I woke up around 8 the next morning and a little frustration to get out. So with Mom still asleep, I put on my gray ROH shirt and navy blue shorts, went downstairs, and ran for 15 minutes on the treadmill. Didn't have a slew of options, this gym had two treadmills, a bike, a TV, and a water cooler. Not exactly a deluxe gym, but at least the machines worked, which hasn't been the case at my home gym lately. Just before I got on, the machine, a large man with a dark goatee walked up to me and asked “You like wrestling?” Turns out this guy is not only a co-manager of the hotel, but he had been wrestling for 30+ years. He wouldn’t give his name out, but he did say he had been teaming with Robert Gibson lately. It certainly wasn’t Ricky Morton, I’d know him immediately. I got Q and Jerome on the case and we didn’t get very far. But after researching a few websites, I think it may have been Bobby Doll. I thought that was the bass player in Poision...
After my run, I went outside and soaked in the hot tub alone for about 20 minutes. There was still a bit of a chill in the air, but the tub felt very relaxing. I came back to the room and showering, then we left around 10 AM for Barefoot Landing. Mom’s main job was to gather information for the tours and figure out food options, shopping options, and drop-off points for the tourists. We didn’t stay very long, Mom wanted to get to Broadway at the Beach. We just felt that would be a place we could spend a little bit more time. As we drove up, I recognized the huge pyramid shape of the Hard Rock Café. On my mission trip, we had dinner there and I ate steak. Everyone else was getting burgers and salad. Even then, I thought nothing of dropping 20 bucks on some sirloin. Some things don’t really change.
We always try to eat at places we can’t access in Chicago so we decided to eat at a restaurant called Key West Grill. The owners are from Key West and while the place was mostly empty, we thought the Cuban and Latin concept of the restaurant sounded intriguing. We had a really cool waiter named Jimmy, whose wife is actually from Montgomery, IL, about 25 minutes from where I live. I started with a cup of conch chowder, a word I mispronounced for at least 30 minutes. But the weather was 50 degrees or so and I was dressed in a black t-shirt and cargo shorts. Chowder seemed to make sense. The broth was red in color and rich in flavor. It had several vegetables in it as well and it really warmed me up. Mom got a Torch chicken dish, which she enjoyed. As for me, I got the Cuban sandwich with mango mustard and sweet potato fries. I have become a big Cuban sandwich fan in the last two years and this one was up there with the better ones for sure. The bread was very crusty, the pork was tender, and the mustard had a little bit of sweetness to it. And the sweet potato fries are always a welcome addition to my lunch. I really wonder why fast food places like Burger King and Wendy’s don’t add SPF to their menu.
I hadn’t had dessert the previous two days. But at a joint that prides itself on Key West, I knew I was going to top the meal off with a slice of key lime pie. But Jimmy recommended this one dessert, the banana caramel fried cheesecake. I’ve had fried cheesecake once or twice and it’s not one of my favorites. But I figured with banana and caramel it sounded pretty enticing, so I went with it. Ten minutes later, Mom got her free sundae which was not exactly a single scoop. I get a plate of two large crispy tortilla shells stuffed with banana cheesecake filling and rolled in cinnamon sugar. They were resting on a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, which was then topped with more cinnamon sugar. If that wasn’t enough, this dessert was accompanied by two nice dollops of whipped cream and a garnish of caramel sauce and cherries. I hesitate to say anything is the best. But this dessert is a definite top 3 or 4 in my list. It goes right up there with the banana cream pie at Emeril’s, the peach cobbler at Fleming’s, and the cheesecake at Junior’s.
By the time we got back outside, I was getting colder. I remembered I left my coat in the car and on a day when people around me were walking with wool winter hats on, I could have used a coat. We stopped in a couple of shops like Tiki Jim's, and Sports Heroes, and a couple that probably interested Mom and not me as much.
We left there around 2 PM or so. We headed back south and stopped at the Myrtle Beach Flea Market. Mom picked up some magnets and keychains which she will be using as prizes for the games during the tour. Other than that, there wasn’t a whole lot to get excited about at the Flea Market. We made it a point to play mini-golf and with the weather getting cooler, we knew we had to play quickly. Unfortunately, most of the good ones are in North Myrtle Beach and we were already in the South Strand. We went to one place that cost 8 bucks a head, but it was a pretty simple, basic course. We hit four holes-in-one between us, which is saying quite a bit for the ease of the course.
We thought about going to the Dixie Stampede that night, but I wasn’t psyched about with watching a horse show. So we headed back to the room and chilled for a little while. For dinner, we headed down Murrell’s Inlet to Flo's Place, a Cajun/Creole restaurant. We ate some fried alligator and fried green tomatoes to start. They weren’t too bad, but I really prefer the bigger chunks of gator at Pappadeaux. For dinner, Mom got a mixed seafood grill platter of shrimp, scallops, and Mahi, which I would have gotten if she hadn’t. So instead, I opted for the Bayou Special, which the menu described as crawfish and shrimp served with garlic butter. What I got was a huge bowl of herb/garlic butter filled with about a dozen whole, unpeeled shrimp and 20 full crawfish. I wasn’t getting tails, I got the whole thing. Now, the shrimp were a little messy, but I’ve peeled plenty of shrimp in my lifetime. The crawfish were a different story. On TV, I’ve seen people have crawfish boils and the snap off different parts of the crawfish and eat other parts. All I knew was the tail was a good part. I had to pick these things out of the butter and cut into them to get the edible stuff out. After the fifth one that I had basically demolished, I found out I had to suck the head and the eat tail. So for the last 15 or so, I sucked head and extracted a few clean tails. It took a long time to get through the bowl, but Mom was impressed that I even tried to eat that stuff. And her shrimp and scallops tasted phenomenal. Crème brulee for dessert.
Feeling stuffed, we headed back for the night. I watched Hitch on TBS and I thought it was a pretty good film. I did think that the first half was funnier than the second though. The dancing scenes with Will Smith and Kevin James woke Mom up from her slumber and she just shook her head in sadness and pity.
We were up on Sunday at 5 AM and began driving to Raleigh around 5:45. We stopped at the legendary South of the Border tourist stop on 95 right at the NC/SC border. From the outside, it was the absolute campiest corniest place I’ve ever seen. With the Old West/Mexican design and the empty parking lots, I thought it was be a good place to film a horror movie. Our stay there consisted of two minutes and a few snickers (not the candy bar).
Before we went to the airport, we had some extra time, so we drove by our old home, 517 Berwick Valley Lane. Nothing has changed much over there, just a few new housing complexes where there was once vacant lead. But a lot of the same stores are still in business 7 years later. I guess that’s good. We grabbed a couple of sandwiches and sesame cookies from the Manhattan Café and headed back to RDU.
The flight seemed pretty uneventful. I mostly listened to the last episode of Blueshirt Banter that I had missed from the previous Wednesday. As we descended into the midwest, I noticed there were a ton of clouds and it was taking a long time to see any land. When I did, I saw so many huge sections of white on the ground. I knew I was almost home.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Myrtle Beach Days 1
And having fun in the waves! Well, it was a little too cold for that. But after a steady diet of 30 degree weeks in Chicago, the mid-50's felt pretty reinvigorating. I guess in my last post, I was releasing a lot of frustration and concern. But it's somewhat misleading, my trip included a lot of fun moments.
Woke up at 4 AM, running on four hours of sleep after working till about midnight. We took a 6:15 flight to Raleigh that landed around 10:00 EST. As I stepped into the Raleigh/Durham terminal for the first time since 2003, I was struck by the renovations and modernizations. New walkways, new monitors at the gates, and new restaurants (including the great Carolina Ale House and 42nd St. Oyster Bar). Mom was flabbergasted by the changes too. It had been eight years since she had been there too.
We took our mid-size Toyota (sadly, it was bright red) and began the 3.5 hour drive to Myrtle Beach. After getting off 95 around Lumberton, NC, we took side roads for about 1.5 hours. Myrtle Beach is just not the easiest town to access by car. As we entered South Carolina, I fussed around with the radio. There was one station that played beach music and oldies. And a lot of traditional blues too. This was the type of music that no station in Chicago even dreams of playing, except maybe one of those obscure AM stations. And the country stations were playing some good 80's and 90's tunes, back from when country music was actually distinctive from other genres. But enough ranting.
So we took Rt 17, which is basically the only main road in the town although it splits into business 17 and bypass 17 in the actual town of Myrtle Beach, with the bypass route traveling closer to the coast. As Surfside Beach (the first town south of Myrtle Beach) ends, the two roads merge again. We took the bypass road to Barefoot Landing, a nice outdoor shopping center. In the back of the shopping center stands Greg Norman's Australian Grille. I have visited there to take some pictures before, but this was my first time eating there. We got a table by the pond and started off with crispy Asian seafood spring rolls. They come with a homemade sweet and sour sauce and a green ginger, soy and, scallion sauce. I’m not a big SnS fan, but the green sauce was good. Nice appetizer. Mom got ahi tuna with mushroom risotto and green beans. The cool part was the plate is in the shape of a shark fin. I had a fried grouper sandwich with cheese, onions, and a remoulade sauce and some fries. The grouper was very fresh and the sandwich was quite large and complex with so many different flavors. Walked out of there pretty stuffed.
After some driving around town, we drove to Surfside Beach and checked into the Holliday Inn. With only one black duffel bag for me, I finished unpacking in ten minutes. After being up for so long, Mom took a nap. Meanwhile, I walked around the area, which was mostly beach houses and a trailer park. We had an ocean view and were right above the pool and hot tub, but it was certainly not warm enough to hit the waves. I noticed there were eight or nine 20-something’s in the hot tub drinking beer and other cocktails. I have no issue with that, but in the lobby I saw more kids coming in with more liquor. I had a feeling there were more to come. And little did I know…
Then I did the one thing I really wanted to do. We drove 20 minutes south to Pawley's Island, where I did mission work back in 1998. As we turned onto Baskervill Road, I gazed out the window, eager to see what, if anything, had changed. The little Holy Cross Episcopal church building was still there when we came into the complex. The free clinic where we stayed at, ate in, and worked on looked the same as well. I recognized the white clinic sign hanging from the roof out front, the house color was the same powder blue. But as I looked past the clinic, I remembered what had been there and thought I was in the wrong place. That space used to be an empty dirt field and we had pulled out the old batting cage which had been embedded into the earth. Of course, we lost the bumper off our van trying to pull it out. Well, now they have built a new church four or five times the size of the original with a full parking lot and palm trees lining the entranceway. I was absolutely stunned how much that place has grown. I walked around the campus thinking about people on that trip. Mrs. Riebock, Parker, Whitney, Spata, Quinn, and a lot of others. I’m not really in contact with any of them anymore and I wonder if they think about that trip too.
We continued five minutes down the road to the hammock shops, which is what Pawley’s Island is best known for. In the main shop, I tried a sample of vanilla pecan fudge. Definitely the best fudge I have ever had. It’s funny, take out the chocolate and fudge can be pretty darn tasty. Found a sports shop and picked up two Jets wall hangings. Great, unexpected acquisition.
We headed back to the north side, took about 45 minutes. Looking for a quick bite, we went to Dirty Don's oyster bar. Happy hour was in session and we were charged 35 cents for oysters, wings, shrimp, clams, and mussels and six came to an order. Throw in three Coors Light’s for me and a few wines for Mom. I paid that bill and with tip, it was only $36.00, which I thought was a steal.
Then, we drove 10 minutes north to the Carolina Opry. This is the beauty of Mom being a tour guide. Free tickets to shows! We watched Good Vibrations, which was music and entertainment from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. We got our seats and I was sandwiched right next to a 300-pound woman. I had to lean forward because my lungs couldn’t get any air. So as soon as the show started, we retreated back five rows. The show was pretty enjoyable. The funniest moment would have been Cheech’s mustache falling off.
I did watch may have been the gayest performance in entertainment history. Four male tap dancers wearing tight black pants and orange t-shirts with tigers on the front. They river-danced to Eye of the Tiger. Talented, but painful. At the end of the 90-minute show, Gary Baker played the national anthem ala Hendrix. Midway through, I screamed “BEAT CANADA!”
We drove home through the business route. Mom got a speeding ticket. The road was curving and as we were moving, we saw these huge lights go out (they were from a mini-golf course) and weren’t quite sure where we were. The jack-off cop gives mom a ticket. The rest of the night was not exactly pleasant between us. We came back to the hotel and a group of maybe 50 or 60 senior citizens were coming off a bus for a tour, just like what Mom would be leading. I remembered the kids that had been in and I knew this was not going to be a pleasant exchange. After waiting 10 minutes for an elevator, we went to our room. I knew to leave Mom alone, so I went downstairs and continued writing. Meanwhile, more kids were checking in and a lot were carrying clothing in plastic bags. With no parents I had a gut feeling that it was not for a wedding. So I found out from a girl that they were from Virginia and it was for a fraternity formal. I think I saw at least 120 kids total and most of them had beer in hand.
The night sounded like full blown-insanity. All of them were hammered, some rooms got damaged, and a lot of them were throwing each other against walls. Finally, I got some shut-eye though I don't think that began until around 1 AM. In the morning, the manager evicted at least two-thirds of them from the hotel.
Woke up at 4 AM, running on four hours of sleep after working till about midnight. We took a 6:15 flight to Raleigh that landed around 10:00 EST. As I stepped into the Raleigh/Durham terminal for the first time since 2003, I was struck by the renovations and modernizations. New walkways, new monitors at the gates, and new restaurants (including the great Carolina Ale House and 42nd St. Oyster Bar). Mom was flabbergasted by the changes too. It had been eight years since she had been there too.
We took our mid-size Toyota (sadly, it was bright red) and began the 3.5 hour drive to Myrtle Beach. After getting off 95 around Lumberton, NC, we took side roads for about 1.5 hours. Myrtle Beach is just not the easiest town to access by car. As we entered South Carolina, I fussed around with the radio. There was one station that played beach music and oldies. And a lot of traditional blues too. This was the type of music that no station in Chicago even dreams of playing, except maybe one of those obscure AM stations. And the country stations were playing some good 80's and 90's tunes, back from when country music was actually distinctive from other genres. But enough ranting.
So we took Rt 17, which is basically the only main road in the town although it splits into business 17 and bypass 17 in the actual town of Myrtle Beach, with the bypass route traveling closer to the coast. As Surfside Beach (the first town south of Myrtle Beach) ends, the two roads merge again. We took the bypass road to Barefoot Landing, a nice outdoor shopping center. In the back of the shopping center stands Greg Norman's Australian Grille. I have visited there to take some pictures before, but this was my first time eating there. We got a table by the pond and started off with crispy Asian seafood spring rolls. They come with a homemade sweet and sour sauce and a green ginger, soy and, scallion sauce. I’m not a big SnS fan, but the green sauce was good. Nice appetizer. Mom got ahi tuna with mushroom risotto and green beans. The cool part was the plate is in the shape of a shark fin. I had a fried grouper sandwich with cheese, onions, and a remoulade sauce and some fries. The grouper was very fresh and the sandwich was quite large and complex with so many different flavors. Walked out of there pretty stuffed.
After some driving around town, we drove to Surfside Beach and checked into the Holliday Inn. With only one black duffel bag for me, I finished unpacking in ten minutes. After being up for so long, Mom took a nap. Meanwhile, I walked around the area, which was mostly beach houses and a trailer park. We had an ocean view and were right above the pool and hot tub, but it was certainly not warm enough to hit the waves. I noticed there were eight or nine 20-something’s in the hot tub drinking beer and other cocktails. I have no issue with that, but in the lobby I saw more kids coming in with more liquor. I had a feeling there were more to come. And little did I know…
Then I did the one thing I really wanted to do. We drove 20 minutes south to Pawley's Island, where I did mission work back in 1998. As we turned onto Baskervill Road, I gazed out the window, eager to see what, if anything, had changed. The little Holy Cross Episcopal church building was still there when we came into the complex. The free clinic where we stayed at, ate in, and worked on looked the same as well. I recognized the white clinic sign hanging from the roof out front, the house color was the same powder blue. But as I looked past the clinic, I remembered what had been there and thought I was in the wrong place. That space used to be an empty dirt field and we had pulled out the old batting cage which had been embedded into the earth. Of course, we lost the bumper off our van trying to pull it out. Well, now they have built a new church four or five times the size of the original with a full parking lot and palm trees lining the entranceway. I was absolutely stunned how much that place has grown. I walked around the campus thinking about people on that trip. Mrs. Riebock, Parker, Whitney, Spata, Quinn, and a lot of others. I’m not really in contact with any of them anymore and I wonder if they think about that trip too.
We continued five minutes down the road to the hammock shops, which is what Pawley’s Island is best known for. In the main shop, I tried a sample of vanilla pecan fudge. Definitely the best fudge I have ever had. It’s funny, take out the chocolate and fudge can be pretty darn tasty. Found a sports shop and picked up two Jets wall hangings. Great, unexpected acquisition.
We headed back to the north side, took about 45 minutes. Looking for a quick bite, we went to Dirty Don's oyster bar. Happy hour was in session and we were charged 35 cents for oysters, wings, shrimp, clams, and mussels and six came to an order. Throw in three Coors Light’s for me and a few wines for Mom. I paid that bill and with tip, it was only $36.00, which I thought was a steal.
Then, we drove 10 minutes north to the Carolina Opry. This is the beauty of Mom being a tour guide. Free tickets to shows! We watched Good Vibrations, which was music and entertainment from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. We got our seats and I was sandwiched right next to a 300-pound woman. I had to lean forward because my lungs couldn’t get any air. So as soon as the show started, we retreated back five rows. The show was pretty enjoyable. The funniest moment would have been Cheech’s mustache falling off.
I did watch may have been the gayest performance in entertainment history. Four male tap dancers wearing tight black pants and orange t-shirts with tigers on the front. They river-danced to Eye of the Tiger. Talented, but painful. At the end of the 90-minute show, Gary Baker played the national anthem ala Hendrix. Midway through, I screamed “BEAT CANADA!”
We drove home through the business route. Mom got a speeding ticket. The road was curving and as we were moving, we saw these huge lights go out (they were from a mini-golf course) and weren’t quite sure where we were. The jack-off cop gives mom a ticket. The rest of the night was not exactly pleasant between us. We came back to the hotel and a group of maybe 50 or 60 senior citizens were coming off a bus for a tour, just like what Mom would be leading. I remembered the kids that had been in and I knew this was not going to be a pleasant exchange. After waiting 10 minutes for an elevator, we went to our room. I knew to leave Mom alone, so I went downstairs and continued writing. Meanwhile, more kids were checking in and a lot were carrying clothing in plastic bags. With no parents I had a gut feeling that it was not for a wedding. So I found out from a girl that they were from Virginia and it was for a fraternity formal. I think I saw at least 120 kids total and most of them had beer in hand.
The night sounded like full blown-insanity. All of them were hammered, some rooms got damaged, and a lot of them were throwing each other against walls. Finally, I got some shut-eye though I don't think that began until around 1 AM. In the morning, the manager evicted at least two-thirds of them from the hotel.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Blessing, curses
I firmly believe that God exists and he is personal. He is not absent as my one-time best friend has come to believe. And when bad things happen, I don't think it's right to blame God just because it is the convenient thing to do. Trust is not my strong suit nowadays, especially with people. I want to trust, but in so many cases, I have learned people are out for themselves first. They may not want to hurt other people, but if that's what it takes to get ahead in this world, so be it.
The cop in Myrtle Beach tonight. The bitch from Big Rock who is costing us more money than MC Hammer lost. The co-workers who pass the blame. The friends I once knew. Fate confirming the cancer is back.
And as I type this, I am surrounded by 100 kids who have taken over the hotel for some reason, maybe a wedding, I don't know. They can live however they choose, I don't have a big problem with it. But the contrast between us and them is striking. I mean, they think a tough day is running out of Jack before the party breaks up. They don't have the first damn clue about hard times and struggles.
Right now, as the yells and howls of high schoolers fill my ears, I am so tempted to look at my life and where it has gone. There is so much good. But so much is scary. Did we do something to deserve these circumstances? Is it because God thinks we can handle it? Will a great blessing be given to us? I want to trust, I need to trust. It's so hard to do right now. Money, health, future decisions, more money. So much uncertainty.
I guess we just want someone or something to blame. If I didn't believe in God, I would probably do some unspeakable things to a few people. But it's not worth me ruining my life at the same time. I'm going to move forward somehow. I'm going to pray. And think positive. And somehow keep the faith that things will be OK. I want some justice and more than that, I want happiness and peace.
This is my prayer tonight from a Holiday Inn computer in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. Please see it God and don't turn away from me. Amen.
The cop in Myrtle Beach tonight. The bitch from Big Rock who is costing us more money than MC Hammer lost. The co-workers who pass the blame. The friends I once knew. Fate confirming the cancer is back.
And as I type this, I am surrounded by 100 kids who have taken over the hotel for some reason, maybe a wedding, I don't know. They can live however they choose, I don't have a big problem with it. But the contrast between us and them is striking. I mean, they think a tough day is running out of Jack before the party breaks up. They don't have the first damn clue about hard times and struggles.
Right now, as the yells and howls of high schoolers fill my ears, I am so tempted to look at my life and where it has gone. There is so much good. But so much is scary. Did we do something to deserve these circumstances? Is it because God thinks we can handle it? Will a great blessing be given to us? I want to trust, I need to trust. It's so hard to do right now. Money, health, future decisions, more money. So much uncertainty.
I guess we just want someone or something to blame. If I didn't believe in God, I would probably do some unspeakable things to a few people. But it's not worth me ruining my life at the same time. I'm going to move forward somehow. I'm going to pray. And think positive. And somehow keep the faith that things will be OK. I want some justice and more than that, I want happiness and peace.
This is my prayer tonight from a Holiday Inn computer in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. Please see it God and don't turn away from me. Amen.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Quiet Saturday
1) Well, I can't make Christine's party tonight since I have to work. I think that's five events at her place I haven't been able to attend. I guess I'm consistent, if nothing else.
2) 40 minutes on the elliptical, 50 minutes of lifting, and 30 in the sauna. Felt pretty good after that. Just could have used a masseuse.
3) I have no plans to travel outside the US this year, but I think after putting it off for 10 months, I should finish renewing my passport.
4) I still love seeing Charlie Daniels on that Geico commercial. What a treasure he is.
5) The Lucky Monk is incredible. Tried the Twisted Chicken sandwich last night. Grilled chicken with bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and herb mayo on a long pretzel roll served with house-made fries with kosher salt. One of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten.
6) When I told a 50-year-old guy sitting next to me at the bar that I hadn't been sexually active because it's my choice, he gave me this look that lasted about 10 seconds, but it felt like 10 minutes. His face had a strange mix of disbelief, insanity, and respect. I doubt I will ever change the world, I can only try to be the best me I can. But I'll never be afraid to disagree with anybody.
7) I'm really tired of watching actors smoke cigarettes in movies.
8) Without much else on after the Rangers excellent 3-1 win over the Devils, I turned on "The Bridges of Madison County" on PBS, of all stations. Commercial-free too. Is something wrong with me for really liking it? I don't know, I just heard guys aren't supposed to enjoy this movie. But it's hard to imagine Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep making a bad movie. Well, Meryl tried to salvage "Julie & Julia"...
9) I'm rooting for the Saints, but fully expect the Colts to win. I'm more excited about the Who performing at halftime.
10) My over/under: 2 years...emBARRassing
2) 40 minutes on the elliptical, 50 minutes of lifting, and 30 in the sauna. Felt pretty good after that. Just could have used a masseuse.
3) I have no plans to travel outside the US this year, but I think after putting it off for 10 months, I should finish renewing my passport.
4) I still love seeing Charlie Daniels on that Geico commercial. What a treasure he is.
5) The Lucky Monk is incredible. Tried the Twisted Chicken sandwich last night. Grilled chicken with bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and herb mayo on a long pretzel roll served with house-made fries with kosher salt. One of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten.
6) When I told a 50-year-old guy sitting next to me at the bar that I hadn't been sexually active because it's my choice, he gave me this look that lasted about 10 seconds, but it felt like 10 minutes. His face had a strange mix of disbelief, insanity, and respect. I doubt I will ever change the world, I can only try to be the best me I can. But I'll never be afraid to disagree with anybody.
7) I'm really tired of watching actors smoke cigarettes in movies.
8) Without much else on after the Rangers excellent 3-1 win over the Devils, I turned on "The Bridges of Madison County" on PBS, of all stations. Commercial-free too. Is something wrong with me for really liking it? I don't know, I just heard guys aren't supposed to enjoy this movie. But it's hard to imagine Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep making a bad movie. Well, Meryl tried to salvage "Julie & Julia"...
9) I'm rooting for the Saints, but fully expect the Colts to win. I'm more excited about the Who performing at halftime.
10) My over/under: 2 years...emBARRassing
Perfect timing
Not much audio worth listening to today at work. And my man Benigno is on vacation until next Tuesday. So I have to be a bit more creative. I decided to listen to an Ortberg sermon and I've been slowly going through his first messages at Menlo Park (I still think of New Jersey, not San Francisco) and am up to the 4-part Family series: Hatch em, patch em, match em, dispatch em. And I'm up to match em. He spent that message discussing marriage vs. single life, disposing common myths about marriage, and how to make sense of it all. The best part was when he mentioned how some young couples want to get married so fast within weeks or a few months of knowing each other. And he responded that they have zero idea what they are getting themselves into.
As the crowd laughed, I wanted to stand in my cube and shout "Amen!" Instead, I just grinned.Inevitably, they will tell me the story of some couple who got married after knowing each other just a couple of weeks and are still in love after 50 years. That happens. But people go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive sometimes; it does not mean it is a good choice for transportation.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
A broken record, and the Who is alive
And there is no vinyl involved. Those records are doing just fine. I just wish John was still alive to play bass.
I'd like to thank the Who for accompanying me on my 46-minute cardio workout today. I haven't listened to most of their songs in quite a while. But they're performing at the halftime show at the Super Bowl and I thought I'd turn it on. Of course, I had to stick with my Ipod because every elliptical machine with a TV (10 or so) was taken. Apparently the Fitness Frenzy contest just started at my gym so everyone is trying to get a good start. I guess that's a good thing. Though I think there should be a priority list for members based on how long we've been members...
Anyway, I think of songs like "I Can't Explain" "Bargain", "Eminence Front", and "The Seeker." They remind me of high school and the lyrics Pete Townshend wrote seem to emanate with my experiences of those days. "My Generation" may be the most energetic three minutes in the history of rock and roll. And it is still so relevant to the young disillusioned folks 35 years after it was a hit. And of course, "I Can See For Miles" seems to be a very personal song right now. I have to say this. I really think after the way the Jets season ended, I am more excited for the Who than the game. Onto the the bullet points and these are straight shots.
1) So it is for sure. Fine. I should have known I was being lied to. I just wish I would have known sooner and I would be a lot happier.
2) I pause to thank my co-host John Daly who has now been completely finished. See you in a few days.
3) I really don't know whose management is more incompetent/infuriating/imept: the Mets or the Rangers.
4) Part of me wants to know everything that will happen in my life, another part is glad I ahve no idea. I just hope happiness is part of the deal.
5) I still wish I had the strip of pictures from the night of Rising Above. I know I could find the perfect match for it. That's exactly what it deserves.
6) I tried to forget that deception could be such an powerful undermining of relationships. I just didn't want to think that I would be the victim so many times. It's just really remarkable what I have had to deal with.
That's somebody else's moon tonight
Those are somebody else's stars
They're no longer mine
Cause somewhere tonight
You're in somebody else's arms.
I'd like to thank the Who for accompanying me on my 46-minute cardio workout today. I haven't listened to most of their songs in quite a while. But they're performing at the halftime show at the Super Bowl and I thought I'd turn it on. Of course, I had to stick with my Ipod because every elliptical machine with a TV (10 or so) was taken. Apparently the Fitness Frenzy contest just started at my gym so everyone is trying to get a good start. I guess that's a good thing. Though I think there should be a priority list for members based on how long we've been members...
Anyway, I think of songs like "I Can't Explain" "Bargain", "Eminence Front", and "The Seeker." They remind me of high school and the lyrics Pete Townshend wrote seem to emanate with my experiences of those days. "My Generation" may be the most energetic three minutes in the history of rock and roll. And it is still so relevant to the young disillusioned folks 35 years after it was a hit. And of course, "I Can See For Miles" seems to be a very personal song right now. I have to say this. I really think after the way the Jets season ended, I am more excited for the Who than the game. Onto the the bullet points and these are straight shots.
1) So it is for sure. Fine. I should have known I was being lied to. I just wish I would have known sooner and I would be a lot happier.
2) I pause to thank my co-host John Daly who has now been completely finished. See you in a few days.
3) I really don't know whose management is more incompetent/infuriating/imept: the Mets or the Rangers.
4) Part of me wants to know everything that will happen in my life, another part is glad I ahve no idea. I just hope happiness is part of the deal.
5) I still wish I had the strip of pictures from the night of Rising Above. I know I could find the perfect match for it. That's exactly what it deserves.
6) I tried to forget that deception could be such an powerful undermining of relationships. I just didn't want to think that I would be the victim so many times. It's just really remarkable what I have had to deal with.
That's somebody else's moon tonight
Those are somebody else's stars
They're no longer mine
Cause somewhere tonight
You're in somebody else's arms.
What a riot
Quite the night. Farfalle, rotisserie chicken, vodka sauce, apple pie. That's the dinner I made for the guys. OK, props to Whole Foods for the apple pie. That was my third choice for dessert and it proved to be just excellent, especially with some Cool Whip. But moreover, I'm really amazed how deep these Wednesday night Bible studies are getting. It's kind of sad I went three years without having this kind of community in my life apart from the weekends. And to do it with the CT guys is a very cool deal.
And I also experience something very unexpected at tonight's study. It was my first nunchuck lesson and it taught me an important lesson. It comes down to the idea for training for godliness and its lasting value. Character development is not an easy process. It takes time, takes patience, takes learning new skills, takes more than a few mistakes. And as I swung that weapon around trying to keep it moving swiftly and under control, it didn't happen for me very easily. But I wasn't satisfied until I completed my first Figure 8 tonight. That's the same way we have to pursue the character God calls us to pursue.
And I'm very thankful to God that an old tax return was filed and Mom received a refund of $3,100. That's three months of our mortgage. What an exhilarating feeling to receive great news when we really wanted it.
OK, let's move on. You know, the more I read about it, I find I'm feeling two main things: bewildered and amused. So he says the right things and all, and posts it and all that. It just proves to me what I suspected for so long. The truth in this situation is very dark and very clear. I'm only sorry I waited to move on it. but it is better to be this way then the previous way.
Song pick: "Sail On" The Commodores
And I also experience something very unexpected at tonight's study. It was my first nunchuck lesson and it taught me an important lesson. It comes down to the idea for training for godliness and its lasting value. Character development is not an easy process. It takes time, takes patience, takes learning new skills, takes more than a few mistakes. And as I swung that weapon around trying to keep it moving swiftly and under control, it didn't happen for me very easily. But I wasn't satisfied until I completed my first Figure 8 tonight. That's the same way we have to pursue the character God calls us to pursue.
And I'm very thankful to God that an old tax return was filed and Mom received a refund of $3,100. That's three months of our mortgage. What an exhilarating feeling to receive great news when we really wanted it.
OK, let's move on. You know, the more I read about it, I find I'm feeling two main things: bewildered and amused. So he says the right things and all, and posts it and all that. It just proves to me what I suspected for so long. The truth in this situation is very dark and very clear. I'm only sorry I waited to move on it. but it is better to be this way then the previous way.
Song pick: "Sail On" The Commodores
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