The holiday weekend was excellent. I put together a damn good 4 day/3 night bachelor party here in Boston for my old friend Bri-- I think rock stars would have been jealous. Some highlights included: lobster dinner at Durgin park on Thursday night, playing cards at the rooftop pooldeck at the Collonade, watching the fireworks on the Fourth from our boat on the Charles River, a round of drinks at the Top of the Hub, truly magnificent porterhouse steaks at Morton's on Saturday, fine port and cigars at Cigar Masters, and a rendezvous with a bachelorette party from my and Bri's hometown at a piano bar on Lansdowne Street.

I'll be posting pics soon!

And also, I bought my Garand! I spent a bit more than I'd originally planned, but I unquestionably got the pick of the litter. It's a Springfield Armory rifle, built sometime around August of 1944. Almost 64 years old, but still in gorgeous condition. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet-- maybe later on this week. I've already ordered some clips and a m1923 cartridge belt to go with it, and I'm hoping for a deal on a bayonet on ebay. I'll probably end up with a Korean War-era one, they seem to go for a third the price of a decent WWII example. I'll have to take a pic of the new toy, too!

Friday night we met up with lindyninja and kickindancer, bunkai_man and katesg7, derbyhat and Stephanie to watch Xmen3 in Boston. Randomly, Matt ended up sitting right in front of us. It was fun, about on par with the second Xmen movie-- great visuals, a couple great one-liners, and the story held my interest. Movies like this are great for watching while cleaning guns-- put them on, follow the dialogue, and look up from what you're doing when a good action sequence comes on.

Saturday morning Lea and I drove out to our friend Dan's place near Poughkeepsie, NY for his graduation party-- he just finished up his Masters in English. It was relaxing-- the high point was an intense game of whiffle ball. We took off around 9pm and drove into the city, where we planned to stay for the weekend. Our friend Sara was unfortunately out of town for the weekend, but she left the key to her place with my buddy Derik, so we picked it up from his place and crashed at her place in the Lower East Side.

On Sunday we drove back uptown (parking in NYC was pretty easy because of the long weekend) and met up with Dave and Andrea for lunch at the Carnegie Deli. The place lived up to its reputation-- I got a 6 inch plus tall pile of Roast Beef on top of a slice of Rye with another slice balanced on top (their idea of a sandwich). We all walked around the Times Square area for a little while and then headed back to Sara's place so Lea could do her homework. We had a quiet dinner together at a nearby Sushi place and then walked over to the Strand, my favorite bookstore on the planet. After they closed up we caught a late show of the Da Vinci code, which was entertaining... it was a pretty good adaptation, although it edited out a lot of the more interesting parts of the book. I should re-read it one of these days.

Monday morning we met up with Derik and his friend Theresa for lunch and did some shopping-- Lea picked up a new pair of Pumas she'd been looking for and I finally bought a pocket-sized digital camera, a Canon Powershot SD450. I've been a big fan of the Canon cameras since I was selling them back in school, and playing with new one has confirmed my opinion. The camera was cheaper than pretty much any of the cameras I used to sell back 5 years ago, more compact, and much faster between shots than even the high-end cameras were back then. The movie mode lasts 8-45 minutes per gig of memory compared to 30-45 seconds, so it may even be useful. It has a huge screen, and retains an optical viewfinder, which is a big plus for when the glare prevents use of the LCD. Unbelievable. We got on the road around 2:30 and made it back to Worcester in time to catch Jamie and Melanie's BBQ. Zack brought a few gallons of home brew with him and we had some fun "touch" football out back. Great time.

Ugh. Today was rough at work... The bunch of NYC morons I spent all week last week chasing for documents seemed genuinely surprised that they screwed up the deal I've been working on by giving us the info we needed 72 hours late. I spent all day trying to salvage things, and expect to look like a complete idiot when the house of cards I spent all day today building falls apart again tomorrow morning. Dealing with these jokers has reminded me of Monthy Python's Cheese Shop sketch... it's sad that I can't end this whole charade by shooting them.

The day's bright spot was an unexpected call from sharpshootah, who I'd barely talked to in the past year. The rush you get after talking with a friend you hadn't spoken to in a long time as though nothing at all has changed has to be one of the best feelings in the world. Hopefully I'll be getting together with her later in the week to catch up. The whole episode makes me want to get back in touch with a dozen people I've lost track of in the last couple years-- Mike A., Rachel F., Yogi and Liz, Andy and Lily, and others... I'll have to sort through my Palm address list this weekend and get on the phone. If you're reading this and we haven't hung out in a while, give me a call... I've actually got free time again these days.

The last few weeks have been insanely busy. I've been consistently working 60 hour weeks at the new job and I feel like I've completely lost touch with everyone and everything other than Lea.

That's not completely true... I did get to spend some time with Bri and Alan while they were in town for Thanksgiving, and got to relax a bit that weekend. I definitely needed that. Unfortunately, things don't seem likely to calm down any time soon, either. I'm strangely resigned to this. Despite the stress I've been enjoying the work and I've been learning even more about the practice of law than I thought expected to. It's not the hours themselves that bother me, it's just the growing sense of isolation. I need to get out more and make better use of my ever-diminishing down time.

Random stuff... My computer has been in pieces for a couple weeks now. I took it apart to do some upgrades and pack it into a Micro-ATX case, but I couldn't get the damn thing to work. Seems like another defective Motherboard, but it could be a mistake on my part. Tonight I'll take one last stab at getting it to run before putting my old box back together... Does anyone have any suggestions on good Micro-ATX MBs?

Lea and I have our wedding album mostly together now. We're about to order the last of the stuff we need to finish it, plus what we'll need to do our parents' albums. My Dad is scanning in the photos for us, so hopefully I'll be able to add more to the ones up on the webpage soon...

Lots of good news this week.

Last Saturday Lea and I attended Shavenyak and katesg7's wedding and had a great time. The ceremony was at a gorgeous old church in Winchester and the reception at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, both excellent choices, and a good time was had by all. The wedding was early, so they threw an afterparty at Jillian's that night. It was fun to continue celebrating the wedding wearing normal clothes and doing normal going-out stuff. A nice change of pace after all of the weddings we've been to these last few months. I'm sure that Shavenyak and Katie will be very happy together.

It was also good to meet Rob's old college friends at his bachelor party the Thursday prior to the wedding, they seemed like a great bunch of guys. I missed the day's early activities and met up with them at Fire and Ice in Harvard Sq. (which, by the way, is freaking heaven for Atkins dieters) and then we played a few hours of 4 on 4 HALO capture the flag. I think I'm getting addicted. I may have to pick up an Xbox when HALO 2 comes out.

Speaking of getting to like new games, last night I won my first no-limit texas hold 'em tournament! I was playing pretty well and I had some good luck early on. Those early wins built up my stack to the point where I was able to survive an expensive beat by Zack toward the middle of the game and recover. When it was down to the last three players I went all in on an AJ before the flop. Paul, the chip leader, called me (I forget with what) and got clobbered when two more Jacks came up. From there on it was smooth sailing. It's been a few weeks since I've played well, and I'm usually one of the first ones to go when we have these tournaments. It was especially satisfying to take Paul's money :)

Also speaking of games I like, I'm putting together my first Car Wars game in ten years (Division 15 at the Cloverleaf). If you're interested in playing, email me with your availability.

Lea and I are talking about going down to visit DC over Columbus day weekend. She's never been, so we'll probably hit the touristy places and visit some old friends of mine. If you're in the metro DC area and want to hang out while I'm down there, let me know.

I've been sending out my resume lately, and I had two interviews this week, both of which went very well. The one I had on Tuesday is a real estate closing gig, the one I had today is for an associate spot at a small general practice firm. Both seem like great places to work. The closing job seems like it would involve minimal actual legal work, but the second seems like a good place to develop my skills. The interview was unusual-- after a few minutes chatting in his office, the owner took me out with him for an hour while he ran some errands. He did most of the talking. He pretty much told me his life story and outlined why he was looking for an associate and what qualities he felt were important. It was actually pretty fun. We got along well and he invited me back for a second interview with his office manager on Monday. It sounds like if that goes well the job is mine. It's pretty much what I've been looking for for the last year, so if the money's right I'll take it. Hopefully the money is good enough that I can replace my car, since the firm is up on the North Shore.

All in all it's been a kick-ass week. Life is good.

Poker was a lot of fun last night. I played better than I have in a long time and came out pretty far ahead. My buddy Zack showed up late and drunk-- he played a few hands, ordered some Chinese food, and then passed out on the couch about halfway into the night. Just before we all went home, our mutual friend Matt swiped the fortune cookie he had left uneaten. It read: "You and your wife will be happy in your life together." Now Matt is a bachelor, but Zack is getting married NEXT WEEK. It looks like that rat bastard Matt sniped Zack on that fortune and made off with the happy life that Zack and Kristina were destined for. If things go badly for them, we know who to blame.

On the way to B's wedding a couple weeks ago I decided to try the Atkins diet, based primarily on the success a number of my friends had had with it. When Lea and I got back, I spent the week in phase I of the diet-- eating all of the carbs in our kitchen :) A week ago, when they were all gone, I started induction (limitation of 20g carbs/day for 2 weeks). It's been going pretty well. I don't think I've managed to keep my consumption quite at 20g (it's hard to keep count when you're eating out as much as I've been), but I've come reasonably close. I haven't been militant about monitoring my weight, but I've definitely been making significant progress. Atkins is a great first step for me because of the nature of the rules-- if you break them, the diet doesn't work and you're even worse off than you would have been without it. It helps you maintain discipline that way, which I hope to apply to an exercise regime as I ease off of Atkins. Rob pretty much sold me on a gym in the area, and I suspect that I'll be joining there soon.

Zack and Kristina's wedding is coming up quick, and then Rob and Katie's soon after. I notice that I'm steadily getting demoted-- first I'm the groom, then best man man at the next one, then an usher at the one after that, then a regular guest... if this keeps up I'll be washing dishes in the backroom if I get invited at all :)

( The weekend was excellent. )

Robert reminded me that I need to put together some people for a game of Car Wars sometime soon. Any of you mob ever play?

lilbabylea and I spent last weekend in Connecticut attending lindyninja and kickindancer's wedding. It was well-planned, ran smoothly, and a lot of fun for everyone who attended.

( Read more... )

It was a wonderful wedding and a terrific weekend. Thank you, B and Amy, for showing us such a wonderful time. I couldn't he happier for you two and I couldn't be prouder to be there as Best Man.

The move went without a hitch last weekend. Smoothest move I've ever done, despite the staggering piles of stuff we had to haul. Lots of practice, I suppose, and good help. Many thanks to lindyninja, kickindancer, salt_peanuts, Nick, and Glyn for all they did. The new place is coming together pretty nicely and I think Lea and I will be happy staying there for the next few years.

We spent the fourth over at Rob and katesg7's place in Winchester, had a great time.

The week at work was fairly boring, although the project may be ending sooner than I thought, so I need to get back into serious job-hunting mode. Not fun. EDIT: Turns out to be just a rumor. Looks like my job will be safe until January. I'll still need to get my hunt going, but it won't be as urgent as I'd feared.

Last weekend was pretty busy, too. Aside from the move-related errands we played kickball with lindyninja and company on Saturday afternoon and then went to P.F. Chang's and the Top of the Hub with Ashley, an old friend of mine, and her husband. We hadn't seen each other in about four years and have both been bad about staying in touch, so it was great to re-connect. I should really make an effort to catch up with other folks I've been only nominally in touch with for the last few years.

Lea and I tend to have similar outlooks on things, so it always catches me by surprise when our perspectives differ dramatically. The other day we were going through the RSVPs for the wedding with my family and read gonzolawyer and waitingforoct's kind note. I mentioned to my father that they were another lawyer/pharmacist couple, and he suggested that they might have useful advice for us, and asked "how far along they were" compared to us. I started to answer that Dave has his own practice in Arizona and that Jess had her license and is practicing as well, so they were about 3 or 4 years ahead of us... but before I even open my mouth, though, Lea explains that they recently had reasonbaby, their first child... It occurred to me that Lea's answer could best be paraphrased "They're winning by one."

Huh? Since when are my friends so damn organized?! I just got jumped by a dozen friends of mine over at Zack's place, where Lea and I had supposedly been planning to meet up with Zack and Kris for dinner. Mike Rosettie, Paul, Matt, Kate Springfield, Eric Schoenfeld, Jeff, Pat, B, and Amy all turned up to wish me a happy 26th and shower me with presents! You guys all rock!

Apparently Lea and Zack put this together behind my back without full access to my address book, so no slight to those of you who didn't get word... Lea and I'll be throwing our big move-in party sometime in March and EVERYBODY is invited for that. In the meantime, feel free to continue burying me waist-deep in gifts ;)

In addition, my best birthday wishes go out to Danielle, Veronika, Matt, H-dawg, and Ben! And for the record, I'm still in my mid-20s: Early 20s run from 20 to 23 and 1/3, middle 20s from 23 1/3 to 26 2/3, and late 20s from 26 2/3 to 30. So there. Make fun of me on August 9th.

I just got back from An Tua Nua, where my boy Alex just played... General Stoor was incredible. Framingham hasn't been so well represented since Crispus Attucks gave it up back in the Boston Massacre. The Alaskan Fishermen, featuring my boy Chris Opal were excellent as well. Can't wait for their album to come out. Off to the cape for the Fourth... everyone have an awesome Independence Day!

hawver, Lea, and I just got back from our buddy downstairs neighbor Burt LaFountain's CD release party at the Great Scott in Allston. Awesome crowd, awesome music, all around fun show. Check out his site (which Hawver has been working on) and buy his CD (either on MP3.com when that's ready in a couple days, or by emailing me). If you like Phish or Ben Folds Five you'll dig his stuff... For $5 it's an amazing deal. Seriously, buy it now.

What lies before you and what lies behind you are tiny matters compared to what lies within you.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last night I went out for dinner with Dave and Jess, who are moving out to Tuscon, Arizona in a couple days. I'll definitely miss having them around, especially at the salons. But it's one more reason to do that cross-country road trip I've always wanted to do, and it's only a matter of time before we see them again.

We went to the Lilac House(?), a Chinese place near there place in Millis, which was amazingly good. It's impressive how much better the food and service gets at Chinese restaurants as you get further out of the city.

My buddy Chris just IM'd me to tell me he's getting married this weeked. This guy is one of the three kids from GW I still talk to. He lives out in Ohio and I haven't seen him since he came to my graduation but we IM all the time... He's been dating a girl for a while now and been extremely happy with her... she sounds perfect for him from what I've heard. He's not having any kind of public ceremony though, and he's not telling his parents. He thinks that the ceremony is just for other peope, not him and his wife, and he thinks that not telling his parents would subject his wife to their approval, which he doesn't need. I understand his argument but disagree on the first point, but think he's just plain nuts on the second one. Arg. Well, I'm off to spend the night in Amherst and I'm going to talk to Chris more while I'm on the road... wierdness.

Me: ...I didn't eat that much... I was still recovering from the Burrito of Death I ate for lunch.
Kate: haha : ) I love burito's, the vegie ones from borito max, yum..... If that's all I could eat all day that might be a strong canidate...
Me: the Burrito of Death was unfortunately NOT from Burrito Max, but from Herera's... a pale imitation of the splendor and magnificence that is Burrito Max.
Kate: oh no!
Me: There is only one true Burrito joint and that joint is Burrito Max. All other Burrito joints are false burrito joints and death or severe gastronomical distress await those who forsake the one true Burrito joint...
Kate: anna's taqueria....
Me: HERESY!!!

For those interested in watching some rea-life martial arts action, my buddy Shohei has organized a pretty impressive Jiu-Jitsu Tournament for tomorrow night. It should be at the Case Gymnasium around 7pm and end in time to go out. Email me if you're interested in watching.

I need to slow my life down some... I've got so much I need to do coming up and so little free time. I feel like things are just going to be getting crazier and crazier until I graduate. I spent all day Friday doing research for work. I was in the school library until about 9:00 so that my boss could pick up some materials from me at my apartment on Saturday morning-- I think that I've pretty much proven myself at NELF and now they'll let me do more interesting work on an IP case coming up soon.
After I finished at the library I ran back home and prepped for Axis. Nicola, Kate, and Mike Rossettie came by and we had a few drinks and then headed over, had an awesome time. Prof. Malamut came by in the morning to pick up my research and then I headed out for brunch and did a bit of shopping. That night I missed the BON Iron Monkey excursion and went out to Fire and Ice with Xing Ling.
On Sunday night I got to do some work on my new site, Ninjalawyer.com. HTML Kit rules, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an HTML editor (It's free and ony takes up 3MB, so everyone should at least check it out). I'm still messing with the layout... The links don't work yet and I still need to do the buttons, but I've been told it's already too busy. Alan likes my old website better. Any suggestions? Mad props to Xtina for helping me out with the LJ style stuff.
Lindsay, an old friend of mine from GW emailed me last night. We hadn't talked in over 3 years, so it was great to hear from her. It turns out she has a LJ of her own. Last night I also got to watch Dead Poets Society for the first time. Wow. It really was as good as people made it out to be. I really need to learn to play the bagpipes.

I just found out second-hand that two old friends of mine got married last month. Yogi was my best friend in elementary school, although we drifted in and out of each other's lives after that. Liz was his obvious soul mate and we got along well ourselves-- she took me on my first trip to Newbury street back in high school. When they broke up I was shocked, but their reuinion was inevitable. When they got back together it reassured me that the universe was indeed benevolent and orderly. When I moved back to Boston, Yogi was one of the first old friends I reestablished contact with, but I've barely seen him since I helped him and Liz move into their place in Somerville 2 years ago.

It wasn't a big surprise when Liz's sister, Kate, told me that they finally got married on August 11th. I wish I'd been there to see it, but it's been so long since I last saw them that I understand. It makes me feel like a pretty crappy friend, though. Well, lesson learned. I'm not going to let this sort of thing happen again. I think I'll be writing a few long-overdue emails this weekend.