the VERMONSTER!!!

so i've been in burlington for about three days now, and have dealt with a rollercoaster of emotions. so many ups and downs, but overall moving upwards, which is definitely a great thing. also, i've met some really quality guys that i've spent the majority of my time with. andrew and brendan of the band broken chords..., and their buddy julian. three really young, positive, straight edge kids who are giving and warm. each is distinctly different but good and have definitely made my stay here all the nicer. they're on a short break from their tour as well (they're from PA and it turns out we have mutual friends), so we've all just been soaking in day off burlington together.

last night i walked down to the water and looked for the moon, but couldn't find it. i also spoke with a buddy who is going through a rough time. these things, mixed with new friends, positive thinking and high hopes have allowed me to look upwards and forward. i'm looking happily at the next few weeks, trying to see all the great things that will come with them, as well as the possibility of going back to new jersey to good things. very wild times, a life i could never have imagined. but that's part of life in general, especially when you push your chin out like a boxer, taking whatever it wants to send your way.

one of those things sent my way was the challenge by andrew and brendan that we take on the vermonster, a 20 scoop ice cream sunday at ben and jerry's that they only serve in vermont. it's about a weeks worth of calories and fat. apparently i needed to join them, at least according to them. so, what follows is a photo account of my pizza day with jackie, drive up to burlington and the last few days. i hope you enjoy.

south brooklyn pizza. we got some slices here to tide us over. (isn't that a weird phrase? "tide over") apparently you can take their pizza next door to the outdoor bar/beer gardens. if we weren't going to head to defaro, that would've ruled.

all handmade, and well worth the wait. make sure you check out defaro. go with someone fun, and byob, for the line at least.

just about ready. so excited.

and now some fresh cut basil.

for some reason i love watching kids be kids.



fresh basil!

it's rare to find a new york apartment with so much green. i definitely appreciate the anomoly.

yes, that's an olde timey car, requiring hand signals.

i will say this, the drive up to vermont was beautiful.

during ghosting practice i was able to brush up on my chops using the plethora of guitar magazines in tyler's basement.

of course while my foot was asleep i'd kick my guitar case.

the broken chords boys sleeping in matt's living room/kitchen.

pick your poison.

this dude built the beast.

pick your toppings.

andrew is ready and willing.

if you can't read it, it says: 20 scoops of ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet; 4 bananas; 4 ladles of fudge; 3 chocolate chip cookies; 1 chocolate fudge brownie; 10 scoops of walnuts; 2 scoops of your 4 favorite toppings; topped with lots of fresh made whipped cream. while this was not exactly what we ended up with, it was close enough. i also found a website online that claims this has 14,000 calories and 500 grams of fat, about a weeks worth of each. fuck me. that's 3,500 calories and 125 grams of fat per person, or nearly 2 days worth. i'm a terrible person.

most of the fun stuff was on top. it's a bummer, once you get past the layer of cookies, brownies, bananas, candies and whipped cream, it's pretty much just ice cream.

we're on our way. getting full. there's so much orange. damn it andrew!

brendan was so bummed by the orange sherbert. i understand why.

almost done.

and that's that.

the harbor in burlington. i was happy to find this spot, as many years ago i was brought there by a friend after a night of drinking. i swam out to one of the boats and climbed on in hopes of finding a neglected bottle of booze, and as i peeled the velcro door open i heard, "who's there?" of course, my response, was, "nobody," and i dove off the boat and swam under around the subsequent boats until i was far enough away to swim underwater all the way back to the beach. from there i hung out with my friends undisturbed until three naked girls came running into the water soon to be followed by security people coming to make us leave. suffice it to say, it was an interesting night.

everyone is so polite in burlington, even the signs.

while sitting down by the lake, this little weasel dude kept running by stocking up on fish the size of his head. i decided this was his own version of the vermonster.