Blogging From Bed.

I moved into my new home/school today and I have to say it was bitter-sweet. I had a tough time leaving my family, really tough time. College is weird, it has been fun so far but it is something entirely knew. I love meeting new people and I have met a lot of good people tonight. Hopefully this is the start of something new and exciting. Hopefully I take advantage of this opportunity and have a great time. All I can say is "hopefully" because I have no idea what is coming my way. Today has taught me that we cannot stop time. Time will continue to roll on and we will not be able to stop it ever. I wish we could. So I guess this. There are so many cliches about time and how we have too little of it. But who really "Lives life to the fullest every minute of every day with no regrets" Nobody does. We all wish we did but we do not. It is sad but most people are content to just get old. The days pass and they just sit back as the days roll by. The key is to do your best to enjoy life. I'd like to thank you all for reading this blog. Hopefully you enjoy it. Today was the beginning of the rest of my life and I am nervous, but this blog has helped me a lot.


MJL

Letter to David Wilson.

I decided that one can not know enough people in life. So I decided to try something new. I went to Whitepages.com and typed in Wilson, West Taure Haute, Indiana. There were a few names to choose from and decided to pick David Wilson. For David's sake I will not publish his address. What I am going to do, is mail David a letter. I hope to become friends with him over my life. I am going to publish the letter I am going to write to him and mail him though. This will be a part of a series, I will try to mail a letter or two a month this way i can mail one to all 50 states in a few years. Without further ado...The Letter.
Dear David,
My name is Michael Leboff, I am a freshman at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. One day I realized that I want to connect with as many people as possible in my life. So I decided to randomly select a few people from a few different states, you were one of them. I guess its kinda like winning the lottery without all of your "friends" coming back to ask for money. I guess I'll let you know a little bit about myself. I am 18 years old. I want to be a writer/documentarian when I grow up. I hope to make it big. I am a hockey fan, and I am a diehard New York Islanders fan. I have a dog, her name is Killian. I went to an all-boys high school. It sucked. I consider myself to be a people-person and you will not meet anyone else in your life quite like me (as is evident by this letter.) Anyways I hope to hear from you, and if not Godspeed and Go In Peace.

Sincerely,
Michael Leboff SHU '12


I hope this guy doesn't kill me.

MJL

**UPDATE LETTER MAILED AT 1:23 AM EST on 8/30/2008**

An End, A New Beginning.

Saying goodbye is a part of life. It is not one of the better things about life but everyone has to deal with goodbyes. And I know this is not really a 'goodbye' but more like a 'see you later' but it is still pretty damn tough to deal with. There are some people who handle these sort of things pretty well and don't get too emotional about it. I am not too good with saying goodbye. Even though I will see my friends during various breaks and then again in the summer, that is still a lot less then I am used to. I am sure all groups of friends think this, but there is something special about this particular group. We came together and stuck. There was something so natural about us. We had "it". And the thing is, I really don't know what "it" is or at least I do not know how to describe it. All I know was that it was quite visible to those who knew us. They knew it and we knew it. These are the people we could turn to in any situation and they would help out. Sure, we endured rough patches and fought a little bit but we knew that when all was said and done, bygones would be bygones and at the end of the day we would still be friends. Things will be different now as we are separated by our respective schools and we will not see eachother as often as we like, but I think we all know that nothing will really change. When we see each other we will still be the same bunch of guys just sitting around a Taco Bell table laughing away the day. I will miss you guys a lot. See ya on the flip side.

MJL

Ranting...

Just wanted to let loose a bit tonight. I picked up on a few things over these past couple of days that need to be shared.

• The Nickname is a dying breed. Sure a lot of people have nicknames but most of them are very simple (see: A-Rod, KG, D-Wade) I think gaining a nickname is similar to gaining stripes as a policeman. When you meet someone with a nickname like 'Asphalt' or 'Lollipop' you are immediately intrigued. You want to know how the name came about and the person immediately moves up a few notches in coolness. When you meet someone and they say "Hi, I am Joseph but most people call me Joe." Your reaction is not one of shock and awe. But if someone says "Hi, I am Greg but people call me Half-Pipe." You will probably double take and ask how he got that name.
• Another thing I noticed is that waiting on line at the supermarket deli counter turns good people into bad ones real quick. My local supermarket employs one of those ticket dispensers with each ticket being individually numbered. Usually when you arrive at the counter you will be about 8-12 people away but it goes pretty quick because the counter has several employees. On Sunday's however the counter gets busy and thats when impatient people will pull some nasty tricks on you. After you use your ticket you put it in a basket on top of the counter. Two weeks ago I witnessed an elderly woman take an already used ticket out of the already used ticked basket and she moved up 11 spots and was waited on immediately. Now I was not mad at this lady(who I knew only ordered a quarter-pound of turkey because she knew she was down to her last sandwiches and didnt want to waste any cold cuts.)because she had balls and it was a gutsy move. I did however snitch on a middle-aged man dressed in plaid shorts, a collared shirt, and boat shoes to boot. I was mad because well he had virility. He was alive and kicking so he could wait the 10-15 minutes to get served while in the lady's case I didn't think she would make it home to chow down on her turkey on wheat sandwich. So when I said to the man, I believe you cheated, he said something to me that will stick with me for the rest of my life, kinda like herpes. He said "There is no cheating in deli meat kid. There are those who wait in line, and those who don't wait in line. What side are you on?"
• The term pantsuit will always be funny to me.
• I am not good at saying goodbye.

MJL

People/Things I Do Not Like Part 1

Every so often I will publish a list of names, items, organizations etc. that I loathe. I feel like these columns will help everyone get to know me better. I will not give reasons for my distaste for these people, places, things, organizations etc. You, the reader, just have to trust my judgment on those entries.
Kevin Youkilis
The Jonas Brothers
Pumper-Nickel Bread
Energy Drinks
Fr. James Williams
Jack Johnson
Matt Johnson
White Castle
Steve Phillips
George Clooney*
Henrik Lundqvist
Lance Bass
Hernan Cortes
The Entire Cast of Every High School Musical Movie
Apartheid
Tom Cruise (after 2004)
Joe Buck & Tim McCarver
Sean Avery
Gary Mancini
Taylor Hicks
Barry Melrose
Genocide
PETA
Ed Hardy
Diet Soda
Mosquitoes
Tom Giordano
Boston (the city, not the band)
Boston (the band)
Ferris Wheels
Dr. Pepper
James Dolan
King Henry IV
Foreclosures
Pre-Season
Duke University
Cold Case


*-I think George Clooney is a talented actor and is a rugged-heartthrob, who has kept his pimp hand strong since his days on 'ER' I don't like him simply because I am jealous.

THE Debate

In the suburban village of Rockville Centre, New York, residents are faced with one particular question that splits up families like the Civil War did almost 150 years ago. The debate(which at times has turned violent) has raged on since the year 2003 when the village was buzzing over the newly opened Quizno's on S. Park avenue. The convenient location (across the street from the movie theatre, right in the middle of "town") really helped Quizno's get off and running very quickly. On the other side of Sunrise Highway was a Subway which had been opened on Long Beach Road just prior to Quizno's. People on the north side of RVC were extremely pleased with Subway and swore by their relatively cheap sandwiches. The opening of Quizno's sent shock waves throughout the village. The question had to be raised, Are you a Quizno's person? or Are you a Subway person? To me it is a simple choice (now I maybe biased because of Quizno's proximity to my house) Quizno's is the better eatery.
Rockville Centre's Population is about 25,000 people according to the 2000 census. (and wikipedia) There are two sections of RVC. There are those who live south of Sunrise Highway, which is split half and half between residential and commercial real estate and those who live on the north side which is almost 100% residential. Those who live south of Sunrise usually are fans of Quizno's and those who are on the north side are fans of Subway. This only makes sense because it is easier for southies to get to Quizno's and the northerners to get to Subway. But for someone who comes from out of town and is looking for the best eating experience at a franchise deli, a decision has to be made. (I refuse to compare the two franchise's health benefits. This country is so wrapped up in calorie crunching that it makes me sick. If you don't want to eat a calorie laden meal, make your own salad.)
A very important criteria for picking the right place to dine, especially with today's economy, is the what your dollar(no matter how weak it is) is getting you. Subway has lower average prices then Quizno's. It always has. But when you look at what you are getting for the price you are paying it makes you think. Subway's sandwiches are extremely generic (i.e Meatball, Chicken-Bacon-Ranch, Italian) whilst Quizno's sandwiches are more unique. (i.e Chicken Carbonara-chicken, bacon, and mushrooms topped off with a creamy alfredo sauce. Baja Chicken-Chicken with bacon, onions with a secret baja sauce, and a spicy bar-b-q-like sauce.) Also the Quizno's toasting is of a lot higher quality then Subway's. The toaster at Quizno's is their go-to marketing tool. The innovative toasting device is what launched the Denver-based franchise onto the global scene. A few years later Subway offered its patrons the opportunity to have their sandwiches toasted (their method of toasting? a conventional toaster oven.) While both franchises offer pretty much the same amount of sandwich choices, what if you are not in the mood for a hearty sandwich? This is where Quizno's really blows Subway out of the water. Quizno's offers some incredible soups, flat bread salads, chili, and the new "Sammie" flat bread sandwich. Subway does offer pizza and soup but they are once again pretty generic. Sammie's are pretty much smaller versions of the delectable Quizno's sandwiches. They are small and can be taken to eat while walking. Marketing has always been Subway's strong point. Jared Fogle became a celebrity as we watched him shed pounds as if they were going out of style. After we got sick of Jared and his weight-loss antics Subway put two former NY baseball managers, Joe Torre and Willie Randolph on their commercials. They were pretty entertaining commercials. To counter Subway's affable commercial spokesmen Quizno's introduced us to "The Quizno's Sponge Monkeys" while the creatures are a little bit creepy and not in the least bit appetizing, they were unique and original. (for a look at these ads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZrks-BPeLQ) Obviously both eateries have strong points. It just comes down to the fact that Quizno's is the classier, more upper-echelon eating establishment. The inside decor is more modern and edgier then the cozy look of Subways. Quizno's assumes you are a smart person too. To enjoy Quizno's one has to know what cilantro, baja, alfredo, and honey mustard are and what they taste like. This means you have to be somewhat cultured. It also means you are not a robot to the media today. You can sit and watch 30-40 Subway commerials a day and still have enough self-control to not choose Subway. So it comes down to this; Quizno's is the better choice and to disagree simply means you are not that smart.


MJL

Prepping for College/Politics

I am leaving for school on Sunday. In fact, I ventured to the wonderful world of Target today with my mom to start shopping for my new home. As we walked through the aisles marked COLLEGE ESSENTIALS (written in a neon green color I can only hope to never, ever see again. Although it did its job because it had the same effect as a light does on moths. Except replace the moths with pre-frosh students and their worried mother who think they need at least twenty-seven towels, thirteen laundry baskets and a full set of china) I got to thinking about how I feel six days before leaving home. I broke down my feelings at 11:15 AM EST like so: 33.3% of me is excited, 33.3% of me is nervous, and 33.3% of me is curious, .05% of me is hungry, and .05% of me is tired. The first emotion to discuss is the excitement I am feeling.
I am very excited to meet new people, gain more independence, and because Islanders Opening Day is only about six weeks away. Everyone says it is only natural to be nervous before going away to school, they are right. Anyone who says they are not nervous is most likely lying through their teeth or has no soul. I like to think there is something for everyone in this world. Some people like sports, others enjoy theater, while some people enjoy switching genders..the point being you are not the only one who likes what you like. That is what is so wonderful/scary about this world. The trick is to seek out the people in your life who enjoy what you enjoy and enjoy doing it with you. For the past 18 years I have found a group of people that I enjoy to be with and I hope that feeling is mutual. To me one knows they have good friends when he or she can sit down and montage and montage hard for hours. (Editors Note: Not sure if montage was ever used as a verb before but it seems to fit in naturally as one)The songs in my montage rotate between, "Twister" by Remy Zero, "All or Nothing" by O-Town, "Zombie" by The Cranberries "Summer Girls" by LFO, "Turn" by Travis, and "A Walk Through Hell" by Say Anything. Curiosity killed the cat. That saying, first coined by Thurgood Marshall (fun fact #1), rings true not only in the feline world but also in 'The Real World' too. Think about how much drama is caused in the house because the roommates are curious. There is always that one slutty girl who is curious as to how fast she can sleep with every person within a three-mile radius of the city they are residing in. Then there is always the token African-American person who is curious about what it is like to "taste the white meat" for the first time, this leads to the southern alpha-male saying something borderline racist that ends up in a race-brawl. All kidding aside curiosity is a weird thing. As much as it can get you in trouble, it can also lead you to new adventures in life. We would live boring lives if our curiosity wasn't a gateway to the risks we either do or do not take. Going to college is just that, a risk. We are hoping that our past decisions which have taken us to this point have been for the betterment of ourselves. We all are spending enough money combined on tuition, books, and room/board to save pretty much every African nation south of Somalia (except South Africa, which is not in too bad of shape) on what we HOPE (keyword) is an experience worth the risk we are taking not only financially but emotionally as well.

Speaking of the exuberant price tag on college (segue), politicians keep promising to lower costs of education (among other things) Now I am not a fan of any politician really. It all comes down to who I hate the least. I supported Dubya in the past two elections strictly because I thought Al Gore was a pompous prick (still think that) and I liked Bush over Kerry because I thought Kerry's face was stretched out almost to the point of snapping in half. I know these are not the best platforms to base your opinion on who you support to be president but I was young. Now that I am four years older, I have decided to officially endorse Barack Obama for the Presidency. Why? You ask. I will tell you why. It is because he has more flair than John McCain. I think Obama has a charm about him that we have not seen since the days of Chester A. Arthur. He has a certain swagger and youthfulness to him that I am attracted to. (emotionally, and maybe a little bit sexually, but hey everybody is gay once in their lives) Once again this is not a perfect system but neither is the government.

MJL