Christmas Eve was the day I got to see my friend (Jen). Too bad I suck at Christmas Eve.
In the morning, Karen and I met up with Jen and my BFF (Kerry) for breakfast at Stars on Hingham Harbor. Christmas Eve breakfast has practically become a tradition now amongst all of us. I think all of us have been doing it since college. Sadly, this year my friend (Joanna) could not make it.
Joanna lives out in Oregon. And this year, she wasn't coming back to Massachusetts for the holiday. Bummer. She cracks me up with some of her stories.
Anyway, breakfast was delicious as usual at Stars. I ordered the low carb breakfast. The low carb dish was chock full of meat... eggs... and cheese. Basically, a protein dish. Normally, I don't care for low carb dishes primarily because I consider the term synonymous with dieting... and I don't diet as obviously from my svelte figure. (That's sarcasm.)
It just so happens that I did not eat much protein at all the day before. So come Christmas Eve morning, I had a craving for protein. And I devoured the low carb plate. Yum! Food aside, it was good to see Kerry and Jen even if most of my time was spent trying to get my two year old (Briana) to sit and stay in her seat during breakfast.
And as luck would have it, I got to see Jen again later that night. For some time now, Karen and I have hosted Christmas Eve for our families. This year, however, we decided to switch things up a little and host Christmas day instead. So doing the hosting duties for Christmas Eve this year were my mother-in-law and my father-in-law.
I have a feeling that my mother-in-law has been wanting to host for some time. So it didn't take much to convince her to host Christmas Eve... not that she needed convincing. Regardless, Jen happens to live near my in-laws. So she and her brother (Bill) came to Christmas Eve dinner too (after they themselves hosted for their family).
Needless to say, Christmas Eve was a good time.
Showing posts with label bill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bill. Show all posts
Friday, December 28, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
I Suck At Wakes
Today has been a long day... with my seven month old daughter (Bridget) waking up at 4 in the morning... to my two year old daughter (Briana) waking up at 5 in the morning... to now, having finished looking into a "bug" for work in the wee hours of night. That said, I'm sure the feeling is not as bad in comparison to my friends (Jen and Bill) whose father recently passed away. Their father's wake was held today. Too bad I suck at wakes.
The service was nice, if not longer than I expected. I think I would have liked it more had the priest not thrown in the schpiel that Jen and Bill's father should have gone to church more frequently than he did. It almost reminded me of my friend's (Hot Amy) wedding where the priest mentioned the four horsemen of Apocalypse. I sometimes wonder what the men of the cloth are thinking when they say these asinine things. Of course, that's easy for me to say because I'm not religious.
Regardless, I wish Jen, Bill, and the rest of their family the best. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to lose a parent. Sadly, I know what it's like the other way around in losing a child. Trust me when I say it is not fun.
I must say, however, that one of the more interesting things of the day happened at the wake. My BFF (Kerry) and I were hanging out before the service. As is customary in some wakes, there is a book to sign when you first walk into the funeral home. Someone who looked familiar to Kerry came to the wake and signed the book. Curious as to whether or not she knew that person, Kerry wanted to see if that person's name rang a bell.
Having already signed the book myself, I couldn't think of a way to discretely walk up to the book to see the name that was signed. Lo and behold, Kerry pulled it off by walking up to the book to grab a prayer card from the stack located near the book. I thought that was pretty smooth and quite impressive. Heck, I was so impressed I told her that I'd write about it.
Following the wake, Jen and Bill's mother had everyone come back to her house. It has been quite some time since I was there. Apparently, the last time I was there was for a Flag Day cookout, where I was lucky enough to see the rain barrel.
It's weird how wedding and funerals serve as venues toward seeing people whom you haven't seen in awhile. At Jen and Bill's mother's place, I got to see my friend (Carlos). It was good to catch up with him again. As well, I was able to see my friend (Pam), who is training to be a hair stylist. She apparently does some waxing as well, although waxing the hair from butt cracks was not one of those things she is willing to do. (I asked out of sheer curiosity.)
Anyway, from there I headed off to Kerry's who had invited a bunch of us over for dinner. Joining in the festivities at Kerry's were my friends (Andrea, Marc, and Kelley). For me, it was definitely a great way to end the night.
We just hung out and had some laughs. Heck, we even were able to catch a few episodes of the first season of Arrested Development. Prior to today, I've never seen the show. I must say, it's a funny show.
Some of the silly topics of conversation that came up at Kerry's were Andrea's new television, the worst movies we ever watched, and Halloween costumes. For me, there are a lot of terrible movies... only because I'll watch practically anything. As for Halloween costumes, that topic led to all sorts of laughs as we contemplated costumes based on puns.
In addition to the laughs, Kerry made apple crisp for dessert. Yum! Apple crisp! Yom yom yom yom. Truth be told, I like any crisp. Needless to say, the dessert was absolutely a great way to end the night. I had a great time.
The service was nice, if not longer than I expected. I think I would have liked it more had the priest not thrown in the schpiel that Jen and Bill's father should have gone to church more frequently than he did. It almost reminded me of my friend's (Hot Amy) wedding where the priest mentioned the four horsemen of Apocalypse. I sometimes wonder what the men of the cloth are thinking when they say these asinine things. Of course, that's easy for me to say because I'm not religious.
Regardless, I wish Jen, Bill, and the rest of their family the best. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to lose a parent. Sadly, I know what it's like the other way around in losing a child. Trust me when I say it is not fun.
I must say, however, that one of the more interesting things of the day happened at the wake. My BFF (Kerry) and I were hanging out before the service. As is customary in some wakes, there is a book to sign when you first walk into the funeral home. Someone who looked familiar to Kerry came to the wake and signed the book. Curious as to whether or not she knew that person, Kerry wanted to see if that person's name rang a bell.
Having already signed the book myself, I couldn't think of a way to discretely walk up to the book to see the name that was signed. Lo and behold, Kerry pulled it off by walking up to the book to grab a prayer card from the stack located near the book. I thought that was pretty smooth and quite impressive. Heck, I was so impressed I told her that I'd write about it.
Following the wake, Jen and Bill's mother had everyone come back to her house. It has been quite some time since I was there. Apparently, the last time I was there was for a Flag Day cookout, where I was lucky enough to see the rain barrel.
It's weird how wedding and funerals serve as venues toward seeing people whom you haven't seen in awhile. At Jen and Bill's mother's place, I got to see my friend (Carlos). It was good to catch up with him again. As well, I was able to see my friend (Pam), who is training to be a hair stylist. She apparently does some waxing as well, although waxing the hair from butt cracks was not one of those things she is willing to do. (I asked out of sheer curiosity.)
Anyway, from there I headed off to Kerry's who had invited a bunch of us over for dinner. Joining in the festivities at Kerry's were my friends (Andrea, Marc, and Kelley). For me, it was definitely a great way to end the night.
We just hung out and had some laughs. Heck, we even were able to catch a few episodes of the first season of Arrested Development. Prior to today, I've never seen the show. I must say, it's a funny show.
Some of the silly topics of conversation that came up at Kerry's were Andrea's new television, the worst movies we ever watched, and Halloween costumes. For me, there are a lot of terrible movies... only because I'll watch practically anything. As for Halloween costumes, that topic led to all sorts of laughs as we contemplated costumes based on puns.
In addition to the laughs, Kerry made apple crisp for dessert. Yum! Apple crisp! Yom yom yom yom. Truth be told, I like any crisp. Needless to say, the dessert was absolutely a great way to end the night. I had a great time.
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.
Monday, January 23, 2012
I Suck At Chinese New Year
Saturday started off with a very nice treat. The day prior, my friend (Aimee) sent me a link about how Friendly's was offering free Fribbles as a sign of customer appreciation. The offer was too good to pass up. (Thanks Aimee!) Naturally, Karen and I decided to treat our twenty two month old daughter (Briana) as well.
So off we went to Friendly's for our Fribbles. Might I add, the Fribbles were very delicious. Briana even enjoyed hers. She looked happy as a clam sucking down her strawberry Fribble. I don't think I've ever seen her so content.
Anyway, later that night all of us went over to my parents for dinner. My parents hosted their annual Chinese New Year celebration dinner. Too bad I suck at Chinese New Year. For anyone curious, the Chinese new year is today. It's early this year. And it so happens to be the year of the Dragon, which is supposed to bring good fortune. I actually think this year is a water dragon, which means water will be powerful this year. So beware of floods.
My friends (Marc and Kelley) came to my parents' dinner this year. All this time, I never realized that Marc actually wanted to partake in the dinner. Consequently, I had never invited him and Kelley during the celebration of Chinese New Year. Oops! So this year was the first time they attended the dinner.
Also in attendance were my mother-in-law and father-in-law, my cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin), and my friends (Andrea, Jen and Bill). Normally, as with most family gatherings, I get a little stressed particularly because I'm running around between helping my parents with the food and entertaining their guests. This year, however, was a much different story.
I was definitely more relaxed than in past dinners. I think probably the reason was Briana and her ability to entertain everyone while I helped my parents. Needless to say, I thought dinner was great. I enjoyed the food that my parents made. It was delicious and definitely better tasting than the food from Chinese restaurants. But of course, I could be biased.
I must say, however, that I feel like I did not get to socialize as much as I would have liked. Poor Bill spent a good chunk of time watching some awful Chinese soap opera with my cousin. I did, however, find out that Jen has already made an appointment for her driving test. She's taking the test some time in February, which is pretty exciting.
Anyway, like I said, it was a great night celebrating Chinese New Year with family and friends.
So off we went to Friendly's for our Fribbles. Might I add, the Fribbles were very delicious. Briana even enjoyed hers. She looked happy as a clam sucking down her strawberry Fribble. I don't think I've ever seen her so content.
Anyway, later that night all of us went over to my parents for dinner. My parents hosted their annual Chinese New Year celebration dinner. Too bad I suck at Chinese New Year. For anyone curious, the Chinese new year is today. It's early this year. And it so happens to be the year of the Dragon, which is supposed to bring good fortune. I actually think this year is a water dragon, which means water will be powerful this year. So beware of floods.
My friends (Marc and Kelley) came to my parents' dinner this year. All this time, I never realized that Marc actually wanted to partake in the dinner. Consequently, I had never invited him and Kelley during the celebration of Chinese New Year. Oops! So this year was the first time they attended the dinner.
Also in attendance were my mother-in-law and father-in-law, my cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin), and my friends (Andrea, Jen and Bill). Normally, as with most family gatherings, I get a little stressed particularly because I'm running around between helping my parents with the food and entertaining their guests. This year, however, was a much different story.
I was definitely more relaxed than in past dinners. I think probably the reason was Briana and her ability to entertain everyone while I helped my parents. Needless to say, I thought dinner was great. I enjoyed the food that my parents made. It was delicious and definitely better tasting than the food from Chinese restaurants. But of course, I could be biased.
I must say, however, that I feel like I did not get to socialize as much as I would have liked. Poor Bill spent a good chunk of time watching some awful Chinese soap opera with my cousin. I did, however, find out that Jen has already made an appointment for her driving test. She's taking the test some time in February, which is pretty exciting.
Anyway, like I said, it was a great night celebrating Chinese New Year with family and friends.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
I Suck At Getting New Glasses
A few weeks ago, my eighteen month old ninja daughter (Briana) snatched the glasses off of my face. Within a matter of seconds, she managed to snap the part that goes over your ear off. Unfortunately, I do not have a spare set of eyeglasses. So since that time, I have been wearing those broken glasses, complete with a thick layer of duct tape holding the pieces together. (It's true. Duct tape solves everything.)
I guess you could say that I suck at getting new glasses. After all, the high-flying-ninja-eyeglass-breaking-event was over three weeks ago. All of that changed on Saturday when my new glasses finally arrived. And boy was I excited.
I was particularly excited, not because I wouldn't have to wear duct-taped glasses anymore (although there was some excitement for that), but because I was curious as to how the particular eyeglass would be like since I was ordering them online.
When Briana broke my eyeglasses, I started to think about the ROI involved with purchasing new glasses. For anyone curious, ROI stands for return on investment. ROI is a general financial term that describes the ratio of money gained/lossed to the money invested. And by no means am I a financial person.
Based on my memory (which is spotty at best), the cost of eyeglasses and frames could cost well over $300 at a retail store. So I started to think about what if, after buying a $300 pair of new glasses, my ninja daughter did the same thing again and broke those new glasses. (This is where I add the infamous quote: "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.")
Needless to say, it did not make sense to me to spend that much on eyeglasses especially with my curious daughter around. So I did some research into online stores for glasses. I ended up ordering glasses from Goggles4U, which was a reputable place.
And as luck would have it, I still had a copy of my prescription for the glasses that Briana broke. So after browsing through their website, I ordered a pair of glasses on sale for $13.98 ($8.99 plus $4.99 shipping). Sounds sketchy, right? After all, how could glasses be that cheap in comparison to retail stores?
Well, let me tell you... I was pleasantly surprised with the new glasses. I'd definitely order from them again. The new glasses came in a case, complete with a cleaning cloth and a screwdriver key chain. And to boot, the glasses actually looked nice. I was impressed.
Anyway, to celebrate the new glasses, Karen, Briana and I headed over to my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) to celebrate. Okay, the reason was not to celebrate my glasses. Janine actually invited us over because she was having her BFF (Gretchen) over, as well as my friends (Jen and Bill). It was good seeing everyone. We even joked about fat pictures. It was funny.
I guess you could say that I suck at getting new glasses. After all, the high-flying-ninja-eyeglass-breaking-event was over three weeks ago. All of that changed on Saturday when my new glasses finally arrived. And boy was I excited.
I was particularly excited, not because I wouldn't have to wear duct-taped glasses anymore (although there was some excitement for that), but because I was curious as to how the particular eyeglass would be like since I was ordering them online.
When Briana broke my eyeglasses, I started to think about the ROI involved with purchasing new glasses. For anyone curious, ROI stands for return on investment. ROI is a general financial term that describes the ratio of money gained/lossed to the money invested. And by no means am I a financial person.
Based on my memory (which is spotty at best), the cost of eyeglasses and frames could cost well over $300 at a retail store. So I started to think about what if, after buying a $300 pair of new glasses, my ninja daughter did the same thing again and broke those new glasses. (This is where I add the infamous quote: "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.")
Needless to say, it did not make sense to me to spend that much on eyeglasses especially with my curious daughter around. So I did some research into online stores for glasses. I ended up ordering glasses from Goggles4U, which was a reputable place.
And as luck would have it, I still had a copy of my prescription for the glasses that Briana broke. So after browsing through their website, I ordered a pair of glasses on sale for $13.98 ($8.99 plus $4.99 shipping). Sounds sketchy, right? After all, how could glasses be that cheap in comparison to retail stores?
Well, let me tell you... I was pleasantly surprised with the new glasses. I'd definitely order from them again. The new glasses came in a case, complete with a cleaning cloth and a screwdriver key chain. And to boot, the glasses actually looked nice. I was impressed.
Anyway, to celebrate the new glasses, Karen, Briana and I headed over to my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) to celebrate. Okay, the reason was not to celebrate my glasses. Janine actually invited us over because she was having her BFF (Gretchen) over, as well as my friends (Jen and Bill). It was good seeing everyone. We even joked about fat pictures. It was funny.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
I Suck At Half Birthday Parties
Yesterday, Karen and I... and our baby daughter (Briana) traveled to the bewitching town of Salem. What is in Salem besides witches? Well... my bff (Kerry) just so happens to reside in Salem and she decided to have a little cookout celebration.
Kerry, like a good many friends that I know, was born in the month of December. And as anyone with a December birthday can tell you, celebrating your day with a group of people within that month can be quite difficult with the holidays and all. Thus, she came up with the idea of having a birthday party in June... or as she refers to it as... a half birthday party because it's halfway to her birthday.
Unfortunately, I suck at half birthday parties. Truth be told, I think the idea is pretty ingenious, in part because I also happen to have a birthday in the month of December. In fact, I started my whole photo scavenger hunt because of that very dilemma as well... how to celebrate your day with a bunch of friends without having to celebrate it in the month of December.
Needless to say, Karen and I attended Kerry's half birthday party. We had wanted to bring a gag gift in honor of it being Kerry's half birthday, but we could not decide upon something. I had originally suggested a two piece bathing suit, but only giving her either the top or the bottom. Our other ideas were very limited... like a single shoe.
Anyway, the half birthday party was good. As a new parent of a 3 month old, I have recently been comparing Briana to other children close to her age. After all, I felt a lot of pressure with Briana because people used to always tell Karen and I that our future baby will be so adorable and all of that (being of a mixed race and all). I have no idea what these people used to base their assumptions on. Naturally, I felt that Briana had high expectations to live up to.
So it may have been a little possible that at the half birthday party, I compared Briana to another baby who also happened to be at the party. Now, I know parents always think their own child is the most beautiful thing since sliced bread. After all, it's their own child and of course they would be biased. That said, I was quite ecstatic during the half birthday party. Briana was easily the best looking baby, despite the my-baby-is-so-wonderful stories by the mother of the other baby. But to each their own.
The half birthday party itself was interesting. As usual, the food was delicious. In addition to the standard cookout staples of hot dogs and hamburgers, Kerry made a corn casserole dish. The dish was very delicious. Similarly, I'll give props to my friend (Hot Amy) for her guacamole. It was surprisingly good.
Speaking of which, the other friends of mine who attended the half birthday party included Marc, Kelley, Andrea, Cass, Jenn, Bill, Carlos and Steve. I have gotten to known Steve through Kerry. He is a funny guy... and one who I think has a neat job. I would definitely love to be able to watch a live open heart operation. That would be cool to watch.
Anyway, like many of Kerry's friends, Steve is from Rhode Island. In general, whenever Kerry has a party, it's usually a party of two locations: Massachusetts of where Kerry grew up; and Rhode Island of where Kerry attended college. Even though the party would be at the same location, the group interactions would usually be divided. The friends from Massachusetts would talk amongst themselves. The friends from Rhode Island would talk amongst themselves. Steve, however, seems to be the only who can easily bridge the gap between the two groups. It's interesting to watch.
In my opinion, the half birthday party was no different. Those from Massachusetts generally hung outside of Kerry's place. Those from Rhode Island generally hung inside of Kerry's place. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just how it is. And really, it makes logical sense. People will do what they are most comfortable with... and that is associate with people they know. Given the option of having a conversation with someone who you hardly know versus having a conversation with someone you grew up with... the choice generally will be the latter probably because it requires less effort.
Unfortunately, I was not up for conversing either way. I was busy imbibing libations with Andrea, Kelley and Cass. There may have been a conversation about South Africa in there somewhere.
Anyway, it was a nice birthday party. I hope Kerry had a great time. Happy half birthday BFF!
Kerry, like a good many friends that I know, was born in the month of December. And as anyone with a December birthday can tell you, celebrating your day with a group of people within that month can be quite difficult with the holidays and all. Thus, she came up with the idea of having a birthday party in June... or as she refers to it as... a half birthday party because it's halfway to her birthday.
Unfortunately, I suck at half birthday parties. Truth be told, I think the idea is pretty ingenious, in part because I also happen to have a birthday in the month of December. In fact, I started my whole photo scavenger hunt because of that very dilemma as well... how to celebrate your day with a bunch of friends without having to celebrate it in the month of December.
Needless to say, Karen and I attended Kerry's half birthday party. We had wanted to bring a gag gift in honor of it being Kerry's half birthday, but we could not decide upon something. I had originally suggested a two piece bathing suit, but only giving her either the top or the bottom. Our other ideas were very limited... like a single shoe.
Anyway, the half birthday party was good. As a new parent of a 3 month old, I have recently been comparing Briana to other children close to her age. After all, I felt a lot of pressure with Briana because people used to always tell Karen and I that our future baby will be so adorable and all of that (being of a mixed race and all). I have no idea what these people used to base their assumptions on. Naturally, I felt that Briana had high expectations to live up to.
So it may have been a little possible that at the half birthday party, I compared Briana to another baby who also happened to be at the party. Now, I know parents always think their own child is the most beautiful thing since sliced bread. After all, it's their own child and of course they would be biased. That said, I was quite ecstatic during the half birthday party. Briana was easily the best looking baby, despite the my-baby-is-so-wonderful stories by the mother of the other baby. But to each their own.
The half birthday party itself was interesting. As usual, the food was delicious. In addition to the standard cookout staples of hot dogs and hamburgers, Kerry made a corn casserole dish. The dish was very delicious. Similarly, I'll give props to my friend (Hot Amy) for her guacamole. It was surprisingly good.
Speaking of which, the other friends of mine who attended the half birthday party included Marc, Kelley, Andrea, Cass, Jenn, Bill, Carlos and Steve. I have gotten to known Steve through Kerry. He is a funny guy... and one who I think has a neat job. I would definitely love to be able to watch a live open heart operation. That would be cool to watch.
Anyway, like many of Kerry's friends, Steve is from Rhode Island. In general, whenever Kerry has a party, it's usually a party of two locations: Massachusetts of where Kerry grew up; and Rhode Island of where Kerry attended college. Even though the party would be at the same location, the group interactions would usually be divided. The friends from Massachusetts would talk amongst themselves. The friends from Rhode Island would talk amongst themselves. Steve, however, seems to be the only who can easily bridge the gap between the two groups. It's interesting to watch.
In my opinion, the half birthday party was no different. Those from Massachusetts generally hung outside of Kerry's place. Those from Rhode Island generally hung inside of Kerry's place. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just how it is. And really, it makes logical sense. People will do what they are most comfortable with... and that is associate with people they know. Given the option of having a conversation with someone who you hardly know versus having a conversation with someone you grew up with... the choice generally will be the latter probably because it requires less effort.
Unfortunately, I was not up for conversing either way. I was busy imbibing libations with Andrea, Kelley and Cass. There may have been a conversation about South Africa in there somewhere.
Anyway, it was a nice birthday party. I hope Kerry had a great time. Happy half birthday BFF!
Friday, November 27, 2009
I Suck At Imperial Terrace
On Wednesday, my friend (Jen) organized a little pre-Thanksgiving get-together. The get-together consisted of dinner at the Imperial Terrace located in Quincy. Now, I suck at Imperial Terrace.
For anyone curious, the Imperial Terrace is a restaurant specializing in Chinese food, and not just any Chinese food. The place specializes in American Chinese food that consists of greasy... everything... that will eventually make you hungry again within the hour.
Truth be told, I don't particularly like Chinese food... at least not the type at so-called Chinese restaurants. I may have been spoiled growing up because my mother cooked real Chinese food that tasted great and was not at all greasy. Needless to say, the food at these other restaurants just never compared to my mother's cooking. Thus, I never particularly enjoyed eating at these restaurants.
Nevertheless, Jen was gracious enough to organize the shindig. Consequently, the Imperial Terrace was a great reason to simply hang out with friends and have a good time.
Making it to the shindig were my friends (Marc, Kelley, Carlos), Jen, her brother (Bill), a couple of Bill's friends, my friend (Hot Amy) and her sister (Terri), Karen and I. There were a bunch of us. Unfortunately, we sat at a rectangular table. And for anyone who knows me, they would know that I have a dislike of rectangular tables when it comes to large parties (because people at the ends of these tables are never included in the conversations at the other end of the table).
Although truth be told, it was probably good that we were at a rectangular table on Wednesday. As I had been a little inebriated beforehand with my drinking buddy (Kelley), I had the latest Miley Cyrus song stuck in my head.
(The video below is the Miley Cyrus song that was stuck in my head.)
I'm not proud of the fact that I enjoy the Miley Cyrus song. Sadly, the song is just so darn catchy. Regardless, in my inebriated state, I may have repeated lyrics from the song a few thousand times. I, of course, butchered the song because I do not actually know the lyrics. So I may have been making no sense whatsoever with my constant rendition of the song on Wednesday.
Anyway, I'm afraid I don't remember much from the Imperial Terrace... other than the scorpion bowl that Kelley and I shared... and Miley Cyrus. So like I said, it may have been better that we were seated at the end of the rectangular table.
Following dinner, a bunch of us headed back to Jen and Bill's place. It was fun to hang out with Jen, Hot Amy, and Carlos, whom I really haven't seen much of late. From what I can remember, Hot Amy challenged me to a macaroni and cheese throw down. I don't remember if we wagered anything or not. Of course, a wager would not matter much anyway. There is no doubt that I will beat Hot Amy. She is pre-disposed to losing. And luckily, she is a glutton for punishment which makes it fun.
As is my nature, I may have angered Hot Amy a little with my ribbing. I forget how the subject of her significant other (Mark) came up, but he did. Mark works for MIT's Lincoln Labs. For anyone curious, Lincoln Labs is federal funded by the government for the area of research and development. Due to the nature of his work, Mark cannot tell anyone what he actually does at MIT's Lincoln Labs. Naturally, I joked that Mark was the janitor there. For the record, I don't think there is anything wrong with being a janitor. I just happened to know that it would annoy Hot Amy.
Needless to say, Carlos enjoyed my joke a lot. He kept laughing at the thought. Yeah, I'm a stinker. But it was funny to get under Hot Amy's skin. She's a good sport about my jokes. I could definitely see that she was getting a little angry with me.
Speaking of Mark, my other friend (Marc) actually watched a little of Fox's Glee while at Jen's. Jen was recording the show which happened to be on while we were there. Sadly, Marc is not a big fan of Glee. It's too bad. I love Glee. The show is one of my guilty pleasures.
Go Quinn Fabray! Yes, I may be drawn to the show due to the blond cheerleader. It's not my fault. I'm attracted to shiny objects. And, I feel robbed of my high school cheerleading experience because the cheerleaders at my high school... definitely looked nothing like television. Sure, they may have had the attitude... just not the flexibility or cheer...
Anyway, it was definitely a fun night. I'm glad Jen organized the get-together. I had a great time.
For anyone curious, the Imperial Terrace is a restaurant specializing in Chinese food, and not just any Chinese food. The place specializes in American Chinese food that consists of greasy... everything... that will eventually make you hungry again within the hour.
Truth be told, I don't particularly like Chinese food... at least not the type at so-called Chinese restaurants. I may have been spoiled growing up because my mother cooked real Chinese food that tasted great and was not at all greasy. Needless to say, the food at these other restaurants just never compared to my mother's cooking. Thus, I never particularly enjoyed eating at these restaurants.
Nevertheless, Jen was gracious enough to organize the shindig. Consequently, the Imperial Terrace was a great reason to simply hang out with friends and have a good time.
Making it to the shindig were my friends (Marc, Kelley, Carlos), Jen, her brother (Bill), a couple of Bill's friends, my friend (Hot Amy) and her sister (Terri), Karen and I. There were a bunch of us. Unfortunately, we sat at a rectangular table. And for anyone who knows me, they would know that I have a dislike of rectangular tables when it comes to large parties (because people at the ends of these tables are never included in the conversations at the other end of the table).
Although truth be told, it was probably good that we were at a rectangular table on Wednesday. As I had been a little inebriated beforehand with my drinking buddy (Kelley), I had the latest Miley Cyrus song stuck in my head.
(The video below is the Miley Cyrus song that was stuck in my head.)
I'm not proud of the fact that I enjoy the Miley Cyrus song. Sadly, the song is just so darn catchy. Regardless, in my inebriated state, I may have repeated lyrics from the song a few thousand times. I, of course, butchered the song because I do not actually know the lyrics. So I may have been making no sense whatsoever with my constant rendition of the song on Wednesday.
Anyway, I'm afraid I don't remember much from the Imperial Terrace... other than the scorpion bowl that Kelley and I shared... and Miley Cyrus. So like I said, it may have been better that we were seated at the end of the rectangular table.
Following dinner, a bunch of us headed back to Jen and Bill's place. It was fun to hang out with Jen, Hot Amy, and Carlos, whom I really haven't seen much of late. From what I can remember, Hot Amy challenged me to a macaroni and cheese throw down. I don't remember if we wagered anything or not. Of course, a wager would not matter much anyway. There is no doubt that I will beat Hot Amy. She is pre-disposed to losing. And luckily, she is a glutton for punishment which makes it fun.
As is my nature, I may have angered Hot Amy a little with my ribbing. I forget how the subject of her significant other (Mark) came up, but he did. Mark works for MIT's Lincoln Labs. For anyone curious, Lincoln Labs is federal funded by the government for the area of research and development. Due to the nature of his work, Mark cannot tell anyone what he actually does at MIT's Lincoln Labs. Naturally, I joked that Mark was the janitor there. For the record, I don't think there is anything wrong with being a janitor. I just happened to know that it would annoy Hot Amy.
Needless to say, Carlos enjoyed my joke a lot. He kept laughing at the thought. Yeah, I'm a stinker. But it was funny to get under Hot Amy's skin. She's a good sport about my jokes. I could definitely see that she was getting a little angry with me.
Speaking of Mark, my other friend (Marc) actually watched a little of Fox's Glee while at Jen's. Jen was recording the show which happened to be on while we were there. Sadly, Marc is not a big fan of Glee. It's too bad. I love Glee. The show is one of my guilty pleasures.
Go Quinn Fabray! Yes, I may be drawn to the show due to the blond cheerleader. It's not my fault. I'm attracted to shiny objects. And, I feel robbed of my high school cheerleading experience because the cheerleaders at my high school... definitely looked nothing like television. Sure, they may have had the attitude... just not the flexibility or cheer...
Anyway, it was definitely a fun night. I'm glad Jen organized the get-together. I had a great time.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
I Suck At Hot Amy's Cookout
last night was the annual cookout that my friend (hot amy) hosts. hot amy's cookout is one of my friend's (andrea) favorite days of the year... the other favorite day being her own birthday. unfortunately, i suck at hot amy's cookout.
(pictured below is karen... and part of me.)
this year's cookout was quite interesting. after all, the cookout marked the last day of wally's captivity. (for anyone curious, wally is hot amy's stuffed animal.) yes... it's sadly true, wally has been returned to his rightful owner.
of course, like most things, i didn't make it easy for hot amy. (someone has to keep her grounded.) at one point, i actually had the upper hand. sitting across from karen, hot amy taunted karen by showing the stuffed animal that she herself had kidnapped from karen awhile ago.
needless to say, with a swift act of heroism... i saved karen's stuffed animal from the forces of evil. i snatched the stuffed animal directly from hot amy's hands. from there, i bolted to my car to place both wally and karen's stuffed animal into the car.
sure, i may have looked a little silly to hot amy's neighbors by carrying a stuffed pig and wally in my hands as i made my way down the street, but i didn't care. i had both the pig and wally. i'll give hot amy some credit though. i definitely did not notice her following me. i thought i had lost her back at her cookout.
i actually did not notice hot amy until i opened the trunk of my car and threw karen's stuffed pig in. hot amy had let out a scream of terror, causing me to immediately shut the trunk. with wally still in my hand, i had to think of a way to get wally into my car.
eventually, the right opportuntity arose. circling around my car, i stealthily unlocked the car doors with my remote. opening the door, i threw wally in the back seat and quickly locked the doors with the remote. hot amy did her best to open the door, but i was too quick! it was amusing to watch.
anyway, defeated... hot amy walked back to the cookout. i of course, was all smiles on the walk back because i had rescued karen's stuffed pig... and kept wally. and then... came the guilt. and by guilt, i mean my better half: karen.
all right, so maybe i did feel somewhat guilty for taking back the pig while keeping wally. it's like that idiom: like taking candy from a baby... not that i'm calling hot amy a baby or anything.
after some feelings of guilt, i eventually went back to the car to release wally. and naturally because i never make things easy for hot amy, i hid wally somewhere in her very own house without telling her. i don't think she has found wally yet... very sad. at the same time, i get a little chuckle out of knowing that she has not found him. mean? maybe.
aside from the wally fun, the rest of the night was pretty interesting. i will probably never watch fireworks again without thinking about my bff (kerry). it turns out that kerry had a discussion with one of her coworkers about fireworks and how fireworks are similar to... of all things... sex. truth be told, the analogy between fireworks and sex does seem to fit in that all the "foreplay" of the fireworks leads to one big finale.
so needless to say, my group of friends (marc, kelley, kerry, and carlos), karen, and i chuckled like five year olds as we watched the fireworks display. after all, if fireworks were like a rorschach test, then all of us saw nipples and sperm of various colors and sizes in the firework display... well, all of us except for carlos who had trouble seeing the nipple fireworks.
interestingly enough, the most memorable part of the night followed the fireworks. in my opinion, the most memorable part of the night was... the bouncy house. hot amy's family rented one of those bouncy houses... but not just any type of bouncy house. this bouncy house was huge. and luckily, there were no weight restrictions... or at least none that we could read.
needless to say, my friends and i entered the bouncy house and just... bounced and bounced... and bounced. it was awesome... it was fantastic... you name it. who knew jumping around could be so hysterical? from what i was told by kelley, who did not enter the bouncy house, the outside of the bouncy house kept swaying as though it were going to fall over. luckily, the bouncy house never did topple over.
anyway, by far i will remember the bouncy house fun. after all, what could be better than a bunch of friends... hanging together... laughing their butts off as they jump around. it was great.
(pictured below is karen... and part of me.)
this year's cookout was quite interesting. after all, the cookout marked the last day of wally's captivity. (for anyone curious, wally is hot amy's stuffed animal.) yes... it's sadly true, wally has been returned to his rightful owner.
of course, like most things, i didn't make it easy for hot amy. (someone has to keep her grounded.) at one point, i actually had the upper hand. sitting across from karen, hot amy taunted karen by showing the stuffed animal that she herself had kidnapped from karen awhile ago.
needless to say, with a swift act of heroism... i saved karen's stuffed animal from the forces of evil. i snatched the stuffed animal directly from hot amy's hands. from there, i bolted to my car to place both wally and karen's stuffed animal into the car.
sure, i may have looked a little silly to hot amy's neighbors by carrying a stuffed pig and wally in my hands as i made my way down the street, but i didn't care. i had both the pig and wally. i'll give hot amy some credit though. i definitely did not notice her following me. i thought i had lost her back at her cookout.
i actually did not notice hot amy until i opened the trunk of my car and threw karen's stuffed pig in. hot amy had let out a scream of terror, causing me to immediately shut the trunk. with wally still in my hand, i had to think of a way to get wally into my car.
eventually, the right opportuntity arose. circling around my car, i stealthily unlocked the car doors with my remote. opening the door, i threw wally in the back seat and quickly locked the doors with the remote. hot amy did her best to open the door, but i was too quick! it was amusing to watch.
anyway, defeated... hot amy walked back to the cookout. i of course, was all smiles on the walk back because i had rescued karen's stuffed pig... and kept wally. and then... came the guilt. and by guilt, i mean my better half: karen.
all right, so maybe i did feel somewhat guilty for taking back the pig while keeping wally. it's like that idiom: like taking candy from a baby... not that i'm calling hot amy a baby or anything.
after some feelings of guilt, i eventually went back to the car to release wally. and naturally because i never make things easy for hot amy, i hid wally somewhere in her very own house without telling her. i don't think she has found wally yet... very sad. at the same time, i get a little chuckle out of knowing that she has not found him. mean? maybe.
aside from the wally fun, the rest of the night was pretty interesting. i will probably never watch fireworks again without thinking about my bff (kerry). it turns out that kerry had a discussion with one of her coworkers about fireworks and how fireworks are similar to... of all things... sex. truth be told, the analogy between fireworks and sex does seem to fit in that all the "foreplay" of the fireworks leads to one big finale.
so needless to say, my group of friends (marc, kelley, kerry, and carlos), karen, and i chuckled like five year olds as we watched the fireworks display. after all, if fireworks were like a rorschach test, then all of us saw nipples and sperm of various colors and sizes in the firework display... well, all of us except for carlos who had trouble seeing the nipple fireworks.
interestingly enough, the most memorable part of the night followed the fireworks. in my opinion, the most memorable part of the night was... the bouncy house. hot amy's family rented one of those bouncy houses... but not just any type of bouncy house. this bouncy house was huge. and luckily, there were no weight restrictions... or at least none that we could read.
needless to say, my friends and i entered the bouncy house and just... bounced and bounced... and bounced. it was awesome... it was fantastic... you name it. who knew jumping around could be so hysterical? from what i was told by kelley, who did not enter the bouncy house, the outside of the bouncy house kept swaying as though it were going to fall over. luckily, the bouncy house never did topple over.
anyway, by far i will remember the bouncy house fun. after all, what could be better than a bunch of friends... hanging together... laughing their butts off as they jump around. it was great.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
I Suck At The Toad Concert
last night, i went to a concert... and not just any concert... the toad the wet sprocket concert. now, i suck at the toad concert. it's not like i dislike the band or anything. in fact, i own three of their albums. sadly, aside from their big hits, i can't name another song from any of those albums. perhaps i should have re-listened to their albums before the concert. oh well.
anyway, the reason that i came to even be at the concert was due to my friend (carlos). carlos apparently is a big fan of toad the wet sprocket. in particular, he enjoys the "good intentions" and "all i want" song. when he heard they were playing in foxboro, he organized a little outing to the toad concert.
the first one to jump on board and decide to go to the concert was my friend (hot amy). apparently, she is a big fan of toad the wet sprocket as well. her becoming a fan was quite accidental as the previous owner of her previous car had left a toad the wet sprocket album in the car. curious, hot amy listened to the cd and apparently has liked the band ever since.
my friend (bill) was the next to be on board with the concert. apparently, bill is also a big fan of toad the wet sprocket. he has actually gone to two of their other concerts in the past.
aside from those three, none of my other friends who were asked wanted to go... mostly because they did not even know who toad the wet sprocket was. as i knew of the band, i was naturally the obvious choice for the ever popular technique known as peer pressure. anyway, that was how the motley crew came to be for the concert.
as it also turns out, carlos was bringing his friend (shannon) from minnesota. apparently, carlos and shannon were going to meet the rest of us at the cbs scene restaurant and bar at patriot place before the concert. they were heading down early to walk around patriot place... and possibly tailgate.
needless to say, i headed down with bill and hot amy. we actually had to listen to some songs by toad the wet sprocket because... well... i didn't remember any of them outside of their hits. it was an interesting ride down to foxboro. i found out some interesting things... like how hot amy would rather pay someone to do stuff for her than actually do it herself... like sew a button back on. for some reason, that fact did not really seem that shocking to me.
anyway, we met carlos and shannon at the cbs scene restaurant and bar... and i must say... it is very nice looking. there is this huge television above the bar; the music that was played was pretty catchy; and the waitstaff of course was friendly. when bill, hot amy and i arrived, we met shannon. shannon is a dj. he seems like a pretty decent guy... even if i think he may have been flirting with the waitstaff.
as proof that we are old... our waitperson was this young looking woman with glitter makeup on her cheeks. shannon was telling her how we were going to see toad the wet sprocket. her reply: "who?" i got a chuckle out of that.
the food, by the way, was good at cbs scene. i had part of hot amy's appetizer... which was pita and hummus... or something like that. the drinks, i felt, were just okay though. we each had a couple of shots... to numb the pain as i like to tell my friends. i think it may have affected carlos more than anyone because by the end of the concert, he was a little huggy with that glazed over look.
speaking of the concert, the concert was fun. for anyone curious, toad the wet sprocket was playing at showcase live, not at the football stadium itself. showcase live is a little club at patriot place. i don't know if toad the wet sprocket could fill an entire football stadium, although i could be mistaken because the place was surprisingly packed.
anyway, the inside of showcase live is interesting. along the back is the bar. as you move closer to the stage, there is an entrance to a walled off section for dining... and as you get even closer there is a "vip" section which consisted of a roped off area.
needless to say, the five of us were initially along the back by the bar. carlos told me to give him some time so that he could get all of us in the vip section. so carlos and shannon disappeared for a little while. they apparently also ran into an old friend of theirs that they both knew. so bill, hot amy, and i remained in the crowded area by the bar.
the next thing i knew, carlos and shannon were walking in front of us in the vip section. carlos looked back at me and gave me a wave to come along. impressed, i called him on his cell to see how he got up to the vip area. he told me to just walk in.
who knew it was that easy? so naturally, hot amy and i... well... walked in. surprisingly, the attendant in front of the entrance to the dining and vip area did not even bat an eyelash. of course, for all i know, he could have been too enamored with hot amy to care. bill, however, actually stayed behind. he circled around to the side of the stage for a better view.
(the picture below is of toad the wet sprocket.)
anyway, there we were... standing in the vip area of the concert... listening to toad the wet sprocket. it was fun. granted, i did not know a lot of their songs. carlos and hot amy seemed to know more of the songs than i did. hot amy even got to hear one of her favorite words mentioned in a song... "moot". (i am guessing she must like rick springfield's "jessie's girl" as well.) nonetheless, i enjoyed myself at the concert.
it was fun. thanks carlos for organizing a good time!
anyway, the reason that i came to even be at the concert was due to my friend (carlos). carlos apparently is a big fan of toad the wet sprocket. in particular, he enjoys the "good intentions" and "all i want" song. when he heard they were playing in foxboro, he organized a little outing to the toad concert.
the first one to jump on board and decide to go to the concert was my friend (hot amy). apparently, she is a big fan of toad the wet sprocket as well. her becoming a fan was quite accidental as the previous owner of her previous car had left a toad the wet sprocket album in the car. curious, hot amy listened to the cd and apparently has liked the band ever since.
my friend (bill) was the next to be on board with the concert. apparently, bill is also a big fan of toad the wet sprocket. he has actually gone to two of their other concerts in the past.
aside from those three, none of my other friends who were asked wanted to go... mostly because they did not even know who toad the wet sprocket was. as i knew of the band, i was naturally the obvious choice for the ever popular technique known as peer pressure. anyway, that was how the motley crew came to be for the concert.
as it also turns out, carlos was bringing his friend (shannon) from minnesota. apparently, carlos and shannon were going to meet the rest of us at the cbs scene restaurant and bar at patriot place before the concert. they were heading down early to walk around patriot place... and possibly tailgate.
needless to say, i headed down with bill and hot amy. we actually had to listen to some songs by toad the wet sprocket because... well... i didn't remember any of them outside of their hits. it was an interesting ride down to foxboro. i found out some interesting things... like how hot amy would rather pay someone to do stuff for her than actually do it herself... like sew a button back on. for some reason, that fact did not really seem that shocking to me.
anyway, we met carlos and shannon at the cbs scene restaurant and bar... and i must say... it is very nice looking. there is this huge television above the bar; the music that was played was pretty catchy; and the waitstaff of course was friendly. when bill, hot amy and i arrived, we met shannon. shannon is a dj. he seems like a pretty decent guy... even if i think he may have been flirting with the waitstaff.
as proof that we are old... our waitperson was this young looking woman with glitter makeup on her cheeks. shannon was telling her how we were going to see toad the wet sprocket. her reply: "who?" i got a chuckle out of that.
the food, by the way, was good at cbs scene. i had part of hot amy's appetizer... which was pita and hummus... or something like that. the drinks, i felt, were just okay though. we each had a couple of shots... to numb the pain as i like to tell my friends. i think it may have affected carlos more than anyone because by the end of the concert, he was a little huggy with that glazed over look.
speaking of the concert, the concert was fun. for anyone curious, toad the wet sprocket was playing at showcase live, not at the football stadium itself. showcase live is a little club at patriot place. i don't know if toad the wet sprocket could fill an entire football stadium, although i could be mistaken because the place was surprisingly packed.
anyway, the inside of showcase live is interesting. along the back is the bar. as you move closer to the stage, there is an entrance to a walled off section for dining... and as you get even closer there is a "vip" section which consisted of a roped off area.
needless to say, the five of us were initially along the back by the bar. carlos told me to give him some time so that he could get all of us in the vip section. so carlos and shannon disappeared for a little while. they apparently also ran into an old friend of theirs that they both knew. so bill, hot amy, and i remained in the crowded area by the bar.
the next thing i knew, carlos and shannon were walking in front of us in the vip section. carlos looked back at me and gave me a wave to come along. impressed, i called him on his cell to see how he got up to the vip area. he told me to just walk in.
who knew it was that easy? so naturally, hot amy and i... well... walked in. surprisingly, the attendant in front of the entrance to the dining and vip area did not even bat an eyelash. of course, for all i know, he could have been too enamored with hot amy to care. bill, however, actually stayed behind. he circled around to the side of the stage for a better view.
(the picture below is of toad the wet sprocket.)
anyway, there we were... standing in the vip area of the concert... listening to toad the wet sprocket. it was fun. granted, i did not know a lot of their songs. carlos and hot amy seemed to know more of the songs than i did. hot amy even got to hear one of her favorite words mentioned in a song... "moot". (i am guessing she must like rick springfield's "jessie's girl" as well.) nonetheless, i enjoyed myself at the concert.
it was fun. thanks carlos for organizing a good time!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
I Suck At Hanging Out With Jen And Bill
tonight, karen and i hung out with my friends (jen and bill). too bad i suck at hanging out with jen and bill. it seems like it has been quite some time since the four of us just hung out together. it was definitely nice to hang out again.
the entire plans for today actually started earlier in the week. jen had asked karen and i if we were available some time this week because she wanted to get together... laugh... drink... be silly... and think of some ideas for a photo scavenger hunt. (i had previously asked past participants for some ideas on what they would like to see on this year's photo scavenger hunt list. jen is always chock full of good ideas. i probably could have just asked her to brainstorm all of the items for the scavenger hunt list... and she would have.)
anyway, jen, bill, and karen came up with a bunch of possible ideas for the photo scavenger hunt. depending on how things go, bill might even participate this year. i have toyed with the idea about opening up the photo scavenger hunt to all of my friends. unfortunately, i sometimes worry about how all of my friends will interact with one another because the formation of the four-member team is randomly created. it's the whole mixing of the circle of friends that i am afraid of. the other alternative would be to have everyone decide on their own teams beforehand... i don't know. i'll have to give it some more thought. so, we'll see.
in addition, jen and bill tried to convince us to go to new orleans with them for st. patrick's day. unlike me, karen has never wanted to go to new orleans. tonight, however, i think karen was actually considering the trip. traveling with a group is simply difficult... not because of the group. for karen and i... or at least me anyway... i know that since our son (braden) passed away in september, my moods have changed from high to low... not just on a daily basis but sometimes hourly. for me, it's frustrating because i know my mood swing is happening, yet i can't control its fickleness. if it's frustrating me, i can only imagine what it must seem like to my friends. so, i imagine traveling with a group now is difficult.
i was quite surprised that karen was interested. of course, it could have been the alcohol talking. by the way, i tried a "hand grenade"... or three... for the first time today courtesy of bill and jen... it's very good. but we'll see about new orleans. i always wanted to go to new orleans, not for the rampant flashing of naked breasts although i'm sure that helps, but more for the cajun cuisine. (surprise... food.)
speaking of which, the four of us went to the 99 restaurant in quincy tonight as well. one of the things that i like about the 99 restaurant in quincy is that there are pictures of high school sports teams in there that decorate the wall. karen is actually in one of those pictures. i want to go once and have them sit us at a table beneath that picture of karen. i just think it would be funny.
anyway, tonight was a good time. i'm glad jen invited us to go out tonight because it does seem like it has been a while since all of us hung out together.
the entire plans for today actually started earlier in the week. jen had asked karen and i if we were available some time this week because she wanted to get together... laugh... drink... be silly... and think of some ideas for a photo scavenger hunt. (i had previously asked past participants for some ideas on what they would like to see on this year's photo scavenger hunt list. jen is always chock full of good ideas. i probably could have just asked her to brainstorm all of the items for the scavenger hunt list... and she would have.)
anyway, jen, bill, and karen came up with a bunch of possible ideas for the photo scavenger hunt. depending on how things go, bill might even participate this year. i have toyed with the idea about opening up the photo scavenger hunt to all of my friends. unfortunately, i sometimes worry about how all of my friends will interact with one another because the formation of the four-member team is randomly created. it's the whole mixing of the circle of friends that i am afraid of. the other alternative would be to have everyone decide on their own teams beforehand... i don't know. i'll have to give it some more thought. so, we'll see.
in addition, jen and bill tried to convince us to go to new orleans with them for st. patrick's day. unlike me, karen has never wanted to go to new orleans. tonight, however, i think karen was actually considering the trip. traveling with a group is simply difficult... not because of the group. for karen and i... or at least me anyway... i know that since our son (braden) passed away in september, my moods have changed from high to low... not just on a daily basis but sometimes hourly. for me, it's frustrating because i know my mood swing is happening, yet i can't control its fickleness. if it's frustrating me, i can only imagine what it must seem like to my friends. so, i imagine traveling with a group now is difficult.
i was quite surprised that karen was interested. of course, it could have been the alcohol talking. by the way, i tried a "hand grenade"... or three... for the first time today courtesy of bill and jen... it's very good. but we'll see about new orleans. i always wanted to go to new orleans, not for the rampant flashing of naked breasts although i'm sure that helps, but more for the cajun cuisine. (surprise... food.)
speaking of which, the four of us went to the 99 restaurant in quincy tonight as well. one of the things that i like about the 99 restaurant in quincy is that there are pictures of high school sports teams in there that decorate the wall. karen is actually in one of those pictures. i want to go once and have them sit us at a table beneath that picture of karen. i just think it would be funny.
anyway, tonight was a good time. i'm glad jen invited us to go out tonight because it does seem like it has been a while since all of us hung out together.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
I Suck At Pre-Thanksgiving
yesterday, my friend's (andrea) grandmother passed away. it is never fun to lose a loved one. i should know... i lost my son (braden michael) after he was only a week old in september. and it definitely is not fun to lose a loved one before the holiday season.
it seems to me that when people pass away, there exists a lot of awkwardness in terms of communication or verbalizing thoughts to those whom the deceased left behind. in reality, there are no words that people can say to help with the grieving. in my opinion, the best thing that can probably be done is to acknowledge the loss and offer condolences.
so andrea, i'm sorry for your loss. obviously, if you need help with anything, please let me know. karen and i (and i am sure many of your other friends) are here for you. i hope things will get better for you soon.
the news yesterday morning of andrea's grandmother's passing probably set my mood for the rest of the day. my mind has a tendency to follow a bizarre train of thought. with the passing of andrea's grandmother, however, i simply thought about the passing of my own son, braden, for a good portion of the day.
thus, my solemn mood may have followed me when i went to my friends' (jen and bill) for a little pre-thanksgiving celebration. so unfortunately, i suck at pre-thanksgiving.
jen and bill planned a martini and movie night yesterday. in particular, they had planned to watch a christmas movie... which one?... i'm not sure. nonetheless, it was a good time. my bff (kerry), my favorite sister-in-law (janine), and my friends (carlos, hot amy, and bruce) were all there in addition to karen and i.
it has been quite some time since i've seen all of them. so it was nice. what started out as a trip down memory lane in terms of looking at old pictures and whatnot... turned out to be simply kerry and i talking about our high school days. apparently, everyone else went to watch television... and interestingly enough... they did not watch any christmas movie whatsoever. they watched the show, "three sheets"... which is a show whereby the host simply gets all liquored up in other countries. it's an interesting job to have, that is for sure.
anyway, hopefully i won't get sick. kerry was a little under the weather as was hot amy. although i do not think hot amy got me sick this time around, i actually think she may have poisoned me. she made some bacon dip for chips. don't get me wrong, the dip was very good. i consumed a lot of the dip. unfortunately, my stomach has not been agreeing with the dip today. it is either that or the mass quantities of pizza, which carlos brought over, that i inhaled. who knows?
but all in all, it was a good time at jen and bill's. it was definitely good to see all of them again.
it seems to me that when people pass away, there exists a lot of awkwardness in terms of communication or verbalizing thoughts to those whom the deceased left behind. in reality, there are no words that people can say to help with the grieving. in my opinion, the best thing that can probably be done is to acknowledge the loss and offer condolences.
so andrea, i'm sorry for your loss. obviously, if you need help with anything, please let me know. karen and i (and i am sure many of your other friends) are here for you. i hope things will get better for you soon.
the news yesterday morning of andrea's grandmother's passing probably set my mood for the rest of the day. my mind has a tendency to follow a bizarre train of thought. with the passing of andrea's grandmother, however, i simply thought about the passing of my own son, braden, for a good portion of the day.
thus, my solemn mood may have followed me when i went to my friends' (jen and bill) for a little pre-thanksgiving celebration. so unfortunately, i suck at pre-thanksgiving.
jen and bill planned a martini and movie night yesterday. in particular, they had planned to watch a christmas movie... which one?... i'm not sure. nonetheless, it was a good time. my bff (kerry), my favorite sister-in-law (janine), and my friends (carlos, hot amy, and bruce) were all there in addition to karen and i.
it has been quite some time since i've seen all of them. so it was nice. what started out as a trip down memory lane in terms of looking at old pictures and whatnot... turned out to be simply kerry and i talking about our high school days. apparently, everyone else went to watch television... and interestingly enough... they did not watch any christmas movie whatsoever. they watched the show, "three sheets"... which is a show whereby the host simply gets all liquored up in other countries. it's an interesting job to have, that is for sure.
anyway, hopefully i won't get sick. kerry was a little under the weather as was hot amy. although i do not think hot amy got me sick this time around, i actually think she may have poisoned me. she made some bacon dip for chips. don't get me wrong, the dip was very good. i consumed a lot of the dip. unfortunately, my stomach has not been agreeing with the dip today. it is either that or the mass quantities of pizza, which carlos brought over, that i inhaled. who knows?
but all in all, it was a good time at jen and bill's. it was definitely good to see all of them again.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
I Suck At Installing A Thermostat
today has been a very frustrating day... as evident by the fact that i'm still awake in the wee hours of a friday night doing work.
i suppose i don't really have to be working into the wee hours of night. so i guess it is technically by choice that i hammer away at the keyboard and pulling my hair out in frustration. there has been a project at work that has been driving me nuts.
it was a simple project... in theory. all i had to do was edit some lines of code. it was easy. i tested the code and it worked. the person requesting the changes also approved the changes, so i moved the edited files to our live production environment. that is when the problem started.
apparently, the person who approved the changes discovered what we developers like to call "a bug" with something related to the changes i made. in a state of panic, the person went to all the senior management and started to yell that the sky is falling. okay, so maybe those weren't the exact words... but it was close.
needless to say, the incident makes me look bad because i moved the code to our live production environment... even though this person approved of the changes. truth be told... the "bug" is not even of my own doing. this bug existed for at least two months prior to my touching this project. it just so happens that it was discovered when i moved the files to our live production environment. so, that's even more annoying...
anyway, since i take pride in the things i do... i'm working into the wee hours of night trying to rectify the problem... and hopefully people won't think i'm that bad at what i do.
so now that my venting is done, i suck at installing a thermostat. actually, the installation of the thermostat was very easy. the easy installation is probably the highlight of today for me. (curse you, work!)
my friends (bill and jen) recently moved into a new apartment. so as to not confuse anyone, bill and jen are siblings... not significant others as some people in ireland believed.
bill got a new programmable digital thermostat to replace the old mercury dial thermostat that came with the apartment. as he was hesitant to install the thermostat on his own, he asked for my help. of course, i obliged because i like doing home improvement projects... just not the ones that pertain to my own home. for some reason, doing other people's home improvement projects are much easier and more enjoyable.
anyway, it surprisingly took me very little time to install the new thermostat. for some reason, i was expecting wires galore because bill said there were a lot of wires coming from the wall. there were only two. having only two wires made things easier, that's for sure. well, i hope bill and jen like the new thermostat. (and for anyone curious, we did test to make sure it worked.)
afterwards, i got to hang out with jen and bill for a little while, which was nice. we ended up watching a show called "three sheets". it's basically a show where the host (zane lamprey) goes to a foreign location to imbibe alcohol with the locals. it must be a tough job... to get intoxicated for work. but the show was interesting to say the least.
from jen and bill's, i went to the south shore ymca in quincy... which is probably the other highlight of my day because it was the first time i set foot in the south shore ymca since my son (braden) passed away two months ago. likewise, it was the first time for karen. as it had been quite a while, karen and i planned on meeting at the ymca to visit a few people and say hello.
karen had to do a nutritional consultation with someone that night anyway, so i just worked out before meeting up with her... that is... if you can call it working out. i must have looked awful running 2 miles with my ipod on. it was the first time in a long while (again, at least since braden passed away) that i did any type of cardiovascular exercise. i also did some free weight training, so we'll see how sore i am tomorrow. but i must say... gotta love those endorphins!
anyway, seeing everyone at the ymca was good. my friends (ally and michelle) were there. and as karen pointed out, one of the members in the class sounded like alan alda of mash fame. so it was an interesting time.
i suppose i don't really have to be working into the wee hours of night. so i guess it is technically by choice that i hammer away at the keyboard and pulling my hair out in frustration. there has been a project at work that has been driving me nuts.
it was a simple project... in theory. all i had to do was edit some lines of code. it was easy. i tested the code and it worked. the person requesting the changes also approved the changes, so i moved the edited files to our live production environment. that is when the problem started.
apparently, the person who approved the changes discovered what we developers like to call "a bug" with something related to the changes i made. in a state of panic, the person went to all the senior management and started to yell that the sky is falling. okay, so maybe those weren't the exact words... but it was close.
needless to say, the incident makes me look bad because i moved the code to our live production environment... even though this person approved of the changes. truth be told... the "bug" is not even of my own doing. this bug existed for at least two months prior to my touching this project. it just so happens that it was discovered when i moved the files to our live production environment. so, that's even more annoying...
anyway, since i take pride in the things i do... i'm working into the wee hours of night trying to rectify the problem... and hopefully people won't think i'm that bad at what i do.
so now that my venting is done, i suck at installing a thermostat. actually, the installation of the thermostat was very easy. the easy installation is probably the highlight of today for me. (curse you, work!)
my friends (bill and jen) recently moved into a new apartment. so as to not confuse anyone, bill and jen are siblings... not significant others as some people in ireland believed.
bill got a new programmable digital thermostat to replace the old mercury dial thermostat that came with the apartment. as he was hesitant to install the thermostat on his own, he asked for my help. of course, i obliged because i like doing home improvement projects... just not the ones that pertain to my own home. for some reason, doing other people's home improvement projects are much easier and more enjoyable.
anyway, it surprisingly took me very little time to install the new thermostat. for some reason, i was expecting wires galore because bill said there were a lot of wires coming from the wall. there were only two. having only two wires made things easier, that's for sure. well, i hope bill and jen like the new thermostat. (and for anyone curious, we did test to make sure it worked.)
afterwards, i got to hang out with jen and bill for a little while, which was nice. we ended up watching a show called "three sheets". it's basically a show where the host (zane lamprey) goes to a foreign location to imbibe alcohol with the locals. it must be a tough job... to get intoxicated for work. but the show was interesting to say the least.
from jen and bill's, i went to the south shore ymca in quincy... which is probably the other highlight of my day because it was the first time i set foot in the south shore ymca since my son (braden) passed away two months ago. likewise, it was the first time for karen. as it had been quite a while, karen and i planned on meeting at the ymca to visit a few people and say hello.
karen had to do a nutritional consultation with someone that night anyway, so i just worked out before meeting up with her... that is... if you can call it working out. i must have looked awful running 2 miles with my ipod on. it was the first time in a long while (again, at least since braden passed away) that i did any type of cardiovascular exercise. i also did some free weight training, so we'll see how sore i am tomorrow. but i must say... gotta love those endorphins!
anyway, seeing everyone at the ymca was good. my friends (ally and michelle) were there. and as karen pointed out, one of the members in the class sounded like alan alda of mash fame. so it was an interesting time.
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