I spent the day yesterday with one of my favorite couples here in San Fran. Imagine if you will, two foodies who enjoy being outside and laffing and having a couple of drinks... like they could be my bestest friends ever!
We ate at Sunflower, a Vietnamese restaurant near 16th and Valencia and the food was great. It was my first time eating Vietnamese food, but i gave it a try and was rewarded. We left there and went to Pride of the Mediterranean on Fillmore for hookah. Another first for me. I took a few pulls and enjoyed the strawberriness (not a word, i know). It was really smooth and i liked that. The highlight for me was the Arabic Tea (which we had two pots of).
From there we went to the Cliff House o lok at the Ocean (and freeze our asses off). Next was a couple of drinks followed by dinner at La Traviata in the Mission. After that I was BEYOND tired. I think i got into the bed at 9:50 and slept the night away.
Today should be a pretty busy day between Fan Fest and the XM Futures Game. I plan to pretty much be on the go from start to finish. Tomorrow is also going t be a long one with an early morning broadcast from the suite here at the hotel to Fan Fest to the HomeRun Derby. There's even rumors of trying to get into the Jay-Z/Barry Bonds party at Roe on Monday night.
Needless to say my flight leaves at 6am on Tuesday so I will be doing my best to just stay awake thru the night so i can sleep the whole way home.
Showing posts with label Friendship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friendship. Show all posts
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
Joy and Pain
It's like sunshine... and rain...
That sums up the weekend.
There was good food, great people, lots of laffing and even a little crying (yes, i'm the only one that cried). I think we experienced every weather condition possible... oppressive heat, cold rain... you name it, we had it. Of course there was also my persistent neck pain and a brief stint of an altered state of consciousness, but overall it was an amazing weekend.
As someone who is rarely around the majority of the folks that i call my friends, this weekend was a much needed opportunity for me to spend time with folks that i genuinely love and care about. I will admit that the whole thing made me even more emotional than usual but i honestly did my best to control my gayness.
There was also strippers, likka, and some other stuff but i'll have to save that for another blog. I have to start getting ready for Jamaica!
That sums up the weekend.
There was good food, great people, lots of laffing and even a little crying (yes, i'm the only one that cried). I think we experienced every weather condition possible... oppressive heat, cold rain... you name it, we had it. Of course there was also my persistent neck pain and a brief stint of an altered state of consciousness, but overall it was an amazing weekend.
As someone who is rarely around the majority of the folks that i call my friends, this weekend was a much needed opportunity for me to spend time with folks that i genuinely love and care about. I will admit that the whole thing made me even more emotional than usual but i honestly did my best to control my gayness.
There was also strippers, likka, and some other stuff but i'll have to save that for another blog. I have to start getting ready for Jamaica!
Monday, May 21, 2007
10 19 46 51
10: The number of days until I see an old friend again. That's like the official kickoff to my summer of greatness. After I hug her to death I plan to spend the rest of the weekend laffing like a fool and relaxing
19: The number of days until we leave for Jamaica. Man... if ever i needed a vacation... I hope to spend the majority of that trip laying next to someone's beach, sipping some sort of alcoholic beverage and relaxing.
46: The number of days until my trip to the MLB All Star week festivities. Never been to something like this and i'm really looking forward to it. Although I try to hide my baseball enthusiast side, I'm extremely excited to be going to this event. Hopefully i'll get to meet some folks and finally enjoy some perks of the job.
51: That's the number of days until my leave of absence and subsequent cross-country drive. I have like a MILLION things to do before then so I really need to focus. I think that by the end of this week I'm going to do one last budget and then start tying up the loose ends... new tires, dentist appointment, Fishbone's trip to the vet, etc. I have a lot to do and it's about to get real hectic. I need to get on the ball before I find myself completely out of time.
It's nice to be this happy and excited after being so unhappy for so long.
19: The number of days until we leave for Jamaica. Man... if ever i needed a vacation... I hope to spend the majority of that trip laying next to someone's beach, sipping some sort of alcoholic beverage and relaxing.
46: The number of days until my trip to the MLB All Star week festivities. Never been to something like this and i'm really looking forward to it. Although I try to hide my baseball enthusiast side, I'm extremely excited to be going to this event. Hopefully i'll get to meet some folks and finally enjoy some perks of the job.
51: That's the number of days until my leave of absence and subsequent cross-country drive. I have like a MILLION things to do before then so I really need to focus. I think that by the end of this week I'm going to do one last budget and then start tying up the loose ends... new tires, dentist appointment, Fishbone's trip to the vet, etc. I have a lot to do and it's about to get real hectic. I need to get on the ball before I find myself completely out of time.
It's nice to be this happy and excited after being so unhappy for so long.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Addiction
I've known addiction all my life. I was born into a household where my mom, dad and oldest sister smoked, my dad struggled with alcohol and gambling, and my brother-in-law smoked weed. While i know it was a somewhat different time then, i knew from a very young age the things that they were putting into their bodies and the likely effects it would have on them.
As I got older (and by older i mean 10), I began to experiment with alcohol and cigarettes. By 12 I had a full-blown drinking problem and had started to dabble in a number of drugs. I spent most of the summer before my 9th grade year in a "special camp" (ie rehab). I have come to understand that i have an addictive personality and am predisposed to addiction. I am also aware that at almost any moment i could slip back to where i was and wind up in "camp" all over again.
Over the past year or so, I have separated myself from a lot of people that i felt had the potential to negatively impact my well-being as it relates to addiction. I'm never going to look down my nose at others for what they do, but because i know my own limits (or lack of limits), I know that i can't be around some folks for fear of spiraling out of control. Although I still drink more than i should and am easily sucked into gambling, I really do work hard to keep it all fairly moderate.
We all have our vices and demons that we deal with. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. But overcoming those vices takes strength and support from those closest to us. There will always be those assholes that try to bring you down ("one drink ain't gonna hurt") but when you're able to build up a strong enough support system, it becomes easier and easier to resist those temptations.
I say all this to say, someone i care about has an addiction and i hope he reads this and realizes that I've been where he is and i'm there for him.
As I got older (and by older i mean 10), I began to experiment with alcohol and cigarettes. By 12 I had a full-blown drinking problem and had started to dabble in a number of drugs. I spent most of the summer before my 9th grade year in a "special camp" (ie rehab). I have come to understand that i have an addictive personality and am predisposed to addiction. I am also aware that at almost any moment i could slip back to where i was and wind up in "camp" all over again.
Over the past year or so, I have separated myself from a lot of people that i felt had the potential to negatively impact my well-being as it relates to addiction. I'm never going to look down my nose at others for what they do, but because i know my own limits (or lack of limits), I know that i can't be around some folks for fear of spiraling out of control. Although I still drink more than i should and am easily sucked into gambling, I really do work hard to keep it all fairly moderate.
We all have our vices and demons that we deal with. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. But overcoming those vices takes strength and support from those closest to us. There will always be those assholes that try to bring you down ("one drink ain't gonna hurt") but when you're able to build up a strong enough support system, it becomes easier and easier to resist those temptations.
I say all this to say, someone i care about has an addiction and i hope he reads this and realizes that I've been where he is and i'm there for him.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
4 down, 4 to go
I took my last exam of the semester last night. I am officially finished with my second year of Law School. I am now officially half way there (i'm a part time student). As gueling as this process is, it isn't as bad as i expected. Well it kinda is... but I'm not suicidal.
I remember when it all started... i didn't know what in the hell to expect. That seems like so damned long ago. I was thinking back to a surprise party that my friends threw for me to celebrate my nerdy accomplishment... the people that were there... I don't talk to more than half of them now. If someone would have told me on that day to look around the table and pick the 4 people i thought i would be cool with three years later, i'm not sure whether i would have guessed correctly. Throughout my life I've been a bit of a friend collector. I liked having lots of "friends" and knowing people. It kinda made me feel important to be able to go somewhere and always see a "friend." Over the last few years though, I've started to move away from that. It's kinda nice to go somewhere and not recognize folks. There's a certain comfort in anonymity... But yeah, here i am three years later. I am a completely different person, and i like it.
So with year #2 behind me I can officially switch gears to my summer plans... getting to catch up with a friend i haven't seen in over a year, going to Jamaica with someone I love dearly, travelling across country on a 6 week adventure... there's just so much for me to look forward to and quite honestly, I deserve every bit of it.
I remember when it all started... i didn't know what in the hell to expect. That seems like so damned long ago. I was thinking back to a surprise party that my friends threw for me to celebrate my nerdy accomplishment... the people that were there... I don't talk to more than half of them now. If someone would have told me on that day to look around the table and pick the 4 people i thought i would be cool with three years later, i'm not sure whether i would have guessed correctly. Throughout my life I've been a bit of a friend collector. I liked having lots of "friends" and knowing people. It kinda made me feel important to be able to go somewhere and always see a "friend." Over the last few years though, I've started to move away from that. It's kinda nice to go somewhere and not recognize folks. There's a certain comfort in anonymity... But yeah, here i am three years later. I am a completely different person, and i like it.
So with year #2 behind me I can officially switch gears to my summer plans... getting to catch up with a friend i haven't seen in over a year, going to Jamaica with someone I love dearly, travelling across country on a 6 week adventure... there's just so much for me to look forward to and quite honestly, I deserve every bit of it.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
4/19/2007
I've been trying to start this blog for hours but... I just don't know what to say.
Today I was official granted an absolute divorce i.e. my marriage is over. The hearing itself was pretty uneventful. No outbursts, more laffing than I would have expected. It was just an ordinary day at the courthouse. The whole thing took 13 minutes tops... and then we went to IHOP. We laffed some more, talked about our families... and then we went our separate ways... and i didn't cry. I didn't feel the emptiness i expected. I just felt at peace.
The 4 years that I spent with him taught me a TON about myself. I always thought that my ultimate goal in life was to be my mother. I've since realized that I don't have to be exactly like her to still be the wonderful type of person she is. I learned that if I'm not happy, things just can't go smoothly...
At 31 I can honestly say that i've probably spent 29 yrs trying to make others happy.
That's just not gonna work. It's one thing to want to do nice things for ppl but it's another thing to totally lose yourself in the process. I was LOST, dude. I was fortunate enough to have friends that pushed me to find myself. When everything is over I sent a text message to a good friend... someone who has always been incredibly encouraging and who has pushed me to be the best person i can be from the moment i first met him. I think the most important words i heard today came from him. He said, "I'm happy that you see HOW damn much you've grown in the last couple of years. Now a new time begins... The bay is right around the corner... Life is about to get exciting!"
When i think about it he saw me at my lowest point. I spoke to him the day I realized that my marriage was over. He gave me strength to move forward and to be strong enough to realize that I was strong. Words cannot express my gratitude... seriously.
In 2yrs i've gone from probably the lowest point to what might my highest point so far. I'm surprised when I look in the mirror half the time. I'm happy to be where I am and I'm happy to have ppl close to me that love and care about me and I will continue to improve myself for them, but most importantly, for myself.
Today I was official granted an absolute divorce i.e. my marriage is over. The hearing itself was pretty uneventful. No outbursts, more laffing than I would have expected. It was just an ordinary day at the courthouse. The whole thing took 13 minutes tops... and then we went to IHOP. We laffed some more, talked about our families... and then we went our separate ways... and i didn't cry. I didn't feel the emptiness i expected. I just felt at peace.
The 4 years that I spent with him taught me a TON about myself. I always thought that my ultimate goal in life was to be my mother. I've since realized that I don't have to be exactly like her to still be the wonderful type of person she is. I learned that if I'm not happy, things just can't go smoothly...
At 31 I can honestly say that i've probably spent 29 yrs trying to make others happy.
That's just not gonna work. It's one thing to want to do nice things for ppl but it's another thing to totally lose yourself in the process. I was LOST, dude. I was fortunate enough to have friends that pushed me to find myself. When everything is over I sent a text message to a good friend... someone who has always been incredibly encouraging and who has pushed me to be the best person i can be from the moment i first met him. I think the most important words i heard today came from him. He said, "I'm happy that you see HOW damn much you've grown in the last couple of years. Now a new time begins... The bay is right around the corner... Life is about to get exciting!"
When i think about it he saw me at my lowest point. I spoke to him the day I realized that my marriage was over. He gave me strength to move forward and to be strong enough to realize that I was strong. Words cannot express my gratitude... seriously.
In 2yrs i've gone from probably the lowest point to what might my highest point so far. I'm surprised when I look in the mirror half the time. I'm happy to be where I am and I'm happy to have ppl close to me that love and care about me and I will continue to improve myself for them, but most importantly, for myself.
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