November 23, 2005

Thanksgiving with the Fam

Thanksgiving means it's time to take the train out to New Jersey and spend time with the family.

Previous Thanksgivings:
Thanksgiving 2004
Thanksgiving 2003
Thanksgiving 2002

Wednesday, November 23rd

If you've read any of those previous Thanksgiving entries (linked up there above), you'll know that the first thing that I do whenever I go home for Thanksgiving is go to a bar called "The Barn" that's become the de facto place for impromptu Roxbury High School reunions! (By the way, when did Mystery the pick-up artist start frequenting the place?)

amy b, brett — I rolled up on that piece with a steady crew: My brother Brett and his biddie, Amy.

amy a — And with my good friend Amy Albano. Right when we walked in the door, we started running into high school chums! Here's Amy posing with Jen Eva (who I had the biggest crush on back in high school when she sat in front of me in geometry sophomore year...yeah, can you blame me?) and her little brother Ricky Eva (who has since got all growed up and actually works with my mom as an occupational therapist in a nearby public school!)

Me and a guy named Billy Lashavicke (sp?) who I don't think I even said like 10 words to in all the 6 years we went to school together - but then 11 years and three Scotches later and you're best buds!

eric w — But by far, the most exciting part of the evening (I mean, besides getting to see Jen Eva) was that I finally got to meet Eric Wormann. Eric's a guy that I started emailing with after he told me that it was this my site that inspired him to start his own epic & hilarious photo blog! He grew up a few towns away from me and kept swearing that one day he was going to make a pilgrimage down to The Barn! So I was stoked to finally get to meet him. (And I'd always like to point out that after all the shit he used to give me about not updating this site, he's since slacked off on his and is currently a year behind in posting! HA!)

adam p, amy a — Adam Padfield and Amy!

About an hour after we'd gotten there, a cover band took the stage. I crossed the bar and saw that it was the same cover band that was there last year when I tried to convince the singer to let me sing a song and he told me no. (Me: "Hey, you guys are great! Can I sing a song with you?" Him: "Ummm, but I'm the singer." and then I was like "Yeah, but it's only a cover band - it's not like I don't know the songs or something." And he got offended and just walked away. Hahah.)

Anyway, the band started playing some hot Jersey jams, and the next thing you know, chicks (with tambourines!) climbed up onto the bar and started dancing!

Then another lady, in a belly-shirt and clingy ass-pants, climbed up on the bar and was gyrating like a woman-possesed. All the dudes were yelling and screaming and getting all up in her booty, so I went over to check her out...

...and then she turned around and it was like some 50 year-old lady!!! Holy shit, it was epic. You go, girl!

amy a — EPIC! (Hahaha. I love this picture of Amy Albano!)

So after a few songs, the band, (who I've since found out is called Drunk Uncle Bob) took a break. I pulled the singer aside and this time I managed to convince him to let me sing a song! Then after he agreed to let me do it, it almost didn't happen because I didn't know most of the songs in the bands repertoire. In the end I managed to convince him that I sorta knew the words to My Own Worst Enemy by Lit and that I'd be able to wing it. Check out the singer's expression: totally annoyed because I'm messing up the words. Hahah.

But whatever. What I lacked in lyrical accuracy I more than made up for in energy and about halfway through the song I'd managed to get...

amy a — ...the crowd dancing.

adam p, amy a — And by crowd, I mean my three friends that were standing right in front of the stage. Hahah.

Hell, by the time the song was finished, I'd even managed to win over the lead singer dude and he suggested that I sing a second song! (And I don't even remember what song it was - only that I knew it even less-well than the Lit song).

So Kenny, the lead singer (according to their MySpace page), was gracious enough to help me out the second time around.

Thanks, Drunk Uncle Bob! You're golden in my book!

adam p, amy a, me, paige — Me getting love from Adam, Amy and Paige after my "set."

adam p, amy a, paige — Amy repping with her totally awesome "Succasunna" hoodie that she also had made and gave as gifts to Jen Hoche and I. (Best present ever!)

There is, indeed, no place like home.

me, mom — I got home around 2am and my mom was still up! First time ever! (My mom usually starts sleeping on the couch around 9pm and then after a two hour nap, wakes up at 11pm so that she can go to bed proper!). I guess that new "Sexiest Man Alive" issue of People Magazine must've been keepin' her up!

dad, mom — Look, my parents got new glamour shots taken! Awww!

Then I took a drunk hot tub alone out on the deck in the snow.

Thursday, November 24th

chad, dad, uncle walt — The next day was Thanksgiving! My grandparents and my cousins, the Carricks, came up for family dinner at my parent's house. Here's my trying to set the auto-timer on his camera to take a photo of all of us at the dinner table. Every year he sets the timer, presses the shutter, then races all the way around the table and tries to make it to his seat and smile before the picture is taken. He almost NEVER makes it. (Check out Cousin Chad in the background laughing in anticipation of the race). Ok, ready dad?

dad — GO!

dad — He ran all the way to his seat, but then we all sat there for like 10 seconds with frozen smiles on our faces before realizing that the shutter wasn't going to fire. Here's Dad trying working on attempt #2.

amy b, brett, me, mom — Waiting, waiting...

Attempt number 2 was a success! Here's my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian! Mom cooked me (er, microwaved me) a special meat-less meal and even made me some vegetarian stuffing! Thanks, mom!

chad — Chad took over for his dad (Uncle Wayne), and was the first person to fall asleep on the couch after dinner. Hahahah.

chad — After getting the pic above, I went around the couch to try to capture the side-angle that demonstrated just how far back Chad's head was leaning (he looked like a Pez dispenser) but he woke up and caught me! Hahaha. So busted.

me, zoe — Then I played tug of war with Zoe the dog for like 45 minutes.

zoe — She's a good one.

After the family left, I borrowed my dad's car and drive down the street (literally 1 block away) to visit Rachael R. (whose last name I can also no longer use on this site because, Like me friend Jess D., she also teaches high school now and can't afford to have her students Google her and find her doing all sorts of stupid stuff on this site!).

There are many signs en route to help you find your way to Rachael R's house.

casey c, rachael — Rachael with her little sister Casey! (Chilling at the same table we all used to hang out at back in '93).

Except this time, we were allowed to drink. Awww, yeah...let me hear it for pre-gaming with a few Exotic Berry BJs (that's Bartles & James, mind you).

rachael — We also got our seven-layer on.

rachael — After we had a few drinks, we had a dance party in the kitchen...

...laughed at all the framed photos Rachael's mom has of her two dogs (complete with doggy thought-bubble stickers!)...

Then we headed up to Pat's Bar (the ULTIMATE in townie bars) up in Landing, NJ.

emily — Emily and David Kihm (Roxbury High School Class of 1997, yo). Emily was cold so she got to wear my Succasunna sweatshirt. (Not that I really minded giving it to her...a dude wearing a Succasunna sweatshirt in a Landing bar is pretty much like wearing a sign that says "Hi, I'd like my ass kicked! Thanks!")

emily — Jigga who? Succa what?

me, scott — Luckily, big Scott was there to protect us both.

jeff m — Jeff McDonald and a guy whose name I forget!

rachael — It was a pretty good night. We played some pool...

...ate some of Pat's famous bar-pizza...

rachael — ...at some point, shots happened....

emily, rachael — ...and high school times were reminisced upon.

me, rachael — Rachael even gave me a lil' kiss (check out my huge honker getting smooshed..hahaha).

Friday, November 25th

amy b, brett, dad, mom — On Friday morning, I had breakfast with the fam. And then it was time for my brother and I to give...

mom — ..our mom her birthday present!

brett, mom — We got her Oprah's 20th Anniversary DVD collection (which was actually released on the day of her birthday!). Look how happy my mom is! (And check out my brother's magnificent "Get a load of Oprah") Hahah. Happy Birthday, mom! We love you!

On the train back into town I ran into David Bonan from high school! This guy was a year younger than me and I don't think I'd seen him since some time back in the early nineties. Anyway, I recognized him and said hi and then started telling me that he'd recently become a "radical bike activist." So I just Googled him and sure enough, there's an article about him on a biking site. But even more interestingly, according to they New York Times, he ran as a candidate the 2004 Senatorial races! (So what if he lost 169 votes to 21,506 votes? How many people ever voted for YOU to be Senator?) Happy Thanksgiving!