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.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
