DeMizio's Journal

And so it goes...

First off, this is an interesting read. I'm looking at it from the perspective of an outsider, having come to Philadelphia 4 years ago after stays in Jersey and Maryland. I see the abuses that Lundy sees, in smaller situations. "Corrupt" cops (so-called, because I don't have a thesarus to find a better word) drinking at Belfield [who still seem to do a decent job whwn called upon], nepotism exists on the same scale in other large cities, municipal bureauracracy that boggles and confuses the mind... In short, I'm not sure what to think about the region. Lundy cites "the history, the diversity and the character" of the region as positives, and the possibilty of an "inferiority complex" existing on a large scale for the area.

I dunno. For some reason, the problems seem small to me. This seems to be a darn nice place to live...

The last couple of days have been according to the routine...work from 8:30 to 4:30...dinner...sometimes a nap. I've been getting down to the tennis courts from 9-10 most nights - after the sun and the heat go down, the lights come on - and just try and hit the ball. If I'm able to bring anyone down that has a racket with me (only Dave and Kelly have them so far...) we'll play. Otherwise, its just me and the wall, trying to work on my shots and become a better player. Then its back here to the house for a shower, reading, and sleep.

Work has been slow this week...slow enough that stuffing folders almost seemed fun for a while as an exercise against the boredom. Theres a camp here this weekend, and theres more stuff next week, but July will be the busy time. I'm trying to get time off at some point during it, but it looks like the only time I'll be home will be for right before training - the first week of August.

My reading habits have finally picked up their steam for the summer. Last week I finished
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. Its an incredible read...a word we used to use in Cronin's workshop was "stuff" - the details that make a life seem real or that make a book come alive. This book has so much "stuff" that I don't know where to begin. It takes the reader into the world of comic books from the 1930s-1960s and into the lives of two men who would be forever changed by that world: a Jewish immigrant from Prague, escaping Nazi tyranny, and a young New York dreamer stuck in his dead-end job. I knew nothing about comic books before I started, and while I don't feel overly educated into the world of inkers, superheroes and masked men, I never felt like I was in over my head. Its a great read and highly reccomended.

Last night finished Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence by Paul Feig. A funny, quick read, about the horrors of adolescence from the guy that seems to have been through the worst of it all. Feig is the one who developed the underground smash "Freaks and Geeks" for television. Not much other to say than that...its a fun read, laughs abound, and my mind boggles as to how it all could be true.

I'm now working my way through Atlas Shrugged again...I passed the hundred page barrier today, and it has me in its grip. This time I will finish it.

So yeah, thats about it for now...lifes pretty busy, but good.

Posted by Matthew at June 25, 2003 10:27 PM