"Only you have the answers
But the questions you have to find
Only you know the secrets
But the truth lies deep in your mind
Only you are the answer
You turn the night into day
Only you are the manchild
You are the light and you are the way
Tell me the secrets
I wanna know
Tell me the secrets
I wanna know
only you
Only you are the manchild
You are the light and you are the way
I can't believe this is is true
Why do I listen to you?
If I am all that you say
Why am I still so afraid?
Only you
Only you
Only you
In every age
In every time
A hero is born
As if by a grand design"
--
I am trying to not have this be a blog I only write in when I'm on the road but it seems that when I'm home I never have the time to sit and write. Update from previous blog.. I managed to get the data off my USB stick by jamming "up" into the USB port, I plugged it in and stuck a pen between it and another USB stick to force it "up" and that worked.. :)
My TNG uniform maker had a set back with her back and neck issues so I didn't get it this weekend as planned. I am still hopeful that I will have it by Anime Boston, but, Chrissy, if you're reading this, I am perfectly ok if I don't get it in time.. Your health is much more important to me than wearing a matching uniform with my girl friend.. :)
A few weeks ago I left my really super awesome headset in Denver, I finally got a replacement today. The last few weeks I was using a REAL bad one that I had laying around and it made online teaching a bit of a challenge, the mic would just cut out every once in a while (maybe every 20 mins) and trying to play Traveller last night was causing lovely feedback for everyone but me. I haven't tried the new one yet because I just got it after lecture was done for the day. I am going to try it tomorrow for class and tomorrow night for Serenity.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Back home from KC and the Future
Last day in KC was pretty un-eventful, I got out of class just in time to leave and head to the airport. The KC airport is a pretty small airport for such a big city, they have many security areas around little pockets of gates. Most of the gate areas just have seats and water fountains, the one I was in had a bathroom (single stall) and a restaurant/bar. As I was getting ready for the flight I started to feel a sinus cold coming on which turned into a full blown head cold by the time I landed in Hartford. :(
I am feeling better now (still not 100%, but getting there), still a bit stuffy and my ears are very "full and painful". I hate the fact that my ears always get so screwed up when I get head colds but I guess that's the price I pay for having such excellent hearing.
Saturday I went to FI but ended up leaving early because I kept getting dizzy and was having a real hard time concentrating. The game was great and I have to say everything seems to be happening to me now that I got rid of the Deputy badge. I don't know if it's that I'm more approachable now or if it's just timing.. Anyway, I had an awesome time but I knew if I didn't get lots of rest I would not be able to kick this cold.
I tried on my TNG uniform when I got home and it's looking very good, still no pictures since it's not done. I brought it back to Chrissy and she is going to finish it up for Laire this weekend.
Sunday I went back to FI and another awesome day of role play!
--
On a work rant.. I am writing a custom class to be taught to other instructors, unfortunately everything I had done so far was on my USB stick which no longer works.. Gah.. Back to the starting gun on that I guess.. Lesson here, always save your work in at least two locations.. I think I knew that already, but I guess it's something worth learning again..
I am feeling better now (still not 100%, but getting there), still a bit stuffy and my ears are very "full and painful". I hate the fact that my ears always get so screwed up when I get head colds but I guess that's the price I pay for having such excellent hearing.
Saturday I went to FI but ended up leaving early because I kept getting dizzy and was having a real hard time concentrating. The game was great and I have to say everything seems to be happening to me now that I got rid of the Deputy badge. I don't know if it's that I'm more approachable now or if it's just timing.. Anyway, I had an awesome time but I knew if I didn't get lots of rest I would not be able to kick this cold.
I tried on my TNG uniform when I got home and it's looking very good, still no pictures since it's not done. I brought it back to Chrissy and she is going to finish it up for Laire this weekend.
Sunday I went back to FI and another awesome day of role play!
--
On a work rant.. I am writing a custom class to be taught to other instructors, unfortunately everything I had done so far was on my USB stick which no longer works.. Gah.. Back to the starting gun on that I guess.. Lesson here, always save your work in at least two locations.. I think I knew that already, but I guess it's something worth learning again..
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Obesity has found it's new home.. Kansas City..
I have noticed as I've been walking around that the obesity rate in this area seems to be much higher than I would have expected. Usually when I travel somewhere warmer the people are thiner because they are not "stuck inside" all winter. But here seems to be the reverse, maybe it's the BBQ and lack of veggies on a normal plate. My class this week is at a health insurance company so they try their best to provide "healthy" options in the cafeteria but those lines are generally very short and still not what I would put in the "healthy" category.
I got stuck at work till 5 again today so no museum trip for me, I fly out tomorrow at 5:45 so I told the students I need to leave at 2 so I could make the airport. Of eight students two of them are done with today's labs, two of them are still on Monday's labs and the other four are on Day 3 labs.
After getting out I came back to the hotel and researched food options. I found a "microw-brew" called Landing's Neighborhood Eatery and Micro-Brew which had $5 burger dinners tonight and said they had a wide selection of micro-brews. The burger was good and I had a Boulevard Nitro 7 which was a Belgium Triple, it was good, I know I keep saying beers were "good", that's because nothing has jumped out as awesome. The burger was very good and while I was there a blues band came on and was playing some live music. The band was fun to listen to, I didn't catch their name. I was talking to the girlfriend of the drummer and she was telling me they just got back from NYC where they recorded a few tracks.
After a few songs I had finished my burger and beer so I decided to head back to the hotel, I'm pretty tired and still had to pack for tomorrow's flight.
I am going to head to bed but I wanted to end this with some wise words from a wise friend..
"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it"
[] []
I got stuck at work till 5 again today so no museum trip for me, I fly out tomorrow at 5:45 so I told the students I need to leave at 2 so I could make the airport. Of eight students two of them are done with today's labs, two of them are still on Monday's labs and the other four are on Day 3 labs.
After getting out I came back to the hotel and researched food options. I found a "microw-brew" called Landing's Neighborhood Eatery and Micro-Brew which had $5 burger dinners tonight and said they had a wide selection of micro-brews. The burger was good and I had a Boulevard Nitro 7 which was a Belgium Triple, it was good, I know I keep saying beers were "good", that's because nothing has jumped out as awesome. The burger was very good and while I was there a blues band came on and was playing some live music. The band was fun to listen to, I didn't catch their name. I was talking to the girlfriend of the drummer and she was telling me they just got back from NYC where they recorded a few tracks.
After a few songs I had finished my burger and beer so I decided to head back to the hotel, I'm pretty tired and still had to pack for tomorrow's flight.
I am going to head to bed but I wanted to end this with some wise words from a wise friend..
"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it"
[] []
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Time for Buddha to travel? I think so..
I had a VERY good day/night. I will admit today didn't start out great, I woke feeling lonely and was dreading going into work and dealing with my students.. My students did not make the day any better nor did the rain and hail throughout the day, although it was pretty cool to see really large hail chunks falling from the sky.. What did help was an early morning chat with Kaila and a long, really awesome night time chat.. :)
I was hoping my students would be done with labs, or at least leave early enough, so that I could go to the Negro League Museum but I didn't get out of work till almost 5 again and that was because I ended up leaving. The students are really not taking lab time seriously and are too focused on their normal work projects to be focused on getting their labs done.
Since I didn't get out till then I decided I would just go somewhere, have a few beers and watch the Mets game. I came back to the hotel after work and researched online for a good sports bar, my choice came down to three places; one was a gay bar in downtown, the second was a place called All Star Grill and the third was the Brass Rail. I knew the All Star Grill was closest but they had Karaoke tonight so I figured they wouldn't have TVs open for the game, the gay bar didn't have the MLB package so that left the Brass Rail which did have the MLB package and a pretty good looking menu.
While researching my friend Steve called, I haven't talked to him in a long time and I thought it was funny that he called since I just referenced him in Monday's blog.
Right before I was about to leave I found out the Mets game was snowed out again! The Mets have been snowed out 3 of the last 4 days!? It's spring right? Anyway, I re-thought my dinner plans and eventually decided that the menu at the Brass Rail was good enough to check out. I had a Rib Eye with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli, the food was not something worth "writing home about" but it was good, I had a Grass Roots IPA which is from a local KC brewery, it was also not something to "write home about" but it was good. On the way home I realized the All Star Grill is two buildings away from the hotel.. Could have just walked there..
When I got back I called Kaila and talked to her for a long time, I am not going to go into any detail here but I will say it was a very good conversation and I hung up feeling great about "life, the universe and everything". She is flying into MO tomorrow to go to a con, unfortunately it's on the other side of the state from me so although we will be in the same state we won't be able to see each other..
After our conversation I decided that I wanted a drink before bed so I went over to the All Star Grill, as I said it is a few buildings away. I'm glad I didn't go there for dinner, it's a nice place for a drink but I don't know about eating there. I had an Irish Cream Ale from a local KC place which was good, don't know why they call it "Irish" but it reminded me of Harry Potter's butter beer.
I'm off to bed, don't know how much sleep I'm going to get as I'm all amped up still but I'm going to try, at least I don't have to get up at crazy o'clock in the morning for a flight.
Good night everyone, till next time..
I was hoping my students would be done with labs, or at least leave early enough, so that I could go to the Negro League Museum but I didn't get out of work till almost 5 again and that was because I ended up leaving. The students are really not taking lab time seriously and are too focused on their normal work projects to be focused on getting their labs done.
Since I didn't get out till then I decided I would just go somewhere, have a few beers and watch the Mets game. I came back to the hotel after work and researched online for a good sports bar, my choice came down to three places; one was a gay bar in downtown, the second was a place called All Star Grill and the third was the Brass Rail. I knew the All Star Grill was closest but they had Karaoke tonight so I figured they wouldn't have TVs open for the game, the gay bar didn't have the MLB package so that left the Brass Rail which did have the MLB package and a pretty good looking menu.
While researching my friend Steve called, I haven't talked to him in a long time and I thought it was funny that he called since I just referenced him in Monday's blog.
Right before I was about to leave I found out the Mets game was snowed out again! The Mets have been snowed out 3 of the last 4 days!? It's spring right? Anyway, I re-thought my dinner plans and eventually decided that the menu at the Brass Rail was good enough to check out. I had a Rib Eye with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli, the food was not something worth "writing home about" but it was good, I had a Grass Roots IPA which is from a local KC brewery, it was also not something to "write home about" but it was good. On the way home I realized the All Star Grill is two buildings away from the hotel.. Could have just walked there..
When I got back I called Kaila and talked to her for a long time, I am not going to go into any detail here but I will say it was a very good conversation and I hung up feeling great about "life, the universe and everything". She is flying into MO tomorrow to go to a con, unfortunately it's on the other side of the state from me so although we will be in the same state we won't be able to see each other..
After our conversation I decided that I wanted a drink before bed so I went over to the All Star Grill, as I said it is a few buildings away. I'm glad I didn't go there for dinner, it's a nice place for a drink but I don't know about eating there. I had an Irish Cream Ale from a local KC place which was good, don't know why they call it "Irish" but it reminded me of Harry Potter's butter beer.
I'm off to bed, don't know how much sleep I'm going to get as I'm all amped up still but I'm going to try, at least I don't have to get up at crazy o'clock in the morning for a flight.
Good night everyone, till next time..
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
13 Places to Eat Before You Die: #13 - Check
I know I said I was going to go to Fud tonight, but after looking at their website today and realizing they don't take credit cards I was a little taken a back. Apparently they consider themselves "hipster" and taking credit cards is not something they want to do. Ironically they will take a check? Who takes checks and not credit cards?! Anyway.. The guy at Cafe Gratitude said if I eat meat the best BBQ in KC is Oklahoma Joe's which runs out of a gas station downtown, I spoke with some guys from class and they also highly recommend them so I'm going to check them out.
Right now, I'm just sitting in the hotel and relaxing for a bit. The Mets and Rockies are attempting to get a game or two in today although the snow removal held the first game up for a while, and it's snowing there now, and is supposed to throughout the night. We shall see, Wright hit two home runs so far in the first game. :)
I want to vent here about work, but I also don't want this to be a work vent blog so I am just going to say "jeez am I glad today's class is over"..
Anyway, off to dinner.. I say off to dinner, but I'm not going to post this till later tonight as I don't really want two blog entries in the same day.
--
I just got back from Oklahoma Joe's BBQ, as I said earlier, they are in a gas station on the Southern side of Kansas City, the restaurant had a line out the door but I was assured by the guys in front and behind me that it was worth the wait. I waited in line for almost an hour and they were right, it was worth it.. They were featured on Food Network a few years ago and were listed as one of Anthony Bourdain's "13 Places to Eat Before You Die".
1. St. John (London)
2. elBulli (Girona, Spain)
3. The French Laundry (Napa Valley, CA)
4. PerSe (New York City)
5. Sin Juat Eating House (Singapore)
6. Le Bernardin (New York City)
7. Salumi (Seattle)
8. Russ & Daughters (New York City)
9. Katz's Delicatessen (New York City)
10. Etxebarri (Axpe, Spain)
11. Sukiyabashi Jiro (Tokyo)
12. Hot Doug's (Chicago)
13. Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue (Kansas City, Kansas)
Did you know that Kansas City MO is the same city as Kansas City KS? The northern side of the river is in MO, the southern side of the river is in KS. Just an odd thing to share in case you were interested in random bar room trivia, which if you're reading this blog you probably are.
--
Apparently cold snowy winter weather causes even more home runs in Colorado than normal.. Mets lost game one but are currently winning game two. Random trivia part, I don't know, lets say two.. ;) - Mets have hit a home run in every game they have played so far this year, I know there has not been that many games yet, but I thought it was a cool statistic..
--
One last thing before I sign off for the night. I uploaded like 200 pictures to Flickr last night and today, I had not uploaded new pictures since December so go check it out..
Uh, I used to have a "links" section on the left hand side, the link is http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrjax38/sets
Speaking of used to have.. Remember the Flickr widget on this blog, wish that still worked..
Right now, I'm just sitting in the hotel and relaxing for a bit. The Mets and Rockies are attempting to get a game or two in today although the snow removal held the first game up for a while, and it's snowing there now, and is supposed to throughout the night. We shall see, Wright hit two home runs so far in the first game. :)
I want to vent here about work, but I also don't want this to be a work vent blog so I am just going to say "jeez am I glad today's class is over"..
Anyway, off to dinner.. I say off to dinner, but I'm not going to post this till later tonight as I don't really want two blog entries in the same day.
--
I just got back from Oklahoma Joe's BBQ, as I said earlier, they are in a gas station on the Southern side of Kansas City, the restaurant had a line out the door but I was assured by the guys in front and behind me that it was worth the wait. I waited in line for almost an hour and they were right, it was worth it.. They were featured on Food Network a few years ago and were listed as one of Anthony Bourdain's "13 Places to Eat Before You Die".
1. St. John (London)
2. elBulli (Girona, Spain)
3. The French Laundry (Napa Valley, CA)
4. PerSe (New York City)
5. Sin Juat Eating House (Singapore)
6. Le Bernardin (New York City)
7. Salumi (Seattle)
8. Russ & Daughters (New York City)
9. Katz's Delicatessen (New York City)
10. Etxebarri (Axpe, Spain)
11. Sukiyabashi Jiro (Tokyo)
12. Hot Doug's (Chicago)
13. Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue (Kansas City, Kansas)
Did you know that Kansas City MO is the same city as Kansas City KS? The northern side of the river is in MO, the southern side of the river is in KS. Just an odd thing to share in case you were interested in random bar room trivia, which if you're reading this blog you probably are.
--
Apparently cold snowy winter weather causes even more home runs in Colorado than normal.. Mets lost game one but are currently winning game two. Random trivia part, I don't know, lets say two.. ;) - Mets have hit a home run in every game they have played so far this year, I know there has not been that many games yet, but I thought it was a cool statistic..
--
One last thing before I sign off for the night. I uploaded like 200 pictures to Flickr last night and today, I had not uploaded new pictures since December so go check it out..
Uh, I used to have a "links" section on the left hand side, the link is http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrjax38/sets
Speaking of used to have.. Remember the Flickr widget on this blog, wish that still worked..
Monday, April 15, 2013
Gratitude - in the form of food for the heart and soul..
"Don't lead, I'll wander off bored. Don't follow, I'll get you lost. Stand beside me and help me cause trouble."
:)
--
After eating crap the last few days I decided to be healthy today.. Crap = Royal Bacon Blue fries at the game yesterday and Wendy's for dinner. Anyway, Happy Cow to the rescue right? What can I possibly find in KC that's healthy? You may have heard of Cafe Gratitude from my previous blogs, if not they are a vegan (mostly raw) restaurant from CA. Well, they have one in KC that opened last year!
Tonight's choices:
Drink - Klamath Lake live Algae with Kale, Beet, Celery, Apple and Ginger
Appetizer - Kale with garlic and Pumpkin seeds
Dinner - Hemp seed Pesto bowl with Quinoa, shredded Kale, Tomato and a Brazil Nut Cheese drizzled with Olive Oil and topped with Sprouts
SO GOOD!!
I sat at the bar and ended up talking to a regular customer and one of the waiters for a while. The waiter told me about a few other vegan restaurants in the area including a place called FuD which has vegan BBQ, apparently they entered a BBQ contest without telling anyone it was not meat and won 2nd place! I think I'm going to go there tomorrow night. He also told me about a local beer house that had lots of local beer choices so I went there after dinner. Turns out it is the Flying Saucer which is a beer house from Texas. I recognized it as soon as he put the coaster down.. I actually have a membership there from when I was in Texas with Becca. I had Boulevard's DoubleWide IPA which was very good, not Maharajah good, but really, what is..
Speaking of Becca.. The waiter at Cafe Gratitude told me before he gave me the bill he had to ask me the "question of the day" which was "name a problem in your life that turned into a blessing", I had already seen the question on the black board by the bathroom so I had my answer. I told him that the problem was my ex deciding not to give me another chance and that the blessing is that I was single long enough to re-discover who I am and that life put me in the right spot to meet Kaila..
Who is Kaila? More on that later.. ;) Sufficed to say, she is the girl I'm dating now, and she is pretty smeggin' awesome.. I'm not going to "wax poetic" about her here yet, but I will say she is someone who I hope will come up a lot in future blogs..
Back to the matter at hand.. Kansas City reminds me a lot of Pittsburgh, with the winding hilly streets and lots of odd roads and bridges, the difference is this city seems a lot cleaner than Pittsburgh.
Ah, the tangent is back baby... :D
I showed up for work today and have eight students, seven are local and the eighth is in India via webcam!? The lighting in the room was such that once I started using the white board we had to re-arrange all the furniture so that he could see what I was writing, the downside is the white board is pretty low so while I was not writing the student in India got to watch my crotch while I talked.. LOL!
The facility here is really cool, they have an outside eating area in the woods next to the cafeteria, it was nice enough today that I got to sit outside with my lunch which is always a win..
I am going to head to bed but I wanted to write a little something before bed..
One last time, as a nod to someone I hold dear..
Good night my lovelies..
:)
--
After eating crap the last few days I decided to be healthy today.. Crap = Royal Bacon Blue fries at the game yesterday and Wendy's for dinner. Anyway, Happy Cow to the rescue right? What can I possibly find in KC that's healthy? You may have heard of Cafe Gratitude from my previous blogs, if not they are a vegan (mostly raw) restaurant from CA. Well, they have one in KC that opened last year!
Tonight's choices:
Drink - Klamath Lake live Algae with Kale, Beet, Celery, Apple and Ginger
Appetizer - Kale with garlic and Pumpkin seeds
Dinner - Hemp seed Pesto bowl with Quinoa, shredded Kale, Tomato and a Brazil Nut Cheese drizzled with Olive Oil and topped with Sprouts
SO GOOD!!
I sat at the bar and ended up talking to a regular customer and one of the waiters for a while. The waiter told me about a few other vegan restaurants in the area including a place called FuD which has vegan BBQ, apparently they entered a BBQ contest without telling anyone it was not meat and won 2nd place! I think I'm going to go there tomorrow night. He also told me about a local beer house that had lots of local beer choices so I went there after dinner. Turns out it is the Flying Saucer which is a beer house from Texas. I recognized it as soon as he put the coaster down.. I actually have a membership there from when I was in Texas with Becca. I had Boulevard's DoubleWide IPA which was very good, not Maharajah good, but really, what is..
Speaking of Becca.. The waiter at Cafe Gratitude told me before he gave me the bill he had to ask me the "question of the day" which was "name a problem in your life that turned into a blessing", I had already seen the question on the black board by the bathroom so I had my answer. I told him that the problem was my ex deciding not to give me another chance and that the blessing is that I was single long enough to re-discover who I am and that life put me in the right spot to meet Kaila..
Who is Kaila? More on that later.. ;) Sufficed to say, she is the girl I'm dating now, and she is pretty smeggin' awesome.. I'm not going to "wax poetic" about her here yet, but I will say she is someone who I hope will come up a lot in future blogs..
Back to the matter at hand.. Kansas City reminds me a lot of Pittsburgh, with the winding hilly streets and lots of odd roads and bridges, the difference is this city seems a lot cleaner than Pittsburgh.
Ah, the tangent is back baby... :D
I showed up for work today and have eight students, seven are local and the eighth is in India via webcam!? The lighting in the room was such that once I started using the white board we had to re-arrange all the furniture so that he could see what I was writing, the downside is the white board is pretty low so while I was not writing the student in India got to watch my crotch while I talked.. LOL!
The facility here is really cool, they have an outside eating area in the woods next to the cafeteria, it was nice enough today that I got to sit outside with my lunch which is always a win..
I am going to head to bed but I wanted to write a little something before bed..
One last time, as a nod to someone I hold dear..
Good night my lovelies..
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Nobody likes the smegging censors, even when they're yourself..
I have started this blog many times over the last few months.. Sometimes it started angry, sometimes it started emo and sometimes it started hopeful. Everytime it started talking about other people and focused on them coming or going from my life. This blog should not be about others, well, as the focus anyway.. After much thought I decided to open this blog with I!
"
I was so frightened
I almost ran away
I didn't know that I could do
Anything I needed to
And then a bolt of lightning
Hit me on my head
Then I began to see
I just needed to believe in me
Now I, I believe in me
And I, I believe in something more
Than you can understand
Yes, I believe in me
O-ooh and I believe in me
Ooh yes I believe in something more
Than you can understand
Yes, I believe in me
Listen!
They said I didn't stand a chance
I wouldn't win no way
But I've got news for you
There's nothing I can't do
Ain't no pretending
Ain't no make believe
But I've got to be the one
I gotta do what must be done
And I (I) believe in me
Whoa-o and I (I) believe in something more
Than you can understand
Yes, I believe in me"
I have come to the realization over the last few months that I'm very affected by the moods of those around me, if I surround myself with negative and hopeless people I tend to take that on. I've certainly fallen into that trap over the last few years, never feeling like I was enough, never feeling like things were ok, always looking for something to "fix" things. Being single these last few months has made me realize who I am again, has made me come back to the true me.
Who is that? I'm the person who wears their heart on their sleeve, who wants everyone to be happy and who tells everyone about everything when they're happy. I've been told many times (even recently) that I should watch what I say to people because it might come off as bragging or gloating or hurtful. When I tell you about something I'm happy about it's because I'm happy and I want to share that happiness with others. I want the same of you, if you're happy with a partner, a meal or just a good day I want to hear it. Hearing about other people's good times makes me happy, even if it has nothing to do with me. I honestly don't understand how people can NOT want to hear about good things, but I guess that's why the news never leads the night with a happy story of someone's success, instead they are focused on all the crap in the world.. Crap begets crap.. Happiness begets happiness. It's the simplest truth of the law of attraction.
I do care too much about people's feelings, because of that I've started censoring myself out of concern that it would hurt if what I said was heard and/or read. I'm sure you can tell if you go back to the beginning of this blog when I was MUCH more open about myself and the world around me. It's time I stopped caring what people think.
"
all of my life
I've never fit
but I won't complain and I won't quit
I am enormous
get used to it
everyone tells me I'm too much
maybe it's just you're not enough for me
can't you see
I'm the kind of the woman I'm supposed to be"
OK, I know, woman, what, well, I'm not going to edit lyrics.. ;) I am reminded of my friend Steve who once said, 'most people hate me, and I'm ok with that because those who like me like me for me'. Well, I also don't think caring about people's feelings is a bad thing, but we don't live in Chile. I will say what I want, regardless of if I'm in a prison or not, I WON'T die if you hear me.
I know there are some people who get this blog auto-emailed to them, if you don't want to be on that list anymore after reading this just send me an email and I will remove you. I'd hate for something I've said to randomly show up in your inbox and piss you off. No, I'm not saying this out of spite or anger, I'm saying this because I really don't want to piss anyone off, but in the same respect I can't censor myself (especially here) because of the few who might get upset.
--
With that said.. Hi everyone.. :) I'm in Kansas City this week, I flew in yesterday so I could go to a Royals game today, the stadium was VERY nice and it was a very good game (Royals won 3-2 on a walk off hit). The guy sitting next to me was apparently a little aspy (he narrated the entire game to himself including when birds were chirping), I tried talking to him a bit but after a little while realzed it would be better to just let him be in his own little world. I found out that the Negro Leagues were formed in KC and there is a museum downtown, I need to find out when they are open so I can try to go this week.
That's all from me for now.. I might write more later tonight but I wanted to put this out there now before I chicken out, I have to post this before the side of me that says "you know this might upset some people" wins..
"
I was so frightened
I almost ran away
I didn't know that I could do
Anything I needed to
And then a bolt of lightning
Hit me on my head
Then I began to see
I just needed to believe in me
Now I, I believe in me
And I, I believe in something more
Than you can understand
Yes, I believe in me
O-ooh and I believe in me
Ooh yes I believe in something more
Than you can understand
Yes, I believe in me
Listen!
They said I didn't stand a chance
I wouldn't win no way
But I've got news for you
There's nothing I can't do
Ain't no pretending
Ain't no make believe
But I've got to be the one
I gotta do what must be done
And I (I) believe in me
Whoa-o and I (I) believe in something more
Than you can understand
Yes, I believe in me"
I have come to the realization over the last few months that I'm very affected by the moods of those around me, if I surround myself with negative and hopeless people I tend to take that on. I've certainly fallen into that trap over the last few years, never feeling like I was enough, never feeling like things were ok, always looking for something to "fix" things. Being single these last few months has made me realize who I am again, has made me come back to the true me.
Who is that? I'm the person who wears their heart on their sleeve, who wants everyone to be happy and who tells everyone about everything when they're happy. I've been told many times (even recently) that I should watch what I say to people because it might come off as bragging or gloating or hurtful. When I tell you about something I'm happy about it's because I'm happy and I want to share that happiness with others. I want the same of you, if you're happy with a partner, a meal or just a good day I want to hear it. Hearing about other people's good times makes me happy, even if it has nothing to do with me. I honestly don't understand how people can NOT want to hear about good things, but I guess that's why the news never leads the night with a happy story of someone's success, instead they are focused on all the crap in the world.. Crap begets crap.. Happiness begets happiness. It's the simplest truth of the law of attraction.
I do care too much about people's feelings, because of that I've started censoring myself out of concern that it would hurt if what I said was heard and/or read. I'm sure you can tell if you go back to the beginning of this blog when I was MUCH more open about myself and the world around me. It's time I stopped caring what people think.
"
all of my life
I've never fit
but I won't complain and I won't quit
I am enormous
get used to it
everyone tells me I'm too much
maybe it's just you're not enough for me
can't you see
I'm the kind of the woman I'm supposed to be"
OK, I know, woman, what, well, I'm not going to edit lyrics.. ;) I am reminded of my friend Steve who once said, 'most people hate me, and I'm ok with that because those who like me like me for me'. Well, I also don't think caring about people's feelings is a bad thing, but we don't live in Chile. I will say what I want, regardless of if I'm in a prison or not, I WON'T die if you hear me.
I know there are some people who get this blog auto-emailed to them, if you don't want to be on that list anymore after reading this just send me an email and I will remove you. I'd hate for something I've said to randomly show up in your inbox and piss you off. No, I'm not saying this out of spite or anger, I'm saying this because I really don't want to piss anyone off, but in the same respect I can't censor myself (especially here) because of the few who might get upset.
--
With that said.. Hi everyone.. :) I'm in Kansas City this week, I flew in yesterday so I could go to a Royals game today, the stadium was VERY nice and it was a very good game (Royals won 3-2 on a walk off hit). The guy sitting next to me was apparently a little aspy (he narrated the entire game to himself including when birds were chirping), I tried talking to him a bit but after a little while realzed it would be better to just let him be in his own little world. I found out that the Negro Leagues were formed in KC and there is a museum downtown, I need to find out when they are open so I can try to go this week.
That's all from me for now.. I might write more later tonight but I wanted to put this out there now before I chicken out, I have to post this before the side of me that says "you know this might upset some people" wins..
Friday, August 10, 2012
Epilogue
As you are probably aware I talk a lot about chapters in life. I'm beginning to acknowledge that sometimes the book, not just the chapter, needs to end. I believe this is one of those times.. As I look back I realize that my life has been comprised of at two books, the first one ended in Oct 1995, the second one is coming to an end now.
What does it mean to end a book and not just say it's a new chapter? When a book ends you can expect that some of the major characters may change, that some characters who were major will now become minor, and some might disappear all together. Some plot lines may be wrapped up while others might continue but might not be the focus of the next book. When a chapter of a book ends it's not as major as when the book comes to a close.
As I look back on this last book of my life I have to wonder, am I the hero? Did I accomplish anything of worth? Where was the major story arc and did I leave those I've touched in a better place or worse? Throughout this book I tried to do the right thing and I've tried to help as many people as I could. I loved, was loved, hurt and caused hurt. Life is a palindrome? "..it's all about the ups and downs, add 'em all together, cancel each other out.."
Do they really cancel each other out? Or was there more hurt than good? Could I have done things differently? Of course.. Should I have? Of course not.. Life is where it is for a reason..
Looking forward I wonder what this next book will bring, who will be the major players, who will re-appear from the previous book and in what form? Can those I hurt forgive me, do I deserve them to? How does outside influences effect things? One thing I know is that I can't control any of it, not anymore, I played my cards and now I have to wait to see how the hand turns out. In the end everything will play out as it should, it might not be what I wanted or what I envisioned but I will deal with however the cards may fall.
Maybe just one more time Mr Jax's luck will shine. Maybe today is the day the Lord of the Deep and his drowned ones get him..
One thing's for sure, I'm sick of walking the streets of Sydney and trying (sometimes unsuccessfully) not to cry. I'm sick of wondering what the outcome will be. Sick of wondering.. Sick of being afraid..
"Well, some take the road to Damascus
Some take the road to hell
I'll take highway one to the evergreens
And everything will turn out well
Bring my courage back now
Would you bring it back to me?
Tired of being afraid of what I can't change
And I want to be living free
I don't want to be a prisoner
Bound in these chains
Slave to my fears
I want to be free again
I want to be free again"
--
This blog is ending now for the foreseeable future, it's been a good ride.. See you in the future?
What does it mean to end a book and not just say it's a new chapter? When a book ends you can expect that some of the major characters may change, that some characters who were major will now become minor, and some might disappear all together. Some plot lines may be wrapped up while others might continue but might not be the focus of the next book. When a chapter of a book ends it's not as major as when the book comes to a close.
As I look back on this last book of my life I have to wonder, am I the hero? Did I accomplish anything of worth? Where was the major story arc and did I leave those I've touched in a better place or worse? Throughout this book I tried to do the right thing and I've tried to help as many people as I could. I loved, was loved, hurt and caused hurt. Life is a palindrome? "..it's all about the ups and downs, add 'em all together, cancel each other out.."
Do they really cancel each other out? Or was there more hurt than good? Could I have done things differently? Of course.. Should I have? Of course not.. Life is where it is for a reason..
Looking forward I wonder what this next book will bring, who will be the major players, who will re-appear from the previous book and in what form? Can those I hurt forgive me, do I deserve them to? How does outside influences effect things? One thing I know is that I can't control any of it, not anymore, I played my cards and now I have to wait to see how the hand turns out. In the end everything will play out as it should, it might not be what I wanted or what I envisioned but I will deal with however the cards may fall.
Maybe just one more time Mr Jax's luck will shine. Maybe today is the day the Lord of the Deep and his drowned ones get him..
One thing's for sure, I'm sick of walking the streets of Sydney and trying (sometimes unsuccessfully) not to cry. I'm sick of wondering what the outcome will be. Sick of wondering.. Sick of being afraid..
"Well, some take the road to Damascus
Some take the road to hell
I'll take highway one to the evergreens
And everything will turn out well
Bring my courage back now
Would you bring it back to me?
Tired of being afraid of what I can't change
And I want to be living free
I don't want to be a prisoner
Bound in these chains
Slave to my fears
I want to be free again
I want to be free again"
--
This blog is ending now for the foreseeable future, it's been a good ride.. See you in the future?
Thursday, June 21, 2012
June 21
I was thinking about uniforms today, why you ask? Because the Rays released a picture of their new "retro" uniform and I was stunned at the sheer "wow" of it.. I like colored uniforms but only when the color does not feel like a slap in the face. This new uniform looks like someone took the old Padres uniform pattern and changed the color scheme from brown and yellow to blue and horrid blue, and and yellow.. The only good thing I can say is that I do like the logo on the hat. It is a "tb" with a sun in the b. Anyway, without further ado..
I wonder if they are trying to compete with the Marlins for worst uniform of the year... I was looking over some more of the "special" uniforms for 2012. Apparently someone decided the A's should wear this PoS for a game or two this year?
"oaks"? Yo' dawg I'm going to see the Oaks.. I guess this one can market well to little leagues?
---
Last night I went to Mullen's sports bar to watch the Mets game. I had a "Pittsburgh" steak and cheese. It was chopped steak with mushrooms and provolone served with au jus like a french dip. It was very tasty, I got chips with it instead of fries and just had a few of them to make sure I could stay under my points for the day. Even with two beers (Oberon's Bells) I finished the day at 1379 calories. Oberon's Bells is a summer ale but with hops. Think maybe a hoppy version of blue moon, it had a citrus undertone with the hops overtone.
Tonight is going to be another stay local night, I have to get up at 3am so I can get to the airport by 4 for my 6am flight. Why do I keep booking the crazy early flights? I think I need to remember why I don't like them.. Oh well, at least I got upgraded on both legs.
| 
|
"oaks"? Yo' dawg I'm going to see the Oaks.. I guess this one can market well to little leagues?
---
Last night I went to Mullen's sports bar to watch the Mets game. I had a "Pittsburgh" steak and cheese. It was chopped steak with mushrooms and provolone served with au jus like a french dip. It was very tasty, I got chips with it instead of fries and just had a few of them to make sure I could stay under my points for the day. Even with two beers (Oberon's Bells) I finished the day at 1379 calories. Oberon's Bells is a summer ale but with hops. Think maybe a hoppy version of blue moon, it had a citrus undertone with the hops overtone.
Tonight is going to be another stay local night, I have to get up at 3am so I can get to the airport by 4 for my 6am flight. Why do I keep booking the crazy early flights? I think I need to remember why I don't like them.. Oh well, at least I got upgraded on both legs.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Driving to Chicago v. Taking the Train
Yesterday in class we had a discussion on how to get into downtown Chicago. The general opinion was that driving is actually quicker than the train. So, looking at Google Maps and the CTA schedules it looked close, maybe even favoring the car.. I decided, what the heck, I'll give it a shot..
If it was not for the construction I think the car would have been much faster, with the construction obstacles it took just about the same amount of time the train would have taken. Time v. Sanity, that is the real question.. Should have taken the train, on the train I could have relaxed and just listened to my book, instead I got to drive in stop and go traffic through one construction area after another.. I will say that the trip back was much quicker. The other downside of driving was I felt I should leave earlier because I didn't want to leave my car in the Chicago Diner lot and didn't want to pay to park. Almost all of the street parking in that area is resident parking pass required.
Dinner was certainly tasty, I got the "southern plate" which was setain strips, mac n' cheeze, collards, black eye peas and bacun corn fritters. See picture on Flickr. With it I got a class of wine. My calorie intake for dinner was 881. That brought my total calorie intake up to 1347, minus my lunch walk brings me well under my calories for the day.. My lunch was the same yesterday and today. I decided to get a salad and then was disgruntled when I saw how many calories dressing was, the only option - no dressing.. I ended up with spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, baby corn and chopped up egg. 121 calorie lunch and most of that was the egg.
I think tonight is going to be a quiet night, I am going to try to find a local sports bar and watch the game/get food.
--Diversion of the Day
If it was not for the construction I think the car would have been much faster, with the construction obstacles it took just about the same amount of time the train would have taken. Time v. Sanity, that is the real question.. Should have taken the train, on the train I could have relaxed and just listened to my book, instead I got to drive in stop and go traffic through one construction area after another.. I will say that the trip back was much quicker. The other downside of driving was I felt I should leave earlier because I didn't want to leave my car in the Chicago Diner lot and didn't want to pay to park. Almost all of the street parking in that area is resident parking pass required.
Dinner was certainly tasty, I got the "southern plate" which was setain strips, mac n' cheeze, collards, black eye peas and bacun corn fritters. See picture on Flickr. With it I got a class of wine. My calorie intake for dinner was 881. That brought my total calorie intake up to 1347, minus my lunch walk brings me well under my calories for the day.. My lunch was the same yesterday and today. I decided to get a salad and then was disgruntled when I saw how many calories dressing was, the only option - no dressing.. I ended up with spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, baby corn and chopped up egg. 121 calorie lunch and most of that was the egg.
I think tonight is going to be a quiet night, I am going to try to find a local sports bar and watch the game/get food.
--Diversion of the Day
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
60 MPH Gusts
I told My Fitness Pal I am 150lbs and want to lose 1lb a week, it decided I need to eat 1500 Calories a day. How did I do yesterday? 1432 Calories consumed, workout (20 minutes on elliptical and 1 set of 25 push ups) takes 204 calories off. So, grand total was 1228 calories.. Before you ask, yes, 1 set of push ups, I'm a beast.. :P I'm using the Hundred Push Ups ap on my phone and the first day is the "test" day to determine where in the program you should start. Because of doing 25 I get to skip weeks 1 and 2, last time I did this the same thing happened and I got real burned out on trying week 3, hopefully I can do better this time..
Chicago = Windy City.. Yesterday was comically windy, apparently there were 60 MPH winds yesterday, I didn't know that till I was talking to some students before class today. All I know is when I went out to find work out clothes I felt I was walking into a wall of wind, I swear if I jumped I would have been blown back.. Speaking of trying to get workout clothes, why is it that even workout pants sized "small" drag on the ground when I wear them? I went to two different Dicks and Sports Authority, first problem is, apparently not many people want pants in the summer. Sports Authority and the first Dicks had no pants at all, just shorts. The second Dicks had pants but they were all way to long (Nike, Adidas, Rebook and Under Armor), the shorts were ok but I couldn't justify spending $35+ dollars on shorts for working out. I decided to just use one of the pairs of shorts I already had with me. The second Dicks was in a parking lot with Whole Foods so I decided to grab dinner while I was out. Got sushi and a Norse Legend.
Went back to the hotel, worked out, took a bath and chilled out for the evening. Plan for tonight is to head into Wrigley Ville. The Cubs are playing the White Sox but on the South Side so Wrigley Ville should not be super crowded tonight. I was talking to some students who swear it's quicker to drive than to take the train? Looking online at Google Maps I just don't believe it, depending on what time I get out I may drive but will probably just end up on the train.
--Diversion of the Day
http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/2012-05-01/index.html
Chicago = Windy City.. Yesterday was comically windy, apparently there were 60 MPH winds yesterday, I didn't know that till I was talking to some students before class today. All I know is when I went out to find work out clothes I felt I was walking into a wall of wind, I swear if I jumped I would have been blown back.. Speaking of trying to get workout clothes, why is it that even workout pants sized "small" drag on the ground when I wear them? I went to two different Dicks and Sports Authority, first problem is, apparently not many people want pants in the summer. Sports Authority and the first Dicks had no pants at all, just shorts. The second Dicks had pants but they were all way to long (Nike, Adidas, Rebook and Under Armor), the shorts were ok but I couldn't justify spending $35+ dollars on shorts for working out. I decided to just use one of the pairs of shorts I already had with me. The second Dicks was in a parking lot with Whole Foods so I decided to grab dinner while I was out. Got sushi and a Norse Legend.
Went back to the hotel, worked out, took a bath and chilled out for the evening. Plan for tonight is to head into Wrigley Ville. The Cubs are playing the White Sox but on the South Side so Wrigley Ville should not be super crowded tonight. I was talking to some students who swear it's quicker to drive than to take the train? Looking online at Google Maps I just don't believe it, depending on what time I get out I may drive but will probably just end up on the train.
--Diversion of the Day
http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/2012-05-01/index.html
Monday, June 18, 2012
Draper --> Lisle
Bet you thought I went away again.. Well, I guess I did but not for a long time like last time.. I'm sitting in Chicago this week monitoring another instructor to qualify him for a class.
So, last I wrote I was headed over to Park City in Utah. If you ever find yourself in Draper Utah and want to go to Park City there are two ways to get there, the highway and the "scenic route". I refer you to C.W. McCall's Black Bear Road "you don't have to be crazy to drive that road, but it helps".. Well, who's crazy? This guy... Crazy is driving Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, real crazy is driving it in a piece of shit Chevy economy car..
This road has an average grade of 7.8% with a 15% grade at some points. To say the car had issues climbing it would be an understatement, but hey, you only live once right? The total climb is 4584 feet from the bottom to the top. These numbers I am listing were not known by me *before* the drive, I looked them up afterwards. I was just told it was a beautiful ride, yeah, I was warned I might want to trade my rental in for a 4 wheel drive, but..
I was enjoying the scenery until the rock slide that passed just behind my car, I had the windows open (cause it was early on in the trip and hadn't hit the high altitude temperature drop yet) and heard the "whooshing/grumbling" sound of the rocks and got to see them up close as they past right behind the car. Now I was on high alert and not so much enjoying the views, but on a mission to "conquer" the road. Past the "if light if blinking do not attempt this road without 4 wheel drive" sign, it was not blinking so I continued. Then hit the snow and ice part of the journey, the temperature drop was over 40 degrees, then past the snow? Am I so high I am past the ability to snow? Oh my... Finally as I crest the mountain the road ends!?! Well, the "road" continues as a dirt path down the mountain, no up in the north east a "dirt road" is a much different thing than it is in the mountains. In the east a dirt road is mostly hard pounded dirt/mud/gravel. Up here it was loose sand and rock, the car was fish tailing all over the place and I had to ride the brakes to stay under 15 miles per hour. Two hands on the wheel, foot on the break and thinking I was going to fly off the cliff.. Oh, right, I didn't mention the fact that the entire drive there was a cliff face on the right of the car and NO railings anywhere! Finally made it down and hit the pub for a much needed drink.
After stopping at the pub I went over to Main St for dinner, walked around a bit and I have to admit it is a very pretty area. It's one of those areas that forces the chains to tone down their big signs/big colors/recognizable logos. On one hand I like when places do that because it makes the landscape look more "natural" but in the same respect it's sorta like a freedom of speech issue isn't it?
Well, I went to the place the guys at work recommended. The Elk was good, but the sides were over spiced and it was WAY over priced. Oh well.. Worth the trip anyway.. Off to the fire bar, it was not open yet and I was getting tired so I figured I'd head back to the hotel and check that out next time I'm in Utah.
---
Spent the last two weeks at home, I suppose I have lots to say about that, but this is not the time to go into it. I realize that every time I start to think about blogging about "home life" I go into hiding, so in order to keep this blog active I have decided to keep "home life" out of it. For now I will continue to entertain you with my travel and culinary treats and ask that you forgive me for not talking about home life.
---
So, I started off by talking about being here in Chicago, the flights here were ok. The flight from Hartford to Detroit was good, got upgraded again.. :) We were supposed to board at 3:40, but the arriving flight didn't land till 3:58, even though we boarded late we still managed to take off on time and even landed early. In Detroit however we didn't have such luck, didn't get upgraded, pilot didn't show up on time, missed our take off window and had to sit on the runway in the closed off plane for over an hour. Finally got to Chicago, got my car and headed to hotel. So hungry.. Crap, only thing open is McDonalds.. Ahh, when is eating at McDonalds the right answer? That's a question I was just talking to Lynz about while in the airport in Hartford. The other option is going to a gas station and getting something, drove around for a bit but gave up and got fries..
Speaking of fries, my fat ass is having an issue fitting into my pants, I think it was just a few months ago when I was feeling real proud that I could fit into my old work pants, then something happened.. Not only can I NOT fit into those pants anymore, I can barely fit into my jeans either. I have two pairs of work pants that "fit" if I suck in my gut before buttoning.. Time for fat ass to get back to the gym and to start counting calories again.. At the time of this blog I'm at 151 lbs, I want to get back down to 130-135 but I am not really a big "number" person for weight, the goal is to get my gut to go away. I signed up for myfitnesspal, if you're on there send me your ID so we can be friends on there. I also am going to start doing push ups again, yeah, I know, I've said that before.. But this time I downloaded the app for the phone so it will pester me if I don't do it.
Plan for tonight? Go get some workout clothes, hit the gym at the hotel. Go find something healthy for dinner.. Depending on time line I might go to the Chicago Diner, if not I'll have to find something more local..
-- Diversion of the Day
So, last I wrote I was headed over to Park City in Utah. If you ever find yourself in Draper Utah and want to go to Park City there are two ways to get there, the highway and the "scenic route". I refer you to C.W. McCall's Black Bear Road "you don't have to be crazy to drive that road, but it helps".. Well, who's crazy? This guy... Crazy is driving Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, real crazy is driving it in a piece of shit Chevy economy car..
This road has an average grade of 7.8% with a 15% grade at some points. To say the car had issues climbing it would be an understatement, but hey, you only live once right? The total climb is 4584 feet from the bottom to the top. These numbers I am listing were not known by me *before* the drive, I looked them up afterwards. I was just told it was a beautiful ride, yeah, I was warned I might want to trade my rental in for a 4 wheel drive, but..
I was enjoying the scenery until the rock slide that passed just behind my car, I had the windows open (cause it was early on in the trip and hadn't hit the high altitude temperature drop yet) and heard the "whooshing/grumbling" sound of the rocks and got to see them up close as they past right behind the car. Now I was on high alert and not so much enjoying the views, but on a mission to "conquer" the road. Past the "if light if blinking do not attempt this road without 4 wheel drive" sign, it was not blinking so I continued. Then hit the snow and ice part of the journey, the temperature drop was over 40 degrees, then past the snow? Am I so high I am past the ability to snow? Oh my... Finally as I crest the mountain the road ends!?! Well, the "road" continues as a dirt path down the mountain, no up in the north east a "dirt road" is a much different thing than it is in the mountains. In the east a dirt road is mostly hard pounded dirt/mud/gravel. Up here it was loose sand and rock, the car was fish tailing all over the place and I had to ride the brakes to stay under 15 miles per hour. Two hands on the wheel, foot on the break and thinking I was going to fly off the cliff.. Oh, right, I didn't mention the fact that the entire drive there was a cliff face on the right of the car and NO railings anywhere! Finally made it down and hit the pub for a much needed drink.
After stopping at the pub I went over to Main St for dinner, walked around a bit and I have to admit it is a very pretty area. It's one of those areas that forces the chains to tone down their big signs/big colors/recognizable logos. On one hand I like when places do that because it makes the landscape look more "natural" but in the same respect it's sorta like a freedom of speech issue isn't it?
Well, I went to the place the guys at work recommended. The Elk was good, but the sides were over spiced and it was WAY over priced. Oh well.. Worth the trip anyway.. Off to the fire bar, it was not open yet and I was getting tired so I figured I'd head back to the hotel and check that out next time I'm in Utah.
---
Spent the last two weeks at home, I suppose I have lots to say about that, but this is not the time to go into it. I realize that every time I start to think about blogging about "home life" I go into hiding, so in order to keep this blog active I have decided to keep "home life" out of it. For now I will continue to entertain you with my travel and culinary treats and ask that you forgive me for not talking about home life.
---
So, I started off by talking about being here in Chicago, the flights here were ok. The flight from Hartford to Detroit was good, got upgraded again.. :) We were supposed to board at 3:40, but the arriving flight didn't land till 3:58, even though we boarded late we still managed to take off on time and even landed early. In Detroit however we didn't have such luck, didn't get upgraded, pilot didn't show up on time, missed our take off window and had to sit on the runway in the closed off plane for over an hour. Finally got to Chicago, got my car and headed to hotel. So hungry.. Crap, only thing open is McDonalds.. Ahh, when is eating at McDonalds the right answer? That's a question I was just talking to Lynz about while in the airport in Hartford. The other option is going to a gas station and getting something, drove around for a bit but gave up and got fries..
Speaking of fries, my fat ass is having an issue fitting into my pants, I think it was just a few months ago when I was feeling real proud that I could fit into my old work pants, then something happened.. Not only can I NOT fit into those pants anymore, I can barely fit into my jeans either. I have two pairs of work pants that "fit" if I suck in my gut before buttoning.. Time for fat ass to get back to the gym and to start counting calories again.. At the time of this blog I'm at 151 lbs, I want to get back down to 130-135 but I am not really a big "number" person for weight, the goal is to get my gut to go away. I signed up for myfitnesspal, if you're on there send me your ID so we can be friends on there. I also am going to start doing push ups again, yeah, I know, I've said that before.. But this time I downloaded the app for the phone so it will pester me if I don't do it.
Plan for tonight? Go get some workout clothes, hit the gym at the hotel. Go find something healthy for dinner.. Depending on time line I might go to the Chicago Diner, if not I'll have to find something more local..
-- Diversion of the Day
Friday, June 1, 2012
Utah 2
Apparently my Flickr add-on for my blog no longer works. I need to investigate that.. I posted over 100 pics to flickr this month so if you haven't been over there you should check it out. My new phone (Droid 3) can send pictures directly to Flickr so now I don't need to go through the copy to PC process..
Back to our regularly (or semi-regularly) scheduled program..
Wednesday night after work I spent a few hours looking at online D&D tools before going out for dinner.. Quick tip, don't wait till 8:30 to get dinner in Lehi Utah! I went to Cabella's because they are open till 9 and the restaurant actually looked pretty good, unfortunately the restaurant is NOT open till 9, they were closed when I got there a little after 8:30. I decided I need some come of utility device to open bottles (beer and wine) so I decided to look around while I was there since I figured they would have some kind of little camping tool. They did, but man are they expensive there. Maybe I need a little Swiss Army Knife, I used to have one but lost it a long time ago, the cheapest thing I found at Cabella's was $50 and I'm not willing to spend that much on it.. I will probably end up buying a little waiter bottle opener at Stop and Shop for a few bucks when I get home. Now it's about 8:45 so I decide to just go get some Subway, hmm, those closed at 7pm?! Onto sushi again? Again you may be asking? Monday night I got sushi at a place called Koi in Lehi, it was ok.. Well I went over to Koi and it's also closed... Hrmph.. Running out of options I ended up at a fast food place called JCW, the food was surprisingly good, or maybe I was hungry.. Don't know... Quote of the night while talking to Lynz about what NOT to say to a Mormon when they ask what comes after life.. "You get reincarnated based on how much of a douche you are, or are not, in this life". The correct/political answer is of course "I don't worry about what comes after, when I get there I'll figure it out".. :D
Thursday after class I went into Salt Lake City proper, I parked in a central area and set off on foot with Yelp and Happy Cow as my guides. Happy Cow was no help, which I guess is not a big surprise and Yelp led me to a brewery called Epic. It was 5 blocks south and 1 block east of where I parked so I set off. FYI - Salt Lake City has BIG blocks! It took about 30 minutes to walk south and as I was walking the area started getting real bad, if it was dark I would not have been walking in that area. Got to Epic and found out that you can't buy beer there unless you take it to go. They do offer tastings, but not right now.. So, back to the north.. Went to a bar near my car called Murphy's Irish Bar.. Yes, there is one in every city.. :) In Salt Lake City all bars need to be under street level in order to serve beer over 4%, so a few steps down I found a selection of wonderful micro brews including a few by Epic.. Asked the barkeep what the best IPA was and she recommended Elephino Double IPA made by Red Rock Brewery in Salt Lake City. This beer was amazing, I would put it on par with the Maha..
Off to dinner.. I ended up an old polygamist "compound", I don't really know what else to call it. It had a large main building / mill house and 11 little houses on the land. It was built for a husband and his 11 wives back in the late 1800s. Now all the houses were little stores, sewing shops, candy shops, toy store, etc and the main building is a restaurant called Archibalds after the guy who built it all. I got a steak with shrimp and spinach in it and with sausage gravy over it! Might not be healthy, but man was it good!
Tonight I'm going to hit Park City, I got a few suggestions from students so it should be a fun night. Plan - get a beer at the local Park City brewery (yes, it serves it's beer on premise unlike Epic), get an Elk Steak and head over to a fire bar. Can't stay out too late since I have to leave my hotel at 4am to get my 6am flight.. Sleep is for the weak right?
-Diversion of the Day
Back to our regularly (or semi-regularly) scheduled program..
Wednesday night after work I spent a few hours looking at online D&D tools before going out for dinner.. Quick tip, don't wait till 8:30 to get dinner in Lehi Utah! I went to Cabella's because they are open till 9 and the restaurant actually looked pretty good, unfortunately the restaurant is NOT open till 9, they were closed when I got there a little after 8:30. I decided I need some come of utility device to open bottles (beer and wine) so I decided to look around while I was there since I figured they would have some kind of little camping tool. They did, but man are they expensive there. Maybe I need a little Swiss Army Knife, I used to have one but lost it a long time ago, the cheapest thing I found at Cabella's was $50 and I'm not willing to spend that much on it.. I will probably end up buying a little waiter bottle opener at Stop and Shop for a few bucks when I get home. Now it's about 8:45 so I decide to just go get some Subway, hmm, those closed at 7pm?! Onto sushi again? Again you may be asking? Monday night I got sushi at a place called Koi in Lehi, it was ok.. Well I went over to Koi and it's also closed... Hrmph.. Running out of options I ended up at a fast food place called JCW, the food was surprisingly good, or maybe I was hungry.. Don't know... Quote of the night while talking to Lynz about what NOT to say to a Mormon when they ask what comes after life.. "You get reincarnated based on how much of a douche you are, or are not, in this life". The correct/political answer is of course "I don't worry about what comes after, when I get there I'll figure it out".. :D
Thursday after class I went into Salt Lake City proper, I parked in a central area and set off on foot with Yelp and Happy Cow as my guides. Happy Cow was no help, which I guess is not a big surprise and Yelp led me to a brewery called Epic. It was 5 blocks south and 1 block east of where I parked so I set off. FYI - Salt Lake City has BIG blocks! It took about 30 minutes to walk south and as I was walking the area started getting real bad, if it was dark I would not have been walking in that area. Got to Epic and found out that you can't buy beer there unless you take it to go. They do offer tastings, but not right now.. So, back to the north.. Went to a bar near my car called Murphy's Irish Bar.. Yes, there is one in every city.. :) In Salt Lake City all bars need to be under street level in order to serve beer over 4%, so a few steps down I found a selection of wonderful micro brews including a few by Epic.. Asked the barkeep what the best IPA was and she recommended Elephino Double IPA made by Red Rock Brewery in Salt Lake City. This beer was amazing, I would put it on par with the Maha..
Off to dinner.. I ended up an old polygamist "compound", I don't really know what else to call it. It had a large main building / mill house and 11 little houses on the land. It was built for a husband and his 11 wives back in the late 1800s. Now all the houses were little stores, sewing shops, candy shops, toy store, etc and the main building is a restaurant called Archibalds after the guy who built it all. I got a steak with shrimp and spinach in it and with sausage gravy over it! Might not be healthy, but man was it good!
Tonight I'm going to hit Park City, I got a few suggestions from students so it should be a fun night. Plan - get a beer at the local Park City brewery (yes, it serves it's beer on premise unlike Epic), get an Elk Steak and head over to a fire bar. Can't stay out too late since I have to leave my hotel at 4am to get my 6am flight.. Sleep is for the weak right?
-Diversion of the Day
Thursday, May 31, 2012
You Tah - The Return of the Blog
I'm just going to pretend I didn't disappear from the blogging world for, um, a long time.. Last blog was July of 2011.. Oh, well, lots happened since then.. If I spend time trying to catch everyone up I will feel overwhelmed by this and do nothing.. So.. On to Utah..
I am in Utah this week, just south of Salt Lake City in Draper. Actually I was supposed to be in Draper, but due to a mis-click on concur I'm staying in Lehi which is just south of Draper.. I'm about 7 miles away and in a different county, that 7 miles can take an hour to drive which was fun to figure out on Tuesday morning. I tried to get to work for 8:30 on Tuesday and ended up having to drop off the highway and take back roads to get here a little after 9. Anyway, I get here Tuesday and find out that not only is lunch not provided but there is no cafeteria either, during the morning briefing I found out that the class needed to leave at 4 because they have a field trip to see a Salt Lake Bees game, would I like to go? Of course!!
Salt Lake Bees are a minor league team for the Anaheim Angels. Speaking of the Angels, on my first flight I sat next to a scout for the Angels. It made for a very interesting conversation about how the scouting process works. Last season he was responsible for the NL East and was trying to get the Angels to trade for Wright and Murphy. I'm so glad the Mets put those two on the "do not trade" list last off season. On the second flight I sat next to a nice Mormon boy who was on his way home from his mission to Detroit, shockingly, he tried to convert me.. I wasn't even in Utah yet and I had the "speech" about Joseph Smith.. :/
I checked into the hotel Monday evening and decided to check out the area. Well crap, a dry county.. Go north to Draper to find beer, and even that is only less than 4%.. Apparently they can serve stronger stuff in Salt Lake City at breweries, will be finding that out tonight.. Drove up to Draper and grabbed a 6 pack of Hyve honey ale, went back to the hotel to find out the room didn't have a bottle opener. They have one at the front desk and you can use it as long as you don't mind the dirty looks..
We were told that the stadium opened it's doors at 5 (game starts at 6:35) so we left at 4. Got to the stadium around 4:30 and stood outside till 5:35, I walked around the park with two of my students who were very cool. It was odd when I asked them if they lived in Utah there whole life and the younger guy says something like 'except for the normal two years', when I was obviously confused he told me that it was his two year mission for god.. Oh man, here we go again with the conversion speech.. It was not as bad as the one on the plane, but still.. Two days, two conversions attempts.. Still holding strong in case you were wondering.. :D
Something I didn't know, apparently if you smoke, drink alcohol or drink caffeine you are not invited to some of the more holy events.. Hmm.. I guess that's one way to push peer pressure..
Back to the game.. We went in and walked around the inside of the park, they have a train that drives from the left field corner to the right field corner (behind the wall), I rode the train with one the students.. As you can imagine, I had a great time at the game.. We actually had a suite at the game and food (hot dogs, burgers, pulled pork, chips, salsa, very good bean dip) was included. Beer however was not, the waitress came out and I ordered a beer which was very scandalas.. One of the students pulled me aside and said he would join me in having a beer but didn't want to be judged by his co-workers, it was ok for me to drink because I would only be here for the one week. Oh man... So now you have to hide your drinking from your co-workers for fear of being ostracized.. Hrmph..
- I apparently started writing this too late in the day.. It's quit'en time, heading up to Salt Lake City tonight to see what I can find..
- Diversion of the Day
I am in Utah this week, just south of Salt Lake City in Draper. Actually I was supposed to be in Draper, but due to a mis-click on concur I'm staying in Lehi which is just south of Draper.. I'm about 7 miles away and in a different county, that 7 miles can take an hour to drive which was fun to figure out on Tuesday morning. I tried to get to work for 8:30 on Tuesday and ended up having to drop off the highway and take back roads to get here a little after 9. Anyway, I get here Tuesday and find out that not only is lunch not provided but there is no cafeteria either, during the morning briefing I found out that the class needed to leave at 4 because they have a field trip to see a Salt Lake Bees game, would I like to go? Of course!!
Salt Lake Bees are a minor league team for the Anaheim Angels. Speaking of the Angels, on my first flight I sat next to a scout for the Angels. It made for a very interesting conversation about how the scouting process works. Last season he was responsible for the NL East and was trying to get the Angels to trade for Wright and Murphy. I'm so glad the Mets put those two on the "do not trade" list last off season. On the second flight I sat next to a nice Mormon boy who was on his way home from his mission to Detroit, shockingly, he tried to convert me.. I wasn't even in Utah yet and I had the "speech" about Joseph Smith.. :/
I checked into the hotel Monday evening and decided to check out the area. Well crap, a dry county.. Go north to Draper to find beer, and even that is only less than 4%.. Apparently they can serve stronger stuff in Salt Lake City at breweries, will be finding that out tonight.. Drove up to Draper and grabbed a 6 pack of Hyve honey ale, went back to the hotel to find out the room didn't have a bottle opener. They have one at the front desk and you can use it as long as you don't mind the dirty looks..
We were told that the stadium opened it's doors at 5 (game starts at 6:35) so we left at 4. Got to the stadium around 4:30 and stood outside till 5:35, I walked around the park with two of my students who were very cool. It was odd when I asked them if they lived in Utah there whole life and the younger guy says something like 'except for the normal two years', when I was obviously confused he told me that it was his two year mission for god.. Oh man, here we go again with the conversion speech.. It was not as bad as the one on the plane, but still.. Two days, two conversions attempts.. Still holding strong in case you were wondering.. :D
Something I didn't know, apparently if you smoke, drink alcohol or drink caffeine you are not invited to some of the more holy events.. Hmm.. I guess that's one way to push peer pressure..
Back to the game.. We went in and walked around the inside of the park, they have a train that drives from the left field corner to the right field corner (behind the wall), I rode the train with one the students.. As you can imagine, I had a great time at the game.. We actually had a suite at the game and food (hot dogs, burgers, pulled pork, chips, salsa, very good bean dip) was included. Beer however was not, the waitress came out and I ordered a beer which was very scandalas.. One of the students pulled me aside and said he would join me in having a beer but didn't want to be judged by his co-workers, it was ok for me to drink because I would only be here for the one week. Oh man... So now you have to hide your drinking from your co-workers for fear of being ostracized.. Hrmph..
- I apparently started writing this too late in the day.. It's quit'en time, heading up to Salt Lake City tonight to see what I can find..
- Diversion of the Day
Friday, July 15, 2011
Denver in Monsoon Season
You may be thinking but Denver does not have a monsoon season, it never really rains there, you're funny.. Unfortunately I'm not kidding, this week has been nothing but massive thunder storms, the kind that light up the sky so bright you would swear it was noon not midnight! Here is the weather recap: Monday - sunny and warm till 3pm, then rain, rain and a shit ton of rain till about 1am. Tuesday - same. Wednesday - same. Thursday - sunny and warm till about 3pm, then massive rain till about 6, then clear and warm till about 11pm before more rain.. It's certainly frustrating when you're teaching and looking out the windows at sunny clear skies and right before you get out of work the skies open up. Everyone tells me that this *never* happens in Denver and that they apparently broke the July rain record in three days (Mon-Wed).
I will not let the rain damper my week, well at least not totally anyway..
Really I guess for me the rain started on Sunday night, I was in Minnesota and they were trying to hurry people on the plane so we could try to take off before rains came, that almost worked.. We got out on the runway and were 7th in line to take off, then 6th, then 5th and then RAIN!! We got to sit on the runway for a long time with the plane getting rocked back and forth before finally taking off, the only good thing about it was I was in first class for that flight so I got all the free drinks I wanted while we got pounded by rain. Got into the hotel WAY to late and had a hard time sleeping because I napped on the plane.
Monday was recovery night, I ended up going to a mall that is near the hotel. It's an old indoor mall that has been added to outside, so there is a outdoor Irvine Spectrum type mall with a normal indoor mall in the middle. It was a pretty neat juxtaposition, they had lots of really good food places and I ended up picking the Fish City Grill where I had blackened catfish and crab bisque. The bisque was amazing and the fish was very well cooked and spiced, the veggies were pretty bland and not really cooked enough. New Belgium Brewery (the guys who do Fat Tire) have a bunch of different beers down here, they are made about 90 mins from Denver. I had their Belgium Dark Ale (don't remember the name) at Fish City and was nicely surprised at how good it was.
Tuesday.. Well, I decided to skip past Denver and drive an hour west to Boulder, why you ask, what's in Boulder?
No, not Pabst, but the feeling was there.. Avery Brewery is in Boulder and was certainly calling my name. I was thinking even if the food sucks at least the beer will be awesome. Imagine my surprise when the food was actually REALLY good, I had a chicken bacon wrap which comes with avocado, greens, tomato and a pesto mayo. They offer tasting size glasses of beer which are $1 for most and $4 for some of the special beers. I got a flight of Dry-Hopped IPA, Eighteen Anniversary and the Reverend. For dessert I had a tasting of the Eremita which is a sour (think the Beast) that is aged in wine casks. I picked up a few shirts and was talking to the manager about getting beer shipped, while talking to the manager he asked which beers I've had and when I was poo-pooing the idea of Joe's Premium American Pilsner as just another pilsner he poured me a free taste and I have to say it was actually good, might be one of the first pilsners I've enjoyed, it had a nice hop finish. Avery cannot ship beer across state lines to a resident, but as expected I was making friends while at the bar and found a girl interested in a micro brew swap, I am going to see about mailing her beer and she will do the same. Gotta check CT/MA/RI beer shipping laws. On the way back the roads were VERY flooded and I ended up getting detoured off 25 onto a side street which was then closed about a block later, had to sit in the car for a while waiting for the rain to slow down and the water level to drop. I have a Kia Soul and the water was about half way up the door, it was window high on some of the other cars sitting on the street with me waiting.
Wednesday I decided to hit the 16th Street Mall in Denver which is a big walking street between Union Station and Broadway (about 15 blocks). I parked on 15th and then the rain hit as I was getting onto 16th. I ran into Rock Bottom and had a beer while I waited for the rain to at least slow down. Once the rain slowed a bit I ventured out and walked up and down the street, it's a nice walking street with lots of restaurants. For dinner I ended up at the Yard House because they had Avery on tap and their mac n cheese2 is amazing (had it before).
Last night I went to the Rockies game, they played the Brewers who apparently were still on the all star break. The Rockies gave them a sound beating 12-3 getting 20 hits in the game. I like to see offense in games but after a while it just gets old, especially if you don't really care about the teams and just want to see good baseball. The Brew Crew certainly did not play good baseball. The stadium however is as nice as everyone says, it's beautiful and the view as the sunsets is breath taking. I got out of work and the sun was shining, got on the train (the wrong way) and then switched trains at the next stop to the correct way, by the time I passed my original stop the sky opened up and before we got two more stops I could see rte 25 completely flooded again and the side streets were rivers. I'm so glad I decided on the train instead of driving. Got to the city and walked around the outside of the ballpark, no rain is going to stop my ritual of walking around the outside of a new ballpark! It maybe should have, I was so wet I could have pissed myself and nobody would have been able to tell. I did not partake in that however as my underwear were probably the only dry thing I had on. Before the gates opened I went to the bar across the street and had New Belgium Brewery's summer ale, it was ok. Gates opened and I headed in. Got a Rockies Dog which is a hot dog with bacon crumbles, blue cheese crumbles and blue cheese dressing! It was so good. Other food highlights (did not eat), a salad place where you start with a base salad and pay per ingredient you put in, a gluten free booth that had brownies as well as gluten free rolls, a gilato place and a rib joint.
Today, I'm going back to Avery for the brewery tour and to try their Double Dry Hopped Maharaja which is a special keg they are tapping today at 5pm.
- Diversion of the Day
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
pushups - take 2
I forgot to mention the main reason I was writing a blog tonight. I decided to jump back into the hundred pushup challenge, I know you're thinking "but you did that already and completed it" and you are right but I feel I am getting out of shape and want to do it again. This time I'm also doing the 200 situp challenge and the 200 squat challenge. Did the initial tests for pushups and situps on Monday night and did my first official night of them today. Due to my initial test I am starting the pushups on Day 1 of Week 3 at the highest rank which means I had to do 80 pushups today. Due to my unimpressive situp test I am starting in week 1 day 1 at the lowest level so I ended up doing 2o situps today. When I was done I didn't feel done so I jumped into the squats test, last time I did squats I couldn't do more than 5 and even those were tough, tonight I did 31 squats which puts me in the top tier of day 1 / week 1. I will start the first official day of those on Friday when I do my 2nd day of situps and pushups.
In Pittsburgh
Has it really been almost a month since I've posted a blog?! I guess so.. Anyway.. Last week I was in Santa Clara CA, I woke up to my alarm and literally seconds after it went off a co-worker called me to tell me he was also in Santa Clara. I very rarely see him since his main office is in Irvine CA so it was nice that he was in town too, we hung out 3 of the 4 nights I was there. I was feeling crappy and wanted to eat somewhat healthy, first night I had a shrimp, veggie brown rice bowl at the Yard House which was very tasty and mostly healthy. I don't remember what we ate the 2nd night honestly, but it was not very healthy. The third night I told him to meet me after dinner and I went to Good Karma Cafe which is a vegan restaurant in San Jose, after dinner we bar hopped along a street that was closed to traffic, they were showing Princess Bride on a screen setup in the street so they had closed the street to cars. I would say that was the best night I spent in Santa Clara/San Jose but I don't know if I can really say that.. The last day I got out of class early and headed west to the ocean, I drove up and down the mountains through the red woods with the windows down and no cell phone service. I got to Santa Cruz and sat on the beach for about 2 hours before heading to the airport, I felt so much better getting on the flight because of the nature hike. The mountains and red woods of California are NOT to be missed, if you have the means I recommend getting out there to see them. There is nothing like driving up a winding mountain road having to make 180 degree turns around a tree in the road, and when I say tree in the road I don't mean a laying down one but a standing tall enormous tree!
While I was out in CA I got a call from my boss that they needed an emergency change of instructors for this week, end result is I'm here in Pittsburgh this week. Pittsburgh is a very pretty city (nature wise) with lots of hills and forest (not CA redwoods forest, more east coast "normal" forest), it's so cool to see the buildings sticking out among the trees and the roads (even new ones) that wind in and around the hills and trees. The hotel I'm staying at is on Neville Island which is a little strip of land in the middle of the river, the island is pretty lame as it's mostly old industrial buildings but it's nice to be surrounded by water. The view out of my window is of a very "old style" bridge spanning the river, what's better is the hotel has a sitting area along the river with a hammock and fire pit. I went out there last night to sit by fire and look over river and my relaxing experience was ruined by a drunk old guy, he was talking to me and it was clear he was WAY drunk, he apparently bought a case of Bud Light and was trying to finish it off in one sitting.. /sigh
The first night here I went to Primanti Bros, which is a world famous sandwich shop, and got a steak and cheese which came with french fries on the sandwich as well as coleslaw and tomato, it was very good but left me feeling rather fat.. Last night I went to the Double Wide Grill which is an old gas station turned sports bar/restaurant, they have lots of vegan options as well as 65 beers on tap! I had the Meatless Stroganoff which used mushrooms as its "meat" and was OMG tasty! Tonight I went to Hofbrauhaus which is clearly a German restaurant, I had a roasted pork tenderloin in a wine and bacon sauce with bacon strips and a potato dumpling, may not be healthy but MAN was it good!
Work unblocked Hulu and Dailyshow so I've been catching up on TV, I watched the whole season of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution over the last two days which may sound like a lot but it was only 6 episodes. I really think everyone MUST see this, he does an amazing job and it's very eye opening to see how people fight the concept of eating (and serving) good food. If you haven't seen it check it out on Hulu.
Last thing I will mention before turning this blog in is.. Apparently it's not so hard to score 15 runs in a game when you play American League style ball, for all those who say the American League is better just remember that the DH is the reason why you see inflated stats all across the league..
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Patience
Patience is a virtue right? I certainly learned a lesson in patience this week. Lynz posted a link on facebook saying that Verizon was going to start sending the new Android OS to the phones starting on Friday the 27th. Friday came and my phone didn't upgrade, come to find out they were only pushing it to a select number of phones as a "soak test", feeling left out and impatient I found the leaked OS on a website and loaded it to my phone.. Yay to the internet? I thought so..
Anyway, they officially released the new OS and it turns out it was a newer version than the one I had.. I had 588 and they released 596.. D'oh.. No problem right, just do a quick upgrade, or not.. Because I was not on the soak list my phone wouldn't upgrade via the Verizon phone upgrade. In the meantime I decided I wanted my phone to get emails from work, I put in a request to get Active Sync turned on and on Tuesday set up my phone to receive work emails, in doing so I inadvertently locked my phone via corporate settings. Corporate settings = no pattern lock, must use pin lock of 5+ characters, can't browse certain websites and worst of all, can't get gmail?! Can't get gmail on my google phone, wtf!! Removed work email account but could not get the remote administrator and corporate policy off my phone. To the internets..
Only way to remove corporate policy is to wipe my phone?! Had to revert phone back to factory settings and re-install all my applications. After doing all this I found out the next day that I couldn't upgrade my phone because of the pre-release OS.. Back to the internets.. so frustrating, spent most of last night researching before finally finding a download of 596.. Bitch was I couldn't install it unless I was back at Froyo or rooted.
For all of those who are afraid of rooting the phones, it's super easy.. You download an application called GingerRoot and run it, GingerRoot is a one click rooting tool. Click, reboot, done. Now had a to grab another application to do boot strap recovery and loaded 596. Rebooted, unrooted and back to normal. Should have just waited the extra 2-3 days.. Oh well, lesson learned.
In terms of corporate email, I got a tool called Touchdown. It sections off a portion of the phone to be a "corporate run" area, it takes the corporate policy and applies it to email only.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Gathering?
I didn't end up going to see Book of Mormon, they were sold out and I didn't get there early enough to get in the stand by list. It's probably better anyway because I was really tired and ended up taking a nap before dinner. I ate at a place across the street from the hotel and got some very tasty scallops. It ended up being a pretty laid back night, after dinner I went back to the room and watched Glee and putzed around the hotel for a bit before heading to bed.. I know, very unlike me to not go wander.
Spent Thurs and Friday getting ready for FI because I always tend to wait till the last minute when doing that stuff, I will be making a concerted effort to change that. In that realm I am planning on working on my armor on Monday, I want to fix the straps (they broke during game and had to be quickly patched with thread and duct tape) and add back holsters for shot guns. My new additions to it look really cool, go check flickr for some pics I took while at FI.
Left for DC right after game on Sunday and it took me forever to get here, got stuck in Manhattan due to construction and didn't get to hotel till almost 4am. Monday and Tuesday have been low key, get out of class, nap, eat, sleep.. Monday night I tried to get new shoes at REI but they were out of my size and ended up eating a shrimp and crab dish at a placed called Coastal Flats near REI. The guy at REI called the store in Conshohocken PA and they have one in stock and on hold for me. I am going to go there on the way to Laire on Friday. Last night I had a hankering for some red meat so I called around to find grass fed steaks, I found one place that is mostly grass fed (Capital Grill) and another that has 100% grass fed burgers (Clyde's). I opted for the burger which I think was a good choice, I got a tuna/salmon tartar appetizer and a bacon/pepper jack burger. After dinner I watched the season finale of Glee, it was ok but they spent too much time on the "oh look we're in NYC" and not enough time on the competition.
I am finally not feeling super tired although I can't say I slept well last night, I'm not loving my Sheraton experiment and may be going back to Marriott soon. The beds are not as comfortable and the bath tubs seem to be very small, at first I thought it was just the NYC one that had a small bath tub, but this one does too. Plus it smells like a cheap whore in the hotel lobby, elevator and hallways. At first I thought I must have been walking behind some girl who was over perfumed but I can't imagine every time I walk around I'm following the same person. The hotel must just use it as an air freshener.. I'm certainly wishing I was at the Courtyard or Residence Inn which are both a block away.
Don't know what I'm doing tonight, but there is a place in DC running a double feature of Nausicca and Spirited Away, they serve food and have happy hour prices on drinks. I will see what time I get out of here if it's worth going into the city.
I was trying to decide on my Thurs night / Friday plans. I ended up deciding to check out of hotel tomorrow morning and then drive to Philly after class. This is a benefit in many ways, one - and most importantly - I won't have to deal with DC traffic on Friday morning of Memorial Day Weekend and, two - it will put me closer to REI and eventually Laire, three - there is a Celtic Music Faire in Philly tomorrow and The Gathering is playing a 10pm show at a college, if I can get out of here early enough I can drive up to Philly, hit REI and go to faire/concert.
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In other news - Fuck you Fred Wilpon! As the owner of a team you have the final say on the decisions your team makes, don't act like the Mets are a punishment that has been tossed upon you and don't sit in an interview talking about how one of the best players to ever wear your team's uniform is a bum. Up until yesterday I was on his side in the Madoff scandal, but not anymore. Don't get me wrong, Wilpon cares about baseball, but his alliance is clearly towards the Brooklyn Dodgers. Maybe the new owners will remove all the Dodgers shit from our stadium and replace it with Mets stuff. Earlier in the year Bud Selig had MLB seize control of the Dodgers who were having problems paying their payroll, they are not nearly as in debt as the Mets who have taken out millions of dollars worth of loans from MLB and still can't pay payroll. ESPN had a great article on this today and went on to say how the only reason Wilpon has not been removed by MLB was because he is friends with Bud Selig.. I say they both need to be out of baseball.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
PMGA
Did you know there was a Professional Mini Golf Association? I did.. Years ago when I was in Irvine looking for good mini golf I was led to this group, it lists all the professional grade mini golf courses across the US. Anyway, I had some time to kill on Friday before my flight and it was amazingly nice out so I decided on some mini golf, after doing a quick search on the google I found a bunch of local ones. To narrow down the field I checked out the PMGA website, I found one in the Cleveland area which happened to be right near the airport.. Memphis Mini Golf is it's name in case you're every in Cleveland and have a hankering to play some mini golf. I got there and was slightly amazed at the shabby appearance but shouldered on.. It's a Memphis Kiddie Park which has little rides for kids and even a little roller coaster, tucked into the back (have to walk through lots of lame kiddie areas) is the mini golf section. I'm glad I shouldered on because it was a lot of fun! I would say the course was moderate difficulty with a few easy holes and few pretty hard ones. I ended up shooting 2 over par..
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Flight back was pretty quick, I got a call while I was in Cleveland airport telling me my connecting flight (Cin to Hartford) was delayed but when I landed in Cin I found out it was back on schedule.
Got up too early on Saturday and went to the Robin Hood Springtime Festival, the story shows were very good but the overall faire experience was dampened by the cold, damp weather. I was supposed to go back on Sunday but the weather was even worse so I opted to just hang out at home. It's a shame really because I would have loved to spend more time there and see a few of the shows I missed out on but the thought of another day in cold rain was not appealing to me.
Speaking of cold and rain, I went to the Mets game last night. The game was supposed to start at 7:10 but the game had a 90 minute rain delay to start, the annoying thing about that is it was not even really raining. There was a light drizzle and the weather man called for big rain which never came. I'm very happy with my new seats since they are undercover and have a wall behind them which kills most of the wind, I'm not so happy with the guy who sits next to us. He is one of those guys who has no care about others around him, he splayed out with his professional size score book and was constantly tossing his peanut shells on whoever sat next to him. Unfortunately he also has the Sunday plan so I guess we will be dealing with him for the remainder of the season.
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I'm teaching in NYC this week and am debating trying to get tickets to see Book of Mormon tonight, they have a lottery to get cheap seats, you need to get your name in 2 hours before the show so hopefully I can get out of work early enough. If I can't I am not going to pay full price because it's an expensive show to go see alone.
This week I was supposed to be home teaching online but got called last minute to be here in NYC, next week I'm supposed to be off platform but just got a call and am needed in either DC or Dallas next week. I chose DC because I can at least drive there Sunday night as opposed to getting a flight.
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