Iguanas, hamburgers, small boys, company and stress.
Last night was spent in the inimitable company of artbeco, it_aint_easy and special guest star gallamor, with Riley and Casey -- four year old terrors of stage and screen -- in constant and undeniable attendance. This was a delightful and wonderous thing, if one that had been reasonably unexpected right up until the last minute; Paul literally called as I was walking home from work on Monday in order to set things up, and we ran from there. The plan, at its most basic, was as follows:
* Pick me up from work.
* Drive to Concord.
* Introduce everyone to Lilly.
* Meet up with Steve.
* Go to Fuddrucker's.
* Eat.
* Scatter.
And indeed, at its most basic, the plan was actually followed. The devil, as always, was in the details...
So I was supposed to be giving training from three o'clock until time to go home. My trainings usually come in fifteen to forty minutes under the estimated time; I thus felt perfectly secure in assuring Paul and Beckett that I would be ready, able and willing to leave at the pre-arranged time. Of course, this was the one training in the history of ever that actually ran long, and so I came scurrying out in a foul black post-work mood, clambered into the car, and pleaded for departure.
Departure was had, and my mood lightened considerably as Riley told me all about iguanas and komodo dragons. About half his facts were inaccurate enough to cause a great deal of giggling (the part where komodo dragons are friendly and loving towards little boys, and iguanas like to hang from their tails? Enough to leave me trying Very Hard Indeed not to guffaw at the small boy), but he still got an impressive amount right, especially considering his age. Casey still seems marginally leery of me, and didn't talk all that much; this might also have been a function of the fact that they'd just spent the morning at the children's zoo, and were pretty well exhausted. Paul and Beck and I actually got to talk, too, around the nattering of small boys who wanted to tell us about the length of the Caldecott Tunnel ('This is a long tunnel,' said Casey. 'I think we are forever in this tunnel.'), iguanas, komodo dragons, snow, my house, the hills, and various other landmarks of interest. I adore Paul and Beck and the boys, and I don't see them nearly enough, despite our stunningly close proximity.
Wonderously, we did not get lost in the process of finding my house, despite the part where I don't drive and Paul (who was behind the wheel) doesn't normally drive on my side of the bay; I think I'm learning my way around by osmosis. The boys were totally enchanted by a passing BART train, at least until it went down underground and thus became boring. Paul was surprised to realize how long we've known each other (a date revealed by a chance comment of mine regarding the Concord BART line); at this point, we can officially call ourselves 'old friends'.
At the house, Casey and Riley were very dubious about Lilly, who returned the favour by being very dubious about them. They did pet her, and eventually deigned to play with her and the feather toy, as well as assisting in the time-honoured ritual of Feeding The Kitten, who squalled very vigorously until this all-important task was complete. Riley held August, but only for a moment (he nearly dropped her), while Casey was much more comfortable petting Nyssa and playing with the buttons on the television. That kid has a real gift for making technology listen to his demands. I know adults who can't make that TV work, and he only needed about five minutes before he'd managed to switch it back to cable, found PBS, and was comfortably settled on the couch watching 'Dragon Tales'. Scaaaaaaaaary.
Nyssa eventually settled on the back of the orange chair behind Beckett's head, where she could eye both Lilly and the boys warily. Nyssa is made entirely of mashed potato sometimes; I love her to death, but she's a big brown pudding of a cat. Beck had her camera, and took multiple pictures of both Nyssa and Lilly, which she's going to email me later -- all hail Beckett! The cats were only slightly completely unhelpful during this whole process, and Lilly kindly did not attempt to eat the camera. I want a digital camera, I think; the lack of need for development, and immediate ability to tell how good your pictures are, rocks.
We hung around chatting and pacifying the boys (first with Hot Pockets and the Crocodile Hunter, which led to a lot of questions about why the dumb man was poking the sharks -- at least until Casey became scared of the big African cobra -- and then with 'Snow White', which was Riley's entertainment selection) until Steve called to confirm directions for the last little bit of the trip to my house. Some rapid arrangement of rides later, we were off for Fuddrucker's, to stuff ourselves with meat products, grill Steve about his new job, and watch Riley try to drink Beckett's entire milkshake on his own. Hummingbird child. I confined myself to Diet Coke, despite feeling the need to stop for a brief discussion of the fact that it tastes like death. Because it does. Dammit, people, get DDP on tap!
The boys went slightly nuts after eating, and we bid our farewells to let Paul and Beck drag them home. Steve and I stayed for dessert and more talking, before he drove me back to the house, gave me many hugs, and left me.
It was a good, good evening.
Very good.
* Pick me up from work.
* Drive to Concord.
* Introduce everyone to Lilly.
* Meet up with Steve.
* Go to Fuddrucker's.
* Eat.
* Scatter.
And indeed, at its most basic, the plan was actually followed. The devil, as always, was in the details...
So I was supposed to be giving training from three o'clock until time to go home. My trainings usually come in fifteen to forty minutes under the estimated time; I thus felt perfectly secure in assuring Paul and Beckett that I would be ready, able and willing to leave at the pre-arranged time. Of course, this was the one training in the history of ever that actually ran long, and so I came scurrying out in a foul black post-work mood, clambered into the car, and pleaded for departure.
Departure was had, and my mood lightened considerably as Riley told me all about iguanas and komodo dragons. About half his facts were inaccurate enough to cause a great deal of giggling (the part where komodo dragons are friendly and loving towards little boys, and iguanas like to hang from their tails? Enough to leave me trying Very Hard Indeed not to guffaw at the small boy), but he still got an impressive amount right, especially considering his age. Casey still seems marginally leery of me, and didn't talk all that much; this might also have been a function of the fact that they'd just spent the morning at the children's zoo, and were pretty well exhausted. Paul and Beck and I actually got to talk, too, around the nattering of small boys who wanted to tell us about the length of the Caldecott Tunnel ('This is a long tunnel,' said Casey. 'I think we are forever in this tunnel.'), iguanas, komodo dragons, snow, my house, the hills, and various other landmarks of interest. I adore Paul and Beck and the boys, and I don't see them nearly enough, despite our stunningly close proximity.
Wonderously, we did not get lost in the process of finding my house, despite the part where I don't drive and Paul (who was behind the wheel) doesn't normally drive on my side of the bay; I think I'm learning my way around by osmosis. The boys were totally enchanted by a passing BART train, at least until it went down underground and thus became boring. Paul was surprised to realize how long we've known each other (a date revealed by a chance comment of mine regarding the Concord BART line); at this point, we can officially call ourselves 'old friends'.
At the house, Casey and Riley were very dubious about Lilly, who returned the favour by being very dubious about them. They did pet her, and eventually deigned to play with her and the feather toy, as well as assisting in the time-honoured ritual of Feeding The Kitten, who squalled very vigorously until this all-important task was complete. Riley held August, but only for a moment (he nearly dropped her), while Casey was much more comfortable petting Nyssa and playing with the buttons on the television. That kid has a real gift for making technology listen to his demands. I know adults who can't make that TV work, and he only needed about five minutes before he'd managed to switch it back to cable, found PBS, and was comfortably settled on the couch watching 'Dragon Tales'. Scaaaaaaaaary.
Nyssa eventually settled on the back of the orange chair behind Beckett's head, where she could eye both Lilly and the boys warily. Nyssa is made entirely of mashed potato sometimes; I love her to death, but she's a big brown pudding of a cat. Beck had her camera, and took multiple pictures of both Nyssa and Lilly, which she's going to email me later -- all hail Beckett! The cats were only slightly completely unhelpful during this whole process, and Lilly kindly did not attempt to eat the camera. I want a digital camera, I think; the lack of need for development, and immediate ability to tell how good your pictures are, rocks.
We hung around chatting and pacifying the boys (first with Hot Pockets and the Crocodile Hunter, which led to a lot of questions about why the dumb man was poking the sharks -- at least until Casey became scared of the big African cobra -- and then with 'Snow White', which was Riley's entertainment selection) until Steve called to confirm directions for the last little bit of the trip to my house. Some rapid arrangement of rides later, we were off for Fuddrucker's, to stuff ourselves with meat products, grill Steve about his new job, and watch Riley try to drink Beckett's entire milkshake on his own. Hummingbird child. I confined myself to Diet Coke, despite feeling the need to stop for a brief discussion of the fact that it tastes like death. Because it does. Dammit, people, get DDP on tap!
The boys went slightly nuts after eating, and we bid our farewells to let Paul and Beck drag them home. Steve and I stayed for dessert and more talking, before he drove me back to the house, gave me many hugs, and left me.
It was a good, good evening.
Very good.