Finals Week (or Lap #1 Complete)

During the last week of actual classes (this doesn't count finals week which is a totally different beast altogether), I walked into both my classes with camera in hand. I took pictures of them both as I walked through the door. Some were shocked, some laughed, some didn't even flinch even after noticing what I did.

I wanted to get a snapshot of my classes to have a physical item attached to my memory of this Spring 2009 semester. I didn't want to rely on my "mental picture" of the classes from my first semester as a college professor (some of my colleagues would argue I'm not a professor at all unless I'm a full time instructor). I figured an ACTUAL picture (or, in this case, pictures) would serve the purpose a wee bit better.

I gave them a chance to object or protest over me taking the pics. I agreed that if anyone DID object, I would delete them on the spot. Thankfully, no one objected... in either class. If anything they were supportive of my decision to take (and keep) the picture once I explained why I took it. I'm not planning to post them on Facebook or have them appear on this ol' blog. Nor will I have a digital frame in my office to have them on permanent display there. It'll stay in my archives and every once in a while I'll take them out and have a quick look at them.

I took the pictures because I know that when the day comes that I begin questioning why I teach, or if I ever begin feeling extremely frustrated with the profession, I will have the pictures as a reminder of how I felt this first semester. Two great classes!! I couldn't have asked for anything better.

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to them this week (the dreaded "Finals Week"). I am ecstatic that the semester is coming to an end allowing me the chance to enjoy my summertime off. Yet, at the same time, I am feeling a great sense of melancholy at knowing I won't see my "kids" again, all together in the same classroom. I told my classes this and it bears repeating here: If my classes in the future are half as good as these two have been, I will be a lucky man!

I expect to be teaching for a while. Hopefully it won't only be stats but I wouldn't mind it if that's how things worked out. There's also a chance that all my teaching years may not even be spent at Queens College. But I know I love what I do and this semester I have looked forward to every single class meeting (even the morning class which, for those of you who know me well, was torture since I'm not a morning person).

If any of my students from the Spring '09 semester happen to be reading this, thank you for being a part of one of the best times of my life!!!

Until next time, faithful reader....

My life according to HIMYM (or Just a Line That Resonated with Me)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From last night's How I Met Your Mother (5/11/09)

[In Stella's car]
Ted: OK, but just tell me this. Why Tony? I mean, is it the money? The kung fu pajamas? Like, wha- what is it?
Stella: He's the one.
T: The one.
S: Yeah, I know it's kinda sappy but... yeah.
T: *sigh* OK, I'm going to say something out loud that I've been doing a pretty good job of not saying out loud lately. What you and Tony have, what I thought for a second you and I had, what I know that Marshall and Lily have. I want that. I do. I keep waiting for it to happen and I'm waiting for it to happen and... I guess I'm just... *sigh* I'm tired of waiting. And that is all I'm going to say on that subject.
S: You know I once talked my way out of a speeding ticket.
T: Really?
S: *nods* I was heading upstate to my parents' house doing, like, 90 on this country road and I got pulled over. So this cop gets out of his car, he kinda swaggers on over and he's like "Young lady, I've been waiting for you all day." So I looked up at him and I said "I'm so sorry, officer. I got here as fast as I could."
T: *chuckle* For real?
S: *chuckle* No. Small joke. I know that you're tired of waiting and you may have to wait a little while more but, she's on her way Ted. And she's getting here as fast as she can.
T: Bye, Stella
S: Goodbye, Ted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now I'm not planning to get all melancholy and depressing proclaiming "FML", and whining about how I'm not where I wanted to be at this stage of my life. But I must admit watching that scene last night really tugged at the ol' heart strings.

I see several of my friends in happy and fulfilling relationships, starting families and I want that. When I thought I had it in the past, things were good and now that I don't, well... I feel like I'm adrift at sea. I may just be a hopeless (and maybe a little helpless?) romantic but I don't really enjoy being single.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not looking to dive right in to another relationship but I feel like a social retard when thinking about hooking up with someone. I may just be taking myself too seriously or simply over-thinking things but I haven't gotten very comfortable being single. So my primary focus has been on "doing my thing". Learning to do fun things that I normally didn't (and wouldn't) do in the past.

Nevertheless, I just can't shake the feeling that "time is running out". I'm a big believer in age being a state of mind and that you can be as young as you feel (within reasonable limits, of course). I also am always flattered when people think I'm younger than my actual age. But there are times when I'm left alone with my thoughts and I consider the "what if"s more than the "what now"s. In those moments, I can't stop the little voice in my head, the sappy romantic in me, who reminds me that we are simply waiting for the moment where I find "the one" instead of just going out there and sticking my neck out. I can't accept that things work that way... not any more.

But I'll keep waiting. I know that for as many friends of mine who are "happy", there are many others in the same boat as me. They're out there looking, waiting, or seeking their "one". And with that thought, I sit back and simply take a deep breath. My time - our time - will come. Whether I've met "the one" already or if she's coming into my life in the future, now is not the time to worry about it. I just need to live my life. And she - whoever it is - will get here when she gets here.

And that's all I feel like saying now on that subject.

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

Birthday Precursor (or B-day Hijinks - Part 1)

I've managed to finally recover from what had to have been the drunkest I've ever been (yes, my HS peeps, even more than that day on Harris Field) from one of the funnest and carefree birthday celebrations I've had.

The way early hours of my birthday went, I was seriously hoping that it would not be a foreshadowing of how the rest of the day would go.

A few days prior to my birthday, I had the bright idea to ring in the big day with a toast at midnight with several friends. Since it was all very last minute and people had to work the next morning (damn you, responsible folks! Killing my buzz before it even starts!), I ended up taking a ride to Brooklyn to enjoy a drink with my best bud, Jorge. It was likely that he wouldn't make my weekend festivities so I figured I'd bring the celebration to him. We've known each other for so long (damn, dude has it really been 20-plus years?!?!) and celebrating a b-day without him is still a foreign idea to me.

I made the drive down the BQE after teaching my night class (no, I did NOT let them out early, though I was tempted). My travel was somewhat delayed due to construction by the northern end of the Gowanus Expressway. Fortunately, I made it to Jorge's place around the time I had initially anticipated (close to 11PM).

Rather than hitting up one of the dive bars in Bay Ridge/Bensonhurst, I suggested we drive up to Park Slope for a place with a bit of ambiance. What I didn't consider was that there ARE NO actual BARS/PUBS in Park Slope. Almost all of the establishments in that area are restaurants/bars and when the kitchen closes, the place closes. I became increasingly frustrated as we drove up and down 5th and 7th Avenues seeing only closed storefronts. I found out later that just about every place closes at 11PM midweek in Park Slope. How annoying. I'm beginning to HATE Brooklyn.

Jorge then offered an excellent idea. Why not swing by downtown Brooklyn? We reasoned that there should be an open bar somewhere on Flatbush Avenue. After driving a few blocks on Flatbush, we began to question the logic behind this decision. That was, until we saw an Applebee's. Resigned to the fact that we may not find anything better, we pulled up and parked. When we tried to open the door we were surprised to find it locked. You see, all this driving around killed about an hour and it was now 5 minutes after midnight. On this particular night, Applebee's closed their doors at midnight.

All I wanted was a freaking drink at midnight. A midnight toast to ring in the ol' b-day. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!! (Yes, just like Charlie Brown... lol)

We decided the dive bars around his way were the last places we would visit but going to a diner may be the next best available option. On our first attempt, we found a diner where we could have a small meal and, thankfully, a drink or two from the bar. I ordered myself a Tequila Sunrise and J had a Whiskey Sour.

Shortly after ordering my drink, I proclaimed: "I have experienced so much disappointment after disappointment tonight, I'm just happy this drink will have some alcohol in it. But I still expect it to taste like ass."

Thankfully, the drink was wonderful. Good enough to order a second one, which I drank while eating my spinach/cheese omelette. I know that may not sound very appetizing to some of you but, trust me, it went surprisingly well.

My sister called me while we were eating and I got to speak to her for a little while which was nice. Don't get to speak to her as often as I would like. I'm just not a phone person. What can I say...

Reflecting back on the last night start to my birthday, although it didn't turn out the way I had originally planned, I had a great time with those close to me (even if one was via phone). I didn't know how the rest of the day would turn out, but I knew that if this was a foreshadowing, I was in for a fun-filled birthday.

But, I had to survive another work day first. Keep in mind, it was around 3AM when we left the diner (and close to 4 when I finally got home), I didn't expect to be productive at work the next day AT ALL.

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

Other memorable quotes from the late night "pre b-day" outing:

(1) "That looks more less gay."

(2) "I don't think "Argh, fuck you motherfucker" is pirate speak."

(3) "Brooklyn is f'n whack!"

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

Ahhhh... good times, good times. HAHAHA... I guess you had to have been there.

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

Fonseca's NYC performance

It's been nearly a month since my last full post. I hope you've all been able to survive without me and my writing.

Without any further ado, on with the show!!!!!

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

Last night, I bought a ticket for Fonseca's concert in the city tonight as an early birthday present to myself. I was on the fence for over a week as to whether I really wanted to go or not. Would I want to actually go alone if no one else was interested in coming along? I decided at the last minute (last night) to buy my ticket to the show. Admittedly, I would have loved to have had some company – especially someone who is more genuinely Colombian than I am so that they could help me navigate any issues that might come up. Either way, I went to the show with fairly high expectations based on reviews of the opening show in Miami last week of his Gratitour (a pun of the title of his current album, Gratitud) and a show he did in Charlotte, NC a few days ago (enough Colombians/Latinos in NC to have a show there?? Who knew!?)

There was a ridiculous line outside the venue (the Fillmore at Irving Plaza, for you nosy folks). I got there around 8:20 for an 8 PM show. Now considered it was a Colombian artist and the audience is Latino, it was a safe bet that the show wouldn’t start before 9PM since we’re all running on Latino time. But I didn’t expect so many people to still be on line considering that people were being let into the theater when I passed by the entrance. Thankfully, the line continued to move well as they were letting people in at a fairly good pace considering the line wrapped around a block and was close to three blocks long. One employee monitoring the line said they were told the event was "over sold out". He estimated there were well over 1500 people in attendance.

Once inside (9:06 PM for those keeping score), I had a chance to take in the scene. Sure, it was crowded but it wasn’t packed sardine tight like the employee indicated while I was online. The place itself was quaint. There was a full bar available as well so I bought (and subsequently) downed a reasonably priced Newcastle Brown Ale. As I walked onto the main floor at ground level, the DJ was playing some great Spanish rock songs that everyone was vibing to and singing along with Mana and Enanitos Verdes before throwing in some Carlos Vives in the mix [Check out the 1^st video below]. Some of the other songs played while I was there (songs I haven’t heard in a loooooong time FYI): El Venao; Sopa de Caracol; Pasame La Botella; and Me Voy. The place is packed and there is no seating. It is standing room only and rather than get squeezed out by the hundreds already in place downstairs, I decided to move up to the balcony where railbirds were already in place. Though I figured being right behind them with a vantage point directly above stage right was fine by me.

What a performance!! Some old stuff (Te Mando Flores, Como Me Mira), some new stuff (Gratitud, Perdon), some covers (Idilio, El Cantor de Fonseca – haha get it? Cuz that’s his name… lol). This led to a rendition of El Rey (set-up nicely by explaining the common-knowledge "fact" that Colombians love Mexican music - not all of it but certainly rancheras) before transitioning into Arroyito to close his set. Simply genius!

One of the downsides was my inability to take better pictures since DSLRs were not allowed thus forcing me to revert back to my ol’ standby, my point-and-shoot camera. In the end, that worked out well since I have video capability on that camera (even if the video is grainy and low quality). Another sour moment of the night came when one of the railbirds, understandably, was getting annoyed by my consistent picture taking over his girlfriend’s head. He finally got fed up and turned around basically asking me WTF. We later joked about what happened to my camera since he hadn't seen a flash overhead in over a half hour. I thought to myself, “Haha, a-hole. F**k you.” But we had a good laugh about it anyway because he actually did me a favor. I was now less concerned about taking pictures and was totally dedicated to taking in the performance. It allowed me to enjoy the show THAT much more.

I would love to see Fonseca gain enough of a following to one day perform at an arena that can seat thousands like Nassau Coliseum or the Prudential Center (and one day the grand-daddy of arenas, MSG). But, for now, the intimacy of this venue was perfect for the energy and parranda-atmosphere Fonseca and his band provided, something that could be lost in a larger arena. The space was tight but everyone was dancing (yes, myself included... believe it or not. How could you not??). This was one of the best concert experiences I have ever had (right up there with the Marc Anthony concert at MSG where he covered Hotel California).

Even if you didn't understand Spanish, the music was so infectious and the set so well organized that ANYONE could get into it and enjoy the show regardless of cultural background. Sure, it helps if you're Colombian, but it's not mandatory to have a good time with Fonseca.

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

COMPLETE SONG SET OF NEW YORK PERFORMANCE::

Concert began at 9:40.

1 - Enredame

2 - Como Me Mira

3 - San Jose

4 - Alma de Hierro

5 - Idilio (slowed r&b-ish version)

6 - Catalina

7 - Paraiso

8 - Sigo Aqui Cantando

....Fonseca talks to the crowd. Shout-out to sponsors, etc....

9 - Perdon

10- Gratitud

11- El Cantor de Fonseca (sick accordion solo for 2-3 min...naaaaasty!!)

12- not sure of the name and didn't quite catch the lyrics.. Slow, mellow, rock-ish jam....

13- Confiesame

14- Viene Subiendo

15- Lagartija Azul

....band member intros - shout outs for engineers/behind the scenes employees and various cities of Colombia....

16- Hace Tiempo (started slow for first verses and the chorus while Fonseca sang and played guitar unaccompanied)

[Time check - 10:56]

17- Te Mando Flores (2nd video below)

[Time - 11:05... when will he do Arroyito already? The audience has been chanting "Arroyito! Arroyito!" on and off between the last several songs]

18- El Rey (Slowed down version, check the video below)

19- Arroyito (uninterrupted lead-in from El Rey before singing the song at "normal" tempo)

....requests from the audience....

20- Simulacion (cover of Diomedes Diaz track)

21- Bonita (cover of Diomedes Diaz track - 3rd video below).

Fonseca indicated that 'Bonita' was a song they didn't normally play but he had to just be teasing us all because they f**king rocked the house down as they ended the night with this song.

Concert ended at 11:25PM

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

Video 1 - Pre-concert: crowd singing Carlos Vives


Video 2 - Te Mando Flores (live)


Video 3 - Bonita (live)


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

Until next time, faithful reader....

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

BONUS VID!! (Added 3/28)
"El Rey" into "Arroyito"

Quickie

Hello again,

For those of you who have visited the last week or so expecting a new post, accept my apology. I am away from NYC 'decompressing' at the moment.

I plan to post once I get back to the big city. I can't guarantee a quick post the day of my return but should have one up within a few days. However, some of my pics are up on Facebook already and I will post a link to my flickr account so those of you who are NOT on Facebook (or friends with me there) can see the pics as well.

I hope you have had, or will have, an enjoyable holiday.

Until next time, FR.........