Who are you?

Happy Monday everyone!

Today was a full day, let me tell you. Keep in mind this is my day off. Up at 8 am and laundry started by 8:45 after which I made my way into Manhattan to purchase tickets for Next to Normal for KTD, Emily, and I. (Side note: this will be the third show I will see this week...) Back to my apartment only to change and go right back out to the gym. Shower. Egg whites with green pepper and onion (mmmmm...) and a couple glasses of water. Another costume change, then out the door to meet up with a loyal reader that came to visit me in the big city. Big shout out to ksneyer for a fantastic day in Manhattan!

This evening, ksneyer and I had dinner at John's Pizza and took in a brutally hilarious comedy called God of Carnage. If you don't follow the New York theatre scene much, I don't image you've heard much about this show, but you should seek it out. Holy crap! You know you have things you really need to say to those you love but don't because other people are around? Well, in this show, it's all laid out in plain sight with plain (yet, graphic) language. The plot unfolds with two sets of parents meeting to discuss an altercation between their sons that resulted in one losing two teeth and causing pretty grisly damage to his face. Niceties are acknowledged at first, but soon all hell breaks loose and the two couples let each other have it. If you're in New York, SEE THIS SHOW!

The rest of my week has been pretty normal: lots of work, a few work outs, good hang out time with KTD on Friday night, and a party full of UGs Saturday night at the restaurant. I don't even want to talk about this because it'll just make me mad, but know that eventually, if you really want to know about it, you can always ask.

The highlight of the week was finishing Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon, which I had mentioned in my post last week. I came across this book in Entertainment Weekly, which if you know me well you know this is my bible as I enjoy all aspects of popular culture. On the inside-back cover of their issue a few weeks ago, the editors at EW decided to give this book a big HOLLER by setting it close to the center on The Bullseye--pick up an issue, you'll see what I mean. There wasn't any explanation, just simply: THIS BOOK. Naturally, my curiosity got the best of me and before you know it I'm in a Barnes & Noble picking up my very own copy. Right from the beginning, the story starts off with intrigue as a character is being rushed to the hospital after his hand has been cut off in some kind of accident...or so it seems. The basic idea behind this book is one of those inter-twining stories that start out as being completely separate apart from a common theme. By the end of the book, you're sent reeling by the simple revelation of one fact that ties them all together. Now, I won't lie (and I'm not tooting my own horn here) but I saw the end coming about halfway through the book. I didn't have it all figured out, but I had several ideas of what was happening. But still, pick it up and give your mind a mild work out. The plot concerns a man searching for his long-lost brother, another escaping his life to live as a conman with his biological father, and a young girl running off with her history teacher to start a new life. Each of these people either take on new identities or encounter different identities of another character. A big factor in the unfolding of the plot is identity theft/fraud and living double lives.

The whole time I was reading, I kept wondering, "Don't we all do this in some form or another: take on new identities?" Throughout my life, I can break down who I am into four distinct areas: grade school, high school, college, and the present. In each of these periods of time, I carry the same name (except for Kindergarten when I thought my name was spelled with a "y" on the end...) and the same personality. But, I guarantee that people that knew me in grade school would describe me totally differently then those that knew me in high school, and likewise with those that knew me in college and those that know me now. I've changed locations for each of these time periods as well. What I wonder is if my identity changed as well? And if so, did I purposefully change who I am as a way to adapt, or to give myself a fresh start? Are those two things the same? And, more importantly, why did I feel the need to change?

The night before I moved, I had dinner with my two best friends from home: Charles and Charlie. At some point in the evening, Charlie asked me, "Are you gonna become one of those New York assholes now?" I promised him, I wouldn't. Hopefully, I won't disappoint when I make my valiant return to Ohio at Christmastime. A few things I noticed that have changed since I moved concern physicalities (less of Nick) and my mental state (I've become increasingly more calm in the face of adversity). I only become made when I feel people are being irrational and blaming me for their problems (i.e. serving UGs the other night). Seriously, I thought I was going to kill them. Other than that, I feel as if I'm the same person. However, the change I'm most proud of is my desire to exercise. When I don't have a chance to work out, I feel upset. It's almost gotten to the point that I've gotten up earlier in the morning to go to the gym before work. But right now I'm too scared to find out if that'll wear me out too early in the day and I won't be able to make it through my usual double shift. We'll see.

Further along the lines of identity, I've been reading The Time Traveler's Wife. If you've never read this book, you really should. If you saw the movie and didn't like it, you should really read this book. If you saw the movie and did like it, you should really read this book. The whole idea of this man traveling throughout the span of his life and reliving certain events, mostly out of chronological order, made think of the idea of time stamps. There are things that he notices that cue him to when he is in time. And, of course, this got me thinking about the same idea. Now, I'm not traveling in time or anything, but what is it I'm doing now that'll eventually remind me of certain events. For example, I remember exactly where I was when I finished each of the books I have read in the last few months: Water for Elephant--the basement dining area at Sbarro's on 47th, Atonement--in bed, The Road--on the train platform at 30th Avenue after getting off the train, Await Your Reply--on the N train. Whenever I am in these places, or read those final words again, I will always think of the other. Right now, as I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife, I'm noticing tiny splashes of juice from food I've been eating while reading, or creases from the cover bending in my backpack, or the black specks that bedazzle anything that is held in backpack because it is a cheap knock-off from China. I'll see all these things for the rest of my life and they will always remind me of these first few months I've spent in this place.

Eventually, these posts will make better sense as I learn how to put my mind in order on this blog. Thanks for reading.

Happy Advenutres!