methodwriter85

I kind of miss the candy colored polos, but not the long baggy cargo shorts. As a leg guy, I appreciate the return of actual shorts. LOL.

Yeah, 2007 definitely feels like a different time. I drive by my college town all the time and I'm struck by the increased amount of facial hair on guys and the replacement of Lacoste and Northface with Vineyard Vines and Patagonia. And Abercrombie and Fitch seems completely dead with college kids. Sperries are still a thing, though. Shorts hit above the knee now, and tight khakis paired with high-buttoned shirts and canvas shoes seem like a thing now. And that's just the superficial stuff.

I have to tell you- you do SUCH a great job at setting a period and place with this story, as well as characters. It just feels very vibrant and real, and as an added bonus, my college years were 2005-2010 so I really feel like I'm re-living my college years with this. Details like layered popped collar polos and Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" just take it all back. Anyway, I feel like we're headed to a big reckoning. The tension seems to be coming slowly to a boil. They're hitting the end of being able to keep this a secret, as much as Becker wants to. I also thought it was pretty obvious that Kevin is coming apart at the seams. Poor kid. And man, I just want to shake Becker for being so self-absorbed that he can't see what's right in front of him because he wants to continue living in his fantasy life of being the accepted straight frat kid who gets to have a secret gay relationship on the side. At the same time, I get it. Being 19 is hard even though it's also a lot of fun.

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 enhance a person's life if it's done right and at the right place.

It was really cute. And Nick Robinson is adorable.

Chapter 58 -When JJ and John have their lunch date. "Why Can't I?" by Liz Phair -When Will has sex with the rando armed forces guy. "I Want Candy" by the Strangeloves I remember being shocked when I learned that the Bow Wow Wow version from 1982 is not the original. -When Will talks to Zach and throws a pity party for himself. "White Flag" by Dido -When Will and Alex hook up. "Dr. Feelgood" by Motley Crue -When Goodwell stands their ground as the rocket takes out a shed and presumably the guy hiding there. "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling

Yeah, understood. Different strokes and all that. For me, it's that combination of Armie's Ken Doll looks, his sexy golden voice, his exotic upbringing in the Caribbean, and the fact that he should be douchy like his Winklevoss characters but he comes off as a pretty nice guy. I remember being super-bummed that he didn't do Finnick in the Hunger Games. And it's cool that he basically turned down his family fortune to do what he wanted to do. Anyway, I found this video about cheap eats at various places in Los Angeles: That's pretty cool that they sell off their old pizza at a dollar a slice. Looked pretty solid. (And I like cold pizza, so yeah.) I wish Blue still posted. He would have liked getting some tips about cheap places to grab some decent grub on the cheap.

Also like...this does nothing for you? Nothing at all? He's a California boy, although he did spent some time in the Caribbean. Anyway...found this really cool shot of Los Angeles: It'll be interesting to see what this skyline might look like in another 20 years, given that there's a push for skyscrapers.

Actual Lord Voldemort then?

JJ watching the Nebelhorn Competition and wondering "what if" was nice, and it kind of showed how much he had moved on. Look, I'm not going to pretend I was thrilled with that decision, because myself and Daisy put A LOT of work into writing out a believable career timeline for JJ that would have spanned at least up to the 2005 -2006 season. We however did not account for Mark deciding it was time for JJ to tear his ACL and thus lose his chance to prove his mettle at the '03 Worlds. Oh, well. I did kind of wish we could have seen how JJ would have fit into the Evan Lysacek/Johnny Weir rivalry of the 2000's, but whatever. Mark's reasoning for it- that having to write in a skating storyline and therefore having to account for JJ either being gone for a competition or characters following him there, as well as the relationship/storyline restrictions it put on him, made a lot of sense. And honestly, JJ never seemed to have that much passion for the sport. Especially towards the end of his career- he seemed very technical about skating and he loved that he was great at it and the rush of audience adulation, but he didn't seem to love the sport itself. It didn't feel like his "soul", for lack of a better word. It was something he did because he loved that he was good at something that his brothers were not, and because he got attention from the world about how good he was, but it's not like how football is to Zach. And it's also interesting to see that JJ's no longer willing to be the chaste Disney Princess skating (and his relationship with Alex) wanted him to be.

What are your favorite sad/melancholic love songs? Mine: 1.) "Pictures of You" by The Cure 2.) "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner 3.) "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House 4.) "Everything I Own" by Bread 5.) "Glycerine" by Bush 6.) "Alone" by Heart 7.) "Operator" by Jim Croce 8.) "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" by Carly Simon 9.) "Catch the Wind" by Donovan 10.) "The End of the World" by Skeeter Davis 11.) "Cherish" by David Cassidy 12.) "Since I Don't Have You' by The Skyliners 13.) "Someone Like You" by Adele 14.) "If You Don't Know Me" by Simply Red 15.) "Unchained Melody" by the Everly Brothers 16.) "This Guy's In Love With You" by Herb Alpert 17.) "The Ghost In You" by the Psychedelic Furs 18.) "Drive" by the Cars 19.) "If You Leave" by Nada Surf 20.) "Poison and Wine" by The Civil Wars Yeah, I have this sad sack co-worker who said he spent his morning listening to sad love songs and thus I thought of this. I thought I'd embrace it. What are your favorite love songs that have a touch of the melancholy?

Man, I felt bad for Kevin. I live with a dysfunctional gambler mother, so I know what it's like to get used, although she's not quite that bad. (She does give back when she can.) I get the envy that Kevin has over Becker's life (and the joking about it) and also not really wanting people to see where you come from because it's "less than" of your friends. The fact that he did it anyway because it was important that Becker know what made him him was pretty sweet. And I'm starting to wonder if Phillip is chafing under being the designated heir. (I'm kind of seeing them as being like a Republican version of the Bidens, where Beau was the heir. Poor Beau.) His choice of a marriage partner doesn't seem exactly acceptable- is she poor? Getting married at 22/23 doesn't seem like that big of a deal, especially for conversative families. I would figure they would be thrilled if Lindsay came from the "right' family. We also get another reference to how much Phillip and Adam are supposed to look like each other. I thought that was kind of interesting- like Adam just can't see himself having the good looks and glow of his older brother because he's the spare and not the heir.

I was going to take a Septa Train from Delaware in, but those passes all sold out in like a day. Oh, well. Watched from Chelsea Tavern in Wilmington and had a good time.

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!!!

Present grey-haired Hugh Grant as Lord Preston?

Agreed. Robbie had a warm heart, and Zach does not. He does have the capacity to love someone, and I believe that Will taps into that part of him, but Zach is at his core a mercenary person. Mark has even described Zach as mercenary. I have to disagree with you though about Zach going on a downward spiral though if/when his career ends. As you said, he's like a Tracey Flick kind of person. They always get ahead, no matter what. If his career ends he'd find another one and pursue that with vigor as well. Then again, I thought JJ was going to wind up flaming out like Tonya Harding when his career inevitably ended and he's actually taken it much better than I thought he would. These characters have a way of surprising us sometimes.

Sojurn said: See, I really have to disagree with you about Zach being like a reincarnation of Robbie. They are very, very different characters. Robbie was for the most well-intentioned but also easily led around, and he really wanted people to like him. Zach, meanwhile, doesn't give a shit if you like him, and he doesn't have Robbie's insecurities about needing people's approval. I think Robbie as a result of that tendency tended to try and hide away bad things he did because he didn't want people to dislike him. Zach, meanwhile, is pretty upfront about the fact that he's a mercenary guy- he doesn't form many attachments to people because he's focused on a pretty singular goal. Will is the one exception to that, but even Will knows that Zach is always going to chose his football career first. They're both prone to bad decisions but I don't see much similarity beyond that. Zach tends to own his flaws more. 9/11. It's weird to think just how much it had faded for the public at large just two years later, except for the people that were personally effected by it. I remember the first anniversary, back in 2002, we had a long conversation in my French class about it. 2003 just felt like another day.

Agreed, but talk about a mean drunk.

Tet, please be careful about walking around in Patriot jerseys by yourself until after the Super Bowl. They are too many stories about Philly fans doing crazy things. I want the Eagles to win but I'm going to be realistic. Honestly, I kind of wanted the Eagles to pull a Ravens- just missing the Super Bowl, and then going on to win it the next year. It doesn't feel worth it without Wentz. Oh, well. At the very least, people can buy NFC Champs shirts instead of having to use the ones from 2004/2005.

I'm usually not that into blondes but I still find Sean McVay pretty cute. He reminds me of a grown-up version of the cute cerebral jocks I knew in high school or college. Unfortunately I'll always have a thing for guys that give off a frat boy vibe or a preppy boy-next-door vibe. Armie Hammer and Aaron Tveit are basically my main male fantasies for guys close to my age. LOL.

Can you try to do that for Sean McVay, and see if you can get a signed autographed picture of him shirtless in a pair of tight boxer briefs and then send it to me? Thank you. If the Rams keep up the good work, the ratings should rebound. Although ratings in general aren't what they used to be. As a random thought, I kind of like that Sean McVay does his hair in a vague faux-hawk that was a pretty popular look when we were 20 (he's about 7 weeks younger than me), and he seems fond of layering short-sleeved shirts over long sleeve shirts, also a popular look back in 2006. That makes me smile. All that he needs is a choker.

Hey Private Tim, glad to see you post again!

Yeah, not surprised. You were pretty tepid about including their 1999 Super Bowl championship, as well as the fact that they had a pretty good run back in the early 2000's. I don't think you had Tony mention them at all.

That's interesting analysis of what went down. Do you follow Kurt Warner? I thought he was pretty hot back when the Arizona Cardinals were in the Super Bowl. He joked about how Sean McVay made him feel old: I wish Private Tim still posted here. I wonder what he thinks of the new Boy Wonder coach. To put Sean's age in perspective, if JJ and Will were real people, Sean would be 6 weeks younger than JJ and 9 months older than Will. It definitely sounds like the Rams have a bright future. Hopefully that continues. I remember your jokes before about needing medication to get through a Rams football season. LOL.

True, but quasi-incestual relations aren't exactly a nonstarter in this saga. A t.v. soap totally would have paired them up and just ignored all that when they were old enough to start dating. They kind of remind me of AJ and Miranda on All My Children- they were essentially raised as siblings/cousins but the online reboot of the show totally wanted to pair them up, but it got cancelled before they could. It would be funny if they had a whole Sebastian/Kathryn from Cruel Intentions vibe going on. I just realized that if the characters were real, they'd be 17 and seniors in high school right now. Damn. Well, depending on if they started school in 2005 or 2006. Some parents wait until their kids are almost 6 if they have a later birthday. September 13th and 14th are usually past the cut-off but I can't see that mattering much since I'm assuming that Wade has had a spot picked out for Riley at a prestigious private prep school since he was a newborn.