Where'd the heat go?

Here I have been dying to get to the beach all week because it was so fucking hot, and then I get here and....It's freezing today!!! Fucking New England...

Anyway, it is supposed to be only like in the mid-60's today, and since the family is kinda beached out a bit, we are gonna do some other stuff. We are gonna take the ferry back to Hyannis this afternoon and putter around a bit over there. Nothing special, just wandering and looking in the little shops and then we will eat dinner there and come back after that. Should be fun:-)

That gives me a little bit of time this morning to check some emails, answer a phone call and write a blog post for my adoring masses:-) You do adore me, don't you? Thanks to everyone who chimed in to convince The Boy to come with me...the peer pressure finally got to him. Special thanks to Big Sis, who let us borrow her car, which was kinda the deal-sealer:-D

I don't even feel as bad now about making him skip out on work now, because he will have a couple hours this morning to get some work done, too. So it all worked out for everyone:-) OK, so maybe he was a little bit irritated that he slept by himself and I piled into bed with my two little sisters, but whatever...I don't get that chance very often:-) I promise to make it up to him...(hee hee!)

So I guess that is about it...hopefully everyone has a good weekend planned. I have to work Monday and Tuesday, but am taking Thursday and Friday off. The Boy and I are heading up to New Hampshire with his family for some vacation time, which should be really nice. Then the following weekend is Big Sis' bachelorette party (which is sort of combined with The Brain Surgeon's Bachelor Party, but not entirely...I will give you more details later on.) Anyone else have any vacation plans?

Too smart for her own good

It's still super hot, and I still wish I was at the beach. The Boy and I had a date last night...we went out for Sushi, and then ice cream and just kinda walked around for a while. It was kinda fun:-) Then we went back and hung out on the deck with Smoking Hot Roommate, The Rocket Scientist and a cooler full of beers...all in all a pretty good night. And I even got to be pretty early:-)

Kind of a funny story...I have to talk to Munchkin every night before bed. Allegedly, I am tucking her in, but to be truthful it is as much for me as it is for her. So, when she was going to bed at about 10:30 last night, she called. But I was away from the phone and didn't get it...which is really rare, I almost never don't pick up when she calls, especially when I am sort of expecting her to call.

So I called her back about 10 minutes later, which led to the following exchange:

Me: "Hey kiddo, what's up?"
Munchkin: "Nothing, I was going to bed, that's all."
Me: "Sorry I missed your call."
Munchkin (giggling): "Were you having sex?"
Me (thinking): Well, yes...as a matter of fact I was.
Me (saying): "No, silly. I was on the deck and left my phone inside."
Munchkin (still giggling): "Whatever, you were totally having sex."
Me: "I was not! And I am not talking about this with you."
Munchkin (giggling uncontrollably).

This is what I get for attempting open and honest communication...I get teased by a 12 year old...

Anyway, you all have a very important job today, and I am relying on you to do it. I am leaving for the beach after work, and I am trying to get The Boy to take tomorrow off from work and come with me. He is making some noise about having stuff to day, even though he could easily work for a while from the beach if necessary.

So, we all need to strongly encourage him to take tomorrow off, leave work early today and go to the beach with me:-) I am counting on your support!!!

One Steamy Summer Night

The heat does funny things to people. Especially this kind of thick, oppressive, city heat. Walking out of an air conditioned room, the feeling of stepping into a warm soup is unmistakable...the first instant of thick, humid air filling your lungs is a shock to your system.

But that kind of heat makes people slow down and think, too. And so there we sat on a fourth story deck, private enough to be in our underwear, but public enough to hear all of the sounds of the living, breathing, gasping city. The nighttime view was spectacular, lights twinkling a little bit through the thick air, the hum of air conditioners softening the noise of the traffic. Beer tastes better, and fights off the sweat better when it comes from an icy bucket. The water dripping off of the bottle and onto my chest was shocking and refreshing at the same time.

We talked about everything, like we sometimes do. Real stuff...politics and world events. Serious stuff...families and children and marriage. Goofy stuff...shoes and celebrities and hair and pretty dresses. I know what you are going to say almost before you say it, but I still like to hear it come from you. I like to hear your voice, and listen to you talk. I just like being around you, away from any of the other distractions of life, alone in the bond that is just between us, and no one else.

Time stands still in moments like this, just you and I, alone with ourselves and our thoughts. You already know how much I love you, but I still wish I could say it better than I can. I need new words. But the time goes fast, too...how can six hours disappear that quickly? The sun was still up when we sat down, but is now long gone until tomorrow. Moments like that should never end, but eventually they do, hopefully to be followed by more moments like it.

The sex is hot, and sweaty and urgent but not rushed. A well-designed symphony of mouths and hands and bodies. The occasional breeze is a welcome addition, and reminds us of the excitement of being outside. We know by now that no one can see us, but it still feels just a little bit wrong, and a little bit dirty. When we are done, lying there searching for a usable breath, soaked in our own and each others' sweat, I am at peace. Totally and completely content.

Going back inside, the cold air on wet, sweaty skin is startling and relieves us both immediately of the heat from outside. Its late, and I am tired, and so are you. The sheets are cool and by now your warm body feels good next to mine. The sleep will be peaceful, we will both wake up once together. This time the sex is sweet and warm and comforting. The orgasm is longer and softer and makes we wish it will never stop. We fall back asleep together, too.

Outside it's hot, and outside it's scary. But in here it is cool and perfect. And in here, there is you. And nothing bad can happen to me as long as I have you.

It's 96 degrees outside...why am I here?

The beach was awesome, and I am totally bummed that I am back at work today. Short week, though...just three days, and then just two next week and a five day weekend, so I suppose I really shouldn't be complaining too much! But it is gonna be brutally hot today, and I would rather be at the beach:-D

The weather cooperated, so we had three straight beautiful days at the beach (well, 2 and a half...we got there about 1:00 on Saturday). It looks like the week is going to be really, really hot and sunny, so the rest of the family will certainly appreciate their extended stay! As far as I know, they are just gonna bum around on the beach...whether they go into town for a bit, or decide to be more ambitious and venture to the mainland is up to them!


I guess I don't really have any, like, specific stories or anything...it was just a really fun weekend. the party on Friday night was perfect...tons of people stopped in for a bit, or stayed all night, to meet my family. A bunch of my friends made it for at least a little bit so they could meet Tinkerbelle and everyone else. Boss Foxy and her husband came by, as did some other people I work with...it is always kind of weird to see work friends outside of work...lol.

Big Sis was a most excellent hostess, and let's all thank her for opening her home up to entertain my whole family (which is...once again...of no relation to her at all, she is just nice like that. Also, she likes to show off her house...which you would, too!!!) I suppose an identical thanks is due to The Brain Surgeon, since it is his house, too. Well, maybe not technically (32 more days:-))...but we don't need to worry about that.


We didn't really have too much trouble getting to the beach. The ferry was a total zoo, but the overall delay wasn't too bad, and since I was kind of expecting it, it was manageable. And once we got there, we really just kinda hung around. We hung out on the beach, cooked out both nights, drank a lot and just basically relaxed. Basically the whole crew was there...all the Chicago folks, plus my whole Boston "family" and all of their various attachments. Some assorted friends and neighbors came over at various times (one of whom seemed to have a bit of a thing for Tinkerbelle's Mom, and she for him...we will need to keep an eye on this!)


Munchkin introduced Tinkerbelle to all of her "summer friends", several of whom were down for their first weekend of what will be the whole summer. And they went swimming and built sandcastles and basically just enjoyed the weather and the location. If there is anything better than being a kid at the beach all summer, I don't know what it is...


I took Tinkerbelle out for a really long jet ski ride on Sunday morning, which was fun. We went up the coast of the island a ways...I had to stop and get gas because I went too far to make it back without running out:-) And every once in a while we would just stop and float around in the water and look and stuff and have girl talk...I had fun:-)


Anyways...they are down there for the rest of the week, and Munchkin is with them. I am going back Thursday night after work and staying until Saturday. Let's all start encouraging The Boy to skip out on work on Friday so he can come with me:-) I am pretty good at convincing him of stuff, but I can use all the help you can offer:-)

They are all flying out on Saturday, so I think I will come back and make sure they get to the airport ok and stuff. Hopefully they enjoy the rest of the stay...I think they are all having fun so far, and I am really glad they all finally came out to visit:-)

10,000 Visitors

Site Meter has spoken...and visitor #10,000 came through at about 9:30 yesterday morning. Of all the places in the world that I have had visitors from, this one came from Quincy, MA, a scant 5 miles down route 93. He or she works for American National Power and found me from Green Line Boy (who also works somewhere near there, although he is a little vague on the details:-P).

And then I came in this morning and found a handful of comments from new people that had never commented before...yay!!! So, I would like to take this chance to thank all of my regular readers, as well as the ones who drop in occasionally, and even the perverts who just like when I talk about blowjobs and hot tub sex:-) Mostly I wanna thank the commenters, emailers and IMers for your input...it is fun having "friends" that remain a little bit mysterious!!!

For the second straight day, I woke up to just about the cutest site that I can imagine: my two little sisters cuddled up and sleeping soundly. I know that maybe a lot of people don't understand why I would appreciate that so much, but it just sorta sums up my whole life for me in one cute little package. A lot of random circumstance and a lot of not-so-happy stuff preceded that brief moment, and I dearly appreciate the chance to observe it for a moment and reflect on what it all means. Kinda philosophical for a Friday, I know...

Anyway, Munchkin played tour guide all day, and the whole family (which, just as a reminder, is not her family at all...Munchkin and I have the same mother, Tinkerbelle and I have the same father, and this is his family) seemed to have a good time. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, which I was happy about. Then the whole crew made its way over to our normal Thursday night haunt for dinner where Munchkin taught Tinkerbelle a very valuable life lesson: all drinks taste better when they come in a fancy glass!

Incidentally, one of my Uncle's did ask why exactly the bartenders know Munchkin by name...and know what she drinks... I think maybe my "Mother of the Year" trophy is in doubt:-)

We got ice cream after that, and then a bunch of people turned in for the night. It was still kinda early (like 8:30?) and a couple of my cousins wanted to go out, so we headed over to the waterfront to hang out for a bit...and watched a killer Thunderstorm roll in off the ocean! Munchkin came with us...again to a bar where they know her by name:-)...but Tinkerbelle went back to our place with her Mom for a bit. I would have liked to bring her with us, but it would have been kinda loud, and she was pretty beat from the day. Also...I think my warped moral code has a bar-hopping age limit of 10 :-D

We hung out there for a bit, but not too late. I sort of have to have Munchkin out of there by 10:00, at which point we sort of wanted to go out some more, but not enough that we felt like taking Munchkin home and then going out again, so we just bagged it and had a couple drinks on our deck. Which is always fun:-)

I am not totally sure what they are all doing today. I think they all wanted to do a Duck Boat tour, which they didn't get a chance to do yesterday, and I am not sure beyond that. I told them that they can always just wander up Newbury Street and look around...that is always a good way to kill an afternoon!!! It can be expensive if the shopping bug strikes...hee hee...but fun! I also get the feeling that they are sort of getting on each other's nerves a bit and may need to split up a little bit today...:-).

Party at Big Sis' tonight...everyone thank Big Sis for entertaining:-) That should be fun, a ton of friends are dropping by to say Hi, and mostly to meet my little Tinkerbelle. Then tomorrow morning we are packing up for the beach. I ended up renting two big vans to bring everyone, and I am driving down with a bunch of stuff in my car, and Big Sis is toting a bunch of stuff, too. I couldn't get all the cars on one ferry, which is kind of a pain, but not really a huge deal, I guess.

I also haven't quite prepared them all for "The Beach House", either...although I am guessing that they are wondering exactly what a house looks like that can sleep 30 people...

So...I hope everyone has a good weekend! I don't think I will be here on Monday, so I won't be posting again until Tuesday. I should be approving comments, though, so they will show up. And I may even respond:-P

The Cutest Sleepover of all

The great family visit is underway and seems to be going swimmingly. They all landed (all 21 of them!) on time yesterday morning and got to their hotel in pretty short order. I left here for a bit to meet them, let my cousins in at our place so they could drop off their stuff, and to go to lunch with them. It was actually raining just a tiny bit, which I was bummed about, but was really warm and not bad to walk around in.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the water, and then I pointed them all at Faneuil Hall and told them to entertain themselves all afternoon...lol. Meanwhile, I brought my very special little guest to work so that she could hang out with me! That was really fun...Tinkerbelle got to meet Papa Bear and Boss Foxy and all of my other work friends. The Guy That Hates Me was out of the office, so she missed out on his shining face, but she got to see everything else. She was mesmerized by the 38th floor window...she spent about an hour looking out it! And she was incredibly impressed that the partners have couches and TV's in their offices...that was just the coolest thing ever. But it was the tray of leftover cookies in the conference room from a lunch meeting that actually elicited a desire to work here when she grows up.

After about three hours she had had enough, and it was a good time for me to leave (early). That coincided with Munchkin calling and saying that she was coming home (she had stayed at a friend's the night before and all day). So me and Tinkerbelle walked over to meet her at the train station, and then back home. The family spent the afternoon shopping and looking around and enjoying the city, and were coming back to their hotel (and our apartment) around the same.

I had called around a bit to some little restaurants in the North End to get a reservation and found a super sweet old Italian guy who said "We can seat 35, I will close the whole restaurant for you!" So the whole family, me and Munchkin, The Boy, Smoking Hot Roommate and the Rocket Scientist, Big Sis and the Brain Surgeon, Papa Bear and his Lady Friend, and The Boy's Sister and her wife all met at a really cute little Italian restaurant and had a GREAT meal! (Note, Dearest New Cousin #1 was drinking iced tea all night...if that isn't a sign, I don't know what is...)

On a separate note, the best non-tourist thing you can do if you are in Boston is to wander over into the North End and find a little restaurant that is on one of the little side streets. They are all really small, family run (the owner was the guy that I talked to, and he is also the chef, his wife is the hostess and the wine server, and his kids are waiters and cooks...only the busboy and a cook were not related) and the food is great! Unless you don't like Italian food, in which case don't go.

We made a quick stop at Mike's Pasty, and then everyone was pretty beat so we went back home. I had a really good time, and I hope they did, too! They are gonna do the freedom trail today, and maybe a duck boat tour, which is all fun stuff. Munchkin is hanging out with them today, so she gets to play tour guide a little bit, which she will enjoy. A lot of them have never been to Boston before, so this is all brand new...I kinda wish there was a Red Sox game for them to go to (or, at least to go hang out around Fenway for, since getting 21 tickets would have been an issue) but they are on the road all week:-(

Tinkerbelle stayed over and she did great! It was the first night she ever stayed away from her Mom, save for a couple of days that her Grandmother stayed over and watched her while Mom was away. So this was her first night ever away from home and away from Mom (even though Mom was only a couple blocks away:-)) She slept in Munchkin's room, and they were both so tired that they fell asleep pretty much right away. When I went to bed and checked in on them both snuggled up under the covers, I kinda almost maybe cried a bit...:-)

Anyway, I walked Tinkerbelle and Munchkin and my cousins over to the hotel this morning and dropped them off. I wish I had the day to hang out with them, but I really do have some work to do, and they will get along just fine without me:-) We are gonna try and do chicken fingers tonight...and a couple of my cousins want to go out for a bit, so I may do that, too. Maybe Munchkin can show them her bar hopping skills for a bit...lol...they will be so impressed with my Mothering skills...

Last question...what is with the total lack of comments and emails and IM's recently? Have I become that boring? Do I need to tell you about the time that BFFg and I had to drop some names of gang members to avoid being stabbed in a bar when we were like 16? Because I can do that if need be...

Wham, Bam (Pow! Crash!) Thank you Ma'am

My father's family is on their way, and I have to admit to being really, really excited! They should be landing in just about an hour, and getting to the hotel a bit after that. I left them a little welcome basket at the hotel with some cute stuff in it and a note that tells them to call me when they get there:-) Hopefully I can see them at lunch, and then Tinkerbelle is gonna come to work with me this afternoon. Since I got to go to school with her, it seems only fair that she gets to come to "school" with me:-)

I had kind of an interesting night last night (Munchkin stayed over at a friend's house, so I was off the leash). I met a couple of girlfriends for some drinks...both of whom are really hot, and both of whom were totally on the prowl. One broke up with her boyfriend a couple weeks ago, and one is just kind of boy crazy by nature:-) I haven't really been out boy-hunting in a while, but it is good to know I still have the skills!

No, I don't intend to need them anymore...if everything goes like I think it will, I am officially done picking up boys for good. But that doesn't mean that I can't still meet them for my friends. And that doesn't mean that I can't still enjoy the attention and the ability to torment them a little bit when I am out with my gorgeous friends:-) Actually, I met one guy that I am going to set up with another friend of mine, but that is kinda off topic...

Anyway, things were all kinda dandy...everyone was in a good mood, the weather was gorgeous, we met a bunch of people, yada yada yada. Then, I am not quite sure what happened, but the girl who just broke up with her boyfriend ended up kissing two different guys that were "friends", and the two "friends" decided to settle the debate over who was the better kisser by throwing punches. It was kinda weird...things went from really fun and casual to bloody, broken noses in kind of a hurry.

We figured that was a sign that maybe these new friends were not really the kinds of boys we wanted to hang out with anymore, so we took off. We walked over to another bar to meet some other girls, and I left shortly thereafter -- The Boy had a softball game, and I met him at his place when his game was over. I may like meeting new people, but there is still only one boy that I like showering with:-D Now, in the middle of that shower, the power went out so the lights died. That was actually kinda cool, but it was a harbinger of weirder things to come...

After that, we went over to my place because I had to clean up a bit before everyone came today. We went to bed at probably about 11:00 and were in the middle of having sex again when...CRASH!!!...some guy ran into a parked car on the street below my window. And it was LOUD! I am kind of a sucker for flashing lights and stuff, so I had to run to the window and watch everything unfold...lol. The guy was clearly wasted and got taken away in cuffs. He had a small white pickup truck which was in rough shape, but not quite as rough as the little BMW parked on the street:-)


Anyway, that all died down pretty quick and we...ahem...finished what we were doing and went to sleep. So, guess what happened this morning while we were in the middle of it again? A garbage truck backed into a utility pole, causing a big loud exploding transformer box of some kind. And more fire trucks and police cars!

So, not that I ever really need excuses to get laid, but I kinda wanna see what happens next:-) I feel like a helicopter is gonna crash into the building while I am in the middle of a really good orgasm!!!

Let's Embarrass The Boy's Twin Sister:-)

I didn't really give you a Father's Day recap during yesterday's rundown of the upcoming family visit, but it is part of a story I wanna tell today, so here goes. We left the beach house sort of early and made it back home at about 3:00. The Boy and I were heading out to his parents' house for a little barbecue, and then I was gonna come back to meet up with Papa Bear and family.

Papa Bear, bless his heart, had no interest in going out for dinner. Both of his (actual) daughters figured that he would probably like to have a really nice dinner at a really nice restaurant...but what he really wanted to do was watch golf all afternoon:-) He jumped at the suggestion that everyone come over to our place and we fire up the grill! (Don't tell the fire department...we have a grill on the deck:-))

Anyway, The Boy and I went out to his parents' house. His older brother and sister were both up with their families for the weekend, which ensured that his parents were both on cloud nine. They were a little disappointed that Munchkin was too tired to come (what, I am chopped liver?) but basically glad to have all four of their kids and their four (plus one!) grand kids in the same place.

And now I am going to totally embarrass one of my new readers:-) This is what you get for asking me to read my blog! I actually sat down and talked with The Boy's older sister, which I have never really done before. I have met her a few times, but never really talked at length...and she had quite a story for me!

I brought up how she and his older brother are quite close (they live really close to each other and see each other all the time) and how The Boy and Twin Sister (oh yea...from now on, they are Older Sister and Twin Sister) are super close. And she casually mentioned about how she and Twin Sister had gone a long time without speaking. I don't know what happened...she says "It was silly and it was my fault, I should have been a better sister"...but they went about five years without speaking.

The rest of this story is from Older Sister's perspective, as she told it to me...

When they were younger, they were actually pretty close...culminating in Twin Sister being the Maid of Honor at Older Sister's wedding. But, from the time The Boy and Twin Sister were about 20 until about 25, the two sisters never really spoke. There was a falling out, and the timing of it implies a lot about its content. That's not important. What is important is that Older Sister and her husband spent several years trying to have a baby, and had a terribly time getting pregnant. About four years ago, she had a relatively late miscarriage that devastated her. She became really depressed, lost her job, stopped eating well, and sort of withdrew from her friends.

This was also at a particularly stressful time for her husband, who was losing his father to cancer as all of this was going on. The loss of the baby hit him hard as well, and the emotional strain was wearing on their marriage. Twin Sister heard all of this through their Mother, who was feeling terrible and helpless and was crushed that her offer to come down and stay for a while was rebuffed.

So Twin Sister did what any really great sister might do...she showed up unannounced on her Big Sister's doorstep to take her out for a cup of coffee. She took her out to tell her that she loved her, that she wanted to help her, that she didn't want to fight anymore, and that life was too short to go on being mad and stubborn about stupid things.

And she drove for seven hours by herself in a borrowed car in the middle of the night to do it:-)

She ended up staying for about a week...begging her graduate school professors to make up exams later on. They talked the whole time, caught up on what they had missed and what they hoped would come from the future. They healed wounds...including the ones between each other, and just basically went back to being sisters again.

The two of them are still not terribly close. I don't know how much of it is a result of losing five years with each other, or whether or not there is still some animosity, but they are not as close as a lot of sisters are. They talk occasionally, send pictures and cards and basically stay in touch enough to know what is going on in their lives. It was important to Twin Sister that Older Sister be the Matron of Honor in her wedding last summer, and she got a very early phone call telling her that Twin Sister was expecting. Maybe Motherhood will give them more to talk about... One thing is for sure, Older Sister considers that week that Twin Sister came to visit as one of the seminal moments of her life, and she will always remember the face that showed up on her doorstep when she was at her absolute lowest...

One final note: about a year and a half after this episode, Older Sister and her Husband had their first child, a beautiful, healthy baby girl that they named after her Mother's Dearest Little Sister.

Here comes the family...

The weekend turned out to be really awesome! Saturday was gorgeous...the weathermen had said some rain and clouds and temperatures in the low 60's. That, of course, meant that the day turned out to be 75 and sunny all day. The first thing you learn about living in New England is that the weathermen can't predict what happened yesterday...

I woke up on Saturday morning to go get coffee, and at at 8:30, the radio report said "The morning fog will burn off by early afternoon"...there was literally not a single cloud to be seen anywhere. And, the way the weather patterns work, the place that their beach house is is like the last place to clear every day.

We left kinda early on Sunday because we all had to get back for Father's Day activities. Munchkin wanted to call her brother in the morning, which I guess isn't surprising. And I figured I should call Tinkerbelle...seems like a logical Father's Day thing to do. It is hard to talk to an 8 year old on the phone...lol...but she is super cute:-) My Father's family is coming out to visit this week and staying for about a week and a half, which I am really excited for.

It will be totally hectic, and I am also not going to be totally able to take the whole week off from work...but it should be really fun. My two cousins (skip to #5 in this post) have been out to visit me here, but none of the rest of them have. To be real honest, I am kind of trying to roll the red carpet out for them a little bit. They have all been so warm and inviting to me...and have gone so far out of their way to welcome me to the family that I really want to return all the kindness now that they are coming out to visit me!

I think almost 20 people are coming...although I don't know the exact number. They are arriving on Wednesday morning and staying in Boston for a couple days. My two cousins and their husbands are staying with us, as is Tinkerbelle. The rest of them are staying in hotels nearby and they will be doing tourist stuff during the day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I will see them at night, and we can hopefully do some fun stuff...I should try and get a reservation at a restaurant in the North End for Wednesday. It is entirely possible that we do chicken finger Thursday with everyone!!!

This will be the first time that Tinkerbelle has ever slept away from her Mom or her Grandmother... I hope she does OK! I won't be surprised if she ends up deciding to sleep at the hotel at least one night, but I hope she stays with me the whole time:-) On Friday Night we are gonna have a party at Big Sis' place for everyone, and for all the people that I want to introduce my littlest Sister to:-) So that should be fun.

Then Saturday morning we are taking off for the beach. I am not entirely sure how it is that we are all going to get there...lol. I need to work on that. They are all going to stay for the whole week, and are headed back the Saturday afterwards. I have to come back home for at least part of the week, but hopefully I can work like a three day week and take Monday and Friday to be down there with them.

Anyway, it will be a hectic time, but should be TONS of fun, I hope. I am really looking forward to showing them all around so that they have something to visualize when I tell them about home:-)

Father's Day

Today is going to be a busy day, so I don't have a ton of time to write, and probably won't be around for any IM buddies looking for me:-) Normally I would just skip posting, but I have one I have been meaning to write on this day for a while now. The subject: kind of a popular one around here...

Sunday, as you should all know, is Father's Day. A wonderful concept of an entire day devoted to making grand gestures of appreciation towards people who often do lots and lots of selfless things and rarely get recognized for it. Growing up, it was always a day that reminded me that I didn't have a father, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the value of the day.

I certainly always wished that I had a father, and I remember having that specific thought on more than one Father's Day. But, truth be told, I didn't really know many kids that did have Father's around, so I guess I never felt like I was missing out on too much. Eventually my Mother got married and I sort of got swept into celebrating Father's Day with him. I never liked him enough to care that it was Father's Day, but he was Munchkin's Father, and that has to count for something:-)

Eventually, as we all know, I met my own Father a couple of times and had at least some kind of "contact" with him, even if it was never anything close to a "relationship". I did, however, make a habit of calling him on Father's Day when I could. Or at least being around to answer the phone in case he called. I don't think I ever once said "Happy Father's Day"...

So, despite never really having a Father to care about on Father's Day, this year is going to be a little bit different for me, and I won't know how I am going to feel until Sunday morning. At least in past years I actually had a person that qualified as my Father, and I guess deep down I could still hope that eventually he would be something of a Father. But now he is dead, and any hopes that I had ever harbored as a child of loving my father died with him. I know that I sort of dismissed all of those hopes years ago...but I guess I would be lying if I said they were ever really gone.

My guess is that I won't really care that much on Sunday. I am sure I will think about him, but I don't know that I will have any real "feelings". I will probably spend a lot more energy making sure that Munchkin isn't too sad over her Father not being around than I will worrying about my own. And, I will get to see The Boy' Father in the afternoon, and then have dinner with Papa Bear and all "his girls" later on. Papa Bear is the only person that I have ever bought a Father's Day card for...which I guess means something (I am gonna get The Boy's Father one this year, too.)

Neither of them may be my Father, but they are both exactly the kind of Dads that we should all be celebrating on Sunday. So they can both get my Happy Father's Day wishes...they deserve them.

I think this may have rambled a bit...but whatever...it's Friday and I wanna get out of here early so I can get to the beach:-)

Asking for Favors

OK, here is my Work Guy story from yesterday...

As we all remember from last week, Work Guy doesn't like me for his own reasons, but we sort of ironed things out and everything is basically copacetic. While things are better, I would hardly refer to him as a "buddy". So, I was a little surprised to get the following email yesterday morning:

"AM,

I have a quick question for you. My nephew will be a senior at Harvard this year majoring in Business. He would really like to go into buy side equity analysis, and is hoping to find a school year internship in that field. I remember from talking with you boyfriend at our Christmas party that he works for XYZ Money Management. Could you check with him and see if they have any formal internship programs, or if they have a need for an intern this fall?

Thanks in advance,

Work Guy"

Yea, how about "Fuck you, asshole!" OK, so I didn't actually write that, even though I wanted to. Seriously, it is not like we finished lunch last week with a hug and an agreement to be best friends. It was actually sort of tense and kinda weird...he made it clear that he didn't like me all that much and basically promised only to not be openly hostile.

Apparently his idea of not being openly hostile is asking for favors. Now, I love networking...I love introducing people and helping people with things like this. But basically only people that I like!!! Or at least people that like me...

So, I sent The Boy an email saying that I was going to send him another email asking about internships and copy Work Guy, and that he was to respond that they don't have Interns or that they do, but the boss' son is already signed on or whatever. Presto...Work Guy gets a response from The Boy about how I asked him about internships, but unfortunately they already have their interns lined up, but that he will ask around at some other places to see if anyone is looking.

So now I look like a nice girl, even though I was not very nice at all:-) I am so devious!!!

Television recaps

Super short update today because I have all sorts of shit to do. I actually have a funny story about the Work Guy from last week but I will hold it until tomorrow until it plays out entirely.

So for today...what did we think of The Sopranos on Sunday? At first I thought the cable went out, and then I thought it was kind of a bummer, but the more I think of it, the more I really liked it. And not just because of the liberal use of Journey (I have had "Don't Stop Beleivin'" in my head all week...)

I know everyone is all pissy about it because it just cut off, and Tony didn't get killed or anything, but I sort of like it that way. Mainly...life doesn't have massive, dramatic beginnings and endings...and if you are making a show that is supposed to be realistic, then you can't wrap everything up nicely all the time.

And in fairness, they did wrap a lot up...Paulie Walnuts is the new #2, they made peace with Brooklyn, AJ is back to being an ass, and Carmela and Meadow have demonstrated once and for all that they will always operate with their heads buried in the sand, so long as the money keeps flowing. Junior gets the messiest death of all, even if we didn't have to watch it.

So, I guess I did like it...although I can't say I loved it. There was still too much filler in the last episode, and too much stuff that added nothing to the story. And maybe if they actually had indicted Tony, it would have felt a little better, but all in all it was an OK ending.

And, with the help of Journey, I thought the last scene was brilliant. There was such a reliance on typical film stereotypes that made it seem like tons of stuff was about to happen just because of the way it was filmed. Which meant that when nothing did happen, it seemed like something had...

Anyway, just my two cents...I am sure everyone who watched has an opinion.

An Uneventful Monday Night

The weather is way too nice to be inside these days. I have to be careful about leaving the building for lunch because there is a serious temptation to not come back inside afterwards. Last night was really nice, even though it was a little bit overcast.

Munchkin had a baseball game, which they won, so now they have made the playoffs officially. She still has two more games and then said playoffs, and she is super excited that she is on a good team. As for me, I stopped and got a chicken parm sub and sat by myself eating and watching the game for the first few innings. That is pretty much heaven in my book:-) I was more social and chatted with some of the parents towards the end of the game.

She is actually at school today. When the kids enter "middle school" (I put it in quotes because it is in the same building, just a different set of classrooms) the class expands a little bit and they bring a few more students in. Most kids enter in kindergarten or first grade, and then they don't add new kids until 6th grade. Then they add some more again in 9th grade. Munchkin was an exception...she started in 4th, but was the only kid to join the class after 1st grade. Officially they made an exception for her because she had a "unique life experience that could add to the group," but there is also the chance that Papa Bear called in some social favors, as well. If so, he won't say...

Anyway, the process of getting accepted into the sixth grade is pretty involved, with a lot of weight on students' grades and test scores and extracurricular activities (if this sounds like college, it is not that far off...). There are also interviews of both students and parents by the administration, the teachers and the students. Munchkin and three other kids were asked to be the students in this process, so she and the other kids are at school meeting potential new students today. I am proud of her that her teachers and the principal picked her to do it:-)

The Boy's sister and her wife happened to walk by the baseball field, so I had a little chat with them, too. His sister is starting to get a little bit of a belly:-) She makes an adorable pregnant girl...lol. She also said "Hey, I hear you have a blog!" So, I guess we can all now welcome yet another new reader: The Boy's Sister. This is beginning to spiral moderately out of control...lol. The day his Mom asks if she can read, I am deleting the whole thing:-P

One final note: Congrats to povosgirl on her new job:-)

Weekend and Work Guy

Hope everyone had a good weekend:-) Despite the warnings from the weather people, it was actually really nice at the beach. Saturday afternoon was sunny, and yesterday was pretty sunny all day long. It wasn't super, super warm, but it was nice enough to lay out yesterday, and nice enough on Saturday to be outside all day.

That made for a pretty fun weekend. There was a big crowd at the beach house...me, The Boy, Smoking Hot Roommate & The Rocket Scientist, Papa Bear and his Lady Friend, Munchkin and two of her friends and two other friends of me and SHR. Big Sis was a no-show because she was working all weekend (everyone give a sympathetic "awww" in unison).

Would you all laugh at me if I told you that The Boy and I sleep in separate rooms when we are down there? Papa Bear likes to run a morally upright household whenever he can...LOL.

Anyway, the final chapter in the Work Guy saga was Friday, and I think it went pretty well. We had lunch and talked for at least an hour and a half or so. Part of the problem is definitely that he measures me against the Associates, and I don't have the experience they have (I went over the whole org structure here if you need crib notes). So, if the dipshit had simply paid attention from the start, we could have avoided much of this aggravation...

But there is another part of his issue that is just him feeling like I don't belong here, and got hired only because of "family connections". Which is true, sort of...I have no business being here based on simply my academic or professional credentials (everyone else has at least two degrees from Ivy League schools. I...um...do not.) However, to be really technical, I didn't get hired by Papa Bear because I am friends with his daughter. I got a summer internship here for that reason, and then I got hired because the investment staff unanimously recommended it after my internship. Yes, that included the same guy who now hates me...

But anyway, he apologized for making the crack last week to the CEO of another company, and promised that he wouldn't be openly hostile to me anymore. I still don't get the impression that he is going to request my efforts on anything he is working on, but I can live with that. I just don't want to have any ongoing feuds with anyone. So, for now I guess that is pretty much it. I think he is being petty and vindictive, but if he doesn't think I can help, then I can't force him to let me work on stuff that he has to answer for...so...I guess that's about it.

Anyway, The Boy thinks I am hilarious:-P Should we encourage him to read through the archives? Or should I just maybe highlight a couple of good posts for him... Maybe everyone would like to highlight their favorites;-)

The Beach, The Boy and The Blog

Happy Friday everyone;-) Anyone have any weekend plans of note?

I am supposed to go to the beach with Munchkin, two of her friends, The Boy, Smoking Hot Roommate, The Rocket Scientist and a couple of our friends, but the weather is looking kind of blah, so we may cancel that. Tomorrow is maybe going to rain a bit and be sort of chilly. The kids are really easy to watch if they can be on the beach all day, but if that is not an option, it becomes sort of a pain to keep them occupied. So we will see...we may not decide until this afternoon.

Work Guy has accepted my invitation for lunch today, replying "That sounds like a good idea," to my email. We'll see what he has to say. A couple of the other guys in the office offered to run some reconnaissance for me, but I don't think that will really be necessary. I am not expecting to actually have a fight...lol.

Chicken fingers last night...good as always! On the downside, we missed The Scooper Bowl because I thought it ran until 8:00 yesterday but it only went until 6:00. So that was a bummer:-( Not that we didn't still get ice cream, it just isn't the same when you can't eat a little bit of a whole bunch of different flavors.

We have a special new reader today:-) One of my most favorite people in the world finally asked me if he could read my blog, and I sent him the address this morning.

So, everyone give a big, hearty, Blogland welcome to: The Boy. Welcome aboard, Buddy;-)

And, in the spirit or ensuring that he never reads this again after today, I should share this little, totally X-rated ditty: I gave him a hand job the other night...hee hee (sorry, Buddy, I tend to share a lot:-D). I'm pretty sure I haven't done that since at least High School (probably longer...seriously, kinda what is the point?) but I guess the classics never go out of style...

There is actually a longer story to the actual events, but it relies heavily on some Blog-Classified stuff, so I can't share it here. (If that isn't an invitation to ask me offline, I don't know what is...:-D). File it under the broad heading of "Relaying past experiences"...

So, on that note, have a good weekend:-)

[And now we start the clock on how long before I get a "Why didn't you warn me about that?!?!" phone call...hee hee:-)]

Wait...lower is better?

First, work guy: I had lunch with Boss Foxy yesterday (kind of a long one, we walked over to the North End for pizza and then split a canoli...I love Boston!) and she filled me in a bit on what went on. One of the other partners admonished him pretty harshly for being unprofessional, and Boss Foxy thinks he was probably told to apologize to me, although he hasn't yet. He seems to be sort of avoiding me, but that is really not news.

But, I have a plan. I am going to try and have lunch with him, just him, tomorrow and let him say whatever it is that he wants to say. Maybe if he gets the chance to vent right at me, he will feel better and we can move on. I don't really worry about what he has to say...I am a big girl and can take criticism...I just don't want to have a person in the office that I just can't be around. So, if I don't hear from him by about lunch today, I am going to send him an email that says something like:

"Dear Work Guy,

I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch tomorrow. In light of what happened earlier this week, I think it would be a good idea to sit down and talk about whatever might be bothering you. If I ever did something to anger you, I am sorry and would like to know what it was. Otherwise, I would at least like to get to the point that we can have a productive working relationship.

Let me know how your schedule look, I can make time whenever you are free

AM"

So we will see how that goes. Now, on to golf...

I remember a long time ago, when Munchkin was like 4, my Mother and I took her mini-golfing. We told her that, like most sports, higher scores are better, so she won by getting the highest score. Well, under those rules, I came in a solid second place last night...lol.

The first hole was pretty indicative of the night. Turns out that golf courses have different tees to make the course longer and shorter for different skill levels. So, like the red tees on every hole are the closest to the hole, and the blue tees are the farthest. This course has four sets of tees, including a shortest-of-them-all yellow set. Sign me up for that.

Smoking Hot Roommate usually plays whatever are the hardest ones, but she joined the rest of us to be part of the group. So, we started on hold #10 because...um...I am not real sure why. We only wanted to play 9 and that is where the guy told us to go. So...we let Munchkin go first, and she hit like a big clump of grass and popped the ball pretty much straight up in the air. But it went a little ways out and was in the fairway. Pretty good start for her.

Big Sis went next, and she hit it a little bit better, but it didn't get very far off the ground and it scooted to the left side of the hole over into the rough. But not too bad. Then I went, and I actually did pretty good. It was a little bit ugly, but it went straight and it got out past the other two...so I was feeling pretty good about myself. Then the following exchange deflated my bubble entirely:

Me: Hey SHR, how come you aren't hitting a driver like you told us to?
SHR: Because the hole is only 235 yards from here, and a driver would go too far.
Munchkin: Show off.
Big Sis: Bitch.

Needless to say, she hit the ball further than all three of us combined, and right straight down the middle onto the green. This is just one more reason boys love her.

Anyway, I think we all did OK. We hit some good shots, and a lot of bad shots. I almost got one par, but not quite...that will have to wait until next time. My putting game is just a complete lost cause...that is really, really hard. And the chipping is brutal, too. But we all had lots of fun, and it wasn't too terribly frustrating (although I can see how it would be). Smoking Hot Roommate said that we did a good job of not playing too slowly:-)

Final scores:
Big Sis: 65
Accidentally Me: 63
Munchkin: 61
Smoking Hot Roommate: 33

I am ready to go out again!

More on Work Guy

After I wrote yesterday's post, I got a note from Boss Foxy asking if I had heard about what the guy said in the meeting the day before. I said that I had, and she asked me if I was overly offended or whatever, and said that she and the other partners were aware of it and were trying to decide if they needed to do anything.

I told her that it bothered me, but also that I didn't want her or Papa Bear talking to him about it. The problem is that he already thinks I am the favorite, and he knows that I am quite close to Boss Foxy as well. So, my concern was that he wouldn't react well to being reprimanded by either of them, and would somehow project his anger onto me over their "protecting" me. I know that whatever happens to him, he is gonna consider it my fault, but I just feel like it would be worse coming from one of them.

(Incidentally, if Big Sis had already started working here, I would be concerned about letting him go out on the balcony for fear of being tossed over the railing:-))

So, sure enough, late yesterday afternoon, he was in Partner #3's office for a while in a clearly heated discussion, then came out of the room and left in kind of a huff. He is back in his office today, but I haven't heard anything about what may have gone on. And as usual, he didn't stop by my desk to chat this morning;-)

Honestly, I think he just got yelled at for bad-mouthing people from the firm in front of other companies, but I don't really know. Today is lunch with Boss Foxy, and I assume she will fill me in on what happened (although she doesn't have to, and may not). Whatever it was, I hope that none of it is gonna be taken out on me...

In other news, tonight is golf night...hide the women and children! Smoking Hot Roommate (who is ridiculously good) is taking us, and hopefully she doesn't get too frustrated with our suckiness. Munchkin is coming, too....12 is just old enough to be allowed to play.

I will try and not hurt myself:-)

Being the Boss' Daughter (kind of)

I haven't written anything about work in a while, and there is no real reason for that, other than things have been going pretty well and I haven't had a whole lot to write about. But basically, it is going well...I have been working on some interesting things, and the Partners and VP's keep giving me new stuff to do that I have never done before.

As a firm, we have been doing really well (we have kind of changed business models a little bit, but that is a long story...I will be happy to share if you are really interested, just ask:-)) which means that everyone is busy, and that there are probably some big bonuses in our future:-D We have added two new people over the last year to the Investment staff, and both were really good hires and fit in very well.

There is, however, one issue. There is one guy who just doesn't like me. I am not real sure what his problem is, but he has just always been really condescending and kinda mean to me. I can't say that I have any specific reason to dislike him...he is smart, and works hard...other than his dislike of me.

In the two years that I have been here, he has never asked me to help on any one of his projects (the way it works is that the VPs, principals and partners "request" the associates or me, and we get scheduled with them) and has kind of ignored me if someone else asked me to work on something that he was working on. And then last winter during review time, he wrote a really nasty review of me.

Everyone here reviews everyone else...so, I had to write like 23 performance reviews last December (including Papa Bear and Boss Foxy:-)) and I got 23 written about me. Virtually all of the reviews I got said the same things..."Works hard, always available, great interpersonal skills, needs to continue developing technical skills" and then usually suggested some specific courses or seminars or books or whatever that might help me.

But then I got one review that said all kinds of bad stuff about how I got preferential treatment, and how I didn't pull my weight because I leave at 5:00 every day (I am not the only one...there are three or four other people who have daycare issues that do the same) and how it wasn't clear that I would ever be able to be a functioning member of the team. The reviews are anonymous, but I obviously knew who wrote it, as did the five partners. And all of that is fine, I guess, he is entitled to his opinion.

But, I guess he said something to the executives at a company we are involved with the other day. One of the other people mentioned that he would be out there later this week with me, and the guy in question said something about "She's the boss' daughter, so we have to drag her around, but she doesn't really do much." This really irritates me because it is wildly unprofessional and it makes it very difficult for me to go out there now and do anything useful.

(He is probably going to get into some trouble for that, I will keep you posted)

And for the record, I do get treated differently than everyone else for two very specific reasons. First, I am the only person with my job. There are four associates, for example, and five principals, but I am the only analyst. The title implies that I am a lot more limited than everyone else, and I am paid accordingly (I make about $125,000 less than the associates, who are the next lowest ranking people). Obviously I can't do everything that they can, nor do I claim to.

Second, and this is really what he was getting at...being "the boss' daughter" is probably the most valuable thing I do here. His implication was that I have less responsibility and more leeway because of my relationship to Papa Bear. But in truth, Papa Bear has a bit of a temper, and the biggest value that I bring to the firm is that I am the only person he won't yell at. If something important doesn't go the way he wants and he is in a particularly bad mood, the other people in the office know that they can ask me to talk to him about anything that needs urgent attention without getting my head bitten off. It makes everyone's life easier...

Anyway, I am not sure why this bothers me so much...the guy clearly just doesn't like me, and I shouldn't care about it that much.

But for some reason I do.

Spring Cleaning

I had a really, really fun weekend, even though we didn't really do much. Smoking Hot Roommate, Munchkin and I packed up my car on Friday with a whole mess of stuff and got on the road at a pretty good hour, got to the ferry pretty quick and got to the beach house with no real problems.

The house is, frankly, enormous, and there is a certain amount of "opening up" that needs to be done at the beginning of every year and we did a lot of it. Stuff like stocking the cupboards, putting out clean sheets and towels through the house, and random odds and ends like that.

Saturday was actually a decent day...kind of overcast, but very warm, and the sun came out in spots. But then the air really changed dramatically and it got COLD Saturday night into Sunday. Mostly we just hung out and giggled a lot. We teased Munchkin about boys, looked through trashy magazines (US, OK, Star, etc...) ate cheeseburgers, potato chips, cookies and other horrible food, and basically just hung out. We took the jet skis out for a bit just to get them warmed up...but I am still a little freaked by the Marquise Hill story from last week, so I wasn't really much in the mood. And the water was cold!!!

Big Sis and I were supposed to make our long-awaited debuts on the golf course yesterday afternoon, but it was too cold and a little rainy, so that will have to wait. We have gone to the driving range a few times, and SHR took me to a course that has a practice green last week to teach me to putt and stuff. Turns out that is a lot harder than it looks! I figured it was kinda like mini-golf, but it's not...

Munchkin came with us to the driving range, and she is going to get some lessons at camp this week. So, we may bring her with us, too...we will have to see. Anyway, Big Sis and I are going to try and play one night this week after work if we can swing it. I will let you know how it goes!

In lieu of golf, The Boy, Papa Bear, his lady friend, Big Sis and the Brain Surgeon and the Rocket Scientist came over for dinner and we had a little impromptu party:-) And then I had me a little dessert, too...:-D

Meanwhile, it is an absolutely foul day...cold, windy and rainy. Makes going back to work on Monday a little easier...I don't feel like I am missing anything good outside!

Noticing the Obvious

I had kind of an enlightening walk to work today. I think all of us, when we do the exact same thing every day, start to miss out on some of the details. I take the same route to school and then to work every day, stop at the same Dunkin Donuts, and do it all at almost exactly the same time. The last two days, however, have been a little bit different.

Munchkin has gone to her friends' house each of the last two days, which means I have dropped her off on the T instead of at school. I will admit to this being a little bit scary...she has ridden the T by herself a few times, but never at rush hour. So, being the overprotective Mom, I walked her down to the platform and made sure she got safely onto the right train (the station - Park St. for the locals - is a zoo in the morning) and off to Brookline for the day.

It must have been because I was out of my routine, but I took special note of a couple of things. First, I walk by two cemeteries on the way to work, and that doesn't even count all the people buried under Boston Common. One kinda big (and I think sort of famous) one next to the Park Street church right near the Common, and another on a little further up (Tremont and School St maybe?). It's not that I never noticed them, it is that I never stopped to think how weird that kind of is. There are cemetaries next to the Financial District. One of the tombstones had a date of death of 1596, I think (it is a little hard to read...but even if it was 1696, that is still pretty fucking old.)

And then I took special note of the Old South Meeting House on State and Congress Streets. Again, I walk by it every day, but never really stop to think how strange it is that a tiny, couple-hundred year old building is completely surrounded by skyscrapers.

So that is my lesson for the day: take a second to look around and notice all the things you may miss in your daily routine!

Other than that I don't have much for you. Munchkin's friend came back in town with her for chicken fingers and french fries last night, and I drove her home rather than put her back on the train (even though the Green Line is pretty safe at 8:00pm). It dawned on me that this was the first time I had driven my car anywhere but to the airport and back in about two months...

We are planning on going to the beach this weekend, even though the weather is not going to be great. As long as the forecast doesn't get much worse, we will go...otherwise we will stick around. The Yankees are in town again, which whips the city into something of a frenzy...even though the Yankees are like a hundred games behind the Red Sox (this is the cue for Jordan to get into a war or words over the Red Sox and Yankees with GreenLineBoy, Smoking Hot Roommate and PovosGirl).

So, I guess that is all:-) Have a great weekend!