Flower Power

My apartment is rather bare. I have a bed, a table, a couch, some kitchen appliances, instant coffee, some books and a TV. Just the essentials. Even though I never really cared about the aesthetics of my apartment I have come to realize little things can make even a 23 year old, single guy's apartment very inviting.

I'm writing this not because I've suddenly fallen in love with plants and flowers, but because I've been growing an orchid in my apartment (a small, yet powerful flower) and it's really made my entire place blossom. In addition, the past four girls I've had over (just as friends) have commented on how masculine they think having flowers in my apartment makes me, & they were not being facetious.

It's a small step, but this little flower is bringing me to new places.

Sometimes the Stereotype Fits

I find myself doing a lot of defending these days. Actually, not as much as you would think considering I live in LA and I did go to college in the state of Iowa. Everyone that I know and work with gives me a lot less shit than I probably deserve (or do I?). Of course, conversations always arise where colleges, regions, and lifestyles are compared. My boss went to UCLA so trying to throw a school from Iowa into the mix doesn't really work, plus she wouldn't understand, I mean, how could she? When you say to people around here that you went to The University of Iowa it just doesn't click, you tell them and the look on their face is just like "Uhhhhh" like they've never even heard of it, it might as well be The University of Jupiter.

But I like my roots so I defend them or at least attempt to explain them. "Iowa was actually pretty sweet, it's a good academic school and also a party school." Or "The campus is beautiful." I say things like this, whether or not they're true.

I knew that a guy from our Fox affiliate in Des Moines was coming out here today with his wife. He's in the engineering department at KDSM Des Moines and was taking a vacation out to LA and figured he would stop by Fox's main offices. I was in charge of getting a drive-on for the guy; he wasn't really important enough for anyone else to worry about. I told him he was more than welcome to drive onto the lot, walk around, peek into the studios and maybe get lucky and see them filming something. I called in the drive-on and assumed I was done with it, I would never see the guy, never hear from him. I was wrong.

Sure enough, the guy found my building number and office number, and at sometime around noon, this hillbilly comes walking into our office with his wife and two kids. People don't bring family members into the office, there aren't outside people allowed in without permission (but by calling him a drive-on, he now had permission), so it's pretty obvious when a family comes bouncing through. And this was the classic Iowa family. The guy was wearing a flannel and a baggy pair of jeans (fortunately he didn't have a John Deere hat on), just your typical 45 year old Iowan dad who loves the Hawks and drives a truck. His wife had an uncanny resemblence to a hobbit. She was short and fat, had a bad perm, looked like she smelled like a hobbit might smell. I was annoyed with their kids just by looking at them. Their son was probably a sophomore in high school and was wearing a Slipknot t-shirt (Iowa band). Black hair, black shirt, head tilted to the side so he could see from behind his hair. His parents probably told their friends and neighbors that he was going through a "confusing time" and that really, really annoyed me for some reason. More than it would on any other day. The daughter was plump but insisted on squeezing into her low-rise jeans. This family, whose type I have gotten to know over the years, was not helping me today.

I looked up from my work to see this foursome headed straight for me. I caught them before they crowded around my desk and quickly got them out of the building. I gave them a few stories about what little I know of the history of Fox and directed them to a place where they could get lunch. I will never see them again, but everyone in my department assumed that they were my people, and I now have even more defending to do.

Part of me is like, come on Iowa people, I gave you four good years, can you throw me a fucking bone here? Do we have to wear the flannel into Fox? I understand you're overweight, why try to fit into those jeans? Does your troubled teen son have to walk around the office with his head tilted to the side like he's some sort of awkward gothic bird?

But the other side of me loves it. These people were so out of touch with reality that they didn't even know they were out of place, and if they did, I doubt they would have cared. They were just a bunch of Iowans on vacation, happy to be out of Des Moines. Can I really blame them for that?

I guess sometimes the stereotype fits. On some occasions you're glad it fits, like when you're at a towny bar on the bike bar crawl and a 60 year old guy with a beard and a flannel is playing air guitar to Jimi Hendrix with you. On some occasions you're not as happy, like when the whole family comes strolling through the office stopping at each cubicle asking where you sit. When it comes to Iowa, you rock with the good, roll with the bad.

Another Birthday

Long before any of us knew Soham Patel, his sister was friends with my cousin Effie. Here's a picture from Effie's birthday party a long long time ago. The baby being held to his right is my little sister. Can anybody even recognize Soham in the center? He's grown up a lot since then. Some may even say that he now looks like a brown johnny depp (well he would say that). At the very least he's a promising Target employee with upper managment written all over him and I have to admit that he'll probably get on my sister one day (don't worry about our friendship there, tc was an innovater). Anyway, I think we're all glad to know that he turns 23 today. So, happy golden birthday old friend.

Introducing Ben

Since Sesh is super busy with his new accounting job now that he got a raise (congrats Sesh) and has to work extra hard to prove to his bosses that they aren't wasting their money on him, Sesh hasn't had an opportunity to log on to our blog and introduce himself. So I'll do it for him.

My Friend Ben















This is my friend, Ben. Ben was born on January 28, 1983. Ben grew up in Naperville, IL on Chippewa Drive with his parents, older brother, and younger sister. Ben is Jewish and has a Jewish tatoo even though he doesn't go to church, doesn't practice Judism, and celebrates Christmas, buying Christmas presents for his family members and accepting Christmas presents from his family members. Like Dan Lefevre, you could consider Ben a fake Jew.

I met Ben in sixth grade at Jefferson Junior High School in Naperville, IL. We played basketball together in seventh and eighth grade. Remember when Mr. Somers use to to yell at us, Ben? He was sooooooo mmmmmeeeaaaaannnnnn!!!!!!!

Ben went to Naperville North High School. He commonly wore Grateful Dead t-shirts and even grew a beard during his junior year. It wasn't very hard for Ben to grow a beard.

Ben went to college at The University of Iowa. After realizing his love of math, Ben decided on a business major with an emphasis in accounting. Ben is looking forward to sitting at a desk and working with numbers for the rest of his life. Way to go Ben!

While at Iowa, Ben displayed leadership in a number of areas. He was the organizer for his intramural football team as well as his intramural basketball team. (People said TC was the organizer of the basketball team, but we know who the real organizer was, Ben! TC forgot too much stuff!) Ben also set up an accounting bar crawl where all of the accounting majors could go from bar to bar wearing t-shirts that said naughty and clever things like "We're going to tax that ass!" , "Crunch this!" , and my favorite "If you don't like these figures then I figure I'll punch you in the face!"

Ben also likes to drink heavily.

Ben's favorite food is KFC. He doesn't have any pets. He likes to play sports like disc golf, basketball and softball. He likes technological stuff like TVs and big stereo systems.

He also likes smoking pot and watching Crank Yankers.

Ben won a disc golf tournament called the Shorewood Shootout, beating Chris Sundin and Matt Schulter.

Just to remind you, Ben won a disc golf tournament. It was called the Shorewood Shootout. Chris Sundin and Matt Schluter finished behind Ben who finished in first.

One time Ben was playing disc golf at a tournament in Shorewood, IL called the Shorewood Shootout. Chris Sundin and Matt Schluter were playing in the tournament with Ben. Chris and Matt did not win the tournament because Ben won the tournament.

Sometimes Ben does silly things like when he locks his friend Paul in the bathroom by tying a rope from the bathroom door knob to another another door knob and makes him stay in the bathroom for hours at a time. Ben, you silly goose!

One time I saw Ben eat a whole birthday cake by himself.

Ben loves breaking up with girls and demanding they give him all his stuff back. It's his stuff and he has every right to it.

Ben is a great friend. I am glad I am Ben's friend.

TM

Where now?

So I realize I have not really contributed much to this blogging experiment even though I read it almost daily. I am kind of disappointed in myself even though I know that I don’t have to post anything if I don’t want to. I’d still like to see some more from myself and some others.

So, this Gauguin picture hangs in my bedroom. If you could look closely enough, in the upper left hand corner are a few words written in French: “D'ou venons-nous? Qui sommes-nous? Ou allons-nous? The words translate to: Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?” Gauguin painted this work after abandoning his poor family and moving to Tahiti.

Then we have this picture...

No, these are not Albanian terrorists or part of Bulgaria's 1974 World Cup soccer team. What we have here is a picture of my dad and three of his brothers. These four men abandoned their homeland to find a better life in the United States. Clearly that must have been a difficult decision because just by looking at them you can tell they must have lived like kings in Greece. They ate big meals for lunch with Greek wine and Greek Coke (which like Mexican Coke is twice as good as what we get here), then they took long afternoon naps before gelling their hair with olive oil and heading to the discoteca. They may not have wanted to come to a new country and learn a new language and social customs but they believed a better life awaited them and they could only attain that life if they took chances. It's unfortunate that they had to give up so many great things in Greece to come here, but that is how things work sometimes.

That leads to the future...

As for where we are all going, its hard to say. Most of us are now spread across the country: Tc is in Iowa, Hatfield in L.A., Soham in Minnesota, Alexis in Florida, and by Wednesday Scabs will be in Kansas City. Only a few of us remain in Chicago. I have to admit I'm feeling a little abandoned. Yet I know that my friends need to take those chances and risks to make their own lives better. So, even though I want everyone to be around I also want everyone to move to a new homeland or create new art or do whatever else we all have to do. That's one of the reasons I like this blog so much. We can do those new things without abandoning what we already have. I am going to work harder to do my part. So specifically to Scabs and Sesh, and somewhat to Soham: Get on board and let's keep this thing going. After that we'll figure out what's next.

Birthday!

Happy birthday to P-Money and Little Billy.

Almonds

For those of you looking for an easy snack at the office, I highly suggest almonds. Not only are they easy to eat and conceal (if you need to conceal them), but they are nutritious, filling, and tasty. And they aren't really all that expensive if you get them at Costco or a similar store. We ordered a bunch of them at Fox and Monique is all about them as well. Give them a try, you won't regret it. TM

If this has happened to you....then you can relate

Danny Blaize just sent me some pics from senior year in IC and I took some time to reflect. Last summer in IC was great; working from 10-3pm everyday (if you consider driving around in a truck and surfing the internet work), playing golf everyday for free, without the hustle and bustle like during the school year. Sure it was 110 degrees outside everyday, but when you're griling-out and drinking, it doesn't really matter. Although I was more than ready to get the hell out of IC by the end of the summer, part of me is pinned to the idea of that summer; riding bikes to the bar, listening to stories from my 55 year old boss who did every drug on the planet, making sure I got to every single bar in IC before I left. When you think about it, going to college in IC is so random, but then again, completely random things can turn out to provide the best experiences.

On more than a few occasions over the last nine months, I have caught myself looking forward to college. The only problem with that is that I am already done with college. But on certain occasions when I watch TV and see college kids or look at pictures of college life, I have thought to myself, "That's going to be sweet when I get to experience that. I'm really looking forward to college." When I snap back into reality, I'm just stunned and an imminent feeling of anxiety creeps over me, the same thing you feel when you realize you forgot something important and you don't have time to go back and get it. It's over.......how can it be over? Where are all the people that I spent every waking minute with for the last four years? Did I really just do all that stuff? How is there not something like that on the horizon?

When I look at these pics, I wonder.......

When is the next time I will be able to go drinking at Panchero's?















Or act like a homo at a gay bar with no fear because Iowa gay people are harmless.....(I don't even know what that means)















Sesh, you were there.



Or get bear-hugged by a guy named Herbal.



















Or go on bike bar crawls......






























Or rap with real rappers......















So much of one's adolescent life is spent looking forward; to junior high, to high school, but mainly to college. You just keep thinking that the next big experience is right on the horizon, and it is......it just isn't college anymore. TM

We Gotta Get There

I still say we need to get to these places before it's all over. Of course, there are others we need to get to as well, but these I can say for sure. The first two are Neuschwanstein Castle near Munich, Germany, the second two are Christ the Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Appreciation

Thanks friend. And let me be the first to say that a Hatfields love is the best kind of love.

2 alarm

Came across this interview. A little fuel for the fire inside.

Bayside vocalist Anthony Raneri looks forward to hitting the road with his heroes this winter. "Smoking Popes are one of the most important bands in my life, and probably the most influential in my song writing. To know that they like our band enough to take us on tour is, for me, our greatest accomplishment."

- we're with you Anthony

PJam Album, Concert?

SEATTLE — Seattle rock band Pearl Jam announced Wednesday that it will release its eighth studio album — and first since 2002 — in early May.

The self-titled CD is also its first release on its new label, J Records.

The album's first single, "World Wide Suicide," will be made available to radio stations March 8, and the same day the song will be available as a free download from the band's Web site, http://www.pearljam.com.

Tour dates in support of "Pearl Jam" will be announced later this month, the band said in a news release.

--I say we got on this as soon as we hear about tickets. We are overdue for Pearl Jam at Alpine. TM