If there's one time a year that justifies consuming a copious amount of unhealthy food and drink, we're in it right now. I have treated the last two weeks like a polar bear closing in on a hibernation period. And boy has it been a glorious time...
Somewhere in the mix of holiday cookies, thick and creamy winter beverages, an abundance of party-time munchies, and delicious carb-heavy beer, I may have snuck in a salad or two, but don't hold me to that. I feel like most people get a little more laid back with their diets during the holiday season, so why should I be any different? Listen, I'm a healthy person. I enjoy running and working out on a regular basis, as I feel it's great for body and mind alike. But you know what's not great for body and mind, at least for me? Turning into one of those health-aholics who sacrifices life's pleasures for a vegan diet and a 4:00AM run in the snow when the temp is in the single digits.
For the next 4 and a half months of my life, I'll be on a regular diet and workout routine while balancing a full-time job and a part time job. Oh, and then there's my final semester's worth of classes serving as a cherry on top of the aforementioned diarrhea sundae. So with that looming, why on earth would I not sit back and enjoy the sugar-filled delight that is the last couple weeks of December?
Oddly, I'm not obese yet. Even stranger, I've dropped a couple L-Bs. Truth be told, I don't think anyone has a concept of the gain and loss of weight of the people around them unless it's a visually significant difference. I've had people tell me that I look like I lost weight when I actually have gained it and vice versa. Beauty's only skin deep anyways, just one of many other fantastic justifications of a holiday eating binge.
I also must mention that the reason this topic is coming up now is because it ties in directly to my lack of blogging. It's a lazy period in life, and I do intend to be more on point with entries once I get my routine groove back. But for the remainder of this week, I shall indulge a bit and hope to gain some new anecdotes for my return to the blogosphere.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
The Halpert-Beesly Connection
Yo Shmir, HOLLA BOO! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER I LOVE YOU!!!!!! I find it fitting that this entry falls on your burfday as you love the subject also. See you in a week!
One of the greatest decisions I made in 2009 was getting into the hit NBC series the Office. The show is excessively entertaining, to the point that I would prefer watching reruns of it to having contact with other human beings, unless of course they're watching it with me.
The humor is up my alley, the plot is solid, and the characters are extremely unique while still maintaining undeniable chemistry with their colleagues. But this entry is about one pair's chemistry specifically. Yes, I am talking about my favorite TV couple of all time, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly/Halpert (Jenna Fischer).
From as early as the first episode we are thrown into the daily interactions of Jim and Pam at the office. Their connection is evident, but Pam is locked down in a serious relationship already with a loser named Roy, and we see that Pam's personality isn't the risk-taking, follow-your-heart type. Jim watches as she goes through the motions with this other guy, while slowly dying inside as he becomes resigned to their relationship being one of friendship and not romance. Painfully, we trudge through the second season with him until eventually in the finale he drops the bomb on Pam that he loves her. Anyhow, they're married now, so you know the story's got a happy ending and I can spare going through a chronology of every single event pertaining to their relationship. That's not the point of me writing this anyway, because you should already know that stuff since the Office is awesome and you should be watching it...
Jim and Pam's romance is so subtly beautiful, so out of the spotlight. They make each other laugh consistently, and mesh very well to form one comedic unit when doing a joint scene. When they have "a moment" it's simple, yet engaging. They fight infrequently, and only really battle it out when it concerns an issue of importance. (NOTE: I think there's a misconception that couples need to fight alot and that it's a natural thing. This couldn't be further from the truth from my personal encounters with legit love. Every couple has their disputes for sure, but the good ones have fewer because they resolve issues and since they are well suited for each other they don't have any issues that get so big that they become deal-breakers. Just my personal experience)Krasinski and Fischer play the parts superbly, nailing every emotion that one might feel while in the courtship process with their future spouse. The actors are so spot on, in fact, that you feel like they must have this relationship with each other in real life. I'm definitely a sucker, but I was shocked to find out that Krasinski and Fischer were both engaged to other people in the real world. The whole back-and-forth between the two just feels like realistic love, not the over-manufactured kind you normally get out of the entertainment industry.
The Halpert-Beesly connection may actually be more accurately classified as a phenomenon of sorts. A television romance that seems loving and healthy is one thing. A television romance that seems completely believable?
Well that's an entirely different thing all together. While I certainly am a huge sap, I doubt I'm in the minority of people who watch the show and don't envy that unquestionable sense of finding "the one" like Jim and Pam. I may be the only male around to go out on a cheesy limb and voice my adoration of a fictional romance, nethertheless I feel incredibly inclined to do so.
Okay, now that I've covered the Halperts as a couple I should probably mention why if Jim hadn't married Pam I certainly would have. As far as personality, I dig the whole soft spoken, sweetheart vibe. Pam fits that to a tee. She's a loyal dame who knows a good thing when she sees it, and unlike a large portion of the female population, will break things off with a loser. It seems that the majority of girls these days would rather bitch about their jerk boyfriends than actually give the time of day to a genuinely good guy. Pam ditched the jerk, and went with the winner. In the looks department: She's never too flashy around the office, just dresses pretty modestly and sports her natural good looks. Total cutie. She pulls off the rare "stunning but unaware of it" thing, a diamond in the office rough if you will.
I have to admit though, as lovely as the two are, they aren't flawless. I have to be honest about the situation. In a perfect world, Pam would've made the move to Jim, and ditched Roy sooner. Also, Pam and Jim wouldn't have a kid before they were married. Still, my perception the relationship in untarnished. The positive aspects clearly outweigh the negative ones, but I did feel it necessary to state both.
Now that I've sufficiently embarrassed myself by making the little Office-fantasy-world I live in public knowledge, I shall conclude. For the record, my future wife will make Pam look like a sorority girl by comparison. And I don't condone obsessing over make believe people, but every once in a while, make believe does make some sense. Exhibit A: The Jim-Pam Connection.
One of the greatest decisions I made in 2009 was getting into the hit NBC series the Office. The show is excessively entertaining, to the point that I would prefer watching reruns of it to having contact with other human beings, unless of course they're watching it with me.
The humor is up my alley, the plot is solid, and the characters are extremely unique while still maintaining undeniable chemistry with their colleagues. But this entry is about one pair's chemistry specifically. Yes, I am talking about my favorite TV couple of all time, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly/Halpert (Jenna Fischer).From as early as the first episode we are thrown into the daily interactions of Jim and Pam at the office. Their connection is evident, but Pam is locked down in a serious relationship already with a loser named Roy, and we see that Pam's personality isn't the risk-taking, follow-your-heart type. Jim watches as she goes through the motions with this other guy, while slowly dying inside as he becomes resigned to their relationship being one of friendship and not romance. Painfully, we trudge through the second season with him until eventually in the finale he drops the bomb on Pam that he loves her. Anyhow, they're married now, so you know the story's got a happy ending and I can spare going through a chronology of every single event pertaining to their relationship. That's not the point of me writing this anyway, because you should already know that stuff since the Office is awesome and you should be watching it...
Jim and Pam's romance is so subtly beautiful, so out of the spotlight. They make each other laugh consistently, and mesh very well to form one comedic unit when doing a joint scene. When they have "a moment" it's simple, yet engaging. They fight infrequently, and only really battle it out when it concerns an issue of importance. (NOTE: I think there's a misconception that couples need to fight alot and that it's a natural thing. This couldn't be further from the truth from my personal encounters with legit love. Every couple has their disputes for sure, but the good ones have fewer because they resolve issues and since they are well suited for each other they don't have any issues that get so big that they become deal-breakers. Just my personal experience)Krasinski and Fischer play the parts superbly, nailing every emotion that one might feel while in the courtship process with their future spouse. The actors are so spot on, in fact, that you feel like they must have this relationship with each other in real life. I'm definitely a sucker, but I was shocked to find out that Krasinski and Fischer were both engaged to other people in the real world. The whole back-and-forth between the two just feels like realistic love, not the over-manufactured kind you normally get out of the entertainment industry.
The Halpert-Beesly connection may actually be more accurately classified as a phenomenon of sorts. A television romance that seems loving and healthy is one thing. A television romance that seems completely believable?
Well that's an entirely different thing all together. While I certainly am a huge sap, I doubt I'm in the minority of people who watch the show and don't envy that unquestionable sense of finding "the one" like Jim and Pam. I may be the only male around to go out on a cheesy limb and voice my adoration of a fictional romance, nethertheless I feel incredibly inclined to do so.Okay, now that I've covered the Halperts as a couple I should probably mention why if Jim hadn't married Pam I certainly would have. As far as personality, I dig the whole soft spoken, sweetheart vibe. Pam fits that to a tee. She's a loyal dame who knows a good thing when she sees it, and unlike a large portion of the female population, will break things off with a loser. It seems that the majority of girls these days would rather bitch about their jerk boyfriends than actually give the time of day to a genuinely good guy. Pam ditched the jerk, and went with the winner. In the looks department: She's never too flashy around the office, just dresses pretty modestly and sports her natural good looks. Total cutie. She pulls off the rare "stunning but unaware of it" thing, a diamond in the office rough if you will.
I have to admit though, as lovely as the two are, they aren't flawless. I have to be honest about the situation. In a perfect world, Pam would've made the move to Jim, and ditched Roy sooner. Also, Pam and Jim wouldn't have a kid before they were married. Still, my perception the relationship in untarnished. The positive aspects clearly outweigh the negative ones, but I did feel it necessary to state both.
Now that I've sufficiently embarrassed myself by making the little Office-fantasy-world I live in public knowledge, I shall conclude. For the record, my future wife will make Pam look like a sorority girl by comparison. And I don't condone obsessing over make believe people, but every once in a while, make believe does make some sense. Exhibit A: The Jim-Pam Connection.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Hump-Day Lemonade
I'm not sure whether I'm writing this entry because I have anything at all to write about or whether I have just kept up a torrid blogging pace and wish to continue it as long as I can. 
Either way, here's some Wednesday lemonade...
- How long have people referred to Wednesday as hump-day for? I'm dead serious when I say that I originally thought that the term was coined by college students who were attempting to appoint Wednesday as a day of promiscuity. Speaking of college and taking someone for a ride...
- This college textbook thing is utterly ridiculous. And I bring it up for two reasons. Firstly, I think the whole process is getting worse. Secondly, I can't believe I didn't capitalize financially on the flaws in the system in any of my 632 years at Temple. I should have made a living off this while in college. Alas, it's too late now, and my last few semesters haven't been bad at all book-wise anyway. Most professors are aware that Liberal Arts majors are going to be making annually what half of one of those giant textbooks cost for one semester of use. All those big money majors require the book to complete the work, and the books cost an arm and a leg. Then again, the big money major people graduate and make and arm, a leg, a head, and the entire rest of the body.
- I have to give Briggsy a shout-out for renewing her vows with blogging. I saw her comment on Liz's blog and wondered if she was back in the game. Not only had she written on back-to-back days, but there was a name drop for me. I was pumped, although I'm taking it slow with the whole situation. See Briggsy's blog is like 94.1 WYSP on my car radio's presets. I'll check it on a reg, but it usually has nothing on (nothing written). I'll start losing hope and checking far less frequently, and right when I'm about to take it off my presets for good (off my list of blogs to check) it delivers a stellar song (blog entry) and temporarily restores my faith in it. What to do, what to do...
- I am obsessed with nicknames and aliases, I really don't know when this happened. I'm guessing circa 2001, but it may have been earlier. Some people dig it (they should), some people think it's weird as heck (they should), but either way I have to face the truth about it. I think it's because I'm hood, and a lot of people go by something else down here. But if my estimation is correct, the nickname craze started around the time I began attending Delaware County Cracker Christian School. I do know, however, that Havertown crew nurtured this tendency within me. Dennis actually changes peoples names so often in his phonebook that he forgets what he called them last, thus temporarily losing their digits. I find this absolutely hilarious.
- I don't want to be a broken record about this, so it will be the last time I bring it up on my blog for at least 2 weeks, but man am I thrilled to have made the fantasy playoffs. Anyone who knows anything about fantasy football would look at this situation and say I was one lucky duck to make the cut. On a dork scale of 1-10 with 1 being G-Love and 10 being my Uncle, well...let's just say that you'd be able to tell that we were related on your nerd-o-meter. I am guaranteeing a first round exit for team "Ned needs a Cig" because I'm talking about it so much. It's bound to happen...
- I'm on a hot-streak this week. Just in the zone. I pounded out one of the most difficult assignments I've had in my academic career. Following that, the last paragraph happened to me. Then I busted out what should be my strongest speech of the semester and as of 8:30ish in the PM tomorrow, I'll be done the bane of my existence, Public Speaking Class. It's still a mystery to me why the class was so painful for me. I'm a big mouth, plain and simple. I'll talk to anyone, at any time, eating any flavor of ikeem I so choose. And I don't care what the weather's like, it's never too cold for ikeem.
Coming soon...hopefully...
Me blog-gushing over Jim and Pam.
Either way, here's some Wednesday lemonade...- How long have people referred to Wednesday as hump-day for? I'm dead serious when I say that I originally thought that the term was coined by college students who were attempting to appoint Wednesday as a day of promiscuity. Speaking of college and taking someone for a ride...
- This college textbook thing is utterly ridiculous. And I bring it up for two reasons. Firstly, I think the whole process is getting worse. Secondly, I can't believe I didn't capitalize financially on the flaws in the system in any of my 632 years at Temple. I should have made a living off this while in college. Alas, it's too late now, and my last few semesters haven't been bad at all book-wise anyway. Most professors are aware that Liberal Arts majors are going to be making annually what half of one of those giant textbooks cost for one semester of use. All those big money majors require the book to complete the work, and the books cost an arm and a leg. Then again, the big money major people graduate and make and arm, a leg, a head, and the entire rest of the body.
- I have to give Briggsy a shout-out for renewing her vows with blogging. I saw her comment on Liz's blog and wondered if she was back in the game. Not only had she written on back-to-back days, but there was a name drop for me. I was pumped, although I'm taking it slow with the whole situation. See Briggsy's blog is like 94.1 WYSP on my car radio's presets. I'll check it on a reg, but it usually has nothing on (nothing written). I'll start losing hope and checking far less frequently, and right when I'm about to take it off my presets for good (off my list of blogs to check) it delivers a stellar song (blog entry) and temporarily restores my faith in it. What to do, what to do...
- I am obsessed with nicknames and aliases, I really don't know when this happened. I'm guessing circa 2001, but it may have been earlier. Some people dig it (they should), some people think it's weird as heck (they should), but either way I have to face the truth about it. I think it's because I'm hood, and a lot of people go by something else down here. But if my estimation is correct, the nickname craze started around the time I began attending Delaware County Cracker Christian School. I do know, however, that Havertown crew nurtured this tendency within me. Dennis actually changes peoples names so often in his phonebook that he forgets what he called them last, thus temporarily losing their digits. I find this absolutely hilarious.
- I don't want to be a broken record about this, so it will be the last time I bring it up on my blog for at least 2 weeks, but man am I thrilled to have made the fantasy playoffs. Anyone who knows anything about fantasy football would look at this situation and say I was one lucky duck to make the cut. On a dork scale of 1-10 with 1 being G-Love and 10 being my Uncle, well...let's just say that you'd be able to tell that we were related on your nerd-o-meter. I am guaranteeing a first round exit for team "Ned needs a Cig" because I'm talking about it so much. It's bound to happen...
- I'm on a hot-streak this week. Just in the zone. I pounded out one of the most difficult assignments I've had in my academic career. Following that, the last paragraph happened to me. Then I busted out what should be my strongest speech of the semester and as of 8:30ish in the PM tomorrow, I'll be done the bane of my existence, Public Speaking Class. It's still a mystery to me why the class was so painful for me. I'm a big mouth, plain and simple. I'll talk to anyone, at any time, eating any flavor of ikeem I so choose. And I don't care what the weather's like, it's never too cold for ikeem.
Coming soon...hopefully...
Me blog-gushing over Jim and Pam.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Missed Call Protocol
I thought that the next big war to start between friends would be the epic one between bicyclists and car drivers. I told Rob it's only a matter of time before he blows through a red light and I hit him, and have to live the rest of my life with his death on my conscience.
He simply agrees, and feels no remorse that this will eventually come to pass, nor has any plans to change his Grand Theft Auto style of city biking. Anyways, that is not going to be the next war among friends. What is? Missed Call Protocol.
I have always argued that leaving a 3 second message is better than not leaving anything at all. I don't receive approximately 1 in 20 calls that are made to my cellie. I don't know where they go, but unless a message is left, I have no evidence that you dialed this brotha up. This often leads to an exchange that goes like this:
Me: Really, _____ happened. Why didn't you call me?!?!
Friend: I did call you, you didn't pick up.
Me: I didn't get any call from you. Did you leave a message?
Friend: No
Me: LEAVE ME A MESSAGE!!!!!!
Sometimes, if I am busy and get a missed call with no corresponding voicemail, I don't call back. If something is important enough to warrant a call-back, I assume a message would have been left. Or at least a follow-up text to the phone call. Alot of people are not like me in this regard. They hate receiving brief v-mails, I guess the 10 seconds to go into their phone and listen to the message is just too taxing of a job. They say they will just see the missed call and get back to whoever was trying to get in touch with them. Well that may work for some, but not for this guy. As I say in my v-mail recording, leave a message and I'll get back to ya. Excellent.
On a side note, I think that fantasy football remains at the top of the list of things that the average woman just would not understand about a man. In our fantasy league, every member is financially stable or will be within the next couple months, so a cash prize of 200, 75, or 25 bucks isn't worth getting up in arms about. But making the playoffs is still a huge deal. There's an underlying issue of pride one takes in their fantasy football squad, one that a monetary value cannot be placed on. So when I very unexpectedly made the playoffs and kept my championship hopes alive, at least for one more week, it single-handedly rejuvenated me from one of the longest scholastic assignments I have ever completed. It's the spark I will ride to finish a strong semester with a bang.
Good luck to all who are in the playoffs and congrats to "The Green Bleeders and Dan" fantasy football league for the most competitive regular season we've ever had.
He simply agrees, and feels no remorse that this will eventually come to pass, nor has any plans to change his Grand Theft Auto style of city biking. Anyways, that is not going to be the next war among friends. What is? Missed Call Protocol. I have always argued that leaving a 3 second message is better than not leaving anything at all. I don't receive approximately 1 in 20 calls that are made to my cellie. I don't know where they go, but unless a message is left, I have no evidence that you dialed this brotha up. This often leads to an exchange that goes like this:
Me: Really, _____ happened. Why didn't you call me?!?!
Friend: I did call you, you didn't pick up.
Me: I didn't get any call from you. Did you leave a message?
Friend: No
Me: LEAVE ME A MESSAGE!!!!!!
Sometimes, if I am busy and get a missed call with no corresponding voicemail, I don't call back. If something is important enough to warrant a call-back, I assume a message would have been left. Or at least a follow-up text to the phone call. Alot of people are not like me in this regard. They hate receiving brief v-mails, I guess the 10 seconds to go into their phone and listen to the message is just too taxing of a job. They say they will just see the missed call and get back to whoever was trying to get in touch with them. Well that may work for some, but not for this guy. As I say in my v-mail recording, leave a message and I'll get back to ya. Excellent.
On a side note, I think that fantasy football remains at the top of the list of things that the average woman just would not understand about a man. In our fantasy league, every member is financially stable or will be within the next couple months, so a cash prize of 200, 75, or 25 bucks isn't worth getting up in arms about. But making the playoffs is still a huge deal. There's an underlying issue of pride one takes in their fantasy football squad, one that a monetary value cannot be placed on. So when I very unexpectedly made the playoffs and kept my championship hopes alive, at least for one more week, it single-handedly rejuvenated me from one of the longest scholastic assignments I have ever completed. It's the spark I will ride to finish a strong semester with a bang.
Good luck to all who are in the playoffs and congrats to "The Green Bleeders and Dan" fantasy football league for the most competitive regular season we've ever had.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Taking a Monday breather to post some Commercial Favs
So I figured I would throw together a few of my favorite commercials (or series' of commercials) because...well, I felt like doing it. NOTE: This list is far from complete, and only encompasses those commercials which were totally off the top of my head. At some point I'll make a more elaborate list...
1) What's not to love about this commercial? The cool jazz music frames the whole shoot. First we got an average joe shooting pool with buddies with commentary dubbed over by some dude with a smooth voice. Then we got him going home and playing with his Paps, who clearly taught his son everything in his arsenal but still could school him cause he rolls like that. Add to it the fact that everyone's sipping whisky on the rocks, and you've got a perfect recipe for a money-advertisement.
2) I may be in the minority, but for some reason, this series of commercials slays me. They appeal to the side of me that finds humor in the most wildly absurd and random ideas.
3) The concept of the wingman is essential to understanding man-love at its best. The fact that you can put together an over-the-top cast of characters and add the perfect background song, and boom! A perfect beer commercial.
4) I already wrote a blog about this commercial (http://ryforry.blogspot.com/2009/04/c-r-e-e-p-y-sweet-pea.html) so I'll just post it. There's no way that anyone hasn't seen this yet. Still, popular doesn't aaaaaaalways mean bad.
Ok, time to get back to the big fat poopy that is finals week. Peace out.
1) What's not to love about this commercial? The cool jazz music frames the whole shoot. First we got an average joe shooting pool with buddies with commentary dubbed over by some dude with a smooth voice. Then we got him going home and playing with his Paps, who clearly taught his son everything in his arsenal but still could school him cause he rolls like that. Add to it the fact that everyone's sipping whisky on the rocks, and you've got a perfect recipe for a money-advertisement.
2) I may be in the minority, but for some reason, this series of commercials slays me. They appeal to the side of me that finds humor in the most wildly absurd and random ideas.
3) The concept of the wingman is essential to understanding man-love at its best. The fact that you can put together an over-the-top cast of characters and add the perfect background song, and boom! A perfect beer commercial.
4) I already wrote a blog about this commercial (http://ryforry.blogspot.com/2009/04/c-r-e-e-p-y-sweet-pea.html) so I'll just post it. There's no way that anyone hasn't seen this yet. Still, popular doesn't aaaaaaalways mean bad.
Ok, time to get back to the big fat poopy that is finals week. Peace out.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Wandering Thoughts
Life's an odd bird. As slowly as time seems to pass on occasion, the whole beautiful, convoluted and crazy experience is over before you know it. I'm one night's sleep away from an extremely important 2-week stretch that will impact the following month dramatically. But after that month? Well, it will all just becomes a memory. Keeping this in mind as I sweat through projects, finals studies, and employment logistics is absolutely essential to sanity. Easier said than done.
Sunday night for me is always a mental roller coaster of sorts. My hopes, dreams and anxieties for the week to come are further packed into my head by feelings and reflections on the weekend upon its conclusion. I have a lot of trouble sorting it all out, and I end up getting a far from sleep-filled night most of the time. I wonder if this type of thing happens to all over-thinkers? I'd imagine anyone who battles anxiety loses their fair share of Z's. It's just built into that type of personality mold in my opinion. And if you don't have it, at least to some extent, then you don't really get it. The people who "don't get it" are the people who will say things like "don't worry about it" or "settle down". It's not their fault at all for not understanding. If people's minds process things completely differently, we can't all be expected to know how to deal with each other. Heck, if I don't know how to deal with what's going on inside the countless crevices of my brain, why should I expect anyone else to? Okay, this is getting vague and wordy, and I would attempt to get back on track, if of course, I had a track at all...
And maybe that's the point of this whole late night outburst. A lot of aspects of life really aren't making sense, because when you don't have a track/road/course to follow, you just end up in a maze of different experiences that don't feel like they're leading to any place in particular. Tolkien wrote that "not all who wander are lost". I'd know my wandering mode is leading to ultimate purpose, it's just difficult to see sometimes on those late Sunday nights when life is easy to over-think.
Sunday night for me is always a mental roller coaster of sorts. My hopes, dreams and anxieties for the week to come are further packed into my head by feelings and reflections on the weekend upon its conclusion. I have a lot of trouble sorting it all out, and I end up getting a far from sleep-filled night most of the time. I wonder if this type of thing happens to all over-thinkers? I'd imagine anyone who battles anxiety loses their fair share of Z's. It's just built into that type of personality mold in my opinion. And if you don't have it, at least to some extent, then you don't really get it. The people who "don't get it" are the people who will say things like "don't worry about it" or "settle down". It's not their fault at all for not understanding. If people's minds process things completely differently, we can't all be expected to know how to deal with each other. Heck, if I don't know how to deal with what's going on inside the countless crevices of my brain, why should I expect anyone else to? Okay, this is getting vague and wordy, and I would attempt to get back on track, if of course, I had a track at all...
And maybe that's the point of this whole late night outburst. A lot of aspects of life really aren't making sense, because when you don't have a track/road/course to follow, you just end up in a maze of different experiences that don't feel like they're leading to any place in particular. Tolkien wrote that "not all who wander are lost". I'd know my wandering mode is leading to ultimate purpose, it's just difficult to see sometimes on those late Sunday nights when life is easy to over-think.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Blue-Eyed Soul
I stumbled onto a genre name that may most eloquently describe my style as a mediocre musician. Heck, I'd like to think "Blue-Eyed Soul" could even represent my style as a person. I know, I know, there's no bleepin way that I'm cool enough to pull it off after talking about it in my dorky white blog post. But let's say for a second that I'm not a narcissistic cornball, and weigh the benefits of using "Blue-Eyed Soul" to reference me.
For starters, I got blue eyes. Check. That's undeniable, and I can't possibly be faulted for making this my manta in regards to that aspect of it in the very least. The second part is debatable. I think stylistically, I write soulful stuff. A lot of minor and seventh chords, jazzy and impassioned lyrics that don't leave the listener questioning how I felt when I wrote the tune. Have I been through enough trying situations in my life to really have that "soul" quality in my voice? Definitely not, and I would never claim to. But still, pain/experience/life: it's all relative, and I think my tone lends itself well to the B.E.S. categorization.
I could also use the B.E.S. acronym, pronounced "bess" to be my hip-hop alias when I'm freestyling with the brothas. Last time, I was asked by Kaos(chaos) and J-Deez what my name was, and I just hesitantly said Ry. Scott chimed in "Ry for Ry" but I wasn't really feeling it. I don't have shame in my name, but let's face it, artists need aliases. "Bes" kind of sounds like a hood rat trying to pronounce "best" which is money, resonates way more ghetto-fabulously than any form of the name "Ryan", and is an acronym for the central theme of this blog and my intended style: Blue-Eyed Soul.
The whole "Blue-eyed soul" subject reminds me of this music video I distinctly remember seeing a few years back. It featured a white R&B artist who took flowers to his woman. Upon arriving at her place on his bike, she dumped him, leaving the brother broken-hearted and with a useless bouquet of roses. As the songs progresses however, he breaks the world record for fastest-rebound-after-a-serious-relationship by giving the flowers out to random babes he sees walking the streets. I swear this video existed.
Does anyone have any idea who this artist was, or even have a recollection of this video or did I completely dream it up?
For starters, I got blue eyes. Check. That's undeniable, and I can't possibly be faulted for making this my manta in regards to that aspect of it in the very least. The second part is debatable. I think stylistically, I write soulful stuff. A lot of minor and seventh chords, jazzy and impassioned lyrics that don't leave the listener questioning how I felt when I wrote the tune. Have I been through enough trying situations in my life to really have that "soul" quality in my voice? Definitely not, and I would never claim to. But still, pain/experience/life: it's all relative, and I think my tone lends itself well to the B.E.S. categorization.
I could also use the B.E.S. acronym, pronounced "bess" to be my hip-hop alias when I'm freestyling with the brothas. Last time, I was asked by Kaos(chaos) and J-Deez what my name was, and I just hesitantly said Ry. Scott chimed in "Ry for Ry" but I wasn't really feeling it. I don't have shame in my name, but let's face it, artists need aliases. "Bes" kind of sounds like a hood rat trying to pronounce "best" which is money, resonates way more ghetto-fabulously than any form of the name "Ryan", and is an acronym for the central theme of this blog and my intended style: Blue-Eyed Soul.
The whole "Blue-eyed soul" subject reminds me of this music video I distinctly remember seeing a few years back. It featured a white R&B artist who took flowers to his woman. Upon arriving at her place on his bike, she dumped him, leaving the brother broken-hearted and with a useless bouquet of roses. As the songs progresses however, he breaks the world record for fastest-rebound-after-a-serious-relationship by giving the flowers out to random babes he sees walking the streets. I swear this video existed.
Does anyone have any idea who this artist was, or even have a recollection of this video or did I completely dream it up?
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Poopy
2 (YES!) Notes before I begin:
1) The following was started before Scotty's blog on bathroom etiquette, but was unfinished at the time of his fantastic post.(http://sdyes.blogspot.com/2009/10/serious-of-unfortunate-eventsin.html) Either way, there should never be a quota on how many people are allowed to touch on a poo-issue.
2) If you have a weak stomach when it comes to any issues involving restrooms, you may not want to read this entry.
OK, with those disclaimers out of the way, let's get into this mess.....
Why is defecation so uncomfortable for most people to talk about? There are so many poo-related issues but no official bathroom code on them. Why is it that you reach a certain age, and suddenly, the shit is off limits? Let's air out this situation together, shall we?
"Poopy" is one of my favorite words in the english language. Actually, I'm not positive it's in the dictionary, but I'll check that after I'm finished this post. Still, it's fun to say and it brings me back to an age of innocence. I was out playing quizzo at Iron Hill Brewery and the team names had to be one word. The man on the mic (Quizzo Master? Quizzo Coordinator? I don't know) read the names one by one. When he announced team "poopy" I laughed so hard I almost created their mascot. I mean, that is genius, and unexpected given the sophisticated atmosphere Iron Hill typically exemplifies.
Pooping can be an incredibly enjoyable experience. It can be a quiet (maybe quiet) break from the daily grind, a great period to text or think, or some much needed catch-up time on your latest reading material. Heck, one of my favorite Ryan-trademarked sayings originated from the anticipation of needing a potty break.
All you do is text "poo brew" to a friend (or enemy) and let them know that you will be indisposed indefinitely. Do they need to know this? Probably not, but the idea of letting someone random in your phonebook know that you got a chocolate sundae "brewing" so to speak is hilarious, and convenient if they wonder why you're not picking up your phone for them. Unless you enjoy casual convo on the pooper which is a whole nother story.
Females add a totally different dynamic to pooping. I have friends who are in their mid-20s and still attempt to convince themselves on a daily basis that girls don't do twosies. Add to that the fact that most guys like to wait a given amount of time before dumping at a gal's house if they're into her, and we're led to believe that there's something wrong with us because our body's way of letting go of waste travels through Rectum Road. Just the other week, my Mom had a friend over to the house who had to take a smash. Since we don't have a fan or a spray can of potpourri, she left the door partially cracked open in a move that reeked of both her lunch and her embarrasment. And I couldn't blame her, because that's a naturally awkward situation given the times we live in. I would've given her mad props and been shocked simultaneously if she had barged out, left the door wide open and declared, "Boy do I feel better now!"
I'll tell you what did not make me feel better: getting a new toilet in our upstairs bathroom.
Toilets are referred to as thrones, but a king's legs aren't supposed to be restricted on his throne. There was a perfect amount of space up there before, and after the switcheroo it became less comfortable than it once was. I will say this about the upstairs b-room: The side of the sink is perfectly aligned to rest a labtop or book/magazine on while handling some business. And a person's comfort is always key in their place of business. I have friends that will avoid dropping a deuce McAllister outside of their home by any means necessary. I'm definitely not like that, but would certainly never judge another for how they handle their poopy.
There are probably people who did not heed my fair warning and felt uncomfortable just reading this post. I think it a crying shame that this might be the case. In a perfect world we would talk openly about the crap we're feeling, maybe even sing about it....
People...I don't care whether you comment on this post in the AM or the PM just please, bring something to the table on BMs.
1) The following was started before Scotty's blog on bathroom etiquette, but was unfinished at the time of his fantastic post.(http://sdyes.blogspot.com/2009/10/serious-of-unfortunate-eventsin.html) Either way, there should never be a quota on how many people are allowed to touch on a poo-issue.
2) If you have a weak stomach when it comes to any issues involving restrooms, you may not want to read this entry.
OK, with those disclaimers out of the way, let's get into this mess.....
Why is defecation so uncomfortable for most people to talk about? There are so many poo-related issues but no official bathroom code on them. Why is it that you reach a certain age, and suddenly, the shit is off limits? Let's air out this situation together, shall we?
"Poopy" is one of my favorite words in the english language. Actually, I'm not positive it's in the dictionary, but I'll check that after I'm finished this post. Still, it's fun to say and it brings me back to an age of innocence. I was out playing quizzo at Iron Hill Brewery and the team names had to be one word. The man on the mic (Quizzo Master? Quizzo Coordinator? I don't know) read the names one by one. When he announced team "poopy" I laughed so hard I almost created their mascot. I mean, that is genius, and unexpected given the sophisticated atmosphere Iron Hill typically exemplifies.
Pooping can be an incredibly enjoyable experience. It can be a quiet (maybe quiet) break from the daily grind, a great period to text or think, or some much needed catch-up time on your latest reading material. Heck, one of my favorite Ryan-trademarked sayings originated from the anticipation of needing a potty break.
All you do is text "poo brew" to a friend (or enemy) and let them know that you will be indisposed indefinitely. Do they need to know this? Probably not, but the idea of letting someone random in your phonebook know that you got a chocolate sundae "brewing" so to speak is hilarious, and convenient if they wonder why you're not picking up your phone for them. Unless you enjoy casual convo on the pooper which is a whole nother story.
Females add a totally different dynamic to pooping. I have friends who are in their mid-20s and still attempt to convince themselves on a daily basis that girls don't do twosies. Add to that the fact that most guys like to wait a given amount of time before dumping at a gal's house if they're into her, and we're led to believe that there's something wrong with us because our body's way of letting go of waste travels through Rectum Road. Just the other week, my Mom had a friend over to the house who had to take a smash. Since we don't have a fan or a spray can of potpourri, she left the door partially cracked open in a move that reeked of both her lunch and her embarrasment. And I couldn't blame her, because that's a naturally awkward situation given the times we live in. I would've given her mad props and been shocked simultaneously if she had barged out, left the door wide open and declared, "Boy do I feel better now!"
I'll tell you what did not make me feel better: getting a new toilet in our upstairs bathroom.
Toilets are referred to as thrones, but a king's legs aren't supposed to be restricted on his throne. There was a perfect amount of space up there before, and after the switcheroo it became less comfortable than it once was. I will say this about the upstairs b-room: The side of the sink is perfectly aligned to rest a labtop or book/magazine on while handling some business. And a person's comfort is always key in their place of business. I have friends that will avoid dropping a deuce McAllister outside of their home by any means necessary. I'm definitely not like that, but would certainly never judge another for how they handle their poopy.
There are probably people who did not heed my fair warning and felt uncomfortable just reading this post. I think it a crying shame that this might be the case. In a perfect world we would talk openly about the crap we're feeling, maybe even sing about it....
People...I don't care whether you comment on this post in the AM or the PM just please, bring something to the table on BMs.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Re-Answering the Questions and Addressing the Haters
He's baaaaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaack!!!
Pull that number 3 jersey out of the closet, the Philadelphia 76ers are relevant again!
The Sixers signed future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson this morning after days of rumors floating around that it was a possibility. Well it's official now, and we can start buying tickets. Or trying to buy tickets I should say. They're going fast depending on the game and the section you want to sit in. The website was actually down for 20 mintutes today because of the traffic that was created thanks to Bubbachuck's return to town.
But what does it all mean?
For starters, I'm not going to be stating anything too groundbreaking in this blog. Everyone who knows anything about basketball and the Sixers current predicament is aware that:
1) This move wouldn't have happened if Lou Williams didn't get hurt
2) AI's Philly comeback will sell tickets (and has already) in a city that was at the bottom of the NBA in attendance and create a buzz around the Sixers that was definitely not there before
3) There are only a handful of contenders and the Sixers aren't one of them, with or without Iverson
Don't get me wrong, do I dream about Allen magically taking this team on a deep playoff run and turning the city on to hoops again? Of course. But I also dream about having a hit single and dating Anne Hathaway, so I certainly am not getting my hopes up. Still, just having him back in town is enough for me to make an effort to get to some NBA games this year.
A few things I have to say to all the Iverson haters out there:
For starters, he is the most unique basketball player (maybe even athlete) of all time. He is undeniably entertaining. Between his lightning quick speed, his untouchable crossover, and his ability to be undersized and take a constant pounding while still delivering the goods, it's not a surprise that people buy tickets to see him play.
Everyone says he's not a team player, yet there isn't a guy in the league who wouldn't want him on their squad. The problem is he's difficult to fit in the structure of a winning team. It's nearly impossible to find a system that someone his size with his particular skill set can easily fit into. When he was on the team that was the perfect fit, he had mulitple playoff appearances and would have a championship under his belt if he didn't run into one of the greatest teams in basketball history.
Now he comes back to Philly after a few failed stops. But who expected a title to come out of any of those stops? It wasn't likely that a guy who you have to build around would come into a situation with his best years behind him and be the final piece to a championship contender. Love him or hate him, you can't blame him for being an undersized guy who takes alot of shots. That's just what he is. Defensively I will say he has never come close to reaching what he could potentially be on that end of the floor given the speed he possesses. Then again, the idea of not reaching potential as a defensive player applies to 80% of the league, so he's not alone there. He does disrupt passing lanes, steal alot of balls and start breakaways but certainly you don't want him one-on-one defensively in the post with a bigger guard. Again, that's what he brings, take it or leave it.
As far as who he is as a person and off the court issues, you could debate it till his eventual induction into the Hoops HOF. People probably will, because AI is a polarizing figure, one whose mere name sparks more conversation in the Delaware Valley than the rest of the Sixers roster combined.
It is what it is, and if nothing else, it got me to write a blog post about the Sixers, which definitely would not have happened if the Answer hadn't come back for round 2.
Pull that number 3 jersey out of the closet, the Philadelphia 76ers are relevant again!
The Sixers signed future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson this morning after days of rumors floating around that it was a possibility. Well it's official now, and we can start buying tickets. Or trying to buy tickets I should say. They're going fast depending on the game and the section you want to sit in. The website was actually down for 20 mintutes today because of the traffic that was created thanks to Bubbachuck's return to town.
But what does it all mean?
For starters, I'm not going to be stating anything too groundbreaking in this blog. Everyone who knows anything about basketball and the Sixers current predicament is aware that:
1) This move wouldn't have happened if Lou Williams didn't get hurt
2) AI's Philly comeback will sell tickets (and has already) in a city that was at the bottom of the NBA in attendance and create a buzz around the Sixers that was definitely not there before
3) There are only a handful of contenders and the Sixers aren't one of them, with or without Iverson
Don't get me wrong, do I dream about Allen magically taking this team on a deep playoff run and turning the city on to hoops again? Of course. But I also dream about having a hit single and dating Anne Hathaway, so I certainly am not getting my hopes up. Still, just having him back in town is enough for me to make an effort to get to some NBA games this year.
A few things I have to say to all the Iverson haters out there:
For starters, he is the most unique basketball player (maybe even athlete) of all time. He is undeniably entertaining. Between his lightning quick speed, his untouchable crossover, and his ability to be undersized and take a constant pounding while still delivering the goods, it's not a surprise that people buy tickets to see him play.
Everyone says he's not a team player, yet there isn't a guy in the league who wouldn't want him on their squad. The problem is he's difficult to fit in the structure of a winning team. It's nearly impossible to find a system that someone his size with his particular skill set can easily fit into. When he was on the team that was the perfect fit, he had mulitple playoff appearances and would have a championship under his belt if he didn't run into one of the greatest teams in basketball history.
Now he comes back to Philly after a few failed stops. But who expected a title to come out of any of those stops? It wasn't likely that a guy who you have to build around would come into a situation with his best years behind him and be the final piece to a championship contender. Love him or hate him, you can't blame him for being an undersized guy who takes alot of shots. That's just what he is. Defensively I will say he has never come close to reaching what he could potentially be on that end of the floor given the speed he possesses. Then again, the idea of not reaching potential as a defensive player applies to 80% of the league, so he's not alone there. He does disrupt passing lanes, steal alot of balls and start breakaways but certainly you don't want him one-on-one defensively in the post with a bigger guard. Again, that's what he brings, take it or leave it.
As far as who he is as a person and off the court issues, you could debate it till his eventual induction into the Hoops HOF. People probably will, because AI is a polarizing figure, one whose mere name sparks more conversation in the Delaware Valley than the rest of the Sixers roster combined.
It is what it is, and if nothing else, it got me to write a blog post about the Sixers, which definitely would not have happened if the Answer hadn't come back for round 2.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Century Mark (Part 2)
I'm sure by the end of this it will be riddled with too many typos for me to feel like fixing, if in fact anyone has any interest left after reading Part 1. (unlikely hah) Okay, part 2 commences....NOW
51) Big ups to the Sister for driving a crew to the reunion from Robbie's pad on Saturday. Big ups also to Scott for having a poop on Saturday that changed the course of the night. The dump prevented him from making it to Rob's to catch a ride out with my Sis, which then forced him to drive to the reunion, making it possible for us to stay later and leave with him instead of taking the earlier ride back with the Sis.
52) Ned (New Edgy DJ), Dan Lacey's alter-ego, provided some of the most entertaining moments of the week. If you know him though, you've certainly come to expect that by now.
53) No, I will not go into detail about #52. That's confidential information.
54) Missed encounter of the week: Kirsten and I were driving out to meet up with the parental units and a couple church friends to see "Blindside" but were blindsided by the news that the movie sold out. We were at Marple 10 in Springfield, and decided the best move would be to drive home. Just as we were getting back to the city, I got a text from one half of my favorite sibling 1-2 punch. Liz informed me that her and the elusive V-Dub were hanging out in Springfield and were down with company. I couldn't imagine the chaos that would have ensued had the 4 of us had the chance to meet up. Liz and I are a combined 12 years of age max around our sisters, who are also goofy, but far more mature than us when we're around them. If you read this V-Dub, I am majorly disappointed we didn't rendezvous and hope to be a part of your Christmas schedule.
55) Speaking of sisters and just missing something....One of my favorite Jim-Pam moments of all time on The Office happens in a season 5 episode entitled "Stress Relief" when Pam's parents are having marital troubles. My Sis adores the Jim-Pam plot. We started the episode together, got interrupted for dinner, and never finished. Very sad.
56) Had some potent anti-virus software put on my IBM Thinkpad last year. Probably one of the more time-saving, problem-avoiding move I can remember making in a long time. While we're on the subject, my computer is better than your computer and it's not even close.
57) I wish that more people had blogs they kept up with consistently. I would settle for a once a week update on people's lives, thoughts and all that jazz. If people consolidated all the useless bits of information they put in their facebook status into one fluid blog entry, I would check it weekly.
58) My H-Town buddy Kyle "Ky-Ky" Ramplin just started getting into "The Wire" AKA the best show ever created. Yeeeeeeeeea Booooooooooooooooooooiiiiii!!!
59) Astonishing fact of the break...Total trips to Philly Flavors made: 0
60) Still baffled that the "Flavors" in Philly Flavors is spelled with an "F" and not a "Ph"
61) My Dad has a theory about Dunkin Donuts that they intentionally keep their coffee at scalding temperatures, and that the temps of a cup of joe elsewhere are more reasonable. We heard about this little nugget on Thanksgiving Day and truth be told, I'm still not sure exactly what to do with it.
62) This season of Dexter has not let down. What a money show...
63) I met a Chihuahua with 2 names, only one of which I can remember now (Mimi). This dog, owned by my French Aunt-in-Law's Mother, had more personality than I would normally expect for that breed. I enjoyed its company as I watched the football games at the G-Mom's house on Thanksgiving.
64) I miss having a dog around the house, but the Lewis fam is too busy to take care of a pet full time. Animals are just a step away from babies in the responsibility department.
65) Wendy's french fries are the worst of any fast food chain.
66) Wendy's Frosty, however, may be the best ikeem product a fast food place has to offer.
67) The weird thing about Thanksgiving is that besides a few family meals, most meals are on the go. You're catching up with different people, spending days shopping or driving, and spending nights who knows where. Besides the big turkey dinner and another meal or two with family, I was fending for myself.
68) My sleep schedule has been bad all year, and I can only imagine the break will make it worse.
69) Sleep schedules are annoying in general. I want to sleep when it's convenient not when my body tells me to.
70) This is the last Thanksgiving break I will have as a student. It's always a great break because you know that when you go back to school, you have one violently busy span and then you're totally done for the semester. I can smell the Christmas cookies from here...
71) I'm gonna be in the market for some new kicks sometime soon. The only sneaks I've rocked in 2009 have been Sambas. Great, but it'd be nice to have a compliment or 2 to them.
72) atdhe.net changed my life. Any sporting event for this kid living in a cable-less household. Thank you DJ!
73) Even if the Eagles makes the playoffs, they're going to get steam-rolled by whoever they play in the second round. Still, just get there Birds, and we'll cross that bridge when it comes.
74) I tried to brainstorm some book ideas over break to no avail. I got a couple of good collaborative ideas but I need a project I can craft when I have time to myself.
75) Three quarters of the way finished! I think this idea sounded better before I realized that "100" of anything is a healthy amount. But that's why I'm going to finish this post, to symbolize a good amount of writing I've done in 2009. I'm running (typing) on fumes at this point, zombie-eyed and not sure whether anyone who reads this will be able to make sense of it. haha, word...
76) I miss the Phillies.
77) When does it get cold nowadays? January? February? Does it get legitimately deathly-freezing-cold more than a few weeks a year anymore?
78) The Broad Street Tavern should have stayed a jazz bar like it originally was intended to be. We stopped by there on Thanksgiving Eve and it was all trend, no substance.
79) My Grandma's hubby is a great guy, really just a nice individual. Sometimes with the old-timers however, you don't know what will set them off. They're like ticking time bombs. The hear or see something that rubs them the wrong way and they're flipping out. It actually makes holidays more exciting as far as I'm concerned. Add to that the fact that there's absolutely no filter between brain and mouth and you've got yourself a recipe for an interesting family gathering.
80) Few things in this world kick me in the gut more than hearing that a cop got killed in cold blood. So you can imagine how I felt when I heard about the situation with the 4 officers in Washington state that got gunned down. Just awful. What does it take to make an individual do that.
81) Breezy noticed that Cadillac commercials always have really good background music in them and has been looking up the artists and songs and putting them on his Ipod. Very good call. Commercials, especially car ones, often sneak really good tunes behind their ad pitches. I'm now hyper aware of this when I got the tube on.
82) Man I'm dying to freestyle. I know people are sick of hearing me say it, and I know the next time I do it in public I'll probably end up looking like the biggest white boy ever, but goodness I've been listening to nothing but Jay-Z for the last week. This cracka is ready to spit.
83) Speaking of looking like the biggest white boy ever, post-reunion late night dance off at Roberto's was a pretty darn hilarious portion of the break.
84) I'm actually surprised people weren't dancing at the reunion itself now that I think about it. Just a plethora of very interesting pool games going on. Pool tables are incredibly clutch to have at reunions. I feel like they're a natural ice breaker for people who aren't quite the best at making small talk. Maybe I'm overthinking this, maybe not...
85) My go-to look recently has been the collared shirt under the long-sleeve one. I really think wearing my glasses with that ensemble will complete the look, but have yet to try it out. I usually only bust out the glasses around bedtime cause I see better in the C-lenses.
86) Jake informed me that you can get Black Friday discounts online. That's news to this guy. Doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose, or at least the appeal of it? Speaking of which...
87) My sister and Mom go shopping a lot together...I would venture to say that Karen and Kirsten are to shopping what me and my Paps are to reading/writing/loafing around the house: consummate pros.
88) I don't know why I didn't blog more over this break. I could've snuck a few in somewhere along the line. Bah, guess I'm making up for it now with this 2-part monster.
89) This one is a hair on the personal side, but we're getting towards the sentimental portion of this piece, not to mention almost anyone who would read this would understand my situation, probably because I've talked about it with them personally....Anyways...I think there is a twisted satisfaction when an ex-significant other wronged you and, after realizing what you meant to them, they want to have you back in their life. The problem is that deep down there's no satisfaction for me anymore, I just feel like a big jerk for some reason...I would never be on the side of people who say you shouldn't be in a serious relationship till you're engaged/married, but I think I could at least see where they were coming from.
90) Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year and from this point to #100 I'll get all gushy about things relating to this time of year that I haven't tackled already in points 1-89.
91) I love my fam. Couldn't be more thankful for them. It takes a special group of people to handle the zaniness that is Ryan Lewis, and they've mastered the art. Over the years I've really seen how much they each bring to the table and how blessed I am to have them around.
92) Football, football, football, football, football, breathing, football.
93) I love the fall. Probably gets the nod for my favorite season slightly edging out summer. Springs amazing too. Eh, I love em all truthfully. But a beautiful fall day is always a terrific compliment to being off from work and school.
94) Foooooooooooood! Food! Food! I am an eater. Thursday was the culmination of a week of big-time grubbing. Yum.
95) I always forget how lucky I am to have the most incredible neighbors. I wrote in Part 1 about my neighbor across the street who passed away over break. Since I've lived in one house my entire life, I just assume most people are crazy about their neighbors, when in actuality, alot of people's neighbors drive them crazy. Mine are the best and it's always tough to see one of the Woodstock Street Fam change residences or pass away.
96) Death transitions well into religion. As I always say, despite whatever struggles I have with faith and however uncomfortable I feel talking about my personal walk with all but a few individuals, I still feel blessed beyond measure just to know Truth.
97) I've been realizing recently what a crossroads I'm coming to in my life. Yes, I can be overly dramatic at times about certain issues, but I think when you're talking about a short span of years that will shape the entire rest of your life, I don't think it's possible to be too outspoken. I have had a Christianity blog I need to write for awhile now, and hope that the words will come to me. I think as awkward as some may feel reading it, I'd be foolish not to utilize this forum to my advantage. Maybe I'll ruffle some feathers. Maybe no one will care at all. But it is in the works.
98) I could go on in an emotional essay of sorts about how much my homies and homettes mean to me, but I'll just sum them all up with my favorite 50 cent quote, "I love ya like a fat kid love cake"
99) I'm thankful for your readership, and for suffering through 99 irrelevant facts spewed from my brain.
100) I am thankful this blog is over, I didn't realize how long it would take.
Man vs. 100. Man wins.
51) Big ups to the Sister for driving a crew to the reunion from Robbie's pad on Saturday. Big ups also to Scott for having a poop on Saturday that changed the course of the night. The dump prevented him from making it to Rob's to catch a ride out with my Sis, which then forced him to drive to the reunion, making it possible for us to stay later and leave with him instead of taking the earlier ride back with the Sis.
52) Ned (New Edgy DJ), Dan Lacey's alter-ego, provided some of the most entertaining moments of the week. If you know him though, you've certainly come to expect that by now.
53) No, I will not go into detail about #52. That's confidential information.
54) Missed encounter of the week: Kirsten and I were driving out to meet up with the parental units and a couple church friends to see "Blindside" but were blindsided by the news that the movie sold out. We were at Marple 10 in Springfield, and decided the best move would be to drive home. Just as we were getting back to the city, I got a text from one half of my favorite sibling 1-2 punch. Liz informed me that her and the elusive V-Dub were hanging out in Springfield and were down with company. I couldn't imagine the chaos that would have ensued had the 4 of us had the chance to meet up. Liz and I are a combined 12 years of age max around our sisters, who are also goofy, but far more mature than us when we're around them. If you read this V-Dub, I am majorly disappointed we didn't rendezvous and hope to be a part of your Christmas schedule.
55) Speaking of sisters and just missing something....One of my favorite Jim-Pam moments of all time on The Office happens in a season 5 episode entitled "Stress Relief" when Pam's parents are having marital troubles. My Sis adores the Jim-Pam plot. We started the episode together, got interrupted for dinner, and never finished. Very sad.
56) Had some potent anti-virus software put on my IBM Thinkpad last year. Probably one of the more time-saving, problem-avoiding move I can remember making in a long time. While we're on the subject, my computer is better than your computer and it's not even close.
57) I wish that more people had blogs they kept up with consistently. I would settle for a once a week update on people's lives, thoughts and all that jazz. If people consolidated all the useless bits of information they put in their facebook status into one fluid blog entry, I would check it weekly.
58) My H-Town buddy Kyle "Ky-Ky" Ramplin just started getting into "The Wire" AKA the best show ever created. Yeeeeeeeeea Booooooooooooooooooooiiiiii!!!
59) Astonishing fact of the break...Total trips to Philly Flavors made: 0
60) Still baffled that the "Flavors" in Philly Flavors is spelled with an "F" and not a "Ph"
61) My Dad has a theory about Dunkin Donuts that they intentionally keep their coffee at scalding temperatures, and that the temps of a cup of joe elsewhere are more reasonable. We heard about this little nugget on Thanksgiving Day and truth be told, I'm still not sure exactly what to do with it.
62) This season of Dexter has not let down. What a money show...
63) I met a Chihuahua with 2 names, only one of which I can remember now (Mimi). This dog, owned by my French Aunt-in-Law's Mother, had more personality than I would normally expect for that breed. I enjoyed its company as I watched the football games at the G-Mom's house on Thanksgiving.
64) I miss having a dog around the house, but the Lewis fam is too busy to take care of a pet full time. Animals are just a step away from babies in the responsibility department.
65) Wendy's french fries are the worst of any fast food chain.
66) Wendy's Frosty, however, may be the best ikeem product a fast food place has to offer.
67) The weird thing about Thanksgiving is that besides a few family meals, most meals are on the go. You're catching up with different people, spending days shopping or driving, and spending nights who knows where. Besides the big turkey dinner and another meal or two with family, I was fending for myself.
68) My sleep schedule has been bad all year, and I can only imagine the break will make it worse.
69) Sleep schedules are annoying in general. I want to sleep when it's convenient not when my body tells me to.
70) This is the last Thanksgiving break I will have as a student. It's always a great break because you know that when you go back to school, you have one violently busy span and then you're totally done for the semester. I can smell the Christmas cookies from here...
71) I'm gonna be in the market for some new kicks sometime soon. The only sneaks I've rocked in 2009 have been Sambas. Great, but it'd be nice to have a compliment or 2 to them.
72) atdhe.net changed my life. Any sporting event for this kid living in a cable-less household. Thank you DJ!
73) Even if the Eagles makes the playoffs, they're going to get steam-rolled by whoever they play in the second round. Still, just get there Birds, and we'll cross that bridge when it comes.
74) I tried to brainstorm some book ideas over break to no avail. I got a couple of good collaborative ideas but I need a project I can craft when I have time to myself.
75) Three quarters of the way finished! I think this idea sounded better before I realized that "100" of anything is a healthy amount. But that's why I'm going to finish this post, to symbolize a good amount of writing I've done in 2009. I'm running (typing) on fumes at this point, zombie-eyed and not sure whether anyone who reads this will be able to make sense of it. haha, word...
76) I miss the Phillies.
77) When does it get cold nowadays? January? February? Does it get legitimately deathly-freezing-cold more than a few weeks a year anymore?
78) The Broad Street Tavern should have stayed a jazz bar like it originally was intended to be. We stopped by there on Thanksgiving Eve and it was all trend, no substance.
79) My Grandma's hubby is a great guy, really just a nice individual. Sometimes with the old-timers however, you don't know what will set them off. They're like ticking time bombs. The hear or see something that rubs them the wrong way and they're flipping out. It actually makes holidays more exciting as far as I'm concerned. Add to that the fact that there's absolutely no filter between brain and mouth and you've got yourself a recipe for an interesting family gathering.
80) Few things in this world kick me in the gut more than hearing that a cop got killed in cold blood. So you can imagine how I felt when I heard about the situation with the 4 officers in Washington state that got gunned down. Just awful. What does it take to make an individual do that.
81) Breezy noticed that Cadillac commercials always have really good background music in them and has been looking up the artists and songs and putting them on his Ipod. Very good call. Commercials, especially car ones, often sneak really good tunes behind their ad pitches. I'm now hyper aware of this when I got the tube on.
82) Man I'm dying to freestyle. I know people are sick of hearing me say it, and I know the next time I do it in public I'll probably end up looking like the biggest white boy ever, but goodness I've been listening to nothing but Jay-Z for the last week. This cracka is ready to spit.
83) Speaking of looking like the biggest white boy ever, post-reunion late night dance off at Roberto's was a pretty darn hilarious portion of the break.
84) I'm actually surprised people weren't dancing at the reunion itself now that I think about it. Just a plethora of very interesting pool games going on. Pool tables are incredibly clutch to have at reunions. I feel like they're a natural ice breaker for people who aren't quite the best at making small talk. Maybe I'm overthinking this, maybe not...
85) My go-to look recently has been the collared shirt under the long-sleeve one. I really think wearing my glasses with that ensemble will complete the look, but have yet to try it out. I usually only bust out the glasses around bedtime cause I see better in the C-lenses.
86) Jake informed me that you can get Black Friday discounts online. That's news to this guy. Doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose, or at least the appeal of it? Speaking of which...
87) My sister and Mom go shopping a lot together...I would venture to say that Karen and Kirsten are to shopping what me and my Paps are to reading/writing/loafing around the house: consummate pros.
88) I don't know why I didn't blog more over this break. I could've snuck a few in somewhere along the line. Bah, guess I'm making up for it now with this 2-part monster.
89) This one is a hair on the personal side, but we're getting towards the sentimental portion of this piece, not to mention almost anyone who would read this would understand my situation, probably because I've talked about it with them personally....Anyways...I think there is a twisted satisfaction when an ex-significant other wronged you and, after realizing what you meant to them, they want to have you back in their life. The problem is that deep down there's no satisfaction for me anymore, I just feel like a big jerk for some reason...I would never be on the side of people who say you shouldn't be in a serious relationship till you're engaged/married, but I think I could at least see where they were coming from.
90) Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year and from this point to #100 I'll get all gushy about things relating to this time of year that I haven't tackled already in points 1-89.
91) I love my fam. Couldn't be more thankful for them. It takes a special group of people to handle the zaniness that is Ryan Lewis, and they've mastered the art. Over the years I've really seen how much they each bring to the table and how blessed I am to have them around.
92) Football, football, football, football, football, breathing, football.
93) I love the fall. Probably gets the nod for my favorite season slightly edging out summer. Springs amazing too. Eh, I love em all truthfully. But a beautiful fall day is always a terrific compliment to being off from work and school.
94) Foooooooooooood! Food! Food! I am an eater. Thursday was the culmination of a week of big-time grubbing. Yum.
95) I always forget how lucky I am to have the most incredible neighbors. I wrote in Part 1 about my neighbor across the street who passed away over break. Since I've lived in one house my entire life, I just assume most people are crazy about their neighbors, when in actuality, alot of people's neighbors drive them crazy. Mine are the best and it's always tough to see one of the Woodstock Street Fam change residences or pass away.
96) Death transitions well into religion. As I always say, despite whatever struggles I have with faith and however uncomfortable I feel talking about my personal walk with all but a few individuals, I still feel blessed beyond measure just to know Truth.
97) I've been realizing recently what a crossroads I'm coming to in my life. Yes, I can be overly dramatic at times about certain issues, but I think when you're talking about a short span of years that will shape the entire rest of your life, I don't think it's possible to be too outspoken. I have had a Christianity blog I need to write for awhile now, and hope that the words will come to me. I think as awkward as some may feel reading it, I'd be foolish not to utilize this forum to my advantage. Maybe I'll ruffle some feathers. Maybe no one will care at all. But it is in the works.
98) I could go on in an emotional essay of sorts about how much my homies and homettes mean to me, but I'll just sum them all up with my favorite 50 cent quote, "I love ya like a fat kid love cake"
99) I'm thankful for your readership, and for suffering through 99 irrelevant facts spewed from my brain.
100) I am thankful this blog is over, I didn't realize how long it would take.
Man vs. 100. Man wins.
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Century Mark (Part 1)
This is blog entry number 100 for the year...100!!!
In honor of hitting this monumental landmark, I will share 100 random thoughts/stories from what was a ridiculously busy Thanksgiving break. Actually, this could get absurdly lengthy so I'll do it in two installments, which may be completely defeating the purpose as only installment #1 is the actual hundredth blog. Whatever. Let's go...
1) Lorenzo's pizza is amazing. I somehow forgot how delicious it was until this past week, where I put down a good amount of pie leaving Mako's. Which leads me to...
2) Mako's is a very polarizing place. It's a bar at 3rd and South with a "divey" feel to it. Cheap drinks, very interesting assortment of people, unique atmosphere. You either love it or you don't. Speaking for myself, any place that's affordable and has pool tables is going to be a place I enjoy.
3) My 5-year class reunion was a blast, and after a bit of early social discomfort, I got settled and really had a great time.
4) I took a picture and chatted with a person I literally did not say one word to in high school...that's the interesting part about reunions, stuff like that happens.
5) The Fox and the Hound, the reunion spot, is a pretty solid establishment. I wouldn't go there unless there was an event like the one on Saturday, but for that type of shindig it's not too bad.
6) I LOVE Traditions! This is one of the reasons I think I will be a fantastic and lame father simultaneously.
7) Me and a few friends started a tradition a few years ago that we didn't keep up with. The night before Turkey Day we cook up a steak dinner and toast with Yuengling Lager bottles. It's one of my favorite nights of the entire year, and I couldn't be happier that we started it back up.
8) Good cuts of steak are pricey. I look forward to having more money to spend on our Thanksgiving Eve dinner next year.
9) I owe Carver mac and cheese that I said would be part of the steak dinner.
10) I owe Carver a Lorenzo's slice.
11) I think at some point the IOUs will be so numerous that I will be forced to save his life to eradicate the debt.
12) Robbie's cuz Matt is one of the nicest dudes ever and I was lucky to spend a night with the cousins. He insisted on taking a photo on his phone to remember the night, no matter how it came out. I'm glad he did.
13) Robbie and I high-fived at one point because we were on a mind boggling streak of consecutive nights spent chilling together.
14) Can anyone fill in some of the details of Wednesday night? Not all of the pieces to that crazy puzzle were found. I suppose they will remain a mystery.
15) I have now almost come to blows with 2 full-fledged Donovan McNabb supporters in the last 7 days. Both of them were cootie-carriers aka girls.
16) The Office has become the gift and the curse for me. It's my current TV obsession and I share it with friends and family alike. It gives me countless laughs and more importantly countless reality escapes when necessary. At the same time, it has placed unrealistic expectations on relationships (the perfection that is Jim&Pam) and I always feel guilty not creating something with the time I use to watch it.
17) Its always better watching comedy with someone else that’s also really into it. ALWAYS. Everything is funnier, and you pick up on humor in things you wouldn't if viewing alone.
18) Gotta have gravy with turkey. It's a must. Had leftover turkey gravy-less on Friday and was far from thrilled with my meal.
19) "Love hurts, but sometimes it's a good hurt and it feels like I'm alive" is one of many Incubus lyrics that I really dig. It's simple yet heartfelt, and I'm a fan. For this reason, and despite everyone bashing newer Incubus albums nonstop, I remain very into them.
20) My voice is getting worse and worse. It's really frustrating actually because I fancy myself a decent singer when my voice isn't paralyzed by allergies, sickness or yelling. It's been messed up now for 3 months and I'm beginning to get really nervous about it.
21) I'm still working on covers of "Getaway Car" by Audioslave and "Sideways" by Citizen Cope. And I plan to continue perfecting my rendition of "break you off" by the Roots, which should sound strong whenever I do finish it.
22) I listened to a lot of Jay-Z over break, and I still haven't scraped the surface of his discography, which I downloaded a month ago. I can't get over how many tracks he's produced. And they're all money.
23) If I started another blog, it would be about television shows I'm into. Then I could justify my viewing hours with writings that paralleled them.
24) It's impossible to get to sleep when your feet are freezing.
25) I read a text-from-last-night that said something to effect of "New Moon broke the Dark Knight's record at the box office this weekend. I have officially lost my will to live." ...that sums up my feelings on the issue tremendously.
26) The idea of asking someone to do/not do something versus the idea that it should go without saying is one of life's awkward debates prone to gray areas, of which there are many.
27) Unintentionally going over the speed limit on I-95, a cop tore out from the middle of the highway and proceeded to tailgate me for a mile, just intimidating into getting my speed down. After he thought I got the message, he got off at an exit and I was off the hook. Phew...
28) Cherry Coke was delivered from God to humanity via someone's inventive mind. Rob and I had a 10 minute conversation lamenting the fact that we couldn't have come up with the blend, not because we would've made a killing but rather because we could've been the ones to give the gift of that magnificent taste to society. A definite highlight of the week...
29) Miller High Life < Any other beer
30) Bring back Iverson!!! The Sixers aren't going anywhere anytime soon, at least A.I. would draw some buzz back around the team. This was the big Philadelphia sports rumor going around all last week.
31) I was talking to a few guys at the reunion and we came to the conclusion that the majority of the female population is most attractive right before and immediately after college. I wonder if they analyze how the male population's looks fluctuate over the years.
32) I think I need a break from people. Too much being social and not enough time to just sit by myself.
33) Tiger Woods crashed his SUV over Thanksgiving break at 2:30 in the morning right outside of his house. I have never been a huge Tiger fan, he's just always struck me as pompous. I think he can do no wrong in the media's eyes, and that always annoys me. How this situation unfolds and how the sports world reacts as new facts surface about it will be interesting to follow.
34) I need to work out...
35) ...really badly
36) I decided I'm not going to run until the beginning of next semester. The winter months don't mix well with running to begin with. Add to that the chaos that is the holiday season and the finals push at school, and bundling up and sprinting around the hood isn't a top priority.
37) I rely far too much on my phone calendar to remind me of things. It's become essential for me to put life's little details in there so I don't forget things.
38) Mashed potatoes are growing on me. I mentioned this briefly in a previous blog, but it seemed fitting to mention again given the fact I had multiple meals with them over break.
39) I had one class last week from 8-9:20AM on Tuesday morning and was finished school for the week. That was clutch.
40) I saw Kelly Johnson for the first time in forever. I was so excited I picked her up and over the short fence that separated the patio from the street. Kelly J falls into the category of people whose sheer presence is enough to bring my mood up, regardless of how good or bad it already is.
41) My neighbor Les passed away over the break. He was elderly and very sick also, but that doesn't make it easy. Les was a great guy. Soft spoken and friendly, he (and his wife who passed a few years ago) was a mainstay of my block and it always gave me a sense of comfort to look across the block and see him on the front porch to exchange pleasantries with. I don't want to overstate our relationship, nor trivialize his death by putting it in this blog, but I certainly want to pay him some words of tribute. I love all my neighbors, and have really special places in my heart for the ones who were here when I was born and have remained to the present. He will be missed...
42) My Sister will put on "Hey Ma" by Cam'ron on the Ry-pod every time we have a drive of 30 or more minutes somewhere and we always have the same convo about how I told her when the song came out and was a Q102 hit that it was a guilty pleasure of mine. We enjoy sharing corny memories and she is an all-star at remembering the most random facts ever.
43) People are way too germaphobic these days. I get that swine flu exists and that people get sick this time of year, but occasionally I will have an allergy-related cough or sneeze in public and feel as though I just yelled FIIIIIIRE based on the reaction of passer-bys.
44) Had a John's Village Market hoagie made for me by none other than Johnny Vesper. We caught up for a few minutes, the perfect amount of time for people as familiar with each other as the two of us are. The hoagies there are great though, one of a gazillion food notes that are in this blog.
45) Went to A.C. with Jake and Dan, and was not informed that you're supposed to go black on the roulette table. I just hung out and watched the rest of the night, but did have an enjoyable time although I'm very sad to say that...
46) ...I'm pretty sure I didn't see the Havertown crew besides that at all over break. If there was a low-light of my time away from school and work, it was that I didn't get a chance to celebrate my favorite holiday with H-town
47) The Sunday nights after a vacation are always the most depressing hours for me. I have said time-and-time again that the best/worst parts of life aren't always the actions/events themselves, but rather the anticipation of their arrival in time. That's why even though I have a wicked case of the Mondays on occasion, I get even more severe cases of the Sunday Nights.
48) My 3-year old cousin is still not fully sold on me yet. I've been putting in the effort, and I'll get the occasional hug or contact of some sort with her, but the rest of the time she thinks I'm the monster that's come to eat all the birthday cake. See with most kids, you'd just say a regular monster to get the point across but she would be far more horrified by a creature taking her birthday cake than she would a creature attempting to take her life/soul/dignity (whatever monsters take). The girl loves her cake and is ambivalent on her 24-year-old cousin.
49) I get my ability to rant from my Paps, who is a pro. I'm still an amateur ranter. My theory is the older you get, the more informed you've become on a certain topic. Add to that the fact that you get more stuck in your ways as the years pass, and you quickly gain your professional ranter status.
50) I'm getting pickier about my wings by the day. I try to eat an inordinate amount of hot wings once a week, and since that only amounts to 52 meals out of 1,095 in a year, I'm getting way more selective about where they're from. I know what it takes for a wing to please me. I also know that I treat my wings like my women: Learn from past experiences, and never settle for anything short of excellence.
On that note, and before I take that analogy way out of hand, I will conclude Part 1.
Part 2 soon...
In honor of hitting this monumental landmark, I will share 100 random thoughts/stories from what was a ridiculously busy Thanksgiving break. Actually, this could get absurdly lengthy so I'll do it in two installments, which may be completely defeating the purpose as only installment #1 is the actual hundredth blog. Whatever. Let's go...
1) Lorenzo's pizza is amazing. I somehow forgot how delicious it was until this past week, where I put down a good amount of pie leaving Mako's. Which leads me to...
2) Mako's is a very polarizing place. It's a bar at 3rd and South with a "divey" feel to it. Cheap drinks, very interesting assortment of people, unique atmosphere. You either love it or you don't. Speaking for myself, any place that's affordable and has pool tables is going to be a place I enjoy.
3) My 5-year class reunion was a blast, and after a bit of early social discomfort, I got settled and really had a great time.
4) I took a picture and chatted with a person I literally did not say one word to in high school...that's the interesting part about reunions, stuff like that happens.
5) The Fox and the Hound, the reunion spot, is a pretty solid establishment. I wouldn't go there unless there was an event like the one on Saturday, but for that type of shindig it's not too bad.
6) I LOVE Traditions! This is one of the reasons I think I will be a fantastic and lame father simultaneously.
7) Me and a few friends started a tradition a few years ago that we didn't keep up with. The night before Turkey Day we cook up a steak dinner and toast with Yuengling Lager bottles. It's one of my favorite nights of the entire year, and I couldn't be happier that we started it back up.
8) Good cuts of steak are pricey. I look forward to having more money to spend on our Thanksgiving Eve dinner next year.
9) I owe Carver mac and cheese that I said would be part of the steak dinner.
10) I owe Carver a Lorenzo's slice.
11) I think at some point the IOUs will be so numerous that I will be forced to save his life to eradicate the debt.
12) Robbie's cuz Matt is one of the nicest dudes ever and I was lucky to spend a night with the cousins. He insisted on taking a photo on his phone to remember the night, no matter how it came out. I'm glad he did.
13) Robbie and I high-fived at one point because we were on a mind boggling streak of consecutive nights spent chilling together.
14) Can anyone fill in some of the details of Wednesday night? Not all of the pieces to that crazy puzzle were found. I suppose they will remain a mystery.
15) I have now almost come to blows with 2 full-fledged Donovan McNabb supporters in the last 7 days. Both of them were cootie-carriers aka girls.
16) The Office has become the gift and the curse for me. It's my current TV obsession and I share it with friends and family alike. It gives me countless laughs and more importantly countless reality escapes when necessary. At the same time, it has placed unrealistic expectations on relationships (the perfection that is Jim&Pam) and I always feel guilty not creating something with the time I use to watch it.
17) Its always better watching comedy with someone else that’s also really into it. ALWAYS. Everything is funnier, and you pick up on humor in things you wouldn't if viewing alone.
18) Gotta have gravy with turkey. It's a must. Had leftover turkey gravy-less on Friday and was far from thrilled with my meal.
19) "Love hurts, but sometimes it's a good hurt and it feels like I'm alive" is one of many Incubus lyrics that I really dig. It's simple yet heartfelt, and I'm a fan. For this reason, and despite everyone bashing newer Incubus albums nonstop, I remain very into them.
20) My voice is getting worse and worse. It's really frustrating actually because I fancy myself a decent singer when my voice isn't paralyzed by allergies, sickness or yelling. It's been messed up now for 3 months and I'm beginning to get really nervous about it.
21) I'm still working on covers of "Getaway Car" by Audioslave and "Sideways" by Citizen Cope. And I plan to continue perfecting my rendition of "break you off" by the Roots, which should sound strong whenever I do finish it.
22) I listened to a lot of Jay-Z over break, and I still haven't scraped the surface of his discography, which I downloaded a month ago. I can't get over how many tracks he's produced. And they're all money.
23) If I started another blog, it would be about television shows I'm into. Then I could justify my viewing hours with writings that paralleled them.
24) It's impossible to get to sleep when your feet are freezing.
25) I read a text-from-last-night that said something to effect of "New Moon broke the Dark Knight's record at the box office this weekend. I have officially lost my will to live." ...that sums up my feelings on the issue tremendously.
26) The idea of asking someone to do/not do something versus the idea that it should go without saying is one of life's awkward debates prone to gray areas, of which there are many.
27) Unintentionally going over the speed limit on I-95, a cop tore out from the middle of the highway and proceeded to tailgate me for a mile, just intimidating into getting my speed down. After he thought I got the message, he got off at an exit and I was off the hook. Phew...
28) Cherry Coke was delivered from God to humanity via someone's inventive mind. Rob and I had a 10 minute conversation lamenting the fact that we couldn't have come up with the blend, not because we would've made a killing but rather because we could've been the ones to give the gift of that magnificent taste to society. A definite highlight of the week...
29) Miller High Life < Any other beer
30) Bring back Iverson!!! The Sixers aren't going anywhere anytime soon, at least A.I. would draw some buzz back around the team. This was the big Philadelphia sports rumor going around all last week.
31) I was talking to a few guys at the reunion and we came to the conclusion that the majority of the female population is most attractive right before and immediately after college. I wonder if they analyze how the male population's looks fluctuate over the years.
32) I think I need a break from people. Too much being social and not enough time to just sit by myself.
33) Tiger Woods crashed his SUV over Thanksgiving break at 2:30 in the morning right outside of his house. I have never been a huge Tiger fan, he's just always struck me as pompous. I think he can do no wrong in the media's eyes, and that always annoys me. How this situation unfolds and how the sports world reacts as new facts surface about it will be interesting to follow.
34) I need to work out...
35) ...really badly
36) I decided I'm not going to run until the beginning of next semester. The winter months don't mix well with running to begin with. Add to that the chaos that is the holiday season and the finals push at school, and bundling up and sprinting around the hood isn't a top priority.
37) I rely far too much on my phone calendar to remind me of things. It's become essential for me to put life's little details in there so I don't forget things.
38) Mashed potatoes are growing on me. I mentioned this briefly in a previous blog, but it seemed fitting to mention again given the fact I had multiple meals with them over break.
39) I had one class last week from 8-9:20AM on Tuesday morning and was finished school for the week. That was clutch.
40) I saw Kelly Johnson for the first time in forever. I was so excited I picked her up and over the short fence that separated the patio from the street. Kelly J falls into the category of people whose sheer presence is enough to bring my mood up, regardless of how good or bad it already is.
41) My neighbor Les passed away over the break. He was elderly and very sick also, but that doesn't make it easy. Les was a great guy. Soft spoken and friendly, he (and his wife who passed a few years ago) was a mainstay of my block and it always gave me a sense of comfort to look across the block and see him on the front porch to exchange pleasantries with. I don't want to overstate our relationship, nor trivialize his death by putting it in this blog, but I certainly want to pay him some words of tribute. I love all my neighbors, and have really special places in my heart for the ones who were here when I was born and have remained to the present. He will be missed...
42) My Sister will put on "Hey Ma" by Cam'ron on the Ry-pod every time we have a drive of 30 or more minutes somewhere and we always have the same convo about how I told her when the song came out and was a Q102 hit that it was a guilty pleasure of mine. We enjoy sharing corny memories and she is an all-star at remembering the most random facts ever.
43) People are way too germaphobic these days. I get that swine flu exists and that people get sick this time of year, but occasionally I will have an allergy-related cough or sneeze in public and feel as though I just yelled FIIIIIIRE based on the reaction of passer-bys.
44) Had a John's Village Market hoagie made for me by none other than Johnny Vesper. We caught up for a few minutes, the perfect amount of time for people as familiar with each other as the two of us are. The hoagies there are great though, one of a gazillion food notes that are in this blog.
45) Went to A.C. with Jake and Dan, and was not informed that you're supposed to go black on the roulette table. I just hung out and watched the rest of the night, but did have an enjoyable time although I'm very sad to say that...
46) ...I'm pretty sure I didn't see the Havertown crew besides that at all over break. If there was a low-light of my time away from school and work, it was that I didn't get a chance to celebrate my favorite holiday with H-town
47) The Sunday nights after a vacation are always the most depressing hours for me. I have said time-and-time again that the best/worst parts of life aren't always the actions/events themselves, but rather the anticipation of their arrival in time. That's why even though I have a wicked case of the Mondays on occasion, I get even more severe cases of the Sunday Nights.
48) My 3-year old cousin is still not fully sold on me yet. I've been putting in the effort, and I'll get the occasional hug or contact of some sort with her, but the rest of the time she thinks I'm the monster that's come to eat all the birthday cake. See with most kids, you'd just say a regular monster to get the point across but she would be far more horrified by a creature taking her birthday cake than she would a creature attempting to take her life/soul/dignity (whatever monsters take). The girl loves her cake and is ambivalent on her 24-year-old cousin.
49) I get my ability to rant from my Paps, who is a pro. I'm still an amateur ranter. My theory is the older you get, the more informed you've become on a certain topic. Add to that the fact that you get more stuck in your ways as the years pass, and you quickly gain your professional ranter status.
50) I'm getting pickier about my wings by the day. I try to eat an inordinate amount of hot wings once a week, and since that only amounts to 52 meals out of 1,095 in a year, I'm getting way more selective about where they're from. I know what it takes for a wing to please me. I also know that I treat my wings like my women: Learn from past experiences, and never settle for anything short of excellence.
On that note, and before I take that analogy way out of hand, I will conclude Part 1.
Part 2 soon...
Snuggie Trials and Rants from My Rocking Chair
Last Friday I tried on a snuggie for the first time. See...
Yup, that is a Philadelphia Eagles edition of the immensely popular infomercial blanket/sweater hybrid.
(The snuggie's owner--a girl who worked for the Eagles--and I argued jokingly that she should give it up for a couple minutes so I could try it out, which she did. This was followed by 5-10 minutes of very serious arguing about Donovan McNabb’s legitimacy as a top-tier quarterback and whether or not her argument could be hold weight, as she was an employee of the organization. As much as I enjoy the twist of arguing sports with a female who really knows her stuff, I prefer to keep my football and my romantic interests separate for the most part. Guys that I've talked to are split on this issue, but that's where I stand. Anyhow...)
I'm sure all of the players go home on brisk fall and winter nights after a hard-fought game and get into their team snuggie for awhile before hitting the hay. So naturally, I had to follow their lead and try that sucker out. I had heard as much about snuggies as the next guy, but would never buy one, so I seized my opportunity to see if it could live up to the hype.
It was pretty comfortable, a little too small on me, but not to the extent that it was physically restrictive. I'm sure they make different sizes anyway. It provided ample warmth for the brief period I was sporting it. I definitely enjoyed the movement I had in my arms, but I kept thinking to myself that it was ultimately unnecessary, and I would prefer a typical blanket any day of the week. I actually think having to leave the comfort of a blanket for a few minutes to grab a remote control or to take a leak makes you appreciate its warmth more when you return. And the transition itself between being cold to being warm is half the enjoyment of the body's temperature change.
I think the snuggie craze is emblematic of a larger idea embedded in a capitalist's mindset: If you can't think of something completely original, just tweak a classic and maybe it will become trendy enough to make you thousands. Or millions. (Not sure how much snuggies have grossed, although I am sure their inventor won't be going hungry this Thanksgiving) I'm not sure there's anything more/less wrong with this concept than any other one that involves making bank, I just think that a good amount of new crap is coming out these days that people could really do without. Then, said object becomes a trend and the self-imposed pressure to get it makes it feel like it's a necessity. Another big one for me is the internet on your phone. (RANT WARNING, I feel one coming on...) Are we really not around computers enough that we need to have internet access right in our pockets at all times. Yes, it's useful from time-to-time, but the majority of people I see with the feature could wait to get to a computer 95% of the time for whatever they're using it for at that point. Maybe there's a business aspect of this that I'm missing, I’m aware of the email aspect.
It just stinks that people have to be ball-and-chains to their work and/or their phones. And trust me, I am admittedly awful with texting. I text way too much and would be better off not having a cell phone at all. However, I still think of text messaging as a ball-and-chain moreso to people than to technology. And I'd much rather be "too into" other human beings than to a popular website or a flashy gadget. What do I know though?
I really hope I don't become one of those old timers on my rocking chair complaining about everything current and how stuff was so much better back in the day...I think it's inevitable. Nah, I'll just write it out of my system, although there's certainly no harm in a rocking chair on a front porch. Now that's living the good life right there.
Wow, this blog went all over the place. I'm out like snuggies in 6 months...
Yup, that is a Philadelphia Eagles edition of the immensely popular infomercial blanket/sweater hybrid.
(The snuggie's owner--a girl who worked for the Eagles--and I argued jokingly that she should give it up for a couple minutes so I could try it out, which she did. This was followed by 5-10 minutes of very serious arguing about Donovan McNabb’s legitimacy as a top-tier quarterback and whether or not her argument could be hold weight, as she was an employee of the organization. As much as I enjoy the twist of arguing sports with a female who really knows her stuff, I prefer to keep my football and my romantic interests separate for the most part. Guys that I've talked to are split on this issue, but that's where I stand. Anyhow...)
I'm sure all of the players go home on brisk fall and winter nights after a hard-fought game and get into their team snuggie for awhile before hitting the hay. So naturally, I had to follow their lead and try that sucker out. I had heard as much about snuggies as the next guy, but would never buy one, so I seized my opportunity to see if it could live up to the hype.
It was pretty comfortable, a little too small on me, but not to the extent that it was physically restrictive. I'm sure they make different sizes anyway. It provided ample warmth for the brief period I was sporting it. I definitely enjoyed the movement I had in my arms, but I kept thinking to myself that it was ultimately unnecessary, and I would prefer a typical blanket any day of the week. I actually think having to leave the comfort of a blanket for a few minutes to grab a remote control or to take a leak makes you appreciate its warmth more when you return. And the transition itself between being cold to being warm is half the enjoyment of the body's temperature change.
I think the snuggie craze is emblematic of a larger idea embedded in a capitalist's mindset: If you can't think of something completely original, just tweak a classic and maybe it will become trendy enough to make you thousands. Or millions. (Not sure how much snuggies have grossed, although I am sure their inventor won't be going hungry this Thanksgiving) I'm not sure there's anything more/less wrong with this concept than any other one that involves making bank, I just think that a good amount of new crap is coming out these days that people could really do without. Then, said object becomes a trend and the self-imposed pressure to get it makes it feel like it's a necessity. Another big one for me is the internet on your phone. (RANT WARNING, I feel one coming on...) Are we really not around computers enough that we need to have internet access right in our pockets at all times. Yes, it's useful from time-to-time, but the majority of people I see with the feature could wait to get to a computer 95% of the time for whatever they're using it for at that point. Maybe there's a business aspect of this that I'm missing, I’m aware of the email aspect.
It just stinks that people have to be ball-and-chains to their work and/or their phones. And trust me, I am admittedly awful with texting. I text way too much and would be better off not having a cell phone at all. However, I still think of text messaging as a ball-and-chain moreso to people than to technology. And I'd much rather be "too into" other human beings than to a popular website or a flashy gadget. What do I know though?I really hope I don't become one of those old timers on my rocking chair complaining about everything current and how stuff was so much better back in the day...I think it's inevitable. Nah, I'll just write it out of my system, although there's certainly no harm in a rocking chair on a front porch. Now that's living the good life right there.
Wow, this blog went all over the place. I'm out like snuggies in 6 months...
Friday, November 20, 2009
Homie Like Home Fries
I'm not sure there's a better breakfast option than at 2 local spots my fam squad hits for first meal on occasion. 2 eggs any style, home fries, toast and coffee for a hair over 3 bucks. 
Cha-ching, breakfast is served. A delicious meal, and filling enough to satisfy even the most mammoth of hungers. The home fries can be thanked for that.
Home fries have sneaked up my lifetime list of favorite potato foods. They passed their close cousin hash browns, and are making the pust towards french..er freedom fry status. I do not forsee them passing fries on the list because I really only crave home fries for a brief window in the morning. Freedom fries I could eat from Noon at lunch till 4am at a diner. Still, the point is that home fries are superb. I like mine well done, with loads of ketchup. And sliced in chunks. Not as big on the cubed version or the grated kind.
On another potato note, I'm not really huge on mashed potatos. Apparently, my sis makes some phenomenal smashed taters so I'm missing out. They just never did alot for me. They've grown on me a little over the past year, mainly because I had some amazing ones at Jared's wedding last summer. They are down on my list of favorite potato dishes though. Not as far down as potato salad mind you, but still low.
Anyhow, homie like his home fries, holla...
Cha-ching, breakfast is served. A delicious meal, and filling enough to satisfy even the most mammoth of hungers. The home fries can be thanked for that.Home fries have sneaked up my lifetime list of favorite potato foods. They passed their close cousin hash browns, and are making the pust towards french..er freedom fry status. I do not forsee them passing fries on the list because I really only crave home fries for a brief window in the morning. Freedom fries I could eat from Noon at lunch till 4am at a diner. Still, the point is that home fries are superb. I like mine well done, with loads of ketchup. And sliced in chunks. Not as big on the cubed version or the grated kind.
On another potato note, I'm not really huge on mashed potatos. Apparently, my sis makes some phenomenal smashed taters so I'm missing out. They just never did alot for me. They've grown on me a little over the past year, mainly because I had some amazing ones at Jared's wedding last summer. They are down on my list of favorite potato dishes though. Not as far down as potato salad mind you, but still low.
Anyhow, homie like his home fries, holla...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Dear Diary, I shall henceforth call you "Blog" to avoid sounding lame
So I was having trouble sleeping last night and was deep in thought and prayer to aid the process and to simultaneously avoid doing absolutely nothing in the dark for an extended period of time. I came to some pretty eye-opening religious/life conclusions. Hopefully I will shape and edit them into a comprehensible blog at a date to be determined, after thoughtful procrastination of course. But as I was attempting to collect my scattered thoughts, I began to realize that certain things were very borderline diaryesque.
As I pondered briefly the concept of a blog to begin with, I started to see the very blurred line that separated ramblings such as mine from your stereotypical 13-year-old girl's pink journal, which held all of her significant pre-pubescent crushes, secrets, and things of that nature. Sure, there are differences. I choose to publish my personal material in a public forum rather than keep it under bed, lock and key. I definitely don't crush on boys or feel the need to angrily write about my parents embarrasing me. And I would certainly hope that despite my propensity to say things like "ikeem" and "blankee", I do have a better grasp on the english language than your average 13-year-old. But I'm getting away from the point...
The justification for having a diary or a blog (a bloggary) could still be identical. Both are methods of venting. Both are ways to turn your thoughts into solid crap you can see. A blog is just a cooler, older-person way to pull off a diary without being made fun of...as much...And what's with people starting their thoughtful entries with "Dear Diary". I really don't understand why kids feel the need to write like that. Maybe they feel like it gives their thoughts some sort of clear-cut beginning, end and general format. Maybe people never really wrote like this, then it somehow became a prescribed Hollywood notion of what a diary log looks like so people adopted it.
You only say Dear _____ if you're addressing a person. For example:
Dear Martha,
My tea cozies have pick-up trucks and tool boxes sewn in.
Sincerely,
Ryan
PS- I wanted to drop your name in honor of you finding this blog. Thank you for getting me over the quarter-dozen hump in readership.
I would even condone writing to an imaginary friend over writing to the book itself. But alas, the average American imagination has withered with the concurrent blooming of really awful TV shows for kids. It's a legit issue that I will have to get into sometime. By the time I have kids, I'll have way bigger worries than if the first words that come when they put the pen to the paper are "Dear Diary." Shoot, at least they'll be writing.
OK let's recap the main points:
-I invent words like "bloggary" when I can't sleep
-Never really understood the whole "Dear Diary" writing intro
-There is no shame in lame. Only shame in lack of imagintation.
As I pondered briefly the concept of a blog to begin with, I started to see the very blurred line that separated ramblings such as mine from your stereotypical 13-year-old girl's pink journal, which held all of her significant pre-pubescent crushes, secrets, and things of that nature. Sure, there are differences. I choose to publish my personal material in a public forum rather than keep it under bed, lock and key. I definitely don't crush on boys or feel the need to angrily write about my parents embarrasing me. And I would certainly hope that despite my propensity to say things like "ikeem" and "blankee", I do have a better grasp on the english language than your average 13-year-old. But I'm getting away from the point...
The justification for having a diary or a blog (a bloggary) could still be identical. Both are methods of venting. Both are ways to turn your thoughts into solid crap you can see. A blog is just a cooler, older-person way to pull off a diary without being made fun of...as much...And what's with people starting their thoughtful entries with "Dear Diary". I really don't understand why kids feel the need to write like that. Maybe they feel like it gives their thoughts some sort of clear-cut beginning, end and general format. Maybe people never really wrote like this, then it somehow became a prescribed Hollywood notion of what a diary log looks like so people adopted it.
You only say Dear _____ if you're addressing a person. For example:
Dear Martha,
My tea cozies have pick-up trucks and tool boxes sewn in.
Sincerely,
Ryan
PS- I wanted to drop your name in honor of you finding this blog. Thank you for getting me over the quarter-dozen hump in readership.
I would even condone writing to an imaginary friend over writing to the book itself. But alas, the average American imagination has withered with the concurrent blooming of really awful TV shows for kids. It's a legit issue that I will have to get into sometime. By the time I have kids, I'll have way bigger worries than if the first words that come when they put the pen to the paper are "Dear Diary." Shoot, at least they'll be writing.
OK let's recap the main points:
-I invent words like "bloggary" when I can't sleep
-Never really understood the whole "Dear Diary" writing intro
-There is no shame in lame. Only shame in lack of imagintation.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Broken Sunglasses/Broken Man
Today I put my sunglasses in my pocket. Worst decision ever.
At approximately 2:15 PM (EST), while helping a friend move, a mattress was awkwardly shoved against my jean pocket, snapping the fragile glasses frame into 2 parts, left eye sun-protection and right eye protection with nosepiece. This was a devastating way to start my week.
Let me give you some background on these sunglasses. For starters, they were purchased originally from Fossil(the make has since been discontinued) by a close friend. I hate to call him out on this,
especially after you read about the role that he plays in this love story, but I have to be honest about the facts: He's kind of a sunglass man whore, just using pairs till he finds a new one that treats him good. Occasionally he'll settle down with a pair, but in reality he is to sunglasses what I'd imagine John Mayer is to Hollywood's female population.
One sunny day, the friend lent me this pair of shades, as he had moved on to another set and had these ones lying around. I put them on and it was love at first wear. Fashion-wise, sunglasses are the type of thing that really need to fit someone's face well or they don't work at all. Function-wise, sunglasses need to be the right tint and structure to feel comfortable while providing glare protection. It's really difficult to find the perfect pair sometimes, and I had been turned off to the whole shades scene by past relationships. Until these came along...
They fit perfectly, and the brown tint complimented both some of my favorite attire and enhanced the colors I saw the outside world in when they were on. My friend instantly saw the connection, and after a few months, officially handed them off to me. Months passed, and our connection only grew. We fielded compliments on our pairing on a regular basis, while getting through some difficult drives and enjoying some easy-going tailgates and beachtrips together.
Yesterday and Today, we had a surprise winter excursion together, as the weather became near-balmy for a short span. And that's when the disaster happened. I felt it coming as I put them in my pants pocket, that feeling of impending doom. I foolishly thought that the pants pocket had the best chance to keep them safe, enshrined in a denim dwelling rather than exposed to the outside perils of the moving day. And putting them down would risk them getting lost in the shuffle, a risk I couldn't in good conscience take.
Why didn't I keep them on you ask? Because wearing sunglasses indoors or on a rainy day is the equivalent to a couple making out on a subway, or salivating all over each other as they share one side of a restaurant's booth while the other remains unoccupied. No, me and those sunglasses were too classy for a move like that. What a frustrating end....
What's left to say but goodbye?
Farewell sweet shady spectacles, you will be missed, but hopefully there's another pair out there just like you. I will soon find out.
Let the search of a broken man for a new relationship begin...
At approximately 2:15 PM (EST), while helping a friend move, a mattress was awkwardly shoved against my jean pocket, snapping the fragile glasses frame into 2 parts, left eye sun-protection and right eye protection with nosepiece. This was a devastating way to start my week.
Let me give you some background on these sunglasses. For starters, they were purchased originally from Fossil(the make has since been discontinued) by a close friend. I hate to call him out on this,
especially after you read about the role that he plays in this love story, but I have to be honest about the facts: He's kind of a sunglass man whore, just using pairs till he finds a new one that treats him good. Occasionally he'll settle down with a pair, but in reality he is to sunglasses what I'd imagine John Mayer is to Hollywood's female population. One sunny day, the friend lent me this pair of shades, as he had moved on to another set and had these ones lying around. I put them on and it was love at first wear. Fashion-wise, sunglasses are the type of thing that really need to fit someone's face well or they don't work at all. Function-wise, sunglasses need to be the right tint and structure to feel comfortable while providing glare protection. It's really difficult to find the perfect pair sometimes, and I had been turned off to the whole shades scene by past relationships. Until these came along...
They fit perfectly, and the brown tint complimented both some of my favorite attire and enhanced the colors I saw the outside world in when they were on. My friend instantly saw the connection, and after a few months, officially handed them off to me. Months passed, and our connection only grew. We fielded compliments on our pairing on a regular basis, while getting through some difficult drives and enjoying some easy-going tailgates and beachtrips together.
Yesterday and Today, we had a surprise winter excursion together, as the weather became near-balmy for a short span. And that's when the disaster happened. I felt it coming as I put them in my pants pocket, that feeling of impending doom. I foolishly thought that the pants pocket had the best chance to keep them safe, enshrined in a denim dwelling rather than exposed to the outside perils of the moving day. And putting them down would risk them getting lost in the shuffle, a risk I couldn't in good conscience take.
Why didn't I keep them on you ask? Because wearing sunglasses indoors or on a rainy day is the equivalent to a couple making out on a subway, or salivating all over each other as they share one side of a restaurant's booth while the other remains unoccupied. No, me and those sunglasses were too classy for a move like that. What a frustrating end....
What's left to say but goodbye?
Farewell sweet shady spectacles, you will be missed, but hopefully there's another pair out there just like you. I will soon find out.
Let the search of a broken man for a new relationship begin...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Winter Wander-Land
It never ceases to amaze me how depressing this time of year is. There's a lull right after you lose an hour of daylight and before you gain any holiday cheer that's just downright dreadful. As someone who has been in and out of more winter (and just general) funks than I'd like to admit, the signs that it is just that, a funk, become extremely evident....
--People start convincing themselves that they're alone in the world because they're single, meanwhile the people who are in relationships with anyone but a spouse or fiance desperately want out, but are more often times than not terrified to admit it. I've been on both sides of this dastardly coin, and have found that "the grass is always greener" applies even more readily to the given situation during the winter blues months.
--Everyone seems to be in a trance, just wandering from place-to-place, on autopilot, not really calculating what's going on in the world around them. People make faces like they're sleepy when they've had plenty of shut-eye, and trudge about like everyday of life was preceded by a day in which they took part in a mini-marathon. In reality, the previous day was just like the current one: zoned out waiting for the next "thing" to grab one's fleeting attention.
--Much like the lull that consumes the day, a lull consumes larger periods of time, making it difficult to remember exact dates and events. This is not as bad for football fans, since we can just remember the closest game on the schedule to the even we're thinking about, and most of the time can get in the ballpark timezone-wise.
--Working out....BAHAHAHAHA, good luck. It's tough enough getting out of bed and busting your ass at work or school or commuting somewhere or waiting in line for a damn coffee so you don't go postal on someone along the way. Working out? That's just not going to happen and if it somehow does, it won't be with the same frequency or intensity.
.....There are literally a zillion other tall tale signs that you're in an early winter rut, but I'm going to stop there and look at the picture below...
This picture generally makes me happy during colder months. I really don't know how it wouldn't if you have ever read Calvin and Hobbes in your life. Best comic ever, but that's a blog for another day. Just had to share the cozy pic...
The idea of a "cozy" place isn't too masculine. I don't know why. But I do enjoy coziness, especially in the winter. I'm taking it upon myself to make "cozy" a masculine word.
You will henceforth think of cozy in the same light as you do "steak, guns, lager, football and ikeem."
...okay, maybe not ikeem, but you get my drift. Back to wandering....
--People start convincing themselves that they're alone in the world because they're single, meanwhile the people who are in relationships with anyone but a spouse or fiance desperately want out, but are more often times than not terrified to admit it. I've been on both sides of this dastardly coin, and have found that "the grass is always greener" applies even more readily to the given situation during the winter blues months.
--Everyone seems to be in a trance, just wandering from place-to-place, on autopilot, not really calculating what's going on in the world around them. People make faces like they're sleepy when they've had plenty of shut-eye, and trudge about like everyday of life was preceded by a day in which they took part in a mini-marathon. In reality, the previous day was just like the current one: zoned out waiting for the next "thing" to grab one's fleeting attention.
--Much like the lull that consumes the day, a lull consumes larger periods of time, making it difficult to remember exact dates and events. This is not as bad for football fans, since we can just remember the closest game on the schedule to the even we're thinking about, and most of the time can get in the ballpark timezone-wise.
--Working out....BAHAHAHAHA, good luck. It's tough enough getting out of bed and busting your ass at work or school or commuting somewhere or waiting in line for a damn coffee so you don't go postal on someone along the way. Working out? That's just not going to happen and if it somehow does, it won't be with the same frequency or intensity.
.....There are literally a zillion other tall tale signs that you're in an early winter rut, but I'm going to stop there and look at the picture below...
This picture generally makes me happy during colder months. I really don't know how it wouldn't if you have ever read Calvin and Hobbes in your life. Best comic ever, but that's a blog for another day. Just had to share the cozy pic...
The idea of a "cozy" place isn't too masculine. I don't know why. But I do enjoy coziness, especially in the winter. I'm taking it upon myself to make "cozy" a masculine word.
You will henceforth think of cozy in the same light as you do "steak, guns, lager, football and ikeem."
...okay, maybe not ikeem, but you get my drift. Back to wandering....
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Most Disturbing Picture of the Day/Month/Life
View at your own risk...This is undoubtedly the most unsettling picture I have seen in awhile. Ex-slugger Sammy Sosa is pulling a Michael Jackson apparently. Why, why, WHY would someone do this to themselves?!?! To think that I've been really tight on finances recently and Sammy is spending his millions to get paler.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Weekend Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down
One of the reoccurring entries I do on my blog is the Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down piece, to give people an idea of the highlights and lowlights of my thrilling life. It really is just a variation of basically the same regurgitated style of writing all 3 of you have become accustomed to over my time spewing my thoughts into the blogosphere. (Note: The word “blogosphere” really does something for me. It’s fun to toss around) Anyhow, on to the good and bad from Halloweekend 2009…
Thumbs Up: To watching everyday actions performed by people in costumes. There were multiple times throughout my weekend where I was LOL’ing over something that I wouldn’t look twice at, had the people involved not been goofily dressed up. The more serious the interaction, the more ridiculous looking in costume. For example, anyone trying to bust a move while wearing a Zorro mask, hat and cape (Me) would make a complete ass out of themselves regardless of how stellar their routine was. Two guys with egos jawing at each other on the verge of a physical confrontation normally would seem either serious or stupid (depending on what the fight was over) but really, in costume, it’s just hysterical looking. Other random things made hilarious by costume include: Flirting, ordering a drink, taking a leak (I was having some cape issue in the restroom at times), waiting in a line, crossing a street, hailing a cab etc. Just priceless….
Thumbs Down: Obnoxious chodes who ruin a night out. They are everywhere, there’s no doubt about it. Still, they are far more prevalent in certain areas than in others. West Chester, for instance, is in the Macho-Douchebag-Town Hall of Fame. I think after this past weekend, I can safely add Manayunk to that list. There were no incidents that completely destroyed my time, but I got a bit nervous a few times that a situation might be looming. Whenever that personality type is around, you got to keep an eye out.
Thumbs Up: The Eagles really laid the smack down on the Giants on Sunday afternoon. They set the stage for what all of Philly hoped would be a full day of New York whuppings. Unfortunately, the Big Apple bashing only lasted for till the night came…
Thumbs Down: Some costly mistakes by the Phils to go down 3-1 in the World Series. Saturday hurt a little, but Sunday was agonizing. I’ve never received so many texts in my life that said something to the extent of, “I just feel physically sick after watching that game. This suuuuucks.”
Thumbs Down: Whenever the Sister takes trips home to visit from Happy Valley, we seem to be on completely different schedules. We’re both always ecstatic to see each other but have trouble getting substantial chill-time. We ended up knocking out a solid 3 seasons of the Office together but could not watch episodes from the other 3 together.
Thumbs Up: To our unsuccessful, yet entertaining, trip costume hunting for me. Great bro-sis time, and I ended up going with old faithful (Zorro) anyway, so it all worked out. One of the highlights of my weekend. We counsel each other through our predicaments with the opposite sex and dissect good/bad/awkward Lewis Family dynamics…of which there are many.
Thumbs Up: To the Blanch family costume party, which was pretty awesome, to no one’s surprise. They are just fun people to be around, and always deliver the goods for any seasonal get-together. I’m sure there will be pictures that I will never see due to my facebook departure, but I have no doubt they will give excellent representation of the H-Town mayhem.
Thumbs Down: To having a great weekend end on such a sour note. I know I brought them up before, but the Phightins are just killing me right now. I’m trying to keep the faith that the Phils will make it a series and somehow take this to a game 7….I’m not giving up yet. We’re on the ropes, but not out for the count…
Thumbs Up: Phils win tonight and take the series back to NY. Is it the blind optimist in me talking? Yes. But it’s also very doable. Go Phils!
Oh, and, as always...
Thumbs Down: To radical liberal thinking, and
Thumbs Up: To ryforry.blogspot.com
Thumbs Up: To watching everyday actions performed by people in costumes. There were multiple times throughout my weekend where I was LOL’ing over something that I wouldn’t look twice at, had the people involved not been goofily dressed up. The more serious the interaction, the more ridiculous looking in costume. For example, anyone trying to bust a move while wearing a Zorro mask, hat and cape (Me) would make a complete ass out of themselves regardless of how stellar their routine was. Two guys with egos jawing at each other on the verge of a physical confrontation normally would seem either serious or stupid (depending on what the fight was over) but really, in costume, it’s just hysterical looking. Other random things made hilarious by costume include: Flirting, ordering a drink, taking a leak (I was having some cape issue in the restroom at times), waiting in a line, crossing a street, hailing a cab etc. Just priceless….
Thumbs Down: Obnoxious chodes who ruin a night out. They are everywhere, there’s no doubt about it. Still, they are far more prevalent in certain areas than in others. West Chester, for instance, is in the Macho-Douchebag-Town Hall of Fame. I think after this past weekend, I can safely add Manayunk to that list. There were no incidents that completely destroyed my time, but I got a bit nervous a few times that a situation might be looming. Whenever that personality type is around, you got to keep an eye out.
Thumbs Up: The Eagles really laid the smack down on the Giants on Sunday afternoon. They set the stage for what all of Philly hoped would be a full day of New York whuppings. Unfortunately, the Big Apple bashing only lasted for till the night came…
Thumbs Down: Some costly mistakes by the Phils to go down 3-1 in the World Series. Saturday hurt a little, but Sunday was agonizing. I’ve never received so many texts in my life that said something to the extent of, “I just feel physically sick after watching that game. This suuuuucks.”
Thumbs Down: Whenever the Sister takes trips home to visit from Happy Valley, we seem to be on completely different schedules. We’re both always ecstatic to see each other but have trouble getting substantial chill-time. We ended up knocking out a solid 3 seasons of the Office together but could not watch episodes from the other 3 together.
Thumbs Up: To our unsuccessful, yet entertaining, trip costume hunting for me. Great bro-sis time, and I ended up going with old faithful (Zorro) anyway, so it all worked out. One of the highlights of my weekend. We counsel each other through our predicaments with the opposite sex and dissect good/bad/awkward Lewis Family dynamics…of which there are many.
Thumbs Up: To the Blanch family costume party, which was pretty awesome, to no one’s surprise. They are just fun people to be around, and always deliver the goods for any seasonal get-together. I’m sure there will be pictures that I will never see due to my facebook departure, but I have no doubt they will give excellent representation of the H-Town mayhem.
Thumbs Down: To having a great weekend end on such a sour note. I know I brought them up before, but the Phightins are just killing me right now. I’m trying to keep the faith that the Phils will make it a series and somehow take this to a game 7….I’m not giving up yet. We’re on the ropes, but not out for the count…
Thumbs Up: Phils win tonight and take the series back to NY. Is it the blind optimist in me talking? Yes. But it’s also very doable. Go Phils!
Oh, and, as always...
Thumbs Down: To radical liberal thinking, and
Thumbs Up: To ryforry.blogspot.com
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
I HATE NEW YORK!!!
The theme of this blog post is simple. If you don't read a single word past the title, you will have still gotten the gist. There would be nothing that would give me more satisfaction at this point in time that beating the crap out of their overpaid, overrated, over-publicized trend of a team. Saying I was excited, amped or juiced for this series would be an understatement. 
Plus, I think A-Rod's been juiced enough for the both of us. Anyways, without further ado, I will give you a list of random things I hate about New York. After all, I have to kill the painful hours of anticipation for game 1 of the Fall Classic.
WHY I HATE NY:
1) The Yankees
2) The Mets
3) Mr. Met
4-8) The Giants, Jets, Rangers, Knicks, and yes even the lowly Islanders...and this doesn't include the hatred I have for specific New York athletes
9) The accents are despicable, they make me want to vomit then go on a tongue- removing spree
10) The way they think they're the only city to do Pizza right. Yes it's good, but it's also absurdly overrated
11) Sex and the City is based there. It perpetuates hundreds of myths about the city.
12) Everything's overpriced, EVERYTHING
13) I hate the fact that I enjoy the tune and beat in that stupid Jay-Z/Alicia Keys song. I am officially riding the hate train away from that.
14) The traffic is worse than Philly
15) I hate that I can never remember all 5 boroughs of the stupid city
16) I hate the term "Big Apple", and hope their big apple gets worm infested
17) I hate all the gay trends that start in New York, fashion or otherwise
18) I hate that Derek Jeter has become this baseball legend and everyone has to gush over him at all times. If you don't then you're not a true baseball fan. Kiss my big fat Liberty Bell Derek!!!
19) Eli Manning
20) Super Bowl XLII
21) Michael Stahan's sitcom
22) I hate the idea that Philadelphia has a Napoleon complex because it lives in the shadow of NYC. We don't have a Napoleon complex, we just know an overrated city full of people who talk like idiots when we come across one.
23) I hate Yankees hats. 1 out of every 134 people wearing a Yanks cap could tell you half their starting lineup. Whyyyyyy do I have to see them everywhere I go?
24) I hate the concept of the Subway series. We get it. The NY teams are playing each other and everyone is gagaga for the next bunch of games.
25) I hate that people always talk about how many talented people come from New York. Such a breeding ground for stardom. Well let's see here. You guys have more than 8 million people in the damn city, and have 2.5 times more people than the second largest city in the country. Just playing the odds, I'm going to say it's not that unnatural that alot of famous people would come from NY.
26) I hate the obnoxious morning shows that air live from New York, with people waiting in the blistering cold for a chance to get their "creative" sign on national television.
27) I hate the Spike Lee movies I've seen, and I can't stomach having to see his mug sitting courtside 800 times per Knicks game.
28) I hate the fact that the Meadowlands is actually in New Jersey, even though it plays home to both New York football teams.
29) It's an obvious one, but who doesn't hate the New York baseball squads for buying their teams.
OK....that's all I'm putting down for right now. Plenty more where that came from, but for now, I'm way to anxious to be sitting at a computer pecking away...
GAME 1......
LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Plus, I think A-Rod's been juiced enough for the both of us. Anyways, without further ado, I will give you a list of random things I hate about New York. After all, I have to kill the painful hours of anticipation for game 1 of the Fall Classic.
WHY I HATE NY:
1) The Yankees
2) The Mets
3) Mr. Met
4-8) The Giants, Jets, Rangers, Knicks, and yes even the lowly Islanders...and this doesn't include the hatred I have for specific New York athletes
9) The accents are despicable, they make me want to vomit then go on a tongue- removing spree
10) The way they think they're the only city to do Pizza right. Yes it's good, but it's also absurdly overrated
11) Sex and the City is based there. It perpetuates hundreds of myths about the city.
12) Everything's overpriced, EVERYTHING
13) I hate the fact that I enjoy the tune and beat in that stupid Jay-Z/Alicia Keys song. I am officially riding the hate train away from that.
14) The traffic is worse than Philly
15) I hate that I can never remember all 5 boroughs of the stupid city
16) I hate the term "Big Apple", and hope their big apple gets worm infested
17) I hate all the gay trends that start in New York, fashion or otherwise
18) I hate that Derek Jeter has become this baseball legend and everyone has to gush over him at all times. If you don't then you're not a true baseball fan. Kiss my big fat Liberty Bell Derek!!!
19) Eli Manning
20) Super Bowl XLII
21) Michael Stahan's sitcom
22) I hate the idea that Philadelphia has a Napoleon complex because it lives in the shadow of NYC. We don't have a Napoleon complex, we just know an overrated city full of people who talk like idiots when we come across one.
23) I hate Yankees hats. 1 out of every 134 people wearing a Yanks cap could tell you half their starting lineup. Whyyyyyy do I have to see them everywhere I go?
24) I hate the concept of the Subway series. We get it. The NY teams are playing each other and everyone is gagaga for the next bunch of games.
25) I hate that people always talk about how many talented people come from New York. Such a breeding ground for stardom. Well let's see here. You guys have more than 8 million people in the damn city, and have 2.5 times more people than the second largest city in the country. Just playing the odds, I'm going to say it's not that unnatural that alot of famous people would come from NY.
26) I hate the obnoxious morning shows that air live from New York, with people waiting in the blistering cold for a chance to get their "creative" sign on national television.
27) I hate the Spike Lee movies I've seen, and I can't stomach having to see his mug sitting courtside 800 times per Knicks game.
28) I hate the fact that the Meadowlands is actually in New Jersey, even though it plays home to both New York football teams.
29) It's an obvious one, but who doesn't hate the New York baseball squads for buying their teams.
OK....that's all I'm putting down for right now. Plenty more where that came from, but for now, I'm way to anxious to be sitting at a computer pecking away...
GAME 1......
LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Halloween Skankiness
It's your favorite time of the year hoe-bags. It's that one day of the year where 96.4% of the female population decide that it's ok, nay encouraged, to dress like prostitutes. Whether you're a cop, a nurse, or a disney princess, chances are you're going to look looser than a defensive scheme in the NBA when October 31st rolls around.
It's really strange how excited the majority of girls get about looking slutty one day a year, while bitching about the lack of respect men show them the other 364. Yes, you will get some wandering male eyes and probably a few cat calls, but is that type of "show-it-off" personality going to get a decent man to get down on one knee anytime soon? I'm going to say no. And while the degree of skankiness a girl's costume has may not be completely proportional to the percentage chance she has of tying the knot, it definitely doesn't separate her from the crowd.
Does it bother me that females choose to dress like brothel workers on the Devil's day? No, not at all. As a matter of fact it makes alot of sense to me in the big scheme of things. That said, though you may catch a glance from me since I am both male and human, you will not be given the time of day. Why? Doing the female halloween norm with your costume is, whether inadvertant or not, telling me one of the following things about you:
1) You lack originality or are downright lazy- I've been to places the last 3 years where there have been tons of slutty nurses, hoards of skanky policewomen, and even multiple Snow White hookers in the same stinking party! Also, it takes a pretty cool chick to come out in something creative that can get a guys (or anyone's) attention without looking like a dancer in a bad-rap music video.
2) You are, in fact, a real life Slutty McSleepAround- I mean with some girls on Halloween, what you see from their costume choice is what you get. Easy costume, Eaaaaaasier female.
3) You're a slave to (whorish) convention/ You desperately need attention- It takes stones to dress differently then a group of friends, and girls are always rolling out in packs these days. And when you're in a pack, drawing attention is usually about who is the most over-the-top slutty looking. There's just never enough attention to go around, especially at costume parties.
4) I'm not writing any more, but I do get bonus points here for making the items in #3 rhyme.
Anyways, I felt like I should write about this now, because when Halloween rolls around, the only attire that matters is jerseys, cleats and gloves. I am officially transitioning into REPEAT-mindset, and if you aren't prefacing whatever it is you want to talk to me about with a Phillies related comment, chances are it will fall on deaf ears. 4 MORE WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNS!
It's really strange how excited the majority of girls get about looking slutty one day a year, while bitching about the lack of respect men show them the other 364. Yes, you will get some wandering male eyes and probably a few cat calls, but is that type of "show-it-off" personality going to get a decent man to get down on one knee anytime soon? I'm going to say no. And while the degree of skankiness a girl's costume has may not be completely proportional to the percentage chance she has of tying the knot, it definitely doesn't separate her from the crowd.
Does it bother me that females choose to dress like brothel workers on the Devil's day? No, not at all. As a matter of fact it makes alot of sense to me in the big scheme of things. That said, though you may catch a glance from me since I am both male and human, you will not be given the time of day. Why? Doing the female halloween norm with your costume is, whether inadvertant or not, telling me one of the following things about you:
1) You lack originality or are downright lazy- I've been to places the last 3 years where there have been tons of slutty nurses, hoards of skanky policewomen, and even multiple Snow White hookers in the same stinking party! Also, it takes a pretty cool chick to come out in something creative that can get a guys (or anyone's) attention without looking like a dancer in a bad-rap music video.
2) You are, in fact, a real life Slutty McSleepAround- I mean with some girls on Halloween, what you see from their costume choice is what you get. Easy costume, Eaaaaaasier female.
3) You're a slave to (whorish) convention/ You desperately need attention- It takes stones to dress differently then a group of friends, and girls are always rolling out in packs these days. And when you're in a pack, drawing attention is usually about who is the most over-the-top slutty looking. There's just never enough attention to go around, especially at costume parties.
4) I'm not writing any more, but I do get bonus points here for making the items in #3 rhyme.
Anyways, I felt like I should write about this now, because when Halloween rolls around, the only attire that matters is jerseys, cleats and gloves. I am officially transitioning into REPEAT-mindset, and if you aren't prefacing whatever it is you want to talk to me about with a Phillies related comment, chances are it will fall on deaf ears. 4 MORE WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNS!
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