Happy Halloween!!

In general, I wouldn't say I was a big fan of Halloween, at least not any more. Of course like any half-way normal kid, the idea of dressing up as someone entirely different than yourself and going from door to door asking for free candy, and actually getting it, was awesome and seemingly too good to be true. But the thing is, when a good thing is good, don't stop to wonder why, just enjoy it.

Unfortunately, no good thing lasts forever, as is evident in the fact that if I tried to dress up today at the ripe old age of 23 going from door to door asking for candy I'd either be considered crazy or creepy, both of which mean basically the same thing. Now a days, Halloween is seen as a holiday where guys dress up in the most gross costume they can find, either drenched with fake blood or whatever, and girls dress in as little clothes they possibly can while still keeping the slightest resemblance to whatever character it is they were trying to dress up as. That just isn't appealing to me at all and personally it's way too cold here in Boston to even think of dressing up, or maybe I should say, not dressing up.

But enough with the negativity. There are many reasons why I really do love Halloween. I'm not sure when it started, or even how it started, but a tradition began when I was younger and in elementary school when Erin and Katie, and I remember Kim, too, would all get together around Halloween and make decorations, carve pumpkins and, if I remember correctly, baked cookies, or something of along those lines. It was always so much fun, in fact we even made jack-o-lanterns together last year, and I'm sure if we were all within a 45 mile radius of one another, we'd get together and do it again this year.

And like I said, I used to dress up when I was younger, and I fondly remember my brother going as a "dead Confederate soldier" something like four years in a row, and my mom putting my sister in the already-outgrown dragon costume from five years prior. I myself, was a witch for at least three times during my youth, although I don't think it was consecutive years. So ya, we recycled costumes, but there was nothing like coming home that night and trading and bartering candy with my brothers and sisters - I never liked licorice or Twizzlers so I used to pawn it off to one of them in exchange of course for the more highly-demanded Butterfinger or Kit Kat. And then being able to take candy to school with you for lunch, even if you didn't eat your sandwich first, but instead chowed down on a package of Whoppers. Oh, it was good to be a kid!!

For now though, Happy Halloween to my brother and sister and to Erin, Katie, and Kim of course!

Read more...

J. Mraz

Earlier this summer, Lola had gotten me tickets to see Jason Mraz in concert here in Boston for my birthday, the concert of which was just this past Friday. He's been one of my absolute favorite artists for several years now. I've been a fan of his since his first album release back in 2002, but I had never seen him perform despite the fact that I lived just outside NYC for four years while in college. But nevertheless, I was finally given the opportunity to see him live and it was so awesome! He has such a stage presence and is amazingly gifted when it comes to writing music and lyrics, it was definitely one of the best concerts I had ever been to - it was so much fun! While I tried to take pictures of him, none of them really came out very well since my camera (which is a few years old now and slightly outdated) couldn't seem to take a clear picture of him in the dark theater. Therefore, I had to hi-jack a picture from the concert from someone on Picasa. I hope that's ok...

Here he is in all his fabulous musical glory:

Read more...

It's not very nice, but I couldn't help but laugh.

Publish Post

Read more...

Note to self...

Limit the number of years you choose to keep a job that requires staring at a computer all day. I don't want your eyes to fall out by the time you are 28.


I would say that half the days I spend at work, probably less, I am sitting and staring at a computer screen all day. I understand that technology is important in today's society and in actuality there will be a lot more of it in the next twenty years, making it so that most tasks we undertake during the regular day will somehow involve computers, etc. in way. But man, I've been sittting at my computer all day, save for maybe a total of 30-45 min. It's now 4:15P, I got in the office at around 9:30A. I'll make sure my next job will require less computer-screen staring so that my eyeballs don't explode before I'm 30.

Read more...

Happy Friday!! :D

I absolutely love Fridays, as I'm sure most people who work M-F, 9-5 jobs do. It's a very liberating day, one that I feel punctuates the end of the week quite nicely. With that said, I'm sitting here at my desk at work not doing work and looking for ways to waste my time. Google Reader is one of the greatest inventions ever as it helps me keep abreast of the latest news in politics, music, movies, books, and most importantly, my friends. Which leads to the idea for this blog. Just a few days ago, my friend Kim posted an entry on names, so being the original person that I am, I decided to copy her. :) Below is a list of names that I would have, based on the formulas Kim provided, if I were of the described personas. Enjoy!

1. Rock Star name: Charlie Spectra (first pet + current car)
2. Gangster name: Strawberry Oatmeal (favorite ice cream + favorite cookie)
3. Detective name: Blue Koala (favorite color + favorite animal)
4. Soap Opera name: Kathleen Casa Grande (middle name + city where you were born)
5. Star Wars name: Wil-Me (first 3 letters of your last name + first 2 letters of your first)
6. Superhero name: The Purple Dr. Pepper ("The" + 2nd favorite color + favorite drink)
7. Nascar name: Jim Robert (grandfathers' first names)
8. TV Weatherman name: Volz Versailles (5th grade teacher's last name + major city starting with the same letter)
9. Hippy name: Apple Redwood (what you ate for breakfast + favorite tree)
10. Rock band name: The Living Thunder ("The" + favorite hobby + favorite weather element)

Ahhh that was fun. A couple things though, 1) I am not proud nor do I tell many people that I was, in fact, born in Casa Grande, AZ. It's a weird thing to have happen since apparently the hospital there was so crappy in the 80s that everyone else I know of who lived in my town went to the Phoenix area to be born. My being born there could explain a lot of my abnormalities, among other things... and 2) I can't really think of a favorite hobby so I just put in the general "Living" for no. 10, but I think the name came out pretty cool anyway.

And just as a fun fact, I was never told of what I would've been named if I was a boy, or even an alternate girl's name I might have had. It seems as though my mom was pretty set on the name "Megan" for me, which apparently she discovered while reading the book The Thornbirds. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, I believe is about a priest who raises a young girl after she's been orphaned, then leaves to go on some type of religious mission only to come back and find the girl fully grown and that he's in love with her, or something like that (I have never had any interest in watching the movie, which starred the androgynous Richard Chamberlain, or reading the book, since it kind of creeps me out). The girl's name in the story is either "Meg" or "Megan." Awesome. Also, the name served a dual purpose as it is Gaelic for Margaret, which was both my grandmother's name and my mom's name, who I was to be named after. Thankfully it sounded a whole lot better though.

Read more...