1-31-2011

So I'm officially sick again. I don't understand how I hadn't been sick since high school, then suddenly get pneumonia twice. It's kind of like how I never got speeding tickets forever, then got three in a row. In any case, when I'm sick I drink tea. This is pretty much the only time I drink tea. Squeezing the last drops out of the teabag with the string is my favorite part.

Then I went home and slept all night. Nicole however stayed more productive. Remember the curtains I was making fun of on 1-18? They've been replaced by these ones that Nicole made all by her self.

1-30-2011

Sundays are really just for sleeping in and brunch. I managed avoid meat, but I love you more than bacon. Nicole loves coffee and misses it when she doesn't have any.

Nicole is always up to something.

1-29-2011

So last weekend, we went to Akron to try a locally famous cheeseburger place. This weekend, Nicole insisted we continue the tour and go to Skyway Drive-In to eat more cheeseburgers. I'm a big fan of classic Americana style fast food drive-ins where you park outside and they run to the car to take your order. I'm especially fond of the trays that attach to your car kind of like the speakers at a drive-in movie theater. Now the thing about Skyway is that its territory overlaps with that of Swensons. Bloods/Crips, Coke/Pepsi, Nikon/Canon...you know the deal. While impressed that their cheeseburgers were very good, way better than 90% of popular national fast food chains, Swensons still wins for sure. Between the signature burgers, The Gally Boy is just better than the Sky Hi (pictured above), and the onion rings and fried mushrooms just seemed too oily at Skyway. I would still say that this place is worth checking out though.

As not to exclusively blog about food all the time, here's an arty and pretty typical picture of Nicole from today.

1-28-2011

This is Fitz and the Tantrums. We went to see them tonight and I took lots of pictures. Like probably too many pictures. Really though, it's sort of like "shooting fish in a barrel" when everyone is under colorful lights and the singer thinks he's pretty and likes to perform for a camera. Don't get me wrong, I think he's pretty too, and loved that he played it up for pictures. I just ended up with a memory card full of funny faces like this and this and this. I think another reason that I took a million pictures of a dude was because he reminds me of Morrissey but with a white stripe in his hair instead of pompadour. So here are some more. I think that's all of them anyway.

The girl on the other hand moved around all over the place the whole time when she wasn't singing. The only time I really got a picture that wasn't blurry was when she was drinking water. Well maybe not the only time.

The rest of the Tantrums were fun to take pictures of too. This is saxophone guy. He played the flute too, but I only got him when he was playing this. They also stepped on things. It was this guy's birthday.

The show was super fun though, and I would definitely go to see them again.

It was pretty late by the time we were going home, and I could only think of one worthwhile place on the way that was open...but it's so worthwhile. This is Whitmores a.k.a. barbecued meat heaven. It may look unassuming, but don't underestimate it. This is so serious. I keep saying I'm not going to apologize for eating meat this year, but eating that as a bedtime snack is just plain wrong.

1-27-2011

So I'm starting to get sick. It's just a little cold, but by default, my ailment entitles me to getting whatever sort of junk food that makes me feel better. Gummy peach rings are the obvious choice of a pre-diabetic. Ironically, we also took Nicole's wedding ring to get cleaned tonight. Hopefully high fructose corn syrup and artificial peach flavoring will add to the natural beauty of shiny stones and metal.

1-26-2011

The waitresses at this place are serious about footwear.

1-25-2011

So taking a picture every single day is pretty difficult. Especially because we don't really do anything that exciting on weeknights when everything outside is dead and frozen. So sometimes I have to improvise...and by that I mean create situations that I think are funny to take pictures of...like forcing Nicole to try to do a pull up. So dear three people that actually read this blog, you should feel very appreciated in light of what we do for your daily reading entertainment (and by "we" I mean Nicole).

1-24-2011

A giant snow plow needs a giant truck to push it around. I commute home with UFOs.

1-23-2011

This is a ball named "Shirley". I picked it because I thought that a ball with a proper name would help me not suck at bowling. Yay, we randomly went bowling! I also selected a hippie acid trip ball as a back up, but the finger holes were super weird, and like most other hippies, it was kind of a loser. "Shirley" however did come though and gave me a strike on my first shot. That didn't last long at all though and I'm still a terrible bowler. Nicole's technique emphasises finger position (on the wrong hand). We're both pretty serious bowlers. Nicole looks official and makes strikes.

Now you may be wondering, why is this cute tiny girl in a huge giant truck?. It's for the same reason a scrawny Asian boy is taking pictures in a huge warehouse. What's a fireplace without something awesome to sit on in front of it?. After receiving our fireplace a month and a half late, Nicole got her birthday present two months early and got a leather sofa. We still have some work to do, but this is what our basement looks like now. This is really about as classy as I ever get. Nicole on the other hand looks like an Urban Outfitters model.

P.s. Hi!

1-22-2011

So way way back on 12-4-10, Nicole and I ordered a fireplace as our big "Christmas present." The place we bought it from apparently doesn't celebrate major winter holidays...or new years...or my birthday...or appointments that they scheduled for that matter, and decided to make us wait until now to get their act together. Today a man named Paris came to our house to bring us our post-MLK day-present. We got to anxiously and excitedly wait for four hours while he did his stuff. I took this opportunity to take pictures of birds and harass (X-Files) Nicole. After 1,928,340 pictures of her eyeball a obnoxiously close range...we had a fireplace! See! Fire!

After waiting (starving) for hours, we went adventuring to a place I had heard about a long time ago but hadn't gone to since I wasn't eating meat. I would still consider myself a 95% of the time vegetarian. This is what happens for the other five percent. The place is called Louie's Bar and Grille and is considered a classic Akron establishment for the best burgers for over 10 years. They aren't kidding (though I'm still pulling for Swensons as the best cheeseburger in the area America). I love small, independently owned places full of character like this. Unfortunately, the place is closing due to sad circumstances, and today may be their very last day of operation. We'll miss you, Louie's. Even though we just met today, you made my first cheeseburger in months even better.

1-21-2011

Do you see anything in this picture? Because he sees you. I feel like I'm in Narnia.

1-20-2011

There are patterns of repeating circles everywhere around me.

I
can't
get
away
ever.

1-19-2011

Pretending to go to Japan for lunch.
I wear Vans slip-ons all the time everywhere no matter what.
Nicole surprised me with the only thing I want to eat all the time for dinner tonight. Owning a deep fryer is going to make me a giant.

1-18-2011

This is what I see when I come home from work every night. Yes, those are our basement curtains. I am aware that they are hideous. I also know that my windows are dirty. No, I don't care. My cat waits at the window for me to come home and I think it's cute.

On the topic of cats, this is one of the peacock feathers we got for them from the cat show this weekend. I thought it would be a good idea to get a picture while I could before it gets completely destroyed.

1-17-2011

Yes, I know this picture is kind of boring, but I had to wake up before the sun this morning in order to get to a meeting. As a result, I immediately made use of the Monday night naptime policy after work and did absolutely nothing interesting with the rest of my day.

1-16-2011

I've posted before about how Nicole and I eat like little kids with no baby sitter. Well, yesterday we got a magical deep fryer. I say magical because you put stuff in and corndogs come out.

So this time last year, Nicole and I went to the Cat Fanciers' Association cat show (1-17-10). It was so much nerdy fun that we went again this year to see more cats get felt up and win prizes from men wearing cat patterned ties. Here are some highlights.

Furniture matching cat.
Yelling cat.
This cat hears and sees everything.
Villainous cat.
This cat won my award for being the craziest of show.

So obviously Nicole and I are "cat people," but Nicole also has SnakeSnake which I suppose makes us "snake people" too. As such, we also went to a snake and reptile show today.

I briefly considered buying this, but Nicole is in no way interested in becoming "scorpion people."
Her dad already has a way huger version of the snake on the left. He's a "snake people" too.
This snake wants to bite people.
Turtle people.
Box of lizards.
My friend from Arizona.
Calico snake named after a 90's band.
Have you ever seen a $2,600 snake before?
Lots of snakes.
Snake people are tougher than cat people.

1-15-2011

Nicole and I go to random places we don't belong to look at weird stuff.

1-14-2011

Lunch is always better when it comes with a toy. Then I spent the night watching movies with my fancy Scottish friends (and Nicole).

1-13-2011

So I like exploring places. Generally ones I think are strange or are places I'm not supposed to go. For a while now, I've been curious about the old drive-up motel by my house. Since I moved here, I've considered its existence somewhat odd considering it's in the middle of a residential area with absolutely nothing to visit around (if you're spending the night here, it's definitely to see someone who lives here...why not just stay with them?). In any case, as soon as I ventured down the long driveway towards the antiquated front office, I noticed "no trespassing" signs everywhere. I've never really respected those ever, so I poked around anyway. Before I knew it, a very large man wearing a wifebeater (in the snow) was yelling at me demanding to know what I was doing. I quickly explained (lied) that I was photographer who travels to document independently owned models and drive-ups. This story is probably boring to read, but it was really fun for me to do.

1-12-2011

"I'm Twenty-Eight!"

So this is my annual, birthday, high school yearbook-esque mugshot. I intend to take an awkward picture of myself wearing a turquoise gingham check shirt every year for as long as I can. I think I'm pretty funny looking, but last year's was even worse.

Birthday cake.
Birthday present.
Rapidly Aging.

1-11-2011

We need a Holy Ghost Revival. Society is scary (but at least Verizon has the iPhone now).

I post too much about food. I know. I don't care. Tonight I went out for sushi with friends for the last meal of my 27th year.

1-10-2011

1-9-2011

This is serious. I've been obsessively searching for good ramen ever since going to Shin-Sen-Gumi in LA. I had pretty much given up considering where I live, but the other day I came across the name of a small place I hadn't been to before. Since I'm letting myself eat stuff like soup stocks now, and nothing is better on a cold day than hot soup, we thought today would be a good chance to check it out. It's definitely nothing compared to the endlessly refillable bowls I've been dreaming about, but it's a lot cheaper than a plane ticket to Los Angeles.

1-8-2011

So I was given a hot tip from a coworker about an estate sale that was going to have some really awesome Art Nouveau era glasswork for sale. Interested to actually own something that I learned about in art history class, Nicole and I went to go check out this Lalique piece in person. Considering that it would be wise for me to retain both of my kidneys at this stage of my life, I walked away empty handed. Nicole however left with the the spoils of realistically priced interests. We then hopped around to some other estate sales with slightly less refined merchandise. Nicole practiced using her Iceman powers outside, then went shopping for 78 records. I found Nemo (and cast members).

Regarding the picture of Mushroom's science fiction-esque alien tongue, one of the early birthday presents we picked up a few days ago was a macro lens. I'm now capable of taking (somewhat gross) pictures I never thought previously possible. Here's a picture of Nicole's uvula (the thing most people call tonsils, you perverts).

1-7-2011

Sometimes the snow is a good thing though. It's been one full year since our cat Mushroom showed up at our back door in the middle of a blizzard. To celebrate, we had a blurry kitten party.

1-6-2011

New years resolution #1 stop spending all my money buying things from Craigslist. Tonight we went to go "pick up" my birthday presents in a random bar run by the gentleman above. The guy we bought them from was pretty awesome too, but I didn't want to shove a camera in his face. I'm now (poor and) ultra excited about my family of beautiful glass babies.

1-5-2011

I crossed the tomato bisque sea, climbed and defeated grilled cheese mountain, and returned victorious (seriously, guys...that sandwich was huge).

1-4-2011

Baby Lily was in town with her parents tonight and we gave her her jackalope from 12-26. It made her cry. Then she decided to accept it for its fuzzy and to chew on its tag. Here are some other highlights.

Wearing a cow and eating the table at dinner. I think she's a little confused as to the roles of the food and the table, but she's quickly learning by stealing people's hot dogs.
Dollhouse home inspection.
Gettin' buff brah.
Pretending to be a kitty and chewing on a catnip bird.
Party all night. Goodnight.

1-3-2011

I make stuff. Nicole cuts cilantro, then I eat until I'm in pain.

1-2-2011

Beware.
They have teeth.
Cookies make everything better.

1-1-2011

After a full year of eating strictly vegetarian to see if I felt any healthier, I'm turning it down a notch this year to "not really eating meat most of the time, but having a little sometimes and focusing more on just eating healthy." I quickly blew the "eating healthy" part and went straight for a Mr. Hero cheesesteak. In addition to serving delicious sub sandwiches, I found out that they also supply a wide range of religious deities.