Did ya miss me?

...Yeah, that's what I figured. Back from NJ , and boy are my arms tired... Or something (actually, that's not inaccurate... my cat is heavy, and you'd be surprised how much 12 lbs. can seem if he's lying in your arms for hours straight...) Took 7 hours to get back... blech.

So let's see what happened. Not much by my standards... We drove up (cat stopped yelling after about the first hour, so that was good), checked in to the hotel (very disappointed in them this trip), then hung out for a while. Then we drove up to the Treasure Island store where my sister works (they were crazy-NOT-busy). Then we drove to the Pizzaria Uno where we would eventually have dinner for her birthday (exciting).

On Friday we went to the comic book store (Dewey's Comic City in Madison -- yes, that's right, I still get my comics in NJ) and made sure to put him in the black for this holiday shopping season. Then we drove northward... and drove... and drove... and while I wasn't sure how we could still be in NJ, we were and eventually arrived to visit and have dinner with the (I went to high school with Kunze's: Rich (now the Town Manager of West Milford!) and his lovely wife Jessica and their precocious (but in the good way) daughter Sabina). Stayed there way late considering we had to be up early the next day...

For brunch with (strangely enough), Rich (who we'd seen less than 12 hours earlier), Mr. Huge & his lovely fiancee (who naturally live down here in VA), and a few other NJ folks (including another cute little daughter). Then we went back to the hotel for a breather (MLW was obviously sick at this point and getting sicker and hell, I'll always take a nap...) We then loaded the Mazur-based gifts into the J-Pod and drove Northward again to the lovely township of my youth. Or rather what's left of it in amongst all the construction. Seems that every time I drive up there's less mountains and trees and more townhouses... (As Jado would say, this mini-rant brought to you by old-age and bitterness. Old-age and bitterness, now with more crankiness!)

Anyway (my god, I'm boring myself just typing all this -- I can't imagine any of you reading it), we headed up to my folks place in WM, NJ. We had a nice visit with them (though all things being equal, I'm somewhat confused as to why my mom waited until we were LEAVING to change her hearing aid batteries...) and had (too much) food and got many presents. Then, seeing that MLW wasn't getting any better, we scadaddled back to the hotel.

Xmas day we got up and more or less did the same thing again. Although in this case, we called my in-laws and explained that MLW wasn't feeling that well, so that we'd be there a little later than originally planned and we went back to sleep (again, I'm always there to support MLW in her endeavors). We had more (too much) food, then exchanged gifts (also possibly too much) and then some of MLW's extended relations (uncle, aunt and cousins) came over (which was unusual, but a pleasant change of pace).

Monday, seeing that MLW was no better (and possibly worse) we cancelled our plans to go brunch with some more NJ friends (and their toddlers, who probably didn't need to be exposed to the ebola or bird flu or whatever MLW has), and instead drove home (see paragraph #1). Then unpacked (and unpacked and unpacked). And now we're ramping up for New Year's.

Like I said, not exciting, but what passes for my life.

Ah well, I need to get myself over to the gym (by way of the drycleaners and the bank), so I'm outta here. But here's an interesting article on automobiles and the possibility that their operating systems can be hacked.