Just Another Waste of Space

Well, I finally made it up to Michigan to meet Kat’s family!  I left around 2am Thursday night (crazy work schedules make you have crazy travel schedules ) and I arrived outside Kat’s sister’s house somewhere around 10am. I got there a bit before Kat and her younger sister got back from the gym which gave me a little bit of time to play some catch with the coolest 5 year old I know.  The really great thing about my arrival time was it meant I got there in enough time to see the Marshmallow Drop!  If you are are just as curious as I was about this please read up over here.

After the amusing and slightly messy marshmallow drop we went back to Angela’s house and Owen (previously mentioned 5 year old) had us play all kinds of games ranging from jumping on a trampoline to playing hockey.  After a bit of persuasion we talked Owen into letting us visit Kat’s parents (He just wanted to stay and play all day).   I was really glad to get the chance to meet her Father and her Mother both.  Her entire family is fantastic.  There really isn’t any better way to describe them.

We went back to Angela’s and had some dinner with Kat’s brother and his wife who were also pretty great.  Her brother is a trip, super energetic and amusing while his wife was very cute with her little baby bump and very nice as well.  We played some hardcore soccer with all the siblings, Owen, Noah (Owen’s friend), and myself of course.  It was very intense and I’m pretty sure everyone walked away with a few injuries but I know 100% that everyone enjoyed it thoroughly.

Saturday was a bit calmer since Owen went to visit his dad for a bit. Before he left we got to color some eggs(and fingers) which was fun especially since I haven’t done it in so long.  Kat and I took advantage of the day and met with some of Kat’s oldest friends.  I got a chance to meet Mindy and Missy who are both extremely smart and pretty funny too boot!  We went to lunch (Melissa included!) which was a great way to play catch up and get to know each other a bit.  After this we went back to the parent’s and relaxed a bit getting to talk with Mr. Takach a bit before we headed out for drinks with another friend of Kat’s.  Natasha was a bundle of energy (probably so excited to get to see Kat, I mean who doesn’t get excited for that?).  We had a nice talk for an hour or so and then we all parted since it was getting a bit late.

Sunday morning started bright and early for Easter Mass (yay for getting up at 7am right?).  The service wasn’t bad but I did find out that I am a Christ Chin which was pretty amusing.  After Mass we went to Kat’s parent’s house to prepare for Easter dinner where Mrs. Takach made a lot of super yummy food (enough for like 50 when there was only 14 of us) but no complaints on this side I made sure to eat up and enjoy the company.  After dinner and dessert we all took a small break to talk and socialize then we broke out some more games to play in the backyard.  Kat and I failed to beat Mr. Takach and her”Crazy Uncle” at a game of Ladder Golf but we had fun and were able to watch Angela and her boyfriend Kevin kick some butt so all turned out well.  After a while we started up some more soccer, this time in a larger back yard but I don’t think that helped the deadlyness of the game any.  Either way it was great even though Melissa and Kevin won against five other players they just have crazy skills I tell you.

The hardest part about the whole trip was leaving though.  It was very hard to say goodbye knowing that I wont get to see my Kat when I wake up and knowing that both of us have to head back to work which isn’t fun for anyone after a great weekend of family fun.  I look forward to another visit and hopefully this time I’ll get a bit more time to talk with her parents since I neglected them a bit this trip without really noticing until now…

I think I have given a pretty good summery of the weekends events (though it is a super condensed version of everything that happened).  Now that you know what I did, how was your Easter?

For me, things really don’t change much.  I’ve still be doing the basics.  I go to work when scheduled and then come home and watch a movie or two or play a game.  This has been my story for most days as I suspect it is for many of you.  Sure you may replace a movie or game with a book, but it’s really the same thing.

I’ve been thinking that I really need a change.  Luckily I have a pet project that is now coming back from the grave (See TekZor.us) that I get to spend some time on.  The really good part about it?  It is something I get to do with some of my friends which gives me yet another excuse to hang out with them and call it “productive”.

The fact that I’m also without the girl I love right now probably doesn’t help my current mood.  I’ve never been one to promote a long distance relationship and I always said I wouldn’t be in one.  Now here I am in a pretty long distance relationship (over 700 miles apart).  Luckily I do get to see her on Easter Weekend!  I’m also pretty excited to meet her family.  I tried a trip once before but it failed due to uncontrollable circumstances but this trip will be made no matter what I have to do.  So, for Kat’s family, I hope you are as excited to meet me as I am to meet you.  For Kat, I love you and will see you in less than a month.

For everyone else, I didn’t forget about you.  I love you all as well and since I love you I will let you in on a secret.  You can forget a lot of worries and pass some time playing some Tetris over at TetrisFriends.com.  As a bonus, if you visit TetrisFriends.com and register now, we’ll both become eligible to earn 100 Tokens if you add your address to the end of this URL (or just toss me an email and I’ll invite you over)

http://www.tetrisfriends.com/users/register.php?invite_referrer_id=1000074&invite_email=

I recently had the pleasure of visiting my friend Charaya’s new apartment and for a nice new years party.  We had party hats, balloons, blow out thingies, sparkling grape juice and music!  The only other thing you need to have a good party is friends, since we are all conveniently friends so we were set!

A few hours before midnight I got a super awesome surprise too!  Kat and Charaya worked together really well to sneakily get Kat to Cookeville for new years and surprise me!  It was quite amazing and I was speechless when stepped through the front door.   I’m pretty proud of myself for saying “hey” but apparently that wasn’t super appreciated, who would have guessed?

Anywho, I ended up staying in Cookeville for the weekend and I think everyone involved had a pretty awesome time.  We even managed to get a few photos on Charaya’s camera and on our phones.  I’ll toss a few on here for your viewing pleasure!

Just noticed that again I’ve been neglecting the site so I thought I’d toss out an update.

Image thanks to Neala Schwartzberg

Kat was super awesome and made a trip to see me in mid November. It was a pretty productive visit compared to her previous visits. We actually left the apartment for more than just food!  Impressive I know…

Quick points:

• Kat got to physically meet Charaya, a mutual friend of ours.
• We visited the International Friendship Bell
• Kat actually got to meet my Mom and Sister
• Got to eat lunch with Sarah in a Japanese restaurant that had a drive through…
• We watched UP!  Though we had to buy it twice..
• She made me a man’s meal! (haha, Manwich.. good stuff)
• Kat put on a musical performance
• Walked all over Oak Ridge
• Had some relaxing time together

I think that covers most of it.  I’m actually pretty impressed I was able to remember that much after this long.

I have a big package! Well, Kat sent me a big package at least. It was a super duper feel good package that contained all kinds of goodies to make me feel better. I had originally asked for some oatmeal cookies when she was visiting and she decided to be sweet and make some for me and send them along! She also made some other types of cookies and sent them too. So far they have been pretty yummy tasting and have indeed made me feel pretty good.

I also got a special surprise with this package! It is something that I can cuddle in the absence of my dear Kat. A build a bear named CuppyCake! I also got a hand made scarf. Perhaps I played with her scarf/shaw/thingamabob too much when she was here and she decided I needed one! I may have even asked for one now that I think about it. Either way, I have it and it is nice and soft!