Close-Hauled

This is who we are

This is what we've got

No it's not our paradise

But it's all we want

And it's all that we're fighting for

Just as girls complain about the boys not reading their OkCupid profile, so I am frustrated by the craigslist programmers who did not actually read my post for a part time android contractor.  I'd be happy to expound on the details, but lets keep this classy.  So I guess its a "numbers game" for them.  Bitches.

I missed another great halloween opportunity.  The thursday that was the night before halloween I was out searching for a new home bar to replace Front Towards Enemy, and ended up drinking way too much at a place that doesnt have Captain.  The next day, Friday, Halloween, was the day I should have been out sitting around in various bars in my Waldo Costume systematically meeting all of the silly people who love to scream "I found you!"  But I didn't do that.  I spent all day hung over and staying late at work wondering why the test software was crashing on the amazon kindle hdx without a stack trace on the last day of the test pass.  Fuck amazon, and fuck their devices.  Then I came home by myself and nursed my hangover.  I had no food so I ended up going to rite aid after midnight where I bought a jar of pickles.  Eating all but two of them made the hangover go away.  Despite this setback, it has occurred to me that next year, despite being forced to adopt a different costume among my friends by the rules of social convention, there is nothing that prevents me from switching back to waldo and going out to a bunch of bars by myself.  I mean I'm totally not going to do that.  I'm just saying I could.

The next night:  Halloween party in Philly.  It was pretty awesome.  I had forgotten how easy and fun it can be to meet people in or around Philly.  In my opinion, the best conversations happen just as the party has reached its apex, when people start leaving and everyone is very tired, very drunk or very sober.  Thats when the conversation flows the easiest.

The Finnish metal band Nightwish is coming to NYC and to Philly in April.  Nightwish is difficult to talk about because I have to resist a strong urge to say "you probably haven't heard of them" -- which is true, but because they are a foreign band and not because they are some lame ass indie hipster band.  So while at the party I hunted down my one and only friend in the entire country that has heard of them.  I attempted to recruit her to attend the concert with me, though I think her enthusiasm was two parts politeness.  Who cares.  There's no reason I can't get stoned out of my mind and go to both concerts by myself.  Call it making up for lost time.

Tonight, I met some of the other residents on the unlit, unheated rooftop deck of our building.  Huddling in the suddenly chill weather that was colder than the wine in our glasses, we made brief introductions and traded notes on our brand new apartments.  For example I learned that the place where we dump our trash is "the creepy place."  I love it.  Then we went to an expensive ass bar, then five guys, and then another bar. It was a pretty bitching start to the new neighborhood.  I'm not sure I remember any of their names though.

Volleyball continues.  Salsa is in progress.