Nobi

2007-08-30T11:04:00.000-04:00

I guess I haven't really been in the mood to blog recently...

Years ago, when I started this thing, I'd make a mental note when things happened and think, "hey, this'll be great in the blog!" That sort of thought simply doesn't cross my mind anymore. Now, I'll sit down with the intention of blogging, but find nothing I really want to share. I don't think I'm a very private person, but I think I'm enjoying the fact that many of my more recent adventures are a shared experience within a small group of friends.

That said, I did recently go to a swank private event hosted by a food-review site that I contribute to. It was my first event through this site, and I'm not sure if it's typical behavior or whether the layout of the venue contributed to it, but the whole thing was very clicky. Luckily I brought a couple editor friends, and we had a blast drinking amazingly tasty (and free) mixed drinks and diving into the artisan table.

The Prodigal Returns

2007-07-12T17:26:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted here: almost two years. To be honest, I had stopped because I found myself using the blog as therapy. Unproductive therapy at that. All I did was go on histrionic rants whenever I had a bad day. I started feeling like a passive complainer, the type of person I simply can't stand. So I started to change things in my life, and one side-effect was an end to blog posting.

Since then, I've missed having a record of things. A place where fresh thoughts and impressions could be memorialized. Well, there's that and the fact that old friends are feeling a little left out of the loop in my life. So here I am, blogging once more.

Things are pretty good nowadays. The quick 411 is that I've graduated law school, I passed the Bar in NJ and got waived into DC, and I'm currently studying to take the NY Bar once again (I failed by a frustratingly small degree). I worked for a small land-use firm in Manhattan, but that's over and I'm currently looking for work in Jersey City and Hoboken. I'm still living in the same apartment in Park Slope, and I'm pretty close with everyone who lives in the building. I've made a lot of new friends since last posting, and I feel like I've created a good life for myself here.

Ok, that's all for now, I need to get back to studying...

All Abuzz

2005-09-14T04:29:00.000-04:00

Woke up about two hours ago and I can't seem to coax my mind into a sleep-state. My brain is racing. Not with anything bothersome, or distressing, or even interesting... Just the background hum of life - amplified.

I can't stop thinking of how much I like the word jejune. How my plants need watering. How I need to start jogging again...

This sort of frustrating insomnia always hits me during busy semesters. No longer am I wracked with waves of anxiety; instead, I find myself simply wired and unable to reach a delta-wave state.

I just wish tomorrow wasn't going to be such a dense day... I guess I'll need to go boil some lactose free milk.

Update

2005-09-09T09:16:00.000-04:00

Wow, I was in a mood last night...

I guess I shouldn't read estate law before going to bed...

Sympathetic Nervous System

2005-09-09T01:11:00.000-04:00

I'd like to think that things were easier at some point. That life was blissfully carefree for longer than the rare day or two. When trivial (and sometimes nontrivial) details didn't derail my desires or my goals or my happiness.

I think that time went away when I was about 5 or 6.

Life is hard. Life is bloody damn hard. What's harder still is internalizing that concept. Moving on. Accepting that life is difficult and making the best life you can out of it. When pitfalls are challenges and missed opportunities are doors to alternatives. Where flexibility and awareness replace the grudging complacency that seems so pervasive.

I mean, it certainly isn't like I'm a starving child sitting in a gutter. Yet I feel like one. I feel spoiled.

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

2005-08-29T17:21:00.000-04:00

Things that made me smile today:

An old van with porthole windows and an airbrushed scene of the ocean on it's side.
A friend's newborn baby.
A steak burrito.
Typos in a class syllabus.
A guy in the subway dressed in a black suit, black t-shirt, black sneakers, black ponytail, black earings, black shades, and a black fannypack.
Using a page from the Internal Revenue Code to make an origami penguin.
A couple dozen compliments on my shirt.
A new phillips-head screwdriver with molded rubber grip.

Things that made me frown today:

A subway car with no airconditioning.
A woman poking me with her Swiffer mop.
No chipotle sauce for my burrito.
An airconditioning unit crashing to the ground outside my apartment in the wee hours of the morning.
Guy next to me at the urinals feeling the need to strike up a conversation.

Things that made me squirm today:

A friend's newborn baby.
Stepping on the remains of a chicken dinner as I came out of the subway.
Stinky cat-woman in the coffee shop.

Yep, school has started, so not much going on...

Strangers with Candy

2005-08-24T10:16:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been M.I.A. recently. I've been trying to stuff in as much dating as possible before school started... Oy, my poor poor wallet...

It isn't just the fiscal blow; dating in this city can be seriously tough on one's resolve to meet new people. After the past couple months, I think I'm going to lay low for a while. It's interesting to date complete strangers. Back in Philly I'd at least get to know a girl before dating her. Here, that's the reason to date. We're heavily fortified before marching in. No real illusion of commitment at the early stages. No leaps of faith. We've got our parachutes firmly attached. Sometimes, I think dating and interviewing are pretty much synonymous.

Trends start to pick up. So the dating formula (at least for me) seems to be two weeks of shameless bliss, followed by the actual "get to know you" part where you learn about personalities instead of anecdotes, then comes the realization that she's just as mixed up about life as I am, and finally the "wow, your quirks are endearing" vs. "whoa, this is way too much" weigh in.

What surprises me is how arbitrary the reasons are for dropping the whole affair. On both sides. I guess there isn't much holding you back when you get bored, or anxious, or skeeved, or just confused. I mean, there's no real investment, right? It does however create a breeding pit for persnickety behavior. All the commonground in the world is suddenly swept aside because one person doesn't like the color red. Or, suddenly, there's a huge issue with the age difference when it didn't matter at all for the past month. Or (worst of all), all those endearing qualities and quirks are quickly becoming offensively intollerable. I'm hardly blameless, a good share of these stupid reasons are my own.

Anyway, it's been a fun summer during my off-time, but I'm both weary and wary of dating now. When I first moved up here, everyone told me how hard dating was up here. I'd laugh it off and say, "What the hell are you talking about? I never have a problem finding a date up here, it's like a carnival!" But now the excitement of living in a new city has worn off and I'm just another tired, persnickety, and hyperentitled New Yorker.

Chapter 2: In which our hero gets lost, found, lost again, and retires for the morning.

2005-08-11T16:59:00.000-04:00

Oog, long week, but I've finally got a minute to update this thing.

So Monday night, I had a great evening with an old internet friend. She'd just moved up to NY (well, Jersey City) so I wanted to show her some fun places to hang out. It was pretty late, so I escorted her home to make sure she got there ok. On my way back into the city, everything went wrong, then right, then wrong, then right again.

So, the train decides to simpy stop at some random station in Jersey with no further connections at that station (at least none that were announced. After an hour of waiting some of us got a bit antsy and decided to find alternative ways home. Some people found rides, others called taxis. I knew a taxi from Jersey to Brooklyn would be way out of my pricerange, so I decided to hoof it to the next nearest station. Little did I know that "just down the street" really meant that I needed to wind around a daedalean labyrinth of streets for five miles.

By about 4:30 AM, I ran into a group of guys looking for the same station. They were a bluegrass band from Dublin. They had a few 40's and spare cigarettes. We ended up searching through abandoned Jersey streets for an hour before finding the station, but in the meantime we had some amazing conversations about travel, Americana, Dublin, and one of the band members whom they seem to have lost sometime during the evening.

All said, I made it home just in time to watch the sunrise and take a quick nap before showering for work.

Wasted

2005-08-01T15:38:00.000-04:00

An amazing weekend has killed my Monday.

Friday was a wine and cheese party in Columbus Circle with lawschool friends. Much wine and champagne. Waaaay too much wine.

Saturday, my house held our first BBQ/movie screening. Tandori chicken, grilled asparagus, burgers and veggies galore under the backdrop of Repo Man. The backyard was standing room only and dense with good conversation.

I ended up meeting a girl at the party and spent the rest of the weekend with her. Watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, played three hours of ping-pong, went to a couple bars, wasted an afternoon away on a rooftop, fooled around, watched bad TV, and hunted down some coffee in Bed Stuy.

Odysseus

2005-07-25T15:09:00.000-04:00

My brain is still flatlining from the weekend. Saturday tested my endurance and rockability in ways that only an 11-hour punkrock/experimental-noise concert could. It all happened in a large parkinglot in Queens, just across the street from PS1. I have to admit, I was completely blown away by a few of the bands that played including:

Parts and Labor (the amazing band I saw a few months back - quite beyond description)
Afrirampo a Japanese punkrock duo
Growing what can only be described as drone death metal with more pedals than a Harley Davidson convention
Matt & Kim really really fun spaz band
Necking experimental noise/drone of the finest variety with drumcircle sensibilities
Lightning Bolt the headlining band that blew me away (unfortunately, they didn't come on until about 2AM or so)

I spent most of the day people-watching. There is nothing finer than a huge outdoor concert to see how willing people are to wear their inner madness on their sleaves. The kids were flatout balls-nuts.

Sleepless

2005-07-22T00:50:00.000-04:00

Watched A Very Long Engagement tonight and went to bed relatively early. It was like any Jeunet movie: rich with color and drama and everyday oddness. By the time I retired for the night it had put me into a strange mood.

I just woke up from an odd dream. Two girls I used to date were sitting in my livingroom and trying to hold a conversation. One was a French biochemist with a beautiful name. I dated her years ago and blew her off after a couple weeks. I forget why I stopped returning her calls (I'm sure it was for some stupid reason that was blown out of proportion). The other girl was the Portuguese-speaking biochemist who broke my heart last year.

So in the dream I walked out of my room and ran into them sitting on my couch as they tried to hold a conversation. For some reason neither would speak english. Well, actually, neither of them spoke at all. I just knew that they weren't speaking english and that they couldn't understand each other. They stared at their mugs of coffee. Then I woke up.

I want to hesitate in analyzing this. I'm exhausted, but my mind races on anyway. Now I'm obsessing and it's late. Why did I dump the first one? Why did the second one dump me?

"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."

Ugh...

2005-07-20T23:13:00.000-04:00

A building on my block just exploded. More news in a bit.

Update: ok, still not certain what happened, but basically my housemates and I were sitting in the back yard when a mushroom-esque fireball roughly 50 feet high erupted and lit the brooklyn skyline. It was about thirty yards from our back porch and then we saw that the corner building was on fire. At first we thought it was a gas-main eruption, but once we got onto our roof we noticed that firemen were working on the rooftop of the building that was on fire. At ground level there were burning automobiles and smoke bellowing out of the street.

No mention of it in the news...

Post Script

2005-07-11T20:45:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since my last post and much has happened. The apricot tree and the grape vines in the back yard are ripe with fruit. The temperamental summer has shifted winds from unseasonably cold to predictable (yet unseemly) heat. My days are filled with work and my nights are generally periods of recovery.

My horrible upstairs neighbors have finally given heed to their eviction and left the building. Unfortunately, they vandalized the entire third floor with spraypaint and (I'm guessing) a sledgehammer. I'm not sure how my landlord (a single mother) will afford to fix it up. I'm lost at how people can justify such mindless cruelty.

Well, on to some happier thoughts.

"C" has issued a friendly challege to finish the following meme:

The Childhood Meme

What 5 things do you miss about your childhood?

this meme requires you to do the following things:

remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place. add your blog's name in the #5 spot. link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross-pollenation effect.

There's Pie in the Lunchroom
The Meat of the Matter
who the-what the-HUH?
escapekey
Nobi's Blog

Next inflict the meme on 5 new people:

Well, besides the blogs that C listed on her site, I only know of one person who would do this meme:

Sarcasmo

Ok, on to the meme!

List 5 things you miss most from childhood.

1. Friends. My friends in childhood were steadfast. I was (to much surprise to those who know me now) a very plump child, and had few friends. The friends I did have were loyal like none other. It wasn't entirely unlike Stand by Me, with me playing the tubby asthmatic. Everything was such an adventure.

2. Security. I suppose it comes hand in hand with having parents. Someone else to deal with the world and let you absorb it in a proper pace. When ownership of one's life wasn't even on the radar.

3. Simple Pleasures. Sure, I still love little things, but not with the sheer enthusiasm that youth offers. Cartoons, action figures, frisbees, fast food, dirt lots, abandoned railways, fishing holes, and crayons. Happiness could come from a jar and my tastes were not yet developed (physically or otherwise).

4. Potential. Remember a time when potential was almost limitless? When you could be or do anything? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the way life has turned out, but childhood potential is awe inspiring.

5. Hospitals. This might sound really strange, especially from someone who was hospitalized on numerous occassions. Regardless, hospitals always made me feel protected and cared for.

2005-06-26T13:17:00.000-04:00

Last night I got a whopping 9 hours of sleep, easily the most I've had in a single night in months. I'm still a bit groggy, but feeling pretty wonderful.

Friday evening I attended the Swedish Midsummer Festival in Battery Park. Wow, I've never seen so many tall and hot blonds since I was dragged to a fashion week event last year. Afterwards I got to check out the rooftop films event in Williamsburg which had some surprising gems amidst the usual garbage.

Ok, I'm going to try and cool down by the lake. Cya guys soon

I Heart NY

2005-06-11T03:42:00.000-04:00

This is another "God, I love this city" post. I spent the evening with a couple brits, an editor, a friend from the Newyorker, and a gallery administrator. Of all things, we ended up heading to Coney Island at about 11 PM and spent the night in the batting cages, racing go-carts, playing Rockem-Sockem Robots, and strolling on the beach (which is not the best of ideas, considering all of the randy copulating couples strewn about the rough sand). We talked about politics in mid-western states and the unholy allure of bacon cheese fries.

It was an evening full of laughter and light-hearted social pondering. I love this city, and I love the fact that it's so dense with people who think hard about their surroundings and their place in the world. I love that you can do almost anything you want at any time. I love that it's becoming home to me.

I heart NY.

A Day in the Sun

2005-06-05T19:44:00.000-04:00

My park was happy today; rich with life and full of people. Large styrofoam planes darted across the sky. Adults chased after unleashed children and puppies. Vending carts held lines ten deep. The scent of bbq was everywhere.

I love manicured chaos. When it comes down to it, isn't it what we do? As a society?

Anyway, I walked around in my favorite "that's a nice shirt" shirt. I'm wearing a wistful smile from ear to ear. It's been a quiet and relaxing day; something in short supply as of late.

Hope everyone is doing well.

You Got the Rant, Now's the Rave...

2005-06-04T02:05:00.000-04:00

Just finished watching Amores Perros for the first time with the downstairs neighbors. Wow, if you don't mind a bit of blood and a tragically heart-wrenching storyline, you'll love it. I'm a big fan of movies that sucessfully translate biblical themes, so I was enamored from the first 15 minutes, and they never failed to impress.

Ok, it's late. More later guys.

O Wit, Where is Thy Sting?

2005-06-01T08:36:00.000-04:00

I remember being sharper. And funnier. There have been a number of moments in the past couple weeks where someone would say something, or I'd see something and all I'd think is, "Huh, I'd usually have a good quip for this...". And I'd stare off in space with what must be a bovine gaze.

If wit be the salt of conversation, I've been having some bland meals of late. What disturbs me the most is that I'm becoming intollerant of wit, or rather I'm impatient with it. I think it's that I've brushed shoulders with so many witty hipsters in this city. This place is dense with easy wit. By "easy wit", I mean using wit as a shield of insolence rather than to provoke thought and conversation. It isn't too tough to culture the ability to dismiss things with a quip, but it is tough to use wit to engage people in thoughtful dialogue.

This sort of mannered rudeness is becoming taxing, and we're rife with it. Where did this legacy come from? Is it the mingling of the former generation's activism and the disaffected bow-out of gen-x that gives birth to this sort of distanced snobbery? I don't know, but I know that this isn't the 18th century and wit-shields aren't exactly productive.

Oog, I just put myself into a mood.

/rant off

Long Week

2005-05-27T21:04:00.000-04:00

Whew, finally back in NY. Thank friggin god! I mean, I love my mom and my friends, but it's nice to be back home in the comfort of my, er, comfort.

I spent the week helping my mom with maintenance-type stuff with her shop. Since dad's away in the 'stans, I have to assume the role of "mr. toolbelt". Lots of painting. Lots of power tools. Lots of sweating and bleeding. I managed to transform my mother's shop from a chaotic mess into a zen temple. Or rather, what an american designer might consider a zen temple (without quite knowing what zen actually is, or how temples look). Anyway, work is done and now I get to think of all the BBQ we're going to have in my backyard this coming monday. WOOT.

Chillin with the Kangs

2005-05-24T22:57:00.000-04:00

I spent the weekend at my sister's place in Jersey, eating offensive amounts of BBQ and watching really bad reality television. Now I'm in Philly spending time with my mother. She's been feeling lonely recently since all her children are scattered to the winds and her husband is half-way around the world.

I like the woman my mother has become. She was always a cool person, but she literally lived her life for her family. Now she's got all sorts of time to discover who she is. She was pregnant with me when she was just 21, had my sister a couple years later, and then my brother six years after that. I can't imagine the sort of defered life she's making up for. She has surprised me a lot today. She's developed this sort of paced wisdom that she didn't seem to have before. She was always so strapped to get a moment in her life to think, and now that's all she does. We watched Law and Order tonight (a "new" favorite of hers) while eating duk bukgui (spicy rice patties), then played hide and seek with her chihuahua.

I Saved Latin, What Did You Ever Do?

2005-05-15T00:03:00.000-04:00

I watched Rushmore for the first time tonight. It's remarkable that I haven't seen this jem unti now, expecially since I'm such a big Wes Anderson fan.

I spent the whole day nursing a hangover and playing videogames. I just don't know what to do with all my free time.

The Evil Eye

2005-05-13T02:54:00.000-04:00

Ever say, "God, this day can't get worse!" and then it does? With a vengeance?

Yeah, that was my day.

...

At least finals are over...

Winding Down

2005-05-11T20:45:00.000-04:00

My last final is tomorrow night. Constitutional Law. The whole shebang. Typically, this course is taught over two semesters, but we had the joy of experiencing it in its entirety in one. Now, we wait in frozen panic for the monstrous labor pains of carrying such a large load.

On the bright side I'm sitting comfortably nestled between precarious piles of books and enjoying a proper cuppa. Hot earl grey always sooths my nerves. That and sloppy joes for which I've extended no small amount of indulgent latitude these past weeks.

I am taxed, and stretched taut and thin, but I am hopeful and attentive.

Then We Shall See Face to Face

2005-05-10T01:46:00.000-04:00

Today has been a day of days. Long, dense, and riddled with extremes.

At times there is nothing finer than contrast. William Blake might have been on to something. I think that's all I'm going to say. I know I promised an update, but today is mine. I own it, and it's not to be shared.

Hope you're all doing well. I'll be in touch with y'all next week. After the madness...

Checking in

2005-05-08T23:29:00.000-04:00

Hi guys, I'm still alive.

Finals have been kicking my butt this semster. I can't believe how much information is being crammed into my already brimming skull.

I'll make sure to post a good update soon.