Remember last week when I posted a picture of the timer on my car’s dashboard and said I set a new record for longest Methuen to Westwood morning commute? I think it was two hours and 12 minutes, but it might have been 2:15. Something like that at least.
I smashed that record today. I didn’t have the timer running so I don’t have a picture, but I left the house at 7:30 and got to work at 9:49.
Two hours and 19 minutes.
2:19.
Oh happy world record setting day.
Winter sucks. Mightily.
What? That’s twice in a week that I went a whole day without posting anything. What the hell is wrong with me?
Blame it on the snow. I have been in a snow induced cloud of aches and exhaustion for the last week or so. I have never wanted Spring more than I do at this moment.
I was outside shoveling tonight. I had been digging and digging for about two hours. It was never ending. My arms could barely lift the shovel, but I was soldiering on. I scooped up some snow, turned around, and threw it as hard and as far as I could…
And noticed that there were two deer at the tree line of the neighbor’s yard that were standing stone still watching me. I kept shoveling and they kept standing there. It seemed like it lasted for maybe 10 minutes. Every time I turned around they were there. They stayed perfectly still, always watching me. It was so cool. I started talking to them. They didn’t run away. Not that I was close to them or anything, and there was a mount everest sized snow bank between us. They had no reason to be spooked, and neither did I. It was just really cool. Eventually one of them calmly walked off into the woods, and a few minutes later the other followed. It was so cool.
Shortly after that I got called into the house for dinner. My beautiful, charming, beloved wife made an awesome chicken dinner and it gave me a nice break from the snow and the freezing cold. I had maybe 30 more minutes of work to do. Most of the heavy snow bank at the end of the driveway was gone, but there was still enough to worry about. I also had to do the fire hydrant. At about 8:00 I stood up to go back outside and finish and what did I see? Our next door neighbor and his snow blower. He had just dug out the fire hydrant and he was starting on the little patch of snow left on the driveway. Woah! Thanks, neighbor! Clearing the hydrant is a big help, but I look at that as him helping out the entire neighborhood. I feel good about myself when I do it, because I know it’s a potential life saver. If one of my neighbors wants a piece of that good karma then have at it. Our driveway though, that was above and beyond the call of duty. Our neighbor is once again a hero of our household! Thank you!
It’s happening again. For the third consecutive week, we kick things off with a huge snow storm. The snow banks at the end of my driveway are taller than I am, and I am wicked tall. Each shovel full has to be tossed about 10 feet into the air to get it over the top of the mountain. If I try to drop the snow on top of the mountain it slides back onto the pavement. I have to go over the top so it slides into the yard. We have an icicle on one side of the house that hangs so low it is only a couple of inches above the ground. The squirrels no longer need to jump to get onto the bird feeders. That is, if the squirrels weren’t buried under four feet of snow.
I am a hearty New Englander. A little snow doesn’t bother me. I stand proudly with my shovel, daring mother nature to do her worst.
Well, that’s how I usually feel. Right now? Our third multi-foot snow fall in just under two weeks has me feeling beaten and broken. My whole body is sore. I’m exhausted. Each time I head out into the storm I feel like I can’t take it any more. Somehow, magically, I get back inside with a clear driveway. I sit down hard on a chair in the living room and hope that it’s over. Then I look out the window again and the clean driveway is covered again. Or, as happened earlier today, I catch a weather forecast that says the next multi-foot storm is four days away.
It leaves me (figuratively) standing defiantly before mother nature with both middle fingers raised in the time honored double freedom rocket salute yelling at the top of my worn out lungs, “YOU SUCK!”
Then I pick up the shovel and start digging. Mother nature remaining steadfastly uninterested.
Hang in there, New England. Just remember that pitchers and catchers report in 11 days. We can make it. It might be a close call, but we can make it.
I did some RPM work today, but only on song ideas that have already been started. I’m still stuck on five.
For the first time ever, the cat went to the top shelf of her cat tree! Granted we had to bribe her with catnip, and she only stayed for about half a minute, but she was there.
It seems like a wasted trip if you visit New York and don’t go to the top of a huge building. Still, we weren’t planning on climbing the Empire State Building last weekend. We were just walking south on 5th avenue and there were so many rude, arrogant, pushy, assholes trying to sell us Empire State Building stuff that we blew them off and then went into the building just to spite them. It was a great idea, of course, but it was so… effin’… cold… Actually, it was cold but not bad when we first stepped out onto the observation deck. It wasn’t until we turned a corner to look East that it hit us. The wind. Oh. My. God. The wind chill dropped the temperature from really cold to OH MY GOD ITS TOO COLD TO SURVIVE. That’s when we went back inside.
Looking south toward the only building in town that is taller than the Empire State Building. The Freedom Tower is supposed to have an observation level, but it’s not open yet.
The Statue of Liberty just looks so teeny tiny.
Psst… hey… all of these New York pics are using my new lens. How’s she doing?
There was a huge warehouse fire in Brooklyn that took about two days to put out.
The love of my life, on top of the world with me.
We made some feathery friends.
You can actually see the boats shooting water onto the fire.
The Chrysler Building is still my favorite of all the New York skyscrapers.
Rats with wings.
This is the Langham Hotel. Our room was on the 21st floor on the right corner.
Central Park.
Normally when you go to the top of the Empire State Building it is absolutely mobbed. On this day? You might have guessed, this corner was getting the worst of the wind. The word of the morning was, “Brr”.
Sometimes the best part of visiting New York is just walking around and looking at stuff.
The Chrysler building pretty much rules.
I’ve seen the New York public library before, but I’d never gone in. Last weekend while walking down the street with no set plans in mind, we decided to go inside and check it out. The word is, large. Opulent is another word.
Want to see the room we stayed in last weekend?
You’re gonna be jealous.
As jealous as we are poor now.
Yes, we had a television embedded into our bathroom mirror. Yes, that’s a thing.
Oh yeah, and unless we forget… there was the awesome view.
And that, friends and neighbors, is the sweetest suite on Earth. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go cry over the fact that we are now dirt poor.
