Blips of thought

[eohartman]

With the help of Christin (scottique), I successfully released five raccoons this past weekend! Video forthcoming. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty darn proud (of myself and the raccoons). It's been a crazy summer and it was such an incredible feeling to release them out into the wild and watch them start their new life. I vaccinated them, taught them how to catch live food, set out a feeding station for them (with dog food) until they get used to the surroundings, and released them on the most perfect 450 acres imaginable.

I've still got four raccoons in the GIANT habitat that Dustin and I finished building. Check out photos of the raccoon habitat here. The remaining raccoons are enjoying themselves. Three of them will be ready to be released in a couple of weeks, while the last one, Rowdy, is going to stay with me over the winter. He's the one that was imprinted, and I'm hoping that by keeping him until the spring, when he sexually matures, he'll wild up a bit. He needs a companion in there this winter, but I don't want to hold any of my guys back, so I'm stealing taking a spring-releasable raccoon from another rehabber in order to give Rowdy a friend. I have a lot of pictures and video that I need to upload/resize/post. Hopefully I'll get a spare moment to do that soon.

It just dawned on me that Dustin and I are leaving on Sunday to go to Boston for six days. He's got a training session Tuesday - Friday, so we're flying up on Sunday, wandering around Boston on Monday, and while he's in training for the rest of the week, I'll be working from the hotel room (that sounds dirtier than I meant it to be). It's a good way to see a new city without having to pay for all of it, considering his job pays for his flight, hotel room, and gives him food money. Hoorah. It's been so far in the back of my mind, though, that it just crept up on me - I have no idea what we should do while up there. So, I ask you, dear flist - what should we do while we're in Boston?

Also, this means that my 26th birthday is on Sunday, the day after Talk Like A Pirate day (and the day after we supposedly have a barn concert, though the guy hasn't been very good on the communication front). I'm quite looking forward to being 26. I figured it's something I've never tried before, so I might as well go into it with an open mind. Who knows what the next year will bring!

Comments

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

Yesyes. It's exit 22 off of route 95. My guess is you'll want to take Mass Ave (route 111) east (for 5 miles or so) until it meets up with route 2, then take route 2 east to route 95/128 (exit 52A), then take 95/128 south to exit 22, which puts you on Grove St. Riverside is on your left just past the hotel. You can't miss it. :)

Unrelatedly, something else you need to know to navigate around here: how to say/pronounce stuff.

The Massachusetts Turnpike/route 90: The Pike, or the Mass Pike
Worcester: WUSS-ta
Gloucester: GLOSS-ta
Haverhill: HAYVE-rill ('hayve' rhymes with 'gave')
Massachusetts Avenue: Mass Ave
Commonwealth Avenue: Comm Ave
Copley: COP-ly. :P People seem to want to pronounce it COPE-ly for some reason.

You may not go to any of those places, but if you have to say them for some reason, and you say them wrong, you will be made fun of. :P And if we say them, you should know what the hell we're talking about.

Oh, and have you ever driven in a rotary/roundabout/traffic circle? ;)

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Several questions for you:
1) Driving around, both in Boston and in Boxborough, the fast food restaurants don't have drive-throughs (it took us awhile to figure out what looked "wrong" with the buildings!). Why is this?

2) I drove Dustin to his training this morning and we were stuck behind a school bus. BUT not only were we stuck behind a bus, but also behind a van that had a "bus" sign on top of it and flashing lights. Is this a normal thing around here? Is it just for added safety?

Yes, I've driven in a round-about before, and so has Dustin. Despite this, we ALMOST got into an accident yesterday because someone ELSE didn't know how to drive in one. We were on the outside lane, he was on the inside lane, and suddenly decided to get off the round-about...and very, very narrowly missed us. Thankfully, Dustin was driving and he has quick reflexes, so an accident was avoided. We were pretty shaken up for a while after that, though.

I had to keep correcting myself from saying "Copely." I don't know why - I think maybe it's because I mentally transpose the e and l? Thanks for all the prnounciations, though. Worcester does not at ALL look like it should be pronounced that way, and yet, that's how everyone says it around here. Y'all are so weird. ;-)

I don't have quite as much time available as I thought I would, because my manager gave me more work, but meeting at Riverside is do-able. I originally thought "oooh, we should go to the Science Museum!" but I would want to get lost in there and there's no way I can skip out on that much work - we've got some hard deadlines on Friday and next week that I can't fall behind on. :-( Maybe we can meet in Riverside and you can show me around the subburbs? How far away is Riverside from your house? I'd love to see the area in which you live (though you may not want to actually take me by your house, so I can't stalk you). ;-) Are you still feeling up to meeting tomorrow?

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

1) McDonald's and Burger King do, and I think some Dunkies do these days. When they're there, people definitely use them. As for others - Wendy's and such - I imagine some of them do! I don't really eat drive-through stuff so I don't tend to notice! You're sure the drive-through wasn't just around back? I think it often is around here. There should be a little sign for the drive-through with an arrow, if there is one.

2) The vans are also school buses, just (obviously) smaller. They may be in areas where only a few kids need to be picked up by bus, or they may be specifically for students with special needs, so the driver can give them a bit more attention if they need it, they're not overwhelmed by a huge noisy crowd of kids, mobility aids can be accommodated more easily, etc. Anything with 'BUS' and flashing lights should be treated as a regular school bus, even if it just looks like a glorified van. ;)

The guy in the rotary who cut you off was in the wrong. I'm glad you didn't crash! He should have been drifting safely from the inside to the outside, timing it so he could get out easily. If he was still stuck on the inside when his exit came, he should have just gone round again. That's why rotaries are so nice! No backtracking if you miss your exit, and you don't have to go 2 mph to make sure you don't miss it.

They're English town names! We pronounce them the way the English do, since it's their words and all. ;)

*glares at your manager* I'm definitely still up for meeting tomorrow. Still Riverside at 11? I'm happy to take you on a little tour of the suburbs - it's not an unreasonable distance to my place. If you promise to be a very nice stalker, I might even show you my house! :P Do you know about how much time you'd have to hang out? I wish we could go to the Science Museum too, but it's definitely an all-day thing to do.

Are you enjoying the New England architecture? When I was visiting the Atlanta suburbs, my local friends commented to me how the houses were all 'big-little' - the attached garage looks like a little version of the house - and were pretty much all the same. Nathaniel loves seeing all the houses around here because they're all so different - stuff tends to be cookie-cutter in much of England too.

And isn't the foliage pretty?! I love seeing trees that are only partly changed and are still partly green, like the colour is slowly creeping over the tree.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Riverside at 11 sounds good. Unless there's a better place nearby to meet up. According to the link you sent me above, that station has a BUNCH of parking spaces. Is there a place nearby that would be better for spotting one another, or should we meet in a particular part of that lot? I've got a GPS so just tell me where to go and I'll be there! :-) Also, I assume the number from which you texted me the other day is your cell phone, and I can call that if I get lost/can't find you, right?

I promise to be a nice stalker. Besides, I'm the one who'll be hopping in the car with someone I've never met before, so technically you have the upper hand... lol

OMG I'm so excited!

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

You can park anywhere - hopefully the main lot won't be full. The main lot's on your right as you enter the station; you can't miss it. If it's full, you'll need to park in the overflow lot, which is to the far left. If you need to do that, just text me and I can meet you over there.

Assuming you do park in the main lot, once you're parked, walk out of the lot towards the little booth where you paid to get in. You'll see a handful of parking spots just in front of you, which are ten-minute spots intended for people who are picking folks up. I can park there and meet you.

Remember that parking costs $5.75!

Yesyes, that's my cell. :) Feel free to call or text!

Oo, you make a very good point. Well I promise to be a nice kidnapper, since you'll be a nice stalker.

I'm so excited too!!

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me! I'll see you in a couple of hours!