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In the theatre we had a saying “leave the drama on the stage”…and then there are the people who attract drama….as much as I hate to admit it…I am one of those people.

My usual modus operandi is to stay as calm as possible when the drama breaks out.

Tonight I received a call from my husband that my stepson had been kicked out of the house and was sitting in his mother’s car outside.  Apparently he had found a bag that was full of old coins and also an antique bracelet that was his great-grandmothers…and worth $10,000.  My question is if it’s worth that, what is it doing in a bag with a bunch of old coins?  By the time I got his mother on the phone he was back in the house and hunting for the bracelet.  I told him he better turn that house upside down until he finds it.  Luckily for him, he did. 

I hope it would sink into his head to stop going through other peoples things. 

So, Alex if you are reading this,

STOP FUSSING IN OTHER PEOPLE’S THINGS! 

KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF OR I’LL MAKE YOU SIT ON THEM TILL YOU ARE 18!

 The second piece of drama has to do with the coop I live in.  It has gone through a huge change over the past two years with the coop winning a suit against the sponser which resulted in the sale of many apartments in the building.  The board elections are this week, and I’m running.  The drama is that there is a guy who has served on the board who decided he wanted to challenge the president of our boards position.  WELL…he went far enough to call me and try to recruit me to vote her out and him in as pres if I was elected to the board.  Again, luckily, all involved have decided to come to a compromise as to not rip the coop in half.  Not to mention that the woman who is currently the president of the board is a dear, dear friend who is just one of my favorite people on the earth.

So, the drama seems to have subsided for the moment.  I’m gonna go eat some chocolate chip cookies I just baked.  Cuz, where there is drama, there is comfort food!

It was our first Thanksgiving in our new apartment.  My parents flew in from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.   Charley’s mother and kids were driven down from Connecticut Thankgiving morning. 

When we moved into the apartment the former owners were nice enough to leave us a table and chairs…the table has two leaves to expand it but only 4 chairs.  I was a bit concerned that we would have enough seating for everyone but then remembered that the cart I use for the microwave has two stools hidden inside of it and there was the piano bench and once wooden folding chair.  I was also thinking that we should move the table into the living room…but it worked out that everyone could fit in the kitchen…thanks again to the renovation that the former owners did that made more open spaces in the apartment. 

I preordered the turkey from Fresh Direct.  It was a 13lb no antibiotics added turkey.  It had been a few years since I handled a raw turkey and I forgot how much handling the neck and giblets freaks me out.  My mother made many turkeys but I don’t remember the “extra parts”.  I discarded the giblets but did use the neck for the gravy stock in a bath of free range chicken stock.  The first time I was planning to make a turkey my co-worker told me about using cheesecloth when making the turkey.  I used this method again this year and the turkey was perfect.  I also used the cheesecloth to strain the gravy.

 The menu also included pepperidge farm stuffing, mashed potatoes (yukon gold), green bean cassorole (yep the kind with the canned fried onions and cream of mushroom soup), dinner rolls, cranberry/pear relish ( a new recipe), and pumkin pie (from the Libby’s Pumpkin Pie recipe…flawless).  Everyone was happy and stuffed.

Charley spent a lot of the day playing the piano.  After dinner my Mom played Monopoly with Norma and my Dad played Chess with Alex.  We also watched the Green Bay Packers.  Lily talked non-stop until she fell asleep in Charley’s big chair.  One of our favorite neighbors stopped by for a bit.

It was a great day.

I am a dangerous backer…

I spent many years driving VW’s; I had a Rabbit, Golf, and Cabrio.  So, I was used to driving small cars.  Now I drive a 1995 Volvo Wagon.  It’s a TANK.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the car, I have never had one handle so well in the snow before…but, when it comes to backing up it’s a whole nother animal.

So, today I was in a parking lot outside of Best Buy.  After starting up the car and putting it in reverse, I noticed a Jeep Cherokee with it’s reverse lights on as well.  I paused and then started backing up very slowly.  I was halfway out of the parking space and then I heard a “HEY!” and saw a brown suede jacket directly behind my moving car.  I slammed on the breaks and this “chic” with her husband and daughter and one other teenage looking kid were directly behind the car.   As they sauntered past she was learing at me.  I rolled down the window and said; “Why are you walking in the middle of the street?  There are two cars both backing up!”  She responded…”you should look and if you hit my daughter then it’s your loss, not mine.”

NICE

I don’t think I have ever walking behind a car that is backing up.  Ever since moving to the East Coast I just can’t believe the sense of entitlement that pedestrians have.  No one in my neighborhood seems to know the meaning of the orange hand at a crosswalk.  Does she step in front of a moving train?  A moving bus?  Why then take your 8 year old child and walk behind a car that is backing up!

It’s up there with when I see a mother pushing a stroller and has the stroller with a baby half way into an intersection.

If you want to be an idiot and walk into traffic, at least do it with out your child!

So, I have a fabulous new job.  Not so new, I’ve been there 6 weeks.  I am working as a “field engineer” for a computer consulting firm.  My job takes me to different client sites mainly below 59th Street.  I was taking my lunch break the other day and I went to my favorite spot near a client I visit often.  It’s called Cafe Europa…a chain of eateries where you can get a “pressata”, their name for a pannini, fresh made pizza, or a “make your own” salad bar.  The way the salad bar works can be as intimidating as ordering from Starbucks for your first time.  First grab the size and kind of greens you want, hand it to the guy with the big metal bowl and tongs and then tell him what you want added.  Then he mixes it all up and asks you what dressing you want and then pours it all back into the plastic container you started out with.  When they are busy it makes quite a clatter.

Anyway, I usually opt for the pressata.  And the other day I was waiting in line to pay when the woman in front of me said to the cashier: “you should tell them to stop making so much noise, it’s really annoying”.  The cashier rolled her eyes and told the woman a manger was standing behind her and to tell him.  So she did!  After she stepped away I said to the cashier: “Then how the hell are they suppose to make salads”.  Jeez…

 …only in NY

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I left a job were the president of the company was a bastard. Everyone feared him. When he would go from one location to another those at the first location would warn those at the second location. Kind of like Tony Soprano…we’d be nice to his face but really fear him. I think he actually got off on the fact that we were intimidated and scared of him.

He once fired a director of development on the spot because of a disagreement. And at a company meeting he would cry and say how much he loved us…but in the next breathe said…but if you do this or that…I’LL FIRE YOU.

He had a chip on his shoulder about IT. He was not tech savvy at all but would want the latest toys…then when he would do things like….go swimming with his Blackberry in his pocket…it would be all IT’s fault when it wouldn’t work.

He was quite a drinker in his day and has made two of his past bartenders and VP’s in the company. To their credit they each worked their way up in the company…but their lack of formal education was apparent in the way they ran their end of the business.

When I decided to leave, I gave proper notice. The president sent a very cold and insulting email to the company. No “thank you”, no “you’ll be missed” just….this is something we need to deal with. My boss then didn’t do much more…he didn’t even try to replace me. On my second to last day I found out that he was going to be a father soon (he works remotely) and he wasn’t able to come to town. Now I understand why he had been so distracted for so many months…I wish he would have just told me sooner.

I hear now they are treating me as if I never even existed.  It’s good to be out of that situation.

I became a step-mother when I married my husband. At first I didn’t have much involvement in the kids lives because I worked every weekend. A few summers ago I took a month off of work and spent my weekends with my husband, MIL, and the kids. At that point I realized that I should be spending more time with them and changed careers to make that happen.

This summer we took our first family trip together. The kids went to my hometown for the first time, stayed in the house I grew up in, and in a more relaxed fashion…under the rules I grew up with. My father was very frugal…which in retrospect has rubbed off on me a bit…and even though we had everything we ever needed, excess was not a part of my upbringing. My parents still do not have cable TV.

Now, my step kids are used to excess. Their Grandmother spoils them, they have more “stuff” than I ever had when I grew up, and they have been to Europe a few times.

Being with them for a week was amazing. Both as a test of my parenting/patience and their respect for me. I have to say…MY KIDS ARE AMAZING!!! My step daughter could not have made a better impression on my family. Yesterday my Mom said to me on the phone “Norma is such a neat girl”. Alex went golfing and played ping-pong with my Dad…which I think both enjoyed equally. For me it is so cool to see the kids interacting with my parents. My parents who are so fantastic and have accepted the kids into their lives as if I had given birth to them myself.

My stepson then stayed with us for an additional two weeks in NYC. My husband and I took turns taking him to work with us. He was very helpful at my work and everyone that met him thought he was cute, sweet, and helpful.

The last day he stayed with us, he and my husband stayed home for the day. When I got home the dishes had been done and put away. Alex proudly told me that he had done all the dishes for me. I said thanks. Then, I went to the kitchen an opened the cabinet to get a glass…and realized that Alex had put all the dishes away WET. This struck a cord with me on so many levels. First this is the son of a woman with a restaurant…where he has done dishes…did she never tell him to dry them before putting them away? Second, I knew he was trying to make me happy…to do something I would appreciate. So, at first I think he thought I was mad and then I assured him that I appreciated what he did for me and that in the future he should not be afraid to leave them in the dish drainer until they are dry. When I was talking on the phone with my Mom I told her this story and she and I got a good laugh out of it.

So, last night after getting home from work, Alex called. He has a book project due and he left the assignment paper at our house (he had thought he would be with us another week) so I got on the phone with him and read the different parts of the assignment to him. Then I typed it all in an email and sent it to him. At the end of the conversation he said “I love you”. I said “I love you” back to him…and I meant it.

 

So, I’m not sure where to start.  Charley, Alex, Norma, Thelma, Louise and I packed our bags and drove to Wisconsin.  It took us 17 hours to drive there.  I was so happy to see my family and friends and so sad to return to NY. 

The kids finally got to see where and how I grew up.  Alex was very funny saying that the house I grew up in was like it was out of a movie.  I think that’s a good thing.  The ping pong table got a really good workout and Alex’s flip flops have been lost somewere in the void.  :-)  We all went to the Wisconsin State Fair and ate cream puffs, watched pig races, and then in the evening went to see Drake Bell and Corbin Bleu.  Norma was vibrating with excitement. 

My brother came to visit too…with his wife Kris and four kids: Jackie, Jennifer, Jasmine and Colin.  Jim was very kind to my kids, telling them all about coins and giving each one of them a few.  He also confirmed that Alex’s prize necklace that his mother brought back from Europe was a fake….a good fake, but a fake all the same.  We told him to please not tell her…I hope she doesn’t read my blog!

We also spent time with my childhood friend and her kids.  It was so nice to see her.  To be so comfortable with someone who shares so much history.  And a sisterhood…we were both in AOII in college and exchanged our secret handshake.  That was special to me.

Before going on vacation I had a job interview.  I emailed the HR guy while I was on vacation and he encouraged me to call back when I returned home.  I did, went in for another interview…and landed a new job!  I am very excited about this firm…and the growth potential they offer.   I start September 4th, 2007.

Last weekend Lily fell again.  This time she cut open her forehead.  Her worker, Gary, put a bandaid over it as she refused to go to the clinic.  But, when she was still bleeding I encouraged her in a very kind way that maybe she had no choice BUT to go to the clinic and get a few stitches.  She agreed.  I almost couldn’t believe it.  I didn’t have to argue or fuss, I just said very calmly…I’m sorry Lily…I don’t think you have a choice….unless you want to sit here and keep bleeding.  She kept the nurse and PA in stitches as she was getting her stitches.   She can be very funny when she has an audience.

So, needless to say, it’s been an adventure since getting back from our Wisconsin adventure!

My mother-in-law is a dog person.  When I met her she had two dogs: one was her’s and one was my husband’s dog that lived with her.   Both dogs have been put down within the last 6 months.   One was planned and one was more of a surprise.  Amy had developed a tumor on her foot and the local vet (who is nice enough to come to the house) came over to the house, put her down, and buried her in the back yard.

We begged Lily not to get another dog.  Even the local vet told her not to get another dog.  But, a family friend knew of a dog that really needed a home.  This poor dog has lived tied up for most of her life…and her primary caretaker was going away for a month and it was feared that Champaigne, who we are calling Chami, would have been severely neglected if left with the caretakers daughter.  The family friend stepped in and picked up the dog for Lily. 

She is the absolute sweetest dog ever!  The local vet loves her too…she had been so neglected that he had to pull 8 of her teeth right after Lily adopted her.  Our dogs, Thelma and Louise, were not thrilled to meet her at first.  But, I decided to put Cesar Milan’s “power of the pack” to work and took all three for a walk together.  And, by the end of the walk they were together as a unit and have gotten along much better since.

So, I’m very happy for Lily…who turns 83 years old today.

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