A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice.
Bill Cosby

Baby, I'm back...
And Arnold Schwartznegger will be the new Governor of California!! Whoddathunkit?!?!
Also, who would have thought that the Yankees and the Bo-Sox would play for the ALCS title?? I tell ya, tis a great day to be a New Yorker. All I wait for is the end of Game 6, when the announcer sings, "The Yankees win!! Thhhhheeee Yaaannkeeeess Win!!!" Add that to the possibility that Sammy Sosa might see a World Series title run, this year will be the most memorable year in baseball.

Other than that, holla from da Kat unda da Kangol cap! It's been another week, and Columbus Day is approaching; which only means one thing to me: no work on Monday! Other than that, I missed an important day on Wednesday, and right now, I'm frantically finding ways to make up for it. I'd rather not go into specifics now, at least, not until I get things back in order. These last few sentences for me will just serve as a reminder of what to discuss when it's all said and done...

I received an interesting e-mail from a random reader who, in summing up her words, questioned the style of my last freelance, The 4-Train Writer. To all who face similar questions, there is no particular style in that freelance. Okay, maybe that's wrong: as I observed her writings, I found much of her words running across the book, from one page to the next. Some short lines, and some long lines; they all seemed to be incoherent. So, in turn, I crafted my freelance to be as incoherent, so you (the reader of my freelance) can get the vision, or at least an idea, of what I observed in her writings. In other words, the incoherence you find in my freelance is the same incoherence I found in her writing.
And I just hope that explanation didn't confuse you even further...

In continuation of the familiar faces week I've been having, I ran into Shola again last Sunday, this time with another face I haven't seen in awhile: Bernard. Bernard, to quickly sum him up, is a Greek-Mythology lovin', African-dancin', Stevie Wonder fanatic of a momma's boy who is taking a class @ Hunter (Sociology 101 with Professor Battle, the best in the profession), and apparently has new lady friend. And you know, it's a shame to admit this, but already I forgot her name. And she looks like the type who will say something to me just by association. Other than that, Bernard has been holding up his own, and will be graduating next year. So big-ups to him for all that he's done...
On Thursday, I went to Modell's on Chambers Street (yes, the House That I Built), and the only things that didn't change are a couple of the associates, and the overall layout of the store. Other than that, new managers, and new faces everywhere, with more on the way! The manager that is there now coincidentally was the manager @ 42nd Street where I trained, so we traded a lot of conversation between each other, which was good. About half the old faces that are still there recognized me, which was even better than I anticipated. And after the trimming down of staff ended a year ago, nothing new has happened over there. Other than that, it's so good to know that everyone's okay over there. So big-ups to everyone at store 3 Modell's...
After learning that they did not have the most recently advertised Jordan's Brian asked about, I passed through the Modell's on Herald Square. And who do I meet there, Tony from the GAP. Ah, the memories, the stinkin' memories are coming back. The times where the two of us held the fort in the GAP kids department. The night sessions were a trip, and there was never a time the closing manager was not impressed. That was us, me, Tony, and Jose Torres, another kat I remember that worked with us. We defined team work-ethic. And of course, he appealed to all the ladies, so we had very interesting conversations back in the day. Once they realized that by association, I perhaps am as cool as Tony, the ladies started talking to me. And to think, he started a month after I did...
... and left six months after I did.
Well, nowadays he's working as security, while going to college part-time for medicine, or psychology, or something to that effect. The temptation we had to stand there and talk for hours. But he was on the clock. So we traded niceties, and I went on my way. From what he tells me, all the seasonal staff that was with us back in the day relocated themselves throughout Herald Square, and midtown Manhattan. And that's always cool. So big-ups to Tony, and best of luck in all his endeavors...
At that point, I figured I was on a roll, let's continue blasting into the past. After Managerial Accounting class (by the way, 92 on the exam!! Big-up, big-up, and a poom-poom shot!!), I cruised to Crate & Barrel, and purchased a couple of 24oz. cooler cups, these swirled acrylic glasses for $2.50 a pop which will primarily be used for my sugar rushes during midterm/finals week. As for who's there, most of the regular staff from before is still there. Even Martha, who reminded me once again that the CD I made for her messed up, is there. I vow, the next time she mentions it, I will deliberately make her a new one, just cause. Right now, they're currently hiring for seasonal p/t (if anyone out there's interested), and the general question raised was whether or not I was coming back this year. I admit, the temptation to go back is very strong. There's nothing wrong with where I am at now. But I do miss the Manhattan action, the atmosphere C & B brought, and the overall good feeling I get on the way home; I'm not too tired, but after a long day's work, it is satisfying, and therefore, the day is good, and well worth it. And with all due respect, it's not something I've found where I'm at now. Now that I've actually sat down to analyze this rather simple situation, it's just a question of a giving up a regular part-time job, to go to a seasonal p/t job which will only provide more convenience and better atmosphere for me. And while the answer seems very easy, take this into account: by next year, I'll be in a job actually in my field of major, which means a job at an accounting firm, or something of that nature. So I might be where I am now in the year to come. But for now, I've been late only once, and my cash register has been short only once since I've been here. So, all signs will probably keep me here.
But, there IS the possibility that she might come back too...

All-righty-then! In moving on...

I'm Your Angel (Duet with Celine Dion)
R. Kelly
The R. in R&B Collection, Volume 1

My iPod has turned 10 months old tomorrow. Yay! To celebrate, I finally went out Thursday and brought the new iTrip, the FM transmitter which turns your iPod into its own radio station. This iTrip only works on iPods of the first and second generation, by the way; the 3rd generation iTrips aren't available for sale here in NY yet. The J & R cashier was very adamant about that, so to let her know I ain't no fool, I confirmed the compatibility issue with another J&R associate, who while answering my question, processed the order under his name to get the commissioned sale. I gotta big-up that associate, who so nonchalantly put his name under that order, and all he did was say yes in front of the cashier. I came, I saw, I picked up, and he gets lucky. Oh Sears, the memories come flooding by the droves!! And all Davion could ask me was, "can a man feed his family, please?!" In any event, the only three advantages having this thing has are the following: first, it works anywhere there's an FM radio, even my cassette walkman picked up the frequency (which I set to 107.9FM); second, it actually looks like it belongs with the iPod, making it a rather perfect addition to it; and third, it has a cool LED light that lets you know it's working. Otherwise, you might as well buy audio cables to connect it to your house speakers. But if you're like me, the ease-of-use that circumvents having to use cables will appeal to you, which why I rate the iTrip 10/10. Right now, R. Kelly's Greatest Hits goes right alongside Whitney's Greatest Hits, and I have 2208 songs with 1.3MB of space left. November couldn't come any faster...

The fotolog is near completion, and should be ready for viewing by next posting. However, experienced fotologgers will know it doesn't take long to make a fotolog. So what's the delay? A few things:
1- Gold Patron, what do I reallygain by giving them a $5 donation? This requires utilizing all the benefits of being a regular patron before I can really get an answer to that.
2- The pictures themselves. I picked a good time to get a camera phone, because the summer aftermath has given me some good photos to post. And this one-a-day thing allows be to space out what I wanna post. What does this all add up to? I will be able to keep you guys captivated for a little while longer with a fotolog of two weeks worth of pictures.
3- Time constraints. A funny thing too; I am able to fotolog everyday, and I only post on this blog once or twice a week. I guess for me, while it doesn't take long to upload pics, I need to gather of week's load of a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to's to form an interesting post.
But, if you are impatient, just let me know, and I'll link it up to the blog.

One last thing, first Johnny Cash. Then John Ritter. And when last I heard, we lost Robert Palmer. Egad, so many great names are leaving us this year. I mean, it wasn't so bad last year, with Burgess Meredith and all. But now, a lot of good folks who gave me laughter, songs, and tears over the years are gone. It's so messed up man, so messed up.

So, to them I say thanks. Thanks for everything.

Okay, back to school. Til next time, I bid you adieu!