Monday, December 3, 2007

ESPN zone

I am a major sports fan. For every sport I have a favorite team and I keep track of the games all season long. One of the coolest things about being a sports fan and living around NYC is the ESPN Zone located in Times Square. A restaurant with a whole bunch of TV sets with major sporting events. I could spend hours in there.

On Sunday night there was a major football game. New England Patriots versus the Indianapolis Colts, and of course my friends and I needed to be somewhere special to watch such a great game. So we decided to go into the city and watch the game with all the other crazy fans in the city at ESPN Zone. There were probably close to over a hundred people on the floor we were at it was loud and insane just so much fun.

The great thing about ESPN Zone is how big it is and the different levels and bars. It’s really nice and every floor is different. My friends and I watched the game on the second floor in the Bristol Suite overlooking Times Square. When the game got boring or there were time outs, watching the people down on the street was just as entertaining. The second floor, Bristol Suite isn’t the only area within the building though.

You can watch your favorite sporting events from any one of three floors. The first floor at the Zone is the Studio Grill restaurant, with the baseball tonight bar, and Zone stuff the gift shop. I honestly recommend if you need a gift for someone who is a sports fan they would most likely love anything from that shop.

On the second floor there is also a screening room, which is just that, huge screens for your entertainment, plus the skybox which is like a lounge. The third floor of the Zone is a sporting arena, with arcade style games, fun for everyone. There is another bar on the third floor, the 19th hole bar. The bars are usually the most crowded area of the building or at least they have been the couple of times I have been to ESPN Zone.

ESPN Zone is different then any other sports bar that I have ever been to mainly because it has the ESPN title. I felt something special in there, like some kind of weird pride to be a sports fan. I have been to the Zone in Baltimore and it has nothing on New York. My friend Tom likes Baltimore better, but he is foolish because hands down being in New York makes everything better.

I am a New England fan and one of my friends who I was watching the game with is an Indianapolis all the way type of guy, for some reason. So whenever these teams play each other it’s always a fun time with us, we get really into the games, and being at the Zone with fellow crazy sports fans, people make friends. Like when we were there this weekend I met a guy named Matt, and we talked for about an hour about how awesome Tom Brady was. My friend found a guy who felt the same about the Colt’s quarterback and we formed alliances in our ongoing football fight. It was just a fun night, good time.

The people who work at ESPN Zone are some amazing waiters and waitresses. They are so friendly and helpful. The bartenders are cool. The Zone is just such an interesting environment. The food there is equally perfect. I could die over the chicken wings that they serve, better then anywhere else in my opinion. I go to the city ever so often, but making a special trip just to go to ESPN Zone is highly worth it, and if you haven’t been, you should go and watch a game, have a soda and some chicken wings.

Transportation

Transportation is key when you live in a busy city. There are many methods of transportation a person could use for example there are buses, the ferry, taxis all at your disposal. To walk the entire area of Manhattan could take you forever, too much to see and do. It would be a cause of distraction if your trying to make it somewhere in a hurry.

You can take a bus and ride until you either reach your destination or until you find a place to take another bus, which then drops you off where you need to be it can get confusing, but they just run in circles so there is no fear of getting too lost.

Another way to get from point A to point B would be to take the ferry, which drops you off right at the start of the city and there you can find anything you’re looking for. The ferry is free, which makes it convenient for everyone. But it takes longer then a lot of people want to wait. I myself don’t mind taking the ferry, but I wouldn’t take it alone, and from what I hear its not too safe at night, so I avoid that as much as possible too.

Subways are also great, they don’t cost too much and it’s a pretty quick way to travel around, the biggest perk is no underground traffic. There is little that is easier then taking the taxi, the only difficult part is finding your train. You meet the most unique people on the subway and the views you get of the some buildings once your up and above ground are cool.

I absolutely love taking cabs, there is no hassle. You flag a car down and tell the driver where to take you, so simple. Sometimes you may get that crazy driver who listens to strange radio stations and asks you questions the entire time you’re in the backseat, but even then the cab ride is fun. Cab drivers know where they are going most of the time, and if you have an experienced driver, they know the easy routes to take you where you need to go.

Just last week I took a taxi by myself for the first time which is something I may never do again, I got in the car and sat in silence as they took me back across the Verrazano Bridge, and there wasn’t even the radio on. We were stuck in traffic for a while too and I tried to spark a conversation but the driver just kind of snorted and sat there, it made for an extremely long and kind of creepy ride home.

That is the major downfall to taking a taxi - the heavy traffic in the city that you just can’t escape. Then the drivers get cranky and it makes for an awkward social environment, which is why you should bring something to do while you’re in the car, iPod, and book, something to keep you occupied while stuck in those long lines. During certain times of the day it would be much smarter to take the subway then to hail a cab.

Despite these great ways of transportation you could always have a friend drive you into the city, granted parking is horrible and expensive, it may make it easier then finding your way around. Of course if I didn’t know exactly where I was going and the exact way to get there, I wouldn’t drive into the city for fear of getting lost.

Capitial Punishment

Lately the topic of Capital Punishment has been coming up in my Criminal Justice class. I am in between weather I believe Capital Punishment is wrong or right. I do believe that if you do have it in your self to kill someone then you have evil inside you. If you take the life of someone else or rape someone you do not deserve to live. Taking the life of someone damages the victim’s families and friends. There is nothing you can do that will bring that person back to the people that have loved them. Also rape is a serious crime. It damages the victim and their family.

On the other hand I don’t think that killing the inmate will solve the problem. After they are dead there is still that hurt inside of the people that will never go away. You can never get the person back and killing someone does not make everything better. Sometimes it is worse for the person to sit behind bars all their life thinking about the crime they committed.

In conclusion Capital Punishment can be either a good way to deal with the death of someone you love or it could be completely the opposite. There is no one person who can decide if it is wrong or right. There are many different views on this matter and in the discussion of Capital Punishment will go on without a end.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

STRESS

Stress has become a problem for me lately. It is difficult for me to deal with everything that is going on right now. I hate when people try to help you but all they o is make things worse. It really sucks when you are trying to tell someone what is wrong and they just don’t understand. Sometimes it is more important to just listen to someone then to talk about things. I don’t need someone to keep telling me what I am doing wrong. A lot of the times I try to tell people how I feel and they don’t listen. They listen but they don’t comprehend and realize that all I wan them to do is listen to me and realize that there is something wrong and the only one who can fix it is me.
I hate when people pretend to listen to you when all they want to do is hear themselves talk. If you really want to help someone you need to learn how to just take everything in and let them vent to you. Sometimes it is easier for me to write down how I feel because when u write things down you are not interrupted. There is no one there to turn the focus on them instead of hearing your problems. Writing helps me in all of my difficult situations.

BLACK FRIDAY

Yes, I was one of the many insane people that went out at 12am on BLACK FRIDAY. I never knew how crazy some people go over sales. I went upstate to Woodbury Commons. Each store had a line out the door with people waiting as long as 2 hours to get inside. I do not think that I have seen so many people in one shopping place in my whole life. It is crazy how people get and how nasty some people can be when it comes to shopping. I have always realized that some people are just rude people but when it comes to shopping people can be inconsiderate and to greedy.
I do not like being around a lot of people at one time. It makes me frustrated and aggravated. Being those two takes out the fun of shopping and I love, love, love to shop. It is my passion. But when it comes to being in a crowded place with people and their shopping bags bumping into you id rather be home and not shopping.
I can only imagine how much money the owners of stores make during BLACK FRIDAY and the holiday weekend. I know I myself dropped at least four hundred dollars in the three hours of shopping I did. And I wouldn’t be surprised if there are people out there who tripled what I spent. I will never go shopping on BLACK FRIDAY ever again and that is a promise.

BEAUTY PAGENTS

Beauty pageants today are all about what these young girls look like. Why should someone be rewarded on how they look? When you look at the girls in beauty pageants yes they are beautiful girls but they are trained on what to say and when to say things. These girls to me are not like real girls they are just people that were formed into what we now think is the definition of beauty.
Society would be better off with out competitions on who is better looking in a swimsuit or who has the nicer evening gown. Girls look up to these pageant contestants as role models. That makes girls think that the important thing in life is to be the pretty girl who looks good in anything she wears. Those are not the type of things that girls should be looking up to.
I do realize there are questions asked by the judges and the host of the pageants but these girls are so trained on what to say if they have a certain question. If you are a contestant in something you should be using your own ideas or your own answers because you are the one competing in this contest. It’s okay to say what you really think and what you really mean but in these contest the girls never really say things they want to say or the way they want to say them.
Also pageants when younger girls are put into pageants the parents become too involved. They push these children to much that they don’t have fun doing the pageants anymore. A lot of the parents take the competitions to seriously and in the end it affects the children in a bad way. They begin to think that they are not good enough and that they need to do something in order to be prettier like crash diet or get something surgically fixed on them.
In conclusion beauty pageants are something society can live without. There not something that you need to watch or that people need to participate in. Then can be fun at first but then they can become something that is just a reminder to the viewers that what you see on T.V is considered beauty. And to me that is not what beauty is.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love getting dressed up and going out with my friends. I think it is so funny when people dress up because sometimes you see the most ridiculous costumes. Halloween is not just for kids and i love that because unlike Christmas you can enjoy the holiday as much as you did when you were a kid. Christmas involves Santa and sooner or later when your a kid you realize that Santa is not real and you don't get as many gifts as you used to. As a College student you can still enjoy Halloween and sometimes you enjoy it even more being older then you did when you were a child. Now there are alot more parties and things to do on Halloween. Halloween is now like a whole week of parties. Dressing up is essential for getting into parties and if your not dressed up you will be rejected.

Radio

It really bothers me when i turn on the radio and the DJ introduces a song as "new music" and i have all ready heard the song months ago. People that are not into music like i am do not realize how many good songs there are out there that are not on the radio yet. I hate when I'm in the car with people and they sit there and tell me that the "new" song on the radio is so good and that its the first time they have heard it when i have all ready heard it and I'm all ready tired of it by the time it goes on the radio. The radio plays out so many songs and so much music. It gets annoying because some bands are not supposed to become so famous. Its good for the bands because they are making money but it sucks for the fans because they have followed the music for so long and it gets annoying when other people become fans because they have heard the music on the radio. If a CD comes out and they do not play the music until a year or two later it is not considered new music. And the radio should not play out the music as much as they do because then people just get really annoyed.

Monday, November 5, 2007

GOSSIP

Anywhere you go you are going to have to deal with people and Gossip. People think that because they go to a new school and meet new people they will not be bothered with gossip. In all reality people will talk about you anywhere you go. Everyone wants to know everyone elses business. No matter what you do you will have someone talking about you, weather what there saying is good or bad.
I have found that it is hard to trust alot of people because if you trust someone and tell them something it is more then likely for them to go around and tell one of there friends. Espicially if what you have to tell them is something that would effect someone else they know.
Comming to School in Staten Island I knew it was going to be just like home and if not worse. My roommate on the other hand thought it would be less stressful and less gossip. It is hard for her to deal with the fact that no matter where you go people are going to judge you no matter where you are. Drama follows you everywhere and unless you become fake and try to please everyone someone is going to have something bad to say about you. This is all a part of growing up and becomming an adult. Gossip and Drama is all a part of being a teenager.
But it dosnt stop when you become an adult. Even people that are out of school have to deal with gossip. When you go to work when you are an adult it is just as bad as when you are in school. Again people always have something to say about you no matter how old you are and it is a shame that they have nothing else better to do.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Kids

I hate when kids come into restaurants. Especially when they are loud and wild from the get go. Right then I know I am going to get a headache fore dealing with these kids. What i hate even more then these little animals are their parents that let them get like this. Instead of getting the smack across the head that they deserve their parents are the ones that provide them with the crackers or unfinished food that the kids take and make a mess out of. How are you gonna let your kid open up all the sugar packets and smear their food all around the table when you know someone else has to clean it up? Especially when they don't have the decency to tip even 15 percent of the bill. They should just save everyone the trouble and get food from the Burger King drive up window and let their kids mess their own house.

Music

I found that in Staten Island there are limited amounts of music that people listen to. Mostly everyone listens to Techno or House music. I feel like if you don’t like to listen to that sort of music people look like you like you’re from another world. Personally I don’t mind the Techno or House music but I also think that there is better music out there. I enjoy listing to music with different beats and words in them.
Every Techno song is a remake of a song that was made popular by another artist. I think that it’s stupid. Why can’t the people that do Techno make their own songs instead of using other peoples and passing them off as their own?
In Jersey we listen to a lot of different types of music. All my friends listen to different music from The Starting Line, Cute is what we aim for, Kenny Chesney, Bonjovi and many different assortments of artist. We all also like to go to different types of concerts. When I talk about a concert to people in Staten Island a lot of them have only gone to Beat Stock. Back home we go to concerts every chance we get.
I have nothing against Techno but I just like to listen to different types of music and I wish I could find some people that liked to listen to the same thing instead of walking around doing the Staten Island fist pump and Raving.

High School

Yesterday I was driving home from school and I decided to go into South Amboy which is the town my high school is in. I haven’t seen my old high school in a long time and by seeing it I got a little upset. I used to love going to school at Cardinal McCarrick and when I look back at my four years there I have nothing but good memories.
As I was passing the school I realized how much I missed it. I used to hate going to school sometimes because I wanted to meet new people and high school is always the same people. Now that I am in college I miss how everyday in high school you would be with the same people.
The thing I miss the most is going to school with my best friend. I’ve known my friend Cassie since we were basically born and we went to school together all our lives. We used to do everything together and now that we are in different school we don’t get to see each other as much as we would like too.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Adapting to college

So far my experience at college is alot of fun. I have made so many new friends and i enjoy spending time with these people. On the other hand I'm finding it a bit difficult to keep up with my homework and papers. The reason for this is most likely because i have no one pushing me to do all my work. I have to wake up and go to class on my own and there is no one to push me to do well.
When you adapt to college you have to take into consideration that it is not a joke. If you don't attend class then you will have a problem catching up on the materials that you have missed. Most of your teachers will fail you if you miss their class more then they would like.
Also adapting to college is hard because you have to develop time management skills so that you can figure out when you will get your work done and when you will go out with your friends. There is also money management that you have to deal with. A lot of your money is going to activities you do out of school but you need to manage how much money you spend with in a week. College is a step you take to taking responsibility for your self.

Monday, October 22, 2007

News

http://suburban.gmnews.com/news/2007/1018/Front_Page/002.html

In this article it is saying how they are going to build a amusement park in my town. I live in a small town called Sayreville. I would never imagine having a amusement park in my town or anywhere near me only because it is so small and not many people would approve of it i don't think anyway.There is a limited am0unt of space in my town to begin with. I don't understand why they would want to build something like that. It really bothers me because to me my town is all ready over crowded and there are to many people in it. If they build this then there are going to be a lot of angry people in my neighborhood.
They want to build a sports complex, movie theater, amusement park, mall, and parking garages. No one would want this around where they live. To me this is absolutely ridiculous.

Next Semester

Next semester my best friend Cassie is going to be coming to St Johns for school. She is transferring in from Chest Nut Hill in Philly. I am really excited because Ive known this girl since we were basically born and we went to high school together. We were supposed to go to College together in Florida but we decided that it was to far from our home in Jersey. I always hang out with her on the weekends either i will go to her school and stay with her or she will come stay with me for the weekend. We would do everything together when we went to high school so i can only imagine how much we are going to be together next semester.
We both are so excited and were going to try to get a dorm together. Also my other friend Lauren is going to come to St Johns next year so all three of us will be living together. Its going to be awesome and i really cant wait.

Staten Island Traffic

I have never sat through traffic for more then a hour before i started to go to school here. I hate traffic to begin with and it really bothers me when i have to wait a hour to get to the mall when it would normally only take me about twenty minuts the most to get there. Sometimes i decide to go home to Jersey for the night just to sleep in my own bed and in the morning it will take me almost two hours to get from my house in Jersey to school. With out traffic it would only take me twenty minuts to a half hour.
I know Staten Island is not the only place with traffic like this but it seems no matter where i go i have to sit in a line and wait for no reason. If there is a accident then everyone will go slower to be able to see what happened. After you pass the accident the traffic seems to move alot faster because there is nothing else to look at.
I always dread getting into the car because i know that at some point during the car ride im going to be sitting in traffic no matter where i go. i like living on the Island and everything but i dont like the idea of having to wait in traffic anywhere i go

Adapting to a roommate

When you come to college and you choose to live on campus you are faced with the challenge of adapting to living with a person you may or may not know. The first week or so you don't know exactly how this person is. People tend to be nice until you get to know them. It is not rare that over time you and your new roommate or roommates may not get along. They could be dirty, rude, mean or inconsiderate. Unfortunately your are forced to live with this person unless you can find some way to arrange it so that you can move in with different people.
It is important to set rules for one another to show who your boundries. Also you should assign chores to make sure things get done. Cleaning up after your self is something you have to do now. Your mother isnt going to come and do it for you and if you dont clean for your self your just going to cause problems for you and your roommate.
It is important to respect eachother.When living with another person you have to adapt to the way they live. You have to share the expensis for the appartment and do the shopping together so you know what to get.When you live with someone you need to respect their views and beliefs in order for things to work. You have to make alot of compermises and share responsibilties. It is important to learn how to share space and talk about things you want to happen and things you don't.
After your first semester or year you have enough experience to decide what kind of person you want to live with and what kind you do not. When picking a roommate you always have to make sure you can stand to be with that person for a amount of time because sometimes you are stuck with them.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Feast

The other day I went to a feast in New York City. I took the train into the city from Brooklyn with my boyfriend. I am from Jersey so it was somewhat different. I usually take a train into Pen Station but we took one right onto Canal. It was the firs time I went to something like that and it was a really good experience. It’s amazing that so many people gather in one place. The feast was an Italian one and everywhere you looked there were people of other nationalities. I think things like that are really good for the world. In a way everyone was celebrating something together and even if your not Italian people don’t look at you and wonder why your there.
We went to eat at an Italian restaurant. I am not really that big on Italian food because I don’t eat a lot of it when I am home considering the fact that I’m polish and I eat more of that kind of food instead. I really enjoyed my meal and everything about the restaurant. I love the city so it was a great experience for me. I can’t wait to go again next year.
My friend Sarah was in a car accident today at 12 noon. The accident was actually in my town on my street. My friend Wade was driving the truck that they were in and my friend Andrew was in the back seat. He was coming down my street going way to fast around the bend. He lost control of the car and went over my neighbor’s lawn. My neighbor has a brick wall that the truck flew over and then crashed into a tree. My mom saw the whole thing and said that after the crash Andrew got out of the car and couldn't walk. She called the police and within seconds of the accident they arrived at the scene. Shortly after the police arrived my mother said a priest came. Helicopters had to airlift them both to the hospital. Sarah was unconscious. I haven’t heard anything about how she’s doing and from what I understand she has a little chance to survive.
I went to school with her from first grade until the end of high school. She was always one of the nicer girls in school. She never had any problems with anyone. It’s just a shame that something like this had to happen to someone so nice and good hearted.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Water bugs

I have never seen a water bug in my life until last week and to be completely honest i would rather not see one again. I am terrified of bugs. Any kind of bug. I hate bugs that fly, crawl, jump, swim and any other way of movement. Last week as I was walking through my apartment I saw the biggest bug I have ever seen in my life. I thought that before I moved into my apartment that it would have been exterminated but I thought wrong. There is nothing worse then finding a bug in your apartment and not knowing what it is or how it got there.