Acquisitional

FBR Celebrating

A lot was going down yesterday which prevented any further ramblings here. I was at the house babysitting the final phase of the renovation as the shower glass and large mirror were finally installed in the new bathroom. I contracted with a local, family owned glass company and was rewarded with a real sense of customer service. My contribution to the effort was watching the Princess Bride on the television while these guys worked. I’ll do some sort of compilation of the entire progress from start to finish at some point the near future but this was the last major muscle movement and I could not be happier.

New Shower Glass

And Mirror

My wife was also on the move down in Panama as she took possession of the car we contracted for during our last visit. We basically changed the proceeds from the sale of our land into a new car, a dark blue Toyota Rav4. My wife was a little overwhelmed with the aspects of insurance and the surrounding details but she had her twin sister and friend along as her “lawyers” and they apparently did yeoman (women) work. My wife now doesn’t want to drive the new car because she’s afraid to damage the pristine nature of the car, especially given the vagaries of the typical Panamanian traffic maelstrom. She’ll have to though because she’s heading down to the condo today to supervise the hanging of yet more mirrors as well as sundry other repairs to get the condo ready for its biggest party yet in February when the entire family descends on it.

Wife with Her (Our) New Car

There’s been a lot of noise about people (men) being upset with the new Gillette commercial which takes men to task for treatment of women. I cannot for the life of me see what is so upsetting about encouraging boys to be brought up to respect women, to be better versions of themselves. This falls into the category of “me’thinks thou doth protest too much”. While there is reason in some men to generate this bone deep guilt, most men should be self-confident enough not to take offense. I’m going to go out and buy some Gillette razors.

Daddy-Daughter day re-emerged down in New Jersey yesterday and it looks like the FBR gave Wingman a true run for his money. He discovered a new indoor playground/activity center called Imagine That. From the pictures he sent it doesn’t look like the FBR stopped for a breather at any point during the day. She was still excited when I caught up with them at dinner. Wingman admitted his energy levels were no match for the hyper-kinetic FBR.

The Relentless FBR Yesterday - All at One Place

I also had a great conversation with my Favorite Son last night where he shared some very good news. As I get older I find it harder and harder not to burst with pride at the accomplishments of my two “kids”. They make me proud each and every day and I’m still astounded at the adults they’ve grown into being. Especially given they were forced to hang around me for their formative years. The BRS shared my opinion on her dad although at this point his most important function for her is serving as a climbing tower. She looks to be taking her first steps any day now.

BRS - Oh Dad!

For a dateless Date Night I decided to take in a horror movie which my Favorite Panamanian would not have accompanied me to anyway. Escape Room wasn’t so much a horror movie as a thriller and its biggest shortcoming was a lack of thrills, so a pretty big failure. It was a good premise with a group of survivors of previous tragedies summoned to a Chicago building for what is supposed to be a game of escaping rooms laced with clues to win $10K. It very shortly turns into a deathly challenge for survival. It would have helped if they spent more time developing the clues but the whole affair seemed very rushed as if it was more important to get to as many room as possible instead of trying to connect the audience with the players. There were only a couple players worth rooting for anyways and the final third of the movie descends into gaping plot holes. An interesting premise, wasted.

And the FBR is still going.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rdmusquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Deckzilla Dude – senior citizen carpenter/contractor; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues