Paris, Part Deux

Paris, Part Un

Let me start off by saying that I'm using a French keyboard that has a wacky configuration that makes me revert back to hitting a 3rd grade typing level. Please excuse any typos.

Okay, on to the good stuff. The trip started off well enough with my mom and I lounging in the "Crowne Room" in the Delta terminal at JFK International. Apparently you can't go in there unless you have an expensive American Express card, which my mother luckily has. Free alcohol, wine, cheese, apples. After I get sufficiently liquored up (according to John, it's a prerequiste to flying, especially internationally) and filled with yummy crackers and cheese, we hit the gate. Unfortunately the plane was a Boeing 767, not the incredibly awesome 777 which I had the privilage to fly in once from Miami to LA. The flight was completely uneventful except for a crash course (pun...intended?) in being surrounded by French people with a spinkle of Americans. They must love visiting us way more than we enjoy visiting them. Eight (8) hours and a dreadful attempt to sleep later, we're in Paris. Why did I need to fill out a card if you're not even going to bother and look at it Mr. French Customs Agent? Whatever, it went a lot smoother than my last customs experiences (being detained cause my ever so unique name matched a wanted felon or me bringing banned substances with me to New Zealand...oops). We get our luggage and hail a taxi. Mistake number one. Never take a taxi at morning rush hour. So, an hour and a half later and 75 euros out of our pockets (~$120, exceeding my previous record of $110 for a cab from New Jersey to Times Square for A Tribe Called Quest), we arrive at our hotel. Splendid Etoile Hotel is truely a marvelous hotel, but that was to be expected considering how freaking expensive it was. Next time I'm doing this place on the cheap. I get in a two hour nap while my mom explores a little. I don't know where she gets the energy from (probably from getting sleep on the plane).

Day One
Time to start our Paris adventure, we caught one of those open top buses that you can find in almost any major city. Paris is the most beautiful and romantic (sappy, I know) city I've ever been in, simply incredible. First stop was Nortre Dam. We took a quick look inside, it was stunning the detail that went into the Church. Stained glass windows, paintings, carving, all of it was exceptional craftsmanship. Next stop was the de facto symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower! It is a great sight to see in person after being subjected to hundreds of images of it over the course of my short lifetime. Don't think about going to the top during a peak time though, it's back numbing. Also, I think Americans have a significantly larger "me space" bubble then say Indians or Japanese. Why must you constantly push me old Indian dude, we're all gonna get there eventually? How about you, rude Japanese guy, all poking my mom in the ribs and making her get all yelly with you in front of hundreds of people (not embarrassing at all...nope). So, after a two hour trek to the summit of the tower, we call it a day and retire.

Day Two
Louvre Time!! *breakdances, into the robot* I'm a little excited, so sue me. First experience on Paris metro was cake because of my NYC know how. We get to the Louvre and I really have to say, it was breathtaking. The place is hugemongeous (sp?) and filled with some crazy works of art. My favorite was actually the long-ass hallways and ceilings. I saw Mona, she was allright, chilling with that smirk as she always has. But still, the building itself is better than most of the stuff it houses. You could spend a few days scoping out the betties (artworks). Check some of the pictures below. Remember how I said the Metro was cake? Well, my 2nd attempt was pretty bad, as I got confused to their local and express lines, which are not like NYC's local and express lines. Then I had some nice jewish mother pressure put on my back. Oi Vey. Yeah, that was a long trek home.

We visited some Loire Castles today, but I'm way too tired to continue writing at the current moment. More on my experiences with Frenchies (the typical french person), some castles pictures and whatever we decide to do next (I'm not a big planner, as you may have found with my other trips) on the next post.

Arc de Triomphe (still working on that Palsy smile)

Notre Dam de Paris

A little inside Notre Dam action

You know what that big daddy is

Awwwww

Atop the Eiffel

Up inside the Eiffel (you know how I do)

The neverending hallway inside the Louvre

A Louvre ceiling (seriously the nicest ceilings I've ever seen)

*waves* Hi Mom!

Just thought it was a cool pic

Above ground @ the Louvre

My Mom called this "Time Stands Still", now you know where I get the deep thinker in me from

You handsome devil, you

Statue Garden

Department store ceiling (yeah, I know)

Entrance to a castle (I'll leave you guessing till the next post)

finally, an update

So, after a short break from the blogging scene, I've decided to start this back up again. You may be asking what has been going on in the past months? I'll fill you in!

My job was progressively getting worse (no work, crappy work, little pieces of work which were boring) until finally they decided that there wasn't enough work to keep me on as an employee...thus, I got laid off. In some aspects, I was happy, because I could try and find a job which fits my personality better. In other ways, the timing was horrible because I had just gotten my stuff from South Florida and was (kinda still am) living in a box world. Just another thing to add onto my shoulders. I got the news on 10/23, it is now 10/31 and I have been on 3 interviews. I know that sounds great, I've already started the whole process to get another job, but it's fucking nerve racking. Some interviews are really easy, some are just plain annoying and a few (like the one I had today) was completely the opposite of what I want to do professionally. There are so many people out there looking for contractors to do 3 months of work, 2 weeks of this, 6 months of that...I want a steady job where I don't need to worry about what the next month brings in terms of work.

Suffice to say, getting my life in order at home doesn't really get the full attention it deserves. On top of trying to get it in order, there are things I've packed away over a year and a half ago which I pull out and just have to think about before I can even start the processes of placing it somewhere. Pictures of my brother and I, the blanket from my childhood, photo albums of my father's family, tons of personal effects from my dad's apartment, pictures of Rachel and items from our relationship. You know...I haven't given the death of my father or brother the full thought that it requires to move on from. I kind of choose to let it go, but sometimes I can't contain that feeling and I get a deep pain in my heart. I can't tell you how many times throughout the unpacking process I had to sit down and ponder a memory. I sit there and talk to myself about what that items represents or how insignificant it was back when, but now it's the sole reminder of that time. It's not easy. I miss a lot of memories. You know I'm glad I have them, but sad they're gone.

Ok, on to better topics. I got my turntables set up along with my stereo. Awwwww yeah. That's what I'm talking about. I am absolutely horrible on the 1's and 2's, but that is be expected after a 2 1/2 year absence. My room is starting to take shape too, which is nice. I was without my own room for about a year and a half. You forget what a sanctuary your own room is; how it really becomes a "home". Soon it shall be complete and I can walk into my room and fall onto my bed without walking around an intricate path of boxes and old clothing. Oh, I checked off the number one item on my "stuff I need to do before I die" list. DJ SHADOW. twice. I saw him live at Webster Hall. I met him, shook his hand, made some nonsense comment about how awesome he is. It was one of the best moments of my life. I bought Andy, John, Nick and myself a sweet poster from the cover of Endtroducing and got Shadow to sign all of them for us. Double awwww yeah. I shall hang it above my closet and I shall call it "paradise in a record shop". You know...or "the cover of endtroducing". Whichever is more appropriate at the time of viewing.

The past couple of months have been blah. Neither good nor bad. They've had their moments, but I'm still not feeling set up or totally comfortable where I am. I'm close though. All I need is a desk, a couple weeks to get everything situated in my apartment...and you know, a job. Anyways, enjoy some pics, and I promise to update again soon.

Labor Day Weekend (I know, a little late)
John boy and his Sis
Jen, Elika and I (I win the pale contest)
Tribe Called Quest (Word Booty Word Booty)
Shadow live
More Shadow
Me and Shaaaaadow
Flight to NYC from Florida
View from my window

Um, hey!

Wow, so it's been like 2 1/2 months since I've posted. My bad! I promise I'll put up a nice, long, picture laden post in the next couple days. I have a bed and 4 walls to call my own!

Updates

The frequency of my posts has been considerably low as of late. I apologize for that, I've been getting caught up in the working life. Let's see, what's going on with e?

Job
Well, my job is going well...not perfect though. Basically, right now all I do is fix up little things here or there or do small pieces of really large projects. My background is in ASP and c# programming, but in this company, it's whatever the client needs done. A php site that needs fixing? We'll do it. Access database that needs a front-end report system written in VBA? Okay. A dynamically produced excel spreadsheet from an XML file? You get the point. The thing that it's lacking for me is structure. As in a lot of other parts of my life right now, I'm just starting to get into a pattern...which is the true essence of structure. I've been on the job about 1 1/2 months now and I'm still trying to find my groove. As far as other parts of the job, socially it's not bad, perks are very nice and no overbearing boss. I work with a woman named Ana, who is really cool, easy to talk to and very knowledgeable. The only problem is, there isn't anyone in the company that I can really hang out with after work.

Working in the Empire State building sounded cool at first, but in fact kinda sucks for the following reasons. One, it’s a huge tourist attraction. I now know what it feels like to work in Disney world. Luckily there is no driving involved or I would have flipped out a couple weeks ago. Navigating through a sea of people to just get to my damn desk is an annoying task sometimes. Hell, even when I go to get lunch, I end up being in 5 different photos because tourists are taking them all over the place. It's usually always crowded, unless it's raining. Two, for being in the middle of Manhattan, it is severely lacking on the restaurant quality. Subway sandwiches are the mainstay of my lunch menu. Although my dinners are pretty good (down near Soho and the Village, or in the upper west side), lunch is a damn important meal for me. I do enjoy my toasted plain bagel with fresh made cream cheese for $1.36 every morning from Brookyln Bagel. That place is fucking awesome...sometimes, in the morning when I want to get crazy with my breakfast, I'll order a bacon, egg and cheese on a plain toasted bagel. I used to never eat breakfast, but now I can't even start my day without that. This is where my true Jew roots are starting to be exposed...a bagel every freaking morning...OI!

The perk of working at the Empire State building is that I get a discount on tickets to the top and I get to skip the line! Pretty sweet, especially when friends come into town, you feel all powerful cause you get to skip the line and all these people waiting in line are going "Who the fuck is this guy?". Personally, I'd rather have better restaurants, but I'll take what I can get.

Social
There has been a steady flow of friends that have been visiting NYC. Alayne came twice, Brad and Melony, Maysa and Osama...and I took them all to the top of the Empire State building. That perk actually becomes a drawback when you have 3 groups of friends visiting within a 10 day period and you take them all to the top. My favorite direction when viewing the city is north, where central park is. It's just odd to see the park in the middle of all these buildings. Anyway, back to my social life. Kinda lacking a little bit. I have a friend of a friend who has become a first degree friend, Natalie. We go out probably once a week or so, have a great time eating at some posh place and then getting toasted. Rachel and I have been hanging out some, which is cool too, nice to chill with an old school friend. But, I don't feel like I budding out enough. This is New York city, there has to be a fuck-ton of cool people that I can hang out with. Pretty much everything has taken a back seat to me getting acclimated with my job and finding a place to live. The weather is starting to get really nice, so I'm looking into some different sports I can get into on the weekends. I found an ultimate frisbee group on this cool site, http://www.meetup.com. They only get together once every month, so I'm still searching for something more regular. I'm also keeping an eye out for lounges or DJ's/groups that I wanna see. If I could find a good chill lounge that plays some of my favorite type of music, that would help a lot. In a couple months, Sarah and Leah will be up here, so that'll be nice too.

Personal
Well, I'm a young professional working in New York City. I've been eating unhealthy and not doing any sort of exercise at all. That has got to change. As far as eating healthy, especially in my 'hood, it's difficult at best. New York's definition of a super market and my traditional ideal are vastly different. Where the hell is the Publix, that's all I wanna know. The markets here are like a quarter the size of normal markets and the selection is crappy. Now, these are the markets near my residence, in Flatbush, BK. If you were to go into the city, it's even worse. How about waiting 30 minutes in line to buy some damn groceries. I've been meaning to try FreshDirect, which will deliver goods right to your door. The food around here is so cheap and actually is pretty good, that most times after work, I'd just rather buy something. My only problem with that is, the food is damn unhealthy. Pizza, chinese food, Popeye's chicken. HEART ATTACK. There is this one bodega that makes boarshead sandwiches, which is my one salvation, food wise, in this neighborhood. Mohammod gives me daps every time I go in, and its kinda nice. In fact, most of the restaurants I go to know me by face. I mean, it's probably cause I'm the whitest person in the 'hood, but whatever. I'd join a gym too, if they weren't $80 a month. A few people have been telling me about the merits of yoga, so I'm looking into that. I did it once with my mom, but I wasn't feeling it that much. John mentioned that I might try a different, more strength and aerobic oriented approach, which sounds much more up my alley then relaxing yoga. My main problem is that I'm really tired when I get off of work and I'm not motivated to do much else than relax...always been an issue. Something I definitely need to change.

I'm still in denial that I actually live in New York. The reality of the situation hasn't sunk in yet, and I'm guessing it probably won't until I have my own place with my own belongings. You can never really feel settled in a city until you stop living out of a suitcase and have your own hole in the wall. In fact, I've made such a commitment to staying in NYC, that I asked Andy to sell my car....my car. I love my car, but I have to say, it sure is nice not needing one. The money I get from that should allow me to get set up with a place of my own, a bed and some furniture. I fucking miss my bed. If there any one inanimate object in this world that I miss just as much as a family member, its my bed. I'm a man who enjoys a comfortable sleeping situation.

I think that's a good enough update for now. Once things get more settled around here, I'll be more regular with blog posts. For now, enjoy some pics...

Blockhead with DJ Signify (Ninja Tune concert @ Irving Plaza)
Coldcut with a nice pic of Andy Warhol
Downtown from the top of the Empire State
New Jersey
Brad, I (a little crazy eyed) and Melony
Me and Mase
Mase's bro, Mase and Osama
Downtown (2nd time up)
Osama and Mase getting silly at 1000 feet up
This is actually uptown (3rd time up)

One Year

Well, today marks the one year anniversary of my father's death.

So much has happened this last year, its almost hard to remember it all. It's also gone by so fast, it feels like yesterday when I was moving home from Gainesville.

I guess I'll use this post as a recap of this past year. It's appropriate because I have a really good snapshot of where I was in my life when my father passed away. There was a lot of fear in my life at that time. I knew my father was dying, there wasn't much direction in my life and I had little faith in myself. When I saw my father lying on the hospital table, lifeless, I knew my life was turning a new direction...its was almost an unbeleiveable sight. The profound impact my father had on my life was gone and I felt like I became a man in one instant. The responsiblitiy of everything was thrust upon me and I wasn't sure I could deal with it all. Thankfully I have an amazing mother and friends that are my family. Within 36 hours I had my best friends come in from all across the country. I have to be honest though, even with the most meaningful friends and family surrounding me, I felt alone. At night I would sit and think about the times I had with my brother and father...it was so hard to realize that I would never make more memories with them.

June was spent cleaning up my father's apartment and making plans to move or donate his belongings. I couldn't of done it without the help of my mother. I wouldn't even say she helped me, she did the brunt of the work and I helped her. She stepped in and showed me a side of her that I had never seen. I was still dealing with what was going on, the significant change that had just happened. She put on her game face and took control of the situation. It was almost inspiring to see my mother in that mode. I also couldn't of done it without the help of our family friend, Ben Behr. June was a tough month...going through everythihng of his and trying to figure out what to keep or what to donate. They really pulled me through and helped me get my shit together enough to get the important things done.

July was spent going up to Gainesville and selling off most of my furniture and packing up my belongings. It was nice to get some alone time to collect my thoughts and get myself back on track. I really enjoyed Gainesville and I had so many great memories, but it was time to move on. The remainder of my time up there was spent hanging out with friends and packing up my stuff.

August...hmmm, this was a strange month. Planning, planning, planning. I got settled in my mom's house and tried to decide what I was going to do. Mad props go out to Sarah who, with one little question ("Why don't you go to Fiji?"), guided my trip to the Pacific. You know, I've always wanted to go to Fiji. Hell, I didn't even know where that place was, but I wanted to go. So began the planning of jumping from Ft Lauderdale -> NYC -> Chicago -> Columbus, OH -> LA -> San Fran -> Seattle -> Hawai'i -> Fiji -> Australia -> New Zealnd -> LA -> Ft Lauderdale.

The single best experience of my life. I've written up so much about it, so if you really want to know, just check the archives. I will say that I discovered things about myself that I didn't even fucking knew I could do. The main thing I took from that trip is believing that I'm a really awesome person. I mean you may laugh, but having confidence in yourself, in who you are...knowing that if I wasn't me, I'd want to be my friend. Or some shit like that. All I know is I made many friends, saw the most beautiful sights, went out there all by myself and did everything I wanted to do. There was no fear, no worries...everything was a new experience. I didn't really find myself, I've always been here, but I dusted off some muscles and flexed them....hard.

So, my father died, I moved all his belongings, moved all my belongings, moved into my mother's house and took a trip around part of the world. Pretty good for five months. But this god damn epic battle has just begun! (Sorry, Dane Cook moment)

I got home on Oct 31 and slept for a damn good week. The next couple months were spent doing bong rips and hanging with friends. I'm 25, living at my mom's house with no job and no direction and hanging out every night. It was like a movie. I was like that dude on the couch....wait I am that dude on the couch, but more on that later. Suffice to say, I wasn't in the best place. It wasn't really a question, I wanted out of South Florida. I loved NYC and Chicago was a pretty nice place too, so I started my job search. You know...it's very very difficult to find a job when you don't live where you want to work. After about 3 months of nothingness, Leah and Sarah and a bunch of other people were going on a trip up to NYC. I was going back and forth about joining them...but at the last minute, with the blessing of my mother (and her financial backing), I went along. In fact, I had been conversing with a headhunter and set up a meeting for my trip up there. The trip was more fruitful then I could of imagined. I met a ton of new people, I went on the worst interview of my life (fuck you lawyer IT guy) and met the guy who eventually offered up his couch to me. Now, if it hadn't been for the insesint nagging of both Sarah and Leah, I wouldn't be where I am today. So, I got to give props where they're due.

I bought a one-way ticket up to NYC of March 15, 2006. I brought a suit and enough clothes for 5 days. I spent 3 weeks going on interviews and getting throughly dissapointed. Until I came across my current employer. The interview was an easy process, I felt very comfortable and I could tell they liked me.

Now...I'm kinda rushing this post because I just made plans to go out. The main train of thought for this post is this: My father would be proud of me. The methods I used to get to get here probably wouldn't of been his personal choice (that's not a bad thing), but all that matters is where I end up. I miss my father every day of my life, but I try and look back upon all those amazing memories I have with him and my brother. There are some things in life that people can never take away...closing my eyes and getting to see my brother's and father's faces again is worth the entire world to me.

No Pictures

Could I have possibly had the most wonderful yet emotionally straining five days of my life?

Yes...yes I have.

There are no pictures for that.