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.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
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.
Oh, never mind. It's gone!
Carpe Diem.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, November 17, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
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.
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.
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