The Lie-a-day is a little tradition I started on my Facebook account. I took a break for a couple months but now I’m doing it again. I’ll collect them and put them up on this blog on occasion!

12/29/2008 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: I collect seashells.

12/30/2008 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: Seeing a crab has never, not even once, made me cry in fear.

12/31/2008 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: my first CD ever was Chinese Democracy.

01/02/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: If you were to stack all the Nick Elmers on top of each other you would have a length that could reach the moon and back twice.

01/05/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: the first cup of tea I drank was given to me by my saxophone teacher who was very sick that day.

01/06/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: the intertwined proportions and ratios of my bones make my skeleton a simple machine for throwing the mightiest of fastballs.

01/07/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: When using an umbrella I spin it constantly as a tribute/reminder for lawn sprinklers in general.

01/08/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: Top 3 Favorite Dreams I’ve had are all about astronauts and the perils that come with being astronauts.

01/09/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: Allen Walter of Alden, Minnesota is the current world record holder for the largest collection of Nick Elmer’s.

01/12/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: Until the age of 7, I believed Pizza Hut was called Pizza Hat because of the red Sunday dress hat on top of the logo.

01/13/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: Contrary to popular belief, Nicholas Elmer did not perish with the dinosaurs but instead lives on in many Florida swamps.

01/14/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: I enjoy the thrill of walking down stairs in the dark while trying my hardest to not keep count of the steps that remain.

01/15/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: My first crush on a girl ended pleasantly with her politely letting me know she did not feel the same instead of using violence.

01/16/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: I opted not to take lunch in high school because of a tator tot phobia, not because I wanted to take extra classes.

01/20/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: King of Prussia Mall and any Macy’s store, for whatever reason, make me feel like I have warm sand between my toes. Not carsick.

01/21/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: My first piano recital was in a church and it was also the first time I had ever heard a nun yawn rudely.

01/22/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: As long as the crack is large enough for its beak, a Nick Elmer will be able to squeeze its body through.

01/23/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: The limited edition Nick Elmer’s come with a bonus DVD filled with bloopers and commentary tracks by a bunch of mouth breathers.

01/26/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: When I was in middle school I started the band “Stupid Idiot and the Your Ugly Faces.”

01/27/2009 – Nicholas tells a lie about himself a day: Though not very bright, if you put enough Nick Elmers in a jar they will produce just enough light to help you find your way.

What I learned today:If you walk into a Wawa where everyone is very silent and looking at you strangely you probably have a booger on your face.

Sooooo… Still unemployed. BUT at least I’ve still got my pride. In unrelated news my mother took me shoe shopping two days ago.

Found a pair for 19 bucks! I’m pretty frugal when it comes to clothes. Also, like I said before, I’m still unemployed.

Speaking of being unemployed (Oh! You didn’t know I was unemployed?) I’m currently dealing with the type of crisis I thought I would have when I was older with a mustache and perhaps, god willing, suspenders. I need to figure out what I want to do. Do I want to find another 40 hour a week job? Do I want to try drawing full time? Do I want to blow everything on an adventure and abandon my responsibilities?

There’s this foreboding feeling in my gut next to the ramen stock piles that suggests no matter what I choose, 10 years later I will kick myself for not doing something else. That leaves me paralyzed.

I hate paralyzed. Life is calling. I need to get stuff done.

Or at least get out of bed before 10:00 AM.

What I learned today: The difference between being a hypocrite and being delightfully unpredictable is whether or not you admit it with a smile.

August 14th through 16th was the Philadelphia Folk Festival and I had the opportunity to spend Saturday (the 15th) at its magical shire

The mermaids look a lot different that what you'd imagine from the stories

Being my first time at this long running festival, I had no real idea what to expect outside of dudes not wearing shirts and a butt load of acoustic guitars. Well, the festival definitely delivered on both those features (delivered in spades) but there was a ton of other stuff too.

The area they have this shindig is, well, dang near perfect. A large river runs through thick woods, music is heard throughout them from secret stages sprinkled throughout, and a large stage for the main acts sits at the bottom of a big hill decorated with the chairs and blankets of the sprawled out audience. People seem to be running back and forth between their tents, the various vendors tables, the river for a quick swim, and the stages for a listen of some of the music. Though I only spent one day there I could easily imagine filling an entire weekend.

The music was great, perfect for laying out in the sun and letting wash over you. Tune-age varied from folk to bluegrass to dudes with big honkin’ harps.

People there were awesome too. A vibe just flowed from everyone and made me want to spend two nights there all the more. I COULD HAVE MADE FRIENDS! Do you know how unique this situation is for a dude with as many Transformer toys as me?

Like a four leafed snowflake. That unique.

What I learned today: Cooking is a science. You come up with a theory and test it out then learn from the data. Last tested theory: I can make Pad Thai? Data received: This is a lie.

It was on Wednesday night that myself and some other friends got together for some sport. The sport of scavengery! We would be a mighty team, combing our home town for relics demanded of us which represented quantitative worth. We spirited away great landmarks of the area in manners worthy of stage magicians. We threw caution to the wind as we documented photographs of ourselves at our worst.

We were on a scavenger hunt.

Parker Brothers can shove it. I lived it for REAL.

And we came in dead, flippin’ last.

I’m still pretty torn up about it.

To be fair, we were not unlike the failed rulers who found themselves surrounded by yes-men. Victims of the overly positive snakes whispering in our ears. When someone comes up to you multiple times during the evening and says “Smart money’s on YOU guys!” you eventually come to believe it.

What I’m saying is: it’s not our fault. We really should have won. YOU GOT TO BELIEVE ME.

We really were the smart bet. A rag tag group of shameless individuals (us) who were not phased by looking dumb in public. The other teams? Hodgepodge collections of brah’s (read: “bros”) and sorority girls.

I know what you’re thinking. It should have been in the bank.

But we were too sure of ourselves. We lost that panicked “IF WE DON’T FIND SOMEONE TO AUTOGRAPH THESE BRICKS SOON WE ARE GOING TO LOSE THE GAME” feeling. We didn’t even bother to get the bricks. Then we spat in the eyes of passerby’s who might have signed them. Then we called them names. It was bad form.

We needed to that lost panic to win. Yet, we didn’t panic. Thus, we lost.

Moral of the story: Never stop freaking out about anything.

What I learned today: I can waste a lot of ice cream to make a pretty terrible milk shake if you ask me to.