One Year Ago

I remember a year ago so vividly.

The Monday after the Super Bowl, just having seen one of the greatest endings in Super Bowl history. My two favorite teams fighting it out, and my top team (Giants) winning in such incredible fashion.

I remember being on cloud nine for months, starting with today.

I can see our hotel room. I still remember the streets of Tempe, Arizona. I remember where we had lunch before our flight, and remember the long two-day process of returning to Boston (booking a last-minute flight on miles got us from Phoenix to Minneapois on Monday evening, and then onward to Boston first thing in the morning).

I remember it all - and for the better part of 2008, it was great to casually drop in conversation, albeit with arrogant intent.

"Oh yeah, I was out there for last year's Super Bowl"

:: (varied astonished reactions) ::

The Giants are no longer the reigning champs. They made a great run at it this year, though. My cousins were already scheming for a lottery to see who got the family Super Bowl tickets this year, should we have been fortunate enough to have received a pair again. Then, the Giants failed to show up to most games in December and January, and poof....they're gone.

It's a memory I will take to my grave. Everyone should be so fortunate enough to have seen their team win it all in the big one, live in the stadium.

The sights, the smells, the sounds. The camaraderie. The spectacle.

It's been a year, it's officially now history.

It's no Fios...but it Does the Trick

I ran an Internet speed test from home last night.

It appears I underestimated my download speed and overestimated my upload speed.

Nonetheless, a bit more blazing than my test on Tuesday from the Quincy office.

More Prowlers in Southie

I managed a work-from-home day today with our weekly ice/sleet/rain event, and as usual was quite productive. It's probably a combination of a much faster Internet connection and fewer distractions. I left my house just three times, twice for dog walks (Rosie still had her play group and arrived home drenched - $15 well spent!) and one more time to buy milk, clean off the car, and (as usual) shovel the sidewalk.

During my shoveling, I saw a parking enforcer ticket a resident parked at the end of our side street. I almost parked in that same spot a couple nights ago, but knowing that for some odd reason cars at the end always seem to be ticketed, I thought better of it. Perhaps they are citing them for proximity to the curb cutout.

A few hours later during the final walk, I saw not only another parking enforcement vehicle shining the bright lights atop its car - I'm guessing the side and front lights allow them to spot resident stickers from inside their vehicles - but also two police cars circling the block.

Strange, I thought.

Could they also be seeking parking offenders?

Triple duty in Southie?

Nope. Instead we appear to have a prowler lurking.

Another prowler. Great.

I saw the police stop at a neighbor's house. Out emerged a woman who I always see walking her pooch. Either we have the same schedules, or she's simply always walking her dog.

I overheard her mention to the officers that she was on another dog walk (naturally) and she saw an unwelcome guy testing the handles of random parked vehicles. It appears he tried to break into a car familiar to her, and after discovering that it was locked, attempted another one, triggering the car alarm in the process (which come to think of it, I heard the alarm from my kitchen before we left for the walk).

Just what we need. More reports of attempted break-ins.

I find it a bit amusing that I fit the description of who she saw - white dude wearing a hoodie. Even though I had a dog in tow, I saw the cops peering my way, judging and wondering if they stumbled into the good fortune of seeing the perpetrator right there on the street.

Good thing I didn't bolt. That would have been an awkward chase. Icy sidewalks, holding a dog, and me being not guilty and all...

Why I'm Hostile

I just did a speed test on our agonizingly slow network here at work. While these results are awful, they unfortunately aren't atypical here in the office:

Download speed 893 kb/s
Upload speed 40 kb/s

I have DSL at home (?!) and I hit download speeds of almost 2000 kb/s and upload of about 1100 kb/s.

Watching web pages load in - and the web apps that I use all day, every day, is like watching animated gifs and bitmaps load into websites from 1996.

Inefficiency makes me extremely hostile.

Since Thursday

Since Thursday, I managed to...

1. Go to the Apple store on Boylston St. twice and switch two friends to iPhone in the process

2. Weigh myself for the first time in forever. As expected, the results were not pretty. But good thing....

3. ...it's Day 1 of the 11-day diet! I have about 8 weeks between now and St. Patrick's Day, which means four turns of the diet are available to me (11 days on, 3 days off)

4. Spend $90 at Whole Foods on 13 items.

5. Learn that amidst those 13 items is Whole Foods' freshly ground coffee - their house blend actually - which I discovered tastes awful.

6. Claim victory in a Game Night bout of Apples to Apples

7. Be called hostile

8. Book a hotel and car for the Iceland trip.

9. Read news stories about the Icelandic government falling, "leaving the island nation in political turmoil amid a financial crisis that has pummeled its economy and required an international bailout to keep the country afloat."

2009 Phone Books - 25% more!

It's that time of year again.

Phone books.

My 401k might have dropped by 34% last year, but my phone directory portfolio is up by 25%!

Good thing they delivered FIVE Yellow Pages this year. Verizon must be aware that we considered adding TWO stories to our Southie triple decker. Quintuple deckers are all the rage these days.

I'm assuming that the same person dropped all of these off yesterday. I just don't get the logic. Look at the building - there's three units here. So why not leave FIVE White pages and FIVE Yellow pages, right? It doesn't make sense.

My next-door neighbors probably received an identical delivery. They too have three units. That would, then, be TEN books of each color for a maximum of SIX units. Immediately, four of them would be unnecessary. That's almost this entire pile - guaranteed to be unneeded between our two buildings.

Who said everyone was cutting back in '09? The phone directory folks forge ahead, littering the landscape with more, more, and more.

These will, naturally, remain unloved in the front alcove until recycling day next week.

My Poor Timing - Elimination of FastLane Transponder Fee

My morning radio lately has consisted of Radio 92.9 to get me out of bed, followed by The Sandbox on WFNX to entertain me while eating breakfast, having coffee, blogging, and checking email. I then usually leave FNX on to keep Rosie company. She appears to like MGMT and The Ting Tings now.

With the inauguration, I decided to switch back to NPR. I went through a major NPR kick last year, and somehow managed to let is drift away over the past few months.

Back I am - extended news stories, mellow music beds, Morning Edition, and Bob Oakes.

This morning, upon turning on the kitchen radio, I was greeted by Bob telling me that the Masspike was doing away with the $25 fees it charges for FastLane transponders, and was instead switching to a 50 cent/month structure.

D'Oh!

I JUST acquired one of these a couple weeks ago! What bad timing, I thought.

25 quid out the door.

I found this, however, on boston.com, which included the following factoid:

"The free transponders will be available Feb. 15 and those who bought a transponder in the 30 days before that will get a credit for that amount."

Awesome, I'll receive a credit for the transponder I purchased on January 10th.

Or so I thought.

Then I re-read that and actually thought about the words. In the 30 days before "that." NOT in the past 30 days.

I do believe that January 10th would be 36 days prior.

D'Oh!

So now, I'm stuck with the $25 fee and 50 cent/month maintenance fee. Normally, I'd give them a ring and attempt to fight something like this, but I have a sinking feeling that I'm simply a victim of bad timing.

I Am Through With Winter

I totally feel like the snowstorms this weekend caught me off guard.

Were we really forecast for THIS MUCH snow?

Just staring at the piles and piles of white mountains...

And having shoveled at least 4 or 5 times already this year (somehow I appear to have inherited this responsibility for my entire building)...

And seeing little melting relief in the 10-day forecast...

I'm so fortunate that my job does not require the use of public transit and the resulting life as a downtown pedestrian. I've already lived much of the past few weeks in wool socks and hiking boots. Walking on slick, brown slush-covered sidewalks through puddles of indeterminate depth at each intersection is just a miserable experience.

This is also my first winter enjoying thrice-daily dog walks in such conditions. Last year's temperate January was a cake walk compared to this.

Tonight I had to make my way to the Back Bay for dinner. 20 minutes until the #9 showed up on Broadway, and another 15 until it rescued me from the Copley Square bus stop. Short, gingerly-taken steps amid the snowmuck in between. Another dog walk upon my return.

It's just very tiring - simply getting around. I'm ready for the Spring.

Dark Month Activites

I often joke that after the holidays, Bostonians hunker down for a few months of cold, snow, ice, and darkness, emerging sometime after Easter.  Street cleaning begins again, leaves and flowers return, and people spend more time outside beyond waiting for the bus or walking the dog.

It's these months of shorter days and chillier nights that I should take advantage of Jason time.  I'm staring at a few piles of books that I must have found interesting enough to purchase but not interesting enough to read.  I should probably work my way through these at some point soon so I can purchase more books to ignore.

The magazines are piling up again as well.  Many of them are poker magazines that just aren't "must-reads" for me anymore.  I browse them, sure.  But I haven't played much these days.  I should probably add that back to my list of dark month activites.

I could also always purge my possessions and just start selling stuff.  I wonder how much I can get for a broken Sony 5 MP camera.  Or a 3.1 MP that takes pictures onto mini-CD's.  OR a rolled-up area rug.  Or

I probably don't need folders full of notes from focus groups I conducted between three and nine years ago.  Nor do I need cassette recordings of these projects.  But, I still have them.

I'm also feeling grossly undereducated on movies these days.  I canceled my Blockbuster Online a few months ago, and have sat in movie theatres so infrequently over the past year that the movies now being released on DVD are unfamiliar to me.  These days, I pretty much entirely skip the movie section of my Entertainment Weekly.  I need to become interested once again.  Perhaps I'll rent a few PPV movies or grab some off itunes.  It's just so easy to stick with what's in the DVR list that I rarely go beyond it.  I need to shake that up.

This is all temporary, though, as it's already mid-January, and I have two pretty exotic trips planned between now and Memorial Day, both of which I'm very much looking forward to.

Softball also begins in a few months, which will be fairly time consuming for a while.

One of these trips and getting ready for the softball season are my main motivating factors to drop some weight and workout.  This is a great time of year to accomplish this as well.

Miracle on the Hudson

I have been on many airplanes in my lifetime (hence the genesis of Platinum Elite, actually - my former frequent flier status level).

Given the odds of a plane crash are quite poor, I shouldn't say that I'm shocked that all of my flights have resulted in my (and the aircraft's) safe arrival at our destination.  While thankful, I kind of expect everything to go smoothly.

But clearly, things don't always work that way.

Yesterday's events are nothing short of a miracle - it's the kind of story we needed.

Not a plane crash.

But rather, a plane rescue.

No casualties.  Coordinated effort.  Quick, correct decisions.  Everyday people going about a usual Thursday until about 3pm.  A few hundred passengers and rescuers who lived it.  Thousands more who witnessed it.  And now millions more, slackjawed, that this ended happily.

Much of the news for months has been terrible - layoffs, foreclosures, depression, bankruptcies, and loss of wealth.  I'm trying to picture the coverage of this story if it had ended much worse.  Airplane crashing into Jersey City?  Fiery crash into the Hudson?  Jet destroys George Washington Bridge?  Plan crashes into lower Manhattan (again)?

None of that.

We need heroes these days.  What a story - remarkable story from top to bottom.

Restaurante Montecristo in Eastie

After dropping Rosie off at the beauty salon on Saturday, I ventured into a part of Boston that I've seen so infrequently in my 7+ years here.

The mystical land of Eastie.

Sure, I've been to Logan Airport far more times than I can count. But I hadn't spent much time in Eastie proper, and knew very little about the neighborhood. Basically, I thought of it as Southie but much cheaper and much louder due to the constant sound of airplanes.

My journey to the "other side" of the tunnel was centered around my new FastLane toll tag. I finally switched over from EZ-Pass, motivated primarily by the Resident Tunnel program that allows me deeply discounted trips through both airport tunnels. All this time, my $3.50 trips could have been 40 cents.

I made it to the Tunpike Authority building at just the right time, as the line that grew behind me just 10 minutes after my arrival was pretty crazy. When I received my FastLane, I was told that I had to wait 30 minutes before using it.

Whether that's a racket to keep people in Eastie thereby supporting the local economy, or simply a technological fact, I hung out in Eastie for lunch (which was always my intention).

I went to my Urbanspoon iPhone app, shook it to see what came up, and it picked Restaurante Montecristo in Kelly Square.

So off I went. I found a parking spot on Meridian St. and quickly learned how Latin this area was during my brief walk to the restaurant - signs everywhere in Spanish. I was then anticipating a quick and authentic meal, exactly what I had hoped for.

And that's exactly what I received.

Inside, I turned out to be the only gringo. Mostly all of the other patrons spoke in Spanish.

The decor was unpretentious, simple, and practical, and the music they played was a mixture of cumbia, duranguense, and norteño - styles I relate to Texas actually, since I had once worked for a few Spanish-language music stations in Austin, McAllen, and San Antonio.

Since I had skipped desayuno, I was starving. I ordered the carne asada and a pupusa, my eyes a bit bigger than my belly.

Shortly, the server arrived with a ton of food. A bowl of three freshly made flour tortillas, the pupusa con queso with a side of dipping sauce, and a plate of carne asada atop a bed of rice, with a small side salad, avocado, salsa, and frijoles con cebollas.

Everything was awesome and reasonably priced. I grabbed a slice of their sweet bread for the road, and ended up spending $17 plus tip.

I need to research Eastie restaurants a bit - I hear it's mostly Hispanic and Italian food, possibly my two favorite types of ethnic cuisine.

I Despise Parking Space Saving in Southie

I just had the chance to survey the local environs during my morning walk with Rosie, and I must say, my Southie neighbors, you've disappointed me this time.

I wish people wouldn't use ANY amount of snow as an excuse to clean out their basements and save parking spots.

It's a bit absurd.

I spent far more time shoveling and salting my sidewalk (probably 30 minutes) than I did shoveling out my spot (probably 2 minutes). Perhaps I should put a cone, garbage can, and oscillating fan onto the sidewalk, thereby signifying that I don't want people walking on it.

But why did I mark my spot this morning? Because everyone else did, and out of fear for no spot when I return from work because everyone else has marked their spots.

Lemmings.

I despise this.

And please don't tell me that if I don't like it, I should move. I'm not moving...but I can still not like it.

Take these two spots:

This person clearly did a little bit of shoveling. Emphasis on "little":















While this person did not:



Not much of a difference in the amount of snow on the street.

I would fathom to guess that even a rear-wheel drive sedan can make it into and out of either spot safely. You wouldn't need an SUV to traverse this quantity of snow.

But alas, here we are. Once again. A little snow falls in Southie, and out come the space savers.

I know this won't change. Ever. But neither will my grumpiness with the system.

Ever.

Southie Neighborhood Crime Alert!

This was sent to me by a neighborhood group in Southie. Please be aware, my Southie neighbors!

*************

"It has been requested by Boston Police sources that this information get out to as many residents as possible as quickly as possible. There has been a BIG spike in housebreaks justover the last 2 weeks. Police are asking for your help.

House breaks in South Boston are increasing in number everyday, but especially over the last 2 weeks. Be aware of the following:

- Unfamiliar people lurking in your area, often carrying duffle bags or gym bags. Police say call 9-1-1

- A common tactic now is to knock on doors, looking for people who do not live at that address - this lets burglars know if there is anyone at home. Police say call 9-1-1 if this happens at your home.

- The housebreaks are taking place mainly in daytime/weekdays. Take extra care to secure doors and windows and keep an eye on your neighbor's homes too.

Some descriptions of suspects: White males, between the ages of 20 and 30, approximately 5'10'' tall, wearing hooded sweatshirts and jeans, one is described as having a "weathered face".

PLEASE! Forward this to all residents on your personal email lists and ask them to do the same."

************

Fast Lane Communities Resident Program

Universal Hub rocks for many reasons.

But today, it rocks because I saw this story about The Fast Lane Communities Resident Program

(side note - when I asked if she had ever heard about this program, Karin the Irish asked if it was a program designed for people who live in the tunnels. Though she was clearly kidding, I can see how, technically, this could be inferred)

I had NO IDEA that as a Southie resident - 02127 - I was eligible. I thought it was just for people in Eastie.

So, it appears that I can use the airport tunnel for the discounted rate of whatever it is - 40 cents?

Seriously?

How could I have lived in Southie for almost six years and not known I was eligible?

All this time...I could have been hanging out in Eastie without fear of paying $3.50 to get home.

Saturday, I'm headed to the MTA building in Eastie, utility bill as proof of residency in tow, to hook myself up.

Car Burning on Sherman Rd in Chestnut Hill

How's this for a bad morning?

My co-worker Sean lives in Chestnut Hill.

The white Jeep in this video is Sean's car.

Just as he's about to head out the door to the office, he saw a BMW pull up behind his car. The driver exited the vehicle and popped the hood. Smoke began billowing from the engine. Somehow, he was able to find some residents with fire extinguishers to spray onto the engine.

But then...

...something ignites...

...inside of the BMW...

...which is parked behind Sean's car.

Needless to say, the back of Sean's Jeep is no longer white. I'm told that the interior smells of burnt plastic.

His neighbor captured this video.

On the brighter side, I would imagine that there's no longer black ice in this part of the parking lot.

The aftermath...

The Joys of Black Ice

Nothing like a day of snow / rain / sleet / standing water / and black ice to welcome in the latter part of the week!

If it wasn't bad enough that there were gross puddles of slush everywhere yesterday, most of indeterminate depth, the entire city froze over come nightfall.

Things must have gone from bad to awful sometime between 9PM and 11PM. I came home from the gym, parked in a spot quite close to my home, surprisingly available at that time of day, and sat myself down on the couch for a few hours.

That's when I began reading the Facebook entries of my Bostonian friends slipping in falling.

Lovely.

Rosie and I went out for our final walk around 11PM.

She's certainly getting her dose of extended ground ice and snow this year, and the resulting physiological issues. We went through a bout of limber tail a few weeks ago, when the sudden change in temperature and snow caused her to not be able to wag her tail normally for about 48 hours.

Last night, she learned that snow is slippery. Granted she has four legs to steady her, but she was sliding a bit at first. Mostly, though, the ice kind of caused her to freak out. She was much more jittery, with sudden bursts of random acceleratory energy.

A probably-70-pound-dog (we'll learn in a few weeks) pulling me along the ice isn't a game of dexterity I was hoping to play at 11 PM last night.

After a brief block of walking on crunchy snow and dry parts of the sidewalk, and after watching cars back down E. 7th Street after failed attempts to drive that incline, we retreated back home. The one area of blacktop that we crossed was absolutely covered in ice. I basically let her pull me across.

But, I didn't fall. I'm hoping I'm not speaking too soon.

I was fully expecting a morning of ice scraping and frozen doors / car handles, but thankfully my parking spot was drenched in sun this morning. Not a single scrape needed!

Shipping Prohibitions to Germany

I was running through my Dashboard here and came upon a post that, well, I had never posted! It's a list of shipping prohibitions to Germany.

Back in March 2008, I was researching this as I planned the packing and shipping of seven ceramic Starbucks city mugs to a woman in Germany who learned that I have way too many Starbucks mugs and enjoy receiving more.

I must say - my package to her was packed perfectly and professionally. It cost some coin.

Hers to me was practically falling apart when it had arrived. I believe four mugs survived the trip intact, two were injured and Gorilla Glued, and one (United Arab Emirates) was in pieces and is unfortunately now sitting in a landfill, most likely in Staten Island.

Nonetheless, the list of shipping prohibitions to Germany:

Absinthe.
Arms and weapons.
Articles bearing political or religious notations on the address side.
Human remains.
Live plants and animals.
Melatonin.
Perishable infectious biological substances.
Playing cards, except in complete decks properly wrapped.
Pulverized coca beans.
Radioactive materials.

Best Friends - an Elephant and a Dog....Bella and Tara

AMAZING story. It's short - just about 3 minutes. Simply amazing. Thanks to Renee from Wanna Walk who sent this to me!

Jury Duty

As a farewell to 2008, I received a summons for Jury Duty for the second time in 2008, and third time in six years.

That seems a bit excessive, to be perfectly honest, but I am pleased to perform my civic duties.

My first summons resulted in my being placed on a case at the Forest Hills courthouse in Jamaica Plain. It lasted two days. What I thought was a cut-and-dry drug-dealer-caught-red-handed resulted in an acquittal. To my surprise, while in chambers, the rest of the jury determined that the DA had not proven without reasonable doubt that the drugs were in the possession of the individual charged.

While the evidence was pretty obvious that this guy was guilty, they were right. Being the lone holdout to that point, I begrudgingly changed my vote to "not guilty," now matching the rest of the jury and acquitting this thug of his accusal.

The judge met us in chambers afterward, courteously thanking us for our participation and finally being able to comment about the case. She told us that our decision, while quite difficult, was most likely the right one, and that we might be comforted to know that the heretofore defendant was to be tried for similar charges twice more. In other words, perhaps he'd be put away after one of those trials.

My second jury duty summons resulted in a follow-up note relieving me of my duty a few weeks before the scheduled date. I guess there weren't many criminals awaiting trial in Boston earlier in the year.

Now, here we are again. Jury Duty once more. They picked an inopportune date - one where I'll be in Iceland. But, they allow jurors to postpone the service date once with no questions asked, so I replied with an alternate date.

I suppose it's odd that I'm looking forward to serving on a jury once again. But I'm a pretty atypical guy. I can't wait!

Optimism for 2009

2008 was a toughie.

I mean, it could have been a lot worse, though.

Sure, my 401k and my home are worth less now than they were a year ago.

But, it's only money. I trust I'll earn more in my lifetime.

I'm thankful that I am gainfully employed and have the distinct privilege to contribute to a company's operations. I take none of that for granted.

But I'm also confident in my abilities and grateful that my parents invested in my education. They encouraged me to learn how to fish.

My family and friends are still around, as is my dog. I'm honored that I have such great family and friends who care for me deeply. Truly, what else do I need?

Sure I have a few more greys and a few more pounds.

But I'm hopeful that '08 was a bottom for a lot of us. Time to reset.

Day #1 of 2009 has been great so far. Waking up next to Rosie, talking to my parents, bloody marys, delicious brunch, cards, and a plan for a ziti dinner and a poker day on Friday. Plus, I'm expecting there to be a movie tonight.

One day at a time. Small victories. Optimism.

Blizzardy Snow in Southie

Blizzardy Snow in Southie, originally uploaded by southiejason.

With plenty of light, I thought I'd break out the camera for a few fast shutter-speed shots of the snow, capturing the individual flakes.

I took this picture from my back door, using a 1600 ISO and a very fast shutter speed of .002 sec (1/500) to catch the snow coming down.

Discarded Southie Street Markers

Usually come January or February, the random litter on the streets of Southie tends to pile up due to the lack of street cleaning until April 1st. This year, we are a bit early to the party.


Pizza boxes and lottery tickets are one thing....

But vacuum cleaners are another....

As are utility pails....

And playsets for children....

And camping chairs....


















And the effective mail bin / cardboard box combo...





I realize another storm is set to hit this week, but my fellow Southie neighbors, can we please bring our space markers back inside of our basements in between storms?

Shopping at Woodbury Common

After a difficult 5-hour drive in the rain and traffic, I made it to New York on Christmas Eve pretty beat. Night driving isn't usually fun. When compounded by terrible weather, fog, and holiday traffic, it makes me take a beeline to the vodka upon reaching my destination.

Rosie also hated the drive. Like clockwork, we pulled up at my parents' home, and she puked in the car.

Fast forward to today - my day of shopping. Buying stuff...for me.

It's been a while since I simple bought stuff with reckless abandon. Today was that day.

I drove about 45 minutes north of my parents' house to Woodbury Common, an enormous outlet mall in Central Valley, NY. It's quite a pretty drive through the Hudson Valley and southern Catskills.

Woodbury Common is larger than the Wrentham Outlets, and possibly the largest outlet mall in the country. Many of the shoppers were not American, but unlike the Brits and Irish who take advantage of the current exchange rates and shop at the Wrentham Outlets, the foreigners at Woodbury Common were predominantly Asian and Hispanic. I saw many people wheeling around suitcases there, undoubtedly purchased at the outlets with the sole purpose of filling them with merchandise.

I've been there a number of times, but not for a while. I figured I'd give it a shot - see what the crazy after-Christmas deals were, and battle the shopping crowds for just the first time this season.

Thankfully, I arrived at 10:15 am.

The parking lots were packed already, but spots remained. I found one rather quickly and ventured into the fray. A few early missteps (Neiman Marcus Outlet, Off 5th), and I worked my way into my wheelhouse - J. Crew.

Sales galore. Everything was like 40-50% off, some items marked down further from sale prices.

That became a common theme everywhere else I purchased things - Lucky Jeans, Crate & Barrel, Harry & David, Puma, Eddie Bauer, and Williams Sonoma.

I even walked past a number of lines just to ENTER stores - Gucci, Ugg, Coach, and Juicy Couture four of them. Unreal!

The only places that I didn't have a chance to patronize but likely would have were Banana Republic (line to get inside), The North Face, Brooks Brothers and Polo Ralph Lauren, all of the latter which had insane-o lines to pay, probably over 50 waiting customers in each.

Final damage for the day at Woodbury Common includes a number of printed t-shirts, a pair of pants, some drizzled popcorn, a hoodie, a vase, two jackets, tea lights and candle holders, two knit pullover tops, a flask, socks, 4 bottles of drink mix, lotion, cocktail rimmers, some queso, a bottle opener, a Le Creuset casserole dish, hot chocolate mix, and a knife.

I had to make two trips back to the car just to unload bags, the first of which at 11:50am revealed no empty parking spots, and vehicles following anyone who looks like they might have been leaving, lurking down each aisle. I had NEVER seen a mall parking lot as busy as what I saw today.

Since dinner with the parents meant a 5pm departure time for our house to the restaurant (yes...they eat early), I cut my trip a little short, but still spent about 5 hours there mulling about, slackjawed at the crowds, getting pushed by strangers, and finding some great deals.

Movie Review - The Wrestler

I had the distinct honor of being invited to a special screening of The Wrestler last night, a movie I had been wanting to see since I first heard about it. Currently, it's in limited release, but goes wider on Christmas Day, I believe.

34 years into this life, one of my consistent features has been pro wrestling. I still DVR four wrestling shows weekly and catch matches online on occasion. It's to the point that I just accept it as part of who I am. I've watched it since 1985, and now find myself reading wrestling websites daily. I'm sure it's partly the nostalgic factor, as I'm very interested in the historic side of the industry. Sometimes I fast forward through matches just to see the outcomes, as I still like being in the know.

I think that The Wrestler is receiving such rave reviews because it's a subject that is so rarely seen in theatres, and the performances were stellar. Great script, interesting look behind the curtain, and a terrific overarching story about a fallen 80's icon, clinging to the past and struggling to live a borderline-poverty line life in New Jersey.

I'm sure many former pro wrestlers will see this movie as their own lives, while many younger guys hope they don't become Randy the Ram (virtually unrecognizable Mickey Rourke's character).

The movie pulled us into two parallel yet similar lives, Marisa Tomei's character - a late 30-something stripper - being the other. Both hanging on, both working in questionable industries, both connecting with one another. (side note - for a 44 year-old, Marisa was often topless and a total cougar)

Two major thumbs up. This one should feature prominently during the upcoming awards season.

How to Get a Southie Stranger to Shovel Your Walkway

See this dude?

Left-hand side. A bit hard to see. He's holding an orange shovel.

I've never met him before.

But I got him to shovel my walkway.

How could this be possible?

It certainly helps when you:

• walk outside
• in full ski gear
• during heavy snow
• with your dog
• and see a newly-created mountain of snow
• on the shoveled sidewalk
• outside of your home
• that you personally shoveled yesterday
  
• and then say to him
• "Did you shovel your car out and dump all of your snow right here?"
• and he says that he did, since there was nowhere else to put it
• to which you reply "Well, I'm just going to shovel it right back into your spot if you don't figure out somewhere else to put it."

When we returned from our walk, he had already cleaned up much of the mess that he created on the sidewalk that I shoveled myself yesterday.

No additional threats. Just a "thanks a lot" from me as we went back inside.

I am assuming that he didn't expect the homeowner (me) to emerge from his place during a storm at the moment he was shoveling snow onto the sidewalk.

I am also guessing that without my comments, he might have just left it there on the sidewalk, but of course I can't be certain.

Nonetheless, he was smart.

I would imagine that it wouldn't have been the first time somebody shoveled snow from a spot onto a sidewalk, marked it with a cone upon leaving the following day, and found said cone missing and another car parked there. I do realize that unfortunately penalizes both the original spot-shoveler and potentially the car that parked there thinking it was an available spot (i.e. retribution from the original parker)

Not that I would have done that....

Southie Snowed-In Pub Crawl

Well, if a storm is going to hit at any point, I suppose right before a weekend is probably the best time. Although Friday started with a drive to the office in Quincy, my time at work was short - just about 90 minutes. It certainly was not my choice to drive in (I'm a huge proponent of work-from-home), but I didn't mind the trip since 93 was desolate during each drive there and back again.

Karin and I carpooled, and we ended up driving our president to Logan - partially the reason we were let out as early as we were. No complaints!

So, back to the kitchen table. My workspace at home.

Around 1:15, Ryan comes by, and he's angry. His car has been towed. While no signs marked Dey Blvd. as a Snow Emergency No Parking zone, state police interpreted it as such and towed everyone. His car ended up in Quincy, and he took the red line to Quincy Adams to retrieve it.

After the 1:30 conference call, the IM's began pouring in from others who were also home. I'm glad that multitasking isn't an issue for me, as I did still have a few things to finish up before calling it a day and starting the...

..Southie Snowed-In Pub Crawl!

What better use of time on a snowy Friday night in Southie than head to the bars. We pregamed a bit at my place, moved on to Mike's for margaritas, then onward to Stadium for dinner and pints of beer. We soldier onward to The Junction (which was packed) when Mike discovered that his keys were missing. Luckily they were exactly where I tackled him into a snow bank.

We finished the night at The Black Thorn, Debbie, Mike, and I being the only non-native Irish in the place. I've been to that place three times now, and last night I left the least drunk of those occasions! Small victory.

So, now it's time for Storm #2 tomorrow. I just finished a pot of chicken soup, which will be a perfect elixir for yet another day of snow, freezing rain, and general precipitation misery.

Holidayed Out

I'm very holidayed out already, and it's not even Christmas.

It's just been a busy month. Actually, a busy few months. As fortunate as I am to have great friends and ample social opportunities...I need a bit of a break.

Silence. Solitude. Catching up on TV. Eating at home. Reading magazines. Organizing music. Playing the Wii. Posting my photography. Kicking back. Putting my feet up.

I have been missing routine. That's the major problem. Plain and simple.

I think I'll just soldier through the next few weeks, do the holiday thing, smile and make others laugh, finish up the parties and desserts, drink a few cocktails a few more times, welcome in 2009, and then pull back a bit.

Returnable Christmas Trees at Home Depot?

One of the by-products of new kitchen cabinets and a new countertop is that random stuff is left out and not put away, causing yet another cluttered surface. How ironic, as cabinets and drawers are intended to create just the opposite - places to hide stuff from plain view.

I tend to accrue receipts. For items like clothing, I'll keep them for a bit just to make sure that the items fit and look OK. Grocery store and drugstore receipts, I usually shred immediately.

I'll keep Home Depot receipts for a few weeks, as I'm often buying and returning things from there regularly during my random household projects.

Home Depot is also where I purchased my Christmas tree this year. I bought an 8-9' Frasier and paid 65 bucks, which is about 30 more than I thought it was going to cost, but it was one of their best looking trees. So, why not?

I noticed their return policy on what I purchased.

90 days, expires 2/27/09

Wait, I can return a Christmas tree?

In February?

Now it seems a bit obvious to me that a cut Christmas tree is a non-returnable item, especially two months after its expiration date.

But I wonder how many people try to return their trees, citing the date on the receipt. I'd imagine a few each year.

Reading a bit further reveals Home Depot's out - "reserves the right to limit / deny returns."


Still, why print a return policy specific to this item when common sense defies all policy?

I seem to recall Home Depot guaranteeing their plants for a set period of time (perhaps 30 days), so I looked on their website for more information. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything about plants beyond this:

Holiday Trees and Wreaths: Plants and live goods, including cut flowers, holiday trees, wreaths and garland are non-refundable. Please call 1-800-430-3376 within 3 days of delivery to report damaged or dead plants and/or live goods and we will promptly ship a replacement at no charge.

OK, makes sense. But what about holiday ornaments and such?

Holiday Décor: Holiday Décor items must be returned within 30 days of delivery. Any product damage and/or defects must be reported within 30 days of delivery.

So trees and wreaths are out....but ornaments, stockings, nativity sets...all returnable? If I purchase all of my Christmas adornments on December 16th - today - I can return all of them on January 15th for full refunds, essentially renting my Christmas décor?

Hmmm. Times are tough. Pinching pennies. Might not be a bad idea.

Wasteful, Unwanted Phone Books

It's happening again.

In this month of holiday cheer and no judgement, my blood has begun to boil.

Just a little for now. But, I fear the worst is yet to come.

Why?

Unwanted phone books. Again.



Setting - Our Quincy office building

Wednesday evening, 6 PM
Quantity of unwanted books: 10


















Thursday afternoon, 4 PM
Quantity of unwanted books: 10
















Friday morning, 9 AM
Quantity of unwanted books: 10

I'm sensing a pattern.

Good Eats - Orinoco in the South End

Last night was the third meeting of the Boston International Dining Association.

We ventured to a place that I had wanted to check out for quite some time - Orinoco in the South End on Shawmut Ave. I have heard about this place and how busy it gets due to its incredibly small size, delicious food, and modestly priced entrees.

Definite two thumbs up. And Tuesday night around 7:00 PM is the perfect time to go - no waiting, not packed.

I selected a traditional Venezuelan Christmas dish called Hallacas, which was a meat dish inside of a cornmeal dough, mixed with olives and raisins, wrapped in a banana leaf and served with a piece of pan de jamon and a cold meat salad on the side (which tasted like an upscale chicken salad). We also tried some appetizers and friend plantains, and their molted chocolate cake. All delicious. Outstanding flavors.

My only complaint - which is a common one with many restaurants here in Boston - is that we weren't seated until out entire party was present.

While that's understandable if we were two or three people in a party of, say, six people total...we were three people waiting for the fourth, and either way were were going to be seated at the one empty booth that was large enough and available.

AND...a couple walked in a few minutes after us and asked about that booth before they were told by the hostess that they "reserved it for parties of three or four" and were shown a table for two.

It makes me wonder why we didn't just tell them that we were a party of three all along, or why they didn't just seat us since we were three of four people, and the table wouldn't have changed.

Southie Resident Parking in the South End

To all of my Southie neighbors with vehicles:

Here's a free tip for ya - if you're in the South End looking for parking, check out the block on Appleton Street east of Berkeley, before hitting Tremont.

Outside of Icarus, there's a lone South Boston Resident Parking sign, in what I can only assume is a neighborhood exchange program, creating opportunities for us Southie folk to enjoy some haute culture and swanky South End brasseries.

Of course, this could easily be an error, as the neighborhood is indeed the South End, and just two car lengths away from the South Boston Resident Parking sign is a more appropriately-placed South End Resident Parking sign.

Equal Immigration Rights for Same-Sex Binational Couples

I was sent this link and encouraged to post here at Platinum Elite. It's an important cause for some friends of mine (who are a binational same-sex couple). Clicking on the VOTE NOW button takes you to a page on Change.org's website about this cause. There's a brief video spotlighting a couple who are being forced to separate because one is a New Zealand resident.

Seriously?

Sigh.

Earlier today, first snowfall / snow dusting in Southie:

One Night - Two Franklin Cafes

I was able to milk one final birthday dinner out of this year, when Mike insisted that we headed out for dinner last night. Granted, today is Doug's birthday, and we're pretty well ensconced in the month of December, but I'm never one to pass up a free dinner.

My plan was to hit up the new Franklin Cafe here in Southie. I believe they just opened a few weeks ago, and are located in one of the new loft buildings by the Broadway T Stop.

We walked in around 7:30, and were greeted with an hour and fifteen minute wait for a table for two. Unreal! It's a Thursday night. We're in a recession. Everyone's out of work.

What the deuce?

We opted out of the wait, walked back to his car without a Plan B, and drove up Berkeley St. into the South End. I figured we'd hit up Dish or Joe V's - somewhere along Shawmut or Washington Streets.

Luckily we found a visitor spot on Shawmut a block away from...

...the other nearby Franklin Cafe.

Why not?

In we went, fifteen minute wait, not a problem. Had a round at the bar (which I picked up to make me feel better about having dinner purchased for me), then we were seated in the back corner.

Now Franklin Cafe appears to be the type of restaurant that neighborhood folks visit frequently - one of those restaurants that everyone knows the menu, knows what to expect, and doesn't ask questions.

I, on the other hand, had only been there once, and this was Mike's first visit. We were rookies.

I asked our server what he liked, and he mentioned a few entrees, but not the one I was considering (a bacon-wrapped salmon dish). He preferred the steak frites, which apparently people went to the Franklin Cafe specifically to eat. Mike had asked me what steak frites was, and I erroneously claimed that it was like an open-faced steak sandwich.

No!

It's a hangar steak on a bed of fries with a demiglaze.

I didn't know what a demiglaze was either, but it sounded good. We each ordered one.

There were two options for separate sides - beets or mashed potatoes. I saw that another entree had brussels sprouts as part of the dish, so I asked if a side of brussels sprouts was possible.

It was not. Apparently, they are shaved brussels sprouts. Huh? Fine. No side for me.

The meal arrived, and as the food runner was leaving, I asked for some ketchup. She had a word with our server, squirted some onto a side plate, and brought it to me.

Immediately, the server came over and asked if it was our first time eating the steak frites, because "most people use the demiglaze on their fries, it pools up at the bottom and it's delicious."

I felt like an idiot, of course. Not fitting in with the locals. A clear novice. Being judged.

I managed to soldier through the indignation and enjoyed the meal. All of it. Almost licked the plate, but that might have caused our ejection and permanent ban due to inappropriate outsider behavior.

My Home = Lost and Found

It's nice to have a home where others feel comfortable enough to swing by and hang out.

Watch some TV. Have a drink. Play Wii. Eat dinner.

Lately, I have noticed that when my friends depart, however, they have been leaving their stuff here.

• Umbrellas (multiple people)
  
• Nintendo Game Cube (Kevin)
• Chicken broth, apples, and an onion (Jamen)
• Board games (Jamen)
• Folding chairs (Chris)
• Travel mugs for roadies (Doug)
• Spare change (Ryan)
  

Now these aren't leftovers. Leftovers are meant to be consumed by the host and/or distributed in containers to the guests.

These are items that were meant to be claimed upon departure, yet were not.

Kind of like a Lost and Found.

I thanked Kevin for his gift of an older Nintendo game system, to which he laughed and said that it was a leave-behind so he gets invited back. Strange. I thought it was a present for me.

I think Doug can do without the travel mug. He's left it here multiple times.

Jamen's ingredients were left over from the turkey on Thursday. He probably doesn't want them, but will likely be over when I use them to prepare another meal.

Umbrellas are hot commodities, but I don't need many. I usually return those to their respective owners.

Spare change, if unclaimed by bedtime, goes into the change pot.

And Chris' folding chairs. they were helpful for Thanksgiving dinner. Since then, however, they have been in the way. I think he wants them back. Just not "that badly." Maybe I'll leave them on the deck for now.

I usually utilize leave behinds.

I'm staring at a beach towel right now that a childhood friend left at my parents' house during a pool party. I don't remember the kid, but I sure remember the towel. I use it to dry Rosie after walks in the rain.

Results - 24 hours without Internet

Well, the bet is over...and it has ended in a push

We both held out.

24 hours without computers or Internet for me, and 24 hours without boozing for Ryan.

I am, however, protesting the decision of the judges.

I didn't find the task difficult. I woke up, watched some TV, walked Rosie, we went to the dog park, I made it to the gym, bought a Christmas tree, cleaned up, had friends over, made lasagne and spiked hot apple cider, watched a movie, and cleaned up.

Simple.

I do think it's peculiar that two of the impartial judges who witnessed the genesis of the bet quickly advocated against me.

What is under protest is Ryan's consumption of O'Douls. I went to the gym, only to return to find him having purchased a six pack of O'Douls and having consumed 2 1/2 of the already.

Immediately, I declared that O'Douls has a little alcohol in it, even though it is marketed as a Non-Alcoholic beer. I knew that even before inspecting the bottle. On the label, it calls itself non-alcoholic, but in the phrase beneath contradicts itself, stating that it had up to 0.5% alcohol.

Doing some simply Googling, it's obvious that O'Douls does indeed have between 0.4% and 0.5% alcohol depending. It appears that the FDA considers beer below 0.5% to be non-alcoholic (most beers start around 4.0% and go upwards into the low double-digits for some craft brews).

Hence the protest. I don't care what the FDA says, in its purely elemental state, O'Douls has alcohol. The bet was simple - no alcohol for 24 hours.

But when you have judges against you, any rational argument will fall on deaf ears.

I was robbed.

The Bet - 24 Hours Without Internet

I learned at dinner today that my friends think I'm addicted to the Internet and computers.

Unreal. It's simply not true.

Sure I'm online all day at work. I blog. I stay connected. I use iPhone apps.

But I'm not addicted.

So, the gauntlet has been thrown down. I have been bet $150 that I cannot go an entire 24 hours - midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday - without using a computer or the Internet.

No syncing music on iTunes.
Playing the Wii is allowed, but playing online with others is not.
Using my iPhone for texting, calls, camera, or any offline apps is allowed. Everything else is not.
No paying bills online.
No iPhoto.
No online shopping.
I'm told I can't even go to the movies and use the DIY kiosk.

Fine. Not a problem.

I made a counter-bet with Ryan, an action that I regret simply because I feel like we're going to have a push and I won't win $150.

Ryan cannot drink for 24 hours, the same midnight-to-midnight. There's another clause to what he cannot do during the bet that shall remain offline; needless to say, it's not dirty or sordid.

I made the counter-bet a bit impetuously, but I know how much Ryan enjoys kicking back a few, especially on weekends. It usually begins around noon, and is a fairly constant string of drinks throughout the day.

I know I won't be miserable without my standard technology, though my friends vehemently disagree. I also know how irritated Ryan will be tomorrow without booze, which is exactly why I decided to make the bet. He threatened to hang around me for my every move on Saturday, ensuring that I do not use the Internet, computers, or online capabilities of my iPhone.

I was told that I must surrender my phone when I use the bathroom. That's a bit excessive and strangely distrusting of me after I pledged that I stay on the up-and-up during all bets, but so be it.

Under 3 hours until I'm off the grid for a bit...

The Southie Turkey has a Name!

Boston.com gave Platinum Elite a mention today on page 2 of their amusing story about The Southie Turkey.

The author, Billy Baker, actually reached out to me last week seeking permission to use some of the turkey photos on this blog (to which I told him absolutely).

It appears that they opted for this cartoon instead, but still pulled a couple quotes from past postings. Overall, the story turned out well. Great seasonal tie-in.

I never realized that The Southie Turkey had a name.

It's Sully! How appropriate.

I have always joked that come Thanksgiving, if the economy didn't take a turn for the better, The Southie Turkey might end up in the bellies of some locals.

While Sully appears to have departed our fair neighborhood, I sure hope that he won't be the centerpiece of a dinner this Thursday. I can't imagine that a wild turkey wandering around Southie would be tasty, let alone healthy.

MBTA Drivers Drunk or High On the Job

I'm pretty angry at what I learned from this story about how two T drivers involved in recent separate collisions tested positive for drugs or alcohol.

Allow me to stand on my soap box for a bit.

No, I am not holier than thou.

But, I don't do drugs.

My job is a desk job. I'm in front of a computer or in meetings for most of the day.

Unlike train operators, I don't make life or death decisions affecting the well-being and health of others. Even without the risk of killing others while working, it wouldn't even occur to me to drink before heading to or while at work.

I should be thankful enough that a company has elected to employ me for my abilities and contributions to its business, that I have the decency not to impair my ability to perform my job well while on the clock.

I hope those affected in these crashed pursue legal action against the drivers and the MBTA. I don't care that the T is bankrupt and that this would raise fares for me even more.

When I ride the T or the bus, I don't expect to be harmed or, worse yet, die on the way to my destination. I expect that the vehicle operators are well-trained and without physical abilities or cognitive judgment impaired by drugs or alcohol.

But, maybe that's too much to ask.

No excuse in the world is good enough to explain this away. The MBTA needs to be testing its workers far more frequently. As patrons of the service and residents of the Boston metro area, we should demand it.

Anyone found under the influence should be suspended without pay, and/or fired.

Why can't people take more personal responsibility for their actions, especially when they directly affect the safety and well-being of others.

Rosie's Boyfriend

I always wonder if Rosie knows the dogs that we encounter during our walks. I'm sure there have been times when, during our walks, she bumps into a playgroup friend - unbeknownst to me - and wonders why they can't run free like they way that they normally would be interacting.

Well, it appears that Rosie has a boyfriend.

I feel a bit shafted, but then again it's probably best that as a dog, she date within her genus and species.

His name is Bodie, and I am told he is a retriever of sort.

I will admit that it's a bit odd for one's dog to have this alternate life, but I suppose that's what happens during doggie play group when I'm at work.

Working from home on Tuesday, I saw Renee when she came by to pick up Rosie for playgroup. I asked about this boyfriend (who I learned about from her daily recap notes), and she confirmed that, yes, it was Bodie.

I can tell that they're in a serious relationship.

Why? Because Rosie looks bigger.

Heavier.

She's gaining weight and nesting. Seems to care less about her image now that she has a significant other.

She hasn't told me much about Bodie. Maybe she's afraid I'll make her sleep in her doggie bed. I'll have to do some investigation.

Birthday Weekend

What I thought would have been an uneventful Monday birthday turned into a pretty full weekend of celebration.

We started on Friday with a train ride to Worcester to check out the play Take Me Out. We caught a 6:21 PM train from Back Bay station, and wound up in Worcester just about an hour later. While I have always maintained that Worcester is the kind of city in need of a complete paint job, I thought that the train station itself was a pretty cool building - gleaming pillars in the night rising above an otherwise kinda dark and kinda not-inviting city.



Saturday was football. We limped into the playoffs with a meaningless loss (win or lose, we would have finished 5th out of 14 teams). Ken from my team bought a cake, and I heard my first "Happy Birthday" of the weekend. When the skies opened up with a downpour, someone fittingly said that "someone left a cake out in the rain" and then commented that he never thought he would be able to quote that line and have it apply.



After the requisite post-football boozing, we went to Salsa's for dinner on Saturday night, where Mike graciously and unexpectedly picked up the tab for the whole table. He didn't have to do that, and he knows that I'll get him back when he least expects it.



Sunday was yet another impressive Giants win - so much so that CBS bailed on their coverage of the game and switched to a much closer matchup. I went out for a few more drinks, then came home to a stoup that Ryan made in the crock (stoup = not quite stew, not quite soup).



And then yesterday, the actual day, we went to Redbones in Davis Square. I love Barbecue, and Redbones is always delicious. I should go there more often. I'm fortunate to have had Barbecue in many places - Memphis, Austin, and Atlanta to name a few - and yes, I can tell the difference between authentic southern Barbecue, and a northern interpretation of Barbecue. Nonetheless, my bowl of meat was delicious.



And Kevin wins the award in the "dress like Jason" category. I swear, we didn't plan this.

Real Estate Downfall

I saw this on John Keith's excellent Boston Real Estate Blog this morning.

I feel bad if anyone reading this is in mortgage trouble. You're not alone. Even Hitler is having trouble.

Another Car Repair Afoot

I do love my gas guzzling Jeep.

I've owned three vehicles in my life, two of them Jeeps. I bought my first one in 1996.

My current Jeep is an '03 with 68,500 miles on it. It typifies the definition of a "city car" - it's been bumped, nudged, scratched, dented, and lord knows what else. It received its first imperfection shortly after I bought it, when it scored its first of two bumper-corner dimples. I was a touch angry, but let it go soon thereafter.

Its chassis is far from perfect. But it still runs well....and it's fully paid off.

I had to put about $2,500 into it earlier this year, and have been delaying another repair for about five months now. Unfortunately, I think it's time to bring it back into the shop.

Why?

Because my feet are freezing.

The heat works. The air conditioning works too. The blower, however, does not. Regardless of the setting, all air blows from the defrost vents. It makes my torso and head comfortably warm on these 30 degree mornings.

Unfortunately, heat rises.

When the heat begins at my head, it stays there. It never reaches my tootsies.

And they are cold.

Asheville, NC is not Greenville, SC

I had a very strange moment at dinner yesterday.

Jamen's friend Tempest is in town for a few days. She too is from North Carolina. We were talking about Asheville, NC and how cool of a city it is.

I'm agreeing - "yeah, quaint, pretty liberal, neat little downtown"

Until something hit me.

"Wait, I've never been to Asheville. I'm thinking of Greenville."

"Do you mean Greenville, NC or Greenville, SC"

:: crickets ::

"Well...I don't know."

My final year in the 18-34 demo is upon me. It's happening. Here goes the memory.

How can I forget having visited entire cities? I mean, I did travel a ton for work, and I have been to many places, but not enough places that I can't remember all of them. Or at least most of them.

I had to dig back into my project files from my old job and find my expense reports from 2005 to see which city I was thinking of.

It was indeed Greenville, SC - which admittedly is a cool little city in SC, more liberal than the back country, and complete with a quaint little downtown.

But my God!

How can I have mistaken a never-was trip to Asheville, NC with a just-about-three-years-ago trip to Greenville, SC.

I am not ready for my birthday.

Prisoners Dance to Laura Branigan's "Gloria"

This gets funny about a minute in. I swear, I just stumbled across this. It did not inspire the events of last Thursday evening.

MSNBC.com Ruined My Poker Viewing

I love USA Today. Fast news organized well, complete with pie charts, color, and an easy crossword puzzle. And while traveling on business, it's often what greeted me when I opened my hotel room door each morning.

During those years when I was on the road constantly for work, on Thursday mornings I used to avoid reading the upper right hand corner of the Life section in USA Today. I would literally tear the corner off and throw it away so I could read the rest of the newspaper.

Why?

American Idol.

I didn't want to know who was voted off. I wanted to watch it on my TiVo (or later, DVR).

I had a tear-the-corner moment this morning, but unfortunately the surprise has been ruined.

It involves the World Series of Poker Main Event.

This year, the format was a bit different. Rather than the entire tournament be held over the summer and then be televised months later, results already in the bag, the tournament structure this year was unique and conducive to a suspenseful finale.

They played down to the final table of nine players, paid them all 9th place winnings, threw the rest of the cash in an interest-bearing account, and told them all to come back in November, once ESPN has televised the rest of the tournament. Anyone finishing above 9th place earned additional cash, escalating quickly to $9 million for 1st place.

The final table was going to be telecast held mere hours after its conclusion.

Or so I thought.

I was looking forward to watching the final table tonight. I have been skipping my poker magazines over the past few months - literally allowing them to pile up so I didn't even know who was on the final table. Last week's WSOP episode on ESPN finally revealed the final nine, so I have once again been reading the magazines this week.

I logged onto MSNBC.com this morning, and sure enough, first thing I see on the right hand side is...

...SPOILER ALERT....(stop reading if you care)






"Dane, 22, wins poker's $9 million grand prize"

Grrrr.

Final Box This Season from The Food Project

I am a bit sad today because it's Thursday, and I have no vegetable box to retrieve in Jamaica Plain.

22 weeks after it started, my fresh vegetable share with The Food Project has ended.

I must say that they totally blew away my expectations for what $425 bought me - a great variety and quantity of produce picked just before distribution. Luckily, I'll eat mostly all vegetables - though I learned that I ran out of things to do with chard rather quickly.

Every week, I picked up a heavy box of produce containing about 12 different vegetables. More often than not, they left items outside of the box which were also ours to take - huge bunches of basil, massive brussels sprouts on their stalks, squash, raspberries, and melons.

My fridge is still packed with a number of vegetables that keep well over time - beets, turnips, potatoes, garlic, cabbage, celeriac, and this massive kohlrabi bulb.

I'm certainly going to miss my locally grown fresh pre-paid produce. Just last week I had to purchase a bag of lettuce, and it was so uninspiring. I never thought I'd feel this way about produce and become a veggie snob, but The Food Project has done that to me.

Next year, the prices are going up to $500 for weekly pickup ($480 if I put a deposit in by December 1st). I'm still deciding my plan, but I think I'm going to do it again. It sounds like a lot of money, but it balances out to a good weekly value of fresh nutritious food (assuming I eat it and don't rely on pizza).

South End Voting

I saw this video on boston.com this afternoon - love this lady!

Get Out and Vote

I do solemnly swear to avoid wearing my newsies driver's cap today, as it brought terrible luck to the Kerry campaign, followed by four years of economic and political turmoil. (This was Brian and I at the Copley Square Kerry rally, which quickly turned from a fun celebration to confusion to utter disappointment).













Instead I will sip coffee from my United States of America Starbucks mug, and hope for the best.



Yes Obama

No elimination of Massachusetts state income tax

No greyhound racing

No to more lenient pot laws (remnants of my conservative past, what can I say?)

No Trick-or-Treating at the Godiva Store

After work yesterday, I went for a haircut at a Supercuts across from South Shore Plaza. Upon leaving, Karin called me, warning that traffic on 93 North was quite awful. So I decided to duck into South Shore Plaza in search of some mylar balloons for Chris' birthday last night.

While that trip was unsuccessful (how could nobody in a mall sell mylar balloons?!), I discovered that lots of kids trick-or-treat at the mall. Who knew? It was fun seeing a ton of little ones being paraded around store to store, parents in tow, all trick-or-treating in an entirely safe environment. I thought it was a great idea.

Just before I left, I had to grab a couple chocolate bars for Joe, our football quarterback. He seems to require them for better play on Saturday mornings.

I went into Godiva, a small storefront filled with chocolate and no patrons. I walked up to the counter, asked about a few of their chocolate bars, and then realized that a some kids walked in behind me in search of trick-or-treating loot.

Me to store clerk: "Oh, you can help these guys first"

Kids to store clerk: "TRICK OR TREAT!"

Store clerk to kids: "Sorry guys, we're not participating in that this year."

(Huh?)

Me to store clerk: "You're not?"

Store clerk to me: "No, the mall sent something around to the stores that we should not be giving out candy this year."

Me to store clerk: "Really? All the other stores are doing it. And you're not? Aren't you a candy store??"

Yeah, no joke. Godiva chocolates - a candy store - was one of the few candy holdouts on Halloween, a day when everyone and their mother hands out free candy.

At first, I found it funny and ironic, but then I realized how idiotic and stupid the folks from Godiva were. Instead of being the store that handed out the best trick-or-treating candy in the mall - a great PR move with nominal costs - they instead became the fancy candy store that refused to give away candy to kids on Halloween.

When they had the opportunity to give candy to both the kids AND their parents - the ones with the wallets and pocketbooks who will soon be searching for holidays gifts - they created an entirely memorable yet unfavorable experience.

Boneheads.