Weekend update

On Saturday morning, after a really cool breakfast of turkey bacon and eggs, we left on our adventure to Gettysburg. The new visitors center was really amazing. Lots of interesting information and artifacts. We really lucked out with our timing. It just so happened that it was remembrance day for something that happened during the civil war (forgive my ignorance) and there were hundreds of people in costume participating in this event. It was amazing. The whole town looked like a movie set. It made you feel like you were back in that time and era. The family was fascinated by all of this as they are very much into US history - even as die hard Canadians eehh. Oh, and we also lucked out with the weather. Friday night we had a dusting of snow to welcome our guests but the weekend weather was clear but bloody cold.

Saturday evening we did the obligatory Chinese dinner and then home to watch comedy stuff on TV and consume Cinnabons.

Sunday morning was bagel, lox and cream cheese time. Lest you think that all this eating and steroids hasn't helped my appearance, check out the pictures. One of my other cousins was kind enough to describe my appearance like this:

"Nice pictures - you look like a hamster with it's cheeks full and nowhere to spit the shells out... ".

Pretty damn accurate description.

Our Sunday adventure was to DC. We did the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. My Aunt did the Holocaust Museum and then joined us at the Air and Space museum. We drove around a bit, and once again, our Canadian guests were really impressed with all the sights and history in DC. We then said goodbye to them and they left on their merry way back to BWI airport for their flight to Toronto.

Carpe Diem.

Return of the Chitii

After a really good Friday morning massage, Diana and I prepared for the arrival (return) of the Chitiz boys and Auntie Debbie from Toronto. For those who do not know, Auntie Debbie is my mom's sister and her sons (Jon, Ellis and Dan) are my first cousins.

Diana prepared a really nice Friday night dinner. We just had to get used to eating a little later than usual. Instead of the early bird special time for "seniors" we had to wait till the un-godly hour of 8pm but it was well worth it. Our guests arrived right at 8pm and we quickly and tactfully ushered them into the dining room for a great dinner. Lots of catching up and reminiscing.

Carpe Diem.

The mighty Zim dollar

This is a sign in the mens' toilet at the Beit Bridge Customs & Immigration building on the South African side of the Zimbabwe/South African border post!

Carpe Diem or Carpe Toilet Paper.

Followers

Hey, how come no one is following my blog? I'm starting to take this personally. Well, not really. If you care to, just follow the link and instructions to the right. I have no idea what this all means!

Oh, never mind. It's gone!

Carpe Diem.

Off again

On Monday evening I decided to pay a visit to Phil and the gang in New York. This was all last minute and purely spontaneous. Part of the reason was to thank her in person for the South Africa tickets. So, Tuesday morning I went to New York.

There is a really nice bus service that goes from Baltimore to New York about a half a dozen times per day. Very convenient, incredibly reasonable and only about 3 hrs 15 mins travel time.

I tried to treat Phil to Tuesday lunch but she insisted on paying. In the evening I tried to treat Phil and How to dinner but, once again, How beat me to it. I was successful the next day in paying for a delivered Japanese lunch for me and a couple of the ladies in Phil's office. Success at last: I paid it forward. The meal, that is.

I had a great day and a half in New York and then went home to Baltimore on Wednesday evening. There was a method to this madness for the quick trip other than hanging with my sister. She was leaving on an international business trip on Thursday with a whole bunch of journalists. I thought I could sneak aboard this trip as a journalist from the Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) Chronicle. They were traveling in business class and staying at really nice hotels in exotic foreign destinations. It didn't work this time but you can bet I will keep trying. I may have to improve on my journalistic credentials.

Carpe Diem.

Pay it forward

What an amazing concept. We are all so used to the concept of "paying someone back" that we seldom think of the alternative concept of "paying it forward". They both, obviously, have tremendous value, but the idea of not getting paid back for something you did for someone is really noble. Our way of thinking is so geared to getting paid back for what we do for someone else that it is difficult to think of not getting paid back. Somebody else will benefit and they, in return, will pay it forward.


Having said all of this, I need to pay it forward. Diana and I will be travelling to South Africa and Zimbabwe this coming January and our tickets to South Africa were given to us by Phil, Russ, and my mom as a gift. Business class, nonetheless. So instead of paying them back I will be doing something for someone else. Wow!


I also paid a visit to Rick Levy in Gaithersburg. We had a very interesting session but there are somethings that I am reluctant to talk about on the blog. No, I'm not a reincarnation of Liberace. There is, however, a need on my part to finish some un-finished business. Hence the project in Zimbabwe. I hope to have something to tell you all about in the not too distant future. Forgive me if this all sounds so cryptic and weird; I don't mean it to be.


Carpe Diem.

Weekend update

On Saturday we watched Man U destroy Stoke 5-0. It was a very entertaining game. It was a much better result than last week when they lost to Arsenal.

Saturday lunch time, Chef Mike and I had a soup cook-off. I made a Thai Tom Ka Gai soup and he made a Chinese Hot and Sour soup. Judge Diana sampled both and gave us her unbiased and detailed description of what she thought of the soups. "They both tasted like crap"! Oh well. It didn't stop Mike and I from having a few bowls of each others' soup as well as our own concoctions. We liked it!

Sunday morning we went and picked up Rob and her friend Ilana from school. Ilana came in to go to her Aunt's birthday party so Rob figured she would come home for the day. Ilana's parents will take them back to school this evening. It's always great to have Rob home, even if it just for a day. However, she did inform me that my face looked fat. The nerve of her to be so brutally honest! And there I was thinking I was slightly stout and well proportioned. If this keeps up I will apply to play the character of Fat Bastard in the next Austin Powers movie. Anyway, back to the food..............Chef Diana is making a roasted chicken with Swiss chalet sauce and mashed tatters for dinner. Yummy, I hope.

Carpe Diem.

Friday update

Since arriving home from Boca it's been a pretty quiet couple of days other than catching up on paperwork and getting a well deserved massage. The weather has been typical fall weather and the leaves have been coming down with a vengeance. It looks like crap until the gardeners clean it all up.

On a health update, I will just have to get used to sounding slightly asthmatic at times. The breathing, for the most part, is fine. I just seem to get winded pretty easily. I guess I'm out of shape because I have not done any cardio the past eight months. I have started doing some weight exercises for my arms and legs and sit-ups for my newly acquired 1 pack. No, not 6 pack abs yet! My weight is improving daily. 148 lbs. I just need to make sure I can level it off soon. My appetite is still great so what do I do? Go on diet. Not hardly.

Carpe Diem.

Back home

Tuesday morning my mom and I went to visit (pay our respects) to my late dad. Gabe passed away in February 2002 and we all still miss him terribly. It's always a little unsettling seeing his headstone with his name on it. I guess it brings it all into reality for me to see his name there!

On the way home I had to make one last stop at Jumba Juice for my Acai supercharger. It's only 400 calories! Darn, I wish they had one here in Baltimore.

After bribing him with more Oxtail, Ilan took me to the airport for my flight home. I had a really cool couple of days in Boca with all the friends and family and I had a particularly nice time with my mom. She really is an amazing woman surrounded by so many good friends and close family. Oh, and the weather was fantastic as well.

Carpe Diem.

More house hunting

Monday morning I went out house hunting again with Fred. We looked at a couple of other properties but nothing "jumped" out at me. We then went back to see the two homes I liked from the previous outing. I still like them. I will catch Diana up with all the information when I get back to Baltimore.

In the evening cousin Martin (Cuz) and I went to a fantastic steakhouse for dinner and boy, did we dine. Cuz is a regular blog reader and was amazed at the food Chef Mike was making for us here in Baltimore, but he was somewhat dismayed that I never seemed to mention steak. So of course I had to order a really nice steak. Not him. He did the crab and lobster. We washed all this down with a couple of Cappuccinos and a mixed berry dessert. It was a lot of fun.

Carpe Diem.