DOORMAN!

This school year has already signaled a lot of changes in my life, but one that's been a real altering experience has been my move to a new apartment in Boston.

Gone are the days of our 6 person "Brotel", gone are the endless cleanups after parties and gone are those pesky mice that made themselves at home in Hemenway 114.

Replace that with a quiet two bedroom place with no room for parties, a trash chute, laundry room and a doorman. Yeah, a doorman. It's a little different.

The idea of a doorman still irks me, it's just not my style. People calling me 'sir' in general just makes me uncomfortable. I like relating to people and the doorman just reminds me of some weird underground caste system I want no part of.

That's why my roommate Nick and I have decided to make it our personal mission to get to know them. There are 4. So far we have met Steve, Henry and Gavin, and though we know the 4th, a lady, we can't seem to remember her name (we think its Regina). Though the latter part of that sentence kind of makes my arguement sound dumb, we talk to the lady a lot and even gave her a nice loaf of bread to bring back home the other day.

The whole process has been slow-going, they seem kind of reluctant to acknowledge our efforts, but it's coming. If you smile and say hello enough in a day, people are bound to reciprocate it eventually, it just happens. Today out of nowhere I had Steve stop me and ask how classes were going and what I had on tap for the weekend. It was pretty cool. He doesn't remember my name but he remembers the face and I know now that he appreciates that hello in the morning.

It's really easy to walk past people, I know, I've done it all my life, but I'm glad we've taken on the challenge of cracking the doormen. It sounds stupid in the general scheme of things, but it's cool to connect with people we take for granted so much of the time.

Plus, it'll help further down the road when they start putting up with our antics, figure some positive repoire to start things off can't hurt.

But maybe I'm just musing...

eyes are the window to the soul..

Just a thought

I hope mortality isn't a running theme in my musings, but it certainly has cropped up a few times on the blog over the past year. Yet, as I say each time, mortality has never adhered to timing or any rules for that matter, so its appearance shouldn't come as a total shocker.

This weekend I attended the memorial service of a close friend's mother, who passed on after a courageous battle with cancer. Beyond the sadness of the passing and the other emotions associated with a final goodbye, I couldn't get past the amazing turnout for the event, not only in numbers but in diversity. This lady had touched far more people than I think she ever realized, and touched them deeply enough to have them converge from around the world to say goodbye one last time.

For some reason that left a huge impression on me, and, naturally, the wheels began turning in my head. Who would be at my memorial service? What type of legacy would I leave? Wouldn't it be weird and a little bit amazing to see this as a fly on the wall, return to life and apply what you've learned to improving your life?

Maybe one of the most fascinating things I've picked up from college classes is the story of Alfred Nobel. Alfred was afforded this "second chance" at life. Nobel was a renowned chemist, who, along with his contributions to steel manufacturing, developed dynamite. Dynamite was initially intended for construction purposes but quickly became a lethal weapon during the time period of the late 1800s.

When Alfred's brother passed away, many mistook the news and reported Alfred's death, including several newspapers. One newspaper denoted Alfred as the "merchant of death" because of his creation of dynamite. It stated that it was inconceivabale for a man to make so much money off of other people's deaths.

This news deeply hurt Nobel, as he had invented dynamite as a tool, not a weapon. However, after reporting that he was indeed still alive, Nobel took this information and made a change. Nobel dedicated his remaining years to reversing the legacy he had unintentionally earned, and on his deathbed donated a great amount of his fortune to creating the Nobel Peace Prize. Today, Nobel is most famously remembered for his prize, not for his time as the "Merchant of Death".

Now flash-forward. If your life ended today (hypothetical!!) what would your legacy be? Would you be remembered for the good things you've done or the mistakes you've made?

I like to think people would remember me as someone who listened and learned, who tried to be there for people when they needed him and who wanted to appreciate as much of life as he could. But I have to wonder...is that what other people see?

One thing I am sure of however is that my memorial service would be pretty funny. I have been fortunate to meet some amazing people throughout my life, whether it be in school, at home, travelling or just in random places along my road of life. I feel like half of the time would be spent wondering, "How did this guy know him? That's kind of random." I think it would open up an entertaining forum of meet and greet that I hope people would enjoy as much as I would enjoy watching. Hmm but maybe that's just me musing... stay classy planet Earth

The Year of Coverage

Monday rolls around, and what do you know.. it's been one full year of covers. 52 in fact, pretty cool. Thanks to everyone that's checked in on this periodically to see what I've been up to, and I hope you gained a little out of it.

I'd love to keep this experiment going a little longer at least. I still have a lot to write down, and I'm sorry about the slacking but it will get done. Sometimes I have a tough time saying stuff, but for whatever reason writing it not only comes easy, it's incredibly therapeutic. So, in that vein, thanks again guys and gals for reading, it means a lot, your awesome.

In other news today's cover extends to the Chris Isaak song "Wicked Game". Washed Out takes a stab at it and the product is very similar to their namesake, basically a washed out version of the original. But in a good way. Like "I washed out a stain from my favorite t-shirt" -kinda good. Enjoy beezys..

I just got published on Boston.com. Fact. Boom.

Mundane Covers

Ok, again..apologies. My head has been all over the place the last few weeks, but I (tentatively) think I'm back. Hey maybe I'll even write about it, since that's why I started this thing in the first place?

Anywho, time for today's coverage, and what better way to get us back on track than with a classic cover. Van Halen (ever heard of them?) broke on the scene in the late 70s with this Kinks cover. The Kinks have been published a few times on this blog for covers, so they must be doing something right. Here's Van Halen with the Kinks' "You Really Got Me Now". Enjoy beezys..

What day is it? covers

How disappointed are you guys in me? I almost make it a full year and then I fumble the ball on the one yard line. That's such a Leon Lett move...


But I haven't forgotten. Without Internet and having moved to a completely new place in Boston has been hard, but you guys are worth it. Here's a cover to hold you over, I promise I'll be back in force to make it through the rest of the year. With Bloc Party's "Like Eating Glass" here is (Tempera)mental.. enjoy playas..