a series of firsts

I've been out of my office a lot recently (THANK GOD) so I haven't had the time or wherewithal to navigate the internet via dial-up at home, but I'm back now, and have a lot to say. (Sadly, I also have a lot of work to catch up on, so I will post things sporadically.)

I was in Vermont this past weekend, at my sister and brother-in-law's cabin, with no running water or electricity, and I had a blast. But more than that, I accomplished a series of things I've never done before. Among them:

1. I rode in the "back seat" of a pickup truck (you know, that shelf where you're supposed to store your toddler), wearing a safety helmet (just because) and trying not to watch the cat barf (for the second time that trip).

2. I mowed a lawn. A big-ass lawn. A big-ass hilly lawn. A big-ass hilly lawn in high heel sandals. I rock!

3. I chopped wood. Nuff said.

3a. Although while chopping said wood, I did wonder, however, who would take me to the hospital if I chopped my leg off, and how far away would said hospital be... turns out it would be a good 45 minute drive. Luckily, I didn't chop off my leg.

4. I lost all feeling in my feet. I'm not saying how this happened, but let's just say it was VERY late and it was Vermont and I might have been doing something that often gets done in Vermont (and I don't mean cheese-eating, cow-tipping or skiing).

5. I stayed up until 4:45 in the morning (which was not a first) and was not grouchy the next day (which was).

6. I did dishes with no running water. No stream, no taps, just bottled water. Very festive.

7. I played frisbee in the dark. Luckily, we had a glow-in-the-dark frisbee, so that was sort of cheating. But by that point, the odds were against my ability to catch anything at all, so I'd say I did very well.

Here are some other valuable pearls of wisdom I picked up over the weekend:
Popcorn does not pop when thrown directly into a monstrously large fire. It should, but it doesn't.

You can tip over in a chair-in-a-bag, but you can do it in such a way as to not injure yourself at all, and end up sideways in a chair being very, very comfortable, actually. (takes an advanced degree, though, to get you back up)

A hybrid engine that does not use a gas motor to recharge the electric motor, isn't really a hybrid. (I didn't learn what it was, but I did learn that).

I'm better at frisbee in the dark.

People are more likely to tell you secrets while sitting near a campfire. They'll also tell you what's wrong with themselves, why being an elitist is better than being a liar, or recount to you the merits of Steely Dan... which is a very hard sale to yours truly.

Want to learn more? Make friends with my sister and get your ass invited up there! Definitely a good time!