Welcome to Nats Town!

Being the American I am, I love baseball! I love playing it and watching it, especially live at a ball park. As a Boston Red Sox fan, Fenway Park holds a special place in my heart. However, I enjoy spending time at any ball park watching a ball game. That is why I couldn't pass up the $9 Washington Nationals tickets advertised by Groupon (http://www.groupon.com/).

I bought two tickets (one for me and one for Danielle) for the Nats/Astros game on September 11th (Yes, it's how I started my day on 9/11. The visit to the Pentagon Memorial was later in the day). Danielle and I had never gone to a pro baseball game together. We've been to a couple of minor league games together but that's all. We were both very excited to go.

We went to the store before the game and bought some Nats gear because we didn't want to stick out like sore thumbs at Nationals Park in our Red Sox gear especially since the Red Sox weren't playing. I got a hat and a shirt and Danielle got a shirt.

We decided that taking the metro in would be a better idea than paying to park at the ball park for $20+. We have pretty much become metro pros. I'm proud of us haha. We got to the park about 20 minutes before the National Anthem and the 9/11 Remembrance ceremonies.

There were four mascots on the inside of the gate. They were the four Mount Rushmore presidents sporting Nats jerseys. Their jersey numbers reflected the order in which they served as president. George Washington was #1, Thomas Jefferson was #3, Abraham Lincoln was #16, and Theodore Roosevelt was #26.

There were people everywhere which I didn't expect because I didn't get the impression that the Nats were very popular. I guess I thought wrong. There are plenty of diehard Nats fans here in the DC area. I also assumed they weren't very popular because the team just came back to the DC area from Montreal.

There were vendors everywhere selling all sorts of Nats paraphernalia and food. There were also people from the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial passing out information about the memorial which is part of what lead us to the memorial after the game. We took the long way to our seats. In stead of taking the crowded, jam packed escalators, we walked up what seemed like miles of ramps until we finally got to the level our seats were on.

Our seats were way up in the nosebleed section but we had an awesome view of the game and the park. We sat next to this middle-aged couple who was throwing their peanut shells everywhere. Apparently, my feet and the area surrounding them were fair game for empty peanut shells. There was also a couple that showed up in the row in front of us during the 4th inning with there two young children; a daughter and a younger son. The mother was Asian and the father was White and their kids were adorable.

(For the record, that is not my leg/foot/ugly sneaker in the top left corner of this picture. It is the leg/foot/ugly sneaker of the man who was throwing his peanut shells on the ground. My thigh is in the bottom right hand corner of this picture. I kept myself as far away as possible from the shell thrower.)

However, the son couldn't have cared less about being at that game. He was probably only 3 or 4 years old. The mother was determined to take a series of cute pictures with her family as a group and then individually; something that only she was interested. The daughter clearly was humoring her mother and willingly participating whiel the son blatently protested.

The mother complained the whole game about how the son wasn't paying attention to the game. The daughter sucked all the syrup out of her snow cone before the ice had a chance to melt and complained about having a stomach ache. All the father wanted to do was watch the game which was difficult because his wife was complaining and demanding that he crack a smile for her little iPhone camera, his daughter was whining about a tummy ache, and his son kept shouting "are we going home yet?!" and "can we go home now?!"

That family didn't last past the 6th inning and they had only gotten there during the 4th. I'm thinking maybe the father was the reason they all went to the ball park. At one point when the mother brought her daughter to the bathroom, the father during around and asked Danielle and me how long Strausberg played and why they took him out. We answered his question and we started a little conversation until he noticed his wife heading back to her seat. That poor man. I digress. Back to the game.

The National Anthem was performed by a military band whose official title has slipped my mind completely. Throughout the game there were a ton of 9/11 commemorative events. From the first pitch to the 7th inning stretch, those serving in our nation's military were honored by the Washington Nationals, local businesses, and the First Lady of the United States of America, Mrs. Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama was physically pressent at the ball park. She was present via a pre-recorded video that I'm sure played at all ball parks across the country that day.

The Nats were taking on the Houston Astros. Not having a personal affinity to either team, I felt weird being there at first; but not out of place because I had my Nats gear on. I did, however, feel like I was betraying my beloved Red Sox by wearing Nats gear and cheering them on. I got over it. Why? Because baseball is baseball. I love baseball and there's no crime in that. Besides, what fun is there in watching a game without picking a team to root for?

As I watching the game and noticed myself getting into it - yelling things from my seat, cheering when a good play was made - the love I had for baseball as a kid suddenly felt real again. I was loving every minute of being at the ball park. The game going on below, the adoring fans, the little park activities for the kids, the beautiful weather, the concession stand food, and the genuine happiness of the people around me simply enjoying a game of baseball.

I was happy to see that Danielle was enjoying herself as well. Not only did we both enjoy ourselves but the Nats won, too! Also, because the Nats scored more than 6 points during the game, Hard Times Cafe was offering a free order of wings to anyone who brought in their ticket stubs. Danielle and I knew what we were doing that week.

Nationals Park was beautiful. I recommend, if you're a baseball fan at all and are in the DC area during baseball season, that you try to attend a Nats game. It is sure to be a good time. Since I am usually giving tips about surviving post graduation, I'll give a few based on my time at the Nats game that apply to post grad life.

1. Enjoy yourself

I've definitely highlighted this tip before. You are still young and have so much to experience. Go experience it!

2. Bargain Hunt

If I haven't told you already, my motto is: "If it's free, it's for me!" The caveat to that motto in the event that there is a price is: "If it's cheaper, it's a keeper!" I got my tickets from groupon.com. I have joined sights like Groupon, Living Social (livingsocial.com), and Home Run (homerun.com) to get deal on fun and exciting things to do in my area. They offer discounts and special deals on everything from restaurants, museums, and night life to outdoor activites, fitness classes, and, of course, sporting events. I am not being paid to plug these sites, I promise. It's free to join and beneficial for your wallet and peace of mind. You know, the pieces that worry about money and having something fun to do. You like that play on words, don't you? ;)

3. Use public transportation

You'll save money on gas and your won't have to worry about finding parking.

And that's the game!

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

Commemorating 9/11

10 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it still is hard to believe it occurred. Americans from coast to coast stood together as a united front against terrorism in honor of the victims of this terrible tragedy. Where Americans stand on the War on Terror is another story but, one thing is for sure, Americans will never forget 9/11.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2011, I was in the 8th grade. I, unlike many people, had no idea that this tragedy occurred. I went the entire school day without knowing. After taking the public city bus home from school, I still had heard nothing. I finally learned of the attack after 3pm when I got home from school. I remember walking into the house and my grandfather asked me if I heard what happened. I told him that I hadn't and he told me, "We were attacked!" I 100% thought he had lost it. I asked him for some clarification as I didn't understand what he was talking about. That's when he explained the events of that morning and told me to watch the TV because they've been covering the attack all day. I could not believe that this could happen in the United States of America but it had unfortunately.

At the time, I was a young teenager in Massachusetts. As hurt as I was and as sorry as I felt for the victims and their families, I still felt so disconnected from the tragedy. I didn't live near the areas that were attacked. In fact, I had never even been past western Connecticut in my entire life time at that point. Now that I live here in the Washington, DC Metro Area only minutes away from the Pentagon and a variety of other government buildings and historical American landmarks, I feel much more connected to the grief and horror felt by Americans in regard to the 9/11 attacks.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Danielle and I decided to visit the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. I had never been to the memorial before. I had heard about it, obviously, but still had never visited. On Sunday, September 11, 2011, the memorial was closed to the public from 5am to 5pm for a private memorial ceremony for the victims' families and politicians, including President and Mrs. Obama.

We showed up at the memorial just after 5:30pm. There were still a lot of people coming and going as I expected there'd be. The flag at the entrance was flying at half mast. Also, at the entrance, the wreath that President Obama laid at the site earlier that day was still there. On the ground behind the wreath, it read "September 11, 2011 9:37am" which is the date and time of the attack.

There were people everywhere taking a bunch of pictures. I was one of those people. There was a woman explaining the design of the memorial which was helpful because I really knew nothing about it.

I learned that the way the bench like structures were facing reflected whether the victim was in the building or in the airplane. Also, the structures were in rows according to each victim's year of the birth. The youngest victim was only 3 years old. The years ranged from 1930 to 1998. Under each structure there were little pools of water. At night, the memorial is lit up. I've heard that it is beautiful. I was there while the sun was still up so I didn't get to see it in the dark but I will definitely be back to see it all lit up.

As Danielle and I walked through the memorial and read the names of victims, we came across a bench that had red roses floating in the pool below. We saw another that someone had put red white and blue flowers on. Then, I witnessed the saddest part of the memorial. It wasn't part of the display, rather, it was witnessing grieving family members of the victims.

There were two sisters, who looked to be about the same age as me, at one of the bench like structures. One of the girls was sitting on the bench and looking up into the sky. The other girl was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed picking at the gravel. Both girls had tears running down there face from behind the sunglasses they were wearing. The direction in which the structure was facing, I could tell whomever they were mourning was in the building that day. I did not go over to the structure to read the name of the person as I did not want to be rude and interrupt them but I assume it was either their mother or their father.

Both of my parents are deceased but I could not imagine having loss either of them at the hands of this terrorist attack. I felt so sad watching them cry. I felt rude for staring but I couldn't help it. It is the first time I felt connected to this tragedy. As terrible as it sounds, I think I needed to become more real for me in order to feel a deeper connection to it.

For more information on The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, visit http://pentagonmemorial.org/ or http://www.whs.mil/memorial/

My heart goes out to those girls as well as the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and their family members.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

C'est la vie!

Greeting to the Classes of 2011 from colleges everywhere! Congratulations on making it through your first summer after graduation! Trust me, I understand how hard it must have been for a lot of you. I saw the tweets and the facebook status updates about how weird and sad it was that you weren't heading back to your res halls and campuses for another fun filled year living the college dream. I'm sure it was tough reading the tweets of the new seniors ready to make their last year count; especially when you're saying to yourself (and probably commenting on their status or replying to their tweets), "you better cherish these last few months," or "enjoy every minute of it," or "wah (Snooki voice)! I'm so jealous! I wish I were going back!"

Listen, it is ok. College was a blast but it's over now (at least undergrad anyway but graduate school is much different from undergrad). The "real world," as scary as it sounds and actually is, is not bad. As I've mentioned in a few, if not all, of my posts, you need to make some plans and you'll feel better. Waiting to make plans after college is already over is definitely a poor choice but if that is the only option you have at this point, don't give up. The economy is tough and jobs seem impossible to find but there is hope. You need to work hard to make productive steps in the right direction and it may seem like your hard work is not paying off but all the hard work will be worth it. Life is hard, everyone knows that. However, it is possible to be happy even if the life you have always dreamed of living never becomes a reality.

I realize this sounds very depressing but don't think of it that way. Think of it as a realization that the possibilities are truly endless. I'm not giving you false hope. I'm trying to motivate you to fulfill your potential. You can do it!

Here are some things to keep in mind during this first fall where you didn't have to buy school supplies or new school clothes (yes, some people still went school shopping for clothes in college but, no, I was not one of them):

1. C'est la vie!

Your life is not over. Make the best of these next few years. Having a job and making/saving money is much more fun than you may think. Besides, you had to become a real adult eventually.

 

Yes, I included this video. Don't act like you didn't think of this song when you read the words "C'est la vie" and that you didn't jam out to it at one point in your life. We all have. It's ok.

2. Business as usual

No, you're not in undergrad anymore but you don't have to become an elderly person overnight. You can still have fun. Sure, your friends aren't one apartment or res hall room away anymore but they're never too far away. This is a big step in life and a lot has changed but it doesn't have to change for the worse.

3. Be Responsible!

Sure, you can still have fun but you must be responsible. I'm not speaking specifically about responsible drinking (get your mind out of the college gutter). I'm speaking about the fact that you're a real life adult and you don't have the excuse of "going through your college phase." You are expected to have some sort of an honest income and to be working to establish a place for yourself in the world. Better yourself. To do that, you must take responsibility for your actions and hold yourself accountable. After all, you've been learning this responsibility lesson your whole life. Your parents and teachers have told you that this day would come and here it is. Make the most of it.

4. They're jealous, too!

You may be jealous of your friends and former classmates who are still cozy in the safety net that is college but they're jealous of you, too. Odds are you're making much more money than they are; considering work study isn't the most lucrative occupation. If you don't have a job yet, this clearly isn't the case for you. However, you'll find a job eventually and this will be the case for you.

Live your life to the fullest and remember that you're still hip and relevant.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

It's not "Good Bye," it's "See You Later"

A year ago today, I woke up and remembered I had just graduated from college the day before. Yesterday made one year since I graduated from Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. Not a day goes by that I don't remember my time at RWU, the good and the bad. I met some of my best friends at RWU and I miss them every single day. Being on your own is hard enough without struggling to maintain long distance relationships with your family and friends. Although it is not nearly the same as being together in person, programs like Skype™ and modern day technology such as cell phones, text message, video calls via cool smart phones make staying in touch that much easier and fun.

By the way, congratulations to the Class of 2011! For those of you who graduated/are graduating from high school, I have no advice for you. If you're going to college, congrats! If not, I hope you've got a job and/or some source of legitimate and legal income because the real world is not suited for the poor or the lazy. For those of you who graduated/are graduating from college, how are you feeling? I bet, right now, it's still so surreal. If it hasn't semi-hit you already, it will very soon. Personally, it didn't truly hit me until my younger friends were going back to school the following August. However, the grieving process is different for everyone.

There are a lot of graduates who panicked about five months ago as their second and last semester began because they had no solid plan for post-graduation. There are also a lot of graduates who had a plan for post-graduation but spent their last few weeks of school stressing about preparing for those plans. I fit in the latter category during my senior year. I had secured a job here in Virginia but then had the stressful business of apartment hunting and then moving eight to ten hours down the eastern seaboard. I moved just four days after graduation with little time to savior with my family and friends back at home. Overall, it was stressful and everything happened so fast but I don't regret it one bit.

For those of you still living in denial about the huge milestone you just made in your life, here are some tips for coping with the trauma.

1. Acceptance
• The first step to solving your problem is admitting you have one. In this case, the first step in coping with post-graduation trauma is staring it right in the eye and telling it who's boss. After all, sure you miss college, but this is what you've worked so hard for. You knew it would end eventually.
2. Keep yourself busy
• The summer time is a perfect distraction from the constant reminder of graduation. Spend it working/making money and relaxing on the beach or by the pool. Hang out with your friends from home and your friends from college that live close by. Having a job will certainly make you realize that you don't miss papers and pulling all-nighters.
3. Stay connected
• No matter where your paths may take you, you'll always be able to remain in contact with your friends. Being away from my best friends makes me appreciate them much more, which makes Skype™ dates and phone dates so much more fun. Utilize your love for social media, text messaging, and the World Wide Web to maintain your long distance relationships.

Again, being with your friends virtually is nothing compared to being with them physically but if they're your true friends, they'll never be too far away. You'll never lose contact with the ones that truly matter. It's like they say, "don't worry about the people from your past; there's a reason they didn't make it to your future."

Peace, love, and everything happens for a reason so embrace it.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

No Taxation Without Representation

We all know the famous saying from our American History classes. "No taxation without representation!" It is one of the grievances that the American colonists had with Great Britain in the mid-1700s regarding their rights, freedoms, and liberties as Brits; but most importantly, as human beings. After that, there was a Declaration of Independence, a Revolutionary War, an Articles of Confederation, and a Constitution + a Bill of Rights and the rest is history. Now, we have representation and we pay taxes; not only to our municipalities but also to our states and the federal government.

I have never paid much attention to where my taxes dollars were going. I simply knew that the government took money out of my checks and then I got some of it back at the end of the year. It is actually a pretty sweet deal in my opinion. It is almost like an inconspicuous savings account that really comes in handy when you need it. As an "adult," out of college and on my own, I have started to wonder more about my tax dollars. I have started asking myself questions like: What are they being spent on? Am I in favor of what they are being spent on? Am I electing representatives I can trust with my tax dollars?

As a college student, my equivalent was worrying about how my Student Activities Fee and Tuition money were being spent. That is all so trivial now. Taxes are the real deal. However, in college, I knew the people I was electing to the Student Senate personally, I attended the Student Senate meetings weekly, and I always made my opinion perfectly clear whether they liked it or not. I was hated for it sometimes but they wouldn't have named me an Honorary Senator if they hated me that much. I digress.

Living in the DC area has caused me to think much more about my tax dollars which I otherwise forget about. After the controversy surrounding the potential government shutdown, I definitely started paying more attention to my tax dollars. It was interesting to see what the Republicans wanted to cut from the budget versus what the Democrats wanted to cut from the budget as well as what each party wanted to preserve. Politics are funny. Everyone is full of it. You just need to decide whether or not you agree with what a candidate is full of when voting. Again, I digress.

This post is about Tax Day which is now long gone as we move forward into the Spring. Did you file your taxes? I hope so because the deadline was April 18th and we all know the IRS is no joke. Danielle and I made sure we filed our taxes on time. It was the first time either of us had to file our taxes on our own without the help of our family. My grandmother used to take my W-2s and all that stuff to her tax guy and he would file my taxes. Danielle's grandfather used to do her taxes. So, this was new for the both of us. We tried to cut some corners financially and go to a little tax place that was not H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt. It was owned and operated by some Ethiopian men in this old office building in Alexandria. I was a little sketched out by the location but they say "don't judge a book by it's cover," right?

I was kind of paranoid throughout the whole session with the tax guy. I felt bad because I was like right over his shoulder and breathing down his neck while he filled out all these forms. However, it's a good thing I did because there were definitely a couple of typos I caught. Of course, I had him fix them; and with each typo, I because more and more intense about being over his shoulder. I think I was being a little creepy. Oh well, I didn't want him to mess up my taxes. If he did mess up on those forms, the IRS is going to come after me and I would NOT want that. That kind of stuff makes me a little nervous.

The best part is that he started with Danielle's forms and I was the one making sure he was on his A-game. Danielle thought I was being overbearing but like I said, the IRS is no joke. By the time he got to my forms, he knew better. There was only like one or two typos in my forms that I caught and made him correct. There were a few points where he was ready to move on to the next form and I would catch something I had questions about just as he clicked to the next screen and I made him go back so that he could address my question and I could get my piece of mind.

I definitely do not feel bad anymore after typing all of this out. I am glad I was on this Ethiopian tax guy like a hawk. If there is some discrepancy in my taxes and the IRS contacts me, I will definitely dedicate a post to that and I WILL be contacting my Ethiopian tax guy. As for now, everything is copacetic. Danielle and I got our tax returns and we spent it wisely. I have a few tips for you regarding filing your taxes. Follow these tips and you are sure to be less stressed out and nervous about the whole process.

1. Be proactive
• You do NOT want to wait until the last minute to file your taxes. The longer you wait, the more backed up places that file taxes will get. When you file early, you do not have to be burdened with a high volume of people trying to get an appointment or meet with a tax professional before you. Like my favorite U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy once said, "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."
2. Do your research
• You should do some research to determine the best option for you when filing your taxes. The goal of your research should to be, first, to determine if you can handle doing it yourself via TurboTax or one of those free and/or online tax preparation systems OR if you would feel more comfortable having a tax professional take care of you and your taxes. From there, you could always go to an H&R block or a Jackson Hewitt. I chose a small business to help me out. In those cases, you need to research the business and find reviews online to ensure their capability and reliability. Everyone, nowadays, loves to blog and post reviews about their experiences with people, places, and things. Thus, you are bound to find a review about a business somewhere online. Google helped me with that.
3. Be prepared
• You should be sure to gather everything you are going to need to file your taxes. In my case, I only needed my W-2s and a valid Driver's License. It can be more complicated for some people. How? I am not sure because my life and finances have not gotten to that point yet. You should do some research about this also or you could ask your tax professional and/or even the IRS prior to meeting with them to file your taxes. You should definitely ask what you are going to need to bring with you.
4. Spend wisely
• You should have a plan for your tax refund. What are you going to do with it? Are you going to spend it on something right away? Are you going to save it? It is your money, thus, it is up to you. I spent mine on plane tickets, a new computer, and I paid off the rest of my bursar bill at my University. Now, the University will actually send me my final transcript and my diploma. Yeah, even though I have earned it, I still have not gotten it. They were holding it hostage and I just paid the ransom.

Taxes do not have to be stressful. Be proactive, do your research, be prepared, and spend wisely. That's all you need to remember next year and every year when Tax Day creeps up on you. In the meantime, keep an eye on your elected officials. They are the people deciding how your tax dollars are spent. You may be apathetic to the democratic process or to politics in general but you should keep yourself informed. After all, some Americans do not have representation in Congress and still have to pay federal taxes. This is the case for the citizens of the District of Columbia. Their license plates read "Washington, D.C.; Taxation Without Representation."

I am glad I don't live in D.C.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

Common Courtesy: Part 2

Just to recap my last post (considering that's what TV shows do when they have a new episode or when something that was "to be continued..." in now being continued) to get you up to speed: Bored, Jeopardy!, yelling, cops, neighbors hate us. Got it? Good.

So Wayne threw out the idea that our neighbor hates us and I couldn't help but to agree after he clearly called the cops on us. Now, in all fairness, I'm not 100% positive that our next door neighbor is the person who called the cops on us. For all I know, it could have been someone further down the hall. I ruled that option out in the beginning because they're down the hall. They couldn't hear me better than my next door neighbor. Could they? I don't know but it seems unlikely. I guess if I wanted to know that badly I could knock on their doors and ask them but then they'd think I was trying to come after them and kill them or something. After all, they called the cops on me to say that I was causing a domestic dispute. So who knows?

Anyway, Wayne's accusation made me think of the reasons why our neighbor must hate us. It made me think of the first day we moved into that apartment. Danielle and I were moving from our first apartment into our current apartment because Wayne was moving in with us and we needed a bigger apartment. We were moving from a one bedroom on one floor in the building to a two bedroom and a den on another floor in the building. Danielle and I were moving until late into the night so that we could be out of the old apartment by midnight to avoid having to pay for additional day in the old apartment. It was nearing midnight when Danielle and I were bringing in the last load of stuff. We were carrying in something heavy and we stopped outside of the apartment door to rest for a second.

Suddenly, our next door neighbor's door opened. He only poked his head out as his chain lock was preventing the door from opening all the way. He acted like he was in fear for his life. I was more scared than he was, that's for certain. This guy just abruptly opened his door and stared at us. I was like uuuuh hi! He asked if we needed any help. I don't know why he would ask that when he clearly was not going to come out and help us with anything. Maybe he was just being polite. But then, what would he have done if we said "yes, could you come grab this for us" or something like that? He would've come up with some excuse to bail I'm sure.

Danielle apologized and said we're just moving in and we're almost done. She said that she hoped we didn't wake him. He said we didn't wake him and he was just seeing if we needed help. I still am looking at this guy like "you're clearly just being nosey." So he bids us good night and tells us if we need anything to let him know. I cut him a little slack because, I thought, maybe he is being a good neighbor after all. But, again, who knows?

The next day (which was a Saturday morning), we needed pliers so I sent Danielle next door to ask our extremely helpful neighbor for a pair. It was almost noon I would say. Danielle said no one answered. I was thinking to myself, who the hell isn't home at noon on a Saturday morning? What could he possibly been out doing on a Saturday morning? Now, I realize that normal people try to be productive on the weekends because their week is usual consumed by a nine to five job. At the time, I totally added this to the tally of reasons that it was apparent that he hated us.

A part from that, I'm generally a loud person. Anyone who knows me could tell you that, I'm sure. I like to test my boundaries so I will scream and be loud in my apartment just to see how loud I can be without disturbing people in the surrounding apartments. In retrospect, this is a terrible idea haha. Whatever, what's done is done. Since we moved-in in February, I haven't received a single complaint about my volume. Thus, I figured I was good. I had tested my boundaries and I set my boundaries based on the lack of complaints. Well this Jeopardy! incident made me realize that I may have laid down the straw that broke the camel’s back. Oops.

I've been thinking, since the cops came knocking at my door after being called to a potential domestic dispute, that I have neglected my responsibilities as a neighbor and a member of a community. This brought me back to my Resident Assistant (RA) days in college. As a RA, I had to establish a foundation of respect and common ground for my living area in order to produce a welcoming and fun community. If I had a resident who was being too loud all the time, I would have laid the smack down on them and it would not have been pretty. However, I would have confronted the annoying resident like an adult and explain to them that they were being disruptive and they need to be courtesy and conscious of their neighbors and fellow community members. After all, it's their responsibility to have self-control and consider the welfare of their peers when doing things that impact them in some way, shape or form.

That's why I was annoyed with the fact that the cops were called. We clearly weren't having a domestic dispute, at least not in the sense it was made out to be. I just expected my neighbor to confront me like an adult and let me know they have a problem with my noise level. That's all. I feel disrespected. However, I bet whoever called the cops felt disrespected by my lack of concern for their welfare. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel bad at all but I do understand the issue from all sides. I definitely am going to be more conscious of my neighbors and do what the cops said, "keep it down."

Based on this experience, I must share the rules of common courtesy with you. If you follow these simple tips, you are sure to establish and maintain a copacetic relationship with your neighbors. The tips are as follows:

1. Don't be a stranger
• If you want to establish a relationship with your neighbor(s), introduce yourself to them. After all, you will be living right next to them and most likely run into them from time to time.
2. Courtesy Hours
• This is something I picked up from my time as a RA. Courtesy Hours were established to compliment Quiet Hours (a period of time during which you need to be quiet, typically 11pm-7am on school nights, and 1am-9am on the weekends). Courtesy Hours enforce the act of respecting your neighbors through consideration of their right to live comfortably. For example, regardless of the time of day, don't play your music so loudly that it is vibrating your neighbor's walls and they can hear it clear as day because maybe they work the night shift and sleep during the late morning and early afternoon.
3. Hold yourself accountable
• As an adult, you should be mature enough and know yourself well-enough to understand when you are doing something that could be bothering other people and know the difference between right and wrong. Own up to your faults and make a conscious effort to improve upon those faults. If confronted by a neighbor don't take the defensive automatically. Keep an open mind and try to put yourself in your neighbor's shoes.
4. Hold your neighbors accountable
• As much as it may be challenging to hold people to the same standards you hold yourself to, you always want to treat people the way they want to be treated. If you would prefer your neighbors to confront you with an issue rather than calling the cops, you should provide them with the same common courtesy in return.
5. Respect your community
• Regardless of each resident's personal preferences, you need to contribute what you expect to get from your community. If you want a peaceful, fun, and interactive community, be peaceful, fun, and interactive. Just make sure to respect those who may not want the same thing out the community. Not everyone will want to be bothered by their neighbors and could not care less about meeting their neighbors or developing any type of relationship with their neighbors. Also, don't disrespect the community with liter, graffiti, or any other annoyances. No one wants to live in a dump. Dispose of your trash appropriately, clean up after yourself in common areas, and don't disrupt other people's private areas (please keep your minds out of the gutter).

Some of those tips may seem like redundant reiterations of each other but they are important enough to address individually and equally. Remember these tips when joining a new community and in the community you already live in. Life is so much easier when things are easygoing.

Remember to fulfill your responsibilities as a neighbor and a member of a community and you'll be sure to avoid a run in with the law.

Lesson learned.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

Common Courtesy: Part 1

As I have eluded to in my previous blog posts, living on your own can be tough. When considering the toughness of an experience like this, a person is reminded to factor in finances and responsibilities. A lot of those responsibilities include money (as always), cleaning up after yourself, laundry, taking out the trash, and handy work around the apartment/house (which ever you may live in). One under publicized responsibility is your responsibility to your neighbors and your community. Yes, I have a story for this, hence the blog post.

Last week, I was spending a quiet night at home in my high rise apartment with Wayne and Danielle. Bored, Wayne suggested we play Jeopardy! on Wii. I LOVE JEOPARDY! I could play Jeopardy! all day every day. I love general knowledge trivia and I don't mean to brag but I'm very good at it. For years, I have dominated my opponents in Jeopardy! for Playstation. However, the game became very outdated and it was time for an update. I bought Danielle a Wii for Christmas and Wayne bought me Jeopardy! for Christmas and now, we're up-to-date.

Danielle decided that she didn't want to play so she sat and watched. Luckily, the game provides a third player because I like to play a full game of Jeopardy! Odds are she didn't want to play because Wayne and I are extremely competitive and can get a little heated and rowdy when playing games together. Again, hence this blog post. Wayne and I played one game. I pretty much dominated the whole game, as usual. Then, during Final Jeopardy!, my remote control must have been sabotaged.

During Final Jeopardy!, you have to use the direction pad to answer the question. If you think the answer is on the left, you press the left arrow; if you think the answer is on the right, you press the right arrow, so on and so forth. I knew the answer and I was 100% certain of that. Thus, I pressed the corresponding button and awaited the results. It turns out, the game thought I pressed another directional button because it said I picked a different answer than the one I actually picked. I got the answer wrong and I was mad. I definitely yelled at the Wii, the Wii Remote, the game, Alex Trebek, Wayne, and Danielle. However, I wagered the perfect amount of money to keep me ahead of my opponents in the event that I got the answer wrong and I still won the game. It was a close call.

Wayne and I geared up to play another game. I was, again, dominating this game. Wayne fell into the red and couldn't dig himself out in time for Final Jeopardy! so he didn't get to participate. It was just me and the computer player Gary in the end. The category was something to do with U.S. States a.k.a. one of my fortés. I set up my wager again in such a way to protect myself in the event that I got the answer wrong. For this question, I was not sure about the answer. In fact, I was completely unsure. I took a shot in the dark and unfortunately, I was wrong. I let out a very loud "NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Of course, Gary the computer player got it right. I was like "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Wayne, of course, rubbed it in. I'm not sure where he found room to talk because he didn't even make it to Final Jeopardy! However, like I said, I made my wager in such a way that I was sure to win; and I won. I was still devastated that I got the Final Jeopardy! answer wrong. Wayne, being the annoying older brother that he is, continued to tease me and even poke me...yes, poke me. We're five.

I, continuing to be loud and yelling, demanded Wayne to stop. I even kept yelling about how I totally should have known the answer to that question. Wayne said I should relax because I still won. The way I saw it was, I still didn't get the answer right. That kind of stuff messes with your stats. Yes, the game saves all your stats. I don't keep track of them myself...that would be a bit obsessive.

Now, I haven't mentioned the time but it plays a key role in all of this. It was almost 11pm in the middle of the work week. All of the sudden, about 5-10 minutes after our game was over, our door bell rang. We had no clue of who could have been at the door. The only way to find out was to look through the peep hole and see who was there. I could see that it was a man in uniform. I figured it was the maintenance people because we had submitting a maintenance request earlier in the day but I was unsure why the maintenance people would be ringing our door bell at such an unusual time.

I opened the door and was greeted by two police officers from the Fairfax County Police Department. One of the officers stated that they had received a complaint from someone who said they could hear yelling and it sounded like a woman was being attacked. I couldn't help but to laugh; neither could Wayne and Danielle. He asked if he and his partner could come in and look around. I said sure because I had nothing to hide. The two officers entered our apartment and asked what we were doing. Wayne told them we were playing a game. The officer asked what game we were playing and Danielle answered, while laughing, "Jeopardy!"

The officer was clearly judging us. He was like "oh...ok." He looked at his partner and his partner looked at him. Then he looked at us and said "well ok, just try to keep it down please." We all said ok and sent the officers on their way. We all erupted in laughter after the front door closed. It was way too hilarious of an occurrence. It became clear to us that our next door neighbor must have called the cops on us because we were being too loud.  Wayne said, "our neighbor hates us." I can't help but to think that he is right. Sure, we were, slash I was, being very loud that night but there is a lot of evidence to prove that our neighbor hates us.

Check out my next post "Common Courtesy: Part 2" for the reason why I think my neighbor hates us and for some tips to help you fulfill your responsibility as a neighbor and a member of a community.

Until then, keep it down people.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.

Who says Spring Break is only for College Students?

 
 http://www.mtv.com/shows/spring_break/2011/series.jhtml

Daytona Beach. West Palm Beach. South Padre Island. Cancun. Cabo San Lucas. Miami Beach. College students save up for months to experience what they see as a rite of passage: Spring Break. When you think Spring Break, you think sun, beach, bikinis, wet t-shirt contests, alcohol, and MTV. The term "Spring Breaker" is used to distinguish these college students from the local residents of the places they visit. Sure I may be through with college and living in "the real world" but I just experienced my first official Spring Break last month. Yes, I know I have a real job and bills and other responsibilities but I couldn't pass up a reunion with great friends that I haven't seen in a while.

Three of my best friends (all of which are still in school (2 undergrad, 1 grad)) all had Spring Break during the same week. At the end of December, we were all talking about when we would see each other again and someone threw out the idea of Spring Break. I was very intrigued by the idea because I had never been on a legitimate Spring Break trip. I had spent three of my Spring Breaks back in my hometown of New Bedford, MA. Don’t' get me wrong, I love my hometown but it is definitely NOT a Spring Break kind of city. I spent my last Spring Break with Danielle in Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. (where I currently live) visiting Wayne and Aayla and looking for apartments for Danielle and me to live in after graduation.

All in all, I've never had the "fun in the sun," "party hardy," "road trip," "once in a life time" Spring Break experience. This year, I changed that. After our brief brainstorming in December, we put our heads together via e-mail, Twitter, text messaging, and cell phone conversations to plan a Spring Break rendezvous. My friend Brian is a graduate student at Texas A&M University pursuing his Master's Degree in Student Affair Administration and Higher Education (check out his blog at BrianFLeDuc.com). The life of a grad student is not easy; needless to say, he definitely needed a Spring Break. Because he lives in Texas, Danielle and I along with our friends Lauren (Brian's girlfriend) and Caitie decided it would be a great idea to visit Brian for Spring Break.

                            
                                              Caitie, Lauren, and Danielle

Danielle and I used some vacation time to get the week off from work. The four of us flew into Houston's George H. W. Bush Intercontinental Airport where Brian picked us up. We drove to Galveston, TX where we had rented a condo right on the Gulf of Mexico for the week. The weather was amazing and there was plenty to do and experience while on Galveston Island. Between the delicious seafood, beautiful palm trees (the first time I've ever see a palm tree in person, by the way), the historical landmarks, great weather, and easy access to the beach and a pool, we had an amazing and affordable Spring Break. Not to mention, the best company a guy could ask for.

   

                                                  Brian and me #winning duh!

Here are some more pictures from my first Spring Break trip to Galveston, Texas

  
    View From Our Condo

         

Beach on Seawall Blvd.

                                                        

                                                                   Mardi Gras Arch

Regardless of your enrollment status, you too can have a Spring Break if you want. It's just that, in the real world, people tend to refer to it as "vacation." Here are some quick tips for planning a fun, relaxing, and affordable Spring Break/Vacation:

1. PLAN PLAN PLAN!
• I cannot stress this enough. Nobody enjoys loose travel plans, especially when you only have a short time period to work with. Make sure you sit down, Skype, web conference, etc. with your friends to map out a game plan so that everyone is on the same page and you can PLAN accordingly. This game plan should include the following:
• Attendance (who coming with?)
• Budget (money money money mooonay MONEY)
• Time Frame (when are you going on your trip?)
• Travel Arrangements (flights, cars)
• Lodging (hotel, condo, resort)
• Food (groceries, restaurants)
• Miscellaneous expenses (entertainment, souvenirs, etc.)
2. SAVE SAVE SAVE!
• Everybody knows that money makes the world go 'round. Annoying, I know, but it's a fact of life. Thus, make sure you are saving money based on the game plan you set with your friends. In fact, you want to make sure a Spring Break/Vacation is even feasible for you and your wallet before you start planning anything. Obviously, you need to factor in your income and monthly bills. Personally, it's not worth it to sacrifice my credit and risk eviction for a Spring Break/Vacation. Also factor in hotel/lodging, travel, food, and miscellaneous expenses when determining whether or not you can afford a Spring Break/Vacation. 
3. Take Care of Business
• Make sure you are not planning a Spring Break/Vacation during a busy time for you. Odds are if you are really busy at work, your bosses and supervisors will not approve time off or vacation for you. Make sure you ask for time off in advance. Also, don't leave all your work for someone else to do. My company asks for us to identify a backup to help out with the tasks we are leaving behind while we are away. Make your backup's life easier by leaving as little for them to do as possible because they are not only taking care of your business, they still have their job to do. Tie up any and all loose ends before leaving for Spring Break/Vacation.
4. Pack Appropriately
• Look up the weather forecasts for the place you will be visiting for the time period you will be there. You should always pack appropriately so that you are comfortable while on Spring Break/Vacation. Odds are you'll be going to a place with a warmer climate. Thus, pack your bathing suit, sun screen, sunglasses, shorts, short sleeved shirts, and sandals.
5. Have fun!
• What's the point of going on Spring Break/Vacation if you're not going to enjoy it? Make sure you are with great people who you know you will have a great time with. Take advantage of what the area has to offer.

I sure there are plenty of other things that people need to take into consideration when going on Spring Break/Vacation but these are the things I needed to keep in mind and do when planning my Spring Break/Vacation in order to have a great time.

I'm glad there's a first time for everything...well almost everything.

Sincerely,

J.A.B.