It's Monday? What the...

I remember weekends, they were a great time to go out with friends, have a few beers and maybe a nice meal with the little lady. Now that I've pulled my first 7 days straight of working I've realized that the week doesn't actually reset on Monday just because the week is over. That means I'm really on day 8 of all work and some play. And if I'm already whining like this now just imagine me come September! "Wa wa waaaaaa whoa is me! I missed the entire Summer working every weekend! Someone quick! Call the Waaaaambulance!" I don't think it'll go quite like that but you get the gist.

As I've gotten older I've noticed a slight change in my habits. What I really look forward to doing is cooking. Big meals, me, me and the girl, me and friends, me eating until I'm too gorged to do anything else. I want to make something fancy every Saturday night and make a big meal of it. Never mind that I'm writing this while hungry, I want to learn how to pair wines better, build a liquor and liqueur selection, and be able to put together amazing meals every night. I'm old world like that, I see food as a way to bring people together and cooking big nice meals is a great way to do that. And my arsenal is growing, I'm better at cooking meats, learning about sauces, and have a few books on wine and a lot of gourmet bartenders at my disposal.

This in turn has led to something somewhat morbid, but it's a thought with merit. When I die I hope I've lived a life that inspires people to do good things, great things that help pull our civilization to new heights. I hope I am remembered fondly, that people want to honor my passing with a celebration. I hope that it becomes a meal, where people come together, eat, celebrate friends, family, and community. People drink and be merry, like Thanksgiving but maybe in the Summer when people can grill out. It's a weird thought, I know. Yet I think it's a nice image, people toasting to a life that made a positive impact and brought people together. Here's the quote and the pic of the day!

"Americans are a funny lot. They drink whiskey to keep them warm, then they add ice to keep it cool. They put sugar in it to make sweet, then add lemon to make it sour. Then they say 'here's to you', and drink it themselves." -Former PM of India

Super Sundays!

I have recently worked out a deal for my website idea cooking show with one of NYC's hottest producers. Ok so really I'm letting my friend Simon use my camera as long as he helps me with my project. He's not even that cute, point in fact he's Canadian. However he can Zapp Brannigan with the best of em and his knowledge of Archer is growing...so maybe that's why the ladies love him. Anyways, Happy Birthday Simon, now make me look pretty on camera!

Since my undertaking of awesomeness and the decision to work 7 days straight per week, which really means I only get time off for Federal Holidays, I've found that I am confident in my decision to pull of a kamikaze move such as this. Working a lot will get to me from time to time, but there will be an increasing satisfaction in my accomplishments. One of which being my writing. Currently I am about halfway finished with my final short story. This is an addendum to what I wrote before. And after I add these two short stories my book will be so awesome they'll have to bind it in red leather just to match it's awesomeness. That's right, red leather. Now that's sexy.

So aside from my misadventures in working I've also come to realize that I've lost touch with friends and family back home...and in NYC. After some deep thinking over a five minute period I realized the genius behind Facebook's offshoot, Nabu or something like that. It limits your friends list to 50, no mas. Think about it, if you had to call or text 50 people, who would you choose? Not all family members, some friends, but the basic idea is that you can only really connect with about 50 people at one time. It makes for much more intimate conversations and when you report sad or happy things people would genuinely respond. Sadly, I can't remember the name of the sight so I can't point people in the right direction. It's funny though, what happens when someone wants to be in your circle but it's full, do you tell them to sit on the bench until they're called up? They're on the "B team"? Might backfire and make people create cliques.

Anyways, here's your quote of the day:

"There is always some madness in love. But there is always some reason in madness." Friedrich Nietzsche

Pic of the day! Never, ever, do this

Back to the grind with a big Ax

I never know what to capitalize in the beginning of a blog entry. Is it like a short story or a novel where just about everything gets capitalized? Or is it just like an expression in a sentence since a blog is somewhat of a journal. Not knowing the correct way to present the title I'm going to start capitalizing the first and last words and blame my poor grammar on "stylistic individuality". Hell, I'm lucky when my spell check can understand what I'm trying to say. I once somehow managed to sneak a silent "q" into cat. It's write if I work it into the story damnit.

Since the big move I've sacrificed my home for a neighborhood. I'd rather have the home but I've done what I can to appreciate the surrounding area. The park that my apartment over looks is massive and beautiful to walk around. I've also found myself slipping into the habit of sneaking out and walking 1 1/2 blocks to the river overlooking NYC. At night it's an amazing skyline to behold and one that does wonders for my writing. It's funny because they have those binoculars that can see about 20 feet further than you can. For 25 cents you can have your voyueristic intentions fall short when you realize there's no way you can see into the windows of the buildings across the river. Not that I've tried, I have my own binoculars that already failed me, I don't need to waste 25 cents when I've already wasted $350. Stupid impulse buys. Who the Hell sells binoculars at a bar?

My other fun task is working. A lot. Like 80 hours a week, and then I get to write. I don't have days off anymore, well that's an exaggeration. I will get about 1 Sunday off per month. This is all part of one of those great plans, the ones that will make you a better person and put you in a happier place but you'll have to work through a lot of blood(inser comma here) sweat and tears. I need to start setting people up with my whole "Dylan Relief Fund" idea. That's where people come see me at my current bartending job on the weekends and drink and be merry and tip me nicely. I'm not promising free drinks, but if I forget how much liquor I pour in you wouldn't be mad at me, would you? (Wink wink nudge nudge). This big push has a lot to do with a special someone and a lot to do with me. I'm hoping that as I retool my book and work to get that published that I can also manage to pull myself out of debt and then have happy time success. Yes I like run on sentences, deal with it.

On the work note I have to say it's pretty sad that I'm already known as long winded. Talking to my coworkers they already are asking for "the short version" of things. I know I like to talk and tell stories, I mostly blame my friend Miguel who always managed to turn a 5 minute story into an epic tale of a good guy who runs to the liquor store and sees a guy run a red light and then ponders the meaning of life and his existence at that specific moment before adding the grander details of what beer he decided to buy and why and the quick conversation he had with the clerk at the store. One, two three....twenty two....fifty...eighty six! Now THAT'S a run on sentence!

I've decided I would now start posting a quote and a favorite traveling pic at the end of every blog. So here we go!

"There are no foreign lands, it is only the traveler who is foreign." -Robert Louis Stevenson

I took this pic walking to work one day in New Jersey. Right under an overpass in what is sometimes known as a dirty area I saw an amazing sunrise.