Friday 9am: Annual review time. After 4 layoffs on Wednesday, not really worried, but... curious. Discussion of strengths and weaknesses areas of improvement. Then, a promotion! Gratifying. But, no $ increase involved, alas.
Noon: Free and out of the office! Overcast now, but predicted sunny with a chance of showers all weekend. Summer at last.
4pm: Showered, primped, packed and off to the city for the weekend.
5pm: Traffic 'copter overhead, but we have our feet up, cold beers in hand, watching clouds chase across the city skyline.
Later... a juicy burger out on Newbury. Later still... a sundae at JP Licks. Yum.
[Cranberry field, Bay Circuit Trail, Hanson MA; noon, 6/27/09]
Saturday, 10am: I get a ride from walking-group friends down to the wilds far south of Boston on the Bay Circuit Trail for a foraging walk led by Russ Cohen, author of Wild Plants I Have Known... And Eaten. Hot, humid, sunny and buggy. We nibble wild lettuce, sniff bayberry leaves and sassafras bark, observe unripe black raspberries & blueberries, learn when/how to eat pokeweed and various greens that "taste like asparagus," identify safe mushrooms. We chew Russ's homemade autumn-olive fruit leather, delicious. My favorite: wintergreen leaves. I bring a sprig back for D.
3:30pm: Driving back north on the expressway, the city ahead: fogged in. On the cell, D says it's suddenly chilly. Maybe it'll pass...?
[Back Bay, Boston; 4pm, 6/27/09]
4:30pm: Nap.
6ish: The sun tries to break through. On the streets, a mix of leftover shorts & tees and weather-savvy long pants & jackets.
7pm: In the Public Garden, we look for cygnets but the swan still nests, curled tight and asleep. On the pond her (his?) mate struts for the few tourists.
Sunday: Gray, damp. Sleep in, late breakfast. Planned trip to the seacoast is less appealing now.
Noonish: We wander around Cambridge. I'm discombobulated & aimless. Or perhaps pointless (see below).
3:30pm: Home alone, too early. Glum. But getting ready for the work week is necessary. Back out for groceries. Later... kitchen puttering: a pot of jambalaya, comfort food.
Short week ahead, as I get Friday off for the 4th of July weekend. Maybe the sun will come back...
[Pointless* sculpture, somewhere at Harvard; 12:30pm, 6/28/09]
"A point in every direction is no point at all" - from Harry Nilsson's The Point
(Notice the sign reading "please do not climb" - as if.)
"You don't need to have a point to have a point."--Harry Nilsson
Just sayin'....it all matters....your life seems lovely these days..wishing you well
Posted by: tk | Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 12:21 AM
TK: You have a point there! Thanks, and yes, it is lovely these days. Hope things are well with you...
Posted by: Leslee | Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 08:18 AM
Congrats on the promotion, but... no pay raise? How does that work? Did they give you a big gold star instead?
Posted by: Dave | Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 02:42 PM
Thanks. Yeah, my old salary range apparently overlaps with the new salary range, so no increase with the promotion. They did give me an extra $1000/year (not due to promotion) so, with taxes, what's that - about $15/week? Actually, I was surprised they were giving any increases this year at all.
Posted by: Leslee | Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 09:49 PM
"Me and my Arrow. . ." I remember that line (heh) from the movie(video?). In high school, the cool people understood Nilsson. I was not always cool. Oh well.
Posted by: joannamary | Friday, July 03, 2009 at 11:47 AM