Gizmo

For the past week, we've had a visitor. Most of Jay's family went to Florida to sort out Grandad's things, and little Gizmo needed a place to stay. So he came to our house.

Taking care of Gizmo confirmed that I am indeed a cat person. The dog drove me a little cuckoo. He's the best dog ever, too, so I can only conclude that it's the presence of a dog and not the particular dog that bothered me. The cat was also extremely annoyed by the whole thing. We started calling her Puffy Slow-Mo, because those seemed to be her two operating procedures when Gizmo was around: all puffed up and spitting, or in extreme slow-motion like a ninja. The one thing I enjoyed, though, was taking the dog on runs around the block. Not only did I get my exercise, but it tired Gizmo out and reduced his whining:
Jay, on the other hand, loved having the dog around. Their interactions made it all worthwhile:

Jay drove Gizmo home this morning and apparently Gizmo was sad to see him go. The cat isn't quite as upset about Gizmo's departure.

Jay's First Post - "Slumdog Millionaire"

Alright, alright! Since this blog is titled "The Provosts", and I am the "Provost-to-end-all-Provosts" I suppose I should be a part of it. Sarah has done a such a great job writing in this blog that I've been inspired to FINALLY jump on the bandwagon.

Just a forewarning, my writing style will be a little different from Sarah's. My posts may feature a little more "ranting and raving" than my better half. Oh, and as you will soon find out, she is a much better writer. My parents are always telling me how great "The Provosts" is and how much they love reading her entries.

Time for me to ruin it. Sorry honey.

On to my first posting.




Last night we went and saw the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" in Framingham. The theater was PACKED. Upon arrival to the lot we noticed there weren't any parking spots (which as you know is never a good sign.) We made the decision to drop Sarah off so she could get in line while I began my quest to get a spot. After about 1 minute of searching in the main lot I gave up and parked in the overflow lot across the street, which if you've never parked out there is quite a hike. I made my way towards the theater and was very surprised to see the crowds. It was so busy! I immediately glanced up to the marquis to see the other movies showing. I was confused. Other than the indie flick we were about to see, the theater was showing a lot of forgettable flicks. What was so exciting about this Friday night that so many people had to come out? It was so busy that there was a line to get into the door. I immediately became claustrophobic upon entering and quickly found Sarah who was almost at the front of the line thank god. Okay okay, onto the movie.

Did I mention it cost $4.25 for a medium soda?

Alright, the theater was packed! No buffer seats. A couple our age sat next to me, with the bearded husband to my right. They seemed normal. I remember his mom called him and i thought it peculiar to hear him say "Yeah Mom, we got in!"

Here is Yahoo's synopsis of the movie so I don't have to type it out.

"The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Intrigued by Jamal's story, the jaded Police Inspector begins to wonder what a young man with no apparent desire for riches is really doing on this game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out..."

Okay, back to me. The movie was great. It is drama in its best form. I'm not going to attempt to write my critique; so I won't tell you anything other than it provides you the full spectrum of emotions.


Here's what messed with my experience of the movie. THE GUY NEXT TO ME!


This guy was all over the place. He gasped "oh no!" loudly in every suspenseful scene, rocked back in forth in his seat during the tense moments, made the "awwww" sound in the film's tender scenes. He couldn't sit still. He kept bumping my leg with his. I even heard him crying.

Yeah...a grown man...with a beard....crying.....in public. He was acting ridiculous. I actually contemplated leaning over and saying something like, "Seriously dude, it's a movie. You'll be okay."


Don't get me wrong, there were scenes where I was on the edge of my seat and worried for the characters. But was I even close to tears? No way. If you are a man, and are crying so much that I can hear it.....you may need professional help.

So, in closing.....go see Slumdog Millionaire. Just move your seat if a bearded man sits next to you. Even if you need to sit in the front row.

Oh and to my Slumdog Millionaire neighbor,...if you are reading this.......

Shave your beard. You are a disgrace to bearded men everywhere.






Wait, maybe that's why my dad shaved his beard? Maybe it was the movie Braveheart that did it to him!

God no.

Jay's Birthday Party

Saturday night was Jay's 30th birthday party. It was a rousing success. You know you've thrown a good party when you were having too much fun to take pictures. I managed to snap exactly one:
This is a prime example of why you should never indulge in rum-induced photography. Note that no one's entire head is visible and the focus of the picture seems to be the floor.

Jen managed a few more than I did, including these two pictures of the parents playing Rock Band:
Mom Caissie was a hit on the drums (oh no, she didn't just make that pun!). People kept coming up to me, saying, "your mom rocks at drums!" As you can see in the above photo, rocking at drums takes a lot of concentration. Sadly, only one photo of Jay from his own party has turned up so far, and in it, he is displaying some inappropriately doctored cupcakes, so you won't be seeing that photo here.

The cat made a spectacular appearance late in the evening. Anyone who has ever caught a glimpse of our cat knows that she is extremely skittish around strangers and prefers to hide under the bed rather than socialize. Well, apparently she was behind the couch when guests started arriving, and must have sat there paralyzed with fear for many hours. Around midnight she decided to make a break for it and took off at a full run through the living room and dining room towards the bedroom. Once she hit the linoleum in the kitchen, it was all over. She careened into several cabinets and, in a blind panic, ineffectively pumped her legs like she was on a treadmill gone haywire. That was the last we saw of her that night.

It was a fun time. Lots of people came and we managed to wipe out over a hundred bottles of beer and several bottles each of rum and whiskey. There were many fights over the musical worthiness of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and an embarassing photo of Jay as a child surfaced. Thanks to everyone for coming!

Halloween

Friday night we went to the Halloween dance at Boston Swing Central. Our costumes were both hits. Jay was teaching Thriller at the lesson (which turned out really great), so he was obligated to dress as a zombie. He was a very convincing professor zombie, which almost scared me into finishing my dissertation right then and there. Here he is preparing his next meal:

I went as the old game Operation. I stuck cutouts ("broken heart," "water on the knee," etc.) on some flesh-colored clothing with velcro, attached a pair of tweezers and string to my shorts, and wore a blinky red nose. I kept catching people staring at me, then a look of excitement would cross their faces as they figured out what I was. Here is the zombie playing Operation:

Anniversary

For our anniversary, we went to Ten Tables in JP for dinner. I'd been wanted to try it for a long time and our two-year seemed like a perfect excuse. They have a vegetarian tasting menu every night, plus they serve homemade smoked meats and sausages and all the meat is from humanely treated animals. Tuesday is wine tasting night, so they served a pre-fixe menu and paired each of the four courses with half a glass of wine.

Appetizer was a "French take on a Russian salad--" a root vegetable mix (Jay's had tuna) that was wonderful. Soup was butternut squash for me (I keep eating squash soup, because it seems like I should love it, but I'm just not crazy about it. I ate half), spicy lentil with ham for Jay (he loved it). Main course was chicken in tomato sauce with farro (some kind of grain) for Jay and potatoes au gratin with artichokes and bread crumbs for me (amazing). They paired mine with a little arugula salad and I could have eaten two entire plates. The cheese course was the part neither of us were crazy about--it was really strong bleu cheese, which almost activated Jay's gag reflex. There were also candied hazelnuts and pear puree, which redeemed the course. All in all, it was fabulous and we can't wait to go back.

When we got home, we had champagne and took this self-portrait.

Two years ago today...

It was much like today weather-wise, but a wonderful day in spite of the rain.


I can't believe it's been two years already.

Jay's New Activity

Check out the budding rock star. Jay bought himself an inexpensive bass last week and today he had his first lesson.
Ask him in a week and maybe he'll play "Money" for you.

In other news, Saturday I went on my second outdoor climb. Dylan and I went to Hammond Pond, which has a bit of top-roping and bouldering on some very interesting rock called Roxbury Puddingstone. The rock has great hand-holds, which made it a lot easier for me. We got in a number of routes and I got up them all!

This is either a scene from The Grapes of Wrath

Or it's a picture of our apple-picking trip yesterday.
We went to Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, where we met many a screaming child (apparently apple-picking is a popular field trip destination. Jay expressed dubiousness at the education value of such a trip) and several kinds of apples. We got enough for a couple of baked goods (I'm attempting a pie later this week) and a few weeks of good eating.