Wednesday, 24 November 2010

Mo' Money Mo' Problems

November 16, 2010
I never remember my dreams, but this one is just crazy. I think I remember them when I'm barely awake, but still dreaming. I'm climbing something for some reason and I end up in a penthouse overlooking New York City. There's loads of awesome kittens there and they're rainbow colored. And they're changing rainbow colors at the same time. Shit's mad crazy, reminds me of salvia time. We also get into a conversation about Beyonce songs. It's so random.

November 19, 2010
I guess this would be a good time to write an update on my LSAT business. I just felt so much more drive when studying before and it has gotten exponentially harder. I had a true two months after my first try in October. Now I am down to three weeks and I do not feel any more confident about the test than the first time.
Usually, I consider myself pretty good about this stuff. I never break deadlines. I have had no problems with finals or writing papers. Even weekly readings, I stayed on top of those, but this test is so disheartening. A challenge is not an issue for me when I can see what I am doing, understand everything about it, and continue on from there so I no longer make the same mistake. The LSAT has been a different animal.
The test is not impossible and I learn from some of the mistakes that I make. For some others though, I can only shrug and say, "What can I do?" It's like a tree branch falling on your car. You can be disappointed about it, but no one actually blames themselves if that occurs.
Even ones where I eventually find where I went wrong, that is with perfect information and infinite time. On the actual timed test, there’s no second guessing. I have to pick an answer that sounds right and jump on that with instincts. There’s no time to pick apart every answer option. And with that limitation, there is an example where things just feel out of my hands.
Mistakes are great because you can put yourself in mindset that you were in when you made it and prevent that exact train of thought. There’s a feeling of accomplishment everytime you improve, execute better, and get awarded with the results. I love mistakes.
Winning is only ever the end result. The true goal is to be better and that only comes with mistakes.
Either way, I think the only way to deal with this slump is to man up, put my head down, and grind through it. It’ll be rough though. I keep running questions where I just want to give up. I’ll have to see where the next few weeks take me.

November 20, 2010
Yelp event today. The event is at a classy, semi-dimly lit bar/restaurant. It is the usual entrance, someone is at the front to check your name and you get a name tag. I actually really like it in case you forget someone’s name. The real reason is that Yelpers go by first name and first letter of last name, e.g., Darwin G. It helps you recognize someone’s reviews by their Yelp name.
I meet up with Stefan who is blitzed after pregaming a Four Loco. He’s shot out of a cannon and I tell him to calm down and grab me a drink while I go to the coat check (cute coat check girl, should’ve picked up her number). We start off with a Moscow Mule, which is made with vodka, ginger beer, and some citrusy. I’m usually not a fan of ginger beer because of its sharpness, but it does contribute to a fine cocktail. As for food, there are people walk around with trays of hors d'oeuvres: Zuchinni sticks, lox on pumpernickel, meatballs, spicy tuna on a chip. Very good snacks.
We get into a conversation wth this massage therapist and an elementary school teacher. A bit into it, one of the girls tries to grab the other way and says, “Hey, lets get drinks.” Stefan doesn’t read it and replies, “But your drink is still full.” They eventually say they have to go to the bathroom and walk away. Stefan immediately jumps and says, “I’m down for that Christina girl!”
Here’s a lesson: It’s important to know when a set is over. It is very awkward to stand there and try to fake a conversation when you know that one of the gals is trying to pry her friend away. The worst is when it is after multiple attempts and you convince them somehow to not go, but they keep trying to go. Then again, wingmen are there occupy the cockblocker and stop her mischievous motives.
Stefan finds another set to talk to talk to. They eventually send him off to get them drinks. I try to entertain. Apparently they’re a bit older despite looking like my age. When he gets back and it turns out that they cut off the bar because it hit 9:00. Good thing I’m a champ about it and camped out the bar a few minutes before the clock struck.
The same issue actually comes up as with the previous set. They move into their side of the booth and whisper to each other some stuff. Apparently they have some story to tell, but it’s obviously a, “So… What do we do about these two dudes here?” They eventually had had enough when Stefan came back empty handed. As a new haircut would say, “Fuckin’ skanks.”
Gay story: At the table with the two girls is some dude dressed like Bagger. The event is Prohibition styled and people were encouraged to come dressed up. I don’t know where the conversation starts, but this dude we met before talks to us after the do girls left. I get real skeeved when he grabs my knee a few times. I press the issue and make a comment like, “I think your gaydar is way off.” Fuckin’ creeper.
This event is really cool despite only being there for less than an hour. It was 2 hour long. There’s one next month, but it’s on the same week as the LSAT, so I won’t be able to go to that. I should actually look forward to these more. It’s an awesome situation to meet some new people and open some new connections. Love y’all and all, but it’s good to have different groups and friends. I guess I’m looking for the one that comes in January.
Shortly after this, we cab downtown for some Baoguette and I’m really tired so I’m not in the mood for staying out so I end up taking the 11:19 back.

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Halloween

October 30, 2010
It's Halloween and there's a party in the upper west side that Bola and I plan on going to. We go to his place with a couple four locks. He's planning to dress as Don Draper. He doesn't know how to tie a tie though and I end up tying it with the help of a Youtube video. Onto the train and after much confusion, we go to Still, an NYU bar.
We stand around a bit until we finally move out to the next bar with Stefan. Murray, Glen, Scott, Atron, Bolanos, and I. We find a place across the street from Beauty Bar. Obviously Stefan gets lost on the way somehow. The bar is pretty cool and has a live band playing 90s. Some awesome stuff like Smash Mouth and Everlong and some unawesome stuff like Weezer and Green Day. That reminds me of the awesome 70s cover band that we heard in Montreal. Boy that was a fun night.
Atron is a Chilean miner like everyone else. I told Bolanos to buy a cheap cigar to look like a Mafioso because his suit was a bit big on him. We had this conversation earlier in the night, but somehow a guy guessed he was dressed as Don Draper, just because of a suit. He then saw the cigar and said that he must have changed his mind and wanted to be a Mafioso instead. That is like scary dead on. Bolanos joked that he should hire him as a mystic.
After a couple beers there, we go to Company under Atrons apartment and then Coyote Ugly. There's still a gorgeous halfie there that is barely wearing anything, dancing on the bar, and pouring shots down peoples throats. She looks like Marie Digby, google it if you don't know. The bartenders also get to play flip cup at the bar against patrons. Now that must be a fun gig to have.
After that Bolanos and I try to catch the subway, but I doesn't come in time so we try to race for a cab. Halloween weekend and no cabs, we give up and decide to take the 519, sigh. Bolanos is stupidly adamant about getting Artichoke. We split up and I meet the rest of the champions at a pub across from Crif Dog. I Guinness it up and Bolanos actually makes it to the bar. I can't believe that he didn't have to wait over hour, but good for him. We then go looking for food or something. Atron is quite the drunk Lewis and Clarke, chest out, leading the way, while stumbling and taking up the entire sidewalk as he walks diagonally.
He leads us to a place that is closing in 4 minutes. Our leader takes no heed to this warning and runs inside. He goes to the bar and asks for a beer. The bartender puts down the beer and I say, "I'm sorry, no beer." I put my arms around him and escort him outside. We decide we want food and Aaron smartly leads us to Zaragoza for tacos. It's also closing (4AM), but he goes up against the door and tries to beg for tacos.
Then we move onto pizza. It's a long line and we decide to wait. However, we realize there may be impending doom as they're starting to run out of pizza and close up. We man up and go up to ask and find out there's no pizza. Wait, or are they just out of pizza?
We joke about this and Atron cannot get enough of it. He cannot stop laughing at "No pizza, or they just out of pizza." Granted, I'm no Sober Sally and I get a kick out of it too, but not as much as he does. We give up and follow Atron to his apartment. We're scared he's going to break some teeth and he climbs his super steep stairs. He rants off that we all need to go to Coyote Ugly (which is surely closed by now). Bolanos and I leave at that point. 519 is not as fun as the 319, but what can you do.

October 31, 2010
I wake up to kids knocking my door. I ignore it for a bit, but finally had enough and I put a sign on my door saying "NO CANDY. SORRY :("
Ela wants to go to the parade today so I head in at 6:50. I meet her and another au pair in Time Square. Ela's gotta have McDonald's so I get dragged along to dinner there. After that, we move downtown and it's just a crowded mess. You see a lot of costumes, there are lots of people with you behind a baracade, and it's really cold. At least as a New Yorker, I can say that I've been to the parade. It probably would be decent as a pregame before going out for a night, but unfortunately, Halloween landed on a Sunday this year.
I end up missing the 1020 train back by 10 minutes so I have nothing to do, but chill at Penn. I get a big Smoothie King with whey, delicious. I also have some Nathan's. Yes, I know, junk food day, but hey, Nathan's is well worth it. My favorite fries, big and potatoey. And proper hot dogs with that snap when you bite.

Thursday, 21 October 2010

Best Story

October 19, 2010
Story time:
So I’m at work and I just had lunch. My usual, beans and vegetables mixed with half can of soup. For some reason, an hour later, I feel my stomach like killing me. Fuck. I go upstairs and my boss and one of the workers is in the living room. Unfortunately, the bathroom is literally 5 feet from the living room, no door, and thin ass door. Bad news bears.
First of all, tangent. That’s already awkward for just peeing. I don’t know about you guys, but even as a dude, the sound of urine is just creepy. Always hated it. But anyway, that is what it is, so whatever. I’ll pee in that bathroom, what else am I supposed to do.
Okay, so… I can’t use the bathroom there… If I thought peeing was even a bit awkward, don’t get me started when you basically can hear everything like you’re in the bathroom standing right next to me. I go back downstairs and I stand around and figure if I can do something about it. Um…. No I can’t. “She’s coming, laddy!”
I quickly grab my stuff and run to my car. I’ll go to the Subway nearby. My hands are shaking. I can barely walk. I turn on the car, I can barely sit. I can barely drive. What if I get into an accident or run a Stop sign during this shindig, screw me.
I’m almost get to the Subway when I realize that it’s not that bad anymore. I guess my body has a defense mechanism. I decide I might as well drive home. I run upstairs to my bathroom. And oh yes, skid marks, so it was a close one. Boxers, right into the garbage.
Anyway, 15 minutes later. I’m better and return to work, but boy did that take a lot out of my body. Not even literally, like my entire body was just shaken by the entire experience and brutally beaten.
So there you go, my blog isn’t worth reading. Take that bitches. Now that’s a story.

October 20, 2010
I’ve been trying to get it grindin,’ but I think I’ve been sick or something because all I want to do is nap. After work, supermarket for some BBQ sauce because I’m making chicken nuggets. Home, snack, nap. It’s only supposed to be for 30 minutes but lasts over an hour. I run out of bed, go pick up some ice coffee for later. It’s from Dunkin Donuts, Pumpkin flavor, a bit weak, sweet, meh. D&Ds coffee just always has sucked. I would go with Starbucks any day for something more extravagant. Then I would stick to McDonalds if you just want straight coffee.
After D&D, time to workout. Done. Down to kitchen, make some of my famous baked chicken nuggets. I tried it yesterday and it was fucking amazing. I’m so proud. They’re just so freaking good. It’s also the protein that I need. Perfecto. Done deal.

October 21, 2010
I bought some Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale yesterday. I’ve had the regular stuff and it’s like Shirley Temple in a bottle, seasonal for winter, good shit. It would taste amazing with some of that duty free Tanqueray that I bought, but naw, I gotta be productive tomorrow.
I wake up, boom, omelette. Later, I go to the Music Zoo, after trying once because it doesn’t open until 12:00. I go there because I need a little screw thing for my eletric guitar. I haven’t taken it out for a while and realized yesterday that I can’t play it without that little piece for the amp. The guy does it for me and doesn’t charge me. That’s nice. Then again, that little screw thingy probably costs… 2 cents?
Then onto McDonald’s. Oh wow, they have the McRib and I try that. Boy, that’s fucking disgusting. I open it and I ask, “Seriously?” It’s horribly messy and sauce is everywhere. Then, it’s topped with onion and… Pickles! Artie always made fun of the McRib. Who thinks ribs and pickles?! The meat tastes horribly processed, even worse than their burgers, nuggets, or fish o filet.
Then I receive the stuff I just bought on eBay. My coolie hat for my costume, thought I still have to figure the rest of the shitty clothes for looking like a rice picker. Then I also bought some SkullCandy earbuds. Cheap ass hell, they noise cancel. Nice.

Monday, 18 October 2010

October 1, 2010
After a long day of my usual Friday business, I get a text at 12:00 while I’m driving home and I find out that people are hanging at Spamps’. Everyone’s there. People end up leaving slowly and Spamps pulls out his stash. Smokin’ time. Miah, CNF, Spamps, and I partake in some bong action and proceed to get nicely baked. We then continue to eat and eat and eat. Kix with milk. Pretzels with nutella. Carrots and chips with artichoke dip.

October 2, 2010
Big plans today. It’s almost 6:00 and I gotta make moves. I go outside and find out that they put up a new sign where I can’t park my car on the the street at the side of my house. From 8AM to 5PM, on a Saturday. Wtf is this business. Well, I guess I’m going to court in a month or so.
Off to make the runs. I get cigs at Rite Aid. Next, a bottle of Jim Bean. However, turns out that plans change and we’re pregaming at Bolanos’ instead. CNF, Miah, Spamps, and I are there. We take the 8:50 train. Now that they’re no longer on the half hour, things have changed. There are loads more people on the train that we have to stand. It’s almost like taking the 3:19. People are drinking with open containers. Beers, bottles of liquor, chasers, etc. It’s just silly. Bolanos asks the conductor if drinking on the train is allowed and he reluctantly says it is.
Then onto the subway, we go to Loreley. Ela and her friend are in the back and I say Hi. Luckily, I’m able to get a table for more than enough of us. People slowly trickle in and we get Jonah, Kerri, Michael, Elena, Atron, Scott, and Stefan with his crazy antics. He’s in the way of a waitress and she politely asks him to move. He reveals his “Run and Tell That” shirt. She points at the waitress behind her that’s carrying multiple beers and he slowly acquiesces.
I had a light dinner so Miah and I have some cheese spaetzle with bacon. It’s like S’Mac, German mac n’ cheese. After our rounds, we move onto Stanton Public. Shots and etc. There’s also a nice outdoors over there. We then decide to make moves, but can’t get a cab. We get to Atron’s, but after such a long walk, it’s almost time for the train and we just chill there for a bit because having to catch a cab and get running. It’s a hard time to catch a game and I go over to the intersecting street. Fucking the East Village. The street has a double sidewalk thing and I trip over it when running. These garbage men driving past all laugh their asses off. Like not laughing, they’re really laughing. Cackling so loud they probably can be heard for miles and miles.
We finally get onto the train and I get to open Ela’s gift. An Iron Man coloring book, a Batman button, an “Awesome” wall thing, Kinder chocolate, McDonald’s curry sauce, leather wrist band, German translation book.

October 9, 2010
It’s the LSAT day. I don’t get much sleep the night before. It’s supposed to start at 8:30, but it takes over an hour to get the test started. The test goes as the test goes. I end up leaving after 2:00. I hang out for a bit and then it’s nap time and then time to go out.
I go to Bolanos’ and we pregame a bit. We meet up with CNF and go to Cheap Shots. Stefan comes along. I end up meeting Ela and Theresa and we head to Currywurst. I have a Leberkase, which is seasonal. It’s sort of like a flat piece of hot dog. It’s “Spam”-ish, but quite tasty. After that, Ela and Theresa have to call it an early night at 1:00. CNF, Stefan, Bolanos, and I stay for the 3:19. We go to Sophie’s for a bit. Then a cab off to Penn Station.
On the train, we get into a random convo with a couple girls next to us. They went to North and one of them goes to Harvard. Who the hell goes to Harvard?!
Anyway, I needed to take a wiz and CNF is parked in the Dunkin Donuts parking lot. I head over to the apartments to try to take a piss. I walk over a corner and the ground falls through under me. It’s covered by metal grating and it just falls through. I see glass and I hope that I haven’t cut myself up. My knee hurts like shit and I don’t find out I ripped up my knee until I get home. I don’t rip by jeans, but my knee is still scraped up.
Bolanos and I decide to go to 4AM Bagel. Instead of the usual lox spread, Bola and I split a whitefish on an everything bagel. Good shit.

October 10, 2010
Gotta get back on the grind. I go to McDonald’s and I keep getting the same Monopoly pieces. This is probably a bad idea. I’m eating shitty food for no reason.
Then onto cleaning my room. Organizing stuff, cleaning off stuff, etc.

October 16, 2010
Ela’s going to be in the city tonight and Aaron told us that we can hang out and go over to his place. I have some dinner at 7:00 and then I try to catch the 850. I meet Bolanos and CNF. We then cab down to the East Village. I go to Atme Liquor and grab some Jim Beam and some Diet Pepsi. We go up to Aaron’s place before 10. Theresa and Ela meet us there. Ela finally gives me the card that was left over at Atron’s. It’s a huge huge one that’s plays music when you open it. Some of Aaron’s friends from school come over and we chill out there playing some music and having some drinks. I have to text Bolanos at some point that he should stop mentioning German things. He sometimes get stuck on things. Done deal, we finally move out at 11:30 to McSorley’s.
The place is really crowded, but we do end up getting a table. Aaron has been drinking and orders us rounds and rounds. People don’t really feel like drinking so we end up leaving loads of beer on the table and a bill of $105. That’s quite a bill considering two beers (light and dark) cost $5. After that, we head over to Bull McCabe’s on St. Marks and meet up with Avi. Avi’s never had a Baoguette and it’s closing up soon at 2:00 so him and I split a regular Bao. Over to Bull M’s for a little bit. Then we head over to Company, the bar under Atron’s apartment. Aaron knows the bartender there and we get some free shots. Aaron also buys a round of beer for us.
I haven’t seen Aaron this drunk since Montreal. He’s very friendly with bro hugs and lady hugs. And also with the buying of rounds. Loads of rounds. More drinking, the better?
Then we move onto Doc Holidays. CNF leaves for the 3:19. Bolanos and I are like whatever and decide to take the 5:19 later. After Doc Holiday’s, Candace meets up with us because she was at Stout. I haven’t seen her in so long so it’s really awesome seeing her. A bunch of her friends are with her and go to Atron’s. Chris Q and others. At one point, it’s pretty late so I text Aaron like a good bro and tell him that “Yo, this is lots of people.” He tells them that he has to sleep so they leave. Bolanos and I have to start leaving soon. Long story short, Ela gets stuck in the city for a few hours instead of staying over at Atron’s like expected and has to get home way late (or early) in the morning.
Bolanos and I take the 5:19. And I get home past 6:00. I don’t sleep until past 7:00ish because Ela’s been on the phone and stuck in the city.

Wednesday, 29 September 2010

September and TV SHOWS!

September 11, 2010
I get dinner at night with CNF at the Korean restaurant past White Castle. Busy place, good food, close, a new go to spot. CNF decides to stay in for the night and I plan on going into the city with Bola, Kenny, and Miah.
I split from them to go to a B-day party that I have to go to. We go to White Rabbit, a bar/lounge in the LES. Atron shows up too and the kid is too funny. He mentions the "girl with piercings" that he's seen before. I tell him that she has a name, but "piercings girl" is all he's stuck on.
I can tell that our hero has a new theory that contends with Einstein's Theory of Relativity: Piercings and/or tattoos = crazy in bed
The Atron has been trying to bag one I guess. I tell him, "She's with her boyfriend and he's hanging with her right there, you can see." His response, "So?" This continues when he explains that he'd take her over "Shit don't stink" girl. (Inside joke.)
He even goes as far as to say, "We exchanged a look or something when I said "Hi."" Delusions of grandeur would be an understatement.
Atron and I skeeve off loads of champagne and then split in hopes of catching up with everyone at Candace's friend's thing that's nearby. I let Atron lead the way and wander around for a bit. Kenny and Miah had left already and we meet Stefan and Bola outside. We wander around like crazy and finally walk over to The Library for a beer and then time to head back.
By the way, I've been out of commission from the city for a while and dah-yaamm, the honies were out tonight. That is all.

September 19, 2010
I want to get dinner and see some Subway coupons downstairs so I decide to go there. On the drive there, I change my mind and go to the newly opened mall across from H Mart. I go upstairs to the food court that has two counters, one is Korean and the other is Korean Chinese food. I take the nice lady’s advice and get a bibimbap. It comes with a huge hot rock pot like at a restaurant. There’s a side of kimchi and pickled turnip and a soup. A bit cheaper than a restaurant ($11 and no tip), but for a quality meal and fix ins. Very good stuff and I take half of it home.
Review time:
Kombucha Passionberry Bliss: An expensive ($3+ for 16 fl oz.) tea that’s supposed to have all these health benefits and what not. Really though, waste of money. I’m glad that it’s not sweetened to the bones, which makes it better than most other “tea” products out there. However, this stuff doesn’t even taste like tea. It tastes a lot like watered down vinegar or a watered down fruity wine. Meh.
Kinder Buenos: On Ela’s suggestion, I decided to on a candy hunt at H Mart after checking out the mall. They’re a thin shell of chocolate and wafer with a heavy cream filling inside of hazelnut. A very good candy bar. I’m impressed by the packaging and how easy it is to open them and how each chocolate “finger” is individually packaged inside the actual package. Works out perfect since I portion my chocolate eating.

September 25, 2010
New shows this season.
Shit My Dad Says: Will Shatner and some young guy. Horrible sitcom. 5 minutes deep. Delete it.
My Generation: A “mockumentary” that just comes off as a boring drama. Cool concept and all, but it doesn’t work. Delete.
Nikita: Not a great show, but a pretty cool action/conspiracy show. If people like 24, I don’t see how this isn’t comparable. Maggie Q and Lyndsy Fonseca are by far the best eye candy a TV show has seen a long time. Maggie Q is way freaking kick ass awesome. Better than the usual stiff horrible actress that only looks good.
Always Sunny in Philly: Too awesome. First episode of the season completely had me laughing crazy.
Chase: Boring cop drama about US Marshalls.
Detroit 187: Boring cop drama, set in Detroit.
Better with You: Boring sitcom. Reminds me of How I Met Your Mother, but about relationships, marriage, sisters, and just boring.
Outsourced: Not as racist as it could be, but still a bit boring. It’s about a white guy that gets outsourced to India to manage a call center.

September 29, 2010
No Ordinary Family: It’s the Fantastic Four, but trying to be “fun” and about family. It’s not bad.
Blue Bloods: A so-so cop drama, but I’m excited to see what happens with it because it involves family and a conspiracy group inside the force. We’ll see where it goes.
Outlaw: Stupid bad show. A Supreme Court Justice quits his job and takes cases he “cares” about. Eli Stone was a great take on that. Btw, few people remember that show. Go back and watch it, very good.
The Defenders: Probably the most promising of the court shows. Belushi and OConnell work pretty well on camera.
Running Wilde: Pretty disappointing. Not very funny.
Raising Hope: Feels a bit like My Name is Earl. Trashy hillbilly people in a comedy, this time about a young single father raising a kid.
Mike and Molly: Cookie cutter shitty sitcom, but I actually liked it. It’s about a new couple that met each other in an Over Eater’s meeting. Two very very fat people. I don’t know, hopefully the fat jokes slow down a bit and we get more insight into these characters dealing with their eating problems.
Lone Star: One of the best shows so far. A conman that wants a “real” life, yet married to two different women. He has to balance those lives as well as fighting with his father, who has taught him everything about conning.
The Event: Seems more Fringe than Lost. Probably going to be bad, yet the nerds want to love it because they miss Lost.
The Whole Truth: Another courtroom drama. Boring.
Sons of Anarchy: One of the best shows to come out in years. Start watching if you haven’t already.
Terriers: Another one of the best new shows this season. Very refreshing. Love Donal Logue.
Chuck: This show has really gone down the drain. I’m not longer watching. Fuck it.
Boardwalk Empire: Unbelievable pilot. Surprised that it’s not a David Simon show, it feels a lot like one. Extremely cinematic. Going to be the best show of the new decade.

Tuesday, 14 September 2010

Beginning of Sept.

September 2, 2010
I wake up on the boat and grab breakfast for the day ahead. A splash of oatmeal with nuts though they are out of bananas. I guess they won't put them out because they're too ripe and not very appealing. That's along with ice coffee, a couple slices of turkey, and four egg whites.
By the time I get home it's 1030. I go to work because I have nothing else to do for the day.
Ela has been complaining about the five year old boy hay she has to take care of. Rough times also because her German friends are asleep by the time she's free at night to chat. I call her walking from Penn, but it's late and she has to whisper in the house, despite it being huge. I'll get her tomorrow though and catch up on her hectic bizznass while I've been away.
At night, I go into the city to hang with niki from Australia and Elle, who's back from her travels. We meet at 230 fifth, which is pretty darn popping. I mean, you better expect gorgeous girls (and plenty of them) when you're paying 9 (I only order one) dollars for a stella. Stellllaaaaa. Didn't ever get to watch hat entire film, but Elle and niki surprisingly got the reference.
We meet up more people including our boy Lee. He's drunk as shit and with two girls that he ditches. He's the best type, the boob staring obnoxious wannabe Lethario that girls oh so enjoy...
We end up going to the east village for some hookah. It's actually not that bad, 15 for one, which is fine between four of us and it keeps getting passed.
Speaking of which, without much drinking these days (from healthy lifestyle and staying in to focus on studying), smoking goes down a lot as a direct relationship. Then again not like it was "smoking" as I try to explain. When speaking to smokers, they're like, "what do you mean you stick to a single pack for over a week or two? I go through a pack every few days." Obviously not a good thing for you, but it's down way far and I'm way too healthy these days. My grandma even joked that I'm much more of healthy eater than my brother, who also has a fitness lifestyle. Gym, high protein, low carb, etc.
Also, I'm rewatching my old favorite shows, Veronica mars and Angel. Veronica is a bit episodic, but loaded with smart writing and an excellent plot. Angel is slower, but some of those scenes... Just so good. A brooding Angel and a femme fatale exchanging lines, it's just noir gold, at least for a recent mainstream tv show that was on WB at least.
As for the workout regiment, biceps have been neglected. I do them, but not intense enough and not right. Gotta put mad pressure on them. I did them a lot on the cruise and I'm thoroughly sore. I have to reach that when I work out at home. I mean, especially since they're the most aesthetically "important" thing to work out.
By the way if you're reading this: Miah, thanks for doubting my abilities to get a six pack. I'm on my way and kicking this out of the park. Aaron, what happened to six pack competition, flabster. Catch up kiddo, you got a beast of a man to compete with kiddo. Now run and tell that... HOME BOY. Hide your husband, we gon' find you!

September 9, 2010
I'm listening to:
http://www.blalocksirp.com/

This guy basically compiles a playlist of Indie Rock every month. Over 100 songs, that's a lot of listening to do, but it works out since it's useful while studying. When not locked down and taking preptests, having a TV show on is still a bit distracting. I've been wanting to get back into music, so done deal, perfect for me.

September 11, 2010
I get dinner at night with CNF at the Korean restaurant past White Castle. Busy place, good food, close, a new go to spot. CNF decides to stay in for the night and I plan on going into the city with Bola, Kenny, and Miah.
I split from them to go to a B-day party that I have to go to. We go to White Rabbit, a bar/lounge in the LES. Atron shows up too and the kid is too funny. He mentions the "girl with piercings" that he's seen before. I tell him that she has a name, but "piercings girl" is all he's stuck on.
I can tell that our hero has a new theory that contends with Einstein's Theory of Relativity: Piercings and/or tattoos = crazy in bed
The Atron has been trying to bag one I guess. I tell him, "She's with her boyfriend and he's hanging with her right there, you can see." His response, "So?" This continues when he explains that he'd take her over "Shit don't stink" girl. (Inside joke.)
He even goes as far as to say, "We exchanged a look or something when I said "Hi."" Delusions of grandeur would be an understatement.
Atron and I skeeve off loads of champagne and then split in hopes of catching up with everyone at Candace's friend's thing that's nearby. I let Atron lead the way and wander around for a bit. Kenny and Miah had left already and we meet Stefan and Bola outside. We wander around like crazy and finally walk over to The Library for a beer and then time to head back.
By the way, I've been out of commission from the city for a while and dah-yaamm, the honies were out tonight. That is all.

Thursday, 2 September 2010

Random stuff and the Cruise

August 9, 2010
I'm back to rewatching TV shows. I'm a few deep into Veronica Mars and that show is so good. It's not a teen drama like you might think it is. Actually, it deals with a two season mystery and Kristin Bell doing PI work, with her frequent snarky, sarcastic comments. Granted, she goes to High School, but it's not about people hooking up and girls complaining about each other, but one's sacrifice of her social position for staying true to family.

August 14, 2010
We take the 920 train in. It’s Scott, Bolanos, Miah, CNF, and I. Miah is stuck with Bolanos because Atron doesn’t want Bolanos coming. I stay with them for a while and get to see Stefan and Lauren. I smoke with Scott and it’s way too much for me. With the drinking, time just goes really slow. We meet up with people at The Library. I go out for a smoke and it feels like it last 15 minutes when it’s only like 5. I just lose track of time. It’s really not fun and we go to the LES. Bolanos and Miah feel ditched. I don’t really know what to say and it’s all a mess.
I remember having two waters. I remember having two slices at .99 pizza. I also have pizza near Katz’s where Miah and Bolanos are. It’s all a bit blurry and annoying. I end up running past Miah. He bitches me out. I catch a cab to the E Vill and get a ride back with Lauren, CNF, and Scott. I get on WFAM for a little bit. I have some food. It really was a bad night. Miah’s pissed. Bolanos sorta mans up and sorta understands, but still doesn’t make it right. I didn’t have fun like I should’ve meh.)

August 28, 2010
It’s CRUISE time! Ride to the city at 12:00ish. It actually turns out that my aunt’s side of the family is coming too, which I didn’t know. Then again, they’re just going to be on the same boat, so doesn’t matter me much. It takes forever on line to get checked in and walk onto the boat. It’s 3:00ish by the time I get on and immediately to the buffet. The food is way bad.
I get to catch Ela before I finally get onto the see and outside of my service. She’s going to be stuck with her little kid for the next few days and I’ll be outside of communication. Oh noes.
Then there’s also loads of Asians on the boat. Dammit, I feel like an alien. Actually, the age issue is worse. You’re either a family (adults with little kids) or an AARP member if your’e on this boat. For dinner, it’s a set time at the dining room, but at least it’s sit down, etc. The food isn’t too bad and they at least try. Smoked ducked breast, grilled pork chop, and a cheese plate for dessert. I’m so getting fat if I keep eating like this for dinner. I gotta watch that for the entire cruise.
At night, I just nap. I walk around and there’s nothing to do. Grab a late snack. I go back to the room to watch some TV. I also get to see most of Avatar, which is a long ass movie. I don’t think I can really enjoy it much without a 3D IMAX.

August 29, 2010
I play on waking up at 9:00 to work out, I sleep in. I get some lunch and then head to the gym. It’s supposed to be way crowded (from reading cruise reviews), but it’s actually not bad at all. Then to the buffet for some ice coffee to mix with the whey protein that I brought. Yep, brought a container with enough scoops to last me the few days.
For the night, I stay in after dinner and just study and watch some V-Mars.

August 30, 2010
We wake up early because we stop at St. John. To call this a city, no, a town would be a shame to all towns. The only thing they pride themselves on is the tide. Quite possibly the worst attraction a “town” could ever have.
“Look the water is low at this time of the day. If you come six hours later, the water will be at the high point. Enjoy!”
It takes six hours to witness… And it’s just water level… Who cares! To back that up, the weather sucked. Turns out that we hit their random hot day and it was over 80 degrees and I’m miserable in my jeans. When I looked it up, it was supposed to only be 70s, but whatever.
The only thing worth it was the Farmer’s Market connected in the mall. It has fresh fruits and veggies. Import British chocolate and gourmet ingredients and goods. And great places for lunch: A small Korean stall, a seafood place, a butcher shop, deli’s, etc. I get myself a big wrap, go back to the boat, and scarf that motherfucker down to some Hurt Locker on TV.
I stop by the gym, but it’s pretty crowded so I just go for a quick run. After dinner, I stay in the room to get some studying done. Then onto the gym right before it closes. It’s the best time because it’s empty now. They don’t have a bench press, but free weight press still does the job. Mad chest workout and leg lifts for abs.
After that, I go down to the poker table and decide it’s been too long and I should see how it’s going. In about 5 hands, this one horrible player picks up an easy $2-300 to double his already large stack. It’s a $1/2 no limit table. Chip average is around $150-200 with weird small stacks (showing that people don’t know how to buy in). He flops nothing and keeps betting into a guy until he hits runner runner to get a straight off of his AK. Another hand, he flops the nuts (straight). Another hand, he calls with nada and his gut shot on the river.
I feel like I have a decent idea of how the table is going and buy in for $150. The first hand I sit down, I pick up JJ. Raise, two callers. Flop is blanks. Raise. One caller (probably the best player at the table). K comes, raise again. He folds. He says that I probably had a bigger pair than him. I doubt he had a pocket pair, but it does sound like he’s giving me respect.
Immediate next hand, I pick up TT. Raise. Multiple callers. Flop comes AKQ. I call a raise, it’s heads up. Turn is a blank, another raise. I fold.
I hover around $120 then pick up a decent pot to set me back to $150. I drop a bit after a couple hands. I pick up AQ early position. Raise, one rereasier to $16. I call. Flop is Q66. Pot is $35. I raise $25 (with $65 behind). He moves me all in (This guy was a real man, sat down at the table with a shot in hand. He hit the nuts (flopping a full house) after buying in for $50 and tripled his stack to a regular size stack compared to the table.) I shrug and without much thinking, I snap call. I don’t have much left and the pot is a larger than my stack.
I’m hoping he’s stupid and reraising with KQ. He could be overplaying JJ or TT. If he has QQ(!), KK, or AA, then c’est la vie. I call, he has KK. I can’t really do anything. I’m way invested into the pot and what better am I going to hope to hit with AQ. Meh, the loss ain’t fun, but more about the actual losing than the money. I came on the boat with cash, expecting it to be lost. Win some then good, lose some, then hope it wasn’t from playing poorly. It is what it is. I probably played around 20 hands. Sucks that I couldn’t have played more and ran into a bad situation. At least I see there are some chumps at the table, another day maybe.

August 31, 2010
First of all. Rant: Fuck Amelia Earhart. I walk into the room and my mom is watching a movie with Earhart being played by Hilary Swank. They actually do a pretty good job getting her to look like an ugly Earhart. I start ranting at my mom about what a bitch this girl is.
Here’s a situation: Some rich girl grows up rich and flies planes. She flies into the middle of nowehere, gets lost, and dies. Big fucking whoup. Fine, she has a cunt and does things for women, but most specifically for female aviation. You look in a history book and tell me how important female aviation is to the history of America. It’s probably less important than how fat and long Martin Luther King Jr.’s penis was. Or if fucking Susan B. Anthony was like throwing a hot dog done a supermarket aisle. By the way, do you know what the funniest joke of all time is? Women’s rights.
Today is Halifax. I wake up, off to breakfast. Oatmeal, a dash of sugar free syrup, half a banana, and a scoop of nuts. Then a few slices of plain turkey. Then two hardboiled egg whites. All with some ice coffee, 2% milk, Splenda, and a scoop of whey.
Off the boat, Halifax is actually a city. They have a busy downtown loaded with shops and stuff. Their port has lots of touristy stuff, buses, and ferries. I get to try Beavertail, which is a really unappealing name for a thin strip of fried dough. I got it topped with nutella and another one with apples and cinnamon. Fucking good shit. NYC needs to get these. Led Zeppole needs to learn to make their fried dough in this shape. Another thing I notice, loads of redheads in Nova Scotia. Yep, I should move here.
I pass by one of the gift shops and realize that I almost forgot that I need to send Ela a postcard. I find a postcard with three old men smiling (dunno why), write it up, stamp it up, send it out.
Back onto the boat, I haven’t eaten for a while, time for the buffet. I get fresh deli sliced turkey, which is silly since it’s really good meat, yet the deli is open for only a few hours during the day. The same goes for the Mongolian BBQ, which I have yet to try. It’s supposed to be good and the line is always ridiculous because it’s again, only open for a few hours. Then, I also have some mahi mahi. They’re actually awesome with their fish. It’s set out in a big platter with pico de gallo and shrimp. No one eats it because they would rather have some messy pasta and greasy chicken drumsticks. The fish is broiled and the bottom is clean with little to no grease. Done deal. I’m all about it. It all tastes clean, cooked with little fat. Perfect for my proteining.
Another thing about the food, I don’t remember the whole conversation, but I overheard some people on the boat, “Or they come on the cruise to eat.” And boy does that really define the cruise. All these fat people do is eat and eat. Shit, all I can see is fat people, all day, errday.
Right after I write that and go to dinner, boom, more material for me. I decide to avoid dinner with mom and grandma because it’s sit down, slow, and the food isn’t even that great. Off to the buffet where “regular” people eat, I’m on the buffet line next to a really fat lady. Then again, those are just “fat ladies” on the boat. The standard is quite different here. Everyone’s overweight.
She starts off with the salad. She scrounges in the for the little last morsels in the crouton container. None left. That’s the best way to start a salad, loads of croutons… Then she builds her salad, which is fine. Salad is salad, it’s healthy. Then time for the dressing. I can just imagine her thinking to herself, “Hm… Ranch, that’s too creamy. Ohh! Italian, that’s great (even though it’s white and creamy just like the ranch for some reason.).” She proceeds to pour on more dressing than Peter North’s load. I know, a vivid metaphor. It literally the entire salad, all white, you can’t even see the remnants of what once was a salad. Then some ham. Well… As in about 8 slices on top of the salad.
Onto the food, fish and chips. A large piece of deep fried fish and fries. Then three servings worth of mashed potatoes. Cover that with gravy. That’s a dinner. I hope that’s enough for one 5’4, 240 lbs. woman.
Then came the sad part. This boy, maybe 10 years old asks his dad, “What’s this?” His dad reads the sign for the curry, vegetable rice dish. Looked pretty healthy. Sons asks, “Is that good?” Dad replies, “Haha, well you know what I like…” He then proceeds to be excited for the pork loin and all the gravy he can put on it.
I start feeling really bad when his family sits down. The dad is fat as shit. The son is as well. So is the younger sister. Then the wife, which is just fat enough that I really could not tell if she was just fat or pregnant. I hate staring, but seriously, I couldn’t tell.
If adult’s want to be fat and piggy, go ahead. But to lead your kids into a horrible lifestyle and plague them with a future of health problems, but Fuck You. No really, Fuck You. You’re a shitty ignorant adult and shame on you.
Right before dinner is gym, which is awesome awesome at night. No people, I get to do biceps and shoulders without people taking from the one set of free weights, etc.
After that, I poker for a bit. So far, people are buying in cheap and the players are horrible. I blind out for a bit after a smaller $90 buy in. I get back over $100 after a decent hand. Then it’s just grinding and grinding from there. I can’t raise preflop much because they auto-call. I miss a couple flops and stay card dead until $50. Then I double up after hitting top set with my 99. Then it’s more downhill. Card dead, fold, miss flop, fold, fold, raise, see flop, fold, fold. The play is still real abysmal, but you can’t outplay. You just have to hit the cards, play well, and squeeze every cent out of these tourist suckers. The “usual” players start coming in who are a bit more competent. I decide to cut my losses at $50ish since my stack is way too small and you’re basically giving away your money if you’re playing short stacked.
I’m watching TV and saw a commercial that Ela would enjoy. Some kid said he’s studying abroad in Germany and soaking it in, but having problems with their humor. The TV shows that they’re laughing at a guy putting his tongue into a fan. I know that show and I want to start watching the Canadian version. It’s basically two guys that compete doing bullshit things. In one that Ela showed me, there are two guys on their knees trying to see which one could suck a long piece of ice faster and get it down to nothing. It’s not ice sucking really… When they’re on their knees, it just makes it silly.
By the way, cruises are awesome for their duty free shops. If I smoked like a chimney, I’d be in heaven. Two cartons (that’s 10 packs in each) for $50. Then again, I did buy liquor. Not sure if I’m keeping much for myself though. Done deal. I maybe should buy more come to think of it. It’s so fucking cheap. The shitty stuff that I buy is almost the same price as this. Hm, maybe I’ll buy more tomorrow.

September 1, 2010
I wake up and breakfast time. More poor decision making when these people eat. I’m waiting on the omelette line. “Hey, I need two omelettes, one for me and one for my wife. She wants an egg white… With ham and cheese. Extra ham and cheese!” Sure sure…
Mine, egg white, extra everything veg. Then two hardboiled egg whites with pepper and a lick of ketchup. Two thin slices of turkey. Ice coffee with 2% and Splenda. A little bit of oatmeal with banana and loads of nuts. Love nuts.
Then onto the poker tournament, $150 with prize money and an invite to a large tourney in Miami (though the ticket is transferable). The play starts out slow again. Card dead. I get AK twice, but with multiple callers and completely whiffing on my flops. The action runs round and round with the usual poor “calling station” play. Also the usual poor basics like overbetting larger than the size of the pot, folding when you have the option to check, etc.
The game goes by really fast with the blinds going up every 12 minutes or so. I get pretty low until I hit a few hands and move back up to 5000 chips. Then blinds are killing and I finally take a stand with against a smaller stand with AQ. He moves in on me on the flop with three small blanks. I’m 3-1 if he has a pair and the raise is about 2-1. The blinds are way to high, lets go. He has KQ. Sweet, I double up to the second largest stack at the table. This is when I make my move and raise preflop in position with anything. I win pot after pot. However, the blinds are way too big, any hand I get involved in, it sets me back from the pots that I won. A small stack moves in from early position, it’s 5 handed, I’m BB with 22. I call, it’s a race against KJ. I’m good all the way until he rivers a K. If I win that pot, I take the chip lead and start stealing pots like a bandit. The players aren’t aware that the blinds are 300/600 with the average stack at about 8000. The blinds are way too high for this many players and you have to move fast.
However, I lose the pot and get back down to ground zero. 500/1000 blinds are coming up and I have 5000. A small stack my size moves in, I call with QJ. I hope he has a pair, he has KJ. He said he thought I had a big one. At least I made a good image for myself. Played tight against the large number, stole pots when I had chips and blinds were higher, but in the end, I needed to with that race with my 22. Meh, I tried. The only thing I can think of is re-raising flop raisers because they overbet with the goal to just steal. However, I’m not sure about that. They’re calling and very loose and I can’t imagine really knocking them off their hands easily. Down for the trip, but I think I played decent and I had some fun.
For lunch, I go during prime time and it’s a shit show. Fat people everywhere, lines are long as shit, I cut the line to grab at parts of a salad, order just sliced turkey from the deli, and run off with a light salad. At 2:00ish, our hero returns for some real shit. Stupid stupid again, the best food of the ship is open only for lunch and it’s all 4 hours of bonkers lines. The whole trip, never got any Mongolian BBQ. However, I did get to try the Fish and Chip place this time. Omg, Hero is easting fried fish?! Nope, I ordered ceviche, octopus salad, and ahi tuna over watermelon. Not great excecution, but it’s decent ingredients for what you’re getting on the boat. Again, this place is only open for lunch. A shame that I only get this on the final day.
I bet back to the room and study for a while. I bitch at some kids that are loud outside the room. I’m such an adult, woohoo! Gran Turino style. PBR, buck shot, the works.
For dinner, they need to clean the room so I join my mom at the “Platinum” Room for a sit down dinner. I order a vegetarian Indian dish, which turns out to be one of the best things I’ve eaten on the boat. Makes sense since they pride themselves on having a multicultural staff. I’m betting that someone Indian in the staff helped make it. Tasted pretty authentic. After the gym, I get some dinner. I walk by the steak frites and man do I want some fucking fries. I ever tell you how much I love fries. Love fries. However, I was just at the gym and can’t be eating fries. However, I do walk by the “diet” apple pie, like there is such a thing. I also love me some apple pie and haven’t had any in forever. I grab a small slice and have half of it. Could’ve used a microwave, but boy did I enjoy some pie.