NY Road Trip pt 1

Just one more hour to go. So far, for only 3 of the past 15 hours, have I not be in transit. Bus, subway, minivan... I'm amazingly glad I took the time out to get sweatpants yesterday, they've been a lifesaver. Yesterday, I also picked up "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" and "Catch 22" from the library. They both seem promising, and with all this travel time, I may actually finish both, in good time.

Well we've got just under 100 miles to go. We might have missed tonights program, but we have all day tomorrow.  This should be a good time, and I can finally have reason to take pictures again!

So much to do

So much going on, so little time, but maybe I like it when the pressure is on and there's not a moment to waste.

I'm going with my brothers to visit our youngest brother at his boarding academy near Syracuse, this weekend. We plan on leaving from NYC tomorrow after 1 pm. Meaning I need to be on a bus to NYC before 9 am tomorrow morning. THis also mean that I'm gonna be traveling for 9+ hours on friday, just to make the round trip on Sunday. Then going back up again on Wednesday-ish for the holiday. That's a lot of back-and-forth, so I'm trying to plan out how to do it most effectively.
So here is what I have to do today: Work. Go to the Library to find a couple books for the trip. Do laundry and pick up clothes from the cleaners. Pack for this weekend and next week. Get a haircut in Odenton. Go to the gym and/or play racquetball, since I won't be doing much till Monday. Shower. Also figure out when and what bus I should take and get my ticket. And sleep... maybe.

Well, I have 21 or so hours to get it all done. I believe! 1,2,3 go!!

Does friendship come and go?

I was just on facebook, chatting with my old college roommate. Sorta catching up on things. Its weird because he's 20-30 minutes away, and we've only hung out maybe once in the past year. I think back to college days and we'd hang out all the time. Last time the group hung out, it was cool and just like old times. Like the friendship is still there, but it isn't often used. Maybe I just need to be more proactive about cultivating some of these good friendships, that I have let fall by the wayside.

Its true that friends come and go. It may just be the natural course of life. So I guess its on me on how much I want to control certain things in my life...

To be continued.

Not my younger brother anymore

Friday or Saturday, my younger brother who is 16, had this random AIM away message. "I hate pride, it keeps making me do stupid things" or something close to that. I was confounded. It seemed like something I would write or blog or facebook status. He is also a senior in high-school and is applying for colleges now. Its making me realize that things have changed. He's growing, maturing, he's not little carlton anymore. He's taller than me, but still I never realized that he is truly growing up. Being away from home for most of the past 11 years, I've missed out on a lot and haven't really been able to see either of my younger brothers grow. One of my goals and renewed priorities is to be a better family member. And now, with the holidays coming up, I'm thinking I should work on that more. Maybe we'll have an actual "grown-up" conversation or at least, I'll remind him that I'm there for him. I need to view and treat him as an equal, and remember that he is just like me.

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. ~ Marc Brown

I don't believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at. ~ Maya Angelou

Precious

This was definitely an awesome, powerful, touching movie. I don't want to spoil it, so I'm not going to give away much. It was just very well done, and being based on a true story makes it all the more heart-wrenching. There are some scenes that are just wow, and they necessitate being followed by a scene in which there is some comic relief. If those scenes continued to go for just a little longer, there might have been a tear from my eyes. Its a very intense movie. Just about every character played their role to perfection, and truly captured the essence of the movie. Lastly, being from NYC it was cool to see/hear familiar things. Watching this movie will not disappoint, and you should walk away remembering that life is precious! (Didn't see that coming, LOL)

Writer's Block Post

If you could choose one super-power, what would it be and why?

It would the ability that the character Sylar has in heroes. As I understand, he can see "how things work." In the show, he uses it to learn how other people's powers work, so he can use them himself. But in one episode, he was talking about his ability with another character Peter. He implies that he can use his ability to understand the potential future. Basically, his power can understand how a present decision or choice, will "work" in terms of the future. So you can understand how his decisions will affect himself and others, down the road.

I think that'd be awesome. If you've read some of my more personal blogs, you'd see that common theme. I often will look at either my past or current decisions, and try to make sense of it. Try to understand what insights I can see about myself, and think about how I can make decsions to be the kinf of person that I want to become. Even though the journey/destination of my life is not fully known, I can at least plan a couple stops that I want to make along the way.