Dinner Night { Asian! }

My friends Jerry & Tina love to entertain, and every once in a while we get together at their house for a themed dinner night where Tina puts together a menu and each person is responsible for making a dish. Last night was Asian night, and so my friends Kandis, Sarah, the hosts and myself gathered for Potstickers with Spicy Dipping Sauce, Egg Drop Soup, Sesame Green Beans, Szechuan Shrimp with Chili Sauce, and Pork Chow Mein.

Par for the course with these events, we started around 7pm and ate at 10. My underwhelming kitchen skills put us behind early as the potistickers had a list prep time of 20 minutes... I had 'em ready in 2 hours. I think I shoulda been given rice duty, It's all good, though, as the best part of these dinners is the socializing while cooking. And as you can see, after dinner we did a little Kung Fu fighting. Here's a few images from this episode of dinner night.

You're a Good Man, Dan McCurdy

Last week my friend, Dan - a.k.a. "Senator", "Danimal" or just "Daaaaaan" (pronounced Don, only longer) - turned the proverbial "Big 5-0". I felt compelled to give Dan a moment in the sun on my little blog because honestly you won't find a nicer guy on the planet. I promise you.

Dan is often the guy in our 'tribe' of friends that gets razzed the most or is the subject of many harmless one-liners. Don't get me wrong... some of that's self-induced since Dan is known for or even expected to be telling a semi-believable tall-tale for the first 5-7 sentences when you talk to him. People that don't know him are especially susceptible (I don't know how many people have fallen for the 'Opterectomy' surgery story). But at the end of the day, as much as we make fun of Dan we all know there's probably no one you could count on more to offer to help out if you have a need. There's a handful of guys I know that I would consider truly stand-up guys, and Dan's one of them. He's just one of those people everybody likes, and a testament to this was Saturday night when 35-40 friends showed up for a birthday dinner and celebration in his honor.

I hope I'm in half as good a physical condition Dan is when I hit the half-century mark down the road, and I would be honored to be considered the friend he is by even just a few. You're a good man, Dan McCurdy. Congratulations on your 50th Birthday. I wish you an even better next 50. I'd say more than 50, but let's be honest, at that point we'll be doing well just to remember our own birthdays, let alone anyone else's.

Okay, Dan, your 15 minutes are up... at least on this blog. I don't want to over-flatter you or I'll never hear the end of it. Seriously, though, thanks for everything you've ever done for me and the rest of the gang.

Philly Friends

It was great to see Brett and Theresa in Philadelphia this past weekend. I grew up with Brett back in Ohio, and it's always fun to hang out and catch up with one of the hometown crew. Funny how it's just like we're back in HS when we get together... except, of course, we now have more bills, bigger TVs and actual responsibilities, but otherwise it's pretty much the same. Same jokes that are so unfunny they're funny. Same ragging on each other. Same tendency to throw caution to the wind (Hey, Brett, this will be a cool shot. When you see a break in the cars in the middle of this street in downtown Philly, run out there and sit in the median in the middle of the road while I photograph the buildings blurred out behind you).

Brett and Theresa are expecting their first little one, Miles, just about any day now. I was carrying a camera. Theresa was carrying a baby. So of course we took a few photographs during a brief, impromptu session in the city before they dropped me off at the airport on Saturday.



I'll be expecting a call any minute now telling me Miles has made his debut.

The Stork is Circling...

Schrode and Preston are expecting their first baby in October, and I couldn't be happier for them. Both mom and dad are such solid, sweet, funny people who truly enjoy and cherish each other; little Reagan will be blessed to have them as parents.

On a whim we decided to do a 5 minute impromptu mini-session (after Schrode and I came in from play time in the corn field) and create a couple images to remember this time in their life and all the excitement and anticipation that's building. We didn't have much gear to work with (a wide angle lens, no reflectors, sun high in the sky, etc), but these two were so fun that it didn't matter. I think the simplicity of these images is what I really like about them.

Congrats again, you two. Enjoy the next couple months, and I can't wait to come back in the fall and photograph your brand new little girl. Thanks again for another great time in Ohio. Love you guys!

Dear Connie

When I was over at Schrode's house in Marion on Friday, he pulled out these 1st or 2nd grade letters (click on the images for larger views) from his Pleasant Elementary School archives. He and I - and just about every other boy in the class - had a huge crush on Connie Vanover, and we laughed so hard we had tears after reading these priceless pieces from memory lane:

Letter #1
"Dear Connie
I now you love Matthew N. I now you Don’t like me cause Matthew N. Told me. I now why you don’t like me cause I’m ugly. And you like Matthew cause you think He’s hand some. And you like his drawing I now you hate me so just spit it out. So Please will you love me to?

I now you were going to give matthew a valentine card but not me you think I’m ugly and I have not even One girlfriend cause I’m Ugly and I’m a cristin."

Letter #2
"Dear Connie
I now you love matt and I now you think I’m ugly so just spit it out. I now you and Amy wanted to skate with him and I now you want to give him a valentine’s card. And you like matt cause he’s handsome. I will do anything if you would love me. And Matt said he dose not like you. He said he like a nother girl. [hmm... notice how Schrode's throwing me under the bus already at the tender age of 7?] Please, Write back. If you do give it to Brian Davie.
From Michael Styer"

Fast forward to my letter to Connie today:

Dear Connie,
I speak on behalf of all the boys in Mrs. Schroat's 1st grade class and Mrs. Peacock's 2nd grade class when I tell you that you unknowingly consumed our every thought and dream and even in first grade we planned our future adult lives and families around you and just knew it was meant to be. But alas, our love for you did not survive, nor did yours for us. Unfortunately yours died for us long before we hoped it would. You'll be happy to know life has somehow moved on for us since elementary school as we assume it has for you (although I myself can never know for sure as I haven't received a hand-written correspondence from you since the break-up note you asked Leigh Ann Cox to give to me in 3rd grade).

In all sincerity I would like to thank you for shaping my life even today. Because of you I asked my grandmother to teach me how to draw so I could impress you with pretty pictures. While that plan only panned out for the short term, today I am still drawing 'pretty pictures' of new products for TI and creating 'pretty pictures' for people through my photography.

Because of you I went home at the end of 4th grade and cried until my parents finally agreed to buy me a trombone just so I could be in the jr. high band and sit next to you in hopes you would like me again. While we had fun, 3 years of blowing out hideous notes from arguably the most awkward and uncool looking instrument in the band got me no closer to going out with you again. Don't feel bad, though, as I still enjoy listening to music today. Besides, the trombone section sat directly across the room from the clarinet section which came in handy and gave me a great view when I eventually transferred my crush to Kari Ihns at the end of 6th grade.

Because of you I learned how to swim so I could hang out with you all summer at Brookside pool. Well, maybe that's a stretch... I think I already knew how to swim, but I did learn how to hold my breath for 90 seconds under water hoping you would think I was cool. That skill hasn't really impacted my life to this day in any meaningful way, but hey, it helped me stay under water longer to get from base to base when we all played ball tag in the pool, and that was cool. I'm sure it somehow contributed to a happier, well-adjusted childhood.

And because of you I became interested in sports with the intent of awing you with my skills on the field and in the gym. Honestly you share credit here with all my friends and my brother since they played sports all the time and I wanted to be part of it, and I inevitably would've picked this up even if I wasn't trying to impress you, but it makes for a partially true addition to this drawn out, unnecessary letter. Anyway, sports were a huge part of my life and I still enjoy throwing the ol' pigskin around today, so... thanks for that.

Connie, thanks for helping in some small way to make me, Schrode, and doubtless several other Pleasant school system grads the men we are today. I wish you blessings and abundant prosperity in everything you do.

Sincerely,
Matt Nicolosi

P.S. Thanks for picking me over Schrode in 1st and 2nd grade. If nothing else, I'll always have that to hang over his head.

Children of the Corn(y)

I'm still in Ohio and really loving my time back here. Today I went out to lunch with my dad and then spent the afternoon hanging out at my friend Schrode's house with him and his wife, Preston. They have a big corn field back behind their house, so Michael (Schrode) and I decided to do what any two responsible 34 year old men would do and jump in it. Maybe I shoulda called this post "Corn Flakes".

Back Home with the Henry's

I love going back home to Ohio, especially when there's a ton of snow on the ground. I was also able to catch up with most of the ol' high school gang when I went back for a buddy's wedding last weekend. Funny how it doesn't matter how long I'm away, every time we get together it's like we haven't been apart for more than a day. I feel truly blessed to have such a solid group of guys that I grew up with.

During my stay I has able to stop by Mike and Katie Henry's house and get introduced to little Brady, the newest addition to the Henry tribe. He's a lady's man already.



Then there's Alex, Brady's big brother. You gotta be in shape to hang out with him... man, I wish I had a tenth of the energy he's got. Definitely had to crank up the shutter speed to keep him in focus.




Mikey's got a trusty German Shepherd companion named Trooper who's 11 years old now. "Troop's" been around the block a few times, and you can just tell by watching him there's nothing he wouldn't do for Mikey. He's such a great dog, and it was a privilege to capture a few images of him for the family.

Congratulations, Jason & Melissa!

The happy couple recently married on February 17th in Marion, Ohio with a foot of snow on the ground and temperatures in the 20's. Beautiful weather for a wedding... seriously. I miss the winter weather up north and wish we had more than 3 days of it in Dallas. Jason's a lifelong friend and an all-around great guy, and I'm glad he's now got Melissa

I wasn't the official photgrapher for their wedding, just a , but I did bring a camera for fun and captured a few images from the rehearsal dinner and wedding day. Unfortunately didn't capture any images of the actual ceremony at the church. As a courtesy to the professional photographers covering Jason & Melissa's wedding, I didn't want to get in the way in their efforts to capture the event at the church. Click here to see the slideshow.

Congrats again, Jason & Melissa! I love you guys and can't wait to see you again soon!

Side note: I don't currently do wedding events if you happen to be reading this and in the market for a photographer for your big day. Sorry, but maybe if you postpone your wedding 3-5 years I'll have a change of heart by then...