What's up with Hamlet!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00070
February 14th, 2011

8:00am - I woke up to my alarm going off, and I hit the snooze button.

8:09am - My alarm goes off again and I figured there really was no use in hitting the snooze again, so I shut it off. Yorick wasn't lying with me like usual, so I climbed out of bed to see what he was up to. I found him sleeping in the chair in the living room. He looked so peaceful so I didn't bother him. I headed to the cabinet and reached for a box of cereal. Honey nut Circle-O's was the cereal of choice. I grabbed a bowl, poured the cereal and went to the fridge for some milk. Walked to the living room and sat down next to Yorick, but made sure not to wake him. I added the milk and enjoyed my cereal. No sooner did I finish my bowl, Yorick had woken up and started bugging me for the milk. So I put the bowl of milk on the floor for Yorick to enjoy.

8:32am - It was time for a shower.

9:14am - After quite a long shower, a brush of the teeth, a dressing of the clothes, it was time to check the calender to see if there was anything of importance that needed to be done today. Normally on Mondays, Yorick and I head out to the park and walk around the pond, but I hadn't written it on the calender this day. Instead, I found something that reminded me of how alone I am. Well, I mean, there is Yorick of course. But I had written in big letters, VALENTINE'S DAY! For some reason I had gotten excited about Valentine's Day this go around. I hadn't had a good reason to be excited in years past and couldn't remember why I was so excited. And then it hit me!

9:16am - The doorbell rang! I wonder who it could be?

9:17am - The doorbell rang again! I headed to the door and froze! It was her! The reason I wrote Valentine's Day in big bold letters! Sophie! What do I do? The last time I saw her was months ago! I don't dare answer the door since the last time I saw her, her boyfriend told me not to be seen around her or else! The door bell rang again and out of the corner of my eye, Yorick jumped into the window and saw for himself who was at the door. He turned and looked at me, then looked back at her! She had to of known I was home now! I never go anywhere without Yorick. I had to answer the door!

9:20am - The ringing had stopped and I noticed through the window in the door that Sophie turned around and started to walk away. Yorick had then jumped from the window and ran to the front door, scratching at it. He then turned and looked at me and I couldn't disappoint him. He gave me that puppy dog face! Yes, I said puppy dog face! I caved and headed for the door. I opened the door to find she had already made it to the road. I called for Sophie and she turned to see me standing in the door way. I told her to come back and I invited her in.

11:01am - It would have seemed that her boyfriend had been treating her badly for quite a while. She had been thinking of leaving him for some time but couldn't find the courage to do so. She felt that he had been the best boyfriend she had ever, despite how poorly she felt he treated her lately, until she caught him cheating on her. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. She was done. So after we talked about what was going on with her, I had asked if she wanted to go to the mall and walk around since it was way to cold to walk around outside.

12:16pm - We made it to the mall and headed to the food court first. We ate at Dairy Queen and continued to talk some more. Even though we talked for a couple of more hours, I couldn't tell her about one thing. How much I liked her. I didn't want to scare here. She had just ended it with her boyfriend and I didn't want to rush things! Ohhhhh I wanted to tell her so bad! But I couldn't.

2:30pm - We walked around the mall a little before leaving.

2:55pm - I brought Sophie home. She thanked me for spending the day with her and she asked if I wanted to hang out again some time soon! What did you think I said? Of course I said yes! She got out of the car and she walked away towards her house. I slowly started to drive away home.

2:59pm - I thought about Sophie!

3:00pm - I thought about Sophie!

3:01pm - I thought about Sophie!

Yorick Found the Lobster

2011-02-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00069
February 11th, 2011

So we woke up early the next morning to get a jump on finding the lobster, or "Red" as Hunter called it. We honestly had not much of a choice in waking up early as I really hadn't slept all night. We were both in sleeping bags and the floor was kinda hard. Hunter hadn't an issue sleeping as he didn't wake up til about 10 minutes after me. All bright eyed and bushy tailed!

After we ate breakfast, some eggs and toast, we started on our search of the lobster. We searched the same rooms as we had the day earlier but again found nothing. Hunter had thought that maybe it was a good idea if I went and got Yorick. For some reason, I hadn't thought of that. So I went and got Yorick and he helped in the search.

So we went back to the living room. I told Hunter we need to look behind everything. Just because we had already done that, doesn't mean that the lobster couldn't have snuck into the room as we were searching another. So what we did was search the living room again and had Yorick wait there as we proceeded to the next room. And wouldn't you know, we found the lobster. While we headed to the next room, the lobster tried to sneak into the living room after we left for another. Yorick had started crying which alerted us. We ran back to the living room to find the lobster staring at Yorick. I was shocked at how huge this thing had gotten! The last time I saw it, it was about as small as Yorick. Now the lobster was about 3 times bigger! Anyway, Hunter dove at the lobster but it jumped out of his reach. we chased it around the living room until I finally was able to get a hold of it.

With the lobster firmly in hand, we headed to the bathroom and put it in the tub. I looked at Hunter and still couldn't understand why he thought it would be alright to bring the lobster home. He didn't reply but did drop his head down. He knew he shouldn't have done that. It couldn't be very healthy for the lobster to live in the tub. Hunter told me he was feeding the lobster dog food. It was the only thing it would eat. And that would probably be the reason it had gotten so big. So now that we had caught the lobster, what do we do with it now? We couldn't bring it back to Boston and release it into the water! It wouldn't survive the cold waters in the harbour. We found ourselves caught in a tough spot. Well, this was all on Hunter. I am going home!

A Cry for Help!

2011-02-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00068
February 10th, 2011

So, you I didn't write hold up my end of the bargain! I had every intention of writing again about my time away, but no sooner did I write my last entry, I got a phone call from Hunter.

If I may take a brief moment and go back to last April. Both Hunter and I had gone to Boston for a Red Sox-Orioles baseball game. While walking around Boston, we stumbled across a tiny lobster. We had wondered why such a small lobster had been so far away from the water. So we watched it for a time before heading off to Fenway park. Now to jump back to present day, Hunter had called me about an issue he was having. He sounded quite excited and nervous at the same time. I was quite baffled and headed next door to Hunter's house.

He was waiting for me at the door and when he opened it for me, he just about pulled me into the house and slammed the door behind me. I looked at him and asked what that was all about. What was going on with Hunter? I can honestly say I hadn't seen Hunter for some time now and I was about to find out why. He had reminded me about our trip to Boston last year in April, which I remembered. But what he was about to tell me, I didn't see coming. He had asked me if I remembered when he left his hat behind, which I replied that I had. He had told me that when he went back for the hat, he couldn't help but grab the lobster and take it with him. He said he couldn't stand knowing that if the lobster tried to head back to the water, danger may fall upon it. He told me he was only thinking for the betterment of the lobster.

So I asked him where the lobster was. Was this what he was freaking out about? He looked at me with a blank stare and told me the lobster got out of the tub. I looked back at him with big eyes! Out of the tub? Hunter had called me over since the lobster had gotten out of the tub several days ago and he hadn't yet found it. I first told him how much of a bad idea it was to have taken the lobster home with him and he knew it, but now really wasn't the time to harp on what he shouldn't have done since it was a bit to late for that! We needed to find that lobster!

We searched everywhere! In the living room, the kitchen, the basement, the kitchen, his bedroom, the kitchen! Where could it have possibly gone! I had spent most of the night helping Hunter search for the lobster when he asked me to be quiet! Did he just find the lobster? He cried out, "Come mere Red! Come come Red!" I looked at him and after a few seconds, Hunter found me staring at him! "You named it?" He said that he gave it a name some months ago. I still couldn't believe he first brought it home, but then naming it! Unbelievable! We had no luck finding the lobster. Hunter asked that I spent the night. I told him I would and we both camped out on the living room floor.

My Return

2011-02-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00067
February 4th, 2011

I know, I know! It had been since Thanksgiving, when I had last written. I would apologize for that, but it was for a good reason. If for some reason you forgot, I had met Henry. He was a turkey on the run. He some how made his way to New Hampshire and stayed with me for a couple of days before he ran for it. Concerned, I headed off after him. Unfortunately, I had no luck! I stopped in towns scattered all over New Hampshire, but it was clear he was gone! I did send out a letter to the governor asking for a pardon and had not gotten a reply back. I could only assume that he was to busy! Maybe he will send the pardon soon.

Anyhow, there is so much I need to talk about and so little time to talk right now! I will surely write tomorrow! I promise!

The Visitor

2010-11-24T15:22:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00066
November 24th, 2010

I had been gone for a good portion of the day collecting items for our Thanksgiving Day dinner. The stores were packed, so it had taken me loads longer to get back home. Plus, it was foggy out in patches during my drive home.

The fog happened to break just before I got to my driveway, and it was good thing too! Because, no sooner did I pull into my driveway, I found someone standing in the middle of the driveway. This person was standing there like a deer in headlights. I climbed out of my car and called to the stranger. There was no response. I called again and still nothing. I started walking toward the stranger and he shrieked and bolted for the woods. What in the world was going on? I called for the stranger to come out of the woods. I couldn't see where he went. I called for him again and I thought I heard something! I called for him again, telling him that I mean no harm. After calling him for about 10 minutes, the stranger finally came out of the woods. I could barely see him at first, as he was standing just out of the light. I introduced myself and I found out the strangers name was Henry. I continued to talk to him and I was eventually able to convince him to come inside.

Once inside, I started unpacking the groceries I got. While I was doing this, I kept talking to Henry and he explained that he was on the run. Henry told me that the President of the United States, pardons 2 turkeys every year, which I already knew. This year, the President had a hard time choosing between him and his 2 friends, Cider and Apple. And since Henry was here in New Hampshire, you can guess who got the pardons this year. He was told that Cider and Apple sounded much better than Henry. Of course if you switch his friends names around, you get apple cider. Henry wasn't thrilled about what had happened and that's when he decided to run for it. So I had apologized to him and asked how it was he made it as far north as New Hampshire! He had told me that he really wasn't sure how he ended up here, but knew somewhere around New Jersey, he was being followed by some hunters. He had lost them when he crossed over the Hudson River and had been traveling at night from then on out. He couldn't risk being seen and followed again.

I finished unpacking all my groceries and sat down with him in the living room. I told him that I will see what I can do. Meanwhile, he can stay here where he will be safe. He thanked me for what I have done and promised me he wouldn't be a bother. I told him not to worry about it. I am not used to having company and it would actually be rather nice. With Thanksgiving just a day away, I was planning on staying home this year and had no one coming over. He was grateful and was happy to had run into someone like me.

Being Bullied Isn't Cool!

2010-11-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00065
November 9th, 2010

Since Halloween, I can honestly say that my life has been anything but awesome. If you remember that day, I found myself staring at Sophie from afar, only to be caught by Jessie, Sophie's Boyfriend. Jessie had been visiting my at my house a couple of times since then. He had been rude and mean to me, telling me that I should stay away from Sophie. She is not interested in me. And, if he caught me staring at her again, he would come back to my house and beat me up. I had figured, one visit to my house was enough, but he visited me twice.

The second time he visited me, he reminded me why is stopped by. He had noticed that I hadn't picked up the pile of leaves I racked and he walked through them and kicked the leaves back all over the yard. Why was he doing this? Is he really that mean? And does Sophie know of his mean streak?

Why Jessie finally left my house, Yorick and I headed to Concord and walked along the Merrimack River. My mind was so all over the place. Even if I had told her, would she believe me? I didn't want to sound like some rat! I looked down at Yorick and told him I didn't know what to do. If I tried to tell her and Jessie saw me with her, he would beat me up! I had never been beat up before! I didn't want to have a first time too! So I guess I should just stay as far away from Sophie as I can and hope that Jessie just leaves me alone! This was even more of an idea when Yorick and I returned home to find our pumpkin smashed in the road. I really hope this stops! And soon!

Halloween Night

2010-11-02T20:10:00.001-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00064
November 1st, 2010

Sunday had come and there was nothing I was looking forward to more than the dance later on that night. I had such butterflies just thinking about this dance. Maybe I might be able to sneak in a dance with Sophie tonight. Maybe her boyfriend will not come because he will have come down with a horrible cold that has him bed bound. But, I know I could get so lucky.

So I decided I was gonna go as Spider-Man. I had ran to the store the other night and picked up the costume. I didn't want to wait til the last minute and risk not finding the costume. I did however have to search in 3 stores until I found it. Anyway. I had a few hours to waste until Yorick and I were able to go trick or treating before dance. The town had chosen to have the trick or treating this year during the light hours for safety. I would imagine that the town dance had something to do with it as well. So my plan was to go gather some candy and then head straight over to where the dance was being held. The clock never moved so slowly!

Finally the time came for Yorick and I to head out. There were so many people out this year compared to years past. Lots of ghosts and witches, pirates and clowns. I counted 2 more Spider-Man costumes, and there she was, Sophie. She had dressed up in the most beautiful fairy costume you could have ever imagined. She was floating in every direction she chose. I don't know how she did that but it was amazing. She hadn't notice me, but someone else did! Her boyfriend, Jessie. He was standing on the other side of the street from where Sophie was and he was now heading over in my direction. Once he got to me, he wasn't happy at all. He had caught me staring at Sophie and just about drooling. He had mentioned that this is not the first time he caught me doing so and if I didn't cut it out, He would have to do something about it. He had also found the poem I wrote Sophie, in a notebook I had accidentally left at the library the other day. Jessie was none to pleased, and just when I thought that things just might get worse, Sophie came over to save the day.

She was wondering what was up and how nice it was that Jessie and I were hanging out. I didn't have the heart to tell her about the true nature of our discussion, even thought you could tell she noticed. The look on my face was nothing like the look on my face the other times we had talked. She had mentioned that the houses on the other block were a jackpot for candy if I hadn't been there yet. I thanked her and told her that I should be on my way. Just before I went, she asked if I was still going to the dance and I had to tell her I wasn't. She looked disrupted by this as I had told her a couple of days ago, I would. I had to leave now so that I could not see the look on her face as I walked away. I could feel her eyes shed a tear as I walked away. I could also feel the stare of her boyfriend, filled with gratification. What a jerk that guy is. She deserves much better. And one of these days I might just stand up to him and give him a piece of my mind.

The Trip to the Library

2010-10-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00063
October 28th, 2010

I had been wanting to go to the library for some time. Either I had work around the house to do or a soccer game to play. And since the soccer season had ended, I had found myself with a bit more time.

The weather today was quite warm. So warm in fact, it was a beautiful day to walk to the library. I needed a good book to sink my mind into. Everyone knows my mind has been preoccupied lately. It was time to do something about it. So Yorick and I headed off to the library. What kind of book should I get, I thought. I thought about fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, biography. Finally I settled on a book that I had read several times before. "Of Mice and Men." It was my favorite book. I couldn't wait.

A 15 minute walk on such a beautiful day to the library, only to be fulfilled by a good book a night. But there was about to be a twist to my trip to the library. No sooner, did I walk into the library, there she was standing down a row of book. Sophie. She hadn't noticed that I had showed up at the library, so I scooted over to another row. I hide behind the books to find out if she was with her boyfriend, Jessie. I watched and watched and there was no sign of him. So I walked around to the row she was in and said my hellos. She was there looking for a book too, of course. I suggested "Of Mice and Men" and she thanked me and we walked over to where it was. She took the book and a conversation had ensued. She had told me she was getting away from her boyfriend for the day as he had said some hurtful things to her. He hadn't realized what he said until she left for the library. They were so bad, I will not repeat them. But we talked for about a half hour until it was time for her to head off. She said goodbye and I to her. And just as she opened the door, she turned and asked if I was gonna be at the Halloween Dance on Sunday. I had told her I didn't even know there was a dance, but since she asked, I would be glad to go. She then smiled at me and continued out the door. I watched as she walked away. I watched so long as she walked away, I totally forgot about where I was until Yorick started scratching at my leg. Once I came to, I looked down at Yorick and the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "Oh no! Yorick! What am I gonna wear?"

I panicked and ran home! I forgot about getting another book at this point. Sophie had taken the only book he wanted anyway. I was happy to let her get it instead. I made it home in record time, sat on the front porch and filled my mind with so many ideas! "I got it!" Yorick looked at me with excitement! "I'm gonna be........."

Hamlet Head Over Heals

2010-10-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00062
October 24th, 2010

Some might call it obsessive, but since the first day I met her, I haven't been able to get her out of my mind. Her name is Sophie. I met her a few weeks back when I was playing in a soccer game against our rivals from Allenstown. We had won the game 4-3, and after the game I went up to her and started talking to her. I immediately feel in love. We talked for about 5 minutes or so and was interrupted by her boyfriend. She never mentioned anything about a boyfriend the whole time we talked. I should have just walked away at that point but I couldn't. Her boyfriends name is Jessie. He just happened to be the goalie for the Allenstown Rush, which I might add, I scored the winning goal on! He seemed quite rude when he showed up and left me sick to my stomach. I soon walked away not saying another word to Sophie. Oh ya, or Jessie too!

This was the last time I had seen her but she left her mark. Everything I do, reminds me of her. I can't get her out of my head. She has affected how I go about my day. Everywhere I go, I act so alert! If she is in the area, I want to get a glimpse! I wanna say hello again, just so she can say hello back! I visited Hunter next door to see what he was doing to try and clear my mind, but found that after 15 minutes of hanging out, he suddenly had something to do and said I needed to leave. So I just went home and wrote this:

When I looked in your eyes,
I saw the night sky,
filled with sparkling stars.
The moon coming over the hill,
with us sitting under a tree on top,
watching it rise to its peak.
You then fell asleep in my arms,
and dreamed of beautiful things,
as only a beautiful women could.
Like us being together,
together forever,
as only two could be.
In love.

A Return in 5 Days

2010-10-19T19:13:00.001-07:00

Same great tales! Same great location! Just a different name! See ya in 5 days!

Off to Oklahoma - Part 5

2010-06-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00061
June 6th, 2010

I had to cut the trip a day due to a strange phone call I got from Hunter. He didn't sound quite right. Of course he didn't tell me what was going on but did ask if I was coming home soon. It seemed like an odd question to ask since I still really didn't know him. So after I got off the phone with him, I decided I felt a little uncomfortable with the phone call, and made arrangements to fly home early. But since the earliest I could fly home was later in the evening, I wanted to make the best of the rest of my time in Oklahoma.

So, Yorrick and I went for a trip to check out Lake El Reno. We had lots of funny hanging out together there until Yorrick ran off towards the lake. I think he saw something jump out of the lake. This would explain why he ran off towards the lake when we really weren't even close. So we headed off after him. We sat by the water for almost 30 minutes and didn't see a thing. I picked up Yorrick and we all started walking away when I heard something from behind us. I turned around and saw nothing. The water was smooth, showing no signs of disturbance. We continued along when finally I heard something again and quickly turned around. Quicker than the last time. Gary the Groundhog was swimming in the lake. We walked back to the lake to visit him as he swam. He looked like he was having so much fun. He asked if we would like to join him, but I had told him that we were leaving and my swimming trunks were already packed. That and Yorrick doesn't like water. He was sad that we couldn't join him but told us he understood. Yorrick and I let him carry on and we checked out the rest of the park around the lake. Once we made a once through the park, we set up a picnic and had a mid afternoon snack. Some fruit and kitty treats!

We didn't stay to long much after our snack. We headed to the airport in hopes of beating the rush. We did but we beat the rush so bad, we arrived at the airport 4 hours early. Yorrick again had to go under the plane with other animals and I had to wait in the terminal alone. Since I had nothing to do for those 4 hours, I went and called Hunter. The phone rang and rang and rang. After 10 rings he finally picked up. He sounded as if he was winded. I ask what was going on and he didn't answer. In fact, it sounded as if he dropped the phone. I heard some screaming, things hit the floor, and some snapping! What was going on over there? I needed to get home quick. I needed to get home now!

Off to Oklahoma - Part 4

2010-06-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00060
June 5th, 2010

I can't tell you how good it feels to be home. A few days after my arrival to Oklahoma, a weather bulletin was issued, warning surrounding counties of a tornado threat! For most of Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, people were warned. This went on for most of the week, off and on! Now I never saw a tornado but powere went in and out which included the internet. I hadn't a way to write on my blog. But rest assure, I am home and sitting in front of my computer telling you all about it.

Now, even though I hadn't seen a tornado, doesn't mean there was one through town. Like I had said before, we lost power several times and of course, the internet. One evening, after dark, the alarm sounded in town warning us of a possible tonado in the area. We headed into the basement and stayed there with the radio on so that we would know when it was safe to head back upstairs. I ended up falling asleep and didn't wake until the next morning. This is when I found the power was out.

The power was out for most of the day, so we checked out the rest of town. No one report a tornado through town but someone said that there were power lines down at the edge of town. If this is tornado work, then we were just missed! But this isn't the only time we seemed to have had close calls!

Off to Oklahoma - Part 3

2010-05-03T04:21:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00059
May 2nd, 2010

Who knew that 3 hours would seem like 1! There was no way we had been flying for 3 hours. The airplane pilot told us we would be landing in a half hour and that we should begin to put our things away and to get buckled up. Things were about to get scary again for me. And for Yorrick too! I can't wait to have him in my hands again.

The plane started lowering as we approached the runway. We could see the ground again as it grew closer, lower and lower we got. Oh man, those arm rests were again getting much use as I was gripping it with everything I had. Closer and closer. Closer! Closer! CLOSER! I closed my eyes. I couldn't look. I mean it looked like we were gonna crash! Seriously! But as I had my eyes closed, I heard the sound of tires touching down on the runway. 1 tire, then you could hear another and finally the last. I opened my eyes and found that the plane had started to slow down. We were in Oklahoma!

Once I got off the plane, I now had to find out where to pick up Yorrick. Oh ya and luggage too! I just followed people until we arrived at the luggage carousel. They started going around and there he was! Yorrick! I grabbed him right away and my luggage was right behind it. I couldn't believe how easy that was. I opened the carrier that Yorrick was in and he jumped out into my arms. Oh I missed him so much. I could only imagine what he was going through under the plane all alone. So we began to head outside of the airport, got on the bus and it brought us to were our rental car was.

The ride to Goofy Girl's house wasn't that long once we got into our rental car. I found her house quite easily. We walked up to the front door, knocked and waited. The door opened and we were at the wrong house! It was the house next door! So we went to the house next door, knocked on the door and waited. The door opened and there she was, Goofy Girl. She invited us in and welcomed us to her Boxing Buddy Bed & Breakfast. She had told me that we came just at the right time. There were a bunch of other friends visiting and they were just sitting down for breakfast. So we headed out back where they were and joined them. I met some really nice friends, Confetti Bear, Reader Rabbit, Gary Groundhog, and Rose Penguin. We chatted about everything from where we were from and what kind of food we liked, to where our favorite place to hike is. Unfortunately, I found myself leaving the table early. The noise of the plane had given me such a headache, I needed to go and rest. I told everyone I had fun hanging out with them but I need to head off. I hope to get to hang out with them again soon. I need a nap!

Off to Oklahoma - Part 2

2010-05-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00058
May 1st, 2010

As I sit in my seat, fingers gripping the arm rests, the plane slowly begins to move backwards away from the gate. My heart began to beat faster and faster. I was feeling so scared at this moment. The plane came to a stop and you could hear the engines kick on. The plane was now moving forward toward the run way. I couldn't help but look around the airplane to see if anyone else was going through the same feeling that I was. It didn't look like it. So I was alone. Yorrick was under the plane probably as scared if not more scared than I. It would seem as though the plane just kept going. Where was the runway I wondered. And then it was there. The pilot let us know that we were going to take off in a moment and that we were second in line for take off.

We sat there, waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Waiting even longer and then movement. The plane moved forward a little and then stopped again. This time, it seemed as though we were there even longer than the first pause. I thought that someone was messing with me. I would have liked nothing more that to get this over with. You can not imagine how scared I was. The arm rest had notches so deep, you would have had to pry them away with pliers. Suddenly, the plane moved forward and turned facing down the length of the runway. This was it.

The engines started to roar like a nothing I had ever heard before. Louder and louder they got, when without warning, the plane let go. I was stuck to my seat as the plane started to move down the runway. I started to freak out so bad. I looked out the window and everything was moving past the plane at a high rate of speed. Panic was at full force in my body causing a tear to form in my left eye. As I was glued to my seat, I could feel the nose of the plane life up. This was it. Now or never. Now! Now! Now! I closed my eyes! I couldn't look anymore! I could feel the wheels still on the ground through my seat and then nothing. I opened my eyes and what I saw was beautiful. I could see everything! The ground grew further and further away. After about 15 minutes, the pilot said we were almost at our flying altitude and that we could take our seat belts off. I chose to keep my seat belt on. No way man was I gonna take it off! So the pilot also said it would be about 3 hours until we land so relax and enjoy the view. As I took his advice, I looked out the window to find lots of fluffy clouds. It was ever more beautiful than on watching the ground. From time to time we could see the ground through an opening in the clouds, but mostly, it was all clouds. I wish that Yorrick could see this. Oh geez! I forgot about Yorrick! He must be freaking out!

Off to Oklahoma - Part 1

2010-04-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00057
April 30th, 2010

I woke up bright and early to make sure I had plenty of time to get to the airport. Grabbed my bags and loaded them in the car. Hopped into the car and headed down the street. Just as I got to the end of my road, I had realized that I left my plane ticket on the counter where I was to not forget it. So much for that. So I turned the car around and returned to get the plane ticket.

Once I had the ticket and hand, I headed back to the car and continued to the airport. Traffic to the airport was light as it was early in the morning. the sun hadn't really come up yet, hiding behind the trees.

I got to the airport with about an hour until I flew out. I had to say goodbye to Yorrick as they would not let him on the plane. He had to go under the plane with all the other animals. Of course, I hated doing that but he is more than just an animal. He is my best friend. I will worry about him. So away they took him. Yorrick was staring at me through the gate of the carrier he was in. I wanted to cry. But away he went out of view.

The next hour seemed to go by slowly. I watched as planes arrived and took off, trying to keep my cool as a little baby wouldn't stop crying. Finally, they called out my plane and said we can start boarding. I got in line, handed over my plane ticket and boarded the plane. I found my seat which happened to be next to the window. I hoped I would have had the seat next to the window and I do. I looked out and saw people loading up the luggage onto the plane. I looked to see if Yorrick had yet been loaded, but I didn't see him. He must have been loaded already.

Everyone took about 15 minutes to board the plane. All the luggage was loaded and we were set to take off. The airplane pilot introduced himself and welcomed us onto the plane. We said we were about to back up onto the runway and he hoped we enjoy the flight. Oh man! This is the first time I have ever been flying! I am so scared right now!

My New Pair of Pants!

2010-04-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00056
April 29th, 2010

Today, Yorrick and I were supposed to fly out to Oklahoma, to visit Goofy Girl and her family for a couple of weeks. As we had arrived at the airport, we were met with some unfortunate news. First, our flight had been cancelled for some reason. I tried to find out but they wouldn't tell me. All they said they could tell me was that my flight was rescheduled for the following morning. Second, there was some rule placed by the airline about wearing pants. I thought that was some stupid rule but I guess it was about time I got myself a new pair of pains. No one had ever complained about having no pants before. There are tons of other people that don't wear pants and no one says anything about them not! Oh well! Yorrick and I left the airport and headed for the store.

We get to the store, and we were met with more bad news there! Yorrick had to wait in the car. No pets allowed! Today wasn't my day. Again, I had never had a problem before bringing Yorrick into stores before. We had never gone to this store. So I told Yorrick I will make it quick and I headed into the store. I found a pair of pants, purchased them, headed to the car and headed back home. Wearing pants was something new. It took me a little while to get used to them, but I think I'm gonna like them. So I guess that I will have to wait until tomorrow to fly out to Oklahoma. Lets hope that my flight isn't cancelled tomorrow too!

Boston, Massachusetts

2010-04-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00055
April 25th, 2010

Sunday morning, I woke up to someone knocking on the front door. I quickly got up and find out who it was. As I was heading there, I put on my slippers and my house coat. I opened the front door to find Hunter standing there. He asked if he woke me up and I had told him he did, but it wasn't a big deal. I really should have been awake by now. He apologized anyway and said he had a question. He had 2 tickets to a Red Sox game and he was originally supposed to go with his brother, but he didn't feel well enough to go to the game. Unfortunately, that left Hunter with no one to go to the game with. Fortunately, that brought Hunter to my door step, asking me if I wanted to go with him. I couldn't say no.

So the game didn't start until 1:35 in the afternoon, so we felt that if we were gonna do any site seeing, we should leave early. We did, giving us about 3 hours til game time. Once in Boston, the first place we headed to was Boston Common. None of us had ever been to Boston so this was all new to us. The people seemed rather nice. Even those sleeping on the grass using trash bags for pillows. I just couldn't understand why there were so many people asking us for change! Why change! Everything looked wonderful there! Anyway, after a brief stop in the Common, we walked down the Freedom Trail past some incredibly old buildings, to Faneuil Hall, where we did some more site seeing. There were shops of all kinds. Unique foods to gift shops to places to buy footwear. We just looked around, since we wanted to make sure we had plenty of money for the baseball game. From there we headed to a park where Interstate 93 used to be. It is now underground, where we were standing.

While in this small park, Hunter happened to find a lobster. We hadn't the slightest why it was in this park, but my guess, it was lost. We weren't anywhere close to water, and even if it managed to travel all the way from the water, there were so many busy streets to cross. So as we watched the lobster crawl across the grass, Yorrick decided he was gonna investigate. We all walked closer behind Yorrick and as he creeped closer, I warned him not to get to close. The lobster seemed quite tame, but once we were all surrounding the lobster, it turned around and grabbed onto Yorricks tail. Yorrick started crying and began to run around in the park with the lobster still attached. Finally the lobster let go as Yorrick continued to run. Clear of the lobster, Yorrick stopped and turned toward the lobster. He just kept staring at it and didn't dare to move in any closer. I think he learned his lesson. In the distance, we could see a clock tower and it was about an hour until the game started. We decided it would be a good idea to start heading to the game. As we began walking, Hunter had realized that his Red Sox hat fell off. He told me to keep walking and he would just run back , get his hat, and catch up to us.Hunter caught up to us as we arrived at the subway station. We got on the train heading to the game and were amazed by how cool it was to be traveling underground. But in only lasted about 10 minutes as our trip was short. We look forward to riding again since we will need to ride the subway again after the game was over. So, once we arrived at ground level, we headed around a corner........ and there it was. Fenway Park. This place was HUGE! I had seen tall buildings, but never had I ever been somewhere such as Fenway Park. We hurried inside so that we could try and get an autograph before the game, but no luck. We did manage to get some nice pictures at field level. We headed to our seats and the game started shortly there after. The game went back and forth. The Orioles scored first, 1-0. Then the Red Sox scored next, taking the lead, 4-1. The score stayed the same until the 8th inning when the Orioles tied the game, 4-4. In the bottom of the 9th inning, it looked as if the game was gonna end with a Red Sox winning, but it wasn't to be. The very next inning, the Orioles scored 3 making the score 7-3. The Red Sox tried to make a comeback, but only managed to score 2 before making the final out. The Orioles won the game.

We had lots of fun at Fenway Park. Hunter would of had a better time at the game if the Red Sox had won the game, but was excited to just be at the game in the first place. He was happy I went with him and hoped that we would do it again sometime soon. I told Hunter about my plans to travel to Oklahoma on Thursday and he wished he could go but said he remembered something he had to tend to at home which would take up his time for most of the time I will be gone. He did say he would be willing to collect all the mail I get while I was gone. I thanked him for offering and accepted. When we got home we went our ways and I went to bed. I was very tired after a day of excitement. Tomorrow I need to get up early and start packing. Only a few short days before I fly out.

Tuckerman's Ravine

2010-04-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00054
April 18th, 2010

At around 4 in the morning, I woke up and found that I couldn't go back to sleep. Yorrick was sound asleep, lying on the pillow beside my head. I got up and headed to the living room. Sitting in the chair next to the window, I watched as the Sunday paper was delivered to houses up the street, then to my house. I went outside to collect the paper, brought it inside, and began to read it. Sometimes reading makes me tired and maybe it will be the thing that sends me back to bed. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

As I was flipping through the paper, I came across an article about Tuckerman's Ravine up in the White Mountains here in New Hampshire. Every spring, visitors climb up to the ravine, then the walls of the ravine, to ski, snowboard, and even ice climb. Sounds kinda crazy if you ask me. But as I continued to read the article, I started to get interested in Tuckerman's. Now, I don't know how to ski or snowboard, and ice climbing was out of the question. I am not experienced enough in ice climbing. If there wasn't any snow on the ravine, I would consider climbing, but I don't think so. What I started thinking about was visiting the ravine anyhow. I wanted to see what is was that people do. So I did, but I had to wake up Yorrick first.

The drive up to Tuckerman's wasn't that interesting, but as we got closer, signs of winter popped up. Snow! At first, the snow was very spotty, and then it was everywhere. Grass was no longer found as we arrived in Pinkerton Notch. We found the lot in which we needed to park and prepared for the hike. We had to register in a book before heading up just in case something was to happen and we didn't return. Took all but 2 minutes. The hike up took 2 and a half hours! I can't say I had been on a tougher hike. I remember hiking Mt. Kearsarge which was rocky, but when you add snow to those rocks, suddenly, it gets a bit harder. Plus, we had to stop from time to time so that Yorrick and I could rest. One time, a dog, which was hiking the trail with its owner, stopped and rested with us. I was actually glad the dog stopped with us, because we heard a noise in the woods. This wasn't your normal noise. The dog looked in the direction of the noise and barked a few times. We never saw anything, but needless to say, we felt safer with the dog there. We did slip from the dogs company and finished the 2 and a half hour trek up to the ravine. About 10 minutes from the top, it started to snow, and when we reached the ravine, it was snowing harder. It was so beautiful. I have never seen anything so beautiful before in my life. Ravine walls so high, they disappear into the sky. Snow coated trees as well as the cabin that sat at the base of the ravine.

I hated to do it, but Yorrick and I needed to turn around and head back down. As we headed back down, across the way, you could see Wildcat Mountain. There is a ski area there. If you look carefully, you can see people skiing on the trails as you walk down. So the hike down took us far less time than the hike up. Both tired, we headed home. If you remember, I woke up at 4 in the morning. I wanted to sleep now, but had to drive home first. Don't worry, with some caffeine, we made it home just fine.

Connecticut Trip - Part 4

2010-04-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00053
April 17th, 2010

We woke up rather early for next morning so that we can check out some other spots in Connecticut before heading home. So we jumped back in the car and headed to a place called Indian Leap.

This was a small location tucked away in Norwich where really no one probably knows about. Honestly, if I hadn't asked about any cool sites at a local gas station, we would never had found this location. When we got there, we happen to meet a friendly fellow named Flat Stanley. He was visiting from Louisiana. While chatting with Flat Stanley, he told us he had heard about the legend of Indian Leap. He was told that Indian Leap, was a favorite encampment of the Mohegan Indians. In 1643 Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegans, led his warriors in the famous battle against their rival tribe the Narragansetts. During the battle, the Narragansetts were pursued by the Mohegans. Legend has it that a band of Narragansetts, unfamiliar with the territory, unknowingly reached the high treacherous escarpment of the Falls. The Narragansetts, rather than surrender, attempted to leap the chasm. Unsuccessful, they plunged to their deaths into the abyss below. This was an interesting legend. It is a bit sad that more people don't know about this location. After hanging out at the Leap, Hunter had informed me that we should be heading off. He seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to get home, I would suppose.

So I told Hunter that I wanted to stop at one more place before we headed home. He said that he wanted to get home at an early hour so that he could do some things before bed. I hadn't a problem with that. So off to Mohegan Sun we went. This ended up being a much shorter stop there than I thought. Come to find out, they wouldn't let any of us in because of Yorrick. I tried to explain that he is a good cat and he has never done anything wrong. Then the gentleman mentioned something about people being allergic to cats, so they didn't want that issue inside the building. Disappointed, we turned around and walked back to the car. We hopped in and started driving toward the exit, when Hunter noticed something on the side of the road. There was a statue of a bear staring a little Indian boy in the face. We stopped to get pictures of this statue. While we did this, we happen to notice that Yorrick decided to be a pain in the butt. He climbed up onto the bear and made his way to the bears nose. Now the bear and Yorrick were staring the little boy in the face. It was so cute, but Yorrick really should get down before we got into any trouble. The last thing I wanted was to not be allowed inside the building and then not allowed on the property. Problem was, Yorrick wasn't coming down. He sat on that bears nose and didn't move. Hunter and I tried everything to get him down. Finally, after 10 minutes, he finally came down and climbed into the car. Hunter seemed a bit disgusted with the time it took to get him down.

So after that issue, we drove off home and Hunter walked to his house next door. He had said he had a wonderful time and was glad he came. I am not completely buying it, since he we really hadn't said much during the ride home. Oh well. I will visit him n a couple days to see how he is doing.

Connecticut Trip - Part 3

2010-04-15T04:48:00.001-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00052
April 15th, 2010

It only was a half hour drive from Norwich to East Haddam. And I can saw, it probably was one of the most boring rides ever. There really was nothing to see except a bunch of rocks in the woods. The only good thing about this short trip to East Haddam was, I got a chance to get to know Hunter better. One of the things he had told me was he was a big Red Sox fan. I told him I had never been and he said we would have to go sometime. He said the baseball park is nice and I would have tons of fun. I will have to trust him on that one. I am not a Red Sox fan.

While talking, I had somehow made a wrong turn, which really wasn't a wrong turn as I found out. We ended up at a ferry crossing on the Connecticut River, which someone told me, actually sat just below Gillette Castle. So depending how you look at it, we were sorta kinda but not really at Gillette Castle. But I didn't kid myself and knew I would have to drive back to where I should have gone to start driving in the right direction again. But while we were there, I thought lets get out and look around. Unfortunately, the ferry was not running today. I guess it doesn't run on Sundays. The ride across for our car would have been $2.00. I thought it would have been real cool to take a ferry ride across the river, but I guess I will have to come back sometime in the future. Within a few minutes, it was clear that Connecticut had been effected by last months floods. There was an area that was not passable so we couldn't do much exploring of this plot of land. We did walk around beside the river and then sat down for some lunch.

Once lunch was over, we hoped back in the car and drove back to where I missed a turn and continued on to the castle. We found the parking lot and it had seemed that Trexx had not arrived yet. But it was only a short time later that he arrived. We said our hellos and I introduced him to Hunter. Trexx was very kind and polite. He had mentioned that he was unable to sleep last night due to his excitement in meeting me. I knew I had been a big deal lately, but not that big of a deal. Anyhow, we walked the trails to figure out where would would have this race. Once we plotted our course, we got lined up at the starting line, Hunter counted to 3, and we were off. We went through arches, down hills, up hills, across bridges, through tunnels...... and speaking of tunnels. There was this one tunnel that halted things for a couple of minutes. Trexx was scared out of his mind. He did not want to go into this tunnel. I told him if he hadn't gone through this tunnel, we couldn't finish this race and I would win. When we plotted out the course, we hadn't gone through the tunnel. We cut around it. Now I know why. So I managed to convince Trexx to run through the tunnel, and boy did he! I had never seen anyone run that fast in my life. Funny thing was, I didn't find Trexx to be all that fast up until now. But once we made it through the tunnel, I found that I needed to pick up the pace. We were just about neck and neck the whole time although we both lagged behind at times. What really mattered was what happened at the finish line. We were so close, we couldn't tell who won! Hunter and Yorrick were waiting at the finish line and they couldn't figure out who won either! So in the end, the race was a draw. No one lost! All that mattered to us was that we had a chance to get together and have some fun.

We hung out for a little bit longer before we had to part ways. I told Trexx that I really had fun today and I hope we can get together again sometime soon. He was a really nice guy. So Hunter, Yorrick, and I hopped into the car and headed back to Norwich. It was now getting dark and after a busy day, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest. Tomorrow is another day of fun. I can't wait!

Connecticut Trip - Part 2

2010-04-14T04:18:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00051
April 14th, 2010

We had found a small place to spend the night in Norwich. While signing in, I had asked where was a nice place to go within Nowich and the receptionist suggested heading to the Historic section of Norwichtown. I thanked the receptionist as we headed on our way.

When we arrived at this Historic Norwichtown area, we were surprised at how wonderful some of the house looked. There was so much history that could be soaked in. We walked around staring at the houses as we passed, some dating as far back as 1786. Now that was an old house. There was even a house that was once some years ago, used during the taping of a soap opera. If I remember correctly, it was in All My Children.

Now neither Hunter or I could certainly confirm this, but I'm sure if I did some research online, I would find out if this was the house. So after about an hour of checking out the houses, we called it quits and continued our trip to East Haddam Connecticut, to Gillette Castle. I was to meet Trexx Turtle there for a race among friends In reality, Trexx and I had never met, only talked via Facebook. I was really looking forward to meeting him for the first time. Oh ya, and Hunter too!

Connecticut Trip - Part 1

2010-04-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00050
April 13th, 2010

Well, after a trip to Connecticut, boy do I have so much to talk about. Unfortunately, I have something else to talk about first. I will have to tell you about my trip a bit later. First and foremost, I have a new Neighbor!

After a week of waiting, my new neighbor finally moved in. I no longer had to wait to see who this person or persons was. It was Friday when I finally saw a vehicle parked in the driveway of the house next door. I didn't want to look to much like I was excited to get a new neighbor, so I walked outside and along the road. Luckily, this new neighbor had just came outside. We both said hello and I introduced myself. I must not have blabbed to much about myself he was rather willing to continue the conversation.

His name is Hunter. He had just moved from Florida. He had mentioned not really liking the weather there, since it rains almost all the time. I didn't want to tell him, but it had rained here all the time.So sometime during our conversation, he had asked me if I was doing anything on Sunday and I told him I was heading to Connecticut to visit a friend. He said he was thinking of checking out the town but if I wanted some company, he would love to come along on my trip to Connecticut. I thought about it for a moment or two and told him he was welcome to join me if he wanted. He said he would love to and is looking forward to hanging out with me.

So the next morning. hunter was waiting for me outside by the car and we headed off to Connecticut. We chatted it up all the way, making the 3 hour drive seem more like an hour ride. At one point we decided it would be a good idea to pull off the highway and use the bathroom. At this point we were in the car for two and a half hours. It felt so good to get out of the car and stretch our legs. The town we stopped in was named Killingly. It wasn't much of a town but we did find a really nice park. honestly, I forget the name of the park, but it really doesn't matter, right? Anyhow, the park was nice. There was a pond in the center of it. It looked like the perfect pond for ducks. I asked someone where all the ducks were and they said it still is a bit early for ducks. I needed to visit the park in about another month. So Hunter, Yorrick and I hung out at the park for about a half hour before hoping back into the car. Once we got back into the car, we headed to Norwich. We were gonna stay over night and look at what Norwich has to offer.

Just Another Day

2010-04-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00049
April 5th, 2010

So as Easter wound down, I had mentioned that I had seen a moving truck pull up next door. I watched out the window only to find that it was a moving company bringing all the boxes in the house and setting it up. I headed outside to find out who was gonna be my neighbor, but they had informed me that the person moving in, wasn't gonna be around for atleast another coule of days. This was not fair. I wanted to meet my new neighbor now.

The next day rolled around and I could think of nothing else but the new neighbor I was getting soon. I wonder if it was a girl or boy. Where did this person come from? Well, to try to distract myself from the penting excitement of meeting my future neighbor, we did head out for a walk. I had found a new trail while driving down the street and since we had never walked it before, I figured why not. There wasn't really anything special about this trail but I needed to do something to right my mind. I oculdn't let someone I hadn't even met, overcome my mind. So Yorrick and I headed down the trail. We had noticed that there was still quite a bit of damage from the storm last month. The town must not have gotten to this part of town yet. It actually looked quite sad. But while we were walking these woods, we started to notice the buds on the trees were opening up. This took away from some of the mess we saw. Soon enough, the buds will open more and leaves will sprout, covering the debri.

As I said, the walk wasn't anything special. Ultimately, we had to come home and find the house next door without anyone in it. This is gonna drive me crazy. Crazy I tell you! Crazy!

I Almost Forgot Easter!

2010-04-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00048
April 4th, 2010

You know, if it wasn't for the fact that the Easter Bunny left a basket for Yorrick and I, I would have totally forgot that today was Easter. Yorrick had waken me up early in the morning, way earlier than I cared to wake up. He was hopping around like a little rabbit himself. He did this of course until I climbed out of bed.

Slowly, I stumbled down the hallway to the living room to find that in the window was a small wicker basket. It was filled with chocolates and peeps and jelly beans. As I was checking out the basket, Yorrick began to claw at the front door. Usually this isn't something that Yorrick does. He usually waits for me to go for my morning walk to go outside, but this morning he was excited to go out. To my surprise, when we had both gotten outside, there were plastic eggs of every color scattered around in my front yard. I couldn't believe my eyes. I ran quickly back inside the house for a bucket. Headed back outside to collect all the plastic eggs I could find. There had to had been 20 or so eggs. I opened one egg to find it was filled with a quarter. I opened another to find another quarter. Another egg with the same result. After collecting every egg I could find, I opened them and quarters filled every one of them. All but one. One of the eggs had a note inside of it. It said "I hope you had fun collecting all these eggs!" It wasn't signed. The Easter Bunny must have left the note for me. I found it very thoughtful of him to do that.

With the eggs in hand, Yorrick and I went inside for only a brief moment. Afterwards we headed back outside to go for our morning walk. I have to say, it was one of the longest walks I had ever taken with Yorrick. I was still so tired. So tired that when we got home, I went to my bedroom and plopped into bed. I hope that Yorrick doesn't do that ever again. I don't know if I could do it all over again. So, I closed my eyes and fell asleep for what seemed to be 5 hours. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by Yorrick, but this time in a much nicer fashion. It must have been time to eat. We hadn't eaten all day.

I went into the kitchen and whipped up some mash potatoes, stuffing, broccoli, and carrots. I sat down on the dinning room table and Yorrick on the floor beside me and we began eating out dinner. "Happy Easter," I said to Yorrick. He looked at me and meowed back. As I was eating dinner, a big box truck drove by slowly. Curious, I got up out of my seat to see what was up. The truck ended up stopping at the house next to mine. It had been for sale for some time and if I was correct, it looked like I was about to get a new neighbor. I better hurry up and finish my meal so I can meet this new neighbor.

My Name in Lights

2010-03-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00047
March 30th, 2010

With all the fame that has landed in my lap lately, television and in the paper, I have to admit that it really hasn't gone to my head. Until I saw my name in lights. While driving down South Main St. in Concord, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my name plastered on the sign in front of the Capital Center for the Arts. Had someone been inspired by my story that they felt they should write about? Had I gotten to be that big? I had to find out.

So I pulled over and trudged out into the rain. As I walked up to the Capital Center, I couldn't help but stare at the sign. It was so beautiful! I must have been staring at it the sign for a few minutes, because Yorrick started clawing at my leg. I looked down at a soaked Yorrick and thanked him for snapping me out of my trance. Of course, I hadn't realized I was soaked as well until I made it to the front door of the Capital Center. I reached for the door and found that it was locked. I peeked inside to find out if anyone was inside but saw no one. So I noticed there was a poster on the window next to the door I was peeking in. I looked at it to find that Hamlet was actually a play, not about me. It was a play written by Shakespeare. Disappointment set in. I turned around and started back to my car. I can't believe what I had just seen.

As I returned to my car, Yorrick and I both soaked head to toe, I began to think about how all this attention had actually gotten to my head. Of course, I had realized this until just now. I really liked being in the lime light, but maybe it really isn't for me. I started the car and drove down the street. I stopped at a red light and looked over at Yorrick. He was looking back at me and that's all it took. I don't need fame. All I need is Yorrick. He gives me all the attention I need. Without him, I don't know. Thanks Yorrick.

Yorrick! It's Not That Cold!

2010-03-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00046
March 27th, 2010

Just when you think that spring is here, Mother Nature decides to throw us for a loop and hits us with a day that reminds us of her power. But you wouldn't have know this just by looking out a window. Saturday looked to be a beautiful day to go out and we did, heading to Sewells Falls in Concord. We hadn't been there in quite some time. This is a nice stretch of land along the Merrimack River. To bad we were not gonna enjoy that stretch.

When we got there, it only took minutes for Yorrick to freak out and jump on me. It would seem that Yorrick was shocked to find the ground as cold as it was. I tried to get him down, but his claws were sunk into my head. I was not a very happy camper. I tried to deal with him clinging to my head as trying to get him down was not working. So I began to head towards the river where the trail began and his claws sunk in further. I had never seen Yorrick like this before. I was a bit concerned for him and we returned to the car. He finally jumped off my head and sat in the passenger seat. I asked him what is problem was but of being a cat, couldn't figure it out. I opened the door as to get out and when I reached for Yorrick, he darted into the back seat out of reach. I tried to open another a back door to get him, but then he would dart into the front seat. This was not gonna work. So we headed home.

As we drove home, I couldn't help but think about what had just happened. He hadn't done this all winter, but yet today, he acted very weird. I certainly couldn't figure out why he acted that way, but maybe he acted in a way that we all would like to have done. With spring here, we refuse to give it back. Let the warm air come and turn everything green. Please!

Beating Yet Another Storm!

2010-03-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00045
March 22nd, 2010

Yes, here we go again! Another storm is coming and threatening to soak the state! With the forecast calling for rain later in the day, Yorrick and I headed to the park. After we had been stuck in the house for many days over the last couple storms, we were going now!

We walked down the street towards the park when from the opposite direction from which we were heading, came a sound. The sound was an odd sound that started off soft and slowly grew to a much louder noise. We couldn't see where the noise was coming from but only that is was coming from the direction we came. So we both stood there just waiting for something to come into view. Something that was making the noise that was even louder than before. And there is was, coming over the hill. Followed by another and then another. 3 fire trucks all lined up riding down the street towards us. Both Yorrick and I could do nothing but stand there and watch. They, one by one, drove passed us and down the street. Yorrick started to run after them as if he was a dog. I had no choice but to run after him. Eventually the fire trucks turned a corner and drove out of view. We could still hear them from where we were, until the sirens suddenly stopped. Yorrick kept running after where he thought the noise was coming from , but stopped when he couldn't figure out where it was any longer. Once I caught up with him, I picked him up and told him we should continue to the park before it begins to rain.

So we continued on to the park. We had completely ran passed the road the park was on, so we had to backtrack a little. Once we got to the park, to our surprise, they changed some things. They still had the swings, the see saw, and the monkey bars. What was new was the big red fire truck. After seeing the fire trucks fly by, Yorrick was quick to jump into the fire truck and actually spent most of him time there. I had the hardest time getting him out of it, so I joined him. I pretended we were on the way to a fire to save an elderly lady and her cat. We waved at fellow children as we drove to the fire. I blared the siren as the fire trucks that passed us did, and then when we got there, it started to rain! Yes, it started to rain.

Now we could have started home, but we actually stayed and used it to our advantage. We turned the hose on and began to put out the fire. We can't leave now! We have to put out a fire. So we fought the fire, when we heard the screams from the elderly lady. I jumped out of the truck and raised the ladder to a window. I climbed the ladder to that window and called the lady to come to me. She crawled on the floor like she knew to and grabbed hold of my hand. I held her tightly as we climbed down the ladder together. She then yelled out claiming her cat was still in the house. No sooner did she finish telling me, the cat jumped out of the window and climbed down the ladder. The day was saved. Yorrick had almost put out the fire when I made it all the way down the ladder. I joined him in finishing putting out the fire, when it started to rain much harder. I looked at Yorrick and we both agreed that maybe it was time to leave. We wished we could have stayed much longer and put the fire out completely, but neither one of us wanted to get soaked on the way home.

So back home we ran, back to the main road. Passed where we stood watching the fire trucks pass to our front porch. We sat on the porch for a few minutes and caught our breathe. Just as we were going to head inside, all 3 fire trucks were driving passed our house in the direction they originally came. As we watched them drive by, I waved hoping they would wave back and they did. I looked at Yorrick and told him that maybe sometime soon, we will head to the fire department and look at those fire trucks. He looked excited jumping up and down, wagging his tail the whole time. Unfortunately the excitement quickly went away as it began to rain harder. So we went inside and sat by the window watching the rain continue to come down. I really hope it stops raining sooner than the weather man said. I don't know how much more of this rain we can take.

A Day in Concord, NH

2010-03-18T05:08:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00044
March 18th, 2010

Well, after living in New Hampshire for almost 10 years, I had realized that we had never once stepped in the state house of this state's capital. I had walked by it many times thinking that one of these days, we will visit the building and check it out, but I seemed to just pushed it off. Finally that day came.First we road the bus just to get to the building. It was quite a far walk from where we parked. We couldn't find a parking spot anywhere close to the state house. So yet another first, we hopped onto the bus and headed towards the building. When the bus arrived, we thanked the driver and went on our way. The sky was so clear. I don't remember seeing a single cloud in the sky. We stood in front of the state house for some pictures and then headed in. As you walk inside, you are greeted by the the hall of flags. There were 107 flags that dated as far back as 1819. I couldn't believe the history that surrounded us. As we continued walking through the building, we noticed all the paintings that we hanging on the walls. These paintings consisted of notable men and women from 300 years of New Hampshire's history.

I had not heard of most of these people until we reached the Governor's Reception Room on the second floor. There, they had pictures of the most resent governors of the state. I had take a picture while in the room but the women at the desk didn't want to be a part of it. In the second floor hallways, you could view more pictures of people you probably don't know, as well as on the third floor too. The third floor did hold some cool features. First, there is the Secretary of State's Office. This is where candidates for New Hampshire's First in the Nation Primary must come to register. With out doing so, you will not be allowed to have your name on the ballot during an election year. The other cool thing about this floor, you can watch Representatives Hall. Representatives from all over the state sit in this hall and duke it out with others over ideas they feel are best for the state. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't. When we got there, they were talking about something I hadn't ever heard about. So I kept quiet and listened for around 10 minutes before leaving. Yorrick was getting a little restless. So we left the building and walked around on Main Street for a little while and soon enough, we ended back at the car. I really liked the state house and the story it told of New Hampshire's history. Now maybe sometime, I will visit the museum across the street. But that's another day!

Another Storm

2010-03-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00043
March 15th, 2010

Well, here we go again. New England has been hit by yet another storm. This time there was more rain than wind, but that didn't mean that trees wouldn't be coming down. There was a family driving north on I-93 when a tree fell over and landed on the car. The driver didn't survive, but the other 2 family members did. Such a horrible accident. Kinda my worst nightmare ever!

Closer to home, the Suncook River was rising and threatening homes that sat close by. Yorrick and I went out to see how high it had gotten. Unfortunately, the homes along the portion of the Suncook River we were at, were in the river already. Even though this is a sad day for these people, luckily, we live on high ground. I thought about helping out, but the police and fire department were already there helping those residents out. So I guess there was nothing else to do but go home.

Mt. Major

2010-03-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00042
March 11th, 2010

I woke up this morning and couldn't believe what I found. I headed outside to find that the temperature was quite nice. I wondered what I should do. Then as I thought, it hit me. Why don't we go for a hike. It had been some time since we last hiked a mountain. Come to thing about it, the last time we hiked a mountain, it was Mt. Kearsarge back in November. The weather was nice and we couldn't ask for better temps right now, so why not take advantage of it.

So we headed to the mountain, we noticed all the damage from the past storm that knocked down all sorts of trees. There were so many, it was sad. But the other thing we noticed, we started to see some snow. More than we have back at home. Which actually isn't hard since we have no snow left at home. Anyhow, we got to the mountain and got out of the car to find we were not the only ones there. There were about 3 other cars. Climbing Mt. Major was not just our great idea, but others had the same great idea as well.

As we hiked up the mountain trail, we came across 2 ladies with 2 big dogs. They took one look at Yorrick and started barking and acted as if they wanted to charge at him. It was really scary! Yorrick climbed up my leg, OUCH, and hide in my backpack. They ladies were kind enough to walk off the trail a little bit and let us pass. So we continued up the trail and I told Yorrick that the coast was clear. Yorrick popped his head out but stayed in my backpack. As we moved along, we got to a portion of the mountain that had been burned during a fire last summer. Very few trees were burned top to bottom, but it seemed as though the fire ran across the ground only burning the very bottom. Most of the trees I saw with some burns will survive but always have those burn scars.

At about an hour, we made it to the top. The view from the top was beautiful. It could have been better since it was now overcast, but I will not complain. It could be raining, or even snowing. So we sat at the top where there looks to be some sort of stone wall fort. There wasn't much to it, but nonetheless it was cool. I sat down and Yorrick got out. I ate an apple while enjoying the view, took a couple of pictures and thought about heading back down the mountain. As we started down the mountain, there were more people heading up the mountain. They were very nice to us as we passed.

Once in the car, we started home. It was good thing we got to the car when we did because it started to rain. Not a heavy rain, but just enough. The rain didn't bother us much since we just missed it on the trail, but what about those people we passed on the trail? I don't know but I am sure they will be just fine. Although I enjoyed the hike, Yorrick didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I did. He didn't get hurt and that is the most important thing.

Where Do They Come From?

2010-03-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00041
March 8th, 2010

Now I had told you that since I was on television, girls had been emailing me asking for dates. At first I had hoped that this would help me find a decent girl that I could go out with, but the more the emails come in, the likely that the emails would just get annoying. Let me give you a couple of examples.

Meet Meghan. She emailed me a few days ago hoping that maybe we could go out on a date. She mentioned that she lived in Nashua, which really isn't that far away, and that she would be willing to travel to Pembroke to hang out sometime. Now that didn't seem to be all that bad, but it went down hill from there. Meghan likes to walk at night through cemeteries and sit on the stone walls and talk to the voices in her head, I mean, ghosts that wanna talk with her. Sorry, I can't ever see myself walking through a cemetery in the middle of the night to talk to anyone! Oh, and those 3D glasses got to go!

Now this is Tasha. She lives in Vermont. Not all that bad of a travel if I was interested. Now I thought that she was pretty cute. Not all that impressed with the piercings on her face but whether she liked me or not, all that went out the window when she asked me if I loved the sauna. Didn't seem like that odd of a question until she mentioned her liking of the smell of bacon. Put me in a sauna and there you go! Not with you dear!

This is Becky. I didn't bother reading what she had to say! Just look at this picture. Clearly she loves animals which it a big plus, but look at that dog! It is HUGE! That dog would eat me! Sorry Becky. You have a nice smile, but would you still be smiling if your dog was licking its chops at the first site of me?

There were more emails like these and I am real close to just hit the delete button for all of them. The good news is that the emails have been coming in slower. As a matter of fact, I think I hadn't gotten a single date email today! Nice!

Surviving the "Snowicane"

2010-03-02T01:37:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00040
March 1st, 2010

Thursday night, shortly after I fell asleep, a big storm hit. This storm strolled into town uninvited and trashed the town. Rain, snow, and winds that reached 68 mph, were knocking down trees, power lines, and damaging houses. It was right away, but I did end up waking up when something hit my window. At this point, the power was still on, but within 20 minutes of waking up, the power did go out. So I headed to the living room and sat in my chair in front of the big bay window. Flashes of light in the sky, winds blowing trees left and right. I can't begin to tell you how scary it was to see those trees bend as they did, but I continued to watch. I couldn't move away from the window no matter how scared I got. Eventually I started to fall asleep again and headed off to bed. Somehow I managed to sleep for the rest of the night.

When I woke, the power had come back on. The clock in my bedroom was blinking so I had no idea what time it was. I went to the living room to find out the time and looked out the window to find that the road was cluttered with branches and twigs. From what I can see, there was no sign of any large trees lying across the road.

It took me a few days to head outside. I wanted things to clear a bit before heading out. So today I ventured outside. Now if we all remember the last time I went outside and helped move branches. I broke my collar bone. So I didn't go outside to help much. I did pick up small twigs that might cause a problem if someone was to run over them with the a car. As I did this, Yorrick followed. We eventually ended up by the river as we usually do, but this time we decided to walk the trails to see if there was any damage there. We found around a half dozen trees down, all of which were rather health. It saddened me tremendously to see these beautiful trees fallen down. It is these trees that make our walks through the woods very enjoyable. But, with that said, to see only a small number of trees down, I think the forest was relatively untouched. After our walk through the woods, Yorrick and I headed home to find the power back out. It did return 10 minutes after we got back home. We survived the "snowicane" as everyone started calling it, but not everyone was so lucky. From what I hear, there still are lots of people without power. Hopefully they get it back real soon.

Someone Noticed Me!

2010-02-25T21:07:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00039
February 25th, 2010

So, other than meeting Emily back in Syracuse, I hadn't met anyone else. Suddenly, it would seem that since my picture showed up on television the other day, I had started getting emails from girls telling me that they had seen me on television and was wondering if I wanted to hang out sometime.

The email that stood out the most was from a girl named Nicky. She told me she lived in Manchester and worked at a local bar down there. She suggested we get together there, since it was a really nice spot. I emailed her back and told her I would like that. We arranged to get together that night.

As I stood outside the bar, I suddenly felt kinda ill. Butterflies were attacking my stomach and I almost headed back home before she even came outside to find me, but before I got a chance to bolt, Nicky found me. I introduced myself as we headed inside. We talked for awhile and ordered some food. She ordered a salad and I ordered just a side of fries. I wasn't really that hungry. We talked for about 10 minutes before our our food showed up and then something happened. I couldn't believe what she said. She asked the waiter if she could get some bacon bits for her salad. I stared at her in shock. I can't believe she asked that! Did she not realize what she just did? It was at the moment, that I had to leave and that I felt that it wouldn't be a good idea to see her again. She at that point realized what had happened and apologized tons. She said she should have been more considerate and hoped that maybe I would reconsider and hang out again sometime. I told her I didn't feel comfortable with that idea and left. I took notice of the front door and headed for it never looking back.

So the night was a disaster. This email from a girl I didn't even know, didn't turn out to be such a good idea. Problem was, when I got home, I checked my emails and found that 13 other girls had emailed me inquiring about whether or not I would like to go out sometime. You know, not that I don't like the attention, but I hope this doesn't happen to much. At the same time, I hope that it helps me find someone that I could spend the rest of my life with. I'm not crossing my fingers, but lets just see where this goes! Now who do I reply to next!

My 15 Seconds of Fame

2010-02-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00038
February 23rd, 2010

Wouldn't you know! To my surprise, I was on television! Now before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you how the ball of yarn started.

Way back when, Yorrick and I hiked to the top of Mt. Kearsarge. I wrote about it back in November, Skating on Top of the World. Fast forward a little bit, there is a website that you can go to for your local ABC affiliate, whatever that might be. A link on the main page of this affiliate will bring you to what is called Ulocal. This is a community of sorts where you can load pictures and videos of almost whatever you want. Of late, the news channel had been asking people to upload pictures of life in New Hampshire during the winter. I started adding photos as they also show a Ulocal picture during each news cast, morning day and night. I hadn't seen my picture ever during any of these news casts since posting 3 of my pictures. But work came of a special show on this channel, called NH Chronicle, hosting a slide show of pictures uploaded to this Ulocal community, of life in New Hampshire in the winter. I was now excited and looking forward to this special show and wondered if my picture or pictures would be shown for all to see.

Tuesday evening came and Yorrick and I sat in front of the television patiently. NH Chronicle started and the slide show began. One than two, three pictures four. The pictures scrolled by and then there Yorrick and I were. Skating on top of Mt. Kearsarge. Was I seeing things? Was my picture really on television? Shortly after my picture left the screen, the phone rang. It was a friend of mine down the street asking if I had seen my picture on the television. It was official. My picture was noticed. I suddenly felt famous. I got 15 seconds of fame. Now as the show carried along, those that were watching the show found out that a special book will be made with pictures from Ulocal, with pictures of New Hampshire in the winter time. Will I get more than 15 seconds of fame. I have to wait and find out if my picture will make it in the book. I'll let you know if it does.

Syracuse, New York

2010-02-21T04:59:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00037
February 22nd, 2010

I can not believe that I wanted to do this. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time, and met someone really nice, but the drive out to Syracuse and back was so long and boring! But I won't let the weekend drive ruin the weekend that was.

So I had arrived in Syracuse around 11 in the morning, 6 hours after Yorrick and I woke up. I hadn't any idea what to do there. I know that the collage basketball team is pretty good there, but they were not playing during the time I was there. So as I walked the street trying to figure out what to do, I happened to notice a bunch of people walking into a building. They looked nice enough so I thought I would check it out. I poked my head into the door and their were about 30 more people inside having fun. I proceeded inside and walked up to a child. I asked this child what was going on and she replied, "This is a gathering!" She explained that people from all over the country and Canada have come to chat, play games and just have fun. So I did this for quite awhile, but felt that I should go and find my hotel now, before it got dark. I thanked those I talked to for the time and was on my way.As I walked from the building in the direction of where I thought my hotel was, I pasted a place of great interest. Now anyone that used to watch The Price is Right, might remember that the original hosts name was Bob Barker. It would seem that Bob Barker is famous for something else as well! Hot Dogs! Plastered on the sign above the restaurant was the sign, "Bob Barker's Famous Hot Dogs." I went inside with such excitement only to be very disappointed. Bob Barker wasn't there. He didn't even own the place! They lie so bad!So I ended up spending way to much time at that lying hot dog place arguing with the owner to realize that is was now dark outside. I really needed to find my hotel. I continued down the street, then down another street, then down another street and realized I was lost. I sat down next to tree and stared at a map trying to figure out where I went wrong. As I stared, I didn't even know what street I was on. Luckily, a couple was walking down the street. They were a little rude I thought. As they got closer to me, they pointed at me. Once they got close enough, I asked them for directions and they asked me if I did it! I was confused! They asked me again it I did it! I wondered why they were asking me this and what it was they were wondering I did. They pointed to the tree I happened to be sitting under, and to my amazement, someone had made a face on the tree with snowballs. I told them I didn't do it and they began to tell me the directions to the hotel. I thanked them and started off in the right direction.Hours late, I finally made it to the hotel. At the front desk, stood a women that was ready to check me in. I started chatting with her and she checked me into my room. Carrying my things up to my room and resting it on the bed, I told Yorrick, I would be back in a little bit. I headed back down the front desk to talk to the women again. I found out her name was Emily and that she lived in the area. She was rather cute and she had the most amazing personality. I really enjoyed talking to her. I wondered if she was doing anything the next day before I headed home, but I chickened out. She did mention she got off work at 11 and if I wanted to hang out for a little while. I thought that maybe I should head back to my room and check on Yorrick. I really liked her too! So I headed back to my room and talked to Yorrick about Emily. Shortly there after, I fell asleep.

The next morning, I packed our bags and was ready to head home. Emily wasn't at the front desk anymore. I would liked to have said goodbye, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. So we stopped at the store for a drink and we headed home. Not much of an exciting drive, but 6 hours later, we were home. As I think back, Syracuse wasn't totally a was of time. I met some really nice people, a lying hot dog restaurant owner, and a cute women at the front desk of our hotel. I can't see myself ever going back, but who knows. Someone or something would really have to happen to draw me back there. Thanks for the wonderful time Syracuse.

It is Not Enough!

2010-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00036
February 14th, 2010

As yet another Valentine's Day strolls by, I can't help but notice that everyone else around me is celebrating the holiday with someone they love. They give and or receive flowers, candy, cards. Every year, I don't get any of those things. This kinda got me thinking. Not that I don't appreciate the company of my bestest friend Yorrick, but I was thinking that is was about time to start looking for that special someone. Yes, that means I will be putting myself out there, setting myself up for disappointment.

So, I decided that I was gonna take Yorrick out to the park. I felt that he needed to know what I was thinking. I didn't want someone to just show up and push him aside. I explained that when I start searching for the right person, they must love cats and must respect the time I will need with him. As we sat at the old Tolley Stop at White Park, it started to snow. The snow seemed to take Yorrick mind off of some of what we were talking about. He jumped back and forth and catching some snow flakes and missing others. After about 20 minutes of watching Yorrick have fun, I joined in. I wanted him to know that we are in this together. So we both caught snowflakes before finally heading home.

So as I finish typing this post, I start to feeling some butterflies in my stomach. I don't know how this is gonna turn out. I can only hope that this search is short and I find someone kinda quick. Not to quick, but I don't wanna feel like I am wasting my time. Wish me luck.

A Visit to the Doctor

2010-02-05T05:32:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00035
February 4th, 2010

Well, it has been a month since I last was in the hospital and I had to return for a check on my collar bone. The doctor had told me if everything goes well, I might be able to do a few more things other than nothing! Although, I haven't exactly ever did nothing, if the opportunity comes up, I will be doing some things I have never done before.

Anyhow, I sat down with the doctor and he was quite pleased. He took a scan and found that everything was healing well. He had told me that he liked what he say but I still should take it easy. This didn't mean that I couldn't do anything, but I should be careful about what things I am doing and how much of it I get into. He would hate for the injury to slow its heal or head in the wrong direction.

So with what he said in mind, Yorrick and I headed out for some groceries. Not a lot of groceries. Yorrick was running low on cat food and just to be on the safe side, I thought it would be a good idea to grab more.

Groundhog's Day

2010-02-02T04:56:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00034
February 2nd, 2010

Sorry for not posting over the last few weeks. I have been a bit soar and have done little to nothing in the way of excitement. I have read some books and searched the Internet for places to go. Which reminds me! I haven't told anyone what my New Year's resolution. So on all days, I am announcing to the world, that Hamlet will be traveling this year. Now it is not to say that New Hampshire isn't a nice place. While searching the Internet over these last few weeks, I have found that there is so much more to see out there. But where do I go first?

Not knowing where to go first, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to see what kind of winter New Hampshire will have. I wasn't gonna let some groundhog in Pennsylvania dictate how much longer of a winter New Hampshire was gonna have. So Yorrick and I went outside, which it was 18 degrees, to find out whether or not we could find our shadow. Now, with it that cold outside, we could have just as easily found tree shadows and called it quits, but we wanted to find our own shadows. Standing in the middle of the road we stood. We didn't see our shadow. We waited a few minutes in hope of seeing them, but still nothing. As we stood in the street, freezing our fingers off, in the distance a car was coming. As we started to head to the side of the road, there they were. Our shadows. We finally saw our shadows. What does this mean? I was dead set on seeing our shadows, I forgot to look up what seeing my shadow means. But them again, does it really matter?

So we went inside to cower by the fire where I grabbed my laptop to do a bit more research. Apparently, if the groundhog, I mean, if I don't see my shadow, it means that winter will soon end. If I see my shadow, it means that there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Oh. Not that I don't like the snow, but I wanna start seeing the trees turn green with life. Oh well. But on a good note, doing a bit more research, I found that the groundhog is right 30% of the time. I guess Mother Nature it really in control. Let us all hope that it warms up quickly!

The Gift From Mom

2010-01-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00033
January 14th, 2010

So as I found myself sitting in front of a box label by my Mother, to myself, and wonder for some time whether or not I should open it. It has been quite awhile now since my mother past. Opening this gift could bring tons of memories rushing back to the for front. But with lots of support from those that read my posts, I finally got the courage to open the gift.

Tearing the wrapping paper off seemed like it was a never ending process. There wasn't a lot there, but once I started on the wrapping paper, I couldn't help but wonder if I shouldn't open this gift. More and more wrapping paper was ripped away. Slowly, a box began to appear. I removed the tape that kept the box closed and sat there for about a minute before opening the box. Ruffling through the packing paper, my gift was there.

Back many years ago, my Mother and I were sitting on the couch watching the All-Star game. Hanging out in the center field was a baseball player in which I fell in love with named Ken Griffey Jr. I would get into how much I idolize him, but maybe I will save that for another day. What my Mother said to me that day was, "Maybe we can go see Griffey play someday." What I found lying in the box, waiting to be opened, was a Seattle Mariners jersey. I broke out in tears and did this for about 10 minutes. Once I cleared my eyes, I found a card tucked under the jersey. And it said:

Dear Hamlet,
I hope you can forgive me for not telling you. At some point this past summer, I had found out that I was sick. I visited the doctors and they told me I wasn't gonna live much longer. I wanted tell you. I am sorry for this. I didn't want you to spend all your time worrying about me. Therefore, I with held this information for your own good. I wanted you to be happy. I don't like to see you worried and sad. I just want you to know that I will always be with you for as long as you live. You are a wonderful young boy and I hope for nothing but happiness in everything you do. I love you Hamlet.
Mom

For another 30 minutes or so, I cried. Yorick climbed up onto my lap and tried to comfort me. He did some, but nothing could ever bring back my Mom. I will miss her so much. I can't write anymore. I'm sorry.

Cleaning Up After the Storm

2010-01-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00032
January 10th, 2010

So this year is starting out to be a real downer. The day the power came back on, I headed outside to help some of my neighbors clean up some of the branches in the road and in yards. In the process of doing so, a tree branch fell from a tree and hit me, knocking me to the ground. Everyone came over to where I was and tried to help me up but I was in such pain, it seemed like a really bad idea to even move me.

One of my neighbors went inside his house and called 911. About 10 minutes later, and ambulance showed up and I was off to the hospital. It was a rather short ride, 15 minutes or so. When we got there, there were nurses and doctors waiting for me and they did lots of checks on me before sending me upstairs for x-rays. It was shortly there after that the doctor told me I had broken my collar bone. I had to go in for surgery.

It wasn't until the next morning that I was going in for surgery. Out cold for about an hour. When I woke up, my collar bone was so sore from all the work the doctors did. I called for a nurse and she gave me some pain killer. I also asked for a ice pop but they were out. I betcha if I had my tonsils out, they would be able to find one! I asked for a computer so I could write an entry in my logbook, but they couldn't give me on of those either. It wasn't until the day after my surgery that I was able to go home and write in logbook.

So now I am home sitting in front of my computer wondering what else will happen. I have been ordered to light duty around the house and I have to go back in a month for them to check to see how things are going. But as I sit here writing, I look over to the floor next to my computer desk. A package sits with my name on it. It was from my mother. For those that might not remember, she past in September of 08. I never wanted to open it, but now I find myself staring at it, wondering what she had gotten me. I think she would have wanted me to open it. I don't know if I should though.

Yorick, We Have a Problem!

2010-01-04T19:40:00.001-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00031
January 4th, 2010

As 2009 came to an end, a storm rolled through the area and knocked out our power. This storm didn't pack much punch but there was plenty of wind. Down the road from my house, a tree took out a telephone pole as well as power lines that were attached to it. I can only imagine that there were power lines down everywhere because it seemed the power company took for ever to get the power back on.

So here we are 6 days later and finally the power came back on. I have so much I need to talk about but need to get everything back in order. So sometime within the next few days, I will be letting everyone know about my plans for this year. And to give you a hint! I will be traveling somewhere. Can anyone guess where?

Yorick's Christmas Gift

2009-12-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00030
December 25th, 2009

After a night to remember, I wanted to sleep in a little before waking up. I had been awake for some time, but Yorick had other plans for me. As soon as the sun came up, Yorick jumped on me which is a clue for "get up." Since Yorick didn't understand, I got up and we headed to find out what Santa had left for us. Sitting by the fire place, he left me a radio control car. I had always wanted one of those. It was such a nice surprise. Santa had also left some cat toys for Yorick to play with.

So now it was time for me to open my gift to Yorick. He was so happy, he kept chasing his tail around and around. I placed the bag on the ground and he jumped into it. He pulled out a new cat collar. He never actually had one so I thought that maybe he would enjoy finally having one! I put the collar one and as soon as I did that, he jumped into the bag. He played around in it for a moment and then stuck his head out almost like he was trying to tell me he was my gift. Everyday, Yorick is my gift. I couldn't imagine Yorick and I being a part ever again.

So now I would like to take this time and thank everyone for reading my blog. I wish every that celebrates Christmas a merry one and I hope that you enjoy your time with your family as I do with mine.

The Night Before Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00029
December 24th, 2009

It was the night before Christmas and all through the house,

not a creature was stirring, well except Yorick chasing a mouse.
Around through the kitchen he chased the poor thing,

til it jumped through a hole in the wall with a spring.

Our stockings were hung by the chimney with cheer,
in hopes that Christmas morning will soon be here.

A plate full of crackers and a giant glass full of juice,

the cookies and milk was something we could not produce.

Yorick is now nestled so snug in our bed,
while visions of catnip danced in his head.
Under 4 blankets and my head in my cap,
we're well on our way for that long winter's nap.

When out on the street there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew with a flash,

just a large tree branch that made the loud crash.

It had fallen onto a sleigh that was parked in the street,

and there stood a man who could barely stay on his feet.

So I threw on my coat and I threw on my shoes,

I went to check on this man who I found smelt like booze.

We headed inside for some warmth and some green tea,

gazing through the window at all the we could see.

The moon on the breast of the fresh fallen snow,

I asked for the mans name and he replied, "You know!"

I glanced over at the man who was standing next to me,

and had to step out of the way of the fire so I could see.

The light from the fire now lights up this man's face,

I couldn't believe it, could it really be, that Santa's in my place?

I had so much to ask him but I didn't know what to say,

Oh wait! Ya I did! Tell me what happened to your sleigh?

He said he stopped at someones house down the street a bit,

"They must have spiked the nog they left that stupid little sh...."

Santa bent over, opened his mouth, and he threw up on the floor,

to the left and to the right, I watched that stuff soar.

The smell now was so much worse than it was before this event,

my eyes opened wide when I notice it was all over Yorick's Christmas present.

I ran for the mop and a bucket of water and started to clean up the mess,

all Santa did was stand there watch and said "Hamlet, I must confess.

"I am not drunk and my sleigh is just fine, and this is all but just a dream,

I knew you were a good person and you proved me correct, you are everything you seem."

"I had heard of your kindness and your good will towards a friend,

so I wanted to see for myself to make sure it's not pretend.

As you ventured out into the bitter cold to help a man in need,

the warmth I felt from your kindness was greater than a fire indeed."

"So I must leave now with much thanks heading your way,

a gift you won't soon forget, under your tree on Christmas Day."

And with that said he walked outside to his sleigh parked in the street,

where he would turn around and call in the air for his tiny reindeer fleet.

"Get down here before the sun comes up, there's still plenty more to do!"

you could hear bells draw closer and closer, bells from this reindeer crew.

One by one they landed in the street ready to take off once more,

Santa climbed into his sleigh and pulled his reigns and off they went with a roar.

I lifted my head and looked to the sky and watched as Santa flew away,

he yelled "Continue to be the person you are and have a merry Christmas Day."

I went inside, turned off the lights, and headed off back into bed,

where Yorick surely still had visions of catnip, dancing in his head.

There is now no way I will forget this night for as long as I breathe air,

the visit from good Ol' Santa Claus, a story I will love to share.

Goodnight Yorick, goodnight world, I'll see you the next day,

and hurry up Christmas morning, please oh please do not delay.

An Early Christmas Gift

2009-12-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00028
December 23rd, 2009

So Yorick and I had just gotten home from the store. I gathered my mail from my mailbox and headed inside to shuffle through it. Bill, bill, Christmas card and a small package from the post office. The post office? I opened up the small package and inside was a letter with a couple of stamps. The letter read:

Dear Hamlet,
I write to you this Christmas season, to apologize for my behavior during your visit the other day, to the post office. This is very uncharacteristic for me and there is not excuse acceptable for my behavior. I hope that in the future, you will continue to visit us at the post office as you really enjoy your company, as well as your cat Yorick's company as well. As a sign of good will, I have sent with this letter, a set of 4 stamps. We at the post office, know about your stamp collection, and after your visit the other day, this is the least I could do to mend things between us. I hope that you will except this small gift and have a very merry Christmas.
Your friend at the post office.

This was quite nice of that teller to send me a letter. She didn't have to do that, but it certainly was a very nice thing to come home to.

Mailing Out My Christmas Cards

2009-12-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00027
December 21st, 2009

After the weekend of writing out Christmas cards to everyone I knew, Yorick and I headed to the post office to mail them out. We thought it would have been a nice day to walk to the post office, but soon after we left, we both wish we had driven. There was a pretty big storm this weekend, which actually missed New Hampshire for the most part, blanketing the middle and southern parts of New England. But even though we only had gotten a dusting, everyone got some of the winds that were on the back side of that storm. The letters I had almost flew out of my hands on several occasions. So I gripped them tighter and we continued on our way.

When we arrived at the post office, the line was out the door. There wasn't even a spot inside for Yorick! For about 15 minutes, we waited outside until the line moved far enough along to make it through the door. This was the longest 15 minutes of our lives. As if the wind wasn't cold enough walking to the post office, now we were standing in the wind. Try and keep warm in the wind while standing still! Inside it took us another 15 minutes to get to the teller, and she wasn't the most pleasant person. I asked her how her day was and she didn't reply. I asked her if she was all set for Christmas and she didn't reply again. Disgust kinda got the best of me when she asked about the stamps I needed for my cards. I said to her, "Why don't you stick it!", and she gave me the worst look ever. She asked "What did you say to me?" I repeated myself. She got all jumpy and she looked like she was about to come over the counter. Another teller came over and asked what was going on. I had explained to the second teller that the first teller seemed kinda rude and when it came time to put the stamps on my cards, that she could stick it for me. After about 5 minutes of trying to explain myself, the first teller went into the back room and the second teller finished cashing me out. I did apologize to the second teller about any confusion that may have come. "It was never my intention!"

So we left the post office in quite a hurry. People were looking at us like we had done something wrong. Kinda, but lay off a little will ya! So we walked home a bit faster than we did walking to. The wind seemed to be less cold this time around. When we got home, we huddled around the fire and thought about all the hard work the people at the post office do to make sure things arrive when they should. They too will have bad days like the rest of us and we should not fault them for it. Today too will end just as the day prior. And we can wake up the next morning and start all over again.

Christmas Shopping

2009-12-12T21:23:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00026
December 11th, 2009

After yet another snow storm, Yorick and I headed up to Tilton to do some Christmas shopping. Now, I couldn't do the shopping for Yorick with him, so I had to leave him in the car while I looked around for something for him. I didn't like doing this but I managed to pull myself away form the car and begin my search. I checked in Levi Strauss but they didn't sell anything small enough for Yorick. Gap, Bass, Old Navy, and Banana Republic. All nothing. But then I found something for Yorick. It was the best gift I could ever have found for him. But I'm not telling what it is. I don't need someone else telling Yorick what I got him.

So I asked for the gift to be wrapped so that Yorick couldn't find out what I got him. I headed back to the car, and just as I expected, he missed me. I let him out of the car and he jumped on me and knocked me over. Then tried to get into the bag I had which had his gift in it. But again, he couldn't see what I got since it was wrapped. Sorry Yorick. You'll have to wait until Christmas to find out what you got. You and everyone else.

First Snow of the Season

2009-12-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00025
December 6th, 2009

I woke up on Sunday morning to find that it had snow last night. About 3 inches of snow was covering everything, from the trees to the roads. It was quite nice to wake up to. I wasn't even aware that it was gonna snow! So with my boots on and Yorick's, ummmm, with my boots on, we headed outside and went for a walk up and down the street. We saw squirrels and chipmunks running along the snow covered ground and jumping from the covered tree branches too! It was an experience that we really enjoyed.

Just as we got back to our driveway, across the street, was Chuck and Kent Fuld. They were walking up and down the street as we were but they were looking for something they dropped the other day. They had gone for a walk up and down the street the day prior, when there was no snow, and dropped their cell phone. They asked me if I had seen it and I told them I hadn't, but if I come across it, I would let them know. I really don't ever talk to these guys. They have a rather large family which they usually spend most of their time with. They happen to ask me if I would like to come over sometime and I told them that I had plenty to do, but Maybe sometime in the near future, I would take them up on the offer. They headed on their way. I hope they find the cell phone they dropped. With the snow on the ground, I could only imagine it was now in a snow bank somewhere.

So we went in the house and heated up some water and made some hot chocolate. As I sipped on my hot chocolate, I sat next to the window and stared at the world outside. Winter is here. And I can't wait to go sledding when there is more snow on the ground.

Skating on Top of the World

2009-11-30T21:06:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00024
November 30th, 2009

Yorick and I went out today for a hike up Mt. Kearsarge. This is our first mountain we ever climbed. I had heard that there was a pretty awesome view from the top and there was. But it did take us some time to get up there. Yous see, Yorick was doing so well hiking up the mountain with me, but decided that he wanted a ride on my back. Yes, a piggy bag ride! I really didn't mind at all. Hiking a mountain was a bit much for him, but I couldn't risk leaving him home after what happened last year. Once we got to the top, we couldn't help but notice that everyone was right. It was an awesome site for sure. You could see for miles. They say on a clear day, you can see the skyscrapers in Boston Massachusetts. That's 80 miles away! We couldn't see them on this day, but we could still see for miles. Snow capped mountains up north and not some many mountains in the south. While on the mountain, there was a letterbox we found, but silly me, forgot our stamp in the car. I can't believe I would do that. It must have slipped out of my backpack when I pulled my bag out of the car. Oh well. I will hike the mountain again, but when it gets warmer. It was windy up there. We found a frozen puddle up there and I was surprised I was able to stand on it without being blown around. It was sweet.

Before we headed down, we ran into some Chinese people, or at least I think they were Chinese. They were eating some food that smelled mighty good. I asked them what they were eating that smelled so good, and they said it was pork fried rice. Yup, I was out of there as fast as I got there. I think that Yorick and I made it down the mountain in record time. So except for running into those Chinese people, we had a great time. With our first mountain out of the way, I wonder where we will go next!

We've Been Gone to Long

2009-11-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00023
November 22nd, 2009

Lately, I have had plenty of time recently reflecting on my time with Yorick. For those that don't remember, about a year ago, I thought I had lost Yorick. He had been gone for some time and finally he came back home to me. Yorick is my best friend and I have no idea what I would do if I ever lost him. I understand that someday, the time will come, but not yet. I would never let anything happen to my Yorick.The other day we went out to Dunbarton for a hike through the woods. We had heard about a nice small little spot just outside the center of town where there were little creatures swimming in the water. Sure enough, when we got there, we found those little creatures. they were newts. I had never seen newts before and I was sure that neither did Yorick. They looked like lizards with big fish like tails. Actually, now that I think about it, they looked like salamanders. Those are tiny lizards that usually live under tree stumps on the ground. Anyhow, Yorick took much interest in these newts and thought he would go into the water to get on of them. Yorick had forgotten that he doesn't swim. So like the best friend that I am, went in after him. Now does anyone remember what time of the year it is? Anyone? It is almost winter. I nearly froze my tail off! I really hope that Yorick doesn't decide to do that to many more times. I don't think I could take to much more of this. So while we were drying off, we continued to watch the newts swim around. Yorick almost jumped back in the water, but I reminded him how cold the water was and that he couldn't swim. He really wanted to jump back in, so I decided to head hope before he actually did again. We had a great time today. So much fun that Yorick fell asleep on the way home. I love that cat so much.

Merry Christmas Yorick!

2008-12-27T05:50:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00022
December 26th 2008

Oh my dear Yorick! Where have you been? I woke up Christmas morning to find him sleeping on the couch. SLEEPING ON THE COUCH! I don't know where he was all this time! It has been a month since I last saw him! I don't know what to say! I mean, if he could talk to me and let me know everything I want to know, that would be wonderful, but of course, we all know that will never happen! Oh, and to top it off, I took pictures of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, developed them, and found that I had taken a picture of Yorick in the tree. I didn't even notice! How silly could I have been? I don't know, but I will be spending the next few days with Yorick. We have a some catching up to do!

Someone called about Yorick.......

2008-12-24T05:07:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00021
Decemeber 23rd 2008

........ but it wasn't him. Someone down the street saw one of my signs and had found a cat that looked like Yorick and decided to call. I suppose it was better than not getting a call at all. Thing was, the cat had a collar and a name tag in it. The name said Sasha and even had an address on it. This person wasn't very smart it would seem. Oh well. I think I should start to believe that Yorick is gone for good. There is no use dwelling on it for the rest of my life.

Still no signs of Yorick

2008-12-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00020
December 20th 2008

With the ice storm last week, it seems that the weather washed away most of the "Lost" signs I posted. So I figured that it would be smart to post more signs. The power went out yet again the day after I got it back which kept me from doing much but freezing some more. When I put out the food and water that other day, I couldn't figure out whether or not anything was touched. You see what happened was, in the middle of the night, I kicked the bowls which were in the middle of the floor. Funny thing was, I didn't put the bowls in the middle of the floor, but oh well. Tons of weird things had been happening throughout all the nights since the ice storm.

So yesterday, I went out to re post all the "Lost" signs and while I was doing so, I came across Wally. He was building a snowman. It looked pretty cool. He wanted to know if I wanted to join him but felt it would be best if I didn't. Of course the winter is still very young, so we will probably have plenty more chances to build snowmen together. He understood and wished me luck. When I ran out of signs, I returned home to a very pleasant surprise. The power had come back on. Lets see how long the power stays on this time.

Picking up the Mess

2008-12-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00019
December 13th 2008

Well, I spent the next day picking up the pieces. My Christmas tree was lying on the floor, pine needles and broken ornaments scattered. I still didn't have power at this time but it did come back sometime in the afternoon. This was really good since the temperature outside was struggling to hit 20 degrees.

As I continued to put my tree back together, I couldn't help but think about what happened last night. The tree branch, the Christmas tree, and then the thing that brushed up against my leg. That couldn't have been my pillow. So what I thought about doing was putting down some food and water and see where that leads me. I am truly going out of my mind! But if my best friend is still around......... I'll let you know what happened in the morning.

Surviving the Ice Strom! Barely!

2008-12-13T06:03:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00018
December 13th 2008

Lying in bed at night, with no power. Flashlight dead, I could do nothing but listen to the trees as they snap under the weight of a quarter inch of ice. Freezing as there is no heat, huddled under 4 blankets just hoping to stay warm through this long cold night. Kinda give you plenty to think about. My mother and of course Yorick. There is almost so much you can think about before the cold just sets in and puts you to sleep.

My watch said it was a little after 4:30 am. Something woke me up. Maybe a tree branch fell on the house. But whatever it was, it was still making noise and it seemed to have been coming from the living room. I thought I should get out of bed and see what the noise is from, but it was still so cold, if not colder than before. But I got out of bed to see what was up. As I was creeping closer to the living room, the noise got a bit louder. A bit closer, a bit louder still. But then, once I got to the living room, the noise stopped. Weird. I stood there for a minute or so before turning around to head off to bed. Started to walk back to bed and the noise started up again. Turned around and faced the window. I couldn't see anything. I still had no power. I took a step towards the window and the noise stopped. Geez, I wish I had a flashlight to see with. Then without warning, a loud BANG filled the house. I fell to the floor, banging my elbow. The bang echoed through the house as as a large tree branch slide down the roof, in front of the window and to the ground. Wow that was scary! But just when I thought it was over, my Christmas tree fell over! This was now a bit much, so I darted back into my bedroom and into bed, covering myself with my 4 blankets. Scared out of my mind now, shaking, I couldn't wait until I fell asleep.

But ............. as I continued to shake, I could feel something brushing up against my leg. I jumped out of bed, pulled the blankets off my bed and started to feel around on the bed to see if I could figure out what it was. All I was able to feel was a small pillow, but what I felt couldn't have been a small pillow. I think I am losing it! I think this is going to be an even longer night. And it was!

Door to Door One More Time

2008-12-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00017
December 6th 2008

Yorick is still no where to be found. I am starting to lose hope that he will be found at all. After calling all the Vet hospitals and animal shelters, the only thing left is to go door to door one more time. Unfortunately, it would seem that no one still has seen Yorick. Poor little guy. The weather is supposed to get snowy tonight and again early in the week. What a horrible last few months I have had. I hope things get better quickly.

Yorick is Still Missing!

2008-12-04T03:27:00.000-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00016
December 3rd, 2008

For the last couple of days, I have spent every waking hour searching for Yorick with no success. I have gone door to door asking neighbors if they have seen him and nobody has. What if he got outside and someone picked him up? Why would someone do that? I know that Yorick is cute and all, but why? Days are long without him and nights are even longer. All I can do is wait until morning and go out yet again and hope for better luck. Maybe I should call the animal shelters too! Please come home soon!

YORICK! Where are you?

2008-11-30T06:12:00.001-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00015
November 30th, 2008

It has now been a few days now and there has been no signs of Yorick anywhere. I had hoped that maybe he had gotten outside and was looking for me, but nothing. I left some food on the front porch for him, but it looks like the food hasn't been touched. Oh, man! I am not liking this at all! He was in the house when Wally and I left on Thursday. If this is some game he is playing, it is not funny anymore. Please Yorick! Come out, come out, where ever you are!

Letterboxing on Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-29T07:52:00.001-08:00

Logbook Entry : 00014
November 27th, 2008

Today was the first time I had to experience Thanksgiving without my Mom. It was a day I hadn't looked forward to, but knew it was going to come either way. Sitting around the house watching the parade on the television, just Yorick and I. But then the doorbell rang. I went to go see who it was. A kid down the street from me came over and was wondering if I wanted to go out today. His name was Wally. He had heard about what had happened to my Mom and thought he would come over to see how I was. I did tell him I was thinking of staying in all day, but he thought it would be a better idea to get out and go for a walk. That was a good idea. I'm glad he came over.

So to help ease some of the pain I will surely feel later, I wanted to go out and do some letterboxing. Wally didn't know anything of letterboxing so I had to let him know what it was. Unfortunately, Wally is allergic to cats so Yorick had to stay home while we were out. Yorick didn't like that much, but he would be fine I'm sure.

So Wally and I went out to search for a box in Northfield. It was located at a replica of Rome's Arch of Titus. It was erect by a Charles Tilton as a tribute to the memory and appreciation of his ancestors. He had hoped that both the towns of Northfield and Tilton would become one, making a greater Tilton, but neither town became the other. Anyway, we both searched for the box there, but couldn't find it. Wally didn't really understand what we were looking for. He would probably better understand letterboxing if we found a box first. But we didn't. We did however find a box on the other side of the river in Tilton. Wally liked what he found.

Wally had said that he really had a fun time and wish he could stay out longer, but he was going to have to head home for Thanksgiving dinner. He wanted to invite me over, but I thought I should go home and stay with Yorick. I didn't want him to spend this day of all days, alone. So we headed back to my house and Wally went home too. When I got inside, I called for Yorick. He didn't come. I called for him again. He didn't come. Hmmmm, where could Yorick be?

Needing to get out!

2008-11-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

Log Entry : 00013
November 17th, 2008

You ever get that feeling that you haven't been out for awhile? Being that it has been a month since heading out and doing anything, I felt it was about time. With the passing of my mother, I had allowed it to take me into hiding and not once think about going outside. Kinda sad if you think about it. Day after day, Yorick would scratch at the door giving me hints that we should really get outside. I was a bit oblivious to these hints until Yorick jumped into my lap and put his face into mine. He was right. So we headed out to the coast. It had been some time since we last went, so why not.

Pierce Island in Portsmouth is such a wonderful spot to go. It is fairly quiet there, except when the Naval Shipyard across the river is doing work on something. But all in all, it is still a very nice place to check out. There used to be a bunch of letterboxes here, but there has been a rash of bad luck on the island. The 1 box I believe is still left, and has had its share of problems, is Portsmouth Alarm. This box has been damaged twice and replaced once. All the others have gone missing.

So anyway, Yorick and I went looking for Portsmouth Alarm, and then sat down for some lunch at the lookout. The sun was nice but it was a little cold. Fall was certainly here and winter was surely to follow. Just smell that ocean air. It was so nice to get out. I should do this more often. Thanks Yorick. Your a good friend.

My Long Absence

2008-10-05T05:17:00.000-07:00

Log Entry : 00012
October 5th 2008

So it has been a month since I last posted anything in my journal. I really hadn't the time nor patients to do so. Something happened to me about a month ago. And it sent me into a corner and I didn't want to come out.
I lost my Mother to an illness she had been fighting for years now. She seemed to healthy every time I saw her. The last time I saw her, we went to the market for some carrots. We talked about how the leaves would be changing colors soon and we should take a ride north to see it. We usually do this every fall, but....................
.........sorry. It has been really hard for me over the past month. I have had to pack up her things and put them in storage. While doing so, I came across a box with my name on it. It also said it was from my Mother. I found this the week after she past and I haven't opened it yet. I don't know if I should ever.
Well, Yorick and I will probably head north to see the colors today and I won't help but think of the trip my Mother and I would've had again this year. We will certainly miss her so.
Sorry I had been gone for so long. I hope you understand.

*please understand this story is true for Hamlet and not Team New Hampshire

Rock Climbing at Den Rock

2008-09-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Log Entry : 00011
September 2, 2008

Monday, Yorick and I went rock climbing at this awesome place in Andover , MA, called Den Rock. This place is one huge pile of rock that is known for having people climb it. When we got there, we were so looking forward to getting started, but someone else was already there climbing. Now this tends to be a bit of a problem. I don't wanna climb when someone else is climbing. I am not that great a climber. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing it, but sometimes I get real scared and freeze. If this was to happen again, I could hold up everyone else climbing. So both Yorick and I were hanging out at the base and started to climb a little. Sure enough, I was a little scared and froze. I think this was because I was thinking about it to much. If I hadn't thought about it all, I'm sure I would be just fine. But now I had an even bigger problem. I had to get down. Yorick cried and cried and cried. He felt my pain and tried to help me down. Eventually I did get down, and Yorick did help some. I am so glad that Yorick is there with me. I think that him and I will have to come back sometime again soon. School is going to start soon and I think it might keep most everyone away from Den Rock. It was a shame too! I really wanted to climb the huge rock. Maybe in a couple weeks when I come through the area again.

Enjoying an End of the Summer, Day

2008-08-28T20:26:00.001-07:00

Log Entry : 00010
August 28th, 2008

Well, I need to apologize. I really hadn't been able to find much time to write over the past few days. Sometimes life just gets in the way of having a little fun. Today though, we were able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. And of course, all summer it has been wet and rainy. The last unofficial weekend to the summer, and you couldn't find a rain cloud. Anyway, so Yorick and I went to the river for a walk. The river has gone down since we last walked it, lack of rain and all. Didn't think I would ever say lack of rain this summer, but yes, lack of rain. we checked up on a box down there called White Sands. This is a box that has been there since 2005. While checking out his box, we came across a trail we hadn't seen the prior times down by the river. It was a small trail but the views of the river were really awesome. We found this really cool tree. Yorick climbed it and I had to stop and think for a minute. What were the chances I could climb it and would I get stuck like I did last time! I started to climb the trunk and found it fairly easy, but decided not to go all the way to the top for fear of making a fool of myself at another location in New Hampshire. But anyway, I decided that life shouldn't be full of embarrassments, so instead of trying everything Yorick does, I will stick to the things I know I can do.

Well, I probably won't write for a few days, but I am planning something huge for Sunday. Stay tuned.

Looking Silly

2008-08-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

Log Entry : 00009
August 23th, 2008

Well, If you tell me you have done everything, chances are, you are lying. I thought I have done everything until I realized that I haven't Leave it up to Yorick to help me figure that out. Now, yesterday, we went up to Lebanon for a hike on the Rail Trail they have there. This trail runs for miles through several towns. We didn't have time to hike the whole thing, but we did venture down a very nice stretch. So anyhow, Yorick like to climb onto things. Usually, he does this even though I ask him not to. this usually never works. Remember, it is like trying to teach him how to play soccer. It just doesn't work.

So we arrive at the Rail Trail and Yorick jumps out in front of me, which is fine. We get to the gate at the intersection to the trail and the road and he goes and climbs onto the gate. Standing at the gate and staring at Yorick, I begin to wonder, can I climb onto the gate? I suppose there was only one way to find out. First I had to figure out how I was going to get up there. There were no pegs to climb up with or rope to grab a hold of. Maybe I could jump up. It seemed kinda high. So I tried to jump and I could just barely touch it. I tried again and was almost able to grab a holed of the bar. Not willing to give up, I tried again and was able to grab the bar. Now what! I am not the most athletic pig in the world and my muscles are still a work in progress. I pulled and pulled and pulled and to my surprise, I was able to get my foot on top of the gate. But that was about it. I couldn't manage to get the rest of myself on the gate. But, now I had a problem. I couldn't get my foot off the gate. No matter what I tried, I was stuck. And of course Yorick was no help. After about 10 minutes, someone came by and helped me down, but not before taking this embarrassing picture of my back side. You would think that helping me down would be first on the list of things do to in this situation. Geez, this picture makes my butt look big.

Once I got down, Yorick climbed down as well. We did manage to find 1 box on the trail afterwards called Footloose Caboose. It was a nice area, but now felt as if we should be heading home. It felt like people were watching me now after what had just happened. Not a wonderful thought. We will have to come back on another day when there aren't so many people. Shame too! It was such a beautiful day.

Boston's Children Museum

2008-08-19T20:23:00.001-07:00

Log Entry : 00008
August, 19th, 2008

I have to admit, I have never slept so long in my life. Yesterday, I visited Boston and went to the Children's Museum. I usually don't go to museums, because they seem quite boring, but this one, I was told, was one to visit. Unfortunately, they don't allow cats in, so I had to leave Yorick at home. While inside, there was this huge climbing thing and this bubble making thing and a noise making thing. That really doesn't exactly give you any idea what I saw, but there was this one thing that really caught my eye. They had a huge chess board built into the floor. The chess pieces were bigger than myself but were really lite. I asked someone to play with me and that kid beat me. I asked for a rematch but his parents wanted to visit a different area of the museum. Someone else offered to play me and that kid beat me too! So after losing 2 games of chess, some running around, which is not allowed, and some munching of food, I decided I should heard home and check on Yorick. But when I got outside, I couldn't help but take a picture of Boston. The picture above is the view outside the Children's Museum.

When I got home, Yorick was so happy to see me and we hung out for about a half hour before I fell asleep. That was about 4 pm. I woke up around noon today. I worked myself into a long nap, if that's what you call it. A nap. Oh well! I think that Yorick and I will go out and search for a box tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be wonderful. I have to make it up to Yorick for leaving him home for so long and then for my lengthy nap.

Oh the Sky!

2008-08-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Logbook Entry : 00007
August 12th, 2008

So, we were able to get outside in the evening, but it sounded quite scary. While walking through the woods, you could hear the rumbles of thunder in the distance and it drew nearer as were walked further into the woods. So we kinda hurried the whole thing a little, but we found a perfect location. We tried to take some pictures of this spot, but they didn't come out that good. The rumbles of thunder would seem to always shake the camera at the right moment, so we gave up after 3 tries. After we planted the box we ended up running back to my car.

On the way back home though, we did manage to stop somewhere, a bit away from the storm making all that noise, and take some pictures of the sky. It was so beautiful, I had to stop and take pictures. Well, it will be a few days until I can get back outside. House work calling. Very boring housework.

Strange Visitor

2008-08-12T06:15:00.001-07:00

Logbook : 00006
August 12th, 2008

So guess what it did today! Can you figure it out? Yup, it rained some more. This is getting to be very dumb. I mean, what is a pig supposed to do on a rainy day. Yorick slept all day, so he wasn't any fun. What I did do to pass some of the time was watch the rain out the window, but that gets old real quick. But today, I noticed something in the front yard. There was a dog in our front yard. Just sitting there in the rain. Now, I wasn't about to go outside and check out this dog. What if it had rabies! I don't want rabies! So I watched the dog as it watched me. I wonder who the dog belonged to. Oh well. The dog left after about 15 minutes and headed down the street. Maybe it went home. All I know is that it isn't sitting in the front yard anymore in the rain. I hope it stops raining tomorrow long enough for me to get out and replant a letterbox. This being couped really stinks.

A Scary Night!

2008-08-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Log Entry : 00005
August 11th, 2008

Yesterday, both Yorick and I were able to get outside for hike. We had heard about this very beautiful location called Glen Falls in Fairlee, Vermont. This place was amazing to say the least. Now of course, these falls probably don't compare to the ones out west of around the world, but to find some falls in the Northeast, where you can find tons more things of interest, just adds to the bonus of living here. So we were hanging out on the trail that ran upside the falls and tripped over a letterbox. Actually it was a Valley Quest box. This is a type of letterbox which is mostly around the Connecticut River Valley, but has been known to branch out a little in the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. So we found a VQ box. What a surprise this was to us. We opened it up and not many had visited the box so far this year. We did our thing with it and returned it to its location. Afterwards, we ate some lunch and began home.

And wouldn't you know, it started to rain on the way home. We have been unfortunate this summer with all the rain we have gotten, and the night was to be very familiar as well. Thunderstorms all night. I found it hard to sleep and Yorick wasn't to happy about the storms either. He hid under the sheets which helps block all the light coming through the windows, but doesn't block the rumbles of thunder very well. But sometime in the night, the storms started to fall apart and eventually we were able to fall asleep. What a night it was.

More Rain Won't Stop Us

2008-08-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

Log Entry : 00004
August 8th, 2008

Well, over the last few days, it has rained some more. Something about being stuck in the house everyday, just doesn't sit with us very well. I turned on the weather channel and looked at the forecast and it was good news. Rain, rain, and more rain in the forecast. But, there looked to be a break in the action outside coming our way. This could be it. This could be our only chance to get outside and do something.

We went outside and hopped into the car. Yorick has to sit in the back because he isn't big enough. Safety first. I buckled him in and we started driving. Now where do we go. I didn't just wanna just drive around. That would be a waste of gas, especially since gas is still pretty high right now. But then it came to me. I looked at the map and closed my eyes. waved my finger around in the air and then down onto the map. Opened my eyes and Newport. I don't know what is in Newport but that's where we were heading.

So we drove for about an hour and reached our destination. Now we had to find something to do and quick. The clouds above looked mean and ready to dump tons of raindrops on everyone doing the very same thing we were. Then, there it was. A small park by the river, which is crossed by a covered bridge. We parked and got out of the car. Oh man did the clouds looked even darker. We walked around a bit and the rain started to fall. This wasn't looking to good for us. The rain grew a bit harder, and then the heavens opened up. Yorick and I ran for the covered bridge. We looked at each other and couldn't figure out what to do next, so we waited. About 20 minutes later, someone came by and told us there was a flood warning issued for the river we were over right now and it was suggested that we leave before things get to bad. We didn't like to hear the news, but we decided we should leave. Now what? Well, we headed home. We didn't feel like that day was a total wash out. We did get out of the house like we wanted to. Oh well. Back to being at home staring out the window, hoping for another dry day.

What a Beautiful Day!

2008-08-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

Log Entry : 00003
August 4th, 2008

Well, like I thought, it didn't rain today. We did have to wait a bit to go outside because the grass was still wet from the rain last night. But, it didn't take much time before I couldn't wait anymore. Yorick and I went outside to play a little soccer. OK, so Yorick really doesn't play soccer. You see, what happens is, I kick the ball to him and he jumps on the ball. He doesn't ever return the ball, making the game a bit tough to play. I have been trying to teach him how to play, but every time, without fail, he jumps on the ball. That's what I get for trying to teach a cat to play soccer.

So, I gave up playing soccer and we went for a walk down to the river. I had to check up on a few letterboxes down there. It had rained a ton over the last few weeks and when we got down there, the river had eaten away at the banks. This was a bad thing. One of the trails sneaks along the river and now is barely passable. So, to be safe, I had to pull the box. I wouldn't want anyone else to scale the river like I had to today. All anyone needs is to fall into the river. The other box was fine.

Well, the night had come and it is now time for bed. Don't know if I'm doing anything tomorrow, but if I do, I'll be sure to let you know.

Rainy Sunday

2008-08-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

Log Entry : 00002
August 3rd, 2009

Well, I wish there was something better to write about. Today, I had hoped to get out and do some wood walkin with Yorick, but it had rained for a good portion of the day. The wind was strong and the rain feel fast. We did how ever play a game of chess though. I won. I usually win. Really, Yorick is no match for me.

I did get a letter in the mail. It was from a kid named Trexx. He welcomed me to the neighborhood. Funny thing was, I was here for awhile, but just to shy to say anything. Kinda like that kid that sits in the back of the classroom, never once raising his hand. Ya, that's me. But nonetheless, it was really nice to have someone reach out and greet me. Maybe someday he would love to come over and play a game of chess or something. Man, I gotta make some friends!

Well, Mondays weather looks to be much better. I hope to finally get out for that walk.

Hello! My Name is Hamlet!

2008-07-29T15:03:00.001-07:00

Log Entry : 00001
July 29th, 2008

This is my first entry. I don't know quite what to say. Funny thing is, I have had this blog for well over 4 months and was to afraid to post anything. Suddenly, I find the courage to type something up and haven't the slightest what to say. Oh, I know! How bout I tell you who I am. Well, my name is Hamlet. I live with my cat Yorick. We live alone, which means that we get out a lot. I usually don't like hanging out at home, but when I do, I watch one of my favorite movies, Barnyard. When I do go out, both Yorick and go around to places we have never been, visit friends we haven't seen in awhile, and some times, just drive. There is nothing like driving nowhere. Ummm, I like to read books and listen to music while I fall asleep, when I can fall asleep. You see, my cat Yorick likes to keep me up sometimes. He likes to play with my tail, thinking it is a ball of yarn I suppose. Crazy cat.

So I guess that's some stuff about me and Yorick. I will probably post something when ever I get out. Since I have tons of time on my hands, that is!