A Fond Farewell To Friends

To every and all, I wanted to send a note saying thanks so much for attending the 603 farewell bash. Laughter and a killed keg are always signals of a fantastic time and hopefully everyone else had as much fun as myself. Be it a game of telephone, shots of homemade lemon chill, boche (pronounced bo-che, per Alex), belt-buckle bottle opening and roaming muscle-bound freaks... a good time was had.

Please keep checking this so I can make my best attempts to stay in touch and come and visit as you will all always have an open door and comfy couch with your names on it.

-MB

You Are Out Of Order

Okay, so I was back in my hometown of Cleveland, OH this weekend and met up with some friends of mine. It was to be a short evening of catching up and nothing much. Sitting there, I notice an older female (45ish) with some friends at the other end of the bar. She is "nonchalantly" staring.

Conversation continues and nothing else is noticed. After some time, said lady makes her way down to our end of the bar (which is confined and not easy to occupy outside our group of three). She shuffles past my two friends and approaches me. She leans into my ear and says

"I'm not sure what your situation is, but I just wanted to pay you a compliment"

"ok"

"I saw you when you came in and I need to tell you... you look like a man who knows how to hold court"

"thanks?"

"I am serious, you look like someone who knows how to hold court"

"Are those Jordache jeans you're wearing?"

Of all the responses I could have used, somehow that one seemed the most appropriate. After consideration, I will allow it. Objections overruled.

Ughh

It is one of those days where everything seems bleak. Ugh, I wake up this morning to my foot hurting. I roll out of bed and my back is tight. I'm tired and it's 6:30 am and I want to go back to sleep, but I can't. I am driving to work and want to get my morning coffee, but I forgot my wallet. I get to work and the other guy I work with called off, meaning I am all by myself all day long. I'm outside and it's 95 degrees.

Oh me, oh life, oh me.

Destitute Times

It has always sounded to me like the "Age of Enlightenment" was a pretty cool time period during which to live. Perhaps electricity and waste management weren't at their evolutionary peaks, but there were a lot of impressive people influencing many important events.

Today seems a bit different. Technology (duh) and marketed sex (pron) are leading us into the 21st century and we can communicate with anyone in the world in order to enjoy said niche, while a group of 150 people control our world's economy.

I think we should coin this time period the "Age of Whose Your Daddy".

Yeah, I think that one sounds good.

Letting Someone Down

For those of you who know me, which is probably anyone reading this since I would otherwise be confused as to why you would check out this "awe-inspiring" word play (insert emoticon of blustering sarcasm... you know the face), I have always swayed on the idea of packing my bags and hitting the open water as a scuba diving instructor living the life of ease.

It sounds nice and I could do it if I was truly compelled, but recently I have had some time (actually a lot of time as I've been successfully living a hobo's life) to consider the alternative. Should I do that or should I embark on a life of responsibility and accountability in my hometown of Cleveland, OH?

Boooo midwest city with poor economy and lousy weather.

Hooray Scuba!!

Yes, I could scuba and should scuba, but at the same time... family and friends and attempting to make the city and people around you better has to have some reward that might out-weigh 'living the dream' on some live-a-board ship? Right?

Either decision I make someone seems disappointed. Maybe I should get together with some folks and play a game of RISK to determine the answer?

"Shut your mouth when you're talking to me."

I See You're Schwartz Is As Big As Mine

So I went to watch my Cavs struggle through their 4th and final game of the NBA finals last night. I saddled up on a bar stool and observed as everyone around me, unaware of my team loyalty, ridiculed and harassed my Cavaliers right up until the final buzzer. I find that, similar to my birthday, watching my hometown team play in the biggest series of their lives can be a somewhat personal experience, particularly when they are losing... badly.

As the evening wore on, my frequent visits to the latrine seemed to be timed up with another patron's bladder breaks. 1st time, 2nd time and then a 3rd. By our final 'fluke' run-in, we were exchanging head knods that suggested "Hey... you and I keep peeing at the same time. Cool."

I wriggled into my corner as he washed his hands when he says, daring to break the ritualistic silence of the men's room, "You're a Cavs fan, aren't ya?"

"Yes"

"Sorry"

Oh no you didn't. However, rather than spit out all the reasons why I am NOT sorry, I simply replied "Don't be" while the toilet bowl in front of me magically turned into his face.

Oh the times they are a-changing

Born and raised in Cleveland, OH, I have been exposed to a certain kind of heartache that I really think only Buffalo Bills fans somewhat understand.

Cleveland Browns, Indians and Cavalier fans have all suffered the heartache of being so close, but unable to win 'the big one'.

This years performance by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals is not quite as heartbreaking as some of the other losses felt by earlier teams (the shot, the fumble, the drive, 11th inning of game seven of the World Series) because this years success was somewhat unexpected. LeBron is still so young and already in the Finals with an extremely young and inexperienced team. Am I dissappointed by our 0-3 start against the veteran performance by the San Antonio Spurs? Sure.

However, what I do know is that the Cleveland Cavs time is just beginning and things are looking good.

Go Cavs!!