So it is now 2012. I'm home form the Chicago Express-Greenville Road Warriors hockey game, won by the Road Warriors in overtime on a very controversial power play goal that literally went through the net and out the other side. Feeling a bit lonely tonight, drinking a pint of Hacker Pschorr. Thought I would reminisce by recalling 10 of my most notable moments from the past 12 months, in no particular order.
1) The Jets second straight run to the AFC title game
2) Catherine and trips
3) Meeting Joe Benigno at Wrigley Field
4) Texas Trip
5) WWE Money In the Bank
6) Car Accident
7) Come Thirsty Sunday morning classes end
8) Betrayal by members of Come Thirsty
9) Time with S. Miller
10) California odyssey
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
They Go To San Diego
We wound up arriving at the Argyle steakhouse at the Four Seasons hotel in Carlsbad around 6:30. Some company was having their Christmas party there too, and well, let's just say the walls aren't soundproof. We went with the $99 pre-fixe menu for 2 people and that's the only way I would have eaten at a place this nice. As we sat down, I saw this tiny dish with two powders along with the two tiniest spoons I've ever seen. The two substances were simply salt and pepper. So I could tell right away that this was no ordinary eatery. We started with an included glass of wine each. Then came popovers with a smoky red tomato and roasted pepper and garlic spread. It was amazing. We had a cream of cauliflower soup. For salad, Mom got the iceberg wedge with blue cheese. I got the spinach salad with whole hazelnuts, pears and braised salted bacon. It was hands down the best spinach salad I have ever had. Then again, all I had to do was add bacon!
For entrees, we both had the flat iron steak. Mom had a bleu cheese crust while I had a shallot and red wine sauce. They came with gourmet potato tots (like deep-fried mashed potato) and parmesan jumbo asparagus. They also included a garnish of roasted garlic and roasted tomato. The meat was very tender and the sauce complimented it beautifully. We both ordered sweet potato pound cake with a chantilly whipped cream and we loved it. I wasn't overly comfortable dining in such a fancy restaurant, but I will say Mom picked a fine, fine place. After another 15 minutes of driving, we arrived in Encenitas at David and Jane's place around 8:30. A Stella, some casual conversation, and I was ready for bed!
Day 5 arrived and I awoke early to use the Internet. This thing ran so slow, I think it took 45 minutes to load wfan.com alone. It was just a disaster. Anyway, we left at 10:15 and I had already been awake for three hours. We first went to La Jolla, a bougie coastal town and had breakfast at a place called Brockton Villa for some Coast Toast. Basically, this is like a thicker cut of French toast combined with an orange souffle. With a little bit of their berry preserve spread, it was really good. I would probably return for it, I don't know if it's worth $12 though. And I had a side of thick cut bacon too...There was a guy sitting next to us with his wife. Mom mentioned how nice his hair was, how texturized it was, whatever that term means. But his laugh was so loud and so over the top, people at two tables moved inside just to get away from him. After the guy left, Mom and Jane mentioned to the cute girl server about him. She said "Oh, that's my boyfriend's father." Unreal.
Anyway, right across the street from the BV is a small park and a beach with a ton of large rocks. And the rocks were absolutely overrun by loads of pigeons and seals. I also spotted a stray pelican or two. Throw in 65 degrees and that I was wearing shorts in December, it was a pretty radical departure from life in the Midwest. We then drove south into the Beach towns: Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach. PB has a pretty good nightlife reputation and even a bar with every Chicago sports team's flag flying outside of it. MB, directly south, is a smaller, quieter town while OB is all about surfers and used to be a hippie neighborhood. It's a little more of an off-beat, funky spot now. I wanted to get to Hodad's for a bacon cheeseburger, but...the line was out the door, it would have been so good!
Anyway, we went onto Del Mar, a very affluent beach town before visiting Torrey Pines, first the famous golf course of the name. The South course has hosted the U.S. Open tournament, has an annual tournament every January, and is also the spot Scott Peterson was arrested for killing Laci. Anyway, I brought an orange Greg Norman golf shirt, 45 bucks or so. Just for laughs, I checked the green fees of the South course. For San Diego residents, it costs $61. Not too bad. For non-residents, $183. I was hoping that number was pesos. I mean, it costs three times as much? Crazy, crazy. And then we went to the TP state park and hiked the trails up and downhill for almost three hours before reaching the bottom, leading two walking the beach for a half hour to get back to the car. And we got to the end of the beach just as the sun was setting.
We were all pretty spent, so we drove into Del Mar for happy hour at the Brigantine. I had mentioned I wanted to try some fish tacos, and did I ever. They come in a corn tortilla with fried fish filets, cheddar cheese, ranch, pico de gallo, and cabbage. I squeezed on a little fresh lime and hot sauce and wow! The fish was crispy, the veggies tasted fresh. The combo of ingredients sounds strange, but they marry togetyher just beautifully. A typical order of two costs $9.50; each one at happy hour cost just $2.75. Before it was all over, I wolfed down four and washed them down with a pair of Coronas. Thanks to Dave for picking up the check. I also met Zach (Dave's grandson) and Lauren, his GF.
We went back to the house and put up some lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree. A woman named Anne, who I guess works for American Airlines in San Diego, came over and she and I almost duked it out when she started talking about how great Tom Brady was, althought she could not remember his name. What a shock. By this time, I was half asleep anyway, so I just said a subtle good night and headed into bed.
Day 6, my final full day, Christmas Eve Eve. It was about one place all day long and that was the San Diego Zoo inside Balboa Park. With my height issues, I still wasn't totally comfortable taking the Sky tram to the other side of the park, let alone paying $4 to board it! But we did it anyway and headed straigtht to the Happy Feet 4D theater. polar bears pandas elephants orangutans zebras sloth bear tigers giraffe rhino Lunch turned into an absurd adventure. stuffed polar bear and a mouse pad with maybe 11 animals on it.
We left around 3:30 pm and had about 4+ hours to kill before going to Croce's Jazz Bar in the Gaslamp district. We checked out Seaport Village for some window shopping and cupcakes. We drove up India Street, just north of downtown and west of Balboa Park That six or so block stretch is Little Italy. We somehow found a place to park and walked down the street looking for a place. I had read about this place that blended Brazilian steaks and an Italian steakhouse. I think they should just name the place Heaven’s Restaurant. A bit more than we wanted to spend, so we kept going. Eventually, we found a place and I can’t remember the name. We wound up having a few salads (my second spinach salad inside of a week). I liked that on the menu it advertised that the pizzas were made with bottled water and semolina flour. So we took the bait and split a very nice 12-inch pie, made with prosciutto, artichokes, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
From there, we spent 20 minutes driving around the jammed Gaslamp District searching in vain for a parking spot. I wound up swallowing the figurative shoe polish and paying $10 for a spot in a garage. So we walked about three blocks and arrived at Croce’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar around 7:45. We found two open seats at the bar and was very happy to hear Jim Croce music playing. The restaurant is rather smaller than I expected, but it does have some nice memorabilia. So I walked around for a few minutes and observed some of the rare photos of the late great singer-songwriter and his family.
Since Croce's menu is very fancy and expensive, I just ordered dessert and picked the apple tart with butter pecan ice cream and caramel corn. I had never seen a combo like this. It was an acquired taste, but it made sense. The saltiness and crunch of the corn complemented the sweetness of the ice cream and caramel quite nicely. For $8.00, I don’t think I would order it again though. I saw Jim's widow Ingrid very briefly before she disappeared for the night. Although she walked right by me, sadly, I didn't get to meet her.
A blues band played that evening, a four-piece band and a vocalist. It was pretty cool, and I have to point one thing out and it’s awkward. The vocalist was a black woman, around maybe 60. Her chest was so largely out of proportion to her the rest of her body, that I couldn’t even bear to look at her. We were both pretty worn out, so we called it a night pretty early. There was one pleasant surprise though. When we got our bill, we did not see the $10 per person for the cover charge. So we took off for Encenitas around 9:15; we had been out for maybe 13 hours by that point.
And so then there was Christmas Eve. Day 7. It was about the Jets versus the Giants and what a freaking disaster. We left early in the morning following another unsuccessful attempt to use the internet. I got to the Gaslamp District around 9:20 in the morning. There were a few people walking around town, but it was closer to empty. Mom and Jane went off to Coronado for sightseeing and some shopping. After taking a few pictures of Croce’s and some other sights, I walked south on 5th Avenue to Henry’s. As I opened the door to enter, I couldn’t believe what I saw. There were Jets banners hanging from the ceiling, inflatable Jets dolls, and about 30 Jets fans already there. I think we wound up getting to around 100 people by game time. They even had a special menu for Jets fans. Went with a $5.00 breakfast sandwich and I have to say it felt very strange eating breakfast with football about to start.
I met a few interesting people. Rob, the organizer of the group, is a loud fun-loving Hispanic guy and was very welcoming. A little overly optimistic, but that’s ok. Sergio is the photographer and he looks just like Rex Ryan and he actually dresses like Rex for the games. I’m not saying that’s a good look to be sharing, but that’s the way it is. Todd was the first guy I talked to, pretty big guy, very nice. Colin was a little younger than me, I sat at his table most of the day. Brittney and Melissa are both gorgeous, they came across as legit So Cal socialites and they sat at our table too. Britt actually took off during the second quarter and went shopping, never to be seen again. I think I annoyed Melissa since I stated my dislike for mayonnaise. Well, whatever, it wasn’t the first time. I must say I found Michelle very attractive. She lives in Oceanside and is a Jets fan despite living in California her whole life.
The less said about the game, the better. Just one of the worst regular season losses I have ever seen. The Jets absolutely gave that game away. And to see the cocky Giants fans bragging on the internet…it was just disgusting.
So when it was time to leave, I turned on my Ipod and played some classic Benigno rants. I just walked a few blocks west to Nordstrom’s in a complete stupor. I may have let out a couple of loud groans and yells in the middle of downtown San Diego. I came across three Jets fans I saw at the bar, including a girl named Jen and we hugged. It took Mom and Jane about 15 minutes to find the car. When we stopped at some café for lunch, I passed. They had French Onion soup and split some kind of funky salad with chicken, apples, and some other California-esque ingredients. I did wind up eating some leftover French bread, but whatever.
We got back around 5:00 and I drank a couple of Stellas, I think I had five in three days. And so it was time to go. Around 5:20, we took off north up I-5 for LAX. The 2-hour commute went pretty smooth, we just hit a touch of traffic in Orange County. We got in really early, around maybe 7:00 for an 11:20 flight. With the extra time, we split some chicken nachos at On the Border. And when you run out of beverage for 10 minutes at a Mexican joint, that’s a problem with the staff. Getting the flight turned out to be a very close call, we really didn’t know if we’d make it. If we missed, we would have to wait over six hours for the next one. Thankfully, we got the last two seats on the plane. Since I and everyone else with any common sense was sleeping, the 30 straight minutes of turbulence was not a welcome part of the trip. But we got through it, and landed around 5:15 in Chicago on Christmas morning.
We got home around 7:15 and I unpacked while Mom napped. We managed our way up to Willow Creek Church for the Hybels family service at 10 pm and I’m glad we did because it would have been a shame to not at attend church during all of Christmas weekend. But we went, really enjoyed the service, arrived home for the second time at noon, and collapsed.
For entrees, we both had the flat iron steak. Mom had a bleu cheese crust while I had a shallot and red wine sauce. They came with gourmet potato tots (like deep-fried mashed potato) and parmesan jumbo asparagus. They also included a garnish of roasted garlic and roasted tomato. The meat was very tender and the sauce complimented it beautifully. We both ordered sweet potato pound cake with a chantilly whipped cream and we loved it. I wasn't overly comfortable dining in such a fancy restaurant, but I will say Mom picked a fine, fine place. After another 15 minutes of driving, we arrived in Encenitas at David and Jane's place around 8:30. A Stella, some casual conversation, and I was ready for bed!
Day 5 arrived and I awoke early to use the Internet. This thing ran so slow, I think it took 45 minutes to load wfan.com alone. It was just a disaster. Anyway, we left at 10:15 and I had already been awake for three hours. We first went to La Jolla, a bougie coastal town and had breakfast at a place called Brockton Villa for some Coast Toast. Basically, this is like a thicker cut of French toast combined with an orange souffle. With a little bit of their berry preserve spread, it was really good. I would probably return for it, I don't know if it's worth $12 though. And I had a side of thick cut bacon too...There was a guy sitting next to us with his wife. Mom mentioned how nice his hair was, how texturized it was, whatever that term means. But his laugh was so loud and so over the top, people at two tables moved inside just to get away from him. After the guy left, Mom and Jane mentioned to the cute girl server about him. She said "Oh, that's my boyfriend's father." Unreal.
Anyway, right across the street from the BV is a small park and a beach with a ton of large rocks. And the rocks were absolutely overrun by loads of pigeons and seals. I also spotted a stray pelican or two. Throw in 65 degrees and that I was wearing shorts in December, it was a pretty radical departure from life in the Midwest. We then drove south into the Beach towns: Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach. PB has a pretty good nightlife reputation and even a bar with every Chicago sports team's flag flying outside of it. MB, directly south, is a smaller, quieter town while OB is all about surfers and used to be a hippie neighborhood. It's a little more of an off-beat, funky spot now. I wanted to get to Hodad's for a bacon cheeseburger, but...the line was out the door, it would have been so good!
Anyway, we went onto Del Mar, a very affluent beach town before visiting Torrey Pines, first the famous golf course of the name. The South course has hosted the U.S. Open tournament, has an annual tournament every January, and is also the spot Scott Peterson was arrested for killing Laci. Anyway, I brought an orange Greg Norman golf shirt, 45 bucks or so. Just for laughs, I checked the green fees of the South course. For San Diego residents, it costs $61. Not too bad. For non-residents, $183. I was hoping that number was pesos. I mean, it costs three times as much? Crazy, crazy. And then we went to the TP state park and hiked the trails up and downhill for almost three hours before reaching the bottom, leading two walking the beach for a half hour to get back to the car. And we got to the end of the beach just as the sun was setting.
We were all pretty spent, so we drove into Del Mar for happy hour at the Brigantine. I had mentioned I wanted to try some fish tacos, and did I ever. They come in a corn tortilla with fried fish filets, cheddar cheese, ranch, pico de gallo, and cabbage. I squeezed on a little fresh lime and hot sauce and wow! The fish was crispy, the veggies tasted fresh. The combo of ingredients sounds strange, but they marry togetyher just beautifully. A typical order of two costs $9.50; each one at happy hour cost just $2.75. Before it was all over, I wolfed down four and washed them down with a pair of Coronas. Thanks to Dave for picking up the check. I also met Zach (Dave's grandson) and Lauren, his GF.
We went back to the house and put up some lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree. A woman named Anne, who I guess works for American Airlines in San Diego, came over and she and I almost duked it out when she started talking about how great Tom Brady was, althought she could not remember his name. What a shock. By this time, I was half asleep anyway, so I just said a subtle good night and headed into bed.
Day 6, my final full day, Christmas Eve Eve. It was about one place all day long and that was the San Diego Zoo inside Balboa Park. With my height issues, I still wasn't totally comfortable taking the Sky tram to the other side of the park, let alone paying $4 to board it! But we did it anyway and headed straigtht to the Happy Feet 4D theater. polar bears pandas elephants orangutans zebras sloth bear tigers giraffe rhino Lunch turned into an absurd adventure. stuffed polar bear and a mouse pad with maybe 11 animals on it.
We left around 3:30 pm and had about 4+ hours to kill before going to Croce's Jazz Bar in the Gaslamp district. We checked out Seaport Village for some window shopping and cupcakes. We drove up India Street, just north of downtown and west of Balboa Park That six or so block stretch is Little Italy. We somehow found a place to park and walked down the street looking for a place. I had read about this place that blended Brazilian steaks and an Italian steakhouse. I think they should just name the place Heaven’s Restaurant. A bit more than we wanted to spend, so we kept going. Eventually, we found a place and I can’t remember the name. We wound up having a few salads (my second spinach salad inside of a week). I liked that on the menu it advertised that the pizzas were made with bottled water and semolina flour. So we took the bait and split a very nice 12-inch pie, made with prosciutto, artichokes, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
From there, we spent 20 minutes driving around the jammed Gaslamp District searching in vain for a parking spot. I wound up swallowing the figurative shoe polish and paying $10 for a spot in a garage. So we walked about three blocks and arrived at Croce’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar around 7:45. We found two open seats at the bar and was very happy to hear Jim Croce music playing. The restaurant is rather smaller than I expected, but it does have some nice memorabilia. So I walked around for a few minutes and observed some of the rare photos of the late great singer-songwriter and his family.
Since Croce's menu is very fancy and expensive, I just ordered dessert and picked the apple tart with butter pecan ice cream and caramel corn. I had never seen a combo like this. It was an acquired taste, but it made sense. The saltiness and crunch of the corn complemented the sweetness of the ice cream and caramel quite nicely. For $8.00, I don’t think I would order it again though. I saw Jim's widow Ingrid very briefly before she disappeared for the night. Although she walked right by me, sadly, I didn't get to meet her.
A blues band played that evening, a four-piece band and a vocalist. It was pretty cool, and I have to point one thing out and it’s awkward. The vocalist was a black woman, around maybe 60. Her chest was so largely out of proportion to her the rest of her body, that I couldn’t even bear to look at her. We were both pretty worn out, so we called it a night pretty early. There was one pleasant surprise though. When we got our bill, we did not see the $10 per person for the cover charge. So we took off for Encenitas around 9:15; we had been out for maybe 13 hours by that point.
And so then there was Christmas Eve. Day 7. It was about the Jets versus the Giants and what a freaking disaster. We left early in the morning following another unsuccessful attempt to use the internet. I got to the Gaslamp District around 9:20 in the morning. There were a few people walking around town, but it was closer to empty. Mom and Jane went off to Coronado for sightseeing and some shopping. After taking a few pictures of Croce’s and some other sights, I walked south on 5th Avenue to Henry’s. As I opened the door to enter, I couldn’t believe what I saw. There were Jets banners hanging from the ceiling, inflatable Jets dolls, and about 30 Jets fans already there. I think we wound up getting to around 100 people by game time. They even had a special menu for Jets fans. Went with a $5.00 breakfast sandwich and I have to say it felt very strange eating breakfast with football about to start.
I met a few interesting people. Rob, the organizer of the group, is a loud fun-loving Hispanic guy and was very welcoming. A little overly optimistic, but that’s ok. Sergio is the photographer and he looks just like Rex Ryan and he actually dresses like Rex for the games. I’m not saying that’s a good look to be sharing, but that’s the way it is. Todd was the first guy I talked to, pretty big guy, very nice. Colin was a little younger than me, I sat at his table most of the day. Brittney and Melissa are both gorgeous, they came across as legit So Cal socialites and they sat at our table too. Britt actually took off during the second quarter and went shopping, never to be seen again. I think I annoyed Melissa since I stated my dislike for mayonnaise. Well, whatever, it wasn’t the first time. I must say I found Michelle very attractive. She lives in Oceanside and is a Jets fan despite living in California her whole life.
The less said about the game, the better. Just one of the worst regular season losses I have ever seen. The Jets absolutely gave that game away. And to see the cocky Giants fans bragging on the internet…it was just disgusting.
So when it was time to leave, I turned on my Ipod and played some classic Benigno rants. I just walked a few blocks west to Nordstrom’s in a complete stupor. I may have let out a couple of loud groans and yells in the middle of downtown San Diego. I came across three Jets fans I saw at the bar, including a girl named Jen and we hugged. It took Mom and Jane about 15 minutes to find the car. When we stopped at some café for lunch, I passed. They had French Onion soup and split some kind of funky salad with chicken, apples, and some other California-esque ingredients. I did wind up eating some leftover French bread, but whatever.
We got back around 5:00 and I drank a couple of Stellas, I think I had five in three days. And so it was time to go. Around 5:20, we took off north up I-5 for LAX. The 2-hour commute went pretty smooth, we just hit a touch of traffic in Orange County. We got in really early, around maybe 7:00 for an 11:20 flight. With the extra time, we split some chicken nachos at On the Border. And when you run out of beverage for 10 minutes at a Mexican joint, that’s a problem with the staff. Getting the flight turned out to be a very close call, we really didn’t know if we’d make it. If we missed, we would have to wait over six hours for the next one. Thankfully, we got the last two seats on the plane. Since I and everyone else with any common sense was sleeping, the 30 straight minutes of turbulence was not a welcome part of the trip. But we got through it, and landed around 5:15 in Chicago on Christmas morning.
We got home around 7:15 and I unpacked while Mom napped. We managed our way up to Willow Creek Church for the Hybels family service at 10 pm and I’m glad we did because it would have been a shame to not at attend church during all of Christmas weekend. But we went, really enjoyed the service, arrived home for the second time at noon, and collapsed.
LA Invasion
So following four hours of sleep on Saturday night, we took the four-hour 6:40 flight from O'Hare to LAX. Outside, the temperature must have been around 60 degrees, but it may as well have been 85. Mom picked up our navy blue Nissan Sentra from Fox Rental Cars and there's no doubt we put a few hundred miles on that puppy, maybe close to a thousand.
Marina Del Rey is two neighborhoods north of LAX and I was very surprised how crammed the neighborhood was. I had visions of a quiet town, very touristy, almost like the eastern end of Long Island. It turned out to be filled with strip malls, a lot of traffic, and construction of condos right next door to the Courtyard we were staying at. We got Room 460, the last remaining room. After setting our room up, we decided to head north up to the mountains. The first stop was Brent's Deli in Northridge, a real Jewish deli. The French dip was decent enough, not great. They had great crisp, fresh pickles and I always like a good Dr. Brown's root beer. But I had a #3-corned beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, Russian dressing, and deli mustard on double-baked rye bread. Excellent sandwich.
We then headed north to Simi Valley to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. The drive off RR Blvd to the museum includes flags of every President, which is cool. Lots of audio and video exhibits, some old artifacts from his birthplace, Dixon, IL, a town I know well. I wouldn't call the place a must-see, I would call it good. The highlight was probably the opportunity to step on board a real Air Force One that Reagan flew on for years. We also visited his crypt, located in the Central Garden. And considering how the Republican debates are going and the inadequacy of our current President, I wish we had someone like him leading our country now.
We took a long drive west down the Ventura Highway (And I played the America song of the same name). We got somewhat lost, but found our way to the PCH eventually. The highlight was visiting Malibu during sunset. The mountains just seem to drop revealing houses and a beach road and then the Pacific Ocean. We had dinner at the Reel Inn and had some amazing seafood dinner. I had grilled Cajun snapper, rice, steamed veggies, salad, and a drink, and it only cost me about $16. Mom went with the Cajun orange roughy. And we had a view where we could scope out the PCH and the ocean as the sun set. Just a tremendous restaurant. Thank you Man vs Food Nation. We headed back into MDR through Santa Monica and Venice before shutting down for the night early. I really think I fell asleep by 9:30 at night.
Day 2 was all about Los Angeles. After a solid workout, we began driving northeast into Beverly Hills. We walked through the infamous Beverly Hills Hotel, the site of the cover for the Eagles famous Hotel California album. Of course, I wore my Hotel California t-shirt and it certainly got some laughs from the hotel staff. We then drove down Hollywood Boulevard through the Sunset Strip and past the Troubadour, the Whisky A Go-Go, the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, and other famous clubs. We arrived in downtown and saw Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, and plenty of celebrity impersonators. We probably would have gotten out and explored, had my camera not died. So we headed west two blocks to LaBrea Avenue for Pink's hot dogs. We got three: the Today Show dog (2 hot dogs in one bun, mustard, onions, chili, cheese & guacamole), the Mullholland Drive dog (10 inch stretch dog, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, cheddar cheese & bacon), and I got the Philly dog (dog with Philly steak, American and Swiss cheese, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms). The Today show tasted okay, but the chili and guac combo is just weird to get used to. The Philly was just tremendous. Drank a cream soda for the first time in maybe 20 years! The fries were okay, nothing special. I would certainly return.
We then headed over to the Hollywood Bowl and managed to sneak our way inside and I took some photos. What's so cool is there are no elevators, it's just concrete, stairs, and ramps. I think we spent the next three hours navigating the tight curves and bends around the plush houses in the Hollywood Hills, trying to grasp a decent view of the Hollywood sign. We tried to find Griffith Park, a huge public park in north LA, because I heard that was a good place to see the sign and they also had a great observatory of the city. We had no such luck getting anywhere near there. So I just called it off and asked Mom to drive to Dodger Stadium, that took maybe 10 minutes. I did notice how close together so many great tourist attractions are to each other in LA. For being such a huge city, it really isn't too hard to navigate if you know where you're going. Unless of course you're driving north on the 405, which completely blows regardless of time or day.
We then began heading west and stopped in Hollywood again, this time to check out the Farmer's Market, which was mobbed. The food was set up just like an expanded Quincy Market. There wasn't a type of cuisine that wasn't featured, there were booths for Brazilian, New Orleans, hot sauces, BBQ, sushi, etc. Wound up getting some ice cream just to validate the $1 parking. Peppermint for mom, pumpkin for me. We walked past the market into the outdoor shopping area that featured a Jamaican band and Santa's Village for the novelty feel. The mall itself had A&F, Nordstrom, an 18-cinema theater, Barnes & Noble, etc. And I must admit it was a great opportunity to look at some beautiful ladies.
We really wanted to avoid the freeways back to MDR, so we took a ton of sideroads through neighborhoods we probably should have avoided. There was one stoned jackoff who ran right in front of our car trying to make us stop. I screamed and of course Mom shut right down on me for a few hours. But we did at least drive through Washington St in MDR all the way down to the beach. We wound up eating at Island's, which is a tropical themed burger place. Happy hour let me sip a 22-ounce golden ale for just 3 bucks! We wound up eating some sliders and I was happy my plate included over a dozen pickle chips and I didn't even need to ask for them. We also got a basket of fries for two bucks and my God, there must have been three potatoes worth. We may have finished half the fries between us and they were cooked exactly how a french fry should be. Skin-on, just a little seasoning, and crispy and tender at the same time.
We headed back to the room around 6 and Mom said she was just going to lay down and nap. I knew what that meant. She was about to sleep for at least three hours. We did think of catching a movie at the cinema right across the street, but I knew that wasn't happening, at least not that evening. I headed over by myself, but $11 for a ticket seemed a bit much, especially after buying lunch and gasoline. So instead, I went over to Barnes and Noble and finished reading the Andre the Giant biography till about 9:30.
Day 3 (Tuesday) started with a trip to the Getty Museum, tucked high in the hills of L.A. Mom really wanted to check this place out, so who was I to object? I learned when a museum doesn't charge admission, the first thing to do is check the parking price. Fifteen bucks. anyway, this is a art museum that displays works from the Middle Ages to the present day. The unique designs of Richard Meier's architecture also make the Getty one of the more unique structures I've seen in a long time. I liked walking around the Cactus Garden as well as the spiral-shaped Center Garden.
For specific art work, a few pieces stuck out to me in particular. Jan Brueghel's Sermon on the Mount was so intricate and detailed. Aert van der Neer's Moonlit Landscape uses few colors, but the shading is great. And I like the fiery orange in the nighttime too. Vinent Van Gogh's Irises is one of the most popular works in the entire museum. The colors are very vivid and it's remarkable how Van Gogh weaves and layers each flower.
We spent about five hours at the museum, leaving around 3 pm. We drove down to El Pueblo de Los Angeles; I heard it was a nice historic site with a lot of Mexican heritage. We walked through a street fair where every vendor seemed to either sell blankets, shirts, miniature guitars, or lucha libre masks. Lunch was a pair of burritos from a street vendor, and they really weren't that good. Even the sodas didn't taste good! After that, we walked over to the historic Union Street train station, which is renowned for its blend of architecture styles and that it has been around since 1926.
After debating a few ideas on where to go, we finally took one more shot at Griffith Park. After a few minutes of driving uphill and past the Greek Theater, we did find the observatory, although Mom had no desire to walk to it since we would have had to park at least a half mile away. So I just got out and snapped a few quick shots of the valley and the observatory itself. We drove back to MDR to C&O, an Italian joint. I loved the decor immediately, with a ton of Rat Pack memorabilia and their music playing on the jukebox. Great garlic knots too! Mom and I did see Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. While the storyline intrigued me, I found the film rather raw and graphic. I understood it I guess, but I have never disliked a hero or heroine in a film more than Rooney Mara's character.
Day 4 was our transition day, and as it turned out, one of the most grueling on us physically and on our Sentra as well. I certainly would have liked to spend a full day at the beach playing volleyball, but the temperature never even exceeded 65 degrees. Anyway, we checked out of the hotel and drove back to the Santa Monica Pier and spent a good hour there. I remember thinking that it reminded me of Coney Island with the style of shops, the street musicians, the Ferris Wheel, and shops, and then I realized the guy who designed the Pier actually came from Coney Island. About all it needs now is a Subway station and a minor leagues baseball team. I purchased a beaded necklace, my first souvenir. It was cool walking to the end of the pier looking out at the water while listening to the smooth piano of the live musician. Very relaxing indeed. As I walked back, I did see three or four people practicing volleyball and I was in my jeans, so it bummed me out that I couldn't play. And the other thing was the walking surface by the basketball courts. It looked like a composite court, except the ground gave way beneath me. It was sort of bouncing up and down. I don't know what the surface is called, but it's a pretty neat invention.
We drove north a half hour to Burbank and toured NBC Studios from noon till about 1:15. This was where they film the Tonight Show, Carson Daly, Days of Our Lives, etc. With it being Christmas week, there wasn't a whole lot of action going on in the lot. I got to visit the set of the Tonight Show, unfortunately we couldn't take any photos. After 20 minutes of driving east, we found ourselves in Pasadena. We had lunch at Stonefire Grill, I had a few other places in mind, but I guess I had to respect Mom's wishes to eat healthy. Against my will, granted. Anyway, I had a lunch combo of BBQ tri-tip and lemon garlic chicken with a salad and breadstick with a drink for 9 bucks. It was a steal. Almost no carbs, juicy meat, and no tip to pay. And the kitchen staff seriously threw big chunks of raw garlic on the chicken, so even I had to go easy on eating garlic!
Our plan was to travel the entire PCH from LAX all the way to Carlsbad, where we had a 7 pm dinner reservation. But Mom became infuriated that we traveled northeast when we were heading south later. I just didn't realize time was an issue for her, I thought 5 hours would more than suffice. Well, after some arguments, I got us back to the PCH, unfortunately none of it became picturesque until we hit Long Beach, so that was kind of a wasted hour all in all. Although it would have been nice to stop and spend time in Redondo Beach or maybe Manhattan Beach. One town that stuck out was Huntington Beach, it is just gorgeous.
Marina Del Rey is two neighborhoods north of LAX and I was very surprised how crammed the neighborhood was. I had visions of a quiet town, very touristy, almost like the eastern end of Long Island. It turned out to be filled with strip malls, a lot of traffic, and construction of condos right next door to the Courtyard we were staying at. We got Room 460, the last remaining room. After setting our room up, we decided to head north up to the mountains. The first stop was Brent's Deli in Northridge, a real Jewish deli. The French dip was decent enough, not great. They had great crisp, fresh pickles and I always like a good Dr. Brown's root beer. But I had a #3-corned beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, Russian dressing, and deli mustard on double-baked rye bread. Excellent sandwich.
We then headed north to Simi Valley to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. The drive off RR Blvd to the museum includes flags of every President, which is cool. Lots of audio and video exhibits, some old artifacts from his birthplace, Dixon, IL, a town I know well. I wouldn't call the place a must-see, I would call it good. The highlight was probably the opportunity to step on board a real Air Force One that Reagan flew on for years. We also visited his crypt, located in the Central Garden. And considering how the Republican debates are going and the inadequacy of our current President, I wish we had someone like him leading our country now.
We took a long drive west down the Ventura Highway (And I played the America song of the same name). We got somewhat lost, but found our way to the PCH eventually. The highlight was visiting Malibu during sunset. The mountains just seem to drop revealing houses and a beach road and then the Pacific Ocean. We had dinner at the Reel Inn and had some amazing seafood dinner. I had grilled Cajun snapper, rice, steamed veggies, salad, and a drink, and it only cost me about $16. Mom went with the Cajun orange roughy. And we had a view where we could scope out the PCH and the ocean as the sun set. Just a tremendous restaurant. Thank you Man vs Food Nation. We headed back into MDR through Santa Monica and Venice before shutting down for the night early. I really think I fell asleep by 9:30 at night.
Day 2 was all about Los Angeles. After a solid workout, we began driving northeast into Beverly Hills. We walked through the infamous Beverly Hills Hotel, the site of the cover for the Eagles famous Hotel California album. Of course, I wore my Hotel California t-shirt and it certainly got some laughs from the hotel staff. We then drove down Hollywood Boulevard through the Sunset Strip and past the Troubadour, the Whisky A Go-Go, the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, and other famous clubs. We arrived in downtown and saw Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, and plenty of celebrity impersonators. We probably would have gotten out and explored, had my camera not died. So we headed west two blocks to LaBrea Avenue for Pink's hot dogs. We got three: the Today Show dog (2 hot dogs in one bun, mustard, onions, chili, cheese & guacamole), the Mullholland Drive dog (10 inch stretch dog, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, cheddar cheese & bacon), and I got the Philly dog (dog with Philly steak, American and Swiss cheese, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms). The Today show tasted okay, but the chili and guac combo is just weird to get used to. The Philly was just tremendous. Drank a cream soda for the first time in maybe 20 years! The fries were okay, nothing special. I would certainly return.
We then headed over to the Hollywood Bowl and managed to sneak our way inside and I took some photos. What's so cool is there are no elevators, it's just concrete, stairs, and ramps. I think we spent the next three hours navigating the tight curves and bends around the plush houses in the Hollywood Hills, trying to grasp a decent view of the Hollywood sign. We tried to find Griffith Park, a huge public park in north LA, because I heard that was a good place to see the sign and they also had a great observatory of the city. We had no such luck getting anywhere near there. So I just called it off and asked Mom to drive to Dodger Stadium, that took maybe 10 minutes. I did notice how close together so many great tourist attractions are to each other in LA. For being such a huge city, it really isn't too hard to navigate if you know where you're going. Unless of course you're driving north on the 405, which completely blows regardless of time or day.
We then began heading west and stopped in Hollywood again, this time to check out the Farmer's Market, which was mobbed. The food was set up just like an expanded Quincy Market. There wasn't a type of cuisine that wasn't featured, there were booths for Brazilian, New Orleans, hot sauces, BBQ, sushi, etc. Wound up getting some ice cream just to validate the $1 parking. Peppermint for mom, pumpkin for me. We walked past the market into the outdoor shopping area that featured a Jamaican band and Santa's Village for the novelty feel. The mall itself had A&F, Nordstrom, an 18-cinema theater, Barnes & Noble, etc. And I must admit it was a great opportunity to look at some beautiful ladies.
We really wanted to avoid the freeways back to MDR, so we took a ton of sideroads through neighborhoods we probably should have avoided. There was one stoned jackoff who ran right in front of our car trying to make us stop. I screamed and of course Mom shut right down on me for a few hours. But we did at least drive through Washington St in MDR all the way down to the beach. We wound up eating at Island's, which is a tropical themed burger place. Happy hour let me sip a 22-ounce golden ale for just 3 bucks! We wound up eating some sliders and I was happy my plate included over a dozen pickle chips and I didn't even need to ask for them. We also got a basket of fries for two bucks and my God, there must have been three potatoes worth. We may have finished half the fries between us and they were cooked exactly how a french fry should be. Skin-on, just a little seasoning, and crispy and tender at the same time.
We headed back to the room around 6 and Mom said she was just going to lay down and nap. I knew what that meant. She was about to sleep for at least three hours. We did think of catching a movie at the cinema right across the street, but I knew that wasn't happening, at least not that evening. I headed over by myself, but $11 for a ticket seemed a bit much, especially after buying lunch and gasoline. So instead, I went over to Barnes and Noble and finished reading the Andre the Giant biography till about 9:30.
Day 3 (Tuesday) started with a trip to the Getty Museum, tucked high in the hills of L.A. Mom really wanted to check this place out, so who was I to object? I learned when a museum doesn't charge admission, the first thing to do is check the parking price. Fifteen bucks. anyway, this is a art museum that displays works from the Middle Ages to the present day. The unique designs of Richard Meier's architecture also make the Getty one of the more unique structures I've seen in a long time. I liked walking around the Cactus Garden as well as the spiral-shaped Center Garden.
For specific art work, a few pieces stuck out to me in particular. Jan Brueghel's Sermon on the Mount was so intricate and detailed. Aert van der Neer's Moonlit Landscape uses few colors, but the shading is great. And I like the fiery orange in the nighttime too. Vinent Van Gogh's Irises is one of the most popular works in the entire museum. The colors are very vivid and it's remarkable how Van Gogh weaves and layers each flower.
We spent about five hours at the museum, leaving around 3 pm. We drove down to El Pueblo de Los Angeles; I heard it was a nice historic site with a lot of Mexican heritage. We walked through a street fair where every vendor seemed to either sell blankets, shirts, miniature guitars, or lucha libre masks. Lunch was a pair of burritos from a street vendor, and they really weren't that good. Even the sodas didn't taste good! After that, we walked over to the historic Union Street train station, which is renowned for its blend of architecture styles and that it has been around since 1926.
After debating a few ideas on where to go, we finally took one more shot at Griffith Park. After a few minutes of driving uphill and past the Greek Theater, we did find the observatory, although Mom had no desire to walk to it since we would have had to park at least a half mile away. So I just got out and snapped a few quick shots of the valley and the observatory itself. We drove back to MDR to C&O, an Italian joint. I loved the decor immediately, with a ton of Rat Pack memorabilia and their music playing on the jukebox. Great garlic knots too! Mom and I did see Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. While the storyline intrigued me, I found the film rather raw and graphic. I understood it I guess, but I have never disliked a hero or heroine in a film more than Rooney Mara's character.
Day 4 was our transition day, and as it turned out, one of the most grueling on us physically and on our Sentra as well. I certainly would have liked to spend a full day at the beach playing volleyball, but the temperature never even exceeded 65 degrees. Anyway, we checked out of the hotel and drove back to the Santa Monica Pier and spent a good hour there. I remember thinking that it reminded me of Coney Island with the style of shops, the street musicians, the Ferris Wheel, and shops, and then I realized the guy who designed the Pier actually came from Coney Island. About all it needs now is a Subway station and a minor leagues baseball team. I purchased a beaded necklace, my first souvenir. It was cool walking to the end of the pier looking out at the water while listening to the smooth piano of the live musician. Very relaxing indeed. As I walked back, I did see three or four people practicing volleyball and I was in my jeans, so it bummed me out that I couldn't play. And the other thing was the walking surface by the basketball courts. It looked like a composite court, except the ground gave way beneath me. It was sort of bouncing up and down. I don't know what the surface is called, but it's a pretty neat invention.
We drove north a half hour to Burbank and toured NBC Studios from noon till about 1:15. This was where they film the Tonight Show, Carson Daly, Days of Our Lives, etc. With it being Christmas week, there wasn't a whole lot of action going on in the lot. I got to visit the set of the Tonight Show, unfortunately we couldn't take any photos. After 20 minutes of driving east, we found ourselves in Pasadena. We had lunch at Stonefire Grill, I had a few other places in mind, but I guess I had to respect Mom's wishes to eat healthy. Against my will, granted. Anyway, I had a lunch combo of BBQ tri-tip and lemon garlic chicken with a salad and breadstick with a drink for 9 bucks. It was a steal. Almost no carbs, juicy meat, and no tip to pay. And the kitchen staff seriously threw big chunks of raw garlic on the chicken, so even I had to go easy on eating garlic!
Our plan was to travel the entire PCH from LAX all the way to Carlsbad, where we had a 7 pm dinner reservation. But Mom became infuriated that we traveled northeast when we were heading south later. I just didn't realize time was an issue for her, I thought 5 hours would more than suffice. Well, after some arguments, I got us back to the PCH, unfortunately none of it became picturesque until we hit Long Beach, so that was kind of a wasted hour all in all. Although it would have been nice to stop and spend time in Redondo Beach or maybe Manhattan Beach. One town that stuck out was Huntington Beach, it is just gorgeous.
Monday, December 05, 2011
Atlanta Blue-Day 2
The alarm woke me up at 7 and I right headed down to the second floor for a workout. It wasn't near the best I've ever experienced; it's really hard to get a good strength workout at a hotel that isn't spectacular. One cable cross machine with no bench. And an elliptical that didn't even have moving arms.
From there, I walked outside, heading west towards the touristy area of downtown. I checked out the Omni Hotel and CNN Tower. Just west of that was the Philips Arena, at the site of the old Omni. Behind the Arena, I could see the Georgia Dome in the distance. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery power as I was about to snap my final photograph of the Atlanta shaped steel arches in front of the Arena. I picked up a Green machine Naked juice when I got back. I pretty much knew that would be about my only chance to eat anything healthy all day.
Mom and I headed out together and made the mile walk west to Centennial Olympic Park. I explored the Olympic Fountain of Rings, the many torches, and the brickwalk. Across Baker Street is Pemberton Place, which houses the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the entire world. John Pemberton, a Georgia pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola in 1886. We entered the World of Coke at 10 am. There were artifacts from all over the world: bottles from Argentina, Ecuador, etc. Huge bottle openers, advertising signs, clothing, etc. Then came the animated Happyfication theater. I took my picture with the polar bear, which was quite cool. We also saw the bottling plant, the Milestone of refreshment (lots of interactive games, history, and a display of at least 150 Coke beverage can/bottle designs from throughout the last 120 years). I got to trace the classic logo with my finger and it's really hard to make the holes in the a's and o's.
We headed the the second level to the pop culture gallery. There was the Coke couch from Season 4 of American Idol, a kisok to make my own Coke computer-generated art, and a wall dedicated to the failed New Coke experiment from 1985. Then came the 4-D theater, which has the moving seats and blasts of wind and water, and yes, I got wet. Last, but not least, came the tasting room which offers guests a chance to try 60 different beverages from across the globe.
I probably went through at least 20. I has a lemon soda from England, it was marvelous. The Italian soda called Beverly tasted terribly bitter and tasted more like straight alcohol. Definitely my least favorite. The Mozambique ginger ale was really good and relaxing. The Mexican iced tea featured a very robust lemon flavor. I never had Barq's red cream soda before, and I'm typically not a big fan of cream soda, but I really enjoyed this one. And gingerbread coke could very well become a new holiday tradition for me.
The last stop was the gift shop and Mom and I could not agree. It was my money, I brought a sign and I'm still mad I did not buy a glass. She wanted me to get this big empty bottle, which must have been four feet tall, to drop spare change into. Sounded good, but how was I going to get that into an airplane?
Anyway, we walked another half mile north just past Georgia Tech. It was time for some grub. So many people have told me about the Varsity and have recommended it. It is the world's largest drive-thru and one of the most iconic eateries in Georgia. We ordered two Number 1's:a pair of steamed chili dogs with yellow mustard and beanlesss beefy chili. Mom got the fries and I got the rings. I have to say those were the best onion rings I've had since I was in Mount Morris, so that probably goes back ten years. They're cut not too thin, not too thick and the coating on the outside tasted just tremendous. I found the dogs to be very good. I'm not used to chili The addition of chopped onions added an extra layer of flavor that I think made them better. I passed on the soda and a sweet tea for the frosted orange, which tasted like the thickest creamsicle ever. Tremendous! I can only imagine how much better it would be on one of those hot Georgia summer afternoons. But the thickness was insane. It took 45 minutes of walking to finish it off, I do not exaggerate.
We planned to take the 3:30 flight home, but we got to the airport early and took the 2:15. We stepped off the plane into a welcoming December atmosphere of 30 degrees and rain. Of course, the airline misplaced Mom's lost luggage.
From there, I walked outside, heading west towards the touristy area of downtown. I checked out the Omni Hotel and CNN Tower. Just west of that was the Philips Arena, at the site of the old Omni. Behind the Arena, I could see the Georgia Dome in the distance. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery power as I was about to snap my final photograph of the Atlanta shaped steel arches in front of the Arena. I picked up a Green machine Naked juice when I got back. I pretty much knew that would be about my only chance to eat anything healthy all day.
Mom and I headed out together and made the mile walk west to Centennial Olympic Park. I explored the Olympic Fountain of Rings, the many torches, and the brickwalk. Across Baker Street is Pemberton Place, which houses the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the entire world. John Pemberton, a Georgia pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola in 1886. We entered the World of Coke at 10 am. There were artifacts from all over the world: bottles from Argentina, Ecuador, etc. Huge bottle openers, advertising signs, clothing, etc. Then came the animated Happyfication theater. I took my picture with the polar bear, which was quite cool. We also saw the bottling plant, the Milestone of refreshment (lots of interactive games, history, and a display of at least 150 Coke beverage can/bottle designs from throughout the last 120 years). I got to trace the classic logo with my finger and it's really hard to make the holes in the a's and o's.
We headed the the second level to the pop culture gallery. There was the Coke couch from Season 4 of American Idol, a kisok to make my own Coke computer-generated art, and a wall dedicated to the failed New Coke experiment from 1985. Then came the 4-D theater, which has the moving seats and blasts of wind and water, and yes, I got wet. Last, but not least, came the tasting room which offers guests a chance to try 60 different beverages from across the globe.
I probably went through at least 20. I has a lemon soda from England, it was marvelous. The Italian soda called Beverly tasted terribly bitter and tasted more like straight alcohol. Definitely my least favorite. The Mozambique ginger ale was really good and relaxing. The Mexican iced tea featured a very robust lemon flavor. I never had Barq's red cream soda before, and I'm typically not a big fan of cream soda, but I really enjoyed this one. And gingerbread coke could very well become a new holiday tradition for me.
The last stop was the gift shop and Mom and I could not agree. It was my money, I brought a sign and I'm still mad I did not buy a glass. She wanted me to get this big empty bottle, which must have been four feet tall, to drop spare change into. Sounded good, but how was I going to get that into an airplane?
Anyway, we walked another half mile north just past Georgia Tech. It was time for some grub. So many people have told me about the Varsity and have recommended it. It is the world's largest drive-thru and one of the most iconic eateries in Georgia. We ordered two Number 1's:a pair of steamed chili dogs with yellow mustard and beanlesss beefy chili. Mom got the fries and I got the rings. I have to say those were the best onion rings I've had since I was in Mount Morris, so that probably goes back ten years. They're cut not too thin, not too thick and the coating on the outside tasted just tremendous. I found the dogs to be very good. I'm not used to chili The addition of chopped onions added an extra layer of flavor that I think made them better. I passed on the soda and a sweet tea for the frosted orange, which tasted like the thickest creamsicle ever. Tremendous! I can only imagine how much better it would be on one of those hot Georgia summer afternoons. But the thickness was insane. It took 45 minutes of walking to finish it off, I do not exaggerate.
We planned to take the 3:30 flight home, but we got to the airport early and took the 2:15. We stepped off the plane into a welcoming December atmosphere of 30 degrees and rain. Of course, the airline misplaced Mom's lost luggage.
All in all, it was a good 36 hours. There are some nice features of Atlanta, but I wouldn't want to spend much time in the heart of the city. I'm just no redneck.
Atlanta Blue-Day 1
Ever so slowly, I rolled out of bed at 4:45 and we left for O'Hare around 5:40. There wasn't too much traffic on a Sunday morning either, we got to the airport quickly and I navigated my way through the security line in maybe ten minutes. We took the 7:45 flight on American Eagle and this was one of the worst looking airplanes I had ever flown on. I sat down and the inside of my seat had tears in it. There was no armrest in the middle of the two seats and the pilot didn't make it easier. Granted, we were flying through a thick sea of gray clouds for an hour, but the
turbulence was as bad as I ever felt in 10 years. It was so bumpy i asked the flight attendant for a cup of ginger ale on the rocks just to calm my stomach down. And when the pilot landed the plane, he jammed on the brakes like he suddenly realized he had been driving a car on black ice.
So we took a 20-minute ride on the Marta rail north to Peachtree. We got a little lost on Peachtree St, but made our way to the Marriott Courtyard. We couldn't check in because people were still getting ready to leave following the SEC championship game. I was amazed how many people were wearing purple and yellow for LSU. It was like being right in Baton Rouge. We dropped our bags off and started our walk into town.
As we strolled the mile up Peachtree St into midtown, I was amazed how one block evolved into another. One one block, there'd be a Hard Rock Cafe, a Brazilian steakhouse, and an accounting firm. On the next block, there would be homeless people sitting on the lawn overlooking Highway 75. We got to Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles for lunch. There were already a dozen people outside by 11:45, so we knew we found a pretty hip spot. The hostess told us the wait would take 35 minutes or less, and that turned into 55 minutes.
Finally, we were seated in the back room. I had a good view of the TV to watch Atlanta vs Houston. We both drank Uptowns, or Arnold Palmers. Huge glasses, that's always a plus. And I was so thirsty at this point, I probably would have felt re-hydrated drinking Nyquil. We started off with some fried green tomatoes, a fine southern appetizer. They had a nice Cajun spice on them and the outside tasted nice and crisp. But the remoulade sauce lacked a lot of flavor and I am a huge remoulade fan. Not this one.
We both ordered the Uncle Ron, which are three-piece fried chicken meals. Three pieces of chicken with two sides. Mom went with squash casserole and a great mac and cheese; I went wit house potatoes (shredded potatoes with peppers, onions, and Creole seasoning) and collard greens. They also came with the fluffiest corn muffins I've ever had. The chicken was incredibly juicy. The breading was nice and crisp, but could have used a touch more spice for my liking, I added a few dashes of hot sauce and that did the trick.
For dessert, we split the sweet potato cheesecake. Just before it came out, our waiter, Claude, asked us the easiest question of all time. "Would you like pecans, whipped cream, and caramel on your cheesecake?" The graham cracker crust tasted smooth ands buttery and not at all overwhelming. The pecans gave a nice crunch and zest, the caramel brought all the flavors together, and well, whipped cream is whipped cream. Just a wonderful dessert.
From there, we took a 45-minute walk southeast up and downhill to the Martin Luther King site. We walked through the Civil Rights Walk of Fame which features many notable Civil Rights figures' footprints. Politicians, athletes, entertainers, businessmen. Hank Aaron, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, Stevie Wonder, Ted Turner, Sammy Davis Jr, and probably a lot of names I don't recognize. I am stunned there is no Oprah.
We then walked through the main exhibit featuring audio and video of Dr. King's life and walked outside to a long pool in the middle of a courtyard, for lack of better words. Right in the middle of the pool were the crypts for Dr. King and his wife.
For me, the highlight was visiting the historical Ebenezer Baptist Church, where his father preached, where MLK gave his first sermon, where his funeral was conducted, and where his mother was assassinated in 1974. We walked in and I was asked to remove my Jets hat. After climbing a flight of steps, we headed into the sanctuary. One of Dr. King's sermons was playing. It was very haunting, I sat in the front row and just let his words about family, following God's plan, and justice wash over me for about 15 minutes. Then, we headed downstairs to Fellowship Hall, which showcased an interview with Coretta Scott King as well as the long and storied history of the church, which goes back to 1886.
We didn't really need to stay another 30 minutes to tour the birthplace, so we walked 20 minutes west back to the Courtyard. It was getting close to 3:30 pm and Mom's feet were starting to ache by now, we'd walked 4-5 miles for the day. Quick sidenote. During this stretch, we faced our third of maybe six panhandlers of the day. I tried to ignore this guy, since I figured the less interaction, the better. Well, he was a black guy, around 60, and he started complaining that I didn't like black people. He screamed not all black people are bad. I didn't respond to the man, nothing good was going to come out of doing that. It was pretty comical. And I know you've got beggars in every major city in America. The difference is, in Atlanta, there is nobody else walking on the street than you can use to shield yourself. You HAVE to face these guys, like it or not.
So we hung in the hotel for two hours. I watched football and tracked the end of the Jets' victory in Washington D.C. For the evening, I wanted to travel north to the posh Buckhead neighborhood, but by now it was 5 pm and we knew all the shops were going to close at 6 pm on Sunday night. So we decided to stay local and hit up Ted's Montana Grill. Wanting to spread a little Mets pride, I wore my Jose Reyes jersey. Amazingly, our waiter Larry, is a Mets and Giants fan! He was a very amiable guy, laughing a lot and cracking a ton of jokes. I got some bison chili and a Philly bison burger and fresh-cut fries. So messy, but so good.
Mom decided to head back to the room since she was really cold and tired. I wasn't ready go head back to the room so I hit up Meehan's Public House, a local downtown Irish pub. It wasn't the best place to go. I drank a Bushmills on the rocks and an Innis and Gunn. 16 bucks. Lame. Granted, i would have tried the buttermilk-battered chicken fingers with the ancho BBQ sauce if I wasn't so stuffed. Furthermore, the bar was pretty dead, I guess downtown Atlanta is not the cool neighborhood. Even worse, I got the news Reyes had all but signed with Miami for 6 years and over $100 million. That's when I ordered my next drink. I got back to the room around 10 pm. Catherine and I talked on the phone for an hour and ten minutes. I came back in and Mom was half asleep but she had "To Catch a Predator" on the TV. I have to admit, I got caught up in it and watched the rest of the show till 1 AM, which is when I went to bed.
turbulence was as bad as I ever felt in 10 years. It was so bumpy i asked the flight attendant for a cup of ginger ale on the rocks just to calm my stomach down. And when the pilot landed the plane, he jammed on the brakes like he suddenly realized he had been driving a car on black ice.
So we took a 20-minute ride on the Marta rail north to Peachtree. We got a little lost on Peachtree St, but made our way to the Marriott Courtyard. We couldn't check in because people were still getting ready to leave following the SEC championship game. I was amazed how many people were wearing purple and yellow for LSU. It was like being right in Baton Rouge. We dropped our bags off and started our walk into town.
As we strolled the mile up Peachtree St into midtown, I was amazed how one block evolved into another. One one block, there'd be a Hard Rock Cafe, a Brazilian steakhouse, and an accounting firm. On the next block, there would be homeless people sitting on the lawn overlooking Highway 75. We got to Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles for lunch. There were already a dozen people outside by 11:45, so we knew we found a pretty hip spot. The hostess told us the wait would take 35 minutes or less, and that turned into 55 minutes.
Finally, we were seated in the back room. I had a good view of the TV to watch Atlanta vs Houston. We both drank Uptowns, or Arnold Palmers. Huge glasses, that's always a plus. And I was so thirsty at this point, I probably would have felt re-hydrated drinking Nyquil. We started off with some fried green tomatoes, a fine southern appetizer. They had a nice Cajun spice on them and the outside tasted nice and crisp. But the remoulade sauce lacked a lot of flavor and I am a huge remoulade fan. Not this one.
We both ordered the Uncle Ron, which are three-piece fried chicken meals. Three pieces of chicken with two sides. Mom went with squash casserole and a great mac and cheese; I went wit house potatoes (shredded potatoes with peppers, onions, and Creole seasoning) and collard greens. They also came with the fluffiest corn muffins I've ever had. The chicken was incredibly juicy. The breading was nice and crisp, but could have used a touch more spice for my liking, I added a few dashes of hot sauce and that did the trick.
For dessert, we split the sweet potato cheesecake. Just before it came out, our waiter, Claude, asked us the easiest question of all time. "Would you like pecans, whipped cream, and caramel on your cheesecake?" The graham cracker crust tasted smooth ands buttery and not at all overwhelming. The pecans gave a nice crunch and zest, the caramel brought all the flavors together, and well, whipped cream is whipped cream. Just a wonderful dessert.
From there, we took a 45-minute walk southeast up and downhill to the Martin Luther King site. We walked through the Civil Rights Walk of Fame which features many notable Civil Rights figures' footprints. Politicians, athletes, entertainers, businessmen. Hank Aaron, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, Stevie Wonder, Ted Turner, Sammy Davis Jr, and probably a lot of names I don't recognize. I am stunned there is no Oprah.
We then walked through the main exhibit featuring audio and video of Dr. King's life and walked outside to a long pool in the middle of a courtyard, for lack of better words. Right in the middle of the pool were the crypts for Dr. King and his wife.
For me, the highlight was visiting the historical Ebenezer Baptist Church, where his father preached, where MLK gave his first sermon, where his funeral was conducted, and where his mother was assassinated in 1974. We walked in and I was asked to remove my Jets hat. After climbing a flight of steps, we headed into the sanctuary. One of Dr. King's sermons was playing. It was very haunting, I sat in the front row and just let his words about family, following God's plan, and justice wash over me for about 15 minutes. Then, we headed downstairs to Fellowship Hall, which showcased an interview with Coretta Scott King as well as the long and storied history of the church, which goes back to 1886.
We didn't really need to stay another 30 minutes to tour the birthplace, so we walked 20 minutes west back to the Courtyard. It was getting close to 3:30 pm and Mom's feet were starting to ache by now, we'd walked 4-5 miles for the day. Quick sidenote. During this stretch, we faced our third of maybe six panhandlers of the day. I tried to ignore this guy, since I figured the less interaction, the better. Well, he was a black guy, around 60, and he started complaining that I didn't like black people. He screamed not all black people are bad. I didn't respond to the man, nothing good was going to come out of doing that. It was pretty comical. And I know you've got beggars in every major city in America. The difference is, in Atlanta, there is nobody else walking on the street than you can use to shield yourself. You HAVE to face these guys, like it or not.
So we hung in the hotel for two hours. I watched football and tracked the end of the Jets' victory in Washington D.C. For the evening, I wanted to travel north to the posh Buckhead neighborhood, but by now it was 5 pm and we knew all the shops were going to close at 6 pm on Sunday night. So we decided to stay local and hit up Ted's Montana Grill. Wanting to spread a little Mets pride, I wore my Jose Reyes jersey. Amazingly, our waiter Larry, is a Mets and Giants fan! He was a very amiable guy, laughing a lot and cracking a ton of jokes. I got some bison chili and a Philly bison burger and fresh-cut fries. So messy, but so good.
Mom decided to head back to the room since she was really cold and tired. I wasn't ready go head back to the room so I hit up Meehan's Public House, a local downtown Irish pub. It wasn't the best place to go. I drank a Bushmills on the rocks and an Innis and Gunn. 16 bucks. Lame. Granted, i would have tried the buttermilk-battered chicken fingers with the ancho BBQ sauce if I wasn't so stuffed. Furthermore, the bar was pretty dead, I guess downtown Atlanta is not the cool neighborhood. Even worse, I got the news Reyes had all but signed with Miami for 6 years and over $100 million. That's when I ordered my next drink. I got back to the room around 10 pm. Catherine and I talked on the phone for an hour and ten minutes. I came back in and Mom was half asleep but she had "To Catch a Predator" on the TV. I have to admit, I got caught up in it and watched the rest of the show till 1 AM, which is when I went to bed.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday St Charles blues
It's been three weeks since Sunday morning classes ended at First Baptist. I am amazed how isolated I feel.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A Big ROH Weekend
I'm really looking forward to what direction ROH goes (deeper talent roster) and a big answer comes this weekend. On Friday, ROH returns to Dayton, OH for Survival of the fittest. I have to be honest, I've never done well at predicting these singles matches followed by the 6-corner survival. Although I did correctly pick Eddie Edwards to win last year. Here are my predictions (winners highlighted in bold).
Champions Challenge
Davey Richards & Jay Lethal vs World's Greatest Tag Team
Singles Action
El Generico vs Steve Corino
SOTF Qualifying Matches
Rhett Titus vs. Roderick Strong with Truth Martini
Eddie Edwards vs. "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The Bravado Brothers
Kenny King vs. Michael Elgin vs. Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Andy "Right Leg" Ridge
Finals
Rhett Titus vs Kenny King vs Jay Briscoe vs Mark Briscoe vs Mike Bennett vs Kyle O' Reilly
Top 3 picks
1) Kenny King
2) Kyle O'Reilly
3) Michael Elgin
I definitely think the winner either comes from the 4-corner survival or the Edwards vs Bennett contests.
And one night later, Ring of Honor's tenth annual Glory By Honor event comes to Chicago. I will, of course, be in attendance, skipping Rangers vs Canadiens and a Willow Creek Church singles event.
ROH World Title Match
Davey Richards vs. El Generico
World Tag Team Title Match
Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas vs. The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus)
Proving Ground Match
World TV Champion Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong with Truth Martini
Tag Team Challenge Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The Young Bucks
Special Challenge Match
"Die Hard" Eddie Edwards vs. Kyle O'Reilly
Singles Action
Jimmy Jacobs with Steve Corino vs. “The Dominant Male” Tommaso Ciampa with The Embassy
Four Corner Survival
Adam Cole vs. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett vs. Grizzly Redwood
Champions Challenge
Davey Richards & Jay Lethal vs World's Greatest Tag Team
Singles Action
El Generico vs Steve Corino
SOTF Qualifying Matches
Rhett Titus vs. Roderick Strong with Truth Martini
Eddie Edwards vs. "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The Bravado Brothers
Kenny King vs. Michael Elgin vs. Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Andy "Right Leg" Ridge
Finals
Rhett Titus vs Kenny King vs Jay Briscoe vs Mark Briscoe vs Mike Bennett vs Kyle O' Reilly
Top 3 picks
1) Kenny King
2) Kyle O'Reilly
3) Michael Elgin
I definitely think the winner either comes from the 4-corner survival or the Edwards vs Bennett contests.
And one night later, Ring of Honor's tenth annual Glory By Honor event comes to Chicago. I will, of course, be in attendance, skipping Rangers vs Canadiens and a Willow Creek Church singles event.
ROH World Title Match
Davey Richards vs. El Generico
World Tag Team Title Match
Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas vs. The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus)
Proving Ground Match
World TV Champion Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong with Truth Martini
Tag Team Challenge Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The Young Bucks
Special Challenge Match
"Die Hard" Eddie Edwards vs. Kyle O'Reilly
Singles Action
Jimmy Jacobs with Steve Corino vs. “The Dominant Male” Tommaso Ciampa with The Embassy
Four Corner Survival
Adam Cole vs. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett vs. Grizzly Redwood
Monday, November 14, 2011
Better to cut ties
There are pivotal moments in everybody's social life. It can be a conversation, an event, a happening, whatever, and as that event happens, we know that someone has either become a close friend or that they are drifting away. And then there are times where relationships get severed.
So I wrote one or two angry facebook status updates on the disgrace that the New York Jets put on. And this morning, I get a fb message from my old buddy CB. Now CB and I go back a few a years. I have known him five years this December, to be exact. I've always thought he had a good head on his shoulders. He's organized ultimate frisbee soccer. He's excellent at engaging non-believers in discussions about faith, something that I would like to be better at. He made a significant contribution to my Kentucky missions trip last year as well. And I will not forget any of those things.
But just over a year ago, he started dating MR. And I knew MR for a few months prior, I think it was Memorial Day at the house near Josef's Deli when I met her. We shared a nice conversation that day over a game of bags. I was somewhat interested in her, I'm not going to shy away from that. I had considered asking her out, but she was going to a different church, so I really wasn't able to spend much time with her. And I guess I didn't want to appear too aggressive. So I decided to just be nice whenever she came around.
Next thing I knew, it was Labor Day 2010. The Mets got embarrassed by the Cubs, what else is new? I drove straight from the North Side to the intersection of Fabyan Parkway and 25 in Geneva, which took almost 90 minutes. There was ultimate frisbee soccer and a cookout. Much to my surprise, I found out she and CB had been together for a few weeks. And I guess it never cooled down, even to this day.
I was caught a bit off guard, so I decided to keep my distance from MR, not so much CB. I was still hanging with Chris twice a week, on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. But I didn't understand why MR took a few weeks to accept my friend request on fb; I thought that was strange. CB even confronted me about if I had a problem with their relationship. Now I was just his casual friend, so why he would ask me that, who knows? I told him I just didn't understand the fb delay. I guess that was true, but it wasn't the complete truth.
So, it went on for a year. I didn't really care for the sight of them together, but I dealt with it. And CB and I remained friends, so I thought, while MR was the one person in all of Come Thirsty who acted as if I didn't even exist. And so this past week, I saw 37 engagement photos of them up on fb. I've already ranted on the foolishness of this idea; I'm not going into it again.
Then around 1:30 pm, I get a message from CB that both he and MR have decided to defriend me from fb due to my language on Sunday night. The funny thing is CB confronted me about the last time I wrote anything with profanity back in January. And he ripped into me like I had just committed murder. It's so funny how he didn't respond to anything I wrote in the following ten months. So I find it somewhat amusing that both of them decide to do this to me simultaneously like I'm this pervasive negative influence on society. I'm sure I won't get an invitation to their wedding, but I'd just as soon disinvite myself first.
I am a human being. I feel many different emotions at different times. I'm not scared to express myself. And if someone's expectation of me to be their friend is to live a perfect life, to be a robot void of anger or loneliness or fear, well, I'd just as soon stay away from that type of person. I guess neither of them have ever screwed up in the last year, so what the hey, I guess they must be perfect for each other.
One more wrinkle. CB is coming to Feasting and Fellowship on Wednesday night for the first time in maybe two months. It's the group's 2-year anniversary. I don't really plan to say anything to him outside of the text we will be examining. We'll see what happens.
So I wrote one or two angry facebook status updates on the disgrace that the New York Jets put on. And this morning, I get a fb message from my old buddy CB. Now CB and I go back a few a years. I have known him five years this December, to be exact. I've always thought he had a good head on his shoulders. He's organized ultimate frisbee soccer. He's excellent at engaging non-believers in discussions about faith, something that I would like to be better at. He made a significant contribution to my Kentucky missions trip last year as well. And I will not forget any of those things.
But just over a year ago, he started dating MR. And I knew MR for a few months prior, I think it was Memorial Day at the house near Josef's Deli when I met her. We shared a nice conversation that day over a game of bags. I was somewhat interested in her, I'm not going to shy away from that. I had considered asking her out, but she was going to a different church, so I really wasn't able to spend much time with her. And I guess I didn't want to appear too aggressive. So I decided to just be nice whenever she came around.
Next thing I knew, it was Labor Day 2010. The Mets got embarrassed by the Cubs, what else is new? I drove straight from the North Side to the intersection of Fabyan Parkway and 25 in Geneva, which took almost 90 minutes. There was ultimate frisbee soccer and a cookout. Much to my surprise, I found out she and CB had been together for a few weeks. And I guess it never cooled down, even to this day.
I was caught a bit off guard, so I decided to keep my distance from MR, not so much CB. I was still hanging with Chris twice a week, on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. But I didn't understand why MR took a few weeks to accept my friend request on fb; I thought that was strange. CB even confronted me about if I had a problem with their relationship. Now I was just his casual friend, so why he would ask me that, who knows? I told him I just didn't understand the fb delay. I guess that was true, but it wasn't the complete truth.
So, it went on for a year. I didn't really care for the sight of them together, but I dealt with it. And CB and I remained friends, so I thought, while MR was the one person in all of Come Thirsty who acted as if I didn't even exist. And so this past week, I saw 37 engagement photos of them up on fb. I've already ranted on the foolishness of this idea; I'm not going into it again.
Then around 1:30 pm, I get a message from CB that both he and MR have decided to defriend me from fb due to my language on Sunday night. The funny thing is CB confronted me about the last time I wrote anything with profanity back in January. And he ripped into me like I had just committed murder. It's so funny how he didn't respond to anything I wrote in the following ten months. So I find it somewhat amusing that both of them decide to do this to me simultaneously like I'm this pervasive negative influence on society. I'm sure I won't get an invitation to their wedding, but I'd just as soon disinvite myself first.
I am a human being. I feel many different emotions at different times. I'm not scared to express myself. And if someone's expectation of me to be their friend is to live a perfect life, to be a robot void of anger or loneliness or fear, well, I'd just as soon stay away from that type of person. I guess neither of them have ever screwed up in the last year, so what the hey, I guess they must be perfect for each other.
One more wrinkle. CB is coming to Feasting and Fellowship on Wednesday night for the first time in maybe two months. It's the group's 2-year anniversary. I don't really plan to say anything to him outside of the text we will be examining. We'll see what happens.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Jets vs. Patriots live blog
Was going to drink Sam Adams Oktoberfest tonight, but then I remembered it is brewed in Massachusetts. Brooklyn Pilsner instead...
7:31: Kickoff to McKnight. Takes it to the 32. That crowd is crazy!
7:38: The Jets passing game looked amazing. But the Pats bend, don't break. And Nick Folk blows a 24-yard field goal attempt. Are you kidding me?
7:45: The defense decided not to show up initially. Chad OchoCinco actually made a catch. They do stop New England eventually. But Kyle Wilson drops a sure INT on 3rd down and Gostowski drills a 50-yard field goal. 3-0.
7:56: Drive stalls at midfield Sanchez overthrows a receiver by 50 feet. Terrible punt on top of it. This is looking terrible.
8:01: 53 yards to Ocho Cinco. I am beside myself.
8:03: Field goal. 6-0.
8:08: Sanchez sacked by Andre Carter, who was not even blocked. First quarter over and this is looking like SOJ.
8:13: The Jets convert a 3rd and 17...only to have it overturned on offensive pass interference. That asshole Edelman pulls of a 16-yard punt return. Amazing how bad this is.
8:19: 3 and out and the 3rd INT dropped. The offense better get going and quick.
8:23: Burress with a fine diving catch over the middle for a first down. The offense is showing the ability to move the ball, but if you don't get points...
8:24: The offensive line sucks tonight. Andre Carter looks like Lawrence Taylor.
8:32: Punt down to the 7-yard line. 3 and out. Kerley does nothing with the return. Time to go to work. 7:34 left in the second quarter. Oh BTW, 10-yard penalty on the Jets. Penalties, missed coverages, dropped INT's, the missed field goal. God help us.
8:40: Sacked again. This offense continues to suck against the worst defense in football. Punt to the 8.
8:44: Safety! Jamaal Westerman slams Mr. Overrated in the end zone! 4:44 to go.
8:47: Joe McKnight has no burst whatsoever. The toe is clearly bothering him. Cromartie should return in the second half. Devin McCourty injured his right shoulder and likely will not return. A very thin NE secondary is only getting more vulnerable. But the o-line must protect Sanchez.
8:50: Tomlinson with a big 16-yard run up the middle. Down to the NE 32. 2:30 left in the half.
8:51: Patrick Turner (Who?) 22 yards over the middle. They're at the NE 10! Two-minute warning.
8:54: On 2nd down, Keller catches a pass at the 3. So it's 3rd and goal from the 2. I would run it here. Time out.
8:56: Four WR and Greene. Sanchez in the shotgun and runs it in! TD Jets! 9-6!
9:03: Welker and Gronkowski embarrass the defense. Eric Smith with a hideous 15-yard face mask penalty.
9:07: That fucker Gronkowski. 13-9 New England. I am in a horrible mood right now.
9:29: 3 and out. But Gronkowski could have made that sideline catch though. Jim Leonhard returns this punt...and not for much. I'll be stunned to see McKnight again tonight.
9:32: Jets start on their own 45. Very good field position. Three straight incompletions. WTF.
9:36: David Harris with a huge open field tackle. Joe Fucking McKnight fumbles the punt. They are giving everything away.
7:31: Kickoff to McKnight. Takes it to the 32. That crowd is crazy!
7:38: The Jets passing game looked amazing. But the Pats bend, don't break. And Nick Folk blows a 24-yard field goal attempt. Are you kidding me?
7:45: The defense decided not to show up initially. Chad OchoCinco actually made a catch. They do stop New England eventually. But Kyle Wilson drops a sure INT on 3rd down and Gostowski drills a 50-yard field goal. 3-0.
7:56: Drive stalls at midfield Sanchez overthrows a receiver by 50 feet. Terrible punt on top of it. This is looking terrible.
8:01: 53 yards to Ocho Cinco. I am beside myself.
8:03: Field goal. 6-0.
8:08: Sanchez sacked by Andre Carter, who was not even blocked. First quarter over and this is looking like SOJ.
8:13: The Jets convert a 3rd and 17...only to have it overturned on offensive pass interference. That asshole Edelman pulls of a 16-yard punt return. Amazing how bad this is.
8:19: 3 and out and the 3rd INT dropped. The offense better get going and quick.
8:23: Burress with a fine diving catch over the middle for a first down. The offense is showing the ability to move the ball, but if you don't get points...
8:24: The offensive line sucks tonight. Andre Carter looks like Lawrence Taylor.
8:32: Punt down to the 7-yard line. 3 and out. Kerley does nothing with the return. Time to go to work. 7:34 left in the second quarter. Oh BTW, 10-yard penalty on the Jets. Penalties, missed coverages, dropped INT's, the missed field goal. God help us.
8:40: Sacked again. This offense continues to suck against the worst defense in football. Punt to the 8.
8:44: Safety! Jamaal Westerman slams Mr. Overrated in the end zone! 4:44 to go.
8:47: Joe McKnight has no burst whatsoever. The toe is clearly bothering him. Cromartie should return in the second half. Devin McCourty injured his right shoulder and likely will not return. A very thin NE secondary is only getting more vulnerable. But the o-line must protect Sanchez.
8:50: Tomlinson with a big 16-yard run up the middle. Down to the NE 32. 2:30 left in the half.
8:51: Patrick Turner (Who?) 22 yards over the middle. They're at the NE 10! Two-minute warning.
8:54: On 2nd down, Keller catches a pass at the 3. So it's 3rd and goal from the 2. I would run it here. Time out.
8:56: Four WR and Greene. Sanchez in the shotgun and runs it in! TD Jets! 9-6!
9:03: Welker and Gronkowski embarrass the defense. Eric Smith with a hideous 15-yard face mask penalty.
9:07: That fucker Gronkowski. 13-9 New England. I am in a horrible mood right now.
9:29: 3 and out. But Gronkowski could have made that sideline catch though. Jim Leonhard returns this punt...and not for much. I'll be stunned to see McKnight again tonight.
9:32: Jets start on their own 45. Very good field position. Three straight incompletions. WTF.
9:36: David Harris with a huge open field tackle. Joe Fucking McKnight fumbles the punt. They are giving everything away.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Into the cold
Well the days of the high temperature not reaching 40 have arrived. Let's bullet it today.
1) Whose Facebook is so embarrassing that they post zero for a month and then throw up 37 engagement photos? MR. I understand wedding photos? But who gives a rat's ass about an engagement photo? What makes it distinctive than any other photo in the park, on the beach, or wherever?
2) Jamey Johnson. Awesome singer/songwriter.
3) Sunday morning at First Baptist are over. I went back to Wheaton Bible Church today and it was good to be back. I brought Pastor Bugh's book, "When the Bottom Drops Out" and I'm excited to read it.
4) Mom leaves tomorrow for another tour, this one to exotic Branson, MO. That'll be the last one for a while. Unfortunately, she gets home Thursday night, right at the same time the Jets are playing the Broncos. Yep, I'll be DVR'ing.
5) The Rangers have won six straight games and I am feeling good about that. The new line of Gaborik, Anisimov, and Stepan has been generating a lot of offense. The power play is moving the puck very effectively and scoring at a respectable rate. At least it is not the albatross it has been for the last few years. And Ryan McDonagh looks like he will be a fixture on defense for 10 years. If only Marc Staal was healthy...
6) Went to the Improv last night and saw Chris Porter perform. Kind of a bitter observational comic. A little more blue language than I needed. Some parts were funny, some just weren't. Decent job, just not anyone I'd pay to see. And my ginger peach decaf tea cost 6 bucks! By comparison, I could have had two beers for $8!
7) Grilling Guy Fieri Bloody Mary flank steak from Costco. Should be interesting...
8) Work is moving back to Hoffman Estates next Monday. The shorter commute is certainly good for me, except on Wednesdays. But there is that 12-9 shift that is rearing its very ugly, beastly head. And this job better not turn into a call center...
9) 34 days till Los Angeles. 38 days till San Diego. 54 days till New Orleans.
10) 2:30 till Jets vs Patriots. A win tonight and the Jets claim sole possession of first place in the AFC East. Now is the time!
1) Whose Facebook is so embarrassing that they post zero for a month and then throw up 37 engagement photos? MR. I understand wedding photos? But who gives a rat's ass about an engagement photo? What makes it distinctive than any other photo in the park, on the beach, or wherever?
2) Jamey Johnson. Awesome singer/songwriter.
3) Sunday morning at First Baptist are over. I went back to Wheaton Bible Church today and it was good to be back. I brought Pastor Bugh's book, "When the Bottom Drops Out" and I'm excited to read it.
4) Mom leaves tomorrow for another tour, this one to exotic Branson, MO. That'll be the last one for a while. Unfortunately, she gets home Thursday night, right at the same time the Jets are playing the Broncos. Yep, I'll be DVR'ing.
5) The Rangers have won six straight games and I am feeling good about that. The new line of Gaborik, Anisimov, and Stepan has been generating a lot of offense. The power play is moving the puck very effectively and scoring at a respectable rate. At least it is not the albatross it has been for the last few years. And Ryan McDonagh looks like he will be a fixture on defense for 10 years. If only Marc Staal was healthy...
6) Went to the Improv last night and saw Chris Porter perform. Kind of a bitter observational comic. A little more blue language than I needed. Some parts were funny, some just weren't. Decent job, just not anyone I'd pay to see. And my ginger peach decaf tea cost 6 bucks! By comparison, I could have had two beers for $8!
7) Grilling Guy Fieri Bloody Mary flank steak from Costco. Should be interesting...
8) Work is moving back to Hoffman Estates next Monday. The shorter commute is certainly good for me, except on Wednesdays. But there is that 12-9 shift that is rearing its very ugly, beastly head. And this job better not turn into a call center...
9) 34 days till Los Angeles. 38 days till San Diego. 54 days till New Orleans.
10) 2:30 till Jets vs Patriots. A win tonight and the Jets claim sole possession of first place in the AFC East. Now is the time!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Oh Those Friday Night Blues
They get in your shoes and they work to bring you down.
1) 3 of 6 my Sam Adams Octoberfests have been drank. Tomorrow, I may break open the Brooklyn Pilsners...
2) I may need theose beers to get through another Rangers game tomorrow afternoon. Seriously, how can John Tortorella put Erik Christensen on the top line centering Marian Gaborik? EC makes under $1 million and will definitely be gone in a year. Meanwhile, Brad Richards gets signed for 9 years, almost $7 million per season on average, and he gets demoted to the second line. So the top line is Gabby, EC, and Wojtek Wolski. That is without a doubt the softest top line in the history of top lines.
3) Marc Staal, where ae you?
4) I keep digging Jamey Johnson's music. It is very raw, very simple, thought-provoking, and I love that almost every song has some pedal steel! I hope he comes to Chicago soon.
5) Got some trips to research: San Diego, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.
6) I'm very disappointed in Blueshirt Underground holding their next viewing party on December 28th, a Wednesday night between Christmas and New Year's. Flights will be brutal to get and I'm already taking 6 days off of work right before that. That timing just sucks.
7) Mom is off in Destin, Florida for the next week. And this is as quiet as a weekend as I can remember. Nothing too exciting planned for Saturday. Jets off, Bears off, Giants with a likely cupcake against Miami. And the final Come Thirsty Sunday morning lesson. There's something else that sucks.
8) Speaking of the Jets, I think these next four games will determine what kind of season can really have. At Buffalo, New England, at Denver, Buffalo. If they are to have a real shot at the AFC East, they really need to win all three of the division games. Now their bye is this week and most teams have been losing when they have been coming off their bye this season. Furthermore, the Jets have been getting off to terribly slow starts in almost all of their games. So Rex needs to figure out a way to have this team coming out ready to play hard in a hostile environment.
9) Smithtown, Beirut, Denver, Middle Village, there seems to be a pattern with certain people who live in these respective places. Maybe it's just safer for me when the girl is far away.
10) Dang, it's already 1:15 in the morning. better get back to the gym tomorrow after three days away. Maybe I'll even go on Sunday afternoon for a change.
It's been at least six months since I've done this...
Song pick: "Another Lonely Song" Tammy Wynette
1) 3 of 6 my Sam Adams Octoberfests have been drank. Tomorrow, I may break open the Brooklyn Pilsners...
2) I may need theose beers to get through another Rangers game tomorrow afternoon. Seriously, how can John Tortorella put Erik Christensen on the top line centering Marian Gaborik? EC makes under $1 million and will definitely be gone in a year. Meanwhile, Brad Richards gets signed for 9 years, almost $7 million per season on average, and he gets demoted to the second line. So the top line is Gabby, EC, and Wojtek Wolski. That is without a doubt the softest top line in the history of top lines.
3) Marc Staal, where ae you?
4) I keep digging Jamey Johnson's music. It is very raw, very simple, thought-provoking, and I love that almost every song has some pedal steel! I hope he comes to Chicago soon.
5) Got some trips to research: San Diego, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.
6) I'm very disappointed in Blueshirt Underground holding their next viewing party on December 28th, a Wednesday night between Christmas and New Year's. Flights will be brutal to get and I'm already taking 6 days off of work right before that. That timing just sucks.
7) Mom is off in Destin, Florida for the next week. And this is as quiet as a weekend as I can remember. Nothing too exciting planned for Saturday. Jets off, Bears off, Giants with a likely cupcake against Miami. And the final Come Thirsty Sunday morning lesson. There's something else that sucks.
8) Speaking of the Jets, I think these next four games will determine what kind of season can really have. At Buffalo, New England, at Denver, Buffalo. If they are to have a real shot at the AFC East, they really need to win all three of the division games. Now their bye is this week and most teams have been losing when they have been coming off their bye this season. Furthermore, the Jets have been getting off to terribly slow starts in almost all of their games. So Rex needs to figure out a way to have this team coming out ready to play hard in a hostile environment.
9) Smithtown, Beirut, Denver, Middle Village, there seems to be a pattern with certain people who live in these respective places. Maybe it's just safer for me when the girl is far away.
10) Dang, it's already 1:15 in the morning. better get back to the gym tomorrow after three days away. Maybe I'll even go on Sunday afternoon for a change.
It's been at least six months since I've done this...
Song pick: "Another Lonely Song" Tammy Wynette
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The demise of Sunday morning
So in 2 weeks, Come Thirsty will no longer meet on Sunday mornings. It is very bittersweet for me. I have been attending this young adult singles group at First Baptist Church of Geneva since November of 2006. And between attendance becoming sporadic, people's circumstances changing, and the shift with the leadership at Aboveground, the powers that be felt a change was best. At least our mid-week groups are not going away. I really hope this will necessitate the increase in social events; we've only had two since April.
Fringe/Social event attenders
Vanessa
Brooke
Laura E
Moved
The ex
Fish
Jacquie
Nathan
Chuck (Still does Wednesday nights)
Quit
Matt/Christine
Emily
Lisa
Guy issues
Amanda
Engaged
Chris/Meghan (though they do come on Sundays)
Alex/Amy
Married
Becky
Laura M, not C
Jackie
Ben/Vickie
Theresa
Court/Christine
Stephanie/Daniel
Allison/Chris
Active
A-Bar
Matt
J-Schu
Keith
Fringe/Social event attenders
Vanessa
Brooke
Laura E
Moved
The ex
Fish
Jacquie
Nathan
Chuck (Still does Wednesday nights)
Quit
Matt/Christine
Emily
Lisa
Guy issues
Amanda
Engaged
Chris/Meghan (though they do come on Sundays)
Alex/Amy
Married
Becky
Laura M, not C
Jackie
Ben/Vickie
Theresa
Court/Christine
Stephanie/Daniel
Allison/Chris
Active
A-Bar
Matt
J-Schu
Keith
Monday, October 10, 2011
NHL Predictions
Atlantic Division
2. Pittsburgh
4. Philadelphia
7. NY Rangers
New Jersey
NY Islanders
Northeast Division
3. Boston
6. Buffalo
8. Montreal
Toronto
Ottawa
Southeast Division
1. Washington
5. Tampa Bay
Carolina
Winnipeg
Florida
Central Division
2. Chicago
5. Detroit
7. Nashville
Columbus
St. Louis
Northwest Division
1. Vancouver
8. Calgary
Minnesota
Colorado
Edmonton
Pacific Division
3. San Jose
4. Anaheim
6. Los Angeles
Phoenix
Dallas
Eastern Conference Finals
Washington over Buffalo
Western Conference Finals
Chicago over San Jose
Stanley Cup Finals
Washington over Chicago
2. Pittsburgh
4. Philadelphia
7. NY Rangers
New Jersey
NY Islanders
Northeast Division
3. Boston
6. Buffalo
8. Montreal
Toronto
Ottawa
Southeast Division
1. Washington
5. Tampa Bay
Carolina
Winnipeg
Florida
Central Division
2. Chicago
5. Detroit
7. Nashville
Columbus
St. Louis
Northwest Division
1. Vancouver
8. Calgary
Minnesota
Colorado
Edmonton
Pacific Division
3. San Jose
4. Anaheim
6. Los Angeles
Phoenix
Dallas
Eastern Conference Finals
Washington over Buffalo
Western Conference Finals
Chicago over San Jose
Stanley Cup Finals
Washington over Chicago
Sunday, September 25, 2011
It's only a game
Anyone who actually says this shit has teams that actually win for them. So for those of you who say it to us whose teams suck, save your voice.
Miserable Sunday night
The following post is being written under the influence of Jeremiah Weed with a slight assistance to Danny Jack.
1) Lil Roar? What kind of Facebook name is that?
2) Alicia is very cool. Funny, cool, and all, but two issues. 13 years with another guy and anti-faith. Pass!
3) A hideous loss today. The Jets got absolutely manhandled. They better beat Baltimore or New England. Nothing less than 5-2 going into the bye is acceptable.
4) Meaty Legend in the oven. I could use it. With extra garlic...
5) $19 and looking at your ATM card. Amen, Alonzo Bodden.
1) Lil Roar? What kind of Facebook name is that?
2) Alicia is very cool. Funny, cool, and all, but two issues. 13 years with another guy and anti-faith. Pass!
3) A hideous loss today. The Jets got absolutely manhandled. They better beat Baltimore or New England. Nothing less than 5-2 going into the bye is acceptable.
4) Meaty Legend in the oven. I could use it. With extra garlic...
5) $19 and looking at your ATM card. Amen, Alonzo Bodden.
2 weeks of procrastination
I think I've tried to write a post three times over the last two weeks but have just had no desire to finish. Let's go for it tonight.
1) Mom left this morning for her first of two tours over the next three weeks. I believe this one goes to NY state and Philly, I'm not quite sure.
2) Mom and I did spend a good weekend together in the city. We ate lunch at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. This was the second time we had been to this unique eatery in located in Wicker Park, not far from DePaul University. We passed on the pizza pot pies, mainly because I can't get into the taste of brick cheese. But we certainly got that huge Mediterranean bread. And that Italian Fest salad was absolutely enormous and we actually ordered the smaller size. It had iceberg lettuce, smoked ham, Italian cappicola, provolone and Swiss cheeses, Italian sausage, meatballs, Genoa salami, pepperoni, artichoke hearts, green peppers, anchovies, tomatoes, olives, whole pepperoncini, sliced fresh mushrooms, whole pickled mushrooms, cucumbers, pickled red pimento peppers, chopped green onions...covered with freshly grated Romano cheese. And served with homemade sour cream garlic, sweet 'n sour poppyseed, and Italian dressings. Doesn't it look gorgeous?
3) My car is over at Royal Coach getting repaired. When this new bumper is installed, my car will be fixed. That just leaves my court date next month and I pray the judge will have sympathy for me. I really have no idea what to expect.
4) Went to Sportclips for a haircut and this was the first time that I had a manager cut my hair and I must say, the difference stunned me. Essentially, Colleen looked at my head, noticed how it grew, and gave me a great looking cut on the first try. And the feeling was amazing when she shampooed my scalp and massaged my head with the hot steamed towel draped over my face. She really knew how to use her fingers, which relieved so much tension.
5) Stopped by the library today to drop off a book and CD. Somehow, I found myself drifting through the music book section. and i checked out a Bee Gees documentary as well as a biography on Buck Owens. When I arrived home, I immediately watched the DVD. What was so good about it was that Barry, Robin, and Maurice provided almost all of the narration during the two hours. I hope one day I will get to see Barry and Robin perform live in concert.
6) Friday night group is up and running again. It's nice to have a few new faces there in addition to the core four (myself included). I hope they will stick it out into April, unlike a lot of the last attendees.
7) I have to bust out the space heater in the basement yet again. It's September 24 and it will probably be running through April.
8) I do have Skype and I think I've had four conversations on it in six months, three of them with one person. I guess it's worth, but Skype feels like that shirt in my closet I notice on occasion and think about trying on, but I almost never wear it.
9) One day, I don't want anything to do with dating. The next day, I feel really lonely. Then again, is it possible to solve the issue of loneliness without a significant other?
10) I am worried about Come Thirsty. So many people in the group are engaged now or already married. I'm getting scared that this is going to turn into a married couples group. I do not need that feeling frustration and, maybe even, inadequacy. I want to have fun with my friends. But so many of them have new priorities now. I don't want to lose friends all over again. Then again, to quote Billy Joel, "life is a series of hellos and goodbyes, I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again."
1) Mom left this morning for her first of two tours over the next three weeks. I believe this one goes to NY state and Philly, I'm not quite sure.
2) Mom and I did spend a good weekend together in the city. We ate lunch at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. This was the second time we had been to this unique eatery in located in Wicker Park, not far from DePaul University. We passed on the pizza pot pies, mainly because I can't get into the taste of brick cheese. But we certainly got that huge Mediterranean bread. And that Italian Fest salad was absolutely enormous and we actually ordered the smaller size. It had iceberg lettuce, smoked ham, Italian cappicola, provolone and Swiss cheeses, Italian sausage, meatballs, Genoa salami, pepperoni, artichoke hearts, green peppers, anchovies, tomatoes, olives, whole pepperoncini, sliced fresh mushrooms, whole pickled mushrooms, cucumbers, pickled red pimento peppers, chopped green onions...covered with freshly grated Romano cheese. And served with homemade sour cream garlic, sweet 'n sour poppyseed, and Italian dressings. Doesn't it look gorgeous?
3) My car is over at Royal Coach getting repaired. When this new bumper is installed, my car will be fixed. That just leaves my court date next month and I pray the judge will have sympathy for me. I really have no idea what to expect.
4) Went to Sportclips for a haircut and this was the first time that I had a manager cut my hair and I must say, the difference stunned me. Essentially, Colleen looked at my head, noticed how it grew, and gave me a great looking cut on the first try. And the feeling was amazing when she shampooed my scalp and massaged my head with the hot steamed towel draped over my face. She really knew how to use her fingers, which relieved so much tension.
5) Stopped by the library today to drop off a book and CD. Somehow, I found myself drifting through the music book section. and i checked out a Bee Gees documentary as well as a biography on Buck Owens. When I arrived home, I immediately watched the DVD. What was so good about it was that Barry, Robin, and Maurice provided almost all of the narration during the two hours. I hope one day I will get to see Barry and Robin perform live in concert.
6) Friday night group is up and running again. It's nice to have a few new faces there in addition to the core four (myself included). I hope they will stick it out into April, unlike a lot of the last attendees.
7) I have to bust out the space heater in the basement yet again. It's September 24 and it will probably be running through April.
8) I do have Skype and I think I've had four conversations on it in six months, three of them with one person. I guess it's worth, but Skype feels like that shirt in my closet I notice on occasion and think about trying on, but I almost never wear it.
9) One day, I don't want anything to do with dating. The next day, I feel really lonely. Then again, is it possible to solve the issue of loneliness without a significant other?
10) I am worried about Come Thirsty. So many people in the group are engaged now or already married. I'm getting scared that this is going to turn into a married couples group. I do not need that feeling frustration and, maybe even, inadequacy. I want to have fun with my friends. But so many of them have new priorities now. I don't want to lose friends all over again. Then again, to quote Billy Joel, "life is a series of hellos and goodbyes, I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again."
Thursday, September 08, 2011
NFL Predictions
AFC East
1. c-New England 12-4
2. x-NY Jets 10-6
3. Miami 8-8
4. Buffalo 5-11
AFC North
1. y-Pittsburgh 11-5
2. x-Baltimore 9-7
3. Cleveland 8-8
4. Cincinnati 2-14
AFC South
1. y-Houston 11-5
2. Indianapolis 6-10
3. Tennessee 6-10
4. Jacksonville 5-11
AFC West
1. b-San Diego 12-4
2. Kansas City 9-7
3. Denver 6-10
4. Oakland 6-10
NFC East
1. y-Philadelphia 11-5
2. x-Dallas 9-7
3. NY Giants 7-9
4. Washington 6-10
NFC North
1. c-Green Bay 13-3
2. Detroit 9-7
3. Minnesota 8-8
4. Chicago 8-8
NFC South
1. b-New Orleans 12-4
2. x-Atlanta 12-4
3. Tampa Bay 5-11
4. Carolina 3-13
NFC West
1. y-St. Louis 10-6
2. Arizona 9-7
3. San Francisco 6-10
4. Seattle 5-11
AFC Playoffs
Baltimore over Pittsburgh
NY Jets over Houston
New England over Baltimore
San Diego over NY Jets
San Diego over New England
NFC Playoffs
Atlanta over St. Louis
Philadelphia over Dallas
Green Bay over Atlanta
New Orleans over Philadelphia
Green Bay over New Orleans
Super Bowl
Green Bay over San Diego
MVP
Aaron Rodgers
Coach
Sean Payton
1. c-New England 12-4
2. x-NY Jets 10-6
3. Miami 8-8
4. Buffalo 5-11
AFC North
1. y-Pittsburgh 11-5
2. x-Baltimore 9-7
3. Cleveland 8-8
4. Cincinnati 2-14
AFC South
1. y-Houston 11-5
2. Indianapolis 6-10
3. Tennessee 6-10
4. Jacksonville 5-11
AFC West
1. b-San Diego 12-4
2. Kansas City 9-7
3. Denver 6-10
4. Oakland 6-10
NFC East
1. y-Philadelphia 11-5
2. x-Dallas 9-7
3. NY Giants 7-9
4. Washington 6-10
NFC North
1. c-Green Bay 13-3
2. Detroit 9-7
3. Minnesota 8-8
4. Chicago 8-8
NFC South
1. b-New Orleans 12-4
2. x-Atlanta 12-4
3. Tampa Bay 5-11
4. Carolina 3-13
NFC West
1. y-St. Louis 10-6
2. Arizona 9-7
3. San Francisco 6-10
4. Seattle 5-11
AFC Playoffs
Baltimore over Pittsburgh
NY Jets over Houston
New England over Baltimore
San Diego over NY Jets
San Diego over New England
NFC Playoffs
Atlanta over St. Louis
Philadelphia over Dallas
Green Bay over Atlanta
New Orleans over Philadelphia
Green Bay over New Orleans
Super Bowl
Green Bay over San Diego
MVP
Aaron Rodgers
Coach
Sean Payton
Sunday, September 04, 2011
The last few days
I'd been thinking how blase a lot of my days seem to feel. Wake up, drive, work, drive, gym, home, eat, TV, internet, bed. Well since Thursday, that has been far from the case.
Had my first car accident in at least 4 years Thursday night. I was in downtown Schaumburg, trying to leave Lou Malnati's by turning left onto Roselle Road going south. Well, that was the first time I ever attempted to make that turn. And I will never attempt it again. I got the citation. I was fortunate in two respects: one, only the front bumper was damaged and it was already scratched to begin with. Two, there were no injuries.
It probably took me until Saturday to get past it. I guess I was pretty shaken all of Friday. Didn't really speak too much, my smiles were few. I still have to deal with a court date on six weeks. I just hope the other people in the car will not show up. If I'm fortunate, maybe I can get the ticket dropped. I can only hope.
But enough of depressing topics. Eight days ago, Come Thirsty finally had its first social event since Nathan left us last April. God, it had been way too long. The position of Social Coordinator evolves faster than Yankee managers before Joe Torre. But we did some grilling and played some bags at the Means house. I brought over two hot Italian links from Whole Foods. That was probably the best benefit of working that Saturday shift was that I only had to drive three minutes to Whole Foods. We also went over to J-Schu's new house and ate some wedding cake. I noticed a lot of her furniture, tables and chairs, had scripture verses on it, and it looked very classy. There must have been 12-14 of us or so there over the course of the evening. By the end of the evening, it was myself, Chris, Allison, Jenny, Matt, and Dave the wordy roommate. We played a board game called "The Game of Things" for two hours, till it was maybe 12:30 in the morning. And I polished off maybe 6 beers over the course of the evening, a little more than my share. But we had a great time. we really need to do these events much more often.
Mom and I did get to spend a pretty good Saturday together. Thanks to some long freight train interruptions, it got off to an inauspicious start. But we got through it and worked our way up to Kenosha and Frank's Diner. I just wasn't in a pizza mood, even though Mom wanted lunch. And even though Max and Benny's came up, I really felt like hitting Frank's. I wanted Mom to check it out, I just figured she would like the sharp wit of the servers and the ambience of the tiny dining car. We hit a lot of traffic once we hit Wisconsin, I think the total drive must have taken 2.5 hours. And even when we got to Kenosha, there was a car show right on 58th Street, the very road where the diner is. But we worked our way through it and found two seats at the bar. It's funny, I've been to Frank's three times now, and every time I get the same exact seat, right by the griddle. The temperature in the place is very hot and the pace goes very fast in there with so little space, but going there is a lot of fun. Mom and I each ordered garbage plates, of course, mine had jalapenos. But we set next to this couple from Deerfield, maybe in their 50's. We recommended a few restaurants to each other and then a true gift came to us. they ordered a cinnamon roll and split it into four equal pieces. Mom and I each enjoyed a quarter of gooey goodness. Now I had bacon and sausage with my plate and here's where they do it right. If you order one meat as opposed to two, they don't give you the same amount of meat and split the amounts in half. No, you get double the amount of meat. 25 bucks for that much food
It was 1 pm by now, so we headed straight to Mukwanago. The Elegant Farmer is just this little barn at an intersection in rural Wisconsin with a small market inside. But what a selection! Popcorn, pancake mix, tons of produce, cheeses, Cider baked ham, deli meats, pickles, sauces, sweet breads, fruit crisps, cookies, muffins, and of course, the pies. They are the home of the apple pie baked in a brown paper bag. I first saw this pie on the Food Network maybe two years ago. Then, Mom mentioned it last Monday after she read a book that mentioned it and we made the trip. I have to say the trip was completely worth the drive. I got a 4-inch apple and 4-inch mixed berry pie. The apple pie didn't even make it through the night. I have never had a pie crust with such a rich texture first of all. It was filled with tons of apples, both sweet and tart. But the top crust is what puts this pie literally over the top. It tastes just like a sugar cookie. For five dollars, it is easily one of the top three desserts I have ever had.
We left around 3 pm and got gas in Wisconsin, where it's about 30 cents cheaper than where we live. Unfortunately, I also had to use the men's room inside. I should have been suspicious when the door was locked with a guy waiting outside for ten minutes. Then, that guy took five or six minutes himself. Something was certainly not kosher behind that old wooden door. It turns out some douchebag schmuck took a crap right in the urinal. It was so sick, I wanted to bathe in a tub filled with Lysol. Just guessing it will be hard to get that memory out of my head. Anyway, we stopped at Trader Joe's for some more food shopping. Then, it was off to Willow Creek for Saturday night church service. Lincoln Brewster led worship and the concert really rocked. Now I didn't know the guy, but he used to play lead guitar with Steve Perry, the former lead singer of Journey. I think the songs I remember best will be "God You Reign" and "Everlasting God."
So Labor Day is tomorrow. I picked up hours at work, there was really no reason not to. I mean, think about it, outside of family events, what really happens on Labor Day? But next weekend looks absolutely loaded. Friday night: First group at Doc Babb's. Saturday: Festival of the Vine, Dragon Gate USA. Sunday: 9/11 service at Willow Creek, and the first weekend of football, capped off by Cowboys at Jets on Sunday night.
Had my first car accident in at least 4 years Thursday night. I was in downtown Schaumburg, trying to leave Lou Malnati's by turning left onto Roselle Road going south. Well, that was the first time I ever attempted to make that turn. And I will never attempt it again. I got the citation. I was fortunate in two respects: one, only the front bumper was damaged and it was already scratched to begin with. Two, there were no injuries.
It probably took me until Saturday to get past it. I guess I was pretty shaken all of Friday. Didn't really speak too much, my smiles were few. I still have to deal with a court date on six weeks. I just hope the other people in the car will not show up. If I'm fortunate, maybe I can get the ticket dropped. I can only hope.
But enough of depressing topics. Eight days ago, Come Thirsty finally had its first social event since Nathan left us last April. God, it had been way too long. The position of Social Coordinator evolves faster than Yankee managers before Joe Torre. But we did some grilling and played some bags at the Means house. I brought over two hot Italian links from Whole Foods. That was probably the best benefit of working that Saturday shift was that I only had to drive three minutes to Whole Foods. We also went over to J-Schu's new house and ate some wedding cake. I noticed a lot of her furniture, tables and chairs, had scripture verses on it, and it looked very classy. There must have been 12-14 of us or so there over the course of the evening. By the end of the evening, it was myself, Chris, Allison, Jenny, Matt, and Dave the wordy roommate. We played a board game called "The Game of Things" for two hours, till it was maybe 12:30 in the morning. And I polished off maybe 6 beers over the course of the evening, a little more than my share. But we had a great time. we really need to do these events much more often.
Mom and I did get to spend a pretty good Saturday together. Thanks to some long freight train interruptions, it got off to an inauspicious start. But we got through it and worked our way up to Kenosha and Frank's Diner. I just wasn't in a pizza mood, even though Mom wanted lunch. And even though Max and Benny's came up, I really felt like hitting Frank's. I wanted Mom to check it out, I just figured she would like the sharp wit of the servers and the ambience of the tiny dining car. We hit a lot of traffic once we hit Wisconsin, I think the total drive must have taken 2.5 hours. And even when we got to Kenosha, there was a car show right on 58th Street, the very road where the diner is. But we worked our way through it and found two seats at the bar. It's funny, I've been to Frank's three times now, and every time I get the same exact seat, right by the griddle. The temperature in the place is very hot and the pace goes very fast in there with so little space, but going there is a lot of fun. Mom and I each ordered garbage plates, of course, mine had jalapenos. But we set next to this couple from Deerfield, maybe in their 50's. We recommended a few restaurants to each other and then a true gift came to us. they ordered a cinnamon roll and split it into four equal pieces. Mom and I each enjoyed a quarter of gooey goodness. Now I had bacon and sausage with my plate and here's where they do it right. If you order one meat as opposed to two, they don't give you the same amount of meat and split the amounts in half. No, you get double the amount of meat. 25 bucks for that much food
It was 1 pm by now, so we headed straight to Mukwanago. The Elegant Farmer is just this little barn at an intersection in rural Wisconsin with a small market inside. But what a selection! Popcorn, pancake mix, tons of produce, cheeses, Cider baked ham, deli meats, pickles, sauces, sweet breads, fruit crisps, cookies, muffins, and of course, the pies. They are the home of the apple pie baked in a brown paper bag. I first saw this pie on the Food Network maybe two years ago. Then, Mom mentioned it last Monday after she read a book that mentioned it and we made the trip. I have to say the trip was completely worth the drive. I got a 4-inch apple and 4-inch mixed berry pie. The apple pie didn't even make it through the night. I have never had a pie crust with such a rich texture first of all. It was filled with tons of apples, both sweet and tart. But the top crust is what puts this pie literally over the top. It tastes just like a sugar cookie. For five dollars, it is easily one of the top three desserts I have ever had.
We left around 3 pm and got gas in Wisconsin, where it's about 30 cents cheaper than where we live. Unfortunately, I also had to use the men's room inside. I should have been suspicious when the door was locked with a guy waiting outside for ten minutes. Then, that guy took five or six minutes himself. Something was certainly not kosher behind that old wooden door. It turns out some douchebag schmuck took a crap right in the urinal. It was so sick, I wanted to bathe in a tub filled with Lysol. Just guessing it will be hard to get that memory out of my head. Anyway, we stopped at Trader Joe's for some more food shopping. Then, it was off to Willow Creek for Saturday night church service. Lincoln Brewster led worship and the concert really rocked. Now I didn't know the guy, but he used to play lead guitar with Steve Perry, the former lead singer of Journey. I think the songs I remember best will be "God You Reign" and "Everlasting God."
So Labor Day is tomorrow. I picked up hours at work, there was really no reason not to. I mean, think about it, outside of family events, what really happens on Labor Day? But next weekend looks absolutely loaded. Friday night: First group at Doc Babb's. Saturday: Festival of the Vine, Dragon Gate USA. Sunday: 9/11 service at Willow Creek, and the first weekend of football, capped off by Cowboys at Jets on Sunday night.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Just coming on the end of August…
Whenever we’re in that August 15-August 1 date range, I listen to “Waiting in the Weeds” by the Eagles almost every day. Kind of like listening to the Bee Gees “First of May” every...September 15.
Thanks to Q for inviting me to Cardinals-Cubs in Wrigley Field. Last Sunday night. The only player I reacted to was that scumbag Yadier Molina and I booed him vociferously. Of course, he hit two home runs. But this is the first game I have seen the Cubs lose at home in maybe 5 years. So the law of averages is catching up. The same law had better start catching up for the Mets record in that ballpark.
Before the game, we went to Cheesie’s, about three blocks south of Wrigley. This place specializes in making unique grilled cheese sandwiches. I had the monthly special, the Rocky Balboa. It was American, provolone, and Cheese Whiz along with Philly steak, sautéed mushrooms, and sautéed onions inside two thick pieces of sourdough bread. It was a great sandwich, though I could have used more steak. And the fries were pretty mediocre, I should have gone with sweet potato instead. I did like the Gold Peak iced tea dispenser however.
New York gets hit with the 6.0 earthquake on Tuesday and now Hurricane Irene is going to hit Saturday night. 100 mph winds running through the entire Eastern seaboard.
At long last, Come Thirsty has a social event on Saturday night. We used to do it once every month or two. It’s been four months and that is way too long.
Vanessa is such a sweet, interesting girl. But she’s almost too quiet and elusive. I know I am pretty intense, and to be fair, I don’t know if she can handle it. I don’t know if I really fit in with the whole Midwest mentality sometimes.
How in the world did I stop growing hair in the lower left part of my goatee? I need freakin’ Rogaine for my face!
I love ROH, but right now, I need something to really get me super excited about it again. A new star, a new feud, more shows, just something. Maybe Punk in WWE is overshadowing it a little bit.
Upcoming books: Countdown to Lockdown by Mick Foley and Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton
I am so ready for hockey season to begin.
Thanks to Q for inviting me to Cardinals-Cubs in Wrigley Field. Last Sunday night. The only player I reacted to was that scumbag Yadier Molina and I booed him vociferously. Of course, he hit two home runs. But this is the first game I have seen the Cubs lose at home in maybe 5 years. So the law of averages is catching up. The same law had better start catching up for the Mets record in that ballpark.
Before the game, we went to Cheesie’s, about three blocks south of Wrigley. This place specializes in making unique grilled cheese sandwiches. I had the monthly special, the Rocky Balboa. It was American, provolone, and Cheese Whiz along with Philly steak, sautéed mushrooms, and sautéed onions inside two thick pieces of sourdough bread. It was a great sandwich, though I could have used more steak. And the fries were pretty mediocre, I should have gone with sweet potato instead. I did like the Gold Peak iced tea dispenser however.
New York gets hit with the 6.0 earthquake on Tuesday and now Hurricane Irene is going to hit Saturday night. 100 mph winds running through the entire Eastern seaboard.
At long last, Come Thirsty has a social event on Saturday night. We used to do it once every month or two. It’s been four months and that is way too long.
Vanessa is such a sweet, interesting girl. But she’s almost too quiet and elusive. I know I am pretty intense, and to be fair, I don’t know if she can handle it. I don’t know if I really fit in with the whole Midwest mentality sometimes.
How in the world did I stop growing hair in the lower left part of my goatee? I need freakin’ Rogaine for my face!
I love ROH, but right now, I need something to really get me super excited about it again. A new star, a new feud, more shows, just something. Maybe Punk in WWE is overshadowing it a little bit.
Upcoming books: Countdown to Lockdown by Mick Foley and Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton
I am so ready for hockey season to begin.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Hangover Sunday
My eyes are weighing on me, but I'm hanging in there pretty well. Debating if I will go to Dwayne's house to watch Summer Slam or go to the Wood Dale Prairie festival. Probably depends on the weather.
1) Got 6 of 8 matches correct for the ROH show. Davey vs Roderick was awesome, as to be expected. The sleek, new look of the ring and guardrails was tremendous, the lighting looked incredibly professional, and the crowd was hot. Then came the audio issues and unexpected 10-15 minute delays between matches. Taping ended at 12:15 am which was just crazy.
2) Heartbreaking softball loss in the quarterfinals, 13-12. Season over. I batted 3-for-4, scored twice, drove in three, and made two catches, though I missed a dive in the first inning. But I did single and score to lead off the seventh inning when we were down by two. The mental mistakes were a joke. Runners on first and second, two outs, down by one, 5th place hitter coming up. Ground ball to the shortstop. With the muddy infield, he can't field it, so he just traps hit deep in the hole. And our ingenious captain breaks for home. And he's thrown out by three steps. It was a horrible way to lose. We gave them run after run after run.
1) Got 6 of 8 matches correct for the ROH show. Davey vs Roderick was awesome, as to be expected. The sleek, new look of the ring and guardrails was tremendous, the lighting looked incredibly professional, and the crowd was hot. Then came the audio issues and unexpected 10-15 minute delays between matches. Taping ended at 12:15 am which was just crazy.
2) Heartbreaking softball loss in the quarterfinals, 13-12. Season over. I batted 3-for-4, scored twice, drove in three, and made two catches, though I missed a dive in the first inning. But I did single and score to lead off the seventh inning when we were down by two. The mental mistakes were a joke. Runners on first and second, two outs, down by one, 5th place hitter coming up. Ground ball to the shortstop. With the muddy infield, he can't field it, so he just traps hit deep in the hole. And our ingenious captain breaks for home. And he's thrown out by three steps. It was a horrible way to lose. We gave them run after run after run.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
NYC Part 2
So I woke up and her mom went to get us all breakfast from the local bagel joint. I had a fine sandwich and met Francis and his girlfriend, Lauren. I didn't need to see the guy wearing a Cubs hat though! Especially when he's a Yankees fan. Catherine and I left at 9 for a long day in the city.
We took a five minute walk to the Middle Village subway station, the last stop on the M line. I must say, it must be pretty cool to live so close to public transportation. And the hour long Metra rail to Chicago does not count, at least not compared to this.
We walked Christ the King, where she went to high school. While we were sitting on the platform waiting for the train to arrive, we shared our first daytime kiss. The heat was really getting intense. And the weather was getting warm also...Anyway, I digress. We took the M, L, and some other line to Brooklyn Heights, where St. Francis College is. So I finally got to see where Dad went to school.
We stopped at Tim Horton's/Nathan's/Pizza Hut/KFC. Catherine got her customary iced coffee. More than anything, I needed water, but I passed. We then did something I always wanted to do in New York, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. There isn't much room either way, but man, those bicyclists ride in their lane like they own the whole thing! I got some great views of Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty. After we passed the halfway point, there was a huge film crew taking half the bridge. From what I could gather, they were preparing shoot another one of those Geico ads. Guess I have to keep my eyes open for that one.
We walked over to the South Street Seaport. There was a crew preparing a stage for a concert and a lot of boats going in and out, kind of like Navy Pier. I really appreciate the $1.00 Dasanis, especially after so much walking! But of course, we had to stop in the Yankees Clubhouse store. Catherine almost forgot her camera in there, but thankfully, we recovered it. I was just happy to grab some A/C. We went in the "mall" area and I brought a couple of magnets designed to look like New York subway lines. We also brought a few caps at Lids, she got a Brooklyn Dodgers and a Guinness hat while I got a sweet Jets hat. It's mostly black and green, but the design of the colors make the hat look really fashionable. The other place we checked out was the Christmas store. We saw lots of ornaments and decorations. Some were even sports-themed. Catherine was a little agitated that they had Islanders merchandise, but no Rangers. I pointed out they didn't have any Knicks stuff either, so maybe it was a MSG thing.
We took another train up to Greenwich Village, where her grandmother lives. We rang her doorbell, not knowing if she'd answer, since she was preparing to leave for a month-long trip to Italy that very afternoon. Well, she was there. And so were her uncle, aunt, and two ten-year-old twin cousins, Michael and Gabriella. Sadly, they're all Yankee fans. But at least I felt accepted when I said I was a Rangers fan.
Now this is one of those old school residence buildings. the apartment was on the fifth floor and there is no elevator. All I could think was how brutal it must to be move in and out of there. But the apartment amazed me. It made my grandparents old Brooklyn residence look like a Victorian mansion. Three tiny bedrooms, a kitchen that would fit in most of today's bathrooms and a bathroom that was so small, I could not even extend my arms. I'm certainly not complaining about it, but considering how large a "single-family home" is nowadays (three levels, three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, two-car garage, etc), I can't imagine a family of four staying in a apartment so small without constantly annoying each other.
I did manage to get a beautiful slice of pizza from Pizza Box, a local Greenwich joint. Oh it was so perfect! I also drank a small glass of cherry-flavored seltzer. I think nobody drinks seltzer except New Yorkers who are 60 years old and up. And I can understand why. Put it this way, I prefer cherry Coke to cherry seltzer.
We didn't have too much time to spend in the Village so we took some subway line to the NHL Store. I have to say first, I give Catherine all the props, that she knows these lines inside and out. Anyway back to the store. There was one rack with just Rangers and Blackhawks jerseys. It was like that rack was meant just for Catherine to explore! I didn't purchase anything, I had already spent like $50 already. I still want one of those Rangers Heritage jerseys though! But it's true, we all want what we can't have, don't we?
There was a street festival going on right outside too. The smoothie bar looked particularly inviting. But we walked northeast, past Radio City Music Hall and NBC Studios to Rockefeller Plaza. This was actually the same area I walked through with Mom and Dad last August. I have to admit, it made me feel a little melancholy. We found Tri-Tip Grill. We spent about $12 each and I have to say we made a good choice. I had a solid 6-ounce tri-tip sandwich with au jus and caramelized onions. The beef was very tender, a little peppery for sure. But I added some BBQ sauce and that really helped to balance out the flavors much better. The fries with BBQ sauce tasted really good too.
It was around 3 pm by now so we headed towards Yankee Stadium. We got to walk through Times Square first though. I wish I could retrace the subway lines but there is no way I can do that. I know we got on the 4 eventually. And there were a few couples making out on the train too. When we arrived, the first game of the doubleheader was in the 8th inning and the Yankees led by a large margin. We went over to the Dugout and had a couple of beers. There was one drunk douche who was standing/leaning in the middle of the floor. He was holding a full bottle of Coors Light and I saw him drop it. It landed on the side, so half the beer poured out. He picked it up, only to immediately drop it again. Here's the deal, if you're too drunk to hold onto the beer bottle, it's probably time to call it a night. I also remember there was a group of folk near us, three guys and a girl. I have no idea who knew who. But they were talking Giants and Jets and the girl, who was incredibly wasted, saw my Jets hat and called me Mark Sanchez, her boyfriend. I left that one alone.
So we had to stand outside the stadium for 45 minutes in 90 degree heat, while we waited for the doors to open for the nightcap. We got in and headed straight to the Yankee Museum in right field. A wall of autographs, a wall with a baseball signed of almost every Yankee, displays for every World Series ring, displays for Lou Gehrig, George Steinbrenner, and Hispanic ballplayers.
We went into the Steiner store just to see what memorabilia was available. Games, uniforms, lineup cards, bats, there was some cool stuff. Right outside was the fresh lemonade stand and I happily gulped one down. I mean, the cheapest beer I could find cost $9.00. Out here, I can buy a 12-pack of MGD or Budweiser for $9.00 if I want. By the time we got to the Stadium, my feet were throbbing from so much walking, I just had to sit.
We sat in the upper deck right field stands, about halfway up, a pretty good spot. The Orioles threatened to score in the top of the first inning, but failed. The Yankees? Well, by the time they were done with the first inning, they were leading 12-0. the one inning alone lasted an entire hour. They wound up winning 17-3. And during the inning, Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer, giving the Nationals all the runs they would need against the Mets. I cursed him out. Apparently, that did not go over so well.
I said nothing for a good three hours. It wasn't that the Yankees were winning. The game was boring, I was exhausted, and I felt very uneasy that my 20's were all but over. We left in the eighth inning and it took a good hour and fifteen minutes to get home. We had to wait on the platform for at least ten minutes for the 4 train, which made about 15 stops before we got off. I guess it was 11 pm when we got back to Middle Village. And Nicole was waiting for us in her car, I guess he had been waiting for over an hour. Her first words I heard her say..."I gotta pee so bad."
We all went inside and chatted with Catherine's mom for about a half hour. But in truth, I was ready to settle down in the basement. I started packing, used the Internet and drank Yuengling beer for the first time in my life. I wound up having two, it was so good. Shame we can't get that beer in Illinois. Meanwhile, she took a shower and came downstairs in a Corona tank top and athletic shorts. It was good.
And so the morning arrived. It was my birthday. Number 30. July 31, 2011. We got up around 5:30 and I got the 7:10 plane out. How I made it to church, softball, and dinner at ZaZa's and didn't completely pass out, I have no idea. My eyes were half open the entire day.
We took a five minute walk to the Middle Village subway station, the last stop on the M line. I must say, it must be pretty cool to live so close to public transportation. And the hour long Metra rail to Chicago does not count, at least not compared to this.
We walked Christ the King, where she went to high school. While we were sitting on the platform waiting for the train to arrive, we shared our first daytime kiss. The heat was really getting intense. And the weather was getting warm also...Anyway, I digress. We took the M, L, and some other line to Brooklyn Heights, where St. Francis College is. So I finally got to see where Dad went to school.
We stopped at Tim Horton's/Nathan's/Pizza Hut/KFC. Catherine got her customary iced coffee. More than anything, I needed water, but I passed. We then did something I always wanted to do in New York, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. There isn't much room either way, but man, those bicyclists ride in their lane like they own the whole thing! I got some great views of Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty. After we passed the halfway point, there was a huge film crew taking half the bridge. From what I could gather, they were preparing shoot another one of those Geico ads. Guess I have to keep my eyes open for that one.
We walked over to the South Street Seaport. There was a crew preparing a stage for a concert and a lot of boats going in and out, kind of like Navy Pier. I really appreciate the $1.00 Dasanis, especially after so much walking! But of course, we had to stop in the Yankees Clubhouse store. Catherine almost forgot her camera in there, but thankfully, we recovered it. I was just happy to grab some A/C. We went in the "mall" area and I brought a couple of magnets designed to look like New York subway lines. We also brought a few caps at Lids, she got a Brooklyn Dodgers and a Guinness hat while I got a sweet Jets hat. It's mostly black and green, but the design of the colors make the hat look really fashionable. The other place we checked out was the Christmas store. We saw lots of ornaments and decorations. Some were even sports-themed. Catherine was a little agitated that they had Islanders merchandise, but no Rangers. I pointed out they didn't have any Knicks stuff either, so maybe it was a MSG thing.
We took another train up to Greenwich Village, where her grandmother lives. We rang her doorbell, not knowing if she'd answer, since she was preparing to leave for a month-long trip to Italy that very afternoon. Well, she was there. And so were her uncle, aunt, and two ten-year-old twin cousins, Michael and Gabriella. Sadly, they're all Yankee fans. But at least I felt accepted when I said I was a Rangers fan.
Now this is one of those old school residence buildings. the apartment was on the fifth floor and there is no elevator. All I could think was how brutal it must to be move in and out of there. But the apartment amazed me. It made my grandparents old Brooklyn residence look like a Victorian mansion. Three tiny bedrooms, a kitchen that would fit in most of today's bathrooms and a bathroom that was so small, I could not even extend my arms. I'm certainly not complaining about it, but considering how large a "single-family home" is nowadays (three levels, three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, two-car garage, etc), I can't imagine a family of four staying in a apartment so small without constantly annoying each other.
I did manage to get a beautiful slice of pizza from Pizza Box, a local Greenwich joint. Oh it was so perfect! I also drank a small glass of cherry-flavored seltzer. I think nobody drinks seltzer except New Yorkers who are 60 years old and up. And I can understand why. Put it this way, I prefer cherry Coke to cherry seltzer.
We didn't have too much time to spend in the Village so we took some subway line to the NHL Store. I have to say first, I give Catherine all the props, that she knows these lines inside and out. Anyway back to the store. There was one rack with just Rangers and Blackhawks jerseys. It was like that rack was meant just for Catherine to explore! I didn't purchase anything, I had already spent like $50 already. I still want one of those Rangers Heritage jerseys though! But it's true, we all want what we can't have, don't we?
There was a street festival going on right outside too. The smoothie bar looked particularly inviting. But we walked northeast, past Radio City Music Hall and NBC Studios to Rockefeller Plaza. This was actually the same area I walked through with Mom and Dad last August. I have to admit, it made me feel a little melancholy. We found Tri-Tip Grill. We spent about $12 each and I have to say we made a good choice. I had a solid 6-ounce tri-tip sandwich with au jus and caramelized onions. The beef was very tender, a little peppery for sure. But I added some BBQ sauce and that really helped to balance out the flavors much better. The fries with BBQ sauce tasted really good too.
It was around 3 pm by now so we headed towards Yankee Stadium. We got to walk through Times Square first though. I wish I could retrace the subway lines but there is no way I can do that. I know we got on the 4 eventually. And there were a few couples making out on the train too. When we arrived, the first game of the doubleheader was in the 8th inning and the Yankees led by a large margin. We went over to the Dugout and had a couple of beers. There was one drunk douche who was standing/leaning in the middle of the floor. He was holding a full bottle of Coors Light and I saw him drop it. It landed on the side, so half the beer poured out. He picked it up, only to immediately drop it again. Here's the deal, if you're too drunk to hold onto the beer bottle, it's probably time to call it a night. I also remember there was a group of folk near us, three guys and a girl. I have no idea who knew who. But they were talking Giants and Jets and the girl, who was incredibly wasted, saw my Jets hat and called me Mark Sanchez, her boyfriend. I left that one alone.
So we had to stand outside the stadium for 45 minutes in 90 degree heat, while we waited for the doors to open for the nightcap. We got in and headed straight to the Yankee Museum in right field. A wall of autographs, a wall with a baseball signed of almost every Yankee, displays for every World Series ring, displays for Lou Gehrig, George Steinbrenner, and Hispanic ballplayers.
We went into the Steiner store just to see what memorabilia was available. Games, uniforms, lineup cards, bats, there was some cool stuff. Right outside was the fresh lemonade stand and I happily gulped one down. I mean, the cheapest beer I could find cost $9.00. Out here, I can buy a 12-pack of MGD or Budweiser for $9.00 if I want. By the time we got to the Stadium, my feet were throbbing from so much walking, I just had to sit.
We sat in the upper deck right field stands, about halfway up, a pretty good spot. The Orioles threatened to score in the top of the first inning, but failed. The Yankees? Well, by the time they were done with the first inning, they were leading 12-0. the one inning alone lasted an entire hour. They wound up winning 17-3. And during the inning, Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer, giving the Nationals all the runs they would need against the Mets. I cursed him out. Apparently, that did not go over so well.
I said nothing for a good three hours. It wasn't that the Yankees were winning. The game was boring, I was exhausted, and I felt very uneasy that my 20's were all but over. We left in the eighth inning and it took a good hour and fifteen minutes to get home. We had to wait on the platform for at least ten minutes for the 4 train, which made about 15 stops before we got off. I guess it was 11 pm when we got back to Middle Village. And Nicole was waiting for us in her car, I guess he had been waiting for over an hour. Her first words I heard her say..."I gotta pee so bad."
We all went inside and chatted with Catherine's mom for about a half hour. But in truth, I was ready to settle down in the basement. I started packing, used the Internet and drank Yuengling beer for the first time in my life. I wound up having two, it was so good. Shame we can't get that beer in Illinois. Meanwhile, she took a shower and came downstairs in a Corona tank top and athletic shorts. It was good.
And so the morning arrived. It was my birthday. Number 30. July 31, 2011. We got up around 5:30 and I got the 7:10 plane out. How I made it to church, softball, and dinner at ZaZa's and didn't completely pass out, I have no idea. My eyes were half open the entire day.
Friday, August 12, 2011
ROH Taping tomorrow
Well, tomorrow night, Ring of Honor holds their first TV taping for the Sinclair Broadcast network. I am seriously pumped up for this show, though it will likely mark the last appearance of the Kings of Wrestling in ROH before they head to WWE. My picks are in bold.
ROH World Title Match
Davey Richards defends vs. Roderick Strong with Truth Martini
World Tag Team Title Match
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas) vs. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) with Shane Hagadorn
World TV Title Match
El Generico defends vs. Jay Lethal
Grudge Tag Team Match
Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. The All Night Express
“Defy or Deny” Rematch
Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin with Truth Martini
Tag Team Challenge Match
Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. The Bravado Brothers
Singles Action
Jimmy Jacobs with Steve Corino vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett with Brutal Bob
Singles Action
Tommaso Ciampa with The Embassy vs. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge
ROH World Title Match
Davey Richards defends vs. Roderick Strong with Truth Martini
World Tag Team Title Match
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas) vs. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) with Shane Hagadorn
World TV Title Match
El Generico defends vs. Jay Lethal
Grudge Tag Team Match
Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. The All Night Express
“Defy or Deny” Rematch
Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin with Truth Martini
Tag Team Challenge Match
Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly vs. The Bravado Brothers
Singles Action
Jimmy Jacobs with Steve Corino vs. “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett with Brutal Bob
Singles Action
Tommaso Ciampa with The Embassy vs. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
NYC Part 1
It has been two weeks since this trip happened and I don't know if I have the patience to write the whole 36 hours out. But here goes.
I left work at 4 and was planning to take a 6:40 flight from O'Hare to LaGuardia. I got there in time for a flight scheduled 90 minutes prior. I got on the plane with no problem and even got to sit in first class. But while I had been riding the Monorail to the terminal, Catherine texted me that there were heavy storms in New York. When I checked the flight board, I saw the later flights were delayed, but mine looked fine.
Well, we got on the plane and we wound up sitting on the runway for two hours. But I will say, if you're sitting on an airplane and not going anywhere, it's better to be sitting in first class. We were served drinks and hot roasted nuts.
We took off around 7:30. For dinner, I had a subpar chicken breast, salad, sweet potatoes, and the hardest, most in edible roll of all time. I mean, really, if I can't eat a roll, it has to stink. And it did. The two glasses of red wine made the flight much smoother, I must say.
During the flight in, we actually flew right over top of Yankee Stadium and a game was going on. But the coolest thing was seeing lightning flash in the nighttime sky. Down below were the lights of New York City. And up above shone these streaks of glowing light. It was quite a sight to see from 25,000 feet in the air.
We arrived at LaGuardia around 10 p.m. I turned on my phone and discovered to my aggravation that Nnamdi Asomugah signed with Philadelphia and not the Jets. Anyway, I could see Catherine from 50 yards away, right outside security. I pretended not to notice her and walked right by, before smiling, and giving her a huge hug. We hopped a cab for a 20-minute ride back to her house in Middle Village.
All I can say about the house is this. The main level is filled with cat artifacts and the basement looks like a shrine to the Yankees. Her dad was nice enough to get a few hero sandwiches for us to munch on. I had half a meatball sandwich and half an eggplant parmesan sandwich. Just that Italian bread by itself had that unique, earthy New York taste that just cannot be duplicated anyplace else. Despite having dinner already, I made room for them. I met her parents and unfortunately, two cats. Anyway, her mom reminds me of some of my relatives with the thick NY accent. Her dad was pretty cool too. I brought all of them Carole's cookies and they wiped them all out with total ease.
But within about a half hour, my eyes started to water and my nose began running. Despite the warnings that you should take no more than one Claritin every 24 hours, I took two maybe three hours apart. So we settled in the basement and she showed me her old Rangers videos. We popped in Marek Malik's shootout and Mark Messier's retirement. Actually, to be honest, we didn't spend all our time watching the videos...That took till about 2 in the morning. I fell asleep around 2:30 and slept on the couch very soundly. I must say I was quite startled when the alarm for 7 am rang.
I left work at 4 and was planning to take a 6:40 flight from O'Hare to LaGuardia. I got there in time for a flight scheduled 90 minutes prior. I got on the plane with no problem and even got to sit in first class. But while I had been riding the Monorail to the terminal, Catherine texted me that there were heavy storms in New York. When I checked the flight board, I saw the later flights were delayed, but mine looked fine.
Well, we got on the plane and we wound up sitting on the runway for two hours. But I will say, if you're sitting on an airplane and not going anywhere, it's better to be sitting in first class. We were served drinks and hot roasted nuts.
We took off around 7:30. For dinner, I had a subpar chicken breast, salad, sweet potatoes, and the hardest, most in edible roll of all time. I mean, really, if I can't eat a roll, it has to stink. And it did. The two glasses of red wine made the flight much smoother, I must say.
During the flight in, we actually flew right over top of Yankee Stadium and a game was going on. But the coolest thing was seeing lightning flash in the nighttime sky. Down below were the lights of New York City. And up above shone these streaks of glowing light. It was quite a sight to see from 25,000 feet in the air.
We arrived at LaGuardia around 10 p.m. I turned on my phone and discovered to my aggravation that Nnamdi Asomugah signed with Philadelphia and not the Jets. Anyway, I could see Catherine from 50 yards away, right outside security. I pretended not to notice her and walked right by, before smiling, and giving her a huge hug. We hopped a cab for a 20-minute ride back to her house in Middle Village.
All I can say about the house is this. The main level is filled with cat artifacts and the basement looks like a shrine to the Yankees. Her dad was nice enough to get a few hero sandwiches for us to munch on. I had half a meatball sandwich and half an eggplant parmesan sandwich. Just that Italian bread by itself had that unique, earthy New York taste that just cannot be duplicated anyplace else. Despite having dinner already, I made room for them. I met her parents and unfortunately, two cats. Anyway, her mom reminds me of some of my relatives with the thick NY accent. Her dad was pretty cool too. I brought all of them Carole's cookies and they wiped them all out with total ease.
But within about a half hour, my eyes started to water and my nose began running. Despite the warnings that you should take no more than one Claritin every 24 hours, I took two maybe three hours apart. So we settled in the basement and she showed me her old Rangers videos. We popped in Marek Malik's shootout and Mark Messier's retirement. Actually, to be honest, we didn't spend all our time watching the videos...That took till about 2 in the morning. I fell asleep around 2:30 and slept on the couch very soundly. I must say I was quite startled when the alarm for 7 am rang.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)