i’m on depression…

Well, my trip to New Jersey has come to an end. It was really something special. I feel so blessed and lucky to have such a loving family and wonderful friends. For twelve spectacular days, I was able to put my mind somewhere else… away from the tumultuous events that have overcome my Virginia life. I really hope to move back to the homeland some day… hopefully sooner than later. There’s something to be said about a feeling of belonging, and I truly feel that New Jersey is where I belong. Otherwise, every time I visit will only be met by the pain of having to leave.

Day 6 – 20 July 2008

I went to church in the morning with the whole family. Afterwards, we ate lunch at Chickie & Pete’s. Mmmmm… mussels marinara. We stopped at Target afterwards while Nolan got a haircut. It was there that I realized how much new stuff I need to recoup my losses.

Nolan, Colleen, and I went and checked out the new model homes down the street by Don Papparone. They were pretty nice, but not “oh my god, I’m blown away” nice. I’ve come to learn that you should never settle for a home, but rather to make sure that you get exactly what you want. There’s a home for everybody. It’s just a matter of finding it. It’s a pretty big investment, and a scary one at that. But it’s pretty exciting at the same time.

After my parents left, Nolan and I went and checked out some of the other new Ryan Homes communities. They’re all within a stone’s throw of where they live now, which is an added bonus. I found one model that I really like. The price seems just about right, especially when you consider the cost of existing homes. It’s pretty exciting to think that all this may eventually become a reality. Now I’m just keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that any one of these jobs that I’ve applied for comes through.

Day 7 – 21 July 2008

I started the day off early and headed back up to Lakehurst for work. It was a REALLY slow day, and sitting in my car for a couple hours in the hot & humid weather was not pleasant. After waiting around long enough, I decided to go grab some breakfast at the diner down the street. I placed my order, went to the bathroom for no more than two minutes, and my food was waiting for me when I got back. You gotta love diners. Faster than any fast food place I’ve ever been to. I went back to the base to see if anything had developed or was going to develop. Nothing doing on that front, so I packed up and called it a day. I was home by 1:00pm.

Day 8 – 22 July 2008

It was another slow day at Lakehurst, although a little bit more action than the day before. I gave Tony a call and learned that he was on his way up to New Jersey. At that point, I considered myself to be relieved of my duties. So I said, “FUCK THAT! I’m taking off the rest of the week!” And that’s what I did. I’ll be losing out on per diem and mileage expenses, but it’s worth it to be able to just relax for a few days.

Day 9 – 23 July 2008

I slept in until about 11:00am. After getting showered and dressed, I headed out to the bookstore in search of a few items. I ended up getting a sort of biography on Tori Amos, which she co-authored with a journalist by the name of Ann Powers. It’s a good read and unlike any other biography I’ve ever come across. I was also looking for a book by Thurston Moore about mix tapes. I asked the woman behind the counter if she could help me find it. She asked me what the title was, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. I told her that I knew the author’s name, if it would help. She then proceeded to tell me that she couldn’t look it up if I couldn’t give her a title. What a load of bullshit. Thanks for nothing, you ignorant bitch.

I met up with James at the movie theater in Mays Landing, where we saw “The Dark Knight.” I definitely liked it better than “Batman: The Beginning,” and I liked that movie a lot. Heath Ledger was brilliant as The Joker, and he ended up stealing every scene that he was in. At other various points in the film, all I could do was picture Christian Bale beating up his mom.

After the movie, we went to Chili’s to grab some dinner. Neither of us had been there in a while, and I’ll be damned… their chicken nachos are excellent!!!

Day 10 – 24 July 2008

I woke up around 10:00am, got dressed, and headed to my parents’ house to hang out with my mom. She works from home now and was pretty busy, so I just kinda sat around and did nothing for most of the day, which is nice to do sometimes. Often times, there’s a level of comfort that’s achieved simply knowing a person is present.

I spoke to Elizabeth online for a little while… yet another old friend that I’ve reconnected with after all these years.

Later in the afternoon, I took my mom to the physical therapist. She seems to be doing well with it. Afterwards, we met up with my dad and we all went to the mall. I ended up with a new vacuum, silverware, and cookware. That takes care of a few things on my shopping list.

Day 11 – 25 July 2008

Every Friday, Jackie spends the day at my parents’ house. Since I was planning on going there anyway, I brought her over there early in the morning. She cried for a while shortly after we arrived, but she eventually fell asleep after a diaper change and a couple ounces of formula.

I picked up some food and went to James’s house for lunch. We sat around watching episodes of “World’s Most Amazing Videos” and “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” capping things off with the Diaz vs. Pacquiao fight. What a brilliant bout that was, and the Philippines now has a title belt. Go Pacman!

I stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond on my way home. I picked up some new bathroom items (i.e. shower curtain, rugs, etc.). Man, that stuff adds up quick. I also got a nifty new trash can for the kitchen.

Later in the evening, Nolan and I went to Best Buy. I ended up getting a new home theater system. Now I just need a new TV to go along with it. J

Day 12 – 26 July 2008

My parents came down to EHT around lunchtime. The three of us headed back out to Best Buy, where they got me… a new TV!!! Afterwards, we met Nolan, Colleen, and Jackie at the mall across the street. We had lunch at Johnny Rocket’s, where they have the best chili fries and burgers.

Later in the evening, Nolan took me shopping and got me a couple new nightstands and an entertainment center for the new setup I’ve got going. I can’t wait to put it all together.

This is my last full day in New Jersey, and it’s a bit sad knowing I have to go back to Virginia to nothing. But I’ll be back in a couple weeks for the big AoD show, which should be great.

I’ve hardly spent but a few days in Virginia during the month of July so far. Work has me traveling quite a bit these days. The good thing about it is that I get to spend some quality time in the motherland of New Jersey. I was there for the 4th of July weekend. I had to work a couple days, but more importantly, I was there for the christening of my goddaughter, Jacqueline Nicole.

I’m headed back to Jersey for more work, with a stop in the DC area beforehand for… what else… more work. I’ll be attempting to keep a trip journal since the “856″ usually keeps me pretty busy. So here goes…

Day 1 — 15 July 2008

I went to work in the morning for a half day. I had a lot of stuff to take care of at the office before leaving for a week and a half. Finally, I hit the road at exactly noon, hoping to get to DC before the heavy traffic started. All in all, the drive wasn’t too bad. Of course, I did hit traffic at the mixing bowl, but I still made it to my hotel in Vienna in less than three hours.

After checking in and getting settled, I thought I would take some time to relax and maybe get some little things done. One thing in particular that I needed to get done was to transfer the electric bill account to my name for my apartment (the reason for having to do this is an entirely different story altogether). So I called up Dominion Power, gave them all my info, and everything was cool. Then the lady on the phone said, “Oh wait, it says here that you have an outstanding debt at [address] that needs to be settled. It has been forwarded to a collection agency. We can’t activate your account until this debt is taken care of.” The best part is that the address she mentioned is one that I’ve never lived at. WHAT THE FUCK?! To make a long story short, I’m gonna need to dispute this with the credit bureaus since Dominion won’t give me a straight answer and the collection agency is impossible to contact. A dispute could take up to 30 days, possibly more. So there’s a chance I might not have electricity in my apartment when I get back.

Around 5pm or so, I headed down to the metro station. I was on my way to Pentagon City to meet up with Christine, who I haven’t seen in forever. So we grabbed some dinner at a place called “Thai Phoon.” How clever. Anyway, it was really nice to spend a couple hours catching up. She said something afterwards that I totally agree with: it’s nice to be able to jump into good and honest conversation right off the bat, which is something you can only do with old friends. So true.

I made it back to the hotel some time before 9pm. I just so happened to have my Xbox 360 with me on this trip, and it just so happened that I was able to get it online through the hotel’s internet connection. So I played for a little bit with the usual crew before calling it a night.

Day 2 – 16 July 2008

I woke up and checked out of the hotel by 7am. I caught the metro to Ballston, which was only three stops away, for a meeting at ONR at 8:30am. Of course, I can’t discuss the nature or content of the meeting, so that’s that.

The meeting ended at 2pm and I wanted to get on the road ASAP in order to avoid as much traffic as possible for my trip up to New Jersey. So I rushed to get back to the hotel, where my car was waiting for me. The only problem was that once I had gotten off the train, I had to wait nearly an hour for the bus. Finally, I got in my car close to 4pm and was on my way. Traffic was a nightmare from about the time I got on the beltway to all the way past Baltimore. Despite all this, I still made it to New Jersey in just under four hours.

By the time I got home, I was exhausted. The combination of heat and traffic seemed to have really taken its toll on me this time. So I settled in, ate a little bit for dinner, and fell asleep by 9pm.

Day 3 – 17 July 2008

Finally, a day of rest has arrived. I woke up around 10am. I kicked back for a while with my computer, surfing the net and taking care of some emails. Around noon, I headed out to Gamestop and picked up the new NCAA 09 football game. After a quick stop at Starbucks for a caramel frappucino, I was back home. I’ve always liked the college games more than Madden, and this one does not disappoint.

Later that evening, I met up with James and Nolan at good ol’ PJ’s for dinner. We sat outside and oddly enough, it seemed to get hotter and more humid as the sun went down. I think we were all drenched in sweat by the time we left.

Afterwards, I followed James to their new crib in Sicklerville. Driving up Cross Keys, I noticed a whole bunch of new stores and stuff. I can’t believe how much things have changed. Bill Bryson wrote a book called “I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” which is an account of his experience of moving back to the United Stated after living overseas for 20 years. Sometimes I feel that way when I come back home. It seems that something new or different manifests itself between visits every time. Kinda weird.

Day 4 – 18 July 2008

I woke up close to noon. I spent most of the day in bed doing nothing. I watched some television and chatted with a couple people online, but nothing much other than that. It was kinda nice.

In the evening, I headed to Philly to meet up with Pat and Connie. They moved into a house together, right around the corner from Pat’s old place in fish town. We spent six hours just sitting around, drinking beer, watching baseball, and catching up. I always enjoy hanging out with them, as they’re such genuine people. That’s probably why they’re some of my best friends.

I stopped at Wawa on the way home for some grub. There’s nothing like a hoagie after a night of drinking. Being the typical night owl that I’ve always been, I sat up for a while watching tv and browsing the net. I ended up talking to Brooke for a little bit, which was super cool. She was one of my best friends during my last year of college, and still is. But I haven’t seen or talked to her in years, so it was great to actually have a conversation.

Day 5 – 19 July 2008

I went out to lunch with John, who was in town for a couple days. He’s been my best friend pretty much since birth. We were born ten days apart and have lived three houses away our entire lives through high school. He ended up moving to Seattle right about the time I moved to Virginia, so we don’t get to hang out like we used to. So when the opportunity arises to see and hang out with him, I jump on it.

About a week ago, James had sent me an email asking if I wanted to play a show with Apple of Discord on the 15^th of August. Damn straight I want to! So tonight, we decided to get in some practice time before the show, especially since this would be the only practice before the show. All things considered, it went very well. I haven’t even sat behind a drum set since 2005, let alone played one. I felt a little uncomfortable and timid at first, but I eventually settled in and felt right at home. But now my ears are still ringing and I’m struggling to fully regain feeling in my hands. The numbness has always been a problem, but I don’t think my body is as conditioned to it as it was before.

After practice, I followed Nolan back to Egg Harbor Township, where I shall remain for the rest of the week. I got to play a little bit with my lovely niece before she fell asleep, which is guaranteed to always bring a smile to my face.

NOTE: So far, the theme of this trip seems to be catching up with long lost friends, which is fine by me since I don’t intend on screwing up any more relationships.

i got to spend some quality time with my niece/goddaughter over the weekend. she was baptized on sunday in a rather intimate and laid-back ceremony, which was refreshingly nice. i’m used to seeing more formal productions here in virginia. anyway, she is just the most adorable little being i’ve ever come across and i love her to death!!! she loves to play…

don’t you just love babies? i don’t think this will ever fail to make me smile.

just a short hop from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

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