I went to Bucca di Peppo's last night for Marty's birthday. He's 29 for the second time . . . :D
What a cool restaurant, and especially if you're going with group of people, you can get lots of course style food, variety and it's good food. There are TONs and tons of pictures all over the walls. I mean, like they took a lot of time to hang pictures... they're pretty cool photos of people, mostly Italian and mostly in black and white. It was almost overwhelming to me, but I liked it. i imagine working there can be frustrating, what with peopel loitering in their narrow passages. That's my only beef with the place, is it seems so densely packed with photos and people that it's almost too busy / crowded. I felt all crammed in at Marty's B-day shindig, but maybe that's cuz we went all th way upstairs to the 3rd floor, past the Pope Room, to the backest back most remote room that was stuffed with folks for another big celebration. whooof . . . it mad eme appreciate open space and clear walls. I haven't felt quite like that since walking out of the Vatican museum in Rome. Of course they don't feed you there, and I was wishing, wishing wishing for a blank wall or something nature-like, not a image or somethign but real real nature to sorta defibrillate my alpha waves.

Long and short, you like Italian food, and got a big grouup of folks, try the Bucca di Peppo. It's becoming of the new Station Square.

Hey there's a cool article about philosophy and the Matrix movie on Salon

Oh, yeah . . . I understand Dave wants some earmuffs for Christmas . . . :D

So today, I'm all caught up with my school stuff for now. The paper is done, I presented yesterday, and was warmly recieved by my classmates. I'm thankful for my public speaking experience, ie public speaking as a course, and theater work. Not to detract from the work that some of my classmates did, but I think I'm the only one who consistently made eye contact with my audience, ie, I spoke with them, held my head up, varied the pitch and intonation of my voice, so the sentences are delivered in some more palatable form than a monotone. Speak slowly so you are understood, look your audience in the eye, and you get some good feedback. I guarantee it. :)

Let;s call this portion: TOO CLOSE TO HOME ... OK, so I'm a single guy. I wrote a response to an ad I saw, somebody who sounded smart and interesting, and I figured, I wouldn't hear anything back. That's what happens with say 99% of the ads, right? You find somebody interesting, somebody with whom you may enjoy talking, conversations and the like. Then you try your hardest to be honest, think about what they said in their ad, and how it relates to you and your stuff. You are thoughtful in your words, and not in a patronizing way. Send your response ... and then you don't hear anything. To be expected. To be fair, i think it's more than likely because your response follows three to five hundred others, all inquiring about the latex or leather in said girls wardrobe, or something else that Jane on the street may be grossed out by. She reads these first three to five hundred other repsonses, thinks ALL men are gross and deletes your response along with the others. It happens I s;pose.

So weeks later, I get an impassioned reponse from a girl. She's appreciative of my response, and we IM. This is good right? Over the course of this IM session, things are good. And then it happens. The inevitable card is dropped. You know, the "I have a BF" or "I met somebody" card. But just a few days ago, you wrote saying . . . and it's already too late when you're thinking that. Oh well, OK . . . It's the tasteful exit card. It's the hand with high royal cards and both the left and right bower. It's trump. Hmmm. In my gut, I think there musta been some foresight on her part, something of a "this could be complicated for us both in the future" or something. Her future, which I wish her the best of luck in, may have been too close to home. I can't say for certain, but that's my best guess, seeing how the trump card was out on the table right after I answered the work story bit. Some things are off limits and probably for a good reason, I must concede. I'm appreciative of her response, and the release back into the pond was gentle enough. So I can't complain really. Elliot Smith says: "She'll decide what she wants. I'll probably be the last to know, no one says until it shows..." So for the next race, here's hoping for a show, if not a win or a place.

Email notice I recieved from Busk Pittsburgh:

We are sending out weekly "Busking Opportunities" that you will start receiving this week. It lets you know where the busk-friendly locations are every weekend.

I also want to give you the heads up about "Busk U Oakland" on December 7th from 1 - 4 pm at Joe Mama's in Oakland. This will be an intro to the Busk:Pittsburgh program, and a networking opportunity for performers and business owners who may want buskers.

Oh I completely forgot to mention another cool thing that happened this weekend. I went to my ten year high school reunion. what trip that was!!! you see all of these people you forgot you knew, and some you knew you'd remember. It was nice to see the folks there were doing well. Even though it was busy, I imagined more people would've been there. Highlight of the evening: talking with two HS crushes, both of whom I hardly ever spoke with during school, and finding out what cool people they are. And it has become readily apparent how lucky we are as alumni of my school. who knew?

so I had a nice little surprise waiting for me in the office this morning. it made me smile :)

I got my paper done, and my only regret is not putting more into it. I could've made it a bit better, I think. Oh well, we'll see how the presentation goes tomorrow.

Thanksgiving was not quite perfect but it was surely a good one, and for that I'm still thankful. I hope everyone had a good weekend with family and friends.