Tag: good things

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Nope, still weird

The boy came back (for a bit)

My son came back home the other day, along with his cousins from Alison’s side.

It was just a short visit, but I was so happy to see him.

It’s so strange not having him around here as he’s been my most constant companion all these past few years.

So, I brought everyone to the local Japanese BBQ joint a few blocks south of me.

I probably shouldn’t have ordered the beer tower, but I did.

Aunt-E: Logan, you don’t WANT the driver of your child to drink all that beer.
Me: Ok, that’s fair.

Afterwards, we all headed back to our place, where the kid showed his cousin his room and his stuff for the first time, I think, ever.

It was a lotta fun but then he left, and I missed him the moment he walked out the door.

Me: Hey, I don’t get a hug!?
Him: Sorry, dad!

Don’t think I’ll ever not miss that kid.

Not soon after that, the Professor swung by with his whole family.

Don’t think I’ve seen his wife since we met during their wedding, which happened waaaaaaaaaay before this blog, back in 2005.

This is one of the only pics I have of that day – I was 32 in that picture, and I feel I look like a kid.

My bowties are always crooked, for some reason.

Anywho, I brought them to that bistro above a supermarket that I’ve been going to since at least 14 years ago.

I like it because it’s a hidden gem; only locals go there, it’s never crowded, the food is super fresh – it’s above a supermarket, after all – and it’s huge.

Plus, it’s the only place I know of in the city that’s truly casual but nice and clean AND people aren’t on top of you.

It also worked out because the Professor, his kids, his wife, and we, all had very different tastes and there was something for everyone.

As a bonus, the Firecracker got to meet one of my oldest friends.

Him: Logan is the single weirdest guy I know.
Me: Rude.
Firecracker: Oh, well he’s grown a lot since then.
Him: Nope. Still weird.

Still a bonus…

Location: earlier today, my old gym, getting chainsawed
Mood: hot and gross
Music: It all means nothing without friends and family (Spotify)
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Boston 2025: A Wig Shop and Home

A Burger before home

At The Wig Shop, we ended up sitting across from a male-and-female set of cousins checking out the town.

The drinks had some hilarious names, but I had to have The Traveler’s Chosen, which had both (a) a 23 year old Ron Zacapa rum and (b) sour sop, which is in the same family as pawpaws.

Her: How is it?
Me: Unbelievably delicious. Try some.

She got the Channing Ta-yum, which was made with black pepper, a nice touch that we could taste – but not quite place – in terms of where the heat was coming from.

Luckily, our hotel was pretty close by, so we didn’t have to stumble back too far.

The next day we didn’t have too much planned except I wanted a Boston Tasty Burger before we left.

Her: Wait, there’s one right at the station.
Me: Perfect, we’ll grab one right before we have to leave.

Which is exactly what we did.

Turns out that it was good we ate so heavily because our train back was delayed.

They expected it to be at least 30 minutes late, but we heard from some train staff that it was gonna be much later.

We camped at a mall as we figured things out.

The Firecracker got busy and found out that there was a much faster (and more expensive) train leaving at 2:05.

It’d actually get us home a solid hour earlier if we caught it.

BUT, because of timing, the clerk could only offer it to us for free if our old reservation was 30 min late.

Our original train was supposed to leave at 1:30 so we had to wait until 2PM to get it for free otherwise it was gonna be an extra $300.

So, we waited and hoped.

At 2PM, the clerk told us to run to the train because she was able to get us tickets (!)

So, we ended up getting home on a faster train in business class for the same cost.

A great ending to a great trip.

Me: That was fun. You’re a good travel partner.
Her: Thanks, Logan! Same.

Location: earlier today, Omega, downtown
Mood: full and a bit tipsy
Music: Send me on my way, on my way (Spotify)
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Boston 2025: Dinner with Yvonne

Biking around Boston

The next day, we both woke up at a reasonable time and did a quickie little bike tour around Boston.

One of the perks of the hotel we were staying at was that they had bikes and helmets you could borrow so we took advantage.

One fun thing we found out was that there are alleyways in Boston that span several blocks, if not miles, and are a great way to get around while checking out fancy townhouses.

That was an unexpectedly fun little distraction.

Afterward, we took the train out to check out the Charles River Boat Tour.

Despite the heat, humidity, and the rando rainstorms that appeared outta nowhere and disappeared just as quickly, it was pretty comfortable and cool.

Her: I’ve been to Boston a few times before, but this is my first time seeing it from the river.
Me: Same!

This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to Harvard – both physically and metaphysically.

Afterward, we took the train home, but our plans were thrown off a bit because there was an almost 30-minute train delay.

So, we barely had any time at the hotel before we had to dash off for dinner.

She’d made some reservations at Yvonne, a pretty well-known restaurant on the same block as our hotel, that we had to move back a bit.

It was worth the wait, though.

Both for the absolutely delish food…

…and the amazing atmosphere.

Waiter: …and the bar is the original bar that was created in the 1700s.
Me: Get outta here.
Him: It’s true.

They ended up mixing up some stuff and comping us an additional entree…

…which – shockingly – I couldn’t finish.

It happens from time-to-time.

So, we brought that back to the hotel room before heading back out to check out a speakeasy called The Wig Shop that the Firecracker picked out.

But this is getting long, so I’ll wrap up our Boston trip in the next entry.

Location: home, dealing with flood aftermath
Mood: humid and wet
Music: If this world’s a circle, I got no time for them squares (Spotify)
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Boston 2025: The pub crawl

Lobster Roll Quest

The next morning, the Firecracker woke up bright and early to check out the city while I slept in.

After she got back, I got dressed and we headed out to Faneuil Hall Square for our Independence Pub Crawl, something else that was part of the Boston package we booked.

Gotta say, it was far more interesting that I thought it was gonna be and 2.5 hours went by pretty quickly.

The weirdest thing was I ran into my buddy Kar’s husband and three kiddos there.

Me: Frenchie! What are you doing here?!
Him: I was just telling [the kids], “Hey, I think that’s Logan.”

Wild.

Me: Isn’t that nuts?
Firecracker: (shrugging) Not really. You know a lotta people.

We caught up for just a few minutes before we had to return to our tour group.

We ended up hitting up four historical pubs and drinking at each of them…

…even ordering some oysters at one of them.

Another traveler: You two got food?
Firecracker: We figured they didn’t have to cook them and we could just down them.
Him: Smart.

After we left the group, we ended up checking out the Boston Public Market…

…where we had a little snack of Boston clam chowder…

Her: Normally, I’d consider hot clam chowder in the summertime crazy, but we’re in Boston.
Me: Yup, I get it. Let’s do it.

…before heading off to Faneuil Hall.

Her: I really want a lobster roll, now.
Me: I don’t have a problem with that, but I wanna sit.

We had originally planned to get her a lobster roll over at the Boston Sail Loft, but the wait was too long, so we headed off to Joe’s Waterfront instead.

Her: Finally, lobster roll!
Me: I need a salad because I feel like a fatty-fat-fat, what with alla that drinking we’ve been doing.

It was only a mile walk back to our hotel and, despite the heat and humidity, I figured the walk would be good for my back, so off we went.

After alla the sun, food, and booze, we both needed a quickie nap before exploring Chinatown at night.

I’ll tell you about that in the next entry.

Location: my superheated room
Mood: sweaty
Music: Forever and not at all, with a boathouse (Spotify)
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Boston 2025: A Tasting by the Harbor

The Godfrey Hotel and Boston Harbor Distillery

A few months back, the kid’s school had a fundraiser that I wanted to support but there was nuthin that really caught my attention.

Was running outta time, so I just bid on a buncha things to do in Boston in the next year.

Welp, I ended up winning that and, this past weekend, the Firecracker boarded the train at Penn Station to head there.

I had some unexpected things to contend with that morning, so she made us sammies for the trip.

Her: Hungry? We could eat the wraps I made.
Me: Great! Did you put some sriracha on mine?
Her: Yup.
Me: (three minutes later and coughing) How… how..much siracha did you put on?
Her: Too much?
Me: (between coughs) You’re trying to kill me!

She got us business class seats, so it was a pretty nice ride there.

All these years decades, I thought that the trains went north on the west side of Manhattan to get to the Bronx.

But it was only this day that I learned that the trains first go east into Long Island/Queens and then make a sharp left to head north.

The trip was fairly uneventful, and before we knew it, we were in a train station in Boston.

Me: Man, this town is just…empty.
Her: It’s amazing.
Me: Glorious, really.

When we arrived, we checked into our room at the Godfrey Hotel, which she picked out…

Her: This is one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever been to.
Me: Agreed – good choice!

…and, because I was starving, immediately stopped by a sushi joint for some cheap eats.

She ate like six pieces, and I ate the rest.

But we barely had time to finish everything before we had to head to the first of our planned activities – a tasting at the Boston Harbor Distillery.

When we arrived, we were checked in by the tour guide.

Her: There will be a LOT of spirits to sample so if you toss some, I won’t be offended.

She wasn’t kidding.

This was batch 1…

…this was batch 2…

…this was batch 3.

I think we ended up getting a half-a-shot of about 18 different spirits each.

As if that wasn’t enough, we got another drink for ourselves, which was actually mixed for us by the company owner, Rhonda Kallman, who was both a sweetheart and a legend.

The place was gorgeous, so we hung around for a bit…

…then grabbed an Uber back to our hotel where we had some drinks at the bar…

…before we took a little nighttime stroll around the city, where we ran into a party just outside the Boston Commons.

After a spell, we headed back to our room to rest up for the rest of our trip.

I’ll tell you more about it in our next entry.

Location: home
Mood: beat
Music: The last hurrah? Nah! I’d do it again (Spotify)
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Putting it off

Three sammies and Pyrat rum

Dropped off the kid with my in-laws the other day.

We have all of these traditions now that I love and am so grateful for, like his going to Alison’s family for a few weeks every summer.

But it doesn’t make me miss him any less.

Me: He cooked for the first time the other day.
MIL: What do you mean, the first time? He’s been cooking eggs here for a while now. You said he was cooking them at home!
Me: He was only mixing and seasoning them – I wanted to ease him into it.
Her: (laughing) Oh, he’s been cooking here for a while.

Dammit!

Having said that, I use the time I’ve got to do all the things I need to do but have been putting off because I’m either too busy with the kid or it’s unsafe to do around him.

To this end, I asked the Firecracker to help me out over the weekend and – like the amazing partner she is – she readily agreed.

But, on the day we were supposed to begin, we put it off for another day because the weather was so nice.

See, it’s been ridic hot around here, even before summer officially began.

This is what the heat wave did to my plants.

Was super bummed because they were all (finally) doing so well and then the heat just cooked them.

So, to take my mind offa all that – and to enjoy the much cooler sunny day – we met up with the Firecracker’s sister and BIL at a bar.

We stayed for a spell and then, because we were close to Tiki Chick and I can never resist their chix sammies, I picked up a buncha them for us and then headed back to theirs.

Her: You bought three sandwiches for yourself?
Me: Evidently.

Afterwards, we showed them how to play 鋤大弟/Big Two. and then promptly lost to her BIL.

Dammit!

But it was a fun night.

And they had Pyrat rum on the rocks for me, which is always good.

Him: What are you two gonna do tonight?
Me: Probably binge Andor.
Him: Oh, it is good. We just haven’t gotten around to finishing it.

If you’ve not seen it, it’s excellent.

Rain told me that he felt it was one of the best written shows, period – with or without the Star Wars part.

Worth a watch, but that’s neither here nor there.

Location: my desk, with just under gigabit speeds on my computers
Mood: super bummed
Music: It’s not like everybody knows but you (Spotify)
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The kid cooked for the first time

Challenge accepted

Me: (tapping her shoulder) Hey, if you’re going to the market tomorrow, could you pick up some edamame?
Her: (irritated) Did you just wake me up to tell me to buy edamame?
Me: I thought you were awake!
Her: (goes back to sleep) Your food obsession can be…problematic.

While we were at the Surgeon’s the other night, Steel mentioned that his son – who’s a year younger than my own kid – has been cooking since he was old enough to stand.

He didn’t make these eggs, I did. But I’m starting him easy with scrambled eggs first.

See, Steel may be one of the only people that think about food just as much, if not more (!) than I do, the only other person I can think of being Bryson.

In any case, I’d been having my son beat eggs for the past several months so, the other, I upped the ante and had him make scrambled eggs for himself for the first time.

Him: I don’t think it looks that good.
Me: Are you kidding? For your first attempt, it looks great!
Him Really?! (after trying it) It tastes pretty good.
Me: And, at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.

Unfortunately, then we had a heat wave come in.

Which meant that it was waaay too hot for him to safely cook.

It’s been disappointing for a number of reasons, not just that.

For example, I had planted some flowers outside my apartment and – after weeks/months of waiting – I had some blooms!

Was super excited.

But then the heat wave killed ALL my plants.

I’ll take some pics next time, I’m too annoyed ATM to do it now.

At least it’s a good excuse to drink ice cold beer.

Location: a train at Newark Penn Station, missing the kid
Mood: yearning
Music: I want it for infinity – let’s go, and never stop (Spotify)
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Four more events

Overscheduled

I may have overscheduled the last weekend of the school year.

For Friday, was supposed to meet up with some of the other fathers for drinks but ended up just having the kid’s good friend and his parents come by for some wine and the card game 鋤大弟 – which is also called Big Two.

The game was a hit with the other parents, and we ended up playing 18 rounds, I think (!!).

Kid: Can [my friend] stay over for a sleepover?
Friend: Please?!
Me: It’s not really up to just me, but sure.

The other parents relented so my kid, the Firecracker’s kid, and the friend had a sleepover, which I think is pretty darn cute.

The next day, my sister stopped by briefly with her two kids – it was nice catching up, however briefly.

Then, later on that night, we went to the Surgeon’s pad along with Steel and his family.

No mezcal – thank goodness – but we had some absolutely killer drinks.

For example, here’s a sour raspberry beer that was pretty great.

I made some dumplings as well, plus the kids had pizza.

The thing about old friends is that there are literally decades worth of stuff to chat about.

Me: What I remember most about your wedding was the table of lobsters.
Him: I remember you and Alison driving by in a pedicab while we were taking pictures.
Me: The thing about Steel is that he knows me so well that he took time outta his own wedding to warn me that the lobsters were just the appetizers. That’s a real friend there.

Then, the very next day, we all went to see my SIL in Hoboken…

…for some swimming.

Afterwards, we’d been eating pretty poorly all week because of alla the school events so I insisted that we all had salads, which went over pretty well.

We also got to play Codenames with the kiddos, which was actually quite fun.

There’s actually a lot more that happened but this entry’s getting long so I’ll just wrap it all up here.

If you’re at all interested in learning how to play 鋤大弟/Big Two, watch this video, above.

Location: my apartment, trying not to melt, on the hottest day in six year
Mood: melting nonetheless
Music: I’m tired from the things I haven’t done, saving up just to retire (Spotify)
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Another school year almost over

Still showing up

Him: Are you sure you’re gonna come?
Me: I haven’t missed one yet, have I?
Him: No…I just wanted to make sure.

It’s been super busy here for a multitude of reasons, least of which is that the kid is winding up his school year.

This means that there’s one event after another, of varying degrees of entertainment.

The first was his end of year recital, where he played a cover of Billie Eilish’s Lovely on the guitar.

I should mention that the Firecracker’s never missed a single one – which is something considering that not all the kids were as talented as mine.

She’s the best, truly.

As for the song he chose, I’d never heard the song before and it was pretty maudlin, which was a bit concerning.

But, he did a great job and was pretty jazzed about it, so I just enjoyed it for what it was worth.

The next was his dance recital, which was absolutely adorbs.

I couldn’t get a good clean shot for video, but another parent was able to get some vids of them dancing.

Another one was the kid’s last publishing party, where the parents come in and check out all the artistic stuff that the kids were working on for the past few months.

I brought a huge jug of Dunkin coffee; several of the other parents brought a ton of delish looking carbs.

I’m proud to say that I didn’t have any but, man, did I want to.

In any case, with the portfolio of work due in just over a week, it’s been stressful around here.

Really didn’t have the 2-3 hours to spare this morning on top of the previous two events I went to.

But I told you once that it’s so important for little kids to have their parents show up to things. And there’s no “parents” here, it’s just me.

So, I showed up.

Gotta say, it was sweet to see him so happy to see me in the classroom.

There were another three or four events that were also end-of-year related but I’ll tell you about those in the next entry.

Location: Hoboken, playing Codenames and dreaming of more food
Mood: hot and bothered
Music: Always in my head space but I know some day I’ll make it out of here (Spotify)
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Drinks at the Hotel Chelsea

Old friends come to visit

Him: Hey Logan! I’m in town for work again. I’m with distillery and distributor partners but if you wanted to join us for a drink, let me know.
Me: Where and when!?

The Firecracker and I have a strange little artifact from when we were younger.

She met one of her oldest friends online via a chatroom while I have a solid amount of friends that I still keep from my Livejournal days – I’ve literally got too many to mention.

That’s the kinda stuff I don’t think is really all that common anymore.

Anywho, one such friend is my buddy Paul N, not to be confused with my old drinking buddy Paul.

The last time I saw him was back in 2018, when I visited my brother and met up with him as well.

When we first “met” online, he was a marketing guy and a wannabe writer whereas I was a lawyer and a wannabe writer.

But since then, he launched the award-winning – seriously award-winning, check out all the awards below – Japanese spirit Nankai Shochu.

So, he’s now the owner of a liquor company with staff and inventory, jetting around the world, hustling to get his premium hooch all over the place.

I’m still just a lawyer and wannabe writer but that’s neither here nor there.

He was in town so the Firecracker and I went down to the Hotel Chelsea – a joint I’ve walked past a million times but never went in – and met up with him and some of his work colleagues.

There was a huge line and waiting list to get into the private sitting area but one of his friends, the lady in orange below, is a bit of celebrity bartender and she managed to float us all in.

Me: Killer! See, this is what you pay for – not having people on top of you.
Firecracker: And quiet, I swear, every bar in the city is a sports bar.

There’s nothing quite like ordering drinks with people that spend their lives thinking about and working with drinks.

I told Paul’s bartender friend to just order me rum drinks she enjoyed, and she did. They were all delish.

Now, his particular brand of shochu is very similar to rum, something I’ve pointed out to him numerous times.

This time, however, he told me that he was launching a rhum agricole, something I’ve never particularly liked.

Him: Just try it. It’s very different from other types of that rum. Our distiller is a mad scientist. (pours me some, surreptitiously)
Me: (trying it) Whoa, that’s the best one I’ve ever had.

That wasn’t a lie.

Normally, you can’t drink rhum agricole neat but this one I could definitely see myself sipping in the future.

Me: On that note, have I ever told you my rum story?
Him: You may have, tell it again and I’ll tell you if I heard it before.
Me: OK, so the story of rum is really the story of us…

It was definitely a fun night…

Him: You know what Korean (Americans) do when they’re drunk?
Me: No…?
Him: They argue about who’s more Korean. So, one night, Jo and Man…

…and, afterward, they went off to another bar.

But the Firecracker and I are on full-time parenting duties as the school year winds down.

So, we made our goodbyes and our way home.

Her: You always have such nice friends.
Me: I know. It’s a wonder why they chose to hang out with a fella like me. (later) It’s always nice when old friends come by for a visit.

Location: in front of my computer, all damn day
Mood: groggy
Music: I don’t want to be the villain all the time (Spotify)
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