Welcome! While here you will be able to take a peek into my life as well as participate in a constructive way during my journey. I hope you find something you can relate to here...
Friday, January 28, 2005
Music In My Deck and In My Head
Rarely am I without music playing in the background when I am folding laundry, answering email or what not. I have noticed that these songs have been in my playlist for a while now. Not only do I think they are beautiful but at times express my feelings better than my babblings. Anyway, I offer them here with their lyrics.
"How Soon Is Now?" - The Smiths
I am the son and the heir Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar I am the son and heir Of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth How can you say I go about things the wrong way? I am Human and I need to be loved Just like everybody else does
I am the son and the heir Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar I am the son and heir Oh, of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth How can you say I go about things the wrong way? I am Human and I need to be loved Just like everybody else does
There's a club, if you'd like to go You could meet somebody who really loves you So you go, and you stand on your own And you leave on your own And you go home, and you cry And you want to die
When you say it's gonna happen now Well, when exactly do you mean? See I've already waited too long And all my hope is gone
You shut your mouth How can you say I go about things the wrong way? I am Human and I need to be loved Just like everybody else does
I feel so extraordinary Something's got a hold on me I get this feeling I'm in motion A sudden sense of liberty
I don't care 'cause I'm not there And I don't care if I'm here tomorrow Again and again I've taken too much Of the things that cost you too much
I used to think that the day would never come I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun My morning sun is the drug that brings me near To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear I used to think that the day would never come That my life would depend on the morning sun...
When I was a very small boy, Very small boys talked to me Now that we've grown up together They're afraid of what they see
That's the price that we all pay Our valued destiny comes to nothing I can't tell you where we're going I guess there was just no way of knowing
I used to think that the day would never come I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun My morning sun is the drug that brings me near To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear I used to think that the day would never come That my life would depend on the morning sun...
I feel so extraordinary Something's got a hold on me I get this feeling I'm in motion A sudden sense of liberty
The chances are we've gone too far You took my time and you took my money Now I fear you've left me standing In a world that's so demanding
I used to think that the day would never come I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun My morning sun is the drug that brings me near To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear I used to think that the day would never come That my life would depend on the morning sun...
As I look into your eyes I see the sunrise The light behind your face sends me new vibes
{Sunrise}
We sleep and sometimes love until the moon shines Maybe the next time I’ll be yours and maybe you’ll be mine
{Sunrise}
I don’t know if it’s even in your mind at all Can we meet at this moment in time Is it in your mind at all It should be me, it could’ve been me
You’re mine forever...
Wonder if true life would have come home to you And the love you want forever will make it true to you
We sleep and sometimes love until the moon shines Maybe the next time I’ll be yours and maybe you’ll be mine
{You’ll be mine}
I don’t know if it’s even in your mind at all Can we meet at this moment in time Love’s indescribable It should be me, it could’ve been me
You’re mine forever
Easy ready, willing overtime Where does it stop, where do you dare need to draw the line You took my body, now you want my soul Don’t even think about it, say no go yeah...
{Sunrise}
I don’t know if it’s even in your mind at all Can we meet at this moment in time Is it in your mind at all It should be me, it could’ve been me
You’re mine forever
{Sunrise}
At this moment in time Is it in your mind at all It should be me, it could’ve been me
This past weekend brought a great day to friends and family. It was the day the Cop would marry the love of his life, Kristy. Events leading up to the big day will help make it truly memorable for all. Everyone was psyched for this event, especially since The Cop represents the first of our crew to get hitched. Because he is such a great friend of mine, I was honored to be part of the groom's party along with Monkey and Burger. The total line up for the groom's party was Louie (Cop's Pops) as best man and Monkey, Burger, myself and Kristy's brother Mike as ushers. Kristy's bride's party included her cousin (for crying out loud why am I so bad with names, I sat next to her in the limo too) as maid of honor with Melissa and Christine (Cop's sister) as bride's maids. All together it was a rather large bridal party which always means a lot of fun. We all let it be known to The Cop that we were going to do some serious partying as only our crew can do.
All week long prior to the wedding day the local weathermen were all calling for a blizzard to hit New England. With the collective efforts of the bridal party and family we all tried to spread anti-blizzard vibes while at the same time making sure we had suites booked at The Inn at Fox Hollow where the reception would be held. This way if worst came to worst we would not have the chore of trying to make it all the way back to eastern Long Island in the blizzard. Speaking for myself and a few members of the crew, I know there would be a slim chance that any of us would be in any condition to drive after the reception. Making the suites an even better idea for everyone.
Earlier in the week, I helped The Cop move his furniture out of his apartment in Lynbrook to his parents house in Patchogue, our home town. The Cop's parents are retiring to Corona, New Mexico having the finishing touches completed on a house built on a 40-acre piece of property (sweet). So The Cop bought his parent's house in Patchogue as a starter home. This is cool because I will be able to hang out with him more often before I move. Plus, I will gain a steady lifting partner which is something I have felt is missing in recent months. This will help bring both our workouts to a higher level. When he called me to ask to help him move he said it would be like 4 hours of work. So of course I said I would help. Little did the two of us know that the day would not go according to plan.
I showed up in Lynbrook nice and early to begin the day. On the way out it started to flurry lightly and I really didn't give the weather a second thought on the drive out. When I showed up at the apartment I couldn't help but notice how much stuff was there in the apartment. It was a good thing I was available to help him otherwise he would have had a major project on his hands. Turns out this was to be a major project. Many little hick-ups along the way delayed our progress. These hick-ups included the ever increasing snow fall and traffic, troubles getting his couch out of the apartment, the rental truck dying on a few occasions during the commute and his sister not getting out to Long Island from Brooklyn in enough time to empty furniture out of their parent's house. All of these things made what could have been maybe six hours of work turn into fifteen hours. I made it to Lynbrook at 8:30am and after two trips back and forth to Patchogue it was 11:30pm. After unloading the last of the stuff at the house, The Cop had to head back immediately to Lynbrook because the rental truck had to be returned promptly at 7:00am. After a little arm twisting by The Cop's Mom, I decided to stay a while at their house and have some tea, chatter box and rest up before heading home. I only live two minutes from The Cop's parent's house in Patchogue so it was no big deal. Besides, Christine was over with her oldest child, Gianna and, since I've rarely had the chance to see her in recent years, I took the opportunity to catch up a bit. I didn't make it home that night until 3:00am. The Cop's parents are very gracious hosts!
Arms aching and back tweaking the rest of the week, I was looking forward to the weekend and the wedding to do some serious partying! Friday was a busy day too as I had to pick up Louie from Patchogue, pick up Melissa from her flight in from Nebraska, then drive out to Lynbrook to meet up with the family and bridal party for the rehearsal and dinner that followed. The wedding ceremony was held at St. Christopher's Church in Baldwin. What a grand looking church! When I walked in my jaw literally hit the floor. Boy was it cold - they tend to run the heat a really low because of the high prices of heating fuel. I am sure when the place packs out the temperature becomes more comfortable. For this occasion, there would be only thirty or so warm bodies in a place that can easily accommodate 500 parishioners. I still can't get over how stunning the place is. After the rehearsal we all headed off to dinner at a caterer in Hempstead (name escapes me at the moment). Food and drink were delicious. I had such a good time that I polished off three bottles of merlot with Louie, Christine and Melissa. Melissa really didn't imbibe too heavily because she was really tired. Melissa normally works night shift and found herself up for nearly 36 hours from when she last worked through the flight and rehearsal dinner. This made her a bit crabby but I could understand. My body was still hurting from the moving until I got drunk from all the merlot. After that I was feeling no pain! It was a good thing because after the dinner I would have to go back to Lynbrook to sleep on the floor at The Cop's apartment. The things you do for friends...
Well, it's a white out! I love days when the sun is shining bright and everything is covered in white. Sunday was really the best day as everything was still newly coated with snow. Trees which normally look dead seem to look truly stunning with a dusting of snow. True, Long Island got quite a bit more than a dusting but it still looks cool. Now as far as traveling in the stuff that's a whole other story. I lucked out as I got to stay at The Inn at Fox Hollow for The Cop and Krystie's wedding. Even though we had to travel to the church and then to The Inn at Fox Hollow we still managed to avoid excess exposure to the blizzard as we were all toasty inside with the other guests. I will write about the wedding (which was the best wedding I have ever attended) in another post. I will also post some shots as soon as I get them from Sashka, our designated photo specialist for the evening.
Too many great shows are on at the same time it drives me nuts! I mean I can always tune into the West Coast versions of the cable stations I like in order to see all my shows on a given night but for crying out loud I am up half the night. A VCR is just not as convenient as it once was especially since I hate juggling tapes that eventually wear out.
These shows definitely make having a TiVo worth while - especially since I am hooked on them hard.
HBO: Sopranos - a mobster we feel sorry for, wtf! The Wire - one gripe though is that the seasons are so short! Carnivale - I don't know how they wake up every morning already filthy... Deadwood - all the motherf!&@ing and c!&@sucking makes me chuckle, makes Red Hook or Compton look like Glen Cove! Real Time w/Bill Maher - the best alternative for Dennis Miller, f!&@ you, ABC! Unscripted - even though it is a new show, anything filmed in DV intrigues me! Entourage - only because I loath Kevin Connelly, went to school with the shithead, long story... Six Feet Under - can't believe how many great actors are on the show now!
SHO: Queer As Folk - great show with great music, go figure... Huff - Hank Azarea is the man, when he talks to himself it reminds me of ME, DV an obvious plus! Bullshit! - after all these years Penn & Teller still have some great schtick... The L Word - great bunch of chicks, too bad Pam Grier can't pack a gun, (DV, oh yeah)! Street Time - I got a thing for crime dramas I know... Family Business - poor Seymour can't find a decent chick to settle down with, I love it!
Both networks aren't resting on their laurels as thye have new shows coming out that I want to check out and that I might get hooked on. I think I better seriously consider the TiVo otherwise I am going to have many sleepless nights. I don't mind sleepless nights when I'm...
...well that's something that won't be happening for a bit so I must hang in there with my fave shows. Speaking of which, another episode of HUFF is on. Excellent!
Decisions, decisions. Today shapes up to be an action packed sports afternoon with both the Patriots-Colts playoff game and Middlesbrough playing the premier league this afternoon. I'm glad I hooked up both cable boxes to my set in the living room this way I can use PIP to watch both. Too bad both games are on at the same time. If one was later and the other early this wouldn't be such a pain in the ass but you can't have everything in life. Actually, you can come close but you have to work really hard along the way. Alas, I'm no stranger to this.
On a side note, last night I saw one of the most entertaining football games I have seen in quite a while. Arsenal took on Bolton at Reebok Stadium. What an exhibition of ball possession and clean passing! The result was Bolton 1-0 Arsenal but in any event it was a great game. The low score has no reflection on the sheer action throughout the entire ninety minutes. Looking forward to picking up on round four proper of FA Cup the end of this month. Sweet!
This past week brought with it some of the most depressing weather we've had here in quite a while. In winter I really enjoy getting snowfall (not to the point that things start shutting down and travel becomes dangerous) and the cold days really don't get to me too often as long as the sun is out. Even though I live on Long Island, far from a tropical climate, I consider myself a sun person. As long as the sun is shining it could be -40 degrees and I'd be able to manage. This past week the sun was hardly out at all. This reminds me why people jump off bridges in Seattle.
I know rain is necessary but it seems that for winter I would much rather see the white stuff. Rain makes it a real pain in the ass to go anywhere because you get wet (no rocket science here). But if it is snowing at least you can go about your routine and not feel all shitty and damp. You simply brush the flakes off and you are set to go. I'll take snow and cold days over rainy days. But this past week brought more wet. I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the windows hard and at first it is a soothing sound. Eventually, you have to wake up and face the day and then the fairy tail aspect seems to dwindle away until you are left with the reality that you have places to go and you are going to be damp along the way.
Besides the weather, good news presented itself! I now have my new apartment waiting for me. My application went through and they are holding my place until I sell my house and am ready to move. This is a load off my mind. The Ruskin Place in Lincoln, NE was my first choice and seemed to have the right combination of amenities and price. Compared to Long Island the rents in Lincoln are all steals but for a roughly 950 sqft. apartment the rent is really low. I would literally be paying double and then some for something similar on Long Island. The greatest thing, however, is that they will allow me to have Caesar with me! This is really important because I would hate to have to leave him behind (probably with my father) and since Caesar is pretty much in his second half of his life he is really attached to me now that Pop is gone. Everything seems to be working out nicely and the transition ahead of me seems to be one that won't have too much shock factor. The only thing I have to complete is the last preparations for my house to be listed.
The house is in pretty decent shape for an older dwelling. I may have to through some paint around here and there but generally speaking the house is ready to go. I just have to move some more furniture out into the garage so that the rooms appear a bit more "sparse." This way Lisa (my real estate agent) can show the house. I don't see this taking any longer than the next week or two. I have a wedding coming up so next weekend will be tied up but other than that I will have time to give everything the last once over. I am starting to get excited but have to remember that I have a few things to take care of before I am off the Lincoln. Speaking of things I have to do, domestic duties never seem to end plus I have some running to do so I will have to cut this one short. Short. Yeah, right? I seem to always post a novel...
So much for the luck of the Irish, right? Actually, I am feeling much better than the past two days by far. Just when it seemed I got over a sore throat rather quickly, I began to catch the sniffles. I figured it was no big deal and decided to bulk up on some more vitamin C and carry on my usual routine. This was a mistake.
An important lesson I had forgotten before this week is that plenty of rest does you well when you are taking ill. Did I rest? Hell no! Like an idiot I kept my split routine at the gym (morning cardio/small muscle groups, afternoon large muscle groups) and still spent energy working on the house and garage. One good thing was I drunk lots of water day after day and even though I was pissing like a race horse it did keep me properly hydrated. However, Wednesday I woke up in a cold sweat, shivering so hard my teeth rattled. This was real crazy since the temperature in the house was like 74 degrees. Feeling a headache coming on I immediately went downstairs, popped a few aspirin, stumbled into a luke warm shower and threw on the warmest sweats I own. Now I have had the sweats from a fever before but it still amazes me how I can feel cold as hell but still see beads of perspiration form on my forehead. No matter what you do you cannot feel comfortable for very long. I sat on the couch trying to focus on TV while constantly changing position to get comfortable all the while the fan pointing directly at me. I have a little phobia regarding still air and I normally like the air temperature a bit on the cool side. I was simply a mess.
I continued to watch TV as Caesar kept dropping his chew toy in my lap, speaking to me in rotty-Latin, then laying down and trying to nibble on my feet making a real ass out of himself. The usual crazy antics of lil' Caesar! On other days they would have been amusing for a short time but on that day with a 104 fever I was in no mood for stupid pet tricks. By 11am I was seeing hot air balloons in the living room and I knew I needed to get some serious rest. Luckily I had stocked up on some Gatorade last week so I had plenty of fluids to drink if I got tired of water. Sweating made me remember an old Italian friend of Pop's named Mike Savarese who had a real old-school remedy for a fever.
The guys at Pop's Post used to call Mike the "Pitbull." You see, like Pop Mike Savarese was in the Navy and survived the attack on Pearl Harbor (Pop survived the bombing of the USS. Bunker Hill while in the South Pacific). At 5'4" the Pitbull was as hard as they came. No wonder him and Pop got along so well. But the Pitbull also had a very generous nature and was always willing to offer you advise he thought you could actually benefit from. So I remember him saying the best cure for a fever was:
1 - load up the bed with as many blankets and covers as you could find
2 - put on a pair of thermal underwear or sweats
3 - take two aspirin and two nips of Brandy
4 - set the alarm clock and sleep under all the covers for 8-10 hours
5 - wake up get out of the sweaty clothes, take a hot shower, change into new ones
6 - set the alarm clock again and sleep for another 8-10 hours
7 - when you wake up get out of those sweaty clothes and take another shower
8 - you will find you feel as good as new!
So I followed the regimen mentioned above although I had to swap Jameson for Brandy since there was none in the house. Let me tell you this much, the remedy does work! Even though it was hell getting through it by the time I woke from my second nap I felt a lot better and needless to say no more fever.
I guess the moral of the story is that desperation will make a guy try anything and that you shouldn't knock those old-school remedies passed along by your grandparents. They might not be the most scientific but they have been around for a thousand years for a reason - they work! Even though my sniffles are still present I am going to brave the bachelor party and will have a few tales to tell I am sure.
Last night co-workers from Patchogue Floral threw a going away party for Denise a former department mate of mine back when I was with the company. Denise recently finished her initial accounting degree and is now heading off to bigger and brighter things. I say initial degree, because like myself, Denise has a natural gift for academics and I am sure an advanced degree is in store for the future. Whatever direction she decides to steer the boat she will surely avoid rough seas. I dig Denise and her wife Erica, they are great people.
The event was held at the Brickhouse Brewery so I was definitely game. Being notoriously early for appointments, I showed up about 45 minutes early. I had completed my list of chores for the day and I really had nothing else I needed to do. So I figured I'd head on over and chatterbox with the bartender and have a few pints. Btw, they have a new Nitro Stout that is really similar to what a true stout like Guinness is in form and flavor. The Brickhouse always had an Oatmeal Stout available but not being a true stout, you could never use it to make a "black and tan" or a "half and half" since there were no density differences between the two beers. For a more technical rundown of what all this means you can look here if you are interested. Forgive my rambling but I have a head cold coming on and I'm medicated too. :)
After three pints of Nitro I started seeing some chicks from Patchogue Floral show up so I went over to greet and bullshit for a little bit before the hostess let us go to the special party room reserved for us. I was happy to see the turnout was pretty big. There are probably between 65-70 employees at Patchogue Floral and nearly 30 showed up for the party. I thought that was pretty cool. I was glad to see that I was not the only bloke amongst the sheilas as Mikey D., Thom B. and Rob M. were in attendance. Don't get me wrong, I am comfortable hanging with the chicks. Some of them are a real pisser too. (Especially when primed with some quality hooch - ladies you know who you are! ;)) But it's cool to have buddies I can release the testosterone a bit with.
One thing about the workers at Patchogue Floral is that 90% of them all care about one another and when we all get together and party it's pretty off the hook. Basically, Patchogue Floral is like an extended family. Most employees are close with one another and share life's experiences (both good and not so) and are generally there for one another. This is something I have not seen anywhere else, even in some of the more tightly knit corporate settings I have come across. This was one of the reasons I was shocked to learn that there wasn't a Christmas Party this year. Since my departure back in August, I was wondering over the previous months how the party might be since I would not be there. I've been to 11 of 12 held during my tenure. Not that last night's could compare to one of the Christmas parties Neil throws, I still had a kick ass time with everyone and for moments it reminded me of how we partied together over the past years. Kudos to Patty F and the rest of the girls who organized the night. You chicks are truly ubiquitous and clandestine. In other words, you guys are always up in the mix on the down low!
One of two gripes I had with the evening was the fact that I was starting to come down with a head cold. The other was that I had three pints of nitro stout on an empty stomach before the party began. I had skipped lunch which sometimes happens when I'm not thinking about food. Before I left the house I took one Centrum Performance, Two zinc chewables and about 10,000 mg worth of vitamin C chewables. I tend to snack on the vitamin C chewables like candy when I feel myself starting to get the sniffles. Needless to say, once I added the nitro stout to the medicinal mix it made one hell of a cocktail. To sum it up briefly and without being too graphic, I experienced quite a cleansing of my G.I. tract!
The latter half of the night had me feeling much better and instead of pints of beer I upgraded to white Russians. They had quite a soothing feeling going down. Boy did they go down easy. The bartender made them so well I could hardly taste any alcohol what so ever. Although, Mikey D. commented that the first few almost gave his happy trail a perm. So I'm glad I didn't jump immediately aboard the white Russian train. I actually watched closely one time when I ordered some to see if indeed she was making them legit. She sure was! Yes, indeed, the party was a great night. I'm kicking myself right now for not bringing my camera to take some shots. I'll see if Denise can forward some to me so I can post 'em.
Over the course of many, many months I have begun to realize just how much of a scam Cablevision IO Digital Cable really is. I remember when I first upgraded to IO Digital Cable from the regular cable. We had gone from eighty-something channels to like 800. But this novelty has worn off because I find that the programming is very redundant on most of the premium cable channels. For example, I have the Gold package for Cablevision which basically gives you every premium cable channel, plus a few extra channels.
If I use HBO as an example (a channel I watch most often because of their serials), being an IO customer gets you like 9 HBO channels. But all on all of those channels you tend to get the same movies each months being played on a rotation. Its not like they have an HBO Sci-Fi channel that just shows nothing but sci-fi flicks every month or a HBO Horror channel. HBO is the same as HBO West with a simple time delay to the programs (same thing with HBO2 and HBO2 West). HBO Signature tends to show older movies as well as newer releases but there movies repeat often throughout the month that it seems each week the same set of movies are on. I mean how many times does one need to watch "Stuck On You," a very funny movie that I enjoyed mind you.
I find this the same for nearly all of the movies channels except for Sundance and IFC, although at times they could do a better job with the variety. Not to totally gripe on IFC but I consider myself a film fanatic. However, it is really arduous for a film fanatic to be confronted with back-to-back-to-back episodes of IFC's Film Fanatic. I hope IFC won't fall into the same downward spiral that MTV suffered by basically morphing a great music channel that slowly featured less and less music and more and more sitcoms and shitty shows. Sorry for the rant but its true. Things like this make me so much prouder that I subscribe to Netflix, because I find myself watching a lot more DVDs as of late. I am probably going to cancel the Gold Package and just keep HBO, SHO and IFC. I don't know. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow with a change of heart.
Oh well, let me go and see what's on TV even though I might become depressed to find that I have seen all the movies already. I hate being out of Netflix DVDs...
Happy New Year to my friends and family and everyone else who matters! You all know who you are. Melissa, if you read this, I miss you terrible and think about you all the time and hope you are okay. I would really like to talk to you. So call me.
On another note, in case anyone would like a good remedy (actually more of a preventative measure) for hangovers before retiring to bed just eat some plain vanilla icecream. Apparently, the fact that it is a dairy product is null and void since the vanilla naturally sooths the stomach and promotes relaxation. You get a great nights sleep and you wake up the next day ready to go. For those who are intolerant of dairy products you can always try Green Tea icecream which is soy-based and also helps through the Green Tea's natural medicinal qualities.
In the last four years or so, I am finding that the level of dehydration I experience after a night of copious imbibing has increased. In past few months especially, I am finally experiencing what people would call a hangover. I don't have the pounding headache when I wake but I find I am really sluggish and have a thrist that seemingly cannot be quenched. I have had to make sure I have plenty of water and gatorade in the house for when I wake up. Normally, in the mornings I cannot wait to eat some breakfast but on days when I am dehydrated I am not so quick to eat something without first drinking some fluids. Today I woke up feeling great, despite last night/this morning's early excess. I enjoyed a nice big breakfast while watching Ultimate Film Fanatics reruns on IFC. I was a bit disappointed because they usually have "Samurai Saturdays" on at 8am Saturday mornings which I enjoy. I really like Zatoichi from the Blind Swordsman Series.
I should have remembered last year to call all my friends fifteen minutes earlier before the ball dropped because as usual all my AT&T cellular user friends could not be reached when the New Year became official. The only other time there was a cellular blackout like that was during the 9/11 attack after the North Tower got hit. Kudos to Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS as all my friends who use those services got through. I will post again with highlights from my New Year's Eve exploits. Now off to take care of some domestic duties. I know I lead a charmed life... :)
Mike P aka "The Cop"
Mike I
Morgan aka "Monkey"
