Swingers

I'll get into my day momentarily, but let's recap the evening. I got to hang with my good friend's younger brother Steve Pack (Steve is the younger brother of my buddy Jeff Pack of: http://jeffpacklajournal.blogspot.com fame). Ashley and I ran into Steve after my 10 year reunion, and I'm proud to say that Steve is my new New York buddy. What an awesome guy, and if I may say so, Mr. and Mrs. Pack did an awesome job with their 2 boys. They're so different, yet so the same, they remind me a bit of my brother, Kevin, and myself. Whenever anyone meets my brother who knows me, they immediately know Kevin is my brother, and Steve is the same way when it comes to Jeff. We had a great time, I hung out with and got to meet some of his friends, and they really made me feel welcome. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with Steve more, because he's a UGA grad/fan, and he's a super cool dude. We met up for dinner...wait, let's start with the rest of my day.

Woke up this morning and had some Kellogs Corn Flakes. Yes, I did taste them again for the first time, and they were delicious with my blueberries and Silk soy milk. I set out with 3 goals today. 1) Fix my Java apps on my phone, 2) Get my NY drivers license, and 3) job hunt. We're going a bit bass ackwards today, so I found a Nextel Service center up on 181st St. Carlos and Eduardo were great, they're Pro Wrestling fans, and all around nice guys. They said to wait about 2 hours once they tinkered with my Java apps, and to go on my merry way. OK, in the words of Jeff Pack, "check that off the list" (incidentally, I was carrying a checklist, but that's neither here nor there). So I hopped a train down to 34th St. to update my license.

There are few pleasures in life than dealing with the local DMV. Really, it's quite a joy. These people are so pleasant and helpful, why, it's as pleasant as any root-canal or visit to Dr. Jellyfinger when I hit the age of 40. I told the nice lady behind the booth (which was situated to where she was looking down at me, but it must've been a co-inky-dink) that I had just moved here from GA, I updated my license with the state of GA last year, and that I had just moved to NY and needed to update my license. I had said GA license on me ready to exchange along with my Social Security card to prove my identity. She looked at me and told me I needed proof of birth. I thought that me standing there was appropriate proof, seeing as I hadn't just appeared out of thin air. Or better yet, no, neither of my parents were amoebas nor starfish, ergo, I was part of a live birth, which is why I stand here today in need of a NY license. But why should it be that easy. Jeff Pack, I know your pain with the California DMV my friend. Completely ridiculous. So I was smart enough to leave my birth certificate in GA, which is a great place for it. On a side note, it's a hospital certificate, and if I ever wanted a passport (which I do), I'll need to apply for a state birth certificate, so I'll be handling that tomorrow. "We need proof of birth." Only at the DMV.

After that complete waste of time, I hit the job circuit. Chef David from Einstein's fame told me to hit 6th avenue headed towards central park, because there's a ton of restaurants there. I did a bit of hunting in that area, then I headed back to Times Square. I filled out a few apps today, and I have to say, it's quite a humbling experience walking in and asking for a job. You basically fill out the same information over and over again and again. Same info, same places you worked, same references. I set the goal to have a job by the end of my second week here, and I'm ahead of schedule, so I'm not too worried. I'm going to follow up on a few places early next week and knock that out. Onto the evening.

I got home, made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and changed. I was on my way to meet Steve, but it was raining heavily. My sweet roommate loaned me an umbrella, however it was no good, because the weather today was nasty. The bottoms of my jeans are still soaked. I'm running late to meet my new friend, it's raining, however, Steve was super cool and talked me through were I was going. We had Asian/noodles at this place by where he lived (Jeff, you'd love this place...it's so Pack...which is why I can see why Steve brought me there). Had a great time, and then it was off to the birthday gathering.

Steve's friends were great. They work in the financial industry, and there were a plethora of Atlanta peeps and UGA grads, so I felt at home. I started talking football with one of the guys Russ, and we went so far as to talk about Georgia's backups and their signing class. Dan (it was his birthday) sat across from me, and him and Steve were talking about different shots they had invented, one being a "bear fight." If I remember correctly, a bear fight is a Jager bomb followed by an Irish car bomb. At first, we came up with "rabid bear fight," which would include the aforementioned shots, plus a shot of tequilla. However, being the stickler that I am, and knowing that bears are not indigenious to Mexico (Black bears, Brown bears, Grizzlies, etc.), I pointed out that maybe adding tequilla to the shot wouldn't necessarily make it rabid, and wouldn't really keep a bear theme. Then someone asked if bears can even get rabies, to which I answered yes, since it's a mammal; any mammal can get rabies. By the way, I wouldn't recommend talking about rabies, mammals, or which members of which class are susceptible to rabies. Way to make a first impression B, you're the new guy, and you're over there correcting the shots people get and giving them a biology lesson. Let's save National Geographic or Survivor Man for another time. Anyway, Steve's friends laughed, and they were really cool about my dorkiness. Oh, and we decided Stoli would be a good way to finish off the bear fight and make it rabid, seeing as bears can be found in the Russian wilderness. Great group of folks last night, and I'm glad they allowed me the pleasure of their company. Steve gets a game ball.

After that, I took the A train back up to my part of town, started this blog and went to sleep. Oh, and if you're wondering, prior to going out last night, I had to stop back by the Nextel store and have my phone fixed again, since it didn't take the first time. Now it works, the only issue is I can't download Pac-Man. Tonight I'm going to catch Abell's improv show. I'll be ready to give notes to complete strangers afterwards, since everyone loves being corrected. Until next time...