I’m On Vacation
Aug/100
I pressed send on my back-fill coverage plan and set my “out of office” messages around 6pm on Friday night. It was time for vacation to begin. First stop, the beer store to pick up some Sam Adams Oktoberfest.
I got home and started working on the packing process. I received a phone call from a co-worker around 9pm. It was a friendly call encouraging me to enjoy my vacation as I had “really earned it.” A short time later Trevor and Jessie arrived. They were passing through/crashing on their way to a Saturday picnic in the area.
We went down to Baggataway’s for dinner and drinks. We split an order of wings and I went with a mushroom and Gruyère burger. Pretty tasty all around. We sat outside and it was a very nice night to be sitting outside.
The rest of the night was spent sitting around a camp fire trying an assortment of beers I had acquired and discussing life. It was really nice to catch up with them both. We also discussed a “man-cation” next summer of RV’ing across the US stopping at various craft beer establishments. Before I knew it the clock read 3:30am and it was time for bed.
Today I got a little more serious about packing. However, my method of packing was questionable. I pulled all of the clothing that had piled up in my closet and started folding, sorting and hanging it. I decided that it would be nice to come back to a clean room.
I also found time to watch two good movies: Inglourious Basterds and Soylent Green. I especially enjoyed the first one. Creatively structured, good acting and edge-of-your seat action were the highlights. I’m not sure if I’d be eager to watch it again but definitely worth watching at least once.
I also popped out to the bank to deposit a check and made a run to the grocery store for some dinner items. I made scallops, zucchini and couscous. Delicious. Only problem is that I made too much and there isn’t anyone around to help eat it.
I’m going to spend the remainder of the night folding shirts and watching HGTV. Tomorrow morning at 9:45am Erin and I take off (got upgraded to first class) to Mexico for a week long vacation at an all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen. I expect nothing less than glorious enjoyment. I’ve got three books to read and an appetite for relaxation (and fruity beverages).
When I return, marathon training begins (but I won’t think about that until next Saturday).
Advice
Aug/101
This past weekend I headed back home so I could attend my father’s annual poker picnic. I think this was the 5th year for me and the 30th+ year for my dad. The day always starts out with a tournament of skill games including horseshoes, baseball darts, 501 electronic darts, shuffleboard, basketball shooting and a 1v1 card game. Last year I did fairly well. This year I did a better job at eating pickled hot bologna and drinking Coors Light. However, I did learn that throwing horseshoes with a palm-down grip allows me greater flip control. My dad came in second place for the first time (that he can remember). After that set of events we play a round of various team events. That is followed by several hours of poker. I managed to only lose about $30 playing cards and raked in a few hands with pots over $20. It was fun. However, more about doing something with my dad than winning anything.
During our drive I asked my dad a question about his career and his ability to be an affective manager. I asked him to name a few skills/ways of working that enabled him to be successful. I also asked him to name a few areas that held him back from being the best. I think his feedback on places to focus is spot on and valuable for almost any career.
1) Remember people’s names – Walking up to someone and saying “Hey, can you do this” is not nearly as effective as saying “Insert person’s name, can you do this.” The acknowledgment of a name shows personal connection and respect.
2) Stay organized – Not only will you waste time looking for things, you’ll give the perception that you don’t have it all together even if you do.
3) Don’t procrastinate – As hard as it is, do the hard thing first and save the easy for the end. It will pay off.
4) Don’t lose your temper – Taking emotion out of work situations is important in getting to the bottom of challenging situations without causing any damage to the relationship with coworkers.
Enjoying Toronto
Aug/100
Not know when I’d make my next venture up to Toronto I took advantage of the fact that work was pulling me up there again. I decided to catch an earlier flight on Sunday so that I could roam around, visit my favorite spots, take some photos and enjoy the city during hours I normally can’t (since I’m in the office). It was probably one of my more enjoyable work trips to date.
I started my Sunday adventure by visiting Beer Bistro. It was rather hot inside as the restaurant is on the first floor of an office building and on the weekends they don’t cool the building as much since no one is there working. I started things off with a tasty weizenbock followed by the excellent Lagunitas beverage pictured above. I guy sitting at the bar a few seats down from my order a $80 bottle of beer (Angel’s Share). I had two Kobe beef tacos and went on my way.
Next stop was to Bier Markt on the Esplanade (not pictured). I don’t particularly like this place but they do have about 100 beer witha focus on representing a wide variety of countries. Not to be a beer snob or anything, they don’t have too many that are all that interesting. They did have Konigshoven quad on tap which is pretty excellent but I headed right for the back of the menu in the “last call” section of bottles. I had an excellent gueze followed by something else Belgian that isn’t coming to mind at the moment. By far the highlight was the poutine I ordered. It is a most excellent Canadian dish that I probably described previously. In case I didn’t, take French fries (they claimed them to be frites but they most definitely were not) and cover them in gravy and cheese curds. Simply amazing!
I feel like I’ve posted a picture before similar to the one above. It is my favorite seat at “my favorite bar in the world.” Ok, maybe not my favorite seat but I’ve been there about 6-7 times and I really love the place. Pretty much all local Canadian draft beer, interesting food, a chill atmosphere and a style that I’d mimic if I ever owned a bar. I had a couple brews and watched Mythbusters.
Ever trip up here I make it a point to visit this bar. A couple nights each week they feature local musicians and if I lived in Toronto I’d definitely be a regular. Oh yeah, the bar is named C’est What? I believe that roughly translates into casual inquisitive greeting of “Hey what’s up.”
Back when I was working in Manchester I drank a lot of Stella Artois. It was the go-to beer for some reason. The British called it “the wife beater beer.” I believe this was due to the fact that it was a little stronger than your average British session ale. That isn’t really saying much because Stella is about 5% ABV. Anyway, it felt like an appropriate night cap.
I don’t have any pictures from the other two nights but they were definitely good memories. On Monday we went for dinner at a highly regarded steakhouse named Barberian. I had a decent filet that was probably the rarest I’ve ever gotten meat at a restaurant. I asked for medium and this was very much medium rare. It was wrapped in bacon and delicious so I didn’t complain. I also enjoyed baked potato service. They sent a person to the table with this little rotating metal carrier of toppings for the potato. They also provided some excellent garlic bread and pickled veggies (including celery and leeks). I’d recommend it if you are in the mood for steaks. I think TripAdvisor has it as the #5 restaurant in Toronto right now.
Tuesday night was even better. We headed north on Yonge Street (formly the longest street in the world) to Bar Volo. They were closed on Monday due to a Canadian holiday and moved their $5 imperial pint night to Tuesday. An imperial pint is 20 ounces. In a very expensive city like Toronto this was much appreciated. The food was great. I had a burger made of veal which might have been the best burger I’ve ever enjoyed. The most interesting part of the place revolves around the elusive beers of the trappist brewery Westvleteren. I was unable to sway our waitress to sell me any but it was cool to know that they potential had some in the storeroom. Maybe next time and I shall be back.
Open Mic Night
Jun/100
Last night Adam, Erin and I went to Victory Brewing in Downingtown for dinner and an open mic night. Adam suggested the idea last week as he’s been looking for places to perform his catalog of music. Being that it was Victory I couldn’t see how this would be a bad idea even if the “scene” wasn’t quite that great for his tunes.
After eating dinner and having a drink we ventured over to the area of the bar designated for the open mic night. We sat and listened to one girl play a bunch of Janis Joplin-esque music and she had a pretty good voice. When she finished Adam put our names on the list and we went to get our guitars. We listened to a few other performers ranging from decent to not so decent and we also discovered that you get a free beer for performing. What a good deal.
When our turn came we started things off with the classic Weezer song “Say It Ain’t So” which we easily played 100+ during the Kennedy Drive days. The hope was to connect with the limited audience. I thought we did it justice but I have no idea what the crowd thought though the 5 people clapping at the end was hopefully a extreme understatement of our effort. I then accompanied Adam on two of this original songs. I had to stop a few times because I couldn’t remember the right notes (as I had only played them a handful of times prior) but I think I made a solid contribution. Adam finished up with a 4th song completely solo. It sounded great in my opinion.
It felt good to be out and performing again even if it was just an event like this. I hope we can continue to do things like this and spread the good word about his music.
Memorial Day Weekend
Jun/100
As I think back over the years Memorial Day has never been a particularly memorable event. I do remember visiting the graves of my deceased family when I was younger but the last time was probably 15 years ago. I can also remember one from a couple years ago where my car got towed by the police but I didn’t get a fine (they merely needed to move my car for a parade). This year I actually took advantage of the long weekend and headed up to Marshfield, MA with Erin and her brother for a wedding and family weekend.
The town was very New Englandy and I loved every minute of it. Despite the fact that I was surrounded by family that was probably secretly judging me (or maybe not because they were all pretty cool) I was able to relax even without the help of any naps. Yes, strangely, I went an entire weekend without taking any naps. I went running three straight days as well. It was an active weekend but that can be a very good thing.
The primary activity was a wedding for Erin’s aunt Louise. It was one of the more interesting weddings I’ve attended mainly because this was such a family event. There was not a lot of outsourcing of service and I found myself lending a hand in a variety of activities to get everything in order. The hand-in-hand nature of getting it all ready was a very cool family experience. I felt connected to everyone despite the fact that this was only the second time I was meeting most people. The family experience came to a pinnacle when I found myself standing amongst 20+ family members at our beach house with the task of answering three questions:
1) What am I thankful for
2) What did I learn today
3) What did I do today to help
I gave a decent trilogy of answers and hopefully they’ll be happy to see me back in the future.
Some other highlights of the weekend included sitting on the rocky beach with Erin, drinking a new craft beer from Maine, taking a ton of pictures, drinking coffee and just being at the beach to name a few.
Miles Competition
May/100
We are having this competition at work across our account teams at a variety of clients of a particular industry to see who can run the most miles over the next 6 weeks. The only requirement was to have a iPod Nano, iPod Touch or iPhone. They bought everyone one of the Nike+ sensors that basically acts as a running pedometer. It calculates how far you’ve ran and has a bunch of other neat features.
Right now I’d say mine is calibrated that it is within 4% of the actual distance. That is both pretty good and pretty annoying. Pretty annoying because it is underestimating all of my runs. However, it is pretty cool.
There are a bunch of different ways they are tracking the competition but the main one I’m concerned with is this team thing. Myself and two coworkers are trying to have the highest average miles. We’ve started out pretty strong but a full week hasn’t gone by yet so it is hard to say what the numbers will look like. The highest that I’ve seen so far from an individual from Monday through Wednesday is 28 miles. That is a lot of miles in three business days.
My goal is to try and maintain a minimum of 25 miles per week. Since March 1st I’ve been averaging 20 per week so it shouldn’t be too crazy.
Friends and Stuff
May/102
Plain and simple, I have very high expectations for my friends. Sometimes, they find a way to really disappoint me. I tend to invest myself in people more than I let on and it is tough when I’m forced to shake my head in frustration. However, most times they find a way to make me feel like a very lucky person. I tend to focus on the positives.
Props to Nate and Adam for helping to make the move to the new house. I came to the surprisingly realization this weekend that without the help of friends I may not actually be able to physically move all of my stuff.
Speaking of stuff, I came to the realization tonight that I have a lot of stuff. I tried to wrap my mind around my collection of stuff but I couldn’t figure out how I had so much. It didn’t feel like I hoarded at all. It felt more like I just happen to have a lot of hobbies or something like that. I then figured it out. I live as if I own a home but I unfortunately only rent: Christmas decorations, a glass collection, spare blankets, enough equipment to start a recording studio, etc.
I need to buy a house.
West Conshohocken Part I – New Grounds
Apr/103
For most readers this shouldn’t come as any surprise. I’m leaving Philadelphia and heading for West Conshohocken, PA. Until about 3 weeks ago I didn’t even know a “West” Conshohocken was a real place. I take that back. I knew it existed but never though much about it other than “I bet it wishes it was part of Conshohocken.” My view has changed on that point.
This Saturday I’m moving there. I thought that would feel a bit stranger to type. No, I’m really excited to start a new chapter of my life.
Why am I moving, you might ask. Well, my very good friend Adam got a job in Wayne, PA which is about 10 miles away. For years I was waiting for Adam to get his big break. He’s got to be one of the most interesting people I know and it pained me to see him not obtaining his potential (potential in my opinion of course). I did what I could to encourage him including writing him a reference letter for grad school. However, it really took some sort of deep desire to do more from himself that really made the difference I’d guess. Anyway, he got a job near me and it was the perfect opportunity to try something new.
I guess I’m also eager to pay less in taxes (no more 3.92% local tax on gross earnings), spend less on groceries (I can shop at Giant instead of Acme), pay less for car insurance (35% less), lower sales tax (6% versus 7%) and have the opportunity to park right outside my house.
I put a significant effort into finding the new place and I think it will all pay off. I took a “sanity-check” visit of the property with the accompaniment of my girlfriend to make sure this wasn’t some crazy idea. She agreed that it isn’t perfect nor as nice as my current residence but it has potential. I have a strong belief in giving something with potential a chance to thrive. Time will tell I suppose but I’ll soon be saying goodbye to the infamous Apple St. Stay tuned for more reflections (and pictures) of the transition.
The Key
Apr/103
About 6 or 7 years ago Adam and I attended a concert of the band Tool. It was a really awesome show despite the fact that we did not have floor tickets. After the show we were discussing the experience and Adam came up with this mind-blowing revelation. He scribbled it down on a sheet of paper in hopes of retaining such powerful words. The words had to do with the key to the universe. Somehow, those words were lost as he couldn’t find the paper. We jokingly said that our friend Sara threw the secret to the universe away when she was cleaning up the table.
Key to the universe is locked in symmetric, geometric shapes. They are the only perfect contingent non-chaotic number patterns; proving deliberate organization.
Today I was looking through some random notebooks from college and found the original words. Oh how thought provoking they are. Since you, the fortunate reader of this blog, now has the knowledge, use it wisely. However, make sure you always give credit to the great philosopher Adam C. Yerger.
Brotherhood Part I
Apr/102
At some point in my upbringing I learned the value of brotherhood. It is a concept that actually understood is difficult to put into tangible terms. There is the theoretical concept of it and there is the understood experience of it. They are very different.
I’ve experienced brotherhood in a variety of forms but the most important by far are the bonds that I share with my biological brothers. We haven’t always gotten along nor do we share the same set of core beliefs but we are brothers nonetheless. This may sound insignificant but if you’ve experienced brotherhood you understand.