New Year's Eve

I wasn't feeling it, so I stayed in. I have next weekend off, so I will 'get out & about' then instead.

Snow Day

Eight inches of snow fell last night. This means I don't have to go into work!

 

 

xxx

Productivity

I had my first Saturday off in two months today.

I got up at nine, had cereal and coffee for breakfast, and then watched "Lords of Dogtown" (great movie). I RSVP'ed to Mike's NYE party ('most likely will attend'). I jumped online for a bit, and then was showered & out the door a little after 11 am to run some errands.

I drove to the Westminster post office to buy stamps and mail four t-shirts from last summer's WPMF III to the very patient winners of the blog sign-up. I stopped in at Dad & Ma's to pick up the three bags of whole bean Sumatran coffee they got me for Christmas (shipping delay), plus my gift from the California Crew (J & Stacie & kids), a $25 GC from AMEX. I went to the Leominster Barnes & Noble to snag two blank journals (my last one is neary full). And then I foodshopped.

We are supposed to get a lot of snow overnight, so I am ready in every way I can think of. And so is he (my cat Sabrino)!

I finished reading "Ozma of Oz" and then watched the newer "Clash of the Titans" (not bad). Then I ran out to get gas and to buy booze for Mike's party. There were already 3 inches of snow on the ground! I wound up getting a bottle of Appleton Estate V/X and a 2010 Malbec from Dona Paula Estate.

I made angel hair & ground beef covered in Ragu (and accompanied it with half of a Redhook ESB), and then read "Dorothy and The Wizard in Oz". Then it was a bored websurf for awhile. There were 6 inches of snow on the ground by 9 pm, and it is still falling...

Christmas Eve

Last night while my family was having dinner at my parents' house we all went outside to see the full moon with an amazing halo around it. My photo does not do it justice:

12-12-12

The incomparable Mister Ween (still going unbelieveably strong at 17)!:

Under the Weather

I got up today, all set to go to work, but then my stomach continued to rebel, so I called out (I left early yesterday for the same reason). With a minimum of physical stress I plan on making the most of the day within the walls of my small apartment. Stuff to follow...

Update: Things I got done:

• A sink full of dishes.
• A conference call for work.
• Misc. clutter clean-up.
• Took out the trash.

BOOM!

Turns out that Monro Muffler was trying to screw me. Either that, or they are staffed by at least six (the number of employees standing around when I drove up) morons. I got the repair done that they said would run me "at least $900" for $145 at Westminster Garage.

'Nuff said.

44

It should be a good year...

Car Trouble

I was driving home from work Friday evening and my car was making a very loud noise.

Saturday I went over to the local Monro Muffler place to get it fixed, and it turns out I need a new catalytic converter, as well as a few other parts, that according to the jackass who runs the place (he wouldn't honor a 30% off coupon, or let me pay in installments) would run me over $1,000. I missed work because of it.

I am going to bring it to the Westminster Garage and see if they can fix it for less, and even if they cannot, I'll be allowed to pay in a few chunks, rather than all at once...

4 More Years!

...Nuff said.

November Year's Resolutions

Yep, not 'New Year's Resolutions'. I need to get things on track, so I am making a list of things to work on in November beginning tomorrow (actually today):

• Visit more: I haven't seen some friends in over a year, and that's just wrong, no matter how busy everyone is. I want to get up to Portsmouth to hang out with Brian, Rob, Erik and Chris. I want to get into Boston to hang out with Jay and/or Gavin. And I want to hang out with Mike and Keith around these parts as well.
• Family Fun: I haven't seen Kevin in a long time (his fault mostly), so I will drop by on the next Sunday I happen to have off. I used to spend one day a week on average at Sarah's house when I was unemployed. I haven't been there since summer. And I will call Jason to gab with him and the kids at least once, since the likelihood of getting to California in the next 30 days is marginal at best (haha). Plus: at least two visits to Dad & Ma's.
• Exercise: I have had some success with this over the last two months. I added two hikes to "Mountain Quest 2012"; and I worked out ten times. I want to ramp that up to two hikes this month alone, and I will do my best to lift 3 times each week (except for maybe the week of Thanksgiving/Black Friday/my birthday).
• Eat Smarter: I need to stop eating after 7 pm, whether I work the day shift or not. And I need to quit the coffee in the afternoon as well. Plus, no Chinese or pizza delivered to my home! It's back to South Beach, as much as is practical with my schedule.
• Get rid of clutter: My apartment needs to be reorganized top to bottom. I will jettison anything I do not need. I will get rid of clothing that is useless. I will rearrange the place to be more conducive to artistic endeavors. And I will winnow my comics collection to a more manageable size.

I will update every weekend until the month ends, including this weekend, even though it's only three days away.

Mountain Quest 2012 No. 4

I decided at the last minute to hike Pratt Mountain today. It was cool and dry during my ascent, which took about 50 minutes. At the top I took photos, ate some almonds and an apple, sent my brother Jason a few pictures, and just enjoyed the view.

I also had planned to begin a series of Lego stories with a 'lost' Jedi named Kenzor Moh (who looks a lot like me, go figure!), so I snapped a bunch of pictures of 'me' and Boba Fett, and turned them into a photo tale (here).

The descent was rather humid, which wasn't too surprising, as I could see the mists rolling in while I was on the summit. I listened to Cocteau Twins' "Blue Bell Knoll" on the way down, and at the last minute decided to not drop in on my brother Kevin and his family, despite their house being right down the road. Some days I like to keep my hikes to myself for awhile, and today especially since I had the mountain to myself!

Hunters Warning

I designed a 'safety' t-shirt for my hikes! It arrived Friday, and I hope to wear it soon (this image is on the back, and the front has "Mountain Quest 2012" on the left front chest area)...

Alone

Offtober Day 4

Today I suffered from 'vacation fatigue'. I decided to wait until tomorrow to do the hike in Vermont, mostly because the weather will be better, but also because I wasn't motivated enough for a long drive.

I spent the day in front of the tv and the computer. I ordered a pepperoni, mushroom & anchovy from Liberty Pizza (always great). And I laundered a few blankets.

Then at 6:45, I jumped up and began a 90-minute work-out. After that I watched "90210", showered, and then did a lot more work on my 'X-Men' drawing as I watched "Revolution". Typical late-day heroic productivity frenzy, no pun intended!

Offtober Day 3

I had cereal and coffee for breakfast and then finished the latest issue of "Smithsonian" (articles on Jefferson's slaves; the real Tom Sawyer; and 'vampires' in New England) in front of the tv. I sketched my version of the original 'X-Men' in front of the Patriots-Broncos game, and had tuna fish sandwiches and chips for lunch. I did research for my hike of Mt. Ascutney tomorrow. I ate an apple, drank some orange juice, and watched "The Amazing Race" while I inked my drawing.

And last but not least, I will go to bed at a decent hour so I can get up early tomorrow!

Offtober Day 2

I made sure I got eight hours of sleep last night, so I got up at 11 am (haha). I had cereal and coffee for breakfast, and spent the first part of my day reading the latest issues of Wired and Smithsonian in front of the television, as I watched the latest episodes of "Copper" and "Revolution" .

Later in the day I finally took apart my old computer and scattered its parts throughout my various trash cans. I also sorted a bag of old comics that Dad got for me from Grammy & Grampa's house. It was a ton of old "Archie" comics, which I will most likely give to Sarah's kids, as they are the most suited for them. I had cold chinese food (leftover from yesterday) for a late lunch, and watched some of the KU / K-State football game, as well as most of "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull".

I spent the next several hours listening to my iPod, reading & playing games online, drawing, and working out (7:00 - 8:30). I got some cool new music from Tipi Valley and The Dust Mice too. It's 10:30 pm, and I am going to shower, make Ragu over angel hair pasta & ground beef, and finish my drawing. Then I will most likely veg in front of "SNL" before bed...

Offtober Day 1

I have the next six days off!

Today has been a 'sit around' day. I've watched tv, read, and played games online, in a random rotation all day. I got chinese food for lunch. I've pondered getting outdoors for some kind of activity, but it's already 4 pm, and it doesn't look likely at this point (haha).

Things I want to do before I head back to work next Thursday:

• Break in my new 501 Original jeans.
• Go on at least one hike.
• Leave Massachusetts for at least one day.
• Paint.
• Contribute to my new shared art blog, Balsa Wood Tree House, at least twice.
• Practice my guitar.

I'll keep you posted!

10:30 pm addendum: I got off my ass around 8:30 and showered, threw in my contacts, and jumped into the aforementioned 501's. I went foodshopping, and filled my fridge for vacation culinary satisfaction. When I got home I: changed out Mr. Ween's litter box; deleted & added songs to my iPod nano; did laundry; taste-tested a beer; and stayed up late doing creative junk.

501's

I snagged a pair of Levi's 501 Buttonfly original "Shrink to Fit" Jeans over the weekend for the amazingly low price of $28.80. They arrived in the mail today, and I will commence with the long-term 'breaking in' this weekend!

New Music Monday

I bought some new music today:

• The new album from Saint Etienne "Words and Music By Saint Etienne" (I will be seeing them live at The Paradise on Saturday 10/27).
• The "Food" 2-song single by The Lovely Eggs.
• And "Mr. Dolphin" by Pale Saints, an album I didn't even know existed! I'm so happy about this one...

Day Three: The Mountain and The Guitar

Most of today passed by pretty unfocused. But I decided around halftime of the Patriots' sorry loss to the Cardinals that I would hike up Mount Wachusett, and kickstart the rest of "Mountain Quest 2012". I decided to go up via the West Side Trail as far as I could, and then finish with the Indian Head Trail. I got to break in my new hiking boots (resulting in a blood blister on the outside of my left big toe), and my new iPod nano as well (my descent was accompanied by the amazing album "All My Lovely Goners" by Winterpills). It took me an hour to ascend, and about 45 minutes to get back down, with a ten minute break at the somewhat crowded summit. I arrived at the top to find the new watch tower finally completed, which was cool, but the overly-loud 'expert' pointing out & naming all of the surrounding peaks to his companion was most definitely not. It was a great day.

When I got home, I ate the half chicken, corn bread and mac & cheese I picked up from Boston Market (now I know why I haven't gotten food there since 1999: lame service, and the rotisserie chicken at Hannaford blows BM's away!). Then it was "Date Night" (Carrell & Fey) and "The Great Food Truck Race", before breaking out my guitar to retune it, and mess around with it for a bit.

Day Two: The Theater and The Library

I slept in, and then had coffee and cold pizza for breakfast. I watched a very good movie, "Friends With Kids", starring Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt (who wrote and directed the film too). Lunch was the rest of the cold pizza, and I did a lot of online reading and window shopping. In the afternoon I went to my local comic shop, and I did a thorough foodshop as well. Supper was hot dogs and chips; I had a pretty decent Lost Continent Double IPA; I watched the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" (Seth MacFarlane hosted: "Listen, Bro Turkey!"); and I fell asleep around 3 am after finishing "Lord Hornblower". A great low-key day.

Day One: The Studio and The Lake

I didn't get to sleep until 4:30 am last night because I was busy inking a drawing for the group blog Back to Drawing Bored. And when I awoke at 8:15 or so this morning, I decided to get this 4-day span of days off to an early start.

Breakfast was coffee (Sumatran of course) and cereal, and after a bit of tv as I ate, I spent several hours "Kirbying up" (blocky black inks) the drawing. I shaved my head as I goofed around online, so I would be all shiny for the rest of the weekend, and after a late lunch of Mandarin oranges and reheated chicken fried rice, I showered.

Then it was off to the lake! I spent three hours in the following ways: I did some raking and removal of rain debris; I read "Lord Hornblower"; I finished the inking and then most of the coloring of the drawing; and I took many photos. I had a Granny Smith apple after my one beer (the always dependable Magic Hat #9), and decided to not do two planned things: swim, and try the Lost Continent Double IPA (some other time!). IPod music was supplied by Sun Sister.

When I got home I ordered a pepperoni, mushroom and anchovy pizza from Liberty Pizza (the best!), and after eating half of it in front of some sports tv, I fell asleep in my big chair from 9 - 11 pm.

4 Days Off

I have the next four days off in a row: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Stay tuned...

Big IPAs

I bought three large bottles of various local India Pale Ales today on the way home from work. I will utilize them in a taste test of some sort soon, either here or on Not Lame Minus .

Great Afteroon

I spent a few hours (4:30 - 7 pm) down at the lake today. I drew, read, swam/floated, listened to music (Almanac Mountain and Eastern Sun), and took a lot of pictures. It was awesome.

Mister Ween!

Fancy Footwork

...to follow. Here are my new hiking shoes for Mountain Quests going forward!

No Words Required

Always a Good Thing

A box of books arriving from Amazon!



Kickstarter Stuff

A few days ago I received in the mail the download card for Abbie Barrett & The Last Date's second "Triples" EP. I redeemed it today, and can't wait to listen to the three new songs.

I also got the notification that my LAKE R▲DIO package (a t-shirt, an original EP, two cds, free digital downloads for life, and 'on the guest list' for any shows to which I am local) will be sent out shortly.

All kinds of new music, both live and recorded, plus a cool t-shirt! A great day indeed...

One-Hour Vacation

I raced down to the lake directly from work, and spent a glorious hour there from 7 - 8 pm. I arrived, changed into my swimsuit, inflated one of the many donut floats, ate a few small Slim Jims, and slathered myself with sunscreen. And after a quick paddle out, I had a Wachusett Imperial Black IPA 22 oz. bottle to accompany me in the middle of Wyman's Pond from 7:15 - 7:45. A perfect way to end a good day at work...

WPMF3

Well, it didn't turn out quite as I'd imagined, but this year's Wyman's Pond Music Fest happened.

The Rafters (minus Miki, who was packing for her & Dave's trip to Disney World) played a great set while the sun lasted. Sarah Blacker (and her percussionist Sheesh) performed for an hour under the canopy while it rained. And finally, Kristin Cifelli played a handful of sings w/o plugging in during the downpour that followed. Chris (Almanac Mountain) and Elizabeth (Lorrey) were gracious enough to agree to perform at a later date, in either August or September, since the weather was ridiculous, and everyone had left by 4:30 pm.

Since the first two years were both sunny, warm and dry, the weather was bound to catch up to us...

There was a good crowd. The usual Oakmont suspects (Mike, Pete, Luc, Jody and Dave, plus Ann and Courtney); Paul and Nick both came from work, with their respective girlfriends (Tori and Anna) and friends; each of the musicians had at least one 'special guest' with them; and Sarah had two of her friends' families over with their kids. Relatives in attendance: Dad & Ma, Sarah & Jon and the kids, Holly and the kids (Kevin had to work), Ted & Wendy, Jeff & Jill and Lyndsey, Aunt Carol & Jim, and Jean Marie. Side note: Gavin drove down around 5:30 after everyone had left!

The Rafters

Sarah Blacker

Kristin Cifelli



A Short Lake Interval

I raced down to the lake yesterday after working 9-6. I had an amazing Wachusett Imperial Black IPA, and spent a nice hour floating in the middle of the pond, enjoying the beer and the sunset.

WPMF3 Tee

Here is the first iteration of the tee shirt I am going to raffle off at this year's Wyman's Pond Music Fest. I thing the orange is too dark on the green background, so I am going to modify the screen printed ones I order in two weeks. [image later]

7-2-12

Three Wachusett Nut Brown Ales, 2 Slim Jims and many pages of "Eldest". Plus an hour floating in the middle of the lake. What a way to begin tomorrow's day off!

A 5-Hour Tour

I was down at the lake today from 2:30 'til 7:30.

Erik came down from New Hampshire (everyone else was busy), and we had hot dogs, steak tips, and beer. I had a growler of Opa-Opa IPA (a favorite for awhile now), and Erik gave me a bottle of Southern Tier Porter to try. It wasn't half bad. I spent an hour floating in the middle of the lake with a beer; I read some of "Eldest"; and basically I just enjoyed the best weather of last week and next (sunny, 80 and dry) for a few hours in one of the best places on earth...

It's About (Lake) Time!

I am headed down to the lake today for the first time in 2012. Unbelievable! Most years I get down there at least once in early spring, or by May at the latest. This year I've either been busy with work or my days off have been un-lake-like.

Today is supposed to be sunny, dry and 80 or so. I'll have a jug of Opa-Opa IPA, my iPod nano, a book, and whichever friends show up to hang out. Sweet.

The Royal Treatment

I got my Kickstarter package from the amazing Natalie Royal this week! Not only did I receive an autographed copy of the physical cd for her new album "Savor", but I also got an exclusive numbered (#14 of 19) EP of seven songs, and a personalized haiku!

Coffee drinker Ken.

Wish I were in New England

for his festival!

These Kickstarter projects are always worth supporting. Sure, you might pay a bit more than you normally would for a typical cd, but the bonuses (not to mention the satisfaction of helping great musicians realize their dreams) are always worth the extra bucks! Thanks again Natalie, and may the rest of 2012 be good to you...