Dec 31, 2010

I didn't do a lot during the day. I worked on some ideas for photos and sculptures I want to get done soon and then went out to take some shots around town. I think I've been shooting in the park a lot lately but I've been finding new things each time I go. I came home and exercised and ran on the treadmill for a while before getting ready to go out.

I picked up Chuck and we went to Ocean City and met Jeff, Sam, Jordan and family on the boards, which were still covered with snow on one side. There were a lot of people out there, including a giant line at Mack and Manco's.

We went to Three Brothers' for pizza instead and I got this monster slice of mushroom pizza.

We all met back at Jeff's family's beach house to hang out, have some drinks and watch the bad New Year's Eve programming on TV.

We had plenty of snacks and good conversation to make up for the random hosts and musical acts in Times Square.

We all gathered on the roof for the countdown to midnight as they were setting off fireworks in the distance. We only saw the last few though. Everyone donned their silly hats and counted down.

I can't get too excited about it but I was there alone anyway so I just capture the people who were celebrating. They seem happy.

We went back inside and got back into the game of poker we started shortly before midnight. It had been a long time since I played poker last but I was doing really well.

Everyone mingled, snacked and hung around for a while longer as we played on.

Everyone besides Jeff, Sam, Chuck and I went to bed as we finished our game. Jeff was out next so that left Chuck and I alone to battle heads up. We played until about 5am, when I finally went all in and lost. It was a lot of fun playing though. Chuck and I stayed up talking, went for a walk around the neighborhood and then came back.. never sleeping.. to be continued.

Dec 30, 2010

I picked up Jenny in the early afternoon to walk around at Parvin's Lake and takes some photos in the snow. It looked pretty nice all around there. I was actually surprised at how packed down some of the paths were.

Once we had our fill of snow walking we went to Saigon for lunch. I got tofu curry which was delicious. This is the first time I've had Vietnamese curry and I like it. Mixing in all of the different spicy sauces makes it even better. We stayed there for a while drinking jasmine tea and talking for a while before we both had to get going.

I met Shannon at her house and we headed north to Starland Ballroom for the holiday show. We got there as the first band, We Were Skeletons, were playing. They were pretty good but I'd like to hear some recorded stuff. We found a spot in the elevated bar area to see better and get some pizza while we watched Acid Tiger. I liked their music but it's not really for me.

I went down front for Four Year Strong. They played an amazing, energetic set as they always do. A lot of people were really into it.

There really wasn't anything I wanted them to play that they didn't. I'm not as familiar with some of their newer songs but I knew most of the ones they played.. and the show wasn't even over after that.

A little wait later and Thursday came on to play Full Collapse in its entirety. Most of the songs on that album are amazing so it's nice to hear them all. I made my way up front slowly through the first four songs and then it was much easier going.

The crowd was actually great so no complaints there. They came back to only play six songs after Full Collapse. It's a little disappointing because there are so many more songs that I wanted to hear, but they played "Asleep in the Chapel," "Tomorrow I'll Be You" and "Jet Black New Year" of course. The best song of the night was "How Long is the Night?" It was really powerful and amazing. I love seeing them live.

The ride home wasn't too bad. I put on some low music as we followed the Turnpike back to Shannon's and then I headed home listening to a podcast. It was a good night.

Dec 29, 2010

I began my birth day having tea with Jenny since she's home from London for a short time. Well, she had coffee because "tea is just weak coffee." But I'm weak. So we sat at Starbucks and talked for a long time and I took pictures of her as the sun was setting and the light was really nice. We walked through the mall for about five minutes and then I took her home.

Jeffrey picked us up and headed to PJ's for Quizzo with a big group this time. We were worried for moment that it wasn't happening because Shakedown was was late. He arrived and got that quiz underway eventually though.

Christie and Tracy came out as well as Erika and Ryan, who was either thinking really hard or looking at the lights after I was talking about the white balance on my camera. We were doing really well on the quiz; we even got more than half of the sports round questions.

Shannon and Erika conspired to get me a slice of chocolate peanut butter pie. It was delicious. We were tied for third after the fifth round but ended up in sixth by the end of the game, only about 70 points out of first. That's probably the closest we've come/will ever come to winning.

Some of us headed to Philly to go to Mad River after the quiz. I'm glad we found this place (thanks, Alex.) Apparently we were just making our most awkward faces in this shot.

I let Shannon take control of the camera for a while. We had some beers and went to the dance floor. Erika and Shannon were there already and we made our way there eventually.

The DJ was pretty good most of the night. There were a few songs that I had just never heard before at all and they were all played one after the other.

Chuck and I got free drinks for the evening. I can't give details on how this deal was struck, but, needless to say, it was nice.

A girl came by while Shannon was taking a picture and grabbed my camera and just went to take a photo of us. Okay, that worked out well somehow. Even our chaperone, Jeff got into it. We stayed until last call and then walked the cold three blocks back to our car.

I had a good time for my birthday, thanks to my friends. I still couldn't sleep when I got home and I was up until almost 6.

Dec 28, 2010

I'm sure I've spent more time inside during a day but today felt like I really just didn't do anything. I watched a lot of Mythbusters and ate grapes.

I jumped at the chance to get out by going to the store with my grandmom and taking pictures while she was getting vitamins of some sort.

Later, Tracy wanted to go out and play so she came down to the park and we started making snow creatures. The snow wasn't good for packing so we had to use chunks of snow that were already there.

Considering that, her turtle came out really nice.

I spent some time trying to make this guy look like a penguin. I think it works with his wings and his little feet.

We kept making little snowmen on the bridge. It was hard to find sticks and rocks because everything was under the snow. We went on a hunt and came back with things to complete them.

We left a family of snowmen with two pets on the bridge. Hopefully no one kicks them over and they are appreciated.

We went to the Oarhouse for a beer and some food. There were a few outbursts from customers because of the football game but not as many as you might expect. That was nice. My nachos were good and we got to catch up for the first time in a while.

After a rather boring beginning to the day the night ended nicely. Now maybe I'll eventually go to sleep.

Dec 27, 2010

I put off going out into the snow for a while but eventually I had to go and shovel a path from the door to the cars. The shoveling wasn't actually that bad since the snow was light. That's one advantage to not having that long driveway anymore. I cleared off both cars and dug out a path to get to the road.

While I was snow suited up I decided to go to the cemetery to take some shots. Overall I had more good ideas than good shots but I got a few so it counts. I have to go back to try out one thing that didn't work. The sun went down before I could get a good picture.

Shannon came over and we tried to play video games but something went wrong with each attempt. We got a pizza and watched Role Models instead. I finally had a few of my beers from the party two weeks ago. I think this was my favorite.

After the movie I met Carissa for a walk around our neighborhood. We walked on the streets for a while but then started walking in the snow. Carissa made an impromptu snow angel but had a hard time getting out of it. That's the hardest part. We walked past my old house just to check it out and then through the cemetery, which was very difficult as it hadn't been plowed and snow drifts made some very deep areas. We laid down in the snow to rest for a while and it wasn't even bad.

I went to Ryan's to play some DK Country. We played for a little while but after repeating the same stage many times and not getting through it we called it a night.

Dec 26, 2010

After spending some time inside, Chuck told me he would want to go get lunch so we went to Kawa. It was basically the only place open. I had to clean off my car twice before leaving and once we got there we spent a lot of time inside, me drinking hot tea and watching the golf show on TV as I finished my curry.

We took a walk down by the river and I took some shots of the snow. It was nice looking but it was really cold out.

We walked down High Street on the way back to the car and then waited until the windshield ice melted and headed home.

I spent the rest of the evening and night at home, staying inside with the shades drawn so I could forget that I was being snowed in. I didn't really forget but I could ignore it for a while. I watched a good movie and some other things and now I'm going to try to sleep. I know I won't.

Dec 25, 2010

I didn't get much sleep but I was woken up when my cousins came over to open gifts. Everyone exchanged and then my dad came over with the gift he and my uncle got for my grandmom: a new TV. The kids helped open it and I helped install it. I went to my mom's for a while to exchange gifts and hang out for a while and then came home to get ready for dinner.

I got to Sam's in time for pre-dinner mingling. We had some beers and talked about what was going on for the holidays. Jordan and I kept each other company since we were both there alone together.

The dinner spread was nice and we all sat down to have salads before the big meal came out.

There were cashew stuffing-filled portobello caps, cauliflower, green beans and au gratin potatoes. It was a delicious meal! Dessert was great also, though it was hard to decide what to have between the four or so cakes on the table and the three-tiered tray of cookies. It was a nice meal and a good time to spend the day with some friends.

I fell asleep for a while after I got home and when I got up I decided not to go out for the night because I bought into the stupid weather forecast about snow. I went for a walk down by the river to take some photos and just to get outside for a while.

It was cold out but somewhat refreshing, even with the gently falling snow. It's going to be a long winter.