Today has been quite the productive day.
While taking care of Briana, I finally finished a book that my friend (Marc) had lent me. (By taking care of Briana, I mean while she was sleeping I finished reading the book.) The book is titled "What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History" by David Hofstede.
It was an interesting book, especially for those who love television. I got a chuckle out of it because my favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and its spinoff show Angel) actually made the list. Coming in at #98: "Brats in the Buffyverse". Basically, the writer points out how Dawn and Connor ruined their respective shows... which is so true.
I won't ruin the book by revealing what came in at #1. Needless to say, it was enjoyable to read about some of the television events that I remembered watching while growing up. Plus, it was definitely good to finally put a dent in my stack of borrowed books. So one down... three to go...
Anyway, since today was Tuesday, that meant it was a Wipeout night. Karen and I (and Briana) met up with Marc and our friends (Kelley and Andrea). Nothing makes a day more enjoyable than seeing crazy people... wiping out on an obstacle course.
We decided to order dinner from the Schoolhouse Pizza located in Quincy. I must say, the "Dough-Knots" as they are called... are very delicious... as is the pornographically named "Mailman Dan's Special Delivery" pizza.
Picture it: a young blond woman is alone in her home. The door bell rings. She answers the door only to find a young strapping bare chested postal worker holding a pizza box. He mugs for the camera and says "Special Delivery"... the cheesy music begins to play...
Regardless, it was a great time at Marc and Kelley's. I was so stuffed following dinner that I could not even put a dent in Andrea's signature dessert: trifle. Trifle is her thing. It's so yummy. I think I first discovered Andrea's dessert at my friend's (Hot Amy) cookout many years back. It's so good, I can't hype it enough.
When Karen, Briana, and I got home, I figured I'd be productive and work on the house. Of course, it could have been all the sugar in my blood from all the food I devoured. I simply was not tired. So, thinking that I would continue with renovating the first floor bathroom, I started to grout.
Unfortunately, I suck at grouting. The day before, I had finished installing the porcelain tile on the floor. Obviously, the next step then was to grout the floor. And by grout, I mean fill in the lines between the tiles with... grout.
Like tiling, grouting... is not fun. It is also a dirty job that I do not really care for. I'll do it, but I won't like it. There is just something about all those home improvement projects that involve mixing powder with water and spreading it over things and whatnot. The reason why I dislike those projects so much is because the powder mix with the water generally tends to dry out my skin.
As I type this right now, I can feel the skin in the palm of my hands tighten. They just feel so dry and stiff. I just am not a big fan of that feeling. I suppose the bright side is that unlike yesterday, I did not have an allergic reaction to the powder (in this case... the mortar mix). Apparently, grout mix... no reactions.
Thankfully, the grouting of the first floor bathroom is now complete. Of course, I'll still have to clean up the tiles a bit, but for the most part it's done. Now, I can move on to the more dirtier aspect of the project: plumbing in a crawlspace. Fun...
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
I Suck At Tiling
This is my second week of vacation. With Karen also taking today off from work, I decided to do a little home improvement. Karen and I had started a bathroom renovation on our first floor quite some time ago.
Some of our friends (Marc, Kelley, Andrea, Kerry, Carlos, Garv and Leeann) had helped with the renovation as well. They helped install the drywall, helped install the insulation, and painted the entire room. We could never thank our friends enough for their help with the bathroom, especially since they were pitching in while Karen and I were spending the majority of our time at the hospital because our daughter (Briana) was born prematurely.
Needless to say, ever since Briana was born, Karen and I have not really tackled finishing the bathroom renovation. There just hasn't been a block of several hours that we can dedicate to working on the bathroom while taking care of a baby. Sure, I may have installed the cement board for the floor, but that is it. Our bathroom has pretty much remained unchanged since my friends helped with the renovation.
That of course, changed today. While Karen is home, I try to let her spend as much time with Briana as she can. It's not that I am neglecting my parental responsibilities or anything like that. I just want Karen to have some quality time with our daughter. After all, Karen has recently returned to work. I imagine that it must be difficult to leave your child after spending a few straight months taking care of her. Karen does not have the luxury like I do to work from home, where I can see Briana at a moment's notice. So, Karen pretty much has the weekends to spend some quality time with Briana... and even that is tough because the weekends are usually when activities and whatnot are planned.
As it is, Karen was a little disheartened today because Briana started crying uncontrollably. She could not get Briana to stop crying. Ever see your baby daughter cry? It's very gut-wrenching when the tears come out. Naturally, I took a stab at holding our daughter... and lo and behold, Briana stopped fussing. So, you can imagine how sad Karen must have felt. Hence, that is why I try to let Karen spend as much alone time with Briana that she can.
Anyway, while Karen was taking care of Briana, I decided to tackle our first floor bathroom renovation project. The next major hurdle for the project: tiling the floor. Unfortunately, I suck at tiling.
I probably would not have actually worked on the bathroom were it not the fact that Briana's christening was right around the corner. Were it solely up to me, Briana would not be christened. "Religion is the opiate of the masses!" (Karl Marx) Of course, things are usually not up to me and Briana is being christened next month. Consequently, Karen wanted to finish the bathroom in time so that we could have people over after the christening. And by "people", she means those who cannot use the stairs to walk up to the second floor bathroom... or go outside in the woods.
Thus, I have been tasked with making the first floor bathroom at least functional by the time Briana's christening comes around. As a side note, in case anyone is curious as to what the difference is between a baptism and a christening (because the two words are seemingly used interchangeably), a christening is a dedication of the child to God by the parents whereas a baptism is a dedication of themselves to God. (And I'm not even religious...)
Regardless, I spent the entire day cutting porcelain tile to fit our bathroom. Cutting tile is not fun... especially when the walls of your old house are not square. Luckily, things were a little easier thanks to the wet tile saw that I purchased yesterday. It was a little easier, but not much. The only problem of course is that cutting tile is very dirty. The part of the tile that you cut away becomes gunk when mixed with the water and that can clump up and clog your saw or the water basin, etc. Needless to say, it does take awhile to clean the wet saw afterwards.
I practically spent half the day cutting tiles in the humid weather outside. When all the tiles were cut and laid out in the bathroom, I then moved onto part 2: installing the tiles. Again, not fun... unless like a pornographic movie you enjoy being on your hands and knees. Just kidding.
Installing tiles is likewise a dirty job, although not as dirty as cutting tiles. The dirty part of the installation deals with mixing the mortar and spreading it on the cement board. I must have gotten mortar everywhere.
Truth be told, I really do suck at tiling the floor because some of the tile lines appear off to me... despite using spacers between the tiles. As well, I seem to have developed some allergic reaction or something. I currently have red dots all over my arms and chest. Perhaps this is why I don't like to tile.
Anyway, another three hours later... and finally, the bathroom floor has been tiled. The mortar still has to dry overnight, to which I will then need to work on grouting the floor... which is also not a fun job. (Again, think being on your hands and knees like a pornographic movie.)
Yeah, I'm not such a big fan of tiling. Sadly, I think there may be at least one other home improvement project that I can think of that requires tiling. But, I'll worry about that another time. For now, I am one step closer to finishing the first floor bathroom renovation. Yay!
Some of our friends (Marc, Kelley, Andrea, Kerry, Carlos, Garv and Leeann) had helped with the renovation as well. They helped install the drywall, helped install the insulation, and painted the entire room. We could never thank our friends enough for their help with the bathroom, especially since they were pitching in while Karen and I were spending the majority of our time at the hospital because our daughter (Briana) was born prematurely.
Needless to say, ever since Briana was born, Karen and I have not really tackled finishing the bathroom renovation. There just hasn't been a block of several hours that we can dedicate to working on the bathroom while taking care of a baby. Sure, I may have installed the cement board for the floor, but that is it. Our bathroom has pretty much remained unchanged since my friends helped with the renovation.
That of course, changed today. While Karen is home, I try to let her spend as much time with Briana as she can. It's not that I am neglecting my parental responsibilities or anything like that. I just want Karen to have some quality time with our daughter. After all, Karen has recently returned to work. I imagine that it must be difficult to leave your child after spending a few straight months taking care of her. Karen does not have the luxury like I do to work from home, where I can see Briana at a moment's notice. So, Karen pretty much has the weekends to spend some quality time with Briana... and even that is tough because the weekends are usually when activities and whatnot are planned.
As it is, Karen was a little disheartened today because Briana started crying uncontrollably. She could not get Briana to stop crying. Ever see your baby daughter cry? It's very gut-wrenching when the tears come out. Naturally, I took a stab at holding our daughter... and lo and behold, Briana stopped fussing. So, you can imagine how sad Karen must have felt. Hence, that is why I try to let Karen spend as much alone time with Briana that she can.
Anyway, while Karen was taking care of Briana, I decided to tackle our first floor bathroom renovation project. The next major hurdle for the project: tiling the floor. Unfortunately, I suck at tiling.
I probably would not have actually worked on the bathroom were it not the fact that Briana's christening was right around the corner. Were it solely up to me, Briana would not be christened. "Religion is the opiate of the masses!" (Karl Marx) Of course, things are usually not up to me and Briana is being christened next month. Consequently, Karen wanted to finish the bathroom in time so that we could have people over after the christening. And by "people", she means those who cannot use the stairs to walk up to the second floor bathroom... or go outside in the woods.
Thus, I have been tasked with making the first floor bathroom at least functional by the time Briana's christening comes around. As a side note, in case anyone is curious as to what the difference is between a baptism and a christening (because the two words are seemingly used interchangeably), a christening is a dedication of the child to God by the parents whereas a baptism is a dedication of themselves to God. (And I'm not even religious...)
Regardless, I spent the entire day cutting porcelain tile to fit our bathroom. Cutting tile is not fun... especially when the walls of your old house are not square. Luckily, things were a little easier thanks to the wet tile saw that I purchased yesterday. It was a little easier, but not much. The only problem of course is that cutting tile is very dirty. The part of the tile that you cut away becomes gunk when mixed with the water and that can clump up and clog your saw or the water basin, etc. Needless to say, it does take awhile to clean the wet saw afterwards.
I practically spent half the day cutting tiles in the humid weather outside. When all the tiles were cut and laid out in the bathroom, I then moved onto part 2: installing the tiles. Again, not fun... unless like a pornographic movie you enjoy being on your hands and knees. Just kidding.
Installing tiles is likewise a dirty job, although not as dirty as cutting tiles. The dirty part of the installation deals with mixing the mortar and spreading it on the cement board. I must have gotten mortar everywhere.
Truth be told, I really do suck at tiling the floor because some of the tile lines appear off to me... despite using spacers between the tiles. As well, I seem to have developed some allergic reaction or something. I currently have red dots all over my arms and chest. Perhaps this is why I don't like to tile.
Anyway, another three hours later... and finally, the bathroom floor has been tiled. The mortar still has to dry overnight, to which I will then need to work on grouting the floor... which is also not a fun job. (Again, think being on your hands and knees like a pornographic movie.)
Yeah, I'm not such a big fan of tiling. Sadly, I think there may be at least one other home improvement project that I can think of that requires tiling. But, I'll worry about that another time. For now, I am one step closer to finishing the first floor bathroom renovation. Yay!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
I Suck At 100 Day Parties
Today, our baby daughter (Briana) had her third celebratory party within the same number of months. The party today was in celebration of Briana being 100 days. Now, I suck at 100 day parties. Normally, 100 days is nothing to celebrate. There usually is no tradition or custom for it.
In the case of Briana, however, my parents wanted to throw her a 100 day party because they could not have the traditional one month red egg and ginger party that is typically held at Chinese restaurants. Briana was born prematurely on St. Patrick's Day. So by the time she had reached one month of age, Briana was still too weak to go out... let alone go out to a Chinese restaurant whereby she would be introduced to everyone who would potentially want to hold her. Thus, my parents decided to wait until Briana was a little older before customarily introducing her to the rest of the family. Hence, the 100 day party. (For anyone curious, my parents did have a red egg party, but it was a small gathering of immediate family... not the customary entire family.)
Anyway, like most family gatherings, I looked upon today with some dread. Despite my penchant for being the clown prince when inebriated, I have never been much for being in the limelight... and although today was about Briana, I felt uneasy putting her in the limelight. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with how the 100 day party unfolded.
The party was held at the Grand Chinatown in Quincy. I have never eaten there before. In fact, I don't particularly eat out at Chinese restaurants in general because the food never seems to compare to my mother's own cooking. But I must say, the food today was good.
Typical of these types of Chinese traditions, everyone is bunched around a set of tables. Meal after meal after meal arrives. (It is, after all, typically a 10 course meal.) After all the meals are brought out, anything that is left gets taken home as leftovers.
Needless to say, the food was pretty good. The funniest part in my opinion was my favorite nephew (PJ) playing with the cooked chicken head. He originally wanted to keep the head. He was in such awe that when he touched the chicken head, he was like "I'll never wash my finger again". My nephew cracks me up. He also referred to the Chinese restaurant as a real Chinese restaurant. I bet if he had school tomorrow, he would be telling all his friends about the chicken head.
Interestingly enough, I was a little worried that my in-laws would not eat the food at the party. They have, I believe, never experienced the customary 10 course meal thing at a Chinese restaurant. I'm not sure if they have even had anything outside of "American" Chinese food or anything that my mother has not made. (In general, my mother tries to cook Chinese food that is visually appealing to the American palate.)
Sure, my mother selected dishes for the party that were probably more appealing than usual. So there were no things like jelly fish, abalone, or anything like that. But I have to give my in-laws credit, they did eat things that I did not think they would eat... like the soup or the red bean dessert. And the funny thing, they enjoyed it.
In addition to the good food, the party was surprisingly a fun time. I got to see my extended family which I very rarely see. Thus, my aunt, uncle and cousins were all there. A few of my mom's friends were there. My cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin) were there.
Growing up, I tried to avoid seeing my extended family. It's not that my relatives were bad or anything like that. It's just that I did not share any commonalities with any of my relatives. There were also communication issues because they did not at the time know how to speak English all that well whereas I was born and bred here. And since I did not speak Chinese, I simply just sat quietly in the background.
Because of that, I very rarely saw my extended relatives. Seeing my relatives today, I actually felt like I missed out on so much. Many of the younger cousins I knew are all grown up. Heck, even Marvin, who I remember watching him leave for Hong Kong as a baby, is in high school now. Some of my cousins have cute adorable children... one near the same age as Briana. My relatives are now better at understanding English. It's almost like I feel I have lost that bond that I should have had growing up.
Of course, part of my nostalgic feeling may be due to where I currently am in my life. Having lost a child (Braden), I would probably say that I value and appreciate the relationships that I have with my family and friends more than in years past. Having Briana in my life also strengthens my fondness for those relationships. I don't have time or energy for unnecessary drama because I think there's more to life.
As much as I probably hate to admit it... for all the grief I give Karen about her family and how they cry at the snap of a finger, especially when it comes to their grandparents... a part of me does think that it is amazing to be loved by and have an impact on so many people. To leave a legacy like that is wonderful.
Anyway, I'm rambling. It was actually great seeing my relatives today, which is something I never really thought I would ever say. I enjoyed hanging out with them, seeing my cousins' children,... everything. It was definitely nice.
In the case of Briana, however, my parents wanted to throw her a 100 day party because they could not have the traditional one month red egg and ginger party that is typically held at Chinese restaurants. Briana was born prematurely on St. Patrick's Day. So by the time she had reached one month of age, Briana was still too weak to go out... let alone go out to a Chinese restaurant whereby she would be introduced to everyone who would potentially want to hold her. Thus, my parents decided to wait until Briana was a little older before customarily introducing her to the rest of the family. Hence, the 100 day party. (For anyone curious, my parents did have a red egg party, but it was a small gathering of immediate family... not the customary entire family.)
Anyway, like most family gatherings, I looked upon today with some dread. Despite my penchant for being the clown prince when inebriated, I have never been much for being in the limelight... and although today was about Briana, I felt uneasy putting her in the limelight. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with how the 100 day party unfolded.
The party was held at the Grand Chinatown in Quincy. I have never eaten there before. In fact, I don't particularly eat out at Chinese restaurants in general because the food never seems to compare to my mother's own cooking. But I must say, the food today was good.
Typical of these types of Chinese traditions, everyone is bunched around a set of tables. Meal after meal after meal arrives. (It is, after all, typically a 10 course meal.) After all the meals are brought out, anything that is left gets taken home as leftovers.
Needless to say, the food was pretty good. The funniest part in my opinion was my favorite nephew (PJ) playing with the cooked chicken head. He originally wanted to keep the head. He was in such awe that when he touched the chicken head, he was like "I'll never wash my finger again". My nephew cracks me up. He also referred to the Chinese restaurant as a real Chinese restaurant. I bet if he had school tomorrow, he would be telling all his friends about the chicken head.
Interestingly enough, I was a little worried that my in-laws would not eat the food at the party. They have, I believe, never experienced the customary 10 course meal thing at a Chinese restaurant. I'm not sure if they have even had anything outside of "American" Chinese food or anything that my mother has not made. (In general, my mother tries to cook Chinese food that is visually appealing to the American palate.)
Sure, my mother selected dishes for the party that were probably more appealing than usual. So there were no things like jelly fish, abalone, or anything like that. But I have to give my in-laws credit, they did eat things that I did not think they would eat... like the soup or the red bean dessert. And the funny thing, they enjoyed it.
In addition to the good food, the party was surprisingly a fun time. I got to see my extended family which I very rarely see. Thus, my aunt, uncle and cousins were all there. A few of my mom's friends were there. My cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin) were there.
Growing up, I tried to avoid seeing my extended family. It's not that my relatives were bad or anything like that. It's just that I did not share any commonalities with any of my relatives. There were also communication issues because they did not at the time know how to speak English all that well whereas I was born and bred here. And since I did not speak Chinese, I simply just sat quietly in the background.
Because of that, I very rarely saw my extended relatives. Seeing my relatives today, I actually felt like I missed out on so much. Many of the younger cousins I knew are all grown up. Heck, even Marvin, who I remember watching him leave for Hong Kong as a baby, is in high school now. Some of my cousins have cute adorable children... one near the same age as Briana. My relatives are now better at understanding English. It's almost like I feel I have lost that bond that I should have had growing up.
Of course, part of my nostalgic feeling may be due to where I currently am in my life. Having lost a child (Braden), I would probably say that I value and appreciate the relationships that I have with my family and friends more than in years past. Having Briana in my life also strengthens my fondness for those relationships. I don't have time or energy for unnecessary drama because I think there's more to life.
As much as I probably hate to admit it... for all the grief I give Karen about her family and how they cry at the snap of a finger, especially when it comes to their grandparents... a part of me does think that it is amazing to be loved by and have an impact on so many people. To leave a legacy like that is wonderful.
Anyway, I'm rambling. It was actually great seeing my relatives today, which is something I never really thought I would ever say. I enjoyed hanging out with them, seeing my cousins' children,... everything. It was definitely nice.
I Suck At Half Birthday Parties
Yesterday, Karen and I... and our baby daughter (Briana) traveled to the bewitching town of Salem. What is in Salem besides witches? Well... my bff (Kerry) just so happens to reside in Salem and she decided to have a little cookout celebration.
Kerry, like a good many friends that I know, was born in the month of December. And as anyone with a December birthday can tell you, celebrating your day with a group of people within that month can be quite difficult with the holidays and all. Thus, she came up with the idea of having a birthday party in June... or as she refers to it as... a half birthday party because it's halfway to her birthday.
Unfortunately, I suck at half birthday parties. Truth be told, I think the idea is pretty ingenious, in part because I also happen to have a birthday in the month of December. In fact, I started my whole photo scavenger hunt because of that very dilemma as well... how to celebrate your day with a bunch of friends without having to celebrate it in the month of December.
Needless to say, Karen and I attended Kerry's half birthday party. We had wanted to bring a gag gift in honor of it being Kerry's half birthday, but we could not decide upon something. I had originally suggested a two piece bathing suit, but only giving her either the top or the bottom. Our other ideas were very limited... like a single shoe.
Anyway, the half birthday party was good. As a new parent of a 3 month old, I have recently been comparing Briana to other children close to her age. After all, I felt a lot of pressure with Briana because people used to always tell Karen and I that our future baby will be so adorable and all of that (being of a mixed race and all). I have no idea what these people used to base their assumptions on. Naturally, I felt that Briana had high expectations to live up to.
So it may have been a little possible that at the half birthday party, I compared Briana to another baby who also happened to be at the party. Now, I know parents always think their own child is the most beautiful thing since sliced bread. After all, it's their own child and of course they would be biased. That said, I was quite ecstatic during the half birthday party. Briana was easily the best looking baby, despite the my-baby-is-so-wonderful stories by the mother of the other baby. But to each their own.
The half birthday party itself was interesting. As usual, the food was delicious. In addition to the standard cookout staples of hot dogs and hamburgers, Kerry made a corn casserole dish. The dish was very delicious. Similarly, I'll give props to my friend (Hot Amy) for her guacamole. It was surprisingly good.
Speaking of which, the other friends of mine who attended the half birthday party included Marc, Kelley, Andrea, Cass, Jenn, Bill, Carlos and Steve. I have gotten to known Steve through Kerry. He is a funny guy... and one who I think has a neat job. I would definitely love to be able to watch a live open heart operation. That would be cool to watch.
Anyway, like many of Kerry's friends, Steve is from Rhode Island. In general, whenever Kerry has a party, it's usually a party of two locations: Massachusetts of where Kerry grew up; and Rhode Island of where Kerry attended college. Even though the party would be at the same location, the group interactions would usually be divided. The friends from Massachusetts would talk amongst themselves. The friends from Rhode Island would talk amongst themselves. Steve, however, seems to be the only who can easily bridge the gap between the two groups. It's interesting to watch.
In my opinion, the half birthday party was no different. Those from Massachusetts generally hung outside of Kerry's place. Those from Rhode Island generally hung inside of Kerry's place. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just how it is. And really, it makes logical sense. People will do what they are most comfortable with... and that is associate with people they know. Given the option of having a conversation with someone who you hardly know versus having a conversation with someone you grew up with... the choice generally will be the latter probably because it requires less effort.
Unfortunately, I was not up for conversing either way. I was busy imbibing libations with Andrea, Kelley and Cass. There may have been a conversation about South Africa in there somewhere.
Anyway, it was a nice birthday party. I hope Kerry had a great time. Happy half birthday BFF!
Kerry, like a good many friends that I know, was born in the month of December. And as anyone with a December birthday can tell you, celebrating your day with a group of people within that month can be quite difficult with the holidays and all. Thus, she came up with the idea of having a birthday party in June... or as she refers to it as... a half birthday party because it's halfway to her birthday.
Unfortunately, I suck at half birthday parties. Truth be told, I think the idea is pretty ingenious, in part because I also happen to have a birthday in the month of December. In fact, I started my whole photo scavenger hunt because of that very dilemma as well... how to celebrate your day with a bunch of friends without having to celebrate it in the month of December.
Needless to say, Karen and I attended Kerry's half birthday party. We had wanted to bring a gag gift in honor of it being Kerry's half birthday, but we could not decide upon something. I had originally suggested a two piece bathing suit, but only giving her either the top or the bottom. Our other ideas were very limited... like a single shoe.
Anyway, the half birthday party was good. As a new parent of a 3 month old, I have recently been comparing Briana to other children close to her age. After all, I felt a lot of pressure with Briana because people used to always tell Karen and I that our future baby will be so adorable and all of that (being of a mixed race and all). I have no idea what these people used to base their assumptions on. Naturally, I felt that Briana had high expectations to live up to.
So it may have been a little possible that at the half birthday party, I compared Briana to another baby who also happened to be at the party. Now, I know parents always think their own child is the most beautiful thing since sliced bread. After all, it's their own child and of course they would be biased. That said, I was quite ecstatic during the half birthday party. Briana was easily the best looking baby, despite the my-baby-is-so-wonderful stories by the mother of the other baby. But to each their own.
The half birthday party itself was interesting. As usual, the food was delicious. In addition to the standard cookout staples of hot dogs and hamburgers, Kerry made a corn casserole dish. The dish was very delicious. Similarly, I'll give props to my friend (Hot Amy) for her guacamole. It was surprisingly good.
Speaking of which, the other friends of mine who attended the half birthday party included Marc, Kelley, Andrea, Cass, Jenn, Bill, Carlos and Steve. I have gotten to known Steve through Kerry. He is a funny guy... and one who I think has a neat job. I would definitely love to be able to watch a live open heart operation. That would be cool to watch.
Anyway, like many of Kerry's friends, Steve is from Rhode Island. In general, whenever Kerry has a party, it's usually a party of two locations: Massachusetts of where Kerry grew up; and Rhode Island of where Kerry attended college. Even though the party would be at the same location, the group interactions would usually be divided. The friends from Massachusetts would talk amongst themselves. The friends from Rhode Island would talk amongst themselves. Steve, however, seems to be the only who can easily bridge the gap between the two groups. It's interesting to watch.
In my opinion, the half birthday party was no different. Those from Massachusetts generally hung outside of Kerry's place. Those from Rhode Island generally hung inside of Kerry's place. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just how it is. And really, it makes logical sense. People will do what they are most comfortable with... and that is associate with people they know. Given the option of having a conversation with someone who you hardly know versus having a conversation with someone you grew up with... the choice generally will be the latter probably because it requires less effort.
Unfortunately, I was not up for conversing either way. I was busy imbibing libations with Andrea, Kelley and Cass. There may have been a conversation about South Africa in there somewhere.
Anyway, it was a nice birthday party. I hope Kerry had a great time. Happy half birthday BFF!
Friday, June 25, 2010
I Suck At How To Lose Friends And Alienate People
Today, I had a couple of hours to spare while taking care of my baby daughter (Briana). Thinking that Briana would wake up in a few hours, I decided to watch a movie. That movie: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.
Now, I suck at How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. Based on the title alone, you would think that I would have no problems doing that. After all, I have been known to instigate things... or so I have been told.
(The video below is a trailer for How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.)
Anyway, the title of the movie is a little misleading. In fact, had the title been something different, I'm sure many people may have known what the movie was about. Consequently, it may have done better at the box office. The movie has absolutely nothing to do with losing friends and alienating people.
In fact, the movie is based on the memoirs (of the same name) of British writer, Toby Young. Apparently, the film version is vastly different from the memoirs. Essentially, the plot follows a British writer who lands a job with a high profile magazine in New York. (The name of the magazine had to be changed for the film, but according to the memoir, it is Vanity Fair.) The writer loses sight of what is most important to him until the end.
The movie was actually entertaining. Simon Pegg (of Star Trek and Shaun of the Dead fame) stars as the British journalist. As well, Kirsten Dunst plays the romantic lead while Megan Fox plays the up and coming celebrity who Simon Pegg becomes utterly smitten with... which is not a stretch because many men are smitten with Megan Fox. Gillian Anderson (of X-Files fame) and Jeff Bridges round out the supporting cast. (Gillian Anderson plays Megan Fox's publicist, while Jeff Bridges plays Simon Pegg's boss.)
Regardless, the movie was good... and it fit nicely in the time frame that I had to work with while taking care of Briana.
Now, I suck at How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. Based on the title alone, you would think that I would have no problems doing that. After all, I have been known to instigate things... or so I have been told.
(The video below is a trailer for How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.)
Anyway, the title of the movie is a little misleading. In fact, had the title been something different, I'm sure many people may have known what the movie was about. Consequently, it may have done better at the box office. The movie has absolutely nothing to do with losing friends and alienating people.
In fact, the movie is based on the memoirs (of the same name) of British writer, Toby Young. Apparently, the film version is vastly different from the memoirs. Essentially, the plot follows a British writer who lands a job with a high profile magazine in New York. (The name of the magazine had to be changed for the film, but according to the memoir, it is Vanity Fair.) The writer loses sight of what is most important to him until the end.
The movie was actually entertaining. Simon Pegg (of Star Trek and Shaun of the Dead fame) stars as the British journalist. As well, Kirsten Dunst plays the romantic lead while Megan Fox plays the up and coming celebrity who Simon Pegg becomes utterly smitten with... which is not a stretch because many men are smitten with Megan Fox. Gillian Anderson (of X-Files fame) and Jeff Bridges round out the supporting cast. (Gillian Anderson plays Megan Fox's publicist, while Jeff Bridges plays Simon Pegg's boss.)
Regardless, the movie was good... and it fit nicely in the time frame that I had to work with while taking care of Briana.
I Suck At Bioshock
I'm not sure how stay-at-home parents do it. While Karen transitions back to work after being out on maternity leave, I decided to take some time off from work this week. I figured this week would be a great time for some father-daughter bonding. After all, it would just be me and our baby daughter (Briana) at home together with no plans.
Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love taking care of my baby daughter. From a purely social aspect, however, it gets very boring because Briana can't exactly talk back. The best she can muster is a little cooing sound complete with a smile. I can see why so many stay-at-home parents consequently turn to Facebook as a means for social interaction. (That reminds me. Some day I will post status updates on Facebook about every time Briana poops... just to experiment. I should probably do it while I am on vacation.)
Regardless, time passes by quickly when you are taking care of a child. If you were like me, you'd think taking care of a child is no problem: I'll just change her, feed her, put her to sleep and be productive while she's sleeping. Oh how wrong I was to think that.
Briana's feeding schedule is never the same. Her napping schedule is never the same. So you never really know how long of a time frame you have to be productive and do things. And really, you can't be too productive because you have to always be at her beckoning call in case something happens.
Needless to say, I have not done anything productive in terms of home improvement projects. I had imagined that I would crank out some home improvement projects while on vacation. Wrong! Heck, I couldn't even mow the lawn. (I had to wait for Karen to return home so that she could watch Briana while I mowed the lawn.)
Again, I'm not complaining. Like I said, I have thoroughly enjoyed taking care of Briana. If I could, I'd spend endless months doing father-daughter bonding if I didn't think that our house would eventually end up in total disarray... which our house probably will end up in anyway.
So what have I been doing to be "productive" while Briana has been napping? Well... I've been doing the one thing that is actually attainable as a goal while taking care of a three month old baby daughter: playing video games in the next room over while she sleeps. In particular, I have been playing Bioshock.
(The video below is a trailer for Bioshock.)
Too bad I suck at Bioshock. Bioshock is a great game, especially for me because you can never fully die. Every time you die, you come back to continue the game... it's great! For anyone curious, the game is a first person shooter. Set in an alternate reality during the 1960s, the goal of the game is to make your way through an underwater city known as Rapture while mutants and such attack you.
Anyway, I have been constantly playing the game (and dying numerous times). It's definitely a great game. And it just so happens that I finished the entire game yesterday. Woo hoo! Sure it has taken me quite some time to complete the game. (I have, after all, been a little preoccupied with a baby.) I'm definitely looking forward to getting another game to play now. I'm not sure which game yet.
Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love taking care of my baby daughter. From a purely social aspect, however, it gets very boring because Briana can't exactly talk back. The best she can muster is a little cooing sound complete with a smile. I can see why so many stay-at-home parents consequently turn to Facebook as a means for social interaction. (That reminds me. Some day I will post status updates on Facebook about every time Briana poops... just to experiment. I should probably do it while I am on vacation.)
Regardless, time passes by quickly when you are taking care of a child. If you were like me, you'd think taking care of a child is no problem: I'll just change her, feed her, put her to sleep and be productive while she's sleeping. Oh how wrong I was to think that.
Briana's feeding schedule is never the same. Her napping schedule is never the same. So you never really know how long of a time frame you have to be productive and do things. And really, you can't be too productive because you have to always be at her beckoning call in case something happens.
Needless to say, I have not done anything productive in terms of home improvement projects. I had imagined that I would crank out some home improvement projects while on vacation. Wrong! Heck, I couldn't even mow the lawn. (I had to wait for Karen to return home so that she could watch Briana while I mowed the lawn.)
Again, I'm not complaining. Like I said, I have thoroughly enjoyed taking care of Briana. If I could, I'd spend endless months doing father-daughter bonding if I didn't think that our house would eventually end up in total disarray... which our house probably will end up in anyway.
So what have I been doing to be "productive" while Briana has been napping? Well... I've been doing the one thing that is actually attainable as a goal while taking care of a three month old baby daughter: playing video games in the next room over while she sleeps. In particular, I have been playing Bioshock.
(The video below is a trailer for Bioshock.)
Too bad I suck at Bioshock. Bioshock is a great game, especially for me because you can never fully die. Every time you die, you come back to continue the game... it's great! For anyone curious, the game is a first person shooter. Set in an alternate reality during the 1960s, the goal of the game is to make your way through an underwater city known as Rapture while mutants and such attack you.
Anyway, I have been constantly playing the game (and dying numerous times). It's definitely a great game. And it just so happens that I finished the entire game yesterday. Woo hoo! Sure it has taken me quite some time to complete the game. (I have, after all, been a little preoccupied with a baby.) I'm definitely looking forward to getting another game to play now. I'm not sure which game yet.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
I Suck At Religion
I guess you could say that yesterday was a religious day of sorts for me, which is pretty sad because I suck at religion. Heck, I still have original sin in the eyes of God. (And really, I still have yet to figure out how a little water scrubs out original sin. Is it like laundry? Is the water like Tide? Can you Shout it out?)
Regardless, last night Karen and I attended a wake for my friend's (Pam) husband's (Ed) brother. The wake was held at an interesting location: McMaster Funeral Home in Braintree. I have never been to this particular funeral home. For those who have never been to McMaster, the tiny funeral home is sandwiched between two residential houses on a main street. And of course, there is very limited parking at the funeral home.
Needless to say, it was an interesting time. Apparently, there is a picture of Karen dancing with the deceased at Pam's wedding. (I may need to clarify that statement... Karen was dancing with the deceased before he became deceased... not after.) As far as wakes go, it was the typical wake that I have been accustomed to: sign in book, pictures, casket, receiving line of family, people hanging around.
Obviously wakes are what they are... a means for people to pay tribute to the deceased. Having lost a child (Braden) myself, I can empathize with Ed's parents. Parents should not have to bury their own children no matter how old they are. I remember feeling the loss in the pit of my stomach when Braden passed away. It's definitely not a good feeling.
One of Ed's brothers (Joe) said something all too familiar while I was at the wake. He had mentioned the famous saying about how things happen for a reason. It seems always true that people always want or need explanations for things. I wonder if that is simply human nature to want an explanation, or the fact that people have faith in a higher power. (Do you think a bunch of flies are gathered together wondering why the other fly got squished by a fly swatter?)
Don't get me wrong. I felt the same way when Braden passed away. I agonized over the reasons as to why my baby had to pass away after only one week of life. I don't think I will truly ever have a reason for his passing. He just did... despite the omnipotent powers of the seemingly all-loving merciful God. What puts my mind at ease about it is what I rationalize to be the reason for his death. For me, my own internal rationalization makes accepting Braden's death easier. For all I know, Braden gave up his life for us like Jesus. How is anyone going to disprove that?
Anyway, it was an interesting wake. Following the wake, Karen and I went to J.J. Mulligans... which is right down the street from the funeral home... with my friends (Hot Amy and Jen) who had also attended the wake. I have not hung out with Hot Amy and Jen in quite some time. Truth be told, it was good to see them again.
I had a few laughs. Hot Amy appeared to be her quirky self again. The topics of discussion included things like her upcoming marriage preparations complete with possible eggplant costumes, her desire to wash my car, and Jen's trip to Egypt which she bonded over with our waitress. It was like old times again, which was nice. I've missed seeing them.
Unfortunately, Karen and I could not stay long at J.J. Mulligans. After all, we still had our baby daughter (Briana) to pick up at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ). So naturally, to end the entire religious day of sorts, we asked Janine and PJ to be Briana's godparents... which was good because they already enjoy watching her. (And for anyone curious, they did agree.)
So all in all, it was an interesting day of thrilling religion.
Regardless, last night Karen and I attended a wake for my friend's (Pam) husband's (Ed) brother. The wake was held at an interesting location: McMaster Funeral Home in Braintree. I have never been to this particular funeral home. For those who have never been to McMaster, the tiny funeral home is sandwiched between two residential houses on a main street. And of course, there is very limited parking at the funeral home.
Needless to say, it was an interesting time. Apparently, there is a picture of Karen dancing with the deceased at Pam's wedding. (I may need to clarify that statement... Karen was dancing with the deceased before he became deceased... not after.) As far as wakes go, it was the typical wake that I have been accustomed to: sign in book, pictures, casket, receiving line of family, people hanging around.
Obviously wakes are what they are... a means for people to pay tribute to the deceased. Having lost a child (Braden) myself, I can empathize with Ed's parents. Parents should not have to bury their own children no matter how old they are. I remember feeling the loss in the pit of my stomach when Braden passed away. It's definitely not a good feeling.
One of Ed's brothers (Joe) said something all too familiar while I was at the wake. He had mentioned the famous saying about how things happen for a reason. It seems always true that people always want or need explanations for things. I wonder if that is simply human nature to want an explanation, or the fact that people have faith in a higher power. (Do you think a bunch of flies are gathered together wondering why the other fly got squished by a fly swatter?)
Don't get me wrong. I felt the same way when Braden passed away. I agonized over the reasons as to why my baby had to pass away after only one week of life. I don't think I will truly ever have a reason for his passing. He just did... despite the omnipotent powers of the seemingly all-loving merciful God. What puts my mind at ease about it is what I rationalize to be the reason for his death. For me, my own internal rationalization makes accepting Braden's death easier. For all I know, Braden gave up his life for us like Jesus. How is anyone going to disprove that?
Anyway, it was an interesting wake. Following the wake, Karen and I went to J.J. Mulligans... which is right down the street from the funeral home... with my friends (Hot Amy and Jen) who had also attended the wake. I have not hung out with Hot Amy and Jen in quite some time. Truth be told, it was good to see them again.
I had a few laughs. Hot Amy appeared to be her quirky self again. The topics of discussion included things like her upcoming marriage preparations complete with possible eggplant costumes, her desire to wash my car, and Jen's trip to Egypt which she bonded over with our waitress. It was like old times again, which was nice. I've missed seeing them.
Unfortunately, Karen and I could not stay long at J.J. Mulligans. After all, we still had our baby daughter (Briana) to pick up at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ). So naturally, to end the entire religious day of sorts, we asked Janine and PJ to be Briana's godparents... which was good because they already enjoy watching her. (And for anyone curious, they did agree.)
So all in all, it was an interesting day of thrilling religion.
I Suck At Wipeout
Tuesday was a good day. The fussy behavior of my baby daughter (Briana) from the prior day had all but disappeared. So taking care of her during the day on Tuesday was really a piece of cake. I am lucky that Briana is generally a good baby. Her cycle of eat, sleep, and poop is pretty clockwork.
In fact, while she was napping, I got to kill some time. And what better way to kill a couple of hours than to watch a movie? In this case, I ended up watching the movie, Reign of Fire.
(The video below is a trailer for Reign of Fire.)
The 2002 movie stars Christian Bale (I'm Batman!) and Matthew McConaughey. Interestingly enough, Gerard Butler (This is Sparta!) also had a supporting role in the movie. Basically, the movie is a futuristic tale (and by future, I mean in 2008) whereby dragons are accidentally unearthed by some construction workers and are unleashed upon the world. (I bet that was not in their union contract...)
Needless to say, in 12 years (so 2020), the world has become a wasteland of destruction and fire thanks to the dragons. Christian Bale leads a group of British survivors hoping to outlast the dragons, while Matthew McConaughey plays the U.S. soldier leading a team to hunt down and kill the sole male dragon, thereby ending the species and its reign of fire.
Truth be told, I was not expecting much from the film because the majority of Matthew McConaughey movies that I have seen have been pretty lackluster. That said, this movie was entertaining. It did its job and killed some time for me while I waited for Briana to wake up again to eat.
Eventually, Karen came home from work and we had a bunch of our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) over. After all, on the agenda for the night was the latest episode of Wipeout. Now, I suck at Wipeout. There is just something about the show that just makes me chuckle.
Anyway, it was good to see everyone, even if they were all pretty exhausted from the daily grind known as work. While we were hanging out, a discussion about Starburst fruit chews came up.
It seems that people generally gravitate toward eating a particular color of Starburst fruit chews. I tend to be in the minority in that action because I'm not picky. I eat everything. So out of sheer curiosity, Karen wondered if the Wrigley Company (a subsidiary of Mars) sold Starburst bags of a single color. In fact, she was so intrigued that she sent the company an email. (For anyone curious, it turns out that the answer is no, but Wrigley said that they will forward the email to their marketing department... most likely known as their trash folder.)
Naturally, I gave the topic some thought. Why wouldn't they sell bags of a single Starburst fruit chew flavor? It would make logical sense from a marketing standpoint to know which flavors the public enjoys and which flavors they don't. That's just my opinion of course.
And for anyone curious, according to my friend Wikipedia:
The Starburst brand was introduced by Mars in 1960 as Opal Fruits. The four original flavours were strawberry, lemon, orange, and lime. In the 1970s Opal Fruits were well known for their advertising tag line "Opal Fruits! Made to make your mouth water. Fresh with the tang of citrus. Orange! Lemon! Lime! Strawberry!" Opal Fruits were introduced in the United States in 1967 as Starburst. Originally, Starburst came in the same flavours as Opal Fruits and the first variant, "Sunshine Flavors," later renamed "Tropical Opal Fruits", was released thereafter. In Europe, lemon and lime were combined to become "lemon and lime" and to make room for a blackcurrant flavour. The brand name "Opal Fruits" was phased out in the UK, followed by Ireland in 1998 in order to standardize the product in a globalized marketplace, though some lament the loss of brand identity, leaving many people in the UK still referring to Starburst as Opal Fruits despite the name change. In 2008 the supermarket chain Asda revived the original Opal Fruits in the UK for a period of 12 weeks from 10 May 2008. On 6 October 2008, Mars acquired Wrigley, and transferred Mars non-chocolate candy brands, including Starburst, to the Wrigley subsidiary. In the US Starburst are manufactured in Waco, Texas.
Anyway, it was good fun night on Tuesday.
In fact, while she was napping, I got to kill some time. And what better way to kill a couple of hours than to watch a movie? In this case, I ended up watching the movie, Reign of Fire.
(The video below is a trailer for Reign of Fire.)
The 2002 movie stars Christian Bale (I'm Batman!) and Matthew McConaughey. Interestingly enough, Gerard Butler (This is Sparta!) also had a supporting role in the movie. Basically, the movie is a futuristic tale (and by future, I mean in 2008) whereby dragons are accidentally unearthed by some construction workers and are unleashed upon the world. (I bet that was not in their union contract...)
Needless to say, in 12 years (so 2020), the world has become a wasteland of destruction and fire thanks to the dragons. Christian Bale leads a group of British survivors hoping to outlast the dragons, while Matthew McConaughey plays the U.S. soldier leading a team to hunt down and kill the sole male dragon, thereby ending the species and its reign of fire.
Truth be told, I was not expecting much from the film because the majority of Matthew McConaughey movies that I have seen have been pretty lackluster. That said, this movie was entertaining. It did its job and killed some time for me while I waited for Briana to wake up again to eat.
Eventually, Karen came home from work and we had a bunch of our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) over. After all, on the agenda for the night was the latest episode of Wipeout. Now, I suck at Wipeout. There is just something about the show that just makes me chuckle.
Anyway, it was good to see everyone, even if they were all pretty exhausted from the daily grind known as work. While we were hanging out, a discussion about Starburst fruit chews came up.
It seems that people generally gravitate toward eating a particular color of Starburst fruit chews. I tend to be in the minority in that action because I'm not picky. I eat everything. So out of sheer curiosity, Karen wondered if the Wrigley Company (a subsidiary of Mars) sold Starburst bags of a single color. In fact, she was so intrigued that she sent the company an email. (For anyone curious, it turns out that the answer is no, but Wrigley said that they will forward the email to their marketing department... most likely known as their trash folder.)
Naturally, I gave the topic some thought. Why wouldn't they sell bags of a single Starburst fruit chew flavor? It would make logical sense from a marketing standpoint to know which flavors the public enjoys and which flavors they don't. That's just my opinion of course.
And for anyone curious, according to my friend Wikipedia:
The Starburst brand was introduced by Mars in 1960 as Opal Fruits. The four original flavours were strawberry, lemon, orange, and lime. In the 1970s Opal Fruits were well known for their advertising tag line "Opal Fruits! Made to make your mouth water. Fresh with the tang of citrus. Orange! Lemon! Lime! Strawberry!" Opal Fruits were introduced in the United States in 1967 as Starburst. Originally, Starburst came in the same flavours as Opal Fruits and the first variant, "Sunshine Flavors," later renamed "Tropical Opal Fruits", was released thereafter. In Europe, lemon and lime were combined to become "lemon and lime" and to make room for a blackcurrant flavour. The brand name "Opal Fruits" was phased out in the UK, followed by Ireland in 1998 in order to standardize the product in a globalized marketplace, though some lament the loss of brand identity, leaving many people in the UK still referring to Starburst as Opal Fruits despite the name change. In 2008 the supermarket chain Asda revived the original Opal Fruits in the UK for a period of 12 weeks from 10 May 2008. On 6 October 2008, Mars acquired Wrigley, and transferred Mars non-chocolate candy brands, including Starburst, to the Wrigley subsidiary. In the US Starburst are manufactured in Waco, Texas.
Anyway, it was good fun night on Tuesday.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I Suck At Taking Care Of My Daughter
I'm on vacation from work this week.
I had visions of spending quality time with just my baby daughter (Briana) yesterday. With the commercial aspect of Father's Day already over and the big family gathering that usually accompanies Father's Day over, I thought yesterday would be a great way to celebrate my own Father's Day.
I wouldn't have to worry about my parents. I wouldn't have to worry about my father having a good time. It would just be me and my daughter for the day. Unfortunately, I suck at taking care of my daughter.
Truth be told, the day actually started off well. Briana was good early on. Lately, she has been mesmerized by her fist. She keeps making a fist and staring at it. Then she looks at her other hand... only to be in awe that there is a fist on the other hand too. It's cute.
And then... the fussiness began. Tears. Crying. And that was just from me. Just kidding. Briana was simply not herself yesterday. I have since come to learn that this may be normal due to the active weekend of attention she may have had. I guess Mondays are like hangovers for her. Although when she's is 21 and tearing and crying on a Monday, it actually may be a hangover.
Regardless, Briana's fussiness made for a long day yesterday. It was definitely not how I envisioned the day to be like. That said, it seems equally fitting that I ended up watching a horror movie last night. That movie: Urban Legends 2 Final Cut.
(The video below is a trailer for Urban Legends 2 Final Cut.)
For anyone curious, Urban Legends 2 Final Cut is the 2000 sequel to the 1998 slasher flick, Urban Legends. Having seen the first Urban Legends a long while ago, I was surprised to find out that there was a sequel. And like most things, I had to watch the sequel after discovering that there even was a sequel.
The only common link between the two movies is the security guard played by Loretta Devine and the surprise special appearance at the end from the villain of the first movie. Aside from that, that's it.
It should come as no surprise that the movie was terrible. I could have written a better slasher flick than this movie. The only interesting things about the movie was that it had Eva Mendes and Joey Lawrence (WHOA!) in it... although for the credits Joey Lawrence went by Joseph Lawrence. But yes, on a whole, this movie was pretty bad, which again was a fitting ending to the day.
I had visions of spending quality time with just my baby daughter (Briana) yesterday. With the commercial aspect of Father's Day already over and the big family gathering that usually accompanies Father's Day over, I thought yesterday would be a great way to celebrate my own Father's Day.
I wouldn't have to worry about my parents. I wouldn't have to worry about my father having a good time. It would just be me and my daughter for the day. Unfortunately, I suck at taking care of my daughter.
Truth be told, the day actually started off well. Briana was good early on. Lately, she has been mesmerized by her fist. She keeps making a fist and staring at it. Then she looks at her other hand... only to be in awe that there is a fist on the other hand too. It's cute.
And then... the fussiness began. Tears. Crying. And that was just from me. Just kidding. Briana was simply not herself yesterday. I have since come to learn that this may be normal due to the active weekend of attention she may have had. I guess Mondays are like hangovers for her. Although when she's is 21 and tearing and crying on a Monday, it actually may be a hangover.
Regardless, Briana's fussiness made for a long day yesterday. It was definitely not how I envisioned the day to be like. That said, it seems equally fitting that I ended up watching a horror movie last night. That movie: Urban Legends 2 Final Cut.
(The video below is a trailer for Urban Legends 2 Final Cut.)
For anyone curious, Urban Legends 2 Final Cut is the 2000 sequel to the 1998 slasher flick, Urban Legends. Having seen the first Urban Legends a long while ago, I was surprised to find out that there was a sequel. And like most things, I had to watch the sequel after discovering that there even was a sequel.
The only common link between the two movies is the security guard played by Loretta Devine and the surprise special appearance at the end from the villain of the first movie. Aside from that, that's it.
It should come as no surprise that the movie was terrible. I could have written a better slasher flick than this movie. The only interesting things about the movie was that it had Eva Mendes and Joey Lawrence (WHOA!) in it... although for the credits Joey Lawrence went by Joseph Lawrence. But yes, on a whole, this movie was pretty bad, which again was a fitting ending to the day.
I Suck At Father's Day
I suck at Father's Day.
This Sunday was the day commercially known as Father's Day. For me, this was actually the first time I felt that I could actually celebrate the day. Having lost our only child (Braden) at the time in 2008, there was not really much to celebrate on this day last year. But with our baby daughter (Briana) now, it definitely made things easier today.
And before I forget, I wanted to say thank you to all of my friends who were kind enough to pass their thoughts and wish me a happy Father's Day. I do appreciate it. It's always good to know that you have people who care about you even if you sometimes don't care about yourself.
Never wanting to forget about Braden, I started the day off with a little visit to the cemetery. It was a little disheartening to see that the flowers that we had planted had been eaten by animals. As well, there was a streak of dirty covering Braden's stone. The image of disarray was not something that I was hoping for when visiting Braden on Father's Day. But, it happens.
If there is one thing that I have learned from Braden, it's that you can't control everything. Stuff just invariably happens. You can't control it... outside of putting a moat and landmines around the head stone to prevent animals from eating your plants... and even then, I'm sure the animals will find a way to eat them.
Needless to say, I was a little sad during my visit to the cemetery. With Briana and her current eye color, I started to wonder what things would have been like had Braden survived. Would he have had the same eye color? What would his eyes have looked like had he been able to open his eyes before he passed away? It's always those what-if questions that make me ponder and eventually cry... because I'll never know the answer.
Anyway, following the cemetery, Karen took Briana to see Karen's grandparents. It was a way for Karen to give me some quality alone time while at the same time allowing her to visit her grandfather on Father's Day. And what better way to spend quality time than playing video games? Ah... video games. I've missed them so. Nothing kills a few hours like video games. Plus, for those few hours, there are no worries... there are no chores... just mashing buttons, relaxing, and having fun.
Speaking of which, the fun really started shortly after the video gaming. Karen and I were having my parents and her parents over for Father's Day. As well, we had invited my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) to come over as well. Like PJ was so quick to point out, he was a single father this weekend because my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) left to party it up this weekend in New York with her BFF (Gretchen).
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy spending time with my family. As well, I get a kick out of playing with my favorite niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ). Sometimes it would just be nice to relax and not have to worry about whether my mom is sharing baby holding duties equally with Briana's other grandparents, or whatnot. I guess it's only natural to be stressed by parents.
Anyway, all in all, it was a good day. My father got to hold Briana for an extended period of time. I have come to learn that my father really has not held a baby... like ever. I'm not sure if that was a generational thing or not. Apparently, my mom did all the holding (and it shows with how she is with Briana). So I was pretty happy with that my father got to hold Briana. After all, it is Father's Day. I want the best for my father. Since Braden's passing, I've come to realize how limited our time on Earth is... so I was happy to know that my father got to hold Briana for some time while he could.
This Sunday was the day commercially known as Father's Day. For me, this was actually the first time I felt that I could actually celebrate the day. Having lost our only child (Braden) at the time in 2008, there was not really much to celebrate on this day last year. But with our baby daughter (Briana) now, it definitely made things easier today.
And before I forget, I wanted to say thank you to all of my friends who were kind enough to pass their thoughts and wish me a happy Father's Day. I do appreciate it. It's always good to know that you have people who care about you even if you sometimes don't care about yourself.
Never wanting to forget about Braden, I started the day off with a little visit to the cemetery. It was a little disheartening to see that the flowers that we had planted had been eaten by animals. As well, there was a streak of dirty covering Braden's stone. The image of disarray was not something that I was hoping for when visiting Braden on Father's Day. But, it happens.
If there is one thing that I have learned from Braden, it's that you can't control everything. Stuff just invariably happens. You can't control it... outside of putting a moat and landmines around the head stone to prevent animals from eating your plants... and even then, I'm sure the animals will find a way to eat them.
Needless to say, I was a little sad during my visit to the cemetery. With Briana and her current eye color, I started to wonder what things would have been like had Braden survived. Would he have had the same eye color? What would his eyes have looked like had he been able to open his eyes before he passed away? It's always those what-if questions that make me ponder and eventually cry... because I'll never know the answer.
Anyway, following the cemetery, Karen took Briana to see Karen's grandparents. It was a way for Karen to give me some quality alone time while at the same time allowing her to visit her grandfather on Father's Day. And what better way to spend quality time than playing video games? Ah... video games. I've missed them so. Nothing kills a few hours like video games. Plus, for those few hours, there are no worries... there are no chores... just mashing buttons, relaxing, and having fun.
Speaking of which, the fun really started shortly after the video gaming. Karen and I were having my parents and her parents over for Father's Day. As well, we had invited my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) to come over as well. Like PJ was so quick to point out, he was a single father this weekend because my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) left to party it up this weekend in New York with her BFF (Gretchen).
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy spending time with my family. As well, I get a kick out of playing with my favorite niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ). Sometimes it would just be nice to relax and not have to worry about whether my mom is sharing baby holding duties equally with Briana's other grandparents, or whatnot. I guess it's only natural to be stressed by parents.
Anyway, all in all, it was a good day. My father got to hold Briana for an extended period of time. I have come to learn that my father really has not held a baby... like ever. I'm not sure if that was a generational thing or not. Apparently, my mom did all the holding (and it shows with how she is with Briana). So I was pretty happy with that my father got to hold Briana. After all, it is Father's Day. I want the best for my father. Since Braden's passing, I've come to realize how limited our time on Earth is... so I was happy to know that my father got to hold Briana for some time while he could.
Monday, June 21, 2010
I Suck At Gnocchi
I forgot to mention the other day (on Saturday) that Karen and I had gnocchi for dinner. Now I suck at gnocchi. I would not have even brought up that fact had I not enjoyed saying the word "gnocchi".
For anyone who does not know, gnocchi (which means "lumps") is a form of pasta. I have not had gnocchi in quite some time. But every time I have the pasta, I think of one of my friends (Ngoc). In fact, I often chant "gnocchi gnocchi gnocchi" in honor of my friend.
Based on the spelling, you would probably not know that the letter g is silent in the name "Ngoc". So, phonetically, his name sounds like "knock". Needless to say, Ngoc was an interesting character growing up. Probably one of the lesser known facts about Ngoc is that he illustrated the cover to our high school yearbook. (Yes, that fat overweight mascot who graces the cover is the handy work of Ngoc.)
When it came to sports, Ngoc was very hyper. Sometimes you could never understand what he was saying while he was running around like a madman. Sometimes he would just blurt out things in threes. Thus, "Ngoc-y, Ngoc-y, Ngoc-y" was born. Comical.
Anyway, having gnocchi on Saturday naturally reminded me of Ngoc. I haven't heard or seen him since his wedding, which was quite some time ago. I hope he's doing well. But, I did enjoy the gnocchi gnocchi gnocchi.
For anyone who does not know, gnocchi (which means "lumps") is a form of pasta. I have not had gnocchi in quite some time. But every time I have the pasta, I think of one of my friends (Ngoc). In fact, I often chant "gnocchi gnocchi gnocchi" in honor of my friend.
Based on the spelling, you would probably not know that the letter g is silent in the name "Ngoc". So, phonetically, his name sounds like "knock". Needless to say, Ngoc was an interesting character growing up. Probably one of the lesser known facts about Ngoc is that he illustrated the cover to our high school yearbook. (Yes, that fat overweight mascot who graces the cover is the handy work of Ngoc.)
When it came to sports, Ngoc was very hyper. Sometimes you could never understand what he was saying while he was running around like a madman. Sometimes he would just blurt out things in threes. Thus, "Ngoc-y, Ngoc-y, Ngoc-y" was born. Comical.
Anyway, having gnocchi on Saturday naturally reminded me of Ngoc. I haven't heard or seen him since his wedding, which was quite some time ago. I hope he's doing well. But, I did enjoy the gnocchi gnocchi gnocchi.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
I Suck At New Layouts
I have no idea where the time went today... and I haven't even been drinking. Karen and I took our baby daughter (Briana) out and about to the local shopping mall to run a few errands. The next thing we know, the entire day has passed. It's amazing how quickly time passes by when you have to take care of a child.
Anyway, with Karen and Briana asleep, I decided to do a few things around the house. This is generally the s.o.p. (standard operating procedure). As I am generally a night owl, I usually do things that I can enjoy while they sleep. Among those things are play video games (which reminds me... I have not done in a while), watch movies, and just play around on the computer. To quote my niece (Kaleigh)... "I'm not tired!"
It just happens that among the things I did today was tinker with this blog. In particular, I created a new layout. Yes, I suck at new layouts. But, I figured I'd change things up. I felt that it was time for something new and refreshing. Of course, it also helps that when I logged in to write a post, there was a new feature about changing the layout. So I figured I'd give it a try. Lo' and behold... here it is.
Anyway, with Karen and Briana asleep, I decided to do a few things around the house. This is generally the s.o.p. (standard operating procedure). As I am generally a night owl, I usually do things that I can enjoy while they sleep. Among those things are play video games (which reminds me... I have not done in a while), watch movies, and just play around on the computer. To quote my niece (Kaleigh)... "I'm not tired!"
It just happens that among the things I did today was tinker with this blog. In particular, I created a new layout. Yes, I suck at new layouts. But, I figured I'd change things up. I felt that it was time for something new and refreshing. Of course, it also helps that when I logged in to write a post, there was a new feature about changing the layout. So I figured I'd give it a try. Lo' and behold... here it is.
I Suck At Grocery Shopping
As far as Friday nights go, I must say I did not do anything thrilling, which is a sure sign that I am getting old. Seemingly gone are the days where I would hang out with my friends at a restaurant or bar... or if I were inebriated enough... a club. Instead, my Friday night consisted of ordering takeout from Not Your Average Joe's and going grocery shopping. Who needs the booze and the loud music from a bar when I can just break on down aisle five of the supermarket to the music overhead?
Sadly, that was how my Friday night was spent. Being a parent of a three month old baby daughter (Briana) is cramping my style. Just kidding. Truth be told, I'm not sure when the last time I went out on a Friday night was. Prior to the birth of my daughter, I was in the doldrums over the passing of my son (Braden). Like I have mentioned to Karen a few times, the year 2009 was a complete blur to me, which is bad considering I have a terrible memory as it is. So it has been quite a while I think that I have partied it up on a Friday night.
Anyway, dinner at Not Your Average Joe's was delicious as usual. I should invest in that company because Karen and I go there a lot. Maybe the bread there is laced with crack cocaine. That's how they keep you coming back for more. Just kidding.
Following dinner, I figured I'd let Karen unwind a little for the night. This was Karen's first week back to work since being on maternity leave. I think she's been struggling a little with the transition. After all, it definitely can be hard to leave your child for hours upon hours during the day. I'm lucky enough that I get to work from home most days of the week.
So figuring that Karen would want some quality bonding time with Briana, I decided to go grocery shopping. It was also a way to kill two birds with one stone because Karen has also been stressed about preparing for the upcoming Father's Day weekend. She has this list of to-do's in her head... one of which was going grocery shopping. Thus, I figured that my going to grocery store on Friday night would at least cross off one of those items from her list and help alleviate her stress.
Needless to say, I suck at grocery shopping. I must have looked like I was new to grocery shopping because I could not find a couple of things. I had to ask one of the employees where to find the items... twice (different items). Rice cake snacks and Softsoap... not where I would expect to find them. All in all, it was a fun time... even though it took me quite a while (we had an atypically large grocery list this week).
Anyway, following my shopping excursion, Karen and Briana went to bed. So, I did what any normal person would do on a Friday night with nothing to do... watch a couple of movies. I wasn't particularly tired. Hence... the double feature of movies.
I ended up having a little action packed double feature. The first movie I watched was Bangkok Dangerous.
(The video below is a trailer for Bangkok Dangerous.)
I'll admit. I had very low expectations for the movie. Aside from the lame title of the movie, seeing Nicholas Cage with long jet black hair acting as a badass was laughable. For anyone curious, Bangkok Dangerous is a remake of the 1999 film of the same name... by the same directors. Apparently, the same people decided to remake the movie with the star power of Nicholas Cage (because Nicholas Cage's production company bought the rights to the movie).
Needless to say, the movie was not all that bad. It was surprisingly entertaining even if the story was the same old story about a hitman who uncharacteristically gets emotionally attached to someone. (In my opinion, The Professional still did it the best.) But it was not all that bad.
Following Bangkok Dangerous, I decided to follow it up with another action movie. That movie: Jurassic Park III.
(The video below is a trailer for Jurassic Park III.)
The film completes the Jurassic Park trilogy (although I do believe a IV is in the works). Always one for completing things, I had to watch part III. I had already watched the first two (the second of which was absolutely terrible), so I figured that I had to watch the third movie. (It is this peculiarity of mine that will also have me watching the rest of the Twilight movies...)
Anyway, Jurassic Park III was okay. It was definitely better than the second sequel, which was not too hard to do. As a whole, the movie felt rushed. The plot consists of two parents (played by Tea Leoni and William H. Macy) who essentially enlist the aid of Dr. Grant (played by Sam Neill from the first movie) to help find their missing son on the second island of dinosaurs. Like I said, the movie felt very rushed. I'd be curious to see what the fourth installment will be like.
Sadly, that was how my Friday night was spent. Being a parent of a three month old baby daughter (Briana) is cramping my style. Just kidding. Truth be told, I'm not sure when the last time I went out on a Friday night was. Prior to the birth of my daughter, I was in the doldrums over the passing of my son (Braden). Like I have mentioned to Karen a few times, the year 2009 was a complete blur to me, which is bad considering I have a terrible memory as it is. So it has been quite a while I think that I have partied it up on a Friday night.
Anyway, dinner at Not Your Average Joe's was delicious as usual. I should invest in that company because Karen and I go there a lot. Maybe the bread there is laced with crack cocaine. That's how they keep you coming back for more. Just kidding.
Following dinner, I figured I'd let Karen unwind a little for the night. This was Karen's first week back to work since being on maternity leave. I think she's been struggling a little with the transition. After all, it definitely can be hard to leave your child for hours upon hours during the day. I'm lucky enough that I get to work from home most days of the week.
So figuring that Karen would want some quality bonding time with Briana, I decided to go grocery shopping. It was also a way to kill two birds with one stone because Karen has also been stressed about preparing for the upcoming Father's Day weekend. She has this list of to-do's in her head... one of which was going grocery shopping. Thus, I figured that my going to grocery store on Friday night would at least cross off one of those items from her list and help alleviate her stress.
Needless to say, I suck at grocery shopping. I must have looked like I was new to grocery shopping because I could not find a couple of things. I had to ask one of the employees where to find the items... twice (different items). Rice cake snacks and Softsoap... not where I would expect to find them. All in all, it was a fun time... even though it took me quite a while (we had an atypically large grocery list this week).
Anyway, following my shopping excursion, Karen and Briana went to bed. So, I did what any normal person would do on a Friday night with nothing to do... watch a couple of movies. I wasn't particularly tired. Hence... the double feature of movies.
I ended up having a little action packed double feature. The first movie I watched was Bangkok Dangerous.
(The video below is a trailer for Bangkok Dangerous.)
I'll admit. I had very low expectations for the movie. Aside from the lame title of the movie, seeing Nicholas Cage with long jet black hair acting as a badass was laughable. For anyone curious, Bangkok Dangerous is a remake of the 1999 film of the same name... by the same directors. Apparently, the same people decided to remake the movie with the star power of Nicholas Cage (because Nicholas Cage's production company bought the rights to the movie).
Needless to say, the movie was not all that bad. It was surprisingly entertaining even if the story was the same old story about a hitman who uncharacteristically gets emotionally attached to someone. (In my opinion, The Professional still did it the best.) But it was not all that bad.
Following Bangkok Dangerous, I decided to follow it up with another action movie. That movie: Jurassic Park III.
(The video below is a trailer for Jurassic Park III.)
The film completes the Jurassic Park trilogy (although I do believe a IV is in the works). Always one for completing things, I had to watch part III. I had already watched the first two (the second of which was absolutely terrible), so I figured that I had to watch the third movie. (It is this peculiarity of mine that will also have me watching the rest of the Twilight movies...)
Anyway, Jurassic Park III was okay. It was definitely better than the second sequel, which was not too hard to do. As a whole, the movie felt rushed. The plot consists of two parents (played by Tea Leoni and William H. Macy) who essentially enlist the aid of Dr. Grant (played by Sam Neill from the first movie) to help find their missing son on the second island of dinosaurs. Like I said, the movie felt very rushed. I'd be curious to see what the fourth installment will be like.
Friday, June 18, 2010
I Suck At Basketball
Last night, my mother spent the night at our house. For the past week, my mother has been kind enough to stop by and help take care of our baby daughter (Briana) while I work and while Karen transitions back to work.
Rather than drive home last night and return early this morning, my mother asked to spend the night. Among her reasons (besides being with Briana of course) is that she wanted to stay to watch the NBA finals. As the basketball game would most likely end late at night, it only made sense. For anyone curious, my mother has recently become a big sports fan. You name the sport, and she's all into it... except hockey. I don't think she's gotten around to that sport yet.
Anyway, I suck at basketball. Technically speaking, the Celtics suck at basketball. The Celtics played a decent three quarters of the game. Sure, they blew a double digit lead, but they still had the lead. They just came undone in the fourth quarter, which was quite typical of their season this year. They are definitely a frustrating team to watch, that's for sure. And now sadly, the Los Angeles Lakers are champions (again).
Needless to say, it was nice to hang out and watch the game with my mom. Granted, she doesn't really know the game that well. She knows enough to be a Boston fan: ie. the Lakers suck. Kobe sucks (and is a rapist). Gasol sucks. That other stupid European guy with the funny last name sucks.
So even though the Celtics lost, it was good to hang out with my mom. I feel I haven't done that in some time. And sure, she may drive me crazy at times... but it's only natural... she's my mom. And yes, the Lakers still suck.
Rather than drive home last night and return early this morning, my mother asked to spend the night. Among her reasons (besides being with Briana of course) is that she wanted to stay to watch the NBA finals. As the basketball game would most likely end late at night, it only made sense. For anyone curious, my mother has recently become a big sports fan. You name the sport, and she's all into it... except hockey. I don't think she's gotten around to that sport yet.
Anyway, I suck at basketball. Technically speaking, the Celtics suck at basketball. The Celtics played a decent three quarters of the game. Sure, they blew a double digit lead, but they still had the lead. They just came undone in the fourth quarter, which was quite typical of their season this year. They are definitely a frustrating team to watch, that's for sure. And now sadly, the Los Angeles Lakers are champions (again).
Needless to say, it was nice to hang out and watch the game with my mom. Granted, she doesn't really know the game that well. She knows enough to be a Boston fan: ie. the Lakers suck. Kobe sucks (and is a rapist). Gasol sucks. That other stupid European guy with the funny last name sucks.
So even though the Celtics lost, it was good to hang out with my mom. I feel I haven't done that in some time. And sure, she may drive me crazy at times... but it's only natural... she's my mom. And yes, the Lakers still suck.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
I Suck At Black Hawk Down
Last night, with little else to watch on television, I ended up watching another movie. That movie: Black Hawk Down.
Now, I suck at Black Hawk Down.
(The video below is a trailer for Black Hawk Down.)
The movie is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Mark Bowden. The story depicts the Battle of Mogadishu, which was a raid by United States in their attempt to capture two senior subordinates of the Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The raid was supposed to take only a half hour, but ends up taking over 18 hours as two Black Hawk helicopters get shot down during the raid. (And for anyone curious, yes the two senior subordinates were captured.)
As far as war movies go, it was okay. The pace was a little slow at times, which probably added to the movie being almost two and a half hours. Interestingly enough, the movie had a bunch of stars in it, from Josh Hartnett to Ewan McGregor, to Eric Bana, to even Orlando Bloom.
To think that the incidents happened is amazing. One place that I would definitely not want to be dropped off in... Somalia.
Now, I suck at Black Hawk Down.
(The video below is a trailer for Black Hawk Down.)
The movie is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Mark Bowden. The story depicts the Battle of Mogadishu, which was a raid by United States in their attempt to capture two senior subordinates of the Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The raid was supposed to take only a half hour, but ends up taking over 18 hours as two Black Hawk helicopters get shot down during the raid. (And for anyone curious, yes the two senior subordinates were captured.)
As far as war movies go, it was okay. The pace was a little slow at times, which probably added to the movie being almost two and a half hours. Interestingly enough, the movie had a bunch of stars in it, from Josh Hartnett to Ewan McGregor, to Eric Bana, to even Orlando Bloom.
To think that the incidents happened is amazing. One place that I would definitely not want to be dropped off in... Somalia.
I Suck At The House Bunny
Monday was a rather uninteresting night.
Generally, Karen and I have catch a couple of shows on Monday nights. Since the new season has ended for most shows, there are only repeats on now. So, Karen and I decided to watch another movie. That movie: The House Bunny.
Now, I suck at The House Bunny.
(The video below is a trailer for The House Bunny.)
The movie is about a Playboy Bunny (played by Anna Faris) who becomes a house mother for a sorority of misfits. The movie has all the usual tried and true ingredients: misfits becoming popular, rival sorority, romance, the Girls Next Door, etc. The movie even has an American Idol runner-up (Katharine McPhee) as one of the sorority girls. I actually thought the movie was done well and was quite entertaining... and not just for the Playboy aspect of it. (In fact, the movie makes me want to take a look at the soundtrack now.)
Generally, Karen and I have catch a couple of shows on Monday nights. Since the new season has ended for most shows, there are only repeats on now. So, Karen and I decided to watch another movie. That movie: The House Bunny.
Now, I suck at The House Bunny.
(The video below is a trailer for The House Bunny.)
The movie is about a Playboy Bunny (played by Anna Faris) who becomes a house mother for a sorority of misfits. The movie has all the usual tried and true ingredients: misfits becoming popular, rival sorority, romance, the Girls Next Door, etc. The movie even has an American Idol runner-up (Katharine McPhee) as one of the sorority girls. I actually thought the movie was done well and was quite entertaining... and not just for the Playboy aspect of it. (In fact, the movie makes me want to take a look at the soundtrack now.)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
I Suck At The Great Chow
Sunday was the continuation of in-law weekend. Many of Karen's relatives came up from the south for this weekend. After all, there was a 50th wedding anniversary celebration on Saturday. Needless to say, Sunday was the climatic finale. That finale entailed a memorial mass followed by dining at the Great Chow located in Quincy. Unfortunately, I suck at the Great Chow.
Every year since Karen's grandfather passed away, Karen's family has scheduled a memorial mass. The mass was generally held near the time of his passing, which consequently resulted in the scheduling of the memorial mass on Super Bowl Sunday. This year, however, the family decided to switch things up. They decided to have the memorial mass to coincide with another relative's recent passing.
It has been about ten years since Karen's grandfather passed away. With the concept of life being so finite, there is sometimes the notion that one must leave a legacy. In other words, one wants to leave his or her mark in the world to make a difference in the lives that follow. With the way Karen's family habitually attends the memorial mass for the past decade, I would say that Karen's grandfather definitely left his mark.
When I pass (hopefully in the distant future), I can only hope that I too will be remembered with such love. Heck, I would want all my adult grand children to cry like babies in the kitchen of my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) house. Just kidding.
Regardless, the memorial mass for Karen's grandfather was okay. Truth be told, I was actually more concerned about our baby daughter (Briana) uncontrollably crying during the mass. I didn't want to be THAT parent. For anyone curious, Briana was very good. She did not make a peep during the entire mass.
As far as masses go, I remember why it is that I dislike religion so much... because it's the opinion of whoever is on the altar. Personally, I thought the priest's homily was terrible. (It's all about presentation after all.) The gist of his speech was that people can not have love without forgiveness. And naturally that we need to spread forgiveness and consequently love. Sure, I get what he was trying to say in his attempt to spread the word of God. I just disagree with his original claim that there cannot be love without forgiveness. The way I see it, there is no causal relationship between the two concepts of forgiveness and love. You can have love without forgiveness.
Anyway, following the mass everyone gathered for Chinese food at the Great Chow. Now Karen's family is known for its "rigamaroles" and the Great Chow was no exception. Karen's mother had organized the excursion to the Great Chow as a way for the family to hang out after the mass. I have not been to the Great Chow is quite some time. Apparently the restaurant has expanded whereby they now have a large dining area on one side of the restaurant.
Needless to say, 30+ white people with one token Asian guy in a Chinese restaurant... never a good sign. It took forever to order anything because my mother-in-law did not know what to order for all the tables. (I have noticed a common theme in this family... good intentions... bad execution.) Luckily, Karen took charge of the situation and made a list of items to order. I actually felt pretty proud of myself for having Karen order a Chinese dish that the general white populace would not have normally eaten... not that it looks bad or anything... just that they would probably never have known to order it in the first place. And they ended up enjoy the dish. (The dish was wok tossed chow foon... which is just a noodle dish.) Leave it to the token Asian guy... in a Chinese restaurant.
The food was actually pretty good at the Great Chow. I enjoyed it. Of course, it may also have been the fact that I was hungry by the time we got around to ordering food because it took so long. Nevertheless, it was a good time.
Following the meal, Karen and I (and Briana) headed home where we ended up watching a movie. That movie: Julie & Julia.
(The video below is a trailer for Julie & Julia.)
The movie is based on the lives of Julia Child and Julie Powell, a writer who decides to cook 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook within a year. Originally I had planned to watch the movie with my BFF (Kerry), who was quite interested in seeing the movie. Unfortunately, I was running out of space on the DVR and most likely I would not be seeing Kerry for some time. (Heck, we still have a season of Veronica Mars to get through.) And so the movie had to be watched and deleted.
All in all, the movie was entertaining. It was definitely a good way to unwind after a long weekend.
Every year since Karen's grandfather passed away, Karen's family has scheduled a memorial mass. The mass was generally held near the time of his passing, which consequently resulted in the scheduling of the memorial mass on Super Bowl Sunday. This year, however, the family decided to switch things up. They decided to have the memorial mass to coincide with another relative's recent passing.
It has been about ten years since Karen's grandfather passed away. With the concept of life being so finite, there is sometimes the notion that one must leave a legacy. In other words, one wants to leave his or her mark in the world to make a difference in the lives that follow. With the way Karen's family habitually attends the memorial mass for the past decade, I would say that Karen's grandfather definitely left his mark.
When I pass (hopefully in the distant future), I can only hope that I too will be remembered with such love. Heck, I would want all my adult grand children to cry like babies in the kitchen of my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) house. Just kidding.
Regardless, the memorial mass for Karen's grandfather was okay. Truth be told, I was actually more concerned about our baby daughter (Briana) uncontrollably crying during the mass. I didn't want to be THAT parent. For anyone curious, Briana was very good. She did not make a peep during the entire mass.
As far as masses go, I remember why it is that I dislike religion so much... because it's the opinion of whoever is on the altar. Personally, I thought the priest's homily was terrible. (It's all about presentation after all.) The gist of his speech was that people can not have love without forgiveness. And naturally that we need to spread forgiveness and consequently love. Sure, I get what he was trying to say in his attempt to spread the word of God. I just disagree with his original claim that there cannot be love without forgiveness. The way I see it, there is no causal relationship between the two concepts of forgiveness and love. You can have love without forgiveness.
Anyway, following the mass everyone gathered for Chinese food at the Great Chow. Now Karen's family is known for its "rigamaroles" and the Great Chow was no exception. Karen's mother had organized the excursion to the Great Chow as a way for the family to hang out after the mass. I have not been to the Great Chow is quite some time. Apparently the restaurant has expanded whereby they now have a large dining area on one side of the restaurant.
Needless to say, 30+ white people with one token Asian guy in a Chinese restaurant... never a good sign. It took forever to order anything because my mother-in-law did not know what to order for all the tables. (I have noticed a common theme in this family... good intentions... bad execution.) Luckily, Karen took charge of the situation and made a list of items to order. I actually felt pretty proud of myself for having Karen order a Chinese dish that the general white populace would not have normally eaten... not that it looks bad or anything... just that they would probably never have known to order it in the first place. And they ended up enjoy the dish. (The dish was wok tossed chow foon... which is just a noodle dish.) Leave it to the token Asian guy... in a Chinese restaurant.
The food was actually pretty good at the Great Chow. I enjoyed it. Of course, it may also have been the fact that I was hungry by the time we got around to ordering food because it took so long. Nevertheless, it was a good time.
Following the meal, Karen and I (and Briana) headed home where we ended up watching a movie. That movie: Julie & Julia.
(The video below is a trailer for Julie & Julia.)
The movie is based on the lives of Julia Child and Julie Powell, a writer who decides to cook 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook within a year. Originally I had planned to watch the movie with my BFF (Kerry), who was quite interested in seeing the movie. Unfortunately, I was running out of space on the DVR and most likely I would not be seeing Kerry for some time. (Heck, we still have a season of Veronica Mars to get through.) And so the movie had to be watched and deleted.
All in all, the movie was entertaining. It was definitely a good way to unwind after a long weekend.
Monday, June 14, 2010
I Suck At Wedding Anniversary Celebrations
Saturday kicked off the in-law weekend. In addition to the in-laws, Saturday also happened to be the Gay Pride parade and Quincy's Flag Day parade. Given the three choices: in-laws, the gay pride parade, or Quincy's flag day parade, I would say that the gay pride parade seemed the most exciting. And really, what is not exciting about shirtless ripped men parading around in stiletto heels and lesbians on their custom motorcycles? Unfortunately, that event was not on the scheduled agenda for the day.
Instead, the day began with a wedding anniversary. Too bad I suck at wedding anniversary celebrations. Karen's cousin (also named Karen) organized a surprise wedding anniversary party for her parents. To clarify, the party was not for my Karen's parents, but Karen's cousin's parents... which are actually Karen's great aunt and uncle (Frieda and Charlie). Frieda and Charlie have been married for an extraordinary length of time: 50 years. As far as older couples go, they are one of those cute older couples that you couldn't be more happier for. I can only hope that I can reach the 50 year milestone with Karen.
Needless to say, Karen's cousin Karen did an amazing job. Frieda and Charlie were absolutely stunned and surprised by the party. For anyone curious, the party was held at the Neighborhood Club in Quincy. Relatives from all over came up for the wedding anniversary. Truth be told, it was a great party. Of course, the numerous whiskey sours may have also helped numbed the pain. Just kidding.
Following the party, Karen and I picked up our baby daughter (Briana) from my mother for the after party. And by "after party", I mean the gathering at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine). With her cousin (SJ) from Georgia and her other cousin (Billy) from Iowa up for the anniversary celebration, Janine wanted to have them over to hang out and catch up on things. Plus, apparently the cousins wanted to meet our Karen and my latest addition to the family: Briana. So Janine had a bunch of people back at her house. In addition to Karen, Brian, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) and I, those people included her Lowell cousin (Karlene), Karlene's husband (Tommy), SJ, Billy, Billy's new fiancee (Kathy), the youngest cousin from Quincy (Laura), Laura's significant other (Derek), and Janine's BFF (Gretchen).
It was definitely an interesting time at Janine's. I don't know which is more comical: the fact that everyone (except for me of course because I'm heartless and cruel) was practically in tears at one point, or the fact that Janine was on a 10 second delay or something. Laura had started reminiscing about her grandfather and Nana's house and just started tearing. Naturally, since my in-laws cry at the drop of a pin... that led to everyone else crying. Moments later when someone brought up the fact that they were all crying, Janine was surprised because she had no idea.
The incident almost reminded me of my friend (Kelley), who likewise has been known to have moments of "Wouldn't it be cool if... Oh my god!" Basically, the moment refers to having prior knowledge of something... only to be surprised to learn about that something (even though there was prior knowledge of it). It's almost like having short term memory.
Needless to say, I got a chuckle when Janine was surprised because I could have sworn she was sitting right smack dab in the same room where all the crying was taking place... albeit she may have been holding Briana.
Anyway, it was a fun time at Janine's. For Kathy, it was her first time meeting all of us, so it was a quick glance into what her future relatives will be like. She must be thrilled.
Instead, the day began with a wedding anniversary. Too bad I suck at wedding anniversary celebrations. Karen's cousin (also named Karen) organized a surprise wedding anniversary party for her parents. To clarify, the party was not for my Karen's parents, but Karen's cousin's parents... which are actually Karen's great aunt and uncle (Frieda and Charlie). Frieda and Charlie have been married for an extraordinary length of time: 50 years. As far as older couples go, they are one of those cute older couples that you couldn't be more happier for. I can only hope that I can reach the 50 year milestone with Karen.
Needless to say, Karen's cousin Karen did an amazing job. Frieda and Charlie were absolutely stunned and surprised by the party. For anyone curious, the party was held at the Neighborhood Club in Quincy. Relatives from all over came up for the wedding anniversary. Truth be told, it was a great party. Of course, the numerous whiskey sours may have also helped numbed the pain. Just kidding.
Following the party, Karen and I picked up our baby daughter (Briana) from my mother for the after party. And by "after party", I mean the gathering at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine). With her cousin (SJ) from Georgia and her other cousin (Billy) from Iowa up for the anniversary celebration, Janine wanted to have them over to hang out and catch up on things. Plus, apparently the cousins wanted to meet our Karen and my latest addition to the family: Briana. So Janine had a bunch of people back at her house. In addition to Karen, Brian, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) and I, those people included her Lowell cousin (Karlene), Karlene's husband (Tommy), SJ, Billy, Billy's new fiancee (Kathy), the youngest cousin from Quincy (Laura), Laura's significant other (Derek), and Janine's BFF (Gretchen).
It was definitely an interesting time at Janine's. I don't know which is more comical: the fact that everyone (except for me of course because I'm heartless and cruel) was practically in tears at one point, or the fact that Janine was on a 10 second delay or something. Laura had started reminiscing about her grandfather and Nana's house and just started tearing. Naturally, since my in-laws cry at the drop of a pin... that led to everyone else crying. Moments later when someone brought up the fact that they were all crying, Janine was surprised because she had no idea.
The incident almost reminded me of my friend (Kelley), who likewise has been known to have moments of "Wouldn't it be cool if... Oh my god!" Basically, the moment refers to having prior knowledge of something... only to be surprised to learn about that something (even though there was prior knowledge of it). It's almost like having short term memory.
Needless to say, I got a chuckle when Janine was surprised because I could have sworn she was sitting right smack dab in the same room where all the crying was taking place... albeit she may have been holding Briana.
Anyway, it was a fun time at Janine's. For Kathy, it was her first time meeting all of us, so it was a quick glance into what her future relatives will be like. She must be thrilled.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
I Suck At Lakeview Terrace
In our household, Friday nights are family fun nights... except that our family, which consists of Me, Karen and our baby daughter (Briana), have not done anything as a family (outside of giving Briana a bath) for quite a while on Friday nights. And seeing as how Briana is a little over two months old, the short-lived moniker of "family fun nights" may be just that... short-lived.
This past Friday, Karen and I (and Briana) hung out with my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family after ordering takeout from Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell. (Yes, we do seem to eat there quite a lot.) As a side note, thank you again to my friends (Marc and Kelley) who gave us a coupon to Not Your Average Joe's. The coupon came in very handy and most likely we will make use of the other remaining two coupons.
Anyway, we had stopped over Janine's which was nice because we have not done that in some time. Janine's BFF (Gretchen) was also there for the festivities because it turns out that Gretchen and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) had just gotten inked. Naturally curious, we wanted to see the new tattoos. The tattoos were nice looking. I could never get a tattoo. My body is a temple. Just kidding. (That statement is even funnier if you could actually see how out of shape I am.)
Needless to say, it was a good time hanging out with Janine, PJ and Gretchen. Following Janine and PJ's, we headed home whereby I ended up watching another movie. That movie: Lakeview Terrace.
(The video below is a preview for Lakeview Terrace.)
Now, I suck at Lakeview Terrace. But since I was not exactly tired, I figured I'd just watch the movie. Needless to say, I found the movie rather blah. It was not terrible... and it was not great either.
For anyone curious, the movie is about an interracial couple that moves into the neighborhood, only to have a issues with their neighbor (Samuel L. Jackson) who happens to be an LAPD officer. Apparently, the stress from the job, along with losing a wife and having to raise two kids alone, turns the neighbor a little crazy.
Like I said, the movie was blah, but it helped put me to sleep at the end of the night.
This past Friday, Karen and I (and Briana) hung out with my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family after ordering takeout from Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell. (Yes, we do seem to eat there quite a lot.) As a side note, thank you again to my friends (Marc and Kelley) who gave us a coupon to Not Your Average Joe's. The coupon came in very handy and most likely we will make use of the other remaining two coupons.
Anyway, we had stopped over Janine's which was nice because we have not done that in some time. Janine's BFF (Gretchen) was also there for the festivities because it turns out that Gretchen and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) had just gotten inked. Naturally curious, we wanted to see the new tattoos. The tattoos were nice looking. I could never get a tattoo. My body is a temple. Just kidding. (That statement is even funnier if you could actually see how out of shape I am.)
Needless to say, it was a good time hanging out with Janine, PJ and Gretchen. Following Janine and PJ's, we headed home whereby I ended up watching another movie. That movie: Lakeview Terrace.
(The video below is a preview for Lakeview Terrace.)
Now, I suck at Lakeview Terrace. But since I was not exactly tired, I figured I'd just watch the movie. Needless to say, I found the movie rather blah. It was not terrible... and it was not great either.
For anyone curious, the movie is about an interracial couple that moves into the neighborhood, only to have a issues with their neighbor (Samuel L. Jackson) who happens to be an LAPD officer. Apparently, the stress from the job, along with losing a wife and having to raise two kids alone, turns the neighbor a little crazy.
Like I said, the movie was blah, but it helped put me to sleep at the end of the night.
Friday, June 11, 2010
I Suck At Wakes
On Thursday, I experienced my first church-held wake. Yes, I suck at wakes. I've been to several wakes held at funeral homes, but never one held within a church... until now. So as weird as this sounds, I was actually a little intrigued about what the differences were between the two services.
Now, it would probably be remiss of me to not pay my proper respects to the individual who passed away. After all, were it not for her, I would not even have the opportunity to experience the church-held wake. So to my friend's (Cass) grandmother, may you embark on your new journey with happiness... and thank you.
Interestingly enough, I did not know Cass's grandmother all that well. She lived a long life... till the age of 101. As it turns out, there was something that she indirectly taught me that I will probably remember for a while... and that is tai chi. Okay, sure she did not really teach me the Chinese martial art. It was more of what Cass told me that his grandmother taught him about tai chi. Without having a visual makes the description difficult. But in essence, Cass told me that the martial art involved a watermelon, cutting it in half, giving one piece to someone, and taking the other piece. (There are motions that go with the description.) Needless to say, I'll always remember the watermelons because it was a funny analogy.
Anyway, the wake was held in a church (St. James) in Chinatown. Karen and I actually lucked out in terms of finding parking. After all, parking is very scarce in Chinatown... stereotypes aside in terms of Asian drivers. After having dinner with my in-laws, and leaving our baby daughter (Briana) with them, Karen and I headed into town. It just so happened that a car in front of the church was pulling out when we were arriving. It was great timing for sure.
The church service wake was nice. Cass, displaying his great microphone skills that will someday be handy when he runs for Mayor of Quincy (if I can ever convince him), presented a nice reflection on his grandmother. In fact, that was pretty much the way the wake went... speaker after speaker recounted stories about Cass's grandmother. And at the end, there was the final viewing and the whole shaking hands with the relatives of the deceased... also known as the part that not a lot of people like because they always feel awkward and uncomfortable thinking of things to say.
All in all, there are pros and cons of having a wake in a church. I did think that the recounting of stories definitely provided a nice personal touch to the wake that you would not normally get at a funeral home. You can feel more connected with the family by listening to the stories. The church-held wake, however, was very linear. Like a mass, there were a progression of things like the rosary and the speeches before the viewing of the body. If someone was looking to make a quick pit stop to offer condolences or whatnot to the family, a church-held wake was probably not the way to go.
Considering the circumstances, it was an interesting night. After picking up Briana, Karen left so that my friend (Marc) and I could hang out with Cass after the wake. It was definitely fun to hang out with the two of them. Unfortunately, we ended up at my friend's (Garv) restaurant, Blue-22 located in Quincy.
You would think that being friends with the restaurant owner would be beneficial. Sadly, I think we know the wrong person when it comes to Blue-22. I hate to say it, but the service is just terrible at Blue-22. That seems to be a common complaint (not just by me, but other people I know) about the place: the service. It's like the waitstaff is trained to come and take your initial order... and never return. And when they do return, they forget to bring something that you ordered... like my second Guinness.
I find it painful to go to Blue-22 at times. The sad thing is, the terrible service can be easily remedied. Oh well. Nevertheless, despite Blue-22, it was a nice night to hang out with Cass and Marc.
Now, it would probably be remiss of me to not pay my proper respects to the individual who passed away. After all, were it not for her, I would not even have the opportunity to experience the church-held wake. So to my friend's (Cass) grandmother, may you embark on your new journey with happiness... and thank you.
Interestingly enough, I did not know Cass's grandmother all that well. She lived a long life... till the age of 101. As it turns out, there was something that she indirectly taught me that I will probably remember for a while... and that is tai chi. Okay, sure she did not really teach me the Chinese martial art. It was more of what Cass told me that his grandmother taught him about tai chi. Without having a visual makes the description difficult. But in essence, Cass told me that the martial art involved a watermelon, cutting it in half, giving one piece to someone, and taking the other piece. (There are motions that go with the description.) Needless to say, I'll always remember the watermelons because it was a funny analogy.
Anyway, the wake was held in a church (St. James) in Chinatown. Karen and I actually lucked out in terms of finding parking. After all, parking is very scarce in Chinatown... stereotypes aside in terms of Asian drivers. After having dinner with my in-laws, and leaving our baby daughter (Briana) with them, Karen and I headed into town. It just so happened that a car in front of the church was pulling out when we were arriving. It was great timing for sure.
The church service wake was nice. Cass, displaying his great microphone skills that will someday be handy when he runs for Mayor of Quincy (if I can ever convince him), presented a nice reflection on his grandmother. In fact, that was pretty much the way the wake went... speaker after speaker recounted stories about Cass's grandmother. And at the end, there was the final viewing and the whole shaking hands with the relatives of the deceased... also known as the part that not a lot of people like because they always feel awkward and uncomfortable thinking of things to say.
All in all, there are pros and cons of having a wake in a church. I did think that the recounting of stories definitely provided a nice personal touch to the wake that you would not normally get at a funeral home. You can feel more connected with the family by listening to the stories. The church-held wake, however, was very linear. Like a mass, there were a progression of things like the rosary and the speeches before the viewing of the body. If someone was looking to make a quick pit stop to offer condolences or whatnot to the family, a church-held wake was probably not the way to go.
Considering the circumstances, it was an interesting night. After picking up Briana, Karen left so that my friend (Marc) and I could hang out with Cass after the wake. It was definitely fun to hang out with the two of them. Unfortunately, we ended up at my friend's (Garv) restaurant, Blue-22 located in Quincy.
You would think that being friends with the restaurant owner would be beneficial. Sadly, I think we know the wrong person when it comes to Blue-22. I hate to say it, but the service is just terrible at Blue-22. That seems to be a common complaint (not just by me, but other people I know) about the place: the service. It's like the waitstaff is trained to come and take your initial order... and never return. And when they do return, they forget to bring something that you ordered... like my second Guinness.
I find it painful to go to Blue-22 at times. The sad thing is, the terrible service can be easily remedied. Oh well. Nevertheless, despite Blue-22, it was a nice night to hang out with Cass and Marc.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
I Suck At Wipeout
On Tuesday, Karen and I... and our baby daughter (Briana)... hung out with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). As always, it was a great night. And what is not to like when the night is filled with friends and watching people compete on a silly game show. That game show: Wipeout.
Now, I suck at Wipeout. Tuesday was the special blind date episode whereby two contestants are set up on a "blind date" and compete together throughout the Wipeout course. Needless to say, the episode was comical... if not for the wipeouts, then for the bizarre people on the show. (And might I add, I am guessing some of the contestants are single for a reason.)
All in all, it was a great night. From a purely devouring point of view, I was like... in heaven... with all the food: peach rings, starburst fruit chews, chocolate covered pretzels. I must have eaten... everything. I snacked on so much candy. Marc and Kelley even served ice cream. Yum! I had Ben and Jerry's Whirled Peace... so good.
Anyway, it was definitely a fun night of laughs.
Now, I suck at Wipeout. Tuesday was the special blind date episode whereby two contestants are set up on a "blind date" and compete together throughout the Wipeout course. Needless to say, the episode was comical... if not for the wipeouts, then for the bizarre people on the show. (And might I add, I am guessing some of the contestants are single for a reason.)
All in all, it was a great night. From a purely devouring point of view, I was like... in heaven... with all the food: peach rings, starburst fruit chews, chocolate covered pretzels. I must have eaten... everything. I snacked on so much candy. Marc and Kelley even served ice cream. Yum! I had Ben and Jerry's Whirled Peace... so good.
Anyway, it was definitely a fun night of laughs.
Monday, June 7, 2010
I Still Suck At Home Improvement
Yesterday, I found myself with some extra time. Karen had taken our baby daughter (Briana) out for the day. The parochial school (Saint Ann) that Karen attended while growing up in Quincy was closing. As a means of saying goodbye, Saint Ann's offered a day for farewells involving staff. And so Karen attended the farewell celebration of her school with Briana... and my in-laws. (I hear my mother-in-law was quite excited to show Briana off to everyone.)
So while Karen was out again, I figured I would be somewhat productive and work on our never ending home improvement project: the renovation of the first floor bathroom. Now, I still suck at home improvement. A couple of days ago, I miscalculated the number of screws needed to attach the substrate (cement board) to the floor. Consequently, I had to inefficiently stop working on the project until I got more screws.
Yesterday, of course, was no different... only this time I simply forgot about a piece of hardware that I needed altogether. Awhile ago, I had purchased a couple of flanges for the copper pipes. These flanges are used to surround the copper pipes where they enter the wall. As there were different types of flanges, I wanted to run them by Karen first before installing them. Nothing is worse than installing something only to find out that she doesn't like it.
Needless to say, she was okay with the flanges. That was a while ago. Unfortunately, I never went back to get an additional flange... even though I was at Lowe's just the other day. (This happens to me a lot. Curse my bad memory!) I needed the additional flange as there are separate pipes for hot and cold water. Consequently, I had to delay my home improvement project until I picked up the additional flange. So I had to take another trip to Lowe's.
Eventually, I began working on the bathroom renovation. Having installed the cement board on Friday, I figured that I would finish off the supply pipes leading into the bathroom. There currently are shutoff valves for the bathroom water pipes in our basement. Unfortunately, there are not any shut off valves within the bathroom itself. Thus, after slipping the flange over the copper pipes, I began to solder the shut off valve for both the hot and cold water for the sink, and the cold water for the toilet. I then tested each of the supply lines by opening the shut off valves in the basement to make sure there were no leaks. As of right now... still no leaks. That's a good sign!
Anyway, having finished the shut off valves, the first floor bathroom renovation project is one step closer to being completed. Conceivably, it's quite possible to begin tiling the floor soon. Granted, the bathroom still needs to drain somewhere as well. That part of the project has yet to be completed, in part because I dislike going into our crawlspace basement. But all in all, it's coming along.
By the time I finished with the soldering, Karen and Briana had already came home. Eventually, Karen and I ended up watching another movie: Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
(The following video is a trailer for Paul Blart: Mall Cop.)
I know what you must be thinking... did we really watch Paul Blart? Truth be told, the movie was not all that bad. Of course, I had very low expectations for the film. The commercials did not make the movie look entertaining at all. But in its defense, the movie was okay. I have seen worse.
Of course, the plot was silly and predictable. And, the movie starred Jayma Mays of Glee fame. (For anyone curious, Jayma Mays is also slated to be in the new Smurfs movie.) Anyway, the movie was a nice way to end the day.
So while Karen was out again, I figured I would be somewhat productive and work on our never ending home improvement project: the renovation of the first floor bathroom. Now, I still suck at home improvement. A couple of days ago, I miscalculated the number of screws needed to attach the substrate (cement board) to the floor. Consequently, I had to inefficiently stop working on the project until I got more screws.
Yesterday, of course, was no different... only this time I simply forgot about a piece of hardware that I needed altogether. Awhile ago, I had purchased a couple of flanges for the copper pipes. These flanges are used to surround the copper pipes where they enter the wall. As there were different types of flanges, I wanted to run them by Karen first before installing them. Nothing is worse than installing something only to find out that she doesn't like it.
Needless to say, she was okay with the flanges. That was a while ago. Unfortunately, I never went back to get an additional flange... even though I was at Lowe's just the other day. (This happens to me a lot. Curse my bad memory!) I needed the additional flange as there are separate pipes for hot and cold water. Consequently, I had to delay my home improvement project until I picked up the additional flange. So I had to take another trip to Lowe's.
Eventually, I began working on the bathroom renovation. Having installed the cement board on Friday, I figured that I would finish off the supply pipes leading into the bathroom. There currently are shutoff valves for the bathroom water pipes in our basement. Unfortunately, there are not any shut off valves within the bathroom itself. Thus, after slipping the flange over the copper pipes, I began to solder the shut off valve for both the hot and cold water for the sink, and the cold water for the toilet. I then tested each of the supply lines by opening the shut off valves in the basement to make sure there were no leaks. As of right now... still no leaks. That's a good sign!
Anyway, having finished the shut off valves, the first floor bathroom renovation project is one step closer to being completed. Conceivably, it's quite possible to begin tiling the floor soon. Granted, the bathroom still needs to drain somewhere as well. That part of the project has yet to be completed, in part because I dislike going into our crawlspace basement. But all in all, it's coming along.
By the time I finished with the soldering, Karen and Briana had already came home. Eventually, Karen and I ended up watching another movie: Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
(The following video is a trailer for Paul Blart: Mall Cop.)
I know what you must be thinking... did we really watch Paul Blart? Truth be told, the movie was not all that bad. Of course, I had very low expectations for the film. The commercials did not make the movie look entertaining at all. But in its defense, the movie was okay. I have seen worse.
Of course, the plot was silly and predictable. And, the movie starred Jayma Mays of Glee fame. (For anyone curious, Jayma Mays is also slated to be in the new Smurfs movie.) Anyway, the movie was a nice way to end the day.
I Suck At Friendly's
On Saturday, Friendly's was having its annual free ice cream day. (For anyone curious, Friendly's offered customers a free scoop of ice cream between the hours of noon to 5 pm.) This day has been marked on Karen's calendar for awhile. After all, Karen and I do thoroughly enjoy the taste of ice cream. Hopefully, our baby daughter (Briana) will also appreciate the wholesome yumminess known as ice cream some day.
Anyway because I suck at Friendly's, we had planned according for this day. And by "planned accordingly", I mean we purposely set out to hit the local Friendly's around noon time. It just so happens that we hit two local Friendly's for ice cream.
During the late morning, Karen and I (and Briana) ran a couple of errands. We eventually ended up at the Hanover Mall, where there just happens to be... a Friendly's. So after grabbing a bite to eat for lunch (at Subway... to which we have really gotten a lot of mileage out of the Subway gift card that was given to us), we headed on down to Friendly's. Needless to say, the free scoop of ice cream was delicious. I had the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on a cone. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.)
The ice cream was great. In fact, it was so good that on our way home from the Hanover Mall, we went to the other Friendly's located on route 53 just up the street. There too, I had another scoop of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on a cone. It was like heaven... so much ice cream... so little time. I would probably have hit all the Friendly's in the area if I could.
Needless to say, it was a good day. Of course, my stomach was making so many noises afterwards. It was a little comical to hear the constant gurgling of my tummy while holding Briana. I'm not sure Briana knew what to make of those sounds.
Anyway, from there the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Karen and I decided to watch Igor.
(The following is a trailer for Igor.)
As far as animated movies go, the movie was okay. It was the predictable run-of-the-mill kid movie. For anyone curious, the plot is about a hunchbacked assistant (Igor) who aspires to become an evil mad scientist (in a world of mad scientists and evil inventions). An opportunity arises and he creates a monster known as Eva (a mispronunciation of "evil"). Of course, Eva is far from evil... and... well... you know... predictable run-of-the-mill stuff. But the movie was entertaining... and how could it not be... Igor was voiced by John Cusack.
Anyway because I suck at Friendly's, we had planned according for this day. And by "planned accordingly", I mean we purposely set out to hit the local Friendly's around noon time. It just so happens that we hit two local Friendly's for ice cream.
During the late morning, Karen and I (and Briana) ran a couple of errands. We eventually ended up at the Hanover Mall, where there just happens to be... a Friendly's. So after grabbing a bite to eat for lunch (at Subway... to which we have really gotten a lot of mileage out of the Subway gift card that was given to us), we headed on down to Friendly's. Needless to say, the free scoop of ice cream was delicious. I had the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on a cone. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.)
The ice cream was great. In fact, it was so good that on our way home from the Hanover Mall, we went to the other Friendly's located on route 53 just up the street. There too, I had another scoop of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on a cone. It was like heaven... so much ice cream... so little time. I would probably have hit all the Friendly's in the area if I could.
Needless to say, it was a good day. Of course, my stomach was making so many noises afterwards. It was a little comical to hear the constant gurgling of my tummy while holding Briana. I'm not sure Briana knew what to make of those sounds.
Anyway, from there the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Karen and I decided to watch Igor.
(The following is a trailer for Igor.)
As far as animated movies go, the movie was okay. It was the predictable run-of-the-mill kid movie. For anyone curious, the plot is about a hunchbacked assistant (Igor) who aspires to become an evil mad scientist (in a world of mad scientists and evil inventions). An opportunity arises and he creates a monster known as Eva (a mispronunciation of "evil"). Of course, Eva is far from evil... and... well... you know... predictable run-of-the-mill stuff. But the movie was entertaining... and how could it not be... Igor was voiced by John Cusack.
I Suck At Home Improvement
This past Friday, Karen and I had to forgo our usual Family Fun night for the second week in a row. Sure, we still gave our baby daughter (Briana) a bath on Friday. We, however, just did not do any family-related activities after the bath. Or more specifically, I did not do any family-related activities.
After Briana's bath, Karen was invited to my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine)... by her parents. It turns out that on Friday, Karen's parents were watching our niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ) while Janine, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) and Janine's BFF (Gretchen) went out for dinner.
And truth be told, I am guessing that it was not Karen who was actually requested to appear by my in-laws. If I had to put a wager on it, I would say that it was more the fact that my mother-in-law wanted to see Briana. Karen was just a means of transportation. Currently, my mother-in-law absolutely adores Briana. If she could, she probably would see Briana and hold her every waking moment... that is until her arm got too tired (because Briana has gotten heavy of late).
Always the good daughter, Karen decided to bring Briana over to my in-laws leaving me by my lonesome. So what does one do with ample free time? Well, in my case, I did some home improvement. Too bad I suck at home improvement.
Interestingly enough, this was the second Friday in a row where I worked on some home improvement project of some sort. The week before, I worked on fixing our toilet in our master bathroom. And to keep the whole plumbing theme going, I worked on the bathroom renovation of our first floor this past Friday.
A bunch of my friends were gracious enough to help out during the bathroom renovation on the first floor. They helped insulate, install drywall, and paint the entire room. Really, what is left is plumbing, installing the substrate for the tiles, tiling the floor, installing all the fixtures, and then eventually adding trim work. Thank you again to all of my friends who helped.
Anyway, with a couple of hours on Friday, I decided to install the substrate. I had purchased the cement board for the tiles a while ago. I had even gone so far as to cut the cement board to fit the actual room. So all that was left to do in terms of the substrate was to screw the boards to the floor. You think that would be an easy project on a Friday night.
Sadly, I was not kidding when I said I suck at home improvement. When I had measured and cut the cement board to fit the bathroom, I had also calculated the number of screws I would need to attach the boards to the floor. For anyone curious, I had a bunch of cement board screws from a project before. Based on my calculation at the time, I had plenty of screws for Friday. In fact, I was so sure of my calculations at the time that I even returned an unopened box of cement board screws that I had purchased as a precaution.
Looking back, I probably should have waited until the project was done before returning the screws because... well... I ran out of screws on Friday. It turns out, I may have deviated from my original calculation when spacing out the screws. (In other words, I may have spaced the screws closer together than I my original calculation, which meant that I would require more screws now.) Too bad I forgot to take note of my original calculation.
Needless to say, I installed what I could for the substrate (the cement board) with the limited number of screws that I had. And as much as it annoyed me to know that I should have just kept the unopened box of screws, I asked Karen to pick up a box of cement board screws on her way home. So when she did return home, I did eventually complete the installation of the cement board to the floor.
After Briana's bath, Karen was invited to my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine)... by her parents. It turns out that on Friday, Karen's parents were watching our niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ) while Janine, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) and Janine's BFF (Gretchen) went out for dinner.
And truth be told, I am guessing that it was not Karen who was actually requested to appear by my in-laws. If I had to put a wager on it, I would say that it was more the fact that my mother-in-law wanted to see Briana. Karen was just a means of transportation. Currently, my mother-in-law absolutely adores Briana. If she could, she probably would see Briana and hold her every waking moment... that is until her arm got too tired (because Briana has gotten heavy of late).
Always the good daughter, Karen decided to bring Briana over to my in-laws leaving me by my lonesome. So what does one do with ample free time? Well, in my case, I did some home improvement. Too bad I suck at home improvement.
Interestingly enough, this was the second Friday in a row where I worked on some home improvement project of some sort. The week before, I worked on fixing our toilet in our master bathroom. And to keep the whole plumbing theme going, I worked on the bathroom renovation of our first floor this past Friday.
A bunch of my friends were gracious enough to help out during the bathroom renovation on the first floor. They helped insulate, install drywall, and paint the entire room. Really, what is left is plumbing, installing the substrate for the tiles, tiling the floor, installing all the fixtures, and then eventually adding trim work. Thank you again to all of my friends who helped.
Anyway, with a couple of hours on Friday, I decided to install the substrate. I had purchased the cement board for the tiles a while ago. I had even gone so far as to cut the cement board to fit the actual room. So all that was left to do in terms of the substrate was to screw the boards to the floor. You think that would be an easy project on a Friday night.
Sadly, I was not kidding when I said I suck at home improvement. When I had measured and cut the cement board to fit the bathroom, I had also calculated the number of screws I would need to attach the boards to the floor. For anyone curious, I had a bunch of cement board screws from a project before. Based on my calculation at the time, I had plenty of screws for Friday. In fact, I was so sure of my calculations at the time that I even returned an unopened box of cement board screws that I had purchased as a precaution.
Looking back, I probably should have waited until the project was done before returning the screws because... well... I ran out of screws on Friday. It turns out, I may have deviated from my original calculation when spacing out the screws. (In other words, I may have spaced the screws closer together than I my original calculation, which meant that I would require more screws now.) Too bad I forgot to take note of my original calculation.
Needless to say, I installed what I could for the substrate (the cement board) with the limited number of screws that I had. And as much as it annoyed me to know that I should have just kept the unopened box of screws, I asked Karen to pick up a box of cement board screws on her way home. So when she did return home, I did eventually complete the installation of the cement board to the floor.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
I Suck At Recycling Computers
I woke up with my grumpy pants today. The main cause for the grumpiness: the humidity. I absolutely do not function well with the humidity, in part because I radiate so much heat. The combination of my heat and the outside humidity feels awful. (I remember my trip to Hong Kong during the summer after sixth grade... and feeling that sense of... stickiness on my skin. Truly awful.) And as luck would have it, the weather here has been very humid of late. Hence, the grumpiness today.
Now naturally one might ask as to why I did not put on the air conditioning. After all, Karen and I do have central air. Apparently, it was supposed to rain today. We had figured that the rain would cool things down, which in turn would mean that we did not need the air conditioning. We were completely wrong. We waited... and waited... and waited for the rain. Well, the rain never came (at least not when we had expected it to come). So for hours upon hours, I remained cooped up in the house with the humid weather (as our windows were open).
So needless to say, I was not a happy camper. I felt lethargic, sticky, hot, thirsty... complete and absolute grumpiness. If my friend (Hot Amy) were to ever challenge me in a competition again, her best chance of winning would be during a humid day because I really cannot function in humid weather. I guess you could say it's my kryptonite.
Amid the humidity, the major highlight for today was that I was able to recycle some computers. Now, I suck at recycling computers. I have a crazy tendency to be a hoarder/tinkerer when it comes to computers. Karen makes fun of me for having so many computers in the house. And the sad thing is, the majority of the computers are not working. (Hence... the tinkering because I try to re-purpose them.)
According to my rationale, my tinkering is somewhat in line with the three R's for the environment: reduce, reuse, and recycle. (It would fall under the "reuse" category... except that I have had very little time to actually reuse them. My original intent was to reuse them. It just never turned out that way.) Sadly, I have amassed quite a collection of computers.
Rather than continue maintaining the scrap heap of old computers, I decided to do the next best thing: recycle them. Recycling is a must because computers can contain things that are detrimental to the environment and consequently need to be disposed of properly. Landfills will not do the job. That's why there is a category called e-waste... for electronic stuff.
Anyway, luckily for me the computers that are in my scrap heap collection are all Dell computers. Dell offers free recycling for all of its products. It's a very nice program. All you have to do is pack up the computer in a box, affix a label to the box, call FedEx to have the computer picked up, and that's it. Done. Once the computer is picked up and shipped off to Dell, the computer is essentially recycled and you can feel good that you helped the environment. Easy.
All you really have to do is make sure that the hard drive has been wiped clean. I actually have some cables now that can connect directly to the hard drive and make the hard drive function like an external drive. So wiping the old computer hard drives clean was an easy task to accomplish.
I had to wipe four hard drives because I was recycling two old Dell computers that each had two hard drives in them (as a result of my tinkering). As much as I enjoyed tinkering with the computers, I actually am glad that I was able to recycle the two computers today. It just freed up some space... or clutter around the house. I wasn't using the old computers, so why keep them, right? I'm sure Karen was equally thrilled.
I still have a couple of computers remaining that are in need of repair. I have yet to decide if it is worth keeping them to work on them, or if it would make sense to just recycle those as well. With my ever shrinking window of free time these days, it may make sense for the latter, but we'll see. Hopefully my amassed collection of old computers won't get too big by the time I make that decision.
Now naturally one might ask as to why I did not put on the air conditioning. After all, Karen and I do have central air. Apparently, it was supposed to rain today. We had figured that the rain would cool things down, which in turn would mean that we did not need the air conditioning. We were completely wrong. We waited... and waited... and waited for the rain. Well, the rain never came (at least not when we had expected it to come). So for hours upon hours, I remained cooped up in the house with the humid weather (as our windows were open).
So needless to say, I was not a happy camper. I felt lethargic, sticky, hot, thirsty... complete and absolute grumpiness. If my friend (Hot Amy) were to ever challenge me in a competition again, her best chance of winning would be during a humid day because I really cannot function in humid weather. I guess you could say it's my kryptonite.
Amid the humidity, the major highlight for today was that I was able to recycle some computers. Now, I suck at recycling computers. I have a crazy tendency to be a hoarder/tinkerer when it comes to computers. Karen makes fun of me for having so many computers in the house. And the sad thing is, the majority of the computers are not working. (Hence... the tinkering because I try to re-purpose them.)
According to my rationale, my tinkering is somewhat in line with the three R's for the environment: reduce, reuse, and recycle. (It would fall under the "reuse" category... except that I have had very little time to actually reuse them. My original intent was to reuse them. It just never turned out that way.) Sadly, I have amassed quite a collection of computers.
Rather than continue maintaining the scrap heap of old computers, I decided to do the next best thing: recycle them. Recycling is a must because computers can contain things that are detrimental to the environment and consequently need to be disposed of properly. Landfills will not do the job. That's why there is a category called e-waste... for electronic stuff.
Anyway, luckily for me the computers that are in my scrap heap collection are all Dell computers. Dell offers free recycling for all of its products. It's a very nice program. All you have to do is pack up the computer in a box, affix a label to the box, call FedEx to have the computer picked up, and that's it. Done. Once the computer is picked up and shipped off to Dell, the computer is essentially recycled and you can feel good that you helped the environment. Easy.
All you really have to do is make sure that the hard drive has been wiped clean. I actually have some cables now that can connect directly to the hard drive and make the hard drive function like an external drive. So wiping the old computer hard drives clean was an easy task to accomplish.
I had to wipe four hard drives because I was recycling two old Dell computers that each had two hard drives in them (as a result of my tinkering). As much as I enjoyed tinkering with the computers, I actually am glad that I was able to recycle the two computers today. It just freed up some space... or clutter around the house. I wasn't using the old computers, so why keep them, right? I'm sure Karen was equally thrilled.
I still have a couple of computers remaining that are in need of repair. I have yet to decide if it is worth keeping them to work on them, or if it would make sense to just recycle those as well. With my ever shrinking window of free time these days, it may make sense for the latter, but we'll see. Hopefully my amassed collection of old computers won't get too big by the time I make that decision.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I Suck At Babysitting
Today, Karen and I did something that we have not done in quite some time: we babysat my niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ). Yes, I suck at babysitting. I can't remember the last time we were asked to watch over PJ and Kaleigh. It has to be at least over two months because I don't think we have been asked to babysit since our baby daughter (Briana) was born on St. Patrick's Day.
Needless to say, the babysitting gig was pretty easy. Despite my best efforts to get them all riled up (it's what uncles do, right?), PJ and Kaleigh are very well behaved when someone has to watch over them. And the both of them are extremely great whenever Briana has been around. Briana definitely has a pair of good cousins.
Anyway, the reason as to why Karen and I even ended up babysitting today is because my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) were asked to attend a special dinner at Alma Nove, a restaurant located in the Hingham Shipyard that is due to open soon. Both Janine and PJ worked with the owner in getting the restaurant up and running. So as a token of appreciation, the owner invited all those who had helped to a special private dinner. It's a very nice thing for the owner to do.
From what I hear, the food was delicious at Alma Nove. The special dinner, however, was apparently spur of the moment, which is how Karen and I came to watch over PJ and Kaleigh. And again, neither Karen nor I would have minded anyway because PJ and Kaleigh are very good. Plus, it gave us a chance to catch up on things. For instance, we found out that PJ and Kaleigh now have a vegetable garden. Who knew?
Aside from babysitting, Karen and I did not have much going on for the night anyway. We had decided to eat dinner at our favorite restaurant, Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell. If anyone is curious, they have half priced appetizers Monday to Friday from 3pm to 6pm. Karen and I had the firecracker chicken appetizer... so good. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.) We also had the forno baked chicken quesadilla and the vegetable spring rolls too. Those two appetizers were also good, but the firecracker chicken was easily the best of the three.
And prior to dinner at Not Your Average Joe's, I may have done a little venting. So it was good to have dinner and the babysitting follow my venting incident. I'm normally a laid back person. One of my pet peeves, however, is prejudice.
As we were driving (to Not Your Average Joe's), we passed a couple of kids who would best be described as punks. I have no issues with punks unless they do something that ticks me off... and unwarranted prejudicial actions fits into that category. The punks were walking in the middle of the road when I approached in the car. Rather than run them over, I waited for them to move off to the side... which they did. It was not until after I had passed them that I looked in the rear view mirror to see one of the bigger-boned kids making slant eyed gestures with his fingers on his face.
In retrospect, I probably should have just ran the two kids over because I would not have gotten so annoyed. In comparing jail time to having a bout of annoyance, the venting won. I actually had considered stopping the car, throwing the car in reverse and confronting the two punks. But I didn't think that would do any good... especially with Karen and Briana in the car. Needless to say, racism just annoys me to no end.
I could never understand racism, especially when it was unwarranted. It's not like I called the kid "Tubbo" or "Lard-ass" (which technically could be described as genetic physical features of the punk much like the color of my skin) when I drove by. So for him to do the slant eyed gesture... that just ticks me off. (It ticks me off just writing about it now.)
In a way, it makes me worry about my baby daughter. After all, she'll have to grow up in the world and be exposed to such things as racism. As a parent, you never want your child to get hurt... and yeah racism hurts... maybe not always physically but mentally. I've experienced it growing up, especially since at the time my family was one of a select few minorities living in Quincy. (Now Quincy is like the second coming of Chinatown.) It's not a particularly good feeling to be singled out on something that is of no fault of your own.
It's very sad really to know that prejudice still exists and probably will for some time. I can only hope that I raise Briana well enough to deal with the idiotic intolerance of some people. Martial arts training can't come soon enough.
Needless to say, the babysitting gig was pretty easy. Despite my best efforts to get them all riled up (it's what uncles do, right?), PJ and Kaleigh are very well behaved when someone has to watch over them. And the both of them are extremely great whenever Briana has been around. Briana definitely has a pair of good cousins.
Anyway, the reason as to why Karen and I even ended up babysitting today is because my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) were asked to attend a special dinner at Alma Nove, a restaurant located in the Hingham Shipyard that is due to open soon. Both Janine and PJ worked with the owner in getting the restaurant up and running. So as a token of appreciation, the owner invited all those who had helped to a special private dinner. It's a very nice thing for the owner to do.
From what I hear, the food was delicious at Alma Nove. The special dinner, however, was apparently spur of the moment, which is how Karen and I came to watch over PJ and Kaleigh. And again, neither Karen nor I would have minded anyway because PJ and Kaleigh are very good. Plus, it gave us a chance to catch up on things. For instance, we found out that PJ and Kaleigh now have a vegetable garden. Who knew?
Aside from babysitting, Karen and I did not have much going on for the night anyway. We had decided to eat dinner at our favorite restaurant, Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell. If anyone is curious, they have half priced appetizers Monday to Friday from 3pm to 6pm. Karen and I had the firecracker chicken appetizer... so good. (Cue Rachael Ray's "Yum-O" sound.) We also had the forno baked chicken quesadilla and the vegetable spring rolls too. Those two appetizers were also good, but the firecracker chicken was easily the best of the three.
And prior to dinner at Not Your Average Joe's, I may have done a little venting. So it was good to have dinner and the babysitting follow my venting incident. I'm normally a laid back person. One of my pet peeves, however, is prejudice.
As we were driving (to Not Your Average Joe's), we passed a couple of kids who would best be described as punks. I have no issues with punks unless they do something that ticks me off... and unwarranted prejudicial actions fits into that category. The punks were walking in the middle of the road when I approached in the car. Rather than run them over, I waited for them to move off to the side... which they did. It was not until after I had passed them that I looked in the rear view mirror to see one of the bigger-boned kids making slant eyed gestures with his fingers on his face.
In retrospect, I probably should have just ran the two kids over because I would not have gotten so annoyed. In comparing jail time to having a bout of annoyance, the venting won. I actually had considered stopping the car, throwing the car in reverse and confronting the two punks. But I didn't think that would do any good... especially with Karen and Briana in the car. Needless to say, racism just annoys me to no end.
I could never understand racism, especially when it was unwarranted. It's not like I called the kid "Tubbo" or "Lard-ass" (which technically could be described as genetic physical features of the punk much like the color of my skin) when I drove by. So for him to do the slant eyed gesture... that just ticks me off. (It ticks me off just writing about it now.)
In a way, it makes me worry about my baby daughter. After all, she'll have to grow up in the world and be exposed to such things as racism. As a parent, you never want your child to get hurt... and yeah racism hurts... maybe not always physically but mentally. I've experienced it growing up, especially since at the time my family was one of a select few minorities living in Quincy. (Now Quincy is like the second coming of Chinatown.) It's not a particularly good feeling to be singled out on something that is of no fault of your own.
It's very sad really to know that prejudice still exists and probably will for some time. I can only hope that I raise Briana well enough to deal with the idiotic intolerance of some people. Martial arts training can't come soon enough.
I Suck At Buffy The Vampire Slayer
With it being Tuesday and all, my friends (Marc and Kelley) came over. Karen and I, along with Marc, Kelley, and my friend (Andrea) had been getting together on Tuesdays to watch Lost. With Lost having ended for good, we decided to continue where we had left on during our viewing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Now, I suck at Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It just so happens that we only had a couple of episodes to watch to close out season 6 of Buffy. So, the episodes we watched were "Two to Go" whereby Dark Willow tracks down the remaining members of the Trio who were responsible for the death of her beloved; and "Grave", the season finale where Dark Willow tries to destroy the world.
For a while, our baby daughter (Briana) appeared to be all into Buffy as she intently watched the show with us. (I have to get her into Buffy while she's young after all. She could be a little slayer!) But after a while, she started to fuss... and poop... numerous times. Luckily for me, I've seen the Buffy episodes many times so changing her diapers weren't a problem.
Apparently, it turns out that Karen thought the end of the season with Willow and Xander to be touching. I suppose I would have to agree. After all, if I were hellbent on destroying the world, it would be nice to have your BFF (Kerry) try to stop you by telling you everything is okay. So take a mental note of that, Kerry. Just kidding.
Now, I'm not one to say that Buffy is gospel or anything. Watching the episodes now, however, does provide a different perspective on things. Having lost our son (Braden) a while back, I too felt like it was the end of the world when he passed away. After all, for all intents and purposes Braden's passing made no sense. To this day, I doubt Karen and I will ever have a reason as to why he had to pass away. And naturally without answers or order, there is chaos... and that is definitely how things felt back then. So I can see how things were different this time around when watching the finale of Buffy season 6.
And luckily, Karen and I did have a huge support system of family and friends. It was very comforting for Karen and I to know that so many people cared about us. We will be forever grateful for that. Regardless, it was nice to watch the season 6 finale again of Buffy with friends.
Now, I suck at Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It just so happens that we only had a couple of episodes to watch to close out season 6 of Buffy. So, the episodes we watched were "Two to Go" whereby Dark Willow tracks down the remaining members of the Trio who were responsible for the death of her beloved; and "Grave", the season finale where Dark Willow tries to destroy the world.
For a while, our baby daughter (Briana) appeared to be all into Buffy as she intently watched the show with us. (I have to get her into Buffy while she's young after all. She could be a little slayer!) But after a while, she started to fuss... and poop... numerous times. Luckily for me, I've seen the Buffy episodes many times so changing her diapers weren't a problem.
Apparently, it turns out that Karen thought the end of the season with Willow and Xander to be touching. I suppose I would have to agree. After all, if I were hellbent on destroying the world, it would be nice to have your BFF (Kerry) try to stop you by telling you everything is okay. So take a mental note of that, Kerry. Just kidding.
Now, I'm not one to say that Buffy is gospel or anything. Watching the episodes now, however, does provide a different perspective on things. Having lost our son (Braden) a while back, I too felt like it was the end of the world when he passed away. After all, for all intents and purposes Braden's passing made no sense. To this day, I doubt Karen and I will ever have a reason as to why he had to pass away. And naturally without answers or order, there is chaos... and that is definitely how things felt back then. So I can see how things were different this time around when watching the finale of Buffy season 6.
And luckily, Karen and I did have a huge support system of family and friends. It was very comforting for Karen and I to know that so many people cared about us. We will be forever grateful for that. Regardless, it was nice to watch the season 6 finale again of Buffy with friends.
I Suck At Memorial Day
Monday was Memorial Day. Happy Memorial Day! Too bad I suck at Memorial Day.
With the holiday, Karen and I decided to have a little family outing with Briana. Our destination: the Hingham Shipyard. Neither of us have ever been to the Hingham Shipyard since construction began. So, we decided to give the place a try to see what is there.
I must say, the place looks great. To me, the Hingham Shipyard is what Marina Bay in Quincy was trying to be. Although in Marina Bay's defense, there is less land at its location in comparison to the Hingham Shipyard.
The Hingham Shipyard did look really nice. Karen and I (and Briana) walked around as much as we could around the place. We went through some of the housing communities. I would be curious, however, to see the inside of the condos and apartments to see if it is worth it. We went to the Fresh Market, which is like a smaller version of Whole Foods. We walked around Alma Nove, which is the restaurant owned by one of the Wahlberg brothers. (Incidentally, I was supposed to work on that restaurant's website, but I'm not so sure now with the place opening very soon.) And we walked by the water. All in all, the Hingham Shipyard is very nicely done.
I tried to convince Karen to get a yacht... only because I would love to own one, which is peculiar I know because I don't swim. I just think a yacht would be fun. It looks fun on television. I don't think Karen was too keen on the idea especially since we'd have no place to dock it. Maybe we can convince my friend's (Hot Amy) parents to let us keep it there. Oh well. Someday...
With the holiday, Karen and I decided to have a little family outing with Briana. Our destination: the Hingham Shipyard. Neither of us have ever been to the Hingham Shipyard since construction began. So, we decided to give the place a try to see what is there.
I must say, the place looks great. To me, the Hingham Shipyard is what Marina Bay in Quincy was trying to be. Although in Marina Bay's defense, there is less land at its location in comparison to the Hingham Shipyard.
The Hingham Shipyard did look really nice. Karen and I (and Briana) walked around as much as we could around the place. We went through some of the housing communities. I would be curious, however, to see the inside of the condos and apartments to see if it is worth it. We went to the Fresh Market, which is like a smaller version of Whole Foods. We walked around Alma Nove, which is the restaurant owned by one of the Wahlberg brothers. (Incidentally, I was supposed to work on that restaurant's website, but I'm not so sure now with the place opening very soon.) And we walked by the water. All in all, the Hingham Shipyard is very nicely done.
I tried to convince Karen to get a yacht... only because I would love to own one, which is peculiar I know because I don't swim. I just think a yacht would be fun. It looks fun on television. I don't think Karen was too keen on the idea especially since we'd have no place to dock it. Maybe we can convince my friend's (Hot Amy) parents to let us keep it there. Oh well. Someday...
I Suck At Cookouts
On Sunday, my friends (Cass and Ellen) had a few people over for a Memorial Day cookout. Now, I suck at cookouts. It has been a while since I got to hang out with Cass and Ellen.
Needless to say, it was a great time. It's always good to hang out with friends. I feel like I don't do it as much these days. Joining in the festivities were my friends (Marc, Kelley, Meredith, Doug, and Andrea).
Anyway, Cass and Ellen recently had a deck added to their house. So the cookout was a good way to christen the deck. And by christen the deck, I don't mean vomit in the yard like in cookouts past at Cass and Ellen's. Although I suppose in Kelley's defense (for vomiting that time), she was having a bad day.
I would recount the details of that eventful cookout where Kelley blew chunks, but sadly I was equally inebriated... being her drinking buddy and all. The only things that I can remember from that incident were that Marc and Kelley had gotten into a car accident that day. So in an effort to make Kelley feel better, Cass and I pushed booze into her (not like it was hard). Of course, I also imbibed quite a bit too... so much so that I rolled around a bit in the grass... which eventually ended up on Cass's couch. Needless to say, I do remember Kelley vomiting on Cass's bricks in the corner... good times... good times.
Unfortunately, we are all old fogies now. We just don't imbibe like we used to. So there was no vomiting this year to christen the deck.
One of the more memorable incidents of the day happened with one of Cass and Ellen's pet (Seamus). Seamus is a little tiny dog. I think he is a shih tzu. Anyway, it turns out that Seamus really likes our baby daughter (Briana).
When Karen brought Briana inside to get changed, Seamus followed. In fact, Seamus hovered around Briana making sure she was okay and all of that. It was very cute. I probably would not have believed it had I not witnessed it firsthand.
I had gone inside to help Karen change Briana's diaper. So there was Briana.... simply lying on a changing mat on the floor. She had never seen a dog before, so her eyes were fixed on Seamus. Seamus kept hovering over her. He would soon lick Briana's legs... then her tiny hands... and eventually her face. In fact, Seamus kept licking Briana's face as though it were a bad make out session that I just started laughing uncontrollably. Even after pulling Seamus away, he returned to lick Briana. It was too funny.
And I must say, Briana was good. She didn't cry during the whole thing. She just kept looking at Seamus with awe. But that was definitely a memorable moment. I wish I had a video camera for that.
Anyway, I like I said, the cookout was a great time. I had a lot of fun. Hopefully there will be more cookouts during the summer.
Needless to say, it was a great time. It's always good to hang out with friends. I feel like I don't do it as much these days. Joining in the festivities were my friends (Marc, Kelley, Meredith, Doug, and Andrea).
Anyway, Cass and Ellen recently had a deck added to their house. So the cookout was a good way to christen the deck. And by christen the deck, I don't mean vomit in the yard like in cookouts past at Cass and Ellen's. Although I suppose in Kelley's defense (for vomiting that time), she was having a bad day.
I would recount the details of that eventful cookout where Kelley blew chunks, but sadly I was equally inebriated... being her drinking buddy and all. The only things that I can remember from that incident were that Marc and Kelley had gotten into a car accident that day. So in an effort to make Kelley feel better, Cass and I pushed booze into her (not like it was hard). Of course, I also imbibed quite a bit too... so much so that I rolled around a bit in the grass... which eventually ended up on Cass's couch. Needless to say, I do remember Kelley vomiting on Cass's bricks in the corner... good times... good times.
Unfortunately, we are all old fogies now. We just don't imbibe like we used to. So there was no vomiting this year to christen the deck.
One of the more memorable incidents of the day happened with one of Cass and Ellen's pet (Seamus). Seamus is a little tiny dog. I think he is a shih tzu. Anyway, it turns out that Seamus really likes our baby daughter (Briana).
When Karen brought Briana inside to get changed, Seamus followed. In fact, Seamus hovered around Briana making sure she was okay and all of that. It was very cute. I probably would not have believed it had I not witnessed it firsthand.
I had gone inside to help Karen change Briana's diaper. So there was Briana.... simply lying on a changing mat on the floor. She had never seen a dog before, so her eyes were fixed on Seamus. Seamus kept hovering over her. He would soon lick Briana's legs... then her tiny hands... and eventually her face. In fact, Seamus kept licking Briana's face as though it were a bad make out session that I just started laughing uncontrollably. Even after pulling Seamus away, he returned to lick Briana. It was too funny.
And I must say, Briana was good. She didn't cry during the whole thing. She just kept looking at Seamus with awe. But that was definitely a memorable moment. I wish I had a video camera for that.
Anyway, I like I said, the cookout was a great time. I had a lot of fun. Hopefully there will be more cookouts during the summer.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
I Suck At Recipes
Kicking off Memorial Day weekend, Karen and I (and our baby daughter, Briana) headed off to the All-America city known as Lowell on Saturday. For anyone curious, the city of Lowell did win the title of "All-America City" in 1999 after being a finalist for the award the previous two years. Despite the award, I am still not sure there is a lot to like about Lowell... as much as the city would like to have you believe there is.
The trip to Lowell was another milestone for Karen and I. After all, the road trip was the furthest we have gone with Briana since she was born a little over two months ago. And apparently, Briana did not seem to mind the ride as she basically was asleep the entire way up.
So what is in Lowell besides textile mills? Karen's cousins (Karlene and Matthew), Karlene's husband (Tommy) and Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul). As Karlene is big on tradition, she invited us up for our annual Memorial Day trip to Gath Greenery which is located in Dunstable. The rest of Karen's relatives would join us later for after-Gath celebration.
Anyway, it was a thrilling time at Gath Greenery. Karen basically looked for some vegetables to plant in her garden this year while I watched Briana. In case anyone is curious, I think it's going to be a zucchini and squash year this year. After some chitchatting with the owners and such (who apparently are now grandparents to a child similar to Briana's age), we headed to Karlene and Tommy's for a cookout.
Needless to say, the cookout was good. I devoured many ears of corn (I love corn) and steak tips. Yum. I would have eaten more if I could. And from there, the hilarity ensued. And by hilarity, I mean that some of Karen's relatives joined us after the cookout. Naturally, with family gatherings, there is a lot of "rigamarole"... a term that I first heard of within Karen's family when they described themselves to me.
The family topic for the day: recipes. Now I suck at recipes. And truth be told, I should have tuned everyone out like Karen's cousin, Matthew. Matthew seemed very good at tuning things out as he was engrossed in a book... something he has not done in quite a while, or so he told me. (And as a side note, Matthew has a friend named Meg Ryan which I thought was funny.)
Anyway, these family things always start off with the best intentions. Unfortunately, the idea snowballs into something bigger... and then the rigamarole. You would think that people would learn from past history. It almost reminds me of that classic Bush quote: "Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." Almost...
Awhile ago, Karlene and Karen thought it would be a great idea to share all of their Nana's pictures with everyone in the family. So, they spent countless hours scanning and indexing picture after picture while Nana's place was getting ready to be sold. Good intentions? Absolutely. Huge undertaking without any thanks? Yep.
Flash forward to today. The grandiose idea this time around: Nana's recipes. Karlene and Karen again thought it would be great to share Nana's recipes with everyone who wanted them. Good intentions again? Yep. Huge undertaking again? Absolutely considering the volume of recipe requests. And personally, I think what makes portions of this undertaking ridiculous is that there was a request for an iced tea recipe. I mean... really? A recipe for that? I don't even cook and I know making that is simple.
Anyway, that's just my opinion about the subject matter. But to each their own. I'm curious to see what will be the big idea next year. Needless to say, the recipe idea was a main topic of discussion for the day. Thrilling, I know.
The trip to Lowell was another milestone for Karen and I. After all, the road trip was the furthest we have gone with Briana since she was born a little over two months ago. And apparently, Briana did not seem to mind the ride as she basically was asleep the entire way up.
So what is in Lowell besides textile mills? Karen's cousins (Karlene and Matthew), Karlene's husband (Tommy) and Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul). As Karlene is big on tradition, she invited us up for our annual Memorial Day trip to Gath Greenery which is located in Dunstable. The rest of Karen's relatives would join us later for after-Gath celebration.
Anyway, it was a thrilling time at Gath Greenery. Karen basically looked for some vegetables to plant in her garden this year while I watched Briana. In case anyone is curious, I think it's going to be a zucchini and squash year this year. After some chitchatting with the owners and such (who apparently are now grandparents to a child similar to Briana's age), we headed to Karlene and Tommy's for a cookout.
Needless to say, the cookout was good. I devoured many ears of corn (I love corn) and steak tips. Yum. I would have eaten more if I could. And from there, the hilarity ensued. And by hilarity, I mean that some of Karen's relatives joined us after the cookout. Naturally, with family gatherings, there is a lot of "rigamarole"... a term that I first heard of within Karen's family when they described themselves to me.
The family topic for the day: recipes. Now I suck at recipes. And truth be told, I should have tuned everyone out like Karen's cousin, Matthew. Matthew seemed very good at tuning things out as he was engrossed in a book... something he has not done in quite a while, or so he told me. (And as a side note, Matthew has a friend named Meg Ryan which I thought was funny.)
Anyway, these family things always start off with the best intentions. Unfortunately, the idea snowballs into something bigger... and then the rigamarole. You would think that people would learn from past history. It almost reminds me of that classic Bush quote: "Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." Almost...
Awhile ago, Karlene and Karen thought it would be a great idea to share all of their Nana's pictures with everyone in the family. So, they spent countless hours scanning and indexing picture after picture while Nana's place was getting ready to be sold. Good intentions? Absolutely. Huge undertaking without any thanks? Yep.
Flash forward to today. The grandiose idea this time around: Nana's recipes. Karlene and Karen again thought it would be great to share Nana's recipes with everyone who wanted them. Good intentions again? Yep. Huge undertaking again? Absolutely considering the volume of recipe requests. And personally, I think what makes portions of this undertaking ridiculous is that there was a request for an iced tea recipe. I mean... really? A recipe for that? I don't even cook and I know making that is simple.
Anyway, that's just my opinion about the subject matter. But to each their own. I'm curious to see what will be the big idea next year. Needless to say, the recipe idea was a main topic of discussion for the day. Thrilling, I know.
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