Giving Thanks!

On this day that we celebrate called "Thanksgiving" I thought it proper to list a bunch of things and people that I am thankful of having in my life.

I am thankful to have a loving family that cares about me and has helped me through a lot. My parents have always supported me and at this "post-college" point where I am figuring out what to do with my life they are very supportive of me. Always asking, "how do you pay your bills", but still very supportive. I love my sister and she will be moving to Nashville, TN soon where she will launch a great career in the music industry. Hopefully, I can write a review or story about her once she makes it to the big time. Finally, do the other family members that help me during the Holidays. Suzie and Gerry today for inviting me over to Thanksgiving dinner and family members that help will be helping me getting to and from the airport around christmas time.

I am thankful to have all the friends in the Boston area. I wish more of you were up here in NH, but knowing that you are only 2 hours away is comforting. Knowing that I can take a trip down on a weekend and meet up for drinks and "reflection" on the good old days is very comforting. LJ, MW, JP, KS, BD, CP are just a few of these Boston area friends. Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving.

I am thankful to Brewster Academy for giving me a chance to work and enrich the lives of many students who currently attend BA. I just finished up coaching in the fall (instructional tennis and soccer) and basketball has just begun. Basketball should be fun this winter and I will hopefully be helping out with Baseball in the Spring. Also, substitute teaching has been very rewarding recently. Just the other week I tought pre-calc and calc for 3 days and actually tought the kids lessons. I want to go back to school and get certified and teach math, while still concentrating on the whole "journalism" thing. Without BA I wouldn't know what to do and teaching and coaching at BA has peeked my interest in a career in education.

I am thankful that I live just blocks away from Brewster and will be able to walk to work during the Winter.

I am thankful to all the free-lance jobs that I have and the people that are trusting my writing and the small amount of money that I am making from it. These sites include, but are not limited to:

www.primarybuzz.com

www.10xmedia.com

www.beautifudecay.com

I am thankful for good health and continued personal growth. Without insurance this "good health" thing needs to keep going, so I figured I would put it in here.

I think that is all for now. I hope if you are reading this that you are thinking what you are thankful in your life and if you want to ad to this please feel free.

Warping the Fragile Minds of America's Youth

As I write this I am currently substitute teaching at good ol' Brewster Academy. This is my primary job and It's cool. Along with coaching instructional tennis and soccer I do this when needed. I like writing and the freelance work is pretty consistent, not paying very much, but pretty consistent.

I like substituting and coaching because I get to interact with the kids and sometimes even help them work towards achieving the goals that they are currently working on. I am currently substituting for a pre-calc class and am assisting the students in finishing their module project. It doesn't sound like very exciting stuff, but I think this is what I want to do. I am probably going to start taking classes at UNH so that I can teach high school math.

I have always enjoyed math and science, but in college I got engulfed in the subjects by attempting to study mechanical engineering. I mean I like math and science, but not enough to study it at the highest levels, being linear algebra and differential equations. That is where I stopped studying and started failing classes. Thank the guy upstairs for finding journalism and my days doing "Wicked Wacked Out Wednesdays" on WRBB, 104.9, Boston's Spice.

THIS PARAGRAPH WAS REMOVED DUE TO INAPPROPIATE CONTENT

I think that is all for now, I felt I needed to write something in here with my cousin reading it the other day. You know if you type:

"Tim Croes Somebodys News"

into google this site comes up as the third hit on the list of available websites.

I think that is pretty cool

Boston Nights Forever

The thing that I miss most about living in the city, is driving and biking around at night. On a night like tonight it makes it even worse. As I sat on LJ's porch chillaxin' talking about all things relavant in the world today.

The rain began to fall and it was a beutiful moment. The air cooled, just for a moment, and the leaves shook with excitement from the prevailing rain. The night was young and I hopped into Blue Steel and drove down the road, blasting the soundtrack from Boondock Saints, and was thoroughly enjoying myself.

I'm not sure what it is, but the city at night is so beautiuful to me. Part of it is the fact that there aren't very many people out late at night. Another aspect that makes it different is just the magic of total darkness lit up by thousands of lights and buildings.

Stary Nights - Boston Lights

Pitter Patter

The rain keeps falling
pitter patter
pitter patter
The leaves are shaking
pitter patter
pitter patter
The air smells fresh
pitter patter
pitter patter
The storm is over
pitter patter
pitter . . .

And The Beat goes on . . .

At the young age of 24, this kid right here, is content with his life. New Hampshire has given me some time to think about what I want to do and what the future will bring. Well I have come to a realization; some would say an "epiphany".

The future is the future because you don't know what is going to happen. I am a big supporter of Karma and Faith and in time everything will work out, but right now I'm scrambling to pay the bills and working temp jobs, free-lancing, and all that good stuff.

I don't think I will be in New Hampshire very much longer, I have lived here all my life and like Cheryl Crow says, "A little change will do you good" (cheesy but true). I don't know where I am going, but I know this much, I will go for it 109.67% and if I didn't I would feel like I wasn't being true to those in my life now and in the past. Pop + Gram (God rest your souls), Bud and Grandma (still kicking around in NJ), my parents, and of course my sister.

Hindsight is 20/20 and that is so true when I look back at my college years. The friends I have made, those who I keep in touch with, and those who I have let fade away into oblivion. College was the best 5 years of my life, but now, only a year out of college am I truly finding myself and what I want to do with my life.

The great thing about life is that you don't have to decide what you want to do "right now" and that you have your whole life to make that decision. I know I am rambling here, but its 12:18 in the AM and I just felt like writing something. I didn't even know it was going to be about this. Listening to Jack Johnson tends to "mellow me out" and makes me write what is on my mind.

The greatest thing about being a journalist is that you are always looking for the next story, the next job, the next article, the next movie to film, or the next interview to conduct. I realize that I'm not a working journalist right now, but I know that down the line I will be and all the hard work in college will have paid off.

When I was in school I never got a co-op in journalism. I only did internships, un-paid internships. Many ask why? The main reason is when you work for free and you write for free you get only what you put into it and nothing else. You may get a reference or a letter of recommendation, but that is just a bonus. I have a few friends from NU that I graduated with from the j-school and I keep tabs on them, finding out who is still trying to write.

I mean, god damn, it's frustrating trying to write anywhere. I finally got a couple of free-lance opportunities, and the pay is nothing ( well it's something). The great thing about that is I will be getting paid to write and that's all I want to do.

I have heard the life quote somewhere, "Find something that you love to do and figure out how to get paid to do it". Well there are many things that I love to do and hopefully I can get paid for all of them, but for right now, it's writing. Down the line, I will try and get back into radio and video editing, but for right now, I am a writer.

I will be a writer until I decide I want to be something else. After all it's my life and this is the path I have chosen.

If you are reading this and you don't know me, this is probably a little too deep for you to take in. If you are reading this and you know me, please post a comment and let me know what you think.

My current mood reminds me of the always used poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken. The last two lines of that poem sum up my feelings right now:

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Inundated With Whatnot

Stuff is always on my mind
looking for someone who is kind
Never stopping to think
searching for that casual wink

Television has lost my attention
The media, I will not mention
music always relaxes me
soothes and sets me free

Lost and trying to a find a home
Like a dog looking for his bone
Loneliness drives oneself crazy
Right now I just feel lazy

Stuff is always on my mind

Foo Fighters - In Your Honor

Lately, pretty much every night before going to bed I have been listening to In Your Honor, the latest CD by Foo Fighters and I have to say the 2nd disc of the CD, is probably my favorite CD in a long, long time.

I listen to a lot of music and I always say, that CD is awesome, i.e. The Killers - Hot Fuss or Coldplay - X&Y. Don't get me wrong those are great albums, but the Foo Fighters have just put out a great double CD. I actually didn't go out and buy the CD I downloaded it, which I rarely do nowadays.

However, I did go and buy the album on vinyl, which was a great decision. The album is so awesome and to hear the crackle and pop in between on tracks on vinyl, just makes it so awesomely bad.

If you have the opportunity to check out any part of "In Your Honor" I highly recommend it. The first CD really "rocks" and is normal catchy Foo Fighters that we are all used to. Remember the video that they did back in the day where they filmed it like a Mentos commercial? Awesome

Dave Groel, the lead singer of the Foo Fighters is an amazing musician. He was the drummer in Nirvana. He was the drummer for Queens of The Stone Age, for a while. He played the devil in a music video for a Tenacious D video, "Tribute". I don't know what else to say, but . . .

Foo Fighters + Weezer + Kazabian = one of the best lineups for a show in a while

Veronica Guerin

Of all the movies, books, television shows, and stories about journalists that have been "in the news" in the recent years, I think the story of Veronica Guerin is one that all show know about.

In the last couple of years there has been scandle upon scandle at different papers, magazines, and television stations. Take for example Derek Lowe cheating on his wife with a reporter for the local Fox affiliate station. The story of Stephen Glass and his made-up stories at The New Republic, Jason Blair and his "travel" that never happened for the New York Times.

In the cases of Blair and Glass, it sickens me that their have been books and movies made about the stories of the these two journalists with no morals and dedication to the craft of journalism. They got caught up in the whirlwind of writing for two major publications and saw absolutely nothing wrong with fabricating stories out of thin air.

Enough about the bad, back to the focus of this peice. Veronica Guerin, for those who don't know, was a reporter in Ireland and uncovered the "drug scandle" that affected thousands of people. Through her tireless efforts many were sent to jail and laws were changed allowing the Irish government to seize property and freeze assetts of suspected drug lords.

She paid the price dearly to uncover the truth about drugs in Ireland, she was brutally murdered, shot multilple times by a henchman. However, through her spirit journalism and the code of ethics and morals, if they still exist, lives on.

Since her death in 1996 over 196 journalists have been killed. 196 people have been taken from the world of journalism, reporting the news to the people, and sent to a better place.

I hope that this story will cause some of you to learn the story of Veronica Guerin and her plight to fight what was wrong with the world. It's a movie that should inspire us all to do more in life and not think about ourselves, but the people around us and how they are affected.

In a world of sensationalized journalism where NBC, CBS, FOX, etc, etc rush to predict who has won the presidency (or won the popular vote back in 2000) it is refreshing to hear of a stpursuit of the story. She never backed down and I hope that in the future when I finally break through that I will have half of the heart and dedication that she had.

Night Time

Bedtime creeps closer
but i think no sir
sleeping only settles the mind
losing, losing lots of time
music and tv stay on
but me, i turn off
gone, gone for a couple of hours
until the morning when one must shower

Radio killed the Musical Star

Coldplay has done it, I didn't think it would happen this fast, but I read an article today that convinced me that Coldplay is done, cooked, over-played, over-exposed. Chris Martin declined a meeting with the Prime-minister of his own country because he is a affraid it will taint his image. Coldplay is part of the machine and they are the latest band to struggle, then have a successfull album and then eventually fade away into abiss.

Take for example the 'awesomely bad' rock band known as "Creed". They said that they had musical differences, but the real reason was they broke up was that there was no market for their music anymore.

You know how flooded the music market is with Coldplay right now. People are thinking, wow these guys rock, I love them so much. Think way back to when Creed was the cool new band, remember that? Ah yes, the good old days. Are you thinking I hate Creed? Well you are not alone.

Alter Bridge, A cloned less "mashed potatoes in my mouth" version of Creed, came out with a radio single called "Open Your Eyes". It is Creed minus the crappyness of Scott Stapp. Guess What? It's still crappy music. But the radio stations will play it because they are like: yah, it's Creed without Scott Stapp, sure we will play it, people liked it in the past, they will like it again. But, honestly it's all just recyled crap over and over again, on most radio stations.

Creed came out with their first album, Parachutes, and it was a classic album, with the singles Yellow and others. Now, they are just another band and Chris Martin is just another rock star that has let it get to his head.

Tailgating and Clocks

Coldplay rocked the Corporate Sponsored Outdoor Music Venue in Hartford, CT and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Mad props to Mike W for inviting me to the show. 109% dissaproval of Brain blowing it by bringing four beers in a cooler to tailgate. Who does that?

Then the kid realizes that he only likes one Coldplay song, Clocks, that's it. He not only does this but he says that the concert "sucked". I don't approve of people who go to concerts like Coldplay and get so hammered that they don't make it through the show. Those people shouldn't be allowed to buy tickets, because there are probably some real Coldplay fans that didn't get tickets because those "A&F Boys and Girls" bought tickets and did one of many things:

They got so wasted that they stay in the parking lot and they didn't even go into the concert

They passed out in the Corporate Sponsored Outdoor Music Venue during the show

They became so inebriated that they exhaulted fluids from their bodies IMMEDIATELY!

Night Study Time at Brewster

I am currently monitoring a night study at Brewster Academy. I do this about 2 or 3 times a week depending on the week. I get paid well to do it and usually read a book or read stuff online, but tonight I couldn't put myself to read.

My eyes tired as I once again had work at Gunstock in the morning, then practice, and then this (night study from 8-10 PM). I was bored at around 9:15 I was on AIM and was just looking at random away messages. I saw lots of people had plans: going out drinking, roadtrips, movies. etc, etc. Then I thought to myself am I getting old.

All that stuff seems kind of stale to me. I mean part of it must be working 60 hours a week. I mean I don't go out that often because I am at 7 AM pretty much every day. When I have a day off from Gunstock I still am working at Brewster or refereeing some youth games in Wolfeboro.

To those are reading this, if anyone reads this at all, it might seem like I am bitching about my life. I really am not questioning whether I am finally growing up. I thought I would never grow up and I talked to kids who were out of school and were like, "no man I have get up early for work". I remember thinking that will never be me, never.

I thought about maybe going out for a drink or two tonight but I have to be up at 6:45 and it's probably not a good idea. I used to be 'gung-ho' about going out and having a good time, no matter when work was the next day. Who knows If I am really growing up or maybe my body is just tired.

All I know is that I am looking forward to the break I have from Brewster in March (pretty much the whole month). That will give me sometime to decide what I will be doing for work in the spring and the summer. I may be coaching at Brewster again, but that is not set in stone yet. I like working at Gunstock and may try to stay there and work during the spring and summer. Only time will tell . . .

Random Thoughts

Well, it has been a long time since I've written anything in here and I finally have some stuff to write about. I am working at Gunstock full time and I like it there. The people are really nice and the hours aren't too bad.

I am putting in around 40 hours a week there and about 10 hours a week in coaching at Brewster, and then 10 hours a week and substituting, and then refereeing a couple youth games a week in Wolfeboro when I can.

I knew that finding a job as a journalist out of college would be hard, but I didn't know it would be this hard. I have patience, but for right now I am happy with what I am doing. I am going to apply to teach at Brewster next year and that would be really cool If I could do that. I love being back there and some of my old teachers are still there. They love what they do and I think that I would really enjoy it.

I was writing for The Granite State News, wrote about 5 articles for them. I covered the board of selectmen meeting in Tuftenboro, NH. I got an email saying how my articles were improving and then the following week I received another e-mail saying they were going to use someone with more experience. I was only getting paid 50 dollars a week, oh well.

I am finding lots of jobs online but most of them are looking for a writer with 2 or 3 years experience and at this point I don't have that. I was going to go to California and start to explore the possibility of moving out there and working for Fanscape, the marketing company I do volunteer projects for, but I am going to put that on hold.

I really think teaching at Brewster would be a good fit for me, but who knows. All I know is I am done with school for a while. Thoughts of Grad School came up, but I just don't have the money right now. Maybe down the line sometime.

The Patriots are playing great and I think that there will finally be a Pats/Eagles Superbowl. Let the battling of the Croes and Shelly family begin. The Pats were underdogs, I guess, verse the Colts and the absolutely dominated them.

That is all for now.

Oh yeah Ashlie sorry about this weekend, my bad