I am a big fan of the fall season. I just love the weather and everything the season has to offer. There is something about the crisp fall air, that just brings me joy...and clears my nasal passage. I breathe easier in the fall, it's not as stuffy as Summer and not as dry as Winter. In the fall, I could wear wrap sweaters and no jacket - I love wrap sweaters and have a large collection of them in my closet. Half of my closet is dedicated to Fall/Winter clothing/shoes & the other half is dedicated to Spring/Summer. I have trouble letting go of things, so I compromise and keep both. Life is all about compromisation (I might have made that word up...I do that a lot, it's fun for me).
I hear fireworks outside my window, which is weird. I mean, who has a fireworks show in November?! November is more of a parade month than a fireworks month. I love the people who enjoy riding on parade floats; they are usually visiting from Kentucky and are married to their 2nd cousin. I don't mean to stereotype float riders, but statistics don't lie and neither do my hips.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Abnormality is the new black.
The one person we spend our entire lives with, is ourselves. Being that we are with ourselves literally all the time, I find it normal that I talk to myself. We all do it. It's psychologically impossible not to talk/think to yourself...I dare you to try it for a day. That will drive you more insane than the people who have full-on conversations with themselves out loud. Nowadays, it is more normal to be abnormal...everyone's doing it.
Abnormality, so hot right now.
Abnormality, so hot right now.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
I had a dream...
...that I didn't have to go to work today. No really, this morning I dreamt that I called in to take a personal day; only to wake up and come to the realization that I did in fact have to go to work. There's nothing worse than not being able to decipher your dreams from reality, especially when you think you have the day off. Often times I find myself stuck in between the realms of dreams & reality. So it's still kind of hard to tell if I really do have a chance with Josh Duhamel.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Phoenicia is for lovers.
On Friday July 13th 2007, 10 Horizon Media employees embarked on a journey that would not be forgotten. As the 10 HMI’ers headed towards the Upstate N.Y. area, they pondered on the thoughts of what was going to transpire on their weekend in the woods. Some might have asked “will we see a bear? And if we do, will we get eaten?”, others might have asked “will we be hunting for our own food?” or “will we be able to shower?” – And the answers to all were: no (but if we did, we probably would have been eaten), no & NEVER. Even after pouring bacon grease on the ground, flipping our tubes in the rapids and playing a friendly game of touch football in the heat, there were no bears or showers.
On the ride up, those traveling in Josh W’s car (Me, Hal & Blake) had the opportunity to explore the Bronx more than they would have preferred to explore it. This unnecessary exploration was courtesy of Hal “Legs” Coopersmith. “I thought we were supposed to get killed by bears this weekend, not guns” said a very patient Josh W, while Hal quickly quipped back with “Stop talking about my arms”. Do you have a permit for those “guns” Hal? Josh W’s car also had the courtesy of watching a highway wall being shifted; as if Hal isn’t entertaining enough on a 2.5 hour car ride, the wall shifting posed as great entertainment for the group.
The campsite was reached at around 9:30 on Friday night; Brian Hildenbrand, Ankit Bajooj & Jeni Dill were already there, with a lit fire & man-made fort ready to go. Josh W. and Hal then proceeded to pitch their 8 person tent. The tent went up fine, but somehow the guys managed to misplace some of the tent materials, only to find out at the end of the trip when the tent was disassembled, that it was pitched on top of these missing materials. Once everyone else arrived, pitched their tents and got settled, the weekend of fun in the woods began.
The first night of the camping trip was the “get to know each other better” night. As the 10 HMI’ers sat around a well-lit lantern (not to be confused with the well-lit fire that was behind them) drinking the night away, some discoveries were made. Blake de la Torre had a revelation about 2 of our peers and their resemblance to Sesame Street Characters – “don’t they look like Bert and Ernie right now!!” proclaimed Blake while she pointed to Horizon’s very own Hal Coopersmith & Ankit Bajaj. Ankit Bajaj was in agreement with Blake’s statement exclaiming “Clearly…he’s Bert”. After a few hours filled with alcohol, tent “sessions” & fun, the campers called it a night and resided to their given tents, while praying that they are not eaten in their sleep by bears and other wild animals.
The next day we woke up (if we even slept at all) to the smell of bacon…a whole lot of bacon (which was not dropped on the floor, and deemed ok by the 5 second rule). After consuming a plethora of bacon, eggs, cheese, English muffins and donuts, the campers geared up for an exciting and adventurous day of tubing. We got to the Town Tinker tube rental, and immediately rented tubes, life jackets (which come in handy when your tube flips over and you are stuck under it) & sneakers (which were quite fashionable and rather up to date for sneakers you are wearing solely for tubing purposes). A group consensus was made and the group decided that the advanced trail was the route to go. We waited patiently to board the bus to Esopus Creek, which was driven by a man who looked like he could have been one of the Doobie brothers.
Once we reached the creek and its freezing waters, all of the HMI’ers jumped in and started drifting along with the rapids. When the first big drop was reached, not all HMI’ers landed back on their tubes. I flipped over and was briefly stuck underneath her tube, making it harder for her to get back on. After a few minutes of being dragged by the rapids while holding onto my tube and some help from Brian Hildenbrand, I was able to get back on. Jen Dill & Melissa Plush also flipped over during that first drop, but they were able to quickly recover and get back on their tube. Blake's tubing experience didn’t go quite as smooth as the others; Blake was knocked out of her tube mid-way down the creek and drifted into several boulders (there were no rocks in that creek, only boulders) while trying to get back on. Ankit Bajooj was lucky enough to flow straight down the creek with no problems; maybe the rest of us would have flowed smoother if we too had a small boat engine connected to the bottom of our tubes. Melissa Plush came up with what she thought was a great idea, to “tie our tubes together”…all girls quickly denied the opportunity, deeming it an un-safe procedure to be performed by someone other than a professional. Overall, tubing was great success! (To be said in a Borat accent).
Post-tubing the group headed over to Brio’s Pizzeria, for some wings (the best wings in the world, according to Ernie Bajooj) & some delicious pizza. As if being smashed into rocks during tubing wasn’t enough for Ms. Blake de la Torre, she was also shat on by tweety while waiting for lunch to be served. “That bird came out of nowhere. It was almost as if he was looking for Blake. But let me tell you if I EVER see that bird again, he’s going down…all the way down to Chinatown” said a concerned Maya Illowite. After lunch the crew headed over to the Ice Cream Shoppe and enjoyed a refreshing treat after a tube-u-lar day.
As if they didn’t eat enough, the group went on a search for the grocery store, to buy food to cook for dinner. We got the food and headed back to the campground where the gaming began (no birds were harmed in the process). Touch football was the game of choice with captains Bert & Ernie picking teams. Ernie’s team consisted of J-Dilla, Josh Kovacs, Melissa Plush & Maya Illowite and Bert’s team consisted of Brian Hildenbrand, Blake de la Torre/Me & Josh Waldman. Ernie’s team quickly scored 2 touchdowns, with Bert’s team scoring 1 touchdown. An end of the game collision between Lindsay and Blake caused the duo to finally “detach”; “well, they’re definitely not attached at the hip anymore!” exclaimed Melissa Plush (who didn’t shower until Monday morning). Ernie’s team defeated Bert’s 3-1. After his victorious win, Ernie went straight for the bath to celebrate with his good friend, Rubber Ducky…afterall, he is the one. The rest of the day consisted of drinking massive amounts of acohol, games of flip-cup, more “tent sessions” & still no showers.
As nighttime rolled around, the on-site chefs began to cook dinner. Delicious steaks, burgers, wieners, corn & zucchini were served to 10 VERY happy campers. Some campers even indulged in a post “session” munchie rage, passing around such items as Doritos Munchie Mix, Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips and chocolate chip cookies (which were served fresh off the grill courtesy of Melissa Plush). This “session” also brought forth a very interesting & entertaining game of “I’m going on a camping trip and I’m bringing…” Here is a list of items which the campers were bringing: Alcohol, Bajooj family portrait, Chlamydia, Dark People, Ellen Degeneres with Elephantitis, Funyons, Go-go Gadget Arms, Harpoon, Illusionist David Blaine, Jenna Jameson, Keds, Lindsay Lohan & Michael Jackson…now that sounds like one crazy-*ss camping trip!
After dinner came more drinking & fun. Some of the group headed over the field to watch the stars – it was one of the most beautiful skies the crew had ever seen. So beautiful, that Bert & Ernie decided to stay a little longer than the rest of the group and take a nap out there. After 30 minutes of not noticing they were even gone, we began to realize that they had not returned. A few campers set-out to find the two and make sure they weren’t eaten by wild coyotes or doe’s. The two were found passed out in the field; so we did what anyone would to 2 people sleeping where they shouldn’t be…we took pictures. We also placed the Catch Phrase game next to their heads, set it off and ran. Bert woke up and quickly headed back to the campsite, leaving his buddy Ernie behind…still passed out. So we did what anyone would do to someone who was left behind and still passed out…we took more pictures. The group decided that since Ernie wasn’t waking up from the sound coming from the Catch Phrase game, that we would need something noisier & more annoying, so we left one of the walkie-talkies next to Ernie’s head. After setting it off about a million times, Ernie finally woke up and came back over to the rest of the crew.
Before bed time the crew had yet another “tent session”, but this time they heard something that they had not heard the entire trip (but some had suspected would happen), they heard the groans of a big black bear. Although there were no encounters with this bear, we still had the opportunity to hear that there was a bear nearby. The only real wild animal sighting was during dinner when we saw a doe attempting to come party with us. Blake spotted the doe, jumped on the table and pointed for everyone to look. Now, if I was that deer, I would have felt really self-conscious to have a group pointing at me and staring; I would have ran away too. After hearing the bear groans, the group went to bed with excitement just thinking about the breakfast that was in store.
The next day, the group woke-up, packed their bags, took down the tents and said goodbye to Kenneth L. Wilson campgrounds, before heading out to breakfast. With succulent French toast, delectable gourmet pancakes & omelets to die for, Sweet Sue’s is undeniably one of the best restaurants in the world, and we all had the opportunity to eat there. The portions are so large that everything can be shared and everyone has the chance to taste a number of dishes. Eating at Sweet Sue’s also brought forth the idea for a business venture; I’d say eating there was a double whammy. After eating such a delicious breakfast, the group headed towards Woodstock for what would have be a nice afternoon of exploration, but this quickly took a turn for the worse, when as soon as we parked our cars, the rain began. We decided to call it a weekend and all headed home.
This weekend has proven to be such a great success, that plans for another trip are already in discussion - camping was a great experience for all, everyone got along swimmingly & many bonds were formed. I think it’s safe to say that we all brought back a little piece of Kenneth Wilson Park & Phoenicia with us (especially for those who still haven’t done laundry).
On the ride up, those traveling in Josh W’s car (Me, Hal & Blake) had the opportunity to explore the Bronx more than they would have preferred to explore it. This unnecessary exploration was courtesy of Hal “Legs” Coopersmith. “I thought we were supposed to get killed by bears this weekend, not guns” said a very patient Josh W, while Hal quickly quipped back with “Stop talking about my arms”. Do you have a permit for those “guns” Hal? Josh W’s car also had the courtesy of watching a highway wall being shifted; as if Hal isn’t entertaining enough on a 2.5 hour car ride, the wall shifting posed as great entertainment for the group.
The campsite was reached at around 9:30 on Friday night; Brian Hildenbrand, Ankit Bajooj & Jeni Dill were already there, with a lit fire & man-made fort ready to go. Josh W. and Hal then proceeded to pitch their 8 person tent. The tent went up fine, but somehow the guys managed to misplace some of the tent materials, only to find out at the end of the trip when the tent was disassembled, that it was pitched on top of these missing materials. Once everyone else arrived, pitched their tents and got settled, the weekend of fun in the woods began.
The first night of the camping trip was the “get to know each other better” night. As the 10 HMI’ers sat around a well-lit lantern (not to be confused with the well-lit fire that was behind them) drinking the night away, some discoveries were made. Blake de la Torre had a revelation about 2 of our peers and their resemblance to Sesame Street Characters – “don’t they look like Bert and Ernie right now!!” proclaimed Blake while she pointed to Horizon’s very own Hal Coopersmith & Ankit Bajaj. Ankit Bajaj was in agreement with Blake’s statement exclaiming “Clearly…he’s Bert”. After a few hours filled with alcohol, tent “sessions” & fun, the campers called it a night and resided to their given tents, while praying that they are not eaten in their sleep by bears and other wild animals.
The next day we woke up (if we even slept at all) to the smell of bacon…a whole lot of bacon (which was not dropped on the floor, and deemed ok by the 5 second rule). After consuming a plethora of bacon, eggs, cheese, English muffins and donuts, the campers geared up for an exciting and adventurous day of tubing. We got to the Town Tinker tube rental, and immediately rented tubes, life jackets (which come in handy when your tube flips over and you are stuck under it) & sneakers (which were quite fashionable and rather up to date for sneakers you are wearing solely for tubing purposes). A group consensus was made and the group decided that the advanced trail was the route to go. We waited patiently to board the bus to Esopus Creek, which was driven by a man who looked like he could have been one of the Doobie brothers.
Once we reached the creek and its freezing waters, all of the HMI’ers jumped in and started drifting along with the rapids. When the first big drop was reached, not all HMI’ers landed back on their tubes. I flipped over and was briefly stuck underneath her tube, making it harder for her to get back on. After a few minutes of being dragged by the rapids while holding onto my tube and some help from Brian Hildenbrand, I was able to get back on. Jen Dill & Melissa Plush also flipped over during that first drop, but they were able to quickly recover and get back on their tube. Blake's tubing experience didn’t go quite as smooth as the others; Blake was knocked out of her tube mid-way down the creek and drifted into several boulders (there were no rocks in that creek, only boulders) while trying to get back on. Ankit Bajooj was lucky enough to flow straight down the creek with no problems; maybe the rest of us would have flowed smoother if we too had a small boat engine connected to the bottom of our tubes. Melissa Plush came up with what she thought was a great idea, to “tie our tubes together”…all girls quickly denied the opportunity, deeming it an un-safe procedure to be performed by someone other than a professional. Overall, tubing was great success! (To be said in a Borat accent).
Post-tubing the group headed over to Brio’s Pizzeria, for some wings (the best wings in the world, according to Ernie Bajooj) & some delicious pizza. As if being smashed into rocks during tubing wasn’t enough for Ms. Blake de la Torre, she was also shat on by tweety while waiting for lunch to be served. “That bird came out of nowhere. It was almost as if he was looking for Blake. But let me tell you if I EVER see that bird again, he’s going down…all the way down to Chinatown” said a concerned Maya Illowite. After lunch the crew headed over to the Ice Cream Shoppe and enjoyed a refreshing treat after a tube-u-lar day.
As if they didn’t eat enough, the group went on a search for the grocery store, to buy food to cook for dinner. We got the food and headed back to the campground where the gaming began (no birds were harmed in the process). Touch football was the game of choice with captains Bert & Ernie picking teams. Ernie’s team consisted of J-Dilla, Josh Kovacs, Melissa Plush & Maya Illowite and Bert’s team consisted of Brian Hildenbrand, Blake de la Torre/Me & Josh Waldman. Ernie’s team quickly scored 2 touchdowns, with Bert’s team scoring 1 touchdown. An end of the game collision between Lindsay and Blake caused the duo to finally “detach”; “well, they’re definitely not attached at the hip anymore!” exclaimed Melissa Plush (who didn’t shower until Monday morning). Ernie’s team defeated Bert’s 3-1. After his victorious win, Ernie went straight for the bath to celebrate with his good friend, Rubber Ducky…afterall, he is the one. The rest of the day consisted of drinking massive amounts of acohol, games of flip-cup, more “tent sessions” & still no showers.
As nighttime rolled around, the on-site chefs began to cook dinner. Delicious steaks, burgers, wieners, corn & zucchini were served to 10 VERY happy campers. Some campers even indulged in a post “session” munchie rage, passing around such items as Doritos Munchie Mix, Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips and chocolate chip cookies (which were served fresh off the grill courtesy of Melissa Plush). This “session” also brought forth a very interesting & entertaining game of “I’m going on a camping trip and I’m bringing…” Here is a list of items which the campers were bringing: Alcohol, Bajooj family portrait, Chlamydia, Dark People, Ellen Degeneres with Elephantitis, Funyons, Go-go Gadget Arms, Harpoon, Illusionist David Blaine, Jenna Jameson, Keds, Lindsay Lohan & Michael Jackson…now that sounds like one crazy-*ss camping trip!
After dinner came more drinking & fun. Some of the group headed over the field to watch the stars – it was one of the most beautiful skies the crew had ever seen. So beautiful, that Bert & Ernie decided to stay a little longer than the rest of the group and take a nap out there. After 30 minutes of not noticing they were even gone, we began to realize that they had not returned. A few campers set-out to find the two and make sure they weren’t eaten by wild coyotes or doe’s. The two were found passed out in the field; so we did what anyone would to 2 people sleeping where they shouldn’t be…we took pictures. We also placed the Catch Phrase game next to their heads, set it off and ran. Bert woke up and quickly headed back to the campsite, leaving his buddy Ernie behind…still passed out. So we did what anyone would do to someone who was left behind and still passed out…we took more pictures. The group decided that since Ernie wasn’t waking up from the sound coming from the Catch Phrase game, that we would need something noisier & more annoying, so we left one of the walkie-talkies next to Ernie’s head. After setting it off about a million times, Ernie finally woke up and came back over to the rest of the crew.
Before bed time the crew had yet another “tent session”, but this time they heard something that they had not heard the entire trip (but some had suspected would happen), they heard the groans of a big black bear. Although there were no encounters with this bear, we still had the opportunity to hear that there was a bear nearby. The only real wild animal sighting was during dinner when we saw a doe attempting to come party with us. Blake spotted the doe, jumped on the table and pointed for everyone to look. Now, if I was that deer, I would have felt really self-conscious to have a group pointing at me and staring; I would have ran away too. After hearing the bear groans, the group went to bed with excitement just thinking about the breakfast that was in store.
The next day, the group woke-up, packed their bags, took down the tents and said goodbye to Kenneth L. Wilson campgrounds, before heading out to breakfast. With succulent French toast, delectable gourmet pancakes & omelets to die for, Sweet Sue’s is undeniably one of the best restaurants in the world, and we all had the opportunity to eat there. The portions are so large that everything can be shared and everyone has the chance to taste a number of dishes. Eating at Sweet Sue’s also brought forth the idea for a business venture; I’d say eating there was a double whammy. After eating such a delicious breakfast, the group headed towards Woodstock for what would have be a nice afternoon of exploration, but this quickly took a turn for the worse, when as soon as we parked our cars, the rain began. We decided to call it a weekend and all headed home.
This weekend has proven to be such a great success, that plans for another trip are already in discussion - camping was a great experience for all, everyone got along swimmingly & many bonds were formed. I think it’s safe to say that we all brought back a little piece of Kenneth Wilson Park & Phoenicia with us (especially for those who still haven’t done laundry).
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Post College Stress Disorder (PCSD)
In a post-college effort to continue living a life free of worry and responsibility, I find myself trying to attain a similar life to that of what we once knew so well. Instead of going out during the week to get bombed at that run-down pub across the street from my off-campus apartment, I go to what us working folk call "Happy Hour". Although the words Happy Hour are referring to a singular notion, the term is far from a singular hour...at least for me and my work crew it is. Our happy hour's are the real deal; they last anywhere from 5:00p-12:00a and usually end with a bunch of us heading back to my apartment for the after hours party - which is conveniently located around the corner from all of the happy hour bars & 10 blocks from my office.
At this point, almost all of your friends from high school & college have made their transition out of their homes, into the city and the working world. So in actuality, weekends in the city bring forth the same freedoms we had in our college days - plenty of party time for all. This brings us to the new form of the "keg party", called "the pre-game". While there may not be keg parties in Manhattan filled with jello-shots & Jungle Juice, there is no lack of pre-games/parties to attend in friends apartments. Pre-games allow entry-level 20-somethings who can barely afford to pay city rent, the ability to maintain a level of drunkeness parallel to that of a college student.
The bar scene in Manhattan is much different from that of the college bar scene. There are a ton more of bars/clubs/lounges than the usual few that everyone from your university goes to each night. The city is a huge place with a lot to offer, including random hook-ups. As a 20-something living in Manhattan, the city is our playground.
So in reality, if you look at the situation from the perspective of a 20-something graduate who still knows how to have a great time, while being a responsibile working adult...life after college is really not so bad. Just remember, a 30 year old somewhere is wishing they were still in their 20's.
At this point, almost all of your friends from high school & college have made their transition out of their homes, into the city and the working world. So in actuality, weekends in the city bring forth the same freedoms we had in our college days - plenty of party time for all. This brings us to the new form of the "keg party", called "the pre-game". While there may not be keg parties in Manhattan filled with jello-shots & Jungle Juice, there is no lack of pre-games/parties to attend in friends apartments. Pre-games allow entry-level 20-somethings who can barely afford to pay city rent, the ability to maintain a level of drunkeness parallel to that of a college student.
The bar scene in Manhattan is much different from that of the college bar scene. There are a ton more of bars/clubs/lounges than the usual few that everyone from your university goes to each night. The city is a huge place with a lot to offer, including random hook-ups. As a 20-something living in Manhattan, the city is our playground.
So in reality, if you look at the situation from the perspective of a 20-something graduate who still knows how to have a great time, while being a responsibile working adult...life after college is really not so bad. Just remember, a 30 year old somewhere is wishing they were still in their 20's.
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