Camping, part deux

...This time, with pictures of people

After the hike, we went to our camp site. Chris insisted that we set up our tents first before we started fishing. I know that if I started fishing, I wouldn't have stopped before nightfall and I would have had to sleep in the car. Fortunately, I had a pretty east set up. It was up within 5 minutes. Chris also went to work on his tent, lovingly assembling it like a model airplane. Two hours later, it was up!

Chris's tent, which is wholly dependent on the location of his jeep.

For a tent that was made completely from scratch, I'd say he did rather well. Aside from being tied to the jeep, of course. But look! He even made his own tent pegs!

Dedication and hours of whittling with an axe pays off.


So after that was set up, we went to work on catching dinner.



The rock and pool,
is nice and cool,
so juicy sweet.

Our only wish,
to catch a fish,
so juicy sweet!



We ended up fishing for hours. I didn't even keep track of time.

Shortly after dusk, we caught our first fish. Chris had given it a name, but I can't remember it right now. It was a large mouth bass, and came in at a whopping 6". I had actually caught a 13" large mouth in Iowa, but their state laws prohibit keeping any bass under 18" long. Riduckulous. Needless to say, I was uber-excited to finally catch a fish I could keep.

Alban: Man! This is so cool! I haven't caught a fish I can keep since I was 8 years old. Can you keep an eye on him while I run back to camp? I have to get the bucket to keep him in.
Chris: What are you going to do with him in the mean time? You can't just leave him out here.
Alban: It's only a five minute walk. He'll be ok out of the water for the time being.
Chris: Are you sure? I don't want him to die. We want to eat the freshest fish possible.
Alban: I'm pretty sure. I've seen fish last out of water for quite a bit of time actually.
Chris: Well, you better keep him in the water, just to be safe. Just leave him on the hook and keep him near the edge of the pond.
Alban (hesitantly): Are you sure? He might get loose.
Chris: I think it'll be alright. As long as you keep him on the hook.
Alban (really unsure): Ok...
lowers fish into the pond

Fish (leaping into the air): Splash! SPLASH! SPLASH!!

(silence)

...

(silence)

And then, the next words that came out of my mouth was the beginning of what became our mantra for the rest of this trip.

Alban (lifting up empty hook with no fish attached): We'll know better next time.

And so we ventured onwards. Having lost the first fish I could actually keep in over 17 years, I went right back to work. Fortunately, it wasn't too long before I caught another one. And another. And a third, even. Unfortunately, none of them were near 6" (which, as you can imagine, is pretty small already), so we ended up with three little guys. You can see them here next to the Pepsi bottle, which, my engineering mind told me to include in the picture as a frame of reference.

Is it bigger than a breadbox? Um.... no.

Insert your own witty caption here

By the time we decided to call it quits, it was well after dark. We hadn't started a fire yet and the cold was starting to descend upon us. Chris, in all of his manly glory, wanted to try to start a fire the old fashion way: Using flint, steel, and strips of shaved magnesium that will explode into flames with a simple spark.

It was not our most successful attempt.  (I suggest turning on the sound)

Needless to say, we still had fun.

Another thing that we "learned" was that we should have a fire going before the sun goes down. Doing anything in the dark is just stinking hard. But on top of all that, we really did learn something new about wood.

Yellow heavy wood = wet wood.
Gray light wood = dry wood.

And just in case you need me to put two and two together for you, wet wood = hard to burn.

We'll know better next time.

After a lot of hard work and a lot of huffing and puffing, we had a roaring fire going. It might have taken less than an hour, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

Cajun chicken, Beef jerky and corn stew, fish

Chris, stoking the fire and taking care of the food.

Now, I'm pretty sure there was something else I wanted to add onto this entry, but I'm too darn tired to think of it.  After dinner, we packed up, and went to bed.

I guess I'll finish posting the pictures from the camping trip tomorrow... or sometime soon.

To be concluded!

Adventures in Binghamton

So busy! With what? I guess you can call it life
ministry. But in between all of that goodness, I've finally
managed to slap together a "fun" post. At least, I hope this is
fun for you. It was most certainly fun when I was there.

So someone asked me what adventures are to be had in
Binghamton. What adventures? "Plenty," I exclaim.
Here is an entry that is long overdue - my hiking/camping trip with ChrisRusso.

To begin with, here are some random facts by the numbers:

5.5 - miles of hiking trail we traversed in the state park.
1 - glowing tree that we eagerly tried to take a picture of.
4 - dead batteries in my camera when we tried to take pictures.
3 - times we kissed the batteries in the hopes we could coax them back to life.
15 - pictures taken after kissing the batteries and thanking Jesus.
7 - proposed pirate/knight/ninja fight scenes for a photo shoot in a state park.
2000
- dollars for the fine we anticipate paying for bringing katanas and
long swords into a state park for props to a photo shoot.
4 - fish caught for dinner
1 - fish escaped due to a total team, brain failure
2
- the number that is supposed to be better than one, but yet, somehow
still isn't quite as good as having a woman around to correct two men
who are about to accidentally release the lone dinner fish back into
the lake.
2 - Tents used (there was no sharing of tents or personal space on this trip)
38 - the temperature in farenheit when we woke up the next day.

We started off the trip by going hiking at the State Park.
It was spectacular, as can be imagined during the peak of fall.
We did come across a magnificent tree, which Chris dubbed the "Glowing Tree," and thus, we had to take a picture of it. And yes, we did kiss
the batteries in the hope that the spark of love would be enough to
reignite the power of those lonely little cells and bring my camera
back to life.

Needless to say, it worked.

We each took turns trying to capture its beauty.

Glowing Tree from afar, by ChrisRusso

Glowing Tree from afar, by AlbanMolaban

Then we got up close and personal.

Glowing tree from below, by ChrisRusso

Glowing tree from below, by AlbantheSideKick

I realise now that I look back on these shots, that this last one is
lacking a little bit sometihng. It seems more like a background
picture to something more important than a real shot with "umph," you
know what I mean? I can almost imagine this picture being the
cover of a new book about trees in the fall or something corny like the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Imagine this:

Autumn with Alban

A collection of 25 heartwarming short stories featuring really dumb
things you did one day because a guy named Alban said to you, "Hey, why
not?" Laugh out loud until you cry, and then really, really cry,
as you relive these moments of yesteryear. Available soon through
Amazon.com

I guess it really isn't that hard to imagine. Wow.

So while we're walking through the trail, we come across numerous sites
of natural beauty. And being that we're guys, what do we do about
it? We dream up fight scenes.

Alban: Man, I would love to take a picture of this. This is gorgeous! Too bad the batteries are completely dead.
Chris: Yeah. Do you know
what would be awesome? If we came back here dressed up as
medieval warriors and did a photoshoot.
Alban: Yo! No way! That would so rock!
Chris: I mean, just look
at that line of trees. It's perfect. It's practically
crying out to be the setting of a sword duel.
Alban: Yeah! My sister is visiting home this weekend. I can ask her to bring back my katana so I can dress up as a ninja.
Chris: Sweet!

And after a few minutes of discussing this, strands of reality started to slip in.

Chris: Hey, how are we going to get weapons into a state park?

Of course, we would work and devise numerous plans upon plans for ways we could bring in our swords.

Alban: I could bring the
swords in my baseball equipment bag, and tell the park ranger that I'm
carrying equipment for a nature shoot. You know, tripods and
extra batteries.
Chris: What if he wants to look inside the bag?
Alban: We can bury him in the lake.

As further strands of reality entwined to form a quilt and wrap around
us like blankets on a cold day, we started to come to our senses.

Chris: How about, we ask for permission to bring in the swords, and just tell them that it's for a photoshoot?
Alban: I guess we could do that.

But knowing us, you should realise that sense and sensibility does not last for long.

Chris: Have you noticed,
that in all the time we've been walking around, we haven't seen one
ranger. Not one. Even when we looked for one at the office,
we couldn't find one.
Alban: Yes... It's as if anybody could walk right in with anything and not get noticed.
Chris: We have a new plan.

As it turns out, my sister did visit that coming weekend, but sans
katana. The photoshoot is now postponed until I can acquire it
during Thanksgiving.

to be continued in part 2 of the camping trip...

Indecent Proposal

So Chris and I planned on going camping this weekend.  We're supposed to go out to a campsite over in Endicott near the church.  The plan is to hike around a bit, catch some fish, and cook it over an open fire.  Then, we'll sleep out under the stars and talk of life, storoes, and the pursuit of... funtertainment.  Sunday morning, we'll pack up and go straight to church.  Preferably, without showering.  Anyways, that WAS the plan.  And it was a good plan indeed.

Somewhere along the way though, I think there was some kind of miscommunication.

Chris just showed up at my house a few minutes ago wearing.... good golly... I dont even know what he's wearing.  I have no idea what the boy is thinking.  I'm not sure if he's going to kill me with that shovel or if he's trying to seduce me with those legs.  What is going on here?

Chris: Hey
Me: Whoa...wow... hey..uh... what's going on?
Chris: Just getting ready for our camping trip.
Me: Like that?
Chris: Yeah.  We're still sharing a tent right?
Me (slowly):  I don't think I'm going to need one anymore...



If you dont see me at church on Sunday, please start looking for my body... we'll be camping here.


Disclaimer: Just another assault for the ongoing prank war against Chris and John

A cry for help
(Audience participation required)

I have a friend, who is in need of a little help.

You see, he has a malnourished ego, and is somewhat convinced that xanga eprops will sustain him.

I mean, just look at this entry!  It's a friggin' cry for help!  For the love of Aunt Jemima, people, show him some love.

And if you're a lady, your eprops will count double.

He's really a nice guy.  A nice, tall, Christian guy.  And just to throw this out there, he's single and looking for love...

...looking for love in all the wrong places...

So, you know me and how I am always out to save the world?  Here I am, saving one lonely, single man at a time.

(...Or maybe, I'm just doing what no nation has ever been able to do and survive - starting a prank war on two fronts.)

Please, go check out my little buddy here and give him some eprops.  You dont even have to say anything (nice).  Two eprops will do.

Thank you.

Another weekend gone by

This is a couple of weekends ago.  Just thought it would be nice to share.

Greta: Alban, are you playing Tina-Tackle?
Alban: haha ... no, I don't want to tackle Tina.
Greta (matter of factly): Nooooo, you don't tackle Tina... Tina Tackle you!
Aubrey (off in the distance):  Ahhhhh!

That may look like excitement in his eyes, but I assure you, it is fear. Absolut fear.

 

 

Here are some of the gang

 

The Bard and the Rabbit... who is very confused by talk of Star Trek et al.

 

And Captain Insane-o... Check it out!  My shirt is very fitting for the occasion.

 

Thanks to John and Mr. Carpenter for hosting such a great dinner and time for chilling.

 

Sundays can be good too

I think there is a direct relationship between my weekend experience and my Monday morning experience.  The more fun I have over the weekends, the harder it is work on Mondays.  In other words, I haven't done much today.

My Sunday was funtastic.  Let's see... there was church, lunch, football, Serenity... oh, and pranking the socks off of Chris Russo.  If Serenity wasn't so darn good, I would have said that seeing Chris's face when he saw the prank was the highlight of the day.  The funny thing is, he knew it was coming.

Saturday afternoon
Me: You know, you forgot to log off your xanga account the last time you were here.
Chris: Really?
Me: Yea.  The next time you leave yourself signed on, I'm going to post something funny.  Probably something about your hair.
Both: hahaha.

...

Sunday afternoon
We're over at a friend's place, using the computer.  As I load up his site, I explain to him that he had forgotten to log off again.  I tell him that I posted him something about his hair.  There is nervous silence.  The page loads, and Chris sees a post that he hasn't seen before.  I start to read the post aloud...

Chris: Just go down and click on comments.
Me (scrolls down)
Chris: Oh my God! There are 11 comments already?
Me (laughing): It's ok, relax.

I try to explain the post again, but I get the sense that he isn't really listening.

Me: ... and here is the disclaimer where I tell everybody that it isn't really...
Chris (interrupting): What did everybody say?
Me: oh. They thought it was funny.
Chris (reading the comments): I can't believe they really thought it was me!
Me: Yeah...haha I guess they didn't read the fine print.
Chris (forced laughter): ha.. ha. Ok.  This is... really hilarious.  You got me good.
(deep breath)
oh... I got punk'd...

I didn't actually get a good view of his face, but as he ran out of the room, I think I saw that he was blushing like a rose. =P

So Russo now swears that he will get revenge.

Sunday evening
Chris: I was thinking that I could get a plunger and a bunch of potatos and shove them down your toilet, but Jalixx3 talked me out of it.
Me (shocked): You can't do that, that's property damage!
Chris: Every prank war escalates.
Me: If you clogged my toilet, I'd burn down your apartment.  Not that I want you to die or anything.  I'd just torch your place. 
(pauses to consider)
Escalation is a bad idea.
Chris: Agreed.

Therefore, I propose this to you, Mr. Russo.  Let's keep our prank war on xanga.  Let's keep it public, and let's keep it embarrassing.  Spread the mirth, that's what I always say.  I think we could make this a win-win;  Laughs for us, and entertainment for the ladies. 

So, what say you?

 

Just another saturday

--Starbucks, cozy couch and book

--Spot Diner

--Book Fair

--Tomahawk throwing

-- Gunfights

--This is the birthday girl getting shot up by a gang in an old
country town. After she danced for us, we her sang happy birthday.

--*Stackers*

--Fearless

--Cold Stone (new in Binghamton!! right next to the Starbucks)

I think that pretty much sums up another classic Saturday for the books. God blessed these Saturdays.

*smile*

Meat sale

I'm at Wegmans, picking up some cold cuts for lunch.  After I get my lunchmeat, I head over to the yogurt section to pick out a dessert.  I'm comparing prices when suddenly, a woman appears next to me and strikes up conversation.

Woman: Are you on lunch break?
Me (noticing that she is mildly attractive): um... yes.
Woman (smiling): Oh really? What do you do?

At this time, my brain breaks off into its own discussion and I begin conversing with myself.

Alban 1: Dude! There's a pretty girl talking to you.  In Wegmans!
Alban 2: Whoa, this is really weird...  Why do you think she's talking to me?
Alban 1: Isn't it obvious?  She's totally trying to pick you up.
Alban 2: Pick me up...in Wegmans?

Me (noticing that she's still waiting for an answer): um... I work as an engineer.
Woman: Thats great.  What do you do?
Me (Begin babbling about my job)

Alban 1: Dude, I read about it all the time.  Chicks dig guys who shop around on their own.  They think it means you're responsible.  She probably saw you checking out the yogurt and thought you were a healthnut.
Alban 2: Hmm... you're probably right...  Maybe that time I worked out last week really paid off.

Me (concluding): It's really just a small, family run business.
Woman: Does your family own the business?
Me (shocked and flustered): Oh no... no no no no.  I just work there.

Alban 1: Now you've done it.  You've scared her off.  You should have said yes.
Alban 2: You mean lie to her?  I'm sure she would have believed me when she sees my car.  Now wait a minute... we've been down this road before.  Are you really sure she's trying to pick me up?  What if she's married?  Don't you remember that time in Australia?
Alban 1 (aghast):  Dude!  Oh man...  Check for a ring.
Alban 2: Check for a ring!

Me (Looking frantically at her hands)

Alban 2:  I can't see!  She's holding something in her hands!

Woman:  Well, that's good.  Have you ever considered working elsewhere?
Me (confused): Um... I've considered it.
Woman (smiling): Great.  My husband owns a company and we're looking for people to join us.

Alban 1: Doh!
Alban 2: Doh!
Me: Doh!
Woman: What?
Me: uh .. I said, "oh," that's interesting.
Woman: (continues to babble about her husband's company)

Alban 1: This sucks man.
Alban 2: I told you!  You're always thinking too far ahead.
Alban 1: Hey, it's not every day that a girl talks to you. Emphasis on YOU.
Alban 2: True.  I wonder why she picked me?
Alban 1: Good point.

Me (interrupting): So, how did you pick me out?
Woman: I like to keep an eye out for sharp people.
(thinks for a moment)
I look for intelligent people.  You look intelligent.
Me: uh.. thanks.

5 minutes later, I'm walking out the store.

Alban 1:  Hey, at least you got her number.
Alban 2:  You're an idiot.
Alban 1:  You should totally post this on your xanga.
Alban 2:  Haha..Now you're talking...

Some thoughts

Yesterday was a good day.

I mean, any day, in which its accedingly mirthful events lead to Chris and I singing "Summertime" as we run down the streets of Binghamton, leaping and doing air guitar and air harmonica while making musical sounds noises, and devolving into shouts of "We're not drunk!"  and "We don't need no stinking beer.... we're crazy!" has got to be a good day.

These pictures do not represent the extent of our adventures.  They only represent the brief moment that we slowed down enough that we could be captured on film.  The rest of the day was a blissful blur.

I do recall that we were able to interbreed football, food and intellectual conversations regarding race, racism, and the state of the church.  And speaking of racism, I was reminded of my parentally induced fear of black people in big pants as we discussed prejudices and all the related territory.  I was later given opportunity to challenge this fear when we were at the park tossing the pigskin and I noticed some kids (with big pants) who were watching us play catch with keen interest.  I wanted to invite them to join us, but was afraid of how their dad may react if they got hurt (they were only about 10 years old).  However, considering that he just left them there and wandered off into the crowd, I figured that there were worse things I could do to them than invite them to play with us.  And you know what?  We had a great time.  We got to know each other and be all friendly and have some fun.  Even the girls got in on it, so we were not only indisciminate towards race and age, but there was equal opportunity for the genders as well.  It was probably the most politically correct football game I have ever played.

Good stuff.

And if playing football/dancing to the blues was not enough, there was also a good deal of dancing done on Saturday night at the Plantation House.  I hear they have excellent food, but I didn't even step inside.  We were salsa dancing out under the stars and drinking cocktails of giddy amusement -- shaken, not stirred.  I haven't danced in awhile, so it really was great to get out and do stuff again.  And you know, once I get off my butt and start moving, it's really hard to stop.  Team tag probably deserves its own entry, but I'll summarise it here:  The teams were Greta and Aubrey VS. Me.  I had to carry Greta on my back while I chased Aubrey down the hall.  Just lots and lots of fun.

Truly, it was as if the clouds parted, the sun rose, and God looked down on us and said, "Son, today I will bless you with friends, food, and fizzle my izzle funtertainment."

And you know, somewhere between the tomato plant post, chatting with Stan, and shouting "We're not drunk! We're not drunk!" on the streets of Binghamton, I realised that I am really joyful again.  I have found that I am full of praise for my God and King.  It is true what Gary Ingraham said about God's timetable (which I will post on later).  I am grateful that my Jesus was patient and forgiving enough of me to walk me through the last several months of pain, anger and depression.

Pastor John is right,  (and I think my mentor said it first 4 months ago), God is doing something in our church and in Binghamton.  We have been praying for years for revival in this region.  Perhaps, just perhaps, we may live to see those prayers be answered.

 

18 "Forget the former things;
       do not dwell on the past.

 19 See, I am doing a new thing!
       Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
       I am making a way in the desert
       and streams in the wasteland.

--Isaiah 43: 18,19

 

Do y'all remember this picture from the flood?

 

Take a look at it now.

 

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"
--Revelation 21:3-5, NIV

In case you were interested

I have harvested my tomatoes.  There are still some that are
unripe, but most of them have been plucked into my happy little hands.

I think, given the powers of technology, it would be interesting to
show the progression of my little tomato plants since I started taking
pictures in May.

I don't remember when I actually planted the seeds, but I'm guessing it
was sometime around the end of April/ early May.  When it was warm
enough, I took them outside for good.

May 22, 2006

They
were so little and gentle back then.  The three little pots are
tomatoes.  The two big ones in the back are my herbs.

---

July 1, 2006

Eventually, they got big.  Quite big.  One of those
little pots, soon grew to become several large plants.  I had to
remove it from the pot and put them into a large...thing.  This is
the Alfonse Family, named after my buddy Alfonse.

Betsy and Optimus Prime also needed to be repotted.  They weren't
nearly as plentiful as Alfonse, but they were still good. 

---

Then, they exploded.

July 16, 2006 

16 days later, my basil blew up.  So did the tomato plants, as you
can see.  This was truly a pleasant surprise when I came home from
my road trip with the family.

---

August 20, 2006 

A
month later, and they are nearly out of control.  I suspect that
the only thing that kept them from getting bigger was the fact that
they outgrew their pots.  There wasn't enough soil to keep all the
roots in.  I actually saw more roots and soil on the surface of
the pot.  I think if I had planted them in the ground, they would
have been even more fruitful.  But, alas, I have no yard.
 Only my poor little porch.  Betsy and Alfonse are the cherry
tomato plants.  The two big red ones on the left are from Optimus
Prime.  They're not cherry tomatoes.  Way back in the day, I
wondered out loud what I should do with my first fruits.  Someome
suggested that I roast them and give them to the priests.
 Well, I didn't roast them, but my first fruits went to the
priests... and their kids.  And that was pretty much the end of
Optimus Prime.

They're literally spilling over! Amazing!

---

September 7, 2006

Well,
they've been ripe for weeks now.  So ripe, that they have in fact
begun to split open.  Some of them have gone bad.... It is quite
unfortunate.  But the thing is, I've been waiting for good light
so I could take a picture of them.  However, it's been so cloudy
every day that I never got the light that I needed.  Today was
actually the first day when we had sun.  Unfortunately, the sun
sets on the other side of my house (all the other pictures I took were
in the morning).  So, here are the pictures what they looked like
right before the harvest.

Another shot.  In bad lighting.  Using only my flash.  Boooooo.
Remember that the plant on the right is Alfonse.  Betsy is in the pot on the left.

Same shot, just lower.

However, I was able to find a teensy corner of good light.  I had to walk around the block to find it.  But I got it.

My babies.  Not even photoshopped.  That's what good lighting will do for you.

Viewed another way.  This is photoshopped.  I did not slip
into an alternate black and white dimension where only the power of
tomatoes reigned supreme.

I'm not quite sure what I should do with these babies, but Chris suggested that I try Bruschetta.  And I think I know just the recipe to use.  If you've read this far, thanks.

And I guess that's all I have to say about that.

El Fin