Else what's a heaven for?

I have never been so thrilled to put a year in my rear view mirror. Hooboy did 2023 suck:

• I started the year with a mystery ailment that crippled me and had major surgery;
• my baby was in the hospital for 2 weeks (story to be shared someday);
• I worked until the wee hours multiple days a week for months trying to keep my boss from firing me;
• learned about how both nature and nurture combined to disable me;
• and then got sick and injured as a result of all that for the last 2 months of the year.
• My relationship with my mother deteriorated.
• Destination Thanksgiving was not as bad as expected, but it was not good either.

There were good parts.

• I went on the trip of a lifetime to London and Paris with my mother and son, where we went to all the history and museums around his interests, which was fantastic because he is mini-me. (His favorite was the Conciergerie.)
• 3 of my fellow granddaughters (including my sister) had babies this year and another announced her pregnancy.
• Our family vacation to western Florida was not really one of the better parts of the year, what with cruising during a hurricane on a less than ideal ship, but we met my new nephew.
• Skiing after Christmas was superb in unexpected ways - Jon and Lexan both got better at skiing from 1.5 weeks of skiing; Sherlock learned to ski, from first lesson to skiing intermediates that scared his father at the beginning of the trip; and I finally got through my injury and got to ski fast. (Third Christmas in a row where there were impediments to my skiing!) The family time was amazing, spending almost a week staying with my brother and his family, getting to know them the way you can't in just family holidays. Truly a wonderful end to the year.

The best parts of the year were my family. Jon was an absolute rock through all of this, truly the best partner a person can have. Being with him makes everything better, because of his kindness, generosity, humor, and good nature. I don't like much about parenting, but watching my kids grow and gain abilities is amazing. Sherlock is a sweetheart, but also more strongwilled than a Ferengi. Lexan is loud about how bad his year was, but is growing up to be such a wonderful companion.

It was not a good year for reading. I read 35 books, of which only 5 were nonfiction, which at least is above 10%? but 1 was a graphic novel for kids and 2 were memoirs. Best books of the year is hard to say:

• I liked Leah Carroll's Down City,
• I'd never read Robert Harris' Pompeii and I wish he had other books I'd like, although there was one scene of nightmare fuel and it doesn't even involve the volcano,
• I'm glad I randomly came across The Queen's Bargain at the library, although I have a lot of Thoughts about it,
• I'm glad the founding of Valdemar trilogy is done, because how does a writer write that many books but they get worse over time??
• Rick Riordan on the other hand gets better and better, even while still writing middle-grade-accessible books, and
• this is from 2022, strictly speaking, but I read it after my last day of work that year and anyway, did you know there's an autistic character in The Other Miss Bridgerton?

I can't remember what my resolutions were for 2023 - it's been 3 years since I wrote a New Year's post. whoops.

For 2024, I am focusing on incrementalism - how to get a little better every day because compounding. I understand it intellectually, but I suck at things that require consistent effort. I'm trying to get there through measuring the little things, but also better routines, creating rituals, driving simplicity/fewer decisions.

I'm also aiming to read one quality book per quarter (I have a list!) and of course, journaling more.

Part One
Part Two

I got a call the next day, a Thursday, asking if I could come in on Tuesday for spinal surgery. Maybe I could've, but I needed to get an MRI and blood work and tests before I could have surgery, so it seemed aggressive.

The next week and a half was a blur: partly because of the aforementioned, but all the other stuff I had to do as a mom. I didn't have a will that included my husband, let alone my kids, so I channeled my fear into fretting about that. (Jon actually dealt with it.) I'd never had surgery before, other than getting my wisdom teeth out, so I was terrified I might not wake up, or might wake up paralyzed, even though all the people who affiliated with NYU we knew told us the surgeon had a great rep. I took the kids on an extra-special outing, their choice, to the Intrepid and took cute pictures and wrote them notes for their bar mitzvahs. The Monday before surgery, I went to 6 or 7 medical appointments, including an ENT for the baby, where I held him down while they sent a scope up his nose and down his throat. (Oh the foreshadowing!) I planned the baby's birthday party.

We got it all done and then it was Wednesday night and I was freaking out about not being able to eat before my 1:30pm surgery and my clever husband pointed out it was less restrictive than Yom Kippur. Then I finished my notes to the kids and we took a car to the hospital and got lost within the hospital and they sent people looking for us and I paid an eye popping bill. (No more co-pays for the rest of the year!) I changed into a gown etc., brushed my teeth, kissed my husband goodbye, tearfully, and they wheeled me to the operating room. We passed rooms with doors open where they were hosing the blood down and it was very creepy and I wished the drugs had kicked in already. My OR was a busy place, with half a dozen people prepping stuff - there were a lot of machines! - and me trying to look around but also not distract them, because very soon, inside my spine would be open to the air.

Next thing I knew, I was really groggy and my mouth felt funny and gummy and my husband was there. My mom was too, which was good because he had to leave so the babysitter could go home. I woke the next day and felt okay - walking to the bathroom was the worst chore. My surgeon said I looked great and all my relatives came to visit, in pairs, with drama about hospital policies. They brought me treats - the phrase "New York is your oyster" was uttered. My sister had flown in from Florida, very pregnant, and came by with homebaked pear tart. About 24 hours after the surgery, the drugs wore off and took my energy. (Fentanyl is strong, mmkay?) I spent two more days in the hospital, mostly trying to lie at an angle and wishing the PT/OT would stop making me walk. I scoured the tv system looking for romcoms to watch with my mom. (I do NOT recommend Mr. Malcolm's List - cargo cult Bridgerton.) I read the surgeon's notes, with details like the size and manufacturer of the screws they put in. Apparently they were x-raying me while the surgeon worked?

On Sunday, they sent me home, ( and you probably don't care about this stuff ) my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary and my safe return at Peter Luger's. Two weeks later, I was so happy to go back to work. No more medical appointments! Hahaha

Epilogue: The x-ray at my 2 week appointment was metal AF - it looks like I have some cool necklace embedded in my back.

The pathology of the spinal mass came back as the least risky category one can have, so I got another MRI six months after surgery. (That had a bit of drama - the technician asked me what I was there for, then peered at me and said, "I remember you! I knew what you had last time, but I couldn't tell you." Uhhh.... But when I came out of the MRI machine that day, she said, "Your surgeon did a really good job.")

The surgeon confirmed everything looked good and begged me to go for another MRI in a year, saying I didn't even have to come to his office - just text his nurse to get the MRI prescription and they'd call me to let me know it was clean.

I forgive myself for being human and finite and

• having a sore throat for 3 weeks (and consequently being unable to exercise, which helps me eat right);
• PMSing;
• being stressed when 2 interviews on separate days were added to my calendar;
• being stressed when the nanny just announced that she would not be available when I go back to work;
• having a hard time finding daycare for the toddler so he will learn to play nicely with others;
• being upset when all the scheduling changes (and lack of daycare and living in fucking New York City) meant personal care got postponed for 6-8 weeks;
• clinging to the illusion I can lose weight while all this is going on (even after binging on potato chips);
• binging on potato chips;
• running out of prepared food and not ordering food sooner;
• not optimizing the a/c and getting hot and cranky every afternoon;
• failing at meditating bc I was too angry; and
• losing my temper with the baby when he ripped my books.

But this morning I made myself delicious (if unsightly) eggs and ham and tea. I delegated the daycare tasks that require responsiveness and will try, very hard, to get the job-hunting work done today. And hope to forgive myself for whatever doesn't get done today, as long as the baby is still clean, fed, and reasonably intact by the end of the day.

[Poll #2019470]

I'm borrowing a basic Kindle for the summer, which means I can get a book from Amazon's lending library, and the above 3 are light fiction I'd queued up. I can't say I blame Amazon for turning the daily and monthly deals into a way of showcasing/getting a marginal dollar or two from the "Unlimited" plan, but it's also decreased my interest in buying books from them, when I rarely find something compelling and I'm happy to put it in a list for future reading instead.

My reasons for wanting a Kindle (even though I'm quite happy to read most books on my iPhone) are the lending library and so I can read e-books at night without disturbing my sleep, but I also noticed (and a friend suggested) that Lucky can't tell when we are on our phones/iPad if we are reading playing games. My intention is to let him discover the Kindle, find out there is no way to play games on it, and watch us reading it. (I've put a book on there that I'd like to lend to Jon, bc a Kindle seems to be the best way to share books from my Amazon account to travel companions.) I was thinking I might seed it with one or two kid-appropriate books, in case he wants to give it a try. So far I was thinking The Westing Game (bc it's about a kid who plays the stock market); From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (bc it makes the Met cool); and The Borrowers. Jon laughed at me when I plaintively sighed, "Why doesn't anyone write kids books about how smart adults are and you should always listen to them?" I guess that's not how you sell books to kids.

I'm embarrassed at how much I'm enjoying reading on the Kindle. Intellectually I know it has no more capacity than the phone that's always in my pocket and the interface is slightly worse bc you can't highlight in 4 colors, but I still want to cuddle it and read all the time.

Edit: this post was written a year ago, forward-dated and forgotten. oops. I blame pregnancy brain. I'm not going on vaca with Lucky this year, although I'm always looking for book ideas.

FWIW, I read all the books mentioned in the first poll question and I'm glad I did: they were all entertaining.

I felt like we got to Maine and were basically winging our vacation, even though I spent about a day planning the trip (half a day booking lodgings and another half day researching the national parks) and I've been to the same area with my family before. I even failed to acquire a guide book of any sort and my aunts who take their families to Acadia National Park weren't very helpful. Then after walking/hiking <6mi in one day, I was crippled, so it's not like my plans would have availed much anyhow. *sighs* In the end though, I had some really great moments with the child and long after I've given up on making a photobook of the trip, that'll be what matters.

We started the trip with a stop in Connecticut, to see my brand new nephew. To save time, we had dinner at the hospital - my mother occasionally goes to the hospital solely for the food - but the pickings were meager on a Friday night. I slept for a while, then kept my husband company for the last few hours of the 9 hour drive, talking his ear off about everything on my mind. I've been doing that a lot lately.

The next morning, I took the child for breakfast and got some quality time with him. We hadn't seen much of him in the week since camp and I am inutterably charmed that he worried about waking his father. Eventually he woke on his own, devoured leftover omelette, and drove us to Bar Harbor, stopping on the way for our first lobster roll of the trip. By the time we checked in and unpacked, we had time to walk around town. The child came back from camp hungry all the time, so we took him for the early bird special at the 22nd best restaurant in town, the West Street Café, where everyone had lobsters. I believe the child has had lobster before, but it was pretty funny watching his attempts to get the meat out, like when he declared the tail was too hard to eat from.

Sunday, we had breakfast at Testa's, which was a regrettable throwback to the trip's earlier mediocre food. On the plus side, it was near the north end of town and we happened to be there near low tide, so over the child's worrywart protests, we walked to the top of Bar Island, stopping on the way back to admire the mist behind the cruise ships and for another rock skipping lesson. We drove into the park and stopped at the visitor's center, where Lucky reluctantly received a Junior Ranger guide. He liked the national parks passport book better and got his first stamp. Then we drove to Gorham "Mountain" for a moderate 1.8mi hike to the top. Since we were already on the west side of the park, we drove to Thurston's Lobster's Pound. As soon as we got there, I remembered eating there about a decade ago with my folks: it was one of the best meals of the trip. The blueberry cake that came with our meals was delicious, but I'm so glad I got the strawberry rhubarb pie as well, bc the vanilla cream was incredible.

The next morning Jon went climbing with a guide, so Lucky and I went to the nature center and the beach. He's spent every summer of his life going to the Jersey shore, so he loved looking for crabs among the lowish-tide rocks, despite the reek from a few dead ones. He's also scared of heights though, so I was very surprised to see him scrambling on them. Originally we'd talked about walking several miles to the next location, but waited for the bus instead. I wanted more from our day, but as I write this, I realize he really, really needed to run around and climb things. I... can relate to that.

Between our b&b and the climbing shop was a deli where Lucky got a lump lobster roll and I got a burger. The boys napped and I rested. The child once more demanded food, so we took him Poor Boy's Gourmet, which should've been walking distance from our room. It was more gourmet Maine food: I got a (virgin) blueberry martini, Jon had lobster fra diavolo, and the child had yet another boiled lobster. Yum. Unfortunately, I couldn't make the walk back, so Jon brought the car over.

Tuesday morning, we went kayaking with National Park Sea Kayak Tours. We saw little wildlife and our guide was not very good at narrating, or even keeping the boats together, but we enjoyed it. We showered and went to Jordan Pond for an elegant lunner. I could've stayed all afternoon, just looking at the Bubbles, eating popovers, and enjoying the sunshine.

Wednesday morning, we finally met up with my aunt and uncle and their kids for brunch at Two Cats, which was delicious if carborrific, and drove to Boston. A good friend recommended a Thai place not far from our hotel and met us there and we caught up.

I had grand plans for finally doing all the touristy things I'd never done in Boston as an undergrad, but being unable to walk from Faneuil Hall to the subway without tears put the kibosh on that. We took a duck tour, which I'd always wanted to do, but was disappointing. The duck was cool and all, but I really wanted a little more history and background on the city as we drove around. Based on our conversation at the visitor's center, I think I will try to get a tour - possibly with a ranger - next time we try the Freedom Trail. We had dinner at Durgin Park, which seemed like the thing to do, and made it home.

Friday I went for a massage at Massage Therapy Works. I walked out and immediately had a twinge in my back and thought, "Oh well, it was worth a shot." Then I spent 5 hours walking around the Museum of Science with just a few sitting breaks and woke the next morning feeling bouncy, so I guess it did work.

I am so impressed with the Museum of Science: it's the best time I've had at a science museum since I went to the Ontario Science Center as a kid. (That museum was so amazing, my family planned multiple week-long road trips to Toronto where we did nothing but hang out at the museum.) Every time I come to Boston, they have interesting special exhibits: this time it was everyday math (which involved snowboarding and space simulations) and "Grossology". I LOVED the updated Hall of Life so much, my menfolk had to drag me out. (Data!) Funniest moment was when one of the explainers came by as we were discussing the prenatal exhibit and offered her help. I still maintain the 4 month baby and the 6 month baby were the wrong size.

Saturday morning we had a delightful breakfast with the Cozikins, who picked the perfect place for us to chat for 3 hours while the children played. As we were going back to our car, Lucky asked, "When are we hanging out with them again?" I couldn't agree more.

We're back from the Caribbean, safe and sound. Most of the trip was pretty good: Jon and Lucky approved of the cruising concept and both are interested in taking more cruises. I was disappointed because I remember them being more awesome: I remember kids club being more than babysitting (Lucky watched Frozen and Despicable Me multiple times in his 3 days there and came home every day with a toy and/or candy) although admittedly that might be because I never sailed on Princess as a kid. Also, they didn't have lobster night and they had fewer fruit soups. oh well. Below is a list of things we did:

• I think we received a complimentary upgrade to a suite at the hotel the night before because I made the reservation at the same time as our honeymoon reservations, but also because it was just 1 night. There was a spiral staircase and it was roughly the size of our two apartments combined. I asked Jon if I could stay there instead of the cruise.
  
• The food was better than expected, although given that my last 3 vacations have been Bologna, New Orleans, and Napa, it could've been better. I was really impressed at the portion control in the sit-down meals. My favorite thing I ate was probably the jerk chicken the first night, as well as the watermelon and feta soup.
  
• I'm really interested in cruise ship logistics now. I could see how they handled the food, slightly changing the presentation and names so that each restaurant had slightly different food, but essentially using the same stuff. Disney does a better job of moving guests to the right places though.
  
• Jon and I had to develop a whole new lingo for ogling our shipmates. I was a little nervous about wearing my Superman bikini I bought in South Beach, but then a little girl at the pool asked, "Is that a Wonder Woman bathing suit?" with big eyes.
  
• However, I missed a critical spot in applying sunscreen so I spent the rest of the trip with lobster red décolletage.
  
• The best part of scuba diving in Grand Cayman was pictures of us riding a bicycle underwater, followed by the visibility, particularly of The Oro Verde. We saw my favorite fish, turtles, and a nurse shark, but mostly it was just fish, ya know?
  
• We had the worst waitress evuh at Rackam's, which is why we ran out of time to buy Seven Fathoms Rum. The conch fritters were crazy good though.
  
• Cozumel was the opposite. We had an awesome day at Playa Mia, in which we scrambled all over the water playground (way harder than it looks), kayaked, snorkeled, and rode the water slide. The snorkeling was better than I expected: why would a fish want to live on THAT beach? The food was terrible but I charmed the bartenders and had 7 (fortunately small and mostly weak) drinks.
  
• Then I went tequila tasting at duty free. oops.
  
• I've never won adult trivia on a boat before, despite repeated attempts with my father on my last cruise. Of the four times Jon and I played, we won twice. We got a bottle of champagne for winning Ye Olde Pub Night trivia, which was extra-super delicious, and a keychain for the other one. I needed a key-carabiner.
  
• We were not chosen for the marriage match game, which is good because the child came with us and the very first question would've been terribly inappropriate for us. oops.
  
• Jon entered the karaoke contest, which was very silly, and might've won if the last guy hadn't been amazing. However, our first dance as a married couple was to the dance break of "I've Got You Under My Skin".
  
• The final day of the cruise was very hobbit-y: I had first breakfast at 6, so that I wouldn't wake the others; second breakfast in the exact same buffet with completely different food when everyone else got up; lunch an hour or two later; afternoon tea because it was our last day and we hadn't been yet (very disappointing); and then dinner an hour or two after that.
  
• The last day of the trip was very long. Because our flight didn't leave until 6:30pm, we went on an Everglades tour, including air boat ride, alligator show, and Flamingo Gardens. I thought these would appeal to a 9yo, but the day started at 6:30am (after staying up late to watch his dad in the karaoke contest) and involved multiple hours at the airport. Next time, I'll spend the extra $500 to get us home earlier, instead of coming back from vacation irritated.

I've always had a soft spot for PYF, ever since we climbed my first favorite Gunks climb, Airy Aria, even though GMac didn't seem entirely comfortable with his safety. Most years, he trains two leaders, so last year, I asked if he wanted to go climbing on a weekday. We finally hooked up on Saturday. ( Bloody Mary and Arch ) Despite what must look like asshattery to any competent hiker, he talked about what we might do next time, but honestly, I'm disillusioned enough not to pursue it.

Jon's been talking about his landlord's place in Woodstock for a while: this past weekend, we finally made it up there. Friday night, Jon showed up with a car, but no child, at my place, so we had a very adult ride up. Sat morning, we stopped at QuickChek for breakfast and lunch. It was a revelation to Jon: he acted like the Snausages dog and demanded we stay there all day, mostly bc of the TastyKake display. When I showed a picture of the Jack Links display to Lucky the next day, he had much the same reaction, demanding to immediately be taken there, while his playmate kept repeating, "But it's just a gas station..."

The climbing was mostly good too. ( Andrew is a great climb with a terrible descent ) I drank my emergency bourbon when we got to the car.

Jon's landlord and his wife are kind people with many similar interests, but they are just not sympatico. Dinner started well, but there was a level at which we couldn't connect and I got tired of trying. Which doesn't really excuse my mansplaining Vicksburg to a Southerner, but oh well.

Sun morning, we went to Bread Alone for brunch and to an empty field to shoot a model rocket. Jon's been talking about this for weeks and I wasn't particularly excited, but it was really cool and the kids loved it. Afterward, we went across the road to check out a local watering hole and skip rocks. This apparently scratched Lucky's "hiking" itch and mine too, bc neither of us stirred when our hostess said she wanted to go cross-country in their backyard. Instead we played video games on our iDevices, wherein I learned to turn off the Internet connection before I give my iPad to a child. d'oh! It's hard coming in mid-story as a parent. Lucky still didn't want to hang out with us on the ride home, but we had ice cream sundaes and an hour of Lord of the Rings before bed.

I had worked myself into a temper on Friday night, so Jon made me the greatest egg sandwich ever as a peace offering. He's brilliant at cooking eggs, he butters the toast, and we keep quality cheddar and bacon in the house, so the sandwich was so good, it was almost a shame to put hot sauce on it.

I spent much of Saturday at the Museum of Math in Manhattan with Julian and Junior. It's absolutely amazing and if Julian hadn't already gotten a membership, I would've bought one myself. It's similar to the math exhibits at the Boston Museum of Science or the Queens Hall of Science, but updated with multimedia toys like a walk-on light board. I find it interesting that most of the games are math of a level most people will never understand, theoretical stuff about shapes. My favorite exhibit was Human Trees, where they take a video image of someone and fractalize it, so you're looking at a tree made of you, and bc it's video, it moves in real-time. I wish that the museum did a little more to connect the math to other disciplines: the laser they used to show how you can make slices from a 3D shape could be related to biology and microscopes with a sentence and there's nothing about calculus. Overall though, it seems like the place to take a young person on a regular basis, maybe quarterly, to brainwash them into thinking math is fun.

We had lunch at Shake Shack and gelato and coffee at Eataly, speaking of things that make math fun. Julian and I declared Eataly to be an Italian embassy - there's an Eataly in Bologna, after all - and smooched. Then I headed to Brooklyn, where my Aunt B and 2 of her kids took us to dinner. Driving back to my place, I fell asleep, so Jon sent me to bed.

Which is good, bc Sun was a clusterfuck: we failed to set an alarm, we couldn't escape the road closures due to the NYC triathlon and had to drive all the way to the other side of the island, and then when we got to the parking lot, we discovered Jon hadn't brought the climbing rope. *sighs* Fortunately, we'd been sorta planning to climb with others from the club, who brought more than enough top ropes.

I'm not really sure why I'm disappointed with the day's climbing. I started with Black Fly, a delightful, slabby 5.5 that's the 6th climb from the parking lot. Nice Crack Climb (5.7) was too damp (for me) to make it over the crux. I made it up Nice 5.9 Climb, hanging the rope at each crux: I like it bc everything but those two moves is pretty moderate. I enjoyed No Picnic, an unusually challenging 5.5: the crux is a bulge that makes it difficult to get a restful stance. I styled Shit or Go Blind, a 5.8 roof, thanks to PEng's beta to stay to the left of the bush; last year, the guides we climbed with didn't give us that beta. I should be pleased, as that's as much climbing as I'd've done on a day when I was leading, and it was harder to boot; moreover, we climbed with interesting people I didn't know, including a NYC burlesque performer. Still vaguely dissatisfied.

Oh well, we had a delicious dinner at Red Lobster, with one of the best waiters I've ever had anywhere, and not just bc he pressed us to take biscuits home. We went to the Paramus Fairway and while I still find it absurd that there are more than 2 Fairways, let alone Fairways outside NYC, it was pretty awesome. They had all the coffee and all the cheese, which is probably why we spent $95 but I had nothing to eat all day Monday. oops.

I've been to Disney at least 4 times as an adult, once even with my parents, but this time was different, both because I had more time there and because I was there with an 8 year old. It was the longest the three of us have spent together: the prior record was a weekend + a night when Jon was convalescing.

Jon was terrified of how busy the parks would be bc it was NYC schools' spring break. Actually, I thought there were more kids there bc their band was playing than from NYC. I'll have to check with my mum at some point, bc I'm sure they would've noticed, but I thought it was more Southerners and Hispanics in the park than anything else: half the families around us were speaking Spanish. Which makes sense: these are the people having children in America. Demography has arrived.

I believe Lucky had a good time, although he wasn't particularly effusive. On the one hand, he was completely uninterested in, say, the games at the end of the Animation exhibit at MGM -- because he has better games on his handheld device. On the other hand, his favorite part of the trip was Legoland, "because it allowed him to be more creative." What he means is, it was a less packaged experience: the speedway at Legoland doesn't have a track, so you can have a multi-kid pile-up, whereas at Tomorrowland, all you really have is a pedal. It must be really hard designing new rides for kids who have everything except experience.

On Julian's suggestion, we watched the Walt Disney story at MGM, which I found illuminating in 2 ways. There's footage of Walt talking about how he'd take his daughters out every weekend, but the places he went were dirty and/or boring for adults, that with Disneyland, he wanted to create somewhere for the whole family. I still haven't figured out why Legoland was mindnumbingly boring for the adults, compared to say the Magic Kingdom. I found the rides repetitive, especially since they didn't describe them on the map, so you had to guess, based on the pictures, what it might be. The shows are dumbed down: the stunts in the waterski show were much less spectacular than when I went to Cypress Gardens as a kid and the humor was all pratfalls.

The other interesting takeaway from the movie was looking around the parks and realizing they are a tribute to the hodgepodge that was Walt's interests. I don't remember why he had a break in his studio's work due to WW2, but he talked about getting into the live action stuff. I see Animal Kingdom as the successor to the Jungle Cruise, which itself was born of Disney's True Life Adventures. World Showcase is a direct descendent of Disney's World's Fair pavilions.

Some other personal highlights from the trip:( Read more... )

Thursday night was a very typical Kate night: I stopped by my metamour's gallery opening before heading to the climbing club solstice dinner. The latter was more sparsely attended than usual and GMac didn't save me (and Jon) a seat, so we ended up at a table with that chick who reminds me of the gal who took my toaster. Who turned out to be sorority sisters with that gal, overlapped at MIT with me, and is friends with my former friends. egads. oh, and she's a lawyer, bc I has a type.

While skiing in Vermont, I decided to take up snowboarding again after 9 years, probably because there's more low-hanging fruit than in skiing and because I'm a masochist. To improve my skiing, I'd have to go places with lots of snow and longer trails; because I'm a crap snowboarder it's a terrible form of transportation, I can re-learn to snowboard anywhere with a good snowpack. Friday, I took the LivingSocial bus to Hunter, which is ( the way to snowboard ) It was a good day.

Saturday, Jon and Lucky picked me up for a day at Camelback. I'd never been before, but I was thoroughly charmed. They have cool theming and well-separated areas for beginners. I'd never ridden a conveyor belt-type lift before. I feel a little bad that I wasn't much help with showing Lucky how to ski; I was too busy trying not to knock him down. I am very proud of myself though for motivating him to try to do as many turns as possible on the trail, which got him thinking more like a skier. He got tired halfway through the afternoon, falling both getting on and getting off the lift, so we headed home. We stopped halfway at Melting Pot. Lucky is a pretty good eater, but he didn't enjoy the cheese fondue (too much wine) or the meat fondue (too much spice), poor kid. We ordered a chocolate fondue he liked so much, he ate the last Rice Krispy treat. Like father, like son. *grumbles*

Sunday, I went back out to NJ, this time for Monster Mini-Golf with Julian and Junior. I got bored of losing to Julian at mini-golf - those 1% skills come in handy! - but the DDR machine was mostly empty and I had a lot of fun. I need to find a way to play dance games at home. After dinner, Jane picked up Junior and Julian and I read porn before bed. Yaay!