i often wonder what other people blog about. a sure fire method to blogging is of course picking a theme and sticking to it. to date, i'm not sure i've had a theme, much less a blog worth reading. nonetheless, i was walking to my apartment one day last week and something struck me -- not sure what, but i've realized just how different my life is now compared to 2 years ago. allow me to explain . . .

it wasn't even 2 years ago that i was packing up my apartment in bethlehem, pa, moving to boston, no job, no apartment, no [non-girl]friends. it was a pretty risky move, considering i hadn't technically graduated college yet. here's what i still needed to do:

• 1 math class which i hoped i could take at Boston University but was NOT approved
• 1 philosophy class which i got an incomplete in but shouldn't have since i did in fact complete it (maybe i should mention i took this class 2 years ago but now that i needed to graduate i actually cared about it)
• 1 computer science compiler class. don't ask, it was the worst
• 1 free elective credit shy

extremely long story short, i took a class at BU, designed a flash website for the free elective credit, talked to my philosophy professor over the phone and discussed what i wrote my final exam on, and the compiler class? yeah, still not sure about that one, but it's done. i also somehow managed to get a full time job, land an awesome apartment in downtown boston with my best friend booty, and apply for graduation. 2 weeks into my new job, i received that $xxx,xxx diploma and probably one of the biggest reliefs of my life! note: do NOT want to go through that ever, ever, again.

reflecting on things i got quite a lot accomplished the summer of '05. fast forward about 2 years my life was about as static as could be. i was working the daily 8 - 7 grind at a job that took advantage of a young, dumb kid straight out of college looking to impress and make a name for himself. my life revolved around work, with a tiny social life (if you even want to call it such) on the side.

it wasn't until about april of '07 that life turned upside down.

• april '07 -- i had finally had enough. i began losing sleep, and found myself genuinely despising my job. i cringed every day i got to work. i dreaded going to sleep sunday nights knowing i had a full week of hell approaching. a friend of mine who is a technical recruiter said to me in an e-mail: " There's nothing worst than waking up Mon. morning to go to a job you hate. " ding! light bulb went off. why was i still there? yet another long story short, i called it quits. this was by far one of the most difficult things i've ever had to do. what would i do differently? not wait as long as i did.
• april '07 -- out with the old, in with the new. financially i couldn't afford to quit my job without seeking a new one. i managed to get a job working as a systems administrator at brandeis university. significantly better benefits, HUGE pay increase, more vacation, free tuition, massive department budget (which means cooler toys to play with), relaxed working environment, better management, and the list goes on. moving on up . . .
• april '07 -- www.nicholasamanda.com becomes nicholas & amanda! i proposed to amanda on patriot's day of this year. my beautiful fiancee and i have been dating since sophmore year of high school -- that's february of '98 for those of you trying to do the math. yeah, blows my mind also. our date to be wed is april 26 of '08 and i'm counting down every minute until then. moving to boston was the smartest move i've ever made, and i'm marrying the proof.
• may '07 -- call me uncle nick! my sister had a baby boy named grant philip lathren. his middle name is philip, named after my late father philip ragusa. he truly is the most precious little guy i've ever seen. aunt amanda and i haven't had a chance to meet him yet but already have a flight booked for mid july.
• june '07 -- new ride. i'm a lexus customer for life.

gosh what am i missing??!! i'm sure there's more that i can't think of. some things that are on the horizon though ... new macbook pro courtesy of work, hascup famous 4th of july bbq, moving in to an apartment with my fiancee before the end of the summer, huge network overhaul at work, new nikon slr??

moral of the story? as my dad used to say, when it rains, it pours.

it has arrived! a 2007, Lexus IS 250 AWD. it doesn't get much sweeter than this. as for the whole title debacle, all done. all i did was go to the dealership on monday (the day after i bought the car) with a receipt from my inspection dated around the same time of my title. the salesman took it back into the offices, talked to some people for a minute, them came back was said, 'ok, you're all set.' i thought there had to be a catch. apparently they were going to take care of the title amendment, amendment fee, bringing it to the RMV, and didn't care about waiting for the process time. i guess this is part of the perks of dealing with lexus and not your average joe.

also, as part of the car delivery, i was introduced to the entire service department, given the cell phone number of the service department's manager in case i had an emergency or was dissatisfied, as well as introduced to a handful of other people who worked at the dealership. as for the car? this is by far the nicest whip i've ever driven, and i'm pretty sure i might be a lexus customer for life.

more pictures to come . . .

so i just picked up a new ride! it's the lexus IS 250 awd. murphy's law was in full effect when i bought this guy, however. where should i begin?

i've been eyeing this car for a while. and by a while, i mean since my early high school years. i've taken it for a few test rides over the past year or so, just never had the guts to take the plunge. after i got engaged and a new job, i figured i'd complete the trio with a lexus.

so, my current car was originally purchased by my father in new jersey. i then inherited it while i was in college and had to transfer the title to my name in the state of pennsylvania. naturally, the title got lost in one of the billion moves i've made between college houses and moving to boston. so, i have to get a new title from the state of massachusettes. when i got the new one i was diligent about keeping it in a safe place (in a safe, go figure) and kept it under lock and key. after holding on to the title for a few years, i actually look at it for the first time since receiving it only to realize it says i have 150,000 miles on the odometer. 150,000!? my car currently has 131,054, and i got this title 2 years ago. so why does it say 150,000? sweet, now it looks like i rolled back the odometer. murphy's law, strike 1.

ok, no big deal, let's go to the dealership anyway. i'm probably not going to walk out of there with a car anyhow - i'll bring it just in case. on the way over to the dealership the old lady and i stop at panera for some lunch. after enjoying a lovely asiago roast beef sangwich, i went to d & d to get amanda a coffee. about 30 seconds after i turned on the car, the check engine light comes on. like, you've got to be kidding me. now, this light has come on every once in a while over the last year or so. by once in a while i mean it comes on for a day, then won't come on for a month or two. and of course, it comes on while i'm on my way to the dealership. sweet. murph, strike 2.

the deal, surprisingly, went really smooth. my salesman was borderline autistic, but a nice dude nonetheless. i got the deal i wanted, both on the value of my trade and the overall sale price of the car. nick 1.

i was 95% complete with the red tape until the title and odometer came into play. low and behold, it's a problem that the title read 150,000 and the actual odometer had 131,054. the guy seemed cool about it, and of course, the other employee would could shed some light on the situation had gone home for the day. touchee, murph. strike 3.

murphy: 3
nick: 1

so it may be premature to post this as a complete loss, but i don't have a good feeling about the situation. the salesman assured me that it wasn't going to be too big of a hassle, all i'd have to do is amend the title and i'll be on my way. my feeling is that it'll delay my possession of the car which is scheduled for tuesday. alls i know is if it requires a trip to the dmv (or rmv as they call it here in ma), i'm not going to be a happy dude. i will prevail!!