hopatcong

The Girard Plague(tm)

Posted on by grahams

Had a little get together for some various college friends this weekend in Hopatcong…   I’ve done this for the past few years, and everyone seems to enjoy it, especially when the weather is as gorgeous as it was this weekend past.  We just chilled out on the Party Barge, Regency Edition, swam, ate, and drank.  This party is always complicated because the boat really is the limiting factor, as it only seats 14 including the driver.  We were pretty much at capacity this year, which means I might seriously have to look into renting a second boat next year…  Which should make invitations less complicated but increase the planning required.

[info]equalize

and

[info]rat_girl3

were among the attendees, and they came with a bit of a cold.  Unfortunately, I seem to have picked up that cold, and it is really kicking my ass (but I’m still glad they were able to come to the party)…   I’ve been out of work for the past two days, but I’m starting to come around…  I’m sure tomorrow I’ll be fighting off the congestion, and I probably won’t walk to work, but I’m starting to get a little stir-crazy in the house.

The couple buying the condo below us closed today, so it is our first evening with neighbors in two months.  I’ve gotten so used to having the run of the place, it will take a little getting used to.  They seem cool as hell, though, so I’m not anticipating any troubles…

Jesus *IS* Magic

Posted on by grahams

I finally was able to catch Jesus is Magic last night with the Sunday Night Film Club. As expected, I really enjoyed it.. People have been slagging the musical bits, but I thought they were rather funny. Was a slow night for the club last night, but with the holiday that was expected.

Went home late on Wednesday for Turkey Day and we didn’t really hit any traffic. We were staying in a hotel Wednesday and Thursday night because so many people were home for the holiday that the house was full. My kid sister, , and her boyfriend were leaving town on Friday, so we moved back into the house then. Actually, though, when they left on Friday they were no longer boyfriend/girlfriend, which is crazy. They are now fiancée/fiancée, as Ben proposed to Aimee Thursday morning. I wish I had gotten to see it, but apparently he put on his dress uniform and put on the full-on dog and pony show. Now that I think of it, I didn’t actually see any pictures of the event, I guess I will have to pester my family for them.

I also got to hang out with my other sister, , who is getting all fancy going out to night clubs and stuff. Now I feel even more like the “lame big brother”. =) Mom and Dad are well, and we all gorged on turkey and pie all weekend. and my father had a deathmatch showdown in Battle Pumpkin Pie. Chuck has made some stellar pies for years now, but this was my dad’s first entry into the pie-o-sphere. I could not pick a winner, both pies were fantastic, my dad’s trending a bit more pumpkin-y and Chuck’s a bit more spice-y. Mom waThe turkey was as awesome as always, and this year my parents prepped an extra turkey breast so we had even more leftovers than ever, which ruled.

Friday night I dragged with me and Chuck to a townie bar in Hopatcong where a bunch of people from High School were meeting in lieu of a 10-Year Reunion. They had tried to organize one but interest was low.. But it was good to see a bunch of people who I hadn’t see in a decade, and it was good to see that, at least out of the people that showed, pretty much everyone seemed to be doing well. NJ hasn’t banned smoking in bars yet, so as soon as Corinna and I got back to the house we took showers and changed our clothes. I did a load of laundry that night as I only had the one pair of jeans and they reeked.

Apply evenly.

Posted on by grahams

This weekend I had a little party at the family home in Hopatcong… , , Michelle, Sean and Kelly all descended on my parents house for a weekend of hanging out and chilling on the Party Barge Regency Edition. A good time was had by all, and I hope this can become a yearly event, as well as one that can be expanded a bit next year. The challenge is that the Barge can only handle about 13 people, and we need a designated driver, so I am a bit limited on the number of people that I can invite… But maybe I can work out a creative solution for that problem next year.

Made it back from NJ on Sunday in time to see Batman Begins with the Sunday Night Film Club. I really enjoyed the movie, even if parts of it were cheesy, but I think it’s time to space Katie Holmes. Fortunately, I believe she is self-destructing her career with this whole Tom Cruise beard fiasco. Unfortunately, I was really exhausted from the hectic weekend and long drive on Sunday and bailed on the post-movie festivities with the film club. I wisely asked Audra to pinch-hit as the host knowing that I might not make it back from NJ in time, so it wasn’t a dick move that I bailed on them.

My leg is slowly getting stronger… I can go longer without my cane, and I even treaded water with a lifejacket on this weekend. It’s pretty much sore all the time, but it is mostly muscle soreness that will (hopefully) go away once I get my strength built back up. I have another month before I have to visit the doctor again… I hit up the dentist yesterday, and even though I have been flossing regularly since before the new year, he still found two cavities.. One was above a crown, so I will have to ask if there is any special treatment that I should be giving that area, as it’s kinda hard to get to. The other is a tiny little cavity-let that he said hasn’t actually developed into a cavity yet, so I will get some PM on that.

I’m quite excited about the tag support added to LJ… While I don’t think I am going to go into the past to tag up my history of nearly 2,200 entries, I might tag up some of the highlights, and I will certainly tag up future entries. Which reminds me, this saturday will be the 5th anniversary of this journal.