Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #99: Speed Changes, Bad Parents, Cheap Store, etc.

1. Maybe this only happens to me, but I feel like I am driving slower on a road if there is a car in front of me. What I mean is that if I am going 40 and there’s a car in front of me, I feel as though I am actually going slower. If I am going 40 with an open road ahead of me, it feels faster. Am I the only one who gets that feeling? Maybe with an open road, I know I could go faster if I wanted to? There has to be some reason for it. Just like how if you drive the same route repeatedly, you can basically black out and still get to where you’re going. It’s like muscle memory.


2. In 2025, when I played Spotify, I typically stuck to one of two playlists. I played my Chill Mix, which consists of a lot of downtempo music, at home. At work, I played a Best of the 1980s playlist since much of my clientele is 50+. It should have come as no surprise to me that when I got my Best of 2025 playlist made by Spotify that it was basically both of those playlists crammed into one. I scrolled through it once and decided that since I heard those songs so much as it is why would I bother playing it? I guess I should try to play more of a variety of music in 2026 just so my best of playlist will be exciting next year.


3. There are tons and tons of great parents out there...and then there are these next people. So I was at the supermarket when I spotted a boy who must have been 4 carrying some food item that he kept dropping, intentional or not, on the floor. The parents kept telling him to stop, but didn’t take the thing he was dropping away. Cut to 5 minutes later, and they come rolling in after me at the little self-checkout section. The mother and daughter, who was probably 10, started checking out and immediately getting mad at the self-checkout register. Behind me, the boy is still dropping that item he had, which I saw was a bag of chips. Then he stepped on it until it popped. Again, the parents tell him to stop but don’t take it away. Oh wait but the best is yet to come. I check out and am leaving. It’s probably 40 feet from the self-checkout to the automatic front doors. Who do I see standing there, not letting the doors close? The 4-year-old boy. No parents around. They had no clue where he was. And it was nearly 8pm. Lucky for them there were no kidnappers around. I can’t be too shocked, though, since the parents looked like if you added them together they’d have the same IQ as a piece of chewed bubblegum.


4. An interesting phenomenon occurs around this time each year. Once the weather starts to get consistently cold, I remember that there is a small hole in the ceiling right above my desk at work. It happened this week. I was sitting doing paperwork and noticed that I had an urge to put my coat on. Out in our lobby, it is consistently 70 degrees, but in our therapy room, where my desk is the temperature slowly drops as you walk across the room. That’s because the warm air is being destroyed by a funnel of ice-cold air above my desk. It comes from the warehouse. In the past, I have taken to shoving a shirt up in the hole, but the air still makes it through. I feel like I’m going to end up with a storm forming in front of my desk where the cold air and warm air meet. I can add it to the list of things we need to have the new owners of the building fix. Sealing the wall in the gym that abuts the warehouse so our heat doesn’t fly right out. Fixing our mini split so we can have quiet heat in the gym, not a 1960s-looking jet engine heater. Putting some adequate lighting in the shady back parking lot. Getting some lines painted in the customer front parking lot. Paving and putting lines in the employee's back parking lot. Any one of those would be great.


5. It’s an interesting window into my life as a child when I look at a piece of pottery I made in school when I was probably in 5th grade. My mom has kept it and now has it as a part of a really cool display with photos and candles, and such. I believe that I have a great imagination and a pretty good creative gene. I mean I do create books, podcasts, YouTube videos, this blog, etc. That being said, pottery was not going to be my chosen path. I made a sort of goblet, and besides the fact that I was 10 or 11, I believe that it shows a bit of possible ADHD. A bunch of different colors, lines, and holes, it’s so busy that it has to be ADHD at least a little. You be the judge.

6. In one of the most shocking stories in sports this year, the Indianapolis Colts have signed 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers to play on their team this year. 44 isn’t old in real life, but in sports it is. It’s doubly old when you have been retired for 5 years and are a legit grandfather. It’s kind of a no-win situation for the NFL. Either Rivers plays and does well, and it makes the current players in the league look bad. Or he comes back, and plays badly or worse, gets hurt, and it gets people asking why the NFL allowed it to happen. It’ll definitely be an interesting weekend of football. I must say, though, that the images floating around the internet of the Philip Rivers render for Madden ‘26 are pretty funny if they’re legit. He looks like some dude cosplaying as a football player. Here’s the image if you want a laugh.

7. My friend Mike and I spend our Monday afternoons in the warmer months doing Monday Runday at a local track. We have a running (no pun intended) joke about a store located across the street in a little strip plaza. It is called the ‘cheap store.’ Mike made it up, and I always figure it’s because it’s a low-end convenience store. I also believe it gets this name because of the stream of weirdos that frequent it. I stopped in to grab a few giant 5-Hour Energy drinks. They are the only place I know locally that has them. I was in there a total of 3 minutes, and in that time, I saw 5 people who could have been posts in the blog on their own. If I had to whittle it down to one, I’d go with the guy in the fur coat wearing shorts (on a 35-degree day) with sandals and socks. He was very interested in all of the specific nips that were behind the register. I got out of there as fast as I could to avoid any unseen shankings from the cheap store crew.

Greetings from the 'cheap store.'

8. The irony of old people going on social media to complain about younger people using social media isn’t lost on me. I see more people in general doing it, and I have to laugh. It’s like if you want to prove a point about social media, how about deleting your accounts and living your life? Or better yet, get a pencil and paper and write a letter to the opinion column of your local newspaper, like you would have done in the 1980s? It’s the need to feel important. I put this thought into practice this week. I realized that I got 5-10x more engagement on my photos on Threads rather than on Instagram with half of the followers. I had crafted a story post on IG announcing that I was going to be posting photos mainly on Threads from now on. Then I realized nobody would care about my announcement. So you know what I did? I just stopped sharing photos on IG without having to make a big production out of it.


9. This week, we finally got the classic unpredictable weather New England is known for. We were expected to get some sort of snow, but it kept going back and forth as far as how much. In the days leading up to the storm, it went from an inch to as much as 6 inches. Having lived in New England basically my entire life, I was hedging my bets about as far as how much snow we’d get. Instead of bringing the snow brush inside and lifting my windshield wipers up the night before, I left everything as it was. Naturally, we ended up on the heavier end of the snow totals. It was a snow shoveling afternoon but some good calorie burn according to my Fitbit. It could be a sign of a snowy winter, or, knowing New England, it’ll be 55 degrees on Christmas Day. We’ll see.


10. It’s amazing how time can go so slowly and quickly at the same time. 8 years ago this week, one of my oldest and very first friends of my life died suddenly. He had a wife and a young daughter and hadn’t even reached his 40th birthday. His name was Matt, and we shaped each other's formative years by being there for each other. We played, we rode bikes, we had adventures, we slept and ate at each other's houses, and we fought like brothers. Later in high school and into adulthood we lost touch; life just happens that way. In our late 30s, we reconnected in real life. We would seemingly always bump into each other at the grocery store. That became our adult hangout where we’d share stories of how life was going. One night in December 2017, I was beat up and tired from work. I just wanted to grab a few things in the store and go home. I spotted Matt, but he didn’t see me. I knew there would be another time to chat so I watched him push his cart around the corner at the end of an aisle and quickly got my shopping done. I can still see him rounding that corner forever in my mind. A few days later, I was getting a text from my sister Kate asking ‘what happened to Matt?’ It was a gut punch that in many ways I’ve never come back from. I had experienced death before but we knew it was coming. My Nana, my Aunt Christine, there was a long road to their final sunset. Not with Matt. I saw him one day and a few days later he was gone. Just remember that you don’t always have the time you think you do. Rest in peace, Matt. Until we meet again. For those interested, here is the podcast that I recorded in his memory.

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #93: Season Finale, Grammar Woes, Birthday Fun, etc.

1. This week marked the Season Finale on Monday Runday. Starting next week, it will get dark too early for me to meet my friend Mike at a local track to do some running, or, in my case, mostly walking. It rained on my way to the track which had me anticipating a rainbow. Instead, it was just loads of clouds but no rain. Plus, the temperature hovered around 50, so a far cry from summer a few months ago. The earliest I could get back out there would be late February. Of course, in the dead of winter, just because the sun sets at 5:30 again doesn’t mean it’s not also 30 degrees and snowing.

Goodbye Monday Runday until March

2. During this final Monday Runday of the year, we were joined by a few different people. No one we knew, just other people who showed up at the track. As I was explaining to Mike about the news of my story being turned into a feature-length film next year (see last week’s blog), a random guy who was also on the track passed by. He stopped as he exited the track and wished me luck on the film project. That was nice of him. It did make us wonder if he would have said anything if we were talking about any other topics. Like starting a murderous clown-for-hire business. “Good luck with the killer clown thing, I’ll be sure to keep my doors locked!” Or it could have been a much sweeter subject, but I just couldn’t think of one.


3. I have mentioned before in this blog that each spring and fall for the past several years, I have helped my buddy Steve install and remove a dock at a couple’s lakefront property. The husband helps us as well, so 3 of us take care of this 3-part aluminum dock. Putting it in is easier than removing it. It’s dry, and we’re looking forward to warmer weather. Plus, since I am on one end while the other 2 are on the other end, I have an easier time walking down the 2-levels and roughly 30 steps. In the fall, it’s usually cooler. This year it was 50 degrees and sprinkling. Also, retrieving the dock is harder since it’s mucky and water-logged. I had to carry my ends solo backward up the steps. On the 3rd trip carrying the last piece of the dock, I paid the price. One of the bars of the dock had a crack in it. From there, the water sprayed out like a sprinkler. It went down my legs into my shoes, and best of all was spurting into my face and mouth. Despite all of that, it was easier than expected. Plus, Steve and I each get paid handsomely for a short amount of time working. This is why even if we are beat up and sore, we’ll keep going to help with the dock, at least until something on one of us breaks.


4. As you know from last week’s blog, I have an old story of mine, The Cabin, that is going to be made into a feature-length film next summer. Even though that is a long way off I still need to start doing some work toward it. The first thing I had to do was revise the original book, which I wrote in 2008. The book is about 43,000 words, about 70 pages. I ran it through Grammarly and was stunned by the results. It was perfect. Kidding, it was way worse. There were somewhere around 1,000 grammatical errors in the book. Now, mind you, this book has been up for purchase in the Amazon Kindle store since early 2009. It must have looked like a 4th grader wrote it, well, except for the blood and gore in it. My ultimate plan is to give the book a full revision and then re-release it in ebook and paperback form when the movie is released. Obviously, there is a lot of time in between now and then, but it never hurts to have a plan in mind.

The revised cover of the original book.

5. With this being my birthday week, I have been seeing a lot of memories popping up on social media about planning get-togethers for friends and family. Since I gave up alcohol 5 years ago, I really haven’t gone out to any sort of bar because, you know, there’s no reason to go and sit there and watch other people get drunk. Part of me misses planning events for my birthday, mainly because it was a way to see a bunch of people on the same night. I had thought about trying to plan a dinner or something, but going to a restaurant is so expensive now that I would feel bad asking people to come and celebrate me, and also drop probably $30-40 at least on a meal. It’s too late this year, but maybe next year I’ll try to figure out a way to meet up with people that doesn’t involve alcohol or spending loads of money.


6. It’s amazing to me how oblivious some people can be. I was driving down the road to my job and slowed down to pull into our parking lot. Thankfully, I both slowed down and paid attention because the guy with his back to the road, standing in the middle of the entrance on his phone, sure as hell didn’t. I pulled in and spotted this guy with his head down on his phone, walking very very slowly across the parking lot. My car is fairly quiet, but there’s no way he didn’t hear me. I crept into the lot thinking he’d see me and move. Wrong. He kept walking and was in such a location that I could not get by him without hitting another car. Finally, I had had enough and gave my horn a quick tap. He jumped like I had tased him. He moved a few feet to one side, and I was able to park. I wanted to tell him I had to get his attention, which is why I beeped, but by the time I got out of my car, he was too far away for me to care. Still on his phone with his head down in the parking lot.


7. For longtime readers, you’ll remember several months ago I mentioned that at my work, there was a gigantic wasp nest hanging above the entrance to the parking lot. It was high enough off the ground that the wasps didn’t bother you if you walked underneath it. My goal had been to get as close a photo as possible using my selfie stick. It never ended up happening. In a sort of anti-climactic season finale, I came into work this week and the nest was just gone. Now I wasn’t expecting the owners of our building to send us a message so we could go and watch the nest be taken down. That being said, I do wonder what exactly happened. It hasn’t gotten cold enough for the wasps to die or abandon the nest, so did a team have to come all in hazmat gear and cut the nest down? It was about as big as a large overstuffed backpack, so there had to be at least hundreds of wasps in there. Oh well, maybe next year they will return with an even bigger nest that’ll look like a small car hanging from a tree. I can dream.


8. After so many years online, I’d like to think I have a pretty good read on what is legit and what is a scam when it comes to email. This week, my skills got put to the test. I got an email from a thing called Book Maven HQ. It went into detail about why they loved my Cape Cod Nights book, including a few specifics. They gave me an offer to help promote the book. That immediately raised my antenna as I get the same sort of messages from rando scammers when I share my podcast. It was only when they sent a second email a few minutes later with the same structure, but this time about my Searching for the Lady of the Dunes book, that I knew it was a scam. It’s like this bot or whatever scanned the book cover and grabbed words from the description and then put them in the email, thinking I’d believe they were real because they quoted something from the book cover. These idiots sealed the deal when they sent a third email, but this time about a very old ebook. How did it seal it? It had the same structure as the other emails, but where the title was located in the other emails, there was a blank space. This blank space was because the bot or AI couldn’t read the title on the cover. After all, the font is kind of wonky. Sorry, Book Maven or whatever you really are, I’ll keep my money and you can f off.


9. It was a fairly uneventful but still really fun Halloween. There were no wild parties, no staying out super late, no booze, but I don’t miss any of that. I was way happier having Chinese food for dinner and then watching the original Halloween from 1978. It’s a tradition I’ve been doing for years. Oh, and my fortune cookie said ‘your greatest dreams are meant to be pursued.’ That was maybe a good omen for the year to come.


10. Sadly, the day before my birthday also happens to be the last night before we turn the clocks back. Not only was I out enjoying the last night of my 47th year, but I also had the desperation of knowing that the following night the sunset would be at 4:30. Luckily, the weather was perfect for November 1st, 55 and sunny with the wind dying down. I sneaked into a little cottage compound for photos of the sunset from the top of the stairs at a private beach. Even as I am sprinting toward 50 I still find the time to go places I shouldn’t go. Hey, it’s the off-season, and plus I didn’t touch anybody’s property and was in and out quick. The photo was worth it. Goodbye, 5pm sunsets, see you in late February.

Final 5pm sunset until late February

11. Nothing says ‘old man’ like being awake at 6:30 on your birthday. Granted, it was stupid Daylight Saving that caused it, but still. It wasn’t all bad, though. I was fully alert enough to get some work done before 7am. My buddy Steve messaged me, but he misspelled ‘cereal.’ His phone made the mistake of autocorrecting it to ‘clerical.’ I ran with this and made this fancy box of Honey Nut Cheerios that is sure to be a hit someday. The best part? He was actually eating Honey Nut Cheerios. No, I'm not psychic, maybe a bit psychotic, but that's beside the point. 

12. I was craving a 5-Hour Energy. Not the little shots but the big 16-ounce drinks. On Cape Cod, I know of two places that have had them. I’m sure there’s more, but I’m not going to go hunting for them. Anyway, the one guaranteed to have this drink, several of my friends affectionately refer to as the ‘cheap store.’ It definitely has the look of a place that, if the health department wanted to, they could close it down at any time. I knew exactly what I was looking for, though so it was less time with the handsome group of regulars in there playing the lottery and spending all of their money on scratch tickets. I found what I wanted, but the irony is that I must be the only one who ever buys those big 5-Hours. I know this because on the shelf where they were located, the cans were dusty. Don’t worry, I looked to make sure they hadn’t expired. Thanks, Cheap Store, I’ll probably be back to buy most of the rest of those drinks before they expire.

13. It was a bit surreal having breakfast on my birthday. My friends Steve and Amanda invited me to a place, Grumpy’s, in Dennis. Why I say it was surreal is that way back in the day, I used to work at a restaurant right down the street called The Marshside. We used to be a more rustic-looking spot serving all three meals. The interior of the old Marsh looked a lot like how Grumpy’s looks. So much so that when the Marshside was rebuilt into a more sterile location, a lot of our regulars moved on to Grumpy’s. Sitting in there, seeing the specials written in chalk on the wall, and just the overall vibe of the restaurant brought back pleasant memories. Plus, it was a nice gift and a fun time getting to dine out and chat. It made me miss the old Marsh, well, mostly the people I used to see and work with.


14. My birthday ended up being a great one. Good food, seeing good friends, getting loads of love from family and friends all day. I even got to somehow fit in a sunset shoot even though I briefly forgot it was at 4:30. Eating, buying some new clothes, and running shoes, and the sunset were all amazing, but nothing tops family and friends. Everything I do. All of the hustling, trying to ‘make it’ and chase my dreams, it’s all done to make my family and friends proud that they know me and/or are related to me. I will do all I can to make my 48th year, the 48th chapter of my life, the best it can be. Thank you all.

Birthday sunset.

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog: #50 - My Nana, Middle-Aged Teen, Getting Mad Cash, etc.

1. My Nana passed away 15 years ago this week. I still miss her like she died just yesterday. Despite that, I do feel at peace knowing that I spent so much time with her while she was alive. Of course, I’d always want one more get-together but I’m blessed to have thousands of memories of her. That being said I do get sentimental on certain days. Her birthday, Christmas Eve, and her death date. I still remember it like it was yesterday. She had died late the previous night so I found out early the next morning. I remember feeling numb. I found it interesting that only moments after finding out Nana had died I spotted 3 crows on the roof of the house next door. They represent death and the afterlife so it was very appropriate.

2. My favorite Chinese food spot on Cape Cod is Sun On in Dennis. It has been for loads of years. To me, the food is always great. However, one thing I really like about them is that they remember you. The man who I think is either the owner or manager always remembers my name. In fact, I went in this week and saw him for the first time in probably a couple of years. He immediately smiled and said hello and remembered my name. Yes, that earned a little cash tip in the jar.

3. I am going into 2025 with more of a clean slate than usual. Sure I have things I am working on, or working toward, but I am also feeling like I need to leave a lot more open. This will allow things to come into my life that I might normally miss. I don’t have any books I’m working on. I don’t even have any book events scheduled. These are typically the times that unforeseen things show up. I’m cautiously excited to see where things will be at the end of 2025.

4. I had a very low-key New Year’s Eve. I definitely don’t miss those days of staying out until after midnight and drinking. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of funny stories from years past. More funny because I survived. This included a year, probably 2013 when I drove home from a favorite restaurant/bar close to 1am. My drive home included blinding snow, a curvy road, and a good buzz. Like I said I can laugh now but that easily could have been how my story ended.

5. At a small local convenience store I was gifted a huge pleasant surprise. No, not a winning lottery ticket. This store carries the 16oz 5-Hour Energy drinks that I love but rarely can find. The last time I had one was when I was up in Brattleboro, Vermont in August. I bought a few and now know I can get them whenever I want. The store itself is a bit sketchy but that just means I need to get in and out fast with my haul.

6. I was faced with a sad reality on New Year’s morning. I got up *relatively* early to go to the gym to kind of kick 2025 off right. I wasn’t up that early but I rolled into the gym at 9am. It was a good workout and the gym really wasn’t crowded. It wasn’t until I was finishing up by walking a bit on a treadmill that I noticed something. Easily 95% of the people in there were older than me, and older by a lot. I wasn’t the youngest in the gym but I had to be close. It made me realize that my ‘out late partying’ days are really over. Well, honestly they were never that crazy anyway, but even if I wanted to start being a party guy it’s way too late.

7. The good news: my blog, this blog, recently passed 450K total views. The bad news: I’ve been running this blog since 2008. We’ll keep that second part quiet. I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 blog posts dating back to my debut post on October 25, 2008. Did you know that you can make money on these blogs through ad clicks? There is a $100 minimum threshold for payout though. Would you like to know when the last time was that I got a payout on my blog? February 21, 2014. So going on 9 years. I’m not saying that blogging doesn’t pay off. I’m just saying that you need to have other side hustles or try out different subjects to write about. But oh man I’m getting close to that next $100 payout. I can’t wait to use it on groceries for the week.

8. From the ‘Everything Is Coming Up Milhouse’ department: I was at a grocery store paying at the self-checkout. I had cash but the total included 1 cent. The question came up, do I break a bill and get 99 cents back? Or do I use my debit card to avoid getting back that change? Well, the grocery gods were smiling on me as I looked on the ground beside me and saw a penny on the floor. No this wasn’t like finding a winning lottery ticket on the floor but I guess it was the next best thing. Maybe not the next best. More like the 100^th next best but still, exact change is a fun accomplishment.

9. After many years I finally have a really good writing station. I bought a comfy office chair, an actual desk, and a plastic floor cover so my chair doesn’t tear up the carpet. Within a few minutes of sitting down at this desk, I found myself working on several projects at once. Having a different setting for work is indeed a big key for creativity. So far it’s only been writing and editing, no recording but as of now, I am thrilled with this setup. Plus I put everything together myself so I feel a bit handy as well.

10. Here is what is likely the most appropriate shopping trip for me. I bought myself a basketball. I haven’t owned a basketball since high school and I want to start playing again as the weather gets better. It’ll be an easy way to trick myself into exercising. However, I also bought myself a pill organizer. You know the one with the days listed and their own individual containers? I keep forgetting to take my vitamins so I got that as a reminder. It’s like teenage me and middle-aged me are being melded together into one. 

Middle-Aged Teen Playset

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #44: Hydraulic Press, Bird’s Nest Hair, Bot Fights, etc.

 

1. Social media learns your interests and crafts your algorithm to show you more of that stuff. I don’t know how it happened but my Facebook Reels suggestions for several weeks have been nothing but a hydraulic press crushing various objects. I’ve seen bowling balls, candles, wood, action figures, and more get flattened. I find it fun and satisfying, and obviously, as I keep watching them the algorithm will keep showing me more but I still don’t know how it started.

2. It was the tale of 2 cute kids at the supermarket one night this week. One little girl, probably 3, was running up and down all of the aisles with her mother trying to keep up with her. I found myself playing traffic cop once, alerting the mother of where her child had gone. The other little girl, probably also 3, was so excited to help her grandmother scan items at the self-checkout that she caused the machine to shut down several times. The attendant had to repeatedly come over to reset the machine. I thought both were cute, the adults watching these kids were not as amused as me though.

3. So often over the last several years I feel in my life that I have totally lost the road. It is as if I am crossing a rickety bridge in the fog and I am not even sure what’s on the other side. I’m just hoping that whatever it is it’s worth moving toward. There are plenty of times I feel I need to stop moving and take a serious look at my surroundings, but then the fear of wasting more time overtakes me and I start sprinting in the darkness. I don’t know if this is how my mid-life crisis is manifesting itself. What I do know is that I’ll keep moving forward until I find whatever I’m chasing or until I collapse.

How life feels at times.

4. A really fun thing to have happen is to pull into a parking space after dark. Then you open your car door to step out and on the ground is a mass of god knows what. Some was liquid, some was mushy, and all of it was gross. To top it off I had to do a kind of ballet dance to get around it. Not sure if I totally missed stepping in it. That was not a good time.

5. On the roads to some beaches on Cape Cod, and I’m sure other places, some signs show you how to proceed if you’re not in a vehicle. They say: Walk Right, Ride Left. That makes sense if you’re going in one direction. What about if you’re going the other way? When you walk right and ride left isn’t it on the opposite side? Doesn’t that make it basically anarchy on these roads? The sign should just say: Walk wherever, ride wherever, as long as you’re not in the middle of the road. These types of thoughts and observations are Exhibit A of why I say my life is like a Seinfeld episode some days.

6. My introversion paid off a bit. I stopped for a few quick things at a convenience store. I grabbed them and immediately went for the self-checkout register located in between a pair of regular registers. This was so I could get in and out without a lot of small talk that I’m not particularly a big fan of. The employee that was working had stepped away momentarily to straighten up one of the aisles. They were so grateful that I could check myself out rather than make them stop their work and come back. I decided to take that win and not say it was because I didn’t want to interact with anyone.

7. At my work there was a fun message I came into one morning. We have an automated away message that is sent to people who text after hours. It just thanks them for the message and states our hours. I walked in with 48 unread messages from one specific number which was alarming at first. I mean who would text us 48 times overnight, right? It turns out that the message that came in was automated, and then we responded with our automated message, which then triggered the same message again from the source. You can see where this is going. It was two bots responding to each other repeatedly. I couldn’t stop laughing once I realized the absurdity of it.

This is how I imagined the bots interacting.

8. Those who used to read the original Initial Impressions blog back in 2010-2012 will remember my attempts to get 5-Hour Energy to sponsor my road trips. I mentioned it numerous times in the old blogs. Now there’s a new version of this energy shot called 5-Hour Energy Sport which I guess is different than the regular because it’s supposed to be a pre-workout. Anyway, I enjoy it but again it has me wondering how to get them to sponsor my road trips. Maybe I’ll keep mentioning them in the video version of this blog. Or maybe I should actually start doing more road trips before I look for a sponsor?

9. In keeping with the feeling lost, Mid-Life Crisis theme I am trying to shake things up with small changes in my life. Switching from Pandora to Spotify for my music app. Quitting Twitter/X and going to Bluesky. Growing my hair out a bit. It’s only been a few days of all of this but it does feel a little new and rejuvenating. I believe a series of smaller tweaks in life can be just as impactful as packing up and moving cross country. I mean I already did that, twice.

10. Speaking of growing hair out my plan is for it to be only slightly longer. When my hair is long it is not straight or curly, it is like a bird’s nest which I hate. I have been routinely shaving my head since 2010. With few exceptions, this has been a weekly occurrence. On the odd occasion when I have grown my hair out people are shocked that I actually have a full head of hair and don’t shave it because I am going bald. Unfortunately now in my late 40s, I can already see after a few weeks of growing it that my hair is far more gray and white than I remembered. I’m not going to dye it though, I might as well age with dignity. Plus I can always just shave it off again in a few months.  

My hair will not be as long as it was here in 2019.

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #33: Road Trip 2024 Day 2

1. Day 2 of the road trip began with a chilly but beautiful morning sitting on the screened-in porch at the Pemi Cabins in Lincoln, New Hampshire. Despite going to bed relatively late I was still up at 6am to enjoy as much of my time there as I could. I did not want to leave but I had a ton to see.

2. This included finally walking down to the river behind the cabins. I got some photos and videos but also noticed to my right what looked like a bridge over the river. It turns out it was a metal grating bridge leading down a dirt road. The bridge had a chain across the entrance so no vehicles could drive across, but I easily stepped over it to get some cool photos of the Pemigewasset River.

3. Disappointment rained down on me as I was getting set to venture out for breakfast. I wanted to revisit Flapjacks which was a 5-minute drive away. Too bad they were closed on that morning. Oh well, so I picked a popular diner that was actually a shorter drive. This was a fine replacement. Until I got there and the lot was full, cars were lined up across the street, and people were lined up out the door. So yes, the story of it being popular was true. I ended up going to White Mountain Bagel very close by. I had an excellent sausage, egg, and cheese on a wheat bagel. So my 3^rd option was still a good choice.

A worthwhile breakfast spot in Lincoln

4. I packed up my stuff and left the Pemi Cabins, but not before chatting briefly with another woman from Massachusetts. I say briefly because she seemed to be caught off guard that I was being friendly. Sorry, we’re from the same state and I just wanted to say hi. I wasn’t looking to steal your luggage.

5. Next up I drove out on the Kancamagus Highway. This is one of the most scenic routes in all of New England. In short, it’s a 34.5-mile stretch of road running between Lincoln and North Conway. It would take a few days to see all of the sites along that road.

6. Be prepared though. Driving The Kanc means little to no cell service, inclines and declines on the road sometimes at 9% grade, and also no gas, no stores.

7. I drove about halfway out to Sabbaday Falls. I figured I’d start at the furthest point I wanted to visit and work my way back. This is a short hike and a beautiful waterfall. It’s easy enough for people of almost any age. One thing I did do was not pay the parking fee which I saw when coming back. Hey, I was there for not even 20 minutes and the lot had maybe 5 cars in it so I didn’t steal a paying customer's spot.

Sabbaday Falls

8. My car is creeping up toward 150K miles. It has been paid off for 4 years and still runs great. That being said, when driving up and down the steep grades of the road on The Kanc I did not risk it, I drove slowly just in case my car decided today was the day it was going to mess with me.

9. The driving slowly and carefully paid off. When heading back from Sabbaday Falls toward Kancamagus Pass (the highest point on the road) I spotted a motorcyclist around a corner with their arms up asking me to stop. Up ahead another biker was on their back in the road. I’m not sure if they got hit or fell off on their own. Luckily I had plenty of time to stop. When I got to Kancamagus Pass I watched 2 police cruisers and a fire truck heading toward the accident. Hopefully, the biker was alright.

10. The wailing of the police sirens was replaced by the wailing of a screaming child in a van that pulled into the Kancamagus Pass parking lot a few minutes after me. I was surprised I didn’t see a herd of moose or bears running away from the area because of the noise. They didn’t stay too long and soon it was perfect scenery and weather.

The view at Kancamagus Pass, minus the screaming child.

11. Parking fees be damned Part 2. My last stop along The Kanc was Lincoln Woods Trailhead. I only wanted a few quick photos of the Pemigewasset River and a bridge going over it. My plan? As opposed to plopping down $$$? Park as close to the road as possible, take a side trail instead of the main entrance and get my photos. I did succeed but I will say that there was a park ranger standing on the bridge I wanted photos of. I had to sneak onto the bridge and get my photos while also looking inconspicuous. Done and done.

12. Next up was crossing from New Hampshire into Vermont for my first extended time in the state since 2000. This was the first time on my trip that I checked ‘avoid highways’ on my GPS so I could really see the countryside.

13. It was a total drive of 220 miles from Lincoln, NH down to Brattleboro, VT. I spent that entire time on more scenic routes. However, I think I’ve gone soft when it comes to disregarding my safety for photos. Rather than pulling off the road or screeching to a halt when I saw something I should shoot I ended up passing right by. This was mainly because there would either be a few cars close behind me, or there would be nowhere feasible to park. That wouldn’t have stopped me in the past, but here we are.

14. A few places that stood out in my backroads travel included a few historical sites in the small town of Weathersfield. Their population is just over 2,800(2020), making it 1/10th the size of Yarmouth where I live, and Yarmouth is a small town.

Weathersfield, VT is a very small town.

15. I really enjoyed the solitude of some of the places I stopped on this road trip. However, I didn’t enjoy it when it came time to post updates to social media and my phone would be on SOS mode.

16. I also stopped at the Dummerston Center Cemetery in the town of Dummerston, VT. This spot is home to a famous New England urban legend, the Dummerston Vine. In short, it is a story of several members of the Spaulding Family dying young. These deaths coincided with an ominous vine crossing over the grave of the last family member to die. Each time the vine crossed a Spaulding grave another member of the family would die.

17. The only other time I spent any extended time in Vermont was in 2000 when I went camping with a few friends in Jamaica State Park. On this trip, I visited a few places from back then. First was the Dam Diner in Townshend. Back in 2000, they had amazing bison burgers. This time they were closed meaning they could really be called the damn diner. Second I went back to Jamaica State Park. However, by this time I was hungry and a bit punchy from driving so much. I had no desire to go hiking or to even pay the fee to get in. A photo of me in front of the sign was good enough.

My reaction to the Dam Diner being closed.

18. The motel I stayed at in Brattleboro was definitely not as nice as Pemi Cabins, but for the price it was alright. That being said there were a few too many weird people sitting outside of their motel rooms. I noticed them because I immediately left after dropping off my stuff.

19. Where did I venture to? Hannaford first because of course. It was also right across the street so why not double my fun from the previous night? The intersection had talking signals which were neat and told me when I could walk. This Hannaford also had the big 16-ounce 5-Hour Energy. I’d only seen them in one other store and not for a year. I naturally grabbed a few.

20. Speaking of drinks I visited a cool nearby dispensary as well. I saw a billboard for a different dispensary on my way to Brattleboro which made me wonder if there was one near my hotel. Oh, there was. They are named Cannabis Maximus and were maybe ½ mile away. The potency allowed in their products is higher than in Massachusetts. That was another bonus.

21. Eating well was not on the menu. Well, I should say eating healthy. I went to Brattleboro House of Pizza. They call themselves BHOP which is funny because on Cape Cod one of my favorite pizza/sub places is Dennisport House of Pizza which we call DHOP. I ordered online and literally walked in and out with my meatball sub. Some of the people waiting to order seemed confused by how I got my stuff before them but I didn’t have time to explain the Internet.

The scent of meatball sub filled my car while taking this photo.

22. Besides a large amount of panhandlers I really enjoyed driving around Brattleboro. There was a couple in front of a convenience store I stopped at after BHOP. I didn’t have to pretend I didn’t see them since I was legit so excited that they had pepperoni pizza flavored Potato Skins chips. I’d never had them so this night was becoming more and more legendary.

23. After eating I surprisingly had the energy left to go find a spot to shoot the sunset. It was also partially guilt since I didn’t know when the next time is I’ll visit Vermont. Of course, being a sunset expert I found a perfect location to venture out to.

24. It ended up being an abandoned railroad bridge. How did I know it was abandoned? It had grass and flowers growing out of it. The view was excellent as when you’re in northern New England you typically have to shoot the sunset a while before the sun goes down since most places are hilly, or mountain-y. To my surprise, a cop saw me pull into a rocky parking area next to an electrical generator but didn’t come back to tell me to leave.

25. On that bridge I did take my life in my hands a few times when trying to get as close to the edge of the bridge to get certain vantage points for the sunset. In addition to grass and flowers, the bridge has loads of small loose stones. That meant that one false move and I’d be launched over the side. I highly doubt the couple fishing down below would dive in to save me either, more than likely they’d have snagged my camera and car keys.

Sunset from the abandoned railroad bridge.

26. I ended up with more time to spare before sunset so I drove a little further south to the Brattleboro Bridge. Why was this my choice? Because the bridge that’s a part of Rt. 119 crosses the Connecticut River and includes the border of Vermont and New Hampshire. Yes, that’s right, I was shooting the sunset in 2 states at once. It was very exciting. Well, except for the part where the bridge would rattle violently when more than 3 cars would be on it at once.

27. Day 2 of the road trip was filled with scenery, lots of hills, and tons of fun. My plan for Day 3 was another early morning, maybe a big breakfast, and crossing a spot off of my Bucket List.

Read About Road Trip 2024 Day One

Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog #23: Don't Drink That, Marathon Car Wash, Serious Rain, etc.

1. Last week I mentioned putting both sunscreen and bug spray on before going for a run. Eventually, I went to wipe sweat from my face with my bug spray-covered arm and practically blinded myself. Well, this week I decided to one-up myself. Rather than take the long way of getting bug spray in my eyes I decided why not just spray it into my eyes and mouth from the start. There were tons of bugs around as I was getting ready for my run and I was in a rush to get that protection on my skin. So much so that I ended up getting in in my left eye and a bit in my mouth. There’s a pre-run tradition I won’t be starting.

2. As a content creator I typically spend most if not all of my free time working on various projects. Podcasts, videos, articles, blogs, etc, all in the hopes of growing my brand. There are times I wish I could do more but then I remember that pretty much all of the successful creators have a team behind them to help with the work, whereas I am just myself. So I think I’m doing alright, except for the whole having no life due to this content work, but oh well.

3. I understand as a writer when pitching a book to literary agents they get loads of submissions. This means that it might take weeks to get a reply, often a rejection, but such is the life of a writer. But when you finally respond after OVER A YEAR that takes the cake. I’d rather you don’t reply at all than give me the lame brush-off after a year. It’s like asking someone out and them waiting over a year to text you ‘No.’

4. While out for a run on the bike path on a hot humid afternoon I saw a really cute girl running toward me. We both smiled and waved and continued in opposite directions. A few minutes later as I slowed down I looked behind me and she was now running toward me. Was this to be a serendipitous moment? No of course not, she waved and smiled as she passed and left me in the dust. I thought about trying to run after her but that was a recipe for falling on my face.

5. While driving I was behind someone going relatively slow. They also seemed skittish, pumping the brakes anytime a vehicle stopped at a crossroad like they thought the other vehicle would t-bone them. I had no idea of the depths of their skittishness though. They needed to turn left down a side street. A car was coming the other way but was several hundred feet away. Rather than turning down the side street like 99% of people would this vehicle waited. They waited what felt like hours but were likely 6-7 seconds. To me, it was the scene in Austin Powers where the man is in front of the approaching steamroller but it is far away. The man just yells for like 15 seconds before getting squished. That was funny this was foolish.

6. When I started the original version of this blog in 2010 my goal was to do some sort of travel writing as my main source of income. Years have passed but my wish is still similar. I would love to drive around the country recording podcasts at various locations. Maybe I can get 5-Hour Energy to finally sponsor me, that was a recurring joke in the original Initial Impressions blog.

7. I went for a long run/walk. I did a loop as far as my route. On the way out I passed a man washing his car in his driveway. Cool, it was a beautiful morning. On the way back I passed the same man still in his driveway, still washing his car. The only problem? My loop was 8 miles and it was a good hour and a half in between seeing the man washing his car. Even at its dirtiest, I might need 45 minutes to thoroughly wash my car. Oh well, maybe he really wanted to savor the feeling?

Are you done yet?

8. I’m torn. I found out that the father of one of my formerly closest friends died. Part of me wants to reach out and check on them. Another part remembers that phones, emails, etc, work both ways. In the nearly 4 years since we last spoke I have lost several family members and friends and didn’t hear Word One. So I remain on the fence as far as being the one yet again who bites the bullet and bridges the gap of reaching out.

9. There was a cloudy humid day this week. It eventually led to some rain in mid-afternoon. I was at a beach and it started coming down. I checked the radar and it was full of reds. I decided to get moving before the worst of it. Little did I know the ‘worst’ was so close and the sky opened up in a downpour the likes of which I’ve rarely seen on Cape Cod. It was like driving through rivers within minutes. Luckily I made it to the supermarket safely and the rain let up a bit to let me head inside...and then the power was out inside the supermarket because of course.

10. We’re headed into the 4th of July week and it has definitely been crazy as far as traffic and the number of less-than-intelligent people behind the wheels of that traffic. That being said I don’t (yet) have that crushing desire for it to be Labor Day Weekend. Maybe I’m mentally and soon to be physically in a better place so it’s not killing me to deal with tourists. Or maybe I’m getting older and don’t feel as good about wanting to skip months of time to get to my favorite time of the year.

Song of the Week: Hole Hearted - Extreme