Coolest Video EVER

In my life, I will never again see something this awesome. My jaw dropped open and remained that way until I'd seen it three more times.

The Mythbuster guys disintegrate a car by shooting a rocket-propelled steel plate at it. The plate hits it at 650 miles per hour.

Dogs Welcoming Home Soliders

OK, this is seriously the best thing I've ever seen in my life. A page with several videos of soldiers getting home and being greeted by their dogs after MONTHS away overseas. Best. Ever.

And then there's a video at the bottom of solider dads surprising their kids at school. Unbelievable. It's getting a little dusty in here I think.

Here's the link. It's awesome.

Thank you to all the soldiers who have ever, in any way, served our country and made it safe for us to live the lives we choose to live. We get to make that choice because of what you do. So thank you and Happy Veterans Day!

Sooo I did it.

As you probably know, last weekend I ran my first half-marathon. I started training on Aug. 10, and I worked all the way through the race day on Nov. 1.

The training guide said not to set a time goal for your first race, and that finishing should be enough. Yeah, right. I know me. I set a goal, albeit a modest goal -- two and a half hours. It's not really that fast a time -- it's an 11:30/mile pace. But I didn't want to push myself TOO hard. After all, the most I'd ever run in my life up to that point was about six miles, but I only did that once. Other than that, the most I ever did was three miles.

I woke up at 5 a.m., got to the starting line a little after 7 a.m., and I was off. My official time was 2:19:51, almost 10 minutes better than my goal (or 45 seconds faster per mile). It rained the whole time, and it was cold the whole time...haha. Frankly, it's a miracle I did not get sick. Running in shorts and a T-shirt in temperatures that did not rise above the low 50s and RAIN.

But hey, nothing in the world can compare to the surge and the rush when I turned the corner and saw the downhill road to the finish line. I sprinted the home stretch. Well, it felt like sprinting to me. Actually, I don't know what it felt like. I couldn't feel my legs at that point; I was just forcing them forward.

I stopped for a few seconds at two water stations to drink some water, and I tried to drink a cup of sports drink while running, but I think I ended up just pouring it down my shirt. Otherwise, it was a good race. The course was pretty difficult, I think. Lots of hills, so I'm glad my regular training route included a pretty big-ass hill. I felt prepared for it, and I experienced no pain until later in the day.

For the next few days, I seriously considered going up the stairs on all fours and sliding down the stairs on my ass like we did as kids. I made it though. The pain is gone now.

A former co-worker of mine ran her first half-marathon and marathon recently. She started a blog about it. But the theme of her training was "Pain is temporary; pride is forever." I can tell you right now, I'm addicted to the feeling of crossing the finish line. Three months of training, two-plus hours of running -- it's all worth it to feel the rush of crossing the finish line.

I will run another one. Probably not in the next 12 months, but we'll see how I feel when summer rolls around. I can already feel the change in one way: it feels funny taking the week off from running. I'm actually getting an itch to run. I never imagined that would ever happen.

So either this week or maybe next week, I'll get back out and run three or four miles four or five times a week, just to keep in shape. I feel like this is the best shape I've been in in several years, all thanks to the training -- running four days a week, weight training three days a week and I added 400 crunches per day. Let's just keep it going.

I'm also thinking about doing P90X. My roommate has the DVDs and said he'd allow me to borrow them. It would give me something to do as far as working out goes during the cold months when I probably wouldn't enjoy running around outside. If I do that and it works for me, I'll post some before and after pictures. They're pretty ridiculous, so I hope to have some news to report there. We'll see!

For now, I'm just so incredibly proud of myself for actually sticking to the training for three months and running the whole race. Oh yeah! I ran EVERY STEP of the race, which is significant because I could not complete a training run during the previous three months without walking some. But last week, I didn't stop to walk once. I just kept going. I surprised myself.

So yeah. I'm just really proud of myself for doing this. I never thought I'd ever run ONE half-marathon, and now I'm actually excited to run another one. You better believe I hung up the medal I got for finishing. I wore that thing the whole day afterward.

I'm rambling now. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE. I'll just stop now while I'm ahead. I'm just really happy with myself. :-)

LATER!
-BG

WIN

One more Yankee post because I still love everyone and everything:

YANKEES WIN...THEEEEEE YANKEES WIN!!

YES SIR!!

It's been a long nine years. I know it doesn't compare to the suffering of Cubs fans or Indians fans or anything like that, but I'm not a Cubs fan or an Indians fan. Still though, Yankee years are like dog years. Every year feels like it's much longer than a year.

This feels GOOD. After being one out away in 2001, I had "New York, New York" ready to go on my computer. Arizona came back, and I was put on hold. I couldn't play the song, and I blamed myself ever since.

I have literally not listened to that song by choice since then.

That all changed tonight. I got to play it loudly and proudly after the Yanks beat the Phillies in game 6 of the World Series tonight to win title No. 27.

After 2001, and then losing so painfully in 2004, and then missing the playoffs completely last year, wow. This, this just feels really, really good.

GO. YANKS.

Quick Hits

A couple of quick things:

We Met Our Goal!

Bark for Life is Saturday, and our team (Viva La Duck) reached our goal! We set what I thought was a pretty lofty goal of raising $1,000, and through the donations of SO many generous people we surpassed the goal.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated in honor of Erik! Now just come out on Saturday and walk with us! Dogs not necessary! Come walk!

Positive Thinking

I've always been a bit of an optimist (with the exception of sports for the past few years). I generally believe things will work out, and, for the most part, things usually DO work out for me. I've been accused of just having incredibly good luck, and maybe that's true.

But maybe good things happen because I expect them to happen. If you're waiting for bad shit to happen, bad shit will happen. Guaranteed. It's just the way things work.

So I've really tried to focus on thinking positively about as much as I can. Don't get me wrong -- sometimes shit just happens. But for the most part, for the past couple weeks anyway, I've felt better about myself, about life in general. I try not to dwell on negative things because, really, when has that ever helped?

I resolved to think positively when I was laid off back in April, and I had a very relaxing month at home with my dog, living off my severance pay. And then the first job I really applied to came through and has been an unbelievable opportunity and experience.

There really is something to this positive thinking thing. I've specifically been applying it to the Yankees recently (so sue me), and it's been working remarkably. As you may remember, it's been a pretty dark five years in Yankeeland. I spent much of that time just waiting for the next thing to go wrong, and it never missed a beat. Something always went wrong.

This time, I decided that was unproductive. And look where that's got me? I'm going to go home tonight and watch Game 1 of the 2009 World Series!

LET'S GO!

That's all I've got for now.
-BG

He's racing and pacing and plotting the course

So here's the deal:

I ran 10 miles yesterday. My knees feel like they now lack cartilage, ligaments and tendons, and, instead, are filled with jelly. Don't be alarmed. The same thing happened last week after I ran nine miles. Things returned to normal with a day or two, and I was fine.

The half-marathon is now less than a week away. Incredible. I started training in the beginning of August, and I remember struggling to get through that first three-mile run. Well, not really struggling -- I could definitely complete it. But I walked more than I wanted to, and I took longer that I hoped.

And yesterday I finished 10 miles in 115 minutes. I'm slower than a 10-minute mile pace, but I don't feel too badly about that because on the usual three-mile trails I run, at least a mile of it is straight up hill -- steep hills, too -- which means probably close to 3.5 miles of the 10 I ran on Sunday was all up hill.

So I feel good heading into the race on Sunday. It's my first (and doesn't saying "my first" clearly imply the presence of a "second"? I'm not sure I'm ready to think about this yet, *sigh), and I've read it's not a good idea to set up a strict time goal for your first. With that said, I really want to finish in 2.5 hours. Obviously, I'd love to be faster than that, but let's be realistic. Before this training, the most I'd ever run with any regularity was between two and three miles.

I'm excited though. The past few weeks of long runs really showed me I could actually do it, so that was nice.

This week though, rest. I don't care if the training calls for four-mile, three-mile and two-mile runs this week. NOT GONNA DO IT. Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture.

I'd rather my legs and knees be fresh for Sunday, so I will be doing my usual twice- to three-times-a-week strength training and plenty of stretching and icing -- just in case.

Less than a week to go, and I'm pumped! LET'S GO!

The World

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

~Carl Sagan

First Day of My Life

Bark for Life

The American Cancer Society is holding an event in Cary on Oct. 31 called Bark for Life. It's a dog-walk version of their normal Relay for Life events.

Just like RFL events, you can raise money for the ACS. Anne started a team for Erik, of course, and we're in!

If you're in the Cary area and want to bring your dog along, join our team and walk with us! Otherwise, please donate what you can. Anything helps and is appreciated.

Let's raise some money for our friend Erik!

I'm Right Here, Waiting

Here's a special Erik-inspired music post. All of these songs will always remind me in some way of my friend.

Blink 182 - "Not Now"

We used to sit in my dorm room and play this song over and over. We both loved the drums in it, and it's a great song to play loudly. He especially loved the part right after the first verse where Tom DeLonge screams "Please save me."

Unfortunately, the song -- because of its lyrics -- took on a whole new meaning after his diagnosis. I'm not sure if he ever knew it, but Anne and I listened to this song and couldn't help but think of him, hoping it never came to what it eventually came to.



Yellowcard - "Only One"

This is another great song to play too loudly. Again we both loved the drums in this song, and the buildup in the chorus. His favorite line was always the part where the singer literally screams the words "Scream my lungs out." I can still see him mock-screaming it in my room.



Reel Big Fish - "Trendy" and "Beer"

If you've ever sat in my car at all, you've heard a Reel Big Fish CD --guaranteed. Whenever Erik would ride with me, he always specifically asked me to play these two songs. "Trendy" is a fun song with a great horn line, and "Beer" is just as classic a RBF song as there is.





Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps"

I'll never forget listening to this song with him over and over and over in my dorm room. I lost track of the number of hours spent trying to teach him the guitar solo to this song. I'm certainly not guitar master, but I can play a few songs, and I can figure out a few things. Erik desperately wanted to play, and I had my electric guitar in the room. It was a good match.

He'd come in and ask for something easy to play that he could learn fairly quickly. This song played randomly one day, and he heard the solo. He asked if I knew it, so I messed around and figured it out -- it was a pretty rudimentary solo, but it sounded awesome -- it's essentially just sliding your hand up and down the fretboard. He'd try it for a while and just miss the right frets. Occasionally, he'd hit the right frets in the right rhythm, and he'd be so satisfied with himself.



Good times, man; good times. I also had a drum practice pad and some sticks in my room. He'd poke his head in and be like, "hey man, can I play with your practice pad some?" He'd sit behind me and try to play along with whatever song I was listening to at the time, and I tried to give him a few pointers. One thing I wish: I know how much he wanted to play the drums, and I wish he could have sat behind mine just for a few minutes so he could have played on a real set.

Anyway, just a few songs that will always remind me of Erik. I really do miss my friend.

Na Zdrowie

I really hope I got that right. It's Polish, and it means "to your health."

Erik used to say it every time he took a shot. Today, we said our final goodbyes to him at his funeral. From now on, it'll just be visiting where he rests.

He always told us he wanted his funeral to be a huge party. Anne said he once told her he wanted clowns at his funeral. She begged him not to do that, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm glad he listened to her.

But funerals aren't for those who've passed. They're for those who remain to grieve, to console and to begin the healing process. Before Thursday night at his wake, it just seemed like words.

"Erik passed away."

It wasn't reality. I could hardly believe the words as they come out of my mouth when I told Anne. It was something, some nightmare, happening somewhere else, in another life, to someone else. Just words. Horrible words we feared would come ever since his diagnosis, but still just words.

But walking into the funeral home, seeing tearful family members, seeing pictures of Erik when he was young and, of course, seeing him resting in the front of the room -- it's a stomach punch that brings you back to reality.

Oh that's right. It's not just words. "Erik passed away" is more than just a few letters making up a few words I know. It's real. He's in there. Well, he's not in there. And that's really the point.

The part that made Erik Erik -- that part is gone. The body is just a shell.

Jimmy V said "Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever."

Erik's soul will never die. Every time any of us who loved him do anything that reminds us of him -- that's how he lives on. The part that made Erik the person we loved was not lying in the casket in Goldsboro. That was a shell -- a shell that grew too weak to contain the force of nature that was the Erik we knew.

That's why funerals are important for those of us left behind. It marks the beginning of the end of the tears. It's the last goodbye. From now on, we'll never have to go say goodbye to Erik. We'll just go visit him where he now rests. From now on, the tears will fade more and more every day, as impossible as that may seem now. From now on, the laughter and happiness he brought will come to the forefront more quickly and last much longer.

We started that tonight. Erik always said he wanted this day to be a big party, so a few of us gathered together to go to East Village on Hillsborough Street. If you're friends with Erik and have spent any time in the Raleigh area, you probably have one or two hundred memories of him at EV.

The healing process begins now. Every day will get a little easier to get through. We won't miss him any less. But we'll be somber a little less. We won't love him any less. But we'll be sorrowful a little less.

We did our best to do kick off this next phase of our lives with Erik. I ordered a couple Jack-and-Cokes -- just as he would have done -- and we all had a round of shots. We lifted our glasses to our dear friend who left us much too soon, and we said the words he so very often said himself.

Na Zdrowie.

Erik Hrebenuyuk

This guy, man. This guy.



Five years ago, I moved into a suite in Bragaw Hall at N.C. State for my final semester of college. I can't even begin to explain the crazy things that happened that semester. A hundred stories for another day.

Erik was there for many them. He was there for ME for many of them, anyway. There were considerable shenanigans, and those shenanigans also included some of the toughest times of my life up to this point. Needless to say, I couldn't have gotten through any of it without friends like Erik. He helped me through a ton. Just a ton.



Three years ago, he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his pelvis. A few months later he was in remission. In April of 2008, it came back. Fiercely. We heard he had six months to a year to live. Well, Erik, you fought long and hard. But you're finally free.

Erik passed away just after midnight early this morning -- Sept. 2, 2009 -- more than a year and a half after that horrible prognosis.

So buddy, I'll think of you every time I drink on a Wednesday night. Every time I read a paper with strange capitalizations and an...interesting writing style. Every time I ever watch the movie Pineapple Express because James Franco sounds JUST like you in it.

I'll think of you every time we make plans to go out at night because you NEVER could commit. Always had to "see what my options are." :) Every time I think of the movie The Ladies' Man for that one scene: "It says here your interests are tennis and, what's this, does that say dabut?" "No, no, dat's da butt."

And Cook Out and "I'm Not OK" and Eurotrip and "Only One" and scotch and Risk ("Gen-u-ine and fortified") and Rise Against and "Beer" and a million other little things.

I'm cracking open a Rolling Rock and drinking with you on a Wednesday night one more time, just like we used to do it.

I love you, and I'll miss you. Rest in peace, Erik. You're finally free.

Allie -- The Doofy Dog

Anne took Allie to Umstead Park today. Not a whole lot of people around, so she let her off the leash to roam the trails with her. Here are three videos that resulted from the trip. Very excellent.

Allie at Umstead I


Allie at Umstead II


Allie at Umstead III

A funny thing happened on the way to Webster Street

I've always hated running. Unless it was part of a baseball game or a basketball game when I was younger, I've never been much of a runner.

It's not like I'm in bad shape or anything. For the past few years, I could get out and run three miles without too much trouble. I always felt like that was a good amount, a solid distance for a "non-runner."

Two years ago, Anne ran a half-marathon. She tried for a while to get me to run it with her. Hey, I'd say, I'm not a runner. I'll go sit at the finish line and watch. And I did. She (and two of her friends) successfully ran a half-marathon.

I watched her train, and every weekend a progressively longer long run -- up to 10 miles the weekend before the race. Just the thought of running that much -- blegh. I'd rather kick myself in the stomach than run that much.

Then last year, Anne ran a FULL marathon. 26.2 miles. Yikes. She did it though. Months of training, and she finished on race day.

Now it's this year, and she's going to do the Raleigh half-marathon. So I was thinking about it. She did a full marathon. Surely, I can get my increasingly fatter ass up and train for a half-marathon right? And then I will keep myself from, well, getting increasingly fatter.

And I have been. Training began on August 10. Four days of running, two days of strength training and rest. What I've found is this is different than just waking up in the morning and running. I'm competing against myself now.

I played sports growing up, and if you talk to me for, oh, a few seconds, you'd know I'm a pretty competitive person. Now there's a goal. I get up in the morning and try to run three miles because I have to run four on Sunday. Then I get up and run three and a half because I have to run five miles on Sunday.

I actually look forward to running now, to pushing myself and trying to surpass what I'd been capable of before.

This past Sunday, I ran five miles straight without stopping. Well, OK, I had to stop for crosswalks since I live in a city now. But I didn't walk any of the five-mile distance. I'd never done that before, and completing the five-mile run showed me that, you know what, I really CAN do this.

I mean, I knew I could do it before, but just in that, "hey you can do anything you put your mind to!" way. Now, I actually can do it, because I've done a third of the distance. This is the end of week four of training, which will culminate with another five-mile run on Sunday. Then six miles, then a 5K, then seven miles, eight miles, a 10K, nine miles, 10 miles and race day.

The thought doesn't seem so daunting anymore, and I'm excited to do it. So there you go. I'm not sure I can call myself a "non-runner" anymore. I'm training for a half-marathon.

Who knew?

You know what 9 a.m. is?

Too damn early for the homeless protester band to be banging on pipes, cowbells and buckets. That's what it is.

It is now almost 12:30, and they haven't so much as taken a break since I got here this morning. They're currently protesting an empty building because the contractor allegedly does not pay standard area rates for carpenters and a few others.

No one is in the building. No one from the company they are protesting is on site. So, at least all the noise is productive!

Snob

I have to say, I LOLed at this one.

Outrageous!!

I enjoyed this cartoon, and I thought others should see it as well.

Cruuuuuuuuuising.

It's been far too long since the last update. My bad, once again. I always do that. I get really into the idea of a blog, I update fairly regularly for a few weeks and then who the hell knows...I just fade off it.

Well, much has happened in the past month. As a way of encouraging more updates by me, I'm not going to write a novel of an entry. I'm going to try to keep them short, and maybe I'll do this more often. I'll only tell you a bit of what's happened right now, and then in a day or so I'll write another entry, and so on.

First of all, I went on a cruise with Anne and my family and the Goldsteins (family friends). Would you like to see some pictures I took? If so, click here.

Faaantastic. I really love cruises. We weren't really sure what to expect from the cruise, to be honest. We've never gone on a Carnival cruise before, and, frankly, we hadn't heard good things about it going into our vacation. All in all, I have no real complaints. It wasn't as good as Celebrity or Princess, but that's to be expected.

I have nothing bad to say about Carnival, per se. I actually rather enjoyed the water slide, as did my dad and brother, so that was fun. This was also the first time we really tried to take advantage of the entertainment put on by the ship's crew (other than just playing bingo). We went to an 80s revue, the Newlywed, Not-so-Newlywed game, a couple comedy shows and some karaoke.

Lots of fun. I actually sang karaoke for the first time in my life. Stacy, Matt and I sang "Bohemian Rhapsody." It only took three or four drinks to get me up there. The original plan was for Matt and I to wow the crowd with our falsetto voices in "More Than a Feeling," but, sadly (or maybe not-so-sadly?), the song wasn't available.

I won $15 playing the penny machines in the Casino. Good times there. No small feat either -- betting a penny at a time and winning $15.

Whew, that was close! You almost baited me into writing a novel for you anyway! I'll cut myself off here. You have to know your limits, and if you get me started, I'll go on for days and days.

Adios!
-BG

Vacation!

Vacation next week! Woohoo!

On Friday after work, I'll be traveling down to Raleigh because Anne and I will be driving to Jacksonville on Sunday to head out on a five-day, five-night cruise to Key West and the Bahamas! For. The. Win.

It was a long and winding road even to get to the cruise at all. My mom had hip surgery in June, and doctors weren't sure if she'd be able to go, so they canceled the cruise. But on July 2, she went to the doctor and was cleared to go on the cruise. My parents went from the doctor's office to the travel agent and reinstated the cruise, so off we'll go on Monday morning!

It's going to be a good time.

In the meantime, a few awesome things I'm really loving about my new job:

1. They're getting me a Blackberry!

So a few people were in the hall, talking about smart phones and what they can do, etc. Afterward, one of the partners came into my office and asked why I didn't partake in the conversation.

I pulled out my Razr and explain how my phone is anything but smart, so I didn't have anything to add. He said, "Well you're a program manager here, are you not?" "I am indeed," I replied.

"Well, anyone here who's a manager or higher gets a Blackberry, so let's set you up."

Sign me up! I'm choosing between a Curve, Storm or Tour. I'm leaning away from the Storm because I haven't heard good things about the touchscreen Blackberries.

Thumbs UP. I will let you know when I have more information. I can tell how excited you are about it.

2. Happy Hours at work

Last week, we all gathered in the conference room at 4 p.m. to have wine, beer, champagne and some light snacks. Why? Why not? Just because we can, and we hadn't done it yet this month.

One of the partners traveled to Africa and brought back a ton of pictures, so we drank a bit and looked at pictures of Africa. Hard to argue with that as a way to spend an afternoon at work.

Anyway, this job is still FTW -- for other reasons too of course. I actually do enjoy the work. Learning about nuclear energy is more fun than, say, learning about corn. And I'm enjoying the increase in responsibilities here as well.

It's a good time. A little over a month into the job, and so far, so good. Still a good decision.

Laaater,
BG

July 4th Photos

I did not forget.

I uploaded them last night. Check 'em out through my Facebook profile, or just click here.

The Beatles: Rock Band

If you know me at all, you know I'm a huge fan of the Rock Band series. It's just fantastic. I've been playing the drums for about 11 years now, and a full drum set isn't the most convenient instrument to play.

Rock Band drums feels legitimately like you're playing the real drums. It's obviously not EXACTLY the same, but the motions and the movements -- I don't know how to explain it except to say it just feels right. As a drummer, it feels right.

I've got Rock Band and Rock Band 2, and on Sept. 9, I will have to find a way to acquire this game. Ladies and gentlemen, the game-play trailer for The Beatles: Rock Band.



Look at that! How awesome is that?! First of all, it looks fantastic, aesthetically. It has signature moments in Beatles' history recreated in the game from the look of the guys and their wardrobe down to the clubs and venues they played. Second of all, that's going to be a great game. I'm a big Beatles fan, so, to answer my own rhetorical question from a second ago, this is going to be VERY AWESOME.

Not just for the drums though! Did you notice the addition to the vocals? Three-part harmonies will be a part of this game. Again, if you know me at all, you know I'll be gunning for that high-note harmony part every time.

I've said this about Rock Band before, and it bears repeating now: singing is waaaay more fun than it should be. Good times all around, and not just when you've had a few drinks.

P.S. On a completely unrelated note, I have pictures from the exploration Anne and I undertook of DC this past weekend. I will post them to Facebook tomorrow.

It's been two weeks

First of all, happy birthday to me! I turn 27 today (June 23). So, hooray for that. :)

Now that that's out of the way, I thought I'd give a run-down of all things DC. What I like, what I don't like, what's interesting...etc. Keep in mind, it's only been two weeks, so I'm obviously missing a lot. This is just a little bit about what I've found in my first two weeks in the nation's capital.

Warning, this is a long entry. You know I'm a wordy writer; it's how I roll. But I figure, I'm living in a new place, why not share my experiences so far? It takes some words to do that. So here you go!

Things I like about DC:

1. Riding the Metro

Awful tragedy yesterday aside, riding the Metro is fantastic. It's so easy, it's so quick and it's so cheap. It costs me $3.30 per day to get to and from work. Multiply that by 22 (days works in a month, not including weekends, obviously) and you get $72.60. Now factor in how I don't drive at all around the city. Get gas twice and tell me how much it costs. More than $72? I think so too. And I would need to get gas more than twice in a month.

Oh yeah, but work pays for my Metro usage to get to and from the office. So, yeah. That's a pretty great perk. The station is a block and a half from my house, and it gets you where you need to go quickly and efficiently. I'm a fan so far.

2. Turkey Avocado sandwich at Rumi

Rumi is a Mediterranean restaurant across the street from my office. The turkey avocado sandwich there is just fantastic. Turkey, melted provolone, tomato, lettuce, cucumber and avocado on large pita bread. Add some fries and a can of soda, all for $8, and you've got my lunch of choice now that the closest Jersey Mike's is 65 miles away.

Seriously, so good, and right across the street. Also, not even that bad. That's a reasonably healthy sandwich for lunch.

I'm still looking for a good REAL deli sandwich. One of my roommates mentioned a place called Vace (VA-chay) in Cleveland Park (a neighborhood west of here). It's a little Italian deli, and it's supposedly awesome. Undoubtedly, it's on my list of places to try in the next couple of weeks.

3. Walking Distance

I live within walking distance of almost everything I need to do day to day. Target, Best Buy, the Metro station, the grocery store, a Wachovia, Radio Shack, Staples and a 24-hour CVS are all within a 5- to 10-minute walk away. Excellent. I end up walking a couple miles per day just going about my business.

Which leads into my next item...

4. Not Driving

I don't have to drive anywhere. The only time I have to drive is to leave DC to go to Raleigh or Charlotte or New Jersey or wherever. It's pretty nice not to have to drive anywhere day to day. It's a short item on my list of things I like, but it's true nonetheless.

5. Living in a City

I don't think I'm surprising anyone when I say I'm more of a city guy than anything. I was born 25 minutes from the biggest city in the world. I lived in the two biggest cities in North Carolina. I lived just outside of Tampa, Fla., and I lived in Clinton, S.C. One of these things is not like the other. One of these things doesn't quite belong.

You guessed it...good ol' Clinton. Don't get me wrong, I loved writing for the Chronicle, and I loved the people I worked with, but living in Clinton wasn't my cup of tea. I'm much more suited to city life. No doubt. And here I am in Washington, D.C., living in the nation's capital. This is nice, I have to say.

I like walking out my door and walking to the Metro station to use mass transit to get to work. I like leaving the Metro station downtown and walking out and being surrounded by city life. People on their way to do important things. Sort-of-tall buildings all around (more on this later), cars speeding around...THINGS are going on. It just feels good. It's fun. :-)

6. Where I Live

I live in a row house in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. To be more accurate, I live in the basement apartment of the house with another guy. Three girls live in the house upstairs, but we have keys to the house to use the kitchen and laundry room.

My roommates' best guess is this house could be about 100 years old. It really is a charming little Victorian row house. Pictures are available on my Facebook page for those who haven't seen just yet.

It's plenty of space for me, and it's extremely affordable, which is pretty important for now. Also, my roommates are pretty excellent. Everyone is so nice, and they're really trying to make me feel welcome here. We're having a house dinner tonight (on my birthday!) to "officially" welcome me to the house. They're making manicotti! It's going to be a good time.

So yeah. I like the house, and I like my new roommates. Good times all around.

7. Work

I really enjoy my new job. It's great; it really is. I really liked my old job, and I genuinely miss some of the people I worked with there, without a doubt. But this is a great opportunity for me. In hindsight, getting laid off is one of the best things that's happened to me.

I have more responsibilities, more work and more clients. The people I work with are fun, and they're really trying to make me feel welcome in the office. The office culture is relaxed, but everyone works hard, so that's good.

The dress code is a bit more strict. During the spring, fall and winter, the regular dress code for guys is shirt and tie. After all, it is the capital, and more clients work in the area, so we try to look a bit more professional than most PR firms, which usually adopt a more casual dress code. During the summer we have a business casual code, which means I don't have to wear a shirt and tie when it's hot out. I appreciate that. I also appreciate my office having its own individual AC unit.

All in all, I really enjoy the work I'm doing -- especially the nuclear energy client, that's a lot of fun -- and I'm really happy I accepted this job.

Things I don't like about DC:

1. Not having Anne and Allie

Look, this goes without saying. I miss my girls. That's really all there is to say. For the past three years, I've been able to see them every day, and now I can't. That takes some getting used to, but I believe this is what's best for our little family. It sets us up in the best possible way for the future, so here we are. It'll be OK; it's just an adjustment.

2. People

OK, that's not REALLY true. More specifically, I have a problem with the people who decide to walk unbelievably slowly when trying to transfer between trains. Folks, I've got someplace to be. Whether it's work or home, I'd like to get there sooner rather than later. So let's try either to pick up the pace just a little bit, or abide by the normal rules of human travel: slower traffic keep to the right.

Some people just don't get it.

3. Rolling Suitcases on the Metro

I know these are necessary sometimes. The Metro is a means to travel back and forth between Reagan National Airport, and sometimes people need to carry suitcases. These rolling suitcases, though, take up so much space. It's impossible to maneuver them around the tight spaces and cramped cars, so people (myself included, from time to time) inevitably end up tripping over them. No thank you, sir.

Take your rolling bag and remove it from my path, por favor. Thankfully, I have yet to experience the nightmare that is someone stopping at the top of the escalator to mess with his/her rolling suitcase. Although, on the topic of escalators...please, ladies and gentlemen, stand right, walk left. Say it with me now: stand right, walk left. It's not hard. Please. I'm begging you for my sanity and everyone else's who walks around like responsible people.

4. Walking in the Rain

The downside to walking everywhere. Sometimes it rains. Even when it rains, I've walked to the office from the Metro station. It doesn't matter if I have an umbrella or not, my legs always get soaked. It's not comfortable, but I still wouldn't trade it. It's manageable, so it's OK.


Interesting Things I Neither Like Nor Dislike:

1. It's not "the city," it's "the district"

Pretty self-explanatory, no? I've called it "the city" before, but it is apparently referred to as "the district" as an alternative to saying Washington or DC.

2. Building Heights

None of the buildings in the district (see what I did there?) are taller than the Washington Monument.

According to Wikipedia: "After the construction of the twelve-story Cairo Apartment Building in 1899, Congress passed the Heights of Buildings Act, which declared that no building could be taller than the Capitol. The Act was amended in 1910 to restrict building height to the width of the adjacent street plus 20 feet (6.1 m). Today the skyline remains low and sprawling, in keeping with Thomas Jefferson's wishes to make Washington an 'American Paris' with 'low and convenient' buildings on 'light and airy' streets. As a result, the Washington Monument remains the District's tallest structure."

Interesting. I like my brother's story better, even if it's probably not true. He says the Secret Service doesn't want the buildings to be any taller than the Washington Monument because they don't want the roofs of any building to have a line of sight on the White House. You know, for snipers, and such.

That story is more fun, and maybe there's some truth to it, but there you go. Either way. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I appreciate all of you. Leave me some love. Any suggestions on places I should check out? Places to avoid? Let me know!

-BG

Washington, D.C.

Well, I'm here. That's pretty much the excuse I have for not posting something in two weeks. It's been a bit busy, to say the least.

I got here on Friday, June 5 at about 5 p.m. I spent the weekend getting settled in my room and getting used to my new neighborhood, Columbia Heights.

(Let me pause here and direct you to my Facebook page where you can see a photo album where I give you a tour of the major places I go right now. If for some reason you're reading this and you're not Facebook friends with me [why not friend me?], here's a direct link to the photo album.)

Work started Monday morning, and I've been pretty busy since then. My two biggest clients right now are a nuclear energy company and a trade association that represents companies that manufacture insulation. I'd say the insulation stuff is about as interesting as the corn stuff, but I'm totally loving learning about the nuclear energy stuff.

It is so unbelievably interesting, and it's a major issue in the country right now. It's nice to be learning about something that has really wide application value.

There will be other clients, but for now, that's what I've got. I'm sure there will be more stuff this coming week, but they didn't want to overload me in my first week. That's for my second and third weeks...haha.

So to get to work, I walk a block and a half to the Columbia Heights metro station. I take the green or yellow lines south to Chinatown, where I transfer to the red line. I take the red line west to Farragut North. Then I walk about three or four blocks west and a half a block north to get to my office.

For those keeping track at home, that's:

5 min from the house to the metro
5 min from Columbia Heights to Chinatown
5 min from Chinatown to Farragut North
10 min from Farragut North to the office

...for a grand total of 25 min transit time. It doesn't always take 25 min. During rush hour times, there are more trains, but sometimes you have to wait 2 to 4 min for a train. But mostly, it takes between 25 and 35 min, which really isn't bad. It's better than sitting in traffic, that's for sure.

It's good though. I think I'm really going to like living here. I'll DEFINITELY like it a lot more when Anne and Allie get here though. :-(

But yeah, the guy I'm sharing the basement apartment with is really cool, the three girls who live in the house upstairs are really cool and I really like the people I work with so far.

Financially, things are a bit of a...challenge? Definitely a challenge right now, but they'll get better over the next couple of weeks for sure.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Life is good.

The Onion: Nation's Girlfriends Unveil New Economic Plan: 'Let's Move In Together'

Brilliant.


Nation's Girlfriends Unveil New Economic Plan: 'Let's Move In Together'

A few things

1. We saw a parrot on a leash last night when Anne and I walked around Shelley Lake. He was wearing a small harness too. So, you know, there you go.

2. This time next week, I will probably be in my new home in DC. WTF, mate? I cannot believe how fast this has all happened. Now that I've got a place to live lined up, I'm pretty excited though.

3. I've been reading this fantasy series called A Song of Ice and Fire. The first four books (of seven planned books) have been released, and the fifth is due out this year some time. I thought I might be interested in trying out some fantasy books because, well, why not? I really enjoyed the Harry Potter series, and I heard ASOIAF was one of the best fantasy series out there. I read the first two books of the series and I was REALLY impressed. Each book is close to 1,000 pages though, so I'm taking a break before I crack open the third book. I'm reading The Golden Compass now. Good stuff so far.

4. This commercial is fantastic:



"Your son Rip is on line toot." hahaha

5. The Yankees' bullpen this year is going to give me an ulcer. I mean, really. Let's put some of those limitless resources toward a pitcher or two for the 'pen, yes? Thanks.

6. Don't forget to hit me up in the next week or so. I'm gone to DC after that!

Later!
-BG

Movin' on up!

But not to the east side. To the northwest side. Of DC.

That's right! The job interview I went on two weeks ago went really well, apparently, because they offered me the job!

It has been quite a whirlwind for the past two or three weeks. I applied for the job on Wednesday, May 6. They called me on Friday, May 8. I interviewed on Tuesday, May 12, and they offered me the job on Thursday, May 14.

It's been crazy ever since. My start date is Monday, June 8, so I had a little more than three weeks to find a place to live, move there and start work. I was smart enough to pick up a few apartment books when I was in DC for my interview, and I went through them to look for places.

No luck really. Anne and I drove up to DC the Saturday after I took the job to look at apartments in the suburbs, and we came away severely disappointed in what we found. Mostly, we were unhappy with how much I was going to have to pay to get not that much space pretty far away from the city.

So I started searching Craigslist for a situation where I could rent a room in a house or apartment with a few roommates to lessen the cost. I found a room in a great row house a block and a half from a metro station (the DC subway, in case you didn't know). And the best part is it's pretty much going to cost just as much as living in Raleigh.

I'll do that for six months, and then Anne will finish school and be ready to come up. Now we'll have six months to find a suitable place we can afford instead of THREE WEEKS.

So there you go! In a little under two weeks, I will officially be a program manager at a DC public relations firm, working downtown just a few blocks from the White House! Pretty awesome. I'm really excited.

I went back and read my old Livejournal I had when I worked in Clinton. I was talking about how unfulfilling it was to know I'd never make that much money working in newspapers. That's when I decided to go to grad school and see what I could do with myself.

Well, I won't disclose exact figures, but suffice it to say, it's more than a 100-percent raise over what I was making at the Chronicle. Yup, this is exactly what I had in mind when I went back to grad school. Don't get me wrong; I loved almost every second of that job. But fun don't pay the bills.

Yeah, so I'll be moving next week -- hopefully on Wednesday to give myself some time to get settled, get to know the new roommates and figure my way around a little bit before starting work in two weeks. Pretty crazy how fast it all happened.

If you're in the Raleigh area, hit me up and say goodbye before I'm gone next week!

Back in town

I'm back from DC. Got back last night a little before 11 actually.

I don't want to jinx anything or count any chickens before they hatch and such, but I feel pretty good about the interview. I was there for almost four hours, and I met four of the five partners, plus three other people. And the fifth partner called me this morning for another short interview.

So I feel pretty good. I took their writing test, and talked with people for a few hours. I don't think they would have gone through all that trouble if they weren't interested at all, so that's good. The woman I talked to this morning said they'd get back to me within a week.

WE SHALL SEE. FINGERS CROSSED.

In the meantime, I find it pretty irrational how much I like this song. Plus, that's a pretty ridiculously fun video. I dare you not to find this song sickeningly catchy. Ready, set, GO! (Embedding is disabled, so follow the link to Youtube for the video. You won't regret it.)

I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked by Ida Maria

Oh snap!

Job interview in Washington D.C. on Tuesday!

Holy Shnikeys!

I don't want to say too much about it because you never know with the way people Google things nowadays, but it's a PR agency in DC. I got a phone call today at like 6 or so. The woman said she saw I'd applied for the position they have open and would I be interested in an in-person interview sometime next week.

Why, yes I would! Does now work for you? Oh, right, I'm not there.

So Tuesday at 1 p.m. it is then. She called back saying she'd forgotten I was coming from out of town, and we can do the interview over the phone instead if I wanted.

No way, man. All in. I'm heading up to DC Monday afternoon, and we'll see what happens.

Woohoo!!
-BG

Flag Football victory!

Monday night was fantastic. I've been playing in a flag football league for the past several weeks. We've been playing our games on Monday nights. It's a 6-on-6 co-ed league.

That means there has to be a minimum of two girls on the field at all times. Also, at least one out of every four downs has to be a "girl play," where an effort is made to have a girl advance the ball forward.

It's been a ton of fun. The problem is we haven't been all that good. We've got some pretty crazy athletes; we just haven't been able to put it all together. You could totally tell we haven't played together before and all that.

But yeah, so two of our players were varsity athletes in college. Meredith played field hockey at Indiana and her boyfriend Chris as a pitcher on Indiana's baseball team. Needless to say, we like when Chris can be there to be the quarterback. Not a bad arm at that guy...haha.

We improved solidly each week, but still lost each game...until Monday! We were 0-4 heading into this week's game. We'd seen the team we were supposed to play around the fields before, and we knew they were a little older, a little slower and a little more out of shape than our team.

So you're saying there's a chance!

Yes I am! We won 6-3 (touchdowns only count for one point in this league)! I missed last week's game, but the week before I had my best offensive showing, scoring a touchdown under pressure to pull us within one with time running down. This week, I had my best defensive showing, taking an interception back to the house for a touchdown and picking up a sack two plays later.

Good times man. Good times.

So we're now 1-4! I'm not sure how the playoffs work, but I think it's probably safe to assume unless all the teams make it, we need to win out even to have a shot. But we've got our confidence now, and we know we can do it. Our defense (which was our biggest liability in our four losses) has really hit its stride, and we're realizing the key is NOT to have all our receivers run deep on every play...haha.

In conclusion, let's go Kiss My Tight End!

Laaater!
-BG

Congrats Jon and Lisa!

Been away for while. Lack of updates and such, but this requires an update.

CONGRATS TO JON AND LISA!!

Jacob Ryan Hassell was born today at 2:53 p.m. -- 7 lbs. 14.5 oz. and 20 inches long.

Incredible. I've known Jon since we were 13-year-old seventh graders at South Charlotte Middle School. We were co-conspirators in a lot of interesting things (The Cycle, a half-assed attempt at writing a TV pilot, an unbelievably unspectacular start to college), and now he has a SON. That's fantastic.

They've been married for almost three years now, so it wasn't unexpected. They've got a great house near Charlotte, and a dog and three cats. And now, a baby boy. I know Jon and Lisa are thrilled, but is there a giddier guy right now than Jon's dad? Something about your first grandchild being a grandSON that does good things to a new grandad.

Congrats everyone. I'm so incredibly happy for you, and I can't wait to meet the little guy.

Back with more later on.
-BG

This Week

I'm about to leave to go to Charlotte for a few days. My sister's birthday is tomorrow, and it's not like I'm doing anything else terribly important.

Besides, she lives in Florida now for grad school, and if SHE can make it home, there's no reason I can't.

So that's where I'll be until Thursday.

Can't wait for some Rock Band on the big HD TV! Now that's how you do it.

Back later this week.

Laaaater,
-BG

Bees? Beads. Beads!?

This is one of my favorite clips from Arrested Development, one of my favorite shows. Hilarious. You can watch full episodes on hulu.com. Awesome.

How's it been five years already?

Back after the weekend. It was a good weekend. Friday was April 17, which marked the five-year anniversary of my grandmother passing away. I'm just going to warn you right now -- this is going to be a long entry. Makes me feel better to write.

My aunt was visiting for a few days because she was here recruiting a couple girls at the AAU basketball tournament in the area. I think she put it best when she said, "It's crazy because it hasn't seemed like five years, but I feel like I haven't seen her in 20."

You never truly get over the death of someone so close to you. You learn to live with it. You learn not to let it affect your daily life, but you never truly get over it. At least I haven't.

It's been eight and a half years since my grandfather died -- my dad's dad. He was the first person who I'd really consider to be a close family member who died. I never really knew the others in our family like that.

I still crack open a Rolling Rock (his favorite drink) twice a year for him -- on his birthday (April 28) and the day he passed away (Oct. 10). Now I crack open an ice cold can of Coke (Grandma Rosie's favorite drink) on her birthday and the day she passed away.

I've got a framed picture of her in the kitchen here -- it's where she'd want to be, no doubt about it. The first thing she did when you walked into her house was hug you. The second thing she did was offer you something to eat.

There was no turning her down. She was no taller than 4'10" and couldn't have weighed more than 90 lbs, but there was no denying her. She was a force of nature.

To see her was to know her first two passions: her family and food. You see, in an Italian family, food is love. And she cooked up enough love for many, many lifetimes.

To talk to her was to know her other three passions: Seton Hall women's basketball (her daughter Phyllis, my aunt, is the coach), New York Yankees baseball and New York Knicks basketball.

So many of my memories of her are tied with sports, and I am how I am with sports because of her, no doubt. Yelling at the television wasn't just accepted, it was expected. It's what we did. It's what we still do, and it all started with her. The insane passion my family has for sports is not something you can believe until you see it.

Only in my family did a Yankees' game constitute a family reunion. We'd all huddle around the table full of great food like lasagna and antipasto with the game on in the background. We'd yell at the television, we'd yell at each other and we all loved it.

She loved her sports. She was probably the only person in the Tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut who would watch a Knicks' game on television in prime time and then stay up until 3 a.m. just to watch the replay to argue with the refs again.

One of my earliest memories is of sitting in Walsh Gym as a toddler watching my aunt coach Seton Hall. Sitting next to my grandma chewing on some Wrigley's Spearmint gum because she knew I loved that the most, yelling at anything I could. I didn't know why. But Grandma was yelling at a guy named "Ref" so I was going to do the same. I don't even know at how many referees we screamed, "Go lose yourself."

Sunday afternoons were often spent on Seton Hall's campus watching the women's basketball games. But we wouldn't have it any other way.

We traveled to quite a few places to watch Aunt Phyllis and her team in the Big East conference tournaments. I remember that Sheraton Hotel in Hartford, Conn., with Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Pete, and how amazed I was at the crowd that was at the University of Connecticut for a women's basketball game.

I remember her coming over to baby-sit, which was really our code for playing cards (Go Fish was our favorite game), drinking lots of Coke and watching the Knicks until what was likely way past my bedtime.

Grandma Rosie helped teach her grandchildren to read with box scores in the Newark-Star Ledger. I knew Don Mattingly's batting average before I could spell most words.

I remember begging to go spend the night at my grandparents' house. That always meant a big bowl of canned, diced peaches, one of my favorite desserts, and lots of baseball on television.

Even right up until the end of her life, she was still all about sports. She went into the hospital at the end of March 2004, which was right around the same time as the start of baseball season. One of the only things she wanted in her hospital room was a radio so she could listen to Yankee games.

It was a whirlwind few weeks there at the end. Needless to say, we flew up to N.J. to see her in the hospital. I'll never forget spending that day in the hospital, seeing her in the critical care unit with the breathing machines that beeped and screamed every time she tried to cough.

But I'll also never forget the look of contentment on her face when she had her children and grandchildren around her bed, squeezing all our hands close to her.

We thought we were saying goodbye to her that day. But she somehow pulled through and lasted another few weeks. She kept improving. On April 16, I remember talking to my parents about how the doctors were talking about getting her out of critical care and into another room. She protested for her slippers and her robe, and we were making plans to modify my grandparents' house so she wouldn't have to climb stairs as much.

The next day she was gone -- a massive heart attack taking her so quickly she never knew it was there.

And that was that. Nothing's been the same since. I still expect her to walk down the stairs when we're at my grandparents' house. I still expect to see her sitting in the kitchen when I open the door for the first time. I probably always will.

It's been five years now, and soon, it'll be five more. That's the way it goes. Nothing to do but remember her and treasure when she appears in my dreams.

Anyway, if you read this far, major props to you. If you didn't, I don't blame you one bit. This entry was more for me than anything else. Next time, I'll update with happier material, don't worry!

Laaaater,
-BG

Whoops

I seem to have neglected my little Island in the Sun for a few days there. My bad guys. My bad.

See, the problem is I haven't really worked it into the "routine" just yet. And if you know me, you know how much I love routines. I find one that works, and I don't just stick with it -- I run it into the ground.

It takes an act of Congress to remove me from my routine.

I think it's a family thing. Change and my family don't get along too well. Lately, this has been my routine:

Wake up at 9.
Fart around on the Internet for an hour or so.
Take Allie for a three-mile walk around Shelley Lake.
Shower and lunch.
Work on the resume/look around for jobs/other unemployment related activities.
Play the drums/guitar.
Take Allie for a twoish-mile walk up the street.
Eat dinner.
Watch some TV.
Read and bed.

Try to contain your excitement. So yeah. I need to throw "blog" or "think about blog" into the routine. Maybe somewhere in the "Farting around on the Internet" stage of my day.

Another part of the problem is I didn't want this blog to be a lame "HERE'S WHAT I DID TODAY!!1" kind of blog. That's why I have the music posts, and the post from Anne's blog.

Any 8-year-old can start a diary about what they've done all day. But I'm an actual writer. I've been paid, professionally, for writing. So I wanted this to be an interesting, insightful, even funny(!) blog, rather than a step-by-step posting of my daily activities.

And I've struggled with ideas, mostly because all my functional brain activity has been devoted to thinking about jobs -- specifically, not having a job, how to go about procuring the next job, where the money is going to come from next month, etc.

On that front, my aunt (the basketball coach up north) is going to be in town recruiting at the end of this week. I'll go meet up with her and give her several hundred copies of my resume. She really does know the entire world, and if you're hoping to get hired in job markets like this, that's how to do it. So we'll see what happens.

I've noticed I start sentences with the word "so" quite a lot. Way more than I realized. That's strange.

Any ideas for interesting blog posts? I've got a couple, but I'm always open to suggestions.

Laaaater,
-BG

Cruelty-Free Eats in Raleigh

Not everyone is vegan or vegetarian, but we all pretty much know someone who is at this point. I'm sure anyone reading this knows Anne is vegan, and here are a few places we've found where she can get a good meal (read: not just a salad), and I can also eat very well.

From Anne's blog:

Cruelty-Free Eats in Raleigh

The South is known for pulled pork barbecue, buttered biscuits, and deep fried everything. Becoming vegan in the fried chicken mecca of the world, I was nervous and a little intimidated by the thought of finding food in restaurants that I could eat. But I have come to realize that the Triangle offers tons of vegan and vegetarian-friendly options, if you know where to look. Many locally owned restaurants take advantage of NC farmers and mold their menus around fresh, local produce. With a substitution here and there, I’ve found it easy and delicious to eat vegan in Raleigh. Here are my top three restaurant picks:

1. Lilly’s Pizza, Five Points.

Ask me what my last meal would be and I would respond without hesitation, “Lilly’s pizza.” I’ll admit, I’m a pizza fanatic despite my nixing of animal products. It’s the one food I could not get off my mind when I decided to become vegan. When I heard that Lilly’s offers veganrella (it’s just what it sounds like) as a topping option, my eyes welled up with joyful tears. Ever since, Lilly’s has been a staple in my diet. They offer an abundance of super fresh toppings for their pies, and their menu also features calzones, pastas, and salads. They even have a vegan stromboli, stuffed with grilled tofu. My boyfriend, a half-Italian boy from New Jersey (and a self-proclaimed pizza snob) swears Lilly’s has some of the best pizza he’s ever tasted. The hole-in-the-wall pizza place has been continually awarded “Best in the Triangle” by The Independent. One warning: If you aren’t in the mood for close quarters, yelling servers, and thick smoke from the kitchen, call ahead and order for pickup. The place is always jam-packed, no matter what time of the day. Despite the crowd, it’s a fun place to eat. The eclectic decor and showcase of art from local artists will always keep you entertained while dining. Just go!

2. Irregardless Cafe, W. Morgan St. by Charlie Goodnight’s

Irregardless has been a Raleigh cornerstone for vegetarians long before I was born. Actually, my dad used to take my mom on dates there when he was a student at N.C. State in the seventies. When Irregardless opened its doors in 1975, it was a vegetarian-only restaurant. Since then, the owners have altered the menu to include fare for meat eaters as well. But, locally grown fruits and vegetables are still at the heart of the Irregardless experience. The owners take a trip to Raleigh’s farmer’s market daily to pick out fresh produce. The menu changes often, but always includes at least two or three vegan entrees. I am completely hooked on the portobello polenta. The portobello is grilled to give it a smokey, meaty taste, and the polenta is so smooth, it almost melts in your mouth. My mom and I had our Thanksgiving dinner at Irregardless last year. As usual, they offered a satisfying vegan alternative to the traditional turkey dinner: stuffed butternut squash with a fresh cranberry salad. And the desserts! I always save room for dessert when I go. So far, I’ve tried the vegan chocolate cake, the fresh blueberry crisp, and a vegan peach tart - all of which have been surprisingly delicious to not have used milk or eggs. Tables are tight, but the restaurant features live music nightly. If you are in Raleigh, it’s a must visit.

3. Solomon’s Mediterranean, Celebration at Six Forks

Greek food, and most Mediterranean food in general, is usually vegetarian and vegan-friendly. And when I want Greek, I always go to Solomon’s. Brian took me here after noticing a portobello pita wrap on the menu that he thought I would love. The mushroom is sliced and lightly breaded, drizzled with a generous helping of a sweet and tangy balsamic dressing, and wrapped in a warm pita stuffed with lettuce and tomato. The wrap quickly became one of my favorite meals. And of course, no Greek restaurant would be complete without my favorite appetizer - homemade tahini hummus with warm pita bread and olives. Mm-mm good.

I’m always on the look out for new, vegan-friendly restaurants to try, so if you have any tips, please let me know!

Next on my list to try: The Flying Biscuit, Cameron Village. My friend Danielle tipped me off that this popular restaurant in Cameron Village offers a variety of vegan options, including Tofu’N’Tater salad. And for those who are meat eaters, TFB specializes in non stop breakfast, and interesting entrees like Coca-Cola glazed salmon.

Don't touch me I'm a real live wire

I like these music posts. I don't know if the handful of you reading do, but I sure do. So, here are some more songs I'm into right now:

"Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads

This could be the most boring Rock Band song ever. But damn if it isn't a sweet song to listen to. That bass line in the beginning...so simple, but so great. And this guy's got some vocal chords on him. Just a really cool song.



"Yellow Ledbetter" by Pearl Jam

No friggin' clue what Eddie Vedder is saying throughout most of the song (something about a box on the back?), but that guitar riff -- whew. Nicely done, Pearl Jam. Nicely done.



"Holiday in Spain" by Counting Crows

I wish there was a better version of this song on youtube. This one will have to do. Love it. I can sort of play this one on guitar. Winner of a song if I've ever heard one.



"San Dimas High School Football Rules" by The Ataris

What a fun song. Bonus points for the reference to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure in the title of the song.



Enjoy.

Home Alone

Days 1 and 2 of my inaugural unemployment odyssey are just about in the books. Not a whole lot of news to report.

Yesterday wasn't too bad. I was able to get some cleaning and straightening done around the house -- just a few things I'd been putting off because I was always too busy with work or getting ready for work or relaxing after work. Things look a bit nicer here, so that's always nice.

I'll need to file for unemployment next week and get that process going so I can get some money flowing in until I can find another job. The only problem is I can't earn more than $74 a week before my unemployment benefits are reduced.

I know they're just trying make it so you don't depend on UE solely, but damn guys, if I could find a job that paid close to what I was making before, I wouldn't need to file for UE. It's cool though. I'll figure it out.

For the first time in months -- maybe a year or so? -- I've picked up my guitar again. Not that I was ever really THAT good at it in the first place, but it's good fun. I know a handful of chords, and then there are the POWER CHORDS!

I've just got to rebuild the callouses on my fingers now. Good times. My only problem is this: I changed the strings on it a while back and ever since then, I can't get the damn thing to stay in tune for more than a few minutes. I have no idea. Still fun though. I've almost got "Day Tripper" down in its entirety (minus the solo, of course as I'm a terrible soloist).

I don't know -- I don't think I'm horrible at the guitar, considering I taught myself just as a side hobby seven or eight years ago. I never set out to become a guitar master or anything. I have fun with it, and I can figure out how to play the songs I like to listen to, which makes listening to them that much more enjoyable.

I also showed Anne how to play the intro to "Day Tripper." It's really not that complicated once you get over the intimidation of trying to play a Beatles' song. She's picking up on it pretty fast too.

So there you go. Two days out of work down, hopefully not too many more to go. But I know how that goes. I do miss my friends at work, so hopefully I will be seeing them again soon.

Everything's Gonna Be All Right

Well, it would appear I've stumbled unwillingly upon quite a bit of spare time. No sense in keeping it a secret. The more people who know about it, the more chances of someone coming through in the clutch for me.

So today -- yes, on April Fools Day -- I was laid off from my job. Got called in to the boss's office and heard the whole "you know about how hard we've been hit with our budgets lately, and we've got to make a few cuts, and I'm sorry to say you're one of the people we have to let go."

And there it is.

Obviously, this is not my first choice for how the next several weeks/months would go. I've got a few ways I can look at things.

1. I can lay in my bed, cry and lament over my poor fortune, thereby making myself miserable and just giving myself a bad headache. Sound like fun to you? Me neither.

OR

2. I can have a few drinks, relax for the next day or two and jump in with both feet with a good attitude.

So I say this: shit's going to be the exact same if I'm feeling sorry for myself in bed or if I'm smiling with a drink in my hand.

I choose having a good attitude. And you know, yes, I've been better; but I've also been worse. No one died. I don't have children in college. I don't have a mortgage. I'm not in my mid-50s trying for a career change.

I'm 26 years old. I have a bachelor's degree in political science, a minor in journalism and a master's degree in communication. I've got a couple years experience writing for newspapers, and I've got a year and a quarter of PR agency work.

Like I said, this is obviously not my first choice for a course of events. But dammit, being hopeful and optimistic is not a vice. Let there be no doubt, I have my faults. But I don't consider a positive attitude to be among them.

Listen, this sucks hardcore -- no doubt about it. But I can either whine and bitch about it, or I can see it as an opportunity to do something different. I've been let go from a job I was contemplating leaving in the next year anyway, and I can try something different now. The job market sucks, I get that. I'll be calling in favors with everyone I know to try to get something. We'll see what happens.

I know this: I'd rather be facing this situation with an upbeat attitude than with depression. In the meantime, I'll file for unemployment tomorrow, figure out a part-time solution to make ends meet, and we'll see how it goes.

In the words of the immortal Bob Marley, "Everything's gonna be all right."

-BG

I'll be your whatever you want

A few songs I'm into right now:

"Cannonball" by The Breeders

The Breeders were formed by Kim Deal (bassist from the Pixies), and this is the song they're probably most-known-for in mainstream rock. Killer bass riff.



"Say It Ain't So" by Weezer

This song really needs no introduction. If you don't like this song, you're doing it wrong.



"Little Willy" by Sweet

I have absolutely no idea why this song entertains me so much. Anne said it sounds like it's from Barney and Friends or something. Well, shit. All I know is it's catchy as hell. Gotta love the ridiculous 70s outfits too.



"Somewhere in the Between" by Streetlight Manifesto

If this sounds like Catch 22 to you, that's because the lead singer of SM is Tomas Kalnoky, the guy who provided the distinctive vocals of what I consider to be Catch 22's glory days. In fact, if you're so inclined, you can check out SM's version of the album "Keasbey Nights," which is almost an exact reproduction of the kick-ass album of the same name by Catch 22 (back when Kalnoky was still with the band). Anyway, this song is great. Epic ska song.



"In My Life" by The Beatles

Without a doubt, my favorite Beatles' song. This song hit me hard when my grandfather died back in October 2000. It was the only song I cared to listen to for approximately two or three weeks surrounding the funeral. It's been almost a decade now, and time does wonders for the cooling and calming of emotions. But playing this song still takes me back to the long ride in the limo from my grandparents' condo to the synagogue and, eventually, to the cemetery. I still love the song. I was exceedingly pleased with myself about four years ago when I figured out I could play the basics of this song on the guitar. So good.



"Take on Me" by Reel Big Fish

Because a music post where I don't mention Reel Big Fish is just incomplete. This is one of my favorite songs they play, and here's a live video showing exactly why I love this band so much. Take the energy they play with in this song and multiply that by two hours, and that's a live RBF show. There's a reason I've seen these guys live eight times. Love the off-beat hi-hat to start the song -- this is also one of my favorite songs to play on my drums.



Well, I think that's a diverse-enough collection of music for now. Go forth and love these songs as I do.

-BG

"I wrecked my bar stool."

I love America.

So this guy was out at a bar. He gets too drunk. He drives home, and on the way, he crashes. He calls 9-1-1 because of the injuries he sustained during the crash. How is this any different than any other drunk-driving accident, you might ask?

Well, I might answer. He was driving a motorized bar stool. Full story from The Smoking Gun at that link. Incredible picture below.




Additional thoughts now that I've had a few hours...(added at 2:30 p.m.)

I'm more amazed at this story every time I think about it. It really is fantastic.

A motorized bar stool!!

There are certain things where you can't help but wish to have been there when the ideas were born -- like those little sticky hands you get out of the 25-cent toy machines.

So this guy Kile Wygle has a motorized bar stool he actually drives to bars. I don't even understand how ridiculous that is.

Oh to have been there when that idea came up.

"Holy shit dude, I've got a great idea. Steve, where's that bar stool we stole last weekend? Oh and I'll also need your lawnmower."

And really, did he just park it outside a bar? No one questioned the bar stool/lawnmower hybrid taking up a spot? Or did he just buzz on into the bar and pull up at the bartender? So many questions, so few answers.

I mean, what do you even do if you see this little redneck Segway rolling down the street? And he got a DUI for it, too.

Incredible.