I Heart Peanut Butter

My weekend was filled with things to do.

On Friday I had my commencement from Salter @ Mechanics Hall, it was nice but I wanted it to be over with as soon as it started. My folks came up and we then went to the Abbey for drinks and eat.

Saturday Neil and I worked Cats at the Hanover, the performance was good but not super. Followed by a quick trip to the Auto Show @ the DCU Center. I only wish that Worcester could put out a Boston or Providence sized auto show, but it is always fun to sit in a car you would never buy or maybe even afford and dream for a bit. We both were hungry and neither one of us had anything in the house to eat so we headed over to EVO @ Living Earth for dinner. Never have I been so happy to have a place to go to dinner that has the same amount of vegetarian dishes as it does meat dishes, I had real choices. We started with Potato skins with Fakin Bacon, Neil got a bison burger and I got a pizza with white sauce, artichokes and goat cheese. The food was wonderful, the service was good and I recommend to anyone.

Today because I played all day yesterday I had to get some serious homework complete and then run some errands before dinner at the neighbors. Had dinner with a few of my neighbors tonight and caught up with the goings on .

As I sign off I am heading to bed to start another busy week…

February 6 – August 16, 2009
@ ICA- Boston

Shepard Fairy master of Obey Giant, much in demand by mainstream art collectors since creating the now famous “Hope” and “Progress” Obama prints. He started his street art life with Andre the Giant has a Posse stickers while attending RISD in Providence RI in the early 1990′s.

Neil has become a huge fan of Shepard in the last couple years spending hours to grab a print when they drop on the Obey Giant website. The multi-layer screen prints show master of talent. The prints are filled with politics at its core, propaganda at its finest. I admire once the prints reach the house and only wish we could now afford to get all of them framed properly.

Check out Neil’s pics of Shepard’s recent Boston pasting adventures. FLICKER

Another Sunday and more snow!
To Celebrate the Chinese New Year I am going to do my spring cleaning early, get the house looking as spic and span as I can. I am thinking to out some things on Ebay and CL, clear the house out and make a few bucks doing so.

My new classes start tomorrow so I need to get back into school mode, don’t get me wrong I love school but the last almost 4 weeks free from study have been nice. Next Friday is my commencement from Salter College so I at least get to be done with that.

Next Saturday Neil and I are working Cats at the Hanover, I love traveling Broadway shows at the Hanover, I will let you know how it goes.

Although in the true nature of MLK Jr Day I have a day ON and not a day OFF, so I will be working tomorrow while a large amount of the population gets to sleep in, although I would almost do anything to just work on a service project instead. Tuesday I took off because me being at work trying to watch the inauguration on my cell phone would mean me getting in trouble. Not sure yet where or what we are doing but I would prefer to celebrate with many people instead of just Neil and I. I am still beating myself over the head for not making it to DC this week, but such is life.

So much going on so little time….

I have been in a movie mode the last couple weeks.
On New Years I went and seen “Slumdog Millionaire” which I believe is one of the better films of the last year.
Then that next weekend went with my friend to see “Milk” with Sean Penn staring as Harvey Milk, another great film.
Hate to admit it but this picky movie goer had to get my “chick flick” quota and went on Friday to see “Bride Wars”. I think I have moved past this type of movie because I did not think it was all that fabulous.
Tonight went and seen “The Reader”, I now see why Kate Winslet won best supporting actress at the Globes although her speech was somewhat embarrassing. She has always been a great actress and always becomes her part.

So many movies so little time…..

As much as I would like to think that 2009 will be a year of greatness, I have to think that some things may be tough.

I have a grandmother who I love dearly, she has always been there for me if not in the “grandmother” fashion of baking cookies and have sleepovers. She was the reality, she was the woman who does not see through rose colored glass. She understands and as funny as it the over 40′s year of difference between she and I, she still gets me. She is not stuck in the 1950′s, she doesn’t think much is taboo.

She has had a really hard year and in turn hard on the family. In the beginning of 2005 she was diagnosed with emphysema after passing out from not being able to breath, she was living on her inhaler to just be able to make normal breathes each day. This scared everyone, the prognosis is never good for something like this, there is no cure and it is progressive. We all know the final results will be 24/7 oxygen dependency. My grandmother beats herself up for putting her family through the health issues over the last year, she tells the story of how she became a smoker for 50+ years. She regrets putting cigarettes first in her life and life second.

The months following her diagnosis with emphysema were life changing, she withdrew from her life because she being a woman that smoked and having a husband who did not made it so her every minute of her life was planned as to when she would have the next smoke. She stopped doing the things she enjoyed like reading because she related the two, smoking and reading as one event. She soon decided it was time to live her life, she started traveling and going away for small trips with my grandfather, really make up for the times she did not because she wanted a cigarette.

The last year has been tough, she has had medical condition after medical condition. Was hospitalized for pneumonia, thrombocytopenia, inability to breath-dyspnea, and what ever health problems that ailed her due to the inability to get proper oxygen to your vital organs. Thank god for school and my ever expanding medical knowledge because I can follow what is going on. This past year was multiple trips and extended stays in the hospital for her, which breaks my heart. The medications such as prednisone which is a great steroid for short-term use is not meant for long term. She has been on this all year and her body is starting to wreck havoc from the organ and bone damage. The drug causes bone to become brittle.

Again, my grandmother most got through more test and now they want perform a splenectomy and this too will have the long term effects for someone whose health is not all that good. She will then need to be on antibiotics for the rest of her life and make sure not to be around anyone that is potentially sick.

I guess this is hard for me because for the first time in my life, this year I have had to deal with the fact that my grandparents are aging, that they will not be with me forever. I have been oh so lucky in my life and had family members with great health. I didn’t really know my paternal grandmother all that well so her passing was not heart wrenching for me. But my moms parents, my grandparents that have played an intrical part in my life, this is more than I can deal with right now. I feel sad for my grandmother who deals with her hair falling out and doesn’t feel like herself anymore. I feel sad for my grandfather who as a caregiver on many occasions this past year can’t get past the fact that his bride is sick.

I hope and as much as I can hope, that 2009 is a better year, that my grandmother is to get healthy and be able to enjoy her garden this spring/summer.

Time and Place

Start Time:	Friday, January 9, 2009 at 6:00pm
End Time:	Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 2:00am
Location:	The Dive Bar
Street:	34 Green Street
City/Town:	Worcester, MA
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Featuring The Hurricane Horns – A 6 piece band featuring a horn section playing Dixieland, Funk and Soul.

Allagash Grand Cru – ON CASK!

Hurricane Horns: Steve Lefebvre (trumpet), John Vaughan (bass), Brooks Milgate (keys), Brian Thomas (trombone), Duncan Arsenault (drums) and Rich Labedz (sax)

This year has started out a bit different than last, people tend to come out of the woodwork. Surprising people too, still trying to absorb.
My birthday came and went this week, without to much excitement. I left work early on Tuesday, brought myself out to lunch at John Harvard’s and then did a bit of shopping. When Neil and I were both home we got ready and went to Allegos for dessert and a cocktail. I had a yummy peanut butter martini. Then Neil asked if I wanted a beer from KJ Baarons or The Dive, of course I said the Dive. Alec was working and it was quiet in there but all was good. I had one glass of Southern Tier Choklat and one Mayflower Porter.
Other than that I am just busy, I wonder sometimes if I will ever not be busy. I have about 1 more week before classes start up again, have an easy term coming up so not sweating it to much.

Been a really busy past few weeks. I have the next couple weeks off of school, I got my grades in this week, not to shabby. Christmas came ans went, uneventful as always. New Years involved me going to be at 10pm for lack of anything to do and to have a great New Years day.

On New Years we went to brunch at the Abbey, where I got the Breakfast Slate, two glasses of Southern Tier Choklat and Neil and I split the Choklat cake. We then went to the late afternoon showing of “Slumdog Millionaire”, which I will be honest was what I thought should be the number 1 movie of the year. No spoilers here, just go and see the movie. For those of you in Worcester it is playing at the Cinema Art @ Worcester North. Great movie with enough action to keep anyone on the edge of their seat while holding onto a fantastic plot. Well done Danny Boyle!

Had a slow and easy work day on Friday and here we are the weekend before my 29th birthday. Yes, I am going to be 29 on Tuesday. Please tell me where the last 9 years have went. I still think I am 20.

Last night Neil and I went to Flying Rhino for dinner and as we sat there I realized that I went there for my 26th birthday also, the night we left for Philly @ 3am. I like their food what can I say.

This Sunday began as a lazy day but I needed to do something, I needed something to cure my restlessness. Went to Michael’s and picked up a sanding pad, some primer and some paint to revive my two Eames era chairs. I sanded, primed the legs and painted the legs chrome. This evening I will paint the chair body red. I am excited to be able to use the chair finally. I found them at a yard sale in Western Mass this fall.

Now getting ready to go see Milk with Julie, the movie about Harvey Milk, I will report back on it later…..