Posted by Brad on November 30th, 2008 — Posted in Journal
Yesterday consisted of eating, then shopping, then eating. I guess that seems about right for Thanksgiving vacation.
We went to Arundel Mills Mall yesterday. It is a large mall down by the airport that has many outlet stores in it. Mom and I walked around while Dad hung out in a sports bar. This time I had a mission: I was going to find a new water-resistant radio for my shower.
I listen to news radio while I get ready in the morning. It is my main source of news during the day. In anticipation of my parents’ arrival, I cleaned the bathroom tiles. Having accidentally sprayed some cleaner on the radio, I splashed water all over it to rinse it. It doesn’t work now.
While at the mall I looked for a replacement, but couldn’t find a satisfactory one. Now it will become a Quest. I’ll be looking for something small. It would be nice if it had a digital tuner. It needs to be water-resistant, of course. And if I could avoid getting an obnoxious color that would be nice too.
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Posted by Brad on November 29th, 2008 — Posted in Journal
My mom and I went out yesterday to revel in the Black Friday crowds. We started at Best Buy to see if they had any of those crazy-cheap laptops left. They didn’t. Next we went to Towson Mall. It has recently received some upgrades, and I wanted to show my mom the “Fancy Wing”. They have places like Pottery Barn, Swarovski, and Burberry.
After all our shopping, I got… nothing. I couldn’t even spend money on something I needed: My watch hasn’t been keeping the right time, so I went to the watch store to replace its battery. The guy said the battery tested fine. He said my watch was broken. To fix it, I would need to replace all the works. For about $70. Dang.
Good-bye to my dear old friend of a watch who has been with me for many, many years. It is irreplaceable.
But now I get to shop for a new watch! Woo Hoo!
I also saw a coat that brought a recurring question to mind. On closures like the one pictured below, when the claw-shaped thing is not plastic, what is it made of? A bear claw? A whale tooth? Just what animal part is that?
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Posted by Brad on November 28th, 2008 — Posted in Journal
This post is chock-full of pictures, so if you have a slow-loading computer, it may take a while.
The MTDP was GREAT! It was a cold day to be standing outside for so long, but the parade was awesome to be at. We stood with the Long Island Lutheran High School group. They set up some risers for the “choir” who were watching the parade and singing songs. My dad got a choice spot in the front to set up a chair, and my mom and I were in the front left corner of the risers. Sweet!
There were many balloons in the parade. I took pictures of them all. I will only post my two favorites.
First, a smurf.
And I really like these elves for some reason.
There were marching bands, of course.
There were many famous personages in the parade. Here is but a sample:
Miley Cyrus
David Archuleta
Rick Astley
The parade ended with the most famous person of all. (…second to Jesus of course)
SANTA!
Did you really click on the Rick Astley link?
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Posted by Brad on November 27th, 2008 — Posted in Journal
Happy Thanksgiving!
This morning we’re at the MTDP. I don’t know if anyone actually abbreviates it like that, but I’m too lazy to type it out a second time. Please refer to the title of this post if you don’t like acronyms.
The staff of Long Island Lutheran High School has a long-standing tradition of going to the parade together. A few people go to the parade route at 4am and set up some choir risers on the sidewalk and guard them. The rest of them load into a bus and get dropped off at the site. Then they watch the parade together and cheer (and maybe sing a little?). I went with them years ago. It was really fun.
My parents and I are hooking in with the group this year. We stayed with Andy and Tracey Gove last night. Today we’re watching the parade, then heading home.
I’ve been told to watch for Darius Rucker, because one of my students is a big fan. Other than that, I don’t know what to expect, but it should be fun.
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Posted by Brad on November 26th, 2008 — Posted in Journal
Yesterday was the last day of school until Monday. It was a pretty hectic day. We had Thanksgiving chapel at the end of the day. The kids were wound up. The teachers were tired. It was a typical last-day-before-a-break.
After wrestling practice, I went home to get a final few things straightened up before my parents arrived. They are visiting for a week, which I think is awesome! My mom’s two wishes are to have some good seafood and to visit IKEA. We must be related. My dad enjoys being together and hanging out. We must also be related. I guess that settles whether or not I’m adopted.
Their plane didn’t land until after 10pm, so they didn’t arrive in their rental car until almost 11:30pm. Whew! It was a late night!
Today we’ll drive to Long Island and stay with friends. Tomorrow we’ll see the Macy’s Parade. It is the start of a very fun vacation.
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