Friday

Today is almost the last day of the year. It will be a while before we get used to write 2017. I remember when I worked for days I used to write down the old year's number instead of the new one. It is a good thing that now machines do the thinking for us and they will correct our errors.

The old chicken or the egg question came to mind tonight.

We were working on making arrangements for our next visit to Las Vegas. But we didn't know which to do first. Make the hotel reservation or do the flight arrangements.

Each had some good deals but we were afraid that while we do one we might lose the chance for the other. Anyway, we bit the bullet and did the hotel first than the flight. I'm sure it will work out.

Tomorrow, on New Year's Eve we plan to stay up and make sure the New Year comes in on time. We will stay home and have a family celebration.

Next time I will write will very likely be next year.

Until then Happy and Healthy New Year to all my friends.

Wednesday/Thursday

For me one of the best fried chicken on this side of the Atlantic is Popeye's. But a very close second is Plain & Fancy in Pennsylvania Amish country.

This restaurant has a family style meal where they sit about ten people at a table and they serve unlimited amount of food. You pass the dishes around and eat until you pop. Fried chicken is one of their star attraction.

It is made just the way I like it. Not juicy but all fried, the crust is just the way I remember from home and the serving dish is never empty. They also have roast beef, vegetables cold salad, cold drinks and sweets for dessert. 

My favorite dessert is shoofly pie. I don't know what that is but it certainly tastes goooood.

Now, why did I write about this? Because yesterday at the spur of the moment we decided to have some fried chicken in Amish country. So we got in our car and two and a half hours later we were there. The weather was very nice meaning that being outdoors was pretty pleasant.

We were very surprised to see how many people (tourists) were there. At one place we counted five tour buses.

We actually wanted to see how the Amish celebrate Christmas. But the houses that were decorated were all non-Amish. Since they do not use electricity Christmas lightings do not exist. Only in commercial establishments for the sake of the tourists.

Also because all the stores close at four pm we really couldn't look forward to a longer day. But still we had a great time and aside from the food we were glad we went on the this trip.

Next time in the Spring.

Tuesday

My cousin and his wife are the classic grandparents. They love their children and they love their grandkids. And what is more they both possess unlimited patience.

I have a family of three. That is my wife and Abigail who is fourteen years old. On Holidays and other occasions her brother who is 25 and his girlfriend come over to our house. And that is when my patience is beginning to wear thin.

I love my family but what the two siblings do to one another is just very difficult to bear. The constant teasing and ribbing that goes on between them is many times just too much. But they do love each other they just have a funny way to express it.

Lately,  I decided to stay out of it and stopped playing referee. My poor wife does not have the luxury do what I do and because of it her nerves are really wearing thin.

My cousin has a son and a daughter, both married and each have three children. Three boys and three girls. Now, as I understand these sibling, the grandkids get along well. And to me that is a miracle by itself.

At holidays like Christmas there are twelve people in my cousin's house.

Questions: how do you feed all these people, how do you buy Christmas presents to all these people without any one getting hurt, how do you keep all these people entertained?

I know this is a lovely family but just the sheer number is staggering at least to me. I know there are families with much larger numbers but I don't know any so I just stick to the one I do know and care about.

This justifies the saying be glad for small tidings.

Monday

I used to have an uncle (my fathers first cousin) who lived in this country way before World War II. He passed away in 1990 at he age of about 85-90. In his later years and while he was in fairly good condition to travel he was obsessed looking up former schoolmates.

Interestingly he did find some and he made sure that at every visit to Hungary they met somewhere. His former and very old hunting ground was the Opera Cafehous in Budapest. I have no idea where that was and even if it still exists. But they met somewhere.

Each time when he returned to the States he told me how terrible condition his old school chums were. Some in wheelchair some on crutches and pn and on. But they kept on meeting and kept on rehashing old memories.

I respected his will and interest for trying to keep in touch with these old friends.

Now, I am doing the same thing. A few months ago I found the Facebook addresses of a few old school or rather classmates and wrote to them.

Lo and behold one just responded back. It was very exciting to pick up the line of communication with someone I knew about 65 years ago and that someone still remembering me. I keep in touch regularly with about four of my former classmates but this one just showed up suddenly.

We have a lot to catch up with and I am looking forward to it.

With Facebook this really is a small world we live in.

Sunday - Christmas Day

Just to continue  the Christmas Eve events, below is the tree before the presents were opened:

And below is the tree minutes later:

But that's the way Christmas is. The point is that everybody was happy, everybody got nice presents. My wife bought me some beautiful stuff and Abigail was not left behind. She saved her money and bought me a very nice shirt that even fits me perfect.

Remembering that yesterday was the first night of Hanukkah we also placed a Menorah on the dinner table.

The table is so civilized because the picture taken was before the real eating begun.

This was the food that was slated for consumption:

Saturday

It is Christmas Eve. It is raining and the weather is mild. "Dreaming of a white Christmas" only appears in the movies and dreams. At least in New York. I don't remember when we ever had a white Christmas here.

We had snow earlier many times but it always melted by the time Christmas came around. Today is also the first night of Hanukkah and maybe the mix of the two have something to do with the weather.

Anyway, we will set up our tree and will get ready for the family get together. My wife's son and his girlfriend are to come over and we are looking forward to a nice time.

Traditionally, Hungarians exchange presents on Christmas Eve and we will keep the tradition. Besides, Abigail is too excited to wait until next morning as it is the American way.

Now, the Eve is over. The presents were given, the carefully wrapped packages all destroyed.

But that's ok as long as everybody was satisfied.

Merry Christmas to all of our friends!

Friday

Just to elaborate a little more on the financial advantages of being an apartment building employee.

An average New York City apartment building has 100-150 apartments. A super gets about $70,000 annual salary plus free apartment, garage space and utilities. Since most of them belong to a union they also get union benefits like health insurance and pension. Paid vacation goes without saying.

If he does any kind of repair service during the year the tenants always tip him. At least I do if I ever want him to respond to when I ned him.

So figure 150 apartments. Christmas comes and most of the tenants give him some money. Depending on the affluence of the building that is how much he gets.

Let's say $50 average per apartment and assume 80% of the tenants who give an envelop. That comes out to be $6,000 cash and tax-free. And I am convinced that this is a low number.

Still, that is not a bad Christmas present.

Thursday

There are certain Christmas gift giving habits in this country at least here in New York.

There are people who are perfectly happy with anything they get. It shows that they value the though and not the material value of the gift.

Years ago I had a friend who had a small jewelry stall in Manhattan. I remember being there a couple of days before Christmas when all the mailmen who were delivering the precious items throughout the year came around. They walked through the store from stall to stall with their opened hand and all took the cash the merchants gave them. This was expected. No gift, no next time delivery. That was the message.

In my building before the Holidays they post the names of all the employees. Super, handyman, porters. Just to remind the residents that it is time to cough up some dough. Not that they don't get any tips during the year whenever they do something special but this is special time.

There are buildings with really large staff with some not even visible to the tenants. In those places there is a suggested contribution that will be decided between the staff. Who knows, maybe yes maybe no.

Anyway, we are used to this form of gift giving. Tonight was the night when we prepared the envelops that will be given out tomorrow. This way at least they will say hello when they se us the next time.

Wednesday

I wrote before that when a man gets a cold it is the end of the world. When I get one I suffer like you wouldn't believe it. I am loud and I share my suffering with my family and with everybody around me. I don't want to do anything just (not)quietly suffer.

Now my wife has a very bad cold. She thinks she got it on the plane on the way back from Europe. She was sitting next to some old Germanic biddy who was coughing all the way from Zurich to New York. Now it came out on my wife.

But here lies the difference. She is not at all like me. She suffers in majestic quiet. I hear her cough and I know her throat hurts but she is not complaining at all. Her throat hurts so bad that she can barely speak, the poor thing. I feel terrible for her because there is nothing I can do to make her better.

But in her case life does not stop. She continues to do her chores like cooking and keeping the house in order and Abigail and me in line.

If it were me I would just lie down and let everything go to the dogs until I get better.

Now I know why they say they are the stronger sex.

Tuesday

Today we mastered the latest technology. My wife and I finally made Skype connection with our friends in Australia and had a very nice face to face conversation with them.

Technology never stops to amaze me. The plain fact that we can sit front of the computer screen and be able to talk to someone about 10,300 miles away like if he were in the next room is just mind boggling.

I don't care if Skype is passe if there are newer and better methods it is good enough for me. And even if they say what Skype does is not that fantastic to me it is. Maybe I am old fashioned but I am still amazed.

My friends and I go back about 60 years. Our roads separated but we kept in touch throughout the years. They were with me through thick and thin and now they are genuinely happy for me. And that makes me feel warm all over.

Good friends don't have to be living nearby. They can be anywhere in this world and still show genuine care. And these people are my really good friends.

Monday

I am getting tardy with my "obligation" to write. I skipped yesterday but with every time I skip I did have a very good reason.

You see I can always explain myself meaning I can always talk myself out of a quagmire.

Yesterday was Sunday and we stayed in all day. I decided this was the time to write our Christmas cards. That is no small undertaking. I have about twenty people to start with. All of them are friends I keep in contact with. Most of them I write more than just a few cursory words therefore the writing took up considerable time.

If we will get a greeting card from someone who was not on the initial list than we will respond. But the initial count was twenty.

When I worked I used to send out about fifty cards but as time went by the number of people got reduced. Some passed away some just decided not to keep in touch. But that is ok, that's the the way life is. And, I accept it.

Saturday

I woke up around seven in the morning and when I looked out the window I saw the first real snow of the season. The street was totally covered there was several inches of snowon the cars and it was snowing pretty heavily. It was just beautiful.

On that note I went back to bed acknowledging the fact that there was no reason whatsoever to get up before  nine or ten. Unfortunately by the time I or we got up the snow has stopped turned into rain and eventually the streets were covered with slush.

Since I am a snow lover I looked at this kind of sadly, but hey this is life. I take it as it comes.

Later in the day my wife and I went out and did some food and Christmas shopping. I guess because of the weather traffic was lighter than usual but this being the last weekend before Christmas the crowds will eventually come forward.

Every year people complain that there is no money. Yet, the planes are full and people are shopping like crazy for the holidays. So, why are they complaining? Are they to be taken seriously with their complaints?

If money is tight then don't shop and don't fly. It is that easy.

Friday

Everybody around me is traveling. My best friend is coming back from Las Vegas after a week of being there. My wife on Tuesday arrived from Hungary but still suffering from jet lag. My other friend is on a cruise in the Caribbean.

And I, well I am traveling from the living room to the kitchen.

So as it is obvious we are always moving. Hungarians as a people love to travel. I don't know what causes this urge but maybe the fact that after World War II when the Soviets came to power travel was strictly forbidden. People were not even allowed to travel to neighboring "friendly"countries.

When the regime slowly became more liberalized travel restrictions were one of the first things they let up on.

I also believe that when they elected the first Polish pope he started to travel immediately because he was previously subjected to the same restrictions as everybody else in Eastern Europe.

So we travel. Maybe once when we have seen everything this world has to offer we stop traveling or just go someplace else.

Thursday

Ad it was expected and I'm sure forgiven yesterday I could not write my blog. My wife returned from a week in Hungary and I was to happy and excited to see her and not to sit down and write.

But there is another side of this story. Since yesterday morning we had no Internet and telephone service in the house. I realized the lack of service around 7:30 in the morning. I called our glorious cable company, Time Warner and an automatic voice informed me that there was a service interruption in my area and technicians were hard at work to solve the problem.

Ok, so far so good.

But here is the funny part. Last night around seven pm I was down on the street and saw about three of the cable company's trucks in my area. I asked the foreman when can we expect service to be back and he replied that he didn't know because they just got here. And right then they couldn't figure out what was the problem.

This really built up my confidence for the "early" resumption of service. But miracle of miracles by this morning  everything was back to normal (until the next mishap).

So you see even if I wanted to write I could not. But Really didn't want to.

Tuesday

My wife is not a fan of American fast foood. In one word she abhors it. I on the other hand really like it. Maybe I just got used to it being in this country for almost sixty years. They are not the table for aficionados of good food but they have their place in society.

Now that my wife is away and I don't cook Abigail and I had our fill of various fast foods. On our first night we ate Popeye chicken. Fortunately we both like it. She likes the chicken tenders I like the chicken itself. Next night we had diner cheeseburgers which were great.

After that we had take out from Chipotle. We both had burritos. Weren't bad at all. The following night we ordered ravioli from the neighborhood pizza place than on the fifth night we had empanadas from a small stand not far from us. I'm not a great fan of empanadas but Abigail likes them so I consented.

Saturday since we went Christmas shopping to a mall we ate there in their food court. The menu was burritos from Taco Bell.

Sunday we finally had a decent meal t Applebee's. We both had steak. Monday we went to Shake Shack for burgers. They really make awesome burgers.

Tonight is our last night with just the two of us because tomorrow my wife is finally coming home. So tonight we decided to have Popeye chicken again. We gorged ourselves with chicken tenders and fried chicken but I can't wait to eat my wife's cooking.

For me that is the best there is.

Monday

Last night Abigail strong armed me to watch another "disaster" movie. It was Kung Fu Panda 3.

This is a computer-animated film that is about as boring as reading Karl Marx's Das Capital in German and backwards. I sat through and watched it in the meanwhile fighting sleepiness.

Every time I dozed off she hit me to wake up. I had absolutely no clue what was going on in the movie or what it was all about. Abigail enjoyed it immensely so I guess this was on her wavelength and not mine.

I am already afraid what the program will be tonight. But being true to my form I will moan and groan but will bravely sit through it.

I don't know how fathers and mothers do this with their kids. But I think if a grown up does this kind of thing long enough the person will degenerate to the level of his or her child.

But don't despair, my wife is arriving back on Wednesday and then these nightly events surely will stop.

Who knows, I might eventually miss them.

Sunday

Babysitting to a teenager is not an easy task. Under normal circumstances when we are all home Abigail locks herself in her room and only comes out to eat or to complain about something.

So I figured that while my wife is away I'll have it easy. Abigail is in her room and I can do whatever I want like watching TV and falling asleep while doing it.

But nooooo. This never happened. Abigail decide that she liked my company and instead of locking herself into her room she wanted to be with me.

Every night we have to watch a movie together that sometimes winds up to be two movies. She is talking to me and she is preparing desserts that we ate while watching the films.

Now, she is fourteen years old. Her taste in movies is not exactly my taste but there is nothing I can do about it but grin and bear it. If I happen to fall asleep while watching one of her movies she hits me and wakes me up.

She brings in deserts from the kitchen and if I not happen to like it she doesn't take no for an answer. I have no choice I have to accept it.

Today we went to e real restaurant together. We went to Applebees. Not a bad place and we like it. We had a good meal and it was a pleasant evening.

Now we are home again, she is doing her homework and I was already promised that as soon as she is done we are watching a movie.

Can't wait.

Saturday

Christmas fever reached my house. Being the perfect "babysitter" that I am I suspended all my disagreements with Abigail while my wife is away.

The word is suspended not discontinued.

Anyway I am trying to be the perfect gentleman/dad/friend to her. Every night we eat whatever she desires and I told her we could go Christmas shopping on this weekend.

And today was the day she made me keep my promise. I tell you honestly it wasn't that bad. We drove out to Long Island to Roosevelt Field and spent about four hours buying presents to her siblings and friends.

Abigail saved a nice amount of money and with contributions from her sucker "father to be" she made out pretty good.

It was funny that when we went into any particular store she made her selections very quickly. When I inquired how come at this time she could select so fast but when we shop for her she can never make any selection so fast. She replied that buying for her is a lot more important thing than buying for her friends.

Fortunately we were able to do all our shopping today and we will not have to face the throng of people anymore.

Friday

Yesterday I criticized the idiots that work on help lines and are forcing us to turn to them for assistance.

Well, here is one for today.

In New York traffic lingo a gridlock is when automobiles and other motorized vehicles get stuck in a  four-way jam and totally block intersections. In Midtown Manhattan this is a fairly frequent occurence.

Nobody really know how to fix it and during the year the City is not doing anything to alleviate the problem. But during the Christmas season they declare gridlock alert days. This means that any vehicle caught inside the gridlock can and will be ticketed.

New York City has miles and miles of parkways and highways. On these roads there are these huge overhead electronic signs These signs convey various traffic related messages to the driving public.

Today on all New York City's roads this was shown on these signs: "Today is Gridlock Alert Day. Take Public Transportation"

Now, think for a moment. The thousands of motorists who saw this message were already in their cars and obviously not using public transportation.

What was the point in making such an announcement? Did they expect people to feverishly abandon their cars and rush towards buses and subways?

There are stupids everywhere.

Thursday

It is unbelievable how difficult it is to find a living and breathing person on a so called help line. Today I had the bad luck that I needed to call such companies. In each time it took about four minutes to reach a person.

Without exception they all read off a long story that has nothing to do with the reason of the call. I always find that my reasons don't fit into any of their categories. So I just scream or wait patiently until that stupid robot realizes what I want.

Once the person comes on the line it happens more than once that he or she transfers me to another person who might have more inkling about what to do than the previous one. Several time I was transferred four or five times in a row and each time I had to start from scratch.

What really bugs me is that at the beginning of each call there is an automatic announcement saying that this call may be recorded for quality control purposes.

Why don't they record the first five minutes for quality control? And, what do they do with the idiots who work there and who are being recorded? Do anybody recognizes how unqualified the people who are on the help lines are?

Maybe stupid has a grade and if they are not stupid enough they are replaced with a stupider.

Wednesday

My wife and I speak several times a day. Technology is wonderful, there are no distances in this world that a simple cell phone could not bridge.

I remember that many years ago I called the operator and made an appointment when I wanted to call my Mother in Hungary. The operator had to make the connection across the world and when everything was ok they called me and than we were able to speak.

Today I call my wife on her US number and she answers like she were a block away. The only problem we are having is the time difference. They are six hours ahead of us. Meaning that around midnight when I'm getting ready to go to sleep they just getting up over there.

But I don't care. As long as I hear her voice, regardless of the time I'm happy. I really miss her.

Abigail and I are getting along fine.  Two nights ago we had Popeye chicken for dinner, yesterday it was cheeseburger and today we bought burritos from Chipotle. Tomorrow remains to be decided. But it is certain that we will not be undernourished.

My wife wa telling me the good stuff she was eating there already: Szeged fish soup, cold cuts, warm home baked bread and other selected goodies. I gained five pounds just listening to her.

I know that a week from today she will be back but at this moment time just don't want to fly.

Tuesday

As I mentioned it earlier my wife went to Hungary. Actually, she arrived at Budapest Airport around 10 am this morning. I spoke to her a few times since and she told me the trip was pretty uneventful except a bumpy ride over the Atlantic and crappy food on the plane.

She already met her family and the reunion was anything but dry eyed. Everybody was happy to see her and none of them wanted to let her go. But she has business to take care of, family to see, places to visit and the time is not that long. But I'm sure she will smartly manage her time.

I have an observation about the airlines. They are all gangsters! None of them is better than the other. And Lufthansa, a proud German airline is just as crooked as the rest of them

We spent hours and hours to find a good fare for her trip. When we found what looked like a good and reasonable fare with good connection times we or I made the mistake not claiming it immediately.

We left the web page and when we went back on it it was gone. We tried several time but it just disappeared like it never existed. The bastards took it of because it probably was just a come on.

I do not believe than an offer disappears in five minutes because it just suddenly is not available. They are all crooked and they are proud of it. Why should they help the traveling public when people will fly regardless of the cost and inconveniences.

We went to to the airport and found both the arrival and departures crowded. People are traveling no matter what the problem is. Might those be the cost of it or the inefficient TSA people who are jumping all over each other trying to look knowledgable and important.

It is a good hing that when I get into my car I don't have to go through all that TSA security.

Monday

I have a veri logical explanation why I abstained from writing for all this time.

I was busy.

If that is not an acceptable explanation here is the long version of it and I will be going backwards.

Today at 3:55 pm my wife left for a visit to Hungary. This was a momentous event for us since she has not been there for twelve years. The decision was made very quickly like middle of last week.

We spent several hours trying to find an acceptable airline with a reasonable fare. And, since that idiotic Hungarian airline went bankrupt it is not easy to find a good trip to Budapest. Finally we selected Lufthansa and that is the one she is flying now.

Being her first trip back in such a long time you can imagine how much preparation and excitement went into it. I think I was more excited than she was.

I volunteered to stay behind and babysit Abigail. I may get sainthood by the time she returns but right now we are getting along fine.

The thing that made the trip such an urgent necessity is that my wife's Grandfather is very ill and she wanted to see him before the unspeakable happens. Her Grandfather and Grandmother raised her and understandably she is very close to them. I honestly hope and pray that she has time to spend with her Grandfather.

My wife has been away only for a few hours and I already miss her. I hope I'll survive the week.

Wednesdayy

My wife's son has a dog who responds to the name of Carlo. Carlo is an American Terrier but looks almost like a pit bull.

He is the most gentle and lovable dog I have ever known. He is huge about 80 pounds.

He spends his days sleeping and playing. There is also a beautiful cat in the apartment and Carlo and him are like brothers. The just get along perfectly. They sleep together and play together. Like with kids there is a little jealousy between them but nothing serious.

Carlo sleeps on the bed and if it is not warm enough he must be covered. He eats dog food  if necessary but prefers people food. He snores like a person and sleeps on his back with his face on a pillow.

He hast be taken out for walks a few times a day and because they live right across a large park he just loves being there. He has several friends (dogs) and when they meet they just go totally nuts playing. They like to roughhouse but never too rough.

He loves to ride in the car mainly in ours because ours is an SUV and he sits in the back in the cargo area that's very comfortable to him..

He doesn't bark and makes friend with everybody he meets. The other night my wife and I went over to their house and while my wife and her son were working on the computer I was with Carlo.

I lied down on their bed and within minutes he was lying next to me, on top of me, his head on my shoulder on my arm and in the process was licking me like I was an ice cream cone.

He was so adorable that I couldn't get angry at him for all the attempted and half successful licking.

He is not a slobbering type of dog. Very clean and cute.