I Suck At Wahlburgers

Happy New Year!

And what better way to start off the new year than with zombies!

Yes, it has been a slow start to the new year. As Karen and I had no plans for the day, my parents came over for lunch. In reality, I'm sure they actually came over to see their golden grandchild (Briana). Lunch was just a means to see her.

Needless to say, lunch was okay. My parents brought American Chinese food for lunch. It's shocking that they would bring that type of food because my mother always gives me the third degree whenever I dine out at Chinese restaurants. She always says she can cook it better (with less grease) and all of that. Hence, the irony of her bringing chicken wings and teriyaki for lunch. Like I said, I think it was just a ploy to see my twenty one month old daughter, Briana.

As a tangential side note, the term "third degree" comes from our friends, the Masons. There are three degrees of Freemasonry. The third degree, which is when the person becomes a master mason, involves a tough and grueling oral examination (so that Masons know their stuff). Thus, giving a person the "third degree".

Anyway, lunch with my parents was quick. Shortly afterwards, Briana had to take a nap. And once Briana went to nap, my parents left of course. Such is the life of a parent, I guess.

So with my parents gone, Karen decided to take a nap herself. And as I mentioned earlier, what better way to start off the new year than with zombies! By that, I mean I started playing Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition. I didn't get too far, but I already love it. (For anyone curious, Resident Evil 4 is still by far my favorite of the series.)

Eventually, I had to stop my zombie-killing ways because Briana and Karen woke up. Well, it was fun while it lasted. Anyway, we decided to start off the new year by dining out at a place we haven't eaten at before: Wahlburgers located in Hingham.

Now, I suck at Wahlburgers. For some time, I have heard buzz about the place, in part because the owners are none other than Hingham's own, Paul Wahlberg and his celebrity brothers, Mark and Donnie. Plus, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) was also the project manager during the construction of the burger joint. PJ also was in charge of the construction of Paul's Alma Nove restaurant located directly across Wahlburgers.

Needless to say, I have heard a lot about Wahlburgers. I think my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) is still beaming that she met Donnie. "N K O T B S B Baby." "Cause just when I think we're through, the memories come flooding back. It's like instantly I love you like that.."

Anyway, I had a good experience at Wahlburgers. At first, it was a little confusing with one side of the place dedicated to being served and the other side for self-service. But after that, things went well. I ordered what was labeled as Mark's pick: the Thanksgiving Burger, with a side of sweet potato tots. The food was good.

Briana seemed to enjoy the place as well. Although she did not eat much of her burger and tots, she spent a great deal of time in awe of everything. She kept jumping up and down on her booster seat, watching everyone order their food. I also believe she may have left her tiny fingerprints all over the glass above where we were seated. Perhaps there was just too much for her to see.

But like I said, the food was good. As well, we happened to see my friend (Jeannette) and her family there when we were there. It was a nice coincidence because I hadn't seen Jeannette since the summer. Jeannette started a new job since then and appears to be loving it. For Jeannette and her family, it was also their first time going to Wahlburgers and they seemed to enjoy it as well.

Needless to say, seeing Jeannette was definitely a nice way to start off the new year. I think one of the things that I always say I want to do every year, in terms of resolutions, is be in touch with more of my friends. I definitely don't do it as much as I'd like to. And seeing Jeannette made me want to do just that. Of course, that then leads to using Facebook as a means to accomplish that end, and I am not sure I want to do that just yet since I'm not a big fan of Facebook. But we'll see.

Following Wahlburgers, we made a brief stop to Janine and PJ's. They were having a few people over, Janine's BFF (Gretchen) being one of them. We didn't stay long, but it was nice to see them. Well, it was nice to have Karen see them. I think I spent most of the time watching over Briana, with the occasional horseplay with my favorite niece (Kaleigh). That seems commonplace these days.

As another interesting coincidence, Gretchen and PJ ran into my friend (Andrea) at the supermarket prior to our arrival. I thought that was funny, especially since Janine and PJ thought Andrea was heading to our place. (Andrea wasn't.)

All in all, it was a good start to the new year. I'm definitely looking forward to good things. Happy new year everyone!