Thankfully, it's Friday. It has been a pretty exhausting week.
Among one of the highlights for today was picking up my car from the shop. For most of last week, my car had trouble starting. It would crank and crank and crank. And if I were lucky, it would finally catch and start. Since this was unusual behavior for my 2010 car, I brought it in to the dealership to have them take a look.
The good news is the car is still under warranty, so the service did not cost me anything. The bad news: they couldn't find the cause of the problem. I will have to admit, it's very annoying when the problem cannot be identified because there is that lingering doubt in the back of my head that thinks when will my car not start up again. But at least they were able to reproduce the slow crank when I brought the car in. After they had reproduced it and ran their tests, they couldn't find anything. Bizarre.
Needless to say, I was not too thrilled by the expert diagnosis. Interestingly enough though, the car starts like it had done prior to last week. Maybe my car just doesn't like the heat. I suppose my car is like me that way.
Aside from my car fiasco, I got to spend the night with my two daughters because Karen was invited to some makeup party at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine). For anyone curious, Karen doesn't wear makeup. Odd, right? So normally, the opportunity to spend time with the kids would be the highlight of the night. But not tonight.
Sadly no. My four month old (Bridget) was quite the fussy one tonight. There may have been a good stretch where I heard nothing but crying.
Anyway, the most exciting part of today was actually fixing the bath fan. Now, I suck at fixing bath fans. And when I mean "fix", I mean I did absolutely nothing. A couple of days ago, the bath fan stopped working. The light for the bath fan in our master bedroom was on one night because my aforementioned four month old was being fussy (trend?) and did not want to go to bed. In a completely dark room, that light was the furthest from Bridget that wouldn't illuminate the entire room.
Shortly after using the light from the bath fan, the light completely shut off. I attempted to flick the switch back on and the light would not come on. I then tested the switch for the fan and it too would not turn on. Exhausted, I told myself that I'd take a look at the issue this weekend.
But then it dawned on me today. The issue was probably a result of the GFCI outlet being tripped. Lo and behold, I took a look at the GFCI outlet and it indicated that there was a fault current. After resetting the outlet, I tried the bath fan and light. Voila! Genius. I love projects that don't require doing anything.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
I Suck At Grooming
Last night, I was pretty exhausted. Nevertheless, Thursday was the scheduled weekly get together with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). For this week, Karen and I had everyone over.
Truth be told, I don't remember much at all from yesterday. One of the things that I do remember, however, is Andrea's use of the term "grooming". Now, I suck at grooming. When Andrea mentioned she would be a little late due to a grooming appointment, I thought she meant a haircut. Sadly, I was mistaken by her use of the term.
Speaking of Andrea, she recounted a story whereby a coworker commented that she wished Andrea had a significant other so that Andrea would be happy. For anyone curious, Andrea is currently single. I am assuming her coworker had the best intentions, and possibly misspoke in equating happiness with not being single. After all, I'm sure there are a lot of couples who aren't happy (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes come to mind right now since they are getting a divorce). Regardless, it was an odd thing to say particularly when the two do not necessarily equate with one another.
Anyway, that is essentially all I remember from the night. With my two year old daughter acting up, I actually spent most of the night with her trying to get her to calm down. And that usually means watching Elmo. Curse you, you little red furry bundle of cuteness! Just kidding.
All in all, it was good to hang out... at least for a little bit.
Truth be told, I don't remember much at all from yesterday. One of the things that I do remember, however, is Andrea's use of the term "grooming". Now, I suck at grooming. When Andrea mentioned she would be a little late due to a grooming appointment, I thought she meant a haircut. Sadly, I was mistaken by her use of the term.
Speaking of Andrea, she recounted a story whereby a coworker commented that she wished Andrea had a significant other so that Andrea would be happy. For anyone curious, Andrea is currently single. I am assuming her coworker had the best intentions, and possibly misspoke in equating happiness with not being single. After all, I'm sure there are a lot of couples who aren't happy (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes come to mind right now since they are getting a divorce). Regardless, it was an odd thing to say particularly when the two do not necessarily equate with one another.
Anyway, that is essentially all I remember from the night. With my two year old daughter acting up, I actually spent most of the night with her trying to get her to calm down. And that usually means watching Elmo. Curse you, you little red furry bundle of cuteness! Just kidding.
All in all, it was good to hang out... at least for a little bit.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
I Suck At Swimming
Today, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget), and I made the trek to the great white north known as Lowell. After all, there is a lot to like about Lowell (or so the Lowellians will have you believe). The plan for the day was to visit Karen's cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy).
Since learning about the trip yesterday, Briana has been quite ecstatic. Every other word from Briana has been the word "swimming". Briana does not even know how to swim. The extent of her swimming is my holding her in the water and walking back and forth across the pool. So I guess you can say that I suck at swimming. Luckily for me, Karlene and Tommy happen to be great swimmers who own a pool which is quite handy after a few straight days of god awful heat. Needless to say, Briana was all about swimming in the pool today despite a particular mishap.
The mishap was reminiscent of my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) visit to Karlene and Tommy's some time ago. Janine does not visit them too often, so it was definitely a long while ago.
During that time, my nephew (PJ) was pretty young and Janine had taken him into the pool. He wasn't a big fan of pools, probably because his father (PJ) is also not a big fan of swimming. To be honest, I don't even know if I could describe what happened. It all seemed like slow motion when PJ went under the water after being accidentally dropped by Janine. I think the oddest part was when after fishing PJ out of the water, everyone tried to pass off the incident as being intentional by clapping their hands and saying what a great job PJ did in going under the water. (To this day, I think PJ is still not a fan of swimming.)
It's only natural then, that Karen almost duplicate the task of her sister years later. Again, I'm not sure if I can describe it. I had Bridget in the pool. Karen was watching Briana in the pool, and by "watching" I mean she was standing next to her while being preoccupied with an insect in a bucket. Tommy was fiddling around with some swim goggles. I'm not sure what Karlene was doing. And then it happened. Briana went under the water. So much for watching Briana. In Karen's defense, she didn't drop Briana outright.
Interestingly enough, these incidents always seem to be in slow motion. Briana was actually pretty good though. She came out of the water just fine. In fact, she seemed unfazed by going under. Heck, she still loves swimming. If it were up to Briana, she would have stayed in the pool even when it rained and hailed in the late afternoon.
It was definitely an interesting visit to Karlene and Tommy's. One of the comical topics of discussion that came up was dining out with friends and how sometimes the amount does not always seem to add up correctly. You know who you are. Just kidding. As well, the discussion of changing the layout of their living room came up, and the life expectancy of couches. Apparently one of Karlene and Tommy's friends has a couch that is almost 20 years old. That couch has seen a lot of behinds.
All in all, it was a fun trip. I know Karlene has been waiting for a "Yum-O" review of her cooking, so I'll give her one. Karlene and Tommy were gracious enough to grill our lunches today, which was quite nice. The grilled chicken was delicious. So "yum-o"!
Since learning about the trip yesterday, Briana has been quite ecstatic. Every other word from Briana has been the word "swimming". Briana does not even know how to swim. The extent of her swimming is my holding her in the water and walking back and forth across the pool. So I guess you can say that I suck at swimming. Luckily for me, Karlene and Tommy happen to be great swimmers who own a pool which is quite handy after a few straight days of god awful heat. Needless to say, Briana was all about swimming in the pool today despite a particular mishap.
The mishap was reminiscent of my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) visit to Karlene and Tommy's some time ago. Janine does not visit them too often, so it was definitely a long while ago.
During that time, my nephew (PJ) was pretty young and Janine had taken him into the pool. He wasn't a big fan of pools, probably because his father (PJ) is also not a big fan of swimming. To be honest, I don't even know if I could describe what happened. It all seemed like slow motion when PJ went under the water after being accidentally dropped by Janine. I think the oddest part was when after fishing PJ out of the water, everyone tried to pass off the incident as being intentional by clapping their hands and saying what a great job PJ did in going under the water. (To this day, I think PJ is still not a fan of swimming.)
It's only natural then, that Karen almost duplicate the task of her sister years later. Again, I'm not sure if I can describe it. I had Bridget in the pool. Karen was watching Briana in the pool, and by "watching" I mean she was standing next to her while being preoccupied with an insect in a bucket. Tommy was fiddling around with some swim goggles. I'm not sure what Karlene was doing. And then it happened. Briana went under the water. So much for watching Briana. In Karen's defense, she didn't drop Briana outright.
Interestingly enough, these incidents always seem to be in slow motion. Briana was actually pretty good though. She came out of the water just fine. In fact, she seemed unfazed by going under. Heck, she still loves swimming. If it were up to Briana, she would have stayed in the pool even when it rained and hailed in the late afternoon.
It was definitely an interesting visit to Karlene and Tommy's. One of the comical topics of discussion that came up was dining out with friends and how sometimes the amount does not always seem to add up correctly. You know who you are. Just kidding. As well, the discussion of changing the layout of their living room came up, and the life expectancy of couches. Apparently one of Karlene and Tommy's friends has a couch that is almost 20 years old. That couch has seen a lot of behinds.
All in all, it was a fun trip. I know Karlene has been waiting for a "Yum-O" review of her cooking, so I'll give her one. Karlene and Tommy were gracious enough to grill our lunches today, which was quite nice. The grilled chicken was delicious. So "yum-o"!
Monday, June 18, 2012
I Suck At Father's Day
Happy Father's Day!
Sadly, I suck at Father's Day. Truth be told, I actually almost broke down in tears today on my way to the cemetery. The loss of my son (Braden) almost four years ago still hurts. I guess in some ways, it's good to know that I'm still human.
All in all, today was a nice day. My in-laws invited Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget), and I over for lunch to celebrate Father's Day. It was nice of my in-laws. Plus, the lunch was good.
One of the more interesting things about today was actually running into my friend (Jen). My in-laws happen to live near Jen. As we were taking Briana and Bridget out for a walk down Wollaston Beach, I mentioned to Karen that perhaps we should stop by Jen's place to see if she would want to go for the walk too.
And pretty much on queue: a car comes driving along, stops right in front of us, and out jumps Jen. Jen was ecstatic to see us and go for a walk along the beach. It was bizarre timing.
Regardless, it was good to see Jen. I haven't seen Jen in some time. Apparently, she is running a couple of road races soon. She even wanted me to run one of the races with her, which is quite enticing. The problem of course, is that I haven't done anything remotely active in over two years unless overeating is considered "being active".
In all honesty, I have been thinking about running a lot lately. My latest idea has been to go running at night when my family is asleep, since that is generally the time I have available to myself. I'm not sure if Karen agrees with my idea or not.
I know she's not too fond of my parcour idea. Hardcore parcour! I've been toying with the idea of trying parcour. The subject interests me only because it looks neat and I'm currently addicted to American Ninja Warrior. But we'll see. And for anyone curious, I think Wollaston Beach would be a nice place to start parcour. At least, that was what I was thinking while walking along the beach today.
Anyway, that was pretty much my Father's Day. The day was rather low key, which I actually preferred because it indirectly involved Braden. I still love you and miss you, Little B. Take care.
Sadly, I suck at Father's Day. Truth be told, I actually almost broke down in tears today on my way to the cemetery. The loss of my son (Braden) almost four years ago still hurts. I guess in some ways, it's good to know that I'm still human.
All in all, today was a nice day. My in-laws invited Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget), and I over for lunch to celebrate Father's Day. It was nice of my in-laws. Plus, the lunch was good.
One of the more interesting things about today was actually running into my friend (Jen). My in-laws happen to live near Jen. As we were taking Briana and Bridget out for a walk down Wollaston Beach, I mentioned to Karen that perhaps we should stop by Jen's place to see if she would want to go for the walk too.
And pretty much on queue: a car comes driving along, stops right in front of us, and out jumps Jen. Jen was ecstatic to see us and go for a walk along the beach. It was bizarre timing.
Regardless, it was good to see Jen. I haven't seen Jen in some time. Apparently, she is running a couple of road races soon. She even wanted me to run one of the races with her, which is quite enticing. The problem of course, is that I haven't done anything remotely active in over two years unless overeating is considered "being active".
In all honesty, I have been thinking about running a lot lately. My latest idea has been to go running at night when my family is asleep, since that is generally the time I have available to myself. I'm not sure if Karen agrees with my idea or not.
I know she's not too fond of my parcour idea. Hardcore parcour! I've been toying with the idea of trying parcour. The subject interests me only because it looks neat and I'm currently addicted to American Ninja Warrior. But we'll see. And for anyone curious, I think Wollaston Beach would be a nice place to start parcour. At least, that was what I was thinking while walking along the beach today.
Anyway, that was pretty much my Father's Day. The day was rather low key, which I actually preferred because it indirectly involved Braden. I still love you and miss you, Little B. Take care.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
I Suck At Stars On Hingham Harbor
My BFF (Kerry) threw together some plans for tonight. That plan: Stars on Hingham Harbor for dinner. Now, I suck at Stars on Hingham Harbor. I haven't been there in quite some time. For that matter, I haven't seen Kerry in some time so my status as BFF may be in jeopardy.
Luckily for me, today also happened to be Quincy's annual Flag day parade. Because Karen is a huge fan of parades, she took our kids with her to the parade to meet up with our friend (Jen). And probably because this weekend is Father's Day weekend, I actually had a choice about attending the parade this year.
I have never been a fan of parades. For me, the most interesting part of a parade is the end. Just kidding. There are certain things I enjoy about parades: bagpipes and horses. If there were a parade simply of horses and bagpipes, I might be inclined to go. Needless to say, I opted not to go to Quincy's flag day parade this year.
And truth be told, as selfish as it sounds, I actually needed some "me" time. Don't get me wrong. I love my kids. Taking care of children can just get too much at times. So I appreciated the break that Karen provided for me.
Attending the "all" Stars dinner were my friends (Marc, Kelley) and Kerry's coworker/friend (Sam, short for Samantha). It was a nice surprise to see "I love [insert anything here]" Sam. She cracks me up, probably because she loves any and everything. Although apparently, I found out today that she does not like yogurt or blueberries.
Anyway, dinner was good as usual. I had the Thanksgiving Turkey Burger. It was good. Someday I'll try the food challenge... someday. Nevertheless, it was definitely good to laugh and be silly with everyone. On an unrelated note, Kerry is a big fan of the fried pickles at Stars.
Speaking of Kerry, it turns out that the house she had made an offer to (back three weeks ago) declined her offer without making an counter offer. In fact, the sellers declined Kerry's subsequent offer as well without any counter offers. I got a chuckle when Kerry compared it to dating.
Following dinner, we went to Frozen Freddies in Quincy. Like on Thursday, I just couldn't get myself to get ice cream there. Kimball Farms in Westford... you've ruined my ice cream eating by being so delicious! Just kidding. For Sam, however, it was her first time. So it was fun going there with her for her first Frozen Freddies ice cream.
In fact, Sam learned a lot about Quincy today. Not only did she learn about Frozen Freddies, she learned about Quincy's Flag day parade and how the parade is one of the oldest ones in the country celebrating Flag day. Heck, she even got a little tour of Marc and Kelley's place... also in Quincy... after the ice cream excursion.
While at Marc and Kelley's, we simply hung out and had some more laughs while watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. I thought the selection of television programming was an interesting choice since the group watching the show included someone who "loves" every type of food except yogurt and blueberries, someone who has a finite palate, someone who has gluten allergies, someone who is close to being a foodie, and me. I'll eat anything. I might not like it, but I'll eat it.
Anyway, some of the other topics of conversation that came up were Guy Fieri's real name (Guy Ferry), Anne Burrell being outed, Zooey Deschanel (who is "loved"), the Riddick sequel, and a documentary on South African children with AIDS. All in all, it was a fun and enjoyable time.
Luckily for me, today also happened to be Quincy's annual Flag day parade. Because Karen is a huge fan of parades, she took our kids with her to the parade to meet up with our friend (Jen). And probably because this weekend is Father's Day weekend, I actually had a choice about attending the parade this year.
I have never been a fan of parades. For me, the most interesting part of a parade is the end. Just kidding. There are certain things I enjoy about parades: bagpipes and horses. If there were a parade simply of horses and bagpipes, I might be inclined to go. Needless to say, I opted not to go to Quincy's flag day parade this year.
And truth be told, as selfish as it sounds, I actually needed some "me" time. Don't get me wrong. I love my kids. Taking care of children can just get too much at times. So I appreciated the break that Karen provided for me.
Attending the "all" Stars dinner were my friends (Marc, Kelley) and Kerry's coworker/friend (Sam, short for Samantha). It was a nice surprise to see "I love [insert anything here]" Sam. She cracks me up, probably because she loves any and everything. Although apparently, I found out today that she does not like yogurt or blueberries.
Anyway, dinner was good as usual. I had the Thanksgiving Turkey Burger. It was good. Someday I'll try the food challenge... someday. Nevertheless, it was definitely good to laugh and be silly with everyone. On an unrelated note, Kerry is a big fan of the fried pickles at Stars.
Speaking of Kerry, it turns out that the house she had made an offer to (back three weeks ago) declined her offer without making an counter offer. In fact, the sellers declined Kerry's subsequent offer as well without any counter offers. I got a chuckle when Kerry compared it to dating.
Following dinner, we went to Frozen Freddies in Quincy. Like on Thursday, I just couldn't get myself to get ice cream there. Kimball Farms in Westford... you've ruined my ice cream eating by being so delicious! Just kidding. For Sam, however, it was her first time. So it was fun going there with her for her first Frozen Freddies ice cream.
In fact, Sam learned a lot about Quincy today. Not only did she learn about Frozen Freddies, she learned about Quincy's Flag day parade and how the parade is one of the oldest ones in the country celebrating Flag day. Heck, she even got a little tour of Marc and Kelley's place... also in Quincy... after the ice cream excursion.
While at Marc and Kelley's, we simply hung out and had some more laughs while watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. I thought the selection of television programming was an interesting choice since the group watching the show included someone who "loves" every type of food except yogurt and blueberries, someone who has a finite palate, someone who has gluten allergies, someone who is close to being a foodie, and me. I'll eat anything. I might not like it, but I'll eat it.
Anyway, some of the other topics of conversation that came up were Guy Fieri's real name (Guy Ferry), Anne Burrell being outed, Zooey Deschanel (who is "loved"), the Riddick sequel, and a documentary on South African children with AIDS. All in all, it was a fun and enjoyable time.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
I Suck At Amazon
Thankfully, today is Friday. This week seemed too long in part because I think I may be overtired. After all, I careless purchased an MP3 from Amazon in the wee hours of night last night. I normally do not purchase digital media at all. So that right there may have been a good indication of my tiredness.
For anyone curious, I purchased "Pictures of You" by The Last Goodnight. The funny thing is, I already have the song in my library prior to making the purchase. So now I have two. Oh well. I guess you can say I suck at Amazon. Sadly, I can't even explain it. I apparently went a little too click happy with my mouse. A few clicks here. A few clicks there. Lo and behold, I made a purchase by accident.
My original intent was to look through Amazon's MP3 download library because I came upon a promotion code that provided a $2 credit which actually expired today. Who knew the promotion code would end up costing me? Oops.
Anyway, today was a good day. After all, it's Friday... Friday... gotta get down on Friday. Just kidding.
Karen and I took our two year old daughter (Briana) and three month old daughter (Bridget) out for some yummy goodness at Pinkberry in Hingham. I haven't been to Pinkberry since the place first opened at the Derby Shoppes. So it was good to go back and enjoy it. For anyone curious, Pinkberry has a peanut butter flavored frozen yogurt. We got to sample it. It was good... like peanut butter.
And following Pinkberry and a quick walk around the Derby Shoppes where Briana fell on her face, we took them to see my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family. For anyone curious, Briana is okay. She has a mark on her face now.
It was good to see Janine, PJ, my nephew (PJ), and my niece (Kaleigh). Karen and Janine discussed couponing. Janine also had a fruit fly issue at work because the laptop bag they gave her contained banana remnants from its previous owner. Gross, yes.
We didn't stay long, but it was a nice way to end the day for Briana and Bridget.
For anyone curious, I purchased "Pictures of You" by The Last Goodnight. The funny thing is, I already have the song in my library prior to making the purchase. So now I have two. Oh well. I guess you can say I suck at Amazon. Sadly, I can't even explain it. I apparently went a little too click happy with my mouse. A few clicks here. A few clicks there. Lo and behold, I made a purchase by accident.
My original intent was to look through Amazon's MP3 download library because I came upon a promotion code that provided a $2 credit which actually expired today. Who knew the promotion code would end up costing me? Oops.
Anyway, today was a good day. After all, it's Friday... Friday... gotta get down on Friday. Just kidding.
Karen and I took our two year old daughter (Briana) and three month old daughter (Bridget) out for some yummy goodness at Pinkberry in Hingham. I haven't been to Pinkberry since the place first opened at the Derby Shoppes. So it was good to go back and enjoy it. For anyone curious, Pinkberry has a peanut butter flavored frozen yogurt. We got to sample it. It was good... like peanut butter.
And following Pinkberry and a quick walk around the Derby Shoppes where Briana fell on her face, we took them to see my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family. For anyone curious, Briana is okay. She has a mark on her face now.
It was good to see Janine, PJ, my nephew (PJ), and my niece (Kaleigh). Karen and Janine discussed couponing. Janine also had a fruit fly issue at work because the laptop bag they gave her contained banana remnants from its previous owner. Gross, yes.
We didn't stay long, but it was a nice way to end the day for Briana and Bridget.
I Suck At G4TV's Top 100 Games
This week felt like a long week.
On Thursday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget), and I hung out with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). It was our usual weekly get together. Although truth be told, we haven't been meeting regularly every week for some time.
Marc and Kelley hosted on Thursday, so we were able to see their new place. They recently purchased a condo in Quincy at the end of last month. So it was good to get the tour of the new place. The place is quite nice. And as Karen pointed out, their place is easily accessible from the highway, which is great if you are like me and don't like to drive through the city of red lights known as Quincy.
Anyway, it was good to hang out for a little while. Like most events these days, I drew the parenting straw. So I got to watch Bridget and Briana while Marc, Andrea and Karen went for some ice cream at Frozen Freddie's. It's just as well that I did not go. I think my love of Kimball Farms in Westford has ruined all other ice cream places for me.
Regardless, one of the more interesting things that came up during the night, aside from hearing how my BFF (Kerry) was in awe during her first comic book store experience, was G4TV's Top 100 Video Games of All Time. Now, I suck at G4TV's Top 100 Games. Sadly, we couldn't watch the entire countdown that night.
Watching the countdown, however, got my geek on. I remember playing so many of the games in that countdown. Fun times! I'm not sure what my own personal countdown would be, but I know that Resident Evil 4 would be in the top ten easily. That and most likely Grand Theft Auto 3 because it was so groundbreaking at the time. Those were the days!
Speaking of the G4 countdown, Scott Porter was on the show. Man, he looks different. For anyone curious, Scott Porter played Jason Street from Friday Night Lights. He was "6".
All in all, it was good to see everyone. And it was fun to reminisce about video games. And who knew, Andrea was a video gamer of sorts with her Dr. Mario game.
On Thursday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget), and I hung out with my friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea). It was our usual weekly get together. Although truth be told, we haven't been meeting regularly every week for some time.
Marc and Kelley hosted on Thursday, so we were able to see their new place. They recently purchased a condo in Quincy at the end of last month. So it was good to get the tour of the new place. The place is quite nice. And as Karen pointed out, their place is easily accessible from the highway, which is great if you are like me and don't like to drive through the city of red lights known as Quincy.
Anyway, it was good to hang out for a little while. Like most events these days, I drew the parenting straw. So I got to watch Bridget and Briana while Marc, Andrea and Karen went for some ice cream at Frozen Freddie's. It's just as well that I did not go. I think my love of Kimball Farms in Westford has ruined all other ice cream places for me.
Regardless, one of the more interesting things that came up during the night, aside from hearing how my BFF (Kerry) was in awe during her first comic book store experience, was G4TV's Top 100 Video Games of All Time. Now, I suck at G4TV's Top 100 Games. Sadly, we couldn't watch the entire countdown that night.
Watching the countdown, however, got my geek on. I remember playing so many of the games in that countdown. Fun times! I'm not sure what my own personal countdown would be, but I know that Resident Evil 4 would be in the top ten easily. That and most likely Grand Theft Auto 3 because it was so groundbreaking at the time. Those were the days!
Speaking of the G4 countdown, Scott Porter was on the show. Man, he looks different. For anyone curious, Scott Porter played Jason Street from Friday Night Lights. He was "6".
All in all, it was good to see everyone. And it was fun to reminisce about video games. And who knew, Andrea was a video gamer of sorts with her Dr. Mario game.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
I Suck At Being A Library Trustee
I had my first official meeting today as library trustee. Too bad I suck at being a library trustee.
I thought the meeting was very productive and very enlightening. After all, I am still new to the seedy underworld of town politics. The meeting started off with the customary signing of invoices for services that the library needs to pay.
From there, the topic of discussion centered around the library and how to continually provide quality services that the residents want with the limited resources available. To say it's a difficult task is an understatement.
A recent survey was conducted by the library to get feedback from residents on recommendations to improve the library. One of the more obvious recommendations was a new bigger building. The population of Norwell has more than doubled since the building was first created. And with the larger population, that means more resources... and less physical space.
Sadly, moving the library or constructing a new building for the library is not an option for the town. I am afraid I do not know the particulars about that issue, since I am still new to the office. If you were to ask me, I think the expectations of providing quality services to a population that has doubled while remaining in the same dated confined space is a little unrealistic. It's times like that where I wish Doctor Who's telephone booth can be replicated.
For those who do not know Doctor Who, he is a time traveler who travels in what is called a TARDIS, which resembles a telephone booth. The interior of the TARDIS is immensely larger than the exterior. Hence, the reference.
Anyway, the library building itself was not up for discussion tonight. The main discussion was about offering Sunday hours to patrons which was one of the more popular recommendations from the survey. If only things were easy. With Sunday hours come the discussion of premium pay (also known as time and a half), which then eats into the existing budget. So a solution will need to determine how to incorporate that, if that is decided upon.
There were other topics that came up as well. For an enviro-nut like myself, I am finding that town government really does waste a lot. I refer to the paper waste, of course. Pages upon pages are stored everywhere in town hall... and the library. To me, it's surprising that more places do not go paperless. But that's just me.
All in all, it was a very good meeting in my opinion. Hopefully I can make a change.
I thought the meeting was very productive and very enlightening. After all, I am still new to the seedy underworld of town politics. The meeting started off with the customary signing of invoices for services that the library needs to pay.
From there, the topic of discussion centered around the library and how to continually provide quality services that the residents want with the limited resources available. To say it's a difficult task is an understatement.
A recent survey was conducted by the library to get feedback from residents on recommendations to improve the library. One of the more obvious recommendations was a new bigger building. The population of Norwell has more than doubled since the building was first created. And with the larger population, that means more resources... and less physical space.
Sadly, moving the library or constructing a new building for the library is not an option for the town. I am afraid I do not know the particulars about that issue, since I am still new to the office. If you were to ask me, I think the expectations of providing quality services to a population that has doubled while remaining in the same dated confined space is a little unrealistic. It's times like that where I wish Doctor Who's telephone booth can be replicated.
For those who do not know Doctor Who, he is a time traveler who travels in what is called a TARDIS, which resembles a telephone booth. The interior of the TARDIS is immensely larger than the exterior. Hence, the reference.
Anyway, the library building itself was not up for discussion tonight. The main discussion was about offering Sunday hours to patrons which was one of the more popular recommendations from the survey. If only things were easy. With Sunday hours come the discussion of premium pay (also known as time and a half), which then eats into the existing budget. So a solution will need to determine how to incorporate that, if that is decided upon.
There were other topics that came up as well. For an enviro-nut like myself, I am finding that town government really does waste a lot. I refer to the paper waste, of course. Pages upon pages are stored everywhere in town hall... and the library. To me, it's surprising that more places do not go paperless. But that's just me.
All in all, it was a very good meeting in my opinion. Hopefully I can make a change.
Monday, June 11, 2012
I Suck At The St. Ann Parish Picnic
On Sunday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget) and I spent the afternoon in the city of (red) lights, known also as Quincy. I guess Quincy can also be referred to as the red light district. Just kidding. Despite growing up in Quincy, I'm not exactly a big fan of the city due to the fact that every intersection in Quincy has a red light. It makes traveling through the city very time consuming, which drives me absolutely nuts.
Nevertheless, we were in Quincy on Sunday because we attended the annual St. Ann Parish picnic. Too bad I suck at the St. Ann Parish picnic. Now, I'm not religious. Even if I were, St. Ann Parish would be too far for me to call it my parish. The only affiliation that I have to St. Ann, other than getting married in that church via Karen, is through Karen's mother who regularly attends the services. My mother-in-law invited us, along with my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) family, to the picnic. It probably should not come as a shocker that Janine and her family did not attend.
Regardless, my mother-in-law was beaming on Sunday . She was just ecstatic to be able to show off her grandchildren to her friends. It was actually pretty funny to watch her talk about my kids to her friends. For that reason alone, I'm glad we went to the picnic. I'm sure it made her day.
The picnic was held at Pageant Field in Quincy. I was actually surprised with the organization of the picnic. In addition to the grilling of burgers and hot dogs, there were horse and pony rides, face painting, and the ever popular jumpy house. I actually spent most of the picnic by the jumpy house thanks in part to Briana.
Briana has seen them before, but she had never entered one to actually jump around in... until Sunday. It was interesting to watch her in there. Initially, she just stood in the jumpy house because she was unsure about what to do. Several minutes later, she would hop a bit in place. Several minutes after that, she would hop in a straight line. And from there, she went jump-crazy and bounced everywhere. Needless to say, she loved jumping around. She definitely did not want to leave. That's for sure. It took some bribing to get her out (like the pony and the face painting... to which she only touched the pony and got a soccer ball painted on her hand).
Interestingly enough, I had recognized two people that I graduated high school with. Well, Karen recognized them. I did the math and put two and two together. Apparently, they (Dave and Jen) did not know who I was which makes it definitely a possibility that I can go to the scheduled 20 year reunion this November as somebody else.
Speaking of which, they had attended the previous high school reunions and were not that impressed. As a result, they were on the fence about attending the 20 year reunion this year. From what I have heard about the past reunions, I wouldn't be impressed either. It seems like none of the elected officers from my high school class watch television. Reunions, at least in the television world that I know, are usually held at big function areas. Only the graduating class is supposed to attend. There's a check-in area where you get a name tag, etc. Apparently, that hasn't been the case so far with my high school class reunions (which actually may explain why I had no clue who some of the people were on the Facebook group). Oh well, we'll see if I am still on the fence come November.
Anyway, I thought the picnic was surprisingly a good time. Sadly, I may have to attend it every year now thanks in part to the jumpy house. But I guess that's all right. I know it made my mother-in-law happy.
Nevertheless, we were in Quincy on Sunday because we attended the annual St. Ann Parish picnic. Too bad I suck at the St. Ann Parish picnic. Now, I'm not religious. Even if I were, St. Ann Parish would be too far for me to call it my parish. The only affiliation that I have to St. Ann, other than getting married in that church via Karen, is through Karen's mother who regularly attends the services. My mother-in-law invited us, along with my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) family, to the picnic. It probably should not come as a shocker that Janine and her family did not attend.
Regardless, my mother-in-law was beaming on Sunday . She was just ecstatic to be able to show off her grandchildren to her friends. It was actually pretty funny to watch her talk about my kids to her friends. For that reason alone, I'm glad we went to the picnic. I'm sure it made her day.
The picnic was held at Pageant Field in Quincy. I was actually surprised with the organization of the picnic. In addition to the grilling of burgers and hot dogs, there were horse and pony rides, face painting, and the ever popular jumpy house. I actually spent most of the picnic by the jumpy house thanks in part to Briana.
Briana has seen them before, but she had never entered one to actually jump around in... until Sunday. It was interesting to watch her in there. Initially, she just stood in the jumpy house because she was unsure about what to do. Several minutes later, she would hop a bit in place. Several minutes after that, she would hop in a straight line. And from there, she went jump-crazy and bounced everywhere. Needless to say, she loved jumping around. She definitely did not want to leave. That's for sure. It took some bribing to get her out (like the pony and the face painting... to which she only touched the pony and got a soccer ball painted on her hand).
Interestingly enough, I had recognized two people that I graduated high school with. Well, Karen recognized them. I did the math and put two and two together. Apparently, they (Dave and Jen) did not know who I was which makes it definitely a possibility that I can go to the scheduled 20 year reunion this November as somebody else.
Speaking of which, they had attended the previous high school reunions and were not that impressed. As a result, they were on the fence about attending the 20 year reunion this year. From what I have heard about the past reunions, I wouldn't be impressed either. It seems like none of the elected officers from my high school class watch television. Reunions, at least in the television world that I know, are usually held at big function areas. Only the graduating class is supposed to attend. There's a check-in area where you get a name tag, etc. Apparently, that hasn't been the case so far with my high school class reunions (which actually may explain why I had no clue who some of the people were on the Facebook group). Oh well, we'll see if I am still on the fence come November.
Anyway, I thought the picnic was surprisingly a good time. Sadly, I may have to attend it every year now thanks in part to the jumpy house. But I guess that's all right. I know it made my mother-in-law happy.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
I Suck At Marshfield Tavern On Proprietor's Green
Today has been quite the busy day.
The day started off with a visit to Great Clips located in Hanover. A while ago, Karen and I received a flyer from Great Clips complete with coupon. If the coupon weren't enticing enough, the flyer mentioned how the place was for children and adults alike. Naturally, we decided to give it a try because my two year old daughter (Briana) has been in need of a haircut for some time. She's starting to look like a Japanese anime character.
Don't get me wrong. Karen would occasionally trim Briana's bangs. But since neither of us were experienced professional hair stylists, we thought maybe it was time to bring her in to see one. Interestingly enough, Briana was good during the haircut. I was quite pleased with her behavior. Granted, her haircut lasted probably all of five minutes, one minute of which was to get a booster seat. But all in all, it was good.
Following Great Clips, Karen and I ran some errands which included going to Briana's favorite store, Target, as well as going to the High School track where Briana wanted to run around. I was also able to go to the local Walgreen's in Weymouth to pick up a Blue Rhino propane tank, as well as the Home Depot in Rockland. I have been curious about Blue Rhino propane tanks for some time. And rather than continue my curiosity, I decided to just go ahead and exchange my existing propane tank for a Blue Rhino tank.
My existing propane tank is quite old. So exchanging it for a clean Blue Rhino tank was a no-brainer. And of course, the exchange was even more enticing because there was a rebate for the tank exchange. But like I said, we'll see how it goes with Blue Rhino.
Anyway, following my errands across the South Shore, I ended up back home only to spend the next couple of hours mowing the lawn. One of the reasons why it took so long was because there was just too much to mow on the side by my house. The past few days of rain hasn't helped either. The hours of lawn mowing, however, did let my mind wander and contemplate about things. Among those random thoughts were: maybe it is time to get a ride on lawn mower; maybe I should convince my friend (Andrea) to mow the lawn because it's a nice way to work on a tan; and what if I went to my high school reunion as someone else in an effort to see just how true the stereotype is that all Asians look the same.
For anyone curious, my 20 year high school reunion is scheduled for this year. I have debated about attending it. I would say that I have a unique circle of friends because most of my friends are from high school. I don't think a lot of other people remain in contact with high school friends the way my circle of friends have. So it's not like I'd be missing out on a whole lot if I didn't attend.
I did not go to the 5 year reunion, taking the stance that 5 years was not enough time to warrant a reunion. For most of us, it was going to be one year after graduating college. And really, what is there to say after that? I was on the fence for the 10 year reunion because that was possibly enough of a time difference.
Don't get me wrong. I am not avoiding high school reunions because I had a bad experience in high school. I guess that's not entirely true. Not having hot blonde cheerleaders like on television was definitely an awful experience. Just kidding. Some people I know dreaded high school. For me, high school was just a place to hang out with friends... with the occasional learning part thrown in of course.
Anyway, I'm on the fence for the 20 year reunion in part because... if people are like me and my adipose... then it will be interesting to see how much people have physically changed. But we'll see if I go. And for anyone curious, the whole reason that I even started thinking about doing something silly like pretending to go to the reunion as another Asian while mowing the lawn is because I recently received some Facebook message about the upcoming reunion. Some people had responded to the Facebook message, to which I thought: Who is that person? Did I graduate with that person? Is my memory really that bad? What if I responded to the message, would other people ask who am I? What if I went as someone else? Who could I go as... insert Asian name here to see if the stereotype is true.
Yes, I have a peculiar train of thought at times. Before I knew it, it was time for dinner. Speaking of which, Karen and I decided to take Briana and our three month old daughter (Bridget) to the Marshfield Tavern on Proprietor's Green, located in Marshfield. This may be a record as to the number of cities and towns of the South Shore that I have been to within one day.
Now I suck at Marshfield Tavern on Proprietor's Green. Neither Karen nor I have ever been to the "Tavern". I had only heard about the place because it was located near the Roche Bros... and an "active adult" community. But since Karen was interested, we decided to go. We weren't sure what to expect, in part because of the 55+ community nearby. As a side note, we drove around the 55+ community and I must say, the houses there are beautiful and spacious. I wish I were 55... and rich.
Regardless, the tavern was a great family experience. I had the fried haddock sandwich with sweet potato fries. The food was served promptly. It tasted good as Briana can attest to. The service was great. (For anyone curious, we had the apple crisp dessert too. Yum!) All in all, I would say the restaurant was a pleasant family experience. I'd definitely recommend the place to someone. I enjoyed it.
And the day did not end with dinner. After dinner, we decided to have a family movie night because ABC Family was showing Finding Nemo. For me, watching the movie was memorable because it was the first time Briana actually watched a movie. Most times, she would run around and play while something is on the television in the background. That includes her favorite show, Sesame Street... or Elmo TV as she likes to call it.
But not this time. This time, she cuddled right up on the couch and watched Finding Nemo. I thought it was a riot to see her engrossed in the movie. It was definitely fun.
All in all, it was a busy day... one that passed with a blink of an eye. It's days like these which make me wish I could slow down time to savor the moment.
The day started off with a visit to Great Clips located in Hanover. A while ago, Karen and I received a flyer from Great Clips complete with coupon. If the coupon weren't enticing enough, the flyer mentioned how the place was for children and adults alike. Naturally, we decided to give it a try because my two year old daughter (Briana) has been in need of a haircut for some time. She's starting to look like a Japanese anime character.
Don't get me wrong. Karen would occasionally trim Briana's bangs. But since neither of us were experienced professional hair stylists, we thought maybe it was time to bring her in to see one. Interestingly enough, Briana was good during the haircut. I was quite pleased with her behavior. Granted, her haircut lasted probably all of five minutes, one minute of which was to get a booster seat. But all in all, it was good.
Following Great Clips, Karen and I ran some errands which included going to Briana's favorite store, Target, as well as going to the High School track where Briana wanted to run around. I was also able to go to the local Walgreen's in Weymouth to pick up a Blue Rhino propane tank, as well as the Home Depot in Rockland. I have been curious about Blue Rhino propane tanks for some time. And rather than continue my curiosity, I decided to just go ahead and exchange my existing propane tank for a Blue Rhino tank.
My existing propane tank is quite old. So exchanging it for a clean Blue Rhino tank was a no-brainer. And of course, the exchange was even more enticing because there was a rebate for the tank exchange. But like I said, we'll see how it goes with Blue Rhino.
Anyway, following my errands across the South Shore, I ended up back home only to spend the next couple of hours mowing the lawn. One of the reasons why it took so long was because there was just too much to mow on the side by my house. The past few days of rain hasn't helped either. The hours of lawn mowing, however, did let my mind wander and contemplate about things. Among those random thoughts were: maybe it is time to get a ride on lawn mower; maybe I should convince my friend (Andrea) to mow the lawn because it's a nice way to work on a tan; and what if I went to my high school reunion as someone else in an effort to see just how true the stereotype is that all Asians look the same.
For anyone curious, my 20 year high school reunion is scheduled for this year. I have debated about attending it. I would say that I have a unique circle of friends because most of my friends are from high school. I don't think a lot of other people remain in contact with high school friends the way my circle of friends have. So it's not like I'd be missing out on a whole lot if I didn't attend.
I did not go to the 5 year reunion, taking the stance that 5 years was not enough time to warrant a reunion. For most of us, it was going to be one year after graduating college. And really, what is there to say after that? I was on the fence for the 10 year reunion because that was possibly enough of a time difference.
Don't get me wrong. I am not avoiding high school reunions because I had a bad experience in high school. I guess that's not entirely true. Not having hot blonde cheerleaders like on television was definitely an awful experience. Just kidding. Some people I know dreaded high school. For me, high school was just a place to hang out with friends... with the occasional learning part thrown in of course.
Anyway, I'm on the fence for the 20 year reunion in part because... if people are like me and my adipose... then it will be interesting to see how much people have physically changed. But we'll see if I go. And for anyone curious, the whole reason that I even started thinking about doing something silly like pretending to go to the reunion as another Asian while mowing the lawn is because I recently received some Facebook message about the upcoming reunion. Some people had responded to the Facebook message, to which I thought: Who is that person? Did I graduate with that person? Is my memory really that bad? What if I responded to the message, would other people ask who am I? What if I went as someone else? Who could I go as... insert Asian name here to see if the stereotype is true.
Yes, I have a peculiar train of thought at times. Before I knew it, it was time for dinner. Speaking of which, Karen and I decided to take Briana and our three month old daughter (Bridget) to the Marshfield Tavern on Proprietor's Green, located in Marshfield. This may be a record as to the number of cities and towns of the South Shore that I have been to within one day.
Now I suck at Marshfield Tavern on Proprietor's Green. Neither Karen nor I have ever been to the "Tavern". I had only heard about the place because it was located near the Roche Bros... and an "active adult" community. But since Karen was interested, we decided to go. We weren't sure what to expect, in part because of the 55+ community nearby. As a side note, we drove around the 55+ community and I must say, the houses there are beautiful and spacious. I wish I were 55... and rich.
Regardless, the tavern was a great family experience. I had the fried haddock sandwich with sweet potato fries. The food was served promptly. It tasted good as Briana can attest to. The service was great. (For anyone curious, we had the apple crisp dessert too. Yum!) All in all, I would say the restaurant was a pleasant family experience. I'd definitely recommend the place to someone. I enjoyed it.
And the day did not end with dinner. After dinner, we decided to have a family movie night because ABC Family was showing Finding Nemo. For me, watching the movie was memorable because it was the first time Briana actually watched a movie. Most times, she would run around and play while something is on the television in the background. That includes her favorite show, Sesame Street... or Elmo TV as she likes to call it.
But not this time. This time, she cuddled right up on the couch and watched Finding Nemo. I thought it was a riot to see her engrossed in the movie. It was definitely fun.
All in all, it was a busy day... one that passed with a blink of an eye. It's days like these which make me wish I could slow down time to savor the moment.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
I Suck At Network Printers
Nothing says thrilling like spending Friday night at home in front of a computer. Sadly, that is what I did last night. Although in my defense, I was troubleshooting a network printer issue at home. Too bad I suck at network printers.
The issue at hand was that the new laptop was not communicating properly with the network printer. What probably is a simple issue to resolve actually took me most of the night because I had to run back and forth between the router and printer. My router is on the first floor. My printer is on the second floor.
One of the reasons I had to go to the router is because I had to physically reset the router to its factory standards. I couldn't remember the login credentials to the router. Hence, the reset. Hopefully I'll be able to remember it months from now. For anyone curious, there is a little reset button on your router that you just hold in.
Anyway, once the router was reset, I was able to log into the router and see the devices connected to the router. Needless to say, I ended up uninstalling and reinstalling the printer on the original laptop. That process allowed the printer to be installed onto the network, which then let me add it to the new laptop.
Once everything was all set, including verifying that the printer was in fact connected to the router, I printed test pages from the old and new laptops. Both print jobs worked without any problems. And before I knew it, the night was essentially over. Thrilling, I know.
The issue at hand was that the new laptop was not communicating properly with the network printer. What probably is a simple issue to resolve actually took me most of the night because I had to run back and forth between the router and printer. My router is on the first floor. My printer is on the second floor.
One of the reasons I had to go to the router is because I had to physically reset the router to its factory standards. I couldn't remember the login credentials to the router. Hence, the reset. Hopefully I'll be able to remember it months from now. For anyone curious, there is a little reset button on your router that you just hold in.
Anyway, once the router was reset, I was able to log into the router and see the devices connected to the router. Needless to say, I ended up uninstalling and reinstalling the printer on the original laptop. That process allowed the printer to be installed onto the network, which then let me add it to the new laptop.
Once everything was all set, including verifying that the printer was in fact connected to the router, I printed test pages from the old and new laptops. Both print jobs worked without any problems. And before I knew it, the night was essentially over. Thrilling, I know.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
I Suck At Deliveries
Yesterday was like Christmas if your Christmas wishlist included a laptop and a way to get rid of mosquitos. Yep, it was a fun day yesterday getting two packages delivered. Too bad I suck at deliveries.
Coincidentally, the two packages arrived on the same day. The first package was from Dell. I've had my Sony Vaio laptop for quite some time now. I'm not sure how long I have owned that laptop, but it has been a long time. I had gotten that laptop when I still worked in Boston, which was well over three years ago. At the time, Sony was offering a trade-up program where they would provide a discount on one of their laptops if you traded in any laptop. It was really a no-brainer to do the trade-up program because I had a decrepit laptop at the time. Plus, there was peer pressure involved since my boss did the trade-up program at the same time.
Sadly, Sony no longer offers a trade-up program. Oh well. Needless to say, my Sony laptop has been a little sluggish of late due to its age. And rather than waste precious time waiting for the computer to boot up and launch certain applications, Karen and I decided that it was time for a new computer. Hence, we went with a Dell Inspirion 14z which was on sale.
Interestingly enough, the same laptop was part of another sale for $50 cheaper three days after I had ordered the laptop. But I have to hand it to Dell. I inquired about the difference and they credited me the difference. Yay Dell! Well, I haven't actually gotten the credit yet, but it is supposed to go through or so they told me.
The other package was from a company called The Mosquito Store. For a couple of years, my Mosquito Magnet has not been working. Because I'm particular about things, I am usually good about maintaining my things. Among those things is the Mosquito Magnet. I would clean it after each season. I'd use the quick clear cartridges as recommended. One season, the Mosquito Magnet never started back up and it has since sat in my garage for some time.
Well, thanks to my favorite brother-in-law (PJ), I had come into possession of another Mosquito Magnet. PJ left it on my front porch one day. Sadly, that particular Mosquito Magnet was in worse shape than mine. After spending a brief moment trying to see if I could use it for parts to fix my own Mosquito Magnet, I decided to see if I could at least do something with it.
Anyway, I came upon a store in Rhode Island that does an exchange program with Mosquito Magnets. Essentially, they send a refurbished Mosquito Magnet when one is sent to them. After some deliberation, I decided to give the company a try. So, I shipped the Mosquito Magnet. Lo and behold, they sent a fully functional Mosquito Magnet back. Granted, I still have one Mosquito Magnet that does not work, but it's better than having two Mosquito Magnets that don't work.
Needless to say, I spent most of yesterday setting up the things that were delivered. I got the Mosquito Magnet up and running in the yard. I added printer drivers, applications, and whatnot to the Dell laptop. For anyone curious, I am using the Dell laptop right now as I type this post. It definitely is nicer than my old laptop. All in all, yesterday was a fun busy day.
Coincidentally, the two packages arrived on the same day. The first package was from Dell. I've had my Sony Vaio laptop for quite some time now. I'm not sure how long I have owned that laptop, but it has been a long time. I had gotten that laptop when I still worked in Boston, which was well over three years ago. At the time, Sony was offering a trade-up program where they would provide a discount on one of their laptops if you traded in any laptop. It was really a no-brainer to do the trade-up program because I had a decrepit laptop at the time. Plus, there was peer pressure involved since my boss did the trade-up program at the same time.
Sadly, Sony no longer offers a trade-up program. Oh well. Needless to say, my Sony laptop has been a little sluggish of late due to its age. And rather than waste precious time waiting for the computer to boot up and launch certain applications, Karen and I decided that it was time for a new computer. Hence, we went with a Dell Inspirion 14z which was on sale.
Interestingly enough, the same laptop was part of another sale for $50 cheaper three days after I had ordered the laptop. But I have to hand it to Dell. I inquired about the difference and they credited me the difference. Yay Dell! Well, I haven't actually gotten the credit yet, but it is supposed to go through or so they told me.
The other package was from a company called The Mosquito Store. For a couple of years, my Mosquito Magnet has not been working. Because I'm particular about things, I am usually good about maintaining my things. Among those things is the Mosquito Magnet. I would clean it after each season. I'd use the quick clear cartridges as recommended. One season, the Mosquito Magnet never started back up and it has since sat in my garage for some time.
Well, thanks to my favorite brother-in-law (PJ), I had come into possession of another Mosquito Magnet. PJ left it on my front porch one day. Sadly, that particular Mosquito Magnet was in worse shape than mine. After spending a brief moment trying to see if I could use it for parts to fix my own Mosquito Magnet, I decided to see if I could at least do something with it.
Anyway, I came upon a store in Rhode Island that does an exchange program with Mosquito Magnets. Essentially, they send a refurbished Mosquito Magnet when one is sent to them. After some deliberation, I decided to give the company a try. So, I shipped the Mosquito Magnet. Lo and behold, they sent a fully functional Mosquito Magnet back. Granted, I still have one Mosquito Magnet that does not work, but it's better than having two Mosquito Magnets that don't work.
Needless to say, I spent most of yesterday setting up the things that were delivered. I got the Mosquito Magnet up and running in the yard. I added printer drivers, applications, and whatnot to the Dell laptop. For anyone curious, I am using the Dell laptop right now as I type this post. It definitely is nicer than my old laptop. All in all, yesterday was a fun busy day.
Monday, June 4, 2012
I Suck At 100 Day Parties
On Sunday, my family celebrated my three month old daughter (Bridget) by having a 100 day party. Now, I suck at 100 day parties. We held a similar party for my two year old (Briana) a couple of years ago, but she had more fanfare since she was the first to reach that milestone. Sadly for Bridget, the youngest child gets the short end of the stick.
My parents wanted to throw her a 100 day party because... well, it was too late for the traditional one month red egg and ginger party. (Remember, the youngest child gets the short end of the stick.) Truth be told, my mother actually went for a visit to Hong Kong for a month shortly after Bridget was born. So the timeline got a little out of whack in terms of "tradition". So a 100 day party it was.
And because the youngest child gets the short end of the stick, the planning of the party has been sort of a headache. Originally, the party was planned for Saturday the week prior. But due to my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family's weekend plans, the party date was moved to Sunday. Interestingly enough, only Janine was able to attend on Sunday. It turns out that the rest of her family wanted to attend something else instead.
Regardless, I think my parents had a good time. Besides my mother-in-law and my father-in-law who attended the party, my friends (Jen and Bill) stopped on by. My parents were happy to see them since they had not seen them in quite some time.
Truth be told, I actually did not get a chance to socialize much on Sunday. Aside from helping my parents prepare food for everyone and the cleanup afterwards, I didn't really have an opportunity. And by the time I did, everyone had left. Oh well. At least my parents were happy.
My parents wanted to throw her a 100 day party because... well, it was too late for the traditional one month red egg and ginger party. (Remember, the youngest child gets the short end of the stick.) Truth be told, my mother actually went for a visit to Hong Kong for a month shortly after Bridget was born. So the timeline got a little out of whack in terms of "tradition". So a 100 day party it was.
And because the youngest child gets the short end of the stick, the planning of the party has been sort of a headache. Originally, the party was planned for Saturday the week prior. But due to my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family's weekend plans, the party date was moved to Sunday. Interestingly enough, only Janine was able to attend on Sunday. It turns out that the rest of her family wanted to attend something else instead.
Regardless, I think my parents had a good time. Besides my mother-in-law and my father-in-law who attended the party, my friends (Jen and Bill) stopped on by. My parents were happy to see them since they had not seen them in quite some time.
Truth be told, I actually did not get a chance to socialize much on Sunday. Aside from helping my parents prepare food for everyone and the cleanup afterwards, I didn't really have an opportunity. And by the time I did, everyone had left. Oh well. At least my parents were happy.
I Suck At Beauty And The Beast
Surprisingly, the most interesting part of Saturday was not the birthday party celebration for Karen's grandmother who turned the ripe old age of 91. Don't get me wrong. The celebration, which was held in Dedham, was a nice event.
There were a whole slew of people at the party which included my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family. There were also a bunch of other relatives on Karen's father's side that she hardly sees who were also in attendance.
And like many other outings, I spent much if not all of the event doing the parental thing as my two year old daughter (Briana) wanted to run around and play on the lawn in the drizzling rain. Fun. It appears though that the hot topic of the party seemed to be the fact that Karen's grandfather's brother looked exactly like Karen's deceased grandfather. At least, that is what I have been told.
Needless to say, I think Karen's grandmother had a good time which is all that matters. Following the party, Karen and I got sucked into a movie when the kids went to bed. It was sort of an impromptu date night. Getting sucked into a movie rarely happens in my household, primarily because Karen doesn't watch as many movies as I do. But there we were on Saturday, sitting in the couch and glued to the television.
The movie that we were so intent on watching was Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Now, I suck at Beauty and the Beast. It just so happened that ABC Family was showing the movie (back to back). Karen and I haven't watched Beauty and the Beast in quite some time. Surprisingly enough, we still knew most of the words to the songs and some parts of the movie. I don't know if that is sad or not.
Without a doubt though, Beauty and the Beast is one of Disney's better films. After all, the movie was the first animated film to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. I'm still partial to the Little Mermaid which I have seen over 50 times. Beauty and the Beast, though, might be second on my list.
For anyone curious, back in 1991 when the movie was released, I saw Beauty and the Beast with my friends (Jenny and Robin). It was Jenny and Robin's feeble attempt at getting me to admit that the movie was better than the Little Mermaid. Even with my selective memory, I do remember watching that movie in the theaters with the two of them, probably because Robin gave me candy during the movie. I was a flirtatious youth back in the day. Now, I'm a crotchety old man shaking his fist at things like the irony of social networking making people anti-social when they are actually face to face.
Anyway, I had a blast watching Beauty and Beast again. It was definitely the highlight of my day on Saturday.
There were a whole slew of people at the party which included my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and her family. There were also a bunch of other relatives on Karen's father's side that she hardly sees who were also in attendance.
And like many other outings, I spent much if not all of the event doing the parental thing as my two year old daughter (Briana) wanted to run around and play on the lawn in the drizzling rain. Fun. It appears though that the hot topic of the party seemed to be the fact that Karen's grandfather's brother looked exactly like Karen's deceased grandfather. At least, that is what I have been told.
Needless to say, I think Karen's grandmother had a good time which is all that matters. Following the party, Karen and I got sucked into a movie when the kids went to bed. It was sort of an impromptu date night. Getting sucked into a movie rarely happens in my household, primarily because Karen doesn't watch as many movies as I do. But there we were on Saturday, sitting in the couch and glued to the television.
The movie that we were so intent on watching was Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Now, I suck at Beauty and the Beast. It just so happened that ABC Family was showing the movie (back to back). Karen and I haven't watched Beauty and the Beast in quite some time. Surprisingly enough, we still knew most of the words to the songs and some parts of the movie. I don't know if that is sad or not.
Without a doubt though, Beauty and the Beast is one of Disney's better films. After all, the movie was the first animated film to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. I'm still partial to the Little Mermaid which I have seen over 50 times. Beauty and the Beast, though, might be second on my list.
For anyone curious, back in 1991 when the movie was released, I saw Beauty and the Beast with my friends (Jenny and Robin). It was Jenny and Robin's feeble attempt at getting me to admit that the movie was better than the Little Mermaid. Even with my selective memory, I do remember watching that movie in the theaters with the two of them, probably because Robin gave me candy during the movie. I was a flirtatious youth back in the day. Now, I'm a crotchety old man shaking his fist at things like the irony of social networking making people anti-social when they are actually face to face.
Anyway, I had a blast watching Beauty and Beast again. It was definitely the highlight of my day on Saturday.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
I Suck At HDMI Cables
My friends (Marc and Kelley) have been a little preoccupied this week. After all, they are moving to their new digs soon. Because of their busy schedule, we had cancelled our weekly get together. Luckily for my friend (Andrea) and I, we already saw them earlier in the week when we helped them pack up some of their kitchen items.
But with Thursday open, I decided to do something I haven't done in some time: work on the house. Thursday also happened to be the day that my HDMI cables arrived in the mail. Yay 1.4 HDMI cables. Now, I suck at HDMI cables. I ordered the cables awhile ago from Amazon. When they arrived, I finally had all of the necessary items to work on my project.
For some time, there has been two gaping holes in the wall where the television hangs in the living room. The gaping holes are obviously to run wires from the FIOS receiver to the television. Unless someone is behind the television, or behind the receiver, those holes will probably never be seen.
I had always planned to address that issue. I just never had the materials until Thursday. And now, Karen's wild concerns over critters coming out of those holes can be squashed. I spent a good chunk of time on Thursday, when the kids were asleep, running HDMI cables through the walls. And where the cable met the wall, there was a plate specifically designed to allow the cable to plug into the keystone.
The reason why I took so long to finish this project is because it required a lot of materials: the wall plate, the keystones, the quick port designed to fit the two gang wall plate, and the HDMI cables themselves. It adds up. But yay, it's finally done!
Now I just have to do something similar to the room upstairs.
But with Thursday open, I decided to do something I haven't done in some time: work on the house. Thursday also happened to be the day that my HDMI cables arrived in the mail. Yay 1.4 HDMI cables. Now, I suck at HDMI cables. I ordered the cables awhile ago from Amazon. When they arrived, I finally had all of the necessary items to work on my project.
For some time, there has been two gaping holes in the wall where the television hangs in the living room. The gaping holes are obviously to run wires from the FIOS receiver to the television. Unless someone is behind the television, or behind the receiver, those holes will probably never be seen.
I had always planned to address that issue. I just never had the materials until Thursday. And now, Karen's wild concerns over critters coming out of those holes can be squashed. I spent a good chunk of time on Thursday, when the kids were asleep, running HDMI cables through the walls. And where the cable met the wall, there was a plate specifically designed to allow the cable to plug into the keystone.
The reason why I took so long to finish this project is because it required a lot of materials: the wall plate, the keystones, the quick port designed to fit the two gang wall plate, and the HDMI cables themselves. It adds up. But yay, it's finally done!
Now I just have to do something similar to the room upstairs.
I Still Suck At Cookouts
On Memorial Day Monday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old (Bridget) and I were invited to yet another cookout. Now, I still suck at cookouts. My friends (Ron and Trinh) invited us over since it has been a while since we last got together. Plus, it was a way for them to finally see Bridget. Having four kids of their own, Ron and Trinh's schedule has been quite busy.
Also partaking in the festivities were my friends (Garv, Aimee, Bill, and Alex), Aimee's husband (Jim), Aimee's kids, Bill's family and Alex's family. As always, it was a fun time. After all, I like to think of Ron and Trinh's place as my little vacation spa. Everything is always fun there.
I actually spent most of the time, of course, with Briana. When Briana wasn't playing with the slide, or watching the fish, or finding the turtle with the fish, she was... in the pool. Apparently, or maybe by design, Karen did not have any swimming attire for the day. Rather convenient, I know. Thus, I spent a good chunk of time in the pool with Briana, who seems rather fearless when it comes to water. At one point, she wanted to go into the deep end... with me carrying her of course.
By far, the funniest part of the day was when Garv was in the jacuzzi. The incident was just like my bachelor party in Las Vegas. Naturally, what happened there, stays there. But something that we occasionally joke about with Garv is his ear, or more specifically, when he gets water in his ear. When he got water in his ear in Vegas, he spent a good portion of time trying to get the water out. For anyone curious, Garv got water in his ear at the swimming pool in Vegas, and not by any seductive means.
Anyway, Garv has having some fun with some of the kids in the jacuzzi. In a matter of seconds, the kids started dumping pails upon pails over Garv's head. Ron's daughter (Elli) was too cute. She had this devilish grin on her face right before she took a squirt gun and started squirting Garv... directly in his ear. She aimed specifically for his ear. Funny. I was dying laughing. And yes, Garv got water in his ear on Monday.
As a side note, I learned that swimming diapers are only meant to contain poop. It makes perfect sense now that I think about it, but for some reason I thought swimming diapers also held pee. My line of thinking was that a swimming diaper was a full functioning diaper, just made so that kids can swim with them on. I learned this interesting fact while holding Briana and feeling a nice warm drizzle down my leg. Remember to remind me to never go into a public pool ever again.
All in all, I had a blast on Monday. It was a great way to end the long weekend, which I must say went by very quickly. The only downside about Monday was that I may have gotten sick. Oh well.
Also partaking in the festivities were my friends (Garv, Aimee, Bill, and Alex), Aimee's husband (Jim), Aimee's kids, Bill's family and Alex's family. As always, it was a fun time. After all, I like to think of Ron and Trinh's place as my little vacation spa. Everything is always fun there.
I actually spent most of the time, of course, with Briana. When Briana wasn't playing with the slide, or watching the fish, or finding the turtle with the fish, she was... in the pool. Apparently, or maybe by design, Karen did not have any swimming attire for the day. Rather convenient, I know. Thus, I spent a good chunk of time in the pool with Briana, who seems rather fearless when it comes to water. At one point, she wanted to go into the deep end... with me carrying her of course.
By far, the funniest part of the day was when Garv was in the jacuzzi. The incident was just like my bachelor party in Las Vegas. Naturally, what happened there, stays there. But something that we occasionally joke about with Garv is his ear, or more specifically, when he gets water in his ear. When he got water in his ear in Vegas, he spent a good portion of time trying to get the water out. For anyone curious, Garv got water in his ear at the swimming pool in Vegas, and not by any seductive means.
Anyway, Garv has having some fun with some of the kids in the jacuzzi. In a matter of seconds, the kids started dumping pails upon pails over Garv's head. Ron's daughter (Elli) was too cute. She had this devilish grin on her face right before she took a squirt gun and started squirting Garv... directly in his ear. She aimed specifically for his ear. Funny. I was dying laughing. And yes, Garv got water in his ear on Monday.
As a side note, I learned that swimming diapers are only meant to contain poop. It makes perfect sense now that I think about it, but for some reason I thought swimming diapers also held pee. My line of thinking was that a swimming diaper was a full functioning diaper, just made so that kids can swim with them on. I learned this interesting fact while holding Briana and feeling a nice warm drizzle down my leg. Remember to remind me to never go into a public pool ever again.
All in all, I had a blast on Monday. It was a great way to end the long weekend, which I must say went by very quickly. The only downside about Monday was that I may have gotten sick. Oh well.
I Suck At Cookouts
On Sunday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my three month old daughter (Bridget) and I were invited to a cookout. Now, I suck at cookouts. This particular cookout was hosted by my friends (Cass and Ellen) in Quincy. It was actually good to see them, as I haven't really seen them in quite some time. Joining in on the shindig were my friends (Marc, Kelley, Garv, Leeann, Andrea, Aimee, and Meredith), my BFF (Kerry), Aimee's children, and Meredith's son.
Luckily for Cass, he had finished his backyard project just in time for the cookout. He added a little patio in his yard, apparently with the use of a Dingo (not the dog, but the compact loader). I never heard of a Dingo until Sunday. I think though, I still want a Bobcat for my mechanized fun.
As is commonplace these days, I felt like I really didn't see much of any of my friends while I was at the cookout in part because I apparently had parenting duties that day. The highlights that I remember were talking to Leeann about being an elected official since she seemed a little too interested in being an elected official, and hearing about Kerry's house hunting exploits. Kerry apparently was house hunting Sunday morning and liked a house enough to contemplate making an offer.
Aside from that, I remember bits and pieces of other things like Andrea's desire to see Rock of Ages, devouring a whole slew of bacon wrapped string beans, and Aimee giving Briana some Capri Sun. I guess that's not totally true. While watching Briana, I did get a chance to see Cass and Ellen's remodeled bathroom. The new bathroom looks great.
All in all, it was definitely good to see everyone and have some fun.
Luckily for Cass, he had finished his backyard project just in time for the cookout. He added a little patio in his yard, apparently with the use of a Dingo (not the dog, but the compact loader). I never heard of a Dingo until Sunday. I think though, I still want a Bobcat for my mechanized fun.
As is commonplace these days, I felt like I really didn't see much of any of my friends while I was at the cookout in part because I apparently had parenting duties that day. The highlights that I remember were talking to Leeann about being an elected official since she seemed a little too interested in being an elected official, and hearing about Kerry's house hunting exploits. Kerry apparently was house hunting Sunday morning and liked a house enough to contemplate making an offer.
Aside from that, I remember bits and pieces of other things like Andrea's desire to see Rock of Ages, devouring a whole slew of bacon wrapped string beans, and Aimee giving Briana some Capri Sun. I guess that's not totally true. While watching Briana, I did get a chance to see Cass and Ellen's remodeled bathroom. The new bathroom looks great.
All in all, it was definitely good to see everyone and have some fun.
I Suck At Gath Greenery
Memorial Day weekend kicked off with the ever popular tradition of going to Gath Greenery located in Dunstable. This infamous tradition has been going on for well over four years, in part because the tradition involves Karen's Lowell-loving cousin (Karlene) and Karlene's husband (Tommy). There's a lot to like about Lowell, or so they would have you believe. Apparently, there's a lot to like about Dunstable too around Memorial Day.
Needless to say, I suck at Gath Greenery. Over the span of years surrounding this Memorial Day tradition, I have come to know the owner. He's a good guy. I, however, probably could not spend two hours chatting with him like Karen's illustrious cousin. And that was during her previous visit.
It was good to see him again and get my annual exposure to his greenery. Following plant-stock, we decided to grab lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Apparently, while in the great white north, the closest Ruby Tuesday was in Nashua, New Hampshire (Live Free or Die!). Karen was looking forward to dining there again after we had eaten in the Salem, New Hampshire location a few weeks prior during our double stroller incident. And as the great father that I am, I exposed my two year old daughter (Briana) to the yummy goodness known as a raspberry lemonade.
Anyway, it was definitely a good lunch. From there, we headed back to Karlene and Tommy's for some merriment, also known as the swimming pool. It goes without saying that Briana absolutely loves the pool. She did not want to get out of the pool, which is probably common for most kids.
While we were kicking back by the pool, Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul) stopped by, as did Karen's other cousin (Matthew). One of the topics of conversation that came up during that time was Matthew's new job. He apparently started his own company that day, albeit without an actual name for the company. Hopefully his business will work out.
Other things that were somewhat comical, were Denise and Paul's reaction to our dining choices for the night. Apparently, they are not big fans of vegetable products made to look like meat. All in all, it was an enjoyable day and nice way to kick off the Memorial Day weekend.
Needless to say, I suck at Gath Greenery. Over the span of years surrounding this Memorial Day tradition, I have come to know the owner. He's a good guy. I, however, probably could not spend two hours chatting with him like Karen's illustrious cousin. And that was during her previous visit.
It was good to see him again and get my annual exposure to his greenery. Following plant-stock, we decided to grab lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Apparently, while in the great white north, the closest Ruby Tuesday was in Nashua, New Hampshire (Live Free or Die!). Karen was looking forward to dining there again after we had eaten in the Salem, New Hampshire location a few weeks prior during our double stroller incident. And as the great father that I am, I exposed my two year old daughter (Briana) to the yummy goodness known as a raspberry lemonade.
Anyway, it was definitely a good lunch. From there, we headed back to Karlene and Tommy's for some merriment, also known as the swimming pool. It goes without saying that Briana absolutely loves the pool. She did not want to get out of the pool, which is probably common for most kids.
While we were kicking back by the pool, Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul) stopped by, as did Karen's other cousin (Matthew). One of the topics of conversation that came up during that time was Matthew's new job. He apparently started his own company that day, albeit without an actual name for the company. Hopefully his business will work out.
Other things that were somewhat comical, were Denise and Paul's reaction to our dining choices for the night. Apparently, they are not big fans of vegetable products made to look like meat. All in all, it was an enjoyable day and nice way to kick off the Memorial Day weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)