From the Attics of My Mind

Ups and Downs

2006-12-17T14:20:00.000-05:00

What a month. i get a headache just thinking about all that's going on...

The restaurant caught fire two nights ago, just an electrical fire, but enough to keep it closed for three to four weeks, and what perfect timing. All the staff needs the money to buy presents, this is the time all the regulars tip big, and, of course, it is the busiest few weeks of the year. And there goes the New Year's dinner, the wine tasting dinner, the big Christmas eve night, you get the picture... For the most part, this is a second job, but there are a few people who really depend on the income.

Fortunately for me, my salary at the office went up nearly 30 percent, but this is not a good time to lose my supplemental income because...

I'm closing on the house December 22nd. Yeah, I know, "that's awesome!" is all everyone says, but then try standing in my shoes and CLOSE ON A HOUSE three days before CHRISTMAS!

The house is nice, though. Three bedrooms, two full baths with a jacuzzi, cathedral ceilings, skylights, a fireplace, finished basement, and nearly an acre of land.

But, this also means living with someone again, after three full years of bachelordom...now that I'm used to living alone again...

Got my Christmas shopping done last night, with the aid of a Borders gift card and a new Macy's account. Nice! (My Christmas bonus helped, althought it was 60% of what I expected.

Not working at the bar is really changing my perspective of time, as I'm in the middle of a "Whole Weekend." Wow, a weekend really is a long time when you're not racing around pouring martinis for 100 people at a time!!!!

2006-11-18T14:30:00.000-05:00

Woke up this morning at noon. I never get to do that, but I left Becki's at 3 a.m., as she was leaving at 7 to catch the ferry to spend the weekend with her dad on the Vineyard.

Yesterday was her birthday, and I was able to pull off the surprise up to the point where we got in the elevator.

I left the office early yesterday to get my haircut, stop at the florist for a dozen roses, and find a white shirt to go with my suit (white shirts are almost disposable, it seems.)

We agreed this year, since we just put an offer in on a house, that we wouldn't buy presents for birthdays or Christmas.

Well, I couldn't resist. I had already bought her a diamond teardrop pendant on a white gold chain from Jared's. (My old school-mate Franks works there, and though I was skeptical of this new jewelry store in Plymouth, I have to say the prices and quality are fantastic, and Frank was an amazing help.)

I decided to take her to The Top of the Hub for dinner in Boston, but I also opted to keep it a surprise. She loves surprises, and she gets knocked out by every little thing. It's so easy to want to do nice things for someone who appreciates every little thing!

All i did to let her know how to prepare was text her the day before and tell her I was wearing my suit, and she should gauge how to dress by that.

All of the girls at our restauarant, her family, and her, of course, had been hounding me to find out what my plan was.

I had never been to Top of the Hub before, so i did a bunch of research online. there were some very helpful review sites, half of the posters bashing the restaurant, the other half praising it as glorious. This made me a bit of a skeptic until I found the trend...the people who praised it had decent vocabulary and could spell, the people who bashed it had horrible grammar and no command of the English language. How can you appreciate a gourmet meal, five-star decor, top-notch service, and be okay with dropping $100 per person when you haven't mastered proper verb tense in your adult life?

I made the reservation two days in advance, and unfortunately could not get a window seat around the prime time of 8, so I opted for a 6:30. to early, but at a window.

Becki was stressed because I wouldn't tell her where we were going, only that she had to dress up and be ready at 4:15. She left school at 2:30 to get ready, I left the office at noon.

When I picked her up, I was in my suit, and she looked absolutely delicious. Lucky for me, she wasn't wearing any nec-wear. I gave her the pink roses, and she melted. She wouldn't open her card until she got the flowers into a vase and placed them on the mantle. She opened the card, and her eyes welled up. I normally buy a blank card and write what I want to say, but this time I found one that got pretty close, and I added the lines, "I know I usually find a blank card and write what I want to say, but every once in a while I find one that comes close. But only once in a lifetime could I find a girl who makes me feel the way you do..."

She took the box with the necklace, scolding me for breaking the "no gift" rule, and then she went wild when she saw what I got her. I place it around her soft neck, and we were on our way.

With a 6;30 reservation, there was no way to get from South Plymouth and into the heart of town on time, so I got off the highway in Braintree and we took the train in. Not the best choice when you're dressed to the nines, but it dropped us onto Newbury Street with an half hour to spare. She still had no idea where we were going, the theater district, a bistro on Newbury, not even did she figure it out when we were in front of the Pru on Boylston (she did wonder if we were going to Vinny Testa's across the street, because she did mention once she liked it.)

Still keeping with the surprise, I told her it would be quicker to cut through the mall at the Pru. But when we got in the gold elevators that take you expressly to the 52nd floor, she figured it out.

the view took her breath away when we got out of the elevator. The hostess sat us at a table for two, that looked directly out the window into the vast expanse of the Boston skyline.

We chose the Top of the Hub house chardonnay (we wanted white, and though our palattes have developed way beyond inexpensive reds, we can still cheat on the whites.)

The server was very friendly, and I could see how he would come across as arrogant to some of the reviewers I had read, but once you maintain the server/guest roles, and let him be gently reminded on who is paying who in a very friendly manner, the arrogance goes away.

We had the crab cakes that came with an avocado compote, and they were excellent, and just enough to rumble the stomach for more.

For entrees, Becki was going to order the cappelini with littlenecks, but I gently told her to not order by price, as I knew she was doing, so she let herself go and she ordered the aged 14-0z rubbed and marinated sirloin, served with brussels sprouts in a lemon butter reduction and a sort of cappelini pasta baked with cheese and pancetta. I ordered the hazelnut encrusted salmon with sweet potato puree. It was delicious, but the few bites I had of Becki's steak were heaven.

For dessert, we were going to each have a glass of port wine, but opted for coffee instead to wake us up. Now, I had read reviews that the coffee here was bad, but this must have been written by people not used to anything but Dunkin's. the coffee was excellent, and obviously percolated. I thought she would go for the toasted coconut custard covered in chocolate, but instead she went for the warm chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream, and I got the coconut custard. Both were out of this world, and the presentation was fantastic.

All in all, the restaurant, the staff, the view, the atmosphere all were more than I possible could have anticipated, and the $200, tip included, could not have been better spent. I honestly don't know how anyne could give this place a bad review.

I promised Becki's sister we would meet her and her friends at east Bay Grille on the way home, which we did. I honestly felt out of my place in my suit, but I managed to enjoy three Bombay Sapphire and tonics, before heading home to Becki's, where I would continue her birthday pamperings...

I'd Rather be Hiking...

2006-09-26T23:16:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow will be day seven driving a rented Toyota Yaris.

My Volkswagen may be ready tomorrow. Maybe.

A month or two ago the airbag light turned on. No big deal, I figured I'd wait until it needed some other service before going through the hassle of bringing it in. Then the EPC light started coming on. Then finally, outside of EMS before the big hiking trip, it got stuck in park. Took me a while to figure out how to get it in gear. It stopped doing this for about a week, then started again and wouldn't stop. Time to bring it in and take advantage of my warranty.

Well, I get a free rental, yay! always good to drive a new car for free. Except, it turned out to be a 2007 Toyota Yaris with only 400 miles on it.

"Oh, you'll love it. it's comparable to your Jetta," gushed Pam on the phone. "It's like a mini Camry." Oh, joy!

Well, it looks like someone left a Camry in the dryer for too long. It's tiny, not even "cute" tiny, has no power, no options, and the speedometer is on the center of the dash. On the drive to Foxwoods, everyone grinned at me, like "Look at the dork in the mini Camry! How cute!"

The interior of the car is like a third world country, and feels like it's going to flip over every time I take a turn.

Maybe, just maybe, I'll get the VW back tomorrow...

The 1637 Massacre

2006-09-25T23:44:00.000-04:00

The Pequot tribe, according to the book The Mayflower, were nearly wiped out during the massacre of 1637.

Well, some of them survived. And opened a casino called Foxwoods.

This past Saturday was my first time there (I'm not much of a gambler, and this was my third time in a casino, my first two times in Aruba, which amounted to a few slot plays and three bets on Roullette.)

Now, I'd like to say I kicked ass. Becki taught me to play Let It Ride, her favorite game. After watching a few hands, it looked like a simple, safe game. No one was winning big, but nobody was really losing, either.

Then I bought in for $100. And lost it all quickly.

Bought in again, and the Pequots managed the massacre of 2006.

All in all, I had fun. My first time in Aruba, our hotel had a casino. Each morning, it opened at 11, so after breakfast, I'd buy a roll of quartes, get a bunch of free drinks, and win 50 bucks. I'd cash in and leave, using the money and the free buzz to rent a jet ski (nothing like drunken jet skiing!) Tina was pissed I didn't stay and gamble it back, but hell, I was in Aruba, and the last place to be was inside!

The second time in Aruba, we would all go to the casino after the party each night before going back to our rooms. I lost a total of 50 bucks, and hated it.

I enjoy playing the games, but I hate losing money. Becki likes it, so I'm sure we'll go again, but I felt like I should have just opened the door of the casino and dumped my wallet out on the floor! Aargh!

On Center

2006-09-21T22:47:00.000-04:00

After a year of a pretty good relationship, Becki and I broke up today.

For five hours.

We talked.

I blow things off pretty easily.

She gets upset very easily.

She gets upset that I blow things off easily.

I blow her getting upset off.

I agreed to not take everything so lightly.

She agreed to not take everything so seriously.

We kissed in her driveway when I dropped her off.

We shared a smile as she closed the door of my rented Toyota Yaris.

We're not broken up anymore.

The Yaris sucks, and I want my VW back.

Otherwise, I'm very happy. Except for the sting in my arm from the doctor jamming a six inch needle into the center of my shoulder today.

Hopefully, my VW won't be stuck in Park tomorrow...

2006-09-19T00:08:00.000-04:00

The best part of DC this summer was when we walked three miles at night so that Becki could sit on the steps of the Capitol and sing, "I'm just a Bill, sitting on Capitol Hill." (from School House Rock.)

She rocks.

From the Top, To the Top

2006-09-10T22:45:00.000-04:00

I took Friday off from the office, and Sunday off from the bar, for a long weekend of hiking, camping, and oh, yeah, baseball!
My dad got Green Monster tickets a few months ago and invited me to today's game. Forgetting this, I planned a weekend of hiking and camping in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with Becki.
Last month, I took Becki camping and white water tubing with my Uncle Paul, his wife Amy (who's a year older than me and upset that I publicly call her Auntie Amy), my cousin Sean and his wife Shannon, and my brother., Nick. She was apprehensive about white water, and I was skeptical on her liking camping, but she loved it and declared she wanted to be an "outdoors chick."
I didn't want to lose the momentum on the outdoors thing, so I planned an outdoors weekend. I booked us at Crawford Notch Campground (private, not state, will never do state again after last month at Mohawk Trail.)
Becki was so excited, she shopped for most of the gear, and now my outdoor chick has her own tent, lantern, camping stove, air mattresses, and hiking boots! We left when she got out of school on Friday (I took the whole day off so I'd be rested.) The three and a half hour drive took six, since there were more traffic snarls than I could count, as well as dozens upon dozens of slow New Hampshire drivers. Check-in has to be before nine p/m., and we got there with two minutes to spare.
The campgound was awesome, the sites are secluded, and the staff was so friendly. Check it out on www.crawfordnotchcamping.com. We set up the tent and organized our supplies, built a fire, drank some port wine, and relaxed.
We awoke about 8, and had a nice camping breakfast of omelettes, hash, and toast, and, of course, camping coffee.
The trail we wanted was seven miles west, so we drove to the trailhead at Crawford Notch Depot, and headed for the climb to Mt. Willard. I had originally planned Chocoura, which was my first climb, but after a lot of thought, figured we'd start on something a little easier. (Chocoura is the toughest climb, yet most rewarding, in New Hampshire, but we also always left the girls behind on this hike.) The climb to Willard is considered an easy trail, but it's still 1.8 miles uphill, with rocks, gorges, roots, and a stream crossing. Becki was a trooper, it was a lot tougher than she thought it would be, but she kept pace, and we only stopped to check out a waterfall.
The view from the top took both our breaths away, 2800 feet above the valley, with mountains all around. The peak was a little crowded, so after posing for pics, we continued another 30 yards down the trail to a private clearing outlook and ate lunch in peace and seclusion.
the trek down was fast and easy, and she followed my theory of not dogging it down, and we practically ran.
It started to drizzle on the way down, so we decided at the end to head into town for a couple of pints and some soup rather than head back to camp right away. The storm seemed like it was passing, so we finally headed back. We climbed in the tent just in time for a torrential downpour that turned into a very loud thunder and lightning storm that boomed through the valley. Just when we thought the worst had come, the winds got so strong they bowed our tent sideways and threatened to tear the fly off our tent. then the rain turned to pounding hail stones that twisted our tent temporarily out of shape.
We fell asleep waiting out the storm, and woke up after the storm cleared with just enough light left to cook dinner and build a fire. We sat while we burned though all of our wood and sipped pinot grigio, then went to bed as the last of our embers cleared.
The alarm woke us up at six, and we packed up camp, took showers, and grabbed breakfast on the raod so I could make it back in time to meet my dad in Pembroke at 11. Becki dropped me off, and my dad and I took the T in to Boston, where we trekked up the steep stairs to sit on top of the Green Monster, where the Red Sox beat the royals 9 to 3. Unfortunately, only one homer was hit our way, a two-run insurance hit by David Ortiz.
The view from the Monster is incredible, but really just a novelty, I wouldn't want to see every game from up there.
What was surreal was waking up in a tent in the mountains next to a river, then driving 300 miles and being in the heart of the city at a crowded Red Sox game.
had dinner at my dad's, went to Becki's to pick up some of my gear, and now I'm home, exhausted, ready for bed...back to the office in the AM!

Hello Again

2006-08-30T00:33:00.000-04:00

I'm back. I know it's been a while, and I know I erased the past, but I needed to live a little before I began to write again. I moved back to Plymouth, but I've been away so long it's like a whole new town. I'm a bartender, and i still work in the same office after five years, and that's about the only consistency I can see through the rearview mirror. I'm tired, the Red Sox are down a run, but I got a paragraph out. Let's see where tomorrow gets us...