Hilary asked me to take photos of her and Cortney and then Matt happened by and squeezed in.

The painting crew (Matt, Sarah, Jen, Goose, and Emma) moved into my office and coated my stale off white with Napa Valley Green. It is now my favorite room. They also moved my desk with my two computer screens so that I face out the window and not a blank wall. I wonder what’s next.

Got back in the saddle this week when Goose helped me install a skylight over there at Applewood. It felt good and right, and I got the highest compliment when Goose said, “You’re as comfortable on this roof as I am on that bridge.”

The work felt risky as the slope is steep and the pebbly surface of the shingles sloughs off and creates ball bearing-like things to ski around on. We looked like a combination of Mutt and Jeff and two of the Three Stooges as we struggled to get the skylight up the ladder and into position on the roof. It would have been far easier had we come up with a plan, but we’d scratched our heads and our chins and under our arms so long that, in frustration, I just grabbed the thing and told Goose to meet at the top of the ladder.

I’d balanced the skylight the wrong way on my shoulder, we were out of position, the ladder was in the way, and after awkward twists and turns it looked more like we were trying to make love to the copper and glass unit than install it. I count the sketchiness of what I’m doing by the number of “oh gods,” Goose utters. This time, there were too many to count.

Adam’s contribution to this glorious Tuesday.

I helped Goose move into his new apartment yesterday in Plymouth, N.H., and I got a tour of his campus which went something like this. “That building is easy to climb because you’ve got hand holds there and there, and we sit on the roof of that one, and that one you can get up so far before terror sets in and that one … .” Not all that different from what I heard at I.U., “You can catch great rays in Sembower field.” Yeah, I did see dorms and classrooms but anyone can go to class, not everyone does this:

“See the crack on that building?”

“What crack. I see a channel created between two walls where the door and windows are.”

“That’s a crack. We climb it.”

“What do you mean, you climb it?”

“It’s a stretch but you can put your back against the wall and walk up.”

“That’s wider than the door. How do you fit?”

“I said it was as stretch.”

“Then what? What happens when you get half way up and you’ve had enough? Fall to the pavement below?”

“You can rest on the window sills.”

“By you we’re talking about you, right?”

“I made it to the roof”

“Does your mom know about this?”

“No”

“She does now.”

“Oh, god.”

At the end of the day we hit the old mill where much of the partying goes on. There are cliffs to dive from and a bridge to risk your life on and a sandy beach bordering a fast moving river. I asked for this photo but once Goose scrambled onto the girder my stomach began those flip flops that I usually associate with other people. It was I who insisted he come back.

I’ve said it before, but it’s only a matter of time before I’m no longer allowed to play with him.

Here’s a photo gallery of his apartment, the diner where we ate lunch, around campus and the bridge. After your first mouse click you can use the arrow keys to advance. I know, it’s funky.

More proof that I’m okay.

***********

More importantly, Sarah’s spending next semester in Fiji and needs a domain name for her blog which she promises to update. Got ideas? I like Jen’s – southseasarah – but Sarah, though she believes her life at Union too boring to write about, might continue her musings after she returns. Then there’s Goose’s offering, Tardiffstravels.

More proof that I’m okay.

***********

More importantly, Sarah’s spending next semester in Fiji and needs a domain name for her blog which she promises to update. Got ideas? I like Jen’s – southseasarah – but Sarah, though she believes her life at Union too boring to write about, might continue her musings after she returns. Then there’s Goose’s offering, Tardiffstravels.

More photos.

Emma and Matt chose the paint, and Jen and Emma slapped it on, and in one day I had a new downstairs bathroom. Oughta do something about the floor, the top, the sink and the cabinets, but now there’s no hurry. It looks terrrific.

As drunken partygoers at Steven and Karen’s migrate to the bedrooms, look who the roving camera caught!

Leave a comment suggesting what Diane might say…

Her: The blog’s old and tired.

Me: I don’t have the heart to keep them both going.

Her: People still check it. You need to add something.

Me: Why?

Her: Because friends that don’t get to see you worry about you.

Me: They should.

Her: No they shouldn’t. You’re okay.

Me: Oh, yeah, I forgot.

Her: But You need to tell people you’re okay. Add something. Add those photos
of Emma and Kate. How about the pictures you took of your bathroom being
painted?

Me: Good idea. Emma liked her photo, Kate thought she looked too
fat. We’ll see what the people think.