I Suck At New Year's Eve

For the past ten years or so, Karen and I have been going to Lowell for New Year's Eve. After all, there is a lot to like about Lowell... or so the city will have you believe. Personally, I'm still not convinced about the city's slogan.

Unfortunately, I suck at New Year's Eve. In keeping with tradition, however, Karen and I visited the city of textile mills this year. For anyone curious, we did actually break tradition last year, as we attempted to deal with the loss our son (Braden). We went on a cruise just to get away from reality for a while. The cruise was great. Thank you again to everyone who had surprised us with a little present on the cruise.

Anyway, this year was a return back to tradition. Karen and I visited Karen's cousin (Karlene) and her husband (Tommy), who are Lowell-ites... or Lowellians? I'm not sure what the term is. Needless to say, it was a fun time. Karlene was gracious enough to make dinner for all of us. Karen and I had brought some Chinese food to make as well, but the food did not appear to cook well without a steamer. Oh well.

During dinner, we had some random topics of discussion. Karlene and Tommy were quite surprised that I told them that I did not want Squashy to have any electronic video games or game consoles until he/she was a teenager. The reason for their surprise was because they know that I am quite the video game aficionado.

And for anyone curious, "Squashy" is the current name that I have given to our unborn child. Every week, Karen and I visit a website that explains what to expect during a certain week of pregnancy. The website generally says the child is about the size of some type of vegetable. This week just happened to be a squash. Hence... "Squashy". Prior to Squashy was "Carrota", after a carrot.

The reason why I do not want my child to have any video games until they are a teenager is because I do not want my child to be dependent on video games. I have seen all too often children wanting to do nothing else but play video games, even when company is over, because they are bored or whatnot. It's only natural. Heck, when I get bored that's all I want to do too. I just want my child to have fun and interact with other people. That's just my opinion.

And while I'm sounding like an old person, the four of us also had a discussion about phones. In particular, we had talked about the constant need for people to take out their cell phones to check for messages or play with apps or whatnot. It absolutely drives me nuts when people take out their phones while at a social gathering. In fact, I find it pretty rude. I'm guessing not a lot of people agree with my point of view because it is a common occurrence. To me, it's just common courtesy.

Anyway, new year's eve was a fun time. In addition to dinner, Tommy tried his hand at bar tending. Tommy had gotten Karlene a Disaronno gift set... because Karlene is apparently quite the boozer. Just kidding. The only thing I knew about Disaronno was that the company advertised on television not too long ago. The commercials, however, never said what kind of alcohol it was. (For anyone curious, Disaronno is a brand of amaretto.)

Needless to say, Tommy made a pretty delicious drink consisting of amaretto and grape juice. He even went the extra step and threaded grapes through a plastic straw. All in all, the drink was very good. I would definitely drink it again.

In addition to the drinks, we also played a game that Karlene and Tommy recently received: Disney Th!nk Fast on the Wii. The game is basically a game show hosted by Aladdin's Genie. Each round of the game consists of different activities or trivia. (For anyone curious, Karlene and Tommy are very big fans of the mouse.) In years past, we had played certain Disney themed games. So this year was no different.

And luckily, because I like to talk trash, the outcome of the game was similar as in years past. Much like my challenges with my friend (Hot Amy), I ended up winning the game each time we played. Perhaps Karlene and Tommy have the same genetic predisposition to losing as Hot Amy. Just kidding.

Anyway, the game was rather entertaining... and I don't say that because I laid down quite the beating. (I am a video game aficionado after all.) When the dust settled, we were able to enjoy the rest of the night and watch as the ball dropped in New York.