Work in Progress

Welcome back,

I went on a bit of a Twitter rant this morning. I'm not sure if it was appropriate or not but I felt that I needed to get those thoughts off my chest. And since I've been dedicating this blog to that very action, I feel it is only fair to re-post the tweets here:

(Around 8:15am)
'Was startled by some news in my dream & woke up. I didnt get the whole story. Now I'm wide awake wishing I could sleep & re-enter my dream.'
[In my dream, someone started telling me about their experience the night before and it seemed like it was leading to an 'interesting' story. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it could be. But I woke up with my heart racing and all I wanted was to go back to sleep and get back into that dream]

'I can't take complements well b/c I never thought I was that special. Still makes me feel a little awkward. May come off as false modesty.'
[Annoyed and frustrated at being wide awake, I got to thinking about the night before when I was told I have a 'brilliant mind'. I've always felt I was fairly normal and to know that I might be "better" than I thought I was - in any capacity - is something that is very humbling and at the same time depressing.]

'It's probably why I don't know how to complement others even when I think they deserve it. I'm working on it. #ivegotlotstolearn'
[I think this is true. If I don't know how to take a complement then I can't easily pass them on to others. Plus, I think too damned much and, at times, I am too passive.]

'There's no pressure becoming friends w/some1 but once I'm attracted to some1 I second guess myself. What do I possibly have to offer her?'
[Some of the "old me" creeping back, I suppose. I shoot myself in the foot before I even get started. It's quite frustrating.]

'But who am I to decide what someone else wants or needs? Ultimately, it's on them.'
[Even though I feel I understand this, I still don't have that selfish edge to go after what I want and/or need. Instead, I'm more empathetic to what I perceive to be other people's needs/wants. A classic case of self-sabotage actually.]

Perhaps writing about it (and acknowledging these ideas) would make it easier for me to reconcile what's going on inside my mind and heart. These are my preliminary thoughts to my tweets from this morning. I will come back to them when I'm not as distracted by things.

Until next time, faithful reader......

Apology, Thank You, and Tweets

I suppose this should be directed to those readers who, in all likelihood, are no longer regular visitors to RaUM. Damn. Well here goes:

I've gotten really long-winded in my posts the last few months. I'm gonna try and keep the entries more concise. Sorry for forcing you to read through 1,000+ word entries filled with nonsense and frivolity. I'm not apologizing for the content, just how much of it appears in recent posts. =)

With that said, I'd also like to send out a HUGE 'thank you' to those of you who have stuck around. I appreciate the follows and general readership. I hope I've managed to keep you mildly entertained and offered a worthwhile distraction at work, at home, at the airport (you know who you are!), or anywhere else in the world you may have been.

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Here are a selection of tweets I posted via @agsilver51 during July 2009:

1 - It's going to take A LOT to get this smile off of my face!!! =D
(7:12 PM Jul 1st)
[It also served as my Facebook status for that day. No... it wasn't because I got laid. lol. But the month started off on the right foot]
2 - I'm starting to think the American population is getting dumber by the generation! smh. Either that or I must be brilliant! (1:58 PM Jul 2nd)
3 - NBC should be embarrassed showing Roddick-Murray on tape delay rather than broadcasting it live. What an insult! (12:19 PM Jul 3rd )
[I was genuinely incensed when I realized NBC was not showing the Wimbledon's men's final live. What a bad decision!]
4 - The envelope with swabs is in the mail. Feeling good after completing the last step to be a part of the 'Be The Match Registry' (3:40 PM Jul 4th)
[I had to rub the swabs against the inside of my mouth, four times. I can't wait to see if I can actually do some good and help a person out with, what will amount to, a small sacrifice.]
5 - RT @citycynic: At exactly 12:34pm and 56 seconds today, it will be 12:34:56 7/8/09!!! Beat that, math nerds! (bwo @theropolitans) (10:24 AM Jul 8th)
[That was, admittedly, kinda cool!]
6 - Just heard Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" on Z100. I've got mixed emotions about this. (4:51 PM Jul 11th)
[Even my boy in VA was telling me about this 'new song' he heard. He was shocked to know this song was released months ago on rock stations around the country.]
7 - OK. I know the AL has been dominant in years past but I say P.Fielder wins the #HomeRunDerby tonight #mlb (8:11 PM Jul 13th)
["Experts" said he was too big and would tire before it was over! Needless to say I was quite proud of myself for having called it! =D]
8 - *sigh* Patience is a virtue that I will always have to work on. (4:08 PM Jul 16th)
[Self-explanatory]
9 - Made it to VA after being pulled over b/w Baltimore and DC. Off to bed after Wii Sports for an hour. (6:12 AM Jul 17th)
[I got pulled over for speeding and tailgating but got off with just a warning for tailgating. WHEW!]
10 - I'm starting to believe I'm her "non-gay, 'gay' friend" (3:24 PM Jul 19th)
[Something my best friend told me recently and after talking to the fellas at the reunion, I see what he meant.]
11 - There is no "manly" way to eat a corn dog. There just isn't! (4:22 PM Jul 19th )
[My boy Javon was eating a corn dog and I gave him a hard time every time he took a bite. I can't see how men can eat a corn dog and not have it look "manly".]
12 - Lessons learned through others' experiences: Don't pick your nose around the time your alarm will go off, you may hurt yourself (10:02 PM Jul 20th)
[Words of wisdom from my roommate!]
13 - If I were a cannibal, I'd like to eat myself. I think I'd be rather tasty (1:53 PM Jul 21st)
[When I posted this as my Facebook status I had a lot of comments reacting to it. I stand by this statement. I TRULY think I'd be a tasty treat for a cannibal.]
14 - Sweet! ~~RT @grantimahara I fully endorse any table that has bacon, ninjas, and robots. "The Periodic Table of Awesome" http://bit.ly/8Bsl (8:26 PM Jul 21st)
[Check out element #11 for a LOL or 2]
15 - Teaching stats and playing craps: I may have found my calling in life! #livingthedream (12:59 PM Jul 23rd)
[The two things I happen to love in life, esp. since I have never lost money at a craps table]
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Until next time, faithful reader......

My Life According to Twitter (or This Week's Recap via My Tweets)

Hello there...
To my repeat visitors, welcome back!
To the RaUM newcomers, ENJOY!

I joined Twitter a few weeks ago despite going months bitching about how annoying and useless it is. Boy, was I shocked to see how quickly I took to it. I love Twitter! Consider me a bandwagon jumper, or whatever other clever moniker you may have at the tip of your tongue, but there is something refreshing about posting a short comment or quote in a tweet as opposed to writing a passage about it on Blogger.

Lately, I haven't had the time to dedicate to a full RaUM entry. It's not for a lack of inspiration but simply not being able to make the time to type things out. (I know... it's crazy right?? Funny how sleeping is more important than blogging...)

This is not to say I'm replacing this blog with my Twitter feed but I'm in the process of finding the happy balance - the middle ground, if you will - between the two. I get my Mets news feed (and opinions), updates from a few select celebs (including my BIGGEST celeb crush, Alyssa Milano. I still love you and you don't even know it!!), and other random people whom I've found to have common interests. I wish I had more friends and family who actually tweet but it's no big deal. I'm making due just fine with who I have.

Well, without further ado, lets take a look at some of the more memorable tweets from the week (along with running commentary/explanations for some of them):

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Be careful what you wish for: Spring weather returning also means killer allergies affecting me for the next few weeks. *ugh*
[1:40 PM May 19th]
Ahhh yes... Spring time and allergy season. One of the things I love best (Spring) and one of the things I hate most (allergies). I only developed these allergies in the past few years. When I was younger I was never affected by the seasons. And this year it seems worse than usual... *ugh*

I got a gift from one of my students tonight along with a very nice message in a "Good Luck" card. I feel so privileged to do what I do. =D
[8:58 PM May 19th]
=D Still makes me smile thinking about it! I am very grateful for the card and the Ralph Lauren scented candle. If I can manage to get a date sometime in the next 10 years or so, I may end up putting that to use... lol.

waiting in bk before heading out to philly
[1:22 AM May 20th]
My friend Jorge had to drop off his wife and daughter at the airport in Philly. Before you ask, it was a last minute emergency travel decision on a budget. I knew Jorge would get very little sleep (if any) on Tuesday night and I know how grueling the ride is from Philly back to NYC when you're exhausted. I decided since I had nothing going on Wednesday that I would accompany them so they could arrive in Philly safe and sound and J would get back in town in one piece. I had a HS classmate that died traveling back home from college one winter and sometimes that memory creeps into the back on my mind when I hear about my friends driving home (or anywhere) alone. Call me a fatalist all you want but Uncle Alan got to spend quality time with my fave little lady! =D

dude!!! Massive roadkill. Stunned me and somewhat nauseating.
[3:20 AM May 20th]
OH YEAH!!! That was kinda gross... Jorge and I looked at each other and had the only WTF faces! It was larger than your average roadkill but not large enough to scrape under the car. All we saw, in that split second it was highlighted by the car's headlights, was a pretty mangled carcass with a huge splotch of redness in the lane we were driving in. Quite a gruesome sight...

at Philly International Airport. Really wish I had my camera with me... #fb
[4:36 AM May 20th]
I had realized once I got into Brooklyn that I had just wasted a unique opportunity to take pics in places I may not revisit. As a passenger in the car for most of the trip I could have had my hands free to take a lot of interesting pictures. Oh well, done bun...

Two cop cars to pull over one car in NJ. In NY? One cop had 3 cars pulled over at once. That's what's up!!
[8:00 AM May 20th]
Nuff said.

Having breakfast with @gerlombian
[9:05 AM May 20th]
Got to shoot the breeze with the ol' bff.

carne... carne... carneeeeeeee!! starting it with my inferiors!
[3:42 PM May 20th]
Yes, carne. You know? Beef... I was sleep deprived after breaking night. This seemed hilarious at the time... Looking back on it... STILL hilarious. You had to be there!

Does anyone know where I can find a golden calf on the cheap? Looking for something to worship...
[2:00 PM May 21st]
To which someone responded that

Nice bright sun-shiny day... and one last final to give tonight before I bid adieu to my class for the semester.
[3:40 PM May 21st]

I'm on this freestyle kick this afternoon for some unknown reason... I'll be tweeting during tonight's exam FYI.
[4:58 PM May 21st]
Yes. Something about freestyle music and warm spring days that just go together. It's been that way since I was a kid and will not change even when I'm in my 80s.

Trying to finish up my next blog entry... hard to do that when my students are asking me Q's! I'm the one doing the asking around here! lol
[6:10 PM May 21st]
HAHA! I was busy writing up a RaUM entry and tweeting while proctoring my final exam. They probably thought I was doing something important...

And with that last person ladies and gents... my semester (in class) is over. Now on to the grading!
[7:28 PM May 21st]
=/ Time to bear down and get to work, I suppose.

@isamarchajon Thank you very much, sir! I was lucky to have two great classes...
[8:15 PM May 21st in reply to isamarchajon]
I was congratulated on finishing my first semester. As I mentioned in my previous entry, it was a great semester. It was easy for me to do my job with all the good students I had. At least SOME of them understood my sense of humor. HA!

Gorgeous weather in the Big Apple, Tweeters and Tweetettes (or twits and twats, as my friend said)
[9:59 AM May 22nd]

question: is it just me or has the word 'retard' reached the same level of taboo as 'nigger'?
[10:51 AM May 22nd]
I forgot why I thought of this but it's true isn't it??

I'm done for the work week. I'll be back in the office on Tuesday but will remain on Twitter (with tweets ribbed for your pleasure)
[3:08 PM May 22nd]

"She smokes weed with a crackhead because it makes her feel safer" .... WOW!!
[9:37 PM May 23rd]
A "re-tweet" of sorts. It was taken from a friend's Facebook status. Who the hell is he hanging out with?? lol...

I'm still trying to differentiate between comments that are tweetworthy and those that should be left in the confines of my brain.
[2:32 AM May 24th]
Still haven't figure it out yet... but I'm getting there. =)
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Before I forget, the obligatory request to follow my Twitter will follow:

You can find my tweets at: twitter.com/agsilver51
Follow me and join the tribe!

Thanks for indulging me!

Until next time, faithful reader......