Sequels.

I was hugely disappointed in "Clerks II." I finally saw it last night, and it was not nearly as funny or as quirky or as smart as the original. Dante and Randall are so old now, and Kevin Smith has to stop putting his wife in his movies.

Maybe if Smith didn't wait a decade before making the sequel, it might have been better. And it is quite possible to make a really good sequel. Here are a few that I think are just as good, or even better, than the original:

Back To The Future II
Superman II
The Empire Strikes Back
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Terminator 2
The Godfather, Part II
Rocky II (although Rocky IV is the best in the series)
Aliens
National Lampoon's European/Christmas/Vegas Vacation

I'm sure there are others, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving was great. The weekend was great... it was nice to have four days in a row off from work, and being around Melissa and baby the whole time. Here is how Olivia's weekend went:

Olivia at her grandparents on Thanksgiving, in her walker. That turkey outfit was so cute on her.

Olivia's new friend, Jacques the giraffe.

Another cute pic of Olivia on her tummy.

What a face. Look at those cheeks!!

Olivia on daddy's shoulders. Is there anything cuter than this?

Beautiful baby.

I am so lucky.

Today was one of those awesome days - a Sunday where we had nothing to do but hang around, watch tv, and watch Olivia do her thing. And she had the most amazing day.

Yesterday, we kept her busy. We went to see Red and her parents, which was fun, but Olivia had her fussy moments. Melissa's parents, uncle and aunt came over at night, and Olivia was cute as usual, but was loud wanting her bottle. I was so exhausted myself after they left that I ended up passing out in bed early, and Melissa took the last bottle of the night duty.

But today, Olivia has been extra special cute. She woke up a little later than usual in her usual good mood. She napped a few times in both Melissa's and my arms. She was practicing her new sounds (which look and sound like she is blowing rasberries, and another where she sounds like she is saying "what?"). We would wrap her up in her blanket, cuddle her, and she would get so comfortable and fall right asleep. In fact, right now she is napping in her boppy right next to be, with her blanket keeping her warm.

I really do feel lucky. She is usually so well behaved for a baby, and loves to smile and open her mouth wide with excitement. She is interacting with her toys now. She grabs my fingers and even scratches my arm. She licks me goodbye every morning when I drop her off at her grandparents. She lifts her legs up on her changing table to help me change her diaper. She lets us sleep all night. And she can fall asleep in our arms, and wake up smiling at us.

This is just the beginning of a beautiful life for Olivia. She has amazing parents (if I do say so myself) and she will be spoiled (in a good way). She will get everything she needs in life, and we will always love her. And I don't think I will ever stop staring at her in disbelief that we could have produced such an amazing baby girl. She is perfect.

Appreciation.

Today, I felt something unlike anything in a long time. Work was really busy, I had a late lunch. And I felt pretty good about it all.

I have been at this job for about five months now. There have been times when I have been bored, and there have been times when I felt like I was wasting some time. But for the past two weeks, work has picked up for me. It seems that more people are starting to realize how much of a help I can be to them, and I have been getting more involved in helping out with the budgets for some major healthcare accounts. And I have even been drafted to be a part of the renovation team (our office is going through some renovations, and i am helping out). The people at this place have been great - my boss is really nice, and I have not had any problems with anyone. In fact, i got invited to go for drinks after work last night, and we had a really good time. I actually do not mind being around these people all day.

What a change from the last place. There weren't many people over there that I cared to see on a regular basis. And most of those people I was forced to see, or at least pass by their office every day. I think the problem there was that most of the people in my department were really weird. And of course, after all of the crap that they put me through, I had no use for them anymore.

For the last few months at that place, I dreaded walking through the door every day. I got my tiny raise after being told I was "topping out at my position." I was told that I was not getting the managers position after my old boss left because they didn't think that my "heart would be into it." They give the job to this girl I knew, and I knew I was so much better than her. And for awhile, I felt like a ghost there, barely talking to anyone. I didn't get any respect, and I was definitely taken for granted.

But look at how times have changed. I have gotten reports that since I have left, things have gotten really bad there. When I was there, we would get all our invoices done by the end of the month, and that doesn't happen anymore. They hired this new guy, and he has actually told office managers that it would take two weeks for their request to get done. Two weeks? Used to take me less than two days. And LW, the girl - I have heard that some people do not even know what she even does. Does she do anything? One office manager even told the VP, "maybe it is because I was spoiled by Joe, but I am not used to waiting this long." Someone else even said that they thought the department was in "disarray." I would love to be a fly on the wall during that review!

But for me, after years of feeling depressed there, I left that place, got more money at this place, and I am in a position where I have the freedom to do my work as I feel it should be done. I actually feel appreciated for a change. Someone even told me that they were surprised to learn that I was only at this place since June - it seemed to them that I was there for a lot longer than that.

Thank you.

Sleeping beauties.

Melissa and I had an amazing weekend. She posted all about it on her blog.

But right now, I have the best seat in the house - watching both Melissa and Olivia nap on the couch. There is nothing better than watching my two favorite girls looking so peaceful sleeping next to each other.

Indecision 2006.

We should all stop watching "real" coverage of elections and tune into Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert. At least then you'll really know what is going on.

Decisions, decisions:


Decision #1: Deval Patrick is the new governor of Massachusetts. Good for him. Better than Kerry Healey.


Decision #2: A "no" vote, not letting supermarkets and convenience stores sell alcohol. The only good point I heard about this was that if supermarkets could sell liquor, all of the small liquor stores would basically be out of business, because there is no way they could compete with a Wal-Mart. I still voted yes, because a person has a right to buy what they want where they want. Except guns. Or weed.

Speaking of weed, I read a story in the newspaper this morning where some cops found weed in their burgers at a Burger King. I wonder how much flavor that would add to it... I also wonder if it would make you think you were actually consuming real beef.


Decision #3: Britney Spears filed for divorce from K-Fed. It was only a matter of time, right? I've been waiting for this day. Not that I care, really, but I love when celebs marry idiots and then it "surprisingly" doesn't work out. Reese and Ryan - I thought they would make it. J-Lo and Marc Anthony - still awaiting the word.


Decision #4: More people saw "Borat" than any other movie this week. I totally want to see it.

Favorite movies of all time.

After my conversation with Red, I began thinking of my favorite movies of all time. I am going to attempt to compile a list. They are not in any order, except maybe the first few listed:

Singles
Clerks
Chasing Amy
Pulp Fiction
Back to the Future
Back to the Future II
Goodfellas
Dazed & Confused
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
The 40-Year Old Virgin
Napoleon Dynamite
Office Space
The Godfather
The Godfather II
Rocky IV
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Star Wars
Superman II
The Breakfast Club
Reservoir Dogs
Private Parts
The Goonies
National Lampoon's Vacation
National Lampoon's European Vacation
National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Billy Madison
The Wedding Singer
Tommy Boy

Commute from hell.

I cannot catch a break this week. After Tuesday's insanity trying to get to work, I had to deal with delays on the commuter rail going home yesterday. In all, it took me THREE HOURS to get home last night after work. From what I heard, some stupid 17-year old kid drove on the tracks, maybe or maybe not being chased by the cops, and his car got stuck on the tracks. So when I got to the station at 5:45, the 5:52 train was delayed until around 6:30, and when they finally made the announcement, they said that it will go express and skip right past my stop. The next train on the board was 6:15. That too was delayed. I waited and waited, and almost decided to take my chances on the subway and bus, but they finally made an announcement that the train was arriving. This was at 7:30. The train finally arrived, and left at 7:50. I didn't walk in the door at home until 8:30. All because of one stupid kid.

I think the last time my commute was this long was when I was working in NY - one morning the tracks in the subway flooded, and all lines were delayed. I remember standing on a crowded train, inching along, not knowing when I would be able to make it to my other train, which was also delayed. I think that commute took me about three hours as well, maybe a little bit less.

In NY, though, my commute usually sucked. There were always delays - congestion ahead, sick passenger, malfunction. Going from South Brooklyn to midtown Manhattan would take a little over an hour each way, sometimes more if there were bad delays.

After we moved to Massachusetts, and I was working in Harvard Square, my commute kicked ass. It was only one stop on the T, and on a nice day I could walk home. That all changed once my company moved to Boston. But when we moved to Watertown, my commute was fairly easy, taking the express bus from the square to Copley. Mostly reliable, and I could usually get a seat on the bus.

My commute now is much different than it has ever been. Now I actually have to drive to the train, which actually isn't all that bad. I think doing this drive every day has really boosted my confidence in my driving, so much to the point where I had no problems driving to work the other day, despite being stuck in traffic and having to drive through Cambridge/Boston.

Anyways, I hope my commute is normal tonight. I want to get home in time to make some marinated chicken and spaghetti.

My little pumpkin.