The Week In Review

Back after a little hiatus. It was nice to go back to Mass for the week. Kinda wish I had some more time but, you know what they say "Wish in one hand, shit in the other and see which one fills up first."

Friday night, Dave and I went to the Fifth Alarm. We dragged along Matt too. So we were The White Guys +1. I've been gone for a few months now and it's quite obvious my departure has had a negative impact on that place. The quality of entertainers has gone from bad to worse. It was cool when it was bad, but it's kinda sad now though. On an more positive note, however, the clientele seems to have gotten a little more sketchy though. So, there's always something to look forward too. I only had a beer and a shot of Hennessey before we decided to head over to the Mardi Gras where I spent a lot of my hard-earned money and it was damned good. That place gets bigger and bigger all the time.

Saturday was one of the better highlights. I had the honor (if that's what one would call it) of drinking with my pals Tim and Charles and Pam and JoAnn (I hope that's the right spelling... everyone's gotta be difficult). Much damage was inflicted upon my liver and many brain cells were killed. But at least they died in battle so they died with honor. To be honest, that night is a little foggy. I had "a beer or two" at the Polish Hall then drove out to Randolph where I had some more. I know we killed the bottle of Utopias and sampled a few more things. Plus those Cohibas were just right! Then I remember starting to watch The Rock... Next thing I know, I'm asleep on the couch with my feet in Tim's face. Well, he had a cold so he couldn't tell. But as always, chilling with them is an honor and a pleasure.

Sunday was my first gig in about 3 months. My lack of practice was apparent to me, but no one complained. At least not to my face, which was probably a good thing since I was hung over and not really all that eager to play that day for a number of reasons. But it was a good time. Got to drink with Spike, Mo, Krystal and everyone else. Except for Sarah, cuz she was only having water. This week I gotta talk to Ed and see what the schedule is gonna be like for 2005.

Monday... Well Monday kinda sucked. Went to the Holyoke Mall then watched some movies. Matt got his window smashed too. What a pane in the glass that was. (nyuck nyuck nyuck).

Tuesday was back to work in the Mass office for once. Nice to see everyone there. Everyone seemed pretty happy to see me. Which, to me is still odd. In my time there, I wasn't really all that social, rarely went out with people after work. But yet, they got me some nice going away gifts when I was leaving, and when I came back, everyone seemed genuinely glad to see me. Cool but odd. Either they are just real nice people, or have low standards. Then Tuesday night I chilled with Allison in Woburn. That was quite the hike.

Wednesday night I got to hang with Tim and Pam once more. Well, Tim needed help with his computer, but he pays me with friendship and beer so hey, who can argue with that? Tried getting this damned program he is obsessed with, Band-in-a-Box (or as I like to say, Abandon Her Box) updated for free. But he needs to purchase a newer version for that update to work. So I got him set up with a demo version. Also setup Finale PrintMusic too. Then he took me to The Tap in Haverhill for dinner and beer. Good times again!

Thursday was kind of a throwaway night. Wanted to play pool in Chicopee, but Dan and Matt gayed-out. So I drank at the Rollin Roc in Chicopee with Kevin. Not bad, however, nothing to really write home about. So I guess I'll skip to Friday now.

Friday, I got to go out to Boston. Woohoo. Didn't have as much time as I would have liked but we hit up the Foggy Goggle, Beer Works and the Cask. Didn't make it over to the Baseball Tavern or any of the other college hangouts. But next time I will.

Saturday, I got to go to the mall and cash in some Best Buy Certificates. I ended up taking home 10 DVD's for a total of $6.51. Not too shabby at all. Then we hit up Town and Country. My mom got this idea for a light made from a wine bottle at a craft fair that she wanted to make for me, so we had to get some wine. I went with a nice tawny port that I was introduced to the Saturday before, though I didn't remember it tasting that good. And the light mom made kicks some major ass. I'll try to put a picture up during the week. Also got to stop by my Babci's house in Chicopee.

Then today... well, the long trip back. Brought some more of my things from MA. Not to mention 1 case of Sam and 1 case of Sam Double Bock. That should last a little while. Oh yeah, I stopped for lunch at this brew pub in Plattsburgh, NY called Bootleggers. What a disappointment. I walked in and was greeted by a ton of video games. My first impression was "AWESOME! This is like Chuck E Cheeses for Alcoholics!" However, the selection of games was a bit out of date. The place was just a little weird. They wanted to give the effect of a pre-prohibition kind of bar combined with a modern sports bar. It didn't work too well. The brewery itself seemed kind of dirty. Looks like the equipment hadn't been dusted in years. The food was ok. I had a Buffalo chicken sandwich. Not bad, not great. The beer kinda sucked. I had thier Stout, Red and Blond. I think the Stout was the best of the group, but it wasn't great at all. They had a Pale Ale but I didn't try it.

So there ya go. I'm back in Canada now eh. Getting ready for bed. It was definitely nice seeing everyone again. For those of you I didn't get to hook-up with this trip, I'll be back again soon. Or again, you always welcome to drive here for once.

I'll be posting some more this week. Check back!