I Suck At Ninja Assassin

Last night, I got to spend some quality mother/son bonding time. For awhile, my mother has been graciously taking care of my daughter (Briana) while Karen and I work. And truth be told, my mother has been happy as a clam to be able to take care of Briana.

Because I work from home four days of the week, it may seem odd that my mother even comes down to our house to take care of Briana. But trust me. In my profession, if you want to work normal hours during the day while at home, you have to have someone else watching your baby daughter. You can't do both because a baby (or at least my baby) requires a lot of attention at the tender age of six months.

On the day of the week that I do have to travel to the office, I leave the house bright and early. My commute to work is well over an hour as I live on the South Shore and my office is located in Marblehead. The commuting time exponentially increases the later I leave in the morning. (For anyone curious, commuting home from work is much worse.) So 5:45am it is...

Anyway, because I leave so early in the morning on the days that I head into the office, my mother spends the previous night at our house. So last night, my mother and I decided to watch a movie together. After all, my mother loves watching movies just as much as I do. Perhaps that is where I developed my movie addiction. Regardless, the movie that we watched: Ninja Assassin.

(The video below is a trailer for Ninja Assassin.)


Now I suck at Ninja Assassin. The movie is a martial arts movie about a disillusioned ninja looking to exact revenge against his mentor. Needless to say, the movie had a lot of action scenes which is why I decided to watch the movie in the first place with my mom. (For anyone curious, my mom likes action movies.)

If you want to see a ton of Asians get hacked up complete with squirting blood, then this is the movie for you. Apparently I fall under that category because I actually enjoyed the film despite some plot items that did not make any sense. All in all, I would say that it was an entertaining movie. And as my mother pointed out to me, the movie stars Korean pop sensation: Rain.

Up until the movie, I had never heard of Rain (even though he apparently was in Speed Racer) . For those curious, Rain is a South Korean pop singer, dancer, model, actor, businessman, and designer. He's apparently a Renaissance man of entertainment. I guess he could be the comparable version of Britney Spears or J-Lo, only larger with a lot more screaming Asian fans.

Anyway, watching the movie with my mom was fun.

I Suck At Veronica Mars

My BFF (Kerry) spent the night on Saturday. We were determined to finish watching a television series that we had started back in August of 2008. That series: Veronica Mars. Now, I suck at Veronica Mars... which makes sense because it has taken Kerry, Karen and I over two years to watch the entire series consisting of 3 seasons.

Truth be told, I was excited to finally finish the series on Sunday. The characters in the show are great characters. For me, it's all about the characters. That is one of the reasons why I enjoy Buffy and Angel, and Lost so much. Those shows have great characters in addition to great writing. At the same time, it's always sad to see a show that you've invested some much of your time into finally end. I similarly felt that way with Buffy, Angel, and Lost.

Recently, there has been talk by Kristen Bell, who plays Veronica Mars, to get Veronica Mars to the big screen. She has even offered to finance the movie herself. The movie, however, does not seem like it will ever come to fruition as Warner Brothers will not relinquish the rights to the show and the company is dead set against creating a Veronica Mars movie due to its research that says there is a lack of interest in the movie.

I actually find that reason somewhat funny because there are a ton of terrible movies that get created. I know. I've watched many many movies. And what is also a little funny in that reasoning is that Warner Brothers brought to the general populace... the John Travolta movie Battlefield Earth. And although I have never seen that movie, I have heard that the movie was downright awful. And for anyone curious, Warner Brothers also brought us the films: Speed Racer and the Postman.

Anyway, it was great watching Veronica Mars with Kerry and Karen. It's too bad the series got canceled because there were so many questions left unanswered. If only there were a movie to wrap up the loose ends. But now that Veronica Mars is complete, Karen, Kerry and I can now move onto the next series: Bones.

And in case anyone is curious, I did also catch a movie yesterday as well to mourn the ending of Veronica Mars. That movie: 12 Rounds starring World Wrestling Entertainment and West Newbury, Massachusetts's own, John Cena.

(The video below is a trailer for 12 Rounds.)


Surprisingly, the film was entertaining. The movie was a lot more entertaining than The Final Destination, that's for sure. John Cena plays a New Orleans cop who puts away a terrorist. In the process, the terrorist's fiancee dies. One year later, the terrorist escapes from prison to exact his revenge in a game called "12 Rounds".

By no means is the movie an Oscar winner. But if you want to pass the time watching things blow up, then it's not that bad.

I Suck At Hedgie The Hedgehog

Saturday was quite the hectic day. Normally during the weekend, Karen and I do not get many visitors within a given day. Saturday, however, was different.

The day began with a visit from my friend (Cass). Cass and his father-in-law stopped by to drop off a piece of drywall for a home improvement project that I was planning to work on. I had actually forgotten that I needed drywall for this particular closet that we have on our first floor. So, Cass and his father-in-law were nice enough to drop off some pieces for me.

Shortly thereafter, my BFF (Kerry) arrived. Awhile ago, I made plans with Kerry so that we could finally finish watching the rest of the Veronica Mars series. We began our Veronica Mars viewing in August of 2008 when Karen was invited to a girls weekend down in Bon Jovi's home state of New Jersey. We enjoyed the series so much that we got Karen interested in the show... and to some extent we got my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) interested in the show. Interestingly enough, I think Janine still has my second season of Veronica Mars.

Anyway, Kerry's schedule and my schedule got a little hectic. So we were never really able to watch the show on a consistent basis. Nevertheless, we were determined to finish watching the series this weekend.

Karen's grandparents and her aunt soon dropped on by as well since they were in the neighborhood. They had gone out to eat some breakfast at Friendly's, which is located right up the street from us. Once Karen's grandparents and aunt left, we started watching an episode of the Veronica Mars. We did not get too far as Karen's parents then stopped on by.

Karen's parents came over to watch our baby daughter (Briana) for a couple of hours. In addition to Veronica Mars, part of the day's planned activities included a brief trip to our local library. And what could be so important at the library? Why... library card sign up, of course!

Due to Karen's involvement with the Friends of the Norwell Public Library, in which she is now the vice chairman of, I was enlisted to help with the library card registration this weekend. In particular, I was asked to be Hedgie the Hedgehog. Now, I suck at Hedgie the Hedgehog. And truthfully, I never knew such a character existed in children's literature up until recently.

The task was easy: dress up as Hedgie the Hedgehog and pose for photos with children and adults alike. Piece of cake! For me, it was the first time I ever got to wear such an elaborate costume. Luckily for me, Kerry had experience dressing up as a character because she got to be her school's mascot one time year in college.

Needless to say, I had an absolute blast being Hedgie. As Karen put it, I was just the right height for the costume, I like kids, and I'm pure ham. And I must say, the costume was very elaborate. I'm not sure how other mascots do it because it gets mighty toasty inside the costume. I only wore the costume for a couple of hours and I had beads of sweat pouring down my face. In fact, Kerry said she could feel the heat emanating from the area where I can see out of the costume. The heat and the inability to see objects that are right close to you are probably the only drawbacks about being Hedgie.

All in all, I had a blast being Hedgie. Kerry even took a video of Hedgie doing a few dance moves for fun. I'm sure some day that video will make it to YouTube once the video is edited. (The video needs to be rotated.) Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I'd probably do it again if asked. Of course, I'd probably still need the help of Karen and Kerry to get into the costume. So we'll see.

UPDATE: Here is the video.


Plus, I think the kids and the adults had a great time during the library card registration event. I actually got to meet a few people I never knew before... like some of the other librarians, some of the board members, etc. So hopefully everyone was happy with the outcome of the day.

Following my brief stint as a costumed hedgehog, Karen, Kerry and I returned to finally watch a few more episodes of Veronica Mars. By that time, we had devoured some grilled cheese sandwiches... on potato bread... and some apple pie. We took another break shortly thereafter as we had our final guests for the evening: Janine and her family.

Janine, her husband (PJ), my niece (Kaleigh) and my nephew (PJ) stopped by to drop off a few items: a bag of Halloween costumes, an exersaucer, and a present from Kaleigh. As usual, it was good to see Janine and them.

I think Janine, who likes to collect Precious Moment figurines, got a kick out of seeing one of the figurines in a Precious Moment magazine that Karen's mother left that day. The Precious Moment figurine had the usual teardrop eye design. The base, however, had a name on it. That name: Gretchen. For anyone curious, Gretchen happens to be Janine's BFF.

Anyway, it was fun to see them. I got to practice my martial arts skills with my nephew who takes Taekwondo. For anyone curious, I don't have any martial arts skills... but my nephew doesn't know that. I think he believes I know it just because I'm genetically predisposed to know it.

Eventually, everyone left and it was just Karen, Kerry, Briana and me again. So naturally we decided to catch a few more episodes of Veronica Mars before calling it a day. It was definitely one long day after all with many visitors.

And of course, when everyone went to bed, I stayed up to watch a movie. That movie: The Final Destination, which is the fourth movie in the Final Destination series.

(The video below is a trailer for The Final Destination.)


In case anyone is curious, I started watching the Final Destination series because 1) I like horror movies; 2) the premise of the movie seemed intriguing; and 3) Kerr Smith, from Dawson's Creek fame was in the movie... "I don't want to wait..." till this movie franchise is over...

Needless to say, the fourth installment was absolutely terrible. The movie was made to be in 3-D (particularly the gruesome death scenes), and it shows. I am quite surprised the film warranted an upcoming Final Destination 5, because this movie was pretty bad. But at least now I can say that I watched the movie...

I Suck At Hanging Out With Meredith

This past Friday, Karen, our baby daughter (Briana), and I went to visit one of my friends (Meredith). Unfortunately, I suck at hanging out with Meredith. Meredith recently had a baby boy (Alexander) a couple of months ago. And naturally because I suck at hanging out with Meredith, I kept forgetting to contact her to see if we could stop by and meet her little bundle of joy.

Thanks to my friend (Marc) who left a voice message to remind me to call Meredith, I finally set the plan into motion. Thanks Marc! And so on Friday, we got to meet Alexander.

Interestingly enough, Friday was also the first time Karen and I had ever been to the Presidential Estates in Quincy. For anyone curious, Meredith happens to currently live in the Presidential Estates. The Presidential Estates area in Quincy is a lot bigger than I would have thought. I did not know there was that much land back there.

Anyway, Friday was a great time. Meredith's husband (Doug) made some home-made pizza for everyone. It was delicious. There was also bruschetta, which I heard was also good, but I unfortunately did not get to taste any because I was stuffed full of pizza.

The night actually turned out to be a play date of sorts. Briana, who doesn't really interact well with other children, did play and grab at Alexander's feet. (And for anyone curious, Alexander looks like a smaller version of Doug.) Shortly after of course, Briana started to fuss and we did what any parent would do: we threw her into this awesome looking contraption that Meredith and Doug owned. The thing looked like a souped up exersaucer.

Needless to say, much of the night involved talking about parenting and children and all of that. One of the highlights is that I got to see a cool picture taken by one of the doctors of Alexander coming out of Meredith "alien-style". Alexander's head was protruding through part of Meredith where she had the Caesarean section. It was neat.

Now, I don't really consider myself as one who always talk about my children. In fact, I generally try to talk about my children only whenever someone asks me about them. I guess that is one of the reasons why I don't post status updates in Facebook about what my child is doing. That said, after Friday night's experience, I can see why a lot of people in general do talk about their children.

For awhile, I have considered myself to be a pretty terrible father mostly because I have not read any books about parenting. Thus, there have been many times when people have asked me if Briana is experiencing such-and-such by a certain chronological time. In response, I would simply shrug my shoulders because I would have no clue. It's this feeling of not having an answer (and consequently feeling that I do not know what I am doing) that makes me feel like a bad father.

Similarly, Meredith had mentioned to me that she sometimes felt like she did not know what she was doing at times. Naturally, that got me thinking that perhaps the reason why some people do talk about their children a lot is to elicit validation or confirmation from others that what they are doing as a parent is... for lack of a better word... correct. It was just a random thought that entered my head. I don't even know if it is true or not.

Regardless, I had a great time on Friday. It was definitely nice to see Meredith again and meet her little bundle of joy. I feel that I don't really see Meredith as much as I would like. She's a great person. Although I suppose now that we can have play dates, perhaps I will be seeing her more often.

I Suck At Play Groups

Yesterday was a day all about my daughter (Briana). I guess technically speaking, all my days are about taking care of her. Yesterday just happened to be a day where Briana had so many activities planned, which is unusual during a regular day.

Normally, Briana simply stays home. She eats. She poops. She sleeps. Of course, it's not necessarily in that order, but that is her general routine. Yesterday, however, she had two appointments with the pediatrician and one appointment with a play group. And it's not just any play group. It's a play group consisting of preemies just like Briana.

Now, I suck at play groups. And truthfully, I have never been to a play group. But I must say, it's interesting. Of course, I was the only male there in a room full of babies and mothers, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Because Briana was born prematurely, she qualified for early intervention. Among one of the services provided by early intervention is this play group of premature babies. The physical therapist who has been involved with Briana's development suggested that Briana try it out. So naturally, Karen and I brought her to the play group.

Karen and I did not think Briana would last long at the play group. After all, the last time she saw another baby was when she saw her second cousin (my cousin's daughter) and she immediately burst out in uncontrollable tears. So naturally, Karen and I thought Briana's reactions would be similar.

Interestingly enough, Briana was good for most of the play date. She did cry near the end of the play group, but she definitely lasted long than I expected. It was a little funny when the play group first started because all the premature babies did the same thing: they all stared at one another with amazement. It was like they were surprised to see someone just like them... tiny little babies.

All in all, the play group was interesting. I don't think Briana played much with the other babies, but I didn't expect her to. Heck, she can't even crawl yet. For some of the mothers, I think it was a good means for them to share preemie stories or whatnot.

One of the mothers there had a son who was ten months old. Her son was born extremely premature at 23 weeks. Naturally, I thought about my son (Braden) who would have been in the same predicament as this woman's child had my son survived two years ago on that fateful day. The mother was obviously extremely grateful that her son made it and is doing well at ten months.

And as much as I am happy for that mother, a part me was also a little jealous that her son survived and mine did not. I guess that's just the how it is. Unfortunately, things just weren't meant to break my way.

Anyway, we'll see how the rest of the play group dates pan out. The rest of the day absolutely flew by. Before Karen and I knew it, the entire day was over and Briana ended up looking sick, tired, and pale. (As part of Briana's appointment with the pediatrician, she received several vaccinations.)

Later that night, Karen and I decided to watch a movie to help us unwind. The movie that we watched: Couples Retreat.

(The video below is a trailer for Couples Retreat.)


The film was okay. Vince Vaughn plays... basically every character that he has ever played in his films. Truth be told, the movie was was not as bad as I had expected. Of course, that may be because Kristen Bell was also in the movie. Shiny!

Anyway, the movie, partly written by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, is about a bunch of friends who go on a couples retreat. One of the couples spearheads the idea because they are having difficulties in their marriage. Unfortunately, due to pricing, the couple could only go to the retreat at a group rate. Thus, the other friends help out and go. And from there, hilarity ensues...

I Suck At Glee

Tuesday turned out to be quite the day to be a couch potato for Karen, our baby daughter (Briana) and I. The highlight of the evening was the season premiere of Glee. Now I suck at Glee, but the show is just so silly and fun that it makes me laugh.

The silliness in the season premiere that had cracked me up was the storyline involving two of the Asian characters on the show. Apparently, the two Asian characters (Tina and Mike) became a couple over the summer at Asian camp. The concept of an Asian camp just cracked me up.

I'm actually probably one of the worst genetic Asians around, but does Asian camp really exist? I do not want to attend or anything. I was just curious if such a thing existed. The idea just made me chuckle. Is there a comparable White camp?

Anyway, the season premiere of the show was great. Speaking of premieres, this week was the premiere of two other shows that Karen and I were interested in as well. Those shows were: Hawaii Five-O and Castle.

Castle was entertaining as usual. And surprisingly, Hawaii Five-O was pretty good. I was a little hesitant about Hawaii Five-O because I thought the original series was pretty cheesy. But, to my surprise, the reboot of the show was pretty entertaining. And I suppose, how could the show not be entertaining when the villain in the first episode was none other than James Marsters of Buffy fame.

And truth be told, the only reason why I was so receptive to watching Hawaii Five-O this time around was because Daniel Dae Kim from Lost is in the show. That actually might have been Karen's excuse too, although she told me that her dad used to watch it when she was growing up.

Regardless, the new season of television has been pretty good so far. Karen and I spent a good chunk of Tuesday just watching television, with Glee's premiere, and the other two shows recorded on our DVR. That was something that we had not done in a long while: spending a bunch of time vegging out in front of the television together. It was nice.

And naturally, when Karen and Briana went to bed, I continued my movie addiction with watching The Unborn.

(The video below is a trailer for The Unborn.)


For anyone curious, the film is a horror flick about a woman who is tormented by a dybbuk. A dybbuk is from Jewish folklore. It is a spirit that possesses people. In the case of the movie, it's an evil spirit that wants to enter this world by using the woman's death as the gateway. Gary Oldman stars as the rabbi who helps the woman in her battle with the dybbuk.

The movie was okay. The film really was not that scary. In fact, it was somewhat predictable with the ending. Nevertheless, I had to watch it of course.

I Suck At Apple Bread

Today, Karen had a day out with a bunch of her friends. She was meeting her friends for a late breakfast/early lunch and taking our baby daughter (Briana) with her. So naturally, that left me by my lonesome.

So what is a person to do with some free time? Well, if you were me, you would have gone grocery shopping, done a few chores, and make apple bread. The problem: I suck at apple bread.

Having gone apple picking the day before with my BFF (Kerry), Karen and I thought it would be nice to make apple bread. And as it turned out, we had a recipe from our friend (Kelley) who makes great apple bread. Truth be told, I think Kelley makes great baked goods. I absolutely love her chocolate chips. I love her banana bread with and without chocolate. Kelley is a scientist, so it probably makes sense that she is precise when baking.

Me, on the other hand... not so good at baking. Don't get me wrong. I can do it. I just don't like it as much as cooking. For me, baking seems to require a lot more cleanup than cooking. And until Briana can start washing dishes, I like to try to limit the amount of things I have to wash.

Sure, it's lazy, but if you saw me today you'd probably understand. I had flour everywhere. There was flour all over the stove. There was flour all over the floor. My little compost container was full of apple peels and broken egg shells. There was oil and remnants of other spices on the counter. There was apple bread batter on the counter. It was not a pretty sight.

Eventually, I got around to baking the apple bread. It seems to taste okay so far. Of course, I only ate a small piece of apple bread when it was done. I probably could have eaten more, but we had other plans coming up for the rest of the day.

Those plans involved going to Karen's parents for dinner. Karen's parents were kind enough to invite us over for dinner. Sure, it was the second day in a row that we would be seeing them. And sure, it was rather spontaneous because Karen's parents had called us in the morning to see if we were available. But all in all, it was great especially since Karen and I did not know what we were going to make for dinner today.

For anyone curious, it turns out that Briana loves this Fisher Price turtle that my in-laws have. The turtle has a see-through shell with balls in it. When the top of the shell is pressed, the balls spin around and there are flashy lights and a little tune plays. Briana absolutely loves this turtle. She must take after her daddy in being attracted to shiny things. Who knew?

All in all, it was a good time.

And if anyone is still curious about my movie addiction, yes I have watched a third movie during the HBO/Cinemax free trial provided by Verizon within as many days. Three straight days. Sad.

The movie today was Drag Me to Hell.

(The video below is a trailer for Drag Me to Hell.)


The horror film is about a loan officer who gets cursed by a gypsy when she refuses to extend the gypsy's loan. The movie had some screen-framing camera shot trademarks of director Sam Raimi's other movies, like the Evil Dead series. The movie was okay. As far as horror films go, the film was not that scary at all. Plus, the movie had a very predictable ending. But all in all, it was entertaining.

I Suck At Apple Picking

Yesterday was a pretty fun day as Karen, our baby daughter (Briana), and I went apple picking. Too bad I suck at apple picking.

Luckily for me, I have a BFF (Kerry) who organized the plans for picking apples. Originally, the people available to pick apples yesterday were Karen, Briana, Kerry, myself and my friends (Marc and Kelley). Unfortunately, Marc and Kelley had to back out that morning as each came down with a sickness. I wonder if they have been hanging out with my friend (Hot Amy) too much, because Hot Amy is always sick. I'm just kidding.

Needless to say, it was just going to be Karen, Briana, Kerry and I picking apples. We ended up going to the Brooksby Farm in Peabody. The place is a quick drive from Kerry as she lives in neighboring Salem.

Anyway, the place was very nice. Although Kerry has never been to the apple orchards there, she mentioned that the farm was owned by the city of Peabody. There's a lot to love about Peabody. I'm just kidding.

The orchards, however, are nice. The place was not that crowded, at least not when we went late morning. There was plenty of parking. We didn't have to pay to get into the orchard like that ripoff, the Marino Lookout Farm. There was no hour wait for apple cider donuts like at the Honey Pot Hill Orchards. (And for anyone curious, the apple cider donuts at Brooksby were much better. They were delicious!)

Last year, a bunch of us went to the Honey Pot Hill Orchards for apple picking. On our way back, we saw a car literally in flames. We could feel the heat as we drove past the car. It was that crazy. Yeah, well this year: no car on fire... always a good sign.

I had a good time at Brooksby and I'd say their prices were very reasonable. In addition to the apples, the farm has a store with... apple cider donuts... other farm-grown vegetables, pumpkins, etc. The place even has animals for people to "feed at their own risk". The animals consisted of pigs, sheep, turkeys, chickens, emus, and llamas (or alpacas)... oh my!

It was definitely a good place to go apple picking. Following the trip to the farm, we ended up having lunch together back at Kerry's before grabbing some ice cream up the street from her at a place called Treadwell's. The ice cream was good, but I would still say that Kimball's in Westford is my top choice for ice cream.

As a random side note, our friends (Renee and Jeff) who live in nearby Lynn happened to have been driving down the street when we were walking to Treadwell's. It was a bizarre coincidence. Apparently, Jeff had recognized us, which led to Renee calling Karen's cell phone to inquire if indeed that was us walking down the street.

Regardless, the ice cream was a good way to end the day. Al in all, it was definitely a great day. And really, how could it not since we were spending it with my BFF? Speaking of whom, we thought Kerry should write a book about grilled cheeses because... well... she is a grilled cheese aficionado. Karen added the part that Kerry could rate grilled cheese sandwiches at various restaurants by slices of cheese.

I don't think Kerry was going for it though. That was just one of the various topics of discussion. Among the other topics was whether it was worse to not vote or to vote ignorantly. Both are pretty terrible options in my opinion. I suppose from a purely ideological point of view, not voting is worse because you are not exercising your freedom to vote. At the same time, if you are ignorantly voting then your vote has more potential to do greater harm to everyone.

Naturally, that led to a discussion of politics and well... discussions of politics are never good, especially when the parties involved include someone who works for the government and someone who thinks the system is highly flawed and inefficient. I happen to be the latter.

On the lighter side, Kerry did joke about how my high school memory is better than my real life memory. Perhaps that is why I enjoy high school movies so much. That whole topic of conversation was a result of our discussion of someone we knew in high school who currently is engaged to an actress.

From there, I ranted about our high school boys volleyball team because that person was on the boys volleyball team. My main gripe was that after every volleyball match, all I ever heard from every single player on the team was how they should have won the game. For anyone curious, when I was in high school the boys volleyball team was absolutely terrible. I'm not sure they won any games all year, yet after every match I heard the same thing about how they should have won.

Kerry was impressed that I could rattle off the names of so many people on the boys volleyball team. (Hence, her joke about how my high school memory was better than my real life memory.) Truthfully, I could rattle off so many names because all I ever heard after every losing match from different members on the volleyball team was how they should have won. It was so annoying at the time. Heck, it's still annoying.

Anyway, Karen and I made a brief pit stop on our way home from Kerry's after apple picking. We stopped by Karen's parents to drop off a few apples as well as get Briana used to seeing my in-laws. With Briana's separation anxiety, we were hoping that she would get used to seeing other people now and then who were not named "mommy" or "daddy".

From there, we headed home whereby I ended up watching another movie while everyone else went to bed. That movie happened to be Sherlock Holmes.

(The video below is a trailer for Sherlock Holmes.)


The movie was okay. Obviously, the film left open the opportunity for a sequel. All in all it was entertaining.

I Suck At Terminator Salvation

When Karen and our baby daughter (Briana) went to bed early Friday night, I decided to feed my addiction. That addiction: movies. Movies... and possibly video games... are like drugs to me. I'm a movieholic. (Sure, that's not a word, but I'm making it one now.)

Recently, Karen and I have been getting calls from Verizon. The only reason why we know Verizon even called is because our phone identifies callers. Thinking that the calls were nothing more than a marketing solicitation of some sorts, we never bothered to answer the phone. My favorite sister-in-law (Janine) would be proud, because I joke that she screens her calls whenever Karen calls.

Anyway, on a lark I decided to finally answer the phone when Verizon called. It turns out that Verizon wanted to give me free HBO and Cinemax service for three months. Thinking nothing of it, I naturally agreed. (I am, after all, a very agreeable person.) So why not get HBO and Cinemax free for a few months?

Needless to say, the free trial did not start until Friday. I was pretty excited. Karen... not so much because she knows about my addiction. Interestingly enough, I think my movie entertainment addiction is genetic because when I mentioned the free HBO trial for a few months to my mother, her eyes lit up with excitement as well. I guess in my mother's case, the movies give her something to watch while Briana is taking a nap during her care.

Anyway, the first movie I watched during this free trial period was Terminator Salvation. Now, I suck at Terminator Salvation.

(The video below is a trailer for Terminator Salvation.)


As far as sequels go, the movie was okay. And for anyone curious, Terminator: Salvation was the movie in which Christian Bale got a lot of flack for as he went on a expletive tirade about the movie's cinematographer.

Even though I missed the third installment of the series, I had to watch this sequel. After all, I've invested so much time already into the other movies (except the third movie in the series), that I had to at least see how the series plays out. Apparently, there is going to be additional sequels (of course).

And like I said, the movie was okay. I wasn't wowed like when I first watched the original Terminator, but I was entertained. Back in the 80s, the concept of cyborgs was pretty cool. And in the movie's defense, Terminator Salvation was definitely much better than the short-lived television series. (I told you I invested too much already in the Terminator franchise.)

I Suck At Feeding Rice Cereal

Today was a milestone of sorts. Today, we started feeding our baby daughter (Briana) rice cereal. Unfortunately, I suck at feeding rice cereal.

Briana's pediatrician recommended that we wait until Briana was six months of age before feeding her cereal. The pediatrician's reasoning had to do with the fact that Briana was born prematurely. Because she was born prematurely, Briana's body has not exactly developed yet to where an actual baby who went to full term would be at six months of age. (Developmentally, Briana is seven weeks behind.) Plus, waiting longer to spoon-feed supposedly decreases the risk of developing allergies. I don't know if that is true or not, but it is what I have been told.

And okay, sure Karen and I are a little early because Briana is technically not six months yet until Friday, but we really couldn't wait any longer. Both Karen and I have noticed that breast milk and formula are simply not enough to keep Briana full. She keeps feeding and feeding. Apparently, she has my appetite.

So after a little visit to the grocery store, in which we purchased the rice cereal, we decided to give it a go and try feeding it to Briana. Interestingly enough, rice cereal is not what I expected it to look like. I was expecting more of a mushy consistency like porridge or something like that. Instead, rice cereal is actually pretty liquidity, probably because it is mixed in with a higher proportion of milk.

Anyway, it was an interesting feed. I think Briana wore more than she ate of the cereal, which was expected. We were told by Briana's physical therapist that the first few feedings of rice cereal would be an exploratory experience for Briana as she gets used to the texture of something different than the milk. (Hmm... I wonder if this is why so many of my friends have food issues...)

For anyone curious, I have been told that I did not like the taste of rice cereal when I was baby. My mother said she had to make other stuff for me to eat at that stage. It's weird having my mother help watch Briana while Karen and I work. I learn so many bizarre things about myself when I was a baby from my mother. Although I suppose if you asked my mom, she'd tell you that I was the perfect baby. My brother on the other hand... not so much.

Needless to say, today was just the first time Karen and I fed Briana rice cereal. Hopefully things will go well and Briana will feel full after eating.

I Suck At Wipeout

Last night, my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) came over. On the agenda for the night was another episode of Wipeout. Unfortunately, I suck at Wipeout. And as luck would have it, Tuesday's episode was the season finale of the show.

Before the night even got started, Karen attended a little meeting at our local library. She has been volunteering her services by becoming a member of the Friends of the Norwell Public Library, which is a volunteer group that helps raise funds to support the library. Things like the discount museum passes and many of the other services offered by the library are a result of volunteer fund-raising efforts, and not the town budget as many people think.

Apparently for all of her efforts, Karen has been elected Vice Chairman of the group. I'm sure it's a dubious distinction. And naturally, through my association with Karen, I was asked to partake in an upcoming activity. That activity involves dressing up in a hedgehog costume and posing for pictures with kids as they sign up for library cards. (For anyone curious, the costume is of Hedgie the Hedgehog, which is a character created by Jan Brett for children.) That activity should be interesting... I'm sure. So if anyone is around next Saturday, visit the Norwell Public Library and get your picture taken with me! I know... it's such an irresistible offer: me, hedgehog outfit, library... what else could you ask for?

Anyway, it was a good time to see and hang out with everyone during Wipeout. We definitely had some laughs over the show. Sadly, with the season finale of the show airing on Tuesday, all of us now are going to have to find a new show to watch together.

Kelley suggested finishing up our viewing of the Angel and Buffy series, because neither her nor Marc have seen the final season of Buffy. Karen has not either for that matter. I, of course, am totally in for watching the show. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, after all, the greatest show ever on television. I do, however, feel somewhat bad that Andrea will join us near the end of the series.

Speaking of Andrea, it appears that she is one step closer to "un-coupling" from her current roommate. It's not that she dislikes her current roommate. Quite the contrary. She just thinks that it is time to move on to the next phase of her life and live independently. (They grow up so quickly...) But yep, Andrea has been looking for houses and may have finally found a townhouse to her liking. So that was good news to hear.

All in all, the night was definitely fun. I am so looking forward to continuing the Buffy series, if only to watch the return of Faith.

I Suck At Remember My Son

Two years ago on Sunday, my son (Braden) passed away. He was born extremely premature and only survived for a week. To watch Braden fight so hard for that one week after he was born only to pass away in the end has been extremely hard to endure. As strange as this is going to sound, it was the greatest week and the worst week all at the same time.

I don't know if I am or ever will be fully healed from the grief. After all, I still break down and cry every now and then. My tears are not as often as before, probably because most of the time I am now distracted by having to take care of our baby daughter (Briana). Nevertheless, the pain still hurts like it did back then.

Needless to say, I suck at remembering my son. I was not much in the mood to see people on Sunday. Unfortunately, Karen had already made plans to have her parents and her sister (and her sister's family) to come over. The previous week on Braden's birthday, Karen had learned that Sunday was the pseudo-holiday known as grandparents day. Consequently, the local church was going to do something to honor grandparents.

Thinking that her mother would be thrilled with the idea, Karen invited her parents to church for grandparents day, followed by a family lunch at our place whereby my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family would also stop on by. And as luck would have it, I had just cleaned the house the day before.

Anyway, while Karen, our baby daughter (Briana), and Karen's parents attended church for the grandparents day mass, I decided to go out for a little run. This will sound strange, but I have missed running. Granted, I never liked distance running and to some extent I still do not. I do, however, enjoy the feeling of clarity after having run a considerable distance.

Naturally, I did not run that far on Sunday. I was only able to run a mile. I guess it's good that I am still able to run a mile with no problem. These days I don't run as much as I used to in part because I really don't have much time to go out for a little jaunt within the course of a given day.

The run actually felt pretty good on Sunday. I got to think about Braden a lot during the run. It was almost like it was just him and me out there. Of course, even with the cloudy day I wore my sunglasses during the run in the event I should happen to break down in tears. After all, no one will be able to tell if I do cry if I have them on. The sunglasses are dark enough and reflect too much light to allow people to see my eyes.

And in what can be classified as a "people will believe what they want to believe" incident, I think Braden may have been watching over me for a little part of the run. While I was running, rain started to sprinkle down upon me. Since running in the rain is never fun, I muttered a little prayer to Braden, asking him to stop the rain while I run. The next thing I know, the sprinkles stopped. It was weird.

Sure, the stoppage of sprinkling rain is probably due to the clouds simply moving out of range overhead, but it's a nice feeling to believe that your little one is watching over you and hearing every word you say. So thanks Little B! I really did not want to get wet. And if you are listening Braden, Daddy still loves you and will never forget you.

Anyway, following the run I went to the cemetery to visit Braden and to reflect some more. Joining me shortly thereafter were Karen, Briana, my mother-in-law, and my father-in-law. And from there, we headed back to our house for lunch because Janine and her family were also coming over.

All in all, the day turned out to be an enjoyable day to spend with family.

I Suck At Celebrating My Friend's Birthday

Saturday started off with my best Mr. Mom impersonation. While Karen was out and about with all her friends looking at bridesmaid dresses for our friend's (Hot Amy) upcoming wedding, I got to spend some quality time with my baby daughter (Briana). And by quality time, I mean I spent the entire afternoon cleaning the house.

The house, after all, had to be cleaned because we were expecting guests the following day. And truth be told, were it up to me I wouldn't have guests over on the day that my son (Braden) passed away, but some things are out of my control.

Needless to say, the only time to clean the house was... well... Saturday afternoon. So, I decided to strap Briana in an infant carrier and go at it. I, of course, turned Briana around to face outward so that she could watch and learn from her daddy as he vacuums the house. Some day, Briana will learn this task of vacuuming... along with washing dishes... cooking... taking out the trash... mowing the lawn... and perhaps using a table saw, etc. After all, if she is going to be a princess, what better princess to be than Cinderella, if not for the whole slew of chores that she performs.

And might I add, vacuuming the house while having Briana strapped to you in an infant carrier is not as easy as it sounds. Things take a lot longer.

When Karen got back from her day out with the girls, it was practically time to go out and celebrate my friend's (Marc) birthday. Too bad I suck at celebrating my friend's birthday.

Marc's birthday was actually the week before, but as he was in Las Vegas that week we decided to celebrate his birthday on Saturday. The dining destination: the Halfway Cafe located in Holbrook.

With Briana's recent separation anxiety, to which she constantly cries... and cries... and cries for people not named mommy and daddy, we thought that my mother was our last hope at finding a babysitting. After all, my mother spends a good portion of the week watching Briana while Karen and I work. So you would think that Briana would be okay with my mom.

Well, things didn't start off that smoothly. Briana immediately burst out in tears when we arrived at my parents'. Eventually she settled down, but it took awhile. We think it may have been the fact that there was another baby (my cousin's daughter) in the house. My cousin wanted to see Briana again. Regardless, it was a little worrisome to leave Briana with my parents after the incident because we weren't sure if she would remain okay.

I thought the celebration at the Halfway Cafe was great. In addition to Marc and Kelley, joining in on the festivities were my friends (Cass, Ellen, Garv, and Andrea) and my BFF (Kerry). Of course, the celebration would have been exponentially greater had we been seated at a circular table, but that's just my opinion. (I have a thing for circular tables because I think the shape is more conducive to overall group interaction.)

That's not to say all of us weren't involved in the conversations around the table. Some of the interesting items that I remember are that Kerry has graduated from her swimming class; Cass was classy according to the waitress based on the drink he ordered; and Kelley had some fun with Garv's phone.

For anyone curious, Garv was showing off his new phone to Kelley. Well, while Kelley was checking out the phone, she noticed that the phone could automatically log Garv into his Facebook account. Needless to say, Kelley took full advantage of the opportunity and began to update Garv's status on Facebook through the phone. The funny part was that Garv had absolutely no clue what Kelley was doing until someone told him. It was quite comical.

After dinner, all of us headed back to Marc and Kelley's for some more merriment. By that time, Karen and I picked up Briana (to make sure she was still okay) from my parents. (And yes, Briana was okay. No uncontrollable tears... at least not from Briana.) A few of us also made a little pit stop at Frozen Freddies, which is an ice cream shop located in Quincy.

The trip to Frozen Freddies was rather interesting because I found out something that I had not known earlier: Garv's wife (Leeann) has a thing for monkeys. The only reason I know this is because Garv asked if I had a dime so that he could purchase three plastic monkey figurines at the counter of Frozen Freddies. And I'll admit, the monkeys in their various poses were pretty cute.

As I did not have any change, nor anyone else in the group, one of the patrons at Frozen Freddies gave us the dime. The patron apparently also liked the shirt I was wearing. So as to not lead you into thinking the patron was hitting on me, I was wearing my t-shirt that read "And Buffy staked Edward. The End. The t-shirt was a gift from Marc. Apparently, this patron had been trying to read my shirt while in the store but I kept moving around.

Anyway, to end the night all of us hung out at Marc and Kelley's and caught a couple of episodes of Wipeout. As usual, it was fun just to be with everyone. As it also turns out, Briana likes playing with Kerry and Garv. I am not sure Garv had ever held Briana before Saturday, so I was quite surprised that he started playing with her. If only I had my camera! Oh well. Next time.

I Suck At Ghost Adventures

Geez, I'm slacking. I haven't blogged in several days. (Enter "I suck at blogging" line.) Where has all the time gone?

Anyway, this past Friday my friends (Marc and Kelley) stopped by for a visit. Marc and Kelley were in the neighborhood as they had gone out to eat at Pizzeria Uno located in Hanover. Taking care of our baby daughter (Briana), Karen and I were naturally home on a Friday night. Our only big plans for the night was a trip to the local grocery store. Yes, it's a very exciting life we lead.

As usual, it was great to see and hang out with Marc and Kelley. Prior to Unos, they had watched Resident Evil: Afterlife in 3-D. Since the new 3-D technology came out, I have yet to watch a movie in the theaters in 3-D. The last thing I watched in 3-D was the Hannah Montana concert, which my niece (Kaleigh) really wanted to watch. (And sure, I'll admit that I may have also wanted to watch it as well. It is, after all, the best of both worlds.)

Based on Kelley's description of the 3-D technology, the Hannah Montana concert which I thought was interestingly done at the time now seems totally archaic. One of the things that I quite never liked about 3-D movies in the past was the lack of color. According to Kelley, who likewise shared my dislike of the monochrome color from old 3-D movies due to the red and blue lenses, the latest 3-D technology is vastly superior. For Kelley, it was her first time watching a movie in the theaters in 3-D and she was impressed. (She was not impressed enough to buy a 3-D television, but impressed enough to continue watching movies in 3-D.)

Anyway, with Marc and Kelley over, we ended up watching an episode of Ghost Adventures. Now, I suck at Ghost Adventures. For anyone curious, the show is about a group of three friends who investigate haunted locations. And by "investigate", I mean they antagonize ghosts by yelling at them. To me, the premise sounds silly. Although if you are my friend (Garv), you probably are quivering in your boots just hearing the word "ghost".

Needless to say, I found the show comical. Apparently, Marc and Kelley find the show more amusing after having a few drinks as well. And truth be told, I find a lot of things more comical after drinking too. For instance, Blade 2 was a great movie if you were slightly inebriated on star-burst martinis.

All in all, it was a fun night hanging out with Marc and Kelley. I'm glad they stopped on by on Friday night. It definitely made it a great night.

I Suck At Justin Bieber Hair

Last night, Karen, our baby daughter (Briana, and I hung out with our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) as it was our weekly get together. We have not met on a Wednesday in quite awhile. Truth be told, I do miss the Prince Spaghetti Wednesday meetings as I think it breaks up the general work week better than a Tuesday.

Regardless, even though this week was a short work week due to Labor day, the week to me has felt like it has been dragging. So it was definitely nice to see everyone, hang out, and have some laughs.

The night began with a great start as Andrea brought the item known as "dough knots" from the Schoolhouse Pizza located in Quincy. Needless to say, the dough knots were delicious. I was full from my dinner, yet I couldn't resist devouring the dough knots. It was that good. (Of course, who am I kidding? I devour everything.)

As it had been a few days since I last saw Andrea, she was a little disappointed to see that I had gotten a haircut. I think Andrea really wanted to see, and perhaps even I was a little intrigued by the idea, if I could grow out my hair and have Justin Bieber hair for my friend's (Hot Amy) wedding. Too bad I suck at Justin Bieber hair.

I generally keep my hair very short... very short. The whole idea of growing out my hair to be like Justin Bieber's randomly started because I had let my hair grow out to Monchhichi proportions. (Monchhichi Monchhichi, oh so soft and cuddly!) For anyone curious, Monchhichi was a toy from the 80s.

(The video below is a commercial for Monchhchis.)


My Monchhichi hair was not exactly done on purpose. I just happened to forgo getting my hair cut for quite some time. As my hair was getting rather long, Andrea made the dare. Unfortunately, I just could not take the Monchhichi look anymore. (Truth of the matter is, having to wake up every morning with a severe case of bedhead was really annoying.) Hence, I got my hair cut over the weekend.

It's a good thing the Justin Bieber hair dare was not a competition with my friend (Hot Amy). I would definitely lose that one. Although, I'm sure she would lose that challenge as well. Hot Amy loses every challenge.

Speaking of Justin Bieber, all of us decided to catch an episode of Shaq Vs after our routine watching of Wipeout. The episode was intriguing to all of us because it was Shaq Vs Justin Bieber.

For me, this was the first time I had ever watched Shaq Vs. In fact, I had avoided watching anything with Shaq ever since his acting roles in Kazaam and Steel. (Both movies... terrible...) Plus, I never was a big fan of his on the basketball court. I always thought he was overrated because, as great as he was playing center, he could never shoot free throws well.

Of course, with Shaquille O'Neal now wearing Celtic green, I feel a little more compelled to root for him. And as it turns out, Shaq is really funny. I always knew he was a goofball, but his show was actually pretty comical.

Anyway, as usual I had a great time hanging out with everyone. It was definitely a fun time. And oh... the dough knots...

I Suck At Home Improvement

On Labor Day, I figured I would do some laboring. Plus, with Karen taking our baby daughter (Briana) out to see my in-laws, I figured it was a perfect opportunity to do some home improvement. Too bad I suck at home improvement.

The project for the day involved cutting molding to the bathroom door on our first floor. One of the first projects that Karen and I ever did on our house was to add a bathroom door right off of our kitchen. The problem, of course, was that we never finished renovating the actual bathroom itself until recently. (We've owned the house for over eight years now, so it has been a while.)

So for several years, only one side of the bathroom door was complete. That side was the side facing the kitchen. The side facing the actual bathroom was still undone. And naturally because our house is a throwback to when things were not square or level, the walls are slightly off. And by slightly off, I mean the wall on one side of the door is a different thickness than the other side of the door. In addition to that, both wall depths exceed the standard depth for a regular door casing, which means that additional wood will need to be placed where the casings come together.

Needless to say, I was not looking forward to this project because the irregularities of the house drive me insane. And like I said, I do suck at home improvement. Nevertheless, I spent a good portion of Labor day cutting wood with my trusty table saw.

By the time Karen came back from her little excursion to her parents, I had finished cutting the wood for the side of the door facing the bathroom. Now of course comes the fun part: staining all the pieces and actually installing them. I'll have to work on that at another time.

I Suck At Celebrating My Son's Birthday

Sunday was my son's (Braden) birthday. Happy birthday Braden! Daddy still loves you! Unfortunately, I suck at celebrating my son's birthday. Had Braden survived from being born extremely premature, he would have been two years of age. Sadly, it just wasn't meant to be for Braden.

In a rather ironic twist, I started off my Sunday going to church. I say it's ironic because I am by no means religious. For all my rantings about the Catholic church, I'm surprised I wasn't struck by lightning when I entered.

Truth be told, the only reason why I even went to church was because Karen wanted the entire family to go in remembrance of Braden. Personally, I would have chosen to remember Braden in my own individual way, rather than listen to the useless rhetoric from the priest as he tells me how giving myself fully into God is the answer. I could give myself fully into God and that still wouldn't bring back my son. (To quote Michael from Lost, "I want my son".)

Needless to say, I attended the church mass for the betterment of Karen. And as much as I would have preferred to be alone that morning, it was nice that my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family attended the mass as well as Karen's cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy) who had spent the previous night at our place. Karlene and Tommy considered it an honor to go, which was nice to know.

Anyway, following the mass, Karen, our baby daughter (Briana) and I headed over to the cemetery to see Braden and wish him a happy birthday. Karlene and Tommy had joined us too as they had a little present for Braden. As well, meeting us at the cemetery were my parents and Karen's parents, each with a present for Braden.

As selfish as this sounds, on Sunday morning all I wanted was to just be alone with Braden. I think it's great that everyone wants to be there to support us and I really do appreciate it. I also understand that my relatives and in-laws need to grieve in there own way as well. At the same time, when it comes to Braden, I don't have the energy to stress over things like going to church or planning to meet everyone at the cemetery after church. I just want my own time with my son.

Truth be told, I actually held up pretty well at the cemetery. I did not break down and cry until after everyone had left. I think the tears definitely made me feel better.

Anyway, following the cemetery, Karen and I decided to take a little day trip in honor of Braden. It would be just her, Briana and me. In fact, we actually considered making it an annual tradition of sorts: a vacation in honor of our son. Karen is thinking about Disney, but we'll see how that pans out next year.

Because we did not have much planned this year for Braden's memory, we decided to take a little day trip to Plymouth. In particular, we went to visit Plymouth Rock and introduce Briana to her first beach. For anyone curious, Briana missed seeing Plymouth Rock because she was asleep during that portion of the trip.

For Karen and I, it was definitely relaxing. With the nice weather, we walked around Plymouth. We hung around one of the gardens. It was a perfect way to spend the day in honor of our son. I had not been to historic Plymouth for quite some time. I think the last time I was there may have been with my friend (Jen) and my BFF (Kerry), which was the start of the whole idea about how great it would be to spend a vacationing week together with just friends. Of course, since that time Karen and I have only spent a week with our friends once, but it was still a great idea.

Anyway, as a fitting way to end the evening, we decided to dine out at our favorite restaurant, Not Your Average Joe's located in Norwell. For anyone curious, I ordered the Cobb salad which was very delicious. Of course, the meal also marked the third meal of the day in which I had eggs. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast with Karlene and Tommy; I had egg salad for lunch, which was my comfort food for the day; and I had the Cobb salad that had eggs in it. All in all, my cholesterol must have skyrocketed on Sunday.

Regardless, Sunday turned out to be a great day. I had a good time spending it with just Karen and Briana. Thank you and happy birthday Braden!

I Suck At Egg Salad

Saturday happened to be the glorious day in which Beyonce Knowles, Ione Skye, and Damon Wayans were born. As a mental note: what ever happened to Ione Skye? As well, the day happened to be the birthday of my friend (Marc). Happy belated birthday, Marc! I hope you enjoyed the day in Las Vegas. (For anyone curious, Marc celebrated his birthday by going to sin city.)

Anyway, Saturday was a rather comical day. I had noticed that a carton of eggs were on sale at the local grocery store. It was quite the deal. The only problem, of course, was that we already had a carton and a half of eggs already in the refrigerator. Naturally, I started to have delusions of making egg salad. Now, I suck at egg salad.

For those who know me, they know that I do enjoy egg salad. (Karen... not so much.) In fact, my most memorable egg salad memory may have been while I was in Maine with a bunch of my friends. I got so sick from eating mass quantities of egg salad that I passed out. Interestingly enough, you would think that with my liking for egg salad that I would make it more often.

Needless to say, I may have rationalized that with eggs being on sale at the grocery store, it would make sense to get the eggs on sale and use up some of our existing eggs. Hence, the egg salad idea!

Anyway, Karen and I had quite the experience making the egg salad. As I am apt to do, I sometimes tune my mother out while talking to her on the phone. So there I was with a pot of water on the kitchen stove with the phone in my hand. I began heating the pot with the eggs in them when I started hearing what sounded like chirping noises.

I couldn't pinpoint where the noise was coming from until after I hung up the phone. But the chirping noise seemed to be coming from within the pot of water. Naturally, to make sure I was not crazy, I asked Karen if she heard the chirping noise. Sure enough, she did. And sure enough, she thought the chirping came from within the pot of water as well.

Karen took all the eggs out of the pot. She put one back into the pot. Nothing. She put another egg into the pot. Nothing. She put another egg into the pot. Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Karen freaked. We were absolutely convinced that we were boiling a baby chicken.

I think what makes the whole thing more interesting is the fact that we got the eggs that were being boiled from my mother. I say that because I began to wonder where on earth did my mom get these eggs from. Did she get them from Chinatown or something? (Turns out the eggs were from Roche Bros. And it turns out that the chirping egg wasn't even one of the eggs that my mom gave us.)

Anyway, it was a rather comical experience. Looking back, from a purely scientific standpoint we know it was impossible for there to be a chicken in an unfertilized store bought egg. At the same time, our rationalization that there was a chicken in the egg was just too funny. (For anyone curious, eggs are porous and when in water the air escapes through the shells... sometimes causing a "chirp".)

I guess it shows you how often Karen and I make hard-boiled eggs. Karen was still a little worried when the eggs were completely boiled. She wouldn't touch the eggs when I was cracking the shells, a precaution in the event there actually was a boiled chicken in there.

Following the egg incident, Karen and I also had a little broiled salmon incident. Apparently, it wasn't a good day for cooking for Karen and I. Karen was on the phone with our friend (Jen) while I was taking care of our daughter (Briana) and cooking the salmon. The next thing you know, smoke is coming from the broiler. The whole house smelled like burned salmon, which wasn't good because Karen's cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy) were coming over.

Karlene and Tommy happened to be in the neighborhood as they were attending an all-day family thing in Duxbury. Rather than make the trek back to Lowell, where there is always something to like about Lowell, they opted to stay the night at our place.

It's always good to see Karlene and Tommy. Karlene cracks me up with her stories. One of her stories this time around involved one of her friends having a "cool" friend. Apparently, the friend's friend has been labeled "cool" by the friend.

Naturally, that got me thinking about my own circle of friends. In my circle, who would I label as the "cool" friend? I know I myself would never be considered the "cool" friend because I'm about as geeky as they come. Although I suppose if I were in a group strictly made up of geeks then perhaps I may stand a chance. Anyway, the "cool" friend was an interesting topic of discussion.

It also turns out that Tommy is the baby-whisperer. Briana has recently become quite attached to Karen and I (which makes sense because we are her parents after all). Whenever someone outside of Karen and I hold her, she usually begins to cry... and cry... and cry. She does this to my favorite sister-in-law (Janine). She did this to Karlene. But with Tommy... no tears. Briana was happy as a clam.

It was remarkable. I don't know what it is about Tommy, but apparently he can come down and watch Briana any time.

I Suck At Hanging Out With My Sister-In-Law

With very little plans going on Thursday, Karen and I decided to visit my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family. Now, I suck at hanging out with my sister-in-law. As luck would have it, however, Janine and her family and her BFF (Gretchen) were home on Thursday.

Thus, Karen and I stopped on by in an effort to get our baby daughter (Briana) used to seeing them. After all, Briana has recently developed the case of separation anxiety whereby she will only be good for Karen and I. Anyone else who holds her is met with tears and cries... loud eardrum shattering cries.

Consequently, our line of thinking was that if we expose Briana to Janine and her family often enough, Briana will be okay when she is being taken care of by people other than Karen and I. And truth be told, our efforts may be working. Briana actually lasted longer than previous visits to their house. Granted, she still burst out in tears, but it was not as quickly as before.

Of course, I like to joke and say that the reason why Briana uncontrollably cries whenever she is at Janine's is that she sees dead people. In particular, I joke that Briana sees the former owner of the house (Helen) whenever she is in the living room because that is where the owner died. (For anyone curious, I do not know where Helen passed away.) I make this joke because the former owner of Janine's house was a relative to Karen and Janine. When my nephew (PJ) was younger, he used to stare off in the distant too... to which I joked that he was staring at Helen.

Anyway, like I said earlier, Briana did last longer at Janine's before she began to cry. Perhaps Karen and my efforts to expose Briana to other people are working. Of course, it could be just wishful thinking on my part.

I Suck At Assassin's Creed 2

This morning omnimously began with an unpleasant experience with my achilles' heel: my nose. For anyone curious, I have a sensitive nose. I have always had a sensitive nose growing up, which is proof that snorting cocaine when you are a toddler is not recommended. I'm just kidding about the cocaine.

And by sensitive, I mean my nose is prone to gush puddles and puddles of blood at the drop of a hat. It's usually not a great feeling to have warm blood streaming down your nose, but I've gotten pretty accustomed to it over the years. If it weren't for my nose, I could have a prolific MMA career (hopefully like my friend, Jim). Just kidding.

I haven't had an incident where my nose gushed a lot of blood in some time. In fact, I don't think it has happened at all this year until today. And as luck would have it, my nose started to profusely bleed when my baby daughter (Briana) was waking up. It was a great start to the day.

So by far, the highlight of the day was that I finally finished Assassin's Creed 2 for my Playstation 3. And yes, I suck at Assassin's Creed 2. Sure, it has taken a long time for me to finish the game. In my defense, I do only play the game during the wee hours of night when Karen and Briana have gone to bed. That seems to be the period of time where I have some free time for myself.

(The video below is a trailer for Assassin's Creed 2.)


Needless to say, I enjoyed the game. For anyone curious, the game continues where the first game (which I have not played... yet) left off. Through the use of a mechanical gadget, much like the Matrix, the main character can view his genetic memories through his ancestors. In the case of the game, the ancestor happens to be an assassin in Italy during the late 1400s. As an added bonus, Kristen Bell (of Veronica Mars fame) lends her voice talent as one of the characters. (Ooh... shiny! ) So with Kristen Bell, what's not to like about the game?

I'm happy to have finally finished the game. I thought the ending was a little bit of a letdown, but I understand the ending is the way it is so that the game can have another sequel. It's almost like the movies that way and how there is always room for sequels. Perhaps that is why I enjoy games so much: the medium of entertainment is so similar in its storytelling.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to my next game: Darksiders. At this rate, it will be a while before I finish that game.