Christmas Eve & Day 2014

Eve: I arrived at 4 pm, and Ma had laid out an array of cold cuts, cheese & crackers, veggie plates and desserts for the impending family gathering that included everyone except Jason's California branch. I watched "Around the Horn" with Dad, Kevin & Jon; people ate at their convenience; I hung out with the kids in the back room; and we exchanged gifts from around 6:30 - 7:00.

I gave Kevin's boys Legos (plus "O.M.A.C." to Jared and a large-size Lego Stormtrooper flashlight to Drew); I gave Jackie & Helena & Georgia 100-page sketch books and special thin colored pens; I gave Celia pens and 3 canvases; and I gave Hayden a year's subscription to Surfing Magazine, plus a cool skull-shaped bottle.

I received the following from Dad & Ma:

• $50 AMEX card.
• All-natural Mexican candy canes.
• A 4-pack of Peet's coffee (8 oz. grounds). So far the Holiday Blend is good, the Garuda Blend is very good, and the Uzuri African Blend is okay.
• $45 GC to That's Entertainment.
• $25 GC to Barnes & Noble.
• $15 GC to McDonald's.
• A book about houses from Yankee Magazine.
• A handheld sliding game.

Also, I got a little tree from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and fifteen $2 scratch tickets from Kevin & Holly (net winnings: $12); $30 from Sarah & Jon; and a $50 Visa card from Jean Marie.

As usual, the evening flew by far too quickly. I stayed until around 9:30, and left at the same time as Sarah's branch.

Day: I spent today drawing, watching television, reading, and playing Lego Marvel Super Heroes on my PS3. I was going to go to Sarah's (along with Dad & Ma) for the afternoon, but I was enjoying the quiet (not to mention the coffee and candy canes!), and didn't feel like going anywhere.

Okemo Thanksgiving Getaway

Wed - drove up in the now, arrived around 11 pm. 

Nearly slid down the mountain in my car!

Thu - Ma's awesome Thanksgiving dinner.

Fri - Sarah's kick-ass pancakes & bacon breakfast. 

Headed home around noon.

Great holiday trip.

Read; drew with all 3 girls; played pool w/the twins; 

played LEGO Marvel Super heroes w/Hayden.

Football all day Thursday with Dad.

Off to Vermont!

Thanksgiving is once again in Vermont. 

Dad & Ma, and Sarah & Hayden & Celia all got up to the house in Ludlow (on Okemo) earlier today; Jon is at the Celtics game with Helena & Georgia, and I am leaving in about 20 minutes (just before 8pm).

First Snow

I was headed out to Dad & Ma's to hang out with them and Jason, and I found my car covered in ¼" of snow.

On the way back (and in the center of town) the snow had frozen solid into a super-dangerous surface - YIKES! I drove home at 20 miles per hour!

Great Use of New Time

It's been a pretty good time these last few days AB ("After Brookstone").

• I've worked out twice. 
• I've rediscovered my guitar, and I've used it several days already. 
• I've been weeding out junk I have that is taking up space and/or can be sold off. 
• I've finished a book ("Dark Star Safari"). 
• And I've spent a lot more time drawing.

This second go-round with not working is going to be productive and fun. I'm not going to let its potential slip by...

Farewell...

...Brookstone.

I loved working with you, but seriously - NO raise in three years? I guess I was able to invest more of me into our relationship than you were of you. Good luck.

Love,

#83246

Brother Day

It was a cool dry sunny fall day.

I spent the afternoon with Kevin and his family just south of the NH border. The Patriots kicked the Steelers' asses (final score: 55-31). Kevin made awesome cheeseburgers.

And I dropped $102.45 at the comic shop, for at least 2 evenings' worth of reading.

Mister Ween, from yesterday!

MQ 2013 - Two: Pratt Mountain

For some reason I seem to choose late October to hike Pratt Mountain each year:

• 2011 - Tuesday October 25th
• 2012 - Saturday October 27th
• 2013 - Sunday October 27th

Today it was a windy day, dry and cold. It was partly cloudy, but the sun snuck in just enough times to make the hike better.

PS3 & GTA:V

After several weeks of thought, much convincing by old coworkers & friends, and a $100 Visa gift card that expires on Halloween, I finally bought the PlayStation 3 bundle that includes "Grand Theft Auto: V". I'll be able to watch movies again on the DVD player, and I'll be able to play live games with several members of my Burlington chums and my brothers & nephews. I also snagged "LEGO: Marvel Super Heroes"...

MQ 2013 - One: Crow Hills

I hiked Crow Hills today, for 2013's first Mountain Quest.

It was sunny and dry in the low 60's, and from 4:40 pm to 6:45 pm I worked my way up to and back from the cliffs (which I did not scale this trip). I took a lot of photos, and set up a couple of "Lost Jedi" shots (which mostly came out blurry or horrible) as well. I had a couple of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups for my mid-trek snack, drank a half liter of water, and listened to Cuushe and Sansyou on the way down. A good hike, even though there was no summit view.

Seven Day Interlude

I have the next seven days off before beginning my new gig in Natick.

Time for some adventure! A live show perhaps? A trip to New Hampshire? A hike or two? New beers? New music? The possibilities are nearly endless...

Redbones & Saloon

dfsdfsdf

Lake & Beer

I raced home from work directly to the lake, and had just enough time to see the tail end of the sunset, and drink one beer (and eat 4 small Slim Jims - yum!):

12 Years Ago

Paper Manchu

July Interlude: Day 6

text & photos later

July Interlude: Day 5

I slept in until 10 again. Breakfast was Mandarin oranges, a corn muffin and coffee. Lunch was half a pepperoni & mushroom pizza and Pepsi. I drew (see below). And at 6 pm I showered, and then ran a bunch of errands: comic shop, ATM ( I got my 3 mileage checks all in one - $260!), foodshopping, and the liquor store for a 6-pack of Smuttynose Old Brown Dog for tomorrow. I talked to/left messages for the following on the phone about tomorrow's Music Fest: Kevin, Sarah, Keith, Erik and Jay.

I watched a lot of surfing later in the evening (up until 10 pm). Kelly Slater beat Mick Fanning at Cloud Break in Fiji. Then I cleaned the burners on the stove (good soaking, then rub-down). And last, but definitely not least, at 11:30 I worked out. It felt great.

July Interlude: Day 4

Today began as a day of sloth, and ended with a lot of action.

I had coffee & Pop-Tarts for breakfast, after walking across the street to buy ½ & ½. I watched "Gangster Squad" (pretty good). I built 2/3 of my Y-Wing LEGO kit. I drew a demon fairy. I had McDonald's for a late lunch after bringing Sabrino to his check-up (so far, so good!). I watched sports TV (surfing in Fiji, and "ATH" & "PTI").

And then at 8:30 pm I shaved & showered, and headed out to the Gardner Ale House to hang out with Mike, Pete, Jim, Dave, Ann, Nicki, Randi, Robert and Kim. What a blast. Our short haired blonde waitress was a sweetheart and hot, and I had the lobster quesadilla and four of the house XSB beers. There was live music -Audio Wasabi, with Johnny Snowpants and "Summer Songs. I am so glad I went.

July Interlude: Day 3

Not a lot going on today:

I did manage to shave my head, and read a trade paperback ("X-Men: Supernovas"), plus neaten things up a bit around the apartment. I ordered out for a double bacon cheeseburger deluxe for supper. Sabrino was obsessed with the mouse in the walls. And I added some music to my iPod Nano, including the remastered version of "Explorations" by Bill Evans Trio.

Oh yeah, and I did some drawing, and had a beer too:

July Interlude: Day 2

I slept in until 10:30. Breakfast was cereal & coffee. I watched a trippy episode of "Falling Skies" (S3/E8), and then hung out online for awhile. It rained all morning, and hard.

I got Chinese for a late lunch/early supper - chicken wings, chicken fingers, and pork fried rice. I watched "A Good Day to Die Hard" (not bad...) and then  "ATH" & "PTI", while organizing one of my two large bookcases, and reading a cool comic anthology from Image called "Dia de los Muertos". I did laundry and dishes too, and i drew off and on (doodling, mostly).

I was going to go into Boston to hang out with Jay at TOAD, and see Abbie Barrett and her band perform, but I was still recovering from the last few days' malady (headache, sore throat, stuffy and/or leaky nose, etc...), but I stayed home, and got the aforementioned done.

July Interlude: Day 1

8 am Breakfast: a plum, a bowl of shredded wheat, and half a cup of coffee.

9 am to 1-ish pm: Work, and then it was a fantastic commute home, with a stop at my longtime local comic shop.

3 pm Lunch: cold fried clam strips & half a Pepsi, as I read several of the comics I bought, and watched "Restaurant Impossible" and "Bar Rescue". Then I read the latest issue of "Wired" magazine and watched "ATH" and "PTI" on ESPN.

7 pm Online Time: Listening to a new CD that arrived in the mail: Sansyou "When We Become Ghosts". I spent the extra dollar for the physical copy when I bought the digital version on Bandcamp. Lee cancelled for her slot at WPMF4. I'm looking for a replacement via Twitter. I added lots of new music to my iPod (well, mostly from my CDs).

10 pm TV and more comics: I read a big chunk of the comics I bought, and I watched "Friends" and "How I Met Your Mother" reruns until midnight...

Medi-Cool

I haven't had a regular doctor since before the millennium, and I haven't had a physical since 2004.

Today went great: BP 126/74, and nothing else wrong except the extra pounds.

Relief!

Happy Half New Year

I am going to treat today, Monday July 1st,
as the 'new' New Year, and hit the ground running
with a new round of resolutions...

On the agenda of half-year resolutions/behavior mods:

• See three live music shows besides my WPMF4.
• Lose 20 pounds minimum by Christmas (I am at 258 as of this morning, thank god I am 6'3"...).
• Hang out with Darren, Keith, and cousin Jeff by the end of the year.
• Learn ONE song with confidence on my guitar.
• Start dating again. I'm tired of being alone, though it's been by choice.
• Get paid for some artistic endeavor.
• Save $2,000.

Let the self-improvement begin anew!

Mouse-ter Ween

My cat caught his first mouse ever! He is 18 years old!

Lake-ish

I went down to the lake today (after runs to the comic shop and the liquor store for beer). It was great to be out in the fresh air. The lake had the following craft making noise in front of my property: a boat towing two inner tubes while blasting crap-hop; two jet skis; and two upright jet skis. I didn't really mind.

It was very windy (and cloudier than anywhere else within a 5-mile radius - what the hell?), the beer (Wachusett Summer) was disappointingly warm, and it even rained for a bit as the temperature dropped. So I only stayed for an hour, just enough time for half a beer, some Slim Jims & Wachusett potato chips, and to read Astro City #1 and Earth 2 Annual #1.

I'm still glad I went, though! Any time at the lake is a good time.

Maine Round 2

I spent Tuesday the 28th - Wednesday the 29th doing Operations work at the Maine mall store. I spent most of the first day tearing down the big section of the back room, and organizing it. The second day was sorting through/tossing out paperwork & binders, doing shipment, and positioning the staff for success. The team  is great, they have 3 new hires ready to go, and it was a fun second trip (better weather, too).

Maine Commute

My approach to the border between NH & ME last Friday:

Mission: Maine

My district manager wants me to undertake two work missions in Maine over the next week or so:

1. Work Friday and Saturday (11am - 9pm) and focus solely on sales in our severely-understaffed (3 employees!) store up there.
2. Work Tuesday and Wednesday (1pm - 10pm  and 9am - 5pm, respectively) teaching the staff operations and observing their daily routines & paperwork management.

I plan on hitting Old Port Friday night after work (Gritty McDuff's!), and maybe stopping in Portsmouth on the way home Saturday night to hang out with Brian & Rob.

I'm actually more excited about this weekend's work shifts than I am about the two days off I am currently in the midst of. Weird...

Beer on a Kayak

I went down to the lake for a couple of hours to kayak, draw, read, and listen to music.

I paddled around in the kayak for a half hour or so, took some pictures, drank a beer (Magic Hat #9), and then read some of "Hostile Shores" , before it got too dark to continue. I never did get around to drawing, though. A nice outdoor interlude nevertheless!

Mt. Wachusett

 

Minor Tasks Conquered

From late afternoon on I was quite productive. I accomplished the following:

• Cleared off my art table.
• Rearranged/added to/removed various wall decorations.
• Raced out to the comic shop before it closed (mostly for "Legion of Super-Heroes" #19).
• Did dishes.
• Did laundry.
• Cleared off my desk.
• Worked out (for the first time since my back injury)!

I am quite pleased with myself...

Massachusetts Mayhem

Today (monday the 15th) two bombs went off at the Boston Marathon around 2:50 pm. To date, 3 people have been killed and there are over 150 people injured.

Alos, on the drive home from work around 10:00 pm I had just gotten onto 495 southbound (from Route 3 North), when I drove by a car that was completely engulfed in flames. It was surreal.

I took a few quick photos, but there was no way to clearly capture the fire at 70 mph with my primitive phone camera:

Through my front passenger window.
The streak is the flames as I passed by.

Taken over my shoulder through the rear window as I sped past.

New Music, Lately

Last night I snagged some new music from the following bands:

• 28 Degrees Taurus - "Vast Majestic" EP
• Gospel Gossip - "Atlantic Blue" 7" and "Drift" EP

The "Atlantic Blue" EP is also winging its way to me as a vinyl 45 as well!

Aging

Not to get too introspective, but the one thing that always lets me know that I am no longer the spring chicken I am inside of my own head, is the occasional back muscle strain I experience lately.

I was doing Spring Cleaning all day yesterday, and the strain must have happened when I had my upright vacuum over my head, in order to use the hose to clean out the cobwebs from my high bathroom ceiling's corners.

I had a hard time getting comfortable falling asleep last night, and I woke up many times. Thankfully, Nick was also working today, so I scrambled to find replacements. Sitting in a chair is difficult, and the pain is so present that the television is more annoyance than distraction. I'll probably read all day...

I guess 44 is not the new 24 after all (haha)...

WPMF IV - Update

The Rafters just signed back on. Now there are three, and I hope to get an electronic act for after dark...

Mug-tastic

My two new (and current favorite) mugs.

 

 

9 Days - NINE

I woke up to three inches of wet heavy snow. I moved my car.

In the evening there was another three inches of wet heavy snow. I took the trash down to the curb.

Work begins again tomorrow...

9 Days - EIGHT

I slept in until 10:15 today. Then it was a South Beach breakfast and coffee while I watched last night's "Spartacus: War of the Damned".

Random minor tasks followed, such as shaving, doing a sink full of dishes, and cleaning the toilet. Then I ran out for $25 worth of comics (holy crap - Sun Boy is dead???), and ordered a pizza. The Red Sox lost their first preseason game in the bottom of the 9th. I watched two episodes of "Mad Men" (5.3 and 5.4).

...more later

9 Days - SEVEN

Yesterday was a day of rest. I spent the day watching tv, reading, and hanging out online. That is all.

9 Days - SIX

I woke up at 9:30 (another great night's sleep), threw on some clothes, and went down to Mocha Mott's for the third time in three days for a large coffee, and another sausage, egg & cheese on a plain bagel for breakfast. Then it was packing, showering and getting ready to head off-island.

My reservation was for 5 pm, but I opted for an early exodus, and got in the stand-by line at 11:30 am. There wasn't room on the noon ferry, so I read a big chunk of "A Tramp Abroad". As a result, because I drive a Honda Civic, mine was the only car that would fit on the 1:15, and I got to cut in front of many SUVs - HAHAHA!

It was a nice drive home. My box of books from Amazon was waiting for me when I walked in, and Sabrino was ecstatic that I was back from being gone for over 54 hours. My cat is the best. He sat on my lap for awhile, and later, when I unpacked my suitcase he spent a good thirty minutes happily rolling around on one of the shirts I had on during my trip. I love him so much!

I spent the rest of the day emptying my DVR, catching up online, and then watching tonight's shows.

9 Days - FIVE

mv day 2

9 Days - FOUR

...

9 Days - THREE

I ate right all day: a South Beach Breakfast in the a.m., the 'Smoked Oyster Special' for lunch, and mac & cheese w/ground beef & broccoli for supper (with a Red Hook ESB). Okay, I had a lot of M&M's in between, but I'm calling it a good day.

I watched "Seven Psychopaths" in the morning; hung out online (and did laundry), looking up vacation activities & places to eat in the afternoon; and I watched tv in the evening.

The day goes by a lot quicker when one gets out of bed at 10:00 am...

9 Days - TWO

As you can see, I didn't post yesterday, but this is the recap:

For some reason I was up & out of bed at 7:30 am. I had cereal and coffee while I watched "Live Free or Die Hard" and later, I had last night's beef lo mein for lunch. I ran out to foodshop at 7:00 pm, and I ended the day with the season 3 finale of "Downton Abbey". A long and quiet day except for the gale force winds blowing outside!

Oh, and I drew this:

9 Days - ONE

I slept in until 9:30, had cereal for breakfast with my coffee, and then watched cartoons ("Green Lantern" and "Young Justice"). It snowed overnight, but just a light powder.

Then I drew for awhile, added several cds and songs to my iPod, had Chinese food and watched "Ghostbusters".

Around 6 pm I finally showered, and then I ran out to the comic shop. I made coffee and read for a couple of hours, and then drew some more. I also talked to Erik & Chris on the phone, and the latter is down for this year's WPMF!

I'm currently (10:00 pm) watching "The Mosquito Coast" on my computer with my Big Blue Live for the sound, and I just completed my drawing project, "Legionnaire Ken".

9 Days - Prequel

I have the following dates off: Saturday February 16th through Sunday February 24th.

I have many plans, which can be found under the "9 Days" Tab at the top of the page.

WPMF IV

For this year's 4th Annual Wyman's Pond Music Fest I sent out invites to the alumni:

• Elizabeth Lorrey
• Almanac Mountain
• Vanessa Kafka

...and I am looking for two new acts to round out the event, which I am hoping has an 'after dark' element this year.

New Music - MBV

I just bought the new (it's about time!) album from My Bloody Valentine, "MBV". I got the special bundle, which includes the music on 180 gram vinyl (I am going to buy a really good turntable soon, I promise!), on compact disc, and an immediate download of the album in mp3 format. Sweet.

Some Beer, No Boat

I went into Boston last night after work. I got to TOAD at 6:30 or so, and had two pints of Slumbrew's Porter Square Porter (great stuff), one alone, and one with Jay when he arrived around 7:30. When Gavin arrived we headed over to Tavern in the Square for dinner. I had some amazing fried calamari (with an Asian remoulade, whatever that is) and the small-portioned but good fish and chips. Our beautiful waitress Kristen was perfection on two legs: a Cameron Diaz facsimile with a much better smile, sparkling eyes and softer edges - hubba hubba! Jay left at the end of the meal, and Gavin & I took a cab to the Quincy Market area to meet Brian at the underwhelming Goody Glover's. Brian and his friend Erin arrived around 11:30 and Gavin stuck around long enough for two more beers (the decidedly average Sam Adams Boston Lager, unfortunately the best beer they had on tap). Gavin took off at around 1 am, the rest of us hung out 'til 1:30, a cab brought us to Brain's car, and then Brian dropped me at Alewife. A nice drive, and I was home at 3 am, very glad for having been out & about with the guys.

 

It was a great night. I got to see three of my best friends, with some overlap; I got to try a great new beer; and I got to spend time in the city on a cold clear winter night.

 

 

Resolutions 2013

Here are my goals for 2013:

• Average one out-of-state trip per month.
• Average one hike (mountain ascent) per month.
• Try one new beer (non-IPA) or drink per month.
• Lose 20 pounds, and then lose 20 more.
• Get paid for some form of artwork.
• Be a lot more social.
• Host my 4th (in as many years) music festival.
• Average one new bar visit per month.

Let the games begin!