good eats

in 24 hours, i've become "a regular." josh the photographer and i have each been to the dock street oyster bar four times. the ad guys were there as were walking down the boardwalk at sunset, getting more "b-roll" shots, and after more oysters, mussels, and a cherry coke for me, we left to find some dinner. food--good food--has been in abundance on this trip. at a restaurant on the water i got the crab cakes and the flounder, two of the most-recommended items by the locals. the crab cake was full of flavor and spices, living up to all that had been said of it; the flounder was nothing to blog about. just the same, i was still full as we left the dock street oyster bar.
we walked past two sushi bars, numerous italian restaurants, a cafe, countless pubs, taverns, and bars, including a russian bar, a nice french restaurant that looked promising but was, for some reason, passed up (i think because it was empty inside, and therefore couldn't be that good), past another riverside cafe, debated over a classic ice cream and fudge parlor that piped out the smell of new waffle cones, stood in front of an oyster bar with live music on the outdoor patio, and finally conceded amongst the seven of us on the dock street oyster bar, walking in for the fourth time in 24 hours to the place we had just left.
when you've got the best, why do anything else?

two things i wish i'd brought: my still camera and my running shoes.

the interview went great, today. the guy we were interviewing works as a gaffer, and a self-lighting subject is as wonderful as a ron popeil invention: it slices, it dices, it lights itself, and my life is all the easier.
working in this (or any) sort of artistic position is a balancing act; could i have done better? if only i knew more, had more experience; what would the guys who trained me do? are the ad guys happy with it? well, it's kind of like jack johnson song: "everybody thinks that everybody knows about everyone else, but they're all worried about the themselves." so the trick is to keep your wits, think clearly and do your best, then let it be.

after a couple of final hours at the oyster bar and filling bucket of crustacean shells of every sort to overflowing, we were the very last people in our favorite hang out. we parted ways, and those of us walking home noticed some people with ice cream cones, and followed the scent to the ice cream parlor, just minutes from closing. there are few better ways to end a day than with a single scoop of chocolate brownie in a fresh waffle cone and a small box of fancy chocolates.

i hope i go running on saturday.