Sean Henri

Back home too soon

July 04, 2008 // 1 Comments // Add yours »

My trip ended much too quickly. Monday morning I was back in Connecticut, and back at work. But as quick as the trip was, it was worth every penny. Two days away was just enough to hold me off for a while.

My last day there was more casual than the day before. We went to downtown Scottsdale for lunch then took a drive down RT 87 to Saguaro Lake. By night I was back at the airport ready for my flight home.

A few more pics, all from Saturday:

Sedona

Slide Rock State Park

Sedona

June 29, 2008 // 1 Comments // Add yours »

Sedona

The flight here was terrible. My "window seat" lacked a window, the plane had no pillows or blankets, it felt like there was an hours worth of turbulence while over Oklahoma and Texas, and the woman next to me was praying the rosary like it was Armageddon.

It was worth it. Friday night was kept low key, partly due to the fact that it was almost 2 AM by the time I arrived. My friend Kristen and I grabbed some fast food from Jack In The Box (great stuff), had a quick chat, then called it quits for the night.

Saturday we started the day with some coffee and then took a 2 hour road trip up north towards Sedona. The terrain changed fast - from flat desert and tall cacti to jagged red mountains in what felt like the matter of a half hour. I drove most of the way because Kristen wasn't too crazy about driving in the mountains. The views were amazing so the drive seemed to go by very quickly.

We pulled over at a rock formation to the south of Sedona called Bell Rock. A lot of people go here looking for a Vortex - a place where people have reported feeling inspired by a beneficial source of energy. Needless to say, I'm a bit skeptical about the existence of such a thing, but I wasn't there for that, I was there for the hiking. We tried to make our way towards the top, but in 110 degree heat we couldn''t get very far so we had to turn back.

Once our attempt at hiking was over we made our way to downtown Sedona where we lunch and cooled off at a Mexican restaurant named Oaxaca.

From there we did a bit more driving, and then found ourselves hanging out along a river and watching people jump off cliffs at Slide Rock State Park, just to the north of Sedona in the Coconino National Forest.

To sum it up: it's been an amazing weekend so far. Videos here and pics below:

Sedona
Hiking around Bell Rock

Sedona

A jumper at Slide Rock State Park

Slide Rock State Park

One way to spend the weekend

June 27, 2008 // 1 Comments // Add yours »

It's a Friday night, and I'm sitting at JFK looking for ways to kill the time as I wait for my flight to arrive. I think thunderstorms are to blame for the delay. It's no excuse, we should have braved the weather. I had only planned on spending 48 hours at my destination! Delays simply aren't acceptable.

Where am I going? Arizona. There I'll be meeting up with a friend who I haven't seen since 2005 and then roaming around in the desert for two days. Why am I going? I couldn't really tell you. I have a friend there that I've been meaning to visit, and I've really wanted to take a vacation for a while now. Those would be two good reasons, but I'll only be there for a day and a half. Two miserable nights of travel for 36 hours of fast paced leisure.

People question the wisdom behind these fast-paced trips, but for me, it's worth it. I'll get to see a part of the country I've never seen before, and I'll spend some time with a great friend who I haven't seen in years. I'm considering this a preview trip. If I like what I see, I'll come back. I gave this very little planning... I actually just booked my flight 4 days ago. Few people know I'm even going to be away this weekend.

There's a forecasted high of 112 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow. I can hardly bare 80! I'm told it's no so bad because of the lack of humidity, but we'll see.

I'll be posting quick little updates throughout my trip, via the blog, twitter, and YouTube. You can find it all here on the right hand side of your screen under "Recent Thoughts" and "Recent Video".

Van Gogh on a Banjo

June 21, 2008 // 0 Comments // Add yours »

BanGogh by Mona Brown

I came across this really cool "BanGogh" while checking out the Westport River Gallery blog this morning. It's an original painting on a real banjo by American artist Mona Brown. The work is being offered for $700 at the gallery and will "benefit a deserving student who is going into the field of art". If interested, stop down at the gallery in Westport, CT or call 1-203-226-6934.

And just a note for CT residents: if you're interested in seeing the original Starry Night by Van Gogh, you can find it at the Yale University Art Gallery from now until early September 7th.

Starbucks opens in Derby

June 14, 2008 // 4 Comments // Add yours »

Derby Starbucks

I took some time this morning to stop in the new Starbucks on RT. 34 in Derby, CT, and I'm really impressed with how they've set it up. It's spacious, comfortable, clean, and exactly what I needed to find in my hometown. Being the kind of person that never really stops working or thinking, having a Starbucks nearby is a great thing. It gives me a place to be productive without shutting myself out from the world. I can sit here with my laptop and get a ton of work done, but still bump into a friend or start up a conversation with a stranger. Having it along the way on my commute in and out of work is a nice thing as well. Out of all the local Starbucks, including Shelton, Oxford, Milford, Orange, and Trumbull, this one is definitely my favorite. Check it out if you're local.

Campitos

June 01, 2008 // 0 Comments // Add yours »

I just got back from my first camping trip in nearly two years. We had a really nice lake front campsite, the weather wasn't as bad as we had expected, and we all had a great time. The place was called Odetah Campground - check it out!

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Paul McCartney Receives Honorary Degree From Yale

May 26, 2008 // 2 Comments // Add yours »

This morning I caught Sir Paul McCartney in New Haven as he received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University. I had no idea he was going to be there until around 10am when my phone started ringing off the hook. Once I had all the details I gave Jenn, Mindy, Justin, and Brooke a call and we all raced downtown. It was a short ceremony, and he didn't say anything. They serenaded him with a quick rendition of Hey Jude, gave him a bit of praise, and after a quick bow and a wave it was all over.

I thought it was a great way to start of Memorial Day. It's not every day one gets to see one of The Beatles receive a degree. Here's some video:

Never Trust Gas Station Food

May 24, 2008 // 5 Comments // Add yours »

Lately I've been sick. And as a result I seem to have lost my sense of smell, and all the benefits that come with it. I've become a bit worried that without my sense of smell my health could be in danger.

Hot Pocket

Yesterday I woke up a bit late so I didn't get the chance to make any coffee or prepare a lunch for work. Usually when this happens I'll stop by the Mobile gas station on RT. 34 in Derby and pick up some sort of caffeinated drink and a sandwich. Now, I've been warned many times not to trust the shady looking pre-packed food that sits on the shelf at a gas station. But for some reason I keep doing it. And overall, I've been quite pleased with what I've tried. In fact, last time I bought this incredible steak and cheese... and that's what I was going for, but then I saw the hot pocket.

Now who wouldn't want a hot pocket? It was too hard to move my hand away. So I grabbed it. Huge mistake.

Lunch-time comes at work so I go and nuke the thing. This is where my sense of smell really failed me. Thinking everything was normal I went ahead and took a big bite.. right away something seemed off. So I took another. Seconds later I was throwing up and the hot pocket was in the trash. It tasted as if it had been soaking in bleach for 4 months. Soon my boss was in the office complaining about the horrible smell the hot pocket was producing. He demanded that I go buy a Gatorade to cure my upset stomach. The Gatorade worked quite nicely.

I called Nestle to complain and they said they'd send me a check for $1.50. They said the gas station should have known better than to sell a rotting hot pocket.

Moral of the story: Don't trust gas station food. And don't eat something if you can't smell it first, unless you can afford to hire somebody to sample all your food before you dig in.

My new Photo Blog

April 26, 2008 // 4 Comments // Add yours »

I'm finally ready to call attention to my photo blog - Riceminers.com. It's been up for a few weeks now but I wasn't quite comfortable giving out the link while it was still incomplete. Even now it still isn't 100 percent done, but you can head on over and check it out anyway. It's a hobby that I'm hoping to improve on. Many of the photos have already been posted here in the past. Leave some comments, and if you want a print, just click details and you can order one through Google Checkout. Keep an eye out more features and photos in the future.

Follow me on Twitter

April 26, 2008 // 0 Comments // Add yours »

After resisting the micro-blogging hype for all this time without any good reason, I finally gave in and created an account with Twitter. If you're signed up, you should follow me: @seanhenri. If not, you should head on over to Twitter.com and sign up. It's both addictive and fun.

One thing that I really like about Twitter is that I can post updates via Google Talk or through text messages. This is great for all of these bottled-up ridiculous thoughts I'm always having. And I've gotten it synced up so it automatically changes my Facebook status.

Another thing I'm looking into doing is setting up a feed for all of my social network activity on the sidebar, much like what you see in your mini-news feed on Facebook. So, keep an eye for that in the near future. It'll be just one more way you can e-stalk me. I apologize for being such a nerd.

Read more in The Archives

Paul McCartney at the Highline Ballroom	Ten Miles along the Appalachian Trail
The Killer Blue Jay	Walking Around Limerick
It Happens	My Night at Carnegie Hall