the latest news--Meet the Parents
Apr. 18th, 2005 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterbadgerLast week was a bit harried. I expected to write the final exam for my analytical methods class while NB was in Alabama (poor thing!), then pick her up at the airport, drop her home to collapse with her kitties, and take off for Newport News the next day. What I was not expecting was to find when I signed into my web classroom was that the term paper I thought was due the week of the 18th had infact been due the week of the 4th! So I wrote the exam as planned Wednesday night, took a day off work and finished doing the research for the term paper Thursday, collected a weary NB at National on Thursday evening, dropped her off and made sure she got some dinner (as well as having a long but fruitful discussion), went home and wrote 2/3 of the paper, went to bed around 2, got up at 8 and finished the paper, showered and packed, and then NB met me and we headed out to get lunch and drive down to my parents'.
Well, the trip was, frankly, a beast. The first two hours on the road, I think Nora clocked that we went 38 miles. It took something like 4.5 hours (it should take no more than abour 2.5). But we had a good time for all that, talking and listening to music (Brooke, Nora has now properly begun my indoctrination into U2). We got there a logn time before my sister Victoria did, anyway; we got there around six, and she didn't arrive until about 9.30, if I recall correctly. She'd made several stops on the way down from Connecticut, but she also left aroudn 5 or 6 am...
We had a nice time. My folks thought Nora was lovely (of course!) and pumped her on her job and books, entangled her in the ongoing debate about cats (my mother wants to get a new one, but is afraid that it's not wise), and plied her with copious amounts of food and tea. Victoria caught us all up on what's been going on with her, her daughter Kamalia, and her four-footed friends. NB got to hear a lot of reminiscences and gossip about relatives, friends, colleagues, and so on, but bore up quite well all things considered. I got dragged off to help my dad with his computer (a constant source of frustration for him, because he doesn't really understand a lot of what's involved in operating it, but is always very excited about adding something new).
Nora wanted to see a little of my hometown; after driving around it for a while, so did I! It keeps changing, a lot. I don't see my parents as often as I ought, so some change is bound to seem sudden because I don't see it in process. But that place changes fast; it's like northern Virginia, but if Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax were all spread far apart and growing in towards each other, instead of being close and growing outwards. We spent a very pleasant time wandering around one of the parks talking to some geese and ducks and a few passing dogs. I showed her (the outside of) my old school, where my dad taught, my mother was a library aide, and all three of us kids were students at greatly varying times.
We reunited with the rest of the Spoors and went off to my parents' favourite restaurant (http://www.nawabonline.com/), where we had a very good dinner, while my mother interrogated the maitre d' (manager) about his family and all the other staff who she's gotten to know (apparently a lot of folks have moved off to Atlanta to open a restaurant there).
Nora and I headed back Sunday morning/afternoon, and we were relieved to find the trip back took much less time than going down. We compared notes on the visit (which we both agreed had gone quite well) and had a number of entertaining discussions, the topics of which will remain classified NOFORN for the moment :-). We both took some time to unpack, then I headed over to her place and we played two-person Settlers (I finally beat her again, after a string of defeats) and Carcassonne Castle (at which she continues to dominate me).
Now, *this* week I get to meet Nora's mother! Worried? No. Nervous? Not really. Wanting desparately to make a good impression? Yes, but then she knows that I figure the best way I can spend the rest of my life is trying to make her daughter feel happy, so I think my chances are good.
Other shorts:
Following discussions over the weekend at my parents', I decided I was curious to see what my face looked like again, and I shaved my beard off when I got home. I'm actually OK with it, NB strongly approves of the result, so it's going to stay this way. :-)
Thanks to Ellen Kushner for this hysterical link.
Thanks to Nick for this fascinating piece on classical literature being brought to light.
Well, the trip was, frankly, a beast. The first two hours on the road, I think Nora clocked that we went 38 miles. It took something like 4.5 hours (it should take no more than abour 2.5). But we had a good time for all that, talking and listening to music (Brooke, Nora has now properly begun my indoctrination into U2). We got there a logn time before my sister Victoria did, anyway; we got there around six, and she didn't arrive until about 9.30, if I recall correctly. She'd made several stops on the way down from Connecticut, but she also left aroudn 5 or 6 am...
We had a nice time. My folks thought Nora was lovely (of course!) and pumped her on her job and books, entangled her in the ongoing debate about cats (my mother wants to get a new one, but is afraid that it's not wise), and plied her with copious amounts of food and tea. Victoria caught us all up on what's been going on with her, her daughter Kamalia, and her four-footed friends. NB got to hear a lot of reminiscences and gossip about relatives, friends, colleagues, and so on, but bore up quite well all things considered. I got dragged off to help my dad with his computer (a constant source of frustration for him, because he doesn't really understand a lot of what's involved in operating it, but is always very excited about adding something new).
Nora wanted to see a little of my hometown; after driving around it for a while, so did I! It keeps changing, a lot. I don't see my parents as often as I ought, so some change is bound to seem sudden because I don't see it in process. But that place changes fast; it's like northern Virginia, but if Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax were all spread far apart and growing in towards each other, instead of being close and growing outwards. We spent a very pleasant time wandering around one of the parks talking to some geese and ducks and a few passing dogs. I showed her (the outside of) my old school, where my dad taught, my mother was a library aide, and all three of us kids were students at greatly varying times.
We reunited with the rest of the Spoors and went off to my parents' favourite restaurant (http://www.nawabonline.com/), where we had a very good dinner, while my mother interrogated the maitre d' (manager) about his family and all the other staff who she's gotten to know (apparently a lot of folks have moved off to Atlanta to open a restaurant there).
Nora and I headed back Sunday morning/afternoon, and we were relieved to find the trip back took much less time than going down. We compared notes on the visit (which we both agreed had gone quite well) and had a number of entertaining discussions, the topics of which will remain classified NOFORN for the moment :-). We both took some time to unpack, then I headed over to her place and we played two-person Settlers (I finally beat her again, after a string of defeats) and Carcassonne Castle (at which she continues to dominate me).
Now, *this* week I get to meet Nora's mother! Worried? No. Nervous? Not really. Wanting desparately to make a good impression? Yes, but then she knows that I figure the best way I can spend the rest of my life is trying to make her daughter feel happy, so I think my chances are good.
Other shorts:
Following discussions over the weekend at my parents', I decided I was curious to see what my face looked like again, and I shaved my beard off when I got home. I'm actually OK with it, NB strongly approves of the result, so it's going to stay this way. :-)
Thanks to Ellen Kushner for this hysterical link.
Thanks to Nick for this fascinating piece on classical literature being brought to light.
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 09:16 pm (UTC)Pleasant parental introductions and interactions. It's important - I don't care what anyone says;
Someone you enjoy traveling with - again, very important;
The indoctrination into U2! We're mildly tossing around the idea of coming home to VA to see them in October. I'm also getting ready to put together a disc of my fave U2 stuff - want a copy?
no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 09:24 pm (UTC)Yes, the travelling together we had tested once before, but this was a longer and more frustrating (at least the actual travelling part of it) trip. Of course, the kicker is spending a week together in Scotland---if we do well there, that's pretty much answered the question of whether we travel well together and will be at least a clue as to how well we deal with being around each other 24/7.
Thansk for the CD offer. I'm torn about the IP issues involved, but I'll accept gratefully. I figure it's like demo software: if I don't like it, I'll destroy it, and if I like it I'll go out and get the albums myself, so no one is losing anything in the long run.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-18 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-19 09:03 pm (UTC)Is this just another scheme to get lots of gawkers to turn up for Game Day?
no subject
Date: 2005-04-19 09:40 pm (UTC)That reminds me; I need to email the people who don't read LJ...