Syracuse: Day 1
Ok, so I just returned from a visit to Syracuse, NY for Labor Day and I admit that I should be doing work, but am instead posting things on my blog. I just wanted to get in a quick entry of the massive festivities that occurred this drunken weekend. Now, I know at 27, I should be slowing down a little bit on the boozing, but come on, what is a person to do when they go and visit their best friend from college but drink?

I arrived in Syracuse already hungover from an accidental evening on the town the night before. I headed to the mall to wait for my friend to finish working. I did some shopping, but there is only so much shopping one person can do and still be able to fit their belongings into the suitcases to go back home. After the shopping I attempted to be good and go to a movie, but none were playing at the right time, so that lead me to the happy hour at the Pizzeria Uno. 4 tall beers later and my friend comes to meet me. We then go to Bennigan's (you can see what a happening town Syracuse is) because they were having a tent party. The band there was pretty good albeit playing pretty much covers. Nothing major happened at this venue, save for all the Harley riders that were in attendance--oh and some bikini modeling team or something that spent more time in the bathroom than at the party.

We then moved on to a place called the Thompson Road Tavern--I think--I only heard the full name once and then it was referred to as the TRT. This place was awesome, even though it was about the size of my office. They did have darts and pool, so that was good. My friend Big B and I pretty much kicked ass at the darts, but I got handily beaten at pool. It is now 2am and we are hungry. We had been talking about eating since about 6pm, but hadn't been successful in that endeavor. At this point our only option was dun dun dun...Denny's. Three chain restaurants in one day. Scary. I will say they had the best buffalo wings I had ever eaten along with some fabulous seasoned fries. Who knew Denny's had expanded their menu to include not only regular fries, but seasoned ones as well!!! The end of the evening came around 4am when we stumbled home only to have Big B freak out when her boyfriend was actually asleep in her room. Ahhh the memories. More to come when Day 2 hits in a few...And, it gets better...

Internet Spam
I really wish the Internet Spam people would stop emailing me with offers to by cheap versions of windows xp and other assorted software. Also, apparently I have been emailing a ton of people that I don't know as I keep receiving 'undeliverable' messages concerning things I have no knowledge of. I hope it isn't one of my other personalities sending all this information out...

Wet Carpet Update
Ewwww...not like that! Ok, so they still aren't fully sure what caused the leak, but they tried to fix a couple of different things. I spent the entire weekend with most of my hall carpet pulled up so the portable industrial fan could dry out the situation. I will say that it got worse before it got better and was in fact, so soaking wet on Sunday that I had to call the office again. I have no idea if they came in and did anything, but on Monday when the guy came in to remove the fan, the carpet did seem amazingly drier. Of course due to the humidity and the molding carpet, my formerly lovely apartment had begun to take on this ummm stench, I guess you could say. Luckily, the carpet people that came to get their stuff did graciously steam clean my hall carpet and after burning about 17 scented candles and some essential oils, the place smells better. Who knows what the next trials and tribulations at the abode will be...

High School Scam
This is being brought to you by those fabulous folks at The Smoking Gun...

High School Scam

I think I know some people who graduated from here and I think they work in my apartment complex!

Apartment Idiots
Mood:  irritated
Ok, so here is a story. I get up this morning at 6am and I walk through my hallway to get a glass of OJ. (the juice, not the man) Whilst walking on my carpet, I notice one part in particular is soaking wet. I am still sort of asleep so I thought maybe I was imagining it, so I investigated further. Yep, it was soaking wet. So, I check the ceiling--nothing leaking there. I check in front of the washer/dryer, which I haven't used since Saturday and nothing there, but the wall in the hall does border the w/d unit. So, on my way to work, I call my apt. complex and leave a detailed message as to the nature of the problem. Fast forward to about 10am this morning and I get a call from the Kathy Ireland sounding lady that works there (actually she makes Kathy Ireland sound mature) and I redescribe the problem. Then she says and I quote "Are you sure it was wet?" Are you kidding me with this? Am I sure it was wet? No, in fact, it was just a little joke I thought I would play on you all this morning at 7am. Seriously? Seriously. Un. Acceptable. Anyway, who knows where it was from or if anyone will actually take care of it. I guess I will find out in about 5 hours.

To Clip Or Not To Clip
What am I talking about you ask? Well, basically I am referring to the ever popular mobile phone accessory, the belt clip. First and foremost, let me mention that I understand that they can be a useful accessory for when you need to have access to your phone. I will say that under no circumstances are they attractive and should be avoided except when extremely necessary. Take for example an ex-boyfriend I used to have. Let's call him John. Well, when I met John, he was just finishing up a failed stint at the fire academy...I know, that should have been my first clue. So, we go out on a couple dates, have a good time and enjoy ourselves. Things go well and we start dating more seriously. I come to find out that the boy is addicted to his cell phone and often times will clip it to his belt when we go out. Now, perhaps this is just me being selfish, but seriously, the man had no job--does he really need to have that much immediate access to his phone? On top of that, he never, ever tucked his shirts in, so he would have this weird pooch where his shirt would get caught on the phone. It looked ridiculous.

Now, I realize that I could be making a mountain out of a molehill and also am not so much against the belt clip as the incessant need for persons to be in constant digital contact with others when they are out to dinner, on dates or doing something of the like. If someone is planning on meeting up with you, by all means, get that phone out. However, if you are on a date and you aren't someone who needs to be paged for emergencies...take off the belt clip. Just do it. You'll be better off, I swear.

Today is a New Day
Ok, well I don't have a whole lot to write about, so I thought I would touch upon my Documentary Film class that I am currently taking. Well, first I need to mention that it is a study of doc. film as it relates to history. As I am sure you can imagine, we are focusing a good bit on WWII and the films that accompanied it. We spent last Monday watching a movie called "Night and Fog" which was possibly one of the most visually horrific movies I have ever seen in my entire life. Mainly because it used actual footage captured when the Allies went into many of the concentration camps. The movie was very much a juxtaposition of what appears in these places now and what happened in the past. It was one of the most sobering things I have ever viewed. To think that things like that occurred are sickening. One of the most interesting things, though is the fact that the filmmaker had the foresight in 1955, when the movie was made to state that things like this can happen anywhere at any time and we must be vigilant to protect against this. Knowing today's climate and what has happened since 1955, you can see that he was correct. So, the question begs to be asked...at what point does a witnessing of human atrocities parlay itself into action of an intervening nation?

The Men I Meet
Mood:  sharp
Now, I really can't figure out how I meet certain men, although I am sure some would say perhaps I shouldn't hang out in bars so much, but oh well. So, today I am going to list the certain men I have come into contact with recently. First: the seemingly cool guy who drinks way too much and then acts like an ass. 2nd: really foreign guy who thinks it is appropriate to invade your personal space when talking, even though you can't understand what he is saying and he isn't even cute. 3rd: Guy who eggs on bachelor #2 by telling him I am interested in him b/c he thinks it is funny. Which, it is until the foreigner gets way too drunk and overzealous, resulting in his getting removed forcibly from the bar. Or my favorite, #4: guy who asks you out to which you agree, then he gets to drinking some more and keeps asking you to go over to his apt. just for a second, to see it and then when you say I won't until we have had a proper date then he says you are mean or perhaps a lesbian. Perhaps I should begin hanging out in coffee shops or supermarkets or even...gasp...church. Of course, with all of those, I run the risk of meeting someone who totally doesn't drink and that would be unacceptable. Been there done that and it isn't fun...

New Office Neighborhood
Mood:  lyrical
So, I was walking on 7th street to my office this morning and there are a lot of art galleries and restaurants around here...so I was noticing the scenery when I passed by this architecture firm and they had all these weird sculptures that looked like they were made out of shellacked saran wrap--most were of people in various poses. However, the best by far was the huge sperm that was in the front window. And by huge, I mean it was as long as two of me laid end to end (about 11 feet) and the big bulbous part was about the size of 3 or 4 J-Lo rear ends--maybe even 5 or 6!

Sleep Glorious Sleep
Well, my caffeine has finally worn off and the 4 hours of sleep that I obtained last night are certainly not playing into my favor at this point. Just had a wonderful meeting with my boss in which I got more projects that are completely foreign to me, although I guess that happens in any new job. Just trying to keep things straight. So, I ended up out last night until 3am although it isn't what you think. I was helping a friend out who was on 'mom' duty while her husband was out on the town. Being the good friend I am, I agreed to come over and watch some movies. 3am later and I am finally on my way home--that of course also includes an hour or so I slept on the floor with my lovely fleece blanket. At least it is Friday and I don't have to work tomorrow. That is awesome!