A bunch of old college friends have resurfaced in my life lately, which is beyond fantastic. More specifically, I suppose I should say that I've resurfaced. From the looks of things, quite a few of them have kept in touch through the years, and I'm the one who disappeared.
With a lot of these people, it's been (at least) a decade since our last conversations. I suppose I should offer up a quick recap of my life since we all went our separate ways. Here's the nickel tour:
After graduation in '96, I lived in Allston for a couple of years with three roommates. Eventually one went to flight school, one went to grad school, and I moved to Central Square in Cambridge with Dave Ethredge. After two years or so, Dave decided that he was ready for an adventure teaching English in Japan, so he moved out and I got a new roommate, who by coincidence also happened to be a BU graduate, and who also ended up being a terrific match for me. (I have no idea where she is now, but if Folanyah (Fulgham) Bradley eventually looks herself up on Google and finds this link, send me an e-mail!)
In the fall of 2000, the alleged "election" of George W. Bush ... on second thought, nope. I don't want to ruin what should be a fun journal entry. Sorry about that. (OBAMA '08!)
In October 2001, being a giant nerd paid off. Remember how I kept pressing people to watch the Evil Dead movies? Remember how much I told people that Bruce Campbell was a great actor, and that people who didn't know who he was were missing out? Well, in support of his autobiography (If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor), my man Bruce appeared at a book signing in Harvard Square. For once in my life, my timing was perfect, as I got in line next to this cute girl named Nicole, who I befriended and eventually married. Go figure. This kind of thing usually happens in books and movies, I think, but it actually happened in real life. To me. And if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.
It was also at about this point that I became really good friends with a bunch of guys who also happened to be my favorite band, an indie out of Boston who deserved to be a lot more famous and successful than they were - The Sheila Divine. I'm now the webmaster for their unofficial official website, The Sheila Divine Archive. They've since disbanded, but I'm trying to keep the flame alive, at least a little bit.
In the fall of 2003, Nicole got a job in Portland, Oregon. I followed.
In the fall of 2004, the Red Sox won the World Series. This was an extremely important time in my life and, in fact, the lives of all true Americans.
While in Portland, my good friend Bryan got me a part-time free-lance gig writing portions of THQ's "Smackdown vs. Raw 2008" video game. The coolest job I ever had, and the highlight of my otherwise unremarkable, underwhelming professional life. Not that I had bad jobs by a longshot, but I'm guessing compared to what most of you have done in the last ten years ... I just doubt it's very exciting. My time (and money) at BU clearly were not well spent. But I digress.
Nicole and I were married at the Worcester Art Museum in central Massachusetts on September 23, 2006. We have no children.
In the fall of 2007, Nicole got a great position as a product developer/food scientist with Kraft foods ... in Morristown, New Jersey. Me? Currently I'm mooching off of Nicole's good nature, playing a lot of Halo 3, searching for a job that pays well and won't bore me to tears.
I'm used to living in the city. Boston, Portland. Everything within walking distance, tons of amazing things to do on a whim. No offense is intended to Morristown, of course, but it's the 'burbs. I'm not used to life in the suburbs, where you need a car to do pretty much anything.
The point being, I really miss Portland. For that matter, I still miss Boston (just not the cost of living there).
On the plus side, we adopted a seven-year-old half-Husky/half-something-else named Joey from a rescue shelter. He's such a really gentle and loving guy, and we're so happy to share our apartment with him.
Nicole and I look forward to moving back to the Pacific Northwest eventually, a few years down the line. That's the plan as of right now, at least, but certainly that's subject to change.
Then, in the last couple of weeks, I joined Facebook and here we are again, reconnecting after what's been far, far too long. I've missed you guys. I hope life's been kind to you, and I look forward to hearing about what you've been up to all this time, if you care to share.
With a lot of these people, it's been (at least) a decade since our last conversations. I suppose I should offer up a quick recap of my life since we all went our separate ways. Here's the nickel tour:
After graduation in '96, I lived in Allston for a couple of years with three roommates. Eventually one went to flight school, one went to grad school, and I moved to Central Square in Cambridge with Dave Ethredge. After two years or so, Dave decided that he was ready for an adventure teaching English in Japan, so he moved out and I got a new roommate, who by coincidence also happened to be a BU graduate, and who also ended up being a terrific match for me. (I have no idea where she is now, but if Folanyah (Fulgham) Bradley eventually looks herself up on Google and finds this link, send me an e-mail!)
In the fall of 2000, the alleged "election" of George W. Bush ... on second thought, nope. I don't want to ruin what should be a fun journal entry. Sorry about that. (OBAMA '08!)
In October 2001, being a giant nerd paid off. Remember how I kept pressing people to watch the Evil Dead movies? Remember how much I told people that Bruce Campbell was a great actor, and that people who didn't know who he was were missing out? Well, in support of his autobiography (If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor), my man Bruce appeared at a book signing in Harvard Square. For once in my life, my timing was perfect, as I got in line next to this cute girl named Nicole, who I befriended and eventually married. Go figure. This kind of thing usually happens in books and movies, I think, but it actually happened in real life. To me. And if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.
It was also at about this point that I became really good friends with a bunch of guys who also happened to be my favorite band, an indie out of Boston who deserved to be a lot more famous and successful than they were - The Sheila Divine. I'm now the webmaster for their unofficial official website, The Sheila Divine Archive. They've since disbanded, but I'm trying to keep the flame alive, at least a little bit.
In the fall of 2003, Nicole got a job in Portland, Oregon. I followed.
In the fall of 2004, the Red Sox won the World Series. This was an extremely important time in my life and, in fact, the lives of all true Americans.
While in Portland, my good friend Bryan got me a part-time free-lance gig writing portions of THQ's "Smackdown vs. Raw 2008" video game. The coolest job I ever had, and the highlight of my otherwise unremarkable, underwhelming professional life. Not that I had bad jobs by a longshot, but I'm guessing compared to what most of you have done in the last ten years ... I just doubt it's very exciting. My time (and money) at BU clearly were not well spent. But I digress.
Nicole and I were married at the Worcester Art Museum in central Massachusetts on September 23, 2006. We have no children.
In the fall of 2007, Nicole got a great position as a product developer/food scientist with Kraft foods ... in Morristown, New Jersey. Me? Currently I'm mooching off of Nicole's good nature, playing a lot of Halo 3, searching for a job that pays well and won't bore me to tears.
I'm used to living in the city. Boston, Portland. Everything within walking distance, tons of amazing things to do on a whim. No offense is intended to Morristown, of course, but it's the 'burbs. I'm not used to life in the suburbs, where you need a car to do pretty much anything.
The point being, I really miss Portland. For that matter, I still miss Boston (just not the cost of living there).
On the plus side, we adopted a seven-year-old half-Husky/half-something-else named Joey from a rescue shelter. He's such a really gentle and loving guy, and we're so happy to share our apartment with him.
Nicole and I look forward to moving back to the Pacific Northwest eventually, a few years down the line. That's the plan as of right now, at least, but certainly that's subject to change.
Then, in the last couple of weeks, I joined Facebook and here we are again, reconnecting after what's been far, far too long. I've missed you guys. I hope life's been kind to you, and I look forward to hearing about what you've been up to all this time, if you care to share.
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