The Week that was.

Been doing a lot of thinking recently about my future, and where I want to go..makes my brain hurt! For all the successes I've had in life (and I've had a few!), there's still so much more to do! Which is cool! I'm always optimistic about life, and the future because its open and limitless. So anyway, I got one of those retirement papers your employer sometimes sends out? Basically they spell out when you're eligible to retire, and what kind of salary you'll be receiving when you do retire. Its sorta depressing, and highlights the importance for me to get the eff outta here and do something BIG. So according to this paper, I'll be RELEASED from my job/prison to DIE an old man in 2042. TWENTY FRAKIN FORTY TWO!! That's sick!

I was off last week, and did some pretty cool things. I rarely go away on vacation, but as I just told someone here at work, any day away from the office is a vacation..

On Tuesday we went to 6 Flags Great Adventure! I love roller coasters! Introduced to me on last year's trip to 6flags, the Flash pass (or Q-bot) is a little on the expensive side (an extra $50 on top of the cost to just get in the door), but make NO mistake about it..it is COMPLETELY worth it. $50 buys you the most valuable thing you have in life..your time! You significantly reduce the time spent waiting on lines! You can ride every roller coaster you want (and ride them multiple times!!). Definitely get the Flash pass if you go to 6flags.

Anyway, we had a great time. We did the Safari, which I don't think I've ever done before. I enjoyed it! We saw elephants, bears diarrheaing in the woods, tons of birds, and my personal favorite the ostrich. Ostriches have crazy eyes, and really look like they could fck you up.

As far as rides, Nitro was tops..no question! It's long, fast, and has awesome drops. Esp at night, Nitro is KING! Probably the new Bizarro ride (Medusa) is probably my 2nd favorite. They added some new features (fire and mist!), but its basically the same. Kingda Ka is awesome..I actually opened my eyes this time! But its so short, and crazy fast its over before you know it.



Other than the rides, I had a great time just walking around and hanging out with friends.

Then on Wednesday I saw Weezer and Blink182 at PNC. I have to admit, I'm a big fan but..I was kind of dreading this concert.. But overall it turned out pretty cool. We got lucky and someone gave us their seats so we moved all the way near the stage. This was AWESOME for weezer, who were really great, but Blink182 was so horrible most of the time. They can't sing, and were super loud. They were rambling and trying to be "cute" between songs, and their guitars were very metal zonish. We also missed the opening band Taking Back Sunday, because someone in our party got caught in bad traffic on the parkway. I love going to concerts, but traffic, parking, and the abundance of frat boy assholes really takes away from the experience. When we win the lottery, I will only take a helicopter or limo to concerts. Or pay bands to play in my backyard.

I forget what I did on Thursday.

Friday we had a gig at Connolly's in NYC. Personally, it was one of my better performances..ever! Overall the band sounded great as well! Going into friday, I'd been working on some things, and my goal was to really be in control of my playing, and be focused on my place in the song. It's such a good feeling to challenge yourself, and then accomplishing your goal! I was on a high Friday night!

Saturday night I had the chance to go see District 9, but decided to stay in and watch the Jets. Although the jets won, I wish I had seen the movie...I hate staying home on weekend nights! blahhhh.

Sunday I went to the gym, walked a couple dogs at the shelter, and then had band practice down in Neptune. Driving back traffic was hectic for a good 20 minutes, but then cleared up. I hate when there's no reason for traffic! If I have to go 2 miles per hour, there better be some horrible accident (with no one being hurt, of course!) or a brush fire!

One issue I have right now is that, as I've written about previously, I'm attempting to raise my personal standards as far as what's acceptable in my life, and what I expect of myself..and unfortunately not everyone has the same outlook or standards. Or they just don't see things the way I do.. So I have to really think hard about what to do, but one thing I'm sure of, is that I will not compromise or go backwards!