Face Up - Lights

It's late and I am tired, wish I could spark a smile
The place is flying high but right now I want to be low
Don't want to move an inch, let alone a million miles
And I don't want to go but I know I gotta go

I just want to feel alive

CHORUS
The times you don't want to wake up
'Cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up
The sun is always going to rise up
You need to get up, gotta keep your head up
Look at the people all around you
The way you feel is something everybody goes through
Dark out, but you still gotta light up
You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up

Seems like the more you grow, the more time you spend alone
Before you know it you end up perfectly on your own
The city's shining bright, but you don't see the light
How come you concentrate on things that don't make you feel right

I just want to feel alright

CHORUS
The times you don't want to wake up
'Cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up
The sun is always going to rise up
You need to get up, gotta keep your head up
Look at the people all around you
The way you feel is something everybody goes through
Dark out, but you still gotta light up
You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up

I'm looking for more than a little bit
I'm gonna have to find my way through it
Gonna leave a mark, I'm gonna set a spark
I'm coming up off the ground, I won't be looking down

CHORUS
The times you don't want to wake up
'Cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up
The sun is always going to rise up
You need to get up, gotta keep your head up
Look at the people all around you
The way you feel is something everybody goes through
Dark out, but you still gotta light up
You need to wake up, gotta keep your face up


99% of the time I am not a lyrics guy, but every once in awhile, a song's story resonates. Add Lights' amazing voice, and I am caught in a 'replay' loop that would drive most people nuts. I hate being unemployed...

Other Worlds

I spent the day watching parts of Season Three of "Mad Men" and finishing the book "The Big Oyster". I had cereal for breakfast, scrambled eggs & maple sausage for lunch, and a bowl of buttered popcorn for supper, plus coffee at either end of my day.

Okemo Thanksgiving

I spent the evening of my birthday driving up to Ludlow, VT to spend several days, including the Thanksgiving holiday, with my parents, and my sister & her family. What a fun time.

The drive up was enjoyable, and amazingly traffic-free. I went Route 2 West to 91 North, to VT 103 North, and after a quick drive down 100, I was at the entrance to Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, VT. In order not to get lost, I called my sister, and she came down the hill so I could follow her to the 5-bedroom/4-bath house we were all staying at. Dad & Ma had been there since early afternoon with my sister and 2 of the kids, I arrived at 6 pm sharp, and Jon got there after work around 9 pm. Ma got me a pepperoni, mushroom & anchovy pizza from a local place for supper, and for my birthday gift she & Dad gave me a candle, a 5-pound bag of coffee, and the latest issue of Sky & Telescope magazine. I'd brought my Lego blocks in case the kids needed something to do (they were thrilled), so Georgia, Hayden, Dad & I messed around with them for a few hours. Everyone was in bed by midnight. The moon was full, and there were so many stars in the sky, that I stared out the skylight at Orion (and many other constellations) for a good ten minutes before turning in. Then I read "Time Wants a Skeleton" by Ross Rocklynne until I finished it and fell asleep, while listening to Mojave 3, Nick Drake, and Pale Saints on my iPod.

Day 2: The kids were up at the crack of dawn playing hide & seek, and they burst into my room at 7:30. I finally got out of bed at 8, and had coffee & cold pizza for breakfast. I read Mark Kurlansky's "The Big Oyster" all morning while Sarah made pies and Ma cooked the turkey and other main meal stuff. Then it was the Patriots-Lions game at noon. We had a fantastic dinner, the Patriots and Saints both won their games, I read a big chunk of the book, and we all just took it easy all day, having pie and coffee later, watching tv and the girls perform (sing, dance, etc...) at various times. I was in bed by 11 pm (!), and fell asleep reading more of "TBO", and listening to Slowdive and Telefon Tel Aviv. Another great day.

Day 3: I got up at 8 again, and had coffee and a chocolate chip brownie while reading. Ma made scrambled eggs & bacon for everyone, which was cool, and we all just lounged around all morning. I showered at ten, packed up my car (after scraping last night's ice off of it), was on the road by 11 am, and proceeded to enjoy a leisurely sunny drive home (2 hours door to door), down through the sunny Vermont mountains, and the beautiful western Massachusetts woods. What a great way to start off this new year of my life, out of town with my family!

It's My Birthday

Well, today is my 42nd birthday. And as history has shown (based on the average age of passing in my family, this is most likely the midpoint in my life. My aim this year is to kick off the second half in style.

I have several goals for the coming year, and I will discuss them as I tackle them, but for now, here are a few:

1. Produce the second annual Wyman's Pond Music Fest on Saturday July 30th, 2011.
2. Continue my successful and enjoyable Mountain Quest (7 climbs to date).
3. Learn another language. I have been thinking about either Spanish or French, but now I am leaning more toward Finnish, as it was spoken (if infrequently) by my mother's father's side of the family while I was growing up.
4. Travel to as many of the 50 states as I can in one year.
5. Get paid for my artwork.

I have more ideas and goals, but it is still pretty early today, and I don't want to think too hard (haha).


I got up at 6:30 to feed Sabrino (my cat), dozed for another half-hour, and then had Peet's Sumatra coffee (brought back fresh-ground from California) and an apple fritter I had leftover from Starbucks last night. A cool and (slightly) exotic way to begin my birthday! And did you see the current temperature as I write this? Spooky...