Florida-Days 4 and 5

As I tend to do too often, I slept right through the alarm clock. So I rolled out of bed at 7:40 and hit the gym for a half hour, doing some abs, power walking, and a little bit of weights. Breakfast was whole milk and half a FitCrunch bar. We headed to Clearwater Beach around 9:30. This place was rated the top beach in America by USA Today. Well, we learned something. Never go to the place on a weekend. It is a thin inlet, with two streets going north and south. And I don't know if I have ever seen a place that is harder to get a parking spot. By 10 am, the traffic was bumper to bumper.

 

We wound up grabbing lunch at Frenchy's Saltwater Grille. There are maybe eight different Frenchy's restaurants in the area. This one is off the water, so the location wasn't the best. We had fried alligator to start. I've had fried gator a few times and this wasn't one of the best. The gator skin was dark and I had to chew pretty hard. It came with a BBQ sauce on the side, but I think remoulade works much better with gator. Mom got a Greek salad with grouper that had a huge hunk of potato salad in the bottom of the bowl. I'm sorry, but has anyone ever heard of a Greek salad with potato salad in it? Anyway, I had candied bacon wrapped Sriracha scallops. The scallops were flavored in Sriracha and lime, wrapped in brown sugar bacon, seared, and baked. They were sweet, salty, smoky, and spicy. Very good. I also ordered a side of steamed veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, and two baby carrots. They definitely needed seasoning, so I used plenty of lemon, salt, and pepper.

 

I knew parking would be impossible, so I took a quick 45 minutes or so to check out a few shops. I was sure to check out Hogan's Beach Shop. It was so much better than Hogan's Beach. There was tons more merch to buy. I really thought about getting a Hulkamania tank top, but for $20, I felt it was a little much. Instead, I get a yellow koozie. The funny thing was they even had dog shirts. If only I could have gotten one of those for Hogan when he was still alive. I also walked onto the beach for about ten minutes with my shirt and shoes off. Felt great to feel sand beneath my feet!

 

I went into two or three souvenir shops, looking for a decent tank, but decided against it in the end. So we headed out and checked out a dog parade at the Largo Botanical Gardens. Mom found out about it through the local newspaper. Unfortunately, the paper failed to mention that dog registration starts at 12. We took it to mean the parade started at 12. We got there and found out that it didn't start until 2. I took pictures of a couple of plants and just left. Since Mom had to do laundry for her upcoming tour, we headed back to the hotel around 1. First, we stopped at Rita's Italian Ices. They had something called a gelati, which is an Italian ice topped with soft-serve ice cream. I got the pina colada ice and vanilla ice cream. One of the most refreshing things I've had in a while.

 

Back at the hotel, I sat by the pool, mostly tanning and following the final Jets game of the season. We stayed till around 5:30, when we left for an evening service at BridgePoint Church. It's a growing church that had four services a day and is leasing their current space until they move to a new facility in three months. Great to see they're growing. Then, around 8:00 it was dinner time. Back over the bridge to Tampa for some pizza at Garibaldi's. The antipasto appetizer with Genoa salami, olives, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, fresh basil, and baked bread was great. All I needed for perfection was a few marinated artichoke hearts. For the pie, I appeased Mom and went with bacon, mushrooms, and tomatoes. I knew it was a mistake; I think their Italian sausage and meatballs are better. And I certainly feel roasted peppers add more flavors than tomatoes. The pizza was fine, but it should have been better. Also, there was not enough sauce, which always bugs me. And the fact that they charge $2 for extra sauce is a joke too. Anyway, I'll stop there.

 

Monday morning came. Mom was supposed to leave early in the morning for the tour. Unfortunately, this joke of a bus company never returned any of her messages regarding who the driver was and if she would be picked up, if I had to drop her off at a certain spot, etc. And she began leaving messages on Christmas Eve? It's just pathetic. So we had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to call these fools again to find out where the hell we were supposed to go and at what time.

 

We drove ten minutes west to largo. Mom missed one of my directions and we band in from the north instead of from the south. And it's a good thing she did because as we were turning onto the street where the bus company is, we passed the driver in the bus! I saw the Mayflower tours sticker on the website and I knew it! Thankfully we got his attention and hooked up with him. It turns out this driver found out he was driving for this tour one night prior! One night! That's terrible communication and shows a total lack of planning and preparation.

 

Anyway I took the car, went back to the hotel, worked out, cleaned up, packed, and checked out. I headed to south St. Pete to get cash, gas up (only cost me fifteen bucks), and grab food. Mazzaro's opened at nine, so I figured why not. While I was in the parking lot, I got the great news that Jets general manager was fired and the terrible news that coach Rex Ryan had suffered the same fate. I'll have another post about that later. I had a sausage sandwich, which was really good and would have been great if they had put marinara sauce on it. And I had the pistachio cannoli, which was perfect. Back over the bridge to Tampa. I played the acoustic version of Hotel California and I felt so free, if only for a few minutes.

 

Nothing too exciting at the airport, except it was cool to have the TSA guy compliment my Mets cap. Time to go home and pick up my girl from the kennel

Florida-Day 3

The second full day started with a two-hour drive south down I-275 and I-75 through Sarasota and Bradenton until we got to Punta Gorda, a town I had never heard of. But Mom is taking her next tour group over there, so we checked it out. We took a quick drive through the town and it seemed very old-fashioned and quaint. There didn't appear to be a ton going on and we were struggling to see why a lot of people had mentioned it as a good town to visit.

We had a 10 am tour at Babcock wilderness, which is a 91,000 acre property filled with wildlife and different ecosystems. It must have taken 25 minutes of driving from any hint of civilization until we got to the place. We took a 90-minute buggy tour with about 40 other people. One of the highlights for me was getting to pet a baby alligator. She felt very scaly and jagged, but still smooth. I also saw three-horned cows, wild turkeys, and an actual Florida panther named Ossie. In the sea, I must have seen 20 alligators. In the air, I saw a blue heron, a few hawks, and a group of circling vultures. It was a fun experience and was worth the time.

We headed back to Punta Gorda and checked out Fisherman's Wharf. It was basically a pier with a bunch of local, unique shops. I really liked this place, as there was a nice blend of expensive stores and casual stores. I nearly purchased a really nice black, short-sleeved, button-down shirt, but since I already have one like it, I took a pass. We ate at a New England style seafood restaurant. Mom had a lobster roll, which was about as predictable as the sun going down come late afternoon. Thankfully, she liked it. We split an order of onion rings; this place makes over 25,000 pounds of them every year. They tasted light and had a nice crunch. Really good rings. Also, the portion size was manageable. Too many times, I order onion rings or strings and there are just so many that I feel full. Thankfully, that didn't happen. I ordered a whole belly Ipswich clam roll. It came on a toasted hot dog roll, with nothing. No tartar sauce, no lemon, no lettuce and tomato. Just the clams. They came out crispy and full of flavor. After all that fried food, at least I ordered a salad for my side. Unfortunately, the waitress never refilled our drinks. But she must have been in her 60s and I give her credit for learning to take orders on a tablet.

I did a little more window shopping. I went into an ice cream parlor and I was tempted to try either the orange pineapple or they key lime ice cream. I asked to sample them and I was told that the staff was not allowed to hand out samples. So I walked away. I liked the board game store too. I thought about getting games like Rook, Cribbage, and Sequence for Dogs. They even has bacon toothpaste, bacon bandages, and Jesus soap. I really wonder how excited the Lord is to know we're naming soap after him.

Anyway, we headed back north on the Tamiami trail. Port Charlotte was the first city over the Peace River after we left Punta Gorda. Suffice to say, there is nothing that would entice me to return there. It's just blah. Around Sarasota, there was some punk kid blasting his music so loud in the truck next to us that I felt my eardrums vibrating. Actually, I take that back. It wasn't music. It was vulgar rap. And our car windows were closed! I'm sorry, but that crap deserves a ticket. We eventually got back to the hotel around five.

After watching two episodes of Forensic Files, I left for Engine No. 9, a hockey-themed burger bar in downtown St. Petersburg. Of course, I wore a Rangers jersey and asked to watch Rangers vs. Devils. I had a Dogfish beer, which I enjoyed, before switching to a Yuengling draft. I ordered the Demi-God burger, which had Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, portabella mushrooms, caramelized onions, and horseradish mayo. It came out cooked perfectly medium and juicy. This burger was absolutely tremendous and I would definitely order it again. The sweet potato fries were crispy and thick. They came with ketchup, so of course, I just had them as is. Also, they had a little bit of a vanilla flavor to them. As for the game, the Rangers were winning 2-0 when I left and wound up winning 3-1 as Derek Stepan notched a hat trick. And for dessert, I finished off that last cannoli. I might need to work out in the morning before church tomorrow...

Florida-Day 2

I woke up at 6 am and headed straight to the gym. I ran on a treadmill for the first time in maybe eight months. I really wasn't sure how my right leg would hold up after suffering my leg injury in May. I started with a brisk walk at 4.0 mph. Every quarter mile, I increased the pace by half a mile. Eventually, I got it up to 7.0, which is a pretty fast run, but not an all-out sprint for me. I stayed on the treadmill for about 21 minutes. I could feel a little tightness above my right knee, but it went away pretty quickly. I don't know if I'm ready to run a 5k just yet; I think I may want to wait until I actually have medical insurance again before I do that. I also hit the dumbbells or a half hour and went down to grab breakfast. As part of our deal with Courtyard, we got $20 worth of food every day. I got an OJ and a "healthy" breakfast sandwich, as well a smoothie for Mom.

The first stop of the day was St. Pete Beach which is off the west coast of mainland St. Petersburg. We drove down the inlets, noticing a lot of hotels, summer beach homes, and small shops. It would be a really neat place to spend a weekend. One part of the inlet where we spent a lot of time is called Pass-A-Grille. Very laid back area, that may be best known for the Don CeSar hotel, an enormous pink hotel that has a lot of history in the area. They only had a few places to shop and eat, but it was just a really cool beach community.

We headed back over to the east side of St. Petersburg to check out Mazzaro's Italian market. This was in a tough area of town, surrounded by car washes, empty parking lots, and the site of a future Dunkin' Donuts. But I could tell this place was the real deal because it had statues outside of lions and the Virgin Mary. We went in and I nearly fainted. The smell of garlic, roasted peppers, and Italian cheese permeated through my nose, just making me feel so alive. We went to the deli counter, where about 20 people were waiting for their sandwich orders. Mom got a roast beef while I got a salami and capicola. They topped the sandwiches with provolone cheese, Romaine lettuce, Italian slaw, tomatoes, red onions, roasted peppers, oil, vinegar, and Italian spices. First, having lettuce and cabbage was really different. I almost feel like I didn't need the lettuce with the slaw being on there. And the red onions didn't work for me, I felt they were just too strong. But the meat was fresh and that bread was just perfect. Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and just thick enough to keep all those ingredients inside. Really good, though next time, I'd go for an Italian sausage or a chicken parmesan sandwich.

We also got two cannolis. I had never had a cannoli quite like this. The cream wasn't bright white, as most are. This had some brown specks. Later, I found out the brown specks were cinnamon oil. The oil gave the cannoli a richness and sophistication that I have never had in another cannoli. Just tremendous.

We then headed over to downtown St. Pete. I wanted to check out Haslam's, which is the largest bookstore in Florida. It wasn't as big as Powell's in Portland, but they had some cool things. One was an assortment of vintage jigsaw puzzles with some unique themes such as pencils, vending machines, the 60s, the Three Stooges, and state postcards. One of the interesting books was titled "Things Every Man Should Know." It had everything from dressing to changing a tire to poker terms to how to fart in public...Then, Mom spent about 45 minutes checking out shorts and shoes in a local shop. Meanwhile, I sat outside watching five dudes walk into an antique store together. They were either queer or...nah I guess there's no other possibility.

It was around 3:30 and we weren't quite sure what to do, so we went over to Hogan's Beach to grab a drink. This place opened two years ago and is a shrine to Hulk Hogan. It is in Tampa, right near the airport and on the water. It's also attached to a Best Western hotel, which may not be the best hotel to be associated with! I walked in and it was like a museum. On the wall were Hogan's movie posters and classic pictures from wrestling and films. There were glass cases filled with action figures, championship belts, and plenty of other Hogan odds and ends. We went to sit in the outside bar, but it was totally filled with smoke and there was barely any room. I refused to sit around smokers unless absolutely necessary. So we went back inside and sat at the empty bar and were told it wasn't open for five more minutes. We did not care about that. Here's what we did care about. Numerous tables had empty plates and baskets on them and had not been cleaned. Also, all the liquor bottles at the bar were covered with paper cone cups instead of pour spout tops. Even worse, three girls were standing around at the merch table, just yapping away and refusing to clean anything up. And the inside dining room was way too dark. There are championship belts on the highest parts of the walls. The problem is the lighting is so dark that they can barely be seen. Outside though, there are three bars and two sand volleyball courts. I guess this place is just a nightspot. The drinks were fine, though they took about ten minutes, came in plastic cups, and weren't exactly large.  I had a Hogan's punch, which was similar to a rum runner. And it was happy hour so I got it for $5.00 instead of $8.90. Nice discount. I went once and can't imagine returning.

After chilling at the hotel for a bit (homework time for me), we drove 25 minutes back to southwest St. Pete. We had dinner at Ted Peter's Smoked Fish. I can't imagine coming to this area and not eating there. I had a frosted mug of High Life $2.99. Mom's wine was served in a frosted mug as well, which was kind of crazy. We both ordered the mahi. It came with their German potato salad, which is unreal. It is loaded with bacon and bacon grease and had NO MAYO! It also comes with pineapple cole slaw and a slice of tomato, sweet onion, and a pickle spear. There are also sides of horseradish sauce and spicy horseradish sauce as well. I like to squeeze lemon on my fish and smear it with the spicy horseradish. Then I cut the tomato, pickle, and onion into small pieces and eat some of those with the fish. The mahi came out moist with a little bit of smoky flavor from the red oak that they use. It's just such a unique product and it tastes great and healthy at the same time.

Florida-Day 1

I was up at 2:45 am, going on about four hours of sleep. We had a 5:50 flight to catch to Charlotte on US Airways. It's very rare that I don't fly American, but the American flights to both Miami and Tampa were oversold, even the 5 am Miami flight. So we left around 3:30 am and headed to Blue Sky parking, where I always go. $8 a day is a pretty good rate at O'Hare.

So we checked in two bags and headed to the employee security line. This is the advantage of Mom being an active employee, well, just one of them. We get to skip the whole security line. We've been through this procedure a thousand times. Shoes off, belt off, liquids out, pockets emptied, laptop computer in its own tray. Not too difficult. Except Mom was held up. All of a sudden, one of the TSA guys produced a steak knife. It looked like one of ours, but it still didn't click for me. I then realized mom had packed four apples and some small containers of peanut butter. She brings these to work every day, along with a knife, which is no problem since she enters the airport through another entrance when she works there. This time, she simply forgot to take the knife out of her bag. They conducted an investigation, even calling in the Chicago police. I was worried we would get detained. Obviously, they confiscated the knife, which was not a big deal. But fortunately, after about a 20-minute wait, they let Mom go. As we were walking away, the chief cop called out to Mom, "Bananas tomorrow!"

We made the flight with about 20 minutes to spare. I was out of it; I probably slept 90 minutes of that 2-hour flight. In Charlotte, we split two slices of Sbarro pizza. They had a variety slice with meat and veggies and I chose a slice of cheese for the simple reason that it looked fresh. It held us over, at least. I also checked out the EA Sports store. It had a few places to play video games as well as some local sports gear. I thought about picking up a NC State shirt, since I took a class there, but nothing really suited me. The Tampa flight was pretty smooth. We got our luggage after what seems like 15 minutes and rented a gray Hyundai Accent from Alamo. We had two economy cars to choose from and I made the call based on it having a lot of plugs. Of course, I tried plugging my phone into the USB plug and...the plug is shot. I know it's not the charger; it worked in my car two days ago! So it's a good thing I brought along my portable multi-charger.

We checked into the Courtyard in Clearwater, which looks like a replica of the Tampa Courtyard we stayed in last year. Same layout, same lobby, same features, the whole she-bang. We headed to Ybor City in Tampa for Christmas dinner at Columbia. Even though our reservation was at 3, we were sat at 2. We got a different pitcher of sangria; this one was the imported. It used Torres brandy, plus a very high quality Spanish wine, called Sangre de Toro. I enjoyed it since the different liquors added a little sophisticated, well-rounded flavor to the sweetness of the fruit. Of course, we started with the 1905 salad with spicy shrimp. It is the simplest salad, but it is so good! Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, Swiss cheese, green olives, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Romano cheese...and that garlicky shrimp. It's just perfect. And of course, you get a hot loaf of Cuban bread! I just love my carbs! My entrée was Mahi Mahi veradero.  They took a piece of Mahi Mahi and crusted it in crushed plantain banana chips, topping it with a citrus butter sauce and fresh lump crabmeat. They served it with yellow rice and a mix of broccolini, red onions, and garlic. Just an amazing seafood dish.

We drove over to the AMC theater to catch the premier of "Unbroken." I have a tremendous amount of respect for Louis Zamperini. I have heard him speak several times and I have read the book that this film was based on. So I was looking forward to the movie, as were many other people, apparently. By the time we got on line, at least sixty people had already formed a line.  It was an incredibly emotional and powerful movie. My only real disappointment was that they overlooked his life once he returned from war. I know the film was over two hours long, but there is no doubt they could have extended it another 20 minutes. I would have liked a scene where he actually went back to Japan and met with his captors. Even if they ignored his faith conversion at the Billy Graham crusade, a scene in Japan would have helped bring the story full circle.

There wasn't much else to do at night except drink water, watch the Food Network and a Jeff Dunham special, and do a little homework. I tried studying the script for work, but without the videos, it's just not clicking for me yet.

The wait is over. Hired.

After a phone screening, a group interview, and 2 in-person interviews, the news is official. I have been hired as a union benefits representative. It's similar to working insurance, except I don't have to make cold calls and I work with unionized employees and not the general public.

I could go farther into the details of the position, but what's the point? Here's what I will say. I have been out of a full time job for eight months. I have had some very good times during those eight months and I have had some incredibly dark moments. Perhaps the lowest was the Monday before Thanksgiving when I realized I would not get any unemployment beyond six months. Aside from my weekly minimum wage job at Andy Frain, I had no more funds coming in. And that job was nowhere enough to pay my monthly bills; it was barely enough to put gas in the car.

I had applied for over 350 jobs and never had so much as a job offer. I was in school, earning all A's, and I had been promised I would get benefits till the end of my benefit year: April of 2015. And some prick at the front desk turns me away and says I can re-apply in six months. I know I don't have six months. I remember the pain of that Monday morning as I walked out of the unemployment office in Elgin, sat in my car, and I cried, I screamed, I cursed, I slapped the steering wheel.

I drove right over to Willow Creek Church and met with a care pastor. It was a young black gentleman, certainly younger than me, which seemed strange to me. But I went with it. He encouraged me, as I expected and gave me a few resources. I felt a little better, but still felt like I was totally drifting. I knew I had a few job opportunities, but until you get the actual offer, they're just that, opportunities. He did encourage me to give financially, which I knew I needed to do. And now it was even scarier.

Fast forward to Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve. Harvey Carey was the guest speaker at the midweek service at Willow Creek. He is a pastor in Detroit, full of life, energy, and passion for God. I knew I had to go. The topic was giving thanks in a strange place. He said so many memorable things but one of them that really stuck with me was this. He said it wasn't about just praying for circumstances to change. But I needed to pray to God for him to change me through my circumstances. That prayer is so much more powerful and impactful.

I can't say what changed, but I knew I was not going to be the same after that. And it took almost another month, but I finally got hired into a full time position. It is a radically different position than what I have been doing previously, but it required good communication, a willingness to help others, and a strong work ethic. That is me.

So $480 later, after having to buy a laptop and a temporary insurance license, I'm ready to go. Let's see what happens.

Twas the Friday before Christmas

And all through the condo, not a creature was stirring, except for the dog because she was hungry again. At least that's the way the story plays out here.

1) Maggie's appetite is relentless. She was even begging for some of Mom's salad. At least Hogan had discernment. He'd go for meat, cheese, and ice cream. Maggie, on the other hand, will go for anything you will put in front of her. I was eating sliced turkey and stuffing for lunch and she stared at me as if she was entitled to half. Of course I gave her about half a slice of turkey. So hard to resist that face!

2) So with another small bald patch on my goatee, I had to trim the sides off, leaving me with a mustache, soul patch, and some chin fuzz. The latest famous person I've been compared to...Captain Jack Sparrow.

3) I find it hysterical that this movie "The Interview" is basically banned from every major movie theater in America. Let me see if I understand this. Two drama movies can come out within a month about plotting to assassinate the U.S. President. But an absurd comedy about knocking off the North Korean dictator is so offensive that it cannot ever be mentioned again. Really? You know it's going to become a cult classic.

4) What is it with me and getting along with people who live out of state? I guess there is the advantage of being able to word your answers just how you want to before you hit the send button. Yet, it's not a real connection. Then, you might find out somebody is not who they said they were. Happened to me twice this year. Found out two certain females were complete frauds, for different reasons, living in the same state and both fans of the same baseball team I root for. Just lame. And pathetic.

5) "You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing total contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God." Dallas Willard. It's not easy. But I'm going to try.

Song pick: "There'll Be No Peace Without All Men As One" Ray Charles

Restaurant review: Standard Market Grill, Naperville IL

Oh my Lord, was this place awesome! The grocery store alone is tremendous, but my lunch at the Grill took me over the top. We had the grass fed burger with white cheddar cheese, tomato bacon jam, kale slaw, and red onion on a pretzel roll. I ordered it medium and it came out light pink in the middle and juicy. The jam was quite strong, but I liked how the raw onion cut the flavor. And you can't go wrong with a pretzel roll.

I also had the mustard honey chicken sandwich. Pretzel batard, grilled chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, roasted red pepper, bacon, avocado, Bibb lettuce, red onion, mustard-honey. Everything just came together perfectly. I'd order it again for sure.

And the sides are great. The market side salad as these soft cornbread croutons. There is no crouton anywhere near as good as these. And it's true, get the sweet potato fries. Incredibly thick, nicely seasoned, and a good honey-mustard dipping sauce. I want some chicken fingers for that mustard!!!

The Arnold Pomer was a really good drink; it's basically an Arnold Palmer with pomegranate juice. Very refreshing and refills are free. And there are no salt and pepper shakers. They give you a grinder that has coarse salt on one end and peppercorns on the other. You grind either side, so both the salt and pepper are as fresh as can be. Awesome. And the service was really good, everybody was very friendly.

For a casual place, the ingredients are top notch and the menu is unique and creative while being approachable. Definitely will return.

Sunflower Blogger Challenge

Thanks to the talented and beautiful Courtney Phillips who allowed me to take the Sunflower Blogger Challenge. I have to reveal 11 facts about myself and answer the 11 questions the previous blogger asked. Those who know me, I don't know if I'll be shocking you here! But I'll try to come up with some random facts. Either that or I'll have to make up some good facts...anyway, here we go.

1) My goatee has a tendency to disappear in certain spots for months at a time and then I need to trim or color the rest of it to make it look decent.

2) I believe I have brown eyes, but some people think I have hazel.

3) I wish there was a way I could be taller.

4) I have a space heater in my basement that I use on my feet, since they're almost always cold.

5) I have become a huge fan of DDP Yoga.

6) I do not eat ketchup, mayo, water chestnuts, Indian food, sushi, croutons, olives, or most things with chocolate.

7) I once drew arrows with crayons on my parents' new wallpaper. I was watching Sesame Street and had this divine inspiration. I couldn't understand why they were so angry at me!

8) The celebrity most people say I look like is Mike Piazza.

9) I have had two dogs in my life: both cocker spaniels.

10) My favorite state to visit is Arizona...and I've been to over 40.

11) My least favorite row on an airplane is the first row of coach. It allows for too an easy a view of first class and you don't reap any of the benefits. It's an evil tease!


Courtney's questions to me

1) If you had to eat the same meal for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
Pasta with some meat and vegetables

2) Baseball or football?
Go to baseball, but football on TV

3) What's a book you've read more than once?
"Everyone's Normal Till You Get to Know Them" John Ortberg

4) Blue raspberry or cherry?
Cherry, I don't think I've seen blue raspberry.

5) Would you want a fancy wedding or a more frugal one?
I would go frugal. I don't understand spending lavishly on weddings if there are more pressing financial needs.

6) What's your biggest pet peeve?
Drivers who do not use turn signals

7) Y'all or you guys?
You guys

8) New York or Nashville?
New York! But I am going back to Nashville in February for the first time in 15 years, so let's see how that goes!

9) Dr. Pepper or Coke?
Coke. That's a layup! And throw in a lime!

10) How has the Lord blessed you recently?
A groupon to Comedy Sportz in downtown Chicago

11) If money weren't a worry, what job would you like to have for the rest of your life?
Restaurant reviewer

If anyone is interested, here are my questions to any blogger reading this...

1) Favorite non-chocolate dessert?
2) Train or bus?
3) Favorite Bible book?
4) Beatles or Rolling Stones?
5) Favorite musical instrument?
6) Least favorite sound?
7) What business is not near where you live, but you wish it was?
8) Best place you've ever traveled?
9) Most important quality you look for in a friend?
10) If you could meet one person from history, who would it be?
11) If you were to live in a country other than America, where would you live?

Thanksgiving

The last three days have been hell on me. The government took away my unemployment and I now have no more money coming in. After three brutal days and struggle that has lasted seven months and is still going on, I will say this.

I am so glad I went to Willow Creek church last night and heard the great Harvey Carey PREACH about giving thanks in strange places. I'm going to hold onto that message. I'm going to hold onto my faith in God's power to change me, not just my circumstances. I will give thanks because these are the times when people are tested and I'm getting that opportunity now.

I will never be perfect. I will not be the same person again. I'm going to a better man coming out of this desert, even if I don't know when time may come. Even in the midst of this darkness, I will not be broken!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Scrunched

I was really excited to work an NFL game. But since it was in St Louis, I had to get up early. Specifically, I woke up at 2:45 am.
I left home at 3:15 and made it to the Enterprise in Schaumburg just before 4 where I met up with my colleagues from the event staffing company. We crammed 14 people in a supposed 15 seat passenger can. I took the backseat.

I slept most of the 4.5 hour trip, listening to a few podcasts on the way. This was actually my first tune in downtown St Louis. We had to pay about a dollar each for parking. Considering we were working, I have no idea why we'd pay for parking. We walked into the annex section of the Edward Jones Dome.
As the uniform requirements stated, I removed my jacket and hoodie and put on the white polo shirt over my white t shirt.

My group was sitting in this area that between the rows of plastic chairs, concrete floor, and drab, industrial atmosphere, looked like it was right out of the DMV. In a roped off area of the room, I could see people sitting at round tables and eating. I looked closer and I could see a carving station we couldn't access. What a tease!

A supervisor I'd never seen pulled me up and I was suddenly facing everyone else. He also pulled three girls I didn't know. I had no idea why we were standing. Someone said it was because we were not wearing the right shoes. I didn't see that as my shoes were basically all black, unlike the girls.

Eventually we got escorted out of the room and out of the building into the 30 degree temps. It was around 9:15 am. I wound up working at a bag requirements booth, which are stationed all around the dome. Basically, this guy Jay had a megaphone and read a script about what was and wasn't allowed in the building. Clear bags and small purses a
Only, it's been an NFL policy since last year. Jay made the announcements. Meanwhile, I just stood there passing out tiny plastic bags to anyone who wanted them.

The temperature wasn't too bad initially. There wasn't much wind either, which would have made it really tough working outside. But the weather got worse quickly. Around 10, the snow started falling. Now I had no idea I'd be outside. I couldn't find my winter hat and I just had my gloves and a very light jacket. Standing there for all those hours, I was freezing. My bigger job was probably not catching hypothermia. Time just refused to go by. What felt like an hour turned out to be only 15 minutes.

At 12:30, we went inside to thaw out. My legs felt so stiff, but I couldn't wait to get inside that building. They walked us back outside and over to the annex building again. Other workers were turning in their white polo shirts and jackets, but I knew none of these people, so I wasn't sure what to do. I just went into my bag and ate my almond butter sandwich and apple. And I just sat down in the DMV, waiting for what to do next. I didn't really care what I did, I just wanted to stay inside.

A few of my fellow Chicago employees showed up and not too long after that, we we were told we could go home. We left around 1:45. But the aggravation wasn't over.

As we left, I realized my gloves were gone. Terrific. My new pair lasted three weeks.
On the ride home, we had one extra rider. Of course, they sit in the backseat. So we have four people smashed together like sardines for a five hour van ride back to Schaumburg. This wasn't working an NFL game. I never saw the concourse, never saw the field, never saw one play. We were treated like cattle today.

I'll try this again

My last post refused to save. So I'll try this again. Let me say this right now. It is amazing how many women I've encountered in the last few years who are outright liars. Whether it's their actions, their intentions, their feelings, or as I just found out tonight, their very identity. The more I deal with this drama and aggravation, the more I understand why fewer and fewer people are getting married nowadays. Yet in spite of the pain, I still want to believe in love. I wonder sometimes if I'm fooling myself.

I have been working at Andy Frain staffing for about a month now. Mostly I have been checking bags, scanning tickets, working security, operating elevators, and cleaning the Sears Center. And in that time, I have covered a festival for Indian people, an  MMA event, and a figure skating competition. I have learned a few things during those events. For one thing, if a company pays you crap, they will treat you like crap too. Terrible communication, terrible organizing, and tough working conditions. And I can't bear to stand for more than a couple of hours or my legs just lock up. Yet there is something about it I like. While I can see myself enjoying working at events, this particular t role is not easy work, nor does it reward well. I think on November 4, it is a safe bet that I will be voting to raise the minimum wage in Illinois.

If I am not having fun at a party, I am just not going to stay.

So tonight is Halloween and we had our first snowfall of the season. It may have just been flurries, but is another reminder that the cold weather is not just upon us; it is actually here. And my friend who I walked with today along with my dog, wanted to go for about an hour outside. The wind was whipping, the chill is in the air, and my face was down to block the wind. She must have been crazy. But good old Maggie seemed to enjoy the walk though. I let her off the leash and she sprinted after what must have been fifty geese, who immediately flew up into the grey sky.

I worked a conference at church on Thursday which was an awesome experience. Author Donald Miller was there to put on his storyline conference. A lot of big speakers were there, including figure skater Scott Hamilton. I worked the merchandise table, which was a lot of fun, as I got to scan credit cards on an iPad.  I thought it was kind of cool. Plus at the pastry table, which was right next to ours, they had trays of cinnamon rolls for everybody. How could I possibly pass those up? Okay, I tried to be conservative and I had two.

But the best part of the day was early in the morning around 8 when I was working the merchandise table and I heard somebody call my name. I turned to my right and there stood my old friend Ingrid from college. She looked beautiful as ever and I went right up to her and gave her one of the biggest hugs I've ever given anybody. I had not seen her in 10 years and it was such a total wonderful shock. I wish I could have spent some time with her,  but what can I say, time just doesn't always allow us to do the things we want to do the most. But even if I had not heard any of the lectures, seeing her made my experience with it.

The best chicken wings I have ever had are still at Crosstown pub in Naperville, Illinois. The dry rubbed breaded chili lime wings can't be beat. But the combination of their lemon pepper rub and garlic Parmesan sauce is absolutely wonderful too. My group got this 18 inch pretzel which had 3 different spice rubs on it, plus 3 dipping sauces, including a chorizo and cilantro cheddar cheese dip. I could not believe how good this was.

To think that the last time I had a haircut was when I got Maggie, which was mid June. So I went over 4 months without getting one until I did it today. Safe to say it was long overdue and I feel like I have now lost about 20 pounds.

God, please know that I want to work a meaningful job and I feel like I have something to contribute to this hurting, messed up world. Please don't forget me. Amen.

It's here

I had a whole post written with some deep and insightful crap, and it didn't save. It's gone. Screw the blogger app. That's all.

Mets targets

So the Mets season has ended. 79 wins vs 83 losses. There are bright signs in Flushing, but this team is still short on offense. Now nobody realistically expects this team's payroll to skyrocket. It's at $80 million, which was 23rd in baseball this offseason. That's just not going to cut it. 

The starting pitching looks loaded between a returning Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, and Bartolo Colon. Top prospect Noah Syndergaard is expected to join the rotation sometime this season. And the bullpen looks as solid as out had sine 2006, with Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Carlos Torres, Josh Edgin, and Bobby Parnell, if he can come back from Tommy John surgery.

The lineup...still too many questions. David Wright needs to regain his form, as does Curtis Granderson. Without those two playing well, this team is not going anywhere. Travis d'Arnaud, Juan Lagares, and Lucas Duda are all starters. I believe Daniel Murphy will open the season at second base, but could easily be traded during the season. Excellent hitter, but pretty average at everything else and his contract ends next year. Shortstop would be a nice addition, but I think they'll give Wilmer Flores a shot at winning the job. But they need a veteran SS in as well.

This team needs a bat. I'd prefer one in the outfield, but would take one at shortstop. Here are ten guys I would target, whether in free agency or a trade. I had JJ Hardy listed until he signed an extension with Baltimore. 

1. Yoenis Cespedes OF 
2. Starlin Castro SS 
3. Michael Cuddyer OF 
4. Nick Markakis OF 
5. Michael Morse OF  
6. Asdrubal Cabrera 2B/SS
7. Hanley Ramirez SS
8. Ben Zobrist SS/OF
9. Yasmany Tomas OF
10. Nelson Cruz OF

Captain Mike's

I tried a burger bar in Kenosha, WI called Captain Mike's today. It was one of the most conflicting restaurant experiences I've had in a long time.

This is the classic "I wish I could give it 3.5 stars" review. So I'll take it from the beginning. I love the atmosphere. The walls, the beer taps, the fish tank, the vending machines, etc. This place has its own style and makes no apologies for it. I have all the respect in the world for that.

The female bartender was very nice and offered to give me a sample of some of their 30 draft beers. I requested two and she brought them pretty quickly. I ordered one of them a little bit later, but she apparently forgot. So I had to drink water with my burger and fries. I'm sorry, but how do you forget a beer order if you're a bartender and the bar doesn't hold more than 15 people?

Another complaint, the menu. It's changed quite a bit from the online version. Now there are more options, the 10 ounce burger is now an 8 ounce burger, and prices are actually higher. This needs to be updated.

We actually started with soups. I had the beer cheese soup. Very cool that they served pretzel rolls with it. And they don't skimp on the portions, it's a lot of soup! Great quality bacon, very cheesy, and very satisfying. The lobster bisque was tomato based and came with a shot of sherry, a pretty cool idea. I was told it was okay, though she prefers a creamy base. However, we waited 10 minutes to get our soup. I'd had maybe three tastes of my beer cheese soup and...out come the burgers! Hello kitchen, let's work on our timing!

Anyway, I had the cheeseburger walrus with cheddar and Swiss, mushrooms, onions, and horseradish mayo. Half a pound of grass fed beef, char-grilled. There are so few places that char-grill burgers now (what is the obsession with the flat top?) and I give this place major props. The roll was soft, the burger was juicy, and the toppings were great. Really good burger. Of course, they forgot that I requested bacon on it as well...they are forgetting both bacon and a beer???

And the fresh cut fries...sweet Lord, thank you. Thick cut, a little peppery seasoning, crunchy exterior. Excellent fries.

Here's the deal, folks. This place has some great positives, but I had to deal with quite a few negatives that I wasn't happy about. I would come back though since the burger is just that good. I live two hours away, but I'll give them another shot one of these days.

Food spots

So I've written a few more reviews for Yelp lately and I decided to share a few of my findings on my blog as well. My Yelp restaurant reviews can all be found through here.

1) About six weeks ago, I tried Peanut Butter Planet in downtown Glen Ellyn. I'm a big fan of nut butters and I figured this might be a quick snack that I might enjoy. Well, I had a sandwich with honey-cinnamon roasted peanut butter, apple butter, and bananas on New England bread. I could have used some bacon for a little crunch. But then again, what sandwich isn't better with bacon? And I just found out the place closed this week! No great loss.

2) I always hesitate to try new restaurants in the first week or two that they're open because service is usually shaky, the cooks are still figuring things out, and the overall timing just isn't down yet. But following the Jets' latest horrific loss, I went over to the 9th edition of the Tap House Grill. I liked getting a $3.50 Sam Adams Octoberfest pint; just an excellent value. I started with the chicken fingers. The six fingers came out exactly how they should. The meat was juicy and the crispy that didn't overwhelm the chicken. The sauces, the honey mustard and the Sam Adams BBQ sauce, complemented the chicken very well. The BBQ sauce had a little smokiness that I really enjoyed. 

We also got a side of Brussels sprouts. The portion was quite large, but they could have used a little more seasoning. I also got the prime rib pretzel dip sandwich. I was hoping it would be a little larger for $12.50. The prime rib was moist and the au jus was really flavorful and a good beef flavor. The horseradish sauce added just the right amount of kick. So I enjoyed the food, but I would encourage the cooks to use a little more S & P!

We got to sit in a booth, which was comfortable and we had a huge flatscreen TV right in front of us, which definitely helps establish the sports atmosphere. Service was attentive and they kept our water glasses full. Tap House is a good place to hang with friends, throw back a cold one, and enjoy some good food.

NHL Predictions

Atlantic Division
c-Boston
x-Tampa Bay
x-Montreal
x-Detroit
Toronto
Ottawa
Florida
Buffalo

Metropolitan Division
y-NY Rangers
x-Pittsburgh
x-Columbus
x-Washington
Philadelphia
NY Islanders
New Jersey
Carolina

Central Division
y-Chicago
x-Colorado
x-St. Louis
x-Dallas
Minnesota
Nashville
Winnipeg

Pacific Division
c-Anaheim
x-Los Angeles
x-San Jose
x-Vancouver
Arizona
Edmonton
Calgary

Eastern Conference Finals
Boston over Tampa Bay

Western Conference Finals
Chicago over Colorado

Stanley Cup Finals
Boston over Chicago

Hart: Sidney Crosby
Calder: Jonathan Drouin
Vezina: Tuukka Rask
Norris: Drew Doughty
Selke: Patrice Bergeron
Adams: Jon Cooper

Two plays

It is time for a sports vent. Jets vs Bears. Monday Night Football. National TV audience. As a resident of Chicagoland for 17 years, it's freaking huge. And all it took for me was two damn plays. After a 10-yard run by Geno Smith, along with a  15-yard Bears penalty, I got my ammunition. A bootleg left intercepted and returned for a touchdown. That was all it took. I said nothing. I didn't yell. I didn't curse. I just flipped the TV to wrestling and Ryder Cup coverage for the rest of the night.

I wish to God I knew nothing about sports. It has provided so much more pain than joy in my life. Especially when I think of some of the people I've interacted with in the last five years, including some of the people who root for my teams. They know who they are. But anyway, this is the way I was meant to be. I can't change it now.

20 years without a championship in any sport. There's been only one that I can remember. The curse will probably last the rest of my life. Time for another beer.

Reset button

Haven't written in a while now. It feels like life has almost been too chaotic to stop and take the time to record my thoughts and emotions. It's Saturday and it's late. And I'm alone. So let's go rapid fire tonight.

1) What a treasure to find a recently discovered Jim Croce live recording of such good quality. It's called "Lost Time in a Bottle." And to think the bulk of it was recorded at Harper College, only 45 minutes away from my house. Speaking of which, I applied for a financial aid job at Harper five days ago. It would be amazing if something came out of it.

2) So I had a big interview at Waubonsee Community College this past Wednesday and I do think it went okay. I interviewed with a seven-person panel, which was a totally new experience for me. The interview lasted about 45 minutes and I think I was prepared for just about every question the committee threw at me. It was interesting when the leader of the panel walked me out afterwards and asked about my previous job and why I left. It's almost as if he was trying to trap me, I don't know. But now I wait, and if I did well enough, I will interview with the Vice-President of the school sometime in the no too distant future.

3) The Mets are officially eliminated from the playoff race with 8 games to go. They need to go 6-1 in the last seven games to just go .500 for the first time since 2008. Sorry, but a .500 record doesn't do it for me. The performances of some of the young players, like Travis d'Arnaud, Jacob deGrom, Jeurys Familia, Zack Wheeler, and even Wilmer Flores, have me excited about where this team can go. But they need another bat, especially in a corner outfield. This lineup is simply not potent enough to make the playoffs next season, even if a healthy Matt Harvey returned to the rotation next season. With a terrible free agent crop looming, I think the Mets will try to make a trade for someone, but I don't see it happening.  Maybe a Yoenis Cespedes, who crushes balls when he puts the bat on them. I don't know what it would take for the Red Sox to trade him, but Sandy Alderson should inquire about him.

4) I made my two visits to Hot Doug's  last month and I thought I was content with those being my last two visits before they close in two weeks. Now, I rent the Hot Doug's book from the library and now I'm dying to go back one more time before they close. Even reading about retiring encased meats makes my mouth start to water!

5) One sign that someone isn't a good communicator. They ask you a question, only to interrupt your answer five seconds in so they can ask you another question.

C Ya Hot Doug's

Hot Doug's is, simply stated, a Chicago landmark.  As much of a foodie as I am, I don't say something like that about restaurants too easily. The encased meats emporium, where one can get hot dogs and sausages made of exotic meats, distinctive toppings, and cheeses that nobody in America knew existed. I had been there myself 5 or 6 times before. Sometimes the menu looks appealing and sometimes the special sausages look so over the top that they were just too much for me to make the hour drive for. But when I did, I knew there was no other place like it. Open 10:30-4, six days a week, cash only. The hot sausages named after beautiful women. the option to get a hot dog deep-fried and then grilled! Duck fat fries on Fridays and Saturdays. Several times, I went before a Mets-Cubs day game at Wrigley. I'd be dressed in my Mets garb. Doug, the owner, would always man the counter. He would tell me stories about going to college in New York in the 1980's, when Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry owned New York baseball.

Then in May, Doug confirmed they would be closing in early October. Chicagoans couldn't believe it. This is such a unique place and to lose it is pretty hard to take. Doug has given no reason other than it's time to different things, as in get out of the restaurant business. So I knew I was going to make one last trip to Hot Doug's before they closed. I went on a Saturday in the middle of the afternoon before heading to Ring of Honor wrestling later that night.

I left at 1:30, as it usually takes an hour to get to the Avondale neighborhood. Just before I left, the rain began. It took me 90 minutes. I parked and got on line an hour before closing. I had my Jets slicker on as the rain came down on me and the 150 or so other people on line. One of the workers came outside and told our section of the line that we'd have to wait 90 minutes or so, but we would get served. Long story short, it took 2 hours and 45 minutes. I didn't get to the counter until 5:45, nearly 2 hours after they closed.

Doug asked me if Gerry Philbin was in the house, referring to the Jets old defensive end from the 1960's. He asked me how long it would take until Michael Vick would start over Geno Smith. and I told him I thought Geno would be okay. That remains to be seen, but I do have faith in the kid. With all these kinds of conversations, it's easy to see why the line moves so slowly. Anyway, I ordered 3 sausages. First was the bacon and cheddar smoked elk with Eugene porter mustard, Jarlsberg cheese and crispy fried onions. I really enjoyed the gamey flavor of the elk. There was a little flavor of bacon and cheese, but thankfully not so much where the elk flavor was overwhelmed. And you can't go wrong with crispy onions. I got the smoked Texas pork hot link with Coca-Cola BBQ Sauce, white cheddar cheese curds and pickled green tomatoes. I really enjoyed this one. A good pork flavor with a little touch of spice, though not hot. The curds weren't deep fried, like I expected though. Finally, there was the porcini and parmesan chicken with chèvre aioli, roasted red peppers and mushrooms sautéed in duck fat. This one was disappointing. The aioli just took over the sausage. I ate maybe a third of it and I was done. I basically picked off the mushrooms and roasted peppers and just ate those. The French fries were hot and fresh cut, just great.

I thought that was my last trip. But the guys from my small group decided that they wanted in. So we agreed that the next Saturday, we'd go to Hot Doug's and Firecakes, a donut place in the River North section of Chicago. We decided to meet in Schaumburg at 9 am and drive in together. Well, Matt never showed up, he slept in. It was his idea from the beginning anyway! So it was myself. Jon, Fil, and Fil's friend, Ashley. We got to the corner of Roscoe and California at 10 am, a pretty smooth drive. The line was three times as long as it had been the previous Saturday. On that line, we played hearts and Heads Up. Long story short, it took five hours to get through that line and order our food. Basically 20 percent of our day was waiting in that line! 

I got the mountain man sausage. It's a very tasty combination of antelope, elk, venison and buffalo with red currant mustard and smoked gouda cheese. This was one of the 2 or 3 best sausages I've had there and easily the best I'd had between these two visits. It tasted gamey. The smoked gouda added a little nutty flavor. The currant mustard gave it a bold, sophisticated flavor. It all came together so well. And over that charcoal grill, well, that just put it over the top.

 

I also had the steak au Poivre sausage with four roses bourbon mustard, Irish whiskey cheese and crispy fried onions. This was pretty good, although I can't say I was thinking the sausage tasted like a steak. The mustard tasted really strong too. It was a pretty good sausage; the mountain man was just better. And the duck fat fries were amazing, as always.

It's sad to see something so good and so unique go away. Life will go on, of course. But hey, it was a great place to check out while it lasted. Thank you, Doug Sohn.

NFL Predictions

AFC East

c-New England 13-3

Miami 9-7

NY Jets 7-9

Buffalo 5-11

AFC North

y-Cincinnati 10-6

x-Pittsburgh 10-6

Baltimore 7-9

Cleveland 6-10

AFC South

y-Indianapolis 10-6

Tennessee 5-11

Houston 5-11

Jacksonville 2-14

AFC West

y-Denver 13-3

x-Kansas City 10-6

San Diego 8-8

Oakland 4-12

NFC East

y-NY Giants 10-6

Philadelphia 9-7

Washington 6-10

Dallas 5-11

NFC North

y-Green Bay 12-4

x-Chicago 10-6

Detroit 7-9

Minnesota 3-13

NFC South

y-New Orleans 12-4

Carolina 8-8

Tampa Bay 7-9

Atlanta 6-10

NFC West

c-Seattle 12-4

x-San Francisco 11-5

Arizona 5-11

St. Louis 4-12

AFC Championship

Denver over Indianapolis

NFC Championship

Green Bay over Seattle

Super Bowl

Denver over Green Bay

ROH Predictions for tonight

Ring of Honor presents Death Before Dishonor XII tonight in Chicago Ridge. I would think this is around the 30th ROH event I have attended. I've been going nine years and I've attended about 3-4 shows a year. One of these days, I should count up my tickets and see how many it's been. This isn't the most stacked card I've ever seen. But the 8-man elimination match and the return of Adam Pearce has me excited. Here are my picks.

ROH World Championship

"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa

 Elgin. He just won the title two months ago and is not losing it this fast.

8-Man Team Elimnation Match

The Briscoes, Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs The Young Bucks & ROH World Tag Team Champions, reDRagon

Tough call. I can't just pic the winning team, but who will survive. I definitely think it's a 1-on-1 in the finals. I think O'Reilly survives. If it's the other team, I pick Mark Briscoe.

 

"The Phenomenal" AJ Styles vs Cedric Alexander

The veteran AJ wins, but puts the up and coming star over.

Adam Cole vs Hanson

Adam Cole BAY-BAY! 

ROH World TV Champion Jay Lethal w/ Truth Martini vs Caprice Coleman

Non-title match, so i'll pick Caprice and a new feud is under way.

 

Adam Pearce vs. Adam Page

Pearce. Layup.

Veggie redemption

Dinner on Friday night was kind of lackluster. I hate to sound that way, being that people are starving. But the execution just wasn't as good as it could have been. The salmon was a little bit overcooked and the roasted veggies...well they didn't work out so well. We has summer squash, zucchini, carrots, eggplant, red onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, and a few seasonings in two pans that were filled pretty high to the rim and covered with foil. Unfortunately, they were filled so high that they couldn't really roast. And like the salmon, they were cooked so long that they really steamed more than they roasted. And then they were in the oven so long then when I tasted them, they just tasted like mush. I couldn't say anything. Hell hath no fury after all...But I wondered to myself, "How can I make these taste better?" The fact is they were going to be even worse leftover unless something was done.

The next day, Mom told me she had a plan. An old recipe that had worked before. But she had lost it somewhere along the way. I figured why not. So she took the veggies and put them in a casserole dish. She added some brown rice. She added some Mario Batali tomato sauce. She topped that with some mozzarella and cheddar cheeses and baked it the oven. I proceeded to broil it for a few minutes to get that nice crust on top. I took a bite and that was one of the best veggie dishes I'd ever had!

How did this happen? Because someone knew a tried and true recipe that still worked no matter how old it was. All it took was being in the hands of someone who remembered it and knew how to use it. And that reminded me of a spiritual lesson. God is still there if I will seek him and call on him. And it applies in another way. God is like the chef. He sees potential in thigns I don't. He can make great things out of what looks like garbage. He can make what tastes lousy suddenly taste great. And his recipes still work. They aren't going out of style and they will not fail.

Robin

Robin Williams was one of my favorite actors/comedians.entertainers of all time. There was no one else like him. As zany and wild as he could be, he had legitimate talent for acting. I'm planning to watch a few more Robin Williams films over the next week, especially "The Fisher King" and "Insomnia." And I already ahve my DVR set to record "One Hour Photo," a psychologial thriller that looks mesmerizing. I'm not going to rate which of his movies I thought were the best, that can be debated all night long. I'm not going to rate which of his performances was the best, everyone can have a different opinion. Rather, I'm going to list ten of his roles that I will most closely identify him with. Truth is there's a bit of a gap between 3 and 4!

1) Mrs. Doubtfire
2) Good Will Hunting
3) Dead Poets Society
4) Good Morning, Vietnam
5) Jumanji
6) The Birdcage
7) Hook
8) Patch Adams
9) Night at the Museum
10) License to Wed

The first two rank in my top five movies of all time. Mrs. Doubtfire is one of those movies that came out right as my parents got divorced. I remember seeing it in the theater in Edison, NJ on Oak Tree Rd, right near the Chili's and where the Kenny Rogers' Roasters used to be. I can't remember if I teared up, but I walked out feeling like things could be okay. I think I needed that then. The great thing is it is a movie that lasts and has only become more relevant as divorce as skyrocketed in this country. I was amazed to learn that there were talks about a sequel. Twenty years later! I don't know what the record is for the longest amount of time between the original and sequel, but this would have to be right up there. Shame it's never going to happen.

Good Will Hunting is one of only five movies I own on DVD, so that should indicate what kind of impact it had on me. It still reminds me of college. It's funny and I don't know how to explain why, but every time I see the film, I come away feeling stronger and more confident about myself. It was great to see Robin win his only Academy Award for this role. If I ever do return to Boston, I'll have to head to the Common and sit on the bench where he gave that amazing monologue about love, loss, and experiencing life. That may just be my favorite scene in cinema history.

Another summer's promise almost gone

1) It's that time when each day takes forever to pass. Then all of a sudden you look back and wonder where those days went.

2) Some people are just meant to come into our lives for a season. When that's the case, the best thing to do is be at peace with it, appreciate the good times, and let it go.

3) Cuban mojo pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus with parmean, ice cream with fruit and caramel sauce. Good menu for cooking with someone.

4) Looking forward to seeing my friend from Manitoba who's in town for the week. We'll be meeting at the Squared Circle and watching Raw. It's always cool to meet someone else who can appreciate pro wrestling and not disrespectfully dismiss it as childish and fake. When it's done right, it's a physical art form. When it's done wrong, it's a messy, awkward science.

5) I actually applied to be the editor of Second City Hockey. I probably don't have a hope in hell of getting this. One of the requirements is that they be an avid Chicago Blackhawk fans. I'm not going to lie about my allegiance, but I still think I can write about the team effectively. Maybe I won't get a second thought from the powers that be. But if I do, well, who knows.

6) Never eating the deep dish pizza at the food court at Willow Creek Church. Overcooked sauce and too much of it.

7) Thinking I'm almost ready to try the DDP Yoga Double Black Dimaond workout. I've done the Diamond Cutter maybe ten times already. This one is ever harder and it's over an hour long as opposed to the 50 minutes in the Diamond Cutter.

8) A lot of people were optimistic about the Jets coming into this season. I like the roster, but I was always uneasy. The schedule is the big reason. They face one great quarterback after another and they are thinnest at CB. The genius GM doesn't bring on one starting caliber CB, even allowing Darrelle Revis to go New England, of all teams. So what happens in one day in practice? Their top pick from last year, and number one CB, Dee Milliner, has a high ankle sprain and he's out for a month. His status for Opening Day is in doubt. And their 3rd round pick this year, Dexter McDougle, tears his ACL and is out for the season! I love Rex Ryan, but he needs to pull a rabbit out of his ass and figure out a way to get a decent secondary out of this group. Cause if Milliner is not healthy, I don't know how it's going to happen.

9) This past weekend actually felt weird. And it went by so slow. I didn't travel out of state for a change. Hoping to get back to New York before the year is over though.

10) P.S. You do not run on Juan Lagares!!!!

Portland-Part 2

It was disappointing having to miss John Ortberg preach at Willow Creek this weekend. So what instead was my top priority on a Sunday morning? Voodoo donuts, of course. The line was well out the door at 9 am and I think we waited about a half hour in line. Now I'm not a big donut eater, but this is quintessential Portland. We got a bacon maple bar, apple fritter, old fashioned with glaze and orangutan, which had orange frosting and orange sprinkles. We split all four. I have to admit eating those donuts just make you smile. The bacon maple was by far my favorite. I wish they had a raised donut with granulated sugar; that is by far my favorite. And although they offer it, I did not get married at Voodoo donuts.

 

We walked a block east to the Portland Saturday market. It was just getting started, so most of the stands were still setting up. We looked for a winter coat for Maggie, but couldn't really come to a consensus. It seemed either the size was off, the color was bad, or the lining didn't have fleece. We headed back to the courtyard, checked out, and took a cab to the Crowne Plaza. This hotel is in the northeast district and mom had a free night there since her tour was beginning the next day. It's a very nice hotel that used to be a Holiday Inn before it got remodeled. It's not the nicest area around the hotel, I mean you wouldn't expect a Martin Luther King Blvd to be a block away from a Crowne Plaza. We walked two blocks and took a streetcar back to the Northwest district.

Mom wanted to show me the Alphabet district, which is just west of the Pearl district. It's a more casual, yet very trendy shopping area. We found a nice gray and black winter coat for Maggie at 60% off. Not bad at all. We checked out a few stores and many were nice. One leather store had some great shoes, belts, and bags. Another had these really soft shirts. Sadly, they were well out of my price range.

 

For lunch, we settled on McMeniman's Ram. This company has several dozen pubs and restaurants throughout Oregon. My visit there made me wonder why. First, the music is just too loud. For a bar that tries to be decent and classy, and did not have many people sitting inside, I still had to raise my voice to have a conversation. When I got my iced tea, there was no straw or lemon. I asked the server for a straw and she didn't get me one until I asked again. In addition to our server not being very available, I'm not even sure she ever smiled at us even one time.

To the food. I ordered the communication breakdown burger with cheese, peppers mushrooms, and onions. I got the burger and I see something white on it. My hear sank. This burger had a mixture of mayo and horseradish and the menu never specified it. I guess that's why it's called a communication breakdown burger... I don't eat mayo and since the menu did not mention that there would be mayo, this really bothered me.  Mom gave me her lamb burger and she took mine. The lamb burger was fine, but not worth that much aggravation. Disappointing service and a misleading menu would keep me from coming back. We should have gone to Escape from New York for pizza or to the Jewish deli next door for a pastrami sandwich. But I let mom make the call. This time, it didn't work.

 

We walked east and went shopping in the Pearl district. We passed the Timbers soccer stadium so I took a couple of shots. They've did out every game in their the year history, which is impressive. But I'm amazed their season ticket waitlist is 6,000 people long!

 

We stopped into a yoga store on Couch St. That's pronounced kooch...I have no idea why. I must admit I noticed the employees' dress code, as they were wearing yoga outfits. One attractive woman, who must have been 40-something, offered to assist me and she was wearing a white tank top and black yoga shorts. Kind of hard not to stare, but I'm a gentleman after all. I saw one shirt that was super nice; it was a pima cotton shirt. Light blue and really soft. Unfortunately, it was a little out of my budget. Maybe one day.

 

By now, it was late afternoon and I wasn't sure what else to do. We took the streetcar loop down to south Portland, to the Portland State University campus. It took about an hour to get back. Eventually, we switched cars and found our way back to the hotel. I definitely needed to rest for a few minutes. We watched an episode of bar rescue and walked a few blocks to grab dinner at Schmizza, which is a local pizza that mom recommended. And...it was another clunker. First, when I order a Coke, I order Coke. Not a Pepsi. Coke. We then ordered a veggie pizza. They forgot the pesto chicken, which we requested. But the quality of the pizza was mediocre at best. The crust on the bottom was so soft, no crispness at all. The sauce tasted overdone. The veggies were definitely fresh though. But I have no idea why mom liked this place. Mom definitely swung and missed on both food picks, which is unusual. She typically just missed on movie picks.

 

We got back and I was ready to be alone, so I put on my bathing suit and headed to the pool. Well so much for relaxation! Lots of grandparents and grandkids, so there went any chance for quiet. I sat in the whirlpool for maybe 15 minutes and that was it. In the room, I watched two episodes of Frankenfood, read for a half hour, and went to bed.

 

And it came to be Monday morning. I actually had a weird dream that I got hired by Costco and it turned out to be military training. I have no idea, maybe it was something in that lousy pizza sauce. I had the $15.00 breakfast buffet, which was free since mom scored a voucher. After another workout, I loaded up on scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, wheat toast, potatoes with peppers, pineapple, and cantaloupe. Mom gave up her voucher for me, which she didn't have to do. But she had a Keurig coffee machine in her room, so I guess she can't complain.

 

She spent most of the morning trying to set up her voicemail and work email on her phone, which only took about four hours. Not even kidding. And the Mets were on at 9 in the morning. Of course they blew the game late. They are so dead, it is ridiculous. Anyway I left around 11:30 for the airport. The Portland airport is so different than anything else I've seen. With drop offs, cars, cabs, and shuttles all converge in the same area and there is next to no room. Ticketing went smooth and then came security. One woman swabbed my wrist with what looked like a band aid. I have no idea why my wrist was suspicious. Then they check the ID and ticket as normal. But I couldn't take my own tray. The agent chose whether we'd get one. She decided no and I stuffed everything into my backpack, but I could leave my shoes and hat on at least.

 

We got delayed over an hour, thanks to bad weather in Chicago. But it was worth it. During the delay, I got a surprise call from miss Nona, who's vacationing on the west coast from Lebanon. I would've missed her call if we'd taken off on time. Always a pleasure to hear her sweet voice. I do like the new 737 American plane, with multiple charging outlets and a personal video screen at every seat. Landing at 8:30...back to real life...

 

Actually we landed around 8:45 and stayed on the tarmac for an hour. Lightning delays kept planes at gates. So we got to the gate and I headed down to baggage claim. I wound up standing there for nearly an hour. And no Portland luggage to speak of. The carousel is spinning, but there is no luggage on it. It's kind of like the hamster wheel running with no hamster. It is absolutely comical. I was supposed to land at 7 and be home by 8 or 8:15. I did not get home till 11:30. At least Maggie isn't alone tonight.

Portland-Part 1

We landed around 12:30 after a 10 am flight out of O'Hare. The weather, as it would be for the whole trip, was in the high 80s and not a hint of rain to be seen. We took a free van (it pays to have free vouchers) to the Courtyard in the middle of downtown, or the southwest district of Portland. As I walked around this town for the first time, a couple of things stuck out to me. First, I was impressed with the public trans system. They have streetcars, light trails, and buses. Even if they don't intersect a lot, it's good that a town is so oriented towards biking and walking has multiple ways to get around town besides driving. There were lots of homeless people as well. I would barely pass two blocks without seeing one. The atmosphere is very casual, which isn't surprising. Wearing a golf shirt and straight leg levis, I felt like I was wearing a business suit. I noticed lots of workout clothes, tank tops, t shirts, and high boots. And it's easily the most tatted city I've ever seen. I don't mind a little ink, nor do I look down on it. But when an arm looks like a coloring book, I mean, what's that going to look like in 20, 30, or 40 years? If I could get a temp that would go away in a year or so, I'd think about it. Ok, off my high horse now. As a proponent of facial hair, they're awesome in Oregon. Excellent beards. Unique styles, crazy length.

 

Another fans aspect of Portland is food trucks. There are about 500 in the city and I like that since it let's people try unique visitors in an approachable manner. I saw trucks for Moroccan food, Egyptian food, Lebanese food, and plenty of Asian trucks too. I started with a Vietnamese fried chicken sandwich. It had cucumber, pickled vegetables, and Sriracha mayo. Really good. The chicken was spicy, but the freshness of the veggies countered it well. Definitely, I would get this again. Then, it was Korean tacos with beef, chicken, and veggies and done kind of creamy sauce. Pretty solid at two bucks a taco or three for five. Then, to go American, it was a grilled cheese with tomato, bacon, Swiss, cheddar, Colby, and mozzarella cheese. To me, a grilled cheese is so much better with tomato and bacon. Nice spicy salt 'n pepper chips and pickle spear too.

 

We walked a few blocks east to Pioneer Court square, a great place to people watch. There was a small turf soccer field set up in the middle of the square. The MLS All Star game is in Portland on August 6. I was pretty amazed how many people walked around wearing Portland Timbers jerseys. Then again, when there's no football, no pro hockey, and the new Class A baseball team plays in a suburb, I guess there aren't many options. Actually, with the Mets heading towards another abysmal season, maybe I'll adopt the Timbers as my soccer team.

 

We did some shopping in the Pioneer mall, where I found a bottle of bacon maple ale from voodoo donuts. Apparently, we're so lazy now that we can't even eat the donuts, we need to drink them now. I did see the Portlandia, which is a huge copper statue at the federal court building. It's the second biggest copper statue in America behind the Statue of Liberty.

 

After chilling at the hotel for a few, we went to Huber's for dinner. This place has been around since the 1870s. They're known for turkey and searching it year round. Mom had a halibut with hazelnuts and capers in a beurre blanc sauce. I had a taste and was really impressed how well the fish was cooked. I had the chili garlic prawns, which were good, but really spicy. For dessert, I had bread custard pudding. Really enjoyable, but it was a pretty big portion. Excellent service too, the server was incredibly friendly as she explained the menu and helped us with directions around town.
 

I worked out pretty hard in the morning. A vigorous half hour on elliptical and a half hour with the free weights, followed by half a peanut butter quest bar had me feeling good. The big plan of the day was an eight-hour boat ride to Cascade Falls, which is east on Portland down the Columbia River. For 88 bucks a pop, we didn't exactly have the best accommodations. The boat was like a speed boat, where passengers were all facing one another. I didn't want a yacht, but I thought there would at least be room for us to all stand or sit outside. No such luck.

 

The trip started on the Willamette River, which runs through Portland. The city is also known door it's many bridges and we went under many of them, like the Morrison, Steel, and Broadway. There were a lot of navy ships and barges too. One of the highlights was passing by Multnomah Falls, which is a series of picturesque waterfalls. We also saw floating houses. They looked like standard manufactured homes with siding, but we're right on the water. I don't think I'd want to live in the basement of one of those. The cascade locks were interesting. Basically, it was a section of water near a dam that raises and lowers water through pipes, showing the boats to keep traveling. This one raised and lowered the boat by 60 feet each time. It took about 20 minutes each time and it is kind of cool to go up and down in a boat like that. We took an hour for lunch where I had a salad and fish and chips. Great beer batter on the fish; I'd have been happy to have it on chicken too. The disappointing part was we missed setting foot in Washington. So I saw the coastline of the state for like five hours, but technically, I guess I still haven't been to Washington.

 

We got back around 3:45 and though I liked the trip, I was ready to walk a little. We took a 20 minute walk across Morrison bridge into the northeast section of Portland. In a very industrial area, was a place I'd seen on the Travel Channel: Big Ass sandwiches. It's a food truck, which Mom didn't exactly expect. I didn't think that was a big deal but I guess she wanted a place to sit and have apps and that lousy wine. Problem is the truck is closed Sunday and Monday, so this was my only chance to go. I ordered the Richwich, which was ranked one of the top 10 sandwiches in America. We split it. It's homemade roast beef, bacon, grilled onions, cheddar cheese sauce, and French fries on ciabatta bread. It's a total mess, but so good. The fries are fresh, the cheddar sauce is rich, the meat is moist, and the bread is soft and full of flavor. It's a freaking mess for sure, but well worth the mess. I might not take a first date there though!

 

We took the streetcar to the NW district. Mom was pretty beat and getting a little shirt, so I went my own way. I felt like relaxing, so I thought I'd stop at Deschutes brewery and have a cold one. At 6 pm, I could not get a seat, not even in the bar. I admit my patience was running out; I needed to sit and have some water. I waited a half hour and walked out.

 

I headed two blocks south to Powell's bookstore. This place is huge, it takes up a whole city block and has four levels. I found a book about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and sat with it for about an hour. I did listen to the end of the Mets beating the Giants, the only one of the four games they actually won. Finally, I went back to Deschutes brewery and got the one seat left in the bar. I started with a soft, warm, round pretzel with a white cheddar cheese sauce with a ring of porter-infused stone ground mustard. Just a killer pretzel and those can be hit or miss. Then I had a salad with grilled chicken, spicy cashews, roasted corn, shaved pecorino cheese, and a few other good ingredients. Of course, the guy didn't realize I was ordering it, so 15 mins later, I ordered it a second time. I drank a beer flight with six sample. It had mostly ales, and even an IPA. My favorite was probably the mirror pond pale ale. Oh and the guy sitting next to me was a Mets fan from New Jersey and staying in the same hotel as me. What were the odds? I stumbled back to my room around 10 at night.

32 years down

So I'm sitting here and my 33rd birthday is upon us. Only eight hours to be exact. I thought about recapping some of the best and worst moments of the last 12 months, but isn't that why I've been writing all along? So instead, I'm just going to jot about how I'm feeling at this particular point after the many ups and downs of the last 12 months and what I want going forward.

I've been blessed to have learned a lot about human interaction lately. I think one of the best indicators of a whether a friendship or relationship will last is how both parties handle conflict. Any worthwhile relationship is just going to have peaks and valleys. And my goodness, I have seen both sides reach an extreme measure. People who handle problems well by addressing somebody with respect in a one-on-one manner, and with sincerity have my repsect. On the other hand, people who just twist the truth to suit their own agenda and feel the need to vent to other people and through social media when they have the ability to just address the person...well, they're probably not going to be in a lot of relationships that will last very long. And then they wonder why they're so alone.

The kind of people I want in my life are people I can feel comfortable talking about anything with, and I hope they can recognize my positives, and bear with my negatives. At the same time, I want to encourage them when they need it and learn how to make them be comfortable with me. I am learning more and more who those people are and those are the ones I want to stay in community with.

Professionally, I feel I have so much to offer. I have my shortcomings, but I know I have God-given talents. It is incredibly frustrating to not have an outlet to use those talents. I've been sitting at home for three months now, doing everything in my power to keep from going insane. Between bills, tuition, and now car payments, money is a scary thing. It's easy to see why it ruins so many people.

It is a good feeling to be killing it in my classes. Seven classes done, seven A's. Halfway to my Master's degree. I have a one-week break until the next one, which I think is financial analysis. Sounds like a thrilling conversation topic at dinner.

I'm feeling a sense of my own mortality lately. For one thing, my mom just turned 60. She's not showing it, but damn, that's a scary thought. I have been blessed to have had excellent health throughout my life. The two worst injuries I've ever had were a torn knee tendon (not a ligament) and a separated shoulder. But over the last three months, I've developed sunburn, a skin rash that covered half my body, and sustained brutal leg injuries. I've worked out for a while, but this year, I'm taking better care of myself. I'm doing DDP Yoga and I definitely notice how much better I feel when I do it as opposed to the days I don't. And although I love to splurge in good food, I am making a conscious effort to eat more vegetables. It takes more preparation and they don't last long, but there is no question that I feel better when I eat them.

In the next few days, I will knock two more states of my bucket list: Oregon and Washington. I believe that just leaves seven or eight that I have not been to yet. New Mexico has to be one of the next ones to cross off the list. Not to mention Hawaii...

Getting to me-the issue of pride

"Believers ought to take pride in their humble circumstances."

That statement comes from the book of James, in the first chapter. I was reading it a couple of days ago and I have to say it shook my pretty hard. I stopped reading my Bible right there and I just took a few minute to meditate on it.

I feel right now God is shaking me up in a lot of different ways because he is trying to guide me to a new path. The shaking has come through job rejections. It has come through physical ailments, which up until May, have rarely been a problem for me. Leg injuries, skin issues, and burns. Now I truly wonder if my body can ever be in the condition that it was. Perhaps I have place too much attention on my body and not quite enough on my heart. The shaking has come through changes in relationships, seeing some begin and some go on the backburner. And I am learning a lot about how to relate and how not to relate to people, especially in the midst of conflict. Some people handle it far more maturely than others and it is important that I try to consider their perspective, even if it doesn't make any sense! But back to the issue at hand. I am trying to keep my eyes open to see what path I am headed on. I wonder now if there is something I am holding onto that I need to let go of or if I need to start doing something new that I never had been doing.

And I'm amazed that the word "pride" is used in that verse. It seems like any time pride is used in a spiritual circle, it is referred to as perhaps the most seductive of all sins. It seems many men I know would list pride or lust as the sin that they have the most trouble with. Certainly, we need to stand up for ourselves and not become doormats. But at what point does pride go too far? The best answer I have is that if I have enough pride to where I am the most important person in my life and I am consumed with myself, then it is pushing the boundaries that Christ defines. I need to be aware of myself, I need to take care of myself and I need to love myself. Oh, and be content. However, if I'm working on myself and ignoring the needs of others, then I need to re-examine myself, figure out what needs to change, and then go about changing it. Love God, love people. There's no room for pride in those two commandments.

Excessive pride goes against what Jesus says God is looking for in his followers. He says in Matthew 5, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Over the last three months, my spirit has been tested as much as any time in my life. Many people offer me a message of hope and I appreciate that. I believe they are sincere. But I have learned that there simply are no guarantees in this life. I don't know when I'll work again and I don't know if I'll ever have a good job again. I just hope right now that when I do work again, it will be something that I can be proud to do.