Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"

The snow is all gone and the warmer weather is finally making its way here and though I can't say that I am a fan of 90 degree weather in April (damn you global warming eliminating Spring and making New York go from Winter to Summer, I bite my thumb at you) that means it's time to get the hell out of the house.

Fall happens to be my favorite season, football AND my birthday need I say more, but Spring is a very close second. Lots of things come to mind when I think about Spring but really only a handful stand out that are worth talking about.

• BBQ's
• Easter
• Sunshine and Happiness
• and Weddings
  

As soon as the weather starts to get nicer I start getting antsy and the first thing I think about is the grill and when can I start eating BBQ again. Now I know what you're thinking "Dave, real men don't stop BBQing," and while you are 100% correct when you use a charcoal grill like my roommate Tom and I it turns into "Real men don't stop BBQing; until they run out of charcoal and have to wait for the evil stores to carry it again in mid-April." I have a theory that during the Fall season they take all the unused summer charcoal, cut off the char- and repackage it as just coal for use for bad children across the world for Christmas, because between Tom and I we must have went to about 3 supermarkets, 2 specialty supermarkets, and 2 Home Depots and couldn't find a bag of charcoal anywhere. While I know that a propane grill would solve my dilemma of being able to BBQ year round, to me that's not BBQ. Food just tastes better cooked over mesquite hardwood charcoal, if I wanted to cook over a gas flame I would just stick a hot dog on a skewer and cook over my stove. There are few things more relaxing and fun then sitting around a table and chairs outside with some friends laughing and having a good time over a few drinks with the smell of a seasoned bacon cheeseburger in the air. This is where I smack your ass and tell you to get out there and start BBQing, you know in a non-homosexual way.

Jalapeno Cheeseburger with Bacon and Grilled Onions

Another thing that signals Spring is in the air and kind of lets me know what season it is in case Mother Nature is screwing with the weather to badly to tell, is Easter. Now I am one of the least religious people I know, my skin actually chars a bit when I get close to a church, and maybe it's just me but I tend to gauge time based on important dates and holidays. You know, it's X days til Summer, it's X months til Christmas, that sort of thing. So besides seeing flowers bloom I am reminded it's Spring because there is a man who likes to dress up as a 6ft rabbit in the mall. The best way to make sense of Easter is to just let Eddie Izzard explain:

So, yeah. So the Pagan religion had very big festivals, remember, on Easter and Christmas. The Christian religion came along and had very big festivals, at Easter and Christmas. Jesus died on one and was born on the other. ( doubting sounds ) ‘Cause Jesus I do think did exist, and he was, I think, a guy who had interesting ideas in the Gandhi-type area, in the Nelson Mandela-type area, you know, relaxed and groovy; and the Romans thought, "Relaxed and groovy?! No, no, no, no, no!" So they murdered him. And kids eat chocolate eggs, because of the color of the chocolate, and the color of the... wood on the cross. Well, you tell me! It's got nothing to do with it, has it? You know, people going, "Remember, kids," the kids who're eating the chocolate eggs,

"Jesus died for your sins."

"Yeah, I know, it's great!”

“No, no no, it's bad, it's bad!”

“ No, it's bad! It's very bad. It's terrible! Whatever you want, just keep giving me these eggs."

And the bunny rabbits! Where do they come into the crucifixion? There were no bunny rabbits up on the hill going, "Hey, what, are you going to put those crosses in our warrens? We live below this hill, all right?" Bunny rabbits are for shagging, eggs are for fertility. It's a festival - it's the spring festival!

Exactly, it makes no sense, but hey kids still get a kick out of it right? It may not have the same effect on me as it did as a kid since I don't wake up to hunt for hidden eggs, the downfall to moving away from home, but hey there's still 'It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown' right?

Jesus died for your sins, soooooo here have some chocolate eggs?

Probably the best part about Spring is the beautiful weather that comes along with it, and with that beautiful weather comes an overall sense of happiness. The weather is what lets you really enjoy everything else about Spring. You can sit outside and hang out and BBQ because of it, you can enjoy hunting for eggs inside and outside on Easter, and probably the biggest part you can enjoy is a ton of outdoor activities. Sure there are probably more outdoor activities to enjoy during the Summer but I loathe the Summer and so you won't see me promoting it. Probably has something to do about the fact that it's hot as hell and you melt in the sun, fuck that. I much rather the cool mid 70's temperature to go out and enjoy my day. There is something calming about a nice shady park where you can go to relax and read a book. Parks these days seem to have everything you can think of to relax and enjoy a day outdoors from driving ranges and hockey rinks to bike paths and picnic tables. Some of the most fun that I have had out at some parks are when a bunch of friends and myself get together grab a few picnic tables and a grill and cook up some lunch and throw around a football/baseball/frisbee while we wait for the food to finish. You're not limited to just going to a park though with the nice weather you can do lots of stuff outdoors like going to the farms to pick your own fruits or vegetables. With the nice weather comes a lot of music, food, and arts fairs in the NY area. Personally when I hear Spring I think change, you know all the snow melting and flowers blooming and stuff like that, and I figure why limit it to nature why not change something about myself or try something new, get out there and do something!

Two for me, one for the green basket. Two for me....

The last thing I can think of worth mentioning and the newest to my internal list of what Spring makes me think of are weddings. Actually I should probable say engagements not really weddings. I don't know if it's the happy feeling created from the nice weather and all the pretty flowers blooming and the freedom from being stuck indoors for three months, but in the span of a month there have been like 5 couples who got engaged that I know. Sure some of them are acquaintances and friends from work, but at least two of those couples are people i'm very close with. With that being said... Congratulations to Tom and Cathy who got engaged last night and to Chelsea and Terry who got engaged March 31st. As if it wasn't necessary to get in shape before, stupid tuxedos.

With all that said and done how could you not love Spring?! It's time to get the hell out of the house and enjoy the fresh New York air. With the way the weather has been you better get out and enjoy it while you can before the summer really starts and you start to melt! ∞

"My First Day"

Writing a blog has been something i've wanted to do for a while but I never really felt as if I had a good idea for one. It's crossed my mind every now and then for a few years but seemed to be popping up more and more often from seeing Julie & Julia last summer to reading my friend Matt Shafeek's blog (formerly about his year off from video games, now about his life with the return of them, great read) the past few months. Still not knowing exactly where to begin I started to put more thought into it.

What would Tyler Durden do?

He'd probably give you a chemical burn using lye and then say something really clever like "It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything," but you make do with what you can get away with. Essentially I want to do the same thing and help people realize that they aren't as limited as they think, and that even a small change can make the day exciting again. I've never been very good at solving my own problems or cheering myself up but i've noticed I seem to do a pretty good job at helping others with their problems or cheering them up, so I figured what better way to do that then to write a blog. That was when I finally realized I had been sitting on a good idea for a blog all these years and just never realized it, laughter and complete randomness.

The past few months i've been trying to change the way i've been living my life by being more open, trying new things, and overall not being such an ass. I said to myself "Self, how can I talk about the changes and new things i'm trying in my life, get people to broaden their own horizons and at the same time help them realize that even when things aren't going the way they planned they should focus on the positives, something I personally fail at?" Am I going to do so with the cunning use of flags? No! I'm going to give you things to do and try with the cunning use of lists and articles and self-deprecation in the only way I know how; crude, sarcastic, and with a soupcon of humor.

I promise not to burn your hand. ∞