This weekend is the BBS retreat. All the graduate science students get together at Province Town and talk science for 9-12 hours and then party all night. I'm expecting a call from Carlos some time this weekend that goes something like, "Honey, I'm sooo drunk. Ugh." repeated about four times. Then he'll tell me about the wild grad students gettin' it on with other grad students or even professors. After all that, I will silently hope that he didn't lock tongues with another female over there. I can be quite the jealous person and I will paint horrible, possible situations, but I have to just learn how to trust and take things lightly.
Anyway, I had a pretty good night tonight. I finally shipped out some DVDs to my sister. When I came back from the post office, I bought some sushi and milk tea boba for dinner. I also rented the girliest movie I know that Carlos would never agree to watch with me, "Because I Said So". The story is about an over-protective and controlling mother (Diane Keaton) who schemes to hook up her hopeless daughter (Mandy Moore) with a decent man. Towards the middle of the movie, Mandy finds herself falling for the average Joe, but Diane keeps pushing the successful man into her daughter's life and Mandy is torn between the two men. I really liked the movie. It's your typical chick flick and it's been a long while since I've seen one. So it was quite refreshing.
Next movie on my list: "Knocked Up". I'm not sure whether I want to see this with Carlos or not. My sister and her boyfriend loved the movie, so I might save it for him.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
"Lost and New"
This is what was waiting for me when I got home:
Isn't he just the sweetest?! My baby is so thoughtful. =)
Quarter Century Old
Yesterday was the big 2-5 for my baby, Carlos. And this was the game plan: Get up at 6am, cook breakfast and finish by 6:30, hop in shower and get ready for work by 7am. Wake up the b-day boy have b-day breakfast for half and hour and get to work by 8am. Work and then leave at 4:30pm. Get the car, the soccer tix and pick everyone up by 6:00pm.
How it went: I woke up at 6:10. I prepared the meal and it took me a whole hour! But well worth the smiles on my baby's face. Here's a pic of the table set up sans pancakes and bacon.
And the dozen fresh roses:
We enjoyed a lovely conversation and took our time for breakfast. Next thing I knew, I was way behind schedule and I got to work at 9am instead of 8am. =T
Then around 11am, my co-workers and I leave the office so that I could get a tour of the transplant center. When I got back, I wanted to get a tampon from my backpack. I looked under my desk, where I usually keep it and it was gone. I was so confused. I knew that I brought it to work. Then I thought that my co-workers were hiding it from me, but when I asked them, they had no idea what I was talking about. Someone had stolen my backpack!!!! Luckily, there wasn't anything super valuable in there, although there were some slightly sentimental things, like a pair of white flat shoes that my aunt recently gave me. I kept my wallet and cellphone in my purse which I carry everywhere with me. Anyway, the people of my floor were really nice and empathetic. Even the doctors took some time out of their day to help me look for it. Well because of that stupid person who stole my backpack, (s)he ruined my plans for the day. Then I couldn't bike home because I didn't have keys to my lock, nor could I walk two miles in three-inch heels. So my poor birthday boy who had a buttload of work to do had to cut his day short to take over my responsibilities of getting the car and tickets from home.
Work finally ends and everyone gets in the car by 6:30. The soccer game was held at Gillette Stadium (Foxburo), only 25 miles away. We totally thought that two hours would be enough time to get there, but we were sooooo wrong! It was bumper to bumper all the way from Boston to Foxburo. It was re-freakin-diculous! The game started at 8:30pm and we got there at 9:30. It took us about 10 minutes to run from the parking lot to the stadium and find our seats. There was about 20 minutes left in the game. Brazil and Mexico were tied 1-1. Not much to our suprise, people took over our seats and were so stuborn to move. These people were getting on Carlos' last nerve and I decided to call security so that Carlos might be able to enjoy a few extra minutes.
By the time the seat stealers finally moved out of our seats, there was 15 minutes left. "Come on Mexico....you can score one!" "GOOOOAL!!!!" Brazil made a beautiful shot. The sea of Brazilians wearing yellow shirts goes absolutely wild. Drums are banging, the crowd waives their oversized green flags. Only a couple hundred people sit still in their seats, hoping that Mexico can score another goal to catch up. Two minutes left in the game. "GOOOOOOOAL!!!"Brazil scores again. Thousands and thousands of Brazilians cheer on their country's team. 3-1. Game over.
My poor poor baby had to drive his manual car in bumper to bumper traffic, see only 20 minutes of the game, Mexico lost, and he didn't even get to see that one goal that Mexico got. Then we ended the night with another three hours of traffic coming home.
I guess that Interpol concert, which was playing right across the street from our apartment, would have been better. =(
How it went: I woke up at 6:10. I prepared the meal and it took me a whole hour! But well worth the smiles on my baby's face. Here's a pic of the table set up sans pancakes and bacon.
And the dozen fresh roses:We enjoyed a lovely conversation and took our time for breakfast. Next thing I knew, I was way behind schedule and I got to work at 9am instead of 8am. =TThen around 11am, my co-workers and I leave the office so that I could get a tour of the transplant center. When I got back, I wanted to get a tampon from my backpack. I looked under my desk, where I usually keep it and it was gone. I was so confused. I knew that I brought it to work. Then I thought that my co-workers were hiding it from me, but when I asked them, they had no idea what I was talking about. Someone had stolen my backpack!!!! Luckily, there wasn't anything super valuable in there, although there were some slightly sentimental things, like a pair of white flat shoes that my aunt recently gave me. I kept my wallet and cellphone in my purse which I carry everywhere with me. Anyway, the people of my floor were really nice and empathetic. Even the doctors took some time out of their day to help me look for it. Well because of that stupid person who stole my backpack, (s)he ruined my plans for the day. Then I couldn't bike home because I didn't have keys to my lock, nor could I walk two miles in three-inch heels. So my poor birthday boy who had a buttload of work to do had to cut his day short to take over my responsibilities of getting the car and tickets from home.
Work finally ends and everyone gets in the car by 6:30. The soccer game was held at Gillette Stadium (Foxburo), only 25 miles away. We totally thought that two hours would be enough time to get there, but we were sooooo wrong! It was bumper to bumper all the way from Boston to Foxburo. It was re-freakin-diculous! The game started at 8:30pm and we got there at 9:30. It took us about 10 minutes to run from the parking lot to the stadium and find our seats. There was about 20 minutes left in the game. Brazil and Mexico were tied 1-1. Not much to our suprise, people took over our seats and were so stuborn to move. These people were getting on Carlos' last nerve and I decided to call security so that Carlos might be able to enjoy a few extra minutes.
By the time the seat stealers finally moved out of our seats, there was 15 minutes left. "Come on Mexico....you can score one!" "GOOOOAL!!!!" Brazil made a beautiful shot. The sea of Brazilians wearing yellow shirts goes absolutely wild. Drums are banging, the crowd waives their oversized green flags. Only a couple hundred people sit still in their seats, hoping that Mexico can score another goal to catch up. Two minutes left in the game. "GOOOOOOOAL!!!"Brazil scores again. Thousands and thousands of Brazilians cheer on their country's team. 3-1. Game over.
My poor poor baby had to drive his manual car in bumper to bumper traffic, see only 20 minutes of the game, Mexico lost, and he didn't even get to see that one goal that Mexico got. Then we ended the night with another three hours of traffic coming home.
I guess that Interpol concert, which was playing right across the street from our apartment, would have been better. =(
Monday, September 10, 2007
The b-day plan
Rather than dwelling on crap, let's focus on the future and the good.
The boy's birthday is only a couple days away. I went shopping for his gift today (and I did a little damage for myself too - a pair of brown pumps =P). Carlos goes bonkers for any Hugo Boss leather jacket, but lets face it. One, I don't make that much cashola. And two, I'm not even in med school yet so that I could take it out of my definite future salary. Since I'm pretty positive that he doesn't read my blog, I'll go ahead and spill the beans. I got him the next best leather item from Hugo Boss: a wallet! It's all I can afford at the moment, and his current wallet is falling apart anyway. I hope he likes it. =)
I also wanted to do something special, sort of sentimental...maybe a nice breakfast with fresh flowers. Hmmm...what can I prepare other than his usual cereal? I would cook him some pancakes, but that's a little hard to calculate...although I bet I could do it. And maybe some sausages, and a scrambled egg. I like that idea! I'll just prepare all the ingredients the night before, and he'll wake up to the smell of a buttery breakfast....mmmmmm!
For the evening, we were originally supposed to go to the Interpol concert, but I didn't get the tickets because I was unsure of whether Carlos really liked that band or not. A week after he booked tickets for a soccer game (Mexico vs. Brazil), he said, "This game better be good. I'm missing an Interpol concert for this." So I guess he does like them. =P Anyway, I think it's gonna be an awesome game. I've never seen a live professional soccer game, or any live soccer game for that matter. So this should be a pretty cool experience. And we're going with a couple of cool people from Carlos' school.
Well, biddy-biddy-biddy that's all folks!
The boy's birthday is only a couple days away. I went shopping for his gift today (and I did a little damage for myself too - a pair of brown pumps =P). Carlos goes bonkers for any Hugo Boss leather jacket, but lets face it. One, I don't make that much cashola. And two, I'm not even in med school yet so that I could take it out of my definite future salary. Since I'm pretty positive that he doesn't read my blog, I'll go ahead and spill the beans. I got him the next best leather item from Hugo Boss: a wallet! It's all I can afford at the moment, and his current wallet is falling apart anyway. I hope he likes it. =)
I also wanted to do something special, sort of sentimental...maybe a nice breakfast with fresh flowers. Hmmm...what can I prepare other than his usual cereal? I would cook him some pancakes, but that's a little hard to calculate...although I bet I could do it. And maybe some sausages, and a scrambled egg. I like that idea! I'll just prepare all the ingredients the night before, and he'll wake up to the smell of a buttery breakfast....mmmmmm!
For the evening, we were originally supposed to go to the Interpol concert, but I didn't get the tickets because I was unsure of whether Carlos really liked that band or not. A week after he booked tickets for a soccer game (Mexico vs. Brazil), he said, "This game better be good. I'm missing an Interpol concert for this." So I guess he does like them. =P Anyway, I think it's gonna be an awesome game. I've never seen a live professional soccer game, or any live soccer game for that matter. So this should be a pretty cool experience. And we're going with a couple of cool people from Carlos' school.
Well, biddy-biddy-biddy that's all folks!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Familia Loya
So as soon as I got back from my lovely vacation in LA and seeing all my buddies. I had some nerve racking drama from work, but I don't care to write about it because it's resolved and now I love my new job! =)
That evening I met up with his family at a nearby Korean BBQ restaurant, where we celebrated Carlos' mother's 50th birthday. Then we topped it off with a delicate chocolate raspberry cake from Finale, a fine bakery/coffee shop. (I would have shown a pic, but I have no idea where Carlos kept them.)
Friday: His family went exploring the history of Boston, by walking the freedom trail. I heard that his brother-in-law was so fascinated by the USS Constitution that they spent three hours over there! Then Carlos and I met up with them in Little Italy for a good ol' traditional Italian dinner.
Saturday: We went up north past Salem to Crane's beach. It was so beautiful there! The sun was shining, the water was clear, and the sand was warm and soft. It also happened to be Carlos' nephew's first visit to a beach. So the first thing he did of course was run straight into the water. =P
That's me throwing him into the water.
And you can't go to the beach without building a sand sculpture! Carlos and I decided on an airplane. I present to you Ocean Air!
After we returned with sand in our pants and shirts, we treated them to their first taste of Thai food at Brown Sugar. I ordered the usual Pad Thai and Pad ZEU, which every first timer has to try. Then I ordered my favorite dish, Kow Mun Kai (steamed chicken on mildly favored rice served with a spicy garlic sauce), some crab fried rice, beef macadamia, and some roasted duck. And of course, Thai teas 'round the table. Mmm...mmm...mmm....
Then my biggest challenge came: how to impress the family with a big sit down dinner in our apartment. Well, I took a very good tip from a former co-worker of mine. Get of bunch of drum sticks, stick them in some Jack Daniels marinade and put it in the oven. And that's exactly what I did. Plus I cooked up a couple batchs of rice, warmed up some tortillas, and served it with some salad along with Carlos' homemade salad dressing. Everyone was stuffed and satisfied. Mission complete! 
Overall, it definitely wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. His family is really sweet and treats me like one of their own. I wouldn't mind having them over again.
But anyway, I had two days to get our apartment spanking clean for the "in-laws." (No, they're not in laws, but it's so much easier to refer to them as that for now.) I heard that Carlos' mother was a neat freak and if she saw a speck of dust, she would starting cleaning our house. So I swiftered and windexed everything. It took me all of Monday and Tuesday evening to get everything organized. I was so nervous! I mean, this was my first time HOSTING HIS FAMILY! Gotta stay on the good side...ya know what I mean?
Wednesday night: I slaved over the stove to make sure that his parents had a meal to eat when they arrived. We would have taken them out to a restaurant, but nothing is open past 10pm on a weeknight. Then I slaved over the stove some more so that his sister's family would have something to eat also when they arrived the next morning.
Dinner menu: Filipino style chicken menudo with homemade corn tortillas.
Lunch menu: A delicious exotic mushroom pasta with white wine sauce.
Luckily, Carlos' parents loved their dinner and his dad even asked for seconds! =) Hooray! My first set of brownie points!
Thursday: Carlos picked his sister's family from the airport, had the mushroom pasta and headed out to the Science Museum. A perfect place to take a kid!
Here's a pic of Carlos' nephew and his brother-in-law.
That evening I met up with his family at a nearby Korean BBQ restaurant, where we celebrated Carlos' mother's 50th birthday. Then we topped it off with a delicate chocolate raspberry cake from Finale, a fine bakery/coffee shop. (I would have shown a pic, but I have no idea where Carlos kept them.)
Friday: His family went exploring the history of Boston, by walking the freedom trail. I heard that his brother-in-law was so fascinated by the USS Constitution that they spent three hours over there! Then Carlos and I met up with them in Little Italy for a good ol' traditional Italian dinner.
Saturday: We went up north past Salem to Crane's beach. It was so beautiful there! The sun was shining, the water was clear, and the sand was warm and soft. It also happened to be Carlos' nephew's first visit to a beach. So the first thing he did of course was run straight into the water. =P
That's me throwing him into the water. And you can't go to the beach without building a sand sculpture! Carlos and I decided on an airplane. I present to you Ocean Air! After we returned with sand in our pants and shirts, we treated them to their first taste of Thai food at Brown Sugar. I ordered the usual Pad Thai and Pad ZEU, which every first timer has to try. Then I ordered my favorite dish, Kow Mun Kai (steamed chicken on mildly favored rice served with a spicy garlic sauce), some crab fried rice, beef macadamia, and some roasted duck. And of course, Thai teas 'round the table. Mmm...mmm...mmm....Sunday: Started the day off with mass with my favorite priest, Fr. John Unni. Carlos' mom is quite religious and really enjoyed the gathering. Then we headed over to the Belkin Family Lookout Farm to go apple picking! Luckily for me, since I'm not too fond of apples, the plums and peaches were also ripe and ready to be picked. So that's what I got a bag full of. =D Midway between the picking, there was a petting zoo and children's playground.
I was most fascinated by the rock-climbing apparatus. See? It's pretty cool.
Then Carlos and I also played Gladiators on a balance beam, and the monkey bars. =)
And a couple of dragonflies landed on my arm, which I totally wouldn't have noticed if Carlos' nephew didn't point it out.
Then my biggest challenge came: how to impress the family with a big sit down dinner in our apartment. Well, I took a very good tip from a former co-worker of mine. Get of bunch of drum sticks, stick them in some Jack Daniels marinade and put it in the oven. And that's exactly what I did. Plus I cooked up a couple batchs of rice, warmed up some tortillas, and served it with some salad along with Carlos' homemade salad dressing. Everyone was stuffed and satisfied. Mission complete! Here's the whole familia at the end of their stay.
Overall, it definitely wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. His family is really sweet and treats me like one of their own. I wouldn't mind having them over again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
