What I did on my summer vacation...
Getting back to school after a couple of eventful weeks, the time is ripe for a banal "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" enumeration of activities. Enjoy!
Our trip home in early June started a pleasant summer. Although my memories of that trip are already fading, I do remember it starting with Ryan's birthday party at Sarah's parents house, where I had the pleasure of meeting a number of the g-villains, such as Cameron, George, and Bowers. I think Ryan appreciated his t-shirt and koozies (Bobby and I enjoyed picking them out, anyway); I certainly was enthusiastic about Sarah's gifts to the three attending gemini... perhaps excessively so. Although I had fun at the time, this birthday whiskey intoxicated me to the point where the prospect of talking to new people seemed unappealingly awkward [unlike when I'm sober, and it's just plain awkward]. A few more drinks and I wouldn't have cared, but by then, I wouldn't care about meeting new people, either. So instead, I laughed a lot with Hunter, Bobby, and Colleen. In all, a successful soiree, although the QT w/ Ryan factor was lacking, since it ended up being our only meeting during the trip.
The next day, Colleen and I went to Kingsley Lake with my family. We rented a couple of cabins for the night, went tubing behind the boat, and swam in the rain. We had a great time; no one even had to be threatened with being uninvited to my birthday dinner. The relative smoothness of the family dynamic is contenting; the most annoying/funniest event was when Steven repeatedly asked my nonplussed mother, "What's a buttfor?" When she finally cautiously asked, "What... butt.... for...?" Steven was too hysterical to deliver the punch-line. Hilarious. The trip back was a nice opportunity for bonding as well. My parents stayed for another night, while everyone else piled in the car to head back to the beach. On the way home, we shared various first- and second-hand stories of "paranormal shit", which I think actually rattled John a bit. He was still talking about it when he got back from Vail a week later.
In all, it was a relatively relaxed birthday. Colleen and her parents gave me a surfboard (in check form) and an interesting cookbook over a very nice dinner. I'm excited to have my own board again; I'm actively hunting one on craigslist. Otherwise, the trip was relatively low key, with various wedding planning activities and father's day celebrations. For father's day, we bought 3 webcams so we can videoconference with the 'rents to keep in touch.
Also of note:
Saw Episode III. Lightsabers are sweet. Yoda was less annoying. But The Clone Wars was better.
Spent an evening with Claire. We did a wine tasting at the grotto, followed by dinner at sushi rock, and topped it off with Batman Begins. It was good to see her. She's enjoying teaching at Stanton, and to be honest it sounds better and better every time I see her.
Made it to Old Siam with Matt, Katie, and Andrew, after which I went to the Lemon Bar w/ Andrew, Dan McC, and the Huntleys. Good times.
Went to Pete's Bar with Bobby and Jay. Bobby is still working at the Mayo and is vacillating between medical school and some type of finance degree. Although we didn't see this "Meg" person he's always talking about, they seem to be doing well. Meanwhile, Jay has been recruited as a navy intelligence officer. Hopefully he'll do something to help antiquate that particular oxymoron.
I also ran into Blake, whom I hadn't seen for years and is now married and doing mission work. We set up a pick-up soccer game, we played a bit at Russell Park, and finally Nicky showed up and schooled us all. I'm such a proud older brother recently... what is wrong with me?
Finally, before leaving, we took a final dip in the Selva pool. That brought back memories.
That's all for this episode, be with us next time for:
The Mild Mild West!
or
Network, Network!
Our trip home in early June started a pleasant summer. Although my memories of that trip are already fading, I do remember it starting with Ryan's birthday party at Sarah's parents house, where I had the pleasure of meeting a number of the g-villains, such as Cameron, George, and Bowers. I think Ryan appreciated his t-shirt and koozies (Bobby and I enjoyed picking them out, anyway); I certainly was enthusiastic about Sarah's gifts to the three attending gemini... perhaps excessively so. Although I had fun at the time, this birthday whiskey intoxicated me to the point where the prospect of talking to new people seemed unappealingly awkward [unlike when I'm sober, and it's just plain awkward]. A few more drinks and I wouldn't have cared, but by then, I wouldn't care about meeting new people, either. So instead, I laughed a lot with Hunter, Bobby, and Colleen. In all, a successful soiree, although the QT w/ Ryan factor was lacking, since it ended up being our only meeting during the trip.
The next day, Colleen and I went to Kingsley Lake with my family. We rented a couple of cabins for the night, went tubing behind the boat, and swam in the rain. We had a great time; no one even had to be threatened with being uninvited to my birthday dinner. The relative smoothness of the family dynamic is contenting; the most annoying/funniest event was when Steven repeatedly asked my nonplussed mother, "What's a buttfor?" When she finally cautiously asked, "What... butt.... for...?" Steven was too hysterical to deliver the punch-line. Hilarious. The trip back was a nice opportunity for bonding as well. My parents stayed for another night, while everyone else piled in the car to head back to the beach. On the way home, we shared various first- and second-hand stories of "paranormal shit", which I think actually rattled John a bit. He was still talking about it when he got back from Vail a week later.
In all, it was a relatively relaxed birthday. Colleen and her parents gave me a surfboard (in check form) and an interesting cookbook over a very nice dinner. I'm excited to have my own board again; I'm actively hunting one on craigslist. Otherwise, the trip was relatively low key, with various wedding planning activities and father's day celebrations. For father's day, we bought 3 webcams so we can videoconference with the 'rents to keep in touch.
Also of note:
Saw Episode III. Lightsabers are sweet. Yoda was less annoying. But The Clone Wars was better.
Spent an evening with Claire. We did a wine tasting at the grotto, followed by dinner at sushi rock, and topped it off with Batman Begins. It was good to see her. She's enjoying teaching at Stanton, and to be honest it sounds better and better every time I see her.
Made it to Old Siam with Matt, Katie, and Andrew, after which I went to the Lemon Bar w/ Andrew, Dan McC, and the Huntleys. Good times.
Went to Pete's Bar with Bobby and Jay. Bobby is still working at the Mayo and is vacillating between medical school and some type of finance degree. Although we didn't see this "Meg" person he's always talking about, they seem to be doing well. Meanwhile, Jay has been recruited as a navy intelligence officer. Hopefully he'll do something to help antiquate that particular oxymoron.
I also ran into Blake, whom I hadn't seen for years and is now married and doing mission work. We set up a pick-up soccer game, we played a bit at Russell Park, and finally Nicky showed up and schooled us all. I'm such a proud older brother recently... what is wrong with me?
Finally, before leaving, we took a final dip in the Selva pool. That brought back memories.
That's all for this episode, be with us next time for:
The Mild Mild West!
or
Network, Network!