Christmas was good. I had fun. I speak with simple sentence structure. The ride home tonight sucked. Literally, 20 mph the whole way from Plymouth to Boston. Though I did get to hear myself on FNX requesting "She hates me" and advising drivers to stay away from Storrow Drive. It is always weird/funny to yourself on the radio.

Peace. Quiet. Alone. That is what Christmas means to me. Everything is still. My building is empty, my job is empty. Even my fellow bus passengers are missing. It's just me and my thoughts. Which sting a little more than previous years. I like being alone. No one bothers me. No one hurts me. I learn a lot about myself.

I'm sorry. I really am. I forgive you. Can you forgive me?

What a long weekend. Went to a party on Friday night with a woman I've been seeing and her friends, I've hung out with her friends before and they're pretty fun. The party itself was in Fort Point and was entertaining. I've gotten pretty used to being thrown into these situations where I know nobody and just be social and mingle. It's pretty interesting to hear other people's stories and tell some of your own. After the party we went to Jose McIntyre's, and closed that place down, where we all did some dancing and flirting.


Saturday I went to a caroling bar crawl, invited by a friend at work trying to hook me up with her old roommate. It was a blast. We had like 20 people in the group and I think I talked to everyone of them. We would go to a bar drink one or two and talk, then sing one carol in the bar and move on to the next one singing all the way. I must thank Lauren who organizes this (it's her fourth year) it's a great idea for people to get together and have fun and not care what other people think about it. The girl I was supposed to meet was a lot of fun, maybe a little too much fun. She was quite the party gal. Though she did take quite a liking to my hat and wore it for most of the night. After the Good Life a bunch of us went to a party at her friends house. It was a nice party, but the girl I was supposed to be talking to, wasn't paying any attention to me so I left and walked home in the Boston quiet 3:30am peace.

Sunday, I went over to Peg's (the woman I started seeing) place and watched High Fidelity. Peg is a really nice girl, and I like her company. Of course, for those who know me well and my past relationships, I don't dive into these things easily, I'm always skeptical. My last relationship I decided to trust my gut and look what happened, I also don't have any gut feelings yet about Peg. Not to say they're not there, I just haven't felt any yet. Most of my relationships have been this way, Heather, Norima, Julie, and Erin, all lasted a few months but I never felt committed to them and was always keeping my options open. The only other one I did feel committed to was Tara, but I really just blame that on the fact that I was 19 and hadn't really experienced anything like that before. I don't know what my problem is I just find it hard to get close to people. I think I lack faith in the human race.

Two bits:



Got an 80 ½ on my Calculus test. Bear in mind I hadn't been to class for the two weeks prior to the test. I think i did rather well.



"You do know you could find yourself charged with being a dominant species while under the influence of impluse-driven consumerism, don't you?" - From Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, from a conversation between a toad and a human.

Well, something odd just happened. Someone slipped a picture from the Pottery Barn catalog under my door, in an envelope with my name and office on it. No note or name as to where it's from but it's a picture of a bunch of cowboy hats on the wall. Since I normally wear a cowboy hat, I presume it from someone I know, and that they are familiar with my hat. It's very odd.

Holidays. Ever since high school, sometime during the Army I don't think much of holidays. I spent quite a few holidays, without holiday. Frankly, I got used to it. No traditions, no fuss, just another day. I send Christmas cards just to let people know where I am, what I’ve done, and that I think of them. Other then that I have no Christmas stuff or do anything else.

I understand the religious pretenses behind the holidays. Most of the people I know don’t have or follow a religion. It’s a sham.

PS I have similar feelings about birthdays.

I had a very long weekend this weekend. Friday night I went to a party at the Milky Way which turned out to be an excellent time. I wished I hadn't left so early. I hadn't been to a bowling alley with a bar since California, but bowling and beer really do belong together plus they had a cool band playing. I also met a lot of new people and even exchanged some business cards so I might catch up with them again some other time. I met this really cool guy named Mike who owns a Comicazi in Davis Square and we all had great conversations about sandwiches, comics, Roadhouse, and Lea Thompson's younger years. I love meeting new people.


I left there to drive to Plymouth, to help my Dad, early in the morning. I was awoken by a wet dog nose to my face and headed to the church to pick up an organ (320 lbs) and take it to the dump, which turned out to be really easy. Then I shoveled off the back deck and the driveway for him. After that while my laundry was finishing up we watched the Army-Navy game. Army lost miserably and had their asses handed to them. I was very depressed, luckily we watched Monsters, Inc. on DVD after that. And I had to leave shortly to get back to Boston for another gathering with another new friend. We headed to the Green Dragon down by Faneuil Hall which is not a bad place and it's as old as the revolution, but the band was so loud I couldn't hear anyone talk. I still had an outstanding time.


Sunday, I had an impromptu date. We were bored and talking to each other on the phone and I just said let's go see a movie, and she said yes, and I met her like a hour later the T, and went to Copley and watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" which is still hilarious, and I took her back to my place where Jason made us dinner (he insisted) and we watched a couple old episodes of Friends. It was a good time.


Tonight, I'm meeting some old friends at Billiard's tonight, they same ones I was supposed to meet last week.



I've suddenly become this social butterfly, and I love it!

There's a lot more people bitching, whining, or moaning about the snow/cold this year then there were last year. I think they just all got spoiled from the nice and mild winter we had last year.


NEWS FLASH...

You live in New England, this is what supposed to happen! If you don't like it move, or take a vacation, or limit your comments to one person a day. Everybody already knows how cold it is outside, everybody knows how much they don't like it. I'm sure they don't need to hear it from you, reiterating the obvious. In addition we don't nearly get it as bad in eastern Massachusetts as they do in the rest of the northern United States, we have the Gulf stream fending away a lot of the bad storms and keeping the temps above 0°. Also, it's not like the people I hear these moans from even work outside or take long walks outside. You leave your house/apartment, walk to your car/train/bus, walk to work. You're outside for only small batches at a time. Just suck it up and drive on. You'll live and I'm sure it's not the most uncomfortable thing you've done in your life.

So what a busy day yesterday. Studied all day for a Calculus test, took the test, get home to an e-mail from a new friend inviting me out for drinks, at a pub across the street from me. All this in freshly falling snow. Which looks beautiful in the Atrium falling at night, none of it has stirred. I cannot wait to get to Plymouth tomorrow and check out the State Forest. It always looks magnificent with a fresh coat of snow. Oh and sledding down the big hill at Southers Marsh Golf Club. But first tonight I have a party to attend with some people from work. Oh what fun, awaits me.

So last night, I went out to Boston Billiards trying to find an old friend, and to BB Wolf's looking for a new acquaintance from Cabaret. Neither person was there. My reason for going was to ask my old friend about the pool league she belongs to and what it takes to join and how much is it. I need to recreate my social circle. I'm a very social guy and like to do things with other people. I don't even care, usually, what those things are so long as I was doing them with a friend. At my social peak in the Army I had no less then 3 or 4, usually more, friends around me everyday. But since I have moved around a lot I haven't really kept any. Now I have a few that I hardly talk to or see. I don't know what's more pathetic, wishing and trying to relive old glory days, or having no life.

Who would win Dumbledore or Gandalf.



I say, Those who can do, and those who can't, teach.

I'm a victim of my id, my ego has little or no influence on it.

So Saturday morning while I raked the lawn, Becky and Dad put up the Christmas lights. After we finished and had some turkey sandwiches, we all went shopping at Independence Mall (which got a Best Buy, Bob’s store, Newbury Comics, and a Hot Topic, for the ex-locals who care). I got some new jeans (505 regular fit, straight leg 34" x 34"), we saw “Santa Clause 2”, and I also got 2 new fluffy pillows and Jill’s Christmas present.



It’s amazing to go to the mall one day and having the parking lot be half-empty and to go three days later and have it be overflowing. Commercial traditions. Traditions developed and marketed by executives in corner suites in giant glass and steel obelisks. We all feel the need to go shopping on the weekend after Thanksgiving as if you don’t go then there’ll be nothing left. I dislike this season.

"It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" was definitely one of the Muppet's better movies/specials. It parodies almost every traditional Christmas movie or TV special. The celebrities do not overshadow the performance of the Muppets, and Gonzo has a great acoustic set towards the end. It was very funny. I love the Muppets.

BTW, the kids won Trival Pursuit this year in the traditional game after dinner.

After dinner was finished, and after the dishes were done I stepped outside. The air was crisp; the breeze gently rustled the trees. The frozen snow crunched under my feet and the smell of woodstoves filled my nostrils. It was quiet and cars crowded other people's driveways. A feeling of serenity surrounded this little Plymouth neighborhood around two-thirty this day. It made me feel peaceful standing outside, yet I was not complete, something was missing and I felt I did not belong there at that time.

The WWE has a float in the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Day Parade?!?!

I saw a great bumper sticker yesterday on my way down to Sandwich. "Having a career is not the same as having a life."

I'm not so sure taking a day off is worth it when you come back and have so much work plus a email crash that morning that you can't even sit down to log all that you've done into Remedy (job ticket tracking database). I broke several promises today to several important people.



Also, my pants are falling down, I've lost so much weight I need to buy 34 inch pants again. I suppose that's a good thing but with Christmas around the corner buying a couple pair of Levi's wasn't exactly a planned expense. Though they would make my butt look much better and therefore make me more marketable to the opposite sex.

With everything on my mind lately what really bothers me is; why can't I drink coffee without spilling it on myself?

Thank you Ian, Alexi, Josef, and Tara for coming last night. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

We striked the show last night which was a lot of work but I loved it. Climbing to the grid, up and down ladders, destroying stuff; it was fantastic and very satisfying. We finished the strike around 5:00am. Me, being the Boy Scout that I am, was prepared and brought some beers for the people who stayed to the end. We cracked them open around back and talked about the show. Jason, Kevin, Buddy, and myself went to IHOP after that for a much-enjoyed breakfast. We rolled home about 7:30. It was an extremely satisfying night and I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I got home. The only thing that would have made it perfect would be to get home and curl up next to a warm female body.

Last night, I didn't come home till 4:30am I can't remember when the last time I did that was. I really let my hair down last night and I haven't done that in a really, really long time, at least since California. I really needed it too. It put at of things in perspective. Life is too damn short. Who knows what is going to happen tomorrow. I can't waste time stressing about things in the past that aren't going change. I can try to take care of myself now to help mold what happens in the future, but no amount of preparation can guarantee what will happen.

In Other News...

Oversized umbrellas should be banned on the sidewalks of Boston, and people who use umbrellas should be given classes on how to use them. Four times this morning I got hit by an SUV sized umbrella or walked into by somebody who can't see in front of their face because they hold their umbrella in front of their face. I strongly dislike umbrellas.



Also...

There is a man whom I see constantly in the square, on the bus and on the streets of Brighton. He's a man a couple inches shorter then me with really long brown bushy hair he wears in a ponytail. He's very well dressed and carries a briefcase. This man also recognizes me, probably because of my hat, with a slight nod of the head. I feel a desire to go up to this man and say, "Hey, I'm Matt Wollman, I think I've seen you around." Something prevents me from doing this like it's socially unacceptable. Are there rules that govern this sort of thing?

So, two months later and things are just worse. I need help. I'm constantly thinking about you. Why do you haunt me? I have developed vastly detailed conspiracy theories and paranoia from dwelling on issues and details. I preached about assuming things, yet I do the same. Why am I such a sap? Why can't I move on? I've reverted back to the old me. The one who doesn't care about anything anymore, especially himself. Someone should drag me out onto the street and shoot me like a rabid dog.
One of my colleagues offered to hook me up on New Year's, I said sure, but will see.

Wow, so now I can't post what I want anymore on my website. I really am scared now, I don't know what to do. I can't believe it came to this. I can't believe you still read this site. I can't believe I still love you.
So much for your love. So much for friends. Thank you for trying. Thank you for the effort.
All I wanted was to hear from you, know you were OK, find out how school was going, how work was going. I was hoping you would like to hear the same from me. You know friend stuff. You were one of my only close friends. You were my best friend.

Do you really feel threatened or are you just trying to make a point?


I'm really, really, REALLY sorry things got out of hand. I'm so very, very sorry. :-(
I just want to be happy again

Man, do I ever regret posting that, though it's too late to take it down cause everybody seen it by now. Well, in truth I really am glad your happy. I am pissed off mostly at myself because I'm jealous and envious of Sean, and of how happy you are and I'm not.

Today, I had some extra time and was cleaning off my desk and filing things away. I came across your folder. I found a bunch of emails, letters, programs, ticket stubs, and even your birth chart. Floods of memories came rushing back of the past year and a half. The huge Radiohead show where we were waiting outside forever for our tickets from FNX and trying to find Ryan and Co. The Built to Spill show with Katie where you got sick and I took you home. The Bentley soccer game where you got to see my crazy soccer screaming. Blue Man Group and Shrek, our first date. I grabbed the whole lot of these scrap book memories stuck it all in a brown envelope and put it in the back of my filing cabinet.

I miss you, I’m angry at you, I love you, and I don’t know what to think any more. You make me feel all sort of emotions, Every time I try to move on something brings you back. Like the other day when I went out with Matt and Ed, we went to an Irish bar and over the jukebox is “I Know My Love” and I remember you singing that in the car to me with your little dance and your eyes and I cry because I’ll never see that again. I envy you, I wish I had that emotional on/off switch you say you have. I wish I didn’t have to deal with this any more. I HATE it. Of course, if I had that switch I have to deal with it eventually. I hate how you never respond to any of my emails. They weren’t malicious or packed with emotions or questions about us. All I asked was how things were going and you deemed to brush it off. I asked if you could go to see Cabaret and received no response. I miss you terribly, I miss your touch, the smell of your hair, the intimate moments, the goofing off, but most of all I miss sitting down and just talking to you, I miss our conversations and your company.

Last night was opening night for Cabaret. Finally, 2 weeks of 18 hour day and weekends have finally paid off. The show looks and sounds magnificent. My parents came up to see the show and they loved it. The stuff I’m responsible for went perfect. It all really came together on Wednesday before the show when Heidi and Anna came by to help us out. I had called them earlier that week because we had no run crew. On Wednesday when they came there were actually enough people so they taught the students and me the best and easiest way to do things. I got off the headset and gave it to my number two person, Giselle, who started to really enjoy working on the show, especially after Heidi talked to her. I had never seen my older sister in this light before, showing the ropes to the students and taking them under wing. Thursday night before the show everything was smooth as silk, and Friday everybody came together, Actors, Techies, and musicians and the show was phenomenal. I hope that if you haven’t seen it yet that you please do. It’s very lively and humorous, and not that expensive ($12, $8 student). Please come and enjoy our show!

I'm sorry, I had a nice, really good sized post done last night talking about my week at rehearsal, the book I'm currently reading and inflation, and a little anecdote about what D&D character I would be, but I lost it when I went to post it and I don't feel like rewriting it all. So I'll post again soon when I get the chance and maybe it will have some sort of substance.

This weekend I spent all my time at the Loeb Drama Center, helping the HRDC with their show Cabaret. I am one of the Assistant Stage Managers and during the show will help with set changes, quick changes, changing gels on lights, and making sure actors are ready for the cues. This weekend was load-in. I spent all day Saturday in the shop building set pieces, and Sunday building more set pieces and assisted in the rigging and other miscellaneous tasks. It was a lot of fun, though hard work. It’s really nice to be back doing theatre; it’s a different type of people who get involved in such things, both actors and techs. A unique social environment, if you will. Definitely a lot of fun, and I’m glad I volunteered, though I’m not going to have any kind of life till the show strikes November 23. Working with all those college kids made me feel a bit old. Any way the show is November 15-23 at the Loeb Drama Center on the main stage. I would really like it if everybody could come and enjoy the show. I will post dates and times on the sidebar of this page.

Last night was Halloween. I went to Calculus and my roommate threw a dinner party that finished up around eleven so we didn’t do much to celebrate the holiday. We didn’t get any trick or treaters either. I was hoping we would at least get some starving college kids, but no one came to our door. Jason and I went for a walk around midnight down Brighton Ave to Harvard Ave and back and so lots of people dressed up going to bars or parties and looking like they’re having a lot of fun. I remember when I had fun, though I can’t remember what I did for Halloween last year.

So, I've become really self-aware lately. I'm doing a lot of things I haven't done in years, like getting back into photography, and drawing. I've started reading books other then Sci-Fi / fantasy novels. I just finished 1984 last week and am reading High Fidelity and have Kerouac’s On the Road on the night stand for my next read. I've started to work out (at home) more regularly and began meditating for twenty minutes before I go to bed. I also haven't smoked a cigarette in like three weeks. I'm not sure I understand why this is all happening and where the need to do these things has come from. I feel as though I trying to prove something, probably to myself.

This weekend I went down to my parent’s house in Plymouth to help my father install a hardwood floor. It took all day Saturday and Sunday and was pretty exerting labor. There is something self-gratifying doing that kind of labor yourself though. You feel your aching joints and tired muscles and look at what you accomplished that day. You can feel and visibly see an accomplishment that you hands, muscles and sweat created. It’s a pretty good feeling. I also brought back my parents scanner and will putting up various photo albums from all points of my life soon so everybody can look forward to that.

This is a poem that states very clearly (with the exception of one line) how I feel about Jenn. Nobody has to read it. It is your choice. I found it and thought it was great and I wanted to link to it.

All I Ever Wanted...

Well, well lucky me. I skipped the last three questions and still got an 86 on my first calculus exam. If only I hadn't been in such a rush to go to that K5 meetup.

Speaking of pretension, picture this scene:

Two young 26 year old guys watching Monday Night Football.
One wearing a T-shirt and nylon shorts drinking Bass and eating chips and salsa.
The other wearing khakis, a button down shirt, and a sweater. Drinking red wine, crusty bread and cheese.

"Does not work to potential." This is what it constantly said on my progress reports from school. I know I am of above average intelligence. I know this from various different tests and my capacity for understanding tough subjects. Yes, it's true, I don't apply myself. I have no talents, no knowledge of the arts, I don't follow politics or international affairs, I don't have active interests in music or movies, I don't read the classics or modern literature, and my computer talents are mediocre at best. I don’t do all these “typically smart people do these” things, and I know people think less of me for it, people I care about. They don’t say, “Matt’s an idiot” or anything like that. It’s more along the line of subtle body language and slightly demeaning remarks. Sometimes I feel they steer conversation to subjects I have no knowledge only to make me feel like an idiot if I try to join in. I have dabbled in all these areas to try and be like one of my friends or my ex-girlfriend, but I never seem to retain any of it or I just lose interest in it. I just don’t think I’ve found the right thing to do yet.

Assumptions. Everybody makes them about everything. For the most part they’re harmless, but sometimes they’re not. When people start assuming what other people are thinking or feeling, trouble starts. Actions do not necessitate thoughts or feelings. Quite the opposite a lot of the time, I’d say. A lot of the time people want to say things they find more acceptable to others, then how the truly feel. We are afraid of the reaction we’ll get from other people. When telling the truth from the beginning would probably have been for the best. Of course, how do you know you’re not making assumptions about yourself?

My first post to K5.

One of my biggest fears is ending up alone. I don't want to be 40 some odd years old and still trying to get a date. Yet there are people out there that honestly believe they won't find somebody they would like to spend their life with. I can't imagine going through your entire life alone. Friends and family are great but there not always there and you can only open up to them so much. Having some sort of a significant other that's there for you is something else. You can tell them everything and they understand you or at least sympathize with you. You always have somebody there to give you that comfortable feeling. I find it sad and depressing that there are people who focus on their careers and thinking that will make them happy when it will only be a small measure of their life. A career is only 40 hours a week, what about the other 128 hours you’re not at work. Do people really want to spend that time all alone?

Emotions are what make us human. If it were solely based on intelligence, we'd all be like Data from Star Trek Next Generation, or Vulcans from the original Star Trek. I believe in order to be happy in life you have to be happy with yourself and the people you care about. It doesn't matter what you do, where you live, how much stuff you have or how much money you can make. A job is a job. You should be able to work at one with out it upsetting you on a daily basis. People need to learn how to deal with their emotions. Keeping your feelings bottled up inside only makes things worse, and the longer you do the worse they can become. Of course if people could deal with the way the feel with the people they feel that way about therapists would be out of jobs. We’ve become a society where it’s OK, not to tell people how you feel. To keep your emotions tucked away. We tell our therapists about it and that makes it all better? What about the people that caused you to feel those emotions in the first place? You still haven’t confronted them. They will probably keep doing whatever it is they do to make you feel that way. Emotional confrontations are always the most difficult thing to do in life, especially the closer someone is to you, but in the end people would be better off.

"Country music is laying on the floor with a bottle of Jack Daniel's thinking about a woman who just walked across your heart like a large Somonoan wearing golf cleats." - Otis Lee Crenshaw, on the Conan O'Brien Show.

Picture a beautiful, cool, dry day in the lower 60's. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. There's a young man standing in the yard enjoying the view and the feel of fall. Students are bustling to and fro. Staffs are returning from their lunch breaks. The young man is watching the people go about their business and ponders his place in the world. It had seemed so simple only a few weeks ago. Now, everything has changed and things aren't the way they should be. The young has to question again, 'Where am I going?', 'What am I doing?' He contemplates this in a logical manner. The variables have changed; different equations have been brought into play. He thinks, ‘How can I change the future if I do not fully understand what went wrong in the past?’ He looks around one more time and heads back inside.

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
by Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in collumns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A, Start.

This page is now Valid XHTML 1.0 - Strict DTD! Yeah! So, is Jenn's. We both also have Valid CSS, too.

Why is it when I search for sixfoot6 on Google I get 6,770 pages? I knew he was popular, but gees does he get around. A regular Hugh Hefner.

Harvard is going through a big HR database change. It is extremely involved and effects everybody. There is alot of training of Harvard 16,000 employees on how to use the new system. They have classes, clinics, website simulations, and guided tutorials all the time. You can learn any way you need to and in your schedule. Yet there are people that are being lazy about it. Whining and begging other people to learn it and show it to them. Nice, responsible people are caving in to these selfish, self-serving whiners and are getting frustrated and upset.

Now this is not a new thing and happens to alot of people all the time. I know plenty of situations where my friends and myself were used or taken advantage of. Why do nice people cave to these other type of people time after time? Why don't we learn our lessons? Or do we and are powers of kindness and nobilty just overcome our own selfishness?

When it rains, it pours.

Even when you have your friends in your life you still get lonely for the ones who aren't. Memories always seem to come in floods that make you nostalgic for the times you had, and wish were still here. Not to say that my friends now aren't any better or worse then my friends past. Just different.

"If I don't watch it now, it'll be new to me in syndication." -- My friend, Shaw

It's funny how every Labor Day the streets of Allston, Brighton, Cambridge and Somerville all turn into a giant swapmeet. Moving day, as it is referred to, is the day furniture piles up on the street. People come and take what they need and leave out what they don't so someone else can grab it. It is a pretty cool phenomena that happens about twice a year in this grand city of mine.

Before I left for Pennslyvania I drove to work at University Hall at about 5:30 AM. I have never seen Harvard Square from this early in the morning. It was so quiet and still. Nothing was moving. It was a giant socialist beast that was asleep. I went to UHall and moved an assload of computers out of the basement to the yard to get picked up later that day. I left at around 6:15 AM. By then the beast ws starting to wake, commerce was rising with the sun. Metal shutters were opening and people were milling about. It was pretty intriuging how in that half an hour how fast the square awoke.

Interesting License Plate I saw on my way to Pennslyvania this weekend: "JKLMN"

It's been very hot and I've been very busy lately. My head is swimming with so much different tasks and chores. I feel like I'm neglecting my new roommate. I've been riding my bike to work lately and the summer school just wrapped up this week. Harvard is pretty quiet, but my workload keeps increasing. I try to take a break every once and awhile and sit out in the yard. The tourism at Harvard is unreal. I grew up in Plymouth, Massachusetts my whole life and have been witness to tourism as an industry. Plymouth's economy depends on it, because of this I never thought of Harvard as a big tourism site. As I sit on the steps of University Hall, next the the statue of John Harvard. I watch the tourists take pictures and video, listening to a student give the spiel about the statue and it's three lies. I've heard it many times before. I watch the crowd and their interest in something that I see everyday and think of as mundane. I try to picture myself as a traveler that came to Massachusetts and wanted to take the tour of Harvard and have never been before. I try to think of how overwhelming the campus would be. How the yard is a little old park of grass and trees in the middle of Cambridge. The buzz of the square seems far away. The story of the statue sounds interesting. Its funny how as we go to new places that we become tourists ourselves but we don't think about them or even not highly of them in our own home. It's pretty interesting dynamic.

Moving is an incredible ordeal. You pack up every little thing you own into many boxes. And you look at and say "That’s it. That’s my material life." Then you move it and think "Man, I got too much stuff." You unpack it and start throwing things away, looking and listening to things you haven't looked at or listened to since the last time you moved. Memories of times long past come flooding to the forefront of your mind. You remember where you were then and compare it to where you are now. Recalling the dreams you used to have, the ambitions you thought were the way to go. You wonder "Have I accomplished what I wanted to?" "Do I still have those same goals anymore?"

Dewpoint (the way you measure humidity in the air, on a wet bulb thermometer) is 74, I feel like I'm walking through water. Everyone is sluggish, walking at a snail's pace. A thin sheen of perspiration, across the arms and faces of men, women, boys, girls and hairless dogs. The temperament of the people seems to be a function of the weather. Foul words and gesture, flung across traffic; gentle smiles return sour faces. Even on clear days, shining days the weather can be bad.

All right, who's been using MSIE 5.5 on an Atari 2600 to visit my web page?

Thanks to Jason for providing the script and the content, check out my 404 page.

So last night I attended a farewell party for Jeremy Knowles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, at his residence on at 7 Bryant Street. This is actually his second residence, the one given to him by Harvard, for being Dean. It was an old house, very well maintained, with lots and lots of expensive art pieces. Someone pointed out a Rembrandt to me. The party was fun and interesting. I talked with the staff assistants mostly. The deans and department chairs mingled around each other and did their thing. Deans and department chairs talk about big issues and concern and make it a point to talk to everyone on their level, while the staff assistants stay in their own group and talk about the deans. I find this all pretty interesting, because I love watching social occurrences, especially at bars, clubs and parties. I find it intriguing the social patterns people evolve to depending on their power, money, position, even marital status.

Actually Saturday, June 08, 2002
I witnessed a remarkable natural event at Starmarket, this morning. Apparently, Starmarket puts yesterday’s produce on a cart at a greatly discounted price. What I saw was old ladies literally running through the aisles with their carts to the back of the produce department and grabbing bags of the produce on the cart. Some were even bickering with each other. I found this to be greatly amusing.

Yesterday was Harvard's commencement and I couldn't go to work because I didn't have a ticket and my office is in University Hall which is right in the middle of Harvard Yard. Unfortunately, I spent 75% of my day off in traffic in and around the city. Yesterday driving was about 3 times as bad as it normally is. I had to run miscellaneous errands (including getting a new car stereo installed) and going out to dinner with my wonderful girlfriend, Jenn, which was jammed up because of a JPMorganChase “Corporate Challenge” which tied Commonwealth Avenue from the Commons to Kenmore. It took an hour to go from BU to Copley which is a little over a mile. When I found out why it was taking so long I could only think to myself ‘I’m sitting here stuck in traffic and it’s not even for a good cause?!?’ Up until this point I could at least justify holding off my anger at the traffic by saying to myself ‘they’re helping kids somewhere’ or ‘raising money for research for cancer.’