Complete the thought:

Snatched from The Complete and Total Bisch:

1. My roommate once: managed to get bug spray in his eyes when he was trying to destroy a wasp nest. Don't ask me how.
2. Never in my life: have I seen the Pacific.
3. The one person who can drive me nuts, but then can always manage to make me smile: Don't think I know anyone who can drive me nuts...various degrees of slight annoyance, but not nuts.
4. High School was: forgetable.
5. When I'm nervous: I clam up, and I try extra hard to make people laugh.
6. The last time I cried: It's a Wonderful Life, on Xmas eve. Always happens.
7. If I were to get married right now my bridesmaids/groomsmen would be: question who the hell I'm marrying and why they weren't informed of it earlier.
8: I like salad: And salad likes me.
9. My hair: shorter than it once was, longer than it will be. Haircut tomorrow. May do something drastic.
10. When I was 5: I lived in Switzerland, and I took my first plane trip, to Colombia.
11. Last Christmas: my brother and I bought a ping pong table.
12. When I turn my head left, I see: a shelf full of books and another shelf full of CDs.
13. I should be: ironing. You're jealous, admit it.
14. When I look down I see: my laptop and my glass table.
15. The craziest local recent event was: a beer pong party, during which I mixed wickedly strong White Russians.
16. If I were a character on Friends I'd be: Chandler. I'm all about self-deprecation.
17. By this time next year: Hopefully be thinking, "I can't believe all that happened in one year!"
18. Current Relationship Status: Single, currently
19. I had a hard time understanding: why they decided to use the past tense, had, rather than the present, have, which assumes I now understand what I didn't before. Ha! I'll always be clueless about women.
20. At family gatherings I: have to dust of the German.
21. You know I "like" you if: I hang out with you.
22. If I won an award, the first person (people) I'd thank is/are: all the little people who do the real work.
23. Take my advice: carpe diem.
24. My ideal breakfast is: Bacon, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs. :)
25. If you visit a place I grew up: take a picture so I can see what it looks like now.
26. Where don't you plan to visit anytime soon: my trip to Cali isn't going to work out, so no Pacific this year. Rats.
27. If you spend the night at my house: I can make you a good cup of tea in the morning.
28. I'd stop my wedding if: I had to save a guest from choking. Aside from that, don't interrupt us!
29. The world could do without: so many things, unfortunately.
30. I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than date: someone who doesn't have a sense of humor.
31. Most recent thing you've bought yourself: Heh. My cat's health, for the time being.
32. Most recent thing someone else bought for you: A T-shirt, I think. it's been a while. Someone buy me something, damn it!
33. My favorite blonde is: Keira Knightly
34. My favorite brunette is: Neve Campbell
36. The last time I was drunk was: A month or so ago. A beer pong party we had here at the house. Can't say I remember much.
37. The animals I would like to see flying besides birds are: Pigs, just to prove all the naysayers wrong.
39. Once, at a bar: I paid $17 for two shots of southern comfort. Needless to say, I wasn't comforted.
40. Last night I: watched High Fidelity again. The whole cat thing sapped my energy.
41. There's this girl I know who: reminds me of the song "Time," by the Alan Parsons Project.
42: I don't know how to: juggle or do a good Elvis impersonation, which sucks, because God knows I've been practising long enought.
43. A better name for me would be: I think Michael works. At least, I've gotten used to it, and I've learned to respond when it's called.
44. If I ever go back to school I'll: lament the fact that I did, unless I'm doing something that'll make me more money.
45. How many days until my birthday?: I'm not gonna think that far ahead. Plus, I'm not a big fan of birthdays anyway.

A stranger on a train

I have a feeling that someday in the future, I will be riding on a train from one old european city to another during the dead of night. When everyone else is asleep and all is quiet, I'll be looking out the window, staring out at the random lights emanating from anonymous living rooms, thinking of you and hoping that you are ok. I shall think back to some great memories, and I'll let my mind roam for a while, back to a pool of water at dusk and the words that were unsaid. Slowly, the memory will fade and the lights will focus, bringing me back to where I am. But I'll be happy.

A walk

It seems as though the cat, Galileo, has a weird bump on his paw that has grown over the last month. So, this weekend, I will be taking said creature to the vet to see what is going on with him. He doesn't seem sick, and I don't see anything in his behavior that it out of the ordinary, but I still want to make sure it isn't anything too serious.
On another note, this weekend I was planning on getting in my car and driving around aimlessly. However, I was in Lambertville this evening, and I saw that this weekend will be the Shad Festival. Several years ago when I was wandering around, I came upon it inadvertently, and it was pretty cool. Of course, back then I didn't know what the hell a Shad was, but it's a fish. I may try some this weekend...that may come as a shock to the folks who know me, as I stay away from seafood (can it really be called seafood if it comes from a river?) I figure if they fry it enough and give me a few wedges of lemon, how bad could it be.
I got home fairly early this afternoon, but since it was so nice, there was no reason for me to be here. So, I headed down to the river to take a walk. The light and the weather were perfect, so I was happy to be walking around. No sense staying in, right?
The photos in the previous post were taken tonight. I love my camera!

Not far away

No, it's still only Monday

I just put two and two together: I am eating ice cream while listening to Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, arguably one of the most depressing albums ever. Taken together, and thus, out of context, this could be really depressing and pathetic, but I actually didn't set out to eat ice cream and listen to the saddest albums ever. The two separate, mutually exclusive incidents just seemed to have happened.
And by the way, the ice cream is excellent!
I've just finished reading Kyle Smith's Love Monkey. Contrary to what people might think, I didn't get it just because it had monkey in the title. At times, I felt I could relate to the main character, and sometimes it hit close to home. Sometimes it hit and missed. I also felt that if I set myself down to it, I could certainly come up with a novel like this...I can do Gen-X sarcasm, cynicism, and general malaise as well as the next guy.
Don't worry. I won't spoil the book for you by telling you how it ends, but it does just kinda "end," much like Forrest Gump stops running.
"I'm tired. I think I'm gonna go home now."

NY Car Show

My brother and I went to the NYC Car Show yesterday, and while I didn't go nuts photographically like I did last year, I still did manage to take some photos. So bloody crowded it was!

I can't believe how I quickly I get annoyed at other people when I'm stuck in large crowds. After a while, I just feel like pushing people out of my way, or conversely, hiding like Sean Connery's character in "Finding Forrester" when he goes to a baseball game. But still, crowds notwithstanding, I really dig being able to go to the car show with my brother.
And for no other reason than because I want to, here is my view from my new cube:

The god of impulsiveness hates me

My brother and I went to the car show yesterday in NYC, and on the walk back to the train station, we proceeded to get soaked by the cold rain. We had some time to kill, so as we walked past the Houlihan's in Penn Station, I made the impulsive decision to buy my brother and me a shot of Southern Comfort to "warm us up."
I should know better: I am neither a tourist nor stupid. Penn Station is the last place you want to be either. However, I wasn't really thinking.
My brother and I amble up to the bar and order. My jaw nearly drops to the floor (thankfully, it didn't because God knows where that floor has been) when the bartender told me "$17." For two lousy shots of SoCo? Are you insane? I could have bought a stupid bottle for that. It's not that I'm necessarily cheap, but that's a bummer of a way for $17 to go. However, I was asking for it, ordering drinks at a bar in Penn Station...

Modern Times

So, in the last few weeks I've been able to satiate my desire for Charlie Chaplin movies. The latest one was Modern Times. While it wasn't as strong as Gold Rush or City Lights, it was still funny. Who am I kidding? It's classic!
This morning I woke up early because I didn't sleep well. There's only so much time I want to kill at home before I start the day and head off to work, so I left a bit earlier than usual. I decided that instead of having lunch with the usual group, which I do enjoy, I'd grab some bread and fruit at the supermarket before I went to cubeville so that I could go directly to the Princeton Battlefield Park at lunch. Man, it was nice! I spent a half hour sitting in my lawn chair in the quiet park soaking up the sun. I think I even got a bit of a nap. Turns out I wasn't the only one with this idea, as the park was dotted with people on their blankets. What a relaxing lunch.
However, it seems to catch people off guard when I do something out of the usual routine. Also, it seems as though I'm the person that "gathers" others, which is kind of a change for me, so I guess I'll have to get used to that idea.

A left, a left, another left, and then one more left

I had higher intentions for this afternoon than what it turned out to be. Since the weather is beyond beautiful these days, I thought it would be fun to hang out by the river and take some photos.
I thought it would also be nice to go get some ice cream somewhere. I was rather enthused about this at lunch, but at some point during the afternoon, my enthusiasm was sapped away, replaced by a general feeling of ennui (a pretentious word, but it fits).
So, I halfheartedly slipped out of my office after work and headed off to do some errands. I then drove arround aimlessly to try to find a good ice cream place, subconciously knowing I wouldn't bother to stop anywhere anyway. I drove by Lambertville and New Hope as well as by Dilly's on the Delaware, but the place was too crowded, so I continued on, until I got home.
At the convenience store across the street, I bought a Nestle ice cream bar and, for shits and giggles, a scratch-off lottery ticket.
On a good note, the Netflix gods have sent me my next Charlie Chaplin movie, Modern Times, in which the Tramp works in a factory. Hilarity does actually ensue.

Clerks

I've been catching up on Kevin Smith's(Silent Bob) Blog, My Boring-Ass Life, over the last couple days , and he's written a revealing and often moving account of Jason Mewes's struggle to wean himself off drugs and stay sober. He's been sober now for three years, and that makes for a great backstory to the release of Clerks II, which is coming out in August. I'll be seeing that on its first day of release, no doubt.

Vacation

My college roommate and I, as well as possibly his brother, are trying to figure out a vacation for this year. We were planning on California and Lake Tahoe, but I think that is a no-go for this year. However, I think we may have decided on the next best thing, that being the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.
Woohoo! Back to the NOC! Mountain biking, rafting, and kayaking, oh my! It also gives me a great opportunity to visit my newest nephew, Giovanni. I'll be looking forward to that, most definetely!
However, whenever I go back to Tennessee, I always realize how much I like it there and how well it fits me, and I'm always less inclined to leave. It's not like I dislike New Jersey. I love being able to discover things up here, and I appreciate having two great cities so close by. Tennessee just works for me somehow.
When I graduated UF in '99, I had two options of where to move. Jersey and Tennessee, and I happened to find work here first. I often wonder how different my life would have been had I gotten that job in Tennessee, and I have no doubt it would have been much different. At any rate, I can't get too caught up in thinking like that.
I like the prospect of being able to visit some of the best scenery I know. The Smokeys are amazing, and the rivers reinvigorating. I'm smiling now just thinking about it.

Beatles to sell their music online...eventually.

Check this out:
Beatles Coming Together Online

Apple Corps, the music company formed by the Fab Four to control their music and business empire, has confirmed plans to digitally remaster the band's entire catalog and, for the first time, make it available for download via online stores.

Bright bright sun

I spent today basking in the warmth of the sun, laying myself down on my brother's patio so that I could properly bake. Man, that was nice! I had my iPod set on a good mix, the house was absolutely quiet, and there were no clouds in the sky. That warmth I got from that half hour will keep me going for the next few days.
This weekend has gone by absolutely too fast for my taste, and I'm not quite ready for yet another work week. Ug. However, these work weeks have been flying by so fast that I'm never quite prepared for the weekend! I need a vacation, and I have a feeling that the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina are calling me once more. A call I'll take anytime.

Spring

I love the fact that it is full-on spring at the moment. This morning, for the first time, I was able to wash my car in my own driveway. A minute thing to get excited about, I know, but I've never lived in a place that allowed me the space to do so. Of course, within 15 minutes of me finishing, a bird had already crapped on the car.
I went down to the river for a walk under the late afternoon sun, and I got hissed at by three Canadian Geese. If I made a jump at them, they'd of course scatter away, like the little chicken shits they are. The little buggers are one step removed from being dinner (Granted, most likely not a good dinner. Considering all the toxins and pollutants they pick up in Jersey, probably a diseased dinner, at that.)
Speaking of dinner, but a good dinner and certainly not diseased, I just came back from the pizza place here in town. I really enjoy the small-town atmosphere, where everrybody knows everybody. I walked out and looked around, and it felt really quiet -- relaxing and peaceful. A night when the world slows down, if you let it.

Huh? Wha?

I think I'll leave this in the "interesting" category and leave it at that:
"'Mr. Switzerland" to entice women during World Cup

The Dance of the Rolls

I've had the Gold Rush disc from Netflix for a week, so I thought tonight would be as good as any evening to plop down on my bed and watch. This was the "sound" version that Chaplin released...I would have prefered watching the original silent version. In my film appreciation class in college, I wrote a paper about the differences between the two films, but I have no idea where that paper is, and I have no idea what I wrote. Not in a hurry to dig it out anyway.
I love this movie. Some of my favorite scenes are on the New Years Eve. First, Chaplin alternates between the jovial party at the dance hall and the quiet cabin where the Tramp is waiting for his guests to arrive. He looks out the door and he hears the sound of the party, and you can see a tremendous sadness in his face. He gives up waiting and walks down toward the dance hall, and I find how he frames the next scene absolutely brilliantly: he shoots the party from the outside, through a small window. The Tramp then walks up to the window and stares in. There is such a stark contrast between the outside and the inside, literally, of being left out and being a part of the group. That scene is poetry.
Also, I want to learn how to do the dance of the rolls. My hand-eye coordination is so bad, my hands would probably trip over themselves!

Queen

So, American Idol happened last night, during which the 8 singers left performed Queen songs. Well, the sun rose this morning, so I figure everything is still right with the world.
Simon asking if Taylor was drunk. Hmmm. I think Taylor, Paris, and Bucky were the best performers last night. Some of the others were just painful. I'm getting kind of bored with that whole alterna-rocker crap, too. So overly earnest.

Holding out for something better, namely Tuesday.

I bought a bike rack this afternoon, but not one of those top-of-the-roof racks like I had on my old car, but just one that ties onto the trunk. I would have liked a Thule system, but that's most likely a no-go for a while.
So, once I get my bike in decent running order, I'll be able to go riding again. I may just take it with me to work so that I can leave directly for a trail.
Instead of heading home, I went out to Washington Crossing park on the river and hung out there for a while. If I can be anywhere, I'd choose to be by water...better than trapping myself indoors at any rate.
I've been looking through my old photos...gotta love digital technology. I've taken more photos in the last two years than I have in my lifetime. Something for me to remember myself by.
There is bad TV and a glass of red wine waiting for me, and I have to help a friend write something. Cheers.

Where the road goes

I left in my apartment in the late morning, armed with a book and all sorts of electrical gadgets (ipod, cell phone, digital camera) to keep myself occupied if I so chose to. The only thing I knew about this day is that I would take a left out of my driveway and that I might be interested in seeing Frenchtown. The rest would be dictated, or decidedly not dictated,by intuition.
My default destination for any given bright, sunny Sunday would be the tandem of Lambertville/New Hope, specifically a quiet spot just south, where I would usually listen to the iPod and read a book. I didn't necessarily think "default" was where I wanted to end up today, so I kept going, on past Lambertville and past New Hope, and then on to 202 south.
I figured that I'd stop by this collection of outlet stores called Peddler's Village, just to walk around and maybe try a restaurant that I've wanted to try. They had an Easter egg hunt there, so the place was crowded with little kids, but I liked seeing people enjoying the sun. I had a quick bite to eat and stayed away from the temptation that is Dairy Queen.
Now, leaving Peddler's Village, I could either take a left, which would take me in a direction I knew, or I could take a right, to parts unknown. My intuition was telling me I should take a left and then drive up to Frenchtown, so of course I took a right. It was still early, and if I felt the need to, I could always turn around.
I saw signs for Doylestown, so I figured that that could be as good a place as any to turn around. I noticed that it was packed as I drove through, but I had no real intention of stopping, so I did turn around and headed back to Lambertville so that I could take 29 all the way up to Frenchtown.
I've never gone up that far before, but as of now, I have a new favorite road; highway 29 from Stockton to Frenchtown is just aching to be driven fast. There are also numerous parks and D&R Canal Park access points -- it'll be fun to explore them all.
As for Frenchtown, it's small but I have a feeling it gets mad crowded in the summer, as I think it's a practical starting point for all sorts of recreation. Again, more to explore!
After a satisfying Ice Cream, I headed back toward home. Over this trip, I managed to put 120 miles on my car, but I think I got some nice memories, so it all works out in the end.
On days like this, when the sun makes everything glimmer and explode with color and the breeze brings relief, the days just aren't long enough. I live for days like today.

Sunday morning

Today looks to be a beautiful, crisp sunny day, so I'm gonna plan to spend the most of it outside. Where to go? What to do?
I love Sundays, especially when it's open to all sorts of possibilities. Kind of makes up for the day of rain we had yesterday...
I headed out to Princeton yesterday to spend a few hours at the coffeeshop. It's quite interesting to look around to see what has changed and what has stayed the same.
Down the road from Small World, there was a used-book store. When I was bored, I'd go there first, pick out a few books, and then head up to Small World for a nice coffee. At that time, it was only one store front, so it was much more compact than it is today. Now, it has basically doubled in size.
I'm feeling an urge to get on the road, so here I go.

Ramble

Quotes I like from High Fidelity:

Well, I've been listening to my gut since I was 14 years old, and frankly speaking, I've come to the conclusion that my guts have shit for brains.

What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?

On to other things... My apartment is right above where a coffee shop used to be a few years ago. They have now moved down the road a bit, and I try to go there every weekend. Anyway, a few years, during one of my sister's visits to the area, the family and I came up here to H-well one reason or another...I think it was a visit to the photo gallery that my dad was establishing in town with some other photography folks. My sis and I decided to grab some coffee at the coffee shop. I find it interesting how the same place could have different meanings for you from one time to the next. Who would of thought I'd live in the same building years down the road? I certainly didn't. Life is a great road to travel down, but it's the intersections I find most appealing.

Stuff

I was hoping this would come along. Another great reason to buy a Mac:
Apple Unveils Software to Run Windows XP
Nice thing is that this is an official Apple release...

Mandisa's gone? Bucky and Kelly are still in it? Huh? Oh wait, this is a country that voted for W. twice (well, once at least).
Another 'Idol' Eliminated, Eight Remain

How about last night's episode of Lost? I enjoyed it, and while they may be grasping at straws, the straws are at least very very interesting.

Is it safe?

Yes it is! Come on out to play and bring your toys. I went to Lambertville and New Hope today for a bit of a walk, and the number of people with motorcycles was absolutely nuts. Also, on the roads today, I saw three ferraris, countless porsches, a Ford GT40, a Lamborghini, and a whole boat load of Harley-Davidsons. So, the rich folks took their toys out to play.
I never knew quite how many trains ever came through Hopewell, but it's actually quite a few. I mean, it's not like I thought the tracks were there only for decoration, but I never thought it would be one every two hours. My drive to Lamb./NH was bookmarked by two trains going through town: the first had 139 cars, which seems to be long; the second one, I caught the tail end of.
There was also this train in New Hope, which takes tourists on a loop from New Hope to somewhere else back to New Hope.
So, after seeing all these trains, if I happen to see a train in my dream tonight, do I take a Freudian or Jungian approach to interpreting the symbols in the dream? OK, I'm not sure what any of that actually means; I'm guessing Freudian interpretations have something to do with sex, and Jungian interpretations are basically NOT FREUD. Heh. Here I go removing all doubt that I'm an idiot!! D'oh!
Another thing I saw: a flip-flop floating down the canal in Lambertville. Makes me wonder what happened to guy it belonged to? Did he have to walk through like a tool with only one flip-flop? How does that happen anyway?! How does one lose a flip-flop?
It was such a brilliantly beautiful day, that's for sure, and it seemed as though that people took the opportunity to enjoy it. I love that it's 7pm and still light outside...I have been waiting for this for a while, and to that I say, "Here Comes the Sun."

Go Gators!!!

The Gators are going to their second National Championship game! The folks in Gainesville must be going apeshit (Not to mention all us other transplanted Gators).
They might even have a shot at it. Who knew?!

Love Monkey

I started reading a book called Love Monkey, and not just because it has monkey in the title.
Anyway, there is a line in it that I find telling. "There is a fine line between picky and loser.
Only too right, writer buddy.

Pick up the Gee-tar

One of my friends, Brianne, has decided to start taking horseback riding lessons again, after a several-year break. As I was driving up to my brother's house this afternoon, I thought it might be a good idea to follow her lead and get back into something I love but have spent too long away from.

I regret never taking guitar lessons when I was a kid, so I learned what I know rather haphazardly without looking at the "why" behind it all. So, I'm gonna start taking guitar lessons to see if I can get some of that music theory through my think skull.

Since I'll be shifting the furniture this week, I think this might be a great time for such lessons. Maybe the move will unlock my creativity once again, and I think it would be fun to channel some of that creativity through music.

To make it even more interesting, I may even look into taking singing lessons. Granted, I only sing at home or in the car, but at least I'd be singing decently at home or in the car. Who knows if I even have any ability in it, but I know that singing in front of someone else would be a huge challenge for me, so that's good enough reason for me to do this. Time to challenge myself a bit...introduce something that is totally nerve wracking to get the blood moving.

We'll see how all this goes.