Okay, okay, so I have not updated in a month or so. Sorry, but time has been scarce and so has my interest. I have done a lot since the last time I posted, I have moved, went to a bunch of shows, hanging out with friends. I have a lot left to do this summer as well. Two weddings to attend, Bruce Springsteen and Radiohead concerts, and I plan on redesigning and moving this site to my own Linux server running Apache, MySQL, and PHP.

Riding the bus or the train everyday gives you a great snapshot into peoples daily, routine lives and lets you figure out a little something about a person. A great example of this is noticing how people board the bus. When they get on the bus or train everybody goes for the single seats first, which makes sense, because social interaction with strangers on public transportation is not allowed. What really gets me though are the people who take the double seats.

There are those nice, understanding people who slide all the way in with their belongings on their lap. They do not necessarily want to sit next to anybody, but they comprehend the riding situation and realize that they should not take up more space then necessary.

The second type of person takes the double seat and slides in, but leaves their belongings in the open seat. These people usually are aware of other people but do not move your belongings until someone makes a move for that open seat. They seem to want to keep their options open they do not want to seem too inviting, yet are willing to comprise if someone needs it.

The last type of rider are the ones that are really rude. They get on and take a whole double seat, sit on the outside and put their stuff next to them on the inside. They do not move unless someone asks them to, and at that point, 9 times out of 10, stand up and make the other person slide in past them. I feel like these people are somewhat self-righteous and feel they are more important then the other riders, that they should not have to ride the bus and should not have to sit next to anyone. So what kind of public transportation rider are you? Do you notice these little habits on your daily commutes? Got anything to add or retort? Let me know!

     Ok, I added a link to Andrew's, Ryan's and Jakob's short film in my sidebar. It is entitled "For a Good Time" and requires Quicktime (available at Apple.) It is also 13 MBs large so it might take awhile to download for those of you not blessed with high-speed internet.

     
In local news, Harvard is gearing up for commencement tomorrow. It is absolutely amazing how they cram so many chairs into a relatively small space. One estimate was thirty-thousand people are expected to attend. I do not understand why they do not use that beautiful stadium, easier parking, easier security, more people can see the event, and so on. It would be much more Convenient for everyone involved. Though, I suppose it would break tradition. Seems how it has been done in the same place for over a hundred years (this actually Harvard's 352d Commencement, but the ceremony used to held in the "Old Yard"). All kinds of old Alumni are wandering aimlessly around the campus looking for another event to go to, or maybe some Geritol™. Class Day was today and I just came inside from hearing Will Ferrell speak to the Seniors, his schtick is the same as his stand-up, he did his impression of G.W., and sang a song reminiscent of SNL. He was very funny and brought waves of laughter through the yard. As for tomorrow I have the day off, staff who work in the yard (like I do) are "highly discouraged" from going to work on Commencement Day. I pick Ryan up from the Airport and bring him home. I think I might throw a party for him at my place, while he is home. Anyone interested?

So, listening to the radio yesterday I hear that Grease 3 is in the works. Supposedly set in the 70s and involving Sandy's and Danny's children. It's produced by Didi Conn (Frenchie) from Grease 1, Though they do not have a script yet and there are mixed reports wether or not Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta have signed on. Well, the original Grease was a great spoof of the fifties and the seventies are so much easier to spoof. It should not be to hard to be better then Grease 2, which blows (sorry honey, but it did.)

What a marvelous day! The legs were shown in full force, along with the Frisbees, footballs, and whiffle balls. I even had lunch outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

On another note, If you were against the war or for it this article is pretty darn good. The article is written from the con perspective but the following discussion threads make a great debate.

First, I must apologize for my lack of posting on mattwollman.com. I have not been plugged in too much lately because I am not usually home and have been really been busy at work. I also have not had too much to write about, and the fact that my writing skills have something to be desired.

Second, in other news, work has been busy and I am doing well in it. I am taking on new and bigger responsibilities, I hope my paycheck will reflect it or at least get some sort of bonus. I also been hanging with a bunch different of friends lately. Saturday I went to a fantastic party, that had a huge variety of people. My four friends who hosted the party come from all types of different lifestyles and backgrounds which created quite a splendid amalgamation of different, music, languages, cultures, and food. We even had reps from Malta and Iran. I enjoyed talking to these different people and learning all kinds of different things.

That is all for now, but I will try to stay in touch, and I am been taking some writing courses so maybe my writing will improve, or at least it may sound more academic.

Not that I want a war, but it seems to me that Iraq is like those rich brats that live in my building and the UN is the fat, lazy security guard sitting downstairs. Yeah, they will go up and talk to the brat but as soon as he leaves they go back to doing whatever they want because the guard poses no threat. The UN just doesn't garner the same respect it once had. My biggest fear though is if we do attack Iraq, what kind of terrorist retaliatory action is it going to cause throughout Europe and the Americas. No matter what happens either way we lose. If we do not do anything about Saddam he will build and stockpile more weapons, because he can, and harbor terrorists, arms dealers, etc. If we do we cause more trouble for ourselves, Politically, on the world arena, economically, and we jeopardize our's and other western country's safety.

I'm glad to see the Registry of Motor Vehicles is becomng more open-minded. If you check out this license renewal form, about halfway down the first page, ther's a check box to change the sex on your license. But be careful, additional documentation may be required.

I think the IRS is getting a little out of hand.

What A Loooong Weekend

Friday, February 14th, Valentine's Day I left work early to get home to get ready to take my valentine to dinner at Top of the Hub. Reservations were at 5:30; we made it just in time. I had to swing by Shaw's to pick up a card before I met PeggyAnn. It was my idea to go to Top of the Hub, because I've lived in this area all my life and had never been and always wanted to go. Dinner was absolutely delicious, if not pricey, and the view was fantastic. After dinner we went to the Brattle to watch Casablanca, which is a wonderful movie. We retired at home to champagne, strawberries, the City of Angels soundtrack, and soft conversation.

Saturday, we woke up, went to breakfast at the fantastic Grecian Diner on Harvard Ave. where I had a incident with the ketchup. It was rather amusing, even our usual melancholy waitress cracked a smile and made a joke. After breakfast we headed to my humble abode to get a change of shoes and say hi to Jason. After which we headed to Watertown so PeggyAnn could pick up her paycheck. We had nothing else to do and I was driving (which PeggyAnn loves) and I decided to go to the Arsenal Mall because I've never been before. It was an interesting little mall. PeggyAnn did a bit of shopping, bought a new purse, a bunch of books and a couple of CDs. We didn't know what to do and I wanted to drive so I hopped on US20 west till I hit MA128 south. I headed on that till I got to Canton and went to the Blue Hills Reservation. I stopped to look at the animals and then we decided to hike up to the old observatory. We didn't fall once and it was pretty cool to hike up through the snow. We came back down and I headed home via 138. Stopped at Shaw's and picked up Diet Coke and water and dropped it off at her place. We headed to the Joshua Tree in Davis Square to hang out with a bunch of friends. I drove everybody home and PeggyAnn, Batson, and myself went to Beckett's to finish off the night.

Sunday, we woke a little late and I had to hustle PeggyAnn off to Hingham to assist her friend in wedding dress shopping. I headed back the long way (up 3A) and hung out at my place and did a bit of homework. PeggyAnn came over and we took a nap. PeggyAnn woke up evil. I had to call Jason to perform an impromptu exorcism. We had a slight dinner and headed to my friends Kristen's house for a small gathering before a show. The show was at The Middle East in Central Square and featured in order Five Second Flat, Kristen's friend's band, The Deafening, The Hissyfits, and The Beatings. The sets went by very fast and it was a lot of fun to go see a show again. It had been a long time. Five Second Flat was very hard and punky, but what was really cool was the band members rotated instruments between each song. The Deafening was Weezer-esque with a little Asian man in a blue sweater and big glasses, their songs more or less sounded the same and the didn't quite know how to play their instruments to their full potential. The Hissyfits were really cool. A New York based band with three girls playing drums, guitar and bass, and a young man, playing viola. The viola really accentuated the voices of the young women, who were hot. Their songs were varied and sounded great. The Beatings were really good, too. The band consisted of four members, two guitarists, which sang, a drummer, and the cutest, littlest girl bassist, who also sang. Their songs were also varied and well played. We left during their show. We headed back to PeggyAnn's to sleep.

Monday, PeggyAnn called into work, and we headed to my place to via Shaw's to make breakfast for Jason and Gena. We made potatoes and ham, egg and cheese sandwiches. We hung out at my place watched the snowfall and some movies. We made dinner for them also, consisting of BLT's with nice fresh produce. After trekking to PeggyAnn's, which was a really cool walk up Commonwealth Ave. in a blizzard, we went sledding down her street, which is a huge hill, on an air mattress. Loads of fun, I felt like I was a kid again. We went upstairs and watched Multiplicity and went to bed.

Tuesday, we woke up and PeggyAnn called work and told them she'd be late and I called in a personal day. We trekked back to my Pathfinder via the hardware store to buy a shovel. After, digging myself out I took PeggyAnn to work, and was damn lucky to get back to find my spot still there. I did my homework and played some video games. I went to pick PeggyAnn up and upon returning found my parking spot taken. I parked at a meter and we went upstairs to make dinner. After eating I gathered my work and some clothes and we headed back out to go dig myself another spot. I helped these two guys dig themselves out and I took their spot. We went back to her place to sleep.

Wednesday, back to work as usual. Had a productive meeting (is there such a thing?) with my boss and did some calls and finished my homework. Now here I am at T's Pub watching the Duke game with friends and enjoying a cold one. Life has kept me pretty busy lately and my wallet a little thin but I love every minute of it. Viva le vie!

Congratualtions to Micheal Moore on Oscar nomination. The man is an excellent filmmaker but more importantly, he grabs a lot of attention to critical domestic issues that tend to get brushed under the political carpet and forgotten about.

The snow is coming down and it's beautiful. We have about six inches in Cambridge right now. As I gaze down on the Yard it reminds me of a Norman Rockwell painting. I prepare for a long, fun weekend.

Last night, I went to see Henry Rollins at Avalon. He was good. He did almost all comedy. I was actually hoping for a mix between some of his old style, mid-nineties, intense spoken word and some of his newer comedic styling. He was very funny and talked about a lot of American society; how gluttonous we are, how greedy we are, how vain we are. I had agreed with almost all he said. He is still intense, even at age 40-something.



My only complaint was that he sounded extremely self-righteous. He sounded like a fresh convert preaching to a new congregation. Which is not far from the truth. The place was packed with people half his age who only of his legacy. I was next to five guys who laughed and repeated him every time Henry said, “fuck”, like Beavis and Butthead. All of this people are just going, wake up tomorrow and buy their latte from Starbucks and get their cheeseburger from McDonalds at lunch. Henry also lives in Hollywood, California, the capitol of sex, gluttony, vanity, sloth and greed, and he has lived there for quite some time. Henry also challenged the congregation that if any of us supported the war in Iraq “to go fuckin’ enlist!” This statement was immediately greeted with a raucous cheer from the audience. I have to ask you, Henry, did you ever enlist? I did. What were you doing when you were that age (18-24)? I believe you were drunk, high as a kite, and you caring for society extended to how many fans would get to your shows.



I agreed with almost everything you said, you’re a good man with a genius brain and a large heart.

Today I received a gorgeous white bouquet of flowers at my office from my girlfriend. I was delighted and surprised to receive this gift. I had mentioned to her the previous night that no one has ever bought me flowers. I can definitely understand why woman like to receive said vegetation so much. They are beautiful, make my entire office smell pleasant, and just brings a spark of life to my dreary computer filled office.

Just a quick note of apology. I've been really busy at work and at home and haven't the time to make a post. I'm sorry, but I also don't necessarily want to post so much personal details anymore but try focus on my observations like I did before. Talk to you later.

Meh.