Weekend fun.

Fun weekend so far, for the most part.

Friday after work was my company's summer party, and Melissa and I went for a little bit. It wasn't exciting... are work functions ever that fun? I figured I'd go just to make my appearance, say hi, and then bolt. Which is what we did. They had some weird fru-fru food that wasn't great, but at least they had free alcohol. After we left, I was still hungry, so Melissa and I ended up going to Friendly's.

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Boston. Melissa and I went with M and M into the city. We ate at a nice place by the water (near the aquarium) and we hung around relaxing and taking some pictures. Here's a good one of the four of us:

Then we headed to the North End where had one of its little feasts (this one was the St. Joseph's Feast). M and I enjoyed some yummy teriyaki steak from here:

And this guy sold us some delicious kettle corn:

Today, Melissa has to go to her cousin's baby shower, and I have nothing to do. But I know I need to stop thinking about having to go to work tomorrow!

Feels like 103.

I just checked my desktop weather, and it says it's 93 degrees right now, but it feels like 103. And that is true. I went outside, and my white polo shirt got all wet. Just from walking.

Work has been so boring this week, and it's great. My boss has been out, so there has been no one on my case about getting stuff done. Not that there is much to get done... we are almost done with out stuff for the month.

Ok, who really cares about work stuff anyway? :)

I would like to go home, change, and relax. How does that sound?

Meat platter weekend.

Fun fun fun weekend. Especially after all of the Judy/Chris crap that is going on (which I will not discuss here).

Yesterday, while Melissa spent the day with her sister, I went to hang out with my MBA crew. Went to BG's for a cookout (BG, BS, S, L and D were there). We ate and drank and played Beirut (how old am I?) We then headed to McFadden's in Faniel Hall and had a blast... we drank and danced and joked around. The attached picture shows it all.


Today, Melissa and I hosted our first cookout with the new grill. It was a complete success and extremely fun. Red, Steve, M and M came, and we hung out in the backyard and ate some burgers, hot dogs, sausages and steak kabobs. And the burgers did come out better this time than they did on Thursday when I first grilled! But the steak was amazingly yummy.

It was also awesome hanging out with Red and Steve the whole time... Steve is the funniest and most genuinely nicest guy, and Red is Red. It was interesting to think of how different friends can be so different... just like how it was crazy when we went to NY with Judy and Chris, I do remember how much fun it was when we went with Red and Steve to Newport. I do hope we can get a plan going for a long weekend road trip with them soon!


How awesome do we look? :)

What sucks now is that the weekend is over, and it's back to work tomorrow. At least my boss will be out all week...

Mercy mercy me.

What a crappy softball game last night.

We lost, 20-7. The game ended after 6 because of the mercy rule. Our regular starting pitcher was not able to play last night, so our coach got this other girl to pitch (she's never pitched before). She gave up 9 runs in the first inning. I was available to pitch, but the coach wanted me in the field for my defense. The girl did an admirable job pitching, but she did walk a lot of people, and some of the hard shots the other team hit off her were pitches that had no arc at all. I really wanted to step in there, but I'm not going to argue with the decisions. I played first base flawlessly, and went 1 for 2. Melissa played, going 1 for 1 with a sweet RBI single and a sacrifice for another RBI. But our defense was bad. And the ump was being bitchy, calling balls as strikes and making some bad calls in the field (we knew she just wanted this game to end and go home). It's just a shame that we were in the playoffs, and all was riding on this girl who never pitched before when at least I had some experience.

But that's ok... the season is over, and it was still fun.

Tonight will be a fun evening... I get to fire up the grill and cook some stuff on it for the first time. Ahhhhh. We will probably fire it up again on Sunday, so whoever reads this, if you wanna come by for some cookout food, you're invited.

Hot hot hot.

It's been so hot lately. It feels as if the world is a sauna.

Last night Melissa and I went with Red and her dad to the Red Sox game (thanks, Red!) We had a fun time, but it was soooooooo hot there. My whole body felt sticky and sweaty, and I was sticking to the bottom of the small, wooden grandstand seat. And it sucks when you can't move much because of how small the seats are at Fenway. Red's dad and I wore our Yankee caps (even though the Sox were only playing Tampa Bay), and during the game, no one made any comments to us, which was surprising. Right after the game, a fellow Yankee fan came up to talk to me (he was probably drunk though), and while Red's dad and I were waiting for the girls to get the car, people were staring at us Yankee fans, and a few made some stupid comments. But no harm done.

But what sucked is seeing Curt Schilling. Have I mentioned that I hate him? In the middle of the game, he decides to head to the bullpen, just so he can get some attention and have people for cheer for him. Then he came out to close the game and got his first save with the Sox. I can see his diary entry now:

"Dear Diary, I pitched really well tonight, and I got the save! I called Shonda right after the game, and she was so happy for me. I was happy too, of course, as I shed a tear of joy. I was also holding back tears after the Fenway faithful cheered for me as I made my way to the bullpen. I will have to remember to call WEEI tomorrow and tell them how I feel about this. Of course, only after I get my paycheck from them. Anyways, I need to film a new Ford commercial so I must end this now. You'll hear more from me tomorrow, as I need to give Bronson some criticism on what he was doing wrong when he pitched last night. I know he'll appreciate listening to all of my comments. But who wouldn't? I am AWESOME. Good night! Love, Curt"

I'm sure this isn't too far from the truth. Ugh I hate him.

Today's another hot day... 88 degrees right now, should hit 90 soon. And I have a softball game tonight (a playoff game) which starts at 9:30 PM. Melissa will be lending her DHing skills for the team. I hope it'll cool off a little bit at that time.

So there have been some discussions between Judy and Melissa, and Judy and me. I won't go into detail here, but it's kinda upsetting and is stressing us out discussing it and thinking about it. Some people just don't understand.

Anyways....................

Grill!

Happy Sunday.

I had quite an eventful day yesterday. I finally did something I've wanted to do for a long time now... I bought a grill! I drove to Home Depot, picked one out, then rented a Home Depot pickup truck to take it home (my first time driving any kind of truck, so it was interesting). Despite the grill tipping over while driving it home, it make it in one piece. I then had to go back to Home Depot to drive the truck back, then get some food (and get stuck in traffic), and then home to eat and relax, and then back out to buy a grill cover, a gas tank for it, and some random grilling tools. Hopefully Melissa and I will find time to have a BBQ soon... we'll let you know when. :)

Watched "Million Dollar Baby" last night... great movie. Depressing.

My favorite new band right now? Alkaline Trio. Their album "Crimson" is amazing... I can't stop listening to it. Highly recommended!

Donnie Baseball (clap clap clap clap clap).

So it was definitely an eventful weekend.

I went to NY to see my dad and go to the Yankees annual Old Timers Day game. Always a fun time. Got to see Mattingly get a huge ovation, as well as Yogi, Reggie, Whitey, the Scooter. They only got to play an inning and a half due to rain, but the rain stopped right when the real game started. The Yanks had no business winning this game, with this new lefty Darrell May starting, and he SUCKED, but the Yanks SHOULD have won this game. They lost, 8-7, thanks to untimely hitting by Robinson Cano (double play in the 9th) and A-Rod (two chances to get a big hit late in the game, and he failed both times). Also, rookie center fielder Melky Cabrera misplayed two balls in the outfield that led to a few runs. It was still a fun and exciting game, and the stadium got loud every time the Yanks had a chance.

The rest of the time with my dad was good... he met me on Friday and we went to dinner, then ordered Chinese after the game on Saturday, and he took the ride with me to Port Authority on Sunday. what sucked was all the traffic going and coming. The bus was stuck in two sets of traffic on Friday evening. I got on the 1:30 bus that should have gotten in at 5:50, but instead got in at 7. and yesterday I got on the 12:30 bus that should have gotten in at 4:50, but instead we got in at around 6:15. Yesterday's traffic was due to a truck losing its boxes on Hallmark cards on I-95, causing four lanes of traffic to merge into one. We were basically at a standstill for two hours. "Shrek" was the movie they showed on the bus, and the movie ended even before we left NY. Not a fun time. Melissa picked me up from South Station, we got food, and then relaxed the rest of the night.

We also learned of some interesting news this weekend: Judy (Chris and Judy) is pregnant. Is that a good thing? Well, after all I've mentioned about them (him) before, what do you think...

Greatest comeback in softball history!

What a game last night. Our softball team played like shit for most of the game... we couldn't hit (all popups), we couldn't defend. We were down 11-0 after 3 innings, and down 12-2 after 5. We were done.

But then we scored 6 runs in the 6th inning (I was a part of that rally with an RBI single, and then scored on a 3-run homer). Then we scored 5 more in the 7th, including a walkoff homer, and we won 13-12! It was definitely inspiring!

And after the game, I went to get Chinese food with Kristen (Matt's gf), her roommate Meredith (who coincidentally used to live on the same street as Melissa and me in Somerville) and this kid Igor, who works at my company. We ate like the champions that we are.

I'm leaving work early today (yay!) Going to NY for the weekend to visit my dad and go to the Yankees Old Timers Day game tomorrow. Always a fun time. Melissa will stay occupied, though, since Amanda will still be here this weekend and they'll do some fun stuff I'm sure. It was great seeing her... she can be wacky, but she is genuinely a great person. :)

Meat.

Ok, for lunch today, I need to get a salad. I consumed way too much meat this weekend. I guess that's what the 4th of July is all about. Let's recap, shall we:

Saturday: Went to play mini-golf with Melissa, Judy, Chris and Laura. We played 36 holes (are we nuts?) and I won. We got ice cream after, and then we went to Wild Willy's for burgers and fries, and when we got home, we watched 7 more episodes of 24.

Food count: 1 burger, 1 small fries, 1 waffle cone with cookie dough and chocolate ice cream

Sunday: We went to our first bbq at Mardi and Mark's house (their friend Belinda was there too). We sat outside, then inside when it got too hot, then back outside when we wanted some air. And of course, ate. Then we went to Brighton to Chris' bbq... ate a little more, and then we watched Chris shoot off his fireworks right there in the street. It was fun... no one got hurt, and no cops came by at all. And when we got home, we watched the last 2 episodes of 24 from season 3... so now we're all caught up. But now that we've seen them all, what are we going to do??

Food count: 3 burgers, 1 huge hot dog, 1 serving of salad, 1 serving of fruit salad, chips, 1 cup of homemade vanilla ice cream with strawberries and white chocolate chips

Yesterday: We started our morning early with Mardi, Mark and Belinda... took public transportation to Quincy Market, walked around, then to the North End for lunch. When we got back to Watertown, we then went to Melissa's parents for the tail end of their bbq, then back to Waltham to check out the fireworks there.

Food count: 2 hot dogs, 1 big plate of spaghetti & meatballs, 1 lemon sorbet, 1 big plate of cake and ice cream, 1 plate of salad

Today I definitely have to take it easy. Although with Melissa's friend (and mine too) Amanda coming to stay with us for the week, we may have to eat crappy some more, since she is a very picky eater. And I'll have at least another hot dog on Saturday when I'm in NY for the Yankees Old Timers Day game.

Bump.

Last night I had another softball game... and we won 20-11, despite being short by one girl and losing two runs and an out in the lineup. I went 4 for 4 again, with a triple, 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. I also made a nice catch at first. But what I'll remember is getting clonked on the side of the head. I was on first, and there was a grounder to shortstop... as I was coming into second, I ducked when I got to the bag, thinking the shortstop would make the throw, and he did... and it still hit me. I felt a quick tingle, but I was ok... although it was hurting for the rest of the game and it still hurts now. After taking two people back to Harvard Square, I went home, tried to eat something, and I felt a little pain every time I would chew. When I woke up this morning, it still felt the same, and I have a little red mark and a bump on the side of my head. I had to eat my bagel really slowly. But I'm sure I didn't damage any brain cells, and I'll be ok.

At least it's Friday. And my bosses are out, which technically makes me the boss today. Maybe I'll make an executive decision and leave early today, and then enjoy the long weekend!

Happy 4th everyone!