Yes, a severe case of the Mondays, right over here. But there were good times this weekend, which I'll recap: after we broke out of work on Friday, Mardi and I went for lunch and then shopping. Everything I bought (a top, a skirt and a bra) was on sale, which is sweet. Friday night Joe and I took it easy; he ran out for a little while to do a quick errand and pick up dinner (I stayed home and watched What Not to Wear), and then we caught up on the latest episode of Six Feet Under.
Saturday my sister and I hung out. She came over to the house and we took a drive out to Amherst for a kind of college nostalgia tour. We drove around, went to a diner, visited Atkins Farm, and browsed the stacks at Barnes & Noble. I wore my new shirt and our waitress at the diner told me that it was "causing a stir among the staff"; I checked to see if I was showing anything I shouldn't, but it was just a dark brown t-shirt, not too low cut, so I guess she just meant someone liked it. We also went to Northampton, which is known for two things: Smith College and the Northampton State Hospital (which used to be known as the Northampton Lunatic Hospital).
The hospital, which has been abandoned for years, is on top of a huge hill, and its campus includes an imposing main building and dozens of smaller utilitarian buildings. The grounds are beautiful but creepy, which makes it a popular place for UMass students with Ouija boards to hang out at night. It used to be that you could drive right up to the main building, where it was always silent save for bugs in the overgrowth; you'd feel strange energy coming off the building's facade and dare yourself to peer in the windows. If you like stuff like this (which I do), there are some interesting sites about the hospital, including its history and photo collections of its interior.
We found out on this trip that you can't drive up there anymore. The road is all dug up and there is a large sign proclaiming the site to be the future home of The Villages at Hospital Hill, which will be a residential and commercial complex. I can see developing the area, but it is sad that the main building will be torn down, because it's such a fascinating, living historical artifact. Maybe it will help Northampton's reputation though. Undeniably, it is a strange town. It has a thriving downtown area with shops and restaurants, but it feels weird. Plus, as psychotropic drugs came onto the scene and the hospital started downsizing in the 70's, many patients who had been institutionalized for years were discharged; as a result, Northampton has a higher-than-usual concentration of disturbed individuals wandering the streets.
Anyway, that was a tangent I didn't really mean to embark on. Lauren and I drove back in the evening, stopping at Newbury Comics for CDs. She also bought the DVD of Dazed and Confused, so we watched the deleted scenes and bonus features, and then started watching the movie in French, which was bizarre but funny. By the time she left (after midnight) it was too late for me to join Joe and his school friends at the bar.
Yesterday we had a small, informal cookout. It was sunny and warm and not too humid, and we invited Becca and Steve and Mardi and Mark, and everyone hung out in the backyard and it was really fun, except for when I was pouring ice into the cooler and a can of orange soda exploded. We cooked burgers, dogs, teriyaki tips and italian sausages, drank blueberry beer and light Hawaiian Punch, and made s'mores. We listened to Becca's summer mix CD, hypothesized what the large pipe sticking out of the neighbors' yard was for (Steve: "Maybe it's the chimney of an underground leprechaun village. Maybe it's a vent for a squirrel condominium.") and tried about 50 times to take a group self-picture. Thank god for digital cameras.
Becca and Steve stayed late and helped clean up, then we watched Family Guy. I couldn't get to bed until 12:30 a.m. because I was too keyed up. I tried to relax by reading my new book, Pledged, which is about the secret life of sororities. I love it and am devouring it way too fast. I hate that, because I speed-read through it and it's done in two days. I don't know why I can't just read slower and enjoy it longer.
Saturday my sister and I hung out. She came over to the house and we took a drive out to Amherst for a kind of college nostalgia tour. We drove around, went to a diner, visited Atkins Farm, and browsed the stacks at Barnes & Noble. I wore my new shirt and our waitress at the diner told me that it was "causing a stir among the staff"; I checked to see if I was showing anything I shouldn't, but it was just a dark brown t-shirt, not too low cut, so I guess she just meant someone liked it. We also went to Northampton, which is known for two things: Smith College and the Northampton State Hospital (which used to be known as the Northampton Lunatic Hospital).
The hospital, which has been abandoned for years, is on top of a huge hill, and its campus includes an imposing main building and dozens of smaller utilitarian buildings. The grounds are beautiful but creepy, which makes it a popular place for UMass students with Ouija boards to hang out at night. It used to be that you could drive right up to the main building, where it was always silent save for bugs in the overgrowth; you'd feel strange energy coming off the building's facade and dare yourself to peer in the windows. If you like stuff like this (which I do), there are some interesting sites about the hospital, including its history and photo collections of its interior.
We found out on this trip that you can't drive up there anymore. The road is all dug up and there is a large sign proclaiming the site to be the future home of The Villages at Hospital Hill, which will be a residential and commercial complex. I can see developing the area, but it is sad that the main building will be torn down, because it's such a fascinating, living historical artifact. Maybe it will help Northampton's reputation though. Undeniably, it is a strange town. It has a thriving downtown area with shops and restaurants, but it feels weird. Plus, as psychotropic drugs came onto the scene and the hospital started downsizing in the 70's, many patients who had been institutionalized for years were discharged; as a result, Northampton has a higher-than-usual concentration of disturbed individuals wandering the streets.
Anyway, that was a tangent I didn't really mean to embark on. Lauren and I drove back in the evening, stopping at Newbury Comics for CDs. She also bought the DVD of Dazed and Confused, so we watched the deleted scenes and bonus features, and then started watching the movie in French, which was bizarre but funny. By the time she left (after midnight) it was too late for me to join Joe and his school friends at the bar.
Yesterday we had a small, informal cookout. It was sunny and warm and not too humid, and we invited Becca and Steve and Mardi and Mark, and everyone hung out in the backyard and it was really fun, except for when I was pouring ice into the cooler and a can of orange soda exploded. We cooked burgers, dogs, teriyaki tips and italian sausages, drank blueberry beer and light Hawaiian Punch, and made s'mores. We listened to Becca's summer mix CD, hypothesized what the large pipe sticking out of the neighbors' yard was for (Steve: "Maybe it's the chimney of an underground leprechaun village. Maybe it's a vent for a squirrel condominium.") and tried about 50 times to take a group self-picture. Thank god for digital cameras.
Becca and Steve stayed late and helped clean up, then we watched Family Guy. I couldn't get to bed until 12:30 a.m. because I was too keyed up. I tried to relax by reading my new book, Pledged, which is about the secret life of sororities. I love it and am devouring it way too fast. I hate that, because I speed-read through it and it's done in two days. I don't know why I can't just read slower and enjoy it longer.
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