Leaving Manhattan – Part I

As I predicted would happen, NeYork City has made my life as a recent college grad even more difficult to cope with. I came here seeking employment and was filled with high hopes of living in Manhattan. These desires only grew stronger as the minutes ticked by. Every person on the street, every taxi on the road, every wait in the subway, the endless sidewalks, scheduled protests for the RNC, getting ripped off at dinner, overspending my budget daily, getting sunburned in Central Park, seeing beautiful girls everywhere and then realizing my chances; all of these things are just a start to my endless list of things I love about New York. I want to live here so badly.
And now, as a result of this fantastic trip, my life is now filled with even more agonizing anticipation. I had two successful interviews with Starbucks over the past week but my future with them is still unknown. I expect to hear from them within the next two weeks; however, I am still not sure of their feelings for me. As odd as it may seem, I am rather optimistic about the situation but I’m not making any promises. Now all I can do is wait for the phone to ring and schedule that last interview and hope for an opportunity to move here. I feel like Starbucks is dragging me across hot coals to give me this job. It is just an Assistant Manager position but like Beene said, the process sounds like The Apprentice except when I win I won’t run a four-star Trump hotel, just pour coffee.
Anyway, as I was saying, this trip has only made me love the city that much more. I can’t picture myself living anywhere else right now but I have no guarantees that it will ever happen, just hope. I can only dream of my perfect life of urban living. I can only fantasize about my small apartment with holes in the ceiling, neighbors getting “intimate” every night at 2AM, no money in my wallet, working full-time for the rest of my life, still eating macaroni and cheese on a regular basis. Sheer Bliss!
And so now I sit in the Newark Airport with a wonderful view of the Manhattan skyline. I wonder when my next trip to the city will be. Now I can only dream of what my future holds for me. Until these dreams come to fruition, I will be on my parent’s sofa spilling my heart onto this page and thinking of what may someday become the reality that is, New York City.

Healed by Jazz

Well, here I am in New York for my ever hoped for and anticipated interview with Starbucks. I’ve been excited and anxious to get in there and see where my path would lead me. I’ve spent a few days here in the city with Andrew just hanging out and eating cheap pizza. Yesterday while chatting with Julie I was informed that my favorite jazz musician of this day and musically declined age, Jamie Cullum, was playing a free show in Central Park that night. I would have to swing by a theater downtown on my way to the interview and pick up tickets. The line was about 150 people when I got there; almost all of whom were “twentysomething.” Luckily the line moved super fast and I was handed my two free tickets within minutes. I hailed a cab and cruised into the shadow of the Empire State building for my interview with next door. The interview went well but I’m still unsure of my chances for employment. Therefore, I elect to stray from the subject of interviews and jobs. We got to the park at about 7:15 while the first guy was playing. He’s a guitarist who happens to be blind. My favorite skill of his was his ability to perfectly simulate the sound of a trumpet with his mouth and play solos during his songs. The next act was okay. A white girl who used her Beastie Boy-esque lyric pattern and her piano to perform a quasi-comedy act set to music. I was less than enthralled, to put it nicely. Finally, Jamie Cullum took to stage at about 9:00 with his drummer and bassist. You can’t put into words what jazz is and how it feels but I will say that the stress from my interviews was lifted and replaced with total elation by the music last night. Jamie was so energetic yet enormously talented. They played all the good songs off of their album but my favorite was a Billie Holiday cover called Comes Love. It was about a twelve minute rendition chock full of some incredible solos from each part of the trio. The audience was overcome with that numb feeling of calm and contentment that only Jazz music can bring. I can’t do anymore to describe the music because words and music are two separate ideas that I don’t think can accurately describe each other. How fortunate I was to see Jamie Cullum in Central Park for free on a night like that. Beautiful weather, beautiful venue, in a beautiful city filled with beautiful music. I love jazz and I love New York. Hopefully they will both continue to contribute to my life experience in the near future.

Tour de America

In the past few months I have been fortunate enought to travel from coast to coast visiting friends. There are still new legs of this trip pending but I shall summarize what has happened up until this current hiatus.

In April I flew to Chicago and met Dan and Co. for a couple of Cubs games. None of us had ever been to Wrigley field which has been home to the Cubs since 1916. The Friday game was one of the best games I have ever seen as Sosa hit a homer to tie the game in the ninth and the next batter, Alou, hit another dinger to win. The stadium exploded into celebration which continued as the fans emptied into the streets. The trip took a downer when I broke my ankle and jacked up my knee dancing with some girl I didn't know. I'll spare anymore details so I don't have to painfully recall the entire episode. I hobbled to the game the next day and then through two airports that night. All in all, it was still a fantastic time.

Due to my recent injury, my scheduled Father/Son trip to Vegas was postponed from May until a pending date. I was able to make my next engagement in mid June. My dad and I went to Las Cruces, NM to for my grandmother's 81st birthday. We dined and wined and came home.

Two weeks later I went west to visit Ryan and Laura in San Francisco. The city was beautiful with its steep hills and suspension bridges. The weather was my favorite part. We did some sight seeing and caught the obligitory baseball game. My Red Sox happened to be in town but did not prevail that day. I loved the city but wouldn't not want to live there because of bad transportation and...bad transportation.

The following week I traveled in the opposite direction to the Eastern Coast with Dad and Bro. Boston was our destination and a religious experience in Fenway Park was our goal. The oldest baseball stadium in the world is home to my favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. We caught to good games but the atmosphere at the stadium is the most memorable part. We and sausages on Yawkey way before the game and washed them down with some Harpoon IPA. The outfield bleechers were cramped and rowdy. Fenway was like a time machine taking us back to the glory days of the game. As I watched the game, I imagined what it would have been like to see guys like Williams, Pesky, Dimaggio, Yaz, and Fisk among others play there. After the games we headed over to the oldest tavern in the U.S., the Bell in Hand. Sitting on the corner, we took in the city life and did our bonding. We loved the park and the city as well. It was a successful trip that all three of us will always remember.

These were the major stops on my 2004 Tour de America. I'll be in Colorado in a couple of weeks for a wedding. I also have plans to be in New York sometime in August or September for interviews depending on how my upcoming phone interview goes. I think that will pretty much round out my cross-country tour for this year, and now you know.

A Life to be Discovered

   The summer is now half way over and not much has changed.  With the exception of my new position as substitute for my brother at Hin's Garden Chinese Resturaunt, I continue to spend countless hours at home either playing X Box or sleeping.  I do read some, watch an occasional Seinfeld rerun or head to Starbucks but that's all my life is really comprised of at this moment.     
   Micah just moved into his apartment yesterday so I went down tonight to christen the his new abode with a bottle of chardonnay I stole from my dad's collection.  His apartment is a really swank loft in an old mattress warehouse.  The complex renovated the warehouse and made the rooms look very nice.  The walls end just short of the high ceiling and the floors are concrete.   With the help of Jacy, their new home has a very modern look with its track lighting and sleek looking kitchen appliances.  The whole place comes together with the vintage Wurlitzer piano by the t.v. 
   We had some wine and then went for a quick swim.  After the sun went down we drove over to my new favorite dig in Houston.  It is a cafe called Brasil over on Westheimer.  Its a pretty young crowd with half studious college kids and half lazy bastards that smoke too much.  I love it though.  Its the only place in Texas that I've ever been where someone my age can get away with drinking a bottle of wine on a Tuesday night.  Along with the vino, they also have some decent coffee and some of my favorite beers on draught.  The food is not bad either.  All its missing is a young lady on the other side of the table.
   Anyway, Micah and I chilled there for a few hours and talked nonsense and went back to his place.  We messed around on the Wurlitzer and talked music some.  This is when I started thinking.  I have envisioned an lifestyle where I live in a place like his and go to places like Brasil on a regular basis.  I read good books and write in my spare time.  There is always jazz in the background no matter where I am and in a perfect scenario, I can play some of those songs on the piano.  I imagine having a girl wich is a friend that I meet on the weekends and she lets me buy dinner.  I have a job but it doesn't dominate my life, rater it is just another chapter of this bachelor lifestyle in which I live.  All of this is in my head of course.  In reality, I live in the burbs with my parents.  I have no full-time job.  I deliver Chinese on the weekends.  Micah is my only friend in this city of four million and he'll be gone in three weeks when he marries.
   I am experiencing none of what I dream of.  When will things come together?  How do I get to this city of fate?  and When? 

Head Games

Who was the person that determined the rules for communication between the sexes in America's modern society. There is no such thing as a simple, meaningless conversation between a guy and a girl. There always ends up being an underlying message or a hint hidden under the facade we build in our relationships. I'm not just talking about two people who are interested in each other and want to date, I'm talking about two people who just want to be friends. There is no such thing as a simple relationship.

I must have missed the training course on cross-gender interaction in middle school. No one told me that you can't call someone the day after you get their number. I was unaware of the fact that having a cup of coffee with someone could, and will be considered a date. I had no idea I should buy dinner if I ask a friend to eat with me who happens to be of the female persuasion. No one told me that expressing my true feeling is taboo while in pursuit of the opposite sex. I never received the instruction manual outlining these methods for communication.

Why all the games? Wouldn't our lives be so much easier if we just said what we meant? Instead, people phrase their opinion in the most arbitrary wording and hope the other person can crack the secret code. A friend of mine gave me an encoded message tonight, which I'm still trying to figure out. While we are both reading, I notice that her eyes have slipped off of the page and are now locked on me. Is she day dreaming? Staring? Begging me to ask her what's up? I look up from my book and she acts lost in thought. The crap thickens when she comes to and asks me for relationship advice. "I've been dating this boy this summer, but I don't really like him. Blah Blah Blah. What should I do?" I answered, "If you want advice on how to break up with a boy, you're asking the wrong man."

Why in the world did she have to tell me that? I didn't know she was dating someone and I really didn't care. What help could I possibly offer in that situation? Here's some, tell him you don't want to date anymore. Oh wait, that is too easy and a clear violation of Rule 1: Never clearly state how you feel. Does this mean she was sending me a message? Does she want to date me? Does she want me to go away? Does she really want to know how I think the situation should be handled? I'm lost in the enigma.

Anyway, while I try to figure out this puzzle I want everyone to know that this man is putting his foot down. From now on I play no games. I will say what I mean and act according to my own gut feelings. I may be cast out of the modern dating realm for breaking the rules, but at least everyone will know how I feel about it.

And thus begins my journey into authorship

I've been promising myself since last fall I would start writing a book the first Monday after I graduate. In that time, I've only come up with a few begining sentences. I guess the rest will flow after that. The book is already entitled, "You don't Have to do Anything." I haven't entirely developed my theory behind my clever motto but I expect that to flow also. So, with out further delay, I give you the begining text of my first book.

You don't Have to do Anything, by Alex Wood

Chapter I

"Today is Monday May 17. I am a recent college graduate. I don't have a job and their are few opportunities on the horizon. There is no one in my life to anchor me down. I exactly zero responsibilities. I don't have to do anything."


If you wish to read the rest of my book you may purchase it at www.barnesandnoble.com when it is published. The release date is pending. You may also preorder my second book, Money is for Spending, which I will begin shortly after I make it big with my first publication.

"Its like playing cards with my brother's kids."

Well, the school year has wrapped up and although I am currently graduated and unempolyed I do still have a busy summer ahead of me. I thought I'd let you know what I'm doing in case you're curious or just bored enough to keep reading.

Early June - Vegas baby Vegas!
June 17-20 - San Francisco
June 24-26 - Boston

Then the wedding season starts...

July 10 - Julie and David, The Woodlands
July 31 - Elkin, College Station
August 7 - Micah, Beaumont
August 14 - Witler, Colorado

Hopefully at some point in that time frame I will either start a full-time job or win the lottery. I am positive that at some point I will go insane because I live with my parents. I won't miss school. I will wish it wasn't so bloody hot in Houston. I won't live in Aggieland all the time nor will I spend more than three days at a time in my folk's house. I will escape to Starbucks or the pool as often as possible to read and enjoy a choice beverage. I'll wish I was in Europe. I'll probably give a shot at writing(see "You don't Have to do anything" blog). I shall continue rambling...

Just a small side note as we part. I played poker tonight and cleaned house. I walked away with thirty bucks. Spank you very much to all the suckers who afforded me thier chips tonight.

No regrets,

Mr. Fabulous

Walking and/or Limping

So today was the big day. I graduated. The fam came to town and everyone threw their little after parties. I got to Read Arena and they sent me to the handicapped section since I'm on crutches. I examined the row of thirty chairs to the side of the student section and they assured me that this was where all of the handicapped students would sit, very comforting. It turns out that I was the only handicapped student. Luckily, Beene and Polk directly in front of me and I sat with them for half of the ceremony. I actually was able to ditch the crutches and limp across the stage. All of the important people on stage asked me if I could make it. One lady in a purple and black gown said, "Bless you" as I hobbled down the stairs.

Of course something has to go wrong for me on something important like this. I opened my diploma tube only to find a note from the registrar's office. It turns out that the transfer course I took this semester hasn't transferred yet. Figures. I'll have to go get my $40,000 piece of paper on Monday.

After the ceremony I went to Jenn's house where her family was celebrating. I got to introduce my parents. The Petersen's never miss an opportunity to party. Everyone was dancing to oldies and drinking light beer. A classic Petersen moment. Later, David called me and said, "We're getting drunk at Julie's." I proptly rushed over for a girly drink marathon followed by some cheesy board games.

Everyone's question is,"What are you doing now that you're done?" My answer is,"Hell if I know." That's the truth. Stay tuned for details.

tuesday is the first day of the rest of my life....?

Maybe I misunderstood. I thought the American road through life consisted of high school graduation, college, getting a job followed by success. I'm just about through with step two, but there's nowhere to stand after that. There is not a job in sight. I have no idea where I will even be sleeping next week. It kind of works out though; I don't want to work and no one wants to hire me.

Tomorrow is my last day of school ever! I've been going to school for 16 years. I have no idea what to do with myself. They tell me to get a job but I don't want to. Can't a guy enjoy a few seconds of his life before he's stuck in a crappy job for forty years, only to be followed by bad golf and back problems?

First things first, I've got two tests standing between me and graduation. I've been staring at the cover of my Latin American philosophy book all day (I've been to that class exactly one time in the past month). I have a take home test due in that class tomorrow but all I've accomplished in nine hours of effort is putting the date on the top and making the font bigger. So, I guess I better get to writing. I need to make sure I pass these tests tomorrow. Then I can worry about what happens Tuesday when the rest of my life begins.