In The Meadow, We Can Build A Snow Man (If We Could Only Find The Meadow)

It is Saturday and we did not lose power at all.  The lights flickered a little bit around 12 last night, but they stayed on.  It is still snowing out and Mother Nature wasn't messing around with this one.  I've ventured outside and lived to tell about it.

 Below is the front door.  I was really the only way to get out of the house.  The snow was probably about a foot and a half here, but as I made my way down the stairs it got a little deeper.

 I made it down the stairs.  This picture gives you a pretty good impression of the depth of the snow.  You can see the tip of the safety cone, but not much else.

I made my way to the street.  The mailbox is about three feet away from the plowed 'edge' of the street.  This is what I will have to shovel out later on.

 Here are some more street views.  Central Street is virtually empty with the occasional procession of plow trucks.

 Below you can see my parents telling me to stop messing around with the camera and to begin shoveling.   

 

Here is my attempt to get back up the hill:

 

 Not sure if you can see clearly, or not, but the entrance to my house is covered by snow.  The door itself is about 6 inches off of the level of the deck.  The snow drift reaches up about half the distance at the door.  In theory, I would be able to sled down my stairs, but I cannot image how I'd get to the top of the staircase.  The deck door was not as bad, but it was too much for me to get out there to make steak and eggs...or steak and Bugles.

 I found the snow blower.  It started without much trouble and I began my journey of clearing the snow off of the driveway.  The depth of the snow was higher than the auger.  That means we had around 28 inches of snow on the driveway.  Some parts were covered by drifts, so that not an official measurement, but it gives you an idea.

 I've successfully cleared a path down by the front stairs in this photo, but I decided to put the phone away and concentrate on moving snow.  At this time, I've cleared a path to the cars, but not to the street.  I am taking a break to update this blog and catch my breath.

I am excited to think that a number of people have taken some time to read through these posts.  I wasn't even sure if I'd like blogging, but it is somewhat relaxing.  I can get verbose, so this is a nice way of expressing my thoughts.  I hope everyone will take some time to read my New Year's Resolution blogs.  Before posting this, I checked and saw that I had roughly 130 page visits throughout the past 24 hours.  The visits came from all of the United States, but I also had people in Canada, Great Britain, Spain, and Germany checkout my stuff.  

Gracias and Danka, eh, Your readership is what it's all aboot.  Until next time, Cheerio!!!

 

Quick walk to the street

This storm has arrived. Check out the video of me walking to the street and back.  I've had a cold recently and I have asthma.  When you combine those factors with a ski mask, then you get my lovely Darth Vader impression

If I can give one piece of advice, it would be "Protect the Melon!"

My good friend Al Roker was being interviewed by Channel 7 tonight.  He said the most important part of reporting the weather was protecting one's melon.  As my meteorological idol, I felt obliged to protect my melon.  This one's for you Al. 

The snow is just starting to get really bad out there.  Check out this video from the back deck taken around 5:30.

 I barely survived that wind gust.  I never realized how dangerous this type of thing could be, but I'm glad I was well prepared for the conditions. On the right, you've got another view of the deck.  I had swept it about 30 minutes before the picture was taken.  The wind up there is quickly covering my attempts at keeping it clean.  Below you can get a sense of my jump zone.  Once again, with Al's advice, I will be protecting my melon if I end up going for it.

As I ventured out further, I could see the tremendous strength of Super Storm Nemo.  

 

These two shots give you a glance at the speed of each individual flake.  It almost felt as if I was being attacked by thousands of little ice crystals.  In order to get clearer photographs, I was forced to turn the light on my camera off.  At first I was afraid, I was petrified.  I was thinking how could I live without that light by my side, but I survived.

 

The front stairs are almost completely covered with snow.  This is a typical drift area, but I didn't feel it was a safe area to jump into...plus there is a safety cone.  You must take caution in the presence of a safety cone.  Outside of the drift area, the snow seems to have covered about 3.5-4 inches.  The depression left by my boots do not go all the way to the pavement, which means I am packing down the snow as I trek.  It will make it harder to shovel in the morning, but it is worth the extra effort to bring you the news outside of my house.

This is what I wanted for Christmas this year.  I had to wait until February, but I love the way the lights look in the snow.  I will be back out later for more action shots...but without the flash.  Look at a picture with the flash:

The streaks of light that you see are not aliens or ghosts!!!  I know you were concerned.  They are just snowflakes, but they can really ruin a photo.  If this were '78, I would have had to have thrown out my Polaroid shots...after spending all that time shaking them.

I mentioned earlier that I was thinking of starting a little side business tonight.  Well, I received a little information relative to my driving during the storm.  Apparently, media credentials are kind of hard to get.  First, you need to prepare your information...check.  Second, you need to make contact with the press office for the event you are covering.  Well, all state employees are supposed to be working from home and until I get my press pass, I cannot drive...so, I will have to walk door to door asking people if they work for the State's Press office and then I'd have to convince them to give me the credentials.  I'm a pretty charming guy, so assuming I find someone, I think I got that wrapped up.  

I decided to turn to Plan B...no, not that plan B, but the one I referenced earlier.  I am opening a Hot Cocoa and Coffee stand.  I uncoiled my extension cord and plug in the Kuerig.  I waited until I heard the sound of a snow plow.  I waived at the driver as he sped on by, but he didn't seem to want my coffee.

 

To add insult to injury:

 The snow in front of the mailbox is heavier and wetter than the other snow. 

Does anyone else think of Lion-O and Panthro when they hear someone say "Thunder Snow"

My first post has already been viewed 80 times.  I guess no one has anything else to do during this storm.  Well, fear not, I am here with another blog about this Blizzard.  So, it's been about 5-6 hours since I first posted and the storm has kind of kicked into gear.  I haven't watched much TV or even spent much time online.  I was stuck on a pretty hard level of Angry Birds: Star Wars and that dominated my time.  From what I understand, however, we are still just at the beginning of the snow. This particular blog entry is meant to set a larger stage for the events to come later, so if it feels a little forced, I apologize.  I have some more photos:

 The two pictures above were taken about two hours apart.  The first was taken at noon and the other just after 2pm.  In the first, you can see that I had cleared a path to my grill and to the end of my deck.    I am thawing out steak tips right now for tomorrow morning's breakfast.  The problem that I didn't think of is that I don't have any eggs.  With the ban on driving, I don't know if I will be able to get any eggs by the morning.  Oh well, I guess it will be steak and Pringles instead.  Off to the right, you can see the progress I am making in my "Jump" spot.  I figure my best chance of jumping into a snow bank will be on this side of the house.  It doesn't look like much right now, but once the winds start, this is going to be perfect for my own little X-games.  

I'll be sure to take video of the jump if it actually occurs.  Below, you can see the deck at 4pm.  Now, it might not seem too bad, but I've actually swept the snow off three times today.  For a slightly better perspective, look at the snow accumulating on my grill.

 Here we are in the back yard again.  It looks pristine.  Still just a little acc...wait, where is the snow blower?  I cannot believe someone would be so base as to steal a snow blower at the onslaught of the biggest snow storm since I was too.  For those who don't know, my driveway is huge.  You can comfortably park about 10-12 regular sized cars in it.  More than half of the driveway is also on a pretty steep hill.  As much as I enjoy shoveling (See my January post), I need the snow blower too. 

 My stair case again.  No sledding yet.  I did call Domino's and asked for a single unused pizza box.  It has been quite a long time since I owned a sled, so a pizza box will have to suffice.  I called them at 3:30.  Not only will I get it for free, if they are not here by 4pm, but they will get a $500 fine from the Staties when I tip them off about a rogue non-exempt driver.

 You might notice that there is a string of Christmas lights hanging off of the wall in the picture below.  I was too lazy to take them down when we had that 60 degree day a couple of weeks ago.  Tonight, however, I am planning on firing them up.  I firmly believe that the heat generated by these lights will help melt the snow and keep the accumulation down.  I can imagine a line of cars outside my house watching the lights...it will be like living on the Fellsway.

It was taking this picture that I first realized this storm's power.  While taking this shot, the wind started picking up.  It is a good thing I was wearing my Belmonte Middle School hoodie to keep my ears warm.  It was after 4 and a few cars were still on the road.  It got me thinking, I know that media personnel are exempt from the driving ban.  I am now a popular blogger.  Therefore, I am now a popular member of the media.  I am thinking about opening up a delivery service for those who are hunkered down.  While I might charge a modest processing fee, I would also write about my experiences on the road during the blizzard.  After I publish this blog, I am going to start working on generating media credentials.  No self-respecting media member, such as myself, would be without first class creds.  It's a good thing I learned how to make IDs.

The mailbox.  You can see Central St. is covered in snow and it getting worse.  The plow trucks are already out.  I know traffic is somewhat limited, but if my Delivery Service idea doesn't pan out, I was thinking of opening a hot cocoa and coffee stand for the plow trucks.  All I have to do is run an extension cord to the side of the street and bring down my Keurig.  I've got a bunch of K-cups ready to go.  As the snow gets deeper, I can actually build a little Eskimo store front. 

 My next post will be sometime after 6pm...I think. 

I wish I could play 'Blizzard' on Words with Friends

Good Morning all.

I am very excited for the next 36 hours or so.  I appears a major snow storm is approaching and I hope to be able to keep on top of the snow via this blog.  I've taken the liberty of shooting some before shots to document the snow fall.  

 This first photo is of my mailbox.  In all likelihood, shoveling this area out will be the most difficult as plow trucks will continuously attempt to block the USPS from finishing their stated rounds...where is Kevin Costner and Ford Lincoln Mercury when you need them!!  In all honesty, I bet the mail carriers wish it was August 2013 so they wouldn't have to deliver mail tomorrow.  With that in mind, I sent myself a combo #18 from Dragon Island yesterday so I will have food delivered tomorrow if we get snowed in.

 This photo is a look at the whole front of the house.  Notice the new truck in the driveway!!!  That beast will get me to Dunks tomorrow morning before I start my shoveling.  I've already confirmed that my favorite Dunks will be open throughout the storm.  (It's the one near Walgreens and Sub-Villa)

 The walkway leading up to the house.  If the storm is as big as they predict this will be the only way out of the house...all of the other doors open outward.  I've got to remember to put a shovel in the front hallway otherwise I will have to Andy Dufraine my way to the snow blower. 

 The back yard.  Way off in the distance is the snow blower.  I like a challenge, so we put it as far away as possible.  I am sure half way to the snow blower, I will have to resort to eating the dead rugby players from the Andes Mountains.  Nando didn't have the same motivation as I will have tomorrow: A Large Black Ice Coffee.

 This photo shows the stairs leading to my house.  I'm hoping I can slide down them tomorrow morning because that would be fun.  In reality, though, I will have to shovel the snow off the stairs and then off the driveway next to the stairs. 

 My unofficial goal is to have steak and eggs for breakfast tomorrow.  This means I may have to stay up all night to keep a path to my grill.  It will totally be worth it though.  If the drifts are big enough, I may try jumping into them off of my deck.  I was always told that my parents jumped off of the roof of Lavoie's Ballard during '78.

Here is my Blizzard Survival Kit.  In no particular order, I have included Coca-Cola (Diet flavored, cuz I'm watching my weight).  Eric Cypher's Jenga game...he left it in my car after a Pats Game.  A good book, a kickball, and a pack of Oreos.  You'll also notice a snickers bar and some Bugles.  In the foreground is a roll of masking tape.  Years ago, I invented a game called Tape.  All you need to play is a roll of masking tape.  I will probably end up playing Tape if the power goes out.  It's not much, I know, but it should last me the first hour of the storm, or so.

January

Tonight closes the first month of my New Year's resolution and I've got to say, I had some success.  I will start with Twitter.

This month, I had 8 celebrities take notice of me.  They are, in order of importance to me, as follows:

1. Danica McKellar: Winnie Cooper actually thought about me for a little bit. I don't mean to sound creepy, but she may have been my first TV crush.  It was 25 years ago, tonight, that the Wonder Years premiered.  The context of my tweet asked her, and Fred Savage, is they still talked to Josh Saviano (Paul).  Danica wrote to me and said that they do...she even gave me Josh's twitter handle.

2. Wendell Pierce:  A somewhat notable character actor, Wendell is perhaps best known as Bunk Moreland from HBO's The Wire.  He may be my favorite character on that show, which is unequivocally my favorite TV show, ever.  I tried several times to catch his attention, but it was my mentioning one of the more dramatic scenes between Wendell and Michael K. William (Omar) that worked.  I told him they nailed the scene...and he told me it was his favorite part of the entire series.

3. Luis Guzman: Another character actor, Luis is known for his charming good looks...not.  He is high on my list because he sent me a direct message after I asked his permission to quote him to my history students.  He made some remark about the importance of history, and I told him I loved the quote.  For his direct message, he gets my third most important tweet of the month.

4. Wood Harris:  Another Wire tweet, you'll notice a trend through the year.  Wood played drug kingpin, Avon Barksdale.  I asked who he would have liked to play and he said Omar.  No surprise, but I'm glad he took the time to answer the question.  

5. Paul Provenza:  A comedian....Paul is pretty funny.  He has hosted The Green Room on Showtime for two years and I hope for a few more.  Paul was also one of the producers behind The Aristocrats.  This is a documentary about the world's dirtiest joke.  I can't begin to tell the joke here, but I did enjoy the film.  The tweet was in response to me asking him if I should lend the DVD to a female co-worker.  He said I should...but with fair warning.

6. Thomas Sadoski: This guy is relatively unknown, but I expect some recognition to come his way in 2013.  He plays an intregal role on HBO's The Newsroom as the Producer of the broadcast immediately after Will MacAvoy's Newsnight.  This was a simple tweet to him and Jeff Daniels about their thoughts on the Patriots.  Sadoski, a Raven's fan, said he had a lot of respect for the Pats...admirable.

7. Domenick Lombardozzi: Another Wire tweet.  This was actually just a retweet.  Another Wire actor, Robert Chew, who played Prop Joe had passed away.  I tweeted out an RIP message, and Domenick retweeted it...so did a few of his fans.  Dom has been in quite a few shows and it was an honor for me to receive his retweet.

8. Aristocrats: See #5.  I am not sure who is running the Twitter Account for the Aristocrats movie, but after seeing Jon Stewart make a reference to the movie during the Daily Show, I was compelled to tweet.  This simple retweet vindicated my decision to devote this year to the power of social media.


ACTS OF KINDNESS
This inaugural month should have been the easiest to plan my acts of kindness, but it proved very difficult.  One act, I am very proud of...the other, needs work.  Here goes:

1. Thank You notes for unsuspecting teachers.  After Newtown, I read many articles recognizing the hard work of teachers.  I thought it a little strange that we only see these things after tragedies.  I decided to take matters into my own hand.  This month, I have been collecting Thank You notes and memorabilia to send to a high school in California.  Living and working in Saugus, Massachusetts, it seemed only natural to send this "Thank You" package to Saugus, California.  Roughly 40 people at my school participated and I think it will go over very well.  If I receive feedback, I will be sure to mention it.

This photo is what the Principal of Saugus High School, in California, will see when he opens the package I prepared for him and his staff.


2. Shoveling out complete strangers.  This idea is solid, but it is dependent on Mother Nature.  I am forced to carry it though the winter, but to sum it up. I want to assist at least 20 homes during snow storms.  I will drive around looking for people shoveling their driveways, pull over, and help them finish their snow removal.  I just need more snow.   If I don't finish, then I will make up for it with an additional act of kindness.

Introduction

Hello.

My name is Richard Lavoie and I am a teacher in Saugus, Ma.  This year, I am trying something different for my new year's resolutions.  I have two resolutions that I will be working on...one is honorable, the other is somewhat selfish and promotes self-adulation.  You can decide which is which.

For my first resolution, I am going to try to commit 26 notable acts of kindness.  These acts are inspired by the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.  I will attempt to complete two acts a month and four in December.  Two of those acts will be on the anniversary of the Newtown tragedy.  I first heard of #26 acts on Twitter.  Anne Currey of NBC was promoting the idea.  I saw people buying coffee for strangers, dropping off bags of dog food at an animal shelter, and a wide variety of other simple acts.

The second act is trying to get more celebrities to acknowledge me.  The vehicle for this act is Twitter.  I am collecting screen shots of Retweets, Mentions, Favorites, and Direct Messages from celebrities.  I don't have a number that I am focusing on, but I would like for it to be significant.  I am posting these screen shots on my Facebook page, but will probably do a Month-in-Review at the conclusion of each calendar month.

I hope that you will find my acts of kindness to be notable and inspirational.  I also hope that you will find my Celebrity Retweets to be whimsical and light-hearted.  

Enjoy.