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| Wednesday, August 15, 2007 |
| Emotional Reset |
Someone (TomO I think it was you) said at Eddypolusa this year that the annual event is sort of an emotional reset for him. As soon as the words left his mouth I thought: Yes! YES! That's exactly it.
In years past that reset, that sense of calm has always stayed with me for months. Not so for 2007. Faced with a boss whom I've described at length before, I came back and was working weekends, was working on my days off, was driving myself insane. The anxiety I felt between the hours of 9 and 5 was following me home, constantly nipping at my heels.
I was headed for a breakdown and I knew it.
And then the weekend arrived. A weekend that promised the company of some of my guy friends, some baseball, and some beer. Saturday found us in the second row of dead center field at Camden Yards watching Beckett pitch a masterful game - the only one the Sox won in the series. Saturday night there was some Mexican food, many MANY beers, and a lot of entertaining conversation.
After a hangover-curing greasy brunch, there was a surprise sailing trip. 4 guy friends, a cooler full of beer, and my first trip on a sail boat (yes I am the worst Rhode Islander ever). As we floated past the monuments, swam in the placid waters of the Potomac, and talked about absolutely nothing for hours on end, I felt further away from work than I had since my days on the St. Croix.
But a 2am arrival time back in NYC and a morning that came far too fast brought Monday crashing down on my head. And then I did the smartest thing I've done in a long time.
I called out sick.
A lazy day of no work, sleep, some tv watching, and more sleep found me sitting in the office yesterday morning with a slight smile on my face as my boss called me insubordinate. For planning a happy hour. After hours. For a coworker who was leaving.
I'd officially figured out how to emotionally reset myself. And damn did it feel good.
 Labels: baseball, drinking, friends, photos, Red Sox, travel, work |
posted by FINY @ Wednesday, August 15, 2007   |
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| Monday, May 07, 2007 |
| An Exercise in Pictoral Excuses |
Yes, I have been absent over the last few weeks, months, etc. But really, I've got some pretty good excuses.
First, I went to a Sox game at Yankee Stadium where I watched Dice-K pitch and the Sox win:
And ate a lot of peanuts:
After the game, I got way too wasted when the Twin showed up at Prof. Thom's after a 6 month absence. But he wasn't alone, he had the new-me with him. I held it together while at the bar, but the evening ended with me crying on the sidewalk in the Welshman's arms. Look for a post soon about the rules of post break-up behavior. I think The Twin needs a memo.
So the next day I was hoping the Sox would cheer me up when I attended the second game in the series. That didn't happen, since they lost, but at least I got to watch Wakefield pitch.
The third game in the series was watched at Thom's. Much beer was imbibed during the day. And into the night. 12 straight hours of drinking does not a good blogger make:
After a few days break in which I recovered from said weekend, I went to a very swanky and very successful Alzheimer's Association Junior Committee gala:
At which I was the PICTURE of decorum:
Two days later I was at a Cinco De Mayo party in Boston:
That didn't end until the sun was rising:
Long story short? I'm such an ass that I am not even going to promise that I'll be blogging more now (even though I will, no really, I swear).Labels: Alzheimer's, baseball, blogging, Boston, dating, drinking, misc., NYC, photos, Red Sox, sports, travel |
| posted by FINY @ Monday, May 07, 2007 |
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| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 |
| A List |
Well, I'm back, and in no state of mind to be eloquent at the moment, so instead? A list.
Things that have happened since I last posted:
* I travelled to Boston for 5 days ...
* ... and was drunk for approximately 22 out of 24 hours each day I was there.
* ... took over Pizzaria Regina with somewhere around seventeen people.
* ... took a personalized, private trolly tour that included two bar stops.
* ... drank through the many hangovers.
* ... and ended up staying an extra day so that I could ....
* Have a second interview with the Boston position I was going for.
* I returned to NYC and had a second interview with the nonprofit down here.
* I flew to LA for four days ...
* ... where I saw Bill Mahr on the street.
* ... listened to my friend's ex-boss tell stories about the Hollywood industry that I absolutely shouldn't have heard.
* ... drank Coronas while sitting on the beach. Paradise Cove in Malibu is now one of my favorite places in the world.
* ... tried Absinthe for the first time. Holy HELL does this shit hurt.
* ... basically just relaxed with some of my favorite people in the world. It was fantastic.
* ... sat a row in front of Venus Williams on my flight back, during which all I wanted to do in the world was turn around and say "Really? Jet Blue? Things that bad on the tour?!"
* After returning to NYC, became extremely confused that there was a) no alcohol in my system and b) ample time to actually sleep.
* And then yesterday ... I got a job offer. More on that later. I have not accepted it yet, as I am waiting to hear from the OTHER position I was interviewing for, but consider that your teaser. By the end of the day today, I could very well have accepted a position.Labels: photos, travel |
| posted by FINY @ Tuesday, February 27, 2007 |
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| Friday, January 05, 2007 |
| Things I've Learned During My First Week Of Unemployment |
1. My cat sleeps more than I thought an animal could.
2. Lack of human contact can make a person go crazy.
3. Eventually, all job postings sound the same.
4. There's at least one hawk that lives in Prospect Park.
5. My new digital camera is fantastic.
6. I am a terrible photographer, but I still love to take pictures (ok, maybe that one I knew before).
7. It's possible to live very cheaply in New York City.
8. I really do need cable. I thought I could live without it, but I am running out of DVDs to watch, CDs to listen to, and soap operas are really really annoying.
9. It is not possible to reset your internal clock to nonworking hours when you've been waking up no later than 8 on weekdays for four and a half years.
10. There is MUCH less to write about when you sit at home all day.
The most exciting thing I've done all week? I took an hour long walk in Prospect Park yesterday, which is right across the street from my apartment and I took pictures. And what's the fun of taking pictures if I'm not going to share them. So here they are:
 
 Labels: photos, Unemployment |
| posted by FINY @ Friday, January 05, 2007 |
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| Tuesday, July 11, 2006 |
| One Sweet Show, Pt. II |
After leaving the Pour House, The Welshman and I headed over to Boston Billiards to meet my high school friends before going into the show. THIS is where the wheels fell off. A very quick beer and two shots later, we were headed into Fenway. I am still convinced that it was those two shots, which were my second and third within an hour and a half, were my downfall. And I think the picture of the Welshman speaks for itself:
But once inside Fenway, I was absolutely giddy. Though many of the male members of our group were not exactly excited to see Sheryl Crow perform, I really enjoy her music and she played a solid set (though I think we missed a few songs waiting in line to get onto Yawkey Way).
The break between Crow and DMB gave me a chance to look around the park, kind of take it all in. One of my favorite parts of the entire day was the Green Monster, which spelled out Dave Matthews Band (you can click on these pictures to make them bigger by the way):
The break also gave the Welshman enough time to start planning to jump over the barrier onto the infield just so he could roll around on it. The idea being that the one scrawny security guy on our side of the field probably wouldn't do much damage to him.
And then, it was time, Dave came out, and I lost all track of well, everything. They played a great set list, most notably, a fantastic cover of Sweet Caroline, which was just so venue appropriate I couldn't stand it. During that song, as I am prone to do, I called The Twin, said absolutely nothing, but held the phone up for him to listen to the song. After about 30 seconds he hung up. Which made total sense as I had called him before we got to Boston Billiards, warning of how that would most likely happen, and telling him to feel free to just hang up.
But I told him that when I was relatively sober. I have now been drinking for somewhere around 5 hours. So all throughout the show I am texting him. Telling him I'm so sorry I was calling and texting too much and that I promised I'd stop. But of course I didn't. Instead I KEPT texting about how sorry I was. And in my totally wasted state, I was upset. No good reason, just upset. Hell he even texted me back and told me it was fine. At the time, I totally didn't believe it.
That small issue aside, the show really was amazing. They opened with One Sweet World, one of my favorites, and closed with Two Step as an encore. And in all honesty, they could have played all their hits, and only their hits, and even though I HATE it when they do that, I still would have been happy as a pig in shit. I was at Dave Matthews at Fenway Park, it just doesn't get much better than that.
 Labels: Boston, drinking, friends, music, photos |
| posted by FINY @ Tuesday, July 11, 2006 |
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| One Sweet Show |
Well, I survived ... barely. It was quite the weekend in Boston, here's the illustrated story:
The Welshman and I arrived in Boston around noon, dropped our stuff off with a friend of his we were staying with, and headed out on the town. Our first stop? 21st Amendment on Beacon Hill.
And it was there that our first two beers were had while watching the beginning of the Sox game in Chicago. Perhaps it was a bad idea for me to start drinking at 1:30, knowing that I was going to continue on through the night. But at the time, that didn't really occur to me.
Soon after the bar we headed to Boston's famous North End. While I was in college I was OBSESSED with Bovas Bakery, which, no matter how hard you argue, I will always think makes better pastry than Mike's.
And let's just say I was really effing excited to be at my old college haunt:
So after that brief respite from the alcohol consumption, clearly we needed to get back to the bar.
So off we went to The Pour House, another college tradition of mine, where shots of SoCo and Lime and a few rather large beers were had. At this point, it's around 4:30, there's still a lot of night ahead of us ...
More to come later since Blogger is having a problem with photos at the moment ...Labels: Boston, drinking, friends, music, photos |
| posted by FINY @ Tuesday, July 11, 2006 |
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| Wednesday, May 24, 2006 |
| The Streak is Over |
July 1, 2004. In an up and down game that everyone remembers, the Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium. Nomar was on the bench, according to many sports writers – moping. In the top of the 12th inning, Trot Nixon hit a pop fly down the third base line and a sprinting Derek Jeter catches the ball and dives head first into the stands, emerging bloodied and bruised. In the bottom of the 13th, John Flaherty singled in Miguel Cairo and the Yankees won 5 to 4.
That game, almost a full two years ago, was the last game the Red Sox had lost when I was in attendance. It was a streak that lasted some twenty games. Games against the Yankees, Orioles, Phillies, A’s, Angels. Regular season, post season, it didn’t matter if I was there, they won.
Until Sunday.
The Phillies flat out destroyed the Sox., 10-5. The streak was over. When I recapped the game to my mother while on the bus ride home, I listed the pitching staff that had taken the mound that day. DiNardo, Alvarez, Tavarez, Seanez. Her reaction was that she had heard of exactly none of those guys. Exactly, mom, exactly.
The streak had to end sometime, and Sunday was the day. I just hope they don’t go on a 20 game losing streak when I’m in the park now just to make up for it.
Some pictures from the park:
The Philadelphia skyline looking out over center field.
The view from our seats. We were in the top row. Luckily, there really aren’t any bad views in Citizen Bank Ballpark.
The only thing I dislike about CBB. The entire thing comes across as so classy. It’s clean, the views are great, and it gives you the impression of being smaller than it is. And then there’s this: the light up Liberty Bell. This thing lights up and sways whenever the Phillies hit a homerun. It’s completely out of place and totally tacky. Bad job.
Me after the game. I look surprisingly happy for a Sox fan who just watched her team get their asses kicked, no?Labels: Boston, photos, Red Sox, sports |
| posted by FINY @ Wednesday, May 24, 2006 |
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| Tuesday, May 16, 2006 |
| Rule #76: No excuses. Play like a champion! * |
If by, "play like a champion" you mean drink like a fish, then yes, I would say that aptly describes the four days I spent down in Florida.
Hangover aside, the wedding was absolutely fantastic. I can't wait to get the pictures back from the professional photographer since they include a pictures of:
1. The bridal party running down the road past a line of traffic (most of whom were wedding guests) in an attempt to get to the beach before sunset for pictures. 2. Multiple photos of me peeling off my nylons when we reached said beach. 3. A picture of all of the bridesmaids tearing off Haynes T-shirts Hulk Hogan style since we all forgot to bring button down shirts so as not to mess up our hair or makeup after it was professionaly done. This of course on top of around 1000 other pictures. Should be good stuff.
I feel like I've been gone for a lot longer than I actually have. In the four days I was down there I attended a seemingly endless stream of events, sang more irish drinking songs than I care to remember, and had more to eat and drink than my body could be reasonably expected to hold. You'll all be excited to know that this was a wedding for two die-hard sox fans. I got to watch the Thursday night Sox v. Yanks game at the bar after they requested it be played, the bride's mother gave her a Build-a-Bear Bride Bear with a Sox jersey on it instead of the top of the dress, the bride's garter had a Sox logo on it, and at the reception the Dropkick Murphy's versions of Tessie and Dirty Water were blasted over the speakers. And happily, the only tears I shed were out of sheer joy for the bride and groom.
I was a bit scared that all these weddings coming up were going to push me even deeper into the bitterness that the Twin began a month ago. Happily, it had the exact opposite effect. I don't like being bitter, and to be honest, I do it very poorly. When it comes down to it, I am a positive, hopeless romantic at heart. One of my college friends calls it my "fluffy bunny". It was in full effect this weekend.
As I stood up at the altar, watching the bride and groom literally glow with happiness, I realized that no matter how much the breakup hurt me, no matter how much I pretended that I feel like I have given up on love, I could never really reach that point. It's stupid and sappy, but I still believe in it. I still believe that some day I am going to find it, and somehow that makes this easier to deal with. I mean, I deserve someone who loves me as much as I love them. Who one day I can look at like that. The Twin obviously wasn't that guy. And that's ok. I am not even remotely trying to say that I am looking to get married tomorrow, but it's nice to still believe that I will someday. Of course talk to me in ten years and if I'm still single, I may have changed my tune, but for now, I'm just going to roll with it.
* - From The Wedding Crashers. Such a great freaking movie.Labels: drinking, friends, photos |
| posted by FINY @ Tuesday, May 16, 2006 |
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