Tuesday, June 14

3:15 pm
Plane

Heading for Norway.  Land of fish and blonde people and perpetual daylight, ha ha.

All kidding aside, it's a beautiful country.  Too bad I won't have time to see much of it.

Someday when I retire I need to go back and re-visit all these places I've been and actually experience them.  See stuff other than hotels and restaurants and venues.

Add that to the bucket list.

I really wish Cate could have taken a couple months leave from work and come with me.  But I guess it wouldn't have been much fun for her; I'd be working most of the time and we wouldn't really get to do much sightseeing.  But it would have made these days off a lot easier for me.  These are the days when I really miss my family, miss my Wife.

But she has a life of her own.  A career that she loves.  I have to respect that.  I don't have to like it, but I have to respect it.  She's her own woman, one of the things I love most about her.

Counting the days until she meets me in London.

Speaking of the Kiddos, talked to them all last night before I went to bed.  Jakey and Romey are already driving their mother crazy now that school's been out a whole day, ha ha.  She's got them enrolled in a couple summer camp things, but they don't start for a week yet.  So Dorothea's trying to keep the Chuckleheads entertained in the meantime.  Today they're out in Jersey; going to Wildwood with friends.  That oughta be a fun time.

Jess actually talked to me, didn't just grunt and mumble like last time.  Maybe he's letting me off the hook a little since his house arrest is almost over.  He starts football camp next week; goes through the end of June.  So he'll be busy, and probably too damned tired at the end of the day to give Dorothea any shit.  I'm hoping he'll revert to his usual mellow, relaxed self.  This moody teenager stuff doesn't work well for him.  Or me.  Or D.

Funny what Girl Troubles can do to a guy, ha ha.

Apparently Bridget forgave Jess for having to scratch on their date Saturday night.  She came by the house Sunday night with Steph after their little girls' week down the Shore was done.  Jess said she just hung out and watched a movie, no big deal.  But when I talked to Stephie she told me Bridget and Jess sat on the couch together and she caught them holding hands.

Steph's apparently gotten over her revulsion at the idea of her friend being interested in her little brother.  She's not exactly cheerleading them to get together, but she's okay with whatever happens.  Stephie said she and Bridget had a lot of time to girl-talk when they were laying around the beach and she now sees how the old boyfriend was "kind of a dick" to Bridget.

It's weird hearing my Baby Girl say stuff like that, but guess I better get used to it.  She's a grown woman now, and I'm pretty sure she's inherited my mouth, ha ha.

According to Steph Bridget thinks Jess is sweet and very grown-up for his age.  And she likes that he's into community service and stuff.  I guess she's gonna be a pre-law student at Princeton in the fall and she's volunteering this summer in one of those free law services clinics in the City.  Gotta admire that.  This girl obviously has some goals.

So we'll see what happens between Miss Bridget and Mr. Cool.  It's good he's got his eye on a girl with some substance, somebody who's making him work for her affection.  Knocks his giggolo attitude down a few notches, ha ha.  Makes him realize it ain't all about getting laid.

As for Steph, she's gonna work at the Parrot again this summer, starting next week.  This will be a big step for her -- Dorothea's gonna let her go stay out at the Hamptons house by herself.  D will bring the Chuckles out now and again and Cate will come out for a weekend here and there, but Steph is gonna pretty much take up full-time residence at the house.  Good for her to get used to living on her own.

We'll see how many wild parties there are, ha ha.

And I don't want to know how often Brendan sleeps over.

6:50 pm
Suite

I cannot fucking BELIEVE what I saw in the hotel lobby when we were walking in.  A beautiful, very-well dressed woman walking her pets on leashes.

Seeing people with dogs or even cats in hotels isn't that unusual in Europe.  But I've NEVER seen anything like this.

That chick had three ferrets on strings.  Two white, one brown.  Fancy, fluffy ones.  With little bejeweled pink harnesses and leashes.

What the Fuck?

Romey's gonna freak out when I tell him.  I was so shocked I didn't even think to stop and take a picture to send to him.

I think Russell's a little turned on, ha ha.