Year end wrap up
December 31, 2004
August: we have our new apartment remodeled (well... it gets new paint, crown moulding, baseboards, a thin coat of water-based finish on the floor, and the living room has wires run through the wall in anticipation of surround sound). We lose a few weeks working with a well intentioned, but not very practical, interior designer. This causes us to extend our lease at the old place in order to make the new place ready for move-in. Luckily, a friend at work recommends a nice Greek, who is available almost immediately. Time is tight, but most everything works out O.K. A crew of Russians moves us in late August. It takes most of the day and we somehow manage to fill their moving van with our crap. Sometime prior to the move, we drive a van to Maryland to drop off unneeded furniture and pick up other stuff. We take the cats with us. They love to travel -- not.
September and October: half the couples we know give birth to little girls, including my sister, which make me an uncle 6 times over. Shortly after moving, Courtney changes jobs. She now works for a large beer, wine, and spirits distributor. I wouldn't mind trying her job. We take a long weekend at a bed-and-breakfast in New Hampshire. On the way, I go through 3 states I've never been in: Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In N.H. we try to climb a small mountain but Courtney (who admitedly doesn't have the best shoes for the gig) peters out. Now she can't heckle me about my previous leave-me-alone-while-I-collapse-on-this-rock mountain-hiking-episode. We attend the annual Keene pumpkin festival. It's here that I realize just how white N.H is: like 99.99%, by my estimation. On the plus side, I get to hear someone say something is wicked something. "How's that scahff, Ma?" "Oh! It's wicked wahm." The Red Sox are in the process of humiliating the Astros in the World Series. N.H. is very pleased. I see a suprising (at the time) number of Bush/Cheney signs for an area so far north and east.
November: We travel to Texas for new niece's Baptism. She sleeps through most of it. I shave my beard (which I've had since late December, 1999) for the occasion. Back in NYC, we host Thanksgiving dinner for a few friends and take pictures. By the end of November, most of the boxes from our move are gone, and most of the furniture we need to sit, eat, and watch T.V on is in place.
December: We travel to Texas for the holidays. The La Guardia transportation drones confiscate the nice lighter Courtney got me. It's one of those torchy kind. Me: "What? You don't allow lighters on board?" Drone: "WE DON'T ALLOW TORCHES ON THE PLANE". Me: "Lighter?" Drone: "TORCH!" Me: "Lighter." Drone: COME WITH ME." In retrospect, I should have tried the Jedi Mind Trick. In retro-retrospect, I should have left the LIGHTER at home. In Texas, we get the full frisk treatment when hopping from one city to the next on Christmas day. The guy frisking me looked like Lawrence Taylor, but a little older and without multicarat earwear. Somewhere around this time, a really nasty cold bug starts a colony in Courtney's blood stream.
Next in news:Mr. Jacket's 20 Year H.S. ReunionSeptember and October: half the couples we know give birth to little girls, including my sister, which make me an uncle 6 times over. Shortly after moving, Courtney changes jobs. She now works for a large beer, wine, and spirits distributor. I wouldn't mind trying her job. We take a long weekend at a bed-and-breakfast in New Hampshire. On the way, I go through 3 states I've never been in: Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In N.H. we try to climb a small mountain but Courtney (who admitedly doesn't have the best shoes for the gig) peters out. Now she can't heckle me about my previous leave-me-alone-while-I-collapse-on-this-rock mountain-hiking-episode. We attend the annual Keene pumpkin festival. It's here that I realize just how white N.H is: like 99.99%, by my estimation. On the plus side, I get to hear someone say something is wicked something. "How's that scahff, Ma?" "Oh! It's wicked wahm." The Red Sox are in the process of humiliating the Astros in the World Series. N.H. is very pleased. I see a suprising (at the time) number of Bush/Cheney signs for an area so far north and east.
November: We travel to Texas for new niece's Baptism. She sleeps through most of it. I shave my beard (which I've had since late December, 1999) for the occasion. Back in NYC, we host Thanksgiving dinner for a few friends and take pictures. By the end of November, most of the boxes from our move are gone, and most of the furniture we need to sit, eat, and watch T.V on is in place.
December: We travel to Texas for the holidays. The La Guardia transportation drones confiscate the nice lighter Courtney got me. It's one of those torchy kind. Me: "What? You don't allow lighters on board?" Drone: "WE DON'T ALLOW TORCHES ON THE PLANE". Me: "Lighter?" Drone: "TORCH!" Me: "Lighter." Drone: COME WITH ME." In retrospect, I should have tried the Jedi Mind Trick. In retro-retrospect, I should have left the LIGHTER at home. In Texas, we get the full frisk treatment when hopping from one city to the next on Christmas day. The guy frisking me looked like Lawrence Taylor, but a little older and without multicarat earwear. Somewhere around this time, a really nasty cold bug starts a colony in Courtney's blood stream.
Comments