Cherry Blossom Candy Leaf

It's Tuesday night and Ben and I have officially lived with Grandma for 4 days. Aside from playing 3,000 questions (the old lady version of 20 questions), everything is o.k. Everyone and their grandma (literally, everyone's grandma) knows how many linens we have and how much the T.V. cost and that there's a classic car in the garage, etc. There has already been a card tournament here, where 7 of grandma's gambling buddies were over. Their combined age is about 800 years old, no joke. She is currently convinced that her vision has gone from bad to worse in the days that we've been here and it's been taking some convincing that her vision has been terrible for a while, but we have had to move some of her things to get our stuff in here and so her items just might be a little harder to find, now. We are trying to be patient and, surprisingly, even with my dad's impatience gene, I am doing well. I have replaced sheer rage with sarcasm and it's working out well. I've noticed that at 90, you are unable to discern truth from exaggeration. Por ejemplo, during a game of 3,000 questions, Grandma asked me, "What's that?" pointing to my towel. I informed her that it was our turban set and that Ben and I have recently decided to wear turbans as a hobby. I thought she would sense the B.S. factor, but she only said, "Oh, really?" No, not really. Even when I am teaching English to newcomers, I don't label as many items each day as I do at home. That's a towel, that's a magazine, this is the remote control, those are my slippers, and the list goes on. She even grabbed the Windex bottle and said, "Oh, there's my purse." It's quite endearing, really.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house. We brought Grandma with us. Olga came over, too, which was fun. Grandma kept telling her how easy her job was and how simple it is to find a job. She has forgotten that she has been out of the job market for almost 30 years. She told my parents that the replacement windows they bought were cheap and I thought my mom was going to drop dead. They have been wanting to get those windows for 11 years now. After the Czech American feast, we did some Karaoke which is quite fun after you get over your inability to sing, but soon enough, you realize that most people can't. Ben was so cute: Olga and Gabby serenaded him with Michael Jackson's "Ben", which he talked about on the drive home. I sang "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones and "Mother" by John Lennon which are low enough for a man voice like me.

On Friday, we began our 5 day moving stint. Moving is hell. At about 3 a.m. on Saturday morning, Ben decided that he could not leave his big screen T.V. in the old condo alone, so we went to pick it up. Yesterday, in sheer desperation, we began throwing the last of our things in garbage bags so we could clear that place out and start the cleaning process. When I entered the bathroom, a flood from that morning's rain greeted me. I knew then that leaving that shit hole was a good move. Last year, the bathroom flooded as well and the home owner's association decided to patch the holes in the roof as a temporary fix. All it took was another rainstorm to wear away the patch job they did. That 2 bedroom condo will go on the market for about $350,000. Unbelievable.

Other than that, life is good. School is as hard as ever, but enjoyable. Exhausting, but fun. I am looking forward to my trip to Alaska in June and hopefully somewhere else, too. Sasha and I will meet in Juneau (Juneau the capital of Alaska!) and then take a ferry for nine days along Alaska's coast and southern islands. My friend from work is renting a house in Costa Rica and invited me to stay for a while. However, she just realized that she will probably need surgery, so she may have to postpone the trip. I hope not, but I'm sure I can find another place to visit. I'm thinking about Greece, but I'd also like to take Ben to the Czech Republic. Belize is always an option. There are just so many places in the world. Ben keeps telling me that I should put my travel plans on hold since we want to buy a house. And although I would love to have a house, seeing the world is something I am just not willing to give up. If I won't be able to go anywhere just so I can pay a mortgage, I'm willing to put homeownership on the back burner.