A new (old) diversion

Welcome back to the land of Somerville, Mass. It has been a long week here. I've been working a lot, and have had little time for much else. I'll still give you the dirt on the "much else" part.

First of all, I have been spending more time with my roommate and our upstairs neighbors. I'm very pleased with the coolness factor of the new roommate, and we are planning on staying in the apartment we currently have for the next year. Auditions for third roommate to be held soon. The neighbors upstairs are fun to hang out with as well, and the whole building is coming together fairly nicely under one flag. There are only three apartments with three bedrooms each, so if I'm counting correctly, we have a united front of five residents who are all on the same wavelength. This number should grow soon, and my 20 Madison St. empire will grow along with my circle of influence.

Weekly Beer Update:

The blackberry porter brewed by Matt, Eric, and me is coming along pretty well. It has been in the bottles for about 2 weeks now, and I tested a sample yesterday. The carbonation is not to my liking, and there is still a bit of sedimentary material in solution with the beer, so back in my closet it will go for another week. Meanwhile, I undertook a brewing project on my own on Thursday. I brewed an English style bitter that I am thinking about flavoring with apricots. It started fermenting yesterday and should be ready for bottling in a week. It should be a lighter beer that will be a big change from the IPA and the porter.

Jeff Life Minutia:

It's been a while since I have been so glad to sleep late on a day off as I was on Thursday. After working 34 hours over the course of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I was ready for a day of nothing. I think that might be the first sign that I am really starting to settle in here. On my days off, I no longer feel a big pressure to go out and see something new with every second of my time. It was so incredibly relaxing just to do nothing all day.


And so here I am, back at work. I have about 13 more hours to go today, and it will be time to go home and play a little Rome: Total War before bed. Yes I caved and "bought" a new copy, and yes, I know it will eat my life. But I just have to play as the Seleucids again, and then I can breathe easily. That game is like an old lover you never let go. She stays in the back of your mind, calling at your subconscious to come back. In your mind, everything is always perfect with her, and she is totally loving and devoted. But when you go back, things just aren't the same. You have changed, and she has moved on without you. That's when it really hurts: when you know you have been holding on to a phantom. Luckily, video games don't find other boyfriends.

The Blogger Revolution

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate


Brian Crum on his successful entry into Blogdom with his awesome new blog entitled, "2106 Payne Ave." Cheers, Brian. Also, I know where you live!

I know it has probably been tough checking my blog recently with that long entry on the Davis Square jumper, but not to fear, more upbeat things are coming.

First and foremost, the beer adventure that I undertook with my Boston companions Eric Fox and Matt Lincoln is coming along nicely. Our first brew, an IPA we lovingly named "Nothing but Trub-Ale" is nearly gone. It was a fantastic success, and a great starter batch for the new homebrewing operation. The beer itself was an awesome reddish brown color with a light foamy head that stayed with the beer to the end of the glass. Overall, I think the whole endeavor was a success. In fact, in about a week now, we'll be able to enjoy the 48 bottles of thick, dark, highly alcoholic porter that we made a few weeks ago.

On the non-alcoholic front, I am getting back into a rhythm here in Somerville. After last week's incident which I wouldn't really care to relive, I'm feeling much better. I am, however, a little overworked. It's the beginning part of the week that really wears me down. Two doubles followed by an opening shift can make a guy pretty tired. At least the weather is cooling off here a bit.

Finally, there is a great possibility that I shall be traveling to Harlem, New York in the beginning of July for a brief visit with the Brian, a cellar master at the 21 Club.

In other news, my Artbeacon website has been updated with some new photos and options. More work on that front will be coming soon, so stay tuned.

For now I must return to seemingly endless work. Don't forget to follow all road signs, and have a Pabst for me.