Well I’ll lose an hour of sleep, but at least it won’t get dark at 3 o’ clock in the afternoon anymore, which gives me more time for geocaching!

Sunday also marks the last day I’ll be using this 8 year old computer too.  My spanking new desktop rig should be arriving Monday, when I will then begin the process of migrating all my content over.  Oddly enough despite 8 years of data, I haven’t accumulated much.  It only took me a few minutes to transfer everything I had over to my external hard drive, which I’ll then move again to my new PC.  Wheeeeeeee!

And soon I will have a new GPS addon for my iPod, and a new MacBook too!  Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! 

Seriously, my thinking is I need to get all my out of control spending in now before the dollar completely loses its value.  Amazingly enough, that checks off everything I had on my Blogging Badass Wishlist too, except for a leather jacket and a motorbike, but really let’s not kid ourselves here.  A dweeb like me on a motorbike?  Pffft.  Maybe I’ll just rent one instead.  I could go out and grab a leather jacket though, but I want the girl of my dreams to pick that out for me, which means I won’t be getting that either.

Sorry if I’m being dull today, there’s really not much going on in my life now except for the new computer coming in.  I’m treating it as an investment that will help me get my creative juices going and market my blog, but also finally have fun playing the latest games too.  Mostly I’ll be gaming though. 

Since my money is tied up in getting these new toys, I won’t be able to travel anywhere for a while until May, when I’ll need to take my car in for the 60,000 mile service, and I sure as flipping floopwhocks am NOT gonna get it done here.  The local service centers would probably put the engine in backwards (on purpose) and that would pretty much be the end of my beautiful ride.  So instead, I’m going upstate  to Kingston to get my car serviced there.  Kingston has a service center with an excellent reputation, so if there’s a chance to avoid any headaches and get my baby nicely cleaned up, they’re my best bet.  Afterwards I may head off to attend a major geocaching bash, but it’s a 6 hour drive from there, so I may opt to head to Lake George instead for the weekend.  We’ll see!

Is my life exciting or WHAT? 

Tags: blogging, car, computer, Daylight Savings, geocaching, investment, iPod, leather jacket, MacBook, money, motorbike, serviced, travel, wishlist
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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I left on the ninth, the massive storm front that had just dumped 55 inches in Washington, DC only a mere few hundreds miles away and slowly making its way north. Despite the forecasts, I threw caution to the wind and hightailed it out of New York for a four day adventure in Beantown. There was not a cloud in the sky as I opted to take the scenic route through Rhode Island, and do some geocaching along the way. It would in fact be my first ever visit to the state too.

Oh wow... a rock...

Driving towards Newport, RI

Rhode Island was… blah. Although I drove through Newport where all the famous mansions were, Rhode Island didn’t really do anything for me. It just felt… blah. After a few hours of hunting down geocaches here and there, I decided I had seen enough of the state and continued northward. By the time I arrived at Boston it was around 3PM, the sky still as blue as the Caribbean ocean. I was about a day ahead of the storm, and I was determined to start checking out the city as soon as I settled into the hotel and stashed my car safely away at a nearby parking garage.

Boston!

I’m glad I picked the financial district too. It was immaculate, lightly crowded, and the T line was literally right outside the hotel. I bundled up and headed straight for the North End, cutting through Christopher Columbus Park and enjoying the splendid view of the harbor. Before I knew it, I was standing right outside Paul Revere’s House, amazed and awed that I was finding myself walking the same paths and traveling the same roads that so many famous men of history had once been on.

India? Fuhgetaboutit!

Still standing! Now where's my pizza??

Once the sun began to set, I decided it was time to see for myself if the Italian food here (namely the pizza) lived up to the hype. It was time for Santarpios Pizza!

Santarpios was located in East Boston, so I hitched a ride on the blue line over, and promptly got lost from there, even with my GPS. I had gotten out of the stop for Logan’s Airport, but once I got above ground all I saw were a maze of freeways and no clear way through. Santarpios was somewhere out there, but my GPS would not cooperate and insisted I had at least a 2 mile walk ahead of me. I wasn’t willing to do anything more than a half a mile, so next thing I knew I was hopping freeway barriers, dodging an insane amount of traffic moving at breakneck speed, and breathing in the toxic fumes of all the car exhausts before making it to the other side and hoofing it another few city blocks before I finally found the pizza joint.

Man this had BETTER be worth it. I walked in, asked for a booth and was promptly seated. My muscles were aching from climbing the freeway barriers, so I was glad to be able to stretch my legs and relax a bit.

Weird menu by the way. I had never seen one so brief it didn’t even have the option of ordering pizza by the slice. It included choices for the types of pizzas you wanted, and beverages. That was it.

I opted for extra cheese and sausage, and patiently waited. The pizza came after about 10 minutes and I was ready to dig in. I used a knife and fork to cut a piece and savored the moment before I took my first bite, indeed the first bite I would ever take of a pizza made in Boston. And the verdict was…

Meh.

Don’t get me wrong, it was good pizza, spicy and tasty, but there were no heavenly choirs singing, or psychedelic moments that took me to a different level of the astral plane. It was just modestly good pizza. Yes I am in fact a New York snob, deal with it.

I did note that it was so thin you couldn’t really eat a slice by hand, so I had to use a knife and fork for the most part. That’s just weird. It wasn’t until a few minutes when the crust began to harden again that I was able to fold up a slice and eat it by hand. I had another slice or two and then had them bag the rest. Good thing I had cash on me too, because they didn’t accept credit cards either.

Once my food was boxed and ready to go, I bundled up again and braced myself for the walk back to the T line. There had to be some better way to get to it, but rather than use my Garmin GPS, I went to Google Maps on my iPod this time. There appeared to be a park that separated the streets nearby from the T line, so I made a beeline straight for the park, initially discouraged to see that the gates were closed. Undeterred, I kept moving along the fence, until somehow, by the grace of God I was able to find the still open main entrance, which led directly to the subways. The park also afforded me an amazing view of Boston’s skyline in the distance, so I took a moment to take it all in, until I could hear the rumbling of the blue train nearby. I raced ahead and down the stairs, just in time to catch another ride back to the hotel, before the latest episode of Lost would start.

Returning from Wonderland: The Blue Train

After Lost ended, I was all settled in for my first night, enjoying the view of the buildings from the 7th floor, and anxious for tomorrow to begin so I could start my journey on the Freedom Trail. Outside, the city lights twinkled in a night that had been further darkened by a brewing storm.

A view from my hotel window.

Tags: boston, boulder, Christopher Columbus Park, driving, geocaching, gps, iPod, italian food, journey, new york, North End, Paul Revere, pizza, Rhode Island, skyline, storm, subway, travel
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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In the world of geocaching, people can release what’s called travel bugs, which can be any small item you’d like attached to a dog tag that travels from geocache to geocache. You can monitor their journey online too to learn where they’ve been and where they might be going.

To join in the fun, I decided to release two travel bugs of my own. So I went out and bought split heart necklaces, then took one half of the necklace and dropped it off at a cache in Boston, while the second half will be dropped off somewhere in Manhattan today on Valentine’s. The goal is for these two travel bugs to somehow find their way back to each other with the help of cachers so that they may be whole again.

I told you, I’m a disgusting sap.

Ironically enough, today also marks the 10th anniversary from when I was evicted from my home. Ten long years. It seemed the height of irony that an act of cruelty and hatred which forever altered the course of my life would occur on this day, but it did, and I have hated Valentine’s with a passion ever since. But even before then I despised the day, having to watch as couples snuggled and called each other schmoopies while it was all I could do to keep myself from pouring lighter fluid on them and then dropping a lit match. God, why won’t these disgusting happy couples just DIE, or get herpes or something?

But anyhoo…

I’m determined not to let the day get to me. I have been so far removed from the traumas of the past that I think it’s time I learn to let it go and move on with my life. I still have many plans and places I want to visit, many new experiences to be had, and much delicious pizza to sample.

So Happy Valentine’s Day to all you disgusting, diseased riddled perverts. May you find your flowers rife with poisonous thorns, your chocolates filled with dung, and your greeting cards laced with acid.

Tags: anniversary, boston, geocache, geocaching, hatred, holidays, manhattan, sap, travel, travel bugs, Valentine, valentines day
Categories: Romance and Relationships
 
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I started writing this while enjoying dinner at Cheers (yes THE Cheers, or at least the replica they created at Faneuil Hall). As soon as I walked in the overhead speakers started playing “More Than A Feeling”, and I knew I was home.

Unfortunately no one knew my name...

After a few days in the city too, I think I’m almost ready to become a Red Sox fan. ALMOST.

Boston was simply amazing, and it’s not just this city either. I don’t know what it is about Massachusetts, but this state seems more endearing to me than any of the other New England states I’ve visited so far. On my way up here I traveled through Rhode Island for the first time, and decided to spend a day of geocaching as I made my way through just to get a sense of the state. By the time I got to the border and reached Fall River I decided Rhode Island was simply the state people drive through to get to their REAL destinations. Even though I took the scenic route that saw me pass through Newport, (an area famous for its mansions) Rhode Island was just a blah experience. I decided that I would probably never visit there again, and just cut through Connecticut instead for future trips (unless of course I go to Cape Cod, then I’ll have no choice.)

My initial impression of Beantown was just how clean everything was. Seriously. The roads were smooth and paved for the most part too. Trust me, take a drive through Manhattan and you’ll start to understand why this is a big deal. I had played it right by reserving a hotel in the financial district, where it was only lightly crowded, the parking garage just a block or two away, and where the T line was literally outside the hotel’s entrance. It was a no frills hotel, but it was immaculate. It was also freezing cold, but once I got settled in I was anxious to take a look around even as the wind cut right through me. Boston’s skyline was not as busy as New York’s, but it still seemed majestic and pretty in its own unique way. Once the sun set and day went to night, nearby Christopher Columbus Park and Faneuil Hall went ablaze in colorful lights. From my 7th floor window, the lights of the city just seemed to dance like fireflies in the woods.

The next few days proved to be a whirlwind of sightseeing and running around. I’m finally back home now and I still haven’t caught my breath yet. I’ll write a series of posts over the next few days on what I did and where I went, but suffice it to say it was an awesome experience, and I cannot WAIT to go back. I didn’t even have time or the energy to start ranting about Valentine’s Day either, which starts in just a few hours. Tomorrow I think I’ll probably sleep in for 15 hours or so, then go out, find a happy couple to spit on, and then come back again to sleep for another 15 hours. Sounds like a plan to me.

Tags: Beantown, boston, cheers, Faneuil Hall, geocaching, manhattan, Massachusetts, New England, new york city, Newport, Rhode Island, skyline, tourism, travel, valentines day
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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So hey, I finally took the plunge and made a reservation for Boston, just in time to see a forecast for a storm coming to New England Tuesday night, a forecast that was confirmed juuuuuust late enough to ensure I couldn’t cancel my reservation in time. Yaaay!

But whatever, I was born during violent weather, so this will be a mere walk in the park for me, even though my dear Mommy threw a fit about me traveling under such adverse conditions. If this is how she reacts to me being in mildly bad weather, then I probably shouldn’t tell her about my plans to go tornado chasing in a few months.

So this is how I’m gonna kick it: I’ll be spending a large part of the day driving the scenic byways in Rhode Island and geocaching along the way like a fanatic monkey who has no life whatsoever, mainly because I do in fact have no life whatsoever. In the course of doing so I may come across hot babes at rest stops and whatnot prior to my arrival at Boston, in which case I will walk up to them and use my world renowned pickup line: “I think you’re beeeooootiful! Will you be my love snuggles?”

After having been solidly rejected by the entire female population of Rhode Island (all 6 of them), I will spend a few minutes crying over hot cocoa at the border of Massachusetts, then continue on my journey until I arrive at long last at Beantown, for the first time evah! I will then check in, discreetly inquire about escort services, then decide I would never make enough money in this lifetime or the next to afford it, and opt for a slice of pizza at the North End instead.

Good times, baby, good times.

Wish me luck! I probably won’t blog at length until I’m safe and sound at my hotel tomorrow night.

Tags: Beantown, boston, geocaching, hot babes, hotel, journey, Massachusetts, New England, pizza, scenic byways, storm, travel, weather
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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Maybe. Depends on whether Scott Brown wins the election or not. If he does, I’ll not only visit, I’ll disavow the Yankees as the work of Satan that they are and don a Red Sox cap and shirt. If he loses, then I might simply decorate my car with New York Yankees – 2009 World Champions banners and decals, then take a visit to Fenway Park and obnoxiously honk my horn at everyone, laughing all the way.

Why yes, I do in fact have a death wish, thanks for asking!

I have to admit my thinking really doesn’t make sense here, since the idea behind me traveling was to put myself out there beyond the loveless dead zone that is New York so I can increase the odds of my meeting cuddly, sweet and wuvable country girls. And yet, I would be getting away from the left-tarded man-faced hag beasts here only to be arriving at the one place even more crazypants liberal than the blessed city of New York: Boston.

But meh, maybe I’ll just pass through and head to New Hampshire instead. I dunno. I still need to upgrade my ancient desktop rig and printer into a respectable home office, plus pick up a new MacBook Pro once I get my tax refund (maybe), and I just spent a small fortune getting my marketing campaign into gear, so money will be tight for a while. I may have to forgo the trip altogether. If only there were holidays in March and April where I could tie those in and get some extended time off to take my trip then, but noooooo, we all gotta be complete heathens here in the early springtime.

Ah well, we’ll see what happens. I’m getting antsy here, and I need to do something soon to break the monotonous routine before I start getting violent and calling people names.

Tags: Beantown, campaign, election, fenway park, girls, holidays, home office, marketing, marketing campaign, new york, new york yankees, routine, tax refund, travel, upgrade
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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