I had a bit of a freak out last night. While doing homework, I let Mittens run around my room. If he isn’t let out for at least an hour a day, he starts to cry inside his cage (it sounds like a puppy), and will do so most of the night. So, with his door open, he scampered up my arm and jumped onto the floor, running about like crazy.

I typed away furiously on my Powerbook while Family Guy played in the background. I like to laugh while writing and studying, it keeps my spirits up. Suddenly, I realized that nearly two hours had gone by, due to the fact that disc one of the season I was watching was over. I started to look around my room. Where was Mittens?

I looked all around the house. Mittens had once before climbed the steps from my downstairs bedroom, and spent his playtime causing havoc in the living room / kitchen, but he was nowhere to be found.

Finally, I discovered him in my bathroom, sitting on top of the towel rack, fast asleep against the wall. How he got up there in the first place, I’m not quite sure. Maybe he climbed up the towels, or jumped off the toilet. Whatever the case was, he woke up when I walked in, climbed onto my shoulder, and went back to sleep inside his cage.

Silly Mittens. You are so adorables.

The guys in Return To Arms and I have been trying to work out a press shoot for a long time. I met a few of them while on the Farewell / Forever The Sickest Kids / Upper Class Trash tour when the tour hit Philadelphia, and at various other shows through out the past year. They’re an incredible talented group of guys and write some very catchy tunes.

In fact, you should check out their new demo over on their myspace, entitled “Retrospect”. Sounds fantastic.

My blog’s been quiet lately, I know, but I’ve been pretty busy settling into my new place. Queen Village is a fun neighborhood, and luckily for me, I’m friends with people who know the area (sup lex!).

These new press images were taken in the empty room of my house, which I’ve dubbed “the studio”. Those globes? Ikea lights.

Return To Arms
www.myspace.com/returntoarms

So I’m moving this weekend. Again.

It’s been interesting living in Philadelphia. I’ve had the rare opportunity to live in three separate neighborhoods in the span of 11 months. University City, Rittenhouse Square, and Chinatown / Center City. Unfortunately for me, I’ve had to move out of every apartment I’ve been in due to ridiculous circumstances beyond my control. We’ll see what this new place brings.

There are little things I loved about each neighborhood and each place. Let’s take a look.

My current place was amazing. I moved here at the end of April. I had two awesome roommates with two awesome kitties. While living here, I learned about the glorious Reading Terminal Market and Space 1026, both of which were practically across the street.

I’ll definitely miss the easy walk to work and the daily strolls through Reading Terminal in the morning and after 5PM. The smell of fresh bread and coffee in the morning always helped wake me up, and coming home, the delicious smells of all kinds of tasty looking dinners. I’ll miss my fun roomies and those crazy cats who constantly found their way into my bedroom in attempts to eat my chinchilla and/or bunny.

I’ll even miss the guy who always slept on the sidewalk steam vents outside, who I constantly mistook for a zombie.

From February til the end of April, I lived in Rittenhouse Square with a Temple student named Gary. Gary didn’t like me much. I made a lot of noise. I watch a lot of movies, play video games, and listen to music while doing homework. He liked to sleep. On his bare floor in the loft. No furniture.

The apartment was basically mine. My roommate kept to himself in the upstairs loft and I had the entire downstairs to do whatever I wanted with. I decorated the living room to the best of my Ikea ability, and frequently had large groups of friends over, as pictured. While living here, I learned a lot about Rittenhouse nightlife.

Most of my time was spent in Rittenhouse Square Park and at the Barnes & Noble up on 17th, and my dining / drinking establishments of choice were Fado, Rouge, Good Dog, Fox & Hound, and Rita’s Ice. The corner of 15th and Spruce was a happening place. I met a wealth of cool people, and discovered the joys of Trader Joes.

I don’t have a picture of my place in University City, but this about sums it up. Only my place was two stories.

My first experience living in Philadelphia was an attempt to get lunch with my best friend who had helped move me here. We walked to a nearby Chinese food take-out place, where the chef was surrounded by thick Plexiglas. While we waited for our food, a large intimidating man walked in, came up to me, and demanded a hug.

Me: Wait, what?
Man: A HUG, let me get a hug.
Me: Um… no dude…
Miguel: Maybe you should just do what he says.
Me: I’m not giving him a hug!
Man: You better let me get my hug, bitch!

I almost caved and gave the man a hug, until I noticed the large refrigerator in back of me, that was filled with sodas, Snapples, and… Huggs, those little quarter juice drinks in plastic bottles. Relieved, I smiled, stepped away, and tried to laugh with the guy, explaining that I thought he wanted me to give him an actual hug. After he threatened to punch me, he paid for his drink, and left.

I moved about three weeks later.

This Saturday, I’m off to Queen Village, right along Fabric Row. I’ll be living with a med student and a grad student who works for Comcast, both of whom I’ve done some partying with over the past two weeks. Here’s hoping I’ll be there longer then a few months.

Yes, bunnies can go to the veterinarian.

This past week, I took the bun to the Ryan Veterinary Hospital here in Philadelphia. It’s the only small animal hospital in the area, and let me tell you, there are some really wonderful people there. While sitting in the waiting room, a lot of curious pet owners asked me what kind of cat I had inside my animal bag. They commented on how large and fluffy it looked through the screen mesh window. When I laughed and revealed the bunny, about half a dozen elderly people came over to pet her and take photos. It was a nice moment.

The patient rooms really weren’t what I expected. I felt like I was in a patient room for a person, and not a small animal. The doctors there also treated the bunny like she was a person, keeping her in a blanket so she wouldn’t get cold, holding her after checking her ears, teeth, etc (buns don’t like that), etc.

She goes back tomorrow for an overnight stay. She’s getting spayed (ouch!) and having some blood work done, since she has some swollen glands on the side of her neck. The vets were impressed with how well behaved she was though, and they all can’t wait til I bring the chinchilla in for his first check up.

Vet visits are fun. It’s like, a trial run for when you have children. Except vet visits probably cost a little less, and old people won’t come over to pet your children. If they do, you need to find a new doctor. Seriously.

Whenever I’m in my room getting ready for the day or when I’m about to go to sleep, one of the last things I do is check up Prince Mittens, my chinchilla. In the morning he’s usually asleep in his hammock or house, and at nighttime, he’s generally running around, jumping here and there, and making whining noises because he wants to be let out for a while. Whenever I let him out, he runs straight to his dust bath, shakes around, and then leaps onto my bed, getting it all sandy. Thaaaanks.

However, one thing I’ve certainly noticed while checking out his habitat, is well, I’m pretty sure he has a WAY sweeter pad then I do. What’s with that? He’s a chinchilla! So I took the time to sit back and figure out, just who has the nicest place. The results were shocking.

Mittens sleeps in a sweet hammock.

This is my bed, a queen size Ikea Malm. I purchased the frame off Craigslist for a criminally low price, only to discover some of the bolts were missing, which caused my bed to randomly fall apart at nighttime. I finally got the missing pieces, but unfortunately, the bed-slats slip out every now and again, especially when you’re sleeping too far to one side of the bed.

When this happens, you fall over into a pit, since the mattress has nothing holding it up. Wonderful.

WINNER: MITTENS

Mittens’ living quarters is a little house on top of a two story platform, that he often sits on top of and hides within. He also enjoys chewing on it. I got it from Petsmart. It took about 5 minutes to put together and it only cost me $8.

My living room is decked out pretty nicely by my hip and stylish roommates. I can’t chew on any of the furniture, but that’s okay.

WINNER: ME

Mittens has a really sweet marble slab that he enjoys resting on, because its nice and cool through out the day. There is also a large wooden toy for him to play with directly next to it, which he often hides under and climbs on top of.

The marble slab in my kitchen almost always has a cat on it.

WINNER: MITTENS

You win this one Mittens. Just wait til I get a human sized hamster ball to roll around inside. THEN we’ll be tied.

Reading up on various graduate schools. Now that is one ambitious bunny. Everyone should set their goals so high.

I’m sure a lot of people are going to be traveling in the next few days, spending the holiday in various locations. I’ll be spending the holiday in New Jersey with family, friends, and the little lady. With that idea in mind, I’ve put together a digital mix-tape. You can follow the respective links to download the tracks off the artists’ Purevolume pages. Burn them on a CD or put them on your fancy iPod, and you’re set to go.

Eric’s Real-Ultimate Turkey-Day Travelin’ Mix

01. Anberlin - A Day Late
02. As Tall As Lions - The Carousel
03. Between The Trees - The Way She Feels
04. Farewell - Stay Pretty
05. Foreverinmotion - The Rain
06. The Higher - Weapons Wired
07. Houston Calls - Bob & Bonnie
08. Just Surrender - Tell Me Everything
09. Moneen - If Tragedy’s Appealing, Then Disasters An Addiction
10. Self Against City - Ready & Willing
11. Sleepaway - Best Unspoken
12. Socratic - I Haven’t Seen You In Years
13. This Day & Age - Always Straight Ahead

Foreverinmotion’s song The Rain, is probably the most beautiful song I’ve heard all year. Pick up his album on 111 Records / Warner.

And if all that isn’t enough for you, well, go download Ronnie Day’s self titled album off his website, for free.

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

So one of my co-workers has a sister who wanted a bun. Since Heather and I are bunny barons, this little one found her way to a new home here in Philadelphia.

But look at this little rabbit! Heart-meltingly adorable, and many different colors. Her black fur has light brown highlights, her underbelly is white and tan, and her little nose is white! She also has a little white stripe on her forehead (which could possibly be a third eye, making her a psychic bun) and will definitely be missed. And not just by me…

… but by her kitty cat look alike! Here’s Diesel reaching out to grab a bunny ear. Want to see a few more photos? Hit up the Flickr, I’ve got a little photo set on there.

But you know, not all little furry creatures here in Philadelphia are as lucky as this bun. If you’re looking for a bunny, puppy, kitty, etc, well, check out Philadelphia’s Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS. There are a lot of animals out there who need a home!

In fact, I’m bringing one of these little guys home on Tuesday. Adopting him from a place up in Levittown, PA. He’s a little exotic, and extremely cute. Pictures soon!

So I turned 25 a week ago. I stressed to my friends not to get me anything, and they know better anyway. I’m not big on material things. When I get tired of a video game, a movie, a new electronic gadget, *whoosh!* up it goes on eBay. So you better believe I was surprised at the gifts some of my friends came up with anyway.

Above is a gorgeous painting done by my friend Katie Regenye. Katie creates some seriously beautiful artwork, and I’m pretty upset that this photo does it zero justice. The lighting in my apartment just doesn’t illuminate it properly. She uses tons of color and little pieces of scrap thrown onto the canvas, like Easter basket grass, plastic bracelets, bits of wood, etc. The result is something truly unique, and I’m thrilled to have this hanging in my room…

… even if it did fall down on my face when I was sleeping the other night. I need to hang it up better.

My vixen of a girlfriend and my pal Alexis both made me pillows! The same dimensions and everything! Ah, the universe is so strange.

Heather made hers out of the t-shirt she bought from me when I first met her. When I was on tour with Foster, I spent some time running their merch table, and sold Heather this dark red t-shirt. This is, of course, inexplicably sweet and cute. Lex made a pillow with a picture of my bunny, Ash, on it. So awesome!

Eat your hearts out, Etsy people. Hee-hee.

This all makes me wish I had some sort of crafty talent aside from photography, but perhaps that is something I can consider this Christmas. Some sort of cute, personalized photographs for good friends and family, rather then my standard getting-people-DVDs-cause-I-don’t-know-what-else-to-get tactic.

Made me want to sign up for Buy Handmade. Check it out.

Meet Tim and Meg’s new bun, Darth Vada.

Heather smuggled this little bun onto the Amtrak train from Albany, NY all the way to Philadelphia, passing through the Port Authority of NYC with no problems. She constructed a rather clever duffel bag that contained Vada’s cage, which was packed with lettuce, carrots, and water. The bun made it, and when she was set loose in Tim and Meg’s apartment, she hopped around merrily on the carpet, pondering what computer parts she would chew on first.

The last time I went up to Albany to visit Heather, I tried to bring this precious little bun home, but was thwarted by Amtrak when they told me no pets were allowed on board the train. I wrote a rather angry, irritated email to customer service. Not because they didn’t allow the bun on the train, but because some hipster woman got on at the next stop with an ugly little dog in her Prada bag.

Thanks Amtrak, it’s good to know pretentious rich women with giant Gucci sunglasses get preference over the scraggly looking college student dressed in ripped jeans and a leather jacket. Customer service called me to apologize for this, saying that only service dogs aiding those with disabilities were allowed on the train. That ugly pomeranian wasn’t a service dog. It was an accessory.

Heather, Secret Agent Double O’ Bun, accomplished her sneaky bun-smuggling mission with success.

Take that, Amtrak. pWn3d!

Or better yet, buNN3d!!1!

I’ve never really had a real birthday party before. I mean, I had a bunch when I was a little kid. The usual deal. Chuck-E-Cheese, Sports World, rollerskating, etc. But once you hit a certain age, your parents stop taking you and your friends to fancy, exotic places like Bowcraft, and start substituting Dunkin Donuts munchkins or cupcakes for your class. Then, that starts to disappear, and birthdays slowly become just like any other day, with the exception of the occasional awesome present.

When I turned 21, I had a serious throw down at my buddy Joel’s apartment near Philadelphia on his b’day, October 24th, with plans to party late into the next day. On the way to partying on the 25th, the car broke down, and we spent my 21st birthday at a Pep Boys. The night before was at least awesome though.

This year, living in a city on my own, I decided to do things differently, especially since I was hitting the big, scary two-five.

Lots of my friends came in for some serious partying from all over. I spent the greater part of Friday getting things ready and spending time with my girlfriend, who surprised me by making some amazing monster cupcakes with my roommate Tess.

They were insanely delicious. More photos soon.

When the night hit on Saturday, lots of great friends from home and college, a few new ones from Philadelphia, my rockin’ roommates, and my lovely girlfriend all came out to dress up in costumes, eat lots of snacks, and drink all of my Arbor Mist. The original plan was to bar hop around Old City, but as more people poured into the apartment, everyone was just way too comfortable. And that was just fine with me.

I was heavily dedicated to my costume as Thorny from Super Troopers. So much so that my roommate and I downed half a bottle of maple syrup, just to see who was, in the almighty words of Thorny, “all that is man.” The answer? My roommate. Man that stuff was gross.

The Halloween costume contest was won, hands down, by my friends Darlene and Cristina. They dressed as Naomi Campbell (Cristina on the right) beating up her executive assistant (Darlene on the left) with her cell phone. We captured an action shot, and Darlene had a fabulous black eye painted on. Good job guys!

A lot of my friends were telling me that this is the golden birthday and therefore, the golden year, since I turned 25 on the 25th. So, here is to making this an amazing year. I already know I’ll be finished with my MFA and my second book, so lets see what else can get added to that list.

Life is good.

Here’s to another good year.

Want to see more? Take a look at the Flickr account, and prepare to smile.