Professor Plum with the Candle Stick-Day 103-April 23rd, 2018

My jet lag must be going away because I actually was able to sleep in until 9:30 morning. In a way, I wish my body didn’t adjust because I am already heading back to France tomorrow night. I guess some French espressos can solve that problem when I return on Monday night.

After getting up, I had a nice bowl of honey bunches of oats. Not to hate on corn flakes and Frosties, but it is nice to have some variation with my breakfasts. My plan was to play guitar for a little bit, then head to the gym. The guitar part of the plan went well, so well that I lost track of time and realized I didn’t have time to go to the gym anymore. I guess this was alright since I can work out in France, but not really play guitar. I was making great strides on the new song I was learning.

There was hour until we had to leave for the second wake, so I got my suit on again and got ready to leave. After a quick drive to Staten Island, we were at funeral home. Today there were two wakes, one from 2-4 and one from 7-9.

This first one today was very similar to the one yesterday. Two hours of a lot people and a lot of small talk. A lot of our family friends from Berkeley Heights were there and it was nice to talk to them. Soon it was 4:00 and we headed to my Aunt Michele’s for lunch. It was my extended family and some close friends.

Once again, there was an insane amount of donated food. There was every type of sandwich possible, penne vodka, chicken francese and more. Despite being in Italy earlier this week, I can’t help but crave Italian food again.

Just look at all this food.

I ate a ton as usual and wanted to make sure I had enough energy for the second wake today. We had about two hours to relax, so I played the board game Clue with my cousins. I was partnered with my cousin Karen and to be honest, I got too distracted to play after five minutes. My cousin Karen won, so I guess I am technically a winner too. I did play blackjack for a bit with Grandpa and cousins Vin and Steven. I’m glad we were playing blackjack and not Texas hold ’em because my grandpa literally never folds. This makes poker a little less fun sometimes.

Clue

It was soon time to head back to the funeral home. As usual, I was on the crew of helping my Grandpa into his wheelchair and out of the car. I miss my Grandma, but not having to carry her in a wheelchair up a flight of stairs every family party was a little nice.

The third wake felt a bit longer than the previous one. A lot of my Aunts and Uncle’s on my dad’s side came during this one, which was appreciated. Wakes are sad, but when you’re on your third one in two days, it can feel a tiny bit boring. It made for great bonding with my cousins and extended family at least. After another two and a half hours, we said goodbye to everyone and headed home.

We got home around 10:30 and I immediately got ready for bed. We had to be in Staten Island at 9:30 tomorrow morning, so it would be an earlier start than usual. I did watch an episode of White Collar before bed though. I need to download a bunch of stuff for my flight tomorrow night. For now, I was just wanted to enjoy my last sleep in my own bed before I head back to France tomorrow.