| a splendid new hampshire adventure |
[13 Nov 2006|12:45am] |
Christian, Laz and I went on an adventure to New Hampshire the other day.
"Oh Boy," Christian exclaims as we head toward Laz's awesome yet slightly mildewy saab. "I can't wait to get my tattoo finished!"
Before heading out on our adventure it was decided that getting some food was in order. We stopped at Grasshopper and had some lunch and good conversation.
Said conversation consisted of the question of whether or not Laz's invention of a giant hamster ball that people can run in on water would be feasible. The logistics of the operation were scrutinized on multiple levels as Laz and Christian fell into a heated debate regarding oxygen molecules.
They continued on outside and were overheard by a couple of passerbys who seemed interested and joined in. The kid in the middle looked particularly perplexed.
While Laz, Christian and their newfound friends pondered the mysteries of the universe and the periodic table I took in some of the local graffiti
and some good advice.
Apparently New Hampshire is the magical land of illegal fireworks, tattoo parlors and smoke shops. We cruise down the main strip taking in the scenery (a variety of tattoo parlors, ads for fireworks and smoke shops) before arriving at Christian's particular parlor. This was of course was sandwiched between two other parlors. Laz briefly entertained the idea of a customer strolling up for a tattoo and being greeted by three or so different artists who had to fight it out for the business. I'm glad we got inside before any of them could get us.
While Christian was preparing for 2 excruciating hours of needly jabbing bits Laz and I took it upon ourselves to survey the local flash art. i'm not sure if it was the california surfer dolphin who gave me a cool look through his shades paired with a thumbs up or the bad ass duck with a mohawk, ciggarette and piercings; but the horror was beginning to creep in and i wasn't so sure about this place anymore.
"I can probably come up with something bad to say about every one of these," Laz comments as he gestures towards the board.
"Boring..."
"...Unpleasant.."
"Not cool."
Why in God's name did Christian take us to this place? Perhaps he was planning to get the pink panther tattooed onto the side of his neck.. In a fight. With the tazmanian devil. Over a banner that said "MOM". We had to stop him before it was too late.
We get into the room but everything is okay. Just some finishing touches. Christian sits in the chair. Needles are prepared. In a bit they're off to a good start. A little bloody but that's okay.. keep going on the elbow. More blood now.. pooling around the-
Laz begins to look uncomfy and I start to feel a bit nauseous.
 
Christian was playing it off cool- chatting here and there like it didn't at all feel like there was a swarm of angry bees all up on his arm.
You could see the pain in his eyes though.
Laz and I decided to get right the hell out of there and check out the local color. Perhaps there was some apple picking around the bend. (This was New Hampshire, right)? We aqquired directions and went off in search of more exciting adventure.
After a short drive we excitedly jumped out of the car at "Applecrest Farm". The harvest had looked a bit meagar from the drive in, but we were still cautiously optomistic. Suddenly we realised that there wasn't an apple in sight- only a pile of grossly oversized pumpkins and strange crates strewn about the parking lot. It was a bit eerie.. especially so because we appeared to be the only customers. The whole place had this abandoned look to it. Laz scouted it out.
 
"Mmmm- giant, orange.. apples"
We decided to try our luck anyway and venture inside. As Laz approached the door it suddenly looked as if gnomes might run the place. I was beginning to have doubts about this whole escapade. I could see the headlines: Two Unsuspecting Travellers Eaten by Carnivorous Applecrest Gnomes...
I didn't come across any gnomes or anything remotely gnome-like inside but we stayed on guard as we browsed around apple totes, maple syrups and various gift foods. I came out with a couple of apples and some delicious fudge. I bet the gnomes made the fudge. Laz had gotten himself some apple cider. We decided to hit up one of the 50 or so smokeshops on the way back. As he drove Laz described the pipe he was looking for in great detail: a long, clay, ornate deal.. like something out of Lord of the Rings, perhaps.
The shop was gigantic- with one door labeled "CIGARS" and another labeled "PIPES". It was kind of like a choose your own adventure. We entered "PIPES" and were greeted by a group of older guys lounging in a circle of leather armchairs and puffing away. It was like stepping back a century or so- I had to look down to make sure I wasn't suddenly wearing a petticoat or something. The bespectacled shopkeeper greeted us at the door.
He started by showing Laz a selection of pipes as i wandered around a bit. Laz explained what he was looking for, and was answered with a comment about how those pipes seemed to have become more popular with the release of Lord of the Rings. (hmm..) After a bit of shopping around (and after the shopkeeper showed us an amazing photo of himself on halloween dressed up like he came out of the old west) we decided it was time to head back to 2006 and see how Christian's tattoo was coming. We bid everyone a farewell and entered the time warp.
We woke to find ourselves trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not owr own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. Our only guide on this journey was Al, an observer from 1989 for some reason, who appeared in the form of a hologram that only we could see and hear.
After a couple of leaps we made it back safely to our own time, jumped into Laz's saab and drove away.
We picked up the new and improved Christian and started home -which took about 45 minutes longer than it should have because *someone* didn't want to pay a toll and had us lost in East Boston for the rest of the night. After a couple of dead ends and a near miss where some "Scary Italians" almost nabbed Christian we decided to pay the $3.00 and perhaps make it back alive.
All things considered it was a good day. We learned some valuable lessons, had a few laughs, traveled back in time.
Now prepare to be completely blown away by Christian's version of the story:
http://herwitz.livejournal.com/140990.html
getting lost in east boston (no tolls) and the "scary italians" that are gonna get christian
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[03 Nov 2006|03:57pm] |
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for anyone who hasn't heard (and i'm so sorry that i haven't gotten a chance to officially tell everyone yet) i'm moving to new orleans at the end of this month. if you live nearby, come hang out with me sometime before i go.
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| tea party |
[23 Oct 2006|09:14pm] |
last night christian and i decided to have a spot of tea with our shortbread cookies. ceilidh happened upon our little party and was invited to join in. she graciously declined- having to retire early. she did however leave us with a smaller, more fuzzy substitute:
and so began the party. christian and the penguin hit it off well right away. there was some friendly conversation, and biscuts were had.
then it came down to the last cookies. our fuzzy friend hadn't seemed to have touched his for the duration of the party. "cookies only go to those who fight for them" christian cheerily explains.
mr. penguin didn't seem to know exactly what was going on.
the party was abruptly ended by christain making a speedy getaway with about half of mr. penguin's biscut. everyone involved was slightly confused.
just then julia arrived with a selection of dumpstered donuts and bagels. christian and the penguin set aside their past of cookie rivalry and were friends once more.
it was a good time. as can be seen in the photos, i am working on a sweet pipe made of clay that's going to be totally awesome. as soon as i glue it back together. and take the straw out.
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| halloween is a' comin' |
[07 Oct 2006|09:51pm] |
chris
and i carved a pumpkin
the other night. it looks like an ant.. kind of. but it's drawing the fruit flies. i think they might think we've built them a fortress and now they're moving in...
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[05 Oct 2006|11:00pm] |
Ricky: [eyeing photo skeptically] "Don't i kind of look like the trash heap from fraggle rock in this picture?"
Mel: [looks at photo] "Yeah.. actually you kind of do!"
Ricky: [insulted] "Wait! You're supposed to say: "Oh no- of course you don't look like the trash heap" and then i feel better, and-
Mel: "Oh- wait wait.. now that i think of it you don't look like the trash heap at all"
Ricky: "Thanks"
...
he did kind of look like the trash heap..
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[02 Oct 2006|10:45pm] |
the warehouse is fun sometimes. jed knows all about it. i mean- you get to rifle through all those clothes.. listen to some dane cook or maybe play the ewoks song over and over. good times. but there are also those days when time itself seems to wind down to a crawl and that rack of women's shirts you've been tagging seems to never end.
it's like you've suddenly hit one of those warps i mentioned in an earlier entry (see the fun with brownies fiasco) where you're walking up the stairwell just trying to get to your apartment.. minding your own business when all of a sudden it dawns on you that you've passed apartment number 4 about eight times.
that's when things start to get messed up. reality speeds up and then throws itself into reverse without warning- and things get all swimmy.
you begin to feel as if your head has been wrapped in aluminum foil- and when jed asks you five times what music you'd like to listen to it just doesn't register. all you hear is something about roasted almonds and you get confused.
i usually spend anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 1/2 hours in this state each work day. lately i've been trying to mix it up so old father time can't get all up in my face and smack me in the back of the head with his cane. keeping ahead. staying focused.
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| truck adventures |
[02 Oct 2006|09:53pm] |
the other day i was elected to drive the truck at work for my whole shift. it was fun. we had our first pickup at a retirement home. it was fancy- but very pink inside. i think i would have gone insane if i had to live there- and maybe had painted the walls red (with what i will not say)
in this photo for some reason the building reminds me of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'
we picked up a sweet, sweet 70's style rocker from a sweet, sweet old woman.
then at the next pickup shakir discovered where they buried the children. we had to get out of there.
later that day shakir performed an uncanny impression of the late dave thomas:
...and bryan attempted to slit my throat.
i wish i could drive the truck around more often.. it was a good time.
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[01 Oct 2006|11:21am] |
i was thinking of bringing a pocket dictionary to boomerangs and learning words while i was working. at least then i'd be doing something beneficial for myself while i'm stuck there- making better use of my time. i hate feeling like i'm not excersising my mind enough- i need to read more- write more- think more. i've been slacking off with that. i zone out at work. i feel like there are a bunch of cobwebs all up in my head.
speaking of being productive and responsible; we made pot brownies last night. i'd been thinking about doing it for a while- i suggested the idea to christian and then he had eric, laz, john, emi and a kid named josh over. we got the (vegan) mix and i found a recipe online. there was much confusion over the oil situation but we straightened that out and they actually came out pretty good.
we put a lot into the brownies. when they were done everyone got a decent sized piece and ate it right away. after the harry potter fiasco (i am not explaining this) i thought it would be best if i only had a quarter of mine to see how that went before i went too crazy with them. i'm glad i did. i got really high, but in the good way. i didn't feel like curling up into a panicky ball and hiding under a blanket like last time; although it didn't help that christian started giggling uncontrollably when we went to dumpster donuts next door. we were walking down the stairs and he starts off at the top- then i catch it about half a flight down. so we're both giggling all the way down about seventeen flights of stairs (or so it seemed- sometimes i feel like i get stuck in some kind of inter-dimensional warp where travelling up or down the stairs lasts about five minutes longer than it should). i'm pretty sure in real life there are only about four flights. meanwhile, laz and eric seem mysteriously unaffected by all of this.
we get outside. (still giggling). crossing the street is mildly unnerving. we make it, then resume giggling. christian is suddenly a secret agent. he stealthily (or with as much stealth as can be managed while laughing uncontrollably) ducks around like a ninja. so much for being inconspicuous. when we get around to the dumpster he can't fit into the fence and so i'm elected to get in there and get a bag. i can't stop laughing- it's like this horrible disease. i think even so it would have been okay if he hadn't compared me to a badger while i was going through the trash. after that little comment i was laughing so hard i couldn't even manage to get a bag out- christian had to come in over the fence and do it. this was of course after he latches onto the fence going off very over-dramatically about how if anyone came around and found us out that i should stay there and he swore they would come back for me. this didn't help my situation much.
so christian manages to get a bag out and pass it over. good. mission accomplished. then the bag rips and spills all over the parking lot. that's great. laz and i close up the hole in the trash bag and begin to transport it back to the apartment. painting the picture- out from behind dunkin donuts stroll four people- two of whom are carrying a large trash bag and looking about nervously- another two of whom seem to be unable to stop laughing. so much for stealthy ninjas... we might as well have been a pack of badgers wearing party hats at that point.
we get back to the apartment (i note that the inter-dimentional stair warp has caught laz this time as he starts complaining around only flight eight or nine) and get ready to start a movie. we watched about half of kurosawa's dreams before everyone went home. i then fell asleep on the couch and woke up slightly confused with the dvd screensaver bouncing around on the tv in front of me around 7am. after a breakfast (of donuts) i figured since i was up i might as well get some livejournal time in.
and then i found five dollars.
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[25 Sep 2006|03:37am] |
this was casey before
he transformed into a LION:
naw, i'm just kidding. he really didn't transform into a lion. but we did tie bryan into the truck today. just so he wouldn't roll around.
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| The Dumpster Rodeo- an epic tale of high adventure |
[14 Jul 2006|01:38pm] |
there was a rodeo the other day. it was an epic battle- i was lucky i lived to tell the tale. the dumpster had been sassing off when brian decided it was high time it was taught a lesson.
making use of his lightning quick (and cat-like) reflexes in an amazing feat of strength and agility brian scaled the front of the dumpster; nimbly avoiding the sharp pointy bits before arriving at the top with a maniacal look of triumph on his face. [inset]. the dumpster was taken aback.
seizing this oppurtunity to overcome the now flummoxed dumpster, brian readied his rope. there was a mighty struggle. cardboard spewed from the monster's gaping maw- and the sky was black with it. [i was hiding behind the recycling bins at this point- hence the lack of photo documentation]. he prevailed- and had the beast lassoed in half a minute.
the battle was at an end and sir brian was victorious. the crowd cheered. [well, i cheered- being the only spectator].
as reward for his bravery and ultimate sacrifice [his clothing had been soiled in the attack] he was awarded a knighthood in france.
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| adventures in providence (there were no pirates) |
[08 Jul 2006|10:01pm] |
i hope you guys enjoy photographs all over your friends pages. here we go
i took a trip to providence this friday. on the train over i discovered that if you tilt your head just so while the train is in motion, it looks like all the poles and tree branches are going to hit you right in the face. i took a video- but unfortunately you can't post videos on livejournal.
i arrived around 9:15 and started to wander around
and i knew it was going to be a good day.
after i stashed my lucky penny in my pocket i walked a bit more
under an overpass
until i ended up at felinni's pizza. i remember this place being really great so i stoppped in- it was good but about as good as the upper crust. (i guess when i lived i douglas i was used to rotten pizza joints).
the lady on the chalkboard looked cross and about to throw her pie at someone. maybe it was a shark.
after some tomato pesto pizza i walked towards wickenden street and came across a ferocious lion. then he got mad because i couldn't take him seriously. (there was something about him that was just- well... silly. i couldn't place it). he was apparently guarding the electrical meters.
a while down the street i noticed a bike lock around a tree- or rather a tree around a bike lock. it's kind of funny to think that the tree will keep growing until no one will be able to tell that there's a bike lock in there.
i climbed a fence to take a shot of the highway-
i think the fence gave me tetanus.
walking up some back roads i found a paramedic sleeping on the job. i had to be careful.
i stumbled into a lot and suddenly it was like massachusetts and rhode island were friends:
here are some of the sights.
from the skywalk at providence place:
i usually stay away from malls, but there was some good food upstairs. and i took videos of the people on the escalators.
..(was this intended to be a statement regarding the kinds of people who shop at these places)?
back outside i took a few more pictures.
then i sat by the riverway and relaxed for a good hour and a half.
there was a guy on in a gondola. he looked friendly. i was glad- because if he didn't want his picture taken he might have jumped into the water, swam over and punched me in the face. on top of the bridge there had been some car accident deal going down for about an hour. that's right.
i made my way back to the train station around 8:00. there was a show going on- but i couldn't stay.
that was about it. it was a great day for just a trip on the commuter rail. i should do things like this more often.
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(4 snapshots | does your wife like photographs?)
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[28 Jun 2006|08:53pm] |
yesterday i got out of work and was heading towards the bus when i ran into haggerty- and got his picture despite protests.
after chatting a bit i took the 39 bus up to the christian science center fountain and watched (and took pictures of) little kids running around:
from there i walked up to the bridge on the river and sat for a while watching other people take pictures of sailboats.
i met a pigeon:
and then sat for a bit taking in the beauty of the charles river.
i walked up to the cambridgeside galleria and happened across a kid jumping like spiderman- (or a ninja) swinging around a lampost and jumping from that between railings of the nearby stairwell. i felt a little rude staring- but it was interesting to see this kid seemingly by himself jumping around like jackie chan. i started laughing and we said hi and introduced ourselves. his name is Jon and he was practising parkour. i got informed and then he wrote down the web site for me to check out. now that i think of it, i wish i had gotten a picture of him.
after meeting Jon i took the D line home. walking through brookline i met this guy:
when i run into him he usually follows me most of the way home. then i feel bad leaving him at the end of the street.
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[05 Jun 2006|12:15am] |
after Ricky's show tonight i went down to spikes and had to play paper/rock/scissors with some random kid for the very last hot dog buns. we tied three times (and he had to think about the last one) before i felt bad and let them have them. so help me- karma better get me back for that good deed... *shakes fist*
now i'm at home making macaroni and cheese.
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[26 May 2006|06:23pm] |
Hello there friends,
I'm going on a diet in an attempt to better my health and lenghten my life span. Please help me stick to it by giving me no treats except fruits and vegetables. Jennifer's going to give me my daily ration of rat food in the mornings and evenings.
Love,
Schenecktady
***************************************************************************************
Dear Schenecktady,
We hope you are able to overcome the staggering greatness of your obesity. Just remember- for now, there is more of you to love.
Best wishes,
Reggie and Chester
ps. we will enjoy your ration of the treats
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[25 May 2006|01:19am] |
"ice chips, chocolate chips, potato chips, poker chips, sailing ships, little sips, swaying hips, kissy lips, tips, pips, nips, smugglin peas, bumble bees, knobbly knees, chestnut trees.
so there."
"chestnut trees, scramblin bees, chickadees, wine n cheese, homonyms, m&ms, ridin bikes, takin hikes, hippy chicks, punch n kicks, your face, your mom, my little hickory smoked deli slice."
lars is the best.
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[13 May 2006|03:36pm] |
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this is the best rainy day ever. i really love going outside and having my umbrellla blown inside out- and nothing makes me happier than when my face is pelted raw with freezing ice chips.
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(3 snapshots | does your wife like photographs?)
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