While I'm living in Maryland, I might as well make the best of it.
Ever since I spent an entire week adventuring through San Francisco, I've been in the mood to explore other cities as well. Considering that I live just 20 minutes away from Baltimore, and considering that I need to be more pro-active in visiting new places and meeting new people, I'm hoping to start exploring that city on a regular basis soon. There are a few areas in Baltimore that I want to venture to specifically.
The Inner Harbor is easily the most touristy section in Maryland, so of course I'll be sure to explore that area. I'm actually planning to go to there on Saturday for an all-you-can-drink event at Power Plant Live, which is a collection of bars and clubs located right near the water. The Inner Harbor also has the National Aquarium and the American Visionary Art Museum, which I want to check out at some point. Plus it's got a Hard Rock Cafe, an Urban Outfitters, and much more in the nearby downtown area.
Fells Point / Canton is another popular area which apparently has the highest concentration of bars in the entire city. I've been there once before with Jen, and the area is essentially a giant quad lined with bars, pubs, clubs, and restaurants. We found a bar called Moby's, which always has $5 pitchers and $1 shots. I'll definitely be going back there.
I really want to visit Mt Vernon / Charles North as well, which are known as the artsy neighborhoods. They've got cool bars, young folk, theaters, museums, and even venues that are an interesting mix of a traditional concert hall and an art gallery. Nearby Hampden also seems like an fun place to visit, since it's got its share of unique shops, dive bars, and southern charm. These areas are supposedly like Brooklyn's Williamsburg, Philadelphia's South Street, San Francisco's Haight Street, or Montreal's Rue Saint-Denis.
I'm really excited about exploring Baltimore. Hopefully I'll meet some cool people there and find an awesome bar to become a "regular" at (my goal in life, obviously). And as excited as I am about venturing solo, I'd love for you all to join me as well. This is an open invitation to all of my friends to visit me anytime, and we'll go bar-hopping and adventuring!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Walkabout
Anyone who knows me is well aware that I'm a talkative individual (I'm also the slowest eater ever, but that basically ties into me not knowing when to stop talking). Well, I haven't made any new friends in Maryland yet, and pretty much everyone at my job is significantly older than me, so I've actually deviated from my usual, talkative self.
I spend most of my time alone when I'm down here, but I don't always mind. Sometimes I'm perfectly happy. I have so much time to relax and do all the lazy things I do best (listen to music, watch TV shows and movies, play video games, and surf the internet). Spending all of this quality time with myself also means that I've been doing a lot of thinking, which gives me plenty of chances to self-reflect. I'm also working on finding new hobbies, adventuring more frequently, embracing an open mind, and sorting our my life goals. So, in many ways, I feel that my time spent in Maryland is sort of like a rite of passage or a walkabout of self-discovery.
If I really wanted to, I could move back. And the truth is, sometimes I feel so lonely and homesick (granted it's getting better) that I want to leave. But for the time being, I think it's best for me to stay put for at least a full year from now and see where this journey takes me, both professionally and spiritually.
I spend most of my time alone when I'm down here, but I don't always mind. Sometimes I'm perfectly happy. I have so much time to relax and do all the lazy things I do best (listen to music, watch TV shows and movies, play video games, and surf the internet). Spending all of this quality time with myself also means that I've been doing a lot of thinking, which gives me plenty of chances to self-reflect. I'm also working on finding new hobbies, adventuring more frequently, embracing an open mind, and sorting our my life goals. So, in many ways, I feel that my time spent in Maryland is sort of like a rite of passage or a walkabout of self-discovery.
If I really wanted to, I could move back. And the truth is, sometimes I feel so lonely and homesick (granted it's getting better) that I want to leave. But for the time being, I think it's best for me to stay put for at least a full year from now and see where this journey takes me, both professionally and spiritually.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Go With The Flow
To be perfectly honest, I'm feeling pretty good right now.
I recently got my new camera! It's a Canon EOS 60D. I still have to work out the kinks, and I still have a lot to learn in terms of digital photography, but I'm really excited about it.
The last few weeks have been amazing for concerts. About two weeks ago, I drove to Pennsylvania after work to visit Mark. I got to see his new place, and then we took the train to Philadelphia for the Cut Copy concert. It was easily the best concert I've seen in quite a while. The crowd was incredible; everyone was singing and dancing and jumping and getting really into it. We took the train back and continued drinking until 3:30 in the morning. It was awesome. Also, I embarked on a spontaneous roadtrip to TCNJ after work last week to see a free, acoustic Anthony Green show. I actually had just found out about the concert that same day, but going was pretty much a no-brainer since Anthony Green is my hero and I've missed an opportunity to see him before. While at TCNJ, I had dinner with Jenny and even ran into my friend Michelle from my old job at Fort Monmouth (she used to go to TCNJ but has since graduated, so the odds of us seeing each other there is mind-blowing, really). I was standing front-and-center when Anthony Green came on stage; I could literally reach out and touch him if I wanted to. He made lots of conversation with the audience throughout the show, and I got to meet him afterwards. As we were taking a picture together, "Hysteria" by Muse started playing on the radio and we were both singing the lyrics. It pretty much made my life.
I attended a seminar in Virginia for work yesterday, and it was pretty good. I learned a lot about the company. For instance, Mitre apparently proposed a redesign of the airspace over the New York / New Jersey / Pennsylvania metropolitan area so that more air traffic can flow thorough more efficiently, which the FAA eventually adopted. It's really fascinating stuff. My favorite part of the whole seminar, however, was networking with other employees from around the world. I finally met lots of cool Mitre people who are my age, but of course they live in the Washington D.C. area. I also made contacts from the west coast (Seattle, Portland, etc.) and had some really interesting conversations with those people. I'm now more inspired than ever to maybe move to the west coast someday.
Two weekends ago, I went to Atlantic City with Frankie for Beerfest, which was pretty solid. As for this weekend, I spent friday night at Rowan for Frankie's birthday. The EZX party on saturday was basically a Ramapo reunion, and I seriously have not had that much fun at a party in quite some time. A bunch of people crashed at my house that night, and we were all hanging out hungover the next day. It was the best. I want to live in a house with all of my friends and laugh at everything always.
I recently got my new camera! It's a Canon EOS 60D. I still have to work out the kinks, and I still have a lot to learn in terms of digital photography, but I'm really excited about it.
The last few weeks have been amazing for concerts. About two weeks ago, I drove to Pennsylvania after work to visit Mark. I got to see his new place, and then we took the train to Philadelphia for the Cut Copy concert. It was easily the best concert I've seen in quite a while. The crowd was incredible; everyone was singing and dancing and jumping and getting really into it. We took the train back and continued drinking until 3:30 in the morning. It was awesome. Also, I embarked on a spontaneous roadtrip to TCNJ after work last week to see a free, acoustic Anthony Green show. I actually had just found out about the concert that same day, but going was pretty much a no-brainer since Anthony Green is my hero and I've missed an opportunity to see him before. While at TCNJ, I had dinner with Jenny and even ran into my friend Michelle from my old job at Fort Monmouth (she used to go to TCNJ but has since graduated, so the odds of us seeing each other there is mind-blowing, really). I was standing front-and-center when Anthony Green came on stage; I could literally reach out and touch him if I wanted to. He made lots of conversation with the audience throughout the show, and I got to meet him afterwards. As we were taking a picture together, "Hysteria" by Muse started playing on the radio and we were both singing the lyrics. It pretty much made my life.
I attended a seminar in Virginia for work yesterday, and it was pretty good. I learned a lot about the company. For instance, Mitre apparently proposed a redesign of the airspace over the New York / New Jersey / Pennsylvania metropolitan area so that more air traffic can flow thorough more efficiently, which the FAA eventually adopted. It's really fascinating stuff. My favorite part of the whole seminar, however, was networking with other employees from around the world. I finally met lots of cool Mitre people who are my age, but of course they live in the Washington D.C. area. I also made contacts from the west coast (Seattle, Portland, etc.) and had some really interesting conversations with those people. I'm now more inspired than ever to maybe move to the west coast someday.
Two weekends ago, I went to Atlantic City with Frankie for Beerfest, which was pretty solid. As for this weekend, I spent friday night at Rowan for Frankie's birthday. The EZX party on saturday was basically a Ramapo reunion, and I seriously have not had that much fun at a party in quite some time. A bunch of people crashed at my house that night, and we were all hanging out hungover the next day. It was the best. I want to live in a house with all of my friends and laugh at everything always.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Take It Easy
If there's one thing I've practiced a lot over the last few months, it's worrying too much about everything. It's gotten to the point where I'm giving myself anxiety attacks from time to time.
I'm told that I'm going through "adjustment disorder" and was hence prescribed medicine, but, I mean, fuck that. Pharmaceutically-engineered happiness feels inherently wrong; happiness is something we create ourselves. I really don't think I'm experiencing anything that I can't get through on my own. I just need to stop being so edgy, dramatic, and paranoid. But I also need to stop beating myself up for acting this way. Wow, this is awfully confessional of me.
Sometimes I get so caught up in thinking about life in a micro-sense, and then I look up at the stars and remember how fucking wonderful life is.
I'm told that I'm going through "adjustment disorder" and was hence prescribed medicine, but, I mean, fuck that. Pharmaceutically-engineered happiness feels inherently wrong; happiness is something we create ourselves. I really don't think I'm experiencing anything that I can't get through on my own. I just need to stop being so edgy, dramatic, and paranoid. But I also need to stop beating myself up for acting this way. Wow, this is awfully confessional of me.
Sometimes I get so caught up in thinking about life in a micro-sense, and then I look up at the stars and remember how fucking wonderful life is.
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