Happy End-of-Summer people. Yeah, I know it pisses me off, too. I'm really not ready for the summer to be over when it feels like we hardly had one. I think it was mostly because of all the moving we had to go through. Plus, having Georgia around has somehow made time fly. I actually can't believe I've been without television-watching for almost 3 months. But thankfully this past weekend I was given one last bout of summer fun..including a healthy dose of beach time, pool time, and family time. But it wouldn't be a visit up to see my family without plenty of drama--and a heaping helping of comedy as well.
Friday- Fearing both the onslaught of traffic and the supposed hurricane that was coming up the coastline, I awoke early and began packing the car up. The traffic and weather did worry me, but actually I was more worried about Georgia. I was intent on bringing her but I worried what she might do in the car for three hours. We had never had her in the car for that long and I feared she'd freak out after hour 2. She did climb back and forth for a little while, trying to sniff out the cracked windows in the back and then back in the front seat for me to pet her, but eventually she settled on the back seat..except when we came upon the toll booths. As if giving money for no apparent reason wasn't bad enough, but then with every booth we came upon Georgia started barking hysterically. I guess this sort of thing happens pretty often, b/c one woman had a little dog biscuit all ready to give to her.
Luckily there were no other hitches and I arrived in Jersey in good time. I was happy to see my sister who I hadn't seen in a while and later we were joined by my other sister who had brought all kinds of accessories for Georgia. Unfortunately my head was pounding so while they watched the remake of "Death at a Funeral" with my mom, I read and then fell asleep.
Saturday- If Friday's worries were about my drive up, then Saturday's was all about making sure Georgia didn't crap or pee in the house, so I was compelled to get up at our usual time, put the leash on her and take her out. When she finally did her business (which took a while and then her leash got caught on my thumb and burned itself into my flesh), we set off for the beach. We were all astonished at how empty the beach was, especially for Labor Day weekend. After getting whipped by sand and nearly impaled by runaway beach umbrellas, we finally called it quits, picked up my sister and headed over to a local seafood favorite for steamer clams and a good ol' cajoling "let's makeover Kris's life" session. When that was said and done Hill offered to pay for us to get our nails done. It was a nice treat except for when the guy put the acetone on my thumb and brushed it into my gaping open wound. I need bit right through my lip trying not to yelp in pain as it felt like he (that's right, a "he", which I thought was odd...even odder was that his nails were longer-and more manicured- than my own) poured fresh battery acid on my thumb.
We arrived home, all looking for a place of sanctuary. Because the dog insisted on whining whenever I left the room I felt I had to stay in the same confines she was subjected to. The problem was that my sisters were seeking out a place to relax as well, which, in our family, meant a place with a soft piece of furniture and t.v. In fact, I have never been more confronted with the folly of my decision to give up television by anyone as much as my own family members. No wonder I was such an addict. They all look at me as a bit of a failure, I think, or as someone seeking attention, which I don't agree with. It's like coming back to the crack house after you finally gave up the pipe (ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but still. When I thought I would be met with a bunch of "good for yous" I got "what's wrong with you". Not that I can blame them. It's as unnatural for me to not watch t.v. as it is for me to be on time for something or knowing exactly what I want the second I'm asked).
Anyway, later on that night a big group of us were going to dinner at this other hidden Mexican restaurant gem called Agave. My family was the first to arrive, on time (shockingly) for the reservation. However, it seemed that not only were there no tables set up for us, there were hardly any tables left at all. The rest of the extended family, including my cousin Beck and her fiance, her parents, and my cousin Evan and his wife Kristen, arrived and we set about popping open some beer and wine and tailgating right outside the restaurant, waiting for someone or something to do something or happen. Finally, an hour later we were all seated. This was around 9:30. The restaurant closed at 10:00. Still, that didn't prevent the wait staff to take their ever-loving time to get the food out...nor did the loud-mouth kazoo-blowing drunk biotch party of 13 feel a rush to get out. But eventually both happened, almost miraculously. The food trickled out, two at a time, and by the time everyone had food in front of them, whether half eaten or still hot, at around 11:00. I wasn't even hungry and hardly remembered what I had ordered. Finally we came home and I collapsed on the sofa to sleep.
Sunday- The last day. I took the dog for a jog and then my mother and I went off to visit my nana and pop's pool. Their house is set on a high hill tucked away in the woods. My nana told me about how a deer was standing right outside the gate to the pool, and as my nana spoke to it, it raised it's head and stamped it's foot twice, like a scene from a Disney movie. Of course, these are also the same grandparents who had their own method of ridding their birdbaths and bird feeders of pesky squirrels by taking out a gun and blowing their heads off. I know...I've seen it. I'm not sure which was more disturbing...watching the squirrel writhe with a bullet in it's skull or the fact that my grandfather still had such good aim. We walked back up from the pool to see my pop, who informed us that a chipmunk had darted out from under the sofa and booked it out onto the screened porch. I swear, it's kind of a bizarro nature world up there, beautiful and brutal at the same time, with just a little humor thrown in.
Anyway, the rest of the night was pretty uneventful. I pretty much just ate dinner and went to bed, eager to once again get up early, pack up the car, and face whatever traffic and toll booth collectors we would.
Christ, this is a long entry. Sorry about that folks. I'm sure tomorrow's will be shorter, as I have no clue what I'll write about. Till then...
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