Wednesday, August 5, 2009

West Coast Trip - 2009

Well, here I am. I haven't written a blog in three months, but thought I would finally take the time to sum up my west coast trip for any and all who are interested. I can honestly say it was one of the most bizarre trips I've taken, for many reasons, and the time in the car gave me a lot of time to think about things that were happening in my life. The good, the bad, and the ugly.


Monday, June 1, 2009: Woke up early and was on the road around 7:30am. It was cloudy with a light rain lingering over me. As I left home, the rain picked up, and was spotty at times. After about 2 1/2 hours I crossed the Mississippi. I stopped in Des Moines, IA, took a couple pictures of the skyline (not much of one), had lunch, and got back on the road. I made it to Nebraska a few hours later, passing through Omaha. I stopped in Keanrey, NE for a few souvenirs, and got back on the road headed for Denver. The rain hadn't let up by the time I crossed into Colorado and the sky looked dark ahead of me. It began to pour and water quickly covered the highway. It got dark and continued to rain. I hydroplaned a few times and got pretty nervous. It was pitch dark out and I was in the middle of nowhere. I made it to Denver about 10:00pm, checked into the hotel, and went to bed.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009: I woke up around 9:00am and headed out. It was still gloomy and raining. I drove to City Park to get a skyline photo of the city (which was only about 3 miles away) and you couldn't see the city through the rain and mist. I headed north through Boulder, CO and up to Estes Park. As I drove north, the rain let up, but it stayed gloomy and cloudy. When I got to Estes Park, I did a little shopping, had some pizza, then headed into the Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park. As I got into the park, the rain began again. As I climbed to a higher elevation, the fog rolled in. There was snow building as I drove higher and it got to a point where they closed the rest of the road due to snow. I saw quite a few Elk, a couple birds I had never seen, a prairie dog, and that was about it. No bears, wolves, moose. Just Elk. I headed out of the state park by late afternoon to make my way towards the highway heading west. I drove through Vail, which was gorgeous. The weather continued to rain on and off all the way to Grand Junction, where I stopped for the night.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009: Woke up in Grand Junction to blue skies...finally. I headed out of town towards Utah. Once in Utah, I drove to Moab to the Arches Nat'l Park. I saw many of the Arches and took some beautiful photos. About two hours into my visit at the park, I got in my car, started it, and a 'Check Engine' light came on. Sooo...I had to drive into Moab and paid $42 for a guy to tell me my gas cap was loose. After feeling like a fool and out $42, I headed west for Las Vegas. I arrived in Las Vegas just after sunset, around 8:30pm. I met up with my mom and dad, sister and new brother-in-law at Circus Circus to watch a dancing act. After that, I pretty much went back to the hotel and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Thursday, June 4, 2009: Woke up early and went out to breakfast with my dad's cousins who were in town. Afterwards, I went out to the pool and laid out most of the afternoon. It was 82 and cloudy all day, and 5 hours of laying out garnered me NO tan. My parents went to see Santana, and I left and walked the strip by myself, just people watching. It's kinda cool walking through Vegas by yourself, without any purpose. I didn't gamble. Didn't drink. Just walked, and looked. Went in the Forum Shops at Caesar, and a REALLY cool art gallery by Peter Lik . After that, I went to get some NY style pizza, and went up to the hotel room (we stayed at Harrah's).

Friday, June 5, 2009: Woke up and went to the pool. Laid out for a few hours with my mom, and once again, got very little sun. It was still cloudy and only in the lower 80s. Was this Vegas? I had been here three times prior and had heat of 110 consistently. Later in the evening, the girls went out and the boys hung out at the Rio, had some dinner, then we all met up and went to the VooDoo Lounge on top of the Rio. Roseann and Andy had a penthouse for the week just under it. We came back around 2:00am, and I went to bed.


Saturday, June 6, 2009: Woke up around 9:00am and left for Salt Lake City shortly after. Came into Salt Lake around 4:30pm. Got to Ted and Sheila's and hung out with Aunt Donna and Uncle Ronald for a bit. I threw stars with TJ and friends in the back yard, then got ready to go out to eat. Me, Ted, Bailey, Aunt Donna and Uncle Ronald met up with Sandy at Rodizio's in SLC and had a fabulous dinner. The turkey bacon wraps were great, but I really loved the beef. Afterwards, we headed back to Draper, hung out with the family and Sandy came too. Ted, Uncle Ronald and I listened to recordings of Amber in the studio. Then, I tried showing Uncle Ronald how to use facebook, upload photos, and use the chat function, which he used for the first time to talk with Sadie, who was in Las Vegas. After that, I played a few songs on the piano and we stayed up talking and taking a few photos. By midnight, it was about time for bed.

Sunday, June 7, 2009: Uncle Ronald passed away early this Sunday morning. What a horrible day, and how ironic that it happened on both mine and Aunt Donna's birthday. I was suppose to leave and head to Wyoming, but decided to stay an extra day. Besides, I certainly wasn't in any mood to set off by myself for another week of adventure. I helped put a photo slideshow together, and later Ted and I took a bike ride up to Park City and had some fantastic sushi. It rained a bit and got cold on the way back, but being on the motorcycle felt great. It had been a while, and the rain or cold didn't bother me much.

Monday, June 8, 2009: Sandy, Sheila, Ted, TJ, Shauna, Bailey, Aunt Donna and I all went out for mexican. The pork tacos were great and I still couldn't finish it all. After lunch, I headed back on the road heading north. I stopped in Idaho and bought a pair of much needed sunglasses. I arrived in Jackson, WY around 6:00pm and went into town. I had a beer at the Cowboy Grill and had a burger from Billy's next door (recommended by Ted). After that, I headed in for the night and went to bed.


Tuesday, June 9, 2009: I woke up and went into town and bought some t-shirts and some hoodies. I headed to Grand Teton Nat'l Park to get some photos. At one point as I was taking a photo of the famous barn, my car got stuck in the mud. It took about 20 minutes of drive, reverse, drive, reverse, but finally I got it out. There was no one nearby to help, so I was lucky! The car was completely covered in mud. I got the photo I wanted and headed further into the park.


I stopped at one of the lodges and had myself my first bison burger. Delicious! Afterwards, I headed north into Yellowstone Nat'l Park. I drove to the center of the park and looked for Old Faithful. I got there just after an eruption, but decided to hang out for another hour and a half in the gift store until the next one. I set up the video camera and taped it from beginning to end. After that, I headed north, occasionally stopping on the side of the road to take a picture of something. A heard of buffalo crossed in front of me at one point (got it on video). I left Yellowstone around 8:00pm and headed north to Montana with a final destination of Billings, MT. Around 10:00pm, my dad called to see where I was and what I was up to. I told him about my trip the last two days and remarked on how many elk I had seen and how there were signs everywhere warning of elk. Just before heading into Billings, I was driving down a dark empty highway as another car approached me in the 'fast' lane. I moved over to the right and as they began to pass me, BOOM! They nailed an elk! Blood splashed up my windshield and front left side of the car and pieces of the front end of their car came over and ricocheted off my car. One of their headlights blew out and they quickly were able to pull over to the side of the road. I didn't stop since I was 5 miles from Billings and my hotel, plus I saw them safely pull over, and what could I do? So I went to sleep with mud and blood covering my car. I can't imagine what the people at the hotel thought!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009: I woke up in Billings, MT and left the hotel around 8:30am. First and foremost, I went and got my car washed. Then, I drove east. In Wyoming, I stopped at a steak house and had elk medallions. Yum! Very lean, gamey, and tasted like venison. I left after lunch and headed east towards South Dakota. It was cloudy and rained most of the day. As I approached the black hills, the rain stopped, but a thick low lying cloud layer went as far as I could see. At Rapid City, I detoured south towards Mount Rushmore. When got there, you couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of my car because the fog was so thick. I drove there and couldn't even see it. I was pretty upset about that, and I know Uncle Ronald wanted me to see it and I wanted to put his face with the presidents. I went and had an ice cream cone, then continued east to Mitchell, SD (outside of Souix Falls) and stayed for the night.

Thursday, June 11, 2009: I woke up around 9:00am and headed east to Souix Falls, then north to Fargo, ND. Once I got to Fargo, I met up with my friend Shelly at her work, then went shopping. We went back to her place, her boyfriend came by shortly after and we all made tacos and just hung out for the night.

Friday, June 12, 2009: We all woke up, and went shopping for a little bit. We went to downtown Fargo and head lunch at a nice Italian restaurant, then headed back to their place. In the evening, we went to a minor league baseball game, which was a lot of fun! It was a high scoring game, with 5 or 6 home runs, so it was exciting. Afterwards, we met up with a couple of her girlfrends and went for a couple drinks, then headed back to her place.

Saturday, June 13, 2009: I woke up around 10:00am, and got my stuff together to head home. I left around 10:30, going through Minnesota and entering Wisconsin around St. Paul. About an hour into Wisconsin, I stopped at a big cheese place and bought 2 lbs of buttercheese (best cheese ever) and a jar of apple butter. I got back on the road, made it to Illinois, then made it home around 9:30pm.



Home Sweet Home.



Saturday, May 16, 2009

I'm back...with a new video.

Hey everyone. Sorry it has been a while since I've posted anything, I've just been distracted by life I guess. I have no excuse really. I've been on Facebook, but have been busy with a project at work lately and I'm just tired and haven't been online as much when I get home.

I wanted to post my new video which I did for the University I work with. Feel free to leave your comments...this video is going to be reviewed by the President of the University on Tuesday. It's corny in many ways, and that is what they wanted...a corny comedy mixed with student testimonies (although they have changed their minds repeatedly). Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

If you like American Idol...check THIS out!!!

If you haven't already heard or seen, there was recently a contestant on the UK version of American Idol which is called Britain's Got Talent. Simon, who is also one of the judges on this show, was practically speechless, for possibly one of the first times ever.

All of the YouTube postings have the video disabled for embedding, so you'll have to click on the link below to view it. The original video was first posted two days ago and has already received over 4,000,000 hits!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRmM1J1sfg

Tell me what you thought. Before and after her song.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Chicago Photos...

These are a couple of the photos I took in downtown Chicago over St Patty's weekend. They're not 'all-that', but pretty cool. Something new to add to the blog anyways! Notice the green dye in the Chicago River?







Monday, March 16, 2009

Sushi, Sushi, Sushi!!!


I can't get it out of my head! Lately, I've had a crazy craving for sushi. I never really ate it until fairly recently and had it for the first time when I was 21 in Vegas at a sushi bar, then again on a Cruise Ship when I was 23. A few months ago, I ordered Seared Ahi Tuna Steak from P.F. Changs and I was hooked! On Sushi that is!


My craving led me to the grocery store (which now has a sushi bar inside) and I bought a sushi platter and took it home and ate the whole thing. Now, that may sound like a lot, but it wasn't THAT much. I wanted another one when I was done. Now, when I watch the Discovery channel and see large fish, I want to take a bite out of them!!!


So far, I've had salmon and eel, but haven't tried anything else. I love soy sauce and any Japanese roll with sushi in it. Also, when I went to the store, I bought two frozen tuna steaks to try seared tuna on my own. Has anyone else made sushi at home before? Sheila, have you tried it? I want some tips on what I can do with salmon filets or something else that I can buy and is sushi-safe. My local grocer is really good and gets fresh fish regularly.


Anyways, I thought I would share my wild craving with everyone. Please tell me about your sushi experiences, what you liked, didn't like, or any tips you can give me! I'm new to the sushi world, to teach me a bit and give me suggestions. =)


This was the sushi plate I devoured in minutes...

Monday, March 2, 2009

New Recipe - Eggplant Parmesan

I tried a new recipe last night...eggplant parmesan. I've never done anything with eggplant before, but the dinner came out great! I even had to take a picture of it. If you'd like to try something new, give it a shot. It took about 3-4 hours from start to finish. I made up some of the recipe myself, but I'll give it to you and wish you the best if you decide to try it yourself...


This recipe serves 2-4 people.
INGREDIENTS:

1 eggplant (medium size)
Bread Crumbs
Flour
Salt
Basil, Oregano, Parsley
2 Eggs
Chicken (optional)
Noodles (optional)
Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese


DIRECTIONS:


- Skin eggplant completely. Cut long-ways into 1/3 inch slices.
- Get a bowl and make a mix of flour and salt (about 4/5 flour and 1/5 salt)
- Dip and press the sliced eggplants into the powdery mix. This will extract the bitter juices from the eggplant. Lay out eggplant on a papertowel to begin the draining process. The eggplant should go through this process for 1-2 hours. Keep adding flour to eggplant as the juice soaks into the flour already on the slices.
- After 1-2 hours, rinse eggplant under warm water to remove flour and salt.
- Get a bowl and make a mix of flour, bread crumbs, and ground herbs listed above (no salt)
- Get a bowl and mix two eggs (or three if necessary)
- Dip eggplant into breading FIRST, then into egg, then back into the breading. Place into frying pan with vegetable oil for a quick simmer. I only fried mine until they began to crisp and turns a very light tan (not too brown)
- Cook 1/2 lb of chicken in a frying pan, cooking all the way through, but not over cooking.
- boil and prepare 1 cup of noodles (penne preferably)


When the ingredients are done, place a layer of eggplant at the bottom of the pan evenly. On top, spread tomato sauce (I used Classico 4-cheese). Add shredded chicked to your desire. Put grated parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Add another layer of eggplant. Again, add sauce, and more chicken if desired. I also added penne noodles here. Put parmesan and mozzarella cheese on top. Add last layer of eggplant. On top, add sauce, parmesian cheese and top it evenly and generously with mozzarella cheese.


Cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Wha-laa! You're done!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I won a major award!!!

And it's not a LEG LAMP!

I won a merit award at the 24th Annual Admissions Marketing Awards for my Welcome Chicago video highlighting our main Chicago campus. The award was in the catagory for Best Video Viewbook and competed against other schools with enrollment between 5,000-9,999. We competed against some unknown schools and some well known ones...most notably, West Point. They just beat us out with their video.

Here is the the winning submission...


This video was written. filmed, and post-produced by yours truly :)

To see the complete list, visit the PDF document below...

http://www.hmrpublicationsgroup.com/Higher_Ed_Marketing_Report/awards/AMR_Winners_List_2009.pdf

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Joey for PRESIDENT!

JOEY FOR PRESIDENT

~ 2024 ~

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

NEW VIDEO PROJECT!!!

A while back, I put up a post about what I've been up to lately. I was working on a really cool video for work, and I still am, but it was sidelined for a little bit. It's about 80% finished and I thought I'd share it with you. There is an empty black 5 second black area in the middle and at the end...I will be filling those later. For now...this is what I have...


Sunday, February 8, 2009

What Starts With 'C' and Blows in the Wind?

TWO THINGS ACTUALLY.... see the videos below....

Cats in the Wind - A Blustery Day in Schererville, IN.

It was the first 'warm' day since fall and all of the snow finally melted. The cats love going outside on the balcony but haven't been able to since November. It was very windy outside and the cats didn't like it very much. They withstood as much as they possibly could before making a mad dash back indoors.

Candle in the Wind

I was in the mood to play on my keyboard a little bit tonight. I haven't played much lately because I've had other things going on, but I like to play at night occassionally as I'm winding down and relaxing. This is 'Candle in the Wind' (instrumentally only) by Elton John.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

My Likes and Dislikes

The paragraph below is a collection of things that I like and don't like. I wrote this a while ago, so it's not formatted in the '25 things' format like everyone else had. AND, there is way more than 25 items. These are all just random, no particular order, just the order that I thought of them in.

I love spending time outdoors, going hiking, fishing, camping, etc. I love the summertime. The fall is beautiful but it depresses me because I know winter is on its way. I spend most of my free time either hanging out with friends or working. I love being spontaneous. Weekend trips are a favorite of mine. My political views are liberal. I can't stand liars. I'm not a big fan of people who are overly dependant on others. I love to eat, and to eat out! I love taking pictures and shooting video. I love music too, and playing for people occasionally. I don't eat a lot of junk food. I try to exercise fairly regularly. I don't usually drink a lot when I go out. Bar girls disgust me. Girls that drink too much turn me off big time. I hate when certain people call only because they need something. I have a habit of spoiling my girlfriends. I don't like when people answer their cell phones in restaurants, or when the ringer goes off. Direct connect calls are ANNOYING! I'd rather get a handmade birthday card with a lot of thought than an expensive gift. I can eat a Chipotle burrito bowl faster than heck. I have no known allergies. When I go fishing, I tend to get poison ivy because somehow my shoes end up coming off and I start exploring. DQ and Baskin Robbins are a definate weakness for me. I've never had a sworn enemy. I've ran the bases at The Field of Dreams in Iowa. I travel a lot and have been to 24 states and 2 countries in the past two years. I love Las Vegas and would go yearly if I could. I've never had a cavity and I never had braces. No glasses or contacts either. I work in Illinois and live in Indiana. I drive over 70 miles a day for work. I like Tom Cruise movies, but watching him in an interview makes me want to give him a forearm to the head. I love a good comedy show. I would love to get married if I found a girl who wasn't crazy. I wonder sometimes if there are any girls out there who are not. I think nose piercings are cute, if its the right piece of jewelry on the right girl. Tongue rings aren't so hot. I have no tattoos and wouldn't want one. I'm very close with my family. If I'm shopping and I see something that I really want, I usually buy it. I'm very good with money and finances. My credit score is near perfect. I've considered running for a local political office in my city. I try to make positive differences in other peoples lives. I love cookie dough. I feel strongly that people need to take responsibility for their own actions. I love odd looking animals, like Moose, Hippos, Armadillos, Giraffes, Koalas, and Meercats. I saw my first bald eagle in Southern Indiana. I would rather watch a movie than sports on TV. I currently have no points on my drivers license. My favorite beer is Corona, and my second favorite is Gumballhead (Three Floyds, Munster, IN). I do not like Heineken or Old Style and in fact, I think it tastes like ammonia in a can. Thursday night is my favorite night to go out. Love at first site doesn't happen. I've always had a fish tank. I have very little skeletons in my closet. I like dancing and clubs, but don't go often. I looove green eyes. I do a fantastic Aaron Neville impression. Almost every song I know reminds me of a person or a place and I could name a song that reminds me of each person I know. This list is getting really long. Poop jokes make me laugh. So does the word poop. I'm a night person, but I'm not crabby when I wake up. I don't snore. I'm not a picky eater. Pretty low maintenance. I love Frosted Flakes before bed. Two bowls usually. Peanut butter toast too. I usually eat the same thing at most restaurants. I have a huge 65" HDTV. I haven't eaten McDonalds or Burger King in over three years. I don't drink coffee. I'd love to take pictures of Central Park in the snow. I drink 2% milk. I can't stand the look, smell, or taste of a Payday candy bar. I always sneeze when I walk outside into the sun...usually twice. Target is my favorite department store. I could spend hours in any electronics store like Best Buy. I have a weakness for cheesecake. I'm very particular about having the inside of my car clean and smelling nice. My oldest t-shirt that I own is a 1996 Silverchair tour shirt.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Davey singing at President Obama's Inauguration

Did anyone take a really close look at who was REALLY singing 'My County Tis of Thee'?


Friday, January 23, 2009

YouTube Video

I mentioned before that I come across some of the most random clips on YouTube. This one below is a little bit sad, just because of the situation, but I also couldn't help but to laugh a little bit. Am I mean?!? It was more of a "Hahaha...poor puppy!" kind of a laugh. Anyways, it is legitimately an interesting ailment that I've never really thought of dogs having...let alone humans! I forget that people actually have this too...

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Video of me on the ABC News!

September 2008 Floods in NW Indiana

This video was taken from ABC News in Chicago on 9/15/08 after we received a record rainfall and flooding across the area. I submitted a photo and they put it on the news.


Thursday, January 8, 2009

Old Arizona Photos...are you in one?

These were all taken when I visited in the August 1997.





RANDOM FACTS ABOUT MY AUGUST 1997 TRIP TO ARIZONA:

1) It was the first time I ever flew on an airplane by myself (and the only time by myself too).

2) It was also the first time I drove a stick-shift (thanks Alisha for taking me cruisin').

3) It was the first time I seen it rain (I mean...monsoon) in Arizona.

4) It was also where I first learned that if you want to cool down your car while driving, turn on the heat.

5) It was the first time I attempted to change a blown-out tire just minutes after Uncle Jack bragged that he had over 80,000 miles on those tires. And yes, we were in the middle of the desert near the Mexico border when we changed that tire.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

What have I been up to?!?

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday season! Sorry I haven't written much lately, and frankly, I don't really have an excuse other than I was REALLY lazy...and I'll explain why...

Fortunately for me, I work at a college. I get the same holidays off that the students get, which are basically all of the major federal holiday (including MLK Jr Day). Usually in early December, the President of the college announces whether he is giving us two free weeks off for Christmas break (sometimes we have to work a few of the days in between). This year we were given two weeks off, plus I only work a 4-day (10 hr) work week, so I was off from Thurs. Dec 19 - Mon. Jan 5) ...PAID! Yay! The weather here has been terrible...cold, then warm, then snow, then melt, then ice...over and over again. I stayed inside as much as possible. I didn't even leave home from Jan 1 until I went to work Jan 5. I spent New Years Eve with my cousins and Christy at Johnny's new house in Munster.

Christmas was nice! I did the same thing I do every year...wake up, go to my parents and open presents in the morning, then go to Becky's to meet up with everyone else, go to my dad's side of the family's house in the evening, and get home by 9:00 or so. It's pretty routine...the same exact thing I've done every Christmas for my entire life. I did get some nice things and I'm excited about my ShamWow (as seen on TV) and now my eyes are open for things to soak up. I also got Season 4 of The Office (my fav), some nice clothes, a big roasting crock pot, a new camera bag, and a few other things. I didn't get anything that I had on my Christmas list, so I'm assuming that Santa doesn't have a Blogspot yet. He must be on MySpace, or Twitter, or Facebook or something.

Uncle Ronald, you asked me if I was working on any new projects, and actually, I am. I'll tell you a little bit about them. For my own business, I'm just finishing my contract with the Lake County Juvenile Courts for a video that I did for the Judge. It was a short 4 minute video, a paternal affidavit, that I recorded and post-produced and created and labeled 20 DVDs for. I'm working to generate some new business and hoping to book some weddings for the summer and fall.

At the college, I'm working on a really fun project that I came up with. I had a dream one night...a vision, if you will...of a powerful and inspirational video that I could do for the college. I told my boss I had a great idea but I didn't want to explain it to her, I just wanted to do it, then show her. She's liked everything I've done before, so she got excited and told me to go for it. I currently have about 75% of the video done. I have since showed it to my boss and she loves it and said it gives her goose bumps! She told me that this year the college wasn't going to have a new commercial filmed (due to budget) and we were going to run this past years commercials next year. If the president really likes this video, he might want to make this the commercial, which would then air across the Chicago metro area for 3-4 months on most of the major networks, including ABC, CNN, MTV and some of the Food Networks. I don't want to get too ahead of myself because that still is a longshot, but it's a shot!

Well, it is getting late in Indiana. My sleep schedule still feels thrown off from having so much time off and staying up until 4am and waking up at 1:00!

Mmmm...suddenly I have the taste for Pierogi's before bed....NO JOEY NO!!!!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Falcone Family Reunion - July 2008

Benji, Little Benji, Uncle Ronald, and Joey
July 2008