Pehce out, 2010

2010. At points it seemed like it would never end and now that it's over I can't believe it already is! I definitely can't say that 2010 has been one of my favorite years. When this year began, I still lived at home and commuted over an hour to class three or four times a week. There was a whole mess of snow and a whole lot of driving. I nearly burnt myself completely out this year! My parents moved to California and Andrew moved into the house. I gained friendships and lost friendships and lost friendships and got them back. I went on one date this year that lead to nothing but headaches and confusion. But good things happened too! I went to a lot of weddings and I received Best of Quarter for the first (and possibly only) time. Road tripped to Florida with Jamie again. Recorded a demo that's still yet to be finished. Went to some great shows like Sia, Taylor Hawkins, Good Charlotte, Marina and the Diamonds, Tegan & Sara, Lady Gaga, Jimmy Eat World, and the amazing, incredible Sir Paul McCartney. Saw Back to the Future and Princess Bride in the theater. I worked out what seemed to be an impossible hurdle and sorted out my student loans in order to get my own apartment with my little Mo. We went to a dog park and flew in a plane! We spent Christmas in California and got the most awesome blanket in the lands! So, it wasn't the worst year of my life, but it definitely wasn't the best. It was a year pretty much completely dedicated to AiPH. The low point was definitely when my mother moved 3000 miles away, but I'm lucky to have great friends and the best dog ever and I'm going to somehow make it through 2011 as well. I expect it will be just that much harder without being able to escape to Millville and hang out with my mom. Huge bummer. But if I can live through that, I think it'll make me just that much stronger. But my farewell to 2010 was good! Had a yummy dinner at Uno before going to Zane street for some drinks and Dick Clark watchin. I accidentally became a smoker. Go figure. My New Years Resolution? Quit smoking! As long as I stay away from that electronic cigarette, I think I can do it!!!!

One Step Closer to Heaven, 2011!

FAME UGH

Hit up a huge label party hosted by Columbia Records with Jamie. It's nice to be honored for our incredible contribution to the music business. It's about time. After all we did back in '07-'09. I was really flattered to be featured in the Columbia Records display case. We also killed at "Cornhole". I'm not into that name. I think I'll rename it, "Throw the Washy" instead. So, Jamie and I played Throw the Washy and were undefeated. It got pretty boring slaughtering all these other artists at Throw the Washy so we ditched and hit up the hottest joint around; the Cheesecake Factory. And what happened there? They put a damn spotlight on me at my seat! I can't go anywhere without being recognized anymore! But Jamie was working hard so I would forgive her for knowing Paramore songs by buying me a drink and some cheesecake. It worked! We're finally friends again! Cheesecake solves all problems! Except lying. It doesn't make people stop lying.

We don't need no water

Instead of going down to my aunt's to spend the weekend, I spent my Saturday just hanging around the house until it was time to party down hardcore like a rock star. That is completely untrue. Well, the partying like a rock star part. It was more like partying like a camper. Or something. I don't even know if you'd call it a party. Man, what a bad opening. Jamie and I went over to a friend's place with the intent of being social and making s'mores.

Our former guitarist, Jimmy, just moved in with this friend so we got to see him and we haven't seen him in quite sometime. Nathan also attended this bon fire event of the century. Everything not nailed down was being burned in a hole in the ground! People were leaping over fire! Nathan was straight up dancing on the fire! Dean Martin showed up! It was day in the night! Tan from a fire! Wine made of peaches! I played guitar! Clearly shocking things were happening all around! But was there s'mores? Nope. Was there socialness? Kind of. But mostly just a band reunion since the four of us hung around together most of the night. Why aren't we still in a band together? Oh yeah, cause we're all jerks with separate lives. I hate us. I hate Nathan the most, though. I have to make that clear. Nathan = Hate.

Never ending cake cake cake cake...

Despite my grandmother's request for her birthday to come and go without a sound, I baked and decorated a yummy cake and some cupcakes buddies anyway. My aunt was going to be in town for the weekend to see my cousin's new baby and some family was going to be over for Labor Day so I figured I should make a little of both. A funfetti cake and chocolate cupcakes. Best of both worlds. It was no easy matter. I got home late from work and had a great deal of trouble with the icing we had bought. It was too thin. It dripped right off the cake. It was a disaster. So, I went out and bought some new icing. The cheapest I could find without any bullshit about it being whipped or fluffy. That stuff worked a lot better. I wound up just scraping down the cake and starting over with the new icing. And all throughout the night I was worrying that I was going to run out of icing. Luckily, I did not. Didn't turn out just how I wanted, but everyone was impressed nonetheless! After, I went to Philly with Matt to get some Phakeberry. It's good stuff. But South Street was insanely crowded. Possibly more crowded than I had ever seen it. Note to self: Never visit South Street on Labor Day weekend. Though, the Phakeberry place wasn't really crowded at all. People don't know what they're missing!

Stupid broken comma button

Learned how to do "summer flowers" and got a lot of practice making roses roses and more roses.

I'm really proud of how the "Dragontails" cake came out. I'm not great with the airbrush but I think I did a pretty good job on this one. I don't really know what Dragontails is but she's cute. Kind of looks like she has to pee. Hope Vanna Vegas liked it!

After work Jamie and I hit up the biggest party in town; the premiere party of 1969 GAP jeans! There was music in the air (provided by a boy; his voice; and his casio) and delish snacks on a table. Free cheese! Free fruit! Free candy! AND free cupcakes! Not to mention free water!

The premiere jeans on the other hand... not so free. And not as great as advertised. Not accurate sizes. Too big in the hips and legs to be true size 25. I was very disappointed. The sizes keep getting bigger and bigger. Children's clothes are what petite clothing used to be. It's a sad reflection of the nation's obesity enabling. Somehow sizes are growing with people rather than people outgrowing sizes.

Shot out of a cannon!

Was a little restless, so I decided to make use of a warm, sunny day and go back in time; to 1950s Millville. Visited the General Store to get some yummy candy. Then took a stroll down to their brand new jungle gym. If you ever wondered why that shoot in the Wheaton Village Playground looks like it's from the Holocaust, well, news flash, it was! I also learned that cumin is a very good spice and that feeling like flying on swings doesn't mean that you should try it. Then I saw magic flying fish and the oldest woman in the world. Despite having such a good time in 1950, I'm back in 2-0-0-9. It's ok, but I might go back for another Skybar.

Hello humans

This doesn't look boring or mundane!

...but it was. ;)

take off my heels, i dont want to be a hooker ghost

Spent the day with Eavvon in Philadelphia. In the planning of this day, we planned to not make plans. I wasn't exactly thrilled with this plan, but he insisted and it turns out that not making plans is a bad plan. Doesn't mean that we had a bad day, but it did result in my having some serious blisters and not being able to show off my amazing bowling skills the following night. Despite that, I learned some things about Philadelphia that I didn't know. I also learned some things about my feet and my flip flops. And I learned a lot about the care of blisters too. Too much to share in any great detail, but trust me. I know a thing or two about a thing or two. Mmmmhmmmmm (Sling Blade)

Happy Birthday, Uptown!

Finally Leesa decided it was time for her to play catch up and turn 25. For her birthday, I pretended I had glasses. I do have glasses. But I never wear my glasses. I wear contacts. But I do have glasses, though. They just happen to give me a headache and I don't like not being able to see anything when I look down, left or right without moving my head. So, like the smart ass that I am, I bought a pair of clear glasses and wore those. Though, in this picture, I'm not wearing them, Lisa is. But she didn't get to keep those. So, great present, huh? I also got her a shirt that mocked one of her favorite hobbies. All in all, I'm a pretty terrible friend; terribly awesome! But, oh what a night it really was, oh what a night it really was... Hope you had a happy birthday, dude! Too bad it couldn't have lasted longer! Stupid time! Next year I'll try to stop time for you! If Zach Morris can do it, how hard can it be?

Do your worst

Despite our lack of ark, Jamie and I went to Jammin' Java to take part in the bass player coalition going on in Vienna, Virginia. Mostly former Army of Me bassists were present, but Jamie fit right in. I was hoping that I'd meet some bass players that aren't mean bullies, but all I found is that no matter what bass players you're around or what state you're in, they're always going to group together and bully everyone based upon what instruments people do or do not play. Can't win with bass players. Furthermore, I hope they know that they're lovable whether or not they play bass or not. Though, I'd probably love them more if they let me live!

He's got to find his own pizza party

Went to the Wildwood pier for a taste of summer times. It wasn't too summery feeling since it was dark and somewhat windy, but that didn't stop any of the scantily clad ladies from coming out. I don't get it, though. Are those girls cold and just pretending they're not or are they really not cold? Does their metaphorical (and usually imaginary) hotness keep them warm? Well, however they do it, I hope it's worth it. I hope the nab themselves a decent guy. There's so many of them just trolling the boards down there. Yelling at you from their car window. If I could withstand the chill, maybe I wouldn't still be single. OH SIGH! I could have like a few babies by now! Damn my low tolerance for cold!

Stop! Don't do that!

Lisa was lost for awhile,
but she's turned up.

Yay! I'm a complete person
once again!

Happy Birthday, Peepaw!

Nathan went ahead and aged a score and a 1/4. I think that's wrong. I can't remember. But it sounded very cool when he said it. Not nerdy at all. The words of a man that parties very hard. That damn near parties his brain out. And though the original plans were sidetracked because of an unvalidated human, I think the night was still pretty delightful. Even though I was a little concerned being in a place that sells car bombs for $8. Kind of scary. But, they had ponies for only a dollar so... forgiven! I always wanted a pony!

Sleepin with a gun under my pillow

The other week, I made a minor personal record of going to see three different movies in one week. A hat trick, if you will. Well, this week I fulfilled another hat trick of sorts by seeing some form of Wolfman Fran band configuration. First at the Fire in Philly, then at the Fuel House in Vineland and finally at the Bus Stop Cafe in Pitman. Don't get me wrong. I'm not obsessed. Went to the Fire with the soul reason of supporting a good band that also happens to be comprised of friends, but the other two times were just convenient as I was playing the shows they were playing, essentially. Alright. I'm full of shit. I'm obsessed with them. I can't get enough of Ron's diligence, Fran's sound checks, and Steve's ability to make doing nothing look good. And really, when you go to one of their shows, every time is completely different than the last. Never know what you're gonna get!

I was around a long time before you

I like Mojitos. For a while, the only place I could get one was at TGIFriday's. Not very many bars or restaurants have the mint stuff required to make them. Anyway, I've been seeing them in more places and they tend to come around in the warmer months. Even better than that is they're offering them in all different flavors now. With fresh fruit and all. They always amuse me because the fruit gets trapped in the straw and then I get to blow it out. It's the little things in life, ya know?

Hi Ho Mojito!

I never, never, never want a place to hide

Today could have been pretty crappy, but it turned out being pretty good. After enduring as much of my little cousin, Alex, as I could muster, I escaped to Adventureland! I'll admit that it wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but that's not always a bad thing. Not hilarious, but alright. I enjoyed myself. I don't know if the dude in the coma did, though. He must have died sometime during because at some point I couldn't hear his heart monitor anymore. That's the kind of day I had. One that could potentially kill a coma patient. In other news, this is yet again from Sword in the Stone. I apologize. I hate to be redundant, but it so pretty.

Look how wrinkled everything is

Missed another day art wise, but without breaking any of my rules. I was busy! There was grannies to take to Rosenhayn and groceries to be shopped for! After that, I went to have some one-on-one time with my pal, Ched, who also had some tickets and a guitar to lend to me. When we left to grab some dinner, he asked where I wanted to go to which I replied, "Somewhere I've never been before!" Well, mission accomplished, my friends! For the first time ever, I went to a Hooters restaurant! Unfortunately, I'm too poor to have a shirt to commemorate my first time, but I'm sure there's many firsts in my life that will not warrant a souvenir t-shirt so I'm not going to be too down about it. I have to admit that it wasn't exactly what I imagined it to be. There was a lot of kids and old people in there. I thought there would be more men watching sports. The walls were wood paneled, there was stools instead of chairs, the food was pretty cheap and there was a spool of paper towels for napkins. You know, all the classiness you'd expect! So classy that a big, famous rapper decided to pop in and offer our waitress, Jen, a career! Unfortunately, she wasn't too interested, and none of us were entirely sure he was as famous as he claimed. I think if you have to tell someone you're famous, you're probably not that famous. Has anyone heard of a rapper called April? That doesn't even sound like a rapper name to me. That's what we were told his name was. Oh what do I know? Anyway, I'm glad a famous rapper showed up for my first ever visit to Hooters. Made it all that more special!

That's a good job for me; crash dummy

Last night I went out to get some art supplies, have some mushrooms, see a little Gargoyle rock, and worry that everyone at the table had brain damage. Then today I ran a bunch of errands with my mother, ate dinner, and went to the Silver Dollar Diner with Jamie to have a treat. That being said, I didn't have time to do anything artistic or creative. But that's okay because I didn't break any of my predisposed rules. Tomorrow I'm going to get started on something so maybe I can keep it going. Not that anyone cares really. But it's my blog and I'll blab if I want to, blab if I want to, blab if I want to... In mostly unrelated news, that's a huge cookie. And also, I love the movie Parenthood. Why don't I have it?

We're gonna start with just painting a fence

Lisa moved. I was shocked to find out where. Just shocked. Guess where she moved to!

Not to mention valuable

Hit up the open mic at the Bus Stop Cafe in Uptown Pitman, New Jersey this evening. Hadn't been since last year! As we move closer and closer to spring, so shall I make my triumphant return to the darling little Jersey music scene. And then I'll see Fran more often and I won't have to take his picture so I remember what he looks like. This is what he looks like. Jamie goes just because he's such a great sound guy. She may not participate, but she can't get enough of his skillz (that's what she said).