a thousand rainy days

There are quite a few lessons I've learned in my twenty-some-odd years, and I'll be damned if I can't shuffle together a bunch of post it notes, and see how all my little incomprehensible problems are really one big problem with hopefully one easily solution. And hopefully not literally damned.

: )

I stopped working at Eliot full-time as of Oct 29. The next day I took the Fung Wah bus to NYC, and another Chinatown bus to Newport News, where I met Dave and Tom.

The family and I had a spectacular week in North Carolina, getting our feet cut up on seashells, amusing ourselves by fishermen, kites and beach-destroying storms, feeding the gulls who were trailing the ferry, traipsing around historic islands, playing Wii with the parents and Grandma Crocker, trying to catch the moon and the sun as they rose..

Since then I have been spending my days delving into programming languages heretofore undelved or unproperly delved, churning through the Project Euler problems, and sending out applications for work here and there.

Brendan, Alissa and lil' Eliza have moved from Portsmouth to their own place in Kittery. I got to help them move up there, with Brendan's family, one rainy day.

John and Katie had their baby, nine weeks early. But thanks to modern medicine, there are no issues.

Alex moved to Lakewood CO, to pursue his Coldwell Bankerly pursuits. I am left with all these Philosophers.

I spent a delicious and hilarious Thanksgiving with Carissa and Kevin.

Yesterday I visited Hillary, who, surprises of surprises, is now renting from Irit and John.

Amanda is moving back to her hometown, within a few weeks.

I have also read the Harry Potter books, and collections of works of Kafka, and of Gandhi.

These days I am taking relief shifts at Eliot, and as of Dec 8, surprises upon surprises, I work at the Arc full time, in Matt's old shift, because he has taken a job at Heather's company, and the two of them are thinking of moving down to Quincy.

Oh David Hilbert, what would we ever have done without you.
I'm glad I read about him. He has his head on straight. Plus, now I know the Latin word for willful ignorance a.k.a. religious mysticism a.k.a. "we do not know and we will never know." Well I should be fair. It isn't religious mysticism's take on the "we shall never know"-itude of religious concepts that is entirely wrong. What is wrong is to take that-itude and apply it to concepts concerning the actual world - which was Hilbert's point - nothing about the physical world is unknowable. And now there is a Latin word for it. Nice.

Oh, Victor Hugo. At least I have you.
*sob*

Have you ever have one of those days, where you feel like you're on the verge of a total drug bust?
EDIT: false alarm. My keen sense of drug-busting was mistaken this time.

What is up with Swan Lake being HOURS long!?!? Best four bucks I ever spent. Actually wait..

It's a ballet! Four bucks for just the music, I didn't even get to SEE Swan Lake!

AAAAAAWWWWWWW SH@*@*T.

The northernmost roads in Quebec, along the Hudson Bay, are home to the seven or eight largest settlements of the Cree people. They have gravelly roads going north a distance of about 30 hours' travel (from here.) There is ONE town a bit further north than the roads, but it's inaccessible by ATV - they suggest small aircraft I believe.

To drive to Chisasibi, the northernmost town on the roads, I would need to start driving thursday right after work, bring along maybe twenty gallons of gasoline -- I think that will fit in my car, but I don't know about customs, and I'm not really willing to pay Canadian prices -- and I would arrive in Chisasibi (cross my fingers!) 1am on Saturday. That is without sleeping. I would see the sunrise from the road earlier that Friday morning!

And then I would sleep on Saturday. If I DIDN'T sleep that weekend, I would be able to make it back home in time for work.

However--!

If I went only as far as Matagami or Chapais (some of the southern Cree settlements, and just at the north edge of 'civilization'), I would ARRIVE there at Sunrise. Score! And I could do it in a weekend, with one night of sleep.

It will have to be after the Keith and Sarah wedding..

Whew, today went by so quickly! Particularly the time between 1:30 and 5:30 ... I can't really account for that time for some reason.

I was up with the sun (kind of) and was off to Fellows Farm when E---- let me know that tomorrow was a better day for gardening because a whole crowd was due to show up; I guess I'll be there tomorrow instead.

In the meantime I checked around for thermometers and barometers; well technically I already have a barometer, but it's an old german one, and I am not really sure how well it works; maybe if I compare it to a new model? Anyway I got a dial thermometer for the wall, 4 bucks. Not bad.

But in the meantime I stopped in to a Tae Kwon Do dojo, took off my shoes and talked to the guy. In the back of my mind I knew he could break my back in two or one second(s) but he was more of a business-owner type and not the flip out ninja type. So I was convinced it was safe. Really I want to start taking some martial art, if nothing else than to get some goal-orienteed agility-heavy physical exercise and martial arts goodness into my life. Perhaps Heather can recommend her Tang Soo Do dojo.

After not signing up but hoping soon to do so, I called Matt who had just gotten home, and we played 3 innings of Wiffle Ball. Let's just say the Detroit Tigers shut out the Pirates, 2-0.

Also the B-52 Bombers were landing and touring at the Beverly Airfield. Fresh from Hyannis Airport. For only a mere meager paltry 475 dollars *cough cough* you could go up and fly in the bomber. Oh yeah. But for some reason we didn't go up..

Instead we went to this new place on antoul Street, Cravings Cafe. Opening day! Turns out E---- (who knows JBrand) now works there. Perhaps I can convince them to get involved in community farming and purchasing local beverly grown goods.

And now my roommate is mad that Chopin isn't spelled Shopan, angered that English is being cheated out of its place at the pinnacle of the created order, out of its authority as the universal eternal absolute standard provided by God and the Bible from all eternity past. I'm going to call him Tomás from now on. Forever.

Aloe. I've had my first leaf, cut open drained and scraped, and chilled down really cold. Whoo. Talk about slime. Talking about invigorating healing power. I'm gonna try this on a fresh one, that I haven't let sit out for a few days.

Alright, my order of photos from Kevin and Carissa's wedding is well-nigh on its way! I am excited. It was great fun - yes even with the rain. A little bit of weather always helps a marriage off to a strong start, I say. Although it did hinder our ability to scribble on the car. But I'm sure even without that, they had a great honeymoon.

Kevin on a honeymoon!

AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH~!!

In any case I have a good set of photos here.

Which reminds me; I have to take a photo of that 9-story willow tree on Pleasant Street, for Grandma. We were talking last week about trees and houses and such things, and it turns out she's all about those willow trees. We were talking about this tree and that tree, when all of a sudden, I had an epiphany, as it were -- those monstrous things are alive! Those nine-story twelve-ton bales of wood and debris, sitting on every corner, sucking on dirt and throwing leaves into the streets -- those things are alive! Heaven help us.