Sort of in intersting day today.  Around 1 today, I went with three guys from work- Tim, the managing editor, and Justin and another Tim, two other editors-  to the Chelsea Piers rec. center.  They were actually very mysterious about where we were going and what we were doing. They kept saying we were going to some sort of "initiation."  Anyway, it turned out that we were going to the batting cages to compete for a free lunch.  so the contest was whoever could hit five of ten pitches first in the fast-pitch cage won.  I was never the best hitter in the world, so i was a bit worried that I'd actually have to buy someone lunch.  I told them I once went an entire little league season without getting a hit, although it was only 13 at bats.  When I went down to Coney Island with Caryn last fall, I tried hitting in the medium speed cage, and it was not pretty at all. it think I hit maybe two.  So I wasn't feeling good about it at all today.  And I hate doing things that I don't have confidence in when other people are watching, particularly strangers.    And there were a lot of people at the batting cages.  I felt better when the three guys didn't hit more than 2 or 3 each.  So i stepped in, and let the first few go by.  Before we started, the guy operating the machine decided to make it even faster.  Anyway, i hit maybe two out of ten, left handed, which is sort of my preferred side.  The second time up, i hit from the right side, and somehow managed to hit 5, to the mild dismay of the other guys. So all in all, it wasn't too bad, though it stung my hands something fierce.  By my 4th turn, I didn't even want to hit after the fifth ball, and I jus stuck the bat out there weakly.  I haven't had to make a vigorous swinging motion like that in almost three years.  Anyway, I got a free lunch out of it.  I wonder if they woulda actually made me pay for lunch had I lost.

    So I didn't seem to have that much to do at work today.  I called the publicist at DC comics about a comic I'm reviewing.  She sounded like she was asleep or something.  It sort of tweaked me out.  I'm feeling a lot of pressure to produce these days.  I got a call from my mom about my finances and when I'm getting a job and if I don't have a job by my birthday I have to go home.  she also told me my NYU diploma came in the mail.  I said "wow."  She said "It cost you $55,000."  Super.
    I was helping the receptionist out today, and our Editor-in-chief Bob was walking out of the office and said "hey greg." And I said "Hey bob, how's it going?" and he said "i saw you were available to model for the June issue. That's great." and I said "Yeah, thanks," even though I had no idea what I was talking about.  i didn't find out till today, 24 hours after the fact, that Ben had taken the picture of me from my front page, the shirtless one that I had sent to Johanna as a joke, and put it in all the clear plastice hanging file boxes by the fax machine.  On top he wrote "Available to model in the June issue!"  Don't I feel like an asshole. I hate that, because I think everyone will think I'm the one who put it there, when i'm the last person who would've done it. When I was a freshman in college, Jed and Dan put all these pictures of me all over the dorm hallway, and I'd be sitting at my desk in my room as people would walk by, usually girls, and say shit like "What an egomaniac," or "boy, this guy sure does love himself," and I'd feel like an asshole. I don't think I even knew the pictures were there. Ok, maybe i did and I didn't take them down. But I didn't put them there.

    I've been listening a lot to this song by the Beta Band, "Dry the Rain."  It's on the High Fidelity soundtrack.  It's funny because in the movie, John Cusack is sitting in his record store, and he tells Dick "I will now sell five copies of the Beta Band's '3 E.P.s'," and he puts on this disc.  And all the people in the store start grooving to it and loving it, and ask about it, showing how easy it is to manipulate someone into liking something.  And it is, cos I can't stop listening to this song. And as luck would have it, the receptionist, Sage, had the cd with her.  I was telling someone at work the other day how susceptible to suggestion I am.  Like how I'll often order whatever the person in front of me orders.  Or how during the summer, while I was watching Ashley Judd film a movie in Washington Square Park, there was a Nantucket Nectars truck on the street giving out free samples, and not 3 hours later I was buying a drink, and what did I buy? A Nantucket fucking Nectar. They hooked me with their Half and Half lemonade-iced tea.  I am putty in the hands of Corporate America.

    So Ben and I were walking to the subway after work today when we ran in to Justin, one of the guys I went to the batting cage with, coming the other way.  His plans with these two girls who worked at the magazine fell through, so he asked us if we wanted to go to the Knicks game.  So I say, "OK."  I'd never been to an NBA game before, or to an event at Madison Square Garden, so I was sort of excited.  It's odd, because Caryn asked me the other night if I wanted to go to this precise game, but I told her I couldn't afford it.  So i got to go to the game for free.  And it was thermos night, so I got a free thermos out of it.  And I don't hang out with the staff at work outside of work either, so it was nice to actually talk to Justin about stuff besides work.  But we ended up talking about a lot of stuff for the magazine anyway, which was fine by me.  He's a good guy.  As far as I can tell.  At halftime we went and got a bite to eat at the over-priced restaurant/bar.  There was a hoop there, so we had a little free-throw shooting contest.  After my batting cage performance, Justin was reluctant to believe and claims of ineptitude at basketball I made.  He and Ben often play ball after work, and I've kind of wanted to go and they've asked me if I wanted to, but I was sort of squemish about it due to my sort of lack of game.  though they did play against Chuck D from Public Enemy once, and the other day they played against Tom Everett Scott, the drummer from That Thing You Do.  And Jennifer Connelly was there too.  Actually, that sort of made me not want to play. It's one thing to embarrass myself in front of anonymous strangers. It seems somehow worse to embarrass myself in front of famous people.  Anyway, long story short, I won the free-throw shoot-out.  I have to say, I was fairly money. So it was a nice little day today, as far as athletic prowess went.  And when we left the office, i was also winning the NCAA tournament pool.  though that may have changed by now.  The Knicks won, by the way, against the Raptors.  I really don't like the Knicks.  but an interesting night.

    St. Patrick's day is this weekend.  I'm wondering what I'll do.  I'm still sort of sick, so I may be sitting at home.  I never get into that whole thing anyway.  And last St. Patrick's day, I broke some French girl's glasses with my big, clumsy, oaf-head.  That hurt.  We'll try and be more careful this year.

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