Happy Halloween! Don't overdo it on the "treats" tonight or you might end up like this guy:
Thursday, October 31, 2002 @ 14:48 » 
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I had a little surprise while watching the news before dinner tonight: channel 5 (WCVB2) is running a commercial for Halloween in Salem that features a bunch of sites around town. I hadn't seen the commercial before, but our family's house is one of the first things they show (they pan from our house to our neighbor's). If you live in MA, keep an eye out for it. Here's what to look for:
Tuesday, October 29, 2002 @ 01:03 » Comments
Hey look, my roommate made the paper3! Well, online at least. And yes, his girlfriend can definitely dance.
Friday, October 25, 2002 @ 14:51 » Comments
What's wrong with me? Ok, so I had a blast at that event last night: had a few drinks, had a few treats, got home at about midnight. I went to bed right away, but only slept for an hour or two ... and I've been up since then, unable to get back to sleep. My roommate's girlfriend isn't complaining, though; she got a ride home this morning instead of taking the T and walking home in the cold. I can't really complain either: I think everyone that went out last night is feeling a little groggy this morning. In the me vs. hangover match-up, I'm still undefeated.
Ridiculous tolerance = good.
Friday, October 25, 2002 @ 08:14 » Comments
I could get used to this: last night Shelley invited me to the grand opening of the Meritage, a restaurant at the Boston Harbor Hotel on Rowes Wharf. She runs the Anne Fontaine boutique on the Public Gardens and gets these invitations all the time. Anyway, they offered an amazing array of complimentary passed food, drinks and desserts. I'm not typically a fan of seafood, but with their waterfront location the menu understandably favored caviar, scallops, tuna and bass. All of their samples were amazing! After serving entree selections for the early part of the evening, they shifted the offerings to their after-dinner fare. The pecan pie and chocolate mousse were definite favorites. Throughout the evening, the gorgeous crowd (packed to the gills, pardon the expression, with Boston socialites) enjoyed sour apple martinis, cosmopolitans, champagne and select wines (e.g. one of my favorite chardonnays by Clos du Bois4).
Of course, when all was said and done we still stopped at one of my/Boston's best kept secrets (if I told you, it wouldn't be) for a slice of chicken pizza.
Friday, October 25, 2002 @ 04:19 » Comments
The Boston Bruins retired number 24 last night in a ceremony5 preceding their home opener that honored Terry O'Reilly. Known for his toughness, O'Reilly still holds one notable club record 17 years after his retirement: 2,095 penalty minutes. It was appropriate that he stepped out of the penalty box to start things off. Ray Bourque called him the "ultimate Bruin" and added that O'Reilly's banner now hangs "next to mine, protecting me again."
Friday, October 25, 2002 @ 04:05 » Comments
Looks like my high school's football team is still doing well. St. John's Prep was nationally ranked by USA Today when I was a student there and the Eagles are still ranked #1 in MA6 by the Boston Globe. Our arch-rival, Xaverian, is a close 4th, which sets the stage for another big game at our traditional Thanksgiving day match-up. You may remember how the game went last year ...
Thursday, October 24, 2002 @ 14:13 » Comments
Can you believe it? It's not even November and we've already had our first snowfall7 in MA. I hope that means we'll have a great winter for skiing and snowboarding.
Wednesday, October 23, 2002 @ 12:42 » Comments
The other night I found this site by a designer named Ben Schwabauer. It's called whoisben.com8. I also have a friend from CT named Ben, so I sent him an IM with the link and said "This isn't you ... I'm confused." He was confused, too, so he wrote Ben Schwabauer a note.
You see, you can't be Ben. I'm Ben. Today I went to whoisben.com in a vain attempt to find myself and, instead, I found you. You are obviously not me and I am Ben, so I think your site is in error. If you like, I can send you an html page that would clear up the confusion this must be causing the 10's, if not 20's of people who go to whoisben.com searching for me. Really, it wouldn't be too much of a problem.
Just thought you might like to know.
-ben (ben@blowery.org9)
P.S. Really nice site.
Now the question is, should I register whoisjack.com?
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 @ 14:09 » Comments
I can't wait until digital cameras start coming out with Foveon's new X3 technology10. I'm using a Canon S110 Digital Elph right now and I love it, but there's no denying how much better these new cameras will be. The first one, called the Sigma SD9, is supposed to be released this month. Unfortunately, it's an SLR and I want a point-and-shoot. You hear that Canon?
Monday, October 21, 2002 @ 23:51 » Comments
I'm pretty picky when it comes to dating, but I've still made a few mistakes. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place11 ...
Monday, October 21, 2002 @ 23:29 » Comments
Alright, I've probably been to just about every bar worth mentioning in Boston. But I'd never been to the Harp, which is across the street from the Fleet Center. It gets packed after just about every Celtics and Bruins game, which is why I'd avoided it for so long. Marc was heading there tonight to meet up with a friend who was bringing 13 of her (female) friends from college. So I decided to join him (what can I say, I liked the ratio!). 
All joking aside, though, they were pretty cool. I ended up having a few good conversations during the course of the night ... and we'll probably all meet up again tomorrow for the Head of the Charles.
Oh, random story: I was taking the night owl bus back to my apartment and this girl got on just before we left. She looked really familiar, but I couldn't recall how I knew her. My friends will tell you that I can remember faces and details like no one else ... but I'm horrible with names! If I bump into someone from college, I can tell you where they went to high school, where they lived at Georgetown and how we met, but I can't remember their name to save my life. Anyway, I got this girl's attention and told her that we'd met, but I couldn't remember how. Her first reaction was probably "nice line" ... but we talked for a minute or two, and then she told me her name. She said it was Carrie and I immediately remembered everything. We'd met at a friend's Saint Patrick's Day party in 2001 and then bumped into each other on a Boston Harbor cruise that summer. Once I explained that, she was like "omigod, I remember you!" (FYI: for those of you who are keeping track, that was the year I dyed my goatee for Saint Paddy's.) We had a pretty funny talk during the rest of the ride, but it was cool to reestablish contact with such a random acquaintance.
Sunday, October 20, 2002 @ 04:06 » Comments
Today was like a sitcom. I volunteered to help out with another MetroLacrosse event, but I overslept because I set my alarm for PM instead of AM. Then on the way there, I got lost in Belmont Center. Of course, I wasn't getting reception on my cell phone so I couldn't call to check the directions I had. Then when I thought I found the school I was looking for (Belmont High School), it ends up I had the wrong place. Finally, someone I stopped to ask for help suggested that I might be looking for the Belmont Hill School. So about two hours after I was supposed to be there, I arrived. I felt really bad for the delay, but the girl who organizes these events was super nice about it and the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Their last fall event is at Harvard in two weeks, so I'll probably be there again (depending on the schedule, of course, since my parents are having an enormous BBQ party for the BC-Notre Dame football game that day).
If I can make it, I think I'll double check my alarm that day.
Saturday, October 19, 2002 @ 18:54 » Comments
DrinkMaster Bartending
It's been a few days since I last added anything new here, but I have a good excuse: I was getting recertified for bartending. When I worked at The Tombs12, we received TIPS training (I forget what that stands for), but it expires after three years ... so I ended up going to DrinkMaster Bartending13 to get lifelong certification. The class was definitely worth it; I had great instructors, my classmates were cool, and I learned a lot.
After we finished the class last night, a few of us went out to the Good Life. I tried a few drinks that I'd learned, but never had before. We left the bar around 11.00p, so I thought it was too late to meet up with anyone. Phil had gone over to Alison's for dinner, though, and they finished off about six bottles of wine with Sarah and Kelly. I figured that it would be entertaining to stop by and see what was going on, and I wasn't disappointed. (I won't say what happened, though!)
Saturday, October 12, 2002 @ 13:13 » Comments
Well, Octoberfest was everything we hoped it would be. I went over with Marc a little later than planned, but we had our Friend of Harpoon cards and got to wait in the shorter of the two lines. It still took over half an hour to get in, but it was worth the wait. Inside, we each sampled a few beers, ran into plenty of friends and had an enjoyable evening. I saw people from Georgetown, old coworkers and some high school friends. Afterwards, we hopped a cab to Faneuil Hall and met friends at the Bell in Hand. We'd started so early at the brewery, though, that I was home and in bed just after midnight. Now I'm looking forward to a relaxing Sunday ...
Oh, before I go here's a photo I took under Harpoon's tent. I held the camera over my head to get this shot, so it shows off the real scope of the party. And if you look closely, you can see one of the featured oompah bands performing at the other end of the venue.
Sunday, October 06, 2002 @ 10:58 » Comments
About a week ago I went to the BCAE14 Volunteer Fair hoping to find a few good organizations to get involved with. There were plenty of them, but I was most excited about MetroLacrosse15. They get kids from around Boston involved in lacrosse and use their various events to teach them about leadership, teamwork and commitment, among other things. I had been in touch with one of the guys I met at the fair and he sent me some info about an event they were running this morning. I was looking forward to the opportunity to get involved, so I stopped by to check it out ... and I was able to help right away. I just tried to take care of some of the logistical headaches (keeping coolers full of water, helping clean up afterwards), but I got a chance to meet a bunch of people and had a great time. I'm definitely hoping to do more with them in the future.
I just got back to my apartment, though, and I'm getting ready to head over to the Harpoon Brewery16 Octoberfest. I was supposed to go over with my roommates and some friends, but they ditched me and went over early. Can you believe it? Not even a phone call to let me know! Oh well, a few other friends called about going over later so I'm gonna meet up with them instead. Screw the rest of 'em, right?
Saturday, October 05, 2002 @ 15:19 » Comments
If you're thinking about seeing a movie, I'd recommend going to Moonlight Mile17. Hilary has a brief cameo at the beginning of the movie (keep an eye out for the bride that they see from the motorcade), so she invited a bunch of us to see her silver screen debut. I didn't know what to expect from the rest of the show, but I'd heard that it was getting good reviews and was considered an Oscar contender. Having sat through the whole thing, I was really impressed. The characters had depth and were more realistic than you would expect. Susan Sarandon pulled off an especially perfect blend of humor and heartbreak ... I'm sure she'll receive some serious recognition for her role. I'd have a tough time classifying the movie, though. At some points it was laugh-out-loud funny, while at others the girls that I was with were bawling their eyes out. The bottom line, though, is that the movie is worth seeing.
Saturday, October 05, 2002 @ 09:10 » Comments
I had a nice surprise last night ... my mom called me up around 7.00p because she had tickets to the Boston Symphony Orchestra18. She was supposed to go with my dad, but he was tied up. It's been years since the last time I went (we used to go to the childrens concerts when I was growing up), so I jumped at the opportunity. I can't say I really know the music that well, but I definitely recognized some of it. The first half featured some of Beethoveen's work (he and I have the same birthday) and the second half featured some of Stravinsky's work. I'd forgotten how impressive a live orchestra was, though! The sound just seems to surround and envelope you ... the landscape is so broad that it feels like you're sitting in the first row of a movie theater and can't take the whole thing in at once.
Friday, October 04, 2002 @ 10:56 » Comments
It's never a good idea to pass out when Jackson's around.
Friday, October 04, 2002 @ 00:11 » Comments
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