Cohorts

"This day better go in your blog," Berg shouted to me as I was about to drive off today. "Why?" I yelled back. He was smiling. "Because it was spectacular!" It's true. Today was one of those days where everything just came together... despite the fact that it was sort of a sh*tshow.

I got to the farm around 8 and met up with A2 and Claudio. A2 announced that we needed to get bags in before the truck left for its daily deliveries. That meant we'd cull as many crates as we could for an hour or so, then head to the shop and wash and bag before 10 a.m. Up at the shop, we ran into CJ, the Island Creek driver (otherwise known as the Oyster Dude). He was waiting for our bags before he took off for his daily adventure, er, deliveries. By 1 p.m., we'd already put 50 bags into the cooler. Heck of a lot to get done before lunch. After a quick stop at Frenchie's for a bite, A2, Claudio and I got busy culling and spent the better part of the afternoon working on crates for tomorrow while Berg and Skip went dragging. At the end of the day, we had 43 crates hauled up and a pile of oysters waiting to be bagged tomorrow. Definitely a kick-ass day (despite the fact that it actually snowed for about ten seconds).

A few years ago, Dave left his job in publishing to become a bartender. It was a decision he didn't make on his own but we respected it and eventually he found his way to the Publick House where he still bartends on Thursdays and Sundays (he's since taken on a pretty killer day job at a music booking agency, too). At one point, when I was doing the daily grind behind a desk, I told him (somewhat jealously) that he and his "band of merry misfits" were just hanging out, wasting time. He'd found a group of buddies to tide him over until the next serious point in his life. The fun they had at the bar (and outside of it) actually helped him get through a lot and most of those guys have since stuck around to become good friends. Last week, as I was telling Dave about some shenanigan involving Berg, Don, and A2, he just laughed and shook his head. "Looks like you've found your own band of merry misfits.

He's right. We're already infested with inside jokes and I find myself doubled over in laughter at least twice a day. It's a blast. And I have them to thank for it.

Which is why I can't help but sum them up in some totally pointless but entertaining way.

Andy Yberg (Berg, A1, Steak Sauce) Likes: Surfing, soccer, the earth, Billy Joel, U2, mayo on his sandwiches, Frenchie's cubanos, Jack Johnson, Planet Earth, his roommate Gelly (whose name I probably misspelled), red bandannas, lobstering, grinding. Dislikes: Disorganization, laziness, phone calls.

Andy Seraikas (A2) Likes: Lost, Lost blogs, Hootie and the Blowfish, Akon, Kanye, karaoke, grilling, Polish horseshoes (usually together), that college song by that Asher guy, the Sports Guy, cooking, making up new lyrics to old songs, golf, his roommate Gelly, ghost stories, peanut butter and jelly, going to the gym, Dislikes: Country music, being serious,

Corydon Wyman (Cory, Don, the Don, shop manager, part-time massage therapist) On Tuesday, Cory gave me an in-your-face reminder that I work with a bunch of guys. It went like this:

A2 and I are standing in our waterproof Grunden's washing oysters. Some loud, snappy dance tune is playing. A2 turns the hose on me and sprays me with water in tune with the beat.

Don: Erin, one day, you're going to feel something like that on your leg and you're going to look over and it'll be me, urinating on you. Me: (doubled over laughing) Don, why would you do that to me? Don: What? It's not like it matters. They're waterproof.

Likes: Phish, Umphree's Magee, Boomtown, getting excited, cleanliness in the shop and everywhere else in his life, long walks on the beach, seals, being organized, extracurricular activities, "hate, hate, hate." Dislikes: Attitudes, tanning salons, church.

Here's to a spectacular day.