May 2007

So I was in the E.R. for 5 Hours Yesterday or Shin Splints Suck Balls

moocowinthecity 2007-05-22 No Comments

As it happened

To explain what happened, we need to go back to 12:00am Monday Morning. I got an IM from Jacqueline (hollow_voice) explaining that few of the usual suspects were going to be meeting up at the Lake Effect Diner, which is about a 10 minute, easy walk from my apartment so I accepted the offer and decided to go as well.

I Walked there, no problem. had fun, had some eats, said my goodbyes to everyone and I started to walk home (again, no problem)…I keep walking and boom, shooting, piercing pain, through my left leg…my reaction was (after going “oh fuck”) “well, maybe it’s because of the weather, it’ll work itself out as I walk home.”

I Walk home, and I was in more pain by the time I got home. So I figured it would work itself out overnight. Woke up, and was in more pain then when I went to bed and now because I was limping and putting all of my weight on my right leg, that thigh was sore. I then figured “well, maybe I should stretch it out and walk to South Campus and head to North Campus, I have to get a haircut anyway1.” So I walk (well, actually, it was mostly limping at this point, but regardless) to South Campus and take the shuttle and get on North Campus at around 12:18pm (by my watch) and do some chores and then walk around campus to stretch it out…by 3:00pm I could not walk, the pain was too much.

At this point, I began to think that, maybe, perhaps, I might, at some point in the not-so-distant future, against my natural reaction to ignore these things with the “pain is weakness leaving the body” mantra, need to maybe seek medical attention. I call Mom to explain to her what’s going on and get her take on it. Then I call Michael Hall (also known colloquially as the Student Death Center known for their world famous ability to mis-diagnos Mono and Bronchitis and for their magical ability to cure all maladies and mishaps with nothing more than a band-aid and a thermometer, much like McGuyver, they can also disarm a nuclear warhead with the same supplies and they apply the same philosophy to diplomatic and sexual relations…we believe a Band-Aid-Thermometer cult may be starting to form, actually…).

Michael hall’s phone rings once, and sends me immediately to their voice mail…where, in the background, one can hear sirens going off and on the message a woman – attempting to appear and present herself as calm, and failing – saying “due to problems with our fire system we are closed today…” (sort of cosmic, in retrospect) so I call Anna (primanna) and ask for a ride to the Hospital (I take my friends to all the fun and classy joints). Anna comes and we head to Millard Fillmore Suburban because within a 30 mile range of my apartment, no one takes my Insurance outside of the national pharmacy chains so I can’t even just go to a general practitioner for this bullshit.

We arrive at Millard Fillmore, after waiting, I get seen and at first they thought it was a blood clot in my leg, then another doctor walks in and thinks that it’s a shin splint; however because the first one thought it was a blood clot I had to go for a Dopler Ultrasound where they scan your legs for blood clots, first. I was wheeled down to the Dopler Ultrasound room, assisted to the table, told to strip off my shorts and put the blanket on me and starting at both sides of my groin they applied the liquid and did their thing. The only cool part about this is that the ultrasound machine plays the noise your leg makes and if anyone’s into experimental music, it’s something they should check out…it was like listening to an internal guitar. The procedure took about 45 minutes2.

I was then wheeled back up to the E.R. where I was given the Diagnosis of a “Shin Splint.” which I’ve been informed, by the doctor, does not require me to be an athlete or to have fallen, or stumbled or, as far as I can tell, to even have legs or feet and that the more I walk on it , the worse it will get and the longer it will take to heal. The doctor asked if there was a chance that I would stay off it for a long period of time, oh say a month and maybe could I slow down….I told him that staying off it for a long period of time (or at least that long) was not an option and totally out (I have a convention that I need to help run with gryvon, covarla & kokoroyume starting Thursday and come hell or high water, I’ll be in Israel in 14 days).

So, after discussion we did come up with a treatment plan, but suffice it to say while I’m not canceling any of my trips I do have to re-work the details of most of them (for instance, the 40 mile hike I wanted to do in Israel is now totally out as is the Drag Show in Toronto because I can’t walk on it for long periods of time, let alone dance in six inch stilettos) and I’m annoyed because I feel like a wuss because I’m reading up on this and it’s not a serious injury, but it hurts like all get-go and I’m not sure if that’s like…supposed to happen or if magically, my pain threshold has just shrunk and being that my personal belief is that I shouldn’t need to go to an E.R. and waste their time unless I have two bullets in me (minimum) and I’m missing a leg/arm/major-sex-organ-of-my-choosing, I’m now also annoyed that I had to go to a hospital in the first place because someone at Michael Hall (and I’m guessing) decided to use their emergency sprinkler as a place to hang their jacket thus setting off the fire-system.

However, I will be in Israel for quite a few years in the long run, so while I may not be able to go clubbing and dance all night long or hiking as I had originally intended, there’s more then enough coffee houses, shesh-besh tables, university areas, bookstores, shops, wonderful conversationalists, and touristy-things for me to do to keep myself occupied and while I did plan on walking all around Jerusalem I’ve been told by the doctor that I saw today that doing so would be counter productive to my interests and that I should certainly go to Israel and to Jerusalem, but plan on taking it slow and not walking too far or for too long at a time (so Museums with benches are a good bet as well). But, as covarla said I can also use more time than I was originally planning to explore university options, etc.

To sum it all up, Shin Splints Suck Balls.
1 The haircut…well, let’s just say I’ll be wearing a baseball hat or a large, large yarmulke for the next month…it’s…awful.
2 The reason it took more than the usual 30 minutes is because I’m incredibly ticklish in all the right places and while laughing during sex is okay because it adds to the overall mood, it apparently messes up the diagnostics that they needed to do with me ‘breathing normally and not wiggling around’ I told her she was pushy.

Ending on a Positive Note

I finally had the Business Card & Post Card that mr_weaselpants designed for me printed; and they came out fan-fucking-tasting; I have copies of both of them for him so he can put them in his portfolio…they’re just, amazing.

Today’s Game Plan

1. Sleep
2. Rest
3. Figure out how to get the laundry done
4. Clean out the fridge
5. Vacuum
6. Pack

…now, time to watch the Law & Order: SVU episodes I just got off of iTunes.

Peace.

So I was in the E.R. for 5 Hours Yesterday or Shin Splints Suck Balls

moocowinthecity 2007-05-22 No Comments

As it happened

To explain what happened, we need to go back to 12:00am Monday Morning. I got an IM from Jacqueline (hollow_voice) explaining that few of the usual suspects were going to be meeting up at the Lake Effect Diner, which is about a 10 minute, easy walk from my apartment so I accepted the offer and decided to go as well.

I Walked there, no problem. had fun, had some eats, said my goodbyes to everyone and I started to walk home (again, no problem)…I keep walking and boom, shooting, piercing pain, through my left leg…my reaction was (after going “oh fuck”) “well, maybe it’s because of the weather, it’ll work itself out as I walk home.”

I Walk home, and I was in more pain by the time I got home. So I figured it would work itself out overnight. Woke up, and was in more pain then when I went to bed and now because I was limping and putting all of my weight on my right leg, that thigh was sore. I then figured “well, maybe I should stretch it out and walk to South Campus and head to North Campus, I have to get a haircut anyway1.” So I walk (well, actually, it was mostly limping at this point, but regardless) to South Campus and take the shuttle and get on North Campus at around 12:18pm (by my watch) and do some chores and then walk around campus to stretch it out…by 3:00pm I could not walk, the pain was too much.

At this point, I began to think that, maybe, perhaps, I might, at some point in the not-so-distant future, against my natural reaction to ignore these things with the “pain is weakness leaving the body” mantra, need to maybe seek medical attention. I call Mom to explain to her what’s going on and get her take on it. Then I call Michael Hall (also known colloquially as the Student Death Center known for their world famous ability to mis-diagnos Mono and Bronchitis and for their magical ability to cure all maladies and mishaps with nothing more than a band-aid and a thermometer, much like McGuyver, they can also disarm a nuclear warhead with the same supplies and they apply the same philosophy to diplomatic and sexual relations…we believe a Band-Aid-Thermometer cult may be starting to form, actually…).

Michael hall’s phone rings once, and sends me immediately to their voice mail…where, in the background, one can hear sirens going off and on the message a woman – attempting to appear and present herself as calm, and failing – saying “due to problems with our fire system we are closed today…” (sort of cosmic, in retrospect) so I call Anna (primanna) and ask for a ride to the Hospital (I take my friends to all the fun and classy joints). Anna comes and we head to Millard Fillmore Suburban because within a 30 mile range of my apartment, no one takes my Insurance outside of the national pharmacy chains so I can’t even just go to a general practitioner for this bullshit.

We arrive at Millard Fillmore, after waiting, I get seen and at first they thought it was a blood clot in my leg, then another doctor walks in and thinks that it’s a shin splint; however because the first one thought it was a blood clot I had to go for a Dopler Ultrasound where they scan your legs for blood clots, first. I was wheeled down to the Dopler Ultrasound room, assisted to the table, told to strip off my shorts and put the blanket on me and starting at both sides of my groin they applied the liquid and did their thing. The only cool part about this is that the ultrasound machine plays the noise your leg makes and if anyone’s into experimental music, it’s something they should check out…it was like listening to an internal guitar. The procedure took about 45 minutes2.

I was then wheeled back up to the E.R. where I was given the Diagnosis of a “Shin Splint.” which I’ve been informed, by the doctor, does not require me to be an athlete or to have fallen, or stumbled or, as far as I can tell, to even have legs or feet and that the more I walk on it , the worse it will get and the longer it will take to heal. The doctor asked if there was a chance that I would stay off it for a long period of time, oh say a month and maybe could I slow down….I told him that staying off it for a long period of time (or at least that long) was not an option and totally out (I have a convention that I need to help run with gryvon, covarla & kokoroyume starting Thursday and come hell or high water, I’ll be in Israel in 14 days).

So, after discussion we did come up with a treatment plan, but suffice it to say while I’m not canceling any of my trips I do have to re-work the details of most of them (for instance, the 40 mile hike I wanted to do in Israel is now totally out as is the Drag Show in Toronto because I can’t walk on it for long periods of time, let alone dance in six inch stilettos) and I’m annoyed because I feel like a wuss because I’m reading up on this and it’s not a serious injury, but it hurts like all get-go and I’m not sure if that’s like…supposed to happen or if magically, my pain threshold has just shrunk and being that my personal belief is that I shouldn’t need to go to an E.R. and waste their time unless I have two bullets in me (minimum) and I’m missing a leg/arm/major-sex-organ-of-my-choosing, I’m now also annoyed that I had to go to a hospital in the first place because someone at Michael Hall (and I’m guessing) decided to use their emergency sprinkler as a place to hang their jacket thus setting off the fire-system.

However, I will be in Israel for quite a few years in the long run, so while I may not be able to go clubbing and dance all night long or hiking as I had originally intended, there’s more then enough coffee houses, shesh-besh tables, university areas, bookstores, shops, wonderful conversationalists, and touristy-things for me to do to keep myself occupied and while I did plan on walking all around Jerusalem I’ve been told by the doctor that I saw today that doing so would be counter productive to my interests and that I should certainly go to Israel and to Jerusalem, but plan on taking it slow and not walking too far or for too long at a time (so Museums with benches are a good bet as well). But, as covarla said I can also use more time than I was originally planning to explore university options, etc.

To sum it all up, Shin Splints Suck Balls.
1 The haircut…well, let’s just say I’ll be wearing a baseball hat or a large, large yarmulke for the next month…it’s…awful.
2 The reason it took more than the usual 30 minutes is because I’m incredibly ticklish in all the right places and while laughing during sex is okay because it adds to the overall mood, it apparently messes up the diagnostics that they needed to do with me ‘breathing normally and not wiggling around’ I told her she was pushy.

Ending on a Positive Note

I finally had the Business Card & Post Card that mr_weaselpants designed for me printed; and they came out fan-fucking-tasting; I have copies of both of them for him so he can put them in his portfolio…they’re just, amazing.

Today’s Game Plan

1. Sleep
2. Rest
3. Figure out how to get the laundry done
4. Clean out the fridge
5. Vacuum
6. Pack

…now, time to watch the Law & Order: SVU episodes I just got off of iTunes.

Peace.

Awards Ceremonies, M16s, AK-47’s, Long Island & New York City, Travel

moocowinthecity 2007-05-20 No Comments

Dad’s Award Banquet

Dad’s award banquet was, simply put, stunning. The UJA honored him, his business partner, and one other individual for their work in raising 130,000.00 and because my Dad’s company is building a handicap friendly tree house, for a free summer camp for children with cancer. It even has a ramp going around the tree so wheel chairs have access. There were 223 guests (including some of my family and extended family and family friends, which was nice since I hadn’t seen them in a long time…Margie even came up from North Carolina and Dad’s friend came from Dublin, Ireland — I told him to say hi to scarletquill’s Dad if he stops into his restaurant). It was an incredibly lovely event and just so well done. Dad received citations from the town and an award and there was a huge book full of messages from everyone congratulating him. It was so nice to see him recognized for doing the good work that he does. I know I’m hard on him (and vice versa) but he’s a good guy who does good work, so this was a good thing.

M16s, AK-47s and Other Ways to Bond With Family Members or “I think I’ve finally found something more scary than that one time they let you teach Kindergartners”

So on Friday Dad and I and the security person that he uses took me to the Nassau County firing range and I learned how to fire the above mentioned rifles, as well as a few others. It was certainly a learning experience. I did very well, I learned how to use the site, and fire with and without a laser scope and I learned how to take apart, put together, and load the rifles. I’m excited to continue the lessons.

Historically, it provides a much different view of world history when you feel the actual force of the rifle against the crook of your arm as the bullet goes off and you realize that the force came from just one shot. I can’t imagine the noise and smell of a battlefield after smelling and hearing the bullets (even with noise protectors on) in a closed and regulated environment.

We spent about two hours at it. When I’m home next we’ll do four hours or so at the outside range (which is where he originally wanted to take me, but weather didn’t permit it) and I’ll learn how to shoot at distances from the four positions, and then after that, I want to learn how properly use a handgun.

Linguistic Fun

The person working the counter at the shooting range was African American (I mention race, because it plays a factor in what happened) with a fascinating accent.

After I handed him my ID to register my presence there, I turned to Dad as we were walking in and went “huh, I’ll have to come back out here and talk to him.” So as the trainer was getting me setup, Dad went back outside to talk to him, and came back and said “he challenges you, apparently other people have tried to guess where he’s from before.”

So when we were done, I went outside and had a conversation with him, and finally he says “Okay, now that we’ve spoken, where am I from” and I said “North Carolina” and he goes “Wow, you’re the first person to get it right.”

It’s no where near as impressive as it sounds, but it looked really, really cool if you didn’t know that. First, Wolf has had us listen to his U.S. Accent tapes ad nauseam, so you get a sense for them; secondly, he wouldn’t be outside of the U.S. since you have to be a Citizen to work as the director of a shooting range (or at least, I made that assumption, I don’t actually know if I was right but it sounded logical) and based on how young he was and how thick his accent was, I didn’t find it likely that he would have been able to go through the entire process of obtaining citizenship yet so I assumed he was born in the U.S. It wasn’t an accent I’d heard on the tapes from New Orleans, so I wrote that off, and it reminded me of the accents that we heard from the Gulla Islands, but not quite…so I pinned it as North Carolina (and in fact, he said he grew up by the North Carolina Coast, so double points for me). I allowed myself a mark of personal pride that I got it right, especially as my father walked away with the face of someone who was stunned that his son payed attention in class and just did something “macho” and in front of witnesses.

It makes for a neat party trick though, and while I am nowhere near as competent as Wolf Wolk (…yet, that comes with age and practice and study), at least I remember what I learned in class.

Long Island & NYC

Long Island was wonderful, it was good to catch up with friends and family but it felt weird because so much changes between visits home (no matter how frequent the are)…The City on the other hand…The City in its constant state of ebb and flow always feels like home, because since it’s always in a stage of flux I never feel that it’s changed since I left, because it’s natural state is always changing (if that makes any sense).

I’m adding Long Island City to my list of places I need to explore (and bring my camera with me) I think it’ll have some interesting places to take pictures at.

Travel

Where am I?

I landed in Buffalo this evening and I’m currently in my Apartment up here in the B-Lo.

Toronto

I’ll be in Toronto later Today at the last staff meeting before Anime North/Yaoi North. Then I’ll be back in Buffalo Tonight until Thursday. Thursday is when the Yaoi North crew will be driving up to Anime North/Yaoi North from Buffalo and doing our thing.

I’ll return to Buffalo on the 28th.

New York City/Long Island

I’ll be back in NYC/LI on the 29th. I have a Broadway show on the 30th with my Grandma, Grandpa and my Mom :o) I haven’t been to a show in a while so this is a real treat (plus it’s with family, so that’s an added bonus). I then fly out of Newark airport on the 5th for Tel Aviv, Israel…I have to restrain my urge to constantly mutter “I wanna go now, I wanna go now, I wanna go now…” over and over again as I pad around the apartment and prepare the apartment for a month without me living in it (cleaning out the fridge, giving the bathroom an extra good scrubbing, etc)…I’m chomping at the bit.

Israel

I leave out of Newark Airport on the 5th of June and I can’t wait. I have 300.00US saved which is rougly 1,199.10ILS and cosidering that (thanks to nir1 and the free hostel in Jerusalem, I have a roof over my head) my only expenses are travel, food and whatever extras I purchase. I won’t be making the walk to Jerusalem this trip, I will however attempt it after I make Aliyah (roughly, if everything goes according to plan, in April) mostly because I am unfamiliar with the area as of yet so I’ll be taking the bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which, according to my travel research is 6.00US or roughly 24.00ILS. Not only can’t I wait to meet Itai and see Shirah (stoicdaydreamer) again, but I am craving some good falafel.

Soo excited, so, so, so excited…so many museums, towns, historic sites to see…so many people to meet (everyone’s a stranger until you get to know them), and so many men to enjoy on the beach.

I’m also doing this trip with just my messenger bag as an experiment in minimalism, so that’s exciting as well…the bag really does fit everything though.

Summer Courses

Classes start July 2nd, and continue on July 3rd…and July 5th, which means I am once again in Buffalo on the 4th of July which (really) pisses me off, since it meant I had to turn down an invite to Myrtle Beach and/or Vermont. I’m hoping that there’ll at least be a BBQ or something somewhere…or maybe Club Marcella is doing something fun…last year, while…enjoyable, was sort of a bust overall…but I also had Mono at that point in time (which I caught from either parox or naytomorrow or both…no need to change the names to protect the guilty).

Harry Potter

I don’t know how (unless I get the $150.00 that folks need to get to me sooner rather then later and use that to just buy the tickets and make do with $300.00 in Israel) but I am sure as hell going to be in Montreal for the Harry Potter Book Release.

Saratoga

Saratoga is a planned trip for Jackie (iolausian) and I. Right now the only problem I’m facing is too many plans, too little days in a calendar month; which, isn’t my fault, but rather the blame for that rests with the Divine Architect(s). However, the trip is currently in the planning stages involving seeing Hair of the Dog and watching many, many, many RKO Films, and in general bumming about (though I’m hopeful that if I can get there during the fall we can go bike riding through the foliage…which reminds me that I need to bring a bike back up with me from the Shed at my Parent’s house when I come back to Buffalo in July).

Boston

I’ve been meaning to get back down to Boston to see irenefinlay and saintgabby for some time now and I really, really need to get on planning that.

The Next Seven Months

June

I’m in Israel. I will be bringing a camera, I won’t be bringing a laptop. I will catch up with the entire month of your entries when I get back.

July

I’m back in Buffalo starting the 1st of the Month. I’ll also be in Montreal, somehow, someway for the HP Book Release.

August

Classes begin, I hope to be in Saratoga to visit iolausian, I’m also photographing christya512 & lolo1424’s wedding with hollow_voice doing lighting.

September

My Birthday is the 2nd of the Month…ohh, maybe I can go to Boston for that, that might be fun, actually (since it’s a three-four day weekend). Classes will, at this point be in full swing.

October

Not a whole lot to mention here, it will be my younger Brother’s 17th birthday though, how weird is that!?

November

Home for Thanksgiving, then back to Buffalo

December

My undergraduate career comes to a close on December 7th. I will be moving out of Buffalo on December 22nd, using the days prior for saying goodbye to friends, enjoying Amy’s Place, SPoT Coffee, Club Marcella and taking photos of friends and reflecting on the memories that I’ll have of Buffalo.

Okay, shower time, then sleep…then MORE LJ entries that need writing, emails that need to be sent, etc. etc.

Awards Ceremonies, M16s, AK-47’s, Long Island & New York City, Travel

moocowinthecity 2007-05-20 No Comments

Dad’s Award Banquet

Dad’s award banquet was, simply put, stunning. The UJA honored him, his business partner, and one other individual for their work in raising 130,000.00 and because my Dad’s company is building a handicap friendly tree house, for a free summer camp for children with cancer. It even has a ramp going around the tree so wheel chairs have access. There were 223 guests (including some of my family and extended family and family friends, which was nice since I hadn’t seen them in a long time…Margie even came up from North Carolina and Dad’s friend came from Dublin, Ireland — I told him to say hi to scarletquill’s Dad if he stops into his restaurant). It was an incredibly lovely event and just so well done. Dad received citations from the town and an award and there was a huge book full of messages from everyone congratulating him. It was so nice to see him recognized for doing the good work that he does. I know I’m hard on him (and vice versa) but he’s a good guy who does good work, so this was a good thing.

M16s, AK-47s and Other Ways to Bond With Family Members or “I think I’ve finally found something more scary than that one time they let you teach Kindergartners”

So on Friday Dad and I and the security person that he uses took me to the Nassau County firing range and I learned how to fire the above mentioned rifles, as well as a few others. It was certainly a learning experience. I did very well, I learned how to use the site, and fire with and without a laser scope and I learned how to take apart, put together, and load the rifles. I’m excited to continue the lessons.

Historically, it provides a much different view of world history when you feel the actual force of the rifle against the crook of your arm as the bullet goes off and you realize that the force came from just one shot. I can’t imagine the noise and smell of a battlefield after smelling and hearing the bullets (even with noise protectors on) in a closed and regulated environment.

We spent about two hours at it. When I’m home next we’ll do four hours or so at the outside range (which is where he originally wanted to take me, but weather didn’t permit it) and I’ll learn how to shoot at distances from the four positions, and then after that, I want to learn how properly use a handgun.

Linguistic Fun

The person working the counter at the shooting range was African American (I mention race, because it plays a factor in what happened) with a fascinating accent.

After I handed him my ID to register my presence there, I turned to Dad as we were walking in and went “huh, I’ll have to come back out here and talk to him.” So as the trainer was getting me setup, Dad went back outside to talk to him, and came back and said “he challenges you, apparently other people have tried to guess where he’s from before.”

So when we were done, I went outside and had a conversation with him, and finally he says “Okay, now that we’ve spoken, where am I from” and I said “North Carolina” and he goes “Wow, you’re the first person to get it right.”

It’s no where near as impressive as it sounds, but it looked really, really cool if you didn’t know that. First, Wolf has had us listen to his U.S. Accent tapes ad nauseam, so you get a sense for them; secondly, he wouldn’t be outside of the U.S. since you have to be a Citizen to work as the director of a shooting range (or at least, I made that assumption, I don’t actually know if I was right but it sounded logical) and based on how young he was and how thick his accent was, I didn’t find it likely that he would have been able to go through the entire process of obtaining citizenship yet so I assumed he was born in the U.S. It wasn’t an accent I’d heard on the tapes from New Orleans, so I wrote that off, and it reminded me of the accents that we heard from the Gulla Islands, but not quite…so I pinned it as North Carolina (and in fact, he said he grew up by the North Carolina Coast, so double points for me). I allowed myself a mark of personal pride that I got it right, especially as my father walked away with the face of someone who was stunned that his son payed attention in class and just did something “macho” and in front of witnesses.

It makes for a neat party trick though, and while I am nowhere near as competent as Wolf Wolk (…yet, that comes with age and practice and study), at least I remember what I learned in class.

Long Island & NYC

Long Island was wonderful, it was good to catch up with friends and family but it felt weird because so much changes between visits home (no matter how frequent the are)…The City on the other hand…The City in its constant state of ebb and flow always feels like home, because since it’s always in a stage of flux I never feel that it’s changed since I left, because it’s natural state is always changing (if that makes any sense).

I’m adding Long Island City to my list of places I need to explore (and bring my camera with me) I think it’ll have some interesting places to take pictures at.

Travel

Where am I?

I landed in Buffalo this evening and I’m currently in my Apartment up here in the B-Lo.

Toronto

I’ll be in Toronto later Today at the last staff meeting before Anime North/Yaoi North. Then I’ll be back in Buffalo Tonight until Thursday. Thursday is when the Yaoi North crew will be driving up to Anime North/Yaoi North from Buffalo and doing our thing.

I’ll return to Buffalo on the 28th.

New York City/Long Island

I’ll be back in NYC/LI on the 29th. I have a Broadway show on the 30th with my Grandma, Grandpa and my Mom :o) I haven’t been to a show in a while so this is a real treat (plus it’s with family, so that’s an added bonus). I then fly out of Newark airport on the 5th for Tel Aviv, Israel…I have to restrain my urge to constantly mutter “I wanna go now, I wanna go now, I wanna go now…” over and over again as I pad around the apartment and prepare the apartment for a month without me living in it (cleaning out the fridge, giving the bathroom an extra good scrubbing, etc)…I’m chomping at the bit.

Israel

I leave out of Newark Airport on the 5th of June and I can’t wait. I have 300.00US saved which is rougly 1,199.10ILS and cosidering that (thanks to nir1 and the free hostel in Jerusalem, I have a roof over my head) my only expenses are travel, food and whatever extras I purchase. I won’t be making the walk to Jerusalem this trip, I will however attempt it after I make Aliyah (roughly, if everything goes according to plan, in April) mostly because I am unfamiliar with the area as of yet so I’ll be taking the bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which, according to my travel research is 6.00US or roughly 24.00ILS. Not only can’t I wait to meet Itai and see Shirah (stoicdaydreamer) again, but I am craving some good falafel.

Soo excited, so, so, so excited…so many museums, towns, historic sites to see…so many people to meet (everyone’s a stranger until you get to know them), and so many men to enjoy on the beach.

I’m also doing this trip with just my messenger bag as an experiment in minimalism, so that’s exciting as well…the bag really does fit everything though.

Summer Courses

Classes start July 2nd, and continue on July 3rd…and July 5th, which means I am once again in Buffalo on the 4th of July which (really) pisses me off, since it meant I had to turn down an invite to Myrtle Beach and/or Vermont. I’m hoping that there’ll at least be a BBQ or something somewhere…or maybe Club Marcella is doing something fun…last year, while…enjoyable, was sort of a bust overall…but I also had Mono at that point in time (which I caught from either parox or naytomorrow or both…no need to change the names to protect the guilty).

Harry Potter

I don’t know how (unless I get the $150.00 that folks need to get to me sooner rather then later and use that to just buy the tickets and make do with $300.00 in Israel) but I am sure as hell going to be in Montreal for the Harry Potter Book Release.

Saratoga

Saratoga is a planned trip for Jackie (iolausian) and I. Right now the only problem I’m facing is too many plans, too little days in a calendar month; which, isn’t my fault, but rather the blame for that rests with the Divine Architect(s). However, the trip is currently in the planning stages involving seeing Hair of the Dog and watching many, many, many RKO Films, and in general bumming about (though I’m hopeful that if I can get there during the fall we can go bike riding through the foliage…which reminds me that I need to bring a bike back up with me from the Shed at my Parent’s house when I come back to Buffalo in July).

Boston

I’ve been meaning to get back down to Boston to see irenefinlay and saintgabby for some time now and I really, really need to get on planning that.

The Next Seven Months

June

I’m in Israel. I will be bringing a camera, I won’t be bringing a laptop. I will catch up with the entire month of your entries when I get back.

July

I’m back in Buffalo starting the 1st of the Month. I’ll also be in Montreal, somehow, someway for the HP Book Release.

August

Classes begin, I hope to be in Saratoga to visit iolausian, I’m also photographing christya512 & lolo1424’s wedding with hollow_voice doing lighting.

September

My Birthday is the 2nd of the Month…ohh, maybe I can go to Boston for that, that might be fun, actually (since it’s a three-four day weekend). Classes will, at this point be in full swing.

October

Not a whole lot to mention here, it will be my younger Brother’s 17th birthday though, how weird is that!?

November

Home for Thanksgiving, then back to Buffalo

December

My undergraduate career comes to a close on December 7th. I will be moving out of Buffalo on December 22nd, using the days prior for saying goodbye to friends, enjoying Amy’s Place, SPoT Coffee, Club Marcella and taking photos of friends and reflecting on the memories that I’ll have of Buffalo.

Okay, shower time, then sleep…then MORE LJ entries that need writing, emails that need to be sent, etc. etc.

By Way of Tickers

moocowinthecity 2007-05-18 No Comments

Classes end on December 7th, I’ll have a week to say goodbye to everyone, eat at Amy’s Place one last time, get one last cup of coffee at SPoT Coffee.

UB Takes their dear sweet time with the whole diploma thing, mine is Dated February 1, 2008…but I’ll be on The Island before that…and after this sumer, I’ll have a greater indicator as to when I can make the big move (so no ticker for that yet, since I don’t have the date).

By Way of Tickers

moocowinthecity 2007-05-18 No Comments

Classes end on December 7th, I’ll have a week to say goodbye to everyone, eat at Amy’s Place one last time, get one last cup of coffee at SPoT Coffee.

UB Takes their dear sweet time with the whole diploma thing, mine is Dated February 1, 2008…but I’ll be on The Island before that…and after this sumer, I’ll have a greater indicator as to when I can make the big move (so no ticker for that yet, since I don’t have the date).

Random Aliyah Question #235357348

moocowinthecity 2007-05-18 No Comments

I know my questions sound ridiculous, but these are every day things that I have questions about:

1. Are you able to buy caffeine pills in Israel…if so, are they over the counter…if so, do they sell an Israeli Version of No Doz…if so, what is the price in Shekels or US Dollars and roughly how many per bottle

(not that this is a major requirement in my pursuit of life, liberty and happiness…but after you’ve been consistently carrying no-doz in your bag since you were, oh, 13 it’s sort of nice to know that you won’t have to give up certain vices)

2. What brand of mints do you carry with you (I’m a compulsive mint sucker…it’s a trade off for not smoking and the number one way to avoid colds according to Dr. Wolk — the more moist you are, the less sick you get, and as the sign on his desk says, “conserve water, drink martinis” ). I ask because I’m assuming I’ll have to switch brands and I’m a creature of habit (much like those who have smoked the same brand of cigarette for years) so I’m trying to get a consensus on what I should try before I purchase a few and pick the one I’ll stick with. I’ve actually had the same meal at Amy’s Place every time I’ve gone in there, since Freshman year and I wear the same brand of shoes.

3. Can you show me a picture of what the prongs look like on your electronics, I want to make sure I have the right adapter.

Random Aliyah Question #235357348

moocowinthecity 2007-05-18 No Comments

I know my questions sound ridiculous, but these are every day things that I have questions about:

1. Are you able to buy caffeine pills in Israel…if so, are they over the counter…if so, do they sell an Israeli Version of No Doz…if so, what is the price in Shekels or US Dollars and roughly how many per bottle

(not that this is a major requirement in my pursuit of life, liberty and happiness…but after you’ve been consistently carrying no-doz in your bag since you were, oh, 13 it’s sort of nice to know that you won’t have to give up certain vices)

2. What brand of mints do you carry with you (I’m a compulsive mint sucker…it’s a trade off for not smoking and the number one way to avoid colds according to Dr. Wolk — the more moist you are, the less sick you get, and as the sign on his desk says, “conserve water, drink martinis” ). I ask because I’m assuming I’ll have to switch brands and I’m a creature of habit (much like those who have smoked the same brand of cigarette for years) so I’m trying to get a consensus on what I should try before I purchase a few and pick the one I’ll stick with. I’ve actually had the same meal at Amy’s Place every time I’ve gone in there, since Freshman year and I wear the same brand of shoes.

3. Can you show me a picture of what the prongs look like on your electronics, I want to make sure I have the right adapter.

Fun With The New York City Cops…

moocowinthecity 2007-05-17 No Comments

So I’m waiting in front of Grand Central (by the 42nd street entrance), just hanging out (I was meeting Christine there because we were going to take the #7 together to Long Island City for dinner) and this NYPD SUV/Truck is sitting in front of the entrance just hanging out there.

The back door is open; gorgeous Italian cop sitting in back, gorgeous black hair and I’m just hanging out doing my thing and the cop points his finger at me and shouts “You, get over here” and he motions for me to come over and I look at him with the “who, me?” look, and he goes “Yeah, You, Get over here!” and now I’m thinking “wow, I haven’t had a guy in uniform say that to me since the black party…and he wasn’t even a real cop” so I walk over and he goes “So, did you go to Plainview High School?!” and I was like “Yes…” and the front window rolls down…

…in the front of the car, was one of the former security guards from my High School (we won’t get into the fact that, after five years, he still remembers me), so I shook his hand and congratulated him on joining New York’s finest.