Monday, July 30, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Thing Is...
Anyone who'd like to contradict me is welcome to do so, of course, but...
You know, I almost feel like it doesn't matter that Airport Girl might not be single after all. That whole situation? Inviting me to go out with a group of friends/classmates/coworkers? The more I think about it, the more it seems like I'm already destined to wind up in the friends zone. I mean, if she was interested, is that the kind of plans she'd be trying to make?
You know, I almost feel like it doesn't matter that Airport Girl might not be single after all. That whole situation? Inviting me to go out with a group of friends/classmates/coworkers? The more I think about it, the more it seems like I'm already destined to wind up in the friends zone. I mean, if she was interested, is that the kind of plans she'd be trying to make?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Wait... what?
I spoke with Airport Girl earlier this evening - she's headed to Missouri for the bar exam next week so I thought I'd check in, see how things were, wish her luck, etc.
Mentioned that I was going out to see a fun local band at a bar in the city on Friday night and asked if AG wanted to join me, but her flight to Missouri is early Saturday so she had to pass. Then she asked what I'm doing the following weekend once she's back into town. After explaining that I had a ticket to go see a concert that Saturday night but may have accidentally thrown it away, I concluded that I didn't think I had any plans yet. She mentioned that she was thinking of getting some people together to go out that Friday night and asked if I was interested in going along; other people she mentioned she was trying to get together included her friend on Long Island who she's been staying with, another law school friend who lives in the city, a couple of her coworkers, and... her fiancé's aunt and uncle's son? Fiancé? What?
The conversation continued and we'll touch base again once AG is back into the city next Friday, and I managed to keep talking without saying something like "hey, wait a minute, did you say you have a fiancé?" But I'm (understandably, I'd say) confused. At no point in any previous conversation had she said anything to the effect of a fiancé or a boyfriend or a significant other of any sort, not even when we had drinks in a hotel bar the night we met (which would seem to be a time a normal person would mention that). Nor was she wearing a ring - I know well enough to check for that. So, yeah... confused. I guess it's certainly possible that I just heard her wrong.
At any rate, I guess I'll just be patient for the time being - wait to hear from her when she gets back, get together if she asks, and see how people are introduced. If I don't get some clarification from context, I suppose I can just ask then.
Mentioned that I was going out to see a fun local band at a bar in the city on Friday night and asked if AG wanted to join me, but her flight to Missouri is early Saturday so she had to pass. Then she asked what I'm doing the following weekend once she's back into town. After explaining that I had a ticket to go see a concert that Saturday night but may have accidentally thrown it away, I concluded that I didn't think I had any plans yet. She mentioned that she was thinking of getting some people together to go out that Friday night and asked if I was interested in going along; other people she mentioned she was trying to get together included her friend on Long Island who she's been staying with, another law school friend who lives in the city, a couple of her coworkers, and... her fiancé's aunt and uncle's son? Fiancé? What?
The conversation continued and we'll touch base again once AG is back into the city next Friday, and I managed to keep talking without saying something like "hey, wait a minute, did you say you have a fiancé?" But I'm (understandably, I'd say) confused. At no point in any previous conversation had she said anything to the effect of a fiancé or a boyfriend or a significant other of any sort, not even when we had drinks in a hotel bar the night we met (which would seem to be a time a normal person would mention that). Nor was she wearing a ring - I know well enough to check for that. So, yeah... confused. I guess it's certainly possible that I just heard her wrong.
At any rate, I guess I'll just be patient for the time being - wait to hear from her when she gets back, get together if she asks, and see how people are introduced. If I don't get some clarification from context, I suppose I can just ask then.
Question About Tipping
I go to the same Starbucks location essentially every morning. When the weather is hot (as it has been for the past couple of months and will continue to be for the next couple of months), I prefer iced coffee to hot coffee. So, every morning I get the same venti* iced coffee. Every morning it's $2.98. Most mornings I pay with $3.00 even (sometimes with a larger bill), so most mornings I get exactly two pennies in change.
My question is, should I throw those pennies into the tip container they have on the counter by the registers? From the standpoint of satisfaction with service I have no problem with the concept; the workers at that Starbucks are always courteous and get orders out quickly despite lines that are often long in the morning rush. But what I mean is, is it rude to tip two cents? You'd never leave a two-cent tip at a restaurant unless you were trying to convey the message that you thought the service was shitty, which obviously isn't my goal. But on the other hand, I don't really need those two pennies (other than last night when my tab at Walgreen's came to exactly $6.02), and they jingle against my keys in my pocket all day long until I bring them home to put them with the rest. On top of that, I feel a little bit stingy when I take them and put them in my pocket rather than just throwing them in the tip jar. So, should I tip with those pennies every morning? I'm leaning towards yes, but I'm open to feedback.
Note: For what it's worth, I do tip at Starbucks if I order something more complicated than an iced coffee, or sometimes when I order the iced coffee but pay with a $5 or more.
* I'm not going to go into the obnoxiousness of "venti" here; conclude what you will from the fact that I saw fit to include this footnote a
My question is, should I throw those pennies into the tip container they have on the counter by the registers? From the standpoint of satisfaction with service I have no problem with the concept; the workers at that Starbucks are always courteous and get orders out quickly despite lines that are often long in the morning rush. But what I mean is, is it rude to tip two cents? You'd never leave a two-cent tip at a restaurant unless you were trying to convey the message that you thought the service was shitty, which obviously isn't my goal. But on the other hand, I don't really need those two pennies (other than last night when my tab at Walgreen's came to exactly $6.02), and they jingle against my keys in my pocket all day long until I bring them home to put them with the rest. On top of that, I feel a little bit stingy when I take them and put them in my pocket rather than just throwing them in the tip jar. So, should I tip with those pennies every morning? I'm leaning towards yes, but I'm open to feedback.
Note: For what it's worth, I do tip at Starbucks if I order something more complicated than an iced coffee, or sometimes when I order the iced coffee but pay with a $5 or more.
* I'm not going to go into the obnoxiousness of "venti" here; conclude what you will from the fact that I saw fit to include this footnote a
Monday, July 16, 2007
I'm Confused
So if anybody knows, please tell me:
What the hell kind of accent is that woman in the Daisy May's commercial supposed to have?
What the hell kind of accent is that woman in the Daisy May's commercial supposed to have?
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Tasty Tasty Food
I've been enjoying reading Midtown Lunch lately, so I thought I'd write every now and then about what I'm eating for lunch downtown, and maybe wind up convincing myself to eat some more interesting food rather than so be repetitive at lunchtime while I'm at it. At some point, if it gets any momentum, maybe I'll spin this off into its own blog, but for now this is where my lunch commentary will reside.
Yesterday's lunch probably isn't the best starting point, because, well, I don't actually know the NAME of the lunch truck we went to. On the other hand, since my coworker John and I enjoy it so much that we actually had to set a limit of one trip per week, maybe it's a pretty decent starting point after all.
Lower Manhattan is, of course, replete with various trucks and carts that complement all of our other brick-and-mortar options. (Sam's Falafel is one of the best-known but the long lines have always been a turn-off for me.) The fact that we started (and continue) to go to this particular one is, I suppose, as much out of convenience as anything; more specifically, parked on Cedar Street just east of Broadway, it was close enough to my office to try one afternoon last winter when it was too cold to walk anywhere further.
The menu of Nameless Lunch Truck is typical of the genre. Basic options are lamb gyro, chicken, or falafel, all available in a sandwich on pita or (my preference and that of all my coworkers) in a platter (well, ok, a styrofoam container) over rice with various veggies on the side. (They also make a cheesesteak, but if you're in lower Manhattan and that's what you want for lunch, you're SO MUCH better off going to Carl's Steaks on Chambers between Broadway and Church, not far from the northwest corner of City Hall Park. Best I've had in New York.)
I haven't had the falafel myself, because I'm not a huge fan of falafel in general, so I don't have much to say about that. The lamb is excellent - I'm not sure if they have the skewer which I'm such a fan of, but at any rate it always is finished on a flat grill with some onions and peppers. It's nicely seasoned as well. Chicken is cooked in the same way; you can tell that they really just took a chicken and hacked it apart because there's occasionally some bits of connective tissue in there, and it's a bit more fatty than I'd prefer.
The rice is great too - it's actually the reason I prefer this truck to others. It's orangish, nicely seasoned (though I couldn't tell you with what). It's a little bit greasy, but not overly so. The platters also come with lettuce, tomato, and (depending what they have on hand), pickles, jalapeño slices, and/or banana peppers. The white sauce is standard and the hot sauce is genuinely hot. They also offer BBQ sauce but I have no idea why you'd put that on. (Nonetheless, I've seen people do so.) Platters are $5 for more than enough food; sandwiches are $4; cans of soda are $1. I think falafel platters and sandwiches are $1 less than their meaty counterparts; I'll look at the menu today to be certain. Perhaps if I get a chance I'll bring in my camera and take some photos as well.
Pros:
Tasty
Cheap
Cons:
Probably not all that healthy
Your stomach will occasionally not be happy with you
The line can be long when the weather is nice
Yesterday's lunch probably isn't the best starting point, because, well, I don't actually know the NAME of the lunch truck we went to. On the other hand, since my coworker John and I enjoy it so much that we actually had to set a limit of one trip per week, maybe it's a pretty decent starting point after all.
Lower Manhattan is, of course, replete with various trucks and carts that complement all of our other brick-and-mortar options. (Sam's Falafel is one of the best-known but the long lines have always been a turn-off for me.) The fact that we started (and continue) to go to this particular one is, I suppose, as much out of convenience as anything; more specifically, parked on Cedar Street just east of Broadway, it was close enough to my office to try one afternoon last winter when it was too cold to walk anywhere further.
The menu of Nameless Lunch Truck is typical of the genre. Basic options are lamb gyro, chicken, or falafel, all available in a sandwich on pita or (my preference and that of all my coworkers) in a platter (well, ok, a styrofoam container) over rice with various veggies on the side. (They also make a cheesesteak, but if you're in lower Manhattan and that's what you want for lunch, you're SO MUCH better off going to Carl's Steaks on Chambers between Broadway and Church, not far from the northwest corner of City Hall Park. Best I've had in New York.)
I haven't had the falafel myself, because I'm not a huge fan of falafel in general, so I don't have much to say about that. The lamb is excellent - I'm not sure if they have the skewer which I'm such a fan of, but at any rate it always is finished on a flat grill with some onions and peppers. It's nicely seasoned as well. Chicken is cooked in the same way; you can tell that they really just took a chicken and hacked it apart because there's occasionally some bits of connective tissue in there, and it's a bit more fatty than I'd prefer.
The rice is great too - it's actually the reason I prefer this truck to others. It's orangish, nicely seasoned (though I couldn't tell you with what). It's a little bit greasy, but not overly so. The platters also come with lettuce, tomato, and (depending what they have on hand), pickles, jalapeño slices, and/or banana peppers. The white sauce is standard and the hot sauce is genuinely hot. They also offer BBQ sauce but I have no idea why you'd put that on. (Nonetheless, I've seen people do so.) Platters are $5 for more than enough food; sandwiches are $4; cans of soda are $1. I think falafel platters and sandwiches are $1 less than their meaty counterparts; I'll look at the menu today to be certain. Perhaps if I get a chance I'll bring in my camera and take some photos as well.
Pros:
Tasty
Cheap
Cons:
Probably not all that healthy
Your stomach will occasionally not be happy with you
The line can be long when the weather is nice
Thursday, July 5, 2007
NYC Gym Memberships = Pain in the Ass
You know... do gyms have to make it so hard to get even the slightest amount of information? I called NYSC's central membership line to try to make a change to my membership. I'd signed up while I lived in Manhattan, so my "home club" is the on East 34th near where I lived a few years ago. The rate play that I currently have costs me $82.45/month and I can use any club at any time. It was an appealing feature to have at that point because I wanted to be able to use both the club near my apartment and the one near school and I kept pretty odd hours during the first year of law school, so that's what I signed up for.
Now, at this point, I'm basically only using the club near my place in Brooklyn, and occasionally the one near my parents' house in NJ. So what I wanted to do is change my "home club" to the one near me, and then change to a rate plan that allows me to use the home club at any time, and other clubs only during off-peak hours (weekdays during the day except during lunch hour, weekday evenings after 8:30, and weekends). First thing I did was look at the website, but you can't make that kind of change online. So I got the phone numbers off the website for their central membership line (because it says "Sports Clubs Member Services Department administers customer accounts from a centralized call center") and my local club. I called the 800 line for the centralized call center, waited on hold for about 25 minutes, and was told that I couldn't make those changes with the call center; I had to speak to my local club. You know, if you're going to make people wait on hold for that long, you should at least be able to handle their inquiries. And not, you know, misleadingly tell them to use that call line on your website.
So then I called my local club, and was able to speak to someone in the membership department with a minimum of delay. When I told the nice woman that I wanted to change my home club, though, she told me that there was a $40 fee to do so.
*pause*
"What?" I asked. So, to make a change to my membership that would basically be a minor change to my computer entry, and would result in no change to my usage habits or my billing plan, and you want to charge me half of my monthly fee? That just makes no sense.
So after that I explained that I was on their "passport" plan (as described above) and that I wanted to change to their "gold" plan. She told me that A) I would also be charged a $40 fee for that change, and B) the difference would only be about $3 per month. I didn't really have the patience to attempt to negotiate a lower fee, so I thanked for her time and then hung up.
Afterwards I went online to look into other gyms in my area. They almost never have their rates on their websites. I think that's because they want to get you to come in to their locations so they can give you the hard sell. And, as it turns out, from info courtesy of Gothamist, what I'm paying basically is the going rate for a multiple-location gym (NYSC, Crunch, Equinox, etc.) in New York. It's just a lot of money and that's the way it is, like everything else here.
Says a lot that my customer service experience with Time Warner Cable was far, far more pleasant.
This was all brought on by some stuff earlier in the day that I'll maybe write more about later, if I'm feeling up to it.
Now, at this point, I'm basically only using the club near my place in Brooklyn, and occasionally the one near my parents' house in NJ. So what I wanted to do is change my "home club" to the one near me, and then change to a rate plan that allows me to use the home club at any time, and other clubs only during off-peak hours (weekdays during the day except during lunch hour, weekday evenings after 8:30, and weekends). First thing I did was look at the website, but you can't make that kind of change online. So I got the phone numbers off the website for their central membership line (because it says "Sports Clubs Member Services Department administers customer accounts from a centralized call center") and my local club. I called the 800 line for the centralized call center, waited on hold for about 25 minutes, and was told that I couldn't make those changes with the call center; I had to speak to my local club. You know, if you're going to make people wait on hold for that long, you should at least be able to handle their inquiries. And not, you know, misleadingly tell them to use that call line on your website.
So then I called my local club, and was able to speak to someone in the membership department with a minimum of delay. When I told the nice woman that I wanted to change my home club, though, she told me that there was a $40 fee to do so.
*pause*
"What?" I asked. So, to make a change to my membership that would basically be a minor change to my computer entry, and would result in no change to my usage habits or my billing plan, and you want to charge me half of my monthly fee? That just makes no sense.
So after that I explained that I was on their "passport" plan (as described above) and that I wanted to change to their "gold" plan. She told me that A) I would also be charged a $40 fee for that change, and B) the difference would only be about $3 per month. I didn't really have the patience to attempt to negotiate a lower fee, so I thanked for her time and then hung up.
Afterwards I went online to look into other gyms in my area. They almost never have their rates on their websites. I think that's because they want to get you to come in to their locations so they can give you the hard sell. And, as it turns out, from info courtesy of Gothamist, what I'm paying basically is the going rate for a multiple-location gym (NYSC, Crunch, Equinox, etc.) in New York. It's just a lot of money and that's the way it is, like everything else here.
Says a lot that my customer service experience with Time Warner Cable was far, far more pleasant.
This was all brought on by some stuff earlier in the day that I'll maybe write more about later, if I'm feeling up to it.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Oh for fuck's sake
Today on my way to work I got splashed/sprayed by a bunch of dirty, muddy gunk from the construction site near my office on lower Broadway. If you're going to have a guy there holding a chain whose job is presumably to keep people from walking where this might happen, how about if you actually have him fucking DO IT? Instead of just standing there and then offering me a paper towel once I've got gunk all over my pants and shoes, as if that's going to accomplish anything.
Just a wonderful fucking start to my day.
Just a wonderful fucking start to my day.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
So Let's See...
I've really been slacking on this lately. What do I have to say..?
I heard from Airport Girl Wednesday night. She mentioned that she was moving to NY a few weeks ago but rather than try to get in touch with her I decided to be patient, and that part worked out OK. Turns out she's a bit overwhelmed by things thus far: her new job is a bit outside her field, so that takes some adjustment; she's staying with a friend on Long Island for the time being, so her commute is pretty long; and she's studying to take the Missouri bar exam next month, so she's not got a lot of free time at the moment. I suggested that we should get together sometime (not this weekend because she's headed back to Ontario for her father's birthday), and if she has time before she takes the MO bar then great, but if not then after is cool too.
The job thing I mentioned in this post is basically a dead end.
I guess that's about it. What do you think?
I heard from Airport Girl Wednesday night. She mentioned that she was moving to NY a few weeks ago but rather than try to get in touch with her I decided to be patient, and that part worked out OK. Turns out she's a bit overwhelmed by things thus far: her new job is a bit outside her field, so that takes some adjustment; she's staying with a friend on Long Island for the time being, so her commute is pretty long; and she's studying to take the Missouri bar exam next month, so she's not got a lot of free time at the moment. I suggested that we should get together sometime (not this weekend because she's headed back to Ontario for her father's birthday), and if she has time before she takes the MO bar then great, but if not then after is cool too.
The job thing I mentioned in this post is basically a dead end.
I guess that's about it. What do you think?
Friday, June 15, 2007
Still Alive.
Yadda yadda yadda. I don't have much to say at the moment. I'm kinda down about a few things but I don't have the motivation to elaborate right now.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Frustration
One of the things I know now in my old age (ooh, an excuse to use that tag!) that I wish I could impart to a younger version of myself is that it's not really a good thing to get fixated on one woman that I'm interested in (assuming you're not actually in a relationship, that is). You can wind up coming on too strong or looking desperate or both, plus if/when that one woman decides she's not interested, it's more of a psychological blow to you if she's the only woman you've been pursuing. (Sorry about the mixed first and second person, but I'm too lazy to clean it up.)
This is all to explain that while I do still dig Airport Girl, in the meantime I decided take another crack at something I've pursued before: Craigslist personals. (While I have no problem with the concept of meeting people online - it certainly worked out well for my sister - I'm not really willing to spend money on Match or JDate or what have you. Thus, Craigslist.) Despite my conceptual problem with the Craigslist dynamic - more on this in a moment - every few months I'll jump on there and see what happens. Nothing major has come of it, but I've gone on a few dates with women I've met there... no harm done, at any rate.
Now, here's the thing about "the Craigslist dynamic," though. There seem to be a whole shitload of guys on there compared to the number of women. (Sounds like most of the bars I like, but let me continue.) Therefore, as I understand it, when women post a personal ad they get inundated with responses. Like, hundreds, even. (I'm not a woman, nor have I ever posed as one to test this out, but that's the impression I have.) They then filter out responses without pictures attached, and presumably also responses where guys have sent pictures of their wangs, although I suppose some women like that. Then they look at what's left and they pick the most attractive guys out of the bunch. Maybe they meet some of the guys, maybe not, but here's the thing. These hot guys that they decide to respond to are all assholes. Why? Because they can afford to be. So maybe the women talk to the guys and realize that they're assholes right away, or maybe they meet up with the guys and realize that the guys just want to hump their leg. (Figuratively speaking.) Eventually, though, they're left with the impression, "What's wrong with these guys. They're a bunch of dickheads." Then they go back online and post again and complain about all the assholes they met, but they don't change their course of action and so they meet MORE assholes, and the cycle repeats itself. Don't you love vicious cycles?
So, to get around this, I'd rather post my own ad. When I write something, it tends toward verbosity (as I'm sure you may already have guessed). Also, in the interest of full disclosure I try to be up front about the fact that I'm not winning any beauty contests. I may as well save myself the time it'd take to interact with a "tall, hot guy in great shape" (to paraphrase a lot of women's ads) - they're not going to be interested in me, and I'm probably not going to be interested in them either. As a result, maybe I won't get any responses, maybe I'll get a couple.
Well, last week I wrote an ad, and received one response. Pretty typical, as I said - I've come to accept that I'm not really what most women are looking for. The response was from an age-appropriate and reasonably intelligent woman - let's call her Craigslist Girl 1, or CG1 for short - who seemed friendly enough. CG1 and I exchanged emails for a few days, pretty standard getting-to-know-you, hey-what'd-you-do-this-weekend-that-sounds-fun kind of stuff. Eventually we decided to exchange pictures and then maybe meet up for a drink. She sends me hers, I write back with mine, and... nothing.
Now, this raises two separate issues for me. The first, and more theoretical, is: Where's the courtesy? Is it too much effort to say, "Sorry, you seem like a nice guy but you're not my type."?
The second, and more personal, is: What the hell? I mean, I'm a friendly enough guy. Some of the jokes and comments I make are amusing. I didn't say anything that would creep her out or piss her off. So... what, am I so unattractive that I just drive women away? And not just "women" generally, but women who've responded to a personal ad that's up-front about the fact that I'm fairly unremarkable-looking? I'd prefer not to have to make that inference, but I'm not really sure what else to conclude. And it's rather frustrating.
So if you're one of the people to whom I sent an IM complaining about women recently, this is probably why.
This is all to explain that while I do still dig Airport Girl, in the meantime I decided take another crack at something I've pursued before: Craigslist personals. (While I have no problem with the concept of meeting people online - it certainly worked out well for my sister - I'm not really willing to spend money on Match or JDate or what have you. Thus, Craigslist.) Despite my conceptual problem with the Craigslist dynamic - more on this in a moment - every few months I'll jump on there and see what happens. Nothing major has come of it, but I've gone on a few dates with women I've met there... no harm done, at any rate.
Now, here's the thing about "the Craigslist dynamic," though. There seem to be a whole shitload of guys on there compared to the number of women. (Sounds like most of the bars I like, but let me continue.) Therefore, as I understand it, when women post a personal ad they get inundated with responses. Like, hundreds, even. (I'm not a woman, nor have I ever posed as one to test this out, but that's the impression I have.) They then filter out responses without pictures attached, and presumably also responses where guys have sent pictures of their wangs, although I suppose some women like that. Then they look at what's left and they pick the most attractive guys out of the bunch. Maybe they meet some of the guys, maybe not, but here's the thing. These hot guys that they decide to respond to are all assholes. Why? Because they can afford to be. So maybe the women talk to the guys and realize that they're assholes right away, or maybe they meet up with the guys and realize that the guys just want to hump their leg. (Figuratively speaking.) Eventually, though, they're left with the impression, "What's wrong with these guys. They're a bunch of dickheads." Then they go back online and post again and complain about all the assholes they met, but they don't change their course of action and so they meet MORE assholes, and the cycle repeats itself. Don't you love vicious cycles?
So, to get around this, I'd rather post my own ad. When I write something, it tends toward verbosity (as I'm sure you may already have guessed). Also, in the interest of full disclosure I try to be up front about the fact that I'm not winning any beauty contests. I may as well save myself the time it'd take to interact with a "tall, hot guy in great shape" (to paraphrase a lot of women's ads) - they're not going to be interested in me, and I'm probably not going to be interested in them either. As a result, maybe I won't get any responses, maybe I'll get a couple.
Well, last week I wrote an ad, and received one response. Pretty typical, as I said - I've come to accept that I'm not really what most women are looking for. The response was from an age-appropriate and reasonably intelligent woman - let's call her Craigslist Girl 1, or CG1 for short - who seemed friendly enough. CG1 and I exchanged emails for a few days, pretty standard getting-to-know-you, hey-what'd-you-do-this-weekend-that-sounds-fun kind of stuff. Eventually we decided to exchange pictures and then maybe meet up for a drink. She sends me hers, I write back with mine, and... nothing.
Now, this raises two separate issues for me. The first, and more theoretical, is: Where's the courtesy? Is it too much effort to say, "Sorry, you seem like a nice guy but you're not my type."?
The second, and more personal, is: What the hell? I mean, I'm a friendly enough guy. Some of the jokes and comments I make are amusing. I didn't say anything that would creep her out or piss her off. So... what, am I so unattractive that I just drive women away? And not just "women" generally, but women who've responded to a personal ad that's up-front about the fact that I'm fairly unremarkable-looking? I'd prefer not to have to make that inference, but I'm not really sure what else to conclude. And it's rather frustrating.
So if you're one of the people to whom I sent an IM complaining about women recently, this is probably why.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
What a Concept!
Courtesy of... well, I don't know, someone on the Internet... I present to you:
The Secret to Super Productivity
The Secret to Super Productivity
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Like I Said...
Out of my aforementioned three goals, things presently stand at 0 for 1.
To be fair, it was otherwise a fun weekend. Judicious use of sunblock even prevented me from getting much of a burn.
To be fair, it was otherwise a fun weekend. Judicious use of sunblock even prevented me from getting much of a burn.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
A Worthy Cause
I'll freely admit that, 10+ years into regular Internet use, I'm pretty jaded by people telling me about this new site or that great idea. I'm also, you can understand, rather tired of all the scams that are out there. (No, dude from Nigeria, I am not going to send you the money you need to cover legal fees so you can collect the prize in some lottery you won.)
So when I first saw the website of an organization called Kiva, you can understand why I might have been a bit skeptical. It looked it might've been a great way to part gullible people from their money. Reading a bit more about what Kiva does, though, I was intrigued. Kiva is a nonprofit organization in a field called "microfinance." They're partnered with a number of field partners, local organizations in various nations around the world, and these organizations extend small interest-free loans to individual entrepreneurs who need (but can't obtain through traditional methods) money to start or expand their businesses. "Small" here really does mean small - the average size of a loan extended by a Kiva partner is $544.26 - compare that to the amount you need to start a business in the U.S.! The borrowers are typically owners of businesses like farms or small stores or restaurants.
Still seems like something that could be a scam, I suppose, but if you look at their Press page, there'd have to be a lot of major media outlets (the BBC, the New York Times, NPR, Time Magazine, Business Week... how often do you see an organization that's endorsed by the Wall Street Journal and the Village Voice?) in on it. As far as repayment goes, looking at one of the field partners, Prisma MicroFinance, as an example, of 436 active loans, none of them are over a month past due, and of 258 ended loans, none of them were not repaid in full. Overall, across all of their partners, 7% of active loans (571 of 8,138) are a month or more past due, but not a single ended loan went into default or failed to be repaid in full.
As I was reading through this, I was thinking about how much money I spent - much of it borrowed - to pay for law school, and how easy it was for me to borrow that money. The question that arose in my mind, then, was, "why should it be that, just because the people Kiva lends to are in less industrialized countries, they shouldn't be able to do the same?" Especially when the amounts seem so small in comparison. And really, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to do the same.
You may have guessed where this was leading: I signed up. I'm happy to say that, through Kiva and Prisma MicroFinance, I'm one of sixteen lenders who's helping Judith Mendoza of Managua, Nicaragua, remodel and expand her restaurant and buy new cooking utensils.
Anyway, give it a look; maybe you, too, can have this warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
So when I first saw the website of an organization called Kiva, you can understand why I might have been a bit skeptical. It looked it might've been a great way to part gullible people from their money. Reading a bit more about what Kiva does, though, I was intrigued. Kiva is a nonprofit organization in a field called "microfinance." They're partnered with a number of field partners, local organizations in various nations around the world, and these organizations extend small interest-free loans to individual entrepreneurs who need (but can't obtain through traditional methods) money to start or expand their businesses. "Small" here really does mean small - the average size of a loan extended by a Kiva partner is $544.26 - compare that to the amount you need to start a business in the U.S.! The borrowers are typically owners of businesses like farms or small stores or restaurants.
Still seems like something that could be a scam, I suppose, but if you look at their Press page, there'd have to be a lot of major media outlets (the BBC, the New York Times, NPR, Time Magazine, Business Week... how often do you see an organization that's endorsed by the Wall Street Journal and the Village Voice?) in on it. As far as repayment goes, looking at one of the field partners, Prisma MicroFinance, as an example, of 436 active loans, none of them are over a month past due, and of 258 ended loans, none of them were not repaid in full. Overall, across all of their partners, 7% of active loans (571 of 8,138) are a month or more past due, but not a single ended loan went into default or failed to be repaid in full.
As I was reading through this, I was thinking about how much money I spent - much of it borrowed - to pay for law school, and how easy it was for me to borrow that money. The question that arose in my mind, then, was, "why should it be that, just because the people Kiva lends to are in less industrialized countries, they shouldn't be able to do the same?" Especially when the amounts seem so small in comparison. And really, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to do the same.
You may have guessed where this was leading: I signed up. I'm happy to say that, through Kiva and Prisma MicroFinance, I'm one of sixteen lenders who's helping Judith Mendoza of Managua, Nicaragua, remodel and expand her restaurant and buy new cooking utensils.
Anyway, give it a look; maybe you, too, can have this warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Monday morning
That was a fun weekend, all in all. Friday night my father and I went out to Shea Stadium (my first trip there this season) to see the Mets play the Brewers (who have the best record in baseball - when the hell did that happen?). The Mets got a great start out of Jorge Sosa and home runs from David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Damion Easley (who's been pretty impressive so far) and held on to win 5-4. Also: holy crap, there's a whole other stadium outside the stadium!
Saturday afternoon we headed back out to Bohemian Hall in Astoria for BB and JW's birthday party. Much tasty Czech beer was consumed, and the weather cooperated until it cooled off towards the end of the afternoon. I was pretty wiped after drinking basically from 1:00 until 6:30 so I headed home (making a stopover at the Barnes and Noble near the West 4th subway stop to pick up Anthony Bourdain's new book and one of Nick Hornby's old ones) and turned in early.
Yesterday was Mother's Day so I met up with the folks for brunch at Bistro Les Amis in Soho. After some initial playing of musical tables, we settled in and enjoyed a nice meal (though not so great that I'd go out of my way to eat there again). For some reason it was also a very clumsy meal for me personally, and the sauce from my mussels wound up all over the place. After brunch we went out to Great Neck to visit my great-aunt and then braved the Mother's Day traffic to head home.
Got out on my bike both Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon as well - great weather for it. I'm going to take today off but get back out tomorrow (when it's supposed to be warmer and more humid leading up to thunderstorms on Wednesday).
Saturday afternoon we headed back out to Bohemian Hall in Astoria for BB and JW's birthday party. Much tasty Czech beer was consumed, and the weather cooperated until it cooled off towards the end of the afternoon. I was pretty wiped after drinking basically from 1:00 until 6:30 so I headed home (making a stopover at the Barnes and Noble near the West 4th subway stop to pick up Anthony Bourdain's new book and one of Nick Hornby's old ones) and turned in early.
Yesterday was Mother's Day so I met up with the folks for brunch at Bistro Les Amis in Soho. After some initial playing of musical tables, we settled in and enjoyed a nice meal (though not so great that I'd go out of my way to eat there again). For some reason it was also a very clumsy meal for me personally, and the sauce from my mussels wound up all over the place. After brunch we went out to Great Neck to visit my great-aunt and then braved the Mother's Day traffic to head home.
Got out on my bike both Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon as well - great weather for it. I'm going to take today off but get back out tomorrow (when it's supposed to be warmer and more humid leading up to thunderstorms on Wednesday).
Thursday, May 10, 2007
More on Arcade Fire
Apparently after Win encouraged the audience to crowd down towards the stage, security at Radio City took exception. This was just one aisle over from where I was, but I didn't notice (though I did see a couple of security guys booking it across from one side to the other at one point).
Neon Bible
I went to the Arcade Fire concert at Radio City tonight. Great show, great venue (I'd never been there before). They're one of those groups who seem like they're having so much fun up there performing, and that kind of energy and enthusiasm helps to get the crowd into the show too. It's also impressive that there are ten people (by my count) up there performing and they're all DOING something at any given time. Nobody's just kinda standing there and waiting for their turn to play. It makes for some really rich, deep music.
The lead singer of the band, a few times during the show, encouraged the people whose seats were further back to kinda move on down towards the front and just kinda stand in the aisles. (At one point he hoked that the security staff must hate him for that.) I happened to have an aisle seat, so at some point during the show this other dude who was filing down towards the front on the singer's instructions wound up standing next to me, and kinda intruded on my personal space. And then I realized, "wow, when did I start worrying about having personal space when I'm at a concert?" (I dunno, maybe that was just because it was a dude, though.) Anyway, I guess maybe that's another sign I'm getting old.
The lead singer of the band, a few times during the show, encouraged the people whose seats were further back to kinda move on down towards the front and just kinda stand in the aisles. (At one point he hoked that the security staff must hate him for that.) I happened to have an aisle seat, so at some point during the show this other dude who was filing down towards the front on the singer's instructions wound up standing next to me, and kinda intruded on my personal space. And then I realized, "wow, when did I start worrying about having personal space when I'm at a concert?" (I dunno, maybe that was just because it was a dude, though.) Anyway, I guess maybe that's another sign I'm getting old.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
I Can't Think of a Good Title for This
Every now and then I'll have a point in my life when I think to myself, "OK, so here are X number of things that I would like to have happen, and if Y number of them happen then I can be happy about how things turned out."
Well, right now I'm kinda at one of those points. There are three things that I'd really like to happen, and if even one or two of them could actually happen, that'd be great. The first one is kinda obvious, since it's kinda been the subject of half of my posts here (though I suppose "AG moving to NY" and "AG being interested" are two separate things). The second is a job-related thing that I'm not going to discuss in detail at the moment. The third is, it'd be really cool if Cornell could win the lacrosse tournament.
If I had to bet on how many of these things are actually going to happen, I'd say it'll probably be zero.
Well, right now I'm kinda at one of those points. There are three things that I'd really like to happen, and if even one or two of them could actually happen, that'd be great. The first one is kinda obvious, since it's kinda been the subject of half of my posts here (though I suppose "AG moving to NY" and "AG being interested" are two separate things). The second is a job-related thing that I'm not going to discuss in detail at the moment. The third is, it'd be really cool if Cornell could win the lacrosse tournament.
If I had to bet on how many of these things are actually going to happen, I'd say it'll probably be zero.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Trepidation
Yes, I know I'm trying to be positive, but I have a hunch Airport Girl is going to take the job in St. Louis. She mentioned that it's a big firm with offices in other cities, so if she wanted to move later on she could do so without changing jobs, and I think that's going to be enough for her to stay there rather than move.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Friday, May 4, 2007
Un-Live Blogging
Before tonight's hockey game I briefly considered live-blogging it - keeping a constantly updated running account as it progressed, for anyone who might be unfamiliar with the term. I decided not to bother, as is obvious. I suppose if I had it would've run a pretty broad gamut of emotions. Nervousness early in the game, as the general pre-game consensus was that the Rangers would have to weather a heavy early storm from the Slugs; developing confidence as Lundqvist played strongly and the Rangers had some chances of their own; frustration with an anemic (abysmal, even) power play; nervousness as Fedor Tyutin, Marek Malik and then Jaromir Jagr all got dinged up over the course of the first and second periods; excitement when Marty Straka gave the Rangers the late lead; nervousness again as the Rangers scrambled to hold the lead; deflation when the game got tied up, and... man, I am just gutted right now. The Rangers were SO close to taking a 3-2 lead back to MSG for a possible clincher on Sunday, and instead our backs are to the wall.
SO close.
SO close.
Even More Not Inauspicious
As I thought she might, Airport Girl got a job offer from the consulting firm she'd been interviewing with here in New York. Not sure whether she'll take it, since she's mulling an offer from a law firm in St. Louis as well, but it's a positive that she's got the offer here, anyway.
Updated: I forgot to mention that AG told me she has until next Friday to make her decision. So that's the time frame.
Updated: I forgot to mention that AG told me she has until next Friday to make her decision. So that's the time frame.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Video Replay Can Be Your Friend
It was a nerve-wracking finish, but the Rangers are headed back to Buffalo tied 2-2 instead of down 3-1. This team has really come together over the past couple of months and I think it's within their power to knock the Sabres off.
Still, I can imagine the Slugs are hopping mad after that call went against them and I'm happy to have the extra cooling-off day rather than having game 5 be tomorrow night.
Still, I can imagine the Slugs are hopping mad after that call went against them and I'm happy to have the extra cooling-off day rather than having game 5 be tomorrow night.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Not Inauspicious
I had lunch with Airport Girl today after she had her second interview at that same consulting firm. We met up at a deli across the street from where she interviewed (after I was held up because of a train accident that forced me to go a different route), then took our salads over to the little park in Herald Square across from Macy's (which AG claimed was not actually a park because it doesn't have grass, but that's just the way some city parks are).
On the job front, it definitely sounds like this consulting firm is going to make AG an offer; they were asking her questions like "are you planning on taking any time off between finishing school and starting work?" which basically amounts to "when can you start?" She's got an offer with a firm in Connecticut that compares unfavorably salary-wise, and another interview or two yet to happen, but she seems pretty enthused about this one.
On the other front... hey, I'm going to continue in my efforts to be optimistic. I think she digs me. Good body language, a couple of playful punches on the arm, that sort of thing. Said that if she moves to NYC, I'm going to have to spend every weekend showing her around, which certainly sounds like a positive to me. I'm a little nervous that she was quick to give me the cheek to kiss both when we met up and before she got into her cab back to her hotel, but it's not like we were going to start playing tonsil hockey right there on 32nd Street, right?
AG thinks she should maybe have an offer from this firm as soon as a couple of days from now, and said that she'd let me know what happens, so perhaps I'll know more soon.
On the job front, it definitely sounds like this consulting firm is going to make AG an offer; they were asking her questions like "are you planning on taking any time off between finishing school and starting work?" which basically amounts to "when can you start?" She's got an offer with a firm in Connecticut that compares unfavorably salary-wise, and another interview or two yet to happen, but she seems pretty enthused about this one.
On the other front... hey, I'm going to continue in my efforts to be optimistic. I think she digs me. Good body language, a couple of playful punches on the arm, that sort of thing. Said that if she moves to NYC, I'm going to have to spend every weekend showing her around, which certainly sounds like a positive to me. I'm a little nervous that she was quick to give me the cheek to kiss both when we met up and before she got into her cab back to her hotel, but it's not like we were going to start playing tonsil hockey right there on 32nd Street, right?
AG thinks she should maybe have an offer from this firm as soon as a couple of days from now, and said that she'd let me know what happens, so perhaps I'll know more soon.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
TBD
Tomorrow has serious Bad Day potential. We'll see how that turns out - stay tuned for the exciting details!
Friday, April 27, 2007
*Shrug*
Finally got back in touch with AG tonight. I was right in guessing that she's been swamped for the past week (externship, classwork, interviews) and that's why we hadn't had a chance to talk.
She does have the interview here in NYC next Monday but she has tentative plans with a law school classmate Sunday night, so I won't get to see her then unless the classmate bails. She's been told the interview will be over at noon and she doesn't have to be at the airport until 4 so we may try to meet for lunch on Monday.
For what it's worth, she seems to really want a job she interviewed for in Kansas City, but those folks are jerking her around and trying to get her to take a position in Omaha, which she's not at all interested in. Other than that I think she likes the sound of the NY job, and if they're flying her out and putting her up in a hotel for the second time, I have to figure they're at least seriously considering her.
I'm still not sure what to make of this - she seemed a bit giggly when we were talking but that might be because she'd just woken up from a nap. So, once again I'm saying, "we'll see." In any case, she doesn't hate or or anything.
She does have the interview here in NYC next Monday but she has tentative plans with a law school classmate Sunday night, so I won't get to see her then unless the classmate bails. She's been told the interview will be over at noon and she doesn't have to be at the airport until 4 so we may try to meet for lunch on Monday.
For what it's worth, she seems to really want a job she interviewed for in Kansas City, but those folks are jerking her around and trying to get her to take a position in Omaha, which she's not at all interested in. Other than that I think she likes the sound of the NY job, and if they're flying her out and putting her up in a hotel for the second time, I have to figure they're at least seriously considering her.
I'm still not sure what to make of this - she seemed a bit giggly when we were talking but that might be because she'd just woken up from a nap. So, once again I'm saying, "we'll see." In any case, she doesn't hate or or anything.
Ew.
As any New Yorkers out there will know, it's kinda gross out today. I gather once the rain passes, the weather will be nice towards the end of the weekend.
Most days I take a bus to work. The B51 stops basically right in front of my building (halfway up the block, to be specific) and takes me to City Hall, which is a short (about 5 minutes) walk to my office. On the other hand, the subway station is about a 7 minute walk from my apartment, and then 4 minutes to the office. In addition to there being less walking (nice when it's really hot or really cold), I like to take the bus because 1) I know exactly (theoretically - more on this later) when it's coming, 2) it gets disgustingly hot on the subway platforms in the summer, 3) when the weather isn't great I can wait inside the front door of my building until the bus gets there, and 4) the bus isn't nearly as crowded as the subway.
On some recent days, though, a wrench has been thrown into the works. Specifically, my bus has been early. WAY early. Like, ten minutes early. Now, I'm all for punctuality, but come on. Morning commuter buses have to run according to schedule. How am I supposed to plan my morning if the bus is going to be gone by the time I get to the curb (five minutes ahead of time)?
Today, of course, this was more of an issue, because of the weather. I decided to wait for the next bus (a half hour later) and it didn't show up! (At least, as of 10 minutes behind its schedule.) So I trudged to the subway, finally made it to work... SOAKED.
At least I'm mostly dry now.
Most days I take a bus to work. The B51 stops basically right in front of my building (halfway up the block, to be specific) and takes me to City Hall, which is a short (about 5 minutes) walk to my office. On the other hand, the subway station is about a 7 minute walk from my apartment, and then 4 minutes to the office. In addition to there being less walking (nice when it's really hot or really cold), I like to take the bus because 1) I know exactly (theoretically - more on this later) when it's coming, 2) it gets disgustingly hot on the subway platforms in the summer, 3) when the weather isn't great I can wait inside the front door of my building until the bus gets there, and 4) the bus isn't nearly as crowded as the subway.
On some recent days, though, a wrench has been thrown into the works. Specifically, my bus has been early. WAY early. Like, ten minutes early. Now, I'm all for punctuality, but come on. Morning commuter buses have to run according to schedule. How am I supposed to plan my morning if the bus is going to be gone by the time I get to the curb (five minutes ahead of time)?
Today, of course, this was more of an issue, because of the weather. I decided to wait for the next bus (a half hour later) and it didn't show up! (At least, as of 10 minutes behind its schedule.) So I trudged to the subway, finally made it to work... SOAKED.
At least I'm mostly dry now.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Same Old
Called AG earlier tonight. No answer, I decided not to leave a message, figuring maybe she'd see the missed call and ring back or maybe I'd try her again later on. Didn't hear back and decided against calling again. I'll email her from work tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Out of Sync
Losing weight has been a goal of mine for a while now, albeit one that I've actively pursued, honestly, only intermittently. I've resisted what I call (for lack of a better term) "gimmick diets" (things like Atkins, South Beach, etc.) because I believe (and reasonably so, I think) that all that's necessary is a healthy diet and regular exercise and things should take care of themselves.
Well, in principle that's all very well and good, but the problem I've had (aside from the intervals when I have no energy for any of this at all, but that's a separate issue) is getting my ducks in a row, so to speak. Specifically, getting in sync, for any significant period of time, such that I'm both eating well and getting enough exercise. A lot of the time it's just one or the other.
Take this past weekend for example. The weather was good so I biked both days - just short of an hour on Saturday, just over an hour on Sunday. That was good. BUT, as I mentioned in another post, Saturday afternoon I went to a beer garden, ate sausage, polished off well over a pitcher on my own (and maybe closer to two), and then went out for a burger afterwards. I don't know if I'd say "one step forward, two steps back," but it was definitely at least "one step forward, one step back."
I have to be able to do both at the same time, or it's going to be very slow progress (if any at all). So, something else to think about this spring and summer.
Well, in principle that's all very well and good, but the problem I've had (aside from the intervals when I have no energy for any of this at all, but that's a separate issue) is getting my ducks in a row, so to speak. Specifically, getting in sync, for any significant period of time, such that I'm both eating well and getting enough exercise. A lot of the time it's just one or the other.
Take this past weekend for example. The weather was good so I biked both days - just short of an hour on Saturday, just over an hour on Sunday. That was good. BUT, as I mentioned in another post, Saturday afternoon I went to a beer garden, ate sausage, polished off well over a pitcher on my own (and maybe closer to two), and then went out for a burger afterwards. I don't know if I'd say "one step forward, two steps back," but it was definitely at least "one step forward, one step back."
I have to be able to do both at the same time, or it's going to be very slow progress (if any at all). So, something else to think about this spring and summer.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Tick Tock
No interaction with AG since phone tag last Monday night. I'm toying with the idea of giving her a call later on this week, maybe Wednesdayish, to see what the deal is with her trip back to NYC next Sunday/Monday. On the other hand, though, I don't want to be pushy. What to do, what to do...
Beer + Garden =
On Saturday afternoon, to take advantage of the great weather I mentioned, some friends and I headed out to Bohemian Hall in Astoria. According to the website, there used to be hundreds of beer gardens in NYC, but with the real estate market being what it is (i.e. who needs outdoor space when we could have MORE LUXURY CONDOS?!?!), now there's just the one.
The trip out was apparently a good idea, as A) we ran into a whole bunch of people we knew, and B) by late afternoon there was a line around the block to get in. Fortunately, we were there early enough (well, two of my friends were there early enough - I was an hour behind schedule) to get some table space. I'd never had Staropramen before, but I liked it better than the standard Pilsner Urquell.
Afterwards, we went to Donovan's in Woodside for burgers. I guess they were good, but my taste buds were pretty numb from all the beer.
The trip out was apparently a good idea, as A) we ran into a whole bunch of people we knew, and B) by late afternoon there was a line around the block to get in. Fortunately, we were there early enough (well, two of my friends were there early enough - I was an hour behind schedule) to get some table space. I'd never had Staropramen before, but I liked it better than the standard Pilsner Urquell.
Afterwards, we went to Donovan's in Woodside for burgers. I guess they were good, but my taste buds were pretty numb from all the beer.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
This Is Me Overthinking
It's Thursday evening as I write this. I haven't heard anything from Airport Girl since we played phone tag on Monday night. I'm not going to rush to call her back; no need to spook her. If she wants to talk about career-related stuff, as she said, I'm happy to do so, but she can call me for that; regarding next weekend when she's supposed to be here, I can wait until next week to try to talk to her again about that.
Generally speaking, though, this is the point in this process when I start second-guessing myself. I wonder, "what did I do wrong?" I suppose there are four possible answers to that question. I'll answer them in order of frequency that they happen to me, from lowest to highest:
Whatever. Things work out, or they don't. I dwell on this shit far too much.
Generally speaking, though, this is the point in this process when I start second-guessing myself. I wonder, "what did I do wrong?" I suppose there are four possible answers to that question. I'll answer them in order of frequency that they happen to me, from lowest to highest:
- I didn't do anything wrong, and the girl at hand is interested. Hey, great. Wish this happened more.
- I did something wrong, and the girl was interested. I suppose this has two subsets:
- The girl was interested, but because of something I screwed up, she no longer is.
- The girl remains interested, despite what I did.
- I did something wrong, but the girl wasn't interested to start with, so no harm done.
- I didn't do anything wrong, but the girl wasn't interested to start with, so it really doesn't matter what I did.
Whatever. Things work out, or they don't. I dwell on this shit far too much.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Adventures in Coffee
Yesterday morning I decided to go with some high-octane coffee (i.e. double espresso from Starbucks) instead of my regular large with skim and sugar from the deli up the block. Well, I think I should just stick to the usual. The espresso (a "doppio" according to the assholes behind the counter) has a whole lot of kick, but then the crash happens really quickly. You'd really have to keep drinking that stuff to maintain a good level of coffee buzz and that's not my plan.
Hmm, maybe "adventures" was too strong of a word.
Hmm, maybe "adventures" was too strong of a word.
"Some Days Are Better Than Others"
Zooropa was, by most accounts, not U2's finest effort. (As an aside, while my observation has been that most critics and fans rank it ahead of Pop in the band's catalog, I give Pop a slight edge and consider Zooropa their worst studio album. Odd, in view of the fact that Zooropa came out right when I started listening to U2, but there you have it.) Towards the end, though, it's got a song that I think sort of hits pretty well on how I feel lately.
"Some Days Are Better Than Others," I suppose, could be read to be about manic depression or just about the variety of emotions and experiences presented by life. That's the way I am lately (though, I don't know, maybe I've always been like this but am only noticing it recently). Some days, I just don't care about what the future holds, or the fact that I'm always single or why that is, I'm just content to sort of enjoy whatever is going on. Every now and then, though, there'll be a day where I feel... almost crushingly isolated. Before I moved to NYC a few years ago, I read something to the effect that sometimes you can feel really lonely in a big city, even when there are lots of people around, or, I suppose, because there are lots of people around and yet you're not connected to any of them, really. Days like that are bad. I'm not going to dwell on this any more, at the moment, because it's a bit depressing thinking about it. Perhaps next time I have one of those days I'll write about it.
Incidentally, the following song on Zooropa, "The First Time," is just beautiful. I have no idea what it's about, but it's beautiful nonetheless.
"Some Days Are Better Than Others," I suppose, could be read to be about manic depression or just about the variety of emotions and experiences presented by life. That's the way I am lately (though, I don't know, maybe I've always been like this but am only noticing it recently). Some days, I just don't care about what the future holds, or the fact that I'm always single or why that is, I'm just content to sort of enjoy whatever is going on. Every now and then, though, there'll be a day where I feel... almost crushingly isolated. Before I moved to NYC a few years ago, I read something to the effect that sometimes you can feel really lonely in a big city, even when there are lots of people around, or, I suppose, because there are lots of people around and yet you're not connected to any of them, really. Days like that are bad. I'm not going to dwell on this any more, at the moment, because it's a bit depressing thinking about it. Perhaps next time I have one of those days I'll write about it.
Incidentally, the following song on Zooropa, "The First Time," is just beautiful. I have no idea what it's about, but it's beautiful nonetheless.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Airport Girl (#3)
I didn't hear back from Airport Girl on Monday or Tuesday (nor did I expect to, since she flew back to St. Louis Monday night and presumably had to catch up on work on Tuesday). Wednesday evening I decided to give her a call. No answer and I didn't leave a voice message, figuring to try again a little later, but she called me back before too long.
Airport Girl told me that she didn't think the interview had gone so well; they'd given her some specific stuff to prepare to talk about, and then had surprised her by throwing out some questions that were both unanticipated and outside her field, presumably to test her ability to think on her feet. She felt like she'd done poorly on those questions, though very well with the prepared material. She also mentioned that the address the company had given her was out of date and so as a result she'd been late to her interview, and the timing of her whole day was thrown off right up until she got back to Newark Airport (thanks to my directions), when her flight back home was, of course, delayed.
Since Airport Girl was on her way out to pub trivia night with friends, we didn't talk for long, but she told me she'd keep me posted on how things were going. Fast forward to the following Monday (i.e. yesterday) and I figured I'd check in, so I sent her an email - you know, funny link, comment about the weather, nothing too serious. Her response thanked me for the link and then let me know that she'd gotten a second interview here in NYC, which will be about two weeks from now, and she'd keep me posted on the details.
I was happy to hear that she'd be coming back, so I wrote back to congratulate her on the interview (and ask whether she meant a second interview at the same consulting firm or an interview somewhere else, since her initial response was unclear), and also to say that if she has time while she's here, I'd like to take her out - maybe even find a real restaurant this time around, what with it not being Easter. Her response to this was a bit off-putting. Airport Girl let me know that it was a second interview at the same consulting firm and also that if I had time, she'd like to talk to me about employment options and job searching and whatnot, since I went through the same process not too long ago; she would call me when she had a chance. I say "off-putting," as you may have guessed, because she said precisely zero about my offer to take her out. I'm not exactly sure what that means.
While I was at the gym last night Airport Girl called me; I tried her back when I got home but there was no answer. I suppose we'll talk tonight or later in the week, and I'll see how things feel at that point.
Airport Girl told me that she didn't think the interview had gone so well; they'd given her some specific stuff to prepare to talk about, and then had surprised her by throwing out some questions that were both unanticipated and outside her field, presumably to test her ability to think on her feet. She felt like she'd done poorly on those questions, though very well with the prepared material. She also mentioned that the address the company had given her was out of date and so as a result she'd been late to her interview, and the timing of her whole day was thrown off right up until she got back to Newark Airport (thanks to my directions), when her flight back home was, of course, delayed.
Since Airport Girl was on her way out to pub trivia night with friends, we didn't talk for long, but she told me she'd keep me posted on how things were going. Fast forward to the following Monday (i.e. yesterday) and I figured I'd check in, so I sent her an email - you know, funny link, comment about the weather, nothing too serious. Her response thanked me for the link and then let me know that she'd gotten a second interview here in NYC, which will be about two weeks from now, and she'd keep me posted on the details.
I was happy to hear that she'd be coming back, so I wrote back to congratulate her on the interview (and ask whether she meant a second interview at the same consulting firm or an interview somewhere else, since her initial response was unclear), and also to say that if she has time while she's here, I'd like to take her out - maybe even find a real restaurant this time around, what with it not being Easter. Her response to this was a bit off-putting. Airport Girl let me know that it was a second interview at the same consulting firm and also that if I had time, she'd like to talk to me about employment options and job searching and whatnot, since I went through the same process not too long ago; she would call me when she had a chance. I say "off-putting," as you may have guessed, because she said precisely zero about my offer to take her out. I'm not exactly sure what that means.
While I was at the gym last night Airport Girl called me; I tried her back when I got home but there was no answer. I suppose we'll talk tonight or later in the week, and I'll see how things feel at that point.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Airport Girl (Part the Second)
When the plane landed in Newark, Airport Girl and I met up on the jetway and resumed our conversation. I don't remember exactly what we were talking about, small talk about traveling or whatever. We walked together to baggage claim and while we were waiting for my suitcase to show up, she asked whether I was doing anything that night, and if not, whether I might like to have dinner together. All I had planned with a night in front of the TV, so, no fool I, I said that that sounded great.
We made our way to the AirTrain, continuing to talk about life in NY or traveling or whatever, and then to NJ Transit. Once we'd gotten to Penn Station and up to street level, we exchanged cell phone numbers and split up, Airport Girl to her hotel and me to my apartment to drop off my suitcase and take a shower; I told her I'd call in about an hour. I made my way home, took a shower, called back, and made plans to meet her at her hotel for some food.
Once I got there I tried to come up with a place to eat, and had a good idea in mind, but stupid me forgot to realize that it was Easter, and therefore Morrell Wine Bar was closed, along with just about everywhere else. After walking around for half an hour or so, we decided to just have a light bite at the deli next to Airport Girl's hotel, which we had noticed was open when we left it in the first place. After that we went back to the bar in her hotel and had a couple of drinks.
Fast forward to about midnight, the bar is closing. (I know, I know, but it was Easter.) Airport Girl's interview was at 9 the next morning and I had a long subway ride home and work at 10. Kiss on the cheek, exchanged contact info, she said she'd let me know how the interview went. When I got off the subway near home I texted her to with her luck; she wrote back and thanked me.
We made our way to the AirTrain, continuing to talk about life in NY or traveling or whatever, and then to NJ Transit. Once we'd gotten to Penn Station and up to street level, we exchanged cell phone numbers and split up, Airport Girl to her hotel and me to my apartment to drop off my suitcase and take a shower; I told her I'd call in about an hour. I made my way home, took a shower, called back, and made plans to meet her at her hotel for some food.
Once I got there I tried to come up with a place to eat, and had a good idea in mind, but stupid me forgot to realize that it was Easter, and therefore Morrell Wine Bar was closed, along with just about everywhere else. After walking around for half an hour or so, we decided to just have a light bite at the deli next to Airport Girl's hotel, which we had noticed was open when we left it in the first place. After that we went back to the bar in her hotel and had a couple of drinks.
Fast forward to about midnight, the bar is closing. (I know, I know, but it was Easter.) Airport Girl's interview was at 9 the next morning and I had a long subway ride home and work at 10. Kiss on the cheek, exchanged contact info, she said she'd let me know how the interview went. When I got off the subway near home I texted her to with her luck; she wrote back and thanked me.
Stories Generally, and Airport Girl (Part 1)
A word of warning. Some of my friends know this, others may not. When I tell stories, I get long-winded, and I tend to write long sentences with lots of commas and semicolons and parentheticals. So, uh, be prepared, and be aware that I am trying to keep things concise, I'm just not very good at it.
The (possibly still developing, as of this writing) story of Airport Girl is what spurred me to start writing this. If it crashes and burns, then I have no doubt it'll be representative of the other straws that have been building up on the camel's back. If it works out well, hey, great.
Last weekend I was in St. Louis. Though the weather in the Midwest was fine, the flight, which was scheduled to depart at about 1pm local, was delayed due to bad weather in Newark; the anticipated departure time wasn't certain, but it was probably around 3pm. Because I'd been to hockey and baseball games over the weekend, I had both Rangers and Mets gear with me; at the airport I was wearing a Rangers jersey (because, uncharacteristically, I had packed too few shirts and didn't have anything better to wear on the trip home) and Mets hat (because it's less things to carry if you wear it rather than hold it).
I'm sitting near the gate waiting for info about the flight, reading, listening to music, when someone taps on my shoulder. I look up and it's an attractive young blonde woman in a black sweater; earlier I'd noticed her talking to some other passengers with young children in a friendly manner. We'll call her (duh) Airport Girl. She asks if I'm from New York, picking up on the gear I'm wearing, and when I tell her that I am, she asks if I can explain to her how to get into Manhattan from Newark Airport. I say sure, you take the AirTrain from the terminal to the New Jersey Transit station, and then NJT to Penn Station. But hey, I'm doing the same thing, we'll walk together and I'll make sure you don't get lost.
We talk some more, and it comes out that we're both lawyers; she's actually an LLM student (LLM : JD :: MS : BS) on her way to NYC for a job interview. She's from Canada; I love Canada like Rade Serbedzija's character in EuroTrip loves Miami Wice (sic.). (Yes, really. And yes, I really just made that analogy.) We make some more small talk about law school and whatever else, and then it's time to board. So that happens, and we fly to Newark. End scene 1, or whatever.
The (possibly still developing, as of this writing) story of Airport Girl is what spurred me to start writing this. If it crashes and burns, then I have no doubt it'll be representative of the other straws that have been building up on the camel's back. If it works out well, hey, great.
Last weekend I was in St. Louis. Though the weather in the Midwest was fine, the flight, which was scheduled to depart at about 1pm local, was delayed due to bad weather in Newark; the anticipated departure time wasn't certain, but it was probably around 3pm. Because I'd been to hockey and baseball games over the weekend, I had both Rangers and Mets gear with me; at the airport I was wearing a Rangers jersey (because, uncharacteristically, I had packed too few shirts and didn't have anything better to wear on the trip home) and Mets hat (because it's less things to carry if you wear it rather than hold it).
I'm sitting near the gate waiting for info about the flight, reading, listening to music, when someone taps on my shoulder. I look up and it's an attractive young blonde woman in a black sweater; earlier I'd noticed her talking to some other passengers with young children in a friendly manner. We'll call her (duh) Airport Girl. She asks if I'm from New York, picking up on the gear I'm wearing, and when I tell her that I am, she asks if I can explain to her how to get into Manhattan from Newark Airport. I say sure, you take the AirTrain from the terminal to the New Jersey Transit station, and then NJT to Penn Station. But hey, I'm doing the same thing, we'll walk together and I'll make sure you don't get lost.
We talk some more, and it comes out that we're both lawyers; she's actually an LLM student (LLM : JD :: MS : BS) on her way to NYC for a job interview. She's from Canada; I love Canada like Rade Serbedzija's character in EuroTrip loves Miami Wice (sic.). (Yes, really. And yes, I really just made that analogy.) We make some more small talk about law school and whatever else, and then it's time to board. So that happens, and we fly to Newark. End scene 1, or whatever.
A word about inspiration...
In December or so, I read a book called Twenty-Something by a young English author named Iain Hollingshead. It's a first-person account of a young man's year-long journey of self-discovery. (That sounds really trite, I know, but the book is quite good.) Presumably, it's more than a little bit autobiographical.
After I finished it, I decided that in January I was going to do the same thing. Maybe it'd just be for myself, maybe I'd share it with my friends, but I was going to write, by gum. (When I was younger, there was a point when I wanted to be a writer, but then I tried and realized I wasn't any good at it.)
Well, given the fact that it's April 16th as I write this, I'm sure you can infer how that turned out. In the interest of plugging a good book, though... there it is.
After I finished it, I decided that in January I was going to do the same thing. Maybe it'd just be for myself, maybe I'd share it with my friends, but I was going to write, by gum. (When I was younger, there was a point when I wanted to be a writer, but then I tried and realized I wasn't any good at it.)
Well, given the fact that it's April 16th as I write this, I'm sure you can infer how that turned out. In the interest of plugging a good book, though... there it is.
2007.
I'm going to turn 30 this year. Not until December, yeah, but it still feels... impending, you know? When my father turned 30, he was married. 20 months later, I was born. Two years or so later, he and my mom had bought the house in the suburbs.
Now, I'm not my father, and as much as I look up to him, I'm perfectly fine with not living his life. And I know that people these days are doing all that stuff older than they did in previous generations, yadda yadda yadda. But still, as a point of comparison, it makes me feel like I'm not really accomplishing anything. I know that sounds weird and vague, but there it is.
Anyway, that's only partially, tangentially related to what this is actually (maybe going to be) all about. See, going hand in hand with the fact that I'm pushing 30, many of my good friends are at the same point in life. Many, in fact, are engaged, married, or even (in a few cases) having kids already. And that, (probably non-existent) readers, is the source of much of my consternation. (Did I spell that right?)
I don't really know what I'm doing wrong. I mean, in a broader sense, yeah, more self-confidence, lose some weight, yeah, that's the easy stuff. But I swear, I must've missed the day in middle school where they teach you how to interact with the opposite sex on a more-than-friends level. Because I just do not know how.
So, I suppose this is going to be a chronicle of my quest to figure out how, though later in life than I should be doing so, and any other interesting stuff that might happen along the way.
Now, I'm not my father, and as much as I look up to him, I'm perfectly fine with not living his life. And I know that people these days are doing all that stuff older than they did in previous generations, yadda yadda yadda. But still, as a point of comparison, it makes me feel like I'm not really accomplishing anything. I know that sounds weird and vague, but there it is.
Anyway, that's only partially, tangentially related to what this is actually (maybe going to be) all about. See, going hand in hand with the fact that I'm pushing 30, many of my good friends are at the same point in life. Many, in fact, are engaged, married, or even (in a few cases) having kids already. And that, (probably non-existent) readers, is the source of much of my consternation. (Did I spell that right?)
I don't really know what I'm doing wrong. I mean, in a broader sense, yeah, more self-confidence, lose some weight, yeah, that's the easy stuff. But I swear, I must've missed the day in middle school where they teach you how to interact with the opposite sex on a more-than-friends level. Because I just do not know how.
So, I suppose this is going to be a chronicle of my quest to figure out how, though later in life than I should be doing so, and any other interesting stuff that might happen along the way.
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