This past Saturday I visited the Bodies Exhibit at the Southstreet Seaport Museum (title is linked). I am not a squeamish person, but I tell you, there was 2 minutes in the beginning where I thought I might not be able to go through there. The Bodies exhibit is an exhibit of real people, their bodies have been preserved by replacing all the water with a polymer. The first thing I saw made me really think. A human body where I could see all the bones and muscle and organs that you and I have within. And our muscles look just like meat.
We are meat.
I mean, upon staring at the muscles, i could think of nothing else than the countless cuts of Beef I have consumed in my life. To some degree, it justifies cannabalism for me. I mean, we are animals on this planet, juts like the ones we eat. Animals attack and eat humans, and I certainly don't blame them. And if I were marooned on a cold mountain in the alps after having survived a plane crash, I would not think twice about cutting a slice from my friends ass to survive. We are, after all, just made of meat like any other animal.
But once I was able to put the image of that out of my mind, the exhibit was truly amazing. I learned a lot about my body, OUR bodies. Most interesting was to see what our blood vessels looked like. MAN we have a lot of blood vessels. To see a glowing, floating shape, all red, in the shape of an arm, was really cool. The section on conception and birth, showing the stages of pregnancy from week to week was also amazing. It would make any pro-abortionist think twice about their decisions. When you see how fast we develop into a little tiny person, the size of the tip of my pinky ( I think 4 weeks).
So, if you live in the NY area, you should check it out. If you have a week stomach....don't. Pay the extra $5 for the audio tour, and try not to go on the weekend, it's a madhouse. I'd like to share with you some interesting tid-bits of info I walked away with:
- Muscles provide heat to maintain body temperature. We shiver to warm up.
- If all our muscles could work together, we could lift 10 tons.
- A baby has 300 bones, an adult has 206.
- Children's bones grow faster in the spring.
- The human brain is 80% water.
- Nerve cells create electrical impulses that reach speeds exceeding 270 mph.
- Every drop of blood passes through the heart once per minute.
- There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body.
- Every woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have at birth, 250,000.
- The largest cell in a woman's body is her egg, the smallest cell in a man's body is his sperm.
- After conception, everyone spends one half hour as a single cell.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
why?
A very simple question...maybe someone knows the answer. Why is it, that on my MAC, I can't link things. But on my PC, I can link things. Vice Versa, on my PC, I can't upload images so easy, BUT, on the MAC, no problems there.
What gives?!
And Bob Jinglehopper....if you read this, no need to make any snide remarks on how MAC's are stupid...cause it just doesn't answer the question.
What gives?!
And Bob Jinglehopper....if you read this, no need to make any snide remarks on how MAC's are stupid...cause it just doesn't answer the question.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Hey...I have a BLOG!
It's not that I forgot I had one, but it seems like that. I haven't written in a long time. Mostly because every spare moment I've had I have found something to do. It wasn't until someone googled my name, and my blog came up that it dawned on me. Oh YEAH! I do have a blog.
My life is undergoing an overhaul right now. And by my life, I mean, me. I'm overhauling myself. Big changes. More focus.
I have wasted so much time here in New York. Well. Maybe wasted is the wrong word. I have misplaced much of my time. So. I have decided, to now, only focus on the things that will further myself in my career. No more jobs that are not related directly to my field. If it's not directing, photographing, filming, editing, or animating...I won't do it. Of course, today I worked two B-day parties at the Children's Museum, but if I have nothing booked, why not make some money working with kids.
So what have I been up to? Well, for starters, I updated my website: http://www.iansavage.com.
It's my first crack at designing a website all on my lonesome. I have also been working on a few other's for friends. I'll post them too, when they are more complete. I am working as a freelance assistant to a photographer and focusing very hard n getting more freelance film work (hence, the website overhaul.)
I am also quite domesticated these days. I have a beautiful girlfriend whom I'm very serious about, and she has been a great source of support and guidance for me in my new path. But she also goes to bed early, and now, so do I. Early to bed, early to rise...isn't that what they say. I never fancied myself a morning person, but you know, it's alright. I find productivity runs high in the wee hours of the morn.
So speaking of bed...I'm off to it. And if you happen to have a myspace thing going, I joined that bandwagon too, so throw me a friend request! http://www.myspace.com/ianpsavage
Talk to you later.
My life is undergoing an overhaul right now. And by my life, I mean, me. I'm overhauling myself. Big changes. More focus.
I have wasted so much time here in New York. Well. Maybe wasted is the wrong word. I have misplaced much of my time. So. I have decided, to now, only focus on the things that will further myself in my career. No more jobs that are not related directly to my field. If it's not directing, photographing, filming, editing, or animating...I won't do it. Of course, today I worked two B-day parties at the Children's Museum, but if I have nothing booked, why not make some money working with kids.
So what have I been up to? Well, for starters, I updated my website: http://www.iansavage.com.
It's my first crack at designing a website all on my lonesome. I have also been working on a few other's for friends. I'll post them too, when they are more complete. I am working as a freelance assistant to a photographer and focusing very hard n getting more freelance film work (hence, the website overhaul.)
I am also quite domesticated these days. I have a beautiful girlfriend whom I'm very serious about, and she has been a great source of support and guidance for me in my new path. But she also goes to bed early, and now, so do I. Early to bed, early to rise...isn't that what they say. I never fancied myself a morning person, but you know, it's alright. I find productivity runs high in the wee hours of the morn.
So speaking of bed...I'm off to it. And if you happen to have a myspace thing going, I joined that bandwagon too, so throw me a friend request! http://www.myspace.com/ianpsavage
Talk to you later.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Harrison Ford + My 50th post
Well hallo, hallo, HALLO!
I am back baby. New and improved. Better tasting. Less filling. Energy efficient and rain forest friendly! It HAS been a while my dear friends and family. And I apologize for such an extended abscence. But as a wise friend once said....." Real life has to take precendence over the virtual." Only too true, too true.
SOOO! My part time work at the Children's Museum of the Arts turned into a full time position (good), then the full time position (only two weeks old now) turned into more than full time (mmmm). But be not afraid my dear readers, for I am ready for the challenge. It has been too long now for me, not having a regular gig. Now that I have that, along with teaching more animation classes to kids in several schools, and doing some handy-man work on the side....not to mention the side projects that quench my artistic thirst.....well.....I'm very busy.
I have also been spending some time with someone very special. You know my new motto, no names, no gritty details, no blog mess. But it is convenient that she is as busy as myself, so every stolen moment we have is a gift. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, because I am extremely fond of her.
And now, my first little story, in celebration of my return and my 50th post. So, I'm working at the CMA yesterday and who walks in but Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart. I think the kid was hers. They were very discreet and quiet, kind of just checking the place out. Now, on the weekends I'm a "floor manager," so it's pretty much my job to make sure everyone is having a good time, answer questions, etc. I said hello to Mr. Ford. He said hello, and kind of shyly looked at his feet. I thought that was funny. Everyone at the museum pretty much gave them the distance we thought they would want. They are just regular people after all, like you and me. Unfortunately, the kid, I don't think was into the museum. He might have felt that is was for littler kids. He seemed to be about 7 or 8. So.....they left, maybe they were there for about 10 mins. I mulled it over my head, if there was anything that I could have done to get the kid interested, or more engaged. I don't think so, he just wasn't into it. And if the Kid's aren't into it......there's probably nothing you could do to change their mind.
But the kicker for me, was when they were gone, it was only then that I remembered that my jacket is a custom tailored replica, from the same company and pattern, that his original jacket in Raider's of the Lost Ark came from. Might have been funny to wear it standing next to him and see if he noticed....."Hey, how's it going? You like my jacket? HEEEYYAAAAA" That's when I would have pulled out the whip that I keep hidden in the back of the jacket.
Not really. But it was a funny and amusing thought for a short film. Harrison Ford in his everyday life and a whacko fan following him around, trying to get his attention, imitating moves and scenarios from the Indiana Jone's trilogy, but he never seems to notice at all. :)
I am back baby. New and improved. Better tasting. Less filling. Energy efficient and rain forest friendly! It HAS been a while my dear friends and family. And I apologize for such an extended abscence. But as a wise friend once said....." Real life has to take precendence over the virtual." Only too true, too true.
SOOO! My part time work at the Children's Museum of the Arts turned into a full time position (good), then the full time position (only two weeks old now) turned into more than full time (mmmm). But be not afraid my dear readers, for I am ready for the challenge. It has been too long now for me, not having a regular gig. Now that I have that, along with teaching more animation classes to kids in several schools, and doing some handy-man work on the side....not to mention the side projects that quench my artistic thirst.....well.....I'm very busy.
I have also been spending some time with someone very special. You know my new motto, no names, no gritty details, no blog mess. But it is convenient that she is as busy as myself, so every stolen moment we have is a gift. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, because I am extremely fond of her.
And now, my first little story, in celebration of my return and my 50th post. So, I'm working at the CMA yesterday and who walks in but Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart. I think the kid was hers. They were very discreet and quiet, kind of just checking the place out. Now, on the weekends I'm a "floor manager," so it's pretty much my job to make sure everyone is having a good time, answer questions, etc. I said hello to Mr. Ford. He said hello, and kind of shyly looked at his feet. I thought that was funny. Everyone at the museum pretty much gave them the distance we thought they would want. They are just regular people after all, like you and me. Unfortunately, the kid, I don't think was into the museum. He might have felt that is was for littler kids. He seemed to be about 7 or 8. So.....they left, maybe they were there for about 10 mins. I mulled it over my head, if there was anything that I could have done to get the kid interested, or more engaged. I don't think so, he just wasn't into it. And if the Kid's aren't into it......there's probably nothing you could do to change their mind.
But the kicker for me, was when they were gone, it was only then that I remembered that my jacket is a custom tailored replica, from the same company and pattern, that his original jacket in Raider's of the Lost Ark came from. Might have been funny to wear it standing next to him and see if he noticed....."Hey, how's it going? You like my jacket? HEEEYYAAAAA" That's when I would have pulled out the whip that I keep hidden in the back of the jacket.
Not really. But it was a funny and amusing thought for a short film. Harrison Ford in his everyday life and a whacko fan following him around, trying to get his attention, imitating moves and scenarios from the Indiana Jone's trilogy, but he never seems to notice at all. :)
Monday, October 03, 2005
bzzzzzz
I'm a busy bee these days, I have a smattering of work at the Children's Museum of the Arts. But in the meantime I am teaching myself Flash, Dreamweaver, and Adobe After Effects. This shall lead to some very exciting stuff. Just need some time, so excuse my absences. I'll try to get to you whenever I can.
Monday, September 19, 2005
annnnd....:)
| You're an Expert Kisser |
 You're a kissing pro, but it's all about quality and not quantity You've perfected your kissing technique and can knock anyone's socks off And you're adaptable, giving each partner what they crave When it comes down to it, your kisses are truly unforgettable |
I am a sweet talker....I guess that's about right
| Your Seduction Style: Sweet Talker |
 Your seduction technique can be summed up with "charm" You know that if you have the chance to talk to someone... Well, you won't be talking for long! ;-) You're great at telling potential lovers what they want to hear. Partially, because you're a great reflective listener and good at complementing. The other part of your formula? Focusing your conversation completely on the other person. Your "sweet talking" ways have taken you far in romance - and in life. You can finess your way through any difficult situation, with a smile on your face. Speeding tickets, job interviews... bring it on! You truly live a *charmed life* |
weird dream
I awoke several times this morning, realizing I was having a very abnormal dream. I would wake to my alarm, hit the snooze, and proceed to go right back into the dream where I left off. I don't remember my dreams that often anymore, but this one in particular was odd and vivid.
It was the day I was to be married. My bride was a girl I knew from high school Kristy Moreau. She was a petite blonde. I knew her well enough, but never had anything going on with her, so it was odd, that 10 years later, that I am dreaming that we were to be married. The thing was, that on our wedding day, I completely blanked. I am there in my tux, she is looks beautiful, all my friends and family are there.....but the THING is.....I don't remember her. I know who she is, but I tell her that I am confused because I don't remember anything about our relationship, where and when we met, how long we were together, when we moved in together, when I proposed....nothing. I don't remember any of it, not a thing. So we postpone the wedding, on the day of the wedding, and the rest of the dream is mostly conversations with her trying to remember, piece together our relationship, hoping it will spark some memory. I finally awoke, never having remembered anything from our relationship, but feeling extremely bad about it all.
Any Psychiatrists out there? What the heck does this dream mean I wonder.
It was the day I was to be married. My bride was a girl I knew from high school Kristy Moreau. She was a petite blonde. I knew her well enough, but never had anything going on with her, so it was odd, that 10 years later, that I am dreaming that we were to be married. The thing was, that on our wedding day, I completely blanked. I am there in my tux, she is looks beautiful, all my friends and family are there.....but the THING is.....I don't remember her. I know who she is, but I tell her that I am confused because I don't remember anything about our relationship, where and when we met, how long we were together, when we moved in together, when I proposed....nothing. I don't remember any of it, not a thing. So we postpone the wedding, on the day of the wedding, and the rest of the dream is mostly conversations with her trying to remember, piece together our relationship, hoping it will spark some memory. I finally awoke, never having remembered anything from our relationship, but feeling extremely bad about it all.
Any Psychiatrists out there? What the heck does this dream mean I wonder.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
9/11 Anniversary
Four years ago we lost thousands of lives to terrorists here in NY City. I remember that day, it's a hard one for any of us here to forget. I was supposed to be working at an industrial lighting gig that day, downtown not far from the towers, but had decided the night before that I wasn't going to go in. Around 9 am I got a phone call from my cousin Jane asking if I was ok, because....and she proceeded to tell me what was going on. At the time I was living in Williamsburg and could see the towers from my front stoop. I had a friend stop by, he was on a motorcycle going over the Williamsburg bridge. He was confused at all the papers flying through the air and the gridlocked traffic, so he stopped by to find out what the deal was.
I went into the city that night to see the ordeal first hand. I remember the smell. The smell of burning, but with an air of something worse, and that was only at 14th st where the barracade started. I have a page from a dictionary from the towers. Terrible enough it is the "blood" page. I keep it in a frame to remind me of one of the worst events that has happened here on our shores.
So, today I'm thinking of all those innocents lost. All the brave firefighter's and policemen who lost their lives trying to rescue their countrymen. And how 4 years later, the man responsible has yet to have been caught and there has only been more terror since. Let's all keep those that sacrificed their lives for other's in our thoughts today.
"Only the dead have seen the end of war"
Plato
I went into the city that night to see the ordeal first hand. I remember the smell. The smell of burning, but with an air of something worse, and that was only at 14th st where the barracade started. I have a page from a dictionary from the towers. Terrible enough it is the "blood" page. I keep it in a frame to remind me of one of the worst events that has happened here on our shores.
So, today I'm thinking of all those innocents lost. All the brave firefighter's and policemen who lost their lives trying to rescue their countrymen. And how 4 years later, the man responsible has yet to have been caught and there has only been more terror since. Let's all keep those that sacrificed their lives for other's in our thoughts today.
"Only the dead have seen the end of war"
Plato
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
I left my heart in Ocean City....
So I went back to get it! I scored 4 days and 4 nights at Casa de Vena for the Labor day weekend. It was a glorious few days, the sun was shining, the water was at about 78 degrees, the air was warm during the day and cool at night. Nothing beats sitting on the beach all day doing nothing, occassionally hopping on the boogey board. I have returned with a wonderful carrot / bronze tan. We spent our nights on the boardwalk, where much fun was had.
Here for instance, we are partaking in a staple boardwalk delicacy....the Funnel Cake. I thought it would be like CT's fried dough, but NAY!. This one is covered in chocolate chips. It was messy and delicious and also the last upon a string of fries, lemonade, pizza, and Dippin Dot's ( Ice cream of the future!)
We had the wonderful pleasure of some other house guests, Bob Byrd and his wife Ginger.
Bob and Joe can be seen here, deep in a conversation revolving around either children or booze. Bob is a Children's book author and illustrator. Visit his site at www.robertbyrdart.com and you can see some of his work. I think it's beautifully done. He was just one of the nicest, hippest guys I've ever met. He's part of an exhibition coming to NY which I'm really excited to go see. He saw our animations and was a donor for our short film The Barista, so he's wicked supportive, and in my book, that makes him wicked awesome......wicked I say.
In the morning, like a Bruce Springsteen concert, we would line up outside of Brown's for some of the boardwalks best.....
DONUTS! Lindsay in particular grew attached to this treat, you can see the crazed look in here eyes and the saliva beginning to form at the corner of her mouth. Down girl! DOWN!!
You have to save it and flip it, but I like this shot of the "Music Express" ride. We never went on it, we were to interested in "The Swings." This ride is fun though and I thought, particularly photogenic.
We ended the whole trip with another Boardwalk delicacy....the Caramel corn.....pronounced "Carmel" corn. This is serious business, as it is delivered by tub, hot, and the caramel strings off. I know it can't be good for you, but then again, isn't everything that's NOT good for you the most fun and desireable. What's the deal with that one?
I'm missing Ocean City already.....perhaps again, we will meet....again.
Here for instance, we are partaking in a staple boardwalk delicacy....the Funnel Cake. I thought it would be like CT's fried dough, but NAY!. This one is covered in chocolate chips. It was messy and delicious and also the last upon a string of fries, lemonade, pizza, and Dippin Dot's ( Ice cream of the future!)
We had the wonderful pleasure of some other house guests, Bob Byrd and his wife Ginger.
Bob and Joe can be seen here, deep in a conversation revolving around either children or booze. Bob is a Children's book author and illustrator. Visit his site at www.robertbyrdart.com and you can see some of his work. I think it's beautifully done. He was just one of the nicest, hippest guys I've ever met. He's part of an exhibition coming to NY which I'm really excited to go see. He saw our animations and was a donor for our short film The Barista, so he's wicked supportive, and in my book, that makes him wicked awesome......wicked I say.
In the morning, like a Bruce Springsteen concert, we would line up outside of Brown's for some of the boardwalks best.....
DONUTS! Lindsay in particular grew attached to this treat, you can see the crazed look in here eyes and the saliva beginning to form at the corner of her mouth. Down girl! DOWN!!
You have to save it and flip it, but I like this shot of the "Music Express" ride. We never went on it, we were to interested in "The Swings." This ride is fun though and I thought, particularly photogenic.
We ended the whole trip with another Boardwalk delicacy....the Caramel corn.....pronounced "Carmel" corn. This is serious business, as it is delivered by tub, hot, and the caramel strings off. I know it can't be good for you, but then again, isn't everything that's NOT good for you the most fun and desireable. What's the deal with that one?
I'm missing Ocean City already.....perhaps again, we will meet....again.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Ocean City
Just so you don't think that I am totally lost, I should have posted this yesterday, before all the sorrow. This weekend I spent two days down in Ocean City at my good friend's family summer casa. I had a blast.
this is the whole crew, feasting on homemade wine, kielbasa's, sausages, brocoli and pasta salad. Grappa, coffee, and canoli's for dessert.
After dinner we headed to the boardwalk. We had frozen custard, we thought about doing one of those old time photo's, but they were closing and being jerks. We rode the ferris wheel, shown here in this cool shot i took from my stomcah. Overall I really was psyched to be there, it was inspiring my visual eye to pop out of my head. Upon previewing most of my shots I was pleased, but of course you can never tell if they are in focus until you dump them from the camera, alas, my little cybershot might be reaching the end of it's life.
I love this shot, and the three others that I took that were similar. This swing ride has always been my favorite out of all rides. I like how it looks like a giantic mechanical mushroom from Alice in Wonderland...maybe with a bit of an S&M spin with the chains.
Now we're actually on the thing. I believe we had a few sceptics, that did not think it was "adult" enough to get on. everyone changed their mind when they realized this thing went a lot faster, or felt like it did, than when we were all little kiddies. Joe is in the front, then Linds, and the green blob is my pal Ad.
Last day on the beach, I bought a giant shovel, all the kids had them. We worked with Joe, the master sculptor to create a whale, complete with a 3-D tail. It didn't last long, but long enought to draw a small crowd. The beach there was a blast. Adam and i played tennis ball, a game entirely made up by us, where you throw the tennis ball and try to dive to get it. The next day we played "Kadima" the paddle ball game. Yesterday I noticed that my right forearm is about 50% bigger than my left, probably from all the throwing and hitting in the two days, it's all swelled up.
The last night we couldn't help ourselves (well, most of us, Lindsay was a straight up party pooper) we had to hit Atlantic City before we left. Paul had been schooling me over the weekend with the rules and strategy of Craps, so we hit the $10 tables as soon as we could. I started with $40, he started with $200. After the first two rolls, his and mine, we were both up, I believe I was up $60 (up being profit, not including what I started with). But after 30mins of bad rollers I lost all my profit and my $40. So.....having time left before the 12:20am bus back to NY, I grabbed another $40. This one lady was hot, and at the end of the night I was back up. I cashed in my chips for $168, making a profit of $88. Not bad for the first time. Paul, being the more experienced and bigger gambler, walked away with winnings of $375.
So I had a great weekend, followed by a crappy Wednesday. That's life for ya.
this is the whole crew, feasting on homemade wine, kielbasa's, sausages, brocoli and pasta salad. Grappa, coffee, and canoli's for dessert.
After dinner we headed to the boardwalk. We had frozen custard, we thought about doing one of those old time photo's, but they were closing and being jerks. We rode the ferris wheel, shown here in this cool shot i took from my stomcah. Overall I really was psyched to be there, it was inspiring my visual eye to pop out of my head. Upon previewing most of my shots I was pleased, but of course you can never tell if they are in focus until you dump them from the camera, alas, my little cybershot might be reaching the end of it's life.
I love this shot, and the three others that I took that were similar. This swing ride has always been my favorite out of all rides. I like how it looks like a giantic mechanical mushroom from Alice in Wonderland...maybe with a bit of an S&M spin with the chains.
Now we're actually on the thing. I believe we had a few sceptics, that did not think it was "adult" enough to get on. everyone changed their mind when they realized this thing went a lot faster, or felt like it did, than when we were all little kiddies. Joe is in the front, then Linds, and the green blob is my pal Ad.
Last day on the beach, I bought a giant shovel, all the kids had them. We worked with Joe, the master sculptor to create a whale, complete with a 3-D tail. It didn't last long, but long enought to draw a small crowd. The beach there was a blast. Adam and i played tennis ball, a game entirely made up by us, where you throw the tennis ball and try to dive to get it. The next day we played "Kadima" the paddle ball game. Yesterday I noticed that my right forearm is about 50% bigger than my left, probably from all the throwing and hitting in the two days, it's all swelled up.
The last night we couldn't help ourselves (well, most of us, Lindsay was a straight up party pooper) we had to hit Atlantic City before we left. Paul had been schooling me over the weekend with the rules and strategy of Craps, so we hit the $10 tables as soon as we could. I started with $40, he started with $200. After the first two rolls, his and mine, we were both up, I believe I was up $60 (up being profit, not including what I started with). But after 30mins of bad rollers I lost all my profit and my $40. So.....having time left before the 12:20am bus back to NY, I grabbed another $40. This one lady was hot, and at the end of the night I was back up. I cashed in my chips for $168, making a profit of $88. Not bad for the first time. Paul, being the more experienced and bigger gambler, walked away with winnings of $375.
So I had a great weekend, followed by a crappy Wednesday. That's life for ya.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Sorry!
Sorry! Sorry! I'm teaching an animation class all this week, and even though it's like a beautiful paid vacation in comparison to my "real" job, it's taking a lot of my focus (a great thing). I will try to get a meaty blog in here ASAP!
Children are a wonder. Thier minds are so open and vast (and for the most part) refreshingly honest. It is, in fact.......refreshing.
Children are a wonder. Thier minds are so open and vast (and for the most part) refreshingly honest. It is, in fact.......refreshing.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
...they aint leavin till 6 in the....6 in the mornin!
Last night I had my first foray into being on the opposite side of the bar then I usually attend...the side where there is less drinking...well....kind of. The host of my travel show is the music consultant of a SoHo club. I had expressed interest into learning how to sling our modern day poison. She passed on my request and thus, I got to train behind the bar last night, and hopefully other nights to come.
The club is really nice and Wednesdays are a slow night in retrospect. They had DJ's playing house music and their was much dancing. I showed up at 9pm, I don't think we saw a person until 11pm. By Midnight the crowd was getting thicker. From 12 to about 12:45am it was a bit busy, and then the pace slowed to like a drizzle until about 3am. By then, there were maybe 6 people left, by 3:15 am they closed entry, and by 3:30 am the place was empty completely. I stayed until about 4:45 am, watching my trusty mentor, Tristan, a very good looking (in that typical Bartender/NY fashion) close out, count money, wash glasses, etc.
I was originally set to "shadow" him, meaning follow and watch, but it became very appearent that for me to actually learn anything, I was going to have to....like...do stuff. So, slowly and surely, I started to make drinks and grab beers. Beers are of course way easy, $6, Corona's get a lime. I made anything else that didn't require much thought, i.e., Gin and Tonic's, Vodka with this, vodka with that. Anything that I didn't know how to make I just asked Tristan to make and then I watched. I got a lot of waters and sodas.
So all in all, once you know the more "complicated" drinks, i.e, cosmopolitan's, silk panties (Vodka, peach snapps, with a splash of Cran), kamikaze shots, margarita's and such, and then you have a feel for how the computer system works, and how much everything cost......well....that's really all there is to it. I quite enjoyed the experience. Being behind the bar, was way better then being in front, that's for sure. In the course of my first night, and not even being anywhere close to an actual bartender, I received three kisses on the cheek, two winks, a request to dance. That's more action than I have had in months.
Tristan explained the scenario. "Women like to feel powerful over the guy behind the bar. I don't know what it is, they just like it. It's not the same way with men and female bartender's." I would have to agree, having done my share of "hitting on" female bartender's. I wonder why that is?
I did learn some very interesting things about bars in general. This might surprise some, this first bit makes me want to open a bar. The establishment makes a profit.....after the first drink they sell. For example. A Vodka Tonic at this establishment cost $8......that's with well liqour mind you. Now, $8 is a bit pricy, even for Manhattan and especially for well liqour. But the BOTTLE of Vodka....the entire bottle cost $6. So that one drink just threw that whole bottle into the 100% profit range after one drink. So it makes sense, points out my mentor, that for the extra dollar, you might as well buy top-shelf liqour.
So after really only 4 hours of actual bartending, but 8 hours of work, including setting up and breaking down.....I was curious, on this slow night, a Wednesday, how much my mentor made. The bar-back, who did nothing but cut limes and lemons and buss glasses was tipped out $75 from the bartender, he tried to give me $50. I told him that wasn't fair, I was here to learn and I really didn't do too much, so he gave me $30, which I accepted and half went into a cab home. All in all he walked away with $290 himself. The bar made about $1,400. A quarter of what it makes on say, a Friday or Saturday, but then of course there are three bartender's and not just one.
So let's throw these numbers into perspective, from my point of view. Let's say you work three slow nights a week, like a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Let's say you average $300 a night......$900 a week...that's like $3,600 a month....which ends up being $43,200 a year.......under the table mind you...so to speak. And that's only 3 days a week.....12 days a month...roughly 40% of the year......Out of 365 days, you work 144.....and have 221 days off!?!?!?!
Am I insane, or is that crazy? No wonder so many people put themselves through college bartending, and no wonder so many people bartend through the summer non-stop and then take extended vacations. And that's just all figuring that your working slow nights. What about the people who bartend on Friday and Saturday and make a considerable amount more than the slow nights?
This is all very interesting. Something I think would be perfect for my interim between the end of this job and possible Peace Corps service. And it's such a good fall back skill. Anywhere you go in the world, you could always find a job bartending if you had the experience.
I love fall-back skills. You can never have enough of em. So I work next Wednesday too, I probably won't stay till close, because I'm doing this animation gig that week, which I'm STOKED about, because it means I won't be working in the office at all. But I hope I can keep this thing going for a while, I mean, I'm not getting paid, so what do they have to lose?? And then maybe I can scoot right in there at a later date, or start bar-backing for pay, or just use them as a reference for another bar.
Doing the bull dance...feeling the flow.
The club is really nice and Wednesdays are a slow night in retrospect. They had DJ's playing house music and their was much dancing. I showed up at 9pm, I don't think we saw a person until 11pm. By Midnight the crowd was getting thicker. From 12 to about 12:45am it was a bit busy, and then the pace slowed to like a drizzle until about 3am. By then, there were maybe 6 people left, by 3:15 am they closed entry, and by 3:30 am the place was empty completely. I stayed until about 4:45 am, watching my trusty mentor, Tristan, a very good looking (in that typical Bartender/NY fashion) close out, count money, wash glasses, etc.
I was originally set to "shadow" him, meaning follow and watch, but it became very appearent that for me to actually learn anything, I was going to have to....like...do stuff. So, slowly and surely, I started to make drinks and grab beers. Beers are of course way easy, $6, Corona's get a lime. I made anything else that didn't require much thought, i.e., Gin and Tonic's, Vodka with this, vodka with that. Anything that I didn't know how to make I just asked Tristan to make and then I watched. I got a lot of waters and sodas.
So all in all, once you know the more "complicated" drinks, i.e, cosmopolitan's, silk panties (Vodka, peach snapps, with a splash of Cran), kamikaze shots, margarita's and such, and then you have a feel for how the computer system works, and how much everything cost......well....that's really all there is to it. I quite enjoyed the experience. Being behind the bar, was way better then being in front, that's for sure. In the course of my first night, and not even being anywhere close to an actual bartender, I received three kisses on the cheek, two winks, a request to dance. That's more action than I have had in months.
Tristan explained the scenario. "Women like to feel powerful over the guy behind the bar. I don't know what it is, they just like it. It's not the same way with men and female bartender's." I would have to agree, having done my share of "hitting on" female bartender's. I wonder why that is?
I did learn some very interesting things about bars in general. This might surprise some, this first bit makes me want to open a bar. The establishment makes a profit.....after the first drink they sell. For example. A Vodka Tonic at this establishment cost $8......that's with well liqour mind you. Now, $8 is a bit pricy, even for Manhattan and especially for well liqour. But the BOTTLE of Vodka....the entire bottle cost $6. So that one drink just threw that whole bottle into the 100% profit range after one drink. So it makes sense, points out my mentor, that for the extra dollar, you might as well buy top-shelf liqour.
So after really only 4 hours of actual bartending, but 8 hours of work, including setting up and breaking down.....I was curious, on this slow night, a Wednesday, how much my mentor made. The bar-back, who did nothing but cut limes and lemons and buss glasses was tipped out $75 from the bartender, he tried to give me $50. I told him that wasn't fair, I was here to learn and I really didn't do too much, so he gave me $30, which I accepted and half went into a cab home. All in all he walked away with $290 himself. The bar made about $1,400. A quarter of what it makes on say, a Friday or Saturday, but then of course there are three bartender's and not just one.
So let's throw these numbers into perspective, from my point of view. Let's say you work three slow nights a week, like a Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Let's say you average $300 a night......$900 a week...that's like $3,600 a month....which ends up being $43,200 a year.......under the table mind you...so to speak. And that's only 3 days a week.....12 days a month...roughly 40% of the year......Out of 365 days, you work 144.....and have 221 days off!?!?!?!
Am I insane, or is that crazy? No wonder so many people put themselves through college bartending, and no wonder so many people bartend through the summer non-stop and then take extended vacations. And that's just all figuring that your working slow nights. What about the people who bartend on Friday and Saturday and make a considerable amount more than the slow nights?
This is all very interesting. Something I think would be perfect for my interim between the end of this job and possible Peace Corps service. And it's such a good fall back skill. Anywhere you go in the world, you could always find a job bartending if you had the experience.
I love fall-back skills. You can never have enough of em. So I work next Wednesday too, I probably won't stay till close, because I'm doing this animation gig that week, which I'm STOKED about, because it means I won't be working in the office at all. But I hope I can keep this thing going for a while, I mean, I'm not getting paid, so what do they have to lose?? And then maybe I can scoot right in there at a later date, or start bar-backing for pay, or just use them as a reference for another bar.
Doing the bull dance...feeling the flow.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Sharp Curve Ahead...
Yes. Yes it's getting clearer. I am ready for a life change. A typical Friday night turns into a not so typical evening, details to follow.
I went to a movie with some friends tonight. We saw "The Aristocrats," A movie about the lore of a single joke told among the comedian circuit. It was very amusing. OK, normal so far, you with me? We leave the theatre and head to a bar for a few pitchers. What's a few pitcher's between friends? I have a sandwich as well, still normal. This group begins to part and split and head in different directions. For some reason I am not tired, so I decide to join my best bud Greg in his further escepades to meet up with his wife and some other friends at a Karaoke bar. We arrive, stay for aboput an hour. Singing was good, singing was bad, drinks were spilled, laughing was to be had. I didn't take the mic tonight, but joined in on a few, and helped some people keep time. The teleprompter in this place was not top notch. This group breaks up now too. It's 2 something am I think at this point. Not even the hint of drowsiness. On the way out I had a good laugh at a guy doing a very entertaining version of "Patience" by Guns N Roses.
Life changing moment getting closer.
Now I'm in an area of a city that is particularly like, a dead zone to me. It doesn't make sense to take a subway one stop just to wait for another train, so When in the East Village I usually walk to my transfer stop and just wait for one train. It's a warm night, hot, but pleasent, so I'm looking forward to the stroll.
Phase 1 of Life Changing Moment occurs. I feel very lonely. There are cuoples staggering about. I think to myself, "shouldn't these be the best years of my life?" And here I am alone in a New York. I wish I had someone to share this evening with.
I get on the J-train at about 3:20am, take it deep into the ghetto of Brooklyn. I get off, crab a coke through a revolving bullet-proof glass window, and notice a commotion across the street. Normally, or after my neighborhood experiences I bet you would think I would just keep on walking past. But I don't, there are about 40 people gathering in a crowd, something is up. A fight breaks out between two women. The men let it go mostly, it grows in intensity, it moves into the street and stops traffic. 15 minutes go by and it's still escelating. No cops in sight.
Phase 2 of Life Changing Moment occurs. The women takes a bat out of her car and beats the living daylights out of the other women, more jump in, people are rolling in the middle of the street, still no cops. A car next to me, that had been there at LEAST 5 minutes total, throws on some lights and hits a siren. An undercover car...that did NOTHING. They drove close to the quarrel, but still, no law enforcement stepped out of the car until everything was already over and people were breaking up.
What the hell was that all about? I wondered. Now I start thinking, maybe it's time for me to think about other people other than myself. What can I do to change the world? To help others?
Phase 3 of Life Changing Moment, I enter Peace Corps into a google search and start bookmarking like crazy. I think it's time I leave this country and go do something for someone else...for a while. Maybe build a school, or teach english somewhere, or help an endangered species proliferate. Dig irrigation or plant corn, or help sick children.
Sound crazy? Not to me it doesn't. Not tonight. I'm seriously considering this. Get myself out of the miniscule debt I have compared to others and just leave.....leave for good, to do good. Just the thought lightens my mood.
I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of research and reading tomorrow.
I went to a movie with some friends tonight. We saw "The Aristocrats," A movie about the lore of a single joke told among the comedian circuit. It was very amusing. OK, normal so far, you with me? We leave the theatre and head to a bar for a few pitchers. What's a few pitcher's between friends? I have a sandwich as well, still normal. This group begins to part and split and head in different directions. For some reason I am not tired, so I decide to join my best bud Greg in his further escepades to meet up with his wife and some other friends at a Karaoke bar. We arrive, stay for aboput an hour. Singing was good, singing was bad, drinks were spilled, laughing was to be had. I didn't take the mic tonight, but joined in on a few, and helped some people keep time. The teleprompter in this place was not top notch. This group breaks up now too. It's 2 something am I think at this point. Not even the hint of drowsiness. On the way out I had a good laugh at a guy doing a very entertaining version of "Patience" by Guns N Roses.
Life changing moment getting closer.
Now I'm in an area of a city that is particularly like, a dead zone to me. It doesn't make sense to take a subway one stop just to wait for another train, so When in the East Village I usually walk to my transfer stop and just wait for one train. It's a warm night, hot, but pleasent, so I'm looking forward to the stroll.
Phase 1 of Life Changing Moment occurs. I feel very lonely. There are cuoples staggering about. I think to myself, "shouldn't these be the best years of my life?" And here I am alone in a New York. I wish I had someone to share this evening with.
I get on the J-train at about 3:20am, take it deep into the ghetto of Brooklyn. I get off, crab a coke through a revolving bullet-proof glass window, and notice a commotion across the street. Normally, or after my neighborhood experiences I bet you would think I would just keep on walking past. But I don't, there are about 40 people gathering in a crowd, something is up. A fight breaks out between two women. The men let it go mostly, it grows in intensity, it moves into the street and stops traffic. 15 minutes go by and it's still escelating. No cops in sight.
Phase 2 of Life Changing Moment occurs. The women takes a bat out of her car and beats the living daylights out of the other women, more jump in, people are rolling in the middle of the street, still no cops. A car next to me, that had been there at LEAST 5 minutes total, throws on some lights and hits a siren. An undercover car...that did NOTHING. They drove close to the quarrel, but still, no law enforcement stepped out of the car until everything was already over and people were breaking up.
What the hell was that all about? I wondered. Now I start thinking, maybe it's time for me to think about other people other than myself. What can I do to change the world? To help others?
Phase 3 of Life Changing Moment, I enter Peace Corps into a google search and start bookmarking like crazy. I think it's time I leave this country and go do something for someone else...for a while. Maybe build a school, or teach english somewhere, or help an endangered species proliferate. Dig irrigation or plant corn, or help sick children.
Sound crazy? Not to me it doesn't. Not tonight. I'm seriously considering this. Get myself out of the miniscule debt I have compared to others and just leave.....leave for good, to do good. Just the thought lightens my mood.
I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of research and reading tomorrow.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
NY Underground shopping
Yesterday I spent the day with my Aunty D and my cousin Hannah. They came into NY for half a day to do one thing and one thing only. Shop. And not just your regular shopping.....but UNDERGROUND SHOPPING.
These two might look all innocent and nice but these two are capable of shopping where no man dare shop before! I knew that they wanted to get certain...shall we say....contraband, only to be found in NY City. I happen to know the general area where these items could be obtained (although I did have to call a female source to confirm). The first item was a bit tricky to find. I had seen them before, I looked for 30 mins up and down Canal St. to locate this rare item. I had no luck. However, the two pictured above, my flesh and blood, have noses for shopping. Straight out of the cab they were able to locate item #1 on their list
Yes. They came to NY to buy baby turtles! This is of course, not legal, for selling or purchasing. One turtle cost $10 but 4 only cost them $25....what a deal !! I am very pleased to say, out of all patrons of the underground turtle racquet, these two have the best intentions. They will bring these cute little buggers back to CT, raise them for a while in a roomy, heated tank, where they will dine on shrimps, and when large enough they will be released into a very cool and clean, coi pond on the farm. Yeah for the turtles!
The second item, found with a little more effort, I'm sure you ladies will recognize.
The coveted Louis Vuitton designer knockoff, the original can be seen here; http://www.vuitton.com/
Now, I will never understand the fascination with these bags. If you ask me, they are very ugly. I just don't see the appeal in the design, but I guess it's a women thing. These things go for hundreds if not THOUSANDS of dollars for the real thing. I have known for a long time that you could get knock-offs in Times Square and Chinatown. Wherever you see a gaggle of woman pushing eachother around waving dollar bills, or huddled close together peering into a dark bag on the ground, you can place your bet that Louis Vuitton bags are what they are after.
But....I had never needed to get one...ya know.....for real, so I was surprised when in Chinatown and we were actually LOOKING for one, that I couldn't find a damn one. How interesting I thought, that they are never around when you need one. That is.....until I heard....the voice. From a little Asian women on the side of the road comes, in a hushed almost imperceptable (not the word I'm thinking of, nor probably a real word at all) tone, "purses, desinger purses."
So I make a B-line toward the voice and I look at her and return in a quiet tone, "Louis Vuitton?" I say with a raised eyebrow. She smiled, "yes, yes, come with me." So we follow this woman half a block to a little shop with purses hanging on the wall. The woman meets another woman at the front of the open store and kind of block it off. The guy at the cash register gives a look. I repeat the password, "Louis Vuitton," he takes one more look out to the side walk, turns around......and.....opens a SECRET DOOR! Secretly, I was ammused. We step into a very hot, enclosed room, into walls covered with the bogus booty. We took our time, chose two of the new models, paid the man $110 cash, and we were done. I went to push our way out of the door and was quickly stopped by our salesperson, "no no no no, wait, wait." I stepped aside as the man walked up to the door and kind of lifted this little flap, scanning the sidewalk for possible cops. All clear. And we were off and on our way with some bags. I just find it so hilarious that this whole process and deceivery exist. Truly, only in New York!
After that we did some sunglass shopping. I bought a pair of green mirrored aviators for $5, still in Chinatown. I'm quite fond of them. Here's me wearing them later in the day in Times Square after I saw the movie, The Island, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then again I enjoy every movie with Scarlett Johanssen.
And here's just a picture of me at work today, very bored, nothing unusual here!
These two might look all innocent and nice but these two are capable of shopping where no man dare shop before! I knew that they wanted to get certain...shall we say....contraband, only to be found in NY City. I happen to know the general area where these items could be obtained (although I did have to call a female source to confirm). The first item was a bit tricky to find. I had seen them before, I looked for 30 mins up and down Canal St. to locate this rare item. I had no luck. However, the two pictured above, my flesh and blood, have noses for shopping. Straight out of the cab they were able to locate item #1 on their list
Yes. They came to NY to buy baby turtles! This is of course, not legal, for selling or purchasing. One turtle cost $10 but 4 only cost them $25....what a deal !! I am very pleased to say, out of all patrons of the underground turtle racquet, these two have the best intentions. They will bring these cute little buggers back to CT, raise them for a while in a roomy, heated tank, where they will dine on shrimps, and when large enough they will be released into a very cool and clean, coi pond on the farm. Yeah for the turtles!
The second item, found with a little more effort, I'm sure you ladies will recognize.
The coveted Louis Vuitton designer knockoff, the original can be seen here; http://www.vuitton.com/
Now, I will never understand the fascination with these bags. If you ask me, they are very ugly. I just don't see the appeal in the design, but I guess it's a women thing. These things go for hundreds if not THOUSANDS of dollars for the real thing. I have known for a long time that you could get knock-offs in Times Square and Chinatown. Wherever you see a gaggle of woman pushing eachother around waving dollar bills, or huddled close together peering into a dark bag on the ground, you can place your bet that Louis Vuitton bags are what they are after.
But....I had never needed to get one...ya know.....for real, so I was surprised when in Chinatown and we were actually LOOKING for one, that I couldn't find a damn one. How interesting I thought, that they are never around when you need one. That is.....until I heard....the voice. From a little Asian women on the side of the road comes, in a hushed almost imperceptable (not the word I'm thinking of, nor probably a real word at all) tone, "purses, desinger purses."
So I make a B-line toward the voice and I look at her and return in a quiet tone, "Louis Vuitton?" I say with a raised eyebrow. She smiled, "yes, yes, come with me." So we follow this woman half a block to a little shop with purses hanging on the wall. The woman meets another woman at the front of the open store and kind of block it off. The guy at the cash register gives a look. I repeat the password, "Louis Vuitton," he takes one more look out to the side walk, turns around......and.....opens a SECRET DOOR! Secretly, I was ammused. We step into a very hot, enclosed room, into walls covered with the bogus booty. We took our time, chose two of the new models, paid the man $110 cash, and we were done. I went to push our way out of the door and was quickly stopped by our salesperson, "no no no no, wait, wait." I stepped aside as the man walked up to the door and kind of lifted this little flap, scanning the sidewalk for possible cops. All clear. And we were off and on our way with some bags. I just find it so hilarious that this whole process and deceivery exist. Truly, only in New York!
After that we did some sunglass shopping. I bought a pair of green mirrored aviators for $5, still in Chinatown. I'm quite fond of them. Here's me wearing them later in the day in Times Square after I saw the movie, The Island, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then again I enjoy every movie with Scarlett Johanssen.
And here's just a picture of me at work today, very bored, nothing unusual here!
Monday, August 08, 2005
The Healing Waters of Hopeville Pond: Deux
View Previous post before this one.
This is Jeremy, doing what we call, the "Waterbird." Look at his wings of water! We had a blast in the pond. Some of us got water in our ears, I'm still waiting for mine to come out :( , some of us went underwater and lay on our backs to look at the sun, and some of us got nibbled on by fish.
My second purchase for camping was my new camping vest. I have been lookinf for a vest like this for years. Light enough to be worn in the summer, with as many pockets as I could find. Picked this badboy up at an army navy surplus store, it's a fishing vest. It held my wallet, cell phone ( which remained off for the entire trip) matches, lighter, camera, Deet, Afterbite, my utensils, a gerber, some Ibuprofen. I'm sure there were other things as well. I have flour all over me, and for good reason
This......my friends.....is our dessert Pizza. We made this after Breakfast on the last day. We had been discussing it the night before but never got around to it. Sure, we did smores too, but like I said, we like to up the anty every year in the "kitchen." We also make fluffer nutters with marshmallows and peanut butter on a hot dog bun. But this pizza was loaded. Rolled out with flour, and then sprinkled with sugar. Once one side was done, we took it off and plastered it with Peanut Butter "sauce", sprinkled it with Marshmallow "cheese" and then for good measure threw on some pieces of chocolate, crumbles up "Twist-os" which are like oreo's and then put on some Vanilla Wafer "pepperoni's."
Some of us didn't feel to good after, especially the ones who washed it all down with Grape Soda. But it was delicious nonetheless....delicious and SO bad for us.
All in all, the whole weekend cost each person $50. That was for all day Friday, Saturday, and half of Sunday. Pretty cheap if you ask me. That covered all the food, cost of the campsite, and even all our "Road Soda's, " which is code for Beer, because your not supposed to bring in alcohol.
I had a blast, and am very bummed to be back in the big city. But hey, only 364 days until we do it again!
This is Jeremy, doing what we call, the "Waterbird." Look at his wings of water! We had a blast in the pond. Some of us got water in our ears, I'm still waiting for mine to come out :( , some of us went underwater and lay on our backs to look at the sun, and some of us got nibbled on by fish.
My second purchase for camping was my new camping vest. I have been lookinf for a vest like this for years. Light enough to be worn in the summer, with as many pockets as I could find. Picked this badboy up at an army navy surplus store, it's a fishing vest. It held my wallet, cell phone ( which remained off for the entire trip) matches, lighter, camera, Deet, Afterbite, my utensils, a gerber, some Ibuprofen. I'm sure there were other things as well. I have flour all over me, and for good reason
This......my friends.....is our dessert Pizza. We made this after Breakfast on the last day. We had been discussing it the night before but never got around to it. Sure, we did smores too, but like I said, we like to up the anty every year in the "kitchen." We also make fluffer nutters with marshmallows and peanut butter on a hot dog bun. But this pizza was loaded. Rolled out with flour, and then sprinkled with sugar. Once one side was done, we took it off and plastered it with Peanut Butter "sauce", sprinkled it with Marshmallow "cheese" and then for good measure threw on some pieces of chocolate, crumbles up "Twist-os" which are like oreo's and then put on some Vanilla Wafer "pepperoni's."
Some of us didn't feel to good after, especially the ones who washed it all down with Grape Soda. But it was delicious nonetheless....delicious and SO bad for us.
All in all, the whole weekend cost each person $50. That was for all day Friday, Saturday, and half of Sunday. Pretty cheap if you ask me. That covered all the food, cost of the campsite, and even all our "Road Soda's, " which is code for Beer, because your not supposed to bring in alcohol.
I had a blast, and am very bummed to be back in the big city. But hey, only 364 days until we do it again!
The Healing Waters of Hopeville Pond
Camping this weekend, as it always is, was awesome. In my book, there are two kinds of camping. The first kind is the isolated, carry everything on your back, If you take it in, take it out, extreme camping. I have done this kind only twice in my life, both times at the Sequia National Forest in CA.
The second kind is the kind my friends and I try to do every year. It's more like family camping. There are campsites, they are numbered and right next to other campsites. You park right on your site, there are showers and bathrooms, and a store is only a few minutes away. I first started going to Hopeville pond with my buddies Greg and Prior, when we were in middle school. As we got older, we decided to keep the tradition alive. We fell off the horse for a few years, but we stuck with it this year.
The Amazonas portable hammock, you can buy at www.byerofmaine.com for $20, is being enjoyed here by Lindsay. In fact, this hammock was a huge success for this year. It has the amazing ability to slip the user into a long and deep coma. You really have to be careful, as I fell asleep for 4 hours on Saturday and missed out on lunch and throwing a tennis ball in the water.
Camping at Hopeville is great. A typical days Itinerary looks like this:
- wake around 9am
- start fire, eat Breakfast
- Convene in the "party tent"
- Swim and fun
- Lunch
- Nap
- Swim
- "Party tent"
- Dinner
- Nightime stroll
- Smores
- Douse fire and sleep around 1 am
But the beauty of the Itinerary is it's interchangeable, you can always swap around an activity for another one, swim when you feel like it, read a book, take another nap. We pride ourselves in the eating part though, that's a big deal. We plan out the menu ahead of time for each meal. This year, we had several tricks up our camping sleeves and a few surprises.
The first surprise was this. These are Venison steaks that we scored from Bernadette's step-dad, Kirt. We swung by their house to grab some firewood, and paid a visit to their locked cooler full of Venison goodies, steaks and sausage mostly. It was really choice meat and was enjoyed by all.
A new activity enjoyed was the Handstand contest. Witness the majesty of Bernadette's form as she blows away Jeremy. We also adapted this contest to a Handstand fight the next day, where two or more people Handstand at the same time and try to knock eachother down with their feet. Last legs standing wins. We also made up a frisbee game where two pairs of people throw frisbee's across from eachother and try to knock the other pairs frisbee out of the air.
For dinner one night we did Pizza. yes, that's right, Pizza over the open flame....ohhhhhh so good! This one is half mushroom and half venison sausage and peppers.
Following the Pizza, Lindsay wowed us with this camping goodie, hollow out an Orange, fill it with Gingerbread, wrap in Aluminum foil and place in hot fire embers for 30 mins, unwrap and enjoy! Only problem with this one was we were stupid enough to mistake Grapefruits for Oranges, so it was a bit more bitter than we wanted, and some of them rose too much and kind of exploded. I'm sure we will refine our technique next time.
I need to repost to squeeze in more pics.
The second kind is the kind my friends and I try to do every year. It's more like family camping. There are campsites, they are numbered and right next to other campsites. You park right on your site, there are showers and bathrooms, and a store is only a few minutes away. I first started going to Hopeville pond with my buddies Greg and Prior, when we were in middle school. As we got older, we decided to keep the tradition alive. We fell off the horse for a few years, but we stuck with it this year.
The Amazonas portable hammock, you can buy at www.byerofmaine.com for $20, is being enjoyed here by Lindsay. In fact, this hammock was a huge success for this year. It has the amazing ability to slip the user into a long and deep coma. You really have to be careful, as I fell asleep for 4 hours on Saturday and missed out on lunch and throwing a tennis ball in the water.
Camping at Hopeville is great. A typical days Itinerary looks like this:
- wake around 9am
- start fire, eat Breakfast
- Convene in the "party tent"
- Swim and fun
- Lunch
- Nap
- Swim
- "Party tent"
- Dinner
- Nightime stroll
- Smores
- Douse fire and sleep around 1 am
But the beauty of the Itinerary is it's interchangeable, you can always swap around an activity for another one, swim when you feel like it, read a book, take another nap. We pride ourselves in the eating part though, that's a big deal. We plan out the menu ahead of time for each meal. This year, we had several tricks up our camping sleeves and a few surprises.
The first surprise was this. These are Venison steaks that we scored from Bernadette's step-dad, Kirt. We swung by their house to grab some firewood, and paid a visit to their locked cooler full of Venison goodies, steaks and sausage mostly. It was really choice meat and was enjoyed by all.
A new activity enjoyed was the Handstand contest. Witness the majesty of Bernadette's form as she blows away Jeremy. We also adapted this contest to a Handstand fight the next day, where two or more people Handstand at the same time and try to knock eachother down with their feet. Last legs standing wins. We also made up a frisbee game where two pairs of people throw frisbee's across from eachother and try to knock the other pairs frisbee out of the air.
For dinner one night we did Pizza. yes, that's right, Pizza over the open flame....ohhhhhh so good! This one is half mushroom and half venison sausage and peppers.
Following the Pizza, Lindsay wowed us with this camping goodie, hollow out an Orange, fill it with Gingerbread, wrap in Aluminum foil and place in hot fire embers for 30 mins, unwrap and enjoy! Only problem with this one was we were stupid enough to mistake Grapefruits for Oranges, so it was a bit more bitter than we wanted, and some of them rose too much and kind of exploded. I'm sure we will refine our technique next time.
I need to repost to squeeze in more pics.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Nobody views my profile
I have been doing some research on other peoples profile. it is to be noted that i have only 116 views of my profile. I have noted that there is a big difference in numbers for men then there are for women. Thoughts on that?
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