last week's kenny chesney concert at the state fair was awesome...
...the seats, however, were not.
even buying the tickets a couple months in advance only got us the absolute edge of the grandstands with a full view of... the parking lot. the stage was waaaaay off to the left. a GREAT time, though. attendance was record-setting, and as a result the traffic was snarly. those damn state troopers (!) kept diverting traffic away from the exits on I-690! grrr... because of that i missed most of uncle cracker's opening set.
(no, no, wait--i was late because i was waiting to give a ticket to JOANNA who was STILL ON THE THRUWAY when the concert started!! just ripping on you, jo.) but whatcha gonna do.
what am i gonna do?
i'm gonna...grill hot dogs! mmm. but i don't wanna fire up the grill. what to do?
the redneck method:
1. heat hot dogs in microwave.
2. fire up electric range.*
3. donn oven mitt.
4. place hot dog on range surface.
5. roll hot dog around on range top with oven mitt.
6. listen to hot dog squeal in agonizing pain.
7. continue until dog is lightly bbq'd on all sides.
8. place hot dog on heel of bread loaf (or preferably a new england style bun)
9. apply hunt's ketchup.
10. eat and enjoy!
11. open all doors and windows to vent copious amounts of hot dog smoke.
*gas range can be substituted with similar results--simply roast over the open flame, just like a campfire!
(joanna is reading this procedure with much dismay--NICE!)
-------
FUN FOR EVERY-WUN: WASTE MORE OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME
with this precious game:
count the number of fish in this portion of benny's aquarium. answer below!
(DON'T PEEK, you freakin' cheaters.)
.
. .
. . .
. . . .
. . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
*drumroll* seventeen fish. (for you behind-the-scenes trivia buffs, there's a total of 25 fish in my 55 gallon tank. remember this fact when you visit. you will be quizzed.)
-------
and now for the drama section. that's the way things work around here--BS, complaints, humor, drama. BS, complaints, humor, drama. it's the Blarf Cycle. there's a little sumthin' sumthin' for everyone here at the blarf....
Fishers Landing
so anyway, i spent most of labor day at home in lafargeville with my oldest brother, sister-in-law and their daughter. we went out in the family yacht--a 15' aluminum boat. it was the first time since 2001 (i think) that my boat made it back into the waters of the St. Lawrence River. i've missed the boat and the river dearly. i love that fishy, organic smell of the open water, the cool humid air, and the ripples & waves. and i love how the prehistoric outboard p-p-p-pukes raw gas & oil straight into the crystal clear water. nothing like 1950's technology, eh?
boat stats: it's a 1957 Crestliner with a 1956 30 hp Evinrude Lark outboard. it's pretty old-skool to say the least and is most def funky. for having not been used in 3 years, it ran like a raped ape. time has not been good on the woodwork that i redid years ago, but it's still a great little boat. earlier this summer, as the wooden seats fell apart while cleaning, i found the time capsule that i installed under the captain's seat--a few newspaper clippings, my high school graduation program, a dollar bill, and a funny note. it was supposed to last a lot longer, but 8 years was long enough to make it cool to open. man, am i really that old? anyway, back to the story...
Rock Island Lighthouse
we started out at bill & jacks marina, where i spent my high school & college summers pumping gas, selling bait, and making gut runs.* we headed for the 1000 islands bridge, then back to the rock island lighthouse, thru the narrows, and then back to fisher's landing. we also circled the little island near the bridge that our grandparents almost bought back in the 50's--one of the most KickassBeautiful spots on the river. it burns to know that this island couldashouldawoulda been in the family--but it isn't, and all we can do is imagine what it would have been like to spend our summers there. instead, grandpa bought a plane--which was pretty kickass in itself--but now all that's left of that era is an overgrown turf runway and a dilapidated hangar. *sigh* another childhood memory that slowly bit the dust over the years...
again, back to the story...
my 3-year old niece did a lot of the driving--and singing. it was a fun, beautiful evening on the river that i didn't want to end. i love the river and i love the fact that it's right near home--it's yet another reason to end up living there.
another thing about home that i love is looking up to see the starry nighttime sky. yeah, i know--i've blarfed about that before--it makes me think of the past and how i'm torn between jefferson county and the rest of the world. like the stuff in my boat seats, my home life has also been in a time capsule in the 2+ years i've been gone. the only thing that seems to change is the age (and total number) of nieces & nephews.
as i was headed back to syracuse tonight, the starry sky got me thinking again. the 90-mile drive back to syracuse on sunday nights (or in this case, monday night) has become a bridge between my life at home and my life in syracuse. it gives me time to defragment my mental hard drive. especially tonight--i've had two days off in a row, which only happens to me once in a goat's age. the drive is time to think about work--what is good and what is bad about the new job. it's time to think about the future--what i want to do with it and where i want to be. it's time to drink a bigass coffee with 7 sugars and a shitload of creamer from the Nice & Easy Mobil station off of exit 47. it's a time to think about my family, friends, and country life and how i wish i could be closer yet still have the benefits of city life. it's time to think about how, over time, i've figured out exactly what i want in a woman and i'm glad i never married any of my ex-girlfriends (no offense, ladies--you all know we're still friends) but i must admit it kinda sucks being single after a while. and it's also time to sing along to Frank Sinatra...and then Poison...and Boston... and Bob & Doug McKenzie. (that was tonight's selection--imagine going from Strangers In the Night to Look What the Cat Dragged In.)
the Narrows
these road trips are a good time. tonight i actually wished the trip was longer so i could think some more. or maybe it was cuz i wanted to sing along to Foreplay/Long Time by Boston one more time.
--dunno. probably both.
*gut run: taking buckets of fish guts from shore to the river channel by boat and dumping them, so that seagulls for miles may feast on the rotting, stanky carcasses and the rest will wash up on shore of someone's ritzy riverside cottage. ahh, those were the days...
...the seats, however, were not.
even buying the tickets a couple months in advance only got us the absolute edge of the grandstands with a full view of... the parking lot. the stage was waaaaay off to the left. a GREAT time, though. attendance was record-setting, and as a result the traffic was snarly. those damn state troopers (!) kept diverting traffic away from the exits on I-690! grrr... because of that i missed most of uncle cracker's opening set.
(no, no, wait--i was late because i was waiting to give a ticket to JOANNA who was STILL ON THE THRUWAY when the concert started!! just ripping on you, jo.) but whatcha gonna do.
what am i gonna do?
i'm gonna...grill hot dogs! mmm. but i don't wanna fire up the grill. what to do?
the redneck method:
1. heat hot dogs in microwave.
2. fire up electric range.*
3. donn oven mitt.
4. place hot dog on range surface.
5. roll hot dog around on range top with oven mitt.
6. listen to hot dog squeal in agonizing pain.
7. continue until dog is lightly bbq'd on all sides.
8. place hot dog on heel of bread loaf (or preferably a new england style bun)
9. apply hunt's ketchup.
10. eat and enjoy!
11. open all doors and windows to vent copious amounts of hot dog smoke.
*gas range can be substituted with similar results--simply roast over the open flame, just like a campfire!
(joanna is reading this procedure with much dismay--NICE!)
-------
FUN FOR EVERY-WUN: WASTE MORE OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME
with this precious game:
count the number of fish in this portion of benny's aquarium. answer below!
(DON'T PEEK, you freakin' cheaters.)
.
. .
. . .
. . . .
. . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
*drumroll* seventeen fish. (for you behind-the-scenes trivia buffs, there's a total of 25 fish in my 55 gallon tank. remember this fact when you visit. you will be quizzed.)
-------
and now for the drama section. that's the way things work around here--BS, complaints, humor, drama. BS, complaints, humor, drama. it's the Blarf Cycle. there's a little sumthin' sumthin' for everyone here at the blarf....
Fishers Landing
so anyway, i spent most of labor day at home in lafargeville with my oldest brother, sister-in-law and their daughter. we went out in the family yacht--a 15' aluminum boat. it was the first time since 2001 (i think) that my boat made it back into the waters of the St. Lawrence River. i've missed the boat and the river dearly. i love that fishy, organic smell of the open water, the cool humid air, and the ripples & waves. and i love how the prehistoric outboard p-p-p-pukes raw gas & oil straight into the crystal clear water. nothing like 1950's technology, eh?
boat stats: it's a 1957 Crestliner with a 1956 30 hp Evinrude Lark outboard. it's pretty old-skool to say the least and is most def funky. for having not been used in 3 years, it ran like a raped ape. time has not been good on the woodwork that i redid years ago, but it's still a great little boat. earlier this summer, as the wooden seats fell apart while cleaning, i found the time capsule that i installed under the captain's seat--a few newspaper clippings, my high school graduation program, a dollar bill, and a funny note. it was supposed to last a lot longer, but 8 years was long enough to make it cool to open. man, am i really that old? anyway, back to the story...
Rock Island Lighthouse
we started out at bill & jacks marina, where i spent my high school & college summers pumping gas, selling bait, and making gut runs.* we headed for the 1000 islands bridge, then back to the rock island lighthouse, thru the narrows, and then back to fisher's landing. we also circled the little island near the bridge that our grandparents almost bought back in the 50's--one of the most KickassBeautiful spots on the river. it burns to know that this island couldashouldawoulda been in the family--but it isn't, and all we can do is imagine what it would have been like to spend our summers there. instead, grandpa bought a plane--which was pretty kickass in itself--but now all that's left of that era is an overgrown turf runway and a dilapidated hangar. *sigh* another childhood memory that slowly bit the dust over the years...
again, back to the story...
my 3-year old niece did a lot of the driving--and singing. it was a fun, beautiful evening on the river that i didn't want to end. i love the river and i love the fact that it's right near home--it's yet another reason to end up living there.
another thing about home that i love is looking up to see the starry nighttime sky. yeah, i know--i've blarfed about that before--it makes me think of the past and how i'm torn between jefferson county and the rest of the world. like the stuff in my boat seats, my home life has also been in a time capsule in the 2+ years i've been gone. the only thing that seems to change is the age (and total number) of nieces & nephews.
as i was headed back to syracuse tonight, the starry sky got me thinking again. the 90-mile drive back to syracuse on sunday nights (or in this case, monday night) has become a bridge between my life at home and my life in syracuse. it gives me time to defragment my mental hard drive. especially tonight--i've had two days off in a row, which only happens to me once in a goat's age. the drive is time to think about work--what is good and what is bad about the new job. it's time to think about the future--what i want to do with it and where i want to be. it's time to drink a bigass coffee with 7 sugars and a shitload of creamer from the Nice & Easy Mobil station off of exit 47. it's a time to think about my family, friends, and country life and how i wish i could be closer yet still have the benefits of city life. it's time to think about how, over time, i've figured out exactly what i want in a woman and i'm glad i never married any of my ex-girlfriends (no offense, ladies--you all know we're still friends) but i must admit it kinda sucks being single after a while. and it's also time to sing along to Frank Sinatra...and then Poison...and Boston... and Bob & Doug McKenzie. (that was tonight's selection--imagine going from Strangers In the Night to Look What the Cat Dragged In.)
the Narrows
these road trips are a good time. tonight i actually wished the trip was longer so i could think some more. or maybe it was cuz i wanted to sing along to Foreplay/Long Time by Boston one more time.
--dunno. probably both.
*gut run: taking buckets of fish guts from shore to the river channel by boat and dumping them, so that seagulls for miles may feast on the rotting, stanky carcasses and the rest will wash up on shore of someone's ritzy riverside cottage. ahh, those were the days...
