Holidays

Holidays!

Since October there was Thanksgiving and Christmas, oh yeah and New Years.

I just made it to New Years. USAirways tried their best to keep me in Philly counting down with the exciting staff at Vino Vollo. A few delayed and cancelled flights gave me plenty of time to secure a rocking chair in front of the big windows where I watched luckier people fly to their destinations. I even met a few interesting characters - but who isn't interesting in an airport.

Yet I made it to Mary's party in New Haven with 90 seconds to spare. I didn't even have to run that much, which is good. It was snowing a thin powder over the existing ice.

The only redeeming factor at Philly is the Chick-fil-a. But you can only eat so many of their sandwiches and drink so many gallons of the delicious lemonade. And due to a cancelled flight and a rerouting on the way down for Christmas I passed through Philly twice.

But flights aside Christmas was great. I pulled in everything on my list: underwear, undershirts, rolling pin, and bread pans. I also grabbed the fun game of BananaGrams.

Plenty of Aunts and Uncles were seen - shout outs to the Chicago relations that made it down. You two always make Christmas better. In addition to family I saw friends. Matt, Travis and I spent an evening at the cabin - not a bad place for brown liquor and cigars. It was great to all be back together if only for an Evening.

I think I agree with my Mother. Thanksgiving is a better holiday: no stress or shopping, just food, family and friends. At Thanksgiving this year the Lemasters came up and competed with us in an 8k turkey trot. John Mark just barely pulled out a W over me despite all my mind-bending trash talk. Next year though... Mile 4! Coach Captain Tommy raised the stakes and the miles at next year's half-marathon. I would be getting ready right now, but bronchitis makes it hard to run.

I can not end this post without mentioning Haiti. I was on a trip to Haiti in March. Many of you were about to receive letters asking for your support. Due to the incredible devastation our trip has been cancelled. Strangely, even though I have never been, nor know anyone there I feel this tragedy closely. Maybe that is because I had started to get excited and nervous about the trip. I do not understand how things like this happen in a world made by God - and I can not see how good can come from this - but I hope.

Plymouth and Cranberries

This weekend I went to Plymouth for a cranberry festival. The festival had plenty of cheezy and slightly rickety rides, delicious and fattening foods, and booths of cheap and tacky knick knacks. The only thing lacking was cranberries.

Fortunately my friend Erin's parents have a bog at there house.

Awesome USA ride!

The train was pretty nice though it went down hill when the speakers piped in little children singing (stomping cats) Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Jumbo the Elephant (not Dumbo)

This is the Bog behind Erin's house. The bog has been flooded, the berries have been shaken free from the stem and now are floating.

This bog is in the process of flooding.

The man is driving the machine that shakes the cranberries free.

Flowers that grew too close to the bog! Sunk.

I am trying to navigate my way acrossthe moat. Apparently the bog is surrounded by a moat that when flooded is well over waist deep. Once you jump past it you can walk on the plants in slightly less deep water.

More Pictures of Life

Another Beach Day

Eva



Great Picture!

Rachel and Adam


I don't think you can go to the beach without then going to The Place.

Abhi






Theater in the Park

While it wasn't Shakespear this year the Imaginary Invalid and the Holiday were both great.

Mary and Umrit

The German, Eva and Abhi

Liz

Some Pictures of Life

I realize that I have not updated this blog all summer. Instead of updating, I am working and having fun. In case you doubt here is some evidence of the fun.


School Days

King of Pop Tribute




Graduation






Good Looking Suit





StayCation

Family (where is john?)



South Carolina Fire Safety

















Beach Sunday!



On the Rocks



The Place!

Wednesday Hike

This past Wednesday I slipped out of Lab at noon and drove up to the Appalachian Trail with two Friends. Please don't tell the boss. I don't think he noticed.



My Friends, Virginia and Caitlin, and I hiked to Rand's View, a place on the AT which I have been to many times. Upon arrival to the field with the view we found the only spot with lots of bugs and sat amongst them to eat our picnic. After the bugs won, we slipped out into the tall grass of the field and played the HaHa game. We stayed until the sun light grew long.





We made it back to the car and drove through the country side. We pulled into Litchfield in late dusk and slipped into "@ The Corner" for dinner. Perhaps we were a little under dressed - but the still served us.

The Place Since 1971

Every now and then the clouds part, the sun shines and a little piece of heaven is revealed on earth.

Perhaps my opinion is slightly skewed by the ending of the long winter. Or perhaps The Place is really that great.

Last evening Angel invited me to dine with Jack and her and two of her friends. They were all going to The Place. I of course went along.

We positively flew up the road in Jack's car. The vacuum-cleaner like hum the engine gave was less than impressive though one doesn't notice when you are mere millimeters from the concrete dividing wall. We arrived in one piece with the cooler of beer hardly shaken. The Place is BYOB.

Maybe the best part of The Place is the fact you get to sit on stumps. But that seems to sell the food short as well as the atmosphere. We walked across the broken shell gravel floor to a table and chose our stumps. Mine was named spike. Our table was close to the giant brick grill. Though all the tables were rather close as the grill is so big. The menu is posted on an old billboard of sorts - and the prices are cheap.

Mussels, Clams, Steamers, Lobster, Catfish, Salmon, Barbecue, corn and veggibobs are all on the menu. Only the veggiebob seemed a little pricey. I can say with first hand knowledge that the grilled corn was delicious. It may have been their generous use of butter. For the four pieces of corn for the table, perhaps two sticks of melted goodness dripped off.

I had the clams and a bite or two of Angel's lobster. Apparently it was female. I tried the eggs. They tasted like fish which I didn't expect.

We sat outside eating and drinking the whole evening. Our conversation drifted from quadruple homicides, forestry, the south, food and how we could drop out of school and start another The Place.

The only unfortunate thing about The Place is that it is only open since yesterday and until October. Having no walls or ceilings limits them to warmer months. Oh and they don't take credit or debit. Though there is an ATM across the street for which we dodged mild traffic.

Work and Play

I am working a little too much these days. I get to lab a few minutes before 8am and often go home after 12.30am. I the repeat.

This is much too short of a turn around time.

I need to get away. In august it will be two years since I slipped up to the White Mountains with Mary Laurel, Mary Ashton and McCullough.






Perhaps I can get back there. Even better would be Alaska. I may try to meet up with Matt next time he is state side and try denali. It would be pretty awesome.

Till then I will have to content myself with the fun around here. I am now singing with the choir at ECY, the little episcopal church I go to. The choir is mostly hired guns, many are in the Wiffenpoofs, the very famous group from Yale. They are all way beyond me. It is a lot of fun. I also started singing with the divinity school's gospel choir. It could not be anymore different. It too is a blast.