Johnnie's Covid Test, Reunion With Chantal

So Lisa told me this weekend that Chantal Guederian was driving down from Vegas and spending the week. Now THAT's someone from the not-too-distant past. Lisa reminded me that she DID live with us in the Westwood apartment for about 6 months. <Why did I let that come to pass? Ha! As IF there was anything I could do about it LOL>. Anyway, , it was a nice and sunny day when I woke up this morning that's cool. It was also nice to wake up and Johnny stirring in the couch outside my bedroom letting me know it was time to get the day started That was cool too. I've gotten a lot of work done yesterday had a lot of tasks knocked off so I felt pretty good this morning for work all I had to do was really focus on the town hall tomorrow morning and as it turned out I wasn't even going to be the host. I will admit that my ego liked the fact that I was getting attention that I could run that whole event pretty much by myself and host it and lead it and all of that stuff. But really it's also nice that I don't have to do it this time around or maybe ever. Maybe Eloisa figured she needed to build a bench and not be dependent on me too much. That is a good idea. After all I am still moving forward on a path to retirement soon very very soon just as soon as my 401K stuff reaches a certain point that meets my degree of comfort. And so I started my work day as I always do on Tuesday morning meeting with my team. No surprises this morning except Kennedy's working as in he didn't start his new job this week. I don't know... already they're moving the bar on him. I hope everything turns out well for him for his sake, but to be honest we're about ready to move on from him too. Maybe it's just my personality. When you're with me I'm in 1000%. But when you decide to move on I will also let you go 1000%. I think Lisa found that out. But I'm not going there right now. So right after my team meeting, I headed to Beethoven Early Education Center with Johnnie as it is the closest COVID testing site for LAUSD. This was pure reaction to the memo from Johnnie's principal that all students needed to be COVID tested before coming back to school on Tuesday. I didn't have an appointment, but surprisingly, we were in and out of there in 10 minutes! Pretty good I'd say! And then afterwards we went to Lisa's house to officially say hello to Chantal, who had arrived last night. Lots of ground to cover. It had been some time since we last saw each other. So we said we'd hang out for dinner tonight and off we went back home. I had Italian sausages ready for me to barbecue for lunch. All Johnnie wanted was chicken noodle soup. And so I posted a pic of me at the barbecue area. Does anyone in my building use this thing other than me?

So I did the Town Hall run thru in the afternoon, and it seemed like I had far less to worry about now that I'm not the host. And then Chantal pinged me about meeting up for dinner. Hey at least she remembered. I'm so used to Lisa not even telling me until the last second what is happening or not happening. We tried Oops first of course. But it was closed. And so it was Johnnie that decided we should go to Galbi King Korean BBQ. All he wanted was those rice wrappers. Hey I will eat Korean BBQ any day. Although I knew I'd be stuffed afterwards and my stomach probably wouldn't like that. Still Chantal did catch us up with her family. I feel a heck of a lot more allegiance to hers than Lisa's. They at least accepted me right from the get-go. The last time we all sat down for dinner in Vegas was the month before I was going to start at QueensCare. And so that was more than 8 years ago!  It was sad to hear about Christine having a falling out with her own parents and moving to Bend, Oregon as a result. I mean Bend, Oregon?? I know Dylan's mom lives there... but Bend, Oregon? To me it is the same as when I relocated to Detroit, Michigan. That was never going to last. Not for a SoCal kid. I hope they last a heck of a lot longer. Their kids are in this equation and that is the difference. I was responsible for just myself in Michigan and I could go anywhere at anytime. With kids? I don't know... And so anyway, I caught her up with Lisa and I, and stuff about Lisa's family. That was more like same old same old really. Their tune never changes. The biggest change was the house obviously and Johnnie. Johnnie will certainly light up anyone he engages in conversation with. Even if all he can talk about these days are the monsters he is getting acquainted with. Godzilla. Kraken. King Kong. A far cry from stegasaurus and ankylosaurus from just a year ago. But a boy is a boy is a boy. And I can't really say that my interests were any different growing up. Godzilla. King Kong. The Avengers. Anyway as anticipated I was obnoxiously full after dinner. And then we dropped off Chantal. It was a nice reunion and I'm glad we got to reconnect after all this time. And now I have to go home and put myself back in tomorrow morning Town Hall mode...