A Lifetime of Memories Forgotten

b&w wednesdays...

2011-11-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

Heres a new idea. I will get back to blogging and will post one black and white photo every Wednesday. I have started shooting Black and White film and I like it. I then got a B&W editing program and I like that too. So lets begin the Black and White fun. Exhibit A.

ode to odin...

2011-11-08T19:26:00.000-05:00

This is a post all about Odin. He is the man and I love him so. When people ask me what kind of photography I specialize in, I say 'photos of my son'. Some have said that he is the most photographed child ever and I may agree. Anyhoo, Odin is great to photograph because he is always happy and smiling and the cutest kid ever too. Well, here are some photos from this past week, oh the fun...

Odin loves shoes. He even knows how to open his shoe drawer and put his shoes away on command.

He also likes socks and tries to put his socks on all the time.

Just too cute. Thats all I can say. He is a natural helper and loves to help my put my shoes away.

I'll throw this one in because Odin loves to eat my waffles. The other day I made this one of eggs. Yum.

Odin also loves to read.

Only when he is alone though. If I read to him he hates it. I love his toes in this one.

Odin is also super cute when we dress him up. Here he sports Levis an Converse.

He also loves my chair. He climbs up and then lounges for minutes at a time.

Seriously.

And one last one to grow on. Odin loves tractors, dump trucks, and anything with wheels.

visiting the canyon of giants...

2011-11-07T21:07:00.001-05:00

This year marks the ten year anniversary of the September 11 attack on the US. It also marks the official opening of the 9/11 memorial. Linder and I have been able to visit twice now and have enjoyed the peace throughly. There is just something special about pondering all of the stories, thinking about the lives of the heroes and the brave that were lost that day. The memorial is amazingly done and the experience is really one in a million. I recommend that everyone makes sure to visit the monument as soon as possible. There is something extra special to be there while the construction is going and things are still in their temporary state. Here are some photos showing all of the excellence that is the monument...

Work in Progress

You would too.

There is something interesting about being at ground zero. You get super sensitive to all flying objects. I took a double take at every plane and helicopter passing near.

Just scouting out the space.

My girl.

A sneak peak at the museum opening up next year.

There are a number of artifacts and stories. I am really looking forward to the museum to learn even more.

pickety pumpkin the pumpkin picker...

2011-11-06T23:47:00.001-05:00

Just yesterday I blogged and when I made sure that it posted properly I started to look at some old posts, then I realized that I haven't blogged for a long time and a lot has gone down. I probably will never catch up but I thought I should at least try to get some blogs done, so here is the first.

Note- all I really do is work and hang out with Odin and Linder, so all of my posts will include one of those items. I don't really spend any time hanging out alone or thinking anymore, so just be ready.

Earlier in October we went pumpkin picking with Travis and Renae. I work with Travis and consider him my brother of metal, being that we have the same birthday and such. Anyway, they picked us up and we spent the day having fun and enjoying the country life. We hit up a pumpkin farm in Jersey and found there to be lots of people, lots of pumpkins, and lots of corn. Here is a quick photo journey of the fun...

The Kochel Family

Odin Kickin' It with The Big Kids

He Loves Hay.

Cutest Kid Ever.

Travis Picking and Preparing an Old School Toy for Odin

Odin Enjoying His Toy.

Hooray! Running for Joy!

Odin scouted out the hay maze while we waited in line for the hay ride. Oh the hay!

Check out that jack-o-lantern balloon, perfect for pumpkin pickin' inspiration.

This kid loves tractors, so how about the creepy spiky corn picking machine?

Odin's first view of the tractor taking us to the pumpkin patch.

Yippee, no pictures, just put me on the tractor!

When he got of the ride he said, "ball, ball, ball, ball." So many balls everywhere!

She found a keeper.

Taking a rest to test his pumpkin.

Linder and Renae enjoying the sun.

Testing the big ones first.

The tragedy of Linder's stash falling out of her pocket. She was collecting corn.

Odin was as happy as can be with these guys.

The necessary family pic.

The adopted family pic.

All smiles.

Travis' face when he saw the tractor for the first time.

At night the farm turned haunted. Luckily we made it out before things got scary.

Odin loved checking out the birds.

After we were done picking we stopped by the Stewarts Root Beer stand for some frosty mug floats and then the Kochels invited us over for stew. All in all it was a radical day full of fun, friends, and fantastically good times.

a day with daddy...

2011-11-06T00:06:00.001-04:00

Today I had a rockin' day with Odin. Just the two of us. I woke up and realized that I had a gift card to Burton that I haven't used, so I decided to make a journey of it and bring the boy along. It was pretty rad and the photos that follow will paint the day for you...

First I had to wake up Odin change his diaper. I have a video waking him up, too cute. He needs something to distract him while changing the diaper, so why not read the Costco Connection? :)

Next, he escaped my grasp before putting clothes on him. I had chase after him for a bit.

---next comes food, travel, fun, burton, shopping, etc---

After shopping we hit up this park at NYU that I stumbled across, it was pretty big with lots of toys out for the pickin, which was sweet. This is Odin laying eyes on his soon to be favorite walking toy...

Oh the joy.

Climbing on the toys labeled "For children 5-12 only." It's OK, I was close by and I'm twice the age of 12 and then some.

Taking a break in my arms.

Checking out the tractor and steamroller. He LOVES tractors and gets all giddy and squeally when he sees them.

Climbing back up the twisty slide he was too young to go down...

Another sweet toy to ride around. His legs were still a bit too short for full peddling power.

Oh Happy Day! A Tonka dump truck all for himself.

First stop off in the dirt and leaves. "Can this thing bust through fences?"

"Next stop, the dump!"

This is him asking for more food. We stopped off at Bagels on the Square for a cheese and egg sammich which he devoured.

The rest of the photos were mistakingly deleted, but our day included more sun and fun. Here's to spending more time with family!

this is halloween, kiehl's style...

2011-11-02T19:47:00.000-04:00

After talking my bosses into paying for killer Kiehl's mascots for new store opening events, we finally got the finished products. They are amazing, true Disney World quality, the only problem is that the team doesn't dig them as much as hoped. Needless to say, they haven't seen the light of day, until today!

What better time to crack out the Kiehl's Mascots than for the NYC Halloween Parade! We geared up and made the journey to the parade line, all along the way posing for photos and hanging with fans. The streets were crazy and the parade even crazier. Deep down I think I was made to be a mascot, I had a ton of fun and expressed a new burst of energy through dancing, jumping, and lots of high fives. Lets hope for more Mascot fun soon.

Heres a little video of the action (note the 'Bottle Cam', the view from the inside, shows how hard it is to see at night, add in thousands of people and you can realize why things were so hectic...)

rad...

2011-10-24T22:07:00.000-04:00

cutest baby ever...period...

2011-10-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

back in the saddle again...

2011-10-18T22:15:00.001-04:00

We just got back from a doozie (in a good way) of a trip. Can't wait to share all the fun, but I will anyway. Lots of details soon to come...

freedom to comment...

2011-08-29T21:14:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the interweb makes me laugh, sometimes I even fall out of my seat in laughter. A couple weeks back I read a blog post about cops arresting a biker, at the bottom of the post were the above comments. Take a gander, I think it may make you laugh to.

I love the internet and the way that people can do whatever they want, act like fools, and not ever have to go face to face with the people they trash talk. Sometimes its lame, but sometimes it is pure genius. Thank you internet.

back to beautiful business...

2011-08-28T19:20:00.000-04:00

After turning on some Iron Maiden and making a run for the hills, we ended up in New Jersey with some friends toughing out the storm. Really it felt like a vacation more than anything else, with a lot of anticipation on the side. We had an amazing time, Odin loved every minute and spent lots of time with his friends.

Today we made our way back home dodging downed trees and power lines along the way. The road was empty as can be and the easiest drive home we have ever had. After finding a killer spot, we began unpacking and I noticed the beautiful sunset outside. I went up top for some shots of it and enjoyed the gusty breeze, I love nature. This has definitely been an eventful weekend, and with the holiday coming up this weekend I hope for even more fun and excitement.

More photos from the fun weekend...

and the winner is...

2011-08-25T22:47:00.002-04:00

A few days back I announced my 66lb package coming in and asked you to guess what I was getting. There were some really close guesses, some funny, but none correct. As seen above, my 66lb box contained 36 beautiful bottles of Sprecher's Root Beer! Why do I need so much root beer? Well, there is a Hurricane rolling in, so I am at least prepared for the worst, but mainly because I miss a good bottle of Root Beer. Here in NY finding a good bottle for cheap is actually pretty tough, now I fix that problem by ordering direct. Sweet.

Thanks for all participants in the guessing game, unfortunately no one gets the grand prize, but anybody who played is welcome to stop by and will be rewarded with a parting gift of an ice cold empty bottle of root beer.

stepping back, onto the dark side...

2011-08-24T19:12:00.000-04:00

While out on LifeRide (photos to come soon) I got to hang out with some really cool guys, a couple of which were professional photographers. One of them shoots a ton of film and let me play with one of his cameras, the Nikon 28Ti. You may or may not know that I am a Canon man, but his little camera intrigued me. It was a super expensive point and shoot in its time (1993), but there was reason for it. It contains a lot of new (at the time) technologies and was the first camera to have a Nikkor lens. The part that sold me though was the really cool analog dials on the top that show Aperature, Distance, Exposure, Counts, and even time exposures. All of those things on top of the fact that it was made from Titanium (I am incredibly rough on my stuff), I knew I needed to buy one. The only hitch was that you can only really find them on eBay.

I haven't bought a ton, maybe two items on eBay, and never a camera. Interestingly enough, the 28Ti is a niche camera that had a small production run, so they are very sought after. When I checked online I found there to be a multitude of BUY IT NOW options for $700+ (way too much for me), then I found a real auction from the estate sale of a professional photog. Being that it came from a photographer I was sure it would be in good shape, though I was still a bit hesitant. In the end, I scored a killer deal and picked it up for only $400 after a short bidding war.

The camera arrived and I ran a test roll through to see how the image quality held up and I was VERY pleased. That roll of film is probably my favorite roll ever, that could be because the photos were all of Linder and Odin, or because they reminded me how amazing film is. Either way, I am pleased with my purchase and can't wait to get some good use out of it.

guessing game...

2011-08-24T12:12:00.000-04:00

I am expecting a heavy package on Thursday. As seen above it is 66lbs and contains 36 items. First to guess what it is gets one of the 36 items. Hint: the package is coming from WI.

lightning striking george washington bridge photo just went global...

2011-08-22T23:30:00.000-04:00

Today was a good day. Today my happy little strike photo was printed on page 17 of the New York post. Not only that, they paid me to print it. Sweet. From that extra exposure, I was also asked by The Daily Mail if they could use my shot, I obliged. Then later in the day I received a call from ABC asking if they could use it on World News with Diane Sawyer, rad. In the end, it was too sunny of a day and they ran out of time in the show so it wasn't used, but still cool in the end.

This whole experience has made me even more stoked on photography, and makes me want to get out a bit more. It has also helped me realize that I know nothing about photo usage or licensing. Thanks to some coaching by my buddy Jake I was able to work things out, but I am definitely needing a bit more practice in that area. To top off the day I got out of work early enough for dinner with the fam and a long walk through the city enjoying an amazing night. All in all a good day.

If you want to see a photo in action, here are the links so far...

NY Post Online
NY1 "In the Papers" Segment (watch at the 4:40 mark)
The Daily Mail (I haven't heard of this before, but turns out it is big time in the UK)
CNN (I uploaded this, but word is it made it on the air)
Jake's Mag (Amazing Photographer's Site)
LMT Blogs (My Favorite Person in the World)

summer streets celebration...

2011-08-20T20:27:00.000-04:00

NYC Summer Streets Timelapse from xaque on Vimeo.

For a couple Saturday's every Summer, New York City closes off major roads to vehicle traffic and opens them to bikers, walkers, and skaters- its called Summer Streets. We have missed it every Summer, until now. Last Saturday we headed out on a journey with the boy on my new bike in his comfy little seat. As I was setting up the seat for the ride, I thought about rigging a GoPro to capture the fun. Linder called me crazy and we got oodles of crazy looks, but in the end it turned out alright. The video above goes on for a couple minutes, but it is worth the watch just to watch Odin progress through the day. To give you an idea of the journey here is a breakdown of the events captures-

Leave home and take subway to 59th
Cut through Central Park and work our way to Park Ave
Ride down Park Ave through Grand Central and end up at Burton for their big 2012 launch (note Odin's blue lips after he eats a snow cone)
On to Joy Burger for lunch with the fam
Then to the flea market for some cool stuff
We then jumped into the park at Madison Square Park where Odin got soaked, had to strip him down
Back to the subway and off for home

For some action shots and a picture of the final rig see below.

a striking evening...

2011-08-19T21:24:00.002-04:00

With a crazy lightning storm abrew, I headed to the roof to try and get a strike near the George Washington Bridge. It just so happens that I lucked out and captured a strike hitting the bridge. Shortly after the strike the rain started to dump, my building was surrounded by lightning and I ran inside for cover. Love it. Shot with a Canon 7D, 15mm Fisheye, F/22, 10 Sec exposure.

liferide here i come...

2011-07-30T14:09:00.000-04:00

After months of anticipation and planning, I am now off on a week long charity motorcycle ride with Kiehl's. It is the second annual Kiehl's Liferide for amfAR, The American Foundation for AIDS Research, and this year we are riding up and down the East Coast with a grip of cool people. More importantly, I will be in the lead vehicle documenting the entire ride via the wonderful medium of video and photography. This is my first time working with video on a serious level, so wish me luck. Above is the photo of my gear prep, not included are the fluid head tripod and stabilizing vest. Here's to an amazing week!

just one of those days...

2011-06-21T23:06:00.001-04:00

Yeah, I love these days.

the killer chair...

2011-04-25T13:25:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend we hit up an estate sale by my work, it was the first I have been to, so I was pretty excited. Turns out it was the second weekend running, so most of the good stuff was already bought. Right as we walked in a little rocking chair caught my eye and I fell in love. After a bit of negotiating we bought this sucker for $20. A pretty sick deal for a 40's era chair in pretty good condition. best part of all is that Odin loves it!

one happy family...

2011-04-24T23:25:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter to all and to all a good night!

kickin' in the cold...

2011-04-16T22:13:00.000-04:00

So it has been WAY too long since my last post. One would think life was boring and lame, on the contrary it has been super busy and out of control. I have bundles of posts and updates to complete, including lots of traveling and events and fun. So what spurred me to post now? Last night we went camping with Odin for the first time, it was awesome. I will post all the details, but I love the photo above so much I thought I needed to post immediately. Our camping trip was cut short due to the flooding-like conditions up at our campground, so we are back in the city tonight, but we had an amazing time nonetheless. Heres to lots of fun times and more updates in the near future.

hitting the slopes, east coast style...

2011-02-09T11:13:00.001-05:00

When my coworker Travis alerted me to the fact that we had a day off for MLK day I about peed myself. Then when he told me he had a car and wanted to go skiing on said holiday I did pee myself. Just the thought of riding snow again made me smile, even if it was only 1,082ft of vertical. When we bought our lift tickets I asked the agent where she recommends we go. She asked where I was from and when I said Colorado she laughed and said I would have the best luck at the bar. Hmmm, not a good start.

After a few warm up runs, the day actually turned out to be a lot of fun. We crisscrossed the mountain about 6 times and found a fun speed run on the Razor's Edge. By the end of the day we were both pooped, had ridded/skied a lot of runs, hit up the parks with some pretty cool features, and generally just enjoyed the mountain. We had plenty of fun, lots of time to talk about life, and I was once again reminded of the fact that I belong in the mountains and trees, I am at total peace when on the mountain and I love it so much. Hopefully we can get out for some more snowy fun in the coming months...

what's wrong with this picture...

2011-02-08T11:20:00.001-05:00

In the process of discovering that stores don't really develop film anymore, I also realized that they don't sell film either....even though they say they do...liars. Guess, my loyalties again move online instead of the weak B&M shops.

the ugly hairy monster...

2011-02-07T10:15:00.001-05:00

Not too much explanation needed here. What I see is too much hair, and its coming from every direction. Some have renamed my beard 'the food catcher' due to the excellent skills I have to catch and save scraps of food and drinks in my beard. I am really hoping that those frozen pieces in the photo above are snow, not the liquids running from my nose as I fly down the mountain, but I guess you never know, right? One word for you, ugly.

with a camera on hand...

2011-02-07T09:49:00.001-05:00

I like to take photos. Strangely, I am not a big fan of dragging my big camera around with me wherever I go. In fact, I don't like to carry anything with me at all, but somehow seem to end up lugging a big messenger bag full of a bunch of crap everyday of my life. Anyway, as I walk the city I see interesting things all the time and wish I had my camera ready to capture the moment. Thats what I love about photography, every image is a moment captured that will never happen ever again. I just can't wait for the day that I can blink and it captures an image just how I see it, then I can start a sick photo book. So, back to the post at hand. One day a while back I saw things that I don't see very often, and this time I stopped to take a photo. The first was the lineup of FedEx trucks above, I just thought that was surreal to see all those trucks lined up. The second was the fire truck, its not everyday you walk under a fire trucks ladder. From now on I will do my best to take a good camera wherever I go, and I hope to get some good shots along the way.

a day with daddy...

2011-02-06T22:48:00.002-05:00

Sometimes throughout the week I spend more time at work than I do at home, it is not the happiest aspect of my current life, but it is just how things are right now. Last weekend I took the opportunity to take Odin out for a day with daddy and gave Linder a break. We had a wonderful day and went all over the city. It was super cold, but Odin was a real trooper. First we met up with Stanton and the boys for a little project, then we all strolled accross the city to pick up some film. It was while I was reviewing my film when he really lost it. You must note that he is the sweetest and happiest boy in the world, so when he is sad it is usually for a reason.

We hurried over to Madison Square Park so I could sit him down and free him from the chains of the stroller. The second he was unstrapped he had a huge grin and immediately cheered up. We sat there in the cold playing around and taking photos for a while, Odin even took his first photo! (see below) After I was cold and knew he was too, we hurried home. By the time we got there we were both in sour moods and ready for a nap. The good news was that mom was happy as could be and even happy to see us again.

Many lessons were learned that day, from finding warmer activities to enjoy together, to how long Odin lasts before losing interest, but the most important lesson of all was that Linder is the greatest mother ever and she has some serious patience, I still don't know how she does it day in and day out. Thanks Linder, lots of love.

a missed childhood...

2011-02-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

From what I can recall, I never flew a kite as a child. Maybe my mom can correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure. When I mentioned that in Arizona during Thanksgiving, one of Stephen's friends had his kid run home to grab a kite for me to fly. In no time that baby was flying and I was having a blast. If only I could be a kid again and have my only worry trying to keep my kite in the air and not hit a tree as I run around the back yard. If only...

nothing like family...

2011-02-02T13:45:00.000-05:00

Our trip to Colorado was fun. We went for the New Year celebration and had a blast with the whole crew. I have another post with all the dirty details, but I thought I would tease that post with a photo of the fam. When reviewing the photos, I found one nice one (above) and a lot of out-takes (below). I couldn't resist the opportunity to embarrass, so enjoy...

Meet the Crazies.

Trying to be normal, but at least few missed the memo.

One of these things is not like the others... hint-its the dog.

Why am I the only one with my finger actually in my nose?

one sign of addiction...

2011-02-01T13:32:00.001-05:00

The other day our UPS man Norberto (sad that I know his name, I know) buzzed to come in our building and lugged a dolly full of packages up the stairs. When I opened the door he asked if he could come in, I said OK, and he proceeded to roll his dolly inside. He then dropped off ALL of his packages in our apartment, I signed and his deliveries were over. I wish I could say that all those packages weren't for us, but I would be lying if I did. They were ours, all ours and we 'needed' all of that stuff. Sad I know, but just remember that we do 99% of our shopping online so sometimes Monday deliveries include a lot of stuff. :)

ugly work party...

2011-01-31T14:49:00.001-05:00

Its been a while since my last Ugly Monday, so I thought I would try to get back in my groove. What you see above is a shot of my lovely new team at work. We were enjoying our Holiday party last year and this is the best photo I could take, so sad and ugly. The only good part is that it makes me laugh.

firsts are so much fun...

2011-01-31T11:10:00.001-05:00

So I finally finished shooting and developing my first roll of film from my new camera. The whole process was very educational. I shot a roll of true Black and White negative film, which it turns out only a few locations develop on site. Film developing really isn't easy access anymore, especially in Colorado. After spending a day doing research and stopping by a bunch of camera shops, I finally found a location that could develop my roll overnight. The developing ended up being $10 but when I asked for prints, that was .60 cents each- what! So it was then cheaper to just have them scan the roll to disc. Looks like I need to go to school and learn the dark room huh?

Shooting film was also interesting for me because I am now so used to shooting digital. I found myself looking at the back of the camera after my shots. Every press of the shutter also gave me a feeling of permanence, I can not change that photo, and it is now burned into the film forever. No delete buttons here, just a forever photo. There is something cool and special about that.

The other thing I learned, and the saddest of all, was that my new camera has some shutter issues. About half of my roll had some serious light leaks, which turn out to be a malfunctioning shutter. I thought it was just this roll because I brought it through the security x-ray, but then I saw the slashes again in my slide roll. Sad. Now the camera is off to Canon to see whats up. I am crossing my fingers now.

Heres a couple of the keepers and some of the creepers...

First Snow for the boy, all smiles.

First Christmas, just kickin'

This was one that I was really hoping would turn out. A guy walking his dog after the big Christmas blizzard.

An example of the shutter malfunction...boo.

One more creeper. So sad.

oh happy year...

2011-01-30T23:10:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!! Yeah, this is a little late, but better late than never. I can't believe January is almost over and this is my first post of the year. Sad, so sad. Well, I'm going to keep this breif. Life has been crazy and is only going to get crazier. A lot has happened in the past month, so I will do my best to update throughout the next couple of posts, but for now I will just let you all enjoy this lovely Father+Son photo. My beard has grown quite a bit and I am contemplating getting rid of it, as such tonight I wanted to document the length with some self portraits. While I was figuring things out, Odin woke up and told me he wanted to join. Well, he didn't say anything, but when my flash went off, he looked at me with a huge grin and I took that as interest. Things turned out alright, not too shabby for using a timer and guessing on the focal length. Anyhoo, happy new year to all, I hope this year is the greatest of all time.

hello to the upper east side...

2010-12-31T00:10:00.000-05:00

I have spent much of my time over the past couple months opening new stores with Kiehl's. The other day Linder and I had the chance to go up to our newest location and take a look at the barricade that finally went up. It is big and impressive, and that store will be my life over the next couple of months. So much to do, so little time. I can't wait, and neither can you, trust me.

a little thing goes a long way...

2010-12-30T11:41:00.001-05:00

Who ever said a little thing like hangers couldn't change your life? Not me.

Everyone has their own preference on hangers. Some people like the big thick plastic ones (Linder), some people like(d) the thin wire ones (me), and some people spring for fancy padded ones or wooden ones, or other fantastic materials. Recently we bought some fancy felt hangers from Costco but they turned out to suck big time and broke when I was pulling off my shirts. Of course we returned them without any questions asked and I began my search for a better hanger. After finding a number of super nice but also super expensive hangers through wholesale hanger sites, I finally settled on these Heavy-Duty Coat Hangers. At first I was going to buy them from Costco for about $1 each, pricy but worth it, but then I found them on Amazon for $0.50 each (the link above, unfortunately they are out of stock, sad). I ordered them and thought I would get some hangers that were OK, what we got were amazing. Seriously, amazing. Here is a before and after of the hanger situation-

BEFORE

AFTER

So lovely eh? After falling in love with my heavy, strong, beautiful hangers I wanted to buy more, but they are out of stock. Suck. Well, when there are more available on Amazon, I encourage everyone to take advantage and stock up on the chromey goodness.

let's celebrate in a special way...

2010-12-29T17:39:00.001-05:00

Here are two reason's why I love McDonalds-

if you hate adorable children, shield your eyes...

2010-12-29T10:07:00.001-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a post dedicated to Odin's first Christmas. I am about to post a bundle of photos of my son, so if you hate children, you best skip this post. If you love children and especially Odin, please keep reading and enjoy. (Mom, that means you!)

As mentioned in a previous post, this Christmas was super chill. We didn't leave the house at all and just lazed our days away. It was just our little family so we had no one to impress, no formalities, only cozy clothes and rest to attend to. Christmas Eve dinner was Mexican delivery and our formal Christmas dinner was cereal on the couch, mmm, mmm good. We also filled our days with present opening, lots of Netflix including all three Robin Hood movies, phone calls with family, and lots of snuggling.

This was Odin's first Christmas so I wanted to capture every moment. Yeah, I know I have gone overboard on this one, but please join us in enjoying every moment again from the perspective of Odin :)

Check out my cute butt.

Super focused.

Yeah, a one handed stand.

What! Christmas is tomorrow!!?!

Sleep? Nah, I'd Rather walk around.

Oh boy, a hanger!

Your lens looks tasty.

Yeah, my nap is done.

I Love my Dad.

And I love my Mom.

And my swing and my toys...

And Christmas!!!!!

Oh boy all for me.

I love sitting up on my knees to dig in.

Oh boy a drum. I love to make noise.

Yeah, happy as can be!

Drum roll please.

I'll play this one for my homies. Thanks Dad.

OK, I'll open this the proper way.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Not working. I guess I'll have to eat it off.

Oooo shiny.

No way! Wooden toys, thanks mom!

Wow it even flies!

Oh com'on mom! Don't make me show my teeth.

OK, there they are! Look close and you can see both of them!

WOW! This present is making noise.

Could it be?

It is! Edible, just how I like it.

Oooo, and it comes with a cool book, sweet!

Now to surprise Grammy and Poppi with a surprise visit note.

How do you like them apples?! See you soon suckas!

Ha, gets em every time.

I love fire.

And hot chocolate.

And jamming with my pops.

Especially when he holds me upside down, fun.

Wow, that thing is still flying! Truly magical.

Don't mind me, I'll just lay here and take care of myself.

Ah dad, you are too kind. We are red buddies.

Hurry mom, I need to get back to relaxing.

Its OK dad, you have had a long day. Sleep tight you baby!

Extreme close up!

OK, now I am ready for bed. Please send me off for nighty night.

Wow, so many gifts for others, too kind.

Hooray! I slept like a champ, now time for some naked time.

Man I love being naked.

Wow, that book wasn't lying, I have a belly button too.

Uh oh, I can almost pinch an inch...just like dad.

Hmmm, back to learning about my belly button.

G-golly guys, sure is cold and windy out here.

Ha! Dads the sucka and has to stand in the snow to take this picture.

Hurray! Here's to lots of snow now and in the future.

Mmmm, did you say drumsticks?

Com'on mom, I found this cinnamon bear on the ground which means I can eat it if I want! So red and tasty.

Yeah, I can stand and go on my tipee toes too.

I love Christmas and this was by far the best Christmas in my entire life. Thanks to everyone for your love, gifts, support, and letting my parents stay home together and hang out with me for so long.

the laughing christmas tree...

2010-12-28T18:47:00.000-05:00

This Christmas was a bit different than every other. I had been super crazed at work and had to work both at the office and in stores to drive sales and make our goals. With all that work came little time to get in the holiday spirit. Usually, Linder and I eat up the holiday season and go on many a stroll, find a tree and decorate it, and happily sing carols as we skip down the street. This year, we barely found the time to go together to buy a tree one week before Christmas, and by the time Christmas rolled around we never even decorated it! Please understand that we like to do everything together, so if we can't do it together it doesn't get done.

Anyway, by the afternoon of Christmas Eve we finally were ready to settle down and enjoy the evening. We ordered in some tasty Mexican and looked at our bleak tree. Though the lack of lights and ornaments could be depressing, we decided to love our tree for what it was- nature. Sidenote- isn't it kind of weird that we bring full trees into our house and decorate them, then just throw them away? Kind of crazy.

OK back to the story. So we found a beautiful Christmas tree this year. We headed back to the same ol' lot on Broadway where we have met kind Canuks the past two years and bought trees from them. This year was no different, we quickly hit it off with the Treemen, but were having a hard time finding a tree. Finally one of them suggested opening up a red tagged tree (a special douglas from NC, perfect for warm NYC apartments), so they did, when the Treeman stomped the tree to open it up, Odin cracked up and we found a winner. The Treemen were super cool and stomped it some more all in good fun. Luckily, we had the camera handy and got it all on tape. Check it out...

Needless to say we found our tree and soon had it in our home, ready to sit silent in the corner until the end of time.

the after christmas blizzard of 2010...

2010-12-27T18:00:00.000-05:00

I love snow and I love blizzards! What makes them even more wonderful is when they cancel school or work, which is exactly what happened today. Work was cancelled and I got to stay home for another day with the fam. After a bit hanging, I made my way outside to document the action and scout some spots to bring the boy for his first blizzard photos. Unfortunately, it was wicked cold outside with incredible wind and blowing snow. Even if we couldn't bring Odin out for some photos, the natural environment sufficed for some great shots. Please enjoy the following photos while enjoying the coziness of your home. If only I could stay home more often to shoot during the day...

merry christmas to all and to all a good night...

2010-12-26T23:56:00.000-05:00

This was an absolutely amazing Christmas break and weekend. Linder and I stayed home the entire time and just soaked up the quiet time together with each other and our favorite boy, Mr. #1 Snuggle. I have a lot of recapping to do and a lot of photos to post, so that will come in the near future. For now, there is a blizzard outside and I need to conserve energy and heat. Until the next post, please enjoy this photo of my boy enjoying his first official snow fall...

Merry Christmas to all and I hope that you have a wonderful and happy new year!

just one of those months...

2010-12-10T11:52:00.002-05:00

You ever have one of those days that everything rubs you the wrong way, you can't do anything right, and you just want to fast forward life a couple months? How about one of those days right after another and another and another? Yeah, me too. Oh so much fun. Work has been out of control for the past oh let's say 6 months, and I am finally hitting the wall. There is just too much to do, new work and things to get done coming from every direction, and I am in complete denial that it is the 10th of December and I am missing all that I love about the Holidays. Not cool. Oh well, such is life and it takes times like these for me to enjoy my time traveling and having fun. The end.

p.s. no babies were hurt in the taking of the photo above. It was a gradual face plant and he is just licking the floor.

p.s.s. don't worry, we clean our floors regularly...oh that spit up next to him? That must be fresh. :)

a killer pawn score...

2010-12-09T11:09:00.001-05:00

I like pawn shops. I like Pawn Stars. I like the word pawn. With that said, it is fitting that I enjoy shopping at pawn shops for camera gear. Nine times out of ten I just look but don't have any intention of buying, or I just don't find anything good. While in Utah I found out that Amy and Aaron had hookups at the pawn shop and could get me a deal. Thats another thing I like, deals and pawn shops always have them or are willing to make one.

Yum yum.

Back in the day I bought my favorite bike from a Pawn shop. It was built from the ground up with all custom parts, a real beaut. Sadly, I sold it to some kid a garage sale who didn't understand what he was buying, one of the worst decisions I have made.

Anyway, back to the story. So while in Provo we hit up some pawn shops looking for deals. The above pictured camera and lens were in one shop for $500. The camera is a film camera and the lens pretty cool but a Sigma not a Canon. I took a look and then headed home to do some research. I have wanted a film body but didn't really pay attention to what kind this one was. After my research I found that the lens, if in good condition would be worth $500 bucks, and the body if a EOS-1V would be pretty good too. I convinced myself that I would go back, try the lens on my 7D and see if it was in good shape; If it was I would try to pay $350, hoping that bringing Amy would help the owner feel good about dropping the price.

After going back I saw the lens was in good shape and pretty much like new. I took some shots and was quite pleased. The body was in great shape too, so I was ready for a deal. We bargained but the owner was firm at $400... I bit anyway. They even threw in some crazy 'camera case' that I took just to get more for my money. After we walked out I felt good and was super excited to take some shots. The first couple turned out great and I new I had scored.

One heavy little bugger.

Once we returned to NYC where I had computer access I did a bit more research on my purchase. All the news I found was good. First the body. It turns out that this was the last professional film body Canon produced, the fastest ever at 10fps, and fully loaded with the newest (as of 2001) technology. Pretty cool right? Even cooler, I looked up on ebay what they were selling for, and one in the same condition as mine went for $1,000 last week! Rad. I could easily make my money back if I sold just the body...but I won't. Now for the lens. The value is a good $500-600 used, but mine is really in peak shape. At home I got to try in out more and was super impressed, definitely a keeper. All in all I feel that I definiliy scored, I am super stoked to get back into shooting film and I may even be ready to learn how to process.

Now for some samples from my spoils of war...

One of the first shots with the new lens.

Just prepping the boy for fame.

chillin in the city of salt...

2010-12-08T23:09:00.000-05:00

Consider this our Christmas Card to you.

Work sent me out to Salt Lake City last week to judge the Brandstorm finals, officially completing the circle of my Brandstorm experience. Since Linder was still in AZ, we arranged it so she could just meet me at the airport in SLC and we could hang with family for a bit. It was a fun trip and we got to relax a bit. Thanks to Amy, Aaron and Sasha we had the chance to play some games and smile a lot. We also had the opportunity to see Esther's baptism, which was perfect timing and a great experience. On our last night we headed up to SLC to see the lights, unfortunaly we couldn't find parking by the Temple, so we hung at the mall instead. Its all good though because we got to see Dalebout instead...well worth it.

Two lessons learned on the trip-

I was prepping for super cold weather, but NYC is like 5,000 times colder.
Relaxing with family and friends is better than working without them.

Now, please enjoy some lovely photos of the trip...

Our flying bundle of joy.

Me and Dalebout.

Odin is now crawling and this is how I found him in the morning...he crawled out of his "crib" and was eating the luggage tag.

He likes moustaches.

Amy and Aaron, hanging.

The snuggliest boy in the world.

The happiest baby on the block.

for all the turkeys in the place with style and grace...

2010-11-28T23:16:00.001-05:00

I am just now finishing up a really amazing and restful Thanksgiving week. This year we had the opportunity to travel to AZ to see lots of family. Along the way we got the chance to soak up a baptism, visit the family dentist, lots of rest, even more food, and a ton of quality time with the family. The break was well needed, as you can tell by the lack of blogging over the past couple months, as work is absolutely crazy. With the opening of new stores, my boss that left the company, and the stress of Q4 I have been going non-stop with crazy hours just to stay afloat. Needless to say, this break really slowed things down a bit and was a great chance for me to get to know Linder's family better and build some relationships. Sadly, I had to come back early to make it to work while Linder and the boy stayed for some more time, kind of a sad and lonely way to end the week, but at least I got to catch up on more rest. :)

Now for the moment you have all been waiting for, my list of thankfuls! I am thankful for the following-

An amazing wife that continues to impress me and with whom I fall in love with more and more each day.
An incredible son who is the cutest, toughest, snuggliest, and happiest baby on the block
Fantastic family that is loving, caring, and always super fun to hang with
Knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ
A fun job with a ton of great coworkers and friends
The opportunity to live in NYC and enjoy all of the holiday goodness that comes along with that
Friends that make me smile
Memories of good times, bad times, and all the times in between
Lots of photos to help spur remembrance of the above mentioned memories
Beautiful nature that inspires
The chance to sit back, relax, and enjoy each breath of life
The tasty treats of Thanksgiving, especially Ambrosia and Root Beer
Life and much more.

Here is a photo journey of our trip-

I love it when he sticks out his tongue

Alyssa's Baptism

The boy playing with the favorite toy of my youth

My lovely family

Paul the popcorn master with popcorn so good I had to save some for later

The fam at the gaming table

Three of the tastiest treats of the trip

Sisters

Lynanne salting up some green goodness

Gramps- the first to dig in

I can't describe how much I love these two with words alone.

The adult table

The kids table

My table

Jaren and Stephen enjoying some badminton in the chilly AZ air, heres a video of us playing

My favorite pies, a Linder specialty

Until next year my friends.

happy halalween...

2010-10-31T19:05:00.000-04:00

Happy Halalween everybody! This is our boy's first halloween, so we did what any loving parents do and dressed him up and showed him off. We headed down to Central Park on Saturday for the amazing Pumpkin Festival, which turned out to be an absolute zoo. We took some time taking some photos and then took off. The day was actually super fun and we got some nice photos out of it. If you like first halloween baby pictures feel free to continue, if not, have a good night!

Our Boy!

He loves to fly.

Open mouth flying fun.

Wind beneath his wings.

Me and my super baby.

See you later folks.

put it all on black...

2010-10-24T22:43:00.001-04:00

Last week was a crazy week, I was out in Vegas for our national sales meeting. It was pretty rad, but I spent a lot of hours working and playing and not a lot of time sleeping. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and happened to overlap with the Dew Tour. As such, I let my camera roll to catch part of the Dew Tour Finals, here is the result...

Sadly, I didn't have a chance to see the competition, but I did have lots of fun doing other things. Here are some of the highlights...

Rockin' out with Oven at dinner

Extreme close up of Evel Knievel's motorcycle (we now own it)

Jammin' at Tao with some coworkers

Guitar solo during some Karaoke fun

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap (about 2am)- note, I was the only guy to fall on stage...and I was sober. Yeah, I was really into it.

The USA managers team.

Throwing down some bike stunts for the crowd

The fountain show at the Bellagio

Entry to the Bellagio

Sick pumpkin world in the Bellagio (yes, that pumpkin is real. 913 pounds)

The never ending story meets lord of the rings.

Jump.

Can't go to Vegas without stopping at the Pawn Stars shop

Big line. They were filming.

Proof that I was there.

Wow, that bill is worth so much more than $2!

i'm on a diet...

2010-10-16T09:45:00.003-04:00

More times than not I will skip lunch, luckily I have a lovely wife that helps me eat and sometimes prepares me a snack. And sometimes, work will buy lunch. When that happens I will usually order a burger.

When I moved to New York I was floored by the pricy cost of burgers. On average burgers cost about $8, plain, without fries or anything else. Once you add on some tasty toppings like bacon and cheese and get some fries, your total has jumped to about $13. That is just too much for me. Hence, when work is buying, I get my loaded burger. Yeah, they aren't the best for my health and probably are a big part of the reason I am getting fat, but they taste so good...

Anyway, when I am ordering my burger and keep adding fattening things, I like to tell the worker that I am on a diet. It usually puts a smile on their face and makes me feel better for some reason. Well, the other day work bought my buddy and I lunch, so we got exactly what we wanted. What you see above is an $18.00 burger! Yeah, way too much, but still good. After the base layer of a 1/2lb patty, they then added cheese, bacon, TWO fried eggs, and some guac for good measure. After I ordered mine, I ordered my buddies and the told the dude on the phone we were on a diet, then he laughed and told us we were awesome for ordering such a killer burger. That felt good.

What didn't feel good was my stomach after downing the burger. It was super heavy and I am pretty sure I could feel it clogging my heart within seconds of going down the trap. You got to live sometime though right? Heres to $18 dollar burgers full of goodness, and living long enough to tell the story.

shooting challenge...

2010-10-15T13:41:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I hit a stump in my photography and need a little boost of inspiration. Recently I have been reading a lot on Gizmodo. A couple weeks back I noticed they do a weekly photography challege with new and different goals. I thought it would be fun and now I have participated for two weeks in a row. It is pretty fun and Linder is even getting in on the action. If you are into photo fun, check it out. They post challenges every Wednesday and subissions are due Monday. They post winners on Tuesday. Here is this weeks challenge.

Now, please enjoy some of my attempts at excellence-

The Smoke Challenge, my submission.

The Smoke Challenge, Linder's submission. She love's Halloween.

The Sillhoettes Challenge, my submission.

I like potatoes. My photo after my smoke shot.

This is still OK to eat right?

that strikes me as fun...

2010-10-14T21:32:00.000-04:00

This one was for Jake, he always shoots those buildings.

Welcome to my first foray into lightning photography. Growing up in Colorado, I saw my fair share of summertime lighting/thunder storms. Unfortunately, I was never too quick with my camera and didn't capture the beauty. Sadly, I have wanted to take some lighting photos for a while but the timing, my location, and my willingness to get off my butt and shoot never matched. Well, this week it happened.

On Monday I got off the train and while walking up the stairs of the subway, a huge bolt of lightening struck right straight ahead of me and lit up the night like it was midday. As I continued my stroll home the lightening was going crazy and I actually feared being struck...kind of. As Linder was flying out Tuesday morning I wanted to spend some time with her and the boy rather than be on the roof, so I again gave in. But then after sitting in the living room watching about 12 strikes in 3min, I apologized and grabbed my gear to head to the roof. I knew it was raining, but I didn't figure I would get too wet, wrong.

Yep, that is like four strikes at once.

As I opened the door to the roof, I popped my umbrella open and about blew away. The wind was blowing hard, and the rain was coming at me sideways. I hurried to the edge of the building and started shooting away. As I stood there trying to keep my lens clean and camera dry, I realized that I prolly wasn't the smartest man standing on the roof with my umbrella...hmm, not the best for a lightening storm. As I stood there lightening was striking all around me and I felt like a weather man, trying to guess where the next strike would be. After about 10 minutes I was soaked, my camera was soaked, and I had already shot ten photos (thats the number I told Linder I would take before returning inside). While I was shooting, I saw some strikes in the general area that the camera was pointing, so I figured I was good to go.

At the heart of the storm (note the rain on the lens). Almost scored the money shot with the bridge and lightening (see right side).

When I got in, I reviewed my shots and was quite pleased. Looks like this rooftop photography game just keeps getting better and better. I will definitely make my way back up for more lightening shows in the future. Anyone know the risks or chances of being struck with an umbrella on top of a building?

october mondaze...

2010-10-04T13:03:00.001-04:00

October is Linder's favorite month of the year. What's her favorite day you ask? How about halloween. Yep, favorite day of the entire year. What that means is that we have a lot of fun and live up the pumpkin holiday. So with this being the first Monday in October, Happy Halloween...month!

shoes for all and all for $10 bucks...

2010-10-03T21:46:00.000-04:00

Over the past two years, I have spent a lot of money at sierrasnowboard.com. They have some pretty killer deals, and that is part of the reason why they decared bankrupcey and were bought out. Before all the deals go away with the new owners, I went back to the site to see what I could score. As you can see by the photo above, I found a deal on shoes. An old promocode is still valid, so all Gravis shoes 2007-2009 models are only $10. Yep, $10 bucks a pair and they are regular price over $120 for some. Pretty good deal no? Now you see why we bought enough pairs to stack taller than Linder. Nice.

Now, I am sure you want in on the deal as well. Go check it out-

http://www.sierrasnowboard.com/snowboard-ski-accessories/brand_Gravis-Miscellaneous-Luggage-TShirts/all-shoes_0.asp

Just sort by your size and then enter promocode GRAVIS10 at checkout and enjoy your cheap shoes.

Enjoy!

the pink, er, purple bridge...

2010-10-03T20:09:00.000-04:00

Every night as I walk home from the subway I look at the George Washington Bridge and enjoy the 'necklace' of lights. Really I wish I got home early enough to see the bridge in the daylight, but you can't have everything you hope for, right? Anyway, on Thursday night all of the lights were off on the bridge which I thought was interesting, then on Friday night I was surprised to see that the bridge lights were purple. It was pretty cool looking.

When I got home and started googling to see why they were purple all of a sudden. After a bit of searching all I could find was a Twitter post of someone who mentioned that it was in rememberance of some chap that jumped to his death from the bridge a couple days back. If that was the case that night was a special night, so I made my way to the roof to shoot the sight.

The shoot went well and I got some nice shots, but the lights did end up a bit blown out. In the end, it turns out that bridge lights are pink and will be that way for the month of October for Breast Cancer Awareness. So now we get to enjoy our pink (really purple) lights for all of October. Yippee! I always thought purple was more a halloween color than pink anyway...

its all happening in harlem...

2010-09-26T15:40:00.002-04:00

I love Harlem. Yeah, you heard me, I love Harlem. There are a couple reasons why I love Harlem-

Some friends live there.
I once saw an amazing march there.

While on my way walking to see the above mentioned friends, I heard a ruckus and a bunch of chanting up ahead. When I looked I saw a whole grip of people marching in orange and black and white striped prison getups. I think, yeah thats pretty usual in Harlem. Then I understand what they are chanting- "JAIL AIN'T NO GOOD! DOING TIME IS A CRIME! JAIL AIN'T NO GOOD! DOING TIME IS A CRIME!"

Absolutely amazing. Nothing I can say does this march justice. I stood there smiling ear to ear as I struggled to get my phone camera on before they passed. Luckily I managed the shot above. Catching that bit of New York/Harlem love made my day and created a soft spot in my heart for a little place I like to call Harlem.

i hate you tax...

2010-09-25T16:36:00.001-04:00

While booking a trip for the family, I found that some airlines charge for infants, OK thats reasonable. Worst part of all was that the taxes for the infant cost more than the ticket! Again, I hate you taxes.

a sammich fit for a king...

2010-09-24T15:41:00.000-04:00

A few days back, I sat at my desk dreaming of my lovely wife, suddenly I remembered that she made me a lunch as she so often does. That is just one of the reasons why she is the best wife ever. Anyway, back to the story, so I pulled out my lunch, a nice big sammich. After taking a couple of bites and again thinking about my lover for Linder, I realized that the sammich I was eating was the most AMAZING sammich ever. I stopped immediately to take a photo and document the masterpiece. Take a look at it, big, meaty, cheesy, tasty, and delicious. Thanks Linder, I love you.

some more rooftop excitement...

2010-09-23T14:20:00.001-04:00

I love having roof access. The day our Super told us the roof alarm was broken was the day my life changed. There's just something special about seeing a sunset brewing and being able to grab the gear, climb the steps and be overlooking a beautiful view. So rad.

Anyway, the other day we were sitting in the living room and saw a sunset on its way and I went up top to set up shop. The sunset turned out to be pretty weak, but I got some fresh air and enjoyed my time. Best part of all was when Linder surprised me and brought up the boy. All of a sudden, an OK flop of a sunset turned into some rooftop family fun. Awesome. Here some highlight shots.

Doesn't get any happier than this.

I like my bridge.

Its a black and white world.

This is my city.

street found treasure...

2010-09-22T14:26:00.001-04:00

As you may or may not know, I love to bring stuff home I find on the streets. There is a ton of good stuff out there that people just toss in the trash. Most of our apartment is furnished with found items, and that is something I am proud of. Of all the stuff I have brought home, my score a couple weeks back really tops the list.

As I was on my way to the subway after work I spied a large pile of stuff along with trash bags on the curb just off busy 6th Avenue (a sure sign of a move or apartment stripping). As I approached I examined the pile for hidden gems, that was when I saw the above pictured guitar leaning on the lamp post. It was really to good to be true. Perfect condition, without a scratch, gleaming for the world to see.

At first I didn't pick it up because I couldn't believe it was trash. Then another sidewalk searcher saw it and said, "wow free guitar!" That was my cue and I immediately picked it up and said, "Yep!" I still didn't feel right walking away, thinking deep down someone just set it down to run inside. There was a girl sitting in a moving truck on the street so I asked her if she knew if it was trash. She said, "No, its not trash! We are giving that stuff to goodwill but left it out to see if anyone wants it." Moments later I boarded the subway on the way home with my new guitar. The hardest part of the ride home was resisting the temptation to play a tune and beg for cash. :)

Gotta love those special New York moments.

driving to DC with my der...

2010-09-21T13:52:00.001-04:00

There is a large list of reasons why I love my Linder, the internet doesn't have enough space for a list that long, so I will keep the specifics between Linder and myself. Though I will take the opportunity to mention a few of the reasons why I love her, using our trip to DC as the inspiration.

She is always down to get out of the city. When work pulls me away, she I always willing to tag along, even if it means spending all day waiting for me in a mall or exploring some strange city.
She never complains. Even after I screw up our reservations and we have to walk a couple miles to FNO DC instead of a couple blocks, she is a silent smiling trooper.
She loves to hang out and be my friend. I am so lucky to have a wife that likes to hang around me and talk to me and listen to me. Even when I get in "work mode" she is right by my side sneaking competitive photos and such.
She is always happy. No matter where we are or where we are sleeping, she is always happy to be there. I love to have Linder stay at nice hotels when we travel because she loves it so much, but that is only when work pays. When we travel on our own we usually sleep in the car, or worse, but that is because I am cheap beyond belief. Its all good though, because she it cool with that too.
And most of all, she is fun. From the very beginning I could be my crazy self because she is so fun and laid back. She is always tricking me and doing fun stuff that I would do, but she beats me to it. One example of her funness (yeah its a word) was in DC when she saw a street light and had a great idea. She ran out and stuck her head in it. Rad. I would have never thought to do that, she did and thats fun.

Case in point, fun.

OK, thats just about enough public Linder lovin' for one post. Just know that she is truly the best and I love her with all my bits.

ugly mooing monday...

2010-09-20T12:57:00.001-04:00

Once a year, Chick-Fil-A gives away a free meal to anyone that dresses like a cow. As we pulled into the parking lot for lunch we discovered that it was Cow Appreciation Day. After some fast acting, sketching and ripping, we had a cow outfit for me and the boy. Kind of looked silly, but it worked. Free food for all and another ugly monday, hot dog!

still remembering...

2010-09-19T11:21:00.010-04:00

One thing I love about living by the GW bridge is that the city lights it up for national holidays and it is beautiful. One day that they light it up that is not a holiday is September 11th. This year Linder and I drove in late at night and had a chance to see the twin tower lights from a far, really nice. We also had the chance to drive on the GW all lit up, also nice. When we got home, I scored a parking spot right in front of our apartment (amazing) and had a chance to run to the roof for some photos. The result is what you see now. Sadly, my fisheye is still in the shop and my tripod is still on loan, so I made due with what I had. In the end, I enjoyed my time on the roof and enjoyed the opportunity remembering the sacrifices of the brave men and women that made the greatest sacrifice on September 11th, 2001.

My bridge.

The Towers lit up.

One leg.

The full panoramic shot of the bridge and the city. Click for more detail.

my boots tied tight...

2010-09-02T23:42:00.000-04:00

Yep, its true ladies and gentlemen. Three short years after I said I will never return to school again, I'm back. It may not totally count because my work is paying for it, but it is school none the less.

Tonight was my first night of classes and it went very well. I actually paid attention the whole time, unlike what happen last time I was in school. But more than paying attention, of the 11 students in my class, I actually participated the most, telling stories, thoughts, and experiences. This school thing doesn't seem too shabby, and its free, so what do I have to lose? Well, I guess I may lose my patience, like I did on Wed...

I am kind of silly about school and before my first day I like to go walk my schedule to get a feel for the timing and campus. As this is my first time at school in NYC I figured it was a must. On Wednesday I went to school to get my ID card. The office closed at 9pm so I thought getting there at 7pm would be plenty of time...wrong.

I didn't print my schedule before getting there which threw me for a loop. Security sent me to the computer lab to print my schedule, but when I got there they insisted to see my ID prior to letting me print. Um, I need to print my schedule to get my ID. No go. They in turn sent me to IT for assistance. Turns out I showed up the same time as a computer class full of students with password issues. Long story short I had to wait almost 2 hours to print my schedule, a task that took two minutes. Angry. Once that was done, I ran to the ID office to find them closed. Angrier. Then, best part of the night, the worker saw me and opened up again just for me. Nice guy.

So two hours of waiting could make a man furious, I was just angry. Plus, I had a lovely book to read to kill the time. What really disturbed me was how old and nasty the buildings were. True we are in NYC, but if I was paying $12,000 a semester, I would hope that my money was going to nice buildings, smart and quick staff and such. Maybe I am just being picky because of my long wait, lets just wait things out and see if they get better or worse.

Moral of the story, I am a student again and actually quite into it...for now.

mixing things up...

2010-08-31T10:46:00.002-04:00

I'm not a sucker for demonstrations, but I am a sucker for high quality equipment that works. I am a strong believer that ice was made to be crushed. The best kind of ice that you can get when you go out to eat is the soft ice in little bits that comes from the fountain machine, too bad you can't make that yourself. I am also a believer that a blender should be able to blend ice. Well, I have burned through 4, count them 4 blenders that made me believe that they could blend ice. Unfortunatly, every single one of them has burned out, smells like fire when blending, or actually just fell apart. I have tried a bunch of brands, but nothing ever did it for me. Just when I thought I was helpless and lost, in walked Mr. Vitamix, the newest member of our family.

Mr. Vitamix comes from a land called Costco, a wonderful land in deed. While visiting said land, Linder and I saw Mr. Vitamix's master showing off all of his tricks. He made salsa, a juice drink, and then I asked his master if he could crush ice. Could he!?! Ha! In goes ice, out comes slush. Wow, then Mr. Vitamix produced a lovely Pina Colada, and for his final act, he made soup...HOT steamy soup from cold water and ingredients, the mystery behind that trick? Friction. After seeing all of these wonderful tricks I new I had to adopt Mr. Vitamix, but before I could I had to promise Linder I would wash him and feed him and love him forever. Done!

$400 dollars later we welcomed Mr. Vitamix to his new home, a permanent spot occupying approximately 1/4 of our kitchen counter space...prime real-estate. Let me just tell you that this was one adoption we do not regret. We have played with our new friend everyday and he has helped us make some wonderful things in a matter of seconds. All we need now is more fruits and vegetables to keep him happy, turns out I like to feed him a little too much goodness and we run out quickly. Can't wait to make the boy some tasty baby treats with this sucka.

For any of you doubters out there, doubt not, Mr. Vitamix is the most amazing blender ever and he will never die, never! If you don't believe it just go anywhere to get a professionally mixed drink, like say Jamba Juice and see what they mix it in, oh wait they'll make it in a Vitamix. :) So will Orange Julius, Cold Stone, Baskin Robins, Bennigan's, Hotels in Vegas, and a zillion other restaurants and bars. Thank you Vitamix for being my friend and for not letting us down.

the ugly monday that keeps going...

2010-08-30T22:46:00.000-04:00

What's wrong with this picture? Yes I have gained some weight, but that isn't what I'm talking about. Take a look at that massive growth under my chin that commands its own shadow! Wow. So a couple weeks back I thought I had an ingrown hair due to a little bump, so I plucked some hairs. No dice, the bump remained. I then thought it was a zit, so I tried to pop it. Bad move, it then spread to half of my throat, wrapped up around my jaw and filled some of my cheek, woops. It was a rock hard, hurty, big bump now. And perfect time too, I was off to California for a big work thing, not the time to look stupid. I didn't have time to go to a doctor before my trip so I waited a couple days for it to go away. Luckily about 5 days later it started shrinking.

Now that nasty bump is nice and small on my throat, but my worst nightmare has come true. There is a huge bald spot in my beard right by the bump. I don't know what this thing is, but now it is turning not only my face ugly but is also threatening my beard...unacceptable. Seriously, it is in there blocking all of my hairs from growing... just a little soft spot now. So, anyone out there that knows what this thing is or how to get rid of it and get my beard back, let me know. If not, just suffer and look at my ugly lump.

spectacular saturday summer stroll...

2010-08-28T23:54:00.000-04:00

Today was an absolutely amazing day, so I wanted to make the most of it and spend a lot of time outside, so that is what I did. To start the day I spent some time helping some people move, then I skated home and almost got killed by someone driving the wrong way on a one-way street, jerk. The weather was beautiful though, so I felt obligated to convince Linder and the boy to come out for some fun. We definitly spent more time out than she originally wanted, but it was well worth it and we had oodles of fun along the way. To mix things up, I took my camera along to document the goodness. Please join for a little recap...

Stuck in the subway due to construction. Not sunny.

Before we could get to the sunny goodness, we had to stop off at my company store for a quick buy, but getting there was the hard part. The trains were slow and sucky, more reason to stay above ground in the fun. After the shopping we decided to pick up a burrito and eat it at Bryant Park.

The boy happy as can be, he loves it outside.

To be honest, I haven't spent a ton of time in Bryant Park, but today was the perfect day to start. We found a nice little table to eat at and had some fun people watching for a bit. The boy was supper happy and very awake, which is a very good mixture. As we were sitting there chatting I noticed some cool stuff the park has for visitors, including seats, tables, free magazines and books for reading, and even more special events like ping pong! Rad!

A pigeon doing what it does best, pooping on some poor chaps head.

The Ping Pong tables open to the public. Nice.

Keeping her eye on the ball.

Playing at the advanced table, obviously.

I was loving the steel net. A must for our future table.

Strangers Baby gazing the boy in the park. Everyone loves him.

After our stint in Bryant Park we realized we had a gift card for Cold Stone still (thanks S&D) so we were off to the lovely Times Square to get some ice cream. While we were walking over I mentioned how silly I think Times Square is with all of this branded nonsense going on. Just then we walked past Pop Tarts World. I couldn't help but go in to check it out. It was quite a big show with Pop Tart Sushi and Pop Tart Ice Cream, they were selling t-shirts and other stuff, there were event computer stations for people to make their own mixes. As I sat there I just couldn't understand why the place was packed. Aside from their overpriced merchandise, people were just eating up the fantasy environment and spending a bunch on a dressed up Pop Tart. Crazy. Well, whatever works huh.

Wow, really?

Part of the store front (couldn't get it all because I only had my long lens :)

After our Pop Tart overload, we continued our journey to Cold Stone. As we passed through the thick of Times Square I again ponder how crazy this world is that so many people come from all over to see this crazy maze of people. But then I recall that I was once one of those people. Ha.

Two of the thousands of people proving that they were there.

Yep, even McDonald's makes a show of things.

We finally made it to Cold Stone where we squeezed through the line with the stroller to get our treat. In the meantime we discovered that Cold Stone and Tim Horton's merged, so Linder scored a doughnut and an ice cream when all was said and done. I ended up with the Founder's Favorite mix which was plenty tasty.

The Founder's Favorite.

While we were walking through the Square to find a spot to sit and people watch I saw a whole grip of kids circled around someone. Turned out it was 5Boro Skateboards giving out gift certificates and freebies for the local skaters. Nice. Even though I didn't have a raffle ticket I went in the mix and listened for my number hoping for something free. Actually I went just to enjoy watching the kids get stoked out of their minds to get free stuff and the Pro skater having fun giving it out. In all they gave away 100 freebies and I enjoyed watching it happen.

Some of the lucky winners. Nice work 5Boro.

Token shot of the line of cops in Times Square, everywhere you look there is someone with a badge.

That was enough midtown fun for us, so we headed to the train for a nice ride home. Luckily the trains were working well on the way home, just too bad that we couldn't stay on the train longer to hang out with my favorite old man. Some of the things I love about this guy are his striking good looks (turtle?), his studio headphones (er...ear protection), and most of all his striking tan (almost as orange as his seat). Actually, I am not making fun of him, he really is cool and super nice.

The Splinter/Donatello mix.

After the ride underground we needed some more sun, so we went to our favorite bridge lookout and soaked up some more rays, nibbled on a paleta, and watched a busy squirrel collect some nuts and build his home. Ah, just another lovely summer day in the city. Only one week left of the fun so you better soak it up while you still can.

Busy, busy little man.

Me and my boy.

My two favorite, most beautiful people in the whole world.

say goodbye phone companies...

2010-08-27T20:50:00.001-04:00

We are now officially one step closer to really cheap, almost free phone service. Earlier this week Google finally synced Gmail and Google Voice (about time). Now directly from gmail you can make and receive calls, rad. When you click on the link to the right to call me, it will call me in gmail. Fun. All domestic calls are free for 2010 and really cheap for international calls, nice. For all of you folks out there who haven't already signed up for your free personalized number, go now here.

singing drunken lullabies...

2010-08-25T11:08:00.002-04:00

As I have said one million times, I love free stuff and my eyes are always peeled for a promo or killer deal. About a year ago I saw a deal for some free live nation concert tickets when I signed up for Section 7, a promotion for Windows 7. It was legit and I got 2 free concert tickets just for signing up. If that wasn't enough, I signed up a couple more times to stock up on tickets.

Well, it was hard to actually find tickets to a good show as they cycled in only a couple shows to use the vouchers for, but finally my patience paid off and I scored two free tickets to Flogging Molly, Mae, and the National Air Guitar Finals. Mae was OK, I will save the air guitar finals for another post, and Flogging Molly was fantastic. Below is a super long video compilation of a bunch of the songs from their set.

Yeah, I know, that video was way too long and lame. Well, the show was amazing and the band was a bundle of energy the whole time. The best part of all was that our tickets were general admission and we were supposed to be on the floor in the mix of people, but as Linder was pregnant at the time of the show we got the hook up. For all you pregnant ladies out there, make sure to go live it up while you are pregnant, because you will get a lot of love. As we were walking up to the front door one of the Security guys looked and Linder and noticed that she was pregnant. Immediately he pulled us to the front of the line and asked where our seats were, after telling him we were on the floor, he offered to get us better seats. We said OK. He then passed us on to another guy who talked about his kids while he led us to front row balcony seats overlooking the floor and with a perfect view, they were reserved...for us I guess. :) Rad.

Once we were settled in we just snuggled and soaked up the show. I don't know a ton of Flogging Molly's music, but the stuff I do know I really like. They didn't have a hard time living up to my expectations and in the end we were as happy as clams. An amazing show that I would actually pay for in the future. There is just something sitting back listening to a passionate, energetic, and talented band, watching the crowd go nuts, and snuggling up with your lady and son that just puts a smile on your face. Thanks Microsoft for the show, maybe someday I will get Windows 7.

If the video wasn't enough, here are some more shots from the show....

One of the pits.

Note all of the green, obviously because this was part of the Green Tour.

And the crowd goes wild.

today we celebrate our independence day...

2010-08-24T11:47:00.000-04:00

I know, today isn't really Independence Day, but I was too lazy to post those photos back then so I will do it now. For the 4th, this year we headed out to Colorado to see family, enjoy the mountains, and introduce the boy to the rest of his relatives. The timing was right and we had the whole clan at home as well, which made for a nice reunion and perfect time for a baby blessing. We'll save that for another post, for now let's just enjoy some stories and photos of the fun.

This was the boy's first airplane flight, so we prepared him with a special JetBlue outfit covered in airplanes. He was a little angel, like always, and slept for most of the trip, that is until he wanted to wake up and play. :) The flight was smooth and he even earned a pair of shiny wings for being the best boy on the flight!

All Focus.

His lucky dragon bib and airplane outfit.

One of my favorites! Who knows, maybe he will be a conductor when he grows up.

The three of us enjoying the flight, I especially like the nostrils so nicely highlighted.

Once we made it to Denver, we drove straight from the airport to the mountains to enjoy a bit of fresh air and to begin our relaxing. That is one thing I love about Frisco, it is all about just chilling and enjoying the beauty that God has created. One thing I was amazed to see was the carnage wreaked by the Pine Beetle. A few years back there was talk about the Pine Beetle infestation in the US and how they were killing all the trees. Now a few years later a TON of the trees are dead and it is super sad. I didn't get a lot of photos of the carnage, but let's just say that the face of the mountains has completely changed and is continuing to change. So sad.

Anyway, back to the happy. So one of the first things we did once day broke was ran off to Breck to hit up Eric's, one of my favorite burger places in the entire world. Back in the day my friend Dave and I would hit up Eric's for the locals lunch and an Av's game. The locals lunch was only $5 (with tax even!) and you get a killer 1/2 pound burger, drink and big tray of fries. Lets just say it was always amazing and something I would dream about.

Kickin' it in Eric's.

One of the other perks about Eric's was that they had a loyalty program where they would stamp your card after each Local' Lunch and after Ten give you a free burger. Well, I got upto number ten and haven't made it back for about 3 years. :( For that entire 3 years I have had that little punch card happily stored in my wallet waiting to be redeemed. Finally I had my chance! When I showed our waitress, she gave me a crazy look and said, "Wow I haven't ever seen one of those, I heard about them but never actually seen one, and I've worked here for 3 years."

Nice, after all the amazement ceased, I asked her if I could still get my free lunch, she left to ask and then came back and told me yes. Rad! Not only that, I could get anything off the menu, not normal for the Locals Lunch that usually has a selection of items. We all went for the goodness and I picked up a Buffalo burger, mmm mmm good. Thanks Eric and team for more fond memories.

The rest of our independence fun consisted of a bunch of shopping, a lot of fishing, the fishing derby, the parade, and the amazing fireworks. Really, there is just something about small mountain communities that makes the 4th that much better, and fills you with patriotism. I love every minute of it. Now back to some photos for further explanations...

Linder's dream come true! A whole display of Mad Libs.

A bad photo of the Pine Beetle kill. Look closely and see the stack of dead trees and a whole hillside that used to be all tree. Sad.

Ethan snacking away.

Frisco main street. A few years back I pulled up here in the light snow and had this feeling that this is just where I belong. Someday I will be there for good.

Grammy soothing the boy to sleep.

What's more American than hitting up the Outlets and buying buckets of cheap baby clothes?

Landing a lunker. :)

He's got something to say.

One more fishy.

First time fishing since she was a little girl.

First fish. :)

The biggest of the day.

Must be a natural.

My favorite part of gutting the fish is eating every part and not wasting anything. I think I have Native American in my blood.

The Boy's 4th outfit.

Breakfast for a ~~king~~...er...kingless countryman.

Born and bred American.

The annual fishing derby, first catch.

The cheering section for the derby.

The Madman graduates to the big pole.

I love family...and mountains.

Pre-parade Main.

Marching in my own parade.

The flyover to kick things off.

My woman, my woman, my wife.

Tell me this isn't American.

Main mid-parade.

The candy attackers.

An All-American Family.

So I think this sums up the first little bit of the Colorado fun. In a couple days I will be back with part two and even more fun from our time in the lovely mountains, the land that I love.

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

2010-08-23T16:30:00.002-04:00

So I think we all know that the Apple store was a pretty good idea and they executed things pretty well when building their business model. Every time I go to an Apple store in the city there are people packing the place, whether it is 2pm or 2am, there are hordes of people, amazing. So it works.

A while back I passed by a store in the mall that looked just like an apple store, like exactly like an Apple store, just a lot darker. Instead of having white, glass, and steel, it was dark, and wooden. What was this phantom store? Microsoft. Ha! Looks like they are trying to pull back some of their lost business. Now I don't want to get into the Apple vs PC nonsence, as I am typing this on an Apple, while surrounded by 3 PCs. Just thought it was fun to see an exact replica by a competitor. It was a bit confusing though, instead of having a consistent look, there is a mixture of all PC manufacturers hardware spread throughout the store. Even if I knew what I was looking for, I would rather buy online than go try to track down my computer at this place. The end.

making up for lost time, ugly style...

2010-08-23T11:04:00.000-04:00

So I have missed a number of Ugly Monday posts, so sorry, to make up for it, please enjoy my collage of ugly. I made this back in college as a joke and printed it on some photo mugs and gave them to my family as Christmas gifts. While in Colorado I noticed my brother still has one in his kitchen. :) Too much ugly for one mug.

a lovely weekend thanks to the governor...

2010-08-22T20:39:00.001-04:00

And we're back! So sorry for the lack up updates over the past month, lots going on and haven't spent too much time relaxing and documenting life. Its gonna take a bit to get caught up, so I thought I would start with a family moment from a couple weeks back. Our concert at Governor's Island.

One thing I love about NYC is all of the free stuff to do, especially in the Summer time. One of those lovely moments was a part of the "Gone to Governor's" concert series. A bunch of the shows charged for tickets, but a lot of them didn't. It just so happened that Phantogram was one of the ones that was free, so we hit it up. One of the interesting things about being a parent is that you can't always do the same things you did before kids, I agree with most of that, but I still like to do fun stuff. Lets just say its a little awkward when you roll up to the ferry line with a stroller and baby while the line of twenty something hipsters just give you funny looks. Actually, that was fun in itself.

The Boy's First Concert with Access Bracelet.

One of the other rad things about brining a kid along was that we had plenty of space in the stroller to stash the big camera that wasn't allowed, food that wasn't allowed, and lots of water that wasn't allowed. Shesh, concert rules kill me. Anyway, once we made it to the island we quickly realized that the venue wasn't the most stroller friendly place in the world with sand pits and such. Another thing that caught us off gaurd was how loud the music was, concerts are loud but I thought that the open air venue would help disipate some of the punch...wrong. Its all good though, we found a nice spot behind a cement wall that the boy could sleep behind without music blasting him out and I was able to look over the top and enjoy the show.

One of these things is not like the others...

Another rad part of the night was the free photo booth like place that we got to take the photo above, actually turned out pretty nice and we got a whole bunch of free prints of it for the good ol' scrapbook. Thanks Bushmills. Oh and thanks for the free fans that you gave us too, those are life savers in the subways.

The Perfect Viewing Location

Anyway, so the show was awesome, the second band Caribou was the best of the bunch and I really enjoyed their set, and the venue overall was pretty chill. As we were all pretty pooped before the end of the night, we snuck out early to beat the rush. On the way out we ran into a nice chap that complimented the boy and told us about his kids. Turns out he was the top cop for all of Govenors Island and high up in the political world, and a nice guy, cool.

All in all it was a pretty stellar evening and we all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, including the boy that got to enjoy his first water taxi ride, yippeee!

Here are some more photos of the goodness...

A Panorama of the Venue- click for more detail.

Note to self, don't forget the ear protection for the boy. All good though, he'll sleep through it.

My partners in crime.

Mobile ear protection...actually, just a burp cloth repurposed...thanks Jacqui.

Hanging with my boy enjoying the music and beautiful night.

Proof that he was there when it all went down.

The Venue.

Caribou in action.

Riding away in the sunset.

a father's day miracle...

2010-07-28T13:46:00.000-04:00

So I missed my post about Father's Day last month, so I thought I would catch up and show my pics. Above you see the boy not too pleased with his father. Turn's out he feels that way quite a bit. Hopefully he will get over these ill feelings soon, so we can be buddies in the future. Below are some more shots of our big day...

Almost got a smile.

Definitely not a smile.

Later he tried to strangle me.

Then we celebrated with Benjie and had a tasty castle cake. Too bad the castle was demolished by trolls.

Moral of the story- even if the boy tries to kill me on my very first father's day as an old man, at least I know he still loves me enough to poop on me.

A Lifetime of Memories Forgotten

b&w wednesdays...

ode to odin...

visiting the canyon of giants...

pickety pumpkin the pumpkin picker...

a day with daddy...

this is halloween, kiehl's style...

rad...

cutest baby ever...period...

back in the saddle again...

freedom to comment...

back to beautiful business...

and the winner is...

stepping back, onto the dark side...

guessing game...

lightning striking george washington bridge photo just went global...

summer streets celebration...

a striking evening...

liferide here i come...

just one of those days...

the killer chair...

one happy family...

kickin' in the cold...

hitting the slopes, east coast style...

what's wrong with this picture...

the ugly hairy monster...

with a camera on hand...

a day with daddy...

a missed childhood...

nothing like family...

one sign of addiction...

ugly work party...

firsts are so much fun...

oh happy year...

hello to the upper east side...

a little thing goes a long way...

let's celebrate in a special way...

if you hate adorable children, shield your eyes...

the laughing christmas tree...

the after christmas blizzard of 2010...

merry christmas to all and to all a good night...

just one of those months...

a killer pawn score...

chillin in the city of salt...

for all the turkeys in the place with style and grace...

happy halalween...

put it all on black...

i'm on a diet...

shooting challenge...

that strikes me as fun...

october mondaze...

shoes for all and all for $10 bucks...

the pink, er, purple bridge...

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