Reunions and Looking Forward

Greetings,

It occurred to me today that I managed to upload pics from my trip to VA this past weekend to my Facebook profile but I still haven't posted my pics of my cousin Nelson's visit to NY yet!! What's wrong with me... smh. AH YES! I remember what happened now... Problems with the Facebook photo uploader. [Update: I managed to make it work while writing this blog entry. Hooray Beer!]

Speaking of VA, I HAD A BLAST this weekend catching up with old childhood friends in Richmond. This was the first time that all of us have been together under the same roof in almost a decade. We even made time (at the last possible minute, of course) to recreate the photo we took the last time we were together on that cold December night years ago back in T's house. This reunion also included a few new additions to the 'family' (a high school friend of T and Lex, and Lex's girlfriend, Cyn).

The only regret I have from this past weekend (it's a minor one, mind you) is that I missed out on the chance to check out the bar scene in downtown Richmond. I will say, though, that visiting Busch Gardens and spending time with childhood friends was a fair trade-off. On a related note, Busch Gardens was surprisingly fun and was better than Six Flags in NJ, if I do say so myself.

What else do I have planned, you ask? What's next for me?
Well... after talking with the fellas... we're trying set up a week-long cruise in Sept/Oct to the Caribbean. It'll be a chance for all the single guys of the crew to hang out and do our thing. Sorry Lex, though I'm sure you'd rather spend the time with Cyn anyway. =)

A few days ago, I had announced on Twitter that I was considering stopping by Atlantic City to get some money to go on this cruise (without having to tap into any savings) to which a friend responded: "geez vegas, road trips, ac, and a cruise! Lol crazy." I suppose it is... but I'm loving every second of it!!

To add to that "crazy" list of activities, I'm considering going skydiving in late August right before the Fall '09 semester starts. I'd prefer to do this with a friend but I'm willing to do it solo if no one steps up to join me. Anyone down?

I may also get my tattoo once the summer is over. I'll probably do it at the start of the school year (with that first paycheck of the semester). Some of you may have heard me talking about it since the start of the year but when deciding between ink or traveling, sight-seeing won over every time. I am serious about getting it so you can expect it to happen before the year's end.

There are a few things to sort out in my life between now and the end of the year but everything will happen in due time. Maybe I'll write about it next time, who knows.

Nevertheless, I have visions of craps tables in my head and may head out to Atlantic City soon. I've been dying to go since I've been back from Vegas. Wish me luck in case I decide to go!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I added a new MCB playlist today. It's been a while and my apologies to those of you who actually tuned in weekly for them in the past. This week's playlist features Beatles songs. No real reason other than it's great music that will never go out of style.

I'm also working on some new "Ultimate" playlists so keep your eyes open for that. For those who haven't read some of my earlier writing, the 'Ultimate's are lists of quintessential songs that define a genre and are must-haves in anyone's mp3 collection. They're an excellent starting point for people that are new to a particular genre looking to build their musical collection. I've completed playlists for Salsa, Bachata and Freestyle thus far. The genres I plan to tackle next are Vallenatos, Merengue, and Samba. When considering 'Ultimate's for English music, it gets a little more complicated but I will probably work on songs by genre and decade (a.k.a. rock from the 80's, R&B from the 90's, etc)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll leave you with this thought, borrowed from a blog I stumbled upon today:

"IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax, I'd limber up.
I would be sillier than I've been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously, take more chances, take more trips.
I'd climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.
You see, I'm one of those people who lived seriously, sanely, hour after hour, day after day.
I've had my moments, and if I had to do over again, I'd have more of them.
I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute.
If I had my life to live over, I would start going barefoot earlier in the spring, and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances, I would ride more merry-go-rounds, I would pick more daisies."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Nothing Left To Do But Blog About It

Welcome to another installment of mindless drivel and nonsensical prose. Glad you could make it. Pull up a chair and I'll pour you a drink. We can share a drink or two... or ten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ROOOOOOOOOADTRIIIIIIIIPPPP!!!!!!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend's getaway. I'm driving down to VA to visit some old friends! The Northeast crew along with the Southeast crew is converging in a house in the Mid-Atlantic. We've got my boy Tito coming up from Miami, cats flying down from NYC, me and Matt driving down in my car... and we're all staying at JV's place outside of Richmond.

About half the crew that's meeting up are people I went to elementary school with and this will be the first time we have all been together under the same roof since high school. There are some additions to the group. Girlfriends will be traveling as well along with new friends that we have made through the years.

Of all the trips I've taken this year, this may be the one I'm most looking forward to. Gotta love reunions with people you genuinely care about! I just received the tentative itinerary for this weekend and I'm sure we won't get to HALF of the things on the list. Although, I'm hoping we all get some time under the sun. I haven't had many chances to bask in the sunshine lately as I have been faithful to my work obligations. My main wish for the weekend is that the weather cooperates and we, at least, have the chance to do everything on the itinerary. Well... that, and I hope they all like my sangria!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I started my summer gig at Queens College this week. For the remainder of the summer semester, I will be an all-purpose tutor for the Sociology department. I won't make as much as I do when I'm teaching. Next summer, I can assure you that I will be teaching some electives and, thus, making better money. Nevertheless, it's a good way to keep myself busy and ensure some form of additional income in the meantime.

I conducted a writing workshop last night where I broke down the writing process (from the initial phase of thinking of your topic to fine tuning the final draft of a paper). When I started the lesson, I was a bundle of nerves and I didn't loosen up as quickly as I would have liked. I feel I could have done much better. Part of my anxiety was due to having to do the presentation in front of a colleague as opposed to flying solo with my own class. Thankfully, we get along well and whatever feedback I get from him will be off the record. It will be good to know what I can work on for next semester. I can also apply that knowledge to other Sociology classes when I decide to branch out beyond my statistics classes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For those of you who are curious (and to foolishly provide some assistance to my stalkers), here are my other public profiles you may want to visit one day, if you're so inclined:
1 - www.twitter.com/agsilver51 (Where I get to sound off - and mouth off - about my life and experiences: 140 characters at a time)
2 - www.posterous.com/agsilver (I don't use it to blog... that's what THIS site is for, silly. But I do like to post pics here occasionally - typically those taken on my phone. Check it out when you have a chance and lemme know what you think)
3 - www.bedwetter.com (I'm just making sure you're still paying attention!)
4 - tiny.cc/lod7R (A link to my "Rate My Professors" page where you can find reviews I've gotten this far after just one semester)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm not sure when I will get back on the ol' blog again so expect a mini-hiatus (the usual 6-10 days) unless I get inspired this weekend.

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