I would have written sooner, but my computer was infected by a virus and I could not access my computer for a whole day and a half. Our IT guy got it taken care of today. Phew!
Some of the stuff that took place since I last wrote:
1) I cooked dinner for a friend of Anna whose wife gave birth to twins not too long ago and they live not far from where she lives. I made some fried rice, chicken kurma, and fish dish. They were so happy to have someone cook for them. Needless to say, they have a lot on their plate with twins and an older boy. The twins looked so cute and adorable!
2) We had a board meeting the agency was presented a check for $11,000 from the UPS foundation to our agency for direct services to our clients. I had a role to play because it was through out volunteer program that we got connected with UPS. They wanted to do a volunteer project over the summer and I got them hooked up with a case management client. The experience was very positive for all involved and word got back to UPS corporate headquarters. They soon wanted to find out more about our agency and asked what else could they assist with? The rest as they say is history!
3) The leader of Anna’s band invited a group of people including everyone in the band over to his house for a pot-luck. We had a great time and the meal was excellent. I got to meet a lot of the spouses of the guys in the band which was really nice and they got to meet me too!
4) Over Christmas we spent it up in Maple Grove. Prior to arriving at Heidi and Mark’s house, I met up with a friend from college at a Malaysian restaurant. The last time I saw Arani was in 1998 if I’m not mistaken. She’s now happily married and working in the Twin Cities. Her husband, Abraham is a really neat and fun guy. We definitely had a great time catching up with one another.
5) I wanted to make sure I left DM with more than ample time to spare since the weather was going to turn sour over Christmas. I’m glad I made it up north safe and sound. There were some snowy parts, but I can always deal with snow – I don’t like snow and ice because that’s not a good mix one bit.
6) A lot of the time in Maple Grove was centered around Baby Mikey as it should be. He’s such a cute little baby and he’s definitely grown since the last time Anna saw him. There’s a ton of different noises that come out of him, in a very cute baby way. He also has not idea or control over his facial expressions so it was really cute seeing how he makes different kind of faces. Needless to say, he entertained all of us for a good portion of the time. As new parents, Heidi and Mark are doing an amazing job with Mikey and they are just such amazing parents.
7) On Christmas night, Anna, Al, Karen and me went to the Malaysian restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. They were more than happy with the meal and we were stuffed to say the least and we got to try a wide variety of food. Everything surpassed everyone’s expectation including mine. I won’t be surprised one bit that every time I make it to the Twin Cities, I’ll be dropping by this restaurant to get a taste of Malaysian cuisine.
8) Mikey was baptized on Sunday and Anna and I were his Godparents. Heidi had called Anna when I was working at Paradise and asked her if we would be willing to be his Godparents and she knew I would be more than exhilarated by the invite! Yes, we are now responsible for his spiritual growth and upbringing – some pretty major responsibilities on our shoulders, but we’re more than ready for it!
9) I made it back to DM on Monday after a very interesting drive. There were close to 35-40 cars in ditches and a number of them were overturned. Needless to say, the roads were icy and it made driving difficult for a lot of people. I’m just glad I made it back safe and sound.
10) While in Maple Grove, I did catch the movie, Avatar (which is highly recommended for it’s 3D effects for sure!), Up in the Air, and the Pixar movie, Up.
That’s pretty much all the news from me. Today is New Year’s eve and I’ll be working and closing the restaurant. I’m not sure what to expect. We may or may not be busy. Time will tell. After I’m done at the restaurant, I’ll be heading over to Joel and Kathy to ring in the New Year. It’ll be a fun evening for sure. Well, Happy New Year to all of you!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
End of the year note.
Overall it’s been a tremendous year especially because I found someone that has brought infinite joy to my life and we’ll be getting married next year! Yay!
1) Wedding proposal – I proposed to Anna on February 16th and believe it or not, she said yes! I am such an anti-Valentine’s Day person, and now I don’t ever have to worry about that day because the focus will be on the 16th, not the 14th. Nice.
2) Paradise Pizza – I quit my job at the residential facility, and took a job at Paradise Pizza Café (www.paradisepizzacafe.net) I’ve always wanted to work in a restaurant, and I got my wish. I started off as a server, and within a couple of months, I became a team leader. Overall the experience has been nothing short of wonderful, and I’ve really gotten to know the regulars. It’s a lot of fun working in a restaurant. Try it!
3) Vacation – My vacation this year took me to Chicago, St. Louis and Bismarck, North Dakota. While in Chicago and St. Louis, I caught up with dear friends, and there’s not like reconnecting and reminiscing old times. Anna’s older sister lives in Chicago, and we stayed there and got to hang out with her and her boyfriend. I got to visit Bismarck, ND for the very first time, and it’s where Anna is from. It’s a gorgeous city and state. Let’s just say I was more than pleasantly surprised.
4) Aging Conference – I attended a National Aging Conference in the Twin Cities for the very first time, and it was a great conference because I got to see what some of the national trends were when it came to aging issues. It also helped that I got to exchange ideas, and share my experience with various people from different parts of the country.
5) Baby Mikey – Heidi (Anna’s twin) gave birth to Michael James Mankey on 11/11/09. He was a month premature, but he’s doing fine now, and gaining weight. Yay! Mikey will be my little nephew once we get married, and mark my words, he’ll be a soccer superstar and a die hard Liverpool supporter if I have anything to say about it! I’ll see him over Christmas, and I’m just counting the days!
I realize that it’s been a tough year for a number of people with the global recession, and some people losing their jobs, but we can all choose to focus on the negatives or positives. I chose the latter. There are too many good things going on in, and around the world for me to be burdened by some minor setbacks. The economy will bounce back and in time, we’ll all be OK.
So why not during this holiday season be thankful that we have family and friends who love us unconditionally, a roof over our heads, and a bed to rest our weary bodies at the end of the day? Blessings to all during this season and let’s not forget what the real meaning of this season is truly about!
1) Wedding proposal – I proposed to Anna on February 16th and believe it or not, she said yes! I am such an anti-Valentine’s Day person, and now I don’t ever have to worry about that day because the focus will be on the 16th, not the 14th. Nice.
2) Paradise Pizza – I quit my job at the residential facility, and took a job at Paradise Pizza Café (www.paradisepizzacafe.net) I’ve always wanted to work in a restaurant, and I got my wish. I started off as a server, and within a couple of months, I became a team leader. Overall the experience has been nothing short of wonderful, and I’ve really gotten to know the regulars. It’s a lot of fun working in a restaurant. Try it!
3) Vacation – My vacation this year took me to Chicago, St. Louis and Bismarck, North Dakota. While in Chicago and St. Louis, I caught up with dear friends, and there’s not like reconnecting and reminiscing old times. Anna’s older sister lives in Chicago, and we stayed there and got to hang out with her and her boyfriend. I got to visit Bismarck, ND for the very first time, and it’s where Anna is from. It’s a gorgeous city and state. Let’s just say I was more than pleasantly surprised.
4) Aging Conference – I attended a National Aging Conference in the Twin Cities for the very first time, and it was a great conference because I got to see what some of the national trends were when it came to aging issues. It also helped that I got to exchange ideas, and share my experience with various people from different parts of the country.
5) Baby Mikey – Heidi (Anna’s twin) gave birth to Michael James Mankey on 11/11/09. He was a month premature, but he’s doing fine now, and gaining weight. Yay! Mikey will be my little nephew once we get married, and mark my words, he’ll be a soccer superstar and a die hard Liverpool supporter if I have anything to say about it! I’ll see him over Christmas, and I’m just counting the days!
I realize that it’s been a tough year for a number of people with the global recession, and some people losing their jobs, but we can all choose to focus on the negatives or positives. I chose the latter. There are too many good things going on in, and around the world for me to be burdened by some minor setbacks. The economy will bounce back and in time, we’ll all be OK.
So why not during this holiday season be thankful that we have family and friends who love us unconditionally, a roof over our heads, and a bed to rest our weary bodies at the end of the day? Blessings to all during this season and let’s not forget what the real meaning of this season is truly about!
Monday, December 14, 2009
What a week and weekend in Des Moines!
Well, what a week and weekend we had here in DSM! We had a blizzard on Tuesday and all day Wednesday and the average snow accumulation was the highest in 38 years. That tells you how much snow we got. I worked at the restaurant on Tuesday night, but we ended up closing at 7PM since we only had two tables and one to go order. People were asked to stay off the roads and the vast majority of people heeded the advice. The drive home was eerily serene because there was barely any vehicle on the roads. Wednesday was spent indoors pretty much all day since the wind chill was very low and a good number of places were closed. The news basically said that if you did not really have to be somewhere it’s best to just stay indoors. That’s what we both did. Anna’s school was cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday. We were open on Thursday and most everyone was able to make it into the office. For me personally, it was good to be outside. One can suffer from cabin fever for sure.
I worked at the restaurant on Friday and it was a nice steady busy. No one at the restaurant ever felt overwhelmed which is always a good thing, but we were all busy.
On Saturday we left to have breakfast with John at 8AM a French bakery. I was there with John roughly a month ago and we’ve both been extremely impressed with the place. John gave me a call and asked if Anna and I wanted to have breakfast, and that’s what we did. It was good to catch up with him. After breakfast, we signed the contract for the wedding cake. Looks like things are just tooting right along. Once that was taken care of, I spent give and take two hours in the library while Anna attended a Pampered Chef party. We both got to do what we wanted to do. When we were done, she had a piano practice with one of her students and while she was giving lessons, I walked around at Costco and got a couple of items for the holiday party at the agency this coming Friday. Anna’s high school presented the play, Get Smart and were had planned on going to it on Thursday, but because school was cancelled, the play took place on Saturday at 3:30PM. I thought it was a fun play and the students did a fine job.
We had dinner at a Russian restaurant that we’ve both been to before and the food did not disappoint. Anna’s band had a gig that night so I helped them set up and pretty much listened to them the entire night. I was a little concerned that there was not going to be that many people, but 30 minutes after the band started, the place was packed. Everyone had a good time and the band fed off the energy of the crowd. As much as Anna loves playing with the band, she really does not like the four hour long gigs because it makes for a very long night and by the time they get done and have to pack everything up, they would be done by 2AM.
On Sunday, Anna conducted her women’s choir at St. Kate’s and they sounded really good. I worked at the restaurant and we had a good number of people during brunch and I had a couple of tables for dinner. All in all, it was a good weekend for the both of us. This coming weekend is the last weekend before Christmas and something tells me that the malls are going to be packed. Friday is the last day of school, but I don’t think Anna will head up north for Christmas until the 21st or the 22nd. I’ll be leaving on the 22nd, but I’m still not quite sure what time. I do have three and a half hours of comp time and I could use it after the reports are sent on the 22nd. I’ll just have to play it by ear. I will be there till the 28th.
That’s all from me for now.
I worked at the restaurant on Friday and it was a nice steady busy. No one at the restaurant ever felt overwhelmed which is always a good thing, but we were all busy.
On Saturday we left to have breakfast with John at 8AM a French bakery. I was there with John roughly a month ago and we’ve both been extremely impressed with the place. John gave me a call and asked if Anna and I wanted to have breakfast, and that’s what we did. It was good to catch up with him. After breakfast, we signed the contract for the wedding cake. Looks like things are just tooting right along. Once that was taken care of, I spent give and take two hours in the library while Anna attended a Pampered Chef party. We both got to do what we wanted to do. When we were done, she had a piano practice with one of her students and while she was giving lessons, I walked around at Costco and got a couple of items for the holiday party at the agency this coming Friday. Anna’s high school presented the play, Get Smart and were had planned on going to it on Thursday, but because school was cancelled, the play took place on Saturday at 3:30PM. I thought it was a fun play and the students did a fine job.
We had dinner at a Russian restaurant that we’ve both been to before and the food did not disappoint. Anna’s band had a gig that night so I helped them set up and pretty much listened to them the entire night. I was a little concerned that there was not going to be that many people, but 30 minutes after the band started, the place was packed. Everyone had a good time and the band fed off the energy of the crowd. As much as Anna loves playing with the band, she really does not like the four hour long gigs because it makes for a very long night and by the time they get done and have to pack everything up, they would be done by 2AM.
On Sunday, Anna conducted her women’s choir at St. Kate’s and they sounded really good. I worked at the restaurant and we had a good number of people during brunch and I had a couple of tables for dinner. All in all, it was a good weekend for the both of us. This coming weekend is the last weekend before Christmas and something tells me that the malls are going to be packed. Friday is the last day of school, but I don’t think Anna will head up north for Christmas until the 21st or the 22nd. I’ll be leaving on the 22nd, but I’m still not quite sure what time. I do have three and a half hours of comp time and I could use it after the reports are sent on the 22nd. I’ll just have to play it by ear. I will be there till the 28th.
That’s all from me for now.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
DSM Blizzard.
I would have written last night, but after driving home in blizzard like conditions, I was pretty tired. I needed to shovel the driveway too so I could park the car. Let's just say it was an interesting evening. The office is closed today as with most places. Reports are saying it's one of the worst storms in recent history. You can definitely hear the wind outside and my heart goes out to those who don't have to a choice and have to be outside for one reason or another. Des Moines is pretty much at a standstill today. I believe all the schools are closed and some big companies decided to close. It's just not worth having people on the roads especially with the road conditions and the weather.
Joel closed the agency at noon, and I had gotten in touch with the owners yesterday afternoon asking him if the restaurant would be open and he said he was planning on it. Joel and Kathy graciously offered to let me stay at their home if after the restaurant closed I could not make it back. All in all, we had two people come into the restaurant and they both lived right around the corner. I also had one order to go. When I called the owner and let him know about the business, he basically said it made no sense to keep the restaurant open so closed at 7PM. I was out of there by 7:30PM.
The drive home was slow and in many ways, fun because there were so few cars on the road and I felt like I had the entire road to myself. Those of us who were on the road were driving very slowly. I made it back safe and sound, but I do know that late last night, things definitely got worse. The wind picked up and the weather dropped. Tomorrow, I do believe everyone will be back in the office again because they are expecting things to die down this evening.
How was the weekend? Well, I really did not do much. I called it my sports weekend. I watched college basketball and football, then it was soccer. That's pretty much all I did. Oh, I did watch the movie Taking Chance which I borrowed from the library and it was a very powerful movie. It's about this officer who accompanied a soldier who died in the war in Afghanistan to his final resting place. Wow, what a powerful movie. On Sunday, after work at Paradise, Anna and I watched the movie, Brothers playing at the theater and it's definitely one of the best movies I've seen this year. Very real and personal and it talked about the impact the way has on returning soldiers.
I can't believe but Christmas will soon be here. I've got enough at the office to keep me busy, but it'll be nice to take some time off and just enjoy the holiday season.
I guess that's all the news from me.
Joel closed the agency at noon, and I had gotten in touch with the owners yesterday afternoon asking him if the restaurant would be open and he said he was planning on it. Joel and Kathy graciously offered to let me stay at their home if after the restaurant closed I could not make it back. All in all, we had two people come into the restaurant and they both lived right around the corner. I also had one order to go. When I called the owner and let him know about the business, he basically said it made no sense to keep the restaurant open so closed at 7PM. I was out of there by 7:30PM.
The drive home was slow and in many ways, fun because there were so few cars on the road and I felt like I had the entire road to myself. Those of us who were on the road were driving very slowly. I made it back safe and sound, but I do know that late last night, things definitely got worse. The wind picked up and the weather dropped. Tomorrow, I do believe everyone will be back in the office again because they are expecting things to die down this evening.
How was the weekend? Well, I really did not do much. I called it my sports weekend. I watched college basketball and football, then it was soccer. That's pretty much all I did. Oh, I did watch the movie Taking Chance which I borrowed from the library and it was a very powerful movie. It's about this officer who accompanied a soldier who died in the war in Afghanistan to his final resting place. Wow, what a powerful movie. On Sunday, after work at Paradise, Anna and I watched the movie, Brothers playing at the theater and it's definitely one of the best movies I've seen this year. Very real and personal and it talked about the impact the way has on returning soldiers.
I can't believe but Christmas will soon be here. I've got enough at the office to keep me busy, but it'll be nice to take some time off and just enjoy the holiday season.
I guess that's all the news from me.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thanksgiving weekend.
Well, it was a long weekend since it was Thanksgiving weekend. Not a whole lot really took place over the weekend. I did work at Paradise, the day before Thanksgiving and the restaurant wasn’t too busy. We had a good number of people, but by no means was the restaurant packed. The same could be said for Friday and Saturday evening too. In fact, on Saturday, I was slated to work from 4-8PM, but I ended up leaving at 6PM since there was no one at the restaurant.
I coordinated the meal delivery at the local Hy-Vee on Thanksgiving day and that went on without a hitch. I had a lady come at 10:40AM and they were ready for her. Another guy came ten minutes after her and then the rest followed in a couple of minutes. The store really did a very good job organizing everything and it made my job a whole heck of a lot easier. All I really needed to do was to tick the names of the people off and that was pretty much it. The coordinating the meals, Anna and I headed over to Joel and Kathy’s for Thanksgiving meal. Joel prepared an amazing lamb roast and it was delectable to say the least. I brought a salad and two bottles of wine and everything complemented one another perfectly. We had more than our fair share of food and drinks. After dinner, we sat around and just chatted. Life was really good.
Anna left for Maple Grove on Friday morning and made it there safe and sound. She had a fantastic time with her little nephew and I can’t wait to see him over Christmas. I pretty much caught up on my dvds that I borrowed from the library before heading to Paradise. It was Charlene’s birthday and Sarah had texted me to inform me that they would be bringing Charlene over to the restaurant for dinner and I treated them to dinner. They all enjoyed the meal and I was so happy I got to see Charlene on her birthday. Talk about a great night.
Saturday during the day was pretty low key once again. I did spend some time in the library before heading to the theaters to watch a movie. Most people were not interested in the movie I saw so there was barely anyone at my screening, but I do know that the other screenings were pretty packed. I caught the movie, Ninja Assassins and it was definitely an action movie that met my expectations. The restaurant was quiet that night and after I left, I ended up going to Barnes and Noble. There were not a lot of people there and my hunch is that people did most of their shopping the day before so for the most part, they were all spending time away from the malls.
Anna got home on Sunday and she was more than excited to tell me all about her trip and what’s new with Mikey. He’s a small little baby, but doing really well considering he’s a premature baby. That’s really all the news from me for now.
I coordinated the meal delivery at the local Hy-Vee on Thanksgiving day and that went on without a hitch. I had a lady come at 10:40AM and they were ready for her. Another guy came ten minutes after her and then the rest followed in a couple of minutes. The store really did a very good job organizing everything and it made my job a whole heck of a lot easier. All I really needed to do was to tick the names of the people off and that was pretty much it. The coordinating the meals, Anna and I headed over to Joel and Kathy’s for Thanksgiving meal. Joel prepared an amazing lamb roast and it was delectable to say the least. I brought a salad and two bottles of wine and everything complemented one another perfectly. We had more than our fair share of food and drinks. After dinner, we sat around and just chatted. Life was really good.
Anna left for Maple Grove on Friday morning and made it there safe and sound. She had a fantastic time with her little nephew and I can’t wait to see him over Christmas. I pretty much caught up on my dvds that I borrowed from the library before heading to Paradise. It was Charlene’s birthday and Sarah had texted me to inform me that they would be bringing Charlene over to the restaurant for dinner and I treated them to dinner. They all enjoyed the meal and I was so happy I got to see Charlene on her birthday. Talk about a great night.
Saturday during the day was pretty low key once again. I did spend some time in the library before heading to the theaters to watch a movie. Most people were not interested in the movie I saw so there was barely anyone at my screening, but I do know that the other screenings were pretty packed. I caught the movie, Ninja Assassins and it was definitely an action movie that met my expectations. The restaurant was quiet that night and after I left, I ended up going to Barnes and Noble. There were not a lot of people there and my hunch is that people did most of their shopping the day before so for the most part, they were all spending time away from the malls.
Anna got home on Sunday and she was more than excited to tell me all about her trip and what’s new with Mikey. He’s a small little baby, but doing really well considering he’s a premature baby. That’s really all the news from me for now.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Mahler's Symphony #2 "Resurrection"
The highlight for the weekend was most definitely, beyond any doubt whatsoever, the DM Symphony concert. They played Mahler’s Symphony #2 also known as the Resurrection Symphony and it blew my mind. This was a humongous piece that called for extra instruments in addition to a choir that was close to 150 people strong. Massive would be an understatement. The piece was played without any intermission whatsoever so for 90 minutes, all of us were glues to our seats entirely enthralled by what was being played right before our very eyes. Needless to say, at the end of it all, we gave the musicians a rousing standing ovation that lasted a good ten minutes. They more than deserved it to say the least and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to listen to a performance like that in my lifetime. That was definitely a memory that will last a very long time.
I drove Anna to the walk-in clinic on Thursday and she finally went to see a doctor. She has a sinus infection and the doctor put her on a ten-day antibiotic treatment. She’s feeling much better now and sounds better too. The downside was that she could not go up to Maple Grove to see baby Mikey, but she’ll be able to see him over Thanksgiving break. I believe she’ll be leaving on Friday morning and coming back on Sunday. I know she’s more than pumped about the trip. After the doctor’s appointment, we had dinner with a friend of out who is Moslem and she’s leaving DM to move to Jordan where her family is from. She’s an amazing person and I know I’ll miss spending time with her.
Friday night was the first time in three weeks I worked at the restaurant and business is definitely picking up to say the least which is good. The road construction is almost over which means people will be able to come to the restaurant without having to worry about road detours. It was nice to have a steady business on a Friday night.
Saturday morning, I got up early so I could watch the Liverpool vs. Manchester City game. It’s amazing how the injuries to Liverpool’s players have affected them. Unlike some supporters who are panicking, I truly feel that once everyone is back from injury, we’ll b able to make a run. We may not win the premiership this year, but I do believe we’ll be able to provide some challenge. After the game, I sang at a funeral Mass for a nun whose mother died a couple of days ago. A number of us from St. Kate’s were asked to sing if at all possible and I volunteered to. After the Mass, I headed over to Carola’s apartment to help her out with some computer problem she’s been having. It took a little longer than expected, but that’s OK since I really did not have anything going on that afternoon.
Anna sent me a text while I was working yesterday that baby Mikey is now home and no longer at the hospital. Needless to say, Heidi and Mark are more than happy with the latest development. Karen will be able to spend a good two if not three days with him at home before she drives back to Bismarck for Thanksgiving.
With Thanksgiving this Thursday, it’ll be a short work week. I’ll once again be coordinating the meal delivery then we’ll be headed over to Joel and Kathy’s for a Thanksgiving meal. It should be a fun afternoon for sure. I’ll be working at the restaurant on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening since I’ll be in town and that allowed people the opportunity to take some time off and spend it with their family.
That’s all from me.
I drove Anna to the walk-in clinic on Thursday and she finally went to see a doctor. She has a sinus infection and the doctor put her on a ten-day antibiotic treatment. She’s feeling much better now and sounds better too. The downside was that she could not go up to Maple Grove to see baby Mikey, but she’ll be able to see him over Thanksgiving break. I believe she’ll be leaving on Friday morning and coming back on Sunday. I know she’s more than pumped about the trip. After the doctor’s appointment, we had dinner with a friend of out who is Moslem and she’s leaving DM to move to Jordan where her family is from. She’s an amazing person and I know I’ll miss spending time with her.
Friday night was the first time in three weeks I worked at the restaurant and business is definitely picking up to say the least which is good. The road construction is almost over which means people will be able to come to the restaurant without having to worry about road detours. It was nice to have a steady business on a Friday night.
Saturday morning, I got up early so I could watch the Liverpool vs. Manchester City game. It’s amazing how the injuries to Liverpool’s players have affected them. Unlike some supporters who are panicking, I truly feel that once everyone is back from injury, we’ll b able to make a run. We may not win the premiership this year, but I do believe we’ll be able to provide some challenge. After the game, I sang at a funeral Mass for a nun whose mother died a couple of days ago. A number of us from St. Kate’s were asked to sing if at all possible and I volunteered to. After the Mass, I headed over to Carola’s apartment to help her out with some computer problem she’s been having. It took a little longer than expected, but that’s OK since I really did not have anything going on that afternoon.
Anna sent me a text while I was working yesterday that baby Mikey is now home and no longer at the hospital. Needless to say, Heidi and Mark are more than happy with the latest development. Karen will be able to spend a good two if not three days with him at home before she drives back to Bismarck for Thanksgiving.
With Thanksgiving this Thursday, it’ll be a short work week. I’ll once again be coordinating the meal delivery then we’ll be headed over to Joel and Kathy’s for a Thanksgiving meal. It should be a fun afternoon for sure. I’ll be working at the restaurant on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening since I’ll be in town and that allowed people the opportunity to take some time off and spend it with their family.
That’s all from me.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Man, what a great weekend!
What a week and weekend that just went by. It was out of this world!
Anna and I went to the performance of “Rent” the musical on Wednesday. We saw them when we went to St. Louis during the summer, and thought that it was a great performance even if they seats weren’t the best. This time we had amazing seats. We were not able to sit together but we were two rows and two seats apart right smack in the middle and five rows from the front. Trust me, you could not get any better seats than what we got. Both of us are huge fans of rent and I must say that this production even though both the leads were the same, was a better production than what we saw in St. Louis. Everything about it was just amazing and I’m so glad we got to see it before the tour officially ends. What an evening.
On Friday, we got to see the Vienna Boys Choir and talk about an out of this world choir. The boys were outstanding and they sang impeccably. Regardless of what language they sang in, you could tell that they did not have one bit of accent. It was truly a joy to listen to them. They sand three encores and the last was the song, “We are the world” which was so appropriate. All the boys were showcased in the last encores. Needless to say, all of us gave them a rousing standing ovation. They most certainly deserved it alright. After the concert, Joel and Kathy invited us over to their place for a nightcap. We had a fun time with them and another couple who were at the concert too. This couple goes to the same church as them. What a wonderful way to end the evening.
Oh, I’m sure I mentioned that Anna’s sister gave birth to a little baby boy on Wednesday. He was born a month early weighing in at 5lbs and 3 oz. Anna spoke to Heidi yesterday and she said that he’s slowly gaining weight and hopefully he’ll be able leave the hospital this weekend. They hospital will not let him leave until he’s able to eat by himself. Anna is planning on heading north this weekend to spend time with her sister and her little nephew. Karen will be there too. Everyone is happy that everything is going well with the baby and mom, and just can’t wait for the baby to come home.
Anna has not been feeling well for a number of days and she slept in on Saturday morning. We really did not do a whole lot that day. We watched the Iowa Football game and viewed some dvds. She most certainly did not feel up to doing anything which was fine by me. In many ways, Saturday was a blur because we really did not do anything productive whatsoever.
That really was the week that was. It was a lot of fun. This coming weekend, I can guarantee that I do not have as much going on. The symphony will be performing and it’ll be a good one. It’s going to be huge orchestral piece together with a large number of vocals. I can’t wait for that.
Anna and I went to the performance of “Rent” the musical on Wednesday. We saw them when we went to St. Louis during the summer, and thought that it was a great performance even if they seats weren’t the best. This time we had amazing seats. We were not able to sit together but we were two rows and two seats apart right smack in the middle and five rows from the front. Trust me, you could not get any better seats than what we got. Both of us are huge fans of rent and I must say that this production even though both the leads were the same, was a better production than what we saw in St. Louis. Everything about it was just amazing and I’m so glad we got to see it before the tour officially ends. What an evening.
On Friday, we got to see the Vienna Boys Choir and talk about an out of this world choir. The boys were outstanding and they sang impeccably. Regardless of what language they sang in, you could tell that they did not have one bit of accent. It was truly a joy to listen to them. They sand three encores and the last was the song, “We are the world” which was so appropriate. All the boys were showcased in the last encores. Needless to say, all of us gave them a rousing standing ovation. They most certainly deserved it alright. After the concert, Joel and Kathy invited us over to their place for a nightcap. We had a fun time with them and another couple who were at the concert too. This couple goes to the same church as them. What a wonderful way to end the evening.
Oh, I’m sure I mentioned that Anna’s sister gave birth to a little baby boy on Wednesday. He was born a month early weighing in at 5lbs and 3 oz. Anna spoke to Heidi yesterday and she said that he’s slowly gaining weight and hopefully he’ll be able leave the hospital this weekend. They hospital will not let him leave until he’s able to eat by himself. Anna is planning on heading north this weekend to spend time with her sister and her little nephew. Karen will be there too. Everyone is happy that everything is going well with the baby and mom, and just can’t wait for the baby to come home.
Anna has not been feeling well for a number of days and she slept in on Saturday morning. We really did not do a whole lot that day. We watched the Iowa Football game and viewed some dvds. She most certainly did not feel up to doing anything which was fine by me. In many ways, Saturday was a blur because we really did not do anything productive whatsoever.
That really was the week that was. It was a lot of fun. This coming weekend, I can guarantee that I do not have as much going on. The symphony will be performing and it’ll be a good one. It’s going to be huge orchestral piece together with a large number of vocals. I can’t wait for that.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Flying solo.
Well, I pretty much spent the weekend alone. Anna went to Rock Island, IL to accompany a number of students who were at a national competition. She left on Friday and came back on Saturday evening. I really did not do a whole lot of stuff except to watch the final season of Boston Legal. I came upon the dvds when I was at the library and could not believe my luck. I’ve been a huge fan of Boston Legal for a number of years and have been trying to get my hand on the final season. I’m so glad I got to watch it. Needless to say, I was one happy camper and it was a joy watching the final season. There were a number of episodes where I just laughed so I hard I ended up crying.
Our young adults group had dinner on Wednesday and we had six people at the dinner. All of us had a good time. On Thursday, Hoover High School had a fundraiser to send their band students to Kofu, Japan which is the sister city of Des Moines. The fundraiser took place at a Japanese restaurant and it was very well attended. I was happy to see a lot of people supporting the students. Anna bid on a number of items and actually won a round of golf at the Ankeny Country Club. She said it’ll be a good gift when her dad is in town since he loves to golf. The admission ticket included a number of food items, but it was not enough for me so I ended up ordering some sushi and sashimi from the menu. It was good.
Saturday morning I had breakfast with Jim. It’s been a couple of months since I caught up with him after his retirement from priesthood. We had breakfast at the restaurant where we’ll be opening the wedding gifts the day after the wedding. I’ve heard really good things about their breakfast buffet and came away impressed. The food was good and there was more than enough to eat. I believe everyone will have a good time at the breakfast buffet.
After the buffet, I met up with Joel and Kevin at Star Bar for our monthly guys’ meeting. We were glad Kevin was able to make it. He has not been able to make the last three meeting, so it was nice to catch up with him. After the meeting, I came back to the house and watched more Boston Legal episodes. Anna arrived home at around 3:30PM. The student made it to the semifinal, but did not make it to the finals. We went for evening Mass then it was a fundraiser at St. Kate’s to help send the students to El Salvador. It was a very nice evening that was a lot of fun. Charlene sat at our table and it has been some time since I caught up with her so that was very nice. We then went to a Halloween party hosted by Anna’s friends. A number of people dressed up in different costumes and some really cracked me up. There weren’t that many people in attendance, but all of us had a good old time.
That was how the week and weekend went. It wasn’t too eventful. This week, Anna and I will be going to, “Rent” the musical on Wednesday then on Friday, we’ll be going to the Vienna Boy’s Choir at Drake and it’ll be an out of this world concert, I’m sure of it. Saturday, we’ll be headed to Ann’s house for dinner. I told Ann that I’ll be more than happy to get more yard work done if it needs to be taken care of. It’s still kind of early to predict the weather for the weekend, but we’ll see.
Our young adults group had dinner on Wednesday and we had six people at the dinner. All of us had a good time. On Thursday, Hoover High School had a fundraiser to send their band students to Kofu, Japan which is the sister city of Des Moines. The fundraiser took place at a Japanese restaurant and it was very well attended. I was happy to see a lot of people supporting the students. Anna bid on a number of items and actually won a round of golf at the Ankeny Country Club. She said it’ll be a good gift when her dad is in town since he loves to golf. The admission ticket included a number of food items, but it was not enough for me so I ended up ordering some sushi and sashimi from the menu. It was good.
Saturday morning I had breakfast with Jim. It’s been a couple of months since I caught up with him after his retirement from priesthood. We had breakfast at the restaurant where we’ll be opening the wedding gifts the day after the wedding. I’ve heard really good things about their breakfast buffet and came away impressed. The food was good and there was more than enough to eat. I believe everyone will have a good time at the breakfast buffet.
After the buffet, I met up with Joel and Kevin at Star Bar for our monthly guys’ meeting. We were glad Kevin was able to make it. He has not been able to make the last three meeting, so it was nice to catch up with him. After the meeting, I came back to the house and watched more Boston Legal episodes. Anna arrived home at around 3:30PM. The student made it to the semifinal, but did not make it to the finals. We went for evening Mass then it was a fundraiser at St. Kate’s to help send the students to El Salvador. It was a very nice evening that was a lot of fun. Charlene sat at our table and it has been some time since I caught up with her so that was very nice. We then went to a Halloween party hosted by Anna’s friends. A number of people dressed up in different costumes and some really cracked me up. There weren’t that many people in attendance, but all of us had a good old time.
That was how the week and weekend went. It wasn’t too eventful. This week, Anna and I will be going to, “Rent” the musical on Wednesday then on Friday, we’ll be going to the Vienna Boy’s Choir at Drake and it’ll be an out of this world concert, I’m sure of it. Saturday, we’ll be headed to Ann’s house for dinner. I told Ann that I’ll be more than happy to get more yard work done if it needs to be taken care of. It’s still kind of early to predict the weather for the weekend, but we’ll see.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Feeling a little under the weather.
Sorry I’ve not written sooner. I’ve been feeling a little under the weather. Not to worry, it’s not H1N1. I’ve spoken to a couple of people who had it and they all say that it’s a very fast acting virus. Within 12-24 hours you know you’re sick. I was feeling a little achy and have had a slight fever – not enough to warrant me calling in sick at the office. I’m feeling better now, and today was the first day I woke up without any aches and that’s a good thing.
Not too much took place over the week and weekend. Anna’s choir had their first concert on Tuesday and I surprised her by taking the evening off at the restaurant and making it to her concert. She did not know I was going to be there. Her students did a good job and they sounded good, much to her pleasure. One of her senior students who has been in choir since his freshman year even said that it was the best concert he’s been a part of. Kudos to Anna!
For three hours on Saturday, we both went to a workshop pertaining to liturgical chances that will be taking place in the Catholic Church in the coming years. It was a good workshop and the person leading it is a dear friend of ours. We were told that the earliest these changes would come into place would be the end of next year, but that’s a big if. After the workshop, I went over to Ann’s place and helped her out with some yard work. The weather was nice enough outside that we got quite a lot done. Anna could not make it because her band had a gig that night. As always, it was great to catch up with Ann. We’ve not gotten together for some time so just being with one another was really nice.
That’s pretty much the weekend. This evening, our young adults have dinner then tomorrow, we’ll be attending a fund raiser organized by the band students at Anna’s school. They are trying to raise some money so the students can go to Japan. On Saturday, it’s another fund raiser and this time it’s at Drake for the students so we could send the students to El Salvador. After the fund raiser, we’ll be headed to her friend’s place. They are having their annual Halloween Party and Anna has an idea of what we’ll be wearing. I’m going to leave that up to her!
Looks like it’s going to be a busy week for the both of us. Cheerios!
Not too much took place over the week and weekend. Anna’s choir had their first concert on Tuesday and I surprised her by taking the evening off at the restaurant and making it to her concert. She did not know I was going to be there. Her students did a good job and they sounded good, much to her pleasure. One of her senior students who has been in choir since his freshman year even said that it was the best concert he’s been a part of. Kudos to Anna!
For three hours on Saturday, we both went to a workshop pertaining to liturgical chances that will be taking place in the Catholic Church in the coming years. It was a good workshop and the person leading it is a dear friend of ours. We were told that the earliest these changes would come into place would be the end of next year, but that’s a big if. After the workshop, I went over to Ann’s place and helped her out with some yard work. The weather was nice enough outside that we got quite a lot done. Anna could not make it because her band had a gig that night. As always, it was great to catch up with Ann. We’ve not gotten together for some time so just being with one another was really nice.
That’s pretty much the weekend. This evening, our young adults have dinner then tomorrow, we’ll be attending a fund raiser organized by the band students at Anna’s school. They are trying to raise some money so the students can go to Japan. On Saturday, it’s another fund raiser and this time it’s at Drake for the students so we could send the students to El Salvador. After the fund raiser, we’ll be headed to her friend’s place. They are having their annual Halloween Party and Anna has an idea of what we’ll be wearing. I’m going to leave that up to her!
Looks like it’s going to be a busy week for the both of us. Cheerios!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A laid back weekend.
After all the activities and festivities from the last weekend, it was nice to have a pretty quite one. Anna had her students over to the house on Wednesday evening for a gathering and it was nice to meet a couple of them whom I’ve not met before. The ones who knew me were very comfortable with me. We had a good time chatting while a number of them were painting their t-shirts for all state auditions over the weekend. Prior to their arrival, I dropped some food off at someone’s house and that person would be delivering the food to a family from church. The family is someone I’ve known for years and I’ve seen their children grow up. Her husband has a very aggressive brain tumor and it’s not looking good. He was in ICU for a number of day, and the family is dealing with that. An e mail was sent asking people to volunteer to provide a meal for the family and since I work at Paradise, it was the least I could do. I just went onto the website and found out that he has the same kind of brain tumor that Ted Kennedy died from. He has been moved to the Hospice in Johnston which is so very sad. I will most definitely be saying a prayer for their family and do whatever I can to help the family. It’s tough to lose a husband and a father especially when the kids are just teenagers.
Saturday morning, I had breakfast with John and it was a very good breakfast. We’ve not caught up with one another for a long time so it was good to do that. I needed to talk to him about a couple of stuff that’s been running around in my head and it was good to let it off my chest. After the chat, I motored over to Barnes and Noble and caught up with some magazines and that’s always fun. Once that was done, I went to the Ankeny public library for the very first time and it’s a nice library that’s up to date especially with their magazine subscription. Yes! I got myself situated and I can see myself spending time there. Later that evening, I had dinner with Carola prior to the DM Symphony performance. Anna could not make it because her band had a gig just a couple of blocks away so Carola got to use her ticket which was just wonderful. The conductor was originally from China and he’s a very accomplished conductor, composer and a professor at the University of Michigan. He was the guest conductor for the evening. The soloist is a guy from China who plays the pipa which was just amazing. Talk about the skills involved in playing that instrument. It was out of this world. Needless to say, it was a most memorable performance to say the least and I’m glad we got to listen to it.
That’s pretty much all that took place over the weekend.
Saturday morning, I had breakfast with John and it was a very good breakfast. We’ve not caught up with one another for a long time so it was good to do that. I needed to talk to him about a couple of stuff that’s been running around in my head and it was good to let it off my chest. After the chat, I motored over to Barnes and Noble and caught up with some magazines and that’s always fun. Once that was done, I went to the Ankeny public library for the very first time and it’s a nice library that’s up to date especially with their magazine subscription. Yes! I got myself situated and I can see myself spending time there. Later that evening, I had dinner with Carola prior to the DM Symphony performance. Anna could not make it because her band had a gig just a couple of blocks away so Carola got to use her ticket which was just wonderful. The conductor was originally from China and he’s a very accomplished conductor, composer and a professor at the University of Michigan. He was the guest conductor for the evening. The soloist is a guy from China who plays the pipa which was just amazing. Talk about the skills involved in playing that instrument. It was out of this world. Needless to say, it was a most memorable performance to say the least and I’m glad we got to listen to it.
That’s pretty much all that took place over the weekend.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
What a weekend!
It was most definitely a movie weekend for me. I ended up watching six IMAX movies back to back on Saturday starting at 10AM and ending at 3:45PM. It was awesome! The only reason why I left at 3:45PM is because I had to work at Paradise at 4PM. The Science Center had a deal where you could watch an IMAX movie for $5 or purchase an all day pass for $20. Needless to say, I went with the all day pass. All in all they showed eight movies and I had seen two of them. The rest were new to me and talk about an experience. It was a lot of fun. Now, I know a lot of people most probably think it would have been the most boring or waste of time experience, but not me. I just loved it! I even told the people collecting the tickets the first time that they’ll be seeing a lot of me since after each movie, you had to exit the theater.
When I went to the restaurant, I was told that Friday night was very busy. Evidently there were a lot of people who decided to eat out and everyone decided to go to Paradise which is great for business. I really did not know what to expect for a Saturday night considering the past weekends it’s been really quiet and Aaron had let the servers leave early because there was no point in having them stay and not do anything. Aaron had the night off and the other team leader had the night off too which is why I was called in. The owners came to the restaurant just to make sure things were OK and boy, was I glad they were there. It started off really quiet, then at around 6PM, we had a rush of tables. There were only two of us serving was fine, but we only had a cook. One of the owners was a cook so he put on the apron and helped cook. The other owner ended up bussing/clearing the tables since both of us were busy. We ended up calling in the one server who was on call. Usually, when I’m the leader, I don’t normally take the tables unless we’re swamped. I ended up taking close to ten tables over the course of the night. The guy who was called in to serve was feeling a little under the weather so I helped him out the best I could. In many ways, it was fun but stressed because we all did the best we could, but only having on experienced cook did not help. Thank goodness the people were very understanding a nice which was great. I got a very nice note from the owner to say that I handled the floor very well with the amount of people. That was nice to know that he’s happy with my performance.
Oh, I should tell you that on Friday, Anna and I celebrated one year of dating. Yay! I took half the day off and to start off her morning, I got her another Vermont Teddy Bear and this time the bear had on a shirt to say, “Without Music, Life Would B flat (and the flat was a musical flat note!)” She loved it. I dropped her off at school and when I was done working half a day, I picked her up and we went for lunch at the restaurant where we would be having our rehearsal dinner. I had sent the owner a note and she was so happy to see us. I had a shrimp paella dish and Anna had a taboulli with scallops. Both dishes were out of this world amazing! Talk about a great way start the day. After lunch, Anna reminded me that we had to go to Josephs to pick up her engagement ring which was dropped off a week ago to be cleaned and checked. When I arrived there, Mikell, the guy who sold us the ring, greeted me and that’s when Anna sprung me a surprise by telling me that I got to pick something as my gift. Evidently, she was in cahoots with Mikell and he had picked a couple of stuff that he thought I liked. I was more than pleasantly surprised and after some thought, ended up with a glass globe that spins a little. I love it because it’s really elegant and I have the best place to put it. Both Anna and Mikell were so happy that they pulled off the surprise and I really like my gift so at the end of the day, it’s a win-win situation for all of us.
After lunch, we walked around the mall then watched the movie, the “Informant” starring Matt Damon. It was a pretty funny movie especially is you’re a Steve Soderberg fan. I liked it, but Anna did not like it too much. When the movie was over, we went to the restaurant where I proposed and sat at the booth where I went down on my knees. The host was so gracious and congratulated us. Our server was my friend, Nick who has been my server every time I’ve dined at Flemings except the one time when I proposed. He was happy to see me and I introduced him to Anna. When he found out that I proposed to her at the exact booth, he was disappointed not to be there. Dinner was marvelous and the food amazing as always. At the end of dinner, Nick presented Anna with a box of truffles as a congratulatory gift. That was really neat of him, and it says a lot for him to go out of his way a little. While chatting with Nick, I found out that he used to work at Pizza Kitchen in Ames that’s owned by the owners of Paradise! Talk about a small world. I told Nick that he should drop by when I’m working and it would be an honor to serve him. What a great way to spend an anniversary!
On Sunday, the 2nd Sunday Singers sang at John’s church in Norwalk then they had a pancake breakfast for us which was really nice. I’ve not seen John for a couple of weeks so it was good to see him again. Brunch at Paradise was really slow, but at 2:30PM, the restaurant got busy with a party of eight and another three tables. I only had one cook and he did an amazing job. Between the both of us, we managed to pull it off. I continued working alone right until 6PM when Aaron came in. The server who was supposed to work, had a family emergency so she could not come in. By 7:30PM, I was beat and I told Aaron that if it was OK with him, I was calling it a night. He let me go which was nice. He ended up serving and we had two cooks by then. It was one of those evenings that was good for the restaurant, but I was more than tired by the time I got home.
So, that was my weekend – fun, enjoyable yet a little stressed.
When I went to the restaurant, I was told that Friday night was very busy. Evidently there were a lot of people who decided to eat out and everyone decided to go to Paradise which is great for business. I really did not know what to expect for a Saturday night considering the past weekends it’s been really quiet and Aaron had let the servers leave early because there was no point in having them stay and not do anything. Aaron had the night off and the other team leader had the night off too which is why I was called in. The owners came to the restaurant just to make sure things were OK and boy, was I glad they were there. It started off really quiet, then at around 6PM, we had a rush of tables. There were only two of us serving was fine, but we only had a cook. One of the owners was a cook so he put on the apron and helped cook. The other owner ended up bussing/clearing the tables since both of us were busy. We ended up calling in the one server who was on call. Usually, when I’m the leader, I don’t normally take the tables unless we’re swamped. I ended up taking close to ten tables over the course of the night. The guy who was called in to serve was feeling a little under the weather so I helped him out the best I could. In many ways, it was fun but stressed because we all did the best we could, but only having on experienced cook did not help. Thank goodness the people were very understanding a nice which was great. I got a very nice note from the owner to say that I handled the floor very well with the amount of people. That was nice to know that he’s happy with my performance.
Oh, I should tell you that on Friday, Anna and I celebrated one year of dating. Yay! I took half the day off and to start off her morning, I got her another Vermont Teddy Bear and this time the bear had on a shirt to say, “Without Music, Life Would B flat (and the flat was a musical flat note!)” She loved it. I dropped her off at school and when I was done working half a day, I picked her up and we went for lunch at the restaurant where we would be having our rehearsal dinner. I had sent the owner a note and she was so happy to see us. I had a shrimp paella dish and Anna had a taboulli with scallops. Both dishes were out of this world amazing! Talk about a great way start the day. After lunch, Anna reminded me that we had to go to Josephs to pick up her engagement ring which was dropped off a week ago to be cleaned and checked. When I arrived there, Mikell, the guy who sold us the ring, greeted me and that’s when Anna sprung me a surprise by telling me that I got to pick something as my gift. Evidently, she was in cahoots with Mikell and he had picked a couple of stuff that he thought I liked. I was more than pleasantly surprised and after some thought, ended up with a glass globe that spins a little. I love it because it’s really elegant and I have the best place to put it. Both Anna and Mikell were so happy that they pulled off the surprise and I really like my gift so at the end of the day, it’s a win-win situation for all of us.
After lunch, we walked around the mall then watched the movie, the “Informant” starring Matt Damon. It was a pretty funny movie especially is you’re a Steve Soderberg fan. I liked it, but Anna did not like it too much. When the movie was over, we went to the restaurant where I proposed and sat at the booth where I went down on my knees. The host was so gracious and congratulated us. Our server was my friend, Nick who has been my server every time I’ve dined at Flemings except the one time when I proposed. He was happy to see me and I introduced him to Anna. When he found out that I proposed to her at the exact booth, he was disappointed not to be there. Dinner was marvelous and the food amazing as always. At the end of dinner, Nick presented Anna with a box of truffles as a congratulatory gift. That was really neat of him, and it says a lot for him to go out of his way a little. While chatting with Nick, I found out that he used to work at Pizza Kitchen in Ames that’s owned by the owners of Paradise! Talk about a small world. I told Nick that he should drop by when I’m working and it would be an honor to serve him. What a great way to spend an anniversary!
On Sunday, the 2nd Sunday Singers sang at John’s church in Norwalk then they had a pancake breakfast for us which was really nice. I’ve not seen John for a couple of weeks so it was good to see him again. Brunch at Paradise was really slow, but at 2:30PM, the restaurant got busy with a party of eight and another three tables. I only had one cook and he did an amazing job. Between the both of us, we managed to pull it off. I continued working alone right until 6PM when Aaron came in. The server who was supposed to work, had a family emergency so she could not come in. By 7:30PM, I was beat and I told Aaron that if it was OK with him, I was calling it a night. He let me go which was nice. He ended up serving and we had two cooks by then. It was one of those evenings that was good for the restaurant, but I was more than tired by the time I got home.
So, that was my weekend – fun, enjoyable yet a little stressed.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
What a wonderful week and weekend.
What a wonderful week and weekend we had.
On Wednesday night, Anna and I met up with Sonia and Jeff (her fiancé) for dinner. They will be headed to India for a couple of months so it was most definitely good to catch up with them before they left. Sonia prepared a roasted chicken and it was more than yummy to say the least. All in all a wonderful evening.
Something that’s been on the calendar for some time was a talk by Maya Angelou on Thursday evening. Needless to say, she’s a living legend and her writings have proved inspirational internationally. The talk was scheduled to start at 7PM and the doors were to open at 5:30PM. Prior to the doors opening, Anna and I had dinner at a restaurant within walking distance to the Knapp Center where the talk was going to be held. It’s a dinky little place, but very famous for their tamales. We had a good dinner and were in line by 5:20PM. There was already a good crowd there and this was a good hour and a half prior to her talk. I saw a number of people I knew in attendance and read the papers to pass the time. When Maya walked on stage, all of us gave her a three minute long standing ovation. Everyone was pumped to hear her speak. Her talk lasted not more than 45 minutes, but she really did not need to speak any longer. Her message came across loud and clear and it was about rainbows in the cloud and how all of us are rainbows to one another whether we realize it or not. Such powerful words delivered to a captive audience.
After work on Friday, Anna and I went to our second cake tasting, and I believe we’ve decided that Sweet Binney’s (www.sweetbinneys.com) will be preparing our wedding cake. Anna was more than impressed with the cakes we tried. She even got a taste of the cake I had for my 30th birthday! The meeting went very well and right now, it’s down to finalizing the contact, etc. It’s one more thing to cross off our checklist. We proceeded to the East Village to be part of the World Food Festival. A number of vendors from many different countries were there preparing their food and I got to taste some really good food and some not so good. Anna had a pupusas from El Salvador and liked it a lot. The food I loved the best was a dish prepared by this vendor from Ecuador. I told him that I knew a couple of guys from Ecuador who work at Paradise and he knew them. The food was very flavorful and too bad he does not have his own restaurant. Later that evening, we went to the Kurt Elling concert at Drake. Anna’s a huge fan of Kurt and the best way to describe his genre of jazz would be vocal jazz. The auditorium was almost sold out and it was a fantastic concert. Jazz music is very much alive and well and it has a great following in DSM. After the concert, we attended the post concert reception at Lucca Restaurant which is in the East Village. We ended up chatting with the bass player for some time because he’s originally from England and we talked about football. Later that evening, Anna got the courage to approach Kurt Elling and talked to him. She even got a photo taken with the guy and was all giddy that she has a photo with Kurt Elling. It was very cute because she was like a little kid and was beaming the rest of the night.
I got up earlier on Saturday to get groceries and some cooking done because later that evening, we had some friends over for dinner and I had a busy Saturday. I got two dishes cooked then it was off to our monthly men’s lunch. After the luncheon, I headed to Joel’s place because he needed my help to get a curtain installed in his garage so when he washes his car, the water does not splash all over. We could not get it all done that afternoon, but we did get the majority of it taken care of. I then went to Cownie soccer field to watch one of my former religious education student play for his college. He did fine, but I know overall, he was disappointed with the way his college played. They were down 0-3 by halftime and I had to leave to get more cooking done. It was good to see him, and we’ll catch up during Christmas break, I’m sure. Our friends arrived at 6:30PM and everyone loved the food I cooked. Needless to say, this was the first time they had Malaysian cooking. I prepared beef curry, ginger chicken, baby bak choy, friend omelette and fish curry. While eating dinner, everyone chatted with one another and it dawned on me that I was the odd person out because everyone there was a teacher. In so many ways, it was good for Anna to have her teacher friends because they all could relate to one another. I do a pretty good job emphatizing with her, but at the same time, I realize I’m not a teacher and there are things other teachers can help her out with. All of us had a grand time and there’s nothing like having great food, wine and company.
So, talk about a busy week and weekend. On Sunday, I had 2pm-5PM off because the owner kind of goofed up my schedule. It worked out A OK because Kristi came by the restaurant and we got to catch up with one another. It’s been a long time since we connected so that was really good. I ended up leaving the restaurant at 8:30PM which was later than I expected, but that’s OK. We had a nice flow of people and that’s always good for business.
That was the week and weekend that went by. It’s not going to be as exciting this weekend for sure. Anna and I celebrate our one year anniversary of dating this Friday and I’ll be taking half the day off from work and the evening off from Paradise. She has the day off from school and we’ll probably have lunch at the restaurant where we’ll have the rehearsal dinner then it’s off to watch a movie before a nice dinner somewhere. I’ll have to pick my brain to figure out a nice restaurant for us.
Oh, I did forget to mention that we had out first snow fall on Saturday morning. When I got up there was snow on the ground. The weather has most definitely changed and it’s not cooler than usual which is a little weird, but A OK by me. I’m not quite ready for snow yet because it seems that the middle of October is just a little too early, but crazier things have happened before.
On Wednesday night, Anna and I met up with Sonia and Jeff (her fiancé) for dinner. They will be headed to India for a couple of months so it was most definitely good to catch up with them before they left. Sonia prepared a roasted chicken and it was more than yummy to say the least. All in all a wonderful evening.
Something that’s been on the calendar for some time was a talk by Maya Angelou on Thursday evening. Needless to say, she’s a living legend and her writings have proved inspirational internationally. The talk was scheduled to start at 7PM and the doors were to open at 5:30PM. Prior to the doors opening, Anna and I had dinner at a restaurant within walking distance to the Knapp Center where the talk was going to be held. It’s a dinky little place, but very famous for their tamales. We had a good dinner and were in line by 5:20PM. There was already a good crowd there and this was a good hour and a half prior to her talk. I saw a number of people I knew in attendance and read the papers to pass the time. When Maya walked on stage, all of us gave her a three minute long standing ovation. Everyone was pumped to hear her speak. Her talk lasted not more than 45 minutes, but she really did not need to speak any longer. Her message came across loud and clear and it was about rainbows in the cloud and how all of us are rainbows to one another whether we realize it or not. Such powerful words delivered to a captive audience.
After work on Friday, Anna and I went to our second cake tasting, and I believe we’ve decided that Sweet Binney’s (www.sweetbinneys.com) will be preparing our wedding cake. Anna was more than impressed with the cakes we tried. She even got a taste of the cake I had for my 30th birthday! The meeting went very well and right now, it’s down to finalizing the contact, etc. It’s one more thing to cross off our checklist. We proceeded to the East Village to be part of the World Food Festival. A number of vendors from many different countries were there preparing their food and I got to taste some really good food and some not so good. Anna had a pupusas from El Salvador and liked it a lot. The food I loved the best was a dish prepared by this vendor from Ecuador. I told him that I knew a couple of guys from Ecuador who work at Paradise and he knew them. The food was very flavorful and too bad he does not have his own restaurant. Later that evening, we went to the Kurt Elling concert at Drake. Anna’s a huge fan of Kurt and the best way to describe his genre of jazz would be vocal jazz. The auditorium was almost sold out and it was a fantastic concert. Jazz music is very much alive and well and it has a great following in DSM. After the concert, we attended the post concert reception at Lucca Restaurant which is in the East Village. We ended up chatting with the bass player for some time because he’s originally from England and we talked about football. Later that evening, Anna got the courage to approach Kurt Elling and talked to him. She even got a photo taken with the guy and was all giddy that she has a photo with Kurt Elling. It was very cute because she was like a little kid and was beaming the rest of the night.
I got up earlier on Saturday to get groceries and some cooking done because later that evening, we had some friends over for dinner and I had a busy Saturday. I got two dishes cooked then it was off to our monthly men’s lunch. After the luncheon, I headed to Joel’s place because he needed my help to get a curtain installed in his garage so when he washes his car, the water does not splash all over. We could not get it all done that afternoon, but we did get the majority of it taken care of. I then went to Cownie soccer field to watch one of my former religious education student play for his college. He did fine, but I know overall, he was disappointed with the way his college played. They were down 0-3 by halftime and I had to leave to get more cooking done. It was good to see him, and we’ll catch up during Christmas break, I’m sure. Our friends arrived at 6:30PM and everyone loved the food I cooked. Needless to say, this was the first time they had Malaysian cooking. I prepared beef curry, ginger chicken, baby bak choy, friend omelette and fish curry. While eating dinner, everyone chatted with one another and it dawned on me that I was the odd person out because everyone there was a teacher. In so many ways, it was good for Anna to have her teacher friends because they all could relate to one another. I do a pretty good job emphatizing with her, but at the same time, I realize I’m not a teacher and there are things other teachers can help her out with. All of us had a grand time and there’s nothing like having great food, wine and company.
So, talk about a busy week and weekend. On Sunday, I had 2pm-5PM off because the owner kind of goofed up my schedule. It worked out A OK because Kristi came by the restaurant and we got to catch up with one another. It’s been a long time since we connected so that was really good. I ended up leaving the restaurant at 8:30PM which was later than I expected, but that’s OK. We had a nice flow of people and that’s always good for business.
That was the week and weekend that went by. It’s not going to be as exciting this weekend for sure. Anna and I celebrate our one year anniversary of dating this Friday and I’ll be taking half the day off from work and the evening off from Paradise. She has the day off from school and we’ll probably have lunch at the restaurant where we’ll have the rehearsal dinner then it’s off to watch a movie before a nice dinner somewhere. I’ll have to pick my brain to figure out a nice restaurant for us.
Oh, I did forget to mention that we had out first snow fall on Saturday morning. When I got up there was snow on the ground. The weather has most definitely changed and it’s not cooler than usual which is a little weird, but A OK by me. I’m not quite ready for snow yet because it seems that the middle of October is just a little too early, but crazier things have happened before.
Monday, October 5, 2009
What a fun filled week!
Wow, talk about an exciting week! On Wednesday, Anna and I went to our first cake tasting. We tasted some of this lady’s cakes at the bridal forum a couple of weeks back and were pretty impressed. You can check out her website at www.sweetestperfections.com and view some of her creations. Prior to the tasting, she gave us options to choose when it comes to the type of cakes/filling/etc. Anna and I made our choices and sent it to her. She works out of her home and her entire basement is a commercial sized kitchen. Needless to say, the cakes were really good and we got to sit and chat with her pertaining to some ideas we had for our cakes. She was very open to our suggestions and willing to work with us. All of us had a very good experience with one another. It also helps that she’s a big foodie like me so we connected on that level too! After the cake tasting, Anna and I visited the Foell family. The cake tasting was less then three blocks from where Panom and David live. I definitely wanted to pay them a visit to see how Panom was doing especially with the death of her mom. She’s doing better and she also shared with us that she’s pregnant! Yay! The baby is due the very end of April or maybe even early May. I’m so excited for them and personally I’m wishing they get a girl just to even things a little more. They already have two boys and I know Panom would really love a girl. The boys are excited to say the least.
On Thursday, we went to Wicked, the musical which is most definitely one of the hottest musical tickets out there right now. Can you believe that if you did not get tickets when we did, the cost of a premium seat would be $130?! It’s crazy. Oh, prior to Wicked, Anna treated me to dinner at Miyabi 9 which is my go to Japanese restaurant. As soon as we walked in, the chef/owner recognized me and I apologized for being away for so long. I once again, ordered the omakase and it was to die for. He did a couple of different things that were just out of this world. Anna decided to play it safe and ordered off the menu. She did order a scallop nigiri, and loved it. I gave her different tastings of my orders and she was more than adventurous to try some of them. What a great way to get the evening started! The musical itself was a lot of fun and it had more than its fair share of catchy tunes. I can see why a lot of people love it and keep going back to see it. Now that I’ve seen it once, would I pay $130 to see it again? I won’t, but it does not take away from how good it was.
We went to Mass on Saturday evening because Anna was the cantor and also because after Mass, it was the welcome reception for our new priest. He went to Mundelein seminary some years back and knew a couple of faculty there. What do I think of him? Well, he’s not John or Jim, but I’m sure he’ll do fine. They’ve been a couple of things going on at St. Kate’s involving this new priest, the bishop and a couple of people that’s not sat down well with me. I’ll spare you the details, but for now I’m going to reserve my comments. I’ll give this guy some time to settle down. It was definitely a lot of fun chatting with dad, mom and sis on Saturday. Isn’t technology just great? I’m sure there’s a way where we can all chat and view the videos at the same time. I’ll have to figure that one out.
This Friday, Anna and I will be going our second and final cake tasting and am looking forward to it. The one that will be going to are the people who created my 30th birthday cake, and I know they’ll do an amazing job with the cake no matter what. We’ll see what Anna thinks of it. Later that evening, we’ll be going to a concert at Drake and the performer is an amazing jazz artist named Kurt Elling. Anna loves him and I know she’s more than pumped for it. After the concert, we’ll get to go to a post concert reception at Lucca in East Village for donors. Yay! I know it’ll be a grand evening for sure.
On Saturday, the weather is supposed to be in the high 50s which is uncharacteristically cool for this time, and I’ll be watching one of my former RE students play soccer. He’s excited to be playing back in DM and I hope he gets to score a goal. That would be icing on the cake. Later that night, we have a couple of friends over so we’ll have lots of food and a good time chatting and catching up with one another. Yay!
That’s the news from me for now.
On Thursday, we went to Wicked, the musical which is most definitely one of the hottest musical tickets out there right now. Can you believe that if you did not get tickets when we did, the cost of a premium seat would be $130?! It’s crazy. Oh, prior to Wicked, Anna treated me to dinner at Miyabi 9 which is my go to Japanese restaurant. As soon as we walked in, the chef/owner recognized me and I apologized for being away for so long. I once again, ordered the omakase and it was to die for. He did a couple of different things that were just out of this world. Anna decided to play it safe and ordered off the menu. She did order a scallop nigiri, and loved it. I gave her different tastings of my orders and she was more than adventurous to try some of them. What a great way to get the evening started! The musical itself was a lot of fun and it had more than its fair share of catchy tunes. I can see why a lot of people love it and keep going back to see it. Now that I’ve seen it once, would I pay $130 to see it again? I won’t, but it does not take away from how good it was.
We went to Mass on Saturday evening because Anna was the cantor and also because after Mass, it was the welcome reception for our new priest. He went to Mundelein seminary some years back and knew a couple of faculty there. What do I think of him? Well, he’s not John or Jim, but I’m sure he’ll do fine. They’ve been a couple of things going on at St. Kate’s involving this new priest, the bishop and a couple of people that’s not sat down well with me. I’ll spare you the details, but for now I’m going to reserve my comments. I’ll give this guy some time to settle down. It was definitely a lot of fun chatting with dad, mom and sis on Saturday. Isn’t technology just great? I’m sure there’s a way where we can all chat and view the videos at the same time. I’ll have to figure that one out.
This Friday, Anna and I will be going our second and final cake tasting and am looking forward to it. The one that will be going to are the people who created my 30th birthday cake, and I know they’ll do an amazing job with the cake no matter what. We’ll see what Anna thinks of it. Later that evening, we’ll be going to a concert at Drake and the performer is an amazing jazz artist named Kurt Elling. Anna loves him and I know she’s more than pumped for it. After the concert, we’ll get to go to a post concert reception at Lucca in East Village for donors. Yay! I know it’ll be a grand evening for sure.
On Saturday, the weather is supposed to be in the high 50s which is uncharacteristically cool for this time, and I’ll be watching one of my former RE students play soccer. He’s excited to be playing back in DM and I hope he gets to score a goal. That would be icing on the cake. Later that night, we have a couple of friends over so we’ll have lots of food and a good time chatting and catching up with one another. Yay!
That’s the news from me for now.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Volunteer service project weekend.
Well, it was definitely a busy weekend for me. I was planning on having two groups of volunteers assist a client of ours. The first group was supposed to come at 11AM and the second at 2PM. Can you believe that at 10:30AM, the first group called to say that they would not make it because it looked like it was going to rain? Are you freaking kidding me? Who in the world calls half an hour to cancel? I checked the weather forecast and it was forecasted as cloudy and if it was going to rain, the rain would come down at 2PM. Man, was I fuming when I got the call. So, I basically raked this client’s yard for three hours myself. It was a great way to get all the anger out of my system. The second group, Vietnamese students at Drake came at 2PM and they did a great job with sacking the leaves, cleaning and organizing the client’s yard. I was so proud of them. I told them what happened with the first group and they could not believe it. The entire time I was there, it never did rain at all and the weather in the afternoon was just perfect. Once I got done with the project, I cleaned myself up and picked Anna up from her band practice and we headed to Norwalk at John’s church for the annual fall festival.
For some reason I did not make it last year, but was not going to miss it this year. I saw a couple of people I recognized so that was nice and I got to introduce them to Anna. Anna had never seen John’s church before so that was a neat experience for her. I was starving and got to eat more than my fair share of food. Yay! All in all, it was a good evening for all.
Oh, on Thursday, our young adults group went to a little hole in the wall, mom and pop Mexican restaurant for dinner. I was looking forward to the meal because it’s the one place where they serve goat meat. My, oh my, was the food just great. I had my fill and what was neat was the fact that the daughter was the server and the mother was the cook. Awesome! We had a fun evening and all of us were full by the end of our meal.
Business was busy for Sunday brunch at Paradise and also at dinner time. In fact, I was supposed to leave at 6PM, but right when I was about to leave, we got a rush and Aaron asked me to stay to help the other server who gets a little overwhelmed when there are a lot of people. I helped him out, but he basically got all the tips. One of the tables was a dear couple who brought their parents and kids in and I’ve served them a number of times so we know each other. They wondered if I could end up getting the tip since I basically was their server and I said it was OK. They said they’ll make it up to me the next time they come in. It’s people like these that make working in the restaurant all worthwhile!
This Wednesday, Anna and I will be going to our first of two cake tastings so we’re pretty excited about it. After that, we’ll pop by Panom’s house. It’s been quite some since I’ve visited them. Also, Panom’s mom passed away two weekends ago so it’ll be good to visit her. On Thursday, I’ll finally be able to see, “Wicked” the musical. It’s the hottest ticket in town and I’ll let you know what I think of it. Those who have seen it all say it’s out of this world.
That’s the news from me for this week.
For some reason I did not make it last year, but was not going to miss it this year. I saw a couple of people I recognized so that was nice and I got to introduce them to Anna. Anna had never seen John’s church before so that was a neat experience for her. I was starving and got to eat more than my fair share of food. Yay! All in all, it was a good evening for all.
Oh, on Thursday, our young adults group went to a little hole in the wall, mom and pop Mexican restaurant for dinner. I was looking forward to the meal because it’s the one place where they serve goat meat. My, oh my, was the food just great. I had my fill and what was neat was the fact that the daughter was the server and the mother was the cook. Awesome! We had a fun evening and all of us were full by the end of our meal.
Business was busy for Sunday brunch at Paradise and also at dinner time. In fact, I was supposed to leave at 6PM, but right when I was about to leave, we got a rush and Aaron asked me to stay to help the other server who gets a little overwhelmed when there are a lot of people. I helped him out, but he basically got all the tips. One of the tables was a dear couple who brought their parents and kids in and I’ve served them a number of times so we know each other. They wondered if I could end up getting the tip since I basically was their server and I said it was OK. They said they’ll make it up to me the next time they come in. It’s people like these that make working in the restaurant all worthwhile!
This Wednesday, Anna and I will be going to our first of two cake tastings so we’re pretty excited about it. After that, we’ll pop by Panom’s house. It’s been quite some since I’ve visited them. Also, Panom’s mom passed away two weekends ago so it’ll be good to visit her. On Thursday, I’ll finally be able to see, “Wicked” the musical. It’s the hottest ticket in town and I’ll let you know what I think of it. Those who have seen it all say it’s out of this world.
That’s the news from me for this week.
Monday, September 21, 2009
I dislike stupid people.
I really dislike stupid people. I had to deal with two customers on the phone yesterday and both of them were let’s put it this way, less than bright. The sad part about it, I could not really tell them how I felt and I had to be all nice and listen to them rant and rave. Aargh!!! When Aaron came into the restaurant, I told him about it and he said it’s best I call it a day. Mind you, I was very pleasant to all the customers who came into the restaurant and we had a good business especially over brunch, but dealing with people who are not too bright on the phone really saps my energy. Oh well, it’s over and done now. Poor Anna was my sounding board and she took it like a wonderful fiancée. She knew something was up as soon as I saw her.
On a much brighter note, we both went to a wedding at St. Kate’s on Saturday afternoon. It was a very simple wedding without any major fanfare. There are times when that’s just the best. I got to ride over to the reception location with Charlene since we both stayed a little after the wedding to make sure things were looking OK for Mass later that afternoon. The reception was held at a lodge located in a park. Talk about a wonderful place and it just worked out really well for everyone. The food was catered by this guy who owns a barbeque shop not too far from the restaurant. The meat was very flavorful and yummy. We also had smoked salmon and that too was yummy. For drinks, you could have beer, wine, lemonade or root beer. I opted for root beer and there was a whole barrel of it there. It came from the Amana colonies and tasted mighty fine. Overall, it was such a fun afternoon. The group from St. Kate’s sat together and we just had a grand old time.
After work on Friday, I met up with Anna at one of our friend’s apartment. He organized a party and I told him I’ll only be able to make it after 10:30PM. Actually, I only arrived close to 10:50PM – there was a group of people who came in rather late so I had to get them taken care off and get as much cleaning done prior to closing the restaurant. We stayed at Kyle’s place till roughly 1AM, I think and it was a very relaxing night.
Not too much is planned for this week. The young adults will be going out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant over on the south side and I’m looking forward to it because it’s one of the few places where you can actually eat goat meat. Yay! I’ll be coordinator one and possibly two groups of volunteers from Drake on Saturday. They will be working out in the yard of one of our case manager’s clients. There’s a lot of work to be done and I’m just trying to get as many groups as possible to come in waves to help this poor, older gentleman. Later that evening, Anna and I will be headed over to John’s church for their annual fall festival. For some reason or another, I did not make it last year which was a bummer. It’ll be good to spend time with John and see people from his church. Anna has never been there before so she’ll get to see his church.
That’s the news from me.
On a much brighter note, we both went to a wedding at St. Kate’s on Saturday afternoon. It was a very simple wedding without any major fanfare. There are times when that’s just the best. I got to ride over to the reception location with Charlene since we both stayed a little after the wedding to make sure things were looking OK for Mass later that afternoon. The reception was held at a lodge located in a park. Talk about a wonderful place and it just worked out really well for everyone. The food was catered by this guy who owns a barbeque shop not too far from the restaurant. The meat was very flavorful and yummy. We also had smoked salmon and that too was yummy. For drinks, you could have beer, wine, lemonade or root beer. I opted for root beer and there was a whole barrel of it there. It came from the Amana colonies and tasted mighty fine. Overall, it was such a fun afternoon. The group from St. Kate’s sat together and we just had a grand old time.
After work on Friday, I met up with Anna at one of our friend’s apartment. He organized a party and I told him I’ll only be able to make it after 10:30PM. Actually, I only arrived close to 10:50PM – there was a group of people who came in rather late so I had to get them taken care off and get as much cleaning done prior to closing the restaurant. We stayed at Kyle’s place till roughly 1AM, I think and it was a very relaxing night.
Not too much is planned for this week. The young adults will be going out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant over on the south side and I’m looking forward to it because it’s one of the few places where you can actually eat goat meat. Yay! I’ll be coordinator one and possibly two groups of volunteers from Drake on Saturday. They will be working out in the yard of one of our case manager’s clients. There’s a lot of work to be done and I’m just trying to get as many groups as possible to come in waves to help this poor, older gentleman. Later that evening, Anna and I will be headed over to John’s church for their annual fall festival. For some reason or another, I did not make it last year which was a bummer. It’ll be good to spend time with John and see people from his church. Anna has never been there before so she’ll get to see his church.
That’s the news from me.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
What a weekend!
Well, talk about a wonderful weekend to say the least. I met up with Joel and Jim at a bar for our monthly men’s brunch and we had a grand time. Prior to that, I watched Liverpool spank Burnley on tv and what a great game. Overall it was such a wonderful game and everyone played a great game. Whoever decided to write Liverpool out of the premiership title had better think again. After brunch, I went back and watched a dvd while Anna was getting set up for her gig later that evening. I met up with Carola and John at the Civic Center for the season opener of the DM Symphony and it was a knock you out of this world season opener. Everyone in the symphony was amazing and it was as if they wanted to wow the crowd since it was the start of the season. The soloist from China was outstanding and she’s probably in her mid to late twenties, but her poise, focus and composure was mind boggling. It was a tremendous performance all around. I know all of us in attendance has a blast and are looking forward to the next concert. Speaking of the next concert, the conductor is from China and the soloist will be playing a pipa. How cool is that? I know I’m looking forward to that concert.
I took the day off on Sunday because there were two bridal forums and I figured this is the one and only time I’ll ever go to a bridal forum. Let’s just say it was an experience to say the least and now I can see why women go all crazy planning for their wedding day. I’m just so thankful we had gotten a lot of the work done so it was nice to go to the forums and not worry about picking everything and anything. Anna and I knew going to the forum we needed to focus on two things which was a wedding cake vendor and florists. Both vendors were there and I got to taste no less than eight cakes for roughly six vendors. I was only impressed with one and will most probably schedule a tasting with her. Anna pretty much let me decide on that with some input from her. Regarding florists, I know we have a person in mind, but it definitely did not hurt looking at other vendors. We may or may not schedule an appointment to meet with others. We’ll just have to see.
At the office today, my package arrived in the mail. Yes, I now have a webcam and also the David Foster CD/DVD. I’ll be setting up the webcam this evening and hopefully it’ll be installed without a hitch whatsoever. I really do not see any problem with it and it should be a piece of cake. Once that’s all set up, I’ll download Skype and I should be able to speak with the family via webcam. I also know a number of people who are on Skype so it’ll be fun to chat with them.
I’m working every evening this week because the owners mistakenly scheduled me without Aaron letting them know that I now only work on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. It’s not a big deal because I don’t have stuff planned the evenings I’ll be working. On Saturday, Anna and I will be attending a wedding at St. Kate’s. Her parents are good friend of mine and I had her in religious education and a lot of the people will be from church. It’ll be a great time, I’m sure of it!
That’s all from me for the time being. Cheers to the week ahead!
I took the day off on Sunday because there were two bridal forums and I figured this is the one and only time I’ll ever go to a bridal forum. Let’s just say it was an experience to say the least and now I can see why women go all crazy planning for their wedding day. I’m just so thankful we had gotten a lot of the work done so it was nice to go to the forums and not worry about picking everything and anything. Anna and I knew going to the forum we needed to focus on two things which was a wedding cake vendor and florists. Both vendors were there and I got to taste no less than eight cakes for roughly six vendors. I was only impressed with one and will most probably schedule a tasting with her. Anna pretty much let me decide on that with some input from her. Regarding florists, I know we have a person in mind, but it definitely did not hurt looking at other vendors. We may or may not schedule an appointment to meet with others. We’ll just have to see.
At the office today, my package arrived in the mail. Yes, I now have a webcam and also the David Foster CD/DVD. I’ll be setting up the webcam this evening and hopefully it’ll be installed without a hitch whatsoever. I really do not see any problem with it and it should be a piece of cake. Once that’s all set up, I’ll download Skype and I should be able to speak with the family via webcam. I also know a number of people who are on Skype so it’ll be fun to chat with them.
I’m working every evening this week because the owners mistakenly scheduled me without Aaron letting them know that I now only work on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. It’s not a big deal because I don’t have stuff planned the evenings I’ll be working. On Saturday, Anna and I will be attending a wedding at St. Kate’s. Her parents are good friend of mine and I had her in religious education and a lot of the people will be from church. It’ll be a great time, I’m sure of it!
That’s all from me for the time being. Cheers to the week ahead!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
A lot accomplished over Labor Day weekend.
A lot was accomplished over this Labor Day weekend, not by me but Anna. She left for the Twin Cities early Saturday morning and made it for her dress shopping with her sister, Heidi and mom, Karen. She informed me later that evening that they did indeed get a wedding dress and she’s really happy about it. While up there, they also talked about the wedding invitations, guests list etc. Looks like we know what that figure will come to. The printing of the invitations will be done at the office since we have a commercial color printer that is more than capable of doing the job. I’ll end up paying the cost for the printing, but it’s not going to amount to a lot of money. Another thing that was finalized was the photographer. You can check out her website at www.amyallenphoto.com Both Anna and I really like her and she does some amazing photography. See, I was right when I said she accomplished a lot over the weekend. I guess the next thing on the check list would be to finalize the florist and wedding cake. That will be taken care of in the coming weeks, I’m sure of it. Off the top of my head, the rest of the stuff would be pretty minor stuff. Oh, the color for the bride maid’s dresses was done too. I’ll be wearing a tan colored suit which would be perfect for the summer heat. I’ll send you a link as soon as I find that out from Anna so you can have an idea of what I’ll be wearing.
I on the other hand had a very low key weekend. I worked on Friday night and pretty much spent Saturday at the movie theaters. I watched two movies then it was time to break fast with a Moslem friend of mine from Jordan. She’s really neat, and lives in the apartment building where I live, just four floors above me. I made beef rendang while she prepared some Middle Eastern cuisine. Talk about a fun meal for all of us.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that on Thursday, the young adults went out for dinner at this Hawaiian chain restaurant called Alohana Grill. The food was very reasonable and pretty good too. It was the first time I had Hawaiian cuisine and I definitely would not mind going back there again for a meal.
I worked longer than usual at Paradise on Sunday because Aaron had to drive his friends to Kansas City because their car broke down half way between DM and Kansas City. When I left at 7:50PM, he was just pulling into the restaurant. After that, I watched a number of dvds I purchased since there was a really good offer for pre-viewed dvds.
Monday was spent watching the rest of the dvds and grilling some meat for a mini engagement party organized by someone from church. All in all, there were six of us in attendance – John, Carola, Mary Kay Shanley and Dennies Rhodes (the organizers), Anna and me. The weather was outstanding so we got to sit on the patio and just enjoy the surroundings. Dinner was wonderful and after that was done, Anna played a couple of songs before we had dessert. Talk about a great way to celebrate Labor Day.
Well, that’s the news from me.
I on the other hand had a very low key weekend. I worked on Friday night and pretty much spent Saturday at the movie theaters. I watched two movies then it was time to break fast with a Moslem friend of mine from Jordan. She’s really neat, and lives in the apartment building where I live, just four floors above me. I made beef rendang while she prepared some Middle Eastern cuisine. Talk about a fun meal for all of us.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that on Thursday, the young adults went out for dinner at this Hawaiian chain restaurant called Alohana Grill. The food was very reasonable and pretty good too. It was the first time I had Hawaiian cuisine and I definitely would not mind going back there again for a meal.
I worked longer than usual at Paradise on Sunday because Aaron had to drive his friends to Kansas City because their car broke down half way between DM and Kansas City. When I left at 7:50PM, he was just pulling into the restaurant. After that, I watched a number of dvds I purchased since there was a really good offer for pre-viewed dvds.
Monday was spent watching the rest of the dvds and grilling some meat for a mini engagement party organized by someone from church. All in all, there were six of us in attendance – John, Carola, Mary Kay Shanley and Dennies Rhodes (the organizers), Anna and me. The weather was outstanding so we got to sit on the patio and just enjoy the surroundings. Dinner was wonderful and after that was done, Anna played a couple of songs before we had dessert. Talk about a great way to celebrate Labor Day.
Well, that’s the news from me.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Two entries in one.
Man, talk about a nice weekend that we just had. Heidi and Mark came into town together with some friends from Bismarck. Actually, it’s Heidi’s wedding party from their wedding three years ago. They have all known one another since elementary school. It was most definitely a reunion weekend for all of them. Everyone kind of arrived at different times, but that was totally fine. I was working at the restaurant so by the time I got back, most of them had arrived except for a friend who was arriving on Saturday. Everyone pretty much stayed up till 12:45AM just catching up with one another. Talk about fun times.
On Saturday, those of us who were in town headed to the Farmer’s Market. Gretchen, Anna and Heidi’s dear friend actually fainted while waiting for Heidi to get a smoothie. Thank goodness she fainted into her husband, Bob’s arms. Phew. After a couple of minutes, she told us that she’s pregnant with twins! They’ve been trying for some time and are so happy that they are pregnant. Needless to say her fainting spell must had something to do with the pregnancy. We ended up having lunch at an air-conditioned restaurant nearby where everyone got to sit in a cool and relaxed atmosphere. Suzy, their friend from Omaha met up with us there and once again, everyone was just happy chatting with one another. The weather was a little iffy so we decided to head back to Anna’s place and just hang out. On the way home, it poured like cats and dogs and we were all glad that we made that decision. Sitting around and just having everyone reminisce the old times were so much fun. Bob and I were the only outsiders because the rest have known each other for years.
For dinner that night, we went to Happy Joes for Pizza. It was Heidi’s choice since she loves the taco pizza from there. Most definitely not a place I would have picked especially since I work at a pizza place. Oh well. The food was fine and everyone had a good time. When we got back after dinner, we all played the Wii and it was hilarious. There were just different games that we all tried. It was all around fun for everyone especially those of us who were just watching.
I had to leave for Mass earlier than the rest of them because I had to do a couple of things at church. We all set together which was nice and I introduced Kevin to Heidi and vice versa since both of them are in the wedding party. All of them went back to the house for brunch, but I went to the restaurant. Speaking of restaurants, we were packed for brunch and also for dinner. It was really crazy. I’m by no means complaining and it’s definitely good for business, but you just never know why some days are busier than others. Actually, this whole week, it was plain busy every evening including the week nights.
Oh, I forgot to mention that single tickets to the Chicago Symphony went on sale on Friday. If you remember, Anna got me a gift certificate to the CSO and I’ve been waiting to use them. We ended up getting tickets to Yo Yo Ma for next May and I can guarantee you it’ll be a once in a lifetime concert. We are only talking about one of the most amazing cellist EVER! We’re both very excited for the concert.
That was what took place last week/weekend. Drake students will start returning to campus this week and classes start next Monday. Isn’t it amazing where the summer has gone?!
Let me start by saying the weather this weekend was just out of this world. August is usually the hottest and most humid month of the year, but this past weekend, it was in the high sixties to the mid seventies with very low humidity. It was plain gorgeous to say the least which really helped because on Saturday, a group of Drake students and I together with my colleague did a bunch of yard work for my colleague’s client. The house was declared a public nuisance and would soon be condemned by the city, but right now it’s tied up in a legal battle. The agency has been trying its best to help the client salvage the house so that’s where I came in with the students. I got in touch with our campus minister and asked if they had any service project planned and they informed me that they indeed were looking for a project. There were a total of twelve students who helped and we needed all the help we could get for sure. All of us did as much work as possible and the outside of the house is looking much better and my goal is to get another group to help with more outside work. We’ll definitely be doing a lot in phases. The weather could have very easily been in the nineties with high humidity and that would have been terrible.
Later that evening, Anna’s band played at a block party and by far, it was definitely one of the best performances. There was a very good turnout and people young and old were literally dancing in the street and having a grand time. I mentioned to Anna later that evening the fact that they sounded really good and she commented that everyone in very many ways were feeding off the energy from the crowd. All of us just had a wonderful time. I’m sure the weather had a major role to play also.
Oh, this past week was Des Moines’s restaurant week. You could get two lunches for $25 or a three course meals for $25 per person. A listing of restaurant participated in the promotion and Anna, Joel, Kathy and I went to a restaurant all of had never been to on Wednesday. We were familiar with the chef since he had closed his amazing restaurant to move to this place just so he could focus on the cooking and not the business aspect of it. The food was very good and the ambience in the restaurant was one of a kind. We all thought that it was an overall wonderful evening. The Iowa Cubs were playing, but it rained all day and the game was pretty much rained out so we ended up back at Joel and Kathy’s for some after dinner drinks. Talk about a fun evening!
I had to get some dental work done on Thursday so after that was taken care off, I took the rest of the day off. The last time I went to the dentist a couple of weeks back, they worked on one side of my mouth and this time they completed the other side. It was not the most pleasing experience so I figured I might as well just take the day off. My next appointment will be in three months just to make sure everything is looking good.
Anna and I have our last meeting with our sponsor couple this evening. They pretty much came to an agreement that meeting three times would suffice for us. At the end of our meeting we’ll probably have some dessert to go around. I need to figure out what I’ll bring. They have been such a fun and easy couple to work with.
Well, that’s the news from me for this week. Next weekend is Labor Day and Anna will be going up to the Twin Cities, but I’ll be in DM. That’s OK. I’ll have more than enough to keep me occupied. I most probably will end up catching a ton of movies that I’ve not been able to.
On Saturday, those of us who were in town headed to the Farmer’s Market. Gretchen, Anna and Heidi’s dear friend actually fainted while waiting for Heidi to get a smoothie. Thank goodness she fainted into her husband, Bob’s arms. Phew. After a couple of minutes, she told us that she’s pregnant with twins! They’ve been trying for some time and are so happy that they are pregnant. Needless to say her fainting spell must had something to do with the pregnancy. We ended up having lunch at an air-conditioned restaurant nearby where everyone got to sit in a cool and relaxed atmosphere. Suzy, their friend from Omaha met up with us there and once again, everyone was just happy chatting with one another. The weather was a little iffy so we decided to head back to Anna’s place and just hang out. On the way home, it poured like cats and dogs and we were all glad that we made that decision. Sitting around and just having everyone reminisce the old times were so much fun. Bob and I were the only outsiders because the rest have known each other for years.
For dinner that night, we went to Happy Joes for Pizza. It was Heidi’s choice since she loves the taco pizza from there. Most definitely not a place I would have picked especially since I work at a pizza place. Oh well. The food was fine and everyone had a good time. When we got back after dinner, we all played the Wii and it was hilarious. There were just different games that we all tried. It was all around fun for everyone especially those of us who were just watching.
I had to leave for Mass earlier than the rest of them because I had to do a couple of things at church. We all set together which was nice and I introduced Kevin to Heidi and vice versa since both of them are in the wedding party. All of them went back to the house for brunch, but I went to the restaurant. Speaking of restaurants, we were packed for brunch and also for dinner. It was really crazy. I’m by no means complaining and it’s definitely good for business, but you just never know why some days are busier than others. Actually, this whole week, it was plain busy every evening including the week nights.
Oh, I forgot to mention that single tickets to the Chicago Symphony went on sale on Friday. If you remember, Anna got me a gift certificate to the CSO and I’ve been waiting to use them. We ended up getting tickets to Yo Yo Ma for next May and I can guarantee you it’ll be a once in a lifetime concert. We are only talking about one of the most amazing cellist EVER! We’re both very excited for the concert.
That was what took place last week/weekend. Drake students will start returning to campus this week and classes start next Monday. Isn’t it amazing where the summer has gone?!
Let me start by saying the weather this weekend was just out of this world. August is usually the hottest and most humid month of the year, but this past weekend, it was in the high sixties to the mid seventies with very low humidity. It was plain gorgeous to say the least which really helped because on Saturday, a group of Drake students and I together with my colleague did a bunch of yard work for my colleague’s client. The house was declared a public nuisance and would soon be condemned by the city, but right now it’s tied up in a legal battle. The agency has been trying its best to help the client salvage the house so that’s where I came in with the students. I got in touch with our campus minister and asked if they had any service project planned and they informed me that they indeed were looking for a project. There were a total of twelve students who helped and we needed all the help we could get for sure. All of us did as much work as possible and the outside of the house is looking much better and my goal is to get another group to help with more outside work. We’ll definitely be doing a lot in phases. The weather could have very easily been in the nineties with high humidity and that would have been terrible.
Later that evening, Anna’s band played at a block party and by far, it was definitely one of the best performances. There was a very good turnout and people young and old were literally dancing in the street and having a grand time. I mentioned to Anna later that evening the fact that they sounded really good and she commented that everyone in very many ways were feeding off the energy from the crowd. All of us just had a wonderful time. I’m sure the weather had a major role to play also.
Oh, this past week was Des Moines’s restaurant week. You could get two lunches for $25 or a three course meals for $25 per person. A listing of restaurant participated in the promotion and Anna, Joel, Kathy and I went to a restaurant all of had never been to on Wednesday. We were familiar with the chef since he had closed his amazing restaurant to move to this place just so he could focus on the cooking and not the business aspect of it. The food was very good and the ambience in the restaurant was one of a kind. We all thought that it was an overall wonderful evening. The Iowa Cubs were playing, but it rained all day and the game was pretty much rained out so we ended up back at Joel and Kathy’s for some after dinner drinks. Talk about a fun evening!
I had to get some dental work done on Thursday so after that was taken care off, I took the rest of the day off. The last time I went to the dentist a couple of weeks back, they worked on one side of my mouth and this time they completed the other side. It was not the most pleasing experience so I figured I might as well just take the day off. My next appointment will be in three months just to make sure everything is looking good.
Anna and I have our last meeting with our sponsor couple this evening. They pretty much came to an agreement that meeting three times would suffice for us. At the end of our meeting we’ll probably have some dessert to go around. I need to figure out what I’ll bring. They have been such a fun and easy couple to work with.
Well, that’s the news from me for this week. Next weekend is Labor Day and Anna will be going up to the Twin Cities, but I’ll be in DM. That’s OK. I’ll have more than enough to keep me occupied. I most probably will end up catching a ton of movies that I’ve not been able to.
Monday, August 17, 2009
What a fun weekend!
Man, talk about a nice weekend that we just had. Heidi and Mark came into town together with some friends from Bismarck. Actually, it’s Heidi’s wedding party from their wedding three years ago. They have all known one another since elementary school. It was most definitely a reunion weekend for all of them. Everyone kind of arrived at different times, but that was totally fine. I was working at the restaurant so by the time I got back, most of them had arrived except for a friend who was arriving on Saturday. Everyone pretty much stayed up till 12:45AM just catching up with one another. Talk about fun times.
On Saturday, those of us who were in town headed to the Farmer’s Market. Gretchen, Anna and Heidi’s dear friend actually fainted while waiting for Heidi to get a smoothie. Thank goodness she fainted into her husband, Bob’s arms. Phew. After a couple of minutes, she told us that she’s pregnant with twins! They’ve been trying for some time and are so happy that they are pregnant. Needless to say her fainting spell must had something to do with the pregnancy. We ended up having lunch at an air-conditioned restaurant nearby where everyone got to sit in a cool and relaxed atmosphere. Suzy, their friend from Omaha met up with us there and once again, everyone was just happy chatting with one another. The weather was a little iffy so we decided to head back to Anna’s place and just hang out. On the way home, it poured like cats and dogs and we were all glad that we made that decision. Sitting around and just having everyone reminisce the old times were so much fun. Bob and I were the only outsiders because the rest have known each other for years.
For dinner that night, we went to Happy Joes for Pizza. It was Heidi’s choice since she loves the taco pizza from there. Most definitely not a place I would have picked especially since I work at a pizza place. Oh well. The food was fine and everyone had a good time. When we got back after dinner, we all played the Wii and it was hilarious. There were just different games that we all tried. It was all around fun for everyone especially those of us who were just watching.
I had to leave for Mass earlier than the rest of them because I had to do a couple of things at church. We all set together which was nice and I introduced Kevin to Heidi and vice versa since both of them are in the wedding party. All of them went back to the house for brunch, but I went to the restaurant. Speaking of restaurants, we were packed for brunch and also for dinner. It was really crazy. I’m by no means complaining and it’s definitely good for business, but you just never know why some days are busier than others. Actually, this whole week, it was plain busy every evening including the week nights.
Oh, I forgot to mention that single tickets to the Chicago Symphony went on sale on Friday. If you remember, Anna got me a gift certificate to the CSO and I’ve been waiting to use them. We ended up getting tickets to Yo Yo Ma for next May and I can guarantee you it’ll be a once in a lifetime concert. We are only talking about one of the most amazing cellist EVER! We’re both very excited for the concert.
That was what took place last week/weekend. Drake students will start returning to campus this week and classes start next Monday. Isn’t it amazing where the summer has gone?!
On Saturday, those of us who were in town headed to the Farmer’s Market. Gretchen, Anna and Heidi’s dear friend actually fainted while waiting for Heidi to get a smoothie. Thank goodness she fainted into her husband, Bob’s arms. Phew. After a couple of minutes, she told us that she’s pregnant with twins! They’ve been trying for some time and are so happy that they are pregnant. Needless to say her fainting spell must had something to do with the pregnancy. We ended up having lunch at an air-conditioned restaurant nearby where everyone got to sit in a cool and relaxed atmosphere. Suzy, their friend from Omaha met up with us there and once again, everyone was just happy chatting with one another. The weather was a little iffy so we decided to head back to Anna’s place and just hang out. On the way home, it poured like cats and dogs and we were all glad that we made that decision. Sitting around and just having everyone reminisce the old times were so much fun. Bob and I were the only outsiders because the rest have known each other for years.
For dinner that night, we went to Happy Joes for Pizza. It was Heidi’s choice since she loves the taco pizza from there. Most definitely not a place I would have picked especially since I work at a pizza place. Oh well. The food was fine and everyone had a good time. When we got back after dinner, we all played the Wii and it was hilarious. There were just different games that we all tried. It was all around fun for everyone especially those of us who were just watching.
I had to leave for Mass earlier than the rest of them because I had to do a couple of things at church. We all set together which was nice and I introduced Kevin to Heidi and vice versa since both of them are in the wedding party. All of them went back to the house for brunch, but I went to the restaurant. Speaking of restaurants, we were packed for brunch and also for dinner. It was really crazy. I’m by no means complaining and it’s definitely good for business, but you just never know why some days are busier than others. Actually, this whole week, it was plain busy every evening including the week nights.
Oh, I forgot to mention that single tickets to the Chicago Symphony went on sale on Friday. If you remember, Anna got me a gift certificate to the CSO and I’ve been waiting to use them. We ended up getting tickets to Yo Yo Ma for next May and I can guarantee you it’ll be a once in a lifetime concert. We are only talking about one of the most amazing cellist EVER! We’re both very excited for the concert.
That was what took place last week/weekend. Drake students will start returning to campus this week and classes start next Monday. Isn’t it amazing where the summer has gone?!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
2 Year Old Birthday Party.
On Saturday morning, Anna and I went to a friend of ours daughter’s 2 year old birthday party at a park. We could not have asked for better weather. It was sunny, but the humidity was kept at a minimum. There were some family members and another couple brought their kids. All in all everyone had a grand time especially Aubrey who just could not help but love opening her birthday presents. She’s definitely ready for her terrible twos because there were numerous times when she just kept saying “no” for no apparent reason. It was pretty darn hilarious.
Later that day, we went to a summer party at Fred and Kathy Eastman who are members of St. Kate’s. There were close to twenty people there and everyone was from church so it was a fun gathering. During his free time, Fred loves to hunt so for dinner he smoked some pork and venison. Both were outstanding and everyone feasted. It’s been quite some time since I saw Kevin and Martha so that was fun just to see and catch up with them again.
That’s really the weekend in a nutshell. We did buy a couple of dvds that were on sale and we managed to watch three of them. They were very good movies.
Oh, I should tell you that my work schedule at Paradise has changed once more, but this time for the better. Instead of working 35 hours a week (not really, but there were times when it seemed like it!), I’ll only be working on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. That gives me more time to spend with Anna and once wedding planning really starts kicking into gear, I’ll be able to devote time to it.
That’s the news from my end of the world.
Later that day, we went to a summer party at Fred and Kathy Eastman who are members of St. Kate’s. There were close to twenty people there and everyone was from church so it was a fun gathering. During his free time, Fred loves to hunt so for dinner he smoked some pork and venison. Both were outstanding and everyone feasted. It’s been quite some time since I saw Kevin and Martha so that was fun just to see and catch up with them again.
That’s really the weekend in a nutshell. We did buy a couple of dvds that were on sale and we managed to watch three of them. They were very good movies.
Oh, I should tell you that my work schedule at Paradise has changed once more, but this time for the better. Instead of working 35 hours a week (not really, but there were times when it seemed like it!), I’ll only be working on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. That gives me more time to spend with Anna and once wedding planning really starts kicking into gear, I’ll be able to devote time to it.
That’s the news from my end of the world.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Summer grilling
After our travels from last weekend, it was good to spend some time at home. On Thursday, Anna and I had our first meeting with our sponsor couple for marriage. The program is called FOCCUS and it’s a program where you answer a bunch of questions independent of any discussion with one another and the results are tallied. Then you are paired with a couple who have gone through the FOCCUS training and the goal is for them to facilitate open discussion between the soon to be married couple. Anna and I both agreed that the meeting went really well and we have a very nice couple. They’ve been going to St. Kate’s for roughly four years so I’ve seen them before, but don’t really know them. It will be a good way for all of us to get to know one another well. Len and Lory, that’s their names mentioned that they knew who I was by name, but it would be a great opportunity to get to know Anna and I at a deeper level. Most couples meet around four times, but they mentioned that because of how we scored in the “test”, we would most probably end up meeting just three times. Our next meeting will be next Monday. We are both looking forward to it, for sure.
For some time, Anna and I had wanted to invite people over for a summer grill out, but because of the amount of weekends we were gone, the earliest weekend we could fit in was the past weekend. So, we had roughly twelve people come over and I grilled some brats and hamburgers. Everyone brought either a side dish or a dessert. There was more than enough food to go around and then some. Anna and I got our shopping done earlier in the day and went to my favorite place to get most of the stuff – Costco. Thank goodness the weather cooperated. Initially, it was a little warm, but it did not stop people from sitting on the patio. As the evening progressed, it really turned out to be a very beautiful evening. Everyone had a good time and it was just good to spend some time outside socializing and catching up with one another.
I found out on Friday evening that one of the servers was fired by the owner because he was not happy with the way she acted and also because he had gotten a number of complaints about her attitude with the customers. That came as a huge shock to a lot of the other servers because they all pretty much hung out with one another. Personally, I thought she was a fine server, but I do tend to see the good in people no matter what. I know she will be missed. Aaron is on vacation and will only be back to at the restaurant on Wednesday. He’s vacationing in California and it’s the first vacation he’s taken since taking over the managerial position at the restaurant. It’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts about what transpired while he was gone.
Not too much is going on this weekend. Anna left this morning for a conference up in Mason City, Iowa. She’ll be back in town on Thursday evening. I’m sure I’ll find stuff to occupy my time!
That’s the news from me for this week.
For some time, Anna and I had wanted to invite people over for a summer grill out, but because of the amount of weekends we were gone, the earliest weekend we could fit in was the past weekend. So, we had roughly twelve people come over and I grilled some brats and hamburgers. Everyone brought either a side dish or a dessert. There was more than enough food to go around and then some. Anna and I got our shopping done earlier in the day and went to my favorite place to get most of the stuff – Costco. Thank goodness the weather cooperated. Initially, it was a little warm, but it did not stop people from sitting on the patio. As the evening progressed, it really turned out to be a very beautiful evening. Everyone had a good time and it was just good to spend some time outside socializing and catching up with one another.
I found out on Friday evening that one of the servers was fired by the owner because he was not happy with the way she acted and also because he had gotten a number of complaints about her attitude with the customers. That came as a huge shock to a lot of the other servers because they all pretty much hung out with one another. Personally, I thought she was a fine server, but I do tend to see the good in people no matter what. I know she will be missed. Aaron is on vacation and will only be back to at the restaurant on Wednesday. He’s vacationing in California and it’s the first vacation he’s taken since taking over the managerial position at the restaurant. It’ll be interesting to hear his thoughts about what transpired while he was gone.
Not too much is going on this weekend. Anna left this morning for a conference up in Mason City, Iowa. She’ll be back in town on Thursday evening. I’m sure I’ll find stuff to occupy my time!
That’s the news from me for this week.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Twin Cities and Conference.
Well, I’ve finally managed to carve out some time to write. The trip up north was a good one. The conference was very educational and I got to network with very many different people from all over the US which was nice.
I worked half a day on Friday so Anna and I could make it up north at a decent hour. I drove a rental car because it was more economical for the agency to have me rent a car than to reimburse my mileage. The car drove fine and the guy at the rental place informed me to drive the speed limit since there was going to be an operation over the weekend. His brother is a state trooper so he definitely knew something. The drive that would normally take between 3 and 3 ½ hours lasted 4 hours which was a little long for my books. Oh well. I did see five cars get pulled over on the other side of the road so it was with good reason I did not speed.
We arrived in time for dinner and met up with Heidi and Mark. I made the comment that it was just a little over a week and a half when we saw them. After dinner we walked around a little and since I’m a member of a warehouse store, they managed to get some baby wipes at a very good price. Once we were done walking, we headed back to the house and watched the movie, “Revolutionary Road” which was just an OK movie. I really did not know how it got nominated for as many Oscars as it did. Oh well.
On Saturday, everyone took their time getting up and Mark and I got breakfast ready for the ladies. Once breakfast was done, we headed downtown and pretty much went our separate ways. The three of them went shopping while I attended my conference that had sessions pertaining to volunteer management. There were some really good speaker and when we broke into the different workshops, I got to connect with other people in my position. After the session, I met up with the three of them and we headed to the Malaysian restaurant for dinner. We met up with Joel and Kathy and Kathy’s sister’s families. All in all I believe there were fourteen of us in the party. I did a whole lot of recommendation and everyone was thoroughly impressed with their food. When the food arrived, it was pretty much passed around to everyone so people had the opportunity to try it if they chose to. For a good number of people who were they, it was the first time they were eating something that different, but they all loved it.
The conference started on Sunday morning and I actually went to Mass at a church three blocks away from the conference hotel. Talk about convenience. Once again, it was a very good conference with some very good speakers. I like the fact that the conference most definitely invigorated me. There’s nothing like sharing and networking with other peers all around the country and picking each other’s brain. I met up with Anna, Heidi and Mark for dinner at a restaurant close to their place.
Monday was pretty much the same day with an all day conference. I did bump into Joel and two other staff members from the office. They arrived on Sunday and left after the last workshop for the day. The plan for this evening was for me to drive to a mall and drop the car off before riding with Heidi, Mark and Anna to their friend’s place. Gretchen is a childhood friend of the three of them and she married Bob, an engineer from Chicago. They live right by lake Minnetonka and have a boat so we got to go on the boat and spend some time on the lake. The weather was perfect for me although it was a little cloudy. Talk about a jolly good old time sitting on the boat and just getting to enjoy the water. For dinner, we got to “park” the boat and walk to a restaurant that has a dock which was packed with people. Trust me, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a restaurant this filled with people. I guess they have a really good deal on Mondays so people just pack this place. The food was good and the people watching even more interesting. After we settled our bill, the waitress advised us to get to boat pretty soon since a storm was headed. We did not waste any time and managed to get home before it started raining. Phew.
Tuesday was the last day of the conference. Anna and Heidi spent time with one another before Heidi dropped Anna off at the hotel. We then made the journey back to DM without any problem. That was the trip in a nutshell. Oh, I did forget to say that during the entire, I was not feeling the greatest. I was battling a cold and had a sore throat the entire time. Not fun, but I survived.
I worked half a day on Friday so Anna and I could make it up north at a decent hour. I drove a rental car because it was more economical for the agency to have me rent a car than to reimburse my mileage. The car drove fine and the guy at the rental place informed me to drive the speed limit since there was going to be an operation over the weekend. His brother is a state trooper so he definitely knew something. The drive that would normally take between 3 and 3 ½ hours lasted 4 hours which was a little long for my books. Oh well. I did see five cars get pulled over on the other side of the road so it was with good reason I did not speed.
We arrived in time for dinner and met up with Heidi and Mark. I made the comment that it was just a little over a week and a half when we saw them. After dinner we walked around a little and since I’m a member of a warehouse store, they managed to get some baby wipes at a very good price. Once we were done walking, we headed back to the house and watched the movie, “Revolutionary Road” which was just an OK movie. I really did not know how it got nominated for as many Oscars as it did. Oh well.
On Saturday, everyone took their time getting up and Mark and I got breakfast ready for the ladies. Once breakfast was done, we headed downtown and pretty much went our separate ways. The three of them went shopping while I attended my conference that had sessions pertaining to volunteer management. There were some really good speaker and when we broke into the different workshops, I got to connect with other people in my position. After the session, I met up with the three of them and we headed to the Malaysian restaurant for dinner. We met up with Joel and Kathy and Kathy’s sister’s families. All in all I believe there were fourteen of us in the party. I did a whole lot of recommendation and everyone was thoroughly impressed with their food. When the food arrived, it was pretty much passed around to everyone so people had the opportunity to try it if they chose to. For a good number of people who were they, it was the first time they were eating something that different, but they all loved it.
The conference started on Sunday morning and I actually went to Mass at a church three blocks away from the conference hotel. Talk about convenience. Once again, it was a very good conference with some very good speakers. I like the fact that the conference most definitely invigorated me. There’s nothing like sharing and networking with other peers all around the country and picking each other’s brain. I met up with Anna, Heidi and Mark for dinner at a restaurant close to their place.
Monday was pretty much the same day with an all day conference. I did bump into Joel and two other staff members from the office. They arrived on Sunday and left after the last workshop for the day. The plan for this evening was for me to drive to a mall and drop the car off before riding with Heidi, Mark and Anna to their friend’s place. Gretchen is a childhood friend of the three of them and she married Bob, an engineer from Chicago. They live right by lake Minnetonka and have a boat so we got to go on the boat and spend some time on the lake. The weather was perfect for me although it was a little cloudy. Talk about a jolly good old time sitting on the boat and just getting to enjoy the water. For dinner, we got to “park” the boat and walk to a restaurant that has a dock which was packed with people. Trust me, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a restaurant this filled with people. I guess they have a really good deal on Mondays so people just pack this place. The food was good and the people watching even more interesting. After we settled our bill, the waitress advised us to get to boat pretty soon since a storm was headed. We did not waste any time and managed to get home before it started raining. Phew.
Tuesday was the last day of the conference. Anna and Heidi spent time with one another before Heidi dropped Anna off at the hotel. We then made the journey back to DM without any problem. That was the trip in a nutshell. Oh, I did forget to say that during the entire, I was not feeling the greatest. I was battling a cold and had a sore throat the entire time. Not fun, but I survived.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Road trip here we come!
In case I forget to tell you, Anna and I will be going on our first road trip this weekend. We’re actually leaving on Sunday since her band has a gig on Saturday night. We’ll be headed to Saint Louis to meet up with a couple of friends, spend two days there then we’re off to Chicago to spend the rest of the week. We’ll be staying with Anna’s sister, Gretchen and while we’re there take in the sights and sounds of Chicago. Al and Karen will be there too since Al will be attending a conference. We’ll definitely be meeting up with them that weekend because a week from Saturday, we’ll be helping Anna’s aunt who has MS at an MS event. I’m looking forward to it for sure. For me, I guess my vacations are slowly starting now. We’ll be going on this trip, then the end of June we’ll be headed up to North Dakota and the end of July we’ll be headed to the Twin Cities – I’ll be attending a national aging conference.
The past weekend was really nice. I got to help Ann and Harley with some yard work. The weather was nice so it make working out in the yard pleasant. I spent three hours outside and things definitely looked better once the work was completed. We went to their favorite Chinese restaurant just a couple of minutes from where they live to have lunch. I’ve been there a couple of times and the food is just fine by me. After lunch I showered and got ready to work in the restaurant. Things were kind of busy especially after last weekend when it was so darn quiet. Faculty Lounge had a gig and Aaron, my manager made sure I left with ample time to spare to hear Anna’s band play. This was the first time ever I’ve heard them play from start to finish. For some reason or another, I’ve always end up coming when they’ve already started and most of the time they were already into their second set. There were a couple of people from the young adults group who were there and some guys from the restaurant came too including Aaron. Those who have not heard them before were more than surprised by how good they sound. Talk about a fun night.
Yesterday, the restaurant was steadily busy and I got to wash dishes for the very first time. Aaron had fired the dishwasher after giving her more than her fair share of opportunities to work. So, we really did not have a dishwasher. Between brunch and dinner when things were quiet, the both of us were back in the sink washing the dishes. That was a new experience and most definitely something else I can add to my resume! We made a pretty good business although the last hour and a half, I was running on pure adrenaline. All in all, it was fun and in many ways, I’m glad I have the day off from the restaurant today. This evening is the first time they will be open on a Monday serving both lunch and dinner. I hope business is good.
Oh, I forgot to mention two things to you. I’ve been “promoted” to be a team leader when Aaron is not around. What that basically means is that I’m the restaurant manager in Aaron’s absence. His day off will be on Tuesdays and that’s when I’m responsible for things. I’ll be closing the restaurant and making sure it’s ran well. I’ll always refer back to him if something major were to happen, but it’s pretty much me on Tuesdays. The owners and Aaron were looking for someone matured whom they could trust and also someone who worked more hours. I pretty much fit the bill. I’ve closed the restaurant twice now and it’s really not difficult. On that note, when I was working on Saturday night, I had one table where I thought I did a pretty good job as their server and they asked to speak to the manager. More often than not, it’s never a good thing when someone wants to speak to the manager. So, when Aaron arrived at the table, the guy wanted it to be known that they were extremely happy with my service and thought I did an immaculate job as their server. He wanted to make sure Aaron was present when he gave me the compliment. Aaron was more than happy to tell him that I was the floor manager and that I had all the qualities to make me a good manager.
Deep down, I really appreciated the compliment, but anyone who knows me, know that I’m my worst critic. I set a very high standard for myself and I know when I’ve done a good job or I had bombed. At the same time, it was a good feeling to be complimented by the customer. More and more customers are recognizing me so that’s a very good sign. Looks like all is well at Paradise!
That’s the news from me for this week. Don’t think I’ll be able to write next week since I’ll be on vacation. We’ll just have to see.
The past weekend was really nice. I got to help Ann and Harley with some yard work. The weather was nice so it make working out in the yard pleasant. I spent three hours outside and things definitely looked better once the work was completed. We went to their favorite Chinese restaurant just a couple of minutes from where they live to have lunch. I’ve been there a couple of times and the food is just fine by me. After lunch I showered and got ready to work in the restaurant. Things were kind of busy especially after last weekend when it was so darn quiet. Faculty Lounge had a gig and Aaron, my manager made sure I left with ample time to spare to hear Anna’s band play. This was the first time ever I’ve heard them play from start to finish. For some reason or another, I’ve always end up coming when they’ve already started and most of the time they were already into their second set. There were a couple of people from the young adults group who were there and some guys from the restaurant came too including Aaron. Those who have not heard them before were more than surprised by how good they sound. Talk about a fun night.
Yesterday, the restaurant was steadily busy and I got to wash dishes for the very first time. Aaron had fired the dishwasher after giving her more than her fair share of opportunities to work. So, we really did not have a dishwasher. Between brunch and dinner when things were quiet, the both of us were back in the sink washing the dishes. That was a new experience and most definitely something else I can add to my resume! We made a pretty good business although the last hour and a half, I was running on pure adrenaline. All in all, it was fun and in many ways, I’m glad I have the day off from the restaurant today. This evening is the first time they will be open on a Monday serving both lunch and dinner. I hope business is good.
Oh, I forgot to mention two things to you. I’ve been “promoted” to be a team leader when Aaron is not around. What that basically means is that I’m the restaurant manager in Aaron’s absence. His day off will be on Tuesdays and that’s when I’m responsible for things. I’ll be closing the restaurant and making sure it’s ran well. I’ll always refer back to him if something major were to happen, but it’s pretty much me on Tuesdays. The owners and Aaron were looking for someone matured whom they could trust and also someone who worked more hours. I pretty much fit the bill. I’ve closed the restaurant twice now and it’s really not difficult. On that note, when I was working on Saturday night, I had one table where I thought I did a pretty good job as their server and they asked to speak to the manager. More often than not, it’s never a good thing when someone wants to speak to the manager. So, when Aaron arrived at the table, the guy wanted it to be known that they were extremely happy with my service and thought I did an immaculate job as their server. He wanted to make sure Aaron was present when he gave me the compliment. Aaron was more than happy to tell him that I was the floor manager and that I had all the qualities to make me a good manager.
Deep down, I really appreciated the compliment, but anyone who knows me, know that I’m my worst critic. I set a very high standard for myself and I know when I’ve done a good job or I had bombed. At the same time, it was a good feeling to be complimented by the customer. More and more customers are recognizing me so that’s a very good sign. Looks like all is well at Paradise!
That’s the news from me for this week. Don’t think I’ll be able to write next week since I’ll be on vacation. We’ll just have to see.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Memorial Day weekend.
Boy, talk about quite a lot to write about over the past week and weekend.
Well, we found out who our new priest will be come October, 1st. It’s a guy who is currently in Austin, TX. He met with his bishop and asked to be transferred to this diocese so he could be closer to his family who live in Omaha and Illinois. As soon as I found out, I Googled him and it seems that he’s pretty abreast with technology stuff so it was not difficult to find stuff about him. Let’s just say that things are going to be interesting because I feel that it will be a pretty big change from the former priests we’ve had starting with John. People do not like change, so we’ll just have to see if people stay or move on to a different parish.
What’s even more shocking is come July 1st, we’ll have an administrator (priest) from the diocese who will be with us during the interim session and this guy rubbed a lot of people the wrong way when he celebrated Mass a couple of months ago. Let’s just say he’s more than a little conservative for the parish. Prior to his arrival, there will already need to be certain changes that must be made with regards to how Mass will be celebrated. I do know from a couple of people that the will no longer be parishioners of St. Kate’s as soon as they found out this guy will be the interim priest.
Unlike a number of people, I told Anna and a couple of other people that I’m not taking a reactionary approach to the news. As recently as a couple of years back, I would have basically said, “To heck with things” and moved on to a different parish. I guess I’ve matured now and am taking a wait and see approach to things. I’m not going to lose sight of why I am a member of St. Kate’s – it’s for the students and in all of these changes, we cannot lose sight of the fact we are here for the students and their voices need to be heard. I will say that things will be more than interesting these coming months. Some people will go, others will stay and see how things go and there may just be one or two people who will become new members of St. Kate’s. It’ll be an interesting ride and I’ll be in the thick of things for sure.
I took the afternoon off from work on Thursday so I could hang out and play with Ann’s granddaughter, Finley who was in town for the week and weekend. Joyce (Ann’s daughter) brought Finley with her since she had a week off and Thursday was the only day that worked out for my schedule. Finley is such a doll and it took her no more than five minutes to warm up to me. Once she did, she chatted and played with me and told me a bunch of stories. There were a couple of instances where she would rest her little four year old head on my arm and she even gave me a couple of hugs that made my heart melt. There is something about kids and their innocence that is so darn amazing. Needless to say, I had a blast that afternoon. It has been some time since I’ve seen Ann too so that was nice. Later that evening, Anna’s jazz choir had their concert. After countless hours of preparing, they did fine. Some of the students did better than others, but overall, it was a good concert. At the end, Anna breathed a huge sigh of relief knowing that that was pretty much the last major event on her books before the school year ends.
Friday and Saturday night I worked at the restaurant and both nights were not too busy. I’m sure a lot of it had to do with Memorial Day weekend. Most of the regulars were not there which tells me that a good number of people left town. For brunch on Sunday, it was pretty much dead and we had a lot of food leftover. Needless to say I took most of the food home with me.
Monday was Memorial Day so we had the day off. Anna and I ran a couple of errands and prepared for the Memorial grilling at Anna’s place. I invited a couple of people like John, Kathy and Joel, Martha and Kevin. Some people were not able to make it, but it turned out to be a very nice evening. We had more than enough food and wine to go around and everyone had a blast conversing with one another. Talk about a great way to celebrate Memorial Day. It was a very nice day and the only thing that could have topped it off would have been warm weather instead of a steady drizzle. We made the best of it and all of us had a good old time.
That’s the news from me. I can’t believe that in less than two weeks, Anna and I will be going on our first road trip/vacation together. That should be fun.
Well, we found out who our new priest will be come October, 1st. It’s a guy who is currently in Austin, TX. He met with his bishop and asked to be transferred to this diocese so he could be closer to his family who live in Omaha and Illinois. As soon as I found out, I Googled him and it seems that he’s pretty abreast with technology stuff so it was not difficult to find stuff about him. Let’s just say that things are going to be interesting because I feel that it will be a pretty big change from the former priests we’ve had starting with John. People do not like change, so we’ll just have to see if people stay or move on to a different parish.
What’s even more shocking is come July 1st, we’ll have an administrator (priest) from the diocese who will be with us during the interim session and this guy rubbed a lot of people the wrong way when he celebrated Mass a couple of months ago. Let’s just say he’s more than a little conservative for the parish. Prior to his arrival, there will already need to be certain changes that must be made with regards to how Mass will be celebrated. I do know from a couple of people that the will no longer be parishioners of St. Kate’s as soon as they found out this guy will be the interim priest.
Unlike a number of people, I told Anna and a couple of other people that I’m not taking a reactionary approach to the news. As recently as a couple of years back, I would have basically said, “To heck with things” and moved on to a different parish. I guess I’ve matured now and am taking a wait and see approach to things. I’m not going to lose sight of why I am a member of St. Kate’s – it’s for the students and in all of these changes, we cannot lose sight of the fact we are here for the students and their voices need to be heard. I will say that things will be more than interesting these coming months. Some people will go, others will stay and see how things go and there may just be one or two people who will become new members of St. Kate’s. It’ll be an interesting ride and I’ll be in the thick of things for sure.
I took the afternoon off from work on Thursday so I could hang out and play with Ann’s granddaughter, Finley who was in town for the week and weekend. Joyce (Ann’s daughter) brought Finley with her since she had a week off and Thursday was the only day that worked out for my schedule. Finley is such a doll and it took her no more than five minutes to warm up to me. Once she did, she chatted and played with me and told me a bunch of stories. There were a couple of instances where she would rest her little four year old head on my arm and she even gave me a couple of hugs that made my heart melt. There is something about kids and their innocence that is so darn amazing. Needless to say, I had a blast that afternoon. It has been some time since I’ve seen Ann too so that was nice. Later that evening, Anna’s jazz choir had their concert. After countless hours of preparing, they did fine. Some of the students did better than others, but overall, it was a good concert. At the end, Anna breathed a huge sigh of relief knowing that that was pretty much the last major event on her books before the school year ends.
Friday and Saturday night I worked at the restaurant and both nights were not too busy. I’m sure a lot of it had to do with Memorial Day weekend. Most of the regulars were not there which tells me that a good number of people left town. For brunch on Sunday, it was pretty much dead and we had a lot of food leftover. Needless to say I took most of the food home with me.
Monday was Memorial Day so we had the day off. Anna and I ran a couple of errands and prepared for the Memorial grilling at Anna’s place. I invited a couple of people like John, Kathy and Joel, Martha and Kevin. Some people were not able to make it, but it turned out to be a very nice evening. We had more than enough food and wine to go around and everyone had a blast conversing with one another. Talk about a great way to celebrate Memorial Day. It was a very nice day and the only thing that could have topped it off would have been warm weather instead of a steady drizzle. We made the best of it and all of us had a good old time.
That’s the news from me. I can’t believe that in less than two weeks, Anna and I will be going on our first road trip/vacation together. That should be fun.
Monday, May 18, 2009
CelebrAsian.
I have to say that it was a pretty darn fun weekend to say the least. Anna and I made to our first Farmer’s Market of the season. The weather was a little cool, but as long as we were in the sun, I thought it was fine. Anna wore my jacket because she had forgotten hers. We met up with John there and just had a great time eating and walking around. After that, we went to the Imax movie of Roving Mars and it was a pretty darn exciting show. I remember reading an article in Time regarding the rover so it was cool seeing it in all its Imax glory.
After the show, we motored our way over to the CelebrAsian which was the annual Asian heritage festival. I’ve not been to the festival for a number of years because I was disappointed each time I went. This year, I figured it would be a good opportunity to showcase some Asian culture to Anna. There were different villages all throughout the grounds broken down by country. Each village showcased their culture and food. We walked around each village before finally narrowing down what we wanted to eat. Anna had the Laotion version of Pad Thai. I went to the Indian village and tried some chicken biryani rice and vada from this restaurant that I’ve been meaning to visit for some time. The food was very good and authentic. I’m excited to go to the restaurant for a real meal. Last year’s best food winner came from the Tibetan village and they served chicken curry with rice and pork dumplings. The curry was different in a good way, and pork dumpling was pretty good. While carrying my food, I bumped into Panom and the kids. David and Panith were close by. I invited them to join Anna and I at a table. We had a blast trying each other’s food and the kids were having a heck of a time running around being kids. How fun to bump into them at the festival. I had sent Panom an e mail letting her know that I’ll be there on Saturday and it would be great if we did bump into one another and I’m glad we did. After the festival, Anna and I headed back to the Imax theater for another movie. This time it was about deep sea life, and it was just awe-inspiring to say the least. Anna was a lector at Mass, and I was scheduled to work at the restaurant at 5:30PM so we were not able to go to Mass together. It worked out fine really because the second Sunday group was to sing on Sunday.
I had a great time singing on Sunday and it made for a great day at the restaurant. It was a steady busy during the Sunday brunch hour which was nice because I got to chat with the customers. There was a family of seven that came and they were celebrating the daughter’s thirteenth birthday. I had a lot of fun with that table just chatting with everyone. They shared with me that one of their relatives was originally from Malaysia and married into their family. Talk about a small world. Once brunch was over, things kind of died down, and I go to do a lot of the side jobs in the restaurant. Personally, I really do like working from noon to 8PM on Sunday. I believe that will be my regular schedule. It also looks like Mondays will be my day off once the restaurant is open on Monday starting June 1st. I’ll be working all the other days. One of the things I’ve learned while working in the restaurant especially as a server is knowing how to treat the customers right. Whenever we go out to eat, we always want to have a good dining experience and the server can have a major impact on your experience. My personally suits serving very well. I’ve had a number of people ask me if I was the manager/owner of the restaurant and told them that I was not, but thanked them for the comment because it’s a tremendous compliment.
That’s how the weekend went for me. Overall, it was a just a great weekend. The weather is supposed to be warm starting the middle of the week which would just be perfect for Memorial Day weekend. The last thing you want is cool and crummy weather for the official start of summer!
After the show, we motored our way over to the CelebrAsian which was the annual Asian heritage festival. I’ve not been to the festival for a number of years because I was disappointed each time I went. This year, I figured it would be a good opportunity to showcase some Asian culture to Anna. There were different villages all throughout the grounds broken down by country. Each village showcased their culture and food. We walked around each village before finally narrowing down what we wanted to eat. Anna had the Laotion version of Pad Thai. I went to the Indian village and tried some chicken biryani rice and vada from this restaurant that I’ve been meaning to visit for some time. The food was very good and authentic. I’m excited to go to the restaurant for a real meal. Last year’s best food winner came from the Tibetan village and they served chicken curry with rice and pork dumplings. The curry was different in a good way, and pork dumpling was pretty good. While carrying my food, I bumped into Panom and the kids. David and Panith were close by. I invited them to join Anna and I at a table. We had a blast trying each other’s food and the kids were having a heck of a time running around being kids. How fun to bump into them at the festival. I had sent Panom an e mail letting her know that I’ll be there on Saturday and it would be great if we did bump into one another and I’m glad we did. After the festival, Anna and I headed back to the Imax theater for another movie. This time it was about deep sea life, and it was just awe-inspiring to say the least. Anna was a lector at Mass, and I was scheduled to work at the restaurant at 5:30PM so we were not able to go to Mass together. It worked out fine really because the second Sunday group was to sing on Sunday.
I had a great time singing on Sunday and it made for a great day at the restaurant. It was a steady busy during the Sunday brunch hour which was nice because I got to chat with the customers. There was a family of seven that came and they were celebrating the daughter’s thirteenth birthday. I had a lot of fun with that table just chatting with everyone. They shared with me that one of their relatives was originally from Malaysia and married into their family. Talk about a small world. Once brunch was over, things kind of died down, and I go to do a lot of the side jobs in the restaurant. Personally, I really do like working from noon to 8PM on Sunday. I believe that will be my regular schedule. It also looks like Mondays will be my day off once the restaurant is open on Monday starting June 1st. I’ll be working all the other days. One of the things I’ve learned while working in the restaurant especially as a server is knowing how to treat the customers right. Whenever we go out to eat, we always want to have a good dining experience and the server can have a major impact on your experience. My personally suits serving very well. I’ve had a number of people ask me if I was the manager/owner of the restaurant and told them that I was not, but thanked them for the comment because it’s a tremendous compliment.
That’s how the weekend went for me. Overall, it was a just a great weekend. The weather is supposed to be warm starting the middle of the week which would just be perfect for Memorial Day weekend. The last thing you want is cool and crummy weather for the official start of summer!
Mother's Day
Well, I’m finally here and able to send you all a note. I must say that the week was pretty eventful in a good way.
John treated Anna and I to a post birthday dinner so that was nice on Monday. We went to my favorite restaurant and the meal was divine. All of us had a great time catching up with one another in a very nice and relaxing atmosphere. On Tuesday, a small number of us went up to Ames for a presentation. Actually there were four of us from the Des Moines office who headed up there. It’s part of the presentation that we’ve been working on. The funding runs out the end of June so we’re trying to get as many presentations in as possible.
After working at the restaurant on Friday night, I met up with Anna at her high school and we participated in the Relay for Life held at her school’s stadium. Relay for Life is an event to raise money for cancer research and to commemorate those whose lives were lost because of cancer. It’s a very worthy cause and the weather was just perfect for it. We probably walked a good three miles around the stadium, but it definitely did not feel that way. It was a twelve hour event that started at 6PM and went till 6AM the next day.
Prior to working at the restaurant on Saturday, Anna and I went to a graduation party at a former colleague’s house. He and his wife are from Uganda and I’ve worked with both of them. They are very much salt of the earth people and I love spending time with them. It also helps that they have a four year old kid who is just utterly adorable! I cooked fried rice and brought it over to them. Samuel had the grill going with different food AND goat meat! They’ve teased me and said that one of these days they’ll force me to eat goat meat. I told them I had no problem eating goat meat and actually really like goat meat. I was so happy to see it on the grill. The meat was marinated really well and it tasted oh so good. Anna tried a little but did not really fancy it. I was more than happy to take her portion of the meat. We were there pretty early because I had to work at the restaurant and as we were leaving, more people showed up. I’m sure everyone had a grand time.
Sunday was kind of crazy because right after Mass, I bailed straight to the restaurant. I knew we were in trouble when my boss called ten minutes prior to me arriving at the restaurant. Before he could say anything, I told him where I was which was five minutes from the restaurant. The place was packed to the brim and there were only two servers working. From the time I arrived till roughly 1:30PM, it was non-stop touch and go. Talk about relying on my adrenaline to keep me going. Overall, people were very understanding of things. We maybe had one or two customers who were unhappy, but let me assure you that anywhere else you would have gone to, things would have been the same. Personally, I had fun and would not mind going through it again. It would have been much more manageable if we had another server and someone who was doing the dishes the entire time. None of the food was prepped for dinner so Aaron decided to close the restaurant. We were literally out of stuff so there’s no way we would have been able to stay open. Moreover, Aaron was dead tired. That pretty much meant Anna and I got to spend the evening together. We had a nice evening eating leftovers from the Mother’s Day brunch. After that we walked around the neighborhood since the weather was just perfect outside. All in all, it was a great day!
That’s the news from me.
John treated Anna and I to a post birthday dinner so that was nice on Monday. We went to my favorite restaurant and the meal was divine. All of us had a great time catching up with one another in a very nice and relaxing atmosphere. On Tuesday, a small number of us went up to Ames for a presentation. Actually there were four of us from the Des Moines office who headed up there. It’s part of the presentation that we’ve been working on. The funding runs out the end of June so we’re trying to get as many presentations in as possible.
After working at the restaurant on Friday night, I met up with Anna at her high school and we participated in the Relay for Life held at her school’s stadium. Relay for Life is an event to raise money for cancer research and to commemorate those whose lives were lost because of cancer. It’s a very worthy cause and the weather was just perfect for it. We probably walked a good three miles around the stadium, but it definitely did not feel that way. It was a twelve hour event that started at 6PM and went till 6AM the next day.
Prior to working at the restaurant on Saturday, Anna and I went to a graduation party at a former colleague’s house. He and his wife are from Uganda and I’ve worked with both of them. They are very much salt of the earth people and I love spending time with them. It also helps that they have a four year old kid who is just utterly adorable! I cooked fried rice and brought it over to them. Samuel had the grill going with different food AND goat meat! They’ve teased me and said that one of these days they’ll force me to eat goat meat. I told them I had no problem eating goat meat and actually really like goat meat. I was so happy to see it on the grill. The meat was marinated really well and it tasted oh so good. Anna tried a little but did not really fancy it. I was more than happy to take her portion of the meat. We were there pretty early because I had to work at the restaurant and as we were leaving, more people showed up. I’m sure everyone had a grand time.
Sunday was kind of crazy because right after Mass, I bailed straight to the restaurant. I knew we were in trouble when my boss called ten minutes prior to me arriving at the restaurant. Before he could say anything, I told him where I was which was five minutes from the restaurant. The place was packed to the brim and there were only two servers working. From the time I arrived till roughly 1:30PM, it was non-stop touch and go. Talk about relying on my adrenaline to keep me going. Overall, people were very understanding of things. We maybe had one or two customers who were unhappy, but let me assure you that anywhere else you would have gone to, things would have been the same. Personally, I had fun and would not mind going through it again. It would have been much more manageable if we had another server and someone who was doing the dishes the entire time. None of the food was prepped for dinner so Aaron decided to close the restaurant. We were literally out of stuff so there’s no way we would have been able to stay open. Moreover, Aaron was dead tired. That pretty much meant Anna and I got to spend the evening together. We had a nice evening eating leftovers from the Mother’s Day brunch. After that we walked around the neighborhood since the weather was just perfect outside. All in all, it was a great day!
That’s the news from me.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Birthday celebration
Well, another year has passed and I’m another year older. What was really nice about this year’s celebration was that it was very low key. I pretty much insisted that I did not want to do anything special and I know it was hard on Anna because she probably wanted to so something nice for me. It’s not as if I was being a grouch, but I figure I much rather she save her money for the wedding etc., and I’m planning on celebrating many, many more birthdays in the years to come so I’m sure we’ll make it up. She did surprise me by coming to the restaurant while I was working. It was a very pleasant surprise to see her there, and unbeknownst to me, she invited a number of people from church to join her. Brian, Kristi, Susan and Aaron who was in town for Fr. Jim’s retirement celebration were there. That was a very nice gesture. Anna even got me a balloon that said happy birthday and when one table that had a couple of kids saw that, they wanted to sing me happy birthday! How cute, right?! Those who were in the restaurant then knew that it was my birthday. I got to leave at 2PM and since it was a gorgeous day, I’m glad we got to spend some time outside. We made it to Anna’s best friend’s son’s first communion. There were some family member in attendance and he looked pretty snazzy in khakis and a jacket!
After that celebration, we headed over to St. Kate’s for Jim’s retirement celebration. You should have seen how many people were at St. Kate’s and how much food was served. It was a pot luck and there were more than enough food to feed everyone. The place was packed and a grand time was had by all in attendance. Different people represented different groups and paid tribute to Jim. Anna and I decided that we’ll do something for Jim during the summer when things aren’t as busy and he had more time on his hand. I know that he was definitely touched by all the nice and kind words that said to him.
That’s pretty much how Sunday went. Working my way back, on Saturday, the DM Symphony had its season finale concert and my oh my, was it just out of this world. The pianist was a world renowned pianist and has played in DM a number of times now since he’s a dear friend of the maestro. He played Tchaikovsky’s world renowned piano concerto and did he bring the house down. The piece itself is a masterful work, and it takes a special someone to bring out the best of it and did the pianist do that. Talk about a great way to end the season. Prior to the performance, Anna and I grabbed a quick dinner at Thai Flavors since we pretty much had forty five minutes to spare between the time Mass was done and the symphony. The food was good and we managed to eat our dinner and not be late.
After work on Friday, Anna and I went over to Joel and Kathy’s for dinner. That evening, Joel and I headed up to Ames to listen to the Australian Chamber Orchestra play. Dinner prior to the concert was the way to go for sure and we had more than ample food and wine. Talk about a great way to just spend a wonderful evening. The chamber orchestra was most definitely one of the best orchestras both of us have ever heard and their playing was just spot on. It was out of this world and they more than deserved their standing ovation. I’m just blown away by the caliber of music that makes it to this part of the country. Supposedly, the only other place that this orchestra would be playing is THE Carnegie Hall in NYC. Just imagine, of all the halls and cities they could play, they came to Ames. That’s mind blowing to say the least. I know that both Joel and I had a blast for sure.
The agency had an open house on Wednesday to celebrate our 35th anniversary and there were many people who came to the open house. A good number of them were our providers congratulating us for our years of service. There were friends of the agency who came too and everyone did a marvelous job just pitching in.
That was the week that went by. This week is definitely going to be more mellow for sure and that’s fine by me!
After that celebration, we headed over to St. Kate’s for Jim’s retirement celebration. You should have seen how many people were at St. Kate’s and how much food was served. It was a pot luck and there were more than enough food to feed everyone. The place was packed and a grand time was had by all in attendance. Different people represented different groups and paid tribute to Jim. Anna and I decided that we’ll do something for Jim during the summer when things aren’t as busy and he had more time on his hand. I know that he was definitely touched by all the nice and kind words that said to him.
That’s pretty much how Sunday went. Working my way back, on Saturday, the DM Symphony had its season finale concert and my oh my, was it just out of this world. The pianist was a world renowned pianist and has played in DM a number of times now since he’s a dear friend of the maestro. He played Tchaikovsky’s world renowned piano concerto and did he bring the house down. The piece itself is a masterful work, and it takes a special someone to bring out the best of it and did the pianist do that. Talk about a great way to end the season. Prior to the performance, Anna and I grabbed a quick dinner at Thai Flavors since we pretty much had forty five minutes to spare between the time Mass was done and the symphony. The food was good and we managed to eat our dinner and not be late.
After work on Friday, Anna and I went over to Joel and Kathy’s for dinner. That evening, Joel and I headed up to Ames to listen to the Australian Chamber Orchestra play. Dinner prior to the concert was the way to go for sure and we had more than ample food and wine. Talk about a great way to just spend a wonderful evening. The chamber orchestra was most definitely one of the best orchestras both of us have ever heard and their playing was just spot on. It was out of this world and they more than deserved their standing ovation. I’m just blown away by the caliber of music that makes it to this part of the country. Supposedly, the only other place that this orchestra would be playing is THE Carnegie Hall in NYC. Just imagine, of all the halls and cities they could play, they came to Ames. That’s mind blowing to say the least. I know that both Joel and I had a blast for sure.
The agency had an open house on Wednesday to celebrate our 35th anniversary and there were many people who came to the open house. A good number of them were our providers congratulating us for our years of service. There were friends of the agency who came too and everyone did a marvelous job just pitching in.
That was the week that went by. This week is definitely going to be more mellow for sure and that’s fine by me!
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