Look at Me, Look at Me

My niece will turn 16 on this Thursday.  She worked full time all last summer for the town.  She worked over the school year at a yogurt shop.  She also worked all this summer both at the town and the yogurt shop.  What did she do with all that money???  She bought a car!  How impressive!  She bought the vintage VW in the picture above to be exact.  It is funny as she does not have her license but has just been wanting a vintage VW and wouldn't you know someone at church was selling one.  It is from 1978 & only has 41k original miles.  The guy got it and fixed it up but is now working on two other restoration projects so decided to sell this one.  It was too good of a deal to pass up.  My brother-in-law will drive it over the winter and keep it in shape while my niece gets her license.  So by time spring comes and she has he liscense she will be hitting the road in her own car, that she wanted and she paid for in full - wow!  This is the niece that I told you about before.  She writes to me regularly but she has trouble verbally expressing herself.  I think it is so incredibly awesome and amazing that she did this but I did get one chuckle out of it (although I was not laughing at her, I would never do that).  I was talking with my other niece who I have said before  is EXACTLY like me.  We think alike and have an identical sense of humor.  Well I said to that niece, "I think is so terrific your sister got a car!  One point that has me thinking though is that she is a bit socially uncomfortable and yet......" I did not know how to exactly end that sentence delicately when my niece chimed in without missing a beat, "....and yet she got a car that says LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME!"  Exactly!!!  Oh we laughed over that one (although again not at my niece that got the car -- more over my niece that always is thinking what I am thinking!)  Anyways it is just amazing all around.  I love those kids.  I cannot wait to go for a ride in it next summer!

The Anniversary

While I was in Boston recently we had a 50th Anniversary dinner for my parents.  We know how much things like that mean to my mother and she knows that we know so my parents figured something would be going on while I was there but they did not know the details.  Sunday while I was there was the date for the big party for all the August birthdays.  My mother decided that was when the anniversary party was going to be.  On each Saturday night they go out to dinner with friends and I got those friends to divert their normal plans and bring my parents to the dinner party.  So the biggest known secret turned out to be a huge surprise!  It was about 25 of us and just the family which is exactly what my parents wanted.  They were so caught off guard when they came in an saw everyone.  Confusing the elderly is not a kind thing but I found it amusing.  As they were putting it all together my niece walked up to my mother wearing the dress that my mother got married in.  My parents did not have a big ceremony.  They got married in August 1963.  This month is their 50th wedding anniversary and next March is my sister's 50th birthday.  You can add that up and I do not need to remind anyone that the world of 1963 was hugely different than that of today.  Yet in the middle of figuring out what was going on when they walked in, as soon as my niece approached my mother, my mother shouted out, "Oh My God, that is the dress I got married in" and then tears followed and streamed and streamed -- she is so mushy.  It was so touching I cannot even express it.  My niece is 16 and was such a good sport to wear it.  A lot of 16 year olds are moody and would never have done it but my niece was excited to do so and it just put it all over the top.  After the first hour she did change into a super cute little Charlotte Russe sun dress.  We had a wonderful time and my parents were thrilled.  Michelle arraigned for 2 bottles of champagne which was so incredibly gracious and kind.  My brother gave a toast with it and we all enjoyed the bubbly.  It really was one of the best nights in a long, long time.  All that aside --- on top of it all, how awesome and sweet is this dress?  Sooooo adorable!  And my mother was that size once!

What a Heap of Craziness

Oh wow that was nuts.  I got to Boston and back safe and sound.  Although I was there a week it was like a whirlwind of one family party after the other.  I will update soon.  But before I left my internet connection started acting up.  Is the connection not my computer.  They tired to fix it but it kept going up and down and then I had to leave.  On this past Thursday the guy from the cable company was at my house and it took him 90 minutes to get me back on line.  Replaced wires,. modems. signal increases, ugh.  Yesterday it was still a bit wonky so I called again today and so far so good - fingers crossed.  Yesterday started my first day without cable tv and I am having serious withdrawals but as long as my internet stays connected then I will be ok, I think.  If not then in the fall when my car payment is up I might reconnect cable on my own - just kills me to pay that much for tv.  Anyway I have a lot to post and will try to post each day for a bit.  I missed you all - hope you are great!!!

Be Right There

I leave on the red eye tonight and land in Boston early Wednesday morning!  I am so excited for vacation.  I can't wait to see the kids and family and friends --- plus not have to work!  There will be a family dinner for my parent's 50th anniversary -- a big family birthday party BBQ - and hopefully a some fried dough at Salisbury Beach and seafood too and maybe some Chinese food on the drive back home - yum, yum, yum,  See ya soon!

For A Friend

"Hello!  My name is Walter and I eat chalk."

Cable Crisis

Long stupid story short my sweet deal on cable is coming to an end.  I paid $19 a month and now if I want cable then I am going to get it on my own and it is like $70 a month.  I will think about it while I am away but I cannot justify more than $2 a day for TV, I just can't.  It will kill me for a while at first but we will see.  Oh Honey Boo Boo, World's Dumbest, many Housewives and Breaking Amish -- how will I survive?  The new Breaking Amish is in LA and it is soooo good.  That is them up above and the kid in white cracks me up.  He is Mennonite not Amish but he says gems like, "Hollywood Blvd is a sinful place", "the people here need to be more modest", and "I don't like being in this club because I am worried I am going to impregnate a woman".  He is priceless this is true but is he worth $840 a year???  Errrrr I am so annoyed.

Check It Out

Look!  I came across some great art here in Esco that I have not seen before.  I have not found anything new in a while so I was super excited over these two.  They were in an alley between 2nd and Grand so it was not really on the beaten path but I found them!  I think the woman is super beautiful -- love her eyes, the color and that it almost looks like a photo when it is not.  But I really love the vintage looking Cigar ad.  It is new not old but I love the look of it.  Plus if you look at the bottom left corner, the gold coin says Escondido!  It is so one of my all time favorites.  I thing these are art and I get so happy when I get to them before the punk kids spray their graffiti tags on them -- that is not art that is pollution.  But regardless of what happens to these I have them documented.  I am so happy today!

Multiplication

My obsession deepens but not with street art.  I wish this was in Esco but I found it on the internet.  My obsession is with my part time job.  I was able to give up my shifts for when I will be in MA so I will not have any problems.  If I could not get rid of them then I was worried if I called in sick, I would get fired but that is all settled now.  I kept trying to see if I could find a shift for this Sunday and the only thing open was something in Juniors.  I soooooo considered taking it but I decided against being that creepy old guy LOL.  It is all worked out because they called me today to cover on Sunday for 4 hours which is perfect!

I think a lot over why I am getting so obsessed with my part time job.  I know it is the new-ness, that is always a good thing,  Maybe it is the oldness too, retail is a very familiar space for me.  Maybe because it is low stress.  A lot of customers do not stress me.  I just do my thing, treat everyone nice, and feel like I am putting pleasantness into the world.  I know what I need to do and just do it.  Everyone is super nice but since I am there just a small amount of time, there are no politics.  I despise office politics.  I just want to be on time, get my stats, feel proud with what I do and get my paycheck.  Damn I wish I had more employees like me.

Oh speaking of being proud.  I was standing in line at the bank today and I was staring at at the silver bracelet on the lady in front of me.  That is a bad habit and I know I do it.  It was a cool silver bracelet with an intricate pattern.  I must have gotten to that point when she could tell I was staring (I hate that I do not know when I get to that line and so often cross it).  She looked at me and I said, "I was just admiring your bracelet.  It is awesome, very flattering.".  She took my compliment in a positive manner, thanked me and even beamed a little bit.  She then told me she got it at where I work part time at which point this flew out of my mouth, "Oh that makes it even better!  I work there!".  Even I was a little surprised at the level of pride in my voice.  We then continued to chat about what makes it a good place.  She even told me that she would look out for me there because she was sure I was good at what I do.  That made me happy because I am.

See the dots just multiply and then it is your job to connect them!  I just hope this new-ness phase lasts me through Christmas LOL.