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Photos From the June 5 Tornado in NW Ohio

The only part of this house left standing; the fireplace

I finally got around to uploading some pictures I took while in Ohio. Aside from the usual party pictures, I took some photos of what was left from the June 5th tornado(es) that hit Millbury & Lake Township. I took the photos exactly one month later so most of the debris was cleaned up, but you can still see how the path of the tornado completely leveled some houses; leaving nothing but a huge hole in the ground. This EF-4 tornado hit only 6 miles from my parent’s house, and the path was 8 miles long (obviously not in the same direction). I was in a car taking all of these photos  while driving by, but check ‘em out for yourself here.

A Little Exhausted, But Still Breathing

I’m still alive, I swear! I’ve been crazy busy lately,  but I’ve accomplished a ton over the past few days (except for sleeping). I feel like I’m back in school again- working full time (except now I’m writing at least 9 hours a day, not sitting on my ass answering phones. The fact that I’ve been completely broke adds to that feeling too).

To sum up the chaos of the past two weeks, after I got back from Ohio I jumped right into a project that I was clearly incapable of doing. I spent every single minute outside of work writing, shooting, and editing three 30-second spots for a competition. I created everything in the spots— from cutting together new and old vacation footage, to recording sound effects and the voiceover, to playing and recording a song on my guitar. Apparently I need to keep reminding myself that I am not an art director or video editor by any means. I’ve got years of pracitce ahead of me before I can create something of semi-decent quality. But nonetheless, I didn’t let that stop me. I completed all three spots and submitted them 2 whole hours before the deadline! Maybe I’ll post them on YouTube in a few days after the competition is over… Then again, maybe not.

After spending 18 bajillion hours at my computer, I got wicked sick after eating Lucky Charms. Ridiculous, I know. So that had me bed-ridden for a good 24 hours or so. That same day, my laptop decided to completely crap out on me while I was working from bed. Not cool. And yes, I am accepting donations for a new Macbook Pro via PayPal, cash, or checks!

I also spent one evening designing business cards for a friend of mine. Again, not to self, you are NOT an art director!

I’m starting a new, independent project that’s 10x larger than anything I’ve ever done in the past. And I couldn’t be more excited! I’m hoping for an early fall launch if all goes well, but don’t be surprised if we see some snow on the ground before I’m ready to go live with it. I hope not though! Things are about to get really exciting around my tiny portion of this huge, partially-covered-by-oil globe. Especially if I win that commercial contest that I’ve entered.

Alas, it’s Friday once again. The week has flown by, and I’m finding it hard to believe that it’s already mid-July. On the plus side, I’m heading out to Montauk and maybe even the Hamptons on Sunday for the very first time! Expect many photos!

For now, I’m going to sit back with this bottle glass of Pinot Noir, listen to some tunes by The Album Leaf, and do research for my new project. Oh, and upload some new photos to Flickr, so stay tuned!

The Glass is Half Full (of Oil)

I really can’t believe that this headline reads “BP Spill May be Fixed as Soon as July 27.” As soon as? Haven’t we been dealing with this long enough? Should’ve it have been fixed like, 2 months ago?

The Suit-Side of LeBron

I’ve been MIA for about a week now (thanks to excessive food and alcohol consumption in Toledo), but what kind of Ohioan would I be if I didn’t have an opinion on LeBron James? No, I’m not from Cleveland, and no, I couldn’t care less about the NBA. But as a sports fan in general, I was anticipating LeBron’s decision over the past few days.

As far as I can tell, Cleveland got lucky with LeBron. Their small-town boy was apparently the next Michael Jordan. The guy played however many seasons in Cleveland, but still hasn’t won a championship. Why should he continue to carry the Cavs since they obviously can’t match his skills? Why should he stick with them if they can’t push him to become even better? In Cleveland, LeBron was the only star on the court. Game after game, he had nobody to aspire to. Nobody on his team could compare, so he could simply play at the same pace he’s been playing and still be considered a god. Obviously he wants more than that since he’s joining a team with two other superstars. He’d never improve by staying on a team that doesn’t force him to try harder. Why should he continue pulling the weight of a team in hopes of a championship with a team that is clearly incapable of stepping up? Loyalty? Please. Where in this world does loyalty get you nowadays, unless you’re a golden retriever. There’s a fine line between staying loyal to your team when they suck and when they actually show some hope.

Continue reading…

Bon Voyage! Happy Fourth from the Midwest!

Gotta love holiday weekends! I’m at work right now, getting ready to fly out to Detroit in a few hours! I’m going back to visit the family until Tuesday morning, and I couldn’t be more excited— I haven’t been back there since December! My parents are picking me up at the airport at 7, then my friend Pat is meeting me at my parents house and we’re going to eat at Tango’s (which is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Toledo because of their amazing pot of flaming cheese). Tomorrow morning I’m getting my hair done (for $270 cheaper than it would cost me to do it in New York) and then having a miniature “pool party” all day at my parent’s house. The rest of the weekend is wide open, but I have to be on a 7am flight back to New York on Tuesday morning.

I hope you all enjoy your Fourth of July holiday weekend, and don’t blow a limb off with those fireworks! This is my first time taking my new camera back to Ohio, so expect many, many pictures.

I’m Like, 1/4 French Canadian

Happy Canada Day to my long lost, majorly extended family; and the fictional-character-that-should-be-my-best-friend-if-only-you-were-real pal Robin Scherbatsky! Let’s celebrate by watching some hockey and drinking some Molsons! Oh yeah, wrong season…

Swimming on Top of the World

Wow. Look at this infinity pool at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore.

What Do You Think About Midwesterners?

Downtown Toledo, Ohio over the Maumee River

After almost immediately checking out of the overcrowded Pirate party last night, I went over to a bar with a few people “just to use the bathroom” before getting on the train home. A couple of beers later, I was involved in a conversation about the Midwest; Ohio in particular. One guy told me how he’d stayed the night in Bowling Green, where I proceeded to remind him that BGSU was once listed as the #1 most STD-ridden college in the entire United States according to Playboy Magazine. Another guy was telling me that everyone he meets from Ohio is extremely humble and overall a good human being. I told him, “well most of us that come from Ohio didn’t grow up with much, so anything we do in New York is a step up, so we don’t take it for granted. We’re not like these New York kids who grew up with nanny’s and family vacations in Europe.”

I got to thinking about it a little later on, and I think he was right for the most part. Some of the best, most down to earth, amazing people I know are those who grew up in Ohio and moved the hell out. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a handful of good souls left in Ohio, but those who are motivated enough to get out of there tend to be the ones that are constantly craving more while keeping that humble Midwestern attitude. They’re grateful for every single step they take in the right direction, and they don’t take their opportunities for granted. Maybe that’s because they know they’re doing better than they would be doing back in Ohio?

Are you or someone you know from Ohio, or maybe just the Midwest in general? Are you/they awesome, or totally lame? Have you noticed any other areas of the country or world where people tend to be genuinely awesome? I’m proud of my Ohio roots. I’ve (thankfully) come a long way since living there, but I think the atmosphere in which I was raised has only pushed me to crave more, while forcing me to appreciate it just the same.

Gourmet Mac and Cheese Lovers in NYC

For the past few days I’ve been craving some gourmet style mac n cheese. Yesterday I set out on foot in the 496-degree weather and ventured to every French restaurant in the Times Square/Bryant Park area for something to satisfy my craving. I ended up settling for Subway. Today I was planning on Subway again until my friend reminded me of my craving. Then he told me about a place called S’mac in the East Village, and after checking out their website, it looked too good to resist. Immediately I grabbed my bag and ran out the door, taking the R to the L and finally arriving at 12th and 1st Ave. I had brought along my camera and notebook, ready to enjoy a nice, creative brainstorming session on my lunch, but the place was about the size of my apartment with no room to eat. I ordered the four cheese “nosh” sized dish which includes “Cheddar, Muenster, Gruyere and a touch of Pecorino,” and almost sprinted back to work. The MTA must’ve known the urgency of transporting a hot meal from the East Village to Hell’s Kitchen, because both the L and the Q (express, yes!) trains were waiting for me. I made it back to the office in record time to enjoy this bowl of warm, gooey, delicious, filling CHEESE!

I never thought I’d say this in a million years: but perhaps there is such a thing as too much cheese. Don’t get me wrong, I finished every bit of it and even licked the bowl clean, but the thick layer of bread crumbs and cheese on top was kind of overkill towards the end. I found myself moaning and groaning as I shoveled in the last few strings and bites of cheese, and then the button on my pants popped. Haha okay I’m kidding about that last part. That didn’t happen THIS time. But overall the dish was pretty delicious. It probably would’ve been better had it been piping hot and I’d eaten it right away, but there’s always next time. When it cooled down a bit, the cheese started to separate and you could almost pick apart the different types. I would’ve preferred if they were still all gooey and melted together, but for under $7.00 I can’t complain. I’ll definitely stop by S’mac again if I’m ever in that area, but since I don’t make it down to the East Village very often, I doubt it’ll be any time soon. Unless this craving rears its ugly head again…

The Perfect Dessert for Those Hot Summer Days

One scorching day last summer I had some graham crackers leftover from microwave S’mores, a can of Reddi Whip, a bowl of fresh berries, and a 90 degree living room full of out-of-town guests. We were craving some sort of light, refreshing dessert, so I rifled through the cupboards to see what I could concoct without having to climb Mount Everest (aka my stairs) after a sweltering trip to the grocery store. I set up shop on the coffee table and started building miniature snow-white mountains of Reddi Whip on top of graham cracker squares, and topped them with thin slices of strawberries. Delicious. Everybody loved them!

So naturally, those same ingredients have made another appearance in my kitchen now that the temperature has gone into past the 80’s. This time I’ve even added blueberries to the mix. If you’re a dessert junkie like me, keep some of these ingredients on hand for a quick, easy, go-to dessert fix. You’ll feel much better about yourself if you eat 4 of these rather than a pint of Ben & Jerry’s!