Mar 6, 2014

I got started a little late but still pretty much when I wanted to leave for Lancaster. It was a long yet enjoyable drive for the most part. Podcasts make it go much more quickly. I got to Buchmiller DGC about ten minutes before we planned to meet there so I used the frozen porta potty and put my boots on.

Joanna got there shortly after I did and we got started on the course. It was completely covered in snow, which wasn't really so bad. The worst part was the tee pads were icy so it was hard to step up to drive. It was a fun course despite the inconvenience, and I didn't feel the snow was much of a detriment.

We weren't sure if we wanted to travel too far to play another course so we went downtown to The Seed, a vegan cafe, where I got an amazingly delicious reuben that I subbed seitan for tofu. I made the right choice. The soup wasn't too good, but I liked the place.

Next stop was Spring House Brewing of course. I finally got to try the Lil' Gruesome Peanut Butter & Jelly Stout. It was okay. I was underwhelmed by it, but I had a pint anyway. I prefer the Chocolate PB Stout.

We had plenty of time left so we went to Gallery Row to check out a handful of art galleries. A lot of local artists have great work on display here. There was no photography that I saw, but I did really enjoy the work of Freiman Stoltzfus, who did paintings over maps and music-inspired paintings. It was a nice collection.

We went to the Federal Taphouse to see what they might have, and I ended up being really surprised and excited to try a bunch of what they had on tap. They had almost 100 taps and an amazing selection.

I started with a Nut Roll brown ale by PBC. Fantastic. I had to have the Lief & Leed by Molen. It's a sour so it was great. Next I had the Koko Brown from Kona, and it was nice to actually be able to taste the coconut in this delicious brew. I finished with a couple of high alcohol beers, the Horn Dog Barleywine by Flying Dog and the Culmination by Long Trail. Both were very tasty and had me feeling pretty good.

We went back to the car to drop off our warm clothes and walked across the street to the venue. We didn't wait too long after going in for Fireworks to begin their set. They kicked off with a new song and then dove into a fast set of mostly Gospel tunes before ending with When We Stand on Each Other... It was a great set except for how extremely short it was.

The Wonder Years were next and the crowd went crazy. I was right up front but I dropped back so I could actually breathe and move by myself. After a few songs it calmed down, but everyone went nuts for almost every song. It was a great set, but they are one of those bands that will always have a great set and leave you still wanting more. I love those guys. Jen and Stephen happened to be there and we met up afterward to talk for a while as Stephen spoke with Nick for a while.

After that it was a long drive home listening to more podcasts and music. What a great day.

Dec 16, 2011

I did study team meeting at Lakeside again, running around the school looking for teachers who don't want to to come to meetings. Another easy day and plenty of downtime to read. I met Ryan at the gym after work for a rare Friday workout.

Kate and I went to Wildflower to hang out for Third Friday in case anyone came in to see my photos. No one did, but the place looked nice and I got my complimentary meal of vegan meatloaf that was totally amazing. I want it all the time. For all meals.

We hung out there for a while and Chuck joined us then we went to the Oar House for a brief time before heading home to hang out for a while.

Dec 15, 2011

I was in for the science class at Lakeside again, showing Bill Nye and giving out worksheets. The classes were still pretty obnoxious, but they showed some improvement.

Kate and I went up to the Noyes Gallery in Hammonton for Third Thursday, which sounded better than it really was. I saw my photos displayed and they looked nice. The events that were supposed to be happening in town, such as the wine tasting, were not really happening.

We watched will play the hammer dulcimer for a while and talked to Brenda a bit before we departed the disappointing little town.

We got some Sam Adams, came back to Kate's, and watched The Book of Eli. It was a pretty good movie. I wasn't sure what to expect, but we had a nice night.

Dec 10, 2011

Kate and I went to Green Olive in the morning for breakfast and then went to her church. After church I met Ryan at the gym.

I had to keep running after the gym to get my photos from T & F and then bring them home to frame them and then go right to Hammonton to the Noyes Gallery to give them to Brenda.

Once I got them there I was good to relax for a bit so Shannon met me and we went to Annata Wine Bar. I ordered the eggplant tower, which sound much more exciting than it is. It's glorified eggplant parm. It was good, don't get me wrong. It was just disappointing and I don't know why it's called a "tower."

Later I went to Westby to see Joanna's show, called "Flux." It was full of interesting takes on relationships, however I won't comment, as I can't be objective. I did really enjoy this piece though.

Kate and I went to PBs Diner, where they were supposed to be having a Yards Brewing Co. event, but the staff had no idea. Eventually Ron from Yards came in and I spoke to him. They didn't have the beer ready for him so there was no event happening. He was nice enough to buy us each a Yards beer and talk to me for quite a long while about their company. Worked out nicely.

We went to a little bar in Elmer on the way home where I did not feel at home. We went to see a band that had asked Kate if she'd be interested in singing for them. They were not too bad, but I wasn't impressed. The whole vibe was off. We ducked out during their second set and headed home.

Feb 24, 2011

After exercising at home and going for a run, I went to Westby to pick up Alex and Lindsey. We got to the right neighborhood in Philly and had to walk around for a bit to find the entrance to Project Basho.

We all submitted work for this gallery, but none of us were chosen for it. The collection was mainly candid portraiture. It had a defined mood to it and it was clear that the juror was going for a certain aesthetic.

We hung out there for a while staring at certain pieces, either because they were really great or because they were confusing. There were a good amount of really nice photos there. Keith showed up while we were there and talked to us about the setup of the gallery and the images.

We went back to the Crane building, where there were several exhibits on display. Alex and I wandered through the photo section and into some of the sculpture galleries next.

One room was full of a bunch of sculptures relating to the human body and sexuality. There were some really awesome things and some disturbing things. All around a really cool gallery space. We went to Maoz on South Street to split a falafel for lunch before heading home. It's been a long time since I've had one and it was delicious.

When I got back Lauren helped me finish shooting all the 2D work for the Gallery. There wasn't as much as I had expected so it got done quickly. Putting things back in the acetate that we took off wasn't nearly as easy.

I gave Lauren some lessons on studio lighting and she did a quick shoot with me. She did extremely well with direction. I could learn a few things from her there. Fair trade.

I spent some time going through the studios in the building and shooting people working on things so we would have some shots for the publication.

Elaina came in after her class to do a photo shoot. She was an excellent model. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing without me having to tell her anything. She made it look easy. I'm really happy with the shots I got. I got a lot of keepers.

Christy was there helping as well using the reflector, aka Space Taco. The little bit of light from the reflector really makes a lot of difference.

After the shoot I stayed in the computer lab editing the photos and talking to Alex until 2am when we had to leave to not get tickets. Clearly we were the last ones there.

I finished editing some photos when I got back home and then watched a few things before going to bed.

Feb 20, 2011

Alex and I were ready pretty close to when we hoped to leave for New York. We drove up to the train station in Newark and took the train over and went right to B & H Photo. We browsed things for a while and then I went to the counter to make my purchase. I ordered the Canon 60D. It's so pretty. It's much cheaper if I get it shipped to myself though so I did that.

Nathan met up with us and, after looking at some more things at B & H, we walked toward the Chelsea galleries to a place Jenn suggested to us. We found it well-marked.

When we got inside, we were surprised to find a large trade show instead of an art gallery. We came in anyway and looked around. We got necklaces that allowed us to visit all the floors of the show. Alex was having a great time checking out all the new fashion that the vendors were trying to sell to retailers.. not to mention getting all the free business cards, brochures and catalogs that anyone would give her.

I wasn't really into the clothes, but there were quite a few really awesome jewelers there. I really like unique jewelry, like these rings made from old metal type. There were a lot of really great things there that I would like to have but they weren't for sale to individual buyers.

We checked out the next two floors up, which were exactly the same as the first one with more vendors and then we headed out. I got stuck behind a girl in precariously high heels who was texting while walking down the stairs after I took this pictures. It took a while.

We looked around for more galleries and ended up in this place, which looks really creepy now that I look back. It was another clothing store with a really strange layout and interesting clothing and people. We obviously did not belong there so we made a lap and then swiftly exited.

We found the entrance to High Line Park, which is on an old elevated train platform and is now used as a walkway/park. It will be nicer when it's warm and the plants are alive. It is a nice view of the city from up there though.

We made our way to The Meatball Shop and decided to dine outside to avoid waiting an hour to be seated. It wasn't that bad out there. You use a dry erase marker to mark your order on the menu. It was a cool little place.

I got a veggie meatball sandwich with Parmesan sauce. It was really amazing. Nate's and Alex's food looked really good as well. I'm glad we decided to eat there.

Since we weren't too far away, we decided to go over to Rice to Riches and get some rice pudding. I got almond and some chocolatey chocolate one. Alex and I split this big one, but it was still too huge to finish. Should have gotten the small one. At least Alex knows she like rice pudding now!

Since it was pretty cold and we didn't have anything else specific to do we headed back to the subway to go home. I took an obligatory photo of the skyline before we descended.

Before leaving Newark, we went to Pizzatown, Alex's family's pizza shop. Her dad made us a couple of slices to try out. It was really good, especially the Sicilian. We hung out there for a while and her mom showed up. After hanging out talking for a while we headed back to the Turnpike.

We got home much faster than Alex's mom thought we would. It was a tiring day so I was ready to get to sleep when I got back.

Feb 4, 2011

I had something to eat in Westby while watching 30 Rock and then picked up Alex to go to the Perkins Center in Moorestown to see the photography gallery that was up.

The first floor of the large house was set up pretty well, except for the horrible glare on the glass frames from the open windows. There was some really good work there from local photographers. Some were not as good but it was an independent judge who chose them.

There were photos along the stairs that gave me more of an impression of family portraits than art, not because of the subject matter but the placement. I wasn't a fan. The upstairs art had some really nice shots that inspired me and also included a piece by our very own Lindsey Marr (or it is Mott? Moore? who knows..) It was a nice collection of images overall but I would prefer a better lighting situation.

We got back to Westby just in time for the Gallery meeting to start. Good thing, since Alex is the president (and apparently I'm the secretary.) We discussed our packaging problem for the books we're creating and the colors we need to use for our designs. Brian slept through the meeting but contributed at the same time.

After the meeting I went back to Millville to meet Chuck for dinner at Saigon. I got my old favorite, the veggie spring roll vermicelli. It was amazing, as expected. Chuck got a delicious looking dessert with two tiny spoons.. sure did look good. If only there were enough spoons for both of us..

Later I went up to Landmark to meet Laura and Jess for "first friday" where you get great beer specials if you wait about twenty minutes to get a beer. And it was only in the club portion of the bar. It sounds like I'm complaining, but besides the long lines it was actually a lot of fun.

We were laughing at ourselves for going to a club and then standing around taking pictures. Not really surprising to me..

Eddie (aka Benny) came in and showed off his amazingly bright shirt. We hung out in the typical club circle and danced and yelled at each other in conversation.

Alex and Caitlin and her friends were there as well, so we hung out with all of them and danced a lot, hence the sweating. We actually ended up having a great time in the club and decided to go back to her house after to hang out.

We started watching I Love You, Man but I couldn't get anyone to pay attention to it. I watched it and kept laughing at things until we realized we weren't paying attention so we just gave up on the movie and talked for a long while. Eventually I headed home to fall asleep.