so much to say.

i feel like a bit of a poser using a d.m.b. reference for the title of this post, since i'm not really familiar with the song, but it's fitting and at the very least i'm sure aja and paul will appreciate it. and, we can all appreciate the fact that i had to do a whole lotta shots for the picture above...

so, to my devoted readership, sorry for the long hiatus. i'm sure you clicked that refresh button incessently, with the hope that i would one day resume posting. and, you probably were gripped with fear that i had abandoned the cheeky monkey for more lucrative ventures. but, i was actually spending the week recovering from the emotional shock of having a random homeless person appear to drop dead at my feet on 83rd and columbus before. and, no, that is not a joke. i can't rehash the details anymore, suffice to say i sat at my computer every so often wondering if i should document the horrendous event. this is, after all, an accounting of my life in my mid-20s, and compared with the minutiae i usually post here, it seemed significant enough that i would want documentation. in the end, i decided to just drink away the memory of the incident and post happier thoughts at the cheeky monkey. though, it made for a rather morbid writer's block for about a week.

so, what happiness do i have for you today? well, the first is to report that i travelled down to charlottesville to visit aja and virginia's bschool, darden. and i fell in love. like, head-over-heels-i-want-to-go-there-so-much-it-hurts kind of love. as in, i don't even think i'm applying to any other school but darden in love. which is huge, considering that on the car ride down from dc, i commented to aja that i had nixed the whole bschool thing and was just thinking of finding employment, but that i had already committed to the interview so i was going to go through the motions. i was disenchanted, to say the least... the thought of clawing through two years of a dog-eat-dog mba program was terrifying. but, as cliche as it sounds, i felt so different the moment i stepped onto darden's campus. it's so intimate, and beautiful, and i just felt supported and engaged being there. i can't even imagine now applying to any other school and feeling satisfied to have just "gotten in somewhere." darden is where i want to be, period. which means, if all goes according to plan (knock on wood) this could potentially be my last year in new york city (dum dum dummmm!!!). crazy. i can't even think about it right now.

next happy thing is that i had a wonderful reunion with some of the michigan boys this past weekend... in the words of one dj hone-y: "good times. good times." (i don't think he knows that he says that all the time). we hit up the green festival, caught some michigan football and the tigers game, heard about dan's development work in east timor and his run-ins with thai prostitutes (um, he was not involved in any monetary exchanges, just an innocent bystander/good samaritan)... it was a lovely time... and made me realize how much i really miss having that solid posse of friends to hang out with. while i have many friends in new york, i don't quite have a situation where all of them actually hang out with each other regularly enough or casually enough to be deemed a "posse", though, with grad school and the institution of "girls' night out," that is improving somewhat. but still, with the exception of elie, i never really go over to anyone's house to lounge, watch sports, and drink beer. i miss that. it's such a simple, home-grown pleasure.

anyways, speaking of elie, i've been invited by one of his friend's to attend my very first ever bachelor party, which, if tonight was the preview for, i am so psyched (i caught some monday night football with josh, elie, and sam--the groom). the plan is red rocks (the bar the movie coyote ugly was based on) and a strip club after... but, i will probably skip the strip club. i'm mainly going because i've been told that a whole host of interesting people with charming idiosyncracies will be there... like the man who thinks his testicles fall off when he gets high. i mean, i cannot miss this. aside from the interesting people, josh, elie, and sam together are a hilarious trio. here are some gems below:

sam: so, you go out with her twice a week, but you're not into her?
elie: yes, there's no way to get out of it... i know i'm screwed.
sam: well, you can always fake your own death.

sam: (describing someone's appalling interior decorating) the wallpaper was printed gumballs. then the knobs on the kitchen cabinets were gumballs!
kristine: who styled their place... willy wonka??

sam: what happened to the bengals? they were good in the beginning of the season.
elie: dude, there are 55 people on the team... 20 of them have courtdates in the next month.
kristine: oh no, how's todd holding up?
elie: he's so bummed out, he's buying knicks tickets.