I have done something different today!

So last night after work a bunch of people came over (specifcally Travis, Kim, Matt, Angela, and Andrew) to play Rock Band which was naturally fun times. We also played a little golf as well after Matt and Angela left. Abigail was upstairs studying, sadly. However, when everyone had gone, Andrew invited me to go hiking/geocaching with him the next day (today). Although I was hesitant about the prospect of getting up early on a Saturday I accepted.

We journeyed up Usury Pass Mountain around 10 AM (after stopping at Bashas' and Dunkin Donuts). It was an epic quest from the beginning, and we knew we had quite a feat ahead of us. We took frequent breaks and paced ourselves, which made it rather pleasant...you know, except for the pain and the parts where I thought I was going to die. Like the time I almost fell off the mountain and Andrew had to grab me by my shirt (he was going for the belt, in his defense).

(slightly melodramatic narration begins)

Eventually we made it up to the Wind Caves (which seriously sounds like a destination from an RPG to me), which is nearly to the summit, and that is where we had lunch. Good times. We got to sit and enjoy the view from there and relax for about half an hour before continuing on. At this point I thought we had undergone an ordeal but no; the most arduous part of all was yet to come! For as we continued on our quest to reach the summit we passed a sign that read, "Dangerous Area: Proceed At Your Own Risk!" We were indeed forewarned by this sign and although we were but novice hikers we were convinced that our will, our spirits, and our courage would get us to the top (along with our legs, of course).

We proceeded on, and immediately the trail was much harder to read and much narrower. The cliff face seemed much nearer, and there were times my life flashed before my eyes. I felt like Dante making his epic journey in some way, with Andrew as my Vergil (although we were ascending, which was somewhat anachronistic). We continued onward for another hour, managing to lose our way off the trail twice.

Finally we managed to make our way up to the top (nearly 3200 feet up) and to the area where the geocache was! It was a moment of great celebration. We took a while to rest and took some photos (which will eventually find their way on here, I assure you) before finally heading back down. Naturally heading back down was much faster, and the total trek downward was only an hour or so in itself!

(slightly melodramatic narration ends)

Along the way Andrew found a second geocache that we had passed on the way up (which I think turned out to be a good thing considering how much foot traffic there was during the earlier time). Apparently you're not supposed to let them get discovered by people who aren't part of the game for risk of them getting destroyed, so that could have been bad if we'd found it before.

We got back to the car at about 4 PM, which made our total outing about 6 hours long. Thus our epic quest was completed! We stopped at a Bashas' on the way back to my house for extra water as while we had brought quite a lot, we went through it all in 6 hours and were quite thirsty by that point.

Speaking of which, I am going to go as it's now after midnight and I'm rather tired and sore. Next time I see you, Andrew, you're in SO much trouble for suggesting that! More later, hopefully with pics.

Picking up where I left odd...

No, that wasn't a typo in the title, it was a well-designed pun. I'm so clever, sometimes I only SEEM dumb. Then I do a brain ninja like thing on you and you only realize it later. Example: earlier I said our really old industrial shredder (which stands about 3.5' tall) wasn't actually a shredder, but had a miniature Viking inside that we fed paper. "Vikings," I said," are actually more eco-friendly people than we give them credit for. That's why they created Greenland." Think about it.

So, some things are the same since I last wrote, I think. I'm trying out a gluten-free diet to the best of my ability and am trying my best to diet overall. It must be working; yesterday I weighed in at 238! That's 16 pounds less than 9/29 without trying very hard for most of that period (and I know it went up during that time). And no... I'm not trying to become a model or anything. I just want to fit into my Halo 2 t-shirt.

My friend Travis and his wife Kim are here to stay, having moved from New Hampshire for Christmas! Yay!!! It was all a big conspiracy; they sprung it on their family after they got here and on us the day after Christmas (when we were all assembled together). Sadly, when their stuff finally arrived here a month later (SUPER late, as I understand it), much was broken. Hope it all works out, guys!

What else... we still haven't gotten a house yet. If I haven't posted about that before, by the way we're trying to buy a house (I assume you read my wife's blog anyway if you read mine). We've been trying for some time now; I imagine our poor realtor will be very happy to be rid of us! We got close one time but the bank was playing hardball with us and something about the area didn't sit right so we decided not to go with it. Otherwise we've had a lot of near misses. Our friends Matt and Angela got one the first weekend they went out...but it does have termites. That sucks.

Sorry for the absence, by the way, my computer has been down for most of this period and I haven't been motivated enough to wrest my wife's away from her when I have the time to do an entry. She has claws... Anyway, I have Dynasty Warriors, Rock Band, and other things ( mostly like looking for houses and work) to keep me busy lately. My brother was finally able to bring me back Star Wars TFU, so I played it again...and promptly deleted my saved game and uber leveled up character. Scott was unhappy. I did discover downloadable content with a new level that looks interesting, so hopefully I get to play it this weekend.

Finally got to have dinner/coffee with my friend Katrina, who had moved here...um...a few months ago. Yeah, it's not easy to get together with me. Ask Andrew, he'll tell ya. After that I got to go on a diaper-purchasing adventure. Lesson learned: the boxes for wipies and diapers look similar. Probably should take one's time a bit on that aisle. Speaking of Andrew, I also got to have dinner with him, and once a month is not enough, mein freund. We shall do this again, sir, and there shall be much rejoicing in the land.

Got to see the Cardinals win the championship game to be eligible for the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks, which was exciting. I'm not really into football, as you know, but it was fun watching it with my dad and my friends. I'm expected at Travis' parents' house for the Super Bowl as his mom is an ardent Steeler's fan and his dad is a Cards fan so it will be advantageous not to sit in the middle. :-)

Other than that I can't think of anything more. Hopefully once the house thing gets done stress levels will be reduced a bit in our household and we can move on to something else. I'd like to get started again on school before too long here, of course, and I'm bemused to actually find myself missing it. I guess after so many years of being a student it just gets under your skin; I don't know.

Next post will not be so delayed, I hope!