Originally published at The Definitive Dmbosstone. Please leave any comments there.

This is a post that’s I have waited a long time to write.

Now that some time has passed and I feel that I am finally able write about a big change in my life.

It all starts with a story.

It was the Tuesday before Halloween, I had just got back from the gym and I was in the kitchen preparing my usual post-workout shake. As I was mixing the whey with the milk I heard a distant crash. I thought it was a glass bottle that Simon, my roommate upstairs, may have thrown out his room. Knowing Simon that wouldn’t be something out of the ordinary. It was when what I heard next that told me that it was something totally different.

“Oh my god! Jeff are you ok? Somebody call 911!”

With those words my life took a sudden turn to the unexpected.

I ran outside around to the side of the house, where Simon has a staircase that goes directly into his second story bedroom. I look up and I see Simon in a frantic state. I asked him what happened and he told me that Jeff fell off the staircase.

It was around 11:30 PM and pitch black- I ran back into my room to grab my trusty Mag-Light and ran back outside. I flicked it on and I immediately saw Jeff in the brush next to the stairs. He landed on the concrete walkway leading up to the stairs. A wooden bench next to the stairs broke the fall for his legs.

As Simon ran back into his house to grab his cell phone I walked up to Jeff. I was immediately relieved to hear him breathe- although he struggled to do so and it sound more like snoring than breathing. There was blood coming out of his nose and it looked as if he cut his hand on the way down. It goes to say he wasn’t conscious at all.

Simon ran down while talking with the 911 operator and rambled on and on as panic just took over him. I tried to take control of the situation- telling Simon not to move Jeff and handed him my flashlight. I knew that help was right around the corner and I ran back into the house to get another flash light.

I stood in the middle of the street and waived down the on-coming Calvary of help. fire trucks, ambulances, and police cruisers arrived within minutes of Simon’s call. The one good thing about where I live is that it is close to everything.

I watched from the porch as they worked on him. Police were already interviewing Simon about what happened. It appears that both of them had been drinking and Simon suspected that Jeff stepped out onto the staircase for a quick smoke or piss. An officer walked up to me and took my statement.

Slowly Jeff was taken away and one by one the authorities left the house. Simon was still in a state of shock and anger. Jeff was his best friend and I could see the emotional toll it had on him. He was calling everyone on his phone and couldn’t stop talking.

I drove Simon to the hospital where we found out that Jeff was in critical condition. However since we were not family the information we had access to was limited.

It’s now two weeks since the accident occurred. Jeff is recovering slowly and steadily from a broken neck, back, and ribs- amongst many other injuries. It goes without saying that he’s lucky to be alive after that night.

Today Sarah and I have signed a new lease with a new house nearby. It’s a smaller house but it’s in great shape and Sarah and I look forward to moving past this incident and starting a new chapter of life in Arlington.

There’s a whole lot I’m leaving out of this blog. I feel that it maybe too soon to talk about all the details and there are a lot of feelings associated with those details I’m not ready to write about. The accident started a chain of events that brought a lot of stress and turmoil to my life. That Tuesday was the first week after a long stretch of work and I was looking forward to being able to relax and recenter myself. The accident has kept my life in constant motion but the move this weekend will bring some closure.

Life sometimes brings unexpected events through no fault of your own. While you can criticize and lay blame to these moments, I feel that it is exactly these moments that define who you are as a person. I didn’t ask for these things to happen to myself but I am damn proud about the way I handled it and I walk away from it a better person.

Now it is time to start a new chapter in my life.

Tags: arlington, blog, clarendon, favorites, feelings/reflections, roommates

Originally published at The Definitive Dmbosstone. Please leave any comments there.

I just finished replacing the wheel covers of my car. As you know I lost one in a freak incident last week. So this past weekend I went to Wal-Mart to get some replacements, since I love my car so much I decided to pay the extra $3 and purchased the chrome ones over the plastic ones. As soon as I installed the first one I instantly realized what I have done. My car is now on par with the other old Toyotas that run amuck in this town. You know what I’m talking about, the ones with tinny music blasting out, maybe a flag hanging under the rear view mirror, maybe a wooden homemade spoiler installed to the trunk. The inside is a mess of fast food wrappers and bottles and maybe there is more than one shade of color somewhere on the outside. I’m glad I’m embracing the minority heritage for MLK day. Now if you excuse me I have to go find some plywood for my spoiler.

Tags: arlington, blog, carolla, favorites, holidays, rants

Originally published at The Definitive Dmbosstone. Please leave any comments there.

“My father always used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real friends, then you’ve had a great life.”
-Lee Iacocca

It was a weird feeling being back in Massachusetts, back in my bedroom, back in my old car, back in place that I know like the back of my hand. It feels familiar yet very foreign. I was excited to make a surprise visit to FSC, the elite few that knew were calling me asking when I was coming, rumors started that I was going to make an appearance. Mike told me that Tri-Sigma sorority wanted to know if I was going to show up- it appears that O.C. guessed that I may have flew up from Washington D.C. I’m going to be honest- I felt like Tom Cruise making a surprise not Patrick Pho. (I also felt like jumping on top of couches and having kids with Katie Holmes and converting to Scientology). But of course I’m not Tom Cruise, it felt good to have good friends that were excited to see me, it was great to be on a campus where everyone was friendly and didn’t forget about you.

I’ll be really honest, I felt really bashful about being around- based on the reaction before I even got in the car, I knew people would be psyched to see me. However I don’t really want to be that big of a deal. I was going to be just as happy, even happier to see the people in my life whom I’ve grown close with, shared good times with, and probably had a drink or two with. I just wanted to see my friends and see how they were all doing. I didn’t want to do it marching in like the Belle of the Ball.

I pulled into Campus and it hasn’t changed one bit. There’s a little more construction in some places and a little less in others- but it’s just how I left it. I parked in Ross Lot and I figured I’d start by saying Hi to the Professors in the Communications Department.

However when I climbed the stairs up I ran past Emily Stein, who proceeded to stop in place and stare. I was in sunglasses and I didn’t notice her until I went through the door. I walked into the department and right by the door was Laura Conner (my 2nd favorite Conner) who was on the on the cell phone. She proceeded to stop talking and scream. We exchanged hugs and told her that I was on campus as a surprise- keep it a secret for a bit more. Of course she leaves and tells the first person she saw that I was on campus.

I spent some time visit John Chetro-Szivos and it was really great. He grew some more facial hair but he’s still the same ol’ Professor. I sat in on some of his class and I picked up some cords and other graduation honors from his office. After that I walked towards Admissions, I ran into Tara (my favorite Admissions staff member), and she told me I had to visit Shanni and the others. So I stopped by there and by then word already flew to the Campus Center that I was here. When I walked in I got hugs from Ashley, Kim, Alicia, and Lindsay. I talked with Tullio for a bit and I went to say Hi to Colleen at the Auditorium. I picked up my tickets from Joe and saw that TH404 has become a huge mess.

I met up with Bill and Mel and we went out to buy some booze. It was great to have the three of us together again. It’s times like these I think of movies like The Mighty Ducks- those were a group of kids that were friends to the end. I think when it comes to Bill, Mel, and I- we’re friends til the end. I picked up Kim and her friend and they joined us for dinner at Chili’s.

The concert was pretty chill; I don’t think that Bill and Mel enjoy Guster like I do. I met up with Kim Munroe and saw other faces. We then all went out to Hooligan’s with Mike. I also saw O.C. and we shared some reflection moments together. Hooligan’s was ok, Andy was there playing with his band, and I had another drunken conversation with Elizabeth, someone I haven’t talked to in two years. I then went back to Kim’s and called it a night.

Now I’m back in Arlington making friends of a different kind. I really like the people I work with and I’m beginning to feel like I’m really getting in with them. My roomies are also awesome- yesterday Burak, Nick and I went in search of a Chinese Food buffet for lunch. We were gone for hours. As another chapter comes to an end another one begins. But all the friends in my life will never be far from my heart. Plenty of good times lie with Atlantic City with my FSC crew, North Carolina with my Maryland crew, Happy Hours with my co-workers, and House Parties and Bars with my roommates. I’ve been real lucky to have such awesome people in my life.

Tags: arlington, atlantic city, blog, debauchery, feelings/reflections, food, friends, fsc, fun times with friends, guster, lee iacocca, massachusetts, obx, scientology, tom cruise, travel, washington dc

Originally published at The Definitive Dmbosstone. Please leave any comments there.

House Hunting. It’s an exhuasting and exciting experience. I’ve spent all week after work, on weekends, checking out different places. I’m trying to find the right combanation of great people and decent facilities. I seem to find either/or but not both… it’s going to be a big decision who I’m going to go with…luckily I think I’m going to make it soon. Other things this week: went to TWO baseball games. Thursday I got tickets to see the Orioles vs. Devil Rays. One of the partners at TMG (The McGinn Group) as season tickets and I won a lottery to grab four tickets. I took Diana, Sarah, and Lindsay- the seats were AWESOME (3rd row back from Orioles’ dugout), had a great time. The O’s lost- but I really cared more for Saturday’s game- Red Sox vs. Orioles. I went with Danielle and we had a good time dispite cold weather and a 90-minute rain delay. The Red Sox won and that’s the only thing that matters. My family came up this week, it was nice to see them. I can’t wait to see all my friends at FSC next month. Ok well it’s time to do the taxes… I know i’m going to owe so much money!

Tags: arlington, baseball, blog, devil rays, orioles, red sox, taxes