Maybe they should use their pretty new green (for the environment) MetroCards instead of driving…

I?ll be posting a lot hopefully since I freak out every time I read the news these days.

I guess I?d like to say… prepare from my craziness.

-tuner

On the way home he got a call from his fiancee who is a police officer in Albany. Apparently Friday night there was supposed to be a shooting after the Albany High basketball game and she was out on the corner of 1st and Quail, not the nicest of neighborhoods. We were really close by so we stopped by to see her.

When we got there she was out of her car and there were a ton of kids around. She was happy to meet Erin and was talking with us when she screams… ?GO THE FUCK HOME QUENTIN!? Then this kid turn around all upset and start stomping off down the street.

She told us that he was the leader of one of the major gangs in Albany and that he was supposed to be the one doing the shooting after the game.

At that point Erin lit up with excitement. My brother?s fiancee was now her hero. Punking down a gang banger in front of all those people. ?She?s such a badass…? I thought it was cool too.

I?m not really sure if anything went down that night but all I know is that my brother?s fiancee came home alright and thats all that really matters.

It was a big step to bring my girlfriend home to meet my folks. She?d gain a little insight into how I became who I am.

I was really excited for the trip up because I love the train so much. Its nice to be able to sit back, listen to music, maybe read a book or watch a movie on your laptop / ipod. We choose the latter because it could fill up most of the two and a half hour trip. I have a very limited selection of movies on my laptop?s hard drive (They?re all legal rips from my own DVD collection.) but we decided to watch Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. A classic movie that she?d never scene. Unfortunately the two girl sitting in front of us wanted to recline their seats all the way back. Normally I would be fine with this, but the way in which they did so almost snapped my laptop screen.

I always hated people who put their chairs back without looking back and seeing if there was room… a simple courtesy to prepare the person behind.

Anyway… after the chairs slammed back I wasn?t able to keep my laptop screen fully open. (To this day I slightly regret not buying the 15in MacBookPro, the 17in is way too big for travel.) I transfered the movie onto my ipod and we sat there for a good hour and a half squinting at a 2in screen.

The girls in front of us became slightly more annoying as the trip moved on. They were in their late teens I believe due to their retarded behavior and the UGG boots…which look UGGly… (Don?t kid yourself ladies) At one point they started singing loudly… ?Ninety-nine Bottles of Bacardi on the Wall…? to which i heard the greatest response from the man in front of them. ?What are you… 10?? and the girls got really embarrassed and shut up… well at least until that dude got off.

I don?t know where this post is actually going… but I guess it comes down to… be courteous when traveling because one day I?ll punch you in the throat.

More trip posts later.

I woke up early and took Erin to work. Thought it would be nice to walk around the city early in the morning without anywhere really to go.

Thinking about playing video games all day.

Will post later.

Over the holiday season the online service that Microsoft runs got slammed because of all the people who received 360?s for Christmas. (or Hanukah, or Chanukah, or Kwanzaa, or Ramadan, or Boxing Day… you get my point. ) Xbox Live or XBL is a pay service that costs $50 a year. When you pay for a service like this, you pay for uptime so when the service went down paying customers got angry.

Microsoft extended an olive branch to the XBL users and announced that every user would receive a FREE Live Arcade game to make up for the service downtime, title or titles to be determined at a later date.

Today is officially the later date. Microsoft announced that there would only be ONE game to choose from and that game would be Undertow. Don?t get me wrong, I appreciate the freebie for shitty service, but let me pick a game I want… not one that didn?t do so well and you want to prop up.

I?m calling this LAME.

Gizmodo: Microsoft’s Free Xbox Live Game For Service Outage: Undertow

After thinking about it awhile, I thought to myself how come people are so hung up on guns? I mean, there?s no doubt in my mind that there are FAR MORE people who are stabbed in this country every year then shot. Why isn?t there an anti-knife movement? Is it because everyday people use knives responsibly? Is it because we couldn?t imagine life without being able to cut our filets with ease?

I think it?s all a matter of perspective. There are a lot of law abiding Americans who do use their guns responsibly and take proper precaution when using them… like when cutting a stake with a knife.

But Ben, there?s a big difference between a knife and a gun.

Sure, how is someone going to cut a t-bone with a .22? I have no idea, but the fact is its my right as an American to try!

Luckily things went great. We met at a Thai restaurant on 56th.

I mentioned to Erin how I worked right across the street and the asshole that was my boss at the time tried to get me escorted from the building after I gave notice. Yes I know it?s a normal thing these days… but after 6 years?!?!

I said to her… ?Wouldn?t it be funny if he was here??

As we walked by the restaurant I peered in and started to panic…

?I think thats him! I can?t go in there!?

I don?t why I still freak out over the guy. Its been over 2 years since I worked for the little fuck and I?m in a way better place in my career.

Erin was nice enough to calm my nerves and I finally said ?Fuck it.?

It wasn?t him. Just some other dude who looks like Spicholi from Fast Times.

The food was great, the conversation was awesome. I?m real glad I met her… she was a great lady.