Feb 23, 2017

I worked at Memorial for a Social Studies class in the morning. At first I thought it would be a long day with fourth block off, but it ended up being great to get done work early and be able to go out to play disc gold with Ryan and Becca. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

Alycia and I took advantage of the weather as well, albeit a little later than we planned since she got stuck at work and in traffic. We had a nice bike ride through her area as the sun was going down. It started getting a little dark so we turned around.

We were still a way from her house when I felt my tire go flat. I didn't have a spare tube so she had to ride home and get her car to pick me up. I walked a long way before she got there to keep occupied and people really don't yield to pedestrians on a road with no shoulder. We went to get dinner at a Chinese place after deciding not to meet Chuck and Alex in Mount Holly. It was just too far and we were already late. After we ate we went to Target and killed some time before going to Telford Inn for trivia with her friends. The upside of this was that Becca could join us. It was a bit awkward with the seating and already established team, but we had fun on our end playing together.

Apr 2, 2014

\

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.

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 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 12, 2014

On my way to work in the morning there was a beautiful sunrise over the pond at City Park. I had to stop and take some photos. I wanted to stay and watch it happen, but I had to get to Memorial for my computer job. I was in the basement computer lab for the day. Not a bad day.

Later Chuck and I were at Quizzo alone. We did pretty badly. We have gotten used to it. I came home and finished working on the photos I shot last week to send them to Eddie.

Mar 5, 2014

I worked at Vineland Memorial for meetings again, but this time I was actually quite busy. Made up for my easy day yesterday. Later Chuck and I went to The Oar House for their beer tasting/rating event. They had 20-30 beers for us to sample and rate for taste and quality so they can decide what they want to order next.

They brought out snacks and pizza for us as well so that was great. We got started with a few beers we hadn't had. There were a good handful that we had tried before, including several Sly Fox beers that we didn't care for. However their Helles Lager was amazing. I need more of that. We had a great cider from Possman, and the Evolution Sprung was great. Harpoon's Long Thaw White IPA was great, and the Lot #6 Double IPA was amazing all around.

Glasstown Brewing donated a few growlers of their beer for us to try as extras. All good, of course, but the Bourbon Ale was so much better than the one I had at their brewery. This batch is perfect. Toward the end we had the darker beers, including the great Lucky 7 Porter and the Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout. We finished with two pepper beers from Twisted Pine. Billie's Chilis, which I've had before and loved was first. It's a habanero beer and amazingly flavorful with the big spice. The Ghost Face Killah is one I have been wanting to try for a long time. It's made with the ghost pepper (the hottest pepper in the world?) and it smelled amazing.

 I should mention that the lady next to Chuck passed both of the beer samples to us after smelling them. The rest of the people at the table graciously passed us their beers they didn't want so we got extra samples. Britney, our waitress and hostess for the evening, poured us the rest of what was left from the Glasstown growlers also so we got our money's worth. It was a really good time so I'm glad we went. We headed to Applebee's for Quizzo next. Matt and Jamie met us there and we were so close... but still lost. Third place, 20 points out of second.

Feb 20, 2014

Another day of meetings. This time at Lakeside. Between teachers having prep periods and not having to come down, I ended up covering one class for about ten minutes and then I got to leave before noon. Another win for these jobs. I met Ryan at the gym later for a workout before I went to eat at Italian Affair with Alex. The food is so amazing there. I was happy to have leftovers.

We went to PB's after dinner for some beers, where I had Alex try the Sweet Baby Jesus. She wasn't a fan. I don't understand. I did mix her Time Traveler Strawberry Shandy with it and we both thought that was great. They were unfortunately out of the two IPAs I really wanted, but I got a Dale's Pale Ale which does the trick.

We somehow stumbled in on the night when they have Quizzo so we obviously had to stay for that. The host made me laugh quite a few times. It's a fact-based game, but he makes it fun by joking around a lot. We did not win, but it was a good time despite that, and it went pretty quickly. I'd like to go back and check it out again soon.

Feb 19, 2014

My day began by covering meetings at Wood School, having a long lunch break, then covering longer meetings in the afternoon at Mt. Pleasant. That was the majority of the day's activities until later when Jamie invited me Saladworks with her before we went to Quizzo. We ran into Jordan there so we sat and talked with her for a while as Jamie had her dinners. At Applebee's, we somehow got seated directly between two of the other teams that come every week, so that was special. We tried saying the answers quietly, but that did not help us win. Again.

Feb 12, 2014

I got a Child Study Team job today at Holly Heights and Bacon School. I was at Holly for about fifteen minutes. I covered a gym teacher while she went and signed a paper. I watched the kids jump rope until she got back and then I had a two hour break before the next meeting at Bacon. The meeting there took longer but not long at all so I was done and out early. Thanks for the full day's pay.

Later we went to Quizzo for the championship round. We were soundly defeated as has been the case for most of the games. Still, we had a good time and some late night appetizers.

Feb 5, 2014

I worked at Vineland Memorial covering meetings again. This time I had to stay the whole day, but I still had a lot of down time. I went to the gym with Ryan a little bit after work for a workout and then I ran on the treadmill for a while after we finished.

Ryan and Bree joined Chuck, Matt, and me for Quizzo. We had some appetizers and had a good time even though did poorly on the quiz. Damn Mac and Cheese.

Jan 29, 2014

When I woke up I was putting off getting out of bed until I read a text from Ryan saying Millville had a snow day. I got up and checked Vineland's site to find that they had one also so I was off! I had been in bed for a long time so I got up, feeling much better than the night before, and made breakfast for myself and then watched some Six Feet Under and made a list of things I needed to do.

I met Ryan at the gym in the afternoon for jump rope circuits and then I ran three miles on the treadmill. I did some grocery shopping without a list so I ended up getting a bunch of random things that I'll have to find a way to cook with. I came home for a little while and had dinner then headed over to Kate's.

Since I've been craving red wine lately I brought the bottle she got me for Christmas and we opened that. It was a Syrah that I wasn't too fond of right away. It was a bit spicy. We opened a red blend that she had and that was much better. After that the Syrah was much more enjoyable. We headed over to Quizzo to meet Chuck and Jamie, where we played a pretty good game, but we still managed to come in third-ish behind the other two top teams. I'm pretty sure they get extra points for being in the lead for rankings so they have a leg up to begin with. Annoying!

Jan 8, 2014

I took a Special Ed job at Memorial in the morning, which ended up being a self-contained behavioral disorder class with only 3 students in it because the school had an activity day in the gym. The day was easy and pretty quick with a long lunch break so I couldn't complain.

Even though it was cold, I wanted to go for a run after work, so I headed over to the Union Lake trail in my Under Armour and went for it. The trail, which is usually soft sand, was frozen into a lumpy path of annoyance. I ran on the sides and wherever I could to complete the 3 mile loop. I remember why I don't run here often. The lake looked cool though.

I went up to Haddonfield later to meet Gaby. We went to a coffee shop, where I got the barista's suggestion of a butterscotch concoction of a latte. It was pretty good. We sat there and talked for a bit before going to Cross Culture Indian restaurant down the street. We got a couple of different dishes and shared. They were both very good, and one was nicely spicy so I enjoyed that. We had spent a good amount of time there so I had to get going shortly after we ate.

I met Chuck and Matt for Quizzo, where we were able to stay close to or in the lead the whole time, finishing the game just ten points ahead of second place for our close call win. It was toss up as the last round was "is this ridiculous item an actual Barbie accessory." There were mechanic pants for Ken and PINK brand pants for Barbie. I'm pretty sure they were both real. Good thing we double the round before that. Either way, we win. Go us!

Dec 11, 2013

I was up too late last night watching Sons of Anarchy and no Millville jobs came up so I slept in a little. I got up at 8:30 and called Vineland Memorial about a job, the person told me I should come in because they need people, and I showed up to a confused office staff. After a lot of phone calls and sitting around waiting they found out they could use me for Child Study Team meetings. I got the schedule, which by that point only had one more meeting left 3 hours from then. So I sat in the lounge all day, updating and editing, until my meeting coverage for 45 minutes, and then I was out early.

I came home and finished editing the second draft of the Thanksgiving video to send off to the clients and then picked up Brenda to go to Starbucks. I got a passion tea and let it sit with the lid off for quite a while and still managed to burn my tongue somehow. We hung out there talking for a while and then went to Boscov's so she could get a pin and I ended up finding a tie I like.

I picked up Chuck for Quizzo and Matt brought the toys for Toys for Tots this week. Ryan even joined us for a few rounds. We were doing really well after the first round. We went 10/10 on two, and 9/10 on two others. Somehow we managed to get 9 correct on the "is this tennis player left- or right-handed" round 6. Not too bad and enough to earn us a first place win! It's about time we were awarded for our hard work. Go team go.

Dec 4, 2013

It was nice sleeping in a bit today, but I took a Child Study Team job at Vineland Memorial School for the afternoon. I went in to find out that the meetings took place during teachers' prep times so I was most likely not needed. I spent the afternoon watching the new Sons of Anarchy and Prime Suspect and reading a bit.

After work I went over to the park and felt like playing disc golf, but no one could join me. I also wanted to run, but thought I'd be bored with circling the lake. Instead I ran the baskets with two discs, alternating between push ups, sit ups, and squats at each tee. It was a good and fast workout, and I got to enjoy playing a round by myself.

At home I had some dinner, went through some videos I need to start editing, and had a nap before I met Chuck at Wal*Mart to get some toys for the Toys For Tots drive at Quizzo. We got some Nerf-type guns and Matchbox cars.

We got extra points for donating toys, but that did not help us at all. We fell behind pretty quickly, despite getting a lot right. I somehow knew that the Le Mans race took place over 24 hours. Not sure why that information is readily available in my brain. In any case we had a good time even without a good game. Now I must figure out what to take with me to hike in possible rain tomorrow.

Nov 20, 2013

I worked at Lakeside today for a math class. My first couple of classes weren't bad and they actually went by quickly because I had to teach a lesson, check homework, and repeatedly go over the same problems with students. I actually enjoyed teaching them how to do the distribution problems because they went from seeming like they have no clue at all to doing it on their own with no problem once I showed them. It's amazing how much their disposition changed once it clicked for them. My last class was just terrible though. They would not shut the hell up. It took twice as long to do everything because I had to stop so often to tell them to be quiet. I was so stressed by the end of the day.

Partly due to the stress, but more because it was pretty nice out after work I headed over to the park with plans to run a lap or two. After I started running I wasn't sure if I would finish the first lap. It's always like that starting out cold. Halfway around I was feeling better so I extended the loop and then continued on to the second lap. I decided to do a third after that and then felt like I would challenge myself to do a fourth. After the fourth lap I had decided to stop, but for some reason I just kept running and then figured I should just go around one last time. All that to say I ended up running 6.5 miles in 60 minutes. I was pretty happy with that; it's the longest I've run in a long time at a pretty good pace. I need to keep it up.

I got some celebratory Moe's for dinner and came home to watch Boardwalk Empire while I ate. I got a shower and did some laundry before meeting Chuck, Matt, and Kate at Quizzo. It was a good game, and we thought we had a chance, but apparently we didn't even qualify for the three-way tie for second. I learned that humans can't sneeze while they sleep, and was slightly impressed in my etymological skills on one question. Once we lost we called it a night and headed out. Now I've put my clothes away and packed up for the next couple days so it's about bed time.

Nov 19, 2013

I worked at Lakeside for a Geography teacher today. She didn't leave enough plans and, curiously, the plans she did leave were to read a Lewis Carroll poem with the class and have them analyze it. I didn't put together that it had nothing to do with Geography until the second class. Regardless the students finished much too early so I put on Remember the Titans to occupy the rest of the period. Since the internet was down and I hadn't seen the whole movie in a long time I used my break periods to finish watching it. It's a really good flick.

I went home to change and then met Ryan at the gym. We did a bunch of back exercises and some handstands which seemed extremely awkward today for some reason. I used the showers at the gym for the first time today. Only slightly awkward because the locker room was really packed when I got out.

I met my grandmom at Saigon for dinner. I had been craving curry so I went for it. I asked for it extra spicy like always and it was actually spicy! It was the perfect mix of spicy so that I could taste it, but I didn't feel like I needed to drink a gallon of milk. They no longer have smoothies for some reason so I had to forego dessert. 

Kate and I headed to Delaware next to go to Total Wine so she could buy Christmas presents in the form of large bottles of beer. Jeff met us there and browsed with us. I ended up getting a mixed six pack and a six of Rogue Hazelnut Brown because it is the best thing ever. They have a growler station which I would like to take advantage of in the future.

We followed Jeff over to Applebee's in Wilmington for his Quizzo. We had some time before the show to hang at the bar and have a beer until he got started. He went through the rounds really quickly, but I kind of prefer that to all the waiting we usually do at the home game. Some of the questions were really hard, including the sports round, for which we got no questions correct. It was a fun game, especially the movie quote clip round. Surprisingly we were only 3 questions out of 2nd place and 5 out of 1st. Not too bad. Who really knows the smallest countries in the world by population?

Damn Vatican City... Anyway we made it home and I've stayed up too late waiting to get a job for tomorrow. Maybe in the morning time.

Oct 30, 2013

I got a job for a "floater teacher" at Vineland's Memorial school, and it turned out I was in for one teacher: a gym teacher. I really did nothing all day except stand on the sidelines and watch them play "speed ball," which combines basketball, football, and soccer somehow. It was entertaining to watch, but the day still dragged on. I had one Health class that I showed a drunk driving video to, but Vineland has 9-period days so it didn't last long. I got a long lunch and learned the hard way that I should never get lunch from Vineland again.

When I got home from work, my new lens had arrived so I took it out and tried it on. It's so heavy, but I look forward to using it. Alex told me that Circa Survive announced a secret show for tomorrow night in PA so I got tickets immediately. I am excited to see them, and I was just wondering recently if they'd be playing on the east coast soon. After that I filled out some paperwork in preparation for my upcoming U Penn Alumni hockey game shoot. Tax forms are fun to figure out as an independent contractor. I'm pretty sure I'm messing something up every time. But maybe I'm not.

Later it was Quizzo time. Last week Steve-O told us if we wore a costume for Halloween we would get extra points so I made something up at the last minute and dressed as a tennis player. Chuck and Matt agreed that other than the headband and tennis racket it was something they wouldn't be at all surprised to see me wearing. We played okay, but we didn't come close to winning. I think every team got the extra points for a costume also since other were dressed up, so that didn't put us ahead. Oh well, it was fun.

Oct 23, 2013

I didn't get a job for the morning and neither did Kate so we got food and complained about no work and the shitty weather then watched Brew Dogs. I did end up getting a job for the afternoon at Barse Elementary in Vineland. I figured I may as well do something. The class was okay, but there was not really any work for them to do so I had to wing it and make things up. I had them playing games on the computer by the end of the day just to keep them occupied.

I met Chuck and Matt at Applebee's later for Quizzo. We were off to a good start and Matt killed the Super Bowl-themed matching round where you had to pair the year with the Super Bowl champions. Our waitress, who actually knew what beers were on tap, told me about the Just IPA by the Just Beer Project that was recently tapped so I gave it a try. New favorite IPA. It's so good. It's a session beer and it's really smooth and full of flavor. It tasted like another beer. So I had one. It was a good night to order some beers because we dominated the game and came in first so we offset our final bill by $25. It felt good to finally win again.

Oct 2, 2013

I had an early shoot with Legacy for school portraits and Upper Moreland Middle School. The only good part about the early days is there isn't a whole lot of traffic until I get on 476. The morning drive with a podcast has been nice. I was working with Derrick and Kate today, so it was good people too. The way the school set up our schedule was ridiculous though. They had each class come down with their science teacher at the beginning of each period so we got several big groups every 40 minutes then a half hour wait until the next one. We could have done the whole school before noon, but instead we were there all day. I had to cancel my Alternative School job that I thought would be no problem considering we started at 7:30am.

When I finally got home I just wanted to lie down for a bit and have a nap. Later we went to Quizzo, where we were beaten even though the scores were pretty close this time. It seems like anytime we have a chance we are inched out at the end somehow.

Sep 25, 2013

It was a long day of work at Chestnutwold Elementary School and we kept having technical issues. On my side of the room there was a missing shade on the window that kept letting the morning sun in on the backdrop and annoying me because I had to keep rigging up a gray card on a folded lunch table to block it out. The worst part is that I wouldn't notice right away when it crept back in and I ended up with a few photos with the sun spot in them.

After the long day I drove home through some traffic and got some food before taking a nap. I met Dave and Chelsea to discuss the photos they wanted printed and edits to be done. After our meeting I met Chuck and the others for Quizzo. Once again, we didn't win, but we still did pretty well.