Every Once in a While

I took these pictures on the way home last night. I'm sure blue shirt was leery, but he didn't mention it if he was. He contrasted sharply with the guy I ran into this morning.

On the way to work, a gentlemen hopped on the 5 somewhere by the Convention Center on High. He took the open seat next to me and immediately asked how the day was going. The code of bus silence amongst strangers was broken and I had to act fast. Retrieve what little I had left of my personal refuge or see what he was about? I chose the latter and I'm glad I did. In the few blocks together on the bus, we wove through conversations about the Reds, the Bengals, the Tribe, the Short North gallery hop and it was brilliant. He had me laughing out loud several times. Sure, he wreaked of Marlboro, but his demeanor was enviable and it made my day.

So it made me think... is it worth it to put up such a guard? Sure, you won't be bothered by the guy that asks you to check the back of his shirt because as he puts it, "a pimple on his back may have burst"... but what are you missing out on if that's your stance? I wish everyone, including myself, had the confidence of that man on the bus today... the confidence to know that not everyone is a tired, bitchy, lonely lemming on their way to their boring-ass job. And even if they were, that doesn't mean that you automatically hate life. Either way, whatever he was doing, he was enjoying it and I'm forever in his debt for simply asking how I was doing.

In the meantime, go to Brad's blog (LINKS) to watch a clip of our senior year spring break. I would say something but he's already said it best.

Blowin' Smoke

This was the "blowing out of the candles" ceremony over the weekend for those celebrating a birthday. It was Erica's nephew, niece, grandma and aunt... the niece being held by Erica's sister due to her only being one. However, it won't be too long before she knows what's up.

A fairly low-key weekend was spent in Cincinnati with Erica's family. We watched her nephew play baseball Saturday morning. More entertaining than one might think. I got props for the kid building dirt mounds in the brick dust while he was supposed to be playing center field. Atta boy.

It was time to eat fish and catch up on birthdays Sunday, and then back home Monday morning... although it was very nearly noon by the time we left. And then TNT and Deb made their way to Columbus last night. Said they had some errands to run and dropped off my recently fixed car in the process. Sway bars are something I'm not sure I'm capable of fixing... even if I knew where they were.

West End

This shot was another "find" from the basement. It was probably one of the first pictures I ever took. I had a Pentax that my grandpa gave me. The light meter was busted and the lens didn't work quite right, but it got me through my required photography classes... which might not be saying much for DAAP.

In the winter of our sophomore year, Brad and I took a walk down to Bellevue Park at the end of Ohio Street in Clifton. Not that this is news to anyone that went to UC or is from the city, but there is a cliff along Clifton Avenue that you can access via the park... you just have to get past the fences... which wasn't very hard at the time. So we made it out to the cliff which gives you a nice view of the west end of Cincinnati, Union Terminal, the train yards and on down to the river. I snapped some photos thinking that just because I'm taking pictures from a nice view, they'll automatically translate into beautiful images on film. Oh, the naivety... although, not much has changed.

While we were on the cliff, it was snowing down on the river and the sun broke through the clouds and down onto the buildings below us.

The Big O

I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a packrat, but I have a hard time throwing away things like movie stubs, tickets to sporting events and shows, race bibs, cards that friends and family have sent or any other small trinket that would help remind me of a specific day, event or person. I still have in my possession a wine cork from Anticoli's in Dayton. The entire Alberts family had dinner there to celebrate my grandparents' 40th wedding anniversary. That was 20 years ago.

So for me, this kind of stashing takes a little bit of discipline as I'm not a big fan of clutter. I like to know where things are. Anyways, while organizing some junk recently I came across some photos I had taken with my film camera a few years ago. I figure now would be as good a time as ever to scan them and import them into iPhoto.

Above is Oscar out front of the 1334 studio. It was taken in the summer of 2004 when he wasn't all that old. He's a big beautiful lab full of choco fur. Oscar is beyond strange. If he were human, there would be no end to the psycho-sedating drugs he would be on. He won't climb stairs, he's horrified of the unknown and very nearly comes out of his skin in social settings. Sticky Steve used to bring him to the studio everyday until Oscar recently decided that even the car ride was just too much. But when he would visit, he had another habit... at 11am every morning, he would beg Phil (co-Envoi-er) for a walk. Every day and never more than 2 or 3 minutes shy of 11am. Just like RainMan... except for the K-Mart undies and card counting. 

But with all the eccentric qualities this dog possesses, he has one of the more amazing talents I've ever seen. My bosses have a place on Williamstown Lake (I think) and nailed to the dock is a vertical ladder for the kids to climb out of the water. Oscar will climb that ladder as well. I don't know, maybe this is more common than what I'm thinking it is, but unbelievable, nonetheless. So yeah, the dog's personality is completely unconventional, but damn, he climbs ladders.

Night Rider

Things could've been worse yesterday. It started early and the weather was again, cold and wet. Erica's Public Policy comp(rehensive exam) was in the morning... 8:30 - 12:00, break for lunch and then 1:00 - 3:00. I showed my support by going out at a quarter til 7 and grabbing some McDonald's breakfast. I hope it did the trick.

I was pretty excited for her, so I wanted to stop by Claddagh and have dinner and congratulate her in person. I was uploading some files anyway at work, so I thought I could do this and then stop by the Miranova on my way home just to make sure everything was going as planned. I ended up taking a shot that I never intended taking, which certainly enhanced my buzz. So I eventually made my way home around 11 at night... somewhat drunk. I stopped to snap a couple of pictures along the way. It was a nice relaxing ride.

But it was up'n at em this morning for the Race for the Cure. Hoffmann was kind enough to swing by and pick Erica and I up. I had convinced him to run this race with me... his first. We all three ended up running it together and it was a good time. Tons of people but we got a great parking spot... so it was in and out. I regret not bringing my small digital camera just take some shots along the way. It wasn't like we were in a rush... I just forgot. Next year, I'll know better.

Big Babies

Babies are great. They give large families common ground. Don't be fooled... there is no "perfect" family. We've all got our issues, and the older everyone gets, the more apparent those issues become. And then "BAM," another generation of babies enters the scene and diverts the attention away from our own idiosyncrasies just in the nick of time. Makes us forget about ourselves, which is a good thing. On the right is my dad holding Chloe, Lea's (another cousin) daughter, at the Mother's Day get-together Sunday.

On Monday, I had some syncing of computers to attend to at the office, so I scheduled a long overdue trip out to the east side to visit my niece. My sister, Meghann, went out as well for dinner. It was tasty. My brother grilled steaks for the two of us... turkey for the girls. Nothing like eating a meal you didn't have to cook.

But it was good to see Lauren. It's so much easier to hold them when their necks work. She was fun and held the better part of my attention... aside from eating. She was just so cute. So I'm looking forward to getting back and seeing her again. Once moved, they'll be closer... not by much, but it's closer nonetheless.

Only A Motion Away

Mother's Day was spent at Fountain Park in Piqua with the Tyler family. It was supposed to be a day of fun in the sun but instead became a day of "watch the rain." Even a break in the rain would've allowed a toss of the football or a spike of the volleyball. Not once were the puddles stilled.

I know how I felt about it so I don't really know how my cousin's son, Connor, made it. He and his bright red trike were quarantined to the 50 square foot patio space under the shelter. That's like giving a fat kid broccoli... sure, it's edible but it's hardly a substitute for pizza.

But as usual, there was lots of food and plenty of chit-chatting. Enough to keep us all occupied for several hours. In all honesty, I've felt like these get-togethers need to last a smidge longer. For instance, at Easter, I ended up playing some volleyball outside with my sister and another cousin, Cheyenne. By the time I came back in, it was time to go. No one sticks around anymore. I can't even tell you the last time we played cards. Maybe I'm just not remembering old times all that well, but I remember these same gatherings lasting well into the night... running through the gamut of usual activities... hide 'n seek, euchre, dessert, etc. When did everyone get in such a hurry?

Dreary Day Dreamin'

I can't put to mind a more dull Friday than this one, the 9th of May. What gives? It's a cold 53 degrees and the sun hasn't been out since Tuesday. It was out for a bit Wednesday morning, but I'm pissed about the whole thing so I'm not going to count it. Stretches like this without sunlight wear me down... make me tired and lethargic.

Really, I think I'm just wore out. Played volleyball Wednesday night until 11pm in the rain. Woke up early Thursday and had a jog, turned around and played more volleyball in more rain Thursday evening. This league is going to be tough, but it's fun to get after it. So the past couple days have left me sore all over... wanting only a couch, afghan and a warm cup of coffee. Most especially on a day like this.

So I needed to go back through some photos to seek inspiration for the day since there's really nothing to shoot. This was one of the first pictures I took with the D40. TNT and I took a walk around Hemm's farm in Piqua sometime between Christmas and New Years. I used to spend a little bit of time down there. My dad grew up with Jim Hemm and he and his wife, Rosie, are my god-parents. It hasn't changed a whole lot over the years. Paul Sherry (of van dealing fame) has done all he can to manipulate the land with an industrial park and a double-fenced "estate" to the south. But the little farm continues to be a stronghold for day's gone by.

Dre Day

Wednesday morning at the bus stop with Erica on our way downtown. The day started out nice enough, but there is deceit in that sky. It's supposed to rain for the next two days. We can't really complain as our spring has been relatively uneventful. The only real problem is that I slept through my alarm this morning deciding to run in the afternoon instead. I also have a volleyball game this evening. It's the last one of the spring session at Flannagan's... and it's looking like it might be a rain-out. I've always felt like the weather's had it in for me. I hate when rain is forecasted for a volleyball day. I play Wednesday and Thursday... and the two days it's supposed to rain this week?.. you guessed it, Wednesday and Thursday.

But this is hardly the first run-in Mother Nature and I have had. But that's the kind of weather you get around here. Some days are great, most days aren't. You learn to take advantage of the good ones. Not like those California kids.

Speaking of California kids, I like the 5th & Westwood signs in the background... as Dre would say... "up to no good." And he ain't lyin'.

Balanced Breakfasts

It's Tuesday morning. Erica was enjoying her Raisin Bran and Simply Orange OJ in the dining room and nothing seemed to be hurried or forced... so I leaned against the sink and admired it for a moment.

Just a couple of weeks and she'll be graduated and ready to begin the adjustment to life sans frantic pace. The real world doesn't require you to earn two simultaneous graduate degrees, work a 24-hour week for nothing, hike people's food and drink around on a Friday night for tips... all the while trying to be a person with a family and friends. It's funny how they always say that school prepares you for the real world. I'm not sure how realistic that is.

I've certainly never had the frequency of all-nighters that I was warned about. It turns out that when you don't work in a steel mill of a design studio, they actually care about you more than money.

So, as out-of-whack as everything is at this point, I'm sure that life will soon be returning to somewhat of a normal state. And then again, there is a wedding to plan.

Oh, The Places We'll Go

These four feet have been around the block a few times. Erica and I headed to Indy this weekend for my 5th mini-marathon... it would be Erica's 3rd.

2007 left me defeated and embarrassed. I wasn't going to let that happen this year and I took it more seriously than I had ever done before. Luckily, the hard work paid off for both of us. I really never had experience actually "training". Neither had Erica. We would just go out and run without much of a plan. It was around February that she hopped on runnersworld.com. They provide anybody and everybody with free training plans based on your present performance, desired distance, the amount of time you have to train and how hard it is you want to train. It's a pretty amazing little tool. So with a 12 week schedule in hand, I set out on the road to redemption. I would honestly say that without this schedule, I wouldn't have hit my goal. It was the combination of speedwork, tempo and long runs that made the difference. I could feel it in the last 5K on Saturday. And as much as Erica would tell me over and over again how ready she wasn't, she blew away her previous best by more than five minutes and came in under two hours with a 1:58:09. I was more excited for her than I was for myself. I bested 2007's time by nearly 20 minutes with a 1:36:36. I remember as a kid in the driveway shooting baskets that I'd never miss a shot from the same spot twice in a row. I'm glad that I still have the same fight in me.

On a sad note, my friend Nick wasn't able to run this year because of back spasms. It was literally a last second decision not to run and I know it tore him up, but it's more important for him to be healthy for some other races we have going on this summer... as well as later in life. So I didn't have my running partner and no one really felt like talking out there, so that really sucked, but I know he'll be a force in 2009. He was missed.

And I didn't take any pictures for one reason or another. The party at Nick's afterwards was a good time despite the 30 degree temperature drop and then we met up with my parents, my grandma, sister and my Uncle John in Dayton for lunch on Sunday afternoon. It was a great weekend and I'm already looking forward to next year.