Home Alone

So with two roommates off...somewhere (early spring break?) and the third at AWP, I have the apartment to myself! It's a wonderful feeling. I can watch what I want, play my own music, wander anywhere in the house without worrying about us tripping over each other or blocking each other's shower times.

This seems as good a time as any to make an attempt at restarting this blog. I know it's been forever (again) but here's a quick summary:
1. New Year's! Yay! Party at Megan's (and we tricked/kidnapped Kristin into coming). Odd though, that there's so many couples in my group of friends now. Changes the dynamics a bit.
2. Farm! Yay! Great seeing everyone, and going for a long walk. Found a new spring, checked lingering damage from Irene, and begged the trees not to bloom (they're a little confused as to what season it is - and with the weather we've been having, I can't blame them).
3. Boston! Yay? Well, not so much, but Boston and I are at least getting along a bit better than last semester.
4. Classes: Translation, Textual Editing, and Web Development. Web Development=Yay!
5. Mark Does Stuff came to Boston. I was there! Double Yay!

Okay, summary over. See, that wasn't too bad, now, was it?

Mom & Dad - see you soon!

Double Dare

Wedding Adventures Part 2: Setting Up

So I'd made it to the farm after all, and we had three days till the wedding. By the time I got there, the mess left behind by Irene had already been picked up, and Ty had mowed. There were still signs to do, however, and some cleaning and planning.
There was also a farm to run still - and a hurricane to respond to, just to keep things interesting. The cooler had a neighbor's fruit in it, because he'd lost power, and Ty, Z, and I all spent some time sorting apples into half-peck bags (way smaller than the farm normally uses, but there was a carton of them in storage) so that they could be sent on to their dojo, which had become an emergency supply depot.

We weren't sure when the tent was coming, so we didn't actually take everything there until late, but Uncle George managed to fill the back of his truck with food, clothes, flashlights, and soap, and it did get there eventually.

As more people began showing up, the work got faster.
This sign:

took me hours, though honestly it shouldn't have.

Then, with more people working, washing 12 dozen glasses took less time than the sign - and with still more people, doing this:

was even quicker.

Finally, the tent was up, the places were set, the signs were ready, Tug's doggy cam was on, and everyone was dressed (this last point being quite the accomplishment, with 20 or so people playing musical bathrooms).

to be continued...

Eeevinrude!

Wedding Adventures Part 1: Getting There

I checked on my train Tuesday night, and according to the website, it was going to be leaving on time. So I was up late, packing and planning, and getting everything ready to go.
When I got up in the morning, I collected my stuff and dragged it all with me to Emerson to pick up my September T pass, then back to Copley for the walk to the train station. I finally get there... and my train's been cancelled. Apparently the tracks are still underwater (they didn't know this the night before?) and so trains still can't get to Albany. No alternate transport was offered.
The solution? Rent a car and drive! (Thank you Mom!)

I ended up with a little Fiat I decided to call Evinrude after the dragonfly in The Rescuers. It was a cute car - I have a picture I'll share when I get home again and can upload it - but he had such a tiny engine! But my brave little Evinrude and I made it over the mountains - barely - and met up with Uncle Tom in Albany.

About those mountains though... we were being passed by cars pulling giant boats bigger than Evinrude. And another time, trying to get around a truck going about 20mph, I had the gas pedal flat on the floor and realized I wasn't actually gaining any speed. Still, I got here, and that's what counts.


Meanwhile, Uncle Dave's playing hide-and-seek with a typhoon trying to get here in time; Dad's train was also cancelled; Matt and Jess will be leaving directly from work and driving all night; and Jess (the other one) will be driving straight through from Pittsburgh after classes, and picking up Steph from Rochester on the way.

Pictures

What most of the ground looked like:

 

 Some of the worst damage I saw:

The final conclusion in Tuesday's paper:

PS - I'm scraping my new phone for my old one. They may have made improvements in the major-but-only-used monthly features, but they also felt the need to screw up every single minor-but-used-daily feature. The thing's a piece of junk!

...Okay, to be honest, most of it would have been workable, once I adjusted the settings, but does anybody else see the flaw in the plan "the way to unlock it is to hold any button"? I would be constantly calling people & dialing the internet every time I got on the T! Therefore, piece of junk.

Irene

We survived the storm. Actually, it had pretty much fizzled out by the time it hit Boston - I think they were still calling it a tropical storm, but basically it rained. And there were occasional gusts of wind. Yes, there were a lot of twigs and leaves on the ground, as well as the occasional bigger branch (and, a block away, a pair of young trees) but no more damage than winter storms cause - and quite possibly less.

It was fun hopscotching my way to church though. And where the trees had split, a man was delivering one of them to his girlfriend as "a flower to show how much he loved her." She, of course, was sitting on the step telling him not to drop it on those of us walking by. It was cute.

I'll post a few pictures tomorrow, but right now I don't have the time to get them off my phone.

NYC faired worse

All you need to survive a hurricane

I was at the store today, and noticed this awesome sign:

I'd like to point out that there were no other references to Irene in the store. So further down the coast, they're boarding up windows, canceling trains and planes, and declaring states of emergency. Us brilliant residents of Boston, on the other hand, are stocking up on ice trays.