Green Card Party

Well, on Thursday evening, I had my Green Card Party. I was actually the guest of honor and Joel and Kathy organized it. It was a fun, relaxing and just amazing evening spent with close and dear friends. In addition to Joel and Kathy, John, Steve, Kevin and Charlene were there. It was an intimate group but these are the people who mean the world to me and who definitely walked with me every step of the way throughout the whole green card process. If not for their love and support of these years, I'm not sure where I would be. Joel made this amazing tenderloin and I brought the wine. Since it was a special occasion, I brought a special bottle of wine which I got from Chicago and it was very well received. Charlene and Kevin brought salad and coleslaw respectively. Kathy baked her famous derby pie and I so hoping she would. Joel had asked me if there was a special dessert I was craving and I said nothing in particular, but I was secretly hoping that Kathy would make her derby pie. It was such a memorable evening and I took photos of those in attendance.

Oh, I forgot to mention that on Monday, I went for an interview as a human service counselor where I would be working as a direct care worker at a 24 hour live in facility where the residents are adult with some psychological disorder. If I get the job, I'll be working mostly evening and weekend hours. I should hear back by Monday if I got the job. I actually know the CEO of the agency and he referred me to the administrator. It will be a neat job if I get it.

Friday evening, Kevin and I went out for dinner and a movie. Martha is visiting her sister in NY so Kevin is home alone. It's been some time since we spent time together so it was nice to just hang out with him. We had dinner at India Star which is a restaurant I've not been to for a very long time as I tend to frequent Tandoor. The food was good and it was close to where the theater is located. We ended up watching the movie "Final Season" which is based on a true story of an Iowa high school baseball team that dealt with the issue of merging with another high school and impact it had on the team and the community. It was a very good independent movie that was filled entirely in Iowa.

I got up early on Saturday morning to watch Liverpool vs. Everton and talk about an exciting game. It was a good game played in true derby fashion and at the end of the day, I was a very happy camper because Liverpool got all three points. Later that day, a number of us from the singing group sang at the jubilee celebration of two religious sisters who are members of the parish. One has been a sister for fifty years and the other fifty one years. Amazing isn't it?! We were more than honored to sing at their Mass of Thanksgiving. It was the least we could have done for all their years of service. Talk about a nice way to spend an afternoon filled with celebration. After Mass, Scott (the leader of the group) and I had dinner at Continental since I had a buy one-get one free coupon. I've not been to Continental in a very long time because I thought the food was definitely over priced. In many ways, it still is but the coupon made a difference. More than anything else, it was good to chat with Scott to find out stuff about the group and where we're headed in the future. Later that evening, I went to the DM Symphony with Sr. Carola and by golly talk about an amazing concert. They did a splendid job especially with "Pictures at an Exhibition" which is a very well known piece for people who are familiar with classical music. They nailed that piece big time. After the performance, the maestro said that if people wanted to stay and ask him questions, he would be more than happy to answer them. Carola and I stayed and they were some very good questions asked by the audience.

Today, we did not have Mass but a Communion Service. Jim and a number of people from the parish are in El Salvador for a week so Sr. JoAnne was the presider. It was a very nice service and it got me thinking that is this what's going to happen in the not too distant future with the priest shortage? I guess time will tell. Oh, we now have Sunday bus service and I took the bus to Mass and back to my apartment. It's great that they have the Sunday service. Not quite sure what I'll be doing later today as Kristi bailed out on me for dinner - she had softball. We actually had dinner on Wednesday as it's been a very long time since we caught up with one another.

Well, I guess that's all the news from me. Until next week!