We're here, we're here. I didn't just forget about this blog, indeed no. We have simply been running around like complete and total maniacs, I haven't had time to update.
Patrick arrived here in New Jersey on June 12 (two Saturdays ago), and literally within a few hours of his arrival we started running around and seeing the sights all around New Jersey and New York - aaand we still haven't stopped (though, seeing as Pat pulled a muscle in his leg in Pennsylvania the other day, we are taking it easy at the moment). Patrick, who spent most of his life south of the Mason-Dixon, vowed to himself some time ago that there are two places on the planet he would never visit: New Jersey and New York City. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!
But, I think I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. It's time to back up a little.
The reason I created this blog was so that people who, like I used to do, are wondering what it's like to hook up with a relative stranger and run away with said relative stranger, can know precisely what it is that happens amidst the flotsam and jetsam left over once these decisions are made. I think an important part of the story, then, is my relationship with Patrick - the ins and outs and terrifying moments and marvelous moments and the general struggle that you face when you're still coming out of one life and trying to force your way into another (in other words - hitting the Rebound Road).
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tentative Route, Tentatively
This entry got EXTREMELY long, so I jumped it. Hope ya don't mind.
bring me that horizon
But then everything changed.
And everything changed again.
And before it had a chance to change the second time, it changed a third time.
And then things stayed the same for a second, then changed back again to before the second change but after the first change. So they were still gonna change but a bunch of other changes were annulled.
And here I am now - 10:42 pm Eastern time on Tuesday, June 8, and right this second I will say this:
The trip is back on.
Now, I noted the precise date and time because who knows what will happen at 10:50 pm or even 11:37 pm and don't even ask about 8:02 am. But right now, all systems are go.
Below the jump, find out WTF happened.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Pictures 16: Greene County Miners' Memorial - Pennsylvania
This actually happened before Pittsburgh, but, as is my fashion, I have forgotten to post it earlier. Alas. It's okay, though, because this will probably only be interesting to other weirdos like me who find coal mining fascinating. This is the Greene County Coal Miners Memorial in Kirby, Pennsylvania.
Click any image to see it larger in Photobucket.
See 4 more images below the jump.
Click any image to see it larger in Photobucket.
See 4 more images below the jump.
Pictures 15: Pittsburgh familiarity and fraternization
Seeing my brother Dan in Pittsburgh was a real treat. We are very, very different people, but when it comes down to it we find the same things funny and regularly text each other seeming non-sequiturs simply because we know the other would appreciate it.
So, hanging out with him, his roommate Matt and his girlfriend Mandy at his place in Lawrenceville was nice. We spent a lot of time just vegging out at his apartment, so that made for a lot of images of the four of us, as well as some cool shots from the roof outside his kitchen window.
If you don't know me, nor do you stalk me online (here or via Facebook), you may not find all of these images too fascinating, but here they are nonetheless.
I am, after all, still enamored of my new-to-me camera, so I really like the way a lot of these images came out.
Click any image to see a larger version in Photobucket.
This is Dan on the first morning I was in town. We were tired and I was showing him how my camera worked. He took a picture of me, too, but it is extremely unflattering and there is no way it is going online.
Looking out his living room window - all those trees got clobbered by the snow this winter.
23 more below the jump...
So, hanging out with him, his roommate Matt and his girlfriend Mandy at his place in Lawrenceville was nice. We spent a lot of time just vegging out at his apartment, so that made for a lot of images of the four of us, as well as some cool shots from the roof outside his kitchen window.
If you don't know me, nor do you stalk me online (here or via Facebook), you may not find all of these images too fascinating, but here they are nonetheless.
I am, after all, still enamored of my new-to-me camera, so I really like the way a lot of these images came out.
Click any image to see a larger version in Photobucket.
This is Dan on the first morning I was in town. We were tired and I was showing him how my camera worked. He took a picture of me, too, but it is extremely unflattering and there is no way it is going online.
Looking out his living room window - all those trees got clobbered by the snow this winter.
23 more below the jump...
Pittsburgh, and Pictures 14
It's been nearly a week since I came home from Pittsburgh, and I've yet to write anything about it. I suppose I'll keep it short, then - besides, I didn't do much besides hang out with my brother and sleep on his couch and do nothing - so there aren't a ton of stories to tell.
And, come to think of it, I don't feel like telling stories at all, so I will just show Pittsburgh to you.
A view of the city from Grandview Park in the Mount Washington neighborhood
I think a lot of people have a very mistaken and outdated idea of Pittsburgh. It was established as a steel city in the Allegheny Mountains, a particularly beautiful stretch of the Appalachian Mountains that runs through Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For a long time it existed in a decidedly stereotypical Appalachian realm of being relatively poor, dirty, and decidedly Slavic.
Over the years, what with the decline of the American steel industry, Pittsburgh has seen a waning population and waxing culture. While the town does have two notable colleges - Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh (the latter of which being my brother's alma mater) - students tend to come to Pittsburgh, learn valuable things, then leave Pittsburgh.
For those who stay in town, however, there is an entire city full of blossoming music, theater, art and social circles, all coupled with an incredibly low cost of living and what I think is one of the most picturesque cityscapes in the country.
More images and musings below the jump. Remember to click any image to see it larger on Photobucket.
And, come to think of it, I don't feel like telling stories at all, so I will just show Pittsburgh to you.
A view of the city from Grandview Park in the Mount Washington neighborhood
I think a lot of people have a very mistaken and outdated idea of Pittsburgh. It was established as a steel city in the Allegheny Mountains, a particularly beautiful stretch of the Appalachian Mountains that runs through Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For a long time it existed in a decidedly stereotypical Appalachian realm of being relatively poor, dirty, and decidedly Slavic.
Over the years, what with the decline of the American steel industry, Pittsburgh has seen a waning population and waxing culture. While the town does have two notable colleges - Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh (the latter of which being my brother's alma mater) - students tend to come to Pittsburgh, learn valuable things, then leave Pittsburgh.
For those who stay in town, however, there is an entire city full of blossoming music, theater, art and social circles, all coupled with an incredibly low cost of living and what I think is one of the most picturesque cityscapes in the country.
More images and musings below the jump. Remember to click any image to see it larger on Photobucket.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Pictures 13: Tennessee abandoned house
Okay, let's throw this in reverse a little bit; this actually happened before West Virginia did. When I was still in Knoxville, Patrick showed me this abandoned building by a train track, almost totally hidden by ivy.
Click any image to see the larger version on Photobucket.
From the outside
Aaaand from the inside
5 more images after the jump
Click any image to see the larger version on Photobucket.
From the outside
Aaaand from the inside
5 more images after the jump
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