Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The Big Blur
This past weekend went by so quickly that I am pretty sure I missed it. We closed on the sale of our house last Friday afternoon and moved into the new chateau in RI. Apparently living in a house for 5 years is just enough time to forget just how much you really hate moving. And going from a 2,300' sq house with a huge storage attick to a 1,800' sq with no storage is just like shoving 10 pounds of shit into a 5 pound sack. I still have a 10' truck that I haven't even thought about unpacking yet.
Construction is still in progress on the new place and right now, we have plywood bathroom, kitchen and foyer floors. Our base kitchen cabinets are in the house, just not installed. I have no idea where any of my clothes are, and we had Verizon Fios installed even though we can't find the phone or computer. We have no operational sinks, but we do have a toilet and a shower, so life isn't all that bad. I'll post some before and after pics when it is all done.
Next week, we are going down to my mom's place in Jersey for a little R&R, and when we get back, the place should be just about finished. I may shorten the trip a bit to get some work done around the place, mainly preparing for the mother of all yard sales. The proceeds from the yard sale will be paying for the new deck (or my plasma tv), but I think that is still a few weeks away.
Anyway, I'm exhausted and am really looking forward to some rest and beers on the deck of the Greenhouse with old friends and Brooke (If she doesn't wimp out). If I get lucky, I'll even get Buffett tickets for 6/30.
Construction is still in progress on the new place and right now, we have plywood bathroom, kitchen and foyer floors. Our base kitchen cabinets are in the house, just not installed. I have no idea where any of my clothes are, and we had Verizon Fios installed even though we can't find the phone or computer. We have no operational sinks, but we do have a toilet and a shower, so life isn't all that bad. I'll post some before and after pics when it is all done.
Next week, we are going down to my mom's place in Jersey for a little R&R, and when we get back, the place should be just about finished. I may shorten the trip a bit to get some work done around the place, mainly preparing for the mother of all yard sales. The proceeds from the yard sale will be paying for the new deck (or my plasma tv), but I think that is still a few weeks away.
Anyway, I'm exhausted and am really looking forward to some rest and beers on the deck of the Greenhouse with old friends and Brooke (If she doesn't wimp out). If I get lucky, I'll even get Buffett tickets for 6/30.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
OMG - Twice in a week?
I saw something the other night that reminded me why I started to blog in the first place. I saw something that gave me something to bitch about.I was in line at the Stop & Shop, the same market where this happened. The twenty-something prison-tat-and-no-bra-wearing, goonie-goo-goo-speaking "girl" in front of me was talking on her cell phone and was about to check out. Surely she would hang up in order to complete her transaction, right? Nope.
She kept on rambling on aimlessly while the young girl behind the register remained professional, checking out her Twinkies, frozen burritos, Ramen noodles and Mac-N-Cheese. Then she whipped out her EBT card, swiped it, picked up her bags and left. She never even acknowledged the girl behind the counter with so much as a grunt.
The cashier turned, looked at me and said, "So when did that become socially acceptable?" I replied,"It isn't".
Now I'm not sure which disturbs me more. Is it the absolutely rude behavior of the bigfoot bitch or is it the fact that someone who is living on government assistance has a cell phone? She can't buy her own groceries, but she can afford a monthly cell bill? I'll bet that she has a better cable package than I do too.
Look, I'm not cracking on people that need some government assistance to get by. We've all needed some help from someone at some point in our lives, but it is becoming a lifestyle for too many. Government programs are supposed to be for the short term, but enabling a behavior will ensure that a temporary situation becomes permanent.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Things for which I am thankful today...
I did not invest one minute over the past seven years in becoming addicted to The Soprano's, therefor, I am not completely disappointed by the series finale.
My son threw a ball to me yesterday! Well, it was in my direction at least.
My new cell phone and provider kicks ass! No more dropped calls!
The closing date on my home sale has been moved up to this Friday, 6/15! Now I will really be able to enjoy my Father's Day!
I have a lot of friends that have good stuff, and they let me borrow their good stuff often. (This is not a drug reference!!)
I have a friend named Joe that is doing most of the renovation work on my new house. He only charges me $20/hour, he does really excellent work, and he has been running a tab until my house sold (his idea, not mine).
I have another friend named Morgan that has also done a ton of work on both houses, and he works for free because he loves me! I am taking both of them to the Nordic Lodge for a throwdown as a little "thank you" gift.
Dells Lemonade. It's a Rhode Island thing.
My son threw a ball to me yesterday! Well, it was in my direction at least.
My new cell phone and provider kicks ass! No more dropped calls!
The closing date on my home sale has been moved up to this Friday, 6/15! Now I will really be able to enjoy my Father's Day!
I have a lot of friends that have good stuff, and they let me borrow their good stuff often. (This is not a drug reference!!)
I have a friend named Joe that is doing most of the renovation work on my new house. He only charges me $20/hour, he does really excellent work, and he has been running a tab until my house sold (his idea, not mine).
I have another friend named Morgan that has also done a ton of work on both houses, and he works for free because he loves me! I am taking both of them to the Nordic Lodge for a throwdown as a little "thank you" gift.
Dells Lemonade. It's a Rhode Island thing.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Random Update
The original buyers of my house finally caved in and signed the papers to release the deposit to me. (Praise God!) We were able to list and show the house again, and the deposit just paid for my new kitchen cabinets!
Well, my house has sold... again! We accepted basically the same offer, but we are able to keep all of our appliances and the buyers are taking care of all of the pool repairs. We are closing on 6/21, so time is short for getting the new place ready, but I think that we will make it. (Again, praise God!)
I finally broke down and bought new cell phones for my wife and I. Though I still need to carry my crappy Cingular/AT&T phone for work, I now have a sweet Verizon LG Chocolate. I am quite sure that I will need to wait until Jake is old enough to teach me how to use it, but it looks really cool.
Jimmy Buffett is playing at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, the site of like a hundred Ms. America pageants. I was born in the Frank Sinatra wing of the Atlantic City Medical Center, and I am a huge Parrotthead! Tickets sold out in 15 minutes, and I didn't get any. I will be at that show, one way or another. It is my density, err, destiny.
My brother and his wife are expecting their seventh child in December. Though it would be really easy to make a joke about having so many kids (It's a vagina, not a clown car!), I am truly happy for them. All of the kids are healthy and well-behaved and they are a very close family. One of my friend's made a comment that a parent always wants their child to have a better life than they had, and he didn't see how that was economically possible with seven children and one income. I told him that though they have to shop in thrift stores and vacation a little less, they already have a "better life" than my brother did because both parents live in the same house. My brother's mom and our dad divorced when he was very young, so his children already have a step up from his childhood.
The same friend had been out of work for the past year or so, and recently got a job. He started, then two weeks later resigned because a better offer came along. A month after he started the new job, he got a promotion and a raise. I on the other hand, have been in the same job for 5 years and have gotten only one raise. I guess that life really isn't fair.
A waitress at the Hooters where we have our Friday lunches told us that she was undergoing surgery last Saturday to remove a malignant cyst from her one of her ovaries. She is only 21, and it kind of bummed me out for the rest of the day. We went there for lunch yesterday, and I asked another waitress how the surgery went. She told me that the other girl was spotted out at a club drinking on Saturday night, so everything must have gone alright. Now this girl has the biggest implants that I have ever seen on a 5' 3" rack and she is telling tales of cancer and surgery? Can you say, Attention Whore?
Well, my house has sold... again! We accepted basically the same offer, but we are able to keep all of our appliances and the buyers are taking care of all of the pool repairs. We are closing on 6/21, so time is short for getting the new place ready, but I think that we will make it. (Again, praise God!)
I finally broke down and bought new cell phones for my wife and I. Though I still need to carry my crappy Cingular/AT&T phone for work, I now have a sweet Verizon LG Chocolate. I am quite sure that I will need to wait until Jake is old enough to teach me how to use it, but it looks really cool.
Jimmy Buffett is playing at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, the site of like a hundred Ms. America pageants. I was born in the Frank Sinatra wing of the Atlantic City Medical Center, and I am a huge Parrotthead! Tickets sold out in 15 minutes, and I didn't get any. I will be at that show, one way or another. It is my density, err, destiny.
My brother and his wife are expecting their seventh child in December. Though it would be really easy to make a joke about having so many kids (It's a vagina, not a clown car!), I am truly happy for them. All of the kids are healthy and well-behaved and they are a very close family. One of my friend's made a comment that a parent always wants their child to have a better life than they had, and he didn't see how that was economically possible with seven children and one income. I told him that though they have to shop in thrift stores and vacation a little less, they already have a "better life" than my brother did because both parents live in the same house. My brother's mom and our dad divorced when he was very young, so his children already have a step up from his childhood.
The same friend had been out of work for the past year or so, and recently got a job. He started, then two weeks later resigned because a better offer came along. A month after he started the new job, he got a promotion and a raise. I on the other hand, have been in the same job for 5 years and have gotten only one raise. I guess that life really isn't fair.
A waitress at the Hooters where we have our Friday lunches told us that she was undergoing surgery last Saturday to remove a malignant cyst from her one of her ovaries. She is only 21, and it kind of bummed me out for the rest of the day. We went there for lunch yesterday, and I asked another waitress how the surgery went. She told me that the other girl was spotted out at a club drinking on Saturday night, so everything must have gone alright. Now this girl has the biggest implants that I have ever seen on a 5' 3" rack and she is telling tales of cancer and surgery? Can you say, Attention Whore?
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