Well, I'm Back...
...sort of. :)
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King's birthday and a State holiday, so I'm not planning to be back completely online until Tuesday. Hopefully, I don't have too much work waiting for me there. Hopefully, the joint hasn't fallen down around our ears while I was gone! (Johnny the Boss kind of sucks at my job, so we'll see.)
The funeral and all went as well as those things can, I guess. No one got into any fistfights, which is a good thing, given the tendency of my aunt and uncle to complain loudly about how wasteful my grandparents were with their "inheritance." They were the same who didn't want my grandmother to have services for my grandfather because of the cost...but (luckily) they kept their big mouths shut--more or less--this time.
Uncle Bob, though, was his usual classy self. After calling my husband fat (and Bobby is a hockey player and far from fat, although he is a big dude), he came back to tell Bobby that he wasn't fat at all after seeing how fat my father-in-law is. Uncle Bob needs to learn that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, in my opinion. Furthermore, I don't think that he has any right to comment on the body sizes of pseudo-relatives whom he barely knows.
While standing beside Bobby at the hearse (they were both pallbearers), waiting for my grandmother's casket to be slid out, he informed Bobby that we need to start a family, and if I had a problem with that, to switch out my birth control pills for sugar pills.
He also felt the need to make vegetarian jokes because--apparently--after twelve years of making these jokes and never getting any laughs, he still holds hope that his stupid, immature sense of "humor" might likewise amuse me.
I'm thoroughly expecting World War III to start over my grandmother's estate, once Aunt Naomi's sedatives wear off and Bob gets wind of how much money he could be making if only my pesky father wasn't in the way as executor.
I did get the opportunity to see lots of family. I have a good extended family on my mom's side. My mom's three brothers and their wives--as well as some of my cousins--all showed up, and Nanny was no relation to them. (She was my dad's mother.) All of my uncles came back for the funeral too, since we didn't have enough pallbearers. They're good people who more than offset the Naomi/Bobs of the world. I always think that the funeral home--because we always use the same one--must hate whenever our family has a funeral because so many people come and we all end up so loud. But I imagine my grandmother would have liked to see how many people wanted to remember her, just as I know she appreciated how many came to my grandfather's services.
In better news, Bobby and I began discussing on Monday the notion of getting him a new car. Between driving to school and driving to DC for work each day, he put 100K miles on his poor car in five years, and it was finally starting to show wear. We were supposed to go out this weekend to look at new cars, but this was before we got the news about Nanny. But Bobby and my father-in-law went out Thursday morning and found a brand new Aerio--although an '05 model--in red, for a payment only slightly more than what we're paying for his car now. The dealership offered him a nice trade for his car, and so we went for it and are now the proud owners of a red Aerio hatchback--can I emphasize that it is red one more time?--that we have decided to name "Feanaro." We wanted a hybrid, but the hybrids are still a bit outside our price range at this time, so we're happy with what we have, and by the time we can afford a hybrid, my car will be ready to trade in. Or--hopefully--Nelyo's will be underway to the point where we only need one car, which is our eventual goal.
We went out last night with both sides of the family, and Bobby's grandmother spent the night. She likes vampire movies, so we rented Van Helsing for her...but she didn't really like it. I can't comment on it, since I fell asleep within a half-hour of its beginning.
I went back to skating this morning. I really didn't feel like going, but I owed club fees, and I haven't been since before Christmas, so I dragged myself out of bed and to the rink. I'm glad I went, though. There are two half-hour sessions--back to back--for the highest class, and I always go to the second one since it gives me an extra half-hour of sleep. All of the other skaters showed up for the first session, though, so I had a private lesson. I felt heavy and tired, but soon, my feet were underneath of me again, and I actually skated quite well. Ms. Jackie--my teacher--told me that our group is at the point where we can either learn double jumps or work on fancier spins. She asked what I wanted to do. Since I'm still shy of some of the single-revolution jumps, I laughed and said I thought I'd stick with the spins, although I can't help but think that it's pretty cool that I've reached the point where double jumps have become a probable part of my agenda. I'll still keep working on axles, though, since I'd really like to be able to one day do those. And who knows...maybe a double will follow!
I'm on the brink of doing well so many skills in skating, but I need to be more aggressive. I'm hoping to have more energy on Wednesday--I skate better in the evenings anyway--to make some progress on this.
Bobby is a good man: He took me to see Brokeback Mountain. I told him that he was free to tell me whatever opinions about it that he wanted without fear of me thinking him evil, but he insists that he liked it. Still, we both agree that our favorite movie this year was The Constant Gardener, which is now out on DVD. Movie awards season is coming up, which is a good time for Bobby and me, since it lets us get fired up over something completely frivolous, over who got included (and shouldn't have been) and who got unfairly left out.
Now, we are watching the NFL playoffs, and the Steelers are winning. Quite heartily. Apologies to Steelers fans out there, but this sucks for two reasons: 1) I am a Ravens fan, and so I can't like the Steelers (actually, they're my least favorite team) and 2) the Colts were my Super Bowl pick. After coming in second in the fantasy league (after my sister!), it would be embarrassing if my Super Bowl pick didn't even make it to the AFC championships. I admire Peyton Manning so much as a player and a person, and I really wanted him to win a Super Bowl, as well as Tony Dungy, for all that he recently went through with his son. Meh.
I know that I owe some of you comments on AMC and my other posts, and I haven't forgotten you! I'll probably do it tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your nice thoughts and kindness over the past few days. :)
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King's birthday and a State holiday, so I'm not planning to be back completely online until Tuesday. Hopefully, I don't have too much work waiting for me there. Hopefully, the joint hasn't fallen down around our ears while I was gone! (Johnny the Boss kind of sucks at my job, so we'll see.)
The funeral and all went as well as those things can, I guess. No one got into any fistfights, which is a good thing, given the tendency of my aunt and uncle to complain loudly about how wasteful my grandparents were with their "inheritance." They were the same who didn't want my grandmother to have services for my grandfather because of the cost...but (luckily) they kept their big mouths shut--more or less--this time.
Uncle Bob, though, was his usual classy self. After calling my husband fat (and Bobby is a hockey player and far from fat, although he is a big dude), he came back to tell Bobby that he wasn't fat at all after seeing how fat my father-in-law is. Uncle Bob needs to learn that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, in my opinion. Furthermore, I don't think that he has any right to comment on the body sizes of pseudo-relatives whom he barely knows.
While standing beside Bobby at the hearse (they were both pallbearers), waiting for my grandmother's casket to be slid out, he informed Bobby that we need to start a family, and if I had a problem with that, to switch out my birth control pills for sugar pills.
He also felt the need to make vegetarian jokes because--apparently--after twelve years of making these jokes and never getting any laughs, he still holds hope that his stupid, immature sense of "humor" might likewise amuse me.
I'm thoroughly expecting World War III to start over my grandmother's estate, once Aunt Naomi's sedatives wear off and Bob gets wind of how much money he could be making if only my pesky father wasn't in the way as executor.
I did get the opportunity to see lots of family. I have a good extended family on my mom's side. My mom's three brothers and their wives--as well as some of my cousins--all showed up, and Nanny was no relation to them. (She was my dad's mother.) All of my uncles came back for the funeral too, since we didn't have enough pallbearers. They're good people who more than offset the Naomi/Bobs of the world. I always think that the funeral home--because we always use the same one--must hate whenever our family has a funeral because so many people come and we all end up so loud. But I imagine my grandmother would have liked to see how many people wanted to remember her, just as I know she appreciated how many came to my grandfather's services.
In better news, Bobby and I began discussing on Monday the notion of getting him a new car. Between driving to school and driving to DC for work each day, he put 100K miles on his poor car in five years, and it was finally starting to show wear. We were supposed to go out this weekend to look at new cars, but this was before we got the news about Nanny. But Bobby and my father-in-law went out Thursday morning and found a brand new Aerio--although an '05 model--in red, for a payment only slightly more than what we're paying for his car now. The dealership offered him a nice trade for his car, and so we went for it and are now the proud owners of a red Aerio hatchback--can I emphasize that it is red one more time?--that we have decided to name "Feanaro." We wanted a hybrid, but the hybrids are still a bit outside our price range at this time, so we're happy with what we have, and by the time we can afford a hybrid, my car will be ready to trade in. Or--hopefully--Nelyo's will be underway to the point where we only need one car, which is our eventual goal.
We went out last night with both sides of the family, and Bobby's grandmother spent the night. She likes vampire movies, so we rented Van Helsing for her...but she didn't really like it. I can't comment on it, since I fell asleep within a half-hour of its beginning.
I went back to skating this morning. I really didn't feel like going, but I owed club fees, and I haven't been since before Christmas, so I dragged myself out of bed and to the rink. I'm glad I went, though. There are two half-hour sessions--back to back--for the highest class, and I always go to the second one since it gives me an extra half-hour of sleep. All of the other skaters showed up for the first session, though, so I had a private lesson. I felt heavy and tired, but soon, my feet were underneath of me again, and I actually skated quite well. Ms. Jackie--my teacher--told me that our group is at the point where we can either learn double jumps or work on fancier spins. She asked what I wanted to do. Since I'm still shy of some of the single-revolution jumps, I laughed and said I thought I'd stick with the spins, although I can't help but think that it's pretty cool that I've reached the point where double jumps have become a probable part of my agenda. I'll still keep working on axles, though, since I'd really like to be able to one day do those. And who knows...maybe a double will follow!
I'm on the brink of doing well so many skills in skating, but I need to be more aggressive. I'm hoping to have more energy on Wednesday--I skate better in the evenings anyway--to make some progress on this.
Bobby is a good man: He took me to see Brokeback Mountain. I told him that he was free to tell me whatever opinions about it that he wanted without fear of me thinking him evil, but he insists that he liked it. Still, we both agree that our favorite movie this year was The Constant Gardener, which is now out on DVD. Movie awards season is coming up, which is a good time for Bobby and me, since it lets us get fired up over something completely frivolous, over who got included (and shouldn't have been) and who got unfairly left out.
Now, we are watching the NFL playoffs, and the Steelers are winning. Quite heartily. Apologies to Steelers fans out there, but this sucks for two reasons: 1) I am a Ravens fan, and so I can't like the Steelers (actually, they're my least favorite team) and 2) the Colts were my Super Bowl pick. After coming in second in the fantasy league (after my sister!), it would be embarrassing if my Super Bowl pick didn't even make it to the AFC championships. I admire Peyton Manning so much as a player and a person, and I really wanted him to win a Super Bowl, as well as Tony Dungy, for all that he recently went through with his son. Meh.
I know that I owe some of you comments on AMC and my other posts, and I haven't forgotten you! I'll probably do it tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your nice thoughts and kindness over the past few days. :)