JJB’s Ramblings

I went out to check on my tomato plants yesterday.  They are getting really big, actually they are as tall as me (and my whopping 5’8) stature.  Impressive, I know.  I’ve got my fingers crossed and barring a plight on my crop, I will be eating sweet cherry tomatoes and flavorful beefsteaks soon.  I am just excited that I won’t have to buy tomatoes for a while…. I guess I better find some real good sauce recipes to freeze because I know that eRock won’t be helping me eat them.

I’m growing basil as well but that’s coming up less than spectacular.  I mean, I get a good fresh product out there but I am not going to lie, I have basil envy.  I was at a farm stand last weekend and their basil plants were HUGE.  I don’t know what’s going wrong but when people ask me about what I am growing I always say tomatoes and then add basil as an after thought.  It’s probably the same way that Martin Sheen talks about his kids Charles and Emilio, one really stands out while the other gave good product early but then fizzled out. Obviously Charlie is the tomato and Emilio is the early bloom basil (Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s, Mighty Ducks)… wait…. Charlie is the basil because of “Hot Shots” and “Major League” early on and… Hm.  Maybe Martin just has two basil plants. 

But I’m off my point. 

When I went out to check on the fruit of my labor I came across two flys engaging in carnal relations on my tomato leaf, and when they realized I was there (what is this, college all over again?) they didn’t stop. Oh no, they flew off as one, copulating as they went.   

They could have at least put a tie on the doorknob or something.

Having been just recently released from MGH’s burn unit after my Hell Bone episode, I am ready to tell you some fun and amazing things.   

Lets start with Harry Potter and the Cashola Juggernaut, I mean Order of the Phoenix.  The, much hyped, totally dark newest film in the Harry potter saga.  I liked it.  I didn’t love it, but I liked it.  It was kind of like the feeling of eating an average sandwich when you are REALLY hungry.  Under other circumstances, it might not have been pleasing, but since you are starved and irrational, it exceeds expectations.  The inevitable “book was sooo much better than the movie” phrase comes to mine, but if you can get past all the discrepancies in the first 5 min, then you are set for the movie. 

Prior to the movie, E and I went to dinner at Penang where we dined on deep fried whole fish, paper thin pancakes, coconut fried rice and beef skewers but opted out of the frogs legs (too many bones).  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Gorging of the Malaysian Cuisine. 

eRock was in the opera Dialogue of the Carmelites.  Nuns + French Revolution = Beheadings.  Nice.  There is just something uncomfortable of your girlfriend wanting to give you a kiss as she is dressed as a nun.  Actually, I was more comfortable with Braveheart.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Papal Guillotine. 

I got to photograph said opera not once, but twice.  Did I mention that there were no fans or AC in this church? Gross.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Sweaty Balls Halls. 

Irish Village soccer club held a memorial tournament for a member that passed away 10 years ago.  There were lots of games, food and beverages, followed by more beverages and topped off with beverages.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Drunken leprechauns. 

I forgot sunscreen at the tournament and burned immediately, peeling for the next 5 days.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Peeling lobster boy. 

Ambercules and I hung out, had some lunch and talked of her plans for moving to the west coast and the subsequent cross country trip with her mum.  We hated on each other for a while, ate some sandwiches and sent her on her way.  I can’t recall much about our conversations but I can assure you they were childish and inappropriate.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Circle of Hate. 

My friends Mary and Rob got married and I had a chance to catch up with all of my Alabaster Blue friends and celebrate another AB wedding.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Giving of the Rings. 

I sang Digital Undergrounds “Humpty Dance” word for word and even did the dance.  First you limp to the side like your leg was broken, shakin and twitchin kinda like I was smokin.  Crazy wack funky, people say you look like MC Hammer on crack Humpty. Word.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Old Skool Hitz. 

I also received Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and managed to read it in about a week (apparently 6 days longer than everyone else) and while I wont spoil it, I thought it was really good and look forward to the movie.  If this Harry Potter installment had an alternate title it would have been Harry Potter and the last loose end. 

I enjoyed a spectacular dinner at Grotto with Erin.  We ate pate, and short ribs and pillow like gnocchi.  We had banana bread pudding and cannoli.  And, for the first time in about 16 years, I ate a beet.  It was momentous. If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Delectable meal. 

I did some outside grilling, the most notable being chicken stuffed with cheese, onions and peppers and then wrapped in bacon.  So good…. Except. Well, if you didn’t know that bacon fat was highly flammable, then let me be the first to tell you. It is. There were 3-foot flames (ok maybe two foot flames) surging out of my Weber.  This is indirect cooking?  Anyway, I found a workaround and finished the chicken without incident.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Grease Fire Apparition. 

Sadly, my friend Monika completed her time in Bostonia and set off for the big city.  No, not French Lick, Indiana (as Larry Bird may have you think) but NYC where I hear that they have 3 kinds of public transportation.  Just imagine.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Lost Momentum. 

Work.  It has been a BEAR lately.  People on vacations, job shifting, etc. have increased the workload and limited my free time.  Today is the first day in weeks that I have not had my phone ring every five minutes, or a meeting every 30.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Order of the Cubicle Drones. 

Finally, the 15^th thing I have done since my last post…. Got engaged.  On July 22^nd I stopped saying “sometime before xmas” to my friends and took the big step (or knee) and asked E.  Well, asked her AFTER she reminded me that I hadn’t done so after giving her the gift and the ring.  I had one line, and I still needed a cue card.  Anyway, she said yes and big things are on the horizon.  If it were a Harry Potter installment it would have been Harry Potter and the Journey to I Do.