Nov 23, 2013

I had a meeting with potential clients for a wedding in the morning in Roebling, which is near Trenton. After rushing I got there just on time. The meeting went well and we talked about a bunch of things besides the wedding so I'm hopeful that they will hire me. I headed over to Wissahickon for a run to kill some time before meeting Jess later. It was quite chilly out, but once I started running the hills I warmed up really fast. I had a good run of about 3 miles, but I kind of turned my ankle twice on rocks. I'm surprised it wasn't worse considering how many rocks I have to sidestep on those trails. There were still enough leaves to make the trail really pretty.

I went over to Sedgley, where they were having their monthly tournament and found Philly's Mayor Nutter learning to putt at the practice basket. It was quite an unusual sight. He made one after a few attempts. The tournament was starting the second round and they weren't utilizing 10-18 so I played those first before getting back to 1. On hole 3 I caught up to two guys, Ben and John, who invited me to play with them. They were beginners and were quite amazed at my slight abilities. We had a good time playing, and somehow I was putting extremely well. I was hitting putts from twenty feet that I would normally miss for sure. 

I met Jess over at the Divine Lorraine and got a chai latte before trying to find our way in. This time we had to enter the adjacent building and go through the basement to get up into the hotel. After that it was familiar and easy. We checked out a few different floors as we climbed the stairs up. Jess was shooting more than I was because I wasn't interested in too much in the open, empty rooms. We got up to the top floor and then decided to take the fire escape access ladder up to the roof.

We had a beautiful view from the roof. The skyline was mostly unobstructed and when the sunset began it just kept getting better. The sky turned into burning magma cascading across the sky and it was just perfect. Right around sunset is when we suddenly looked up to see a guy standing there. It was very unexpected. He was followed by about 7 others. I thought we were going to be alone the whole time so that was a surprise. The people were from all over and met up on Instagram then decided to come here to meet in real life. Everyone was very nice.

After it started getting dark we turned on our flashlights and headed down the stairs, through the basement, up the ladder, and under the fence back to the street. It was quite a successful shoot. I headed home and met Ryan to play some of the Wii U Super Mario Bros. It's pretty great; just like the one for Wii. After some good playing we went out for a walk near the church. The wind was blowing like crazy and it got pretty chilly, but walking quickly helped warm me. The day tired me out so it's bedtime.

Nov 22, 2013

This is a day in photos. I didn't sleep great, which is actually pretty unusual in my car. My phone died, so we woke up later than planned to rain falling on the car and gray skies all around. It was slightly discouraging, not to mention it made it harder to want to get up. Once we got up, we packed things up, changed, and headed into Wal*Mart to get delicious apple sauce squeezy packet things, other snacks, and to use the bathrooms to get ready for the day. Then we headed off under the menacing sky, hoping for the best. We got to Kelly's Run/Conestoga Trail trailhead and began our long trek.

I have done this trail a couple times before in one way or another so I recognized a lot of the first part. I was glad I didn't bring my hoodie since I was warm after a mile or so. For the first part of the trail we barely felt any rain so that was nice. The slippery rocks under fallen, wet leaves was not a lot of fun.

We got to the Pinnacle overlook after a few steep climbs up treacherous rocks covered in dry leaves. They were actually worse than the wet ones and covered everything so you had to take a chance every time you stepped. The view was nice and we took a break to eat a Clif bar and rest. We also looked up directions and maps to no avail. There really is no good resource for trails and hiking. Many websites claim to be the source, but none of them are. Lies. The map on the bulletin board there was of no use either. So we decided to just go for it.

The next part of the trail was somewhat familiar to me. We traveled along the railroad tracks and then along another rushing glen. I recognized most of this area, but after a while we were in a place that looked completely unfamiliar to me. We came to a really pretty area with cascading water and still-yellow leaves on the trees. Despite the nice scenery we soon ended up walking in a circle because the blue blazes branched off in two separate paths that led back to where we started. This made no sense, but we soon found the path again.

We continued off along a trail I didn't know at all in the hopes that the blue blazes were the same ones that we started off on. We crossed a log bridge with ropes in one direction before getting to the end of the path that dropped us off on a road and leading nowhere so we turned around and crossed back over the same bridge, discouraged and heading back the way we came. We seemed to be heading away from where we needed to go so we decided to break off the trail and cut down a steep embankment to get to a nearby campground.

When we got there we wandered until we found a camp store with a couple of employees inside. We spoke to Renny, who advised us where we needed to go to get back to our car and, just as we were leaving, she offered us a ride back. We gladly accepted her generous offer. It was only a couple of miles, but the rain had picked up, and we both had wet shoes and no desire to walk three miles down a narrow road with no shoulder. She sympathized with our woes, as she knows all too well that the trails can be poorly marked and easy to get lost on. We thanked her profusely and happily changed into dry clothes.

On the way home we both wanted food badly. We found a Whole Food, but we had been snacking on Chex Mix on the way there so we couldn't finish our plates. The samosa was so good though. Spicy. Mmm.

I dropped Joanna at her car and then headed home myself. We hit a bunch of traffic before that Wawa, but after that it opened up pretty quickly for me to get home. I spent the night organizing some wedding photos for a meeting, and catching up on last night's shows.

Nov 16, 2013

I was up early and working on some posts and having breakfast until it was time to meet Ryan at the gym. We did a few sets of different exercises and then headed over to the course for a round. It was a little misty and overcast so we weren't sure how long we would be out, but the rain never came and we had a good game. We played the back 9 first and I had some good shots, but nothing too great besides a birdie on 13. When we started at the front 9 I somehow managed to birdie the first 3 holes before things started going downhill. I think I finished at -2. Ryan hit some awesome putts from a good distance and landed a birdie on 16 after a great thumber shot that weaved between the trees.

I came home for a while and considered what I wanted to do with my night. Once I decided I didn't feel like going out to Philly I told Ryan I'd join him to go to Goodwill and a Thrift Store in Berlin. The first store was so insanely crowded for some reason. Just that made me not want to be there. I don't love shopping, but when I do it I'd like to be in peace. Neither of us found anything at either store, but it was a good time anyway. I spent the rest of my night at home, watching Oz and getting things together for the photo shoot tomorrow.

Nov 13, 2013

I had a good day at work, in for a science teacher at Memorial. The students were good and they worked quietly on bookwork and then we watched a video about ocean life hosted by Leslie Nielsen. It was as silly as you'd think. Probably would have been better to show Planet Earth. I need to watch those again. I also got a bunch of blog updating done so I've backdated even further now.

After work I had lunch and finished watching New Girl and Son of Anarchy then I went for a walk along the river trail. I wanted to shoot some foliage, but it wasn't so colorful anymore. I got a few shots, but the sun had already dropped below the treeline so I couldn't even get the light. After shooting a few photos and dropping my book at the library I headed home and got ready for the night.

I picked up Chuck and met Kate and my sister and then we headed to The Abbaye. We got a good parking spot and a table for six and ordered our food. I got the summer salsa rice veggie burger and split some wings. The burger was good but super filling and I couldn't even eat more than one wing unfortunately. Stoudts was having their U Buy the Glass night and we sampled five beers. The Four Play IPA #4 was very good as was the Scarlet Lady ESB. The Pils and Revel Red were quality also, and the Big Nasty IPA was strong and hoppy.

Jamie got there right after us and Tracy showed up a little later. We had a new waiter and I think we like him. We rarely had an empty glass. The food was great and we spent some time guessing what NFG might open with and debating whether or not anyone besides my sister was happy that they weren't playing second. I asked Meaghan to do the raffle a little early since we had to leave, and Tracy ended up winning a mixed six pack! Good thing we stayed.

We headed to the Electric Factory in time for a brief wait until New Found Glory played. They definitely mixed up the set a bit from previous shows. It was nice. The crowd was hit or miss (ha!), but I was surprised they weren't into some songs but were into others. There were a few jerks in the pit that were being really obnoxious and swinging. I got hit a couple of times and then hit in the face intentionally because someone thought I was hitting his friend. So many assholes always appear at a NFG show. I have no idea how this happens. In any case it was a great set and enjoyable except for the facial abuse.

Alkaline Trio came on next, playing a bunch of really old, somewhat old, and newer stuff. I ventured that I knew about 70% of it. I wasn't feeling like getting into anything after the previous incidents so I stood with Chuck and watched. While they are a great band and they play well live, the room really lost a lot of energy after NFG played. They just have a more upbeat, fun set and crowd participation that lends well to a headliner. Ohh well, we got to calm down before getting in the car.

The drive home was good as I wondered how my face would look. It doesn't look that bad yet, but I iced it a little bit as I watched Oz awkwardly. Icing your forehead isn't the easiest thing to do. Once my head was nice and cold I gave in to my sleepiness.

Nov 7, 2013

After awaking quite early in the Wal*Mart lot to a leafblower outside the car, we got up and packed in then headed to a nearby cafe for a quick breakfast. We then headed over to Rockburn Branch DGC. It was overcast and only a little chilly, but a really nice day for disc golf. The grass was still a bit wet so I was repeatedly wiping down my disc after each shot. I didn't recognize the course except for the name until hole 3, which I recall being much more overgrown when Ryan, Nathan, Chuck, and I were there a couple of years ago. They have also updated the signs which desperately needed it.

The course was fun and the weather just got better as we played. There was a good mix of open and wooded holes, and the scenery was beautiful all the way around as the leaves were changing colors. Lots of bright yellows and oranges surrounded us, making it pleasant yet difficult to find my mostly yellow discs. I played pretty well overall. I found a disc out in the fairway on the front 9, and I almost lost one of my drivers when it sailed into the woods and got caught up a tree. Luckily Kate noticed it and I climbed up to get it.

After the course we were both ready for food. We made our way to Ellicott City and Ellicott Mills Brewery. We had to wait about 45 minutes for it to open so we walked around the town as it started to lightly drizzle. It was a really cute, quaint little town on a hill with old buildings and little shops lining the main street of which I took no photos. We went into a comic book shop where they sold a ton of hot sauces. I sampled quite a few and one of them did leave me gasping a bit. After enough sampling and reading bottles about scofield units it was time to go eat. Not my photo below. It wasn't that nice out either.

Ellicott offered 2 flights of 4 beers each. Of course we tried both because it's impossible to choose. There was a dunkel and a marzen that were both quite good as well as a quite refreshing pilsner and an Aussie style beer called Boomerang that I liked a lot. It tasted like a kolsch to me. We had some tasty food and some of the best fries I've had ever. I usually want to drown my fries in ketchup, but these were awesome with nothing. We finished up our flight and resigned to the fact that we would not be playing Patapsco State Park DGC that day so we headed home.

A long drive had me tired so I had a nap when I got home and later met Ryan for our first visit to the gym in quite a while. I found a lot of the exercises quite easy still when it came to ab things and push-ups, but once we got to pull-ups my gain of weight and loss of muscle really shone through. It's a sad fall from grace since I was so happy to have gained the ability to do 7 or so pull ups in a row when I could barely do 1 when I began. I'll just have to start over again from scratch. We took a nice long walk around the hospital and the college with plenty to talk about and a nice night. When I came home I watched Thursday shows and went to bed somewhat early.

Nov 3, 2013

I got up fairly early after such a long day yesterday to play disc golf with Ryan. We had a good game and it was a great day. A little bit of wind caused a few shots to go off course but that happens. The leaves are changing beautifully and have been sticking around. Playing the course or walking the park is just really nice now with all the color on the trees and the fallen leaves blanketing the ground. The only downside is losing discs underneath them. Small price to pay.

After our game we went to Shop Rite and had Chinese for lunch and I did a little shopping. I went home and looked through some of the photos from the wedding yesterday then proceeded to spend the day lounging, watching Burn Notice, and napping. After yesterday I'm happy with that decision.

Oct 27, 2013

I was up early and it was nice out so I drove to the parking lot for the lake trail loop at Belleplain State Park and got ready for a run. Since I haven't run as much lately I wasn't sure how I would do. Once I got started I felt great. I knew I could keep going and I did. The mental aspect of running has always been the struggle for me. My body can do it, and I rarely if ever give out physically. Normally the ennui kicks in before I start, but once I get going I'm good. I ran 5 miles through the beautiful autumn forest whose trail was blanketed with crunchy leaves and whose trees waved red and yellow flags to mark the season. 'Twas a great run.

When I got home I guess I hadn't had enough because I biked up to Vineland to meet Ryan for a round of disc golf. I just wanted to keep being outside. We had a great game and then decided to take a walk around the lake while we were there. After that I biked home. I had lunch, a shower, and a nap. It was a nice afternoon. Later I went to Kate's and had a few beers that were leftover from previous outings. Thus concluded my day of excitement.

Oct 6, 2013

Kate and I headed to Delaware in the morning to go to Iron Hill DGC. The forest was beautiful in autumn colors and leaves covering the ground. Regardless of how we played, the scenery was worth the trip to walk around the woods. There weren't many people there, so we didn't have to worry about crossing over anyone. The game went pretty well for both of us. I had some really good shots and some really bad ones. Overall it was a good day of playing though.

I always forget how long the course is. I start questioning whether it's a 27-hole course, but then I remember it's just because each hole is 400 ft or more that it plays longer than the ones I'm more used to. After finishing up the long course, we headed to Stewart's Brewing to get a flight and some food before we headed back. I didn't expect the place to be such a sports bar. There were TVs everywhere and fans with many different jerseys. I asked to be placed near the door since it was furthest from both loud TVs and yelling fans. Most of their beer was middle of the road, but the Big Bear Amber Ale was damn good. Definitely a smooth, drinkable beer.

On the way back home we stopped at Eliza's birthday party at a gymnastics gym. Aiden was there with Devin, and of course Tracy was there doing backflips down the trampoline thing. The kids and adults were allowed to play in the big foam-filled hole so we were doing dives and flips into it. Aiden was really enjoying himself just like the rest of us were. After singing happy birthday it was time to head out.

Later we gathered at Erika's to play games. We played a round of Settlers of Catan and that took up quite a bit of the night. It seemed like everyone was just on the brink of winning before Ryan finally did. We need to have more game nights.