Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in weatheruphere's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
9:40 pm	Thanks a lot, Polsky Well I was going on my LJ to post that I had finally gotten an engineering job to my liking, but then found out SOMEONE else accepted a new job, too. However, since that job is artsy, let's pretend, despite how proud I am of her, that it doesn't really count. For those I haven't spoken to about this, the job is with an energy startup in Columbia, SC called NextGenEn. It is an early stage startup, VERY early stage, I am the first full-time employee with the company. I'm basically the core engineer they're bringing in to coordinate the first project and all future projects once they bring in more specialized help. The company is developing a new type of fuel cell battery system that will hopefully be adapted to a variety of applications; I won't bore you with the technical details, but I will simply tell you that I am very, VERY excited about the work I'll be doing. In my job search I have considered settling for many jobs that weren't nearly as interesting, but this is the first one that is a startup, lets me design AND build components and parts, and will give me tremendous impact on the direction of the product. This is the first job I've found that combines all those things, AND it's in South Carolina, which, despite how many people react, I could not be more excited about. I really enjoyed that "southern" atmosphere living in Gainesville, FL, and even though Columbia is the capitol of SC I still think I'll have an awesome time. It's also very close to many other fun places; Myrtle Beach is 2 hours away, Charlotte 1, Atlanta 3.5 and Charleston, one of my all time favorite cities, is a mere hour and a half away. I set my start date for the 28th, but the science center closes for two weeks after labor day so I set Monday as my last day there, giving me a sweet 2.5 week cushion before I have to drive down there. It'll take all of about 2 days to pack, so it'll be all chilling and partying in the meantime. Also apartment shopping online, I'm considering heading down there for a few days to check some out in person, we'll see how it goes.... Current Mood: Bumpin (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 5th, 2008
10:32 pm	A Zachless West Coast Trip For those of you who didn't know, I spent about 10 days visiting people on the west coast recently, it started with me going to Vegas for a long Memorial Day Weekend while staying at the glamorous Villa Roma Motel (although Travelocity lists it as the Villa Roma Inn, big difference) with a friend from college. We spent much of the time hanging around and heading to Mandalay Bay for their excellent Poker Room. On the second night, I proceeded to go up approximately $260 at the tables, including a large sum from a Red Sox fan. On the whole, a truly excellent night and one that I had to celebrate with some brandy and a cigar as I flirted with the 50something cocktail waitress in the sports betting bar. However, including the hotel room, drinks (there were many), taxis, comedy clubs, meals and airport shuttles, I ended up going up approximately $35. Not bad for a weekend in vegas. However, I will not be banking on that kind of luck when I return. Next stop was Stanford (soon-to-be sight of Lovejoy in grad school, for those who don't know) to visit an old friend, who was her usual awesome self; driving me to In-N-Out and showing me around the campus. I greatly miss her and I'm glad we could hang out again, if only for the one day. After Stanford was up to Northern California (Lake Shasta near Redding, CA) for the houseboat trip, which basically consisted of the following activities in decreasing order of time spent: Drinking, Sleeping, Playing Risk, Hiking (in flip flops and a bathing suit through brush containing poison oak, not to be recommended), Laying in the Sun, and Swimming. Pictures are up at http://picasaweb.google.com/weatheruphere/Shasta2008 showing off the awesome lake that is very different than others on the East Coast. The 10 days concluded with a trip down to Southern California hoping to meet up with some old friends, nearly all of which were unavailable, so I just hung out with guys from the houseboat. I wandered around Pasadena and LA (including taking a train in the wrong direction and walking half a mile with all my bags to get some In-N-Out, totally worth it), and was relatively impressed with how much public transit is in LA. It's still nowhere near enough, but there's more than I thought. Also I learned that white people can often be unwelcome in Little Tokyo sushi places, but you can never know with that crowd. Finally, I learned a few things after going on the internet for the first time in over a week: 1. I became aware of the movie Tropic Thunder. Robert Downey Jr. playing a white man playing a black man. Brilliant. 2. Apparently when Giambi grows a stache, he looks like a child molester with an awesome hitting percentage. 3. The journal article I wrote that was officially accepted on May 16, 2007 was just now being put into the proper format so after we proof read it it will finally be published sometime in the next year (we hope). 4. The Celtics beat the Pistons. Damn I owe my brother a dollar. Also, I will be home sometime around July 14. Get ready. Current Music: Viva La Vida - Coldplay (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
6:04 pm	As Opposed to a Lame TV Show, mine really was the Best Week Ever It's been slightly over a week since my evenings of back-to-back concerts. For some who may not know, last night I saw Mr. Springsteen and his E Street Band in Orlando. I had floor seats to the show and it was PHENOMENAL! However, it was especially amazing for uncommon reasons. I had GA floor seats to the show, and Springsteen has a unique method for floor people; if you show up between 2-5pm you get a numbered wristband, then at 5:15pm they pick a random number and that number is the new "beginning" of the line (e.g. if there were 100 people and they draw #15, then #15 would be the first person in, #16 the second, #1 would be 87th in). And yes, I gave that example just to somehow incorporate numbers into my post. Well there were about 500 people, my wristband was #293, they called #245, so I was the 49th person to ENTER the arena. When I got in I proceeded to run to the front, and started 1 person behind the stage. Over the course of the next half hour, I proceeded to weasel my way to the stage (stick a hand on the stage, then a foot in, etc.) Yeah, so I was AT the stage, practically in the middle. If the boss had walked straight from his mic to the front of the stage, turned left and taken 2 steps, he would have stepped on my hands. The two hour wait for the show to start wasn't really a big deal, I was too pumped. When the show started, I immediately came to the realization that I was 10 feet from the boss, and steve, and 30 feet from the beast of Clarence. However, these numbers would only get smaller as the show progressed on; more specifically, during "Spirit in the Night", the boss came down to where I was and SAT down. Right at me, not in front of me, at me. His face was 6 inches from mine. When he stuck his mic out into the crowd so people could sing along, I was totally hogging it. Also, with his legs hanging off the stage, his feet were at my hips (Incidentally this ho behind me who was bitching the whole concert about how tall I was reached forward to touch his feet, which I found amusing). THEN, during one part of the song he just leaned back onto the stage and I realized I was in the "Give the Boss a BJ" position. No joke, this is the position I would be in if a tremendous BJ was gonna go down. I thought of Carmen, and therefore seriously considered it, but then decided against it. That was perhaps the highlight of my year, and I will certainly never forget that moment. Other notable moments from being so close were: -Having Steve scowl directly at me, as he did to everyone, me scowling back (poorly) and him laughing it off. -Having Patti Sclafia (who looked completely different in person) pseudo-flirt with me during "Badlands" as we looked into each others' eyes and sang along. (It turned out that it actually WASN'T Patti, but instead the backup violinist Soozie Tyrell. Haha, and I still totally would have hooked up with her, even though she's 51, doing a member of the E Street Band is every Bruce fan's dream, it's just easier for the girls to imagine.) -Getting sweat on (hardcore) by the Boss, who's dripping body sent little beads of the magical liquid through the air with every thrust. -Seeing just how old Clarence was, I thought he would fall over at any moment. For the encore, he didn't even leave the stage. He knew they were bangin... Also, I made a ton of friends (each of them around double-triple my age) while hanging out outside, some from Jersey but all equally excited that the new generation's musical tastes were not all bad. The FOLLOWING evening, I had the elton john concert. I've never had back to back like this before, at least not with performers of this calibre, but it allowed me to see the vast differences between their respective fans. My seats weren't as good for this show, but I was still about 40-50 feet away (20 when he walked around, so that was cool), but in comparison the fans were complete wimps. I saw this when I saw Billy Joel in L.A. as well, fans that would barely stand up for some of the songs. Originally I attributed it to "LA people are lame" and as true as that is, it also applies to the fact that it's just a more subdued crowd that follows these guys. Even during some of the fast Elton songs people just kind of sat there and looked, which reminded me very much of when Zach used to talk about people who go see jazz but don't even appreciate it, they just hang around because that's what "classy" people do. It's absolutely true here, too. I don't care how popular Elton was when you were younger, don't go to a concert if you're just going to sit there and watch, that's not why you go. Anyway, also the show was in the basketball arena at UF and the legroom in the bleachers is crude, especially for Keith-types. As a result I was only comfortable when I was standing, so did it often, much to the dislike of people behind me (one kid behind me, yes, KID, like 8 years old, when the girl next to me stood up he tugged on his mom's shirt and said "I can't see, Mommy!" so the mom told this woman to sit down, which is always a lame concert gesture. Then, once the kid CAN see, he just looked at the ground half the time anyway. Don't bring kids to these concerts, they can't appreciate the music and you're out $90. There's another point I want to make there but I'll save it for a much shorter journal entry.) ANYWHOO, I almost considered leaving in the beginning but then was glad I stayed, I forgot just how awesome of a musician elton is and how crazy those piano solos could be, I had an amazing time and even got a $10 t-shirt in the parking lot. Baller. Current Music: Two Hearts - The Boss (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
12:15 am	No Retreat Baby, No Surrender........ My suggested phrase to describe the Giants playoff mentality, which is coincidentally the same phrase I used to describe my roadtrip with Mr. Attack this summer. A few comparisons: -Both the Giants and Zach and I kicked ass on the road, going where nobody figured we would -Julia Warren undoubtably would have told Zach and I we couldn't do the trip, similarly the Giants were told by everyone that they were number 19 at the end of a long line of losers. -The Giants final game was filled with many hits on what was thought to be an unhittable man, and some catches and escapes many believed were magical. Our roadtrip ended with a magical battle that featured the likes of Potter, Weasley, Granger and Longbottom. -Tyree=Longbottom. Enough said. -Zach got burned before we got home (in Minnesota), Caughlin got wind-burned in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Pretty much the same state. -Before the trip a long-haired person (Carmen) decided not to go due to the hinderance of work. In the end, it might have ruined the trip with the numerous bathroom stops, cramped backseat, and endless discussion of the humanities with my compadre, boring me to tears. Before the Giants postseason, a long-haired shockey broke his leg and his absence may have saved the Giants' chances since he wouldn't be pressuring Eli for passes all the time. -Both will go down in history as the best ever. Following that phenomenal game, telling EJ that I loved him and shit-talking to Alex, that Boston jerk (which he denies that he is a Boston man, but I told him to check his address), I thought it would be impossible for me to feel better than I did right then. However, it was even kicked up a notch the following morning. I'm not even making this up; when my radio alarm went off, it was the last 10 seconds of "We Will Rock You" which meant, of course, "We Are the Champions" was playing after those 10 seconds. Glorious. GLORIOUS! To be honest, as happy as I am that my boys in blue kicked some crazy ass in a certainly phenomenal way, I think I'm actually happier that the Patriots lost than I am that the Giants won. I have watched approximately 4 hours worth of recap of this game, and my favorite parts, even still more than the tyree catch (which was the most exciting during the game) and the plaxico fake to a touchdown, were the brady sacks, particularly the final 10 yard sack on 2nd down of the final Patriots possession. Additionally, I think I could watch the montages of Brady getting sacked til the day I die. There was also the awesome black and white Patriot montage with the narration about failure, could watch that all day. Additionally, I hope someone makes this so I don't have to, I want a Patriots poster, assembled in the same way as a victory poster, except all the players have their expressions at the end of the game; the sadness, anger and disappointment. Then at the bottom a big 18-1. I would buy that INSTANTLY and frame it. It would be so good. I'm worried I'm getting a little sadistic, but it was just a perfect ending to their perfect season. Combined with the fact that they are Boston, they were undefeated and their coach is just so "classless" (PTIs words, not mine, put perfectly), it's just so easy to hate them and I'm glad the majority of America was with me in wanting them to lose. Americans can make the right choice, after all. Current Music: This Land is Your Land (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 31st, 2007
1:45 pm	You had your time, you had the power... Realizing how awesome this year actually was, I was thinking of how to convey it in words, or perhaps an LJ entry. Then the Alarm from Carm graced me with a year-end survey, to consume my time before an epic party into the new year. 1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before? Got a BS degree (tee-hee), completed a black diamond trail, went on a cruise, traveled 10,000 miles in 30 days, played beirut with my dad (and KILLED), posted bail for a friend, hiked down and up the grand canyon in a day, saw the decemberists, stole breakfast from a Super 8, slept in a campsite behind a rest stop, visited someone my age who is married, drove 1000 miles by myself, entered graduate school, high-fived Tim Tebow, hosted dinner at my house, signed up for Netflix. 2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't remember having any, so let's pretend they were 1) don't get a bone infection and 2) not become a father. Check and mate. As for this year: -Facebook friend Tim Tebow (somehow...) -Finish a half marathon without stopping (1/12/08) -Join a research group I'm excited about 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Gonna go with no, 4. Did anyone close to you die? Luckily no. 5. What countries did you visit? Mexico (Ensenada, don't go at night), also the Navajo Nation. 6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? A Mega Millions winning jackpot ticket. Also a white Hugo Boss suit. 7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 6/24-7/24 The Roadtrip to Nowhere 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Making it through the Roadtrip to Nowhere with no accidents, tickets or hitchhikers. 9. What was your biggest failure? Not getting into some of the top schools I applied to. 11. What was the best thing you bought? A 32" Olevia HDTV for my apartment. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Carmen getting a job at the MoMA and Zach's getting into Cornell demonstrated that my friends are better than everyone else's. I'm so proud of them. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Matt Groening for creating the Futurama dog episode. 14. Where did most of your money go? Rent. By the way I love that I pay rent now. I can now be among those angry women on Jerry Springer screaming "I gotta pay the REHNT!!!" No that's not a typo, it's how they say it. And it's hilarious. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Coming to Jersey for the Bruce Show. Side note: To be honest, I wasn't as excited for the roadtrip beforehand. It was more like, "wait, we're actually doing this? I'm not sure....." Even during it I don't think we even understood what we were experiencing. It wasn't til September that I realized how bangin it really was. 16. What songs will always remind you of 2007? "The Black Parade" Album, "Rosalita", "Rod Stewart likes Tanqueray" 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: I. happier or sadder? On my usual happy coast. ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner, I was way lazy first semester last year. iii. richer or poorer? Poorer, not working over the summer really cuts into your money. 18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Keira Knightley 19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Waiting. For everything. 20. How did you spend Christmas? Hosting a dinner party on 23rd after going to a relative's house for a lunch party, having dinner with my grandma on the 24th, then waking up at my grandma's and going to my neighbor's house for dinner/force feeding. For those who don't know, my parents and brother are in China. 22. Did you fall in love in 2007? I believe so. Unfortunately it had to end. 23. How many one-night stands? two 24. What was your favorite TV program? Favorite newly discovered: Dirty Jobs Others: Simpsons, Family Guy, Prison Break, Heroes, House, Nip/Tuck, South Park, The Office, Scrubs. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? There was someone, but I can't remember. 26. What was the best book you read? To Engineer is Human. I think that was this year. Other than technical papers and textbooks, I really don't read much. However, you all know that. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? "The Black Parade" Album. Also Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, Simon and Garfunkel (I knew them before, but this year was a big year for them, for me.) 28. What did you want and get? Engineering Honors, acceptance to a PhD program, the best summer ever. 29. What did you want and not get? More time, as well. For different reasons. 30. What was your favorite film of this year? 2007 release: Um, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. Gee, that was a tough one. Older but new to me: Walk the Line 31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 22, I worked all day, went to a Deep Purple concert that night with my dad and brother. Also, my mom left for Turkey the day before, making it perhaps year number 5 in a row that both my parents were not around for the 7th day of August. 32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Getting a government fellowship or getting into Stanford, CMellon or Berkeley. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Try and look relaxed while still keeping a touch of class. Like saying "I wanna look nice, but I'm still here to party" 34. What kept you sane? Matlab. 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Fancy? When is this, the 1940s? You all know Keira, so I'll use a new person: Leslie Mann. Given, she's like 35, but a total MILF. I thought so in George of the Jungle, I still think so now. I'd tap it in a second. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? Every little bit of it. Fiscal policy, energy policy, environmental policy. So frustrating. 37. Who did you miss? My grandfather at my graduation ceremony. 38. Who was the best new person you met? Julia's boyfriend Bob, who I just met YESTERDAY. Kinda nuts. 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. If you want to do it, do it. Don't wait around. 40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "Cause we made a promise, we swore we'd always remember; no retreat baby, no surrender" 41. where did you begin 2007? Hoboken, the city where I went to the first few years of elementary school. 42. what was your status by Valentine's Day? Single, but in Florida. 43. were you in school (anytime this year)? Big time. It's what I do well, so I'm just gonna keep doing it. 44. how did you earn your money? Working in the machine shop, teaching students how to run experiments, sorting Nazi hats while sipping brandy. Most recently, however: going to school. YEAH! 45. did you have to go to the hospital? Nope. 46. did you have any encounters with the police? I was questioned significantly about my pot-smoking history thanks to Zach's speeding violation. 47. where did you go on holiday? Mammoth Ski Resort, CA; Denver, CO; St. Augustine, FL; Lake Placid, NY. Also, America. 48. what did you purchase that was over 500? TV, Bruce tickets. 49. did you know anybody who got married? My friends Jamie and Anthony from CA. Also, I had two cousins get married last year, so that means I get to carry one over to this year. 51. have you run into an old lost friend? Ian White, the carefree badass with a heart of gold. 52. did you move anywhere? Gainesville, Florida. 53. what sporting events did you go to? A game played by the Nets, Devils, Yankees (3), Padres, Dodgers, Mariners, [Reigning National Champion] Football (3) and Basketball Florida Gators. 54. what concerts/shows did you go to? Big Shot, Aerosmith/Motley Crue, Decemberists, Deep Purple, The Boss, Meat Loaf 55. are you registered to vote? In FLORIDA, where my vote matters. 56. where do you live now? my apartment in Gainesville 57. what's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2007? Fall in Love. 58. what has been your favorite moment? Arriving in NJ at the end of the road trip. 59. what's something you learned about yourself? I tan beautifully. 60. any new additions to your family? Nope. 61. what was your best month? Gonna go with July, just so much good stuff. Road tripping, Meat Loaf seeing, Summer Lovin. 62. what music will you remember 2007 by? The Boss, which is also the music I will remember 2008-end by. 63. who has been your best drinking buddy? Since everyone at Mudd tries to draw on me, gonna go with my new roomie Brian. 64. made new friends? Had to. 65. best new friend? Chris. 66. favorite night out? Night before graduation, 28 friends and family. 67. any regrets? Making it end. 68. who was your favorite summertime buddy? Zach the Smack. He's addictive. 69. which season was the best? Usually it's winter, but gotta go all summer on this one. 70. if you could, would you redo the whole year? Again and again. Current Music: Waitin' on a Sunny Day (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 25th, 2007
12:17 am	HE15MAN First off, of all the people that read my LJ Zach is the only person I expect to have a chance of understanding what that subject means. On a similar note, at the recent Gator game (not against FSU, but instead against the inferior Florida Atlantic), I was sitting in the front row. At that game Tebow became the first ever to run and pass for 20 TD each in one season. After the game, he high-fived a bunch of people on the sideline, including yours truly. That's right, I'm the man. My parents and sister were down here for thanksgiving weekend, I made a BANGIN turkey with all the trimmings and sides, of course it was delicious. My sister made numerous vegetarian alternatives, so whatever, but now I have tons of leftovers. Speaking of food, Zach, I don't know if we should do this, we should probably have Death Row Feast before planning anything else, but if we can do it I think it would be really cool to have a nice dinner for the holidays, with just the friends. I mean we make a fancy holiday feast (turkey would be involved) and have everyone over for a nice, semi-formal meal. It can be at my place, since it's all to my own. Other people, let me know what you think. We can even dress nice. While my parents were here, we went to see I'm Not There, which was surprisingly playing at the local theater. Carmen, this is mainly going out to you since you're probably the only one who's seen it. I didn't quite understand what was going on at all in the movie, although I think I was feeling the right things as the movie went on. From what my dad told me, it would make more sense if you knew everything about dylan's past, but for someone who didn't I feel I got a pretty good understanding of the kind of person he was. To put it elegantly, I felt from the movie, but I did not learn from it. Carm Alarm, when I get back I would love to see it again if you want to, I would do a little more research first to try and get more out of it. :) BRUCE NEWS: 1.) There's this girl in my lab who is from India and gets so excited whenever I talk about the Boss, that he's the greatest ever. I loaned her "Magic" to burn (Livin in the Future is the best song on that btw, I decided). Anyway, the other day I was giving her a ride home from something and I was playing some bruce in the car, my live CD compilation. I was playing a few songs that I loved, such as "No Surrender" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out", neither of which she knew, then I asked her if she liked our unofficial Jersey state song, "Born to Run" (it's true, check Wikipedia, and yes that article was altered by yours truly about two weeks ago with the help of an old Jersey friend). Anyway, I asked if she liked Born To Run, and she said she hadn't heard of it. She's officially an impostor. So are all girls, by association. Not to be trusted. 2.) Bruce is adding a few more tour dates, ie I'm going to see him in Atlanta on 4/25/07. I'm not saying anyone should join me, I'm already gonna go with someone, but I just want you to know since you'll be going to his (hopefully) 15 additional shows at Continental Airlines Arena. 3.) He's still the boss. Greblos out. Post-Posting Update: Bruce is coming to FLORIDA!!! Tour dates were recently posted and he'll be in Orlando on 4/19!!!!! Also in Tampa on 4/21!!!!! They're not too far away, and relatively close to each other. They're also on a Friday and Sunday. Does anyone else smell a bangin weekend? On the same note, anyone want to go to Disneyworld on the day in between??? If you guys ever wanted to visit, I just found the perfect weekend. Still no more NYC dates, but I bet those are coming, just so you know. Current Music: Bob Dylan - Shelter From the Storm (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 25th, 2007
11:58 pm	America: The Man For those of you who didn't know this, Florida can be mad humid. However, nobody told me that in mid-October all the humidity goes away and it's in the 70s every day. Awesome. The only downside of here is that it's pretty removed from many major events. I mean, it's a pretty big city and there's people everywhere, but like nobody goes on tour down here (Bruce COUGH) and everything that's really cool is several hours away. So pretty much the only thing there is to do is watch sports. I gotta tell you, it's awesome. I've gotten SO into sports lately, I must watch parts of 12+ sporting events every week, it's kinda nuts. SPEAKING of sports, I know you Jersey people are all busy, but RUTGERS is playing an exhibition basketball game down here on Saturday, November 17. I am PUMPED! I'm gonna wear my rutgers jersey (it's football, but whatevs) and go; I'll have student tickets but I'll look for people wearing red and hang out with them. All 4 of them probably. Alright, I have seriously thought of the following topic every day for the past month or so: the development of Boston Sucks University. I've thought of all these awesome characteristics of the school: -First off, I had a long thought about the colors for the school, but decided to have the best of two fantastic worlds: blue and green, like royal blue and lime green. I think it would be awesome, and don't think anyone has it. -Second, it would be in Jersey (that's kinda expected), in the suburbs like Rutgers is, only it will have its own shuttle straight into the city. -We are assembling the best minds from everywhere, I'll be in charge of math and science, Zach takes the liberal arts, Carmen, in addition to being the curator of the campus museum (which would basically be the Louvre, only in Jersey), would also be in charge of setting up the adjacent nudist colony. Also, Bruce would run the music department. -All the architecture would be specifically chosen by Zach. This isn't because I think he's the most brilliant person in the field of architecture (he's the best that I know, but that doesn't mean anything). It's because if he doesn't approve them all, I'm not gonna hear the end of it every time we walk by the one he didn't like he'll tell me how ugly it is. -The School Mascot will be a polar bear (or a Rosalita, I haven't decided yet) -On the other side of campus will be a full amphitheatre (like PNC), and it would be called the Bruce Springsteen Center and we would pay bands more so they don't go to PNC and go there instead. -There would be a department of Athletic coaching which would basically be in charge of keeping tabs on every team in every sport from every school in the country to determine weaknesses. Since it is the only such department in the country, within 30 years every coach in the country will have come from there and would sabotage all games against the Polar Bears, giving the school an undefeated record in every sport. Ever. Those are the only ideas I have thus far, I'm sure I'll come up with more and I'll keep you posted. Oh also, I bought two tickets to see Neil Young on December 16 in NYC. Anyone wanna go with me? Greblos out. Current Music: The Boss - Rosalita (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 22nd, 2006
10:05 pm	Weddings and Road Trips Sorry in advance, this entry is more like a real journal, listing stuff I did. There are few funny comments, it mainly just tells a story. In a few days I'll post a more enjoyable entry, so you don't have to read this one. We had the wedding a few weeks ago, and included within it was the road trip out to beautiful Minnesota. The drive out was pretty good, although I was pretty weak, only driving a few hours. For dinner the following night we stopped at this vegetarian place in Wisconsin Dells, unknown to Tim and myself. We were tricked! So then we got to the MN, we had a blast. First of all, in the hotel there were hundreds of softball players there for this women's tournament. It was cool, there were lots of hot girls, but then realized it was high school, lame. However, that didn't stop them from checking tim and I out when we walked around with our tuxes. Ballers. The day before the wedding I went golfing with the groom and two members of the groom's party, which was about the most pathetic round of golf ever. I shot a 114, which was the best score of anyone, we were all quite disappointed with ourselves. However, the best point was on the 7th hole, there was a water hazard short of the green. The groom had a shot that was right in front of the water, so he had to pitch a shot over this lake with a sand wedge. However, he messed up and it landed in the water. He then, already frustrated, took a ball out of his pocket, screamed, and threw it onto the green. He then grabbed another ball out of his pocket, determined to hit this one over. He didn't, again, it landed in the water, so he decided it was the club's fault and launched the club into the water. It was the strangest but also most downright hilarious thing that I've ever seen on a golf course. He laughed it off later, adding, "hey if you haven't gotten me a wedding present yet, I need a new sand wedge". What a baller. So the wedding was a lot of fun; not only did I get to wear a tux but I got to escort people to their seats, being the badass usher that I am. The minister made fun of the groom a lot too, which was awesome. Then afterwards the groom/bridal party except the ushers got in a limo and drove off, leaving us to hang out. I met this really cool guy who was one of the other ushers, his name is Jesse and he is exactly like Cody from Step by Step, he's the man. Also, in the winter he races snowmobiles, and invited me to come back in the winter so I can ride with him. He said they go from 0 to 120 in about 3 seconds, so I'm there. He was also fascinated by all the trips I've taken across the US, how I live in Jersey, work in NYC and go to school by LA, how he's always wanted to travel but hasn't gotten farther than the surrounding states. It's such a different world there, but I love it. So then at the reception I got to sit at the head table, which rocked and figured I'd be dancing with all the single ladies all night. However, there weren't too many. Lame. There was this really cool really short chick named Anne, along with another bridesmaid Liz I'm not related to, but not much more. At the reception it was mainly Jesse and I hanging out, we had a great time then dancing started. They had this thing later called Dollar Dance where you pay a dollar, or more, to dance with the bride or groom, and I figured all the money went to them. I paid to dance with my 6'2" cousin, and she was so relieved cause everyone was so damn short, that it was great to dance with someone of normal height compared to her. Reluctantly, her husband is about 5'11", which I find absolutely hilarious. The remainder of the reception was a lot of fun and it sucked when it ended. Next, the following morning was the gift opening, and they had a boatload, but none as awesome as my gift. Most people got them household supplies, appliances, serverware, etc, but not me. oh no. I got them something much more valuable, skydiving gift certificates. My cousin flipped out, she was so excited about it, her husband had less enthusiasm. I heard he had wanted to go but was terrified, I definitely knew my cousin wanted to go; she could barely contain her excitement while her husband just looked scared. Ha! On the trip back my parents and sister wanted to stop in that lame vegetarian place again. Forget that. However, they insisted, so my brother and I agreed we would go elsewhere. We found the perfect place nearby, Paul Bunyan's Northwood's Cook Shanty. This place rocked. There's no menu, everyone gets the same stuff: a beef brisket, fried chicken, peas and carrots, mashed potatoes, biscuits, dessert and all the milk you can drink. Everything was all you can eat, the waitress just kept bringing more, tim and I were quite pleased with ourselves. My parents and sister had salads or some crap and payed much more than us. Tim and I kick ass. On the ride back I took a huge chunk of driving; on the way out my brother took about 4 hours straight at night, so I had to show him up this time. I started at about 11pm and drove til about 4:45am. God damn that was awesome, then conked out in the backseat for a majority of the remaining trip. Now after July 4th we get to do this all over again for my OTHER cousin's wedding; only this time I'm flying out and driving back, I'm gonna spend an extra few days with my uncle fishing and playing golf, it's gonna rock. Sorry if you fell asleep. Current Mood: happy Current Music: Paul Simon - Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 4th, 2006
11:17 pm	Stuff I love Now, there's so many things to list, but I have a recent list of stuff I love. 1. I love music - There are so many concerts going on this summer that I want to go to, both here and in california. They include Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers, Nine Inch Nails (I don't REALLY REALLY want to see them, but like nobody is buying tickets, seats are available in like the front row for 40 bucks, if anyone wants to go let me know). There are others, but those are the tops. Man, I should have gotten on buying these tickets months ago, next summer I'll remember how much I love music and be sure to plan this better. 2. (as mentioned in previous LJ) I love brown people. The other day I was at the bowling alley in Edison (a big brown district), Don and I were like the only white people there but also like the least enthusiastic. All the brown people there (everyone else) were so excited while bowling, I wish I had been that expressive about my excitement. I mean, I was excited, but these people were goin nuts for everything, it was the most awesome group of people I'd ever seen bowl. Also the usual, the short brown guy at work and Natasha, etc. They rock. 3. I love Joe Biden. For those who don't know, he is a senator from Delaware, and I watched him today on Meet the Press. That's right, I watch that show. Anyway, he was just so awesome, saying the same stuff I always think about the current administation, that they try to avoid the issues of health care, iraq and energy and instead want to spend the next 3 weeks debating gay marraige and a flag burning amendment. Also he pointed out that if Bush hadn't made that recent tax cut for people making a million bucks or more per year then we could enact all the homeland security steps the 9/11 commission requested. All those steps would cost about 50something billion, and the tax cut was 63 billion. Currently the budget is allotting 760 million to homeland security for next year to apply those changes. Fuck that. In conclusion, Biden is the shit. 4. I love views around Manhattan. They kick ass, come visit and check em out. 5. Finally, I love tall people. That's right, my tall buddy Vince Vaughn is with Aniston, and she's hot. Tall people kick ass. We didn't start the Fire, but we're gonna keep it going. -Me Current Mood: excited Current Music: Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
9:54 pm	Brilliant Ideas Yo, Who Killed the Electric Car? and An Inconvenient Truth are coming out soon, they look awesome. Last but not least, X3 soon, of course pumped for that. Quick thing to think about. Alright, I get off the subway in Jersey from NYC, and I'm walking towards the escalators. First of all, the subway doors are open for about maybe 10 seconds at the most before closing, for those of you unfamiliar. Before they close they give a little ringing sound so people can run to them, the doors begin closing right after the ring. So anyway, I'm walking off the subway, doors have been open for a bit, and I see this guy running for the subway, as he's running there is the ringing. He has about 10 feet to cover in about 2 seconds, he'll be fine. He is also running right past me as a though crosses my mind. I just imagine myself lifting up my arm and clotheslining the shit out of him. Like intense where he does a full 270 degree spin midair and lands on his stomach. I didn't do it and it would be so wrong, but wouldn't it also be about the most hilarious thing you've ever seen if you're standing right there? You know it would. I would only do it if I had video of it, with several angles, so I could relive the moment for the rest of my life. What would be even better is if it became some sort of popular thing on collegehumor or youtube or something and everyone started doing it. Oh man that'd be awesome. Nobody would ever run for a late train again, they'd be asking for it. On a side note, brown people rock. The head of the civil engineers at the Second Avenue Subway Project is this tiny brown guy (like 4'10") from India who kicks ass, he just hangs out with me for like half an hour talking about his shenanigans while living in the US. During meetings he just makes jokes randomly, especially when the guy who is talking is putting everyone to sleep. After meeting Natasha I thought brown people can be cool, then this guy confirmed it. Without them, who would have made Chaiyya Chaiyya? Nobody, that's who. Our Jersey Summer started last weekend with Warren County; I won't go into the details cause we're gonna have a website up soon to follow the whole summer. However, we're having a hard time coming up with a name for the summer. We've tried to tie in Garden State, New Jersey, among other things, we want the name to be jazzy. I tried to think of one but had Billy Joel stuck in my head so could only think of billy related ones. They included Jersey started the fire, Starting the Fire, Scenes from a Garden State, Jersey Goes to Extremes, The Ballad of Garden the State, The State of Dreams, New Jersey State of Mind, New Jersey 2017 and Jersey Loves You Now. Billy Joel rocks, btw. Since Zach has started talking about greater things than his life in his LJ, I'm gonna follow suit. I'm not sure if many people have heard this from me, but I can't stand the soon to be Ground Zero. First of all, they want to put a Gehry building in. Fuck that. FUCK THAT. God damn I can't stand Frank Gehry. I hear the Disney Concert Hall has fantastic acoustics, which is most important, so I still want to see a concert there. However, it is hideous. If he were allowed to design a building in my favorite city of New York, more specifically in my stomping grounds of Lower Manhattan, I would be pissed. If it were to somehow blow up in the future (with nobody in it of course) it wouldn't be an act of terrorism, it'd be a heroic act against terrorism. The fact that Frank Gehry is free to roam the streets and design buildings is my definition of terror. Secondly, the Freedom Tower. Damn I hate that name, I hate it so much. When I first heard it I thought they were joking around, like that's the codename for the New York Tower or something (yes, that name IS available). I have no problem with the 1776ft height, that's patriotic and about the limit of how far we should go. I thought we were done with this Prove you Love America game we've been playing for almost 5 years. Damn people in this county are dumb. Finally, I know no republicans read this, but if any do, do you still like bush? Like his approval rating is somewhere bordering the Knicks' winning % last season. I have problems with Republicans in general, but few big ones, not as many as I have with Bush. However, are there still people at home saying, "you know, Bush is doing an amazing job as president"? I mean, I bet a lot of it is pride, like "he's a republican, so am I, I support him" or "I voted for him and I'm sticking with him". But are there still people around talking about how awesome he is as a president; I know he has good intentions but in terms of the state of the country, is he just not blamed for it? Anyways, that was a quick tangent. Current Mood: calm Current Music: Vienna - Billy Joel (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 8th, 2006
7:04 pm	Jump Up Jump Up and Get Down Bungee Jumping is intense. Enough said. Last Saturday a few friends of mine and a professor went bungee jumping, just as max and I went last year. Once again, it was absolutely amazing. I'll have pictures and video soon, and then I'll let you know if you want to check them out. On the 4.5 mile hike in, we were led by our jumpmaster, who showed us exactly how to get there. However, on the way back, we got off the path several times, but it didn't matter cause the entire path goes along a river, so just follow the river and you'll get back. Well, this consisted of crossing the river many more times than we had wanted, which slowed us down but was also totally badass. An awesome part was that we met this guy from Jersey who was on the trip, all his friends bailed and didn't come with, so he was taking all their jumps and therefore by himself, so we just hung out with him. The most hilarious part was that, since he was from Bergen County, I told him about our Summer of Jersey(not the name) and asked him what we should check out in Bergen County. He said it sounded like a really fun summer, but had absolutey no clue of what we could do in Bergen County, go to NYC was his best suggestion, which totally defeats the point. Freakin weak. Last week was the end of clinic (where companies hire students to do projects for them), so we had our celebration dinner. That's basically where all the professors and students get together and get wasted, then the really hardcore professors go to a bar afterwards with students and get even more trashed; then if the prof is female, likely gets hit on by some students. You would think it's sketchy, and it totally is, but it's also hilarious when viewed from a distance. Then one professor reminds us that he is going to totally kick our asses for the final, he's gonna give us a 6 hour test in 3 hours that nobody will finish, and a direct quote from the prof is that we should "lube up before coming to the test". What a badass. That's most for now. Don't forget, first Jersey event this Sunday in the first lucky county of NJ. Trivia: Besides the delicious accompany to sandwiches and meals, what is bread also known as? Who calls it this? Current Mood: happy Current Music: Counting Crows - Long December (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, April 24th, 2006
12:04 am	In fact you're fanatical Well the fun moments of my semester are almost over. Billy Joel and Spring Break are over, now I'm just working every night til at least 1 or 2 on something, there's always somethin to do. Last night I stayed up til 6am working. I couldn't believe it. However, lots of that time was me being distracted from working by watching South Park or Family Guy. Worth it. Well my one awesome event left is bungee jumping, that'll be in about 2 weeks, and I am PUMPED! Also, totally missed Easter. Totally. I got this kit to color easter eggs from my mom, then my suitemate got a similar kit. She said we should paint eggs, so she went out, bought them and boiled them. This was last Saturday, over a week ago. Now they're still in her fridge, she had her thesis to write and I had my usual shenanigans, so we totally blew that one. Oh well. Thirdly, since my last post we had elections for ASHMC (Associated Students of HMC) where I ran for Campus Activities Planning chair, which a position I currently hold (it's basically giving money to people to do shit off campus). However, I lost, by about 19 votes out of 300. Then we decided to do a revote, cause several rules were broken in the election. I thought it was a sign, but instead I lose by 13 votes out of about 500. Fuck that shit, so I'm running for Senior Class President (along with Kong for VP), which sounds better on a resume. We put up flyers and will see how that goes. If not, I'm just not doing anything next semester, which would be cool too. Finally, I made a bet with this girl that she couldn't eat 2 4x4 cheeseburgers (like a double big mac) from IN N OUT every day for a week. If she went through with it, she would have gotten $100, I would have reimbursed her for all the burgers, and she would lose all self-respect and probably use that money to fuel her eating disorder after losing all her self esteem. Don't ask me how she needs money to do that, she just would. However, she caved cause she's a girl. Side note: Zach, let's find some restaurant in Jersey that has some gigantic steak or burger you have to eat to win a prize. Anyways, that's all for this crummy entry. I know it seems like garbage, but that's just cause last entry was about Billy Joel, that's how long it's been. Trivia: In Summit, how many places can you buy a custom sub? (ie, 7-11, similar places don't count, not custom. Also, like a pizza place that sells subs doesn't count. I mean a place that has fresh meats and cheeses.) See how many you can name! Current Mood: calm Current Music: Flaming Lips-Free Radicals (Can't get it out of my head!) (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 6th, 2006
12:34 pm	...and we would all go down together Holy crap, Billy Joel was easily best concert I've ever been to. Also, while at the concert, I realized several things: 1. Billy Joel is a fuckin badass - from putting on the backwards cap and jumping around during "Big Shot" or teasing us by pretending to leave the stage. After he had played a bunch he went to leave, but hadn't played Piano Man yet so everyone knew he wasn't going anywhere. He then came on to play You May be Right, then goes to leave again, and everyone starts booing as he walks towards off-stage, but when he walks back everyone starts cheering, he had a lot of fun bouncing back and forth, controlling us all. In addition, at the end of I go to Extremes he plays the piano with his elbows, kicks back the chair and plays with his ass. What a fuckin badass. 2. LA fans suck - I was on the floor, and for the first half of the concert nobody was standing up, they would sit down and just watch, not even rock out. Even when they did stand, many weren't rocking out or anything, they just stood there. Myself and this lady next to me were rocking out like crazy, we were the only ones nearby showing any distinct signs of movement, other people weren't even bobbing their heads or anything. It was so weak, these people didn't deserve floor seats, the people up in the nosebleeds deserved to be there more than them. Also, when he was going to play Billy the Kid (my favorite song of his) when the song started I was standing up and started cheering, but I was seriously the only person on the floor standing up, except for way at the front. It was fuckin pathetic, so I wimped out and sat down after about 20 seconds of the song. 3. Being tall KICKS ASS - I was much farther back on the floor than I thought, I would guess about 30-35 rows from the stage or so, but due to my immense height, I could still see the stage. However, the people around me, much shorter, couldn't see shit. I felt bad for them and the people behind me, but fuck them. They shouldn't have bought tickets behind what ebay would later decide would be my seat. Also, I would guess I was the tallest person on the floor, but the SECOND tallest person was directly in line between me and billy, he was like five rows ahead so I often couldn't see billy very easily, but I could barely see the screen at the top of the arena, so I could see the zoom-ins on his hands and stuff, which were of course phenomenal. Nobody should be that good at piano, it's just obscene how phenomenal he is. 4. Jersey People are EVERYWHERE - There were a few Jersey people around me at the concert, I could tell cause when he sang Allentown and the line came up, "spend their weekends on the Jersey Shore" a bunch of people around me shouted, including myself. Also, when he played My Life and said "Bought a ticket to the West Coast" everyone cheered except me and this Jersey guy near me, we started booing. Hell fuckin yeah. However, when we were leaving one gave into the stereotype. We were on our way out and I was talking to the lady who was rockin out next to me, and she asked where I was from, I said Jersey, and she pointed out this friend of hers from Jersey. The first thing he said to me was "What exit?" Do we really have to give into that phrase people expect us all to say? I don't think it's necessary. He was from Marlboro, which was the tennis team that beat SHS Don's senior year. Bastards. So yeah, those basic things. The best performance of the night was by far Goodnight Saigon. After that I go to Extremes was pretty phenomenal, and my favorites Billy the Kid and Piano Man just rocked. The latter we heard at the very end after he left the stage a few times, it was great, even though we sang about half of it. He just had to play it. Best concert ever. Billy Joel Trivia: Where did Billy Joel live when he wrote "The Entertainer"? Be specific! Current Mood: relaxed Current Music: You May be Right (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 31st, 2006
1:18 am	The Cowboy and the Rancher knew his name... Billy Joel is freakin 5 days away, I'm so excited. However, before then, few things to say. 1. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE, has to go see The Inside Man. It is such a kick ass movie, Clive Owen is a fuckin badass and there's this really catchy song that's in the intro. You'll see when you see it, it's just so freakin awesome. Easily the best heist movie since Ocean's Eleven. Man it's just so good. After you see it you'll thank me. 2. I just got a new summer job, which I accepted. It's in NYC again and I'll be working on designing the Second Avenue Subway Line in Manhattan. I'm really really excited about that, it's gonna be so much fun working in NYC again, I just hope I have as much fun as I did last summer. Also, me being in New York also is gonna mean more NYC shenanigans. That's right, more conan, more daily show, more concerts. It's gonna rock, in addition to zach and my jersey escapades. Speaking of which: 3. Zach and my Jersey Escapades. We need to think of a good name for it, that's for sure. For those of you who don't know, and you're all invited, Zach and I among anyone else who's interested will be touring every county in New Jersey this summer. Now, there's 21 counties and about 12 weeks, so that means we gotta cram some in. For example, we can just wipe through much of the southwest in one weekend, then some of the other secluded western ones. Some highlights will be going to Atlantic City when I'm 21, going to the county fair in Sussex County, Cape May for a weekend or so, it's gonna rock. If anyone has any awesome ideas of stuff to do in a county, let us know so we can plan, especially if it's an event on a certain day. Zach and I will keep up a website and everything, and I just decided at the end of the summer we make T-shirts. Everyone who went even once can get one, we'll have some awesome picture on the front of Jersey, broken into counties, then on the back we have the title of the summer (whatever Jersey Escapades will become), then a list in order of the counties we visit and the dates, like a concert tour shirt. Maybe we'll even throw in something we did in each county. Man, this summer will rock, and we'll have the T-shirts to prove it. That is all, next update will be post-Billy Joel. As for trivia: (non-Zach people) Name the other two locations (if there are more then I apologize) of two other Broadway diners (cities). (Zach people) Who first told us we "couldn't" do something, motivating us to do it, and what was the event?? Current Mood: relaxed Current Music: Elton John-Don't Let the Sun go Down on Me (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, March 19th, 2006
10:51 am	New Orleans, other shenanigans So I just got back from New Orleans yesterday, and what a trip. I learned so much about the area, both during and after the hurricane, and especially what's going on now. Anyways, so the trip started monday morning at 2:30am, when I had to meet a shuttle on campus to take us to Los Angeles Airport for our flight that left at 6. We got there about 3:45, but the ticket counters didn't open til 4:15, so we're all there waiting. Meanwhile, the airline people have to set up the lines, like those posts and strips that connect the posts, which makes up the formation of the lines. You would think this would be an easy task, especially since they probably do it every day. However, it took them about 20 minutes to figure out what they were doing. Like this one guy seemed to know, and he was going putting up posts, but then these other women came over and moved them all. Then the guy left, and now the 3 women were befuddled. They started realizing how the lines wouldn't work out, and had to go get a chart of the floor to see how to do it. At this point, the guy came back out and just did it from his head. Man that was funny to watch. While in New Orleans we had lots of food that was free but still good. It was done by this group of hippies that just set up this camp there and served food free for everybody, and they all worked off donations. The food was great, healthy, and they even had live music sometimes. It was so awesome, they also gave us free cases of water for when we were working. Our work was gutting this one house in the lower 9th ward, which was the area most hit by the storm, the levee washed over the whole area like a tidal wave, knocking about 85% of the houses off their foundation. The remaining ones were being gutted, meaning we remove everything, all the furniture, belongings, along with all the sheetrock, ripped all the nails out that held up sheetrock, took up tiles, cleaned up the yard, and take out all the electrical wire, all of the above was covered in mold and or soaked. This gave us basically just the bare wood. Afterwards the house would be powerwashied and the wood would be treated with this anti-mold stuff, new sheetrock put up, and the people could move back in. While gutting we all wore white suits, respirator masks, goggles and hard hats. It the hot New Orleans weather it could get mad hot in those suits, which is why having all that water rocked. We gutted houses for 3 of the four full days, and wednesday we went to this anti-racism workshop, which was pretty intense, there were about 100 kids in it of all different races, and we got talked to by this guy about how racism was present in our everday society, how everyone is racist even though they don't necessarily want to be, it's just grained into our society, which was some pretty scary stuff. A fun theme of the trip was how laid back the South is. Nothing started on time, we would be waiting around for hours some times. Partly this was due to the group we were with not being terribly organized, which I understand because they're new at this. The other part of this was the just laid back attitude, how they aren't always just jumping on the next item, which is totally different coming from college where everything moves fast. It took some getting used to, but now I'm back to school again anyway. Sorry, this entry has been kinda boring, so now I'm gonna have a more interesting topic: my airline. As many of you know, I fly on at least 12 planes per year and I now know about several things that could be done to make the flying experience more enjoyable and beneficial to many, while trying to keep a low cost. These items are: 1. First and foremost, more legroom for tall people. Just the exit rows would be fine, like have height requested when you ask for your ticket, and the tallest people and a member of their party get the exit row reserved if they would like it. Some problems with this are people could just lie. If they did, for example if they put 7 feet but were nowhere close, if it's a highly noticeable difference, then they get the seats at the back of the plane which don't recline. I actually wouldn't do this, I'm trying to take this seriously, and that wouldn't work. However, perhaps some sort of drivers license ID, then enter the number in the database or check when they check in. Anyways, enough on this, moving on 2. Movies for the ENTIRE flight. Meaning as soon as possible, a movie starts, then when it ends another one, and this continues until the flight is over, stop a movie midway if necessary. However, by the time I created my own airline, it would probably be simple technology to have a TV at every seat and movies all in a database, so people could just watch one, and if they don't like it, stop it and watch a different one. Basically, constant entertainment, not this crap now where there's a movie then a decent tv show then a bunch of crappy shows/airline specials that just blow. 3. Sparkling Cider served at the end of the flight 4. Meals served with no extra charge 5. Screen available to see what the pilot sees, the front view 6. Crunch everything down and try to fit in a second story (this would be very profitable, but possibly problematic for flight attendants. Perhaps find out a way to not have to make them walk down, like an automated drink-serving cart) 7. Wireless internet (this will be done soon anyway) 8. Transparent ceiling, where a shade could be pulled over if it's too sunny, but at night you could check out the stars. If this is unfeasible, then just larger windows. Other ideas appreciated Trivia Question of the day: Summit: What US President sent a letter to the city of summit thanking its citizens for their patriotism and support, stating "every city should be like Summit"? (Props if you get this one) No mudd students answered the last question, so you don't get one this time. Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: Billy Joel, after almost A WEEK! (16 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, March 5th, 2006
4:47 pm	Billy Joel, Bowling, Humming After Zach went and had a phenomenal time seeing Billy Joel, I am even more excited. However, I will be seeing him on the West Coast, which everyone booed at when the show was in NYC. If he mentions the East Coast I'll have to scream my head off, and I'll totally boo the west coast as well, I don't care. SoCal sucks and I'll admit it. But yeah, I gotta start learning other Billy Joel songs so I can have some clue what's going on if there's a song I don't know so well. That concert is gonna ROCK! Yesterday my friends and I went bowling at this really sketchy place about 10 miles away, which was badass. We were bowling for charity, cause all the regular lanes were full so we jumped on these lanes that this charity reserved. Anyway, so I beat my high score the first game, getting a 202. I got a printout I was so excited, having beaten my previous best. However, a few games later I beat THAT high score, getting a 212. However, the guy couldn't get a printout of it, for some reason, so I was forced to take a picture with my phone, which was shady as hell, because I couldn't get the whole screen, it was too bright, so I could just get one number. 212. Isn't that shady? Now if I can only bowl like that in our IM league. BTW, some rules for our bowling league: If everyone gets at least 6 marks(strikes or spares) in one game, the same game for all of us, I buy everyone pizza, just like in little league. If everyone gets 8 marks in the same game, Keith-sponsored trip to Tropical-Lei (the strip club) If anyone gets under 100 any game, they have to streak. And yes, there is one girl on the team. Finally, we just had a dorkestra concert, where one of the pieces was written by a Mudd professor. The piece was mad trippy, with a video we had to sync up to and everything, I wish I had gotten stoned and been able to watch. At the end of the concert I gave the composer an awesome high-five, and said, "AWESOME PIECE!" to which he replied, "thanks for playing it". What a baller. This entry is nothing. So time for a trivia question. Summit people: Who got thrown through the wall-high window of the cafeteria (the one facing the science rooms)? BONUS: Who threw him? Mudd People: What Boston-native professor, although being from Boston, is a fuckin badass and just started here in 2003? Current Mood: calm Current Music: Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 26th, 2006
4:47 pm	Golf ON A MOUNTAIN! Yo, Billy Joel is getting closer, I can smell it, and it smells of victory. Sweet sweet victory. Before that, however, is spring break. I will be going to some random town in southern Alabama, then will be relocated to one of several places, it's gonna be awesome I can't wait. In addition, after Billy Joel the annual Cool Students of Harvey Mudd College field trip will happen. We will be going bungee jumping (yes, again). We're bringing a much larger group, it's gonna be so awesome. Between all those events are all kinds of school/work shenanigans, as usual. Yo so my parents were here this weekend, and yesterday was such an awesome day. To pass the afternoon we went to Santa Anita racetrack. My grandfather had gone there hundreds of times while an undergraduate at USC and we had always wanted to go, even though I don't know anything about horse racing. Turns out, IT DON'T FUCKIN MATTER. They have programs that tell you what horses are expected to win, and also the odds. Once you get the lingo down, you're fine. I bet on the decent ones to place (1st or second place) and the worst odds ones to show(1st second or third place). I also made some other bets every now and then, but on the whole didn't do that well. I lost about 30 bucks the whole day, but later realized that 30 bucks was for about 3-4 hours of awesome times, so really it was totally worth it. My mom broke even and my dad went up. It was such an awesome day, I want to go back. There's a big race thursday, the Santa Anita Handicap, which is gonna be some of the best horses. However, I don't think it really matters. As long as the horses stay together, I don't think it should matter. If they finish in 2 minutes as a pack or 2:15 as a pack, what does it matter? However, I get a free duffel bag if I go saturday, and have 2 free tickets, so I want to go if I can just find someone else who wants to go. Well, we'll see. Oh I totally bet on this horse called Queenmab's daughter, cause I remembered the name Queenmab from something. The horse was at 45:1 odds, and I bet to show. She got in FOURTH, god damn. Also, there was the last race I bet on, where (Carmen, stop reading) I bet horse A would get in the top two, and horse B would get in the top 3. On the home stretch there was Horse C in first, with A in second and B in third (If they had finished like this I would have won both bets). However, then fuckin horse gamma comes the fuck out of nowhere, passes them both and loses me all my money. Fuckin greeks. Also, last night max and I were bored, so we decided to see how our friend's car (our friend is abroad) was doing. The tags are expired, it has no insurance and registration is expired. As we expected, the battery was not charged enough to start the car, so we jumped it then figured we should take it for a spin with max's girlfriend and one of her friends. This is at about 2:15am, by the way. So we just drive up this mountain that's nearby and go to a pretty cool lookout point, it's about a 45 minute drive. We then are looking out over the city lights miles away, and max has a brilliant idea. He realized that there are 2 full golf bags in the trunk, complete with clubs, balls and tees. He then has the awesome idea of "let's hit golf balls off the mountain". It was phenomenal, blasting the golf balls into the darkness ahead of us. We then drove back and got back around 3:45am then went to bed. What a badass day. Current Mood: relaxed Current Music: Aerosmith - Avant Garden (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 20th, 2006
1:57 pm	And he soon put many older guns to shame... As many may know, I bought some Billy Joel floor tickets back in the day for a show at the Garden in March. Now, you must be saying, Keith, you won't be in New York City in March, you'll be in California. Did the states merge? The answer is no, they have not, I was not planning on attending the concert, as much as I would love to. No, I had planned to make a little extra cash and sell the tickets on eBay. Now this normally would work very well; however, Billy Joel is going to be performing 11 shows at the Garden this spring. That's right, fuckin 11. They're all sold out too, cause he's such a fuckin badass. New York City record. Due to the immense number of shows, I got the impression from looking at prices on ebay that many people who wanted tickets have them already, cause the prices on ebay aren't much more than the regular price of the ticket. So, since I wasn't going to be making much money, and Zach had shown extreme interest in the tickets, I sold them to him for the price I paid for them. I'd rather make no profit but know that a huge fuckin badass like Zach is going than make about 20-30 bucks profit off some stranger. So, this got me thinking about how jealous I am that I don't get to see the piano man perform. Then I realized that Billy Joel would be playing 1 show on the entire west coast, on april 4th (that's right, a fuckin wednesday) at the Staples Center. I immediately checked ticketmaster, nothing was left but upper section, which actually wouldn't be bad, the staples center is pretty small. I also checked ebay, and people must know how badass billy joel is, cause the tickets are for obscene amounts of money. In my search, however, I found 1 ticket for the show, only 1, on the floor. The FLOOR. So I bid on it, not expecting to win. The ticket from ticketmaster, with fees costs about 90some dollars, and I put in a max bid of 108, 5 days before the auction ended. 2 other guys bid on it, but both under my max, so I got the ticket for 108. Now, you might be saying that "it's only 1 ticket, you can't go with anyone, where's the fun?" I beg to differ. I believe, and max agrees with me, that having a friend at the concert doesn't add very much when compared to the concert itself. For example, at the Meat Loaf concert, Carmen was fun to dance with, and Zach was there for the continuous stream of high-fives. Although these things rock and only make the concert better, the concert was still kick ass by itself. It will be the same with Billy Joel, god DAMN I'm excited. Anyways, onto other stuff. The other day my friends and I (Kong is of course included) went bowling, which totally rocked. It was my friends Paul and Nick vs Me and Kong, and we had a 2 hour block of bowling time. We finished 3 complete games, and Paul and Nick beat me and Kong 2/3. At this point we had about 20 or so minutes left, so we played this kick ass game, trick shot bowling (a better name is in the works). For this game, each frame has a magical number between 1 and 10, decided by a different person each frame. Let's call that number p. The goal in each frame is to knock down p pins with one ball. For example, if p=7, then, with one ball, you have to knock down 7 pins, no more no less. If you do so you get a point. If you have the total for the frame =p, for example a 4 and a 3 in a frame where p=7, you get half a point. Conceivably, if p=3 (or any number ≤5), you could get 2 points in one frame, by knocking down 3 pins with the first ball and 3 with the second. Anyway, I rocked this game, it was awesome. Out of the 6 frames that we were able to play, I got four points, the next closest was paul with 1.5 points. What an awesome game. The best part was the people next to us watching us scream for joy when we only knocked 3 pins down, it rocked. Also, this one time Zach got a flat tire on Ling's street in Summit, with his mom's minivan, and he didn't know the minivan had a spare, or where to find it, so I fuckin changed his tire for him. Then Ling's mom felt she was at fault because it was her street, so tried to give zach money to pay to fix the tire, and he left it on the table. What a gentleman. I now have seasons 1-4 of MacGyver on DVD. I'm not even done with 2 yet, I just can't wait to buy new seasons. For spring break, goin to Louisiana to help out, it's gonna rock. Zach & posse will be there, but probably nowhere near me. I can't stop listening to Billy Joel. What a badass. Current Mood: excited Current Music: Ballad of Billy the Kid - Billy Joel (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 16th, 2006
9:16 pm	Oh, America West Alright, I have four entries here including this one. The next three are in chapters, talking about my shenanigans on my way from Newark to Ontario, CA. I broke it up into chapters so it wouldn't be so overwhelming, since if it's too long I know it can be intimidating to a college student who has to read enough stuff. Anyways, enjoy! Current Mood: amused Current Music: Bruce Springsteen - Jersey Girl (1 Comment |Comment on this)
9:14 pm	America West Chapter 1: The Initial Plan, and Newark Airport Shenanigans America West is crazy. That's all I have to say. So yesterday I wake up at 7:00 am for my flight at 9:35am. We leave at like 7:30, go get some bagels from Bagel Chateau, then off to the airport. I get to the airport, check in, and am at the gate around 8:45am. So I'm hangin out, then we get on the plane. I didn't get the exit row, a bunch of short people did, those bastards, I'm one seat behind the exit row. Just so you know, my planned schedule was fly to Phoenix, get in around 1pm, then catch a 2:30 flight to Ontario, California, my final destination, and arrive in Ontario about 2:45pm. So I'm on the plane to Phoenix, we leave the gate and go get de-iced. Then, after that, we proceed to wait to take off, getting in a line of planes, we're about 6th in line. So we wait, and wait, then realize that we aren't in line anymore. We're off to the side, and we sit there for about an hour. The captain then comes on the speaker and says, "There is something wrong with the computer, we're not sure what, the mechanics are trying to fix it but are unsuccessful. Due to this we are going to have to go back to the gate. It takes another half hour to get moving and back to the gate, and got back to the gate at about 11:30. Now, I find the whole, "the computer broke" thing to be probably a lie, since they probably would have known that when they left the gate, since I'm assuming they run simple tests to check. I think the pilots played the old, "slam the buttons" game or something, dooming us all to hours of waiting. So we get back to the gate, and everyone waits in a long line at the gate, in order to get information on what they are going to do, since this flight may be cancelled. Now, the line is enormous, and I'm in no mood to wait, so I decide to be smart and go back out through security and to the check-in station. Didn't work. First of all there was another line there for the later flight to Phoenix, and when I got to the front the lady couldn't help me, I went back down. The line was even longer, of course. So I wait in this line for about an hour and a half, til about 1, then I get to the front just as they fixed the plane and cleared it to go. The solution, which was no surprise to me, was they just reboot the computer. Big surprise. I could have gone in there and control-alt-deleted that shit with the best of them. Current Mood: calm Current Music: Janie's Got a Gun - Aerosmith (Comment on this)