Larry's Latest: April 2014

Hi Fam-damnily,

As you all know, my intention of starting this blog was to keep friends/family informed of Grandpa's condition during that "little" health scare last year and then turning it into a diary/blog of my life in New York and other fun events. Yes, making "light" of major things is a coping mechanism that I inherited from this family.

I warned you starting out that I was no good at keeping diaries. As a young diarist I typically lost the key to those pink plastic ballet covered journals, threw them in a closet and forgot about them for a decade. In this case, I forgot my password to blogger. Same thing, I guess.

So let's quickly get everyone up to speed on the events of the last year.

1) Grandpa is doing grrrrreeeeeeeeat!
2) G's kidney has also miraculously recovered - which is pretty astonishing when you think about it
2b) He has been getting neupogen shots twice a week since last year which have kept him healthier than the general population. http://www.rxlist.com/neupogen-drug.htm
3) Grandma is doing gooooooooood! Her knees and back continue to bother her as well as a new issue; planter faciitis http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/plantar-fasciitis-topic-overview. She's hanging in there and is every bit the social butterfly as usual. When you don't get answer on the house phone, you can safely assume she's on the other line.
4) Matthew got engaged this last summer! Hawaii will never be the same after this clan visits in May...
5) Maddock ALL SCHOOL REUNION! The Rudek girls were quite the hit with all their high school bfs
6) Jasmyne had a baby! (September)
7) So did Becca!
8) Hahahaha. Just kidding. Becca did not have a baby. Ahahah. I'm sorry. I can't stop laughing.
9) Alyssa got married! (October)
10) The yanks invaded the South again for another epic Cajun wedding
11) Grandpa walked Alyssa down the aisle :)
12) Jack Lawrence met his name-sake, and was given a very special gift by critically acclaimed author, Lawrence Rudek
13) Auntie Val surrendered to the yankee invasion and hosted an amazing week filled with fun, family, food and SWAMP POP (potentially an Abita or two)
14) Keagyn Lynn opened the doors to the bobby-pin shop once again. This time it had an attached ballet studio. Pretty sweet, man.
15) Graham likes to garden naked.
16) Becca started her first year of grad school in speech and language pathology. G g g go go gooooooood j j j j j jo jo jo jo job, Becca!
17) I moved apartments in nyc, from the upper east side to NoLita (Mott/Houston area). No, we don't live in the apartment that sold Phillip-Seymor Hoffman his drugs. I'm now living with two crazy Greek sisters (one of my good friends from high school). As Becca says - it's never a dull moment with us. Immediately after moving in I gained a puppy-brother. His name is Eddie. He is the devil. And also very cute.
18) Pat and Eric re-modeled their kitchen. Let's just say things didn't go well. NOT. AT. ALL. Considering that Pat made the president and owner of the company cry like an infant with an ear infection at the conclusion of the project, I would say things ended well. note: the tears began before she even began talking.
19) Becs and Rach went to vegas with Dad over NYE (never again) and were able to drive up to visit Auntie Pam, Dean, Eric, Erica, Cash, Cole and Chase! Chase is a large dog that likes to sit on laps.
20) Vick and Mike went to Mexico...this story is unrelated to the capture & arrest of drug cartel king pin, El Chapo, in a Mexican 5-star resort. Although some sources have linked the parties.
21) I may or may not have gone to Miami in March. I have no recollection of this event but several photos documenting it. In all seriousness, it was one of the best girls vacations ever. I highly recommend it.
22) Becca visited NYC over her spring break and we did NOT get arrested! The week was filled with ice skating at Rockefeller center, Les Mis, 911 memorial, some major shopping, and some great food and fun! Becca managed only once to get hit by a food-delivery bicyclist. Or nearly hit, I guess. Still scared the piss out of us.
23) Auntie Margaret celebrated her 97th birthday with a party in Little Falls on April 2nd. Grandpa, Grandma, Mom and Vic decided to crash it and gave her the "best surprise of the day."
24) Rachel played an epic april fools prank on her family and friends. The next day she locked herself out on her balcony and fell through an open window while trying to re-enter the apartment. Karma.
25) G&G are pretty cool people. I like them a lot.

There you go, the last year in a series of highlights. See ya again next year! Haha, kidding. I'll try to update this once in a while. Especially around the Hawaii festiv-it-tas.

On another G&G note, I'm going to start putting together a photo/memory book for both of them. I was able to copy some cool pictures and interesting Navy stuff from Grandpa while I was home over the holidays. I will share the link and make the pictures available to you all once it's organized.

Love ya,

Rach