Scan's Corner: October 2009

What's the deal with people who back their cars into parking spaces? How is that better and more efficient than just driving into the parking space and backing out of the space?

Now I know many of the people who do this own mini-vans and Freaked out SUVs with tinted windows and think that it's safer to back in first and drive out forward. They say that it's because they can't see when they back out into an area that is far larger than a tight parking space. Yeah, that makes sense.

No one, And I mean no one has ever back into a marked parking space successfully the first time. When I'm behind some one who backs into a space, I'm guaranteed to wait twice as long waiting for them. Must do a number on their car if it's stick shift.

Now, I understand the appeal of driving forward out of a parking space. I try to find two parking spaces end to end where I can drive in and drive out. Easy in and easy out.

The other day though, I saw some one who was driving around the parking lot. She drove through the two parking spaces only to drive out and yes, BACK into the space that was next to the one she went through! She took THREE times to successfully back her SUV into the space.

Yeah, I spend too much time being baffled by people's behavior.

I can't stop thinking about the day my good friend Miguel married the lovely Jennifer. It was the best time I had in so long I am still beaming about it.

Years ago, the late 80's, I was at SVA in New York City. Most of the students were commuters from the surrounding boroughs and New Jersey. A fair amount of us on the other hand had live in the "dorms" at Sloane House. It was there a group of us had met and developed a friendship that still stands. In my case it's the strongest bond I have with anyone who is not a blood relative.

In a nutshell, from my perspective on how we developed our friendship. Miguel (Mig) and Stephen (Pro) casually knew each other a year before I arrived on the scene. the year I arrived I met Al. Al was reading a comic book I liked and I brushed off a pretty girl to talk to him about it. Al and I walked around the hallways of Sloane House and spotted a hand drawn "Bill The Cat" poster on a door. We attracted the attention of the man who drew it, Pro. Later I met Mig when I used to talk to a cute woman who was from Puerto Rico. Occasionally a slim man with thick hair and a thicker beard would talk to her in Spanish. That was Mig. My first impression was that he was mean and I was moving on his women. I had no grasp on Spanish at all at that point.

We bonded on music, classic rock mostly. We'd hang out as a group by this time with other people who we lost touch with over the years. Meantime, I was getting to express my growing liberal views. I grew up in a conservative town and always felt out of place. At SVA, in 1980's New York City I was in heaven. One of the pet liberal causes in 1985-1986 was apartheid. I went to an anti-apartheid meeting at SVA because wellllll, a girl I had a crush on was from South Africa and it was a cause close to her heart and I followed her to the meeting like an eager puppy. I met another person who was born in South Africa at the meeting, His name is Sean and we became fast friends despite the fact that it would be the last time I would attend any more meetings. I'd like to say that the people were too radical at the meeting but it was really because the boycott list was huge and involved pretty much every food product I bought and any alternative that I could switch to.

So I had this group of friends at Sloane House and another group of friends at my SVA foundation class. I went back and forth between the two of them. By the summer break I was solid friends with Al, Pro, Sean and Mig. During the summer we hung out a little. Mostly meeting up in New York. One person I met was Delfin (Del), a super talented cartoonist who had his work Libra published that summer. Sean had moved to Brooklyn like many who felt that Sloane House was merely a stepping stone to enjoying NYC. The draw of Sloane House would be strong however.

My second year, (Remember this is the Scanman telling the tale.) Al and Pro were close enough to share a studio room together and the same went with Mig and me. A new group of people moved into Sloane House. A group of freshmen came in and gravitated to Pro, including a woman he would soon date. Mike (Korn) was hanging around too. Meantime, a transfer student a few years older than us moved in too. His name is Joe. Our group was large enough to break into two factions. One side was Scan, Mig and Sean (who crashed in our studio room). The other was Korn, Pro, Joe with Al being interchangeable between the two groups. It was the ladies' men on one side with the rest of us on the other side. Al was moving over to the other side. Del was in Queens.

I had found part of a movie marquee sign for the film "52 Pick-UP" and hung it in my room. It was the letters PIC, and it became the symbol of our group even though to this day we haven't come up with a decent backronym for it. So we had a name, now we need new members.

My third year at Sloane House 1987-1988 started with Mig and I in trouble with Sloane House for having Sean living in our shared studio. It was against the rules and we risked being kicked out of Sloane House. We had a "trial" and Mig and I had probation but Sean was expelled from Sloane House for a year. After spending time in Brooklyn, Sean took off for Hong Kong to regroup his batteries. Good thing too, He would meet his future wife Sofia there.

Meanwhile, I noticed that a cute woman was moving things into the room next door to mine. I introduced myself and was disappointed when she said it was her brother that was moving in. He introduced himself as Mike but he said we can call him Bucky. He would learn to regret that he introduced himself as that. He was friends with Martin who I didn't get to know for quite a few years.

So, Mig and Pro move in together in Manhattan after they graduated. Soon after Bucky moved in after another roommate moved out. Al moved back home and commuted his last year while Sean moved back to Sloane House. Korn and Joe moved already so the large Sloane House group was splitting up.

Mig, Pro, and Mig moved from 29th street to 22nd street.

After graduating Sean and I moved to Jersey City to be room mates. Sean's girlfriend from Hong Kong moved to the US. They would get married in a private ceremony and moved into their own place.

I took a position as a cartoonist/publisher's assistant and crashed at various places for the next year.

Pro, Mig and Buck moved to a large place in Jersey City.

I moved to Seattle by myself after unsuccessfully convincing Pro and Buck to do the same.

I lost track of Joe and Korn by this point. I didn't know Martin yet.

Al moved in with Mig, Bucky and Pro. I lost track of Delfin.

I got to know Martin on frequent visits to the east coast.

Pro and Al moved into their own place. Buck and Mig still lived in the same place.

I moved to Federal Way, WA with my new girlfriend.

Pro met a woman who would move in with Al and Pro.

Joe came back in the scene opening the Liquid Lounge in Hoboken, Korn got married to Beth moved to Hoboken in some sort of order. Sean had his first son, Ian.

Buck moved to San Francisco, Al moved out of Pro's and moved back to Mig's place.

Al and Mig moved to a new place in Jersey City.

Sean and Sofia moved to Montclair.

Sean, Buck, Pro, Mig, Korn and I attended a wedding of our friend Heather in Vermont.

Al and Mig had a falling out and moved to separate places.

Pro got married for the first time.

I moved back to Seattle after a devastating breakup.

Al moved back upstate.

I reestablished contact with Delfin.

Sean moved to Canada with his family including his new son, Justin. Korn and Beth had their first child, a daughter.

Joe closed the Liquid Lounge. Korn moved to his own house in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Pro got divorced.

Mig buys his own place.

Pro got married to Huly on the sly. I meet a new woman. I lost touch with Joe again but he buys a place in Asbury Park anyway. I'm not aware of Martin's activities.

Sean moved back to the USA.

I moved back to New Jersey to follow my girlfriend. Two days later, Pro moves to Wisconsin. Korn and Beth have their second child, a son.

Bucky marries Diane on the sly and moves outside of San Francisco.

Martin buys his own place in Brooklyn.

Pro moves to LA to pursue an acting career. I had a not so devastating breakup except financially.

I re-establish contact with Joe. Delfin marries on the sly.

Pro moved back to Wisconsin and pursuing his acting career on a more casual basis. Mig marries Jennifer at a festive ceremony that inspired this rambling rant.

So the latest updates:

Scan is single and lives in Union, New Jersey

Pro is married and lives primarily in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mig is married and lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Al is single and lives in Monroe, New York. He wasn't at the wedding.

Sean is married with two boys in Montclair, New Jersey.

Joe is single and living in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Korn is married with two kids and living in Bloomfiled, New Jersey.

Buck is married and back living in San Fransisco, California.

Martin is single and living in Brooklyn, New York.

Delfin is married and living in Astoria, Queens, New York.

That's it in a nutshell, A coconut shell.