Marblehead

We flew to the other side of the country last weekend to attend the wedding celebration of S&Q, whom we became good friends with during our time in Delaware. When you move away from friends you sometimes wonder if it's worth the effort to keep in touch. With S&Q, it is. They are a fun couple who appreciate art and adventure in a way similar to us. It was great seeing them, along with some other old friends and some new ones too.

Our red-eye landed in Boston at 8:30 Friday morning and then we drove north to the little coastal town of Marblehead, Massachusetts for an eventful weekend. The ceremony itself was exclusive to immediate family and the wedding party, but there was no shortage of activities to keep us occupied. We took a ride on a lobster boat, participated in a scavenger hunt (we won!), competed in a newlywed game (we won again!), lounged by a pool, ate some good meals, danced to live Irish music, and even had the chance to explore some neighboring towns (e.g. Salem and Gloucester). It was well-planned and well-executed weekend thanks to Q and my lovely R.

Here are a couple other notable occurrences from the trip:

1) We ran into a girl who lived on R's floor during their freshmen year of college. I knew her too. She just happens to be married to one of the groom's best friends from high school. So let's get this straight... We went to school with this girl in Minnesota. She now lives in San Francisco, CA, but she was attending a Massachusetts wedding for a couple her husband knows from Delaware. Not sure if you followed all that... the bottom line is that we couldn't believe it was her. This was definitely a situation that called for the overused "small world" statement.

2) Maya Rudolph (from SNL and Away We Go) showed up poolside at the bed & breakfast we stayed at. R and I were the only ones out there when she and some guy -- possibly her director husband, Paul Thomas Anderson, who was disguised in shades and a hat -- walked out to take a photo of the courtyard. Maybe he was scouting locations or something. According to the IMDB, Maya is in Marblehead shooting a new Adam Sandler movie. Anyway R said to her something along the lines of "Do you want me to get out of the way [of the photo]?" And Maya, standing right over R's shoulder, replied by saying she was trying to get out of the way too. It's funny how our brushes with celebrity typically happen when we're away from southern California.

I didn't go crazy taking photos during this trip, but you can see what I have here.

YARD

Some friends of ours recently purchased a house in Santa Barbara and it has a jungle for a yard. They asked me--their local, budding videographer--to help them enter the "America's Most Desperate Landscape" video contest currently being held by the DIY Network. Since I've been itching to start a new project (and to try out my recently acquired microphone), I immediately agreed to do it. We brainstormed for ideas over email and got together one night to choose one and shoot it.

We went with a LOST parody. Because this is one of my favorite shows, spoofing it was a bit of a dream project of mine. The downside was that we didn't have much time for preparation and had to pretty much make it up on the spot. A blank slate, a setting sun, and a one-man production crew can make for an intimidating combination. The trick was to keep it simple. It also helped to treat this like a reality show versus a full-blown art project, allowing for a fair amount of imperfection.

It came together extremely quickly in the editing too. I put in an hour or two each day for less than a week. Compare that to "Fake Empire", which took me months to edit on that schedule. Even my Bud Light Film Crew videos absorbed more time than this one.

The version of the video we submitted to the contest is slightly different than the one you see above. After we had shot it, we went back to the contest website and realized we were only supposed to include the front yard. I had to remove any verbal references specific to the back yard along with any shots that were obviously from there. The above version is my preferred cut with some of those references and cuts put back in.

The judging for the contest is based on creativity, originality, and the personality of the homeowners. I think we have all of those aspects covered... but the winners of the $20,000 worth of landscaping work are yet to be determined. Good luck to Mike and Aimee!

Par-T

My birthday celebration sort of stretched through the weekend and into Monday, giving the week an enjoyable, yet exhausting start. I'm happy with the way the events played out, but--whew--I'm glad they're done.

We spent Saturday frantically preparing for a get-together to be held at our condo on Sunday. The cleaning, shopping, and cooking took up most of the day. During the evening we found some time to relax, going out for a steak dinner out and then coming home to watch Milk. This is a good time of year for DVD viewings because most of the Oscar nominees are showing up on Netflix. Say what you will about award campaigning and mainstream pedigrees, but Oscar nominated movies are usually worth watching. Milk was no exception.

Our housewarming/return-of-spring/my-birthday-celebration BBQ started at 3:00 on Sunday. Despite living here only 9 months, this ended up being one of the largest gatherings R and I have ever thrown. We pretty much invited everybody we know out here (coworkers, Newcomers, a few others) and about 25-30 people showed up. Sorry to report I didn’t take any photos. You know how much I like to document things, but having a camera around sometimes makes people uneasy or self-conscious and plus I was simply too preoccupied with co-managing the event. As you probably know, there’s a lot of work that goes into keeping a house presentable, making sure people are introduced to each other, monitoring food levels, etc. But the party was a success, and I’m happy we threw it. It definitely made my 30th birthday more memorable. R, you were right about that.

The next day, Monday, we had some guests arrive around the time my workday was ending. They included a couple of family friends (known as the H brothers) from Minnesota and a friend of theirs who lives in Vegas. The trio is spending the week visiting SoCal, so they made the drive up from LA to see what Santa Barbara is all about. I took them on the signature hike to Inspiration Point in the afternoon. Later on, R dropped us off downtown and we spent the evening eating dinner and doing some bar-hopping. It’s not very often I engage in a guys’ night out, so I took advantage of the situation and had a good time. Yes, I drank too much and stayed out way too late for a weeknight, but really, is there a better time to act immature than the point in life when you begin to feel old?

All that you can't leave behind, part 1

Q was here! R's good friend from our time out east (and actress in my latest video) paid us a short visit last week. R gave her the whirlwind tour of SB on Wednesday. When my work day ended we drove up to Solvang where we did a wine tasting and later went out for sushi at Arigato. She left after lunch the next day. It was a quick visit, but I'm glad she made it. She was able to see SB at its sunny best, and R was able to catch up with a close friend, one of the people she misses most from Delaware.

Speaking of the east coast, I am in Philadelphia for business Sunday through Thursday of this week. I knew it was coming: Sooner or later somebody was going to ask me to return to the office, ripping me away from my own personal paradise of working from home, a home in my favorite town in the world no less. But I can deal with four days of commuting and freezing. I don't expect anybody to feel sorry for me, especially you Minnesotans.

That's my office building, snapped on the way in this morning.

The reason for my Pennsylvanian visit is to kick off a new project for a client that once employed me in St. Paul. I'm renewed and excited by the prospect of working with them again. I wouldn't be put off by a future business trip to Minnesota to see some old friends still working there (Terry, this includes you). Plus, if I could extend such a trip over a weekend, giving myself time to drive up to Duluth and meet my new niece, that would be even better. Her baptism was on Sunday, and I'm bummed I missed it.

There's more to write, including news of more visitors, but I will save it for next time. Right now I'm beat from a long day and an odd mix of the familiar and the new.

Happy wedding day, Chili!

It's not a new video, but it has my old pal Chili in it. The dude is getting married today. He's a long time reader of Jeblog, so maybe he'll see this post once the dust from a busy weekend settles.

Congrats, dude! Wish I could be there to shake your hand in person.

Ciao

Our farewell to friends had an Italian theme as it took place over the course of three nights during Wilmington's Italian Festival last week. On Wednesday we went to the fest with Tina & George and Libby & Kevin. Thursday we returned with Gordon & Cindy. And Friday was our grand finale: an Italian dine-around with Chris & Anke and Shane & Quincy (pictured above). Each of the nights was a memorable time and a bitter sweet good-bye.

Change is in the air and not just for us. Others are moving before summer's end as well, one couple to Chicago and another to Boston. It is a good thing that the friends we made here are rather "worldly" because this way we will likely see them again. In fact, we already have tentative plans to meet some of them in Paris in a few years. We're also hoping for some visitors in California.

On Thursday we will be moving into a furnished studio apartment on a temporary basis while we look for a more permanent place to rent or buy. We learned the lesson upon moving to Wilmington that a three or four day visit is not enough time to find a place in which to live, so we didn't even attempt to fly out to Santa Barbara to look around in advance of our move. This decision really adds to the fact that we don't know what to expect when we get there. I have a feeling it's going to be another world.

We may not have chosen our townhouse in Wilmington if we had had more time for a house hunt, but that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy living in it. It was a comfortable home. I was sad to disconnect our theater system last night because it was such a pleasing setup. I have the same fear each time I disconnect my computer: that it will never turn on again because it got rattled too much during transport or that I won't find all of the power outlets in the new house to be in the right places. Over the weekend, when we patched the holes we put into the walls, I remembered the time we put into painting them. We picked neutral colors so that the house would sell easily -- so much for that -- but truth be told, I kind of like neutral wall colors anyway. Our yard here was not very big, but getting rid of the lawn mower was tough: it and I took care of each other. We'll have to buy another one some day, and who knows what that relationship will be like.

The Bud Light Film Crew is moving on without me. The new guy shot the next two videos back-to-back down at the beach a week ago. I'm jealous that he has so much time before the deadlines and wondering what kind of editing software he is using. I'm worried he's going to do a better job than me. I'll be the first one on the web site on July 1 to view his first video. Aren't you curious?

We're definitely seeing the sad side of the move right about now -- all of the packing and good-byes -- but the happy side will reveal itself soon. I think California is going to present some wonderful opportunities for us, as well as new friends and an exciting chapter of exploration. We'll remember Wilmington fondly, but there are no regrets as we march forward. In some ways it's nice to leave on a high note, while things are going so well.

Return of the Sneaky Peek

Our local independent movie theater discontinued their monthly Sneaky Peek a while ago, and I have been missing it. Their movie selection process could have used a little work, but the concept was grand: Everybody shows up to watch a movie, the title of which is not announced ahead of time. The audience doesn't know what they are watching until the opening credits give it away. Ah, the suspense!

To make up for the lack of anonymous entertainment in Wilmington, R and I hosted our own Sneaky Peek last Wednesday night, albeit on a smaller scale. We had 8 people over to have a few drinks, to eat some popcorn and various dips, and to watch... Primer. It's a movie that can lead to some major discussion and possibly some minor headaches because of it's circular time-travel logic. Everybody seemed to enjoy it. I think it was a good pick for a group that was more than half engineers. The movie was actually made by an engineer who quit his job, made the movie for $7000, and brought it to Sundance to win the grand jury prize.

I'm hoping our friends decide to host their own Sneaky Peeks in the coming months. It would be fun to pass it around and see what other people decide on for the group to watch. I'm going to start working on my next pick already. These are the kinds of things that give me a thrill.

With the lid off

A good friend / former roommate visited us over the weekend. He was in Tennessee for work and decided to take the 8-hour drive on over to Wilmington to kill some time when he had a few extra days. On Saturday night we went out to the Iron Hill for dinner and drinks, and on Sunday we showed him around Philly, with stops at the usual historic tourist sites. There was time for a little Super Nintendo in there too. We've been known to like to battle it out Mario-style once in a while. It was a good weekend. Meeting new people gets old; I enjoyed seeing a familiar face and having a history with somebody again. R gets along with the guy too since we all roomed together at one point post-college. I'm glad he made the trip over. Here's to you, L.

Wilmington weekend

On Friday I received an annual review at work and it turned out to be the most positive of my career so far. I'm glad they seem to appreciate the effort I have been putting in. They gave me a raise too, which felt well deserved under the circumstances. I don't think they could ever pay me enough to make it worth missing out on time with my wife and my hobbies, but a little extra money doesn’t hurt anything either. We celebrated on Friday night with drinks and sushi. Afterwards we watched Ordinary People on DVD, which I liked quite a bit.

On Saturday morning, R went to her weekly Lego League session and I played some Ultimate Frisbee at Rockford Park. I'm hoping to make the game a fixture in my Saturday schedule, at least on weekends when we are in town. There’s nothing quite like running until you drop to make you feel better about being alive.

In the afternoon we attended the wedding of local filmmaker Gordon D. and his bride Cindy. I worked with the two of them during Gordon's movie shoot last summer, and the four of us have subsequently become occasional dinner partners and decent friends. The wedding was a good time. I was able to reunite with some of the film crew and hear of the some recent success stories (e.g. our key grip is now working behind the scenes of HBO's The Wire). We met some interesting new people too. It was an artistic, creative crowd. I tend to get along better with people like that -- people who think about things other than baseball or the ever-so-popular football -- so it worked out pretty well.

Sunday was relaxing, yet productive around the house. There's not much else to say about Sunday other than it capped a nice weekend. It's the normal, well balanced weekends like this one that I like best.

Super Bowl weekend

How about that game last night? Yes, we gave in to the hype and watched the Super Bowl this year. I'll admit the game had a few exciting moments. I also enjoyed Prince's performance in the rain, and of course we got a kick out of the commercials. R went so far as to hush me if I talked while they were playing. She didn't want to miss a second. The whole time I kept thinking, I should post the Bud Light Film Crew videos on YouTube. The play count of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Bud Light ad that aired last night is up over 39,000 already. I wonder how many views my videos could have picked up just by having a Bud Light tag attached to them. Anyway, I passed on the opportunity because I didn't know if the people at the magazine would approve. I guess fame will have to wait a little longer : )

Our bigger night out of the weekend was on Saturday. We had three other couples over at our house for a Mexican-themed dinner party. Between cooking and cleaning, it's amazing how throwing even a small gathering can take up most of a weekend. It was totally worth it, however. We had such a great time. It feels good to know that we have made such interesting, fun friends since moving to this new town.

The only other thing we did over the weekend was take a hike through a local park on Sunday afternoon. Our intention was to burn off some Mexican calories and also to take some photos with the new wide-angle and telephoto lenses we recently purchased for our Sony Cybershot. I don't think these lenses will quite give us the results we could get with an SLR, but they should at least get us by until we are ready to invest in a higher end, but less portable, camera. Unfortunately I don't have any photos to show you from Sunday because we pretty much ran out of battery power as soon as we got there. Just think of the vistas of bare trees and frozen streams you'll never get see.

Speaking of photos... I scrapped the old album I had attached to my site and put this one together over the weekend because it will be quicker and easier to update. There's also a permanent link to it in the right column on this page, for future reference.

I need to get to bed. Buenos noches.

Wine hop

I am not above seeing something done in the movies, being influenced into thinking it's cool, and wanting to participate in such an activity myself. When Sideways was released in 2004 and it became the hit hip movie of the year, everybody--me included--wanted to drink pinot noir on the road with their friends and live out various misadventures. Well, the little muse of mine you see above and I had a little taste of such a cinematic experience over the weekend. We spent it with our friends T & C, who live in Richmond, VA. On Saturday the four of us and another couple drove out to the northwestern part of Virginia, near the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, and visited four very distinct wineries. My favorite was the small one that was our last stop. By then the sun was low and somebody strummed a guitar on the porch. The owner, a proud new father from South Africa who seemed very content with his life, was generous with the tastings. All of the guests seemed to be in high spirits as they shared bottles in the picturesque locale. What a life. We probably didn't encounter enough "misadventures" to make a popular movie out of our day (you can't expect anything to go wrong when five out of the six people in the group are engineers with impeccable planning), but we enjoyed a nice picnic, good conversation, and a heck of a lot of wine.

Back in Richmond that night, we went to the late showing of The Last Kiss, which I liked less than I expected months ago, but more than I expected a week ago after hearing all the negative press. It's quite a different movie from Garden State, to which immediate comparisons are drawn, but that doesn't make it a bad movie. It conveyed feelings a lot of people my age can relate to, and it was surprisingly dark. I will say, seeing all the troubled relationships in the movie made me glad to be in such a happy one with my wife.

On Sunday we had brunch at the Tobacco Company Restaurant, said good-bye to our friends, and made the four-hour drive back home. Somehow we ended up getting on the wrong freeway near Washington and got a nice pass-by of the National Mall, especially the Washington Monument. I'm still getting used to the idea of having all of that so close to us. We're saving the D.C. tourism for another weekend. There's so much to see in this part of the country.