T-shirt #160: WALTHAM

I got this one at Tricon Sports in Lexington (they do a great job customizing hockey jerseys) right before I moved out of Waltham. I lived at the pictured apartment from September 1997 until the end of March 2003, and have many memories associated with it. Some that come to mind are:

* Moving out of my parents for the first time after college

* Having free cable when we moved in, and it going out right before the 1998 Olympics started

* Having the bar (and replacement bar) my roommate Drew made – we even had a TV up in the corner behind it

* Epic Halloween parties in 1998 and 1999

* Living next to a Bentley College fraternity one year

* Going to grad school

* Getting my first computer (got my Master’s Degree without ever owning one!)

* Finishing my first screenplay – I was so excited to print it out that I got pulled over on the way home from buying paper. I told the kind officer why I was in a rush, and he asked me if there were any policeman in my script – Yes, there are scenes with BC police! He let me go with a laugh and a warning

* Finally seeing one of my teams win a championship (BC hockey, 2001)

* Watching game 5 of the 1999 Red Sox-Indians Divisional Series

* Watching the Phantom Tag by Chuck Knoblaugh on Jose Offerman (see picture) in game 4 of the 1999 ALCS – I don’t remember how many swears spewed out of me, I just remember my roommate (who I didn’t know was in the other room talking to his mother on the phone) say, “Um, that was Dave. He’s watching The Red Sox.”

* Lizzy’s Ice Cream and the Compleat Gamester

* One of my favorite Waltham spots: A Kay-Bee Toys and McDonald’s next to each other (only rivaled by the comic book store next to the porn store)

* Watching the Patriots-Raiders “Snow Bowl” in 2002

* A Beanpot/Anti-Valentine’s Day Party in 2000

* Playing roller hockey on the nearby basketball courts

* Being Designated Driver for the “McGrath Y2K” van

* When a movie theatre within walking distance (The Embassy) opened

* Walking with my friend Andy to go see Episode I

* The two times there were car accidents and the apartment got hit (One time I got back from work to see the whole porch was taken off and there was police tape across our door. The other, I was watching The Simpsons (go figure), heard tires screeching, and was bumped off the chair)

* Getting my first kidney stone – I was playing the new Grand Theft Auto game and thought I must have been sitting in the wrong position. 2 minutes later I was crawling up to my roommate’s room and begging him to take me to the hospital

* Playing hockey with my friend Tim in the church parking lot across the street – I took a shot and broke one of the garage windows. One of the neighbors started yelling at me and called the cops. The officer was laughing that he had been called for such a thing, and I showed him where I lived and told him I would tell the church. Less than an hour later, there was a knock on the door. It was the church’s pastor (Father Copp, I kid you not!), and I played the Altar Boy for 10 years-Catholic School card. He then asked me why I never went to church, and I told him I went in Westboro…”Oh, St. Lukes?”…this guy knew his stuff. He told me not to worry about replacing the window, and to just be more careful.

* Taking a picture of my roommate as he left for his first date with this girl – they have been married for almost 5 years and have an awesome 3-year-old who calls me Uncle Dave

* Having a monthly “Heisman” winner that went to the roommate who got “pushed away” by the most females

* Being there the night of 9-11

* Dealing with a not-very-fair landlord when I moved out, but having my friend Carl deal with him and get me more money than my deposit

* Turning my room into a Star Wars room, regardless of the consequences

* Seeing a guy going through everything I was throwing out when I moved out – upon further inspection I noticed he was also wearing a pair of my old BC shorts and my Pearl Jam shirt