First hike of the season: The Pinnacle

Today I finally decided to get up and do something exercise worthy after work. Monday a work friend and I were supposed to take a hike after work, but it ended up being a rainy afternoon so I settled for a nap and catching up on True Blood. I also checked out the pilot episode of Bunheads, a lot of potential and very Gilmore Girls-esque. Anyways it ended up raining most afternoons this week so when J texted and asked if I wanted to go hiking I jumped at it. We intended to jut do the mild 3-mile hike up to Slayton Cabin since I had to work, but because I picked up a lunch shift I didn't get out until almost 3pm and realized that I didn't have any extra clothing or shoes for the expedition. Instead of driving across town to change and then drive all the way back to work I took J home with me and we made our way to Pinnacle Meadows. My intention was to just walk up to the Meadows and maybe the Vista if I could, but once we passed those check points and I realized that the stabbing pain in my lungs really wasn't going to kill me I decided that we could make it all the way to the summit.

View from the top. 

Being the first hike of the season I kept a good pace, only stopping a few times to rest and have a sip of water. J, the experienced and slightly more fit hiker, was patient with me the entire time. It didn't help that after eight hours of working on my feet left my calf muscles feeling tired and strained, but if there's anything I learned from the boys on Sherwood this semester it's to work through the pain. Which is exactly what I did and once I got going I didn't noticed my legs. Of course I was deeply distracted by how winded and out of shape I am.

J and me all red faced and awkward. 

The summit was beautiful of course even on a hazy day. An older couple was lounging on the rocks behind us and quietly eavesdropped on our conversation about the other peaks we could see in the surround Lamoille and Washington counties. I shared my summer goal of hiking from the Pinnacle along to the Worcester Range to Elmore Mountain in a day and the female counterpart of the couple kept interrupting to ask me to point out Elmore Mountain to her. It was cute in a get glasses soon Ma'am kind of way. Sitting on the summit also gave me a chance to cool down and finish my water bottle. Hiking the mile and a half from the Meadows left me winded and red faced in a bad way. Still it was a fun time and nice for me to finally meet some new people now that I'm back at home.

Mount Mansfield in the hazy distance. 

Back in town.

The other day I ventured down to Montpelier, America's Smallest State Capital, to visit the closest AT&T store to purchase an iPhone. Yes, finally the last person of my generation has gotten a smartphone. Anyways while driving down to the mini-metropolitan area I realized how spoiled I've been living in the city. It is only sixteen miles to Montpelier along country roads and six miles of interstate, but the country roads can seem like an awful lot when you're only going out to replace a phone. Back in the city there was an AT&T store only a mile from my apartment, I could walk if I truly wanted to to speak with a service representative about an wireless problem. Now having to travel makes me long for the time when everything was in walking distance to my apartment and a Wawa.

Being in Montpelier I noticed that some things do change in Vermont. Back in high school I spent a lot of time in the area for various reasons and then most of the buildings were dedicated to state use or Vermont College. There was the movie theatre of course along with NECI and a few odds and ends shops and restaurants, but nothing unique or trendy. Montpelier back then was a stagnant town along the river. The other day I noticed the hipsters roaming the streets with their cutoffs and ironic tattoos and realized that the city is moving forwards. Slowly, very slowly and in a direction that would make traditional Vermonters cringe Montpelier is moving in a relevant direction catering to the youth culture of Vermont.

Now that I've realized how much I hate driving more than a five mile radius (which doesn't even get me  out of Stowe) I'm not sure when I'll be back, maybe when Moonrise Kingdom comes to the Savoy Theatre. When I do venture down I will be sure to check out the various updated shops and eateries like the Skinny Pancake and check out the local musical scene. 

Drink (More) Vermont Beer

This week I started my second job, pouring wine and beers and selling sandwiches in the afternoon after my breakfast shift. It's a great job even if it makes for a long day (6am-4pm) of standing on my feet because it's still on property and I don't have to wear a dirndl. What's even better is that when I'm able to again I will be able to stuff my face with the delicate, sugary pastries behind the counter so that I will be more familiar with them and able to better sell them to guests.

What's even better than eventually being able to eat sugary things is that I have discovered the Vermont Brewery Challenge. As a part of the Vermont Brewer's Association the deli/bakery hands out little stamp cards with the logos off all the Vermont breweries and when a person visits the brewery their card gets stamped. After a certain number of visits to breweries around the state the person is eligible for different swag items from the Vermont Brewer's Association and once the whole card is filled up a collector's set of Vermont Brewery gear is awarded to the drinker! With the Vermont Brewers Festival fast approaching I would love to get taps flowing with this challenge.

The challenge reminds me of the McShea's Beer Challenge where patrons must drink a list of 50 beers to get their own mug proudly displayed behind the bar only this is on a greater scheme with considerable gas mileage involved. It also sounds like the perfect thing to take the Hebrew Friend on if he ever gets a chance to make it north. I think with considerable dedication we could complete the challenge in a week.

All images via Google Images

Can't keep my eyes open any longer today.

Working ten to twelve hour days is taking a toll on me. Already I want to close my eyes and go to sleep and it is only 7pm. The strain is taking a toll as my body readjusts to the new schedule and I am simply focued on eating and sleeping until I become accustomed to what my schedule is going to be like for the rest of the summer. This week has been especially grueling because I haven't had a day off since last Tuesday and I'm not scheduled for one again until Thursday. I don't mind getting up and going to work, and the pay is good considering what all I have to do, but with everything I have going on at home to finish up this all I can do is say Good Night at 7:30pm and hope that tomorrow is a little easier and I have the energy to get some more stuff done. 

Sometimes the tips do add up.

For the first and most likely the last time ever I received a 100% pay raise at my job today. Yes I am moving from $4 an hour plus tips to $8 an hour plus tips. When I started the job I was pleased to receive anything more than the paltry $2.83 wages that I mysteriously never saw very much of from Buca Di Beppo in Wynnehood. Now to have the pay increase and not to currently have to pay rent I am more than pleased as punch. As soon as chef made his announcement I could not remove the cheesy, ecstatic grin from my face all through the staff meeting. Just yesterday I was contemplating look for another breakfast restaurant, but now I am officially making more money than any other shift in town.

Returning to the restaurant world has made me realize that I DO NOT want to be a career waitress like so many people I have worked with over the years. Yes the money is fantastic (people always need to eat) and for the most part you can choose the hours of your shifts, but the trade off in the end is not worth the trouble. Between the 5am wake ups or the 2 am closes or cranky people and the occasional $12 nights I just can't bear to make myself push through the pain for the long haul. Add on high stress, swollen feet, and bodily wear and tear and I might just stab someone in the eye with a cocktail fork before my next birthday. Now that I've acquired the necessary skills for medium to fine dining and a basic knowledge of bar tending I will always have a universal source of extra earned income and for now that is fine, but give me a month or two and I will finally be fed up enough to put together a polished resume and be out on the street looking for a salaried day job.

My mother is especially excited for me to start out on my career journey in life. She is eagerly anticipating what twists and turns I may take in the future and is constantly offering up advice and suggestions and networking on my behalf. Eventually I will even take her up on her connective knowledge and move on up in the world. 

BriTANicK floats.

I've been a fan of comedy duo BriTANicK for a while now. I first came across their videos on Cracked after searching for something to fill the gaps in between weekly Dan O'Brien articles and their Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer video that was featured on Cracked's homepage. The video, a compilation of all of the most common elements found in award winning movies, essentially portrays a heartfelt and funny movie about absolutely nothing. During the harsh winter months in Philadelphia there is very little else to do besides homework and beer pong so watching BriTANicK videos became a welcoming treat.

Currently based out of New York City,  the comedy team composed of Georgia natives Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, writes, edits, and produces all of their own material and often feature many of their friends in their sketches. Recently I came across BriTANicK's latest video Boys Night In, a short about one dude's inability to keep his pants on.

www.britanick.com

Boys Night In

Almost a library card.

It's been a busy week of job hunting and interviewing and landing the job, but I am pleased to finally have summer income as a breakfast server where the hills are alive with the sound music. No joke that's exactly where I'll be working, 6am to noon complete with the Austrian girl's costume. My first day of training was today and it is a very basic server job, but very early. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to get up this morning. Of course it helped that I had napped seven hours yesterday and that the sun comes up around 5am, but still for me to be up so early is impressive. I have a few more days of training before I'm officially on the floor making money, but with town as quiet as it is I am making more money training than I would be serving.

This week I also stopped in at the Stowe Free Library and attempted to get a new library card for the summer. Unfortunately I wasn't able to prove my Stowe address just yet and also wasn't willing to pay ten dollars so I ended up checking out the books under my mother's name until my next piece of mail comes when I can get my own card. I've been fiercely reading the Song of Fire and Ice books (Game of Thrones) by George R.R. Martin, but after finishing the third one I am a bit tired out by the series. Instead of checking out the fourth book I picked out a Vonnegut and a Fitzgerald to keep me entertained in my free time until I'm motivated to crack open the fourth Martin book. Unfortunately it means that I will be falling behind in the book challenge that I have going with the Hebrew Friend, but no matter my heart wasn't in it as much as his.