An hour left in the work day and nothing much to do

Let's go sports-free on this post. I need a break from it.

1) New food find: Benchmark bar in Old Town, Chicago. Their Korean steak tacos are amazing. Red pepper sauce, a great Asian BBQ sauce, a little bit of heat, some fresh cilantro. Wonderful grub.

2) I got to attend the Act Like Men conference at Moody Church for free and that opportunity came out of nowhere. 4500 guys filled that church up over two days to hear some great speakers and worship God. I have to say there were some very challenging messages and some things that would tick certain folks off. But I'm so glad that it was honest and direct. I now have Pastor MacDonald's book, which shares the same name as the conference. It's a 40 day study and I hopefully will be better for reading it. I know I'll get some good info, but I hope I'll be a better man for having read it.

3) Exactly one week till I finish grad school. One mere week!

4) Little did I expect that my car would need synthetic oil for oil changes. But it does and I guess that's an extra $50 to spend every five or six months.

5) The same day as that oil change, I attended Alison and Rob's wedding in Wheaton. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I didn't know the groom at all, for starters. But they asked me to videotape the ceremony and reception. Now, I had zero professional videotaping experience, but I agreed. I got to the church an hour early and they gave me this little black case. I opened it and I didn't know if I was looking at the camera or the battery. I spent about ten minutes figuring out how to use it and nine of those minutes were probably spent on just turning the camera on! But it went well. the ceremony was short and sweet. The reception was at a local golf club, which makes sense, since Rob is a golf teacher. I drank my share of peach-flavored Jeremiah Weed sweet tea vodka and lemonade. I did a little dancing for sure, but I was content to do the taping. I did meet a cougar and quickly realized that it's just not my thing anymore.

6) "Aloha" may be the worst movie I have seen in a theater since "Albert Nobbs."

7) Water keeps slowly seeping in through my basement wall. I have to vacuum the floor every time it rains. This cannot keep up.

8) I cannot find my car keys..I'm almost out of ideas with where they could be.

9) I cannot wait to get back to New York City in July. And with the freedom to go anywhere I want.

10) Now Donald Trump is running for President. How about Clint Eastwood, since he's actually willing to speak some truth?

Taking this hockey thing in

So the NHL season is mercifully over. After experienceing one of the worst defeats I ever have in the Eastern Conference Finals, I had to endure Chicago and Tampa Bay in the finals. This series felt like the latest Giants vs. Patriots Super Bowl. No matter who would win, I was going to lose. Either it woudl be the team that eliminated my team or all the people around me get their latest title. Of course, Chicago won its third cup in six years. I did not watch one second of the six games, nor did I watch one moment of the celebration.

I actually had to block two "friends" on Facebook who tried rubbing Chicago's title in my face. I don't have time in my life for bullies or rude jackasses. And there was even one clown who said I should be congratulating everyone. This guy clearly ignored me during their last two championships. And why would anyone need my approval, my support, or my congratulations?

I'm sure some people think I'm just angry. Those people don't get it. There are a lot of reasons why I'm just disassociating myself from all hockey talk. One, my team should have been in the Finals and finally winning the Cup that they deserved to win. Two, I don't need to see some second-rate organization (see Tampa Bay's home ticket policy) with a pompous smug prick of a coach playing in the Finals. Three, Chicago has won enough titles already, it's old hat. Four, I have no desire to see people celebrate a title, when they never watch one regular season game, couldn't tell you what an icing is, and could not name one Blackhawk player from before 2008. The frauds make me want to vomit.

Going forward, I am now convinced I'll never see this this era of Rangers team win a Stanley Cup. They had their chances. They've been to three conference finals in four years and failed to close the deal each time. You can't keep going back to the well like this. And for Corey Crawford to have two titles and Henrik Lundqvist to have none is a travesty.

Tired of the disrespect

So I've been working at Gino's East since early February, so it's been almost four months now. I gave them five days a week for seven weeks, before needing to cut back to 3-4 days a week when I started at COD. So typically, I was working Thursday and Friday night, followed by Saturday and Sunday mornings. I didn't mind working an occasional Sunday morning, but I didn't realize they were going to give me every single Sunday shift. So I have not been able to go to church or go to my small group in around three months. That's tough on my social life and tougher on my soul.

Now it was about two weeks ago when they posted the upcoming schedule. The way these geniuses do it is they post the next week's schedule on Sunday morning. So you have one day's notice if you're working Monday. It's terrible. So I noticed that I was given Thursday and Friday night off, but was still working the Saturday and Sunday shifts. I was confused, but decided to not say anything. We have some new servers and if they're trying to get them on the floor, I get it. So then that week passes by and I get the next schedule and it's the same thing. I was the only server not working Friday night who did not request it off. So I was past being mad at this point.

When I asked the GM, who makes these schedules, about the schedules, she said I do better in the daytime so this would work best for me. She apparently thinks I get too intense when I'm rushed. And apparently some servers think I've yelled at them when I believe I'm just raising my voice in the kitchen so they can hear me. I said if someone had an issue with me, then they should have talked to me about it. How am I supposed to solve a problem if I don't know that one exists? She said it wasn't about anyone having an issue with me, it's that they were concerned about me. At that point, I knew that it was me against the restaurant. If you are concerned with someone, you talk to them directly and respectfully, you don't backbite and gossip. As a result, I've lost all of my night shifts and I don't know if this is temporary or permanent.  Even worse, they didn't even have the balls to tell me until I confronted them about it myself.

Also, I mentioned the 11 hour shift I worked the previous Saturday when I stayed late, took a party of 18, and it went perfectly. the bill was $200 and I made a $70 tip. The GM said she wasn't there, so she doesn't know. So this person works with me one day maybe every two weeks and apparently what I do when she's not around is irrelevant.

I show up on time, I'm reliable, I bust my ass, I'm polite, I'm courteous, and my customers like me. But apparently, I'm not their type. Maybe if I went out during a shift to smoke a disgusting cigarette, I'd be more accepted.

The bottom line is this. I'm going to a 4-day work week at COD for June and July. So I have an extra day shift to work with. I'm sure they'll schedule me Friday through Sunday in the morning for the next two months. After that's over, I don't want to work Sundays anymore. Between church, small group, and football, I'm tired of it. And for heaven's sake, I think I deserve a day off during the week. So if they're only going to give me Saturday afternoon shifts, when I'm not going to make tons of money, why the hell would I want to still stay there? What I would ideally like is to work two weeknights and a Saturday every week. If they will not accommodate that, then I'm going to quit. And the truth is as soon as COD promotes me to full time, I'm probably going to just quit anyway. It might be hoping for a lot, but I hope it happens by August.

Here we go...

1) Eleven wins down, five to go. Tonight, the New York Rangers have the chance to reach their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. I will be live blogging the game later, something I have not done since last year's Eastern Conference Finals. Maybe it will work again.

2) This is undoubtedly the hardest class of the 14. It's a capstone project, so it's one long research assignment and each week adds a new layer onto the previous six. the thing is the level of research is so deep and the professor is really tough for details, so it's challenging to find the right direction. I think I'm doing okay with it. I'm on Week 3 of 6 and my assignment is to find scientific journal studies that relate to my topic of choice. My topic is American Airlines and keeping employee morale and customer service strong as they go through this large merger with U.S. Airways. We'll see what happens.

3) I've run two miles in each of the last three weeks. What's enocuraging now is that I'm not experiencing the sharp leg pains that I was after I ran the previous two weeks. It feels like I'm slowly getting back into running shape again. I just wish we had more than four months a year in Chicago that was suitable for running outside. for the record, any temperature under 55 degrees is brutal for running!

4) Maggie just cannot get enough food. Steak, turkey, cheese, toast, fruit salad, even romaine lettuce, it doesn't matter. If Mom and I eat it, it's fair game. I don't know if she's capable of having a full stomach.

5) I've been taking so many more naps lately.

6) I'd seen Die Hards 1, 3, 4, and 5. I finally just saw #2. It was good, but there's nothing like the first. And anytime a John Amos character dies, I can't help but think about "Good Times."

7) I need to go to Craft in Chicago and try their pizza. And bagels. I hear they boil them, which if you don't know, is the only acceptable way to prepare a bagel.

8) Why can't breakfast restaurants realize there are other syrups besides maple?!

9) As bad as weather continues to be all over the country, you almost start appreciating any day where you get sunshine, 80 degrees, and no rain

10) I cannot wait to quit my second job. Just as soon as I can go full time at COD...that's worth another blog post.

Bonus: Let's Go Rangers!!!!

72 hours of kaos

Wow. Who knew that a weekend excursion would turn into one of the more emotional, unpredictable, adventurous times I've had in quite a while? Let's just make this one a timeline.
Friday
12:00 Left work, when mom picked me up.
12:30 Arrived at O’Hare
2:30 Scheduled flight to Chicago.
2:40 Bumped off the plane, the next one doesn't leave until 8 pm.
3:15 Ate a burger and margherita pizza at the Hilton. Very impressive pizza, I must say. San Marzano tomatoes make all the difference.
6:00 Watched the Rangers-Capitals Game 5 in an airport bar. Oh, I chatted with a beautiful blonde girl for about a half hour. Somehow, I managed to focus on her and not the game. No, I did not ask for her number. I just didn’t have that feeling.
6:45 I left the bar because they switched the only TV to Bulls vs Cavs.
8:00 The flight gets delayed two hours due to weather issues. Bummer, but not totally unexpected.
8:20 I got a text that the Rangers keep their season alive, when Chris Kreider ties the game with 1:41 left on the clock. I am stunned, but I refrained from going too crazy.
8:40 I gave in and walked over to the Wolfgang Puck bar to watch the Rangers and Capitals start overtime. My heart started pounding immediately, especially with two Washington fans standing nearby.
9:00 Rangers won and stay alive in the series. I screamed “YES! YES!” and pumped my fists. All 75 people in the bar were staring at me. I marched proudly back to the gate.
10:00 There was no first officer for the flight so we can't leave.
11:30 We finally board and took off.
Saturday

2:30 Landed in Austin

2:45 Grabbed the rental car from Budget, we actually get an SUV.

3:15 Arrived at the Residence Inn hotel in South Austin. Unfortunately, it was the wrong hotel. I was past being mad at this point as I was tired and hungry and just wanted to sleep.

3:30 Arrived at the Fairfield Inn. Maybe the darkest hotel I have ever seen.

3:45 Attempted to fall asleep, I don’t think that happened for at least an hour.

6:30 Woke up and wanted to fall right back asleep. After the last fight, I was happy to get out of there.

6:45 Gym and eat a barely edible breakfast of scrambled eggs and fruit. Their gym was a treadmill and an elliptical. Lame.

7:15 Drove around Austin, including Zilker Park, where I took a picture of the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue

9:00 I visited the Texas State Capitol building. It’s taller than the one in DC, at over 200 feet. I photographed many local memorials, such as WW1 WW2, Statue of Liberty replica, and the 10 Commandments stone.

10:30 We visited the flagship Whole Foods in downtown Austin. Underground parking was packed, as was the store. They had amazing samples, like green chile shrimp, BBQ sausage, and pizelles. Their homemade chicken and waffles, smoothie bar, and desserts were to die for. Any Whole Foods fan needs to go to this place.

12:00 Drove to the West Side of Austin to Hula Hut, a tropical/Mexican joint right on the Colorado River. Met up with my cousin, her husband, their two sons (who I guess are my second cousins), who came in from outside Dallas, and the husband’s parents, who came from San Antonio. We had a tremendous time as I loaded up on queso dip with sirloin steak, pork tacos, beans and rice, guacamole, and a huge drink called the Fishbowl. I have no idea what was in it, but it was pink and it was huge. Didn’t affect me in the least.

1:30 We walked next door to Mozart’s which is a dessert and coffee bar. I had a “mini” pecan pie which was about the size of a small dinner plate. I got halfway through it. Bottom line, pecan pie needs whipped cream. I played air hockey with Ian and it looks like I may take Gavin to Wrestlemania next year.

3:30 We all said our goodbyes and Mom and I went back to the ugly hotel to rest up. I took a dip in the pool for about two minutes. We had planned to have dinner with my cousin’s family, but the boys wanted to take a swim and recover, so we decided to let them do their own thing. Of course, they were staying in the JW Marriott, so they had a pretty good deal going on. At my hotel, it was old people, little kids. Definitely didn’t see people my own age.

4:30 We headed to Saxon, a club for some live music. I couldn’t go to Austin and not hear a few tunes. It was a small, dark place with a bar and stage. It’s all about the music, as it should be. I got a local brew and listened to this husband and wife combo play for about 30 minutes. The guy was older and sounded a lot like Michael McDonald. Turns out it was Bobby Whitlock, one of the founders of Derek & the Dominoes. They closed the show with a piano and saxophone rendition of Layla, which was simply awesome. The demographic was mostly people in their 40s and 50s.

6:00 We had dinner at the Roaring Fork, a nice Southern-style restaurant located in a hotel in downtown Austin. It felt very classy without being snooty. We started with an appetizer special, a deep fried avocado topped with manchengo cheese, BBQ pulled pork, pico de gallo and sriracha ranch. It was a nice idea, but I didn't care for the combination of flavors. BBQ sauce and salsa just don't work well together. And for $14...not at all worth it. I ordered the blackened redfish and had much better success. It came with a whole grain pilaf, smoked tomatoes, and Chipotle Tabasco lemon butter. I honestly could have done without the tomato. The pilaf was marvelous, it tasted really earthy with a nice texture. It was a different side but I liked it a lot. The butter worked great with the fish and I even put some of it on my asparagus. The fish itself was cooked perfectly. The service was very good and the waiters were great at making recommendations and keeping our glasses filled. $76 for two iced teas, and app, and two entrees is a little steep, but it was a fair experience overall.

7:30 We walked down Sixth St, the heart of the Austin bar scene. They’re actually opening a Gino’s East over there pretty soon, which was pretty cool. Maybe they can transfer me there for a few weeks. It had the feel of Bourbon St, just a little more laid back and less dangerous. I’d watch my step there, in terms of my cash, but it seemed like a cool place to go with a group.

8:45 We headed back to Saxon for about another hour, before deciding to leave. We knew we were getting up early, so we got back around 10:00 at night.

Sunday

6:00 Pack up and check out

7:00 Drove north to Round Rock for Round Rock glazed donuts. Excellent sugar. It’s right next to a Baptist church and I don’t know if people tend to  go to the church with the donuts as a bonus or to the donut place as an excuse to go to church!

7:45 We walked up Mt. Bonnell for a nice view of the Colorado river and Texas Hill Country.

9:00 Visited the LBJ Presidential Library on the University of Texas campus. Very interactive museum, lots of archived letters and materials. A great place for anyone to visit.

11:00 Headed south to the airport and checked in the rental car. When we went through security, we noticed the line to check in seemed pretty long. We had a 2:30 listing for the third of four non-stop flights to Chicago. But the flights looked tight so we had additional listings to connect through Charlotte or Los Angeles. We walked over to the Charlotte gate and an earlier flight was actually delayed an hour so we could still get it. We tried to get on it. With about 20 minutes to spare, I headed down the terminal to Salt Lick BBQ. I got a three-meat platter of brisket, pulled pork, and turkey with potato salad, beans, cole slaw, and bread with a sweet tea to drink. The sauce was yellow in color, so it didn’t have tomatoes. All the meats were really tender and I could cut them with a plastic fork. The beans needed tomatoes. The slaw and salad were both mayo free, thank goodness. And the seeded bread was very soft, I could have used another three or four pieces.

12:00 Oh, let’s get back to the flights. On my way to Salt Lick, I saw a ton of people sitting all over the terminal, like it was a homeless shelter. The 9:00 flight to Chicago was delayed, because the plane was over three hours late. We also found out two flights to Dallas were cancelled. At that point, we knew we were in trouble. Apparently, the latest round of storms was causing a lot of problems in North Texas as well as Oklahoma. We looked at every airport within driving distance, Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, you name it. Nothing looked good. This was the first time in over 30 years when my mother seemed at a loss for ideas when it came to travel.  

1:00 We finally threw in the towel, rented a silver Nissan, and took off north. Yep, I had to get back to work, so we decided to drive 16+ hours back to Chicago. I knew if I was going to make it to work on time, we’d have to leave quickly. So we took off north on Route 35 through Waco, Dallas, and Oklahoma City. We had a pretty big argument about directions, since she wanted to use her instincts and I wanted to us Google Maps. Generational gap, I guess.

2:30 We stopped into Walk-Mart around Waco for an atlas, phone charger, and snacks.

3:30 Around Temple, Texas, which is a little ways south of Dallas, we hit our only traffic jam. We came to a total stop for 15 minutes, but I could see a lot of empty road up ahead. So I knew something was weird. We were approaching a river, and the water was running really high after the recent floods, so I figured it was water causing a lane closure. That wasn’t the whole problem. I saw one police car. There were no damaged cars and no one was being arrested. I looked to my right, trying to figure this out. I saw four dudes in their twenties throwing something into the river with a cop watching. Then I saw two cows in the river with water up to the tops of their legs. The guys were throwing ropes just to rescue the cows. It was funny and sad at the same time!

8:00 On the drive, we stopped in for some good grease at Tucker’s Onion burgers in OKC. I really wanted something that we couldn’t get back home and this fit the bill. Onion burgers are an Oklahoma tradition, as the mixed fried onions into the beef in order to reduce the meat and save money. I had a double onion burger with cheese and topped it with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, grilled jalapenos, and mustard. The roll in particular was great. It tasted really fresh and held up well with so many ingredients inside of it. The tough part of an onion burger is the onions can overwhelm the beef, but they still had a great flavor.  Excellent fries, fresh and crispy and a ton of drink options. I don't know when I'll be back in OKC, but I would definitely come back.

8:45 From OKC, we headed east on Rt 44 towards Tulsa, which would take us all the way to St. Louis. For the first half of the ride, the weather alternated between beautiful and stormy. We’d get 15 minutes of rain, followed by a lot of sun and 75 degrees. The weather was perfect in OKC, so we ate outside. But once we hit Tulsa, it was all over. The lowest clouds I’d ever seen descended upon us and the heavens opened up. It rained the rest of the trip. I drove from OKC all the way to just west of St. Louis, which was about 7 or so hours without a break. But I was driving in a rented car, in the rain, on a poorly lit highway, while getting sprayed by trucks, and going on no sleep. That’s pretty damn hard to do! I tried to drink a lemon-lime 5-hour energy to keep me awake, but I really felt my heart racing and it really tasted lousy. It was the third time I tried to drink one of those, and I will not do it again. Thanks to mom for letting me listen to the Rangers win Game 6 by the way! But the other cool part was I found a couple of classic country radio stations. I loved hearing that country music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s before, it turned into the crap it is now.

4:00 Mom took over the driving and we took 55 all the way into Chicagoland. We stopped to take two 15-minute power naps; we just couldn’t stop in a hotel because of time and money. We probably had to fill the gas tank five times, which was crazy! We had no change of clothes or grooming supplies either since we had already checked our luggage to the airport. So we were pretty gross, in addition to tired and ornery.

9:10 We arrived at College of DuPage, where I had left my car. Since I had a spare house key in my wallet, I drove my car home and cleaned up before heading right back to work. My boss was gracious enough to let me work 11-4 that day instead of 9-3. I still do not know how I stayed awake driving; it was harder for me in Illinois than it was in Oklahoma and Missouri.

Flawed communication

For much of my childhood, I was an outcast. And having no siblings and coming from a divorced family, I'm used to isolation. Because of that, I've always lived my life on my terms and adjusting to other people's interests or social tendencies takes a little time. And when someone only knows someone through social media, let' be real, they can only know them to a point. I am learning more and more that social media can allow people to be acquaintances, but they can rarely, if ever, be real friends if they keep the relationship exclusive to social media.

I bring this up because I find it interesting what I've been getting from other people in terms of their opinion of me. I don't care as much as I used to, but I have a problem if people are insulting me without my knowledge. Within the span of two hours, one person who I have met once in my life but have communicated with for five years told me how much I was loved. Then another person who knows me only through Facebook accused me of being increasingly rude and negative.

I know I'm putting myself on the line by listing those two words. So I feel the need to say a couple of things. I think some people confuse certain things. For instance, what some call positive, some may perceive as delusional. On a parallel level, what some call negative, another may call honest. I'm honest. And when it comes to the topic that was being discussed, the New York Jets, it has been a lot of negativity over the 25 years that I have been rooting for them. And this past season was a tremendous disappointment that resulted in the clueless general manager and the talented head coach losing their jobs. Apparently, I was supposed to be positive by their standards, but delusional by my standards, and talk about how great things were and how they're definitely going to be great next season. Well, you know what, as many times as I have been heartbroken, I'm not going to get myself all worked up thinking that every year is the year that they will be great. And if I offer an alternative viewpoint or ask a question requesting that a person explain their viewpoint,  that is not being rude. That is called engaging someone in conversation. And if they get defensive and accuse me of being rude as a result, they are the one with the problem.

It is comforting to know that they people who actually do know me from more than social media do like me. Those are the people that are worth spending my time with. Even though social media has made communication far more convenient, it is apparently making the process of knowing people far more difficult. And that's really unfortunate.

Mixed emotions

Two jobs worked, eight-page paper submitted for school. I'm ok physically, but mentally, I need a vacation.

When I get home from my jobs, I turn on the TV.
But I can't keep my mind on the show.
When I lay down at night, I don't get no sleep.
So I turn on the radio.

All the good ones are gone.
Somehow I always end up alone.
Back when, there were so many.
Now there just aren't any.

Yet I hold out heart that my heart can be saved.
I really don't know why.
Is it hope?
Is it delusion?

I guess I'll just keep on falling in love
Till it actually turns out right
For the long run.

On a sidenote, I will never back down when I know I'm right. I will not give a damn what this sorry, dark society tells me is good or bad, right or wrong, truth or fiction. Even if people I love hold totally opposite views from me, I will try to love them first. But I cannot afford to sell out. What good is a man who has no integrity?

Handling the load

So it is Wednesday night. I work at both my jobs Thursday and Friday. Translation: I work 9-3 and 4-10. And I have the draft for an 8 page final paper for grad school due on Friday. At least I have an outline in place! But man alive, it's going to be a challenge to finish. Plus, there's another 3 page paper due this Tuesday that I probably won't even be able to start until Saturday night rolls around. It's a furious finish for the last two weeks of this class. I'll look forward to that one week break before beginning my 14th and final class in mid-May.

Where does the line get drawn between negativity and realism?

Between hope and insanity?

Between confident and arrogant?

Between intense and anxious?

Between love and hate?

NHL regular season recap and playoff predictions

The Stanley Cup playoffs kick off tonight. Before that happens, I'll look back at my regular season predictions and see how off I was!

I got six of eight Eastern playoff teams correct and just four of eight in the West. I never expected Winnipeg and Nashville to be this good. And I think every expert had LA and San Jose making the playoffs and they both failed. As for my predicted Final Four, well...

Eastern Conference FinalsBoston over Tampa Bay

Western Conference Finals
Chicago over Colorado

Stanley Cup Finals
Boston over Chicago
What a disaster. Boston and Colorado didn't even make the playoffs! On that note, let's look forward.

Eastern Conference
NY Rangers oer Pittsburgh in 6
Washington over NY Islanders in 7
Tampa Bay over Detroit in 5
Montreal over Ottawa in 7

NY Rangers over Washington in 7
Tampa Bay over Montreal in 5

NY Rangers over Tampa Bay in 5

Western Conference
St. Louis over Minnesota in 7
Chicago over Nashville in 6
Anaheim over Winnipeg in 7 (thought this could be an upset)
Calgary over Vancouver in 6

Chicago over St. Louis in 7
Anaheim over Calgary in 4

Chicago over Anaheim in 6

Stanley Cup Finals
NY Rangers over Chicago in 7

I don't know if I could handle a Rangers-Blackhawks final. But damn it, the Rangers better win that series if it happens.

Life is happening

It’s been a few weeks since my last post. Life has been pretty insane between two jobs and graduate school.  I felt myself starting to get sick three nights ago, but a cup of Nyquil seemed to take care of that. Of course, I was completely drowsy for the first four hours at work…

1) Speaking of which, we’re up to the beginning of Week 4 at COD. Not a whole lot of major updates. I can say I’m yet to receive my first paycheck. But the staff is tremendous, very friendly and accommodating. Everyone seems to get along really well with each other. Kathy is bringing me along kind of slow, showing me a little bit of new information each day. I’m still yet to answer a phone, or meet with a student at the front counter. But I have a good feel for certain concepts like C-codes, verification, and running certain reports. There’s still a long way to go though. But my confidence is there that I will handle this fine. I can only pray that a year from now, I’m doing this full time.

2) Well, the Rangers have clinched the Metropolitan Division and the President’s Trophy, meaning they have home ice throughout the Stanley Cup  playoffs. They will open the playoffs Thursday night against Pittsburgh, who have played miserable hockey over the last three months, as they had to beat the lowly Sabres on the last day of the season to even qualify. Their top defenseman, Kris Letang, is out for the season with a concussion. Christian Erhoff, their second best offensive defenseman, is not expected to play. They do have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, two of the best players in the world, but the Rangers should be able to exploit Pittsburgh’s weaknesses in goal and on defense. I pick the Rangers to win in 6 games. And then they will have the opportunity to play either the Washington Capitals or the New York Brooklynders…or Islanders.

 3) I’m doing a cooking class on the west side of Chicago with my mother that I’m pretty excited about. This restaurant, A Tavola, was featured on the Travel Channel, so I have every confidence that it will be great. Their chef is known as the king of gnocchi in Chicago. Now I have no idea if we’re going to be making it tonight; it’s a very time-consuming process to make. Gnocchi requires a lot of dexterity and patience. But I’ve never really had good gnocchi, so I hope we get a chance to prepare it.

4) Upcoming events: Yelp event at Pie Five pizza in Naperville on Thursday, Don Williams concert next Tuesday at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles.

5) I went to Parkview Church in Orland Park on Sunday, which was an hour from my house. It was good to hear Lee Strobel guest speak live on his new book, “The Case for Grace.” From what I gather, it’s a collection of stories that illustrate s second chance and grace, or the concept of getting what you don’t deserve. To be frank, I think it’s a book that I’d rent from the library, but I’m not sure I’d spend the money to actually buy it.

6) Are there any movies out that are worth seeing? All the good stuff was out in February!

7) I’m so ready to travel again! I’m planning two weekend trips to New York City, one in May on my final break from school, and then another in mid-July. I haven’t been to New York in 15 months and it’s been too long!

8) It still frustrates me that I have such trouble setting aside time lately to work out. It used to be the easiest thing for me. Now, I’m barely doing yoga twice a week. And when I don’t do it, I definitely feel worse. I do plan on joining the COD gym, as it’s around $250 for the year. But I really think I’m going to start after I graduate since it’s just really difficult to make the time to do it 3-4 times a week. Of course, I could get up at 5 am and go early. I’m not that crazy though!

 
9) I really have little toleration for people who are habitually late. It just shows a lack of respect for other people when you make them wait too long.

 10) Another thing is frustrating me. I’m not doing the Willow Creek 5k for the Celebration of Hope this year, but I just can’t walk it. I have not been able to train for it since I’m not going to the gym and I injured my legs last May. I’ve run that race for three years and if I can’t do it the way that I want, I just don’t want to do it. I know it’s for the charities and for the people who are less fortunate, but I’d rather work at Gino’s East in the morning and donate some of what I make to the Celebration of Hope.  

Song pick: “Good As New” Gary Allan

Day 1 down

So the first day of the new job is in the history books. It was pretty uneventful, as a lot of people were either out sick or chose not to come in due to the snow that fell hard this morning. This drive should take me 30 minutes from St. Charles to Glen Ellyn and today it took 55. The funny thing was my manager and two trainers for the day were all out, so my plans changed drastically. I wound up spending most of my time setting up my computer, working on a report, and chatting with two of the financial aid reps about their specific roles within the department.

The department is comprised mostly of females and it's primarily on the younger side. I don't think there are many people over 50 years old there, which I suppose is fine. There are some student workers there, so there are people in their 20s. Most of the people in a position of leadership seem to be in their 40s. More importantly, just about everyone seemed pretty friendly and welcoming. I don't know for sure exactly how close people within the department are, if they do events together or anything like that. But it seems to be pretty cohesive.

The facilities were also pretty solid. The Student Services Center, which houses financial aid, admissions, counseling, etc. is only four years old and it's a very modern, sleek looking building. A whole lot finer than what I had at Gordon. It can be a little easy to get lost if you don't know where you're going, since there are a lot of little tunnels and passageways that connect one building to the next. Our break room is pretty small and not that clean. We get water out of the refrigerator tap and took a couple of minutes to fill my bottle, which is not exactly a gallon. It's closer to maybe 1 liter and I had to stand there, waiting for it to fill up. The office supplies are kept in a closet in the break room. They have a lot of useful items in stock as well as some non-essentials like dry erase markers. They seem to do a good job at restocking what they're running low on.

With the software, I'm not used to using Colleague, which is where I'll access student and financial information. It seems somewhat usable. I think the big issue will be learning where to go to answer the questions that students will throw my way. that comes in time. The big key for me is to be patient with myself. Day 2 starts in ten hours. I'm looking forward to it.

Dentists

I'm really coming to the conclusion that if you go to five different dentists, you'll get five different reports back. I went to a dentist in St. Charles, who I really liked for almost two years. They advised me to get my wisdom teeth removed and I planned on it at some point, but didn't go though with the actual procedure. Then, the pricks at Kaplan took my job and my benefits in the process. Thankfully, I'd had an appointment about a month before it all went down, so my teeth were ok. But there was no way I was going to any doctor without insurance, unless it was absolutely necessary.

So, then I got a coupon in the mail for this one dentist office that I won't name because I don't want to give them publicity. Let's just say their name implied they were cheap. They would give me a cleaning and X-rays for $59. Not terrible, but hey, my teeth had to be taken care of. They start of putting the jaws of life inside my cheeks stretching my face out to where my top lip was over my nose and my bottom lip was on my Adam's apple. They took about 10 x-ray pictures where I had to bite the tab, they adjust, I bite, they adjust, on and on. Then they measured all of gums with how far the had moved up and down. So they go to each tooth, measure both sides, and the hygienist is shouting out numbers for the lackey to write down. For five minutes, I was hearing "Two!" "Three!" "Two!" "Four!" It was like listening to the lottery winnings.

After all that went down, the dentist with this thick German or Swiss accent comes in and explain I need surgery. He goes on to tell me that even though my teeth are strong right now, the gums are a problem. He gives me the lovely analogy of if you have a beautiful house, but the foundation is no good, the house will crumble. He and the hygienist proceed to lay out surgery dates and options and they recommend two different surgeries so my mouth can heal. they promise they'll try to work with me since I have no insurance. they lay out a plan that would cost over $1,000 and I'm shuddering inside. I paid my $59 and left.

So eventually, I got dental insurance through Guardian, who has some very questionable customer service policies. Don't pick up the phone when I call for help and tell me you'll call back in 45 minutes. I know you're not going to call back, so don't lie to me. I set up an appointment with a different dentist in downtown St. Charles, since my previous one had moved to Palatine. Before that though, I received two e-mails and three phone calls from the previous dentist who wanted me to come back. There was no way I was going back there. Now I had an HMO plan, so I'm supposed to pick a primary care dentist. There was no place on the website to do that. Even the receptionist at the office had no luck contacting them or finding anything on the website.

So I showed up and we went ahead with the appointment. I filled out the obligatory paperwork and sat in the chair. The dentist came right in, did the iron hook, flossed my teeth, polished them, took two total pictures, said my teeth looked great, and I was out of there. 25 minutes, in and out. I walked out of that office laughing. How could my teeth be that much better six months later. The answer is they weren't. The answer is because before, I went to an office were people were trying to exploit me and get as much money from me as possible.

Sign of spring

1) It's a joyous occasion when I can walk Maggie and no longer have to completely bundle up. The last two days, we've gotten into the 40s, so I ditched the winter coat, gloves, and hat. Gosh, it feels so liberating. Then I went out running for ten minutes and my ears starting ringing. Just a reminder from Mother Nature to me that if I'm going to run outside, it better be at lest 50 degrees!

2) In a span of 4 days, the New York Rangers defeated Chicago, the Islanders, and Washington all on the road and all by one goal (except for one empty-netter). The hockey this team is playing is just awesome. Now to get the power play going...

3) Mike MacCagnan is doing an incredible job as GM. He trades for Brandon Marshall, keeps David Harris and Bilal Powell, signs help at G and CB, and then brings Darrelle Revis back to the Jets, where he always should have been. To be honest, I'm still bitter over him winning a Super Bowl with the arch-rival, the evil empire of football. I'm happy because the Jets needed a cornerback in the worst way. But can I truly accept Revis as my guy the way I have with a Mangold, or a Pennington, or a Mo Wilk? I don't know if I can ever do that unless they win a Super Bowl.

4) Made sour cream coffee cake for Alpha. Half of it was eaten that night. I think I may polish off the other half by tomorrow...

5) It absolutely sucks about the Squared Circle restaurant in Chicago on the verge of closing down. It was so great to go there, eat some great pizza or decent stuffed burgers, and watch wrestling. Several times, I got to meet some great wrestlers like Jay Lethal, Gail Kim, Shark Boy, Tommy Dreamer, and Tommaso Ciampa. And now, thanks to a bartender having an affair with the owner's husband, it's ruined for all of us. It is terrible. Also, I have a $15 groupon there. I hope I can get it refunded...

6) Coming close to the end of my 12th class; just two weeks left. Got an 8 page paper due Friday and a Power Point due Tuesday. This finish will be pretty intense. But the professor is pretty lenient. Really, as long as the work is done on time and is done decently, she won't take any points off. I'm pretty confident.

7) Ring of Honor Saturday night. Can't wait. The match I'm most excited is definitely Samoa Joe vs. Michael Elgin.

8) I defend Doc Emrick has a hockey announcer against a lot of detractors. But enough with the porn references. "The probing continues." The Capitals are pounding away."

9) Going to a boxing club tomorrow night with the Yelp group for a workout. I have never boxed in my life. I don't know what this will be. Maybe I'll be in a ring, maybe I'll be hitting a bag, maybe I'll be doing Taebo, who knows.

10) I miss someone in Lebanon. Even if she is engaged now. But it's ok. It is.

Song pick: "The Painter" Neil Young

MLB Predictions

After suffering through abysmal football and basketball seasons, I am ready to look forward to the baseball season and the Mets getting back on the field. Thank God I have the Rangers for a few more months. This feels like one of those seasons when a lot of established teams look to be taking a step back and a lot of up and coming teams may finally break through and get to the playoffs. Here's how I see the final standings breaking down.

National League

East                                         Central                                   West

z-Washington                         y-Chicago                               y-Los Angeles
Miami                                     w-St. Louis                             w-San Francisco
NY Mets                                 Pittsburgh                               San Diego
Atlanta                                    Cincinnati                               Colorado
Philadelphia                            Milwaukee                             Arizona 

                                               
                                                                                                                  

American League

 
East                                         Central                                     West

y-Boston                                  y-Chicago                               z-Anaheim
w-Toronto                                Cleveland                                w-Seattle
NY Yankees                            Detroit                                     Oakland
Tampa Bay                              Kansas City                            Texas
Baltimore                                 Minnesota                               Houston

Tonight's playlist

Six hours on my feet, serving pizza, refilling beverages, and cleaning the salad bar. My first shift is over. I feel pretty good mentally, but my feet are pretty exhausted. Right now, I think I'd prefer to date a female professional foot masseuse above all other jobs. Chilling with two pieces of deep dish and two cans of Bud now. By the way, there is no more annoying tweet in the world than two people talking about how much they adore each other on Twitter! That's what you have texting, phone calls, and friggin face-to-face conversations for!

Anyway, on a freezing, cold, tiring night, it's time to play mellow music and a lot of country.

1) "Till I Get It Right" Tammy Wynette
2) "Stardust" Nat King Cole
3) "Old Man" Neil Young
4) "Out on the Weekend" Neil Young
5) "Somewhere In My Broken Heart" Billy Dean
6) "Good Ol' Fashioned Love" Tracy Byrd
7) "Going Where the Lonely Go" Merle Haggard
8) "You Take Me For Granted" Merle Haggard
9) "Last In Love" George Strait
10) "Living For the Night" George Strait
11) "Dreaming Again" Jim Croce
12) "Valentine's Day" Bruce Springsteen