I know, I’ve been quiet for almost two months. Lots to update about, but just been busybusy. I’ll write again here soon, promise.
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Flickr Photos
Awesome weekend
Jun 1, ’11
12:53 PM
I took Friday off this past weekend to give myself the holiday weekend vibe, and just generally unplugged myself from all my work stuff, and it was awesome.
On Friday, The Girlfriend & I went to Boston Common to have ourselves a picnic! Found a nice quiet spot in the shade, and proceeded to enjoy a nice, languid day. Ended up wandering down Newbury after a while, checked out some sweet hats at Goorin Bros. (and found quite a few for both of us!), and finally ended up relaxing at my place for a while. Headed back to her place after a while, and she cooked up some super tasty lemon chicken, which I promptly gobbled up!
Saturday consisted of us lazing about for a while at her place, then packing up our swimsuits & heading to her friend’s place down in Dedham to enjoy a pool party! The Girlfriend’s good friend E came with us, and it was fun to get to know her, as we’d only exchanged hellos previously.
While we didn’t get a ton of time in the sun (the pool was in the middle of his complex, and we didn’t get outside until later in the afternoon), we had a great time, lots of good conversation & laughs. We ended up passing out at about 10pm that night at my place. Exciting, aren’t we? :P
Sunday consisted of us waking up at our normal weekday time (grrr, one of those “features” of getting old), but then we proceeded to watch No Strings Attached, which was both a super cute movie, and definitely channeled some of our own relationship quirks. Totally crazy, we definitely saw parts of ourselves in the characters in a big way.
After that, we met up with her friend L & L’s boyfriend for brunch at Daedalus by Harvard Square. Super tasty, and L’s boyfriend & I hit it off for sure; we’re both developers & musicians, so that’s fun. Proceeded to meander through some shops & pick up some tasty gourmet groceries in Harvard Square, then headed back to The Girlfriend’s place for an impromptu dinner party.
Much bourbon was drank, a whole chicken consumed, courtesy of The Girlfriend’s brilliant cooking, and hilarity ensued.
All in all, an abso-frickin-lutely awesome weekend!
Sunday Funday!
May 23, ’11
11:39 AM
So yesterday, The Girlfriend & I spent the day together; went to brunch, did a bit of wandering, relaxed all afternoon at her place.
For brunch, had myself a super tasty Cuban sandwich, and I tried her mussels (first time I’ve ever tried ’em), which I found quite good! This, of course, threw her for a loop again, as she’s been trying to figure out what flavors/textures I like, and which ones I don’t. I’m all over the place with this though: I like sushi, but not mushrooms, french fries, but not potatoes. The list of random pickiness goes on.
The food thing has been really interesting with us; she’s a serious foodie and a great cook, but also super allergic (and has decided to go gluten-free), while I’m pretty basic in my food tastes and, quite simply, somewhat picky. But her excitement for food is completely contagious; I find myself totally wanting to try the things she concocts/orders/mentions.
After brunch, we meandered down Beacon to Coolidge Corner, stopping in a few shops, then relaxed with some coffee (for her) and lemonade-tea (for me), while reading and enjoying the gluten-free cupcakes I’d picked up for her at Sweet.
Finally, we went back to her place, where we dozed, snuggled, and nerded out for the rest of the day. Just a really brilliant day. Looking forward to many more with her!
Playing a gig @ The Precinct tonight!
Sep 8, ’10
11:11 AM
Kept meaning to send this out sooner, but oh well. A band I play with is playing at Precinct, which is at 70 Union Sq., Somerville tonight.
The whole night starts at about 8pm, we go on at 10:15pm sharp, cover is $5 (and it all comes our way, so you’d be supporting us directly!)
We play a mix of R&B, reggae, and jazz, and tonight it’s Richard Matra on tenor sax, Keith Cornella & Neil Itzler on guitars, myself on bass and Tony Hall on drums.
Hope to see you there!
Matrajah (3rd set, my band):
Jalopy (2nd set):
Evan Laflamme (opener):
Related show
Ping!
Sep 5, ’10
12:16 AM
So Apple just let loose with lots of cool stuff this past Wednesday, including a new version of iTunes. The usual UI changes (the change to the bottom toolbar is quite tasty to my eyes, but the icon, well, I’ve already switched it out), a few feature refinements (when playing music via AirTunes, check out the per-device volume by selecting the “Multiple Speakers…” bit!), and Ping.
I’m really digging Ping, and while it seems to be starting out simply, as always with Apple, they’ll slowly build upon it.
So, find me on Ping!
It’s my party
Sep 1, ’10
12:01 AM
Twenty seven years ago today, I showed up. So far, it’s been a hell of a ride. Moving from New Jersey to North Carolina, attending Catholic school for my entire primary & secondary education, learning music, getting into computers, picking up the bass, traveling the world with my family, moving to Boston & going to Berklee, graduating from Berklee, working for Apple, Inc., ending up working for myself as a web developer…
Not too shabby for twenty seven years. Let’s take a look at me near the beginning:
Me & my little sis in Jan of ’86; I’m 2 years old, she’s 6 mos.
And here I am now:
A photo my mom took of me about a week & a half before my 27th birthday.
Pretty cool. Here’s to the next twenty-seven years.
So far, so good…
Mar 19, ’10
12:27 AM
So it’s been a few months into 2010. I’ve made good on my promise to plug back into the music scene; been playing almost every Sunday with Rich Matra’s reggae/jazz band Matrajah. My friend JoBeth got me the spot, and Rich has liked my playing so far. The band is definitely a rotating ensemble, with Rich holding down tenor sax & sometimes vocals and myself on bass, but the drum chair & the guitar spot have been different almost every week. This week though, JoBeth returns to the drum throne, and Neal Itzler is on guitar, so that’ll be great.
Neal, oddly enough, was my first semester ensemble teacher at Berklee, so it’s kinda bizarre to be on the bandstand with him, but he’s a killer guitarist, and definitely helps keep things together on the bandstand.
Along with that, my buddy Andy hit me up to start a rock cover band, and, while I was tired of the cover scene a few years ago, I’ve recharged enough by now to give it a shot. We had some mutual friends lined up for the guitar & drum spots, but they had to pull out after realizing they were over committed. So if anyone out there wants to play some rock music, say the word!
As for work, that’s been going well! Still doing things exclusively with Elative Marketing, my friend Kyung Min’s company, and that’s worked out really well. Money is still tough though, since it comes in spurts (for example, I’m waiting on two big checks this week, which will be my first paychecks since mid-February), so that’s a bit hard, but I’m definitely learning greater discipline, which is really good for me. I’ll be posting some follow-up posts about some of the sites I’ve completed recently, and discussing them in greater depth on the Elative blog.
I’m still not fully adjusted back to being single, but then again the last time I was single for more than about a month was in 2005 (Amber & I got together February 2006). I still see her, and there’s a part of me that still feels a twinge, and I sometimes find myself wondering “what if it had worked out?” But I made my decision, and as painful as it was, I still think it was the best one for both of us.
The weather has finally turned warm this week (after a monsoon-like three day rainstorm), and that’s kinda what prompted this post. A little “spring cleaning” as it were. Oh, and so far, I’ve made good on my Project 52 commitment, so that’s almost one quarter down. We’ll see how I do after another few months.
Oh, and those of you lurking, reading my posts, come on now, you can comment you know! I even enabled the ability to log in using your Twitter account if you want to. I’m still working on the Facebook Connect thing, that’s a little tougher, but I’ll get it.
Making the attempt
Jan 5, ’10
10:55 AM
I post here somewhat infrequently, and I’d like to be better about that. So, I’ve committed myself to Project52, which takes its name from the 52 weeks of the year, and the aim of the project is to write at least one blog post every week for a year. I’ll be tagging all of my posts this year “Project52” in an effort to monitor my progress.
We’ll see how I’ve done come this time next year.
Slings and Arrows
Dec 18, ’09
10:30 PM
I had a hell of a time the last few months. Amber, who was living with me, & I broke up in August. That same week, my best friend’s father died very suddenly, and because of how things worked out with my schedule, I couldn’t even take off to support him at the funeral.
And to top it off, I ceased to be an employee of Apple in September. After everything else, I was totally thrown. My initial reaction was fear. What am I going to do? After the shock passed, I sat down & started looking at things, and was overcome with relief. It was like I had been stuck, and was now literally and figuratively cut free. My only remaining fear was in regards to my healthcare, but thankfully there’s a subsidy in place for anyone who’s lost their job since September 2008 that’s helping with that.
I’ve spent the last few months taking a hard look at my expenses & figuring out how it’s all going to work, and have decided to make a go of it as a web developer. Thankfully, I’d already secured steady work from Elative Marketing, and while I’ve had to learn a great deal very quickly, I’m very keen on continuing my relationship with them.
As for my music, it’s been way too long. I’ve been practicing more lately, and I’ve really got the itch. So if anybody needs a bassist, say the word!
New look
Dec 11, ’09
5:05 PM
I’m sure you’ve all noticed the new look. What do you think? I figured it was time for a change, and Khoi Vinh’s Basic Maths theme seemed pretty spiffy. If anyone sees anything broken, or you just wanna say how sweet it is, comment below!
