It’s been a couple of days, so let me catch up on the past week. I arrived in Colorado on Tuesday, and now I am at my dad’s house up in Rollinsville. I had a bad day of travel to get here. I had planed on doing the X-fare thing again with Airtran, so I had my uncle drop me off at the Hartsfield airport real early on Tuesday. I walked up to the ticket counter and asked for the ticket, however was told that I could not participate in the X-fare program because I had a suitcase. So I had to pay $250 instead of the $100 I was expecting to pay. HORSESHIT!! And the lady was a complete bitch about it. I should have asked to speak with the manager about it, cuz she was a bitch about it.
My dad picked me up from DIA and we made our way up to Boulder. Man do I miss the mountains. When you head in from Denver on 36, there is just an incredible view of the Flatirons just after driving over the hill after Louisville. I always marvel at that view when I see it. We went straight downtown and ate at illegal Pete’s on Pearl Street. This is one of my favorite spots in Boulder. You can get a burrito the size of your head for 5 bucks, a great bargain. I had a quesadilla for the first time ever from there, and washed it down with a Fat Tire, my favorite beer. Afterwards, we came up to Rolli, stopping at the Mountain People’s Coop for some provisions in Nederland. Later that night, while attempting to watch a documentary on Fidel Castro, the DVD player started working kind of funny, so my dad threw it out the window and smashed it. Nope, nothing has changed up here!
The past few days I spent in the lowlands with some friends. I ran into my Friend Evan down in Boulder, and he came with me to meet up with Klepper, Benny, Donna, Alika, and Bryce at the old Circle K on the hill, and from there we all went out to Quin’s house for a little pool action. Afterwards, we ate lunch at the Lazy Dog on Pearl St., which is a great place to see a game. They have a satellite and about a million TVs, so you can watch just about any game you could imagine. Prices were not to bad, and they have a happy hour between 3 and 6.
When we finished up eating, we went down to South Boulder where our friend Dustin lives. Hung out and had a beer, then left for the mountains. Klep and I had been missing them, so we went up Flagstaff and took in the scenery. After driving all the way up Baseline, we had a great view: we could see the entire city of Boulder and the mountains behind it, some snow-capped, making a breathtaking view.
That night, I went bowling with Joselyn, Alika, Jeremy, and a few of his friends down in Denver. The place had dollar games and dollar beers, so we were set for the evening. I crashed at Klep’s house that night.
Thursday we all went to Ellitch Gardens as the locals call it, or Six Flags as it is known to the rest of the world. Tuesday through Thursday admission is two for the price of one with a Coke can, so for 40 bucks Jeremy and I got in and met up with Benny, Bryce, and Donna. Lines were pretty long though, and we only rode a handful of them. At one point, after waiting in line for about an hour, there was a lightning watch and the rides shutdown, just as we arrived to the front of the line. So we did what anyone would do, left the park for a while to slam some beers and get toasty. We went back into the park later, but only stayed for about another two rides. We were pretty sick of waiting in lines!
Klep and I headed back to his spot, and went all the way out to Lafayette from there to see Levi. Stopped by a liquor store, and guzzled down a few 40oz’s. OE, just like the good ole days! While at Levi’s, we watched the Spurs take game 7 of the NBA finals, winning it all.
Yesterday I had lunch with Trisha, the secretary from September School, my old high school. It was very good to see her, she was always like a mom to me. We ate at the usual spot I go to with her, Applebee’s. I also saw her friend Donna, who’s section we always sit in when we eat there.
I headed up to Rolli after this, and I finally got to see the Fidel doc with my dad, and it was good. I don’t get why the US hates him so much, he seems like a good guy. He was a revolutionary, and saved his people from an evil dictator. Some people would argue that he is one himself, but I think they should do a little bit of research on him.
Now I am at the ol’ schoolhouse. The house my dad lives in up here is actually an abandoned school from the early 1900's. It is a funky place to be, and can be fun. My dad is having a rumba with his hippie friends right now. They are always up here jammin’, playing drums and other instruments. We went on a hike earlier, but I had to stop cuz I was feeling real bad. I got very light headed, so we turned around. Coming from Florida to over 9000 feet in elevation with asthma, I have to be precautionary. Well, I am about caught up, so I will leave it at that.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Journal Entry #11
Yesterday I had a chance to explore Decatur a little bit. I am amazed by the fact that I practically grew up in that part of ATL, yet can barely get around. I woke up at Unc Dick’s, did a little bit of computer work, and then started making plans. Man, I gotta say, this website business is not as easy as it sounds, and quite time consuming. You hear about people that are making thousands, and even millions from it, and like me, probably think that it must be easy. But it is not so. I have spent several days trying to get this site up to par, and still don’t have it quite the way I want it. But I digress...
So I hooked up with my friend Mary yesterday. I met her last summer down in Argentina, Buenos Aires to be exact. We went out a lot with the whole crew down there, so it was really great to see her. Mary is going to school to be a doctor. I didn’t realize it, but she is a couple of years older than me. I spent about six weeks with her last summer, going to class, dinner, and out to the clubs, yet never knew that! Well, anyways, we went to the Brick Store in the square in downtown Decatur. It was such a pleasant day that we decided to sit outside, around these wooden barrels that have been converted into tables. This place had your typical bar/pub food, and we both ordered hamburgers. But for $15 for a meal that feeds two and great burgers, it was a bargain in my books. It really was great to see Mary too. It seems as if she knows me better than some people with whom I have attended school at Eckerd, despite the fact that we only knew each other for a little over a month. Something about spending a lot of time with someone when you are abroad, you really get to know them. For instance, my friends Marc and Nick are people I consider to be some of my closest friends, both of whom I got to know outside of the US. Adam Stokes became my brother after about a week in Europe.
Mary and I said our good byes, and she dropped me off back at the house. I made plans to go out with my cousin Liz and her friends for dinner. So only slightly late (OH WAY TO GO LIZ!!!) I got picked up, and Allan, Liz, Jesse, and I went to the Taco Mac in downtown Decatur. Fooled by the name, I had tacos on the mind all day, and had to order them that night. However I found out they actually specialize in wings and beer. This place has something like 300 choices of beers to choose from, and you can join the passport club, which allows you a discount on beer after you have spent like $600!!! They keep track of all the different beers on computer after you slide your card, and you get a print out of them. Well, I passed on joining since I am in Decatur so little, but it seems like a great idea. MARKETING!!!!!
After dinner, Thor picked me up. Olivia’s (my ex-girlfriend) brother, is the exception to the human race. About 6'3", 100% American with a strange European accent (his parents were both American but they lived in Europe as part of some cult; I could go on forever here and it is a separate story in itself), has a PHD in math, is over 30 years old, but acts like he is about 15. Nonetheless, it was good to see him, despite the endless conversations about anal sex and learning how he discovered the sensitivity of his prostrate. You have to have a sense of humor and a tolerance for the crude to be around Thor, cuz many people would not permit themselves to be in the same room as this guy. Crazy as it is, these same people that would be ashamed to be seen with him in public would gladly watch about him on Springer. So imagine the entertainment that comes along with your own private Springer show! He picked me up with his friend Mark, a Canadien from Toronto who also had a PHD in math, and from there we went to their friend Christian’s house. I also met his (Christian) sister Crystal, who was very attractive in a sexy school teacher kind of way, and we played foozeball for a couple of hours. I came back to my Uncle’s house a little after midnight and hit the hey.
So I hooked up with my friend Mary yesterday. I met her last summer down in Argentina, Buenos Aires to be exact. We went out a lot with the whole crew down there, so it was really great to see her. Mary is going to school to be a doctor. I didn’t realize it, but she is a couple of years older than me. I spent about six weeks with her last summer, going to class, dinner, and out to the clubs, yet never knew that! Well, anyways, we went to the Brick Store in the square in downtown Decatur. It was such a pleasant day that we decided to sit outside, around these wooden barrels that have been converted into tables. This place had your typical bar/pub food, and we both ordered hamburgers. But for $15 for a meal that feeds two and great burgers, it was a bargain in my books. It really was great to see Mary too. It seems as if she knows me better than some people with whom I have attended school at Eckerd, despite the fact that we only knew each other for a little over a month. Something about spending a lot of time with someone when you are abroad, you really get to know them. For instance, my friends Marc and Nick are people I consider to be some of my closest friends, both of whom I got to know outside of the US. Adam Stokes became my brother after about a week in Europe.
Mary and I said our good byes, and she dropped me off back at the house. I made plans to go out with my cousin Liz and her friends for dinner. So only slightly late (OH WAY TO GO LIZ!!!) I got picked up, and Allan, Liz, Jesse, and I went to the Taco Mac in downtown Decatur. Fooled by the name, I had tacos on the mind all day, and had to order them that night. However I found out they actually specialize in wings and beer. This place has something like 300 choices of beers to choose from, and you can join the passport club, which allows you a discount on beer after you have spent like $600!!! They keep track of all the different beers on computer after you slide your card, and you get a print out of them. Well, I passed on joining since I am in Decatur so little, but it seems like a great idea. MARKETING!!!!!
After dinner, Thor picked me up. Olivia’s (my ex-girlfriend) brother, is the exception to the human race. About 6'3", 100% American with a strange European accent (his parents were both American but they lived in Europe as part of some cult; I could go on forever here and it is a separate story in itself), has a PHD in math, is over 30 years old, but acts like he is about 15. Nonetheless, it was good to see him, despite the endless conversations about anal sex and learning how he discovered the sensitivity of his prostrate. You have to have a sense of humor and a tolerance for the crude to be around Thor, cuz many people would not permit themselves to be in the same room as this guy. Crazy as it is, these same people that would be ashamed to be seen with him in public would gladly watch about him on Springer. So imagine the entertainment that comes along with your own private Springer show! He picked me up with his friend Mark, a Canadien from Toronto who also had a PHD in math, and from there we went to their friend Christian’s house. I also met his (Christian) sister Crystal, who was very attractive in a sexy school teacher kind of way, and we played foozeball for a couple of hours. I came back to my Uncle’s house a little after midnight and hit the hey.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Journal Entry #10
Batman Begins Rocks!!! Just got back from the flick a couple of minutes ago, and I amped! The movie has it all, money, cars, girls, and of course some kick-ass fight scenes, where good triumphs over evil. Makes me want to rush out and learn all the ninjutsu in the world, put on a silly costume, and become a super-hero. I went to go see the movie tonight with my cousins, Liz and Taylor, Allan (Liz’s boyfriend), and Jesse (Liz’s friend) at the North-DeKalb mall up here in Hotlanta.
Yep, we drove up today after a nice father’s day celebration down in Macon. I saw just about the whole family: Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Daphne, Uncle Aaron, Uncle Dickey, my cousins Carson and Liz, and Joe (Carson’s boyfriend). We had some food from my favorite place in the world, Fresh Air Bar-B-Q. I swear, that place makes the best food in the world: the most succulent pulled pork, drowned in a flavorful sauce, along with a savory Brunswick stew, and of course, coleslaw. Today we even had some ribs, nice and juicy that just melt in your mouth. Every time that I go to Macon I get a party pack, which consists of a pack of buns, two things of pork, another thing of Brunswick stew, a smaller thing of slaw, and some extra-hot sauce. This is great, cuz you can eat the leftovers for a couple of days, and it always tastes good. We finished off the meal with some strawberry shortcake, making today’s feast one of the best I’ve ever had.
Last night I hung out with Carson. We had a few drinks and ended up just goofing off. I believe it to be very important to be silly every now and then, so we found the most ridiculous looking outfits and dressed ourselves up to pose for some silly pictures. I even put on one of Grandma’s dresses!!! Amazing what the effects of alcohol will posses you to do! But we should not rely on booze to be silly, life is way too short take it so seriously. Having a sense of humor and doing things like this are so much fun, I wish we could do it more often. But I guess the silliness would not be so much fun without the seriousness. Travel tip #6: Have a sense of humor. We also watched a couple of flicks: some weird movie about quantum physics, and another movie about tweakers. It is always good to hang out with my cousin Carson, goofing off and having a good time.
Now I am at my Aunt Mary and Uncle Dickey’s house in Decatur. They have the picture perfect house: two stories of perfection on the corner with a nice big front and back yard, with white picket fences wrapping around it. Outside, my aunt has worked miracles, planting flowers and other pretty bushes, giving the yards a nice blend of greenery, with some reds and purples blended into the mix. Inside, the hardwood floors shine with radiance, and the furniture gives it a very nice, homey kind of feel.
Tomorrow is a travel day; I am flying out to Colorado where I will see some friends, do some camping, and have a great time. More to come from the Rockies...
Yep, we drove up today after a nice father’s day celebration down in Macon. I saw just about the whole family: Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Daphne, Uncle Aaron, Uncle Dickey, my cousins Carson and Liz, and Joe (Carson’s boyfriend). We had some food from my favorite place in the world, Fresh Air Bar-B-Q. I swear, that place makes the best food in the world: the most succulent pulled pork, drowned in a flavorful sauce, along with a savory Brunswick stew, and of course, coleslaw. Today we even had some ribs, nice and juicy that just melt in your mouth. Every time that I go to Macon I get a party pack, which consists of a pack of buns, two things of pork, another thing of Brunswick stew, a smaller thing of slaw, and some extra-hot sauce. This is great, cuz you can eat the leftovers for a couple of days, and it always tastes good. We finished off the meal with some strawberry shortcake, making today’s feast one of the best I’ve ever had.
Last night I hung out with Carson. We had a few drinks and ended up just goofing off. I believe it to be very important to be silly every now and then, so we found the most ridiculous looking outfits and dressed ourselves up to pose for some silly pictures. I even put on one of Grandma’s dresses!!! Amazing what the effects of alcohol will posses you to do! But we should not rely on booze to be silly, life is way too short take it so seriously. Having a sense of humor and doing things like this are so much fun, I wish we could do it more often. But I guess the silliness would not be so much fun without the seriousness. Travel tip #6: Have a sense of humor. We also watched a couple of flicks: some weird movie about quantum physics, and another movie about tweakers. It is always good to hang out with my cousin Carson, goofing off and having a good time.
Now I am at my Aunt Mary and Uncle Dickey’s house in Decatur. They have the picture perfect house: two stories of perfection on the corner with a nice big front and back yard, with white picket fences wrapping around it. Outside, my aunt has worked miracles, planting flowers and other pretty bushes, giving the yards a nice blend of greenery, with some reds and purples blended into the mix. Inside, the hardwood floors shine with radiance, and the furniture gives it a very nice, homey kind of feel.
Tomorrow is a travel day; I am flying out to Colorado where I will see some friends, do some camping, and have a great time. More to come from the Rockies...
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Journal Entry #9
Well, that’s it, I am all packed up, my apartment is cleaned out, and I am ready to go turn in the keys and be out. Next stop : Gainesville, where I am going to meet up with a friend for a little while, then on to Mactown.
The past couple of days have been fun. I have been hanging out in downtown St. Pete in between packing sessions, and having a blast. Saturday was kind of weird though. We started the night at Andrew’s, pre-gamed it a little bit, then headed out to the bars. We went to the Lobby, saw some live music and ate free pizza at Fortunado’s, got kicked out of The Rare Olive, and probably hit a couple of other places, but I don’t quite remember those! We also met girls, narrowly dodged several fights, and somehow found ourselves back at Andrew’s the next day.
There was definitely something in the air that night; everybody just wanted to fight! I am guessing that it was because it was a fight night. Mike Tyson probably lost his last fight ever, and after that everybody was all riled up, rarin’ to go! A couple of years ago, I would have been throwin’ blows right back, but I have calmed down a lot since then. Now I find it much better to back down from a fight, for nothing good ever comes out of one. You either get hurt, go to jail, or have to pay medical bills. When I go out, I am looking to meet some ladies and have a good time. None of the previously mentioned help me accomplish either one of those goals.
That about wraps up the past couple of hours, I will get on the road in a little bit and then on with my adventures. I will talk to you later...
Later on that day.....
So, here I am, back in Macon. The ride up was fine, always good when you make it without delays due to traffic or weather. Stopped off in Gainesville on the way to see my friend Shea, whom I me through Andrés last fall. I only hung out with her that night, but always thought that she was very pretty. At about 5'3", she is of a mixed ethnicity, wears her hair in braids, and has curves in all the right places! But the best thing about her is her smile, which is only made better by the twinkle that appears in her beautiful brown eyes every time she grins. We chilled for awhile, talking about school, our past, and the future; you know, the basic things. Then I hit the road again. It is nice that she lives in Gainesville, cuz it is almost exactly half way between Macon and St. Pete, so gives me a nice break while I am on the road
.
I got in this evening and spent the remainder of the day talking with Grandpa. He was very happy to see me, and even admitted how lonely it is around here now that Grandma is so far gone with the Alzheimer’s disease. Makes me wonder about my future, and that of my parents. Grandpa told me how happy he is that my dad gets to spend as much time as he does here. From my travels I have learned that the elderly are treated much better in foreign countries. Often they live with their children, as the case was with the family with whom I lived in Barcelona for a month. But it is not so here in the States, where we ditch our parents into an old-folks home. It seems weird to me that this happens, cuz to me nothing is more important than my family. But I am afraid that it will be no different for my parents, they are divorced, and live in opposite parts of the country. I am likely to live in a foreign country, so what am I supposed to do when that time comes? Hopefully I will be rich to the point that they can both have a house on my property somewhere, and that way I can look after them. I guess I will wait and see.
Not much else to report, so I will leave it at that.
The past couple of days have been fun. I have been hanging out in downtown St. Pete in between packing sessions, and having a blast. Saturday was kind of weird though. We started the night at Andrew’s, pre-gamed it a little bit, then headed out to the bars. We went to the Lobby, saw some live music and ate free pizza at Fortunado’s, got kicked out of The Rare Olive, and probably hit a couple of other places, but I don’t quite remember those! We also met girls, narrowly dodged several fights, and somehow found ourselves back at Andrew’s the next day.
There was definitely something in the air that night; everybody just wanted to fight! I am guessing that it was because it was a fight night. Mike Tyson probably lost his last fight ever, and after that everybody was all riled up, rarin’ to go! A couple of years ago, I would have been throwin’ blows right back, but I have calmed down a lot since then. Now I find it much better to back down from a fight, for nothing good ever comes out of one. You either get hurt, go to jail, or have to pay medical bills. When I go out, I am looking to meet some ladies and have a good time. None of the previously mentioned help me accomplish either one of those goals.
That about wraps up the past couple of hours, I will get on the road in a little bit and then on with my adventures. I will talk to you later...
Later on that day.....
So, here I am, back in Macon. The ride up was fine, always good when you make it without delays due to traffic or weather. Stopped off in Gainesville on the way to see my friend Shea, whom I me through Andrés last fall. I only hung out with her that night, but always thought that she was very pretty. At about 5'3", she is of a mixed ethnicity, wears her hair in braids, and has curves in all the right places! But the best thing about her is her smile, which is only made better by the twinkle that appears in her beautiful brown eyes every time she grins. We chilled for awhile, talking about school, our past, and the future; you know, the basic things. Then I hit the road again. It is nice that she lives in Gainesville, cuz it is almost exactly half way between Macon and St. Pete, so gives me a nice break while I am on the road
.
I got in this evening and spent the remainder of the day talking with Grandpa. He was very happy to see me, and even admitted how lonely it is around here now that Grandma is so far gone with the Alzheimer’s disease. Makes me wonder about my future, and that of my parents. Grandpa told me how happy he is that my dad gets to spend as much time as he does here. From my travels I have learned that the elderly are treated much better in foreign countries. Often they live with their children, as the case was with the family with whom I lived in Barcelona for a month. But it is not so here in the States, where we ditch our parents into an old-folks home. It seems weird to me that this happens, cuz to me nothing is more important than my family. But I am afraid that it will be no different for my parents, they are divorced, and live in opposite parts of the country. I am likely to live in a foreign country, so what am I supposed to do when that time comes? Hopefully I will be rich to the point that they can both have a house on my property somewhere, and that way I can look after them. I guess I will wait and see.
Not much else to report, so I will leave it at that.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Journal Entry #8
Well, It has been a while! I have been pretty busy lately, trying to get ready for the move, so have not had that much excitement in my life lately. There have been a few things worthy of mention though...
It is hurricane season once again in FL. They are predicting that it will be just as bad as last year, with about 15 tropical storms and 9 hurricanes. So far, I believe it, cuz we already got our first tropical storm, only days after the official beginning of the season. It has been raining forever now, and while this morning it seems to have cleared up, (maybe I should go to the pool while I can) but I think that it will start coming down a little later on again. Lately, I have been selling my furniture, and so far I have been successful getting rid of about half of it, however the rain has made it difficult to move it out. Well, the rain let up for a while last night and it was go time. Moved the table and entertainment center as quick as possible, and then dropped my cat, Shadow, off with a friend named Kristen. She will be watching after the kitty while I am in Argentina. I am going to miss that cat, she brings me so much joy. I have never seen a cat with so much personality. I am so glad that I adopted her from Pinella’s Pet Center, located on 34th st. S. She came house trained, with all of her shots, and already spayed for only 34 bucks, what a bargain! Plus she has been the sweetest cat in the world, cuddling with me at night, and whenever I am having a bad day!
Last night I went out with my friend Kaci, a girl from St. Louis that I met on the London winter term trip at Eckerd. We went downtown to the Baywalk, and had a drink at Wet Willies, a great place for a frozen drink. I had a mojito, but I would recommend the “Call a Cab Home”, it is much better tasting and properly named. Kaci had some of her other friends meet her down at the bar, and caught a ride home with them. I met up with my boy Andrew, and crashed at his house down on 4th ave S. Had a fun walk home through downtown St. Pete. Reminded me a lot of the days when we used to roam through The Hill out in Boulder; nothing but college kids out, drunk, having a good time. Ate a gyro that was so good; it was big, delicious, and only $5. They are open till three, but I can’t remember where it was exactly(Yea, definitely reminds me of The Hill. We used to eat gyros late-night over at the University Market Deli). After finishing up, we ran into a guy named Rod. He was waiting on a cab cuz he lost his licence, and told us about some other good bars in the area. We will have to take that advice, and if we ever run into him again, have a drink with him. He was one of those real friendly people that probably has a lot of interesting stories to tell.
Well that sums up the last few days. Today I have to continue cleaning and packing, so I better get to it. I will write more later...
{Marketing tip#1: I put flyers up at all the local apartment complexes, around the mailboxes and laundry mats. I have gotten far more responses to this than running an add in The Flyer, which cost me way more money than it was worth.}
It is hurricane season once again in FL. They are predicting that it will be just as bad as last year, with about 15 tropical storms and 9 hurricanes. So far, I believe it, cuz we already got our first tropical storm, only days after the official beginning of the season. It has been raining forever now, and while this morning it seems to have cleared up, (maybe I should go to the pool while I can) but I think that it will start coming down a little later on again. Lately, I have been selling my furniture, and so far I have been successful getting rid of about half of it, however the rain has made it difficult to move it out. Well, the rain let up for a while last night and it was go time. Moved the table and entertainment center as quick as possible, and then dropped my cat, Shadow, off with a friend named Kristen. She will be watching after the kitty while I am in Argentina. I am going to miss that cat, she brings me so much joy. I have never seen a cat with so much personality. I am so glad that I adopted her from Pinella’s Pet Center, located on 34th st. S. She came house trained, with all of her shots, and already spayed for only 34 bucks, what a bargain! Plus she has been the sweetest cat in the world, cuddling with me at night, and whenever I am having a bad day!
Last night I went out with my friend Kaci, a girl from St. Louis that I met on the London winter term trip at Eckerd. We went downtown to the Baywalk, and had a drink at Wet Willies, a great place for a frozen drink. I had a mojito, but I would recommend the “Call a Cab Home”, it is much better tasting and properly named. Kaci had some of her other friends meet her down at the bar, and caught a ride home with them. I met up with my boy Andrew, and crashed at his house down on 4th ave S. Had a fun walk home through downtown St. Pete. Reminded me a lot of the days when we used to roam through The Hill out in Boulder; nothing but college kids out, drunk, having a good time. Ate a gyro that was so good; it was big, delicious, and only $5. They are open till three, but I can’t remember where it was exactly(Yea, definitely reminds me of The Hill. We used to eat gyros late-night over at the University Market Deli). After finishing up, we ran into a guy named Rod. He was waiting on a cab cuz he lost his licence, and told us about some other good bars in the area. We will have to take that advice, and if we ever run into him again, have a drink with him. He was one of those real friendly people that probably has a lot of interesting stories to tell.
Well that sums up the last few days. Today I have to continue cleaning and packing, so I better get to it. I will write more later...
{Marketing tip#1: I put flyers up at all the local apartment complexes, around the mailboxes and laundry mats. I have gotten far more responses to this than running an add in The Flyer, which cost me way more money than it was worth.}
Friday, June 03, 2005
Journal Entry #7
Well, I am back. I have quite a lot to say, cuz I have failed to write for so long, so let me get right to it. Last Monday, Benny and I went exploring in New York City; Manhattan to be exact. What a great day that was. We got up early and hit up the Hofstra Spot (a convenience store/deli) on Long Island. I had the ham and cheese biscuit, which I remember being cheap and good, and quite possibly the best cure for a hangover I have ever had, even though I did not have a hangover. After that, we started our drive over to the city. It was Memorial Day, so there was no traffic! How lucky is that? No traffic in New York, which is notorious for having the worst traffic in the US, if not the world. Once we got into the city, we parked off of W49th and Broadway. This was very expensive: 25 bucks for the full day. We later discovered that it may be possible to park for free on one of the side streets, if you have the time and patience to go looking.
First thing we did was go to Times Square. This is the Disney World of marketers, an absolute paradise for anyone studying, working, or interested in marketing. I just finished a class in marketing, so this was a great experiance for me. Bill boards are everywhere, and flyers, along with free samples, are being handed out on every corner. What a place! We even saw the Naked Cowboy, a completely grown man that stands in the middle of times square wearing nothing but a cowboy hat, boots, and tightey whiteys that say Naked Cowboy on the arse. If that were not enough, he has a guitar with which he walks around in the middle of the street, strumming along and playing a tune. What a freak!
From here we hopped on the subway and headed uptown to the famous Central Park. I knew that it was big, but I had no idea how large it was. Probably a couple of square miles of lush, leafy trees and grass, cris-crossed by various trails and paths. On this day everyone was out having a great time, roller-blading, biking, jogging, and walking. We went to the Great Lawn, which reminded me of the beach during spring break with all the people out in their swimsuits taking in some rays. The only difference is that everyone is lying out on the grass rather than by the ocean on sand. The Great Lawn is great, a huge open field with several baseball fields where one can go to play in a pickup game. They are intense about it though, and we almost saw a fight. This guy had a pretty good hit, but when he went for a double, he got tagged out at second. Then all hell broke loose: the guy got up, started screaming in this other guy’s face, while everyone ran up and started arguing. A few of the other people around had to hold the first guy back, and this went on for a few minutes. But then they all went back to normal, playing as if nothing had ever happened. This, I decided, was not as bad as it seemed, just the New York way of saying he thought the other guy was wrong! On our way out of the park, on the south side of the Great Lawn, we walked past some sort of a castle with a small pond in front of it. We stoped for a minute to look in the pond, and saw a couple of turtles. This park is absolutely beautiful I thought; in the middle of this gigantic concrete jungle, there is this huge land of lush greenery where everyone goes to escape the madness of city life. Looking to the south from here we had a great view of all the sky scrappers, and on this bright blue day it looked spectacular.
After the park, we headed downtown. Met a chick named Traci at some bar that we stopped at to use the bathroom. She was a pretty girl from Jersey that was studying art. I love meeting new people, especially pretty girls! From there we went out and saw ground Zero, where the twin towers used to be. Four years after the attack, some of the surrounding buildings are still covered by tarps, so you can really get an idea of all the damage that must have been caused.
We then went down behind the World Financial Institution (or something like that), which was just a couple of blocks away, to see the Statue of Liberty across the harbor. Afterwards, we hit up a taxi cab and headed down to Wall Street, where I grabbed the Wall St. bull by the balls and saw the NYSE. Continuing onward, we went to Chinatown, where we saw a cool bridge and a lot of Chinese people! There was also a concert going on in the Little Italy section that blends into the neighborhood. Chinatown is really cool. There are Chinese symbols everywhere, with a lot of traditional Chinese architecture to be seen. Hustlers are out on all the corners, selling everything from bootlegged DVD’s to counterfeit designer purses.
We finally started heading back to the car, and caught a slice of NY pizza close to Times Square at Famiglias. This was ok pizza in a regular order at the counter kind of pizza atmosphere, with pictures of celebrities lining the walls. I had a slice of pepperoni, which was just average, and then we got back in the car to return to LI.
That night, I hung out at Benny’s bar while he worked and sipped on some Long Island Iced teas. His girlfriend introduced my to Jody, a pretty girl that is originally from Long Island, but had lived in Georgia for a brief period of time. Gave her my card, so maybe I will hear from her someday in the future.
I came back down to GA the following day, same Airtran deal flying out of LaGuardia. No problems again getting on the first flight, but it ended up being full. I am glad I got there ahead of time, as it is important to get your name put on the standby list plenty early! When I arrived, I only spent a day in Macon, and the day before yesterday, continued on down to Florida. Now I am back on the grind. Yesterday, I woke up, exercised and spent the rest of the day running errands. Last night we went out to the Bahasa Lounge. Thursday is Latin night, and man, what a great place. SO MANY LATINAS!!! They have several different rooms, playing everything from salsa to reggaeton. Drinks are kind of pricy, but had a good time overall. Cam home early, just cuz I was so tired.
Today I woke up and hit the gym. Ran 5.5 miles in 55 minutes, then hit the shoulders. I have to go to work soon, so I will talk to you later!
First thing we did was go to Times Square. This is the Disney World of marketers, an absolute paradise for anyone studying, working, or interested in marketing. I just finished a class in marketing, so this was a great experiance for me. Bill boards are everywhere, and flyers, along with free samples, are being handed out on every corner. What a place! We even saw the Naked Cowboy, a completely grown man that stands in the middle of times square wearing nothing but a cowboy hat, boots, and tightey whiteys that say Naked Cowboy on the arse. If that were not enough, he has a guitar with which he walks around in the middle of the street, strumming along and playing a tune. What a freak!
From here we hopped on the subway and headed uptown to the famous Central Park. I knew that it was big, but I had no idea how large it was. Probably a couple of square miles of lush, leafy trees and grass, cris-crossed by various trails and paths. On this day everyone was out having a great time, roller-blading, biking, jogging, and walking. We went to the Great Lawn, which reminded me of the beach during spring break with all the people out in their swimsuits taking in some rays. The only difference is that everyone is lying out on the grass rather than by the ocean on sand. The Great Lawn is great, a huge open field with several baseball fields where one can go to play in a pickup game. They are intense about it though, and we almost saw a fight. This guy had a pretty good hit, but when he went for a double, he got tagged out at second. Then all hell broke loose: the guy got up, started screaming in this other guy’s face, while everyone ran up and started arguing. A few of the other people around had to hold the first guy back, and this went on for a few minutes. But then they all went back to normal, playing as if nothing had ever happened. This, I decided, was not as bad as it seemed, just the New York way of saying he thought the other guy was wrong! On our way out of the park, on the south side of the Great Lawn, we walked past some sort of a castle with a small pond in front of it. We stoped for a minute to look in the pond, and saw a couple of turtles. This park is absolutely beautiful I thought; in the middle of this gigantic concrete jungle, there is this huge land of lush greenery where everyone goes to escape the madness of city life. Looking to the south from here we had a great view of all the sky scrappers, and on this bright blue day it looked spectacular.
After the park, we headed downtown. Met a chick named Traci at some bar that we stopped at to use the bathroom. She was a pretty girl from Jersey that was studying art. I love meeting new people, especially pretty girls! From there we went out and saw ground Zero, where the twin towers used to be. Four years after the attack, some of the surrounding buildings are still covered by tarps, so you can really get an idea of all the damage that must have been caused.
We then went down behind the World Financial Institution (or something like that), which was just a couple of blocks away, to see the Statue of Liberty across the harbor. Afterwards, we hit up a taxi cab and headed down to Wall Street, where I grabbed the Wall St. bull by the balls and saw the NYSE. Continuing onward, we went to Chinatown, where we saw a cool bridge and a lot of Chinese people! There was also a concert going on in the Little Italy section that blends into the neighborhood. Chinatown is really cool. There are Chinese symbols everywhere, with a lot of traditional Chinese architecture to be seen. Hustlers are out on all the corners, selling everything from bootlegged DVD’s to counterfeit designer purses.
We finally started heading back to the car, and caught a slice of NY pizza close to Times Square at Famiglias. This was ok pizza in a regular order at the counter kind of pizza atmosphere, with pictures of celebrities lining the walls. I had a slice of pepperoni, which was just average, and then we got back in the car to return to LI.
That night, I hung out at Benny’s bar while he worked and sipped on some Long Island Iced teas. His girlfriend introduced my to Jody, a pretty girl that is originally from Long Island, but had lived in Georgia for a brief period of time. Gave her my card, so maybe I will hear from her someday in the future.
I came back down to GA the following day, same Airtran deal flying out of LaGuardia. No problems again getting on the first flight, but it ended up being full. I am glad I got there ahead of time, as it is important to get your name put on the standby list plenty early! When I arrived, I only spent a day in Macon, and the day before yesterday, continued on down to Florida. Now I am back on the grind. Yesterday, I woke up, exercised and spent the rest of the day running errands. Last night we went out to the Bahasa Lounge. Thursday is Latin night, and man, what a great place. SO MANY LATINAS!!! They have several different rooms, playing everything from salsa to reggaeton. Drinks are kind of pricy, but had a good time overall. Cam home early, just cuz I was so tired.
Today I woke up and hit the gym. Ran 5.5 miles in 55 minutes, then hit the shoulders. I have to go to work soon, so I will talk to you later!
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