The Skevins Blog

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!!!

2011-05-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Scary Halloween Creature at Bus Stop!!!!

2010-10-27T20:10:00.001-07:00

Groton Halloween Parade 2010

2010-10-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

Had a fun time at the Annual Groton Halloween Parade today.

Gavin was Mr. Spider....

Garrett was a Mariachi music guy (with maracas)

And Gigi was Dorothy...

See more pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/skevins/Halloween2010#

Goodbye Kitchen!!!!

2010-09-19T20:37:00.001-07:00

It was nice knowing you.....

Connie will miss the French doors the most.... :(

We let the kids have a little fun on the wall which was being torn down. BYE BYE WALL!

The schedule is set!

2010-09-19T20:05:00.001-07:00

Kitchen remodeling about to begin!!!!!

Gigi rips up the Nashua River

2010-07-20T05:54:00.001-07:00

Toy Story 3D

2010-06-26T14:46:00.001-07:00

Garrett And Gigi ready for the show!

Where did all the sand go?

2010-06-26T12:47:00.001-07:00

Gavin plays in a cornbox (as opposed to a sandbox) at Goss Farm in Dunstable.

Gigi's Dance Recital

2010-06-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Gigi had her dance recital last weekend. She did an awesome job. The theme of the recital was 'What I want to be when I grow up,' so her class did 'I wanna be a nurse.'

First... some practice at home...

The it's ON TO THE SHOW!!!!!!!

And then afterward, meeting with the family....

Nini & Nana with their tiny little nurse..

Bella, Emerson, and Gigi... the three amigas!

One proud mama and her ballerina!!

Afterward, celebrating with ice cream and her ever so proud big brother!!!

Great job GIGI!!!! We are all so proud of you!!!

LAST DAY - BOO HOO!!!!

2010-06-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Maui we started out slow. Slept late (8am?), went to the cafe to grab some breakfast sandwiches, then went to Big Beach at Makena State Park. It was a local beach with lifeguards and some big waves. No one surfing, but a bunch of guys ripping it up on boogie-boards. We ate our breakfast watching all of the lifeguards hang out and kill themselves in waves. I was not deterred by the waves, so I got in there and hit them. Those waves were no match for me.

Later after lunch, we went up to the 'non-adult' pool, because they have a swim up bar (makes sense, right?). We grabbed a sandwich and a drink, and met a couple from LA who were very nice. We joined them in a few more drinks, and a few tequila shots, and we stumbled back to the room to get ready for our final dinner in Maui.

We had a private cabana setup by the pool for our dinner. We were worried about a large function going on nearby with Abbot Labs, but the restaurant manager was sure to keep everyone away from us so we could keep our intimate dinner intimate. We had a bottle of wine, and for appetizers I had delicious ahi roll. We don't remember what Connie had for appetizer because we were still drunk from the tequila shots. I do remember having filet & lobster tail for dinner (of which I ate hardly any of, cuz of the huge ahi roll I had already eaten), and Connie had Opha (or 'moonfish'), which was very good. Afterward we strolled to the beach to take in our last glimpse of our aloha lifestyle, as the next day we knew we were in for a long haul back to the East Coast, the kids, and reality.

Maui Thursday - ANNIVERSARY DAY

2010-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

After the hell of the Road to Hana yesterday, we decided to take a well deserved rest today and do NOTHING but beach and pool. Nice....

For dinner, we went to Spago over at the Four Seasons, for the official 10 Year Anniversary Dinner (on June 10). It is a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. I'm no food snob, but this stuff was gooooooood. Holy crap! I had SPICY AHI TUNA “POKE” IN SESAME-MISO CONES for appetizer. I man was it good. We had tomato soup too... but it was no ordinary tomato soup... this was GOOD tomato soup. Con had some crabcakes for appetizer, and for dinner she had PINEAPPLE RED THAI CURRY WITH ONAGA AND SCALLOP, while I had PAN SEARED HAWAIIAN MAHI MAHI WITH GINGER-SAKE SAUCE. All was excellent. For dessert, we had mini chocolate cake and ice cream.

Road to Hana!!!

2010-06-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Crazy drive today around the whole south island of Maui. The road to Hana was fun. Waterfalls, great scenery, etc. There were crazy eucalyptus trees with all different colored trunks. Very strange.

We went to a black sand beach. There were Portuguese Man-o-wars washed up on shore, and a dead fish.

I swam in the Seven Sisters waterfalls.

It was very very beautiful... then we hit Hana!!! Our destination!
After Hana, rather than turning around and coming back the way we came, we decided to complete the loop around South Maui.... the road there is insane. Literally driving on ledges hundreds of feet above a sheer cliff into the ocean, with no guard rails, constantly cutting back and forth along the shoreline. Was like a roller coaster at times. Then it turned into a vast wasteland as we moved through the lava fields, every so often needing to stop for a cow in the middle of the road. Was an incredible experience. Connie says it was frighteningly beautiful at times....because it was scary and beautiful at the same time.

En route to Hána

2010-06-09T17:50:00.001-07:00

Here we stopped off at the Keanae Peninsula. Waves were amazing. Mother nature at her finest !

Breakfast at Gannons

2010-06-09T13:31:00.001-07:00

We are having breakfast at Gannons, who is the chef to Oprah when she is on the island. It is up at the Emerald course in Wailea, with amazing view. Last night we ate Joe's, which is another Bev Gannon place, at the Wailea tennis club. Ribs were amazing. Con had opah fish, which wad great also.

Now we are off to Hána!

Luau is cancelled! !!!!

2010-06-08T17:50:00.001-07:00

Crap! Because of the fires in West Maui (see previous post) the have closed the road we would be taking to Lahaina, and therefore we can not go to the luau. Oh well, guess that means we spend the rest of the day drinking at the pool/beach. Too bad.

Turtles, Spas, and Fires

2010-06-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

This morning we walked over to the Grand Wielea as Connie was going to the spa. After I walked back, I did a little snorkeling off the shore. Big reefs there, and I managed to hang out with two sea turtles (sorry, no pics... no underwater camera) who were in the area. I swam around with them as they came to the surface for a breath, then they would eventually find their spot on the bottom and just sit there for a while. Saw a few eels as well, and some other crazy fish, all just off the shore in the coral reefs. Amazing that the coral is right there off the shore.

Off in the distance, there is a terrible fire going on in West Maui, and we can see it from our beach across the bay. We can smell the smoke of the fires even from our room balcony. Unfortunately, we are headed in that direction tonight to go to a luau in Lahaina, but we will just drive by the fire area as we head further around West Maui.

A lot more of nothing...

2010-06-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

The rest of Monday was uneventful, which is exactly what we want. We went to the adult pool for the remainder of the day, then drove into Kihei. We were going to go to a restaurant recommended by one of our new poolside friends, but it was closed. We drove around for a while in this non-resorty area and it was cool to see how the typical Hawaiian lives. Hanging at the beach, BBQing, etc. We ended up eating at Freds Mexican Cafe. Had a few beers, margaritas, and Mexican fair, then headed back to the hotel, grabbed a drink at the hotel bar, and went to bed... an uneventful and very welcome day!

Part-way through Monday

2010-06-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today has been pretty uneventful thus far. We woke up and had a little breakfast in our room (bagel & coffee), then we took a walk down the seaside path past some of the other hotels (Four Seasons, Wailea Grand). These other hotels are MUCH more crowded than ours, and 1000's of kids running around, yelling, screaming, parents trying to corral them. I don't miss that.

After our stroll, we headed over to the adult pool, and hung out all day... read some books. Met some people from Chicago.

The picture to the left is the view from our hotel.

This picture is of some tiki guys that some dude was carving on the hotel grounds. Pretty cool.

If we get around to it, we may eat at this Humuhumu place for lunch or dinner one night. It is at the Grand Wailea resort. You pick your lobster from a tank. Pretty cool.

This picture is our hotel from a distance. It is a little Mediterranean looking.

MAUI- Day 2... a lot of nothing... which is good!

2010-06-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

MAUI - DAY 2
Pretty uneventful and relaxing day today... which is what this vacation is all about. We woke up, had a bagel in the room (Connie had some coffee), then we headed to the "Adult Pool," which is nice and quiet. Some girl from Saskatchewan who moved here like 8 years ago gave us all kinds of great info. Around 2pm or so, we needed some lunch, so we ate at the pool bar, and imagine this, they had TVs, and one was on the Celtics game. How ironic that the place we went to eat had the Celtics game on? Wow... After lunch we came back to the room and chilled for a while (watched the remainder of the game.. nice job Ray!!!!), then we headed over to The Shops at Wailea to scope it out, and grab some food. We ended up eating at Tommy Bahamas, where I had some great seared Ahi, and Connie had some coconut shrimp. There was a guy playing acoustic guitar, and we got him to play some Sweet Caroline. After that, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed a drink at the bar, and went down to the beach to the beach to watch the waves crashing. Very dark. Very quiet. This place is pretty quiet at night.

WELCOME TO MAUI!!!!

2010-06-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Connie & I have come to MAUI for our 10 year anniversary! We figured we have not been away w/o the kids just for ourselves in the 10 years since we have been married, so LET'S GO!

Our plane ride was fun. First class!!! I will never travel any other way again. As Seinfeld says... "More anything? MORE EVERYTHING!!!" There was no one famous on our flight. Flew from Boston to Dallas, then Dallas to Kahului airport in Maui. Once we laned, we smelled the island air. And wait several hours for our luggage (OK.. maybe 1/2 hour... but it felt like it... but we were on island time... so who cares!)

We arrived at the beautiful Fairmont Kea Lani in Waleia. Beautiful hotel on a strip of beach w/several other hotels. Kea Lani has a small beach, which is great because it is less crowded than a lot of the other hotels in this area. We checked into our room, and had a nice suprise:Champagne, chocolate covered strawberries... happy anniversary to us!

Here is the view from our hotel. The island in the distance is Kahoolawe.

So we settled in with some drinks, and hung out on the beach for a while, and watched the sunset... enjoying a very calm and peaceful end to a crazy day of travelling in gettin 1/4 of the way around the world to Maui......

Click Me To See Gavin's First Steps!!!!!!

2010-03-30T19:31:00.001-07:00

Click Me for the Annual St. Patricks Day Car Bomb.... 2010!!!

2010-03-17T15:09:00.001-07:00

With a new kids comes new plates...

2009-06-21T07:19:00.001-07:00

WELCOME GAVIN!

2009-03-20T10:39:00.001-07:00

It is with great honor that I introduce to you the latest in the Francis family, Gavin Ross Francis, who came into this world at 12:20pm on March 18, 2009. The whole family is doing great.

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!!

2009-03-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

Kids enjoying some green waffles!!!

Don't worry... they didn't drink any of it...

And now... my annual Irish Car Bomb!!!!!

ICESTORM 2008!!!!!

2008-12-14T18:44:00.001-08:00

Yes, ICE ICE everywhere (Vanilla Ice), creating quite a disaster of my little town of Groton, MA. We were without power from Thursday, 12/11 at 10:30pm until Sunday at 11am.

Here you can see two of the birch trees that Connie would not let me cut down over the summer drooping over our driveway. I had to knock the ice off of them with a hockey stick to get them to bounce up a bit so we could leave in our car.

This was a gift from my parents in our old house, until the ice storm demolished it by dropping a bunch of tree branches on it. Poor little flower girl sitting on a bench... she is with us no longer.

NO ONE BREAKS THE AMERICAN FLAG IN MY TOWN!!! Unless, of course, you are the Ice Storm of 2008, in which case, you have no patriotism.

You would think I piled up these branches because they are all in one place. But they are all in one place under one big pine tree.
We were lucky that this was the only potential damage to the kids swing set... as this tree REALLY wanted to destroy it, but could only bend over to touch it...

Here, you can see where the only big damage came from. The arrow pointing across shows that the light on the sport court is a bit bent over. The arrow point down, you can see the fence is bent a bit...

Carnage!!!

Don't worry, the mini-basketball hoop was not damaged during the storm. Probably blew over in the wind.

This is a wicked big branch that fell in the back on the sport-court fence. I can't move it by hand, as it is way to heavy. Will need to cut it into pieces first.

I have a lot of cleanup to do, but no major damage, no one was hurt. Plus, it is a good excuse to use my chainsaw. How about a little trim on that mustache, Ron?

BEER FRIDGE!

2008-07-27T13:36:00.001-07:00

FINALLY got a beer fridge for the house. It's in the garage...
Here is a lonesome Miller Light... awaiting some friends...

And here is me, emptying the fridge...

Why not to let your 2 year old jump on you

2008-06-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

PI - 4 days later

2008-05-20T11:27:00.001-07:00

UGGGHHH!! This is SOOOOO nasty... big bubbles, oozing, you name it!!!!
Going to the doc today, hopefully to get some prednizone to get the swelling down.

PI - two days later

2008-05-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's not getting any better. These pics don't show it very well, but it is definately getting worse...

PI - The Day After

2008-05-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

So we had some poison ivy growing in an island in the front of our house. Our fear was that the kids or dog would get in there and get it. So, on Friday, 5/16, armed with gloves and trash bags, I attacked them and pulled them out. However, I was not armed with long sleeves (FOOL), so here are my arms the day after the event (on Saturday)

OPENING DAY 2008!!!

2008-04-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

My brother Michael rules, and hooked my brother PJ and I up with OPENING DAY tix!!!!
We got to see the ring ceremony where the team was given their 2007 World Series rings!
It was great!!!!

It was a beautiful day... but a little cold in the shade.

MC's Joe Castiglione and Don Orsillo

Members of the Stanley Cup winning Bruins (including John Bucyk and Bobby Orr), World Champion Celtics (Bill Russell & Danny Ainge with O'Brien Trophy)), Super Bowl Champion Patriots (Teddy Bruschi with Lombardi Trophy), and 2004 World Series Red Sox (Curtis Leskanic and Dave McCarty with the World Series Trophy)

Bill Buckner throws out the first pitch to Dewey Evans... Forgive and Forget!

Johnny Pesky says "Let's Play Ball!!!"

Steven Tyler sings "God Bless America"

Neil Diamond sings "Sweet Caroline" on the big screen

Thanks Brothers!!!!!

2004 & 2007!!!!!!

2008-04-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

The baseball gods have shown down upon us!!!!

Honorary tribute to St. Patrick....

2008-03-17T19:31:00.001-07:00

My yearly CAR BOMB, in honor or St. Patrick....

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!!!

2008-03-17T19:20:00.001-07:00

Wow... a new post!!!

Here is nana and I celebrating, with our Guinness and green french toast.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

2007-11-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

Garrett pics out a winner!

Gabriella gets a winner too!

What a good big brother!!!!

Gabriella forgets that they are pumkins, and not eggs!

$20 for all the pumpkins you can carry? COUNT US IN!!!!

Two finished pumkins

I LOVE PUMPKINS!!!

The making of a mummy!

Half mummy, half Garrett

100% scary!!!

Gabriella goes for a ride.

What do YOU do with a drunken sailor?

Bug-eyes and her drunken sailor

That's right Gabriella... the WHOLE point of Halloween is to get CANDY!!!!

Some Recent Pics.....

2007-10-26T19:29:00.001-07:00

You know you live in the sticks when.....

2007-09-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

...you are playing with the kids in the front yard, and some horses

walk down the street. We go over and say hi.

Gabriella JUMPS RIGHT ON....

Garrett gets a ride too....

Gabriella on the stallion!!!!

Oh yeah... that our house in the back... the owner of the horses was going to let them walk in the yard for a pic, but she was afraid they would leave 'a present' for us... so she didn't think it was a very good idea. I agreed with her.

And then they just walked away, continuing on their journey to wherever they were going....

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

2007-09-07T10:42:00.001-07:00

My boy is all grown up! First day of Kindergarten. First day on the bus!

In the driveway, preparing for the walk to the bus stop.

Walking down the street to the bus stop.

Still walking down the street to the bus stop. "Where the heck is that bus stop????"

Holy crap! There's the bus!!! Get on it!!!!

No problems there. He's on the bus and off to school.

WUW!!! He made it to the school too!!! (Amanda walked him to his class, how nice. Already picking up the ladies!)

"Uh... dad? Can you put the camera away? It's only school!"

KARATE MAN!!!!!

2007-09-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

John and Garrett "Kung Fu" Francis earn their white belts!!!!!

FINALLY!!!!!!

2007-07-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

Yeah yeah yeah... so I don't keep the world as updated as you would on The Skevins Page, "The Place To Go To Waste Time." My bad... shoot me!

So, it's summer 2007. Here are some random pics of the kids.

So this is Garrett on one of his 'spirit days' at school, this day was 'funny hair day.'

Here is the future Olympic swimmer.

Gabriella looking 'girlie'

Pirate... AYYYYYRRRRRREEEEEE!!!!

Gabriella in a dog house (typically only I am in the dog house)

Picnic in the park

Gabriella on a zebra (it is not a real zebra)

Garrett bringing his father his Red Stripe....what a good boy!!!

Gabriella wishing she could swim

A very different place...

2006-07-31T06:17:00.000-07:00

So India is a third-world country, I understand that. But I would have thought the major cities would be a little more major. While the Leela Palace is a beautiful hotel, if you step outside, it's a whole different world. Everything is dirty. Cars/rickshaws speed down the street and honk their horn at everything.

There is garbage everywhere.

Then a woman on a Vespa (50 year old Vespa) was hit buy a car. She was OK. A crowd gathered... just like we would back home.

Then I saw a shack on the side of the road that was someones house. They were cooking over an open flame.

I'm in India!!!!!!

2006-07-31T02:55:00.000-07:00

Crazy, huh? Got in at 4am local time (that is 6:30pm in Boston).

Had a night in London the prior night. My first time flying business class. Here are some photos of the inside of the plane. Seats go totally flat! But, I couldn't sleep of course.

London was cool. Checked into the hotel around 8pm, then jumped on the Heathrow Express into Paddington, then took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus, which is basically London's version of Times Square. Here is a pic of the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain. Grabbed some food at a little resturant there, then headed back to the hotel.

Woke up the next morning, then flew to Bangalore, India. Airport there is TINY, and there were thousands of people just standing around outside. The parking lot can hold about 30 cars. Took a car to the Leela Palace. Where I am now.

2006-07-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

7/25 - END OF THE STORY

I got the following in the mail today:

as well as:

So.... what did I learn from all this?
GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. Don't leave it up to these guys to keep to their word. They are evil, lying, sneaky bastards who will do anything to make a buck and screw you over.
DON'T NECESSARILY GO WITH THE CHEAPEST MOVER - cuz they will more than likely charge you the max 25% more than their estimate
HAVE THE GUY GIVING THE QUOTE BE THE GUY THAT MOVES YOU - Joe comes and gives estimate, and Franks does the move, they may have totally different opinions on the costs.
DON'T LET THEM BRING MORE TO THE MOVE THAN THE ESTIMATE - our estimate was for 2 trucks and 4 men. 3 trucks and 6 men showed up the morning of the move. This increased their hourly rate.
STAY ON THEIR ASSES - sometimes you need to complain to the foreman when guys are slacking.

I was going to write a letter to Casey Movers thanking them for the money, and for thanking them for finally admitting that they screwed up. But after thinking about it, HELL NO!!! These guys tried to rob me of $550. They totally tried to screw me, and THEY SUCK!!!! I'll write no such letter. But I may write a letter telling them that they are A-Holes for trying to screw me over, and say "na na na na... I got my money back!!!" I HATE THEM!!!!

2006-07-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

7/24 - JUSTICE IS SERVED!!!!!
Got a call from Bill Clements today, saying that he was getting ready to send off a letter to Casey Movers, when in his mail was the following:

Bill said he spoke with Steve Casey (the main a-hole in this whole case) and he did finally admit to lowering our estimate to $2700 (from the original $4300).

Updates

2006-07-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

7/21 - sent Bill Clements an email with info on trucks (there were 3, we were quoted with 2 on the estimate) and men (there were 6, we were quoted with 4 on the estimate).

2006-07-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

7/19 - LOOK WHAT I GOT IN THE MAIL!!!!!
This is interesting... they sent me the $50 from the Better Business Bureau!!! I'm not cashing this!

MASS Dept of Telecommunications and Energy respond

2006-07-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

7/18 - Spoke with Bill Clements, he needs info on times the job took, how many trucks/men showed up for the job.
7/14 - I call Bill back and leave message (617-305-3771)
7/11 - Bill Clements from MASS Dept of T & E leaves messages for me, looking for some times related to the move.

Department of Telecommunications and Engery gets involved!

2006-06-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Casey Movers response to BBB complaint

2006-06-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

Here is what Casey Movers responded to the complaint I filed with the Better Business Bureau.

Response Date: 06/22/2006
Problem Adjusted: No
Adjustment Type: No Adjustment
Problem Will Be Adjusted by: 07/14/2006
Response Details:
After carefully reviewing your complaint and reviewing our paperwork we will reimburse you $50.00 because we did collect 26.47% over the estimated price of $3,400.00 then adding and additonal stop which was another $200-300.oo more. Adding to the estimated amount will change the estimate. We will send a check to you in the amount of $50.00 dollars.

My response to this was:

Rebuttal Date: 06/24/2006
Complaint Resolved: No
Details:
As stated, our original quote was $3400 from Casey Movers. They then called several times to tell us the new quote should be $2700 based on what Steve Casey saw Paul had written on the quote. With that new estimate of $2700, we agreed, and agreed to a maximum of $300 for the additional stop, bringing the new quote to $3000 total. 25% of this is $3750. We paid $4300. Difference is $550.

Casey Movers Action

2006-06-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Complains filed:

Filed complaint at http://www.movingscam.com/fileComplaint.shtml

MASSACHUSETTS* Department of Telecommunications & Energy, Transportation Division 1 South Station, 2nd Floor Boston, MA 02110 (617) 305-3559
6/8 - Bill Clemens - left message -
612 - Bill Clemens called back... said I need to send Bill of Lading, Original Estimate, and writeup of what happened to (mailed 6/17):
Mr. Timothy Davis
Mass DTE
Transportation Division
1 South Station
Boston, MA 02110

Better Business Beaurau - CASE # 124496

Casey Movers SUCKS!

2006-05-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Original quote of 3400. Paul came to house and looked at everything and inventoried
Casey called back twice, saying the quote was high, and it would be 2700.
I called, asking about storage unit near by, they said probably add 200-300
Tony showed up at 9:50am (we were told 8am- they say they left at 8am and were in traffic… they did call from South St at 9:20… took 1/2 hour to go 2 miles)
Took inventory, and said it would be between 4600-5000
I told Tony about quote, and he said this is what it will cost
Tony called Steve. Steve said to work it out
I said I refused to pay that much, as I have a quote for much less
Tony called Steve because I wanted to talk to him. Steve said he has too much going on that he can't talk to me, and told Tony if he can't work out the price to walk off the job.
Tony tells me he can do it for 4300.I sign papers, saying will pay 4300 - having no choice because I need to move that day
At house, I have no choice but to move and pay under duress.
Steve called me back during unload, after money has been paid to Tony. (of course, he has his money now)
Says 'I even called you back, you probably didn't expect that'
Steve says 'Estimates come in high all the time.' I told him this estimate was LOW
Says 'there is nothing I can do that will make you happy' - I say ' you can charge me the 2700 you were supposed to' - no comment
Tony & crew leave Groton at approx 8:30pm.
Things left on 5/11 that Steve would talk Paul and Tony to determine why there was such a difference between estimate and Tony's price

5/15 - called Casey, spoke with Elisha, said would give Steve message, and I left my cellphone number
5/15 2:05pm - Tony called back, thought there was an issue with the move and the job he did. I told him I have no issue with the move. I have issue with the cost. He said Steve would call me right back.
5/24 - Still no call back from Steve. Called Casey, spoke w/Elisha. She said she will look over paperwork and call me back. I left her home and cell number. She said she can't make any promises, and this is not something that happens to them typically.
5/24 - Elisha calls back, saying she spoke w/Steve & Tony.. says they were within the 25% allowed by moving laws. I told her she would be hearing from us (either via BB, arbitration, etc)
5/24 - called Elisha back to let her know that the price we were charged was 25% (26.47% actually) higher that 3400. We were told on the phone it would be 2700 + 200/300 more tops for stop at storage unit. So 2700 x 25% = 3375. 3000 x 25% = 3750.

October is over....

2005-10-31T19:07:00.000-08:00

....and
1. The Red Sox have no GM
2. It has already snowed
3. Kid #2 is less than a month away
4. Connie only passed two kidney stones this month, as seen here. These are more white than her previous ones... not sure what that means.

The thing about Kindey Stones...

2005-10-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Usually they are small... like this:

But my wife is crazy, so she passes them like this (no joke):

DAMN!

2005-10-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

So, like the Sox got KILLED by ChiSox today. 14-2. That is not a good way to start the post-season.

The worst thing...

2005-08-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

The worst thing about blogging is that it is so much work. So, now I must add some entries to keep my blog 'fresh' with content.

Let's see, what has happened in August? Small Spring Gathering XII ruled. Sox are in 1st place. It's freakin' HOT!

The end.

The Flying Wasp Lives!

2005-07-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a successful trip from Bourne, up the Cape Cod Canal, past Plymouth, Duxbury, Marshfield, Scituate, around Hull, and through the Boston Harbor Islands to the South Boston Yacht Club, new home of the Flying Wasp. For pics, check here.

Schil in the pen?

2005-07-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

It just didn't work out... just like 'closer by committee'

Nothing new really

2005-07-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

Trying to keep up on this BLOGGING sensation that is sweeping the World Wide Web that Gore invented for us, so here is another post.

Uh... I woke up this morning, took a shower, and went to work.

The Jetta has a slow leak in a tire.
I used Fix-A-Flat on it last night. This morning it looked OK. When I left work at 5pm in NH, it was totally flat. Tried to drive on it to the gas station, but that was a mistake, cuz now the tire is spent. Luckly, Jetta's have a full sized spare, so I got home no problem. Tomorrow I'll have to get it fixed.

Yesterday was Connie's B-Day. We went to JER-NE at the new Ritz Carlton, Boston Common. Very trendy. Then we went to see War of the Worlds. It was pretty sweet actually.

OK.. I think I'm done. Tomorrow I will... uh... oh yeah, go to work.

BLOGGING RULES!!!! (just like San Demas High School football)

Another bad trip...

2005-07-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, The Flying Wasp again tried to make it to Boston, and again it failed. She got to the same point in the Cape Cod Canal (just before Sagamore Bridge) when the engine decided that it did not want to provide any power. TimDog and I motored (slowly) into the Sandwich Marina, where G&S Marine came to pick it up to determine the issue.

In the spring of 2003, Meeker and I attempted the same trip up the Canal, and the canal got the best of us then too, as the 4.3L MerCruiser blew out it's oil sender, leaving the Flying Wasp helpless, only to be rescued by the Army Core of Engineers.

The running score...
Cape Cod Canal - 2
Flying Wasp - 0

My First Blog Post

2005-06-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to David Yuknat for listing BLOGSPOT as a free place to blog. I wonder if it will be easy or not. I guess it is, cuz I'm blogging right now. Woopie.. this is fun. I'm a dork!

Tomorrow is Fathers Day. Looking at a house. Who knows, maybe we'll buy it!

In the background as I type this I am copy all 28GB of music to a new HD. Yes, I said it before, I'm a dork. Makes typing hang a bit here and there.

..pause...

Train just went by.

..pause...

Connie is sleeping.

..pause...

So is G.

..pause...

I don't know, this blogging crap isn't all it's cracked up to be... I'm going to bed!