Apr 5, 2014

I went up to Legacy in the morning for a day full of graduation re-training with the group. We sat through a lot of slides reiterating what settings the camera should be on and what every little dial should read. I would expect this much teaching if we had to learn how to compensate, but we are really just learning to set our cameras and leave them there. After a long day of sitting and then practice shooting, I headed down the street to pick up the Schuykill River Trail in Conshohocken. 

I biked down the beautiful trail into Manayunk and stopped in at the brewery for a quick beer. I talked to an old guy that I couldn't tell if he was drunk or not. I had my one English beer and then headed back out to the bike. The weather was pretty nice, but the wind kept picking up on the way back and slowing me down. That always seems to be the way it is. I was happy to get back to the car at that point.

I found a parking spot off of Market Street and walked down to the Tin Angel, where I got a bourbon and ginger and sat down to watch Sarah Ault play her set. Joanna showed up during her set to join me. I grabbed a Malibu Bay Breeze during intermission and then sat back down to watch Mary Scholz play an amazingly beautiful set of songs from her new album. I had to say hi and then run to get back to my car before the meter ran out. Joanna and I found a campground at Lums Pond and parked there to camp for the night.

Apr 4, 2014

I worked as a floater at Vineland Memorial during the day, covering random classes all morning and managing to get out early. I went home and got some food before picking up Chuck to head to Atlantic City for the beer fest. Mike hooked us up with some tickets, but they weren't at the will call window when we got there. We went over to Tun Tavern and had a beer while we waited. The Berliner Weiss was fantastic and really funky. We went back over to the convention center and, after quite a bit of waiting and running around, we got our tickets and hopped in line.

The waiting didn't really slow us down as we got right in and started tasting. We went in order, which didn't really make sense because we weren't going to be able to make it the whole way around. A couple of my favorite that I tried were the Fort Collins Ashes, a smoky and balanced beer, and the Evil Genius Purple Monkey Peanut Butter Porter, which speaks for itself. There were a bunch of good beers of course, but the highlight for us was meeting Brian O'Halloran of Clerks fame at the NJCB booth! He was just there! We talked to him for a few minutes and got a photo before he disappeared into the crowd.

Fresh off being starstruck I went to see Saves the Day on the main stage while Chuck continued drinking. They opened with "All-Star Me" which I haven't heard them play in years. An awesome opener to a somewhat disappointing set. Only because they played a lot of newer songs that I'm not really into. And only disappointing because every time I've seen them it's been like a greatest hits of my personal favorite songs of theirs. To be fair, they did play 30 songs, including "A Drag in D Flat," "Sell My Old Clothes..," "Jessie..," "Can't Stay the Same," and "Firefly." So honestly, a pretty amazing set with some downtime songs. After they finished I found Chuck and wandered back to the car to head home.

Apr 3, 2014

After covering meetings at Lakeside for the day, I was more than ready to get outside. I went over to the park and practiced putting a little before dropping my discs and going for a walk around the longest path to kill time before Ryan got there to play a round. I went home for a while before heading up to Philly for the show.

I got to the Troc shortly before Four Year Strong hit the stage. They had some technical problems getting started as they always seem to in Philly, but once it was resolved they kicked off a great set playing mostly older songs. Their set was fast and full of energy, which is what it was lacking last time I saw them. I was happy to see them back at what they do best, and the crowd was into it too.

Speaking of the crowd, this was the tamest crowd I've seen at a Bayside show as long as I can remember. Their set was fantastic, with four songs from the new album and all of them songs I wanted to hear. I'm sure it gets harder to decide which newer vs. older songs to play as their list of songs grows longer, but I really love seeing them play the new stuff. It's just so good.

Apr 2, 2014

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I worked at Memorial in a social studies class during the day watching a video about Shays' Rebellion. It was a good video, but I wanted to be outside. I got done a little early and decided to go for a bike ride.

I pedaled out toward Fortescue and turned around at the big oak tree where the road splits. It was nice, though a little windy at times.

I pedaled back up Buckshutem Road and around the race track to the airport road. Overall I was happy with my route choice as far as traffic was concerned. That's my least favorite part about riding around here. I was getting a little sluggish at the end of 16 miles. I need to get back into it.

Chuck and I had our weekly Quizzo alone time, where we thought we had a good chance of winning when really we were still really far behind the first place team. The last round was a sports question and we actually didn't do too badly by naming random baseball teams.

Apr 1, 2014

I had meeting at Landis School today, and it turned out to be a very open schedule. I got there at 8:30 and didn't have any meetings until 11:30. I decided to use this time to my advantage and went out for breakfast and then to get a haircut. The woman who cut my hair was very awkward and told me she only had certain razor guards for her clippers so I couldn't get the length I asked for. I suggested she ask to use the other stylist's and, after exhaling, she did it.

After that fun I took some photos of the Vineland Electric factory and then returned to cover meetings for the rest of the day. I ended up getting out a little early as well. I went to the park where I ended up playing 9 holes with a guy that I've seen there before. He's a regular apparently. We had a good game, and then Ryan showed up for our run. Time to start some training for the Tough Mudder as it's coming up really soon.

Brenda suggested getting Moe's so we went there and ate our bowls before heading up to the rock gym. We met Meg and her friend there and had a good time climbing, switching off partners. I didn't climb quite as well as last week, but I did manage to do the yellow that has been tormenting me for weeks! It seemed like we tired out a little earlier this time, so we called it a night early.

Mar 31, 2014

I covered meetings during the day at Wood and Mt. Pleasant Schools. Most of them were for kindergarten and slightly older so it was more of a babysitting day. After work I wanted to be outside, but I wasn't exactly feeling like a long run. I went to Silver Run and ran the trails for a while and then walked them for another loop or two while listening to a podcast. It was a nice way to enjoy the weather.

Later, I went to Matt's where Jamie, Chuck, and Kate joined for the series finale of How I Met Your Mother. Kate picked up sushi so we ate and had some beer before it got started. I thought the finale was awesome. It was really funny, and it felt like an old episode of the show. And I liked the way it ended. Maybe the bar has been set really low for finales lately, but I am good with how it wrapped up.

Mar 30, 2014

I didn't sleep very well, but I actually felt a little better in the morning. I got up and made breakfast then got my stuff all ready to get up to Philly by 7 to shoot the Love Run. It took me forever to find parking and then I had to bike down to the museum to meet Charles. Sure enough it rained for the entire race. I shot at Logan Circle for the beginning and my hands were already frozen.

I came back to the finish line for the last two hours of the race to catch all the finishers. It was a little better there at first, but then it got worse and the rain started coming down really hard for a long time. I was completely soaked and cold. I was shaking and my arm was hurting from my heavy lens. After I was cleared to leave I still had to bike back to my car, where I crawled in the back and quickly changed into my dry clothes.

That was the most miserable I've been in a long time. I couldn't feel my feet for a while. I didn't think it would be that cold. Why such bad luck for outdoor activities? The weather sucks here. I came home and returned to my bed for a nap through the afternoon. I didn't do much besides watching Arrested Development and editing some photos.

Mar 29, 2014

Today I spent all day being sick and staying in bed. Mostly. I got up a few times and sat in a chair. I just felt like sleeping even though I'd wake up coughing a lot. So I mostly sat or lay around watching season 8 of 24 and drinking a lot of tea and honey. Then I had some soup. That was my day.

Mar 28, 2014

I worked at Landis covering meetings today. They really don't have their shit together at this school. They seem to be making it up as they go. And it's a pain to go between the school itself and the Child Study office because all the doors are locked and subs don't get pass cards. I spent my breaks in the clocktower nest again though so that was nice. I came home after work and wasn't feeling great so I didn't do much and I got to bed early.

Mar 27, 2014

I had to go down to the AC Convention Center to shoot video at the Eastern Concrete booth at the Atlantic Builders Convention. Very exciting stuff. Everyone that was working there was really nice, even if 2/3 of them were camera shy. I got some good video of them interacting with customers and then did some quick interviews.

I kept thinking I should have kept my sub job as I wouldn't have made much less and I wouldn't have had to drive down there. Overall it was a pretty quick and easy job though. I was happy to be done and on my way home.

Alex, Tyler, and I went to the TLA for The Ataris' So Long, Astoria reunion show. The crowd was pretty stagnant for the first few songs, which made no sense to me since everyone was there to see them yet they didn't seem interested. A big group of big dudes came up front a few songs in and got things going and the rest of the show was great after that. They played the full album, which I forget how much I love sometimes. Kris played a couple of acoustic songs and then the band came out for one last song for the encore. At one point a pick Kris threw landed directly on my shoulder. Score.

Mar 26, 2014

Today I actually did cover the meetings I was supposed to at work, and it was an easy day. Later I went to the gym and did a jump rope circuit with push ups and marine squats by myself. I picked up Chuck for Quizzo and we once again were on our own to lose to the teams that always win. Jeff came over after we returned from our respective quiz games and had a beer or two with me as we sat at the table and talked for a couple of hours. 

Mar 25, 2014

I worked in a music class at Vineland Memorial, which turned out to be pretty easy. I had some classes that had to do worksheets, but it was mostly lessons who either didn't show up or spent their time alone in the practice rooms. I didn't feel like doing much after work, so when Brenda asked if I still wanted to go to the rock gym I was hesitant. I ended up agreeing and I'm glad I did. We had a really good time and I did really well on some of the harder ones I haven't tried before.

Mar 24, 2014

I went into Vineland Memorial to cover meetings today, but I ended up getting switched to cover a Special Ed class for the whole day. It wasn't so bad, but I just wasn't expecting it. After work I went to the park and ran the baskets, switching between push-ups, V crunches, and jumping jacks (with one set of pull ups thrown in at hole 10) at the end of each basket. I played a pretty good game considering I was running. I dropped my discs at the car and took a lap around the lake for good measure after I finished the course.

Mar 23, 2014

I spent the morning gathering my documents and continuing the process of filing my taxes for last year. It was only difficult because of all the photo jobs I had to claim. I called TurboTax a few times for help with some things. At least the money I spent on their business edition comes with phone support. Ryan and I went up to Stafford Woods (third day in a row for me) for a round in the afternoon. There weren't as many people there this time as it was a little chilly. I played terribly. Good thing I had good experiences the first two times. We got some food at the Shop Rite buffet and then headed home. I spent the rest of the night finishing up my taxes and filing.

Mar 22, 2014

We woke up early in the still-cold car and slowly made our way out of sleeping bags. After a quick stop to the nearby Wawa for breakfast, we returned to the park to start the Mt. Misery hike at Pakim Pond.

The hike took us over the pond and through thick, quiet woods as the sun rose higher and began to warm us up. The layers came off gradually as we hiked and started to feel much warmer. The silence of early morning and soft ground was really nice. We didn't see anyone on the trail except for a dog and its owner at the parking lot.

We came across a section of the woods that had been fairly recently burned. Everything was still charred and the hard plastic trail signs had melted down completely. This area also proved to be lacking in blazes so we second guessed if we were headed the right way. Ultimately we decided to keep going and it turned out we were still on the trail we meant to be on.

While this trail was flat, it was incredibly varied in its scenery. We passed by a few bodies of water that were quite large and then we came through several sections of bogs where the path narrowed and this is what we saw reaching deep to one side.

There were grass-filled marshes with amazing colors and these open wooded areas where we could see for a great distance until the forest seemed to turn to fog. It was a great morning hike.

When we finished hiking we went to get food before heading over to Stafford Woods again for another game. I guess we liked it. We started on the back again as there were a lot of people playing. Nice days. We rescued a floating disc from the pond, but someone was already there to claim it and thank us.

Next we headed down to New Brooklyn DGC. This course is like the opposite of Stafford as most of the holes are played in open fields. I didn't mind the openness of the course since there are plenty of good uses of distance and obstacles. There were some long shots near the road, and as we finished the last few holes the area was flooded and my shoes ended up soaked. Nice way to end. Also, the last hole seemed like an afterthought and was just poorly laid out. I'd still play the course again.

After packing a lot of fun into about 24 hours I headed home as the sun was setting. I happily took it easy for the rest of the night when I got home. My legs were feeling how much walking I'd done. I need to get them back into shape.

Mar 21, 2014

I worked at Memorial in a math class during the day. I didn't eat breakfast and I was very hungry, so of course I didn't have a break until about 1:30. But I got to leave early. Oh well. After work I made plans to meet Joanna at Stafford Woods DGC to give it a try. It finally has 18 holes and Scott keeps saying it's really good. We started on the back 9 to avoid a couple of groups starting and it was pretty sweet. Lots of leaves on the ground hid our discs pretty often, but the layout was nice.

There were some long holes. That was unexpected but nice. It was mostly in the woods, but there was one section in a large, open field. It works out to balance the course a bit. The hardest part was finding the baskets without maps on the back section. There was a hanging basket that was a lot of fun. I made like six putts in a row on it. The rest of the course is a really great layout. The front 9 is definitely more varied, but the whole thing is a lot of fun.

We got done just about in perfect time to head down to Brendan Byrne State Forest to meet up with Mike and Alison, the people leading the Meetup group for a Friday Night Fitness Hike. They do it every Friday night. We got there and I was surprised to see a bunch of other cars. We met everyone and then got to hiking into the setting sun down a wide path. There ended up being 9 of us, and we didn't use lights. Our eyes adjusted pretty well. 

I ended up talking to Mike for most of the hike about photography and hiking and marathon-running. They used to run marathons and now they do this kind of thing all the time. I hope I'm like them when I'm their age. They are in their 60s, by the way. It was a great experience, and we stopped once in a while to look at the stars and decide how much farther to go. We ended up doing about 9 miles. I really would like to do this again. Joanna and I set up the car to camp for the night and got settled in to the surprisingly cold night.

Mar 20, 2014

I worked at Vineland Memorial as a floating sub today, where I ended up covering for the gym teacher who only needed the second half of the day covered. So I had the full first half of the day off, hanging in the break room watching Sherlock, and then I went to the gym to watch the kids run in circles for a half hour at a time. It was so nice outside I was wishing I could be out there.

Ryan suggested the gym later, but I insisted on outdoor activities! So we brought the kettle bell over to the park and did hill runs, squats, swings, and push ups as circuits. It was fun and certainly exhausting, and we had some spectators that were walking around the path while we did it. Once we took the kettle bell back we took a walk around the lake as well. The rest of the night was spent taking it easy at home.

Mar 19, 2014

I worked between Wood School and Mt. Pleasant today covering speech meetings. I had a nice long break in between to come home for lunch. I feel like I'm always running around at Mt. Pleasant to find the teachers that are supposed to know they have meetings. I think that's why some subs don't like doing these types of jobs. At least it keeps me busy, I guess. Later, Chuck and I went to Quizzo alone, and it took both of us to lose that game.

Mar 18, 2014

No snow day this time! I worked at Vineland Memorial covering meetings for the day. It was an easy day, as per usual, and then I came home to relax for a while. Later I met Brenda at the gym for some treadmill walking, a couple games of racquetball, and then some weight machines.

Mar 17, 2014

Yet another snow day for the city kept me inside for most of the day. It actually snowed quite a bit, but it didn't pile up a whole lot on the roads. Enough to make it treacherous for some commuters to school I suppose, but the majority of the snow was on the grass. Still a lot considering how warm it was this past weekend. And now spring break has been shortened. I ventured out in the afternoon to go to the gym with Ryan.

Later, Chuck came over and we had some beers. I have quite a collection between the beer fest take-homes and random other purchases that I just never drink because I don't drink alone. We tried a few new things, and we finished the whole growler of Dirty Little Freak, of course. While we drank, we watched Mike Birbiglia videos and ended up watching Don & Chuck videos. We laughed a lot, as we had forgotten so much about them. It was a great night. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Mar 16, 2014

We started the day at Scarboro Hills DGC, where it was chilly but still was a fun round. Before stepping onto the course we were warned by someone that we should watch out for someone who apparently shot a gun toward the course recently. Always nice.

After the round I filled up my growler and picked up a six pack of Dirty Little Freak at DuClaw on our way home.

I spent the rest of the day at home inside watching shows and going through photos. 

Mar 15, 2014

Joanna came down and we headed south(ish) to Patapsco State Park in Maryland for a hike. We found a nice loop that started out heavily wooded and rocky. We descended for a while before leveling out along a stream.

We had to cross the stream at this railroad bridge with a tunnel out to the other side and the river. This is where the path began to climb back up. We encountered an overlook that let us see the tops of trees and a small parking lot. Very exciting.

The trail continued on a paved path along the river and past the dam. There was a nice, big bridge that helped us get across the river and then we had to walk along the far bank where the trail was pretty degraded. It was pretty muddy and close to the water in a lot of places before it returned to being paved.

We followed the path up and around another incline area which I recognized as having done previously with Jess. We crossed over the river again on a shaky bridge and continued until we passed under the railroad again. This trail took us on a steep climb up to a big open field that turned out to be part of a Christian retreat. It might not have been the path we were looking for, but it got us back to the car.

We headed over to Rockburn Branch DGC for a game as the sun was dropping. I remember the course pretty well and I was able to play much better than the previous time I was there.

We got through the course before it got dark so that was nice. We had a good round.

We stopped at the Land of Kush, a vegan restaurant close to downtown Baltimore, where I got this amazing BBQ seitan and mac & cheese that gives The Abbaye's a run for its money. So good.

The Brewer's Art was right around the corner so we headed over to the really cool basement bar and I got a sampler of their Belgian beers. They were all quite good. Knowing that they were Belgian going in was helpful, but one was a sour Belgian that I really liked. The best part was the bar itself; dark and filled with beers lovers. I'd like to spend a night here with some friends.

We went up to DuClaw next where I was greeted with the Dirty Little Freak, a coconut caramel chocolate brown ale. It is just as wonderful as it sounds. I also tried their "Roulette" tap, which is a random beer that isn't offered on their list at all. It could be anything. The one I got tasted like a Belgian strong ale. It was pretty good, just not what I was craving.

I had a Euphoria and another Dirty Little Freak before we left. It was a fun night at the bar and then we went and found ourselves a Wal*Mart parking lot to camp in for the night.