Serenity, rain, tortuos roads, vehicle inspections....madness

I've been in Hackettstown for almost a week now. It's nice. Fall is really showing through up here. Can't say that I will welcome the cold, wet, iciness of winter but hopefully by then will be somewhere else. I took the car up to Port Jervis yesterday to get it inspected. It's still got NY plates on it. Nothing special just needed a new driver side wiper blade. I had to spend the whole day up there to wait for an opening at the shop so I just drove around. It seemed like a tired little upstate town. The weather sucked. About the only enjoyment was shifting on the tortuous roads as I decided to take the back country way instead of the highways.

Back in Hackettstown, the former owners of the house came over to show me how to use the hot tub, pool chemicals, sauna controls and how to start the 1950s tractor which needs a new battery and leaded fuel additive. The jet lag has worn off and I don't feel tired in the early afternoons anymore. Looking forward to the treadmill, bike, weights and the hot tub. This whole thing is surreal. No background noise is really starting to play tricks on me at night. I'm not sure if I'm hearing things or if my mind is making me hear things to keep me alert. Contemplated purchasing one of those huge 3 D-cell maglites for illumination and protection from hypothetical intruders. I must be going nutz.

I'm re listening to the entire discography of Led Zeppelin one album at a time. Usually just blast in in the car. It's fun to try and mimic the high pitched singing of Robert Plant. So far I've finished albums I and II. 'Ramble On' from II is sticking to me especially with the fall colors.

here's the first verse:

Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay.
But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way.
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do...

I really need something new. A change of pace, a snippet of something that isn't going to drive me insane. Sending out more resumes and cover letters and playing the waiting game again.

Tonight I'm going to try make turkey yaki-tori with leeks and rice. Yaki-tori is a type of Japanese street food. Essentially chicken (all parts of the bird) on grilled on skewers. My favorite kind is just the plain chicken that is skewered with leeks. Should be easy. Back home mom taught me how to make congee boiled rice. It's a typical Thai thing to have at breakfast, sprinkle some chives and a dash of fish sauce and chili pepper to taste. Turns out you don't need an expensive multi-mode rice cooker to make it either. Simply make regular jasmine rice in the rice cooker then take the cooked rice and put in in a pot on the stove and add water until the rice is submerged an inch or so. Then slow boil it until it turns to porige.

So now I've got to get back to some more reading. Going to start 'Zero." I need to stop stealing Princeton Airport's WiFi.

oh and btw 'Foxtrot-Mike-Lima' is just simply another way of saying FML!