M. T. Salvo

Woohoo!!

2009-10-27T13:08:00.002-04:00

Today is my birthday!! 1/4 Century mark. Haha. I don't feel old though. ;)

Post

2009-10-06T16:01:00.001-04:00

Here's a blog since I don't blog enough to some sources.

Take this one and chew on it a little bit, trident! :P

Go quote me on that since I'm quoted in other blogs!!

Werd

2009-09-30T13:34:00.002-04:00

I smell pizza and now I'm hungry for pizza. Pizza makes you fat, but I dont care.

I was away in NC over the weekend, was a fun time, but the weather sucked. The drive down was fun, but I'm not in the mood to drive any more than I have to for the next week or two. I missed Megs all weekend and finally got to see her Sunday night!! :)

We're taking the next step and I love it. :)

Another Monday

2009-09-14T08:57:00.002-04:00

Another day I wish I wasn't here. I am making some actions this week. I need to move along. This place isn't doing it for me anymore.

Addiciton to nothing

2009-09-03T08:48:00.002-04:00

I have always hated Facebook applications, but Farmville is a freaking blast! I'm addicted officially! Thanks Megs! ;)

Thank heavens for 4 day work week next week :) Labor day is my savior!

2009-08-27T08:47:00.002-04:00

I started chuckling in my head watching each and every person trying to keep the septa train door open. It's supposed to slide open and stay shut, but I think the latch was broken this morning. Each person walking through would push against it only to find it slam back at them. Internally, I was cracking up; externally, I was looking like a dog in heat since I was tired.

A damn good and meaningful song ...

2009-08-20T08:49:00.001-04:00

We have ...

2009-08-10T08:38:00.000-04:00

such a great future ahead of us! :)

Beat

2009-08-07T08:38:00.001-04:00

I am sooooo tired. My shoulder blade is killing me and I have sore arms. This is all thanks to me working on my car last night in which an hour and a half job took 4 hours. Haha.

It's all good though. TGIF!

Jamaican Independence Day

2009-08-06T10:36:00.001-04:00

So my boss (mind you went to Jamaica for 2 weeks last month) just said she didn't realize today was Jamaican Independence Day and she should have took off!

What the hell?!?!?!

I've been running 10 months in this place without a vaca whatsoever! If anyone needs a vacation from this place, it's me!

I have never met such a hypocritical person in my life.

/rant

Relax SEPTA

2009-08-03T08:53:00.002-04:00

Septa man needs to relax. He's always miserable and has an attitude. At least I don't have to see him for another month.

Meet was this weekend. Turned out great. Everyone was happy and we had a wonderful time at the park. Couldn't ask for better weather considering the next morning it poured!!!

2009-07-29T08:38:00.001-04:00

Weekend car meet that I set up is coming.

Had a guy from cali wanting to stay with me for 6 days .. yikes, I wasn't too sure about that!

Should be a good time!

Summer Weather .... back, again ...

2009-07-28T09:50:00.000-04:00

90 degrees, 90% humidity by 11am! Gotta love Philadelphia summers!

2009-07-22T11:27:00.001-04:00

Off to the sandwich cook off today!! Woohoo!!

Don't you hate my job?!?

2009-07-20T08:39:00.002-04:00

We went to Hershey Park on Saturday. It was so much fun once we got past the free-fer-all of kids and parents with strollers 5 abreast.

Megan had a great idea to go on a water ride first since you can dry off later and not stay as cold longer as you would if you were to do the same ride later in the afternoon. Well, it backfired; it was our first ride called the "Water Coaster" or something of that stature and it was surrounded by little kids with water GUNS. We got soaked before the line even got to the front and miraculously the sun decided to hide for 20 minutes or so. Well, we "dried" off a little bit and after an hour in the line the ride decided to call it quits. We basically were soaked for nothing, but it was fun anyways! Thanks Meg!! :)

We went on about 4-5 roller coasters throughout the day, ate free food and enjoyed our time with Brenda and Ryan!

I was at a local car meet last night and some kid decided to come up and ask anyone if they want to "run". This kid was in a Dodge Caliber that sounded like a lawn mower that was mad. I giggled to myself and decided to then leave after that.

SEOD

2009-07-14T10:48:00.000-04:00

I think I've become a Social Networking/Advertising Director.

Between my work with the apartments, hotel side and wheretogointown.com; I'm the master guru of this.

Come fight me. I'll take you on, interwebz style!

2009-07-13T10:17:00.002-04:00

This weekend was a complete headache (literally). I had a bad one on Saturday and an even worse one on Sunday. It was horrible.

I felt so bad for Megan since I was basically a miserable poo the whole weekend! Love you baby!!! :)

I literally had to take an 800mg Ibuprofen on Sunday to make my headache go away.

We had fun though and that's all that matters!!

2009-07-10T08:40:00.001-04:00

TGIF.

Hoping for a good weekend! :)

No specific plans, but it'll be a good one regardless with meggy!

2009-07-08T08:44:00.001-04:00

Ugh, I'm getting old. I fell asleep on the Lay-Z-Boy last night watching southpark on the laptop at 1030.

The joys of adulthood!!

2009-07-07T08:55:00.003-04:00

Meggy and I went to Ikea last night. It was great. We found THE must have piece of furniture for our apartment (Entertainment Center).

It's so freaking nice.

Now we just need to find the change to buy it. :)

GREAT Weekend!

2009-06-29T08:38:00.002-04:00

Well, I kept Megan antsy til the last final moment!

She didn't know where we were heading for our 1 year anniversary. The only thing I told her was to pack her bags for a getaway!! :)

Well we went to the first spot we had lunch at a year ago in west chester! We then took our road trip down to Baltimore (Inner Harbor specifically) for our fun day! It went excellent. We checked into our room, relaxed and then went to Obrycki's for dinner (seafood place).

We decided to be troopers about getting there and decided to walk, but unfortunately we took a wrong turn and ended up in the ghetto of Baltimore. Needless to say we scrambled the heck out of there ASAP and decided to take my car. On our route to the wrong way to our restaurant we ran into the first dental college in the world (Maryland Medical University). That was pretty cool!!

We then drove back; might I tell you Baltimore has THE WORST roads in America. Every 6 inches there was another 3 foot deep pothole! Grrrr.

We then ate breakfast (complimentary since our "amenity" never arrived) and headed to the Aquarium!! We had such a blast! We saw so man turtles, fish, crocodiles and shark! :)

Overall, through all of the hiccups that Meggy and I usually have during our getaways (NYC >:/ ) we had a great time, got to spend some much needed Quality Time together away from Delaware County.

It's been such a great year already and I'm looking forward to more many great years with her! :)

I feel so blessed.

Michael Jackon

2009-06-26T08:41:00.003-04:00

DIED!!!

It's hard to believe! 3 deaths this week already!

Farrah Faucet
Ed McMahon

AND

Michael Jackson.

This is a sad week currently in celebrity gossip.

In terms of MIchael Jackson;

You can't help but overlook his more recent issues with court and accounts of child molestation. He is a pop icon and led the ways of pop culture while changing the conception of music as we know it.

As much as I despise is more recent activity, he will remain in all of our hearts.

2009-06-22T10:29:00.002-04:00

Our 1 year anniversary falls this weekend!

Megan has been wanting to know what it will be for the past 2 weeks! haha. I told her she's waiting almost one year so far, she can wait 6 wait 6 more days!! :)

Still want to know Meggles?? ;)

WHERE IS THIS?!?!

2009-06-18T11:21:00.002-04:00

AGH, IT'S BEEN RAINING NON-FREAKING-STOP FOR THE PAST 4 DAYS HERE!!!!!

Flowers will be blooming until January with this rain laden June we've been having. Ugh.

Feel Good Again

2009-06-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

Megan and I had an awesome weekend!!

We hung out friday and relaxed, tried to get an iphone for her new contract (failed miserably, we'll be calling them again this week) ordered some take out and called it a night!

Saturday Megan went fishing with her friends and I ran some errands around the house; fixed my headlights so they don't look like fish bowls anymore and relaxed. Meggy came over and we played some wii rockband, and cleaned her engine bay that she was so excited to do!! :) For the life of me I cannot remember what we did Saturday night!! Gayyyyy!!!!

Sunday was awesome, we took the dogs out to the park and went to best buy. Meggy purchased a new memory card for her camera and Sims 3. I just bought a CD. We went to Tony Luke's for dinner and got some Pork and Rabe sandwiches. They're sooo good! :)

It was a great weekend!

2009-06-09T10:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I went with my mom down to the doc's for her foot appointment. She is scheduled to have surgery (third time) on the same foot to heal the improper scar tissue that has formed. This surgeon wrote the book on foot "problems" and medical mysteries of the foot, so we both feel confidant in the Doctor.

I will not be getting the apartment I thought I was going to. I'm honestly looking to save more $$ and move out at the end of summer. I've also been balancing my expenses to income based off of my current job (which isn't so great) and I want to be sure that when I move that I'll still be saving and living comfortably.

On positive news, Megan is getting a car!!! It's a 1986 Toyota Camry 4 door. This car has 129,000 miles on it and it runs like a champ!! It starts up quicker than my car with 4,000 miles on it! We originally thought the air conditioning did not work, but apparently it does. We are going tonight to take a look at it and see if the A/C does work. If it does, then we'll be taking her home for $800!!

I was originally going to purchase it for myself as a DD, but I know Megan needed a car for herself and figured this would work for her for the time being.

Busy weekend as well. Friday my buddy Pete and I went to see White Rabbits at Johnny Brenda's, but they freaking sold out!! We were pissed. I came home and sanded more of my car project.

I finished my car project on Saturday! I installed the headlights and they looked perfect! I then washed the car on to find out they had a leak in them. I had to take the lights back out to reseal them! So frustrating!

I still need to finish watching the end of Finding Nemo! It's actually a pretty good movie as I've only seen the first half of it before! I'll have to watch it when I get home from work. Speaking of, it's only 10:46am and I need to get into my own business.

The business class is great!

2009-06-05T08:50:00.002-04:00

Woohoo for Friday!!

We got a new dog, her name is Alexis!

She's only 4 months and she's already about 35lbs. Her mother was 45lbs and the father was roughly 70-75lbs. She's such a big teddy bear, but she's so cute! Hopefully this one will become a family dog unlike Beth's dog "Ralphie" who is not affectionate and runs away every time you try to pet him!

I've been up in arms over my apartment situation. I would like to wait for Megan, stay at home and save more $, but at the same time I want to get out of my house. My living situation isn't horrible, but it's just time for me. We'll see I guess!

TGIF!! :)

Interesting article on work

2009-06-01T14:46:00.001-04:00

how to love the job you have

Not trying to sound like a hippie

2009-05-28T12:32:00.002-04:00

but this is disturbing ....

Link here ... Garbage Patch in Ocean

One thing about me

2009-05-27T11:18:00.000-04:00

I enjoy walking to the beat of music. It enthralls me greatly. I did it this morning coming to work.

.........

2009-05-26T08:54:00.002-04:00

Had a pretty good weekend. Having Monday off from work was even better!!!

Megan and I went down the shores on Sunday for the day. We had a great time per usual.

I went to my buddy Pete's graduation party on Saturday and wished him into the real world. Saw him get drunk and left to go to bed! haha.

Washed my car to only have it rain on it the same day! I swear mother nature hates me!

Too coincidental

2009-05-22T13:05:00.001-04:00

"Almost immediately upon arrival at Fenwick, I realized that I HATED being a lawyer. My mental picture of what being a lawyer entailed did not include having to spend countless hours every day sitting in a lifeless office, surrounded by boring people, doing idiotic and ultimately meaningless paperwork."

Wow, I feel the same exact way about MY job!!

TGIFMF!

2009-05-22T10:12:00.001-04:00

Best line about Pittsburgh people I have read in a long time:

"We go to a place called Fatheads for beer and wings. The bar is filled with what is apparently the official mascot of Pittsburgh: The loud, drunken blue collar idiot."

- Tucker Max

Tribulations

2009-05-20T17:47:00.001-04:00

STOP! You gotta shake yo waist-a!

Woo

2009-05-19T08:50:00.002-04:00

Meggy started her first day of work yesterday! She's growing up oh so much! hehe!

It was quite entertaining actually as she texted me throughout the day stating she doesn't know how we all do this! haha.

Today after work I'm heading to Ridley Creek State Park to scope out the only remaining pavillion area for my August 1st meet of Cobalts. Yeah, go ahead and make fun, but I'm Captain Make it Happen and you're just a skipper on my boat! ;)

Do NOT live in these areas

2009-05-18T10:42:00.001-04:00

These metropolitan cities have the highest percentage of owners with negative equity.

One part of many

2009-05-18T09:48:00.001-04:00

All this talk about potato chips yesterday with megan and her friend Ato had me thinking about potato chips and how badly I want them.

My personal favorite are sweet potato chips (thick cut) drizzled with BBQ!! MMm

Like these bad boys (but in BBQ):

2009-05-14T10:01:00.002-04:00

So I'm addicted to Rock Band, sadly. I can't stop playing bass. The computer kind of likes me better than Megan and Dana since I'm always in the front of band photo shoots!

On another note, I found this link and I want the Big Wheelie!

It's got a small wheel on the back so that you can pull wheelies without cracking your head open like i used to do as a child! haha!

Check it out here!!

Weekend Recap

2009-05-11T10:08:00.002-04:00

Friday, Megan came with me to pick up a new set of headlights for my car from some guy I knew. We met at the Concord mall. We then stopped by Wawa for some tasty flat bread treats. After leaving the Wawa disappointed since they didn't have any I was tailed by a State Trooper (female on top of it) for 2 miles and then pulled over. I told Meggy I was being tailed, but she didn't believe me until we witnessed her pull a "ubie" in the middle of 202 when I passed her. She pulled me over for a "dead tag" since the dealership told me I could use my tag, but didn't inform me that PENNDOT would cancel it on me! Argh! She let me go and we continued on our merry way. We picked up our ceramic creation that we made at Color Me Mine - the stupid people put the lady bugs over our tag line! >:O!!

Megan and I hung out and then went out with Katie and some of her friends for some drinks. We went to Jocelyn's and then Iron Hill for a good time, but unfortunately I was in a foul mod for some reason. I don't know why.

Saturday we went to my sisters pool birthday party. I swear, the girls that were there should NOT have been wearing bikinis. I'm not trying to be mean, but seriously; lose some and then come back! Being there also reiterated the fact that I don't want kids for another 12 years since they were all screaming and annoying as birds chirping and waking you up on a rainy day!

AND to celebrate Mother's Day and for those of you who missed; check out this video:

Someone Great

2009-05-04T08:51:00.001-04:00

I love you. I will always find something each day that passes that grows deeper into my soul about you. You're life, nourishment, peace and serenity wrapped up into one special being.

Know that no matter what happens, I will always be here and love you for eternity!

You know who you are.

Wow

2009-04-21T14:33:00.001-04:00

With me being so busy I just noticed that I only have 3 posts this month. Weaksauce. Not that anyone reads this anyways .....

FAIL

2009-04-06T13:30:00.003-04:00

Ugh

2009-04-03T10:00:00.003-04:00

Okay, I'm nervous about what the insurance company is going to offer me for my 3.5 week old car that has only 1250 miles on it. I know I'm going to get lowballed by the insurance company, but I'm still researching my rights as a consumer to get the most for my car ... we'll see I guess ....

You NEED to listen to the lyrics of this video ... it cracks me up!

2009-04-01T10:17:00.001-04:00

Some good advice on resumes

2009-03-31T11:14:00.001-04:00

Good Monday morning, Matt,

After his first sentence, I knew this guy's job hunt wasn't going anywhere.

Sure he was a smart guy, with great experience, but that's just not enough these days.

I was at our Live Event in Atlanta last Tuesday when I met "Tim," a Sales and Marketing guy from Atlanta. I asked him what type of job he would be a fit for.

"Well, I love fixing things, so I can fix things real well. And I am also interested in high-tech and getting things off the ground."

And sure enough, that's just about what his resume said, too.

And right there, folks, you have the biggest mistake that people make in their job hunt. It is so sad, and so preventable.

You see, so many job seekers look at the job hunt from their own point of view: "I want to fix" or "I like to grow." And that's exactly the kind of error that can be deadly to your job hunt.

So I said, "Sorry, Tim, but nobody today is hiring somebody who likes to fix things or gets things off the ground. The recruiter or HR person who looks at your resume has a job to fill – and a hiring manager expecting them to find a great person for that particular job, whether its an operations professional or a sales person, or what have you."

"You need to tell them what you are going to do for them, and then tell them specifically what you have done in the past: cut costs, increased sales, reduced headcount, or expanded market share."

"But what you can't do, what you mustn't do, is think about your resume from your point of view."

Look, it's like this. Since I've been travelling so much, I traded in about 35,000 of my American Express Rewards Points for a pair of those nice Bose noise cancelling headphones. They are really fantastic, they cut out all the background noise and let me listen to all the "I Know You Rider" and "Scarlet Begonias" that I want.

I guess I got attracted to them by the ads I'd seen and the people on planes really enjoying their time in the skies with their QuietComfort headphones.

And then it struck me. The difference between the resumes people write for themselves and a professionally written resume is like the difference between a product manual and an ad.

They're both true, they both concern the same product, but one just "tells" while the other "sells."

Most people write their resumes like a Product Manual...

Bose Manual

It's all true; it's got all the data in there. But it's boring. And it simply tells you what the product does.

While a good resume, like a great ad, tells you the benefits that you will get from the product:

Bose Ad

These headphones "dramatically fade distractions," the "patented acoustic design delivers lifelike audio," and the "patented ear cushions maximize comfortable fit."

As a music listener, I want fewer distractions, lifelike audio, and a maximized fit.

Similarly, as a recruiter, I want a sales or operations or tech or marketing or HR person who cut, grew, reduced, or increased. I'm less interested in somebody who "would like to," or "managed" or was "responsible for."

It's the difference between a product manual – that tells you everything about the product – and a great advertisement – which sells you the benefits that you will get from that product.

And having spent so much time with you, and really caring about the outcome of your job hunt, I can only ask you: please, please, get your resume professionally written. If not by us here at TheLadders, then by another CPRW (Certified Professional Resume Writer) accredited by the PARWCC.

You wouldn't hire an amateur to write your will, do your taxes, write the ad copy for your new product, or even cut your hair. So please, please, please, avoid the biggest mistake that people make in their job hunt and have a professional re-write your resume today.

It will help me help you so much more easily!

Have a great week, Readers!

Warmest regards,
Marc Cenedella
Marc Cenedella
Founder & CEO
TheLadders.com, Inc.

HILARIOUS

2009-03-26T11:56:00.001-04:00

Water Sliced

2009-03-24T10:30:00.002-04:00

Sooooo, I wanted some freaking water ice on Friday since the first day of spring meant free water ice at Rita's!! Well, I searched through all what God calls Suburban Station and could NOT find the freaking Rita's in there (this was on Friday). I putzed back to my office cordially and sat in a slump of despair wonder if I will ever get my free water ice; knowing I would drive by a Rita's on my journey home from work lifted my spirits since I knew I could obtain the long and ever-lasting refreshedness that I was soon to feel from my icy treat.

Well, let me tell you something, my daydreaming on the drive home (not safe) was brought to an abrupt hault (not by the car's brakes), but by the freaking line at Rita's! There were seriously about 55 people in the line (no BS) and I refused to wait in a line that was longer than the freaking Medusa roller coaster at Six Flags during the peak of summer of sweat, BO and foreign languages thralling your ears.

Well, last night, Meggy took me for a icy, creamy treat! We went to Rita's, stood there in the 37 degree, 20mph wind, and 28 degree wind chill to get our treats. Some awkward lady in front of us kept eavesdropping in on our conversations to which we made a fast 90 to the other line since our cashier person must have started working at Rita's for the first time in his life.

I got Key Lime and Vanilla Custard and Megs got Mango and Vanilla Custard! It was splendid!

Oh - I also had a wonderful weekend as well! On saturday I went to see Bloc Party at the Electric Factory and I washed, waxed and basically made out with my car by taking some raunchy photos of her at DCCC's parking lot while I made Meggy sit in boredom (I felt bad) reading a book. I love her though, any woman that would do that for me (knowing or even unknowingly) is a definite keeper in my book! She's great, but sometimes a punk, but it's okay - I can be as well!!

Happy Tuesday - is it Friday, 5pm yet? It's always 5pm somewhere!

2009-03-16T08:39:00.003-04:00

Been a while; starting off another lovely work week!!

This weekend I saw my sister off to her "Soph Hop". You know you're getting old when she is starting to get all "grown" up! We are separated by 8 years, so her being 16 and in high school shows how "old" I am! Falling asleep by 10pm on a weekday is nothing new anymore and nothing of a surprise as I thought I'd never be that person all by the age of 24, but the work week is tiresome as my parents used to say, and that it is!

Megan got new bangs, by new I mean created bangs; they're hot, she's hot and I'd be damn jealous if I wasn't me as well!!

.....

2009-03-05T10:05:00.002-05:00

Ha, Megan and I watched American Pie 2 last night. I originally thought that that was the worse out of all 3 American Pie's; granted I think American Wedding is the best. It actually wasn't that bad, I enjoyed it more this time than when I watched it the first time, like 6 years ago. It's quite funny when watching a "new" older movie like that since the soundtrack in which they thought was so cool then, is actually pretty bad and corny. It amuses me; and honestly, that would be one of my top 5 dream jobs; movie soundtrack/music producer; placing music in certain parts of the movie that fit perfectly.....

That leads to my next question, besides the job you have, love or hate, what is your top 5 dream jobs?

Me?

1. Auto Designer/Engineer
2. Indy Car Driver
3. Video Game Designer
4. Work at Google (even if I'm a janitor - seriously)
5. R&D for a famous Food Company (ice cream, Maggiano's, etc.)

Cheers.

Let them fail .... then again, maybe not.

2009-03-03T09:53:00.002-05:00

More taxpayer bucks to bail out AIG, $61 billion loser

American International Group just got $30 billion more of our money over the weekend. There were no pesky Congress members debating whether to give it our billions -- just a feverish weekend of negotiations among unnamed government officials and AIG executives.

How did these folks settle on $30 billion? Why not just let AIG fail? How much more will we need to spend before we start getting our money back? The answers to the first and third questions are: "I don't know" and to the second, I'd say, "Systemically costly derivatives contracts."

Meanwhile, AIG set an impressive record -- losing more in a quarter than any company in history -- $61.7 billion (just $1.7 billion more than had been rumored last week). For the year, AIG lost $99.3 billion, which seems like quite a bit of money to lose. And thanks to free market principles, which allow executives to keep the profits in good times and share their losses with taxpayers, the U.S. has so far given AIG a $60 billion loan, a $40 billion purchase of preferred shares and $50 billion to soak up AIG's toxic assets. Due to that record loss, we'll kick in another $30 billion to bring the total to $180 billion.

Here's where the systemically expensive derivatives contracts come in: This loss put credit rating agencies in the mood for downgrading AIG. That downgrade would be a violation of AIG's debt contracts and AIG would respond by defaulting on its debt. This default would trigger derivatives contracts held by banks who would ask AIG to pay them collateral as part of the terms of those contracts. But AIG doesn't have enough cash to meet these collateral demands. So the banks holding those contracts would not get their money. And the U.S. believes that that this failure to collect would damage the entire financial system.

******** The stated above clearly explains why some companies actually need $$ from the governments; it's a sticky situation, but with companies like AIG I believe they actually should go bankrupt. You'd take a hit in the short term and save in the long term; instead of bailing there big-wigs out! **********

As it turns out, AIG's loss put the U.S. over a barrel in keeping the ratings agencies from downgrading AIG's debt and creating this systemic problem. In addition to putting $30 billion in TARP into paying AIG if it needs the money, here are some other government gifts to AIG:

Dividend cut. AIG will get a break on its previous deal with the U.S. It will exchange $40 billion in preferred nonvoting shares, which paid a 10% dividend, for new preferred shares with no dividend -- saving AIG $4 billion a year.

Debt for equity swap. Instead of paying back $38 billion in cash with interest that it has used from a federal credit line, the U.S. will get equity in two of AIG's profitable subsidiaries in Asia -- American International Assurance and the American Life Insurance Company.

Below market borrowing rates. The U.S. will cut by 3 percentage points the rate it charges AIG on government loans to the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor).

And now the ratings agencies will refrain from downgrading AIG's debt. It is ironic that the ratings agencies are now trying to do their job after it's too late. During the bubble blow up phase, the ratings agencies put AAA ratings on anything as long as they got their fees from investment banks. Now it takes taxpayer money to keep the ratings agencies from putting the appropriate rating on debt.

The lesson here is timeless, if you owe the bank $1,000 and can't pay it back, that's your problem. If you owe the bank $1 trillion and can't repay, it's the bank's problem.

Snow

2009-03-02T12:28:00.001-05:00

Sooooo, I had no idea it was supposed to snow 1530290 inches of snow last night into this morning until around 1pm, yesterday. I need to stay current with the news! Shame on me.

I found out that my car does not move at all in snow, when I say at all, I literally mean at all. Damn summer tires!

My feet are cold, but my boss isn't here today! Woohoo!

2009-02-24T12:18:00.003-05:00

I love this quote, it's about being optimistic and enjoying what you have right now in your life.

"We're young, we're alive and we have love." - Megan Beam

On a side note, Kill Bill is a freaking great movie! I can't believe I haven't watched it yet since it has been out! I love it!

Rewwwiind

2009-02-23T10:09:00.002-05:00

I met up with some old co-workers of mine that I haven't seen in ages. It was fun to catch up with them and see what's going on in their lives!

Megan and I made some pizza from scratch (minus the dough) and I had a delicious half of a pizza Hawaiian style! Megan's allergic to Pineapple so she didn't have the liberty of tasting the deliciousness that Pineapple is! MMMM.

We thought we found a spectacular house in West Chester that seemed too good to be true. In fact, it was too good to be true. So good to be true that other people like this received such a great deal. It in fact, turned out to be a scam. From the get-go I looked at it with a raised eyebrow, but it makes total sense now that they're located in Nigeria (Nigerian Scam)!

Oh well, off to hunt for more houses!! Woohoo!

I sent about 4 applications off on Sunday. I have one more to fill out, but it's lengthy and lengthy is an understatement. It will seriously take me at least 2 hours to complete! ugh! I will do it Tuesday!

This is how I feel ...

2009-02-20T13:29:00.001-05:00

Tonight is the night that I crack the hell down and apply for jobs like a machine. My computer is going to get a workout. I have about 5-10 lined up off the top of my head that I will be applying for. I'll keep you posted.

Failure: The Secret to Success

2009-02-18T10:09:00.007-05:00

This cannot be anymore true (do not look at the video on a literal context as Honda).

We all fail at things in our lifetime. From small goals that we try to reach as an adolescent, to larger, harder and more rewarding goals we set for ourselves as we get older. Having failure in your life isn't necessarily a bad thing as it is a positive track that you can follow.

How?

Simple.

You try so hard at something; work your tail off night and day, sleep and dream about becoming something, someone, something greater and realize that all of your efforts, time, frustrations, and mini accomplishments have lead to an undermining failure. This ultimately becomes a damaging time in your life in which may be hard to get out of.

You can, however.

By realizing the efforts, research and dedication you have placed forward to accomplish a milestone in your life; through failure you can realize what, when and where something went wrong along your way. Think of it as kicking out the ladder; you're so used to "climbing" the ladder to a specific and objective goal, that you have a one track mind on how to get there. By looking at other avenues on how to accomplish this feat you can actually reach your dream.Whereas you might have failed otherwise; there are preventative measures to failure (if you know consciously that if you perform "X" and you know "X" is going to give you "Y" result when you want "Z" result, then the failure is held on your part, but when you try "X" to get "Y" and subconsciously you did not know that was not going to work, then you have failed along with the possibility on learning a new avenue on how to get to "Y").

When trying to reach a success, you need to have measure. When creating any goal, you should apply the S.M.A.R.T. method (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely). This will give you the toolbox to succeed since you can create a specific goal in mind, you can take measures along the way to make sure you're on your way to the goal, make sure it's achievable within the time frame that you wish to accomplish it, and lastly, make sure it's realistic within your KSA's (knowledge, skills and abilities). Take chances in your lifetime; because without risk, comes no reward.

When measuring failure be sure to make note that it is a success as long as you make something positive of it.

If you can't see your future, dream it.

Dream the power to succeed, fail and succeed again.

Dave Blarek mentioned in the video,

"Edison said he never failed. It just didn't work 10,000 times, but on that 10,001 time it worked, so were those failures?"

Take a chance. Become something you always wanted to. I've failed, and I will fail, but I will accomplish from those failures and continue on.

We all need some motivation at times....

2009-02-18T09:55:00.002-05:00

And when you're gone...

2009-02-17T15:39:00.001-05:00

who will miss you?

Make the most of your life, yourself and everything and anything you want to do.

The accomplisments of nothing....

2009-02-17T10:05:00.003-05:00

I love my job; the fact that I can hear a pin drop all day excites me. I'm not in a "mood" or anything, but I've never been in a hotel where people are supposed to be hospitable to where they are the exact opposite.

Why is the symbol of hospitality a Pineapple when at my place it should be a piece of raw pork rind.

Thank God for the iPod. It's my closest form of human interaction throughout my day. Sad aint it? It typically would be if this was a normal hotel with normal hospitable people, but this just isn't the case. It's always 5pm somewhere, right?!

On to some Of Montreal to get me in a dancing mood. Barbiri anyone?

Goodday Sir

2009-02-17T09:55:00.003-05:00

So this weekend was pretty much fantabulous! Valentine's Day went perfect man! Meg came over and we cooked breakfast at my place, followed by me kicking her out, running around like a chicken with my head cut off and cooking dinner. I made veggie lasagna and red velvet cheesecake! We then went to a theatre and watched, The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare, the show isn't in production anymore as it stopped on Saturday, but you can check it out here.

I hate going to those self-serve car washes where you wash your car yourself (enough you's in that sentence ain't there?). The freaking hose that lead the the nozzle hit my car a couple of times (I'm pretty good at making sure this doesn't happen) and left some marks on Karly. I then had to use some elbow grease to get those stupid marks off. There were about 21398093 of them!! It made my car washing experience that much longer in the cold. I hate winter. Where is Texas? - I know where it is, but can it find ME?

Turtle Update

2009-02-10T10:08:00.002-05:00

Olive died ... this happened 2 weeks ago or so ... I'm horrible at updating this.

We got a new turtle, respectively name OJ, in memorandum of Oliver (Oliver Jr.). He's doing well; better than OJ, but still not "great".

Vlad on the other hand, he's a hoss. He freakin eats everything I put into the damn tank. He actually might be overweight as a turtle. Is that possible?

When I get an updated picture I'll show you the first day and month 1 pictures of him.

On a Tuesday ...

2009-02-10T09:57:00.003-05:00

I love her!!!! She is my freaking everything! There isn't one day that I can go without seeing her!!

This is my all-time favorite picture of her!

Jealous?

I'd be if I were you!!!

One of the most memorable movie lines...

2009-02-05T14:19:00.002-05:00

From Wedding Crashers:

Bratty Kid: I want a bicycle.
Jeremy Grey: Listen, a bicycle is going to take a lot of balloons and frankly, uncle Jeremy is a bit tired. How about I make you something else?
Bratty Kid: I just want a bicycle!
Jeremy Grey: Why... why are you yelling at me?
Bratty Kid: Make me a bicycle, clown!
Jeremy Grey: All right, I'm going to make you a bicycle. But I don't want to make you a bicycle.
Bratty Kid: Shut your mouth, funny guy, and make it.
Jeremy Grey: [later] Take that, you hyena, don't say thank you.

I crack up everytime I watch, read, say and think this.... It's hilarious.

Failure = Success

2009-02-04T13:22:00.002-05:00

In order to succeed in something, failure comes along the way with it. I think that in many cases the only way to succeed is to fail. This is not necessarily a bad thing; we need to walk away learning from what, when and where we went wrong.

Honda right now has a great video on this. Let me know your thoughts, it's quite an interesting watch.

Failure = Success?

Yayy!

2009-02-02T13:28:00.003-05:00

I got my laptop up and running!!! All* I need was a new hard drive and I decided to upgrade my memory. Stupid best buy and office depot wanted $300 for it. No way. I tackled that biotch myself and fixed it in 2 hours!! Woo hoo!

I had a great weekend as well. I'm starting to feel myself again and the thought of getting out of my house is great! I'm looking forward to these changes that are coming my way. A couple sighs of relief are coming.

Last week I was highly tense; between my turtle passing away, my laptop costing around $300 to fix and being pessimistic about basically everything, I decided to change my mindset and think positive. It has worked well!!

This superbowl ad was by far the funniest of the 2009 commercials!!

Weekend Recap.

2009-01-19T12:45:00.001-05:00

This weekend was a fun one! Friday Megan and I went to the Gryphon to see Nate Graham again; shared some drunken college night stories and had fun! I picked up a new turtle this weekend to give Vladimir a brother. His name is Oliver and he's basically the same species of turtle. Megan and I set up the new "home" and it looks great, I'll post pictures shortly. We went ice skating at Penn's Landing last night. For all my years of living in and or near Philadelphia, I have never been to Penn's Landing for ice skating. Foolish me!!!

I watched some new episodes of Top Gear via OnDemand and it got my excitement rolling again for the series. New episodes are on every Monday at 8pm on BBC America. I'm definitely catching i tonight as I forgot and or missed the past couple of Monday airings.

Vladimir!

2009-01-14T08:38:00.004-05:00

Megan and I got a turtle last night!

His name is Vladimir, but I've already started calling him other names such as Vlad, Vladm, Vladmir, Mir, Vladdy, Lad, Vladlicious, Vladtastic, Vladster (you get the point by now)!!

He's freaking awesome; we spotted him eating a fish in the pet store and knew that was the one that we wanted. Megan's all about making his home a happy and playful one which is adorable which is what any "mother" would want to do; while I'm being the "father" and making sure the guy stays alive (water temp, diet, sunlight, environment, water sloutions, etc.).

Check him out, I believe he is a Cooter, but we're unsure. If you know what kind of turtle he is, please let me know. Thanks!!

Pictures:

So if my estimates are correct, and with proper care, he should live over 40 years. We're retiring together buddy!

Cheers!

Reflection

2009-01-12T12:13:00.002-05:00

Well I'm off to meet my fortune in the big old world,
You know it won't take long to get where I'm going,
Maybe it'll help feel myself again.

- Jeremy Warmsley

Inside of me, there's a sad machine that wants to stop movin
I want my, frustrations,
To know that you are alright

- Albert Hammond Jr.

To be lost in the forest, to be cut adrift,
You've been trying to reach me,
You bought me a book,
I've been paid, I've been paid

And you told me you wanted to eat up my sadness,
Well jump on, enjoy, you can gorge away
And you told me you wanted to eat up my sadness,
Jump Right

- Bloc Party

I know there's a big world out there,
Like the one I saw on the screen ,
In my living room late last night,
It was almost too bright to see,
I know that it's not a party,
If it happens every night,
Pretending there's glamor and candelabra,
When you're drinking by candlelight .

- The Postal Service

Guinea Pig Olympics

2009-01-07T13:43:00.001-05:00

This really cracks me up.

Wanted

2009-01-07T10:26:00.002-05:00

I am usually a fan of watching movies only ONCE as they tend to bore me. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy watching movies, but knowing the same thing is going to happen again and you can predict it doesn't really rock my socks off if you know what I mean. On the other hand though, there are some movies that you must absolutely watch twice as the movie just had so much damn action, or the ending or story plot leaves you saying "What the ****?".

Now I'm not usually one to gloat and bloat about a movie, but, "Wanted" leaves you saying those exact words. With it's witticism and satire/irony it really makes you laugh at inappropriate things or have you saying, "I always wanted to do that to my boss, etc.". The closing line is what really gets to the audience as it really makes you think about yourself, current situation and what you can do about it; now I won't spoil it for you folks, but if you're truly interested in being "moved" through a movie through one line, then this is the movie to watch all the way to the end.

With me basically sending out free promotions for this movie; the only thing I have left to say is,

"Put in the movie and watch it, CLOWN."

Cheers,

Mat

End of 08 - Beginning 2009

2009-01-05T12:02:00.002-05:00

New Year's eve was great. Meg and I stopped by 2 parties and then headed out to West Chester for the rest of the night to bring in the new year. Christmas was great as well! I stopped by plenty of houses and visited family and friends! I had a sudden realization that I want to do something more fulfilling; something moving - that has a positive impact on people's live. I don't know what that is, but God has a plan for me!

I'm so bad keeping these blogs updated and it's hard to write some of this at work because as soon as I start typing; I swear my boss hears me typing and has to tell me about her kids Christmas presents. Right now she's talking about Nintendo DS, something about Ariel, a yawn here and there, her car's headlight bulb being burnt out, a chat room on Nintendo Ds. I'm about ready to throw this laptop across the hall to her!

I'll update this tonight when I have peace and quiet!!! Bah-humbug!

Fresh Prince Of Bel Air (Italian Theme)

2008-12-29T10:19:00.002-05:00

Fresh Prince Of Bel Air (Italian Theme)

Wait until the 51 second mark. It cracks me up!!

Meh

2008-12-23T09:49:00.003-05:00

I think I'm going to receive a pay cut.

I also think I'm not going to be able to use my "sick" for the day after the holidays. I don't have vacations yet, so I need to use sick time which sucks!! Which in that case, I'd have to work seeing that I wouldn't be able to have 2 days off in the same pay period.

Ugh .... I appreciate the fact I have a job, but this is seriously frustrating.

I've got a bad feeling about this ... as Taking Back Sunday once so cordially stated.

Longwood

2008-12-19T10:06:00.002-05:00

We went to Longwood Gardens last night. It was a freaking blast! There were so many lights all over the place and it feels good to finally get in the Christmas mode now; I've officially welcomed Christmas 2008. I haven't been there in over 15 years, so I decided,

"Hey, let's go check out that bad boy of a garden".

And I did, and it was splendid, like a sim stapler.

Cheers.

Mid week

2008-12-17T11:17:00.002-05:00

Megan bought us a miniature Christmas Tree for the holidays. It's our first Christmas and the start of our "traditions". It is 16" tall and it makes my freaking morning every time I wake up. We decorated it with a bead/necklace making kit. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to show for it. :(

I call Wednesdays "hump" days as it's the day of the week that drrrraaagggsss; basically once you get over this day then you're home free for the weekend!! Woohoo!!

I finished up my Christmas shopping last night for EVERYONE! I was stoked about that as I am a big procrastinator when it comes to shopping for xmas gifts and banged these out before Christmas Eve Day like I have done before. Yes, I'm proud!

GREAT Weekend!

2008-12-15T10:23:00.002-05:00

Megan and I went to Penn State this weekend for a much needed getaway of sorts. We had a blast!

This trip was better than the NYC trip; considering I wasn't on for business and the hotel check-in process went smoothly. Traffic wasn't a bear since we got a head start on Friday and left before the majority of the rush hour! (My sentences seem 5th grade-esque right now). Anyways ... Friday night we walked aroun d town a little bit, I showed her my old sleeping quarters and we ate at D.P. Dough - they make delicious cal zones! We also went into a diamond store where the salesperson showed us a "Hearts on Fire" diamond that was probably worth 2 years of my salary!

Saturday I gave her my personal tour of Penn State from where my classes used to be and the side streets within the campus as opposed to the main ones! We walked around downtown and I showed her the types of shops State College has to offer! We had a blast! We then went to Best Buy where we looked at some cameras that we both can't afford and slipped back to the hotel room! We went to the pool area and found out that they had a hot tub! Unfortunately, there was some creepy older man in the hot tub, but it didn't stop us from entering the bad boy of warmth!

I found out that I wasn't able to attempt to eat the ATOMIC wings challenge from Quaker Steak and Lube since it apparently closed down! WEAK!! I was let down in the anticipation of having my mouth be as hot as the freakin' sun and had to settle for different wings. They were good, but nothing to write home about (Meg can attest to that).

Four christmases was actually a very funny movie. I knew it was going to be funny, but some parts of it were freaking hilarious! You chouls check it out sometime; I'm not one for spending money at the movies much, but it was deifnitely worth it and if I say so, then IT IS!!

Pictures were taken with the Lion Shrine and plenty of other spots, and a glorious drive home was had. Trees were decorated and naps were taken.

Cheers!

PSU bound

2008-12-12T11:31:00.002-05:00

YAYYY!!! I'm PSU bound this weekend with Megan. I'm going to give her the "Matt" tour of Penn State as opposed to the regular campus tour that she had before. It's going to be fun to go back up and get nostalgic from my college days! I have a free overnight's stay at the Hilton Garden Inn - State College. I used to work there in college, so I know it's a good quality place (to a degree).

I'm going to attempt to eat the "Atomic" Sauce wings from Quaker Steak and Lube. Apparently it's called the "hottest wing on the planet". You basically have to eat 6 of them and you get a bumper sticker (woo hoo - sarcasm) and your name on their wall. How hard can it be? Find out here. You need to sign a freakin release form stating that you acknowledge the fact that you're basically being an "ass". Hence, therefore, my reasoning in wanting to do it! Game on!

I got my new "old" radio put back in the Civic. The new radio was good, but lack-luster of any quaity Mids, Highs and Lows. I solved that problem and she's sounding almost as good as Amber did!

Well, I'm off to go home and pack in an hour and then pick up Megan! Hopefully it doesn't snow TOO much in State College this weekend, but at the same time, I kind of hope that it does in order to get the full effect of a State College winter (even though winter hasn't officially started yet).

Cheers.

Sweetheart

2008-12-07T00:51:00.001-05:00

I love you more than life itself.

You are the greatest thing that has EVER happened to me.

You know who you are ....... <3

Bleak Outlook

2008-12-05T10:24:00.003-05:00

Stocks extend decline following report showing unemployment rate surged in November

NEW YORK (AP) -- News of a rapidly weakening job sent stocks falling Friday as investors feared that the recession will be deeper and more prolonged than many have expected. The major indexes were all down more than 2 percent and the Dow Jones industrials fell more than 180 points.

The Labor Department's report that employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November came in much higher than the 320,000 that economists forecast. The job losses were severe enough to add to expectations that Washington will have to take even bigger steps to boost the economy.

- AP

Click here for more information.

PS - We are in the longest recession since The Great Depression.

Bloc Party

2008-12-05T09:54:00.007-05:00

If you haven't caught on the the political onslaught of Bloc Party by now, then you're on the last train home my friend. Bloc Party, for me, is a band that I tend to listen to during the winter months. I have seasonal songs and artists during specific times of the year. Listen to "This Modern Love" and mellow in the harmony of Bloc Party's first effort from their CD "Silent Alarm".

Song of the day:

Bloc Party - This Modern Love .mp3
(right click - save target as)

Enjoy!

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

2008-12-04T11:35:00.003-05:00

I'm going to start a new "mix-tape" series have you.

For now, I will start with a song(s) of the week segment starting with

The Postal Service's - Such Great Heights

Your audible senses will thank you with the great sounds of The Postal Service.

Depression and Suicide

2008-12-03T14:44:00.003-05:00

This is a serious matter. Read the stories below in order. This happened this week in Center City.

Loews Hotel Suicide Story 1

Loews Hotel Suicide Story 2

Loews Hotel Suicide Story 3

Please, if you know anyone who is showing any symptoms of depression, mental illness, etc. please try to help them and not make them feel "lower" than they already are.

In the name of the father .....

TRAFFIC!

2008-12-03T13:15:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I'm pretty ill-mannered and have the LEAST amount of patience when it comes to traffic. If people just let freaking people merge in when they're supposed to then we wouldn't have problems; that's what happened today as 95 apparently was backed way-the-hell-up. Mi madre called to inform me of this. I graciously got off at 476 and went to the train station to have myself carted to center city.

I'm parked randomly in Media hoping I don't get a ticket or towed while keeping the fingers crossed.

Cheers.

Currently listening to...

2008-12-02T14:59:00.002-05:00

Incubus - A Crow Left of The Murder

Good album and it brings me back to freshman year of college. Specifically driving to Kutztown University with my buddy Bob for some reason. I don't know why, but it does.

3.5 hours of meetings and no hot chocolate later and I'm stranded here at work hoping that I will find my chocolate light!! Argh!

Off to listening to more "old school" Incubus.

Cyber Monday

2008-12-01T14:52:00.002-05:00

Shop away shoppers:

http://www.cybermonday.com/

Weekend Recap

2008-12-01T11:46:00.002-05:00

This Thanksgiving went extremely well!

I enjoyed the "typical" Thanksgiving comfort foods that we all indulge on when eating with the family. It was good to see my family as we're pretty bad at meeting up throughout the year unless if it's a holiday or sadly a tragedy. I know that's typical of a lot of families, but I'd prefer it to not be mine. No sense in crying over spilt milk though!

Well "The Aqualogic" is officially "over". Our lead singer, Dave, wanted to sing more heavy metal music (which we weren't into making), plus there were musical differences within the band that we could all sense creating some animosity that would have been obtrusive in the long run.

I played in the "Gat Bowl" on Saturday with TCA. There was a very good turnout there. A total of 6 teams played and I was on the yellow team. We were pretty bad honestly; with only 1 win, 2 losses and 2 ties we were located near the bottom of the pack. It was for pure fun though, although some people got really intense when it came ot rules, etc. I did pretty well scoring roughly 8 TDs in 6 games. I'm sore as hell now though.

Meg and I went to her Aunt's house for a post Thanksgiving dinner. It was nice to meet her father's side of the family.

Meg's interview is tomorrow, so I will be "drilling" her tonight with the typical interview questions that will be asked as this is something "new" to her.

I haven't started a lick of xmas shopping, nor do I plan to go out to any malls (I may for some things). I'm doing everything online this year to avoid the headache of traffic and lines. I hate nothing more than wasting my time standing around doing something unproductive.

Off to more work.

Cheers!

Comic

2008-11-28T12:00:00.005-05:00

I hardly read comics, but I forgot about Cyanide and Happiness! These freakin comics crack me up! Granted, some of them are on touchy subjects, but it's still insanely hilarious.

Here's one of my favorites from Cyanide and Happiness (excuse the vulgarity)!

AND

Cheers!

Long Time No Blog

2008-11-25T09:33:00.002-05:00

Hola comradas!

It's been a while since I've posted on here. Sheesh, one week! I'm pretty bad at keeping up on this, yes I know. Anyways, just dropping in to say hello to the readers; I haven't forgotten about you special people!! I promise! :)

I'll update more when I'm not here at work and when I have more time (possibly while at work or later on tonight!).

Here's a taste of topics I'll touch on to tantalize your tastes:
- Shopping
- Musical Instruments
- Economy
- Personal Finance
- Relationships
- Holiday

Don't touch that mouse! (Unless you're refreshing the page!

RANTLERS!

2008-11-18T11:09:00.003-05:00

Dammit, I need to get better at updating this blog.

In short:

This weekend I went Ice Skating, took a trip to York, PA, watched "A High School Musical" (My sister's play), practiced our set list for Tuesday's show at the North Star Bar, attended TWLOHA (very moving might I say in the least) and hung out with a very special girl!

On another note, I packed up my drum set for tonight's show at The North Star Bar. Tickets are only $5 and we go on at 10pm. This is a battle of the bands type of show and whoever draws in the largest crowd, gets the most "respect" and the ability to play weekend shows (this is kind of a big deal when you're a smaller band trying to become known).

Anyways, come check us out tonight.

Much love, logic and raindown to you all!

Cheers,

Matt (Drummer of The Aqualogic)

Do I wish I worked here ....

2008-11-12T15:12:00.001-05:00

Google.

Enough said.

I find this song comforting ...

2008-11-10T11:03:00.002-05:00

TV on the Radio - "Love Dog" ( I interpret dog as in God, plus Dog backwards = God)

Lonely little love dog that
No one knows the name of
I know why you cry out
Desperate and devout

Timid little teether
Your eyes set on the ether
Your moon in a bella luna and
Howling hallelujah

Nameless you above me
Come lay me low and love me
This lonely little love dog
That no one knows the name of

Curse me out in free verse
Wrap me up and reverse this
Patience is a virtue
Until it's silence burns you

And something slow
Has started in me as
Shameless as an ocean
Mirrored in devotion

Something slow
Has sparked up in me
As dog cries for a master
Sparks are whirling faster

Lonely little love dog
That no one knows the ways of
Where the land is low is
Where the bones'll show through

Lonely little love dog
That no one knows the days of
Where the land is low is
Where the water flows to
And holds you

Stay connected with yourself, others and God.

2008-11-10T09:39:00.002-05:00

Something I think we should live by.

Make relationships a priority (specifically loved ones). Social ties give you a sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Cultivate your spirituality. Studies have shown that believing in something larger than yourself strengthens your ability to cope with life’s ups and downs.

I finished Catcher in the Rye this morning on my way to work. I now realized I decided to read it again as an older adult. There is so much symbolism and hidden meaning in the book it's moving. I'm not going to be a spoiler, but if you haven't read it for some reason, then you should!! J.D. Salinger is a great writer and the book is a very easy read.

Thought Ponderance

2008-11-07T10:34:00.004-05:00

The mood at the hotel isn't looking so great today. I start wandering off in my own head about my job; specifically security. GSK and Comcast combined laid off over 2,000 people this week.

Marie, one of our Accountants, had her hours cut back to only 20 hours per week. I'm already starting to feel paranoid, in a sense. My position is new here at the hotel and they can easily rid of it just as easy as they created it. This isn't the greatest of feelings to be honest; I need to do something to get my mind off of it, but what? It's kind of hard when you turn on the TV, radio, computer and all you hear, see and read about are job cuts. So much for the great life after college!
I felt more security at my old job, but I had to leave :(. I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard. I'm just going to keep on trucking and quote my mother,

"There's always another job out there for if anyone happens to be laid off."

This is true, but it's so daunting and stressful to think about. God has things happen for a reason, and whatever and whenever they may occur, I'm not going to dwindle and fall apart here; there's more to life than this particular moment in a particular time through adversity. Everything isn't handed to you on a silver platter and you need to work and strive for the things you want to become and achieve.

Matt

Check out this noise

2008-11-06T09:36:00.002-05:00

I've always been real anal about keeping my car clean and not letting it become a trash bag of sorts. I usually wash it once per week when it's nice outside (basically Late April through October). After seeing this however, I now kind of want to let my car get this dirty so I can do what has been done on these bad boys!

Oh, we're playing at Jocelyn's in Media tonight. We go on at 10pm. Check out our website and if you like us, then come!! Woo!

Cheers

Don't forget to vote!!

2008-11-04T12:50:00.003-05:00

Get out there America and vote!! Statistics show on a GOOD year ONLY 30% of the American population votes. Weak.

So this is my friendly reminder to do it! I am!

On a side note; I was walking down the stairwell in my building and there was a little 2.5 year old boy with his mother telling everyone to Vote Today. He had a good cause, but he was also telling people WHO to vote for. While this was cute, it was disturbing in a sense since the damn kid was being brainwashed! I'm not looking to deep into and continuing on my merry way!

Cheers <- Very Patriotic

This makes little Matt happy!

2008-11-03T08:40:00.002-05:00

Say Anything - Alive With the Glory of Love

When I watch you, wanna do you, right where you're standing…yeah.
Right on the foyer, on this dark day, right in plain view…oh, yeah….
Of the whole ghetto, the boot-stomped meadows, but we ignore that, yeah.
You're lovely baby, this war is crazy, I won't let you down…oh, no no….

No, I won't let them take you, won't let them take you…Hell, no no…
Oh, no…I won't let them take you, won't let them take you…Hell, no no…
No, oh no, no, no….

And when our city vast and shitty falls to the Axis, yeah…
They'll search the buildings, collect gold fillings, wallets, and rings…oh, yeah.
But Miss Black Eyeliner, you'd look finer with each day in hiding, oh yeah…
Beneath the wormwood, ooooo, love me so good…
They won't hear us screw away the day.
I'll make you say:

“Alive! Alive! Alive with love, alive with love tonight…”
“Alive! Alive! Alive with love, alive with love tonight…”

(No, I won't let them take you, won't let them take you…Hell, no no…
Whoa, no…I won't let them take you, won't let them take you…Hell, no no…)

Our Treblinka is alive with the glory of love….
Treblinka, alive with the glory of love! Yeah!

(Ok, speed it up….Go!)

Should they catch us and dispatch us to those separate work camps.
I'll dream about you, I will not doubt you with the passing of time….Oh, yeah.
Should they kill me, your love will fill me as warm as the bullets, yeah.
I'll know my purpose: this war was worth this. I won't let you down…

No, I won’t….
No, I won’t….
No, I won’t….

(Alive! Alive! Alive with love, alive with love tonight…)
Hell no, no…Whoa, no, I won't let them take you, won't let them take you….Hell, no, no.
No! No!

Good weekend!

Cheers

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T15:10:00.005-04:00

Check out this noise ....

That's my jam for Halloween this year. Add some chromed Aviators, Dryer Duct arms and legs and I'm gravy.

On a side note:

I took the train in today; packed to the gills with Phillies fans. The train got stuck due to weight, but we made it through and I got to work only 30 minutes late. I think I'm going to start taking the train to work. After doing a cost analysis I realized I'd save about $60.00 a month when gas is at $3.00 per gallon as opposed to driving and paying for parking. I save about 900 miles per month being placed on my car.

Check out this noise (different noise):

Train vs. Car Cost Analysis						Gas Analysis
Train			Car	Train				Car
Monthly Pass	$ 142.50	52.4	Miles (Round trip to work)*	Travel (Roundtrip)	$ 18.29		$ 136.90	Travel (Roundtrip)
Parking (per day)	$ 1.00	$ 3.01	$/Gal (Premium)	$ Saved Per Month	$ 118.61		$ (118.61)	$ Saved Per Month
Miles (Round trip to station)*	7	$ 5.75	Parking	Gallons Used per Month	6.08		45.50	Gallons Used per Month
Avg MPG	25.34	25.34	Avg MPG	# of Gallons Saved	39.42		-39.42	# of Gallons Saved
Total Cost Per Day	$ 8.96	$ 11.97	Total Cost Per Day	Miles Saved per month	908.00		(998.80)	Miles Saved per month
Total Cost	$ 179.13	$ 239.45	Total Cost	Miles Saved per year	10,896.00		(11,985.60)	Miles Saved per year

Cost Savings per month	$ 60.33	$ (60.33)	Cost Savings per month
Cost Savings per year	$ 723.93	$ (723.93)	Cost Savings per year

Word, now I'm off to go fight some Phillies parade traffic and get my bum home and finish up my costume for tonight. Word.

Cheers -

Freakin Whaaaaa>!

2008-10-29T10:04:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I had to get a cab to the Art Museum for work (I know - work?), but yes, work. The taxi lady was very nice (mind you most taxi drivers are creepy and smell of some sort of fungal bacteria that you never knew existed until you smell that non-existent fungal bacteria. Anyway, we somehow got on the topic of birthdays (no I didn't bring mine up) and we found out that we both had birthdays on 10/27!! That's freakin' awesome man, seriously, what a damn small world!!

I started making my robot costume! It's looking sick as hell and I'm only about 80% done. I need another coat of spray paint and then I need to add my "accessories" on it. I'm pumped. Megan will be the mad scientist and Dave will be the other robot. I'm looking forward to this noise.

I haven't stumbled in a while, I think I may do that; I haven't drawn in a while - I have a picture I want to draw for someone very special to me; I haven't read my book in a week - I need to get on that. Check one to that chalk on the board.

Prospecting day and church tonight.

Cheers!

Today's MY BIRTHDAY!!! Woohoo!!!

2008-10-27T09:52:00.004-04:00

We'll go Quentin Tarantino on this one.

I woke up in jeans @ 1am in my girlfriend's bed.

Friday was a much relieved day from the week. Last week wasn't necessarily stressful, but just tiresome with work. I walked into my room on the phone with my buddy Pete to find this:

Yes, that's my bedroom, yes that's 24 balloons scattered throughout my bedroom! Megan has been giving me surprises starting on Friday leading up til my birthday (today). I received 24 (well mor elike 28 fish) on Saturday, of which about 9 died, but that's expected being that they were in a small "tank" - I didn't feel too bad though as they were more so like feeder fish! We ended up dumping them in the pond in her front yard where they'd have greater living quarters!!

Went out to dinner with the madre on Saturday night and with the padre on Sunday night. Both were delicious!

Saturday day I went to some small meet in KOP with other "Karly" owners. It was alright; insightful at best with learning some new things about your car. There were your typical weed wacker cars there, but the meet overall it was done tastefully. I then met up with mi dushi and we picked up a pumpkin, carved that bad boy and square dance our butts off. I literally almost fell over 3-4 times due to my diziness. I received my 24 FISHES!! MUAH!

Sunday I washed and waxed Karly; Megan helped about halfway through it. She was so excited at first, but then only about 10 minutes later she was ready to throw in the towel! I wouldn't blame her as it's somehting girls don't do all too often (wax a car). She's a trooper though and hung in there as I've never had ANYONE wax a whole car with me before. Love ya babe!

Robot and socket and plug costumes are in order for this weekend.

Did I mention it's my birthday?! Well it is!! I'm now officially 24. Woohoo (sarcastic), but I'll be a sport about it and celebrate!!

Go Phils!

Cheers.

Oh woo woo!

2008-10-24T09:59:00.002-04:00

I came home yesterday!!!!!!!!!

I'm officially home (for now)! It feels good being in your own damn bed with your own damn lighting fixtures and your own damn heat. I enjoyed DC though; per usual, my travel arrangements went ary as they usually do, but I didn't let it bother me. Woohoo!!

My itinerary changed yesterday and I was at our Corporate Revenue Meeting only until noon. I then jumped in a cab, and got a train about 2 hours earlier than expected. Life was good. I got home, unpacked, toyed around with "Karly" for a little bit and went to pick up Mi Dushi!!!! It was such a RELIEF!! I mean as soon as I saw her, the stress that was built up of being away from her totally released itself!! She has the ability to do that to me!!

Anyways, I can't wait for this weekend to come around, tgif! Seriously.

Apparently I speak some sort of foreign language on the phone, but only to Megan! Speaking of her; she told me she had surprises for me before my actual birthday. I got one yesterday and it was quite fitting; 24 Hershey kises for me turning 24. She's freakin' awesome!!

To sum up yesterday:

I saw Megan!!!

She jumped into my arms!!!

We kissed a bunch!!

We ate dinner!!!

I watched the Happening!!!

She ran in terror!!

I turned it off!!

She stayed in my arms!!

PS - Pumpkins will be man-handled this weekend.

Cheers,

Matt

Travel-Bound .... Again

2008-10-21T21:32:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm off on travel yet again. I don't think it ends for work. Last week was NYC til Thursday; this week I'm in DC until Thursday. I don't even have freakin time to keep up with my clients at my job. Whatev, they know that though.

I officially sold Amber last night. It was sad to see her go. I got emotional when Debbie (the car buyer) drove off with her. It still feels surreal; this isn't happening, it hasn't happened, yet I look out the window and she is no longer in my possession which leads me to the conclusion that it HAS happened. I kissed her on the steering wheel and told Debbie that her name is Amber; she isn't allowed to change the name.

Megan came over; she seems to know exactly what I need and how I need it. She didn't even ave to say anything to realize that I was kind of upset about the fact that she's gone (Amber). As stated before; I grow emotional attachments to inanimate objects. There's a lot of sentimental value behind Amber and a piece of me will always be with that car.

I missed my bloody train to DC this morning. I literally was running for it as it was moving away at the Wilmington train station. I had to wait for the 9am train since I missed the 8:10am train. I didn't care though as it didn't set me back much for my day today (only 30 mins), plus I got to see Megan for another 30 minutes while I waited for the train. Yayy!! I love mi dushi!!!

So, I got back to my hotel ready for a nice relaxing night, boy how wrong I was. I ordered Papa John's since it was the only pizza place located near me in all of D.C.. I ordered online through the first location that popped up. The delivery guy called me, but I missed it. I proceeded to call him back, in which he told me he'd be there in 15 minutes and that I was outside of his delivery "area". I kept my cool and asked him politely if he can still deliver it for me. He said he would and all was well - this was at 7:10pm. 8:00pm rolls around and still no pizza; I call him and he told me he called me and that I confirmed I received the pizza. I asked him to please explain why I was calling him looking for my pizza (with a sharp tongue; I was hungry and tired from the day). I cancelled the order and placed another one with the Papa John's that I thought I originally placed it through. Matt's full with nutrition and cheese. Word to the cow.

Again, another hotel with internet problems. WTF! These past two travel arrangements have gone ary quickly. I'll survive! Megan made me a little card that basically stated how much she loved me and that she can't wait for me to come home. When I start stressing over stupid crap (like papa john's and no internet; I take a nice step back and read that which brings me great joy).

On a positive note though; the revenue management system I created form the ground up in Excel a little bit ago MIGHT be used as the company's wide RM system. I worked my ass off on this system and I will be showing the Regional RM next week on how to implement this system. This would be for 13 hotels in the DC and PA area. I'm extremely excited to see my hard work pay off. Eventually my ass will be in a Corporate RM position using the same system I'm showing this company currently.

Busy day tomorrow, so I'm off to rent an over-priced movie that my company will be paying for and off to sheep land will I go. Yippee!

I miss and love you mi dushi - THURSDAY will be brilliant ! ;)

Oh, it's officially my birthday week! The greatest week out of the greatest month of the year. Don't go splinterin' my wood on this one; splittin' my clam shells; stuffin' yo face, crackin' my crab legs; grindin' my gears; chippin' my chocolate; and sandin' my glass. It's my birthday month. Grand.

Cheers,

Matt