August 31, 11:17 PM
Heres the last entry for August...it went so fast...
Today I woke up around 7 but fell back asleep. I got back up at 8:20 and only had time to brush my teeth and get dressed before rushing out the door. I learned the bus doesn't come until quarter till though so I didn't actually have to rush.
I got to campus and headed to my first psych 101 class, which is not an introductory course. It's a course about getting a job in the psych field, and what it's really like. The prof seems decent, and he had this to say:
"I have two things to tell you. Welcome to psych 101, and be happy we aren't in New Orleans. That is probably going to be the biggest disaster of your lifetime. Now, this course is really for psych majors. If you take this course and find out you don't want to be a psych major anymore, thats fine, you aren't locked in, do something else. If this is your last semester and you are locked in, we are going to show you how to salvage your life."
So comforting.
After that class I met up with Mandie for lunch in the Bluespoon deli. She had a cheeseburger, me a chicken sandwich. Afterwards we went to her dorm and watched the last half of Volcano. By then it was time for my next class, Abnormal Psychology.
This professor had a very foreign sounding name, but it turns out he's from Chicago. seems like it will be an okay class.
After class I took the bus back here and got my permanent pass, then it was off to Michaels for art supplies. Since I never had an Art class worth shit before, the girl there had to explain to me what my teacher meant by "opaque watercolor" and "fine art paper". It worked out and in the end I spent about $58. After Michaels I came back to the room and ate dinner. A few hours later I worked out on the treadmill, made it to 2 1/4 miles jogging this time.
I hear gas is suppossed to pass $3 tomorrow. God help us all.
I love you cupcake, more than even the most extreme cheeseburger.
Ever Gaming.
Take the Express
August 30, 10:29 PM
What a day.
I woke up at 7:30 and got ready for the first day of classes. After a nice breakfast helped me ease into the day, I got the express bus to campus. I arrived around 8:40, and would not leave until quarter to six.
The first thing I did was go to Moore building to meet with my advisor. She was very nice and got me some information on grad schools, and also told me I only have 37 credits to go to graduate.
After my meeting with her I had two hours to explore campus. The weather was oppressively humid and warm, and it was raining, so it wasn't very enjoyable. I did run into Mandie while I was walking around, so we talked for a little bit. She was on her way to English, so we parted ways. I went back to exploring, and by 11:15 it was time for my first class.
It was Art 20, introduction to drawing. The instructor is chinese and doesn't speak good English, but I was able to understand most of what he said. Seems like a nice enough guy. He showed us some slides of his students past work and we had to help him straighten out our new classroom. He also gave us a long ass list of garbage we have to buy for his class, including charcoal and a sitting stool. Damnit.
After that it was back to wandering campus. I came to a McDonalds and ate lunch as I read the paper. It seems over 40,000 students go here...I believe it. I got one of those new "premium chicken" sandwiches, and realized it was the same damn chicken I've been eating for years. Stupid corporate lies.
At 4:15 it was time for my second class, Art 001, Art history. The teacher is American but has two Chinese teachers aides. I also found out the professor doesn't know how to use a microphone and blew out everyones ears. Twice.
After class I got the bus back to the appartments. When I got in I ate dinner and talked to Dan, one of my roommies, for a while. He's a nice guy. Afterwards I went down to the clubhouse and worked out for about half an hour. It felt good to be back in the gym, I haven't been in one since the Spring semester.
Now I have a damage report to fill out...catch you later people.
I love you babe, see you tomorrow!
Ever Gaming.
Group Midterms
August 30, 12:20 AM
Oh God, where do I begin. It has been 25 days since the last update. I know, I had you all on the edge of your seat with anticipation. Feast your eyes on this post.
August was a pretty decent month. It was hot, but at least I had a pool. On clear nights I liked pointing out Mars in the sky, as it got closer and closer to Earth. Mandie was over at the house many times, and we also went out to the driving range occasionally. She had a back to school bonfire before everyone left, which was a lot of fun too. Andre and Kelli made an appearance but left after about 20 minutes. We made smores and mountain pies as we hung out around the fire. Lots of fun.
Construction on route 22 continued at its feverish pace. They are out there 24/7 working on that thing. Maybe it will actually be done in my lifetime.
I helped out a lot around the house, mostly by doing outside work. I helped cut grass and haul rocks for my dad, and did dishes, helped clean, and helped with the animals too.
A week before move in I was taking Mandie home and I noticed my ABS light came on. I tried slamming on my brakes and saw that the ABS really wasn't working (left a nice skid mark on Chickaree). Thinking it was only the battery I kept going. After Mandie got home I decided to drive home, and when I got near the turnoff I noticed the car lost major power. I could barely get up the hill. I crawled down the mountain and just as I got to the bottom the car broke down. Somehow I just barely had enough momentum to carry me to the front yard. It ended up being the alternator, so I got that fixed and had the car tuned up before coming to college.
The Thursday before move-in, Mandie and I went out to eat. Her move in day was Friday so it was her last day at home. Mandies family always orders lots of food, so we all ate well. That night I said goodbye to Mandie and hello to packing.
I made a huge list of everything I needed, and added to it as I went along. I started getting ready Thursday night, and Friday was the serious day of packing. That was all I did that day, except for dinnertime where the family and I went to Red Lobster. Saturday was it. All four of our vehicles drove out of town and to Allisons campus first, since hers was on the way to mine, and it was her move in day too. We got her moved in and then it was off to my college. I got here with my parents around 4:30 and unpacked. I met my roommates, which seemed alright, then went out to dinner. I got settled in, and went to bed that night very excited.
On sunday I met Mandie on campus and she showed me where to buy books, where some of the buildings were, and who her roommate was. It was a very hot day so we returned to the appartment to get some air conditioning. It was then that I realized my roommates and their friends were all smokers. Smoke filled the room and got into all of my stuff, making it smell like smoke too. They all had beer from the fridge and kegerator too. The whole place smelled like a bar and I was very upset by this. I took Mandie back to the dorm and came back to the appartment to smell all the nice smoke. When it was time for church I got Mandie again and we went together. Afterwards I ran into one of my old high school friends and chatted for a bit. Then I took Mandie home and went back to the appartment.
It was then that I decided I had to get out of there. The smoke and beer was rediculous, and they never cared to ask if smoking inside was okay. The next morning, today, I went down to the office and told them what was up. They got me a new appartment right away and I moved in immediately. My new roommates seem much better than the old ones. Why I wasn't put in here in the first place, I have no idea. They even told me all my old roomies said they like to party and drink, and I was the only one in there that didn't. Stupid assholes, why did I even fill out that roommate matching form?
Also today I started the process of officially changing my major to psychology. It should probably only take a couple days if that.
Now, classes start in the morning. My first one is at 11:15. Wish me luck, loyal fans.
I love you cupcake, you mean so much to me. I'll always be there to laugh with you when you're happy, support you when you're down, and catch you if you fall.
Keep on gaming.
Get Oriented
August 5, 9:16 PM
The last month of Summer Vacation is upon me. Lets take a look at it in review.
May was spent in Altoona. I had Stat 200 and English 202A, both of which I got As in. I also spent this month looking for a summer job, to no avail. I still had high hopes though.
The first half of June was still spent in Altoona. English was done but Stat still had 2 weeks to go. Still looking for a job too. I applied at Dairy Queen, Co Gos, Unimart, and Sheetz. I think there was a 5th place but I can't remember what it was. I scored an interview at Sheetz but of course they rejected me again. Fuckers. Just this week my mother told me that a Sheetz manager, at the same sheetz I applied at, told her "[They] are looking for some people..." She just about shot her.
July was loaded with landscaping work around the house and cleaning work in the house. I also spent a lot of time in the pool and going out with Mandie.
I have always seen the Summer Break as a perfect opportunity to get some extra gaming in, sleep till the afternoon, and generally slack off. This summer wasn't anything like that. Even without a job, there was still plenty to do and worry about. I thought, well, since I didn't get a job, I should be able to do pretty much whatever I want all Summer, right? Wrong. I guess once you get to a certain point in your life you just can't do that anymore. Ah well. I'm actually looking forward to going to school at state college.
So now here we are. Last week, on Friday I believe, Mandie had a Bonfire at her house. When I got there I noticed that she didn't have it built yet so I offered to help. We got a decent sized one up, but decided to watch Resident Evil until her friends showed. When they got there we lit the fire, and had mountain pies, smores, and soda to eat. We told stories and stuff, and it was a pretty fun time.
Saturday was spent doing the usual Saturday crap, meaning adding on to that ever-loving patio that we started way back last year. You'd think that something as simple as putting bricks in the ground wouldn't be so trying, so tiring, and so complicated. But I guess it is.
On Sunday we headed up to circuit city and bought an HD big screen TV. Yeah I didn't see that one coming either. This 46 inch monster fills the whole corner of our living room and looks spectacular. It also means I get the 27 inch TV downstairs for my games, and I take the old downstairs TV to college.
On Monday I took Mandie to see Bad News Bears. It was pretty funny, but apparently we were the only ones in the audience that thought so. I never heard anyone else laugh.
Tuesday and Wednesday were spent doing chores.
On Thursday I thought it would be a good idea to have a spontaneous day. I picked up Mandie and we went to the mall and circuit city so I could check prices on video and sound cards and also check out the games. When we got home we went in the pool for a while where Mandie was only lightly dunked. For the rest of the night we hung out in the rec room, and also got some 6-to-go food.
Today I had to help Allison clean the living room and dining room. Thats about all I did as far as chores go. I played a lot of Mega Man X Command Mission, my newest RPG.
Thats it for today, keep on gaming.
Love you lots, cupcake. See you around!
Teh Pwnerer
July 27, 2:02 AM
WHOA, over a week! Sorry fans, here's whats up.
I finally finished painting the hallway down at the building. I'm really not satisfied with the job, since the high humidity didn't allow the paint to dry properly, but my dad liked it and thats all that really matters.
On Friday, the family, Justin, Mandie, and I all went to a Curve game. We had VIP parking and box seats courtesy of my Dad's company. On the way there, some idiot was PARKED at the end of an onramp between two major highways. I saw the car and got off the ramp before hitting it, and a little further down the highway I said, "My dad is definately going to hit that person." And I was almost right. I saw the car my dad was driving slam on its brakes and barely miss the car in my rear view mirror. I called him to make sure he was alright, and everyone was. Later my Mom told me he was looking for something in the glove box while coming down the ramp. We finally got to the stadium and enjoyed the game and the food, but the Curve got pwned as usual. I took Mandie home, and on the way there I learned someone rear ended my sister in the parking lot. I got Mandie home without any driving accidents, and spent a while there watching TV with her.
Saturday was a slightly tense day. I helped my mom and dad extend the patio, and in the process voices were elevated. It ended up being one of the more frank talks I've had with my mom, but in the end I think we all felt pretty good about what was said.
Sunday was a slacker day. I didn't really do a whole lot besides jump in the pool and clean it out a bit.
Monday I was hard at work in the backyard. I brushed some sand into the patio so it didnt get weeds in it, and even after just that I was dying of heat. I still had to re-gravel what I could of the driveway. I got a pretty good strip of it done when I had to go downtown to unlock the door of one of my dad's appartents. You see, the last guy that lived in Appt. 1 left it a Goddamn mess when he moved out. My dad tracked him down and got him to come back and clean it up. After that was all straightened out it was back to the gravel until I was so sweaty it looked like I jumped in the pool...with my clothes on. I got in the house and drank about 4 glasses of water, after which I watched more of my new favorite show, Pure Pwnage. Yes, Ownage is spelled with a P. I forget how that came about. Unfortunately, I found out that Buba got bad news at her doctor visit today, she has to go back to the hospital. As of 7/27 she's feeling better.
Tuesday was a good day. I woke up and took care of the dogs, then ate some lunch. After that it was off to my Mom's office to pick her up and go to the mall for eye appointments. My appointment was good, my eyes haven't changed at all. Next we ate chinese at the food court, and Allison went shopping for a while. After the mall I picked Mandie up and came home. We spend some time in the pool, and after that I showed her Pure Pwnage. We hung out for a while longer, but 11:35 came quickly.
End of the World theories
I love you so much hun, Love is not a strong enough word for what I feel for you
To truly pwn, one must pwn in ALL games...
Walk into my eye
July 19, 2:08 AM
Today was a pretty busy day.
When I woke up I had chores to do. I ran the vacuum until it was time to get Mandie for the day. I got there around 2, which is becoming our usual time for pickup. When we got home, we went in the pool a couple times, and Mandie got very soaked. Involuntarily at first, but after a while it was fun. We played a lot of games too, Super Mario Bros. and F-Zero to name a couple. We watched some TV too, till it was time to take Mandie back to her house. Aaaand that was about it. Fun day today, see you around.
I love you hun, I'll always be here for you
Time for more Games.
Synapse, scout the building!
July 17, 12:16 AM
Some things have happened lately.
Thursday.
On Thursday I woke up at about 1:30 in the afternoon, and hurried up and took care of the dogs as fast as I could since my mom was picking me up to get my car from the shop at 2. When I got to the shop I noticed that the car wasn't done, even after they told me it was. In addition to fixing the rust damage, they were suppossed to put new mudflaps on and touch up the hood. They didn't get the mudflaps and the hood was still chipped up. I went in and told the guy, and left without my car. Next on the todo list for the day was to pick up Buba from the center. We got to the center and I went in with my mom so I was familiar with the place if I ever had to come alone. We went in to get her and I saw one of my friend's mom in there working. I talked to her for a little bit, then we left with buba. Of course buba was complaining the whole way down to the car and also after we got in it. "There's noone to talk to there," "I can't go to the bathroom," "It's too bright," and etcetera. This exasperated my mother even further and so they went back and forth for a while before it calmed down again. When we got to the K-Mart in Altoona we found Allison sleeping in her car. After waking her up we went in. We came to the bedding section because we saw that some of the comforters were on sale, but we didn't know which ones. I searched far and wide for a salesperson (you never find them when you need them), but I found one and she came over and told us, "I believe...the ones on the bottom row are on sale...oh, the woman that is suppossed to be in this department isn't even here!...yeah I think it's these." She pointed out maybe three comforters. We figured we'd just get a complete bed set and some pillows.
After K-Mart, we stopped at the Logan Valley Mall. I forget what Allison got, but I got the book Learned Optimism. I haven't started it yet because I'm still reading Emotional Intelligence. We came home from the mall and just hung out for the rest of the day.
Friday.
On Friday I woke up around 8:30, since my mom told me the car was done, but they couldn't find the right mudflaps to put on it. I waited for Allison to get ready for work so she could take me to get the car. When I got there, I paid the bill, and drove away with my now much whiter Cavalier. I got home and called Mandie to let her know what happened, and she told me she still had chores to do for a bit. I ate lunch and played a little bit of the Sims I think, then headed off to rescue her. We got home and I showed her a really creepy music video at Ebaum's (Thats Ebaum's World for those of you who don't know of the place), and also we played the Sims for a while. We ate dinner too, which was mushrooms and beef. I also found a link at Ebaum to the belief-o-matic. It is a quiz that, based on your answers, tells you what religion your beliefs most match up with. I am an Orthodox Jew.
After a while I took Mandie home so she could get ready for the launch of the newest Harry Potter. I hope she got a copy...
Saturday, Today.
I slept late again, till about 12, then got out and ate some hot dogs my mom made. During lunch my dad told me he needed help unloading some pavers and cutting grass. He wasn't quite ready to go out when I was so I started cutting grass first. As I was cutting I heard a few loud cracks of thunder but no rain. Then my dad came out and we got the pavers out, which he actually won in a contest at Home Depot I think. I continued cutting grass after that, but I was already soaked from the humidity. I really have to start wearing a headband or something when I go out there. By the time I was almost finished it started POURING, all at once. My dad said he would finish up, so I sat under the overhang of the house and waited. We packed up the lawnmowers and came in the house, and I showered immediately. When I was done showering I felt like absolute garbage and I have all day. I think it's the humidity, which has not let up for days. It continued to pour for a lot of the afternoon, but it stopped before it was time to get the pizza. I got in the truck with my dad and went to get it and a few things from goodwill and walmart. Goodwill had a mug my dad was interested in and we needed food from Walmart. By the time we were done there the pizzas were ready so we got them too. On the way home we stopped at McDonalds to get a chicken nugget meal for buba. I saw a high school buddy of mine there, and saw that he has been made a manager. On the way home my mom called and complained that buba was hungry and needed her food. We made it home and buba ate a whole half of her meal before asking me to finish it. After that it was Simcity/Sonic time until now.
See you all later, gamers.
I love you so much babe, I hope you are enjoying your book. Can't wait to see you again!
Give me gaming or give me death.
Your crowd, my crowd, we can share
July 13, 9:27 PM
Sorry for the lack of updates people.
Sunday.
I picked up Mandie from her house, and her and I went to Bear Rock with my dad. We drove down to bracken dip and parked the car. After walking down the coal truck road a little ways, we made a sharp turn off the road onto a hidden path. The path was almost overgrown, and there were a few fallen trees in the way, but it wasn't too bad. About halfway there, we came upon Mud Town, a ghost town of which only a few foundation depressions remain. After Mud Town, we found a ruined road to walk on. My dad said that when my Pap was little, it was usable. Now it only passes as a footpath. After a little more walking, we came to the famous Bear Rock. This formation is almost totally overgrown, unlike Eagle Rock. The foot of it touches the creek, while the top of it is up in the treetops. After my dad took a picture of us sitting on the rocks near the creek, we started our climb to the top. One easy climb later we were at the top looking down all around us and enjoying the view. After some nice sightseeing we got off the rock and pushed through the thick underbrush to get back to the coal truck road, which we took almost the whole way back to the car. I spent the rest of the day with Mandie, and when it was time to go I had to synchronize with my dad so I could get my car to the shop. Some rust needed fixed.
Tuesday.
Tuesday I was at Mandie's all day after she came to town to pick me up. We got the oil for the Jeep changed at Wal-Mart and then spent the rest of the day at her house. Mandie made chicken with chicken noodles and beans, and all of it was very good. We watched the National Geographic Channel till it was time to head home. When I got home I stumbled onto a link for something called Google Earth. It sounded interesting so I gave it a download. Wow, was I blown away. This thing has satelite pictures for the entire PLANET, with a lot of it in high enough resolution to see cars and people on the ground. Its in full 3-D, so you can swivel and slide around the maps, getting a feel for the terrain while you look at pretty pictures. It also has a road map overlay built in, along with locations of restaurants, inns, schools, parks, churches, and geographic points of interest, along with town names, county, state, and international borders, and even crime statistics for each county. For the WHOLE EARTH. The program is still in Beta form though, so a lot of kinks need to be worked out and mountains of data still need to be added. I'll be watching this one closely.
Wednesday, today.
I was awakened at 8:30 in the morning to walk Leo. I'm sure glad Leo is MY dog, if he wasn't I don't know...oh wait.
Buba also took us she was feeling short of breath and sick, to the point where my mom almost took her to the hospital. It ended up being nothing to worry about though. Later in the day, I brushed, helped trim, and bathed Prince. He needed everything so badly. I also tinkered with Google Earth to find out more of its secrets. Around dinner time I found out my car is done, but I won't be able to get it until sometime tomorrow evening.
Well thats all for me, fans. See you around.
I love you so much, cupcake. I'll always be here for you
Keep on buying and playing the games.
Docta Peppa your a paaart 'a me
July 6, 11:14 PM
Tuesday was a blur. Mandie called me because her power went out for some reason. Right after hers came back on mine went out for a couple seconds. Crazy power company.
Wednesday, today, was a little more busy. I woke up around 11 in the morning, but I layed in bed till about noon, soaking in the sleepness for just one more hour. When I got out of bed I saw that the hot water heater was still sitting on the patio. We were going to have a plumber come by, pick it up, and install it in the appartment that needed it downtown. Around 1 he got it, and by 2:30 it was installed. He called the house and I came down with my dad's keys and a flashlight. I opened the door to the basment of the building and ventured back to the water valves. They are in the old part of the basement, the part with an uneven dirt floor and a low ceiling. And little light. I turned on the valve and heard water running, so I ran upstairs to make sure all was well. It was, so I went home.
At home I noticed the dog hair was reaching dangerous levels so I ran the vacuum and sucked it all up. Prince also needed cleaned out so I did that too. By then it was around 3:15, so I thought it would be a good time to paint more of the hall in the building too. I got all my stuff together and went down. I set up my dropcloth and went to work. The first thing I noticed was that it seemed like the paint was too wet. It dripped off of the walls and the brushes almost as if it were water. Naturally it was impossible to get an even coat in those conditions, and I almost gave up, but something made me press on. The paint behaved a little better as the day wore on, but not by much. Later I figured it must have been the humidity. When I was done for the day, I was drenched in sweat and paint. I cleaned myself up and headed home for dinner.
After a quick shower I had KFC for dinner. It was good, and later I watched a movie called Hide and Seek. I rate it "Decent" on a scale from Bad to Good, worth a rent. I also shaved off the beard I was growing. It was getting too scratchy and it had to go.
I love you cupcake, you mean everything to me
Gaming is a sweet, sweet mistress...
Meatwad get the Honeys, G
July 5, 1:31 AM
Today was a very full day, and so was yesterday.
Sunday, the 3rd.
After church with Buba, I went to sheetz and got a chef salad, and this time I actually managed not to spray salad dressing on myself. After lunch I helped my dad install the new Chinese air conditioner. After trying to figure out the piss-poor instructions that came with the thing, we eventually figured out how you were suppossed to install it. It seems to keep the living room cool.
That took all day so all I did afterwards was get in the pool and play Gran Turismo and Diablo.
Today, the 4th.
I woke up this 4th of July at about noon. I got Mandie and brought her home, then prepared for our hike today. First, we went behind the Furnace downtown and up to Eagle Rock. Just a few yards into our walk I almost tripped over a huge brown box turtle. I later found out that finding a turtle here in the valley is an extremely rare occurance. Come to think of it, I have never seen a turtle in the woods here. Now I have. The humidity started to get to me when we made the left off the path to get to the Rock. I was drenched in sweat and drinking most of the water I had with me. The briar wasn't too bad on the way up, but it still caught us a couple times. I always thought it was cool how the rocks get progressively bigger and bigger as you walk up that hill, until you get to the top where the mother of them all lies. We made it to the rock by way of what looked like a deer path, and walked in between the two huge parts of the rock itself. We climbed to the top of the rock without any trouble and took a break for a while, admiring the trees that seem to have no problem growing on top of it. Mandie isn't a fan of heights so of course I had her look over the edge a couple times. After our break I took her behind it to see the weird rock shelves that form the top of the hill, with trees growing right out of them too. After all of that we walked back down the hill and found the path. The turtle wasn't around for the return trip though. When we got back to the car I figured it would be nice to check on the fish pond before leaving. We walked around the perimeter of it, seeing it was almost totally dried up, as usual for this time of year. Some dragonflies and ducks were hanging out there though.
Then we went back home for a refill on water. After getting that I drove up to the graveyard entrance with Mandie and we walked along the creek towards the reservoir. I told Mandie there was a boring way and a fun way, and the fun way involved walking up the dry parts of the creek bed itself. We passed the hunters bridges and made it to the reservoir, where we were suddenly attacked by bugs. We walked back to the car using rhe boring way and came back home to cool off. We got in the pool for a while, discussed college life, and got out and ate when it was time. Dinner was hot dogs, burgers, potato salad, and potato slices.
When we were done eating it was time to look for a fireworks show. I looked online and saw there was one involving an orchestra and cannons at point stadium. We got to the place and had no trouble finding parking, and we sat as close to the cannons as possible. After about an hour and 15 minutes of listening to the orchestra play, I must admit I was getting rather bored. Then the cannon song came on and scared the shit out of everyone. By the time it was over, babies were screaming, kids were laughing, and old people wondered what that noise was. The cannons were definately the best part since the fireworks were nothing to write home about. After the show I took Mandie home to watch the Daily Show and Aquateen. There she also informed me that the beard I am growing has to go, so I'm going to grow it more.
Tomorrow I have my brakes checked and I take Allison to work. See you then.
I love you more that anything cupcake.
Diablo must suffer.
The value is negligible
July 2, 3:43 PM
Friday, the 1st.
I picked Mandie up around 1 so we could go check out a garage sale. When we got there, there was no sale to be found. Signs were up and ads were in the paper, but apparently they forgot to set up. Whatever.
Mandie and I spent the rest of the day hanging out, watching T.V., using the computer, and eating my mom's homemade chicken soup. Man was it good.
Today, the 2nd.
Today is my mom's birthday, so I told her happy birthday after I got up, around 8am. Today I was going with my dad and a forester he knows, who also has a lot of surveying experience, to look at a 24 acre chunk of land that recently went up for sale, just outside of town. We met up with the guy around 8:45 and drove to the property. When we got there the people living in the house there came out and greeted us. There were three of them, a middle aged man and woman, and a teenage girl. I forgot all their names. We started going up one of the sides of the property, and we started having problems. The Tax Map my dad found at the courthouse and the markers on the property itself didn't match up. My dad, the forester, and I went beyond the point where the residents told us their property ended to see if we could get our bearings and find more markers. Once we got out of their line of sight we heard the woman yelling something. We turned around and came back to see what the problem was, and realized she was screaming and cursing at us. She was doing this because "we didn't listen to her when she told us where the property ended." This pissed off the forester/surveyor, who has 35 years experience, to the point of him leaving. Fortunately, before he did, my dad calmed everyone down and got them to continue with the assesment. Later the lady told me she got mad because she didn't want herself or us to get in trouble for walking on other peoples land, which didn't matter anyway because we were wandering around on public land. We continued our walk up a different side of the property to see more of the timber. Eventually I got ahead of everyone else with the forester, and he told me that the wood wasn't worth a damn thing. It was all too young (some of these trees were still green) or the wrong kind (hickory, birch, etc.). At the end of the walk we told the forester we would meet him at sheetz after we got a tour of the house, which was being sold as part of the land. We went inside the house, which was pretty small. It had small rooms and oil heating that got to most of them. Their water comes from two streams on the property, and the sewage is septic based. They also have no phone. I'm half expecting this house to secretly be a glorified trailer.
After the tour we went up to sheetz to talk to our assessor. He told us that we would be hard pressed to get $5000 worth of timber out of that whole 24 acres. Oh, and the owner's asking price? $200,000. I don't think their cozy little farmhouse is worth 195 grand. Maybe if there was OIL or GOLD or something on the property, but not by itself. I also learned a little bit about surveying on this trip, specificly how those white dots the game commission puts on the trees work. A Witness Tree is a tree with a single white dot that faces the boundary line of a game preserve. A Line Tree sits exactly on the boundary, and is marked by two white dots on both sides of the tree, corresponding to the orientation of the line. A Corner Tree (I'm assuming thats what they are called) sits, you guessed it, on the corner of a preserve, and is marked by three dashes that face the corner.
After that little adventure, I decided to return to the woods, but this time in my favorite part of it. I took Leo with me up to the reservoir and back. He was good up until we got to the dirt part of the street that leads back to it, because he must have caught a scent of something and he would not stop trying to get away from me the whole time we were up there. I ran with him up the road, through the trees, along the creek, and sometimes across it too. He was having so much fun jumping from rock to rock that he forgot to keep his footing and fell into the water. Once that happened, he didn't like the creek anymore so I followed him back up to the road. When I got to the reservoir gate I noticed the last 30 yards of the dirt road had eroded away and now all that was left was a rocky ditch. After navagating that we made it to the old reservoir. Leo decided he did not like the sound of all that rushing water so he tore off back down the road towards town. When I got home, Leo was practicly collapsing from exaustion so I put him in his pen to sleep. Seeing that I too was tired, dirty, sweaty, and bloody I took a shower.
Now I have to cut grass. Later on, fans.
I love you so much babe, have fun at the party!
Hear the cry, heed the call. Gaming.