Last night Mac and I attended an event for new families at his new school. Let me just tell that these people at this school are so nice.
His teacher had gallbladder surgery on Friday and knew she wouldn't be up for attending the new family event the very next night, so she called us early in the week and set up a time for us to meet her on Thursday.
Why did she do this? Because all the children in Mac's class went to this school last year. She already knows all of them and they know her, so she wanted Mac to recognize one face at the Back to School Bash that we'll be attending tomorrow night. How nice is that?
We'll attend this event tomorrow night where we'll buy PE and field trip clothes and have a little assembly in the gym.
Tomorrow is also important because I start my new J-O-B. I'll be working as a financial auditor with the Merida Initiative of the State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau. These are the folks I worked with in Brazil and I love the work. It's interesting and so different from anything I've ever done or have personal knowledge of since I've never used or trafficked drugs or had the occasion to get to know any law enforcement types other than as neighbors and friends.
I was so excited about this job when it was first offered to me, but that excitement has tapered off to a little itty bitty ember. I am so stressed about working and being there for Mac and not having to park him in the after-school program too often.
Before you start in on me, I know there are millions of single working moms who do this every single day of their lives and they don't complain. My new title of geographically single working mom is very new to me and I'm finding it all a little daunting. But don't you worry. I always tell Mac to "buck up, Buttercup" so consider this Buttercup bucked!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
on any given Saturday
Today is an exciting day at Casa Story.
...Listen for the drum roll in your head.... Ready?
We bought Mac's first pair of football cleats today!
We bought them at Dick's Sporting Goods and they have a little track that runs around the shoe department. I'm quite sure you're really not supposed to run around it, but Mac put those shoes on and he was off like a bullet. He proclaimed them to be super-fast and worthy of purchase.
This may not seem like a very big deal to you, the casual bystander. But when you have an American football-obsessed father whose first words when he held you approximately 14 seconds after you arrived into this bright world were "Go Gamecocks" (sadly, I am not kidding), you might better be able to understand how we (that's the royal we and not really me, as in I) have looked forward to this day.
You might also grasp the significance when you consider that we've lived nearly four years in a place where Mac didn't have the opportunity to play or even watch American football (other than on television and at the annual American Society game). It was all futebol, aka soccer, and quite frankly, I don't think Mac's going to make it big in the soccer world.
We are talking B-I-G deal with these cleats.
Jimmy is a little disappointed because it's flag football. I can't (as in I looked slightly into it and nothing jumped out at me) find a league that allows pads and helmets and full contact for 6 year-olds, which I personally see as a good and positive and potentially brain-saving thing. For the record, I did check two different leagues and they're both flag football for Mac's age.
So we've signed up with the Summerville Baptist Church's Upward League (or we will as of tomorrow). Thursday night we have to go to an evaluation. What do you evaluate in a 6 year-old's flag football performance? I have no idea as I'm new at this whole thing, but I shall put my game face on and plod through it along with all the other dads who will be there.
And if you decide you'd like to drop in on us on any given Saturday in the next couple months, you'll find us at the ballfield. I'll save you a seat!
...Listen for the drum roll in your head.... Ready?
We bought Mac's first pair of football cleats today!
We bought them at Dick's Sporting Goods and they have a little track that runs around the shoe department. I'm quite sure you're really not supposed to run around it, but Mac put those shoes on and he was off like a bullet. He proclaimed them to be super-fast and worthy of purchase.
This may not seem like a very big deal to you, the casual bystander. But when you have an American football-obsessed father whose first words when he held you approximately 14 seconds after you arrived into this bright world were "Go Gamecocks" (sadly, I am not kidding), you might better be able to understand how we (that's the royal we and not really me, as in I) have looked forward to this day.
You might also grasp the significance when you consider that we've lived nearly four years in a place where Mac didn't have the opportunity to play or even watch American football (other than on television and at the annual American Society game). It was all futebol, aka soccer, and quite frankly, I don't think Mac's going to make it big in the soccer world.
We are talking B-I-G deal with these cleats.
Jimmy is a little disappointed because it's flag football. I can't (as in I looked slightly into it and nothing jumped out at me) find a league that allows pads and helmets and full contact for 6 year-olds, which I personally see as a good and positive and potentially brain-saving thing. For the record, I did check two different leagues and they're both flag football for Mac's age.
So we've signed up with the Summerville Baptist Church's Upward League (or we will as of tomorrow). Thursday night we have to go to an evaluation. What do you evaluate in a 6 year-old's flag football performance? I have no idea as I'm new at this whole thing, but I shall put my game face on and plod through it along with all the other dads who will be there.
And if you decide you'd like to drop in on us on any given Saturday in the next couple months, you'll find us at the ballfield. I'll save you a seat!
Friday, August 7, 2009
day two of my movie life
After I was up so late last night, I slept in this morning until the luxurious hour of 8:45. WOW. After Skyping Jimmy for a nice long 45-minute chat, I got myself ready for my day trip to Newburyport, a lovely town on the Merrimack River about 30 minutes from Lowell. It's like a bigger version of Annapolis, MD, one of my favorite places to windowshop and sit by the water, which is exactly what I did in Newburyport. I windowshopped mostly but did buy my first ever pair of Naot shoes. Man, are these comfortable shoes. I was wearing my standard-issue Havaiana flipflops from Brazil and when I put the Naot shoes on, they felt like bedroom slippers with great arch support. When I commented on this to the saleswoman, she wasted no time in telling me that of course, they felt supportive after prancing around a city in flipflops. Okay, but she didn't have to get snippy about it.
After a late lunch and enjoying the riverfront, I headed back to Lowell where I met Jeremy at his office. We went to the set again, still at the bar, and guess what happened? Mark Wahlberg walked not 2 feet away from me! He was so cute, in his newly married in real life (last weekend) state. I could have spit on him if I'd wanted - I'm a bad spitter, but he was that close. I assumed spitting was on the not-to-do list, even though we didn't cover that one specifically. I also saw Amy Adams but hardly recognized her in her outfit. Very 1990s Lowell, Massachusetts and not so 2009 "Julie and Julia".
So it was a successful visit to the set and I am most pleased with everything I saw and learned and everybody I met. But don't you worry that the fun is over yet. We're going tonight with some of Jeremy's colleagues to a nice Italian restaurant in Boston and tomorrow is Boston-touring day. More to come...
After a late lunch and enjoying the riverfront, I headed back to Lowell where I met Jeremy at his office. We went to the set again, still at the bar, and guess what happened? Mark Wahlberg walked not 2 feet away from me! He was so cute, in his newly married in real life (last weekend) state. I could have spit on him if I'd wanted - I'm a bad spitter, but he was that close. I assumed spitting was on the not-to-do list, even though we didn't cover that one specifically. I also saw Amy Adams but hardly recognized her in her outfit. Very 1990s Lowell, Massachusetts and not so 2009 "Julie and Julia".
So it was a successful visit to the set and I am most pleased with everything I saw and learned and everybody I met. But don't you worry that the fun is over yet. We're going tonight with some of Jeremy's colleagues to a nice Italian restaurant in Boston and tomorrow is Boston-touring day. More to come...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
my life in the movies...
Our childhood friend Jeremy works in the film industry in the accounting department. He's worked on some very cool stuff that I can remember, like Oceans 12 and 13 (or was it 11 and 12 - I lose track of those numbered movies), Batman with Heath Ledger, Bride Wars, etc. And he's worked on lots of other stuff that I can't remember the names of right now. It's currently 1:45am, which is well past my bedtime so my brain's not fully functioning, but I had to share this day with you!
When Jeremy visited us in Sao Paulo in May, I happened to mention that I'd love to go to a movie set and that you'd think with a friend who worked in the business that possibly I'd have the opportunity at some point in my life. Jeremy is a very clever guy and invited me to come to a movie set at some point in my life, but especially when we were back in the US over this next year.
He started working on a movie in Lowell, Massachusetts, outside of Boston in June. The movie is called "The Fighter" and stars Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, and co-stars Amy Adams. It's based on the gritty, but true story of Lowell boxer Micky Ward and his brother and trainer Dicky Ecklund. Micky Ward is probably most well-known for his three fights with Arturo Gatti, who committed suicide a couple months ago in my favorite Brazilian beach town, Porto de Galinhas. (HBO also did a documentary called "High on Crack Street" in 1995 which chronicles part of the Micky/Dicky story. You can watch it in 7 parts on YouTube but it is not for the faint of heart.)
This movie is being made on very small budget and there are just 33 filming days in total, so I didn't have many choices for visiting the set. By the time Jimmy left, they were already on something like day 14 with just 3 weekends left to go. One of those weekends is our 20th class reunion and the other weekend is just before I start work, so this weekend was the only good choice. So I booked my ticket and off I went today to Boston.
I will be the first to tell you that I think I lead a charmed life. I continue to get to do things that are beyond any expectations that I ever had for myself and my life and visiting this movie set is one of those things. I had promised Jeremy I'd be a model of discretion, I wouldn't make a peep, I would speak to no one unless spoken to first, I wouldn't stalk movie stars, etc. You have to understand that this world is so foreign to me that I'm completely and utterly fascinated by it. My one true guilty pleasure is reading People magazine - everything in it is so far removed from my normal existence that I may as well be reading about life on Mars. To be on a movie set around movie stars and people who make movies was a way cool experience for me.
Anyway, I got to the hotel (where I would like to tell you that Amy Adams is also staying but I have yet to see her - maybe tomorrow morning at the breakfast buffet??) and ironed my clothes because I could not go to my first and probably only movie set in wrinkled clothes. Jeremy picked me up about 7 and we went to the set. They were shooting on location at a bar in a gritty part of Lowell. I got a very cool badge that I had to wear and we walked right in. Apparently all you need is a badge. There are so many people running around that as long as you have the badge, you are obviously supposed to be there.
Jeremy introduced me to one of the producers who was seriously the nicest, most non-stereotypical movie type person that you could imagine. This guy took us around the set and pointed all these different things of interest to me. At this point, they were having stand-ins stand around to check lighting and whatever else movie people check before they film so we eventually moved off to the side to get out of the way.
While we were watching all the activity, Christian Bale apparently walked right past us and I missed him. Can you believe it???? I should have come up with a signal system with Jeremy so he could notify me of close star proximity, but that thought came to me too late. The producer introduced me to the real Dicky and another guy from the High on Crack Street documentary (and we saw the real Micky when we got out of the car earlier). The producer also introduced me to this other actor who plays Dicky and Micky's dad, but I'm drawing a blank on his name right now. TOTALLY C-R-A-Z-Y!
So when it got closer to filming time, the producer took us outside to this place where they had monitors set up with director's chairs with different names embroidered on them. The producer told me to sit in his chair - CAN YOU IMAGINE??? - and he gave me a set of headphones so I could listen to the filming while watching the monitors. How cool is that? I thought I was very VIP. So we watched for awhile but let me tell you, movie-making is a seriously slow process. We left the set about 9 to go eat dinner with one of Jeremy's friends and they still had hours of filming to do.
BUT I get to go back to the set tomorrow afternoon so maybe I'll see Mark Wahlberg. And if I see Amy over Rice Krispies in the morning, I'll be sure to pass along your regards!
When Jeremy visited us in Sao Paulo in May, I happened to mention that I'd love to go to a movie set and that you'd think with a friend who worked in the business that possibly I'd have the opportunity at some point in my life. Jeremy is a very clever guy and invited me to come to a movie set at some point in my life, but especially when we were back in the US over this next year.
He started working on a movie in Lowell, Massachusetts, outside of Boston in June. The movie is called "The Fighter" and stars Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, and co-stars Amy Adams. It's based on the gritty, but true story of Lowell boxer Micky Ward and his brother and trainer Dicky Ecklund. Micky Ward is probably most well-known for his three fights with Arturo Gatti, who committed suicide a couple months ago in my favorite Brazilian beach town, Porto de Galinhas. (HBO also did a documentary called "High on Crack Street" in 1995 which chronicles part of the Micky/Dicky story. You can watch it in 7 parts on YouTube but it is not for the faint of heart.)
This movie is being made on very small budget and there are just 33 filming days in total, so I didn't have many choices for visiting the set. By the time Jimmy left, they were already on something like day 14 with just 3 weekends left to go. One of those weekends is our 20th class reunion and the other weekend is just before I start work, so this weekend was the only good choice. So I booked my ticket and off I went today to Boston.
I will be the first to tell you that I think I lead a charmed life. I continue to get to do things that are beyond any expectations that I ever had for myself and my life and visiting this movie set is one of those things. I had promised Jeremy I'd be a model of discretion, I wouldn't make a peep, I would speak to no one unless spoken to first, I wouldn't stalk movie stars, etc. You have to understand that this world is so foreign to me that I'm completely and utterly fascinated by it. My one true guilty pleasure is reading People magazine - everything in it is so far removed from my normal existence that I may as well be reading about life on Mars. To be on a movie set around movie stars and people who make movies was a way cool experience for me.
Anyway, I got to the hotel (where I would like to tell you that Amy Adams is also staying but I have yet to see her - maybe tomorrow morning at the breakfast buffet??) and ironed my clothes because I could not go to my first and probably only movie set in wrinkled clothes. Jeremy picked me up about 7 and we went to the set. They were shooting on location at a bar in a gritty part of Lowell. I got a very cool badge that I had to wear and we walked right in. Apparently all you need is a badge. There are so many people running around that as long as you have the badge, you are obviously supposed to be there.
Jeremy introduced me to one of the producers who was seriously the nicest, most non-stereotypical movie type person that you could imagine. This guy took us around the set and pointed all these different things of interest to me. At this point, they were having stand-ins stand around to check lighting and whatever else movie people check before they film so we eventually moved off to the side to get out of the way.
While we were watching all the activity, Christian Bale apparently walked right past us and I missed him. Can you believe it???? I should have come up with a signal system with Jeremy so he could notify me of close star proximity, but that thought came to me too late. The producer introduced me to the real Dicky and another guy from the High on Crack Street documentary (and we saw the real Micky when we got out of the car earlier). The producer also introduced me to this other actor who plays Dicky and Micky's dad, but I'm drawing a blank on his name right now. TOTALLY C-R-A-Z-Y!
So when it got closer to filming time, the producer took us outside to this place where they had monitors set up with director's chairs with different names embroidered on them. The producer told me to sit in his chair - CAN YOU IMAGINE??? - and he gave me a set of headphones so I could listen to the filming while watching the monitors. How cool is that? I thought I was very VIP. So we watched for awhile but let me tell you, movie-making is a seriously slow process. We left the set about 9 to go eat dinner with one of Jeremy's friends and they still had hours of filming to do.
BUT I get to go back to the set tomorrow afternoon so maybe I'll see Mark Wahlberg. And if I see Amy over Rice Krispies in the morning, I'll be sure to pass along your regards!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
pecan allergy testing, aka a trip to the torture chamber
Today was the dreaded trip to the allergist's for the pecan open food challenge. These are pecans. Who doesn't love pecans? I would pay a doctor to let me come in and eat pecans for 4 hours. Yes, you read correctly. We were in the allergist's office for 4 LONG hours trying to eat what must have amounted to about 20 pecans. I could eat that many in about 3 mouthfuls. Not Mac. He whined and cried and gagged and tried to throw up. It was embarrassing.
I tried to be patient. We had about three nurses attending us and you have to be on your best parental behavior with that much supervision. So there was no threatening, no yelling, no nothing. I was a model mother. I told him there was nothing to be scared about, that he tested as low for pecans as he did for peanuts and he breezed through the peanut challenge, etc. I explained that he had a choice in this test: he could eat the pecans and keep that beloved DSi or he could not eat the pecans and lose the DSi. I told him I'd buy him a new DSi game if he'd just eat the pecans.
He kept saying he was scared. At this point, we'd killed almost an hour and I was done and was losing patience. And I knew he was playing us. But one of the nurses didn't and she tried to use all this psychological talk about why he was scared, did he really think we'd allow anything to happen to him, they were trained professionals, etc. PUH-lease. I didn't fall off the turnip truck of Mac Story's manipulations yesterday. I wanted to tell her she was wasting her breath, but that didn't seem very "mother of the year"-ish, so I let her go on and then told him the time had come to make a decision about which consequence he wanted. DSi or no DSi. Because that's what it came down to.
He was supposed to have 5 rounds of increasing quantities of pecans with 15 minutes between each round. He made it through 4.5 and then refused to eat the last 1/2 batch. I told him no new game, he said fine, so I knew he was really done. He'd had no reaction thus far and the doctor declared him pecan allergy-free. I have never seen a chocolate chip cookie with more than 20 pecans in it, so I'm thinking this diagnosis was correct.
We're still supposed to go back for the walnut challenge, but I need to be medicated before we do that. Today was very stressful. Perhaps the walnut test could be a good father-son bonding experience on one of Jimmy's trips back home? He'll have seen all sorts of war things, so a 6 year-old's hissy fit will be nothing. What do you think?
I tried to be patient. We had about three nurses attending us and you have to be on your best parental behavior with that much supervision. So there was no threatening, no yelling, no nothing. I was a model mother. I told him there was nothing to be scared about, that he tested as low for pecans as he did for peanuts and he breezed through the peanut challenge, etc. I explained that he had a choice in this test: he could eat the pecans and keep that beloved DSi or he could not eat the pecans and lose the DSi. I told him I'd buy him a new DSi game if he'd just eat the pecans.
He kept saying he was scared. At this point, we'd killed almost an hour and I was done and was losing patience. And I knew he was playing us. But one of the nurses didn't and she tried to use all this psychological talk about why he was scared, did he really think we'd allow anything to happen to him, they were trained professionals, etc. PUH-lease. I didn't fall off the turnip truck of Mac Story's manipulations yesterday. I wanted to tell her she was wasting her breath, but that didn't seem very "mother of the year"-ish, so I let her go on and then told him the time had come to make a decision about which consequence he wanted. DSi or no DSi. Because that's what it came down to.
He was supposed to have 5 rounds of increasing quantities of pecans with 15 minutes between each round. He made it through 4.5 and then refused to eat the last 1/2 batch. I told him no new game, he said fine, so I knew he was really done. He'd had no reaction thus far and the doctor declared him pecan allergy-free. I have never seen a chocolate chip cookie with more than 20 pecans in it, so I'm thinking this diagnosis was correct.
We're still supposed to go back for the walnut challenge, but I need to be medicated before we do that. Today was very stressful. Perhaps the walnut test could be a good father-son bonding experience on one of Jimmy's trips back home? He'll have seen all sorts of war things, so a 6 year-old's hissy fit will be nothing. What do you think?
a little overnighter to Myrtle Beach
On Saturday, I decided to bid on a hotel room in Myrtle Beach on priceline.com. If you know me well, you know I like to travel and I especially like the thrill of the hunt for a good travel deal and the victory when I find that deal. So I bid $75 on the highest-star rating they had for MB and got a room at the Sheraton - great location near Broadway on the Beach but not right on the beach which I thought was the only downside.
Mac and I invited my niece Hayley to go with us. I knew we'd both appreciate the company for our own reasons. She accepted so Sunday morning we were off. Our first stop upon arriving was Ripley's Aquarium. The children had a great time and were soaking wet by the time we left from the touch tanks full of sting rays and horseshoe crabs. They got even wetter when we ran to the car in the driving rain that had overtaken Myrtle Beach while we were in the aquarium.
We went straight to the hotel to check in and enjoy the indoor pool. I hate indoor pools because they're always so over-chlorinated, but boy, was I glad for one at this hotel. Nor did I mind not being right on the beach because we couldn't have enjoyed the beach if we'd wanted. There was a monsoon going on right outside. After swimming, we came back to the room to watch a little tv and bathe.
Our night outing was a round of putt-putt. Now I perhaps had bragged that I was a master at putt-putt, so they were prepared. When we first entered the putt-putt course, I heard Mac tell Hayley to focus so they could beat me. But alas, that was not in the cards as I won that game handily. Sadly for me, Hayley thought the highest score won so she placed no value on my low score and Mac told me that "this isn't about losing or winning, Mom" so my victory was really for naught.
On Sunday we putt-putted again and then ventured over to the outlet mall so I could pick up a few pieces for my new job. I promised the children that if they behaved, we'd play one last round of putt-putt. So they were on their best behavior. Sadly the woman in the Lucky Jeans store was not. I walked in to try on a pair of jeans (not for work, but because I needed a pair). Their sizes are all like men's sizes, so you have to know your waist and inseam measurements. I didn't know mine and so asked the saleswoman to help me. Our conversation went like this:
Her: What size do you wear?
Me: 6 or 8
Her: Oooohhhh. That would be a 28 or 29.
We walk over to the jean selection to look for 28s and 29s.
Her: Yeah, we don't really carry a lot in that size.
Hello???????
Finally she found some pairs that might work, and Mac and Hayley joined me in the fitting room. I tried on a 28 and a 29. Hayley's vote was for the 28s because she said they made my legs look skinnier. I explained that when your thighs are encased like sausage, of course your legs look skinnier. I decided to go with the 29s, though, because they were looser and felt better in a non-sausage sort of way and they looked halfway decent.
We concluded our trip to Myrtle Beach with yet another round of putt-putt and a trip to Pizza Hut.
So now I am putt-putted and junk fooded out completely. We had a great time, but if I don't play putt-putt for another few years, that'll be okay!
Mac and I invited my niece Hayley to go with us. I knew we'd both appreciate the company for our own reasons. She accepted so Sunday morning we were off. Our first stop upon arriving was Ripley's Aquarium. The children had a great time and were soaking wet by the time we left from the touch tanks full of sting rays and horseshoe crabs. They got even wetter when we ran to the car in the driving rain that had overtaken Myrtle Beach while we were in the aquarium.
We went straight to the hotel to check in and enjoy the indoor pool. I hate indoor pools because they're always so over-chlorinated, but boy, was I glad for one at this hotel. Nor did I mind not being right on the beach because we couldn't have enjoyed the beach if we'd wanted. There was a monsoon going on right outside. After swimming, we came back to the room to watch a little tv and bathe.
Our night outing was a round of putt-putt. Now I perhaps had bragged that I was a master at putt-putt, so they were prepared. When we first entered the putt-putt course, I heard Mac tell Hayley to focus so they could beat me. But alas, that was not in the cards as I won that game handily. Sadly for me, Hayley thought the highest score won so she placed no value on my low score and Mac told me that "this isn't about losing or winning, Mom" so my victory was really for naught.
On Sunday we putt-putted again and then ventured over to the outlet mall so I could pick up a few pieces for my new job. I promised the children that if they behaved, we'd play one last round of putt-putt. So they were on their best behavior. Sadly the woman in the Lucky Jeans store was not. I walked in to try on a pair of jeans (not for work, but because I needed a pair). Their sizes are all like men's sizes, so you have to know your waist and inseam measurements. I didn't know mine and so asked the saleswoman to help me. Our conversation went like this:
Her: What size do you wear?
Me: 6 or 8
Her: Oooohhhh. That would be a 28 or 29.
We walk over to the jean selection to look for 28s and 29s.
Her: Yeah, we don't really carry a lot in that size.
Hello???????
Finally she found some pairs that might work, and Mac and Hayley joined me in the fitting room. I tried on a 28 and a 29. Hayley's vote was for the 28s because she said they made my legs look skinnier. I explained that when your thighs are encased like sausage, of course your legs look skinnier. I decided to go with the 29s, though, because they were looser and felt better in a non-sausage sort of way and they looked halfway decent.
We concluded our trip to Myrtle Beach with yet another round of putt-putt and a trip to Pizza Hut.
So now I am putt-putted and junk fooded out completely. We had a great time, but if I don't play putt-putt for another few years, that'll be okay!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
P.S. on career counseling
We also really like Cash Cab on Discovery but decided:
a) that's not a sustainable source of income, and
b) we never, and I mean NEVER, want to get in the cash cab if it's just Mac and me. We need Jimmy with us if we have a hope of getting past the $200 mark!!
a) that's not a sustainable source of income, and
b) we never, and I mean NEVER, want to get in the cash cab if it's just Mac and me. We need Jimmy with us if we have a hope of getting past the $200 mark!!
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