new domain

i finally took the first step in moving forward with making my own portfolio website: joshuapramis.com. [don't bother looking just yet. i haven't built anything yet.] while i have a pretty decent web presence already, i think an official receptacle for everything that’s important to me is essential.

so for anyone who stumbles across this post, any tips for building a site from scratch would be much appreciated!

 

ohai blog! i’m back!

i have been a bad, bad blogger. let’s chock it up to busy summer weekends and total lack of ambition after long days at work. but i’m vowing to (try to) get back on track with (semi-) regular posts again, lest i never garner more than three regular readers.

as i said, this past summer has been pretty action-packed. most recently, i completed my 2nd half marathon. admittedly, i was a bit scared, because i didn’t train much, but i finished. (albeit 4 minutes slower than my first…oh well.)

while i’ve kept busy locally, i’ve been dying to take another trip. the last time i boarded a plane was in april and, given my career choice, that just ain’t right. i’m counting down the time until my next big vaca, but unfortunately, i’m going to have to wait until the new year. sad face. on the agenda for ’11: iceland; los angeles/san francisco; new orleans; and chicago(?). the former two will be longer trips, while the latter two will be long weekends.

this has been a sufficiently pointless entry, but hopefully topping this lameness will serve as motivation to keep on updating.

 

not-so-dirty jersey

this weekend, a group of us braved the brutal heat (understatement of the year), convened at pier 11 off wall street in manhattan, hopped on a ferry ($40 roundtrip), and headed on a picturesque 30 minute boat ride to jersey.

yes. jersey.

but fret not. it wasn’t the snookie/situation branch of jersey that we hit up. or the part that consists of factories, smog, and the stench of farts. (though i must point out the fantastically jersey plane ads we saw fly by, which included one titled “got abs?” and another with the kourtney kardashian–endorsed quicktrim.)

we went to an amazing place called sandy hook for a beach getaway. the beach—we opted for north beach—was amazing, albeit with scalding hot sand that melted the flesh from the bottoms of our feet. and can we talk about the manhattan/brooklyn skyline view from the water? so great. (okay, so yes, you could see staten island too, but really, who cares?)

most of the others clung to the shade to escape the brutal sun, but i continuously lathered on sunscreen and basked in it the whole time. (as a result, i have a lovely tan. yay! but a bit of a tan line from the boat ride in, on which i forgot to lotion up. boo!)

it’s well worth the trip, but be forewarned: while it’s a day of complete relaxation, you will be absolutely drained by the end of the day.

 

playlist of the long distance runner

getting back into the swing of things—running things, that is—is no easy feat, after having to give it up for nearly two weeks as a result of being sick. the memory of that runner’s high vanishes. the motivation is nowhere to be found. but thanks to some really great music suggestions, i put together a new running playlist and yesterday i hit the ground running. (see what i did there??) that being said, i want to share my new selection:

timbaland: if we ever meet again (ft. katy perry)
adam lambert: if i had you
black eyed peas: i gotta feeling
cobra starship: fold your hands child
cobra starship: new edition
cobra starship: i may be rude but i’m the truth
faber drive: killin’ me
katy perry: california gurls
kevin rudolph & lil wayne: let it rock
lady gaga: bad romance
lady gaga: dance in the dark
lady gaga: telephone
miley cyrus: party in the u.s.a.
the offspring: the kids aren’t alright
onerepublic: all the right moves
sleeperstar: disengage
taio cruz & ludacris: break your heart
enrique iglesias: i like it (feat. pitbull)
adam lambert: fever
adam lambert: sleepwalker
adam lambert: whatya want from me
adam lambert: strut
black eyed peas: missing you
carrie underwood: undo it
katy perry feat 30h3!: starstruck
kelly rowland: commander
macy gray: kissed it
miley cyrus: can’t be tamed
ne-yo: beautiful monster
robyn: dancing on my own
sean kingston feat. justin bieber: eenie meenie
glee cast: don’t stop believin’
kerli: i want nothing
beyonce: sweet dreams

of course, i don’t go through the whole list in a single run, but it’s essential for me to have enough of a mix to keep it fresh with each run. that being said: any suggestions for more songs to add?

 

pitchin’ a tent for ‘merica

what’s the best way to celebrate the birth of our nation? packing up some basic necessities, hopping on a bus 5 hours upstate, cooking with fire and sleeping in a tent on an apple orchard in moravia. this is a fact.

now, i should admit: sleeping in a tent and swimming in an ice cold lake—oh right, and boozing…probably not the best cure for someone (read: me) starting to come down with a dreaded summer cold at the beginning of the trip, considering it has since developed into one of those painful coughs…the type that makes me feel like my heart might burst out of my chest with every cough. (yes, i am paying for it now. and yes, it was completely worth it.)

good (and new) friends. good food. good fun. moravia!

you can see the rest of the pics here.

 

haters gonna hate

thank you, m cogs, for this one.

in light of some 60 negative comments (and counting) regarding my latest t+l article, this photo is awesome and spot on. it’s sad—but not all that surprising—that folks are reacting so negatively because they simply are not reading the article.

update: one user finally came through as the voice of reason: Everyone needs to just calm down. Are you reading what you’re writing? Jesus. Everyone gets soooo defensive of the towns they are from. “my town is the greatest in the world it has this and this and the weather isn’t listed accurately because I have a thermometer that I check all day and document.” Just relax. Vacations are all subjective. And I would guess all the Farmer’s Market haters have never been to one. They offer plenty more than food you’d have to take home and cook. Theme parks are not parks. They are hot, expensive, concrete, sprawls. I’d prefer the town I live in was not on the list and not ranked so high so idiots that read this article and leave flabbergasted comments never come visit. ‘MERICA!!!

 

pound it

another lovely weekend spent in red hook with mattypoo. in the wake of the craziness of friday night’s party, the rest of the weekend was pretty tame. saturday we hit up my absolute favorite place in red hook: lobster pound. i make a point of going once every weekend, rotating between the equally amazing lobster and shrimp rolls. what’s not to love about something that looks like this?

i went for the shrimp roll this weekend. the lobster roll is off the hook. fresh from maine; large chunks of lobster meat; buttered & grilled rolls; cape cod chips. ah-may-zing.

 

on the hunt for the next great…

i have one true love in life. when i’m feeling down, my love makes me happy. when i need comfort, my love gives it to me. when i’m hungry, my love is there for me to eat.

wait. what?

if you know me, none of that was gross. because you know my true love is the delicious, crispy, greasy hunk of amazingness that is…

yes! bacon! (none of that canadian crap, aight?!)

anyhoo, this whole big lame (and lame) introduction was for a (sorta) purpose. a little over a year ago, colleagues and i trekked down to pdt for farewell drinks—one of my coworkers was leaving the company. (note: normally, i would link to any venue i mention, but this one…if you’re not willing to do a simple google search, well…you just don’t deserve its awesomeness. jerk. lazy jerk.) pdt is a speakeasy-style bar that can be a little hard to get to. (i tried to get reservations a couple months ago to show it off to my visiting mom & grandmother…you can only make reservations starting at 3pm the same day; after nearly 30 minutes trying, i finally got through, but the soonest we could get in was 3am. suffice it to say: we did not go.)

but i digress. when i went, i tried an amazing bacon-infused bourbon cocktail. i know, i know: drinking bacon? sick! but it wasn’t that you actually tasted bacon in its purest form. it merely added a delightful smokiness to the cocktail. it was amazing. it took bacon to a whole new level for me.

that being said, i have a mission for you, my one or two readers: where else can i go to get a delightful bacon cocktail?

 

manhattan walk oh-ten

so i don’t know if you’ve noticed (yes, i’m staying true to the delusion that i have multiple readers who check in on this blog constantly. it’s what keeps me going. let me have it, k?): i’ve been making a concerted effort to become more active. i’ve taken to wandering the city aimlessly for hours on end. i’ve kicked up the running a few notches. i ran my first half marathon. (see? i don’t always have to call it a marathong!) i’ve bounced on out of the city to go hiking. i’m now prepping myself for my second half marathon; this one in queens on september 12.

but i’m getting ahead of myself. on saturday, along with my friend mollie and a few others, we will be walking the entirety of manhattan island.

yup, you read that right. manhattan: top to bottom. our approximate route?

we’ll be meeting up at the 1 train station at 255th street & broadway, just outside of manhattan. the walk begins with crossing the bridge, then continues south until we reach battery park. broadway will be our approximate guide, but nothing is set in stone. we want to see parts of the city we’ve never seen before. (by all means, send your suggestions my way!)

total distance, if we walked the direct route: ~13.5 miles. but i’m thinking we’ll do much more than that.

anyone else in? let me know by friday night!

 

to the top of that skinny effing mountain!

sunday, a few of my friends and i hopped on the metro north and hightailed it on out of the city. our destination? cold spring, about an hour north of here. cold spring is a cute little village, not unlike the many other villages scattered throughout westchester. the hike—according to this website—is about 7.5 miles. the route we opted for was a moderately slow incline to the top, with a much steeper descent. i’d like to do the hike again, but in reverse—the trek was not all that strenuous, and i really like to give myself a challenge.

and hey, this isn’t that bad a reward for a job well done, eh?

as gorgeous as the view from the top was, i have to admit: it wasn’t the highlight of the hike for me. what really got me was the modest collection of stone frames of long-abandoned houses. i’m not sure what it is about them, but i’m absolutely fascinated by old, abandoned buildings. (growing up, in my backyard there was this stone grill/fireplace that was grown over with plants—it clearly hadn’t been used in decades—and i was absolutely enamored with it.)

what’s not to love??