In the Bible, after Adam & Eve are banished from Eden and Cain kills Abel, Cain then goes off into the wilderness to find himself a wife. Since it doesn't say anything about any other offspring of Adam & Eve's, God must've been busy in the meantime creating some new humans to populate the Earth as well. So I guess we're not all descendants from Adam & Eve according to the creation theory, though I don't think the creationists haven't picked up on this yet.

In the Bible, after Adam & Eve are banished from Eden and Cain kills Abel, Cain then goes off into the wilderness to find himself a wife. Since it doesn't say anything about any other offspring of Adam & Eve's, God must've been busy in the meantime creating some new humans to populate the Earth as well. So I guess we're not all descendants from Adam & Eve according to the creation theory, though I don't think the creationists haven't picked up on this yet.

Thanks to Roland, who kicks ass because he sent me Crazy Taxi 2 from my Amazon wishlist! I really wasn't expecting anything at all, so it was a very pleasant surprise to get an early birthday present (my b'day is December 21, so I've still got another 3 1/2 weeks to go). Thanks, man!

Thanks to Roland, who kicks ass because he sent me Crazy Taxi 2 from my Amazon wishlist! I really wasn't expecting anything at all, so it was a very pleasant surprise to get an early birthday present (my b'day is December 21, so I've still got another 3 1/2 weeks to go). Thanks, man!

I have incredible karma for running into people that I haven't seen in a while. Unfortunately, sometimes it tends to be people I really don't want to see.

While strolling down Harvard Avenue today, I had the misfortune to run into someone I used to sing with in college. Now, I got along with almost every single guy in the group -- except this one. He completely jumped up & down repeatedly on my last exposed nerve, both personally & "professionally." For example, I had established the role of Off-Campus Business Manager, then the following year, I took over the vice-presidency. When the person who succeeded me as Off-Campus Business Manager abruptly left the group, this guy stepped in, and despite my offers to help him figure out how to fulfill the position and almost everyone telling him to ask me for help, he kept telling me to back off since it was his post now -- and fumbled it so badly that for our final concert of the year, we had to ask one of the other on-campus groups to perform with us -- something that we'd never had to do before. He also kept trying to boss everyone around and give instructions on how things should sound, which was amusing to some and annoying to others since this was his first year ever singing a cappella and he'd never even heard any groups or concerts while the rest of us had at least a couple of years' experience on him.

Personally, I knew he had always liked one of the women I dated, but he completely went beyond the bounds of respecting his fellow man. On the night of my 6 month anniversary with my girlfriend-at-the-time (which he knew about, because at the party my group had that night, I had asked a favor and we serenaded her with "In the Still of the Night" while I presented her with silver earrings), he went up to her and told her -- right in front of me too, by the way! -- that he always had and still does wonder what might've happened between the two of them and then he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. I found out that two weeks or so after we broke up, he asked her out. Now, I'm pissed at the both of them for that -- him for asking so soon and her for accepting, especially since we'd dated for almost 2 years. There's a certain amount of respect in waiting a little bit, so as not to make the other person like they meant nothing.

I've always been civil with him when we're around mutual friends -- like when we see each other when all the alumni get together for our group's concerts -- despite the fact that some of the other alumni think he's as plastic as I do. Either way, when I saw him walking down Harvard Avenue towards me, I had already been deep in thought contemplating the situation at hand, but I put that blank look on my face like "I'm completely running on autopilot and buried in thought and the music I'm listening to on my headphones." He's naturally soft-spoken anyways so it was easy to pretend I didn't hear him say hi over the music blasting into my ears, and I had been focusing on a point much farther down the street so it was easy to pretend I didn't see him either.

The question is, if I didn't want to talk to him, why do I feel guilty about ignoring him?

I have incredible karma for running into people that I haven't seen in a while. Unfortunately, sometimes it tends to be people I really don't want to see.

While strolling down Harvard Avenue today, I had the misfortune to run into someone I used to sing with in college. Now, I got along with almost every single guy in the group -- except this one. He completely jumped up & down repeatedly on my last exposed nerve, both personally & "professionally." For example, I had established the role of Off-Campus Business Manager, then the following year, I took over the vice-presidency. When the person who succeeded me as Off-Campus Business Manager abruptly left the group, this guy stepped in, and despite my offers to help him figure out how to fulfill the position and almost everyone telling him to ask me for help, he kept telling me to back off since it was his post now -- and fumbled it so badly that for our final concert of the year, we had to ask one of the other on-campus groups to perform with us -- something that we'd never had to do before. He also kept trying to boss everyone around and give instructions on how things should sound, which was amusing to some and annoying to others since this was his first year ever singing a cappella and he'd never even heard any groups or concerts while the rest of us had at least a couple of years' experience on him.

Personally, I knew he had always liked one of the women I dated, but he completely went beyond the bounds of respecting his fellow man. On the night of my 6 month anniversary with my girlfriend-at-the-time (which he knew about, because at the party my group had that night, I had asked a favor and we serenaded her with "In the Still of the Night" while I presented her with silver earrings), he went up to her and told her -- right in front of me too, by the way! -- that he always had and still does wonder what might've happened between the two of them and then he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. I found out that two weeks or so after we broke up, he asked her out. Now, I'm pissed at the both of them for that -- him for asking so soon and her for accepting, especially since we'd dated for almost 2 years. There's a certain amount of respect in waiting a little bit, so as not to make the other person like they meant nothing.

I've always been civil with him when we're around mutual friends -- like when we see each other when all the alumni get together for our group's concerts -- despite the fact that some of the other alumni think he's as plastic as I do. Either way, when I saw him walking down Harvard Avenue towards me, I had already been deep in thought contemplating the situation at hand, but I put that blank look on my face like "I'm completely running on autopilot and buried in thought and the music I'm listening to on my headphones." He's naturally soft-spoken anyways so it was easy to pretend I didn't hear him say hi over the music blasting into my ears, and I had been focusing on a point much farther down the street so it was easy to pretend I didn't see him either.

The question is, if I didn't want to talk to him, why do I feel guilty about ignoring him?

So. For all the lunacy I've been posting about not being afraid to fly, it's time to put my money where my mouth is.

I returned home last night to find a notice from the City of Los Angeles. They're giving a test for a position I applied for a few months back, and they're cordially requesting my presence. Nice of them to send me this note so far in advance, since the test takes place on Saturday, December 1. Yeah, that's this coming Saturday.

So I'm going to see if there's a way I can take the test here without having to wing all the way across the country for a weekend, though I seriously doubt they'll let me. So Friday morning, I'll probably be boarding an American Airlines Boston-to-L.A. flight (which, if I'm to put my faith in American after 9/11, is definitely putting them to the test). The only kicker of the whole deal is that I'll probably get hit with the absurd under-25 charge for renting a car, though I'm turning 25 3 weeks to the day from this Friday.

So. For all the lunacy I've been posting about not being afraid to fly, it's time to put my money where my mouth is.

I returned home last night to find a notice from the City of Los Angeles. They're giving a test for a position I applied for a few months back, and they're cordially requesting my presence. Nice of them to send me this note so far in advance, since the test takes place on Saturday, December 1. Yeah, that's this coming Saturday.

So I'm going to see if there's a way I can take the test here without having to wing all the way across the country for a weekend, though I seriously doubt they'll let me. So Friday morning, I'll probably be boarding an American Airlines Boston-to-L.A. flight (which, if I'm to put my faith in American after 9/11, is definitely putting them to the test). The only kicker of the whole deal is that I'll probably get hit with the absurd under-25 charge for renting a car, though I'm turning 25 3 weeks to the day from this Friday.

It's one of those stupid parent quirks that I noticed when I overheard parents giving their child a good talking-to over dinner at a restaurant we went to. Why on Earth, when parents are arguing with their little children and trying to get them to admit to some kind of wrongdoing, do they start sentences with "this is your mother" or "this is your father"? Of course the kids know it's their mother or father, did the parent feel the need to introduce themselves again in case the kid had forgotten who they were or had thought maybe their parent had been abducted by aliens and replaced with android replicas?

It's one of those stupid parent quirks that I noticed when I overheard parents giving their child a good talking-to over dinner at a restaurant we went to. Why on Earth, when parents are arguing with their little children and trying to get them to admit to some kind of wrongdoing, do they start sentences with "this is your mother" or "this is your father"? Of course the kids know it's their mother or father, did the parent feel the need to introduce themselves again in case the kid had forgotten who they were or had thought maybe their parent had been abducted by aliens and replaced with android replicas?

An article on the front page of today's Boston Globe again highlights how people are attempting to "protect" themselves from terrorism by going out and purchasing handguns. According to Gun Owners' Action League, demand for classes in handgun instruction have increased tenfold over the past two months.

Again, I'm not clear on why people think that having a gun is going to protect them (or even a "gnu," as I originally mistyped it -- we all know that no gnus is good gnus). As Jude Pearson, executive director of Stop Handgun Violence, said, "Protecting yourself with a gun will not help you against bioterrorism and terrorists, who don't come up and ID themselves and say, 'It's me.'" What are you honestly going to do, see a plane hurtling towards a nearby building, pull your trusty .45 out and attempt to blow up the plane in mid-air by hitting the fuel tanks? Oh, right -- this is another by-product of our government asking Hollywood movie directors to come up with "plausible" terrorism scenarios.

As I've said before, it's easier to get a license to buy a gun than it is to get one to drive a car. Yet cars are just bigger killing machines, so how come we're so protective of giving people the privilege of being able to drive one? If I run you over with my car or I shoot you with my gun, you're still going to be dead. However, the chances of a gun accidentally going off, or someone being paranoid and thinking there's a burglar in the house and shooting him only to find it was their kid up in the middle of the night getting something to drink are much greater than if you don't have a gun in the house. I mean, honestly people -- what do you need it for? Terrorists aren't going door-to-door, hijacking your furniture and holding you hostage. Would you really feel safer in the canned foods aisle of your supermarket in case a terrorist suddenly jumped over the counter in the bakery, took the head baker hostage and started making demands?

Get real. The last thing we need are ten thousand Dirty Harrys running around this country, all thinking they're going to pull some vigilante crap and save the day. Chances are, they'll probably wind up shooting some innocent bystander by accident instead. Yes, there's "bad people in the world." But do you really think some bin Laden disciple is going to come knocking on your front door? You stand a much better chance of being harassed by a Jehovah's Witness.

An article on the front page of today's Boston Globe again highlights how people are attempting to "protect" themselves from terrorism by going out and purchasing handguns. According to Gun Owners' Action League, demand for classes in handgun instruction have increased tenfold over the past two months.

Again, I'm not clear on why people think that having a gun is going to protect them (or even a "gnu," as I originally mistyped it -- we all know that no gnus is good gnus). As Jude Pearson, executive director of Stop Handgun Violence, said, "Protecting yourself with a gun will not help you against bioterrorism and terrorists, who don't come up and ID themselves and say, 'It's me.'" What are you honestly going to do, see a plane hurtling towards a nearby building, pull your trusty .45 out and attempt to blow up the plane in mid-air by hitting the fuel tanks? Oh, right -- this is another by-product of our government asking Hollywood movie directors to come up with "plausible" terrorism scenarios.

As I've said before, it's easier to get a license to buy a gun than it is to get one to drive a car. Yet cars are just bigger killing machines, so how come we're so protective of giving people the privilege of being able to drive one? If I run you over with my car or I shoot you with my gun, you're still going to be dead. However, the chances of a gun accidentally going off, or someone being paranoid and thinking there's a burglar in the house and shooting him only to find it was their kid up in the middle of the night getting something to drink are much greater than if you don't have a gun in the house. I mean, honestly people -- what do you need it for? Terrorists aren't going door-to-door, hijacking your furniture and holding you hostage. Would you really feel safer in the canned foods aisle of your supermarket in case a terrorist suddenly jumped over the counter in the bakery, took the head baker hostage and started making demands?

Get real. The last thing we need are ten thousand Dirty Harrys running around this country, all thinking they're going to pull some vigilante crap and save the day. Chances are, they'll probably wind up shooting some innocent bystander by accident instead. Yes, there's "bad people in the world." But do you really think some bin Laden disciple is going to come knocking on your front door? You stand a much better chance of being harassed by a Jehovah's Witness.

I can tell that the holiday season is already in force by the amount of people who put up their holiday decorations today. So far, the Best Decoration Award goes to the family living on Route 1 in Waterford, Connecticut, who decorated their lawn with lit-up reindeer pulling a light-strung Volkswagen Beetle (the old kind, not the new kind).

In other news, attempts to get tickets to Jon Stewart's show next Friday night at Foxwoods have met with failure. Had I known he'd be here, I would've gotten tickets months ago. In other other news, I found out that Billy Gilman, Boy Wonder of the Pop Charts, used to live in Rhode Island and used to a patient of my dad's. Suffice to say that I won't be trying to get tickets to one of his shows, though.

I can tell that the holiday season is already in force by the amount of people who put up their holiday decorations today. So far, the Best Decoration Award goes to the family living on Route 1 in Waterford, Connecticut, who decorated their lawn with lit-up reindeer pulling a light-strung Volkswagen Beetle (the old kind, not the new kind).

In other news, attempts to get tickets to Jon Stewart's show next Friday night at Foxwoods have met with failure. Had I known he'd be here, I would've gotten tickets months ago. In other other news, I found out that Billy Gilman, Boy Wonder of the Pop Charts, used to live in Rhode Island and used to a patient of my dad's. Suffice to say that I won't be trying to get tickets to one of his shows, though.

But the grass is always greener on the other side
Neighbor's got a new car that you wanna drive
But your time is runnin' out
You wanna stay alive
We all live under the same sky
We all will live, we all will die
There is no wrong, there is no right
The circle only has one side...
-- Travis, "Side"