things that rock: day 31

day 31: friends

FINALLLLLLLY done with this whole countdown thing. for those who were actively keeping tabs on my progression through the month, you may have noticed that i fell behind. but i caught up and now i'm exhausted!

anyways, friends. yes, my dear friends. friends are the most important thing that rocks. so crucial in everyday life and have made almost everything possible. all the previous 30 things that rock would not be possible (mostly) without friends there by my side. i would have given up a long time ago without the people mentioned in previous entries... so thank you.

short and sweet. like my good friend dustin... for example.

things that rock: day 30

day 30: weddings

weddings are the bomb. what else could you ask for. booze. dancing. more food than you know what to do with. a band and/or dj. they are the most epic party you can attend.

this past weekend, a good friend of mine i used to work with had a wedding in alabama. knowing this friend fairly well, i knew that this person knows how to throw a party so i HAD to go. so i made my plus one my buddy rylo for extreme party potential and we took off for the great state of alabama. the wedding was on a lake and we got there a full day before to really soak it all in. it was amazing. great people. great activities. and of course, more jim beam then you could squeeze out of kentucky at one time.

friday night was the after rehearsal dinner party which had a band and open bar and food... saturday afternoon was a party on the lake where people took life jackets, rode them like a horse, and bobbed in the lake while holding their drink of choice. i elected to knock it up a notch and go tubing. not the normal lazy river tubing that i thought... no no this was the get thrown in the river and pray kind of tubing. note to self: water at 30 mph is not as forgiving. ridiculously fun though... rylo does a great impression of me before i got launched for the first time... but ill give a quick preview...

i had yet to be thrown off and so the driver, with some of my friends giving him some advice, decides that he is going to "get rid" of me. he basically does donuts with me on the outside a three person tube. rylo is sitting next to me in the middle of the tube and other friend is on the far side. i quickly realize that im taking an extended joy ride and begin to scream to rylo "why are they trying to get rid of meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" in a trailing away fashion and then splash.

at the time: hurt.

in retrospect: hilarious.

after a quick nap, off to the wedding which was held in a lake front open chapel that was gorgeous. granted the alabama heat made it a tougher ceremony than ones indoors but it was done as quickly and efficiently as possible and it was beautiful. i think rylo even shed a quick tear. he wont admit it... but he did.

then to parttttaaaaaaay....

lets see... there was champagne, tons of food (have you ever had fried quail!? its awesome!!), a NEW live band that did katy perry's cali girls and it was fantastic. they had jars and jars of firefly... it was awesome. we danced, we drank, we laughed... and we got drunk. real drunk. i will end the story there. i dont remember the rest and anything people tell me is just hearsay.

sunday morning, we had a hangover lunch at taco bell and then it was back on the plane.

weddings are awesome and i loved every second of this past weekend. seriously, its hard not to have a blast at a wedding and its easy when the people are incredible.

special thanks my dear friend from the great state alabama who let me (and rylo) join in their celebration.

friday's random music video vol. XXVII

the debutaunts - "this is yours"

things that rock: day 29

day 29: pets

i miss my puppy. her name is nikki and she was only 6 weeks old when she fell asleep on my foot and i decided to throw all my support(as much as 6th grader has) behind selecting her as our family dog. what followed was 15 years of fun times, great memories, a few scares and whole lot of love. however, i went to college and then moved back to the city but always living with buddies. i still see my pup here and there but not as much anymore. not since the last few days of high school, have i truly known what its like to have a pet.

all that changed in november of last year when a buddy of mine moved in with me and brought along two cats. i dont typically like cats. however, i realized how much i had been craving a pet, whether it be a dog, a cat or a nematode. SOMETHING. one of the cats he brought and i hit it off immediately. my buddy told me that this cat was extremely skiddish and spent most of its time hiding next to the toilet before moving in with us. however, after just 3 months of me constantly giving the cat some TLC, his personality completely changed. granted, in retrospect, i feel bad for unleashing about 9 years of not-having-a-pet affection that had been building up... but it appears as though we both needed it. a few months later my buddy moved and it was a sad scene. but it made me realize something. someone like me just needs a pet.

someone like me? so... an emo, self-proclaimed athletic type with constant craving for taco bell? no no.

someone who likes to talk a lot whether it be to humans or to animals, both usually having no idea what your talking about??? not exactly... geez im pretty critical of myself.

no, i mean someone who can be affectionate(i know, im a tool). someone who likes having something that is constantly ready for a back scratching session or a fun simple game involving a toy being thrown and eagerly brought back. there is just something about an animal's unconditional love. i think everyone needs a pet.

so you ask, what is my perfect pet?

a big 100 plus pound white alaskan husky with sky blue eyes. i love these animals and they are silly intelligent. also very affectionate. very protective and yet playful. so that's the dream. definitely in the next 5 years. until then, im going to continuously drop by my buddy's place because i just "happened" to be in the area and play with my old feline pal.

maybe i should just get a job as a pet sitter...

things that rock: day 28

day 28: universal contempt for maryland drivers

im definitely curious to see where people fall on this one but as someone who now lives in the district and drives all over creation for their job, i have quite a few encounters with maryland drivers. i dont what the deal is specifically... but for some reason, they are always the ones going 20 mph in the merge lane of 395 south trying to some how merge with traffic going 65 mph or going the wrong way down one way street or simply stopped in the road because they are lost. my horn mine as well be mr. t's voice saying "maryland driver, get out of the way fool!"

however, this blog series isnt about what annoys me. this is about what rocks. the only positive aspect of these motorized liabilities puttering around our streets is the common frustration held by many with whom i have commiserated. i love when im driving, i get cut off by a maryland driver and the person in the car with me makes a comment before i do! in an instant, any differences held between us simply fade away as we unite against a common frustration. Random people I meet with day to day have surprised me with their similar observations of maryland drivers.

the best part is the brainstorming with these new friends that takes place when trying to come up with the reason for the curiously common driving style of the land of mary. it may just be perception. with such drastic differences between northern virginia drivers who are some of the most aggressive in the country and the stereotypical maryland driver who has maybe a little less urgency and also never mastered the turn signal. maybe its the process of people getting licenses. i got my license in virginia but apparently, there is no real road examination in maryland. no practice merging on and off a highway with an instructor. no experience with difficult road situations. apparently, as long as you know what each sign means, for the most part, you can drive! (please pick up my sarcasm) part of it may be the type of roads in maryland. maybe they are very different to dc and virginia roads in terms of design and organization. i do just fine in maryland but maybe i learned on more complicated roadways and alongside more aggressive and less forgiving drivers.

the moral of the story is that there is no easy answer. but whatever the case maybe, without fail my life becomes increasingly more difficult when im trying to get work done during the week because of cars with maryland plates. however, one thing i want to make sure that i make clear that this does affect how i feel about people from maryland. i love people from maryland. i tend to be closer on the political spectrum to marylanders. i love st. andrews(the place they shot wedding crashers. went there for a work retreat and it was awesome) and some of the fine maryland beaches. my redskins play football in maryland. heck, ive eaten several meals at the maryland house off of i-95 and it was glorious.

all that being said, friends from maryland, do my blood pressure a favor and just let me drive. in return, ill try to keep frustrated comments with your brethren to a minimum... i said try...

things that rock: day 27

day 27: my 2002 honda accord coupe

she is a dream. i named her maddy, short for madison because thats where she belongs. with all the models and pretty people on madison avenue in nyc. she recently just hit the milestone of 100,000 miles and i have never been so proud. over those 6 digits worth of mileage, we have been through a lot together... let me list out just a few memories when it was just me, her and a whole of love.

+ 2am drives to va beach from william and mary to be emo
+ road trip to cleveland where i introduced my best friend to his wife
+ overnight drive from raleigh,nc to miami,fl (i drove the entire way overnight)
+ fourth of july trip to charleston, sc
+ piling 4 other people in the car besides me and driving out to fraternity retreats
+ rolling down the windows and blasting music aka cruising down several popular roads throughout northern virginia
+ tailgating at concerts
+ trips to see family all over the east coast
+ a automotive ear that has been always been there

sure i have led her astray a few times... usually into other cars but i always get her fixed, just like new! we are almost inseparable. unfortunately, because of our society, i always have to leave her outside. but if i had it my way, i would have her right there at my side to get me from 0-60 in 7 seconds all the time. i bet she would make an excellent shopping partner... always willing to carry the bags. you're the best.

im actually at the dealership getting her serviced. im always nervous about these things because you never know when they are going to come back and tell you there is something wrong... i cant imagine not having her around.

you are the best girl on four wheels a guy could ask for! oh wow... the mechanic just came out and told me i have $800 worth of work... ouch. love hurts.

things that rock: day 26

day 26: chicken

grilled, fried, just the fingers, part of a turducken, a la brasa, in a soup, in a pie, shredded, chopped, broiled, steamed, spicy, luncheon meat, white meat, dark meat, drum sticks, hot wings... etc

now it may just be a coincidence that that i am starving but i love chicken. those damn clucking birds provide me with so much happiness... hell, i even like eggs! i recently had brunch at a restaurant in eastern market with my family. i ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato... and egg whites! yeah, that's right! i threw some eggs on that bad boy and it was scrumptious. now i know that especially in judaism, putting the mother and child on the same sandwich(1 in 100 million chance... so you're saying there's a chance...) is wrong but ill tell you what, in the same way a cheeseburger sometimes is just what the doctor ordered to cure that vicious hangover, eggs on a chicken sandwich was just what i need to cure my vicious empty stomach. so good. maybe i will be on the forefront of sandwiching and start a new fad!

oh man... i just made myself so frickin hungry... maybe i earned myself a run to taco bell... 3 chicken burritos and 3 chicken soft tacos!? yes please!!

things that rock: day 25

day 25: rainbow flip flops

ever since that dude remy called out all the dudes in brown flip flops, i have noticed the number of brown flip flops starting to decline a bit. WHAT!? come on people. be proud of your footwear! i love my rainbows. they are the best thing in the world. sure people think its ridiculous that im wearing them in 40 degree weather but THATS how great they feel. i hate shoes and i hate socks. for whatever reason, those two things are now synonymous with me feeling stuffy or just uncomfortable. the shoes i wear to the gym seem to be the only ones that dont feel alien to me when i put them on. please do not take that as me going to the gym a lot... i just like the shoes.

tragically, during a slip and slide party held in celebration of rylo's birthday, one of my rainbows was stolen. accidentally, so the perp claims. i still cling to the belief that the said brigand could not take just how close me and the flip flops had become and was jealous that they did not feel that strongly about their footwear. out of a jealous rage, one of the flip flips paid the ultimate price.

not to be held down, i have been wearing a sweet pair of green adidas sandals. but its not the same. i miss my old rainbows and hope one day to be reunited with them... although a new pair is perfectly fine as well.

i want my rainbows back rainbows back rainbows back... i want my rainbows back!
(sang to the tune of the chili's commercial)



happy birthday andrew (dawg)