I went to New Jersey to my sister Marsha's house for Christmas. And best present ever, was hanging out with new baby nephew, Maximus. Yeah, check him out! He's awesome.I'll randomly put pics up that have nothing to do with each paragraph just cuz he's so durn cute.
The Garden State did it's best to sour my Christmas spirit, but it didn't work. Suck on that, Jersey! First, I went to Port Authority here in NYC to get the bus out to the mall that is near where Marsha lives. I normally take the train, but both stations are a bit of a drive for them. I checked into the bus schedule and found a bus going to the Freehold Mall which is about 20 minutes from their house. I get to Port Authority about 20 minutes early. And it's chaos. Lines are criss-crossing each other forming a mutant DNA strand. No one is sure of what line to be in. I finally figure it out. I get up to the bus after waiting for 30 minutes and decide to ask, "This is going to Freehold Mall, right?" Good thing I asked! He says that it is not. Son of a bitch!I jump off and get in the next line. I miss that bus. Then I finally make the next bus and am assured it's going to Freehold Mall. Cool.
I don't know Jersey all that well, so I am unsure of where I am. Though, we've been to the mall several times and I recognize that area. As we approach the mall, I lean into the bus driver and ask, "Are you going into the mall area?" The bus driver, who was actually really nice to everyone, says, "I'll drop you off across the street." Sweet! So, we pass the main entrance to the mall and I figure he must be doing a loop-de-loop type thing. We take a turn and nope. Huh. Must be a back entrance or something. Then he stops. "Freehold Mall. Here ya go!" I look out across the street and there's a small strip mall with a sign saying "Freehold Mall". Son of a bitch!
I get out, since I have no choice. And start walking back toward where I saw the big Freehold Mall. I walked over a mile and cut through a graveyard. Seriously. Luckily, he had only made one turn and I sort of recognized the area. Okay, I saw a sign for the mall. It read, "Freehold Raceway Mall". Assholes! 2 Freehold malls and one has "Raceway" in it. That's a major destination and a huge mall. I don't know why that isn't a regular stop on the bus. Anyway, over 1 1/2 hours behind schedule...I arrive. I'm lugging around a heavy bag full of presents and clothes since I was staying the night. And I walk the mall for 2 hours. 2 HOURS! It was actually pretty fun and wasn't too crowded. Found a lot of last minute stuff for my sis and Max. Later, my brother-in-law, Bob, comes and gets me and we head home. Chinese food for dinner ("Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra".), It's A Wonderful Life on TV and time with the baby.
I'm pretty tired, but need to wrap presents. I do so and lay down to sleep around 1 a.m. Can't sleep. I had brought a few graphic novels along with me. So, I get out of bed and read The War at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks. Awesome. Lay back down. Can't sleep. Guess I was excited for Santa! I get up and read Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell. Powerful stuff. Back to bed. Nope. Up again and I read Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro. Finally, I pass out around 4:30 a.m.
Sis wakes me up around 7:30 a.m. to open presents. It's just her, her mom (we have the same dad....keep up, folks!), Bob, Maximus and myself. All good! We have a mad gift opening session. I got Max a bunch of cool stuff. Honestly though, he's 7 months old, I could have gotten him a rock and he'd love it. But, if it made sounds, blinked and/or moved, it was a bonus. He didn't so much as open presents, as much as he tried to put them in his mouth. We gave him a little help, of course! I got some great stuff from them all. Thanks!
Post-gift opening, Sis starts the turkey and other food. I stay up for a bit and then head down to take a nap. Sure enough. Can't sleep. So, I give moms a call and then shower and change. Bob's family starts arriving around 2. Feast is on at 3 and boy is it a Christmas feast! Sis outdid herself. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, spinach, green beans and more. Bob and I switched back and forth from beer to wine throughout the afternoon/night.
Bob's nephew brought his XBox 360 and the game Rock Band 2 with him. I had never played, so we decided to rock it out. I was on lead vocals and kicked ass! Well, not really since my voice was going. But, I found that if you were remotely close to the note, the game registered it as "Awesome!". I was constantly getting 96% or 99% even though I sucked it on a couple of songs I didn't know. Hey, I'm a rock star!
It was about time to head back in the city, so Sis took me to the bus. The right bus. And I slept my way back to the city. Full of Christmas cheer and visions of Maximus in my head.
