Time Is Running Out

Time is an interesting thing. It's also interesting how humans react to it.

The best analogy I can use is sports. When you see sports games, one team is up on the other. Nobody panics in the first quarter/period/half. But when you get down to under 5 minutes, people freak out. Time is running out. We have to get the goal/point/touchdown. But it wasn't a problem in the first half to get that score.

I've been watching almost every basketball game in these playoffs (and yes I am quite sleep deprived. Thank you David Stern for having games that start at 9 and don't end until after 1AM.) The one thing hate about basketball is the end of the game when the team who is losing fouls to get the ball back and then they take a time out. It happens in every close game. And it happens multiple times in every close game. It's frustrating. Yet if they were playing with that same intensity throughout the whole game, it would be a different story.

You see so much time wasted in sports (games with clocks, not baseball). In football when they spend 40 seconds to get the play off. Hockey when they just stand with the puck behind the net. Basketball feels like every possession is a waste. (I don't know why I say that. I really like basketball, but watching the Heat last night annoyed me. Terrible half court offense.) That time is irrelevant in the beginning of the game. But then near the end there is a mad scramble to save as much time as possible. It's the natural human instinct "oh we still have 12 minutes left, who cares" vs "crap we have 12 seconds left and we're down by 3."

Another example is work. You spend your 8-9 hours at work every day. But probably around 4-5 you start to scramble to make sure you get your work done for the day so you can get out on time. You spent plenty of time screwing off at 11 though, browsing the web, talking to co-workers, doing whatever. But at 4 you buckle down to make sure it all gets done in time so you can get the hell out of there on time.

There's no real solution here, you can't change the human psyche, but it's just an interesting thing to point out about how we operate. Time is running out, and we freak out.

Weekends / In Favor of the Four Day Work Week

Now that I'm in the "real world," I'm starting to live for weekends. When you're in school, everyday that you don't have class is a weekend. So for me I had like 4 day weekends every weekend. Needless to say, only having two days when I had four is an adjustment. Considering I also had 6 some months of unemployment where I had 6 straight months of weekend, it's another adjustment.

I personally am struggling with the change. I'm exhausted by the end of the work day (even though I work virtually - that post to come later) and just want to veg out and relax. Maybe I'm just lazy. Personally I was never the kid that enjoyed going from work to dinner to someones apartment and then be home around 10 or 11. I like to have time to myself. Just to watch TV or go to the gym or do whatever. Not enough hours in the work day to do everything I want.

A popular thing to do is travel. Especially now that I'm out of school, go travel to see my school friends who aren't in NY. Yet I hate that weekends are so short. If I wanted to go to anywhere but Philly, I will not get in until at least 11 PM that Friday night. And that's being generous. Good luck getting out of New York City on a Friday night on time. It's a massacre. So if I get in at 11 or midnight, that night is pretty much done.

So you have all day Saturday, and then really half of Sunday because you have to get back home. All that traveling for a day and a half? That's brutal. Weekends are way to short to begin with, but it's even shorter when you spend 10 of the 50 some hours traveling.

I've been having this discussion a lot with my buddies lately - who the hell decided it should be a five day work week? If you work the normal weekday, you're working roughly 250 days a year, while you get off for 115. I don't understand why there's that imbalance. When I was job hunting, a lot of places talked about a Life/Work balance. I don't know what they're talking about, because there is no balance here. If we changed to a four day week, it would be more of a balance - still favored towards the work side of it, but less so. I think everyone would be less stressed. You have more time to do the things you want to do, as opposed to not having the time (or having to take time off from work) to do much of anything.

I think me and my friends are just in the rebellious phase. It's our first year out in the world and it's not the same as school. It's a drag for the 5 days a week and only 2 days to ourselves. And this is "how it is" unfortunately. It makes no sense. I don't know why anyone set it up like this. I don't like it at all, but I am nowhere near enough to change society or the way we live. I'm just a kid on my small digital soapbox.

Now, back to work!

Tony Soprano Died

As my craziest high school teacher would say (almost every day) - I'm going to eat crow.

I wrote a few months ago that I didn't think Tony Soprano died. Then I read this. And, not only is it the most comprehensive post I've ever read regarding a 3-5 minute scene, it all makes sense. I agree with everything.

So after reading it (found courtesy of Bill Simmons the Sports Guy. If I ever write as well as he does [and somehow have a job like his] I will consider my life a better-than-expected success) I decided I need to watch season 6 again. All of it. Knowing what I knew previously from watching it a few months ago, I think he died. It had to have happened. All of the signs and things they talk about point that it has to have had happened.

Why did I not think so before? Because I was trying to be positive? (which, if you know me, that's rarer than the Dodo) I'm not sure. Maybe it was just my naiveté. I'd bet it's because I knew how it ended, but I didn't really know how it ended (if you missed it, I accentuated the second how there. I'm not that dumb to write the same thing twice. Well, wait.)

It makes sense that he died. Everyone else had died. It was a changing of the guard. The new young people wanted their turn. And that, as they say, is that.

"I'm Bored"

Check this one into the "angry rant" category.

This world that we've created, where we are in constant contact with one another, enhances our human "need" to communicate with someone. Anyone. It's easier than ever. Cell phones, texts, IMs, emails, tweets, Harry Potter's owls, and mind control.

So all this communication should be a good thing, right?

I'm over it.

Now you ask why.

Lately, I think we all use this as a way to make us feel important. We reach out to try to talk to anyone. The biggest crime of this is people during work. Let's be honest - most people get bored during their work day. The monotonous routine 5 days a week makes people not want to work when they are supposed. They want to talk to someone else, just to talk to someone else. They don't have to say anything, just they feel more important because they've been making some kind of contact.

Some of the messages I've gotten just this week include "ughhh I'm so bored and hungry" "I'm so f****ing bored I hate this place" "I want to quit" "ughhhh this day is draggginggg" and so on. And not from just the same person. Several different people. My response? I don't. I don't care. Everyone gets bored at one point or another. Telling someone how bored you are doesn't change anything - it just makes you sound miserable. Nobody really wants to talk with someone who is miserable. It just brings down the other person who isn't bored.

Another random sidenote - people say the world is getting smaller because of media. More and more people know each other. While I agree, people know each other through whatever you want to call it - six degrees of separation or whatever - I think it keeps us closer connected to our close circle of friends, making it harder to meet other people. When you see other people out, 90% chance they are doing something with their cell phones. Talking, texting, playing games. What's the point of going to a bar if you're going to sit on your phone the whole time? It's a huge crutch. I'm not innocent here either. It sucks. I'm very tight with people who aren't here with me in NYC, but I haven't really made many new friends. Maybe part of that is my low budget, but facts are facts. I tweet/text/call/video chat with the same 5-10 people everyday, but almost none of them are here. It's nice having that connection, but it'd be nice to have the in-person connection too, which can't be duplicated over technology.

Anyways, if you're bored. Find something to make you not bored. But don't share your boredom with others. It's unbecoming and makes you look pathetic.

I also think social media inflates people's perceived self-worth, and make us think that everyone can and should hear us. They also think it's a perfect platform to complain. I'm in a group of people in my building, and it feels like every discussion topic is something wrong with something else. Some people's tweets are just complaints. Stop complaining. be positive.

You're supposed to note the irony here - I'm complaining on my blog about people complaining via our evolving technology. This is like a poorly written Seinfeld episode.

Thanks for hearing my rant, now back to your regularly scheduled Thursday!

The Heat Will Win

Quick basketball post.

I think the Heat are going to win. I know I'm jumping on the bandwagon about 8 months too late, but I also didn't realistically think it would happen. I didn't expect the Celts to get so old so quick. I didn't expect the Magic to make that brutal trade. I didn't expect the Lakers to get swept in round 2.

But beyond all that, even if all of these teams were still involved and could play well, the Heat are a real tough match up for a seven game series. Can someone beat them once? Yes. Can they beat them 4 out of 7 times in a playoff series? Doubtful. The youth, the energy, the talent is very much to their advantage. The only team that (to me) could stand in their way is the Mavericks. I watched all of the Thunder/Grizz last night (3OT till 2AM, sleep deprived this AM) and I just saw a very sloppy sloppy game from both teams. The Bulls are hurting. I never considered the Hawks a legitimate contender. I also haven't seen a single game they play, so that might help with my opinion.

It just seems like the Heat are a train that will keep rolling over everyone.

We are all (unfortunately) witnesses.

One Year Out of College

This week marks the 1 year anniversary of being out of college. Wow. Really?

Time never really happens in perspective. People talk about memories in terms of "it felt like yesterday" or "that felt like years ago." It's all about feel. So how long does it feel since last year? Certainly not yesterday, but it's been a while.

My roommate has an app for his Foursquare that tells him his checkins on this date last year, and right now last year we were in the middle of senior week - which I wrote about a little on here (probably about this time last year. I know, who would of guessed.) This day last year? We were at Foxwoods.

What's shocking is how while that chapter of my life is over, some of the things still remain very much the same. I'm fortunate to have moved to New York (another blog post coming on that soon. I told you I was coming back to you. That sounds creepy...), live with my same roommate for the past 4 years, have two of my other best friends here, and still keep in touch with all of my closest college friends on a near-daily basis.

It also makes you appreciate the days when you "get the band back together" - the weekends when you go visit or someone visits you. We're getting the band back together this coming weekend for a friend's birthday party in Philly, and I expect it to be an awesome time. We got together last weekend in NYC, and had another great time. Yeah, we're still not seeing each other every day/night/weekend like we did at school, and we're doing different things, we're still able to get back together and enjoy it.

I'm sure everyone's grade/high school had different experiences post-graduation, but I barely keep in touch with most of those kids. I've got two best friends, a random slew of kids I hear from/talk to every now and again with the "let's hang out soon" ender that never really goes anywhere. So I'm excited to see that I've been able to hold on to so many of my close friends from college.

Other interesting notes from 1 year out of college: I haven't been back to Boston since graduating. I honestly don't miss it. Part of the reasoning is I just kind of shrug my shoulders and say "what would I do?" And I think that's a legitimate gripe. What would I do? Am I going to go to the same 5 bars that I went to as a student? Go to the same 5 places to eat? Boston is a small enough city where there is still plenty to do, you would most likely end up doing the same thing after time. (I say that, but I'm in NYC and almost always end up in the same area. Maybe I'm just a creature of habit). Boston just wouldn't be the same without my friends.

Being unemployed wasn't fun. That lasted far too long (approximatively 7 months, with a two month break for my "temporary" job somewhere in there). It was depressing. I didn't have many friends in and around Philly. The uncertainty of if/when/how you'll get a job throws you through a loop. You're got no income, and as a result rarely want to go anywhere/do anything because everything costs money (and when no one's around to do it with, makes the going anywhere more rare). You lose your mind a bit. I probably gained somewhere between 1000-3000 pounds (numbers may be exaggerated). I grew a beard for 2 months. It's all terrible. This isn't where I blame BU for not helping me but I always felt like I was never appropriately prepared to graduate and attempt to get a job.

This isn't meant to be an "advice to the class of 2011" post. This is my personal experience. Everyone has different ones. Some of my friends got a job before they graduated. Others are still working on it. Others are doing something else to try to do what they want later. It's interesting how it all works out. I've been employed for a little over four months now, and it's been a nice transition into the "real world".

So, conclusion. A year later, do I miss school? Not really. I miss the free time and my friends, but I got 50% of that still working for me. I think I wrote this before (if not then I've had several debates on it) but college isn't real, or anything like the real world. Having class for 12-16 hours a week is nothing like working for 40+. And the idea is you motivate yourself to do other things, "find yourself etc". Reality is probably 90% of 20 year olds would rather sleep/watch tv/drink than do something else. Part of the American culture we live in. Smells like teenage spirit. But you can't keep living in a college "fantasy life" forever. Time rolls on. And you've got to keep rolling with it.

Cover Bands

Okay, so now that Osama-mania has calmed down enough for us to return to somewhat normalcy (until tomorrow), I've been meaning to write about my Friday night. I went to a band that's a tribute band for Bruce Springsteen (who else would I possibly see?) The band was covering the Boss' legendary 4 hour show from New Years 1980. Legendary doesn't really describe it. It's epic.

It was at a small bar in Manhattan, I didn't have much expectations besides just trying to enjoy some live music, have some beers, dance in the dark, and enjoy the night.

Overall? Not terrible. Because I'm anal for Bruce? It never had a chance. But, the show was good because I wanted to do something in the city that was affordable (before I saw my bar tab) while enjoying something I love.

The cool part was it was such an intimate show. By that I mean it was one of those small venues where you are literally on top of the stage. Being that close, listening to that kind of music was great. I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I got a little mad because it wasn't exactly the same. But the show was good.

Something you get at Springsteen related shows is the various age ranges. There's the youngin's like me and then there's people old enough to be my parents. Goes to show the guy is cross-generational here in the Land of Hope and Dreams.

The Death of Osama

This post is going to be very scattered. Too many things going on to just focus on one.

Last night was weird. It's one of those nights that you get really excited about, but you don't know why, until it breaks on Twitter, but you don't believe it till you hear it for sure.

Me personally? I was switching to watch MSNBC because they have Sunday night "To Catch a Predator" marathons that are always fun to watch. Instead, I got the "Obama to make announcement at 10:30.

It was like television you couldn't turn away from. Literally, the news staff didn't even know what was going on. They thought it was something else - Libya, gas prices, birth certificates, whatever. Then slowly you hear rumors. NBC had a lead from Pete Williams, but never said it. Then you'd read the other networks saying it. It all sounded so ridiculous. We have his body. Shot in the head.

It reminded me of the Michael Jackson death. Something was happening, but nobody knows what. But everyone's speculating. Low and behold: Twitter was right. And on it blew up. I personally tweeted more than I would during a Lost episode (which is alot, because I would tweet "WTF" every 30 seconds watching Lost.) Some of it is funny hearted (Team America, Jack Bauer) some is the amazement at what's going on via the media, etc.

What's really interesting about this? How long this has gone on. It's really more than just since 2001. Long long before. At least 15 years. 3 administrations. We had no idea. There would be rumors everywhere. South Park would make fun of him endlessly. (My personal favorite was comparing Osama bin Laden to Gandalf the Grey, think that was an SNL skit). We've portrayed this man as living in cave to cave, showing himself on a video, telling us what he's doing next, etc. Yet he's been living in this "compound" for quite a while, while not living the good life, he certainly wasn't stuck in caves all day. There would be rumors about his death previously.

I made a Jack Bauer reference previously, but this really sounds like a episode of 24 or a scene from a movie. Secret operations storming in via helicopter, a firefight, etc. I think I know a little more than the average person, but I don't know much about our secret teams. We must have so many Jack Bauer types. Men in Black almost. The government agency you don't know about, where they make people disappear. Trained assassins. It sounds crazy, but I really believe it all exists. Goes to show how much we really don't know about what's going on behind the scenes. All the data and missed intelligence and the potential opportunities, but it finally worked. None of our forces were killed in the firefight. That to me is extremely impressive about the training we give our soldiers.

From the media standpoint, beyond the confusion, the mad scramble to get their top people on the air. I'm pretty pro-NBC over the other networks, so seeing their top staff rushing to get to the studios was fascinating. Then watching some video from last night, they were still on the air through at least 4AM. I turned on the TV this AM? Same people are online. Talk about stressful. Also - I haven't watched 24 hour news networks in a while. I remember why I stopped - they just literally talk out of their ass with no clue what's going on, just because they need to have something to talk about. They have no idea what's next from Al Qaeda. No clue what the reaction is in the Arab world. At the end of the day, they're Americans in a foreign world. Who knows what they really know.

My favorite thing from last night: Chuck Todd was talking about how all of this came together from the media standpoint, and he got an email from a White House correspondent. The email basically said "get over here. this is big. can't say what, but trust me. BFD." You should remember, BFD is Biden's tagline for "Big Fucking Deal." Who knows if that's a common term for the White House staff, or if they're trying to be funny, but it makes me laugh.

I don't understand the need for celebration yesterday. They couldn't stop showing footage from outside the White House and near Ground Zero. That's a weird concept we have. When something huge like this happens, we gather with strangers and celebrate in a somewhat riot like instance. It looked to me like the DC crowd was just college kids, who I bet were hopped up on Aderral and Red Bull and were looking for any excuse to get out of studying for finals. I thought about going to Ground Zero, but for what? To stand there and chant USA? Makes us look like barbarians.

Some people really suck. This was an exciting moment, and some people wanted to talk about how Osama should have stood trial, how we have focused too much on Osama and not enough on our own country, including gas/jobs/the stupid budget thing. We also jerk around too much talking about Obama's birth certificate. What a waste of time and resources. Putting Osama on trial is a waste of time and would become more of a circus than true justice. Everyone knows he's committed terrible crimes. Not a secret. Putting him on trial would just end up with demonstrations and the security alerts from that would be catastrophic. We put Saddam on trial and what was the verdict? Death. Osama's was going to be any different? And he would milk it and be a martyr and all this garbage. Let it end. While I think it's BS that we say Osama has been "brought to justice," we talk about justice in law and everything. I agree, but let's not act like we're holier than thou.

Again, who knows what Osama had really been up to. Some people say that he was more of a figurehead than the true leader. Either way, it's a big deal (or a BFD) and it's an exciting thing. But we need to keep treading. There's more people and programs out there to squash.

Now let's solve this budget BS.