Monday, 06 February 2006

Uncle Smoove

I'm an uncle!!

Fiona's sister-in-law Angie had a baby at 2.45 am on 6th Feb (Aussie time)! An 8lb girl named Lili Jasmine. After what seemed like a week of contractions, the little lady finally made her long awaited appearance.

I haven't seen any pictures yet, but hopefully we'll see them sometime soon!

Posted by flow Frazao on February 6, 2006 at 02:30 AM in Family | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Friday, 04 November 2005

Grandma, Wilma and a Portuguese Passport

Hey there everybody! Just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive. Fiona and I have been in Florida for the past two months taking care of my Grandmother. She had a pretty major operation last August and has been recovering and working her way through a tract of chemotherapy. Luckily Fiona and I were in a position such that we could take some (more) time off and go help her through it.

All in all, it was a good time. We spent many hours sitting around talking about all sorts of things, and I learned the kind of stuff that can only be learned by living with somebody, as opposed to visiting. For example, I learned that when you get old and move into a retirement community the most important thing you can do all day is take in your newspaper before 10AM. If you don't you can bet that your neighbors will have worked themselves into a frenzy and will be on the verge of dialing 911 until they see that paper disappear.

Things got a little hairy when Hurricane Wilma hit though. I had returned to Connecticut to take care of some business at the Portuguese Consulate (I'm in the process of becoming a Portuguese citizen) and Fiona and Grandma were down in Florida by themselves. We knew the Hurricane was coming, but when I left it was really no big deal.

Funny how that kind of thing works though - within a day or so of my leaving it became obvious that Wilma was going to be a corker. When it finally hit it knocked out power and phone service to my Grandma's building and for two days the only way I could communicate with them was by sending text messages via the cell phone. It was pretty scary.

Luckily I managed to get them on one of the first flights out of Florida, and now everything's going fine. Grandma's going to be seeing an oncologist in Connecticut for a month or so until she returns to Florida, and now Fiona and I can focus on trying to figure out what we're going to do next.

Hope you're all doing well and you're enjoying autumn as much as I am. It's been a long time since I've seen the foliage this nice in New England and I'm digging every second of it.

Posted by flow Frazao on November 4, 2005 at 05:27 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, 03 December 2004

Laguna Bound

No time for a long post, but we're on our way down to Uncle Steve's today for a tree-lighting ceremony in Laguna Beach. It's so weird to be driving around and see a Frosty the Snowman lawn ornament propped up against a palm tree. Call me a Yankee, but as far as I'm concerned it's not Christmas unless you're freezing your ass off.

Posted by flow Frazao on December 3, 2004 at 06:09 PM in America, Family | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Wednesday, 27 October 2004

Romance Tip #52

Nothing says "Happy Anniversary" like a trip to the Holocaust Museum.

Posted by flow Frazao on October 27, 2004 at 01:36 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, 03 October 2004

Jeff's Funeral

I just got back from my friend's funeral. Even after a whole day of hearing people talk about Jeff and seeing everyone dressed in black it still doesn't seem real. Every time I check my email I expect to see something from him.

I've known the kid for almost 25 years. Pretty much my whole life. I don't even know why I'm writing this entry, really. I'm too exhausted to even think straight, much less write.

All I'll say for now is this - should you ever find yourself at a funeral service where they ask if anyone would like to say a few words about the deceased, think about it. If even the tiniest part of you wants to say something then you ought to speak up. I didn't, and now I'll never get another chance.

Posted by flow Frazao on October 3, 2004 at 10:05 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, 01 October 2004

Jeff

My friend Jeff's obituary ran in the paper today:

COHEN, Jeffrey S. Jeff Cohen, 28, died instantly in a car accident in Mexico on Tuesday (September 21, 2004). He lived a global life with no geographical or conventional boundaries. His intelligence, talents, creativity, and passion energized everyone who knew him. He is survived by his parents, Ann and Mitch Cohen of West Hartford; two sisters, Sandi and Claire, and Claire's fiance, Joe Schmidt; his grandmother, Nettie Forsheit of West Hartford; his grandfather, Herb Cohen of Deerfield Beach, FL; numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins; and friends around the world. He was predeceased by his grandfather, Samuel Forsheit; his grandmother, Ruth "Kitty" Cohen, and his aunt, Sherri Cohen. Dos besos, Jeff. You are in the ultimate time zone now.

It's exactly what he would have wanted. It wouldn't have been any better even if he'd written it himself.

Posted by flow Frazao on October 1, 2004 at 05:05 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, 24 September 2004

Bad News

I found out today that one of my oldest friends died yesterday in a car crash in Mexico. I can't believe it.

We grew up together in West Hartford, and were best friends for years. I used to sit on the phone with him for hours every day after school talking about all kinds of stuff, all of which seemed really important at the time.

During college we drifted apart, but we kept in touch over email and saw each other over holidays and summers. He was a constant voice in my life - sometimes for reason, and sometimes for insanity, but always there and always loud as hell.

He'd been having a tough time of things lately, and had kind of lost the plot a bit. For the past year or so he'd drifted from place to place looking for somewhere he could be comfortable. Maybe he's found it now. I don't know. I just wish I could talk to him one more time about stuff that seems important.

Posted by flow Frazao on September 24, 2004 at 11:22 PM in Family | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack