Song of the Day

A friend got me to listen to the album and I couldn't be more impressed by it. Check it out

New England

I live in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is in an elite club called New England. Crazy right? Being smack dab in the middle I want to call on a few points and determine just which states are better than the others.

1. New Hampshire
Pro's - Skiing, Tax Free!, "Live Free or Die" Motto, Awesome camping and hiking, Nice beach even though it has the smallest coastline of any state in the US., Liquor barns!
Con's - cold ass beach water

2. Massachusetts

Pro's -  Die hard sports (Pats, Celts, Bruins, Sox), Six Flags, Sick Accents, Awesome rest stops on 84 and 90

Con's - Western Mass. Totes the awkward turtle in the room

3. Vermont

Pro's -  Some of the best skiing in the Northeast, Maple syrup...duh even though I enjoy Mrs. Buttersworth

Con's - Tough to get around

4. Rhode Island

Pro's - Scenic coast and mansions

Con's - Small as hell

5. Maine

Pro's -  Some pretty elite ski resorts

Con's - It takes forever to drive through

6. Connecticut

Pro's - Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun

Con's - Gives New England a bad name

I'm moving to New Hampshire. Be back later.

Courtesy

I went skiing today at Gunstock in the lovely lakes region of New Hampshire. This isn't gonna be a skiing blog because I just want to touch upon a little thing called courtesy. One thing I've always liked about coming home is being amongst normal people. I get to hear the accents, people hold doors open and don't slam it in your face. I can't tell you how many times in New York that I go to hold the door for someone and the look on their face is of utter shock, as if I was handing them free money. Same thing goes for driving, no one beeps here. People will let you go and you will get a wave back. Good luck finding stuff like that in NY. People have their heads up their asses. I've come to that conclusion. Everyone is a stress freak and just being in Westchester reminds me of how unnecessarily stressful life has to be.

Getting back to Gunstock, I was heading back to the lodge to get some grub so I took of my gaiter (it covers your neck, kinda like a sick ass face turtle neck). Well after eating, I noticed it was missing. I figured I must have dropped it somewhere in the lodge. After searching everywhere, I headed back outside to face what was going to be a few more runs of face numbing wind burn. And as I step outside, courtesy smacks me in the face. Someone had taken the time to pick up my gaiter and place it noticeably on a ski pole rack. Now I know I may be a little crazy for taking something as silly as a gaiter and turning it into a blog rant but it made me stop and think of just how classy and cool people from around here are. Straight up chill. Just the way I like it. People in NY need to chill the f out and take a nice vacation or something. Do it for all of us. Take a deep breath. Goosfraba

I-Phone Tease

I'm on the couch in the living room with Mikey and after the Saints/Falcons game, and what comes on after? None other than the women's collegiate Ultimate Frisbee championship. Combing women and frisbee? ESPN you foul temptress! You knew I couldn't resist this!

I got a 32gb I-Pod Touch for Christmas this year. It's a good thing because my old I-Pod is literally shitting the bed so to speak. It barely works. This new one is quite something. It's the new 4th generation one so it has a forward facing camera for FaceTime which is pretty damn cool. What do I need a computer webcam anymore? Besides that, everything is so smooth. The Apps, the internet. EVERYTHING. I even realized that my FourSquare wasn't working to its full capability. I had a hunch but I was finally able to confirm it with the Touch.

Music. Boom. FaceTime. Boom. Thin as a graham cracker? Boom.

This thing is such a damn tease. Verizon better hurry up with their version of the I-Phone because I don't think I can take Blackberrys much longer. I upgrade in March and who knows? Maybe I'll end up with another Berry but for now I want an IPHONE. After holding the  Touch and picking up my Storm, I feel like I'm holding a brick. The screen sucks, the apps suck, it looks like a hunk of black and grey metal. It seems I've grown tiresome of the world of Blackberrys.

 Dear Steve Jobs,

 Hurry up with my I-Phone. I'll send you the money as soon as soon as I see a release date. I'll totally be an early adopter for this one. I swear.

Sincerely,

Disgruntled Blackberry User

Blizzard 2010

I can't lose. I just can't. See that Black dot? That's me. I'm standing outside with my skiis. Ready to get blanketed in the inevitable 1 - 2 feet of White Gold that's gonna bombard New England. Get some.

FourSquare

An interesting trip to Applebees late night tonight got me thinking about this social media website called FourSquare. It's a location based app that you can download to I-Phone, Android, and Blackberry. If you're saying that it sounds like Facebook places, that's because FourSquare has been out for 2 years and Facebook is just trying to get in on some of the pie. I was introduced to the website at my internship which ended last Friday. Fortune 500 companies are pouring tons of money into this website. It's growing by leaps and bounds and I'm just glad that I can say that I was there before it was big? Even though that's completely false because it came out in 2009. Oh well.

The idea behind FourSquare is that you "check-in" to locations and potentially earn discounts or promotional deals. If you check-in to a location enough times, you will become the "Mayor" of the location. Now this mayorship title is like the ultimate thing you want. For example, someone is the mayor of the White House and it's not Obama. Anyone with a phone can become mayor of whatever. It's also cool to see where you're friends are and what places they are checking out. I also forgot to mention that you can earn badges as well that award you for doing things like checking into hot-spots and staying out late on a school night. They're fun to get and it's almost like Pokemon. You gotta catch em' all. It is meant to encourage you to explore new places and try different things.

Close...but no cigar

Back to tonight, I became mayor of Applebees and I asked my friends if they have heard of FourSquare thinking, maybe, someone would have taken the plunge by now. My friend Adam exclaimed, "I love FourSquare!" I thought, awesome I have a friend that knows about FourSquare. To my disappointment, he was taking about the game involving.a dodgeball. Guess you can't win them all. I wasn't too happy about becoming mayor of Applebees. Not only do I not get recognition, but I really don't want to be the mayor of such an establishment. Though I must say, they stepped up their late night game. From 9-12:30am you can get $3.50 22oz brews and half price apps. Sounds like I found my new favorite place! The only place I would say that I am proud to be the mayor of would be Beechmont. That's pretty cool in my opinion. They're on Facebook and maybe Twitter, so when they start with FourSquare (if ever) I may even reap the benefits. Who knows. Other notable mayorships include such noble establishments as Amend Hall and the Iona College Boathouse. Not a big deal. So that's my take on FourSquare. I challenge you to download the app for yourself and try it out.

Some of the badges you can earn. Go nuts!

A Day for the AGES!

Well well well I guess I can blog outside of New Rochelle from time to time. Ever had one of those days where it seems that nothing can go wrong? Almost a movie quality day. Sunday was a day above all other days and it was in Foxborough, MA...home of the New England Patriots.

My dad has a pair of season tickets so it usually comes down to who wants to go to the game with him. Since the game was against the Packers, my Packer loving brother immediately jumped on the game since it was announced back in 2006. My Uncle has a pair of tickets as well and decided he wasn't going to go. We scooped them up and had a little ol' McKeon family trip to Gillette Stadium.

We started off the night by going to Red Robin at Patriot Place, which is the outdoor mall complex right next to the stadium. It's pretty damn cool. Anyways, I'm in love with Red Robin. The Foxborough location is the closest one from Lowell too. In fact, there are't many locations in the Northeast. In case you haven't heard or don't share the same love for food as I do, Red Robin is a burger joint that will change your life. No joke. Go today. Go tomorrow. It's amazing. I opted for the Royal Red Robin burger which is a bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg on top. Deliciousness. Along with a couple of bud light tall boys I was ready for a football game!

My brother and I sat in my uncle's seats which are in the corner of the endzone, 6 rows from the field. They're really cool, especially when the action is happening at our end of the field. Anyways, Before leaving the house, my brother and I decided to bring our ski goggles for added warmth and they just look cool. Well, it paid off. In the 2nd quarter. I was looking at the HD video board opposite the lighthouse and I see these two guys wearing goggles. I easily recognized us because we were wearing rival jerseys and I'm pretty sure we were the only people at Gillette who were wearing goggles. I immediately started to freak out and jump around. This was my 7 seconds of glory! I must bask in it! In my moment of joy I remember saying something on the lines of, "Oh yeah!, jumbotron. Whose on the jumbotron. This guy!" It's funny to hear what comes out of your mouth when your caught up in the moment. I loved every bit of it and it made my night. We then started getting texts from people at the game wondering I we were there and wearing ski goggles. Fame! Glory! It was too good. At any sporting event, you try to get on the jumbotron. It's just AMERICAN. I was on the jumbotron at the TD Garden a few years ago but I wasn't as excited. That one was scripted. We saw the camera guy and he just got on a knee and started filming. This one was a...Holy Sh&*&! were on the freakin' jumbotron moment! GLORY!

Being fashionable and warm at the same time

The Pats won 31-27. The Packers had a shot to win on the last play but the inexperienced QB ended up being their downfall. On the way out, me and Mike met up with the parental units at Dunkin Donuts outside the stadium. A nice little line had formed and we decided to stay in DDs because we were inevitably going to sit in at least an hour of traffic trying to exit the stadium. Turns out they were closing so they locked the doors and about 12 customers in at the same time, including me and the fam. I felt like I was in a fish tank, staring out at all the freezing cold fans looking to warm up with some delicious coffee and donuts and realizing the doors had been locked. As we were ready to leave and the line had been served, the girl behind the counter said the most magical words anyone could have ever said to me. "Does anybody want anything? We're just gonna throw this away." My eyes lit up and I realized how lucky I was. Anybody in MA would kill for a chance to get a free Dunkins buffet. It was an early Christmas! I didn't want to be greedy so I got 2 muffins, 2 bagels, and 3 donuts. My brother on the other hand fancied himself 7 donuts and 4 muffins, being the skinny fat ass that he is. 

Fatty getting his Dunkin grab bag

Atlantic City

I killed it this weekend. There's nothing else to it. One of the better weekends I've had in a while if you throw in the Patriots killing the Bears 36-7.

Drove down to Atlantic City on Friday and immediately headed over to the Tropicana (aka the Trop) and met the Steinbergs for some drinks n apps at Red Square - Atlantic City. Holy Crap, this place was amazing. I have a fascination with Russian stuff from Video games, clothing, and movies. It just so happens that I had finished the movie Enemy at the Gates the day before. It's about Jude Law who is this badass Russian sniper who shoots mad Nazis during World War II. Mr. Ed Harris was in it as well! (Another fan favorite of mine) Anyway, this bar was awesome. The walls were painted with murals of Russian propaganda, private eating booths where you could close the curtains and eat in private, a sub zero Vodka freezer, and leather chairs in every bathroom. Got myself a Yarpivo (a Russian Beer) and some Soviet Sliders. Both made the grade in my opinion.

The entrance

The Bar

Leather seats in the single stall bathrooms? I wouldn't sit on that if I were you.

Sick Chandelier

Loved the murals. There was another one to note but I couldn't find a picture of it.

After the Russian bar we proceeded to walk around the Trop, hitting up a 40's bar where they only served, you guessed it, 40's! for 5 bucks a pop, you can't go wrong! I concluded the night playing Roulette with Pete where I won a cool $100. I felt very proud of myself to say the least.

Day 2 - 

Myself, Michelle, Pete, and Allegra opted to stay at the Steinberg residence because it was free, close by, and who doesn't love the Steinberg residence. Indoor basketball, Ping Pong, Delicious food, and Perks McGurks. You can't beat it. No way no how.

That night we ate at a pizza place at Harrah's which was right next to the indoor pool dance club thing that Andrew, Tori, Jules, Danny, and Cousins spent the night. I played Roulette with Pete and won a few...headed to the Borgata and had to battled back to break even...and finally ran across a divider to end up at Trump Marina, which was one of the tackiest dirty Casinos I have seen to date. Luck was on our side though and I finished the night making $275. I couldn't have been happier. I had 3 extra dollar chips and decided to play Dollar blackjack with Pete and Jordan but that was over pretty quickly. I'll stick to Roulette. You can't win blackjack. Ask Jordan. Oh and Michelle blew my mind and won $71 playing 1 slot machine! She defied everything I believed about slots. Well played.

Overall amazing weekend. I'll be back at Foxwoods in a few weeks to see Third Eye Blind and help Sonlee win $1,000 playing high stakes poker. We all know he is a champ.

Today is National Freezing Cold at Work Day!

The heat doesn't work back in intern land = winter hats and gloves while working. It doesn't help that I'm right next to a poorly insulated window on a windy day either!

Send me Hot Chocolate and warm sentiments ASAP!

Huh? Speak up. I can't hear you!

Over the past 3 months I've been traveling to NYC 3 days a week for my internship. I work at a computer the entire time so if I want to survive the day it is a MUST that I remember to bring headphones. There have been a few times in the past months where I remembered my I-Pod but forgot my headphones. That's like trying to play basketball without a basketball....It just doesn't work. Luckily there is a Walgreen's in Cooper Square that has bee generous enough to supply me with energy drinks ans headphones.

Usually I buy my favorite headphones, which I have owned almost a dozen pairs dating back to portable cd players. They tend to break after a year of use but I haven't found a better one until now. I saw these little things next to my usual pair and decided that I didn't need a 3rd pair of the Sony ones. I was a little skeptical of the whole skull candy thing because I associated the product with Ed Hardy and hardcore guido fist pumping. Totally a marketing concept that is on my final on Friday. Consumer Perception. Boom. A+

Anyway, when you take these guys out of the package they come with a medium ear bud as well as large and small earbuds. (In case you're Dumbo or whatever) I thought that was pretty cool, but I stuck with the medium ones because I like to think I have a nice average sized head. Started listening to some music and I'm digging the music quality. What I love about these buds compared to I-Pod ones that I absolutely hate is that they actually stay in your ear and don't fall out.

If you have these on you cant hear a thing going on around you. Other interns will walk in and say hi or whatever and half the time I can't hear a thing. Yikes. Even in the library the other day, if someone tried to tell me something, I had to take out both, not just 1 earbud. Now thats a headphone. Pick some up yo.

Check em out