New Tunes

Hey guys, back again! I know, I post here a lot but it feels really good to express myself so I think I'm going to keep it up.

Today was a really fun day. I went to a party with a bunch of people from high school, it was crazy! So many people that I hadn't seen in years, everybody talking about what they were doing, where they've gone and are going, old times and new times. We drank tons of beers and wine and got to know each other all over again. It was really cool to see some friends from high school that I lost touch with but the best part was the people I wasn't friends with and, now that we're older, finally have the chance to get to know each other.

The real reason the party was so fun was this girl Jessie. She was an alterna-chick back in high school and so we didn't really hang out but I knew her from having classes together and stuff. She was super anti-establishment and "punk" with her doctor martin's boots and plaid shirts, she even had pink hair one semester! Needless to say we were in different worlds back then but now she seems pretty cool so we got to talking. We ended up having a good time and she even lives in SF! She totally got me psyched about this band she likes, called Reggie and the Full Effect. We listened to a few songs in her car and when I got home I totally downloaded their whole catalog. I'll probably see her again at Spring Break and I'm gonna totally burn her it all on cd's.

It really makes me think, you know, how like all the clicks in high school kept people apart when we should have been hanging together. Every Friday night there were like 4 parties with 20 people going on and if we'd all been smart we could have had one huge party (at Ted's parents house or something, that place is huge!) with like 100 people all shootin' the shit. So anyway, since we didn't do that before I think I'm going to do it now, in my own way, by trying to hang out with different people. The truth is I don't fit in with a lot of the people I know in Russian Hill and I think most of Shannon's friends think I'm not cool enough for them. Oh well, life is short so there's no reason to dwell!

Here's to a new year of meeting different people (all over again) and maybe changing myself up along the way. You ready to come along for the ride? Thanks for reading!

Back home with the bro's

It's great to fly to my hometown every year at Christmas. I get to see the family, enjoy the holiday spirit, sip the spiked eggnog and survey my future inheritance. As great as those things are, the best is getting back together with the boys.

John, Ben, MIkey and Alex, back in the day we were the kings of this town. Tonight I got the chance to get together and we sat back with a six pack of microbrew and just reminisced all night about the good times. Man, I can hardly belive the crazy stuff we used to do, like smashing Mrs. Richardson's mailbox with Ben's Camaro, driving off and then sneaking back at 3:30 in the morning to fix it before she woke up and noticed! I tell ya, those were the days.

Going home now I feel like maybe I'm falling behind sometimes. The boys are all married except for me and John and Mikey have houses to call their own. I know that my big city life makes it harder to buy a house and that the trade-offs are totally worth it but it does make me feel like less of a man sometimes. Oh, well, after me and Shannon get hitched (if I can get her Dad to come around!) her parents will probably buy us a house as a wedding present. Man, that would be sweet!

Back to the house to watch the game! Happy holidays!

When I got to the office today there were only 5 or 6 of maybe 40 people there. What a bunch of slackers! The holiday season is no excuse for getting behind on your work responsibilities. This morning I woke up an hour early at 7:00 to get a head start on the day. I brushed my teeth extra well with the new electric toothbrush my girlfriend bought me for Xmas (I was so excited she let me open it early!). After a quick breakfast and a stop-in at Starbucks on Stockton street I was ready to go. My email inbox was nearly empty and you know what that means, time to send some email! I went through my checklist and made sure all of the people in my group had reminders about tasks we're behind on this year, with 2007 right around the corner we're all going to need to pitch in with a little extra effort to make sure our reviews go well! That $500 bonus doesn't just earn itself!

I'm feeling so motivated I think I'll work tomorrow, too.

The start of something special

Well, I finally gave in, here's to my future in the blogosphere!

I thought for a really long time about starting this blog up and with the family time of the year coming up and the great year at work I've had I decided that yeah, this was finally the time. I guess the really great thing about blogging is that I can really express myself here without having to pretend to be someone I'm not. On a typical day I have to fit into the box that my job, my friends and my girlfriend all want me to fit in, but you know what? Sometimes that's not just me. Some days I want to skip shaving till the afternoon, or get my latte from Tully's instead of Starbucks. I've even been secretly thinking about moving the Mission, but Shannon will probably never go along with it. Russian Hill is great but I feel like maybe there's more to life than this.

Oh well, don't mean to get all philosophical on you all on the first post. Let's kick back together and enjoy this crazy ride!

Peace, Alex