knomat?

Mr. Flu decided to stop at my apartment. I’ve been laying on the couch since Friday night. I didn’t go to work today because I felt like I got hit by a Mack Truck. I’m not sure what made me feel more like crap, the flu or resorting to watching MTV all day. I feel more stupider for doing so. As a result of watching MTV, I have completely lost the miniscule amount of respect I had left for the mainstream music world for the following 3 reasons.

1. Snoop Dogg has collaborated with Linkin’ Park
2. Kanye West has collaborated with John Mayer
3. Nelly has collaborated with Tim McGraw

W… T… F …

I mean, what’s next? Michael Bolton featuring Lil’ John?

One of the frequently visited lunchtime spots at my workplace is this little pizza shop in town called OIP (Original Italian Pizza). You can usually hear me refer to it as Oh, I pee. So, we went to Oh, I pee the other day and I had my usual stromboli with sauce on the side and an unsweetened iced tea. Upon paying for my food, I noticed some new vending items located in the lobby area - you know the kind where you put in a quarter or fitty cent and get a super bouncy ball or some chiclets? Well, no chiclets for me today my friend. No sir. Today, it was STREET GEAR. First off, I was shocked to find said “Street Gear” vending machine smack dab in the middle of a pizza shop in Huntingdon, PA. But I guess I shouldn’t have been, because I vaguely remember similar vending machines like “Homies,” which were these little figurines of mostly black men all decked out in whatever “homies” would wear. I was awe struck by the oddly depicted “street” people illustrated on the ad for this vending machine and the taunts of owning my very own wrist band or necklace adorned with the latest ‘bling’ of todays trend. So, I popped in my fitty cent, of course, and what did I get?

This, my people, is what I got.

I’m so street it’s not even funny. Word.

I came across a photographer named Boogie in a design magazine I got called Empty. His work is truly amazing. Looking at what he captures makes me feel like I don’t even know how to use a camera. I find that we share a similar fascination with photographs of people and their interactions in life. Where he has the advantage is that he’s really freaking good at it and has the ability to take pictures of everything from a pregnant woman smoking crack to the deadliest gangs in NYC to gypsies in Europe. What an inspiration this guy is to me.

Check out his stuff at www.artcoup.com.

I feel this blog going back to the old “what I had for breakfast” thing. But whatever. It’s an outlet. Right? Right.

Today I had the pleasure of working with a student who is both blind and deaf. I’ve never had something put me in check as much as this did. I’m used to the norm for a pc tech - my computer doesn’t boot, i have spyware, i think i have a virus, i need this software installed, blah blah blah. Today posed a new challenge. Chris, the student I mentioned, has a laptop with special software that speaks to him. His laptop kicked the bucket and he came to us for help. Luckily, I had an extra laptop that we could let him use, I just need to install his specialized software so he would be able to make his way through the plethora of windows. If you don’t already know how much Windows sucks, try explaining it to a blind person … you’ll realize how much more counterintuitive it really is. Some of the simplest things that I had to explain to Chris really made me realize how much I take for granted. Things like putting his fingers on the control, alt, and delete keys so he knew how to log on. Things like showing him where the power button is. I had to catch myself many times because I tried to explain things to him as I would to someone in my normal interactions - with the use of colors, shapes, and other things that Chris couldn’t relate to. Like I said, it really puts you in check. It’s hard for me to imagine, because I probably could get around a computer with no vision because I grew up with it and it’s etched in my head. Thinking about learning it without knowing what anything looks like just boggles my mind … and this is just computers … I can’t even imagine the other interactions in everyday life.

Tonight, I went to the Darkhorse Tavern to experience “The Roustabout,” that Jesse (my cousin) has been telling me about. A guy from a band called “Bullett Parade” organizes this deal with the Darkhorse and has a different indie rock band in every Wednesday. I have a feeling that I could get use to it. Tonight, we saw “The Sw!ms” along with another band whose name escapes me at the moment. I dug The Sw!ms. They kinda reminded me of a modern day upbeat version of Tommy James & the Shondells. Don’t ask me why. Please. They just did, ok? They had a chick drummer too. Chick drummers rule.

I sleep now.

Youth Venutre has given me the opportunity to join their digital communications department. This seems like an opportunity I can’t pass up, but why am I struggling with the decision? It’s what I’ve been looking for - working with youth and technology - empowering them, bridging the digital divide. It’s seemingly what I’ve been looking for since I first had this idea that I wanted to help work with efforts to bring youth together with technology.

Is it possible that I’m ready to leave this place I’ve made my home?

I’m kinda scared.