:: Trying to keep track of it all... ::

:: 7.31.2002 ::

Jesus, I look like an ass...

Not one of my more elegant moments...

Have determined that shellfishing, while not being the most demure of hobbies, is definitely a hoot.
Just look at all that muck to play around in!

:: Zachary 11:45:45 AM [+] ::
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House sale delay

Of course...
Washington Mutual's (the bank we have/had our mortgage through) computer system is down.
So our house sale is delayed a day. Was supposed to be Wednesday but now itll have to be thursday.
Bastards...

Sat in the sun today at the beach and read a book.
Beats workin...

:: Zachary 2:23:05 PM [+] ::
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House sale is A-Ok

I reported a slight snafu with the sale of house in Boston a couple of days ago.
Today according to our lawyer all is right with the world.

I guess she recieved an indemnification letter from Richard's (the buyer) lawyer saying that any discepencies with the title would not be our responsibility.
Yay!!
So when the sale goes through we'll be sitting pretty.
Well ok, not pretty... but we'll be sitting.
:-)

:: Zachary 2:21:06 PM [+] ::
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Can you smell it?

Went for a nice walk out to Fort Hill in Eastham.
Sat on a bench overlooking a field, which overlooks a marsh, which overlooks the ocean.
It was slightly overcast, and there was some nice sea fog out over the barrier beach in the distance.
After we ate and were walking along the path, there was an incredible sea breeze.
I just love it whenever I get even the slightest hint of the ocean on a stray breeze. Once in awhile at our house in Boston I would get the occasional sniff. Usually early in the morning in spring or fall, when it was really cool and moist on my way out to the car to go to work. That one whiff in the morning would always take the edge off my commute.
When we started sailing in the spring of '01 I remember anticipating the smell all the way to Lewis Wharf. And when we got there and were out on the boat... mmm nothing like it.
Of course its a much cleaner smell here on the Cape. Boston Harbor is not notorious for its cleanliness.
Still good for the karma though.
:-)

:: Zachary 2:54:52 PM [+] ::
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She gots freckles

This is my girl.

:: Zachary 2:48:53 PM [+] ::
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Stop and Slop

Had a very lazy Sunday today.
Tabitha hasn't been sleeping so good, so she slept in and Dad and I went to the grocery store.
We're used to shopping at the Harvest Co-Op in Jamaica Plain. Its a very small but well stocked store. We can get everything we need and be in and out in about 25 minutes.
Now we have to shop at the local Super Stop and Slop. Its frigging huge!
You could fit about 6 or 7 Harvest Co-Op's inside this sucker. And its mobbed.
I hate it.

I'm going to do a study one day to find out if the way people handle their shopping carts is the same as how they drive their car.
Would be interesting to see if theres any correlation.
I bet there is.

:: Zachary 2:45:42 PM [+] ::
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Hey, wheres Ray?

A long time ago I registered a couple of domain names.
rayditutto.com and reditutto.com.
What that is is italian for "king of everything". I always thought that was a pretty cool expression.
Anyway, one day a buddy of mine John and I were sitting in a cigar bar in the North End in Boston, smoking up a couple of good Ashton's and drinking very strong martini's.
This of course is the ideal environment in which to apply power to ones thinking caps.
ahem...
Anyway we thought it would be a great idea to open a club up in Saugus or Revere; one of those seedy towns up north of Boston on Rt 1, and call it Ray DiTutto's. Like Ray was a real guy and this was his club.
We'd have good drinks, and cigars, and maybe "dancers". And of course we would need to get somebody to play Ray. A big italian looking guy, and we'd get him an old car. John is in fact the owner of a 1968 Oldsmobile Delmont convertible which would almost be perfect. And he could strut around and pretend to be the bigshot, possibly mafios owner.
We would run stuff behind the scenes. I already told John that I would be skimming from the till, and he said that was ok as long as the books came out all right. We'd hire a waitress just to take care of Ray. Her name of course would be Pat. Pat McCann.
Hee hee. Get it?
Aahhh never mind.

Seemed like a fun idea at the time. We of course never intended to actually go through with it. We were drunk and completely doped up on good cigars.
It just always amazed me how much thought process and enthusiasm can get wasted in such a short amount of time.
I suppose its all in the name of fun. And alcohol.

The next day with a headache, and only the tattered remnants of the idea blowing around in my harassed brain cavity, I registered the domain names.
I thought it would still be fun to create a fake site for the fake club.
Just never got around to it.
I guess life doth intrude too much.

http://www.rayditutto.com

:: Zachary 5:13:11 PM [+] ::
...

zzzz... huh? wazzat?... snort.... zzzzzzz.....

Didnt do crap-all today.

Well thats not completely true.
Went for a little motorcycle ride, and I did some paperwork, but for the most part I just sat around reading and doing nothing.

Nice!!

:: Zachary 5:00:18 PM [+] ::
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Fly in the ointment. Big fly. Big hairy fly...

Well I guess it was too good to be true.
The sale of our house up in Boston was going just a little bit too smoothly.
Got a call from the lawyer today, and it turns out there are a few problems with the Title.
Figures...

We cant figure how the hell this happened. I mean why didnt this come up 3 years ago when we bought the place?
Or even less than a year ago when we refinanced?

I dont know how screwed we are.
There are 3 possible solutions.
1. The original lawyer we used 3 years ago (who no longer does real estate law) figures out why he didnt see this then and clears it up. Sale goes on as planned.
2. We pay a Mortgage Discharge firm $600 bucks and they try and clear it up. Could take awhile so sale goes on as planned but our cashola goes into an escrow acct until the problem is resolved.
3. Richard, the guy were selling it to, calls off the sale. We still contract with the Mortgage Discharge firm to clear the title, and then we hire a real estate agent to try and sell it again. With this scenario we maybe make more or less money than we are now, but our hassle and headache level goes through the roof.

So thats what were up against ladies and germs. Ill let you know how this all works out.

:: Zachary 1:25:17 PM [+] ::
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I like my new camera...

Saw a gorgeous sunset this evening out at Skaket Beach.



Heres another one. A little too dark in my opinion though.

Now I remember why we left the city. Duh...

We bribed dad into going out with us with the promise of a yummy frozen hot chocolate from The Chocolate Sparrow.

Thats Tabitha and Dad.

:: Zachary 8:52:39 PM [+] ::
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Engrish?

Ok this is some seriously funny stuff.

Heres just a little taste.
Make sure to read it carefully.


You gotta go here for all the goods though.

:: Zachary 7:45:55 PM [+] ::
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Should I pay my ticket?

On the way home from work on my last day of work I got pulled over for driving on the breakdown lane on 128 right before the exit for RT 9.
I got pulled over about 20 feet from the exit.
I have always driven these 20 feet in the breakdown lane to the exit. At rush hour its the only way to make it to the ramp without getting creamed by people getting onto 128 from Rt 9.
The ramp is one of those brilliant Massachusetts highway designs where there is an on ramp and an off ramp utilizing the same section of highway as their merge lanes.

So anyway, I got a $100 dollar ticket. Me and about 7 other people he also pulled over while I was sitting there.
I've been trying to pay this sucker online for a month now, but the mass rmv website keeps telling me that the citation does not exist in there system.
Should I call up and pay it?
Should I mail in the ticket with a check?
If its not in their system technically I could not pay it right?
Maybe the cop lost his ticket book or something. Who knows.
Anyway I guess Ill wait another week or so and then call them up.
Oh joy.

:: Zachary 6:20:26 PM [+] ::
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I want a Home Depot!

Can I tell you how enraged I am that there are no Home Depots on Cape Cod?
Its a travesty.
Today I went looking for a condensation pump, to pump out the de-humidifier in the basement, a towel rack, and some off white paint.
I had to go to two fucking stores and after a half an hour of driving all I was able to get was the paint.

Can you believe it?
Is it just me? Am I totally intolerant?

The Cape Cod commission has been blocking Home Depot from opening up on the cape for like ten years or something. They say it will hurt the little guy.

Well I'm all for the little guy as long as they get their head out of their asses, stop hiring people like "Ruthie" at F-in Hinckleys in Harwich who asked me if I would be paying cash. I said no she rang me up and I handed her a charge card.
She then had to redo the sale. "Oh, a charge card. Our system sees that the same as cash, you should have told me."
You fucking asked me if I was using cash and I said no. Jesus Christ, any other store if somebody had asked me if I was using cash and I said YES and then handed them a charge card they'd think I was stupid.
CHRIST!!
I still dont have a condensation pump or a goddam towel rack.
I'm tempted to just drive off cape and get them at a Home Depot.
Arrghhh. It just drives me crazy...

:: Zachary 11:27:52 AM [+] ::
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Cat walk

Well the cat had his first foray outside today.
He had what we refer to as a "supervised visitation".
Basically we followed him around and grabbed him if he tried to creep off.
So, the cats out of the bag, so to speak.
He's gonna always want to go outside now. Guess it was just a matter of time anyway.

We got him a training and locator collar, cause were paranoid hell get squashed.
But the thing is frigging huge. He looks like a Saint Bernard on a rescue. Havent successfully trained him with it yet though.
We have ascertained that the locator function (3 high pitched beeps) scares the living shit out of him though.
Much to our eternal delight of course. (If the MSPCA or the ASPCA is reading this I'm just kidding).

:: Zachary 11:02:36 PM [+] ::
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Beach walk

Walked out to the bay at the Cape Cod Museum of natural history today.
Still dont have to go to work.
:-)

:: Zachary 1:50:32 PM [+] ::
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Tabitha's mother is cool

hERE ARE A... HOLY CRAP, CAPS LOCK IS ON...
LETS TRY THAT AGAIN.

Here are a couple of nice macro shots I took with the new camera today.
These are from over in Tabitha's mothers garden. She has an absolutely amazing garden.

Heres one.


And heres another.


I think they came out quite nice.

Heres some shots of Tabitha's mothers garden.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six

:: Zachary 1:27:44 PM [+] ::
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New toy! drool...

Got my new Nikon Coolpix 4500 today.
Super slick camera. Very nice.
This is an upgrade for my old Coolpix 950. Not that there was anything wrong with the 950...

Must have new, must have better!!
Its a sickness, pity me...

:: Zachary 11:45:27 AM [+] ::
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Ok, now I'm kind-a sore...

I bought a Sea Kayak before we left Boston. Got to take it out for a spin today on Bucks Pond Its only about .8 miles from the house.

I've also been biking down there in the evenings for a dip.

Kayak worked out good. Its a Wilderness Systems Pamlico Excel.
Works great for me and Tabitha, and I can also solo it pretty easily.
Its a heavy son-of-a-bitch though.

:: Zachary 6:18:10 PM [+] ::
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Its only about 70 miles

This is where we used to live...
Now we live here

There are lots of beaches, its nice...
and I still dont have to go to work.
:-)

:: Zachary 7:32:48 AM [+] ::
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uh... Buh bye?

Well we've finally gone and done it.

Were moved out of da big city.
Were now pretty much settled into the house down here on the Cape.
...
..
.

Christ, what the hell have we done?!!

:: Zachary 3:45:12 PM [+] ::
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U-haul has got us by the balls...

Jeezus...
We've spent a shiteload of money on cardbaord boxes.
Who the hell would have guessed that a bunch of cardboard in the shape of a cube could cost $200?

:: Zachary 5:53:06 PM [+] ::
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Moving sucks

Packing sucks too, its like a friggin oven in our house here in Boston.
Right now in our house its, uh... 97 degrees.
We've put the AC in the bedroom and are keeping the door shut.
Its like a little ice box. When we feel woozy from packing we duck in there for a refresher.
This cant be healthy...

:: Zachary 5:45:30 PM [+] ::
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What a shitty drive

Back from the wedding in Pennsylvania.

The wedding was nice though. I was relegated to offical videographer.
It seems like most of the occasions I attend I end up viewing them through a camera lens.

Still doesnt feel that weird to have no job though.
I wonder when that will set in.

July 10th is the big move. Movers are coming, I gotta go and get a stinking big truck. Its about a 100 degrees here right now.
Hope this weather is better by next week. I dont fancy giving the movers mouth to mouth after they pass out from the heat.
icky...

:: Zachary 4:42:17 PM [+] ::
...