What can I say besides it was a freakin' long day. Work was a disaster from the get go and I was already answering stupid questions before I even got my ass into my seat. Somehow I managed to accomplish nearly every task I needed to in eight hours and was able to get out of that place. Grrrrrrrr.
Then the fun began. I met up with Britt and Dylan for an evening of pizza in the North End. We were seated in Pizzeria Regina and had the most classic waitress. I think she has dealt with one too many diners, because she was less than helpful.
4 reasons you know your waitress has worked there too long:
1) Asks you if you are ready before you can even finish saying NO she is gone.
2) When you order one pizza she makes it clear you can't reorder pizza if you don't have enough.
3) She walks around with her hands at her waist.
4) As soon as she puts the pizza on the table she disappears.
It was a good time despite the waitress.
Next up Britt and I went to the IMax at the Museum of Science to see All Access. We conveniently arrived and hour and a half early and checked out every inch of the little space exhibit. I learned some stuff but most I knew already since I am a crazy space buff. I also took some weird pictures in the glass panels while waiting. The movie was great and they really highlighted DMB's performance with Al Green. Other highlights of mine were probably Sheryl Crow and the jam by The Roots, Trey and BB King. The lowlights were Macy Gray, Moby and the crink in my neck from looking up for an hour straight. Overall it was a great show and experience.
Misc Pictures from the last few days
Friday, January 30, 2004
Thursday, January 29, 2004
My Commute as a Video Game
I was walking home from the train and thought about how my walk could be a level in a Mario game.
World 1 The Parking Lot
After finding the correct set of doors to get off the train you must go down the steep and slippery stairs. Next you must avoid the people walking in all different directions. The task to follow is avoiding the speeding cars and MBTA buses in the parking lot, while also dealing with the wind blowing out of the West. Now comes the obstacle of the train tracks and the freight train which must be avoided. To complete the level you must cross the tracks on the lose rocks without falling onto the broken glass.
World 2 Frozen Tundra Park
The most difficult part of this world is the constant wind blowing in your face all the way across the park. The path is windy and in deep snow can be hard to follow. Winding your way through the park is generally quiet until you see the dog walkers. The dogs are never on a leash and will run right up to you and bark or snarl at you. When doing this world at low tide you must be careful to cover your nose because of the fumes from the polluted canal. The final obstacle in the world is the multi-lane intersection, which is difficult because there are several places the cars can come from and often times people are in a rush to get home.
World 3 Canal Sidewalk
You are forced to walk along a very narrow sidewalk in this world which is bordered on the left by a tall fence on the canal and a four lane road to the left. Be very careful of the speeding cars and the spray which may saok you and ruin your clothes. The wind dies down towards the end, but the sidewalk ends and you must now walk in the dirt next to the new storage building. Various construction equipment will force you to walk in the road which is dangerous given the speed limit and odd five road intersection. Large puddles in the road next to the storage building causes you to focus on your timing in this area. The world is completed by crossing one of the cross roads and climbing the wall into the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot.
World 4 Gallow's Hill
The world opens with the smell of fresh donuts which are very distracting and troublesome since the first part can be very tricky. You must cross the heavily traveled Boston Road, which is dangerous at any hour of the day. One strategy is to walk along the road and cross whenever you get a chance or to sit by patiently and run across at full speed. The longer you wait the better your chances since there is a stone wall when crossing early. Finally you must deal with the steep hills, in warm weather they are not a problem, but after crossing Frozen Tundra park your legs are frozen and aren't working as well as they should be. You must also avoid slippery spots which can be killer when climbing up the hill. The final obstacle is to wrestle the house key out of your bag and make your way into the house. The ultimate prize is not a Princess but a box of chocolate frosted donuts.
Other things I did today include:
Dropping off my passport
Booking my trip to Europe (March 11 -> March 21)
BoCaNO at the cheap Grendel's Den
My lovely commute
An IM followed by a phone conversation with my good friend Emily R
Looked up the book "Confederacy of Dunces"because Emily strongly recommends it
Chatted it up with my cousin B-Rok
Updated my LJ
Two things I want to say I am very excited about Europe, partly because it is very unKeegan to go and travel so far without my car and because I want to see more of the world. The other thing is that I am really happy I got to talk to Emily tonight, we don't talk to often but when we do it is always so much fun catching up. It's nice to have such a good friend. I also found talking so rarely helps put into perspective just how much I have changed over the past couple of years. I am sure you all have noticed but my only comment about it is "Leaps and Bounds". To think only a year and a half ago I was flying for my first time in 15 years and now I am flying by myself to a foreign country. I just have to remember to pack as much as possible in my carry on bag, especially an extra pair of pants in case I they lose my bag and they get ripped on a barbed wire fence.
World 1 The Parking Lot
After finding the correct set of doors to get off the train you must go down the steep and slippery stairs. Next you must avoid the people walking in all different directions. The task to follow is avoiding the speeding cars and MBTA buses in the parking lot, while also dealing with the wind blowing out of the West. Now comes the obstacle of the train tracks and the freight train which must be avoided. To complete the level you must cross the tracks on the lose rocks without falling onto the broken glass.
World 2 Frozen Tundra Park
The most difficult part of this world is the constant wind blowing in your face all the way across the park. The path is windy and in deep snow can be hard to follow. Winding your way through the park is generally quiet until you see the dog walkers. The dogs are never on a leash and will run right up to you and bark or snarl at you. When doing this world at low tide you must be careful to cover your nose because of the fumes from the polluted canal. The final obstacle in the world is the multi-lane intersection, which is difficult because there are several places the cars can come from and often times people are in a rush to get home.
World 3 Canal Sidewalk
You are forced to walk along a very narrow sidewalk in this world which is bordered on the left by a tall fence on the canal and a four lane road to the left. Be very careful of the speeding cars and the spray which may saok you and ruin your clothes. The wind dies down towards the end, but the sidewalk ends and you must now walk in the dirt next to the new storage building. Various construction equipment will force you to walk in the road which is dangerous given the speed limit and odd five road intersection. Large puddles in the road next to the storage building causes you to focus on your timing in this area. The world is completed by crossing one of the cross roads and climbing the wall into the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot.
World 4 Gallow's Hill
The world opens with the smell of fresh donuts which are very distracting and troublesome since the first part can be very tricky. You must cross the heavily traveled Boston Road, which is dangerous at any hour of the day. One strategy is to walk along the road and cross whenever you get a chance or to sit by patiently and run across at full speed. The longer you wait the better your chances since there is a stone wall when crossing early. Finally you must deal with the steep hills, in warm weather they are not a problem, but after crossing Frozen Tundra park your legs are frozen and aren't working as well as they should be. You must also avoid slippery spots which can be killer when climbing up the hill. The final obstacle is to wrestle the house key out of your bag and make your way into the house. The ultimate prize is not a Princess but a box of chocolate frosted donuts.
Other things I did today include:
Dropping off my passport
Booking my trip to Europe (March 11 -> March 21)
BoCaNO at the cheap Grendel's Den
My lovely commute
An IM followed by a phone conversation with my good friend Emily R
Looked up the book "Confederacy of Dunces"because Emily strongly recommends it
Chatted it up with my cousin B-Rok
Updated my LJ
Two things I want to say I am very excited about Europe, partly because it is very unKeegan to go and travel so far without my car and because I want to see more of the world. The other thing is that I am really happy I got to talk to Emily tonight, we don't talk to often but when we do it is always so much fun catching up. It's nice to have such a good friend. I also found talking so rarely helps put into perspective just how much I have changed over the past couple of years. I am sure you all have noticed but my only comment about it is "Leaps and Bounds". To think only a year and a half ago I was flying for my first time in 15 years and now I am flying by myself to a foreign country. I just have to remember to pack as much as possible in my carry on bag, especially an extra pair of pants in case I they lose my bag and they get ripped on a barbed wire fence.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Yogurt
I don't really have much to say, but do want to say Yoplait White Chocolate Rasberry yogurt is the best. I used to think the Cherry flavor was the best, but I stand corrected. Today was a great day, my most interesting experiences came when I tried to get a passport. I went to Old Town Photo for the picture and the guy was just weird. He told the guy in front of me his picture was perfect and then when mine was ready he said, "Your's is good." Turns out I was half smiling and it looks like I had a stroke or something.
On the bright side the girl working the counter was very good looking, out of my league, but still nice to look at. Is that shallow? Next was to go to the passport office and as Marisa and I were looking for the entrance this guy tells us the first entrance we tried is the place for passports, but we hadn't said a thing about it. He then said he is the passport guy. Bottom line with this guy was that he spoke a million words a minute and couldn't file my paper work because I didn't have the proper birth certificate. I have since picked up a proper BC thanks to my mom and will submit my application tomorrow. It's a lot of work to travel abroad, but it is also very exciting.
Okay thats it!
Bye!
On the bright side the girl working the counter was very good looking, out of my league, but still nice to look at. Is that shallow? Next was to go to the passport office and as Marisa and I were looking for the entrance this guy tells us the first entrance we tried is the place for passports, but we hadn't said a thing about it. He then said he is the passport guy. Bottom line with this guy was that he spoke a million words a minute and couldn't file my paper work because I didn't have the proper birth certificate. I have since picked up a proper BC thanks to my mom and will submit my application tomorrow. It's a lot of work to travel abroad, but it is also very exciting.
Okay thats it!
Bye!
Sunday, January 25, 2004
Productive Weekend?!?!
Once again I stayed back in Salem for the weekend because the forecasted temperatures for Maine were just too low. The cost did not exceed the benefit of driving all the way up to Bethel. I am sure some people will say it was -80, but it wasn't too bad and the snow was great. I think I will use my past experience of skiing when its cold and know that it is miserable and uncomfortable to ski when the temperature is below zero. Okay moving on...
Friday night = Me doing nothing
Saturday = Watching some taped TV and then napping followed by the movies
Movie memorable things:
1) Dottie the popcorn lady (Caitlin if you are reading this, she hasn't changed a bit in five years) She tried to get me to buy a combo and I said no and used my gift certificate to buy a regular popcorn. She then told me how I don't get change back if I use it and for only a quarter more I could get a large. I said I didn't have a quarter and also knew I wouldn't finish my regular size.
2) You get to put butter on the popcorn yourself now. I guess they became tired of people saying you put too much on, now they just say do it yourself. It wasn't easy, but I managed. The only problem is getting butter on the bottom of the popcorn.
3) While watching the trailer I realized just how much of an impact they have on what people will and will not watch. It is just insane that the people I was sitting next to are the people that will decide what movies are made. I mean not directly but on some level.
btw the movies I saw were Big Fish and Cold Mountain. They were both good, but I didn't think Cold Mountain was anything spectacular.
On to Sunday. I did laundry cleaned up and made some pizza dough from scratch. I then went to take some pictures of the Merrimack River. See below.
Icy Merrimack River
I went back to my parents house to visit. It looks like the crew from While You Were Out had been there. It looks good. I came back home to make some pizza on the new pizza stone I bought on Saturday. I made my own sauce and then flattened out the dough. My only problem was that I couldn't figure out how to get the dough onto the stone, so my first attempt was a failure. I put the sauce on and then the cheese on and couldn't get it into the oven. Finally I just went with my old stand by pizza pan and it turned out great. I just can't wait to try out the new stone. Anybody have suggestions on how to get the pizza onto the stone.My First Pizza Now I am sitting here watching the Golden Globes. Oh yeah I also got a digital thermometer. It is now 5.9 degrees. The low was -2 and the high was 14. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. Get me out of here and send me to a warmer climate.
Friday night = Me doing nothing
Saturday = Watching some taped TV and then napping followed by the movies
Movie memorable things:
1) Dottie the popcorn lady (Caitlin if you are reading this, she hasn't changed a bit in five years) She tried to get me to buy a combo and I said no and used my gift certificate to buy a regular popcorn. She then told me how I don't get change back if I use it and for only a quarter more I could get a large. I said I didn't have a quarter and also knew I wouldn't finish my regular size.
2) You get to put butter on the popcorn yourself now. I guess they became tired of people saying you put too much on, now they just say do it yourself. It wasn't easy, but I managed. The only problem is getting butter on the bottom of the popcorn.
3) While watching the trailer I realized just how much of an impact they have on what people will and will not watch. It is just insane that the people I was sitting next to are the people that will decide what movies are made. I mean not directly but on some level.
btw the movies I saw were Big Fish and Cold Mountain. They were both good, but I didn't think Cold Mountain was anything spectacular.
On to Sunday. I did laundry cleaned up and made some pizza dough from scratch. I then went to take some pictures of the Merrimack River. See below.
I went back to my parents house to visit. It looks like the crew from While You Were Out had been there. It looks good. I came back home to make some pizza on the new pizza stone I bought on Saturday. I made my own sauce and then flattened out the dough. My only problem was that I couldn't figure out how to get the dough onto the stone, so my first attempt was a failure. I put the sauce on and then the cheese on and couldn't get it into the oven. Finally I just went with my old stand by pizza pan and it turned out great. I just can't wait to try out the new stone. Anybody have suggestions on how to get the pizza onto the stone.My First Pizza Now I am sitting here watching the Golden Globes. Oh yeah I also got a digital thermometer. It is now 5.9 degrees. The low was -2 and the high was 14. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. Get me out of here and send me to a warmer climate.
Friday, January 23, 2004
John's Last Day
The whole process began late in August when State Street finally opened the Career Line back up for internal postings. We were finally going to benefit from our commitment to the company, which was shown by not taking the package, and would now be able to post for one of the hundreds of jobs that were now available. The postings went out and interviews were done. I was denied, but John was given some opportunities, but the ability to post was then revoked by management. A small problem existed in order to get the new job he had to post for it since he had actually posted for a different job with the same manager, the only problem was he now was not allowed to post. What followed was a nightmare by any office workers standards. A promotion then a demotion followed by several calls to HR, emails with the new hiring manager, meetings with the current manager and lots of back and forth between all three groups. A resolution was finally made and now six months after first posting on the Career Line, John will be leaving our group and moving on to Quincy.
John joined the PC group a couple years ago after working in the pricing group. I took him under my wing (the lamest phrase ever) and taught him how to write code, create Access databases and anything else we need to know to complete a day of work. He caught on and was working on his own after only a few weeks. Of course he would occassionally pester me about one thing or another and still to this day doesn't quite have a complete grasp with his string concatenation, but in his defense it can sometimes be confusing. Now while I taught him about computers he helped to always give me a new perspective on life outside of work. As you all know I don't exactly make the best decisions in my life and thanks to John I have made many less than I might have otherwise. He would never sugar coat his opinion about whatever crazy purchase I was going to make or what girl I was going to waste my time and money on. Now we didn't always agree and sometimes bickered back and forth about things just like any two people forced to sit next to each other for eight hours a day five days a week will do. However I would have to say we have had some crazy times back here in the PC group despite the constant loss of friends. i.e. Suha, Julie and Scottie. Okay in order to avoid be too sentimental I am going to create a list of classic PC group things:
-Over played songs on WBCN (Hey Ya by Outkast, Lose Yourself by Eminem, Bring Me To Life by Evanessence
-Napkin and condiment drawer
-Marc aka Marty aka Dinghy
-Constant crying and bickering from a former pricing coordinator
-Suha sitting in the PC group chair
-My depression and weight loss back in the winter of 2001-2002
-John's explosive gas
-Trying to fit into the pricing groups weird refrigerator looking box
-Hours of tossing the yellow foam ball especially practicing the knuckle ball
-Daily Red Sox discussions
-Criticism of my dating skills
-Holiday party shenanigans
I could go on and on, but I think you all get the idea. Yes it is a sad day and work just won't be the same especially if people keep leaving and I am the only one here in five years. So please join me in wishing John the best of luck in his new job and also with everything else in his life. GOOD LUCK!!!!!
Keegan
Scottie's Last Day Entry
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
On The Edge Of Your Seats
First let me thank you all for your support with regards to the job interview. I think it went very well, but apparently I won't know for a while since they do some sort of committee style hiring, which involves several interviews. Even if I don't get it I will be getting a lot of interview practice for the next time I apply for a job. My interviewer today is the person in charge of the person who is hired for the position. He was very knowledgeable about code and even critiqued the sample I brought for him. It would be so nice to have a boss who knows how to write code. Well my fingers are remaining crossed and hopefully this interview process will extend long enough for me to get my bonus at State Street.
Tonight we went to a movie for BoCaNO, which I must say was a refreshing change and rather enjoyable even if the movie wasn't that great. Now I know SOME of you will say I laughed at it and this is true. It just reminded me a lot of As Good As It Gets, but not nearly as good. Don't get me wrong there were funny parts, but there was no logical reason why Polly would be with Reuben. They just weren't compatible at all, I know people have to be opposites to some extent, but they never lasted more than a week after the end of the movie.
Finally to all of you anonymous anonymous posters I have a way to track you now so beware. I found a cool website Visual Route that will trace the ip address back to its source. So I am quite confident yesterdays anonymous poster was my Aunt. Try it out yourself. Register your email and the click on your IP address to figure out where you are.
Okay time for bed.
Tonight we went to a movie for BoCaNO, which I must say was a refreshing change and rather enjoyable even if the movie wasn't that great. Now I know SOME of you will say I laughed at it and this is true. It just reminded me a lot of As Good As It Gets, but not nearly as good. Don't get me wrong there were funny parts, but there was no logical reason why Polly would be with Reuben. They just weren't compatible at all, I know people have to be opposites to some extent, but they never lasted more than a week after the end of the movie.
Finally to all of you anonymous anonymous posters I have a way to track you now so beware. I found a cool website Visual Route that will trace the ip address back to its source. So I am quite confident yesterdays anonymous poster was my Aunt. Try it out yourself. Register your email and the click on your IP address to figure out where you are.
Okay time for bed.
Wonderful Wednesday
It has been a long week already and I am not really looking forward to the rest of it. The one bright spot will be my job interview this afternoon. Now I know it probably isn't a good idea to talk about the interview, because what if I don't get it. I don't care if people ask me after I fail it will be okay with me. However, I am confident I will get this job, heck they won't be able to turn me down after seeing the code sample I am bringing with me.
In other news it looks like I am not going to go to Utah. No this isn't a self deprecating stunt to drum up support for me on the trip. I have a few good reasons for not going, mostly because of money or lack there of. I also remembered something I said this summer about how most things you do the second time are never as good as they were the first time. For example, the whole Bethel winter last year was really fun and I couldn't wait to get up there and try to break 60 days, this year has been less than fantastic and I even skip weekends just because of the weather. So instead of going to Utah I think I am going to do something new and travel to London to visit Vanessa. I know it will be more expensive, but the extra month will allow me time to save up money. I just have to do something different since my stale, stagnant and boring life is finally catching up with me.
Hope you like the new LJ format.
KWS
In other news it looks like I am not going to go to Utah. No this isn't a self deprecating stunt to drum up support for me on the trip. I have a few good reasons for not going, mostly because of money or lack there of. I also remembered something I said this summer about how most things you do the second time are never as good as they were the first time. For example, the whole Bethel winter last year was really fun and I couldn't wait to get up there and try to break 60 days, this year has been less than fantastic and I even skip weekends just because of the weather. So instead of going to Utah I think I am going to do something new and travel to London to visit Vanessa. I know it will be more expensive, but the extra month will allow me time to save up money. I just have to do something different since my stale, stagnant and boring life is finally catching up with me.
Hope you like the new LJ format.
KWS
Monday, January 19, 2004
Mark Danced: The Bocs Moshed
I am tired and don't have time for details but I will put in my top ten memorable moments from the weekend.
10. Seeing a moose in the road on the way up to Bethel on Friday.
9. Seeing the sketchiest movie scene ever in Jacob's Ladder thanks to OJ.
8. Taking care of a work problem from my car just North of Portland, ME.
7. Seeing Glen Plake the world famous skier.
6. Losing my keys on Saturday night only to find out my mom had them.
5. Helping a damsel in distress on Obsession.
4. Watching the Pats win the AFC Championship, with my friends at the Well.
3. Apple Crisp all around at the Cheesecake Factory.
2. Cute younger girl at the Griz.
1. Mark dancing.
Sunday River Weekend
Cheesecake Factory with Collage Kids
I hope you all enjoy the pictures. Its a nice four day work week, too bad it is going to be below ten degrees up in Maine this weekend. Anybody back in Mass want to hang out or go see a movie?
10. Seeing a moose in the road on the way up to Bethel on Friday.
9. Seeing the sketchiest movie scene ever in Jacob's Ladder thanks to OJ.
8. Taking care of a work problem from my car just North of Portland, ME.
7. Seeing Glen Plake the world famous skier.
6. Losing my keys on Saturday night only to find out my mom had them.
5. Helping a damsel in distress on Obsession.
4. Watching the Pats win the AFC Championship, with my friends at the Well.
3. Apple Crisp all around at the Cheesecake Factory.
2. Cute younger girl at the Griz.
1. Mark dancing.
Sunday River Weekend
Cheesecake Factory with Collage Kids
I hope you all enjoy the pictures. Its a nice four day work week, too bad it is going to be below ten degrees up in Maine this weekend. Anybody back in Mass want to hang out or go see a movie?
Friday, January 16, 2004
City Under Freeze
Once again the cold is upon us in Boston. Today was the coldest day in Boston in over twenty years, the low from last night was -7 degrees. When I woke up the temperature in Salem was -9 degrees with a wind chill of -39 degrees. I bundled up a little more than yesterday, opting for the neck warmer and my ski mittens. So being the hard core photographer I am, I just had to go down to the harbor and take some pictures. It was cold but well worth it as you can see from the slideshow. Thankfully it will be warming up this weekend to a balmy 20 degrees. Stay warm and have a great weekend.
The first mutant a la X-Men has been found in Russia. Check out the storyTeenage girl's x-ray vision baffles scientists
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Another Entry
BoCaNO Trivia Night at the Kinsale
Wow it seems like I am updating every two minutes. Anyway it was cold today. We went to the Kinsale for trivia and did much better than the last time. Britt will be proud that I was the source for a couple of the music answers, such as what pop singer married the guy from Australian band Silverchair AND which band who was in search for a guitar player was rated worst of 2003 in a poll of Guitar World readers. Answers: Natalie Imbruglia and Limp Bizkit. We ended up in fourth place, but next time we will win it, I am sure.
Finally the last picture in the slide show is an ad for some Microsoft product, but notice the watch is not on the wrist correctly. The pictured ad is the second of the campaign where the watch is backwards. Just very odd.
Wow it seems like I am updating every two minutes. Anyway it was cold today. We went to the Kinsale for trivia and did much better than the last time. Britt will be proud that I was the source for a couple of the music answers, such as what pop singer married the guy from Australian band Silverchair AND which band who was in search for a guitar player was rated worst of 2003 in a poll of Guitar World readers. Answers: Natalie Imbruglia and Limp Bizkit. We ended up in fourth place, but next time we will win it, I am sure.
Finally the last picture in the slide show is an ad for some Microsoft product, but notice the watch is not on the wrist correctly. The pictured ad is the second of the campaign where the watch is backwards. Just very odd.
Two Stories
Top Story
Yes I shaved this morning, but not before I had a little fun. Okay so perhaps I have some sickness and have taken a ton of pictures of myself, but it is too cold to take pictures of outside. I hope you all approve of the new haircut and the removal of the goatee. That thing was so damn itchy, good riddance.
In other news
As most of you know it has been cold, but I will give you some numbers just to put it down somewhere. I woke up and went online to see that the temperature at Beverly Airport was -6, with a feels like temperature of -24. At 3PM yesterday in Boston the temperature was 40 and at 7 AM today it was -3. That is a drop of 43 degrees in 16 hours. Brrrr. Bottom line here is its cold. This leads me to my commute this morning. I woke up early so I could drive to train station to avoid the walk. I left the house at 7:15 to catch the 7:27 train. I arrived at the station at 7:20 and went to stand on the platform. Everybody was just standing there freezing their asses off while a photographer was taking pictures. I almost took a picture of him, but it was too cold. Thankfully I had my iPod and just did the "Dave Dance" to keep warm. The train finally showed up at 7:45 and we piled on, only to find out there weren't anymore empty seats. However, despite the cold I still did the walk from North Station to work, it was tough.
Don't forget to read last nights entry below...
Yes I shaved this morning, but not before I had a little fun. Okay so perhaps I have some sickness and have taken a ton of pictures of myself, but it is too cold to take pictures of outside. I hope you all approve of the new haircut and the removal of the goatee. That thing was so damn itchy, good riddance.
In other news
As most of you know it has been cold, but I will give you some numbers just to put it down somewhere. I woke up and went online to see that the temperature at Beverly Airport was -6, with a feels like temperature of -24. At 3PM yesterday in Boston the temperature was 40 and at 7 AM today it was -3. That is a drop of 43 degrees in 16 hours. Brrrr. Bottom line here is its cold. This leads me to my commute this morning. I woke up early so I could drive to train station to avoid the walk. I left the house at 7:15 to catch the 7:27 train. I arrived at the station at 7:20 and went to stand on the platform. Everybody was just standing there freezing their asses off while a photographer was taking pictures. I almost took a picture of him, but it was too cold. Thankfully I had my iPod and just did the "Dave Dance" to keep warm. The train finally showed up at 7:45 and we piled on, only to find out there weren't anymore empty seats. However, despite the cold I still did the walk from North Station to work, it was tough.
Don't forget to read last nights entry below...
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Halfway There
So I did it and got a haircut tonight. John will be glad I didn't do the typical "Keeg" cut. Unfortunately I am not going to have time to shave in the morning so that will probably have to wait until another day. However it is right around the corner, aside from it looking terrible I realized I will have to trim it often and the whole letting it grow thing was to avoid the shaving maintenance. So look for the nasty thing on my chin to disappear very soon.
Where in the world is Vanessa?
Now on to other things. I was chatting with Vanessa online yesterday and she was telling me a couple of places she plans on going tomorrow. So I decided I would try and see where these places are on the map. However I learned something, it is tough to find maps of other countries. I mean normally I would just go to mapquest.com, but it doesn't work with The Netherlands. So my hunt began. I found a couple maps with little detail and to make things worse they caused a continuous barrage of pop up ads. I wish you could just look at a web page without twenty windows popping up. Anyway I finally came across this site Netherlands Map Vista. After a bit of searching and some googling I was able to find the address for the castle or Kasteel Well. Anyway, I did find it so click Where is Vanessa? and you will be magically taken to a map of Well, Netherlands. Now that I have found where she is in an effort to carry on yet another trait of my grandfather, I will be purchasing a world map and doing the good old pushpin thing, Gulf War I Lipinski style.
Oh yeah one more thing. After my hair cut tonight I did something I usually put off doing and then forget to do and that is USE A GIFT CERTIFICATE. For Christmas I received several gift cards like I often do, but always fail to use them. Either because I forget to use it or because I can't think of the perfect thing to buy with it. Now I am not being ungrateful, but it is just tough for me to do use these things up. So I wandered around the store for a while looking for stuff and ended up buying a few DVD's. Serendipity, High Fidelity and CKY4. I also bought a program to teach me guitar.
Where in the world is Vanessa?
Now on to other things. I was chatting with Vanessa online yesterday and she was telling me a couple of places she plans on going tomorrow. So I decided I would try and see where these places are on the map. However I learned something, it is tough to find maps of other countries. I mean normally I would just go to mapquest.com, but it doesn't work with The Netherlands. So my hunt began. I found a couple maps with little detail and to make things worse they caused a continuous barrage of pop up ads. I wish you could just look at a web page without twenty windows popping up. Anyway I finally came across this site Netherlands Map Vista. After a bit of searching and some googling I was able to find the address for the castle or Kasteel Well. Anyway, I did find it so click Where is Vanessa? and you will be magically taken to a map of Well, Netherlands. Now that I have found where she is in an effort to carry on yet another trait of my grandfather, I will be purchasing a world map and doing the good old pushpin thing, Gulf War I Lipinski style.
Oh yeah one more thing. After my hair cut tonight I did something I usually put off doing and then forget to do and that is USE A GIFT CERTIFICATE. For Christmas I received several gift cards like I often do, but always fail to use them. Either because I forget to use it or because I can't think of the perfect thing to buy with it. Now I am not being ungrateful, but it is just tough for me to do use these things up. So I wandered around the store for a while looking for stuff and ended up buying a few DVD's. Serendipity, High Fidelity and CKY4. I also bought a program to teach me guitar.
Edit: Fixed the link
I just got back from For Eyes, the optical store where Marisa was getting some glasses, but wanted final approval from people other than herself. Fortunately I was included in this group of people and went along. It was a bunch of fun and as you can see from the slideshow I enjoyed trying on several frames.
Top ten things I learned at For Eyes:
10) Polarized lenses are bad for skiing, something about not seeing ice.
9) Glasses are expensive.
8) They have cartoon themed glasses. i.e. Scooby Doo and the Flinstones(I don't remember anybody with glasses on in the Stone Age)
7) It takes a week to get glasses customized for yourself.
6) The oval frames look better on Marisa.
5) Trying on glasses can be fun if you don't actually need to get them.
4) Taking pictures of people with glasses indoors can be difficult because of the flash on the glasses.
3) I am quite moody, just look at the different moods captured in the slideshow.
2) I look good in glasses and should consider getting a pair.
1) I need a shave and a haircut, what the hell have I been thinking.
I just got back from For Eyes, the optical store where Marisa was getting some glasses, but wanted final approval from people other than herself. Fortunately I was included in this group of people and went along. It was a bunch of fun and as you can see from the slideshow I enjoyed trying on several frames.
Top ten things I learned at For Eyes:
10) Polarized lenses are bad for skiing, something about not seeing ice.
9) Glasses are expensive.
8) They have cartoon themed glasses. i.e. Scooby Doo and the Flinstones(I don't remember anybody with glasses on in the Stone Age)
7) It takes a week to get glasses customized for yourself.
6) The oval frames look better on Marisa.
5) Trying on glasses can be fun if you don't actually need to get them.
4) Taking pictures of people with glasses indoors can be difficult because of the flash on the glasses.
3) I am quite moody, just look at the different moods captured in the slideshow.
2) I look good in glasses and should consider getting a pair.
1) I need a shave and a haircut, what the hell have I been thinking.
Yeah I don't know what this is all about
So yeah I just emailed out a resume to some company for some job that is somewhere thats not here. I don't know exactly how thats going to turn out, but I hope that it turns out well, because I can't stand this place anymore. I only wish I had more web skills than I do, but since my current job is against taking steps to improve the situation and move towards more web base applications I am forced to learn my new skills at home. However, since most of my time at home is spent playing the guitar or learning to cook or skiing, I don't have time to work on developing web things aside from this silly livejournal, of course. I hope you will all cross your fingers and pray for me, because I really want a new job. If I don't get out of here soon I am going to put all my money into a musical career and will then need to start a new guitar fund, because I am in need of a good Taylor guitar instead of the crappy, never heard of brand I currently own. Actually how about we just start a new guitar fund for me right now. Is there anybody willing to donate to my new guitar fund, it will probably cost about six hundred dollars, I am willing to accepts donations in lieu of any birthday gifts this year. I figure if I can get sixty people to donate ten dollars each I will be on my way. Okay I am going to go and set up a Paypal account in preparation of all your kind donations. Maybe I will make it like an IPO and you can buy shares in me. Hmmmmmmmm. You will have to be silent partners though since I need total artistic control of my music.
Later,
Keeg
Later,
Keeg
Monday, January 12, 2004
One More Thing
I forgot to add another event from Friday night so I will add it now. I was at Ryan's and walked out to my car which I had left there less than an hour earlier. Upon opening the door I noticed a brown slush all over the inside of the car. It was on the dash board, seats, center console, doors and on the floors. I was perplexed because nobody had been in the car and now this mess was there. My first thought was my sunroof, but it was in perfect shape and then Emily figured it out. A CAN OF SODA!!! Caitlin had left it on the door the other day while skiing and it was finally cold enough for it to freeze and explode all over the car. Luckily it was frozen and could easily be swept off the seat and on to the floor. I finally brushed the crap off of everything and the car is now clean, but I just had to mention one of the most interesting events of the weekend.
Sunday, January 11, 2004
No Skiing
While we are comparing me to celebrities what about the above comparison. Yeah I don't see it either, too bad.
You can all rejoice because this entry will not be about skiing, it will not include stories about snowboarding, or lift lines or snowmaking. There will be no tales of Suds, The Griz or mugs. I won't mention the long drive, shoveling snow or telemark skiing. Instead I will give you a basic run down on what a weekend back in Salem is like.
Friday
I intended to make it an early night, but ended up going to see Chasing Liberty (bad movie) and then hung out at Ryan's until 2AM.
Saturday
Scratch the idea of getting extra sleep since we all know I can't just stay in bed. So of course I got out of bed and then went to lunch at Macaroni Grille followed by a Starbucks trip. It was then time to go back to Salem and do some much needed laundry. The collage kids visited me, but weren't able to stay too long.
Sunday
Woke up listened to some tunes and did some music things. Got the call to go for lunch at Middle Street Food. Ry, Britt, Van and I at and observed an urban tribe there. I almost tempted to take pictures of thsee tribes when I see them. They seemed much hipper than the BoCaNO group, but is hipness really the most important thing to look for in a tribe. Next stop was Starbucks and then Fowle's Smell. Back to the Bury to visit good ol' 39R and then the trip to the airport to drop Vanessa off for her semester abroad in Amsterdam. I helped lug her luggage into the airport for the last time thank god those bags were huge. Ha I just figured out where luggage got its name, it has to come from the fact that you always have to lug it around. Van met her fellow RA and chaperone for the flight. I wished her luck and told her most importantly to have fun, like any good friend would do.
Now here I sit watching TV and updating my music collection on iTunes. I have now assigned genres to every song and it is all organized better than before. I still have to get a good feel for the set up and how I want it to be laid out. ADD moment: Why do they have informercials on MTV now? I thought it was just a satellite TV thing, but apparently not so much. Okay thats enough for right now, hope you all had a great weekend.
Friday, January 9, 2004
The Secrets Out
I am growing this thing on my face so i look like Tom Green. I think it is working.
Daddy do you want some sausage?
It's a Little Cold
January 9th is here again and that means one thing Dave Matthews birthday. Yep thats right he turned 37 today and in honor of the day performed Some Devil for the first time on live television on the Today show. Okay that's all about that.
I came to the conclusion this morning that Bostonians are insane. The temperature this morning at Logan Airport was 2 degrees, which means at some point it must have been below zero at the airport which is usually warmer because of the water. If this doesn't inspire somebody to move to a warmer climate, I don't know what will for you.
Last night I picked Vanessa up at the airport and if you have never met somebody in Terminal C at Logan Airport, you have to wait at the bottom of an escalator until they arrive. So you stand there and get to see feet and then pants and then finally see the person's face. It is actually hilarious because you think it is the person you are waiting for and then, NOPE, wrong sex. Its like a game where you tried to envision what they might be wearing and then look at each pair of shoes wondering if it is the person. Its harder to do than it sounds.
Vanessa Comes Back Home Check out some cool shots from The Roost in The 'Bury. Very fancy.
btw No skiing this weekend, not with a high temperature of 3 degrees tomorrow. I like skiing, but not enough to ski in sub zero temperatures. So I will be enjoying the weekend in the warmth of my Salem apartment.
I came to the conclusion this morning that Bostonians are insane. The temperature this morning at Logan Airport was 2 degrees, which means at some point it must have been below zero at the airport which is usually warmer because of the water. If this doesn't inspire somebody to move to a warmer climate, I don't know what will for you.
Last night I picked Vanessa up at the airport and if you have never met somebody in Terminal C at Logan Airport, you have to wait at the bottom of an escalator until they arrive. So you stand there and get to see feet and then pants and then finally see the person's face. It is actually hilarious because you think it is the person you are waiting for and then, NOPE, wrong sex. Its like a game where you tried to envision what they might be wearing and then look at each pair of shoes wondering if it is the person. Its harder to do than it sounds.
Vanessa Comes Back Home Check out some cool shots from The Roost in The 'Bury. Very fancy.
btw No skiing this weekend, not with a high temperature of 3 degrees tomorrow. I like skiing, but not enough to ski in sub zero temperatures. So I will be enjoying the weekend in the warmth of my Salem apartment.
Thursday, January 8, 2004
Back to Work
I was reading this article, Digital Radio Debuts, and they interviewed the first guy to install digital radio in his car. He was so lame as can be read in the article, but the point of all this is the first song he heard on the new digital radio. Any guesses to what it was? Yep that's right it was no surprise, Hey Ya! by Outkast was the first song he picked up on his new digital radio. I just had to laugh when I saw it.
So I had a day off yesterday and spent it skiing, I know I know very shocking. It was plenty cold up there with the temp at only 3.2 when I woke up yesterday. The conditions were much improved over Sunday and I actually pulled off the backpack heli. It was my first time skiing at Wildcat and despite the low number of trails it was still a fun mountain especially the one trail we kept going down with fresh manmade snow and a giant jump at the bottom.Random work/skiing/BoCaNO slideshow
I am irritated because I had an idea about something and of course I forgot it. Oh well if I think of it you all will be the first to know.
Let's take a poll. Who thinks I should go to Maine this weekend given the fact I will do two runs each day and then go back to the Outpost?
One more thing. I want to get a group of people together for the IMAX film All Access at the Museum of Science. Here is a link All Access: Front Row. Backstage. Live! I was thinking about one of the Thursday shows. Sign up by commenting below.
So I had a day off yesterday and spent it skiing, I know I know very shocking. It was plenty cold up there with the temp at only 3.2 when I woke up yesterday. The conditions were much improved over Sunday and I actually pulled off the backpack heli. It was my first time skiing at Wildcat and despite the low number of trails it was still a fun mountain especially the one trail we kept going down with fresh manmade snow and a giant jump at the bottom.Random work/skiing/BoCaNO slideshow
I am irritated because I had an idea about something and of course I forgot it. Oh well if I think of it you all will be the first to know.
Let's take a poll. Who thinks I should go to Maine this weekend given the fact I will do two runs each day and then go back to the Outpost?
One more thing. I want to get a group of people together for the IMAX film All Access at the Museum of Science. Here is a link All Access: Front Row. Backstage. Live! I was thinking about one of the Thursday shows. Sign up by commenting below.
Tuesday, January 6, 2004
Mars Photo
For all of you space fans out there I just edited a picture from Space.com, which is the highest resolution picture from another planet.
To set it as your desktop picture click on it to get to the full size image and then right click and Set as Desktop Image.
Or check out this one
To set it as your desktop picture click on it to get to the full size image and then right click and Set as Desktop Image.
Or check out this one
Recipe #2
I was at it again last night trying to cook something else from the cook book. I strayed from the easy category of pasta and attempted to cook in something from the poultry category. After browsing the various poultry dishes I settled on the Sauteed Chicken Cutlets. I went to the store and picked up some chicken breasts and on another note I grabbed some of the little chocolate donuts which they haven't had for weeks. Now back on topic. I went home and began reading the cook book over and over again so I was prepared for any situation. However the first thing I read confused me and I was soon on the internet looking up the difference between chicken breasts and chicken cutlets. The recipe called for two breasts of chicken or four cutlets, so I first thought I grabbed the wrong thing at the store. After some searching and conversing with Ry and Van in Florida I came up with a plan. For those of you new to cooking write this downTake the breasts and cut them in half, but not lengthwise instead cut them across the narrow way so one piece is small and triangular and the other is thicker and square shaped. Now take the square shaped piece and put some weight on it with your hand. Cut it in half again, but this time filet it as in cut it like you would open a book. The result of the last cut will be two pieces exactly the same size, but thinner than the original pice.End Note Taking Once I finally had cutlets I fired up, well turned on the electric stove, and prepared to make the chicken. I started by pouring a cup of flour in a dish, before I realized I didn't need to combine a cup of flour with bread crumbs, but could use a cup of flour OR bread crumbs. So I poured the flour back into the flour container and then pour the bread crumbs into the plate. Everything went according to plan and the chicken turned out well. I was a bit nervous about not cooking it enough, but there wasn't any pink inside when I cut it open. However, halfway through cooking the chicken I realized I didn't have anything else to eat with so I began cooking some Broccoli Rice stuff, which turns out is really easy to make, but smells like ass. So I started eating the chicken while the rice was cooking. I finally saved some chicken and by the end was able to eat rice and chicken and it was yummy. Well until next time this is the n00b chef signing off.
Monday, January 5, 2004
Weird Dream?
Okay so last night I was sleeping and I dreamt that I met Dave Matthews. I was outside some television studio and he was on his way in to do an interview, probably because of the interview he will be doing on the Today show on Friday. Anyway I yelled to him and he stopped over and autographed something for me, but the strange thing was he just wrote on the thing about how he was sorry he had to get going. I glanced down and said could you sign this because I didn't want to have something randomly written on but not actually autographed. He signed it and then went into the studio. I woke up and was so disappointed that it didn't really happen. Today I got into work and told the guys and have been paying for it ever since. I dreamt I met him and got an autograph whats the big deal. Jeepers, so what is the general consensus on this dream?
Sunday, January 4, 2004
Weekend of fun skiing and doing various other things
Highlights:
-Driving back up 24 hours after leaving
-Setting up an On-the-go playlist while driving down the Maine Turnpike.
-Snowy rodas all the way to Bethel.
-Buying a CD from the Jason Spooner.
-1AM guitar session.
-Snow then freezing rain then sleet then rain = shitty skiing.
-Six Boc's snowplowing in a row down the trail.
-Air hockey and Sega at the Outpost with friends.
-Love Whip lead singer g-string.
-Innocent smooch from a photogenic woman.
-A weird guitar session in a state of exhaustion and slight drunkeness.
-Two wake up calls.
-The worst ice I have ever seen in all my years.
-Black Hole!!! Black Hole!!! Black Hole!!! Thank good for Black Hole!!!
-Near mid air collision with Mark.
-Riding lift 3.
-Long ride home.
-Dinner with Travis at Acapulco's.
-Long, record breaking, battery draining phone call.
Wowee wow, what a weekend.
Highlights:
-Driving back up 24 hours after leaving
-Setting up an On-the-go playlist while driving down the Maine Turnpike.
-Snowy rodas all the way to Bethel.
-Buying a CD from the Jason Spooner.
-1AM guitar session.
-Snow then freezing rain then sleet then rain = shitty skiing.
-Six Boc's snowplowing in a row down the trail.
-Air hockey and Sega at the Outpost with friends.
-Love Whip lead singer g-string.
-Innocent smooch from a photogenic woman.
-A weird guitar session in a state of exhaustion and slight drunkeness.
-Two wake up calls.
-The worst ice I have ever seen in all my years.
-Black Hole!!! Black Hole!!! Black Hole!!! Thank good for Black Hole!!!
-Near mid air collision with Mark.
-Riding lift 3.
-Long ride home.
-Dinner with Travis at Acapulco's.
-Long, record breaking, battery draining phone call.
Wowee wow, what a weekend.
Friday, January 2, 2004
Happy New Year!!!
New Year's Eve - Motor Booty Affair
It was a pretty decent New Year's eve this year. To be honest they all seem to be very anticlimactic. Lets hop in the way back machine and recap the last few years:
New Year's Eve 2000 - Sunday River at the Summit. I was with Caitlin at the time and well since I wasn't hip to the Bethel scene, we were completely bored and just drove around like idiots. Not necessarily a bad one, but still not how they are in the movies, okay well almost I am a romantic guy with a couple tricks up my sleeve.
New Year's Eve 2001 - Not exactly sure about this one, I know I was with Caitlin, but can't remember exactly where we were. I guess it goes to show just how bad that year's eve turned out.
New Year's Eve 2002 - Bobbaloo (sp?) at the Middle East with Emily, Travis, Scott, April, Dale and Jen. Live music, dancing and drinking, but of course come midnight there was nobody to kiss, making life miserable after midnight.
New Year's Eve 2003 - Brew Pub, Sunday River. I believe there was some live music, but I can't really remember. What I do recall is me being in a bad mood for one reason or another and it completely ruining my night.
Fast forward to New Year's Eve 2004. I got out of work as soon as possible to drive up to Tango Mary's. I made it up by 9:30 and was inside with my pimp hat on checking out the scene. Now there were tons of college age girls there, so immediately you think, hooray for Keeg, but I am just bad in those dancing situations. I get out there and dance and see some fine looking honey and begin to consider my options and how I am going to introduce myself. After a few minutes of contemplation some random guy or the girl's boyfriend swoops in and takes over. Talk about frustrating. Okay enough about that, soooo, I start dancing with Noelle, Sarah and Monica. Good times except it is a bit hot, as you can see from the pictures. After a couple hours of dancing the New Year comes and of course I have been amongst a ton of younger girls for two hours and end up without a kissing partner for the big second. New Year's comes and goes and once again I am left standing around by myself among a bunch of kissing couples.
So the pattern goes, when I have somebody to kiss we end up sitting around watching tv or just sitting by ourselves, other years I am at a semi decent party, but the person I hoped to be kissing at midnight doesn't quite come through with my movie style NYE and finally when I am at a hopping party with tons of possible people I fail to meet anybody in the allotted time. Yeah I know, look out its emo Keegan again OR poor poor Keegan. Listen I am just making an observation and also archiving what I have done on past New Year's.
Bottom Line: New Year's is just the beginning of another day and a new year which somehow gives people hope for some change and a fresh start. Let's just hope for my sake things continue on as they have been over the last year. I must say I feel as if I have come a long long way in 2003 and hope it will continue into 2004. The only change I have mixed feelings about is my new found joy and acceptance for the single life. Being happy about my singleness could put a damper on my dating in 2004.
Today was the first day and things went well. I did some skiing, by myself because for some reason or other my friends didn't make it to the Peak by eleven. I was able to tele for five hours today, I new record for me. My legs are sore, but they are getting stronger every day.
Funny story: I was talking to Britt about how the 'Bury from the highway looks like the small town in the play that only appears every fifty years or so. She had no idea what I was talking about and we concluded that we would never figure it out, even using the internet I was sure to be stumped. We walked into Flatbread and who was there but none other than the head of the AHS English Department, Mrs. Hoyt. We went over and asked her and she confirmed that I wasn't crazy and told us the town's name was Brigadoon. Ha!!!
New Year's Day Randomness
It was a pretty decent New Year's eve this year. To be honest they all seem to be very anticlimactic. Lets hop in the way back machine and recap the last few years:
New Year's Eve 2000 - Sunday River at the Summit. I was with Caitlin at the time and well since I wasn't hip to the Bethel scene, we were completely bored and just drove around like idiots. Not necessarily a bad one, but still not how they are in the movies, okay well almost I am a romantic guy with a couple tricks up my sleeve.
New Year's Eve 2001 - Not exactly sure about this one, I know I was with Caitlin, but can't remember exactly where we were. I guess it goes to show just how bad that year's eve turned out.
New Year's Eve 2002 - Bobbaloo (sp?) at the Middle East with Emily, Travis, Scott, April, Dale and Jen. Live music, dancing and drinking, but of course come midnight there was nobody to kiss, making life miserable after midnight.
New Year's Eve 2003 - Brew Pub, Sunday River. I believe there was some live music, but I can't really remember. What I do recall is me being in a bad mood for one reason or another and it completely ruining my night.
Fast forward to New Year's Eve 2004. I got out of work as soon as possible to drive up to Tango Mary's. I made it up by 9:30 and was inside with my pimp hat on checking out the scene. Now there were tons of college age girls there, so immediately you think, hooray for Keeg, but I am just bad in those dancing situations. I get out there and dance and see some fine looking honey and begin to consider my options and how I am going to introduce myself. After a few minutes of contemplation some random guy or the girl's boyfriend swoops in and takes over. Talk about frustrating. Okay enough about that, soooo, I start dancing with Noelle, Sarah and Monica. Good times except it is a bit hot, as you can see from the pictures. After a couple hours of dancing the New Year comes and of course I have been amongst a ton of younger girls for two hours and end up without a kissing partner for the big second. New Year's comes and goes and once again I am left standing around by myself among a bunch of kissing couples.
So the pattern goes, when I have somebody to kiss we end up sitting around watching tv or just sitting by ourselves, other years I am at a semi decent party, but the person I hoped to be kissing at midnight doesn't quite come through with my movie style NYE and finally when I am at a hopping party with tons of possible people I fail to meet anybody in the allotted time. Yeah I know, look out its emo Keegan again OR poor poor Keegan. Listen I am just making an observation and also archiving what I have done on past New Year's.
Bottom Line: New Year's is just the beginning of another day and a new year which somehow gives people hope for some change and a fresh start. Let's just hope for my sake things continue on as they have been over the last year. I must say I feel as if I have come a long long way in 2003 and hope it will continue into 2004. The only change I have mixed feelings about is my new found joy and acceptance for the single life. Being happy about my singleness could put a damper on my dating in 2004.
Today was the first day and things went well. I did some skiing, by myself because for some reason or other my friends didn't make it to the Peak by eleven. I was able to tele for five hours today, I new record for me. My legs are sore, but they are getting stronger every day.
Funny story: I was talking to Britt about how the 'Bury from the highway looks like the small town in the play that only appears every fifty years or so. She had no idea what I was talking about and we concluded that we would never figure it out, even using the internet I was sure to be stumped. We walked into Flatbread and who was there but none other than the head of the AHS English Department, Mrs. Hoyt. We went over and asked her and she confirmed that I wasn't crazy and told us the town's name was Brigadoon. Ha!!!
New Year's Day Randomness