Dan

The day began as most days often end, it’s midnight and i'm hanging with my roommate Tim on our stoop. It’s a cool, quiet evening and we catch up on our lives, politicking for about an hour to wind down. Stoop hangs are one of my favorite Philadelphia pastimes. Better than sitting inside anyways I say.

I wake up around 10am, lay in bed on my phone for a bit. Terrible habit, I know, but getting up on days I don’t have work is especially hard for me unless I have specific timed plans. I think it’s because I hate to let people down or have someone waiting on me. This probably comes from my own impatience. I like to stay busy, to a fault… but today I was excited I had a pretty full day ahead of me. 

Jump on my bike at 11:45, race up tasker street. I’m on my way to see my good friends Doreen and Ryan. They have an 8 month old baby, Frances. Even though they are close in distance I don’t see them often because of our schedules, but it’s always a treat. I open the door, Frances starts crying hysterically. Not the typical greeting I've previously been accustomed to, but babies are unpredictable. Together we walk up the street to the new Little Suzie’s Coffee & Pie Shop. I got a cherry hand pie and unexpectedly the largest cold brew I’ve ever seen. Literally the size of my head, I could only stomach about half of it or my heart would have exploded.

Time flies, “12:45. Shit gotta go”. I grab my bike and am off to my next appointment. Bobbing and weaving through the streets of South Philly, I made it in 10 minutes. I love biking everywhere. It's such a rush and you get everywhere faster (if you ride aggressively). Only downside is having to dodge massive potholes. Thanks PennDOT.

I made it to my 1pm appointment at the Jean Madeline institute where my friend Wes (@scavengersdaughterbeauty) gave me a fresh haircut. I’ve been wanting to change up my style for a while now and she did a killer job. Now I have a mullet, feeling fresh and liking the way I look for a change.This is maybe the first time in 6-7 years i’ve gotten anything besides a regular barber cut. 

From there I treated myself to some lunch at my favorite deli around South Street (Wholesome deli & grill). Not saying it’s the best or anything, I'm no food critic, they just have a great chopped cheese that I like. Added bonus there is a cute cat who hangs out on the shelves. After having chopped cheese a few years ago in New York I now hold the problematic opinion that it is better than a cheesesteak. Today it really hit the spot. I enjoyed it on a bench outside, in the 60 degree sunshine, people watching and drinking some funky flavor of LaCroix i’ve never seen before. My weakness is trying any weird flavored drinks I come across.

3pm now, zoom back home. Meeting up with my homie at 4. I post a picture of my new hair on Instagram. Suddenly my phone stops working. It keeps saying SOS mode or NO SIM. Weird. This has happened before but I never figured out the cause… Oh well not going to let that ruin my day. Keep pushing forward. I pick up my friend and we head to an undisclosed location to paint big colorful letters, spelling our fake names on things for a few hours. Being entirely off the grid in this place is freeing, I especially love catching the sunset here. It’s special. I cherish the ability to tuck away and hide from the world even if just temporarily. Life is so busy at all times but here I can keep my hands full and distract my brain for a while. 

Now it’s 7pm. My friend and I head to the grocery store. Grabbing 2 styrofoam containers of questionable hot bar food for dinner (that had definitely been sitting out all day) because we like to roll the dice… We went back to his house to eat and hang out in the backyard with his cat and girlfriend for a bit. They just moved into this house and this was the first nice night we were all able to enjoy their backyard (concrete pad). The string lights hanging across the fence gave it a classic warm ambiance.

9pm I’m already running late, whoops. Said I would be at North Bowl an hour ago. Jump in my car and speed across town. 20 minutes, not so bad. Luckily I found parking quickly. I missed the first game but stepped in and kicked ass for round 2. I’ve been bowling a lot recently, I guess that’s the popular thing right now or maybe that’s just what you do when you’re 30+. Ran into more friends on the way out and played pool for another hour.

After winning one game, losing another, and drinking exactly 3 seltzers I am fully exhausted. These are the kinds of days I love. I feel most fulfilled when I've done a million things around the city, with people I love and can go home to just pass out immediately. Goodnight Philadelphia, thanks to anyone who actually reads this.

Dan is a busy guy. An artist, musician, and lover of Philadelphia.