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.

Apr 2, 2012

I spent the morning looking for work but enjoying relaxing. I didn't think anything was going to come up until after noon when I got a call for a half day at Lakeside for a Language Arts class. I didn't have much to do, but the kids were being extra annoying to make up for my short day.

I went over to the course and played a few holes until the wind and my poor shots encouraged me to stop.

I went for a trail run at the Silver Run trails and made a few laps that felt good. I met Ryan at the gym after that for some circuits that were pretty strenuous.

To make up for the exercise I did I got a pint of Ben and Jerry's and came home. Alex came over and helped me finish it thankfully.

We watched some Wall-E and Parks and Rec while we talked for a while. Not a bad day.

Oct 26, 2011

Work was an English class at the Senior High where I had one class in the morning by myself and then the last two classes of the day after lunch break were with the other classroom teacher so I sat at the desk by myself and read. Not a bad day.

I went for a run at Silver Run after work. I only did one lap around. I'm just not liking this trail much anymore. The narrow paths and myriad turns just get annoying when I'm trying to do a distance run.

Kate picked up Chuck and myself and then we grabbed Shannon on the way to Philly for the Abbaye's Ithaca U-Buy-the-Glass night. All of the beers were really good. The Apricot Wheat was amazingly delicious and not overwhelming. The Cold Front was perfection. Such a tasty smoky beer. I think I drank too many. Diana stopped by with her friends before the show also, in costume, and had a few drinks with us. I had the mac and cheese too. Forgot how great that was.

Despite the beer at the Abbaye, Shannon and I stopped by JD's before the show and got another drink while we waited.

Circa Survive took the stage and costume and played a long set of good music. I was having a good time in the crowd from what I remember... After the show we walked back to the Abbaye and met the rest of our party to head home sleepily.

Oct 19, 2011

Another trail run day at Silver Run. It was raining, but I wanted to run anyway so I put my iPhone in a bag and went out. The rain was refreshing at times, but it made the path slippery in some places. I almost slipped and fell down a hill at one of the steeper sections.

Later I picked up Leah and we went to Olive Garden. We've been talking about it for a long time so we finally went! We had a good time catching up and eating much pasta. I got something different and remembered why I don't get something different almost ever. Stick with what I know is good.

It was the "championship" or something at Applebee's Quizzo and we were apparently already in first place. We didn't even have to play to win it. We played our best and ended up taking second place (for the night, still #1 overall) after a lengthy tie-breaker round at the end. Yeah! We get.. nothing. We don't get anything.

At least we have a chance to go to Vegas! We'd have to pay for travel and lodging though. I think we'll just keep going to Quizzo in Jersey.

Oct 18, 2011

I went for a trail run at Silver Run. I wasn't feeling the trails this time but I went the way I normally do and did a few miles.

I met Christy and we went to get some art supplies in Pitman then went over to Bus Stop Cafe to get food. I had never eaten there before. I actually forgot they had food. The panini I got was really good. I'll go back for the soup.

We went over to Washington Park and sat around on a blanket on the grass for a while. I took a bunch of strange photos that I like. I'll put them up soon. It was a little colder than I thought it would be so I wasn't dressed well for it.

She dropped me off at Landmark to meet Chuck and Kate for some trivia. We got some tough questions right, but of course got a bunch wrong as well. I couldn't stay for too long so I just played the first round.

I met Ryan at the gym, which was pretty abandoned for most of the time we were there. I prefer it that way; it's always a pain waiting for someone to get done using something and awkwardly skirting the people standing in the way.

Good day.

Oct 15, 2011

Ah, Saturday. I went over to the Silver Run trail for an early run. I took the opposite direction on both trails than I normally do. Just doing this simple thing makes it seem new and gives the illusion that it's going by more quickly. I find that it's harder to run when I know too many landmarks that tell me how far I've gone.

I wanted to continue enjoying the weather so I took a walk when I got back home along the river to the library to get a new book. I found the one I was looking for and then walked home and read some outside.

Alex and I headed up to the train station later and took the rail into Philly. The walk to the Abbaye was much longer than I thought it was. Once we got there it was time to try some pumpkin beer and get a red bean burger. Alex was very happy with the food and the bar in general. Ryan helped us out greatly when Alex realized she didn't have her e-ticket for the show so she e-mailed it to him and he printed it out! What a guy.

After eating we wandered through the cold over to the Troc and got inside a little bit before Four Year Strong came on. When they did, I was immediately not a fan of the people in the crowd. It's not the same as it used to be at their shows. They also played newer songs and things I don't know well.

To their credit, when they played the good stuff they played it really well. It's hard to feel the same energy as their shows used to have when they played in the basement at the church and the crowd was great. I'm afraid I won't be seeing them again until they return to such a venue.

At least we had a short walk back to the train after the show and then a quick ride over the river and back to the car. It was a good night even though the show was not quite what I wanted.

Oct 9, 2011

Ryan and I went to the gym in the early afternoon and then went over to Silver Run so I could show Ryan the trail and then go for a run there. It's a good two mile route with all the hills and turns.

When my planned photo shoot fell through I asked Chuck if he wanted to meet for a drink at the Oar House. One drink turned into a few as I realized I had nothing else to do for the day.

Kate and Jordan stopped by to hang out as well. We tried quite a few good new beers and eventually made our way out to the beer garden to enjoy the weather. My sister and Ken dropped by as well to get some food. We had been there for quite a long while by the time we decided to leave. It was a good way to spend an afternoon. Nice to have a bar here where we can do that now.

I went up to Rowan for a while later to see a few people. It was fun, but I was ready to go to sleep when I got back home.

Sep 24, 2011

I had some energy in the morning so I went to the trail for a run. I tried to keep a slow pace so I could run longer, but I have a hard time doing that and ended up going the same distance as usual. Gotta work on it.

I went to Rowan to spend the afternoon working on my video for Sculptors of Philadelphia. I was there for a few hours cutting up video and learning how to transition frames. I was pretty happy with my edit so then I had to render and export it. Glad Josh was there to give me a hand. I shipped it off for review and was happy to be done.

Joanna, Chuck and myself met Jeff up at his place and decided to go to a place nearby called The Green House, a vegetarian Asian restaurant. I got barbecue seitan cuts that were awesome. Everyone's food was really good. We laughed a lot and almost everyone came close to spitting out their water or food at one point.

There was a little street festival thing going on so we went to check out the band playing. I'm pretty sure my philosophy professor was drumming. The band was pretty good until they started doing slow covers of punk songs. That's when we decided to leave.

We got some beers and came back to Jeff's to drink them and play Friends Scene It. We got a Sam Adams Autumn sampler pack so we had some really good beers, like the Pumpkin Ale that I'd never had. The game was fun; Chuck won! Crazy. After that we just talked and Jeff tried to bench press Chuck. He couldn't. Then I tried to bench press Jeff. I couldn't.

We had a really good time hanging out so I'm glad we skipped The Blanks. I was a little drunk when we got back. I was feeling good.

Sep 3, 2011

I started the day doing something I had been wanting to do for a while: running again. Though I've been climbing mountains and the like, I feel like I've been slacking on the run so I went over to the trail on Silver Run and took a couple of laps. I can never tell based on the maps, but it was probably around 3 miles or so.

A little later I met Christy at Rowan to do a photo shoot. The studio was a bust, but that turned out to be a blessing since the lighting outside was wonderful. It was a beautiful day and we took some great shots on the lawn in front of Bunce and behind.

This is definitely one of my favorite shots that we did. I love it. It got me excited about shooting again; that's another thing that has been waning lately and I want to get back on track.

After the shoot we went to get crab fries at Clancy's since we've been talking about it for so long. They were okay. The cheese sauce is really what I'm in it for anyway. Pretty sure our waitress was annoyed since that's all we got. It's okay we tipped her well.

We went around the corner to the park to play frisbee for a little while. The weather at night was so nice. Bare feet in the grass is pleasant. It reminds me of playing ultimate, which we did not do nearly enough of this summer.

I came home for a relaxing evening of watching shows and editing photos.

Jun 12, 2011

I wasn't sure what I'd be doing today, but since it was the last day of Art in the Open in Philly along the Schuylkill River, I decided to go up and check it out and meet Leslie from Philadelphia Sculptors at the same time. She had a piece in the show so she was easy to find.

Her piece had to do with memory and each person who chose to be a part of it had to choose an image that related to a memory and give a thumbs up or down to tell whether it was good or bad. Then she emails the photo to you. Interesting concept. I like the actual piece better than the interactive part. We talked for a while about what I would be doing for the organization and then I headed out after she kept having to stop to give people the rundown on her sculpture.

I went over to Wissahickon Creek and did a little bit of climbing before taking to the trails and running up and down the rocky hills. It was an awesome place to run, I wish it were closer. I ran most of the way around until it got too steep and I walked a bit.

I took a trail I didn't know and then found my way back to a familiar area where I ran the rest of the way back for a total of almost three miles at a really good pace somehow. Always a fun spot to come and now I have another reason.

I climbed down to the rocks in the stream and chilled there for a while eating trail mix until I was cooled off and ready to get going.

I went over to Sedgley, which was packed full of people. Discs everywhere. I managed to play four or five holes before I decided that it wasn't worth the trouble and waiting around. I came home and had some good food.

Ryan came over a bit later and went to the cemetery for a run. We did a timed run this time so we set a twenty minute limit and we ran around the paths wherever we wanted until time was up. I ran 2.5 miles. It seems to be my magic number, but I was happy with my pace.

Lots of running today. It felt good to shower and lay down after all that. I feel much better being able to run frequently again.