The Random Ramblings of One K-Dubs

Phatcorndog

Here's my Philly recap, 20 questions style:

1) You were barely online all week.  So where have you been?

City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia to the layman.  If you haven't heard yet (you obviously don't care, but...) I'm doing a year of grad school at Drexel.  We just had a week of orientation.

2) Where do you live?

I move in on Sunday at an apartment complex near the museum district called Park Towne Place, right off of Ben Franklin Parkway.  It's a mile and a half from Center City.  Best part: it's got an outdoor pool.  Yup, definitely the best part (until it gets cold).

3) Is the pizza in Philly as good as the pizza in Northern NJ?

No.  Not even close.

4) How about the cheesesteaks?

Mixed reviews so far.  The cheesesteak place at Reading Terminal was OK, not terrible, but not fantastic.  Another place called Jim's, however, was awesome.  4th and South Street, if you're curious...

5) Ken's a freshman again (kinda).  Can we expect a repeat of 2001-02?

Nope.  It's going to be a lot of work during the next ten months, and I'm told people don't really party hard during the week (good, because my wallet can't afford it ).  But every other week, after an exam, I'm told people go nuts.  I'll join them, of course.

6) How are the people down in Philly?

Tough, but fair.  For those who love to talk sports, these are your people.  They won't criticize your team, but engage in polite debate (unlike Red Sox fans).  You won't find anybody overly nice, but they know their shit and they're proud of it.  Very no-nonsense.

7) What about your classmates?

Let me put it this way.  It's very refreshing to see a student population that doesn't wear pink polos on a regular basis.  This is more my type of crowd, and it didn't take me 5 days to figure that out.  Everyone so far seems very friendly and down to earth.  Whether that changes once class starts is a different story.

8) Is that girl who's always with you your girlfriend?

This one's for all the Drexel people who don't know me well.  That's my friend Nicole, and we went to Georgetown together.  We are NOT dating, to set the record straight.  We just happen to be really good friends.  Ladies, you may resume hitting on me.

9) Someone said your classes are filmed, taped, and then posted online.  Are you ever going to class?

*grits teeth*  Yes...

10) You said your apartment complex has an outdoor pool.  Can anyone come over and use it too?

Only if I like you.

11) What's one cool thing you didn't know about Philly that you found out this past week?

I was told by a girl in my IMS program that William Penn is on top of the City Hall building in Center City, and there's an unofficial rule that no other building in Philly can be taller than William Penn.  There's some curse that goes along with that, but I forgot what it was...

12) That was pretty cool.  How about one more?

There's a sewer grate by JFK Blvd and Market Street on North 15th Street that blows air conditioning up into the air.  So when it's 95 degrees in the middle of the afternoon (like it was all this past week), that place is an absolute haven.

13) We had to ask... what's the bar situation like down in Philly?

Can't speak with conviction just yet, but early impressions are very good.  I've been to three; McGillan's Old Ale House (where old Revolutionary War soldiers used to get tanked), Roosevelt's (home of the best happy hour deal I've ever witnessed), and Blarney's Irish Pub (complete with fiddlers and vocalists in the corner).  The bottom line: it makes DC bars look like dogshit.

14) Best happy hour ever?

$7 dollar cover, penny drinks.  And that includes everything: beers, mixed drinks, you name it.  2 hours to get as wasted as you want for 7 bucks.  I bet there are better ones, but I've never seen it with my own two eyes.

15) What happens after you wake up hungover?  In other words, what about pho?

10th and Arch.  Pho Cali.  The Pho 75 of Philadelphia.  Instant hangover cure, guaranteed.

16) What's your class schedule like?

Lots of 8am classes, no night classes.  Basically, picture what high school was like.  It's about the same.

17) Is it going to be hard?

Hell fucking yes. 

18) What will you do when the Giants play the Eagles?

Me and two other guys (Dave and Jason) are going to quietly cheer somewhere where it's on TV.  We're devout fans, but we're also not stupid.

19) Is your accent going to change?  Are you going to start pronouncing water as "wooter" and home and phone as "hoooome and phoooone?"

I don't aspire to sound like a jackass.  So the answer is no.  Wisecracking Northern Jersey accent for life.

20) Here's the most important question.  How do we visit you and when should we visit?

The school and my apartment are both very easy to get to.  NJ Turnpike Exit 4 towards Camden.  Take Route 30 West to Route 38 West and cross the Ben Franklin Bridge.  That will take you to 676 West, where you can either take the Ben Franklin Parkway exit (to my apartment) or the Broad Street exit (to my school).  Both are right off the exit (we're talking a matter of yards).  In terms of when you should visit, I have an exam roughly every two weeks (on Thursdays or Fridays).  After an exam, I'll be up for playing.  So feel free to come on weekends after a Friday exam (or Thursdays/Fridays after a Thursday morning exam).  I can't guarantee you a lot of room at my studio apartment, but I'll make sure you have fun.  And oh yeh, I have an outdoor pool.

Phatcorndog

Just to let you all know what I've been up to:

Class the first couple days has been OK, nothing too hard, but it's a lot of work coming in a short amount of time.

My daily routine has been really changed because of my class schedule (almost all 8am starts, sometimes 9am).  No longer am I up till 4am every night.  I'm in bed by 11pm... by the latest.

I get my Internet and cable tv up and running on Saturday.  So just a few more days of being confined to AIM Express on the computers in the school's library.

So yeh, classes are fine (so far), and I'm doing okay.  That's all for now.

Phatcorndog

Getting connected to the Internet and cable TV yesterday was my reintroduction to the world.  I've been out of the loop for the past week, and literally it's been a struggle and a half trying to deal with this new lifestyle and all the changes to my surroundings.  But I think I'll survive.

Since I'm still a little hungover and I don't want to make this a really long post, I'll summarize the weekend.  Got wasted at Stiles (the Drexel on-campus dorm) while watching "Shaun of the Dead" with a bunch of friends (actually, a very funny movie), went to some bar on 3rd and Spring Garden (can't remember the name of it), and got lost trying to get home (walking around on the streets of Philly at 3am by yourself is no way to go through life).  Saturday was much more low key; we spent it near the waterfront (Penn's Landing), and went to some lounge called Tangerine for a few minutes, another lounge (can't remember the name of it), an Irish pub across the street from it (had a weird name), and then back to Jim's Cheesesteaks before calling it a night.

The verdict: I was never a huge fan of Adam's Morgan (except for the jumbo slices) in DC, and the area around 2nd and 3rd Streets by Penn's Landing was a lot like that, so I wasn't feeling it too much.  But the night life is live in Philly; there were a ton of people out, and you can always find fun if you try hard enough.  Not bad for my first real weekend here.

Phatcorndog

Although Roy didn't tag me, everyone knows I love these type of things.  So here's my ten (definitely not my top 10 of all time, but the top 10 I'm been listening to lately):

Phatcorndog

I definitely don't have the time to post daily like I did earlier this summer, but I will try to post at least once a week, if not more.

Week 2 in Philly wasn't so bad, but it's not easy, that's for sure.  Going to bed around 10pm and getting up around 6am are concepts that are very foreign to me, and will take some getting used to.  I'm hoping my body will need only a few more weeks to do so.  First exam was pretty tricky, and for 7 days worth of classes, it was a lot of material.  I did OK, though, but not great.  Going to really have to buckle down in the upcoming weeks.

Although I found out with much disappointment that I have to pay to use the pool that's at my apartment complex (seasonal pass is like $100, one-time use is $10), the gym here is free, and I've been using it frequently.  Gone are the days where I've been too lazy to go to Yates (bad influence from some certain former roommates, haha).  I've yet to play some ball, although there is a regular game out by a park near Queen Lane (at the Drexel med school campus).  I've made it my goal to get fit enough again to run some full court games there without trouble.

One thing I've learned about Philly.  It is unlike any other city I've ever been in.  People are here are really strange.  I've seen more random things here than I care to.  Some examples: 1) some middle-aged white lady wearing hospital scrubs yelled at me, "Sup gangsta!" while I was walking down the street the other day, 2) there are vans on the side of the road that sell passport photos, thumbprints, and GUN PERMITS, 3) Philly liquor stores aren't allowed to sell liquor and beer at the same place; you have to get liquor from a liquor store and beer from a beer distributor, and 4) someone forgot to mention to Mayor Ed Rendell that the city has a lot of homeless people... clean the streets up like Rudy Giuliani did for NYC or you're going to see the drug dealing and crime continue.  NYC (a much larger city) doesn't have this problem anymore, and you barely saw any in DC.  Rendell should get his fat ass out of his seat at Phillies games and do some goddamn work.    

Three quick thoughts on sports.  First, we can't really take that American Express commercial with Tiger Woods (where he plays through the rain) seriously anymore.  After ditching Baltusrol early last Sunday night (with the clubhouse lead), it's no longer correct to say that Tiger "never quits."  Although there would have been no playoff, it was still wrong of him to leave early.  He's still a great champion, without the best golfer of my generation, and maybe the best of all time, but don't say he never quit.  Because he did.

Second, I think the best sport right now on TV to watch: Little League baseball.  Laugh all you want and tell me it's only a bunch of kids playing, but these are the only people (outside of the X games) that look like they care at all while playing sports on TV.  All the professionals in the four major sports look like they're just trying to collect a paycheck every week.  These kids are going all out, playing as hard as they can.  No kid fails to run hard out of the box and hot dogs it in the field.  I even saw one kid lay out for a ball that was obviously rolling foul.  That's playing for the love of the game.  And in the end, it's all about having fun, not winning.  The coaches (minus maybe one or two) have really preached that, and it's made for great games to watch.  If I could go back and accomplish one thing in sports that I never got to, it would be to play in the Little League World Series.  Without a doubt.

Third, the most frustrating part of living in Philly right now is hearing about T.O. every 0.38326523 seconds.  I don't give a fuck about him.  He's an asshole, a cancer to his team, greedy selfish bastard who's already overpaid, and quite possibly the most arrogant person alive today.  Not only that, he's hired an equally annoying piece of shit in Drew Rosenhaus to be his agent and help him whine about how he thinks 8 million dollars a year to PLAY A GAME is not enough.  God, I hate T.O.

I know this is on pretty short notice, but if you're bored tomorrow (Saturday) and want to make a one night trip to visit me in Philly, I'm pretty sure I can show you a good time tomorrow night.  If interested, let me know ASAP.  

Phatcorndog

One of the things I definitely think I take for granted in my life are the people who cut my hair.  When you first read this, you're probably going to think I've lost my mind.  "God, the kid doesn't have anything better to write about than the people he goes to in order to get a haircut."

Hear me out.

Since I can remember, I've been going to the same place near home for haircuts.  My dad, who used to work at the pharmacy at Pathmark in Randolph, New Jersey, used to head over to the Pro Haircutters next door to Pathmark and get his haircuts.  And of course, once I became of age to get my haircuts on a regular basis (maybe 5-6 years old), I did the same.  And my father and I would always have the same two guys cut our hair: two old school Italian guys named Rocky and Mike.  Rocky's a bit older than Mike, a short guy with white hair who speaks softly but always has a smile on his face.  Mike a thin, wiry, loud-mouthed guy with slicked back hair (like Paulie on the Sopranos) who will talk about anything, anytime.  The two had been running the show at Pro Haircutters for as long as I could remember, and they were the only two men who cut my hair.  Ever.  Whenever we went in, there'd be a line to get a haircut from them; they were easily the most popular and skilled barbers in the place and people would wait in line to get a haircut from them, rather than risk getting a haircut of lesser caliber from the more amateur barbers.  Getting a haircut from Rocky or Mike about every month or so was so routine, I didn't even think twice about it.  It's just the way it was.

Then college came around.  I wasn't in Jersey to get my haircuts, and believe me, the first few times I got a haircut in DC, I was mortified at the results.  The barbers at Georgetown Hairstyling just couldn't do the job like Rocky and Mike could, and I was rarely pleased with a haircut (does that explain a lot of the weird hair dyes I used in college?).  And anytime I returned to the Pro Haircutters in New Jersey during a break from school for a much needed quality haircut from either Rocky or Mike, they always remembered who I was, who my father was (even though he had transferred stores years ago, he still got his haircuts there), and asked how I was doing in school.  Even though I barely knew them on a personal level, it was almost like coming home to family.  It wasn't until my senior year that I found two new guys at Georgetown Hairstyling (their names were Ed and Nguyen) that could even give me a decent haircut.

After returning home this past summer, I went down to Pro Haircutters to get my haircut.  And I noticed that Rocky wasn't in the barber shop (for the first time in over 15 years).  Mike informed me that Rocky had retired, and decided to hang up the razor for good.  I know it's something stupid to be shaken up over, but it really hit me hard for a few seconds that I'd probably never see the guy again, never get a haircut from him again for the rest of my life.  So Mike took over the sole responsibility of giving me haircuts for the summer.  But you could tell that a part of Mike was missing.  Often times, he'd quickly glance over to his right, expecting to see his buddy Rocky softly humming some tune while giving another customer a fantastic haircut.  Or talk to him about what was wrong with the Yankees/Mets.  Or just shoot the shit and talk about anything.  Only he wasn't there.

The last time I went into Pro Haircutters was right before I came down to Philly.  Mike was there, in his usual chair closest to the entrance.  And he proceeded to give me one of the hundreds of haircuts he's given me over the past 16-17 years.  He asked me about my father, and how come he hadn't seen him recently.  I was shocked.  My dad had recently gotten a haircut from my sister, who is actually pretty good at giving haircuts and wanted to give my dad one.  So my dad hadn't been at Pro Haircutters for a month and a half, and Mike knew.  He KNEW my dad had missed a routine haircut.

I've been in Philly for 3 weeks now, and I decided to get a haircut this past Friday.  I got one at the salon located underneath my apartment complex.  An old Korean woman who barely spoke English gave me my haircut, and it was like pulling teeth.  She couldn't get the length of my hair on the sides and the back right, she was super slow (it took an hour), and I had to repeat instructions to her at least 3-4 times before she decided to screw things up and do it her way.  And the entire time, I wished I was back in Jersey, getting my haircut from Mike.  And obviously, I'm going to have to find another place in Philly to try to get a good haircut. Not exactly something I've had to worry about for the most part in my life.

I think one of the saddest moments in my life will come when Mike decides he's had enough of haircuts and decides to follow Rocky into retirement.  There are certain things in life that invokes memories of your childhood in a way that can't help but make you smile.  Getting a haircut down at Pro Haircutters from Mike and Rocky is one of them.

Hopefully I'll be smiling during my haircuts for a few more years to come.    

Phatcorndog

One of the great things about living at 3713 Reservoir Road with RDP for two years was getting to meet and know each other's friends from home.  RTC came down during the first summer for an insane weekend and had one of the most fun times we've ever had to date.  Jaisun had all his random heads from across the globe come and visit from time to time.  Cory had his random booty call (singular) from Rutgers (haha).  Vernon had his Iowa homeboy hang out for a weekend.  And even Brendan's brother (who is currently serving in Iraq, God bless his heart), paid a visit in between his rigorous Army training sessions and various Ranger camps.

But I think all of RDP, myself included, can agree that the guys who touched our lives the most during our two year stay in DC were Brian's friends from Northern Virginia.  Due to their close proximity, they were over our house a lot during the weekends.  And what a bunch of characters they were.  Larry would freestyle rap when drunk.  Porky, who defines the term "big lovable lug" to a tilt.  Wally, who takes the NOVA crown as the shady one but only by default, and has one of the best laughs I've ever heard.  And a lot of other people who I won't take all night to mention and describe (Jiae, Juliana, the hyungs, etc.), but you guys know who you are.  A lot of good times were shared with them, a lot of memories I won't forget.  They were there for some of our greatest moments.

But one guy from the Nova gang always struck me in particular: Tommy.  He always reminded me of myself, the quiet one in the group that was just one of the guys.  A lot of people have different impressions of me; and I believe a lot of it is undeserved.  Fact of the matter is, I'm just a quiet guy who doesn't like to draw attention to himself.  Tommy's the same way.  He was the one guy you'd want to have your back when you were in trouble.  I'll never forget the one time Pete got escorted home by the police, and Tommy was crashing at our place that night, and came upstairs to inform me that the cops were at our door.  With a huge smile on his face.  And definitely still drunk at 5am.  One of the highlights of my time at Georgetown.

This morning, Nicole told me in class that Tommy's grandmother had passed after an accident at her home.  It was tough for me today to really concentrate on anything.  Although I obviously don't know him that well, and while he might not know it, he definitely did have a major influence on my college years.  A lot of times, when my faith in a lot (not all) of people at Georgetown had dwindled, Tommy and the rest of NOVA was always there.  I know they didn't like to hang out at Georgetown much, and of course their assessment of the girls was similar to mine and right on target, but they did because they like hanging out with us.  We always got along real well.  So even though we're not lifelong best friends, it hurt when I found out he lost somebody important in his life.

One of the great things about RDP was that we always respected our roommates' friends from out of town.  Didn't matter who it was, we got along.  That wasn't always the case (remember the cold shoulders we got from a lot of people on my floor freshman year, guys?), and it really made me appreciate that it was able to happen at RDP that much more.

I know none of them probably ever read this, but it's something I definitely want to say.  I want to say thanks to Brian's friends from home for being friendly towards me over the past 2-3 years and definitely adding another dimension to my college experience.  You guys were a lot of fun to be with, and I'm proud I can call you guys my friends as well.

Like I said on the phone:  Tommy, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.  You'll get through this, and one day I'll see that huge smile back on your face.

Phatcorndog

No particular theme or subject for this post, just what's on my mind.

1) I can't figure out why I'm so tired all the time.  On Friday I slept for 14 hours.  And last night, another 10.  And I'm still tired.  I know you get the feeling of being tired if you sleep too much, but I'm literally so exhausted to the point where I have to take a nap after being awake for a few hours.  Is this normal?  I'm not sick (*knock on wood*), but this is really starting to concern me.

2) The football season is almost upon us.  Giants aren't looking terrible these days (Manning's not seriously hurt, Brandon Jacobs has been solid).  I have two fantasy football drafts to do next week (one for Ray, one for myself).  Hopefully those will go well.  I need to come back strong after a disappointing finish last year where I finished 2nd in overall record, but got knocked out early in the playoffs.

3) I need a job bad.  But I can't work while doing this Drexel program, so I can't really figure out a source of income right now, and it hurts.  Having a job was the only way I could really support myself at Georgetown in terms of going out and buying the little miscellaneous stuff that I needed.  Now, I can't even do that.  Poker?  Out of the question, in terms of the current state of my bankroll and the time committment.  Really frustrating.  I've never been one to splurge, but I hate penny pinching like this.  Oh, well.  1 month down, 9 to go.

4) After cooking dinner on Thursday night for several people at Nicole's place, it really surprised me to hear how many people can't cook (or claim that they can't).  I don't know how some people have gotten through college without at least knowing some simple basics.  Eating out is expensive and all, but usually cooking homemade meals just tastes better too.  Thankfully, I've had people in my life who've either stressed the importance of being able to cook, or have shown me how.

5) Jurickson Profar, the right handed pitcher for the Curacao Little League team, was throwing 78 mph in yesterday's game vs Chiba City, Japan.  That's the major league equivalent of 101 mph.  I doubt many of us now could even throw 78 mph.  And the kid's 12.  Sick.

6) The new Kanye West CD, "Late Registration," is quickly becoming one of my favorites.  The man just has such a sense for mixing beats and making it sound fresh and not too overbearing.  And he also raps about stuff other than having fun killing people and buying lot of shit with lots of money.  Definitely recommend listening to it (of course, when it comes out on Tuesday :) ).

7) Still so excited about Georgetown basketball for this year (and the next).  I'm gonna do a write-up on the state of G'town basketball in a few weeks when I have some time.  Look for it.

8) I've had more kielbasa during the last 3 days than I've ever had during any other 3-day stretch in my life.  The stuff is just flat out awesome.  Probably not too healthy to eat it all the time, though.

9) I was talking to Dave Liu the other day, and he mentioned that he was in NSO training all of last week, and that he was really excited about being back on the Hilltop and all.  Simply put: I'm jealous.  The past four years went by really quick, and while I did do a lot, I think I could have used another year to enjoy myself, relax, and just live in the moment.  Too often, it was a rat race down in DC, being rushed all the time to get things done on time and make time for everybody else.  I don't feel like I made enough time for myself.   As the old saying goes, "You don't really appreciate something until you no longer have it."  The idea of an NSO weekend going by without me being involved is just a weird feeling.

10) It sucks living by yourself.  Although I've got lots of privacy and freedom to do whatever I want in my apartment, it gets a little lonely sometimes when you don't really have anybody to talk to.  Phone conversations are great and all, but the distant separation is still there.  IM?  Forget it.  Talking to people in a square box on your computer is a great way to keep in touch, but it gets old after awhile if you never see the other person.  Having the luxury of taped lectures, I do think I'm going to be traveling more this year than I have in the past during school years.  I just need to see some familiar faces.  

Enough procrastinating.  Time to study (blah).