of junk from high school. If I didn't know any better, I could be a candidate for that show, "Hoarders". After all, I also had a collection of silverware in the box. The flatware was pilfered from various eating establishments while I was in high school. Why I thought I would need them? I have no idea. Crazy teenager...
Anyway, I had a good time looking through the stuff and reflecting on my days growing up. After all, those learning experiences whether good or bad have shaped me into who I am today. And perhaps maybe it is because the holidays are coming up, but it was nice to see that I have so many good friends to be thankful for.
I Suck At Hanging Out With My Sister-in-Law
On Saturday, Karen and I took our baby daughter (Briana) out for a little visit with her Auntie (Janine). Now, I suck at hanging out with my sister-in-law. I haven't seen Janine and PJ since their trip to Las Vegas. I think Karen was looking forward to seeing Janine as she hasn't really had the chance to hang out with her in awhile.
Needless to say, it was a good visit. For a while, Briana would cry uncontrollably while at Janine and PJ's. I really do not know why she would burst into tears. I always joked that Briana saw the previous owner of the house (Helen) who has long passed away. It may be the unfamiliarity of the place for Briana. Who knows? But, it was somewhat disheartening (and probably for Janine and PJ as well) to have Briana cry all the time while with members of her family.
Briana, however, seems to have gotten better. She was all smiles particular with her uncle PJ. Of course, her happy state may have been due to the fact that PJ fed her frosting. Nevertheless, she was remarkably happy. No tears. That was a relief. Perhaps Karen's plan to get Briana more familiar with her aunt and uncle is working.
Granted, we did not really stay that long at Janine and PJ's. We stayed long enough for me to do some Tech Support while Janine, PJ, and Janine's BFF (Gretchen) played with Briana. Being the token Asian guy in the family, my duties in the family surround computers. In this case, the computer task was fairly easy: transfer files and update iTunes.
Before leaving for Las Vegas, PJ and Janine asked if I could convert their DVD movies into a file that could be played on their iPod. I had converted all of them. The problem, of course, was transferring the newly created files from my computer to theirs. What ultimately happened was that I had only enough disc space to transfer 3 of the 4 movies before their trip. Thus, on Saturday I transferred the remaining movie from my computer to theirs (after their trip).
Anyway, like I said, it was a good time on Saturday.
Needless to say, it was a good visit. For a while, Briana would cry uncontrollably while at Janine and PJ's. I really do not know why she would burst into tears. I always joked that Briana saw the previous owner of the house (Helen) who has long passed away. It may be the unfamiliarity of the place for Briana. Who knows? But, it was somewhat disheartening (and probably for Janine and PJ as well) to have Briana cry all the time while with members of her family.
Briana, however, seems to have gotten better. She was all smiles particular with her uncle PJ. Of course, her happy state may have been due to the fact that PJ fed her frosting. Nevertheless, she was remarkably happy. No tears. That was a relief. Perhaps Karen's plan to get Briana more familiar with her aunt and uncle is working.
Granted, we did not really stay that long at Janine and PJ's. We stayed long enough for me to do some Tech Support while Janine, PJ, and Janine's BFF (Gretchen) played with Briana. Being the token Asian guy in the family, my duties in the family surround computers. In this case, the computer task was fairly easy: transfer files and update iTunes.
Before leaving for Las Vegas, PJ and Janine asked if I could convert their DVD movies into a file that could be played on their iPod. I had converted all of them. The problem, of course, was transferring the newly created files from my computer to theirs. What ultimately happened was that I had only enough disc space to transfer 3 of the 4 movies before their trip. Thus, on Saturday I transferred the remaining movie from my computer to theirs (after their trip).
Anyway, like I said, it was a good time on Saturday.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
I Still Suck At Going Through Stuff
I had the pleasure of listening to Katy Perry's latest album: Teenage Dream. And as much as I hate to say it, I love the album. All the songs are just so catchy. Naturally, as I am apt to do, I have been listening to "Teenage Dream" over and over again. In fact, I think I may have listened to the song way too many times because my baby daughter (Briana) seems to crack a smile every time the chorus comes on now.
(The video below is "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry.)
Needless to say, I'm hooked on the album which is not surprising. And interestingly enough, while I was listening to the song on the continuous loop on Friday, I decided to go through box number 5 of junk that my mother has brought over while she cleans out her attic. It's interesting because the box of junk contained items I had kept from high school. And yes, I still suck at going through stuff.
On a side note, my mother cracks me up. Among the items that my mother brought over while she was cleaning out her attic was my old high school graduation gown. Knowing that I would most likely discard the garment (because what am I going to do with an old red graduation gown?), my mother asked to use it.
And no, my mother is not graduating from anything. My mother, who likes to sew, wants to create a bag, much like the ones used for grocery shopping, out of the graduation gown. I think she just wanted to see if she could create one. Personally, I thought that was a brilliant idea. And what cracked me up even more was that she asked to use my old high school varsity letter so that she could sew that onto the bag. Of course, I obliged. I am actually quite curious now to see if my mother can pull off this idea of hers.
Anyway, going through the box of old high school junk was a nice trip down memory lane. There were so many things that I had forgotten about. Heck, I even had old copies of our high school newspaper known as the North Star. Much like Jason Priestley's character from Beverly Hills 90210, I too used to write for the school newspaper. In fact, the school newspaper is where I first met the person whom I would eventually refer to as the Scourge of Evil.
Besides old copies of the school newspapers, I had some other random things like the student handbook, the school lunch menu, report cards, certificates, SAT and PSAT results, book covers, and of course some class notes which contained a lot of doodles. Apparently I doodled a lot in high school... especially in class.
As well, there were actually quite a lot of foreign language assignments in the box. If I knew French, which is an interesting statement since I was in the Foreign Language Honor Society, I probably could decipher those assignments.
This particular box also contained a lot of computer programming assignments, which I thought was interesting because the assignments were printed on those old dot matrix printers where there were perforations at the edges of the printed paper. I got a chuckle from seeing those simple programs, seeing as how it apparently laid the foundation to what I currently do today for a profession.
There were even some things in the box that I totally forgot that I did, like partake in the judging of Central Middle School's Science Fair. That was random. Although the most random of things may have been a mysterious locker number (4479) with the combination written on one of my book covers.
In fact, I thought the locker number was so random that I had to contact my friend (Aimee) about it to see if she remembered what it was for. Funny thing is... Aimee's memory is just about as bad as mine is these days. It turns out that the high school locker number belonged to my friend (Cass). And in case anyone is curious as to the combination, it was 15-5-44 at the time. As to how I came to acquire the locker combination, I have no idea.
And of course, the best part about the contents of this particular box were the notes that my friends and I used to pass to each other. I wonder if kids these days still fold their notes into tiny triangles. Truth be told, I'm not sure I could fold a note now into one of these triangles.
The notes cracked me up. The one note that actually had me chuckling the most of course was one that was not even written to me. The note was from Karen to my BFF (Kerry). Back in the day, Karen and Kerry were pretty inseparable. In the note, Karen was telling Kerry how cute I looked. And in typical high school fashion, Karen told Kerry not to tell anyone. Yet somehow, I ended up with the note. Classic.
All in all, I enjoyed reading the notes again. It made me happy to know that I had such great friends growing up.
(The video below is "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry.)
Needless to say, I'm hooked on the album which is not surprising. And interestingly enough, while I was listening to the song on the continuous loop on Friday, I decided to go through box number 5 of junk that my mother has brought over while she cleans out her attic. It's interesting because the box of junk contained items I had kept from high school. And yes, I still suck at going through stuff.
On a side note, my mother cracks me up. Among the items that my mother brought over while she was cleaning out her attic was my old high school graduation gown. Knowing that I would most likely discard the garment (because what am I going to do with an old red graduation gown?), my mother asked to use it.
And no, my mother is not graduating from anything. My mother, who likes to sew, wants to create a bag, much like the ones used for grocery shopping, out of the graduation gown. I think she just wanted to see if she could create one. Personally, I thought that was a brilliant idea. And what cracked me up even more was that she asked to use my old high school varsity letter so that she could sew that onto the bag. Of course, I obliged. I am actually quite curious now to see if my mother can pull off this idea of hers.
Anyway, going through the box of old high school junk was a nice trip down memory lane. There were so many things that I had forgotten about. Heck, I even had old copies of our high school newspaper known as the North Star. Much like Jason Priestley's character from Beverly Hills 90210, I too used to write for the school newspaper. In fact, the school newspaper is where I first met the person whom I would eventually refer to as the Scourge of Evil.
Besides old copies of the school newspapers, I had some other random things like the student handbook, the school lunch menu, report cards, certificates, SAT and PSAT results, book covers, and of course some class notes which contained a lot of doodles. Apparently I doodled a lot in high school... especially in class.
As well, there were actually quite a lot of foreign language assignments in the box. If I knew French, which is an interesting statement since I was in the Foreign Language Honor Society, I probably could decipher those assignments.
This particular box also contained a lot of computer programming assignments, which I thought was interesting because the assignments were printed on those old dot matrix printers where there were perforations at the edges of the printed paper. I got a chuckle from seeing those simple programs, seeing as how it apparently laid the foundation to what I currently do today for a profession.
There were even some things in the box that I totally forgot that I did, like partake in the judging of Central Middle School's Science Fair. That was random. Although the most random of things may have been a mysterious locker number (4479) with the combination written on one of my book covers.
In fact, I thought the locker number was so random that I had to contact my friend (Aimee) about it to see if she remembered what it was for. Funny thing is... Aimee's memory is just about as bad as mine is these days. It turns out that the high school locker number belonged to my friend (Cass). And in case anyone is curious as to the combination, it was 15-5-44 at the time. As to how I came to acquire the locker combination, I have no idea.
And of course, the best part about the contents of this particular box were the notes that my friends and I used to pass to each other. I wonder if kids these days still fold their notes into tiny triangles. Truth be told, I'm not sure I could fold a note now into one of these triangles.
The notes cracked me up. The one note that actually had me chuckling the most of course was one that was not even written to me. The note was from Karen to my BFF (Kerry). Back in the day, Karen and Kerry were pretty inseparable. In the note, Karen was telling Kerry how cute I looked. And in typical high school fashion, Karen told Kerry not to tell anyone. Yet somehow, I ended up with the note. Classic.
All in all, I enjoyed reading the notes again. It made me happy to know that I had such great friends growing up.
Friday, November 19, 2010
I Suck At Not Your Average Joe's
You know it's a slow day when the highlight of the night is getting takeout from a restaurant. For me, the highlight of Wednesday was grabbing a bite to eat from Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell. Now, I suck at Not Your Average Joe's. Okay, perhaps that statement is misleading because I do frequent that restaurant a lot.
Even though it was a brief trip to grab takeout, I enjoyed the moment. For a while, I have been feeling like I have been somewhat in a rut. My routine has become very scheduled and consists mainly of waking up, doing chores, feeding our baby daughter (Briana), going to work, feeding Briana after work, making dinner, and doing other random chores in-between. And the cycle repeats the next day and the next. (I have a new appreciation of single parents because I do not know how they would do it.)
Interestingly enough, despite all the chores of cleaning and whatnot, our house is still a mess. It seems like the house is perpetually in disarray regardless of whatever I do. I guess that is what happens when you have a baby. My friends (Cass and Ellen) are having a baby this February. Since Cass is quite particular, I would be curious to see how the child rearing messiness interferes with his sense of order.
Regardless, for people who know me, they know that I do not like routines. Doing the same thing over and over again drives me nuts. Hence, my feelings of being in a rut.
As I was too tired to cook on Wednesday, Karen and I decided to grab takeout from Not Your Average Joe's. Needless to say, I was all for it. Besides enjoying the food, I thought Not Your Average Joe's was a welcomed break for me. Granted, it was only a brief moment because Karen and I do not live that far from the restaurant. Nevertheless, just getting out of the house was enough to break the routine to which I have been feeling enslaved by.
Even though it was a brief trip to grab takeout, I enjoyed the moment. For a while, I have been feeling like I have been somewhat in a rut. My routine has become very scheduled and consists mainly of waking up, doing chores, feeding our baby daughter (Briana), going to work, feeding Briana after work, making dinner, and doing other random chores in-between. And the cycle repeats the next day and the next. (I have a new appreciation of single parents because I do not know how they would do it.)
Interestingly enough, despite all the chores of cleaning and whatnot, our house is still a mess. It seems like the house is perpetually in disarray regardless of whatever I do. I guess that is what happens when you have a baby. My friends (Cass and Ellen) are having a baby this February. Since Cass is quite particular, I would be curious to see how the child rearing messiness interferes with his sense of order.
Regardless, for people who know me, they know that I do not like routines. Doing the same thing over and over again drives me nuts. Hence, my feelings of being in a rut.
As I was too tired to cook on Wednesday, Karen and I decided to grab takeout from Not Your Average Joe's. Needless to say, I was all for it. Besides enjoying the food, I thought Not Your Average Joe's was a welcomed break for me. Granted, it was only a brief moment because Karen and I do not live that far from the restaurant. Nevertheless, just getting out of the house was enough to break the routine to which I have been feeling enslaved by.
Monday, November 15, 2010
I Suck At The Karate Kid
Last night, Karen, our baby daughter (Briana) and I had a family night. It's been some time since the three of us watched a movie together. Since my father-in-law lent us a couple of movies awhile back, we felt that we had to at least watch one of them so that we can return them in a timely fashion.
The movie that we ended up watching last night was The Karate Kid. Now, I suck at The Karate Kid.
(The video below is a trailer for The Karate Kid.)
This version that we watched was not the 1984 original, but the 2010 reboot starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. The new version is about a 12 year old boy who moves to China with his mother. He gets bullied and learns martial arts from an unlikely maintenance man.
Needless to say, I was not expecting much from the movie. After all, the original movie is considered a classic 1980s film. The movie produced such famous quotes like "Wax on. Wax off", "Sweep the leg". Plus, it produced the cult iconic villain William Zabka.
And really, if you think about it, the new movie's title actually is incorrect for the plot. The kid is in China, where the martial art of kung fu is taught. It's not karate, which is a Japanese martial art. So naming the movie "The Karate Kid" doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And if anyone is curious, DC Comics actually granted the original movie permission to use the name "Karate Kid" because it came up with the name "Karate Kid". There was a superhero of the same name before the 1984 movies ever came out.
Regardless, the movie in and of itself was not awful. For me, I think the movie would have been better had the main character not been in middle school. Of course, I'm not saying bullying is more accepted in high school. There's just something about little kids fighting each other that seems weird to me.
And perhaps it's because I am a fan of the 1980s, but I definitely thought the original movie was much better than the reboot. And of course hands down, Joe Esposito's "You're the Best" is definitely a much better movie theme than Justin Beiber's "Never Say Never".
(The video below is Joe Esposito's "You're the Best".)
But like I said, the story in and of itself is not that bad. The original movie from 1984 just told the story better in my opinion.
The movie that we ended up watching last night was The Karate Kid. Now, I suck at The Karate Kid.
(The video below is a trailer for The Karate Kid.)
This version that we watched was not the 1984 original, but the 2010 reboot starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. The new version is about a 12 year old boy who moves to China with his mother. He gets bullied and learns martial arts from an unlikely maintenance man.
Needless to say, I was not expecting much from the movie. After all, the original movie is considered a classic 1980s film. The movie produced such famous quotes like "Wax on. Wax off", "Sweep the leg". Plus, it produced the cult iconic villain William Zabka.
And really, if you think about it, the new movie's title actually is incorrect for the plot. The kid is in China, where the martial art of kung fu is taught. It's not karate, which is a Japanese martial art. So naming the movie "The Karate Kid" doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And if anyone is curious, DC Comics actually granted the original movie permission to use the name "Karate Kid" because it came up with the name "Karate Kid". There was a superhero of the same name before the 1984 movies ever came out.
Regardless, the movie in and of itself was not awful. For me, I think the movie would have been better had the main character not been in middle school. Of course, I'm not saying bullying is more accepted in high school. There's just something about little kids fighting each other that seems weird to me.
And perhaps it's because I am a fan of the 1980s, but I definitely thought the original movie was much better than the reboot. And of course hands down, Joe Esposito's "You're the Best" is definitely a much better movie theme than Justin Beiber's "Never Say Never".
(The video below is Joe Esposito's "You're the Best".)
But like I said, the story in and of itself is not that bad. The original movie from 1984 just told the story better in my opinion.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
I Suck At Pinkberry
For a day in which neither Karen nor I had any set plans (which is a rarity in itself these days), today turned out to be quite fun. With the nice weather, we decided to do a few projects around the house that involved being outside.
Karen was going to rake some leaves while I was going to cut a few tree branches. Cutting branches may seem like an odd project. The electrical wires, however, that lead from the outside transformer into our house are near a tree. The branches of this tree are intertwined with these electrical wires. For the past winters, Karen and I have always worried that with the accumulation of snow during the winter the branches will break and take down the electrical wires with them.
Sure, it may be paranoia. But since it's better to be safe than sorry, I figured that now is as good a time as any to trim the branches before the winter season started this year. The only problem, of course, was getting the proper tool to cut the branches because I did not own one. For anyone curious, I needed a pole saw. Luckily for me, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) had the tool.
Anyway, I was able to borrow the pole saw. As I was picking up the saw, my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) BFF (Gretchen) asked if Karen wanted to go for a walk with her, my niece (Kaleigh) and my nephew (PJ). It being a beautiful day out, Karen opted to go for the walk instead.
So while Karen and our baby daughter (Briana) were out for their walk, I worked on removing the tree branches near our electrical wires. Sadly, my pruning skills may need a little work. When all was said and done, the tree looked a little oddly shaped with a bunch of missing branches.
As I was still feeling productive, I figured I would tackle another project while Karen and Briana were out. That project: going through more crap that my mother brought over. Recently, my mother has been cleaning her attic. As my brother and I had load of junk stored in her attic, my mother started delivering my crap every time she visited.
Today, I went through my fourth box. Contained within this box were more of my college notes. In particular, the box had notes and items leading to my final year of college. As usual, it was quite interesting traveling down memory lane. I almost forgot some of the things I did.
Among the things I forgot was the fact that I took an anthropology class about nutrition. Speaking of anthropology, there were notes from my favorite anthropology course: forensic osteology. Being able to piece together information about a person from their bones was cool. My friends (Marc and Kelley) at one time thought I should have worked in forensics.
Anyway, there were other random classes that brought back memories. There was a course on women in Greek literature, a group dynamics psychology course, a philosophy course about law. I thought the range of courses was definitely varied. And after looking at my graded assignments, to say that I threw off the class curve is an understatement.
But I think without a doubt, the most fun I ever had in a class was my screenwriting course. It was fun simply because it involved something I enjoy: writing. Truth be told, were it not for my enjoyment of writing, I probably would not have kept up with this blog. At one time, this blog served as an outlet while I dealt with the passing of my son (Braden). And now with time being so limited while raising Briana, I considered stopping my blog altogether. Yet for some reason, I still feel compelled to post this blog simply because I enjoy writing.
So you can only imagine how much enjoyment I get from writing screenplays which also involve my personal addiction: movies. Needless to say, it was great looking at the scripts I wrote for the class. Typical of what I write, I had based some assignments on friends. Had I time now, I would write a script involving my friends and zombies.
Regardless, I had a great time reviewing the scripts. I think what also made the screenwriting class so enjoyable was that the course was taught by local comedian, Steve Sweeney (of Back to School and There's Something About Mary fame).
Anyway, I had a lot of fun going through the box. There was also a picture taken at my commencement that featured Karen, my friends (Cass and Aimee) and I. All of us looked so young. Apparently, I even had a yearbook from my college. I totally forgot about that. And if anyone is curious, I did look to find my friend (Andrea) who apparently graduated the same year as I did, which was fact that I did not realize until many years later. For anyone curious, she graduated from the College of Management.
As I was recycling most, if not all, of the junk from the box, Karen contacted me about meeting them at Pinkberry at the Derby Shoppes. Now, I suck at Pinkberry. For anyone curious, Pinkberry is a frozen dessert restaurant. I have never actually been to Pinkberry... until today.
After today's visit, I would have to say that Pinkberry is very delicious. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.) I loved it. I ordered the fruit parfait. It was so good that I would eat another if I could.
Karen thought it was funny that my parfait had a plethora of fruit, while she was told that she could only have three types of fruit. With the server being Asian, I attributed to our genetic solidarity. After all, Pinkberry was started by two Korean Americans: Shelly Hwang and Young Lee. I actually did not know there was a three fruit limit. I simply inquired if I could have all of the fruits in the parfait and the server did her best to accommodate the request. Plus, I gave her a wink wink too. I'm just kidding.
Anyway, Pinkberry was very delicious. I enjoyed the dessert a lot. Following Pinkberry, Karen, Briana, and I headed over to our friends' (Cass and Ellen) place. The get together was actually quite spontaneous. With my friend (Kelley) flying off to San Diego for a conference, I inquired if my friend (Marc) wanted to do something. As he had no plans for the night, I thought it would be a good opportunity to go out. So, I contacted Cass and eventually all of us ended up over at his place.
And as usual, it was good to hang out with everyone. For dinner, we actually grabbed some fast food which was something Karen and I have not done in a long while because we don't generally eat fast food. We actually hit McDonald's and Wendy's because some where interested in the infamous McRib, while others were interested in Frosties. For anyone curious, Karen and I ordered from Wendy's. I must say, however, that the McDonald's location in Quincy has changed a lot since I was last there, which was definitely ages ago. The place actually looks great.
Needless to say, the night was very entertaining. We simply hung out and watched some of the Celtics game. Briana, of course, highlighted the night by pooping all over her clothes. It was fun.
Karen was going to rake some leaves while I was going to cut a few tree branches. Cutting branches may seem like an odd project. The electrical wires, however, that lead from the outside transformer into our house are near a tree. The branches of this tree are intertwined with these electrical wires. For the past winters, Karen and I have always worried that with the accumulation of snow during the winter the branches will break and take down the electrical wires with them.
Sure, it may be paranoia. But since it's better to be safe than sorry, I figured that now is as good a time as any to trim the branches before the winter season started this year. The only problem, of course, was getting the proper tool to cut the branches because I did not own one. For anyone curious, I needed a pole saw. Luckily for me, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) had the tool.
Anyway, I was able to borrow the pole saw. As I was picking up the saw, my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) BFF (Gretchen) asked if Karen wanted to go for a walk with her, my niece (Kaleigh) and my nephew (PJ). It being a beautiful day out, Karen opted to go for the walk instead.
So while Karen and our baby daughter (Briana) were out for their walk, I worked on removing the tree branches near our electrical wires. Sadly, my pruning skills may need a little work. When all was said and done, the tree looked a little oddly shaped with a bunch of missing branches.
As I was still feeling productive, I figured I would tackle another project while Karen and Briana were out. That project: going through more crap that my mother brought over. Recently, my mother has been cleaning her attic. As my brother and I had load of junk stored in her attic, my mother started delivering my crap every time she visited.
Today, I went through my fourth box. Contained within this box were more of my college notes. In particular, the box had notes and items leading to my final year of college. As usual, it was quite interesting traveling down memory lane. I almost forgot some of the things I did.
Among the things I forgot was the fact that I took an anthropology class about nutrition. Speaking of anthropology, there were notes from my favorite anthropology course: forensic osteology. Being able to piece together information about a person from their bones was cool. My friends (Marc and Kelley) at one time thought I should have worked in forensics.
Anyway, there were other random classes that brought back memories. There was a course on women in Greek literature, a group dynamics psychology course, a philosophy course about law. I thought the range of courses was definitely varied. And after looking at my graded assignments, to say that I threw off the class curve is an understatement.
But I think without a doubt, the most fun I ever had in a class was my screenwriting course. It was fun simply because it involved something I enjoy: writing. Truth be told, were it not for my enjoyment of writing, I probably would not have kept up with this blog. At one time, this blog served as an outlet while I dealt with the passing of my son (Braden). And now with time being so limited while raising Briana, I considered stopping my blog altogether. Yet for some reason, I still feel compelled to post this blog simply because I enjoy writing.
So you can only imagine how much enjoyment I get from writing screenplays which also involve my personal addiction: movies. Needless to say, it was great looking at the scripts I wrote for the class. Typical of what I write, I had based some assignments on friends. Had I time now, I would write a script involving my friends and zombies.
Regardless, I had a great time reviewing the scripts. I think what also made the screenwriting class so enjoyable was that the course was taught by local comedian, Steve Sweeney (of Back to School and There's Something About Mary fame).
Anyway, I had a lot of fun going through the box. There was also a picture taken at my commencement that featured Karen, my friends (Cass and Aimee) and I. All of us looked so young. Apparently, I even had a yearbook from my college. I totally forgot about that. And if anyone is curious, I did look to find my friend (Andrea) who apparently graduated the same year as I did, which was fact that I did not realize until many years later. For anyone curious, she graduated from the College of Management.
As I was recycling most, if not all, of the junk from the box, Karen contacted me about meeting them at Pinkberry at the Derby Shoppes. Now, I suck at Pinkberry. For anyone curious, Pinkberry is a frozen dessert restaurant. I have never actually been to Pinkberry... until today.
After today's visit, I would have to say that Pinkberry is very delicious. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.) I loved it. I ordered the fruit parfait. It was so good that I would eat another if I could.
Karen thought it was funny that my parfait had a plethora of fruit, while she was told that she could only have three types of fruit. With the server being Asian, I attributed to our genetic solidarity. After all, Pinkberry was started by two Korean Americans: Shelly Hwang and Young Lee. I actually did not know there was a three fruit limit. I simply inquired if I could have all of the fruits in the parfait and the server did her best to accommodate the request. Plus, I gave her a wink wink too. I'm just kidding.
Anyway, Pinkberry was very delicious. I enjoyed the dessert a lot. Following Pinkberry, Karen, Briana, and I headed over to our friends' (Cass and Ellen) place. The get together was actually quite spontaneous. With my friend (Kelley) flying off to San Diego for a conference, I inquired if my friend (Marc) wanted to do something. As he had no plans for the night, I thought it would be a good opportunity to go out. So, I contacted Cass and eventually all of us ended up over at his place.
And as usual, it was good to hang out with everyone. For dinner, we actually grabbed some fast food which was something Karen and I have not done in a long while because we don't generally eat fast food. We actually hit McDonald's and Wendy's because some where interested in the infamous McRib, while others were interested in Frosties. For anyone curious, Karen and I ordered from Wendy's. I must say, however, that the McDonald's location in Quincy has changed a lot since I was last there, which was definitely ages ago. The place actually looks great.
Needless to say, the night was very entertaining. We simply hung out and watched some of the Celtics game. Briana, of course, highlighted the night by pooping all over her clothes. It was fun.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
I Still Suck At Going Through Crap
Three boxes down. I'm not sure how many more to go.
Recently, my mother has been cleaning out her attic. In the process, she has been unloading boxes of my personal belongings with each visit to my house. Normally, that's not a bad thing, but she does visit quite frequently. As a result, the designated dumping ground known as my garage has accumulated a lot of the boxes that were previously sitting in the attic of my parents' house. Apparently, my brother and I kept a lot of things in the attic.
I have managed to go through some of the crap. Unfortunately, I still suck at going through crap as evident by the number of boxes still sitting in my garage. But, I have managed to go through two boxes already. One box contained my class notes from high school. The other box contained my notes from college.
I still don't know what I was thinking by keeping all of these notes. Well, I do know what I was thinking. I was thinking that these notes would be beneficial later on in life when I had to look back to reference something. Oh how mistaken I was.
Anyway, the third box that I just went through also contained notes from college. The difference between this box and the previous college box is simply the college. The third box contained college notes from the first university I attended after high school: Northeastern University.
I subsequently transferred from that college and graduated elsewhere, but for a good portion of my life I did attend Northeastern. I was actually an electrical engineering major while at Northeastern. The coursework does appear quite the opposite of what I actually ended up graduating with: majors in Psychology and Sociology with minors in Philosophy and Anthropology.
As I was sorting through the papers within the box, I remembered my time at Northeastern. Truth be told, I never felt like I had belonged at Northeastern. Perhaps it was because it was a new start in life after high school. Things were obviously different. The school was large. The people were different. Faces were not familiar.
Nothing probably exemplified my feelings more than my Calculus class during the first semester of college. When I started Northeastern, I was already taking Calculus 3 which was a result of passing the advanced placement exam in high school. I was definitely the only freshman in the class which consisted of all upperclassmen. Subject-wise, I thought it was a great class, but socially it was less desirable.
Even the familiarity of occasionally commuting with my friend (Anna) did not change my feelings of not fitting in. For anyone curious, Anna ended up transferring elsewhere as well, although her reasons were due to the fact that she actually moved out of the state.
I don't know. Perhaps I gave up too quickly on Northeastern and didn't give the school a fair chance. Sure, I was there for over two years. Despite my efforts to get involved with the school, through intramural activities like flag football, things just never clicked. Of course, my girlfriend at the time whom I lovingly refer as the scourge of evil may also have played a role in my feelings toward the school as well. Who knows?
Regardless, it was interesting to see all of the items I had collected in this box. Contained within the box were things like printouts of computer source code that I had created when I was programming. Back then, the main programming language was Turbo Pascal. Programming languages have come a long way since then.
There were CAD designs and drawings I created in the box. There were physics papers. There were chemistry papers. There were Financial Aid papers. I got a kick out of the pamphlet saying how Northeastern was financially achievable. Obviously, the pamphlet wasn't geared toward poor families like mine. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure my parents would have worked themselves to death in order to pay for my college education if I had asked them. As typical Asian parents, my parents value education. I just never felt right in asking them for financial help, especially knowing our meager financial situation.
Regardless, there were also English and sociology papers in the box. One paper sounded so vaguely familiar that I couldn't even remember who I was with or where I was when I wrote the paper. The paper was about my evening with a Swedish person. Now as interesting as that sounds (because even I was envisioning a nice evening with a hot tall blond Swedish woman when I began reading the paper), the paper was about a dinner and interview with some guy. Apparently, one of my friends and I went to have dinner with this Swedish person who served us sil (also known more commonly as pickled herring) and Swedish pancakes.
The only reason why I say the paper was vaguely familiar was because lingonberry was mentioned. For anyone curious, lingonberry jam was used on the pancakes. I remember lingonberry tasting pretty good at the time. And since I don't normally consume lingonberry on a daily basis, I remembered having some while I was attending Northeastern for this interview. Hence, the vague memory.
Speaking of papers, I was surprised to see in the box the paper I wrote for my application to the college that I eventually transferred to and graduated from. That paper was about none other than Karen. I suppose it's poetic that I wrote my college entrance paper about my future wife. I guess the paper was decent because I got accepted.
The box definitely brought back memories. Looking through all the stuff, I realized that my days at Northeastern were probably numbered. As the semesters went on, I became unhappy with my classes. My grades definitely started to slide as I progressed through the box of papers. I think it was evident that I was not happy anymore.
In fact, I was so unhappy that I took the infamous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator report (which was also in the box) through the school's career center. The report indicated that I was INFP at the time. For anyone curious, that meant that I was more skewed toward the choices of Introversion, Intuition, Feeling and Perceiving.
And if you are really curious, being an actor as well as being a scientist are popular occupations for INFPs. If I had just stuck to the writing of my fifth grade autobiography, I would have been all set. Darn it!
In addition to my growing unhappiness, my finances were no longer enough to cover the cost of tuition anymore. As a result, I transferred to another university. Perhaps that is how I ended up majoring in Psychology and Sociology and minoring in Anthropology and Philosophy. The subjects were more in line with my INFP personality type. Perhaps that was the change I needed at the time.
Anyway, it definitely was interesting to sort through the box. Unfortunately, my shred pile has increased exponentially.
Recently, my mother has been cleaning out her attic. In the process, she has been unloading boxes of my personal belongings with each visit to my house. Normally, that's not a bad thing, but she does visit quite frequently. As a result, the designated dumping ground known as my garage has accumulated a lot of the boxes that were previously sitting in the attic of my parents' house. Apparently, my brother and I kept a lot of things in the attic.
I have managed to go through some of the crap. Unfortunately, I still suck at going through crap as evident by the number of boxes still sitting in my garage. But, I have managed to go through two boxes already. One box contained my class notes from high school. The other box contained my notes from college.
I still don't know what I was thinking by keeping all of these notes. Well, I do know what I was thinking. I was thinking that these notes would be beneficial later on in life when I had to look back to reference something. Oh how mistaken I was.
Anyway, the third box that I just went through also contained notes from college. The difference between this box and the previous college box is simply the college. The third box contained college notes from the first university I attended after high school: Northeastern University.
I subsequently transferred from that college and graduated elsewhere, but for a good portion of my life I did attend Northeastern. I was actually an electrical engineering major while at Northeastern. The coursework does appear quite the opposite of what I actually ended up graduating with: majors in Psychology and Sociology with minors in Philosophy and Anthropology.
As I was sorting through the papers within the box, I remembered my time at Northeastern. Truth be told, I never felt like I had belonged at Northeastern. Perhaps it was because it was a new start in life after high school. Things were obviously different. The school was large. The people were different. Faces were not familiar.
Nothing probably exemplified my feelings more than my Calculus class during the first semester of college. When I started Northeastern, I was already taking Calculus 3 which was a result of passing the advanced placement exam in high school. I was definitely the only freshman in the class which consisted of all upperclassmen. Subject-wise, I thought it was a great class, but socially it was less desirable.
Even the familiarity of occasionally commuting with my friend (Anna) did not change my feelings of not fitting in. For anyone curious, Anna ended up transferring elsewhere as well, although her reasons were due to the fact that she actually moved out of the state.
I don't know. Perhaps I gave up too quickly on Northeastern and didn't give the school a fair chance. Sure, I was there for over two years. Despite my efforts to get involved with the school, through intramural activities like flag football, things just never clicked. Of course, my girlfriend at the time whom I lovingly refer as the scourge of evil may also have played a role in my feelings toward the school as well. Who knows?
Regardless, it was interesting to see all of the items I had collected in this box. Contained within the box were things like printouts of computer source code that I had created when I was programming. Back then, the main programming language was Turbo Pascal. Programming languages have come a long way since then.
There were CAD designs and drawings I created in the box. There were physics papers. There were chemistry papers. There were Financial Aid papers. I got a kick out of the pamphlet saying how Northeastern was financially achievable. Obviously, the pamphlet wasn't geared toward poor families like mine. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure my parents would have worked themselves to death in order to pay for my college education if I had asked them. As typical Asian parents, my parents value education. I just never felt right in asking them for financial help, especially knowing our meager financial situation.
Regardless, there were also English and sociology papers in the box. One paper sounded so vaguely familiar that I couldn't even remember who I was with or where I was when I wrote the paper. The paper was about my evening with a Swedish person. Now as interesting as that sounds (because even I was envisioning a nice evening with a hot tall blond Swedish woman when I began reading the paper), the paper was about a dinner and interview with some guy. Apparently, one of my friends and I went to have dinner with this Swedish person who served us sil (also known more commonly as pickled herring) and Swedish pancakes.
The only reason why I say the paper was vaguely familiar was because lingonberry was mentioned. For anyone curious, lingonberry jam was used on the pancakes. I remember lingonberry tasting pretty good at the time. And since I don't normally consume lingonberry on a daily basis, I remembered having some while I was attending Northeastern for this interview. Hence, the vague memory.
Speaking of papers, I was surprised to see in the box the paper I wrote for my application to the college that I eventually transferred to and graduated from. That paper was about none other than Karen. I suppose it's poetic that I wrote my college entrance paper about my future wife. I guess the paper was decent because I got accepted.
The box definitely brought back memories. Looking through all the stuff, I realized that my days at Northeastern were probably numbered. As the semesters went on, I became unhappy with my classes. My grades definitely started to slide as I progressed through the box of papers. I think it was evident that I was not happy anymore.
In fact, I was so unhappy that I took the infamous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator report (which was also in the box) through the school's career center. The report indicated that I was INFP at the time. For anyone curious, that meant that I was more skewed toward the choices of Introversion, Intuition, Feeling and Perceiving.
And if you are really curious, being an actor as well as being a scientist are popular occupations for INFPs. If I had just stuck to the writing of my fifth grade autobiography, I would have been all set. Darn it!
In addition to my growing unhappiness, my finances were no longer enough to cover the cost of tuition anymore. As a result, I transferred to another university. Perhaps that is how I ended up majoring in Psychology and Sociology and minoring in Anthropology and Philosophy. The subjects were more in line with my INFP personality type. Perhaps that was the change I needed at the time.
Anyway, it definitely was interesting to sort through the box. Unfortunately, my shred pile has increased exponentially.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
I Suck At Babycakes
Tonight, I got to hang out with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). Since Karen was exhausted from attending and presenting at the American Dietetic Association Conference this weekend, she remained at home with our baby daughter (Briana).
As sad as this sounds, I think tonight may have been the first time that I went out without Karen, Briana, or any combination of the two since Briana was born over seven months ago. For me in particular, I have just found it difficult to go out on my own while taking care of Briana.
Believe me. It's not a paranoia thing or anything like that in regards to Briana as to the reason why I have not gone out on my own. As much as I love my daughter, I would be all over handing her over to someone else to watch for a while. It's just the way my time has worked out with Karen's schedule. I am simply with Briana longer and truth of the matter is, taking care of a baby requires a lot more time.
It's definitely a lot more time than I had originally anticipated. I can see how people get into ruts because it seems like so much of your personal time is sacrificed in the name of taking care of a child. I sometimes think that people don't really understand that until they have a child.
When I look back at some of my friends who had children much earlier than Karen and I, I sometimes feel awful that I had no clue about what they were going through at the time. After all, it's probably what I'm experiencing now that they experienced then.
Anyway, it felt good to go out and spend some time on my own away from Karen and Briana for a while. Of course, it is also always a plus when Andrea brings food to places. Tonight, Andrea brought cupcakes from Babycakes located in Quincy. Now, I suck at Babycakes.
I must say, however, that the cupcakes were quite delicious. I devoured the French Toast cupcake, as well as the Oreo cupcake. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.)
Speaking of Andrea, it turns out that the closing date on her recent home purchase has been pushed back until next week. She seems to be taking the hectic schedule all in stride. Andrea also was kind enough to remind us that November is mustache month. If I could grow anything other than a Fu Manchu mustache (if I am lucky), I may be more inclined to celebrate "Movember".
Regardless, it was a fun time hanging out with everyone at Marc and Kelley's. All of us ended up watching an episode of Conan O'Brien's new talk show and a few episodes of Man Vs Food. As well, we had a few laughs just hanging out.
Based on some of the stories that Marc and Kelley tell, I sometimes wonder if I got into the wrong profession. The science industry seems chock full of fun. Who knew? But I guess even scientists need to party too, right? Damn. If only I stuck with my autobiographical dreams from fifth grade and became a scientist. I would have that mansion, limo, and swimming pool by now.
As sad as this sounds, I think tonight may have been the first time that I went out without Karen, Briana, or any combination of the two since Briana was born over seven months ago. For me in particular, I have just found it difficult to go out on my own while taking care of Briana.
Believe me. It's not a paranoia thing or anything like that in regards to Briana as to the reason why I have not gone out on my own. As much as I love my daughter, I would be all over handing her over to someone else to watch for a while. It's just the way my time has worked out with Karen's schedule. I am simply with Briana longer and truth of the matter is, taking care of a baby requires a lot more time.
It's definitely a lot more time than I had originally anticipated. I can see how people get into ruts because it seems like so much of your personal time is sacrificed in the name of taking care of a child. I sometimes think that people don't really understand that until they have a child.
When I look back at some of my friends who had children much earlier than Karen and I, I sometimes feel awful that I had no clue about what they were going through at the time. After all, it's probably what I'm experiencing now that they experienced then.
Anyway, it felt good to go out and spend some time on my own away from Karen and Briana for a while. Of course, it is also always a plus when Andrea brings food to places. Tonight, Andrea brought cupcakes from Babycakes located in Quincy. Now, I suck at Babycakes.
I must say, however, that the cupcakes were quite delicious. I devoured the French Toast cupcake, as well as the Oreo cupcake. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.)
Speaking of Andrea, it turns out that the closing date on her recent home purchase has been pushed back until next week. She seems to be taking the hectic schedule all in stride. Andrea also was kind enough to remind us that November is mustache month. If I could grow anything other than a Fu Manchu mustache (if I am lucky), I may be more inclined to celebrate "Movember".
Regardless, it was a fun time hanging out with everyone at Marc and Kelley's. All of us ended up watching an episode of Conan O'Brien's new talk show and a few episodes of Man Vs Food. As well, we had a few laughs just hanging out.
Based on some of the stories that Marc and Kelley tell, I sometimes wonder if I got into the wrong profession. The science industry seems chock full of fun. Who knew? But I guess even scientists need to party too, right? Damn. If only I stuck with my autobiographical dreams from fifth grade and became a scientist. I would have that mansion, limo, and swimming pool by now.
I Suck At The Walking Dead
With Karen and our baby daughter (Briana) fast asleep, I decided to watch the new AMC television series, The Walking Dead, which I had recorded on our DVR. Now, I suck at The Walking Dead.
(The video below is a trailer for The Walking Dead.)
For anyone curious, the new television series is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. The title of the series says it all: zombies! And now you can understand why I had to wait for Karen and Briana to be asleep in order for me to watch it.
Anyway, the plot centers around a group of survivors in Georgia following the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The main character is a deputy who awakens from a coma only to realize that he is in the midst of the aftermath. Consequently, he is determined to find his wife and child who have also survived the aftermath.
Needless to say, I absolutely loved the new series. Granted, I may have been biased to begin with. I had high hopes for the series because it is about zombies and it is based on a comic book. In fact, I wonder why a television series about zombies was never done before. It's brilliant! (Zombies... the new vampire...)
It probably goes without saying that I can't wait for the rest of the season to unfold.
(The video below is a trailer for The Walking Dead.)
For anyone curious, the new television series is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. The title of the series says it all: zombies! And now you can understand why I had to wait for Karen and Briana to be asleep in order for me to watch it.
Anyway, the plot centers around a group of survivors in Georgia following the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The main character is a deputy who awakens from a coma only to realize that he is in the midst of the aftermath. Consequently, he is determined to find his wife and child who have also survived the aftermath.
Needless to say, I absolutely loved the new series. Granted, I may have been biased to begin with. I had high hopes for the series because it is about zombies and it is based on a comic book. In fact, I wonder why a television series about zombies was never done before. It's brilliant! (Zombies... the new vampire...)
It probably goes without saying that I can't wait for the rest of the season to unfold.
Monday, November 8, 2010
I Suck At Going Through Crap
Yesterday, Karen attended the annual American Dietitic Association conference. The conference this year happened to be held in Boston. For a dietitian like Karen, this conference is a big thing. Of course, this particular conference is even bigger for Karen because she was selected by her peers to present at the conference.
I don't think Karen, however, is happy about presenting. And truthfully, I probably would not be either because it seems like presenting at the ADA conference does not offer any perks. From what I have been told, presenters do not get any discounts for the conference or any other benefits. I find that a little bizarre. After all, as a dietitian, what would be the benefit of presenting at the conference? I know that if I were given a choice, I would prefer to simply attend the conference and not have to present anything, but that's just me.
Nevertheless, with Karen off to present at the ADA conference, I was given the chance to spend some quality father-daughter bonding time. So naturally, what do I do for quality father-daughter bonding time? I took our baby daughter (Briana) shopping.
I did not go out to many places while shopping. Shopping, however may have been a little too tiring for Briana because she fell asleep on the car ride home. So while she was asleep at home, I began to organize a few things and go through some crap. Now, I suck at going through crap.
Recently, my mother has been cleaning her attic. Unfortunately, my brother and I both have boxes and boxes of items still stored in her attic. Naturally, in her effort to clean and organize her attic, my mother has started to unload all of the crap onto me (which is rightfully so). She has been bringing boxes of my belongings every time she has visited.
To date, I have only gone through one of the boxes that my mother brought over. I think the count right now is that there are eight boxes to go through. I'm sure more are coming. The first box that I went through seemingly contained every single note I took in class while in high school. Most of the contents of that box have ended up in our recycle bin already.
The box I went through yesterday contained most of my notes from college. It's interesting looking back at those notes. Again, at the time I thought that keeping these notes would serve as a reference for me later in life. And again, I was quite mistaken. After all, most of my notes were in subjects like Anthropology, Philosophy, Psychology, and Sociology. (Yes, I majored and minored in as many useless subjects as I could, which is interesting considering how my current profession uses none of those subjects.)
It actually took a while to go through that one box of college stuff. After all, at the time my student identification was my social security number. And as much as I would have liked to have just chucked everything into the recycle bin, I couldn't because many of the pages contained my social security number. Damn you college! I'm sure a lot has changed since I've been in college because I can't imagine that they would still use your social security number as your student identification.
Speaking of how a lot has changed, it was interesting to see how I had some dot matrix printouts and whatnot in the box. The printouts were back when schools had a VAX (virtual address extension). Some of the items in the box could actually show the progression of computer technology as printouts improved throughout my college tenure. Thankfully, computers have gotten a lot better.
Anyway, I thought it was interesting to go through some of my college things. In the box were things like my varsity letter for baseball; papers that I wrote for sociology (like the one I titled "Me So Horny" after the 2Live Crew song, which was about gender relations); the history paper I wrote the day before its due date which received a pretty high grade. I think my friend (Kelley) who was taking the class with me was a little perturbed by that because my paper had a better grade than hers.
Other things that were interesting in the box were photocopied readings for classes. Like the big ripoff known as textbooks, most of my professors had students purchase these photocopied readings directly from them. The photocopies were then used as required readings. Big waste of money.
Speaking of big wastes, there was a paper that I wrote in the box that cracked me up. Group projects were always a big thing in college. Normally, I'm all for group projects as it theoretically divides the workload. There was this one sociology paper that brought back some memories. At the time, groups of two were randomly chosen. As it turned out, I ended up with the short end of the straw because my partner was... well... non-existent. I could probably excuse my partner, were the class an intro level course, but this was anything but an intro level course.
Needless to say, the project spanned a good chunk of time during the course. The professor would give us an assignment in regards to the main project, which was a research paper, and our group would have to work on it for that time period. Every time the assignment was given, I ended up working on the project by myself because my partner was either too busy, or she forgot, or she just simply never got around to it. When it came time to pass in the portion of the project that was assigned, my lovely partner would simply sign her name on the assignment that I prepared. It drove me nuts.
So naturally, when the final project was assigned (to actual write the research paper), I again did all the work. Knowing that my partner would simply sign her name on the paper again, I decided to type a disclaimer on the paper saying how my partner has done none of the work despite numerous attempts at trying to work with her.
Well, my partner took the paper and simply signed it. Apparently, she didn't even want to look through the paper. If she did, she would have seen the disclaimer I wrote. Regardless, I ended up getting a great grade on the paper. My professor even commented on how he enjoyed reading the disclaimer and how he would take that into consideration for my partner's grade. It cracked me up.
Anyway, I think the things that I enjoyed the most while looking through the box were my philosophy notes. I was actually inspired by one of my philosophy professors. Interestingly enough, that professor may be one of the reasons why I became an "instigator" of sorts. It was through one of his classes that I began to always question things; to ask things even when asking wasn't the most tactful of options like my man, Socrates. Although really, who am I kidding? I would probably instigate even if it were not for my studies in philosophy.
All in all, it was a nice trip down memory lane. And now, there is one less box of crap to go through that is sitting in my garage. I can't wait to see what is inside the other boxes.
I don't think Karen, however, is happy about presenting. And truthfully, I probably would not be either because it seems like presenting at the ADA conference does not offer any perks. From what I have been told, presenters do not get any discounts for the conference or any other benefits. I find that a little bizarre. After all, as a dietitian, what would be the benefit of presenting at the conference? I know that if I were given a choice, I would prefer to simply attend the conference and not have to present anything, but that's just me.
Nevertheless, with Karen off to present at the ADA conference, I was given the chance to spend some quality father-daughter bonding time. So naturally, what do I do for quality father-daughter bonding time? I took our baby daughter (Briana) shopping.
I did not go out to many places while shopping. Shopping, however may have been a little too tiring for Briana because she fell asleep on the car ride home. So while she was asleep at home, I began to organize a few things and go through some crap. Now, I suck at going through crap.
Recently, my mother has been cleaning her attic. Unfortunately, my brother and I both have boxes and boxes of items still stored in her attic. Naturally, in her effort to clean and organize her attic, my mother has started to unload all of the crap onto me (which is rightfully so). She has been bringing boxes of my belongings every time she has visited.
To date, I have only gone through one of the boxes that my mother brought over. I think the count right now is that there are eight boxes to go through. I'm sure more are coming. The first box that I went through seemingly contained every single note I took in class while in high school. Most of the contents of that box have ended up in our recycle bin already.
The box I went through yesterday contained most of my notes from college. It's interesting looking back at those notes. Again, at the time I thought that keeping these notes would serve as a reference for me later in life. And again, I was quite mistaken. After all, most of my notes were in subjects like Anthropology, Philosophy, Psychology, and Sociology. (Yes, I majored and minored in as many useless subjects as I could, which is interesting considering how my current profession uses none of those subjects.)
It actually took a while to go through that one box of college stuff. After all, at the time my student identification was my social security number. And as much as I would have liked to have just chucked everything into the recycle bin, I couldn't because many of the pages contained my social security number. Damn you college! I'm sure a lot has changed since I've been in college because I can't imagine that they would still use your social security number as your student identification.
Speaking of how a lot has changed, it was interesting to see how I had some dot matrix printouts and whatnot in the box. The printouts were back when schools had a VAX (virtual address extension). Some of the items in the box could actually show the progression of computer technology as printouts improved throughout my college tenure. Thankfully, computers have gotten a lot better.
Anyway, I thought it was interesting to go through some of my college things. In the box were things like my varsity letter for baseball; papers that I wrote for sociology (like the one I titled "Me So Horny" after the 2Live Crew song, which was about gender relations); the history paper I wrote the day before its due date which received a pretty high grade. I think my friend (Kelley) who was taking the class with me was a little perturbed by that because my paper had a better grade than hers.
Other things that were interesting in the box were photocopied readings for classes. Like the big ripoff known as textbooks, most of my professors had students purchase these photocopied readings directly from them. The photocopies were then used as required readings. Big waste of money.
Speaking of big wastes, there was a paper that I wrote in the box that cracked me up. Group projects were always a big thing in college. Normally, I'm all for group projects as it theoretically divides the workload. There was this one sociology paper that brought back some memories. At the time, groups of two were randomly chosen. As it turned out, I ended up with the short end of the straw because my partner was... well... non-existent. I could probably excuse my partner, were the class an intro level course, but this was anything but an intro level course.
Needless to say, the project spanned a good chunk of time during the course. The professor would give us an assignment in regards to the main project, which was a research paper, and our group would have to work on it for that time period. Every time the assignment was given, I ended up working on the project by myself because my partner was either too busy, or she forgot, or she just simply never got around to it. When it came time to pass in the portion of the project that was assigned, my lovely partner would simply sign her name on the assignment that I prepared. It drove me nuts.
So naturally, when the final project was assigned (to actual write the research paper), I again did all the work. Knowing that my partner would simply sign her name on the paper again, I decided to type a disclaimer on the paper saying how my partner has done none of the work despite numerous attempts at trying to work with her.
Well, my partner took the paper and simply signed it. Apparently, she didn't even want to look through the paper. If she did, she would have seen the disclaimer I wrote. Regardless, I ended up getting a great grade on the paper. My professor even commented on how he enjoyed reading the disclaimer and how he would take that into consideration for my partner's grade. It cracked me up.
Anyway, I think the things that I enjoyed the most while looking through the box were my philosophy notes. I was actually inspired by one of my philosophy professors. Interestingly enough, that professor may be one of the reasons why I became an "instigator" of sorts. It was through one of his classes that I began to always question things; to ask things even when asking wasn't the most tactful of options like my man, Socrates. Although really, who am I kidding? I would probably instigate even if it were not for my studies in philosophy.
All in all, it was a nice trip down memory lane. And now, there is one less box of crap to go through that is sitting in my garage. I can't wait to see what is inside the other boxes.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
I Suck At Celebrating My Father-In-Law's Birthday
Yesterday, my in-laws came over for dinner. After all, it was my father-in-law's birthday. Too bad I suck at celebrating my father-in-law's birthday. For anyone curious, it also happened to be the anniversary celebration for Karen's parents as well because the were married on Karen's father's birthday.
Anyway, it was a good time. My father-in-law wanted to have Chinese food for dinner. Consequently, we ordered takeout from the Beijing House which is a Chinese restaurant located just up the street from our house in Norwell. I'm sure my mother would be shocked to hear that I ate Chinese food that was not her cooking. Consequently, most if not all of the leftovers were distributed to everyone by the end of the night. As well, as of this posting, I have already devoured all remaining evidence of Chinese food with the exception of the fortune cookies and special sauces.
I think Karen's parents had a great time. Also joining in on the celebration were my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and my favorite niece (Kaleigh). My favorite nephew (PJ) was apparently sick and could not attend. Naturally, Karen had to share with all of my in-laws something I wrote while I was in fifth grade.
My mother has been cleaning her attic of late. As a result, she has given me a load of boxes containing my "legacy" that were stored in her attic. I'm sure there are more boxes to be delivered soon. Among the items in one of the boxes was an autobiography assignment that I had to write in fifth grade.
The autobiography had a baby picture of me, as well as my then current picture when I was in fifth grade. For anyone curious, I had long hair back in fifth grade. Some of my friends have even joked that I was fat Asian girl back in the day.
Anyway, like most writings of a fifth grader, the train of thought in my autobiography was very random. Of course, I'm sure my blog post are equally random so maybe I haven't changed that much since the fifth grade.
Among the things mentioned in my autobiography were how my family celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with a Butterball turkey, my aspirations to be an actor or scientist, and my desire to own a mansion, limo, and swimming pool. Sadly, I currently do not own a mansion, limo, or swimming pool. By the same account, I'm also not an actor or a scientist. It's very sad how my dreams have not come true. It's also sad how my penmanship has gone down the toilet since the fifth grade. Oh well.
All in all, it was fun time. I hope my father-in-law enjoyed his celebration.
Anyway, it was a good time. My father-in-law wanted to have Chinese food for dinner. Consequently, we ordered takeout from the Beijing House which is a Chinese restaurant located just up the street from our house in Norwell. I'm sure my mother would be shocked to hear that I ate Chinese food that was not her cooking. Consequently, most if not all of the leftovers were distributed to everyone by the end of the night. As well, as of this posting, I have already devoured all remaining evidence of Chinese food with the exception of the fortune cookies and special sauces.
I think Karen's parents had a great time. Also joining in on the celebration were my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and my favorite niece (Kaleigh). My favorite nephew (PJ) was apparently sick and could not attend. Naturally, Karen had to share with all of my in-laws something I wrote while I was in fifth grade.
My mother has been cleaning her attic of late. As a result, she has given me a load of boxes containing my "legacy" that were stored in her attic. I'm sure there are more boxes to be delivered soon. Among the items in one of the boxes was an autobiography assignment that I had to write in fifth grade.
The autobiography had a baby picture of me, as well as my then current picture when I was in fifth grade. For anyone curious, I had long hair back in fifth grade. Some of my friends have even joked that I was fat Asian girl back in the day.
Anyway, like most writings of a fifth grader, the train of thought in my autobiography was very random. Of course, I'm sure my blog post are equally random so maybe I haven't changed that much since the fifth grade.
Among the things mentioned in my autobiography were how my family celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with a Butterball turkey, my aspirations to be an actor or scientist, and my desire to own a mansion, limo, and swimming pool. Sadly, I currently do not own a mansion, limo, or swimming pool. By the same account, I'm also not an actor or a scientist. It's very sad how my dreams have not come true. It's also sad how my penmanship has gone down the toilet since the fifth grade. Oh well.
All in all, it was fun time. I hope my father-in-law enjoyed his celebration.
I Suck At Invictus
On Friday, I fed my movie addiction by watching yet another movie while Karen and our baby daughter (Briana) were sound asleep. That movie: Invictus. Now, I suck at Invictus.
(The following video is a trailer for Invictus.)
For anyone curious, Invictus which was directed by Clint Eastwood, stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The film is based on the book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation, by John Carlin, which depicts South Africa after the fall of apartheid and the 1995 Rugby World Cup that was held in the nation.
Given the interesting topic, I really wanted to be wowed by the movie. At best, I thought the movie was just good. Perhaps I my expectations were too high. Don't get me wrong. The film was interesting. I was probably just expecting more.
Of course, I think what may have also influenced my opinion is my knowledge, or lack thereof, of the game of rugby. I have no idea as to the rules of the game. Consequently, I felt that the dramatic sport sequences of the movie were lost on me.
It's too bad that I don't know anything about rugby. After all, the sport supposedly racially unified South Africa. For anyone curious as to how the sport unified the country, the national rugby team was a symbol of white supremacy prior to Mandela taking office. Eventually, non-whites begin rooting for the team alongside their white counterparts as the World Cup approaches.
And if anyone is curious as to why the movie is even called Invictus, the Latin word means undefeated or unconquered. There was a short Victorian poem called Invictus written by British poet William Ernest Henley which Mandela uses to inspire the rugby captain.
The poem is as follows:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
(The following video is a trailer for Invictus.)
For anyone curious, Invictus which was directed by Clint Eastwood, stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The film is based on the book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation, by John Carlin, which depicts South Africa after the fall of apartheid and the 1995 Rugby World Cup that was held in the nation.
Given the interesting topic, I really wanted to be wowed by the movie. At best, I thought the movie was just good. Perhaps I my expectations were too high. Don't get me wrong. The film was interesting. I was probably just expecting more.
Of course, I think what may have also influenced my opinion is my knowledge, or lack thereof, of the game of rugby. I have no idea as to the rules of the game. Consequently, I felt that the dramatic sport sequences of the movie were lost on me.
It's too bad that I don't know anything about rugby. After all, the sport supposedly racially unified South Africa. For anyone curious as to how the sport unified the country, the national rugby team was a symbol of white supremacy prior to Mandela taking office. Eventually, non-whites begin rooting for the team alongside their white counterparts as the World Cup approaches.
And if anyone is curious as to why the movie is even called Invictus, the Latin word means undefeated or unconquered. There was a short Victorian poem called Invictus written by British poet William Ernest Henley which Mandela uses to inspire the rugby captain.
The poem is as follows:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Friday, November 5, 2010
I Suck At My Sister's Keeper
Seeing as how I have not fed my movie addiction in awhile, I decided to watch a movie last night while Karen and our baby daughter (Briana) went to bed. I ended up watching My Sister's Keeper.
(The following video is a trailer for My Sister's Keeper.)
Now, I suck at My Sister's Keeper. The movie, starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin (of Little Miss Sunshine fame), is based on the book of the same name by Jodi Picoult.
It's probably a good thing that Karen and Briana went to bed because I was all tears last night from watching the movie, a fact that I am not too proud of. For anyone curious, the plot centers around a family in which one of the daughters has acute promyelocytic leukemia. When the daughter was first diagnosed, her parents decided to conceive a sibling via in vitro to be the perfect genetic match and provide for their daughter's well-being. Thus, her sister has been poked, prodded, and operated on multiple times ever since birth.
When the daughter turns 15, she goes into renal failure. Her overprotective mother, played by Cameron Diaz, expects the other daughter to instantly donate a kidney, but is surprised to be sued for medical emancipation because the other daughter does not want to give up her kidney.
Needless to say, I was in tears during the movie probably because I somewhat identified with the mother. Having lost a child (Braden), I know that watching your child pass away is never a fun thing. I remember the feelings of helplessness and thinking that if there were a means to save your child's life, you of course would do it at all costs. But some things are out of your control.
I don't think I have cried so much during a movie at any time. Maybe I'm getting old. Or maybe I'm just lame. Regardless, I did enjoy the movie. I would be curious about reading the book even though I know it is different from the film. The film obviously takes a little poetic licensing and changes things from the book.
All in all, I thought the story as a whole was interesting.
(The following video is a trailer for My Sister's Keeper.)
Now, I suck at My Sister's Keeper. The movie, starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin (of Little Miss Sunshine fame), is based on the book of the same name by Jodi Picoult.
It's probably a good thing that Karen and Briana went to bed because I was all tears last night from watching the movie, a fact that I am not too proud of. For anyone curious, the plot centers around a family in which one of the daughters has acute promyelocytic leukemia. When the daughter was first diagnosed, her parents decided to conceive a sibling via in vitro to be the perfect genetic match and provide for their daughter's well-being. Thus, her sister has been poked, prodded, and operated on multiple times ever since birth.
When the daughter turns 15, she goes into renal failure. Her overprotective mother, played by Cameron Diaz, expects the other daughter to instantly donate a kidney, but is surprised to be sued for medical emancipation because the other daughter does not want to give up her kidney.
Needless to say, I was in tears during the movie probably because I somewhat identified with the mother. Having lost a child (Braden), I know that watching your child pass away is never a fun thing. I remember the feelings of helplessness and thinking that if there were a means to save your child's life, you of course would do it at all costs. But some things are out of your control.
I don't think I have cried so much during a movie at any time. Maybe I'm getting old. Or maybe I'm just lame. Regardless, I did enjoy the movie. I would be curious about reading the book even though I know it is different from the film. The film obviously takes a little poetic licensing and changes things from the book.
All in all, I thought the story as a whole was interesting.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
I Suck At Scare Tactics
Today has been a random day. With it being Prince Spaghetti day, Karen, our baby daughter (Briana), and I hung out with our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). On the agenda for the night: nothing.
Ever since Lost ended and Wipeout ran its course for the summer, we really have not found that next show to watch together as a group. That is totally fine with me because I get more entertainment out of just hanging out with everyone anyway.
Well, with nothing really planned, we decided to see what was on-demand. Eventually, we decided to give Scare Tactics a try. Now, I suck at Scare Tactics. Upon watching the show, however, I was laughing in stitches.
For anyone curious, Scare Tactics is a reality television comedy similar to the show Punk'd... or Candid Camera. Unsuspecting victims who are set up by friends and family are filmed as practical jokes are played out on them. The first two seasons of the show were hosted by Shannen Doherty (of Beverly Hills 90210 fame). Stephen Baldwin actually took over hosting duties midway through the second season. And from season three on, the show has been hosted by Tracy Morgan.
I was laughing so hard during the show. In fact, I think my infectious laughter had Andrea going for awhile as well. Needless to say, I had a great time watching the show with everyone.
And naturally, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't think it was a great idea to try and get one of our own friends on the show? In particular, we were thinking that it would be awesome to get our friend (Garv) on the show simply because Garv is a wimp. (And if you are curious, the process to suggest a victim for the show is by sending an email to stcasting@yahoo.com.) Just the idea of watching Garv poop his pants would be classic.
Perhaps I will suggest the idea to my friend (Aimee), who is better qualified at pulling off these types of pranks. Speaking of whom, I was digging through some old stuff that my mother brought and found something written by Aimee. My mother has been cleaning out the attic of late. In an effort to clean up her attic, she has brought loads upon loads of boxes that contain my belongings. Among those belongings: everything I kept from high school on.
I have only gone through one box thus far. In my defense, I just received the boxes today while my mom came over to watch Briana. She has assured me that more boxes will come. Great.
Anyway, the box I looked through today contained a random collection of things, but most of the items were my class notes from high school. The notes were all in binders. I had every note I ever took in class, which apparently contained a lot of scribbles and doodles of my name. I had every homework that passed in and got graded. I even had book covers that were used to cover books.
Interestingly enough, there was a note from my BFF (Kerry) on one of the book covers. She wrote "hi mike you are the classic nerd! saving your book covers! see ya kerry". And of course, Kerry's position was confirmed by another friend: "Hi Mike, Kerry is right, your a nerd. Are you gonna save the book cover? bye, Maryellen". I wonder if kids these days even cover their books with paper bags anymore...
Nevertheless, the book cover made me chuckle. I guess there was a reason why I kept that book cover after all. It's funny. At the time, I thought I would keep everything because I thought I could use the class notes or whatever as a reference later on in life. Oh how wrong I was, as evident from the fact that the box has done nothing but collect dust in my mother's attic.
Looking back now, it does seem ridiculous to keep everything from high school on. Heck, the box I went through today even had items I pilfered from the Holiday Inn when I spent the night there for a track event. I can only imagine what else is in the other boxes that my mother has waiting for me.
I know there used to be a box of stainless steel knives somewhere. I went through a klepto stage whereby I would take knives from restaurants that I ate at. Granted, most of those knives were from the Ground Round because that was were all of my friends and I generally ended up eating at. I had a track box that contained all of my running shoes and all of my track spikes. Yes, I'm insane. I can't wait to go through all of my crap now.
But also within the box was this letter written by Aimee on October 2, 1992. I loved getting things from Aimee because she just made me laugh. Her letter was actually from when I was in college. More specifically, it was during our first year in college. Heck, we were only a month into college. The letter was typed out on the computer. This was back when computer printouts looked cheesy.
The funny thing about the letter was that even though she printed it out, she never mailed it. At the bottom of the letter, she hand wrote that she didn't send the letter because she ran out of stamps. So I must have seen her, to which she gave me the letter. Classic.
The letter even brought back the memory of my scientology experience because Aimee sarcastically asked how that was coming along for me. Back when I was a lowly college freshman, I was approached while walking down the street of my college campus at the time, which was Northeastern University. The ever polite person that I am, I obliged the person who seemed normal enough. Let's just say, it was a complete waste of two hours of my life. Damn you scientologists!
Anyway, it was good to look back through my old stuff and cherish the things that made me... me... like my friends.
Ever since Lost ended and Wipeout ran its course for the summer, we really have not found that next show to watch together as a group. That is totally fine with me because I get more entertainment out of just hanging out with everyone anyway.
Well, with nothing really planned, we decided to see what was on-demand. Eventually, we decided to give Scare Tactics a try. Now, I suck at Scare Tactics. Upon watching the show, however, I was laughing in stitches.
For anyone curious, Scare Tactics is a reality television comedy similar to the show Punk'd... or Candid Camera. Unsuspecting victims who are set up by friends and family are filmed as practical jokes are played out on them. The first two seasons of the show were hosted by Shannen Doherty (of Beverly Hills 90210 fame). Stephen Baldwin actually took over hosting duties midway through the second season. And from season three on, the show has been hosted by Tracy Morgan.
I was laughing so hard during the show. In fact, I think my infectious laughter had Andrea going for awhile as well. Needless to say, I had a great time watching the show with everyone.
And naturally, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't think it was a great idea to try and get one of our own friends on the show? In particular, we were thinking that it would be awesome to get our friend (Garv) on the show simply because Garv is a wimp. (And if you are curious, the process to suggest a victim for the show is by sending an email to stcasting@yahoo.com.) Just the idea of watching Garv poop his pants would be classic.
Perhaps I will suggest the idea to my friend (Aimee), who is better qualified at pulling off these types of pranks. Speaking of whom, I was digging through some old stuff that my mother brought and found something written by Aimee. My mother has been cleaning out the attic of late. In an effort to clean up her attic, she has brought loads upon loads of boxes that contain my belongings. Among those belongings: everything I kept from high school on.
I have only gone through one box thus far. In my defense, I just received the boxes today while my mom came over to watch Briana. She has assured me that more boxes will come. Great.
Anyway, the box I looked through today contained a random collection of things, but most of the items were my class notes from high school. The notes were all in binders. I had every note I ever took in class, which apparently contained a lot of scribbles and doodles of my name. I had every homework that passed in and got graded. I even had book covers that were used to cover books.
Interestingly enough, there was a note from my BFF (Kerry) on one of the book covers. She wrote "hi mike you are the classic nerd! saving your book covers! see ya kerry". And of course, Kerry's position was confirmed by another friend: "Hi Mike, Kerry is right, your a nerd. Are you gonna save the book cover? bye, Maryellen". I wonder if kids these days even cover their books with paper bags anymore...
Nevertheless, the book cover made me chuckle. I guess there was a reason why I kept that book cover after all. It's funny. At the time, I thought I would keep everything because I thought I could use the class notes or whatever as a reference later on in life. Oh how wrong I was, as evident from the fact that the box has done nothing but collect dust in my mother's attic.
Looking back now, it does seem ridiculous to keep everything from high school on. Heck, the box I went through today even had items I pilfered from the Holiday Inn when I spent the night there for a track event. I can only imagine what else is in the other boxes that my mother has waiting for me.
I know there used to be a box of stainless steel knives somewhere. I went through a klepto stage whereby I would take knives from restaurants that I ate at. Granted, most of those knives were from the Ground Round because that was were all of my friends and I generally ended up eating at. I had a track box that contained all of my running shoes and all of my track spikes. Yes, I'm insane. I can't wait to go through all of my crap now.
But also within the box was this letter written by Aimee on October 2, 1992. I loved getting things from Aimee because she just made me laugh. Her letter was actually from when I was in college. More specifically, it was during our first year in college. Heck, we were only a month into college. The letter was typed out on the computer. This was back when computer printouts looked cheesy.
The funny thing about the letter was that even though she printed it out, she never mailed it. At the bottom of the letter, she hand wrote that she didn't send the letter because she ran out of stamps. So I must have seen her, to which she gave me the letter. Classic.
The letter even brought back the memory of my scientology experience because Aimee sarcastically asked how that was coming along for me. Back when I was a lowly college freshman, I was approached while walking down the street of my college campus at the time, which was Northeastern University. The ever polite person that I am, I obliged the person who seemed normal enough. Let's just say, it was a complete waste of two hours of my life. Damn you scientologists!
Anyway, it was good to look back through my old stuff and cherish the things that made me... me... like my friends.
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