last night, karen and i decided to go out for dinner. we ended up going to bertucci's in hingham (at the derby shoppes). (cue rachael ray's "yum-o" sound.) bertucci's pizza is so good. i do thoroughly enjoy the pizza there.
anyway, following dinner we decided to take a little stroll around the derby shoppes. with my friend's (meredith) upcoming wedding this fourth of july weekend, karen figured she'd browse around for some dresses. she actually had purchased a dress the day before with my friend (kelley). but, i guess in an effort to keep her options open, karen decided to look around some more at dresses... just in case. (i believe this is what is called... a woman's prerogative.)
while we were walking around the derby shoppes, we ran into my favorite sister-in-law (janine) and her friend (gretchen). janine and gretchen were on their way to the apple store because gretchen was ready to make a big purchase: a new computer. thus, karen and i tagged along.
now, i suck at the apple store. truth be told, i have never purchased a computer from the apple store. it's not that i dislike apple computers. quite the contrary, i think apple computers are great. in terms of quality and ease of use, apple computers are very good. perhaps that is why their computers are also costlier.
given the choice between microsoft and apple, i would go with apple. (justin long fans unite! just kidding.) before anyone starts accusing me of being pro-apple (or pro-justin long)... i'm actually not. i just happen to have a huge dislike for microsoft because microsoft's software is proprietary and generally full of bugs. (hence, you'll notice that a computer using a microsoft operating system... left on its own... will need to be routinely rebooted.)
interestingly enough, our computers at work are setup to use microsoft applications. (i have no say on our architecture at work.) so unfortunately, i'm stuck using "the evil empire" for the time being.
anyway, gretchen was quite nervous about purchasing her computer. apparently, she gets very nervous with large purchases. so, i can only imagine how she must have felt when she purchased her condo in hingham.
as it turns out, teachers get a discount the apple store. and luckily for gretchen, she is a teacher in the hingham school system. it also turns out that if she were to purchase a new computer, she would be receiving a free apple itouch and a $100 discount off a printer. not bad for a deal. plus, she would be purchasing the computer just in time before the big 25% sales tax hike next month in massachusetts. (truth be told, i think gretchen was more about the free apple itouch than the new computer itself.)
all in all, it was an interesting time at the apple store. we were actually in the apple store for quite some time because there was a long wait... with very little employees around to offer assistance. i find the way the apple store functions in terms of its inventory and employees... a little bit bizarre, but that's just me. for instance, the store did not know if it would ever get a particular piece of inventory in because... they just don't know what will arrive or when a piece of merchandise will come in... if it even does. that just seemed odd to me.
nevertheless, it was fun to hang out with janine and gretchen. incidentally, i think gretchen wants to meet men with all of our other single female friends now. she seemed quite interested in one of the apple employees... which was interesting because not too long ago, there was a report that the apple store was a good place to meet men.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
I Suck At Buffy The Vampire Slayer
on sunday, i finished demolishing our first floor bathroom. everything, including the electrical, in the bathroom has been torn down to the studs. so now the renovation can actually begin! (well... once plans are drawn up and all.)
following the demolition of the bathroom, karen and i hung out with my friends (marc and kelley). in an attempt to progress through the series, marc and kelley wanted to see if we were interested in watching more episodes of the greatest television show ever: buffy the vampire slayer. i suck at buffy the vampire slayer... so of course i was all in for watching more episodes.
after ordering takeout from the imperial terrace in quincy, the four of us watched the remaining episodes from season four of buffy the vampire slayer. the episodes included: "the yoko factor" about spike breaking up the group of friends a la yoko and the beatles; "primeval" about the conclusion and final battle with adam; and "restless" about the very first slayer and the groundwork for the arrival of buffy's sister, dawn.
one of the puzzling questions that came about in regards to buffy... is the cheese man who appears in the "restless" episode. for anyone curious, the cheese man has actually been a topic of debate in the buffy world.
according to joss whedon:
"The cheese man means nothing. He is the only thing in the show that means nothing. I needed something like that, something that couldn't be explained, because dreams always have that one element that is just RIDICULOUS. Thus, man of cheese. Plus funny. (to me)"
nevertheless, fans will be fans and they will be undeterred in finding a meaning for the cheese man.
anyway, as usual it was a great time hanging out with marc and kelley. up next: the season finale for angel!
following the demolition of the bathroom, karen and i hung out with my friends (marc and kelley). in an attempt to progress through the series, marc and kelley wanted to see if we were interested in watching more episodes of the greatest television show ever: buffy the vampire slayer. i suck at buffy the vampire slayer... so of course i was all in for watching more episodes.
after ordering takeout from the imperial terrace in quincy, the four of us watched the remaining episodes from season four of buffy the vampire slayer. the episodes included: "the yoko factor" about spike breaking up the group of friends a la yoko and the beatles; "primeval" about the conclusion and final battle with adam; and "restless" about the very first slayer and the groundwork for the arrival of buffy's sister, dawn.
one of the puzzling questions that came about in regards to buffy... is the cheese man who appears in the "restless" episode. for anyone curious, the cheese man has actually been a topic of debate in the buffy world.
according to joss whedon:
"The cheese man means nothing. He is the only thing in the show that means nothing. I needed something like that, something that couldn't be explained, because dreams always have that one element that is just RIDICULOUS. Thus, man of cheese. Plus funny. (to me)"
nevertheless, fans will be fans and they will be undeterred in finding a meaning for the cheese man.
anyway, as usual it was a great time hanging out with marc and kelley. up next: the season finale for angel!
Monday, June 29, 2009
I Suck At The Birthday Cookout I Always Wanted
on saturday, karen and i were invited by my (bff) to attend her cookout in salem. kerry's cookout was termed "the birthday cookout i (kerry) always wanted".
for anyone curious, kerry's birthday is in december. in fact, a few of my friends (including myself) have birthdays in the month of december. obviously (with winter and all), december is not exactly known as prime grilling season. hence, kerry devised the "the birthday cookout i always wanted".
now, i suck at the birthday cookout i always wanted. i'm sure none of my friends would disagree with that fact after the ride up to salem. karen and i, as well as my friends (marc and kelley) were able to hitch a ride with my friend (andrea).
seeing as how i am a frequenter of the salem area (thanks to working for a company in the nearby town of marblehead), everyone decided to have me sit up front as andrea's navigator and co-pilot on the ride up. big mistake for them!
the ride up would not have been so bad if i were not distracted by a certain electronic gadget known as andrea's ipod. for anyone curious, andrea's ipod is chock full of 80s tunes... and i'm a sucker for 80s tunes. needless to say, i seemed to have missed a few exits and turns while scrolling through andrea's list of songs on her ipod.
eventually, the five of us reached kerry's. we were the first ones to arrive at the birthday cookout that kerry always wanted. and thus, that is where my memory soon started to fade... a result of my friend, boozy... and kelley. (mental note: eat something before imbibing.)
from what i remember, the cookout was good. i do remember that the night ended with a certain game being played... that game being "flip cup". i felt i had to represent the older people at the party... taking on kerry's youngster cousin (melissa) and her friend (jessica).
aside from that, i have bits and pieces of other memories. i remember attempting to trade wally back to my friend (hot amy) for karen's stuffed pig. for some reason, i think hot amy declined... yet again. i get the feeling that hot amy doesn't really want wally back. (insert "poor wally".) oh well.
anyway, i hope kerry enjoyed the birthday cookout that she always wanted. it was good.
for anyone curious, kerry's birthday is in december. in fact, a few of my friends (including myself) have birthdays in the month of december. obviously (with winter and all), december is not exactly known as prime grilling season. hence, kerry devised the "the birthday cookout i always wanted".
now, i suck at the birthday cookout i always wanted. i'm sure none of my friends would disagree with that fact after the ride up to salem. karen and i, as well as my friends (marc and kelley) were able to hitch a ride with my friend (andrea).
seeing as how i am a frequenter of the salem area (thanks to working for a company in the nearby town of marblehead), everyone decided to have me sit up front as andrea's navigator and co-pilot on the ride up. big mistake for them!
the ride up would not have been so bad if i were not distracted by a certain electronic gadget known as andrea's ipod. for anyone curious, andrea's ipod is chock full of 80s tunes... and i'm a sucker for 80s tunes. needless to say, i seemed to have missed a few exits and turns while scrolling through andrea's list of songs on her ipod.
eventually, the five of us reached kerry's. we were the first ones to arrive at the birthday cookout that kerry always wanted. and thus, that is where my memory soon started to fade... a result of my friend, boozy... and kelley. (mental note: eat something before imbibing.)
from what i remember, the cookout was good. i do remember that the night ended with a certain game being played... that game being "flip cup". i felt i had to represent the older people at the party... taking on kerry's youngster cousin (melissa) and her friend (jessica).
aside from that, i have bits and pieces of other memories. i remember attempting to trade wally back to my friend (hot amy) for karen's stuffed pig. for some reason, i think hot amy declined... yet again. i get the feeling that hot amy doesn't really want wally back. (insert "poor wally".) oh well.
anyway, i hope kerry enjoyed the birthday cookout that she always wanted. it was good.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I Still Suck At Trivia Night
in terms of fun, last night was a blast.
karen and i began the night hanging out with my friends (marc and kelley). after all, it was a wednesday... and wednesdays (in addition to being prince spaghetti night) are the nights we generally hang out with marc and kelley.
the four of us decided to watch "dr. horrible's sing-along blog". i don't know about karen, but i was quite excited to watch "dr. horrible's sing-along blog" because the movie was created by buffy the vampire slayer/angel's own... joss whedon.
for those who are curious, according to my friend wikipedia:
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 43-minute musical film, initially produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It tells the story of Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillain; Captain Hammer, his nemesis; and Penny, their mutual love interest.
The movie was written by writer/director Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack Whedon (a television writer) and Jed Whedon (a composer), and actress Maurissa Tancharoen. The writing team penned the musical during the WGA writers' strike. The idea was to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike."
(the video below is the trailer for "dr. horrible's sing-along blog".)
needless to say, the film was awesome. joss whedon simply rocks. i really can't say enough good things about the film. it was... without a doubt... hilarious. neil patrick harris, who is dr. horrible, was awesome. i would definitely recommend this movie to anyone. and for anyone curious, one of the best lines from the whole film: "the hammer is my penis". classic!
anyway, the movie was a great way to start the night off. following "dr. horrible's sing-along blog", the four of us went to my friend's (garv) restaurant, blue 22, in quincy for trivia night. now, i still suck at trivia night. after our second place finish last week (in which we scored some cool jamison glasses), marc decided to organize another group for a crack at trivia dominance.
interestingly enough... our team did dominate trivia night. joining us for trivia were my friend (andrea) and my bff (kerry). kerry actually showed up midway through the trivia festivities because she had prior dinner plans with one of her friends (rebecca). rebecca, who i also know from my high school days, also joined us for the fun.
(pictured below is wally with garv... at trivia night.)
truth be told, i did not really do much to help the trivia team. i think andrea had her "a" game going on because she knew who the bobbsey twins were... as well as how tolstoy's anna karenina committed suicide. last night, andrea was a literary genius. it's too bad i'm illiterate. even when i do read, i end up reading awful literary classics like "the secret" or "twilight"...
the only thing that i helped our trivia team with last night was the horror movie identification section. apparently kelley and i were the only horror buffs at the table. we managed to get 8 of the 10 horror movies, which was not bad.
as it turned out, after the horror movie section, our team pulled away from the other teams and never looked back. in fact, our team ran the table on the last set of trivia questions for the fourth quarter. to me, that was amazing.
needless to say, our trivia team finished in first place with over 100 points last night. we even got our picture taken for finishing in first place. for anyone curious, our team name was "garv still sucks"... so if you go to blue 22, look for our team picture.
in addition to the group photo, we scored some sweet drinking glasses again... complete with another pitcher of beer. this time, the glasses were for sam adams. i still think the jamison glasses were cooler, but that's just me. don't get me wrong, i'm still happy with the sam adams glasses.
those other teams can have the monetary discounts (chumps!), we are all about the drinking glasses. yes, we know where our priorities lie. besides, i have to party like a rock star while i can... before i experiment with my alcohol free challenge. (for those who are curious, i have decided to give up the yummy goodiness known as booze starting july 5th.)
anyway, it was a fun night last night... with dr. horrible and the trivia dominance. and truth be told, in terms of trivia... i'd be happy to go out on top. but we'll see whether or not everyone wants to defend the first place finish or not. if anything, it would just be fun to hang out together. so we'll see.
karen and i began the night hanging out with my friends (marc and kelley). after all, it was a wednesday... and wednesdays (in addition to being prince spaghetti night) are the nights we generally hang out with marc and kelley.
the four of us decided to watch "dr. horrible's sing-along blog". i don't know about karen, but i was quite excited to watch "dr. horrible's sing-along blog" because the movie was created by buffy the vampire slayer/angel's own... joss whedon.
for those who are curious, according to my friend wikipedia:
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 43-minute musical film, initially produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It tells the story of Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillain; Captain Hammer, his nemesis; and Penny, their mutual love interest.
The movie was written by writer/director Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack Whedon (a television writer) and Jed Whedon (a composer), and actress Maurissa Tancharoen. The writing team penned the musical during the WGA writers' strike. The idea was to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike."
(the video below is the trailer for "dr. horrible's sing-along blog".)
needless to say, the film was awesome. joss whedon simply rocks. i really can't say enough good things about the film. it was... without a doubt... hilarious. neil patrick harris, who is dr. horrible, was awesome. i would definitely recommend this movie to anyone. and for anyone curious, one of the best lines from the whole film: "the hammer is my penis". classic!
anyway, the movie was a great way to start the night off. following "dr. horrible's sing-along blog", the four of us went to my friend's (garv) restaurant, blue 22, in quincy for trivia night. now, i still suck at trivia night. after our second place finish last week (in which we scored some cool jamison glasses), marc decided to organize another group for a crack at trivia dominance.
interestingly enough... our team did dominate trivia night. joining us for trivia were my friend (andrea) and my bff (kerry). kerry actually showed up midway through the trivia festivities because she had prior dinner plans with one of her friends (rebecca). rebecca, who i also know from my high school days, also joined us for the fun.
(pictured below is wally with garv... at trivia night.)
truth be told, i did not really do much to help the trivia team. i think andrea had her "a" game going on because she knew who the bobbsey twins were... as well as how tolstoy's anna karenina committed suicide. last night, andrea was a literary genius. it's too bad i'm illiterate. even when i do read, i end up reading awful literary classics like "the secret" or "twilight"...
the only thing that i helped our trivia team with last night was the horror movie identification section. apparently kelley and i were the only horror buffs at the table. we managed to get 8 of the 10 horror movies, which was not bad.
as it turned out, after the horror movie section, our team pulled away from the other teams and never looked back. in fact, our team ran the table on the last set of trivia questions for the fourth quarter. to me, that was amazing.
needless to say, our trivia team finished in first place with over 100 points last night. we even got our picture taken for finishing in first place. for anyone curious, our team name was "garv still sucks"... so if you go to blue 22, look for our team picture.
in addition to the group photo, we scored some sweet drinking glasses again... complete with another pitcher of beer. this time, the glasses were for sam adams. i still think the jamison glasses were cooler, but that's just me. don't get me wrong, i'm still happy with the sam adams glasses.
those other teams can have the monetary discounts (chumps!), we are all about the drinking glasses. yes, we know where our priorities lie. besides, i have to party like a rock star while i can... before i experiment with my alcohol free challenge. (for those who are curious, i have decided to give up the yummy goodiness known as booze starting july 5th.)
anyway, it was a fun night last night... with dr. horrible and the trivia dominance. and truth be told, in terms of trivia... i'd be happy to go out on top. but we'll see whether or not everyone wants to defend the first place finish or not. if anything, it would just be fun to hang out together. so we'll see.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
I Suck At Waitress
last night, karen wanted to watch a chick flick. always one to please, i of course acquiesced to karen's wishes. the movie that we watched: waitress.
now, i suck at waitress. neither karen nor i have seen the movie. i have heard of the movie, but the only thing i heard about the movie was that keri russell (famous for her role as felicity) starred in it. as it turns out, nathan fillion of buffy and serenity fame also appears in the movie. interestingly enough, i think the only thing that karen knew about the movie was that andy griffith appeared in the movie.
according to the back of the dvd, the movie is about the following:
"Jenna (Russell), a small-town waitress with big dreams, has an uncanny gift for baking out-of-this-world pies. Her secret ambition is to win a $25,000 contest, so she can leave her obnoxious husband, open her own pie shop and transform her life. A chance meeting with a handsome newcomer to town just might supply the right ingredients to help Jenna find true happiness."
for some reason, the movie description reminded me of my bff (kerry). i even joked with karen that the movie was about kerry... just without julia stiles (although keri russell would not be a terrible choice to play kerry in the movie)... the whole waitressing thing... and the obnoxious husband thing.
so basically, the only part of the movie description that actually reminded me of kerry was the ambition to own her own pie shop... and even that is not true because kerry would rather bake more than just pies. so maybe the movie description really had nothing to do with kerry...
(the video below is the trailer for waitress.)
regardless, the movie was okay. there were some funny parts, but on a whole the movie was rather predictable. given a choice, i probably would not watch the movie again because it's not my type of movie. nevertheless, it was good to just hang out on the couch and watch a movie with karen.
now, i suck at waitress. neither karen nor i have seen the movie. i have heard of the movie, but the only thing i heard about the movie was that keri russell (famous for her role as felicity) starred in it. as it turns out, nathan fillion of buffy and serenity fame also appears in the movie. interestingly enough, i think the only thing that karen knew about the movie was that andy griffith appeared in the movie.
according to the back of the dvd, the movie is about the following:
"Jenna (Russell), a small-town waitress with big dreams, has an uncanny gift for baking out-of-this-world pies. Her secret ambition is to win a $25,000 contest, so she can leave her obnoxious husband, open her own pie shop and transform her life. A chance meeting with a handsome newcomer to town just might supply the right ingredients to help Jenna find true happiness."
for some reason, the movie description reminded me of my bff (kerry). i even joked with karen that the movie was about kerry... just without julia stiles (although keri russell would not be a terrible choice to play kerry in the movie)... the whole waitressing thing... and the obnoxious husband thing.
so basically, the only part of the movie description that actually reminded me of kerry was the ambition to own her own pie shop... and even that is not true because kerry would rather bake more than just pies. so maybe the movie description really had nothing to do with kerry...
(the video below is the trailer for waitress.)
regardless, the movie was okay. there were some funny parts, but on a whole the movie was rather predictable. given a choice, i probably would not watch the movie again because it's not my type of movie. nevertheless, it was good to just hang out on the couch and watch a movie with karen.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I Suck At Working On The House
tonight, karen wanted to work on the house and demolish more of our bathroom. too bad i suck at working on the house. on the agenda tonight: the 1970s psychedelic green bath tub.
besides the the equally ugly 1970s light fixture that is providing light to the room and the many half-demolished glazed tiled wallboards, the bath tub is the only large remnant left to demolish in the first floor bathroom. the only problem of course: the copper piping that supplies water to the tub and the tub drain.
the copper pipes for the bath tub run through the floor. now obviously, before i cut these pipes in half, i had to make sure there was no water flowing to the bath tub. unfortunately, that meant a friendly visit down to the crawlspace to check the plumbing lines.
in general, karen thinks i'm crazy. in fact, karen thinks i'm looney enough to make her create her own blog and title it "living with mike". (for anyone curious, karen does not have a blog yet... because she does not know how to set up a blog... but she has threatened to have a blog about "living with mike".) that said, tonight is one of those nights where my craziness paid off.
a long time ago, when we first got our house, i decided to work on the house's plumbing system. now, i suck at plumbing too. i've never been a big fan of plumbing because plumbing is simply... dirty. and for those who know me, they know that i am not a big fan of getting dirty. (there's a snicker somewhere in there.)
nonetheless, when we first got our house, the house only had one shut off valve for the water... and that was the main shut off valve. thus, in order to work on any plumbing projects, the water for the entire house had to be shut off. needless to say, that did not sit well with me because i knew we would be working on our house quite frequently.
so in my crazed state, i went into our crawlspace and started soldering new copper pipes with shut off valves to every part of the house that required hot and cold water. sure, the plumbing project took a while... but it was worth it.
in fact, it was particularly worth it today because i realized that i could simply cut the copper pipes to the bath tub without having to worry about the water supply. (for anyone curious, the water supply to the old toilet and sink has also been shut off as well... and yet, the rest of the house still has water! yay!)
anyway, i did a little happy dance (or shuffle) when i emerged from our crawlspace because it was so easy to shut off water to only those parts of the house, without affecting the rest of the house. so from there, we began cutting the copper pipes in half.
the 1970s psychedelic green bath tub actually took some time to remove. the hardest part was figuring out how the drain was attached to the floor. every book i read said that i could simply twist the tub strainer off. little did the books know... this 1970s psychedelic green tub was way before tub strainers had that cross pattern inside. so, i did what any normal person would do... i took a hammer to it.
i probably should clarify: i took a hammer and screwdriver to it... chiseling around the entire circumference of the tub strainer. i must say... a hammer is a great way to relieve stress. after creating a hole around the tub strainer, the entire 1970s psychedelic green bath tub easily came out.
with the bath tub removed, the first floor bathroom project is moving along. fantastic.
besides the the equally ugly 1970s light fixture that is providing light to the room and the many half-demolished glazed tiled wallboards, the bath tub is the only large remnant left to demolish in the first floor bathroom. the only problem of course: the copper piping that supplies water to the tub and the tub drain.
the copper pipes for the bath tub run through the floor. now obviously, before i cut these pipes in half, i had to make sure there was no water flowing to the bath tub. unfortunately, that meant a friendly visit down to the crawlspace to check the plumbing lines.
in general, karen thinks i'm crazy. in fact, karen thinks i'm looney enough to make her create her own blog and title it "living with mike". (for anyone curious, karen does not have a blog yet... because she does not know how to set up a blog... but she has threatened to have a blog about "living with mike".) that said, tonight is one of those nights where my craziness paid off.
a long time ago, when we first got our house, i decided to work on the house's plumbing system. now, i suck at plumbing too. i've never been a big fan of plumbing because plumbing is simply... dirty. and for those who know me, they know that i am not a big fan of getting dirty. (there's a snicker somewhere in there.)
nonetheless, when we first got our house, the house only had one shut off valve for the water... and that was the main shut off valve. thus, in order to work on any plumbing projects, the water for the entire house had to be shut off. needless to say, that did not sit well with me because i knew we would be working on our house quite frequently.
so in my crazed state, i went into our crawlspace and started soldering new copper pipes with shut off valves to every part of the house that required hot and cold water. sure, the plumbing project took a while... but it was worth it.
in fact, it was particularly worth it today because i realized that i could simply cut the copper pipes to the bath tub without having to worry about the water supply. (for anyone curious, the water supply to the old toilet and sink has also been shut off as well... and yet, the rest of the house still has water! yay!)
anyway, i did a little happy dance (or shuffle) when i emerged from our crawlspace because it was so easy to shut off water to only those parts of the house, without affecting the rest of the house. so from there, we began cutting the copper pipes in half.
the 1970s psychedelic green bath tub actually took some time to remove. the hardest part was figuring out how the drain was attached to the floor. every book i read said that i could simply twist the tub strainer off. little did the books know... this 1970s psychedelic green tub was way before tub strainers had that cross pattern inside. so, i did what any normal person would do... i took a hammer to it.
i probably should clarify: i took a hammer and screwdriver to it... chiseling around the entire circumference of the tub strainer. i must say... a hammer is a great way to relieve stress. after creating a hole around the tub strainer, the entire 1970s psychedelic green bath tub easily came out.
with the bath tub removed, the first floor bathroom project is moving along. fantastic.
Monday, June 22, 2009
I Suck At Father's Day
yesterday was the commercial holiday known as father's day. (and here is my sarcastic "yay": yay.)
for anyone curious, karen and i lost our son (braden) in september of last year. braden was born prematurely and only lived for a week. i still remember his cute angelic little face. truth be told, the nurses said braden had my charming debonair good looks... one fact that always seems to make me smile.
anyway, it was actually very nice to receive some sentiments from my friends for father's day. so thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and wishes. i really had appreciated the support.
surprisingly, father's day was not as bad as i had thought it would be. the days leading up to father's day were worse because i had visions that i was just going to have a meltdown. okay, sure, i may have had one meltdown earlier in the morning. i had gotten a very touching card from karen... and we had visited the cemetery. it was very nice. interestingly enough, i'm tearing as i write this paragraph.
sometimes i think that my fear of forgetting my son is coming true... and it kills me. the other day, i was talking with someone who i had not seen in quite some time. as with the usual conversation piece of getting reacquainted, there is the question about "do you have any kids?" when i was asked that question, i said no without even thinking.
quickly realizing my mistake, i actually explained that i had lost braden. i was actually upset with myself for part of the night because i felt like i had let braden down... like i had denied his existence... and that pains me.
i think for me, i am still trying to wrap my head around the feeling i have about being a father... yet, not having a living breathing son. in the technical sense, yes i have a son. his name is braden and he was born september 5, 2009. in the sense when people generally ask about "do you have kids?", no i do not have a son because he is no longer living... having passed away a week after birth. it's one of those things i struggle with: do i tell people what they want to hear or do i tell people the truth?
i know... it's odd that i even have this dilemma because i am generally unfiltered in what i say. after all, i didn't get my "instigator" reputation for saying what people want to hear.
anyway, the actual day of father's day was actually not as bad as i expected it to be. the day started off with a visit to my parents... so that i could celebrate father's day with my father... and then a visit to karen's parents. my favorite sister-in-law (janine), my favorite brother-in-law (pj), my niece (kaleigh), and my nephew (pj) were also there.
apparently, kaleigh and pj had watched the movie "ghostbusters" that day. they loved the movie... drawing pictures of slimer. the pictures were interesting.
karen and i ended father's day hanging out with my bff (kerry). kerry happened to be in the neighborhood. so we watched a few more episodes of veronica mars. it was a good way to end the day.
for anyone curious, karen and i lost our son (braden) in september of last year. braden was born prematurely and only lived for a week. i still remember his cute angelic little face. truth be told, the nurses said braden had my charming debonair good looks... one fact that always seems to make me smile.
anyway, it was actually very nice to receive some sentiments from my friends for father's day. so thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and wishes. i really had appreciated the support.
surprisingly, father's day was not as bad as i had thought it would be. the days leading up to father's day were worse because i had visions that i was just going to have a meltdown. okay, sure, i may have had one meltdown earlier in the morning. i had gotten a very touching card from karen... and we had visited the cemetery. it was very nice. interestingly enough, i'm tearing as i write this paragraph.
sometimes i think that my fear of forgetting my son is coming true... and it kills me. the other day, i was talking with someone who i had not seen in quite some time. as with the usual conversation piece of getting reacquainted, there is the question about "do you have any kids?" when i was asked that question, i said no without even thinking.
quickly realizing my mistake, i actually explained that i had lost braden. i was actually upset with myself for part of the night because i felt like i had let braden down... like i had denied his existence... and that pains me.
i think for me, i am still trying to wrap my head around the feeling i have about being a father... yet, not having a living breathing son. in the technical sense, yes i have a son. his name is braden and he was born september 5, 2009. in the sense when people generally ask about "do you have kids?", no i do not have a son because he is no longer living... having passed away a week after birth. it's one of those things i struggle with: do i tell people what they want to hear or do i tell people the truth?
i know... it's odd that i even have this dilemma because i am generally unfiltered in what i say. after all, i didn't get my "instigator" reputation for saying what people want to hear.
anyway, the actual day of father's day was actually not as bad as i expected it to be. the day started off with a visit to my parents... so that i could celebrate father's day with my father... and then a visit to karen's parents. my favorite sister-in-law (janine), my favorite brother-in-law (pj), my niece (kaleigh), and my nephew (pj) were also there.
apparently, kaleigh and pj had watched the movie "ghostbusters" that day. they loved the movie... drawing pictures of slimer. the pictures were interesting.
karen and i ended father's day hanging out with my bff (kerry). kerry happened to be in the neighborhood. so we watched a few more episodes of veronica mars. it was a good way to end the day.
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