This week marked the end of an era here at 35 Brookline. After a brilliant start and a slow, but discernable decline, the To Do List is no more.
Some background to explain the To Do List:
-Each Monday night, members of the apartment would gather around the white board in the hallway and set out goals for all five members of the house.
-These goals included simple tasks (Brian gets his suit tailored) and more lofty accomplishments (Brian doesn't eat at Anna's Burritoria for an entire week... he didn't make it to Tuesday on that one.)
-At the end of the week, awards are give out for Best Week Ever! and of course Worst Week Ever!
You can check it out here.
It all started off as a revolution for 35 Brookline. But as the weeks passed there was less and less enthusiasm for the whole ordeal. And finally it was put to rest. But I'd just like to say that I thought it was absolutely awesome while it lasted. I feel that unique happenings/traditions such as this one make for a memorable year.
I lie to Canadians
I had the chance to go skiing at Jay Peak this weekend. It was a great trip for a number of reasons. First of all, there was a ton of new snow. Great conditions. Also, this was my first time skiing in the East. I see some solid reasons why it doesn't stack up with skiing in the West, and at least now I can pontificate on the inferiority of the East Coast with some authority. But I'm not here to talk about that.
The final reason I was very satisfied with this trip was because of all the Canadians I met. I won't deny that they were something of a novelty to me. And I don't mean to demean their country at all; I think they're very neat. I just haven't met that many and I was pretty excited that there were so many at the resort (Jay Peak is located in northern Vermont, just a few miles [kilometres, mon ami] from the border.) Seriously though, it was pretty neat to be surrounded by so many French-speaking skiers and snowboarders.
And this leads me to another fun part of the weekend, lying to Canadians. Not just to Canadians, lying to everyone I met. Since there were considerable crowds, my skiing partners (friends from work) all decided to wait in the "singles" lift lines rather than ride up the mountains as groups of three or four. This meant that every time I rode the lift up the mountain I was riding with a group of skiers I'd never met before. And each time our small talk revealed that I was working in finance in Boston. By noon on Saturday I was bored of this lifestyle. So then I became a masters student studying human physiology. Then I became a consultant based out of San Francisco. Then I worked for a pharmaceutical company, then I was working in education, then at a bike shop. I considered "singer/songwriter" but got scared someone might ask me to sing.
The final reason I was very satisfied with this trip was because of all the Canadians I met. I won't deny that they were something of a novelty to me. And I don't mean to demean their country at all; I think they're very neat. I just haven't met that many and I was pretty excited that there were so many at the resort (Jay Peak is located in northern Vermont, just a few miles [kilometres, mon ami] from the border.) Seriously though, it was pretty neat to be surrounded by so many French-speaking skiers and snowboarders.
And this leads me to another fun part of the weekend, lying to Canadians. Not just to Canadians, lying to everyone I met. Since there were considerable crowds, my skiing partners (friends from work) all decided to wait in the "singles" lift lines rather than ride up the mountains as groups of three or four. This meant that every time I rode the lift up the mountain I was riding with a group of skiers I'd never met before. And each time our small talk revealed that I was working in finance in Boston. By noon on Saturday I was bored of this lifestyle. So then I became a masters student studying human physiology. Then I became a consultant based out of San Francisco. Then I worked for a pharmaceutical company, then I was working in education, then at a bike shop. I considered "singer/songwriter" but got scared someone might ask me to sing.
Beating Ticketmaster
A columnist on ESPN's Page 2 wisely proclaimed that "rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for Ticketmaster." I don't think that has much to do with the rest of what I've got to say. But as long as we're on the subject, my interpretation of this statement is that both entities suck a lot. I'll concede that both entities are pretty dominant in their fields. But let's leave the Yankees out of this for the moment. It just dumped like eight feet of snow on the Bronx, and no one's thinking about baseball right now.
So while the Sox (and everyone else) think about beating the Yankees, I've been doing my best to beat Ticketmaster. And in the past week I've seen two concerts and managed to avoid paying Ticketmaster any money.
The first concert I saw was a group called Sigur Ros. They're from Iceland and they play music that I honestly don't know how to describe. But I loved the show. It was probably one of the best shows I've ever seen and I got 10th row tickets from someone scalping them for $20 -- half price.
The second show I saw was by a guy named Matisyahu. His music is much easier to describe; it's reggae. He sings about redemption and peace and all that reggae stuff. He's also a Hasidic Jew from New York. He performed with the traditional black brimmed hat and double-breasted suit and fringed shirt. So anyways, Sunday night was his Tu B'Shvat concert. (Tu B'Shvat is the Tree New Year, for all you goyim out there. If you don't know what goyim are, then you probably are one.) It was also pretty awesome. I avoided paying Ticketmaster on this one because the tickets were a birthday gift. Thanks Dan.
So while the Sox (and everyone else) think about beating the Yankees, I've been doing my best to beat Ticketmaster. And in the past week I've seen two concerts and managed to avoid paying Ticketmaster any money.
The first concert I saw was a group called Sigur Ros. They're from Iceland and they play music that I honestly don't know how to describe. But I loved the show. It was probably one of the best shows I've ever seen and I got 10th row tickets from someone scalping them for $20 -- half price.
The second show I saw was by a guy named Matisyahu. His music is much easier to describe; it's reggae. He sings about redemption and peace and all that reggae stuff. He's also a Hasidic Jew from New York. He performed with the traditional black brimmed hat and double-breasted suit and fringed shirt. So anyways, Sunday night was his Tu B'Shvat concert. (Tu B'Shvat is the Tree New Year, for all you goyim out there. If you don't know what goyim are, then you probably are one.) It was also pretty awesome. I avoided paying Ticketmaster on this one because the tickets were a birthday gift. Thanks Dan.
The Holiday Party
The most recent sign that Aaron has joined corporate America? That would be the holiday party. It's hard to describe it, but I feel a little more grown-up now that I've been to my own company's. Granted, it happened last Friday, January 20th. So that made it seem a lot less holiday-ish. But it's still pretty exciting, in my mind.
They rented out a nightclub downtown, decorated the place up the wazoo, hired a band, and served drinks and awesome food like sushi, crab cakes, popcorn shrimp, and other awesome stuff. And the thing about working in accounts payable, is that I got to see how much everything cost. But I'm not telling.
They rented out a nightclub downtown, decorated the place up the wazoo, hired a band, and served drinks and awesome food like sushi, crab cakes, popcorn shrimp, and other awesome stuff. And the thing about working in accounts payable, is that I got to see how much everything cost. But I'm not telling.
(Sort of) Home for the Holidays
Despite not being able to come to California for my birthday (also Jesus' birthday and the first night of Hanukkah) I did make it home for New Year's (and the tail-end of Hanukkah). I spent New Year's Eve in SF with a bunch of friends and had a really great time.
I spent my birthday with Dan and his family. It was really nice and really low-key. The day consisted of sleeping in, unwrapping presents, making cookies, eating cookies, eating dinner, eating more cookies, and finally passing out. So whether you were partaking in Aaron's birthday or Christmas, it was a pretty good day.
...Back to life in California. All the raining and flooding that have been on the news haven't really affected me too much. Although I did run through some massive puddles the other day, and my run was cut short because an over-flowing creek had closed the trail. Also, an orange tree and tangerine tree came down in our backyard. It seems kind of crazy to me that these storms are worthy of being national news. I swear these big rains happen every couple years, and I don't see why they're such big news this time around.
I spent my birthday with Dan and his family. It was really nice and really low-key. The day consisted of sleeping in, unwrapping presents, making cookies, eating cookies, eating dinner, eating more cookies, and finally passing out. So whether you were partaking in Aaron's birthday or Christmas, it was a pretty good day.
...Back to life in California. All the raining and flooding that have been on the news haven't really affected me too much. Although I did run through some massive puddles the other day, and my run was cut short because an over-flowing creek had closed the trail. Also, an orange tree and tangerine tree came down in our backyard. It seems kind of crazy to me that these storms are worthy of being national news. I swear these big rains happen every couple years, and I don't see why they're such big news this time around.
Fridays!
Fridays are great. And there's more to it than just being the end of the work week. A few examples:
- Bagel Fridays at Digitas. We get bagels and cream cheese every Friday morning at work! Plus there's pastries, cider, and cocoa for the holidays! That is great. (This might come across as boasting. It's not meant to be... but I am pretty excited about it.)
- Friday Morning Introductions at 35 Brookline. It started a few weeks back with "pump up" music to get all of us excited about going to work Friday mornings. Then it turned into full blown introductions. You know, the kind you'd find before a basketball game: "Standing 5' 7" and hailing all the way from sunny California, Aaron KAAAAAAYE!" (Yeah. I know. It's kind of weird.)
- Crashing Holiday Parties. Last week I went to Dan's company's holiday party, and it was a-maz-ing. It was like a Bar Mitzvah party and prom all rolled into one. Forget about crashing weddings like they did in this summer's movie, "Wedding Crashers." I think that crashing corporate holiday parties is the way to go.
- Bagel Fridays at Digitas. We get bagels and cream cheese every Friday morning at work! Plus there's pastries, cider, and cocoa for the holidays! That is great. (This might come across as boasting. It's not meant to be... but I am pretty excited about it.)
- Friday Morning Introductions at 35 Brookline. It started a few weeks back with "pump up" music to get all of us excited about going to work Friday mornings. Then it turned into full blown introductions. You know, the kind you'd find before a basketball game: "Standing 5' 7" and hailing all the way from sunny California, Aaron KAAAAAAYE!" (Yeah. I know. It's kind of weird.)
- Crashing Holiday Parties. Last week I went to Dan's company's holiday party, and it was a-maz-ing. It was like a Bar Mitzvah party and prom all rolled into one. Forget about crashing weddings like they did in this summer's movie, "Wedding Crashers." I think that crashing corporate holiday parties is the way to go.
Ahh, the weekends
I'm a little bit surprised by how little I get done at home now that I'm working. When I get home at 6:00 or 7:00, I don't feel like doing anything productive. And as a result, clothes and mail and unread emails pile up. This trend has been compounded by the fact that last weekend I was down in Connecticut. Saturday I went to watch Tufts win NESCACs and also participate in an open race featuring a bunch of alums. (Oh boy, not so pretty...) And Sunday I was visiting a Tufts friend, Emily Macy, who coaches at Conn College. The weekend was great. Dan and I used my new Zipcar membership to get down there, which was pretty awesome.
This weekend, I got the chance to catch up on all that stupid other stuff that I mentioned getting behind on. That's not really worthy of being in the blog I suppose, but today's adventure might be. Our house of five is down to just Dan and myself this weekend (Nate went home to NH, Peter and Brian are in NYC) so we decided there was only one logical thing for the two of us to do on Sunday... spend some time in the kitchen. We checked out Epicurious for some ideas, and came up with a marinade and a risotto dish that will hopefully last us for a few meals.
Ambitious? Probably. Tasty? We'll see.
This weekend, I got the chance to catch up on all that stupid other stuff that I mentioned getting behind on. That's not really worthy of being in the blog I suppose, but today's adventure might be. Our house of five is down to just Dan and myself this weekend (Nate went home to NH, Peter and Brian are in NYC) so we decided there was only one logical thing for the two of us to do on Sunday... spend some time in the kitchen. We checked out Epicurious for some ideas, and came up with a marinade and a risotto dish that will hopefully last us for a few meals.
Ambitious? Probably. Tasty? We'll see.
Work
So I'm now a working stiff. I've begun work in Accounts Payable at Digitas. The details of the job are relevant, but I don't suppose they're interesting enough to write here. In short, I get a bunch of bills from different companies, and then I help my company write the checks. At least that's the basic idea.
There's been a lot of new stuff these first few days. There's the commute, which is really pretty easy; I walk two blocks to the T, get off in three stops, then walk three blocks. I work on the 19th floor of a new building right on the edge of Boston's financial district. I've got a shiny new cubicle, which you can see right here. There's been so much to absorb, but it's all been pretty cool. I think part of that is the novelty of all these new situations. Hopefully when the novelty wears off, I won't become entirely disenchanted with riding the T with all the other commuters and waiting for the slow elevators and all that other stuff.
Through the first week, I had a wide range of emotions when I came home from work in the evenings. The first two days (a general orientation on the first day and exposure to everything I'll be doing on the second) were pretty overwhelming. I was totally intimidated by everything I needed to learn. But by Thursday, thanks to feeling more comfortable with the work and getting to know my coworkers better, I felt a lot better about it all. So things are good.
There's been a lot of new stuff these first few days. There's the commute, which is really pretty easy; I walk two blocks to the T, get off in three stops, then walk three blocks. I work on the 19th floor of a new building right on the edge of Boston's financial district. I've got a shiny new cubicle, which you can see right here. There's been so much to absorb, but it's all been pretty cool. I think part of that is the novelty of all these new situations. Hopefully when the novelty wears off, I won't become entirely disenchanted with riding the T with all the other commuters and waiting for the slow elevators and all that other stuff.Through the first week, I had a wide range of emotions when I came home from work in the evenings. The first two days (a general orientation on the first day and exposure to everything I'll be doing on the second) were pretty overwhelming. I was totally intimidated by everything I needed to learn. But by Thursday, thanks to feeling more comfortable with the work and getting to know my coworkers better, I felt a lot better about it all. So things are good.
I got a job
I'm working for a big company in a tall building downtown and keeping track of their money.
OK, that's not entirely fair, and I'm not trying to demean the position. (Lord knows I'm pretty excited about it.) But that's kind of what I'm doing.
It all started in mid-September when I talked with an alum who works at Digitas. Soon after, I heard from HR at Digitas and set up an interview. I remember the morning of the interview clearly. I woke up with James Taylor playing in my head. I don't know why. It was "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)." I checked, this is the full name of the song. Needless to say, that first interview went pretty well. I got invited back for a second one. Apparently that one went well too, because they made an offer a few days later.
So yeah, I got a job. And I'm sure I'll have more to say once I start work (Monday).
OK, that's not entirely fair, and I'm not trying to demean the position. (Lord knows I'm pretty excited about it.) But that's kind of what I'm doing.
It all started in mid-September when I talked with an alum who works at Digitas. Soon after, I heard from HR at Digitas and set up an interview. I remember the morning of the interview clearly. I woke up with James Taylor playing in my head. I don't know why. It was "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)." I checked, this is the full name of the song. Needless to say, that first interview went pretty well. I got invited back for a second one. Apparently that one went well too, because they made an offer a few days later.
So yeah, I got a job. And I'm sure I'll have more to say once I start work (Monday).
Warning: this is an "AOK Story"
In an effort to help save the world, I gave blood at Mass. General this morning. It was my first time donating and a pretty quick, easy experience. While I was sitting in the chair giving blood, I was thinking about all the shopping trips we do at our apartment. Specifically, I was thinking about how quickly we go through bananas. The last time we went to the store I bought 10 bananas for the house. Before the end of the second day, they were all gone. This is a lot of bananas. Which reminds me of this time I ate a lot of bananas back in high school.
Dianne had just come back from the store, and had bought five bananas. And I was pretty hungry, as I'd probably just come back from practice or something. So I had a banana. And since it was really good, and everyone knows that bananas are the greatest snack ever, partly because they come in their own disposable wrapper, I had a second banana. I ran off to my room, thinking, "man, I'm still pretty hungry..." So I came back to the kitchen and had a third banana.
At this point only two of the five original bananas remained. To be honest, the fourth banana was a blur. I don't really remember eating it, though I do remember throwing out the peel and thinking, "there's four banana peels in the garbage. That's pretty funny." My thoughts then turned to the fact that if I'd come this far, I might as well eat the fifth banana. So I did just that.
Dianne realized a while later that there were no bananas on the fruit stand and figured she'd forgotten them in the car when she unloaded the groceries, so she checked the trunk. When she returned I told her that I'd eaten all five. She didn't really believe me and just assumed that she'd forgotten them in her cart at the supermarket. Then she checked the garbage and saw five banana peels and realized what I'd done and laughed at me.
And that's the story. I'm sure you can't believe that I just wrote all this about eating bananas. I can't believe it either. But going back to when I was sitting at the blood center... I think the moral of the story, if there is one, is that bananas are a great thing. And that while my housemates may be prolific in their consumption, I am a bigger fan than they can possibly fathom.
Dianne had just come back from the store, and had bought five bananas. And I was pretty hungry, as I'd probably just come back from practice or something. So I had a banana. And since it was really good, and everyone knows that bananas are the greatest snack ever, partly because they come in their own disposable wrapper, I had a second banana. I ran off to my room, thinking, "man, I'm still pretty hungry..." So I came back to the kitchen and had a third banana.
At this point only two of the five original bananas remained. To be honest, the fourth banana was a blur. I don't really remember eating it, though I do remember throwing out the peel and thinking, "there's four banana peels in the garbage. That's pretty funny." My thoughts then turned to the fact that if I'd come this far, I might as well eat the fifth banana. So I did just that.
Dianne realized a while later that there were no bananas on the fruit stand and figured she'd forgotten them in the car when she unloaded the groceries, so she checked the trunk. When she returned I told her that I'd eaten all five. She didn't really believe me and just assumed that she'd forgotten them in her cart at the supermarket. Then she checked the garbage and saw five banana peels and realized what I'd done and laughed at me.
And that's the story. I'm sure you can't believe that I just wrote all this about eating bananas. I can't believe it either. But going back to when I was sitting at the blood center... I think the moral of the story, if there is one, is that bananas are a great thing. And that while my housemates may be prolific in their consumption, I am a bigger fan than they can possibly fathom.
Get busy
So here's where I'm at right now. I've been looking around for jobs a lot. This includes looking at job sites, as well as looking at company sites that aren't hiring, but that sound pretty cool from what their websites say (that sounds like a pretty unintelligent search, I know). Also, I've been emailing a handful of Tufts alumni I found online, and I've corresponded with a handful of them. But as I'm sure I've lamented before, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. (Dangling participle?) This of course is a problem when one piece of advice I've received is to be tenacious.
** Yes, Aaron's easy-going ways aren't exactly helping him get a leg-up that might separate his application from those of the competition. **
But I'm convinced that I'll figure out sooner or later (yes we all hope sooner) what looks good. And while it might sound like I just don't care about ever finding something, that's not at all true. It's just that I'm not feeling horribly defeated by my lack of direction. At least not for the moment. It isn't all that exciting, but it's really not such a bad thing.
On a somewhat related note, my apologies to anyone who, along the way, might have suggested someone I get in touch with. I think that a couple people gave me names, and I remember not really paying attention to those names, and it probably came off as me ignoring the suggestion. At the time I think it had more to do with not being sure what to do with a bunch of names that didn't mean anything to me. Well now that I'm used to emailing complete strangers whose names don't mean anything, I'm more than happy to try again with those names you suggested. So if you're reading this, and you know what I'm talking about, hit me up with those names again. I'd love to network with them. Thanks.
** Yes, Aaron's easy-going ways aren't exactly helping him get a leg-up that might separate his application from those of the competition. **
But I'm convinced that I'll figure out sooner or later (yes we all hope sooner) what looks good. And while it might sound like I just don't care about ever finding something, that's not at all true. It's just that I'm not feeling horribly defeated by my lack of direction. At least not for the moment. It isn't all that exciting, but it's really not such a bad thing.
On a somewhat related note, my apologies to anyone who, along the way, might have suggested someone I get in touch with. I think that a couple people gave me names, and I remember not really paying attention to those names, and it probably came off as me ignoring the suggestion. At the time I think it had more to do with not being sure what to do with a bunch of names that didn't mean anything to me. Well now that I'm used to emailing complete strangers whose names don't mean anything, I'm more than happy to try again with those names you suggested. So if you're reading this, and you know what I'm talking about, hit me up with those names again. I'd love to network with them. Thanks.
Not much
So I've got a library card.
That's the latest (and really the only) news. I swear I'm not trying to sound excessively sullen (sigh).
That's the latest (and really the only) news. I swear I'm not trying to sound excessively sullen (sigh).
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