Special Thanks

Special Thanks:

This weekend was amazing. In honor of my 28th b-day, PK, Pipes, Juice, Harnett, Desma and Katie threw me a birthday bash at the penthouse. It was a solid roster and I think we had about 80 people there at one point, but it was a nice and kind gesture nonetheless.

The Big Two-Eight:

The Big Two-Eight:

So, tomorrow is the 28th anniversary of my birth. Yes, 28 years ago, my dear mother suffered through hours upon hours of labor to unleash me on the world. Major props to Ann Marie for going through labor and putting up with me for these 28 years.

Tomorrow evening as well, PK, Harnett, Juice, Pipes, Desma and Katie are throwing me a birthday bash at the Penthouse on the UES. If you have no plans, and you feel like giving me either:

1. Money
   
2. Props
   
3. A slap on the ass
   
4. All of the above
   

…then feel free to stop by. It should be a great night.

Other than that, I got a long lost email from a great friend of mine, Jason Berger. Jason and I were great friends our freshman year at Syracuse, and after he left that year, we still managed to keep in touch to some capacity. It’s always great hearing from him. He truly is a kind soul and great man, someone who I knew, despite only hanging out with him for one year in college, would be someone who I could always draw inspiration from. Every time I ‘d try to google him or look for some old email, I’d always turn a dead end. But somehow, he always found me. It’s funny because a few nights ago, I thought long and hard about how it’s been 10 years since my parents dropped me off on the Hill as a scared freshman, and I’m honestly happy to look back and see where I am now. But I thought a lot about freshman year, and how different my life would have been, for better or worse, if Jason and Ryan stayed at Syracuse. The three of us were inseparable then, because we had so much in common, but after that year, parted ways. I can’t say I regret the way college turned out, mostly because of all the amazing people that came in my life after that, but I’m certainly curious of what could have been, and if I would be happier. But hearing from Berger makes me realize that I can have the best of both worlds…

updates!

Finally, an update!!!!:
Okay, enough of the constant emails and phone calls about the updates! So here it is:

• I now play in a softball league with the sister of a famous Yankee who’s still on the team and quite a predominant figure in NYC.
  
• She date’s DJ Premier, whom PK and I actually had the honor of having dinner with two weeks ago after a game. Honestly, Premo, in my opinion, is one of the greatest producers the ever hit the hip-hop scene. With every Gang Starr album under his belt, on top of Nas’s Illmatic and Biggie’s Ready To Die as well, he’s basically what Rudy Van Gelder was to jazz, as he is to hip-hop. And he’s so cool and laid back it’s not even funny. We basically sat around and just talked about sports the whole time.
  
• Also, the Lizards, which is our NYC team, is now 3-0, which in the 2 years and 4 season I’ve played with them has never been accomplished.
  
• Work is going great. The change of commute from White Plains to Rye has helped tremendously, and I now have a great Director who I report to who’s made my job a lot more exciting and challenging.
  
• PK, Harnett, Juice and Pipes are pretty much settled into their 4 man penthouse on then Upper East Side. This place is sick. Not only is their living room the size of my place, but they have three terraces, and two are bigger than my apartment. Bobby C. and I are officially jealous, since we pay the same rent and have apartments about an 1/8th of the size.
  
• Next week (Friday, May 13th) I officially turn 28. Honestly, at this point, it’s not even an issue. I’ve overcome the whole “it’s all downhill from here” thing about 2 years ago. Early shout outs to Stevie Wonder, Bee Arthur, Harvey Kietel and Samantha Morton who are blessed enough to share the same birthday as me.
  
• We officially booked our tickets for California. For those who don’t know, Paul, Buchalter and myself are going on a 12 day baseball extravaganza from San Fran to San Diego at the end of next month. We plan on hitting up every baseball stadium that Cali has to offer, as well as making stops to various poker clubs and casinos, Tijuana, Melanie Grodanz, and what ever else floats our boat. We debated about a cruise or vacation in the Caribbean, but driving from San Fran to San Diego with good tunes, great company and a ton of baseball was too good to pass up.
  
• The Life Aquatic comes out next week, and it’s instantly been named to the Criterion Collection. A must see…
  

Okay, can you guys leave me alone now?