There's been quite a bit going on in the last month or so. Most of it, unfortunately, has been going on within the confines of my head. And I suppose it'll stay there. I haven't felt much like updating this site, and really, my enthusiasm for this little online journal has waned drastically over the last year or two. So in all likelihood, this will probably be the last installment here at Daily Aggravations and Regrets. If nothing else, the name doesn't even work anymore. It hasn't been daily for many years now, and the aggravations and regrets are far too numerous to detail in any sort of narrative. The fact that I haven't been able to come up with a title that I like better than this one only reinforces the desire and/or need to just put this baby to rest. Personally, I'm surprised it lasted this long. Only a certain mix of boredom and vanity could produce such a result. But lately, this seems to embody all my technical limitations and creative roadblocks that have been frustrating me so mightily for some time now- I hate the way it looks, but don't have the time/energy/desire to really change it. Basically, I need to find a better creative outlet than picking colors of the background and fonts.
In short, this has become more trouble than it's worth. I'm not really sure what the worth is anymore. It used to be a fun way to flesh out half-baked ideas and help friends stay up to date. Now it's just a drag, and I actually feel guilty for neglecting it so.
Plus, with this entry and the pictures contained within, it just so happens that I've used up every single last bit of space on my webserver. So this seemed like a good time to pull the plug. I think five and a half years of documenting my life online is way more than enough.Possible updates in the future, most likely photo entries, but updates will be infrequent, if at all.
A new webpage may be along eventually, somewhere, called something. If you want to know, email me.
And if you're interested, seeing as this is the last entry: my first entry.If you want something resembling the humor that this page at one time (might have) had, only turned up to 11, check out kindofcrap.com.
So, in honor of the mundanity of the entries of the last few years, here's a fairly detailed account of the weekend of July 30-August 1, 2004.
My weekend was spent mostly in the East Village. This was easily the most time I've spent in that particular neighborhood in many years, as I spent parts of every night from Thursday to Sunday there. On Thursday, Miss Charming Melodee and I met at Dumpling Man, a newish restaurant on St. Marks Pl. She'd read a write-up of this place, which boasted handmade dumplings of a northern Chinese variety. And who doesn't like dumplings? So we sampled a few different kinds, all of which were quite tasty. Almost as good as mom makes. But not quite. I also ordered this shaved ice concoction that was a large part of my youth. It's just shave ice with sweetened red beans with condensed milk. But oh so tasty. This is a typical asian dessert. So we at that over in Tompkins Park, and had a generally pleasant time of it.
On Friday, Miss Charming Melodee and I dined at Sandobe on 1st ave, while we pondered what movie to see that evening. This has been a relative slow movie summer, at least as far as movies I've really wanted to see, but this weekend there were several that motivated me into action. While we were dining, Caryn's friend Emily (of Metric) walked in. Caryn mentioned that they were having dinner at Sandobe as well, and Emily came bearing a cake, which I assumed was to celebrate Caryn's recent birthday. Luckily, I didn't mention the cake to Caryn when I spoke to her before she arrived, as it was apparently a surprise. Anyway, I also didn't say hello to Emily, which was the less awkward of my two awkward choices. I don't know her that well, and didn't really have anything to say to her. But I was afraid she'd recognize me and be offended that I didn't say anything. The next day, while hanging out with Caryn and Emily in Tompkins Park, Caryn mentioned how lucky it was that I didn't mention the cake to her, to which Emily replied, "Yeah, and he didn't say 'hi' either." I felt like an antisocial jerk, but a) This is a feeling I'm quite used to, and b) it was still better than "Hi! How are you? Good! So what's up? Great!" etc, etc. I hate smalltalk.Anyway, Miss CM and I walked around the corner to Viniero's for a coffee, then over to the Village Cinema on 2nd ave to see "The Village." I'd read some so-so reviews of it, but I wanted to see it before I heard second-hand what the twist ending was. To my surprised it was sold out, so we bought tickets for the later show and walked back to the East Village. By this point, it was pretty goddam hot and humid. I was carrying a good percentage of my body weight as sweat in my jeans. We killed time in Cafe Pick Me Up drinking lemonade soda, which is one of man's greatest inventions. Anyway, the most frustrating thing about "The Village" experience actually happened outside the theater. When we left the theater the first time, i quickly ran away after getting the tickets, for fear that some asshole would blurt out the ending. So while we're waiting in line outside for our show, the previous show got out, and some asshole blurted out the ending, demonstratively motioning his "surprise" with his hands. If I had a gun, I would have shot him. I hope he has retarded children. Ok, maybe not. It'd be unfair to the kids, I guess. I guess I just hope he can't have kids. It'd be a shame to spread his dick-wad gene. But I hope he can't have kids because his penis gets burned off by acid. After his crotch was mauled by rabid attack dogs. Seriously, there should be some sort of justifiable citizen's arrest or something for people who do this. It enrages me beyond all belief, even my own. They get to see the movie, come out, have their laugh, then go off and enjoy their evening. The rest of us stand there, tickets already purchased, and have to watch a movie we already know the ending to. I changed my mind. I want him to have incredibly strong retarded children, who take turns kicking the shit out of him.
So the actual movie was about what I'd expected. Suspenseful, eerie, scary, and ultimately unsatisfying. The "surprise" ended up being the guess most people made months ago. Still, it was well acted and entertaining throughout. Bryce Dallas Howard was particularly good, and Joaquin Phoenix is just kind of creepy all by himself.
On Saturday, Miss CM went to visit her family upstate, leaving me to my own devices. And those devices lead me to sleep well past noon, until Caryn called. So after lolly gagging around for quite some time, I met her in Tompkins Park in the East Village. Eventually, Emily showed up, and we just sat there for a while. It rained heavily at one point, but we just sat there in the rain, which felt quite refreshing. Then I walked with Caryn to Houston St., and we sat by the 2nd ave subway stop eating lox and bagels from Russ and Daughters. Needless to say, this was the highlight of my day.
Early Sunday afternoon, we headed back into the East Village, to attend the going away party for Jen, who is leaving New York to move to Pittsburgh to finish her Ph.D. and to just get out of New York. The brunch/drinks were had at Croxley Ales on Ave B. The distinguishing factor of their brunch was the unappetizing amounts of pepper that covered most of the food. And the $3 bloody marys tasted like $3 bloody marys. I haven't really hung out with Jen that much over the last few years, especially since her and Jed started dating, but I'm still sad to see her go. There was a time when she was just about the only person I hung out with in New York, and she really helped shape my first two years here.
It was a beautiful day again, but also too hot, and especially since we'd been drinking, so we headed home. I was feeling restless in the evening, so we decided to go back to the city for dinner and a movie. The original plan was more dumplings, but after walking in the sweltering evening heat, we went to Sandobe instead. Miss CM never got her order, because the waitress confused "edamame" for "can I have a minute?" and walked away. Plus, she took so long that we missed the 10:00 movie, which was fine, as we ended up going back to Vinieros for delicious pastries and coffee. The sushi-movie-coffee trifecta (in that order) is probably one of my favorite ways to spend an evening. It's pretty tough to beat.
The movie we saw was Garden State. There was a lot of buzz around it a few months ago, but the reviews I read of it were only so-so, though mostly positive. Still, we're big fans of Zach Braff, or at least "Scrubs," as well as tales of hardship and self-discovery, so it seemed worth a shot. While I enjoyed the movie, it was somewhat unsatisfying. It had a lot of great moments, but it seemed like a lot of the scenes were patched together and tacked on, particularly the ending, and a lot of the monologues seemed forced. As was the case with The Village, the acting did a good job of covering the other shortcomings. Plus, the soundtrack was great. I'd buy it if I didn't have most of the songs already. I'd always kind of liked the Iron and Wine cover of the Postal Service song "Such Great Heights," but I've come to appreciate it a lot more after hearing it during this movie.
The most depressing thing about the movie, though, was the feeling i got from it, or rather the feeling I didn't get from it. I know what it was trying to do, and i remarked as we left the theatre that if I saw the movie five years ago, I probably would have loved it. But these days, I always see this kind of movie or story with a more detached eye, more grounded in cynical reality.
Well, might as well end with an actual aggravation and regret...
Right now, one of my bigger regrets is not going to France for one of Miss CM's friend's wedding. By all accounts, it was a lovely time. The trip was terribly expensive, which is why we didn't go, but I think if we really wanted to, we could have swung it. Just barely. And it's always nice to visit someplace if you know someone who lives there. Makes thing a lot easier. So I'm not sure when we'll have another chance to visit friends in Paris. Plus, we ended up going on a road trip instead which, while it was fun, lead to a rather unpleasant issue involving Matt and his girlfriend.
As far as aggravations, at this moment I'd say about 85% of the people in this city are pissing the fuck out of me. I can't stand the cavalcade of slow people, of obese people, of slow and obese people, plodding down the sidewalk or up the stairs like they have all the time in the world. I'm constantly aggravated by incompetent cashiers, waitresses, customer service personnel, co-workers, and children in the streets. And that dick that shouted out the end of "The Village." Also, I've really been letting baseball affect my life in adverse ways. Whether its the plight of the Phillies or my fantasy baseball team, when things go poorly for either one, I'm automatically in a rotten mood. And god forbid things go poorly for both, which has been happening a lot, i start screaming like a lunatic. The only baseball related item that I'm genuinely satisfied with is the name of my team, "Weapons of Ass Destruction." or "WAD." It works on many levels.
Sort of random pictures:
Jed, on a Park Slope rooftop, on July 4th
Me and Caryn at Coney Island, after Caryn won whatever that purple thing is supposed to be, July 3rd.
A house/business in Quakertown (i think) PA. Geoff and I got a little lost on the way to Philadelphia, due to traffic. He thought this was very amusing, as if some business owner, struggling to stay afloat, was suddenly struck with a grand idea: "How about we make it more...Russian!" And these hastily added towers are the result.
Me, Citizen's Bank Park, Philadelphia, July 24th.
Tim Worrell pitching to Sammy Sosa. He would eventually strike out to end the game. Just about the last game the Phillies won, which honestly has been effecting my mood more than I'm comfortable admitting.
7/30, 10:00 PM. A young lad outside a store called Mayhem on East 9th st and Ave. A. The sign says "Come to Mayhem." I really enjoy when kids mix capital and lower case letters. The "e" should be backwards or something. I had Miss CM take the picture, since she seems less threatening. Still, the kid ran inside to ask his mom, and the whole thing felt kind of creepy.
So, that's that.
For the very few of you who have read this regularly, thanks.
"It was...fun."