Sad
The mood around the house is generally sad. Ali is really broken up about Pop Pop passing away. Everyone knew it could happen anytime, his body just wore out. The only thing I can say to try to console Ali is that in the big picture it is better this way. She will be fine for awhile and then just all of a sudden breaks out crying.
We fly out on Friday and return on Monday. I am going with to help Ali, I personally hate funerals, they put me face to face with my biggest fear. I believe Pop Pop’s funeral is going to be conventional with a viewing and all of that. I’ve been to two funerals like that in my life. I doubt very much that I will actually look in the coffin, it will break me up and freak me out at the same time. I’d rather remember Pop Pop in a different way. I have explicit instructions to be cremated. I believe pretty much every family member on my mom’s side has been cremated. There is something that just is gruesome to me about the conventional funeral/viewing/burial thing. It’s going to be tough few days for everybody.
Onto a lighter subject. Last night while Ali was taking a shower I was browsing the bedroom Tivo to see what it had on it. I stumbled across the world hamburger eating championship??!! I’m there! It was an hour long show on ESPN2. What action! That Japanese guy won. They were eating these burgers called Krystal Burgers. They were sort of like white castle burgers but a little bigger. They had 8 minutes to eat as many as possible. They started and it was amazing and disgusting. They would soak the burgers in water before inhaling them. I swear it almost looked like the kid did not chew, he practically swallowed each one whole. His pace was staggering. In eight minutes he ate 97 of these hamburgers, shattering the old world record of 69. They said he consumed over 20 pounds of food in those 8 minutes, wtf…. he only weighs 170 pounds.
The Camry Hybrid still is amazing us. Our mileage numbers keep climbing, for the tank of gas we are up over 37 mpg average. This morning I traveled the 2 miles or so of road leading up to Ali’s work in pure electric mode, doing 30 mph. Once you have driven a bit and put some charge on the battery, if you are cruising along with very little pressure on the pedal it will just use the electric motors to keep you going. I have been in pure electric mode at up to 40 mph. Driving around our parking lot it again turns into a big golf cart, silently rolling along. It is very cool stuff.