Just for Fire Stuff

I'm going to start posting random thoughts just on facebook and keep this for just fire updates. As of now, they're just waiting to get plans approved before the building starts.

More of the Condo is gone

MORE GONE

I'm off to Boston for a weekend and the shore for a week. When I come back up I'm sure it'll all be gone and I'll take some more pics. Heck, if I'm lucky, maybe they'll be building something too!

Half the Condo is gone!

Demolition has been going well. Here are pics 3 days in.

Pics on Flickr

Went to see Step Brothers last night and it was definitely funny. Next movie of the summer...Mummy 3 of course. It shall be terrible and I'll enjoy every moment of it. It's not a crime to have vices as long as you admit to them. Unless your vice is killing babies or something, that's not cool.

Heading on vacation soon so post will be less but I plan on trying to upload more pictures of the condo from this afternoon hoping that the rest will be gone.

Comics

I have officially bought back every single comic I lost in the fire. The last and hardest to find: New X-men #40. Now comes the real task...Cataloging, organizing, and protecting every comic I own. At least 2000 of them. Anyone wanna help? E-mail me. :)

Twitter

Try it out. www.twitter.com

Demolition Date

Monday July 28th! Takes 7-10 business days.

How many of you are out there?

I'm trying to get an idea of how many readers there are.

Do you read this blog often?
	Yes
	No
pollcode.com free polls

I'll check it next week and inform what readers I have on my decision.

It's coming down

Looks like a couple weeks. I got a notice from the Association.

Batman: Gotham Knights

In preparation for The Dark Knight I watched the Anime "vision" (and I use heavy quotes there) of Batman in the new DC Animated feature Batman: Gotham Knights. Since I'm lazy with all posts that I write, here is the quickest breakdown.

6 animated shorts by different anime directors each tell a different Batman story. Here is a review of each tale.

1) Interesting but mainly OK until the end when Batman just looks fat. Crappy rendition of the Dark Knight
2) Good. Not much more to say about that.
3) Gay. Batman looks very feminine and that's not a positive. The costume is also horrific. Makes Batman look like Birdman.
4) Totally twisted but awesome.
5) Bloody but boring. Not much action and the tale it tells doesn't really strike any interest.
6) Some really ridiculous action, it's short but pretty damn awesome. My personal favorite.

I should also add that Kevin Conroy did the voice of Batman which is always the right call since he is the best Batman in the history of moving pictures.

Wall-E, Hellboy 2, and The Dark Knight

Wall-E - awesome.

Hellboy 2 - better than the first and since I loved the first, awesome.

The Dark Knight - High Expectations.

Tim Burton's Batman - Not good enough.

Anime Batman - Low expectations. Watching it tonight. Doubt my distaste for modern anime will change.

Batman R.I.P. - Grant Morrison consistently gives me a headache.

Batman The Animated Series - Pure Genius.

I'm stopping now.

DVDs, Comics, and HD

I've been ever slowly buying back movies and tv shows I've lost. Most recently, Batman the animated series volumes 1 through 3 came in the mail. Batman the Animated Series is truly the only way children (or adults) should be introduced to the character. "The Batman" show that airs Saturday morning is mindless drivel with a message that says "your kid is to retarded for that old Batman, he's a stupid version". And don't get me started on their fushion of the Joker with the Creeper or the gay Riddler. (See Below)



I also now have recompleted my Angel & 24 series box sets.

As for comics, I upgraded my beginning collection of Starman by getting the new Omnibus collection (Volume 1) and it's genius. Robinson's Starman is an amazing series and I'm glad he's back writing comics.

Lastly...I GET USA HD FINALLY. Now we don't have to leave FiOS because I can finally watch RAW, Burn Notice, Monk, Psych, etc in HD! Woot! As an added bonus, we get SCIFI HD! I can watch the final half of the final season on BSG in wonderful, glorious high definition.

Expect a possible post Friday.

THE GREATEST RPG RETURNS TO DS

CHRONO TRIGGER BABY!!!

SPAIN WINS! & JAPW and a suprise...

Saturday I went to see Jersey All-Pro Wrestling! It was actually a lot of fun though it was also proof that the majority of Americans are overweight. We saw LAX, Christian Cage, and some regulars from JAPW. LAX was awesome and Cage is a cool guy. Photos on flickr.

SPAIN WON THE EURO 2008! I've never in my lifetime scene Spain win a major soccer event and the outplayed and outscored the Germans (who definitely stole the game from Portugal). I'm really excited! I also bought a David Villa jersey from eBay (via Thailand) the other day. Can't wait till it comes in.

I saw Wanted over the weekend, it's good. Liz told me she saw 1 negative review but some of the comments were uneducated so I ignored it. You may like it or you may not. So much is a matter of taste.

Lastly for the surprise...I FOUND THE TRANSFORMERS RADIO! Got it off eBay for 12 bucks. It's missing the back piece for the batteries but I'll accept that for what it represents. To the other guy who trying to sell it for $125...sod off. Heh, I said sod.

Been a while

What's happened since last time....hmmm.

Spain is in the Euro final. VIVA ESPANA!

Met up with a bunch of old Ambassadors from my NYU days which was a blast.

and....drum roll.....OLD NAVY HAS MY JEAN SIZE! HAPPY FRIGGIN DAYS!

That's it, I'll post my response on the Spain v Germany game but for now I need some sort of medication. Stuffy nose and watery eyes.

Looking for new music

Any suggestions are welcome. So far I've found this:

The Action Design

The Kut

I wanted to find out what comic book character I am. Apparently I come closest to the most insane character ever. Lovely.

Your results:
You are The Joker

The Joker 54% Riddler 50% Dr. Doom 50% Apocalypse 47% Dark Phoenix 45% Mr. Freeze 43% Juggernaut 41% Venom 40% Green Goblin 37% Lex Luthor 37% Magneto 37% Two-Face 29% Mystique 25% Kingpin 24% Catwoman 21% Poison Ivy 14%

The Clown Prince of Crime. You are a brilliant mastermind but are criminally insane. You love to joke around while accomplishing the task at hand.

Click here to take the Super Villain Personality Test

F-ING LIARS!

Stupid gaming sites can't get their crap straight. Pixies album isn't next week but the week after. SCREW YOU!

PIXIES COMING TO ROCK BAND

June 17th release date for Xbox 360!!! I'm so excited.

Kotaku article on next rock band.

She's coming DOWN.

The estimates are in, they'll be demolishing our building this month. Goodbye home.

Comic Book Religions

I was thinking about putting a long post about my weekend but I'm tired. I did find this though:

Comic Book Religion

It has a list of virtually every single comic book character and their religious views. Did you know Batman is a lapsed Catholic? Find your favorite obscure hero's religion here.

I'm uploading photos from the weekend, not many though.

If I find inspiration for a new post I'll put it up.

Primaries = Many Phone Calls

I'm just going to express my hatred for politics. Today's reason, those damn automatize phone calls they send out. I was home yesterday and I kid you not, they called 6 times for 6 different candidates. If I was voting in Union County I would've purposefully not voted for them solely because they used those automatize messages. I loathe them...LOATHE. Where do these people get the balls to assume I want to be interrupted to listen to a damn commercial. Does anyone actually listen through them to begin with? Can they really be considered effective? Doubtful.

In other news, I got Lego Indiana Jones for Xbox and we booked a DJ for the wedding.

I also now officially like playing firstbase in softball.

KEEP A LOOK OUT

So I'm trying to find a 1984 Optimus Prime AM Radio. I had one and it went up in flames during the fire. Completely melted. I had it since I was a young kid and I'm trying to buy it back. Unfortunately it costs 125 bucks on ebay! Below is the link. If anyone happens to come across it in a rummage sale or something (for cheap) pick it up and I'll pay ya back. Thanks!

Ebay overpriced Optimus Prime

Memorial Day Weekend

It's been a long LONG weekend this Memorial Day 2008. It all started off with Liz' Graduation!

Liz graduated cum laude and received several awards as well. Check out the poorly shot photos from Graduation here

Seton Hall Graduation 2008

Liz law-school pal Jane gave an excellent speech as well. Much better than the douche who introduced her.

Saturday, I got my Wii Fit on in the morning and then me and Liz hit the shore house. First order of business...getting new Bikes! Both me and Liz got Hampton Cruisers, Liz of course got pink and I got khaki (see pic).



At night me and Liz went to Pt. Pleasant to the boardwalk (obviously). We played some mini-golf and hit up the skeeball. After skeeball I found my new favorite game. Deal or No Deal! I hate the show but the game was fun and borderline mathematical. Using basic statistics and assume the computer didn't cheat, I won over 2500 points. Too bad I lost the receipt of our totally point score later.

Sunday we hit the beach, rode our bikes a little, and Whitney & Jason came down to hang out, eat, and go out for drinks.

Monday, more biking, little beach (I left because it was crazy windy only to go home and do work), and see Indy 4 for a 2nd time. Why? BECAUSE IT'S INDIANA F*CKING JONES!

That was our weekend. Now time to get a DJ for the wedding. We got a photographer already (Abacus Studios) so now we're moving on down the long list of things to do.

Incase you forgot...

Carlos Mencia is NOT FUNNY.

Indy 4, Wii Fit, and no more dentist!

Wednesday was incredibly busy for me. Lots happened.

I picked up Wii Fit and of course I'm fat and 36 years old according to it. Screw You Nintendo. I don't really what to say about other than it's interesting and does feel like a work out. I put in about 40 minutes and I'm going to try and do 30-40 minutes every day I don't go to the gym. The procrastinator that I am won't start until Tuesday of course. :)

I'm finally done with the dentist. My tooth is new and shinny, I can eat with both sides of my mouth, and no more pain....except for the bill.

Went to see Indy 4 at midnight. I loved it but I can understand why people would hate it. I'd think they're a little short-sighted or maybe just stuck up. Relax, it's supposed to be fun.

I'll be sure to have a nice big juicy post after Memorial Day. But for now, I leave you with a link to the concert I'm going to see tonight.

PAGAN FEST

Mallah and Brain

Very few know the love of monkey and brain in a robot. Mallah and Brain are two of those few.

Awesome Animation

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Double Viking 3 Great Videos!

Jesus catches a dude watching porn

Bill O'Reilly goes batshit on Inside Edition.

Sue Simmons drops the bomb

Also, the New York Post has an article about claiming Sue Simmons is a drunk. Check their website, I don't have the link on me.

GTA IV isn't all that. Yahtzee agrees.

He finds it more fun than I did, maybe all the small problems he points out just bug me more or maybe I'm not interested in senseless violence...naaaaa.

Batman vs Iron Man

Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul Guitar woes

So I bought the wireless Les Paul guitar from RedOctane's website and guess what, it didn't work properly. The damn star-power sensor was crazy. I e-mail to get it replaced, and they of course accept but then make me pay for shipping. Now, maybe I'm going overboard but if you send me something that's broken, I expect you to take the damn thing back and swallow the cost of sending me broken garbage. If I didn't have the Rock Band guitar so much, I would've asked for a refund but now that $10 I saved from buying from their website is gone. I got the guitar back and it works better now. It's still not perfect, like my original one before the fire, but good enough I guess. I just don't want to keep shipping back and forth this P.O.S. built product and loose more money.

Also, GH3 stinks, the difficulty level is absurd compared to Rock Band. I play for fun, not to be a black belt judo master at plastic guitar button mashing. No chance I'm buying the Aerosmith version and the newly announced Rock Band ripoff aka Guitar Hero 4 can kiss my ass. Let me stop before I come off as an uber-angry fanboy and talk about something good.

I got a new softball glove! The one my dad got me last year burned really good so I needed a new one and it came quick! Sports Authority online gets a good mark in my book.

Next thing coming up...buying back the 250+ comics I lost..........ugh.

Boom Blox > GTA IV

Where I was totally disappointed by GTA IV, Boom Blox has blown me away on how pure and fun it is!

BOOM BLOX

Wii and Wedding stuff.

My Wii comes today from Nintendo along with all my games, the Gamecube, and my DS! I don't know what's fixed, not fixed, damaged, etc but I have high hopes and I can't wait to play Mario Kart Wii and Boom Blox. I return GTA IV because it stinks and is boring. I saw Iron Man again with Liz for free and finally saw the secret after-credit scene with Samuel L. Jackson and the fanboy in me had a heart-attack. Just the thought of what it suggests makes me want freeze my body and awaken when it comes to fruition, which I'm sure probably won't happen. BUT WHO KNOWS!

Me and Liz booked a photographer, DJ, and videographer last night. We're currently unbooking them now due to some poor online reviews. They're called "The Pros" and don't use them. They are incredibly cheap but very "corporate".

I got a new bottom retainer and I gotta wear it full time for 2 weeks. It hurts.

Liz is finally done with exams so I actually get to hang out with my fiancee which is nice.

That's about it, the condo association has more gift cards for us and more photos from the inside of the condo taken by engineers a couple days after the fire. I'll post those over the weekend.

Iron Man Review ... and a not-smelly jacket.

So, Iron Man was Awesome. There's my review. If you don't want to see it, then I don't understand why we're friends at all because obviously you make poor life decisions. The film really was able to hit every mark. It was funny, serious, scary, action-packed, and incredibly enjoyable. The film also did an excellent job staying away from certain comic cliches while still keeping some. Heck, there's even a twist ending. Fanboys will rejoice too, for there are plenty of little comic references and secrets only one with deep Marvel knowledge will know. In order to be fair, I guess I should point out the negative. There was probably a total of 2 cheesy lines in the film, maybe 3 and you can always have more action but I didn't think there wasn't enough. I just left wanting MORE.

I just realized there is a surprise after the credits I missed so I'm going to see it again with Liz.

Side-note: I'm wearing a "rejected" jacket today and it actually fits fine, not discolored, and doesn't smell....much.

Iron Man and Video Games

Going to see Iron Man tonight! I'm totally excited unlike everyone I know (except Karl and Renee, they're excited and much cooler than my otherwise dense ugly friends). Also I'm going alone, which wouldn't be the first time. Remember the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie? Of course you don't, because you didn't go with me, you being everyone.

I got GTA, I'm not impressed. I might trade it in for Wii Fit or Iron Man, we'll see...

Nintendo is shipping back my repaired items TODAY! I can't believe it, they are awesome. I love Nintendo.

Repairs, Comments, and more Games.

Finally got my Fedora and Cowboy hat back. They still smell a little, but they fit and make me look awesome. We'll be leaving them out in the garage to air out a bit or maybe try the "vinegar method" that Liz's mom is currently trying out on her dress and coat.

Nintendo received my stuff today, I can't wait to get my Wii back and start playing Mario Kart Wii but it's not too bad because I bought GTA IV as an impulse buy. I've got issues with GTA in general (nothing to do with the sex and violence) but I've got no other games and it's getting absurd reviews so I gotta know first hand if it's all B.S. or the real deal. I also bought Justice League Unlimited Vol 1 & 2. I watch it on Boomerang but they skip episodes which annoys me so at midnight I went on an angry Amazon rage and bought it. What can I say, I've got a thing for B-list DC Superheroes. There was a dude dressed as Vigilante at Comic-Con and I was freaking out. Liz looked at me like the idiot I am.

I'm also totally excited about 2 things this week. 1) HOUSE WAS BRAND NEW! I love House, one of my favorite shows ever. 2) IRON MAN IS COMING OUT! I'm totally seeing it Thurs at 8pm. If you wish to join me, give me a ring or just show up.

Lastly, I notice people are actually commenting on posts! It's like sing Duran Duran at a Karaoke bar and then getting applause! (Metaphor of the day). Keep it up.

And remember, sex is bad m'kay.

We win our first softball game

Let me start off by saying I'm shocked that there are readers out there. Blows my mind. On Friday I found out that Jack, guy I used to work it, keeps he's Teo fix going by reading the blog, Renee continues her secret love obsession with me, and Dave Bober makes his fantasies come true via teoandthefire.

Friday was the last day of Pre-Cana (thank God!) and me and Liz are officially ready for marriage. We even got a little certificate saying something like "You're not a pagan sinner! Congrats". The "sex talk" was the most amusing because we were told that you can have sex when a woman can't get pregnant as long as you don't wear protection. Something about timing and mucus, it was gross. So if you can figure out both your biological clocks, screw away and don't make babies but the moment you introduce plastic wrap, you're a sinner.

Saturday was at first clothes organization day. We got rid of a lot of crap, put some "rejected" items outside to air out (which surprisingly work! I may have suits!), and put away the rest. I can now go to the gym because I have gym clothes. Later, I visited Andrew and Peggy's place, to see a VERY VERY VERY drunk Pat. It was like watching deaf-mute trying to have sex but instead making sweet love to a pile of dirty clothes. Sad part is, Pat was in fact making sweet love to dirty clothes. Andrew's sweat-shirts will never be the same. Pat and Karl asked me to throw more metaphors into my blog. Last time those 2 asked me to do something, it involved Polaroids, ski goggles, a hose, and a mule. The situation was like being in a room with Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie except a lot uglier.

Sunday involved buying Mario Kart Wii (though I don't own a Wii, Nintendo is repairing it for free), playing it at Matt's house, Harold and Kumar (totally awesome), and softball (We won! My average is .666, number of the BEAST). Oh, and I started testing my Nintendo, and it seems to work fine, though I seemed to have lost the light-gun and a 2nd controler I think. More searching needs to be done. Some games don't work, but the good ones seem to be ok. Only time will tell.

Remember, reading my blog is like having sex while in outerspace...it's awesome.

Root Canal and Clothes

A lot has happened this week. Most importantly, my pain is gone. I finally had the root canal (on Monday AND Wednesday) and all the crazy pain is gone. They still haven't properly filled it up nor put the crown on (ugh) so I've got a temporary filling. Also, since I have ZERO insurance, it's going to cost my an arm and a leg. I'm not pleased.

We had a borderline pointless meaning with the association basically telling us 2 things. 1, our association fee is being reduced by 15% (sweet) and nothing is going to happen with the building for over a month (un-sweet, bitter?).

I got a SNES in the mail, along with some other stuff. I'm just racking up the credit card bill. It's wonderful. I also got my clothes back! Most of the stuff is good, I lost some jackets and my suits (I'm suit-less) and some other things I really liked which just made me depressed. Liz lost her really nice dress and I felt awful. I'm getting her a new one as a graduation gift.

I'm really looking forward to the weekend. I just want to relax, play some Rock Band & Call of Duty 4, and forget about everything just for a little bit. Maybe I'll even start exercising again.

Parents House almost pulls a Teo's Condo, My Teeth, and the Comic Con

This weekend was a lot of fun and a complete mess.

Friday: Liz' birthday

We went out to celebrate Liz' 25th Birthday. It was a lot of fun but 2 bad things happened. First I started to feel some pain from my tooth that I was going to have a Root Canal on Wendsay for and second, my parents told me that there was a gas leak in the house and we have no hot water. GAS LEAK! Meaning if there was a spark, my parents house and everything in it would've been just like my condo...GONE. It's like Final Destination, the Grim Reaper wants me dead but sucks at his job. Also the Gas company apparently sucks and wants us dead because the so-called 24 hour emergency support we pay for said they'd come tomorrow morning to fix the gas leak THEY CAUSED! That's right, they came to fix the water heater and left by almost destroying our home. I'm thinking lawsuit. This also meant no hot water tomorrow morning for Comic Con.

Saturday: New York Comic Con and PAIN.

So me and Liz wake up early to go to the 3rd Annual New York Comic Con which I LOVE! Liz is the best fiancee ever because she decided to keep me company. After our cold showers we go to comic con and get on the huge line. We did some panels (which bored Liz to death), went around the floor and bought some stuff (I got some toys I lost in the fire and some comics, I bought Liz an Ugly Doll). We even saw some celebrities that weren't comic book writers (Ron Perlman, Seth Green, Selma Blair, and Milo something [Peter from Heroes]). Liz knows Milo's full name because she's in love with him he was on Gilmore Girls. It was a long day (9-5:30) and though I enjoyed all of it, I was in a ton of pain. My tooth went crazy and the pain went from my chin to my eye into my skull. It was unbearable. I had to take breaks to deal with it. We later met up with Pat, Kelsey and Lindsay for Ethiopian food (I'm cultured bitch!) and I went home in total agony. I left the dentist a message and went to bed.

Sunday: Narcotics and Pre-Cana.

Sunday was a slow day mainly because I was in pain for most of it. I packed my Nintendo stuff to ship out on Monday for repair/replacement. I also took a ton of medication (2 Alleve, 1 Tylenol Extra Strength, and local oral anesthetic.  Still it wasn't working but then the dentist's office called and booked me for Monday 9am and called in a prescription of Codeine. Much much better. Me and Liz then went to get our Catholic on at Pre-Cana where we started the 6-hour training? I don't really know how to describe Pre-Cana other than it tries to flesh out potential problems you may run into as a married couple. There are journals involved, need I say more.

That's my weekend, the pain continues with a Root Canal and an Association Meeting at night. I'll let ya know how that goes. Otherwise, I'm going to get ready for sleep while on Codeine (God Bless it). If you want to see cool pictures from Comic Con or Liz's Party go to my flickr site. 

Money, Mets, and Gift Cards

I received the insurance money Tuesday afternoon. I could say something cliche like "It's so interesting how all my worldy possesions can be reduced to 2 checks." but instead I'll say what the cool kids with their rap music say: "Money Money, yeah yeah". Honestly though, most of it will be saved/invested until we either move back in or sell the place and buy a new one. All the cash will go untouched. Well, most of it, since I did already by a MacBook, Xbox 360, iPod, HDTV, and a Digital Camera.

Weds night went to see what was probably my last time in Shea. I'm a Yankee's fan but I don't hate the Mets and I want 1 more experience in the stadiums before they're gone. Mets won 5-2 and it was a really good game. Homers, good catches, strike-outs, etc. Yanks beat the Red Sox too. Suck it Boston!

Also, the people from Liz Moot Court team at Seton Hall Law pitched in and got us a large gift card to Macy's. Liz said she was borderline speechless and I can't say enough on how kind it was to do that for us. We'll be saving it to help buy furniture down the line. I also can't repeat myself enough on how I appreciate everyone's gifts and efforts to help during this time. It's been overwhelming.

Pictures from INSIDE THE CONDO

Click on the link below.

Recovery Day

The buying begins and SUPRISE!

So on Friday I started the long process to rebuild what I've lost. First thing to buy was a new TV of course! I got myself a 42" Vizio from Sears for pretty cheap. It's an awesome model and I just watched There Will Be Blood on it and it looks great. Next came the device I'm using to type this entry up with, a new black MacBook and it's glorious. I plan on putting Vista (yeah, I know) as a 2nd OS using Boot Camp at some point, but right now I'm cool with the current OS X. I also got an iPod and a free printer. Marv helped me with the purchase and a discount which was awesome. 

Friday night I was expecting to go out to dinner with Liz and her parents but the joke was on me, SURPRISE PARTY! Tons of people were there to celebrate the destruction of my condo and earthly possessions and it was genius. Everything was Fire Theme (Thanks to Liz, Whitney, and Noelle for the amazing theme), Pat gave me a Fire Mix Tape (except for the magical last track), and others brought me small gifts or booze. It was great, I beat the crap out of the Fire Truck Pinata and took home my weight in chocolate. Did I mention I LOVE CHOCOLATE. I've said already, but it can't be said enough, thanks to everyone for the party!

Other news, bought an Xbox 360 today, finished the inventory and pricing of all I've lost (it's a lot), I get my hard drives back tomorrow, and I won an SNES on Ebay! I'm trying to buy things slowly but there is so much gone and I want it all back now (Rock Band!) so we'll see if I can pace myself. Hopefully I'll get my comics back soon.

Anyways, tomorrow is Softball and I get all the photos from Pat so expect a huge photo post using Flickr. Till next time, I'm Teo Fernandez and I'm sexy with or without Old Navy Jeans (they still don't have my size, assholes).

Stretching the Truth - Star Ledger

I was in the paper today, and as I mentioned before the Red Cross, who does wonderful things around the world, totally abused the media yesterday. Here are the pictures.


The photo above is completely staged. It says some crap about how she's consoling me, yeah right. I was busy loading stuff in my dad's truck when the photographer was snapping pictures and she comes buy and explains to me what the Red Cross does, I've been fine during this whole thing. Someone else may need a shoulder to cry on, I just want to buy my videogames and comics. The photographer was upset too because they were trying to stage photos all day apparently, as Pat overheard him being upset in broken English.


The Red Cross was at NO POINT IN MY PLACE! They helped outside with food and drinks (I think, maybe that was the condo association, I don't know) and they were around, but they weren't helping me because I didn't want or need them. I had my friends and family help me and people the insurance company brought to clean my clothes. I knew they were going to use me for photo-ops but these captions are a little much. Maybe I'm just angry because I've lost almost everything so I apologize for changing the Red Cross to a Red Bullseye.

If they want to help, find out whole stole my laptop from my ruined place, more on that to come later...

Pictures are Copyright of the Star Ledger or whatever.

Photos via Flicker

Pat has a ton of photos from yesterday, so they'll all be posted on Flickr and linked here.

I make the news

I got interviewed yesterday while trying to remove my things. They also took a lot of photos of me and my place. It was also funny because apparently The American Red Cross loves photo-ops. Let me start by saying that the Red Cross has been great doing what they can to help us out. Me, personally, I didn't really need them but I'm sure others do all across the globe. I just can't help but laugh that a woman from the Red Cross made chit-chat with me so that the photographer (who had already expressed how he didn't want to take "staged" photos of the Red Cross people) would take a picture of us making it look like she was calming me or something. I mean, again, Red Cross is great, but it's funny what they'll do to get in the papers. Nothing negative about it, publicity equals more funds for the non-profit organization, so I didn't complain.

Star Ledger Article

Old Navy Hates Me!

Ok, if I'm fat, please tell me, because Old Navy ONLINE doesn't carry my jean size. 38W by 32L Loose Jeans. Not low-rise crap cut, not super-tight ass jeans. Just loose. Do you hate me Old Navy? Did you create the perfect jeans for me, only to NOT SELL THEM TO ME!

I got stuff out today, big post to come, probably tomorrow. Tons of pictures to come as soon as Pat can get them off his camera.

The Big Day!

Today I get 3 hours to get everything I own. 12-3pm. If you had 3 hours, what would you get? Me, I'm going for my clothes first since they're in excellent shape. Pictures will be taken.

Older News from the Day Of

NJ.com #1

NJ.com #2

Both articles titles are full of inaccuracies. One says "Dozens" where only 12-15 people are without a home. That's A dozen, not multiple. The other says 9 homes, where it was 10. No offense, but is it so hard to get simple facts.

More News...Cause of Fire Not Known.

Daily Record article 1 week later

Thanks Marv.

Lost Comics Count

So far, I've lost 240 comics (about). We'll see if that number changes after tomorrow. Don't really remember how many boxes I had.

Itemizing all the comics, games, movies, and music isn't so bad, finding the price of how much it'd cost to replace is a pain!

Once my lists are said and done, I plan on posting most if not all of them.

Day 3 - 5

Thurs I went to work. It wasn't very eventful and I left early to do 2 things that night.

They let me and my dad in to my place for a few minutes. The place is a disaster area. The ceiling has fallen, things are burned, my TV and electronics either exploded or were melted. Things water logged. It's bad. My clothes are OK interestingly enough, they didn't get wet or burned thankfully. The furniture is toast, my Games, DVDs, CDs, and some (not all) comics are completely destroyed with only melted or wet remains. We got out all the uber-valuables which were ok and hard-drives. The hard-disks may be ok, we'll see. Some jackets, some old-school games (which are dead), and 3 of 5 boxes of comics (2 are good!). We also got out important documents and receipts which was probably the best thing to get.

We went home and tried to organize, Pat came over to help and take the already posted pictures.

We had a meeting at 7pm at night. It meant that the Yankee tickets I got were now useless, so we gave them to the landscaper. They gave us a ton of info, told us our big chance to get what's left is next Weds at noon (for me). 3 hours to get everything. Ugh! Also told us how long it'll take (a guess) to have it all demolished and rebuilt (12 - 14 months) and what "builders grade" means. Oh, and I still gotta pay my association fee even though I don't have heat or water, gotta pay sewage though I have no plumbing, and taxes obviously.

With all that had happened, I decided I need Friday to organize with my folks, so I took off from work.

Friday involved talking to the insurance guy, which was very helpful and beneficial. They're bringing in special cleaners to take care of my good but stinky clothes. Everything...and I mean EVERYTHING SMELLS. We also talked about the following steps, the meeting, and of course money. I separated all my water-logged comics and got very upset because there were a lot of awesome issues I lost. World War Hulk #1, Sinestro War #1, few issues of JSA, Buffy Season 8 #1, etc.

I also went through all my receipts to try and figure out what I could claim via my credit card's policy along with just a list of stuff I lost. My mom took one look at my giant bucket of receipts and almost died. Apparently my organization skills are only good in my own eyes.

At night, back to normal, ate with Liz, Whitney and Jason, went to bed. Today I ran more errands, saw Marv and the Mall, and contacted Nintendo about possibly replacing my Wii. I hope they can help. I'm going to call Microsoft and Sony later. Right now, I'm going to shower. Expect another update in a few days. Any questions or comments e-mail me or call.

About the photos

Click on them, the High-Res shots really do better justice.

This pictures are from the day of the fire, courtesy of Emery, and of some of the stuff we got out when were were allowed in for a few minutes (courtesy of Pat).

Lots of Photos

Day 0 - 2

Day 0:For anyone who doesn't know yet, this is where I will tell you. The building I live(d) in caught fire on Monday, March 31st while I was at work. No one was harmed or hurt, all animals survived. The fire, which started outside below my condo raged upwards destroying my deck and the wall, and completely took all the homes above me out. My place is still intact but I suffered severe water damage. This is what it looked like when I arrived only an hour after the events.

I'm in the middle floor.
I got in around 4pm after my friend Whitney gave me a buzz about it. I assumed the worse and that I'd lost everything and when I got there I figured that was a good guess. All the officials were there and the Red Cross along with friends and family. People at work were nice enough to drive me there but there was nothing I can do but wait for more information. We had a meeting late at night where they brought us up to speed and what needed to be done and afterwards and they explained how the building would probably be torn down and I'd be homeless for a year at least. We then got burgers and I went to bed. I slept alright that night, trying not to think about it but that wouldn't last.Day 1:When I woke up, I couldn't help but think and hope on what I could get back and what I can't. I worried that my comics (1+ years worth) were soaked, that all my movies and video games were wet, my old school games (Atari, SNES, etc) where out in the open and probably soaked. My Xbox, HDTV, Wii, PS2, etc were also probably gone. After a while I realized I wasn't falling back to sleep and got up. I think I've recently become allergic to my house, so spending the night resulted in red eyes and a sore throat. I spent the day with my dad doing as much as possible. I spoke with dectectives explaining what I knew, what I had on the deck, and any posisble theories. I really had none. It was mentioned that the people above us smoked on their deck but no evidence or explanation for the fire has been found. I cancel my cable and eletric bill, got a new gym card made. Of course, Patriot Media/Comcast will be billing me for the lost modem and cable box. I went and bought underwear, socks, and some pants from Old Navy. Old Navy didn't have my jean size, jerks. We also met on site with the insurance people and of course our coverage plan isn't as good as I'd hope. After dealing with that, we went to get my tax stuff, had the mail rerouted, and went home. Liz came by and we went to the mall (Menlo Park) to see if I could get more stuff. We hit Old Navy and got more stuff (still no jeans at 2nd location!) and tried other stores. I didn't know if my clothes might be salvagable so I didn't want to buy much. We ate Chick-Fil-A and went home. We watch a bunch of Ninja Warrior on my old college TV and she went home. I slept better.Day 2:The morning I got some bins hoping to be able to go inside and get some stuff. Instead it's brought to my attention that the building is unsafe and I wouldn't be allowed in. I'd have to wait till next Weds to get my things. Will my comics last? Will anything last? I don't know. Pat swung by and we hit up Panera. I like Panera bread, just not sliced bread. Afterwards I went to my 3rd Old Navy and guess what...NO JEANS IN MY SIZE! Am I fat? Seriously tell me. I bought a shirt, got my new comics at the store, and went back to the site. After sorting through what's going down the next week, I finally went home to read some comics and get on the web. I really want to document most of what's happened and keep everyone informed.Everyone has been incredibley helpful and kind during this entire thing. Thing is the best way to put it since it's so much rolled into 1. If you got questions or anything, shoot and e-mail or call. E-mail will take a while to respond unless I'm at work because my parents basement is colder than Frostie's penis. Yes, Frostie the Snowman has a penis, he's a SnowMAN right? I'm off to shower and possibly put on new close, and try and cough out the smoke and hazardous chemicals I'm sure to have swallowed. Seriously though, I'm ok and wearing clothes only made by Old Navy and Hanes.

It Beings

This is where I'll post everything about the Fire and what not, stay tuned.