currently blogging in the open – in the back of panera bread to be exact. ever since i purchased my new laptop, i made a commitment to myself and it that i’d take advantage of the emerging free wi-fi hotspots in the area and do a little more blogging/e-mailing/web browsing in various areas. not to say i mind my apartment, or work for that matter – but a little change of scenery never hurt anyone.

so here i am – placing the welfare of my brand new vaio in jeopardy over an eight dollar meal which consists of a half-greek salad (hold the onions), a bowl of low-fat chicken noodle soup, and a piece of whole-wheat bread.

a bottle of water is only a sip depleated. it sits behind the screen as i type.

i’m enjoying the ambiance of the panera so far. light jazz and chatter filter through my sony headphones and into my ears – although once i finish this post and open up the itunes i’m sure that’ll change.

i’d love to share pictures from the weekend – however the photos currently sit on the memory card of my girlfriend’s camera. usually i use my own – however it is currently in the care of the geek squad. in yet another sign that i am the most graceful person you know, i dropped the camera on the lens, while turned on, last week at ragz in dallas. thank goodness for accidental coverage at best buy.

anyways, the weekend turned out to be quite eventful. the gf and i aren’t ones to cash in a lazy weekend, but this certainly ended up being a little more involved than either of us had expected.
after driving in late friday night – i hopped out of the studio around midnight, grabbed some pizza for us to enjoy – and called it a night at my apartment.

hang on, i’m a man of my word.

we awoke saturday morning and drove to clarks summit. among many other perks the gf lacks in her current residence of stamford, ct – two that we aimed to satisfy this weekend were the lakc of hayrides, or for that matter, open green spaces, and really good pizza. thanks to leggio’s for the latter, which tasted delish friday night, and just as good, if not better during our impromptu saturday morning breakfast.

clarks summit took care of the other task at hand. miller’s orchard is a festive site this time of year. leaves turning colors, pumpkins in all sizes spread throughout the land, and of course, the nascar-themed corn maze. we took in all of the sights – from my newly acquired pumpkin – to my newly acquired brown chuck taylors.

yes, in a state of absent-mindedness, i wore my beloved black and white converse sneakers to a farm. the kicks currently sit inside my gf’s bedroom, awaiting a fierce cleaning.

we also took part in a little hayride. i won’t lie, it turned out to be a great place to spend a beautiful fall afternoon. just remember to dress appropreitely, from head to toe.

we completed the throwbacked afternoon with an early dinner at the ground round, loaded potato skins included. then we headed home and dressed the part of 50’s flapper and mobster for the costume party at ragz in dallas (once again – this is where i’d show you a picture).

after making a little noise in dallas – complete with 3,000 drink specials and discounted, homemade bar food – we met up with d-dubs, intern erin, and marino at friday’s for a drink. but only one. we would need a full-night’s rest for sunday’s adventure.

this is when i tell you about the little surprise i laid on the gf friday night. below the trick-or-treat bag filled with reese’s mini-cups, i hid a pair of tickets to bon jovi’s sunday night show at the brand-new prudential center in newark, nj.

let the extended road-trip begin. we left sunday afternoon and drove to stamford – after quickly changing and dropping off the car, the gf hopped in the elantra and we drove down i-95 to newark.

won’t lie, this review made me a little weary of the show. clearly though the reviewer’s saw an opening night show that differed from the one i witnessed. simply put – bon jovi killed it. i’ve never held someone from new jersey in such high regard. ever.

and yes, singing along to “livin’ on a prayer” as it’s performed live in jersey beat any other self-imposed rendition at any college bar i’ve ever drank at. ever.

after a night of sleep in the city that works, i’m now just south of the electric city, getting ready for the big bad radio show at the panera.