The Random Ramblings of One K-Dubs

Phatcorndog

More updates from the Rock:

The big news today was finally quitting my bartending job.  It was a sad day, because I really enjoyed working there, and the other people working there were pretty fun to work with.  But the bottom line was, I wasn't making enough to make it worth my while.  I was making less there than at my full time job, and traveling about twice as far.  The Sunday night shift was brutal because, quite frankly, no one is going to get sloshed at a hotel on a Sunday night and then get up to go to work the next morning.  Just can't happen.  On the bright side, I do get to watch football with my dad and the guys now again.

I haven't been really keeping up to speed studying for the subject test GRE I'm about to take this Saturday, and I'm probably going to pay for it.  I've had to adjust to a normal sleep pattern (that is, get to bed at or before 12 and get up at an unreasonably early hour of day), and it has sapped my energy (another reason why I quit bartending).  I just can't get myself motivated; I think on the list of things I'd want to go back to school for, an advanced degree in one of the sciences (not an MD) is probably 3rd or 4th on my list.  While I enjoy my job working in an organic chem lab now and love the fact I'm learning a lot, I just can't see myself in a predominantly lab-setting for the rest of my career.  I need to interact with others, and well, there just isn't much interacting going on in the lab when you're surrounded by hazardous chemicals and operating hundreds of thousands of dollars of precise and fragile equipment.

After much deliberation, I decided to celebrate my birthday this year at home in NJ.  There had been a lot of talk about going to down to DC right after my GRE this Saturday morning and catching the tail end of GU homecoming.  But, in the end, I was a little ticked off that so many people in the DC area just hadn't been keeping in touch with me over the past several months.  While I feel bad that I'm not going to see the certain few who have kept in touch, I can't turn my back on my friends from home, and I'm certainly not going to make them travel 8 hours roundtrip just for a single night.  It'll be the first time I'll spend my birthday in NJ since my senior year of high school.  Weird.

Finally, there are some movies in the theatre that I want to see.  "Flags of Our Fathers" looks like a potential Academy Award winner, and if it's even 80% of Saving Private Ryan, I'm sure I'm going to enjoy it.  I heard from several people that "The Departed" was also very good, and that it was a must see.  And of course, "Borat" also hits theatres this Friday, and it looks hilarious.  Ali G is hilarious, and I've got the feeling that all the good jokes haven't been wasted on the commercials.  Now, the great challenge is finding some free time to actually go watch these movies and finding people who actually want to go watch them with me.

I'll see you all when I'm 24. 

Phatcorndog

Good: My friend Brian surprised me with a belated birthday present: tix to go see Georgetown play Duke at Cameron Indoor in 2 weeks.  That ranks up there as one of, if not the best presents I have ever gotten in my life.  Thanks again, B.

Bad: Careless co-workers who are going to end up harming me pretty bad really piss me off.  It's one thing to be careless.  It's another to be that way when you're in an environment surrounded by toxic chemicals, glassware, ovens that can get up to 450 degrees Celsius, etc. on a daily basis.  And apparently my pleas to them to change their ways are not getting through; partly because they probably don't care since I'm just the new guy, and partly because they don't have a grasp of the English language.  Ugh.

Good: I had a close to 3 hour talk with my friend Huoi yesterday.  She's currently in Jordan right now basically running a prep school for the King.  We talked about anything and everything, and it's amazing how many similarities we share.  While it's not like I don't have anyone I can talk to about anything (I have several people, as a matter of fact), it was refreshing to get a different perspective from another friend on numerous subjects and not be able to anticipate what her answers would be (one of the few minor downsides of having other friends for almost 20 years).

Bad: Friends who don't call back when they say they're going to.  Friends who seem like they can't be bothered with whatever it is they have to do to give you a few minutes of their time.   Friends who make the minimal effort to keep in touch.  Those are people I refer to as "former friends."  There are several people I've completely cut off contact with over the past couple of years.  At this point, I'd really hate to add people to that list, but some of them have just been ridiculously AWOL, and I'm getting a little sick and tired of it.  Don't take me for granted.

Good: As a kid growing up, one of my favorite books was "A Prayer For Owen Meany" by John Irving.  Recently, I had been looking for a new book to read, and I stumbled across another of Irving's works on my sister's bookshelf, entitled "A Widow For One Year."  So far, I have to say it's been an enjoyable read.  If you liked Owen Meany, definitely give this book a try.

Bad: Rutgers getting upset tonight at Cincinatti to ruin their hopes of making the national title game.  As a New Jerseyan, I'm extremely proud of how far this team has come, and even though I didn't go to the school, I find it very easy to root for them, and was devastated they lost tonight in the fashion that they did.  The only positive is that they still have a chance to win the Big East and go to a BCS bowl, provided if they take care of business in their last two games vs. Syracuse and at West Virginia.  Here's to hoping the Scarlet Knights can bounce back.  

Good: The new Jay-Z CD, "Kingdom Come," is a solid effort by HOV.  Not quite on the level of "Reasonable Doubt" (then again, there are few hip-hop CDs that are), but I would say it's on the level of the Black Album, at least after a few listens.  Best songs on the album include "Lost Ones" featuring Chrissette Michelle, "Minority Report" featuring Ne-Yo and produced by Dr. Dre, and the album titled "Kingdom Come." 

Bad: I lost my entire ITunes playlist somehow yesterday.  Manually adding 5500 songs scattered across several different folders buried in different areas on my computer is going to be a huge pain in the ass.  Argh.

And I'll end this post with...

Good: After coming into this season with absolutely no expectations, The OC has surprisingly been better so far this year.  It's a little bit darker than the past two years, and has developed somewhat of an edge by eliminating the stupid plugs for bands and making the characters just seem a little tougher in general.  Dropping that sorry excuse for an actress Mischa Barton probably also helped things, as well.  At least now I'll have something to hold me over in terms of TV until 24 and Entourage return in January.