weekend away

After my interview was postponed on Friday, we decided to head up north a day earlier and start our weekend away with the in-laws in Connecticut. Unfortunately, we rode a wave of traffic that stretched a five hour drive into an eight hour ride. It took us an hour just to travel the first 10 miles.

“What CDs did you bring?”
“I didn’t bring any.”
“It looks like we’re scanning stations the whole way.”
“What do you mean, we? I brought my iPod. Didn’t you bring yours?”
“I did, but I can’t drive with my iPod on.”
“Fuck me.”
“Okay.”

It’s been years since I listened to radio on a regular basis and eight hours in a car reminded me why. DJs don't have many interesting things to say (I like my gossip from Perez Hilton and The D List). I can’t believe programming hasn't moved beyond "Night Storm” and “Love Lines.” Commercials ... way too many (the reason I gave up listening to Stern whose ads ran for 10 minute stretches). While I love that there are so many Spanish language stations, I really can’t stand that they devote so so much airplay to reggaton (I know I sound like a fogy, "the crap these kids listen to"). But it was fun listening to the stations with retro programming. We heard many disco classics (Dan Hartman, Machine, Diana Ross) and 70’s rock hits (Doobie Brothers, Elton John, Allman Brothers). I would be good on "Name That Tune" because I can recognize song titles and artists immediately but my Honey trumps me by knowing all of the lyrics (it's scary, just like Rainman).

We pulled in the driveway just before eleven with visions of home cooking. Little did we know that we would have to do the cooking since everyone ate hours ago and were off to bed. We stayed up until one winding down before confronting our sleeping dilemma. Full sized air mattres (400 pounds made this adventure risky) or full size mattres in the room next to 'rents (so hard that you could bounce old computer monitors off of it like quarters). We opted for the hard mattres because the rubber on the air mattres made a lot of noise whenever we twisted and turned. I fell asleep immediately and when I woke a few hours later I found my Honey sleeping on the floor with the dog. He said it was softer than the mattres. By the by, I hope you remembered that the last “s” is for savings.

We left for the Bronx early the next morning so we could hang with my sister and her family. My brother-in-law fired up the grill and cooked us delicious chicken and steak (he's, by far, the

better cook). My normally witty and entertaining nephew was all mopey and down from his tonsillectomy earlier in the week. We learned that eating grilled chicken three days after a tonsillectomy is a bad idea ... blood everywhere. It was good seeing my aunt who moved in temporarily before her mandatory exile to Florida.

My sister showed me the literature for the “exercise rehabilitation facility” that our mother is moving to. Besides the brochure, the promotional bag included a cheap plastic keychain and a cheap travel hairbrush embossed with the facility’s logo. I wondered whether these "gifts" influenced my sister’s decision.

We decided to have a “Good Will” type organization come by the apartment to pick up our mother’s furniture. My nephew asked if he could switch his smaller TV for hers. My aunt asked if there were any nightstands she could move into the spare room. And my Honey felt left out so he called dibs on the microwave. I think he would have been better off asking for any soft mattresses.

More later ...