Happy Halloween

Was told on friday that we weren't allowed to wear costumes to work on Monday... Well, my costume meets all of FGM's dress codes... button down shirt, tie, and jacket...  I think I look very professional today.  What do you think?

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Flying and NYC

I decided to head down to NYC again this weekend to meet up with my best friend Matt Jones and Christopher "Seabass" Hurley.  I decided to take a Greyhound bus down from Albany because I thought it would be easier and cheaper than driving... bad choice, I'll explain later on.  I got down to the City at 9pm and Matt met me at the Port Authority.  We met up with his wife Sara and went out to dinner at Virgils BBQ in Times Square.  I haven't been to Times Square at night since I was about 15 and it was all I could do not to go into an epileptic seizure from all the lights and people!  I even got hit with a spitball by a giant dude who was laughing, and instead of saying something and getting stabbed I just kept walking... Getting off the bus earlier was also a rude hassle because nobody would let me out of my seat.  I've been told that Times Square is where you encounter all the assholes.  Anyway, went back to Matt and Hurley's place in Brooklyn and passed out tired.  Woke up the next morning and Chris randomly decided that we should take his 1971 Piper Cherokee, 180hp, 4-seater up to Sky Acres airport to get some breakfast at the Perfect Landing Cafe there.  About 10 minutes after we took off Chris gave me the controls and let me fly!  It was awesome... and it made me think about how much my father loved flying.  Coming back Chris again let me fly but this time I took the plane over the snow-capped Catskills that I had climbed earlier this fall (see prior blog). It was awesome flying over the mountains I had climbed because I could actually see the cliffs I sat on below.  Chris made his second perfect landing of the day and dropped me off at Kate's place in Jersey City, navigating there by his handheld GPS (these guys are such techno pimps).  Spent the evening with Kate and we both went to see her brother Will's band play at a bar downtown and I found out how much I actually like New Castle Brown Ale :)  Sunday was beautiful and Kate and I pretty much just bumbed around Jersey City in great weather.  We ended up going out to a Thai restaurant named ____ before she brought me back to the Port Authority for my bus.  Once again, had a really great time with Kate.  Hopefully she'll find some time to come upstate and hang out with me in Toga so I can show her some cool places here :)  Now.... for the ride home... As I was waiting inline with my headphones on for an hour and half for the late bus I realized I was in the wrong line at the last moment so moved over to the right line... bad choice.. I had a group of 10 angry thug women start screaming loudly that I was skipping line, so instead of making a scene I quietly moved to the back of the line and was promised I'd make the bus... Nope.  When it came down to it I had the last spot on the bus and I politely gave it to a foreign exchange student traveling to Troy.... So, instead of making my 9:30 bus, I left the station at 10 of midnight and didn't get home until 3:15 am!  Hopefully Karma will come back around for me and I'll be able to sell a freakin' loan soon.  Still can't get over how cool it was to fly, and once again had a great time with Kate!

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On break at work...

Been eyeing this drop in the back of where I work for a while now.  Decided to wear my clipless pedals today and give it a shot... Went well.  Not too sure if it is good for my bike though as the impact ripped my rear deraileur cable out of place.  Thank God I live over Elevate Cycles and Chris the owner is great guy who fixes my bike for me when I do stupid shit like this and mess it up.  Next step is to jump directly over Adrian, and then finally park a car underneath and jump that as well.  Stay tuned.

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The Wine Bar and O'Dwyers' Last Night

Went out with Megin Baxter last night and met up with some friends of hers from work at The Wine Bar on broadway in Toga.  Last call had already been called so we ended up going to O'Dwyers on Spring Street to watch a Skidmore Band play.  It was the last night that O'Dwyers was open ever because it had been sold.  Great Band and hanging out with Meg and her friends was fun. 

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Down to the City

So after a horribly depressing night last night I randomly decided to head down to NYC to meet up with a girl I met a few weeks back named Kate.  I drove down on Saturday night and went out to a birthday party for her and her roomate Julie.  I almost got completely lost with the 25 turn directions mapquest gave me to get to Jersey City.  We ended up going out to a bar named Kiev with $4 mixed drinks and I had a really great time.  I got to meet a bunch of guys that my buddy Jon Hughes went to school with.  They were awesome people and I hope to hang out with them again soon.  I like visiting cities every now and then because I meet truly interesting people.  Like Mike who bought a huge container of Tuna fish at 3am and then proceeded to toss it onto the cab window we got into as we were leaving..., and Pete, who decided at a red light to jump out and eat the now windblown tuna fish off the window!  Or like kate's friend Tristan who works on the Tony Danza show, or Amanda who cooks up some damn good cup cakes!  Anyway, had a terrific night and a great time hnaging out with Kate all day today.  She took me out to lunch at a vegetarian thai food joint called the Red Bamboo and although I hate vegetarian, oddly I trusted this girl to order my food for me... HOLY SHIT, it was delicious!  We had a crispy soul chicken appetizer and I had bourbon chicken for my entree (both not chicken, but tasted exactly if not better than the real thing) and was astonished at how awesome it was.  Kate is not only beautiful, but also very intelligent and wonderfully unique (the girl owns two giant iguanas, doesn't like to shop, has her scuba diving license, and steers away from name brands like louis vutton) and I hope I get to see her again soon so she can introduce me to more new things that I can't experience here in upstate NY. 

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What a week...

I took my GRE's on Tuesday after studying all last week and over the weekend.  I did ok on them.. about what I expected to get.  My roomate Josh Scott quit FGM on Monday and two days later my buddy Nick Kladis got fired for an email he sent around making fun of the company (it was an awesome email too).  Here's the biggest shocker of the week... Occasionally I still dream of my ex-girlfriend Janelle Bailey.... I haven't seen her in over a year and haven't heard from her in 6 months.    Well, it just so happened that after waking up from a dream about her I find an email from her asking how I am.  After several emails back and forth I was talked into picking her up at a bus station in Albany to save her dad the trip and she ended up staying over last night.  I didn't really know what to expect.  Maybe I thought there might still be something between us... Nope.  She has made a lot of mistakes and has dated drug dealers to car thieves since breaking up with me.. but for some reason my heart still ached for her...  Last night made me realize that there will never again be anything between us.  She still says that nobody has ever treated her as well as I did but she continues to date dirtbags.  I dropped her off this morning and told her to please make wiser decisions when it comes to guys.  She was once a sweet girl from upstate NY but she has changed through college and become something that I don't want to associate with.  But, for some reason I only remember the good times we had which were few and far between towards the end of our relationship.  In any case, I just sent an email to her pleading that she never contact me again.   She is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen, but I know that I deserve much better than her and it's time to move on with my life.  Last night was a massive mistake that I don't want to ever again re-live. 
    On top of seeing Janelle I managed to really hurt someone who I care a lot for this week.  She has been a good friend to me, and through my actions I know that I have hurt her deeply when she is already having a hard time in life.  She wants more out of a relationship with me than I can offer right now and I feel horrible about it.  And to top that off she was witness to me and my ex last night.... I hope that she can some how find it in her heart to forgive me.  I hope that she realizes that I just don't want to end up hurting her...
    I guess I'm kinda using this blog thing as a journal now... it keeps me honest, and it lets my friends know how I am truly feeling because anyone is free to look at it.  I honestly try to do what is right in life, but lately it seems like I've only ended up doing the wrong things and people have been hurt by it.  This year is my transitional year where I am both looking towards the future and reflecting on my past.  I have big plans, and I have to keep my eyes on the goal.  Sorry about the novel... it was more for me to get off my chest than for anyone to read really....

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Apple Ipod Video... Finally

Finally!!! Been waiting 2 years patiently for this to come out and Steve Jobs finally has done it.  Now I can take all my music, all my photos, all my ski videos, vacation videos and family videos with me in my ipod... and it's smaller and has more memory than the one I have now... Had to wait 3 more generations for it to come out... But it's here and it's got a sweet price tag too!  Check it out HERE

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Squirrel Stories

As I passed by the back entrance to Elevate Cycles which I live over, I heard Chris the owner call out, "I finally got him!!!"... I of course went over to investigate and saw a long box about 3 feet tall and about 4 inches wide and deep leaning against the door frame.  But something was odd... I heard a scratching noise coming from inside of it.  Chris' dog Cinder was going nuts sniffing the box...  Well, Chris finally caught the squirrel that had been living in our floor and his ceiling for months now driving his poor black lab nuts.  Apparently he came to work and found it sitting on his desk in the shop and Cinder trapped against a wall.  Chris quickly shoved a box over it and packed it up... TO SHIP TO ALASKA!  I found this funny but didn't think much about it.. halfway to work I suddenly thought, "wow.. he may just do it!"  So I turned my truck around and went back.  It had now become a rescue mission.  I arrived back at the bike shop to see a UPS truck parked outside and as I walked in I saw chris trying to hand the UPS guy money to bribe him into taking the box (and squirrel inside) away to Alaska.  I quickly grabbed the box-of-squirrel and bolted for the door.  Got to work and recruited my buddy Adrian to accompany me on the squirell releasing adventure.  We drove past Skidmore and released him into the woods but not before I stepped in a puddle soaking my foot.  So, in the end we had one scared shitless squirell confused in a new environment, a soaked foot, and a dog who has now lost his quarry.  Overall, a normal morning a guess.

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Work...

Work continues to suck out... Got two loans already, but they barely make my guarantee check... Still studying for my GRE exam on Tuesday... getting burnt out though.  Going to be cramming a lot this weekend and Monday before the test.  That's about it in my life... wish it was more exciting... I'm going mountain biking in the morning... maybe that will provide some excitement... we'll see....

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Hangin' with the old man...

Hangin' with my dad for the weekend while my mom skips town to Maine with her sister Sue.  Too bad it's going to rain on them all weekend... I always spend at least a full day at home with my dad every weekend (for all you out there who don't know, he has Congestive Heart Failure --- the reason I moved back to the area from Boston).  But even when I when I do spend a whole day with him I atleast have the nights to go out and hang with my friends and one day to do something I like to do like hike, bike, ski.  But this weekend I had to give up all three nights.. and at first I was upset... especially after the hard week of work I had.  But, after spending last night and tonight with him just hanging out I really enjoyed it.  We joked and laughed about things and he told me some stories I'd never heard before... And I told him a few stories that he'd heard a million times before, but couldn't remember anymore so enjoyed them anyway.  haha.  He's a great guy and great father, and he has a huge heart despite it failing physically.  When it comes down to it, I cherish every moment that I have left with him.   For those of you who have met my father... these are some pictures of him back in WWII when he was a pilot who flew rescue missions in Berma.

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The Beaver Returns... Only to be held ransom again..

Oh, how I miss my beaver... :( I will get it back Lindy... mark my
words... and maybe I'll get to see Shannon shake her ass again while
I'm at it :)

Ending the October Wakeboard Sesh at Jonny's

Ending the October Wakeboard Sesh at John's parents house with some
fooseball and hot tubbin'. Ended up hooking up with Kate a bit that night... Good times... maybe someday I'll get to see those nipple rings of hers... haha.  From left to right: Jenn, Ian, Pete, Julie,
Jonny, and Kate

The Captain lives to ride again...

John "the captain" Hughes. Usually at this point he's have his pants
around his ankles mooning the shore, but come on.. It's friggin'
October!

October Wakeboarding

Logan's flippy thing...

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Boobzilla on the board

Jacquie French Keepin' it real.

October Wakeboard Sesh

Wakeboarding on Saturday on the first day of October!!! OH yeah.

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