following my chauffeuring gig last night, karen and i went out on a little date. karen seemed thrilled to be going out for dinner. it was rather cute.
when i was driving her and hot amy home after their teaching at simmons college, i told hot amy that there was a sandwich for her. karen then wondered where her sandwich was... to which i reminded her that we were going out for dinner... and then she got all excited. (it's the little things that make her happy.)
anyway, since karen and i have started trying to budget our expenses during this economy and eat out less, we really have not gone out for dinner in quite some time with just the two of us. at least... not to my knowledge. so, we decided to go out last night. the place we decided to go out to: not your average joe's in norwell.
now, i suck at not your average joe's. i'm definitely a big fan of that place. interestingly enough, the place was empty last night. at one time, karen and i were one of two parties sitting in the dining area. very sad.
as usual, the food was delicious. i had the shrimp and artichoke pizza which was a special not listed on the menu. (cue rachael ray's "yum-o" sound.) the pizza was delicious. it's a shame how some of my friends have food issues because they definitely miss out on a lot of great tasting stuff. after all, who would have thought that shrimp and artichoke on a pizza would be good (aside from not your average joe's)?
anyway, it was a great dinner. karen and i actually spent most of the dinner talking about the upcoming scavenger hunt that i'm organizing. i was bouncing ideas off of her to see what she thought... like a sounding board. it's a funny thing about organizing events. for me, i just want people to enjoy themselves and have fun. and the more and more i think about the upcoming scavenger hunt, the more and more i get excited for it.
unfortunately, what generally happens in large social situations is that you can never appease everyone... and everyone generally has their own ideas about things. this year, one of the dilemmas i am encountering involves the creation of the teams for the hunt.
like most people, karen and i have various circles of friends. intermingling of friends can always be difficult because you can never fully gauge how your friends will interact within other circles because of the uncomfortable social setting. people react differently when in a foreign situation. thus, people gravitate toward things that are more familiar to be at ease.
all i want is for my friends to enjoy the event. sadly, i have concerns that my original plan of creating teams based on a random drawing may not produce an enjoyable experience for everyone, which subsequently produces undue stress... something that i definitely can live without.
anyway, i'm not certain yet on what to do about the creation of teams. right now i am thinking that it would be so much easier if my friends made the teams themselves and let me know who is on which team. it would definitely be one less thing to worry about and consider.
i guess we'll see what i decide upon. i still have a month of planning left.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I Suck At Chauffeuring
yesterday is my driving miss daisy night... although in my case, i get to drive two miss daisies: karen and my friend (hot amy). so needless to say, i went to chauffeur karen and hot amy home after they finished teaching their class at simmons college in boston. it's too bad i suck at chauffeuring.
for a brief moment, i guess you could say i felt like jason statham in the movie, the transporter... just without the physique, the cool accent, or the martial arts... as i sat behind the wheel of the parked car.
basically, i park on louis pasteur avenue whenever i pick up karen and hot amy. technically, a person is not supposed to park on that street. i believe cars get towed for parking on the street. so, i sit and wait in the car for them because i'm usually early... which i guess is what makes me a good chauffeur.
last night, the usual spot that i pick karen and hot amy up was taken... by two tow trucks. my initial thought was to simply park my car behind the two tow trucks to see if they would even notice, but i didn't want to press my luck.
so in my rather clandestine way, i drove further up the street... pulled over... and sat in my car with the lights off... watching and waiting for the two tow trucks to move as though i were staking the tow truck driver out or something. twenty minutes later, the two tow trucks drove away to which i started the car and pulled into my usual spot for picking up karen and hot amy.
oh yeah... i felt all sly. i am thinking i would make a great private investigator or something. just kidding.
needless to say, karen and hot amy shortly arrived. i wish i could have recorded a video of them approaching the car. there are mounds of snow covering the sidewalks. where i usually pull the car in to pick them up, there is a little path. well, due to the snow, this path was rather wet and muddy last night. so watching karen and hot amy maneuver themselves around the muddy puddles of the path was quite interesting.
sure, i suppose i could do my gentlemanly duty and toss my jacket on the ground for them to step on... but where would the fun be in that? chivalry is dead after all. plus, i know i don't want to walk around with a muddy footprint or two on my jacket.
anyway, the ride home itself was pretty uneventful. hot amy chowed down on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that i made her... complete with trappist monk jam. karen and i were going out afterwards, so i didn't make anything for karen. in addition, i believe hot amy has now joined the 21st century with cable television.
on the ride home, karen had mentioned something about a coworker who uses the bathroom by standing on the toilet seat, which is an amazing feat i would imagine. and by the time we were done discussing the standing on the toilet issue, it was already time for hot amy to jump out of the car and tuck and roll... okay, so hot amy did not really tuck and roll... although i'm sure she could have landed in a snowbank to cushion her jump.
but all in all, it was yet another successful night of chauffeuring.
for a brief moment, i guess you could say i felt like jason statham in the movie, the transporter... just without the physique, the cool accent, or the martial arts... as i sat behind the wheel of the parked car.
basically, i park on louis pasteur avenue whenever i pick up karen and hot amy. technically, a person is not supposed to park on that street. i believe cars get towed for parking on the street. so, i sit and wait in the car for them because i'm usually early... which i guess is what makes me a good chauffeur.
last night, the usual spot that i pick karen and hot amy up was taken... by two tow trucks. my initial thought was to simply park my car behind the two tow trucks to see if they would even notice, but i didn't want to press my luck.
so in my rather clandestine way, i drove further up the street... pulled over... and sat in my car with the lights off... watching and waiting for the two tow trucks to move as though i were staking the tow truck driver out or something. twenty minutes later, the two tow trucks drove away to which i started the car and pulled into my usual spot for picking up karen and hot amy.
oh yeah... i felt all sly. i am thinking i would make a great private investigator or something. just kidding.
needless to say, karen and hot amy shortly arrived. i wish i could have recorded a video of them approaching the car. there are mounds of snow covering the sidewalks. where i usually pull the car in to pick them up, there is a little path. well, due to the snow, this path was rather wet and muddy last night. so watching karen and hot amy maneuver themselves around the muddy puddles of the path was quite interesting.
sure, i suppose i could do my gentlemanly duty and toss my jacket on the ground for them to step on... but where would the fun be in that? chivalry is dead after all. plus, i know i don't want to walk around with a muddy footprint or two on my jacket.
anyway, the ride home itself was pretty uneventful. hot amy chowed down on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that i made her... complete with trappist monk jam. karen and i were going out afterwards, so i didn't make anything for karen. in addition, i believe hot amy has now joined the 21st century with cable television.
on the ride home, karen had mentioned something about a coworker who uses the bathroom by standing on the toilet seat, which is an amazing feat i would imagine. and by the time we were done discussing the standing on the toilet issue, it was already time for hot amy to jump out of the car and tuck and roll... okay, so hot amy did not really tuck and roll... although i'm sure she could have landed in a snowbank to cushion her jump.
but all in all, it was yet another successful night of chauffeuring.
Monday, March 2, 2009
I Suck At Driving In The Snow
like every morning, i get up to give karen a ride to the train station. unfortunately, this morning traffic was awful due to inclement weather. and by inclement weather, i mean snow. apparently the snow began to fall last night and continued to fall into the early morning. in fact, as i type this blog, it's still snowing.
anyway, i safely drove karen to the train station. after all, i don't chauffeur her sorry butt and my friend's (hot amy) sorry butt on wednesday nights for nothing. like the movie... i'm the transporter... just without the hot looks or the cool accent... or the martial arts... or anything else jason statham for that matter.
on the drive to the station, karen did get a little concerned about the wiper blades clumping up with snow. nonetheless, when i dropped her off at the train station this morning, i made sure that i cleaned the wiper blades... cleared off the windows and mirrors... and brushed off any excess snow.
driving to the station was not that bad. the problem: driving back. there was considerably more snow on the way back... probably because there is less traffic heading south of boston in the early morning.
luckily, the highway driving was okay. the drive was slow as the snow continued to come down. sadly, the wiper blades started to act up. by act up, i mean a big clump of snow got stuck in the blade. so whenever the blades went to clean the windshield... only a part of the windshield would be cleaned. a nice streak of snow was left at eye level on the windshield. naturally, i decided to try my luck then and turn onto route 53.
sadly, route 53 was not any better. there were less cars, but i finally made it to the stop and shop by my house. that was when the fun started. pulling into the side street, i drove the car toward my street. it's too bad i suck at driving in the snow because the car simply could not make the turn up the incline toward my house. the wheels spun and spun.
thinking of a plan b, i decided to throw the car into reverse and try the alternate route to my house because my street is in essence... a big circle and the alternate route is less of an incline. well... the car went into reverse. as i turned the car to head toward the alternate direction... i ended up with the same results: being stuck at the intersection.
thus... plan c! i threw the hazards on in the car, exited the car, and walked home to grab the shovel. i brought the shovel back and then started shoveling out around the car. it just so happens that at that time, two plows came driving into the neighborhood. one of the plows was even nice enough to stop and offer me some sand to place behind the tires. he was very nice. the other plow driver simply passed me by.
after thanking the helpful plow driver, i got into the car and off i went... driving into the newly plowed streets around my house. of course, then i ran into my next obstacle: the newly plowed embankment of snow in front of the driveway to my house.
taking my chances, i floored it and attempted to drive through the embankment toward the driveway. mental note... don't try that again. it did not work. so much for being lazy and wishful thinking. the car got stuck yet again in the snow. so, i got out of the car and shoveled again all around the car. all the while, the plow driver who had passed me before (the unhelpful one) was behind me... watching.
needless to say, after shoveling around my car, i jumped into the car and attempted to get the car into the driveway. with wheels spinning and rubber burning, the car finally made it into the driveway. and naturally, shortly afterwards the plow driver came by to plow the snow back into the driveway.
fun!
anyway, i safely drove karen to the train station. after all, i don't chauffeur her sorry butt and my friend's (hot amy) sorry butt on wednesday nights for nothing. like the movie... i'm the transporter... just without the hot looks or the cool accent... or the martial arts... or anything else jason statham for that matter.
on the drive to the station, karen did get a little concerned about the wiper blades clumping up with snow. nonetheless, when i dropped her off at the train station this morning, i made sure that i cleaned the wiper blades... cleared off the windows and mirrors... and brushed off any excess snow.
driving to the station was not that bad. the problem: driving back. there was considerably more snow on the way back... probably because there is less traffic heading south of boston in the early morning.
luckily, the highway driving was okay. the drive was slow as the snow continued to come down. sadly, the wiper blades started to act up. by act up, i mean a big clump of snow got stuck in the blade. so whenever the blades went to clean the windshield... only a part of the windshield would be cleaned. a nice streak of snow was left at eye level on the windshield. naturally, i decided to try my luck then and turn onto route 53.
sadly, route 53 was not any better. there were less cars, but i finally made it to the stop and shop by my house. that was when the fun started. pulling into the side street, i drove the car toward my street. it's too bad i suck at driving in the snow because the car simply could not make the turn up the incline toward my house. the wheels spun and spun.
thinking of a plan b, i decided to throw the car into reverse and try the alternate route to my house because my street is in essence... a big circle and the alternate route is less of an incline. well... the car went into reverse. as i turned the car to head toward the alternate direction... i ended up with the same results: being stuck at the intersection.
thus... plan c! i threw the hazards on in the car, exited the car, and walked home to grab the shovel. i brought the shovel back and then started shoveling out around the car. it just so happens that at that time, two plows came driving into the neighborhood. one of the plows was even nice enough to stop and offer me some sand to place behind the tires. he was very nice. the other plow driver simply passed me by.
after thanking the helpful plow driver, i got into the car and off i went... driving into the newly plowed streets around my house. of course, then i ran into my next obstacle: the newly plowed embankment of snow in front of the driveway to my house.
taking my chances, i floored it and attempted to drive through the embankment toward the driveway. mental note... don't try that again. it did not work. so much for being lazy and wishful thinking. the car got stuck yet again in the snow. so, i got out of the car and shoveled again all around the car. all the while, the plow driver who had passed me before (the unhelpful one) was behind me... watching.
needless to say, after shoveling around my car, i jumped into the car and attempted to get the car into the driveway. with wheels spinning and rubber burning, the car finally made it into the driveway. and naturally, shortly afterwards the plow driver came by to plow the snow back into the driveway.
fun!
I Suck At Writing An Episode
before i forget, here is the second episode of my little experiment: writing 2-3 minute episodes to be created online. too bad i suck at writing an episode.
i just remembered that i forgot to give my first episode a title. oh well. i'll call this second episode "bonfire".
INT. CONVENTION CENTER
Life-size cutouts of superheroes adorn the numerous booths inside one of the convention center halls. Other comic book memorabilia are also scattered throughout the convention hall.
In the middle of one of the aisles, Karen stands curled up with both hands covering her eyes. Her eyes are tightly shut.
After a pause, she opens her eyes and sneaks a peek beneath her hands. Eventually, she stops covering her eyes.
She glances left and right, only to see booth upon booths decorated with superheroes.
KAREN
Um... Mike?
There is complete silence.
KAREN
Hello?!?
There is complete silence.
KAREN
I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore.
Karen rifles through her pockets only to find nothing. She sighs.
KAREN
I swear. What did we ever do without cell phones?
Karen glances around. She stares at a picture of a dark blue mutant with three fingers and a tail. The word "Nightcrawler" is written above the superhero.
KAREN
How did I end up back here?
Karen starts to walk through the numerous aisles. As she turns the corner of one of the aisles, she hears a faint mumbling.
She slowly approaches with curiosity.
Before her is ALARIC BONN, a man who is kneeling in front of the chalk outline of a body. With his back turned to Karen, Alaric has a tear running down his cheek. His eyes are closed. His face is solemn. CLOSE UP on Alaric's face.
ALARIC
You were absolutely correct, my dear.
The tear slowly drips off his cheek. After a brief pause, Alaric inhales a deep breath. He opens his eyes to reveal a deep penetrating gaze. Almost immediately, Alaric forms a deranged smile.
ALARIC
It was you, not me.
Alaric maniacally laughs as Karen hesitantly watches behind him in silence. Puzzled and alarmed, Karen bites on the tip of her finger to prevent her from uttering anything.
ALARIC
I guess this definitely means we can't be friends.
Alaric guffaws again. Karen slowly attempts to walk backwards, away from Alaric.
As Karen back peddles on her tippy toes, she trips and stumbles onto the ground. In the process, she knocks over a piece of comic book memorabilia. The piece of memorabilia lands with a loud THUD.
In one swift fluid motion, Alaric turns around and notices Karen. His eyes fill with rage.
ALARIC
What?!? Who are you?!? What are you doing here?!?
KAREN
Sorry. I got lost. I knew I should have taken that right at Albuquerque.
ALARIC
Wrong convention! Who are you?!?
Karen cowers back in fear.
KAREN
Me? No one. I’m just trying to find my way out of here.
Alaric grabs one of the nearby booths and tosses it aside in anger.
ALARIC
Who are you?!? What did you hear?!? Answer me!
KAREN
I didn’t hear anything.
As Karen wiggles herself backwards, Alaric rushes at Karen. He grabs a hold of her arm.
ALARIC
How unfortunate for you.
Alaric eyes fill with more rage. Smoke starts to form where he is gripping Karen's arm. Karen squirms and writhes in pain. Her sleeve soon catches fire.
KAREN
EEK!
EXT. CONVENTION CENTER
A public transportation vehicle drives outside of the convention center. In a matter of mere seconds, the building EXPLODES into a fireball, showering the area with glass and broken steel.
i just remembered that i forgot to give my first episode a title. oh well. i'll call this second episode "bonfire".
INT. CONVENTION CENTER
Life-size cutouts of superheroes adorn the numerous booths inside one of the convention center halls. Other comic book memorabilia are also scattered throughout the convention hall.
In the middle of one of the aisles, Karen stands curled up with both hands covering her eyes. Her eyes are tightly shut.
After a pause, she opens her eyes and sneaks a peek beneath her hands. Eventually, she stops covering her eyes.
She glances left and right, only to see booth upon booths decorated with superheroes.
KAREN
Um... Mike?
There is complete silence.
KAREN
Hello?!?
There is complete silence.
KAREN
I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore.
Karen rifles through her pockets only to find nothing. She sighs.
KAREN
I swear. What did we ever do without cell phones?
Karen glances around. She stares at a picture of a dark blue mutant with three fingers and a tail. The word "Nightcrawler" is written above the superhero.
KAREN
How did I end up back here?
Karen starts to walk through the numerous aisles. As she turns the corner of one of the aisles, she hears a faint mumbling.
She slowly approaches with curiosity.
Before her is ALARIC BONN, a man who is kneeling in front of the chalk outline of a body. With his back turned to Karen, Alaric has a tear running down his cheek. His eyes are closed. His face is solemn. CLOSE UP on Alaric's face.
ALARIC
You were absolutely correct, my dear.
The tear slowly drips off his cheek. After a brief pause, Alaric inhales a deep breath. He opens his eyes to reveal a deep penetrating gaze. Almost immediately, Alaric forms a deranged smile.
ALARIC
It was you, not me.
Alaric maniacally laughs as Karen hesitantly watches behind him in silence. Puzzled and alarmed, Karen bites on the tip of her finger to prevent her from uttering anything.
ALARIC
I guess this definitely means we can't be friends.
Alaric guffaws again. Karen slowly attempts to walk backwards, away from Alaric.
As Karen back peddles on her tippy toes, she trips and stumbles onto the ground. In the process, she knocks over a piece of comic book memorabilia. The piece of memorabilia lands with a loud THUD.
In one swift fluid motion, Alaric turns around and notices Karen. His eyes fill with rage.
ALARIC
What?!? Who are you?!? What are you doing here?!?
KAREN
Sorry. I got lost. I knew I should have taken that right at Albuquerque.
ALARIC
Wrong convention! Who are you?!?
Karen cowers back in fear.
KAREN
Me? No one. I’m just trying to find my way out of here.
Alaric grabs one of the nearby booths and tosses it aside in anger.
ALARIC
Who are you?!? What did you hear?!? Answer me!
KAREN
I didn’t hear anything.
As Karen wiggles herself backwards, Alaric rushes at Karen. He grabs a hold of her arm.
ALARIC
How unfortunate for you.
Alaric eyes fill with more rage. Smoke starts to form where he is gripping Karen's arm. Karen squirms and writhes in pain. Her sleeve soon catches fire.
KAREN
EEK!
EXT. CONVENTION CENTER
A public transportation vehicle drives outside of the convention center. In a matter of mere seconds, the building EXPLODES into a fireball, showering the area with glass and broken steel.
I Suck At Marc And Kelley's
yesterday, karen and i woke up to a surprise phone call. technically, we were already awake. we were just too lazy and too tired to get out of bed sunday morning. anyway, marc had given us a call asking us if we would be interested in going over to their place for breakfast.
now, i suck at marc and kelley's. marc and kelley originally had plans to have kelley's family over for breakfast. unfortunately, those plans changed. so since marc and kelley had already prepared the food, they did not want it to go to waste. hence... that is generally where i come in.
i have been known to devour entire worlds. after all, i didn't get my svelte body from eating just bread and water. interestingly enough, marc's mother makes fun of me for having such a large appetite. of course, marc's mother also made fun of my friend (greg) who used to carry around with him a pocket mirror. the gist of it was "why does he carry a mirror? what does he have to look at?" or something along those lines.
nonetheless, marc invited karen and i over because marc knew that i could polish off the bountiful breakfast. plus, i think kelley wanted to unwind a little from the stress that is generally involved with family members.
anyway, the breakfast was delicious as usual. on the menu: herbed eggs, baked french toast, muffins, fake bacon, canadian bacon, juice, and muffins. (cue rachael ray's "yum-o" sound.) needless to say, i was stuffed. it was great.
following breakfast, the four of us watched a couple of more episodes of the greatest tv show ever: buffy the vampire slayer. the two episodes were the two part season three finale: "graduation". i think karen enjoyed the episodes because the faith character... well... was put into a coma.
of course, now with season three over... we have a dilemma. do we continue watching the entire series of buffy or do we alternate between buffy and angel, which spun off to have its own show? decisions. decisions.
all in all, it was great time at marc and kelley's. great food. great friends. what else can a person ask for? plus... just hearing kelley recount her dire need to use the bathroom while in my friend's (cass and ellen) car was simply classic.
now, i suck at marc and kelley's. marc and kelley originally had plans to have kelley's family over for breakfast. unfortunately, those plans changed. so since marc and kelley had already prepared the food, they did not want it to go to waste. hence... that is generally where i come in.
i have been known to devour entire worlds. after all, i didn't get my svelte body from eating just bread and water. interestingly enough, marc's mother makes fun of me for having such a large appetite. of course, marc's mother also made fun of my friend (greg) who used to carry around with him a pocket mirror. the gist of it was "why does he carry a mirror? what does he have to look at?" or something along those lines.
nonetheless, marc invited karen and i over because marc knew that i could polish off the bountiful breakfast. plus, i think kelley wanted to unwind a little from the stress that is generally involved with family members.
anyway, the breakfast was delicious as usual. on the menu: herbed eggs, baked french toast, muffins, fake bacon, canadian bacon, juice, and muffins. (cue rachael ray's "yum-o" sound.) needless to say, i was stuffed. it was great.
following breakfast, the four of us watched a couple of more episodes of the greatest tv show ever: buffy the vampire slayer. the two episodes were the two part season three finale: "graduation". i think karen enjoyed the episodes because the faith character... well... was put into a coma.
of course, now with season three over... we have a dilemma. do we continue watching the entire series of buffy or do we alternate between buffy and angel, which spun off to have its own show? decisions. decisions.
all in all, it was great time at marc and kelley's. great food. great friends. what else can a person ask for? plus... just hearing kelley recount her dire need to use the bathroom while in my friend's (cass and ellen) car was simply classic.
I Suck At Applebee's
saturday night, karen and i hung out with my friend (jen) and my bff (kerry). the place that we decided to go to: applebee's. now i suck at applebee's. i have not been to applebee's in quincy in quite some time. i actually can't remember the last time. i have a feeling that the last time may have been when my friend (joanna) was around... and that was years ago, but i am not sure.
anyway, it was definitely a long day because both karen and i went straight from karen's nana's house. we had been in quincy since the morning. nonetheless, kerry was actually going to be down this way so we figured that we'd at least see her while she was done this way.
kerry lives in salem so we don't get to see her that often. out of everyone, i probably have the best chance to see kerry because i work in marblehead, which is next to salem. but, i get out of work much earlier than she does so our paths hardly cross during the weekday.
needless to say, kerry was down to have dinner and see her family. following dinner, she was going to meet the three of us at applebees. since kerry moved to salem, i have noticed that she has gotten... well... tardier. in the past, i remember kerry always being on time. coincidence? maybe.
anyway, the three of us were actually a little concerned at applebee's because we were waiting for quite some time for kerry. we waited... and waited. in fact, we had ordered food... and actually ate most of the food before kerry even arrived. apparently, her family plans ran a little longer than she expected.
speaking of applebees, the place was literally empty. most of the staff were goofing around, playing with the jukebox (which did not have the "beatles" for anyone curious), etc. it was interesting.
nevertheless, all was back to normal when kerry did arrive. as usual it was fun. and what is more fun that sign language? i can now say "again" and "thank you" in sign language. sweet!
anyway, it was definitely a long day because both karen and i went straight from karen's nana's house. we had been in quincy since the morning. nonetheless, kerry was actually going to be down this way so we figured that we'd at least see her while she was done this way.
kerry lives in salem so we don't get to see her that often. out of everyone, i probably have the best chance to see kerry because i work in marblehead, which is next to salem. but, i get out of work much earlier than she does so our paths hardly cross during the weekday.
needless to say, kerry was down to have dinner and see her family. following dinner, she was going to meet the three of us at applebees. since kerry moved to salem, i have noticed that she has gotten... well... tardier. in the past, i remember kerry always being on time. coincidence? maybe.
anyway, the three of us were actually a little concerned at applebee's because we were waiting for quite some time for kerry. we waited... and waited. in fact, we had ordered food... and actually ate most of the food before kerry even arrived. apparently, her family plans ran a little longer than she expected.
speaking of applebees, the place was literally empty. most of the staff were goofing around, playing with the jukebox (which did not have the "beatles" for anyone curious), etc. it was interesting.
nevertheless, all was back to normal when kerry did arrive. as usual it was fun. and what is more fun that sign language? i can now say "again" and "thank you" in sign language. sweet!
I Suck At Nana's
on saturday, i spent the entire day at nana's house. unfortunately, i suck at nana's. technically, nana is not even my nana. she is karen's grandmother. as i have never ever known my grandparents, i refer to karen's grandmother as my nana.
anyway, my main duties at nana was to provide technical support and any other unrelated tasks. karen, my favorite sister-in-law (janine), and karen's cousin from lowell (karlene) have been scanning old pictures from nana's house. (as a side note... there is a lot to like about lowell... that is my shameless plug for the day.)
nana has numerous albums of old pictures. as her house is being prepared to be sold on the market, karen, karlene and janine have taken it upon themselves to start scanning the old pictures because those pictures have been requested by numerous other relatives. so in an effort to share the vast albums of pictures with all the relatives, they have undertaken the duty... which, in my opinion, has been a thankless duty for the three of them. if only the other relatives realized how much work and time was involved in the process... they would also appreciate their efforts more.
of course, i guess i'll stop there with my opinion lest i start a family squabble. since nana entered the nursing home, there has been a lot of "rigamarole"... in part because there are too many cooks in the kitchen expressing their own opinions about what should be done and all of that. it's a shame really, but it's really none of my business.
all i can do is support karen and her family, which is fine because i have always been more of the "actions speak louder than words" type. so i do what i can... visit her in the nursing home... attend memorial masses for her husband, karen's grandfather, etc. i know technically i'm not even really nana's grandchild, but she has always treated me as such... so it's the least i could do.
anyway, saturday i was at nana's to provide technical support because last week there was apparently an incident because the pictures were not saving correctly. i don't really know what the problem was because i was not there to diagnose it. but to prevent it from happening again, i was there in the event something bad should go wrong again. luckily, nothing went wrong.
(pictured below is karen and karlene.)
in addition to being at nana's on saturday, i also got to conquer my fear: papa gino's in quincy. just kidding. for anyone who knows me... i lovingly refer to my ex-girlfriend as "the scourge of evil". it just so happened that the scourge of evil worked at papa gino's in quincy when we were together. (it's also how the scourge of evil met the other guy.) in my bout of insanity following the breakup, i had avoided papa gino's at all cost. in fact, i convinced all of my friends to avoid driving by that area whenever i was with them... which was quite tough to do because papa gino's is centrally located in quincy. ah... the good times!
so what does papa gino's have to do with saturday? well, i was actually sent to pick up lunch at... papa gino's on saturday by myself. i haven't been in papa gino's in quite some time... especially by myself. interestingly enough, everything looks the same. the only memory that i recall of even being inside papa gino's was when i gave karen a little stuffed animal when we were like 14 or so. (she subsequently dropped the stuffed animal on the floor... proof that we can't have nice things now...)
anyway, it was interesting to be in papa gino's. speaking of papa gino's, a former classmate i knew (john) used to work at papa gino's. it so happens that he is now a full time real estate agent. the reason i bring that up is because john actually visited nana's on saturday to offer suggestions and whatnot about listing the house.
it was great seeing john again. john was always a genuinely nice guy. i think the last time i saw him was at the funeral service for my friend (greg). interestingly enough, i also found out that john could have been janine's first boyfriend had janine broken her father's rule about dating before the age of 16. she didn't break the rule. but who knew?
all in all, it was an interesting time at nana's.
anyway, my main duties at nana was to provide technical support and any other unrelated tasks. karen, my favorite sister-in-law (janine), and karen's cousin from lowell (karlene) have been scanning old pictures from nana's house. (as a side note... there is a lot to like about lowell... that is my shameless plug for the day.)
nana has numerous albums of old pictures. as her house is being prepared to be sold on the market, karen, karlene and janine have taken it upon themselves to start scanning the old pictures because those pictures have been requested by numerous other relatives. so in an effort to share the vast albums of pictures with all the relatives, they have undertaken the duty... which, in my opinion, has been a thankless duty for the three of them. if only the other relatives realized how much work and time was involved in the process... they would also appreciate their efforts more.
of course, i guess i'll stop there with my opinion lest i start a family squabble. since nana entered the nursing home, there has been a lot of "rigamarole"... in part because there are too many cooks in the kitchen expressing their own opinions about what should be done and all of that. it's a shame really, but it's really none of my business.
all i can do is support karen and her family, which is fine because i have always been more of the "actions speak louder than words" type. so i do what i can... visit her in the nursing home... attend memorial masses for her husband, karen's grandfather, etc. i know technically i'm not even really nana's grandchild, but she has always treated me as such... so it's the least i could do.
anyway, saturday i was at nana's to provide technical support because last week there was apparently an incident because the pictures were not saving correctly. i don't really know what the problem was because i was not there to diagnose it. but to prevent it from happening again, i was there in the event something bad should go wrong again. luckily, nothing went wrong.
(pictured below is karen and karlene.)
in addition to being at nana's on saturday, i also got to conquer my fear: papa gino's in quincy. just kidding. for anyone who knows me... i lovingly refer to my ex-girlfriend as "the scourge of evil". it just so happened that the scourge of evil worked at papa gino's in quincy when we were together. (it's also how the scourge of evil met the other guy.) in my bout of insanity following the breakup, i had avoided papa gino's at all cost. in fact, i convinced all of my friends to avoid driving by that area whenever i was with them... which was quite tough to do because papa gino's is centrally located in quincy. ah... the good times!
so what does papa gino's have to do with saturday? well, i was actually sent to pick up lunch at... papa gino's on saturday by myself. i haven't been in papa gino's in quite some time... especially by myself. interestingly enough, everything looks the same. the only memory that i recall of even being inside papa gino's was when i gave karen a little stuffed animal when we were like 14 or so. (she subsequently dropped the stuffed animal on the floor... proof that we can't have nice things now...)
anyway, it was interesting to be in papa gino's. speaking of papa gino's, a former classmate i knew (john) used to work at papa gino's. it so happens that he is now a full time real estate agent. the reason i bring that up is because john actually visited nana's on saturday to offer suggestions and whatnot about listing the house.
it was great seeing john again. john was always a genuinely nice guy. i think the last time i saw him was at the funeral service for my friend (greg). interestingly enough, i also found out that john could have been janine's first boyfriend had janine broken her father's rule about dating before the age of 16. she didn't break the rule. but who knew?
all in all, it was an interesting time at nana's.
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