On Friday my dad and Karen took Xue and I up to Vermont to see The Mountain Goats and Bright Eyes. For an outdoor concert it wasn’t that huge, there were maybe a few hundred people there, and the light rain may have been partially to blame for that. But we ate dinner on the grass in clear plastic ponchos and by the time the music started most of the clouds had drifted off.
It was my first time seeing The Mountain Goats, and the first big show I’d been to since seeing Modest Mouse with Xue last summer. I was impressed but not surprised by their vigor. John Darnielle was only a little creepier in person than I had imagined. I’m not a huge Bright Eyes fan, but their set was good rock and roll. I was a little disappointed that the Goats, as the opening band, didn’t get an encore, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
We stayed overnight in an olde bed & breakfast and did a little sightseeing along Lake Champlain in the morning before driving back down to Connecticut on Saturday.
Xue continued to pack up her room while I was at work on Sunday, and was checking out her new studio apartment while I went out for a ride with coworkers after closing. I got three flats, crashed into a tree, and worked myself to an uncomfortable degree of exhaustion. It’s always surprising to me how much faster and harder you can ride in the company of other than by yourself. It was a fun ride.
When I got home I packed up my suitcase and shoulder bag and started to disassemble the bed. By the end of the night all our our belongings were in boxes in the living room, and we slept on the mattress on the floor.
Monday morning I picked up a U-Haul van and parked it in front of the house. With some help we had it loaded up quickly, drove it over to the new place, and unloaded the contents into the basement studio. We were moved.
The new place is great, and feels really spacious for a studio. A partial dividing wall makes it more akin to a one bedroom, Xue says. I dig the exposed rock wall and ample lighting. We are both really into the lack of housemates.
In comparison to the last four days, today has been super mellow. I slept late. I made some scrambled eggs on toast with hot sauce. I played as much vvvvvv as I could stand. I might go to work to pick up a paycheck, or I might go take a nap.