12.31.08
Posted in Today, Reflections, Church, Life at 11:57 am by Josh
I can’t remember the last time it was December 31 and I said to myself, “Gee, I’m really going to miss this past year.” Realistically, such a sentiment is moronic at best given that a year is really only a unit of measurement, but then it does take an awful lot more to say, “I’m really going to miss all of the things that have happened in my life over the course of this past year.” Whether fortunate or unfortunate depends on how you look at it, but I, for one, still do not have to worry about using either statement to express my feelings.
But let me not be a complete downer; this year saw better things for me than many to preceed it. I spent most of it working at Eyeblaster, a company I grew to love and will miss dearly as it is not a part of my entry into 2009. During that time I think I learned more about life, people, and who I am as a person than I did about online advertising and global human resources, but with the latter throw in, it was a robust experience, to say the least. Losing this job is one of the hardest things I’ve been trying to come to terms with.
I found a woman who really, truly seemed to like me. Someone who I clicked with immediately, went on dates with, cuddled on the couch with, had songs and pictures to share with. I never thought that would happen again. It didn’t last, and that saddens me more than the loss of Eyeblaster. But as my dear friend says to me still, at least it happened, no matter what struggles have come out of it.
I changed churches. I still don’t know how I feel about everything, except that I feel right about leaving my first church. I also feel like I’m supposed to be at the church I’m at now, though I wish I was more a part of the community. Yes, we all live in the New York City area, but believe it or not, it takes me an hour to get there on the subway. Still, I’ve finally connected with some lovely people who I feel like I can call friends.
I could go on to the bittersweetness of small groups, vacations, old friends, holidays, writing, and hope for the future, but the point of it all is that it is bittersweet. There is nothing I can look back on from 2008 without shedding a tear while stretching a smile. This is definitely better than not being able to smile at all, and I’m thankful that I’ve received blessings enough to bring tears to my eyes. Still, I can’t — really, I won’t — stop hoping that one of these 31 days of December, I will reflect on my year, sit down at my blog entry page and say, “I sure am going to miss this past year.”
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10.31.07
Posted in Today, Life at 19:39 pm by Josh
Another Halloween. I used to love Halloween. I suppose I still do. But, for the second year in a row, I find myself not doing much. I’ve been sick recently, and with the move on the way and the new job keeping me on my toes, I haven’t been feeling very festive. I didn’t even wear orange today like I’d planned. I suppose there’s always next year.
That’s all. I’ll post October books later, if I have time.
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10.24.07
Posted in Today at 08:51 am by Josh
I am so sad this morning to watch California continue to burn. According to CNN, Northern San Diego County, between Ramona and Santa Ysabel, the same place I did disaster relief three years ago for wildfires, is burning at 0% containment. The fire started three days ago and has destroyed over 500 homes, damaged 250 more, and threatens over 2,000. The county consists of over 165,000 acres, many of which will be nothing more than ash by the time this is done.
This area is a simple part of the world. Many people do not have insurance. Many people have nowhere else to go and they will return to nothing when they return to the places they once called home. Many of these residents have just finished — and a few, just started — rebuilding from the fires of 2003.
This absolutely breaks my heart just thinking about it. Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers. They need it so very badly right now.
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10.15.07
Posted in Movies, Music, Today, Restaurants & Bars, Writing, Food, New York City, Wine at 09:09 am by Josh
Another weekend gone. I suppose you’d like to know what I did.
Friday I ended up at Katie’s where we shared a fine Spanish-style rice with chicken and green beans, washed down with a deep red Bordeaux (completely ignoring any regulations for pairing wine with food). We’d hoped to follow up with some ice cream, but alas, the pint we got from the grocery store was skunked. Nothing but ice. Eventually, Matt came over and we jammed something awful for a while. I wish we had that one on file.
Saturday The Rents showed up and we went to the Ulysses S. Grant tomb & memorial, which I never knew existed. I wasn’t too excited about it, but it turned out to be pretty interesting. It was epic, if nothing else. You walk into one of those old marble buildings that looks like a miniature version of the Capital and directly in front of you is a large ring where you can overlook the basement floor. As you peer over, the light reflects just perfectly to see the names “Ulysses S. Grant” and “Julia D. Grant” engraved on matching polished tombs. Kinda creepy, kinda cool.
We later ate at Cafe Figaro which I absolutely do not recommend to anyone who is looking for good Italian food with good service. This place, apparently, chooses to provide only one or the other, but never both in the same visit. Because the waiter screwed up, I had to eat linguini with seafood. The problem is, I don’t like most seafood. So I swallowed the linguini, ate the shrimp and the mussels and finished off with a bite or two of calamari. Forget the squid. That’s just gross.
Sunday was church, followed by coming home to write…anything. I felt a bit of the writing bug, so I went to town on it, but got distracted by making marinara sauce (I used port wine this time and it was an excellent idea 
) and talking on the phone. Then Matt came over for a jam since we’ll be busy this week, and then my tres cool upstairs neighbor Ally came down and we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas.
And now I’m sitting at home, late for work, waiting for one of the lazy (expletive) who works in the building management office to get into work so I can drop off the check they told me four weeks ago I didn’t have to pay. Apparently, they forgot that agreement. I wish I could exercise selective memory for the sake of convenience.
Have a nice week.
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09.11.07
Posted in Today, Weather, Food, New York City, Life at 08:43 am by Josh
Last night I enjoyed a round of cheese, crackers, stroganoff, wine, port, and arancello with The Texan. The result was some good theological discussions, the exchange of original music, a Syd Barrett cover (because why not?) topped off by an unusually timely M60 bus. And now we re-enter reality and remember that it is, in fact, only Tuesday.
But not just any Tuesday. As we all know, it is September 11. And because it’s been six years since the attacks, that means we find ourselves celebrating the anniversary on the same day of the week as when the travesty actually occurred. But unlike 2001, which saw a beautiful, sunny, pre-fall sort of day, it is rainy, cloudy, and generally lousy out today. Fitting, I say. Fitting, not because I like to dwell on all that is wrong with the world. Rather, it is fitting because this is still an event to mourn and New Yorkers especially — whether you lived here then or not — are a little bit edgy on 9/11. Low-cast skies promise use that today, we will not have to watch the world above us with paranoid fears about what the day will bring.
On a lighter note, my favorite suggestion, recently made by either Todd Currey (so says The Texan) or Albert Kim (I favor the latter), is that instead of wasting all of this time with the Freedom Tower (which, as best as I can tell, still only has a couple of beams in place), we should simply put up a large hologram. Can you see the confused look on the terrorist’s face as he braces for impact, only to glide effortlessly through the synthetic illusion? Now that’s an all-American solution.
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09.06.07
Posted in Music, Today, News, Life at 08:46 am by Josh
Luciano Pavarotti has passed away 
. Puccini will never be the same.
I pray you are now with God, Mr. P. Thanks for seventy-one years, even if I was only around for 25 of them.
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08.08.07
Posted in Today, New York City, Work at 20:11 pm by Josh
The day started out a little shaky: I descended the stairs into the 2,3 station at 125th Street only to find out that the subway line had been flooded. The 4,5 wasn’t running either, but the Transit employee said that the A was running on 8th Ave. I hauled over there in the sticky, 90-degree morning just in time to learn that the A line was flooded as well (and since it runs on the B line up here, that was useless, too).
I walked to 103rd and Central Park West where I’d hoped to catch a bus. All in vain. The buses were packed, and commuters were lined up along the sidewalks as though MTA was handing out free morning cocktails. I thought about it before resolutely making a decision. I took off my jacket, my dress shirt, and my tie and folded them as neatly as possible before stuffing them in my bag. Birkenstocks already donned (I never go to work in my shoes), I put Hampton Comes Alive on my iPod and began truckin’. 96th Street, 72nd Street, 59th Street…I wasn’t halfway to Brooklyn. I was thirsty. I needed water. But then I’d need a bathroom. What should I do?
I remembered that we have two Manhattan offices, both within walking distance (since everything now seemed accessible by the Two-Foot Express). I paid $2.05 for a water at Cosi, guzzled it down, and made for the 34th Street office for a bathroom break. I entered in a t-shirt, soaked through with sweat. The trip took me two-and-a-half hours by foot, and I was still miles from where I was supposed to be. Miraculously, my boss took pity. “Stay here in Manhattan,” he says. “Some of the 29th Street staff didn’t make it in. You can go there.”
And I did just that. It turned out to be a very quiet day and I realized that I actually wouldn’t loathe my job (the company is a different story) so much if I didn’t have to work with Brooklynites. They really are extra horrible over there. Anyway, I spent most of the day following the subway service advisories on MTA’s rather dull website and routing people accordingly. I should get overtime pay from MTA.
And now I’m catching up on Harry Potter which I’d planned to read diligently if I’m to finish this book before going to Ragnavok on Sunday. Four-hundred pages, three days: I’d say those are fighting odds.
In the meantime, I’m going to consider carving a boat for tomorrow’s commute. Just in case.
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07.29.07
Posted in Today, Weather, Writing, Food, Life, Wine at 20:00 pm by Josh
I love rainy Sundays in the summer. The sky opened up while we were in church, which might be Sam’s fault because he did actually ask for it. Anyway, I left church huddled under my umbrella with a perfect stranger which was cozy, even though the entire right side of my body was soaked all the way through. (My umbrella was made for one person, I believe, and I had no intention of huddling underneath it with another). I ate a fine slab of parmesan chicken topped with arugula and tomatoes, along with a Kir Royale which was fan-freakin’-tastic (all of this deliciousness can be found at 41 Greenwich Avenue). The Perfect Stranger had a prosciutto with something that looked yummy, and also a fruit salad which was undeniably the most refreshing thing I’ve tasted all summer. We left, this time my left side exposed so I could experience equal parts of wetness, and I came home where I proceeded to begin working on a new novel, but instead took a nap because the thunder was just so lovely and the sky so dark. It’s one of those perfect days to do nothing and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
That said, now it is back to work on the novel. Oh, haste the day when I can do this during the week instead of in my very little free time!
By the way, the owners of 41 Greenwich Avenue are amazing. If you want a high-end meal with excellent atmosphere while supporting good people in an honest business, please visit this place. You really won’t be disappointed.
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07.18.07
Posted in Music, Today, Weather, New York City at 08:59 am by Josh
I went to see the New York Philharmonic last night in Central Park with Kyleen and company (John, Justin, Albert, Joyce, and some other lovely people who I’ve never met before). It was perfect weather, and I did a reasonable amount of reading. I only stayed for the first half because I’ve been putting off too much other work, but during that hour I was quite pleased to hear the Philharmonic cover “Summertime” with a brilliant soprano performance by someone whose name I shall never know.
As for today, I am soaking wet because it’s raining forty days’ worth and my umbrella decided to spring a leak.
I need a little love over here.
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06.26.07
Posted in Today, Life at 10:49 am by Josh
…to me 
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