All in It's My Life

Subway Thumbings

Charlie O'Donnell
It's My Life, Random Stuff

One of my least favorite things in this whole world is a shower on a cold morning. It doesn't warm me up at all... it just makes me wish I stayed under the covers where I was protected, warm, and most importantly, dry.

Getting on the train this morning, I saw a kid with a Student Metrocard. Kids have it easy these days. If you went to high school in Manhattan, you'll remember trying to get the attention of the token booth clerk to buzz that special gate. She saw the long line of students, but it didn't matter. You still had to wait in line after all those people bought their metrocards.

I think I played my best game of dodgeball last night with the nextNY team.

Shoulda been Mets-Red Sox.

Angel financing is clearly an exercise in herding cats.

While I'll grant that I don't like showers in the morning, I will grant that a post workout morning shower makes me feel fantastic. I wish you all could feel like I do now, Frampton style.

These two girls next to me are whispering about my phone. The amount of hardware and accessories the average teenage girl from Brooklyn carries around is getting out of hand. Somewhere in late 2006, we hit a turning point where phones became so slim, while the size of big hoop earring stayed constant, allowing phones to actually pass through the earrings of their owners.

Its weird how text messages somehow pass through subway walls. I just learned that Brian Oberkirch read a book. Brian's going to hook me up at the Future of Web Apps conference in February, right Brian?

I'm wearing dark jeans and my black hoodie. When I put the hood up, where do you think the polls would wind up on the "Is this guy more likely to mug you or launch a startup?"

I think Facebook may be a bubble unto itself. Is that possible? Can you have a localized bubble? I'll write more on that later.

Mangoes are good eats, but picking mango strands out of your front teeth is a chore. We have seedless watermelons...can someone invent mangoes crumb up instead of shred?

There don't seem to be any movies out there that I want to see, nor have their been for a while.

I'm going applepicking tomorrow.

Subway Thumbing

Charlie O'Donnell
It's My Life

The guy who just walked into the car has personal space issues...as in...he's in mine.  Push off a little, buddy.  Plenty of room in this car.  Ah, nice.  Today's the first day of normal express trains in Brooklyn.  If Chris Angel, Mindfreak, was Mexican, he'd be the guy behind me.  N train arriving.  Time to switch.  I'm not really into sitting on the train in.  I'll be sitting all day.  I don't need to be sedentary for another 45 minutes.  We havent left the station yet.  The train is silent.  No a/c, no motor noises.  No announcements.  Just the deep voice of the conductor, not over the PA system, but outside  the doors on the platform talking to a customor.  Its the last two weeks in August and the trains are showing it.  Pretty empty.  I could still sit if I wanted to.  I need to break today up into bite sized chunks, so I can be really efficient.  I have a Facebook app to finish the spec for (consulting project) and I need to finish up the syllabus for my class, which starts two weeks from Thursday actually.  I need to move to another car...or I'll be soaked by the time I get to work.  Perhaps that's why this car is so empty.  I wonder if it is every car. Yup. Every car.  Dammit.  What are Windorphins?  I guess this is effective advertising, because now I'm curious and I want to go to their site. Ok, I felt a little bead of sweat roll down my back.  Its hot in here. Its official.  There's now a guy lying down asleep on the floor of the car at the end.  I dont think he was there when I walked in.  No one around him seems the least bit troubled by it.  Some guy went over to him and nudged him.  He's awake.  This little girl sitting by me has an old school baby doll with a plastic head.  Someone has played tic tac toe on the baby's head in blue ball point pen, several times.  Man its hot in here.  When I commutted to high school, you could open up window vents on the B trains. This baby has a thumb sucking feature and eyes that roll back.  The kid has just discovered a hole in the back of the baby's pink onesie, which she conveys to her mom in spanish. Ah...there is a window vent.  I didnt notice that before.  I just went over to open it.  Funny enough, it requires two people to open it because of where the latches are.  This guy next to it was all to happy to oblidge, as if he'd been scoping aid for the last few minutes himself.  Finally,the car just got noticeably cooler.  Did I do that with the window?  If we elected a mayor of this car, I'm sure I'd win. Me and my Passenger of Action campaign would handily defeat the dude who kicked the sleeper.

Six months ago today...

Charlie O'Donnell
It's My Life

I just got this note from Mere...

6 months ago today that you sent this email... to my spam folder, of course, but I got it within a few days. I remember it well; I was sitting in the library, prepping for our afternoon negotiation class, and definitely smiled in amusement at the total randomness of it. :)

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Charlie O'Donnell [mailto:codonnell@oddcast.com]
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 8:37 AM
Subject: [POSSIBLE SPAM] Shrimatch.com

 

Hi Meredith,

 

     Shri tells me that you're planning on coming to New York and that I should look you up.  She's proven to be a wise resource when to comes to career matters for me...this is her first attempt to diversify into the social vertical.  I have to admit, I'm a bit curious to see if her expertise carries over.  :)

     I don't know how much she has told you about me, but basically, I'm a born and bred New Yorker that has wound up in a product manager role by way of finance and venture capital.  I also teach an undergrad class on how techology is  changing business.

     Drop me a line anytime... Hopefully, we can make schedules mesh when you're here.

 

Charlie

Bay Ridge Tornado was six blocks from my apartment

Charlie O'Donnell
It's My Life

It's been confirmed:  A tornado touched down in Bay Ridge on 68th Street between 3rd and 4th avenues.

Not only is this six blocks from my house, but that's the block I always park my car on when there's Thursday/Friday alternate side parking in effect on my street, because that's a Monday/Tuesday block.

The storm was so strong that it woke me up out of bed (I'm a very heavy sleeper) at about 5:45AM.  That's when I sent this twit:

"Crackle crackle KA-BOOM... Wow, that one was close...and loud.  Now that's some thunder and lightning! Woke me up."

Little did I know that a goddamn tornado would touch down about a half hour later just a few blocks away.

One doesn't usually expect this kind of behavior from the sky in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Yesterday's Bike Tour

Charlie O'Donnell
It's My Life

I had a meeting with my friend Angela who runs Sarah Lawrence's career counseling office yesterday morning and decided to bike up to Bronxville.  Later on that day, I had to be back down to Fordham Lincoln Center, and then on the Upper East Side for dinner.  In total, I did about 60 miles.

The early morning bike up to Bronxville was quite nice, although Kimball Avenue in Yonkers is a steep uphill climb at parts.  There was one glitch, though.  I got another flat... this time at 8:15, before bike shops are open, around 14th and the East River.  Instead of twiddling my thumbs, I decided to hop on the subway with the bike up to the Upper East Side to the bike shop on 88th/Lex to make up for lost time and catch them right at opening.

I was leisurely taking photos on the way up, but cut that short when the flat held me up.  Still, I got some cool photos along the way:

IMG_1653


IMG_1656 IMG_1660 IMG_1661 IMG_1665

Pugsley's is a Fordham favorite and I was dying for a chicken roll, but I forgot they were closed for the summer, so I headed out to Arthur Ave to Full Moon...

IMG_1666

Birthday Steak... Suggestions?

Charlie O'Donnell
It's My Life

My best friend Brian, who I know since t-ball the summer before first grade, and I take each other out to steak for our respective birthdays and also job promotions and such--a tradition we've been doing for the last few years.   

So far, between us, we've been to the following places:

  1. Del Frisco
  2. Ben Benson
  3. Ruth's Chris (Charlie)
  4. Morton's (Charlie)
  5. Sparks (Charlie)
  6. Smith and Wollensky's (Brian)
  7. Strip House
  8. Gallaghers (Charlie)
  9. Angelo and Maxie's (Charlie)
  10. Peter Lugars
  11. Palm
  12. Old Homestead
  13. Michael Jordan's (lunch)
  14. Wolfgang's

We're looking to go somewhere Friday that we've both never been...  suggestions on short order?

Don't go without healthcare, because...

Charlie O'Donnell
It's My Life

... don't let coverage lapse because the companies use that as an excuse to jack up the already insane rates.

And health status has nothing to do with it, you WILL get hit with a softball ricocheting off a mustang while you're kayaking, approximately three days after you let coverage lapse.  All while a cat sits at Chelsea Piers saying "I HAS YOUR INSURANCE SIRTIFICAT RITE HERE".

--Hilarious e-mail from Ed Costello

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