Music is Love

The title of this post and the album cover on the left is from David Crosby's first solo album "If I Could Only Remember My Name" If you haven't heard it, you need to stop what you are doing now and get on that ASAP. Thank you. I saw "High Fidelity" earlier in Summer Term when I was sort of in a lull and had to deal with life. The movie was "bleh" but the music store scenes were good. Jack Black, as one reviewer said, does steal the show out from John Cusack when they are together. Also I think I recognized 90% of the album covers and music references that appeared in the movie :-X Maybe I am a music elitist like they are...

But there was one cool thing I'd like to do and I saw John Cusack do it in the movie: he arranged his record collection auto-biographically. Is that sick or what? I guess I have too in little bits and pieces. I remember The Doors right before the start of my freshman year of high school when I was blazing through all 1000+ pages of the Lord Of the Rings during that summer sitting outside on the deck. Or Pink Floyd during the winter-into-spring of my sophomore year. Or Spirit and Love or John Coltrane and Charles Mingus in my senior year, trying to sneak it onto the senior section boom box. Conveniently, I rip all my music to my hard drive, so I have dates of when they were all ripped, which is pretty close to when I first got them.

Unfortunately my hard drive is still broken and still haven't had the time to get it repaired. I hope the chances aren't dimming the longer I wait. Also that poses problems for my senior year radio show: what will I play if I don't have the effort to re-burn and re-download everything? I was thinking one half 80s music, the other half prog/psychedelia for the 2 hour radio show set, not set in stone on that one. Also, who will be my co-host? I think I'm going to need to ask people to help me out on this one.

As my drive has been out of commission, I have had the chance to become intimate with the small amount of music I managed to get onto my laptop. And by small, I mean small by my standards, probably for anyone else it would be a full music collection. I'm getting to know Tangerine Dream and now I see why they were the pioneers of electronic music. If you don't happen to know them, stop right now and get a compilation of their Virgin Records years NOW! Besides that, I have been learning to appreciate the 80s, getting into the deeper tracks from The Zombies and listening to my Crosby, Stills & Nash box. And I don't mean the CSN(Y) tracks that everyone knows but stuff by the duo outings of Crosby & Nash and Stills' attempt at a band in Manassas. Don't know those groups? Don't know the song "To the Last Whale"? Stop now and listen to the CSN side projects.

Now I need to get back to studying. Although the hardest final is over, I still have two on the same day and it is a little difficult to prepare to for 2 finls simultaneously like this. I'll be glad when that is over and I can talk to Peter Torre through the telescope and go to Greenwich with Jess. Haha also I got a shout out from Jess in her blog when she said I "exude masculinity and testosterone" Nice.

Settling below the Sky

it was Saturday the 24th, I was a free man. I was out to go food shopping and it was a little after 9PM. The sun had just set a little past the hour, but it was still very light out and it would be for another half hour. The Summer Solstice is on June 20rd this year (actually at 23:59 that day, so cutting pretty close). It was cool out, but pleasant, maybe even warm but it didn't bother me like hotness usually does. It was a good time to stroll.

So why am I saying this? Because I had finished my hardest final in Econometrics and I was done! Well, I still have three more to go, but it felt like a great weight had been lifted off me. Two of them are on June 3rd but I'm not worried. Getting through this was relief beyond relief.

Anyway, I will spare you exam stuff (I know some people don't like that *cough*) So yes the next day I got out a plastic cup for mouthwash and I noticed I only have 3 left. 3 weeks left guys. Time is really running out to do the stuff I want and studying has taken up more time than I thought it would. So that means a mad dash to fit it all in....Greenwich is happening after the double header on the 3rd and hopefully Kew Gardens will come some other time. The sites that show up in songs I might try to do in one massive tube/bus Oystercard runaround. And of course I can't not go to the Tower of London. So little time, so much to see...

So Begins the Task

I think I've studied as much as I can. Well probably more like study burnout. Tomorrow is 'metrics. I plan on going to sleep at a decent hour, waking up at a decent hour, looking over some stuff, doing the final, and then getting some well deserved dinner and Indiana Jones IV. See you on the other side.

When the Music's Over

Well, now I have hit panic mode. Slightly. Bear with me. I've been studying Econometrics (affectionately called 'metrics by those suffering through it) and now I have less than a week to the final (Friday)...and I still haven't done all that I want. It's bizarre how I've had more time to study for this one final than what time I usually get for all my finals at Georgetown. Oh yeah, also the equation above is the joy known as the adaptive expectations model and Koyck transformations. Looks fine: until you have to derive it from time series equations...

But yes the other thing is people are now starting to have their finals, and I'm hearing feedback. Feedback like "this is the worst experience in my life, worse than when my grandfather died" Ouch. And I thought I was going to do fine. I still might, just it's a little disconcerting when you feel like you are running out of study time and people around you feel like they are getting majorly owned by their finals.

In addition, there was stuff I wanted to see while I'm here, before I go. But I hope I studying doesn't require me to be so busy I never get time to see those last few things, or do those last few things (like our Primrose hill picnic which got called off due to rain) It seems like everyone is going to be buried up to their noses in their books until the end of the year. Hopefully we can fix that, but until then, back to studying!

I COULDN'T GET ENOUGH!!!

Why the funny title you ask? As Jess said our Fortnight (Central) Eurotrip is too massive to tell or write down in one sitting, so you'll have to hear anecdotes as they come up. Our last night in Istria and Croatia, we went to eat at Hotel Valsabbion, what our Fodor's Croatia/Slovenia travel guide called: "the best restaurant in Istria, if not all of Croatia." First finding it: I drove madly up and down the coastal road in our Renault Twingo, vainly looking for our beloved Valsabbion. We even found their competitor that was "right up the road" but no Valsabbion. Finally I noticed on the directions the town was split into roman numeraled districts and then we worked our way to Valsabbion and found it had been that extremely glitzy 5-star place that had a VIP carpet to the curb for their diners' fancy luxury and sports cars!...as we drive up in our budget rental Renault Twingo... As we park and walk up, we see there is a microscopic placard on the wall announcing that this indeed is Valsabbion. We enter and we are stunned by its grace and elegance: by God, this is the best restaurant in all of Croatia! We were confused/humbled by the menu and by the fact our unsophisticated minds could not decipher how the menu was supposed to be read and which items were appetizers and which were entrees. Also we felt woefully under dressed in our blue jeans, but then a man came and sat at the table next to us, wearing a black t-shirt with "Stoned to the Bone" written across it and the picture of an x-rayed skeleton smoking a joint. We felt much better after seeing this.

Ah yes I ramble: so what does this have to do with the title of the post?!? Well, they had a mix CD which was fine; the only problem was it lasted 20 minutes and was playing on repeat. It had the Bee Gees, Celine Delon, some unknown Italian Tenor, and, of course my favorite, Disco Inferno by The Trammps!!! I was so enthused that the song was playing, (and playing every 20 minutes at that!) that I started to sing along to my favorite line every time: I COULDN'T GET ENOUGH!!! (lyrics) I think Jess had it about up to here and was ready to kill me/had to grab at me in order to stop singing. I was sad when they changed the mix CD towards the end of our dinner. Yes that is why the 20 minute song rotation was so killer: Valsabbion is one of the leaders in the restaurant industry's return to "slow food" so that meant our dinner went on for over 3 hours (you calculate that and the mix CD in your head...) My liking of some disco songs I think is one of my dirty little pleasures, but I know why I have a soft spot for such a secret enjoyment: killer bass parts. Wondering what I mean? Type in "insert song bassline" into youtube of a disco song and you'll see what I mean. So back to Valsabbion. How was it? Exquisite. Great wine, great food, samplers, everything. Check out Jess's album for photos.

Yes my day has sort of been productive: I got back upstairs from doing laundry and thought: hey blog time! I was inspired because of a realization about laundry while I was doing it--wait, did I tell this story already?. I repeat stuff...a lot, in case you haven't noticed this from all the time you've known me. Here's a great example. We went to a sushi place by Jess's hall near Burrough Market for her 21st birthday (even though it wasn't, just so we could find an excuse to celebrate it over here). So I order miso soup to start, as usual(I'm also very predictable). When it comes there is no spoon, I go "urrrrrhhh?" look for a spoon, turn and ask Jess what to do, and then think aloud should I use my chopsticks. Jess laughs because last time a few months ago when we were at the sushi place, I had the EXACT same reaction and response, even down to the motions and phraseology. Creepy.

Anyway, so back to laundry. The machines suck: they cost too much, you always need change, and there is no GOCard. I stick it to the administration by using their staff dryers for free: that way my clothes get dried in 35 minutes for free instead of me wasting pounds and taking hours to dry the stuff in the regular crappy dryers. Also for a dorm with 13 stories (they named the first floor M so they wouldn't have to number an unlucky 13th floor) they only have 6 washers and 6 dryers. Lame. But there is an upside. There seems to be a zen-like relaxing quality to doing laundry and folding clothes while listening to music on headphones, like Jan Garbarek. Really relaxing time indeed, so much so I can write this post despite life going by me.

My ML summer job is not looking good; I need to play hardball as last ditch effort to get them to accept me even though I don't want to pay $1000 per credit earned and take courses I have no time for. I might work for old latin teacher in his new language teaching company. That could be a cool job; plus I get to work with him again. I remember the first time I saw him, I thought it was a complete jackass, but he ended up being one of my favorite teachers ever. And he grew a beard too haha!

Yes revision is...not coming along, but at least I am going to the 'metrics lectures. Also it's really starting to get warm here...uncomfortably warm. I hope we get some cooler weather before I leave in June or else I am going to lose it. Also we still need to shrug off inertia and do stuff before we leave. For example, JP and I came up with the great idea to see Iron Man. The not so great part of that idea: we forgot to invite Jess and Stefan. So I bring it up with Jess and as soon as I open my mouth, I realize the debacle that has transpired. So Jess says something to the effect of "Oh I wouldn't like to have seen it, I only am just a huge fan of Marvel comic characters, you fucking asshole!" We're still trying to rectify this one. Also there was the suggestion for a trip to Normandy to make it up to someone who got screwed over by someone else (names withheld to protect us) However, I have a few reservations because this will be in my week between two different final days. Plus I had been thinking of going to Istanbul...

The Future Isn't What It Used to be

I think I had said in my last entry that I would post soon and post more about the trip: I think I lied about those two goals, which have whithered, crashed, and burned since I last posted an entry. Oops! I guess blame revision, exam studying, farewell parties, the crappy exchange rate, and absinthe for everything, I swear! Getting back into the groove was definitely more difficult than I thought. I'm lucky 'metrics has revision sessions because those are a lifesaver and give me an incentive to fake studying. And Lat Am also needs weekly comments due! And it has its last lecture the first day of my finals. What happened? I don't know. Inertia from 6 weeks of break is still trying to be shrugged off. I promise it will when we get down to brass tacks (or brass tax, your pick)

There was probably an earlier blog post where I was ruminating about the future, life, fate, values, etc. I don't remember I rambled a hell of a lot and I apologize if you tuned out. One question I was thinking about was uncertainty and complexity of life: is it real and something that has just now come to light or was it just me overreacting to everything? Well the verdict seems to be that yes, everything has gone to hell in a hand basket and nothing is as nice and neatly packaged as I thought it was. However it's not as bad as I thought, no cause for dread. I'm still alive, functioning, and enjoying my time, so what's to worry? Maybe now I am having reverse integration problems as my time runs out here and now I need to get back to life and routine of the Tri-State area (NJ, NY, CT) for the summer and then Georgetown for my final year. I guess you'll hear about that soon enough.

So looking at the summer what am I doing? I was accepted to the Merrill Lynch internship! Nice! But the problem is they won't let me do it unless it is for credit and Georgetown won't let me do it for credit unless I take some Management course and pay them $1000/credit. I really could care less about credit I don't need, but everyone wants everything from me. I'm trying some last ditch effort things to attempt to salvage whatever chances I have left, but it looks as though my plans have fallen apart for summer. But luckily I have a few tricks up my sleeve, other opportunities being pursued. I can always become a GOP operative for Bergen County (no joke!) or work for a start up company. You'll hear from me about that soon.

I'm surprised I'm able to type at all: my fingers hurt and I keep hitting the wrong keys. You know what that means: I just returned from a day of rock climbing! So Jess hangs out with her climber friends and does elitist climber things (hehe Jess is going to kill me when she reads this). So the last time I had climbed really (not counting that rip off Chuck E. Cheese thing in South Carolina last summer that I went up once) was in middle school with friends in the Shawangunk Mountains (or as the locals call them The Gunks). So I wondered if I would get put to shame by Jess and other climbers. Jess I guess was feeling magnanimous and merciful, so she started us on some bouldering before we did top rope climbing (I sure as hell as in no position to do lead climbing). So we did runs switching off, ran into some of her friends (she's a popular one, Jess is) and then by the time I looked at a clock again, 3 hours had gone by. By this time fatigue had set in and although nothing hurt, my strength was failing and I felt like someone had beat me with a meat tenderizing hammer, as I felt like mush. So the verdict? I actually did pretty well considering I have not climbed in ages. I was able to keep up with Jess's pace: I think we both had a pretty good day climbing. Maybe if I get time and more money, I'll go again (hah if she lets me: her friends I think mistook me for a significant other, so she'll have to deal with that one!)

Since I can scratch that off my list of stuff to get done while I'm over here across the Pond, here is the remaining stuff I can think of at the moment:
-Volleyball with D6 in Hyde Park, complete with our Darnall shirts
-Park picnic in the park hill right above Regents Park
-Maybe see a West End show with Jess (or with others too but she seems to be the only one adventurous enough to try this stuff out)
-go to Cockfosters and get photos with signs
-shoot more with the ULU Rifle Club at the range if I can
-go to more famous bars and my usually hangout spots one more time
-Miscellaneous sights in london to see (like locations that show up in songs and Tower of London)