Greetings y'all,
It's only been two weeks since I've blogged, but so much has been going on that I wanted to check in (this has nothing to do with me procrastinating at work). It's weird, I feel like some history-altering, once-in-a-lifetime worldwide event took place right after my last blog post, but for the life of me I can't put my finger on it. Something about a bedrock or barracks or a bar that rocks...? Meh, I don't remember; guess it couldn't have been that important!
The weekend before this past one, I headed up to lovely Portsmouth, NH (city motto: "We're like the much nicer but still somehow not as cool New London") to rage a Welcome to Florida show with the boys. It was a perfect location because many of our NH hometown fans were able to make it, but it also wasn't too far for a few Boston fans to come as well (plus the fact that JZ picked everyone up in his new private megacopter made it pretty hard for people to turn down an invite to the show). I had the privilege of sharing a car ride with Laurel "& Hardy" Mitchell '09 (have I used that joke before?) from the Whaling City up to The 'Mouth, as us native Granite Staters call it (not really, we're not that creative). We had a nice chat, but since we already spend so much time together, there really wasn't anything left for us to talk about except for boys and shoes (fortunately I'm an expert on both)....
....After the show, we all cruised back to WTF HQ in Somerville, MA, where Nate "Legs" Staub '05 was listening to Phish at an ear-splitting volume while shooting pool alone (he claims that he had only just gotten back from a night out, but I think we all know the truth). I humored him and reracked the balls for another round, though since I had lost one of my contact lenses an hour before, my aim was just a bit off (in contrast to my usual mind-blowing pool skills). One late-night jam session and three brisk hours of sleep later, I awoke, rousted Laurel as well as Laura Brown '07 from their respective sleeping quarters, and loaded up the Camry for our return trip to Connecticut's smallest and most historic small, historic town.
The reason that we had to be back so early, as I repeatedly explained to my extremely low-energy passengers, was that I was finally getting my Connecticut driver's license and plates that day and the DMV was only open until 12:30. After dropping the ladies off, I returned home to begin the several hours of grooming it took to make me appear anywhere near decent for my new license photo. Once properly coiffed, I went about collecting every document that I thought the DMV might require in order to issue me my new much-desired plastic and metal rectangles. Toting a stack of paperwork large and sensitive enough to make an identity thief's mouth water, I drove up to Norwich nervously anticipating the endless lines and disgruntled government officials that I would surely face. Much to my surprise, however, the entire process was quite friendly and relatively brief. Kudos to you, DMV of Norwich!
That evening I rejoined Laura and Laurel for a relaxing night at the Dutch, a bar so affordable and so close to my house that I consider it a testament to our personal willpower that neither Mitch nor I has a debilitating drinking problem (I would describe my drinking problem more as "emotionally incapacitating" than "debilitating"). After a solid 13 hours in bed I was ready to face a grueling Sunday of.....playing music...and....uhhh....I dunno, I'm gonna say television, though I really don't think I did anything.
This past weekend I was down in New York for another WTF show, which was a lot of fun, as well as a few official CC alumni visits. On Saturday I only had one meeting, which was scheduled for noon at a Starbucks only a few blocks away from the home of the friend with whom I was staying for the weekend. While I was getting ready to leave, my hostess and the rest of her guests, including fellow member of the greatest class ever Beret Remak '07, asked where my meeting was. After I responded, they remarked that they were all going out to brunch at a diner just on the other side of the block. Accordingly, we agreed that we'd all walk over there together and that I would meet up with them after my meeting had concluded.
Just before arriving at the diner, one of my co-strollers joked that it would be funny if I were to get to the meeting and the alumna, upon seeing the crowdedness of the Starbucks, were to suggest that the two of us instead try the diner around block. We all shared a laugh as I bid them a temporary goodbye and continued up the street towards my meeting. I identified the alumna easily, and after a friendly introduction she noted that there were no seats available at the Starbucks and asked if I minded if we went somewhere else. Having been through similar situations with other alumni at countless Starbucks locations all across the country, I replied that it was no problem at all. She suggested that we try this "great little diner around the block," causing me to expend every ounce of energy I possessed holding back laughter. We entered said establishment and had a great meeting completely devoid of me making eye contact with my friends, now only a few feet away. After saying goodbye after our meal, the alumna and I walked in opposite directions until I figured I had gone far enough, turned around, and returned to the restaurant. Upon reentering the restaurant, the waiter whom I had just paid not 45 seconds earlier greeted me and asked if I'd like a table for one. I explained that I had just eaten there and was meeting a few friends who were already seated, gesturing towards their table. He politely brought over an extra chair and asked if I'd like to see a menu. I explained again that I had eaten at this very restaurant only a matter of moments prior, a memory that he did not seem to recall despite the fact that he had been the one to serve the food to me (Mitch pointed out upon hearing this story that the waiter could have actually been the twin of another waiter at the restaurant since it was indeed a family-owned business).
We played a great show that night, and our hostess was generous enough to let not only her original three guests stay over but also two more members of the band as well as Nate, who came along I guess to make sure there was enough dry humping on the dance floor (you are an artisan, Nate).
That's about it for me! This Friday we're playing at Harper's Ferry in Boston with Rustic Overtones!!! If you're around, don't miss it. I can guarantee you'll have a blast!
Hugs,
Reilly