Party weekend and the rest of the week...
So last weekend was my friend muttstain's 3-day weekend gaming party that he hosts several times a year. We made it all three days for the first time ever. Saturday night I left with several of my friends to go to another friend's birthday party for a few hours, then came back to Matt's. We played Cards Against Humanity a few times, with some added cards that I made (which you can download at that link). It was a lot of fun.
Monday morning I left for work at what should have been the right time, but when I got in the car I realized I really needed gas, which was going to make me a little late (not really a big deal at my job--I just stay a few extra minutes at the end of the day and everyone is ok with it, but even so...). So I stopped at the gas station close to my house, which happens to have a full-service Dunkin Donuts inside. I decided to get a breakfast sandwich and a latte, but that was going to add even more time. I decided I'd run inside, order, pay, run back outside and fill the tank while they made the food and drink (which takes a few minutes anyway) then run back in to pick up my order.
When I got inside there were two people in line ahead of me. I said resignedly "there would be a line on the day I'm in a rush..." to myself, but aloud. The woman in front of me turned and said "oh, are you in a hurry? You can go ahead of me--I'm not." I thanked her and went ahead of her. I turned and asked her what she was getting. "oh, just an iced coffee," she said. "What size?" I asked. "Medium," she said. It was my turn to order so I said "I need a medium iced coffee," and turned to her and asked "anything in that?" She gave me a surprised look and said "oh you don't have to do that!" And I said "well you didn't have to let me go in front of you. Go ahead and give him your order..." So she said she wanted caramel in it. "Good choice," I said to her, "I'm getting caramel in mine, too." I turned to the cashier and ordered a medium caramel latte and a veggie flatbread sandwich and asked "can I pay you now and then run out and fill my car while you make it?" He agreed and I paid. The woman behind me thanked me again and I raced out the door to fill my car up with gas.
Just as I was finishing that and starting to walk back toward the door, the woman came out and said "you don't need to go inside, here's your stuff" and handed me my latte and a bag with my sandwich in it. I thanked her and got in my car and drove to work. I was only 9 minutes late and nobody even noticed. I got all my work done, left work about 10 minutes late, and everything was fine.
Wednesday my friend hnybny came over to my house after I got off from work and helped me go through more boxes of stuff. We mostly looked through boxes of stuff that I got from my grandparents. One box hadn't been opened in a very long time; it was marked simply "China." Inside was a lot of china, one full set in perfect condition from a German company called RIS--beautiful stuff--and there was a creamer and sugar bowl from a Noritake set (Japanese) and one from China that didn't have a name. We decided which of the stuff was likely to be sell-able on Ebay, which stuff should go on Craigslist, which stuff was maybe yardsale then donation material, and some stuff which just needed to be thrown away.
The two stand-out items were an Italian brass swan magazine rack, which we saw on ebay for $600 and $1200, and my grandfather's old Schell medical bag (he was a pediatrician) which we found on ebay empty for about $200, but his was full of vintage medical equipment which I could either sell in the bag as a lot, or sell separately.
Tonight is game night at Matt's house, and tomorrow I'm doing a taste-test for Greek yogurt, for which I'm being paid $50. Woohoo! This weekend, my aunt and uncle who live in Rhode Island are coming up for dinner, bringing at least one of my cousins, maybe two. We're having chimichangas and margaritas. Mmm.
Monday morning I left for work at what should have been the right time, but when I got in the car I realized I really needed gas, which was going to make me a little late (not really a big deal at my job--I just stay a few extra minutes at the end of the day and everyone is ok with it, but even so...). So I stopped at the gas station close to my house, which happens to have a full-service Dunkin Donuts inside. I decided to get a breakfast sandwich and a latte, but that was going to add even more time. I decided I'd run inside, order, pay, run back outside and fill the tank while they made the food and drink (which takes a few minutes anyway) then run back in to pick up my order.
When I got inside there were two people in line ahead of me. I said resignedly "there would be a line on the day I'm in a rush..." to myself, but aloud. The woman in front of me turned and said "oh, are you in a hurry? You can go ahead of me--I'm not." I thanked her and went ahead of her. I turned and asked her what she was getting. "oh, just an iced coffee," she said. "What size?" I asked. "Medium," she said. It was my turn to order so I said "I need a medium iced coffee," and turned to her and asked "anything in that?" She gave me a surprised look and said "oh you don't have to do that!" And I said "well you didn't have to let me go in front of you. Go ahead and give him your order..." So she said she wanted caramel in it. "Good choice," I said to her, "I'm getting caramel in mine, too." I turned to the cashier and ordered a medium caramel latte and a veggie flatbread sandwich and asked "can I pay you now and then run out and fill my car while you make it?" He agreed and I paid. The woman behind me thanked me again and I raced out the door to fill my car up with gas.
Just as I was finishing that and starting to walk back toward the door, the woman came out and said "you don't need to go inside, here's your stuff" and handed me my latte and a bag with my sandwich in it. I thanked her and got in my car and drove to work. I was only 9 minutes late and nobody even noticed. I got all my work done, left work about 10 minutes late, and everything was fine.
Wednesday my friend hnybny came over to my house after I got off from work and helped me go through more boxes of stuff. We mostly looked through boxes of stuff that I got from my grandparents. One box hadn't been opened in a very long time; it was marked simply "China." Inside was a lot of china, one full set in perfect condition from a German company called RIS--beautiful stuff--and there was a creamer and sugar bowl from a Noritake set (Japanese) and one from China that didn't have a name. We decided which of the stuff was likely to be sell-able on Ebay, which stuff should go on Craigslist, which stuff was maybe yardsale then donation material, and some stuff which just needed to be thrown away.
The two stand-out items were an Italian brass swan magazine rack, which we saw on ebay for $600 and $1200, and my grandfather's old Schell medical bag (he was a pediatrician) which we found on ebay empty for about $200, but his was full of vintage medical equipment which I could either sell in the bag as a lot, or sell separately.
Tonight is game night at Matt's house, and tomorrow I'm doing a taste-test for Greek yogurt, for which I'm being paid $50. Woohoo! This weekend, my aunt and uncle who live in Rhode Island are coming up for dinner, bringing at least one of my cousins, maybe two. We're having chimichangas and margaritas. Mmm.