Dunkin Donuts Days

Good morning! It's cold and windy here and I am waiting for word on my car. In the past 3 weeks, it has been in the repair shop 5 times. Yes, that is one more than four and one less than six. Here is the story:



Over the past few weeks, the car has had a hesitation as I accelerated which could be construed as dangerous. As I dropped it off with my local repairman, he could not find the issue. Then it continued, I dropped it off two more times....he could not see or feel the hesitation. Yikes...so it was time to take it back to the dealer which I have hesitated doing since they charge me big bucks just to drive it through the garage door. They immediately found the problem with the computer and had to order a part which took four days. As the car was returned to me last Thursday, I noticed that the hesitation persisted and voila! I do not have my car again. Lucky for me that I have one of their loaner cars, but I really want my personal wheels back. After all, my seat is adjusted, radio stations are perfected, and my stuff is in my car. Please, please, give me my car back! And make sure that it is fixed before I drop on the ground and have a seizure or two. By the way, can you wash it too?



Whew! Is it happy hour yet?



I heard from the big kid and he earned a B in the big Spanish test. This is not bad considering he thought that he failed it in a big way. Then he mentioned that he plans on kicking major butt in the next test to bring up the grade. I like his intensity.....sort of.....



Will this intensity translate into anything big? well, perhaps....after he hung up the phone last night, he went to a field to throw his weighted balls, then head to the library. Intense? yep....

Although, he made me chuckle as he said that he eats a king size Snickers bar before he studies each night. Why did I chuckle? Well, in the old days, I would run to Dunkin Donuts, grab a medium coffee and chocolate cake donut, eat and drink, then start to write my dissertation. The sugar and caffeine got me through a number of hours at the computer.  There is something about the mixture of the two substances that can get my lazy brain to fire on a few cylinders. Now, my son's personal brain stimulator is a Snickers bar. He's a chip off his momma's block...I gotta say.



Today, I am loaded with work as the semester starts to wind down. The students are in a funk as the grades that they are earning are either scaring or encouraging them. In my major, they must earn a C+ or better in each major course to continue. This is scary for many of them. In grad school, we needed a 3.0 to graduate. Yes,  I was concerned but was able to aptly hit the target and graduated. Yet, when I finished my masters degree, I swore that I would never read again....ever...not a newspaper or book. I hated reading since that is all that I did.....after a period of time, I picked up a People magazine on an airplane and rediscovered my love for reading. But I remember making that vow of never reading again in my car on Market Street in Philadelphia as I drove to one of my last classes. I can still recall how my eyes would burn and I would fidget in the chair as I read articles, research, papers, and books. Ahhhh! It feels so good NOT to be in school anymore! Yahoooooo!

After I finished the dissertation, I never had a DD chocolate donut again. I won't look at them...won't order one. They actually taste greasy to me. But, in hindsight, I can look back on my DD days and be grateful for the concoction that got me through my doctoral studies.

Wow, I really went way off the mark on this post~ With that said, I have a mountain of work and papers to complete. No time for anything else except pick up my car if it is fixed. Please, oh please, oh pleaseeee!

Later!

May I sample.....

Rain! Boy, do we need it!

Last night Big Sis, Sparky, and I attended the Best of the Region Party celebrating the Baker's Best Tasting Cake....oh boy, is it!

The party was held in a large room with over 50 of the "best of's..." in our area. With an amazing band playing, people were partying, drinking, eating, shopping along with spending money to benefit the Children's Hospital. All in all, it was fairly overwhelming as Big Sis and I had way too many decisions to make. And so we begin with.....

Decision 1: Where do we start? I got a great idea....let's go and find the best martini! Yep, after searching, the best martini was made with the usual alcohol plus cotton candy. Sound gross? Yep, to me too, but since it had the label of being the best, I naturally had to try it. As the martini soaked the cotton candy, I could not believe that I was actually going to drink it. And drink it, I did. Hmmmm...tasty....although, not the best that I ever tasted, but now I can say that I had the best martini as voted by the readers of the magazine....

Decision 2: Let's try the best guacamole. Actually, this was a no-brainer since the best guac was located next to our table. My only complaint was that the chef did not give us enough home made chips. With that said, my stomach was very happy.....on to....

Decision 3: The best Italian food....stopping by that table, we were given a wild rice salad and some homemade tortellini. Can anyone say: "Yum!"....onto....

Decision 4: The best Asian food...after sampling dumplings and shrimp...we moved onto

Decision 5: The best Crab Cake Slider....if anyone offers you one of these delectable treats, take two....now it was time for....

Decision 6: The best outdoor relaxing on a patio drink....I think that it had lemonade and gin...I am pretty sure about the lemonade....

Decision 7: The best mini cupcake....the presentation was amazing, but believe it or not, I threw it out. Yep, I threw a cupcake out because it was too dry and had no flavor. Perhaps it was the lemonade gin that anesthetized my taste buds.....

Decision 8: Onto the quesadillas diagonal from our table....this was a three-peat. Sis and I stopped by that table three times. By the way, all of this food is tiny....one or two bites at the most....not full plates....don't think that I was grazing rather than sampling.....I am not that pathetic....on to

Decision 9: The best liquor store.....Yeah....there is the best liquor store so I tried an Arnold Palmer vodka....it was pretty good. What's an Arnold Palmer? It is a blend of lemonade and ice tea then honey laced vodka was added. Sensational! Again, the portions are tiny and not enough to fill a juice glass, but the flavors were amazing.

Decision 10: The rest of the night was manning the table, giving out cake, and drinking more of the gin lemonade. Big Sis was feeling the accumulating effects of samples and was now dancing by the table. This was certainly a sight.

As the evening wore down, one of my all time favorite DJ's entered the room. As I walked up to him, I realized how old he had gotten. Oy! He was one of my teen age memories as I listened to him on the radio during high school and college. I am glad that I did not get older....but this guy....sheesh!

As it was time to close up shop, our friends from the best guacamole table came over for one more piece of cake. As they put the leftover chips into their bins, they invited Big Sis and me for a final drink. Sure....whaddya got? The owner of the best guacamole pulls out tequila....OK, so where is the margarita mix? Nope, no mix...shots. Straight tequila shot? What am I, in college? grad school? out with the girls? Ah yeah...out with the girls...OK, let's do it. He poured the 4 shots and we toasted the best quac and cake promising that we would always be friends and meet once a year at the best of the region party....down it went....not easily.....not all of it....I secretly only had a tiny sip while the other three downed it in one gulp. Yum.....

And here I sit....with a tiny headache and lots of lingering, life long memories of hanging out with the girls, dancing, singing, eating, drinking, eating,  and handing out free samples of cake. By the way, it's true that we had multiple samples of the liquor, but the samples were tiny....very tiny....not enough to impair or inebriate especially over a period of five hours. The samples also were concocted of mostly the mixers and lemonade. I don't want anyone to get the impression that my life's dream is to be sloppy drunk in front of anyone. In fact, with the small sips and the food, we were giddy from the sugar high as opposed to alcohol intake.

With that said, I am looking forward to next year and the year after....and the year after....

Have a great day! Time for me to limp and roll to the treadmill....

Remembering

Happy Memorial Day weekend! it's a little overcast but the sun is going to show itself later today.

What can I say? Buddy's team lost again in a big way on national television yesterday. I could only watch a few innings before I had to turn it off. It was grisly and gruesome. I can feel the team's pain especially Buddy's when the losses were due to the lack of a bullpen. Would they have done better with the big kid on the mound? Maybe...maybe not...but they would have had a better chance and not have been humiliated.

As I watch the games on television, the producers have to make it as dramatic as possible. So, as each pitcher was pulled out of the game, the cameras would focus on their faces in the dugouts. I saw lots of perspiration, sadness, embarrassment, and yes....tears.

As the guys may look like they are men...they're not. They just are finishing teenage years and moving into their twenties. Further, they really have not experienced much except for baseball. Therefore, their emotions are just that...emotions...they are emotional....when happy, they are happy and show it. When sad or humiliated, there is still a chance that tears will flow. Sadly for some of the guys, the tears were evident as the cameras focused on their faces when the coaches yanked them off the mound.

Last year in Ohio, I remember one of the kids telling Stinky, the pitching coach, when he approached the mound to change pitchers, that if he did not have a hot dog in his hand, that he had better turn around because he was not going to be pulled from the game. Stinky turned around and slowly walked back to the dugout. Alas, he did not have a hot dog for the ace.

The stakes are high for the schools. Their teams are on national television and as such the universities want to promote their schools and players. Success in sports often yield success in the number of applications for the university. In a way, it is one of the best forms of marketing for any institution of higher education. Imagine watching a football game on television and being able to see the beautiful campus, ardent student fans, and electric atmosphere. High school seniors want to be there....apply...are accepted...then bingo! The school continues its tradition. It's a win-win for all parties.


The schools also reward the athletes as they make and move through tournaments. Last year, Buddy received a number of gifts from the university that he hated. In fact, he gave me the laptop computer bag that he received for Christmas. I like it, but it has ripped already so I am going to have to replace my tournament bag. In addition to gear, many athletes are given rings if they actually win and jackets with the school, tournament and their numbers on it. The rewards are simply gestures from the school for a job well done and the hard work that it took to get there.

With that said, the tournament continues and the guys have returned to campus. After meetings today with the coaches, they leave for their summer leagues around the country. And so, with Memorial Day kicking off the summer, let's remember the hard work and dedication of our veterans who are not on television nor have letter-man jackets and rings. They have worked hard and sacrificed so that my kid and the others can continue to follow their dreams in the land of the free. Thank you to all the men and women (past and present) of our armed services.