A Good Story Has Proof

Warning: Tonight's blog contains details and pictures that are not necessarily friendly.

Ever since I moved into my apartment there has been a level of fear mixed with entertainment with regard to the noises audible from my bedroom coming from outside. Sometimes it might be the sound of a car who can't get down the street because someone has double parked. To remind this ignorant driver of their selfish act, the individual trying to make their way down the street will lay on their horn for, at one point, 25 minutes, at 8 am (that is not a lie). Or how regularly around 1 am there is a trash truck that drives by which continues to pose the question, what trash truck is in service at 1 am?

Amongst other things, however, there has been many a time in my months here, shouting matches that take place on the street below. While most of them take place out of sight, they have still only ever been shouting matches. Every so often, if it is early enough that we are not all in our own rooms, my roommate will comment about how he hopes one day we get to see a fight. It's kind of like hearing the screech of a car but not hearing the collision (yes like the Dane Cook joke). Well last night, again, around 3 am there was an audible 'disagreement' going on outside. And as in the past, my roommate commented on how we've never seen a fight take place. Sure enough, minutes later, this argument turned physical and within view of my bedroom window. There were probably somewhere between 5 and 10 people in the street all throwing punches in little 2 and 3 man factions. One person even got their shirt pulled off Mighty-Ducks-style.

This was a serious fight.

Maybe 5 minutes later the fight separated and then the unexpected happened. They were inside my apartment building. Maybe they got in because someone else was opening the door, maybe they live here, maybe they buzzed every floor until someone let them in. I don't know. What I do know is that they were in the building and I could hear them in the stair well. Shouting continued and people were no longer visible out my window. Minutes later I could hear the voices carry down the street and it seemed like they left.

I had a meeting today and when I left I walked through what appeared to be a crime scene. From the bottom of the steps through the first floor and out out the door there was blood. A combination of droplets on the floor and streaks on the walls, the inside of my apartment building looked like something from a horror movie. I don't know how someone got to be so injured or if it was multiple people but it was what was left of the events that transpired the night before.

On my way back from the meeting I took a bunch of pictures. Unfortunately something malfunctioned upon importing them and I lost a few of them, specifically, the picture of the main wall which had a huge blood smear across it. I went back downstairs to retake the pictures only to find the walls bleached over. There are still drops of blood on the floor, but someone from maintenance definitely cleaned it all up. I do, however, still have some of the pictures which I am including below. This all comes after a conversation earlier in the night with a friend of mine about how my street, this year, seems to be the safest place to live on as there has not been any reported violence or muggings on it unlike the rest of the streets students live on in the area.

New Ideas

I had an idea today for a new blog. I don't plan on ending this one, but the new blog would be more of a project. This new idea, however, will probably end up in the 'idea' pile I have which exceeds the 'accomplished' infinitely.

I also did some reading about the MTA today. I was curious about abandoned subway stations after seeing one used in the plot of a show. I found out there are several ranging from entire stations either closed or never used after being built, to lower or upper levels closed off from a station. It seems as though this was an area a Columbia student focused on as there is a site hosted on Columbia's servers detailing all of these stations, some with pictures.

This led me to find out how many subway stations there are in the New York area. How many do you think it is? I was surprised myself to find out there are 468 functioning subways stations. Crazy.

Get Out

On days like today it is easy to convince yourself to stay inside. But getting out there is a must. Today I woke up and walked down the street to Dunkin Donuts and rewarded myself (as if the day off wasn't a reward already) with a Dunkachino. Delicious.

Also I got to experience the weather going through a bipolar phase. Walking to Dunkin, the sky was blue, there were still some flurries, but it was not windy and was pleasant. Coming out of the store, however, that weather was nowhere to be found. The storm decided it'd give it one last go. The sky had turned grey, the wind was kicking, and there was a decent amount of snow falling once more.

Think this was the last of the snow for this winter? I know it has already exceeded the record for inches of snow in the Philadelphia area for one winter. But, I heard there might be one more storm on the horizon, so keep those boots and shovels out a little longer.

Being Silly

Today, despite the weather which essentially added up to 3 inches of slush anywhere that was not indoors, I went in to work. I guess a bunch of parents decided to not send their kids today as there was only 14 of the 24 kids present.

I don't know if it was the snow or what, but the kids were extra hyper today. At lunch they were all convinced they were eating burgers because the chicken patties were on buns and that was enough correlation to have them sold. They were quite happy to be eating burgers.

Jacob, one of the boys, was not eating much at all and not for any real significant reason except that he just would not sit still. Eventually he started squatting and scooting back and forth under the table. Kimberly, their teacher, asked him, "Jacob, why are you being so silly today?" He responded to her in the most honest way, "Because silly is more fun."

No truer words.

(I realize that it is still snowing and will be for awhile, but at 12:30 am my roommates and I had ourselves a piece of the action. I made sure to leave my mark.)

10 Billion

Itunes apparently reached its landmark 10 billionth song today. I totally had forgotten about this until I was waiting to meet with someone today and noticed some mentions of it on Twitter. People were estimating based on the speed and such about when it would be and it seemed like it was right around when I was reading all of this. I decided - hey, take the risk and buy a song. If it doesn't happen, it was 99 cents. And if it does happen, then that'd be pretty darn cool.

Well it's been about 10 hours since then and no one has called me, so I am guessing I did not win. Oh well, I bought a pretty great She & Him track anyway so no worries.

Tonight was the 5th week for movie nights and we watched Danny Boyle's Millions. This is one of his best rated films and one I quite enjoy. Unfortunately for some of the people watching, I think it was a bit sillier than expected. Millions is, after all, a kids movie but I think it is one that is a little more eccentric and less traditional. That being said, I know it wasn't totally unpleasant as a few people enjoyed it. Ah well, can't win them all.

Trudging up the hill to work tomorrow is going to be a blast.

All Natural

I don't know when it happened but at some point I decided I wanted to try to use medicine as little as possible. I have mentioned this on here before, several months ago when I was unable to put up with or improve upon how I was feeling and took some benedryl.

A few days ago I wrote about how since last Friday I had been suffering 24 hour cycles of the same discomfort. It has not been a full 24 hours without it yet, but I would like to think I am out of the woods. I woke up today about an hour before my alarm was meant to go off and noticed I still had the headache I went to sleep with. By the time I made and ate breakfast an hour later, however, the headache had subsided. There were points during the day where I felt it coming back but it never did. I sit here at 2 in the morning and can state that I have no chills and no head pain.

Although it was not pleasant, I was able to overcome this little illness with two simple steps. I drank a lot of water and I ate an apple a day. I have been told before that headaches can be brought on by dehydration and even if that was not the cause - drinking more water and less of other things every day can only be an improvement. Secondly I have been eating more fruit, specifically apples. I read that apples contain natural aspirin in them. Again, like the water, at the very least, eating an apple a day is a smart decision and they are delicious.

I will not claim that either of these decisions caused my improvement but they were both healthy decisions and I am feeling healthier and that's a nice thing to report.

Just in time for what could be another punch in the face (snow storm). I know I said the other day that I was over the snow for this year. I am going to, in retrospect, blame it on how I was feeling. I have rallied and I say, bring on the snow.

Just In Time

So, walking around yesterday and today I am realizing that the recent warm weather is finally reminding me what color the ground used to be. That's right, the snow if finally melting to the point where the grass is visible once more. And then I read the 5 day forecast and realized there is another snow storm (or two) on the horizon.

Maybe it is the adult in me, maybe its the amount we have gotten this year, but I think I am done with the snow for one year. I don't even think a snow day could convince me otherwise.

Been doing some reading for a test I have tomorrow. Did you know that Sigmund Freud had some pretty strange ideas about mankind? I mean I will give the guy credit for laying some ground work for the field I an majoring in, sure, but there are some ideas of his that just make me laugh because of how absurd they are. For my class we have to know Freud's theory for the origin of religion which includes the first parricide, the beginning of incest taboo, the urinating on a father by his sons, all of which lead to the first civilization and origin of religion. It is definitely a good story.

What I did find interesting was Freud's concept of understanding man in terms of the history of man. Freud theorized that any individual organism in its species was genetically linked to its ancestors and thus that species in the present carried with it, the history of its species. Freud believed that the modern day man contained in him the history of mankind and we could learn history of our ancestors and the history of mankind by extracting this from the modern man via examination by psychoanalysis. Curious.

Teasing Illness

So Friday, starting around midday and continuing to worsen as the day continued I felt off. Initially it was just a throat irritation but it moved to getting these quick surges in my head that felt almost like falling asleep. They lasted only a second. By the time I came home that night these surges were still going on, but I was also freezing. I climbed in bed, head weighing 200 pounds, and went to sleep.

I woke up yesterday morning and felt excellent. I slept until the pm hours and had a very successful day. I had written it off as a 24 hour problem. But, as the day was winding down, around the time I was blogging this all started back up. I was freezing once again and my head felt off.

I woke up today, and once again felt fine. Today, by midday, though the head problems set in. And as I sit here writing, I am shivering again, head different from Friday - just a standard but persistent headache. This is unfortunate as I had a lot of reading to do for class this week. Let's hope tomorrow when I wake up, that if I feel better, I am able to make it to bed time without taking a turn.

Positive Weather, Positive Outcomes

I am not a big fan of summer weather. I know - you might think based on my readiness for the warmth that I am a big fan of the hot sun and such, but you would be wrong. I am a fan of the middle ground (not to sound dull). My favorite seasons are spring and fall. I would much rather be in jeans and a t-shirt or a hoodie than anything else. Preferred temp range: 50-75.

This might seem odd, but it's something I like. I am a fan of comfortable weather. I feel like, just as the severe cold can be debilitating, the heat can be the same way. Long strings of, or just individual days of 90 degree temperature makes people unpleasant. You sweat more, you get stressed easier, everything you do is an effort because it is exhausting in that climate. What temperature is a pool typically set to - 60s. Why do people like the pool? Because it is refreshing - I rest my case.

That being said - temperature is relative to adjustment. When it is summer, 50 degrees feeling like freezing and likewise when it is winter, 40 degrees is a breath of fresh air, and that it what I woke up to today. After feeling really out of it last night I slept until about 12:30 pm today, went to breakfast at the local diner with friends and ultimately decided that it was a day meant to be outside. It had been awhile since I was able to walk down the street with my coat unbuttoned and I was more than happy to stay outside in such weather and it led to an incredibly productive day. I was able to spend all of the remaining daylight, and even some dusk hours in city. I became a member of the New York Public Library (long overdue - no pun intended), as well as spending a gift card from my parents, picking up some things at Border, and finally getting some produce that was both a better selection and better quality than what the local grocer's have to offer.

All in all I'd say that is a great day. Homework? Well isn't that what Sunday is for?

New Roc City

Has at best a mediocre selection of video games. But still was the scene of an enjoyable evening away from Fordham's campus and surrounding area.

Want to see something cool or weird (not sure which it might be).



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100 Nights

Well not quite, actually. Turns out we are actually down to 92 or so until graduation. If you need to reach me, I will be out looking for where the last three and a half years went.

Objects in pictures may appear bigger

Yesterday I posted about the Valentine's Day gifts I got from my family. One of the things in that package, and the original intent of the package was the pot to replace our old big pot. Our old pot has been around for several years. It was part my older sister's cookware when she was in college and has been used to make chili and Mac & Cheese at each of our annual camping trips since high school as well.

This pot, however, has come to the end of its life. Recently I made a pot of Mac & Cheese to see what looked like pepper flakes in my food. You and I both know that no one would put pepper on their Kraft Mac & Cheese. Instead, these flakes were flakes of the inside of the pot.

So yesterday the new pot comes and today I put them side by side after thinking the box seemed small. The added benefits of this new pot were that it had a lid (the old pot's lid has gone missing), and that it was even bigger than the last one. This judgment had been based on a misinterpretation of the measurements and the picture shown of it in comparison to other sizes and pictures on the same page. As you can see, the pot on the right is in fact not bigger, or the same size as the old pot. Fortunately we should not need a pot that big, and the smaller size is outweighed by the freeness of the pot as well as the health hazard the old pot has become.

Valentine's Day Presents

So every year my parents get us something for Valentine's day. My package from them came in the mail today. I was expecting a package for a little from them, it being a large pot as the one we have is falling apart. Inside the package was also my Valentine's gift which was a really cool grey cardigan/hoodie.

What I wasn't expecting was a second package, this one from my older sister. In this was some excellent snacks and chocolate as well as a copy of the movie Away We Go on DVD. I don't know if she has seen the movie or new I had wanted to see it, but either way out I was quite happy.

In other news - our neighbors to the north have been throwing garbage out their window today, periodically. Leaving for class this afternoon we found bottles, boxes, a tomato sauce can among other trash. Later a friend of mine who was over called after he left saying there was a smashed stereo on the street as well. The. Worst.

Colored Vinyl

I know records are traditionally black but there is something really cool about colored vinyl. It seems like most times the color isn't even across until the material was originally made from that color as is the case of my clear 45 or the green colored Ugly Organ Vinyl. (Double bonus when it is colored and you didn't know it prior to opening it up when you get home.)

Today I finally got my copy of Juturna on vinyl and this vinyl is like tie dye. What's even cooler is how it swirls when it is playing.

Savor The Sweet

Because it goes too fast.

Now maybe that has deeper meanings and more application than I am thinking of as I type it.

I had the idea to make cookies recently. I know you can buy Chips Ahoy cookies and such but there is nothing quite like a fresh batch of cookies. From being able to make them how you like, to the scent that fills your kitchen, to the freshness that they hold - it's really a great thing. I read a blog in which a little while back the writer posted about how maybe the simple act of making cookies with our families when we were growing up was such a value-filled activity to participate in that it alone contributed to a healthy up-bringing. It is not exact science but I would have to say, at worst, it is not hurting anyone (unless you are terrible at making cookies).

But, I had hoped, when I decided to make the second half of the dough today that my picture of the day would be a delectable plateful of cookies. They would be towering and melting and just looking great. But what I hadn't thought of was how difficult it would be to let them go untouched. As such, my picture is what it is, a sign that quicker than you can put them out, they are gone. Apply that to deeper things if you will. All I know is that I am going to need some more ingredients.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone
Infinite Love

Cravings

You know how it's easiest to decide on a restaurant or type of cuisine when you find youself 'in the mood' for something. I think, at least for me, that mood is based on a conjuring up of a taste - you mentally create the sensation of a type of food or dish that correlates with say 'italian' or 'mexican'. Those words carry memory flavor that helps you decide if you are in the mood or craving that type of food.

Tonight, we headed into the city to do dinner and spend some time walking around. We really had no planned destination even a type of restaurant we were looking for although, because of our proximity to Little Italy in the Bronx we all pretty much agreed no Italian food. Eventually the idea for Thai food was suggested. I was absolutely in the mood for Thai after hearing the suggestion. What is rare about those moods is that you satisfy that craving - more so when its a more abstract craving. You might crave McDonald's french fries, or an Auntie Anne's Pretzel and those are more consistent foods so that your craving will be matched by getting that food. But having a desire for Thai food is more vague.

So to say that I was able to order, sort of blindly, from the menu and get a meal that was so satisfying and so perfectly accurate to the exact taste I was craving is impressive. I finished my meal and was so pleased I was almost baffled at how exact it turned out to be. The food was delicious and included more vegetables that I failed to identify, but couldn't care less about because of the flavor. In addition one thing you can never be sure of is spicy. People's tolerance as well as restaurants rating or ranking of spice is tough to gauge. I did not want something dull but I also did not want to regret my decision. Even the spice of the food was perfect - not too dull but not too much to handle. The place we went to was called Boyd's Thai and was on Bleeker and Thompson.

The night was followed by a quick stop at the record store which was right next to the Thai place where I picked up Cursive's The Ugly Organ and the new Album Leaf records. From there we hit a really cool old coffee shop down two blocks and just hung out and chatted over some pretty great coffee.

All in all a great night. I can't wait for warm weather when I can just go sit somewhere and not feel rushed by the temperature to make a plan or just get inside. Plus once it gets warm I plan to explore Brooklyn a lot.

The News

Why do people bother reading it? To stay informed? I read the news today. In 10 minutes not only did I read about an Alabama biology teacher who opened fire during a faculty meeting killing three teachers and injuring others, but that another shooting occured last Friday involving a 14 year old boy, shot in the head, by his classmate. Even though the boy was initially listed in critical condition he later passed away.

Thanks, but no thanks. One person commented on the article and said 'we are better than this.' Sorry to say, but I am not so sure anymore. Coming from a city that averages as many murders as there are days in the year, I don't know what to say or think. It is heart breaking.

I apologize - to everyone: have a happy valentine's day weekend - if you have a significant other then be with them. If you can't be with them then tell them how you feel and what they mean to you by whatever means you have available to you. If you don't have a significant other then spend this weekend surrounded by the people you are closest with, whether that is family or friends. Valentines Day is not just for those individuals who find themselves in a relationship within that 24 hours or 72 hours if you include the entire weekend but for everyone. It is a holiday promoting love - so whether you share or show that love with one special person or several just make sure not to be selfish and keep it all to yourself. At least not for the next few days.

Homophones

Try explaining homophones to a 4 year old. Yes, it is time for another Concourse House story.

Last week while at the daycare I was sitting at the Yellow Table for lunch time. Lunch this day was macaroni & cheese with a side of diced veggies. The veggies consisted of carrots, peas, and corn. The boy sitting to my right kept telling me story after story about his DS and his sister's DS and his favorite X-man, etc. I noticed that the kids at the table were well into their meals and so I said, "Hey, pal, you have to start eating." He seemed to disregard my comment as he was not finished telling me about his video game system. About two minutes later I tried again and was told that he was not hungry. This happens often enough to know that you have to encourage the kid to eat, "just a little bit, please?" This typically works, especially if you break out the number of bites or spoonfuls they need to take.

But in this case, it was not working. I was told that he does not care for this food. "I don't want macaroni and cheese." I said that he needed to eat something, what about your vegetables. He said, "I don't like peas, they are made of pee." Trying not to laugh at both what must seem obvious to him and the general comedic value of his misunderstanding I said, "Peas don't come from pee." He said, "Well, if peas don't come from pee, then why are they called peas, because if they are called peas they must come from pee. Why are they called peas?" I found myself, once again, without an answer. I actually do not know why they are called peas. I told him this but assured him that they do not, in fact, come from pee. Unfortunately, I had not changed anything for him, and so this reassurance did not help.

Then something awesome happened. He convinced himself. Not only did he convince himself, but he used more basic, not necessarily sound, logic than I would have ever though to use. He explained to me why peas are not in any way related to pee, saying, "Oh, peas don't come from pee because pee makes the water yellow and peas are green so peas must be different." I don't care if this is not sound logic, though, it was the best explanation anyone was going to give him and he figured it out all on his own. "So," I said happy to be out of the woods, "will you eat your veggies for -- " "No."

Before I could even finish my question he decided that now that he figured out this color association, he didn't like corn.

To Clarify

Despite how it may look - I do in fact go to school in New York City and not some ski town.

Overreactions

A few times a year, in the winter, people of the North East tend to treat a potential snow storm as if they need to go underground for a week or so. I understand that 'you can never be too careful' is something people like to throw around or 'you can never have too many...' But I am here to say that you can both be too careful and there is absolutely a point of excess to the 'can have to many'.
I watched the news over the weekend because, frankly, all that the major network stations were doing was covering the snow storm in Philadelphia. They caught up with a few people exiting the supermarkets with completely filled shopping carts. The one mother said she had to stock up so they had meals. I am sorry, but even though strapping a big shovel to the front of a truck is the most advanced we have gotten to clearing out snow - it is pretty damn effective. So much so that, unless you live in an area that has notoriously bad plowing or just in an area filled with untraveled streets, in a day's (max two days') time, most roads are cleared enough to travel on at regular speed with no risk.

With that in mind, this means you need enough food for somewhere between 3 and 5 meals. I am pretty sure most individuals have enough food in their homes that at any given time when a storm might be creeping in, they don't need to fill an entire shopping cart to cover them for two days. If that is the case I would like to see how they fit a week's worth of food into the cart on a normal basis.

I bring this up because today, after as many snow storms as I have been through, I was one of those people. The difference here being we have to walk to the grocery store. It is not a difficult or terribly far walk, but if sidewalks are icy or not totally plowed - the very cheap cart we purchased which barely is functional on a clear day, would be awful to push around. While we have enough food for another couple days, it will be more like 4 or 5 until our walkways are cleared enough that this trip would no longer be a hassle. Navigating through the supermarket felt like we were looting the store - popular items like bread and milk were noticeably running thin. Every aisle was filled with people and every register was backed into those aisles. People were hurrying up and down the aisles getting everything they 'needed'. In the future I will do my best to be more prepared. It was madness in there.

*Side note: the sale of shovels at each storm is tremendous. I can understand maybe the first storm of the season people realize their shovel from last year isn't going to cut it anymore and need to pick up a new one. But when you are on your 3rd or 4th snow storm of the season and this many people are out buying shovels I have to question how you got out of your driveway the last couple of times it has snowed this season. Maybe we should remind them they are not one-time-use only?

You Would Think Kids Lived Here

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints

Definitely bummed about how things ended up. Quickly, though, I will say that it was an entertaining game and even though the final score does not reflect it the teams were incredibly evenly matched. Looking at completions, total yards, longest plays, time of possession, etc - both teams were incredible. Records were broken in combination by the teams - with the most number of yards combined and the most number of completed passes combined in a Superbowl. The Saints took one with the onsides kick, and the Colts took one with the longest drive (96 yards).

At the end of it all, despite how it feels to have lost, I am happy for the Saints. I am happy for the fans, and for the players, and especially for the city of New Orleans, for them having a team and a franchise to get behind and be proud of, and to be proud of where they are from because of it all.

Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Well, I'm sure a lot of teams said it this year, and a few of them did it, but not tonight. Congrats!

Second Biggest Snow Storm...

...in Philadelphia's history. Everyone from around here can tell you exactly what the biggest snow fall in our city's/area's history. The Blizzard of 96. That snow storm brought in 30 inches of snow. Total snow fall today measured in at 28.5 inches of snow. I'll be honest - I'm glad we didnt break it. The blizzard of 96 is legendary and a snow fall I can always remember as a major event in my childhood. Passing it would make it feel smaller. In addition in 1996 I was 8 years old and 30 inches of snow was enough that I couldn't walk anywhere. Todays 28.5 inches definitely makes walking around difficult but it also is just below my knee. So it is nice to know that the best snow storm of my childhood still is the biggest snow storm in the city's history.

To top it off - we are expected to get another snow storm Tuesday. Luckily by then I'll be back in NY. It was cool to be home for this but another storm is a bit much.

The Philadelphia Auto Show

Coffee Mug Opinion

It's a weird thing to have an opinion about but I do. Not only do I have a favorite type of coffee mug but I also have a least favorite. There are a lot of very small differences and freedoms people will take on the shape of the coffee mug disregarding the color, but there is one thing I do not appreciate. That one thing is a clear coffee mug. I don't know why but something about coffee in a clear mug just makes it incredibly less appetizing to me.

That being said, if I had my choice the perfect coffee mug would only come down to shape. I really couldn't care less about color or graphics. But, there is just something about the wide mugs. If I have a choice, I'd choose the wide coffee mug over any other style. Why? I have no idea. Sometimes, things like that happen - an opinion with no real explanation. This is one of those times.

The Man Upstairs

Do you ever wonder about your neighbors. I am not one to go out of my way to meet people, and unfortunately it doesn't take long to build up a distaste for those people you never see but always know when they are around.

Maybe if I was the type of person to knock on the front door of my downstairs neighbors when I first moved in I'd feel differently about them, but 6 months later I don't like them very much. There is definitely an imaginative benefit to never knowing the people you live between (upstairs and downstairs neighbors). Everything from the insides of their apartment, what they look like, what they are interested in, what they might talk about - it is all up in the air for your mind to decide and depict when you try to imagine what could possibly be going on when you hear them through the floor or ceiling.

Until the end of December, no one lived above us. Our downstairs neighbors were our only problem. They were consistently annoying but at least once a week they would, and still do, have music playing with a bass so loud that not only can you figure out what song it is by vibration alone, but it is like your floor has become a massage chair because then entire floor of the apartment is vibrating. It is especially frustrating when trying to get work done or watching a television show - hearing a bass pulsating the whole time.

December came and we added friends to the north. And by friends I do not mean friends. Again, had we gotten to meet, noises from above might be tolerable or I would feel comfortable enough to say something. Instead, a distaste for them has been growing for the past month. Ever since they moved in it has sounded like they have been building something. There is always reptetitious banging as if they are building an addition to their 4th floor apartment.

Every so often there comes a loud bang or rolling that sounds like either someone is just jumping off stuff or bowling in their hallway. What is more frustrating is that despite the constant bangs and booms that occur, we have never complained. Tonight, however, when I was playing my acoustic guitar in my room the man in the bedroom above mine starts stomping on the floor as if to say 'shut up'. Excuse me, but I am allowed to play my guitar. I am not playing the electric guitar, I am not playing at a loud volume. You could argue, well it is a school night - maybe he is trying to sleep. Yeah I thought that for a bit, but it is now an hour later and I can still hear him walking around (every foot step up there sounds like there are giants walking around). So apparently it was not that my guitar playing was disrupting his sleep, but that he just did not want to hear me. Tough, man. Unless you expect me to walk around in silence for another few months, you better build up a tolerance level because an acoustic guitar is not terribly loud.

Needless to say, the chance of befriending our neighbors to the north went out the window tonight. Sheesh. Sorry for being so cranky, but if your banging is going to be loud enough to interrupt things and, on occasion, wake me up and I never complain, then stomping on the floor when you hear me is inexcusable.

Lost

I watch Lost. As things have progressed, I have watched it with bigger groups of people. Originally it was one or two friends, then 3-4 friends, then last year it was about 6 friends. Tonight we had 10 people watching and two of our friends couldn't make it. The best part was, it was actually easier to watch and quieter than in has been in the past.

That all being said, I don't plan on turning my blog, or blogs following new episodes, into Lost discussions. If you like lost, you have many people around you to discuss your thoughts with. If you do not like Lost, the very mention of it is irritating. Either way, I have no plans to bring it up on here more than mentioning it in passing.

Tonight was great though, to have a big group of people on a night that is typically a night to go out, all huddled around watching intently and discussing at commercials their thoughts. Apparently there was a drink-up at one of the local bars, but it was canceled because no one showed up - everyone stayed home to watch the premiere. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow night is movie night. I don't expect there to be as many people, but I am pretty excited, anyway.

The Never Ending Series of 'Why?'

Going back to work I have noticed there are questions the kids will ask that I do not have an answer for. It's a weird sensation. Kids are so curious and most of the time, their questions are of pure innocent information seeking. A few days ago I was asked, and not for the first time, 'why do you have this?' and they point at the bulge sticking out of my neck - my Adam's Apple. (which according to wikipedia is actually called the laryngeal prominence and is caused by the formation of the thyroid cartilage around the larynx - you can read all about it here.)

I have also been asked 'what is this?' referring to the same thing. This and many other questions leave me briefly stumped. I know the natural and simple response to both questions 'It is my Adam's Apple, it is something boys get.' Unfortunately, anything that is not incredibly clear is followed by the never ending series of 'Why?'

Understanding that my first response to those questions, or many others like them, will lead to the six thousand 'whys' before I have either confused the poor kid(s) or satisfied their curiosity enough that they think they understand, I freeze and ask them to repeat their question. This gives me time to think of a more succinct answer that might avoid traveling down that road.

To clarify, I do not get annoyed by the series of 'why?' when it occurs, nor do I grow tired of it. Instead I just try to get it right the first time so they do not get so confused and need to ask why over and over again. Most of the time, when I fail speak at a level that can both answer the question and allow them to follow my answer, I end up laughing at the persistent curiosity in all of them before I can get it right. This especially happens because, typically, I am not answering to one kid, but a few of them, and their noticeable persistence attracts others and what started as one curious little one escalates into 5 or 6 kids crowding around all asking why, some without even knowing what is going on, which further confuses them when I answer and they don't know what they just asked 'why' about.

Did I mention I love my job? Sure it'd be nice to get paid for it, but not getting paid hasn't stopped me. I probably could have applied for an actual paying position this semester, but I like this too much.