Workin the Night Away

So... Camping for the weekned is out but its cold and would probably have rained anyway. I never managed to get ahold of Scott to check on the condition of Camp 18 and I don't know where else to go camping anyway. Its all good though cause the plans for the weekend have come together in another somewhat unexpected but just as exciting way. Turns out I'm going to head into boston for the weekend with Cathy and hang out with Jess and Leo Saturday night after chillin at Cath's house earlier that day. We're gonna hit up the third Lord of the Rings Movie in prep for a big day Sunday checking out the Lord of the Rings Motion Picture exibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. Just going to the Museum iteself is rather exciting for me because I havn't been there in such a long time. The closest I came in recent memory was going in to play on the musical stairs in the lobby with a bunch of crazies from Wiyaka sometime a year or so ago. This trip made even more cool by the fact that I get to see Jess's new apartment and all. I'll be sure to try and take some photos so ya'all can check them out later. I'm definately looking forward to spending some time with Jess and Leo. I miss hanging out with them!

Its always been much tougher to stay in touch with friends after you lose daily contact with them than I would like it to be. Leo and I grew somewhat apart our last year of school due to differing interests and the girlfriend factor but we were still great freinds who could talk to each other about anything and who got each other through a lot of things that would have been someowhat difficult otherwise. Now leo's off in Worcester startin a new job on Monday and who all knows what else and here I am sitting in a farmhouse looking at the Crows fatten themselves on the remains of the cornfields and watching fall come so fast that I almsot feel that the leaves are changing colors as I sit here. If it wasn't so ugly today I would spend some time going out and trying to find some nice places to take pictures of the leaves. I've never been that great at caputring the colors and stuff.. I wonder if I need a new filter for my camera or something but whatever... different story for another time.

As it is I'm glad its rather dreary today cause I'm trying to prep myself to work an overnight shift today. The Target store that I work at is doing inventory today, which means an outside company gets to come in and play with all our stuff. This makes my boss, the head of security for the store very nervous and as a consequence Marcy, the undercover agent, and I a lowly doorguard have to work overnight to make sure that these newcomers dont' have sticky fingers. I dont' really mind working the overnight shift. What I do mind is having to work Friday night the day after! C'est la vie. At least things have quieted down on the Landlord front after a little talk to lay down the final rules about guests in the house and a few other things.

My brother visited this weekend which was awesome cause I love the kid and I love having him around. Definately going to have to do it sometime when I don't have to work every day of the weekend and when he dosn't have a crazy art project due. We still managed to get some good food a few times, Catch a period of Umass Ice hockey (go minute men) and see a movie. (Shaun of the Dead is a good british comedy for anyone who's interested). Other than his visit its just been more of the same. Games and Baseball at Bradens (and I'm pointedly not talking about baseball right now cause the redsox are crushing my hopes and dreams and I'm trying to keep a postive focus on life) and reading books and watching movies in the off time. (movie pass at blockbuster is soo worth it if you like the films). Just finised the Death Gate Cycle which is a high fantasy set of books by Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Not the best I've read but its an easy one with 7 books and very entertaining. Next up is some more intellectual reading, with Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz and a peace corps memoir by someone my brother happened to meet as part of one of his classes.

Anyway I feel a nap coming on or I'm going to fall asleep tonight sometime around 1 am... Not that I won't be completely uselss anyway.

Camping or bust

Redsox win game one against the Angels.... A good sign certianly but redsox nation still can not breathe easy cause we've seen it all before... I'm watching the yankee's game right now and they're losing. Thats all I'm gonna say about it right now. Jinxes can be almost as bad as curses.

My day was pretty good... Just work and baseball with a couple of minutes of vice presidential debate and some chit chat with some old friends and my brother for good measure. I fired off an e-mail to scott robinson asking about camp 18 as a venue for a possible camping adventure this weekend. I think it would be the best place becuase its near the apple orchard that the girls want to go back too on the 15th (I have to work and no one told me that this trip was in the works so it will have to be the 16th). Amanda and Aviva from the EMS group want to come along this time because Amanda hasn't been apple picking before either. Lots of new faces in the orchards this year. I'm sure they'll be happy about that :-) The other reason I like camp 18 is that its go adirondack shelters, which with a fire and some blankets will all but eliminate the need for high tech tents and possibly even sleeping bags for people and they sleep 10 or more people each so it gets rid of the limit on the upper numbers of people that can come.

I will however probably need to aquire some kind of camp stove other than my one burner model and I'll have to go food shopping for some camp food. I think ceral and milk (and perhaps some cider donuts if the trip to the orchard goes as planed) will do for breakfast on sunday. Sandwhiches for lunches and then for the evening meal on saturday I can throw together some kind of pasta and some salad or mixed vegetable and some french bread perhaps. Maybe if I'm really ambitious I'll do chickn parm or some such thing but that would require that I find someone who has a camp oven and the numbers being kinda small. I should also probably either get or find a lantern so people can see to have fun after dark. Fire permits or at least notice to the fire department of our presense will be a must as the fire will undoubtably be big to keep people warm and with permision of the owners and no (or very limited) alcohol consumption I'm sure the police won't be a problem.

Anyway... on the off chance that you read this and want to go just let me know.. .You should be able to find various of my contact information by purusuing the links in my profile.

In other news... My landlady had another bonehead moment this morning just when I though things were looking up. Cathy was visiting me and stayed behind while I went to work today and my landlady kicked her out because they were leaving and "she was uncomfortable" with her in the house... For anyone who knows Cathy you know that this is quite rediculous and I cant help but wonder if the woman ultimately has it out for me. I got my own dishes, or at least mostly my own, and I follow her rules about everything. (except the ones I stumble across unkowingly from time to time) For the most part I leave them alone. I'm a nice guy and a quiet tennant and I'm at the end of my rope.... *sigh* its all good. Probably just to get back at me for baking in the kitchen till 1 am the other day... (as impossible to belive as it is we made very little noise so it must just have been the principle of the thing that upset her) My mother and I were talking about mortgages vs. rent and it turns out that the mortgage for my old house in Athol was only about 200 bucks more expensive than what I'm paying to rent 2 rooms in someone else's house. This knowlege does me no good and ultimately depresses me. I quite obviously can't aford to own my own home and I can't find cheaper ways to rent a room around here. Besides, none of the other palces I tried answered my inquirys about a room to rent.

My mother says to be on the lookout for "vacation" type homes. She was thinking about buying just a little rundown house like most people around here call "camps" on a lake somepalce just to give everyone a home base in the states. I don't know about the wisdom of this idea, or where she would buy such a house that would be practical for all involved. I guess it would have to be close to Matt cause he will be around longer (hopefully anyway) but then it would do me little or no good cause it would be much to far away for me to commute to work. *Shrug* I'll keep my ears open but I don't think I'll spend a whole lot of time actively seeking anything.

In the meantime I'll just have to put up with the crazy lady where I am and see what I can do about getting cathy and probalby matt added to the "A" list. Particuarly important considering matt is going to be spending the weekend here and I'm going to be working at least half of every day he's here (bummer but for some reason I've got the next 5 days in a row on after having tomorrow off). He'll be on his own with the crazy lady or I suppose I could bring him to the mall. We'll have to see. Why do they have to be paranoid anyway? Ahh well... Thier house and thier right I suppose.

Enough for now...

Weekend of Apples

So the apple weekend was a success. I didn't end up going hiking as much as I would have liked, which is to say that I didn't end up going hiking at all but the weekend I would say more than made up for it. The later part of last week and the early part of this weekend was spent mostly gathering materials for Apple Pies. Pie plates, sifters, measureing cups and ingrediants all mounted up on my (and Cathy's thankfully) debit cards while visions of sumptious homeade apple pies and fresh apples danced in our heads.

Now that I have all this stuff I'll have to bake more I suppose... Darn.. Hopefully my landlady will continue to tolorate it. I paid my rent today (*wince*) so I suppose they'll have to put up with me for at least another month kitchen excesses and all. Saturday after I got out of work about 3:15 in the afternoon we began the mad dash to get ready to get to the apple orchard I chose (red apple farm back in Phillipston MA). It was a bit further away then the other options but it stayed open later (6pm... hence the mad dash) and so we felt we would actually get to spend more time there than at any of the closer orchards which all closed around 5 pm. Besides... they make the best cider donuts and I really really really wanted some cider donuts.

I got the donugts and about 20 pounds of fresh apples and some cider (yum) and my compainions (Cathy, Ashley, and Erin) got apple soda and any number of other small apple products along with a pumpkin for use as a seasonal doorstop in Cathy and Erins room that was just too cute to pass up and which created several minutes of furious thinking in trying to come up with a suitable name. One was eventually decided upon but as is my habit with names I have since forgotten it completely. I'll be sure to include it later though if anyone really cares.

We got back home that evening around 7 pm and Ashley Cathy and I drove to my place to get started on crafting some pies. Actually I made dinner while the girls peeled apples and mixed together the crust ingrediants. All in all to save you all the mundane pie making details which involved (as does anything involving Cathy) a lot of giggles and a big mess we finished up with 2 pies and a half dozen caramel apples at around 1AM.