You can't turn left on Market St.
Sometimes the best laid plans go straight to hell in a handbag. I was in Philly, home of my favorite sports team, on a business trip yesterday with my co-worker Andrea. We had a nice "productive" visit to our host site, and had planned to get out of town in time to beat the 3:00 rush hour traffic. Our plan was quite simple.....get headed the right direction on Market St., find 8th or 9th street, turn left and head to 676, eventually to link up to 76 and home. Travelling through a grid based system is usually fairly easy. Only it seems the boneheads that set the traffic patterns do not allow LEFT TURNS on Market street until you hit 5th street. Unfortunately, the 5th street left drops you onto 676 THE WRONG WAY over a bridge heading into lovely Camden, NJ, with no chance to turn around.
Now Camden is one of those towns that you don't want to drive through, let alone spend any time in. So we figured we'd turn around at the first exit and get back on 676 going back to Philly, right? WRONG. Just like the old R.E.M. song - "You Can't Get There From Here". We could see 676, smell 676, practically taste 676 (although that might have been the Camden air), but we could NOT get back in the right direction. So after spending about 15 min. getting turned left right and center, we got back on and drove about 5 more miles and fortunately caught another bridge back into Philly. The problem was, we were on the wrong side of Philly when 3PM hit, and our trip took a bit longer than anticipated.
I suppose people who travel that way all the time are familiar with these traffic patterns, but being from "out of town", I got hosed royally. A big thanks to Andi for not beating the tar out of me for getting us sort of lost!
Well, as of 7AM today I have been a bachelor (of sorts). Time to round up the boys and round up some rounds!!!! Until tomorrow......
The Fun Bunch vs. The Kings of Brookwood....
A very wise man once told me, "Aquaintances are a dime a dozen, but true friends are very rare....and if you can count the number of true friends you have on one hand, and fill up the hand, you are a very lucky person, indeed." If you think about it, and think really hard, you have to agree he may very well be right. Twice in my life, I was fortunate enough to be in a group of four people who would basically die for each other.
The Fun Bunch, as we called ourselves, was my high school group. Invincible, yet immature, we would spend hours playing video games, cruising the mall for chicks, eating thousands of calories a day of junk food/fast food, blowing things up, and generally being Beavis and Buttheads. Sure we had our share of fights, but the unspoken understanding was that no matter how pissed off we were at each other, we'd still be there for each other whatever was needed....
College seems to be a major transition time in one's life, and mine was no exception. As my proximity to the Fun Bunch waned, I soon developed a new group of close friends, who I like to refer to as the Kings of Brookwood, named after the rathole apartment complex we lived in as upperclassmen. Like my Fun Bunch group, we shared similar interests, but they became focused a bit more on partying and surviving the college experience. Ironically, we still found ourselves playing video games, cruising the mall for chicks, eating thousands...... but we added MUCH more beer consumption. And again, no matter how pissed off we got at each other (even to this day), we still basically would be there for each other, whatever was needed.
The interesting thing is that when college finished, we all pretty much went in different directions and started completely different lives, like what happened with my high school group. However, no matter how far apart we find ourselves, I still feel like I can count on any of these guys for anything. That they will be there for me if I need them, and vice versa. And I still even feel that way about my Fun Bunch boys, although I'm still really only close to one of the three these days. Somehow, friendships forged in blood, sweat and tears seem to be friendships that can stand the test of time. And I believe that TRUE friends can only become true friends through ALOT of trials and tribulations. That all the "war stories" we tell represent links of a chain of friendship. A bond of understanding and shared experiences that let us live our futures with hopes of holding onto a bit of the past. I have the opportunity to add a few new "links" to my chain over the next two weeks, and I'm very much looking forward to every crazy minute...
First Post
Well, I figured it was high time to jump on the Blog bandwagon, so to speak. Starting basic and working my way up to bigger things, I suppose, for this adventure. I'd like to acknowledge www.cyberhap.com and www.bikescag.com as being influences and inspiration for my upcoming blogging. (Thanks boys....)
So T minus 3 days until I enter bachelorhood for a full 10, yes TEN days. Gina and Brandon are heading South to my favorite state (Florida, of course), and I'm going to get to exercising the liver for a few days. Looking much forward to a LONG overdue reunion of sorts with the Hapmeister, et. al. If all goes well, I'll end up with a new, refreshed outlook on life, and hopefully be able to stay out of the hoosegow!
Anyway, stay tuned for daily (+/-) musings, info, and general overall BS from this warped and sometimes tortured mind. Anything can and probably will happen.......
