Back to the east coast

Hard to believe that two weeks' vacation is almost finished, but all too true. My sister-in-law Kathy has just dropped me off at the Webster library, and i promised to update the blog in less than an hour.

Had a great party at my place the Saturday before i left Heartwood, a combination yurt-warming party and farewell for the 10 students and couple of staff people who won't be around by the time i return on the 12th. Mike Mastros lugged up a couple of turntables and speakers from his place and provided bomb tunes until about 2 am, with Collin and Rachel taking turns spinning vinyl and CDs. Good little partyin' posse kept things lively following the samba troupe's performance ending about 10:30. The Sky-man arrived fashionably late as promised, bottle of port in hand. Funnily enough, i'd bought a little bottle of Jack Daniel's to re-commemorate our Lost Coast adventure, so there was no lack of beverage options. Home-made mead, bottles of red and white wine, PBRs and Eagle Eye Ale rounded out the selections. i took 2 or 3 photos of the dancing masses, which i'll post to some website somewhere soon. Stay tuned for more info.

Biggest mistake made: forgetting my digital camera's AC-adapter! Had enough battery power left to show Kathy the photos i'd stored on my camera, and take a few snaps. But nothing else to do after like the 4th day of vacation. That's what i get for drinking (and um, smoking) with Sky and Zack the night before i left. i keep telling myself, worse things have happened.

i'd timed my vacation to coincide with my sister Eileen's visit during the first week of August. She met us at Gonandaga, site of a Seneca Indian village where they have a big festival with native american song and dance, artwork, things for sale, etc. She and i really enjoyed staying at Kathy's cottage, but the time was too short. The last time we spent together was at Cobbs Hill Park, very close to where we both grew up, and where i was meeting Mike Morone who'd invited me to run a 5-km race with him that started there. We said good-bye after the race, as she headed back to the house to say good-bye to Scott, and get ready for her drive down to New Jersey the following morning. She is being transferred to Tampa and flies down there this week to begin a new assignment.

Kathy and i hooked up with our partner-in-crime Linda my first Friday night in town to revisit the scene of so many previous incidents, the cute but increasingly expensive little Park Ave. eatery Hogan's Hideout. And our usual tradition of visiting the Parkleigh Pharmacy afterward was also indulged, with Linda treating us to numerous sinfully sweet treats.

i've had a lot of fun spending time with my old high school buddy Mike, who is as funny as he always was. He and his family have moved into a new house out in Chili, where i spent several days and nights. His mom and his mom's husband have their own apartment in the basement, and Dorothy made me breakfast a couple of times. She and John are a lot of fun, and it was great that they came along with us when Mike, his son Charlie, his older brother Bob and a couple of other guys went fishing along the canal out in Palmyra. We all caught carp (not to mention one mean-looking pike), and over the course of a long day probably caught and released about a dozen fish, the heaviest about 10 or 12 pounds.

Mike and i watched the last 2/3 of The Aviator when we got back to his place, and i would've crashed then if i hadn't gone down to say goodnight to John and Dorothy. John was watching The Godfather, Part 2 and not knowing it was a 3 & 1/2 hour movie (without commercials), i also sat down to watch it, making it 2:30 by the time my head finally hit the pillow. A long day, but a great time.

Mike and i also ran another 5-km race the day before, at St. Pius X church in Chili. i finished this one 95th out of 197 runners, in just over 25 minutes, 4 and a-half minutes faster than at Cobb's Hill, which however was a much hillier course. The thing that shocked me the most about this was that they gave out FREE BEER to anyone (adult-looking) who stood in line, and they didn't ask for ID or anything. It seemed HIGHLY un-American to me, and i asked Mike what he made of it. He only went to get another beer. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed drinking MORE free beer with a little ticket they'd given us when we registered.

Kathy and i have been having a lot of fun hanging out at the cottage. i've met a lot of the neighbors who seem a friendly lot, esp. her next-door neighbors Dusty and Frank (retired high school science teacher), and Kay, and Rod. Kay is originally from North Carolina, and is about to turn 81 but bustles about the place like a woman half her age; she's got a really good-looking dog named Geisha who is half-Pomeranian and half-Newfoundlander. Rod lives across the way, and drops in every now and then to see what's up: a fifty-something Italian-American guy with a really good sense of humor. It's been great just to hang out day after day, enjoying gorgeous weather and doing just what we want to do.

Wild-life spotted around the cottage: a huge, mostly-white skunk; a possum, kingfishers, snapping turtle, robins, crayfish, deer, ducks, blue and green heron, a hummingbird .. the list is practically endless.

There is plenty more to write about this trip, but i should probably wrap it up here. My flight leaves tomorrow at 6:08 am, landing in SF just before noon. i'll spend a couple of days there attempting to get myself into trouble, then will head up to Ukiah (3 hours north) on Friday to hook up with an Aramco colleague named Carlos (esteemed long-time member of the Faithful Readership), who will drive me the rest of the way up to Heartwood, spending the night in Garberville before continuing travels this month around n. California. This guy travels more than just about anyone i know, but it'll be our first time to get back together since i left the kingdom in 2001, and i'm really looking forward to it.

Then back to work just after lunch on Saturday the 12th. The students will be on break, so it should be pretty quiet around Heartwood. i'll give Vivek a call later today .. he should be back in our hometown following his graduation from Heartwood on the 3rd, and i'd love to see this gentle guy again before returning.

Just bought The Complete Idiot's Guide to Texas Two-Hand Poker so that i can shock the shit out of Sky, Zack and Sky's roommate Keith when i get back to Heartwood. Those three introduced me to the game the week before i left, Sky loaned me the $5 it took to enter and (LSS), Keith and i eventually decided to split the $20 pot. So i repaid Sky and went home with $5 in my pocket! What a nice surprise the boys will have when it s l o w l y dawns on them that Dougie T. has picked up a few things since the last time he played with them! Man do i miss that guy. Those guys. Whatever.

All right, that's 55 minutes i've been online. i'll post this and then go and find Kathy so we can do the shopping we need to prepare my Last Supper. Mike will be coming over, and hopefully Vivek, and Linda, and Rod, and i'm not sure who else. But it's also an absolutely gorgeous day: sunny and warm and breezy without a hint of the humidity that i'd thought would plague my visit, and i can't wait to get back outside.

Thought for the day
Se la strada fosse pavimentata con i cazzi, tua madre camminerebbe con culo.

Translations for the intellectually curious, by request only.