Sep 23, 2013

I worked at Wood School for a Spanish teacher today, showing Happy Feet 2 to all of the classes in English. It was fairly pleasant since the movie was actually good to watch repeatedly. And it was nice having Ryan's office to hide in between classes since I didn't have my own room.

Chuck and I went up to Rogues Gallery in Philly to meet Stephanie and her friend for a couple of beers before we went over to the First Unitarian Church Chapel to see Jonah. I had a Burning River Pale Ale by Great Lakes that was amazing. I need to get that again. At the church, the room was actually quite a bit more empty than I'm used to it being, but that was okay. He played his usual amazing set of audience requests and whatever felt right to him in the moment including my request of "Hostage." I love seeing him play that song live. He puts so much emotion into. Just like everything he does. We got some photos after the show like we do.

May 5, 2011

I went for a run in the morning, enjoying the great weather and taking a route through downtown and along the river paths.

I met Chuck at Wildflower for some outdoor dining of vegan foods. I had a vegan wrap that was amazing and Chuck had an "egg salad" sandwich that was also quite good. It was really nice to sit outside in the sun, except for the wind.

I went to Parvin with Leah to continue enjoy enjoying the nice day and look for some caches at the same time. We found the first one close to the road and along the little stream that the lake empties to.

We went deeper into the woods for the next one. It was over in an area that I've never really walked and it doesn't seem to be quite as frequented by anyone else either.

This was hanging on the lid of the cache we found over there. It was amusing to see when we lifted the top off. I signed the book and continued the walk around the area then headed back to the car.

Chuck and I headed up to Philly and got some Pizza before going to the Church for another dose of Jonah. He played a much quieter set in the small chapel, but it was just as great as the night before. He always seems to really enjoy playing in that space.

We talked to Jonah for a moment after the show, I got the new CD and we got a photo together. Always leave those shows feeling so good!

We decided to head over to The Abbaye and check out their Quizzo. The last time I tried it I was disappointed but it was great this time! We did really well while still feeling challenged.

There was a vegan meatball sandwich on the menu so there was no way I couldn't try that. It was great. Better than the burger I think. I hope they keep that on the menu for good.

I stopped at Westby for a bit even though I had no more classes or anything to do and then I headed home since I got a job for the morning.

May 4, 2011

Fitting for my last day of undergraduate college, I spent the morning working on my online final for History of Photo that was due today. It was somewhat easier than the the midterm was, I think. Either that or I just didn't care as much?

I got to Westby just before my Sculpture final was to begin and it turned out we had to wait a while for everyone to get their stuff up. This is one of my favorite pieces of Joanna's. The lines are made of pills.

There was a performance much like last semester, but the instrument's hammers were refined for more intricate playing. The piece he played was beautiful and really impressive that he created this himself basically.

My pieces were received differently by everyone. This isn't the best light in which to view them, but I was happy with the results. The critique itself was strangely hostile. Not just toward my pieces but others as well. A few people who I've not been in crit with before just tore people apart for no good reason. I didn't let them get to me, and I defended my idea and my process calmly, much to the chagrin of the person trying to rile me with his comments. Another disappointing critique.. and that's the end of school. What an anticlimax.

After the end of college, Joanna picked me up at we went to Moe's, where Chuck met us for food before he and I headed up to Hoboken. The Deptford Moe's is terrible. Maybe it's just the quality of the one in Millville, but I'm always disappointed up there.

We got to Maxwell's early for the show so we took a walk down to the river while we waited for doors to open. It's always a nice place to hang out and enjoy the view of New York.

We went in when doors opened and waited in the mostly empty room until the first band started. They were pretty good and then when they finished the keyboardist stayed on to help Jonah with his opening song, which was a real surprise to me. He played a Gratitude song, which is very unusual. It was a nice surprise.

We were right up front for the whole set, though it was a small crowd even for that venue. He played an awesome set as he always does and left us happy and inspired and wanting more. Luckily for us, we'd be seeing him the next day as well. We had a good drive back home and I went to Westby for a bit with Alex and then went home and watched Scott Pilgrim falling asleep.

Dec 6, 2010

Although I got there late, I actually made it to the Gallery meeting this week. We mostly discussed fund-raising ideas so we can make the publication the way we want to. I think we have some good ideas for it but we'll see if we can actually make any money with them.

We worked, sort of, all class in Typography. There has been an unusual amount of joking around in that class lately, yet somehow I feel that I've been getting more done. Maybe a fun environment is helping keep me motivated? Whatever it is, it's working and my project is coming along nicely.

I went to Nick's with Matt and Brian for food after class. I hadn't eaten anything yet so I'm surprised I waited that long. We came back to Westby where I got some tips on using clay for my next sculpture project and then hung out in the computer lab with Brian and Michele until Chuck picked me up.

We found our way to Newark Penn, accompanied by our adversary, Henkel and McCoy, the whole way up the Turnpike. When we got to the city we walked a few blocks in the cold to the Gershwin Hotel.

We were there early enough to get some food. I had an awesome tofu veggie sandwich and a big cup of oolong tea. How convenient that they have a little cafe in the hotel lobby.

We got our tickets and went into a little room in the back where Jonah was tuning and there were rows of plastic lawn chairs in the center. After a few moments of talking and three minutes of silent thinking time he played his first few songs. There was some commotion after leaking water behind where Jonah was sitting started to cause concern with the hotel manager.

After quite rudely interrupting the show a couple of times, the owner requested we all leave that room. So, with chairs in hand, we all exited to the next room next to the lobby. We set up our chairs close to the stage area and they closed the curtains to separate the room slightly.

Jonah got back into it and sang a bunch more songs. He played for a long time, playing a request from both Chuck and myself. Some songs were quiet and somber and others were loud and rockin'. It was a good time. His shows always are. It's always a very emotional experience.

We went right back to Penn after the show and only had to wait about twenty minutes for our train. I was surprised at how empty the train and the streets were for a night so close to Christmas.

We listened to Gratitude for the whole drive home. I couldn't sleep for a while after I got home of course but all I got done was watching How I Met Your Mother and Friends.

Aug 8, 2010

Most of the day was spent working on photos/watching Louie but I also spent some time at the gym with Ryan. We did a set of exercises and then set up our course in the group room adding a few extra obstacles and different exercises to the beginning and end. It was painful. In a good way.

Later that afternoon Chuck picked me up to head to Maxwell's in Hoboken. We hit traffic at the very end of our journey of course and by the time we found a parking spot and got there we were starving. You can't even see that veggie burger; that's how fast he ate it.

Unfortunately I could not make this bowl of veggie chili disappear quite as quickly. It's a very large bowl. It was really good though. Much better than the quesadilla I had last time-- and they didn't even tout the quality of this dish.

We got in to see the last four songs of Mansions, which I really liked. I had never heard them before but I think seeing him live was the best first impression. I picked up the cd with about forty songs on it after the show.

Jonah came up next in a very good mood. He played a ton of great songs, some of which I didn't know but I still like that part of his shows. He played some of my favorites and it was a very upbeat and fun show. I always leave his shows feeling better in general.

We walked down to the waterfront for a bit before going back to the car. It was so quiet and peaceful and the breeze was nice and cool. I love spots like this and I wish I lived closer to this one. It's much better than the Camden waterfront.

The drive home was pretty quick. It was much later but it always seems like getting home is faster. Okay, almost always.

Oct 25, 2009

I needed to take some photos for my assignment in the morning so I lit some candles and put them on my pumpkin pie. I was going for the idea of remembering birthdays but only having a fuzzy view of what happened since you were focused on the cake, blowing out the candles so you could open your presents.

I met Katie and Chuck at Kawa for sushi lunch. Their rolls are really big and really good. Nicely presented also. Sushi is always a good choice.

After lunch, Chuck and I left, picked up Joanna at Rowan and made our way to the PATH station in Jersey City. I took the wrong exit so I had to try to find a new way and then ended up getting back on the Turnpike to take the right exit after all. We got there and hopped aboard a train. Actually we had to wait and it seemed even longer because I had to use the bathroom.

When we got to Manhattan, we found the nearest restrooms and then debated subway options only to walk all the way to the Bowery Ballroom anyway. It wasn't really that far. Once we knew where we were going, we walked down the road and Joanna chose a street to walk down that turned out to be the best. We ate at Gatsby's, a bar/restaurant with the best veggie burger I've ever had. It was made in-house with couscous and other secret ingredients. Delicious.

We saw this place on the way down the street and knew we had to save room for it.

It's a brilliant idea, it's all rice pudding, all the time. It's like Cold Stone with rice pudding. They had about twenty different flavors. The design of the place was great too, very modern with really funny quotes all over the place, like the one pictured above the bowls: "Eat all you want, you're already fat!"

We went cost-effective and split the "double" size with two flavors. The season pumpkin and almond. The pumpkin tasted just like pumpkin pie filling. The almond was amazingly good. I want more.

We hung out in there for a while, making Chuck wonder how long it could take two people to finish some rice pudding. Maybe it was because of the pictures... Sorry, Chuckles.

We went back to the Bowery Ballroom after eating and found our way through the maze and up to the main stage area. It was a really nice looking place. We found a "private" area upstairs. It was a little room with seats around the outside with a curtain as a door.

We hung out there for the first band, it was pretty comfortable. I took some photos out the window to hopefully use for class. Omari and his friend, Tim, showed up and hung out in there with us for a while as well.

Soon, it was time for Far. Their first tour since they got back together. They played a good set and I was surprised at how much I knew. It was really awesome to see Jonah playing some loud, angry music. I love his acoustic stuff as well but it was just a cool change.

Geoff came out to sing with them during "Mother Mary." They all looked like they were having a lot of fun and everyone in the crowd loved it as well.

It wasn't long before Thursday took the stage opening with their intro from Full Collapse and right into "Understanding.." to start off the full-album show. I was right up front for the first couple of songs but then I resumed my position a little farther back.

They played through the entire album, some songs that they hadn't played in many years according to them. And it turns out they hate the song "Wind Up." Everyone else loved it though and even Geoff said that it was fun to play.

After they left the stage once the album was over they came back out to play an encore of six songs. They played some newer songs and Jet Black New Year, of course.

They closed with "War All The Time", which I haven't heard them play in a really long time. I wish I saw that full album show. Maybe they'll do it again some time.

We walked back to the train and looked at the pictures I got. It was a pretty quick drive back home and then time for sleep and not taking a job for the morning.