Some Time Alone

The Drive-In movie theatre night went great. We got there and pulled in just as the sun was setting. Chancho drove Mowgli aka his honda fit so we had a front row seat. Neither one of us had had dinner so we ventured over to the concession stand for dinner. This is what we ordered: One big bucket of popcorn, a hockey puck of a burger, popcorn chicken, two sides of fat fries and sodas. Finally settled into the car with the bucket of popcorn on my lap, with the cardboard case on top so I didn't drop my hamburger all over myself and our sodas precariously positioned in the middle console (the cup holders apparently don't hold cups bigger than small.) the radio starts talking. However, the screen is still blank in front of us. Turn to the left and that screen is still blank, turn to the right and that screen is the one talking to us. We pulled into the wrong section. So we had to reposition ourselves and drive over the right screen. Of course that would happen to us. We got to watch Going the Distance. It was cute. I laughed. That movie was for me the later showing was The Other Guys for Chancho, but we didn't wind up staying. He was too tired coming from a double the day before and working all day that day so we headed home. It's about a 45 minute drive home. I was happy.
Saturday, fight night, was alright. It was great seeing my siblings. I miss them and wish I lived closer to them. The fight was not worth it. In fact the commentators were apologizing for such a lame night. Chancho fell asleep during it and that was when I knew it was time for us to head home. We both had work early the next day and it was a hour and a half ride home. Happy I went though. I'm hoping for a better fight coming up on the 16th!
Now for the next adventure. We're driving up to Boston tomorrow. The Yankees play them tomorrow night and we got tickets! Wooohooo! The Yankees have once again made the playoffs, by some miracle. They have not been playing like the great Yankees, but I'll take it. We were supposed to leave today, but because Chancho had to miss class last week due to work, he can't miss it again this week so we're leaving directly after his class. I'll be going with him to class, or rather, sitting around while he's in class. Too bad I don't have a book for me to read.
In other news my roommate from college who came to visit last month is officially moving here!!! Two weeks away! I am beyond excited. I have to get her room ready for her, paint it, clean it out and buy new sheets. I'm also planning a surprise Welcome party for her. Give her a chance to meet a bunch of people so she has some familiar faces welcoming her. I also am a little nervous as to how this is going to effect Chancho and me. I'm definitely going to have to rework my time management skills because she's going to need a lot of support for the first couple of months that she's here, which means not a lot of time with Chancho. And I already don't get enough of that from him so we'll see how this turns out. I think that as long as we both can set aside one day out of the week where we are committed to seeing one another than we'll be fine. As I keep telling myself, it's just for right now and not forever.
With that being said I need to go pack for our mini vacay!

Quote of the Day: "Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day."
Listening to: "Better Than" by John Butler Trio

Tap Out

Take a guess as to what the cap is for police officer's overtime is for a month.
They shouldn't be allowed to work any more than 35 hours.
Take a wild guess as to what Chancho has worked this month. Just throw a number out there.

50. Yep, he has worked 50 hours of overtime. So not only has he worked his regular hours, he's added on 50 more hours to it. He got yelled at. They told him no more for this month. That was earlier this week.
Want to play again?
Take a guess as to what the cap is for doing Paid Details is for a month.
I actually don't know that answer, but he was yelled at for doing 80+ hours.
So needless to say I haven't seen Chancho very much this past month. In fact there were days when I only saw him for literally 5 minutes while he was working at the deli. Oh yeah, he now has added on another day to his deli schedule. I swear he just can't get enough of work. Oh and another thing before I forget, he mentioned lightly over dinner yesterday that there have been rumors going around that by next year the domestic violence officers will be getting shields because the work that they do is essentially detective work. He doesn't think that it will actually happen, but he wanted to keep me in the loop. He said not to get my hopes up, but I think he was really trying to tell himself that.
As for me, I have been working 40+ weeks myself, which meant our schedules overlapped and we were back to having a relationship with our phones. It also has allowed me to bond with my coworkers. I've gone out with them almost every night now. It's actually been a lot of fun.

I've also been babysitting Buster a lot. They really are paying for that cruise. On Monday it was getting late, as I was trying to get Buster to wind down so we could have bath time and then I could put him to bed when the doorbell rang. I contemplated answering the door, but I knew that the room that I was in they would be able to see me so, I went and answered it. I had Buster in my arms and I was only going to open the main door, keeping the glass door shut. Well I open it and this Hulk Hogan guy is standing there. Before I know it he's opening the outside door and reaching for Buster. I quickly pull back and say "Can I help you?" He answers with "Oh hi! Hey [Buster] I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would stop over and say hi."
I'm still starring wondering who the hell this guy is. I obviously don't know him and he still hasn't introduced himself. So I begin to say something when he cuts me off and asks if Buster's mother is home. I say no and that if he wanted I could just let them know he stopped by. "Oh that would be great! I'm their painter, Eddie." (They got their house painted months ago.) I say "Okay, great, I'll let them know. You have yourself a good night." Eddie steps closer "Do you think it would okay if I came in?" Me: "No. I'd rather you not." Eddie: "Right, okay, sure, understandable. I'll see ya around." Then he turns and walks away. I was totally freaked out. I locked that door and double checked all the other doors in the house. I kept an eye on him as he was sitting on the front lawn. He eventually got a ride with some other guys that happened to be on the road with some car problems, but if he had left my line of sight you better believe I would have had the cops on their way.
Wrapping things up, Chancho and I really have a date planned for this Friday. We have high hopes to go to the drive in movie theatre after his class. Then Saturday we're going to my sister's for the UFC fight. It's going to be a small sibling reunion as my brother is going too. Saweeeet. I'm really pumped for it. Be ready for a recap of the weekend. So for now I'm tapping out. Ha.

Quote of the Day: “We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.” - Bill Watterson
Listening to:

Man In the Red Bandanna

Nine years later and everything is still clear as it was that morning. I was in high school. I was sitting in the back of building A, Mr Dillon's history class. The last seat in the room staring out the window wishing I was back home doing something else other than listening to him speak. A woman came in and spoke quietly to Mr Dillon. I couldn't hear because I was in the back of the room, but the kids in the front of the room began talking and a can distinctly remember a girl's face. Panic. Tears sprang up into her eyes like a faucet and she began to shout, "My mom! My mom!", over and over again. The woman who came in quickly escorted her out of the room. That was when Mr Dillon announced to the class that the Twin Towers had been hit. They were both standing still, but they knew it wasn't an accident. The rest of the day, it was a blur. As much as the teachers attempted to teach, no one focused. It always somehow came back around to the Towers. On the car ride home, my friend's and I talked about what was going on and when I arrived home, the TV was on and I could see it for myself.
It was real. My sister was home and she had the phone in her hand. Her boyfriend's father was working nearby and they couldn't get a hold of him. They were in a panic. I sat and stared at the screen for a long time that day.
Then, my mother came home and told us of Welles. My mother's coworker left early because her son was in the tower. He called and told her he was okay. However, he never made it home. He worked in the 2nd tower as an equities trader, but that day, he was a firefighter. He helped a ton of people down to their safety saving their lives, but losing his own. He was a true hero that day, along with everyone else that gave their life. Welles' full story can be read here, along with all of the wonderful trusts, funds and scholarships that were made in his name.
For a while, I didn't want to go there. In fact, it took me 8 years to walk down and around ground zero. I wanted to keep the memories that I had of the towers, the ones of them still standing. But last year I went and walked around for the first time. It was emotional for me. I stopped in on a fire house and tears came to my eyes as I read the names and saw the pictures of the men who lost their lives. It was a scary time. Having it so close to home and not knowing. For Chancho, Sept 11th gave him all he needed to sign up to become a police officer. He was already a volunteer firefighter and in the Air Force, but he felt like he needed to do more.
September eleventh. I won't be forgetting it. I won't be forgetting all of the men and women who were lost that day and those who continue to fight for us today.

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m.
Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes.
Time they took to fall: 12 seconds.
Total number killed in attacks: 2,819
Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343 

Number of NYPD officers: 23
Number of Port Authority police officers: 37 

Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402
Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614
Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115
Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39
Bodies found "intact": 289

Body parts found: 19,858
Number of families who got no remains: 1,717
Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609
Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051
Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20
Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200
Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98
Tons of debris removed from site: 1,506,124
Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99

 

Listening to:

"Oh Hey there!"

It's been a while since I've posted anything about the Yankees. And it so happens that I went to a game last week, or was it two weeks ago? Anyways, I had great seats, amazing seats! I was located on the field level behind Nick Swisher. He could hear me when I yelled out. If I actually yelled out that is. It was ridiculously hot out, I was sweating balls sitting in the shade. My shorts were soaked through and sticking to the padded seats. Yep, field level seats are indeed padded! I was so excited. Normally, this girl sits way up top in the nosebleed section because tickets are only $3-$7, but on this occasion my friend Zach had gotten us tickets from a friend. (For Free!) Since the tickets were free, I decided I could spend a million dollars on food and splurged on a sausage with onions and peppers, a bottled water and fries. I spent over $30! But I can accept that because if I did pay for those tickets they would have been well into the $300 dollar range so it evens out. At least in my mind.
There were a few home runs during the game, two in which landed 3 rows in front of me. I was more than likely on TV. I've tried searching for videos, but couldn't find any. If I had moved up I would have been in reach of grabbing either of the balls. One day...

Here are some pictures from the day:

CC walking across the field to warm up

Posada warming up

Yep, he's my favorite

My view from our seats

Again, our view of the field from our seats

Swisher catching a fly ball

Gardner's reaction the bleacher creecher's chant

Swisher's reaction

Cano's reaction

CC's first pitch

Yankee's winning!!

I can't wait to go back to another game. Hoping that they make it into the World Series again this year. It's almost that time of the year again.