Well, if you’re coming from Flint, you could ride with me. But if you insist on carpooling with someone cool, I’m afraid you’ll have to ride with someone else. 
That would be great! (You and mrblue were the people I was hinting at. You are cool people. At least the cool people I thought would be willing to lower themselves to picking up a dopey underage Doper)
Medea’s Child, you realize of course that I would be willing to pick you up–I don’t think your place is too far out of the way because I’m heading past Flint on I-75 anyway. Only room for one passenger in my truck, though (bucket seats).
[sub]I would have got back to you sooner, but I had a company Christmas party last night.[/sub]
Ann Arbor is probably a 2 hour drive for me under ideal conditions, and the latest I would possibly have to work on that Friday (29th) is noon. (I get my choice of working a half day on the 22nd and taking off the 29th or vice versa.) When can the rest of you guys be there?
At this point, my world is:
- work (which will be closed)
- SO (who will either be sleeping or working that whole day)
and - Son (age 16, who is so deeply in the dog house that he will either be chained at home or at his dads under lock and key.
so, any time (although I prefer not to drive too much at night).
Hey, be nice to yourself! You’re as cool as they get!
Any restaurant and any time is good for me. Tell me time and place!
wring, may I ask what Son did to deserve such pain? This is just me being nosey so you can tell me to shove off.
mrblue, we can work stuff out when I get home. (Home! I’m coming home! WOOO HOOO!!!)
And Persephone is as cool as they get. She even puts up with the Mayor, which is automatic sainthood.
Son, who may never again see the light of day, last weekend, I dropped him off at school with the understanding that his dad would pick him up from school and he’d be there for the weekend, dad would take him to work Saturday and Sunday, and to school again on Monday, where I’d pick him up. I picked him up on Monday, complained about not getting a call back from my Sunday call about when/where to pick him up, he says “step mom must have not given dad the message”.
Spoke to dad last night. He was out of town last weekend. Son was apparently at his house, unknown for how long, but tell tale signs of activities (some beer bottles, dad doesn’t drink) etc.
I dropped son off at school this morning, he thinks I’m picking him up at 3:15 to take him to work. I’m picking him up at 3:15 to bring him back to my office where his dad will be waiting and together, we’ll ‘chat’. I’ve called his job to let them know he’ll be a bit late.
<Mighty Mouse>
Here I come to bump this thread…
</MM>
Oh. Sorry 
Anyway… it’s looking like we’re all settling on the 29th December here in Ann Arbor. There are several restaurants near the expressways that can accomodate a large group (and which, for the sake of Medea’s Child, aren’t seafood-oriented :)). One that comes immediately to mind is the Macaroni Grill, if no one has problems with Italian. I think they take reservations, but don’t quote me on that.
If we want to go someplace specifically Ann Arbor-ish, we’ll have to go downtown… and probably wait for a while. What’s everyone think?
LL
PS. I’ll crosspost this–later–to the eGroup.
YUM! I love Macaroni Grill!
Never been to Macaroni Grill. Sounds interesting!
Medea, just so’s you know, my husband will be attending also, and both of us smoke. I don’t know if you do or not, nor do I know if mrblue92 does. If you don’t, and mrblue doesn’t, and you’d rather ride in a non-smoking vehicle, I will absolutely not be offended. Or, if you have no problem with it, I would be delighted to give you a ride.
Another thought is the Mongolian Barbecue, but that’s right downtown, and downtown traffic on a Saturday night is a b****.
Does anyone want to do anything specifically after dinner, or do we just want to hang & talk? Or talk loud & hang from the ceiling, as good Dopers do?
Never been to Macaroni Grill, if I voted about places, I’d vote against Buchanen (oops) and downtown (parking is abysmal). But don’t let me rule the group (although I do have a tiara) Italian is ok by me.
Parking downtown isn’t abysmal. There’s approximately 187 parking garages within a 5-block radius of Main Street. But you’ve gotta walk from them to wherever you’re going, and my guess is it’s gonna be cold. So going someplace on the outskirts of town would probably be better, especially if this shapes up to be as large as it’s looking to be!
wring–how’d it go with the son? Did you allow him to live? I hope so. But boy, do I hope you busted him HUGE!
Dec 29 sounds great to me and anyplace that works for everyone else is fine, too.
Geez, I’m easy. Hear that, single male dopers?
Being the son of divorced parents (we split when he was 1 1/2 years old), he’s never had to deal with being double teamed.
I picked him up from school, ‘how was your day’ hmmm? drove to my office “I just have to stop here for a second” why’s dad truck here? ‘hmmmm?’ then, come on in…
ok son. we thought it was time to talk, and we thought that you should start by explaining what you’ve been up to lately, keeping in mind that if we’re both here we already have some information.
It took about 45 minutes. He admitted the party, pretended to not know that people were drinking (it does occur to me that he’s not really had a lot of experience being around people who are drinking, but I don’t really buy that one). Denied any sex going on ( :rolleyes: ), about 20 kids were there, planned way in advance, ‘forgot’ all the lectures I’d given him about how the home owner can be held legally responsible for activity on the premises, that his dad could have been prosecuted and/or sued for the drinking or if any of the kids had gotten a hold of his guns etc.
The good news is I’ve decided I don’t need to buy a snow blower - I’ve got teenaged labor at the ready for the foreseeable future.
Naturally, he found a way of making it my fault (“you’ve been so mean lately, you probably don’t even like me anymore, and and and…”). So, I’ll let him live. We’re not going to decide on the full punishment right now (if it had been right now, he’d be grounded for life). I’ve been reading the stories in DuckDuckGoose’s pit thread about “where are these teenagers’ parents” and it’s given me some hope. thanks for asking. wanna trade kids???
29th ends up being one of the two days I’ll be in chicago. Kathryn beats her head on desk
Just asked my mom if I could wander to AA for the party with my internet people. She informed me that she had me at the family trip to chicago those two days but if I didn’t really want to go…
So you guys have a blast, and sorry I made these things fit me and then had to drop out.
In a similar thought, mrblue, dinner on the 22nd will be great, as my trip to chicago isn’t until the next week.
Again, my apologies for my stupidity in this matter. (I’ll be in chicago the 29th and the 30th…you know, the days you guys aren’t busy.)
Back to dinner with the home crowd. (Home! Christmas! Snow!)
“Honey, why ever would you want to go to a party with a bunch of recovering alcoholics? Unless YOU… Oh dear! I knew sending you away to school was a bad idea! You’re going to U of M, young lady, and there’ll be no argument about it!”
Even though I’m disappointed Medea’s Child won’t be attending, I still plan on being there. (Thanks for offer to drive, Cristi, but I am most definitely a non-smoker. Besides, I’ll be able to leave when I want to if I drive…)
Unless you’ve actually been mean, rather than being, oh, you know, a mom, I hope you didn’t let him get away with that one!
IMHO, ground him for a long time. Free teenage labor is hard to find anymore!
I beg you not to choose Mongolian Barbeque. UNLESS they take reservations. I’d say that place has, hands-down, the longest wait of any downtown restaurant in Ann Arbor. We’ve inquired on a weekend and had the hostess say (with a straight face) 2 hours.
I’ll take your word on Mongolian Barbeque, Cranky. My brother says the same thing–great food, loooooong wait.
Anyone interested in my original suggestion, Joe’s Crab Shack? I’ve never been there, but I’ve driven past it a couple of times (although I did have a brain freeze earlier on it’s location) and it looks so, I don’t know, delightfully cheesy. Doper-esque. I’ve never been there, but I’ll eat damn near anywhere that will serve me crab legs. Mmmmmmm!
This needs a bump, I think!