Well whaddayaknow, Tavie's Ice9.blogger.com idea actually worked. I have posted the last two posts using it.

CooL!!

Before I go eat my lamb and rice (an unusual change in Thanksgiving plans), I'll post one more freelance. Nothing special about it; it's just one of those love-fool freelances. Happy Thanksgiving from the other side...

Hoping

Hoping.
That you will pass my way
I'll tell you what I want to say
While waiting until that day
I will be hoping.
That you answer my unheard prayer
Only your hand can take me there
That is my last and only care
I still remain hoping.
Nothing else is worth dying for
You are the key to my heart's door
And there is nothing I want more
Nonetheless, I am hoping.
Until then, I live in doom
Just sifting through the gloom
I hope this day comes soon
I am. Truly hoping.
That my words will make you stay
We hold each other near as we lay
I am, be that as it may...
Hoping.

Well guys, here's some Thanksgiving thoughts I decided to post:

The iPod update:
Looks like the tentative date has went back a couple of weeks. I am now looking at a possible December 11th date as to when the iPod is coming. This is cool, because my birthday/Christmas present will arrive 8 days before my birthday. But like a good little man, I'll just drool on the box at home until my birthday. The bills are being paid (thank God), and now I'm left of Christmas shopping. My plans are a gift card, some chocolates, LEGO toys, and clothes for the family. As to whether I give GAP holiday candles to my kliq, I have been undecided. And that is my December schedule...

Since the sophomore year of high school, I have indulged myself in Arabic music. Well, only Egyptian Arabic music by only one particular artist: Hani Shaker. Hailed in the Middle East as the Prince of Arabic Love Song, I must admit that even though I have not the slightest idea of what he is saying, the mood and atmosphere of his music indicates love and those types of emotions. It's cool to explore it from another perspective, you know?! In any case, I just found this web site featuring some of his music videos, including one of my favourite songs of his, Yaretny (or Ya Retni). Which reminds me, I should invest $13 in his new album...
It is funny that I discuss him, though. Considering the current events and stuff, you would think such interest in Arabic music is considered traitor-istic. Not that I care, but it is interesting. On their front, what gets people into the theaters is the burning of an American flag. "Oh, how the union of the US and Israel must be stopped," they think. Well, that's how the majority of them think anyway. But like I said, not that I care. I just like the best of all worlds.
OK. Another thing just struck me. Hani Shaker is the only Arabic songwriter I've ever listened to. I should be just as open to others, but I don't wanna fork out anymore bucks before I say, "Hey, I kinda like it!" Maybe I'll ask around, to see what else is hot...

I saw Die Another Day opening night. It was a cool action flick. The "Bond going Cast Away" thing was fairly decent. A rather unusual opening credit scene compared to the other 19 Bond films; but then again on the 20th film, it's good to do something different. Also unusual is Madonna's cameo appearance in the film. So funny, it can rival Michael Jackson's appearance in Men In Black II (wasn't Rosario Dawson awesome?!?!) I was a huge fan of the car chase (and still say the "cloaking device" was totally unnecessary), and not a huge fan of the entire laser scene. And c'mon, I am tired of characters like Miranda Frost. I mean, it wasn't her per say who I didn't like. It was her character, and characters like her, whom from the start is pretty obvious that they will be bad guys later on. You could tell a mile away she turning heel. A part of me wanted Bond to say at that scene, "okay Miranda. You can give me your gun as well. I know you're playing both sides of the coin, so you might as well hang it up..."
Otherwise, the movie was off the hook.
Future plans at the movies include December 13's Star Trek Nemesis, Lord of the Rings II: The Two Towers (if I can get a huge crowd to go with me), and Spike Lee's The 25th Hour (for Rosario, of course.) As to whether I crash in on the second Harry Potter flick, I've been warned "it's just for kids." So if I do, I'll be very leery.

Well well, Mr. Miko is in town this week. The only thing is I won't be able to see him. And if my work schedule wasn't bad enough, his schedule with work and family made it worse. It would be sheer coincidence to pass him by before he goes back up. At least he called...
Another thing to note is the amount of feedback I'm getting on the 12 Day-Christmas remake (and be sure that more freelances will follow!) It's all good and everything, but some people weren't too thrilled about the 12 strippers dancing...

As to Tavie's Ice9.blogger.com idea, I tried it. But everytime I went to post & publish, the thing would just eat up the words. That was it. It would just eat them, and not bring them back to me. This post would've come days ago, had it not been for Ice9. Well, back to ole 'n' faithful...

Before I go, I'd like to give a shout out of sorts to Ms. AlizeEandJ, who celebrates her birthday on Thanksgiving. Now I thought of cool joke about that fact, but because I want to live to see my birthday, I'll be nice and post it after Thanksgiving (ha-ha). Until then, Happy Emily Day!!

With that all, I hope all you katz and kittens have a great Thanksgiving! And to Tavie, Happy Throsgrafen!!

Now I just remembered something, I hadn't posted a freelance in quite a while. So in response to Mikey's request for a brand new version to the 12 Days Of Christmas, I decided to dig deep, and make a cool parody. But several things come to mind when on the topic of the 12 days of Christmas. First up, if you follow the song correctly, by the time Christmas ends, wouldn't you have 12 partridges in pear trees? 22 Turtledoves, 30 french hens, and 36 hummingbirds? 40 golden rings may not be a bad thing, but what in the blue hell am I gonna do with 42 geese that are laying? Second, isn't Christmas only 1 day? (Okay, counting Christmas Eve, two days?) How did we arrive from 2 to 12?? How did this song even come up in the first place...

Okay, I'm running on a tangent here. But while running on this tangent, it made me recall a song I created beforehand based on the 12 days of Christmas. A friend of mine was dating this girl who was rich, and let's just say, he wasn't rich. So on Christmas, I remember her giving this guy some expensive chain. And all that was on his mind was the fact that he couldn't take it. To him, it would've been too embarrassing to take an expensive gift, and to turn around and give her something that was not as great. I also remember going "look, as long as you give from the heart, it wouldn't matter how much the gift is." In any case, he gives her his gift, and she loved it. As to whether the two date now, the answer is no, unfortunately. But the kliq and I did have a blast teasing him about the whole Christmas affair. So much so, I ended up rephrasing the "12 Days" song into somemthing, a little more modern. Of course, unless this incredibly rich woman really loves you that much, such a Christmas is next to impossible. But a man can dream, and any man with such dreams can relate to this little medley. So, from the other side, and 'ole freelance properly titled:

A 12-Day Christmas Any Man Will Never Forget

On the 1st day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
A Big screen color TV.
On the 2nd day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 3rd day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 4th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 5th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Five million in money...
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 6th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Six checks of cashing...
Five million in money...
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 7th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Seven jerseys matching... Six checks of cashing...
Five million in money...
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 8th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Eight games of watching... Seven jerseys matching... Six checks of cashing...
Five million in money...
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 9th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Nine days romancing... Eight games of watching...
Seven jerseys matching... Six checks of cashing...
Five million in money...
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 10th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Ten CD's playing... Nine days romancing... Eight games of watching...
Seven jerseys matching... Six checks of cashing...
Five million in money...
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 11th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Eleven diamonds blinging... Ten CD's playing...
Nine days romancing... Eight games of watching...
Seven jerseys matching... Six checks of cashing...
Five million in money...
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.
On the 12th day of Christmas my girlfirend gave to me:
Twelve strippers dancing... Eleven diamonds blinging...
Ten CD's playing... Nine days romancing...
Eight games of watching... Seven jerseys matching...
Six checks of cashing...
Five million in money...
Four Lambourginis, three gold chains, two DVDs, and a big screen color TV.

All right. Enough with current events. Obviously, I've had a lot of thoughts going into my post. And here's some more for your ear:

A 105 year old lady, with the help of our FDNY, escaped a burning building yesterday. According to firefighters, she seemingly acted much younger than her age. She was a get-up-and-go woman. Well, 105 years old, turning 106 in January... My hats off to that lady. If you ever come to the heights in BK, you're invited to tea and toasted wheat bread in my crib...

Right now, I look to my right of the posting page, and it reads:
Sorry, publishing is temporarily unavailable. [why?]

This is not the first problem I have had with this system. My only compliment to Blogger is that it actually kept all my posts to this blog, which to me is amazing since half the time, I couldn't even view all my old entries. It's amazing to know, and to see, that I have been blogging for the past 212 days...

On the workfront, there are so many beautiful women there, it's amazing I'm not fired for eyeing them. And I've been doing it for so long, I should approach at least one of them. Though I like my job for it's atmosphere, there are its occasional flaws. Old timers who feel seasonal people are a threat; those with an occasional attitude problem; things that nature. I will make it a point to kick it to at least one woman before my due date, January 5th...

Speaking of due dates, the due dates of three people came real fast. If I remember correctly, one was fired for sleeping on the job. This I have a serious problem with, considering us seasonals are fighting the old timers for work to do. How could one of us be sleeping around? That's a disgrace to our seasonal family. Another was fired for telling the main boss that whatever she told the woman to do was not part of her "job description." The bad news is that now, she has no job description. The good news is that it was a regular person, not one of the seasonal family. And I keep saying seasonal family, because we are that cool with each other; we are almost like family. One of ours was severely punished for using a cell phone on company time. Thankfully, he wasn't fired; so you know he was spreading the word around, looking out for us. That's cool.

The third person that will be fired is Shola, for being unable to meet schedule requirements. With all that my friend's going through (another job, living independent, school, and apparently, an eating disorder) that was an expected, but big blow. I'd call him, but then to find out I had something to do with it, or to revert to the ways things were before he was working for C & B is the last thing I want to engage in right now. Right now, I want to make some cash, have a good Christmas, get my iPod, and meet some women...

The next subject at hand is my Hunter block. A Hunter block is a program where incoming freshmen can, instead of choosing their own classes and face the multitudes of seniors and juniors vying for the same classes, choose from a series of schedules based on the major they are going into. They have schedules with classes geared for Computer Science majors, Sociology/Psychology majors, Urban Affairs majors, Mathematics majors, and others. Of course, some of those schedules, or blocks as their called, are closed. So, I applied for the next best thing: The Hunter Pre-Honors Block. The schedule offered: The Nature of Religion, Biology, The Itailian Renaissance, European History up to the 16th Century, and the basic English Writing and Intro for Freshman classes necessary for graduation. I, by the good grace of God, escaped the hell, fire and brimstone that I put myself in with a B- average for that first semester.
But it's not the classes that bothered me. It's the 15 faces that stuck with me for the first semester that bother me. On top of the seniors and other students who took the classes with us, there were 15 or so people that took the same classes with me. Fifteen faces I saw nearly every day. You would think we would all sit back one day and reflect on that experience. But it is harder than it seems. Let me see if I remember some names:
Tavie (of course), Gabe, Max, Mike, Helen, Latiya (I think), Lauren, Virmarie, Nikki, Bevin, Sara, Gillian, Katie...
Okay, that's only 12. But I know for a fact that I'm missing some people. Now, what ever happened to some of these people, you ask? Well, as you know, me and Tavie are good friends, blog, and take at least one class together (more on that later). Gabe, despite all his problems, insecurities, and stubborness, is still good friends with me. In fact, I have made good friends with his friends, whom we all agree on thing: We hate Gabe's disposition. Max and I continued our good friendship until last semester, when he transferred to Brooklyn College. Which reminds me, I must give him a ring soon. Mike, for the lack of better knowledge, is Mike. In recent events, he thought he was graduating this semester, until he found out that he was missing 15 of the 120 credits necessary to do so. He was pretty upset about that...
I just saw Virmarie the other day. Virmarie was a Catholic who always smiled. She always brings a positive vibe to the table; so positive, it made me bring an even more positive vibe. One day, she was a little upset, saw me smiling, and threatened to steal the smile off my face! No real threats, but she wished she had my smile! That was good. In any case, it's been a year almost since I last saw the music major, and there are some signs of aging in her face. Nothing serious, but it looked for a moment like college was whipping her rear end! But, she still has the positive vibe, and still is looking to hear from Nikki.
Speaking of Nikki, the depressed soul that I remember that first semester, no one has seen her for the last one and a half years. She may on rare occasion drop an e-mail or two, but has seemingly disappeared from society. Last I remember, she wanted her boyfriend to meet her friends (that was the "block") and they all wanted to get together at Coney Island or Six Flags Great Adventure, or something. Then she disappeared again. It was rumored that she just wanted to get inside Mike's pants, but nothing was confirmed. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
Well katz and kittens, it doesn't get better from here. How many times have I seen Lauren, and Sara, and Bevin, Gillian, and Katie since that semester, various. But no communication has been exchanged at all between us. I remember Gabe and I calling Bevin, Gillian and Katie Bevin, Bevin & Bevin since the three talked amongst themselves a lot, and Bevin was the more vocal of the three at the time. Ah, those days. In any case, Lauren seemed just too cool to be hanging out with us; and Sara? Well, I just dunno. It's my firm belief that Latiya transferred colleges. And that leaves us with Helen. Helen is an interesting discussion in itself. She's one of those Asians who seemingly come from a proud family. And while her sisters went to all these prestigious colleges, she "resorted" to Hunter. On top of that, everyday, something seemed physically wrong with her. Either she had headaches, stomach problems, something was always wrong. I tried to think the best of everything, but leave it to Gabe to sum things up: She probably just did what she did to get attention. Well, ever since freshman year, I've haven't seen her. Deep down, I just hope she didn't kill herself, and is living life alright...

Okay, okay. In moving out of that conversation, let's move on to something else. Remember that woman who only gives me a nod of awareness? Well, just as I left the ICS room on Monday for class, there she was, pulling me over, asking me what's up...
Does she read my blog or something? Who clued her on that one? I gotta know this, because though she put one hell of an inconvenience on me by starting a conversation at that time, it was nice to actually talk to her. And moreover, she must have really been awake that day, because she realized that we had several classes together. Ada, Adalgiza, Ada Chabral I think; you know I can actually remember her name?? That's truly something, because I know for a fact she doesn't know mine. What made her ask about how I did, I don't know. But I would more than love to know...

As I hoped, my Business Law III Professor has the common sense that most lawyers are supposed to have. Since I took his midterm (and got 100%), he marked me present that Thursday. I showed up early this Monday to find out what must be done to correct the situation; and thank God, he told me just be sure to have everything downpacked by the final. That's real cool...

Now for the iPod update:
Bills, bills, bills. The more bills you budget, the more they keep coming. It's as though everything I do keeps preventing me from acquiring this piece of equipment. It won't make me happier when I get it, it's not that important to have it, I just want to have one. And if I do not get it by the end of the year, it doesn't mean that I am a bad person, it just means that I can't accomplish a goal I set. And I want to accomplish at least one goal other than getting a job this year.
Also, I ended up turning down the PSone/Screen combo. Not because I couldn't budget it (and I couldn't) but because the offer for $125 expired. So forget it for now.
My Stingray corvette looks absolutely marvellous!
All else constant, 12/27 is the d-day.

Before I forget, I must respond to Tavie's bashing of Professor Brinberg. Now, I received my paper on Monday, and I do not suffer from Tavie's problem. I still feel for her, but mine's a little worse. You see, spending an entire morning writing a paper for a play I read two days ago constitutes me a B-. And it's not the writing style that's wrong, it's the direction of the paper. She wants us all to rewrite the paper based on what recommendations she put in our originals. But you know what's up; what we wrote did not concur with her understanding. So she wants us to adjust it and see what she sees without telling us exactly what she sees. The old whinbag. I have never referred to anyone as an old whinbag, until I met Ms. Psychotherapy. Well, it's back to the drawingboard...

Yay!! The New TNN brought back Miami Vice!! My prayers have answered again! I'm telling you folks, no matter how big or small, significant or insignificant, God answers prayer!! I mean, I wake up, I eat, I post, and it's a little after 3PM. I turn on my TV, and lo & behold, Down for the Count! I love my God! And Miami Vice!

I love this picture this dude painted. It looks awesome...



More info on the pic is available here.
I hope he paints some more; maybe a shot of the Testarossa or Spider in the night...

I think about it some more, and here's something else I caught. Here it was, the fans wanted to see this baby. MJ loves his fans. So he gets caught up in the moment and shows it off to the crowd...
And dangles it over the balcony.
You know, if you're gonna ask your "idol" to do something, should it matter over how it happens?
Okay, I am one MJ fan who is disgusted over the overbearing print of this one occasion. Sure, he made a mistake. But at least he didn't "mistakenly" bomb a city...

Okay, I'll talk about something a little bit more important...

Does anybody remember the Bloomberg. A Businessman, not a Politician campaigns, where the dude, oh I'm sorry, Hizzoner, promises that he was never going to raise taxes and stuff? Well, it has only been 11 months since he first took office. And our businessman turned politician proposes (Thank God for proposition) to raise all sorts of taxes. So while the cost of living goes up, the jobs are going down in number.
You would think this would hit the very first page of any newspaper. No, I gotta read about Wacko Jacko and David Wells' journey to trial.

I can never envy rich people. Not that I am allowed to do so...
But think about it. If you are a rich jackass, it will show more so on media. And think about who fuels the media...

Man, I am outraged.

I just looked at today's Daily News, and the first thing I see is Wacko on top of the picture of Michael Jackson holding his son/daughter over a balcony rail. Okay, I read it, and wait a second...



He's showing his child to the crowd. All he's done is show the body of his son & daughter (whose faces had to be covered in towels) and made one mistake in being too close to the edge. And all of a sudden, these upright citizens across the globe now want to arrest the guy for improperly holding his children. Now come on, the guy obviously loves his children, and while he wants to protect them, he still wants to show off. Who are we to criticise every mistake he makes?? So he holds him wrong, realizes his grip ain't great, and struggles to regain his composure. So what?? That makes him wacko? Does that make him crazy, and in need of a (oh, I laughed at this one) a brain transplant?? You know what, maybe this was a great way to avoid the fact that the war we're going into is wrong. It was a great way to avoid the fact that it is Bush who needs a brain transplant. To me, that whole incident goes to show why it's not so great to be famous...

And here's some insult to injury: Apparently, one of the kids threw a pillow out the window and into a crowd of 200 Germans. And these two hundred Germans, who think Jackson needs to be arrested, fought over this pillow, and try to sell it of for $100,000 or more. A pillow? $100,000?? Now that's wacko...

How can any Corvette lover pass that up???

Oh yeah. Hooray!!
Tavie aced the sociolinguistics midterm!
Three cheers for Tavie!!

Hello, journal. It's me, Doug...

I always wanted to do that...
Anyway, some random thoughts of the day that I have no time to remember in my head:

The weather has been awfully strange the past couple of weeks. Last week, it was cold as ice. I found my self wearing gloves on several occasions. Now, it's near 50 degrees. Yesterday went up to 65! I usually just pack my summer and fall clothes in November and stick with winter clothes. Now, my closet is half in half! Just thought that was worth mentioning...

I can't help but think of Prof. Brinberg from my Genius of Modern Theater class. She's a unique professor with her good, and bad, attributes. For example, while she can command a class and the flow of ideas presented in the class, her thoughts are forever unexplained. While she wants to remain on point of the discussion, she never gets to the point of the discussion. While you're captivated by her thoughts of these playwrights, you're bored by her enthusiasm of them. It's just one of those professors.
But here's the kicker: She wants to be remembered (as if we really want to remember her) for this term she created: Democratic Socialist Theocracy. What is it, you ask? Well, don't; let's just say it represents the society of much of the plays I've read in the class. Stuff like Shaw's Major Barbara and John Bull's The Other Island is loaded with it. And in some respects, kind of represents America. It makes me regret handing in my paper on Ibsen's An Enemy Of The People; I could've found some way to add the term in there. Despite its worded contradiction, it does, in fact, make sense.
But you know what, I'll still remember her for her psycho-therapy sessions...

Know what, Mikey, I don't have that number. I thought I did; wish I did. But then again, it might not have worked out anyway. Something will always stand in my way of that one. I will not ask what possessed you to see The Santa Clause IIinstead of 8 Mile, but in a way, I'm kind of glad. At least I'll see it before you...

Because I did not show up for a Business Law III class this past Monday and Thursday could possibly mean I'll be kicked out of the class. This is a new and fascinating concept for me, because of the stupidity of it all. In other words, if you are regularly there, contribute about 5% of the time in class, & get 100 on the midterm, aren't you supposed to receive some sort of lee-way? Who's heard of someone A-cing a class and then not want to be there anymore, lest some severe injury prevents you from doing so? Now I gotta show up Monday, and hope Professor Siegelman has the common sense that most lawyers are supposed to have. Why me Lord, eh? Why me...

Paying $5 to keep AOL service is much better than paying $24 for AOL service. I'm loving it! Why? Because there's no more dial-up service for me. The usage of Verizon DSL has put an end to that. Now, it's how to keep my AOL mail and still have Verizon that's the issue. And why I never thought to call AOL and change my billing plan in the first place is still beyond me. But for those who fit the bill (Mac user on any DSL service other than AOL, who wish to keep using their AOL properties), say no to $24 a month in fees, and say yes to only $5!!! Long live intelligence!!!

Now for the iPod update. Yup, you've guessed it. Several obstacles have come my way in a quest for an iPod by Christmas. For starters, I need a faster CD burner, my brother told me. So, in selling my workhorse, the Iomega ZipCD 650, I am in turn replacing it with a brand new firewire CD burner. And though burners are one in a million, fast burners don't come cheap...
Also, a huge offer came my way; in the form of a PSone/Screen Combo for $125. Now, it's been a long time since I played the Genesis, and a real long time since I played my Game Boy Advance (so long in fact, I ended up selling it for RAM for my computer), that I thought What's the use in another video game? Then I considered the possibilities: With the proper connections, I can play movies on PSone!! And, should my brother be playing on the computer, I can play on my PSone! Now that's cool. How much, you said? $125? Well, it'll wait a couple of weeks...
Lastly, while checking out the PSone combo, I happen to trip on some car replica models from Burago. I will collect these on occasion, either to remind me to acquire my Driver's License soon, or to tell myself:

If I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars)
I'd buy me a car (I'd buy me a car)
If I had a million dollars (If I had a million dollars)
I'd get me a cor-vette (ooh, I've always wanted a Cor-vette!)
If I had a million dollars (I'd buy you love)...

Anyway, I pick the model up, and lo and behold: it was a Corvette. But not just any Corvette, a 1969 Stingray Corvette! For $12.99, I can acquire this 1:18 scale model, working doors and all! How could I pass this one up, I thought...
So many obstacles, so little time.
But one silver lining did come though: on top of my checks, I get $150 from the school. Well, it won't be so bad after all. For more on the iPod news, stay tuned...

And that, ladies and gents, kats and kittens, is my six cents.

Ah, today went pretty swell.

Interesting things happened: on top of being sent home an hour early from work, I finally spoke to Shola, the friend I thought I lost. Turns out I really didn't lose him; in fact, he just needed time to air out. Perhaps when I wished him happy birthday, I proved that I wasn't the bad guy. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that he moved out?! Yup, he's the first in the kliq to move out of his parents' digs, and into a new crib. I gotta say big-up to the guy.

Oooh. I just read freaky-delicious' post about him letting Aidee drive his car. I gotta say those women drivers are crazy man, just crazy up in Rochester...

Okay, it's a joke. I'm just kidding. No disrespect...
I'm just glad the dude is okay. And he will be here for Thanksgiving weekend. Hope the dude remembers me when he comes...

Note to Reader: These were supposed to be posted on Saturday. Sorry for the delay.

Whassup, one and all?!
At least, to those who read this...

Okay, in any case, I decided to post some random thoughts for Saturday night/Sunday morning:

I have a midterm paper due on Wednesday for The Genius of Modern Theater's Professor Brinberg. And had it not been for the genius thinking of myself and Tavie, it would have been due Monday. I decided that my paper will be done on Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of The People. I've read it, and it's very fascinating. But then again, compared to the other writers I've read in class, Ibsen is the only one that fascinates me. Brinberg wouldn't be to happy about that comment; not that anything that disagrees with her opinions would be approved. And this is a professor who has dreams and visions of what these writers were thinking as each word was put on paper. In fact, in her dreams, she talks to these writers; like Shaw, Ibsen, and Chekov. She's almost like John Edward. In my opinion, she's someone who needs this "psycho-therapy" that she speaks of so often. But then again, provided the way she talks about it, perhaps it's not working...

There's this girl in my Money & Banking class who in every chance she gets, sits in "my" seat. Well, it's not exactly my seat; but ever since I came to the class in September, I've been sitting in that same seat in front of the two Asian dudes I talk to often (part of my kliq). And while I admit, she does look nice (and has been approved by my kliq), and I do want to talk to her, something's just too good to be true. Someone like her has got to have a man; either that, or her parents are very over-protective. I mean, what if she just like the seat? What if she is a very open person? What if she just likes my company? Now before you say "Enough with the 'what if's'!," may I direct your attention to the last time I said "Okay, enough with the what ifs"? (And if you don't remember, see being "the middle man".) It cost me a chance to get with a cool girl, and gained me, yet again, another friend. Nothing' wrong with it, but it still sucks. One more week, and I'll find out whether this girl is worth the chance...

Nothing says cool like family coming together for a cause. And with the death of rap legend Jam Master Jay, the hip-hop family coming together to support his family was real cool. Now, I never knew the dude personally, or professionally; nor did I really get into his music. But I still can respect a Brother who has made it big. And I, in my own little way, paid my respects to the Brother (you know, the ceremony with the hats and Adidas they had), and all I have is love for his family. In fact, I wish them all well, and hope they get through this tough time as a family. But once again, it's cool how the hip-hop community got together to help. I mean, some of the debts will be cleared, the children will go to college if they choose to, it looks like they might be all set. As far as the end of Run DMC goes, you know what, I have only one song on my CD with their music, and one performance of them on WrestleMania V, but I will say that I respect their decision, and their way of thinking. In short, 'nuff respect to all of them.

As I write this post, I seem to get that weird feeling again. Maybe because it's Saturday night, I'm doing absolutely nothing, and I have work on Sunday. But I don't know. As far as the day went, the usual Costco shopping, laundry washing schedule was spiced up with a cab ride and a haircut (well whoopee, one would say.) I really do need a girl. But then I think, isn't the girl thinking that a man would give her a good time? How is that gonna happen when I seem to not have a good time by myself? Maybe I'm getting this all wrong, maybe I'll never know; but at least my bluntness about the whole affair is evident...

I also have undertaken a rather unusual task in typing up all my class notes. Not because my exams are 85% based on notes (90% in Brinberg's class), but for the hell of it. Something clicked in my head and said, "what a better way to pass time in the afternoon than mastering Microsoft Word typing up my notes!" Now, guys are waiting in the wings for them! I gotta start charging these people...
Speaking of Word, my self-help Photoshop training is going excellent! I have mastered some of the properties that make Photoshop great, and I'm getting used to some of the plugins for Photoshop. In fact, I've already constructed some tape covers for my Bret Hart @ WrestleMania tapes. The Best of Wrestlemania XIII-IV is near completion, and I will test out my skills once more!

Ah, those WrestleManias of old. Brings back memories of when I wanted the championship belts that Hogan and Savage wore. In fact, I now have the World Heavyweight title replica in my house, and occasionally I'll pose for a second or two with it (just before RAW is on!) It feels good to feel like a kid again, even if it is for a few minutes out of the week.

Look at this (okay, you can't, so I'll describe it for ya!) Some jabroni but another 12 cents in my paypal account. Whassupwidat??

Ah, great reminder. Mr. "Actionfigure 2 Play" wanted to know what a jabroni is. Just to let you know, there really is no such word as jabroni. It's one of those slang catch-terms that are created, and used frequently; like whomps, for example. Now, when it was created, jabroni was a slang term in wrestling for a jobber, someone who would lose a match to make the opponent look good (Barry Horowitz would've been the perfect example, until he beat Skip Candido...)
Now, the people up in the city, especially those like myself who are into wrestling, expand the usage of the word jabroni to something a little more practical. Now, as I define it, a jabroni is the mildest way to say... an asshole.
Hold up, that doesn't mean jabroni means asshole. How can I put this, you have levels of put-downs, some taken lightly, some taken with a teaspoon of salt, some taken with ibuprofen, and some that lead to serious fights. Jabroni is perhaps the lowest level of put down imaginable. I mean, anybody can say jabroni. It has no real effect; it doesn't make you a bad guy if you use the term. Ah, I got it; it's a play word. A word with little weight. That's a jabroni; the harmless way to call someone an idiot, or a moron, or an ass without any real problems. It would be very hard to take offense to someone calling you a jabroni, lest you were a pro-wrestler of course...

Well, Mister "Freaky Delicious", I hope I took you on the inside of that one...

Ah, Mikey also made me remember something that has been on my mind since I left high school. A woman whose whereabouts still remain a mystery to me. You see, back when I was a just another high school shy guy, I met this girl named Thaisha Anglero. Ah yes, those fond memories come flooding down like tears in my eyes. She and I had a ball, talked up a storm about everything under the sun, had great times enjoying each other's company; it almost was a crime that she was involved with someone else. In fact, everyone was telling me at the time they couldn't believe that we weren't an item, providing the way we used to chill. Nonetheless, she had a man, and I respected that. Interestingly, I have not seen her since graduation day. It would be just amazing to find her once again, and catch one hell of a case of nostalgia. Just to know what she's doing, what she's been up to, how life has been treating her. Oh that day will be something to post...

Until then, all I can do is this. Hope the guy got his 12 cents worth.
Until next time...

Ah, the week isn't over yet, and already it's been cool. On Monday, after days, and days, of procrastination (85% of which on Tavie's part), we finally went to see Bowling For Columbine. And I gotta say, it was a funny, yet riveting piece of work. Never had I thought a documentary starring Michael Moore and some SWM (that's Stupid White Men) would ever be so comical. He even got to sit & chat with Charlton Heston; and believe me, the old man didn't know what was coming.

More cool news comes from yesterday, where me, my brother, and my father (the big 3 guys of the house) were all baptized at the The Brooklyn Tabernacle. No, not the new one at 17 Smith St., but the old church at 290 Flatbush Ave. We kinda felt special, not just because we committed a visual act of obedience to God, but because we and the 100+ who did it with us are the last bunch to be baptized at the old church. I really do miss it. The days where at 3PM, the church would be so packed, we would be in the chapel watching. Those were some days.

Ah, I feel strange again.

Perhaps because I'm in Hunter College posting. Come to think of it, I just remembered something. The Business Law III woman that never smiled (I call her Bert from Sesame Street's Bert & Ernie, because the facial expressions are near identical) actually smiled today. And more than once! One small step for peace, one giant leap for unity. Too bad I didn't have my camera...

But on the flip side, I noticed something else. This woman I remember, had almost 4 classes with me, including Calculus, Macroeconmics, and this Corporate Finance class that I crash into sometimes. And the strangest thing, we never really chilled out. Normally, if I have had three or more classes with someone, we would eventually come together and sort of work as a unit to get through college (in fact, that's how I met some of my peoples, we all had the same class together). I mean look, I see her almost every friggin time I go to the ICS room (where all the computers are at in Hunter); she works there! And she never fails to give me nothing more than a nod of awareness. What's more, we both have a friend named Christian who works at the ICS lab as well. I've known him since we came to this college. We too have shared the same classes. Of course we chill now; and that girl is almost always with him! But she still would never acknowledge me more than just a simple nod of awareness. OK, what the hell is a nod of awareness? It's a nod that means she (or he) knows that you are there. That's it. Not a nod of "hello," not a nod of "nice to meet you... again," but a nod of awareness.

Is this some sort of race issue? Is that not, screwed up? Or am I taking this one too far?

Oh, the day I leave Hunter. It just might be the best time of my life...

What a friggin weekend.
It may not rival your awesome weekend, but I'll throw my two days in the dance, 'cause hey, you never know.
It all starts Saturday night, after I take care of the usual Costco shopping, laundry washing, house cleaning schedule. I meet a friend named Isaac after work to go to the movies. Interesting fact: he works at Modell's. I never would've thought I'd still be hanging out with some of the crew from Modell's. It's not common, just thought it would never happen to me. Before we head to the movies, my friend Isaac and his buddies stop at the liquor store for VSOP Brandy; one of those $12 bottles that come in a box. On the way to 42nd Street Loews Theater, they're getting their drink on. Now, in case you don't know where I'm heading with this, I don't drink. I have never "drank" before, and why yesterday was a time to start, I dunno. But, it had absolutely nothing to do with peer pressure. In fact, my friends were leery before offering me anything. But they offered me, and I decided at that it was about high time I at least tried it. I mean, I wasn't trying to drink, get drunk, and have a good time. I was just getting into it, and having a good time doing it! So, for the very first time in my life, Saturday, November 2nd, 2002 at about 10:35 in the night, I had my very first REAL drink. In liquor terms, I had one part VSOP, and about 4 parts vanilla coke. Or is it three...
Let's put it this way, the ratio of VSOP to Vanilla Coke is about 1 to 9.
Several drinks later, I've been talked deaf, dumb, and blind into seeing of all films:
Jackass: The Movie.
Now, just about everyone told me that I wasn't drunk. As they put it, "One doesn't get drunk off 5 shots of 1 part brandy, 5 part coke!" But people on normal air could not ever sit through Jackass: The Movie. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know one thing: I'm amazed that even I sat through it. As far as the movie went, I'll rate this movie as rationally as possible. It's useless, pointless, pathetic, crazy, stupid, sickening, degrading, and any other word you can think of. But...
It was funny. Drop dead funny.
I never laughed so hard since Ferris Bueller's Day Off. After it ended, the guys and I were still laughing. I just couldn't stop laughing! It was that funny. One moment (or several segments) worth looking at was the haircutting segments, where some jackass with a haircutter cuts (or in ghetto terms, "zeeks") the hair of unsuspecting people. In one segment, he catches one guy about five times; half his hair was gone by the time it was all said and done! And that's all I'm writing about the movie. Jackass buffs can see it and be amazed.
After the movie, the kliq go out to look for some women. These three girls leaving the theater were apparently as drunk leaving the movie as my friends were going into the movie. The reason for that would be the girls (all three of them) run into the door trying to leave Loews. We all had a big laugh about it, too. We talked and what not; no numbers though. But, it was all good. So there we were, the kliq walking through Times Square, and a prostitute approaches us. Her pitch, angle and game was so weak, we couldn't say no walking away from her. We laughed twice as hard at her as we did at the movie. I don't know man, I just know. We live in a sick world, sick, sick world...

Oh yeah, that's just the half of it.

Sunday morning, I wake up thinking my face was still on the bed. I was still tired. Never mind the fact that I only got five hours sleep; I can manage with such little sleep. But it had to be the Brandy, because did not want to do anything. But then I looked at my wallet. And that was enough encouragement to jump to work.
I get there ten minutes late after leaving a whole hour before work (damn those bumbaclaats working at the Atlantic Avenue station!); at least I wasn't alone. Anyway, I pass the main entrance to Crate and Barrel (you know, the entrance we associates are never allowed to go through), and pass those beautiful window displays which allow you to see the action inside the store. And lo and behold, who do I see!!?? The jabroni who I haven't seen in ten months! The friend (see "4 - Tuesday the 10th ") I had for some nine/ten years, and because of one mishap, decides not to talk to me for ten months!! At first I thought, well, I did drink last night, maybe I was seeing things. But no, I really wasn't drunk, as the managers introduced the seasonal floorstockers to the seasonal/PT/FT stock receivers (that's me!) And there he was, in the flesh, poking me and high-fiving me as though nothing happened. I could imagine when he went back home to tell his family about his day:

"Hey guys, guess who also works at Crate and Barrel? Terrence!! I couldn't believe it! At first, I saw him looking through the window, and I thought he just leering around. But then I went to the stockroom, and there the nigga was! And he's seasonal. I can't believe that guy works there..."

Even more interesting, I haven't seen him since that awkward confrontation. It was like, after that moment, I never saw him again. Of course, somewhere down the road (probably when I go back to work on Tuesday), I'll see him again. What the hell will he say to me? What in the blue hell am I gonna say to him? Are we even going to say anything to each other? Will my holiday season ever be the same...

OK. Enough of the drama. I did good on all my midterms, and I'm happy. Just hoping FootAction returns my phone call soon. And that my iPod is coming soon! And that all may have a great holiday season. And hope that TNN brings back Miami Vice!