Missing Week

Wow, what a lame week. No responses to my job applications, no outdoor fun (rain, grey skies, and/or high winds most of the week), and no money to go out and do anything interesting.

The only noteworthy event (besides Prince William marrying Kate Middleton this morning across The Pond) was my sending out the e-vite for this year's Wyman's Pond Music Fest. Let the buzz begin!

Sunday - Spring into Action

I got up at 8:30 and got ready for Easter brunch at the Wachusett Village Inn with my parents and two of my 3 siblings and their families. We have gone there every year except one for the last decade or so because they feature private rooms for family dining while giving access to their fine Easter buffet.

The economy being what it is (thanks, Bush & Cheney, you miserable fu*%ers), there was no chocolate fountain, to the seven kids' disappointment, and their usually outstanding seafood chowder had been downgraded to a serviceable clam. Otherwise it was a decent spread. I had a plate of link sausage, scrambled eggs, a slice of lemon cake and a fantastic apricot flaky pastry. Later, I had a second plate of eggs & sausage, but I added a cup of chowder (which was very good). I also had another pastry, which I cut in three so Jackie & Helena could try it too (Jackie hated it, while Helena liked it). The coffee absolutely sucked. I even poured out a nearly full pot in the room's sink so we could get a fresh pot more quickly, to little improvement.

All that aside, it was a fun morning spent with my parents, and Kevin & Sarah and their respective clans, hanging with the various kids and even playing a game of magnetic chess with Hayden. When I got home I made a pot of my coffee, and spent the rest of the day in a blur of television, internet games and reading. A nice low-key Easter is on the books.

Saturday - Spring into Action

Today I crept around inaction (haha). It was a cold grey day, I slept 'til 10:30, and I didn't bother getting dressed or putting in my contact lenses. I read, watched television, and wasted time online. However I did finish my microdrawing page finally (or at least get tired of coming up with ideas to fill the page). It's a fun artistic exercise, and some of the tiny drawings (the "dinosaurs" and landscapes) came out pretty cool I think.

Random bits: I ate pretty well. I watched a biography of H. H. Holmes (America's first serial killer) and the 2nd half of the Bruins' game 5 win over the Canadiens. I went to bed at 11:30 and began rereading my "Black Panther" series from Marvel. And it rained all day.

Friday - Spring into Action

I slept in until 9:30 after the cat woke me up at 4 am, and I put him outside my bedroom door. A South Beach breakfast and some great coffee (a mix of Sumatran and Columbian beans) while I watched last night's "Bones" began my day just right, and I began "Lieutenant Hornblower" while I was online. Jay (my old roommate from my Boston days) had a spare ticket to tonight's Cake show, but I have no money for parking at Alewife or beer/food/incidentals. Dammit!! So instead, I went to my sister's for the third time this week (Sunday and Tuesday too) to spend a few hours with her cats, letting those outside in, and those inside out. Then it was off to Westminster for chicken, Syrian bread and cucumbers (and the first half of the Celtics/Knicks playoff game) with Dad & Ma. I food shopped on the way home, and now it's online, laundry, old "X-Men" comics, tv, and a clean litter box for Mr. Ween.

Thursday - Spring into Action

I spend the bulk of this productive day in my car.

I got up at 6:30 and had a ham-on-Syrian-bread sandwich and fresh broccoli for breakfast, then drove (50 miles) down to Ski Valley in Cumberland, RI for three appointments. In between I read a big chunk of "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower", and took a couple of pictures of the view with my camera.

The wind was ridiculous all day, and each leg of my journey was fraught with dangerous car-shifting gusts.

Next it was off to Andover (75 miles), to return my training materials for the lame job I turned down. First, however, I went to the local Bertucci's for lunch to use a $15 gift card my aunt gave me awhile back. I had some of their amazing bread and olive oil, and then for the main course I enjoyed a decent plate of seafood torta. I also had a tall glass of Peroni (an Italian beer), which was surprisingly good. I finished the book while I ate. It was an enjoyable interlude in a long day of driving. Then it was off to Joule to turn in the binder and ring of cards. My direct deposit hadn't gone in, and it turns out that it's the same as retail, a one-week delay. Tracy told me she would mail my check, so I thanked her, expressed my continued desire for their assistance, and headed home (41 miles).

I spent the rest of the day reading, online looking for work, and watching the Thursday night line-up on NBC. After that horrible 100th episode of "30 Rock", I really want that hour of my life back. What a sucky show (except for Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin). Also, Will Ferrell has completely sucked the life out of the last few episodes of "The Office". What a horrible miscast! At any rate, I ended my day at midnight, reading until I fell asleep.

Wednesday - Spring into Action

Can a person eat too much meat in one day?

If there had been an all-day barbecue down at the lake (or something similar), the answer would be 'no'. However, my three meals today, though ordinary enough, seemed to pack more animal flesh into them than usual. Breakfast was a typical South Beach (Ken-style) one: two scrambled eggs, a ham steak, and fresh broccoli. Lunch was three hot dogs and a can of maple & bacon baked beans. And supper was a nice steak with fresh mushrooms, some Swiss cheese, and a small loaf of Syrian bread. I felt quite sluggish off and on all day. However, I did work out from 7:30 - 9:00, so that offset some of the protein-rich calories, I am sure.

Also today: I began the day with watching "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1". I spent a lot of time reading comics while playing games and looking for a job online. And I went to bed at a decent hour (11 pm).

Tuesday - Spring into Action

I didn't fall asleep until after 4 am because I worked out so late last night. Ridiculous! However, I still got out of bed at 9:30, so no biggie. I had cereal, coffee and an apple for breakfast as I watched last night's "SG-U" and "Cougar Town", two of my favorite shows these days. Then I applied for an ASM position for the Millbury B&N. I went to and hung out at my sister's from 2 - 5 to let her five cats in and out for awhile, and walk around outdoors. I found some Twizzlers and went nuts on them. On the way home, I had supper in Westminster with Dad, Ma and her friend. Home, computer clean-up, and television.

Monday - Spring into Action

Spring into Action (Sia) Monday:

I was up a little after 9 am, and made a South Beach breakfast (2 eggs scrambled, fresh broccoli and a ham steak) with coffee. I did a lot of 'micro drawing' (to be posted when I fill the entire 11" x 14" page) while I was online job-searching, writing in my other blog, and playing games. I had sliced turkey, cucumber and a tomato for lunch. Two of my last remaining ten appointments actually called me to schedule times for Thursday. Ma stopped by with one of her friends to see my apartment. I made more coffee (my old carafe broke in the dish drain, so I have to use the paper filter one from now on). Supper was way too much angel hair pasta & ground beef with Ragu. I watched "HIMYM", "90210" and "Mad Love". And I worked out from 10 pm to 11:30 pm. I'd say today was a great day.

Spring into Action

Now that it is officially spring, with Daylight Savings Time in full effect, the weather outdoors is finally nice on a regular basis. As a beneficial side effect, I have contracted Spring Fever, and I plan on being active every day this week, both indoors and out, and both physically and artistically. I want this sevenday to be a productive, adventurous, inexpensive and interesting week for the books, so to facilitate this I have made an ambitious list of tasks, activities, goals and ideas:

• Climb a mountain - Most likely Wachusett or Crow Hills. I want to kick off 2011's Mountain Quest as soon as possible.
• Kayak - Now that Wyman's Pond is no longer frozen, it's time to head down and paddle it's mains and byways. And it'd be cool to grill the year's first hot dog!
• Fill my Wachusett Brewery growler - The brewery just released its new Green Monsta IPA. I would like to have it with me down at the lake, or at least for the weekend.
• For the days I am not outdoors (rain, work, etc...) - I will do my curling bar circuit workout at least 3 times this week (every other day, beginning today).
• Live music - Paul Broadnax has been performing at the Acton Jazz Cafe every Wednesday night for over a year now, and I never seem to have the energy to go see him. He only has two shows left, so at $5 for 3 hours of music, it's too good to allow to pass me by.
• Computer drawing - I need to dust off my WACOM tablet and try to make my art skills pay.  I have a few sites bookmarked where I can design (and win money for creating) concert posters, tee-shirts and cd covers.
• Permanent job - With my Rhode Island assignment winding down, I need to find myself a desirable permanent job. I would like something creative, but I will settle for something local with good pay and benefits.

Basically, I plan to do my best to make every day count for a solid week. The bare minimum for each day will be getting up at a decent hour, eating right, and being both active and artistic in some way. Plus, I will post at the end of each day. Stay tuned...

All Around

I got to work at nine today (a gloriously sunny, if a bit windy, day) and walked to and from a pair of early appointments. There were so many small animals around, it was nuts. Squirrels, robins, chickadees and ducks were everywhere I looked, and a wild rabbit hung around my car for a bit! After seeing an amazing miniature train set-up in one of the basements it was off to find the local SpeeDee to get an oil change and new wiper blades. I found a coupon online this morning and got five dollars off, so the entire thing came to $56 and change. Sweet!

I read a big chunk of Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" off and on all day (including during my oil change). I ate lunch at McDonald's (bad boy! But damn, the McNuggets and fries both just came out of the fryer - drooool). On the way back I got some homemade fudge at Phantom Farms in Cumberland. Their coffee kicks butt too, and I had a fresh cream horn (not the greatest, but good) with it. The staff was super-friendly, and the fudge turned out to be really decent. My afternoon appointments (which ran from 1 pm to 5:30) all went smoothly, and I got to read a lot. I ran across another very cool basement, which was transformed in Jack Daniels Central - real casks, a great uniquely-shaped hardwood bar, and everything under the sun with the JD logo. I got to see some really amazing and creative homes today, and it was so nice out I had a stupid grin plastered on my face a lot of the time as I walked around the compound.

After a fantastic stress-free drive home (there's nothing like missing rush hour) I stopped at Hannaford to foodshop. Happiness is a relatively-full refrigerator! And when I got home, my new Levi's 501 buttonflies were waiting on my front step. A great ending to an awesome work day.

Snow Day

I woke up at 5:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep. I knew we were getting a lot of snow overnight, but I'd planned on getting up for work at the appointed time anyway (7 am), so I lay there in a half-sleepy state 'til 7, and then got out of bed.

Behold! Four inches of snow lay on the ground, the roads had yet to be plowed, and it was still coming down hard, in big wet flakes. So I made a South Beach breakfast (2 eggs scrambled, ham and fresh broccoli) and some Green Mountain Kenyan Highlands Collective coffee, and settled in to watch the last disc of "Mad Men" Season 3, so I can begin Season 4, which Ma had left in my mailbox yesterday. When 8 am rolled around I called all of today's appointments to reschedule them (there was 6 inches of snow on the ground at that time). There was no way I was driving 50 miles to Rhode Island in a blizzard to slosh around in peoples' homes today.