Sadly, now I'm only going to summarize.

I dislike Art Fair, the way people walk is rude. Thank you.

Top 5...
5. Amy Schumer - Comedian that I've been a fan of for a couple years, I got to see live last weekend. Awesome! Her new show on Comedy Central, "Reality Bites Back"... well, my jury is still out on it.
4. Golf Themed Parties - I'm just pumped for a party that I'm spinning at tonight.
3. Work - I feel like I recently went through a work slump, but things are good again, and I'm feeling like I'm back in control.
2. The Roommate - Just a shout out to PK for cleaning the 1/2 bath and my toilet. I didn't even ask. Awesome.
1. Elbow - I'm hoping that after my very minor surgery that I a) stop hitting that spot on my elbow causing it to hurt like hell, but also b) hope that I now stop picking at it. Gross but true.

Currently listening to Hardy's "Frequency 2008 Mix"

That is all.

When in NYC we went around the World Trade Center site... it was my first time. While we walked quickly around it, it still just ripped my stomach apart. When you see how big the area is, even without the huge buildings in it, you still get it. You get how big of a thing this was. Then of course my mind went political, and I got pissed that we wasted so much of our time and energy in a war that never really got back at the people who did that to us. Despite that fact it's W, it's hard to believe that our government lost focus so quickly.

I also felt angry towards the conspiracy theorists that surround this event. They have their theories about our government being behind the attack, about WTC 7's collapse, about there being bombs planted, about the rate at which the buildings fell, and more. I was angered thinking about them as we walked around the site because this was a once in a lifetime (or longer) event. There is nothing else to compare this to. We were all looking for answers on that day, and we're still looking for answers now. But to doubt and ridicule experts who are able to study these things and get to the bottom of them is absurd. Then they write books and publish websites, and create documentaries to further fuel the fire, and even to make money. When there's nothing to compare it to, my feeling is that you have to leave it up to the experts and the ones in the know to come up with the answers.

When we were finishing our loop around the site, we passed the WTC Tribute Visitors Center. I want to go back and actually go into that someday. But the reason I bring this place up is because of the waste-of-a-human-life that was selling 4"x6" pictures of the attack. Justin and I walked past him, then I think we realized what he was doing, looked at eachother, and the first thing I could say is, "I want to go back and kick that guy in the teeth." It's sick.

Everything about the trip was great, but of course it was good seeing Justin again. He summed it up perfectly in a text message by saying, "It was quite home." It's true. Hanging out with some friends makes me nostalgic for what used to be, but a handful of my friends, even those who I don't see that often, are just easy to be around.

OK, Top 5...
5. DJing Stuff - I'm continuing the upgrade process. Ripping all of my music onto the laptop take a lot of time! Also, I'm exploring the option of DJing at another bar in town on Saturday nights.
4. Getting Back to Normal From My Trip - It was an exhausting trip, and I needed a few days to recoop.
3. Health - I'm getting back into the swing of working out. This means biking/walking more to/from work, lifting, going for walks, and going to the pool. No, you still won't catch me out for a run.
2. Health II - I've also trying to eat healthier (starting when I got back from NJ). Most of my breakfasts laately have been 2 bananas and water. Lunch has been Subway, Pot Belly's or Jimmy John's... no mayo, no ranch, no cheese. Dinner each night has been pasta w/ tomato & basil sauce and corn on the side. Snacks have been chips and salsa, granted neither one of those is too healthy, but neither one is too unhealthy.
1. Flying - Uh oh, I'm getting the flying itch again. I even started getting back into my flight simulator, which is a very accurate representation of the flying process. Are more lessons in the future? We'll see.

Currently listening to DJ Hardy's 2008 Mix.

After only two weeks, PK's turning out to be a kick-ass roommate, so I'm thinking this is all going to work out well. Well, let's say I'm realistically optimistic.

For those of you who haven't seen the place yet, I'll try to post pics on my facebook or on here soon.

Song currently playing: "Break Glamorous Hands" (one of my mixes)

Oh... I almost forgot my Top 5!

5. Party - We had our house-warming party on Saturday. It was fun, and I'm ready to have another... possibly bigger... one.
4. Unpacking - Yeah, almost a month later, I'm still unpacking and setting things up.
3. DJ Upgrade - I'm continuing to upgrade all of my DJ stuff and get all music onto my laptop and such.
2. NJ/JB - I'm getting ready to drive out to NJ to visit JB at the beginning of July. Too bad it means i have to do a bunch of stuff to my car... namely get an oil change, replace my cracked windshield, and possibly replace two tires.
1. Jen - Not sure what "we" are or what "it" is right now, but we have fun, and she's cool to hang out with.

So, here's the first one.

5. Vacation - Just got back from DC and Dallas and I wanna go back!
4. Facebook - Between chat, scrabble, DJing stuff, work-related things, and noticing that people I'm on good terms with have since removed me as a friend for no apparent reason, facebook takes up a lot of my time.
3. Softball - I just had my first softball game of the summer, it excites me.
2. Moving - I'm already thinking about packing and moving into the townhouse at the end of this month!
1. DJ upgrade - I'm finally catching up with the times and upgrading to a laptop to DJ from and hold all my music. 'Bout time!

I've been trying to be more patient with people, letting people go first, letting others take the last of something I wanted, giving to charity, and basically just try to be an all-around better person.

Sooo, when does the whole "what goes around, comes around" part of this happen?

I learned last night that I'm soooo boring. Granted, I was out at the bar on a Tuesday night. However, when a game of "Never have I ever" broke out, I realized that I hadn't done anything that anyone was saying.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. Is it boring that most of the time that I do the right thing or error on the side of caution? I mean, it's probably kept me out of a lot of trouble, and kept my life a little more stress free, but still, I feel like i should have either had some of those experiences that were brought up... or hell, even had a chance to have had some of those occurences.

Boring!

Post a comment on this entry that asks me a question. I'll write something to answer them or talk about all of them. If there's a question I don't want to answer directly, I'll at least tell you why.

The questions can be funny or serious, I'll probably want to respond to either kind equally.

Ready? Bring it!

I am happy with my job and the people I work with, however, I know a handful of people who don't mind what they do, but lament the fact that they have to come into work everyday because of who they have to work with.

Beyond that, it's amazing that those people who cause the others grief aren't removed from the situation (I'm being as P.C. as i can be) as quickly as possible.

Of course, I'm relating this all to my current and past work experience, but I know that this happens elsewhere. I've heard from friends about their current work situations.

I think that when/if I'm in a position to hire someone, the top quality I'm going to look for and ask references about is the person's ability to not piss others off.

Currently Listening To "Go Girl" by Pitbull (Good new song, look it up!)

I've been thinking about this almost all day. After a year since my last blog, what do I come back with?

I thought about talking about traveling, football, girls, work, DJing, facebook, and even the weather.

Then I thought of something that combined a few of those topics: Dance Marathon.

I was never officially a part of this organization when I was in school, but I've felt like an associate member up until this year. This year, I felt like I was part of the UMDM family, and it was amazing. I've always respected and admired everyone who has organized this event and supported it's charity.

This year was different. I started the year with UMDM by speaking to their Central Planning Committee (CPT) on behalf of the Alumni Association. From there I started DJing their smaller events throughout the year (as I had the year before). Then I started to feel like an advisor to them. I gave them my thoughts on the Marathon itself, and they asked for my feedback.

Thoughout the year (note: when I say "year" I mean this ending school year) my close involvement paid off in other ways. It created opportunities to DJ their parties and events for other groups. It allowed for me to excel at work via speaking to other student groups that CPT members were/are involved in, and via partnering closely with UMDM for Alumni Association promo-opportunities. The Alumni Association heavily sponsored UMDM, more than in years past, and gave me the chance to have the AAUM viewed in a new light to the student body.

Case in point, I DJed 24 of the 30 hours of the Marathon, including the "rave" party part... that's a personal side. On the work side, we once again supplied shirts and glow sticks for the rave. It was great, but what really got me excited about the AAUM/UMDM partnership was this video I recently found on youtube.

It's like I asked this person to do this, but no. I just stumbled across the video, and was shocked to see my personal and work connections to UMDM come through.

The entire Marathon again did not disappoint. Emotional, impactful, fun, tiring, and just plain worth it all.

I had Lloyd Carr and Rich Rodriguez standing right next to me, the Michigan Marching Band blasting spirit at all of us, met 100s of new people, and was made to feel like I made an impact on kids' lives... the lives of both the little kids going through rehabilitation, but also of the college kids involved.

You get what you give to UMDM, and I can't wait to get back to it in the fall.

I really like this idea. We have various veterans days, and an Armed Forces Day, but nothing (unless I'm wrong) that spotlights the individuals who are fighting/serving right now. However, it made me think about a statement I've heard so much of for the last 4 years. People have said that people need to "support our troops in Iraq because they are defending our country."

Maybe it's because I'm against this war, but I hate that statement. Let's be realistic here. Our troops in Iraq are not defending our nation whatsoever. They are, on the other hand, defending our interests (whether those interests are right or wrong in your eyes). What are our interests in Iraq? Well, to cover the obvious, oil. To cover the not-so-obvious, looking like heroes. Imagine if were are the country that leads the charge to create stability in the Middle East. Awesome, but not realistic.

You know, there was an attack on people who used war-terms for sports. "Football is like going to war." "It's a real battle out there." "We killed them." Those suddenly became not so cool to use, but if that's the case, then let's be patriotic, but be realistic about what we say about the real war in Iraq. The troops aren't protecting us, they are protecting our interests. I just don't think it's worth all the innocent lives.

First the background, in case you don't know what it is. InCircle is the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan's (my employer) version of facebook, friendster, etc. It serves as the University's directory and networking community, and also allows for posting your resume and it hosts our job board. The premise sounds great... a central location to network with alumni and students of U of M, and potentially find a job with an employer looking to get a candidate pool of Michigan graduates. It's just too bad that inCircle is an inferior product.

On the user side, and even if I didn't work for the Alumni Association, I would probably use inCircle just like I use facebook and myspace. I'd connect with friends, joins groups, and post my resume and look at jobs.

The problem lies on our side, the working/management side. We used to have a great job board and resume posting website. Jobs were posted by the same types of employers, but the better part was the resumes could be viewed by any employer. The problem with inCircle is that 1) only employers who are alumni can view resumes, 2) resumes cannot be searched easily, and 3) inCircle's company doesn't work with our organization very easily. They aren't customer service friendly, they won't make any changes we want quickly or easily, and sometimes they aren't even open to our suggestions.

This is what makes inCircle an inferior product. It could be such an exciting and more useful tool if the people who run inCircle would listen to us and make changes that would benefit our alumni and students. These problems have occurred over time, and most recently today. This is why I'm venting and blogging about this now.

Is there a point to this? Well there's a couple. If you are a U of M grad or student, please feel free to add me as a friend on inCircle... but, please also if you find a problem with it, send in your suggestion or your complaint. There are powers in numbers and sometimes it feel like there's only a few staff members at work who are fighting it.

Whoops, damn drinking. It leads you down a bad path everytime.