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

Photo courtesy Passive Aggressive Notes

There was no need for resumes for this search, however they might as well come in handy.

It was sad wishing Sarah a bon voyage as she moved out of Highland Street to join her fiancee in North Carolina, not only was I saying farewell to a roommate and friend, it introduced a search for a new roommate during a time I was already busy with work, theatre, and life.

However Caroline and I managed to have an open house and met a lot of new people. This was certainly not the first time I’ve had to find a new roommate, however it was only the second time I organized a search.

I couldn’t help but feel like I was a judge on a reality show (and the prize is living with me! Not so shabby); or that I was like my all my HR friends and was interviewing people for a job (because maybe sometimes living with me is a chore!)

But the more I think of it, a lot of the good habits of a job search come in handy when you are searching for a roommate/looking for housing.

Control Your Online Identity

One of the first things you gotta know before you even search for a job is what happens when your name goes into Google. Your online reputation could harm you when looking for a job, and it could also harm you when trying to make a good impression with your tenants you are talking to. Run a Google search on your name and e-mail and see what comes up. Make sure your Facebook and other social networking sites have the appropriate privacy settings. I recommend this Lifehacker post that talks about controlling your online rep.

With the e-mails and names of all the people that visited our open house last night we were able to glean some additional information that we didn’t get from the short 15 minutes we would spend talking to someone. While most people did have their Facebook profiles set to private, we were able to snoop around the pages of a few public profiles to get a more complete picture of a certain person.

If you were an HR person, you want to know everything about a person you are going to put on your payroll, and in my case I would want to know as much as I can about a person that would be living under the same roof as me.

Now that being said, I’m not saying you have to be a ghost online. We were actually impressed by some people’s Linked-In profiles that further explained people’s professional history and educational backgrounds. For one person we easily found their online website that was designed to highlight their resume and sample writing- a tool obviously for job networking but also helped us as well. The key with your online presence is to shape it to paint the picture that you want out there.

Get To Know The Company

Interviewing is never a one-way street. While a job interview appears to be a test to see if a person is a good fit for the company, it’s also the interviewee’s chance to see if a company is good fit for him/her. In fact a good interview between residents and perspective new roommates shouldn’t be like an interview at all, but more like a casual conversation. It’s a chance to share interests and learn more about what makes a person tick. I found this past weekend that something that separated the final candidates from the rest was an interest in us and asked questions just as much as we did. You’d be surprised at how many people simply showed up and were silent except when answering questions. That’s not how you stick out in a job interview and that’s not how you stick out when looking for a roommate.

Be Proactive

We held an open house that didn’t require prior appointments to be made, however once I posted the ad on Craigslist, we got quite a few e-mails from people that wanted to introduce themselves and mention they would be visiting during the open house. While we also had walk-ins that showed up without any prior announcement, those that e-mailed before had a little bit of familiarity with us and those notes helped us remember who a specific person was among the big list of names we had at the end.

A polite follow-up action for job interviews that often goes undone in house hunting is the Thank-You note. When I held my first roommate search last November I remembered that Sarah and I were impressed that Caroline took the time to send a quick thank-you e-mail that reaffirmed her interest in the house and thanked us for the time to meet and talk with her. We don’t expect everyone to send a thank-you and it’s by no way a deal-breaker, but doing so sends the message that you are respectful and it’s an opportunity to express continued or increased interest, which goes a long way in a roommate search.

Be Careful About What You Say

In dating and job interviews, there are certain topics you always avoid, like politics and your previous love life. I won’t share any specific stories here but you don’t want to send the wrong message when you share with strangers your escapades with the ladies or start preaching your manifesto against the government.

Dress The Part

You wouldn’t show up to a job interview without taking a shower right? While I am not saying you need to wear a three-piece suit when meeting people about a room, you don’t want to leave the house with the residents talking about your distinct odor.

Right now the search continues but some interesting thoughts as we find the newest resident of Highland Street!

Tags: blog, roommates

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

My experiences in the backyard have not always been great. However last Monday Caroline suggested that this past weekend would be a great time to invite some friends over, grab a few beverages, and play some games.

Now I’ve thrown a party at Highland Street before and I had the drill pretty much down, however when you throw a backyard element to it, there were a few more challenges that don’t always come up you plan an indoor affair. Here are some of the lessons I walked away with as I recall the lovely evening.

I Secretly Have A Swamp For A Backyard

Now this isn’t a new revelation if you read the story I mentioned above (click on my links, that’s what they are there for!) We were really fortunate to have great weather for the day of the party, but it came after many days of rain. As I was mowing the lawn in preparation (the chore isn’t that bad if you are into it) I once again carved out an area of taller grass that signified swamp. It wasn’t that bad since there was still plenty of space in the yard after I Lewis and Clark’d the area.

An Outdoor Party Means You Need To Think About Bugs

As I was looking at my freshly cut lawn, sweat dripping down my face down to my wife-beater, I thought two things:

1. I look kinda hot in a wife-beater
2. What are those little floating swarms around the yard?

Bugs. It was mid-afternoon but I could see them and realized they had to be addressed. Luckily we discovered a complete set of Tiki torches in the shed that I filled up and deployed around the yard. It actually made the yard look 5% more festive. We also had some Repel insect repellent stakes that we put out as well. When I lit them later that evening it looked as if we were smoking out the entire yard, however it did the job.

You Maybe A Redneck If You Show Up To A Package Store Wearing a Wife-Beater And Gym Shorts

Right after I mowed the lawn I went to pick up the keg with Mike and I thoroughly enjoyed showing up at Arlington Market looking as ghetto as the store. It’s hard to argue your order (when I showed up they claimed not to have my order but eventually did) when you look like you should be on Cops.

Tiki Torches Makes Anything Look Like Tribal Council

We pulled out the trusty door and after the sunset my backyard looked liked a scene from The Duel. Luckily we weren’t voting off anyone that lost at Flipcup… but now that I type that we should of played survivor style.

The Party Is Truly Done Once The Keg Is Kicked

At first I was afraid we wouldn’t have enough beer for the party but the keg we ordered lasted til 1:30 AM- which wasn’t that bad for closing time and it looked like fun was had by all as the crowd magically disappeared once word spread that the beer was gone.

Tags: blog, debauchery, fun times with friends, roommates

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

Before I went out to that rehearsal, I was in my room with Nicole when I got a knock at the door. My roommate Sarah came up to tell me that she got her truck stuck in the backyard.

The truck was stuck in our driveway behind two cars and she tried to drive around house through the backyard- a move that’s worked before however she miscalculated the fact it has been raining for two straight days, turning the yard into a mud sinkhole.

First Mike and I tried to push it but to no avail. That truck was stuck in the mud.

I then tried to hump the truck but that didn’t work either.

Sarah had to call AAA and a tow truck ran a line out and pulled it out.

So I hope all you out there remember not to take you truck into the backyard after it rains. It’s bad news.

Tags: blog, favorites, fun times with friends, roommates

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

So I was packing up to go home from work last night when I get a call from my roommate Caroline. She was in our kitchen cooking and she heard some strange noises in our basement. I suggested that it could be the nearby tree branches rubbing up against our windows (they do that) and she said it was a different sound like somebody/something going about the basement. As I told her I would be home soon, Peter tells me this is what I get for being man of the house. Those words kinda felt good- I’ve never been man of the house before. Another reason why I love living with women.

So anyways I pull up to the driveway and immediately something catches my eye. There is a bird trapped in the basement- it’s trying to fly through the side door. Well that mystery was solved pretty quick. As I walked inside to tell her the news I saw that fearing for her life, Caroline braced the basement door:

A comical attempt I think as I walked outside and set the bird free.

Oh to be the man of the house.

Tags: blog, roommates

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

This past weekend was all about family.

This past Saturday I was having lunch with my Aunt Jackie at Coastal Flats when my mom called. It appears that a distant relative passed away in Fairfax. A delegation of uncles and aunts were going to leave Chelmsford to head down here but my grandmother was admitted into the hospital with an infection- so I was asked at the last minute to attend services on Sunday.

Now allow me to explain the family tree in this situation. My Aunt Lan on my Dad’s side married Uncle Hai… Hai Pho. That’s right Lan Pho married Hai Pho- who would of thought there were other Phos out there besides my family. Uncle Hai’s older brother passed so I was going to a meet with an entire family of Phos that I was probably related to somehow but not really. At least we all had the same last name, always a conversation starter.

So at the services on Sunday my Aunt and Uncle invited me to a family dinner Monday night at (where else) Seven Corners. I can’t turn down an offer of free food and a chance to catch up with my cousins Mai and Quang- so I headed over to Falls Church after work and I walked into the restaurant (ironically next to a noodle shack called Pho 75.)

The restaurant was empty except for a reserved half of the dining room full of tables and tables of Pho family members. I recognized a face or two from childhood birthday parties but for the most part I was walking into a family that I kinda fit in with but not at all at the same time. My uncle spotted me and quickly introduced me to a family member who was the MC of the dinner, who welcomed me and asked if I was ready to introduce myself to the family.

He shouted, grabbed the attention of the entire restaurant and said, “I want to introduce a new branch of the Pho family here today.” He then looked to me and I sheepishly stood up and introduced myself, my family affiliation, and my at the request of the crowd- the region of Vietnam I probably came from. I was nervous that the majority of the crowd may not know English but my mom assured me that, “they are very advanced.”

I proceeded to enjoy dinner with my cousins and their cousins, a table full of 30 something married couples. I worked the table pretty well, contributing to their conversation of Facebook and social networking. I did well enough that I was asked where a good place to go out in Arlington would be- the cousins wanted to get drinks after dinner but wanted to stay in Virginia. I was then invited out to the Liberty Tavern to join them for some fun.

As I walked out to my car I pointed out my plates and proclaimed that I must have the coolest plates in all of Virginia. The cousins immediately rushed over to start taking cell phone pictures.

After drinks at Liberty Tavern I knew I was on a roll- and I kept it going with my roommate Caroline with drinks while watching The Office. A pretty good night for a Monday.

The rest of the week was equally as busy. Tuesday Melissa and I went out to check out a staged reading over at Wolly Mammoth Theatre. I’ve never been to a staged reading and I was impressed with the quality of the performance for something done by acting students with only four hours of rehearsal.

Wednesday I sat in for a half of the 76ers/Wizards game. I believe the organization has reached a new low when the cheerleader couldn’t perform better than the team. When the Wizards Girls game out for their 1st half performance they huddled into their usual pre-dance stance but their song didn’t play. A variety of other tunes came on but it apparently wasn’t the right one. After 90 seconds of shuffling songs the girls ran off the floor to the boos of the crowd. Is it next season yet?

Last night Wendi and I saw the Odyssey over at the Foundry Theatre. I was able to meet the group I’d be working for starting next week as well as walk around the space. We had dinner over at Teaism, a quaint tea house that serves interesting boxed meals.

Now this weekend won’t be too eventful, I just finished Waltz With Bashir (don’t worry I’m done Oscar Watch reviews) and now I’ll be catching up on things before I jump into another theatre production- but I am looking forward to great weekend out next week.

This week was the start of lent, a period that means nothing to me but I know there are some others out there giving something up for 40 days- I’d love to hear what you are giving up. If I had to, I was thinking about giving up wearing clothes around the house, but Caroline wasn’t ready for that.

Tags: 76ers, asians, blog, clarendon, debauchery, dupont circle, falls church, family, favorites, foundry players, fun times with friends, roommates, the office, theatre, tyson's corner, waltz with bashir, wizards

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.

It’s hours after the end of Super Bowl 42. I’m going to write about that one later. I did get back from an excellent party at Sarah, Falkor, and Doug’s place. If all of us are good at something- it’s bringing lots of food together. Katie even brought a cooler of frozen beef from her Mom. I would normally be surprised by this but Katie is from PA and after living with Laura for six months, I’ve become accustomed to being given frozen slabs of meat. The one I took had “London Broil- sort of” written all over it. I can’t wait to cook up this mystery cut of meat.

This week has been very exhausting. Hectic work hours kept me from doing a whole lot, when Friday finally came and I went to the Jazz/Wizards with Adam, we were both just dead tired. We found enough energy after the game however to pass by the Georgetown Law Center to visit Burak wrap up his performance at an open mic. Hectic work begins again with work starting in five hours. Great.

I’m blogging from my brand new HP Laptop. Since I’ve been busy I finally got around to setting it up and going through it’s functions. It’s running on Windows Vista and I don’t know if I like it right now. At first I was really not liking all of the stupid changes- but now I’m a little bit ok with it. I think after some time I’ll live with it, I think I’m hating all the stupid bloatware that came with the computer. However as soon as I installed Battlefield 2 and pumped up all the graphic settings- I fell in love with this machine. I think I may not get a whole lot done now that I have a distraction.

Besides Super Bowl, Caitlin moved in today and it’s a joy to have someone living across from me that won’t make sex noises at 2 AM. But then again I don’t know what will happen.

Tags: battlefield 2, blog, food, georgetown law, laptop, montgomery county, roommates, stress, super bowl, wizards

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

I am blogging from lovely Reston Town Center (why I am here will be explained in my next post.)

The Washington Auto Show. I enjoyed the show last year and I wanted to make sure I caught the show again this year. Well I saw plenty of the show after visiting the show three times this week. It’s not that I love cars, it was really a case of double booking myself.

Thursday I wanted to catch up with Ian so I thought the auto show would be a good idea- so we went. The show was pretty much the same as last year except there were a few more new models and a few less cool exhibits. After the show we went to La Tasca so I could experience tapas fare for the first time. It was pretty cool- we ordered a tasting menu that was a bit more costly than I wanted (overall I dropped way too much money this week.) The food portions was a interesting concept- however I didn’t know that meatballs were a Spanish delicacy. Also everything came with a side of mayo to dip with. Very fattening.

Friday I continued Teege appreciation week- it’s her last week with us before she ships off to become a JAG officer. Monday we enjoyed Lars and the Real Girl- a definite recommendation. Friday I took her to the auto show and we went to the Grizzlies/Wizards game.

Yesterday I went out with my Maryland favorites and what did we do? We went to the auto show. Thank goodness I get into the show for free, otherwise I am quickly getting poor. After a lovely dinner at Fado- I quickly made it back to Clarendon for a night of bar hopping. I saw Camille and Rebecca at Liberty Tavern (Happy Birthday Camille!), Saw Nick and all my roommates at Dr. Dreamo’s, then we all went to Irish Four Courts where I ran into even more people (even our new roommate Caitlin.) Afterwards I tried to play drums in a Burak jam session.

I think this week I need to recover. Oh wait- Super Bowl is next week.

Tags: blog, clarendon, food, fun times with friends, lars and the real girl, reston town center, roommates, washington auto show, wizards

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

Things haven’t really been quiet recently, even after the holidays the good times still roll on.
One day after I say goodbye to Kim I get a phone call from Patrick:

Patrick: Hey Dude can I crash your place?

Me: Sure thing. Where are you?

Patrick: I’m in New York but I’m about to get on a bus and head to DC.

Me: Cool- you think you’ll get here by 7? I have tickets to a Wizards game…

Am I surprised that my good friend Patrick is making an unannounced visit? Not really.

He arrived just in time to catch the last few minutes of the Pistons/Wizards game. Afterwards we met up with Carolyn at Bailey’s to catch the last half of the Fiesta Bowl. WVU totally whooped Oklahoma’s ass with some ridiculous touchdown runs- a real exciting game to watch.

Wednesday Patrick and I paid Rebecca a visit. The visit came complete with Adam, Camille, and Sara. We watched Extras- a very funny show.

This weekend was pretty entertaining. I met up with Rebecca, Adam, and Camille at Rumors last night and watched Pittsburgh lose to the Jaguars. Today I had lunch with my awesome Aunt Jackie- it’s always good to catch up with family. We ate at Maggiano’s- and I have to say it’s by above and beyond anything Olive Garden could do- but then again did anyone really think Olive Garden is that great?

After lunch- Cleveland Street had another open house, always fun to grill perspective roommates. Luckily we found a wonderful new roommate who happens to work two floors above me. Small world right?

Ok time to watch Chris Rock: Never Scared on Comedy Central- that guy is funny!

Tags: ballston, blog, chris rock, family, fiesta bowl, food, fun times with friends, roommates, tyson's corner, washington dc, wizards, wvu

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

Now that I’m back home, I gotta get my routine in order, especially after this weekend.

Yesterday was Cleveland House’s annual Halloween bash, and I have to say that it was better than ever. We had it going on in the basement: two kegs, jungle juice (made by Laura, Adam, and I), Beirut, flip cup, darts, and the World Series on a LCD projector. That along with music upstairs and all of our friends in costumes = total chaos. I have to say a good time was had by all. If there were any highlights I can’t really remember them.

I know Rebecca and Camille rocked the pong table, Laura rocked the punch, and LJ rocked the congressional entourage.

Tonight I just got back from watching the Red Sox win the World Series for the second time in four years. It’s beginning to look like Boston’s becoming another city of champions. With positive outlooks for The Patriots, The Celtics, and the BC Eagles; we’re just full of winners. Hell maybe even the Bruins will win some games.

LJ and I went to watch the game at Rhino Bar, a Georgetown hangout where Red Sox Nation congregates. It was my first time at the place and I was impressed with the turnout of the Boston faithful. We were cheering for every hit, every out. My voice hurts from all the screaming that went on tonight.

Well I gotta love that dirty water, it’s late and I should go to bed- I have work tomorrow after all.

Tags: blog, boston college, bruins, celtics, debauchery, georgetown, holidays, patriots, red sox, roommates, travel, world series

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

I had an excellent weekend here in lovely Massachusetts. I flew back home to attend my cousin’s wedding. It’s only been a week since the beach and I’m already back traveling and missing work- don’t worry this will be the last trip for awhile.

Thursday proved to be a nice night before my travel, my new roommate Laura invited some of her friends over for some BBQ and Beer Pong. It looks like she’ll be a good fit for the house. I had to get up early Friday to catch my flight from Dulles. I flew JetBlue and yes my flight did leave on time. Everytime I fly JetBlue there are always people new to the “JetBlue experience”. I love how they freak out when they discover the DirectTV and XM Radio. Personally I really love the in flight entertainment and wonder why more carriers don’t do it. I enjoy it enough to keep me flying JetBlue as often as possible. If there’s something I hate is waiting though flights. It’s already long enough that we have to arrive hours early and wait and hope there arn’t any delays.

So after flying into Logan I decided to visit good ol’ CHS- Diana told me that they just finishing building the new auditorium- and it looked great! We saw a couple of our cousins there (because you can’t have enough Pho in high school). They gave Diana and I the cold shoulder however, how high school typical.
I attended a pre-wedding dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Woburn. It was an interesting establishment that was located inside a historic colonial house. After the dinner I went out with Bill, Melanie, Jim to Dick’s Last Resort to catch up and enjoy some beer and Red Sox. It was really nice to catch up with everyone- even OC stopped by and it’s always a treat to see her. Bill told me that Dick’s is known for the service being well… like a Dick. Good thing he told me because our waiter first yelled at me if I, “WANTED TO EAT OFF THE MENU!” then after taking my drink order, instructed me to take that order and go to the bar.

Wedding day went well, but not without some difficulties. My mom was uber paranoid about getting lost to the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge. So we decided that the kids and I would take a lead car and my parents would follow (we had to take two cars because we roll like that). Well I had printed directions, Google Map directions, and the GPS Navigation device that I gave my parents for Christmas. I was bulletproof. I had a route planned out that would avoid Storrow Drive (if you don’t know the road, it’s very easy to get lost and accidentally take a left exit ramp). This route would requires a right off Route 93. Well we were about to take the right when my Dad starts beeping behind me and pointing to take a left instead- a left that goes onto Storrow Drive. Well we make a last minute turn to follow my frantic parents and we end up on the road I didn’t want to take. At that point I had to go to the trusty GPS device to get us there. While trying to recalculate where we were, my parents did accidentally take a left exit ramp and ended up getting lost in Back Bay. My car was able to navigate ourselves without much incident. Now why can’t my parents just trust me sometimes?

Once we got to the hotel everything else was really nice. The ceremony was a non-traditional blend of Vietnamese and Mexican cultures (my cousin Mai was marrying Paco, a nice Mexican doctor.) Everyone had a laugh when the Justice of the Peace mentioned they both met in Med School- Mai was an intern and Paco was her Resident, it’s a lovely Grey’s Anatomy story come true! (Disclaimer: I do not watch Grey’s.) The multicultural-ness came together when the Vietnamese Bride and the Mexican Groom marched down the aisle to a Celtic tune.
The reception was a grand entertainment production. Keeping true to their promises there was an open bar that everyone enjoyed almost as much as the Mashed Potato Bar that was also present. My cousins were all thumbs up. After Mai and Paco were introduced they performed a rousing Salsa-like dance routine that was HOT HOT HOT. Other acts that night included an Elton John number, another Salsa dance performance from two guests and a full Mariachi band- and all of this occurring over dinner. It was great to see all my cousins at the wedding, we are all at that age now where I think we can appreciate being with family more. Overall a great night. Quote of the night: “Patrick, you are related to half the girls here!”
Last night the family came together once more to have dinner in honor of Diana’s graduation two weeks back. The location- a Chinese Food buffet, of course! It just seems that trips back home are just jammed packed with gut-busting events. Quote of the dinner: “Older is ok.”

After the dinner I met up with Erin, Nancy, and Tom for some adventures at Kimball’s Farm. We enjoyed some overpriced Mini-Golf and Ice Cream, but had lots of fun with the golf. I think I did a pretty good job squeezing my friends into this wedding weekend. It’s not over yet as I’m about to go out with Dave to Nashua (where else can you go to in this god-forsaken town?)

Tags: blog, boston, chs, family, fanueil hall, flying, food, fun times with friends, jetblue, kimball's farm, massachusetts, mini-golf, nashua, roommates, wedding

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

After an amazing adventure like last week I should have taken the week to just recover. I just kept the week grooving all to this weekend. Tuesday I hit up RFK for the Braves/Nationals game. Sarah, Doug, and I enjoyed watching the Nats give up yet another game. As of right now they are 15-28, only 72 games more to 100 losses. Thursday Burak and Nicholas decided to introduce me to the Royal Lee, the bar down the street that has karaoke almost every night. It reminds me of Hooligan’s but a little more trashier.

This weekend I’ve been chillin here in the crib. We are holding an open house to find another roommate (Nick is moving out in June). So far I haven’t seen a lot of peoples but I hope today will yield someone. Last night Doug and I hit up Dreamo’s. There an usual amount of people there, we apparently walked into a party for the Washington Area Frisbee Club. I’ve never ran into so many crunch granola types/preps.

This week should be fun, I’ll be celebrating Margaret appreciation week with multiple parties in her honor. Also Diana is graduating this weekend, and then- THE BEACH! My new annual kick-off to the summer season. This year we have a great house and I am going to rock out with sixteen of my favorites. Can’t wait.

This weekend I watched Swingers, and I think it’s one of my new favorite movies. It really gave me a new view on life and women, that and Vince Vaughn is in classic form. It was money baby.

Tags: baseball, blog, clarendon, fun times with friends, karaoke, nationals, obx, rfk stadium, roommates, swingers, vince vaughn

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

It seems like everyone at my workplace is going to see JT at the Verizon Center. I did not. As much as I love his music I do not think that’s a step I’m willing to take at this time. Instead I went out with my roommates to Columbia Heights to a party. My moment of last night is running out of the train at Metro Center, taking a biological break, and catching the same train back at Gallery Place. I certainly know how to surf the railways of DC. My neck has been hurting since Thursday and it still does. I think I need to spend 1-3 hours at Brookstone or The Sharper Image or something.

Tags: blog, brookstone, columbia heights, debauchery, justin timberlake, roommates, sharper image, verizon center

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

This has definitely has been the WILDEST week this entire summer. Let’s recap. Monday was the first night of SOAR. It was awesome having all of our OLs back around. I was dressed in a snazzy black suit. Everything went rather smoothly. Someone even commented that I was a sweetie in the surveys. Rock on. That night we went to Mat’s house where I became the life of the party. I walked in fashionably late and everyone in the party proceeded to take a billion photos of me. I felt like a star. Things that night heated up when Ashley, Chrissy, and Melissa asked for a lap dance… I never gave one before so I just did something where I shook my ass and took off clothes. I guess I did a good job because I got $10 out of the deal. After some drunken debauchery under the stairs Mat asks me if I wanna play strip twister… what kind of house is this!?!?! Tuesday I woke up with a headache so I decided to put on my glasses and cowboy hat for SOAR. After another great session, the party moved back into TH 404. I chilled with Melanie and Lindsay in my room… it was sure to cause a lot of rumors. It’s cool though- Lindsay and I used protection- but she did get mad when I didn’t go straight to bed Wednesday the OLs went up to Maine where we went on a boat ride- it was nice relaxing experience. A few of us had lunch at the Main Lobster Company, they make some mean fish sandwiches! That night we saw the Portland SeaDogs (Red Sox) play the Trenton Thunder (NY Yankees). It was an entertaining game, Bill got to go on the field for one of the many contests they had that night. It was an awesome baseball game, I haven’t seen one since I was a kid. The SeaDogs won 2-0. After a long ride back we were ready for Thursday’s session. I left early to see Christina in Boston, we went to see Guster play with the Boston POPS at Symphony Hall. We stood out from the old rich folks. They were dressed up and we were in t-shirts. But we did drink lots of classy drinks. Which reminds me- I need to buy some gin. After the concert we walked around Davis Square and got some food and drinks. Friday The crew went out for dinner at the 99. All I can say is best steak tips ever. After that I went to Phil’s campfire in Worcester, I met up with Jake and Devon (who I adore). Another fun night. Tonight I’m going to drive to Northfield to see the Comm/Media Faculty play at a show. It’s awful hot right now- I wish I have AC. Well this is my last week before I go to NY for July. I am organizing a last summer crew trip to see Frank Santos- the R rated Hypnotist. Here’s to the night.

Tags: baseball, blog, boston, college, debauchery, frank santos, fsc, fun times with friends, guster, portland, red sox, roommates, sea dogs, worcester

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

Well it’s my birthday (What Would You Say?) Here’s the breakdown:
Good: Phil and Tessa surprising me once again, everybody making me feel really cool and being really nice, cake, bottle of Arbor Mist
Bad: Two papers to write, two finals to study for, car died.

Let’s hope my birthday gets better.

Tags: birthday, blog, fun times with friends, roommates, work

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

I am all done classes for the semester! I stayed up extra late to finish three out of four of my term papers- now I only have one more to go before I can go on complete cruise control.

Today was suppose to be a winter spree day but I’m staying in to finish my papers.

Phil has:

1. Devised a way to steal candy from the vending machines.
2. Picked up an application to become an RA. He’s wicked excited, we are going to be roomies next year and if he gets the job he wants me in their too living large in the super sweet RA quarters.

Tags: blog, fsc, roommates