A Year of Glory. And More.

This was my 2013. To those I shared it with, may there always be more.

More fun, more love.

More twists, more turns.

More photos, more awe.

More smiles, more miles.

More rain, more pain.

More fire, more friends.

Forget the rest.

Here's to you and yours.

The Pfundstein at Five Inches

Visions in a Tailspin

I've been in a tailspin the last couple months.

More ice cream.

More beer.

More sushi.

More Thanksgiving.

I'm still spinning. Billowing white smoke fills my cockpit and trails my falling craft, the fading memories of sea salt caramel gelato and a late night Wendy's run.

I pull back on the yoke but can't fully commit. Something startles me, so I ease up. I see Dave Thomas' spirit in the wispy exhaust next to me. He smiles and opens a little white bag. He pulls out a four-piece nugget. His friendly smile tells me to take one, so I do.

The plane falls faster. I ask him if he has any ketchup.

The plane screams and spins. "Only mustard?" I grab another nugget.

The controls fall free. The altimeter goes haywire. I reach for Dave's Frosty, but he hits his eject button and peaces out. The whirlwind continues, but no sight of the ground. I grab the stick and pull up...

I wake up.

It's late Sunday night. Passed out on the couch again.

I go upstairs and get in bed. I think of all the upcoming Christmas parties. Then I think of all the other parties last month. Ugh. Could my tailspin really continue much longer? What would Dave Thomas do? I quickly disregard that thought. He didn't even bring ketchup to my nightmare.

Really, though - It's been super fun the last couple months. Many fun times. Definitely worth a few nosedives. 

December should be nice. I hope yours is even better.

Some photos.

Island of Misfit Toys

Someone had this van parked at work on Friday.

A decent effort. Scooby looks good. Nice and laid back. Typical Scooby.

Something's going on with Shaggy, though. That look on his face kind of ruins it for me. If I find out who the artist is, I'll tell them they should've just painted Fred instead.

Or just two Scoobys. Two Scoobys are definitely cooler than prostate examination Shaggy.

About a year ago, I accepted that I had a mess of mountain bike tires in my basement. It was pretty overwhelming. If I wasn't tripping all over them, I was thinking about what to do with them.

I have a shed on my lower deck that seems to act as my own little Island of Misfit Toys, so the tires got moved. Out of sight, out of mind.

The shed stayed closed for a while, but I opened it up recently and got reminded of what I tried to forget.

At which point I realized I needed another distraction.

So, I closed the doors to my Island of Misfit Toys and decided instead to tackle the crawl space under the basement stairs. I was happy to have my mind off the shed. That is, until a long-forgotten container was discovered and reopened.



And then more appeared behind an old shelf, so I dragged them out.



If I didn't mountain bike, I wouldn't have this problem. Such is life.

I did manage to document some other great finds.

City Paper. Featured for the First Annual Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week.

Snakeskin disco heels. Party time.

My favorite misfit toy has always been the boat that can't stay afloat. What's yours?

Halloween

I think I had a pretty good costume for Halloween this year.

Ok, ok.

I admit, the real Elliott looks a little better than I did. Even in his 400x300 pixel glory.

But, he had Spielberg effects and preteen good looks.

My effects budget was limited to rush shipping from Universal Studios and a $45 American Apparel hoodie.

I've gotten a lot of use out of the hoodie already. Obviously. It's cold outside, and it's a hoodie.

On the other hand, ET is still in Ryanne's CR-V, going on about five days in extended parking at the airport. I'm sure he's pissed off and cold. My intergalactic buddy will be phoning home to Seven Fields tomorrow night.

It's a bummer fall has come and gone so quick, this year. Next weekend is The Onion Ride, and the following weekend is Lit Up Night. This will definitely prove to be blog-worthy content, assuming I survive.

As for now, I have a hankering for Reese's Pieces and a sudden urge to hide amongst a bunch of stuffed animals. So while I go bury myself next to Teddy Ruxpin, here are some of the very few photos I snapped at the party.