Saturday was Christmas tree Saturday.
In addition to Karen and I putting up our Christmas tree, we attended a tree trimming party hosted by our friends (Marc and Kelley). Too bad I suck at tree trimmings. Joining in on the festivities were also my friends (Andrea, Cass, Ellen, Garv, Leeann, Steve, Sam, and Amy the Czar) and my BFF (Kerry).
It was definitely a fun time as usual. At least this time around, I have a recollection of the tree trimming party. Just kidding. Anyway, I would have to say that the most memorable discuss of the night was the series Homeland.
Garv and Leeann seem to watch a lot of television. If they aren't pushing Game of Thrones... it's Homeland. Interestingly enough, I am somewhat curious about the series. Perhaps I'll give it a chance... when I have time of course. I guess you can say they sold me on the show.
Another topic of discussion that briefly came up was my 20th high school reunion which took place over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It seems like everyone who attended had fun. From all accounts, it seems like there was a lot of imbibing done at the reunion. Maybe some day I'll convince myself to attend one. We'll see.
Anyway, it was a fun time.
Showing posts with label adam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adam. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
I Suck At Blogging
Yep, I suck at blogging. I think it's been about two weeks since I last posted something. Without a doubt, time seems to pass by at an exponential rate when raising children. I remember other parents telling me that way back when when I had my two year old (Briana). It's so true. After taking care of the kids, writing a blog post seems like the last thing I want to do especially when there are other chores to do as a result of raising kids.
Anyway, I figured I'd chain myself to the laptop tonight to write something before it gets way too late. As it is, it's been about two weeks. So here is a recap of all the things I had sucked at for the past two weeks:
Wreck-It Ralph: Awesome movie. My friends (Marc and Kelley) organized a movie night to go see Wreck-It Ralph in the theaters in Randolph. My BFF (Kerry) and my friend (Andrea) also attended. I absolutely loved the movie.
UFC 154: That same night, Marc and Kelley invited us back to their place to watch the UFC pay per view. The pay per view featured the return of Georges St-Pierre (also known as GSP). The main event definitely did not disappoint. It was a great match between GSP and Carlos Condit. Of course, my measuring stick for matches correlates to the amount of blood spilled... and there was plenty of it. Blood aside, it really was a great match between the two. (For anyone curious, GSP won.)
Pre-Thanksgiving dinner: On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, my parents invited us to their place for a "pre-Thanksgiving dinner". In addition to Karen's parents, my cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin) attended. It was good seeing Betty and Marvin. I still can't believe Marvin is a Junior in high school. I remember when he was a newborn baby, Karen and I took him and Betty to the airport. At the time, they were leaving for Hong Kong with hopes of returning in several years. They did return several years later, but it seems like yesterday that I recall going up the escalator with Betty and Marvin. As a side note, the food at my parents was delicious.
Thanksgiving: This year was the first year that Karen and I hosted Thanksgiving. Joining us for Thanksgiving were Karen's parents, Karen's grandmother, my parents, and my friends (Marc, Kelly, and Andrea). It was definitely a neat experience to cook a turkey. I had the pleasure of taking the innards out of the turkey. All in all, I think the day went very well. I think everyone enjoyed the turkey and the side dishes. I also made one of the side dishes (green beans), because Karen thought there should be at least one green dish. The only downside of the day was that I had a headache for most of the day. I hardly ever get headaches... or sick for that matter. I think, however, that stress may have been a contributing factor on Thanksgiving as I had such a headache with massive neck pain. And truth be told, I don't really stress that much... consciously anyway. I suppose subconsciously I do.
Black Friday: The day after Thanksgiving, Karen and I took our nine month old (Bridget) to get pictures done at Sears. Briana had pictures done when she was young. So in all fairness, and to avoid the neglected youngest child syndrome, we took Bridget for her pictures. Aside from that, the only real shopping that I did on Black Friday was to purchase an air compressor. I've been wanting one for quite some time now. I figured it was time to just bite the bullet and get one... with hopes of actually finishing some projects around the house. Of course, now I need the nail guns to go with the compressors. Baby steps.
6th Annual Black Friday Dinner: Black Friday would not be complete without dinner at our friends' (Cass and Ellen). This year, there were many attendees. In addition to Karen and I (and our kids), my friends (Adam, Aimee, Andrea, Marc, Kelley, Garv, Leeann, Scott, and Ofelia) and my BFF (Kerry) came. There were definitely a lot of laughs that night. As usual, it was a great time hanging out with everyone. Plus, it was a good way to get rid of our leftovers from Thanksgiving.
Memorial Mass: On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we attended an anniversary mass for Karen's grandfather (her father's father). Surprisingly, Briana and Bridget were very good during the mass. If not being Catholic were bad enough, I may have gotten some stares from parishioners for not standing up during the appropriate times, which normally isn't too bad but I happened to be in the very front pew. The way I look at it, I wasn't about to get up and down numerous times with a two year old draped all over me. So I opted to just remain seated. I guess that's my original sin working.
Quincy Parade: On Sunday, I begrudgingly attended Quincy's holiday parade. And nothing says fun like trekking a two year old and a nine month old out to stand in the freezing cold during a parade. To me, it almost seems like cruel torture to have kids stand outside in cold weather for a couple of hours. But it's crazy what people do for "tradition". Surprisingly, Briana loved it. I'm going to have to work on that.
Cookie Swap: Following the Quincy parade, my friends (Jen and Bill) had everyone who attended the parade back to their place for a cookie swap. I must say, some of the cookies were very delicious. Granted, I only tried three cookies there: Karen's, Kerry's, and Jen's aunt's. Needless to say, it was good to see Jen and Bill. All in all, it was interesting seeing everyone there.
And lastly, that brings me to today, where I attended a factory tour: My coworkers and I went to our neighbors in Norwell at Zildjian for a little tour. I must say, the tour was great (free t-shirts aside). The history of the company is quite fascinating. Zildjian (which roughly translates to son [ian ]of a cymbal [zil] maker [dj]) had its roots in alchemy. As well, Zildjian has ties to Quincy because one of the sons, who had worked for a candy factory in Quincy, said that he would take over the family business if the company came to the US. As a result, the first Zildjian factory was in Quincy. I thought it really was a great tour to see how the cymbals are made. Plus, Travis Barker's drums are there. Yay Blink-182!
So that's pretty much the highlights of everything the past two weeks. Hopefully it won't take another two weeks for another post.
Anyway, I figured I'd chain myself to the laptop tonight to write something before it gets way too late. As it is, it's been about two weeks. So here is a recap of all the things I had sucked at for the past two weeks:
Wreck-It Ralph: Awesome movie. My friends (Marc and Kelley) organized a movie night to go see Wreck-It Ralph in the theaters in Randolph. My BFF (Kerry) and my friend (Andrea) also attended. I absolutely loved the movie.
UFC 154: That same night, Marc and Kelley invited us back to their place to watch the UFC pay per view. The pay per view featured the return of Georges St-Pierre (also known as GSP). The main event definitely did not disappoint. It was a great match between GSP and Carlos Condit. Of course, my measuring stick for matches correlates to the amount of blood spilled... and there was plenty of it. Blood aside, it really was a great match between the two. (For anyone curious, GSP won.)
Pre-Thanksgiving dinner: On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, my parents invited us to their place for a "pre-Thanksgiving dinner". In addition to Karen's parents, my cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin) attended. It was good seeing Betty and Marvin. I still can't believe Marvin is a Junior in high school. I remember when he was a newborn baby, Karen and I took him and Betty to the airport. At the time, they were leaving for Hong Kong with hopes of returning in several years. They did return several years later, but it seems like yesterday that I recall going up the escalator with Betty and Marvin. As a side note, the food at my parents was delicious.
Thanksgiving: This year was the first year that Karen and I hosted Thanksgiving. Joining us for Thanksgiving were Karen's parents, Karen's grandmother, my parents, and my friends (Marc, Kelly, and Andrea). It was definitely a neat experience to cook a turkey. I had the pleasure of taking the innards out of the turkey. All in all, I think the day went very well. I think everyone enjoyed the turkey and the side dishes. I also made one of the side dishes (green beans), because Karen thought there should be at least one green dish. The only downside of the day was that I had a headache for most of the day. I hardly ever get headaches... or sick for that matter. I think, however, that stress may have been a contributing factor on Thanksgiving as I had such a headache with massive neck pain. And truth be told, I don't really stress that much... consciously anyway. I suppose subconsciously I do.
Black Friday: The day after Thanksgiving, Karen and I took our nine month old (Bridget) to get pictures done at Sears. Briana had pictures done when she was young. So in all fairness, and to avoid the neglected youngest child syndrome, we took Bridget for her pictures. Aside from that, the only real shopping that I did on Black Friday was to purchase an air compressor. I've been wanting one for quite some time now. I figured it was time to just bite the bullet and get one... with hopes of actually finishing some projects around the house. Of course, now I need the nail guns to go with the compressors. Baby steps.
6th Annual Black Friday Dinner: Black Friday would not be complete without dinner at our friends' (Cass and Ellen). This year, there were many attendees. In addition to Karen and I (and our kids), my friends (Adam, Aimee, Andrea, Marc, Kelley, Garv, Leeann, Scott, and Ofelia) and my BFF (Kerry) came. There were definitely a lot of laughs that night. As usual, it was a great time hanging out with everyone. Plus, it was a good way to get rid of our leftovers from Thanksgiving.
Memorial Mass: On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we attended an anniversary mass for Karen's grandfather (her father's father). Surprisingly, Briana and Bridget were very good during the mass. If not being Catholic were bad enough, I may have gotten some stares from parishioners for not standing up during the appropriate times, which normally isn't too bad but I happened to be in the very front pew. The way I look at it, I wasn't about to get up and down numerous times with a two year old draped all over me. So I opted to just remain seated. I guess that's my original sin working.
Quincy Parade: On Sunday, I begrudgingly attended Quincy's holiday parade. And nothing says fun like trekking a two year old and a nine month old out to stand in the freezing cold during a parade. To me, it almost seems like cruel torture to have kids stand outside in cold weather for a couple of hours. But it's crazy what people do for "tradition". Surprisingly, Briana loved it. I'm going to have to work on that.
Cookie Swap: Following the Quincy parade, my friends (Jen and Bill) had everyone who attended the parade back to their place for a cookie swap. I must say, some of the cookies were very delicious. Granted, I only tried three cookies there: Karen's, Kerry's, and Jen's aunt's. Needless to say, it was good to see Jen and Bill. All in all, it was interesting seeing everyone there.
And lastly, that brings me to today, where I attended a factory tour: My coworkers and I went to our neighbors in Norwell at Zildjian for a little tour. I must say, the tour was great (free t-shirts aside). The history of the company is quite fascinating. Zildjian (which roughly translates to son [ian ]of a cymbal [zil] maker [dj]) had its roots in alchemy. As well, Zildjian has ties to Quincy because one of the sons, who had worked for a candy factory in Quincy, said that he would take over the family business if the company came to the US. As a result, the first Zildjian factory was in Quincy. I thought it really was a great tour to see how the cymbals are made. Plus, Travis Barker's drums are there. Yay Blink-182!
So that's pretty much the highlights of everything the past two weeks. Hopefully it won't take another two weeks for another post.
Monday, December 13, 2010
I Suck At Tree Trimming
Saturday started off pretty well.
My friends (Cass and Ellen) were in the neighborhood and decided to stop on by for lunch. Apparently, there is a company located near us that offers 3-D videos of your baby while you are pregnant. Suffice to say, it was definitely good to see Cass and Ellen. It appears that Cass has amassed quite a collection of Singamajigs already for their upcoming baby. (I think the Singamajigs may be more for Cass.)
Later than night, Karen and I attended a tree trimming. Unfortunately, I suck at tree trimming. And naturally, that is when things started to go downhill for me. Every year, my friends (Marc and Kelley) host a tree trimming party to celebrate the holidays. This year, in particular, their party coincided with a UFC fight. So, they were gracious enough to host the party and the UFC pay-per-view.
Anyway, I was pretty excited about the UFC fight. Sadly, things never really go according to plan. The tree trimming was great. My usual group of friends (Garv, Leeann, and Andrea) showed up. Cass was there. Marc's family were there. My BFF (Kerry) was there. My friends (Adam and Kim) were there. My friend (Amy, the Czar) was there. It was definitely good to hang out with everyone.
Unfortunately, it was probably due that I would mess things up. And as a general rule, when I mess things up... I mess things up. I think I've become "that guy". Needless to say, you know things are bad when you wake up the next day not knowing where you are.
And sadly, that is what happened. I woke up at 4 in the morning with one of Marc and Kelley's cat sitting in my lap, a bucket next to me, and the faint smell of vomit in the air. It didn't take too long for me to piece together that the smell of vomit must have been mine.
I say "must have", because unfortunately I have no memory about the incident. Quite frequently, I seem to suffer from alcohol-related amnesia. The last thing I remember was hanging out and chatting with Adam in the kitchen. I have since been told that I actually went to watch the UFC fight, only to never finish watching it due to my purge. I'm not exactly sure how much time elapsed since that moment in time in the kitchen to my inevitable purge.
Some people have an unhealthy relationship with food. I seem to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. No doubt, I have done physical damage to my liver and brain. I think what is probably the scariest part, aside from putting a strain on my relationship with my friends, is not remembering what happened at all. I could have probably murdered someone in my inebriated state and wouldn't even know it. Heck, I would be the perfect person to frame for a murder.
I think as I am getting older, my symptoms are getting worse. Earlier in my days, I could tell when things didn't feel quite right. I would get "huggy" as it may be. And I would perhaps sway a little. These days, there's just the swaying... and by that time, it's already too late. There are no signs that I'm passed that point.
After all, like I said, I remember talking with Adam in the kitchen. The best way I can describe the feeling is that it's almost like a switch that gets turned off. It feels that quick. And my memory seems to immediately shut down with it, which is pretty sad because my memory is poor to begin with. Throw in the vomit and well... perhaps that is a sign that my body just can't process alcohol like it used to.
Needless to say, I'm not too proud of my latest drunkenness. I feel awful for ruining Marc and Kelley's party. I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to make it up to them or anyone else at the party who had to witness or even help me. It's yet another in a long line of things that I am regretful for.
It's funny. One of the reasons why I titled my blog "I suck at..." is because of incidents like these. Granted, these incidents that I'm not proud of are not all alcohol-induced. Seeing Amy The Czar did bring back some memories where I wasn't exactly the nicest of nice, a fact only reinforced by my recent rummaging through of old high school crap that my mother brought over after cleaning out her attic.
It goes without saying that I am sorry for letting all of my friends down. I'm sorry that I'm a bad reflection on Karen. And right now, I'm even sorry that my baby daughter (Briana) has me as a father. At almost nine months, Briana thinks I'm like the greatest thing on the planet next to her milk. It's amazing how good I feel whenever Briana looks at me and smiles, because I know she simply adores me. Unfortunately, she doesn't know any better. I'm not even good at taking care of myself.
My friends (Cass and Ellen) were in the neighborhood and decided to stop on by for lunch. Apparently, there is a company located near us that offers 3-D videos of your baby while you are pregnant. Suffice to say, it was definitely good to see Cass and Ellen. It appears that Cass has amassed quite a collection of Singamajigs already for their upcoming baby. (I think the Singamajigs may be more for Cass.)
Later than night, Karen and I attended a tree trimming. Unfortunately, I suck at tree trimming. And naturally, that is when things started to go downhill for me. Every year, my friends (Marc and Kelley) host a tree trimming party to celebrate the holidays. This year, in particular, their party coincided with a UFC fight. So, they were gracious enough to host the party and the UFC pay-per-view.
Anyway, I was pretty excited about the UFC fight. Sadly, things never really go according to plan. The tree trimming was great. My usual group of friends (Garv, Leeann, and Andrea) showed up. Cass was there. Marc's family were there. My BFF (Kerry) was there. My friends (Adam and Kim) were there. My friend (Amy, the Czar) was there. It was definitely good to hang out with everyone.
Unfortunately, it was probably due that I would mess things up. And as a general rule, when I mess things up... I mess things up. I think I've become "that guy". Needless to say, you know things are bad when you wake up the next day not knowing where you are.
And sadly, that is what happened. I woke up at 4 in the morning with one of Marc and Kelley's cat sitting in my lap, a bucket next to me, and the faint smell of vomit in the air. It didn't take too long for me to piece together that the smell of vomit must have been mine.
I say "must have", because unfortunately I have no memory about the incident. Quite frequently, I seem to suffer from alcohol-related amnesia. The last thing I remember was hanging out and chatting with Adam in the kitchen. I have since been told that I actually went to watch the UFC fight, only to never finish watching it due to my purge. I'm not exactly sure how much time elapsed since that moment in time in the kitchen to my inevitable purge.
Some people have an unhealthy relationship with food. I seem to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. No doubt, I have done physical damage to my liver and brain. I think what is probably the scariest part, aside from putting a strain on my relationship with my friends, is not remembering what happened at all. I could have probably murdered someone in my inebriated state and wouldn't even know it. Heck, I would be the perfect person to frame for a murder.
I think as I am getting older, my symptoms are getting worse. Earlier in my days, I could tell when things didn't feel quite right. I would get "huggy" as it may be. And I would perhaps sway a little. These days, there's just the swaying... and by that time, it's already too late. There are no signs that I'm passed that point.
After all, like I said, I remember talking with Adam in the kitchen. The best way I can describe the feeling is that it's almost like a switch that gets turned off. It feels that quick. And my memory seems to immediately shut down with it, which is pretty sad because my memory is poor to begin with. Throw in the vomit and well... perhaps that is a sign that my body just can't process alcohol like it used to.
Needless to say, I'm not too proud of my latest drunkenness. I feel awful for ruining Marc and Kelley's party. I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to make it up to them or anyone else at the party who had to witness or even help me. It's yet another in a long line of things that I am regretful for.
It's funny. One of the reasons why I titled my blog "I suck at..." is because of incidents like these. Granted, these incidents that I'm not proud of are not all alcohol-induced. Seeing Amy The Czar did bring back some memories where I wasn't exactly the nicest of nice, a fact only reinforced by my recent rummaging through of old high school crap that my mother brought over after cleaning out her attic.
It goes without saying that I am sorry for letting all of my friends down. I'm sorry that I'm a bad reflection on Karen. And right now, I'm even sorry that my baby daughter (Briana) has me as a father. At almost nine months, Briana thinks I'm like the greatest thing on the planet next to her milk. It's amazing how good I feel whenever Briana looks at me and smiles, because I know she simply adores me. Unfortunately, she doesn't know any better. I'm not even good at taking care of myself.
Monday, December 14, 2009
I Suck At Tree Trimming
On Saturday, my friends (Marc and Kelley) had their annual tree trimming. Unfortunately, I suck at tree trimming.
In keeping with the annual tradition, I naturally got a little inebriated thanks to my drinking buddy Kelley and her great bartending skills. Yes, in addition to baking delicious cookies and muffins, Kelley is pretty good at making martinis. So naturally, I could not resist the temptation of booze... or more particularly... mass consumption of booze.
Sure, I admit it. I may have an unhealthy relationship with booze. Eventually I will give up consuming mass quantities of alcohol... either from sheer willpower... or organ failure. I am hoping it will be the former case.
As always, the tree trimming was great. It was good to see some of Marc's family whom I have not seen in awhile. Of course, it was also great to see and hang out with my friends (Cass, Ellen, Meredith, Doug, Andrea, the Czar, Adam, Alex, and Kim) and my BFF (Kerry) who attended the tree trimming. For anyone curious, I refer to my friend Amy as "the Czar" so as to not confuse her with my phonetic sounding friends (Hot Amy or Aimee). The first four letters of Amy's last name is c-z-a-r. Hence, "the Czar". By no means is she Russian... at least, not to my knowledge.
Amy the Czar is great. I don't get to see her too often. She is one of the nicest people I know. So, it was nice to be able to see her again.
Among the other people who I hardly see within a given year are Adam, Alex and Kim. Adam and Alex are the brothers of my friend (Scott) who lives in New York. They are a riot together. We spent much of the night trying to figure out a superhero that I could be within Adam's cell phone. Rather than use names of his friends with their cell phone number, Adam assigns a superhero name. Hard to maintain? Sure. But in terms of geekdom, I think it's pretty funny and cool. (For anyone curious, the superhero that I wanted was already taken, which is why we spent some time trying to figure one out. C'mon, who likes Hawkeye?)
And not that I am particularly proud of this fact, but Kim is also a big fan of the Miley Cyrus "Party in the U.S.A." song. Kim happens to know more (if not all) of the lyrics than I do. Truth be told, I'm not sure I know any lyrics. Somehow that song came up in conversation. I have no idea how or why I remember it, but I do.
Proof that it is a small world: Kim and Kelley were neighbors growing up. I first met Kim when she was a freshman in high school. At the time, my friend (John) who had a thing for freshmen girls... somehow started hanging out with Kim (probably because he wanted to date her). Sadly, John and I were seniors at the time. I believe they may have met in Drama club. And yes, I was in the Drama club in high school... not because I enjoyed drama... or the freshmen girls like John. I was in the club strictly for the food... which was very lacking in the club. (Interestingly enough, John is married to someone who is his senior.)
Anyway, John and Kim helped set Kelley up with Marc... and the rest is history. And since that time, Kim has ended up briefly dating Adam and my friend (Garv). It's very six degrees of Kevin Bacon random.
Regardless, the tree trimming was fun. The food, as usual, was delicious. Andrea brought her stuffed mushrooms again. Yum! So needless to say, I had a good time.
In keeping with the annual tradition, I naturally got a little inebriated thanks to my drinking buddy Kelley and her great bartending skills. Yes, in addition to baking delicious cookies and muffins, Kelley is pretty good at making martinis. So naturally, I could not resist the temptation of booze... or more particularly... mass consumption of booze.
Sure, I admit it. I may have an unhealthy relationship with booze. Eventually I will give up consuming mass quantities of alcohol... either from sheer willpower... or organ failure. I am hoping it will be the former case.
As always, the tree trimming was great. It was good to see some of Marc's family whom I have not seen in awhile. Of course, it was also great to see and hang out with my friends (Cass, Ellen, Meredith, Doug, Andrea, the Czar, Adam, Alex, and Kim) and my BFF (Kerry) who attended the tree trimming. For anyone curious, I refer to my friend Amy as "the Czar" so as to not confuse her with my phonetic sounding friends (Hot Amy or Aimee). The first four letters of Amy's last name is c-z-a-r. Hence, "the Czar". By no means is she Russian... at least, not to my knowledge.
Amy the Czar is great. I don't get to see her too often. She is one of the nicest people I know. So, it was nice to be able to see her again.
Among the other people who I hardly see within a given year are Adam, Alex and Kim. Adam and Alex are the brothers of my friend (Scott) who lives in New York. They are a riot together. We spent much of the night trying to figure out a superhero that I could be within Adam's cell phone. Rather than use names of his friends with their cell phone number, Adam assigns a superhero name. Hard to maintain? Sure. But in terms of geekdom, I think it's pretty funny and cool. (For anyone curious, the superhero that I wanted was already taken, which is why we spent some time trying to figure one out. C'mon, who likes Hawkeye?)
And not that I am particularly proud of this fact, but Kim is also a big fan of the Miley Cyrus "Party in the U.S.A." song. Kim happens to know more (if not all) of the lyrics than I do. Truth be told, I'm not sure I know any lyrics. Somehow that song came up in conversation. I have no idea how or why I remember it, but I do.
Proof that it is a small world: Kim and Kelley were neighbors growing up. I first met Kim when she was a freshman in high school. At the time, my friend (John) who had a thing for freshmen girls... somehow started hanging out with Kim (probably because he wanted to date her). Sadly, John and I were seniors at the time. I believe they may have met in Drama club. And yes, I was in the Drama club in high school... not because I enjoyed drama... or the freshmen girls like John. I was in the club strictly for the food... which was very lacking in the club. (Interestingly enough, John is married to someone who is his senior.)
Anyway, John and Kim helped set Kelley up with Marc... and the rest is history. And since that time, Kim has ended up briefly dating Adam and my friend (Garv). It's very six degrees of Kevin Bacon random.
Regardless, the tree trimming was fun. The food, as usual, was delicious. Andrea brought her stuffed mushrooms again. Yum! So needless to say, I had a good time.
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