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

“The Orioles is our elixir…the Orioles is like going to Jamba Juice and getting that cold-buster drink- just chug it down, 16oz of the Orioles.”

Those the words of the the great Bill Simmons on his B.S. Report podcast when talking about the Red Sox playing the Orioles. The Sox just blew through Baltimore and completed a weekend sweep of the birds. Sean, Amanda, and Bill came down to B’more to see the series and I drove up to hang out with them and see the game this past Saturday.

It was pretty tough getting up Saturday however, a Friday night at a douchebag hangout bar called McFadden’s will do that do ya. I’m not that much of a fan of the place however my blogger pal Martin had the hook-up with cheap drinks so I was going to just stop by for a drink.

Ya nobody ever stops by for just a drink.

Fast forward to 2 AM and many bad decisions later, I’m walking home a sweaty mess. Well I wasn’t as bad as other people that night.

Ok so anyways, the game.

After a lazy morning I finally made it up to B’more to meet up with my friends at Pickles, the only place to go when it comes to pre-gaming before Oriole games. If you haven’t been, it’s a bar across the street from Camden Yards and before games sell beer and food outside the bar in a block party-like setting. People are playing corn hole and just having a good time. It’s the kind of scene Nationals Park needs- but will probably not get anytime soon.

The game itself was great, Josh Beckett shined for both the Sox and my Fantasy Baseball team. Victor Martinez made his Red Sox debut after the team acquired him from Cleveland and he got an ovation despite being away from home. That’s Red Sox Nation. I was ragged on a little for scoring the game, but I wanted to make sure I had some talking points the next time I talk baseball on 4 Sport Boston.

After the game we headed out to Power Plant Live, but it was a rather chill night considering my escapades on Friday. First time I was able to make it out of Baltimore alive.

The week was capped off with a great BBQ dinner with Sara, Ryan, and Dave- I don’t think I’ve ever felt so full in my life.

Well probably after this staff lunch I will.

And I wonder why I’m never in shape.

Tags: baltimore, blog, capitol hill, debauchery, foggy bottom, fun times with friends, girls, orioles, red sox

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

I haven’t done a TMI Thursday in a good long time, but my recent weekend of destruction in Baltimore got me re-telling a story to my friends, and I might as well share it with The Internet as well.

Well earlier I talked about how Baltimore nights usually end in spectacular fashion, and last August was no exception.

It was Sarah’s birthday and the MoCo crew and I decided to celebrate at Howl At The Moon during a special “2 for 1″ happy hour.

Well I couldn’t make it up to Baltimore from DC until later that night. In fact arrived with only half an hour left to get those bargain drinks.

My Asian side told me I had to take advantage of a great bargain while it lasted.

Two for the price of one!

Ya I decided to start double fisting.I mean six drinks for the price of three? Think about how much money I’m saving!

As well as how much time I’m saving in regards of my trip to tipsyville.

Of course I kept drinking after the Happy Hour, and a few drinks later into the night it hit me.

I made a big mistake.

I walked down the stairs and stumbled to a place I thought I could sit and get a breather: The steps of nearby Baltimore City Community College.

As I sat there with my head held ups by my hands, a cop walked up to me and told me I had to get going. So I got.

I decided that it might be a smart idea to go back to the hotel we were staying at, so I hailed a Cab and stumbled in. I fed him an address and away we went.

I rolled down the window so I could stick my head out… because I was feeling all my mistakes coming back to me. From the sidewalk it probably looked like a cab with a guy’s head out the window suffering a severe reversal of fortune.

“Are you throwing up!?!” the cabbie asks.

“Nah I’m fine, keep driving,” I respond.

I was pretty good about keeping it out of the actual cab and all over the streets of The Wire.

We arrive at the hotel and I pay him his fee and I stumbled to the room… and realized I didn’t have the room key. So instead of getting another cab I decided to walk all the way back to the bar and rejoin my friends. At that point I walked it off enough to make it back to my friends and act as if nothing had happened.

“Patrick where were you?”

“Oh I was just outside- I needed some fresh air.”

Amazingly enough I wasn’t even the worst one of the group, as all the guys in our crew spent the rest of the night doing what I was doing in the cab.

You have to love Baltimore.

Tags: baltimore, blog, debauchery, fun times with friends, tmi thursday

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

It’s not that hard to be a Red Sox fan in Washington, DC.

It’s a really great thing to see all the members of Red Sox Nation come out for a game in B’more against the Orioles. That’s where I’ll usually go every year to get my Sox fix. However with inter-league play bringing the Red Sox to Nationals Park this year, it was guaranteed to be a packed game full of all the Sox fans that you’d find at Rhino Bar or Kelly’s Irish Times.

On Tuesday I went with Wendi, Rebecca, and Adam. We had seats out in right field, right by the wall next to the bullpen. We could cheer for J.D. Drew, jeer at Julian Tavarez, and just laugh at the excuse that is the Nationals bullpen. We were so close to the bullpen that I could hear the ringing of the phone used to warm-up and bring in relievers. The phone sounded like a cellphone despite it being a big metal box. The phone was ringing off the hook since the Sox put up 11 runs on the Nats that night- nothing could stop them, the Red Sox even dominated the attendance records, which was broken every night in the series thanks to all the Sox fans which turned Nationals Park into Fenway southeast.

I met up with MeggiePoo towards the end of the game who was busy Tweeting the game from her seats.

Thursday was a different story, I showed up to my company’s suite with Kevin. I got a lot of flack for my Red Sox gear but there were clearly more Red Sox fans in the suite than Nationals fans. It was a quiet game however with future hall of famer John Smoltz making his 2009 season debut with a terrible first inning. The Sox never recovered from the 4 runs he gave up and the Nats went on to dominate. That’s ok though, we still won the series 2 games out of 3. A blogger moment was had when Anderson Hernandez walked up to his favorite song: Stanky Legg. Thanks to LiLu I’ll never listen to that song with a straight face again.

So I got my Sox fix for now, I can’t wait til August however when they come back down to Baltimore, it should be a fun weekend with a bunch of FSC friends coming to visit.

Tags: baltimore, blog, j.d. drew, julian tavarez, nationals, orioles, red sox

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

I started 2008 with a lot of drinks, a whole lot of kisses, and  some frustration. The second half of 2008 sped by me as I work kept me busy and stressed. The travel, the weekends on the job, the extra hours in the office all made it hard to realize that it’s already 2009. But it is and I am lucky to now have a chance to rest, relax, and reflect on what exactly just occurred.

One thing that I’m proud of in 2008 was the changes I’ve made to this blog. Patrick told me a couple of weeks ago that I’ve been blogging, “before it was called blogging.” I have had a website where I write my thoughts since high school but this was the year that I really think I got the whole thing down.

Besides bringing the technology of the site into the new millennium, I also took a look at my writing style and really tried to find a format that makes sense for me and hopefully makes my writing more interesting to read for you. I credit the changes from the increased exposure I had to other blogs. Looking back 2008 was the year I really learned what blogging was all about even though I’ve been doing it since the mid 90s.

There’s also one more change that I’m kinda happy about:

I don’t like bringing a lot of attention to it cause I don’t want to be really obnoxious about it. I also think I have a long ways to go before I’m totally hot- but I’m getting there. Weird that I actually think that I might be good looking- well at least more good looking than I usually think I am. In 2008 I lost 20 lbs and maybe if I’m lucky I won’t gain it all back. This is the only time I’m going to mention my weight publicly- I already get embarrassed enough when coworkers bring it up. However after these holidays I’m going to have to redouble my efforts.

The end of 2008 also found me in different surroundings. While I still live in Arlington, I moved out of Cleveland Street onto Highland street. While it wasn’t a big move, I am absolutely in love with the new house I love in it’s great living with Sarah and Caroline. I am really happy here and I think a my new digs will play a big role in 2009.

School

I’ve spent this past year doing some thinking about where I want to go next with school. I definitely want to go to Grad School, I want the additional experience, knowledge, and credentials that an additional degree brings. This year I started looking at different schools and programs. At first I was looking at film & video programs but I realized that while I’d love to get another degree in that area- I already have a deep background there and I wanted to learn something different. I have decided that I want to learn more about PR/Communications so I can continue to expand my role at work.

My goal this year is work on applying and getting into a program for Fall 2009, it will be an interesting year to start up school again.

Work

Last year I wanted to make an impact at work for 2008 and that certainly has happened. This year I have stepped up into a bigger role in the company. I’ve taken on more responsibilities and I have seen a huge increase in work especially towards the second half of the year. During this past summer and fall I got involved in regular trips between Washington DC and Boston where I have been involved in a lot of different projects in both locals. While the work this year resulted long work hours, days, and weeks; it was nice to find myself back home a few extra times this year.

I don’t know what 2009 will bring but this break has given me a chance to rest and reflect and I’m ready to take on the beast again for another year. This year I hope to not lose a step and continue to make the impact I’ve been making in 2008.

Friends

2008 was a great year with my friends. Work has been different without Chanelle and I certainly miss the Chanelle-ness she brought to the job. Work has also a bit more intense for everyone which has led to less lunch hours with Krissy and Mallory. However Pho lunches with Krissy, Gloria, and Kristen need to continue in 2009. However Ryan and Neal and I were able to get together for poker this year and a goal this year is to host some Poker nights at my new place. Looks like I’ll be losing lots of money this year. It’s another goal to have

Without Chanelle there’s certainly been a different dynamic in the office with Peter and Dave- my office is definitely now a gentleman’s club. Talk about sports, and female cable personalities fills our day and I love every minute of it. It’s also been great to have Peter around to help me root for our local sports teams.

As always I had some great times with my MoCo favorites (Sarah, Falkor, Doug, Katie, Emily), while they live a bit further now we managed to still get together for some nights out on the town, sporting events, and Thanksgiving football game I’ll never forget thanks to Falkor. Katie and I have shared many conversations- unfortunately most of them revolved around cougars and her boss. All of us (and Stephanie) have shared many awesome trips, including numerous rampant nights in Baltimore. 2009 will be different with Sarah and Falkor leaving for Africa- thank goodness they will be coming back for the OBX!

I had some great times with Rebecca, Adam, and company. Whether it was a July 4th bar crawl, a night out at Local 16, or even a night of Monopoly, I always have a great time with them. They have also become close confidants to a lot of life’s situations.

In 2008 LJ and I enjoyed numerous Red Sox games while pulling me into ridiculous fantasy football leagues. Adam made sure both of us were actively involved with the Obama campaign whenever possible.

I’m always able to laugh when I’m with Wendi and I’m happy we’ve been able to catch each other when we do.  I have to admit I haven’t gotten to spend a whole lot of time with Ian but hopefully we’ll be able to catch up soon.

Back home in Massachusetts I’ve had plenty of chances to keep up with Dave, and Bill thanks to my business trips. 2008 also saw me reconnecting with Jimmy Clancy and his new wife. I continue to keep in touch with Patrick even though he’s always in a different state every time we catch up. 2008 was also the year Sean moved back to Massachusetts form Florida, and now the crew was complete this year. Good times were had with Sean, Mike, and Joe- including my first game at Fenway Park and a crazy night on Emily’s birthday.

I now expect two things to happen every year during the holidays: an annual reunion of Me, Phil, and Tessa; and an annual gossip lunch with OC.

I also got to reconnect with a whole group of DMB friends this year, Alyssa, Kristen, and Michele. Now that Alyssa and Michele live in Boston, they are two more names I’ll have to add to the “must see” list when I go back home.

Friends like Carolyn and Laura moving away while others like Michael Anthony Gregorio move in. DC is a transient region so I treasure all the moments I get to spend with all of my friends.

Family

I started getting weird e-mails this fall. They were from various colleges and universities trying to get my to apply to their schools for an undergraduate degree. When I saw that the e-mails were addressed to Daniel, I realized someone has mistaken my e-mail for his and I got spammed. It’s weird to think that my little brother is almost ready to go to college.

While that’s going my sister Kim is making waves at FSC, finishing a summer in Europe and getting ready for Junior year. Man I’m starting to feel old. Meanwhile Diana is continuing to impress me with all the great books that are being pumped out at her publishing house. Her and Mike also got engaged in 2008.

2009 has lots to look forward to with my family, my favorite cousin Christina is turning 21 and will continue to rip up UMass and this month I get to catch up with my favorite Aunt.

Love

I went out with Rebecca this past weekend and she told me that she never knew a time that I wasn’t seeing someone. That is such a weird statement. But then again my game has never been as good as it’s been. 2008 was by far the busiest year when it comes to women, and I’m glad to say that I was able to keep crazy FSC bitches out of them… well for the most part…it’s funny how some women just never go away. It’s also funny how things can pick up just where they left off after some time.

I also randomly hooked up with some girl from New Jersey. Always awesome to do the walk of shame from L’enfant Plaza.

This summer I dated a number of interesting women. Two were summer flings, the kind that come into town and before you know it they are gone just as fast as they came. One was a Senior over at Harvard- could she be the smartest person I’ve ever dated? She’s probably not as smart as the Carnegie Mellon grad that’s now working as a programming at Microsoft. She was a student of Randy Pausch, a great man who I (and many others) learned about this year and was sad to see him pass on. Miss Seattle also led me to another girl whom I dated a couple of times but wasn’t anything special, she did laugh at all my jokes however.

I briefly dated one of Sarah’s co-workers and while she was really fun and has introduced me to everything Eastern Market has to offer, I could see she was never going to be available the way I wanted it to be.

Nobody is going to let me live down Sean’s wedding. It’s going to be a memory for me right up there with Minneapolis. At least I still talk to both girls.

Also let’s never forget about that teacher from Walpole. I’ve never felt so honored in my life. Maybe I should just spent the rest of my days as Cougar bait.

The day before Halloween I met Carrie and so far she wins the record for girl I’ve dated the most. Then again it’s a pretty easy record to set. She’s been very good to me these past few months.

As always I have no love goals for 2009- I will continue to play everything out just like I always do.

Travel & Special Events

2008 has to be the year of the weddings. I went to a lot of them.

The first one was Jimmy Clancy’s and it was a trip down high school memory lane. The ceremony was at St. Mary’s where I spent my days as a Boy Scout and ended at Andover Country Club where we had our senior banquet.

After that it was Rebecca and Adam’s wedding and I have to say that it was by far one of the craziest weddings I’ve been to. Anytime I get a knock on the door the next day from a half dressed Paul Depoian means that it was a good time.

Melanie and Jim’s wedding was the most artsy, they had a really interesting arrangement at the altar. While I was only 1 of 2 FSC representatives there I still managed to have a good time with all of their friends.

I lucked into Sean and Amanda’s wedding and I definitely made the most of it. That’s all I gotta say.

2009 will bring probably only 1 wedding but I’m going to need a break after this past year of weddings.

2008 saw another great trip to the OBX- right now I’m working on the videos for them and hopefully get them out before our next trip in May. It was great having a record 30 people come down. What probably made 2008 was the Jenga and the flag stealing. While 2009 will see a crowd not that high, it will still be great times.

Once again I also made a trip out to Hershey, PA to Hershey Park. This time we also got to celebrate Falkor’s birthday in a local bar across the street from the hotel. I’ve never seen a bar tab that high til that night.

I also made 2 Obama related road trips this year: one to Philadelphia and another to Roanoke. I’m really happy with the work and travel I put into the campaign and I hope that in the future I will continue to become active election campaigns.

There were some DMB trips made this year, the first one was to SPAC where I got visit Diana along the way. The other was at Nissan Pavilion where I went to LeRoi Moore’s last show.

I finally found some time to take the trip into Pittsburgh, I visited Melanie and Jim and experienced a little bit of what the Steel City has to offer. I was surprised at the how short the trip was and it’s definitely not out of the question for a repeat trip in 2009.

I certainly traveled a whole lot in 2008. I hope to do some more in 2009. Is this the year for the Cruise? Is this the year for Canada? Maybe it’s finally time for me to visit the West Coast- who knows where I’m traveling in 2009, but I will probably figure it out for this summer.

Hobbies

Last year I wrote about finding a new hobby besides fantasy sports. Well I have to say that I’ve taken blogging into a new level that it’s become a serious pastime of mine. In 2008 I became a contributor to DC Metblogs and it has kept me busy. This winter I was also given the opportunity to get back into a long lost passion- theatre. In early 2009 I will be working on a production with the Arlington Players and I hope that 2009 will see more headway into a possible comeback into theatre.

Are there other crazy activities I might get into? I’d want to make a goal but I can see that 2009 maybe busy enough.

In Conclusion

2008 was a crazy busy year for me on many fronts. While I have been busy with many things I’ve seen myself change in many ways. All along the way I’ve still been rely on the support and encouragement of all my friends and family.

I hope 2009 will be a year that helps define my future here in Washington DC. I hope that this year I figure out my school situation and that I continue to explore new and old passions and hobbies.

I also hope to that I can look to a summer of fun travels, starting with the OBX and ending with who knows what.

But the biggest resolution I want to make is to have a good time and to make others happy- because isn’t that all we want in life?

Tags: baltimore, barack obama, blog, boston, debauchery, election 2008, family, favorites, feelings/reflections, friends, fun times with friends, grad school, hershey park, l'enfant plaza, new york, nissan pavillion, obx, philadelphia, poker, randy pausch, roanoke, u-street, umass, washington dc, webpage, weddings, work, year in review

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

This weekend John McCain picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate this fall. I’m not going to talk about how unknown she is or how inexperienced she may be. What I want to say is that for a mom of five and a former runner up Miss Alaska- she is still kinda hot.

Oh ya there I said it- beauty doesn’t know political lines.

I’m not the only one that thinks so- Huffington Post has photos of her from her glam high school days and her photo shoot for Vouge (which has already spawned photoshopped covers.)

I also think it’s fortunate for the author who wrote one of the only biographies on her- he’s now raking in the cash.

All right enough politics.

Work has been busy as usual leading up to my trip this weekend- I seem to have mastered the art of sleeping for four hours a night.

Monday Wendi and I went to the White Sox/Orioles game and enjoyed yelling at Aubrey Huff and watching Ken Griffey Jr. We actually managed to arrive at the park before the game started and we walked around and got to take in the Yards for what it’s worth. We visited the bullpen and I saw some pitchers signing balls for the little kids- I thought it was such a nice thing to do right before a game. There were also these two kids who kept trying to run down to the dugout between innings to try and get a game ball- they were finally rewarded at the end of the game. A person who wasn’t rewarded was the fan who jumped onto of the dugout- then leaped over the dugout onto the field and raced across the diamond. He was promptly arrested when he made it to the other side.

Baseball never ends in my life, on Wednesday I went tothe Dodgers/Nationals game with LJ, Sarah, and Ryan. LJ and I enjoyed booing at Manny who went 2 for 5. His last hit occured when we was up in the 9th with 2 outs. It would of been great to see him end the game but alas Manny has to be Manny and he got on base- extended the game. The park gave an homage to Manny during that night’s President’s Race when Teddy wore a dew rag and dreads- then proceeded to give up halfway through the race.

After flying back on Thursday I went out for to Fanueil Hall with Adam and all the guys. We hopped all over the area and I have to say that Adam has a fun group of guys from the down under. Afterwards I met up with Alyssa and she absoltely impressed me with her hopsitality- she is such a mother hen.

Last night I met up with Bill and got to meet his new girl Megan. We got some Margaritia’s nearby to which I will say I am totally secure with that choice of drink.

Ok well I gotta get going and get ready for this wedding tonight. This weekend is clearly shaping up to be a weekend of distruction- let’s hope I survive it!

Tags: baltimore, blog, boston, debauchery, dodgers, election 2008, fanueil hall, fun times with friends, girls i think are hot, nationals, orioles, sarah palin, sleep, stress, weddings, white sox, work

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

You would think that I would need a vacation after my beach vacation but that wasn’t happening at all. I welcomed myself back to DC with a string of baseball games. Monday after my trip I drove up to Baltimore with Cynthia to see the Red Sox/Orioles game. The game was going well for the Sox and halfway into it I decided to walk over to the bullpen area. At Camden Yards the visitors bullpen is very accessible to views and hollers from the fans so I decided to see who I could see.

In between the sixth inning I saw Mike Timlin run from the dugout to the bullpen and there he was standing there watching the game. I figured he had to start warming up if he was going in for the seventh but he was just chillin’. David Aardsma was out there earlier with his own camp chair- looks like he wasn’t going to be palying anytime soon. Timlin turned around and started to head back into the ‘pen. Our eyes met for a moment and I give him the cool and collected headnod- he shoots one back to me and ducks back inside. Visiting the bullpen is something I’m doing way more often.

Things got real exciting when I got to see Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon start to warm up. I told Cynthia how Okajima was from Japan and she tried yelling some Styx lyrics at him. It was great to see the relief pitchers warm up and ultimately walk through the bullpen doors and enter the game. Unfortunately I saw Okajima walk through those doors and blow the game. Oh well we can’t win them all, but I’d love to actually go to a Red Sox game where they won.

The next day I took some of the Maryland crew out to Nationals Park to see the Cardinals/Nationals game. I did a pretty good job of packing the suite- I also invited Wendi and gave guest passes to Sarah and Mike since they were already going to the game. There was a two hour rain delay but luckily with a suite we were able to stay dry. Our suite attendant also did a great job in keeping us entertained. He walks in all excited to teach us a new dance he called, “The Cha Cha Slide.” Of course we knew it but we played along and at the end he came back with a cookie platter since we danced with him.

Just another great time at the ballgame- the event of choice for the summer.

Tags: baltimore, baseball, blog, camden yards, cardinals, cha cha slide, david aardsma, fun times with friends, hideki okajima, jonathan papelbon, mike timlin, nationals, orioles, red sox, styx

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

My love for football has grown steadily since college. From watching Patriots games freshman year to fantasy football last year. Now I’m in two fantasy football leagues and I’m even enjoying watching college football games. My how love flourishes. I think I may have reached the point where Sundays are just going to be useless.

This past week I drafted my team in my office league, I’m satisfied with my choices. I grabbed Shaun Alexander and Tony Romo and even drafted two players that caused me grief last year, LaMont Jordan and Joey Galloway; however with all the preparation I did this year I made sure I grabbed them later in the draft so I wasn’t wasting my picks. Man I feel like a football dork.
But back to Earth for a minute, I enjoyed Labor Day by watching Superbad with Doug. It is by far one of the best movies I’ve seen since Anchorman. It’s the American Pie for a new generation… which really doesn’t make sense since we are the American Pie generation… oh well.

Wednesday’s kickball match was an utterly disappointing loss but we made it up in flipcup afterwards. Ya I woke up the next day without my contacts, car, and sharpie on my left arm. It was one of those nights.

Friday we all celebrated Emily and Laura’s birthday at, where else, Union Jacks. It was an ok night- I wasn’t feeling the tunes the DJ was pumping out.

I don’t know why but last week was all about not sleeping. After three hours of sleep on Wednesday I got just about the same amount after Union Jacks. Why? Because I was smart enough to schedule to bring my car in for an oil change at 8 AM on a Saturday. Ugh- never again. The state inspector was out so that means I gotta bring my car back- and I have to fix my turn signal light before I can get it inspected… great…

At least last night was fun… kinda. Sarah, LJ and his sister Leigh, and I went to the Red Sox/Oriole’s game. LJ and Leigh are Sox fans and I was excited to get a chance to see Dice-K pitch. However Dice-K kinda blew the game and I had to put up with mocking from Sarah instead.

The times after the baseball game were much better. We all went to Fells Point and met out with Cliff and Eliza at Max’s. It was a pretty cool bar with all kinds of different beer but more importantly, multiple TV’s showing all kinds of NCAA games. LJ and I were engrossed with the SFU/Auburn game. It was an intense game that came down to overtime. If you arn’t familiar with NCAA rules for overtime in football, then you should check them out, it lends for lots of suspense.

Ok enough writing I gotta get back to watching the Redskins game- Portis isn’t doing that bad so far… maybe I should of drafted him again too.

Tags: american pie, anchorman, baltimore, bethesda, blog, camden yards, clinton portis, daisuke matsuzaka, fantasy football, fantasy sports, football, joey galloway, kickball, lamont jordan, orioles, patriots, red sox, redskins, shaun alexander, superbad, tony romo

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

I would like to offer my congratulations to Clay Buchholz. He’s only 23, and last night he threw a no-hitter against the Orioles. I was glad that it was one of the rare Red Sox games I was able to see while down here in DC. I wish I could do so many things at 23- but I think I’m not doing so bad.

Wednesday Laura came down from Massachusetts and I took the day to show her things off the beaten tourist trail.

We went to the Maryland State Fair and enjoyed the sights, smells, and sounds of the classic carnival. Laura and I really got a kick of all the animals (what can I say we are city folk) and I had a blast with the Alpacas. They are like Llamas with emo haircuts. There were also cows… lots of cows… We walked up to a herd and started feeding it grass- and they took a huge swipe at my hand. So awesome.

After the fair we drove down to neighboring Baltimore to catch the Devil Rays/Orioles gane. We definitely got our money’s worth- it was a close game that went well into the 12th inning. Of course the Devil Rays won. It’s gotta be sad when the O’s lose eight in a row with one of them being to the D-Rays.

Man I’ve been to a lot of baseball games this summer- I am so lucky to have such great opportunities to see one of the sports I love. Of course I’m not through yet, the Red Sox are in Baltimore next weekend and I think I need to go check them out.

Thursday was an awesome day at work. I got to fly to Atlanta to a business meeting. What made it awesome was that I got to fly on the company jet. Let me tell you that flying on your own jet is 200% better than flying commercial. No lines, no waiting, no hassle. I loved it. I left Dulles at 7 AM and was back by 6 PM. Man the jetset lifestyle is not that bad.

Friday I went over to Carolyn’s where a group of people were enjoying the comforts of her basement. What basement party wouldn’t be complete without drinking games. Man that was an interesting night.

Yesterday Marjorie and I went to Kotobuki for dinner. It was a small place in a beautiful neighborhood in the Palisades. The food was terrific definitely some of the best sushi I’ve had here (sorry Harris Teeter.)

After watching the Red Sox game, I popped in a movies off Netflix. I’m really starting to like the instant download feature, too bad I can only watch nine hours worth of stuff in a month. So I watched Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and I really enjoyed it, gave me a whole new hate for Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, but it also amazed me in how other companies were involved and how Enron was played a role in the California Blackout Crisis.

Man all this blogging makes me want to eat more sushi. Too bad Kotobuki isn’t open for another five hours. I’ll have to go settle for something else.

Tags: alpacas, atlanta, baltimore, baseball, blackouts, blog, california, clay buchholz, corporate jets, devil rays, enron, food, girls, harris teeter, jeff skilling, ken lay, llamas, netflix, no-hitter, orioles, palisades, red sox, state fair, sushi, travel, work

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

I walked out of the door to see that my car was not anywhere near my house. That’s when you know you had a great night last night. But first…

I took Marjorie to the Rangers/Orioles game on Tuesday. I got to see my fantasy baseball starter, Erik Bedard, pitch an excellent game (those 11 strikeouts will do nicely for my fantasy league.) He even broke a franchise record during our game. I have been on a roll of great baseball games it maybe my luck or maybe it maybe my company.

Talking about rolls I need to kickstart my productivity roll. I’m not falling off that horse yet.

Things can get busy now that I’ve started playing Kickball. Laura convinced Burak and I to join her team in the DC Lightning division. Our first game was this past Wednesday and it was a pretty fun time. It’s quite an interesting thought to join many other people drinking and playing games on the National Mall. I wasn’t that bad for someone that hasn’t played since middle school. I got a single on my first at-bat; however I did pull a muscle while kicking and running to first. The fun part was that it was my right gluteus maximus (aka my right ass.) I’m going to have to work on my lower body to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Well we won our first game and it was quite exciting (I found out that Laura’s team lost every game last season.) After the game we all went to Kelly’s Irish Times to partake in post-game Flip Cup. It was more crowded than usual apparently, another Kickball division was also at the bar. The basement was more crowded than a Sigma Pi cellar party at FSC.

On Friday I watched Man of the Year with Carolyn. It sounded like a cool movie but a lot of the jokes were pretty unoriginal. Also there was a major genre change in the middle of the film. Oh well, at least I’m waiting to watch Superbad next weekend. Judd Apatow is blowing up the film scene now- makes me wanna go watch Knocked Up.

Ok now to last night. So it was the Kickball season opening party at Mathatter and I meet up with Laura and Burak with my colleague Neal in tow. The party included free beer and cheap rail drinks all night long. That only means one thing. Trouble. So after several hours of drinking we decide to pile into a taxi and hit Adam’s Morgan. Our cabbie was blasting Dr Dre, Biggie, and T.I. and we were all singing along. What can I saw we were all drunk and like white people we sang to every word. It was quite the sight. Oh and imagine us riding and signing with Laura laying across us in the backseat- because we were trying to fit four into the cab. Quality. So we arrive on 18th and Neal brings us to a place we need to check out- Dan’s Cafe. We arrive and I ask Neal which bar it is- he points to a boarded up building that looks like it’s more condemned than open for business. That is just the start. I walk in and I’m greeted with a smell that I can only describe as urinal- very urinal. The lighting is beyond dank and there’s a silent TV mounted into the far back wall. Besides that, fake plants hanging from the ceiling and an aging jukebox make up the decor of the slum. The plants looked so old they looked dead- and they are fake plants. The bar was a mashup of bathroom tile and wood, but behind it was the answer to why I was standing in this ghetto fabulous place. Liqour. Lots of Liqour. The bar had no taps, but instead it had shelves upon shelves of small bottles of liquor. Sizes ranged from small nips to larger fifths. I saw patrons ordering drinks and receive the following: a larger glass filled with the liquor of your choice (it usually takes an entire fifth to fill it), a can/bottle of whatever mixer you request, a bucket of ice, and as many glasses as you need to mix all this stuff yourself. All of this for only $10. I saw this happen and I knew this place was going to be trouble.

After enjoying a couple of drinks my roommates and I realized it’s that time- time to get back home before we get into any more trouble. So we all share a cab back to Cleveland Street and we proceed to drink even more. Oh we were going to have a fun night. How much fun? I ended up in my basement with Burak and Laura in a jam session. Burak was playing guitar, Laura was playing the keyboard and for some reason I was playing the drums. I don’t play the drums. But apparently I knew how. I really don’t know how to play the drums but it was fun to play anywho. I think we were playing for an hour or two before I somehow ended up back in my bed. An end to a quite adventurous night.
Now if I only knew how to play the drums when I’m sober…

Tags: adams morgan, baltimore, baseball, blog, debauchery, drums, fun times with friends, girls, kickball, knocked up, man of the year, orioles, rangers, superbad, washington dc

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

When life gets slow during the day, I’ve been getting really into Fantasy Football. Well I gotta get into something since Fantasy Baseball is slowing down soon. So far I’m doing well in my Yahoo! League, and I completed a couple of mock drafts to prepare for my office football league- I don’t wanna suck like I did last year. I know I must sound like a dork, but fantasy sports are pretty cool. It is one of the rare times I enjoy analyzing lots of information.

So it’s been a really up and down week for me- but luckily the ups ended up being better than the downs. Wednesday all of my friends gathered for a goodbye dinner for Evan, Diana, Lindsay, and Ben at Buca di Beppo. It was an Italian restaurant specializing in “Immigrant Dinners” as the window read. The place had a real family look- the walls were plastered with old black and white family photographs and the food was served in gigantic portions for 2-4 people. It was a good way to send off our friends. This fall is going to be really different without them around- I know that my life down here will be totally different without them.

Thursday Adam and I traveled to Baltimore to check out the Mariners/Orioles game. The weather held out for the most part- there was a 15-minute rain delay when we arrived and once the game started we got wet from some more rain, but it wasn’t too bad. We met up with Adam’s friend LJ where they proceeded to drink 40s in a matter of five minutes in the parking lot. It was a real high scoring game and it was great to see Ichiro up-close.

Friday Krissy invited me to go out with Mark, Gina, and a bunch of her friends. We went out to Tony and Joe’s before heading over to Old Glory and Mie n Yu. It was a really great night out- Krissy’s friends were really nice people and I had a real quality time. Highlight of the night had to be the bathroom at Mie n Yu. The whole place had this really nice Asian lounge feel and the look went all the way down to the unisex bathroom in the basement. The stalls were the nicest I’ve ever seen in a bar and the sinks were old oaken barrels with rocks. I think we took 30 photos down in that bathroom, luckily the attendant didn’t mind.

Saturday Marjorie and I went to Nissan Pavilion to see Dave Matthews Band. For my 30th show- I had such a great time. My review of the show will be posted on Nancies.org soon. Before the show I was able to meet up with LJ and Kevin and I enjoyed a lot of great drink and conversation. I am surprised that Marjorie and I finished an entire bottle of JD- and I was also surprised that Gatorade and Jack did not taste as bad as it sounds. You gotta do what you gotta do when you run out of Coke. After the show, we went to Marjorie’s favorite place in all of Prince William County- Wa-Wa. It’s a mid-atlantic chain of gas stations/food marts. It’s kinda like Sheetz. After that we got lost for awhile but we eventually made it back to the district.

So it’s been a great week and I’m sure another one is just around the corner. Right now I’m starving and I need to get some lunch.

Tags: baltimore, baseball, blog, dmb, fantasy sports, food, fun times with friends, georgetown, girls, ichiro, montgomery county, orioles, sheetz, wa-wa

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

Another Sunday and another great week passes me by. Tuesday I went out with Mallory and Krissy to see Blades of Glory at the Arlington Drafthouse. The drafhouse was really cool, it’s this vintage looking theatre that serves drinks and food while watching second-run movies. The tickets are cheap and the drinks are a little expensive; and I heard that the food should be avoided at all costs. The movie was funny, a typical Will Farrell character movie, it had it’s moments and quote, but not as great as Anchorman or Talladega Nights. Between coffee and rockstar that night I was up at all hours. I even went out on a midnight run around town- it’s not as shady as it sounds. Arlington is pretty safe when all the hoodlums go to sleep.

Thursday I caught up with Wedni, an old colleague from high school who just moved to DC. I moved down here really not knowing anyone and it’s nice to see a few CHS people are around. Besides Rebecca and Wendi I know that Colleen Foley is spending the summer in VA. I think some FSC people need to move down here- but of course it’s Boston, LA, New York for FSC grads.

Last night I went out to the Waterfront to celebrates Ms. Christina Scripps birthday at Tony and Joe’s. Any time out with my work favorites is always a good time. Rachel and I drove down there, Rachel being an TMGer who likes to pop her collar- it must be part of her sorority/preppie chic. I’ll pop my collar to mock her. Damn maybe I should get some topsiders and some Lacoste.

Ok well I need some food before I go out with Reb to Camden Yards for a little baseball this afternoon- nothing like sports to keep me and Reb together.

Tags: anchorman, baltimore, baseball, blades of glory, blog, camden yards, chs, columbia pike, fun times with friends, georgetown, talladega nights, will farrell

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

Well it’s been an awesome week for going out. Thursday was the Strauss Radio holiday party. It was at this swanky place in Adams Morgan. I got to hang out with some of my work favorites and I met the head of ABC News Radio in DC amongst others. Afterwards Chandra and I went to Ragtime where we sat next to this creepy looking guy and had dirty martinis. Carolyn picked me up to end the night.

Friday was a fun time at work; I got some hardcore editing done with Paul (my freelance editor). I managed to once again put awesome music into my work. This piece is going to feature P. Diddy’s Victory- now I thought the instrumental was original but I discovered that it’s actually a sample of Going the Distance from Rocky. No wonder they used it in the Rocky Balboa trailer. After a long night at work I went up to Lindsay/Sarah/Doug’s house for our Holiday pot luck dinner and Secret Santa. I provided bags upon bags of salad. Greg brought potato latkes and let me tell you- I totally love them. It’s like a classier hash brown. Diana got me the latest Guster CD, and I can’t wait to listen to it. I got Sarah a pirate book and a bottle of wine- two things I know she loves. I was so glad and relieved to see her beam at my present. It’s so stressful sometimes to get a gift you hope someone will love. But in the end it’s all worth it. The book had all these trinkets like treasure maps and pirate oaths. I know that Sarah will be digging holes in her back yard all winter. Diana got season 1 of Wonder Showzen (a show I later remembered watching with Bill and Mel one late night). We popped it in and if you haven’t seen it, I recommend watching it late at night while either drunk or high- it’s better to comprehend that way (I think must have been one of the two when I watched it back in Fitchburg). After the party I drove over to Carolyn’s and hung out with her friend Hillary and her cousin Tony.

Saturday I turned 23- it’s weird to think I’m getting old. What ever happened to college and partying day after day? Well at least I was able to party that night. My friends took me to Baltimore to this cute bar in the inner harbor called Howl at the Moon. Sarah won a happy hour party so we were getting crunked at 6 PM. Oh that was definitely a long night. All I can remember is dancing to Shania Twain on stage in front of the entire bar, ordering, various writings on my arms, seeing Laura win a pole dancing contest, people buying me all kinds of drinks, buying 12 jello shots for all my friends, taking two more jello shots from Supergirl, ending up in Bethesda where I snuck into the Palisades and headed over to Union Jack’s, and definitely making some drunken texts and calls. One of those calls was my mom, who called me in the middle of the night to wish me a happy birthday. That must have been an awesome conversation. All in all it was a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who called, texted, and posted shit on my Facebook and MySpace pages. This isn’t my first birthday away from home but it is my first one in DC and away from Massachusetts- as I said in my jello shot toast, I am really thankful to be able to pick up my life, move it somewhere else, and still manage to surround myself with wonderful people. I am thankful for all my co-workers, family, and friends. They have really made life in DC enjoyable. I was afraid that I’d know nobody down here and I started off not knowing anyone. I’m really glad to have the friends I’ve made so far- and I know it’s only the beginning. To my other friends back at home I’m thankful that they haven’t forgotten about me. When I come back next week I can pick things up where up and have a great time with them for the holidays. I love you all.
Damn that was a great way to end my post- too bad I still have more shit to write. So today I treated myself to a Red Barron pizza and Smoked Salmon for my meals. Clearly a fattie moment. I went shopping today and got myself a new cell phone case (Teha broke mine at the Strauss holiday party). I also got other goodies for my house. Now I hope to crack open some Xmas cards and start on that shizzle (As Chanelle would say, or maybe she uses that word in a totally different context). I still have to do some holiday shopping but I still have one more week before I have to take another long drive to Massachusetts (thank goodness I have EZPass this time). I wished I could of gotten some cool GM cars to take back to New England. I’m getting to test drive some cars before and after the Holidays. I got myself a Pontiac G6 this week and after I get back, a Saturn Aura. I’ll write about those experiences later!

Ok time to watch The Office Christmas special and write cards!

Tags: abc news, adams morgan, baltimore, bethesda, birthday, blog, cell phone, clarendon, debauchery, food, friends, fun times with friends, holidays, montgomery county, p.diddy, rocky, the office, wonder showzen, work

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

My arm hurts. I wish it was from going to the gym, but it’s from bowling. Last night I went out with Rebecca and Adam to AMF lanes in Alexandria. It’s always a good time to hang out with them. I hope to grab lunch with Adam this week- he’s working on the Webb campaign which is down the street from me. I’m not that good of a bowler- I threw a lot of blank frames and it seems I have a bad left curve. I used to be better when i went bowling back in the day with Jimmy Ferguson.
The rest of the weekend went well- Friday Emily and her friend Nicole visited me on their way back home from Atlanta. We had a nice dinner in Ballston at the Rock Bottom Brewery- I ate a nice plate of Buffalo. I love me my endangered species! Afterward I took them on my increasingly poplular whirlwind car tour of DC- complete with middle of the night visit to the White House. I find it to be one of the most safe places you could visit at night, I mean the Secret Service are everywhere.

Saturday I got up early to meet Sarah, Doug, Emily, Lindsay, and Laura to go to the Red Bull Flutag in Baltimore. It was nice to enjoy a few drinks for breakfast. The Flutag event was entertaining to see. It has the comical joys of a car crash. Watching so many teams try and fly weird objects is quite the scene. Later that night we all went out to a party in Bethesda. Doug knew some people that just moved into an old elderly day care facility. It was an interesting place to call home, a big, creepy, old house. The bathrooms came complete with handicapped rails!

Sunday I woke up to work some more then went out bowling.

It doesn’t seem like many people are excited about the company retreat coming up. I mean I agree there’s not much to be excited about but they have effectively killed my positive outlook. Maybe I’ll have some time to play some Madden NFL 07. I just installed that this week to fuel my football interests.

So back in the day I wrote about why I blog, I’ve been blogging for years now and I’ve always wanted to try and be more open when I write. I like to think that my writing is an attempt to become more open when i can’t in real life. I try to write off the top of my mind just to get thoughts on paper- or interweb. But in reality this is a forum where anyone and everyone can read what I write. I’m not saying I’m a popular web celeb but people do read my weekly thoughts and stories.

Recent events have made me rethink about what I write and what I write about. What’s the point of this rant? I have decided there are some things that are better left off the paper. Sometimes things can be misinterpreted in the wrong way. Communication isn’t perfect and sometimes things are better left for another forum, another day. The world is indeed a stage, and you have to put on your best face in order to suceed.

P.S. Happy Birthday Chanelle, Margaret, and Lisa.

Tags: alexandria, ballston, baltimore, blog, bowling, feelings/reflections, flutag, fun times with friends, girls, jim webb, madden, webpage