Friday, December 29, 2006

2006

A look back at my 24th year as Jayme:


1/1/06, 12:00 a.m. - I toast my Sammy Winter Lager to Dick Clark, hit
the lights and head to bed. I have to work in 7 hours. If I cut a 2006
album, this image would make a fitting cover.

1/12 - WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN LAS CRUCES HOME, SUSPECT/HUSBAND ON THE
LOOSE (CAUGHT JUNE 12TH IN MEXICO)

1/14-18 - My first trip to Mass. since my job started 7 months before.
My Boston endocronologist teaches me everything I need to know about
my disease. My 2-month hiatus from alcohol ends.

1/19-22 - My first trip back to 'Cuse. It was amazing to see everyone.
But most importantly, it put my soul to rest learning that 4 years
was, indeed, enough. Also, my best friend's father died. I'm glad I
could be there, for what it's worth.

mid/Feb - I start dating again. It's been more than a year. It's
priceless, knowing the person you're thinking about is thinking about
you. This will only last til May, but it's just enough to get me by.
Thank you. Very much.

3/27 - LAS CRUCES MOTHER/DAUGHTER STABBED IN HOME, OTHER DAUGHTER,
STAR HIGH SCHOOL B-BALL PLAYER ARRESTED

Mar/Apr - NATIONAL PROTESTS OVER IMMIGRATION PROPOSAL SPREADS TO LAS
CRUCES HIGH SCHOOLS, CITY HALL

4/25 - PUBLIC MONEY FOR "CAMPAIGN" PENCILS PUTS DONA ANA COUNTY
TREASURER IN HOT WATER

4/30 - Find out my apartment manager is not renewing my lease. This
stems from a story I did involving one of his other properties in Dec.
05. Journalism students: read those 2 sentences again. You've been
warned. If I'm going to move, I'm not renting again. The market here
is too green. House-hunting starts.

5/29 - My anchor debut on Memorial Day. It was fun, especially working
with Amber. If you know her and don't absolutely adore her, you're
incorrect. Sorry.

6/2 - DR. SONIA DIAZ NAMED LAS CRUCES SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT

mid/June - My father and I have a phone talk about death. It's the
first time I cry with him in the 2 years he's been diagnosed.

6/26 - 150-YEAR FLOOD SLAMS ALAMOGORDO

6/30/06 - I close on my condo. Move out of my apartment. I have 2
mortgages. I've been up since 2 a.m. cleaning out the shitbox and
getting the last of the boxes in. I'm woken up at 8:30 a.m. by the
bed-delivery guys knocking on the door. I fell asleep in front of the
door. I spend the rest of the day building all my furniture. Looking
back, this was my greatest and proudest day this year.

7/3 - WARPED TOUR '06 IN LAS CRUCES. I crowdsurfed for the camera.
Shameless? Debatable. But some things you only get to do once in life.
If they don't hurt anyone... do them.

7/6-15 - Mommy comes!!! And helps me decorate.

June-August - Weekends at Elephant Butte Lake w/ Andrew, Eileen and
the gang. Frisbee, driving the speedboat and sleeping under the stars.
These trips replaced the weekends I spent "dating" and are equally
appreciated.

8/1 - STORM 2006 SLAMS EL PASO, SOUTH DONA ANA COUNTY

Aug - Mom and Dad have a plan!! This doctor up in Maine performs
stem-cell transplants that give patients a new immune system and
hopefully a new lease on life. Of course, insurance doesn't cover it.
We could fundraise, perhaps... but that's a lot of money to raise so
quickly...

8/15 - HATCH FLOODED

8/20 - nearly bitten by a rattlesnake. moving on...

8/24 - PLUTO DEMOTED TO "DWARF PLANET." ANNOUNCEMENT MOURNED BY LAS
CRUCES, HOMETOWN OF PLUTO'S DISCOVERER CLYDE W. TOMBAUGH

8/28 - LAS CRUCES TO BUILD DOWNTOWN AQUATIC/SPORTS COMPLEX

9/1-8 - First trip east since January. My cousins get married in NJ. I
haven't seen Dad's side in two years. Phenomenal reunion! Back in MA,
I spend a whole day bummin' around Boston and a whole evening hoisting
with a dozen high school and college friends. Looking back, this was
the night I felt the richest all year. And Jim, why'd you have to be
such a dick to that waitress? Equally incredible, Oreo-Nintendo Night
in Waltham with Emmy. Priceless.

9/13 - HAIL STORM HITS CRUCES, POSSIBLE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN WEST OF THE
CITY (riding into that is the only time I've ever felt legitimately
scared on the job... happy f***in birthday)

9/18-22 - EXTORTIONIST THREATENS TO SHOOT RANDOM LAS CRUCENS IF CITY
DOESN'T PAY AN UNTOLD RANSOM

9/25/06 - "Dear Friends," We go public with Dad's disease. The
Fundraiser begins.

Shortly after 9/25: met kasf. again. for the first time.

9/25 - FIRST ROCKET LAUNCH FROM SPACEPORT AMERICA, UPHAM NM.

10/1 - Jason adopts me as his little brother via myspace. Until now, I
don't think he had any clue how much that means to me. p.s. I now have
two non-blood big brothers with the last name Gib(b)s. Go figure.

10/5-9 - 'Cuse Homecoming '06! I was introduced to the greatest
drinking game of all-time (except for "drink the beer," beautiful in
its simplicity)... TAP OUT. Naturally, I won my first game. My victory
was promptly challenged after I tested positive for 2 sugar packs and
a candy bar. Don't worry, Mom. I was FINE. By the way, my facebook
picture was taken that night... that's my friends "reachin out,
touching me, touching Jews" during Sweet Caroline. It was also great
to dance in Darwins, bitch at the football game, and win beer pong
with BH on our first throw. You read that right. I also popped in my
fraternity's Chapter meeting. I didn't think I'd go back in that room
(and no, I passed It). But it's awesome to know there's a place that
will welcome me the rest of my life even though I may not have ever
met a single person inside. May you all experience what that room has
done for me.

10/14-15 - Andrew, Eileen and I roadtrip to Los Angeles. Stayed
downtown, toured Hollywood. I walked in the Pacific, achieving my
Manifest Destiny. Save for family, Andrew, you are my 2006 MVP.

10/17 - I INTERVIEW BUZZ ALDRIN, KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT X-PRIZE SYMPOSIUM

10/20 - DMB & the Rolling Stones at UTEP's Sun Bowl Stadium with Ezra.
2nd best concert I've ever been to (1st, Guster & Folds, Boston
Pavilion w/ Mrs. Mertz.)

11/1 - INELIGIBLE PLAYER KNOCKS LAS CRUCES HIGH OUT OF STATE PLAYOFFS

11/20 - DR. SONIA DIAZ FIRED FROM LCPS SUPERINTENDENT POST

Nov - Dad's Cause has raised $185,000. We'd aimed for $140K.
Contributions poured in from family, friends, loose acquiantances and
people we will probably never meet. We're donating excess funds to the
next family who needs to raise money for a transplant thru the NFT. So
ALL our donors have helped someone you'll never know. And they will
never know you helped. In Judaism, we refer to that as the highest,
most honorable rung on the ladder of Tzedakah (Charity).

12/5/06 - A handshake.

12/22 - KATIE SEPICH'S KILLER CAUGHT, SHERIFF SAYS (for my Masshole
friends, this cold case was the Molly Bish of Southern New Mexico)

12/28 - DAD STARTS HIS TRANSPLANT!!! (scheduled through February)

12/31 - Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

* * * * *

'06 TOP THREES
Hang outs: BBK, The 915, My Brothers Place (all places I can play pool)
Songs: Move Along, Alone, Hips Dont Lie
Drinks: Jack & Diet Coke, Dos Equis, Pepsi Jazz (if you haven't tried Jazz, you're un-American)
Movies: Pirates 2, Borat, All the Kings Men (I haven't seen The Departed yet)
TV Shows: Saved, Heroes, Studio 60
Sports Memories: Vince Young's Rose Bowl, Colts Miss FG v. Pitt, World
Cup Headbutt
Stupidest Moments (me): Driving into a hailstorm, that 2nd game of
TapOut, mucking a busted straight before realizing I rivered the
flush... tell me SOMEONE else has done that?
Stupidest Moments (everyone else): Shooting a friend in the face,
telling the world how you would have killed your wife, accidentally
calling U.S. soldiers retarded. (Wow, I feel better about mucking that
flush already).

Message from 2006: (from my 9/30 blog)
D on't burn bridges.
(You never know when you're going to need someone... and you certainly
never know when you're going to need EVERYONE.)

Love you all,
Jayme

-30-

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Jayme, Party of One

I am amused by man's inability to look inward. (I'm including both sexes, trust me)

It seems too often that when relations break down with a member of the opposite sex, we blame the gender as a whole and not ask ourselves if there's anything we could have done better. We just decide to be upset with everyone else. We make hyperbolic declarations like: "Men are deaf, horny pigs. Fuck 'em," "All women are possessive, clingy and generally insane. Fuck 'em." And my personal favorite: "Last night when I arrived home from work, I had lofty hope that perhaps there are good men that exist. Ones that you can trust and truly care about you as a person. As of this morning, I am convinced this is not the case."

That last one was written about me by one who will respectfully remain nameless.

I hold no grudge. I still think she's a very sweet girl. I won't even defend myself. And therein lies the point.

We need to defend ourselves less. We're so quick to convict the other of being "evil" when all (s)he is guilty of is wanting something different than you. Granted, people sometimes lie. You can be genuinely deceived by "dicks/bitches" into thinking you're getting something they're not giving. But I believe more often, it's nothing more than miscommunication: two people expecting two different things, seeing two different relationships. Sure, you feel deceived. But so, likely, does the other. So how do you avoid similar miscommunications in the future?

a) Impose sanctions on the opposite sex and warn all your friends it is purely evil.
b) Join forces with friends who have imposed such sanctions so you still feel wanted by others.
c) Be more forthcoming with future "interests" so you can weed out those who would compromise your "dating" principles and spend more time with more compatable partners.

* * * * *

Some of you may be thinking I should follow my own advice. But I'm not angry. This advice is for people who storm out of mutually-failed relationships but left their share of the fault by the door. I shrug my shoulders, tally the good times and move on. Does that make me heartless? I guess that's debatable. Does it make me happy? Definitely.

Granted, keep your standards up. Ask yourself what others should do for you. But it doesn't hurt to ask what you can do for others. And the number one thing that can save you future heartbreak is a little more upfront communication.

* * * * *

Comments welcome, as always.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned From Golf.

(F the copyright... you can't keep a good blogger down)


Leave the driver in the trunk. It's worth giving up 30 yards to hit the fairway.
Leave it left. Leave it right. Never, ever leave it short.
Your friends will never know you kicked it out from under that bush. But you will.
You'll never get out of the sand with a half-swing.
When all your friends say "go for it," it's probably the perfect time not to.
Never toss your clubs. The next hole could be the one you've always waited for.
We hit the 30-foot putts because we think about getting them close.
We miss the 3-foot putts because we think about getting them in.
The happiest golfers are the ones content with golfing alone.
Keep your eyes on the ball.
No, the ball. Keep... no. The fucking Ball. Eyes. Ball. ... good.
Don't bitch about your slice. Tighten your grip. Move your feet. Slow your backswing. Don't bitch.
No one's going to count your strokes for you.
If assholes are breathing down your neck, just let them play through.
If you leave your cart to find your ball... take more than one type of club.
If you lose your ball, look for 2 minutes. Then drop. Hit. Move on.
You're going to lose balls. Buy them out of the $1 jar on the counter.
Like it or not, your club hit the ball exactly where and how you told it to.
If you hit an ace, you buy the drinks.
Don't talk while someone's hitting. You'll have to hit eventually.
When all your friends tell you to "just lay up," it's probably the perfect time not to.
If there's a practice green, use it. Make your mistakes there.
Everyone's handicap is different. Play your game. Beat your best. Not his.

At the end of the round, everyone wins because everyone played.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Genuine. Premium.

Neil Young sings: "It's better to burn out than to fade away."

It's one thing to hear it, another to see it with your own eyes. I did this weekend, watching Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the rest of the Rolling Stones tear up the Sun Bowl for an hour and a half Friday night. I've been to good concerts, some of them great. Friday night was inspiring. Seeing a band so legendary that Dave Matthews would bow down to them... which he did when he came back out to help Mick sing "Lean on Me." I guess I should mention that Dave opened for the Stones with an hour-twenty-minute set of his own. He opened with "Don't Drink the Water," played my favorite DMB song "Grey Street," and (praise Apollo) closed with Ants. I loved just watching him and Mick dance for 3 hours. The only Stones song I really wanted to hear live was Start Me Up (which, surprisingly, they played like 7th). After every song, Ezra & I looked at each other and sung "DAAA D'UH DAT" until they finally freggin' played it.

One night. Two bands crossed off my list of bands I need to see before I assume my next form (or the bands do). Bands I've now seen include (no order): DMB, The Stones, Boston, Doobie Brothers, Allman Brothers, Waltham, Ben Folds, Guster, Ben Folds WITH Guster (still my favorite show), 3eb (still my favorite band), Bosstones, All-American Rejects, Yellowcard, The Offspring, Gym Class Heroes, Flogging Molly, Fountains of Wayne (most random concert I've ever seen... playing impromptu in front of the Hancock... remember Meglino?), Four Tops - Temptations - OJs - Whispers (same show), The Indigo Girls, Maynard Ferguson w/ Big Bop Nouveau... and maybe some I forgot.

Groups/Artists I still need to see: BNL, Green Day, Maroon 5, Rockapella, Billy Joel, the Eagles, Goo Goo Dolls, U2. I guess Dispatch is out of the question... or is it?

Saturday began with 18 sweet holes at the prestigious NMSU Golf Course. I got my birdie (an uphill 25-foot putt on ..2). That's all I ask of myself... one hole per round--one shot that I can toast to later. I will never toss my clubs in the water because as bad as one hole can be, every "next hole" could be the hole you tell your grandkids about. Reason ..2348 why I love golf. In an upcoming blog, I will jot down "Everything I Need To Know About Life I Learned From Golf" (sorry, kindergarden).

The 19th hole was back at my place... Ezra and I treated ourselves and our friend Consuela to burgers off the $1000 community grill in front of my place (¡Me encanta mi... uhh condo...o!) as well as Pumpkin Ice Cream from Dreyers (if there's any left at your supermarket, try it now or live the rest of your life wondering what you've missed). Then, it was time to

PARTY. Ezra & I went to an abc7-hosted Halloween shindig as "The Life of the Party." More specifically, I was a giant beer bottle with a label that summed up our entire weekend: "Geniune. Premium. Beer." Ezra went as a keg... but wait, there's more. His top, which looked like a tap, actually held 12 ounces of beer which he could then drink thru a built-in tap. It was a huge hit. Though I had to sacrifice 4% of my time budgeted for dancing with hot chicks to fill him up, I'd do it for any good man. Props to Ron Burgundy & Veronica Corningstone, Lil John and the Fantanas for 2nd, 3rd & 4th place in my book... behind Ezra's Keg (extra points for practicality).

I closed out with a perfect Sunday... chocolate-chip pancakes down at IHOP, watching an OT fieldgoal bury Ben Worthlessburger and the Steelers and catching up on Heroes. By the way, I checked out the comic book on the Heroes site... don't count the quarterback out just yet........... (what does he mean? ... why is he talking like that? ... is he gonna do that the whole blog?)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'll close out this week's version of "Inside my Head" by answering the 5 most popular questions I've received lately.

1. How is your dad doing?
He tells me he's in wonderful spirits (as are my mom, sister, and I) and is constantly touched whenever I tell him any of you send your best. Thank all of you again for your support in so many ways. We are soaring towards our monetary goal of $140,000 for his transplant and such which is now scheduled for mid-November.

2. How are you doing?
I'm very happy. Counting down to dad's transplant (which I'm very confident in). I've also had a well-rounded 30 days of travel. In fact, this'll be my first 5-day workweek since September. I'm just gettin ready to hunker down for another long work-stretch including the beloved November sweeps. And my health is great.

3. What's up with our WHS '01 Reunion?
It's the Friday after Thanksgiving. Providence. Check the last email I wrote you this summer. Zack & I will hopefully send out final times and cost this week. Don't assume I have your email... send it to me.

4. When are you moving back east?
Not sure about that. I will admit... all signs point to D.C. Eventually. For now, I'm soaking up every moment in New Mexico. It's such a refreshing contrast to a northeast lifer, I'm not taking one sunset, one enchilada, one post-rain mesquite bush for granted.

5. What happened to your Sox?
Go Patriots. 5-1, baby!


If you have any questions for Jayme, message his myspace page or IM him at LPBrew82. Then check his next blog and tell all your friends: "I'm on Jayme's blog." And they'll be like: "No way." And you'll be all like: "Heck yes, I am. Check it out." And they'll be like "Pssh... whatev." And you'll be all like: "I whatev'd your mom last night."

Or something like that... talk to you soon.
Watch for my next blog, Golf: The Greatest Game Ever Created By Humans.

-30-