A Piece Worth Reading

My brother passed this article along to me. It's long but it was good. I think it's worth reading. Just wanted to share...

http://timesonline.typepad.com/times_tokyo_weblog/2009/03/the-luckiest-or.html

Also Shifting Gears....

Well I submitted my resignation to my direct supervisor & the library director. That's right. We are moving on May 14 to Davis, CA. Last thursday, the 19, was a whirlwind. J matched at the family medicine residency program at UC Davis. The actual medical center is located in Sacramento, but we want to live in Davis....

So we are planning to leave May 14 or so, take a road trip to hit up some interesting sites. Mt Rushmore, Badlands, Yellowstone, and I'd like to check out Craters of the Moon. The next month & a half is going to be wicked busy with packing and getting our ducks in a row, but we are both so very excited. Still waiting to hear from law schools. Have my fingers crossed. I think I'll get word sometime in April.

Just wanted to update on that. Will be back with more news & developments as it unfolds!!!!!!

Happy drunk day

Well it's st Patricks Day. aka drunk day. You know, I don't so much dislike this holiday as I dislike what has become of it. A bunch of stupid drunk people dressing up in obnoxious green shit like: mardi gras beads with a gaudy shamrock attached to it, plastic green tophats with a gold banner with shamrocks on it, bright green shirts that say KISS ME IM IRISH, fake green plastic shamrock shaped glasses, etc. It drives me nuts. i can't stand how it's just an excuse to get slobberingly drunk. we went to nyc this previous weekend to visit my brother & Pete and on the subway there were all these frat boys dressed up in their st patricks day attire, being loud and belligerent.

in about 50 hours, we will know where we are going! eep. he found out for certain that he HAS matched *somewhere*, so that is good news. Our weekend in new york was fun. i haven't seen my brother since July 08, so it was great to be reunited. we did not do anything too special. drove around on franco's scooter (!!!!!!), browsed around tribeca, went to some art installations (http://www.earthroom.org/ and http://www.brokenkilometer.org/) and just chilled out. I know when you visit nyc you're supposed to do some crazy grandiose stuff, but all i really wanted to do was just hang out with my bro. those art installations are great. i was in new york once in January 2004, and that was the first time i went to both of those rooms. interestingly, i've been dying to visit them since them, but for the life of me could NOT remember what they were called or where in nyc they were.......and then franco suggested visiting them. cool serendipity. i like when that happens.

Burn Out!

I am of the personality that prefers continuous work. I don't do well with work days with minimal tasks. The past month has become increasingly busy and task-filled. I actually -dare I say it- feel a little burned out. In 9 days, J and I will know our fate....at least for the next 3 years. Match Day is March 19 and we can finally find out where we are going. Do we stay in New England or head out to California? Both are exciting prospects in their own ways, and both have daunting sides as well. Going out west means a very tight bank account, especially if I get into a law program. J will be making the income for the both of us. But going out west also means a road trip across the US, exploring places I've never seen like Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, Salt Lake City, and the Badlands. It is a very very exciting new adventure, spending substantial time in a region of the nation that I've never experienced, and also getting to be reunited with one of my dearest friends. We are going to get a dog, too [pomeranian], so I would have much more time to spend with the dog out west than if we stay here.

However if we stay around these parts, this means something that is very important to me: fiscal responsibility [say it in a monotone voice]. I'll continue to work & save money. The price of living is cheeper, and we'll be able to get a great place [a loft]. I'll continue paying off my loans from college & grad school and my car, and be in a very awesome secure place. We'll both bring in steady salary and it will feel good, I know it will. We decided that if we stay in this region, we'll treat ourselves to a nice vacation in the late-summer. We have good friends that live in Stockholm. Of all the places in the world, I've never wanted to visit one more than Norway- specifically the fjords. We would vacation in Sweden & Norway and that would be amazing. I've never left the United States, except for Canada.

So we wait. Both J and I have come to comfortable acceptance of either fate. There are plusses & minusses. I'm excited about both in their own way. The fact is.....9 days. I am treating J to a suprise couples spa treatment the weekend after Match Day, so hopefully that will help alleviate some of my current burnout!

I get older, they stay the same age...

That's probably the only quote I remember from the movie Dazed & Confused. Wooderson said it, in reference to high school girls. Ew. Well the context is quease-inspiring, but I think it's a good quote. Especially when being used in regard to the audience of the Disco biscuits. J and I went to what was my 16th bisco show this weekend. It was held at the House of Blues in boston, actually right across from Fenway park. The past 2 years or so that I've been seeing them, I have just become more & more disappointed......not necessarily by the music (although I am a little sad that they are leaving the more rock sound for a more primarily techno-y sound), but by the crowd. Can't stand them. And it's true....I keep getting older, but the mass of the audience stays within the 19-22 age group. Which is interesting because there is not a huge difference between my age of 25 & the age of 21/22, but when it comes to disco biscuits fans, it's a striking gap.........

i'm not trying to talk shit because I will be the very first to admit that yes I was once that young spun out fan. But I wonder if, even as I was out of my mind, I was as inconsiderate and rude as everyone I come into contact with. Have they ever heard of "personal space" ? I know not every young fan is on drugs and I know that there are older fans that are on drugs & rude....or are simply just rude, even if sober. But it's aggravating. The disco biscuits are playing much larger venues and I expect that they will continue to grow. As the venues grow, I think that the fans get more obnoxious. It's somewhat parallel to what happened with Phish.

When I was seeing them in 2002-2004, even 2006, it seemed that if you were bothered by some idiot you could just move somewhere else and be in the company of more respectful people. That was not the case on Saturday. We left at the end of the 2nd set, blowing off the encore, which I rarely ever do. I was just fed up, that it was time to go.

In other news, we've received about 12 inches of snow. Might have to "get sick" tomorrow and nurse myself back to health by hitting the slopes all day :-D