My Long "Presidents day weekend"

In brief, it was a busy, yet enjoyable weekend.

John, Michelle, Kate and I went to R.F. O'Sullivans for supper followed by the Magnetic Fields concert on Friday. The show was the usual Magnetic Fields arrangement instead of the new sound that they exhibit on the "Distortion" album. Faster, rock songs were pared down to a more acoustic style. At one point during the show a heckler yelled out "Where's the F*cking Distortion?" and Stephen Merritt responded with a deadpan retort of "It's on sale right now at stores everywhere".

John, Michelle and I stayed out late at Bukowski's. The bar stayed open beyond the usual time for last call, which is the usual experience I've had there. At 2:30 am we took a taxi back to John's mother's place in Southie. Staying in Southie saved me $25 extra on cap fare back to Melrose, not to mention the work it can take directing some of the drivers who may be unfamiliar. Michelle made us all large turkey sandwiches on bulkie rolls which we devoured before ultimately turning in.

I had a lot to do back in Melrose since my parents were coming to stay Saturday and Sunday night with me. So... early Saturday morning I got up and probably left between 7:30 and 8:00 am while everyone was still asleep. I made my way up to Broadway and was going to catch the number 9 bus back to eliminate some walking but I missed it. I ended up just walking down Broadway which wasn't all that far of a hike anyway. The MBTA was running horribly on Saturday morning. I probably waited 20 minutes at Broadway for a train. At downtown crossing they diverted orange line commuters and had us stay on the red line another stop until Park St. where we took the green line to Haymarket. Apparently a short stretch of the Orange line was shut down. All of this probably added at least 40 minutes to what should have been a half hour commute or so from Broadway.

Having arrived at Oak Grove finally, it was brutally cold and I shuffled my feet as fast as my tired legs could take me. In my apartment, I collapsed and ultimately had to nap for a couple of hours. I thought I was going to have to do additional laundry for clean towels for my parents, but actually had two towels sitting in the cupboard.

My parents visit was good. Saturday night we just took it easy and I went out and got a chicken pot pie from Harrow's. On Sunday I took them for Indian buffet. Much to my surprise my father actually tried pretty much everything and didn't complain. He actually seemed to like the Tandori chicken, Samosa's and one of the curry based chicken dishes. I never would have guessed. The restaurant was in Central Square and we walked up to Harvard Square after eating. We walked around the campus, as well as into a few different shops. My Mom was trying to find a replacement Wedding Album for herself as her old one has fallen apart a little bit with age. Sunday night Kate, myself, and my parents went to the Texas Roadhouse for supper. My parents treated and everyone had a great meal. I ate three of their rolls which I like to rave about, in addition to my entire chicken and steak combo. Monday (Presidents Day) my parents and I went to over to the Burlington Mall where my Mother continued her shopping quest. She actually had some luck at a place called Crane & Co. Paper. For lunch we went to "Not Your Average Joe's" and indulged in some of their pizza. My parents left for Maine from here and I went to see Kate after doing a couple of errands. To end off my decadent weekend of mass consumption, Kate and I went to the Bangkok Bistro in Cleveland Circle. Kate had Chicken with Basil, and I, Tom Yum soup, brown rice, and chicken satay. I was going for a Thai tapas sort of theme.... I guess.

Anyway.....

This week will be a short one, so that is something to be thankful about.