Friday, November 25th

I bought a new bed. It’s my first “real” bed. Full sized and everything. I imagine it will be the only bed I ever buy until I am married. Adam, the kindly mattress seller told me it has a ten year guarantee, so I guess the clock is ticking… hah. Anyway, they’ll deliver and set it up for free next Friday, it’s all so very exciting. I’m going to need to stop by Mom’s for some sheets and blankets.

Thanksgiving

A very good Thanksgiving. A full table and lots of delicious food. Sean and I made our now traditional garlic mashed potatoes which received the obligatory compliments. Mom’s turkey was very tasty as well, but not quite as good as the roasted vegetables which were out of this world. Way to go Mom!

My roommate Abby made to the trip to Jersey and her outgoing personality, not to mention succulent Pecan Pie made her a big hit with the family and friends. Sadly, I was still feeling sick. The cold had shifted from my throat to my nose, but still kept me as tired as ever. Early night for me. Why am I sick? So many old friends are coming back into town. I need someone to take care of me.

Black Wendesday

I am sick. The night before Thanksgiving- the biggest night of the year for hometown bars and I just wanted to curl up on my couch. I rallied of course and after meeting two adorable nieces of a good friend, I made my appearance and said hello to all the same people from high school. Not drinking made the night a lot cheaper, but also a bit boring and I was able to convince a friend to leave around midnight. That’s all I have to say about that.

Note- Is black wednesday (the night before thanksgiving when everyone from high school goes to the same bar) just a Jersey thing? Just a Ridgewood thing? Just my brother and his friends thing? Any opinions out there?

Tuesday, November 22nd

Another day off and another gloomy day. I sucked down Melon Gatorade like it was my job and was rewarded with a slightly less thirsty sensation in my throat. It was my last night in New York before going home to Mom’s house in New Jersey, so I tried to pack everything the night before just like my parents taught me. I discovered of course the problem with bringing all your laundry home is that until you actually do your laundry, you have nothing to wear. Don’t tell, but I stole a pair of boxers from my brother. Shhh!

Monday, November 21st

Today came and went and my throat still hurts. I’m starting to think I’m not dehydrated so much as coming down with a cold. I started drinking Gatorade right way, and will buy some healing Yogi tea tomorrow morning. Being sick is never good, and with Thanksgiving coming up this would be especially bad timing.

Saturday and Sunday

After a late night there is nothing better than a greasy breakfast. I didn’t have time for a full scale assault on my arteries as I had to work at noon. So instead I scrambled myself some eggs and called it a morning. Two private lessons didn’t show up, which was just as well as the Starbucks had worn off an hour ago. Not getting paid is never fun though. I went to sleep early Saturday night as I had more tennis to teach the next morning.

My mom and her boyfriend Joe came into the city Sunday night for a play and took me out to dinner afterwards. I was still tired from work and play, but a free New York dinner doesn’t come along every day. The meal was fantastic. Pasta Carbonara rarely disappoints and the mixed vegetables with toasted mozzarella tasted heavenly as well. Our bottle of wine went quickly and so did the extra glass Mom and I ordered with dessert. (Joe was driving) However, when I got back home I felt incredibly thirsty and no matter how much water I drank the feeling in my throat wouldn’t go away.

Oh, I had also sent my mom a short story to read and she came away convinced I was one of the greatest writers ever. By the end of the bottle of wine she almost had me convinced too. Luckily for my ego, I had some people who did not give birth to me take a look and reassure me that while the story was promising, it needed lots of work, which had been my assessment as well.

Friday, November 18th

My good friend Chris Heaney, who I’ve written about here (you have to scroll down) and linked to his website here, just had surgery on his knee which he hurt getting out of a cab in Peru. The surgery went well, though his knee is quite swollen and the drugs make it difficult for him to watch foreign films. We chatted for about an hour today about all things under the sun; girls, friendship, literature, academia, writing, girls again, until his percacet kicked in and he kicked me out. It is of course unfortunate that Chris had to interrupt his Fulbright research, but I was grateful for the chance to see him again. I’m going down to Peru in March to visit him, so if anyone wants to give me free Spanish lessons don’t be a stranger. Fair warning: foreign languages are not my specialty.

After work I drove back to the city and went to another basketball game at Madison Square Garden, this time with my awesome new roommate Abby who flushed with the success of her first pay check offered to buy the beer. I wasn’t going to drink, because I’m a cheapskate and drinks at sporting events are a rip-off, but I’m not one to turn down free booze. And lucky I didn’t because the beers helped out as Florida pulled away and beat Syracuse.

After the game I went with Abby to a party in the Lower East Side. It was a bit intimidating going to a party where I knew no one and where everyone appeared to be at least a few years older than me. But a few beers from the keg later, I was enjoying myself and chatting with a tall brunette who was wearing a most intriguing red sweater. The red sweater was backless, making it both revealing and conservative at the same time; it has also been compared to a mullet, business in the front, and party in the back. Make of that what you will. Betsy, the girl in the red sweater, has her own blog here, and is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met at a party, so of course she has a boyfriend. But as we were saying goodnight and promising to look at each other’s blogs, she told me, “If I didn’t have a boyfriend, and you weren’t so young…” I suppose she meant it as a compliment, so I was happy to accept it as such.

Thursday, November 17th

Only one lesson today, but I stayed in Jersey last night because I wanted to play early bird tennis in the morning. Not one of my better days, there were a lot of balls hit into the net off my racket and quite a few curse words escaped my lips as well.

When I got back into the city, I decided to sack up and interview for the dating show. It was a very strange experience. Three girls about my age were in charge of casting. They had me sit on a chair in front of bright lights and then asked me a series of probing questions. I was expecting questions about myself: What I did? What I want to be? What I’ve done? Etc. But instead all the questions focused on my approach to dating: What’s my best date? What’s was my worst date? All I could say in response that my best date was with a girl I just totally connected with- we drank two beers at a sports bar and then she walked me to the train station. As far as dates go, it doesn’t matter what you do, but who you are with. (There’s a cheesy Dave Matthews song along those lines) Anyway, I didn’t really like the questions, and didn’t give very good responses. (They haven’t called back) So all in all, it was a lackluster experience. But it felt good to have done something that scared me, it’s important to take risks from time to time.

Besides, after the dating interview I met my good friend Darrell, a talented writer and heartthrob, he's single, so ladies take note, at Madison Square Garden to see the Syracuse Orange(men) take on Texas Tech. My grandparents are from Syracuse, so I had been a long suffering fan until Carmelo Anthony and that magical 2003 team erased the demons. Thursday night was a total blowout as Texas Tech couldn’t make a shot. In the word of my old college tennis coach, “It was like the clubbing of baby seals.”

Wednesday, November 16th

Five hours of work today, which makes it a big day. My first class was at 10:30, which don’t laugh or get angry, also makes it one of my earliest days. The four ladies that comprise my first lesson from 10:30 to 11:30 are mostly there for the social component of tennis. It took me a while to adjust to teaching people whose primary concern isn’t improving their tennis ability. But it’s really quite easy. I give them a few tips every so often, have them play fun games and let them chat about their kids or shopping whenever they please.

Oh, and then I got an unusual message on MySpace:

Hey Brendan, This is gonna seem a little odd, but I am a casting director,
working on a new reality show for MTV. I am basically looking for young, cute,
single guys in NYC who would be interested in being on the show. I saw your
profile and thought that you would be really great. Basically-- we have already
found this amazing girl and are looking for a couple of guys to go out on filmed
dates with her. It is simple & documentary style and not an elimi-date type
of show. I would be happy to talk to you to tell you more about the project.

It’s a little weird to be sure. And the idea of going on an on camera date and possibly being recognized by people scares the shit out of me. I guess I don’t really want to be famous. But being scared may be reason enough to do it. My friends tell me I’ll be fine, so why not, if nothing else it’s something to blog about.

Tuesday, November 15th

Today was my one day off from week, so no surprise it rained on and off all day. I was determined to do something fun though, so I finally checked out the Strand. There certainly were a lot of books, and many were cheap, but it was a downer when I realized I didn’t have any money left in this week’s budget for books. You never want to leave a bookstore empty handed, but I did have several books waiting to be read in my apartment. Oh, and an ex girlfriend and I had always talked about going to the Strand…An optimist would say my going there alone shows I’m moving on with my life, but really, it was just kind of sad.

Early Bird Hits the Tennis Ball

To get back into shape and because it’s fun, I’ve decided to start playing tennis again. So, today at five in the morning, I found myself throwing on my old black warm up pants and sweatshirt while gargling mouthwash. Why so early? Well, at Waldwick Covered Courts they have a six A.M. “early bird” group. It’s easy to get a game, as Jeff, one of the Pro’s matches the players up each day and last year someone usually brought bagels. I appreciate the camaraderie as well and the jersey accents.

Today, driving out of Manhattan at 5:20 the sky seemed to darken as I left the brightly lit streets of the Upper West Side and merged onto the Henry Hudson. Obviously, there was no traffic, and as I crossed the GBW and watched the sun begin to rise I thought about my dad. He used to drive into New York around six in the morning to beat the traffic. I thought it was rather crazy growing up, but now I understand.

Although, I usually feel like shit as I start to play, after a couple of good rallies my muscles warm up and I’m ready to go. A good workout is a natural energy boost. I reward myself with a big three egg omelet before getting a solid hour or hour and half of creative writing in. Today, I moved much closer to wrapping up a story whose ending had been eluding me for weeks. It’s a good feeling. Now, if I could have just hit a few more balls in.

Republican War on People of Faith

Ok, I'm being snarky, but the IRS is investigating an Episcopal Church. To be fair the Church held a politically charged sermon which may have favored one political party.

Regas' sermon speculated about what Jesus would say to Bush and Democratic
candidate John Kerry on subjects including poverty, violence and war.

In his introduction, Regas said he did not intend to tell people how to
vote, but at one point, Regas imagined the words Jesus would have for Bush: "Mr.
President, your doctrine of a pre-emptive war is a failed doctrine. Forcibly
changing the regime of an enemy that posed no imminent threat has led to
disaster."

On the other hand, as Amy Sullivan at Political Animal points out:

No word on whether the agency is also going after the
Baptist church that kicked out members who voted for John Kerry. Or the
churches that helped out the Bush/Cheney campaign last year by sending in
their membership directories. Or the Catholic priests who told parishioners it would be a sin to vote for Kerry.)

Hat Tip to Andrew Sullivan for this one.

Elections are Fun

Just voted in the New Jersey Gubernatorial election and realized it was almost exactly five years to the day I first voted. For those of you who are using my blog to procrastinate from critical thinking...five years ago would be the 2000 General Election. Its an interesting story, but for another time.

There;s nothing quite like the feeling of taking part in democracy. Complete with the crazy old lady who showed me to the voting booth and said, "You may now express your opinion."

Well I'd write more, but I forgot to charge my battery and my computer is about to die. So sorry.

UPDATE: Got on my Mom's computer...But it turns out I don't really have too much more to say about voting in NJ's election. I love my state. Home to Tony Soprano, signs read, "Welcome to New Jersey, now get the Fuck out"

Tennis Pro, Writer and now....ACTOR

Yesterday was only my second day as an Actor and already I got to be in a hot make out scene. Perhaps a little background is in order. Bob Snow, a good friend from college is now living a few blocks away while attending film school at Columbia University. For one class, he was asked to make a short film based on Anton Chekov’s short story, “The Kiss.” If you are unfamiliar with this story, the main theme is alienation. A Russian officer attends a party, but feels out of place and wanders around until he finds himself alone in a room. Then, a girl comes up behind him and starts kissing him, mistaking him for her boyfriend, before realizing her error and running away.
In Bob’s short film, I played a sad, lonely guy who attends a Halloween party in an absurd costume; a blue collared shirt with a white bow tie and a black clown nose. I was the sad (ridiculous looking) clown. Last weekend, we shot the party scene guerilla style by crashing a Columbia Halloween bash thrown by the School of Visual Arts. Basically, I stood around for an hour looking alienated and out of place while wandering through the party. There was another guy wearing the exact same costume (We had to exchange the white bow tie and black nose for our separate scenes) who was living it up at the party, dancing and flirting with girls and all that. Later, that guy’s girlfriend will mistake me for him and start kissing me in an empty room. All in all, my first acting experience was a positive one. Best of all… we got free booze and well, I guess free booze was really the best part.

So with Sunday came the seduction scene. Bob was able to get a fellow film student named Tatiana to play the girl who mistakes me for her boyfriend. I was a bit nervous about the prospect of kissing a girl I didn’t know in front of a camera, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought.

For one thing, I didn’t really do any kissing. The majority of the scene consisted of Tatiana passionately kissing my ear and neck while Bob circled around on a little bike filming it. Each take went on for a quite a while, perhaps longer than necessary, but who am I to complain; after all… this was art. At one point, Tatiana apologized for getting a bit of lipstick on my blue shirt. “If you have a girlfriend, make sure you explain,” she said with a laugh. I just nodded and smiled, but thought to myself, if I had a girlfriend she sure as hell wouldn’t let me do this!

For another thing, we were laughing half the time. In one shot, Tatiana seductively runs her hand up my back and onto my shoulder, and then turns me around as if to kiss me. The shot ends with our faces close together and by the time Bob said “Cut,” we were both starting to giggle. There really is something so funny about pretending to seduce/be seduced by someone over and over again with people watching and then telling you how to do it better the next time.

So Bob should be busy editing it all together as we speak. I’m certainly excited to see the final product and hopefully can post it on the blog. Speaking of which, if anyone would like to help Bob and I post the film on the web, be sure to let us know.

Tennis Rackets

So as some of you may know my tennis rackets were all stolen when my car was broken into a few weeks ago. Since then, I’ve been trying out different rackets before buying news ones. Here is a quick review of the possible new rackets. First, the Head Flexpoint Radical. An updated version of my old racket the TI Radical, it is a very light racket, but hits the ball solid. It's great from the baseline, but not as good on volleys. Andre Agassi made it very popular several years ago. Next up, is the Wilson Ncode Npro racket. Oddly green colored, it is also very light and is used by America’s two best doubles players: Bob and Mike Bryan. Another possibility is the Babolat Pure Drive made famous by Andy Roddick who famously lost his mojo this past August at Flushing Meadows. The Babolat seemed to overtake the radical as the most popular racket among American Juniors. Perhaps I too, will join those who perfer the pure drive. Those are the three top contenders. I invite you all to vote for your favorite racket. I will take careful note of all your responses and then completly ignore them as I choose the racket I play with best.

Reader Comment

Brendan, you doof. I'm sure it's been pointed out before, but a poetry
contest, when most people have a google searchbar mounted in their browser? You
know what I get when I put Druid Fergus in my searcher? Keats, first result.

Interesting comment. You weren't using a special Latin American Google were you Chris? Because I would venture to guess that if one googles "Fergus and the Druid," Yeats would pop up. Now, surely your snarky remarks aren't a result of losing the Notes poetry contest three times in row? Good luck next week everyone.

p.s. that felt good.

Poetry Winner

We have our first repeat winner in the poetry contest. Again, Jon Pierre Hufnagel (yes that is a real name) took advantage of his literary expertise and his somewhat constant surveillance of this blog to emerge victorious from a sea of challengers. He writes all nonchalantly:

So, that'd be "Fergus and the Druid" by Yeats. I only ever took one
English class in college and it was freshman year (when I was still
fully intending to be an English major). It was a survey of British
poetry from 1800 through 1970. It's amazing how much mileage I've
gotten out of that one course in terms of being able to converse about
post Roman Empire Lit. with my friends. Cocktail party skills aside,
Yeats' poems really stuck with me, probably more than any of the other
poets I read in that class-Lapis Lazuli, The Second Coming, Wild Swans
at Coole, all that good stuff. Every time I bump into some
Yeats I think I might have missed something in not studying English
Lit.,although it's been awhile. I think the last time I read a Yeats
poem was when you visited me at Vassar. You were studying for your Comps,
I subbed for Richard's radio show, we ate pizza, and you slept on
your couch cushions. I don't think we really did much but talk, both of
us being preoccupied and all, but it was a good time.


Keep holding the center,

J.P.

Oh, don’t worry JP, the center will be upheld for years to come. And congratulations again.