Doodle Me

Yesterday I was on the train downtown after church with Wes and Andrew. We were standing in the middle and having a funny conversation. I noticed this girl sitting near us take out a sketch pad and then she began to draw ME. I faked ignorance, but tried to catch a glimpse of the pad whenever she looked down. Unfortunately I never got a good look at myself on paper. It made me feel really proud to have this girl frantically trying to sketch The Alex before her stop. I wanted to say something but wasn't sure of the right words. Before she got off she appolgised for letting the chair slam up and I just grunted back. Oh well, I was sketched yesterday and today I feel art worthy.

Sign Language?

I love people like my roommate Collin because you think you have them figured out and then they continue to surprise with random qualities. He was a film major at an acredited art school, does graphic design for NBC, avid whiffle ball player, Whole Foods nut and dreams of being a candle maker... just full of whacky quirks. Well, on Friday he did not fail to amaze anyone. We walked into McSorley's (as usual) with a big group and split up into two tables. Tommy delivered the ales and I took some over to Collin and Andrew. Collin asked me for a German town in Texas that begins with B. I answered 'New Braunfels?' and he begins to sign the answer back to a table of deaf people. It turns out that Collin is fluent in sign language and takes classes every Monday. He had a two hour conversation with these people while the rest of our group sat there with our jaws on the table. No one had any idea this guy eve knew what sign language was and here he is teaching them the sign for 'Ireland'. Amazing.

Cheers! to Collin for keeping us on our toes.

Wes goes Ivy League

My buddies Wes Hutchinson and 'Tamborine Pete' played a gig in Princeton, NJ last night so Andrew and I went with. The bar was a micro-brew called Triumph which was across the street from campus. It was a cool place with great pumpkin ale and plenty of Ivy League prepies. Wes is going to start playing there once a month. Along with the new monthly gig, Wes received word that one of his songs will be the intro to the T.V. show 'Laguna Beach' as of this week. None of us have ever seen the show but it sounds cool anyway. Way to go Wes!

Google Local - Maps Go Moblie

Google made their popular map webpage available on some mobile phones today. Luckily I have one of those phones and have spent valuable time at work testing the program today. It takes a bit to understand how the application runs, but it is easy and efficient once you get it down. This will come in super handy when I get lost in the West Village or can't remember where a certain restaurant is.

My only concern about the program thus far is cost. Its free to download, but you must have a data plan from your phone company that allows you to access the internet. My plan is free for a certain amout of data, but I get charged significantly after my limit. This could mean some expensive cell phone bills if I get lost in the Village.

Psycho Hose Beast

Its now becoming apparent to me that while on hiatus in Spain, I may have accidentally picked up some psycho girl. She was this nice Ausie who asked to borrow my travel book so I loaned it to her and said to use it as long as she needed. That was about the extent of our friendship. As I was leaving the hostel with my bags two days later, she politely asked for my e-mail. I swapped with her, as is custom to do with fellow hostelians in order to hear about travel adventures. I'm getting a little more than that.

She promptly e-mailed me to see if I got back okay and to update me on her trip. I responded with a normal reply of about four sentences. This must have set her off some how because she wrote once a day for the next three days. The final e-mail only asked, "what sort of work do you do?" Fair question I thought, so I told her I was in sales. Then things started to get weird. She had mentioned that next time I was in the Asian-Pacific that she would show me around. I thought it was a joke and said I would contact her when I got there.

This somehow made her wild about me. She has since writen several one line messages such as:

"well i wish you were my travelling companion..." (please note the alluding elipses)

"do you have any brothers or sisters?"

So now I'm starting to get freaked out. I almost expect her to be sitting on my porch when I get home. And, I assume you've already Googled my name and found my blog so Psycho Girl, please leave me alone. You're freaking me out!

Disastros

My first mistake was rooting for the Astros. In my lifetime, I’ve seen these guys play over 100 games in person and countless performances on television. I know how these guys work, I’ve seen them in tight situations before and let me tell you, it’s never pretty. The scenario usually pans out like this, down by 2, bottom of the ninth. If there is one out, Biggio comes up and hits into a double play; two outs demands Bagwell to swing at the first three pitches with all of his might and then shuffle back to the dugout with his head down. Last night he even threw his bat at the dugout after a strikeout. My point is these guys are the last team I’m counting on to come through in a clutch moment.

Last night presented many of those, at least 7 innings worth. I haven’t read all of the stats, but my memory is pretty damn good when it comes to Disastro debacles. After we blew the lead in the 5^th it was still a game. We scored once in the 8^th and that ball game was over. With a tie score we were afforded 12 free bases, 11 walks and 1 player hit by pitch. In the six innings to follow, the Lastros were NO HIT by the remainder of the Chi Sox pitching staff. We left countless players on base and had an opportunity to win in every extra inning but did nothing. It was despicable. The Astros didn’t even swing at the ball. They just stood there with it on their bats on the shoulder. The team captains, Bagwell and Biggio were there typical unreliable selves. The third Killer B, Berkman, was non-existent after the fifth and the FOX dubbed ‘Killer T’, Willy Taveras, is my new least favorite Astro after his pathetic exhibition. Any way, Astros were disgusting last night and I’ll leave it at that.

The game lasted until 2:30 am EST. I slept on Jenn and Kari’s couch and here I am now at work. My looks depict the rough night I endured. My clothes are the same I wore yesterday, only more wrinkled. I haven’t shaven in…too long. My hair is everywhere and my eyes are bloodshot. As far as the office can tell, I’m coming off an all night crack binge which in many ways is indirectly true. The only thing holding me together right now is my Starbucks coffee and Pumpkin Spice donut.

The ‘stros have a chance to save face tonight and avoid a sweep. Personally, I think its better to lose tonight instead of prolonging the pain of being an Astros fan. It’s been a good playoff season for Houston. Thanks for the painful memories. Best of luck to you Space City.

Gap Years

This is a wonderful article from today's New York Times on why I shouldn't be at work. It explains how more people are leaving college and doing anything but start a career. Many go teach English abroad or just travel. Some move to Colorado to ski and others are joining the Peace Corps or Teach for America (weirdos).

This is a common theme for me to write about. I mentioned a Time article in a previous blog about Twixters. I feel strongly that this is the time to accomplish my goals while I am not tied down by a family or career. The guy in the article says it well, "I've just finished 16 grades of school and I haven't lived yet." I don't need to be focused on my future as much as I make sure I am living today. "Tomorrow will worry about itself."

So with that said, I am sitting at my desk on Tuesday morning. Gazing out my window, wondering where I will go next and what I want to accomplish. My first reaction is to search for a better life right here, maybe a nicer job. But, I won't ignore my desire to travel and live abroad. My dream of writing and learning a new language. Backpacking across the continents...and so on. Maybe awhile more in New York working, with some sporadic travel and then take my savings and ideas and make this life happen.

Comments?

Giants Tailgate

The dudes threw a party yesterday at the Meadowlands. Collin grabbed some Giants tickets and so Andrew, Mitchell and Doarbomb came with us and celebrated American Football. The game was at 4:00 so we got there at 1:00 and fired up the grill. The guys played football in the parking lot while I cooked and put down some cold ones. I never knew you could have so much fun in a parking lot. I managed to throw a football onto some guys grill and broke a tray on the side of it. I walked off while Collin volunteered my money to repay them and handed over my contact info. Thanks buddy.

The game wasn't too crazy until the last few minutes. I was for the Broncos, but as the Giants marched down the field with two minutes left, I couldn't help cheering. They scored a touchdown with 5 seconds left and made the extra point to lead 24-23. The kickoff was low and the Broncos only returned it about 5 yards. Ball game.


The stadium was erupting from the fantastic finish and all fans leaving the stadium were screaming their lungs out. We decided to run down the ramp, arms flailing and voices yelling all the way down. We were bumping into each other and jumping around like a band of wild indians. Good times acting like the idiot I am, good times.

Kermit Retakes Manhattan

Sheesh. I leave the city for one week and miss my childhood hero's visit.

Good to be Back?

I got back from Spain on Sunday and started work yesterday. What a terrible feeling it is to walk into the office on a Monday after a long vacation. Instead of sitting in some Spanish cafe enjoying my coffee, I was reading my 105 e-mails that came in, some detailing the dissolution of some hopeful deals. I forgot about our one o'clock meeting and was sitting down at lunch when I got a text message reminding me of my debacle. The meeting sucked as I explained why I can't do my job. I went home and ate dinner, watched the Astros self-destruct in the 8th and went to bed, not realizing that my laundry was still in the dryer across the street.

Today is a new day though. I had my moment of culture shock and now I'm back in real-life mode. I did some serious thinking on the train to work about how I shouldn't let my job dictate my satisfaction. I may never really enjoy my job and that's okay because life isn't about work, or its not supposed to be. I have better things to live for and my career is on the bottom of the list now. God willing, I will have a better job in the near future, but until then I am living day by day and not worrying about tomorrow.