getting old.

As if working in NYC hasn't made me feel old enough already, recently I've learned that my friend is engaged to be married this summer! Crazy right?

I'm so happy for him. But it's also kind of surreal. He was a very good friend of mine beginning in middle school and I used to go over to his home almost everyday. We would blow up GI Joes with fireworks and make mini-ramps to jump off with our skates. And now he's getting married.

Crazy how life works. I don't know if I want to grow up, but it looks like I have no choice in the matter.

sad day for the world.

I just learned that Randy Pausch the "Last Lecture" professor who I wrote about in my blog last December passed away today.

Pausch inspired me in many ways. Not only was his story and his lecture remarkable, but I was touched by the reaction of a good friend of mine. After reading about Pausch on my blog, she approached me and felt that it was really important for us to write him to offer our prayers and also share about Jesus.

So, we wrote him a letter together and also sent him a bible. I'm not sure what ever came of that, but I'll definitely be keeping his family in my prayers.

If you haven't seen his "Last Lecture" it's definitely worthwhile. Sometimes we all need some perspective in our lives.

what's in a name?

I read on CNN today that apparently some parents in New Zealand named their daughter: "Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii." Luckily a judge is allowing this poor 9 year old with terrible parents to rename herself.

This article got me thinking. Names are really important. It's funny how we begin identifying with our names and people become their names. Like when you hear people say, "You're definitely a (insert name here)."

It made me think about my name. I really like my name, which I share with a Greek Hero and a Hollywood Killer. To think though, I could have very easily been an "Oscar." That's right, my father is a big fan of films and seriously considered naming me after that little gold statue. Could you see me as an Oscar? I'm not sure I can.

Now I've got a friend trying to think of an American name for herself. I can't imagine renaming myself, but it could definitely be a lot of fun.

-Oscar Does the Swing Dance from Kansas
(http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/24/odd.names/index.html)

my kryptonite.

Every superhero in history has a weakness. Superman has Kryptonite. Batman has bats. Spiderman has venom. Professor X has stairs. (ok, that last one was a little bit mean).

Well, my kryptonite is MILK. Dairy-products in general to be more specific. For those of you wondering whether I'm implying that I am a superhero, I am (don't tell anyone).



This condition of lactose-intolerance began my Freshman year in college and grew increasingly worse. To the point that a glass of milk would have me running for the restroom within 15 minutes (you don't want to know). Since then I have had to be more careful about my eating habits. Usually I'll still eat things like pizza, sandwiches with cheese, ice cream, and just suffer through the pain. But I haven't had a glass of milk for years.

Finally, I have found a cure to my kryptonite: Lactaid pills. They're like miracle pills. Sure people have been suggesting that I use them for years, but the first time I tried it years ago it didn't seem to work. But recently I decided to test it again with a FULL glass of milk, and nothing happened. NOTHING!

(I did not receive any payment for this endorsement of Lactaid pills. Although, maybe I should.)

the tale of two lives.

So one may be lead to believe that the NYC intern life is one of luxury and baller-dom (yes, I coined that myself), but unfortunately this isn't completely true (maybe 1/4th true).

It's true, as a consultant there are several perks that I've enjoyed. For example this week: I traveled to Las Vegas, I saw "KA - Cirque Du Soleil" and I had a meal with my case team of 4 that cost us $1,100 (uh yah, we went through 5 different sets of silverware).


BUT before you begin envying me and extrapolating these experience over my entire summer, let me tell you about how I spend the other 3 weeks in that month: I share a one bedroom apartment with 2 other boys, we only use the A/C in 30 minute intervals and for guest, and I eat cup ramyun (noodles) every other night for dinner [retail value per cup: $.66]

Balling, right? Kind of. Welcome to my life.

oxygen masks, PLEASE.

A couple posts ago I raved about how much I enjoy my flights, especially on JetBlue. But let me tell you, my flight back from Vegas to NYC was not so enjoyable. Not because JetBlue was unsatisfactory in any way, but because one of the other passengers on the plane.

Two hours into the flight I began smelling this terrible odor, only to realize someone near me had farted. I tried to ignore it and continued to watch my TV. About 20 mins later, the same odor suffocated my space. I feel like the odor of a fart is like 5x worse in a plane because one's personal space is so confined and the air already seems rather stale. This time I looked around to identify the perpetrator, but then didn't do anything futher.

THEN, honest to God, it happened again about 20 mins later! I began to suspect it was the woman NEXT to me. She kept on shifting bizarrely in her seat, but she also was pretending to sleep. But goodness gracious, she just couldn't hold it in. This continued for the REST OF THE 6 HOUR FLIGHT.

What does one do in a situation like this? "Excuse me miss, can you please stop passing gas. It smells terrible." I considered it in my mind, but decided to tough it out passive-aggressively.

SIN CITY.

Before I left for Vegas I joked with a bunch of my friends and on this blog about how I was heading to "Sin City." What I've come to realize in the last two days is that this place truly is Sin City.

The Home-Wrecker
When I first arrived at my hotel, I was taking the elevator up to my hotel room and a couple of relatively attractive middle-aged women entered with me. I stood in the corner as they continued their conversation. And as I was standing innocently in the corner, one of the woman began speaking about how she has been "visiting" a man on Tues/Weds when his wife is at work. Yah, I was shocked. She pretty much admitted to commitng adultery and being a home-wrecker, and the most surprising part was how nonchalantly she said it. Maybe I'm just really naive but it never really occured to me that someone could treat their marriage so flippantly.

The Drunkard
Between a couple of the meetings yesterday, I took a break by going down to the casino floor (just to watch, of course). As spent some time watching the blackjack table rooting on some young guys who seemed to be doing rather poorly. A little bit later a group of young men passed by with their suitcases, presumably traveling to the airport. One of them was particularly drunk (at 3pm in the afternoon), and his friends kept pulling him along. But finally he broke from them saying, "I'm going to do it." He joined the table and dropped $500 on the table, "What the Hell, I'm going to put it all on one hand." He held with a 17 and the dealer went over. The man went crazy, he won another $500 and as he left the table shoving the chips into his pocket he screamed at the table, "Remember me! Remember me when I'm getting my divorce!" I'm not quite sure I knew what he meant.

The realization I've come to is that the characters of Vegas are representative of the city itself. On the outside, it's all glitz and glitter. Bright lights and tall buildings. Nice suits, thick wallets. High heels, short skirts. But on the inside, everything is wasting away because they are going ALL IN on the treasures of this world (pleasure, success, fortune). Unfortunately for them, when they cash out, these "worldly treasures" are meaningless.

it is now safe to move around the world.

So this summer I'll had a couple of opportunities to travel. A couple times to Boston, once to Tampa Bay, and today I'm flying out to Vegas. That's right "SIN CITY." Unfortunately, I'm too young to take part in most of the sinning that occurs there (I'm talking about the casinos people, get your minds out of the gutter).

Anyways, traveling alot has exposed me to a lot of different flights and hotels. So this summer I have discovered the joy that is JetBlue. For those of you still not in the know, JetBlue is a fairly new airline which has a TV screen and several channels for EVERY seat. It's ok to be amazed, I was at first too. But this new development has changed my flight experience completely. One flight I didn't want to get off the plane because an episode of ABDC was just ending and I wanted to find out who was being voted off.

In addition to developing preferences for particular airlines (I also strongly endorse Midwest, btw) I am beginning to get used to paying the small amount for extra room, showing up at the airport only 20 mins before my flight, and not checking any bags. I guess I truly am becoming a consultant.

Anyways, I take off in about 3 hours. Hopefully I don't get stuck next to a snorer.

livin' on a prayer.

This summer interning in NYC has come with several unexpected perks: boat cruises, weekend retreat to New Port, trips to musicals.. but tonight certainly sits close to the top of the list: Bon Jovi Concert.


That's right tonight I went to a Bon Jovi Concert in Madison Square Garden . Double whammy. It was an amazing night not only hearing Bon Jovi and All American Rejects (openers) but also just being in the Garden, such a historic place. But I really enjoyed it.

Those guys are pretty old by now, but they still know how to rock out. Their set went for almost a good 3 hours. They had several great songs: Living on A Prayer, Wanted, It's My Life, but my favorite was "Hallelujah." Although it turns out the song is not really "Christian" and the band may or may not be Catholic, it's quite amazing to be in an area full of thousands of people singing "Hallelujah." Maybe just a tiny glimpse of heaven.

day of THRIFTING.

Let me begin by saying that I have done a rather poor job of updating my blog this summer. This is mostly due to being tired after work, laziness, and terrible television. But recently we've been having trouble with our cable.. so maybe you can expect to see some more posts.

Today was a day for THRIFTING. It's actually quite a fun activity to partake in. I've dabbled with it in the past but today I went with my roommate who I would say is an expert. There were several objectives I had in mind: 1) find a tie clip 2) find some cheap dress shirts 3) find a nice vest. I accomplished two out of three today!

I was a little dissapointed after visiting an antique flea market because I couldn't find a nice tie clip I liked, mostly because they were closing up. But we went to a goodwill and found a really nice J.Crew shirt and vest, for the grand total of... $18. Whoohoo!

While some of you may be a bit skeptical about thrifting, goodwills and flea markets.. but as a poor college student interning in NYC, I'm certainly not complaining.

AND.. on the way back we visited a J.Crew just for kicks and I got a tie that is normally $49.50 for $7.00.

sorry it's been a while...

I've been too busy living it up in the city.

So, tonight I just got back from a Yankee's game. That was awesome, courtesy of the firm. What else have I done this summer?

-Listened to the NY Philharmonic in central park with fireworks after

-Went to the driving range at Chelsea Piers

-Saw Rent and In the Heights, both amazing musicals

-Gotten lost in NYC

-Traveled to Tampa Bay for work

Preview of things to come: Bon Jovi Concert at Madison Square Garden, Boat Cruise, Las Vegas Trip, movie in the park, Brooklyn Bridge, and much, MUCH MORE!