In celebrity dating news, Tom Cruise is now dating Katie Holmes. My Katie. Back in 1998, when "Dawson's Creek" was first coming on the scene, I developed a little crush on Miss Holmes. I even cut out a picture of her and placed it on my college dorm room desk. She wasn't very famous at that time so people would come into my room, see the picture and ask "Is that your girlfriend?" I'd answer "Yep." When I heard she was seriously dating Chris Klein, my heart sank. Now that she's dating Tom Cruise, I know there is no hope. Ah well, I hope you're happy Katie.

And why the hell does George Bush always have to have press conferences when "Survivor" is on? He's scheduled one for 8:30 tonight, when "Survivor" is supposed to be on, and has asked the networks to give him airtime. I hope CBS tells him to go screw himself and air the quality reality TV that viewers really want to see.

Work is so insanely BUSY this week. We're planning an Arbor Day event for Friday. Then there's a report that's due to the commissioner on Friday. Then there's a briefing document I have to prepare for the Mayor's office that's due on Friday. Then there's the Sheepshead Bay mooring permits that should really go out by Friday. And then there's the accounting paperwork that needs to be submitted. Ack!

But I took a break tonight and went to Trivia for the first time in about 6 weeks. Playing with Daryl and Jess, our team "Desperate Houseplants" was victorious! And Jess' blog, The World According to Blerg, has earned a blogroll.

And now, I'm pleased to present pictures of my new apartment!

Living Room and Foyer!

More Living Room! (A couch is still on the way)

Bedroom!

More Bedroom!

Kitchen & Dining Area!

Bathroom!

In the past 24 hours, the following search words were used to find this blog through Google :

pope star wars emperor
ratzinger star wars palpatine
new pope emperor star wars
new pope and senator palpatine star wars
new pope emperor star wars
"new pope" and "star wars"

Guess I wasn't the only one to think so.

Anyway there hasn't been much time for me to post on this blog lately since things have become VERY busy at work. And this weekend has been busy as well but in a good way. On Friday night, my family threw a surprise 40th birthday party for my brother. And then tonight was a Passover Seder at my parents house. So I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Passover!

One final comment about the new pope. He looks just like Palpatine. (That's the Senator turned Chancellor turned Emperor for those not in the Star Wars loop.)

There is a new pope. Yipee. When I heard that a new pope was elected my first thought was "I hope it's not Ratzinger." And then I heard that it was indeed Joseph Ratzinger. Or Benedict XVI as he is now called. Why am I not too thrilled with the selection? He's very conservative and for years played 'bad cop' to John Paul II's 'good cop'. Also he's a German who was a member of the Hitler Youth. Granted, he had no choice in that matter as membership in Hitler Youth was compulsory for young Germans. Even though he eventually deserted, it still doesn't leave the best taste in my mouth. Then again he's 78 years old, so he doesn't figure to have a very long papacy anyway.

Wrestling was a lot of fun last night. It was a four-hour show as they taped SmackDown on UPN from 7-9 and then they taped a live Raw on Spike TV from 9-11. Highlights included the return of Hulk Hogan, a tag team title change, and great chants from the MSG crowd referencing a real life affair between Lita and Edge that wrecked Lita's relationship with Matt Hardy.

So much for the Mets being undefeated since I’ve moved. I guess it really couldn’t last ALL season long, could it?

The great weather led me to take a long walk yesterday in my new neighborhood. And who did I meet? My boss and his wife! They live in Bay Ridge too and it was cool to randomly run into them.

I also had the pleasure of showing my new apartment to my brother, who is in town for the week. So far my visitors have included him, my aunt and uncle, and my friend Ben who helped me assemble my computer desk. Even though the apartment is not completely furnished yet, I’m getting a great deal of enjoyment in showing it off. And speaking of new apartments I want to congratulate Jennie who is moving into her first one this weekend!

Tonight I’m doing something that I haven’t done in 13 months – going to see WWE in Madison Square Garden!

An observation. Prior to moving into my apartment, the Mets failed to win any games - starting the year 0-5. I then moved on Sunday morning and ever since then, the Mets have been undefeated, winning five games in a row. Guess I'd better stay here for a while.

I'm baacckkk!!!

During my week-long absence from blogland, I packed up all of my belongings, moved, and then (mostly) unpacked said belongings. And I am now officially a new apartment dweller. Woo hoo!

So yeah, this past week has been quite busy. Busier than any week that I've had in recent memory. I did intensive packing on Friday night and Saturday. Boxes and packing tape are my good friends. I then made the big move on Sunday morning and although I was nervous about how it would go, there was no need as the moving company that I hired was remarkably efficient. They loaded all of my stuff into their truck in a half-hour and then it only took them an hour to get everything into the new apartment. And everything arrived in the same condition it was when they loaded it so no worries. Then on Monday I had to exchange an entertainment unit that arrived in the wrong color (!) But I was proud to then successfully assemble it myself that night. Yesterday I got my cable, phone and internet connected (the most important parts) and today I continued unpacking and assembling various items. Tomorrow it's back to work as I had taken three days off to do all of this. There's just two more items that I'm waiting on - mini-blinds and a sofa. The blinds have arrived at Home Depot and should be installed early next week. No word on how long the sofa will take though. Hopefully soon. The next big project for me is to assemble my new computer desk. Ben is coming over tomorrow to help but I'll try to get a head start tonight.

Anyway, I look forward to hosting a housewarming and all are invited. I'll definetely send word out when I have a better idea of when it will be. See ya!

Gotta love Star Wars fans. Read on...

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- "Star Wars" fans will have to find the right theater before they can leave for the dark side.
Seven weeks before its release, "Star Wars" fanatics started lining up outside Grauman's Chinese Theater for the sixth installment of the popular George Lucas movie series. The vigil began Saturday.
But there's a problem: "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" won't be showing at the Hollywood landmark when the movie is released May 19. The studio, 20th Century Fox, opted instead to open the film a mile away at the ArcLight theater.
Still, the resolute "Star Wars" die-hards aren't moving on. Beneath a makeshift awning, 11 people refused to relinquish their spots in line.
"We've heard all this before," fan Sarah Sprague said, noting there were plenty of rumors in 1999 and 2002 that previous "Star Wars" movies weren't opening at the Chinese Theater. The rumors were false and the films were shown there.
Fox and the ArcLight haven't completed their "Star Wars" deal, but executives on both sides told Daily Variety "Revenge of the Sith" will play at the ArcLight, not the Chinese.
Yet Sprague was adamant the line wouldn't be moving to the ArcLight.
"This is still the epicenter for 'Star Wars' fans. For the big iconic pictures of the 1970s, people lining up were here. They weren't at the Cinerama Dome (at the ArcLight)," Sprague said.
Lucas' final "Star Wars" chapter spells out the last dark steps the once goodhearted young Anakin Skywalker takes to become the villain Darth Vader.

A great time was had at the bachelor party. The bachelor enjoyed it and that was the most important thing. It was fun to hang out and spend time with the rest of the wedding party in advance of the big shin-dig next month.

The party was then followed by an no tradition - WrestleMania. Although a competing Yankee game and a dying car thinned our numbers, the tradition remained alive! Hopefully we'll be watching WrestleMania when we're 90.

The day after Wrestle mania once again featured opening day for the Mets. All I can say is - of. Another frustrating year has begun. After amazing performances by Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes, the bullpen blows the game in the 9th inning. Willie - welcome to the Mets.

Finally, the Pope is dead. Long live the Pope. (Whoever it will be) By the way, if anyone wants to read a great fictional story about a Pope dying, Cardinals being kidnapped and murdered, and a great conspiracy behind it all - read "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. It's better than "Da Vinci Code" and is especially timely right now.

I hope everyone enjoyed my little April Fools joke yesterday. As if that would ever happen!

Thoughts go out to Pope John Paul II. A good man.

Today it's off to Mohegan Sun for a Bachelor Party!

Recent world events have caused me to do a lot of soul searching. Consider... the threat of terrorists intent on killing us, the fear that Social Security will go broke, the lack of decency in our media outlets, the frustration of losing election after election.

All of these factors have led me to one inevitable course of action... I am enrolling as a member of the Republican Party.