Sleeping in Train Stations

Posted on 24th December 2010 in Something Daily

Let me begin by saying that I don’t really know why I scheduled a 7:30 PM bus from New York to Philadelphia on December 23rd. That strategy probably would have worked awesomely if I had my own car, but since my parents are still my drivers, it wasn’t that great of an idea.

So since I had a late bus to catch and nothing to do yesterday, I spent my time squeezing in some last minute New York-only activities. I woke up far too early (for some reason, maybe it was the sun and the fact that we have no blinds on our windows) and immediately wrote the last post, then skated to Stuyvesant Town. This was at about 9:30 AM, after going to bed at 3 the previous night. Needless to say, my last New York skate of 2010 didn’t go very well, as my fatigue was throwing off my balance and stamina, bringing me close to injury a few times. I didn’t last very long. Even so, I’m glad I took the opportunity to go out that one last time.

So I packed and hung around with Eric and Justin for a while, and got myself some lunch at Yummy House (12th and 3rd) – General Tso’s Chicken: The Spicy Version. Yummy is a little bit expensive to eat there regularly, but every once in a while I find it very hard to resist. I also accompanied my friend Jen to a chocolate restaurant (bistro?) called L. A. Burdick where we got hot chocolate made from milk and melted dark chocolate shavings. This is not an exaggeration: absolutely hands down the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had ever. Of course it was rich and very filling, but apart from that I feel like it’s exactly what hot chocolate is supposed to be.

Check it out: after watching some Arrested Development and feeling a bit like a Mary without a Peter and a Paul, I caught my 7:30 Bolt Bus from Penn Station, and contrary to my expectation, we actually made the trip in under two hours – unheard of even for a Sunday night, let alone Christmas eve eve. So of course I get to the regional rail station in Philadelphia expecting to get right on the train that I’m now just in time for, and I see all of the scheduled departures on the board changing: “10 LATE”, “11 LATE”, “12 LATE”, “22 LATE”, “CANCEL”. Apparently some trees fell down on the tracks and made it impossible to get trains through, according to a stranger who was also in my situation and talking to someone with internet access. So I had to hang out at 30th Street Station and wait for my parents to drive the 45 minutes and pick me up. I listened to all of XO by Elliott Smith (what a great album) and did some reading, as well as some sleeping. And of course I bought my parents donuts for being so nice to pick me up.

So now I’m home and chilling out. I’m going out to buy some last minute presents, and then I’ll eat dinner with some family friends. Sounds good.

Since I’m home, check out the uncharacteristically detailed gingerbread men my family made in my absence:

We’ve got Will Ferrell from “Elf”, Goku, a penguin, a panda, the grinch, the phantom of the opera, a soccer player, Cleopatra, and some kind of mummy or zombie guy.

Also, I missed my kitty even though his hair makes me sneeze. His name is Carrot.

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mc chris owns

Posted on 24th November 2010 in Something Daily

UPDATE: Here’s some video for you.

mc chris on Emma Watson (NSFW)

mc chris – Fett’s Vette

And here’s Justin with his gift from mc – looking very happy about it

I’m once again on a bus to Philadelphia, this time for a little more than a weekend. I’m listening to Illmatic by Nas and feeling pretty good. We just came out of the tunnel about two minutes ago actually, so this trip is just starting. Unlike last time, though, I have internet connectivity, which means that I can update as I’m moving through time and space (I don’t have an iPhone or anything, so this is still exciting for me).

Being in this type of mood is once again helping me realize the importance of taking care of myself. It’s easy to forget when you’re in school and living with a bunch of your friends, but it’s important to have a good diet and get sleep and exercise. Apart from the obvious health benefits, it’s become apparent to me that these behaviors can actually make you happier – at least they do for me. I notice that after a few days of not eating many (any) vegetables or fruits, I start being tired all the time and kind of depressed. Same thing with lack of sleep, although that may be a bit more obvious. But I had a good night last night: I cleaned the kitchen and had a great discussion with my roommate London, I woke up to my awesomely clean kitchen, packed a bag, and left for the bus. Take care of yourself, ok guys? Seriously, it’s rad.

London told me last night that when he reads Three Stegosaurus Moon, he can tell which posts I wrote because I had something to say and which ones were a result of me feeling like I had to post something. Yeah, that can happen when you require yourself to write daily updates. I’m getting better at it though – it’s just funny.

Oh yeah, I went to this show last night…it was pretty cool, you know. We got to the Knitting Factory in time to see the second opening act, some nerd rappers named MC Lars and YTCracker. They were actually pretty hilarious – very energetic stage presence, unlike mc chris himself. It was quite an experience to see “the voice” in person, and pretty weird to see that high squeaky little voice coming out of a person who looked like the Frodo of Jersey. He was so unbelievably funny, though – his stage banter largely consisted of hollered rants about Call of Duty: Black Ops and Hermione Granger. At one point, he even stopped in the middle of a song (pressed pause on his acappella on iTunes, that is) to break up a dispute that was starting in the front row – the music just stopped and he started telling this guy in the audience to get out. I’ve never seen anybody do that before, but it worked – the guy left. Anyway, something about the combination of his ridiculous voice and insane enthusiasm made the time between songs my favorite part of the show. That said, he did a bunch of great songs. Highlights for me were the alternate version of “Fett’s Vette”, “Drinkin’ Blunts, Smokin’ Forties”, and “Fuckin’ Up My Christmas”, which he closed with. And at the end of the show, he pulled out a big cardboard box filled with action figures, lego sets, and Iron Man masks and started tossing them to people in the audience. I came within a hair’s breadth – a hair’s breadth – of grabbing one of the bigger lego sets, but failed. And of course Justin got a Wolverine action figure from mc chris. Still, a fun show, and well worth the money. See mc chris!

I took a bunch of video at the show, highlights being “Fett’s Vette” and mc’s description of Emma Watson. Unfortunately, my camera is currently in the cargo area on this bus, and I’m in the people area. So I’ll post now and put up the video a little later, when I get home. And I got a picture of Justin’s haul. Check in this afternoon for the video!

Here’s a shirt I found that combines two wonderful things into one. Battlestar Muppets.

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