Pre-Birthday Weekend

My Birthday weekend started with a major party at my house. I had prepared for it all week cleaning and straightening bit by bit. Finally, this is what my back room looked like at showtime:


Based on my final count 35 invited guests showed up, and the real headcount was over 50 once my neighbor's party came to crash mine. I don't think at any point more than 25 were there. It was great to catch up with those I've not seen for so long (Ricky, Chris K) This was by far, the largest shin-dig I've hosted. There was lots of drinking, lots of dancing, and lots of warmth coming from the fire-pit out back. My favorite part was when my brother showed up, as I hadn't seen him in what felt like months, but was probably just a few weeks. Oh, and by then I had stopped playing host and started playing birthday boy. I think I got to bed around 5 AM!

Naturally, our departure to NYC was delayed considerably. I think Miss Two and I hit the road at 1 PM. It took us three hours to get to the top of DC, a journey that should take no more than two hours. I-95 was grid-locked North of F-berg, so I detoured off to Rt. 1, which was also grid-locked as a tractor trailer had broken down in the right lane. Fudge! Finally, I got back to 95 and it was gridlocked again (still?). Now, I'm not particularly proud of what I have to say next, but here goes: I ended up following some fools (geniuses?) a mile or two on the shoulder. This saved at least 20 minutes of what would've been total grid-lock in NoVA. I was actually awaiting an HOV emergency entrance as they had opened the HOV lane as we were sitting in the mess, but we got through the traffic before hitting an opening. "Everyone else was doing it". Then as luck would have it, DC-295 was entirely shut down. WTF!? After battling what turned out to be traffic for the shut-down highway, we had to detour along surface streets about 10 miles in DC to get to the next entrance. Shesh! After those four 20-minute delays, it was smooth sailing.

Its a good thing I crept up the shoulder during that traffic because we had just enough time to get to NJ, get ready, drive in the city, park, and walk a few blocks, get inside, Radio City Music Hall, take a few pictures, get a drink, and sit down before the show began. The show was absolutely amazing! My favorite part is when the cannon shoots the Rockette's and they all fall down.



After the show, we checked out Rockefeller Center for the tree and ice rink, Time Sq, and had a brew in a bar around those parts.

Sunday we woke up as early as possible and spent the entire day in the City. We stopped by Liberty Park to see the Statue of Liberty, rode a horse carriage ride through Central park, went window shopping down 5th Ave, went back to Rockefeller Center, and took a bike taxi to Grand Central Station. The City is really cool during the holiday season.



And if that weren't enough, I'm headed back to NJ tomorrow for a week! Giants game Sunday, work from "home" Monday-Wednesday, lots of Christmas Wed-Thur, possible Snowboarding Fri or Sat, and home Sat or Sun! That would mark the 4th and 5th Saturday in NJ. I wonder if my grandma is going to start charging me rent.

hbd! to me

Its my birthday and I will be in a conference for work if I want to, and even if I don't!

Warranty: done

Exactly 3 years 6 months and 12 days after picking up my car I ticked 50,000 miles and my warranty has expired.

I averaged 14k miles per year total.
I put 15k mi on the car 6 months, leaving 11.5k mi/yr. in the last 3 years.
I put 26k mi on the car 12 months, leaving 9.6k mi/yr. in the last 2.5 years.
I'd have to look back at service records to get the rest of the data as I stopped keeping track. I suppose moving into the city really helped.

Non-ironic post filled with irony

I find that my blog postings, or lack thereof, are particularly ironic. I've mentioned before that I don't blog whenever my life is filled with blog-worthy events or feelings. Perhaps because of the time required, but I think its more because I can't do the experience justice with my words. Others excel really well at this, but not me. Maybe I could better keep tabs on my life with a series of audio clips of me yelling in excitement, or laughing relentlessly, or maybe even photo blog.

So that said, here is yet another super update.

I believe I left off with the new roommate, yes. We'll call him housemate #2, or just #2 for short; the first once is obviously housemate #1. I use housemate because the term roommate is not quite accurate. #2 is a good guy. His style can best be described by my first interaction with him. When I picked him up from the airport, he was standing there waiting for me with just a messenger bag and a box of bike parts. It was all he had as he left everything else behind in Washington (state, that is). I admire how thrifty he can be. Sometimes its too much for me, but its showing me just how far someone can stretch some cash. And in this economy, that's not a bad tip to know. Perhaps the funniest interaction we've had is when I was packing my car for a trip to Jersey for Thanksgiving he looked at me and asked if I planned on returning, noting that he showed up to live for several months with fewer items.

I worked remotely the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in the comfort of my grandmother's living room. I think I may have been more productive in that environment than in my office, oddly. Thursday, I enjoyed good family times and a remarkably delicious turkey dinner. I regret not helping in the preparation of the feast--I feel that I missed a perfect opportunity to learn a cooking tip or two from my mother and grandmother. I've been considering taking cooking classes recently, for I like cooking but just suck at it.



On Black Friday, I took my brothers into the city (NYC) for some walking about. I had fun, but I can't say I'd do it again. I would've rather gone into the city for the parade the day prior.

Saturday after Thanksgiving, I was to go out fishing with two of my uncles on their boat. It was an awkward morning laced with several set backs, all of which turned out to just foreshadow the boat actually breaking down (steering column linkage broke) before leaving the slip. It was probably for the better because my uncle and I could then spend the day preparing for the next day's activities.

Sunday morning, at the crack of dawn, my uncle and I set off for Landover, MD, home of the Washington Redskins, for their bout with the New York Giants. I purchased two tickets off of a coworker who had season tickets. They turned out to be excellent seats, 10th row! We left NJ around 6 AM and arrived to our tailgating location by 9:30 AM ON THE SUNDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING! I was surprised at the lack of traffic, especially the lack of stupid traffic since it rained the entire journey and the entire day for that matter. Allow me to list the content of my car for the trip: Me, Uncle, my luggage for a week, winter clothes for the game, a folding table, a folding chair, a small tailgate-grill, a medium size cooler, and a weekender tent. All the items picture below fit with me in my MINI!



Giants won! I can tell you that I was cold, wet, and miserably having the time of my life! See the bold text in introduction for an brief explanation of the game itself.

Introducing Miss Two. This is the nickname for a person I've been seeing. I may have previously used "we" or "us". I use the nickname Miss Two for a variety of reasons including birth date relative to mine, her address, her job, her telephone number, and a variety of other reasons. I do not use this nickname to represent placement, position, or order of any kind.

Monday I spent the most amazing day with Miss Two in Washington DC. We went to the National Museum of American History, saw a rare planetary clustering, and toured the monuments. Again, please refer to the bold text in the introduction. It was all rather romantic, inspiring, cold, and fun!



Fast forward nearly a week and I get invited to New Jersey for another Giants game! This time against the Philadelphia Eagles. We (the Giants) lost the game. The boys in Blue just didn't show up to play. The last time I was in Giants Stadium, the game was against the Eagles several years ago--maybe '04. We lost then, too. Ironically, Plaxico Burress was the players pictured on the ticket for this game, yet was suspended from play due to a nightclub (self-) shooting incident. He has been the center of media attention for the past week. Hilarious! I thank my uncle for the tickets! All in all, it sucks that the G-men lost, but it was still worth the trip. And I got to stop by and have dinner with Miss Two to boot.

I've been invited to what sounds like an awesome way to spend a July 4th. My Uncle invited me to fly out to Phoenix, hop on a motorcycle, and bike/camp a 900+ mile ride to Laguna Seca, a famous racetrack near Monterey, CA. I'm about 80% sure I'll do it. My options are to ride his Ninja 1100 or rent a BMW. Hmm... I hope this trip feeds two deep desires--to drive a motorcycle cross country, and to bicycle/camp or hike/camp a weekend-long trip!

Next week I take to the highway again, NJ bound. It will mark the third Saturday in a row sleeping in NJ. Miss Two and I are seeing the Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular show. I'm excited!

Thats all for now. Stay tuned next week for my post explaining nothing about the Rockette's show!

FOX/NBC Richmond FAILs

taken 12/5/08 in the 7 AM hour


"Dogfighting investegation"
taken from camera-phone, May '07

Local News always screws up with graphics and technology. These are just two examples.

(The comedy contained in this post made possible by my Verizon FIOS DVR)