Author: Logan Lo

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personal

Good Parts

Location: my pad, melting
Mood: tired of summer
Music: not proud of how I’ve been

Jaymay singing in NYC

Jaymay’s gonna be singing every Friday in September at Rockwood Music Hall and she announced this with a posting and a picture. My picture. (!)

Funny thing’s that she had a photographer there but used my pic. There’s probably a simple reason that she used mine but in my head, it’s cause she liked mine the best.

Things’re always better in my head.

———-

Met up with another lawyer for lunch today at a restaurant in Chinatown. She referred some business to me the other day and wanted to take her out to eat. In the middle of the meal, the waiter leans in and says, Hey, Logan.

Turn to look and there’s a buddy of mine, smiling. He’s doing some recon, apparently, on the restaurant for the owner. Sometimes NY’s a small town.

Was downtown to pickup my SecurePass. Like I said, not a court lawyer but the past coupla years, been to court so many times, figured having the card makes sense.

Gotta say, holding it felt like something special. Stupid, really. But still, wanna think that I’m getting back to what I once was. The good parts, anyway.

———-

Attempted to get frisky with the lady last evening but we both ended up in a laughing fit.

Mondays…

YASYCTAI: Make a lista what’re your good parts. It’s good to have a list like that. (60 mins/1 pt)

Categories
personal

Art is…

The One where Logan rants about ranting

Almost Tribeca, NY

Her: If I left, I’d just take my stuff and walk out the door. You’re not a jerk so I don’t need one.
Me: Ok then, so I won’t write up a prenup if we ever get hitched.
Her: (laughing) It’s funny, we’re planning out the divorce before we’re planning out the marriage.

Immediately prior to Lincoln’s Getteysburg’s Address – which was only ten minutes long – a fella gave a two-hour, 13,607-word speech. You know who that was? Me neither. Cause no one remembers or cares.

Have you ever read just crap poetry? Or seen crap art in general? You thought, in some fashion, How the hell is this art?

When you’re a kid, you think that art is all about unfettered freedom and novelty. But real art comes from limiting yourself. It’s about conveying the maximum depth of meaning with as little possible – words, time, paint, whatever.

Art’s efficient.

Look, my drivel’s not art, but I still try. Whenever I’m done writing, pour a cup of joe, sigh, and then start whittling down.

Almost all of Shakespeare’s stuff’s in iambic pentameter, which is freaking hard enough without a delete key. Oscar Wilde wrote the shortest telegram in history to ask his publisher how his book was doing.

Oscar: ?
Publisher: !

Art only happens with restraint; and if you’re writing and not getting a dime for it, it should be art somehow, yeah?

Otherwise it’s just ranting and ranting is worse than a waste. It’s a bore.

Location: waiting to wrassle
Mood: melting
Music: You’re not here but it’s ok I assure you babe

Categories
personal

My 4th Weekend, 2010

Location: getting ready to go to a meeting on the east side
Mood: busy
Music: Don’t know where to start or when to stop

Looking west in Manhattan towards the setting sun

Kinda obvious, that we’re all the same with our god-given rights.
The right to inhale and exhale.
The right to live how we wanna.
The right to be happy.

———-

Spent mosta the weekend covered in paint. Painted all the cabinets in my kitchen. Been meaning to do that for the past decade or so but never got around to it.

It’s crazy how fast time passes. Hadta wake up at 6AM Friday and Saturday to do it all. Afterward, met up with my coach and some fellas to catch the UFC 116 at a local bar.

Him: How long have you two known each other?
Me: A long time – he spent 9/11 at my apartment.
Coach: Yeah, it’s been a while.

———-

My brother came into town for the weekend. As I stumbled outta the bar, he texted me that he was nearby so I met up with him at a local pizza joint – of course.

The next morning…

Me: What do you want for breakfast?
Him: Wanna order a pizza?
Me: Works for me.
Him: (later) I think the delivery guy dropped our pizza or something – all the cheese and toppings’re on one slice.
Me: Can I have that slice?

———-

After touching up the cabinets, spent the fourth in bed, hiding from the heat. Watched Outsourced before we passed out. Woke and drove out to see the folks on Monday. Was hot but not brutally so. And the empty streets made it a nice drive.

Her: I’ve decided that we should always stay in the city over holidays where people go away. (later) Did you shave?
Me: No.
Her: Yes you did, I can tell.
Me: Then why did you ask?

It’s not that we don’t like people. We just don’t like people all up in our grill 24/7.

———-

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

YASYCTAI: If you live here in the US, be a little grateful. There are some scary places out there. (10 mins/1 pt)

Categories
personal

Let it burn

Sometime we have let go of the old things we love to let in the new

A roof on fire in the big city.

 

Did you ever wonder why NYC’s, NYC? That is to say, how it became the biggest city in the world? Why not Boston, Philly, or DC?

In 1776, this massive fire occurred and pretty much wiped out the city as it was.

Afterward, the city made a decision in 1811 to set up the grid pattern we all know in NYC – doesn’t sound like much until you think that most everything past 14th street was forest.

Other places, like Boston, would have been like, “Well, there’s a tree where the road should go, and no one’s here anyway, so let’s just build a road around the tree.” But the plan said to cut down any tree and fill in any stream in the way of the streets – which most people thought of as insane and wasteful.

But cause they did that, the city grew in an orderly fashion and immigrants – like my folks – that couldn’t speak a lick of English could get around the city. So they came here.

Another one of my buddies called me today:

Me: What’s the dilly?
Him: Flipped the company. For $100M.
Me: Oh, NICE! Are you rich? More to the point, do you owe me money?
Him. “Yes,” and “no.”
Me: Wait – $100K or $100M?
Him: $100M.
Me: Do you need a manservant? I can be like Cato.
Him: That would be awesome. “I’m home!” WHAM!

He too had a hard life, as did Sheridan. Something about suffering makes y’want to succeed, to make things better.

Chris Rock once said that, “There’s something about being picked on that makes you work harder to make a reality where no body picks on you.”

It’s not true for everyone; some people that suffer stay broken. But the ones that get better – oftentimes – get a lot better. Bendy. The broken ones tend to get more broken.

If you’re the former, sing it with me – We don’t need no water, let the @#$@#$ burn…

 

Location: near Grand Central
Mood: ambitious
Music: she all fly But I can take the heat
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Categories
personal

Stinky lunch

Location: my steaming apartment
Mood: relaxed
Music: get-tough girls turn into goldmines, but oh

Tribeca NYC

Been busier with work this past month than quite a while. Running all over the island meeting with clients and hustling for scratch. Although my definition of scratch doesn’t really compare much with that of my friends.

Case in point, just yesterday, met up with Sheridan for lunch on onea the hottest daysa the week. Am constantly amazed at what he manages to get himself into.

Me: What’re we talking about?
Him: 420.
Me: Thousand?
Him: Million. My cut’s $600,000.
Me: Why am I buying you lunch? You should be buying me lunch!

My own life’s decidedly less interesting.

Her: What’s that smell?
Me: Some salmon I had in the fridge.
Her: (shaking head) Why don’t you have a TV show and call it, “Logan eats the worst smelling food in the world.”
Me: I’d totally do that.
Although I did splurge and pick up the iphone 4.

My buddies mock me cause I put plastic on the cover and have a protective case around my phones. But the iPhone 4 cost me $199 and I sold my old phone for $250.

Now if only the damn thing’d stop dropping my calls…

YASYCTAI: Go for the big score. (time/2 pts)

Categories
personal

Summer days

Location: yest, all over the damn place
Mood: frick’n hot
Music: walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

Summer night in the Village, NYC

Summer’s my traditional busy season.

Yesterday, woke up to crank on two client assignments when onea my tenants called and told me that a light on a 15 ft ceiling burned out. For reasons I can’t get into, had to be the one to change it so in the middle of the workday, sweating up a storm, I’m perched on a rickety scaffolding thinking, This is totally how I’m gonna get my ticket punched.

Then I dash downtown to drop off some work and pick up some checks. Then go to meet my uncle and the President of the largest bank of some medium-sized nation.

Gotta mention that my uncle’s the equivalent of Allen Greenspan for this country but – to me – he’s just my uncle Jimmy. So here I am in this huge office on Wall Street with my uncle and two others and they’re all treating my uncle like a rock star.

Funny, how we all have our three lives, yeah?

Dash off to the office, deal with some clients.

Then off to a networking event to hear Scott Belsky talk and pound some rum. Then off to pick up some tech equipment at Best Buy and home at 10PM.

Summmer’s my busy season. Just wish it weren’t so damn hot.

———-

auf Deutsch: Tor!
中文:真棒!
English: Yeah, baby!

Go USA. That is all.

YASYCTAI: Consider moonlighting in something. Extra dough’s always good. (time/3 pts)

Categories
personal

Inflated

Location: all over Queens, yesterday
Mood: crazy busy
Music: I take the mile, let me show ’em how

Broadway in NYC downtown

It’s funny but Sabatoa quoted my last entry and had 173 comments back and forth about various people’s opinion as to the number.

It’s interesting what resonates with people and what doesn’t.

———-

Harvard and Stanford law schools have eliminated grades; other law schools’re officially – and artificially – inflating grades. Ok, the pass/fail maybe’s alright, they did still make it into Harvard and Stanford, yeah? The grade inflation’s, however, is uncool.

Not saying that a number’s all y’should be but y’should have earned that digit. In fact, all of your digits should be real.

It says something that people borrow stacksa dough to pretend like they got more than they do; the average American’s $15,519 dollars in debt. That means $15,519 wortha their stuff really isn’t theirs.

Ditto for those inflated grades.

Why would anyone want something they didn’t earn?

On a related point, what’s the pointa working at jobs y’hate, to buy things y’don’t need, to impress those y’don’t know?

YASYCTAI: If you got credit card debt, pay it down. There’s nuthin you need so much to be in credit card hell. (a while/2 pts)

Categories
personal

Numbers

Location: work with garbage trucks outside
Mood: busy!
Music: It’s a question of lust, it’s a question of trust

A couple in the NYC spring

Him: Dunno…it depends on how you count I guess. (thinking) Like 30 maybe?
Me: Jeez! (laughing) That why I don’t shake your hand, I might get the clap.
Him: So what I do?
Me: (sighing) Well, I suppose y’gotta just tell her the truth. I mean, you’re a whore, yeah. But it’s your past and what can y’really do about your past?
Him: Why does it matter so much? I don’t care.
Me: Y’don’t? What if she said sixty? Then you’d care a little, right?
Him: A little, sure. But cm’on…
Me: There’s always a price to pay. People always thought it was funny I didn’t hit every chance I had. But that’s cause I knew, someone might care someday. And this girlie cares. . So all y’can do is tell her that y’hope she can see past this but respects her decision if she can’t.

Hope it works out for him cause he finally found a girlie where it matters.

Off to New Joisey…

YASYCTAI: Update your address books. Some people gotta go. (120 mins/1 pt)

Categories
personal

Back to Alphabet City

Location: 11AM yest, Alphabet City (again)
Mood: cranky
Music: I’m going down, to Alphabet Street

First Avenue facing south

2010.06.11
Hit up this networking event with PB near Alphabet City. He came to just hang out, cause he’s a good friend. Didn’t even bring any business cards. They had a raffle and were about to pull out a card.

Him: Should I toss in a card?
Me: Toss in a card.
Him: Don’t have one. Just the onea the guy that interviewed me today.
Me: Toss that in – but if you win, we split it 50/50.

Guess who won?

2010.06.12

Him: Y’know what’s the number one reason for happiness?
Me: Purpose?


Caffeineguy came to town and he met up with Metrodad for dinner at a french restaurant. Woulda gone but just got hit with that newest legal matter plus already had a dinner date with a protein shake and several cansa sardines.

Instead, ran around and ended up watching Julie&Julia; with the lady. But then at 11PM, get a call from the two boys and soon they’re ringing my door and sitting in my guest room.

Offer em up a selectiona my finest rums and we pound for hours. Funny thing’s that we’d never met till that night – like Julia Child and her friend Avis DeVoto. But I suppose you know who your people’re, regardless.

Him: Nah, man. It’s more than purpose. It’s this. People. Friends.
Me: (grinning) That sounds about right to me. (holding up glassa rum) Cheers, fellas. Thanks for dropping by.

2010.06.13
Went back to do more work in Alphabet City. Then headed over to meet up with some old co-workers at a bar. Was the first guy in the whole bar so the owner – little Japanese lady – sticks her head out the door.

Her: You, hey you! (motioning over) You want sit? Come in, sit.
Me: Sure. (take a seat and chat with her)
Her: You’re a nice boy. I’m a gonna buy you drink. What you want?
Me: (laughing) Rum and diet coke, please.

Then everyone came and we caught up over cheap drinks and rich food.

Back to Alphabet City on Monday and then wrestling. Some days y’get some court papers. Some days, y’get some win.

Not a bad few days, yeah?

YASYCTAI: Caffeineguy’s right, you know. Friends’re the best, go see one. (120 mins/1 pt)

Categories
personal

Bits

Yet another bar in the city.

Her: I didn’t know until right now what you did for a living. (later) I’m amazed that you can tell people so much and not tell them anything at all.
Me: (grinning) There’re some parts of my life I like to keep private.

Furison came into town recently and we grabbed a drink tonight. She got an aged rum with a slice of orange and liked it.

Always ask people that meet me in RL if I’m the same as they read.

They tell me I am and that I manage to say a lot without giving away too mucha my personal bits. That’s the goal.

Her mouth literally dropped open when she found out how much money I’d lost in my life.

Like I said in my last post, funny what a body can get used to.

Walked her through the pouring rain and put her in a cab on Broadway.

Me: You and my girl’re the most Asian white people I know.
Her: (laughing) I’ll take that as a compliment.
Me: You should, you should.

On a different point, a fella took the time to write me an email to say that he liked this blog.

Plus I managed to settle things with that newest legal wrinkle although it means bologna sandwiches from now until winter for me.

Man, it’s always giveth and taketh away, isn’t it?

Location: 9PM yest, my fave Dive Bar
Mood: Lit
Music: too long we’ve been living under a raincloud (Spotify)