*6 Reunion- Seattle

You might remember from a few posts ago that I am a huge music fan. I listen to music everyday and love to learn about new bands. I have always loved music and I am pretty certain I can say that music changed my life. More specifically, the band Dispatch has changed my life. It might sound cliche, but it's true.

Back when I was in high school, I was in Chemistry class and I was talking to my friend Steve about new bands. He suggested downloading two songs by a band I never heard before called Dispatch. I even remember the names of the songs, The General and Bang Bang. So once I got home, I opened up Napster (this was before it was a service you had to pay for) and I downloaded the two songs. I loved them immediately. After I downloaded these two songs and decided I loved them, I started to go on a downloading rampage and got all of the Dispatch songs I could. I was amazed because I enjoyed every song of theirs. I was a fan instantly.

In 2001, the band was on tour and scheduled a show at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. I had to go. So me and two of my friends came with me to Philadelphia to see them play. John Mayer was one of the opening acts. At that time, no one knew who he was. The show was phenomenal. One of the best shows I have ever been too. When I got home, I was hooked on everything Dispatch and I even became a member of their message board. At that time, I was not a huge message board poster, but I would make comments now and again. The message board was called *6. The board went through many changes over the years, but around 2003, I started to become more involved. Eventually, after being a regular poster on *6, people started to notice me and talk to me on instant messenger and eventually, on the phone. I started to make "internet friends".

Sadly, in 2004, Dispatch announced that they were breaking up; however, they were going to put on a free show in Boston to celebrate their ending. Again, I needed to go and found out that many people from the message board were also planning on going. Leading up to the concert, I became extra fond of Danny, one of the members of the board, so I was way motivated to go to the last Dispatch show just to meet him. As the weeks went by, more and more people made plans to go and us *6ers, as we called ourselves, all booked the same hotel so we could finally meet up and hang out with each other. We even made t-shirts! I convinced my parents to let me go all the way to Boston with a few of my friends from home and when I got to Boston, a new world opened up. I had the best time with the other *6ers and we all instantly felt this connection between us. It was like we were friends forever who always hang out with each other. I will never forget that solidarity feeling I had and the acceptance I received from other board members. After the show was over and we were all making our way back to our homes, we made this unspoken commitment to each other that we would cross paths again. Now it is 5 years later, and we have kept up our promises.

Here is a group picture taken at the end of the Boston trip. From the left, Matty, E, me, Danny, Liz and Jen.

After the Boston show, lots happened. Danny and I decided to be exclusive with each other, even though he was from Wisconsin and I was from Pennsylvania. We also had a reunion one year later in Philadelphia and it was a blast. During that trip, I celebrated my 21st birthday and met up with more *6ers who did not have the chance to go to the last show. Namely, Joy from Canada who is for sure my sister from another mother. In 2006, a few of us went to Minnesota for a mini-reunion and I got to visit Minneapolis/St. Paul. Home of my good friend Molly. In 2007, Dispatch decided to put on a benefit concert in New York city so many of us trekked to NYC that year for the show. During that trip, I got to meet even more *6ers and made instant friends with Tom, a *6er from England who opened my eyes to traveling and how wonderful the world is. In 2008, people traveled here to Boston, still having the best time with each other and they also got to meet Clayton.

For 2009, we decided to go to the West coast because Tom was planning on traveling from Vancouver to San Diego. Also, Justin, from Spokane, WI was always commenting on how all of our reunions were happening on the East coast and that a West coast reunion was warranted. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to hang out with Tom while he was here, so we thought a *6 reunion in Seattle would be fun. I just got back yesterday and it was a crazy time. I am always amazed at how wonderful our group meshes so well even though we hang out with each other once a year. I have actually been very lucky because I usually see members of the board more than once a year because many times, they travel close to Boston and my house is always somewhere where they can crash and hang out. Also, when Clayton and I traveled to the UK, we met up with my England *6 friends which became a God send.

Whenever we are together, I become so aware of the world and how wonderful meeting new friends and seeing new places is. It opens my eyes to different life styles, culture and personalities. I have gained so much from this small group of people and I am still meeting new friends through them from all over the country and the world. They are a wonderful group of individuals who I keep in contact with regularly. We shall see what is in store for us in 2010. Possibly Chicago? Austin? Who knows. I just know that I will be excited to see these people again and will look forward to yet another *6 reunion.


Here are some pictures from this weekend:

Diner Tour 2009

5/9/09
Skylark Fine Diner & Lounge
Edison, NJ

I was in New Jersey this particular weekend for a bridal shower. I stayed with one of my friends from grad school and she knew about my diner tour. So, she and her boyfriend took me to one of their favorite (or possibly their favorite) diner around their apartment. Onto the ratings!

Decor: As you can see, the Skylark is a very cool looking place..very modern. One of the first things I said when I walked in was "whoa, I feel like I should be seeing one of the Jetson's soon". It is a pretty remarkable looking place, both inside and out. On the walls, you see clocks that tell the time from different parts of the world. There is a counter (didn't get to check out the seats though), the lighting was interesting and the booths were very roomy. Unfortunately, for me, I tend to enjoy the typical diners. I missed the 50s feel and the old booths that fall apart at the seams. Although it was not set in a diner car, I need to give it some good pointage for the coolness factor.

Staff: The server we had was very polite. Not your typical old lady waitress at all. Actually, we had a male server who looked about my age (that's 24 for you people who don't know). It felt like we were in a nicer restaurant because all the servers had a uniform and they all seemed "business" minded. No huns, no Reike's, no make up. BUT, he was good at his craft.

Menu Options: This place has it all. You can get breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast meals all sounded tasty. I chose banana walnut waffles. Doesn't that just make your mouth water? The price was a bit high, but the quality of the food seemed to match. I was a bit surprised they didn't have a various tea menu...but they have some nice coffees, espressos, cappuccinos, etc. I am not a coffee drinker, but at this place, I wanted to be.

Taste of Food: My tea was a nice black tea...pretty standard. Keith's (my friend's bf) espresso or whatever it was looked amazing. He even got some rock candy on a stick as his stirrer. Pretty fancy eh? Each table gets some complimentary breads which were fantastic. As for my main course, it was pretty tasty, but I was hoping that I would be the one to pour the syrup on the waffles. They completely covered mine in syrup, so some bites were way too sweet. Also, someone in the kitchen must have accidentally placed some garlic or some sort of herbal seasoning on my plate. That made the taste very interesting. Other than that, my meal was good. The home fries were very very good and give Kelly's some competition. Keith got French Toast and it was nice and thick (thank God). Brianna got some eggs and it looked pretty tasty.

Overall Gut Feeling: The Skylark is a great place to take people who like modern looking places. I enjoyed myself at this diner and was very glad that my friends took me, but I did miss the typical diner car feeling along with the home-y-ness. Don't get me wrong though, I wouldn't turn down a meal here. I gave this diner a 3.7/5.0.


5/9/09
Chick's Diner
Scranton, PA

Yes, you read it right. I went to two diners in one day! I realized, as I was in NJ, that home was only 2.5 hours away. So I took the trip to go home and see my dad's band play at a bar. I totally surprised my mom, dad and brother. Plus, I got to hang out with my two uncles. When we were finished crashing my brother's workplace, my uncles felt the diner hunger (at 2am). So my uncle Harry suggested Chick's Diner.

Decor: Beautiful! The Chick's Diner car is exactly what I look for in a diner. Set in a diner car, you can't go wrong. You walk inside, and I believe that there is a cigarette vending machine. I will have to confirm this though. Even at 2am, this place was hoppin'. We got a seat at the counter and we had a grand ole time. There aren't too many posters hanging on the walls, but it definitely has that diner feel to it. This place is also open 24 hours. A rarity as compared to Boston diners.

Staff: I can't remember specifics, but the staff at Chick's was also, exactly what I look for in a diner. We had a younger waitress, but the other waitresses definitely fit the diner theme. I was not called hun or sweetie, but I felt taken care of.

Menu Options: Chick;s has your typical menu. The price was excellent. You can't go wrong. It was like we were in Worcester again! I didn't get anything to eat because it was so late, but both my uncles got what they were craving for. They also made Harry's eggs from egg beaters, just like he asked. You could probably get anything you want here.

Taste of Food: I really can't speak about the taste myself, but from what my uncle's said, they were pleased. My uncle Gerard got a hamburger and he said that it tasted homemade. We asked our waitress if it was homemade and she confirmed it. That impressed him. My other uncle Harry was also pleased with his egg beaters and toast. I got myself a tea. It was satisfying for me. I need to go back to this place though to test the food out myself. I am going home near the end of May. A trip to Chick's might be in order.

Overall Gut Feeling: I loved this place. You feel at home at Chick's. It was 2am, and still very busy. It was even hard for us to get a seat! They served us well, we were all satisfied, and we spent less than 10 bucks for three people. Amazing. I gave this diner a 4.1. i need to go back though to check out the food. This rating will most likely change.

PS.
The song that I chose is called Bittersweet by Sick of Sarah. I saw them live and was blown away. I don't usually like chick bands, but they impressed me. (It also helps that one of the band members is the sister of one of my friends). Check them out!

Diner Tour 2009

4/25/09
Gold Star Restaurant
Worcester, MA


So Clayton and I went to Western Massachusetts this weekend and decided to go find a diner on our way. Perfect plan right?! So we found this diner (it said diner when we googled it) and it got a pretty good rating, so we figured we would try it. As we were googling the diner, we saw that there were many diners to choose from in Worcester. I think it was Clayton who thought "this is odd, I wonder if diner cars originated in Worcester." So through wikipedia we saw this quote from the article "Commercial production of lunch wagons began in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1887, by Thomas Buckley." Thank-you Mr. Buckley and whoever else attributed to the wonderful thing called diners. We are forever grateful. So here are the ratings:

Decor: From the outside, it does not look like a diner at all (as you can see). We actually passed it about 4 times before we realized it was the diner we were looking for. On google, it said diner, but when we got there, it said restaurant! Anyways, when you go inside, there is a definite diner atmosphere. A counter with twirling seats, booths galore and breakfast specials hanging on a board above the wait station. Another special thing about his diner is the bathroom. You have to go through the kitchen to get to it. Pretty insane. I saw all the cooks preparing meals and thought "whoa, this is odd, but sorta cool?" Points had to be taken off though because it was not in a diner car and looked nothing like a diner from the outside.

Staff: Our waitress was young, but really good. She was able to handle a whole section to herself and she did it well. Although we were not met with an older woman who called us hun or tons of make-up, we were pleased with the service we got.

Menu Options: At this diner, you have you typical breakfast and lunch choices. However, you will be amazed at the prices..in a good way. Our whole meal between the two of us was about $8.00. We got alot of food too. Breakfast sandwiches:$2.00 Waffles:$3.00 Prices: amazing. They also had dinner specials which were very reasonable. We were a bit scared to order anything because we didn't want to die from food poisoning. That's how good the prices were.

Taste of Food: I got myself some eggs and I was pleased. Clayton got a breakfast sandwich..you could just smell the grease permeating from it. He loved it.... I was supposed to get a waffle, but we were in a rush and I couldn't wait for it. It was okay though because I was so stuffed. For the price, the taste was excellent.

Overall Gut Feeling: Although this place didn't look like a diner, it definitely had the diner feel to it. We enjoyed ourselves here and for the price, you really can't go wrong. We gave this diner a 3.2.


5/2/09
Andy's Diner
Cambridge, MA

On this particular weekend, we needed to get back to our house early so we went to this diner because it was close to Davis Square. BIG MISTAKE! Never go here....

Decor: As you can see, it is not a diner car. It is between Davis and Porter Square..it would be easy to miss if it weren't for the bright yellow sign. It does not look like a diner from the outside. The inside is also nothing to rave about. Yeah, it has a counter, yeah it has booths..but it looks more like a really cheap Denny's or Friendly's. It felt depressing just sitting there..gross.

Staff: Our waitress was okay. Again, nothing to rave about. She kinda seemed annoyed to serve us. Or maybe just not interested in us at all. Sadly, no huns.

Menu Options: At Andy's you have your typical diner menu, but it's not the cheapest place. We may have been spoiled from the diner in Worcester, but our bill was way higher. We weren't too happy with the food either..

Taste of Food: Sub-par. I ate waffles that looked like there were frozen, then microwaved. It was gross. I forget what Clayton got, but he wasn't too happy either.

Overall Gut Feeling: As you can probably guess, we did not like this place much. It had no character, bad food, forgettable service....no diner feeling at all. I think we gave it a 1.2. bleh