It was nice seeing everyone last night, but we really missed Garet. Anyway, it was cool catching up at dinner and going to the fabled Town Pub for their good grog. We didn't see the folks we wanted to, but instead saw a couple of handfuls of high school classmates, most of which we didn't say a word to. No real loss there. One interesting note, however, was that the Crow walked into the bar at about 10. He emitted a cold wall around him and sat down at the bar. There was eerily a seat on either side of him unoccupied. If everyone comes home again for Christmas, we should try to get out again, hopefully to a better eatery, and plan ahead a bit so my work schedule doesn't screw up the meeting time.

In other news, I realized I didn't ask anyone how their Thanksgiving was yesterday, so hopefully all went well, and hopefully Matt's trip to FL went smoothly...The Cuse plays RU today. They'll probably lose, but even if they win, they probably won't get into a bowl game, which sucks because even though their record is not very good, they have a great runner and a pretty good qb that the nation should see. Anyway, the Sixers remain in 1st despite their paltry 8-9 record.

It's windy today and I arrived at the conclusion that if it's not raining, then it's windy. One thing that made me feel better about myself: I read in the paper that people were waiting in parking lots of stores yesterday at 1 am for the stores to open at 5 am. I wasn't one of those people, and never will be.

I'm counting down the days until Thanksgiving. I'm off on turkey day, work Friday, and then I'm off Sat & Sunday. That's nice, except for Friday, but anyway. If you actually are still coming home this weekend, perhaps we can do something Friday after I work(7 pm).

I have one of those throw-away cameras left over from vacation to Myrtle Beach. Maybe I should finish it this weekend, since it's been sitting here on the desk for 4 months. I also want to use my digital camera a bit, since I haven't been using that much either lately.

Hopefully I'll be hearing good news either today or tomorrow. Montclair said I should know within a week, and today is a week. In something related to school, my chiropractor told me I should sub again. He says I should pick somewhere I want to work, get on the sub list and hopefully something will open up. He says I'm young and healthy, so I should wing it for a while without insurance. It sounds like a great possibility, however, I did this already earlier this year at Clifton and Livingston, and they didn't hire me back. I also don't particularly like subbing, since it's like starting a new job every day. I'll probably see after the new year, if I can last at my job until then.

I think I may be developing a cold(surprise), so I'm trying to drink lots and take extra vitamins and such. Who knows if anything really helps. I tried getting some sleep, but I can't seem to sleep late anymore. Gotta be at work in about 3 hours, so I'm not too thrilled about that, except I won't have to watch the Giants-Bucs game tonite. Gross.

It's a rare weekend blog. I couldn't sleep as late as I had planned, so I went surfing this morning. I found the Sixers lost to the Knicks last nite. Wha? I deleted my 60 junk mails. I decided to blog because I'm bored.

Last nite, Kim & I saw Elf. It was pretty funny. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, though. I didn't know what to expect, actually, but I figured it would be more of a Will Ferrell-type comedy, and it was more of a cutesy-type of comedy. It had some extremely funny parts, all while staying with relatively clean humor. To make it better, the Allwood theater dropped their ticket prices back down to $6 from $8. That was nice.

Today I'm going to lunch with Kim and her mother. Red Lobster is our destination, and we haven't been there in a while. I'm sure we'll have to wait 3 hours from all the damn religious people going there after chuch.

Since my fiasco on Thursday nite, the Vandals have gone 2-1. I replayed my game with Philly and lost a heartbreaker 28-21. I then rattled off 2 in a row with wins over the first place Jets(Wha?) and Patriots. I smushed the Jets' rushing attack, and had a nice game with newly acquired starting QB Jeff Blake. He was acquired for Chris Chandler and Larry Centers. I then had a good rushing game from Brian Westbrook against New England. His first carry went 79 yards for a TD and tied the game after the Pats opening game drive, which resulted in a David Patten TD reception. I ended up actually holding NE on a few drives, which is the first time I was able to play good defense(or maybe they just played poor offense, but whatever). Anywho, I'm 2-2 now and sitting in a tie for second in the AFC East.

I've got to tackle a few things before the week ends. First, my brother was on tv, as Den mentioned, because he has been a fill-in for WFAN doing the 20/20 sports flash. He was on tv because the YES network airs Mike & the Maddog, and he was doing the flash during that time slot. It's pretty cool hearing him...

Next, Montclair found my scores. They actually found them the same day I blogged, but I hadn't had time to blog. More incompetence in this world...

Third, I purchased a new game for my PS2(I know have 3 games!). I got NFL Gameday 2004 just yesterday. It's pretty hard so far. I played one game with the Bengals yesterday and got obliterated, but I didn't get mad because I knew I would suck. I decided to play another game to see if maybe I got the hang of it, but ended up turning it off in the first quarter. I read the instruction booklet fully and found the game has a cool feature in which you can create your own expansion team-design the uniform, logo, etc. Pretty cool! So I created the NJ Vandals with some bad-ass brown uni's and a pirate-type logo on the helmet. Anyway, there's an expansion draft where you select the rubbish left unprotected by the current NFL teams. It was pretty realistic because the people available were horrible. I can list my "stars" of the team: Brian Westbrook, Chad Morton, Freddie Mitchell, Willie McGinest, and Darrien Gordon. Ugh. My QBs are Brooks Bollinger, Chris Chandler, and Scott Covington. Who? Yeah. So I did my draft and played a game and got beat by the Texans, but hung tough. I think I lost 31-21. It's very difficult to pass, because the controls are sensitive, plus Brooks Bollinger is my QB, remember? I decide to play game 2 against the Eagles. They score on the first play-a 80 some odd yard pass to James Thrash. Once they get past your LBs, they're gone. Slowness. I get the ball and start running the shit out of it. Westbrook had 170 yards, Lamont Warren had 130, and Dee Brown had 40. I couldn't stop them, plus they had a KR, but when I kept running, the game stayed close. I'm down 21-10 at half. Get the ball to start the 3rd, and continue running and hold the ball for 4 of the 5 minutes in the quarter before hitting Freddie Mitchell with a 5 yard slant for a TD. Lamont Warren up the middle gets me 2. 21-18. They come back and score in less than 2 minutes because Jon Ritchie is faster than my team. Anyway, roughly 4 minutes left in the game. I know I can win. I've been running all day, so if I eat up the clock and get down there, I can at least tie it and not let them get much time. I run and run and run and punch it in with 15 seconds left. You're thinking, "He's still gonna lose somehow." Wrong, I hold on to win! Woo! First win for the Vandals. Post-game, I'm checking out my roster to see if there are any free agents, and the game freezes. My victory is gone, my 400 rush yards gone. Man was I pissed. So that long ass blog you just read technically does not exist. Sorry.

So the game is pretty fun at least when you can eat the clock. Otherwise, I would be destroyed. Totally bummed about the lost info, man. I may try to play again before bed if I don't fall asleep. Peace out.

Well, I'm back earlier than expected to complain. I called Montclair State this morning to find out my status of my application. They tell me they never received my GRE scores. Wow, that's great! I emailed them 2 weeks ago to make sure they had all my info, and they never emailed me back. So I call ETS to make sure they sent the scores to the right address and confirmed the scores were sent on October 3rd to the exact address the guy gave me at Montclair. "They could have been lost in the mail," he says. Well that's great, but maybe you could have told me about this so I haven't been waiting for 2 months for nothing. So know they're "checking" the office and are supposed to call me back, yeah right. UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE! Forget about the Red Sox and the curse of the bambino. My name is cursed. I'll probably find out that the 100 resumes I sent out have been "lost in the mail" as well.

Oh yeah, I wanted to sleep a bit today, but was scared out of my sleep when two cars crashed directly outside my window at 6:30 this morning. Well, I got my haircut, so that's something I wanted to do.

Wow, it was like a friggin' reunion here on the blogger. Everyone checked in. What a nice surprise. Den-thank you for the in-depth retrospective on your journey to N'awleans. Bam! Kev-thank you for your input on the Matrix, however, I still don't plan on seeing it. Matt-thank you for checking in and giving me my vacation destination for 2004. Warm Springs, here we come! Rob-thank you for your predictions.(Cincy 28, KC 20=really damn close)

As for those Bengals, how about the team actually being .500 in November, and to better that feat, they are in first friggin' place! Rudi Johnson again comes up big with 160 yards rushing. Jon Kitna threw zero INTs, and Peter Warrick is developing into the player he was at Florida State. Good things come to those who wait, and I've waited 14 years. Suddenly, the playoffs are not far off from reality, but I will not be disappointed if they finish with a .500 record and fail to make the playoffs. They are playing close and their offense is scoring. They'd probably be fun to watch, but lord knows we can't see the Bengals on television, only Jets and Giants. No bathroom, only Klau Kulash.

Tomorrow I return to working my Monday nite shift. Woo boy am I excited. The only positive thing that may come out of that is if I am able to get my haircut tomorrow morning before work. I have a shaggy dog atop my cranium, and it's no fun. I gotta call Montclair to see what's up with grad school as well. I haven't heard a peep, and they never responded to my email from 2 weeks ago. If time remains, I have to clean out the trunk of my car. It tends to leak. Not like "Oh, it's a bit damp from the monsoon we just encountered." More like "Oh, there's a swamp forming under my spare tire and there's some wildlife inhabiting the pond." My tire jack is rusted, as is my tire iron. The rim of my spare is rusted a bit, and there's a slime on the tire itself. Not a pretty sight or smell. I discarded the carpet at the end of the summer because it was ruined, and now I don't want the entire trunk to rust through.

In other news, I realized I have an abundance of cds I never listen to, and probably never will because I don't like them. I have an urge to buy some new ones, but I haven't had much luck in buying stuff that I'm unfamiliar with. I may go browse around right now actually, since I'm not too tired. I'll be back probably mid-week to whine about work I'm sure and maybe other things that are pissing me off. Here's a possible preview: traffic, weather, the Rangers, my paycheck.

I, three will be in Jersey for Thanksgiving, as always. I'm going to be at my brother's house Thurs, and rumor has it my boss wants me in at 6:30 am on Friday, so I shouldn't be working that late on Friday. I don't have a game that Saturday, either, so I'm game for a shindig. I will know more as the time approaches.

I also appreciate the input you guys gave to Kim (as I'm sure she appreciates it too). I want her to be happy, but like Rob said, I told her to find out as much as possible about the program, wherever it may be.

Kev, the news was on the F2F site, and they emailed me, so I think it's for real. It is really sad.

When I got home from work tonite, I wanted to get a haircut. I wanted to call to make sure they were open and there wasn't a wait, and sure enough when I called, I found out they were closed. Supercuts isn't so super are they? I'm trying to figure out when I can go, because I won't have time Saturday morning. I think they open at 9, and I have to leave for work at 9:30. I don't want to work with stray hairs itching my neck all day. As of now, my only option is to go Sunday morning, that is, if they are open.

I am so relieved tomorrow is Friday. I just want to chill and not have to wear a tie again until Monday.

If I don't be bloggin', then hope y'all have a fun-filled weekend.

Hey y'all. I just found out another one of my favorite bands is over. Face to Face has officially called it quits after something like 13 years or so. I'm extremely sullen, especially since I really liked their last cd. Bummer...

Had a poop day today at work. We'll leave it at that.

In reply to Rob-I am glad the Bengals have someone who talks smack, because they need an attitude to portray their team. I don't know whether it will fire up the Chiefs, but I don't think the Chiefs really need to get fired up since they're undefeated. I actually believe the Bengals have a real good chance of knocking them off, especially at Paul Brown. And so what if Chad comes out wrong after the game; they've got nothing to lose. The rest of the AFC North is also not very good or consistent. At least the Bengals have been playing hard all season. As for the Pats-I truly feel they will dismantle the Cowboys. I'm sorry, but I think their start was an illusion only made more appealing because of their fat coach. Quincy Carter is shit, and yes, their defense is good, but the Pats seem to be playing with a mission in mind.

I haven't heard anything recent by the Strokes, and the only thing I know about them is that I was sick of hearing about them when their last cd was out and how they were saving rock and roll. But I have heard many positive things about their new stuff, so I'm glad you're enjoying it. I haven't heard much new music, I guess because I listen to Q104.

Is Sparta back from seeing boobies in NO yet? Waiting patiently for his review. And also his take on the Nets slow start. What is the deal?(In an annoying Seinfeld voice) That's all for now. See ya.

Just a p.s., I didn't know Kim already blogged about the weather. Didn't mean to be redundant and sound like an elderly person.

Usually, I'm working at this time on Monday nights, but today my schedule was different for some reason, so I worked my normal 9-5:30 shift. I don't think I have off this Thursday because my boss already hinted at this. I believe last week it was 80. Today it reached 45, and Wednesday, it's back up to 65. That's some nice consistency there boys.

Hopefully tomorrow Roy Halladay will be named the AL Cy Young winner. He definitely deserves it after the trooper he was for the Jays this past season. We shall see. Bengals 4-5! Next week they have the Chiefs-the undefeated Chiefs. Yikes! I'm scared. I believe they can win, but I'm afraid of the score if they have an off game.

Still haven't heard from Rutherford for that teacher assistant position, but today was the deadline to send in your info, so hopefully they'll call me. I plan on spending Thanksgiving with my family at my brother's house, even if I'm scheduled to work. I already tried to tell my one boss about my plans, but she never really gave me any answer or response, so if I don't get this teaching thing and I'm still at my current place of employment, I'm at least going to see my girlfriend, my parents, my grandmother, and my bro and sis-in-law.

It's the middle of November, so I'm pondering Christmas and its awful shopping necessities. I'm not looking forward to spending the little money I have, but I've done it every other year, right?

I'm somewhat tired, so I'm probably gonna go watch some tv and go to bed early tonite to be rested for the remainder of the week. Later.

Because I didn't mention it when I posted the other night...Tom Brady is one sick QB. If there was a way to bet on the Pats when down in the 4th quarter, I would do it hands down.

Tomorrow is my day off. Woo! I feel like an elderly person on Wednesday nights because I'm always fatigued and my back hurts. I'll explain why my back hurts, so if you don't want to know then skip to the next paragraph. My boss climbs a large ladder to reach the stock of Christmas candy that we are putting out for sale. He proceeds to drop/throw these boxes full of candy from 2 stories up into my paws. No you may think,"God you pussy, it's only candy." Here's my argument: the boxes of candy contain twenty-four 10 oz bags(24 x 10=240 oz; 240/16=15 pounds). It's like catching a bowling ball over and over again. So my upper back is strained a bit, despite using my legs to support the weight like you're supposed to...

As per the recommendation of Dennis and Rob, I am currently reading The Corrections. I'm going at snail's pace, because I only read it when I'm doing my traction at night(that's the technical term for hanging my head and neck in a sling to correct my horrible posture and keep my spine from becoming igor the hunchback). It's quite humorous, but not in a funny ha-ha way, rather a funny intellectual way. I am enjoying it so far, but I have much to go. I'm on page 70, so have about 500 more pages to go.

As for Kevin's comment, I thought otherwise of your hand grenade comment at first, but then realized you were talking about New Orleans. Duh! How about those Rangers, though? Huh? [nudge] Huh? They are actually enjoyable to watch again, Kev!

As for other news, I miss Matt's presence around here. I hope he's spreading his healing touch to the folks down south...You know what I haven't had in a long time? Big League Chew. If that makes no sense to you, then just let it go...

I'll blog to all of you blogs tomorrow. Have a good blog. Blog out, yo.

Home from my late night of work:a 2-11 shift. I cannot even tell you how many people came in between 9 and 11 and bought cigarettes. Don't these people know that shit kills you? And they willingly fork over $5-$6 per pack. Anyway, it was madd hot out yo. It felt like it reached 80, but I don't know what it actually hit. Hot nonetheless, especially for November.

Now I must go to bed in order to be at work for 9 tomorrow. Truck day, so lots of lifting and sweating. Woo!

In case I forget, Den, have a blast in the Big Easy, and say hi to George Lynch for me.

Weekend over. Well, almost. Monday begins the first full week of November, and insists it will be a warm, mid-70s day. I will spend this day working until 11 pm. My my how this weekend flew by. Friday nite's party at Liz's house was a nice way to begin the weekend. Saturday's late football start allowed me to get an extra hour of sleep before working on a very pleasant day, and Sunday allowed some quality time with Kim.

I'm applying for a teacher assistant position in Rutherford, which is full time and offers benefits. If all goes well, then I will probably jump ship from my current position. I will feel bad for doing such a thing, because Kim's mom was kind enough to get me into a working environment after months of unemployment. However, Liz told me I have to do what's best for me, and that makes sense, and believe it or not, it's not something I hear often. I will probably go more into this topic if I hear about this position, but for right now, I'm gonna shut up and try not to jinx myself.

I searched for a couple hours online for teaching postitions and found a few more long-term sub positions that start in January, so there are still some possibilities. I thought I'd given up hope on teaching, but I'm finally seeing some ads. Hopefully, I will get some responses from this batch.

In sports-Bengals lost an important game, but I had a bad feeling because they were the favorites and were due for a letdown. The Sixers probably need Big Dogg because their offense is horrible-scratch that-Aaron McKie is horrible. I used to love the guy, but he's not the same player he was when they made it to the finals a few years ago.

I'm getting tired. Keep your fingers crossed for this teaching thing.