The title of this post is something I read on a sign inside Lee's Deli on Baltimore Ave.
I pretty much just discovered Baltimore Avenue today. Will and I got Vietnamese subs the first or second day I got here, but otherwise I haven't done much exploring around there. From what I saw today, it's really cool. It's like South Street, but with a quieter, more suburban feel. I got my hairscut at this place called Talkin' Headz on 47th and B-more, and the girls working there gave me a colossal list of things to do around Philly. They pretty much just confirmed my belief that I've hardly scratched the surface of this city... With a better income, I expect to do a lot more exploring.
Speaking of income! I had my second interview at El Camino Real today, and I'm pretty sure I've got the job. Shalynn is having me come in again on Thursday to meet with the owner and talk about training. Yayyyyyy! This place is like... if Illegal Pete's and City O' City had a baby. It's a barbeque/burrito joint with a giant bar, they offer several vegetarian and vegan options, and apparently they have a really amazing happy hour. It's kind of a hipster-fest; when I went in today, all four of the males working had moustaches. Waxed moustaches. I don't know if I can work with more than three moustachioed people at any given time... but it's an adjustment I'm willing to make, I guess. El Camino is located in Northern Liberties (aka NoLibs). It's a really cool part of town with a few brand-new shopping/apartment plazas, like The Piazza, which is directly across the street from El Camino. Bookspace is just down the street, along with several other neat venues and bars. There are a lot of cafés and boutiques lining 2nd Street. Also the whole neighborhood is laden with street art. I could definitely get used to spending time in NoLibs. Mhmmmmm
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Carl Sagan: The Royal Science Toter
So our Epic Meal Time endeavor went beautifully.
Also I've been drawing and painting a little bit because it's been ages.
And some Honk pixzzz0rz for your viewing pleasure.
Also I've been drawing and painting a little bit because it's been ages.
And some Honk pixzzz0rz for your viewing pleasure.
Monday, September 19, 2011
"franzia is a horse of a different feather"
The leaves are still green for the most part around Philadelphia, but I can definitely feel fall creeping in. During the day, it's that lovely medium temperature where you can wear pretty much whatever you want and be comfortable, whereas at night, you definitely want to bring a hoodie with you if you plan on going outside at all. In other words, c'est parfait.
I made a longcat stencil the other day, as it had been way too long since I'd picked up my Xacto knife and paint cans. Unfortunately only two spray tips made it here from Denver, and they clogged before I could put longcat directly onto the fiberboard. So I just glued on what I cut out for the bottom layer. Still turned out okay, I think! longcat is looooooooooooooooooong.
Honk's into waking me up via aggressive cuddling.
Saturday night was Will's (second) monthly bass night at The Legendary Dobb's on South St. This month featured Atlas, and Jack Deezl, who played a phenomenal all-original set. You can check him out here.
Will playing at Dobb's!
The Picnic for Degenerates was yesterday at FDR Park. We went to see Sam play, but missed his set unfortunately. House music isn't really my "steaz", but I had a pretty great time anyway. The people watching was exceptional.
When I say that this place was held at FDR park, I mean that it was held in a lot on the south edge of the park, under I-95 and across from the Philadelphia Navy Yard. I really enjoyed the contrast between the expanse park, the tagged-up concrete area, and the Naval ships.
Where was this guy for my Fresh Prince party? Oh and yeah, he's breakdancing. There was lots of that, also lots of backflips, and fire poi later in the evening. There was also an epic Tecktonik dance-off.
VUVUZELA
Last night after Picnic, Josh, Dave, Sam, and Adria came over to watch this awful horror movie called "The Caller". I entertained myself by watching Josh sit in discomfort while his archnemesis, Honk, rolled around and chewed his toenails in his lap.
Mowgli's been really anti-social since Honk showed up. :(
Honk's perfectly comfortable in his new home. Almost too comfortable...
Today I made a chicken pot-pie for Josh, Will, and I. The grocery store didn't have Pillsbury pie crusts, so I improvised with Honey Butter Grands. BEST IDEA EVER. Holy crap, this was delicious. After we ate, we watched a bunch of Epic Meal Time, which inspired us to create something equally as epic for dinner tonight. We've got it all planned out, and while I won't give away what we're making, I will ensure that there will be an extensive report of the imminent magic tomorrow or Wednesday.
More interviews this week-- tomorrow at a coffee bar, and a second interview on Thursday with the owners of Vedge.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
"oh long john"
This is where I work.
Granite Hill is nestled in a corner of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and is a popular lunch destination for primarily foreign museum-goers and for various aristocrats involved in the art world. It's owned by Stephen Starr, who owns several other notable restaurants on the east coast, and who served as a guest judge on Iron Chef. His restaurants are known for being high-class and trendy...which is why Granite Hill is such a confusing place. The dining room décor is blatantly unimaginative, with a light blue and white color scheme that should have never, ever left IHOP. The ambiance is reminiscent of a waiting room of a dentist's office. Despite the restaurant looking so lifeless, it is run as if it were a five-star restaurant. White tablecloths, polished silverware, fine crystal glasses, white cloth napkins (and black ones for when people request them to better match their attire or some shit). Serve food from the left, clear plates from the right. Silverware must be a fingernail's length from the edge of the table. When a guest goes to the restroom, you must go push their chair in and fold their napkin. Most importantly, never EVER, under ANY circumstance, leave the salt and pepper on the table after clearing the main entrée. Never. Barry will murder you. He is really a nice guy, but kind of eccentric, and disturbingly vehement about providing the finest in fine dining experiences. Which is cool and everything, but... I mean, this morning during the pre-shift meeting, he reviewed with the staff how we are to go in and out of the door. Because we don't know how to go in and out of doors. He stopped another busser from doing a task because there was a bread tie on the floor at the other end of the restaurant. Maybe I'm just spoiled from having worked at such an amazing establishment for four years, but this place sucks. It doesn't help that it's taking so long to break into the polish-able shoes I had to procure to aid in fooling the customers that they're eating in a high-end restaurant. It's not just blisters, it's that my feet are horrendously misshapen and feel like they're being folded in half hot-dog style after about an hour or so of working in these shoes. By the end of the shift, I'm in so much pain that I am really, really, really grumpy. Which is a crappy addition to my already dismal thoughts on this place. Not to mention how inconveniently-located the museum is, in relation to our house. And you don't even want to know how much I'm making.
Luckily I have a few more potential jobs lined up, and with any luck, I'll hear back from them in the next couple days. One's at that Mexican place (aesthetically similar-ish to Pete's, lol), another is at Drinker's. The last is at Tashan, a new Indian restaurant/lounge on South Broad that opened last week. My dad has an 'in' with the guy who opened it, so Will and I got into the grand opening last Thursday and made a few really good contacts. One of these contacts is Dennis Gaudenzi, Owner/President of virtually all the event-planning companies in Philadelphia. He gave me a call on Friday asking if Will and I wanted to work at Beer Fest at the Ball Park in return for more contacts, something to add to a resumé, and of course, beer. So we did that yesterday. He called it "volunteering," but I called it AWESOME.
Friday, Will DJ'd a party in South Philly called "Come at Me Bro." I think people took it too literally, because about a million bros came. It was pretty fun, but entirely too crowded and entirely too young. We left as soon as his set was over.
This is Hank, being NSFW.
The weather's getting cooler gradually. It's so refreshing!
Granite Hill is nestled in a corner of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and is a popular lunch destination for primarily foreign museum-goers and for various aristocrats involved in the art world. It's owned by Stephen Starr, who owns several other notable restaurants on the east coast, and who served as a guest judge on Iron Chef. His restaurants are known for being high-class and trendy...which is why Granite Hill is such a confusing place. The dining room décor is blatantly unimaginative, with a light blue and white color scheme that should have never, ever left IHOP. The ambiance is reminiscent of a waiting room of a dentist's office. Despite the restaurant looking so lifeless, it is run as if it were a five-star restaurant. White tablecloths, polished silverware, fine crystal glasses, white cloth napkins (and black ones for when people request them to better match their attire or some shit). Serve food from the left, clear plates from the right. Silverware must be a fingernail's length from the edge of the table. When a guest goes to the restroom, you must go push their chair in and fold their napkin. Most importantly, never EVER, under ANY circumstance, leave the salt and pepper on the table after clearing the main entrée. Never. Barry will murder you. He is really a nice guy, but kind of eccentric, and disturbingly vehement about providing the finest in fine dining experiences. Which is cool and everything, but... I mean, this morning during the pre-shift meeting, he reviewed with the staff how we are to go in and out of the door. Because we don't know how to go in and out of doors. He stopped another busser from doing a task because there was a bread tie on the floor at the other end of the restaurant. Maybe I'm just spoiled from having worked at such an amazing establishment for four years, but this place sucks. It doesn't help that it's taking so long to break into the polish-able shoes I had to procure to aid in fooling the customers that they're eating in a high-end restaurant. It's not just blisters, it's that my feet are horrendously misshapen and feel like they're being folded in half hot-dog style after about an hour or so of working in these shoes. By the end of the shift, I'm in so much pain that I am really, really, really grumpy. Which is a crappy addition to my already dismal thoughts on this place. Not to mention how inconveniently-located the museum is, in relation to our house. And you don't even want to know how much I'm making.
Luckily I have a few more potential jobs lined up, and with any luck, I'll hear back from them in the next couple days. One's at that Mexican place (aesthetically similar-ish to Pete's, lol), another is at Drinker's. The last is at Tashan, a new Indian restaurant/lounge on South Broad that opened last week. My dad has an 'in' with the guy who opened it, so Will and I got into the grand opening last Thursday and made a few really good contacts. One of these contacts is Dennis Gaudenzi, Owner/President of virtually all the event-planning companies in Philadelphia. He gave me a call on Friday asking if Will and I wanted to work at Beer Fest at the Ball Park in return for more contacts, something to add to a resumé, and of course, beer. So we did that yesterday. He called it "volunteering," but I called it AWESOME.
Friday, Will DJ'd a party in South Philly called "Come at Me Bro." I think people took it too literally, because about a million bros came. It was pretty fun, but entirely too crowded and entirely too young. We left as soon as his set was over.
This is Hank, being NSFW.
The weather's getting cooler gradually. It's so refreshing!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
so heavy
What a humid day. Not hot necessarily, but definitely humid.
I had my interview at Mad Mex, which went decently. Tomorrow will be my first day at Granite Hill, though there's a possibility that all I'll be doing is paperwork. In any case, hooray for income!
It's been kind of a somber, reflective evening. Whenever I feel any tinge of despondency over petty things I can't control, I become even more distraught because I know that feeling is stupid and unjustified. Granted, it's nice to feel things. But damn.
On a lighter note... here's a lighter on a note.
I had my interview at Mad Mex, which went decently. Tomorrow will be my first day at Granite Hill, though there's a possibility that all I'll be doing is paperwork. In any case, hooray for income!
It's been kind of a somber, reflective evening. Whenever I feel any tinge of despondency over petty things I can't control, I become even more distraught because I know that feeling is stupid and unjustified. Granted, it's nice to feel things. But damn.
On a lighter note... here's a lighter on a note.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
alleviation of the couch, or, whistol pip
Contrary to popular belief, it is not always sunny in Philadelphia. I can confirm this because it's raining outside (fo' drizzle). This weekend was nice though. If you can squint enough, this graph can provide further statistical insight into my labor day weekend.
I got a job this morning! It's at Granite Hill, the Stephen Starr restaurant inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Think Rocky meets... upscale French bistro. I have to buy shoes that can hold polish. Oh boy. Also I have an interview at a Mexican place tomorrow, a prospective job at a bar in Center City, and now apparently my dad has connections with the owner of Tashan, a classy Indian restaurant due to open on Thursday. Holy jobs!
We have a new addition to the household! Katie brought her cat from Elizabethtown, his name is Hank. I call him Honk. He is heavy and orange and incredibly unhappy to be living in this new environment. He's having a really hard time warming up to Mowgli. They keep fighting, from hissing and growling to literally screaming at each other. The way I see it is that Mowgli's just an uptown girl, and she's been living in her uptown world, whereas Honk is just a country boy. They'll be best friends by the end of the story though. That's how it works. In the meantime, Mowgz will be curled up on her enormous red and gold couch, and Honk will be curled up on my desk. And I will be curled up somewhere in between...right now.
I got a job this morning! It's at Granite Hill, the Stephen Starr restaurant inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Think Rocky meets... upscale French bistro. I have to buy shoes that can hold polish. Oh boy. Also I have an interview at a Mexican place tomorrow, a prospective job at a bar in Center City, and now apparently my dad has connections with the owner of Tashan, a classy Indian restaurant due to open on Thursday. Holy jobs!
We have a new addition to the household! Katie brought her cat from Elizabethtown, his name is Hank. I call him Honk. He is heavy and orange and incredibly unhappy to be living in this new environment. He's having a really hard time warming up to Mowgli. They keep fighting, from hissing and growling to literally screaming at each other. The way I see it is that Mowgli's just an uptown girl, and she's been living in her uptown world, whereas Honk is just a country boy. They'll be best friends by the end of the story though. That's how it works. In the meantime, Mowgz will be curled up on her enormous red and gold couch, and Honk will be curled up on my desk. And I will be curled up somewhere in between...right now.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
figh hive
I've got some interviews next week. Looks like I could be either working at the restaurant in the art museum or working at another Mexican place before long, LOOOOOOOOOL. Shouldn't complain about income though, not at all. (Don't quote me on that later!)
Yesterday I felt a sudden bout of wanting to settle into my room, so I started rearranging and putting things on the walls, even though I'll have to get new furniture in a couple weeks.
This air is doing wonders for my skin; the mosquitoes, however, are not. The prospect of filling a fog machine with bug spray came up in conversation yesterday. I figure Mac could send me a gas mask and I could just bask in front of it forever.
Last night Jon and everyone went out for drinks in South Philly, but Will and I opted for the less expensive alternative of walking around with Solo cups. We ended up sitting in the courtyard of these regal-looking (fresh brick, big white columns) apartments, listening to an amazing soul band playing from one of the three buildings. I AM WHERE THE FAT BEATS STRETCH FOR MAD BLOCKS. From there at around 11pm, we went to Clark Park where a father was teaching his children how to ride miniature crotch rockets. It was really endearing to watch. Cute families rock.
Jon's housewarming tonight, more applying today.
Good vibes, good vibes. :)
Yesterday I felt a sudden bout of wanting to settle into my room, so I started rearranging and putting things on the walls, even though I'll have to get new furniture in a couple weeks.
This air is doing wonders for my skin; the mosquitoes, however, are not. The prospect of filling a fog machine with bug spray came up in conversation yesterday. I figure Mac could send me a gas mask and I could just bask in front of it forever.
Last night Jon and everyone went out for drinks in South Philly, but Will and I opted for the less expensive alternative of walking around with Solo cups. We ended up sitting in the courtyard of these regal-looking (fresh brick, big white columns) apartments, listening to an amazing soul band playing from one of the three buildings. I AM WHERE THE FAT BEATS STRETCH FOR MAD BLOCKS. From there at around 11pm, we went to Clark Park where a father was teaching his children how to ride miniature crotch rockets. It was really endearing to watch. Cute families rock.
Jon's housewarming tonight, more applying today.
Good vibes, good vibes. :)
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