DC Travels, Day 1

I drove two and a half hours north on a gray chilly Friday morning to the Franconia-Springfield Metro stop and took the Blue Line into downtown DC. One of the things that's different with the trains here as opposed to New York or Chicago is you have to pay your fare based off the distance you travel. So for each trip, you have to scan your card twice, on when you enter and then after you depart. I arrived at a hotel called Club Quarters, two blocks north of the White House. They told me to check in early, I would have to pay an additional $50. I didn't have the slightest interest in paying 33% more than what I paid for the room so I had them hold my bags until the afternoon.

My first stop was Arlington Cemetery, southwest of DC. It was a cold day, kind of fitting for being at a cemetery. I immediately went to the Kennedy family site, where JFK, RFK, Ted Kennedy, and the like are buried. Some of the other highlights were the Unknowns, President Taft, Abner Doubleday, Joe Louis, and Medgar Evers. I have to admit when I got to Doubleday's grave, I got a little annoyed. I said out loud "Abner, if it wasn't for you the Mets wouldn't torture me like they do!"

I'd never been to Chopt before, but for my first meal in DC, I thought I would go healthier so I didn't have to feel too guilty about indulging later. I ordered the Smoky Santa Cruz salad with grilled chicken, avocado, corn, scallions, tri-color quinoa, black beans, kale, broccoleaf (whatever that is) & purple cabbage. The two dressings were their Sweet 'n Smoky vinaigrette, which is actually pretty spicy, and the Mexican goddess, which had avocado, cilantro, and jalapeno. I like that they chop the salads on the board before serving it in the plastic bowl. I asked for some extra lime wedges and they even gave me an extra piece of bread, which I definitely needed to counter the heat. The ingredients were fresh and the salad was rather filling. Also, I give them props for their variety of lemonades and iced teas. The mint lemonade was especially enjoyable. I wish they had a location in coastal Virginia, but I'll probably have another salad her the next time I'm in the DC area.

It was only 12:15, so I knew I had time before my check in. I walked around the White House, where I saw a few too many classless protesters. I also walked around the National Christmas tree, which was much smaller than some of the others I've seen, such as the trees in Rockefeller Center or Millennium Park. There was also a tree from every state and US territory to walk by, about 55 in all. It was cool seeing several train sets running around the trees as well. 

I walked south to Constitution Street, then walked west to the Lincoln Memorial. Being a big Lincoln fan, it's hard to come to DC without heading over there. I had done a lot of walking by this point, so I was getting anxious to check in and recharge. So I walked back north through George Washington University and then east towards my hotel. I sat in Farragut Park for a while, fitting since the two nearest train stops to me were Farragut North and Farragut West. There wasn't much to the park, just a big statue of a General Farragut and a lot of food trucks parked around the curb. 

Around 1:30, I decided to see if there was a room and there actually was. I checked in, grabbed some bottled water, which happened to be available right outside my room on the eighth floor, and laid in bed for maybe an hour. 

I decided to eat in the Chinatown section at Nando Nando's, which is a place that serves grilled chicken with an African/Portuguese flavor. . I'm going to get my gripe out of the way. I don't need to know where a restaurant's political allegiances lie or if they support certain kinds of "lifestyles." Just make good food, treat customers well, and leave the human rights issues off your entrance window. Unnecessary and unappreciated. Now that we got that out of the way, I enjoyed my meal very much. I ordered a half chicken grilled with their medium sauce and a side of chips (Fries). The chicken was very juicy and I liked adding a little bit of the lemon herb sauce for some extra citrus tang. The medium sauce worked well for me, but I think I could have handled the hot. The fries were well seasoned with a seasoning salt, but maybe could have been a bit crispier. I also like that they have the Coke freestyle machine, I'll always give props for that. My meal was about $18, which might be a little high, but not too crazy. 

Onto Penn Social bar. Two hundred Rangers fans gathered before. I recognized my friend Zack, who I didn't even know was going to be there. He bought me a Winter IPA, which was delicious. Around 6:!5, I walked over to Capital One Center. Ironically, I hadn't seen one person wearing a Capitals logo all day until I got to the arena. The game was horrible, I left in the middle of the second period when Washington made it 2-0. Even though the Rangers did manage to tie the game 2-2, they wound up giving up a goal with 5 minutes left to blow the game anyway.

Miserable and aggravated, I didn't know if I wanted to eat, get wasted, or just go back to the room. I did forget about Bobby Flay's burger joint, but I did go to Shake Shack in Dupont Circle. I got the double Shack burger. The Martin's potato roll is perfect for a burger, soft and spongy. The beef is still juicy. The thing that bothers me with Shake Shack is they so often get the toppings wrong. I asked for lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion and they left out the lettuce and tomato. I didn't even think about the shack sauce, but that was missing too. I like that they have some decent craft beer options, like Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA. I do wish they had more sauces than ketchup and regular mustard. Maybe some garlic aioli, honey mustard, or BBQ sauce.

More Food Lists

Favorite Cheeses for a Burger
1) Cheddar Jack
2) Cheddar
3) American
4) Swiss
5) Pepper Jack

Favorite Sauces for Fries
1) Garlic Aioli
2) Honey Mustard
3) BBQ Sauce
4) Remoulade
5) Spicy Ranch

Favorite Chinese Dishes
1) Beef and Broccoli
2) General's Chicken
3) Asian Ribs
4) Orange Chicken
5) Sesame Chicken

Favorite Pasta Sauce Brands
1) Rao's
2) Jersey's Italian Gravy
3) Victoria's
4) Bongiovi
5) Mario Batali

Favorite Vegetables with a Steak
1) Mushrooms
2) Onions
3) Asparagus
4) Broccoli
5) Spinach

Favorite Ice Cream Flavors
1) Cinnamon
2) Pistachio
3) Butter Pecan
4) Coconut Almond
5) Vanilla

Restaurant Lists

Favorite Steakhouses

1) Peter Luger's-Brooklyn, NY
2) Morton's-Chicago, IL
3) Ben and Jack's-New York City
4) Uncle Jack's-New York City
5) Primehouse-Chicago, IL
6) Gene and Georgetti-Chicago, IL
7) Emeril's Delmonico-Las Vegas, NV
8) Chicago Chop House-Chicago, IL
9) The Bull Ring-Santa Fe, NM

10) The Grill Room-Portland, ME

Favorite Pizzerias

1) Frank Pepe's-New Haven, CT
2) Bruno's Pizza Factory-Edison, NJ
3) Arturo's-New York City
4) Burt's Pizza-Morton Grove, IL
5) L&B Spumoni Gardens-Brooklyn NY
6) Piece-Chicago, IL

7) Lombardi's-New York City
8) Brooklyn Boys-Cary, NC
9) Lou Malnati's-Chicago, IL

10) NY Slices-Highland Park IL

Favorite Burgers

1) Engine No. 9-Tampa, FL

2) Au Cheval, Chicago, IL

3) Kuma's Corner-Chicago, IL
4) The Filling Station-St. Charles, IL
5) Twisted Root Burger-Dallas, TX

6) Louis Lunch-New Haven, CT

7) Bobby's Burger Palace-Paramus, NJ

8) AJ Bomber's, Milwaukee, WI

9) 1608 Crafthouse-Norfolk, VA
10) JG Mellon-New York City

Favorite Delis

1) Katz's-New York City
2) JP Graziano's-Chicago, IL
3) Perry's-Chicago, IL
4) Defonte's-Brooklyn, NY
5) Brent's-Los Angeles, CA
6) Route 58 Deli-Virginia Beach, VA

7) Zingerman's-Ann Arbor, MI
8) Sarge's-New York City
9) Schmaltz's-Naperville, IL
10) Glorioso's-Milwaukee, WI

Favorite Italian Restaurants

1) LouCa's-Edison, NY

2) Andino's-Providence RI

3) A Tavola-Chicago, IL

4) Topo Gigio-Chicago, IL

5) Francesca's-St. Charles, IL

6) Quartino-Chicago, IL

7) Gargiulio's-Brooklyn, NY

8) ZaZa's-St. Charles, IL

9) The Vineyards-Newport News, VA 

10) Rosebud-Chicago, IL

Favorite BBQ Restaurants

1) Pappy's Smokehouse-St. Louis, MO

2) Hometown BBQ-Brooklyn, NY

3) Smoque-Chicago, IL

4) ZZQ-Richmond, VA

5) Buz & Ned's-Richmond, VA

6) Salt Lick-Austin, TX

7) Green Street Meats-Chicago, IL

8) Slow's BBQ-Grand Rapids, MI

9) Blackwood BBQ-Chicago,  IL

10) Redwood Shack-Norfolk, VA

Thanksgiving weekend

Well I'm currently on the second of two flights, this one from Charlotte to Chicago. I'm playing a Christopher Reeve audio book on my phone. I'm off from work for the next five days and I must say it feels good to finally have a break, my first since Labor Day weekend.

As I'm flying back to a town called home for 18 of the last 20 years, I can't help but feel a little ponderous. I sit in this first class seat feeling thankful and even a little bit proud on this Thanksgiving. I'm proud that I took the chance I took to leave Chicago and a secure job and familiarity. But I'm also thankful for all those years. I met great people and some unsavory ones, became a real Christian, ate wonderful food, worked some good jobs and some bad ones, ran my first races, walked through many forest preserves, had my heart broken, attended so many games, shows, festivals, and concerts, dealt with loneliness, lost two dogs, cleaned up my flooded basement maybe a dozen times, and wore out that space heater in that Arctic basement.

As I'm about to land, it feels a little bit like it did during Christmas 2002. I was visiting my now dead ex stepfather, who had an apartment in Wheaton. At that time, I had moved to Raleigh and thought my time in Chicago was over. I was content, thankful for five very good years, and ready to move on. Little did I know that four months later, I'd get the news that I would be moving back after I graduated college in June.

The difference is now I know it's permanent. And I really feel no sadness about it. None. I was ready to go then and I know that if I was still there, commuting three hours a day every weekday along with working nine hours in downtown Chicago and living with my mother, I'd feel even more restless now.

There's so much changing that I don't need to be part of. Bill Hybels won't be pastor at Willow Creek Church much longer. And the man replacing him is someone who gave a Chicago Cubs jersey to Pope Benedict. Safe to say I don't care for the man.

Certainly by no means is my life exactly where I want it. I don't know if that will ever happen. And even if it did, circumstances change so frequently, and I'm learning so many of them are out of my control. What I'm learning more and more now is real success isn't having my circumstances arranged exactly how I want them. Rather, it's having the inner strength to handle those circumstances with character and mental strength as they come my way. That's a battle I'm still trying to win. And I pray for God's grace and support through each struggle and each victory of each day.

24 Hours Was All

It was just another Friday night Meetup group event. About a dozen of us were meeting up at Tradition brewery, just a two minute walk from my apartment. I got there around 7:45. Kevin (the well dressed Asian), Rodney (the beer aficionado who needs to go to the dentist), and Jordan (the big boned group organizer) were already there.

A few ladies from the group shuffled in, including one I had never seen before that caught my attention. She appeared to be about 40 with shoulder length dark blonde hair that had been spiral curled. She was wearing jeans, a black leather jacket, and a multi-colored tank top that certainly showed off her impressive assets. She would later say that she was surprised a guy like me was there and that she was waiting for me to say something dumb or have a terrible speaking voice. She told me her name was Jessica and after a minute of small talk, she headed over to the bar to get a beer. I could see a guy or two trying to get her attention. Though I talked with a few people, I had an eye always watching wear she was going.

About 12 people came and we moved upstairs to a communal table. I made sure to sit next to her. I was facing a few other people who were there when I suddenly felt her soft hand gently touch my left wrist. A shiver went through me. She had noticed my black prayer bracelet. I had gotten it back at The Well, two years ago in Geneva. We began discussing faith and it didn’t take us long to figure out we had a lot in common in terms of value and beliefs. When she mentioned that values were the most important thing in a relationship, I had a good feeling. But gosh, I couldn’t stop staring at her chest! Hey, I am a guy, I'm a writer, I'm cursed with an eye for detail. I also found out that she had only moved to Virginia two weeks prior, from Southern California. She didn’t have a job, but she moved here hoping the prospects would be better. And I thought I took a big chance by leaving my home and traveling 1,500 miles when I actually had a job lined up!

At 9:15, Jordan and I left for our next event, karaoke at Quaker Steak and Lube, which was about ten minutes up the road. We arrived and within a few minutes, there were about 12 of us crammed in a tiny booth. There was one guy sitting between her and I so I mostly chatted with my friends Jon, Shawn, and Christina. I don’t remember much about that hour except I drank a huge Yuengling and people were talking the most useless BS imaginable; I think we were just letting out frustrations on a Friday night.

We soon worked our way to the ventilated side room, where the karaoke was but smoking was also allowed. Within a few minutes, we got word about a murder that happened a few yards away from the restaurant. Some guy just got shot in his car.

Jordan had gotten drunk by this time, I saw him drink two flights of eight beers plus two or three 22 ouncers. I turned around and saw him trying to rub up on Jessica. I wanted to kill him. Even though he weighs about 100 pounds more than me, and I had considered him my friend, I would have given him my best shot.

I was ready to leave by midnight. The singers sucked and the cigarette smoke was wearing my energy down. I was actually the only guy in the group who had the balls to sing. Of course, I performed a Bee Gees song, I went with Jive Talking. I said my goodbyes and Jessica was about to leave, but I caught up with her. I promised to message her through Meetup and she said yes. I gave her a big hug and even snuck in a quick peck on her cheek. I said good night and went to my car feeling pretty decent. I’ve never gotten a date out of a Meetup group before, but I had a confident feeling I was going to talk to this girl again.

I woke up the next morning around 8:30, feeling a little groggy after a steady stream of Yeungling. I turned my phone on and, I had a friend request on Facebook. The first name was Jessica. Now I didn’t know her last name and the picture didn’t look too much like her. I started to think to myself that this just didn’t make sense. I’m the one who’s supposed to pursue and fail miserably at it. It’s my trademark. When I saw her Facebook address was in Costa Verde, CA, I knew it was her. She had actually tracked me down right after we said good night.

We messaged a little bit that day and we agreed to meet that night at City Life Church in Newport News, near CNU. It offered a Saturday night service, and she had wanted to try it out. I missed one turn, but she got really lost, Google sent her on a path where she had to make four U-turns. Then, because there were four doors to get in the building, we had trouble figuring out where the other person was. She walked in, we gave each other a huge smile, and embraced. Her hair was straight this time, I almost didn’t recognize her.

This church actually is located inside a large Baptist church. The pastor came up and introduced himself, we had a little trouble explaining how we knew each other, but it was kind of interesting to him. The service was energetic and lively, it lasted about 90 minutes.

At 6:30, we definitely weren’t ready to say good night. She was hungry, but I really wasn’t, so I drove us to Bonefish. But with a 45 minute wait, we decided that wasn’t the best idea. We then tried 1608 Craft House. With the parking lot full, I pulled in next door to an auto parts store. I pulled onto the gravelly lot and settled right next to a tree and behind a tractor trailer. Pretty impressive park job.

We sat at a corner table for two at a window, which gave us a view of the dark parking lot. She ordered a dirty martini and I went with the Dogfish Head Pennsylvania tuxedo pale ale. For dessert, we split Bourbon barrel bread pudding with caramel and ice cream. Cost me $32, and yes, I paid. Even though I get uneasy about paying, I know it’s the right thing to do sometimes. It wasn’t supposed to a date, but it just turned into one. Some of the things we talked about were politics, family, surfing, travel, and fitness. I found out she actually had a grown son, which I preferred, because one, he was in California, and two, she didn’t have to take care of him 24/7. I held her hand for about 10 minutes and it felt great. What surprised was when she told me she hadn’t been in a relationship in 13 years.

Realizing they probably needed the table, we waked back to my car and sat inside. It was really dark, there was just a smidgen of light coming from the lights of the restaurant and a telephone pole. In the darkness, she could see my eyes changed and I just laughed. I always thought I had brown eyes until another girl mentioned to me that she thought they were hazel. I’m pretty sure that my eyes change color in different levels of light. Sensing my opportunity, I leaned a little closer to her. I asked if she was sure. She said yes. I leaned closer. Are you really sure? She leaned in. Our lips touched.

We wound up fogging all my windows at least three times. It was incredible. Her lips were amazingly tender. She grabbed me so tight, we wanted to fall asleep together so much. We drove back to the church lot and did it all over again. We didn’t say good night until nearly 11 pm. The next day came and she went for a day hike. She thought it over, and it was over. I found out that she is planning to leave Virginia by Christmas if she doesn’t get a job.

I don’t know if I’m more angry at her or angry at the circumstances. But now I don’t want to think of her or even talk to her. It’s almost as if she’s looking for a reason to not get attached to me. The circumstances make it challenging. I just wish she hadn’t sucked me in only to hurt me less than two days later.

Ronnie Milsap setlist

Prisoner of the Highway
He Got You/Any Day Now
I Wouldn't Have Missed It For the World/What a Difference You've Made In My Life/In Love/There's No Getting Over Me/Where Do the Nights Go?/Don't You Know How Much I Love You?/Let's Take the Long Way Around the World/Still Losing You/She Keeps the Home Fires Burning/I Wouldn't Have Missed It For the World
What Goes On When the Sun Goes Down
A Legend In My Time
You're Looking at Country
Walking After Midnight
But Not For Me
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
Snap Your Fingers
Back On My Mind Again
Lost in the Fifties Tonight
Stranger In My House
Your Cheating Heart
Smoky Mountain Rain
America the Beautiful

What Season Am I In?

We're a couple of days into November. Now when I think of the weather in November that I'm used to, it's kind of a mixture. You might get a day in the upper 60s early on as that last little tease. But by Thanksgiving, you'd better have your thermals, winter gloves, skull cap, and Canadian goose or Patagonia jacket all on standby.

Here in Virginia, I'm still able to wear shorts in the evening. I can't say that I'm minding this. I just hope it doesn't drop from 70 degrees to 30 degrees in the span of a day.

I really don't want to be lonely tonight. It's a Friday night around 11 p.m., and I'm laying in bed, listening to mellow music, drinking a local IPA, and writing. But it isn't easy seeing posts on social media about date nights and wondering why I don't have one. Then again, I guess it's nice to have my freedom, my sanity, and my money. Then I look at the situation from another perspective and I realize being alone is certainly testing my resolve. I settled for women who were not right for me many times in the past. I am not going to do that ever again. I wonder if the day will just come when I realize it's too late for me to fall in love. Because God knows I don't want my wedding night to be the same day I join the AARP Club.

And now I can follow up about the stop sign violation. It turns out the same ridiculous cop pulled over three other people for the same reason. Who knows, they might have even been at the same stop sign. So we all showed up for traffic court in downtown Newport News, which is not exactly downtown Beverly Hills. And the cop turned out to be sick, so he didn't even show up. Then that left us with two choices. We could either plea guilty and pay $50 and be done with it or we could come back in 2 weeks and if he didn't show up again, the case would be dismissed. I actually felt a tremendous sense of relief knowing that my maximum fine would only be $50. I mean, for a stop sign, in the south? I expected triple figures. So I decided to press my luck and take the chance that he won't show up in 2 weeks. At the very least I think I deserve to explain myself and make my case.

I realize with dentists, there are so many different kinds. Someone to do all the work themselves, and some let the hygienist do all the dirty work before they come in and just check on the bites and consider their work to be done. In St. Charles, I had a dentist who did everything himself and I was always out of there in 15 minutes. This new dentist I went to was breaking down scientific terms and diseases that I've never heard of, in fact I think he was trying to just confuse me so I would just trust him and do whatever he wanted. I think his main goal was to sell me on Invisalign so I wouldn't lose teeth in a few years. I guess we'll just see how that goes. But what I saw a coupon for $500 down, I kind of get the idea that buying a mansion in Monaco would be cheaper. I think I'll probably get my wisdom teeth taken out in the next year or two though.

I'm feeling a desire to learn to paint better. I find it focuses my energy well, and it's a good challenge for me. I also feel like I have some natural ability to do it, at least people seem to think so. But there are three issues that I need to address before I invest myself in this endeavor. One, it's expensive to buy the supplies. Two, it would make an absolute mess. And three, what would I do with the finished paintings? If I try to sell them and make money, I might take it personally if nobody ever brought them. I guess that's my rejection issue gnawing at me still.

Only one month remains until my solo trip to DC. It's only going to be two days, but it will be my first real trip since July. And I'm pretty confident I will enjoy this city more than I enjoyed St Louis. On my agenda are the International Spy Museum, Arlington Cemetery, the newseum, Rangers game, and of course, a number of restaurants. The big thing for me is finding the right hotel, between neighborhood and price. I don't mind staying a little outside of downtown, so long as I'm near the train.

Into October

I'm actually a little disappointed in myself because I thought I would be blogging more once I had my own place and a lot of new things were happening for me. And yet I haven't written a thing in a month. So here's what I have to say for right now.

I ran The Crawling Crab 5K in Hampton today and it was the first 5k that I ran in 4 years. I finished at 23:37, which is one of the best times I've ever had. I didn't feel too good during most of the race, especially going going up a highway hill twice, but I wasn't going to stop. I guess I was a little disappointed I didn't have that big final burst at the end. If I want to do a longer race one day, I really have to push myself harder.

I was entitled to have two craft beers after my race along with a cup of soup. Because after running 3 miles in 80 degree weather, what else would you want but a cup of hot soup? Anyway, I had a citrus wheat beer and a sweet potato beer. And then I had to go straight to work because it was orientation day.

Harris Teeter is an interesting grocery store. They have very good products, but their pricing is so confusing. It's like this item is 6.99 but if you have your card you can get 5% off two of them. I do think they have excellent pizza though I've been there four times in the last 3 weeks to get a slice or two of pizza. It's not too bready, it's crispy all the way through, and the toppings are a very good quality.

I would like to give a text version of a middle finger to officer Howell of the Newport News police department. The a****** gave me a ticket for disregarding a stop sign, as he put it. The problem is I was on a road I had never been on and I never saw the stop sign. Yep this scumbag had to fill his quota for the month so he gave me the ticket, without letting me explain. So now I have to go to court in a couple of weeks and hope I don't get screwed up the ass on the fine.

Now that I've gotten that out, I will go back to my Christian form of speech. Grace Bible Church is a pretty excellent Church. They emphasized community and opportunities to actually work in the Hampton Roads area, which I appreciate. And I've been going to a small group for 3 weeks now of young adults and I like the group quite a bit. But I feel like something is missing in the services. The pastor is preaching basic stuff, and I want to be stretched and challenged a lot more than what this guy is doing. It's like he's teaching second grade and I'm ready for college. So I think I'm sticking with the group, we'll have to see how it goes.

I'm really thankful for my new family that I hang out with on Sundays to watch Jets games. I've gone in each of the first four weeks, and I've made quite a few friends and I've even won a few prizes in door drawings. As the season goes on and the seem most likely struggles, it will be interesting to see if 30 and 40 people continue to show up to each game.

Orangetheory was a really interesting Fitness class. I had a free lesson, I just don't think I should have done it one week before my 5K. I had to do three circuits of running, rowing, and strength training equipment on the floor over 55 minutes. The workout was phenomenal, but price wise, it is just too much for my budget right now. I mean I can work out at my apartment complex for free, even though the equipment is lackluster, to say it gently.

And my gas and electric bill went up $100 in one freaking month. Granted $48 of that is a one-time deposit, but I am really taking it hard. I set up a budget, and then it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. I'm the type of guy who wants to be generous and wants to give money away and leave huge tips, but I feel like I need to take care of myself first. Because if I don't take care of myself, nobody else will. Because I would rather die than be broke and homeless and not be able to live life on my terms.

Two months in

1) Apartment is looking good. Furniture is in place, I have a bed as of Labor day weekend, and I purchased a set of cookware. I think I'm going to put a few bobbleheads on my dresser drawer, just to spite my mother since she feels she knows everything about how I should set up my apartment.

2) Gary Oldman is such a good actor and gets nowhere near the respect that he deserves.

3) I wonder if any woman is mentally strong enough to be with me.

4) The less social media in my life, the better.

5) Why does the local library charge me to get a book that is not in their system. That is not my fault that their system isn't stocked like it should be.

6) In 10 minutes of researching Washington DC, I found at least eight restaurants that I really want to try. Not to mention six sites that I haven't visited yet.

7) I wish to God I had an ability to just erase all sports knowledge from my brain.

8) Why do I get the feeling the Rangers are going to kill me again this year?

9) One game in and we know the Jets are dead.

10) Fuck the 2017 baseball season. I wish the hurricanes had destroyed Wrigley Field instead of Houston and South Florida.

NHL Predictions

Eastern Conference
Metropolitan Divisionz-Pittsburgh
x-Columbus
x-NY Rangers
w-Washington
Carolina
NY Islanders
Philadelphia
New Jersey

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

Western Conference
Central Division
z-Chicago
x-Nashville
x-St. Louis
w-Dallas
w-Minnesota
Winnipeg
Colorado

Pacific Division
z-Anaheim
x-Edmonton
x-San Jose
Calgary
Los Angeles
Colorado
Vegas
Vancouver

Eastern Conference Finals
Columbus over Toronto

Western Conference Finals
Anaheim over Edmonton

Stanley Cup Finals
Anaheim over Columbus

Early experiences

It's been a week and a half since my last post. Life really does feel different than it ever has before. I'm doing things on my own. I'm speaking to different people with the wondering in the back of my mind if I will speak to them again. When I go to the grocery store, the hardware store, festivals, for the mall, I don't have to see the dreaded Cubs logo. Well, except once every two weeks or so. Of course I have flipped off a couple of Patriots fans.

There have been a couple of challenges to deal with. On Sunday afternoon, I noticed a long, thin crack in my windshield. It went horizontally on the passenger side and covered maybe a third of the windshield. I don't know how it happened, I'm thinking it was on my drive from Newport News to Virginia Beach. Even though it did not impair my driving, I knew enough about these things to know I had to get the issue fixed and get it fixed quickly. So I made an online appointment for Tuesday morning at Safelite. They wound up fixing the issue inside of an hour and a half. The windshield did have to be replaced, but thankfully insurance covered the issue without me paying a deductible. I did eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel while I was waiting. Not the best breakfast, but I did try to play that golf tee game. I got it down to two tees left on the board.

Another issue was my first full paycheck. I had chosen to put that money into my credit union account since I getter a better rate of interest than I would at a typical bank. At the time I did not have a new checking account set up yet. I didn't want to put a check into a checking account that was about to close anyway. So my mother arranged a transfer of the check from the credit union to my new account. And it took 10 full days for it to go through. Thankfully, that got fixed this morning.

One issue that did not end as well was the situation with Cox. The installer had told me that my charge would be $89.99 plus another $18 in fees and equipment. What I wasn't told was that I would be charged more money in taxes and other fees. So I'm paying another $22 a month than I expected. Including $30 a month for a telephone that I'm not even using.

I'm thankful for Dave and Debra, a married couple that I'm starting to become friends with. Dave is pretty quiet, but very generous, and Debra is the sweet one, rather inquisitive and open. We might be going out to lunch this weekend. I've also met a guy named Ira through running. He's a little older than me, and he's an Ira that's not from New York and not Jewish. He is actually from northern Virginia, enjoys his beer, and we've had some good conversations.

But there's a feeling that I've had. It is a feeling that I don't believe I've ever had in my entire life. Now and then, I just smile and I thank God. I have a place to live, I have a pretty darn good job, and I get to go through a period of self-discovery. I'm learning what I want to do, what I enjoy, what I prioritize, what matters to me, and it's making be responsible in a way that I haven't had to be before.

I leave in six days to fly back to Chicago. I'll be hauling a lot of big things out here. Maybe at that point, this apartment will really feel like a home. Right now, it feels like my place to stay. But I'm not sure it feels like home yet. Maybe that's because after this one year lease, they may raise my rate and I'll need to leave. Because if it's just me, I don't need anything more than a 1 bedroom. The master bedroom and bathroom are not even being used right now. And unless my mother comes to stay, it's not going to either.

I also decided to run a 5k for the first time since April of 2014. It will be taking place in Hampton in mid-October. I have six weeks to train. I know I can run it in 25 minutes, I've been doing that for the last month. Most of my fastest times in the past have been between 23 and 24 minutes. My fastest race was also my most recent and that was 22:14 at Willow Creek Church. With six weeks of calculated training, I'm confident I can run it inside of 24 minutes. Beating 23 minutes would be a great accomplishment.

Moved in

August 12, 2017. Not a date that will slip my memory. It's the day that I moved into my first apartment. I had the date set for probably three weeks in advance. Waking up that morning, I didn't feel afraid. I didn't feel overwhelmed. Well, except I wish I had a little more cash for it. But my attitude was I had a job to do and I was going to do it that day.

 

It was absolutely pouring rain that morning. Not the day to be moving a ton of stuff back and forth. I loaded 25 or 30 hangers with clothes on the rod inside my car, wishing I could have covered them in plastic bags. I arrived at the leasing office at 9:55, waiting for the doors to open. The staff arrived late and I did not get my keys until 10:15. Fifteen minutes may not sound like a big deal, but knowing I had more belongings still sitting in my room, and knowing that my friend was waiting for me to be ready so he could help me unpack, those minutes crawled by ever so slowly.

 

Craig came over and we started unloading my car. He focused on my clothes and I took just about everything else in. Thankfully, the staff let me use a covered parking space, so my items didn't have to get too wet. After about ninety minutes, we were done with the first load. The only casualty was half a bottle of cheap glass cleaner from the dollar store spilling on my kitchen counter. At least it was from the dollar store so it only cost me about five dimes

I made one more run back to the hotel, mostly for food and winter clothes. My car was only about half full this time. It seems like 90 percent of what I have is kitchen stuff and clothes. All in all, it took us about 2 and a half hours to unload everything.

 

I offered to take Craig for lunch to say thank you. We walked to The Cove, a tropical-ish restaurant in City Centre. We split the crab dip and each had an order of fish tacos. It certainly wasn't the best meal I've ever had, but after all that moving, it hit the spot. I will say the crab dip with the lightly toasted bread points was quite good, even if it was a little heavy.

After lunch, I went back to #5411. The apartment was very clean, the carpets had been professionally cleaned before I moved in. I started rearranging my closet and the kitchen. The two things it's very short on are furniture and light. I have one card table, one folding chair. No couch, no bed, no bedroom furniture. All my clothes are either hanging up or they're inside one of four suitcases. Then there's the light issue. There's no light in living room, aside from two small lamps I put on either side of the TV. There's no light in my bedroom, as I couldn't fit any floor lamps in my car.

But the biggest setback I had was the mattress didn't inflate. Even with new D batteries, there was no airflow at all. So I'm essentially sleeping on carpet. At this point I have a stack going on. It's my yoga mat, then the deflated mattress, then two bed sheets folder over twice, and two blankets. My back was not at all comfortable last night. The only way I got through the night was to put a pillow under my back the long way for support. And I still woke up at 3 and 5 am.

Keith from Cox came over at 3:45, and stayed about an hour to install my cable and Internet. So that's good, though I could use a stand to put the TV on.

 

I don't mean to complain. I'm thankful for this place and everything in it. It just feels half empty. But in two weeks, we'll see if it truly feels like home.

It's Saturday But I Could Swear It's Sunday

I have a three hour wait in the Providence airport before I fly to Charlotte, and then fly to Newport News. Time for some reflections.

 

1) The Philly burger and onion rings with Chipotle ketchup at Bobby Flay's Burger Palace​ are tremendous.

 

2) New England is just so gray and drab. It y be cloudy there at least 360 days a year.

 

3) I truly hate baseball right now. I wish it would go on strike. The Mets have completely numbed me.

 

4) I've been to five different churches in Virginia. One of them, I have no interest in, there are three that I'm moderately interested in, and there is one I'm quite interested in. Location and small groups will probably make a big impact on where I go. I have two more to go to, I really want to decide by the end of August where I will go.

 

5) TSA agent at security in Providence refused to touch my Jets cap. He tried to joke me with about who our quarterback would be. I wanted to deck him for being an asshole. Rather, I simply muttered, "It doesn't matter," and walked off.

 

6) Joe is simply one of my best friends in the world, even though we've only met twice now. He drove to Mohegan Sun to hang with me and we vented over another pitiful Mets loss while drinking Irish beer and Miller High Life.

 

7) There are really moments when I dread life. Those moments of fear, when the world just wants to stop me from moving forward, at least it can feel that way for me. I'm finally learning that life needs to be appreciated. Because I want to live my life in personal and Christian peace, I do not want to live in fear and worry. I am liking myself more these days, but I do wonder what would it would take for me to be able to look at myself and be completely content. I think one thing that could help that would be having peace of mind in moments when I'm tempted to panic. Some of those are financially based, some are relational, and some are about my physical state. I think learning to like myself is something I need to do. After all, if I don't like myself, why should anyone else?

 

8) It amazes me that I want to date, yet I'm scared that it's going to cripple me financially. Maybe it's just an easy excuse to save myself from further heartbreak.

 

9) One week from now, I'll be in my apartment. It's exciting, but it's a little scary to be leaving the hotel I've stayed in for three weeks.

 

10) I'm ready to get back to Virginia. I really feel it. And I think that's a good sign that it's feeling more like home.

 

PS. I didn't know I'd be sitting in first class. Keep the red wine flowing...

NFL Predictions

AFC
East
New England 15-1
Buffalo 5-11

Miami 5-11
Jets 3-13

North
Pittsburgh 11-5
Cincinnati 8-8
Baltimore 7-9
Cleveland 3-13

South
Houston 11-5
Tennessee 11-5
Indianapolis 6-10
Jacksonville 5-11

West
Oakland 11-5
Kansas City 9-7

Denver 9-7
Los Angeles 4-12

NFC
East
NY Giants 12-4
Dallas 10-6
Philadelphia 9-7
Washington 5-11

North
Green Bay 11-5
Minnesota 10-6
Detroit 6-10
Chicago 5-11

South
Atlanta 10-6
Carolina 9-7
Tampa Bay 8-8
New Orleans 6-10

West
Seattle 11-5
Arizona 10-6
Los Angeles 5-11
San Francisco 3-13

AFC Championship

New England over Oakland

NFC Championship

NY Giants over Green Bay

Super Bowl

New England over NY Giants

Yep, I'm predicting the most painful outcome possible.

A Death in the Family

One of the tough aspects of having such a small family is that when one of them dies, the impact of the loss can be that much greater. With fewer people in the family, there are fewer relationships so the good ones can be extra meaningful. By no means am I saying that people in smaller families have better connections to their kin, but I am saying that we can value the good ones a little bit more.

My maternal grandmother passed away last Wednesday afternoon, just five days before my birthday. What's tough about this is I feel like I don't have as many memories of her as I should. Certainly distance played a role as I lived 1500 miles from her for the last 14 years. And there are other family tensions that have damaged relations as well.

 

But I'm not going to dwell on the pain and the disappointments, I'm trying to recall some of my better memories of her. So let's do that.

 

The Waterslide. I can't recall where this was, though I'm pretty sure it was in Williamsburg, VA. Ironic, considering I just moved thirty minutes from there. My mother, grandmother, and I stayed at a hotel with an outdoor pool. And this pool had a small twisting slide. I've always had an affinity for waterslides so I took advantage of this. My grandmother saw how much fun I was having and thought she'd get in on the action. She climbed up the stairs and turned around. She leaned back and started sliding. Backwards. I know it didn't go smoothly, she actually feel off and hit her neck and ankle on the edge of the pool. She was ok, but I guess that's a testament to her adventurous spirit.

 

I remember her taking me to Subway, for a foot long Italian, back when I thought that was a good sandwich. Obviously, that was forever ago. I also remember getting excellent pizza at Papa Gino's and I'd constantly feed the jukebox, playing Garth Brooks and Creedence songs.

 

My grandparents have lived in Connecticut as long as I've been alive. Specifically, they lived in Waterford, in the southeast corner of Connecticut. There are some nice little towns we went to: Groton, Mystic, and Old Saybrook to name a few. On a sidenote, I'm still wondering where the newer Saybrook is.

 

We even went camping when I was in my grade school years. My grandfather would drive the old trailer and I'd help him level it when we were ready to park. My grandmother would handle the trips and the food. I remember sitting by campfires in New Hampshire, riding a bike without training wheels for the first time in a Vermont forest, and eating ice cream in southern Maine.

 

I remember in later years when I was attending college north of Boston. Several times, I took an Amtrak from Boston to New London and they'd pick me up and let me stay with them for a couple of days. It gave me a little taste of my youth and I always appreciated that gesture.

 

What I'm most thankful for is that she had the idea for me to apply to and attend Wheaton Academy in suburban Chicago. Those two years I spent at that school changed me radically for the better, both as a person and as a Christian. So I will forever appreciate that moment.

 

Thank you Priscilla Bartlett, my grandmother, I appreciate the care and attention you gave me. You helped to shape me as a person for the better and I will always appreciate that. I just wish there were more good memories for us in the more recent years.