On my way

It's 10:09 Eastern time and I'm laying in bed in a hotel room in Baltimore. Well, I'm really doing this. I'm uprooting my life for a new one.

My 2013 Honda sedan is a great car, but one thing it is not designed to is haul a bunch of stuff. That car is more loaded than Charlie Sheen after a tough weekend and I wish I could have packed another nine or ten boxes. I still don't know how I can see out the rear view mirror.

I really didn't have any emotions as I pulled out of my driveway in St. Charles at 4:45 this morning. I can be pretty sentimental at times, but this really feels like it's all about business. It's not that I want to abandon good memories, but I feel like I need to make this move work.

One of the things I really don't know is once I'm settled in the hotel, is there anything that I will need to go out and buy besides food. I don't plan on doing anything crazy with the food, I think I may be living largely on almond butter sandwiches, fruit, and carrots, until my first check comes in. I don't mind doing that for a while, I really don't.

The other thing that's pretty huge is what apartment will I take? I have three more to see Saturday. By the end of Saturday, I pray I can come to a decision that I'm content with. But one thing I didn't plan on was how these prices can fluctuate day to day. There can be a special for $100 per month, but the staff won't tell you that it expires that day. That just kills trust for me. Hidden catches and a lack of transparency. That happened at an apartment complex that I would have liked to have lived in. Now I'm not so sure I want it anymore. Because what else are they not telling me?

It looks like I need to go to bed bath and beyond to get some good towels. Now I'm not planning on using those until I get into the apartment. But I'm realizing more that it makes sense to invest in some decent towels, as they last longer and absorb moisture better.

So I'll be seeing my father tomorrow. First time I've been with my parents in five years. I really hope this goes well. Jimmy's seafood, I'm counting on you for a great meal.

Not my spirit

Well I've lived in the Midwest for 18 years. And for the first time in those 18 years, I vacationed in St. Louis. And after 27 hours, I'd had enough of St Louis.

Unfortunately the first flight out of Chicago on Saturday left at 10:30 am. American has five flights a day, and the first one doesn't leave till the end of the morning, which makes no sense at all. So I knew since the Mets game started at 3, I had to land, take the train downtown, check into the Hyatt, and hurry over to Paddy O's. My plans nearly got interrupted when the plane landed in Chicago a half hour late. The lavatory wasn't working, but thankfully they didn't delay takeoff just for that. With an hour on board, it's not the biggest concern anyway.

We landed and I jumped right on the red Metrolink line to head downtown. The stop at 8th and Pine was a four block walk east to my hotel which sat right off the Mississippi River and next to the Gateway Arch. My room wasn't even ready at 1 pm so I dropped my duffle bag and backpack at guest services and hurried south to Paddy O's.

The 7 line army came ready to cheer and ready to drink. I drank three Budweiser beers and lunches on two very enjoyable rib tacos. I saw my pal Rodolfo from Houston and I met a guy from Colorado named Dan. We chatted with a father and son from Michigan. It was fun venting about the sorry state of the team, and also sharing stories about baseball, food, and travel.

Then it was time to go. We marched loudly and purposefully up 7th Street to the third base entrance of Busch Stadium. Screaming "let's go Mets" with a thousand other people is just so invigorating. I even got a Tim McCarver bobblehead. Before heading to my seat in section 129, I drank a Schafly summer lager, a very refreshing crisp local beer.

As for the game, it sucked. That scumbag Adam Wainwright reminded us of all the misery he's instilled in us for years. And that asshole Yadier Molina had an RBI double. It was reliving one of the worst sports days ever, even it's 11 years ago. At 2-0 in the sixth inning, I knew it was over. And I was right again, they lost 4-1. But by then, I'd already showered in my room, gotten into clean clothes, and boarded the westbound MetroLink for the Grand station. My destination was the Italian section of St Louis known as the Hill.

I got off the train and had no idea where I was going. I was surrounded by medical and college buildings; I was just looking for the 14 bus. When I realized it only came every 40 minutes, I said screw this, and I summoned an Uber. It was the first of four Ubers I'd use in 20 hours. Without a doubt, one of the worst parts of the city is how hard is to get around without a car.

I was let off at Berra Park, where a little league tournament was going on. I thought the park was named after Yogi, but it was for another guy who passed away in the 60s. I'm sure he was a lovely man anyway. As I walked down the streets, it feels like the classic Italian neighborhood. No parking room, a line of brick houses with nearly manicured yards, eateries on the corners, and most of the businesses were closed by 4 pm. It definitely had that Brooklyn feel to it or even Fell's Point in Baltimore.

My restaurant of choice was Zia's. By 6 pm, there was no room in the bar area to move. They told I'd wait 45 minutes to an hour for a table. I spent the time walking around the neighborhood, noticing the local scene, and sitting on the curb with other people waiting to get in. I refused to sit at the bar as I did not want to face a TV that would have just reminded me of the lousy game. Of course with a lot of people wearing that ugly red, I was reminded of it everywhere I looked.

After 45 minutes I went back in, and I wound up waiting another half hour. Finally I got a table against the wall. I started with toasted ravioli, a staple of St Louis Italian cuisine. I got about ten small raviolis topped with Parmesan asking with a side of marinara with even more cheese. Those suckers are pretty addictive. Crispy and cheesy, they're a great start. The house salad was included and it consisted mostly of iceberg lettuce and red peppers with a ton of cheese tossed in their sweet house dressing which had a distinctive red wine vinegar flavor to it.

For my entree, I went with the chicken speidini. My waiter told me it was one of their most popular dishes. I was given a plate of chicken pieces arranged in a straight line, like a kabob without the skewer. It was served in a light sauce, with proscuitto, mushrooms, and Italian cheese. What impressed me was the seasoning on the chicken. I could taste the garlic and pepper. The chicken had a nice crust on the outside and was very juicy on the inside. It came with a side of shells and I asked for marinara. This was the most disappointing aspect of the meal for me. The sauce was just too sweet, it had no zest or kick. It was just straight tomato.

I passed on dessert as I'd just had a cannoli two days prior and the other two options had chocolate. Three dessert options is just not enough for an Italian restaurant, I'm sorry. The bill was reasonable, $27, and the service was reasonably good. But if this place is one of the best Italian restaurants in St Louis, I'm not sure I'd want to try the others.

I took an Uber to Laclede's Landing, a neighborhood which sits just north of downtown right on the river. It's sort of a step back in time, with a lot of brick buildings and brick roads. I suppose the city is trying to revitalize it by opening up bars and restaurants. I walked into the Morgan St Brewery. I saw they had peach flavored Jeremiah weed sweet tea vodka, so I got that on the rocks mixed with lemonade. But the place was quiet and mostly empty. After fifteen minutes, I was gone. I tried to have fun, as I walked back south to the ballpark village, which has a lot of bars and clubs. I went into Howl at the Moon, a duelling piano bar that I've been to many times in other cities. But this was the first that didn't charge a cover. I hung around for twenty minutes, but I realize I didn't feel like going out drinking by myself especially after a Mets loss. So by ten, I was back in my room for the night.

But I could not get to sleep so easily, between 1 and 2 am, I could hear my neighbors speaking really loudly through the walls. It got so annoying that I called security. The next morning when I woke up, they'd slid a Starbucks gift card under my door. I wish they could have given me a breakfast buffet with the omelet station, but I was thankful that they did anything because I did not expect it.

So Sunday came. I did thirty solid minutes on the elliptical and cashed in my Starbucks card for a green tea peach lemonade. Then it was over to the arch. Even at 8:30 in the morning, I could feel the intense heat and I knew I'd be staying in the shade when possible. To take the ride up in the arch, I had to go through a full metal detector. Electronics, metal, belt, all out. About the only thing I didn't have to do was remove my shoes.

They hooked me up with four other Mets fans, I guess they figured, eh, stick em all together. Basically there are eight separate elevator cars and each one seats five people. But there is so little room in these cars that you can't move during the entire four minute trip. Me first thought was hoping nobody would break wind.

We got up to the observatory deck, 630 feet high and each side had windows to gaze out from. One side showed St Louis and the other side was Illinois. There was nothing really notable ok the Illinois side. But with St Louis we could see some tall buildings, the old courthouse, the dome, and other sights. I thought the whole thing would take an hour, but after five minutes, I was ready to go.

With an hour to kill, I sat in the shade. I took the first river boat ride at 10:30 which took us down the Mississippi and pointed out a few features of the city and its history. Safe to say, this wasn't quite the architectural tour in Chicago, it wasn't even as interesting as Milwaukee.

Hungry as can be, I caught a ride to Pappy's smokehouse. I would never come to St Louis again without visiting here. By 11:30, the line was already twenty or thirty people deep. I had a half rack of ribs, sliced burnt ends, turkey, potato salad, vinegar slaw, and deep fried corn. The first part that impressed me was that my order was ready not even five minutes after I paid. I took a seat, went to wash my hands, filled my sweet tea, sat back down, and I had my food within a minute.

The ribs were seasoned nicely, and the apple and cherry wood gave them that subtle smoke flavor. The meat was juicy, as it came off the bone easily but it didn't collapse off the bone. The original sauce was well balanced and worked perfectly. The turkey was juicy as well, the burnt ends surprised me though. I expected cubes, but I got sliced meat. I used the hoodoo sauce on the beef. The slaw and salad were both fine, but the corn was crazy good. I don't think I can go back to boiled corn again. This corn was sweet and satisfying and I'll have no problem flossing later. It doesn't even bug me that they're missing cornbread from the menu, the fried corn makes up for it. I only wish they had more dessert options than just toffee chocolate cookies.

It was 1 pm and I really didn't know what else to do. I thought about vising the city museum, but I just walked the two miles back to the hotel. The Mets were dead by the third inning and not wanting to suffer anymore, I just left, getting to the airport five hours before my flight. But it gave me time to organize, and edit pictures, and play two podcasts.

And it's almost time for Samoa Joe vs Brock Lesnar...

Moving forward and upward

I'm getting closer to 40 than to 30 now. It seems that 35 is the age when people tend to stop and take a look at their life and ask themselves where their life is headed. It's not so much about day to day or even the next year. All of a sudden, you realize you're not as young as you used to be and the long term future comes into a clear, vivid focus.

At the beginning of 2017, I was feeling disillusioned and frustrated with where I was living. I was getting sick of my social life. It seemed 80% of my interacting outside of work was done online. That's not healthy in my eyes. In fact, the highlight was occasional Yelp events at restaurants, bars, and fitness clubs throughout the suburbs.

I have to admit, and I'm not proud of it, but every time I see anything referencing the 2016 World Series, I want to punch someone or spit on the banner. It's cost me friendships, and it's just not something I want to be around. So the sports frustration is really bothering me, to the point of where I stopped going to church since the bass player at the one I went to wore a freaking Cubs game on stage.

Also, work was incredibly frenetic, with people losing their jobs, and knowing none of us had a chance to get a raise or a promotion. So for almost two years, I've been working for two things: the steady paycheck and the students.

And there is a very personal factor here. My father. He talked for years about taking chances and moving. But he never did it. He never left the Northeast. He has his pattern, go to work, read, and watch sports. There's no adventure in his life. While I know he loves me, I don't want to emulate his life. I want to take a few more risks, be a little more spontaneous.

So with these factors in mind, I promised myself that I would make a major change in my life for the better. Now I didn't want to iron down what that change would look like. It could be a relationship, a new job, a new hobby, or something totally different.

That time is coming for me. This could really be happening right now in late June. About three weeks ago, I got an email from an HR worker from a college in Virginia. He asked me if I would be interested in an assistant manager of financial aid position. It was very difficult getting him on the phone, and he's not the most organized guy ever. That's kind of an important quality for someone in HR. Anyway, I had a 45 minute interview with three managers on a Monday, which was ten days ago, followed by another 45 minute follow up with my direct manager. I liked that she used to work in the system I'm in now, so she knows my background and how I've been working. At the end of that conversation, she told me I would be notified early on in the following week.

Monday came and I heard nothing. I didn't think too much of that, but I was hoping to hear something back by Tuesday. I had just finished lunch at Shake Shack, it was a double smoke shack burger with fries and an Arnold Palmer. I was walking back to work, a little tight on time. I was walking on Ohio street, and I felt my phone vibrate. I looked at the screen and I had a voicemail from Virginia. I started to feel excited and immediately called the HR rep back.

Sure enough, he offered me the position starting in mid July. In the next 30 hours, I completed my background check consent, welcome letter, and onboarding paperwork. And now it's Thursday night and I'm sitting on an American Eagle CRJ700 jet plane in seat 16A heading to Norfolk to scout the area.

I believe all that's left is for the background check to be finished. I'm not ready to give my notice to my current job or to announce the news publicly until I know that's clean. Hopefully they don't check my old Twitter account!

I know good and well that this is a risk I'm taking. I don't really know anyone in the Hampton Roads region. There will be a whole lot less variety in terms of food and recreation than what I have in the city of Chicago and in the suburbs. And this school is privately owned, it's not a huge university owned by the state.

But in the other hand, look at the benefits. Higher pay. My first opportunity to be a manager. Cheaper cost of living. Better weather. The beach. A chance to start over.

The deal is maybe 95% closed. I'm still feeling a little guarded, since it isn't totally done. Though there is no getting around the fact that my level of excitement is soaring as I anxiously wait for this plane to touch down in Norfolk. It's a new chapter in my life. It's much needed change. And I pray it's a rewarding one for me, personally and professionally.

Heartache tonight set list

Heartache tonight
The long run
Already gone
Peaceful easy feeling
In the city
New kid in town
The boys of summer
Tequila sunrise
Lying eyes
The heart of the matter
One of these nights
Funk 49
Life in the fast lane
My daddy was a handsome devil
Take it easy
Hotel California
Desperado

What's happening in this world

1) The NHL draft party was a very fun experience. For free, I got to take my picture with the Stanley Cup, the best trophy in sports. I also did a combine, where I tested my jumping ability, puck handling, slap shot power, shooting accuracy, and passing. The centennial museum truck was pretty cool with videos, classic sticks, jerseys, and other memorabilia. Inside the United Center, I got to try on the new Adidas jerseys and have my own Upper Decker hockey card made. The only annoying thing was every line was 45 minutes to an hour.

2) These parades this weekend are really embarrassing. So many people have no idea what love is. It's not having perverted feelings and acting on selfish desires. It's about sacrifice and deciding to value someone more than one values themselves. And the funny part is that those people who support these actions become the most hateful people in America when anyone disagrees with them. The very definite of hypocrisy.

3) I have been advised of being petty negative about my teams. My response is what else can I do? But no team has ever let me down like the Mets of this season. I wanted a championship this season. After the hell of the last two years, this was the time. They had the team to do it. Between the injuries, bad fundamental playing, burying their best prospects in the minors, more injuries, bizarre lineup decisions, and even more injuries, the season died in the middle of June. Though I can say with confidence I knew by late May that it was over. The fact that I want the disgusting Jets to start soon is just pathetic.

4) I was at the Elgin ribfest last Sunday night. I went alone, as I usually do. I sat down in the tent to chow on some ribs from Smokin Joe's in Ohio. A guy sat across from me, and soon, his girlfriend or wife joined. She looked at me inquisitively and eventually realized she'd cut my hair at SportClips. Within a few minutes, she tried to hook me up with her cousin. I haven't met her yet, but from the description I got, I'm thinking she's obese. Plus she has cats and loves comic books. Let's just say I'm not overly optimistic about this.

5) I'm convinced there is not one good single woman in the entire Midwest. Convinced.

6) I finally watched "The Big Lebowski." That was just weird. I don't see what the fuss was.

Leave him the dust too.

Five years isn't enough to get over getting a heart broken. I want it to be over. And I'm very willing to move on. But that girl, the way she abandoned me for no reason. Damn it, I feel like I'm over her walking with no words and no warning. Yet as soon as I find out she's with another guy, all I can think to myself is "You fucking moron. She's gonna fuck you over like she did to me." I hope this latest clown gets suckered in like I did. So I left a message and blocked his stupid self. I know better. He does not.

Hit it on a weekend

Definitely some catching up to do.

1) Pittsburgh is a fine city to visit, if you're planning on being there for 2 days. There just isn't a whole heck of a lot going on. It's one of those places where people don't move there, but people rarely move away from there.

2) PNC Park is probably now the best or second best baseball stadium I've ever been to. The sightlines, the atmosphere, the prices, the food, the intimacy. It all comes together incredibly well.

3) Sometimes I wish there had been another Master's program I had interest in besides HR management. Because the HR rep in my company in an absolute embarrassment. It's apparently a rite of passage that HR can recommend counseling for someone that they've known for 5 minutes.

4) I don't have a problem with friends having different beliefs than I do. What I have a tremendous problem with is people who send me unsolicited messages that are judging and opposing my beliefs. They don't want to have a conversation, they just want to spread their propaganda. That isn't a friend, that is a jerk.

5) It was so good to have Burt's pizza for the first time in two years. I thought that when they went out of business and then Burt Katz passed away that it would never come back. But they have returned and the pizzas are pretty much as good as I remember. Fresh produce, well seasoned meets, light airy crust, rich tomato sauce. And major props for having Brickstone APA on draft!

6) The Chicago Blues fest was a fun experience; it was the first time I'd seen a show in Millenium Park. The only issue I had with the Jay Pritzker Pavilion was that it was very hard to understand the lyrics. Without the words, there's no song. William Bell is an awesome classic soul singer. "This Is Where I Live" is his first studio album in 30 years and I only wish I could have heard more than two songs from that record.

7) This Audible audiobook service is working out decently. The simple truth is I have to really be into the subject. The Daniel Bryan book was excellent, the Lee Strobel book "The Case for Christ" is great. I'm such a big John Ortberg fan that any book he releases I'm going to be a fan. But even though "The Game" by Ken Dryden is considered one of the best hockey books of all time, it felt like a chore trying to get through it. The whole book is 14 hours of audio and by the fourth hour, I had given up.

8) Someone asked me what my bucket list concert would be. Who would the one artist be that I would see if it was up to me. I'd probably say Springsteen, I just hope he doesn't go into a bunch of political crap.

9) I'm switching phone carriers for the first time ever today. It's not my preference, but I'm going from Verizon to Sprint. I'll be interested to see if anything changes besides the strength of my coverage. I would just like a freaking phone that doesn't die after three hours.

10) How is that one pillow doesn't give me enough support, but two pillows stacked together put too much strain on my neck?

Let me keep on dreaming

You blew into my life like a storm on the shore.
I wasn't ready for your passion, your light, your perfect love
I just knew I was gonna fall for you
It wasn't my plan, but I had not another choice.
And yet I've never gotten to be near you or even hear your voice

I'm still so scared this distance will drive you away
I've been through this before and I never thought I would do it again.
But woman, there's no one else in the world like you.
You get me, you know me, you believe in me.
And I believe in you, and I just can't get enough.
And I can't bear to only have your memory.

I know we agreed
We need to stay just friends
All these miles, they're too much for these broken hearts to bear.
But you're the realest thing in my life.
I feel your presence all day long and I beg for your touch in the night.
No one can do what you do to me baby.
Please let me keep on dreaming that one day you might be mine.

NY 2017, day 3

AG picked me up at the Bronx house. We've been communicating for about two years, so it was exciting for us to finally have the chance to meet. It seemed as though we spent half of our time together stuck in traffic. And if she's reading this, I'm sure she'll cringe, but I can't help but point out the baby blue Nissan Cube that she drove us in. And since she's probably reading this, I'm not going to say anything else about it.

Our first stop was Prospect Park. We walked three and a half miles around the entire park. There was actually a half-marathon that morning which started in Prospect Park and finished south in Coney Island. So with some people still running, we were kind of going against traffic. When we got to the north section of the park, where Green Army Plaza was, they had a farmers market going on, the same one I stumbled across the previous year. We got to sample smoked duck breast, several types of pickles, and I sampled a local pale ale, which would have cost $10 a bottle. I probably saw about 15 different kinds of bread that I wanted to sample, but unfortunately, they were not available.

Next it was grub time. And there was only one place to go. Hometown BBQ in the Red Hook section. I had been waiting to go to this place for maybe 2 years. We had to wait on line for about thirty minutes just to place our order. The meats get ordered by the half pound. We started with brisket, which any BBQ joint needs to know how to make, unless it's in the Carolinas. The seasoning and bark on the outside was absolutely perfect. It wasn't overly smokey, but this seasoning is very peppery. The brisket itself was a little fattier than I would have preferred though. I was really impressed with the sticky BBQ sauce, the sweet and smoky flavor worked perfectly on it. They also have a hot and sweet sauce, but it tasted too much like a straight hot sauce for my liking.

The Jamaican jerk ribs were a definite highlight. We got six meaty baby back bones, covered in green onions. There was a hint of spice, but by no means were they hot. But they were cooked spot on. They fell off the bone without collapsing off the bone. The Vietnamese wings...well I took those to go. And the bacon pastrami, I obviously had to try that. Similar to the brisket, it had an awesome bark on the outside, but was pretty fatty. The meat itself was incredibly tender though.

And then the sides. For me, it all starts with the cornbread, some of the best I've ever had. No kernels, that's a key for me. And it was incredibly rich. It tasted like honey was mixed into the batter itself. It added an element of richness to the cornbread, but it wasn't overly sweet. No butter or honey needed. The potato salad was white in color and quite creamy, it had red potato skin and chives mixed in. Very smooth. The cole slaw was crunchy and well balanced, tasting more of vinegar than mayo.

Also, thumbs up on the great music. Hall and Oates, Creedence, Ray Charles, etc. I got an Arnold Palmer from the bar. It was great, but it was a very small glass and there were no free refills. That was disappointing. And can we have bathrooms that are gender specific please? Thank you...

AG and I had about 90 minutes to get back to the Bronx, thanks to a steady stream of traffic on the Brooklyn Queens expressway. We chatted about fitness, driving, colleges, living in New York, her kids, etc.

I got back at 4pm. Not wanting to sit in the house, I walked down the street to the Pelham Bay library. I planned to do some writing and charge my phone. Well that did not take long. The library closed at 5 on Saturday. So after 45 minutes, I walked the two blocks back to the house, where I promptly passed out in bed. I hadn't been drinking or anything, I was just worn down. Maybe it was all the BBQ.

Jimmy got home from work around 6 and his friend Alex came over around 7:30. We watched the first two matches of NXT. As soon as the Tyler Bate vs Pete Dunne match for the UK title ended, we caught an Uber to City Island. Gina was having a late birthday party at a Puerto Rican club/ restaurant. We got there at 9:15, but she and her friend did not arrive till 10.

I was still pretty tired and really had no appetite after all the BBQ I had eaten. And this place was not where I needed to be. The music was so loud and blaring, that there was no way to have a conversation with another person. We had dinner and I just had a tomato and avocado salad and one empanada. I did have some free garlic bread, which was great. But I was not in a mood to dance or anything like that. By 1 in the morning, I was ready to go, though I would have been ready to leave at midnight. And an Uber took Jimmy and I back by ourselves and I finally got into bed around 2. The catch was I had to be up at 5:30 to get my plane to go home. Thankfully, I did get my dozen bagels!

NY 2017, day 2

Day 2 began and I woke up around 7 a.m. Jimmy and I had time to catch up on things we'd been doing, such as travel and work. Naturally there was time to talk about wrestling. I left around 8:45 to head down to the Lower East Side to the Doughnut Plant. This little doughnut haven is absolutely unbelievable, I don't think I've ever seen doughnuts that are made quite as well and a shop with so many decadent flavors of doughnuts. They had everything from creme brulee to cinnamon bun to Mexican to peanut butter and jelly. I opted for a peanut butter and banana cream doughnut. It was a square filled pastry topped with a peanut glaze and toasted peanuts coated on the outside. I bit into it and inside was this creamy thick frosting infused with bananas. I'm definitely glad I had a full bottle of milk to wash it down with. And whole milk too, skim or 1% just wasn't going to work! But this doughnut was nothing short of incredible. Easily in the top two or three doughnuts I've ever had.

I had to take either the M or the F train 3 stops north to West 4th and Washington Street. Unfortunately, the trains were delayed in both lines and when I did get the to the village, I got lost trying to figure out the unusually triangular-shaped streets. I was almost late for the beginning of my walking tour of Greenwich Village. Thankfully, after some scrambling and running in 90 degree heat, I was able to find Murray's Cheese Shop, the first stop of our tour. The walls were lined with cheeses, pastas, sauces,  oils, and vinegars. Not to mention their impressive assortment of cold cuts. We didn't eat there, but we had the overview. There were sixteen of us on tour, a family of four from Toronto, me, and a big church group from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Most of the group was comprised of older women, so they took it on themselves to adopt me for all intents and purposes.

The first stop was Joe's Pizza, a tiny business on Carmine Street. We each had a half slice. The pizza was incredibly thin, about as thin as a legal slice could be in NY. Great San Marzano tomatoes. The milky mozzarella comes from Vermont. One pizza company talks about its better ingredients. They need to go to Joe's first.

Next was an olive oil shop called O&Co. I learned so much about the manufacturing of oil, black truffles, white truffles, and balsamic vinegar. For instance, if the first ingredient in a bottle of balsamic vinegar isn't "grapes must," it is not the real deal. We also tried popcorn topped with truffle salt. The truffle salt enhanced the flavor of the corn, it didn't just make it salty. They even had an aged basamic vinegar on the shelf for $125. And believe me, it wasn't exactly a gallon size.

We had a lot of food outside on the street. The first example of that was Faicco's Italian specialty shop. The best rice balls I've ever had. The outside was incredibly crispy but really thin. Many rice balls are completely overwhelmed by the breading on the outside, and this wasn't like those. And the rice inside was still very moist and creamy, with a lot of seasoning. There wasn't any beef or peas or heavy cheeses or anything like that. No marinara sauce was needed. It was just a perfectly prepared rice ball.

We also had a sit down meal at Pesce Pasta on Bleecker St, which was a meatball with sauce. It tasted like mostly veal, it was a really tender meatball. The gravy was on the lighter side, but still held up well to the meatball. From there, it was onto downstairs at Cornelia street cafe. While they have a bar and restaurant, this was about the downstairs theater. We learned about some of the great performers who graced this tiny stage, as well as other celebrities who have purchased homes in the area. Let's just say I don't think l will be checking out real estate listings anytime this century.

One of the tour highlights was Rafele's eggplant rollatini. It had a light pink sauce with fresh basil and homemade ricotta. I enjoyed a glass of red sangria with it. With the heat rising outside, it really hit the spot. Thankfully, it wasn't too sweet, like a lot of sangrias are. Also, I sat at the bar next to a girl named Margaret, who was with the Chattanooga group. She lives in Atlanta and is a dietitian. We had a nice getting to know you conversation for about 20 minutes.

Then it was onto desserts. We went to Milk and Cookies. Now the whole group already knew I was not going to be eating chocolate. They knew this from the overview back at Murray's Cheese Shop. Our tour guide, Marie, asked who was the one person in the group who didn't eat chocolate. Sheepishly, with a smile, I raised my hand. Thankfully, I was able to have an oatmeal raisin cookie instead. And it was an excellent cookie, made with plenty of butter. It had crispy edges on the outside but was still incredibly moist and rich on the inside.

We spent the next half-hour looking at different houses in the area come in those sing the unique architecture and have the Villages of all over the last hundred years or so. Our final stop was at Rocco's for a cannoli. It was a fine cannoli, but to be honest, after having one at JP Graziano several days before with the Italian cherries on the outside, this one just felt like another cannoli. And besides this had chocolate chips on the outside, a major No-No for me.

With the three hour tour over, I took the 1 train down to Battery Park. I ordered a can of Victory Pilsner beer and sat on a bench for about an hour-and-a-half grabbing some sun and listening to music. Knowing that my new twitter friend Nicole was going to be late to the Mets game, I just knew I had a little more time to kill. So I decided to hop on the Staten Island Ferry for a free 25 minute ride each way. I knew that on the ferry, I could get some great photographs of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. And no doubt, I took some pretty amazing pictures. It was pretty exciting to be so close to the Statue of Liberty. I went there back in 8th grade, but now I have a little bit more appreciation for it.

At that point, it was time to head over to Citi Field for the Mets game. I took the 1 train back north to Time Square and then took the 7 train East to Stadium. When I exited the subway station, Pete McCarthy from WOR radio was having a Mets trivia contest. I was able to answer one of the questions correctly and won a prize. He asked about the Mets opening day in 2014. Stephen Strasburg was pitching for Washington and he asked what is a three-run homer against Strasburg. And I knew immediately the answer was Andrew Brown. I was always a big fan of his, even though he was a relatively marginal player. So I had my choice of a rally towel, a t-shirt, or a ticket to a future game. Both t-shirts looked pretty cartoonish, and living far away, a ticket didn't make much sense. So I happily took the orange rally towel!

As many Mets road games as I go to, it felt so good to be back in Citi Field. Being in the sea of orange and blue is just a beautiful thing for me. And even though the Mets had lost seven straight games, they wound up winning this one three to nothing. Jacob deGrom pitched seven shutout innings, including escaping a bases-loaded and nobody out jam in the seventh inning.

I got to meet my twitter friend Nicole at the game for the first time and we definitely enjoyed each other's company. We have similar interest in sports teams, tend to be a little sarcastic, and we do laugh at each other's jokes quite easily. I guess one of the main differences is she's obsessed with ranch dressing and I love tomatoes. Hopefully we can work through that. We even shared a quick goodnight kiss...

NY 2017, day 1

I always tend to get an early morning start on my travel. And this trip was no exception. I was up at 2:30 in the morning, and the earliest flight I could take left at 6:30, which is a lot layer than usual. I was actually quite fortunate; I got the next to last seat available. I was only the fourth standby on the list out of 14 people, so only 5 people got got out. And from what I heard, the next three flights looked to be oversold as well. So there's no question that I was fortunate.

The day was quite hot for May in New York. The temperature reached 90 degrees and people seemed to act like it was already Memorial Day. The traffic getting from LaGuardia into Northern Manhattan was bumper-to-bumper all the way through. I was able to catch the 6 express train, which got me into the Bronx faster than normal. After cleaning up and changing my clothes, I headed back into Manhattan. I took the 6 train down to Grand Central, and from there I walked to 37th and 3rd to Sarge's Deli. On my way though, I saw that 41st Street was shut down in both directions to allow emergency vehicles to pass through. I had no idea what was going on. Soon after, I found out about the tragedy about the motorist, who drove recklessly into a swarm of pedestrians at Times Square, injuring almost two dozen people and killing an 18 year old girl. I was surprised people were asking me if I was alright.

It was pretty good to see my father. Even though our relationship is rather superficial, the in-person conversations at least seem to go better than the phone conversations. We both had huge sandwiches, I had a corned beef, turkey and roast beef triple decker with Swiss cheese, lettuce, and tomato. I think they forgot my Russian dressing. The service was certainly not the best, we had a sixty-year-old woman server who I don't think knows that it's a good thing to smile sometimes. It took her awhile, but she eventually refilled our iced teas and brought us the extra pickles and napkins that we requested. And as a Yelp reviewer, I got a 10% discount off the bill. That saved us a whole 7 bucks.

From there, we went to Bryant Park and just did some people watching. I wished I had taken a board game with me. I explained the rules of Farkle, which is a dice game I learned from an ex, hopefully we'll play that next time. Around mid-afternoon, he headed back to New Jersey. I had some time to kill so I decided to do some clothes shopping at Macy's. I had no intention of buying anything, it was really just to look around. I considered buying a pair of Greg Norman shorts, but decided against it. I didn't feel too good about returning them if I changed my mind about keeping them.

One of the things I noticed during the day was how conscious I was of my phone's battery power. It seemed I would turn it off for 2 hours at a time just to conserve energy. As helpful as cell phones are, they can add a certain level of stress to the day. 

I took the A train up to Port Authority, right near Times Square. And I walked over to Shorty's, which is a Philly style bar that had a happy hour going on. All of their beers: draft, can, and bottled, cost just five bucks. The heat was sweltering outside, so this was no day for an IPA or even an Amber ale. I downed 2 super tall Blue Moons with ease and they completely hit the spot. I also ordered a chicken cheesesteak with provolone, onions, and mushrooms. One of the things I like about this place is they imported the bread from Philadelphia and they bake it on the premises themselves. It was a good sandwich, but I thought the onions overwhelmed the chicken. I had conversation with a guy at the bar named Anwar, who had a really long beard and just quit his job in shoe promotions. We talked about work issues, the different ways that the cities of Chicago and Philadelphia are divided racially. It was a pretty good conversation.

Then I took the 1 train down to Christopher Street to go to Smalls jazz club. I sat in the third row after paying my $20 cover and listened to a jazz piano trio play for about an hour. I sat next to a statuesque Asian girl who's actually a singer and jazz composer. She gave me her name, so I will check out her music on iTunes. My ticket also included admission to another jazz bar, right across 7th Avenue. This band was just a piano, bass player, and a female vocalist. I heard them do about 4 songs, but decided not to order another drink. It was getting close to 9 o'clock. After being up 20 hours, I felt that was enough for one day.

Ponderous

After 6 days straight in Chicago working, and spending 3 of those days staying in a hotel in the River North neighborhood, I really needed some time away from the city and away from people.

I drove west today to White Pines State Park, a place I probably have not been to in maybe 15 years. I took a couple of hours to hike and climb. More than anything, I had to take time to play music on a quiet country road, to reflect, and just have a verbal conversation with God. I'm not being corny when I say that; that environment just gives me an opportunity to really reflect and encounter God in a way that is very difficult for me to do in my house and in my typical day to day working life.

There are many things that I realized that I am grateful for. And it is good when I take time to count each of those blessings, instead of choosing to dwell in my disasters. Because I'm learning more and more that there are so many people in this sorry dark world who are so insecure in their own lives that they will stop at nothing to tear somebody else down.

Here is where my mind is at this point. And the truth is I've been feeling this way for the last 8 or so months. I'm a lot more anti-social than I used to be. Because I realize I don't have time for other people's bullying, lies, and deception. As recently as maybe two years ago, I couldn't wait for the next big social event with my friends. We had then practically every month. Now, I don't even care anymore. I have my group of friends who I value, but it seems like the vast majority of them don't live near me now.

I think one big aspect of it is that I am now in my mid-thirties. I find that people in their twenties and their forties and fifties do a lot better job of getting together than people in their thirties do. But when you're in your thirties, you're sort of in limbo. You're too old to be in the young group in too young to be in the old group. I'm not feeling sad though, it's sort of a step back for me. It's a time to push the reset button. I feel as though I'm taking a little more time to myself. And these times of reflection don't come often when I'm gone 12 hours a day due to my job.

So 2017 is one third of the way over already. It feels like it has gone so quickly. Then again, with this combination of cold weather and non-stop work, of course it's going by quickly. I have not taken a single day off from work yet. But in 11 days, that will change. I will fly to New York, which is something that I can't wait for. I'm so ready to start traveling again.

I promised myself at the beginning of this year that I would not be the same man at the end of 2017 that I am at the beginning of 2017. Somehow, some positive change was going to happen for me. I can't say that change has come down the pike yet. But I am going to keep working to make it happen.

Five Top 5’s

The Top 5 Players I Would Like to See the New York Jets Draft Tonight 1)    Jamal Adams 
2)    OJ Howard 
3)    Marshawn Lattimore 
4)  Malik Hooker 
5)    Leonard Fournette (if they trade down)

The Top 5 Audio Books on My Audible List

1)      “Yes” Daniel  Bryan 
2)      “The Game” Ken Dryden 
3)      “The Case for Christ” Lee Strobel 
4)      “When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box” John Ortberg 
5)      “When Pride Still Mattered” David Maraniss

The Top 5 Sides for a Steak 

1)      Garlic mashed potatoes 

2)      Lyonnaise potatoes 

3)      Baked potato 

4)      Creamed spinach 

5)      Sauteed mushrooms

      The Top 5 Cities in America I Would Like to Visit That I’ve Never Been 

1)      Seattle 

2)      Honolulu

3)      San Jose

4)      Savannah

5)      Kansas City

The Top 5 Country Music Drinking Songs 

1)      “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” Merle Haggard 

2)      “Whiskey River” Willie Nelson 

3)      “Killin’ Time” Clint Black 

4)      “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound” Hank Williams Jr. 

5)      “Drinking Me Lonely” Chris Young

Another Saturday night

1) I just needed to be out of the house. It may not benefit my social skills, but the weather is finally warm enough where I can just drive my car to an abandoned dark place have a couple of beers and play music. Those are some of life's simplest pleasures.

2) Thank God for Waylon Jennings music. It seems every other month that I discover a song that knocks me on my ass. The latest: The Wurlitzer Prize.

3) A picture may be worth a thousand words, yet all their words mean nothing.

4) I love my mother. I appreciate her and I respect her. But getting along with her is challenging sometimes. We didn't even have any kind of major disagreement today. She just communicates on a different level, maybe it's a male vs female dynamic or maybe it's my age vs hers. She felt I blew up at her three times. And honest to God, I hadn't felt frustration or anger for her, except for maybe ten seconds. And that was because she dropped hints, she expected me to understand exactly what she was saying. I guess she just held onto her frustration all afternoon, even through Easter service. How sad.

5) And this was the worst part. She actually had the nerve to say to me that it's no wonder I can't keep a woman. That comment did make me angry and it hurt. Because I didn't feel it was fair. I'm far from perfect, but I truly believe I would make a very good boyfriend and eventually husband. Summer is creeping in and in this warm weather, it does hurt that I'm alone. But then I remind myself that I'm a good man and I have a lot to offer. That's not ego, that's just an honest assessment of myself. And whether I'm in a relationship or not does not determine my value as a man.

A review that got over

I've been writing reviews on the Yelp website since 2009. In that time, I've gotten a good amount of feedback. The vast majority has been quite positive. Sometimes I get some negative responses from owners who night think I'm a little tough on them.

But sometimes, there is a positive review from an owner. Those are the ones that surprise me every time. Because some owners review social media diligently while others would rather ignore it. It just pleases me when I can positively impact a business, and that can be done just by giving the manager an unintentional boost of confidence.

Such a review happened earlier this week. I reviewed Piece, which I mentioned in a previous post. The owner had an incredibly grateful and kind response and because it was so well received, I'm posting my review of Piece here.

When people think of pizza, they typically think of two cities: NYC and Chicago. New Haven, CT needs to be put right on the same level. And it's amazing that I can get that style of pizza in the Midwest.

Take note Chicago. This is how you do a thin crust pizza. It's not cut into little dinky squares. It doesn't have the toppings buried under the cheese.

I like that the pizzas aren't shaped in a perfect circle. They're more like oblong ovals that are cut into randomly sized triangular slices. The crust has a great crispness on it with just a tiny hint of chew. Personally, the ideal crust for me is crispy all the way to the bottom and also chewy and crunchy on the outside. The only thing I would want done differently is a touch more chew on the crust.

I have two combos that I go to. One is the red pics with chicken and sauteed mushrooms. I don't know what they do with these mushrooms but they are packed with flavor. And the chicken doesn't dry out, which is always a risk when it's on a pizza.

But then there's what I call the New Haven special. The white pizza, with no sauce, topped with mozzarella, bacon, clams, and roasted peppers. At first thought, this might seem like a crazy combination. But the combination of bacon and roasted peppers provides that perfect combination of sweet and salty. They load the pizza up with clams, they definitely don't skimp on them either. And it's the only pizza I've ever seen served with lemon wedges. A little lemon, and plenty of Parmesan and crushed red pepper, and I'm ready to go.

The small pizza is supposed to feed 1-2 people, but I have no problem taking one of these down by myself. I wish they would expand into the suburbs. There's really no other place to get pizza like this outside of the Northeast and that makes me feel sorry for the rest of the country.