Catch-up post

At the Memorial Day cookout, we were talking to our neighbors Bob and Tamara, parents of Alice, and they were talking about their first apartment together. Turns out they lived in Audobon Downs, our first apartment together, at the same time we did. I have met tons of people over the years who have lived in that complex. It was a crappy little two bedroom apartment, but we stayed for three years. Bob and Tamara were what SkooterPie and I called "Pool People," which meant that they hung out by the pool drinking a lot. We were not pool people, so we never met them. But we all sat around reminiscing about Audobon Downs and the wacky apartment manager and the train that made it impossible to hear anything while it was going by and the gunshots we could hear from nearby neighborhoods and my stolen car and their car that got broken into. Good Times.

The afternoon before the cookout, Jesse went over to Ashlyn and Katelyn's house to watch a movie. When Jesse suddenly showed up back at home, I knew something was up. I asked him if he had gotten into trouble. He said no. I told him he'd better fess up because I'd rather hear it from him than Ashlyn and Katelyn's dad. He suddenly remembered that he had dropped a game controller and had messed up the game they were playing and that their dad had told him that he was really disappointed in Jesse. So, knowing that it was probably half the story and that the real reason why he was home was much worse, I sent him back to apologize for whatever he had done and to tell them that he was not allowed to visit inside their home until he learned how to behave himself. My instincts were right. I saw their dad at the party later, and Jesse had been sent home after throwing a controller down and then jerking it away from another child which caused the XBox 360 to fall off a shelf which broke off the top of the game. The damage was easily fixed, but Jesse is most definitely banned from playing inside ANYONE's home for the forseeable future. Little punk.

But overall, we did have a good time at the party. The food was great. Several people brought guitars and played music. The kids entertained themselves in the pool. We've got a nice group of people around us.

Other weekend highlights: Mom came down Saturday and stayed with us until Monday afternoon. She and Jesse went to a movie Saturday night while SkooterPie and I had dinner with Ron and Bethany. That dinner will definitely go down in history as the most expensive meal the four of us will ever have together barring a future lotto win. But thanks to a very hefty gift certificate, the cost was essentially the tip, which could still feed a small family for a week. Yeah, the white, liberal guilt is still haunting me a little bit four days later. I'm trying to think of something nice to do for Ron and Bethany to thank them for their generosity, and I think I have a good idea. Tee hee. Mom and I did some shopping on Sunday and had a celebrity sighting in the Target parking lot. I was hunting for a parking space and saw Hustle & Flow movie director Craig Brewer and his wife loading Target loot into a very cute Mustang GT. The only other thing I did of note was wash my car. But, overall that was a very full weekend.

Oh, and congrats to Ron and Susan for winning Trivia night last night at The Flying Saucer. They so totally rock.