Happy Birthday Grandma!

Grandma would be 81 today. My grandma passed away on 12/28/03. Cool fact: The date that she was born on was 3/12/28. Number swap! Anywho, it hasn't seemed as if 5 and a half years have passed already. I won't get sappy in any way right now. No need to. We all miss you Grandma.

As for my week - Tuesday and Wednesday were bland. I have made this week at work "Sweater Week". No dress shirts or ties. Screw that. I am testing the waters to see how shabby looking I can be in the professional world. So far I think I am flying under the radar. I have never understood dress codes, anyway. I do not preform better when I feel all stuffy in a button up. Put me in a hoody and some sneakers and I will be the man. I really don't remember much about Tuesday, actually. After work that night I went to meet some friends in hopes that a mutual friend would come and meet us as he was in from Atlanta for a few days. Nope. I guess I can't complain, though... I am no better at times. Yesterday after work Alex and I got some Applebees annnnd that was all. Both nights - Bland. Best word to describe the situation. Today - Work. Got home and ate leftovers, and now, it's TV. Syracuse and Gonzaga better do well in this years March Madness. I am a big sports fan. I have a favorite team in each sport. I won't indulge yet. I wouldn't want any of those non-existent readers out there to dislike me for my tastes. Ha.

I think I may take pictures of my room soon and post them. It is a mess. Like, bad. Maybe you'll see. Before and after, here we some!

That's all. I am in my bed and it is uncomfortable to sit here and type. So long!

Work is becoming horribly unexciting. I am just going through the motions now. Occasionally I get to talk to someone who makes the day worth it but not nearly enough. Maybe isn't the job but the fact that last week they decided that, due to the economy, it was a good idea to discontinue merit raises for a year. This was conveniently 2 months before I was due for one of 2 that I was to be given this year. 13,000 people got to keep their job because of it, though. I am trying hard not be think selfishly.

Nothing else is new. Heroes was decent tonight. Watching it makes me think about going back to San Diego for ComicCon this year but, everywhere I look, someone wants $400 a night to stay. It is ridiculous what people do to each other. That is why America is in shams. I'll rant later.

On a happier/funnier note, I forgot to mention a random event from yesterday while at the mall. I was asked if I liked mayonnaise by a random mall-goer who needed to have surveys done. I said "no" - A blatant lie. I love mayo. I'm a fat kid at heart... and sadly at stomach, too. Anywho, I will attempt to sum up the story. The woman giving the survey filled out most of it for me, answering the questions for me as i was only saying "yes", "no", and "uhh". When i thought it was over, she asked me to step into a room for a moment to have a sandwich. I was given a sandwich with one piece of turkey on it and was asked to put mayo on it and finish an online survey about my experience. This is what Hellman's spends their market research money on. I made $2.

I'm leaving on that high note.

Welp, the birthday weekend is over. Let me attempt to get caught up and recap.

Friday, March 6th -

Started with the Watchmen movie. Good times with good people. Caught up with an old friend. Went home and slept until I had to be up and get to work. Normal day at work. Actually, I lied. We were allowed to "dress-down" for upcoming March Madness in our favorite team's jersey or clothing and everyone could bring in food. Since I couldn't find/didn't have any Syracuse Orangemen or Gonzaga clothing I wore a Justice League T-Shirt. I figured I could argue that they were a favorite team of mine. Besides that, the day was rather typical. after work I went home and met up with the family and others for cake and the ritualistic singing of Happy Birthday. Eventually a few of us went out on the town. We hung out at a bar downtown for a while. Had a shot, which is usually my limit as I only drink for special occasions and it will only be a shot - never beer, and threw some darts. I am proud to say that my first dart of my 27th year was a bullseye and my first game was a win. Once everything closed we all headed to a local diner and I enjoyed a burger with my favorite fixings - way too much cheese and bacon. Delicious. Once this was done, that concluded the night and it was home to sleep.

Saturday, March 7th -

I slept in until around 2:30pm. Alex and I got up shortly after that, i showered, and we headed out to Circuit City on the other side of town with Bret. Circuit City was closing and we wanted to see if there was anything worth buying... there wasn't. It was completely empty. I was somewhat saddened. I love electronics, games, videos, movies, music, etc. After we left there we went to the mall out there and just wondered. We bought some Yogenfruz, a Pinkberry/Red Mango rip-off that has made its way to this part of town. I didn't buy anything although I saw so much that i wanted to buy. I am attempting to learn a little bit of self-control for this year. I have the ability to just spend on things that I do not need. For a male, I like clothes more than most. Hoodies especially. More on that another time. We left the mall, it was raining, that made me happy. Why? because it wasn't snow. After that it was a pretty bland Saturday. I ended up going home, watching tv, and hanging out with the family. I was supposed to attend a game night that an old coworker was hosting but accidentally dozed off around 9pm. I woke up around 11:30 and had the urge to go out so I called Bret, found where he was, and joined in. I didn't make i there until almost 1am but it was still nice to get out. I met some of his friends and saw an old friend Deek who I hadn't seen since college. He seems to be doing well and it was good to talk to him and catch up. Usually, and I mean this in the nicest way, Deek would usually be too drunk to know that he saw me out and talked on most nights. Cheers to that. After a few more games of darts Bret and i parted ways. I went on the hunt for pizza but everyone was closed. I hadn't figured that most places took in to account the fact that we had to set our clocks forward. Boo them. I went home, ate some Fritos, and passed out around 5am.

Sunday, March 8th -

I woke up a bit earlier today. I think it was around 12:30. Bret and I had plans to go house hunting. Yes, we both still live at home. He desperately wants out. I don't mind being at home but would love my own house. The only thing holding me back is money. I don't believe in wasting money renting so I am looking for a somewhat affordable house in an area around where I live now in order to keep my commute to work short. After 2 hours and a few minutes of looking at a handful of houses that we knew either of us wanted to buy, we headed out to Circuit City again for the last day of business. It had a rack of 50 cent items and that was all. Again, to the mall we went, accompanied by Alex who had just drove out to the area to meet us, and shopping we did. Bret was the only one to buy anything, a couple of pairs of boxers, but we always enjoy hanging out and talking even if we accomplish nothing. After we became bored with shopping I decided that food was a good idea. I also decided that in this 27th year of mine that I wanted to try new places and new food. After some deliberating, we ended up at a newly opened "Five Guys". Since it was my first time I went with a classic - Bacon Cheeseburger. See a trend yet? Decent food. Good fries. Once the plates were cleaned we all headed out. Bret went home. Alex and i went to my house. She conned me into watching the Sex in the City movie and, as a good boyfriend, I obliged. If it wasn't for the raging headache I am sure I would have stayed awake for the entire movie and I would tell you more about it. All I remember is receiving a massage from my lovely lady and laying around being retards in bed. That means exactly what it says and nothing else, also. We are odd. I am sure stories will come in time.

Eventually Alex had to leave and a few hours later, after some ESPN and other random television, I am here, saying farewell.

I need sleep. Work soon. More tomorrow.

Yesterday I turned 27. At 12:01am that night I was already celebrating... but In my own way. Alex, Batman, and I went out to see the "Watchmen" movie. I loved it. It was perfect up until the end when the story differed from the book a bit. All in all, I didn't feel as if the story was slaughtered. The "moral", if you will, was kept in tact as well as the general feel. Because I would hate if it were done to me, I won't get specific just in case someone actually stumbles upon this and starts to read what I have to say and has not seen the movie.

Anywho, the movie was a good time. I got to catch up with a good friend from my past while there, too. We used to hang out a bunch in our early college days. To be honest, I forgot how we actually met. It may have been through a youth group or when I started to work at Blockbuster - Either way, after I moved on to a different college (we went to community college together) we lost touch. That is really my fault. I had a bad tendency for doing that and, unfortunately, even when you get better at staying in touch, those that you have lost touch with don't automatically come back into your life. I plan on working on finding some of these old friends this year and trying to work on the relationships that I may have hurt. I'm sure that is just the beginning of the list of what I'd like to get done.

Let's talk about that. Why am I here? What is this for? Is there a purpose behind it? Truth is that I don't really have an answer for any of this.

I will attempt to give a preface to this story... or whatever it becomes. I am a 27 year old male living in upstate New York. College graduate with a Business and Marketing Bachelors Degree that has never had an idea of what he really wants to do with life. Why I chose that major is a story within itself. I have had almost every 'teenage' job that was available and have finally found a home with a larger local company that has does quite well in the last 20 years and through this economic disaster that is ongoing. Me on the other hand, I make enough to get by but feel as if I am worth much more. Don't we all, though? For the time being it is nice to be someone who has a job. In the field that I work in, I hear the horror stories of job loss and retirement accounts dwindling and all i can do is listen and empathize and try not to make their mistakes.

I have another tendency to veer off topic when I actually have one to talk about.

We will put a hold on talking about my life for now. I like to write although I am not talented in the area in any way. I was always the Math and Science type in high school and loved numbers. Reading and writing, not for me. I have only read one book in my entire life and it was the Watchmen graphic novel. It is hard to even count that because it was really a set of comics. Anyway, I like to share stories and recap the days events to see if, while retelling the randomness, I will look at a piece of the day, maybe a conversation or a random thought, and look back at it and see where my thought process takes it. I like to think that this will help me either understand something or someone better or to take the the said event and have something good some out of it.

I am realizing I am still not answering my own questions. I guess I am lacking sharing key pieces of knowledge that would help someone understand why I am here. 27 is my favorite number. As a kid I always liked 2's and 7's. From the numbers that I would wear on a sports team or the ones that I would play on the lotto, even characters that I would pick in video or cards games - 2, 7, 27, 727, etc... there were patterns. Even today, how I set my clock or the amount of time I will put something in the microwave, the patterns continue. Am I obsessive compulsive? Mildly. I have a bunch of quirks that people could (and do) joke about. I like certain things certain ways and have to handle certain situations in a certain manner. Can it be annoying to myself or others? Certainly. But again, I digress.

27. This year of my life I told myself that I would do more. Say more. Be more. Something similar to a New Year's Resolution, but at the same time, not. I also old myself that I would log this year of my life as something to look back on. No one I know has any idea I am doing this so I don't have to hold back or be biased in what I say or how I feel about things. From the information I have given, only a few would be able to tell who I am. I am aware that I gave names in the beginning but those are 2 people I wouldn't say anything bad about, anyway. If I have to, I will, and they will have already been aware of how I feel. As for the rest of the world? Enjoy. Maybe I will give you something to do. I may be someone you pass time with or someone you want to argue with. Maybe something I say will become thought provoking and you will want to continue to read to see what else goes on in my mind or what else I am thinking about. Maybe you will connect with me and know that you are not alone at one point. Most, though, will never know I exist.

With that said, I feel restless just typing. More will be shared soon. It is Saturday night and maybe there is something to do. If so, you will know about it come morning.

27. Just another year, really. I want to change that. People come up with occasions and 'holidays' all of the time for no reason. It's my turn and I plan to celebrate. Starting now...