Sure, the newly renovated Franklin Square is mainly for kids, but it’s fun to check out. I remember biking by there and seeing homeless men wafting through 3 feet of weeds. But now it is an odd locale for miniature golf, and is a great free restroom whenever you can’t make it to your home or the nearest Starbucks. After listening to the incessant Merry-Go-Round music and eating some carnival food, you’ll be kind’ve bored, unless you have kids.

So, we headed across the street to walk over the Ben Franklin Bridge. I had never done this before, and don’t know many poeple that even know about it, but, man, it was indeed a beautiful experience. It’s almost like a secret. The entrance to it is void of any signage, but once you’re on it you’ll see joggers and bikers and you’ll be wondering what the view will look like…There’s lots to see, the city at a different angle, the barreling cars of I-95 flying below you, the chug of the "Ride The Ducks" boats dipping into the Delaware River, and a bird’s eye stalker-esque view of Olde City shoppers. The view of the Camden Riversharks’ Campbell’s Stadium is the perfect place to see a homerun fly out to center field…It’s a nice escape.

One of the features of my new home in Fishtown is about a 16′ x 12′ mound of dirt. Melissa and I decided to throw all practical planting methods aside and try to grow as much as we could. Grass was easy, but spotty…The bald spots just refused to grow. This is probably due to three Fishtown cats that kept meowing and urinating back there. (I also walked out there one late night to witness some kitty hanky panky.)

Peppers…nada…Not a morsel of anything that I could remotely use in anything. But, wow, if you want to impress yourself with stalks of glory and try to cover up an ugly cinderblock wall in your backyard then get some sunflower seeds–they were the ultimate piece of cake thing to grow. Just hose them down often and you’ll get a 14′ tall one like the one in this photo. Of course plenty o’ sunshine helps out. (Click on the photo to see it in its tallest glory.)

I challenge Old Mary Higgins, or whomever is the reigning “Tallest Sunflower” winner, next summer. The game is on…Be prepared to get OWNED!

View Melissa’s photos of the recent Art@Sophi event.

The Absinthe Drinkers were a great band!

This is the chair that I sit on for 40 hours a week. I can adjust the height of the chair, as well as tilt the back to lean back, waaaaay back, and get funky. The chair also has plastic wheels, which make for a great escape down the hall…It’s a tan / beige clothed chair, but I do not know what is inside of it to give it that spongey feel. Maybe one day I’ll slice it open and see what maintains my amazing posture…The arms of the chair are a black gum-like material, and I relish in picking at it while in a rare sudden nervous fit of trying to figure something out.

In the Marketing Department, we take birthdays seriously. And my 32nd was no lame exception. My cubicle was transformed into the Cancun paradise that I visited just a few weeks beforehand!

Click on the photo to view the majesty that it is.

Check out Melissa “Melassey” Hassey’s ever increasing photos on her Phanfare.com site. Eagles fans should definitely check out the Denver Broncos away game photos…

Check out the photos!

It’s hard to get people together without giving two months notice these days, but thanks to those who came out!

The photo to the left is a cat we named “Tuna” who crashed the party later on. We’ve had our share of stray alley cats roaming into the backyard, but this guy was the coolest (and most thin) thus far. We had him eating a can of tunafish with some aqua, and he’s been by to visit again. I was reluctant to welcome him at first, but what the hell.

I was glad to finally use the backyard with the cedar wood fence my Dad and I put up. There wasn’t enough dirt to put it solidly in the ground, so we had to use these 50 lb. deck blocks as a foundation and attached the fence to 4×4s. Now, we don’t have to look at our neighbor’s heaping pile of dog dung and visual chaos.

Check out the photos here.

Just got back from Cancun, Mexico. It was hardly a long enough vacation, but we packed it in with as much as we could.

I think the only thing Melissa didn’t take photos of was the aroma therapy massages we received at a neighboring resort. (I never had any kind of professional massage and we decided to go for the 80 minute VIP session. Man, I’ve been missing out!) We stayed at a place called “Fiesta Americana Condesa” and it was top notch in my book. The buffets and pool bar could have kept me there the whole time, but we tore up the night life as well, drove a boat around, went snorkeling, rode the crazy buses around town, pigged out non-stop, and were astounded by the presence of iguanas — the typical touristy things…

All in all, Cancun was just a little bit different than the waterfront Fishtown that I reside in…

Check out the photos!

Thanks to all who came out!

Check out photos.

This little get-together was a blast. Thanks for all the wine and helping me break in the house. I finally got to try out the chiminea that Melissa got me for Christmas. When we ran out of wood, there was some old IKEA bamboo shades that worked great.

The next day, I was greeted with a bulge that had formed beneath one of the upstairs toilets. Luckily, one of Melissa’s brothers was able to fix it after getting the right tool. I don’t know much about plumbing, but the guy that did it for the entire house (who is actually my neighbor) apparently did a shoddy job. Hopefully it’s the only incident.