Keep The Dream Alive!

That was the battle cry on the bus ride back from Amy and Greg's wedding reception. For those of you who were on that bus, I thank you for not having the driver pull over and dump my drunk ass off in Deliverance country.
In retrospect I'm not surprised I went off the way I did. I was a veritable powder keg waiting to go off. That's what happens to me when: 1) the bride and groom see to it that the table that I am at is located right in front of the bar, 2) making the inevitable switch from gin and tonics to Long Island Iced Teas (man did those go down good) and 3) not enough time on the dance floor.

What transpired on that 40 minute ride back to the Holiday Inn was something that can only be appreciated by those who were there. At one point it seemed like I was leading a spirited pep rally all in the name of Greg and Amy's nuptials, which eventually gave way to an impromptu karaoke specatacle. All the while I was on my feet the whole time ranting and raving like a lunatic determined to keep the good times rolling.

I can recall most of the rest of the evening's events after we arrived back to the hotel:

-I bolted off the bus and made a beeline for my room but before I got there I noticed the Brown soccer team sitting in the lobby surrounded by pizza boxes. Before I could ask for a slice one of the player handed me a whole pie, apparently he noticed the drunken state I was in and figured that I needed it more than they did (What can Brown do for you indeed). Having that pizza would loom large later on.

-I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for my room key which was in my suit jacket the whole time.

-I remember being psyched by the fact that most of the folks from the bus actually took me up on my offer on "Keeping the Dream Alive" and gathered at Max's (the hotel bar). That's where I met a lot of Greg's relatives, in particular with his cousin George and his girlfriend Kristen.

-I recall multiple people requesting me to perform the infamous "Jodi Walk" which I hadn't done in god knows how long. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, The Jodi Walk was named for the ubiquitous Jodi Harris who was one of the few Sachem folks that didn't attend the wedding. It was first performed on the Malabuyocs driveway as a way to deride the silly way Jodi would storm off whenever we would poke fun at her (which was quite often). Needless to say it didn't take too much to get me to do it and I hope the people that wanted to see it weren't disappointed.

-Had we been anywhere else besides Ithaca there coulda been more potential for even more shenanigans but alas, everything closed around 1am which I found that to be odd since it I've always heard that Ithaca was a big drinkers haven. In hindsight it was probably for the best.

Much to my surprise I woke up the next morning without the massive hangover that I was all but guaranteed to have earned. And I have that pizza from the Brown soccer team to thank for that as well as the clean upstate air. Go Brown!
So I took a shower, packed and went out with Jim to get some breakfast. We walked around the Commons area to take in the "local flavor" and I wound up getting one of those "Ithaca is Gorges" t-shirts (yeah I'm corny like that, but most of you knew that already) from one of the shops that were actually opened before noon.

K, Allen, Karen and Shane eventually got up and we were on the road back to the city around noon. On the ride home we were really able to enjoy the changing of the leaves as well as the overall scenery as the clouds began to recede while we made our way through upstate NY and Pennsylvania.

What a great weekend.

Winding down from a long day...

Part of me wanted to just take the subway to Penn Station after a long day at the Broadcast Center, which was made longer by the fact that I was out til 4am the night/morning before. When the Patriots-Broncos game refused to reach a reasonable/timely conclusion it was clear that I wasn't going to make my 8:14 train.
So I couldn't be faulted if I decided to forego my usual walk from the BC to Penn Station tonight. But once I left the building and got to breathe some "fresh" air, I sucked it up and made the walk. I guess the deal breaker(s) was the fact that it has been so shitty lately, with all the rain we've had, as well the fact that I genuinely do enjoy walking in the city.
What I'll usually do is walk east on 57th til I hit Broadway and then head south, taking me through the heart of Times Square and then eventually I'll hit Penn Station on 34th and 7th. I know that most people would want to avoid Times Square because of all the tourists, but to be honest I really don't mind (most of the time) weaving my way through all of the humanity. The only time I'll avoid the area is around the holidays, which I'd like to point out is alarmingly right around the corner.
So like I was saying, part of me just loves the area because there is always something going on there and no matter how many times I go through there, Times Square always seems new to me. Visually I always seem to find something that either provokes a memory, reminds me of something I've been meaning to do, and more often than not a certain amount of inspiration.
Whether it be a new neon sign that I hadn't noticed before, seeing a pack of tourists stopping to talk pictures or sometimes, when I'm really lucky, I'll come across an attractive model/actress that manages to blend in amidst everything that's going on around the Crossroads of the World. I just soak it all in, provided that I'm not in a rush to catch my train or if it's real shitty outside.
The final reason why I try to walk to Penn Station is that by the time I get there and if I timed it right, I'll hit the escalators that descend down into the Long Island Railroad terminal just in time to hear them announce what track my train will be departing from. At which point once I claim my seat, preferably in the middle of the car, I'll be ready for the much needed power nap that I will enjoy until I arrive back home a little over an hour later.

Driving: My Latest Pastime

So I've been doing a lot of driving lately. Whether it be my normal commute to and from work, going to the gym or driving my parents to and from the airport, I've been making up for all the years I lived away from home and relied solely on public transportation.

The other day I had to change a flat in the parking lot. I must've ran over some glass or something on my way back from my dinner break. Thank God I didn't have to do it on the LIE, that would've totally sucked. Even though it took a while to get the damn tire off (that sucker wouldn't budge), I have to say it felt good changing it on my own (ok, I had some help from one of my co-workers but I was the one that finally got the tire off). It's one of those rites of passages that all men should have to do at least once in their lives. I actually had to change the tire on my Dad's car a while back but he came and helped me with it so I wasn't able to take full credit for it. This time though I jacked the car up and removed those stubborn lug nuts and eventually got the tire off which left me feeling more accomplished.

So now that I'm a full fledged motorist now and am able to make some repairs, it's only fitting that I have to put more money into my car. First it was the brakes and now it looks like I'm goin to have to replace the other 3 tires. I swear, whenever it seems like I'm going to be able to start banking some cash, another friggin thing come up with this car. I guess this comes with the territory when you have a car which is something I didn't have to deal with for almost 13 years. The bottom line is I need to suck it up and get all of this out of the way before the Winter hits.