Ok... So, i had a cellphone full of pics that needed to get offloaded... and i've been meaning to do this forever. This is the last year and a half of my life, in pictures:
October 28th, 2006- My old apartment in Clifton on the day I moved out. My good friend Nick, my best bud from HS Mike, and my folks helped me to clear the apartment the day before. I left 2 AC's in the attic and about 400 Waking James CD's... It was a good place to call home, but every floor was crooked, every window was drafty, the door fell off the hinges, the walls weren't insulated, and the kitchen was always hotter than hell. So, for about a year all of my shit was tossed into storage. There are times that i think i still miss the place, but it was better for me to have gotten out of there; there were too many memories that needed to be left behind.
November 8th, 2006- One of the advantages of moving home is extra cash... so, it only made sense that I put it all to good use. Actually, I was hamstrung with a P.O.S. Passat wagon that had the worst electrical problems i'd ever seen, and who knows what else could have gone wrong in the near future. So, i dumped it on a trade-in and got the car i always wanted... a brand new Honda Civic Si. I wanted to get it in that wicked blue, but got it in black instead. No regrets... it hauls ass. I took this pic just to gloat to St3v3y1337.
December 27th, 2006- I took my new car on it's first road-trip. I was driven insane by the holidays, being alone, being around my family, and dealing with a lot of things that i didn't quite know how to deal with. I needed to go on a walkabout... got in my car on the morning of the 26th, and started driving west on Rt. 80. I wound up in Detroit that night... why? Mainly to exorcise a demon, but she wasn't in the mood to be exorcised... something to do with not having a young priestt or an old priest. The next day, after a night in a Red Roof Inn with drunken prom students running amok in the adjacent room, I drove for the Rock Hall. Walked around it for just over an hour or so... got in my car, and drove home.
January 25th, 2007- About a month later, I was sent by my school district to Atlantic City for the annual TechSpo. I couldn't imagine a worse time or place to be single... Lots of older teachers and they were all boring, nerdy, and most of whom didn't gamble. Lame! The only saving grace was the sweet room they put me up in... complete with a deluxe bathroom, as you can see here. I did meet one person around my age... she was pretty cool, but I know i'll get my ass kicked by Zuzel if i talked about her.
February 9th, 2007- Souls' Release gig... Stanhope House, at about 10PM. Probably one of the most interesting gigs i've ever played. Lots of drama that night; It was the only gig that i've played in the original band circuit where a musician pulled a no show. Our drummer stayed home for reasons of a personal nature. So, we did the best we could with what we had. Fortunately, the band after us was a jam-band... so we had their drummer come up and play a whole set of unrehearsed material... then their keyboard player came up, and then then their guitarist... and then some weird dude walked up on stage wearing a home-made suit of percussion crap.
After we got off stage, Nick and I talked to the members of the other band and asked them who the percussion guy was. They thought he was with us! It actually turns out that he was the drummer for the Spin Doctors. He was in the city, but came out to the Stanhope House to see weekend warriors strut their stuff.
The next night, we had a gig with the drummer that pulled the no-show. That was a pretty awkward, but he made a point of making it his last show with us.
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There is a 9 month gap in my pics... mostly because most of the pics were innappropriate in nature... such is the plight of being single. I met Zuzel on the 4th of July... since then i've been all domestic.
November 1st, 2007- About two months after officially moving in with Zuzel, I took a picture of our child... Ghostie. He's pretty cute, but isn't the smartest guy on the planet. He keeps trying to commit suicide, and tries to kill our other child... Apicot, as the next pic shows...
November 2nd, 2007- Actually, Ghostie got the worst of this confrontation. Zuzel sent me this pic of Apricot trying to iron Ghostie.... that's alright, the next day Ghostie hung Apicot behind the bathroom door with a leather belt around his neck... goddamn, Zuzel and i needed to get a life.
November 16th, 2008- So, about two weeks later, we got a life... a little male Westie. His name is Loki, and he's the awesomest little boogie. This pic was taken 5 minutes after we bought him... he fit in my leather jacket, which was good because he was shivering cold.
About 15 minutes later we got into a car accident. Some old, blind dude cut us off. I don't think that i need to get into it, cuz it will piss me off.
November 17th, 2008- The next morning, Zuzel holding Loki in the bedroom.
November 27th, 2008- Loki and my dad at the house in Denville. I'm pretty sure he probaby just peed on something (I'm referring to Loki, not my dad)
December 8th, 2007- My bassamp... at a gig? I'm guessing it would have been a Souls Release show, but i have no clue where it was... anyone else know?
December 12th, 2007- Cake at Terminal 5. Zuzel surprised me with an early Bday present... one of four big surprises (Cake, the Bravery, dinner and a Devils game, and finally the awesomest surprise Bday party ever). They were incredible live. I also got to elbow a moshing hippie.
December 22nd, 2007- Key West, FL. Zuzel and I took a cruise to Key West and the Bahamas. We arrived back in Miami on the 24th, just in time to party in South Beach. We walked across the island that day... past every dive bar and touristy trap. After seeing the concrete slug with colorful paint we spent a good hour looking for a collector plate for Z's mom, and also sought a remedy for my stomach issues. Then it was back to the cruiseship for lunch... then back onto the island for $8 icecream cones. I even think we bought a rumcake or something. I imagine the whole place would have been cooler if i was drunk.
December 27th, 2007- After getting off the cruise-ship, Zuzel and I spent Xmas with her family in Miami. The next night we checked into this place... The Essex House, an art deco hotel which is one block from Ocean Drive. Even tho we were supposed to relax, i felt itchy... I was on a mission to find the grave of Jaco Pastorius, which was a bitch to find, but we did... i have pics, but will maybe post at another time. Also, i drove Zuzel nuts because i wanted to stop in every pawn shop we saw. South Beach was awesome to visit... but got old... again, maybe if i was drunk all the time, it would have been better.
December 30th, 2008- Finally back home on the couch with the Loki-Monster! I missed the little guy.
January 24th, 2008- No story behind this pic, really. Just thought it was cool.
January 27th, 2008- Who wants a Body Massage?
February 9th, 2008- Went to the Penguin Hall at the Zoo... also known as the HDTV section of Best Buy.
February 23rd, 2008- Kyle's bachelor party at Hooters. Everyone cheered at the announcement of his impending wedding... but the place went crazy about 30 seconds later when a half drunk dude shouted back that he had gotten divorced during the previous week... truly epic.
February 29th, 2008- Devils game at the Rock with St3v3y1337. It was a crazy night... snow-storm, shitty parking near QXT's, and a crappy showing by the Devils. The only saving grace was the large pizza we ate. You can see the box resting on my lap at the bottom of the pic.
April 27th, 2008- Our Sunday night addiction... Baja Fresh!!!!!