�New York, New York� or �The wisdom of Kevin Smith� So I�ve been in New York since last Thursday. It�s been fantastic: seeing my family, seeing old friends, going to my old digs in the city, etc. I�ll rant about it later when I�m back in San Francisco. For now, I just want to share something that I came across in my room (which my brother has transformed into an RC car garage btw). This little passage reminded me of a friend. The beginning is something I wish she�d take to heart and the end is something I wish I would learn. Anyway, here it is: �Someone as good as you should not be alone. You deserve to be loved and content and fulfilled in your personal life, because your [work] life will never offer you purchase from the storm. You need a place to hang your heart at the end of the day. You need peace. But if I�ve ever imparted anything to you, please let it be this�look within yourself for that peace before you look for it in someone else. Because you�ll only be setting that someone else up to disappoint you.�

Rob and I drove down to San Jose to meet up with Van, George, and Jason at the California Extreme classic arcade-game show. It was pretty rad. I got to play lots of old favorites like Zookeeper, Punch-Out, and Indiana Jones. Plus I got to play some pinball and see some really weird prototypes like the Gallagher--yes, the watermelon-smashing guy--shooting game. The highlight of the show was undoubtedly the hours I spent playing Midway�s Journey game. I love the band. I love the music. And now I love this game. It�s pretty progressive for 1983: it mixes platform and shooting gameplay, has digitized faces of the band, and has midi tracks of their songs. The Steve Perry level features �Don�t Stop Believin'.� How cool is that?!?! This is the first arcade cabinet I saw that I must buy at some point. After doing some research on the net I discovered it comes in a cocktail table version as well. So cool! I�ll stop typing now as my thumb hurts from all the arcade games.

I�m really struggling to grasp the enormity of what has happened in the last day. Most of it was spent being self-centered. I found out Tito Per and Tito Ferdie got out of the WTC safely. A bunch of my college friends and I were trying to track down Matt, who works in WTC 2. Eventually I heard from his mom that he was fine. Thank God he was running late for work. After that, I was in a bit of denial. It just doesn�t make sense to me how four planes were hijacked and those tens of thousands of people were killed. This is probably the most significant historical event in my lifetime, and it�s not sinking in. Usually I can deal with tragedies that don�t hit me directly. I believe that you should try to understand and care about things you can�t change, but marshal your efforts towards the things you can. This situation is so huge though. It could very well lead to a war and change the world forever. None of that is registering with me. Sadly, what�s on my mind is how much I love NYC. Yes, heinous mass murdering took place and I�m being provincial. It�s just�I can�t imagine walking through Battery Park City and not seeing those twin towers there. I almost feel like moving back and getting an apartment in BPC saying, �Fuck you! We�re New Yorkers! You don�t scare us!� This will be one of those rare times where the world will see how beautiful, caring, and giving New Yorkers can be. Sure there�s a shell of attitude and indifference, but when it comes down to it, New Yorkers take care of their city and their own. So donate blood if you can. A pint of blood might save three people! If you have an immense fear of donating blood, send some funds to the Red Cross. The donation site even comes in an Amazon-friendly version.

�Fairwayther fan� or �Crush groove� Like a handful of my blogs, this one starts with, �I just got back from a Fairways concert.� Jen had her hair up, and it was a very cute look for her. The sexy smile was in full effect, as was her sexy/goofy vibe. Her ears were a little plain though. I never got to see them before since they were hidden under her bowl-ish haircut. This is going to sound really stupid, but I�m a sucker for cute ears. It�s complicated and ridiculous so I won�t explain. Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that I�m totally confident in my decision to never talk to her. Just having a crush on her is great and I don�t want to be disappointed in the reality. Besides, someone else has dibs on my heart�. This week should be fairly busy. There�s a bunch of press tours hitting town, some friends crashing, and the Trinidad/Hopkins fight on Saturday. I can�t wait for this fight. I think Trinidad will win, but I really, really, really want Hopkins to kick his ass. I guess I�m still bitter about Trinidad�s bogus decision over De La Hoya. Never mind that De La Hoya robbed Whitaker and Quartey. I love what the Golden Boy used to be: this poor kid from East LA that fought his heart out for his late mother. Unfortunately he�s a victim of his own success; the hunger isn�t there anymore, he plays the media game, and somehow seems�less than genuine. Nine days until NY! Ah, the pizza, the bagels, the Yankees, my family, and my college pals. I can hardly wait!

I picked up a Pogues album at the Metreon. It really made me miss the Coliseum Bar and that time in my life. Ah, to be a drunk again. Check out this News.com article that I'm quoted in. If they only knew what comprised "tiring business trips." Ha!

�Spontaneous journeys� or �Get me outta here� I just got back from Los Angeles last night. The idea to go there popped up in my mind some time last Friday. I bought the ticket on Saturday and departed on Sunday. I�m super glad I went. I got to see my dad, lots of friends, and engage in my favorite activities of pooling and hot tubbing. The most interesting part of the evening was watching Anatole sprawled across some dude�s Lamborghini. The next morning I saw a mark on the car where he was licking it. For some reason I�m itching to leave somewhere. I was thinking of going to Seattle this weekend. In two weeks I�ll be in NY. And FINALLY I�ll be back in Vegas at the end of the month. I don�t know why I�m so antsy. Maybe I�m looking for something and don�t know what it is. Or maybe I�m just really bored. Anyway, I better get back to writing and pitching so I can afford to travel.

�Thank you X 7� For introducing me to your beautiful roommate. For sharing years and years of photographs. For showing me your goofy-ass videos. For trying to force me to take a compliment. For listening to my insipid musings. For thinking I�m so much more than I really am. For letting me learn about an amazingly wonderful person. (I�m talking about you, dummy!)