It's Only Rock 'n' Roll

Ah ok, so now where did we leave off? It's been about a week since my last update. Wednesday was an average run of the mill kinda day. Thursday I had to give my Q2 presentation at work then hit the road back to MA.

Friday was a pretty cool day. One of the girls I used to work with in the Maynard office had tickets to see the Rolling Stones in Hartford on Friday but couldn't go so she sold them to me. It worked out well as I ended up having a few meetings in the Maynard office that day so I expense the trip there. Julie and I got to the concert a little later than anticipated. We missed the opening act but oh well. Wasn't sure who the band was but they weren't the band we were there to see. The seats we had were amazing. They were on the floor and a little towards the back. However, half way through the show, part of the stage was on a track and they moved the band down the track. We ended up being like 15 feet or so away from the band. How cool was that? We were so close we could see all their wrinkles. All in all that was by far the best concert I have ever been to. They know how to put on one hell of a show. And again, we got to sit/stand 15 feet away from a group of living legends. Amazing.

Saturday, we went to a wedding but I had come down with something nasty. Not sure what it was but it was kicking my ass up and down all day. We ended up having to leave early, I was in bed by 10, woke up yesterday feeling a little better but not 100%. We were supposed to go to the Hardwick Winery but that never happened. By the time all our errands were done, we got on the road really late and got up to Canada around 2am.

I'm now at work, on 4 hours sleep. Feeling much better than I had been feeling the last 2 days but I'd be much better if I had gotten some more Z's. I may actually take off early. There really isn't shit for me to do here right now. We're supposed to have a few meetings about the Canada/US migration but those haven't been scheduled yet and they are something I could dial into from home if need be I would imagine.

I'm only up here until Wednesday this time around too. Will probably take Julie and Natalie around the city tomorrow after work. Then Wednesday evening its back on the road for a few meetings in Maynard and then I'm sticking around for the long weekend, coming back on Labor Day.

He's Dead Jim (Another One!)

Today, Brock Peters passed away. He played Admiral Cartwright in Star Trek IV and Star Trek VI. He also had a role in "To Kill A Mockingbird" but well, it's not nearly as important as Star Trek. Hey, James Doohan died not too long ago... I think I'll have to have some scotch in their honor.

The question at hand, however, is... Do I watch STIV or STVI? Do I listen to Nick Koryluk's last show for a while on the Jammer? or do I watch the Red Sox? God why does life have to be so hard? I could theoretically do all 3 at once but that would be pointless. I don't know. I'm going to have to dwell on this for a little while. But I might as well grab the scotch. The question is do I go for the Glenkichie? Or how about the Talisker? Or what about the Lagavulin? God dammit! Another choice. I think I'll save the Lagavulin for another time.. that's more pricey. hmm I like the color of the Talisker a little better so.. I guess I'm going to go with that. Depending on how that goes, maybe I'll go with the Glenkichie afterwards. I do have 2 Cubans that are getting a little dry so I think I'm gonna kill one of them tonight. Cubans and Scotch in Canada. And who said I wasn't worldly?

Work continues to blow. I'm becoming numb to it though. I just do what I must to get through the day, and come home and pack what I can. I'm out of boxes though. However, my small bedroom/office is barren. Its kind of odd. And sound echos quite nicely in here once again. That will keep me amused tonight after the scotch.

Coffee Black... Cigarette...

Eh. Was just listening to the Dynatones, sounded like a good opening line. Plus I'm drinking some coffee, but no cigarette. I do have, however, a couple Cubanos in my humidor... maybe I'll hit one of those up later on.

Kind of a so-so week. Work's been lame. Still no word on what's going on when I come back. I think I might start looking for employment elsewhere down there. The company is pretty unorganized. Its been that way since I started in 2003 and it's tolerable to a certain extent but it's getting pretty asinine. I think what I'm going to do is tough it out, see what they do, while keeping my eyes open for greener pastures. They told me they'd move me back regardless, but that usually requires me to guarantee that I stay with them for a year or so. I'm going to try to avoid putting myself in that predicament if possible. That's something I'll keep you all posted on. Regardless, I'll be back in less than 2 months. Most likely sooner and hopefully on the company's dime, but if that doesn't work out, well, I'm not going to sit here on my ass waiting for something good to happen.

In other news, the Sox designated Mark Bellhorn for assignment. That's a shame.

What else... oh yeah, I've been spending my usual 1-2 hours a night on the phone with the girly. My Verizon bill is not gonna pretty. But oh well.

This weekend is gonna be pretty laid back. I could start packing but all I have is 1 box and I've yet to decide what to put into it yet. Thats my other problem, I can start packing and if I was only here for a couple more weeks, it would be fine, but if I end up here for another 2 months, well, I need a good portion of this shit. Speaking of.. be right back...

Ahhh. much better. So yeah. I might spend some quality time playing XBOX this weekend. It's raining out. There's a football game going on in the park right now, but from my window here, it's definitely not looking like its worth my time. That is one thing, however, I do want to see before I leave here for good. I want to go see the Montreal Alouettes play. They're a CFL team. Canadian Football is ok to watch. Not the NFL but it does provide some entertainment.

I have a few boxes of things I am going to bring back this next trip. If the rain lets up over the weekend I may bring those things down to the truck. I need to bring my clubs down as well. And that reminds me... I still am in need of two more golfers for Saturday's Fall Frolic. So far its just me and Uncle Doug. Chuck and Tim have other engagements so, if you're reading this and have your own clubs, please let me know.

I'll be up here Mon-Thursday, taking a half day on Friday to drive back. Friday I have the tournament in the morning, wedding to attend in the afternoon, then Sunday I'm driving back. Looks like Julie's coming up for a few days. This is where it gets fun, cuz I'm driving back so I can work in this office Monday-Wednesday then I have to drive back to Massachusetts Wednesday night cuz I have a meeting with the President of our operations in India, that's right India, who is coming to the Maynard office for the day on Thursday. Then that's Labor Day weekend in the US. In Canada it's Labour Day. I'll be down there until the 5th, then back up here for who knows how long. This driving thing is getting old. It's been getting old for a while, now it's getting really old. Oh well.

By the way, I love my Mac iBook. This is the best computer I've ever owned. My G4, which is currently residing in a bedroom in Thorndike, is awesome too, but this is portable. And it has wireless which is cool. I need to get an Airport Extreme Card for the G4 so it too can be wireless.

So I guess I'm done rambling for now. I've got Belina's show cranking pretty loud. I've demolished this pot of coffee. Time for a heart palpatation.

No News is well... No News

I'm getting a little pissed off here. We're looking at a September 5th cutover date (pushed back from Aug 11). I still have no idea when exactly I'm moving back. But I suppose I should start bringing my shit back with every trip I have to make. Less to worry about when that time actually comes.

I also emailed a bunch of people today about picking up some work. I could use the extra dough when I come back so filling in from time to time would be a good thing. I don't think I'd wanna go back to doing the fulltime thing I did with Crusade for that year and a half, but a few jobs here and there will help the wallet and the bank account.

Looks like I'm coming back once again the weekend of the 27th for a wedding. Woohoo. Although that day looks to be like a twin-killer of a day. The annual Polish Hall Fall Frolic takes place that day. I'm going to assemble a team of the finest "winners" I can find for an early tee time. I emailed a few but if you're reading this and might be interested, let me know. To quote Hedley Lamaar from Blazing Saddles:

"I want rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists."

If you happen to fit any or all of the above description, please contact me immediately! I had the pleasure of talking to Ikie today to get the lowdown on the tournament and was told "Johnny, you're a good kid, but all I gotta say is FUCK you and Shane Mitus." haha. Apparently Shane and I did quite the number on Ikie at the last tournament and he's a little bitter about it. He promised to "return the favor" but alas, I have plans that day and have to leave right after the game. Pity. And if they had the internet in Gilbertville, perhaps he'd be able to read this and find out.. Oh well, it'll be his surprise.

That all I got for now folks.

Awww Man

So I've been in town since Tuesday night. What a week. Work was ok. Had some more meetings hoping I'd have a better idea about where I'd end up but not so great. There's this escalated position they want to put me in. It pays roughly what I'm making now which is fine and has executive level visibility which kind of appeals to my ego and knowing I'm good at what I do. However, Thursday brought something else into the picture. We had our first annual Client Summit which was for Customer Service's internal customers. I found myself in a room of stuffed-shirts. It was cool. I'm able to BS my way through stuff pretty good. There's a Client Manager position that was mentioned there. I'm actually much more interested in that job. It will pay probably about the same, but give me more experience on the operations side of things which would be good for me long-term. I'm going to try to go for that position.

As for other things, well, again, I've spent most of my time with Julie. I really dig this chick. I was a little leary at first. I hate when people try to set me up with friends and family, but we started talking almost 2 months ago and there has yet to be 1 negative thing. I've spent every night here with her since Tuesday and have nothing to complain about. That's kinda scary. Actually, that's pretty f'n scary. I have a pretty good tolerance for people having worked in Customer Service for over 5 years now so I can put up with shit and be nice about it but still not care for it. I've yet to have one issue with this girlie. This could be trouble for me. But it's definitely a good thing. There's quite a bit more going on but well, nothing I care to share with you blokes. Guess will have to wait and see ;-).

So it's like 2pm right now. I'm at her place watching the Sox, waiting for her to get out of work. Afterwards I'll probably stop by Pulaski Park to see Jan Cyman. I'm hoping I might pick a couple gigs up with him soon especially now that I'll be coming back. After that, time to say "bye" and all that sappy shit and then head back to Canada. What a quick week.

Talk to you all in a day or two.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Ah, it's a lovely, sunny Tuesday morning here in Canadia. A little hazy but still gorgeous. So what am I doin here writing to all of you? That's a good question. Why am I not at work? Why am I asking all these questions? You'll find the answers to these and other questions below.

I was planning on driving back tomorrow evening. However, there really isn't much for me to do in the office nowadays. Most of the work I have to do regarding the move can be done either from home or from Maynard. And in fact, it is better that I do such work out of the office due to its sensitive nature. I got in yesterday, had a few things to catch up on, then sat and stared at the wall for most of the day. It's a nice wall. The corners, however, are not square. Stupid French builders. Oh yeah, the girls in the office had cake for mine and Marius' birthdays yesterday. Now I've got a shitload of Black Forest cake in my Fridge. Nice. That was pretty much the day in a nutshell. I was a little tired. All that not working really takes it out of ya. We watched the Sox game last night too and had another beer or two. The final tally is below...

So I slept until about 8 today, which was nice. Had my 1:1 conference call with my boss in Massachusetts, who was actually in Denver, and packed up the rest of my shite. Now I'm waiting for Putnam to get out of the shower so I can hop in there, throw my computer and cooler into the truck and get on the road.

Wasn't a bad week. If you consider drinking and watching baseball productive, then it was one productive week. Otherwise, we didn't do shit. I was going to bring back a few boxes of stuff I won't be needing, however, if we get stopped, Putnam isn't the swiftest liar and I don't feel like getting a rectal exam at the border. So next trip back I'll start bringing some things and stuff.

So I should be back this evening, working in Maynard tomorrow and Thursday. Possibly Friday too, but that remains to be seen. If not, I'll be doing some apartment shopping then.

And here it is... The final numbers for the week...

Beer
John - 33
Matt - 25

Shots
John - 2
Matt - 1.5

Cubans
John - 1
Matt - 1

Combined Total
John - 36
Matt - 27.5


Matt made some headway the last couple of days, but regardless, was unable to provide any challenge to the reigning champion.

Black Coffee Sunday

Ah a nice Sunday morning once again in Montreal. I got up and decided I wanted coffee, which is odd since I rarely ever drink it. So I made a pot of coffee only to remember I didn't have any milk or cream. Oh well, black coffee is better, screw that sugar crap too.

Yesterday wasn't so bad. Got some of our drinking done early. I have taken a commanding lead over Putnam. No surprise there. They say practice makes perfect, he needs to practice if he wants to keep up with the big boys. We went down to the pitching cage in my park a couple of times. Not bad at all. Took me a while to get my control. In fact, I don't totally have it back, but for not lobbing a baseball with all my might for a couple of years, not bad. My shoulder is nice and tight right now. A few more outings like that and I'll be ready. For what, I have no idea, but I'll be ready for whatever it is, whenever it comes.

We shot around the basketball for a little while as well. Alas, the Black Dudes weren't there. There must have been something important going on for them not to be playing basketball.

We also watched a number of movies throughout the day:

- Napoleon Dynamite
- Dr. Strangelove
- The Bad News Bears

In the evening we saw part of a baseball game in the park. These dudes kinda sucked. So we came back to watch the Red Sox play a little league 9th inning. Nice job boys.

And here it is... Your daily tally.

Beer
John - 30
Matt - 20

Shots
John - 2
Matt - 1.5

Cubans
John - 1
Matt - 1

Combined Total
John - 33
Matt - 22.5


Barring any unexpected occurrences, we'll maintain the same space in numbers over the next few days. We're down to 14 beers left and with 3 days to go, we've decided to ration them equally. Sort of like being stuck in the desert with only 1 canteen. However, if we do go out for food somewhere, that can change.

Happy Hiroshima Day

Today marks the 60th Anniversary of the day we dropped an A-Bomb on Hiroshima. One of the best holidays... Hiroshima Day. I guess you could say that... It's The Bomb! 

Just The Good Ol' Boys

Never meanin' no harm. Beats all you've ever saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born...

Work was ok yesterday. Nothing major to report. Last night Putnam and I hit up "La Cage Aux Sports" for some Nachos and Pizza. I've been eating real healthy the past few days. I'm gonna need to lay off for a month after this week. Oh well.

Then after that, we went to see The Dukes of Hazzard. The reviews weren't that good but screw the critics. It was quite a good film. Jessica Simpson gave us an Oscar-worthy performance. The '69 Charger kicked some ass as usual. Jessica Simpson looked real good. The action scenes were well done, there were also some references to "Super Troopers" which were funny. Jessica Simpson did an amazing job as Daisy Duke. Burt Reynolds' Boss Hogg was so so, and Rosco sucked. But thankfully Jessica Simpson made up for those parts. Did I mention yet that Jessica Simpson was in this?

After that, we happen to notice two people involved in some type of physical activity in the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee in the parking lot. Cute. Then back here to have some beer.

We started watching the Producers but I kinda dozed off. The night before was catching up to me, plus work and stuff.. But now its Saturday... Maybe we'll play some basketball with The Black Dudes in the park. Listening to Billy and Mom right now...

Beer
John - 21
Matt - 16

Shots
John - 2
Matt - 1.5

Cubans
John - 1
Matt - 1

Combined Total
John - 24
Matt - 18.5


The Home Team is beginning to inch ahead of the Visitors...

And The Numbers Are In...

What was supposed to be a chill night ended up a spill night and this morning isn't so fun...

This Beer Tally thing that Putnam and I got going is probably the stupidest thing ever. See, we've got this piece of paper on the fridge with hash marks. Every time one of us grabs a cold one, we mark the sheet. That's all fine and dandy, except that being men, after a couple, our competitive nature comes out. So the Tally goes from "let's just see what we've had this week thus far" to "I bet I can have more than you". That's what last night turned into. In theory I won, but in reality that's nothing to brag about. The numbers we put up weren't all that impressive but on an empty stomach and in the amount of time we had, they weren't too shabby.

We started slow, while watching "The Day After". Then the pace quickened as Kansas got nuked. Then in tribute to the late James Doohan, we watched Star Trek IV (well, we started) and broke into some scotch to compliment the Cubans we were puffin' on.

I ended up calling Keith Stras to request a song and was put on the show... Not cool. haha. Then someone called me (I forget who at this point, I'll have to look at my call history), so then I decided at like 9:30 it would be smart to start planning for my excursion back to MA next week. My apologies if anyone's phone rang and/or you received a voicemail from some sot. DOH. My week is pretty much full anyway, though well, things always change. Anyway...

I was out like a light by 11. Didn't finish the movie. Then at like 3:30 I woke up to the sound of my voicemail beep echoing through my apartment and my throbbing head. Thanks Bosse. But that was good cuz it was just in time to catch a nice thunderstorm. woohoo. I unplugged my electronics, chugged some soda and crawled back into bed. Like a professional, I was up at 7, did some early morning cleanup so the apartment doesn't smell too bad of booze, cigars, salsa and beer farts. Hopefully Numbnuts leaves the windows open for a while before it gets too hot.

So now I'm in the office. Waiting for some meetings. It sucks cuz I have much to do with this pending move, however, I am waiting on people in Maynard to get their shit together and I really have nothing going on here right now, so until my phone rings, it'll be a pretty quiet morning which is damned good at this point.

So without further delay, here are the week to date stats:

Beer
John - 15
Matt - 12

Shots
John - 2
Matt - 1.5

Cubans
John - 1
Matt - 1

Combined Total
John - 18
Matt - 14.5


I think tonight is going to be an off-night. Might go see Dukes of Hazzard or something. But then again winners never quit and quitters never win so... we'll see.

Morning Update

Ah.. Thursday morning.

Back to work kinda sucked. The week away was damned good. But I've got 2 more days this week, 2-3 next week and I'm once again coming back to MA. Surprisingly, there wasn't a whole heck of a lot I had to catch up on. There was some shit, but not nearly as much as I had prepared myself for.

A bunch of us were going to go out after work but my office being all chicks, it took them 3 hours to come to a sort of decision... And they weren't even sure, so Putnam and I hit the Old Dublin for burgers and beers.

Then we came back here for more.


Week To Date Beer Tally:

Putnam: 5
Daigle: 5.5*

* Beer #6 was forfeit due to outside interference. Score that Half-point.

My tent. Nothing special but the colors in the picture came out pretty nice. They look better in the larger print. But I thought I'd share with you anyway. 

The infield. That's the Sox #1 Prospect, Hanley Ramirez, playing Short Stop. 

The seating was nice. Not really a bad seat in the house. The kids in the picture were the ones that we scored the tickets from.  

Left Field. Note the "Green Monster" and Citgo Sign. 

Progress!

With each trip back, I seem to be slowly but surely getting some reassurance as to where I'll end up and what's going on with THE MOVE. It's slow progress but better than sitting up here with my thumb up my ass wondering what's going on.

Well it's been a little more than a week since I've last written. There's a lot to write but I'm gonna try to summarize it as much as possible since I have to be up for work in like 5 hours and I'm beat after the long drive.

I got in Tuesday night... Went to Uno's with Julie then chilled with her afterwards for a little while.

Wednesday I was back to work in Maynard. It's kinda cool. I may have mentioned this before but well, the reaction is still surprising every time I'm there, so if I have to, I'll write about it again. I was there for about a year. Due to the fact I lived an hour and a half a way, was never really too hot on the jobs I had there and my hiring experience wasn't all that smooth, I never really made any effort to make friends or anything at work. I was never a dick (surprising I know) to anyone, yet, I just never reached out to be uber-friendly with people. When I left, I got some nice going away presents from them. Every time I come back, everyone seems genuinely excited to see me. Hugs, kisses, pats on the butt.. And those are just the guys! Nah, in all seriousness, its kinda cool to see how well you're appreciated despite what little effort I've put into those relationships. I always feel welcomed. So anyway, we made some more progress. Looks like the transition is going to take place in a couple steps, starting in a couple weeks. As for my moving there, I could be back in August or September, or maybe even October. I'm thinking early September by the looks of it. Wednesday night was a chill night pretty much.

Thursday, I ended up back in Maynard to finalize a few more things. Nothing special to write about. From there, I hopped on Rt 9 in Worcester, which brought me to Rt 32, which leads to the Polish Hall. Funny how that works out. Well I had a few beers there, then headed back to Thorndike for a while.

Friday, I didn't have to work. But I had some things to do. My truck hadn't been washed in months. So I did that, made it look all nice and shiny and stuff. Topped off the fluids. Then headed to Ocean State Job Lot with Putnam so I could get some supplies for the weekend trip I was about to embark on. We also picked up this little mixing bowl. I had some firecrackers to light and well I wanted to experiment with the timbre of the explosion. The bowl provided a nice "ping". But I feel as though I can do better. From there, I headed back up to Thorndike, picked up Julie again then went Mohegan Sun. We caught a little of Lenny and The Polka Family before grabbing supper (at 11) and then playing the slots for a few hours.

Saturday was camping day. Her and I got our shit together and headed North. We stopped for some beers and food in Haverhill, which is known primarily through this blog as a place to find beer when in need. We met up with Tim and Pam and Matt and Nicole stopped by. Then Julie and I embarked for the rest of the journey to Kennebunkport.

Sunday was a lot of fun. While up in Maine, we headed up to see the Sea Dogs, which is the Red Sox' Double A affiliate. They won. It was a pretty good game. We are able to get some free tickets from these black kids giving them out on the street. Hey, we just save $14! Good deal. Nice park, it was a lot of fun. Then we went around Portland for a while. Stopped in at the Shipyard's Gift Shop where I proceeded to buy more glassware. I need to move some into new cabinet space. In case there is ever a beer glass shortage, I'll be prepared.

Monday we had to pack up, then headed into town to do some shopping. Then headed back home. It was a really good trip. Both of us had a blast.

Today, pretty much chilled and packed. Had lunch said my goodbyes and shit... Then drove up here with Putnam in tow. Almost had a heart attack crossing through Customs. We're only supposed to bring 1 case of beer across. We had 2 plus a growler but "forgot" to claim them. We also forgot to claim the golumbkis my mom made which is a vegetable and meat product, both of which also need to be claimed. Then she started asking us about weather we had any weapons... Well I had a hatchet from the camping trip (the shovel and bag of lime were left in Maine, but that's a story for later) so I did claim that. She then shut the window for about a minute, then told us to go. Wow, that was scary. Getting searched would not have been fun.

That leaves us here... Putnam is here for the week. We've got 48 bottles of beer and a growler so we have the essentials. I'll need to go food shopping tomorrow after work. That's another thing that's gonna suck. Back to work tomorrow. But it'll already be Wednesday so 3 days. Then 2-3 days next week and I'm back in Maynard again.

I will provide constant updates as to the beer count for the week. If we begin running dangerously low early, one of us may have to call upon one of you to take one for the team and bring up some emergency rations...

CHEERS!