Who are you people?


January 30, 2009 :: 9:22 PM

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connolly, millan, cocohen :: unh at boston univ, agganis arena, boston ma :: january 23, 2009

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I’ve increased my readership quite a bit over the past few months.  I’ve been advertising new blog posts on Twitter and I can see the jumps in readership after a tweet. I see hits from places like Facebook.  I see some hits coming from entries that were emailed to others.  I see quite a few google hits - my three favorite searches to date are “suck blow benedetto”, “images of kevin shattenkirk”, and (my most favorite) “instrumenttheband” - and I’m glad I’m rating so high on The Google.  If you google just “good advices”, I’m the number one search result. That blows my mind like I can’t even put into words.

It’s kind of interesting.  I’ve never gone out and actively looked for readers.  I’ve always kept my blog rather close to me but then I learned that there are people who want to know me better… and this is a pretty good way to do that.  I’m very much me here. I’m a little more censored than I am elsewhere, but I’m still pretty “nekkid”.  I’m not the greatest in person - I much prefer to write than talk - because I’m more likely to say something stupid and make an ass out of myself in person. I’m not good under pressure.  It’s an introvert thing.

So anyhoo, I’ve been looking at my stats and I’m wondering who some of ya’ll are. Some are more obvious than others - like you, my friend in Belgium - but others make me scratch my head.  I missed “National Delurking Day/Week”, but I’m curious to know who you are.  I don’t bite (unless it is specifically requested), so please, leave a comment or send me an email.  If you blog, leave your URL.  I’d love to check it out.  I’m always on the lookout for new blogs to read.

My email is:    mat [at] good advices [dot] com

You can leave a comment by clicking here or on the “(0) comments” link down below to the left.

I’m looking forward to knowing who’s stopping by!

EDITED TO ADD:Apparently, some of ya’ll are perverts.  I’m # 6 on The Google right now for “what are some good advices to suck a penis.”  *sigh* 

God bless the weirdos and perverts, they keep teh interwebs entertaining.

Find your passion, or it finds you…


January 28, 2009 :: 11:20 PM

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bruins vs. caps :: fleet center td banknorth garden, boston, ma :: january 27, 2008

My mom was one of those moms who documented every second of my first few years.  As I got older, and the alcohol took control of her life, there were fewer pictures in the albums and I was the one in charge of the camera if I wanted to document something.

I was never really a big fan of carting a camera around - it goes against my base instinct to NOT carry some sort of bag when I go out.  But, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better at bringing the camera with me.  I love my Nikon D40, but my little Olympus Stylus 1010 has become my go-to camera because it is small enough to fit in a pocket. 

I started taking the Stylus with me to hockey games.  From there, the camera went to the R.E.M. concert with us and I’ve got some amazing pictures from that night.  Now, the camera is going with me to Instrument shows.  The boys in the band like my stuff enough to ask me to be their photographer, so I must be doing something right.  *grin*

I still have a lot to learn about how to actually get what I want out of the camera (without resorting to Photoshop), but I do think I’m getting much better.

I took around a hundred pictures at the Bruins game last night and this is my favorite.  It’s not perfect by any means, but I do like the interaction between Thomas and Semin. 

I never thought of myself as a “photographer”, but maybe I should start…

Obsessions and drama


January 25, 2009 :: 6:35 PM

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ahl all-star game :: portland, me :: 2003

Its the AHL All-Star Weekend this weekend and I wanted to be in Worcester in the worst way, but it just didn’t work out.  The above picture is from the only All-Star game I’ve been to - it was our honeymoon.  (Yes, we were married in August and didn’t honeymoon until January.)  In case you didn’t get that:  We went to Maine.  For a hockey game.  For our honeymoon.

I’ve been accused of being completely odd… but as I’ve pointed out before, I’m a wicked obsessed hockey fan.  The hubby had to become one, or else it just wasn’t going to work. He fell in love with the sport.  Which, of course, is a good thing. 

For the record, we got married on the 20th anniversary of Chronic Town‘s release. This was a total coincidence, but one I’m proud of.  (I’m a huge R.E.M. fan if you hadn’t noticed.  The URL of this blog is the fifth song on the second side of Fables of the Reconstruction / Reconstruction of the Fables (Or the tenth song on the CD for you young’uns).)  He is not an R.E.M. fan.  I’m working on that.

I was moving some old journals and one fell open to a really interesting entry I had written during college.  I was struggling with that “should I stay or should I go” phase of a relationship.  I stayed, but the issue forcing that particular decision hasn’t yet gone away, even though he did. A decision is made when you choose to do nothing, remember. 

Now I’m kind of facing an offshoot of that same issue.  It’s a “do I / don’t I” thing.  I know I’m on the “don’t I” side, but there is much temptation to cross that line.  I’m pretty sure I know the root of what’s bringing this issue back to the forefront, but damn.  I’ve lived over half my life suffering the consequences of when someone else chose “do I” over me.  I like to think that this particular piece of drama is related to that and my getting over the pain that decision caused… but I don’t really know.  I know that biology is stronger than science and that scares the crap out of me.  I wasn’t ready to face down that decision now… even though I knew in my gut that it was inevitable.

Now that it’s time is here, I’m stuck with facing a particularly dangerous demon.  If I give in, I walk the same path that led my parents to their deaths.  If I keep to what I know is true, I feel like a bit of a social leper.  An outcast.  I know that perception is mine, and mine alone, but it’s a hard thing for me to get past.

It’s a weird thing for me to be so vague in a blog entry, but I don’t want to name this demon and give it even more power over me than it already has. If you know me, you’ll know what I’m talking about.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s actually probably for the best… even though you can find it in the archives if you look for it.

 

Sieve! Backup Sieve! Shut out!


January 24, 2009 :: 6:02 PM

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bu vs unh :: agganis arena, boston university :: january 23, 2009

Last night (as we do just about every Friday, it seems), we headed into Boston for the BU/UNH game.  I wasn’t quite sure what to think - BU hadn’t beaten UNH in quite some time - but apparently that was about to change.

Holy crap, we kicked their butts!  From Wilson’s goal mere seconds into the game, to Wilson literally kicking Collins’ butt in a fight, it was a good game.  For me it really was Colin Wilson’s night.  (Even though I still think Millan should have been the # 1 star!  Seriously,  the kid had a shut out!  A shut out!) He had two goals, an assist and 14 minutes in penalties (all because of the fight) - good enough for a Gordie Howe hat trick.  You hardly ever see those - especially in an NCAA game.

Tonight, we’re headed up to UNH for the second game in the home and home.  I think if we played like we did last night, we’ll sweep the weekend. I hope we sweep the weekend… I don’t like being behind Northeastern in the Hockey East standings and every point helps.

I’m both excited and “eh” about our trip down the road.  Durham is certainly closer than Boston, but the tickets were a gift from my old employer (they have UNH season tickets) and I’m stuck sitting on the UNH side, next to one of the (retired) partners of the firm, and behind the penalty box.  I’m not sure what the view looks like from there, and I’m not sure I want to be sitting in enemy territory, in my bright red jersey, during a televised game, but that’s life, I guess. The tickets were free, and we were just going to watch the game on TV anyway, so why not drive the half hour to the Whit?

I guess we’ll see what happens.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the W… and that NESN chooses to ignore us when they’re filming that area of the rink…

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  *hug tackle*


January 22, 2009 :: 11:04 PM

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instrument (the band) :: mohegan sun, uncasville, ct :: august 13, 2008

That was my emailed response to the best present I could have received this year (so far).

After being all “OMG! They have new songs online!”,  someone, a very awesome someone - who never reads my freaking blog - sent me the EP. I was one of a very select few who got access to the mp3s early.  A VERY select few.  *squee* (or *meow*, depending on who you are…)  THANK YOU, D!!!!!

I had it playing at work today.  At one point, it was actually rather loud, considering I was on the phone, and the person on the other end asked me what it was.

I told her simply, “It’s my happy.”

I ended up pointing her to Instrument’s MySpace page ( MYSPACE.COM/INSTRUMENTTHEBAND What are you waiting for? GO!) and she really likes their stuff, too.

She and I talked about making the journey to an Instrument show together… but after thinking about it, I’m not sure that’s the best idea.  I tend to get into trouble when I’m in Connecticut and I like to get into trouble when I go to Connecticut.  (It helps chase the ghosts away.)  I don’t really think I’m ready for these two parts of my world to intersect… Yeah, she heard the stories, but I don’t think she needs to experience it head on.  Besides, I’m a different person when there are witnesses. I don’t want to be that person - she never has any fun!

I really feel honored that he thought about me when he decided to share the EP early.  It means a lot to me.  A LOT.

I don’t know what it is with the boys in this band, but one compliments me and leaves me smiling all week and the other one totally made my year (so far).

*contented sigh*

This almost makes up for the extended disco remix of the backstage ick…

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