i keep a diary http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/ i feel nostalgia for things i've never known. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:44:38 -0800 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:44:38 -0800 My own home-grown nonsense en-us Personal Photo Diary '<![CDATA['The May Roundup: Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/05/the-may-roundup-part-1/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/05/the-may-roundup-part-1/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:21:27 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Taking Back Atlantic City']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/04/taking-back-atlantic-city/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/04/taking-back-atlantic-city/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:21:27 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) play at Great Adventure, we didn't think he'd be able to top himself!

But, sho'nuff, ten months after our trip to Great Adventure, Matt called us up and told us that the last date on their tour was going to be at the House of Blues in Atlantic City and that we were all invited down to see the show and crash in the huge-ass suite the venue had put him up in! So a bunch of us decided to rent a car head down to AC so we could wish Matt a happy "end of tour" (and to give him a ride back to NYC!).

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The April Roundup Part Two']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/04/the-april-roundup-part-2/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/04/the-april-roundup-part-2/ Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:31:19 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The April Roundup Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/04/the-april-roundup-part-1/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/04/the-april-roundup-part-1/ Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:31:19 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Business Trip and Jesus Theme Park in Orlando!']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/03/business-trip-to-orlando/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/03/business-trip-to-orlando/ Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:09:31 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) Business (and Guns!) in San Francisoco] , this time around, CTIA was in Orlando, FL. So I booked a ticket and a hotel and hopped on a plane.

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The March Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/03/the-march-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/03/the-march-roundup/ Sun, 04 May 2008 22:12:34 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The February Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/02/the-february-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/02/the-february-roundup/ Sun, 04 May 2008 22:12:34 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['My Dad's 60th Birthday!']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/01/dads-60th-birthday/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/01/dads-60th-birthday/ Sun, 04 May 2008 22:12:34 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The January Roundup Part Two']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/01/the-january-roundup-part-2/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/01/the-january-roundup-part-2/ Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:21:55 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The January Roundup Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/01/the-january-roundup-part-1/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2007/01/the-january-roundup-part-1/ Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:21:55 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The December Roundup Part Two']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/12/the-december-roundup-part-2/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/12/the-december-roundup-part-2/ Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:46:12 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The December Roundup Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/12/the-december-roundup-part-1/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/12/the-december-roundup-part-1/ Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:46:12 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The November Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/11/the-november-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/11/the-november-roundup/ Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:15:01 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Halloween 2006']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/10/halloween-2006/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/10/halloween-2006/ Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:15:01 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
Halloween 2006 was pretty chill. It always sneaks up on my and I'm forced to come up with a costume at the very last minute possible - this year was pretty much my laziest costume ever (as I'm sure you'll see down below)

Past Halloweens include:
Halloween 1996 - The Very First Post I ever Made (10 years ago!)
Halloween 1997 - My Senior Year in College
Halloween1998 - Modem Media
Halloween 1999 - Visiting Boston
Halloween 2001 - Halloween Model Party
Halloween 2002 - Halloween Model Party Again!
Halloween 2003 - In Bas Vegas, Essex!
Halloween 2004 - In San Francisco!
Halloween 2005 - Random Parties in NYC
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The October Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/10/the-october-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/10/the-october-roundup/ Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:36:53 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The September Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/09/the-september-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/09/the-september-roundup/ Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:36:53 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Cayman Islands Vacation: Part Two']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/08/cayman-islands-vacation-part-2/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/08/cayman-islands-vacation-part-2/ Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:12:09 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
(Go back to Part One)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Cayman Islands Vacation: Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/08/cayman-islands-vacation-part-1/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/08/cayman-islands-vacation-part-1/ Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:48:30 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
After a marathon IM session back and forth, we decided to go to Grand Cayman for a week! I bought tickets and booked a week at a remote diving resort with a beach!
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['My 30th Birthday']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/08/my-30th-birthday/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/08/my-30th-birthday/ Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:48:30 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The August Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/08/the-august-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/08/the-august-roundup/ Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:50:27 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Far Rockaway Beach and Lifetime']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/07/far-rockaway-beach-and-lifetime/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/07/far-rockaway-beach-and-lifetime/ Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:50:27 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) Beach 60th Street and rendezvous by the water!
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Fourth of July Weekend']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/07/fourth-of-july-weekend/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/07/fourth-of-july-weekend/ Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:50:27 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The July Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/07/the-july-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/07/the-july-roundup/ Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:14:35 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Taking Back Great Adventure']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/06/taking-back-great-adventure/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/06/taking-back-great-adventure/ Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:08:37 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) famous band. (I didn't even know they were famous until earlier in the year when he invited me to come to one of their shows to see my favorite band of all time open up for them).

Just when I figured he'd never be able to top himself, Matt called a bunch of us up and told us that his band was ending their months of touring with a show at GREAT ADVENTURE! So, a whole bunch of us decided to rent a van, play hooky from work and head to Great Adventure to ride some rides, catch Matt's show and then drive him back to NYC!

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Emma and Rob's Wedding']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/06/emma-and-robs-wedding/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/06/emma-and-robs-wedding/ Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:08:37 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) Nerve.com. Almost exactly five years after her very first appearance on this site, Grant and I rented a car and drove from NYC down to Cape May, NJ to attend Emma's wedding to Rob Tourtelot!

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The June Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/06/the-june-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/06/the-june-roundup/ Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:14:35 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['LVHRD MCFGHT: Karaoke Competition!']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/lvhrd-karaoke-competition/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/lvhrd-karaoke-competition/ Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:15:45 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) LVHRD that organizes all sorts of different parties in New York. I received an email from him telling me that LVHRD's next upcoming event was going to be a karaoke competition between six masters of karaoke, and told me that I should go to the audition and try to secure a slot as one of the six competitors!

So I went to the try outs and a few days later I received an email from Chantal, one of the LVHRD organizers telling me that I'd been selected as a competitor. She explained that the competition was going to based on three rounds of karaoke, but that each competitor would only be allowed to select their first song - the songs for the second and third rounds of competition would be selected in a top-secret way that wouldn't be revealed until the night of the event! She then asked me to provide her with three songs to be considered for my first round of karaoke. So I responded with my three of my fave karaoke jams: Gloria by Laura Branigan, Oh, Darling!by The Beatles and You Give Love (a Bad Name) by Bon Jovi! I received the following email back from Chantal:

-----Original Message-----
From: Chantal Strauss [mailto:redacted]
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 12:48 PM
To: Brian Battjer
Subject: Re: Your song selections

Thanks, Brian.

I was told by a little bird that there might be a Gloria ban that evening. I'll let you (and the little bird) know.

See you soon!

Chantal
A ban on Gloria? Apparently word had spread about my karaoke-competition SECRET WEAPON! So I wrote back and submitted another song as an alternate if they decided to enforce the Gloria ban! Ok, on to the night of the competition!

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Andrew and Anna's Wedding']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/andrew-and-annas-wedding/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/andrew-and-annas-wedding/ Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:15:45 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
Disclaimer: This was the first wedding that Iwent to where I wasn't really close with either the bride or the groom...which is why I totally didn't even remember to take ONE SINGE PICTURE of the bride and groom together. Doh. So, er, here's a lot of pics of Meredith and I having fun at her brother's wedding!

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Leigh's New Puppy Edie']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/leighs-new-dog-edie/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/leighs-new-dog-edie/ Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:37:22 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Lifetime at Bamboozle']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/lifetime-at-bamboozle/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/lifetime-at-bamboozle/ Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:37:22 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
I met my friend Matt Rubano at one of Sarah's birthday parties a few years back. On the day we met, Matt told me he was in a band called Taking Back Sunday, which was a band I'd heard of before, but wasn't really familiar with. Besides, pretty much half the dudes I know in New York are in bands I've heard of, so I never really thought that much about it.

About a year after Matt and I had met, I heard that Lifetime (my favorite band of ALL TIME) had decided to get back together, and were going to be playing at a festival called Bamboozle in NJ. Someone told me that Matt's band was one of the sixty bands that were going to be playing Bamboozle, so I called Matt and asked him if he could put me on his list. Matt was like "Sure thing! I think Lifetime's going to be playing right before us so you should stick around and check out my band too!" Sounded like a plan!

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The May Roundup Part Two']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/the-may-roundup-part-two/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/the-may-roundup-part-two/ Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:37:22 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The May Roundup Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/the-may-roundup-part-one/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/05/the-may-roundup-part-one/ Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:37:22 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The April Roundup Part Two']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/04/the-april-roundup-part-two/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/04/the-april-roundup-part-two/ Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:03:35 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The April Roundup Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/04/the-april-roundup-part-one/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/04/the-april-roundup-part-one/ Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:03:35 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Tara and Greg's Wedding in Houston']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/03/tara-and-gregs-wedding-in-tx/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/03/tara-and-gregs-wedding-in-tx/ Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:03:35 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) met randomly one awesome night back when she lived in New York. She left NYC and moved back to Texas in September of 2003 and just a few nights after being back home she told me that she'd met a boy named Greg that she really liked a lot! Fast forward three years and Meredith and I got an invitation in the mail to fly out to Texas and attend Greg & Tara's wedding! So we hopped a plane and headed to Texas!
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The March Roundup']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/03/the-march-roundup/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/03/the-march-roundup/ Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:49:47 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Marryoke Wedding Spectacular']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/02/marryoke-wedding-spectacular/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/02/marryoke-wedding-spectacular/ Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:49:47 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Niki and Katie's Two Birthday Parties']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/02/niki-and-kts-two-birthday-parties/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/02/niki-and-kts-two-birthday-parties/ Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:49:47 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The February Roundup Part Two']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/02/the-february-roundup-part-two/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/02/the-february-roundup-part-two/ Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:53:51 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) (Go back to Part One)
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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The February Roundup Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/02/the-february-roundup-part-one/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/02/the-february-roundup-part-one/ Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:53:51 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['Jack Dolgen's Party & MisShapes']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/01/jack-dolgens-party-and-misshapes/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/01/jack-dolgens-party-and-misshapes/ Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:32:14 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The January Roundup Part Two']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/01/the-january-roundup-part-two/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/01/the-january-roundup-part-two/ Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:04:29 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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]]> i keep a diary '<![CDATA['The January Roundup Part One']]>' http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/01/the-january-roundup-part-one/ http://www.ikeepadiary.com/diary/2006/01/the-january-roundup-part-one/ Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:04:29 -0500 brianbattjer@gmail.com (Brian Battjer) ]]>

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