iPhone... And trip so far

We left on Wednesday and headed for Milwaukee. Once we got there and into our hotel we went right to Miller Stadium for the Twins/Brewers game. At the Stadium we ate at a TGI Friday's before starting the climb to the nose bleeds. The seats were on the 4th floor but still pretty awesome. We even got to see the retractable roof close because it started raining. Twins lost and a drunk Brewers fan started to mess with me since I was wearing my twins jersey. It wasn't long before a fellow Twins fan walked over and asked what the record between the Twins and Brewers was. "I think 13 and 5... So shut the fuck up" he said to the Brewers fan before he looked at me and said, "figured I'd help you out" and then walked away.... I laughed. When we left we ended up driving by the mall to see if the line for the iPhone was already started... and it was... about 10 or so in line. But that was it for day one.

Day two was designated by me as "iPhone Day." I started it out by waking up at 4:30 in the A.M. Gretchen drove me to the Mayfair mall so I could wait in line, but there was no line to be found.

I saw a few people walking into the mall door so I followed and figured they were going in to get in line. I walked in, right behind another younger guy and followed as he went into one of those small hallways where the bathrooms usually are. He then walked through some doors that weren't labeled. I saw a security guard talking to someone about the iphone release so i stood by and listened. Then when he was threw, I asked where the drinking fountains were, he said up stairs, so I asked what the quickest way to the Apple store was and he said right threw those doors. He pointed at the same doors that the guy I followed in went threw... I thought it looked like it was for employees only and just before I walked in, a woman said, "are you an employee?" To which I replied, "no". Once the security guard heard that he got excited and told me that I couldn't be in there.

As he walked me to the door he said that they broke up the line that was formed last night and told everyone that they couldn't line up until 6am. Once I made it back outside and into the parking lot I saw a group of people standing around... these were the people I was looking for. They, also, explained that they weren't supposed to line up until 6am but one guy suggested that we make a line FOR the line we couldn't start till 6.

We made the line and a security guard told us we couldn't be there so he moved the line to the front of the building... where they ORIGINALLY said we couldn't be.... So there we waited until about 6am when a couple Apple employees came out and brought us into the mall to wait in two more lines... A line for people who pre ordered the phone and a line for the regular walk ins. I was one of the only people who had a pre order when we were standing out the in parking lot and people asked me why I pre ordered it and came to the store. Well, this was why. I was second in the pre order line. It was awesome.

At 7am when they started letting people in, they walked about ten people from each line over to the store where they had black curtains up blocking the windows. Shortly after we lined up they dropped the curtains and the doors opened up all smooth and slow like. So awesome. All the Apple employees were standing in two lines clapping and holding their hands out for high fives... so I, and everyone else walked threw the line of people and at the end they told us that the people we just passed were the people who were going to get us the phones...

Some employees were walking right up to people and helping them, and some were standing around kind of looking for someone to help... I ran up to one of those people and said, "Hey, are you going to help me get an iPhone?" "Yes I am," he said... we set it up right there and BOOM... I had my new iphone.

In and out of the store in about 15 minutes after waiting in line for two hours and 45 minutes.

When I got back to the hotel we headed to chicago. Stopped at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then finished the trip to the hotel. We took the shuttle from there to the O'Hare airport where we took the blue line into downtown Chicago.

We walked to the Navy Pier and then Gretchen and her parents went to Millennium park while I went to visit my friend from college, Chad. I waited in a Starbucks and drew in my sketchbook until he got off work. Then we huffed it north to Chicago Ave and rode a bus to Rotofugi, Chicago's equivalent of RobotLove.

After an awesome ride with chad, talking about the new iPhones we both have we arrived at Rotofugi and bought a few pieces of urban vinyl. After that we parted ways and I met Gretchen and family back at Michigan Ave. We checked out a couple stores, hit Ghirardelli and walked back to the blue line... worst nap ever.

Today we drove to Ohio.... not much more than that... just drove. Here now, tomorrow Gretchen and I will hit Cleveland while Gary and Bonnie go to a wedding.

I threw together this iphone/ipod wallpaper if anyone is interested.

More updates to come....

OH yeah... in other news, I was in the Honorable Mention Category with my 5 second project, "Shaved Yeti". Check out the full article here HERE.

FINISHED... with no sound :(

Here's the most recent 5 second Project.

Theme: Nude No More.

Vimeo Link: http://vimeo.com/12727107 (not quite up yet... there's a wait)

Shaved Yeti (5 Second Project) from Jared Johnston on Vimeo.

It's really small I know, but go to VIMEO and you'll be able to see a bigger version.

If you want to download the 1080p Version you can HERE.

5 Second Project

Lately I've been working on another 5 second project animation. The theme, this time around, is "Nude No More"

I can't tell you much about it yet... aside from it has to be DONE tomorrow.

I'm going to do everything in my power to make that happen, but we'll see what really happens. I'm going to a bike race tomorrow in Stillwater with Zac, Ashley, and Derek... and their dog, Louie.

But here's a taste of what's to come of this project. Enjoy.

Toy Story 3

Pretty awesome, as ALL pixar movies are. I liked this one because it was a long awaited farewell to the characters that we fell in love with back in 1995. I'm Glad they finally made a commitment to not doing any more Toy Story Movies.

Sequels have always seemed like they are just made for a quick buck. And even though I don't like to think of PIXAR that way... They did make 3 toy stories and have a Cars sequel, a Monster's Inc sequel, and maybe even A Bug's Life sequel on the way. I don't like that. Pixar is known for the amazing story telling and creativity when it comes to making movies, by recycling the same old characters doesn't make anything any better.

Yes this movie was good, and yes Pixar will probably have a hard time making a BAD movie, but I'm glad Toy Story was finally put to rest and that we can expect NO MORE sequels from the title.

With that said, the movie was a brilliant ending to an even more brilliant franchise. Toy Story 3 really pulls the heart strings. It's a very sad but also happy way of going about the final chapter to the series. But it's done. And it, as a whole, was amazing.

Pixar, once again, you've out done yourselves... But... as far as YOUR movies go... this wasn't the best... Up was better :)

And I think that the leap that DreamWorks made, from their previous movies to "How to Train Your Dragon", was on a much grander scale. Everything that Toy Story 3 made you feel, was stronger and done better in UP.

I can't recommend this movie enough... don't walk, RUN to go see it in theaters. We saw it in 3D, it was amazing. If I could have changed one thing, I would have made Gretchen see Toy Story 2 before we saw this one... BUT I would have MADE her watch that first had she told me before we were on our way home from the theater.

iPhone4

Yep... I'm gettin' one. Went over to the AT&T store the other day and made the switch. I called T-Mobile to get my account number and they asked me why I needed it... I told her for my records. So she asked if I was leaving T-Mobile. I told her that I might be. She asked why. I told her the truth, "new iPhone4". She said, "well I'd hate to see you leave for an inferior phone. Have you seen the new (something) Flip?"

I was forced to tell her, "Okay, please stop with the pleasantries, I would just like my account number." She finally gave it to me and I was on my way to a bigger, and probably not so much, better network.

I reserved the new iphone the day it went up for pre-order. Ended up having to download the Apple Store App on my current iphone to get it pre-ordered. BUT I finally got it reserved and they shot me an email confirming it.

The kicker is I'm going to be out of town that day... Gretchen, her parents and I are going on a little road trip. Heading to Milwaukee for a Baseball game, then to Chicago for a day in the city, THEN to Niagara Falls and finally back to MN through Canada. And Gretchen's parents have to go to a wedding somewhere in there.

So as for the iPhone4, I'll be picking mine up in Milwaukee at the Mayfair Mall on the 24th. We leave for the trip on the 23rd. On day two of the trip I'll get a new toy to play with in the car... SO EXCITED!!!

Here's just four of the many new features of the iPhone4.

• 

  FaceTime. Video calling is a reality.

  See family and friends while you talk to them. No other phone makes staying in touch so much fun.

  Learn more about FaceTime

• 

  Retina display. 960 by 640 by Wow.

  With a remarkable 960-by-640 resolution in a 3.5-inch screen, text and graphics look unbelievably crisp and sharp.

  Learn more about the Retina display

• 

  HD video recording.
  Life looks better in HD.

  iPhone 4 lets you record and edit stunning HD video. So it’s the only phone – and camera – you need to carry with you.

  Learn more about HD video recording

• 

  5-megapixel camera. Never miss a photo opportunity.

  Take beautiful, detailed photos with the new 5-megapixel camera with built-in LED flash.

BUT I'M TORN... Not sure which color bumper case I should get, if any.

Here's the two i narrowed it down to.

Black or white... I know very exciting... But I know i'm getting a black iphone.

Or I could just get no case and be exposed to the dangers of dropage.

I CAN'T DECIDE!

WATERPARK and Such

Last weekend was Gretchen's Birthday... WOO HER! the big 23... Gettin' old... But for her birthday we went to dinner with her parents a few days earlier. But on the day of, we went out to eat at Osaka Seafood Steakhouse. My parents, Tammy and Dean, Gretchen and I all shared a sushi filled evening. Of course my dad and Dean didn't have any sushi, but they still had fun.

Everything at the restaurant was amazing... except the service. Don't get me wrong, I'd been there before and the service was amazing. But this time we had a girl that I can only hope was new... she also didn't speak much English... at least, I hope that was the case. Nothing REALLY bad happened, aside from putting in the orders a bit wrong. BUT SHE FIXED IT before they came out. She also didn't understand that we wanted Mochi Ice Cream for desert and brought us the regular scoops of ice cream, but once we explained to her, all was well.

They actually brought us a shush boat since we ordered so much. :)

And when we were done it was COMPLETELY EMPTY!

But SO good...

I guess when it's your birthday there, they bring you a large head to put on and a little gift basket.... They also have a really annoying, yet catchy, birthday song.

Here's what gretchen got in her gift bag... a cross.

And here's a picture of the picture they took of us...

After they took it, they brought it to gretchen for her to sign. after she signed it, they put it up on the wall entrance of the place. Pretty cool.

This all took place on Saturday... On SUNDAY, we went to the water park of america. Near the mall of america.

Gretchen, her friend Kari, HER boyfriend Zach and I went to the water park for some watery fun. And we had just that. Half a dozen trips around the lazy river spread out over the day. Down the water slides a dozen or so times. I even went on one of those things that makes a big wave and you jump into it with a boogie board and ride the wave. I did pretty good for my first time, the life guards who showed me how to do it were pretty impressed.

I went out, on my stomach, like you're supposed to, and I got used to that pretty quick, after about a minute or so of that I figured I better do something or everyone else who was waiting was going to get impatient. So I decided to try what a couple guys in front of me were doing... Going up on your knees.

Believe me it was harder than it looked. Had to get my arms all extended and hold myself up before doing a slight jump to get my knees on the board... but once i was there i was a natural. This was all my first time by the way.

Many people would go out, and fall off and get shot back behind the wave... Like Gretchen. But they gave her a couple tries before she decided to give up. I guess she just wasn't heavy enough to keep stable on the wave.

ANYWAY... After the water park we went looking for the restaurant that we see every time we go to the mall of america... Billabong. But i guess they closed down, so we had to settle for a different little sports bar that ended up being AMAZING! I got the Asian Chicken Sandwich... so good.

Aside from the birthday thing... I ended up posting a bunch of my grandma Connie's things she's trying to get rid of on craigslist. One guy came by to purchase a bunch of old sprinkler heads. When I asked him if he was putting in a sprinkler system he said, "No, I make jewelry." So I looked up his stuff and it seems pretty cool.

Here's a few things he made... and HERE's the site where he sells them.

Pretty cool I thought.

Sorry this is getting so LONG... so i'll keep this short...

I Just got back from seeing "The A-Team", and as corny as it seemed... I thought it was pretty awesome. Fun to watch. A lot better than I thought it was going to be, even with the guy who played Mr. T's character and his dialogue. It was also super funny. And if you do see it, stay after the credits. Funny Funny.

My Garden is also looking great, apart from a few weeds. But the Lettuce needs to be harvested... If anyone want's some mixed lettuce, please let me know. It's AWESOME.

OH YEAH, and my old roommate Zac got engaged... !!!!!! so we're going out to dinner to celebrate with him now...

More soon. And again, I'll try to shorten the time between posts.

But that's enough for now.

Today, but Yesterday TOO!

Went biking today... With Tom... To the Edina Art Fair. 32.7 miles...

But before I get into TODAY, let me tell you about yesterday. A bunny... a BABY bunny... in my garage when I went out to look at my garden.

Cutest little thing EVER.

I opened the garage, it ran farther in. Scared it back toward the door, it would make a huge round turn and dart back into the corner.... I guess it didn't want to leave. But It finally went under my Gun Safe in, which wasn't too smart since there's only one way out of there, the front, and we (Michael and me) scared it out the big door. Michael started reaching under the safe with a glove on trying to catch it and it ran toward the door, where I was waiting and then scared it outside... Pain in the ass... probably should have kept it... could have named him STEVE.

Well after that, I sold toys on line until close to 2pm or 3pm when Michael and I went to Barb and Tim's house to catch some coy fish out of the pond in the back yard and help Grandma and Jessica move some furniture into the house. After we caught our fill of fish that we weren't going to eat, we headed home. All of them, surprisingly, made the trip home alive.

But now... back to TODAY.

The Art Fair was pretty cool. We met Chevis, Cedra and Daniel there and walked around for a while.

I guess Daniel has this new thing where he says "HI" to EVERYONE... and I'm talking EVERYONE. If you're in his line of sight, he'll say "hi" repeatedly until you are no longer in view. It was pretty awesome. I tried to tell him that I only say "hi" to people who make eye contact with me... but I don't think he cared. "HI, HI, HI, HI!"

I ended up leaving Tom, Chevis and the kids and started my bike ride home. Had to make it back before the post office closed. I've been selling Dunnys/Toys like Hotcakes on line and need to get them out of my living room asap.

If anyone is interested in taking a look at what I've got, you can see the images HERE. and for anyone who reads this, I'll give you and EXTRA good price on things :)

Motorcycle

Today Mike and I rode our bikes up to the Dennis Kirk outlet store to check out some motorcycle gear. He rode over to my house where we swapped bikes and then rode to his place. I rode his Harley Davidson Softail and he rode my Yamaha R6. After Riding his bike for no more than 20 minutes I made up my mind, I NEED ONE!

Cruiser bike is the way of the future for me.