I'm a fighter, not a lover.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Christmas ornaments

They were all there waiting for me when I returned.

A lifetime of glue and craft-store artifacts balancing on artificial tree limbs: the golden wreath constructed of painted macaroni pieces; the photo of Mandy, AKA, "The Greatest Dog Ever" that portrays her as just another canine; the beady-eyed Rudolph felt ornament that I had made in Cub Scouts, gluing said eye to my finger with a hot glue gun while under my mother's watch.

They don't go away.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Two years too late (at least)

For no discernible reason, I finally lifted my boycott on Friendster. For the past few years, I've openly mocked those who invited me to join. I've denounced those storytellers who recap dramatic reunions at the proverbial hands of Friendster. And, of course, I've outright dismissed those souls who've used the website as a tool to find love.

All that when it was actually cool to use Friendster. Now that it's not, now that it's lame and soooo 2003, I want in. I'm knocking down the doors. I'm taking over this ship. We're setting our course for uncharted waters: Davester!

I'm not sure what exactly did it.

On a long ride back to New York, fighting traffic with Shawn, I heard yet another tale of Friendster's benefits, but I don't think that it, really. Instead, I think Shawn simply pushed the thought of the web application to the front burner of my head and the next day--out of sheer frustration and boredom--it suddenly became so appealing. You see, yesterday (despite having worked in my new position for the last three-plus months) was the first time I was able to successfully log-in and input my hours into our time management software.

Given that I work within creative services and bill hourly, this is pretty important. So yesterday, somewhere amidst inputting weeks worth on hours on about 25 or 30 different projects, the idea of creating a Friendster profile sounded very appealing.

Let the mocking begin. I've got it coming, especially from all those who'd invited me in the past. Chances are, I've been jeering you for the last two and a half years.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Christmas travels, by car

Brooklyn to Tewksbury, Massachusetts.

Tewksbury to Bethel, Maine.

Bethel to Tewksbury.

Tewksbury to Billerica, Massachusetts.

Billerica to Methuen, Massachusetts.

Methuen to Tewksbury.

Tewksbury to Whitman, Massachusetts.

Whitman to Brooklyn.

And now, back at work. Two more Christmas events next weekend. (I need a nap.)

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

All the stages of my life - revisited in a week's time

It seems that way anyway.

Tonight, it's dinner with an old roommate, Prashant, and our then-neighbor, Erin -- my comrades from Florida. (DMO trivia: When I was 19, I spent a summer in Florida working as a "custodial host" for Walt Disney World. Disney considered it an internship. My college did not.)

Tomorrow, dinner with my college ex-girlfriend, the second encounter with her since moving back East. The last one, in October, was comfortable and amusing enough, but represented our first face-to-face in two and a half years or so.

Next week, thanks to a Use-it-or-lose-it vacation policy, I'll be heading to Northern New Hampshire and Western Maine just before Christmas, visiting more ghosts of DMOs past.

The Snobox

As I mentioned a while back, Adam and I are renting a room and a lovely and wholly dilapidated establishment in Wilmington, Vermont affectionately known as the Snobox. It's a great place to spend a weekend. Here are some photos of our wood-paneled accommodations.


(This one taken by Adam a while back.)


Downstairs fireplace and living room.


Downstairs quasi-functional kitchen.


Upstairs fireplace and living room.


Upstairs kitchen.


Baseball game thing.


Note the use of old beer cans as decorating accents.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Reason number 1,387 why I hate Verizon

I am currently on hold disputing a $.22 (that's TWENTY-TWO CENT!) bill with the aforementioned company.*







*Note: I am not currently a Verizon customer.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

The thing about getting older is…

Remember, back in elementary school, when dating important times table or penmanship worksheets, weeks after the New Year, you'd mark the previous year? Well that's what today feels like, only it's December.

It's incredible and slightly frightening how fast the calendar flips after college. Yesterday, I even happened to peruse the "2005" Smart playlist on the iPod. Sure enough, there were close to a couple thousand tracks. Those that were released (or leaked) early in 2005 sounded like ghosts from years back.

2006? Hmm.