Sunday, May 23, 2010

Observations after three weeks...

Some random thoughts on a sleepy Sunday, before mowing the lawn...

Oh, what fun that was...

*Friendly's Grilled Cheese Sandwich is the only restaurant grilled cheese my son will eat;
*DMV? Runs very smoothly...was very used to this type of chaos in Daly City...

*Connecticuters love running...and the wife and I have discussed training for the many 5K and 10K runs that are coming up...

*The Noah Webster branch of the West Hartford Library has the best section for kids I've ever seen; Zach can stay there all day, playing, reading, working on the computer - I would have done the same at his age...

*The regular section of the library is pretty cool, too...

*Nutmeggers (another nickname) LOVE their Dunkin Donuts coffee - both hot and iced...

*The weather here turns on a dime; one day 50, cloudy, next day 86, sunny, then the quick shower/thunderstorm - this will take some getting used to...

*Connecticuticans (most current nickname) have been over the top friendly for the most part (there was an incident near the very affluent town of Avon that reminded me that not everyone approves of darker-skinned people)...best example was going to see the New Britain Rock Cats, the local AA baseball team, on a night where they were packed; I didn't have a ticket, and was waiting for my turn at the ticket booth, when a lovely woman by the name of Donna asked me if I needed just one ticket for myself, and when I said yes, she gave me her extra ticket for free! Turns out she gets tickets to all the games from the Rock Cats pitching coach, but her daughter, who normally accompanies her, decided to go to a school dance instead, so I got the extra ticket. And, not only that, but her seats turned out to be right behind the players' wives and girlfriends; what was interesting about the ladies was that the three levels of blondes (platinum, sandy, golden), sat and talked together the whole night, while the three brunettes did the same.

*The highway system is very good - If a job interview this week goes well, I'll be constantly using the system to go into Massachusetts (about a 35 minute drive).

*I'm reminded every time I go to the grocery store of how spoiled I was in California, with the abundance of different fruits and veg available; the stores aren't limited, but the quality does leave a lot to be desired; but, with the summer months coming up, I'm hopeful for more selection and better quality.

*Connecticut microbrews? Very tasty!

*We're almost into lobster season, so looking very forward to my first true lobster roll...

GET IN MY BELLY!!!!!!!!!!!

*Lots of weekend/day trips planned to discover our new state(s);
- Springfield, Mass for the Basketball Hall of Fame...
- Six-Flags New England in Springfield that boasts one of the few Wiggles World shows, as well as Thomas the Train, meaning that Zach will not want to leave...
- Science/Kids museums in West Hartford and Hartford...
- Steam train/Thomas the Train in Thomaston...
- Of course, a trip down to the Jersey Shore (FIST PUMP!)
- And, a trip to NYC

I'm still in a little bit of a haze, but hopefully the job situation will stabilize, and a new pre-school for Zach will make things a bit more normal - though he will say at least once a day "I miss California..."

Till next week...or sooner...

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