A Little of this and That

As you all know my new apartment is located not even a stones throw away from BC campus. Many people think this would bother me I am not sure why. There is really only one complaint I could wage. These students are suppose to be some of the best and brightest around but they can't drive a car for shit, and they all have cars. So it had become necessary to stop procrastinating and get myself a resident sticker. This weekend is the first BC game and any car caught without a resident sticker will be towed, no ticketing just towing, to teach everyone a lesson. I'm not quite certain of my plans for this weekend but I don't need my car towed.

So this afternoon I took sometime from work to complete my quest for a Allston/Brighton parking sticker. Which pretty much made me go into downtown Boston, and to the hideously designed City Hall. Some people love it and consider it iconic. I am definitely not one of them. Plus I have heard alot of people who work there don't like the layout. I can attest that it is a bit confusing. I felt like I was in some 70's version of what the building of the future would look like. Anyways the line was long but moved quicker than expected. I was out and had planed to take a walk around the city and enjoy the nice day while listening to my ipod. Which I did and decided I really need to invest money into a new battery for my camera as I missed alot of good photo opportunities. Then it turned into more of guilty pleasure day. I am not sure why. I just felt the need to treat myself, maybe since I have been more emotional than a menopausal bi-polar woman. So what does that mean? It means I ate like a pregnant woman.

Most of you don't know but for the past few years there is this particular combination of food that I utterly crave. Pizza and Sushi. Yes go ewwwww if you want but for me its all yummy. Anyways I happened to be by a Whole Foods (click for a funny letter to WF) which is my favorite grocery store to pick up Sushi in. After my meal I fell victim to the siren song, or should I say intoxicating aroma spewing forth from the Coldstone Creamery next store. I promised myself I would extend my walk afterwards and indulged in my new favorite combination. Cakebatter, Heath bar and Caramel. Yes I kept it small, I may be off the diet right now but there is no need to go completely nuts. So I kept true to my word and walked around a bit before taking off for home. I must say I think I should start a new segment entitled "what I saw on the T" it would make for some interesting reading if I didn't get sued.

What is there to say?

Ever have so much on your mind that you don't know what to say? Thats been me over the past week. It would also account for the lack of posts. Work has been busier than I like it to be. It comes with the title now I guess. I would feel worse if it was not for the fact that I see it in others that I work with as well. All will be well soon, its just the getting there that is going to be difficult.

Thats pretty much been the story of my life this year. Its all about the journey to get there. Where is there? I don't know yet. I am still trying to figure it out and I probably won't figure it out until I get a better grasp on who I am. I've been going through some old papers and writings from a year ago. So much has changed, its beyond the point of being good or bad. It just is. I remember thinking back all that time ago that something needed to happen. I couldn't put my finger on it but I knew a change was coming. Now that life is gone. For as much as I wanted things to change; I have to admit there was a certain amount of comfort in it all. I'm not talking necessarily about relationships, but for everything. I almost don't recognize myself sometimes and I would be remiss to say that it does not bother me.

I have worked on building myself back up. Something that I thought could never be done. I was not just hurt I was damaged. I know that now. It is with that revelation that I am moving forward. For me trust was a very important factor, now even more so. My problem is now trusting in who I have become. I think there is only one way to do that though. There are still elements of my old life that I cherish and value, its time to start mixing in what is with what was, and hope that it will lead to what will be.

I am thinking of taking some time off in November. My parents are going on a cruise and someone will need to take care of the cat. I am thinking of volunteering. It would be a good time to take a break and maybe unwind a little.

I will leave you with the one thought thats been going through my mind lately. What is Love?

Highway to the Danger Zone!

Well my excursion to Mohegan Sun was succesful I did not lose anything and managed to turn a tidey profit. So far I can happily say I have taken more money out of there than I have ever put in. Granted I did not take as much away as I could have but I wanted to play for awhile and then took the folks out to dinner. Money well invested as far as I am concerned. My two majors scores of the day came from penny machines again. The Wheel of Fortune machine that you sit in made me a quick $350. Once the machine became less generous we decided to move on. Mom did not fare to badly; and would have probably pulled away with some extra cash had the machine not changed from the $.01 she thought she was playing to the $.25 she actually was playing.

Later though I played what has got to be my favorite slot machine to date. This summer the Top Gun slots were introduced to Mohegan. They do have penny machines and it was a blast. It comes with its own seat that has a built in Bose speaker system that blasts the aforementioned song out at you as you play and enter the bonus round. The game is just to cool to describe you have to play it. I knew I was doing well when a small audience of men was gathered behind me watching as I played. The machine is geared toward men which I found nice since I really did not feel the need to play the "That Girl" slot. I just wish the zombified granny would stop spending her soical security on the Star Wars game that is obviously lost on her. Anyways also curious about the Top Gun game is its apparent lack of a character.

I don't know if its because of his freakish personality or the even freakyier religion, but Mr. Tom Cruise was not able to lend his face or voice to the game. Instead we have Ice-Man and Goose and Charlie. It makes it feel somewhat lacking when you look at it but oh well. I don't trust any religion based on a dare so I don't know enough about Scientology to blame them. Despite the lack of title character the game was entertaining and fun. I would go back again just to play that one. Which is bad because it also means I would sink money into it. Oh well so far I have handled myself well and I don't know when I will be back.

Appart from all of that I feel as if as far as my life is concerned I am adrift in a stormy sea. I am pretty sure I need to take time off from work for a vacation, its been awhile, and my last trip was not so relaxing. The thing is I don't vacation well alone, so I am not sure where I would go or what I would do. Plus work is a big factor with a lot of critical things coming up for this fall. All of which I have some part in and should be there for. I never pegged myself for being a workaholic but here I am. Lets just hope I don't burn out before I make the plans.

This weekend things are up in the air at the moment, so we will see what happens. I think I have a few different things that are going on and they are all equally as important.

Talk to you soon.

A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.

Quote from Jonathan Swift.

Well I had an interesting thing happened to me yesterday. I stopped into a CVS with my friend Melanie. While leaving I noticed a Sovereign Bank ATM. I figured that would be a good thing to remember since that is my bank and the other ATM's charge me a nice little fee to use them. As we were walking by though I noticed that there was money dispensed just sitting there in the tray. I went up and saw that there was a perfectly crisp $20 bill sitting there. My initial reaction was SCORE, but as quickly as it hit me it left. This was not my money and I had no right to walk off with it. I had visions of it belonging to an old woman who is on a fixed income coming back to collect once she realized her error, but it was just as likely that it could have belonged to some jerky teenager. The point that my mind set on was that it was not mine, so despite the fact that the line for the cashiers was long and I could have easily walked out the door free of repercussions I could not do it. So I what seemed like 10 minutes to give the money to someone. A guy in line who has being particularly difficult the cashier started paying attention to me, while I finally got the attention of another cashier. I told her what I found and where and she looked at me with this blank stare "as if to say what do you want me to do about it?" I said maybe you should give it to your manager and if anyone comes around looking for a $20 they misplaced you know who it belongs too. Sometimes I wonder about the next generation doesn't seem like the synapses are firing all the time. I gave her the money and walked away. For all I know she could have treated herself to a nice lunch who knows the point is it was not mine and I did the best I could. If I had taken it I would have felt guilty and it would have just been bad Karma, so for me it was a no brainer.

While Melanie and I were leaving the gentleman who has giving the cashier a hard time behind the counter came out of the store an called to me. Not sure of who was speaking to me and what they wanted I turned and saw him walking to his car. He said "I can't believe you waited in line for all that. I would have just taken the damn thing. Someone should write a story about you." Well I thought about it and decided to write it hear. Yes it does seem a bit self serving, but I am hoping that it will provide the catalyst for someone else to do a good gesture, regardless of the fact that I don't know if the $20 got back to its owner. The point is I made the effort and if more effort was made on a conscious level to do small gestures like that, then this world may be a better place. Who knows maybe the jerk at the counter won't be so rude next time. I can only hope.

Also need to mention that last night I went to a restaurant in Maynard called Monsoon. Finally after years of searching I can say that this place had the best recipe I have ever had for butter chicken. To those of you not familiar its an Indian Dish that I absolutely fell in love with over in England a few years back. I had yet to find a place stateside that would do it justice until last night. While everything was good, the chicken stole the show for me.

Anyways this weekend brings some adventures, I will be making a short film and visiting the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Edward Hopper exhibit. This is its last weekend so if anyone wanted to see it you better get a move on. I heard its next stop is MOMA and unless you want to truck all the way out to Western Ma you better get a move on.

Take care for now.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Well, I hope everyone is not disappointed with todays post. I have had a few friends comment on my lack of updates during the past week, and today I had two comments from complete strangers. So its time to give the public what they want.

Trust me a lot has happened in a week, its hard to say where to begin. Well lets start with the reviews.

First Cafe Jaffa is a lovely Middle Eastern Restaurant on Gloucester St. Where's that? Well its just off of Newbury Street. An excellent place for a first date in my opinion. It has great food at prices so reasonable you will be able to pick something up on Newbury St as you walk back up it to the park. The atmosphere is quite and quaint in a small location reminiscent of a pizza place. I can say from the experience that the Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) are a great appetizer served with a tahini sauce that I quite enjoyed. One of the best judges I have of a place like this is how good the rice pilaf is and it was excellent. You will find normal dishes that you would find at other middle eastern/greek restaurants but it all seems good and fresh. Since I was there on a Thursday there did not seem to be a crowd and the staff was happy to let us sit and talk awhile. Anyways if your on Newbury and want a nice place that won't smack you with pretense Cafe Jaffa is it.

Second Green Briar Pub, seems to be a nice spot in Brighton with a few creative dishes. The place is a little loud it is a pub after all but the food is good. There also seems to be quite a large college crowd, but given the location that is to be expected. I had a great salad finished up by a dessert that could have made up my caloric count for the day. Luckily I shared it. Chocolate Peanut butter Montechristo. All I can say is its chocolaty, and peanut buttery, and served between to pieces of French toast. It was great, and an indulgence I'll only do once.

Parish Cafe in Boston. 361 Boylston St to be specific. Its open late and I have been wanting to go for awhile. It turns out its a great place to go after a movie. I will talk about the movie later. The Restaurant is a great little place off the common and the defining factor here is its menu. The drink menu looked good but it was late and I did not feel like being to adventuresome so a rum and coke was the order of the evening. Anyways the menu here is what makes the difference. You see the sandwiches and the entrees are designed by the top chefs in Boston. For example you can tast sandwiches designed by Ming Tsai, Michael Shlow, Susan Regis, and Lydia Shire to name a few. The menu constantly changes but some favorites remain consistent. Even if you don't know those people and haven't dropped a few bills in their restaurants you can at least take comfort in knowing its damn good food and there sandwiches are no less excellent. I for one had the Summer Shack. It was a great fish sandwich designed by the one and only Jasper White. While desserts looked excellent we passed considering the time and the fact that we had a great hummus plate for an appetizer.

Before hand though I was able to watch one of the smaller movies thats come out this summer. Sunshine was its name. A small Sci-fi drama that told the story of a crew set out on a mission to restore our Sun to full strength since some cosmic accident had caused it to dim and caused a perpetual winter on Earth. Who's movie was this? None other than Dany Boyle whose previous movies include Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. Several elements of both films work there way into this movie. One of the things that this movie did was prove to me that Chris Evans can in fact act. Fantastic Four may have been a fantastic fan boy movie but it does nothing for the resume. Anyways good solid sci-fi story that would be a good alternative the normally serialized movies that come out in this genre. If you can't see it in the theater it would be a good rental.

Ok reviews aside. I know people are wondering about my life as well. Well I didn't go to any of these places alone, so it would be safe to say my relationship is Blooming (LOL) (Oh I'm pathetic). This weekend I had a great opportunity to meet some really cool people. I was a little nervous at first meeting them but after a little while it became obvious that I was starting to fit in. Personally I'd like to see them all again soon. They made me feel welcome and I look forward to the next time we get together. Eventually we'll see my friends and I think things should go as well. Saturday was a good time. We were out in Dudley which is closer to my old stomping grounds it was a nice day to be outside. There was great food, and better company. We even had a rather large fire. It cooled off quickly enough and fortunately the clouds were kept away because Saturday was the start of the Perseid Meteor Shower. Now you would have definitely been able to see more on Sunday at its peak but alas I was in the city then and there were clouds. Still though we could some. A lot were small bursts of light but there were a few larger meteors that hit at the right angle to glow and leave trails. I wish it was something I could have taken pictures of.

I'm sure there were will be ample opportunities to talk more about them in the future. Right now though I have more pressing news. In an incredible turn of events yours truly may end up on a TV screen near you. How is that possible you say without taking over the airwaves and cable companies. Well you get yourself on the television movement that has revolutionized TV in the past decade. Yes sir you get selected to be on a reality TV show. LOL which one ?! Well if you had to guess I wouldn't pick the Real World. Do in very large part to my friend Jessica we stand a very good chance of being selected to be on the next season of THE BIGGEST LOSER. I say very good because she's gotten the call backs now we just have to make a little movie about us and then we'll hear back in September sometime. I don't want to jinx anything so I won't say anymore, but this would be a great opportunity. Its not often you get a chance to be on TV; how can I walk away from that?

Well I think I have typed enough for one night. I hope that is given you all enough to think about for awhile. I'll talk to you all later and promise I won't skimp on the blogs again.

Good Night!

Dazed and Amused

I just read some of my older post from last week. Its funny how fast things can change. One minute your up the next your down. Frankly I though this universe owed me a break for what I've been dealing with. I was content to patiently wait for it too. I guess I didn't have to wait long. Its been a long time since I have been able to genuinely smile. I have found myself again and am finally finding that sense of inner peace I have been missing.

It does help to know that I had some friends help me along the way. Some of them are old friends, some will one day become old friends, some gave it there all to help and others helped by the simplest of conversations. There has even been one special person who in the short time I have known him has no idea of the impact he's had on me. The best part is that I think I have had an impact on him too.

While weeks ago I knew my life would be filled with possibilities and opportunities, I know now that it is a sure thing. A lot of things have changed in my life recently so much so that I find it hard to believe that I was so lost. The one thing that I do know is that I am me again, complete and whole. Just as it should be. That loss of identity is no longer a concern for I have remembered who I am and what I want from life and myself. As long as I remember to stay true to that I won't ever be that lost again.

Resonance

There can be no better affirmation of my recent metamorphosis than the last 24 hours. To say that they have been surreal does no justice to the sheer joy I feel, while to describe it in any real sense limits the elation I have. I once said I would keep you informed of any major developments and this would certainly qualify. I still do not know what the future holds but what good is living if you can't feel alive. During the past few days I have felt more alive than I have been in a long time. A co-worker of mine once told me of a theory of resonance. She said that people can get along at basic level, but every now and then some one can come along that you can connect to at many levels; so much so that the connection seems to resonate. That connection does not have to be romantic, but that is the connection of what I speak currently.

While the future remains a mystery to all, I can only hope to continue to live and make the best of it by making these memories.

48 Hours

I know I'm well into my 48 hours of freedom; that is otherwise known as the weekend. What can I say I'm lazy today. I wonder what this weekend will bring, I have some plans for later today. Not quite sure what they are maybe a movie or something. I know eventually laundry will factor into it.

I'll make this quick.

I have a lot of work today but I wanted to get these ideas down before I lost them.

Recently I have been realizing just how connected everything is. How every experience you have had can be connected to the present. How choices made years ago can affect the course of a night today. What the hell am I talking about? Well I had plans to go out last night. Plans that I was looking forward to all week. However as the day went on enough things had happened to put me in a sour mood for the evening. That is until I got a random call out of the blue from a friend. Not that it was completely unexpected we talk a few times a week so its not like it was completely odd. It just happened to be the timing. He happens to be my best friend and despite the fact that he had no knowledge of the fact that I needed to take to him he gave me call.

No earth shattering revelations were discussed but it was good to talk to him and it put me back into the right frame of mind I needed so that I could enjoy myself. It was a great night. In my mind it illustrated that everything happens for a reason, and if you treat people right and surround yourself with good friends it all comes back to help you in the end.

Enough pearly drops of wisdom for now. I'll talk to you all later.

Fini

Well yesterday I completed the move. Today I get to celebrate with someone. I'll let you know more about that at another time though. So my commute to work is super simple and my roommate seems very laid back which is cool. I have to admit I haven't been in a real social mood lately as you all could plainly see. So I'm looking forward to the weekend and doing something. I don't know what but I want to do something fun. I also set a date to go to Mohegan Sun with my mother. She wants to go down on a random Tuesday for some deal she gets off the morning buffet. It should be fun if not a little random. I have plenty of time so I might as well take it.

The next travel plans that I know of are in February when I head off to Vegas for work. It should be fun but that's still 6 months off into the future. I should plan to do something sooner. I thought about maybe visiting Seattle and since I'm by myself and no longer have to worry about scheduling time it should be easy. I just need to come up with the funds for the adventure. I would like to do it in October but I have a wedding to go to then at the beginning and the friend that I would visit there will be over here. Maybe I'll try to do something in September, I've had a desire to head down to NYC for a long weekend so I just may do that instead, or as well. What can I say the traveling bug has hit me.


Anyways off to the city tonight I'll talk to you all tomorrow.