After having Easter brunch with mom and her friend in Wilmette, they dropped me off at O'Hare around 4 p.m. I was supposed to fly out at 7, so I figured I might have a little time to kill in Terminal 3. But like last time, the planes were delayed around 45 minutes thanks to bad weather in Texas, so after charging my dead phone and camera, I decided to go for an earlier flight. And I wound up getting a seat on the 5:20 flight, which was supposed to leave at 5:50. I like when I go up to the gate agent, explain my situation, and the first question they ask me is if I want an aisle or a window seat.
Since Catherine and her family were at her uncle's for Easter dinner and he lives an hour away, I now had a lot of time to kill. And I hadn't eaten in maybe seven hours. So I planned to grab a burger at Five Guy's or a slice or two at Famiglia. As it turned out, all the restaurants in LaGuardia close at 8:30. When I stepped into the terminal, my cell phone said 8:45. So I sat on the floor of LaGuardia Airport for over an hour and just continued charging my phone and reading Unbroken. Luckily, I remembered my half a Balance bar and the cara cara orange I had tucked away in my backpack. That served as my dinner.
They picked me up around 10:15, with Francis driving the van. Of course, we stepped in the house, and immediately get greeted by those damn cats. That sent me straight to my Claritin stash. I went downstairs and settled in and Catherine soon joined me. Her mom brought me an Easter cupcake and a cup of hot tea, which was very nice of her. Catherine and I watched two episodes of Rangers in 60, victories over the Sabres and Penguins. Then came the long kiss goodnight...
I woke up on Monday around 7 and immediately checked in for my 7:10 flight the following morning. Strange how I arrived one night and the following morning, I was making plans to leave. Such is the life. I watched Boomer and Carton on MSG while surfing a brutally slow Internet. At least I have my privacy with my own bathroom downstairs. So when I was ready, I went upstairs, Catherine was standing there in the kitchen, and...well, the Lin t-shirt didn't go over well with her. But the last time, the girl made me make out with her when she was wearing a Victor Cruz sweatshirt! How evil is that? We left at 8:30, and for once, she was actually ready to go before I was. And I guess I must have been hurrying to get going because when she asked me if I had everything, I then realized I didn't have the game tickets or the battery for my camera.
We each grabbed a breakfast sandwich at the deli next to the M stop and headed to Coney Island. The wind was absolutely howling. We tried walking on the beach and the sand was blowing in our faces. We looked out to sea and saw the ocean water crashing violently against the wooden pier. We walked on the pier and it felt like being surrounded by a cyclone. Maybe that's why the Cyclones baseball team has that name.
We also checked out the Nathan's gift shop, where they had a few good shirts, inclusing a Navy one that pushed the 4th of July contest. We did scarf a hot dog each, well, Catherine actually chose a corn dog. And $3.75 for a dog? Just embarrassing! That said, I may prefer the toppings in Chicago to New York. But for the dog and bun by itself, you cannot beat Nathan's.
From there, we rode the D train to Macy's. While Catherine got her paycheck and somehow convinced her boss that she really had to study for a test on Thursday night, I racewalked through the cellar, trying to find an outlet. This ridiculous camera battery literally needs to be charged for every ten photos I take. Thankfully, I did manage to sneak in a quick charge while I pretended to be looking at the Cuininarts and the Soda Streams. I did like the 30 percent off Dasani water that she got with the employee discount. We walked over to Chase, right outside Madison Square Garden, where she desposited the check (Hello, direct deposit?). In the Garden lobby, there were tables promoting the Beard-A-Thon. Ah, the old days when I could still grow one...
With a good amount of time to kill, I'm sad to say we went to Cosby's. She made an absolutely ridiculous purchase by getting a Team USA jersey. It wasn't even a cool looking one either. The navy blue looked more like black to me. She brought the blank jersey for $80 and is getting the lettering and numbers added for $50 more. I know that's not too expensive for a hockey jersey, but I don't get the logic of it. And then she's talking to me about the more stitch colors, the more expensive the lettering is, and I seriously wanted to scream. It just sounded so ridiculous. Oh and I don't need to hear her whining about how left out she feels that she can't afford playoff tickets. I live in the Central freaking time zone. Who's the one who should feel left out?! OK, enough ranting.
Anyway, we walked nine blocks to Times Square and checked out the new NFL Shop. This store is only going to exist for maybe a month and it's there to celebrate the draft in two weeks and Nike taking over for Reebok as the official apparel provider for the NFL. We saw quite a lot of memorabilia, but there were some pretty surprising features. One of the best was the Lombardi Trophy, probably the closest I'll ever get to it. There was also a case of Super Bowl rings and a draft podium where we could don the new official draft hats and have our pictures taken. We also displays for Sirius Radio, where Adam Schein was hosting a live show, new jerseys for each team, and game balls, for over $200 each. As Suzyn Waldman would say, they were special balls!
I brought a pair of Jets mesh shorts for $38 and they're a little longer than what I would normally wear, but I like the black with the green Jets letters going down the side. They look really cool. Maybe I would have liked the Jets couch too, but that would have been a little hard to get on an airplane.
I didn't know Catherine's stomach was bothering her, but we still went to Shake Shack, since I was long overdue to try this place out. And even at 3 pm on a Monday, the line went out the door and halfway down the block. I ordered a Double shackburger with cheese, fries, and a Jelly's last donut. I thought I was getting a shake, but it was more like a cup of ice cream. This thing had vanilla custard, strawberry preserves, cinnamon sugar, and a Doughnut Plant donut. Need I say more? A cup of frozen custard with a donut as one of the mix-ins...The burger was juicy, the potato roll soft, and I liked the ratio of mat to bread to toppings. I liked the crinkle cut fries, although a little salty for my taste. The custard tasted like a combo of strawberry jam, vanilla ice cream, and a glazed donut. Of course, Catherine found a way to eat half of it and more than a few fries. So I pulled my tray away from her a few times...
All of a sudden, she seemed re-energized, go figure! So we walked to the Times Square station to board the S train. This shuttle that only runs between Times Square and Grand Central has been decorated in Rangers colors, both inside and out. We took the crowded ride and had to wait for people to get off to snap our photos! From Grand Central, we took the 7 train west two stops back to Times Square and it became an Express train. Catherine should seriously write the manual on navigating the NYC subway!
So we arrived at Citi Field around 4:15 and we stood outside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda for maybe 45 minutes until the gates opened. I brought a $5 program/scorecard (not too bad!) and headed straight into the team store, where I got a blue Mets adjustable cap for $18. And since it's not made of wool, it won't bake my head during the hot summer months! I feel pretty good about that one. We went to into the right field stands for batting practice. The Mets were just finishing up, I think only Lucas Duda and Ruben Tejada hit. For Washington, Adam LaRoche hit some deep ones, but no balls came near us. Even the Nationals players in the outfield didn't throw any loose balls our way.
After about 40 minutes, I grew bored and walked upstairs to Blue Smoke for a pulled pork sandwich. I liked the pork, it was pretty moist and had a smoky spice to it. The brioche roll was quality too. My only disappointment is I could have used some BBQ sauce on it. Eventually, Catherine walked into the RF corner for Mama's and I got a Shock Top Belgian White, a beer I'd never had that's from St. Louis. Ten bucks, which may sound like a lot, but it isn't bad considering a Budweiser bottle costs $8.50. I enjoyed the beer, it had the characteristics of a Blue Moon, just without the pronounced orange flavor. It may have had a little lemon to balance the flavor out. I would drink it again.
So last time we were at Citi Field, Mr. P or whoever he is was doing a weather ay for kids. this time, we had Taiwanese Heritage Night. There was this Asian choir singing something and then these fancy costumed dancers strutting around in center field. I thought the sausages racing in Milwaukee was corny...I had no idea.
The stadium looks much better with the blue wall in the outfield. More Met-esque. To me, Citi Field cannot have enough orange and blue. We sat in 506, about halfway down the first place line, in the third row. Right in front of us sat four Jews. They had the weird little hats and even a huge hatbox for the sombrero or whatever it is. Since the four seats to my left were empty, they just put the box next to me. Some of the Taiwanese contingent sat two rows in front of us. And next to their right was some guy who I think was Hispanic and drunk. I remember him because he didn't seem to know that we're allowed to use the stairs. So he balanced himself on the front rail and balanced himself down five seats to the aisle. He looked like when the Undertaker walks the top rope when he executes Old School.
Oh, I guess there was a game too. Mike Pelfrey made his first start of the season against Edwin Jackson. Somehow, his habit of licking his hands stuck in our minds. Since I was keeping score, one of us got the tremendous idea to keep a lick count. So the plan was I would track the box score, Catherine would count hand licks, and I would keep tally marks. Pelf pitched into the sixth inning, threw just under 100 pitches, and my final lick count was 293, as I announced to my Jewish friends.
Probably the most annoying part was the noise meters that kept popping up on the scoreboard. The meters must have come on at least 20 times. I made noise by yelling "No more meters!" It was really cool to see Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit his first career home run, a 2-run shot to right field that tied the game. I hope this kid becomes a mainstay for the Mets. And Murphy won the game with a walk-off single in the 9th that I captured on video. I chanted "First place!" on the way out! It was a really exhilarating feeling. But this is the Mets. We had no idea that during that game, David Wright broke his pinkie while diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt. Only the Mets.
So we left and took the 7 train to 69th St where Ellen picked us up. We were really freezing so we were especially grateful for a warm car and a short trip home. This time, I asked for the hot tea! And once I started drinking it, there ws no stopping me! There was still a little homemade cheesecake left, so I wolfed that down too. No graham cracker crust, thank God. Catherine came downstairs and I could tell she was really weary. We made it through one episode of "Building a Champion" and couldn't make it to Part 2. We shared a few kisses, but I knew it wasn't going to get too intense.
And so it was a 5 am wake up. She got up at 5:15 to see me off. The feeling in that basement was a little melancholy. But at least I was able to make it there. It was a total gift. The car picked me up around 5:40 am and once again, I had to say goodbye to my girl and to New York.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
MLB predictions
American League
East
y-NY Yankees
x-Tampa Bay
Boston
Toronto
Baltimore
Central
z-Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota
Kansas City
Chicago
West
y-Anaheim
x-Texas
Oakland
Seattle
National League
East
z-Philadelphia
x-Florida
Washington
Atlanta
NY Mets
Central
y-Cincinnati
x-Milwaukee
St. Louis
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Houston
West
y-San Francisco
Los Angeles
Arizona
Colorado
San Diego
AL Playoffs
Tampa Bay over Texas
Detroit over Tampa Bay
Anaheim over NY Yankees
Anaheim over Detroit
NL Playoffs
Florida over Milwaukee
Philadelphia over Florida
San Francisco over Cincinnati
San Francisco over Philadelphia
World Series
Anaheim over San Francisco
East
y-NY Yankees
x-Tampa Bay
Boston
Toronto
Baltimore
Central
z-Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota
Kansas City
Chicago
West
y-Anaheim
x-Texas
Oakland
Seattle
National League
East
z-Philadelphia
x-Florida
Washington
Atlanta
NY Mets
Central
y-Cincinnati
x-Milwaukee
St. Louis
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Houston
West
y-San Francisco
Los Angeles
Arizona
Colorado
San Diego
AL Playoffs
Tampa Bay over Texas
Detroit over Tampa Bay
Anaheim over NY Yankees
Anaheim over Detroit
NL Playoffs
Florida over Milwaukee
Philadelphia over Florida
San Francisco over Cincinnati
San Francisco over Philadelphia
World Series
Anaheim over San Francisco
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
I don't get it.
I was so happy tonight when the Rangers beat the Flyers to clinch the top seed in the Easter Conference. My banner had at least 30 likes on Facebook, more than I ever received about anything ever. Such a rush of exhilaration. Of course, the depleted Knicks blew a game to Indiana and that brings out all the Knicks-haters too. Including my girlfriend.
"F*** the Knicks and their LINjuries." I really can't believe I am with a girl who would say that about one of my teams and that player. A devout Christian who has overcome so many odds to make the Knicks, become a city-wide and global sensation, only to tear the meniscus in his knee and be forced to the sidelines. And she writes that publicly. It is so immature and rude and she doesn't even care about basketball. She became bitter at the Knicks when they traded Patrick Ewing. Yeah, I hated it too. But for her to have this kind of venom...I cannot fathom that kind of mentality.
Monday, April 02, 2012
Long, tiring weekend!
Thank the good Lord I don't have to to start work until 10 am tomorrow! This has been one of the quickest and most physically draining weekends I can remember in a long time. Still, my spirit is high.
From work on Friday, I headed 20 minutes east to Fox and Hound. I needed a way to watch the Rangers game anyway (screw you NHL Network!) And it was also Darek's last day working at CEC, so about 30 of us gathered to say goodbye. I liked the free pizza, wings, and chips/salsa. Even bad pizza tastes decent when it's complimentary! I stayed for two periods, a game the Rangers won and got home around 8:45. No big deal. Let's just run through this via timeline, inserting notes as necessary.
Saturday
6:45: Woke up
7:00: Had a rye bagel and three strips of bacon for breakfast
7:45: Left the house
8:45: Purchased the new Lionel Richie album at Wal-Mart in Rolling Meadows
9:00: Arrived at Mays' house in Prospect Heights
9:15 Left the house with Mike and Melissa for downtown Chicago
10:15: Arrived at State/Randolph, former location of Borders, to install Mays' window exhibit of paintings
We had nine people total: Mays, Melissa, Mike, Joe, Maggie, Anne, Natalie, and Albert. My early work consisted of scraping paint off windows, taping the 20-foot high side windows with some kind of paper, and measuring and cutting large paper to create half-sheets that would eventually become the backdrops of each painting. Basically, I rolled out the paper on the floor, measured it, and cut it. So it took a lot of standing, walking, bending, and jumping over the sheets. Maggie and Natalie told me we needed 16. So I did 16 and then Melissa explained to me that they needed 16 total sheets. And each one I was cutting was just a half sheet. So I then had to make another 16! Plenty of 80's music in the background too.
1:45: Lunch from Jimmy John's
2:15 Resume working
It must have been right before lunch time when we started to hang the paintings. But Joe had to make these wire hooks to insert into the screws of the windowsills. He was the only one who could do it and we had to do this for eight windows. And the last two paintings had to be hung in front of the display case, where there was just 23 inches of space between the windows and the wall. So setting up ladders was incredibly hard in those tight spaces.
3:00: Albert leaves
3:30: Mike and Melissa leave
4:30: 15-minute Starbucks break. Caramel apple cider
5:00: Maggie and I install the black vinyl paper in the front doors behind the "Reflect" logo that creates a sleek background.
6:30: Anne leaves
8:00-12:00: We are all struggling to keep going. My feet start to ache.
8:30: Maggie leaves
10:00: We bolt two paintings together and hang them as one since they refuse to hang properly in the window.
10:30: We have two paintings left and now have to install two more, but both of these are behind the display case.
12:00: We hang the last painting, the heaviest one of all.
12:30: We finish cleaning and head back to the burbs.
12:50: We arrive at Mays' house, I leave five minutes later.
1:50: I arrive back at home in St. Charles, almost 18 hours after I first left.
3:00: Bedtime
Keep in mind, at Joe's urging, we skipped dinner. Besides lunch, I was working off of three granola bars, 3 or 4 bottles of water, and a few handfuls of carrot sticks and celery stalks. Mays had e-mailed us that we would finish around 6 or 7. I didn't think that was realistic, but I figured we'd be gone by 9. Little did I know I wouldn't even have an opportunity to grab dinner on the way home! I really wanted to try a Marco Polo from Tony Sacco's Coal-Fired pizza. Ah well...
So I woke up around 8:45 and this was one of those mornings I had no trouble going to an 11:15 service. Shane Farmer gave a good talk on Palm Sunday. I said my hellos and headed back home 1:15. Oh, I had to stop to buy ten 50-lb blocks of water salt. So I had the fun of loading that into the cart, wheeling it to may car, loading each block into my car, driving it home, and then taking each block out of my car, then down the stairs, and into the basement. That's a great workout right there!
So then I settled into watch the Penguins vs Flyers game I had DVR'd. I never expected Philly to score six goals, but they did. And with the 6-4 Flyers win, the magic number for the Rangers to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is just 1 and each team has three games left, including a head-to-head on Thursday.
I left again around 4:45 for a 45-minute drive to Berwyn and the Wrestlemania party at the Jew's house. Workonko (that prick who doens't want to play mini-golf with me), Q, Jerome, Mangold, were there as well. And as soon as Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds, Q's mood was totally ruined. All in all, the card was ok, but I would have to call it mediocre. Punk vs Jericho, HHH vs Undertaker were fine matches, but nothing I'm going to really remember ten years from now. I think with HHH-Undertaker, they didn't utilize the Cell as much as I thought they might. The Rock's victory over John Cena was really good. The two music acts before each introduction were totally unnecessary. The music took ten minutes total and I'm amazed they couldn't give that time to their World Heavyweight Championship match!
I left that madhouse around 10:15, got home just after 11, and settled into watch the Rangers vs Bruins game that I had DVR'd. Yeah, the Blueshirts lost the chance to clinch the top seed at home as they fell 2-1. Big deal. This was a one-goal loss to the No. 2 seed in the conference that they had beaten all three times this season. It wasn't the best effort I've seen from them, but it doesn't really worry me. All it means is they likely won't clinch at home. I don't care if they clinch it in the Roman Coliseum. They're going to be the No. 1 seed. At this point, all I care about in these last three regular season games is that they stay healthy and come out ready to play in Game 1 on April 11.
Bed at 12:30 am. Back to work we go.
From work on Friday, I headed 20 minutes east to Fox and Hound. I needed a way to watch the Rangers game anyway (screw you NHL Network!) And it was also Darek's last day working at CEC, so about 30 of us gathered to say goodbye. I liked the free pizza, wings, and chips/salsa. Even bad pizza tastes decent when it's complimentary! I stayed for two periods, a game the Rangers won and got home around 8:45. No big deal. Let's just run through this via timeline, inserting notes as necessary.
Saturday
6:45: Woke up
7:00: Had a rye bagel and three strips of bacon for breakfast
7:45: Left the house
8:45: Purchased the new Lionel Richie album at Wal-Mart in Rolling Meadows
9:00: Arrived at Mays' house in Prospect Heights
9:15 Left the house with Mike and Melissa for downtown Chicago
10:15: Arrived at State/Randolph, former location of Borders, to install Mays' window exhibit of paintings
We had nine people total: Mays, Melissa, Mike, Joe, Maggie, Anne, Natalie, and Albert. My early work consisted of scraping paint off windows, taping the 20-foot high side windows with some kind of paper, and measuring and cutting large paper to create half-sheets that would eventually become the backdrops of each painting. Basically, I rolled out the paper on the floor, measured it, and cut it. So it took a lot of standing, walking, bending, and jumping over the sheets. Maggie and Natalie told me we needed 16. So I did 16 and then Melissa explained to me that they needed 16 total sheets. And each one I was cutting was just a half sheet. So I then had to make another 16! Plenty of 80's music in the background too.
1:45: Lunch from Jimmy John's
2:15 Resume working
It must have been right before lunch time when we started to hang the paintings. But Joe had to make these wire hooks to insert into the screws of the windowsills. He was the only one who could do it and we had to do this for eight windows. And the last two paintings had to be hung in front of the display case, where there was just 23 inches of space between the windows and the wall. So setting up ladders was incredibly hard in those tight spaces.
3:00: Albert leaves
3:30: Mike and Melissa leave
4:30: 15-minute Starbucks break. Caramel apple cider
5:00: Maggie and I install the black vinyl paper in the front doors behind the "Reflect" logo that creates a sleek background.
6:30: Anne leaves
8:00-12:00: We are all struggling to keep going. My feet start to ache.
8:30: Maggie leaves
10:00: We bolt two paintings together and hang them as one since they refuse to hang properly in the window.
10:30: We have two paintings left and now have to install two more, but both of these are behind the display case.
12:00: We hang the last painting, the heaviest one of all.
12:30: We finish cleaning and head back to the burbs.
12:50: We arrive at Mays' house, I leave five minutes later.
1:50: I arrive back at home in St. Charles, almost 18 hours after I first left.
3:00: Bedtime
Keep in mind, at Joe's urging, we skipped dinner. Besides lunch, I was working off of three granola bars, 3 or 4 bottles of water, and a few handfuls of carrot sticks and celery stalks. Mays had e-mailed us that we would finish around 6 or 7. I didn't think that was realistic, but I figured we'd be gone by 9. Little did I know I wouldn't even have an opportunity to grab dinner on the way home! I really wanted to try a Marco Polo from Tony Sacco's Coal-Fired pizza. Ah well...
So I woke up around 8:45 and this was one of those mornings I had no trouble going to an 11:15 service. Shane Farmer gave a good talk on Palm Sunday. I said my hellos and headed back home 1:15. Oh, I had to stop to buy ten 50-lb blocks of water salt. So I had the fun of loading that into the cart, wheeling it to may car, loading each block into my car, driving it home, and then taking each block out of my car, then down the stairs, and into the basement. That's a great workout right there!
So then I settled into watch the Penguins vs Flyers game I had DVR'd. I never expected Philly to score six goals, but they did. And with the 6-4 Flyers win, the magic number for the Rangers to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is just 1 and each team has three games left, including a head-to-head on Thursday.
I left again around 4:45 for a 45-minute drive to Berwyn and the Wrestlemania party at the Jew's house. Workonko (that prick who doens't want to play mini-golf with me), Q, Jerome, Mangold, were there as well. And as soon as Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds, Q's mood was totally ruined. All in all, the card was ok, but I would have to call it mediocre. Punk vs Jericho, HHH vs Undertaker were fine matches, but nothing I'm going to really remember ten years from now. I think with HHH-Undertaker, they didn't utilize the Cell as much as I thought they might. The Rock's victory over John Cena was really good. The two music acts before each introduction were totally unnecessary. The music took ten minutes total and I'm amazed they couldn't give that time to their World Heavyweight Championship match!
I left that madhouse around 10:15, got home just after 11, and settled into watch the Rangers vs Bruins game that I had DVR'd. Yeah, the Blueshirts lost the chance to clinch the top seed at home as they fell 2-1. Big deal. This was a one-goal loss to the No. 2 seed in the conference that they had beaten all three times this season. It wasn't the best effort I've seen from them, but it doesn't really worry me. All it means is they likely won't clinch at home. I don't care if they clinch it in the Roman Coliseum. They're going to be the No. 1 seed. At this point, all I care about in these last three regular season games is that they stay healthy and come out ready to play in Game 1 on April 11.
Bed at 12:30 am. Back to work we go.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
NYC Part 2-Around Manhattan
And so it was Saturday. Actually, I was woken up rather early thanks to that stupid cat scratching repeatedly on the outside of our door. Twice, she had to get up and settle the bastard down. Finally, she stayed in her parents room just to keep them company. And I was too out of it to even notice. So she got up earlier than me, which I never thought could happen. She woke me up around 8 am to let me know she had indeed made pancakes for us. They were the standard Bisquick jobs, but it was nice of her. She was amazed when I told her i did not need syrup, just a little butter. She showed me her deal, which was to spread grape jelly on the pancake, then fold it, and eat it. I'm not even a grape jelly eater, I haven't been in maybe 20 years, but I decided to shut up about it and do it anyway. I will not do it again.
Her family was coming home later that afternoon so I moved my things down to the basement, where I cleaned up and used the Internet for a while. Around 11:30, we took off for the Central Park zoo. I know we took the M to the L to the R! We got a little lost in the park, but we did walk by the skating rink and the Checkers/Chess House. Eventually, we found our way to the zoo. Now I had been to the San Diego Zoo just three months earlier. So in terms of size, by comparison, this one seemed like a storage closet. It's just walking around a square with a pool of sea lions in the middle. We saw some interesting creatures like a red panda, a snow monkey, and a drooling polar bear. Our lunch was splitting a pretzel and feeding some leftovers to the pigeons.
We spent the extra $7.00 for admission to the 4D Theater. It was about polar climates with fake snow and wind. It was cool (no pun intended), but we felt a little shortchanged when the presentation concluded after just ten minutes. We walked into the gift shop and we didn't see much to get excited about. I did see one t-shirt with a Cardinal on it with the words "Early Bird" on it. Considering a cardinal banging on her bedroom window had caused Catherine to wake up early three straight days in the Poconos, I thought it was hysterical. She did not! So we left and walked down Central Park South, the street that of course, runs east to west along the southern edge of the park. I asked her if Mickey Mantle's was nearby, since I knew it bordered Central Park. She laughed and said she was just thinking the same thing. So we went inside and sat at the bar. It was probably my first time in there in maybe 20 years. We each drank a Blue Moon and the bartender was gracious enough to let me charge my camera behind the bar. Amazing how this stupid camera drains so fast. The lens cap doesn't close, I can't wait to get a new one. Anyway, I walked around and observed some of the memorabilia in Mickey's. I saw Robert Redford's New York Knights jersey from "The Natural." I saw an old WWF poster from a 1970's card in South Amboy, NJ. It was like going back to Dr. Galkin's orthodontics office again!
We went two stops to Greenwich village. It was finally time to eat. But on our way, we passed by a playground with about 20 guys playing street hockey. Catherine recognized this one Asian dude and they chatted for a minute and I stayed silent. After we watched a couple goals, we said our goodbyes. I asked who the guy was and she admitted she didn't even know his name! I thought it was just hysterical.
Anyway, we wound up at Arturo's around 4:20, so not too late after they opened. She promised me that this place would fill up fast and she was right! The bar was full and I would guess 8 percent of the table were already occupied. We got a tiny two-topper table. We decided on a 15-inch pie with bacon and roasted red peppers on one half and sliced meatballs and fresh mozzarella on the other. Beyond stellar! The sauce was bright, there wasn't too much cheese. The crust was nice and thin, but not too thin. The bacon and peppers balanced perfectly, and thankfully the bacon was not overdone. If I had one complaint, the crust tasted a little too burnt for my liking, but I could live with that. And my other disappointment was they don't offer free refills on iced tea or soft drinks. Thankfully, I asked them ahead of time so I didn't get scammed. I would certainly return.
After we finished, Catherine told me I had to go into the bathroom and to bring my camera. I look at her like she had three heads, but I did it anyway. Apparently this restaurant used to be an apartment building. And the owners kept the bathroom and as part of it, they kept the same bathroom. Including the bathtub! I did take a photo of the toilet and bathtub right next to each other.
So around 6:15, we arrived at the Molly Wee, an Irish pub about a block south of Madison Square Garden for the viewing party for the Rangers game in Toronto. We were immediately greeted by the Simos clan and Zach Budnick. I also met Peter for the first time and we hit it off quite well. I also met Bill Morrison, the Jerry Garcia-look alike, who from his FB profile, I couldn't tell if he was even a real person. Later on, I met the boisterous Helen Yoon, her assumed boyfriend Michael, George, Jimmy Tholke, and his very cute friend Grace. I even convinced Moe to show up and I was very happy she made it. After drinking a ton of water, I drank a Bass and a Yeungling, I decided not to eat. I don't remember too much about the game in retrospect. I had conversations with Peter about NY vs Chicago and with Claude about fitness and women.
I remember the second period intermission in particular. Catherine put her arms around my neck from behind and kissed my cheeks a few times, something she hadn't ever really done before. I could feel my face glowing. Jimmy took a photo and it's become my Facebook profile photo. Also during the second break, we had chocolate cake to celebrate Jimmy's birthday. Well, ok, a lot of people around me did, but I wasn't going to. Anyway, it was a happy finish as Ryan Callahan won the game for the Rangers in a shootout.
The bar emptied pretty quick and Catherine and I headed to the Fuse studios to watch Hockey Night Live. We think we made it on TV wearing our Callahan t-shirts, no one seems to have confirmed it though. There were some drunk/stoned jerk-off fans pretending to moon the studio and just yelling, trying to draw attention to themselves, but in a totally obnoxious way. Eventually, Helen, Michael, Moe, and Zach joined us. We met Ken Daneyko and Catherine got just another card signed. They took photos with Ron Duguay, I didn't really care.
We finally got home around midnight and the traffic light incident had finally been cleared from the street! We walked into the house and to no surprise, her mother felt like talking. One question after another question. No big deal, it's just her personality. Catherine and I went downstairs for a little bit, not too long though. The next morning, I reconnected with Angelo and Francis. I also offered Catherine's parents some opinions and suggestions on their upcoming trip to Chicago in May.
Willie drove over again and picked me up. I left at 11:45, said goodbye to her at 12:00, took off at 1 pm and landed around 2:45. Six more weeks of waiting to see her again, at least...
Her family was coming home later that afternoon so I moved my things down to the basement, where I cleaned up and used the Internet for a while. Around 11:30, we took off for the Central Park zoo. I know we took the M to the L to the R! We got a little lost in the park, but we did walk by the skating rink and the Checkers/Chess House. Eventually, we found our way to the zoo. Now I had been to the San Diego Zoo just three months earlier. So in terms of size, by comparison, this one seemed like a storage closet. It's just walking around a square with a pool of sea lions in the middle. We saw some interesting creatures like a red panda, a snow monkey, and a drooling polar bear. Our lunch was splitting a pretzel and feeding some leftovers to the pigeons.
We spent the extra $7.00 for admission to the 4D Theater. It was about polar climates with fake snow and wind. It was cool (no pun intended), but we felt a little shortchanged when the presentation concluded after just ten minutes. We walked into the gift shop and we didn't see much to get excited about. I did see one t-shirt with a Cardinal on it with the words "Early Bird" on it. Considering a cardinal banging on her bedroom window had caused Catherine to wake up early three straight days in the Poconos, I thought it was hysterical. She did not! So we left and walked down Central Park South, the street that of course, runs east to west along the southern edge of the park. I asked her if Mickey Mantle's was nearby, since I knew it bordered Central Park. She laughed and said she was just thinking the same thing. So we went inside and sat at the bar. It was probably my first time in there in maybe 20 years. We each drank a Blue Moon and the bartender was gracious enough to let me charge my camera behind the bar. Amazing how this stupid camera drains so fast. The lens cap doesn't close, I can't wait to get a new one. Anyway, I walked around and observed some of the memorabilia in Mickey's. I saw Robert Redford's New York Knights jersey from "The Natural." I saw an old WWF poster from a 1970's card in South Amboy, NJ. It was like going back to Dr. Galkin's orthodontics office again!
We went two stops to Greenwich village. It was finally time to eat. But on our way, we passed by a playground with about 20 guys playing street hockey. Catherine recognized this one Asian dude and they chatted for a minute and I stayed silent. After we watched a couple goals, we said our goodbyes. I asked who the guy was and she admitted she didn't even know his name! I thought it was just hysterical.
Anyway, we wound up at Arturo's around 4:20, so not too late after they opened. She promised me that this place would fill up fast and she was right! The bar was full and I would guess 8 percent of the table were already occupied. We got a tiny two-topper table. We decided on a 15-inch pie with bacon and roasted red peppers on one half and sliced meatballs and fresh mozzarella on the other. Beyond stellar! The sauce was bright, there wasn't too much cheese. The crust was nice and thin, but not too thin. The bacon and peppers balanced perfectly, and thankfully the bacon was not overdone. If I had one complaint, the crust tasted a little too burnt for my liking, but I could live with that. And my other disappointment was they don't offer free refills on iced tea or soft drinks. Thankfully, I asked them ahead of time so I didn't get scammed. I would certainly return.
After we finished, Catherine told me I had to go into the bathroom and to bring my camera. I look at her like she had three heads, but I did it anyway. Apparently this restaurant used to be an apartment building. And the owners kept the bathroom and as part of it, they kept the same bathroom. Including the bathtub! I did take a photo of the toilet and bathtub right next to each other.
So around 6:15, we arrived at the Molly Wee, an Irish pub about a block south of Madison Square Garden for the viewing party for the Rangers game in Toronto. We were immediately greeted by the Simos clan and Zach Budnick. I also met Peter for the first time and we hit it off quite well. I also met Bill Morrison, the Jerry Garcia-look alike, who from his FB profile, I couldn't tell if he was even a real person. Later on, I met the boisterous Helen Yoon, her assumed boyfriend Michael, George, Jimmy Tholke, and his very cute friend Grace. I even convinced Moe to show up and I was very happy she made it. After drinking a ton of water, I drank a Bass and a Yeungling, I decided not to eat. I don't remember too much about the game in retrospect. I had conversations with Peter about NY vs Chicago and with Claude about fitness and women.
I remember the second period intermission in particular. Catherine put her arms around my neck from behind and kissed my cheeks a few times, something she hadn't ever really done before. I could feel my face glowing. Jimmy took a photo and it's become my Facebook profile photo. Also during the second break, we had chocolate cake to celebrate Jimmy's birthday. Well, ok, a lot of people around me did, but I wasn't going to. Anyway, it was a happy finish as Ryan Callahan won the game for the Rangers in a shootout.
The bar emptied pretty quick and Catherine and I headed to the Fuse studios to watch Hockey Night Live. We think we made it on TV wearing our Callahan t-shirts, no one seems to have confirmed it though. There were some drunk/stoned jerk-off fans pretending to moon the studio and just yelling, trying to draw attention to themselves, but in a totally obnoxious way. Eventually, Helen, Michael, Moe, and Zach joined us. We met Ken Daneyko and Catherine got just another card signed. They took photos with Ron Duguay, I didn't really care.
We finally got home around midnight and the traffic light incident had finally been cleared from the street! We walked into the house and to no surprise, her mother felt like talking. One question after another question. No big deal, it's just her personality. Catherine and I went downstairs for a little bit, not too long though. The next morning, I reconnected with Angelo and Francis. I also offered Catherine's parents some opinions and suggestions on their upcoming trip to Chicago in May.
Willie drove over again and picked me up. I left at 11:45, said goodbye to her at 12:00, took off at 1 pm and landed around 2:45. Six more weeks of waiting to see her again, at least...
NYC Part 1-Return to MSG
I left work early at 4 pm and drive straight down 90 to Blue Sky parking facility in Schiller Park, about 10 minutes south of O'Hare airport. Although their whole staff talks in foreign accents, their service was pretty swift, I was at the terminal within 10 minutes of arriving. The security line gave me no issues and I was inside Terminal 3 by 5:15. With two hours to spare before my scheduled flight, I decided to grab some dinner. I went with the Cubano torta at Rick Bayless' Torta eatery. This sandwich came on a fresh roll and had pulled pork, smoked bacon, avocado, Chihuahua cheese, black beans, chipotle mustard, and cilantro crema. It was nice, though the beans on that sandwich tasted a little weird. I would go back for the refreshing lime agua fresca, but not for that particular sandwich if it costs $11.50.
I headed to the gate for the 6:10 flight since I was so early. I went up to the counter and politely explained that I was early and would like a seat if one was available. The gate agent told me sternly I should just wait for the 7:30 flight since it looked full. So I sat down, ate my sandwich, and left. Two hours of waiting. And it nearly turned into three as the flight filled up more than it was scheduled to. Thankfully, Mom pulled a few strings, I got on the 7:35 flight. And I came to find out that there would have been space on that 6:10 flight! But I couldn't really complain, I was on my way to LaGuardia airport.
Catherine and her crazy uncle Willie picked me up at baggage claim. Willie wore a Giants sweatshirt, which I didn't really need. During the whole 20 minute ride, the guy just talked about the 1986 World Series and that he didn't like the Mets at all. There were some mentions of gas prices and Willie getting lost. Catherine and I barely could get a word in.
So he dropped us off and it was already 11:30 by now. After "greeting" each other, we went straight to bed.
I am one of those people who hates being late. If someone says they will meet me at 6:00, I start to freak out if they don't show by 6:05. Now that I'm in a relationship, I recognize I need to show more patience. Catherine told me she wanted to leave the house by 10:30. Well, I was ready by 10:00. Catherine, not so much. She just doesn't hurry. Normally, I could handle it, but I was fighting off my cat allergy with two freakish felines in this house. We finally left at 11:15. We took a bus and two subways (including one stop at Citi Field) to get to the Corona stop.
And as I had suspected for weeks, we went to Mama's of Corona for a classic Italian sandwich. Little did I know the owner was also Catherine's first grade teacher! So I got the classic Italian special with salami, peppered ham, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, and marinated mushrooms
on a fresh semolina roll! Now I have eaten some good subs in my life, but only in NY, can I get them on semolina bread. There is just something about that flavor that adds the extra oomph that I can't get in any other bread. It was just a tremendous sandwich. We then went into their neighboring bakery and I was bummed that they weren't selling any sesame cookies.
So then, we took the 7 train and some other one to 34th street and Penn Station/Madison Square Garden. From there, we waited outside 31st St entrance for some players to show up. We ran into a few fellow Rangers fans, some of which Catherine knew, and made some small talk. Typical NY banter back and forth. It's like a contest to see who can be the most witty/biting. It's fun, but can be challenging at times too.
So we took a quick walk to the new Cosby's. We each purchased a Winter Classic team photo for $5.00 that I'm looking forward to framing and hanging. So then we headed back two blocks to the 31st street island near the Parking garage and Cafe 31. We saw a few players enter. Richards, Hagelin, and Prust all came in together. Catherine wanted Mats Zuccarello's signature on one of her cards. She took me to this other entrance that was under construction. Sure enough, this little hobbit in a suit shows up. She gets the card signed. I could only say "Good luck." Little did I know...and five minutes later, this handsome dude in a tailored suit came walking in our direction. Pretty fast pace. He had sporty shades over his eyes and earbuds in his ears and holding a leather suitcase in his right hand. Within two seconds, I knew who it was. The best goalie in the world, #30, the King, Henrik Lundqvist. I just stared at him with my mouth wide open as he passed us.
I also met a lot of people from Facebook. I met Rose, Meghan, Darcy, and Crazy Amy and her psycho husband. It wasn't too easy for me to fit in though. They're all talking about memorabilia, games they'll be going to, and who is the hottest Ranger. Somehow, I didn't have a lot to contribute to that conversation. Finally at 6, we were allowed to enter MSG.
We headed straight to Section 126 for warmups. It was cool sitting in such a prime spot at the Garden, if only for a little while. But at the same time, I was feeling a bit tired. I couldn't understand why, this was my first time in the Garden in 2.5 years. But I just wasn't into it, maybe because I felt surrounded by strangers. Then I got a text from my uncle Brian, asking where I was. After two weeks of hoping to meet up, we found each other by the penalty box and talked for almost ten minutes. Although he's been battling cancer for five years, he's still looking pretty good. He handed me a media guide with a Let's Go Rangers pennant inside of it, which was really thoughtful of him. He also told me a story from earlier that night. He was having dinner with a few friends in a club in the Garden. All of a sudden, Adam Graves just walks right up to them and asks if he can join them for dinner. How cool must that be?!
So the game began and while sliding down to block a shot, Zuccarello fractured his wrist. He's out at least 6 weeks. So much for the good luck. No goals in the first period, but it was a pretty decent 20 minutes of hockey. So I'm walking around the concourse and I see a sign that all authentic jerseys are 50 percent off in the Rangers team store. Usually these things sell for maybe $230 online, so I'm thinking this could be a solid deal. So during the second intermission, I head down with Catherine. The listed price is $355.00. So half of that is about $179, which is approximately the same price as a replica jersey in the team store. Pass! We also went over to the Steiner sports stand, which has lots of memorabilia to bid on ad purchase. Of course, Catherine won the giveaway, a signed Chris Drury photo of him scoring in the last game of the 2010-11 season against New Jersey. I was beyond ticked off. She has enough crap already in her bedroom. So I went to the men's room and trying to get back to my seat, I got lost. I must have walked around the arena at least twice. Even better, I thought Catherine had already left, but she was waiting on me for maybe 10 minutes.
The final period was a total disaster. Buffalo scored three goals on odd-man rushes and won 4-1. I even saw the second one coming as they turned the Rangers over. And I called it too. Just a sloppy performance all around, especially by spare winger John Mitchell and the defense.
Afterwards, Catherine said goodbye to her friends. I was too ticked to say anything. Finally, we took the E, the L, and the M. Actually, I have no idea what the hell we took, except the M was the last line since it ends three blocks from her house. As we walked down Metropolitan Avenue, we noticed two fire trucks, police flares, and a few cops interrogating some people on the sidewalk. Obviously, it was night, so I couldn't see everything perfectly. But I did see some sort of unusual object on the street. As i got closer, I realized it was a traffic light. It turns out this huge semi made this sharp turn and knocked down a traffic light and pole, wiping out the electricity for the whole block! And the brakes on the truck automatically locked so it couldn't even be towed away!
When we got back, she took care of the cats while I downed some Claritin. I wanted a bottle of Stella to chill, but I couldn't find a bottle opener for the Stella Artois, so I drank nothing. Finally, we settled into bed and watched "My Cousin Vinny." Well, we at least got through the first half...
I headed to the gate for the 6:10 flight since I was so early. I went up to the counter and politely explained that I was early and would like a seat if one was available. The gate agent told me sternly I should just wait for the 7:30 flight since it looked full. So I sat down, ate my sandwich, and left. Two hours of waiting. And it nearly turned into three as the flight filled up more than it was scheduled to. Thankfully, Mom pulled a few strings, I got on the 7:35 flight. And I came to find out that there would have been space on that 6:10 flight! But I couldn't really complain, I was on my way to LaGuardia airport.
Catherine and her crazy uncle Willie picked me up at baggage claim. Willie wore a Giants sweatshirt, which I didn't really need. During the whole 20 minute ride, the guy just talked about the 1986 World Series and that he didn't like the Mets at all. There were some mentions of gas prices and Willie getting lost. Catherine and I barely could get a word in.
So he dropped us off and it was already 11:30 by now. After "greeting" each other, we went straight to bed.
I am one of those people who hates being late. If someone says they will meet me at 6:00, I start to freak out if they don't show by 6:05. Now that I'm in a relationship, I recognize I need to show more patience. Catherine told me she wanted to leave the house by 10:30. Well, I was ready by 10:00. Catherine, not so much. She just doesn't hurry. Normally, I could handle it, but I was fighting off my cat allergy with two freakish felines in this house. We finally left at 11:15. We took a bus and two subways (including one stop at Citi Field) to get to the Corona stop.
And as I had suspected for weeks, we went to Mama's of Corona for a classic Italian sandwich. Little did I know the owner was also Catherine's first grade teacher! So I got the classic Italian special with salami, peppered ham, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, and marinated mushrooms
on a fresh semolina roll! Now I have eaten some good subs in my life, but only in NY, can I get them on semolina bread. There is just something about that flavor that adds the extra oomph that I can't get in any other bread. It was just a tremendous sandwich. We then went into their neighboring bakery and I was bummed that they weren't selling any sesame cookies.
So then, we took the 7 train and some other one to 34th street and Penn Station/Madison Square Garden. From there, we waited outside 31st St entrance for some players to show up. We ran into a few fellow Rangers fans, some of which Catherine knew, and made some small talk. Typical NY banter back and forth. It's like a contest to see who can be the most witty/biting. It's fun, but can be challenging at times too.
So we took a quick walk to the new Cosby's. We each purchased a Winter Classic team photo for $5.00 that I'm looking forward to framing and hanging. So then we headed back two blocks to the 31st street island near the Parking garage and Cafe 31. We saw a few players enter. Richards, Hagelin, and Prust all came in together. Catherine wanted Mats Zuccarello's signature on one of her cards. She took me to this other entrance that was under construction. Sure enough, this little hobbit in a suit shows up. She gets the card signed. I could only say "Good luck." Little did I know...and five minutes later, this handsome dude in a tailored suit came walking in our direction. Pretty fast pace. He had sporty shades over his eyes and earbuds in his ears and holding a leather suitcase in his right hand. Within two seconds, I knew who it was. The best goalie in the world, #30, the King, Henrik Lundqvist. I just stared at him with my mouth wide open as he passed us.
I also met a lot of people from Facebook. I met Rose, Meghan, Darcy, and Crazy Amy and her psycho husband. It wasn't too easy for me to fit in though. They're all talking about memorabilia, games they'll be going to, and who is the hottest Ranger. Somehow, I didn't have a lot to contribute to that conversation. Finally at 6, we were allowed to enter MSG.
We headed straight to Section 126 for warmups. It was cool sitting in such a prime spot at the Garden, if only for a little while. But at the same time, I was feeling a bit tired. I couldn't understand why, this was my first time in the Garden in 2.5 years. But I just wasn't into it, maybe because I felt surrounded by strangers. Then I got a text from my uncle Brian, asking where I was. After two weeks of hoping to meet up, we found each other by the penalty box and talked for almost ten minutes. Although he's been battling cancer for five years, he's still looking pretty good. He handed me a media guide with a Let's Go Rangers pennant inside of it, which was really thoughtful of him. He also told me a story from earlier that night. He was having dinner with a few friends in a club in the Garden. All of a sudden, Adam Graves just walks right up to them and asks if he can join them for dinner. How cool must that be?!
So the game began and while sliding down to block a shot, Zuccarello fractured his wrist. He's out at least 6 weeks. So much for the good luck. No goals in the first period, but it was a pretty decent 20 minutes of hockey. So I'm walking around the concourse and I see a sign that all authentic jerseys are 50 percent off in the Rangers team store. Usually these things sell for maybe $230 online, so I'm thinking this could be a solid deal. So during the second intermission, I head down with Catherine. The listed price is $355.00. So half of that is about $179, which is approximately the same price as a replica jersey in the team store. Pass! We also went over to the Steiner sports stand, which has lots of memorabilia to bid on ad purchase. Of course, Catherine won the giveaway, a signed Chris Drury photo of him scoring in the last game of the 2010-11 season against New Jersey. I was beyond ticked off. She has enough crap already in her bedroom. So I went to the men's room and trying to get back to my seat, I got lost. I must have walked around the arena at least twice. Even better, I thought Catherine had already left, but she was waiting on me for maybe 10 minutes.
The final period was a total disaster. Buffalo scored three goals on odd-man rushes and won 4-1. I even saw the second one coming as they turned the Rangers over. And I called it too. Just a sloppy performance all around, especially by spare winger John Mitchell and the defense.
Afterwards, Catherine said goodbye to her friends. I was too ticked to say anything. Finally, we took the E, the L, and the M. Actually, I have no idea what the hell we took, except the M was the last line since it ends three blocks from her house. As we walked down Metropolitan Avenue, we noticed two fire trucks, police flares, and a few cops interrogating some people on the sidewalk. Obviously, it was night, so I couldn't see everything perfectly. But I did see some sort of unusual object on the street. As i got closer, I realized it was a traffic light. It turns out this huge semi made this sharp turn and knocked down a traffic light and pole, wiping out the electricity for the whole block! And the brakes on the truck automatically locked so it couldn't even be towed away!
When we got back, she took care of the cats while I downed some Claritin. I wanted a bottle of Stella to chill, but I couldn't find a bottle opener for the Stella Artois, so I drank nothing. Finally, we settled into bed and watched "My Cousin Vinny." Well, we at least got through the first half...
Monday, March 12, 2012
Chi-town weeekend with CI: Part 2
Saturday
I set my alarm for 6 and by the time I woke up and looked over at my alarm, it read 7:17. I hadn’t even started packing yet!
After 10 minutes of driving, I realized I didn’t even remember my coat.
Walked in around 9:15
Corner Bakery for coffee and Wi-Fi
Discovered the Intimacy kit ($5.50)
Two condoms, lubricating jelly,and 2 obstetrical towlettes.
Kind of like an adult jelly sandwich
After ten minutes of laughing uncontrollably, we headed back downstairs where Mom was waiting to pick us up.
Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder
Great American salad
They teased me for dropping a lot of lettuce on the table when I tried to serve everyone.
Italian combination grinder
No more anchovies ever again
Navy Pier
Stained glass display
Irish store
T-shirt
$25.00 minimum purchase to use a credit card.
So I paid my last $20 cash.
Zeppole
Sports store
Gnomes for Cubs, Bulls, and Bears. Thank God there were no Blackhawk gnomes
45 minutes in Capi’s
Powdered sugar on her lips
We started walking north on LSD and saw a small beach
It was still about 45 and the sun was still trying to be seen as it was approaching 5 by this time.
Took our shoes off
Snapped a few photos of the scenery and each other
Back to room
Set up Bolland and Gnome with intimacy kit on the bed
Yada yada
Water Tower Place
Five minute wait for newspaper
Francesca’s
8:45
Roast Chicken
Tilapia with sautéed shrimp
Rudy
More yada yada in the middle of the movie, I think we missed 30 minutes because of it
Sunday
Barely slept
Must have been 10:00 when we were going to be ready for Walker Bros and by that time, I could see from our window that the line was out the door already. So we settled for Corner Bakery Café.
Subway ride 10 minutes, hour to O’Hare
Took train two stops back to Cumberland
Home by 2:00 pm
Broken gnome
Chi-town weeekend with CI: Part 1
Thursday
Workout
Haircut
Library
Graham’s
Rest stop
Seven laps around the terminal
Took her 40 minutes from landing to getting to the curb
Parking space
Portillo’s
Big Beef
Hot dogs
Chocolate cake shake
Drove up Lake Shore Drive
Check in
Exchanged gifts
First kiss of the trip
Played CD and yada yada
Napped
DMK Burger Bar
Patty melt
Old school bookstore
Comedysportz
We sat front row center
Had a great time
Jokes about men’s studies for college majors and Number 5 for Chinese entrees
Red line back to hotel
Picked Nicole up
Dublin’s
Bass Ale
Took off around midnight
Friday
8:25 train, got me in around 9:30
I knew the girls had gone to the United Center.
I stepped outside, as I planned to take the green line from Clinton to State/Lake, then transfer to the red line and take that north towards the Magnificent Mile. And it was about 30 degrees, a little bit of wind, but it didn’t feel too bad. So I decided to man up and walk.
I met them at State/Chicago and we headed over towards the Hyatt where I had just been sitting.
But they also head about the Peninsula, which we passed by and they got the news that the Rangers were indeed staying at that hotel.
Bellhop douchebag wouldn’t let me stand under heat lamp so I stood outside
Freezing
Saw Boyle, Hagelin, Prust. I heard Richards and someone else was in the mix too.
They stayed there for three hours
After about 90 minutes, I’d had enough
Starbucks
Apple store
We met back up around 2:30 pm and headed back to the room.
While Nicole got ready, I massaged Catherine for maybe 45 minutes.
Gino’s East
Half cheese/half spinach
The girls had one slice each, Q and I each scarfed down 3!
Q drove recklessly, but got us to the building around 5:55, just before the doors opened.
Warmups, ran to bench
Hot girl from Indiana named Jessica
Blackhawk t-shirt, Blackhawk earrings, Blackhawk shoes, and a white Michael Del Zotto jersey
To minutes before warmups were going to start, I got kicked out when the asshole whose seat I was standing at showed up.
Q followed me like he was my freaking babysitter all the way up to my seat
No Del Zotto and no Dubinsky
Met Chris Frenzel during the first intermission
Prust scores, it’s 2-1 with eight minutes left.
Three fucking goals in six minutes
Richards finally scores with 40 seconds left, which meant nothing
Third straight loss
Fucking disaster
10:40 express train
Brooklyn Pilsner and John Daly at home at went to bed around 2 am.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
The most disappointing Friday ever
I just don't know what to say anymore. After such a good Thursday, I did not see such a slow, frustrating day coming. I'll recap, just to let out my aggravation, but I am under the influence of Brooklyn Pilsner and a bit of Firefly. So this will include random ramblings.
I woke up at 6:30 and left 8 to catch the train to West Chicago. That's about all that went smoothly. I was going to take the green line from Clinton to State/Lake and then take the red line north. But, feeling a little too macho, I decided to walk it. It took an hour. The girls were already stalking Hawks at the United Center. And they walked all the way down Madison which was just dumb. I had to guide them to get on the subway at Washington/Wells to State/Lake to Lake to Chicago at the red line. For a while, I was just hanging at the Park Hyatt because I heard a rumor the Rangers were staying there. They weren't, but at least I got to charge my phone.
So I met up with the ladies and we wound up standing in front of some hotel for three hours waiting for the players to show up. And indeed, a few of them did. But my idea of fun is not standing outside in 25 degree weather and heavy wind in the shade and not moving waiting to have cards signed by hockey players. So I took off and went into the Starbucks about 3 blocks away. I wanted to get away and warm up! I ordered a caramel apple cider with extra cinnamon and killed about 90 minutes. I may as well have been sitting in there for the entire weekend. I also ventured inside the Apple store and pretended to look like I knew what their different gadgets actually did.
Finally, we met back up and headed back to the room. Must have been 3 pm already. I gave Catherine a long back massage, maybe 30 minutes or so. Then we headed to Gino's East and Q met us there. We enjoyed a large half cheese/half spinach deep dish pizza although the ladies could only handle one slice each. Catherine was feeling really cold, I tried to warm her up by holding her, but...well, I tried.
The we left for the game. At warm-ups, I saw Kristen and gave her a huge hug. I also met this gorgeous girl from Indiana named Jessica who is a Hawks fan, but likes the Rangers. She had on Blackhawk shoes, Blackhawk earrings, a Blackhawk t-shirt, and a Rangers Michael Del Zotto jersey. I'm convinced she's Catherine's distant cousin! Damn, she was soooo cute. And i was getting excited about watching warmups from such a good viewpoint. I was so ready to see up close the Rangers players walk through the tunnel and step onto the ice. Then, the guy whose seat I was standing in front of showed up and I had to go. Literally two minutes before the start of warmups. And my ass gets tossed out. Just me, nobody else. I was so freaking pissed off. And, in truth, I still am. I feel like such an outcast.
I could not shake my anger and disgust. I didn't even applaud or make noise for Jim Cornelison's anthem. I never thought that day would ever come. And then the Rangers take two 1-goal leads, including 1 with 8 minutes left and of course, Chicago scores three straight after that. 4-3 final, after a meaningless Richards goal. I took off at 3-2, I couldn't bear to see the f'n Blackhawks celebrate. So the Rangers have lost three straight game now. Pittsburgh can't lose, and I'm convinced this team is going to lose in the first round of the playoffs.
I did get to meet Chris Frenzel, who is a very cool dude and i got to see Kristen Frendak again, which was great. Thought I saw Jackie "The Traitor " Lomba. Wanted to yell at her, but not worth it. Not worth my time, my voice, or my energy.
Took an express train home. Got in around midnight. Drank some Firefly sweet tea vodka and lemonade to end a sad day. I did chat with Katie a little. She really seems like a smart girl. I think she and I can be solid friends. The vodka is really kicking in now...
Damn these Rangers! I hate how they keep letting me down! Same with all these teams. And I will say it again, no matter what. Any idiot who uses the phrase "It's just a game" falls into one of two categories. Either they have no team that they invest their heart, their soul, and their emotions into or they have seen their teams win on a regular basis. I would like to meet one diehard Cleveland sports fan who truly in his heart believes that "it's just a game." Because one like that simply does not exist.
I'm not saying it's right or it's rational, it just is what it is.
I woke up at 6:30 and left 8 to catch the train to West Chicago. That's about all that went smoothly. I was going to take the green line from Clinton to State/Lake and then take the red line north. But, feeling a little too macho, I decided to walk it. It took an hour. The girls were already stalking Hawks at the United Center. And they walked all the way down Madison which was just dumb. I had to guide them to get on the subway at Washington/Wells to State/Lake to Lake to Chicago at the red line. For a while, I was just hanging at the Park Hyatt because I heard a rumor the Rangers were staying there. They weren't, but at least I got to charge my phone.
So I met up with the ladies and we wound up standing in front of some hotel for three hours waiting for the players to show up. And indeed, a few of them did. But my idea of fun is not standing outside in 25 degree weather and heavy wind in the shade and not moving waiting to have cards signed by hockey players. So I took off and went into the Starbucks about 3 blocks away. I wanted to get away and warm up! I ordered a caramel apple cider with extra cinnamon and killed about 90 minutes. I may as well have been sitting in there for the entire weekend. I also ventured inside the Apple store and pretended to look like I knew what their different gadgets actually did.
Finally, we met back up and headed back to the room. Must have been 3 pm already. I gave Catherine a long back massage, maybe 30 minutes or so. Then we headed to Gino's East and Q met us there. We enjoyed a large half cheese/half spinach deep dish pizza although the ladies could only handle one slice each. Catherine was feeling really cold, I tried to warm her up by holding her, but...well, I tried.
The we left for the game. At warm-ups, I saw Kristen and gave her a huge hug. I also met this gorgeous girl from Indiana named Jessica who is a Hawks fan, but likes the Rangers. She had on Blackhawk shoes, Blackhawk earrings, a Blackhawk t-shirt, and a Rangers Michael Del Zotto jersey. I'm convinced she's Catherine's distant cousin! Damn, she was soooo cute. And i was getting excited about watching warmups from such a good viewpoint. I was so ready to see up close the Rangers players walk through the tunnel and step onto the ice. Then, the guy whose seat I was standing in front of showed up and I had to go. Literally two minutes before the start of warmups. And my ass gets tossed out. Just me, nobody else. I was so freaking pissed off. And, in truth, I still am. I feel like such an outcast.
I could not shake my anger and disgust. I didn't even applaud or make noise for Jim Cornelison's anthem. I never thought that day would ever come. And then the Rangers take two 1-goal leads, including 1 with 8 minutes left and of course, Chicago scores three straight after that. 4-3 final, after a meaningless Richards goal. I took off at 3-2, I couldn't bear to see the f'n Blackhawks celebrate. So the Rangers have lost three straight game now. Pittsburgh can't lose, and I'm convinced this team is going to lose in the first round of the playoffs.
I did get to meet Chris Frenzel, who is a very cool dude and i got to see Kristen Frendak again, which was great. Thought I saw Jackie "The Traitor " Lomba. Wanted to yell at her, but not worth it. Not worth my time, my voice, or my energy.
Took an express train home. Got in around midnight. Drank some Firefly sweet tea vodka and lemonade to end a sad day. I did chat with Katie a little. She really seems like a smart girl. I think she and I can be solid friends. The vodka is really kicking in now...
Damn these Rangers! I hate how they keep letting me down! Same with all these teams. And I will say it again, no matter what. Any idiot who uses the phrase "It's just a game" falls into one of two categories. Either they have no team that they invest their heart, their soul, and their emotions into or they have seen their teams win on a regular basis. I would like to meet one diehard Cleveland sports fan who truly in his heart believes that "it's just a game." Because one like that simply does not exist.
I'm not saying it's right or it's rational, it just is what it is.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Want to believe it'll last
1) The standard for men vs women is so comical. I like one photo of Brooke Adams on Facebook and I get hell for it. Meanwhile, she posts photos of Dubinsky, Del Zotto, and that bastard Victor Cruz as her profile photo and I'm supposed to be okay with it. I just don't think it's going to last, as much as I want it to.
2) I'm very happy that the Rangers have John Scott. For a 5th round pick, he will add the size and enforcer mentality than Prust and Rupp can only do so much of. A lot of my friends who are Blackhawks friends are split down the middle. Some of them love the trade and some are beside themselves. My opinion: the only way this trade is a bad one is if he takes stupid penalties that cost them a game.
3) Whether it's the leaf or the juice, kale tastes horrible.
4) Francesca's tonight. 20th anniversary pre-fixe menu, I am super excited. And right after that, I'm heading to the Warrior Dome for some Wheaton Academy vs St. Francis playoff basketball!
5) I really need to get back into a small group. I mean if my most regular social network is Rangers fans on facebook, that's a problem.
2) I'm very happy that the Rangers have John Scott. For a 5th round pick, he will add the size and enforcer mentality than Prust and Rupp can only do so much of. A lot of my friends who are Blackhawks friends are split down the middle. Some of them love the trade and some are beside themselves. My opinion: the only way this trade is a bad one is if he takes stupid penalties that cost them a game.
3) Whether it's the leaf or the juice, kale tastes horrible.
4) Francesca's tonight. 20th anniversary pre-fixe menu, I am super excited. And right after that, I'm heading to the Warrior Dome for some Wheaton Academy vs St. Francis playoff basketball!
5) I really need to get back into a small group. I mean if my most regular social network is Rangers fans on facebook, that's a problem.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Mid-week break
1) So this is my second Wednesday without Feasting and Fellowship. One on hand, it's much more relaxing now that I can arrive home as soon as 5:30 as opposed to 10 pm. That said, I do miss seeing the guys every week. Burns should still owe us a round at Portillo's. Beef and sausage combo with hot peppers for me please.
2) Changes coming at work. The advisors will soon outnumber the processors 2-1. And this advisor position is essentially no better than working in a call center. 7-4 shifts are gone and 12-9 will be in. Then good news is there will still be PDC processors. I may have to be on the phone a little bit, I guess I can deal with it. But if they ever try to shoft me into an advisor role, I am leaving.
3) The Anna Maria's episode of Restuarant Impossible is one of the best ever. And that was literally the most disgusting kitchen I have ever seen.
4) Brought a 2 pound container of whey protein powder at Wal-Mart. Mixed it with water and it tastes disgusting. That may be the cheap way to consume it, but I need to come up with a way to actually make it drinkable.
5) As far as the Rangers go...they have the best record in the Eastern Conference. But I have no confidence that this team as constituted can win a Stanley Cup this season. They simply do not have the goal scoring, especailly on the power play. Now this is a young team, for the most part, so I'm not saying I would make drastic changes. But if they can acquire Rick Nash by trading Brandon Dubsinky AND without surrendering Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh, or Derek Stepan, they have to do it. Would have liked them to acquire Tuomo Rutuu, but he just signed an extension in Carolina.
6) I think I like the Willow Creek group. I am starting to realize that once I do get comfortable with a group, I am totally in. It usually doesn't take long to happen. And I think I am getting there with them. It's just a lot of people and I'm seeing them once every two weeks or so and sometimes that's just for a few minutes. I am waiting for Christ Community to get back to me about joining a small group...
7) That blue and orange Mets batting practice jersey looks great. $120 though...
8) Speaking of the gym, where the hell is the second 30-pound dumbbell?
9) I think I'm getting used to losing my goatee. I'm not happy about it, but I feel okay about it.
10) Fifteen days till I see my girl again!
2) Changes coming at work. The advisors will soon outnumber the processors 2-1. And this advisor position is essentially no better than working in a call center. 7-4 shifts are gone and 12-9 will be in. Then good news is there will still be PDC processors. I may have to be on the phone a little bit, I guess I can deal with it. But if they ever try to shoft me into an advisor role, I am leaving.
3) The Anna Maria's episode of Restuarant Impossible is one of the best ever. And that was literally the most disgusting kitchen I have ever seen.
4) Brought a 2 pound container of whey protein powder at Wal-Mart. Mixed it with water and it tastes disgusting. That may be the cheap way to consume it, but I need to come up with a way to actually make it drinkable.
5) As far as the Rangers go...they have the best record in the Eastern Conference. But I have no confidence that this team as constituted can win a Stanley Cup this season. They simply do not have the goal scoring, especailly on the power play. Now this is a young team, for the most part, so I'm not saying I would make drastic changes. But if they can acquire Rick Nash by trading Brandon Dubsinky AND without surrendering Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh, or Derek Stepan, they have to do it. Would have liked them to acquire Tuomo Rutuu, but he just signed an extension in Carolina.
6) I think I like the Willow Creek group. I am starting to realize that once I do get comfortable with a group, I am totally in. It usually doesn't take long to happen. And I think I am getting there with them. It's just a lot of people and I'm seeing them once every two weeks or so and sometimes that's just for a few minutes. I am waiting for Christ Community to get back to me about joining a small group...
7) That blue and orange Mets batting practice jersey looks great. $120 though...
8) Speaking of the gym, where the hell is the second 30-pound dumbbell?
9) I think I'm getting used to losing my goatee. I'm not happy about it, but I feel okay about it.
10) Fifteen days till I see my girl again!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Where's this going to go?
So I've known her for 10 months now. I love her, I'm pretty sure of that. It feels so ominous though. And I don't kn ow if my feeling are legit or just my own fears. I know once we break up that she will have a boyfriend within a week at the most. Whereas I will still be alone, just like usual. It doesn't even feel real sometimes, that's probably because of the distance though. I'm probably going to ride this out as long as I can, but I really don't know if this going to last.
So it's all over
I mentioned in my last post about the end of Feasting and Fellowship. It was a good run that lasted nearly 2 and a half years. I didn't think it was going to end for a long time. But as life goes, when one thing goes bad, everything else goes bad right along with it. I need to get a few things off my chest.
1) Many guys moved away. Fish to Florida, Nathan to Switzerland, Chuck to downtown Chicago.
2) Some guys got married or hooked up. Daniel, Means, Burns, Court. And if that's not enough, Dave's schedule has changed and he's dropping from an occasional attender to a non-attender.
3) There's no way I want to go on with just me, Keith, and Dec. Yeah, we good have good conversations. But that's just so limited.
4) Timothys, Titus, Hebrews, Revelation, Chan, Nee. I think that's it.
5) Boot drinking, ice cream, Nerf guns, frozen grapes, playing goalie during the Stanley Cup Finals, combines nights at Dec' place and Steph's place. We had some good moments.
1) Many guys moved away. Fish to Florida, Nathan to Switzerland, Chuck to downtown Chicago.
2) Some guys got married or hooked up. Daniel, Means, Burns, Court. And if that's not enough, Dave's schedule has changed and he's dropping from an occasional attender to a non-attender.
3) There's no way I want to go on with just me, Keith, and Dec. Yeah, we good have good conversations. But that's just so limited.
4) Timothys, Titus, Hebrews, Revelation, Chan, Nee. I think that's it.
5) Boot drinking, ice cream, Nerf guns, frozen grapes, playing goalie during the Stanley Cup Finals, combines nights at Dec' place and Steph's place. We had some good moments.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Lonely Sunday
1) That was the worst football season ever. I can't remember the last Sunday when I didn't shower, change clothes, or go anywhere. The wings weren't that great. I watched 2 Super Bowl plays and dealt with the rude, disrespectful Giants fans all week. And I thought it was over. I thought I was over it. I thought I was content with seeing Tom Brady and Bill Belichick lose again. Schmiedeberg's Wal-Mart photo today showed that wasn't the case.
2) Living room stickball. 33 innings. Playing till 1 AM. With 3 guys. All younger. All over 300 pounds. What a life...
3) I am officially a fan of Burt's pizza. It was a total dive and Mom and I drive an hour through the snow during Friday's rush hour traffic to get there. It's just one tiny room with lots of old clocks and radios for decorations. We were seated by the door and I saw the staff turn away at least five parties because they hadn't called ahead to place their order. I thank them for serving Scrimshaw beer. I'd never had it before, but I made sure to pick up a 6-pack at Binny's the next day. Great California Pilsner. Our salad was pretty basic, came with a zesty vinigarette.
4) I'll save a separate number just for the pizza. As promised to me, it came out in the pan promptly at 6:30. 18 inches with homemade sausage, mixed bell peppers, mushrooms, and chopped onions. The tomato sauce tasted very bold. There was not much mozzarella cheese on this one, I didn't really mind though. And the pizza came nicely seasoned with parmesan and oregano. So the veggies tasted very fresh and I like the large chunks of Italian sausage too. I would definitely return.
5) And the extra bonus was it turns out the owner also worked at The Inferno in Evanston. And that's where mom used to eat pizza every single week while she was in college. And although we've been living in Chicago since 1997, this was the first time she got to experience that taste again. I think that's just really cool for her.
6) Catherine goes to two straight Rangers games, including another one in Philly, and both were wins. I love her, but I feel I'm missing her life. I just don't know how to think about it all.
7) Jeremy Lin. Amazing. I love this guy. Just an amazing story. And the fact that he is an Asian-American Christian just makes it even better.
8) I rented two books on sports psychology. I was hoping it would talk about the careers. But at first glance, it looks this is targeted to athletes. If it is, I'll send copies to Mike Pelfrey and Mark Sanchez.
9) I feel so alone at times.
10) Mom's gone Friday-Tuesday to Washington DC. And then she's home for three days before leaving on a week-long tour to Destin, FL.
11) Feasting and Fellowship: September 2009-February 2012. Rest in Peace.
Song pick: "The Window Up Above" George Jones
2) Living room stickball. 33 innings. Playing till 1 AM. With 3 guys. All younger. All over 300 pounds. What a life...
3) I am officially a fan of Burt's pizza. It was a total dive and Mom and I drive an hour through the snow during Friday's rush hour traffic to get there. It's just one tiny room with lots of old clocks and radios for decorations. We were seated by the door and I saw the staff turn away at least five parties because they hadn't called ahead to place their order. I thank them for serving Scrimshaw beer. I'd never had it before, but I made sure to pick up a 6-pack at Binny's the next day. Great California Pilsner. Our salad was pretty basic, came with a zesty vinigarette.
4) I'll save a separate number just for the pizza. As promised to me, it came out in the pan promptly at 6:30. 18 inches with homemade sausage, mixed bell peppers, mushrooms, and chopped onions. The tomato sauce tasted very bold. There was not much mozzarella cheese on this one, I didn't really mind though. And the pizza came nicely seasoned with parmesan and oregano. So the veggies tasted very fresh and I like the large chunks of Italian sausage too. I would definitely return.
5) And the extra bonus was it turns out the owner also worked at The Inferno in Evanston. And that's where mom used to eat pizza every single week while she was in college. And although we've been living in Chicago since 1997, this was the first time she got to experience that taste again. I think that's just really cool for her.
6) Catherine goes to two straight Rangers games, including another one in Philly, and both were wins. I love her, but I feel I'm missing her life. I just don't know how to think about it all.
7) Jeremy Lin. Amazing. I love this guy. Just an amazing story. And the fact that he is an Asian-American Christian just makes it even better.
8) I rented two books on sports psychology. I was hoping it would talk about the careers. But at first glance, it looks this is targeted to athletes. If it is, I'll send copies to Mike Pelfrey and Mark Sanchez.
9) I feel so alone at times.
10) Mom's gone Friday-Tuesday to Washington DC. And then she's home for three days before leaving on a week-long tour to Destin, FL.
11) Feasting and Fellowship: September 2009-February 2012. Rest in Peace.
Song pick: "The Window Up Above" George Jones
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Super Agony
1) So 21 hours from now, either the Giants or Patriots will win another Super Bowl. Moving on...
2) Bacon BBQ rub on chicken wings...
3) Found some old cassettes when I was cleaning the basement today. They had some old sports reports I did from when I was in college. I can't believe I did my own voice-overs. Cringe-worthy.
4) Trimming gray hairs is so depressing.
5) Being ignored is just too much to take sometimes.
Song pick: "Livin' For the Night" George Strait
2) Bacon BBQ rub on chicken wings...
3) Found some old cassettes when I was cleaning the basement today. They had some old sports reports I did from when I was in college. I can't believe I did my own voice-overs. Cringe-worthy.
4) Trimming gray hairs is so depressing.
5) Being ignored is just too much to take sometimes.
Song pick: "Livin' For the Night" George Strait
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