Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Just guessing here

I'm gonna take a wild shot in the dark and say I bet Amy Winehouse died of a drug overdose of some sorts.  Call me crazy but I gotta feelin' about this...

Speaking of Amy Winehouse, the cover of her album Frank has two Scotties on it.  The husband and I know the owner of the Scotties.  I don't completely recall how it happened but apparently our friend and his husband were out walking their Scotties at night in London when she walked by and asked if she could have her pic taken walking the dogs.  They consented and the next thing they know their dogs are gracing her album.

The weekend was nice.  We had PJ, ST and the hot farmer over for dinner.  The boys were there too and they met the hot farmer.  They thought he was cool and they introduced him to the grotesqueness of urban dictionary, lol.  At one point I heard ST ask the hot farmer "Do straight guys really do that and like it?"  The husband marinated this awesome pork tenderloin and then had me grill it.  I almost over grilled it but because he had brined it I was good.  Even my youngest ate it!

Saturday ST took the boys to see the Harry Potter flick.  The husband and I got the house ready and prepped lunch for out guests, JK and DS, for the weekend.  They got there and the four of us lunched on burgers and turkey burgers with this amazing aioli. 

The boys got back and met our house guests and their 2 1/2 year old Rottweiler.  Our younger dog was totally psyched as he ha d a playmate for the weekend.  The two of them were quite boisterous and rough housed all weekend.

The husband, boys, JK and DS then went across the lane to PJ's pool.  I slaved away in the kitchen making dessert for dinner- Granny Smith apple pie with crumb topping.  Dinner was grilled tuna steaks with this amazing marinade and salsa. The boys of course were on their best behavior and made an excellent impression upon JK and DS. 

JK and DS spent the night as well.  I made the call that they could have our bed and we'd take the air mattress; they were first time guests, next time they get the air mattress, lol.

Sunday after our guests left we went and saw Captain America.  IT was actually pretty good and Chris Evans was shirtless or in a tight white tee for quite a few scenes.  Hugo Weaving was a great Red Skull- better than his role as Agent Smith.

So we as a nation will most likely be losing our triple A status.  Ya know what?  Good.  We need to take our medicine just like everyone else.  We used to do it well and not complain about it but over the past forty or so years we seem to have lost that quality; maybe this will stiffen our spines.  It will hurt, no one except the uber-rich will be spared.

I have started packing up the apartment.  The boys bedroom, the coat closet and the utility closet are pretty much all done.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

It's not a pemanent condition...

Tuesday morning was the first time I've swum since the race.  It was actually not that bad getting back into the pool.  I swam a bit over 1400 yards and felt good.

Yesterday  the IMF came out and stated that Europe faces the risk of serious contagion if the whole Greece situation was not addressed.  Duh!  Thanks for the news flash Walter...

Something that is getting a lot of chatter/ink/spin currently is the whole idea of a eurobond.  Ok, in order for a eurobond to actually come into existence there needs to be some kind of European Ministry of Finance.  If there is one of those that implies there would have to be some kind of federal European government.  You cannot have a European federal government without the member states giving up sovereignty.  I am gonna bet that 3,000 years of history including the Treaty of Westphalia- will stand in the way of that.  I really don't see the European nations giving up their sovereignty especially since it would- highly likely- that Germany would end up in charge.  The two world wars I think have pretty much turned everyone off from that idea.  One of the firms I do business with yesterday was positing that you can have full fiscal union without political union.  No frackin' way can you.have fiscal union without political union- money and politics go hand in hand- always have and always will.

My bond friend pointed out to me there is no way they could get a eurobond done so quickly; as he said the plumbing is just not in place.  He estimated that it would take twenty years for it to actually be in place.  We then got into a discussion that a eurobond would be great and actually take care of a lot the issues.  He thinks that is the ultimate goal of some Eurocrats but I still bet on 3,000 years of history weighing on that happening.

So, today it seems like Greece will be entering a transitory default.  WTF?  All defaults are transitory.  No one stays in default permanently.  Default is default no matter what.  Just like being pregnant is being pregnant no matter what.   Hell, pregnancy is transitory too but it still means you've fucked- just like all the bond holders in Greece.

I am psyched to see Cowboys vs. Aliens.  I am also looking forward to Captain America.  

Monday, July 18, 2011

Jersey girls always protect the drink

The weekend was quite fun and actually relaxing.  Mr. Barrett and JP came to the cottage for a visiting the country- that sounds like a show tune title...

Friday night was quite entertaining.  ST and PJ joined us for dinner as usual and they brought along the hot farmer who is our neighbor.  He is also maybe only 24 at the oldest.  He is straight but comfortable with the gays.  We suggested that if he wanted to make more money than a farmer normally does he should start a website selling the jock straps and/or underwear he wears during the workday.  He can start a website and auction it off.  He said he has those Jersey Fresh stickers as well that go on the produce and he could stick them on his product.  He would make a boat load of money as there is a serious crowd for that out there.  Dinner was these awesome sticky-sweet ribs.  I made a chocolate cake with caramel chocolate frosting. 

Saturday was a nice lazy day.  The husband had told me I was responsible for dinner and Mr. Barrett had requested lamb kabobs. I made the crumble top peach pie and a mint pesto for the lamb kabobs and then we headed over to PJ's pool for a swim.  The hot farmer happened to join us there and we got to see him in board shorts and holy shit he is even hotter without a short on.  JP actually got some discreet pictures of him and I am waiting for them to get emailed, lol.

After the swim I made the kabob and a bean salad.  Everything came out well and dinner was a hit.  Afterwards JP told us we should take a look at Saturn's rings with the sky telescope we have on the porch.  So we took it out into the backyard and I discovered my GOOG Sky Maps was not working correctly.  We were not able to see the rings but we did get some awesome views of the full moon.

We then crossed state lines and went to The Raven.  It was a lot of fun actually.  I got to see the Ke$ha video with James VanDerBeek where they shoot unicorns and they bleed rainbows.  It was pretty great.  The husband being the frackin' chatty Cathy he is of course chatted up some classic Jersey girls who were there.  Apparently one of them had a cousin who is gay and it was his 21st birthday so they were celebrating.  It was ok until one of them went flying forehead first into the garbage can.  And of course- being the Jersey girl she is- she did not spill a single drop of her drink.  The husband was quite impressed.  I told him please- no self-respecting Jersey girl ever spills her drink in a club.

On the way home the husband- who was driving- killed a possum (we think) that was next to its mate and mourning it getting hit by a car.  At least both of them are now hanging by their tails in the big tree in the sky that is quite possibly possum heaven.  Oh and then he hit some more road kill further down the road...

Sunday was a long day as we did not get home until 3 AM and quite honestly we are getting too old for nights like that.

A friend on facebook yesterday posted a comment about how he got his picture taken with one Landon Conrad and if you did not know who he was to look it up on the internet.  So this morning I binged pictures of him only to get confronted with nude pics of a hot porn star, lol.  Not a good thing to do at work.

Seriously- I could care less about Casey Anthony.  The whole media circus is really annoying.  Who gives a shit if she got off- get a life people.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Untitled post

Last week ended quite busy. Thursday night the husband and I had drinks with an old friend- one of the hosts of the Super Bowl party we met at- and caught up and then we headed over to PF's birthday party.  It was a rather late night.

Friday was quite an interesting train ride down to the cottage after work.  It seems some rather rude person decide that it would be much more efficient to throw him or herself in front of a train on NJ Transit, thereby ruining his or her chances for entering Heaven (suicide is a mortal sin I was taught) but also many peoples Friday commutes home.  What is normally a 49 minute train ride home became a two hour ride home.  So I had the husband make dessert and I took a cab from the train station to the cottage.  Then I rushed to pick up the boys.  Dinner with ST and PJ was excellent, the husband made St. Peter's fish and even more momentous my youngest son actually ate it!  This is a kid who will not eat anything that is out of the four food groups- peanut butter, waffles, pizza or bagels.  I was quite surprised.

Saturday was quite busy as well.  The husband and I had to get dinner ready for our guests so the boys went to see a movie with ST.  He took them to see Horrible Bosses which was quite ironic as the boss and his wife were joining us for dinner.  dinner was excellent.  We made grilled leg of lamb in a red wine, shallot and grainy mustard marinade,  roasted summer veggie salad (zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes and basil) and roasted red potatoes (with rosemary and garlic).  Dessert I went out of my comfort zone and made a peach pie.  It was quite a hit except I did not have any Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream.

The dinner conversation was quite lively.  My youngest was quite the font of useless information as he found an app on his phone that is all about trivia.  All night he was spouting facts and it got to the point were the boss's wife went to the bathroom, texted her 12 year old son to get the same app and then came back to the table and a trivia throw down ensued.  It got to the point where I blurted out "Did you know the human brain weighs 8 lbs?"  That ended the trivia throw down. 

The only thing that was off was the oldest son asked to be excused from the table and promptly went to bed without telling anyone.  I castigated him Sunday morning that going to bed when the guests are still here is ok but he needs to say good night to everyone before he lays his head down to sleep.  The highlight of the dinner though was the boss asking to see the lawn tractor and admitting he is envious of it.

Sunday afternoon we took the boys to see Transformers 3.  It was a bit longer than it should have been but it was excellent and my favorite line was Sentinel Prime referencing the Kobayashi Maru.  If you know who the actor is it is freakin' brilliant! 

Mike Vrabel is totally woofy.  HJ is pic was on YHOO this morning and a story about him retiring early from the NFL.  Mr. Barrett was ind to send me some more pics of him.

My oldest was all psyched about his upcoming pay check.  He told me how much he made for the first week of work and I asked him if it was net or gross.  He looked at me quizzically and I explained to him the concept of payroll taxes.  No political discussion ensued thankfully as I want him to find his own way to a political identity and try not too sway him too much. 

I am not a baseball fan in any way, shape or form.  But I have to admit Jeter getting his 3,000th hit was pretty cool.  I believe only 27 others have done it and he is the first Yankee.  What I found more interesting was the kid who caught the ball willingly and without any expectation returned it to him.  His humility and lack of what's in it for me attitude sets quite an example fro many in this country.  It was almost selfless which is really nice to see in this day and age.  Let's hope it is contagious...

I had quite an excellent discussion with JW today and it left me with more questions than answers.  Basically I need to determine what exactly is a right as in something inalienable and universal for all humanity regardless of gender, skin color, religious belief  or geographical location. 

Looking forward to seeing the final installment of Harry Potter.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

I am the wingman...

The weekend was real busy and fun but so not relaxing.  The husband drove out early Friday morning to his parents house with the kids.  He called me later in the morning after he spoke with my mother in law to inform me that the weekend we were expecting to relax was a pipe dream.  My mother in laws in laws were coming for a visit.  The were arriving from France.  They did not speak a lick of English.  Ok, cool, no big deal, I don't speak French really so I could just sit there and look pretty.  But wait- there's more...apparently the mother in law was also hosting an engagement party on the 4th of July for the husband's niece.  so basically we got shanghaied into working the kitchen all weekend for the entertainment.  Don't get me wrong- I enjoy manning the grill and helping out my mother in law but it was not what I was expecting.  I was completely exhausted by Monday around 4 PM.  We drove back to the apartment in JC and were totally psyched to realize that the NYC fireworks were on the Hudson that night.  It was a bit bittersweet as the lease is up at the end of August and we are moving to the cottage full time so it was the last time we got to take advantage of the balcony.

In case you forgot- Greece is going to default and it will end badly.

Today I felt just a bit older than usual as my oldest son started his first summer job.  he is working for his mother's boyfriend.  I found out last night when I called to speak with the boys and my youngest told me his older brother was in bed already as he had to get up at 5:45 AM for his job.  I burst out laughing and my youngest said  yeah, that was the reaction he has too.   I did exchange texts with my oldest today- he had a chicken salad sandwich at the local deli for lunch and he was done with work around 3 PM.

So, I had a business dinner tonight but it was with someone who is also a friend.  It is funny as we discussed how life was treating each other and when it was his turn he commented that I am like the vault/confessor.   He stated he can tell me anything and he knows it is like telling a secret to a tree- it goes nowhere.  I felt kind of proud I have to admit.  He then spilled his guts on almost everything and we got into quite a philosophical debate on the differences between abortion and use of the morning after pill.  At that point- thank god- his phone vibrated and he read his text.  he then asked me if I would be his wingman for an unplanned blind date.  I said when?  He said in about thirty minutes.  With the husband down at the  cottage I said sure.  I mean what's the harm in a gay guy like me playing wingman to a straight guy who is good looking, young and single in NYC...

Ok, I think the chick liked me better until I started talking about the husband, lol.  Then she was all over my friend.

This week is going to be quite a busy one.  I had he biz dinner tonight.  he husband has drinks tomorrow night.  We have drinks followed by a good friend's birthday party Thursday night, Friday night I am down to the cottage for dinner with ST and PJ and the boys are with us this weekend, Saturday afternoon ST, the husband, I and the boys are probably going to see Bad Teacher and Saturday evening the boss and his wife are coming down to the cottage for dinner.  No rest for the weary...

Friday, July 1, 2011

Clearly I am the alpha male of the pack

Dogs have a pack mentality; that is they like all canine seek to establish a hierarchy.  This was evident this past Sunday night at the cottage with the new puppy.
After dinner something in him clicked.  He went over to his older sister and.tried to mount her.  We felt bad as she was clearly annoyed and Scotties have massive canine teeth.  So to prevent her from biting and seriously injuring her brother I picked her up and put her on the bed.  I come back out to the kitchen to find the.pup humping the husband's leg.  He had a "are you fucking kidding me" look on his face and he told the pup if they were going to have sex he expected to at least be bought a drink.  The pup did not even bother trying with me because...I am clearly the alpha of the pack.

I have to admit though that the little bugger took quick piss in the truck yesterday so he is clearly trying to establish something...

So I know have an Android phone.  I am also now.playing word with friends with my sons and JP.  I also decided to give it a whirl with mo old blogging. If it goes well it may mean more entries bit of a shorter nature.  We'll see.
 
Right now I am on the train to the beach writing this without my notes I left on the desk- I was in a rush to catch the train.

Turbo Tax Timmy is now saying his days at the U.S. Treasury are numbered.  I was a year early in my prediction he would be gonzo from there.  My bond friend's greatest fear is Mr.  Krugman takes his place; mine is a return.of Larry Summers.

This holiday weekend the boys are with their mom so the husband and I and the kids are off to the in-laws.  We have not seen them in.quite some time.  Sunday we are going to cross the bay and be day trippers at the beach, have lunch with friends there and show the pup the gay fantasia that it is.