To dad...

Rest in peace. I love you. I never said it. And neither did you. But we both felt it. U lived life ur way. True to u. I hope u find ur peace...

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Things happen for a reason...

God has a bigger plan for us. Everything happens for a reason. Or so I keep hoping. This weekend my relationship with my girlfriend, the woman whom I have I have loved for two plus years - ended, officially. Trying to make sense of this but that I wish I had had the courage, strength and wisdom to have shown her how special, valuable and important she was to me. Fact is I did the opposite. I miss her. And if I could do it all over again I would treat her unselfishly and be so generous to her. She brought out the best in me and it was my responsibility to do the same. I am learning when u meet someone special, put them first, always...

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QUESTION

Does anyone know what Pwnd means?  i've seen it on several sites, blogs, video fail blog sites. when i read Pwnd, it makes me think of Pawned, which well means you take something to a pawn shop in exchange for money.  so when there is a photo of a guy falling off a skate board and the caption reads "guy gets Pwnd by a skateboard..." does that mean that the skateboard took him to a pawn shop in exchange for new tires, cash, board?  what does that word mean? if it means owned, then how did the "p" make its way in there.  and is it a silent "p"?  or a is it pronounced "p-w-a-n-u-d"?

What I did this weekend...

So my lovely gf is out and away in denver enjoying her time with her family and the very thin air of mile high denver.   while i admit, denver is a beautiful place, there's two things i will say denver will never have - 1) the grittiness and variety of the upper east side or the poshness and cool lounges of the west side and 2) NORMAL ALTITUDE BREATHING AIR! ok i said it.  phew.  give me nyc any day of the week.  so friday started off with drinks and food with some of my gf's close friends who are also my friends as well.  its so great to have females as friends because they can give you insight, that as a normal male in his (shhhh late 30s) i could never have.  and  vice versa, i believe i offered some cool (or i would like to think cool) male point of view that can lend a window into the way men think and why we think what we think when we think...um.  yeah?  so had a few too many drinks, and funny none of them knew i was past bezunkeness (not drunk yet pretty friggin buzzed)...as i walked slowly home and i don't remember falling asleep...next day, i got a treat:  i got to hang with a cool doggy...Holly..I'm sure some of you (the very few 2 or 3 who read my little bloggy) know...the coolest dog ever. yes i realize i used the word cool about 4 times here so far, but don't own a thesaurus.

So hanging with the hollister was uber awesome....took her to a park.  got some pretty nice attention from females people (this is always a fun plus to my ego - wink!).  jk.  she (Holly the dog) played and well made sort of nice with a dog.  ok this is how it went.  holly went up to a small sized dog, sniffed.  the dog had a chew toy.  holly went to smell it, the dog picked it up and ran off with it. later, the dog came back with the chew toy, dropped it near holly.  holly in a whatevs kind of motion half sniffed it.  and the dog picked it up and ran off with it again.  this went on about 3 more times until the dog had to leave (aka, the dogs owner wanted a smoke so she took her little 3 lbs kibbles and bits with her).  so there you go, holly made a half attempt to win the battle of superiority and then just didn't give a monkey's (doggy's) crap who really won.

other than that, bought some new song books at my favorite music instrument shop where i swear everyone knows me.  i'm like norm from cheers there.  except they don't yell "norm!"  they just sort of look and smile or nod.  ok...nod...i'm hitting a new wave of rock songs on the guitar lately and plus i added a new guitar to my collection.  wooo to the hoo hoo..

well hope all of you did something fun and got to be out and about in this lovely city of new york.  trust me, if you ever have to say "ugh there's nothing to do" on a weekend, then you are obviously not a real new yorker.

tip of the day: great german restaurant in forest hills called Oktoberfest.  from what i read, they have amazing large sized beers there and the food is to die for.

k.

below r some of my attempts at taking pictures while using my new iphone 4.

Here's me trying to take a picture of my friends...while failing to realize the iphone 4 has a camera on both sides of the phone:

okay here is attempt 2 (i pressed the click button a bit too quick: - i had only had 1 margharita at this point.  ja ja i wasn't sure if my friend was winking for the camera or that i had flash on wayyy too bright):

so third time is the charm, but at least i know i will never leave my day job to be a photographer and the mocajete guacamole is slamming at Cilantros:

My new guitar addition (i love black and johnny cash had the best black guitar ever!)

and finally, the star of the weekend: Holly Holls!

One door closes...

a few doors have closed on me lately.  some to friendships i hope will re-open again in the future.  but i'll leave that up to God and time and patience and understanding and the hope that closed hearts will allow themselves to open up again.  another to a job i had...but in hindsight, the job ending was a good thing. I'm now getting offers at a much higher pay rate than before.   so when one door closes in life, others always open. everything happens for a reason.  always.  i firmly believe that.  there is a positive to every bad or unwanted situation.  its just a matter of sifting through all of the debris and finding it.  even when things look their bleakest, they are not...i keep hearing this voice always, God wouldn't put me in a situation that He didn't think I could handle and overcome.  I've always heard those words.   and now I know why....

i've had to grow and learn from these doors being closed.   i sometimes am a friend to those in ways i think people would want me to be...and i have come to realize i can overwhelm them at times.  not purposely or maliciously but i'm like a big giant hyper dog, not realizing there are set boundaries one should respect.  my definition of what a friend is and a family is, is different than what someone else's is.   and as much as one would think hey i'm not doing anything malicious, it can come off in an entirely different way then intended, and still cause some hurt.  everyone is different and has their issues, and being a friend means being a friend in  a way the other really needs, and not my way...in the end, it isn't just about caring about your friends, and hanging out, its about respecting their boundaries and feelings and putting them first...

today is all about doors.  there isn't just another opportunity at the other side of it, but something new to learn from...

My Band

Okay, so I joined a band.  No not a band of brothers, or a rubber band.  but a real music band.  yep.  So I've been playing guitar now for almost a year and I started doing solos at this place called Arlene's Grocery, doing maybe 20 or 30 minutes, sometimes 40.  About 2 weeks ago some guys were there that I know and heard me play and sing and well they asked me to join their band they are starting to form as they were in need of a guitarist. We rented a music rehearsal studio and started playing together and something happened..magic.  we blended really well.  I mean to get 6 people (a drummer, a bass guitarist, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, Key board pianist and a singer) and have us all blend and play really really well on the first time, well to me that's just the bees little knees...so we sent a sample of our practice session to the owner of Arlenes and they had a spot open for a 1 and a half hour gig available last friday as the other band for some reason couldn't make it.  sooooo, we played that night.  and we tore the house down.

First of all, our two vocalists, a female and a male really kick some serious singing ass.  and well the rest of the band we just seem to know how to play songs with one another.  We opened up with King of Leon's Sex on Fire and it really got the crowd going and went off into some Guns n Roses Sweet Child of Mine, STP and some other 90s rock hits.  It was soooo exhilarating.  We ended up doing another hour and at the end of the night we were all pleased with our performance.  We're playing again in 4 weeks.

We call ourselves "TanGelo".  don't ask me why.  we were just goofing around with band names and i think one of them was eating this orange fruit actually called a Tangelo.  and we said wouldn't that be a cool name for a band.  and well there you go.  I've posted some more or less clear photos of that night.  sorry but my iphone camera sucks.  i'll post up a video soon as soon as its on youtube.

Band:

Lead Vocals: Julie B.
Key Board and Piano/Alternate Lead Vocals: Warren C.
Lead Guitar: Deanny R.
Rhythm Guitar/Piano: John D. (Me)
Bass Guitarist/Lead Guitar: Justin H.
Drummer: Julio A.


Lead and  Rhythm Guitar

Drummer

Lead Vocals and Piano

Bass Guitarist

Dilemma of Nostril Proportions

Okay was at the bus stop waiting for the bus and as on many occassions I am caught out in the rain without an umbrella. I call this my current state of bad umbrella karma. But more on that on a later date. Anyhoo, so there is this guy waiting at the same bus stop which had one of those little kiosks so u can go under and avoid the rain or snow. Issue is this dude smells like 17 people used him as their own personal bathroom, WC if u will. So i'm standing there thinking should I just take the smell and not get wet. And beleive me the smell was bigger than the kiosk. Or should I just stand outside and get drenched. Decisions decisions. Sometimes the choices we make will either stink literally or b bad either way. So as I type this. I get on the next bus glad to finally be away from the smelly smellng walking bathroom. Only to realize he gets on the bus with me too. Ahh NYC. Smell it! Gotta love it!

-- Post From My iPhone

Dreams do come true

Today, I feel like anything on this earth is humanly possible!

I interviewed for a job at dream company and honestly I thought i bombed it.   it was the longest toughest two hour interview of my life.  when i left i was down and frustrated with myself...and really would not have been shocked if i didn't get it..actually i assumed i wasn't going to get dream position as this dream company.


fast forward, 2 hours later....they officially made me an offer....and i gladly accepted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


today i really do feel like anything is possible...if you just give it all you have inside you and leave it all on the table, you can accomplish anything..really

life is grand....

Try try again

Soo. After months of trying. I finally got the F chord on my guitar. This was big. A huge achievement. Huge like my good friends Liza and Leyland getting engaged. Huge like the office finally airing s decently funny episode. Grand like my fellow blogger and good friend uptowngirl running a 10k and eating almonds. Super like my girlfriend Victoria learning how to dance salsa on "'2". Like omg how amazing is it that I suddenly just tried the f chord again. And there it was. The magical sound of the upper east sides most melodious sounding f chord...maybe even the worlds...soooo... Your welcome...



-- Post From My iPhone

The Office and the Birth of my Daughter

Okay, I'm laughing my assparagus off right now watching the office, which i'm glad my lovely DVR taped. This episode (its the one where Pam gives birth) reminds me of when my daughter was born...

I was 27 years old, it was the week of our daughter's birth and her mother had been experiencing wierd contractions...contractions they call brackston hicks...meaning real contractions but not that she is about to go into labor.  ofcourse...I know that NOW...back then...at 3:00 am on October 31st, I didn't.  so we get into a cab i had called, who was a local livery cab company whom i knew for a few years.  i'm clutching the mother-to-be's overnight bag in one hand and while she was squeezing the bedittle out of my poor pinky in the other.

WE get to the hospital and they tell us "you're not in labor yet, you need to go back home when its at least 7 minutes apart...so we get a regular yellow cab back to queens.

November 1st: 10:00am i get a call at the office that she's having strong contractions...so i run out of the office...get to queens and pick up the mom-to-be who is obviously in pain and we catch that same cabby to the hospital...we get to the hospital...my pinky is once again being twisted by the mom-to-be while she is yelling at the poor nervous cabby to just "skip the **efing" red lights...which he did for two of them.  get to the hospital..."sir, she is not in labor yet, please go back home, come back at 7 minutes..."

November 2nd...more contractions..look at the timer.  nope.  not yet.  somehow we made it through the night without going to the hospital.

November 3rd:  D-Day? back at the hospital.  i'm hoping to god this is it.  my pinky and my wallet really can't take it anymore. this back and forth has cost us $130. i'm tired.  haven't slept in days.  am bearded since i haven't shaved.  i think i bathed a day or two ago.  let alone, hmm, did i change clothes...everything is a blur.  this pinky is looking awfully swollen.  and i can only imagine what the mommy to be was going through.

November 3rd-4th: 3 hours go by; 6 hours; 8 hours; 10 hours; 20 hours; 24 hours; okay finally.  this is it. she was one hour shy of docs having to turn it into a c-section as she was tiring and fatigued; exhausted.  "john, i can't do this.  i can't.  i'm so tired.  i can't!!". my instincts kicked into gear.  "yes you can.  come on.  you can do this!  you're almost there.  come on;  don't give up now! i believe in you!"  so she grabbed onto my pinky and pushed on through.

November 4th, 11:58 p.m. my daughter, that 10 and a half year old princess with expensive taste came into this world. and my world..well it was changed forever.  you really don't see life the same way..ever again...i held her in my hands...so small..omg..i'm going to break her is the first thing i thought.  she held on to my finger..and well my tears started flowing like it was going out of style.  there is no way you can't not cry when holding your child in your hands like that for the first time.  i'm looking at my daughter thinking wow...so this is you....i'm  your dad....and i smiled the biggest smile i've ever smiled.  this was the best day of my life.  November 4th, 11:58 p.m.

p.s. (i had a cast put on my hand the following day and for a month for my broken right pinky)

Own Your BadAss-ness Day!

Today is own your Badass-ness day! Own your selfness, your coolness, your "whatever it is you are either good or not good at" day today...I'm pretty good at guitar, picking out shoes and make an awesome chicken in wine sauce..I also suck at square dancing and couldn't hit a baseball to save my own life...so what..i'm still a bad-ass..i'm still going to own the fact that yes i'd probably get kicked off the little league baseball team not cause of age difference, but because i just suck at anything to do with that sport..and who  cares..i can strum some U2 songs like no body's business on my acoustic...and by my own girlfriend's admitance, i'm also a pretty darn good boyfriend...which i always tend to wonder if i am or not..

so own it..own your badass-ness...if something didn't go your way or someone doesn't like you..who gives a monkey's left monkey boob...you're still a badass, a star...why...because you just are....and you're owning it!

R.I.P. Victoria's computer

This is my girlfriend Victoria








There she is with that pretty and oh so sassy smile on her face thinking of the next witty comeback to say (it's safe to say she generally has the last word because I can never think of any wittier comebacks). She is asleep now and as I sit here and type on my new iPhone I am tempted to wake her up to the very sad news that her computer is no more. Dead. A pile of junk.



It went from the blu screen of death to this screen which reads "harddrive corrupt. Displace memory". I know what the word "replace" means but am clueless on displace. Sooo, there u have it. I'll let her sleep but I do feel bad that her pc is officially fried; toast; gone. So rest in peace home slice, pouring u a drink this weekend in ur honor...

Post From My iPhone

Farm boy

Okay no I am not a farm boy but for some reason I woke up at 4:45am like I live on one. I'm trying remember the dream I had which woke me up- I think it was something with a forest and a car...anyway as I laid in bed for 45 minutes trying to fall asleep I realized I ain't fallin asleep again for tonight so why not use my new iPhone to blog...

On tv is an infomercial with mr. T and some kitchen appliance. Funny he's gone from pitying the fool to selling a tool. this weekend should be a packed one. Friday and Sunday I have my daughter and Saturday night I am partying it up with my good friends. Oy it's still Thursday only. It's amazing so many tv channels and I grew up in an era of 8 channels only so the concept of cable to me is always cool. Case in point, I got tired of mr. T and decided to play one of the episodes of criminal minds I recorded. What's this post about nothing really. Just that I am awake at 5:41am. Wishing I was at my gf's apartment. Her apartment is so much nicer than mine and for some reason the best sleep I always get is when she's next to me. Also she has the fan on and I think the white noise sooths me. K time to see if I can fall asleep again.


-- Post From My iPhone

Inpire

This little note is always painted on the entrance door of my guitar school.  I took a picture of it sometime ago.  Thought it was fitting for this blog...

today's success

okay today, i was craving for some odd reason, my usual not so healthy breakfast of 3 or 4 eggs (i love eggs, i mean how could you not), home fries, sausage, cornbeef hash and white toast with plenty of butter and some coffee...yes not very healthy.  i'm still hurting from yesterday's work out  okay let me rephrase, i hurt more than i did last night.  soooo in the spirit of doing something daily and consistently, to achieve my health goals, i had a small plain oatmeal, a little bit of  honey and a side of apples..have to admit, i felt not full, but satisfied....so there you go, a personal high mini five to me.  I may not be feeling at my best as i'm not anywhere near where my goal is to be as far as being in shape goes.  but its better than having than nothing at all.  


cj

Flowers and Inspiration

Inspiration really is contagious, and for once, hey I inspired someone (Inspiration).  And its true, i've been down on myself letting my unhappiness own me.  and just now, reading that lovely article.  I suddenly got it!! Own it!  not just the good, the grand, the happy, the funny, the loving..but own it all..even your quirks, your bad habits, your not so good and not so funny....and i did that totally without realizing it my last post.  In order to really work on somethings I need to change, i need to Own those things too.

tonight, after i worked out (or rather what i call my trainer's version of torture), as i limped home slowly wondering, damn i feel sooo 37 at this moment and also "hmm, i don't think my arm muscles should be feeling this way", i went to my gf's place and just decided to buy her some flowers.  she has been busy with her new move to her new place and while this has been happening, i've been kind of cranky and irritable and she just has been extremely understanding.  kudos to her.  she's just plain freaking amazing.  yes we fight and bicker - i mean who doesn't.  but seriously, i feel and i can say this with 100% assurance, my life would not be what it is now,  career wise, music and guitar wise, as a person - spiritually - if it wasn't for her support.  sometimes i'll go on day in and day out and kind of wait for the right  moment to buy her a card or buy her some flowers....and i wait and wait and tonight i just decided to not wait.  life is short.  if you care about someone, or want to say a thank you to a friend, or brother or sister or want to just let someone know how or what you feel..just friggin say it, do it, express it..own your feelings and thoughts and share them.  in my eyes, giving flowers can be just a simple thing, at least to me, but when i saw her eyes light up, i was glad i picked them out.  so  victoria, this post is dedicated to you.  thank you...

cj

slump

okay so i was being a bit of a drama queen when i wrote that last post below.  i'm going leave it up just as a reminder to me.  I've never been the quitting type. good lord there were times when i really should've been.  but honestly, call it my stubbornness or resiliency, but i've never been been the kind of person to just walk away from something, even when things aren't going my way.  i think i eventually tend to wear things or people down until i am successful.  but lately, that has changed.  its not that i have quit anything, its that i suddenly stopped doing the things i need to do to be successful.  my eating and workouts, my finances, my job (am in a job situation where i need to find a new job since people are being let go)...like that U2 song says, "sometimes we're stuck in a moment we can't get out of".  

so i'm tired of feeling this way, not sleeping well to start, had a bout with kidney stones and honestly am kind of not motivated lately.  i keep hearing that phrase, don't wait to get motivated to act on something, but act on something in ORDER to get motivated.  and so that is what i am doing.  when you're unhappy with your life its hard to write funny, witty and cheerful things day in and day out in a blog - yes my goal was to write that.  but that is not very honest.  i'm actually not very happy with the current quality of my life, the direction of my job, the condition of my health, the place where i am in my finances, my poor poor sleeping patterns and also my gf has mentioned i've been a bit irritable lately.  so to her i apologize.  but more so then that.  i need to act on my life and take ownership of what i need to do.  sometimes i'll make a promise to someone and not always follow through and i realize i tend to do the same to myself.

this weekend, i read what a fellow friend/blogger wrote on her own it blog, and i am so inspired at how she and her friends all have this amazing drive, passion to succeed at a happy life and just being able to write about it.  so i know this post is not a happy one but who cares, i'm not happy at the moment and so i have to be honest.  my other blogging friend mentioned to me when i said i'm quitting my blog, "why, quit, you're writing it for yourself, right?"  and she is right.   i need to write this for myself.  i have to be honest with myself even in my writing...and right now, i need to correct some wrongs in my life aka, all i mentioned earlier.  so much to do, and i know i have so long of a way to go.  this is a long post.  but i feel i need to say a few things. i need to just go about like if i have my mojo, to quote someone, and i can't remember who - "fake it till you make it".   i realize march is upon us and i'm tired of just letting my current situation take a hold of me.   motivation comes in all forms, and when it doesn't, i just have to keep going like its there.

cj

good-bye mr. blog

today i feel like saying good-bye to you mr. blog.  seriously, ever had one of those days when you just want to say i quit.  i'm done.  i've had it with (insert said pain in the ass subject here)...well today would be that day.  i sometimes feel dumb, odd, stupid writing this blog.  who the heck really follows it anyway, or even remotely comments on it.  really, what's it worth.   I think some people are meant to have great blogs and maintain it and post witty and memorable blogs.  i am not one of those people.  seriously, what started as an experiment is more of a frustrating effort in futility.  so hence...mr. blog.  i am saying goodbye to you today.   now, i know i'm being dramatic.  but i'm having a not so good day and so i need to take it out on something..hence said blog.  maybe i'll try it again sometime down the road.  but i've tried writing day after day..and to be honest i always feel like i'm literally talking to myself.  i mean is this what it normally feels like at the beginning of a blog.  did i not think this through enough.  well.  so i must go back to the drawing board. 


city john says adios....

No Title

So this post has no subject.  Just not really sure where i'm going with it.  Had a decent weekend in Philly with my gf.  It was bitterly cold but yet we still made the treck through out the cheese steak city and walked around to a few good places, i.e. Rocky Statue, Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, all the Historic streets and alleys.  While, yes i did take a photo with the Rocky Statue, upon arrival at said statue, I didn't do the gratuitous rocky pose with it.  Maybe I will next time.  I was just bummed that now they've moved that statue to the bottom of the steps to the right, and not where it was at the very top.  All in all, I enjoyed the two day get  away.  Looking forward to another go at Philly sometime soon, when its warmer.  Most of all, its soooo inexpensive and you can do so much there.  Definitely a place worth seeing and visiting, even at 10.00 round trip on a bus.  Yes, 10.00, you read that right.

Snowing again today, ugh, and double ugh and as i sit and type and recuperate from what i call a very grueling work out session with a trainer...(yes i hired a temporary trainer to get my arse started so i can get my health back into gear), i think, wow, i've really let myself go a good bit.  soo...as this is lent, and my gf is giving up soda, chips and starbucks (hey i support you vicks on this - you're a brave ladd)... I am going to give up eating outdoors for lunch and breakfast, soda and juice as well for lent.  so it will be easy on my pockets and on my belly.  so there you have it.  I have more to say.  but ehh, need to get back to this thing people who pay me call work.  oh yes, one more thing.  there is a movie called "New York I Love You".  great movie, amazing NYC backdrop scenes.  I totally recommend it. There is something about this city that draws you in.  Even though I enjoyed my stay in Philly, short as it was...I loved that feeling as the bus was entering Manhattan again, and i could see the NYC skyline and all the buildings..I Love NY!

P.S. Yes i tried eating Philly Cheese Steak Sandwhiches for the first time ever..and let me tell you, they are indeed every bit as good and delicious as they say they are..omg, if you do anything at all in philly, is get yourself one of these bad boys:

Of Mice and Men...

"I will hug him george.  I will hug him and squeeze him and call him george..." - Of Mice and Men..

Okay, 3am,, i am woken up from my semi-peaceful slumber by a rustling in a plastic bag in the kitchen.  Let me backtrack a bit.  I've had this one tiny annoying vermon of a mouse having his way with my stuff, including a few weeks ago, eating a steak i was craving and defrosting on top of my microwave (i didn't think he'd get to it there).  So i was settled on catching him.  I tried glue traps and those snapping mouse traps, even the anti-cruelty little traps that just traps them in a round plastic cage..and nothing.  this mouse was a mischievous one and a crafty one to boot.  soo fast forward to last night.  The rustling from the kitchen woke me up.  i had a regular food shopping bag with some garbage in there hanging from one of the knobs on a door cabinet under my sink.  I didn't think there was any way he'd get in there as it was hanging off the ground.  well, said mouse, was a daredevil too as he must have jumped from the sink to the bag below...

So apparently he was stuck ni the plastic bag and couldn't get out.  Now when i found him, i do realize i had two choices...1) just tie the bag and throw him in the garbage bin outside..or 2) Kill him, mercilessly beat his little mouseass to death...

okay i chose 2). lets just say if there were any other mice watching..they will probably  think twice before making their way into my apt.  yes, i probably over did it with how i disposed of this little rodent's life.  but hey, i have a daughter who comes over and also he ate my steak.  so in my book, he signed his own death warrant. so as i type, i poor part of this beer (hot chocolate) on to the ground for my homey....

Like A Rolling Stone...

Okay, so there are the Rolling Stones - and there is the song, "like a rolling stone", and while we're at it, there is even the good old expression "Killing two birds with one stone"...these are all examples of good stones, i.e., the stone on a wedding ring, etc etc etc... want to know the example of a bad stone:

A Bladder Stone, or rather Bladder Stones!

Yes, I've been told I have bladder stones.  apparently one can get stones in there.  although i don't see how, its not like i go around drinking smoothies made with rocks, or chew on dirt.  but hey, somehow those little suckers have made their way into this work of art, i call my body - wink!.  while i may be joking, this experience of pain, discomfort, nausea and down right feeling of icky-ughness has highlighted something very important to me: I Don't Drink Enough Water!  Its okay, one must first admit the problem before committing to addressing it.  and so, my sick little bladder - i pledge from now on to drink more then enough water in hopes that the experience of actually passing the stone(s) is not as bad and painful as i am envisioning it to be.  Really, I once heard a doctor say that the experience of passing a stone or stones, is as comparable in PAIN, 2nd to having a child...I don't want to give birth, and i don't want to pass stones...EVER.

so there you have it.  drink plenty of water folks and take good care of your bodies.  As you get older, all those little days of not eating right and living a healthy life will catch up with you and kick  you in the groin...

City john must go now and drink his cranberry juice!


Update:  Yes it was every bit as painful to pass what i hope is only a very few amount of stones...you want to hear a grown man almost cry complain like a 10 year old kid, have him experience kidney stones...

breaking odd...news

okay every now and then, some news hits me that just makes me do a double-take..triple even...so now the newest fad to lose weight: Eating Worms To Lose Weight.  I am dumbfounded.  Is this what we have come down to, inserting a parasitic worm into our bodies to make us lose weight.  I mean I am all for weight loss in the spirit of being healthy. but to just be thin...um.  no.  and in my opinion, women are truly beautiful and hot with their natural god-given curvitude.  At least me, i don't like a thin woman, i tend to like the curviness of a woman.  And from my friends to guys i have spoken to about this topic, we also tend to like a curvy and maybe even full-figured woman.  When I see an ad in a magazine of an 80 lb womnan wearing something by some fancy designer, i can't relate to it.  Give me a real woman.  A woman with some meat on her. A woman who isn't afraid to show her curves.  As a man who happens to be thick and i'm tall, although for reasons of better health, i'm sure i could use to drop a few libras, but i know i'll never be skinny.  i'm always going to be 200 lbs and above.  i see this all the time.  I read not so long ago some kid said they thought they were fat!! I mean why are we so obsessed with people being skinny? Meat, eat meat! Potatoes! Stop the madness!! And i really wish all these diets, surgeries, skinny weight loss scams would go away and allow women to be as they are, beautiful and natural in their god given glory - natural, curves and all - amen to that brother!!
 Kate Winslet = natural, and elegance all in one...

City John back to work....

Apples and Oranges

Literally, apples and oranges.  So i've decided to include two more things into my diet from now on: apples and oranges.  normally i hate apples (can't stand the skin - although this is the healthiest part) and oranges.   See, the usual custom for Lent is that one give up something for a certain amount of time - i'm not sure exactly for how long - i think its 40 days, right? and i decided to give up soda and juice - but this is easy.  okay not that easy, today i had a jones for pepsi and dr. pepper like it was going out of style.  but instead of actually giving up something (i mean i still will give up soda and juice) i'm planning on giving up my distastte, aversion, hatred, enemy-like-attitude, unfondness for fruit, but in particular - wait for it: Apples, and what...Oranges...

So, i'm going to start slow.  i will have 1 apple and 1 orange a day.  and maybe up it to about say....2 or 3...but i know i know, don't go crazyyy.....so there you have it.  I am throwing down the white flag and extending an olive branch, or shall i say grape vine and making ammends with fruit.   that's my Lent commitment and i'm planning on sticking with it...

city john says good night


post post-up follow up:  today i've had one apple, and one orange..thus meeting my quota.  

Weekend Report....

So it was a fun weekend, going out to Jersey with the GF and doing some ring shopping and also getting together with my friends on saturday night (although i could've done without 1 too many margharitas and the uncooked rice at my favorite mexican food joint) and also for the superbowl with them as well.  Although, again, i was still feeling the ill effects of said margharitas and bad rice...but alas, had a blast being active seeing those peeps important to me and going out. 

So all in all, had a great time with great friends saturday and sunday and got to be sassed by the sassy gf.  not bad for a weekend..well okay, i lost money in the company pool about the superbowl.  but you can't win them all..now can you?

I just flipped the bird!

Okay normally, even though as a new yorker i am well within my rights to flip someone off if i chose to, at my own discretion...as i am a 37 year old professional latin city dweller from the upper east side, yes i've heard we must adhere to a strict code of cool conduct, i don't go around really flipping just anyone off.  today, though, was different.

okay, scenario, i had just finished helping my sazzafraz sassy gf move into her new apartment when i decided i have to get to work today so i went to walk towards the bus.   as i'm walking i see the bus at the bus stop at the corner and this little old guy, no more than maybe 70 lbs with a walker knocking on the bus driver's door to let him in.  now, the bus was at the bus stop and the light was red.  i guess he figure he did one of those okay no one is here now so i'm moving along type of deals.  but the old man had just gotten there when he was about to pull off.  but this dunkin-deuchery of an ass-bag did not want to let him in.  so i knock hard on the guy's window and said, "hey, he has a walker, and its cold, let the man in!!!".  he was like ignoring us. ohhhhhh you do not want to ignore me.  that just enrages my latin genes.  yes, they're latin and they're not happy...so i knock again, "have a heart man, he has a walker.  let him in!" he turns, smiles and just pretends he can't here us.  so i do what came next.  i knock on his window and called him a sleu of names i can't repeat here.  (you can ask me later if you are really curious) and yes, i flipped him off..and not just any flip..i mean  big flip where i pointed at him with said middle finger and mouthed something that well, rhymes with Duck Chu......he looked at me in shocked..and i did it again ..and said, "hey you're a bleeping bleepery of a bleep..where is your sense of humanity.  this guy is old and its cold here.  i realllly hope i bump into you on the street someday." and flipped him off again.  at that point, the light turned green and he kept going...yes, i know, it was not polite of me..but hey, i hate injustice and more important, i hate when someone takes advantage of a situation over someone else.  the old man thanked me and we had a nice conversation while we both waited for the next bus.   he said, "you hate seeing people like that...there is no need for that.  my legs may be old, but there is no cure for what he has..he has a broken spirit.  he hates his life.."  so there you have it.  i flipped off a bus driver today. and yes, i'd do it again if i had to!!


post - post update:  okay so i told this to my gf, about what happened..and she gave me a very disapproving "JOHNNNNNNN".  so if you think this was not justified, or that this is wrong of me..let me know.  i'm really curious to know.  i know the bus driver was wrong in not opening the door to the old guy...and he really could have..but did i take it too far in insulting him and ok, sort of threatening him.   although, all i said is "i hope to bump into you on the street someday"..maybe it means i want to  get to know  him better and maybe i'll treat him to a starbucks ;)

okay city john walks the pavement...

City John's bullets of wisdom...

i've realized..nothing good ever comes from when your gf tells you: "sooo, i was thinking..." somehow i know i'm going to end up reading something i dont' wanna read, or end up going to some department store...or something of that nature.

(i would call them pearls of wisdom, but pearls are for girls..and well, hey, this is a blog by a man...hence, manly bullets  also appropriate here would be baseball bats, punches (of wisdom), fists, machines....)

Try Something New

"Do something everyday which scares you..." - Eleanor Roosevelt.  This quote has been on my mind lately.  And not so long ago my snazzy sassy sazzafraz girlfriend, Vicks, were talking about that.  sooo...since i said i will be "owning it" and doing something new this year or something which does normally "concern" me...she has signed us up for Dog Sledding and i think body snow tubing and i think snow boarding...

Now, normally i would not do any of these activities..as 1) I do not like to be surrounded by dogs which would have me for lunch if they weren't fed yet, and 2) My people (latinos) normally aren't a water/snow/ice sports type of people.  sooo...i will still do this and forget my feelings on said activities...and just go for it.  really, life is short and i'd like to say i have at least tried it.  and i read somewhere, "experience, can really be the only true measure of fear..." Meaning, okay if i've never stuck my hand in fire, i may not always know that it would burn and cause pain..but if i do actually put my hand in a flame, then well i will have known the outcome.  okay, stop, don't actually put your hand in a flame..but i mean..don't discount something without even having tried it first.. 

my next venture, horse-back riding...now if any of you really know me, you will know my feelings towards animals which are bigger than me.  i have never gone horse back riding and often times when walking in NYC and I happen to see a big horse, (ok they're all big), i tend to avoid them..but alas, no more.  I plan on making peace with the gallopy kind and eventually riding one.  this is more of a gift for my gf who always says she wishes i knew how to ride a horse...so there you go.  try something new which scares you.  and let me say there's nothing scarier than a horse....and a bunch of snow going down hill...is there anything you've been avoiding doing because it scares the bedittle out of you?

Funny Story

A walk down memory lane.  A few years ago, or okay more like 12 years ago, my spanish wasn't what it is now...okay okay its not that much better..in my own family i am considered a "gringo".  I was on a train and i accidentally stepped on a woman's foot kind of hard.  Well she screamed, her foot in agony and i instantly apologized.  As i was in jackson heights, the ecuadorian restaurant capital of the world, i said to her in spanish "oh, perdoname, pero estoy embarazado por aberla pisada".  She looked at me and said "QUE!!!" (What?!).  I said it again.  "perdoname, pero estoy embarazado por aberla pisada".  She looked at me this time and laughed and said "QUE??!"  so i repeated myself and this time another woman next to her kind of cracked up laughing.  so i left the train, confused, and bewildered and wondering wht had just happened.  so i go home and call my mother and explain this to her  She tells me, in my efforts to say to her "Please forgive me, I am embarassed for having stepped on  your foot like that".  I somehow got the word embarassed in spanish wrong.  In spanish "Embarazado" means pregnant, knocked up, preggers...The real word for embarassed in spanish is "Abergonzado". So in essence, to translate, i was telling her "oh, please forgive me i am pregnant after having stepped on your foot.  I ofcourse, after hearing her say "What?!" a few times kept repeating to her that I was now knocked up, pregnant after having stepped on her foot.  Ofcourse, fret not my friends, readers, followers, while i did fail biology in high school more than once, i doooo know you can't pregant through a foot....This is my "embarrassing" moment of the month story...What about you, reader(s?) do you have any embarassing little anecdotes to share with us the viewing public of this little blog-ditty?

The Allure of the City...

Try this...ever just stop, anywhere in the city and close your eyes...no, i don't mean while crossing the street..although this could bring new meaning to the word: exhilarating.  but just stop somehwhere and close your eyes for a moment.  what do you hear?  and listen, i mean really listen...the gush of wind brushing up against your ears as you turn them into radars, trying to identify the sounds flowing in to your ear drums...the honking and movement of cars, tires smoothly churning over and over again, turning, and eating up the pavement; the cold clisp clasp of high-heeled boots grasping at the hard harsh cement; a flood of scents invades your nose.  this can't be helped..you've stopped one of your main senses, your main sense from working, so other's kick into high gear... 

you still lean forward, aching to identify all the many sounds you are capturing - a dog barking, a man talking to a woman "she wants us to meet at Tonic on 7th ave..." you momentarily think about where you've seen that bar; a pair of women in the middle of a conversation - you capture only something about a guy and where one of them met him - from the pitch and depth of the voice, the women in conversation are in their 20s.  but you can only guess, your eyes are still shut, your other senses are in full run now..  you can feel the coldness of the city wind run through your neck, your cheek bones, your hands, your forehead...the scent of car exhaust and a vanilla scented woman's perfume fill your nostrils - the crisp january air kicks it in deeper, into your memory slots.   this is new york, you think to yourself, these sounds, these scents, the breeze that's a mix of hot dog vendor car smoke and low temperature precipitation and high humidity brush like an old familiar hand along your forearms and up the backs of your calves....today would've been a good day to wear warmer socks you think to yourself.   and yet, you open your eyes...

something about new york city at night.  or even in the day time.  but the night, it just brings everything to life.  perhaps its because your shift at work has ended, and you now become part of the city again, that this part excites you.  new york city.  it draws you in and keeps you.  no matter where you go, you can walk 10 city blocks...and in those 10 city blocks, you will have encountered 6 different distinct cultures, 5 different languages, 4 different skin colors - you will have walked almost an entire world, in those 10 city blocks.  no matter how much shocking and disturbing things you can see in new york city, and you will see at least one disturbing thing in new york city on a daily basis - it still keeps you -

new york city.  no other city like it.  kind of like listening to John Mayer's Neon - while sitting in a warm, partially lit starbucks on a wednesday night.   you can never tire of it.  and there is always something new you will find in it.

city john

I beat the System...i took it to the man...

okay today at 11am, i hear this big annoying drill which can only mean one thing, it would be followed by this announcement on the loud speakers "This is your Fire Safety Director, Tom Tommingsworth (name has been embelished for obvi reasons), we are conducting a Fire Safety Drill.  Please proceed to the front of the floor for a Fire Safety Instructional blah blah blah blah blah.."okay let me start this off by saying that every single month we have these stupid fire drills.  No, i know they are not stupid, but they certainly are an inconvenience.  always at at moment when you are too busy or trying to meet a deadline, or.....more importantly, trying to blog.  seriously, this is not cool.  so today during the fire drill, and i know i will get slack, heat, boos for this, i said NO MORE!!!.  I am sticking it to the man, i am beating the system, and sitting at my desk!! in DEFIANCE...

Which is what i did.  I even walked around and bought my self something from the vending machine.  yes i now its important to know fire safety in case of a real emergency, but by now, after 21 of them i am familiar with where to go and all that..And i know they are just trying to save us, but today, I felt like being feisty, and saying NO.  ofcourse, as i type this, my annoying british co-worker, yes the one with the cat with 81 lives, who is also the fire safety floor marshall deputy, just gave me an admonishing look and wants to go over the Fire Marshalls speech with me. :|

City John goes back to work...

New York City...

Hello...today's blog comes in the form of a question..I'm always looking for new things to do and new places to explore in our lovely city of Manhattan...Manhattan should really be its own state as it stands out on its own as a great place to live and be entertained, in my book.  anyhow, if anyone should have any ideas, cool places to go to, restaurants, fun-game-filled lounges (i love these types of places), exciting unexplored regions of NYC, please feel free to drop them by...Every day I wake up thinking, well first (wow, i'm running late, gotta go walk holly) and two (damn i love living in the upper east side of manhattan).   Its thus far been an incredible living experience..my friends and gf all live within walking distance....just like restaurants, movies, and even Times Square..now how awesome is that!!!

Cool Gadgetry

okay i love electronic gadgets..i mean maybe it is the guy in me talking but really, who wouldn't love a cool blackberry or iphone or itouch...so today the breaking news is the new Apple Ipad is officially out; Apple Ipad.   So as i type this (yes i can multi-task), i am taking one shiny new dollar bill and adding it to what i am calling "City John's Apple iPad Fund"....and over time i will update you on the progress of said fund and maybe one day i will get to blog from this cool new gadget...or if you really want to be nice to me, you can just buy it for me, wink!! Below are pics of above mentioned iPad so you too, just like I, can drool...

 

 

 

 

As you can tell, i am a true lover of "Most" things Apple..okay i wouldn't say "All" things, as then again, they did come up with the disastrous Apple Cube and MacBook Air..but its okay, after years of coping, i have finally forgiven them :).

City John, goes back to work...

Short and Sweet...

Okay, just as this is a democracy we live in, i like to make sure i always adhere to any suggestions, comments, questions my many city-dwelling blog followers may have..this one goes out to my friend/blogger in the UES - and i"m keeping this post short and sweet..no not like me..i am tall, and okay i do have a sweet tooth...(tall and sweet?)...

on to the subject - today i have discovered the marvelous and yumminess that is "Parfaits"...om to the g...i never knew these were soo darn good....i mean really..normally on first look, they look kinda gross to me..okay i'm not a big fan of yogurt and its odd texture, and i really don't like the taste of raw strawberries..okay not the taste, but the look..they look like little spider eyes...so today i tried a strawberry Parfait and was thrown aback by the delicious  taaste..so this goes out to the inventor of this treat..thank you, for enlightening my life and adding yet another tastey quick snack to my repoirtoire of quick yummy yet healthy snacks to choose from:

City John...goes to lunch..

My Bros....

Okay so its time i introduced my brothers, all three of them to my blog-diggity.  I have three of them...My oldest brother's name is Joseph and he is in florida.  People say we tend to look alike...but i think he picked up on my dad's light colored hair (when he had hair) and his green eyes, while i came out looking more like my mother:

We sort of grew up apart, and sadly there was a time when we were really close...i really have decided to make 2010 the year he and i renew our bond and hopefully regain some of that which was lost over time...

I also have two half brothers, although i just call them my brothers...there's no halves, just wholes..as i see it, even if it was because my dad had a way of getting around like the pollinating bee he still is...

This is Steven, my youngest of the two:

 This is Steve with my nephew (Brother Alan's son)...

This is Alan:

And some more pics of my fam:

And finally, my dad:

So there you have it, my bros and my dad....I guess i'm feeling a bit nostalgic today and really wished there were here..or that we all somehow lived near each other.  When i see my friends who are siblings and how they have one another, or when i've seen my girlfriend with her sisters...i get that...and see how much i'm missing that...i've been feeling for a long time now that something is missing from me, and when ever i get a chance to talk to them on the phone like i did today....i see its my brothers is what is missing from me...so hopefully someday we will get to see one another more often and spend time as a group again...

City John....out.

Coolio Blog Props and Tuesday Trivia!!!

Okay i'm starting off this blogg-a-roo post with a great diddy from a friend/blogger of mine....I don't always give out props, only when they are in grandest deserving..so this one is just so inspiring..i'm stating here that if this blogger/friend were to either a) Become a public speaker, b) write a book or c) make a book out of the inspiring words of her blog...not only would it be of great life changing success to many (i'm already an avid "Own-it" ownee) but also bring in lots of cash, dough to her..(so here is my bid to be the designer/developer of said friends/bloggers books, web sites, t-shirts, hats, buttons...hey i'm an entrepaneur as well..so hence...hence...here goes:  This Phrase I AM IN CONTROL OF MY LIFE.  So true.  We really are, as individuals in control of OUR lives..not just the day to day stuff, but also the consistency of how or when or why we do what we do, how we roll how we roll...I have had this one little gem in my head lately...Don't wait until you have motivation to act on something..but rather ACT to MOTIVATE...I'm telling you folks, life is short..make the most grandest thing out of it..if you never ran before, start running (just well don't all of a sudden start running like a mad woman):



okay you can if you choose too..at least you'll be running..but seriously, do something new and adventurous...And sometimes, if you just start doing something you know you are new to and really don't want to do it, but just jump into the process of this, you'll sometimes or most of the time realize that you were lacking motivation and end up being glad you did...Example, back in the days when i used to go to the boxing gym and loved getting my nose or some other useful body part smashed in by a bigger than me heavyweight named Victor "Maliciousness" Maldonado, there were days i just didn't' want to work out, or even be remotely near a gym..but then those were the days i worked out harder, and ended up enjoying my workouts even with more enthusiasm..what i am saying is this...okay nobody in their right minds must like to run..this is a hideous act which was probably thought of by the man..or the man who enjoys running in the dead of "freeze my ass off" winter while wearing little thin Nike shorts...anyhoo, i realize, if we wait all the time to be motivated to do something, well we will end up waiting for a long long time...so next time you have the oh so familiar "I'd rather be watching a friends episode while eating a bowl of cereal" feeling..STOP...and just start running, or do whatever it is you were setting out to do in the first place..

 A few days ago i was out with my sassy sazzafras GF Victoria:

and we stopped by a Ricky's NYC so she can pick up some girly, make up and hair stuffs..As i was there, I decided to make my time useful, other than carrying a bag or two for her (hey i'm the man in this relationship and more so, i'm a gentleman always)...and i purchased a few fridge magnets..i don't know why but i keep glancing at it:

"DO ONE THING EVERY DAY THAT SCARES YOU" - Eleanor Roosevelt....and i am trying to live by this...and also by Own it....The thought of performing on March 19, in front of people, while doing something i am so passionate about like playing guitar..really does scare the latin bedittle out of me...but hey, that is life..doing something which takes you out of your comfort zone, something new, amazing...adventurous or just mentally thrilling...so this blog post is about that...be daring...don't just sit and meditate about it..but really do it...who knows, you may end up liking it..or at the very least, be able to chuckle about it like so: "So there I was afterwards in the same jail cell with..." or "Well after the nurse came by and put in my IV tube...." jk..but seriously...don't let life go by and you end up kicking yourself in the avocados because you pondered too long on that and on the possibilities of world peace and the next Lost Episode.....really BE DARING..on that note, City John Leaves the Office...

oh oops...yes i almost forgot...its time for T.V. Theme Song TRIVIAAAA...

1. "Family Ties" began a seven year run in 1982. The theme to the show, "Without Us", was composed by Jeff Barry and Tom Scott. Which duo sang the theme?

a) Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams
b) Kenny Rogers and Dottie West
c) Paul Anka and Odia Coates
d) Billy Preston and Syreeta

2. "Full House" premiered in the fall of 1987. One of the stars, John Stamos, co-wrote the theme with the singer, Jesse Frederick. What was the name of the theme song?

a) Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now
b) Together
c) As Long as We Got Each Other
d) Everywhere You Look

3. Which show did NOT have the theme song sung by a principal character?

a) Green Acres
b) Walker, Texas Ranger
c) All in the Family
d) All in the Family

4. "Hawaii 5-0" ran from 1968 to 1980. Name which instrumental band recorded the theme song?



5. Which show currently holds the title of longest running sitcom?

  

Midnight...

Okay its midnight and i admit, i've been a bit lazy at this blogging venture of mine.  sorry folks, between guitar, work, hating my job, hating my boss, cursing my boss a million bee stings on his furry ears (yes, he has furry ears), watching my favorite dog: Holly "Hollister" "H-Dog" "H-Town" "Febreeze" Streifberg, being a good bf to my gf (this is a full time job  you know), taking my daughter out during the weekend and hoping her phase of "buy me this buy me that - man i'm like her personal bank account" doesn't last forever.............so i've been pretty occupied..that and well, it seems i am the only handy male in my building..i honestly thought there were more of me..but well, its mainly women in this building and um hey i'm not being sexist here but on several occassions it seems when the super isn't around usually i hear a knock on my door to help out with this or that..now i'm happy to help out and that is  who i am, so long as it doesn't get out of hand...today my upstairs neighbor's key was stuck again in her lock..and well the super is nowhere to be found...so what i'm saying is this - to you Mr. Super, where ever you are...hey, i'm in the process of looking for a new job, so unless you start doing your job, i'm going to come gunning for yours...ahem..okay there, i said it...whewww!

sorry for that rant..my other rant today is well, i'm playing guitar and also learning new songs..occassionally as in life, i come across something difficult...nearly impossible..today its the dang f chord...its this stupid chord in which you have to position and bend your wrist and fingers in a very impossibly painful way...i swear i'm sooo irritated at this stupid chord, more so at the inventor of this stupid chord, i think my inner voice (my writer's voice) sounds british...and i'm pure american born latino here....(so this brings me to another conclusion - as everyone has an inner voice, i've decided mine is british...so, sometime soon, i'd like to eat a crumpet and have some tea..).  so if anyone of you know where i can eat or buy a crumpet, or better  yet, want to buy me a crumpet...please do, would be very kind of you to do so..(also, maybe its cause my cubicle neighbor is british and i happen to hear her yapping on and on in her native english tongue about a cat who well by all medical standards should have died by now..

That's not my hand, but just to illustrate the stupidity of this F'n F Chord...

i'll post some more stuff to this post..some funny pics, videos, songs..and well hopefully by then i'll have mastered the dang f chord on guitar...seriously, how the heck am i supposed to perform on march 19th in front of well possibly maybe 50 - 100 or so people if i can't hit the f chord..oh yes, i'm performing, a guitar solo, you heard it right..hey, one thing about turning 37, is i need to experience things i normally would have been too scared to try....so this goes out to anyone out there who keeps putting something amazing or new off, don't.  seriously, give it a shot..what's the worst that can happen...well other than death, hospitalization or poverty...really..just give it a go and see where the chips fall for you...life is too short to not try and then wonder at the end of it...

city john goes to sleep for now....

Long Weekend

So, my fellow bloggers and blogettes - so this has been a long but restful weekend..a few notes: Friday I finalllly got surgery on my left eye - (I will fill you in on the deets of my eye, but long story shorter - I had a detached retina - yes they can become detached - ehh who knew!).  So surgery was a success...a success! I say...sooo now i'll finally be able to get behind a wheel again, ride a bike, a scooter, roller blades...yes i am going to venture into the world of "wheeled travelocity".  okay its not a word, but an expression i just created.  sooo...other than that, had the GF come over and i have to publically apologize to driving her possibly crazy as um, i was a bit of a 2 year old/infantile in my post-optedness.  hee hee...also, i am dog-watching the world's greatest dog, Holly:

 

All in all, she is such a treat to watch.  first of all: She can sit, roll-over, give you the paw andddddd even stand up with you on her hind legs!! I KNOWW!!  how cool is that.  a dog that knows commands..if i can only teach her to make me some breakfast and bring me a soda or bottle of water..i guess i should probably buy water for her to be able to do so...or heck, give her my wallet and she can go purchase some from the obvi very confused and shocked korean corner store owner across the street..NO i'm not generalizing here...he really is Korean.  I speak to him on a daily basis...we argue about his prices on cereal..and milk..to high in my book..anyhow...he once mentioned to me his family is from korea.  we don't ALWAYS argue..just when i do get the urge to buy milk and cereal.

So...having holly the dog is really a great treat for me.  she brings out a side in me i never really knew i had.  and aside from the fact that i like doing good things for no other reason than just being nice to my friends..i enjoy having the doggy around.  there is something therapeutic about just a pet who loves you unconditionally.   they ask for nothing more then to just be loved and cared for and the occassional scratch on the belly.  so i'm on my search to find a dog.  so far, i have narrowed it down to a portuguese water dog.  

this post actually makes me think how lucky i am.  i know i'm about to get all misty here..okay not misty but fuzzy.  but when i met me gf, i didn't just meet her great family and friends in denver.  whom i say are just the greatest bunch of peeps i ever met.  but also, her great, terrific, super amazing friends in UES NY.  whom through time have become close to me as siblings, cousins, okay siblings...they really are a bunch of great people and well opened my eyes to new insights, philosophies, and made me look at myself in ways that helped me grow as a person.  so this post is dedicated to my UES Besties.  Thank you for existing in my GF's life...and thank you for allowing me into yours.

Note: on my next post, I am starting a new section: "Where is Mike Woods?"  If anyone bumps into Fox 5 Weather Guy Mike Woods (you get 5 stars for a mike woods pic) or any other celebrities, and takes a picture, You will have the honor of having your pic posted up for the month as Celebrity City Blogger of the Month...so if you have any interesting celebrity pics (um G rated please...) or stories..send them in...

ok. buenas noches.  and YESSS The JETS BEAT San Diego!!!!! City John Needs His Sleep.

Twitter's World

Quick little minnie blog break..as i like to call them, while at work..just read online, about a couple or person who was swimming off the coast of africa.  and as they were swimming, they witnessed a man being eaten alive by a huge great white shark..and so they did what came naturally..they twittered about it...http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/14/twitter-user-posts-shark-eats-tourist/
And a few months ago i heard about a man who twittered as his plan crash landed on a runaway....i just find it interesting as people automatically twitter during these very shocking and traumatic events.."twitter: omg, i just got stabbed in the shoulder", twitter: oh lord, i'm on fire, someone call the NYPD".  Anyhow, its kind of funny yet almost disturbing...at the same time.

oh here is a funny pic my co-worker just sent me (yes those are flies on her buttocks):

 I shall return with some more posts..and a new section i will reveal today.   i think i understand how that chick in julie and julia felt when writing her post at the beginning of the movie..its like you are having a conversation with yourself and hope someone listens...well i hope someone is reading..until then...City John is leaving the office...

Blogging...

Okay, my very first week of officially blogging and i am almost over the hump.  I've so far managed to write a few posts (though i am not sure if anyone read them) (wait, my girlfriend told me she kindly read it - so i do have one reader - though sans commentary).  I have managed to leave a comment on a friend's blog (thank you uptown girl).  Don't know why i was so psyched to do that - i guess i didn't officially feel like a blogger until i at least left a commentary on someone else's blog.  Now on to the next big phase, randomly following other blogger's blogs (is that worded correct?).  Or is the etiquette that one should only wait until being invited to join their blog and become a follower.  i guess this sort of feels like when a vampire needs to be invited to enter your home before taking a step in first.  sorry, too much twilight.  anyhow, what are the rules on that?  is there a site that tells you all the do's and don'ts about blogging for bloggers...if so, please do so send me the manual or rule book.  Anyhow, i am pledging, until i am told otherwise to just complement other blogger's blogs and join them.  hey, i'm giving them props for having a good post or two, they can at least allow me to become an avid follower.  I may even leave a comment here and there.  so there you have it.  i'd like to have other's follow my blog. but i'll start small.  i'm on this owning it phase, so i am owning this blog.

its 1:00 a.m. yes i am an insomniac.  but i had this on my mind, so i had to write.  i'm also planning on updating the look and feel of this blog with a better design.  this was just the first phase.

i recently, yes i'll admit it, as a straight male, saw the movie julie and julia.  okay normally i'd cut my left foot off before admitting to that.  but hey, i was  hanging out with my girlfriend and she was  watching it.  and heck, i did enjoy it too.  mainly cause amy adams is hot.  and well it was funny.  a movie about a woman who blogs (okay i am officially starting a new section, category, thingamadoo called City John at the Movies) her way through Julia Child's famous Cookbook.  Great Movie, good acting, again, Amy Adams is hot.  I happen to like brunettes and she is one of them.  And i thought in this age of movies that all start to look alike, it was a new refreshing story.  the only negative, afterwards i looked up the story, on google, the real story as it was based on a true story, and well hate to disappoint anyone, but the actual person whom the movie was based on, well she cheated on her husband.  Soooo. well they are working it out, last i read..but still.  i do understand why they left that part out of the movie..although i did feel cheated and lied to also.  but then again, amy adams is hot.  The real woman, can't remember her name, in an effort to work through this new pain of having cheated on her husband and her marriage possibly crumbling, oddly got into studying the "art" of becoming a butcher.  okay i don't get that one. She cheats on her husband and decides to take up slicing up beef as a study course in argentina.  so was the movie ruined for me after knowing all of this? hmm not really.  no not because amy adams is hot - although that would be a perfectly and justifiable reason.  but because i am choosing to stay with the original story and keep that part in mind.

I guess what i am saying, is that there is a reason why movies and hollywood are considered a fantasy world.  because if they had allowed the real truth into the movie, we would have lost the real meaning...stick with things....don't give up, and commit...stay driven even when things look their bleakest.  in the end, if you keep the wheels spinning, eventually something will happen.  and i sort of related to it to in that i am one of those people who when i put my mind to something i really go all out with.  i am an all or nothing person in that i just keep going even if things are not going my way at first.  i guess i am both stubbornly resiliant and persistantly determined - hee hee i'll have to ask my better half girlfriend if that is a good quality to have 15 years from now.   so okay i get it.  and i respect that.  and yes, you are correct in that Amy Adams is hot...enough said.  City John needs his sleep.  :)