a summer lost
06 July, 2004 :: 5:44 p.m.
I thought this would be another summer lost, but it's turning out to have its moments...
I finally got back up to Cortland to visit Chuck and it was a good time indeed...nothing super-fantastical happened, it was just a good time--going out for pizza at the late night joint we used to frequent his first couple of years up there, sitting around a nearly dead bar watching sportscenter on a big flat screen tv and drinking guinness (me anyway, he drank pepsi) talking to the 3 other guys in the bar all of whom Chuck knows, playing halo until sometime after 5 in the morning, having his dog, Willie, bark nonstop at me only to end up curling up on me to sleep when I went to bed...I don't need a lot to have a good time with good friends.
I was dreading going up but it was just typical stupid me and I knew once I got on the way, it would be a good time...just lately even for friends it's been hard to sacrifice those rare nights off where I have to opportunity to just relax and spend time by myself. I love the drive to Cortland though and it was great remembering all the previous drives including my blunderous drive one winter in a snowstorm that unleashed close to 2 feet of snow...it was already snowing hard hear and I could barely see, but I'd made plans and, screw God or Mother Nature or whoever, I wasn't canceling...cars were stuck off the road all over, I was driving Char's neon which is not the best snow-going car in the world since my acclaim had nearly bald tires. Anyone who knows the Syracuse (Cortland is about 30 minutes outside) area is familiar with the lake effect snow and the wonderous driving conditions it creates; anyone familiar with Ithaca (you have to go through Ithaca to get to Cortland) knows the long steep hills leading into and out of it on route 13. When you combine the two it's just super. I thought I was going to wreck about 5 times and a trip that is normally 2.5 hours took over 4. But I would do it again in a heartbeat.
So yeah, just the drive alone would've been worth going up...it reminded me that I truly am an upstate New Yorker and always will be...it's not the prettiest area in the country or the best economically or the best of anything, but it's home and even though I may someday, I can't imagine living somewhere where I can't just get in my car and drive to the finger lakes or ithaca in a couple of hours.
That was a lot of words that will almost certainly mean little to anyone else who reads this...that's fine.
Hopefully I will be going to visit Pat next weekend...not sure whether it will be for a day or two days, but it'd be great to be around for his Bob Wickman bobblehead doll day number 23. With luck we'll get to see and possibly chat with former WWF (now WWE) wrestler Bam Bam Biggelow who now owns and operates an ice cream place right near Pat. It sounds too crazy to be reality so I really can't wait to visit and see this place for myself...I've never been to Pat's home area and I look forward to finally getting to see the places that Pat's been telling me about all this time.
Lacey and I both have tickets now to see the Cure in August and I'm still hoping that Pat joins us. I'm tempted to just buy the ticket and tell him, "Surprise, guess where you're going to be on August 6?" Erin's gonna be there too and hopefully I'll manage to track her down and catch up with her...there's still time to solidify all the details and I don't want to plan things too early because the sooner I have plans, the sooner a wrench can be thrown into things.
I've lost my focus--I still haven't been sleeping much lately and focusing is not a strong point for me...is it ever?