So I decided to start training as a paralegal under University's of Delaware professional certification program. I've been saying I was going to do it for years, and thanks to a small inheritance, I could. It's set up as eight training modules over 11 months. Classes two nights a week. It's been an adjustment but it's also been a lot of fun, and really stimulating. I just finished the first module, with seven more to go. I'm pretty excited. I am hoping to become a real estate law paralegal. (I'd
So on Sunday I went to the bench dedication ceremony that my friend's Steve family threw for him. I was hoping there would be at least one college friend showing up, but it was just me. Steve's parents actually came from New Jersey but they decided to move to the University of Delaware area about six years ago.
It was a really interesting experience- the bench is in a park that was built on the site of a dorm that was next to the dorm that I used to visit a lot because Steve was an RA ther
Many of you know about my friend Steve, who died of a heroin overdose when we were 27 years old in 2013. It was, to say the least, a very painful experience for me, during a very turbulent year and half of my life.
I recently got an email from our mutual friend inviting me to a bench dedication they're doing for Steve at a park that was, coincidentally, built near the site where their former dorms were.
I mean, I'm going. No doubt about it. I just don't know how I feel about more cryin
Wow, it's been a long time. I am six months into being 37 years old now- can you believe it? I loved my early 30's, the mid-30's were consumed by the Covid Pandemic, and so far my late 30's have been an interesting ride.
Actually, it's been a long and difficult year for me. For pretty much all of my 30's I've been in a holding pattern- living with my mom at her house, helping her with bills, and working in a movie theater. Even the Covid pandemic didn't really change that much for me, save
What a strange year it was to live through. I really enjoyed my early 30's and I had gone into 34 thinking it was going to more of the same. Same place of work, same places I went to on the days I had off, and pretty much the only difference in my life would be what movies where coming out when, or what community and regional theater shows I'd watch when I got the chance. (Last show I saw was a Delaware Children's Theater production of Newsies in January 2020. Quite fun.) There were things I alw
I wrote this article for Reddit just for the hell of it.
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Someone posted earlier about the annoying amount of over-development and suburban sprawl in Delaware. I thought it would be interesting to go a little bit over the reasons why the system is set up like the way it is, and how the forces of suburbanization have made Delaware into the bedroom community it is today.
Wilmington developed at a steady pace throughout the 1800's- especially during the C
Can someone make it stop? Please?
Ugh. I miss the days when I only really cared about the next party I was going to and whether or not I'd pass my classes. Backstory:
I've been using Medicaid since 2015. I got rejected for this year because I made 61 cents over the limit. 61 cents.
So now basically I need to work less if I want to get my Medicaid back, or I have to buy insurance on the Marketplace. And I've got to get this all done by June 21st or else I won't be able to get discounted
We had our opening today and I got named Volunteer of the Year. Pretty proud of that. I have a plaque and everything. Nice cap to 5 years of service to them this May.
The immature, spiteful part of me wants to snap a photo of my plaque and send it in an email to the archives that canned me as a intern 4 years ago with the capture, "Fuck you", but gladly I've learned a lot in the past few years.
It's been a pretty gratifying experience in general. Volunteer work can really
Joy. Just pure joy. I'm sitting here in my living room (I decided not to go out because I honestly don't want to deal with crazy crowds) and I'm just savoring the moment.
I am so proud of this team, and I'll never forget this moment. E-A-G-L-E-S!!!
Okay, so tonight I celebrated my 32nd birthday with my niece who just turned 23. (She was born the day before my 9th birthday- I on December 7th and she on December 6th.) My family has been doing joint birthdays for us forever. This year, we were having it at Red Robin. So it's me, my mom, 2 sisters, 2 brother-in-laws, 3 nieces, and 2 nephews. One sister (the one with the daughter turning 23) and her entire family is basically on a vegan diet.
So me and my mom
Last night I went on the Wilmington Halloween Bar Loop, for my 4th year doing it. It was a really good time- I flew solo again and dropped about 59 dollars total on Uber. (My belief has always been paying 50 to 100 dollars on a cab ride is much, much cheaper than a DUI.)
I hit up Chelsea Tavern, Ernest and Scott Taproom, a Mexican bar, Trolley Tap House, Catherine Rooney's, and Trolley Oyster House. The Loop is no longer utilizing the buses as a free shuttle, so I decided not to hit
On Monday, August 21st I got to see the solar eclipse. In my area, it was about 77 percent coverage, so just a partial one, but still incredible to watch. I got off work around 1:17, and drove over to the Glasgow County Park on Route 40. There's a little running hill where I went to the top and watched it with about 20 or so people. It was pretty cool- absolutely amazing to watch the sun turn into a little tangerine slice.
Definitely won't forget it, for sure.
In this episode of React, the elders of the show react to photos taken of them when they were young.
I thought it was pretty touching, especially the guy who realized that all of the friends that were with him in the mountaintop photo were all passed on.
And it was interesting watching them react to their 30's/40's photos and about how much energy they had...there's something I think is pretty cool about these particular decade's of one's life, and it kind of felt like th
Freaky shit.
Officer Shot, Killed at Convenience Store in Bear, DE
This stuff happens, but there's something surreal about this one for me because I am very familiar with the store. I used to walk there all the time when I was a kid because I lived like a 10-minute walk there back then. I also pretty much always get my gas from that WaWa- I'm usually at that store at least once a week or two weeks.
This very pro-NRA conservative
Wow, it's been awhile since I updated. I usually don't go that long with this blog. Hmm.
Winter was alright; early spring has been as well. My life has a general pattern right now- work, watching YouTube videos a lot, strolling Netflix, using my employee pass at the movies. On the weekends I have off, I usually will go into the city of Wilmington to catch either a play or a movie at either Theater N or Penn Cinema on the Riverfront. Possibly a beer or two every weekly or bi-weekly.
Well, the 2016 Thanksgiving weekend is upon us...I guess my biggest "Thanks" is for the fact that I'm in generally decent health and I'm still gainfully employed, even if I'm not making too much.
I pretty much worked on Thanksgiving morning, and then I went over to my Vegan Sister's house for a Vegan Thanksgiving. It wasn't too bad. Then today my mother and I cooked dinner for my other sister, who brought her family over. We were able to facetime with my sister and niece who live in Californ
Eh. I feel like it. Enjoy these alternative rock tunes from mostly the mid/late 2000's.
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9.) "There's Nothing Like You And I" by the Perishers
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So over 40 million people decided to hand over control of the country to a racist, homophobic, sexist xenophobe who starred on a realty show.
I fucking blame the DNC for failing to connect Hilary with the voters.
Just disgusted. Completely and totally disgusted. I think I'm done with caring about politics. May God help us through these next four years. Or actually, may god help Trump when the working class straight white males who voted for him realize that he isn't actually going to bri
I finally broke down and got Netflix so I could watch Stranger Things, which is kind of like an homage to 1970's/1980's sci-fi teen fantasy movies/books. It's about a nerdy group of middle school friends in small town America 1983, when one of the group goes mysteriously missing.
Some big nostalgia factor- aside from being set in '83, it's also got 80's teen stars Matthew Modine and Winona Ryder. Winona especially turns in quite the performance as a single mom slowly but surely coming apart
University of Delaware has something we call Alumni Weekend, where hordes of former Blue Hens come back and visit campus to relive their past, including and up to staying in the dorms.
I wound up spending a nice afternoon with a couple that I knew in passing at UD, Johanna and Chris. Johanna was an R.A. with my friend Stephen, and we wound up connecting at his memorial two years ago. Jo and Chris live in Queens, and had ridden the bus down here. This was their first time at Alumni Weekend. (
I found a documentary on the Bay City Rollers, a Scottish boy band that skyrocketed to fame during the mid-1970's, and then crashed spectacularly when the ride was over. Look them up- they were a total train-wreck. Anyway, here's a tune from them:
Fluffy 70's stuff...so much fun. I used to party at a college house, and somehow there was a poster of the Bay City rollers there. In 2008. I have no clue how, but I thought was kind of neat. I wonder if it was a poster that people just kep
Alright, this is my offer for Music Monday...a nice little uptempto pop rock song about nostalgia and the beauty of youth: Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams
A snippet of this is currently playing on the advertisement screen at my work; I think as part of some classic 80's playlist. I started singing along to it, and my co-worker Devan, who's this funny sarcastic Mormon, looked at me and said, "Well, you can actually remember 1969, can't you?"
Ooh, burn. I flipped him off. Then, I started la
The Human League were an 80's British synthpop band, best known for their 1982 monster hit, "Don't You Want Me." They had some other, lesser-known songs, including this top 10 hit from 1983:
Man, Phil Oakley rocked the hell out of the 80's androgynous look. And this is just a song that would be fun as hell to dance to.
The thing of note about them is that the two female back-up singers/dancers were just ordinary teenaged girls that Phil found dancing at a night club, and asked h
Hey, did anyone get a chance to check out the movie trailer for Richard Linklater's newest film,
? It's set during the opening weekend of the 1980-1981 school year at a Texas college, and follows a freshmen pitcher as he adjusts to life as a member of college baseball.
I was able to catch a screening of the movie last Friday. (It's pretty limited release.) It was a pretty fun ride, and we get to see them go through all these different party scenes as the story goes on- disco, country wester
I thought with the start of baseball season going, the baseball fans here might get a kick out of an article that Detroit Tigers player Daniel Norris wrote, about what the sport means to him. He's best known as the guy who lives in his van during his off-season.
"More Than Just the Man in the Van" by Daniel Norris
I'm a sucker for free spirits who don't really go for the conventional life, and I really like this guy. I'm not a baseball fan, but he's a pretty cool guy. And so self-assure
