1,200 miles… a dog… high-def video…  a knitting kit.. and one last surprise…  what else could a mother ask for?

I gotta admit… I was slightly motivated by an ex of mine inviting me for one last romp (as I’m taking off on a long friggin trip tomorrow…. more details on that excursion in a future post) if I come see her… but that wasn’t my only motivator to come down for the weekend… It was Mom’s birthday (I’d tell you her age, but I hear that’s rude).  I invited my little brother to join in on the surprise visit, but he couldn’t make it… so.. the plan wasthat I come see Itay in Gainesville (yes, the same place, same person that I drove 300 miles each way to see the previous weekend), get his dog (Nugget), and show up at Mom n Dad’s place. *surprise*

I arrived in Gainesville at around 3:30am (an hour earlier than the prior week), and we hung out a tiny bit.  In the morning I opened the door, and Nugget ran to my car.  That little brat knew what was up (in fact, he tried to hitch a ride with me last week too), and happily jumped in the car.  We were originally going to buy mom a puppy (they really have an empty house now that Itay took Nugget up to school with him), but the one Itay found was not ready yet… hence, take nugget.  So, I was originally going to have a puppy with me, then show up at Mom’s at midnight (we call at midnight–  b-day on sunday? Saturday night at midnight (in your timezone) you get a call).  The only problem was what to do with the puppy.  When it turned out that I’m taking Nugget with me, it was much easier… since he’s “on loan” to my folks, I can drop him off Saturday morning, rather than at midnight.  I communicated this to the people whom I was going to see that day… the previously mentioned ex, my good friend Johnny, and my buddy Dan.

I showed up at Mom & Dad’s (I filmed this.. that’s a major update to the site… y’all are about to get lots of videos) -  and Mom was thrilled… Dad too was surprised and thrilled. Neither one of them expected me to show up, when I’m supposed to be getting ready for my big trip… and the fact that I was in Gainesville (300 mile drive each way) the week before.  So, we sat down, had some coffee, and then I went to hang out with Johnny.  I only had an hour to see him before his dinner plans.  Mom & Dad also had dinner plans, so it’s not like I was flaking.  I hung out with Johnny, then drove to Fort Lauderdale to hang with Dan, followed by my friend (and the last official boss I had) Brett. Since I had stayed at Brett’s for a while (he made these awesome rock shrimps… mmmm… I couldn’t say no), I had missed out on seeing Damion & Gretchen that night, and a few other people were having issues meeting for the night.  It’s expected when you give no notice.

So, I headed back to East Boca, where I was supposed to meet that girl… however, she was apparently not heading back.  When I called at 10pm, she had just gotten to the bar she was attending, “What do you want me to do?” she said.  “I’ll figure something out”.  I took a nap in my car behind a Dunkin Donuts.  I”ll skip ahead to the next day (skipping over the cops, the guards, the arguments, and the way the night ended.. that’s a whole post in itself) where I rushed to the arts and crafts store, bought a knitting kit for mom, a gift bag, and some gold foil to decorate the bag with.  Why a “Learn to knit” kit?  Because a year and a half ago, when I got Dad yet another great gift (Electronic book reader), Mom was telling me how much Dad loves it.  I told her that she’s a pain to shop for, as she seems to have no hobbies of her own.  Dad and her work together, go to the gym together, read books together, eat together, shower together, and watch tv/movies together…. they’re like a single entity… but Dad’s easy to grasp… he likes gadgets, and music, and sci-fi… but Mom… well, she’s sweet and caring, and all that good stuff… but she just hangs with Dad.  So, when I mentioned this, she said that when we were little kids, she used to like knitting… she’d knit us little sweaters. I remembered this, and sat on the info for a year and a half.  Additionally, I had asked my Virtual Assistant (that’s yet another upcoming post) to find a knitting kit so that Mom can make a sweater.  I received an e-mail about a sock-kit… that that’s what everyone’s into these days.  No offense… but screw that! Mom has a Costco membership… she can buy socks in bulk.  My dad’s sarcasm alone would make her quit after the 1st toe was complete.   I said sweater, not socks… so.. that was not cool, and I improvised.  The guy at Michael’s Arts & Crafts was completely useless. He didn’t know what would be needed, and refused to try and call the person who’s usually in charge of yarn (call them at home, since he was covering for them).  Since he didn’t know what would be needed, I figured the kit would be more complete.  It had needles, and bobs, and a book of 30 things to make…. all that she’d need.  The Michael’s guy said they don’t gift-wrap.  I was getting frustrated “Well… it’s an arts & crafts store! Do you sell gift bags or papers?”  “oh yeah.. sure… aisle 1″  Finally, a question he knew the answer to.

I wrapped up the present (filmed also, so you can do it yourself for the next birthday you get a present for), and made it home in time for Brunch.  Mom liked her present, and mentioned the information that I recalled “I used to love knitting… back when the boys were young………”  Hooray, mission accomplished!  Oh yeah… except for it was triple over-achievement, as it wasn’t just a present she loved, I also showed up, and brought them a dog.  My older brother got them tickets to Mamma-Mia (that ABBA based musical), so they had plans…. great! Time for me to go meet more of my friends.  I forgot to mention, I was interviewing them so that you guys can get a real feel of what I’m like… through other people’s eyes.

I was however exhausted from the night’s activities (oh yeah… the suspense.. whatever did happen with the cops?  That’s another post), so I took a nap.  I then went to dinner with Mom and Dad. We had some Cuban food, and I managed to interview my parents too.  I told everyone “include the good and the bad!”  Dad mentioned the time I got banned from the mall for spraypainting the wall.  Mom mentioned I can get hot-headed sometimes…. but everyone mentioned that I’m extremely helpful, knowledgable, spontaneous, and exciting….  but you’ll get to see the videos for yourself, and be the judge.  After dinner, I went and hung out with Couch 55, whom I introduced previously to a friend of mine, and now they’re roommates.  Funny how that works.  I hung out there for a while, then went to see Damion.  I ended up crashing there for the night.  I watched a lot of really neat movies!

Employee of the Month, Burn After Reading, and Choke.  Choke is definitely a unique flick! It’s about a sex addict that pretends to choke at every dinner so he can make new friends…. that doesn’t ruin it… you gotta see it.  It’s definitely unique.

In the morning, I went to pick up my new business cards, saw another ex of mine who’s now engaged. Rachel gave a great interview… she was there for many adventures- she was there when I shot Hulk Hogan, Nikki Tailor, and many parties, DJ’s, singers, and fashion shows at various clubs in South Beach / Hard Rock.  In fact, I even put her in a cage in one fashion show   She became a sort of assistant of mine, so got in on all the wacky photography action. It was so nice to see her again, I’m glad we’re still friends.

Oh yeah… remember the topic?? This post is about Mom’s birthday present surprise.  And it says 2/3 successful.  So… what happened?

Itay told me to pretend like I’m going to take Nugget back… but leave him there, since the folks are going to visit him in 2 weeks.  *shrug* ok… no problem.  So, I’m not answering their calls, so that they don’t know I’m on the road.  Fast forward to 8pm.  I’m in Tampa Florida, listening to my Ipod as Couch #5 and one of Deepak Chopra’s kids are playing Tennis.  I’m texting Itay to call the folks already and congratulate them on their new 2 week dog-rental.  The return text “Call Mom ASAP… she’s pissed. I’m going to the gym.”  So, now it’s all my fault…. The folks are pissed off and worried because I didn’t take their calls, and they were expecting me to show up for the dog.  Thanks for notifying them Itay, about your birthday surprise… 2 weeks of doggie time.

There’s a moral here (heck.. I”m sure there’s plenty… I’m choosing one):

T. Harv Ecker states that you shouldn’t take ANYTHING personally…. Not just the negative stuff (“you’re stupid!  You’re fat!  You’re fat and stupid!”), but also the positive (You’re amazing! You’re thin! You’re so talented!”)… because if you succumb to one side of the coin, you are affected by the other side of the coin.  If someone compliments you every time they see you, you get used to it. If they don’t compliment you one time, you feel that there’s something wrong with you.  So, if someone complains, blow it off politely, and if they praise you, thank them politely… but never take it personally.  What they’ll say even depends on how their day went (if you interview for a raise, and your boss had a crap day, you’ll get different results than the same interview when your boss has a great day).  Why’s that moral relevant?  Well… my folks liked the surprise aspect of me showing up.  They liked the dog.  They liked the knitting stuff.  They did NOT like the surprise about the dog staying there.  Well, they did… they liked the strategy, just not the tactic used to deliver it.  But… it’s all the same coin.  It’s still me.  It’s something I would do.

So…. “What a great son”  was said by many when I mentioned I was driving 600 miles to surprise Mom.  But then I went and pissed the folks off big time with just another piece of the same pie.  I guess sometimes less is more.

Stay tuned- there’ll be much video coming soon.  I have a few days of driving ahead of me.  So, bear with me.  Next stop?  New Orleans, and then Austin, Texas.