Antmeister
09-05-2008, 08:07 AM
Where did you grow up?
Born and raised in Marlboro, New Jersey. It's an upper-middle class suburb that's about 20 mins from the beach. Marlboro was a huge farming town back in the day, thanks to the discovery of the mineral "marl" in the soil (get it, borough of marl?). The population really exploded in the late 80s, and unfortunately it's pretty overcrowded these days. But it still has a great school system, it's safe, and overall just nice-looking so people keep wanting to move in, buying and building bigger homes.
What brought you to the FOFC?
I don't remember exactly how I found the original Sideline, but I was definitely an early member. As a recent thread brought back to mind, I found out about FOF1 through a posting by Bill Abner in a Usenet group (come to think of it, it's amazing I even knew how to find that stuff with how young I was). I was hooked immediately, and even did a short interview with Jim for a website where I used to review games. So I probably found the board through a link on Usenet. Glad I did…it's weird to say, but I legitimately look forward to reading this board.
Have you ever played werewolf?
If the posts counted, I just might. Seriously…no, and I never really understood what it's about or how it's played. But I'm glad others get a lot of fun out of it. And the few days that surrounded that whole fiasco with the posts being moved to another forum and not counting were some of the best in FOFC history.
Do you have any superpowers?
My vision is phenomenal. Not good enough to see through girls' clothes, but almost.
What do you do for fun? What do you do for money?
For fun…watch sports, play sports, play Xbox with buddies, hang out with friends, go to bars to chase girls…the usual stuff. I like to read too, but it's hard to find the time.
For money…I'll answer that below.
How long do you expect to live?
Honestly, I want to go just before everything start's breaking down, both physically and mentally. I've seen the effort my parents have put forth to take care of their parents, and I really don't want to put my kids (hopefully) through the same ordeal.
What do you look like?
5'10, 193 lbs (currently), black hair, dark eyes, a bit darker skin than the typical white guy. People always think I'm Italian, but it's not the case. As for weight, I've lost about 30 lbs over the past couple months and I still have a lot of tightening up to do, but I look a lot better now than I did then. I look much better now than I did in about 2002, when I was pushing 335 lbs.
What do you prefer physically in a woman?
I've found myself attracted to all different girls of all different ethnicities, so it's hard for me to peg down anything specific. I guess if I was forced to pick one for an immediate attraction, it would be the blonde hair/blue eye type…my last couple girlfriends have fit that description. Really anything goes...
…a great ass helps though.
How did you get your username?
This question should be directed at my parents.
What sports do you follow? Which are your favorite teams? Why or how did they become your favorite teams?
College football, baseball, and hockey are tops for me. Pro football and college basketball are a notch below, although I still consider myself a big fan of all of them.
Favorite teams:
- Obviously Rutgers: My #1 priority. I love this football team. I wasn't a fan until I started as a freshman in 2001, but that was the year Greg Schiano came aboard and the program changed (hopefully) forever. The basketball team is finally getting some recruiting momentum behind Fred Hill Jr. We're bringing in a McDonald's All American this year, along with a top 5 center that we got over Duke. The Big East is so tough though, so it will take time to make real progress.
- New York Mets: My father and brother are both big fans, rubbed off on me.
- New York Rangers: I actually became a fan of them because of my best friend growing up. Him and his dad were obsessed, and I latched onto them. This was during the Kelly Kisio years, which immediately preceded the Messier trade.
- San Francisco 49ers: Simply put, I was a front-runner. Watching Joe Montana throw to Jerry Rice was amazing to me. At least I've stuck with them through the bad times.
What do you do for a living?
I work for a small outfit called the US Department of the Treasury. More specifically, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Yep, I'm a Fed. The OCC is the regulator of all national banks (BofA, Chase, Citi, Wachovia, etc) and I am, by title, a bank examiner. I spend my time working in different banks (most of which are much smaller than those above, typically $250 mil to $3 bil in assets) for a few weeks at a time, doing things like commercial and residential credit analysis, investment portfolio analysis, anti money laundering, evaluating financial performance, some compliance with laws, etc.
I like it a lot because I'm always doing something different, in a different physical location, so it doesn't get boring to me. I get to do some travel too. The money is good as I make around the same as my friends in finance who work 80 hour weeks (although I miss out on potential large bonuses, damn it), the hours are good, and best of all, I have off every other Friday as we work what's called a flex schedule (extra hour a day for 8 days).
There are some times when working for the government can be a bit annoying with all the bureaucracy, but since we're not publicly-funded (changes the culture a bit) and have a lot of older people retiring/younger people being hired out of school, that is in the process of changing.
Do you have any post-secondary education? if so, where?
I feel stupid for not knowing if this refers to post-college. Since I'm not sure, I have a B.S. in Business Management from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. I haven't wanted to go to grad school, but I am seriously considering going for my CFA designation (Chartered Financial Analyst).
Are you married? Have a common law partner? Have kids?
Nope, single gentleman, and thankfully haven't slipped one past the goalie to the best of my knowledge (knock on wood).
What would you say is some of your favorite music?
Lucy is by far my favorite XM channel, and that's pretty much 90's alternative rock. I'm actually not as big a music fan as I used to be in high school and college, and that's kind of sad but I feel like I don't have time to "get into it." Big fan of the Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Aerosmith, OAR, Weezer, and of course, Bon Jovi. Springsteen rocks too.
What would you say are some of your favorite movies?
The Usual Suspects, Shawshank, A Bronx Tale, Dazed and Confused, Goodfellas, Rounders, Eurotrip, Godfather I/II, Casino, Superbad, Clerks, Dumb and Dumber, The Bourne series, Swingers, La Bamba.
Where were you born?
At St. Peter's in New Brunswick, NJ. Returned there almost 18 years to the day later to go to school.
Where have you lived and where do you live now? Do you have any opinions on the places you have lived in?
Lived in Marlboro, NJ for the first 24 years of my life, not counting the time spent at school. It was a really nice place to grow up.
New Brunswick is a great atmosphere, even if it doesn't have the look of a typical college town. I'm very, very glad I went to Rutgers.
Now I live in New York City, and it's awesome. So many cool places to go, awesome bars and restaurants…really all you can ask for as a guy in your mid 20s. I hope to stay in the city for at least 3 more years.
Do you play any sports? Have you played any sports in the past? Are there sports you want to try out?
I play softball every now and then, I golf when I can (much harder now that I'm in the city), and me and some buddies play racquetball occasionally too. I grew up playing baseball, and was always one of the best players in the league. I dominated as a pitcher up until I was about 15, when I hurt my elbow while pitching, which still brings me pain when I throw a ball around to this very day. I wish I played football growing up, but my mom was scared I'd get hurt. I was always a solid QB during our pickup games with friends (you know, when people didn't wear pads or anything and really did get hurt), and I would've liked to see what I could do with real coaching. Plus it probably would have kept me in shape throughout high school.
Happiest moment of your life?
I'll cheat a bit and say when both of my nieces were born (Devyn –my sister's kid - in October 05, Dylan – my brother's - in December 06). They're so much fun to be around and watching them grow up is amazing. My sister and her husband have another girl on the way, due in about a month.
Saddest moment of your life?
When my grandmother (on my mother's side) passed away 4 years ago. Luckily, I had gone through my first 21 years without a death in the family (my father's dad died years before I was born), so that was a new experience for me. Equally as sad was when my father's mother passed away 2 years ago. While she was not in the best of health, it was still a surprise, as she was going through one of her better stretches.
If you had to re-live one moment in your life, what would it be?
Definitely the night of my business school graduation, which happened a couple days before our general graduation. Out of all my friends at school, a big majority were in the business school so it was just an awesome time the night we graduated. Despite all the alcohol, I remember pretty much all of it, and I'm really glad about that.
What regrets do you have?
- Definitely allowing my weight to get out of control during high school and the first year of college. I was always heavy growing up, but once I hit around 16/17 I just started putting on a ton of weight, to the point I hit 335 lbs shortly after starting my sophomore year at Rutgers. It was at that time I made the decision that things had to change, so I changed my eating habits drastically and started exercising. I dropped about 125 lbs over the next year which felt great. My weight has been an issue ever since, and I got back up to 240 at one point, but for the last couple months I've been losing weight, and as I said, right now I'm at 197, the least I've weighed since I was about 14.
- I wish I went to Europe for the month between my college graduation and the time I started work. Who knows if I'll ever have a chance to do that again. At the very least, it will be much more expensive.
- My biggest regret though, by far, is something that I didn't even know if I wanted to bring up on here, because I'd be worried about what people who don't really "know me" like those on the outside would think of me. But I'll be open…
On 9/11, I had just started my second week of my freshman year at RU. After the planes hit, but when the towers were still standing, we were able to see the smoke in the distance from our dorm roof. At around 11, the school cancelled classes for the rest of the day, and by about 2, they cancelled classes for the next day. It was at this time that pretty much my entire dorm decided we would gather up all of our booze and have a huge blowout since we didn't have to go to class the next day. And we got hammered. HAMMERED. We did power hours, played beer pong, threw down tons of shots, etc. And it wasn't one of those "this is horrible, let's drink our sorrows away"…we totally looked past the disaster that happened, figured we had a day off, and took advantage of it, having a great time.
It really sickens me that we all took part in that, especially looking back on how many people we personally knew that died and how we didn't even think of how it affected us. I like to think that it was because it happened so early in our college lives so we were wrapped up in taking advantage of our "freedom" but that's obviously not an excuse. I think about this probably on a weekly basis, and it's really horrible. Me and my buddy still talk about how much we regret it.
Do you consider yourself to be an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert when I'm alone, extrovert when I'm in a group of good friends. My family was always amazed at how well I could entertain myself as a kid. I'd just throw a tennis ball against one of the walls of our house for hours, pretending to be some Mets player. That extends to now with my complete comfort in sitting around by myself, even if it's a Saturday night. If I feel I need some downtime, I take it.
What is your favorite catch phrase?
Don't think I really have one…but I'm that guy who will say random movie lines way after they've lost their relevance.
What are your top 5 movies?
1. The Usual Suspects – My definition of "best movie ever": if you could watch a movie again *for the first time* which would you choose? This is by far the winner. I'd love to experience all that again.
2. The Shawshank Redemption
3. A Bronx Tale
4. Dazed and Confused
5. Goodfellas
What would you do with 1 million bucks? 10 million?
$1 million: boring – keep it invested, unfortunately that's not much money where I live.
$10 million: buy an apartment in the city, to use for myself now and as an investment later, put aside money for my nieces' educations, payoff what's left on my parents' mortgage and buy them a vacation house, invest the rest, maybe to have to setup my own business down the road (what kind of business, no idea)
You're at a party and as it progresses, everyone strips naked and jumps in the pool, do you join?
I mean, if everyone does, I won't be the only one standing clothed outside. Everyone would wonder what I was trying to hide. But if 10 people jumped in, and there's 50 more at the party, you can find me at the keg.
What's your beverage of choice?
Normal drinks: Diet Coke, Black Coffee, Diet Iced Green Tea, Diet Sunkist
Alcoholic: Sam Seasonals, Guinness, Hoegarden (reminds me of being at the outdoor bars at RU)
Do you have an abnormal fear?
Cotton balls. Seriously.
What food do you never tire of?
I can eat pizza forever. The place around the corner from me comes out with new kinds of slices all the time. I love em all. But since I'm on a diet, I don't eat it. More realistically, I can eat grilled chicken for lunch and dinner everyday (and pretty much do).
What better: vanilla or chocolate?
Vanilla in a landslide. One of the greatest tastes out there is plain vanilla ice cream. No toppings, no fudge, just the vanilla.
What better: sweet or salty?
Definitely sweet. Although the sweet/salty combo of chocolate-covered pretzels is one of life's delicacies.
Favorite YouTube video?
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With an honorable mention to the original…me and my buddies went nuts watching this one live. The most underrated part is how he pulled away from the 5'9", 170 lb corner.
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If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
The ability to pause time, fast forward, and rewind. I only need a few minutes in each direction. I could only think of how much more successful I would be at the bars.
Which bad habits drive you crazy?
Lateness is #1 for me. Maybe it's because I'm one of those who is always early, but I can't stand those people who are chronically late. Like my dad. It's unbelievably selfish. Talking with food in your mouth also annoys me. I'm answering this question at work, and right now there's a guy sitting across from me who is disgusting. When most people talk with food in their mouth, they chew at the same time so the food eventually goes down and they begin speaking clearly. This d-bag will just let the food sit in his mouth while he rambles on for five minutes at a time, and then chew when he's finally done speaking. If he wasn't above me, I'd knock him on his ass.
Do you have any annoying habits?
I bite my nails way too much. It's gross. A couple years ago, I actually was able to quit for a few months, but relapsed and now I'm back to it. Honestly, it was harder for me to quit biting my nails then it was for me to lose 125 lbs.
List 1 thing you would change about yourself.
The easy answer would be losing more weight and transforming my body into being more muscular, but since that's something I could actually do in theory…I tend to get those dark circles/puffiness under my eyes. That's probably fixable too, but I never really looked into how. I think it's one of those things that I notice about myself more than others would, so I have that going for me, which is nice…
What's your favorite thing to do on a Saturday night?
Grab a good dinner with some of my college friends, head back to someone's place to pre-game, and hit a couple bars until the early hours of the morning.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I think I do, but the issue is they're still hidden to me. I think there's some sort of career/business opportunity out there for me that goes beyond what I'm doing now, and eventually it will surface itself.
What happens to us after we die?
When I was younger, I figured a person's would go on to some sort of afterlife (call it heaven if you want) and be surrounded by friends, family, etc. But then I started thinking…which "me" will be existing? When I was 12? 21? 45? 85? Then my head started hurting and I haven't really thought of it since. I'm not a religious person at all…I think something happens, I can't conceptually grasp "nothingness" but your guess is as good as mine.
Would you break the law or lie to save a friend?
Absolutely, and already have.
Did you ever have a realistic dream that truly scared you?
Not really, that I can remember at least. But when I was a senior in college, I started having a recurring common anxiety dream where my teeth would be falling out. I would open my mouth, kind of push my teeth with my tongue, and 6, 8, 12 teeth would just fall out. I found out this is a common dream when you're stressed, and in my case it was coming about because I hadn't yet landed a job after graduation. Once I did (even though it was an offer I eventually passed on) they stopped.
What are you not afraid of?
Pumpy.
Which is worse: rejection or failure?
Failure. Like I said above, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to find a decent job after college. I've always been thought of as very intelligent (I was in one of those part-time advanced programs during elementary school, I have a high IQ, etc) and I can honestly say I probably didn't apply myself as much as I could. I think it's more because I never really found something that drew me in and made me want to work hard, instead of just a general laziness. Anyway, I was worried that it would result in not finding a good job, and my parents would be disappointed in me. But when I did take this job, they were really proud, which made me happy.
What are you hoping for in the future?
I got out of a long term relationship a little over a year ago, and I've enjoyed being single since then. But I'm starting to feel ready to settle down a bit, as I miss the companionship that comes with a girlfriend. So in the near future, I'm hoping to find my better half, keep working hard at my job and advancing, spending a lot of time watching my nieces grow up, and hope everyone's health stays well. That's really as "forward-looking" as I tend to go. I really don't have long-term plans.
You are on a flight from California to Texas and the back of the airplane catches fire. You have
enough time to make ONE phone call, who would you call?
I'd call my buddy Dave. A couple years ago, he was in the back of a flight from Cali to Jersey when the back caught fire. So I'd call him and ask him how the hell they survived that without even a drop in altitude.
You are at the doctor's office and she has informed you that you have one month to live.. what do you do?
I'd get up and go see a male doctor to get a proper diagnosis.
<ducks>
Seriously, I guess the typical answer would be to travel and see as much of the world as I can, but that's not really my thing. I'd rather spend the time further appreciating the stuff I know – the city, Jersey, and of course as much time as possible with my family and friends.
Why are SpongeBob SquarePants' parents round like sea sponges while he is square like a kitchen sponge?
I just went to the kitchen, my sponge is round, so I don't know what this question is trying to ask.
Born and raised in Marlboro, New Jersey. It's an upper-middle class suburb that's about 20 mins from the beach. Marlboro was a huge farming town back in the day, thanks to the discovery of the mineral "marl" in the soil (get it, borough of marl?). The population really exploded in the late 80s, and unfortunately it's pretty overcrowded these days. But it still has a great school system, it's safe, and overall just nice-looking so people keep wanting to move in, buying and building bigger homes.
What brought you to the FOFC?
I don't remember exactly how I found the original Sideline, but I was definitely an early member. As a recent thread brought back to mind, I found out about FOF1 through a posting by Bill Abner in a Usenet group (come to think of it, it's amazing I even knew how to find that stuff with how young I was). I was hooked immediately, and even did a short interview with Jim for a website where I used to review games. So I probably found the board through a link on Usenet. Glad I did…it's weird to say, but I legitimately look forward to reading this board.
Have you ever played werewolf?
If the posts counted, I just might. Seriously…no, and I never really understood what it's about or how it's played. But I'm glad others get a lot of fun out of it. And the few days that surrounded that whole fiasco with the posts being moved to another forum and not counting were some of the best in FOFC history.
Do you have any superpowers?
My vision is phenomenal. Not good enough to see through girls' clothes, but almost.
What do you do for fun? What do you do for money?
For fun…watch sports, play sports, play Xbox with buddies, hang out with friends, go to bars to chase girls…the usual stuff. I like to read too, but it's hard to find the time.
For money…I'll answer that below.
How long do you expect to live?
Honestly, I want to go just before everything start's breaking down, both physically and mentally. I've seen the effort my parents have put forth to take care of their parents, and I really don't want to put my kids (hopefully) through the same ordeal.
What do you look like?
5'10, 193 lbs (currently), black hair, dark eyes, a bit darker skin than the typical white guy. People always think I'm Italian, but it's not the case. As for weight, I've lost about 30 lbs over the past couple months and I still have a lot of tightening up to do, but I look a lot better now than I did then. I look much better now than I did in about 2002, when I was pushing 335 lbs.
What do you prefer physically in a woman?
I've found myself attracted to all different girls of all different ethnicities, so it's hard for me to peg down anything specific. I guess if I was forced to pick one for an immediate attraction, it would be the blonde hair/blue eye type…my last couple girlfriends have fit that description. Really anything goes...
…a great ass helps though.
How did you get your username?
This question should be directed at my parents.
What sports do you follow? Which are your favorite teams? Why or how did they become your favorite teams?
College football, baseball, and hockey are tops for me. Pro football and college basketball are a notch below, although I still consider myself a big fan of all of them.
Favorite teams:
- Obviously Rutgers: My #1 priority. I love this football team. I wasn't a fan until I started as a freshman in 2001, but that was the year Greg Schiano came aboard and the program changed (hopefully) forever. The basketball team is finally getting some recruiting momentum behind Fred Hill Jr. We're bringing in a McDonald's All American this year, along with a top 5 center that we got over Duke. The Big East is so tough though, so it will take time to make real progress.
- New York Mets: My father and brother are both big fans, rubbed off on me.
- New York Rangers: I actually became a fan of them because of my best friend growing up. Him and his dad were obsessed, and I latched onto them. This was during the Kelly Kisio years, which immediately preceded the Messier trade.
- San Francisco 49ers: Simply put, I was a front-runner. Watching Joe Montana throw to Jerry Rice was amazing to me. At least I've stuck with them through the bad times.
What do you do for a living?
I work for a small outfit called the US Department of the Treasury. More specifically, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Yep, I'm a Fed. The OCC is the regulator of all national banks (BofA, Chase, Citi, Wachovia, etc) and I am, by title, a bank examiner. I spend my time working in different banks (most of which are much smaller than those above, typically $250 mil to $3 bil in assets) for a few weeks at a time, doing things like commercial and residential credit analysis, investment portfolio analysis, anti money laundering, evaluating financial performance, some compliance with laws, etc.
I like it a lot because I'm always doing something different, in a different physical location, so it doesn't get boring to me. I get to do some travel too. The money is good as I make around the same as my friends in finance who work 80 hour weeks (although I miss out on potential large bonuses, damn it), the hours are good, and best of all, I have off every other Friday as we work what's called a flex schedule (extra hour a day for 8 days).
There are some times when working for the government can be a bit annoying with all the bureaucracy, but since we're not publicly-funded (changes the culture a bit) and have a lot of older people retiring/younger people being hired out of school, that is in the process of changing.
Do you have any post-secondary education? if so, where?
I feel stupid for not knowing if this refers to post-college. Since I'm not sure, I have a B.S. in Business Management from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. I haven't wanted to go to grad school, but I am seriously considering going for my CFA designation (Chartered Financial Analyst).
Are you married? Have a common law partner? Have kids?
Nope, single gentleman, and thankfully haven't slipped one past the goalie to the best of my knowledge (knock on wood).
What would you say is some of your favorite music?
Lucy is by far my favorite XM channel, and that's pretty much 90's alternative rock. I'm actually not as big a music fan as I used to be in high school and college, and that's kind of sad but I feel like I don't have time to "get into it." Big fan of the Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Aerosmith, OAR, Weezer, and of course, Bon Jovi. Springsteen rocks too.
What would you say are some of your favorite movies?
The Usual Suspects, Shawshank, A Bronx Tale, Dazed and Confused, Goodfellas, Rounders, Eurotrip, Godfather I/II, Casino, Superbad, Clerks, Dumb and Dumber, The Bourne series, Swingers, La Bamba.
Where were you born?
At St. Peter's in New Brunswick, NJ. Returned there almost 18 years to the day later to go to school.
Where have you lived and where do you live now? Do you have any opinions on the places you have lived in?
Lived in Marlboro, NJ for the first 24 years of my life, not counting the time spent at school. It was a really nice place to grow up.
New Brunswick is a great atmosphere, even if it doesn't have the look of a typical college town. I'm very, very glad I went to Rutgers.
Now I live in New York City, and it's awesome. So many cool places to go, awesome bars and restaurants…really all you can ask for as a guy in your mid 20s. I hope to stay in the city for at least 3 more years.
Do you play any sports? Have you played any sports in the past? Are there sports you want to try out?
I play softball every now and then, I golf when I can (much harder now that I'm in the city), and me and some buddies play racquetball occasionally too. I grew up playing baseball, and was always one of the best players in the league. I dominated as a pitcher up until I was about 15, when I hurt my elbow while pitching, which still brings me pain when I throw a ball around to this very day. I wish I played football growing up, but my mom was scared I'd get hurt. I was always a solid QB during our pickup games with friends (you know, when people didn't wear pads or anything and really did get hurt), and I would've liked to see what I could do with real coaching. Plus it probably would have kept me in shape throughout high school.
Happiest moment of your life?
I'll cheat a bit and say when both of my nieces were born (Devyn –my sister's kid - in October 05, Dylan – my brother's - in December 06). They're so much fun to be around and watching them grow up is amazing. My sister and her husband have another girl on the way, due in about a month.
Saddest moment of your life?
When my grandmother (on my mother's side) passed away 4 years ago. Luckily, I had gone through my first 21 years without a death in the family (my father's dad died years before I was born), so that was a new experience for me. Equally as sad was when my father's mother passed away 2 years ago. While she was not in the best of health, it was still a surprise, as she was going through one of her better stretches.
If you had to re-live one moment in your life, what would it be?
Definitely the night of my business school graduation, which happened a couple days before our general graduation. Out of all my friends at school, a big majority were in the business school so it was just an awesome time the night we graduated. Despite all the alcohol, I remember pretty much all of it, and I'm really glad about that.
What regrets do you have?
- Definitely allowing my weight to get out of control during high school and the first year of college. I was always heavy growing up, but once I hit around 16/17 I just started putting on a ton of weight, to the point I hit 335 lbs shortly after starting my sophomore year at Rutgers. It was at that time I made the decision that things had to change, so I changed my eating habits drastically and started exercising. I dropped about 125 lbs over the next year which felt great. My weight has been an issue ever since, and I got back up to 240 at one point, but for the last couple months I've been losing weight, and as I said, right now I'm at 197, the least I've weighed since I was about 14.
- I wish I went to Europe for the month between my college graduation and the time I started work. Who knows if I'll ever have a chance to do that again. At the very least, it will be much more expensive.
- My biggest regret though, by far, is something that I didn't even know if I wanted to bring up on here, because I'd be worried about what people who don't really "know me" like those on the outside would think of me. But I'll be open…
On 9/11, I had just started my second week of my freshman year at RU. After the planes hit, but when the towers were still standing, we were able to see the smoke in the distance from our dorm roof. At around 11, the school cancelled classes for the rest of the day, and by about 2, they cancelled classes for the next day. It was at this time that pretty much my entire dorm decided we would gather up all of our booze and have a huge blowout since we didn't have to go to class the next day. And we got hammered. HAMMERED. We did power hours, played beer pong, threw down tons of shots, etc. And it wasn't one of those "this is horrible, let's drink our sorrows away"…we totally looked past the disaster that happened, figured we had a day off, and took advantage of it, having a great time.
It really sickens me that we all took part in that, especially looking back on how many people we personally knew that died and how we didn't even think of how it affected us. I like to think that it was because it happened so early in our college lives so we were wrapped up in taking advantage of our "freedom" but that's obviously not an excuse. I think about this probably on a weekly basis, and it's really horrible. Me and my buddy still talk about how much we regret it.
Do you consider yourself to be an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert when I'm alone, extrovert when I'm in a group of good friends. My family was always amazed at how well I could entertain myself as a kid. I'd just throw a tennis ball against one of the walls of our house for hours, pretending to be some Mets player. That extends to now with my complete comfort in sitting around by myself, even if it's a Saturday night. If I feel I need some downtime, I take it.
What is your favorite catch phrase?
Don't think I really have one…but I'm that guy who will say random movie lines way after they've lost their relevance.
What are your top 5 movies?
1. The Usual Suspects – My definition of "best movie ever": if you could watch a movie again *for the first time* which would you choose? This is by far the winner. I'd love to experience all that again.
2. The Shawshank Redemption
3. A Bronx Tale
4. Dazed and Confused
5. Goodfellas
What would you do with 1 million bucks? 10 million?
$1 million: boring – keep it invested, unfortunately that's not much money where I live.
$10 million: buy an apartment in the city, to use for myself now and as an investment later, put aside money for my nieces' educations, payoff what's left on my parents' mortgage and buy them a vacation house, invest the rest, maybe to have to setup my own business down the road (what kind of business, no idea)
You're at a party and as it progresses, everyone strips naked and jumps in the pool, do you join?
I mean, if everyone does, I won't be the only one standing clothed outside. Everyone would wonder what I was trying to hide. But if 10 people jumped in, and there's 50 more at the party, you can find me at the keg.
What's your beverage of choice?
Normal drinks: Diet Coke, Black Coffee, Diet Iced Green Tea, Diet Sunkist
Alcoholic: Sam Seasonals, Guinness, Hoegarden (reminds me of being at the outdoor bars at RU)
Do you have an abnormal fear?
Cotton balls. Seriously.
What food do you never tire of?
I can eat pizza forever. The place around the corner from me comes out with new kinds of slices all the time. I love em all. But since I'm on a diet, I don't eat it. More realistically, I can eat grilled chicken for lunch and dinner everyday (and pretty much do).
What better: vanilla or chocolate?
Vanilla in a landslide. One of the greatest tastes out there is plain vanilla ice cream. No toppings, no fudge, just the vanilla.
What better: sweet or salty?
Definitely sweet. Although the sweet/salty combo of chocolate-covered pretzels is one of life's delicacies.
Favorite YouTube video?
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With an honorable mention to the original…me and my buddies went nuts watching this one live. The most underrated part is how he pulled away from the 5'9", 170 lb corner.
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If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
The ability to pause time, fast forward, and rewind. I only need a few minutes in each direction. I could only think of how much more successful I would be at the bars.
Which bad habits drive you crazy?
Lateness is #1 for me. Maybe it's because I'm one of those who is always early, but I can't stand those people who are chronically late. Like my dad. It's unbelievably selfish. Talking with food in your mouth also annoys me. I'm answering this question at work, and right now there's a guy sitting across from me who is disgusting. When most people talk with food in their mouth, they chew at the same time so the food eventually goes down and they begin speaking clearly. This d-bag will just let the food sit in his mouth while he rambles on for five minutes at a time, and then chew when he's finally done speaking. If he wasn't above me, I'd knock him on his ass.
Do you have any annoying habits?
I bite my nails way too much. It's gross. A couple years ago, I actually was able to quit for a few months, but relapsed and now I'm back to it. Honestly, it was harder for me to quit biting my nails then it was for me to lose 125 lbs.
List 1 thing you would change about yourself.
The easy answer would be losing more weight and transforming my body into being more muscular, but since that's something I could actually do in theory…I tend to get those dark circles/puffiness under my eyes. That's probably fixable too, but I never really looked into how. I think it's one of those things that I notice about myself more than others would, so I have that going for me, which is nice…
What's your favorite thing to do on a Saturday night?
Grab a good dinner with some of my college friends, head back to someone's place to pre-game, and hit a couple bars until the early hours of the morning.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I think I do, but the issue is they're still hidden to me. I think there's some sort of career/business opportunity out there for me that goes beyond what I'm doing now, and eventually it will surface itself.
What happens to us after we die?
When I was younger, I figured a person's would go on to some sort of afterlife (call it heaven if you want) and be surrounded by friends, family, etc. But then I started thinking…which "me" will be existing? When I was 12? 21? 45? 85? Then my head started hurting and I haven't really thought of it since. I'm not a religious person at all…I think something happens, I can't conceptually grasp "nothingness" but your guess is as good as mine.
Would you break the law or lie to save a friend?
Absolutely, and already have.
Did you ever have a realistic dream that truly scared you?
Not really, that I can remember at least. But when I was a senior in college, I started having a recurring common anxiety dream where my teeth would be falling out. I would open my mouth, kind of push my teeth with my tongue, and 6, 8, 12 teeth would just fall out. I found out this is a common dream when you're stressed, and in my case it was coming about because I hadn't yet landed a job after graduation. Once I did (even though it was an offer I eventually passed on) they stopped.
What are you not afraid of?
Pumpy.
Which is worse: rejection or failure?
Failure. Like I said above, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to find a decent job after college. I've always been thought of as very intelligent (I was in one of those part-time advanced programs during elementary school, I have a high IQ, etc) and I can honestly say I probably didn't apply myself as much as I could. I think it's more because I never really found something that drew me in and made me want to work hard, instead of just a general laziness. Anyway, I was worried that it would result in not finding a good job, and my parents would be disappointed in me. But when I did take this job, they were really proud, which made me happy.
What are you hoping for in the future?
I got out of a long term relationship a little over a year ago, and I've enjoyed being single since then. But I'm starting to feel ready to settle down a bit, as I miss the companionship that comes with a girlfriend. So in the near future, I'm hoping to find my better half, keep working hard at my job and advancing, spending a lot of time watching my nieces grow up, and hope everyone's health stays well. That's really as "forward-looking" as I tend to go. I really don't have long-term plans.
You are on a flight from California to Texas and the back of the airplane catches fire. You have
enough time to make ONE phone call, who would you call?
I'd call my buddy Dave. A couple years ago, he was in the back of a flight from Cali to Jersey when the back caught fire. So I'd call him and ask him how the hell they survived that without even a drop in altitude.
You are at the doctor's office and she has informed you that you have one month to live.. what do you do?
I'd get up and go see a male doctor to get a proper diagnosis.
<ducks>
Seriously, I guess the typical answer would be to travel and see as much of the world as I can, but that's not really my thing. I'd rather spend the time further appreciating the stuff I know – the city, Jersey, and of course as much time as possible with my family and friends.
Why are SpongeBob SquarePants' parents round like sea sponges while he is square like a kitchen sponge?
I just went to the kitchen, my sponge is round, so I don't know what this question is trying to ask.