My friend Robin came down Friday night (finally!) to hang out with me. Our original plan was to see Watchmen that night, then do some cooking on Saturday, but because she had to drive around 2 hours to come down here, we put off the movie until Saturday and decided to relax and make dinner. After a quick trip to Stop & Shop we came back and threw together a dinner of chicken fingers and sweet potato fries, one of my favorites. I learned quickly that I need to be better prepared for company eating over, as I had no ketchup in the house. That has since been remedied. I realize it’s a staple thing to have, but I just put BBQ sauce on everything so I hadn’t even thought of it. We enjoyed our dinner while watching some episodes of Scrubs from this season. I also realized I need more mini tables to hold food on while eating dinner in front of the TV. The one I have was barely cutting it.

After dinner, Robin had dessert (consisting of yogurt and strawberries) and worked on reading Watchmen so she’d have it finished before we saw the movie. I passed the time by playing some Burnout: Paradise. The picture below took me several attempts because Robin kept laughing, but I ended up capturing the “captivated reader” look. Hmmm…a girl curled up in a Batman blanket reading Watchmen? I’d certainly say, “that’s cool”. (in a Carlito voice of course)

Saturday morning we had some egg sangwiches (not a typo) and strawberries. Robin wanted to go running so I had mapped about a route that was around 3 miles. While she was out, I did my yoga balance postures. I think I did my best set yet actually. Right before I was finished, I got a call because Robin had taken a wrong turn and was lost. It really wasn’t her fault though. The road sign of the road I had told her to take a right on was totally covered up by an “Entering Westport” sign and could only be seen coming from the other direction…my bad. I ended up hopping in the car and picking her up so she didn’t have to run all the way back. Even still, she ended up doing about 3 miles anyway. Once I’m back in better running shape I’ll be able to do that loop too, which will hopefully be soon.

For lunch we had some leftovers from other stuff I had in the fridge and watched Unbreakable. After movie #1, we headed to Seekonk to see Watchmen (movie #2). Without giving anything away, I thought it was a pretty accurate representation of the comic. At times it was overly gruesome for seemingly no reason, but all and all it was a very good movie. For dinner we attempted going to Bugaboo Creek, but sadly the wait was an hour long and we were starving after seeing a nearly 3-hour movie. Instead we hit up Panera which most likely resulted in a healthier dinner. On the way home, we stopped at Stop & Shop again to get some ice cream and more strawberries. Since the strawberries were ridiculously cheap (which is why we’re eating so many), Robin wanted to get some to bring home. Once back at the apartment, we made ice cream sundaes, with strawberries, and watched Ratatouille (movie #3). After starting to watch it about a year ago, we finally made it through the whole thing! We followed that up with a little TV before finally turning in for the night.

Sunday morning we woke up around 8:00 9:00. Stupid daylight savings time. Robin went out for her run again and went around the 3-mile loop successfully. We had some more egg sangwiches (still not a typo) and more strawberries and got ready to head out. She had some shopping she wanted to do on the way home in addition to having lunch with her bro. I had plans to go hiking with Matt & Sarah because it was SO nice out. We parted ways  on the highway because we were both heading in the same general direction.

Even with the time shift working against me, I made it to Matt & Sarah’s place only a few minutes late. We headed out to a hiking path that they frequent, and despite it being a little soggy, it was a very nice 5-mile hike. After the hike we headed to Panera for lunch. Woohoo, Panera on back-to-back days! And no, that’s not a sarcastic complaint, I love Panera! From lunch we headed back to their apartment to chill out for a little bit before they had to leave.

So now I’m back at home at the end of my weekend and about to head to bed. I had a very busy but great weekend. It was really nice seeing Robin again and spending a bunch of time together after not seeing each other for nearly a year. Hopefully she’ll decide to come visit more often! (yes, I know you’re reading this) I also got to spend time with my two favorite people on the planet…and Matt too! (just kidding buddy) PLUS I get to see them NEXT weekend as well because Matt’s getting older and his birthday is coming up…heh heh. I clearly have to get my shots in while hiding behind my computer, where crucifix holds are a safe distance away. Tomorrow night I’m planning on getting back into the ring for some wrestling training, and Tuesday night I have a meeting with the NCW crew. More busyness ahead, but it’s all good!

For more pictures, details, & another perspective on the weekend, check out Robin’s posts where I stole the pictures from for this one:

• Strawberry Weekend
• It’s Over!

Matt, Dan, and myself all attended the New York Comic Con this year. We were fortunate enough to go as “publicity assistants” through one of Matt’s connections. I started off bright and early…well, not so bright. It was still dark out when I got up at 5:00 am. I left my apartment and headed to Hanson to pick up Matt, then we were off to Brockton to get Dan. From there, we were New York bound. The trip itself wasn’t bad aside from the usual Connecticut traffic and some difficulty finding the hotel and the parking garage.

After we checked in, it was only a short 6-block walk to the convention hall. We started off walking in the wrong direction, quickly turned around, and by around 1:30 pm we were at NY Comic Con! The show floor was quite busy so after processing the enormity of it all, we headed to the Grand Theft Auto booth and grabbed some free bags and shirts. From there it was one booth after the other. Everything from comics to movies to video games could be found. Every now and then we had to nudge each other and have a “Hey, check that out!” moment. It was usually either something cool to see, or someone’s ridiculous costume that was too horrible to miss. Read more »

http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/Freedom-Trail-walk-benefits-Veterans/1226457727.html

Nice job Matt.

This weekend was easily one of the better I’ve had in awhile. Saturday morning I went to JC’s place in Pawtucket bright and early for an NCW creative meeting. We’re finishing off the 2007-2008 season very soon, and we’re really trying to step things up for next season. Upgrades will hopefully be happening in our planning, storylines, gimmicks, and overall production value. I’m very excited to be moving forward in a more cohesive, business-like manner than we have in the past. It should make a big difference in the product that we present.

Saturday afternoon Mikey and Stacey came over. We went out to dinner at Friday’s (the cherry limeade slush is my new favorite thing) then came back here to watch Iron Man, hi-def of course…I’m loving Blu-ray. They stayed the night because on Sunday…

…we went to King Richard’s Faire. This was a first for me, and a first in awhile for them. We’d meant to go for years, but one thing or another always prevented it. This year the weather was absolutely beautiful, a perfect day to go. We got there right at the opening at 10:30 am and met up with Matt and Sarah inside. While we were waiting for their friends Brian and Mary to show up, Matt and I attempted to climb “Jacob’s Ladder”, which was much harder than it appeared. Neither of us could pull it off. Some of the other things we saw were the opening of the joust competition, “The Mud Show“, and the “Aerial Angels.” Overall it was a fun event, but not something to visit every year. I heard a lot of the stuff was very similar to years prior. The food prices were outrageous as well (turkey leg: $9.50 / small lemonade: $3.50), so myself, Mikey, and Stacey all waited until we left to eat.

Today was very low-key. I shopped for groceries, made my protein snacks for the week, and had plenty of time to make myself a nice chicken parmesan for dinner. I should have leftovers for a day or two with that one. Gonna need to play around with the recipe a little bit too. I winged it and it was good, but it could be better. Back to work tomorrow!