Florida: Movie with Emmet

This was the second time seeing my half-brother Emmet, so we decided to do something fun and see a movie. We hadn't decided on a flick beforehand, so when we arrived at the theater, we had absolutely no idea what was playing or when anything started. We arrived at the cinema around 5:20pm and most of the movies had already begun. The only two movies that were beginning in less than an hour were Gnomio and Juliet and The Roommate, so we decided on the latter. Bad choice. I knew this was a scary-ish movie, so I wasn't expecting to love it (I don't really care for violent movies), but I thought, "How bad can it be?" Emmet didn't seem too thrilled either, but we decided to take a chance. Well, the acting, the script, the sex scenes, the the the...whole thing was just awful. I should have suspected something when we walked into an empty theater. At the end of the longest hour and fifty minutes of my life, we sat in silence as the credits crept up the screen. I don't know Emmet that well yet, so I wasn't that sure whether he was gonna say he liked it or not. He's a HUGE James Bond fan. So much so, that he ONLY goes to James Bond movies, but I wasn't sure how that Bond love would transfer to other types of films. There was something kind of thriller-ee/action-ee about this movie, so it could have gone either way. He might have enjoyed it. So I looked over at his face and waited for a response. As soon as the lights came up he said, "Wow." I thought to myself, "Is that a good wow or a bad one?" And then I just took a chance and said, "That was pretty awful." Luckily within seconds he agreed. : ) I told Emmet that I'd never seen a Bond movie and he was horrified. HORRIFIED. He instructed me to watch Goldfinger as soon as I get home. "Fine, Emmet! Fine." We left the theater still numb from the assault.

Emmet has to get up at 4am EVERY morning for work and needs to be in bed by 8:30pm, so we made a quick jaunt to a nearby Starbucks to sit and talk a bit more before he had to get home. We talked about random stuff. What was said wasn't that important, it was just nice to hang out with him. Every five minutes or so I kept reminding myself, "This is my brother!" And "We have the same dad!" It's so strange. I just can't get over it. All this new family. It's great.

We threw out our environmentally friendly cups and made our way back to the car. We walked passed a Mini Copper in the parking lot and I made some comment about how much I love 'em. I told him if I win the Lotto I'm buying one in hot pink and he laughed. Anyway... we got in the car and I proceeded to drive him home, but...there was a slight...bump in the road. There was literally a bump. I ran over a dead cat. I didn't know what it was until the very last moment. From a distance I thought it was a car part or something or a black t-shirt or a clear plastic bag filled with black fur. There was a car to my left and I couldn't move any further right because I was already in the right lane and there wasn't a shoulder. Anyway, the entire car jumped up in the air and my heart sank. I felt like I ran over a dead baby. I still feel bad about it. I'll survive, though. Can't say that about the poor kitty.



We made it back to his place a few minutes later.

We said our goodbyes and gave each other a big hug.

I've met three half-brothers so far. Now I just need to meet my half-sister, Teresa and I'll be all connected. I hope to make that happen soon...

I'm back in NYC now. I've really enjoyed connecting with family in the past month, but it does feel really good to be home. : )

Florida: Just me

 

Flroida: Good driving music

And...




And...

Florida: My 92-year-old grandmother buys herself an iPad!

I can't believe it. I mean, I *really* can't believe it. My grandmother is now a part of the WiFi/internet/emailing world. She's connected, Yo!  I've been trying to get my grandmother to buy a computer for the longest time, but she always said, "It's not for me." But all of a sudden, when I mentioned the computer this time, she was intrigued. I explained all the benefits of having a computer, so she agreed to go to the Apple store and check it out.  I figured since she learned how to use a cellphone (pretty easily) that a computer wouldn't be that much more difficult for her. She's a smart cookie, so I knew if she kept an open mind, she'd be emailing and googling in no time. The guys at the Apple store could not get over how quickly she picked everything up. I mean, it was pretty remarkable. She learned how to email in less than 30 minutes!

My camera was about to die,  but I got a very quick (five second) video of grams composing her first email.

Check it out:

Florida: Meet another half-bro for the first time

Emmet and I have been emailing one another for months now trying to set up a time and place to meet. He's been hard to pin down, though 'cause he's constantly on-the-go for work. Emmet's a horse trainer, so he has to travel quite a bit. A few months ago he was living in Kentucky and now he's in Florida and a couple of months from now he'll be in Baltimore. Up until last week, I thought he lived wayyyy out in Miami, but discovered (after playing around with Mapquest) that he's only 20 minutes from my grandmother's house. So when I decided to visit the grams I figured it would only be right to finally meet my other brother!

In 30 minutes, I was face-to-face with my half-brother, Emmet:

Oh and when I went into his place for the first time, look what greeted me at the door:

He's sticking his tongue out at me! Bastard.

Emmet and I chatted it up a bit and then he had to go over to the training facility to feed the horses. Once we got there he gave me a little tour of the place.

Here's the track:

Here's the barn where all the beautiful horses eat, sleep, and chill:

I petted all forty horses on the head. They were all so sturdy and sweet.

Here are some close ups of the beauties:

And here's a horse worth TEN MILLION DOLLARS:

Most of the horses are worth between one and two million dollars, but this one is the most valuable...'cause I guess he's the fastest.

Then I asked Emmet to take some photos of me with a horse:

That horse was tickling my neck with his huge nostrils!

Emmet is very comfortable with the horsies:

Regular (slacker) non-racing horses eat only hay, but these horses are athletes, so they need more nutrients and protein for energy and building muscle. So in addition to the hay, they also get fed a high protein concoction twice a day. This concoction is all veggie based, thank you.  I think it's interesting to note that these strong athletic animals are all vegetarian. Take THAT, Fool.

Here's Emmet and the veggie feed:

It smelled yummy, kinda like dried fruit. Emmet said I was smelling the molasses. I wanted to take a taste, but...don't worry, I didn't.

And then Emmet wheeled the stuff into the barn to divvy it out:

About 45 minutes later, we headed over to a Chinese restaurant to get some grub:

We look so serious! We were having a great time, I swear, it's just that the waiter caught us in between smiles.

Then Emmet had the nerve to order cheesecake!

I didn't have any. : (

It was soooo nice to meet Emmet. He's warm and friendly and sweet and it was just a pleasure spending time with him. We're gonna meet again in a few days and see a movie. Don't know which one yet. Emmet's gonna break his I-only-see-James-Bond-movies rule to go to a non-James Bond flick with me. Yay!

Great day. : )

Florida: The beach

Florida: 79 degrees

I'm in Florida!

I know I know, I've been traveling so much the past month, but I don't have to be back at work for another two weeks, so I figured, "Why not go to Florida and warm up and meet my other half-brother and hang with grandma and share all the pics and details about my London trip with her in person." That's what I told myself.

I got a cheap cheap ticket on JetBlue. I also managed to get a great deal on a rental car. It's so fun to drive when I know it's only temporary. I would hate to be dependent on a car on a daily basis, but for 11 days, it's cool. I can play cheesy music and sing along at the top of my lungs while eating raw cashews and doing 80mph down 95.

I'm meeting Emmet (the other half-brother) on Tuesday. He lives only 20 minutes from my grandmother's house in Deerfield Beach. We're gonna meet at his place and then go out for a little din din.

Until then...

I'm gonna go to the beach (wearing SPF 75) and swim and frequent a place called Orangetheory Fitness. I need to SWEAT.

No pics worth sharing yet, but stay tuned. I gotchu, Boo.

A degree in nutrition

I went into Hunter College today and registered for the summer semester. Since I'd attended Hunter a few years ago, they already had all my records on file, so reapplying was a pretty simple process. I just filled out a small form and paid a small fee. (I JUST missed the deadline for the spring. Argh! ) I'll have about two years of prerequisites to complete (all the sciences and whatnot) and then I'll be able to apply to the nutrition program. I'd been doing an online program at the Integrative School for Nutrition, but got my money back because the curriculum was beyond lame. I also felt like I was taking the easy way out by just doing a one year course. I was scared of the thought of going back to school for four years, but in the end, by getting an actual degree, I'll have many more job options and more importantly, I'll be making money doing something that I love. I went to NYU for *six* years and never graduated, so I'm really looking forward to having an actual focus this time and graduating. I'm also looking forward to making new friends and being in a library and studying.

Good things are happening.

Smiley face.

Day twenty-three: The last hurrah

Last day in London...

I didn't do a whole lot during the day. I just puttered around Shane's house, read for a couple hours and then went over to Whole Foods to get some noshes for my flight back home. I was to meet up with Shane and Aaron at around 7:30pm, so I didn't have much time to dilly dally at the health food store. I was really looking forward to just having a chill night with the boys.

We met up at Shane's place around 8pm and ordered Indian food and watched a ridiculously raunchy show called Shameless while we ate. This show is a dark comedy about sex, pedophilia, homosexuality, etc. The interesting part is it airs on REGULAR television. As in... a NON-cable station. You get me? Do you understand what I'm tellin' you? They show tits and asses and curse like crazy and show things that people do behind closed doors when they're... using the toilet. They hide NOTHING. This show would never make it in America. We're farrrrrrrr too uptight.

Oh! Here are a few other random things to share about Europe:

Europeans don't say eggplant, they say, "aubergine."  I'd never heard this word before. This became an issue when I was trying to order what I thought was eggplant curry. I spent a good five minutes trying to describe what I wanted to the little Indian man and pointing furiously and yelling "Eggplant!!!" and finally just gave up and said, "Just give me the purple veg thing."

Arugula= "Rocket"

Vite-ah-mins= "Vit-ah-mins"

Also...

Any word that ends in "or" they add a "u." Like the word flavor is spelled "flavour." Color is spelled "colour" And so on.

That's all I can think of right now. I'll probably think of some others and add them later.

Anyway, back to my last night in London...

Here are the three of us (Aaron, Shane and me) being silly for the camera:

Here's Aaron getting angry at Google Maps:

Here's Shane trying to avoid the camera (as usual):

Here's Aaron (and Shane) eating yummy Indian food:

Here's me being way too serious for no reason:

I kinda look like an Irish alien.

And here's the 747 I took back to NYC:

It's 8:11pm right now and I'm back in New York City. (I guess this part is technically "day 24." Oh well! ) Lots to do. Lots to appreciate. Lots of loving memories to cherish.

My next adventure? Off to Florida in a few days (I kid you not).  What am I going to be doing in Florida, you ask? I'll be meeting my half-brother, Emmet, for the first time and also going to cheer up grandma. And the adventure goes on and on and...

Day twenty-two: Aaron and I meet Adam for the first time

Once I found out that I had yet another half-brother that I hadn't met, I was on a mission to find him and meet him. I only found out Adam existed about two weeks ago and once I found out he lived in London, I wasted no time contacting him. Adam doesn't have the Jolley surname because he was adopted after our dad left his mom, so I had to look for Adam *Satow*. As soon as I knew his name, I grabbed my computer and looked him up on Facebook and he popped up immediately. I sent out a friend request and within 30 minutes he'd accepted. I then wrote him a short message asking if he knew who I was (probably knew from my last name) and told him, "I have reason to believe you're my half-brother." I didn't hear back from him for a couple of days and thought maybe he didn't want to meet. I wrote two more emails and no response. Finally, a week later, he wrote to say that he was on a plane to Nepal when he got my friend request and then tried to write back to the email, but it never went through. When he got back from his trip he contacted me immediately. I asked if he knew about Aaron and he said, "Yes." I told him that I only had a couple more days left in London, so he invited me, Aaron and Shane over for dinner at his house in East London. We were all thrilled (especially Joan).

Aaron and I met at the Brockley overground train station and walked over to Adam's place together. (Shane couldn't make the dinner because of work, so he plans to meet Adam on his own on a weekend when he has more time.) We were both nervous/excited. We were looking for number "64" and as we walked we counted the numbers we passed out loud. "26,...29,... 34,..." The anticipation was intense. I mean, when I met Aaron for the first time, I felt anxious, but I was feeling it alone. Now Aaron and I were feeling the anxiousness together and I felt like we bonded because of it. We saw 64 and walked down the stairs to his basement flat. Aaron knocked on the door and we waited. About a minute later a man came to the door that looked JUST like my(our) dad. It was Adam. The resemblance is pretty remarkable. I don't have any photos of my dad, but trust me, Adam looks exactly like him.

Here's Adam:

I walked into his place and Adam gave me a huge warm strong hug. It's really something having an immediate blood connection with someone. You can quickly move past the bullshit pleasantries and get right to the meaningful stuff.  You don't even have to talk about anything meaningful, the connection is there regardless.

He took Aaron and I upstairs to the kitchen and continued preparing dinner.

His girlfriend, Lynn, was there and she was just a s friendly and warm and welcoming. You can tell a lot about a person from the friends that they keep. She was great, so I knew he had to be pretty great, too.

The first couple of hours we shared our individual interpretations of our dad. Telling each other what we knew of him (which wasn't much at all) and our personal stories of where we'd been and what we'd up to until now. I'm not going to get into all of it here because this blog entry would be twenty pages long if I documented everyone's story, but just know that the common theme is that we all have/had strong moms that managed to raise some pretty great kids despite Christopher Jolley's (our dad's) fuck ups.

Adam made a glorious meal: Thai coconut soup with shrimp to start, rice noodles with veggies and beef, and dessert. They all had key lime pie for dessert, but I chose to avoid the sugar. After they finished the pie and I finished my cardamom tea, we made our way to the living room.

Here's Lynn and Adam:

 

Here's Aaron:

 

Here's Aaron and Adam:

The sibs laughing:

And here we are getting rowdy:

I didn't want the night to end. But...the stupid London tube stops running at 12:30am and it was already after midnight, so Aaron and I had to run. We all exchanged our addresses and promised to keep in touch. I promised that I would be back very soon. Now that I have all of this family in Ireland and London, I'm going to be making many more trips here in the near future on a regular basis. We gave each other another big strong hug and said goodbye.

Aaron and I walked to the train still high from the night. Well...Aaron was also quite drunk. The three of them shared five bottles of wine and I think Aaron drank most of it. (If you look back at all the photos of Aaron, he's holding a glass of wine in ALL of them.) He was LOOPY. I usually hate being around drunk people, but he was a fucking hilarious drunk. I just have to share a video of him on the train yelling at the map:

OMG, it was funny. When I look at this I almost can't breathe. 

Of course, we didn't make it to the tube in time, so we had to walk about 30 minutes to the bus stop. It was freezing, but it was fun having more time to hang out with Aaron. He kept bragging about how warm he was because of the booze and how I was missing out. We made it to the bus and he went Eastbound and I went West. 

I got back to Shane's place at 2:30am. 

What an amazing day.