Dec 31, 2011

I went to Kate's early and it was a beautiful day out. No way we could pass it up to be outside. We took a walk on the trails behind her house that led to a dirt road and eventually brought us back out to Carmel Rd. It was a nice, long walk.

We were both really hungry after that so we went to Peking Tokyo for lunch and got a few rolls to share. The Crunchy Roll was great. That was filling. And we had an exuberant waiter that kept us entertained.

My dad invited us down to hang out and play pool for a while so we went down there. I didn't beat him at all. I am not that good. I played a few games with Kate and I don't even think I won any of those.

Later, Kate, Chuck, Marsha, and I went up to Jeff and Sam's place to have a New Year's Eve party. There were plenty of veggies and snacks out and Sam was making vegan pizzas so all was good. We stood around in the kitchen talking for a while drinking the variety of beers we brought.

After a while we got down to business playing Telestrations. It got weird during a lot of the rounds. I don't even know what was being attempted here. As always, there was a lot of laughing and looks of astonishment when we found out what was being drawn.

We scrambled to get outside to the fire around midnight. I never really cared for the countdown so much. I don't think we even did one, but we did light sparklers and run around the yard for a while.

We stayed out in the cold for a while until the fire was dying down and we decided we'd like to be warm again and play more games.

We stayed around for a while longer, had another slice of pizza and another drink. This was the lineup of empty bottles when I left. We did pretty well. And quite an array of craft beers at that.

The drive home wasn't bad at all. The roads were clear somehow. Maybe we were too soon after midnight for people to have left their parties yet. Either way, happy 2012!

Dec 30, 2011

I met up with Jen in the morning to take a walk around Parvins and catch up in person before she headed back to London. We walked to a bench and sat there discussing our options for online employment and becoming authors.

After leaving the lake I went to Ryan's to head up to the rock climbing gym in Cherry Hill. We were there and hour before they opened, but the guy was there and he was nice enough to let us come in early and climb. We had the place to ourselves.

We did the bouldering section without harnesses. They are lower and have pads below. Even the easy paths were really hard. We spent an hour or so climbing around all the different walls. Some I couldn't do at all, but I was able to get up a few of them. I have a lot of work to do before I'm good at this it seems.

Tracy and I went up to Philly and checked on set times then headed to Manny Brown's for some drinks. I had a sour ale and tried a few others. The Lagunitas Sucks is an awesome holiday IPA. And a great name.

When it was show time we left the bar and headed back down to the TLA. This is the last time I'll see this name on the marquee. (maybe?)

mewithoutYou was great and fun. They played a lot of new songs that I don't know as well, but there were plenty of old ones mixed in. They played for a good long while.

Thursday began their last US show ever playing the same set list as the other night except they added in "Paris in Flames," which I actually said I really wish they had played before.

The rest of the set went as it did at Starland, but it was great to hear the songs one more time for their last show. I have seen them probably around thirty times over the last ten years and it has been amazing almost every time. The holidays won't seem the same without them playing a show.

It was a sad but amazing farewell show. I will remember the intensity of their live shows every time I listen to them turned up loud in the car.

Dec 29, 2011

I slept in for the early part of the day then Kate and I tried to find things to do early. We fail so I went out to get a new desk chair. It was long overdue. I picked out this nice "executive" leather chair and came home to put it together. Then I sat in it for a little while. I like it.

Later, we headed to AC to Tun Tavern to try all of their beers in the sampler. They have a lot of good ones, including the Maple Black Walnut Brown Ale. That and the pale ale are my favorites.

We got some food that was presented nice and fancy-like. It was all quite good. I'd go back. We had to catch the Jitney and rush back to the House of Blues to get to the show on time.

We came in while Bayside was on their second song. They played a set with very little talking and all music. It was good stuff. They played a lot of new songs, which I'm always excited to hear from them. The old ones kind of got old, honestly. Their set was great.

Taking Back Sunday was up next and we had to push through the boring crowd of people to get closer. They were really great musically and Adam was entertaining as ever.

They played all but three songs off of of Tell All Your Friends and they played a lot of new stuff. Their oldest and newest stuff is my favorite so that worked out nicely. "Existentialism on Prom Night" wasn't even so bad this time around. I was kind of excited to hear it. Adam ran off through the crowd for the last two songs, singing to the crowd from atop the bar. It was hilarious.

After a great night out we headed home. Dinner and a great show were definitely a great birthday gift from Kate. Thanks!

Dec 28, 2011

I wanted to go for a run in the morning, but the wind was crazy. I went over to Parvin against my better judgement to run there. I wore warm clothes and it wasn't too bad, but the water was crashing in waves and splashing up on the path at some parts.

Not much to speak of for the rest of the day until we went to The Abbaye for Troegs U-Buy-the-Glass night. Kate, Shannon, Jeff, and I all started with the Pale Ale and worked our way up through the Java Head Stout and the Troegenator. All were good.

Tracy and Tina joined us a little later to hang out before the show. Kate won a bottle of beer during the raffle with a little Christmas tree on it. I couldn't even finish my vegan meatball sandwich. Tracy, Tina, and I left after the even to go to the Electric Factory, leaving the rest to drink.

Valencia's last show was a great show. They played plenty of songs off of each album, focusing mainly, it seemed, on We All Need a Reason to Believe, which was fine with me. I had a good time in the crowd singing along. I wish I had seen them more often.

After the show I walked back to The Abbaye to find Shannon, Kate, and Jeff pretty drunk and laughing at a back table. We paid the bill and dropped Jeff at the train station and then headed home listening to music loudly.

Dec 27, 2011

Kate and I went up the Turnpike in the AM after the other two folks who were going to join us decided not to go. We went to Penn Station and into New York, heading for Jamba Juice immediately.

I formed a plan, but most of it was outdoors and it started to rain. I didn't have any backup ideas so we went to Strawberry Fields first and then ducked into a Starbucks to try to come up with something else to do.

We found a bar called Fontana's that only had one other patron and plenty of good beer to choose from. Kate forgot her ID so she could only try mine.

The Peak Organic IPA was amazing. The Fire Island Lighthouse Ale was also a really good beer from nearby. We stayed there for quite some time talking until we were hungry.

We made our way down the street to The Meatball Shop and had to stand, dripping, in the corner until at table opened for us. Even the few blocks' walk had us completely soaked. Dinner was amazing though. I got chicken meatballs over a plate of veggies with parmesan cream sauce. So good.

Another walk through the rain took us to Rice to Riches and we got a couple of flavors, including Eggnog. They were both great but very rich. We got the medium size, which was too much. We finished eating it on the train once we got back to Penn Station.

The drive home was long, but the day was a lot of fun despite the rainy weather. Kate didn't get to see the tree this time, but there's always next year.

Dec 26, 2011

Ryan and I did the gym early. There were more people there than we were used to later in the afternoon. We did back and arm exercises mostly. I went to Chili's with Kate to have lunch with her dad and brother later before he headed back to Florida.

Shannon and I headed up to Starland Ballroom and sat in the parking lot having our Golden Monkeys while we waited for the show to progress. We got up there earlier than we planned. Shannon was very emotional about this being her last Thursday show.

We went in and caught the end of mewithoutYou and then waited for Thursday to come on. They started with a new song, but the second was "For the Workforce, Drowning." I always love hearing that song live. It's so powerful.

They played a long, amazing set. The new songs were great and there was a great mix of older stuff. They were very thankful to everyone for coming out all these years to the holiday shows and everything else. They played "War All the Time," which made me very happy. They ended with a heartfelt message before playing "Stay True" (I cried a little) then their closing pair of "Jet Black New Year" and "Turnpike Divides."

The show was amazing and a nice ending, even though I have another show this week. Shannon really enjoyed their last show through tears though. I don't blame her. All good things must end.

Dec 25, 2011

Christmas day. I got up and said my greeting and went to my dad's to exchange gifts. Along with the cash, I got a set of tools. It's full of tools, too so I'm set up for a while. I'll keep it in the trunk for emergencies.

I met Ryan at his house and we went to the park for our workout since the gym isn't open on Christian holidays. We did a bunch of shoulder stuff that seemed more difficult than some of the things we do at the gym. The weather was quite nice for it though.

I went to Kate's after showering and her mom showered me with little gifts like magnets and a reflector vest for running and these tic tacs. Mmm.

We went to my mom's for some food later and I didn't end up staying very long or eating much. We hung out with Sarah and Aiden, trying to play a game of Jenga. It didn't really work out. Aiden doesn't get physics just yet.

I came back to Kate's later to exchange gifts. After we exchanged, we went upstairs and tried out the tea pitcher I got for her with the citrus loose-leaf tea. It was really good. No need for sweetening.

We hung out there for the evening and talked. I eventually headed home and watched things until I was tired.

Dec 24, 2011

Kate and I met Jamie and Nathan at Bob Evans for breakfast. It was a very entertaining breakfast. We laughed a lot. And Nathan and I tried explaining our speech impediment naming idea for kids. Wobelt instead of Robert. But that's how you spell it.. never mind. A bit after breakfast I met Ryan for a run at Parvins. We only did one lap this time.

Later, Kate and I went to dinner with her dad and Marilyn at Carolina Blue again. I tried a few new beers like the Flying Fish Extra Pale, Hop Rod, and a Peche Lambic. The last one was a little too sweet, but the Hop Rod was fantastic. We had a good conversation and a nice dinner; I had crab cakes sans the bun this time.

We went to Kate's cousin's house for a little party when we got back. There weren't that many people out at first, but it began to grow and Santa showed up! He was drinking a little bit.

We played Battle Shots but replaced the shots with sips of beer. That's more my speed. It was fun nonetheless. There was good food, but I was still stuffed from the dinner so I just mostly drank from our Yards variety pack.

We didn't stay too long. I got tired quickly. It was an early evening for me.