Wyman's Pond Music Fest 2011

Oh, what a day!

I arrived at 11 am all set to spruce up any landscaping and take care of last minute details, but when I arrived, Jon had dropped off the generator and set it up in the summer gear shed behind the main shed; Dad & the twins were raking the pine needles; and Ted had dropped off the two long tables and the canopy.

People wandered in at various times over the course of the day, listening to the performers, cooking their food, catching up with old friends, and hanging out. Also, this year the kids spent a lot more time in the water and playing games than they did sitting in rapt attention at the music. Which was spectacular.

(to be continued)

It's All Relative

Now that I have been working on a regular basis again I have noticed that my free time has become a lot more productive.

I had planned on sleeping in for a change, but I wound up getting out of bed at 8:30 anyway. It rained off & on all day, which was very nice for a change!

I sorted and bagged a bunch of old comics, and weeded out a stack to trade for new ones at my local shop. I went to music store Gordon Lasalle to see about selling my guitar, but they could only offer me $30 at current demand, but the guy was cool enough to give me advice (people are getting up to $100 on eBay for the same model). So I get to keep my guitar for now, and I got some new comics to read tonight. A great day off.

One Week to Go...

Heat Wave

Today is the second day in New England of the humongous heatwave that has been plaguing the USA for over a week. I had yesterday off from work so the only time I experienced it then was the drive to and from Dad & Ma's for dinner. And today the drive to work was fine, but the drive home was oppressive. I'm just glad I had a half-day, and that I drove home at noon and not during the evening rush hour.

Here is a capture from the Weather Channel just a little while ago:

 Yes, that says 101 degrees at 2:21 pm today!

(And on a side note, I am also extremely disappointed that we, 

the United States of America, 

currently have no way of getting our own stuff into space).

Road Isle

I worked in the Smithfield, RI Staples today. It was a great drive to work (if a bit long, at an hour and 20 minutes), and the day went by nicely.

I had lunch (an oatmeal raisin cookie and a large coffee) at the nearby Barnes & Noble and read my book for an hour. A very attractive girl saw me through the window on her way inside, and when she got to the cafe she plopped herself (and her laptop) at the one table in my direct line of sight (there were over 20 tables behind me), and proceeded to subtly try to get me to ignore my book and pay attention to her, but I wasn't having it. I don't live in the area, I have no disposable income to spend on an out-of-town date, and I was all hot & sweaty from 4 hours of moving dusty shelves. So it was a fun (and ego-boosting) diversion, but I still read fifty pages of my book (haha).

The drive home was lonnnnng. Rush-hour traffic combined with far too many self-involved drivers who yakked on their phones, changed lanes without signalling, and tossed cigarette butts out their windows instead of using their car ashtrays. And once I got to the Worcester area, the highway is extremely poorly signed, and I had to take too many detours to get to Rt 290 and in the proper direction! An extra half-hour longer to get home. But it was still a nice day.

Whattaday

Wow, today was a full and fun day.

I went to work at the Staples on Soldier Field Road in Brighton all day today, which meant i got to drive to, in and from Boston in the sunshine. It was SO nice to be back in my old stomping grounds. The Staples is in the same plaza as the IHOP that me, Jay & all my other old Circle Cinema friends used to hang out at on a regular basis. Not to mention Jeff, John and Darren, plus the rest of the Ann & Hope crew. What a flashback. I considered eating lunch there but I wanted to read "The Gun Ketch" in peace for an hour, so I went to McDonald's instead. Work flew by, and I got to work on my own most of the day while being helpful to many coworkers in a pinch. And best of all I got to listen to a lot of WZBC.

On the way home the sky was so blue with just the right amount of high white clouds that I couldn't stop staring. It was a great drive. I stopped at Depot Package to grab a 6-pack of Magic Hat #9, and after watching a wild turkey race across the road in front of me (!) I proceeded to the lake to float, enjoy a couple of beers, swim, and read my book. I had an apple to tide me over 'til I got home, and called several of the guys to see if they want to hang out down there tomorrow afternoon.

When I got home I made angel hair pasta with ground beef and Ragu to eat while I watched the latest episode of "Love Bites". What a great 'shared world' anthology. Each week there are three stories that feature and/or revolve around married couple Greg Grunberg and the delicious Constance Zimmer, and single surrogate Becki Newton (thankfully her character finally had the baby). They are short stories with interesting twists and satisfying endings, resulting in me constantly laughing and walking away with a good feeling.

I am glad I lived this day.

Exhaustion

After four LONG days of work resetting the local Staples store I am spending today doing nothing.

I found out that the company I am working for has a totally f#?&ed up payroll system, so I won't be receiving my first paycheck until August 12th. Needless to say this resulted in an uncomfortable phone call with my father to ensure I will have money for gas, food and bills for the next month until I get paid.

The good news is that my supervisors are happy with my performance (come on, with my 20 years of retail experience, how could they NOT be?) and so far they want me to work jobs in Brighton and Rhode Island (I told them I was down for commuting all over New England, within reason).

Work of Sorts

I just scored a 4-day gig resetting a retail store. I'll be working Monday through Thursday 8-5, with potential for other assignments.

4th of July Weekend

After making a run to the town dump with Dad on Saturday morning, I spent the rest of the holiday weekend alone. I watched the first two seasons of "Mad Men"; sorted (and read some of) Dad's musty old comics from the basement and sheds; cleaned and rearranged my living room and bedroom; and drew. No money spent, no travel required. Well, except for the nighttime run to McDonald's last night.