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This is an exterior shot of my former residence
in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Built in the nineteenth century by one of the
two Valentine brothers, it is an incredible house. |
| I took these photographs one fall after raking the lawn with
my dad. Originally, I intended to email these shots to my brother, reminding
him of the many autumns we spent together raking. |
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A rear shot of the house. The bird perched on
the roof to the left is Horus, a name my dad picked that I found appropriate. |
| The rear yard. The grass is looking a little yellow, the rose
garden is barren, this is definately late fall. |
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Originally the woman pouring water was the top
of the fountain immediately behind her. Now the fountain is filled with
flowers instead. |
| The carriage house at the rear of the lot has become a garage
for horseless wagons in this day and age. Originally slaves lived in the
upper levels of the carriage house. |
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This shot was taken from the rear porch. Immediately
off camera to the left is a large stone bowl filled with flowers, which
once held water for the horses. |
| Here's where I spent a majority of my waking hours in high
school. If I was not out at school, doing homework, or visiting friends,
I was here in front of the computer. |
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Mmmm. This shot puzzles me. For some reason
I remember my dad asking me to take it. I'll spare you from the rest of
the dark pointless shots. |
| The small television sitting on the right side of the shelving
unit brings back many fond memories. Ages ago, it sat in the garden room,
where I would spent a decent portion of my visits. Later, it ended up here,
where my cousin Tony and I would often sneak off during family gatherings
and watch television until the male adults found it and watched football
hiding with us. |
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My dad's desk. |
| My dad had a thing for old maps of various regions, some of
which were quite facinating. He has a collection of old geography texts,
the oldest have 'unknown' areas for some sections of the world. |
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I have a weakness for big black comfy business
chairs. Ask my former english teacher, Mr.Martin. Ask my former quadmate
Aaron. Ask any of my current co-workers at Drew. Just looking at this chair,
I have to wipe drool from the keyboard. |
| One wall had old maps, this wall was more naval in theme. |
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These next few shots I took to show my roommates
the chair that I planned on bringing to our triple that my mother had left
me. I never did get the chair up to Drew, and it remains in Woodbridge to
this day. |
| But what a chair! Comfortable, large, and fun. You could fit
a couple of healthy adults on it, as long as they were friendly. You could
sleep on it, even if you were a big goon like me. |
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Any child of the 80s or 90s will recognize what
lurks below the television, hiding behind the chair's foot rest. A good
old Nintendo Entertainment System! Woohoo! That's a NES Advantage to the
right, the best controller ever made. |
| This is the garden room, after its redecoration. It was a
fairly simple room, with the small television shown above, couches, and
plants. Now it is much more decorative, with matching chairs, a couch, and
a canary. This room has mixed memories for me. On one hand, it was where
a good deal of the unpleasant conversations of my teenage years took place.
On the other hand, I enjoyed many quiet nights reading here or having quiet
talks with people out of earshot of my parents. |
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My stepmother, Gloria, in the kitchen. |
| Here's a night shot of the house in the snow. Looking at this
photo, I can understand why my best friend in grade school, John, called
this house the 'Psycho House'. |
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My cousins Tony and Robby, on my bed, playing
with my laptop. |
| Here's my answer to most of the questions that inevitably
rise from the viewing of this page. |
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