Mar 8, 2017

I worked for Ryan at Wood School during the day. He had 3 classes. One of them I had watch OK GO videos and the other 2 I took outside to be crazy on the playground. That was the best way to handle them. It worked out pretty well. The big breaks felt long though. Becca and I went to New Brooklyn Park to play disc golf while the weather was nice, but after 9 holes we were just not feeling it. It's confirmed that I just don't like that course.

We called an audible and headed to Cape May Brewery. They had a bunch of stuff on tap and a good amount we hadn't tried so we got some flights. The Key Lime Corrosion wasn't nearly as good as the regular, but the DemiSemiSeptCentennial was really great. The Geek Out IPA was good too. Avalon Coffee Stout was something I was looking forward to, but it was disappointing. I got a couple pints of the Demi which I enjoyed even more than the sample. We also had a little taste of their mango habanero soda which was surprisingly refreshing.

Mar 7, 2017

I worked at three schools doing CST which gave me a nice 3 hour lunch break between the first two schools. I didn't do anything productive with that. After work Ryan and I played the new Nintendo Switch. We played a game called Snipperclips that is a pretty basic game but really fun. After he left I spent my night watching shows and movies. I watched Humpday which ended up being good. I started watching Manchester by the Sea, but when I went to lie down the dog had pooped on the bed so I had to take of the sheets and it smelled too bad so I went home and got to sleep pretty quickly.

Mar 6, 2017

I worked CST at Silver Run with a full schedule to make up for my recent easy days. Luckily the meeting after lunch didn't require me to be there (even though Gena said I should just go in the room anyway for extra help. I didn't.) After work I went to PT for the first time in quite a while. It was quick and easy and fine. I'm on visit 6 and need to get to 10 for a reevaluation. I went home for a while and later went to Becca's to watch Walking Dead. 

Mar 5, 2017

Becca and I headed out early to Jack Frost. I got my books on surprisingly easy and went out to get my lift ticket only to be approached by not one but two people trying to sell me tickets right at the window. Both were ushered away by security people, but I followed one of them into the lodge and got a ticket from her saving $18. Whatever works. The mountain is incredibly small. I was surprised that I was already at the bottom when I did a blue run to start off. Becca and I did a couple of the baby greens and they were like nothing I'd ever seen. I could see the bottom of the lift from the "top" of the hill. We had to stop doing that quickly.

We got on longer greens and blues pretty quickly and Becca did really well. We did more blues and it wasn't long before I convinced her to go on a diamond. She fell once, but not because of skiing badly, so she was more confident about her ability. I was really surprised at how quickly she picked it up and improved. We met up with the others and Laura after a while to ski with them for a bit. We went inside for some food and then spent the rest of the day on blues and diamonds. It was more fun than I expected, but we were ready to go by mid-afternoon.

On our way home we decided it was too nice to not stop for disc golf at Little Lehigh Parkway. It was a nice way to end the day outside and there wasn't really anyone else there. I also found two discs on the course.

We hit Wegman's for a nice dinner from the hot bar and then went to Vegan Treats, of course. The ice cream was hazelnut and chocolate. So amazing. We also got a couple of the cookies for later.

One last stop before heading home was Sterling Pig Brewery. We had them at the Abbaye's event a couple months ago so we wanted to try more. The space was pretty nice and the beer was good. The lager was one of the best, but everything was pretty good. There was also a local cider on tap which was awesome as well. The bartender was really nice and she talked to us about other local places. This is definitely a great place and the bar is set up with big open air windows that could be opened in warm weather. It was a nice last stop.

Mar 4, 2017

I planned on sleeping in, but when I was woken up early I just stayed up. I took my time getting ready in the morning and eventually I headed out the door for another long solo drive to the Poconos. I arrived at the Mountain Laurel Inn long before anyone else so I decided to get in the pool and kill some time. The pool was nice, but there was a kid with a ball who wouldn't stop throwing in around near me. Kids. I got out and had a nice long, hot shower in the locker room before heading out to sit in the lobby area to get some quiet.

Becca, Tracy, Christie, and Eliza showed up after a little while from their day skiing and taking lessons and we headed out to Barley Creek Brewing. They were packed so we sidled up to the bar to wait for our table to get ready. We tried a few of their beers which were surprisingly good and the pints were surprisingly cheap. After being seated and realizing the food wasn't looking good and the waitress was quite rude we decided to leave.

I found an Indian restaurant that seemed cool. It was inside an old train car. The novelty was fun, and the food was AMAZING. I love Indian food, but this was some of the best I've had and the waitstaff were incredibly attentive and friendly. It was a perfect change of pace from the last spot.

We stopped at the liquor store to pick up some beers before going back to our hotel. We got a suite so we had a living room area and two rooms. We hung out in the living room area having a few beers while Tracy tried to get some work done. It was pretty relaxing besides having to call the front desk and ask why there were dirty dishes in our dishwasher. It was unclear why they seemed to be so hostile since the moment I got there, but that hadn't changed. We still had a nice night after all.

Mar 3, 2017

I worked at Holly Heights for CST in the morning and spent very little time in classes. After the first two meetings I found out my pre-lunch and post-lunch meeting were canceled meaning I got to leave before noon and I was done for the day. I got a slightly early jump on departure to Baltimore, but not as much as I should have and I hit accident traffic. I still made it to the Baltimore Museum of Art with enough time to browse the contemporary galleries for a short time. My favorite exhibit was The Guerrilla Girls' "The Birth of Feminism." I wandered a bit more, but I really don't like the feeling of being rushed out of a museum. I need to give myself more time.

I went to Union Craft Brewing, which I realized I had been to once before when it was very busy. I did some half-pours to try the beers and chatted with the bartenders about beer laws. I also talked to a couple of guys who (I think) were pretending not to know the Hanson song "Mmmbop." I mean, who doesn't know that? They left shortly after and were replaced by a guy and girl who were really nice and we chatted for most of the next hour about skiing and places they should visit in Philly. The bartender also brought me over a sample of their regular barleywine and the bourbon barrel-aged version. The original was, ironically, too boozy for me, but the aged one was so smooth. It tasted like a great shot of bourbon. Those were not my favorites, however. The best beer I had was the Pajama Pants coffee stout. I had a glass of that and I finished with the tasty Duckpin IPA after a sip of my new friend's.

I got myself a parking spot right in front of Ottobar and headed in early enough to see Dryjacket's full set. They are fantastic live, and I think they could easily be one of my favorite new bands. I need to get their music. I talked to a guy who was in the crowd next to me so it was nice having someone there to chat with between bands. Empty Houses was up next and they were good, but they just weren't my kind of music. The singer could really belt though, and everyone seemed to be into it.

Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties were up next. They played full-band again this time, which I was very excited about after last year's solo show. They surprised me by opening with "'67 Cherry Red" instead of "Our Apartment." The set was all mixed up, which makes sense after playing almost all his previous shows in order. Now that people know this project he doesn't have to explain the whole story and play it out each time. He did play the full catalogue including both covers and finished with "You Ain't No Saint." It was a great night of singing loudly along with the crowd. I needed that release. The drive home afterward felt long, but not terrible. I listened to some podcasts which always helps the time go by.

Mar 2, 2017

I had a nice, fast day of meetings with Pete at Memorial with lots of down time and I was done by noon. Becca and I decided to use the nice day to go outside after some discussion. I wasn't feeling great in general, but I'm really glad we decided to go to Parvin. Since I didn't feel like running we took the red trail for a walk. It was muddy but passable on the little bridges. It feels like a whole different place over there. We got to a section where fallen trees and muddy swamp made it impossible to see where the trail really was so we had to bushwhack a bit to find our way. We eventually made it back onto the Black Oak trail and took that the rest of the way to meet up with the main loop for a five mile hike.

I went home for a while and didn't do much until Becca came over to meet me for a run in the neighborhood. It was really nice weather for it and I was feeling great. I just wanted to get a little of the run on the riverwalk because it was such a beautiful night. After we crossed the river bridge I wanted to make it to 5 miles so I pushed it until I got back to the house. I've been slacking lately so I need to remember how good this was and get out more often.