2-15-2011

You can tell Spring is almost here because the wild fruit loops are starting to sprout.

Since I had so much fun getting yelled at last time, I went creepy motel exploring again today. No one got mad at me this time, but it reaffirmed my initial wondering who actually stays in these places and how do they stay in business?

2-14-2011

Happy Valentines Day!

2-13-2011

Why is Nicole putting on her coat and giving me beckoning faces with such blurry urgency? Probably because if I keep taking stupid pictures, we'll be late for brunch (yes, it's Sunday). I know I post a lot of pictures of food, but you may not know that Nicole sings songs about everything she eats. Especially if it makes her tongue change colors.

On the way home, Nicole American Pickers-ed a broken lamp. Garbage reclaiming happens almost as often as going to brunch. It doesn't work at all. Probably because of stuff like this. Ever since exploding a wire in our wall (and the year she spent helping to rewire the whole house because of it), Nicole is now a proficent amature electrician. She's actually really good at it.

After fixing the lamp, we went to go eat strangly shaped pretzels. Just like 10-7-10, Nicole got Cavs tickets from her job. We got to sit in the same (awesome) seats and see the same (not very good) team. However, just like last time, my favorite giant Asian named Yi was in town. I like basketball games. The players are so graceful and make such effortless faces while they knock each other over. Jazz hands. Mo Williams sitting on Mo Williams lap defies the laws of physics almost as much as small white Shaquille O'Neal who apparently still plays for Cleveland. Really though the fans alone of the worst team in the league kind of make going to games worth it. It's way better than staying home and watching The Jersey Shore on TV...even if it's sometimes like watching a full on train wreck. Like when little kids reenact the Michael Jackson knife fight from Beat It (actually that was kind of awesome). Besides, we won free Chalupas! Nicole really just goes for the cotton candy. Tony and Barb just go places to be photogenic. Especially when we raid suites to take pictures on the way out. Hooray for sports and athletic merchandise.

2-12-2011

So where are we going today while following this polar bear in the back of a pickup truck? We were too sick to do it last weekend, but now (almost) healthy again, we're continuing cheeseburger tour! I'm really going hard with this "I'm allowed to eat meat sometimes" strategy on the weekends. Today we're checking out Hamburger Station, another local legend burger place, but rather than a drive-up style place, this one serves more White-Castle-esque slider sized burgers. These are cool because you can eat 10 of them and not really eat that much, and you can also pretend that you're huge while doing so. Beyond the bags of onions and potatoes to make you think that your ingredients are cooked fresh daily (who knows how long those bags have been sitting there), the real draw to this location was the rumor of a table with saddles for chairs. We didn't see the table at first and though that this was just a vicious rumor, but no, you can actually sit in a real saddle while you eat miniature cow patties (that doesn't sound right). I don't know if I'm stressing this enough...a table surrounded by four real saddle chairs. As for the actual food, it was very good (other than the fact that they used an entire bag of onions on our burgers). This is still the champ though...even if this particular location looks like a gas station.

After that, we went on a pilgrimage of thrift and antique stores. We love shopping for junk (I'm pretty sure that's the same vintage of rolling chair that we have at work). Today, I was especially attracted to religious items like this Free Mason Bible, an old Apocrypha, and this heirloom Bible. I'm not sure what Nicole was looking for. Maybe this futuristic organ. Long story short, after following one shops directions to another a few times, we got lost. In the middle of nowhere. This happens to us kind of a lot.

Now I wasn't too sure about posting this last bit, but I think it's really funny, and I almost busted my face open on the ice trying to take it...so here. A few things to point out, this was in the front window of a thrift store for second hand, used stuff. If that wasn't enough, notice the anti-theft sensor tag. Do they really have such a shoplifting problem of transparent pink underwear that they need to implement loss prevention security precautions? (I don't think I want to know the answer to that). Happy Valentines day everyone!

2-11-2011

Cat fight.

2-10-2011

Our quest for seasonal junk food came up empty handed. But on the bright side, Nicole is looking into financing a new jeep with four wheel drive.

2-9-2011

So I posted last year (2-15) about the Chinese New Year meal that my dad makes every year. Since we were too sick for the actual day this year, we put it off until today. Above is a giant pile of tofu for my vegetarian side, but there was plenty of meat to cook in baskets for normal people.

2-8-2011

Clock.

2-7-2011

I have an over active imagination and in order to put up with my crazy, sometimes Nicole patronizes me and makes up stories to make me happy. One such story that she told me was that the reason that no one has ever see a giant squid in its natural environment is because they hide in the fog so people can't find them. I wholeheartedly believe these fables.

2-6-2011

I went to the tattoo shop to hangout for Victor's post-birthday recovery day. I put some grainy film in my FM2, and this it what I got.

Something more interesting was over there.
Close up.
Speech bubble.
Hey, look over here.

2-5-2011

We're still getting over being sick, so we spent the day at home with our cats. This is Mushroom's Avatar poster.

The Lockview serves grilled cheese with umbrellas (clearly this is pertinent to my interests).

This is Victor's birthday.

We saw a girl playing a Paul McCartney bass.

2-4-2011

I eat at/blog about Melt too much I know, but today I had an unbelievable sandwich even from them. This is what a sandwich with eggs, bacon, cheese and waffles for bread...dipped in pancake batter and deep fried looks like.

So clearly, I'm crazy and obsessive about things like Melt. I'm aware and resigned to this fact. I'm also crazy and obsessive about a bunch other things. Since I'm just staying in this Friday night to rest up and not be sick...here's a short macro tour of weird things I'm into. These are just a few things that were around and easy to take pictures of...there are many more.

Selvedge denim (pictured above) - This finished edge along the seam is the indication of an esoteric weaving process that no one on earth but textile nerds really care about. To everyone normal, they're just jeans. I care.

Polarized lenses - Just like a polarizing filter for a camera, this little P is supposed to magically block reflection and glare and help you see though walls. I sure hope it's all true for how much I paid for the little guy.

Patterened wovens - I own far too many variations of the same plaid, gingham, check, whatever shirts. They almost all have the nerdy little detail on the sleeve. I like this.

Gripper strap - my new Domke bag has little bits of rubber woven into the underside of the strap so it doesn't slip off your shoulder. I feel that this is in contention for one of the greatest inventions ever, and that this feature alone will make me a life long Domke user.

Random old stuff - If you've read this blog at all before you already know this about me.

Grey dots, orange middles, and Prestos - If you know, then you know. They each have their own time and place.

Camera lenses with 1:1.x f-stops - Nothing gets me all worked up like fast primes...I want to be buried with mine when I die.

This is a really strange one (don't judge me) - Ever since we got our first cat Sienna, I've been in the habit of collecting shed whiskers. Now that we have two cats, we get both black and white.

Bonus: Since I'm putting myself on blast, Nicole has awesome little quirky collections too. Here's just one that I saw as I was running around documenting mine.

Movie tickets - This is the stub for every movie Nicole and I saw together since we've known each other (except for whatever is still in her purse). These are all stored in a metal container that Nicole made by hand in college. Not only are her collections superior and thorough, they're far more organized.

2-3-2011

I'm stuck at work late tonight. And by that I really mean...I get to have dinner with my good friend Chester Cheetah at a Ritzy restaurant called "Mon
Bureau." The waiter is French.

Am I the only person who thinks Cheetos look like clubs that tiny cavemen would use to bludgeon their prey with?

2-2-2011

Provisions.

This is where I sprung a leak when they drained me yesterday.