Look What I Found

I never thought I would be writing in a blog again but here I am, opening up a new one after a year away from the online bitchfest that is blogging. I was looking through my old blogs out of curiosity and found that the tone I was presenting was not what I had originally intended. I was vague, very moody and I just couldn't stop bitching about things that couldn't have possibly been important. I found that my second, private blog was a little better put together and had a tone that I really enjoyed.

It was only when I had to try and convey a thought using song lyrics and vague language in my public blog that things got a little cliched and ridiculous. I look back and just kind of cringe at what I was trying to do, like watching a home video of yourself pretending to be a ninja at your 5th birthday party. You had the ninja clothing, the fake katanas and throwing stars but your little high pitched "YEEEAAAHHHHH's" and jerking arm movements weren't going to fool anyone. I was going for something which I assumed was serious but was really immature and kind of desperate. I might as well have been posting "LOOK AT ME, I HAVE FEELINGS" over and over for 2 years.

Still, I do not regret writing in the blog. It was a good way to release stress and try to vent my frustrations. It is unfortunate that my posts were almost always downers, as I felt no need to write about good things in my life. For a time in my life I really believed that expression meant being heartbroken and dejected, that art could really only be expressed in pain. I found that I was wrong, reeeeeal fucking wrong. I do not regret the things I wrote, only that they told half the story and that I can't recall so many good things that occured during that time period.

So that is why I am here, I am going to give this the old college try once again. I may not post all the time but if I have a free moment I will try to keep you guys updated on my life. Plus writing here gives me a narcassitic pleasure that all bloggers feel when people read about their lives, which is a nice bonus! (Please don't take that last statement seriously, I am an asshole but not an arrogant one).

Now that I have that out of the way let's catch up a bit:

I now live in an apartment with one Erica Sibley, who was away in Europe this past school year. She came back a little more British but otherwise still resembles Jordan from the TV show Scrubs...and I mean that in a good way. So far we haven't killed each other or eaten too much food that the other bought, which is fantastic. I kind of like our little apartment in Lawrenceville, it is safe and close to TCNJ plus it has a pool and tennis courts. This is especially good because I never play tennis and rarely swim, so I can do both in front of my neighbors as they point and laugh. Embarassment starts out incredibly bad but in time your most embarassing moments become your best stories, so I welcome them every so often.

I also finished up an internship at MSG Network which was one of the best experiences in my life. The things I saw and were able to take part in make me proud of my time there and because I am sure most of you have heard my MSG stories before I will do a condensed verion. I got to see Ranger games, work with producers, produce a segment, do graphics, travel around NYC, got on TV a few times, hung out in the locker rooms and of course got a toasted everything bagel with turkey bacon, one slice of cheddar cheese and 2 eggs for producer Paula McHale almost every gameday. I loved Paula, so I didn't mind. Oh, and Henrik Lundqvist smacked me in the face with his sweaty ass jersey after my first Rangers game...it wasn't as cool as you would think.

I now work as a research assistant at TCNJ, working with two highly regarded professors on a new methodology in studying African Newspaper Coverage of AIDS in Africa using the Community Structure Approach. This project is also known as "I wish I knew what these two genuises were talking about, I guess I will just read articles and hope for the best." Honestly though, I get most of what they are saying but the new methodology needs to have the kinks worked out. As of now we are kind of blindly reaching around trying to grasp at a concept that is very large and complicated. When we get it down though it should be an amazing new way to study newspaper coverage and will hopefully open up a totally new hybrid styling of research. Oh, if you were wondering about the name of my blog it comes from one of the professors I am working with who refers to his students as "Communication Commandos". That was the best I could come up with but I think it will do for now.

I also work at Hallmark...I'll talk about that a lot later. Retail is a beast and hell hath no fury like an 80 year old woman scorned by the wrong envelope for her greeting card. I also work with an ageless 88 year old woman named Dori who acts and seems younger than most people my age, I mean it when I say she is an inspiration. That and she has a wicked sense of humor that juxtaposes her small and frail frame, it creates amazing comedic moments.

I think that is about enough for now as far as the blog goes but I hope to be back sometime soon with some new stories and maybe even a few thoughts on general topics. Have a good one folks.