Sophomore year, I put together a list of the "Top Ten Things Don't Want to Hear from Your Freshman Roommate." This list included such gems as:
"Do you want to play boggle?"
"My name sounds Jewish, but I'm really Asian."
"I build robots; they suck balls."
And beyond that, I can't remember any of them. If you have a copy of this list, will you please send it to me? Thanks.
Tuesday, September 27
Tom - request
I was going to leave this as a comment from an earlier post but then realized that if I'm not reading my comments, then what are the chances anyone else is.
Tom, will you please send me a copy of our list of quotes and characters from our trip to Myrtle Beach during Senior Year? If someone else has it, I'd appreciate it from you too. I just figured Tom's the most likely to have it saved and to know where the copy is. My copy was destroyed when my computer crashed.
Tom, will you please send me a copy of our list of quotes and characters from our trip to Myrtle Beach during Senior Year? If someone else has it, I'd appreciate it from you too. I just figured Tom's the most likely to have it saved and to know where the copy is. My copy was destroyed when my computer crashed.
I can't remember the melody.
It's a little wild and a little strange...
when you make your home out on the range.
Start your horse and come along..
Cause you can't get a ride if you can't hold on
Singin, yippee kai aie ay. (Yippee kai aie what?)
Like the cowboys say. (Sing it again now.)
Yippee kai aie ay.
'Till the break of day.
You'd better watch out for those man-eating jackrabbits... And that killer cacti....
Hey Duuuuuude
when you make your home out on the range.
Start your horse and come along..
Cause you can't get a ride if you can't hold on
Singin, yippee kai aie ay. (Yippee kai aie what?)
Like the cowboys say. (Sing it again now.)
Yippee kai aie ay.
'Till the break of day.
You'd better watch out for those man-eating jackrabbits... And that killer cacti....
Hey Duuuuuude
Sunday, September 25
Roommate Bonding
Jake and I had our first Out-of-the-Apartment Bonding Experience this weekend. We've gone out before for drinks or dinner but his girlfriend also came, so they were more Third Wheel Experiences.
We went to the Brewers/Cardinals game. I won the contest for who would spot the first mullet so Jake bought me a beer. It was a good game but extremely long. The hot dog race was at 9:30!
Jake drove and on the way home, he had the difficult job of selecting music. Remember, we've only known each other less than a month so we're still figuring out where each other stands. It's way too early to bring out the Bananarama music or the Beauty & the Beast soundtrack. (Just kidding, Ray, it's never too early to reveal to your freshman year roommate that you can sing Belle's opening number in its entirety, yet you still can't distinguish between the Beatles and U2.) So far Jake and I have been playing it safe at home. We stick to pretty neutral stuff, macho but not insulting. Jake has been playing his classic rock - the Boss, Mellencamp, maybe some Elton. I've been sticking with current cool music - Maroon 5, White Stripes, Johnny Cash. (Notice neither of us are playing women. I waited till he left today to pop in my Dixie Chicks CD.) At home, selecting one CD out of 30 is safe. It's not saying "no" to 29, but saying "yes" to a specific choice.
However, choosing music in the car is a different story. Songs come on the radio randomly and, in a moment, one must decide if it's good or bad. Are the oldies considered goodies? Is rap crap? What about Rod Stewart - cool or tool? Cory almost moved our of our apartment Junior year when he heard me playing a James Taylor album; I didn't make that mistake twice.
On our ride home, Jake was doing fine until he stopped at a station playing Wham's "Wake me Up Before you Go-Go." I was sure this was going to be nixed, but he didn't change the station. In fact, he said, "I don't care. I like this song. We'll keep it on." I was so surprised that I didn't stop to think before I said the first thing in my head: "Choose Life." I didn't think he'd get the reference but he did, and we talked about the music video and where "the other guy" is now.
As "Go-Go" was winding down I asked, "How are they going to top that off?"
"They'll come up with something."
And as the opening beats of "Come On, Eileen" were thumping, we knew the station certainly had. Poor old Johnny Rae...
On my way to the gym the next morning I tried that station again and heard Kenny Loggins's "Footloose." I car-danced the whole way to the swimming pool.
We went to the Brewers/Cardinals game. I won the contest for who would spot the first mullet so Jake bought me a beer. It was a good game but extremely long. The hot dog race was at 9:30!
Jake drove and on the way home, he had the difficult job of selecting music. Remember, we've only known each other less than a month so we're still figuring out where each other stands. It's way too early to bring out the Bananarama music or the Beauty & the Beast soundtrack. (Just kidding, Ray, it's never too early to reveal to your freshman year roommate that you can sing Belle's opening number in its entirety, yet you still can't distinguish between the Beatles and U2.) So far Jake and I have been playing it safe at home. We stick to pretty neutral stuff, macho but not insulting. Jake has been playing his classic rock - the Boss, Mellencamp, maybe some Elton. I've been sticking with current cool music - Maroon 5, White Stripes, Johnny Cash. (Notice neither of us are playing women. I waited till he left today to pop in my Dixie Chicks CD.) At home, selecting one CD out of 30 is safe. It's not saying "no" to 29, but saying "yes" to a specific choice.
However, choosing music in the car is a different story. Songs come on the radio randomly and, in a moment, one must decide if it's good or bad. Are the oldies considered goodies? Is rap crap? What about Rod Stewart - cool or tool? Cory almost moved our of our apartment Junior year when he heard me playing a James Taylor album; I didn't make that mistake twice.
On our ride home, Jake was doing fine until he stopped at a station playing Wham's "Wake me Up Before you Go-Go." I was sure this was going to be nixed, but he didn't change the station. In fact, he said, "I don't care. I like this song. We'll keep it on." I was so surprised that I didn't stop to think before I said the first thing in my head: "Choose Life." I didn't think he'd get the reference but he did, and we talked about the music video and where "the other guy" is now.
As "Go-Go" was winding down I asked, "How are they going to top that off?"
"They'll come up with something."
And as the opening beats of "Come On, Eileen" were thumping, we knew the station certainly had. Poor old Johnny Rae...
On my way to the gym the next morning I tried that station again and heard Kenny Loggins's "Footloose." I car-danced the whole way to the swimming pool.
definition of friend
I was looking on the facebook today - I had to confirm that John really is my friend. Anyway, I have two exams to prepare for so I certainly spent some time randomly looking at other people's friends. I did a search on my high school and I got a ton of names. Very few of them graduated with me, but I recognized a good number of family names. It's a small town, we know about everybody.
My question though is: "Is it strange to request to be friends with kids I used to babysit for?" Well, whatever you say, I already did. Also, some extra information: their mother used to send me raunchy forwards. You know, the type with naked fat women jokes and the accompaning picture. I learned to screen her emails. So, it's not as if I crossing some sort of "inappropriateness line" with this family. It's just - Would it be weird to receive a friend request from a guy that used to come to your house on Saturday nights, order a pizza, and then tell you to go to bed at a reasonable hour (usually 10 minutes before the parents were due home, yes, my RAing skills were honed as a babysitter.)?
My question though is: "Is it strange to request to be friends with kids I used to babysit for?" Well, whatever you say, I already did. Also, some extra information: their mother used to send me raunchy forwards. You know, the type with naked fat women jokes and the accompaning picture. I learned to screen her emails. So, it's not as if I crossing some sort of "inappropriateness line" with this family. It's just - Would it be weird to receive a friend request from a guy that used to come to your house on Saturday nights, order a pizza, and then tell you to go to bed at a reasonable hour (usually 10 minutes before the parents were due home, yes, my RAing skills were honed as a babysitter.)?
Thursday, September 22
Mumbai, Schmumbai
Our IT guy's position has been eliminated. All the IT guys in the firm's positions have been eliminated. However, when we experience computer problems, we'll be able to contact the "help desk" in Mumbai, India and they will be happy to guide us back to computer solvency.
What are the leaders of my firm thinking? Have they ever tried these "help desks" before? "Help" is the last term I would use describe them. And where is Mumbai? Actually I looked it up and it's the new version of Bombay. (Even old New York was once New Amsterdam.) When was Bombay's name changed? I don't remember that happening.
I've recently started a log to keep track of all the times I've needed the IT guy's help. Usually I don't need him for catastrophic problems, but just small things to make my life easier. I would never feel comfortable calling the "help desk" about them. Some things on my list this week include: changing the default settings of my printer and installing new formulas in Excel. Sure I could do these things myself if I had an hour to spare and a manual, but I don't have either.
Replacing the IT support staff with foreign "help desk" will certainly not be cost effective. Every associate knows this, unfortunately the CEO and coterie do not.
What are the leaders of my firm thinking? Have they ever tried these "help desks" before? "Help" is the last term I would use describe them. And where is Mumbai? Actually I looked it up and it's the new version of Bombay. (Even old New York was once New Amsterdam.) When was Bombay's name changed? I don't remember that happening.
I've recently started a log to keep track of all the times I've needed the IT guy's help. Usually I don't need him for catastrophic problems, but just small things to make my life easier. I would never feel comfortable calling the "help desk" about them. Some things on my list this week include: changing the default settings of my printer and installing new formulas in Excel. Sure I could do these things myself if I had an hour to spare and a manual, but I don't have either.
Replacing the IT support staff with foreign "help desk" will certainly not be cost effective. Every associate knows this, unfortunately the CEO and coterie do not.
Defense (and a joke for Jackie)
As you know, I moved to a new apartment at the beginning of the month. This has caused a good number of problems with my internet connection - well, not really problems but inconveniences.
We had signed the lease for a year with an agreement that we'd get free internet. This "free internet" access manifested itself in a little box that we had to connect to the phone jack in the kitchen. Jake tried it out, but alas, we had no internet. Neither of us wanted to complain to the leasing office because we had bigger problems that we wanted them to focus on. For me it was my bathroom sink's leaking. For Jake it was the army of spiders that made their way through the crack between his screen and window every night. Because neither of us had the internet connection fixed, we found other means to access the web. Jake used his wireless card to steal from the neighbors, who we rationalized were receiving free cable from the office anyway so it wasn't stealing, and I used my computer at work.
I had set myself guidelines that I would not blog at work. I have no problem reading blogs and commenting from my work computer, but I will not post. Part of this reason is that I know the IT guy can tell what websites we go to, and I would rather if my blog doesn't stand out from the many that I read during a day at work. This lack of posting was in September of this year, also known as the "blog drought of '05."
Since the "drought" I have bought my own wireless access card. Though I haven't figured out how to steal from my neighbors, I don't have to anymore. My apartment complex has fixed our connection and I can post from home. However, some livejournals now consider me a spammer and I'm not allowed to leave comments on them. I'd also like to repeat that my access is through the phone jack in the kitchen, so I'm sitting on the floor while typing this. And there are spiders crawling about; they must have broken through our duct tape.
We had signed the lease for a year with an agreement that we'd get free internet. This "free internet" access manifested itself in a little box that we had to connect to the phone jack in the kitchen. Jake tried it out, but alas, we had no internet. Neither of us wanted to complain to the leasing office because we had bigger problems that we wanted them to focus on. For me it was my bathroom sink's leaking. For Jake it was the army of spiders that made their way through the crack between his screen and window every night. Because neither of us had the internet connection fixed, we found other means to access the web. Jake used his wireless card to steal from the neighbors, who we rationalized were receiving free cable from the office anyway so it wasn't stealing, and I used my computer at work.
I had set myself guidelines that I would not blog at work. I have no problem reading blogs and commenting from my work computer, but I will not post. Part of this reason is that I know the IT guy can tell what websites we go to, and I would rather if my blog doesn't stand out from the many that I read during a day at work. This lack of posting was in September of this year, also known as the "blog drought of '05."
Since the "drought" I have bought my own wireless access card. Though I haven't figured out how to steal from my neighbors, I don't have to anymore. My apartment complex has fixed our connection and I can post from home. However, some livejournals now consider me a spammer and I'm not allowed to leave comments on them. I'd also like to repeat that my access is through the phone jack in the kitchen, so I'm sitting on the floor while typing this. And there are spiders crawling about; they must have broken through our duct tape.
Tuesday, September 20
Foot-in-mouth disease
This past week I have said a few inappropriate things that have made me want to crawl into a cave. I'd rather not relive any of the stories by writing about them now. But I wonder if stress is affecting me so that my brain filter isn't in full effect.
Dentist follow-up
My dentist called today to see how I was feeling after my cavity was filled yesterday. I have never had a doctor follow-up on how I felt.
Friday, September 16
Frenchie
Luic is a guy from our NYC office. He's originally from Paris. At first I thought he was an arrogant bastard. It turns out that he is, but it's not because he's French, it's just his personality and I like him because of it. Tonight he gave the waitress such a hard time, but when it came time to pay the check, he added a tip well beyond the gratuity that was already included.
When Luic is around some of us talk in really bad French accents and we spend most of our time discussing "not saving [his] ass next time in WWIII."
He and I took care of most of the two bottles of wine at dinner tonight. Viva la France!
When Luic is around some of us talk in really bad French accents and we spend most of our time discussing "not saving [his] ass next time in WWIII."
He and I took care of most of the two bottles of wine at dinner tonight. Viva la France!
The Spawn of Tom & John
I'm going to have a tough time explaining why my coworker reminds me of Tom and John, combined. His name is Thomas and he's from North Carolina. He went to school in Texas. So, I suppose his Southern background makes me think of John. He is also very smart though it is mostly in math and finances. But I'm constantly impressed with his knowledge of social sciences and current events.
He has the same facial expressions of John. The look of shock on Thomas's face when LA Michael confessed to crying throughout the entire 3rd season of Felecity could only be matched by John's look when Ray would talk about guns and/or Beauty & the Beast. He is also good at flirting with the girls, though I wonder if he's really interested in them. A good deal of his attention is spent on Jison (married for 7 years) and Angela (engaged this week). He's also a spiffy dresser. Today he wore cuff links though it was Denim Friday.
Thomas reminds me of Tom mostly because he dances like him. I don't mean in a club or some other dance setting. But he dances when he's waiting for food - in the lunch line or when choosing candy for the sleepy afternoons. He also dances while sitting in class; one can tell when he's figured out a problem. His shimmies are similar to Tom's when he learns that new comic books are released or when he's listening to songs about Christian vegetables or hears that Johnny Damon has a new haircut.
I would say that Thomas's style or intelligence reminds me of Tom, but it doesn't - just his dancing. Those other aspects are John's.
Also, John, one of my coworkers from Boston is gay (maybe) and he's cute - I think. He lives in the North End. And he's an actuary; he's a good provider. Anyway, I know you have Daniel and I'm not sure if it's improper for me to mention this or not - but I thought I would because every time I talk to this guy I think, "I like him. How can I introduce him to John?"
I've also met quite a few people from Philly, but I don't think any are worthy of Adina or Dan's time, especially given the fact that they're engaged now. Actually I don't like a good number of the people that I've met from the Philadelphia office.
He has the same facial expressions of John. The look of shock on Thomas's face when LA Michael confessed to crying throughout the entire 3rd season of Felecity could only be matched by John's look when Ray would talk about guns and/or Beauty & the Beast. He is also good at flirting with the girls, though I wonder if he's really interested in them. A good deal of his attention is spent on Jison (married for 7 years) and Angela (engaged this week). He's also a spiffy dresser. Today he wore cuff links though it was Denim Friday.
Thomas reminds me of Tom mostly because he dances like him. I don't mean in a club or some other dance setting. But he dances when he's waiting for food - in the lunch line or when choosing candy for the sleepy afternoons. He also dances while sitting in class; one can tell when he's figured out a problem. His shimmies are similar to Tom's when he learns that new comic books are released or when he's listening to songs about Christian vegetables or hears that Johnny Damon has a new haircut.
I would say that Thomas's style or intelligence reminds me of Tom, but it doesn't - just his dancing. Those other aspects are John's.
Also, John, one of my coworkers from Boston is gay (maybe) and he's cute - I think. He lives in the North End. And he's an actuary; he's a good provider. Anyway, I know you have Daniel and I'm not sure if it's improper for me to mention this or not - but I thought I would because every time I talk to this guy I think, "I like him. How can I introduce him to John?"
I've also met quite a few people from Philly, but I don't think any are worthy of Adina or Dan's time, especially given the fact that they're engaged now. Actually I don't like a good number of the people that I've met from the Philadelphia office.
Thursday, September 15
Half Day
We only had a half day of class today. Boy did I need the break. I had originally thought that I would spend the afternoon exploring Atlanta, but instead, my friends and I walked around the local mall. We didn't even see a movie as we had originally planned. But Jison did get a pedicure.
Trivia went well last night. There were four rounds of ten questions each. We placed third; prizes went to the first two teams. Our team name was "Get it in There," which is a phrase that our instructor has been using all week - long story, not very good story either. But my teammates thought it was great. The questions weren't nearly as difficult as the ones I'm used to at Our House, but it was still a good deal of fun. How did Al Capone die? What were the only two states to join the Union on the same day? In what city were the Dirty Harry movie set?
Trivia went well last night. There were four rounds of ten questions each. We placed third; prizes went to the first two teams. Our team name was "Get it in There," which is a phrase that our instructor has been using all week - long story, not very good story either. But my teammates thought it was great. The questions weren't nearly as difficult as the ones I'm used to at Our House, but it was still a good deal of fun. How did Al Capone die? What were the only two states to join the Union on the same day? In what city were the Dirty Harry movie set?
Wednesday, September 14
Actuarially Excited
Do you know why 40-some actuaries - all in their 20s are excited? Because we found a local bar with trivia. I am with my people. My fellow dorks.
Tuesday, September 13
Jumper
The hotel has a large open area in the center to where all the rooms open up. On the ground floor there are fountains and tables in that center area where people eat and meet. The hotel rooms all face this open space so that we can look over a railing down to the lobby. The other day, while we were at lecture, a former employee of the hotel jumped from the 16th floor to the lobby. I don't know the whole story, but there is still a tarp covering up part of the fountain and garden area. I wonder if there is a chalk outline under the tarp. Do cops still use chalk outlines?
Typical Day in Atlanta
I am in Atlanta for an internal company seminar on Actuarial Mathematics. About forty coworkers of mine are here - staying in the same hotel, eating out, galavanting about town and whatnot. I want to go home. I'm tired of eating out and sleeping in this giant bed. I'm really sick of studying. This seminar is intense. We're here for 8 days. We are in class for 8 hours each day. And then some people study at night too! While others spend their evenings checking out the bars, going to the gym, enjoying the hotel's complimentary happy hour, and blogging.
I feel like I've been here for a long time, but it's only been a few days. And my days aren't too jam-packed either. Here is a typical day in Atlanta:
6:00 - The alarm goes off.
6:01 - I fumble with the hotel clock.
6:30 - Turn on shower.
6:35 - The water finally is hot and I shower.
7:00 - Complimentary breakfast, usually with a coworker whose name I can't remember.
7:20 - The first shuttle leaves for the office.
8:00 - Class begins.
8:00-12:00 - Lecture, interupted by hung-over coworkers stumbling into the room throughout the morning.
Noon - Lunch, traditionally something very heavy and Southern.
12:37 - Back to lecture (The class was split between evenly between 30- or 45-minute lunches, so we settled on the average. We're actuaries.)
4:37 - Class ends and we are set free. The shuttle takes us back to the hotel, but I always walk.
After class I sometimes run at the gym, but one day some friends and I stayed at the office to study more. It was grueling. Actually it was extremely helpful to work alongside peers.
5:30-7:30 - Complimentary happy hour.
7:00 - Meet in the lobby to go for dinner. Organize the shuttle. This is extremely difficult as we still don't know most people's names. We also don't know who wants to go to eat with us, and there are some whom I don't want to eat with. Also, there are 40 of us, how do we politely keep our numbers down. Especially because my group is clearly the cool clique. (Yeah, I may have the gold medal but it's still the special olympics.) We're actuaries, remember.
9:00 - Back at the hotel to study or out to drink.
Newsflash, kiddos: We found a bar with Trivia Night on Wednesday. We're going to dominate. And I'm not the one who found it. Luic, the bitter Parisian suggested we go after he read an advertisement above a urinal. And Thomas, the South Carolinian Libertarian, who is a cross between Tom and JohnnyBombay fully endorsed it. Thomas also speaks with a French accent, but that's just to make fun of Luic. They should be good for clever team names. On a sidenote, Thomas did not see the advertisement because he used the ladies' room. We were at an Irish Pub and we couldn't figure out which restroom was which. However, when I walked into the wrong bathroom, I noticed that there were no urinals and turned right around.
I feel like I've been here for a long time, but it's only been a few days. And my days aren't too jam-packed either. Here is a typical day in Atlanta:
6:00 - The alarm goes off.
6:01 - I fumble with the hotel clock.
6:30 - Turn on shower.
6:35 - The water finally is hot and I shower.
7:00 - Complimentary breakfast, usually with a coworker whose name I can't remember.
7:20 - The first shuttle leaves for the office.
8:00 - Class begins.
8:00-12:00 - Lecture, interupted by hung-over coworkers stumbling into the room throughout the morning.
Noon - Lunch, traditionally something very heavy and Southern.
12:37 - Back to lecture (The class was split between evenly between 30- or 45-minute lunches, so we settled on the average. We're actuaries.)
4:37 - Class ends and we are set free. The shuttle takes us back to the hotel, but I always walk.
After class I sometimes run at the gym, but one day some friends and I stayed at the office to study more. It was grueling. Actually it was extremely helpful to work alongside peers.
5:30-7:30 - Complimentary happy hour.
7:00 - Meet in the lobby to go for dinner. Organize the shuttle. This is extremely difficult as we still don't know most people's names. We also don't know who wants to go to eat with us, and there are some whom I don't want to eat with. Also, there are 40 of us, how do we politely keep our numbers down. Especially because my group is clearly the cool clique. (Yeah, I may have the gold medal but it's still the special olympics.) We're actuaries, remember.
9:00 - Back at the hotel to study or out to drink.
Newsflash, kiddos: We found a bar with Trivia Night on Wednesday. We're going to dominate. And I'm not the one who found it. Luic, the bitter Parisian suggested we go after he read an advertisement above a urinal. And Thomas, the South Carolinian Libertarian, who is a cross between Tom and JohnnyBombay fully endorsed it. Thomas also speaks with a French accent, but that's just to make fun of Luic. They should be good for clever team names. On a sidenote, Thomas did not see the advertisement because he used the ladies' room. We were at an Irish Pub and we couldn't figure out which restroom was which. However, when I walked into the wrong bathroom, I noticed that there were no urinals and turned right around.
This post is costing me $10
I'm in Atlanta, learning about Actuarial Mathematics. I finally bought a wireless adapter. My hotel charges me $10 to use their wireless internet. Rip off. I'm not sure if I should be charging it to my company. If I were doing any work, I would but I'm really paying just to blog - and to read the email from my friends who have moved recently.
I am meeting my coworkers for dinner (and free cocktail hour!). Gotta go.
I'll have details later. They'll include the guy that is a cross between Tom and John, the engagement, the suicide in the hotel, a penis veil, a short cop tackling an actuary, and so much more.
Also, I need to fill you in on my new roommate, Jake.
I am meeting my coworkers for dinner (and free cocktail hour!). Gotta go.
I'll have details later. They'll include the guy that is a cross between Tom and John, the engagement, the suicide in the hotel, a penis veil, a short cop tackling an actuary, and so much more.
Also, I need to fill you in on my new roommate, Jake.
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