i keep a diary

December, 2012

The December Roundup

Here are all the photos I took in December 2012 that didn't end up in their own entry.

Saturday, December 1st

On Saturday morning, I got up early and headed over to the Shambhala Center to attend my fifth and final meditation weekend in their Way of Shambhala Curriculum.

If you've ever thought about learning to meditate, I can't recommend Shambhala or the Interdependence Project enough!
cushion ˆ elevator ˆ shambhala meditation center
meredith
Meredith hung out with Maddy in the apartment while I was out all day. We went over to...
e9th apt ˆ laptop ˆ living room ˆ meredith
...the theater on 2nd Ave and saw a movie.
Someone was gold-spraypainting in a tree-box outside.
paint
Midas leaves.
paint

Sunday, December 2nd

Up early again on Sunday morning...
shambhala meditation center ˆ sign
...for the final day of sitting practice.
art ˆ shambhala meditation center
After completing all 5 weekend retreats, and practicing a slightly different meditation technique each weekend, the Shambhala organization presents you with this pin to commemorate your accomplishment! (Surprise, there's nothing to accomplish!)
hand ˆ pins ˆ shambhala meditation center
amanda, grant, meredith
Later that night, Mer, Grand and Amanda came over for an Indian feast and a screening of....
e9th apt ˆ living room ˆ peep show ˆ tv ˆ amanda ˆ grant ˆ meredith
...Peep Show season 8, episode 2: BUSINESS SECRETS OF THE PHARAOHS!
laptop ˆ peep show

Monday, December 3rd

vin
I bought this amazing drawing of Japanese schoolgirls from friend and favorite artist, Vin Ganapathy. (Covered with tissue paper about to be framed).
art ˆ drawing ˆ vin
Cleaning up my office, I found my tour badge from when I spent a week on the Rejects tour bus!
backstage ˆ tour
I hopped on board during their 3rd show in NYC, and tagged along for six shows down to Nashville. Thanks again, dudes.
backstage ˆ tour
Later that evening, the new NeuroSky Mindwave I'd ordered arrived!
brain computer interface
This headset was the second brain-computer interface I purchased from NeuroSky. They miniaturized and improved this new headset quite a bit from their first generation product that I purchased back in January of 2011
brain computer interface ˆ computer ˆ laptop
grant, me
Jury's still out about whether or not they make you look tres cool or not. (Grant's face in the background. Haha).
best ˆ brain computer interface ˆ excited ˆ plant ˆ grant ˆ me
me
After you wear the device correctly, it begins to measure five different wavelengths of your brainwaves in real time and sends the data via bluetooth to your computer...
brain computer interface ˆ me
...where it interprets your brainwaves and graphs them as they relate to "attention" and "relaxation", the two simultaneous poles of mindfulness meditation.
best ˆ brain computer interface ˆ computer ˆ laptop
Then we fucked up this pint of B&J.
ice cream ˆ treats

Wednesday, December 5th

grant
Grant crashed on Tuesday night. We spent Wednesday morning doing our freelance work and talking about how weird (and wonderful) it is to not have to go to an office every day. And how important it is to have freelancer friends to talk about all the unique problems & worries that come from having a non-traditional job.
couch ˆ e9th apt ˆ grant
grant, maddy
Maddy LOVES when Grant sleeps over, but Grant has mixed feelings about his first canine-friendship.
couch ˆ grant ˆ maddy
maddy, meredith
Mer came by after lunch to visit with Maddy and take her to the dog park. Afterwards, we sat down and worked on the terms of separation and divorce. (We decided to work together with a mediator instead of getting divorce lawyers. Much more civil, but required a whole lot of talking on our part).
maddy ˆ meredith
Later that afternoon, a thank-you gift arrived from Jeff at Voltaic.
box ˆ gift ˆ solar
Once of their awesome solar briefcases that's powerful enough to charge a laptop! Awesome! Thanks, Jeff!
briefcase ˆ gift ˆ solar
Ran some twilight hour errands in the neighborhood...
clouds ˆ east village ˆ la plaza cultural ˆ twilight
...traded in all my change for bills at the bank ($250+!)....
bank
...then TREATED MYSELF to a fashion shopping SPLURGE at Kmart. New pocket-tees, undies & socks. My Spring LOOKBOOK is now complete!
shirt ˆ shopping ˆ socks
meredith
Later that night, we stopped off at Mer's new temporary East Village apartment...
stairs ˆ meredith
sarah
...and then headed over to St. Jerome's to visit Sarah.
tongue ˆ sarah
amanda, grant, meredith, the ktb
I love how this photo turned out looking like an impressionist painting. I know these smiling faces even when they're blurry.
amanda ˆ grant ˆ meredith ˆ the ktb
grant, the ktb
Kim was in town visiting from London!
phone ˆ grant ˆ the ktb
grant, meredith
After a few drinks, we walked over to...
walking ˆ grant ˆ meredith
meredith, the ktb
...Amanda's apartment and Grant treated us...
meredith ˆ the ktb
grant
...to some hot bass jams.
bass ˆ grant
the ktb
After Amanda's we all went over to my apartment to order a pizza and watch Peep Show. Kim was still on London time. ;)
asleep ˆ green chair ˆ the ktb

Thursday, December 6th

New lighters.
lighter
This book was ok. Interesting read, but not very well organized or annotated. The Secret History of the World
book
I own a bunch of translations of the Tao, this one is my fave: Tao Te Ching
book
kate h
On Thursday afternoon, I was catching up on email and watching one of the final episodes of How I Met Your Mother, when suddenly, a familiar face appeared between two principles...
people we know on tv ˆ tv ˆ kate h
kate h
...it's Kate! (This was the first time I'd seen her face since 2008!)
people we know on tv ˆ tv ˆ kate h
Later that night, I was invited to attend a party at Bain Capital Ventures to celebrate the opening of their new NYC offices.
flux capacity ˆ name tag ˆ work
maddy, meredith
On the way home, I stopped by Meredith's apartment and picked up Maddy.
maddy ˆ meredith

Saturday, December 8th

grant, maddy
On Saturday afternoon, Grant came over for a visit and we....
plant ˆ grant ˆ maddy
...headed over to Odessa for pancakes and mantalk.
breakfast ˆ diner ˆ food ˆ odessa ˆ pancakes
Later that evening, while eating a light dinner...
food ˆ salad ˆ sandwich
kate h
...I spotted Kate again in the very next episdoe of How I Met Your Mother!
people we know on tv ˆ tv ˆ kate h

Monday, December 10th

grant
Monday morning visitor! Grant gets up early to do a 10k run - usually he stops at my apartment at the 5k mark to have a coffee and a chat before he runs home.
e9th apt ˆ living room ˆ run ˆ wave ˆ grant
People in the neighborhood are starting to decorate trees in the community gardens with lights!
east village ˆ garden ˆ xmas lights
quinn, sarah
On Monday night I met up with Quinn & Sarah for drinks in my hood at The Wayland.
quinn ˆ sarah
My favorite drink there is called I HEAR BANJOS! It's made of Apple pie moonshine, Rye whiskey, house apple-spice bitters and then they fill the glass with applewood- cinnamon bark smoke. WHAT?
bar ˆ cocktail ˆ smoke
After the drink has had a chance to absorb the smoke, you take off the smoke hat and drink it!
bar ˆ cocktail ˆ smoke
quinn
After a few drinks, we headed upstairs to my apartment so we could try out my Neurosky headset and the games that you play by trying to focus your brainwaves! Here's Quinn focusing her attention to try to explode video-game barrels full of TNT.
best ˆ brain computer interface ˆ laptop ˆ neurosky ˆ thumbs up ˆ videogames ˆ quinn
sarah
Sarah working on that sensor-placement.
brain computer interface ˆ neurosky ˆ sarah
The meter at the bottom shows you how "focused" your attention is. The more focused you can make it, the more quickly you can explode each barrel. The goal of the game is to explode barrels in as few seconds as possible. Fun!
brain computer interface ˆ laptop ˆ neurosky ˆ videogames
maddy
Maddy napped on my knee.
dogs ˆ maddy

Tuesday, December 11th

I spent Tuesday afternoon sitting in on SingplePlatform's strategic planning session.
flux capacity ˆ singleplatform ˆ work
Helping companies evaluate their growth and come up with clear, testable hypothesis for how use their limited resources in order to continue growing is what I specialize in! I feel lucky any time a company hires me and invites me join in on their strategic planning.

If your business is looking for a collaborator, don't hesitate to get in touch with me at Flux Capacity!
flux capacity ˆ singleplatform ˆ work

Wednesday, December 12th

On Wednesday afternoon, I ceremonially burned notes given to me by Jeffrey after our third kinesiology session together.
fire ˆ magic ˆ smoke ˆ window
jared, jesse, sexy joe
On Thursday night, I went to Piano's to see Group Sounds play a show!
band ˆ group sounds ˆ jared ˆ jesse ˆ sexy joe
jared, jesse, sexy joe
It was the five-year anniversary of their 'last show' in 2007!
band ˆ group sounds ˆ jared ˆ jesse ˆ sexy joe
They always invite everyone up on stage for their last song.
band ˆ group sounds
Good times! See you in another five!
band ˆ group sounds

Friday, December 14th

Meredith came over on Friday afternoon...
e9th apt ˆ moving
meredith
...to pack up everything of hers that was still in the apartment and bring it to her new apartment out in Brooklyn.
e9th apt ˆ moving ˆ meredith
Walking the dog that evening, I admired this sign on a mobile hot water heater parked on the block.
sign
Even the temporary sign is temporary.
sign
I spent the afternoon running errands to give Meredith some space, and when I returned home I found all of her stuff neatly boxed in the hallway.
e9th apt ˆ moving
me
Went back out and got an hour of deep tissue massage. My face is all red from being smashed.
home office ˆ massage ˆ me
After I get a massage, my voice drops several whole-steps lower! I'm a tenor 1, but after a massage, I can make it all the way down to a C1 with really loud chest-resonance.
finger ˆ massage ˆ piano
amanda, grant
Later that evening, Grant and Amanda came over to hang out and learn a song that Frank wanted to play at their upcoming Christmas Party.
e9th apt ˆ guitar ˆ laptop ˆ living room ˆ piano ˆ amanda ˆ grant
amanda, grant
The rarely seen Stoddard Stinkeye!
e9th apt ˆ guitar ˆ laptop ˆ living room ˆ piano ˆ amanda ˆ grant

Saturday, December 15th

Saturday morning sitting practice...
cushion ˆ meditation
...trying out my new Neurosky headset. It's interested to watch your brain-waves in real-time, but sort of counter-productive because it keeps grabbing your attention.
brain computer interface ˆ laptop ˆ meditation ˆ neurosky
me
I ended up moving the laptop behind me out of my line of site. The software allows you to "record" your brainwaves and review them after the session is complete.
best ˆ brain computer interface ˆ e9th apt ˆ laptop ˆ meditation ˆ neurosky ˆ me
amanda, grant
Later that evening, I met up with Grant & Amanda and we took the train out to Brooklyn to attend...
house party ˆ xmas ˆ xmas lights ˆ amanda ˆ grant
frank, seth
...Frank & Liz's Holiday party!
house party ˆ xmas ˆ frank ˆ seth
frank, grant
Which always turns into a singalong party!
guitar ˆ piano ˆ sing ˆ frank ˆ grant
amanda, frank, grant
Call out a song and Frank can play it!
guitar ˆ house party ˆ piano ˆ sing ˆ xmas ˆ amanda ˆ frank ˆ grant
grant, liz
Catching up by the Christmas tree.
xmas tree ˆ grant ˆ liz
bill w, frank, liz, seth
In addition to a holiday party, it was also Franks' birthday! Here's Liz sneaking up on Frank with a cake mid-song.
birthday ˆ cake ˆ house party ˆ piano ˆ xmas ˆ bill w ˆ frank ˆ liz ˆ seth
bill w, frank, liz, seth
Hahah. I love this photo! He still has no idea...
best ˆ birthday ˆ cake ˆ house party ˆ piano ˆ point ˆ bill w ˆ frank ˆ liz ˆ seth
bill w, frank, liz, seth
...that there's a cake coming!
birthday ˆ cake ˆ piano ˆ sing ˆ bill w ˆ frank ˆ liz ˆ seth
frank, grant, liz, seth
After cake, we headed outside to watch Frank do his most favorite thing in the world....
birthday ˆ fireworks ˆ frank ˆ grant ˆ liz ˆ seth
frank
...light off some 'WORKS!
birthday ˆ fireworks ˆ frank
frank
Before lighting off each work, Frank would stop to read us the poorly-written descriptions. Haha.
birthday ˆ fireworks ˆ frank
frank
3...2...1....
fireworks ˆ frank
frank
...FIRE IN THE HOLE!
best ˆ fireworks ˆ run ˆ frank
frank
Close-up of Frank's action shot!
action shot ˆ best ˆ close up ˆ fireworks ˆ run ˆ frank
amanda, frank
After we saw all the neighbor's lights turn on after the first firework exploded (loudly and repeatedly), we decided to...
birthday ˆ sparkler ˆ amanda ˆ frank
amanda, frank, grant
...downgrade the birthday festivities to sparklers.
birthday ˆ sparkler ˆ amanda ˆ frank ˆ grant
frank
Happy birthday, Frank!
birthday ˆ sparkler ˆ frank
When I got home, I saw this one the interwebs.

"Moscow-based art-collective, Voina painted a penis on the Liteiny Bridge in St Petersburg. Evading and fighting off security, the 65-metre high image was completed just before the bridge opened, as it does each evening to let ships pass through. The penis "erected", directly facing the St Petersburg headquarters of the FSB, the KGB's successor. The group called the artwork Dick Captured by KGB." - From The Independent

I woke up early the next morning and went to Paris for the week!
bridge ˆ internet ˆ wtf

Friday, December 21st

maddy, meredith
Remember when everyone thought the world was going to end on December 21st, 2012? I arrived back from my lovely trip to Paris late on Friday night and was greeted at the apartment by Meredith & Maddy! Thanks again for watching her while I was away, Mer!
couch ˆ e9th apt ˆ maddy ˆ meredith

Saturday, December 22nd

maddy
Excited to walk this hop-stepper again.
walking ˆ maddy
Awesome wheatpaste transformation of the facade on the corner of 7th & C. This was one of thirteen awesome interactive portals (see the QR code at the bottom?) hidden throughout the East Village by artists Nicolina Johnson and Perola Bonfanti.
art ˆ best ˆ east village
Sunday night I met up with Matt and we went to see a show at UCB East
improv ˆ ucb

Sunday, December 23rd

On Sunday, I took the hound over to the Port Authority with me and caught a bus...
park ˆ tompkins ˆ tree
dad, teddy
...down to south Jersey to spend Christmas with my family! Dad & Teddy after dinner.
dogs ˆ xmas ˆ dad ˆ teddy
My mom is always finding new vegetarian recipes to make when I visit. Mmmmm.
food ˆ soup
amy b, brett, maddy, mom
After dinner, I set up my laptop so Brett & mom could try out the Neurosky headset.
brain computer interface ˆ laptop ˆ neurosky ˆ videogames ˆ amy b ˆ brett ˆ maddy ˆ mom
brett, mom
After Brett and I had gone a few times, and gone back and forth beating each other's high scores, my mom put the headset on for a try.
brain computer interface ˆ neurosky ˆ videogames ˆ brett ˆ mom
We were playing a game where you try to focus your attention single-pointedly, and it makes a disco ball float up into the air. The goal is to keep the ball floating for as long and as "high" into the air as you can. Our mom does yoga quite a bit and has been interested in mindfulness for years, but we were both surprised at how good she was at this game!
brain computer interface ˆ computer ˆ laptop ˆ neurosky ˆ videogames
brett, mom
Here's Brett's bemused expression as our mom absolutely SHATTERED both of our top scores and keep on going.
best ˆ brain computer interface ˆ neurosky ˆ videogames ˆ brett ˆ mom

Monday, December 24th

dad, mom, uncle walt
We went down to Ann & Walt's house for Christmas Eve. Nice to watch kids unwrap a ton of presents!
best ˆ gift ˆ xmas ˆ xmas tree ˆ dad ˆ mom ˆ uncle walt
First Christmas!
baby ˆ xmas ˆ xmas tree
Holiday basket of pinecones and all I can think about is phyllotaxis, the pattern that leaves of a plant make in attaching to the stem, is pretty much the most interesting thing I keep coming back to these last few months.
pinecone ˆ xmas
The scales on a pine cone, called bracts, are formed by two spirals going in opposite directions. The number of spirals are both always numbers in the Fibonacci sequence. Phi played out in three-dimensional space!
best ˆ math ˆ pinecone
Don't see the two spirals? Check out this rad video.
pinecone ˆ video
brett, dad, mom
Back at the house that evening...
couch ˆ pinecone ˆ xmas ˆ brett ˆ dad ˆ mom
...we laid out DVDs for the ceremonial holiday watching.
dvd ˆ movie ˆ xmas
Bold choice!
movie ˆ tv ˆ xmas ˆ xmas tree

Tuesday, December 25th

amy b, brett
Brett and Amy getting ready to check out the loot in their stockings. Haha.
best ˆ stockings ˆ surprise ˆ xmas ˆ amy b ˆ brett
amy b, brett, mom
I love my mom smiling in the background here.
stockings ˆ xmas ˆ xmas tree ˆ amy b ˆ brett ˆ mom
brett, stocking
Brett double-checking a suspect bag of cookies to make sure my mom hadn't substituted real holiday treats with "healthy cookies." Coast is clear, they're the real McCoy!
treats ˆ xmas ˆ xmas tree ˆ brett ˆ stocking
Other goodies included, chocolate pretzels, birthday candles in our names, and lottery tickets!
cookie ˆ scratchers ˆ stockings ˆ treats ˆ xmas
brett
We also scored scarves!
gift ˆ scarf ˆ xmas ˆ brett
me
Thanks, Mom! Three winters later and I still wear this guy all the time.
gift ˆ scarf ˆ xmas ˆ me
maddy, teddy
Then we called the dogs over...
dogs ˆ stockings ˆ maddy ˆ teddy
...for their stocking stuffers! Hahah. My mom is pretty funny.
dogs ˆ stockings ˆ xmas
maddy
Those ears.
bite ˆ maddy
maddy
Toys with squeakers drive Maddy INSANE.
bite ˆ maddy
In between hundreds of rounds of throwing Maddy's new toys across the house, I managed to eat about two-thirds of a warmed Brie that was covered in raspberry jam and almonds.
cheese ˆ food ˆ treats
I could live on this.
cheese ˆ treats
maddy
Ok, now the other one!
dogs ˆ toy ˆ maddy
maddy
Such a serious tugger.
dogs ˆ toy ˆ maddy
amy b, grandma
Later that afternoon, more family came over for some holiday feasting.
food ˆ xmas ˆ amy b ˆ grandma
Despite what I used to believe, the holidays are still pretty awesome if you don't eat meat.
food ˆ xmas
uncle wayne
Uncle Wayne, still the undisputed champ of the post-meal nap.
asleep ˆ xmas ˆ uncle wayne
elyse, maddy, uncle bruce
Bruce, Elyse & Maddy.
xmas ˆ elyse ˆ maddy ˆ uncle bruce
dad, uncle bruce, uncle wayne
Digestion lounge.
asleep ˆ thumbs up ˆ xmas ˆ dad ˆ uncle bruce ˆ uncle wayne
Adult gifts!
gift ˆ xmas
elyse, grandma, mom, uncle bruce
After dinner cocktail hour.
xmas ˆ elyse ˆ grandma ˆ mom ˆ uncle bruce
This is what Teddy does when he's had enough. Haha. Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 26th

dad
After a delicious lunch of holiday leftovers...
kitchen ˆ dad
amy b, mom, teddy
...we said goodbye to my parents...
kiss ˆ amy b ˆ mom ˆ teddy
brett, maddy, teddy
...and Brett and Amy came to stay with me for a couple days in New York!
couch ˆ dogs ˆ e9th apt ˆ brett ˆ maddy ˆ teddy
amy b, brett, emily b
Later that evening, Amy's sister Emily joined us from Brooklyn and we got our Thai feast on.
e9th apt ˆ living room ˆ thai food ˆ amy b ˆ brett ˆ emily b

Thursday, December 27th

amy b, brett
Afternoon work session. I don't know if you noticed Amy's...
couch ˆ amy b ˆ brett
amy b, maddy, teddy
...two wiener armrests. Lucky!
dogs ˆ laptop ˆ amy b ˆ maddy ˆ teddy
amy b, brett
I didn't have any clients over the holidays, so I spent some time working on this site!
computer ˆ ikad ˆ laptop ˆ meta ˆ amy b ˆ brett
Later that afternoon, Brett came with me to Pearl River on my quest to find some new living room furniture.
I was super-interested in this guy, but didn't end up buying it. (Should've went for it, in retrospect).
furniture
brett
Stopped at Bowery Diner on the way home. Battjer boys like us some burgers and fries.
diner ˆ food ˆ french fries ˆ brett
me
The veggie burger at the Bowery Diner was sooooo good. Made of swiss chard & beets and topped with cheese and horseradish sauce. Fuuuuuuuuu)
diner ˆ food ˆ french fries ˆ me
Neato fabric in a vintage store on the way home. I always take pictures of color palettes I like.
fabric ˆ shopping

Friday, December 28th

On Friday evening, we walked over to...
east village ˆ sunset ˆ walking
vin
...Cherry Tavern to meet up with Vin.
bar ˆ cherry tavern ˆ vin
amy b, emily b
Emily came and met us for drinks again.
bar ˆ cherry tavern ˆ amy b ˆ emily b
brett, vin
Buddies.
cherry tavern ˆ brett ˆ vin
amy b, emily b
After a few drinks we headed over to Milon for some festively-lit Indian cuisine.
indian food ˆ xmas lights ˆ amy b ˆ emily b
brett, me
Thanks for coming to visit! Happy December 2012 (glad the world didn't end....yet!)
indian food ˆ xmas lights ˆ brett ˆ me