Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas Vacation: Day 3

The third and final full day was spent in New York City. We woke up around 7:30 and I could have slept another two hours. Maybe that's because it took two hours for me to fall asleep. It just takes me so long to fall asleep on a mattress I'm not used to. It's like I have to date mattresses for a night or two to find out which ones I'm compatible with. I guess this was just a weekend fling.

We headed to the Metuchen train station and Mom and I had to stop for some good bagels. We both got sandwiches, mine with sausage and Mom's with bacon. And it was so refreshing to see the eggs get cooked on a flat grill. Every place I've been to in Chicago, they pour the egg from a carton into a Tupperware, and microwave the thing up. On a poppy bagel along with gooey, melting American cheese, this sandwich just tasted so real for a change.

So after a 40 minute train ride into Penn Station, we took three subways up to 86th St in Manhattan. From there, we walked five blocks in a steady rain to the Guggenheim museum on the Upper East Side. As we approached the building, we realized what we were in for. The line was already at least 150 people out the door, not moving at all, and the museum had already been open 20 minutes.

After 15 minutes or so of not moving, Mom came up with a brainstorm. She walked around the corner toward the main entrance and got us into another line and there were only about 20 people ahead of us. So we thought we were in good shape. We had no way of knowing, but we were standing in the line for pre-paid and members admissions. Nobody told anyone in line that there were separate lines, but when we reached the fromt, we were were told we would have to go back in the GA line. We all thought their approach was very unprofessional and inconsiderate. Not willing to wait another hour, we decided to take off. So we walked down 5th Avenue, the Museum Mile, and found the Met Museum of Art. I'm not the biggest art guy, but I thought it was neat. We explored Egyptian artifacts, South American gold, and Midieval armors. I particularly liked the American paintings gallery from the 1700's and 1800's as well as the Roman and Greek sculptures. There were some cool works in the Modern section, particularly the "5" painting. Paul Klee's works also caught my eye. We wound up spending two hours in the building. As we walked out, we barely had room to move. Seems the Mets was the place to be.

Then with the rain pouring down, we hitched a cab to take us to Pig Heaven, which is a pretty well-known Chinese restaurant. Dad had been there maybe ten years prior. This place is apparently known for Peking duck and BBQ pork butt. Not tofu. The place was essentially empty at 2 p.m. but it certainly wasn't because of the quality. It was a tiny little place with maybe 12 tables, though I think there was more space around a curtain that was closed off at that time. We ordered fried shrimp rolls and pork dumplings to start and they were gone in minutes. The shrimp rolls came with a hoisin/Asian BBQ sauce that had a little smoke and sweetness to it. It was quite unique. We then got General Tso's chicken, one of my favorites. The meat was tender, crisp, and very spicy and came served with bell peppers. I think I made a good call suggesting that one. We all agreed had to get duck, but we went with the cheaper Cantonese roast duck option which was $16 as opposed to the $36 Peking duck. The meat came pre-sliced in small chunks. The meat was incredibly flavorful and juicy and the skin was very crisp. I have not eaten much duck in my life, but that was the way it should be cooked. We also got BBQ spareribs, which were loaded with meat and had a sweet Asian BBQ sauce. Excellent stuff. I also ordered crisp pan fried noodles with meats and veggies with the brown sauce you spoon over the noodles. The sauce was remarkable and big chunks of broccoli, onion, mushroom, etc. were a great complement for the meat. Unfortunately, they don't serve fortune cookies. And with fresh pineapple costing $5.50, we took a pass on dessert.

So then with the rain not letting up, we took a cab from 86th and 2nd to 31st and 7th (Penn Station). I got a good laugh when we passed right by a huge Turkish restaurant and I had to think about J-Schu. We took a 2:55 train back and a mom with four kids sat down right next to me. She had pizza slices for each of them and was doing her best to give them out, but mroe than that, just keep them under control. I hope those kids have a dad that they know.

So we went home and watched Julie and Julia. Yeah, it was a cute little story that Mom might to be able to use on her bus tours where the clientele is all over 60 years old. And Meryl Streep is just a tremendous actress, no question about it. But I was bored for most of the film. For a movie that advertises itself as a comedy, the one and only time I laughed was when they showed an old SNL parody of Julia Child slicing her hand open and the blood spilling everywhere. All over the poultry, all over the cutting boards, all over her clothes.

Not wanting to go out again, we ordered some LaRosa's pizzam which was phenomenal as always. Mom was breaking down how she liked it a lot, but she wanted just a little more crunch in the crust as opposed to chew. I argues that Chicgao doesn't know the first thing about shew in a pizza crust. Because the fact is whether you order thin crust or deep dish, you're biting into a hard crust.

Got the pizza delivered just in time for the beginning of the Rangers-Islanders game at the Garden. I was thrilled when the Blueshirts tied the game in the final minute and disgusted when Okposo won it with a fluke in overtime. It was 9:45 at this point and I knew I'd be waking up around 3:00 AM to head to the airport. So I retired to the bedroom.

Well, sleep did not come easily again. And this was the first night I did not read a book or play my Ipod. And though there is always some noise around Dad's neighborhood, the outside distractions on this night just never seemed to go away. Ambulances and fire trucks seemed to flying right outside our window all night long. After a ton of tossing and turning, I think I fell sound asleep somewhere around 11. Unfortunately, I woke up at least four times between 11 and 3:30 a.m. and kept checking the clock. I think I saw 1:15, 2:10, 2:45. It was a pretty tough night.

But we woke up and got to the airport around 4:15 AM. We made it onto the 6:25 flight without a problem, and got into Chicago by 8, thanks to a good tailwind. Then came a visit to Wheaton Bible Church (saw a ton of old friends) there and finally, we made it home around 11:30 and unpacked. Then Week 16 of the NFL was set to kick off...

Christmas Vacation: Day 2

And so Christmas Day arrived. We woke up and played three games of Rummikub. Mom won all three. And I love how she acts all surprised when she wins. She knows what she's doing the whole time. The wild cards always seem to fall right into her hands. Luck may have something to do with it. But I doubt it.

So we grabbed breakfast at Skylark Diner, featured on DDD. Mom got one of my favorites, the banana fosters waffle. I went with pumpkin pancakes with sausage. I was quite impressed Dad went with just sausage and a toasted bagel with jelly. I wound up eating half the waffle, but gave Mom one of my two pancakes. Throw in the fresh OJ, and that was an outstanding way to start the day. But with a special dinner coming later that night, I was just hoping I hadn't overeaten.

I noticed the roads were a little bit crowded for Christmas. Very few places were open, but people still seemed to have somewhere to go. We left for the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA around 2 PM, taking Rt 78 about 75 minutes west. Christmas in a casino. Bethlehem, is a town filled with steel mills, and I was wondering how a hotel/casino got in there. The hotel is not done and there is very little shopping available right now; I found out those and other amenities, like loft apartments and a performing arts center, are coming later on. But we walked into the casino and I was struck by a few things. The casino reminded me of Vegas in terms of the machines, but there was much more room to walk around. The Cobalt and Infusion bars in the middle radiated with ice blue and lava red light, respectively. The ceiling has a very industrial look to it, it reminds me of a fancy warehouse, if such a thing could possibly exist. And it was one large rectangular-shaped room with the restaurants located on the outside against the walls. I also liked there were non-smoking sections as well. One whiff of one dude's cigar and I was ready to run for the hills.

Now dinner was supposed to be at Emeril's Chophouse. I was very excited to go. But Dad wanted prime rib and the only place to get it was at an Irish pub. So we went there, and while I enjoyed my leg of lamb, mashed potatoes, and asparagus, it felt like a good meal that I could get in other places.

But I did get to Burgers and More, Emeril's other eatery in the Sands, for dessert. Mom and Dad were already stuffed, so they got coffee. I ordered a bananas foster shake. The shake came out nice and thick with a strong banana flavor. Excellent. Not sure if there was any rum in there, but...

Oh and I lost $40 playing poker in 20 minutes.

On the ride up, I played Christmas music. Going home, it was a lot more 80's and 90's music that Dad likes. For Mom, I did do a pretty soulful rendition of "Tired of Being Alone." Maybe I will do it publicly one day...

Then came more board games. Sequence" Mom won three, Dad one won, and I somehow won one, though the game went right down to the last card. Pulling that off was like a tooth extraction. We played one more game of Phase 10 and I finished so far behind Mom (what a shock!), it was scary. To close it off, I played "I'm a Loser" by the Beatles. It got a pretty good laugh. I wasn't that upset, but my lack of luck became ridiculous after a while.

We closed the night with all of us watching two episodes of "Law and Order-Criminal Intent." It was Dad's first time watching the show and I think he has another show that he will soon be hooked on.

Christmas Vacation: Day 1

Before I start writing about Christmas, I want to throw in an intro, a preamble of sorts. The day before Christmas Eve had enough adventure of its own. Half a day at work. A fun CEC holiday party where the bowling got cut off way too soon. Thanks Pinstripes. then again, I had bowled six 9's in nine frames, so I wasn't exactly lighting the alley on fire. Driving through a blizzard to get to the gym. Driving through a blizzard to get to Portillo's for some charbroiled chicken. Driving through a blizzard to get to Matt and Court's place. And driving through a ton of ice to get home so I could work another night for the newspaper.

For Christmas Eve, I woke up around 10 a.m. And it was kind of a lazy morning, but before I could make any plans, we wound up changing our flight plans. Instead of leaving Friday morning, we took off Thursday afternoon around 1 p.m. The bad thing was we had to cancel our service at Willow Creek Church. I was not happy about it, but I kind of understood if it helped us get out of Chicago easier. With so many weather problems around the country, that kind of issue cannot be ignored. So our flight was scheduled to leave at 1:10. We boarded, left the gate, and headed towards the runway. Then all of a sudden, we were not moving. Thanks to a failed heating gauge, we stayed on the plane. Around 3:30, they took us back to the gate and we got off the plane. The thing is the flight was going to JFK, which has a lot of international flights. So unlike us, most people were in serious danger of missing their connecting flights. I would guess about 30 people got off the plane and rebooked. They put us on another plane and that left around 4:40. Now we hadn't eaten all day, so we upgraded to first class. Turned out there was no catering on the new flight. So I loaded up on Coke and hot roasted nuts. Oh, and sitting across from me was R&B singer Keyshia Cole. I found that info out later, as I had no idea who she was. She was just very quiet. Anyway, we arrived in New York around 8 p.m. tired and hungry.

Dad picked us up and we drove to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. We drove down Ocean Avenue past Rollin' Roaster (one of my favorite places in the world) for Randazzo's Clam Bar. This is a classic, little Italian place that serves tons of great seafood and they also serve beer and wine in plastic cups. Dad used to go there with his friends back when he was a kid, I guess through the 1960's and early 70's. We loaded up on baked clams and fried calamari to start. I then enjoyed a delicious dish of linguini with lobster sauce. The lobster was cut into tiny chunks and the tomato sauce had just a hint of spice. A great pasta dish for $18.00. The flavor of Mom's shrimp francese was remarkable though. Dad went with the spice as he ordered the Seafood Fra Diavolo. We left around 9:30 and got in around 10:30. We played one game of Phase 10 and Mom, who had never played the game, naturally whipped Dad and I into submission. Bedtime at 11:45.

Now it's win and in

I woke up at 2 am. and my first thought was not excitement about the Jets' daunting task of beat the undefeated Colts in Indianapolis. After landing in Chicago around 8 am and attending Wheaton Bible Church, and unpacking I headed over to Rookie's. From 12:45 on, I watched intently as every 12:00 game went the Jets way. New England hammered Jacksonville, the Texans held on to beat Miami, and Pittsburgh edged Baltimore. So at this point, destiny had fallen right into the anxious arms of Gang Green. I knew the Jets would make the playoffs if they won both of their remaining two games. But if they lost one, they were done; either Miami or Pittsburgh will pass them since they play each other next week.

As I sat surrounded by Packers and Broncos fans, I had no reason to feel confident. The Jets had lost a horrible game the previous week. The offense was sputtering, though the Indy defense was vulnerable. But most of all, I felt as long as the game was close, the Colts starters would remain in the game. On their second possession, the Colts drove 54 yards in four minutes. They converted a 4th and 1, thanks to a tripping penalty on Bart Scott. Two plays later, Addai busts up the middle for 21 yards, touchdown Colts. But on the PAT, Bryan Thomas blocks the kick and it's only a 6-0 deficit. That proved to be a big play. Despite the TD, the Jets were still playing hard.

The Jets then get first downs and have the ball on the Indy 45. They then do a reverse to David Clowney that loses 14 yards! The Jets punt and Indy gets the ball to the Jets 4. But the defense holds them and Adam Vinatieri kicks a short field goal.

Now the Jets offense had done nothing to this point. But the one good thing is they were not turning the ball over. As the second quarter went on, the Jets began to run the ball better. And that came once Shone Greene entered the game. A 21-yard run by the Iowa rookie led to a 35-yard Jay Feely field goal late in the first half. Unfortunately the drive was limited when Dwight Freeney sacked Mark Sanchez for a 10-yard loss. And no one was blocking the great defensive end. Amazingly, it was not the last time Freeney would rush Sanchez without a blocker to impede him.

I guarantee no Jets fan could have imagined what would happen on the opening kickoff of the second half. Brad Smith, can run, but he is no speed demon. He takes the ball and streaks down the right sideline and the Jets are leading 10-9!. The Colts take the ball and thanks to some shoddy tackling, Donald Brown extends the lead to 15-10, as they missed the two-point conversion. They would not have needed those two points if they made the earlier PAT.

After the Jets punt, Indy takes the ball on their own 10. And out goes Peyton Manning, the best QB I have ever seen. In comes rookie Curtis Painter. Out go Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne.
And I cannot thank Colts coach Jim Caldwell enough. The D forces a 3 and out. Greene picks up 16 yards on two carries and the drive stalls, Jets punt.

And then comes the play of the game. Painter drops back to pass from his own 20. Calvin Pace, rushing against a backup tight end, whacks Painter's right arm and the ball pops loose. Mike Devito knocks it forward and Marques Douglas falls on the ball in the end zone. I had been very quiet most of the game. But by now, I am pumping my fists Jets score and following the two-point reception by Dustin Keller, they lead 18-15!

The D forces yet another 3 and out and the offense gets the ball with excellent field position at the Indy 45. They get one first down, but have to settle for another field goal. The scoring is good, but I'm getting aggravated that this offense still cannot score a TD. The D gets another 3 and out (the 4th straight possession Indy has not picked up a first down) as the Indy fans are booing mercilessly. And their boos are directed right at their coach for yanking the starters.

The Jets then run a six-minute drive highlighted by a 29-yard run by TJ that takes the pigskin to the 1. TJ runs it in on third down, Braylon catches the two-pointer, 29-15. After Painter completed two passes, Dwight Lowery picks him off with four minutes left and that was essentially the end.

Now it comes down to one game. One task. One mission. The Jets have to beat the AFC North champion Bengals at home next week. A win clinches a playoff berth and first round game against either New England or Cincinnati. Coach Rex Ryan, I salute you.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

41 years and counting

I willl try to be positive.

1) I believe in Rex Ryan

2) Kerry Rhodes played his best game of the season.

3) Darrelle Revis is the best CB in football.

4) Braylon Edwards did not drop a pass.

Now, let me count the ways why I want to die right now after this 10-7 embarrassment of a loss to the stinky Falcons that officially kills any hopes the Jets had to make the playoffs this year.

1. Three missed field goals that were completely makable: a block, a horrible hold, and wide right.

2. Jim Leonhard dropping an interception that would have been returned for a TD
3. Lito Sheppard dropping an interception
4. Darrelle Revis dropping an interception on the last drive
5. Alan Faneca's incomprehensible personal foul

6. The defense ignoring Tony Gonzalez on a game-deciding 4th and goal.

7. This defense had not allowed a TD in 34 possessions. Streak over. Terminated. They're a great defense unless the game is on the line with under three minutes to go. That said, they are not to blame for this loss.

8. A putrid 2-minute drive after blowing the lead where they couldn't even get the ball to their own 40 yard line.

9. Mark Sanchez with another abysmal three-interception performance
10. Brian Schottenheimer has no clue how or when to call offensive plays.
11. Jacksonville and Miami lost and the Jets would have moved past them in the playoff standings.

So another season is dead. The future may be bright. But the fact remains. I have one day in the sun in my life: June 14, 1994 and that is it! That's it! The rest has been teases and garbage. It's another lost season.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Early Sunday

I just finished work for the evening. I feel like playing some sad music right now. At this rate, I'm probably going to bed around 2 am and that's still a 90 minute improvement over last week. Feel like laying down a few bullet points right now, so here they are.

1) KL: Two months just wasn't enough time.

2) Had a ton of fun making and decorating cookies. Frosting and sprinkling the gingerbread men was the best part. I liked the chance to be creative and make all kinds of crazy designs on the different Christmas-shaped cookies.

3) The Knicks have won four straight games and are two games out of a playoff spot. I actually considered for five minutes buying a ticket for their game in Chicago next week. This causes for a moment of self-analysis. Are my teams so bad, that I am actually getting hopeful about the Knicks? That's a bad sign.

4) I read that ginger juice, walnuts, and black sesame seeds help reverse hair from graying. Uh, OK. Guess I'd better hit PF Chang's before too long.

5) What a miserable performance I had to watch live on Wednesday by New York in Chicago. One shot on goal in the third period. 2-1 OT loss, after leading for 45 minutes. No heart, no effort (aside from the 4th line and goalie), no hope, no kidding. But being Mr. Positive, I have one good memory. I parked my car for free.

Song pick: In light of what I wrote earlier, it's "Atlanta Blue" by the Statler Brothers. Harold Reid has such a great bass voice. Except I guess in this case, it applies to New Hampshire and Cape Cod instead of Georgia.