Crazy From The Seat
Below are my rantings and ravings from my trip back from New York on jetBlue on Monday morning. I typed my feelings of frustration and rage into my Droid as a way to cope. It was too early to start drinking. :-) My musings are stream of consciousness with little care of grammar, so 'reader be ware'. Keep in mind that I was in a seriously bad mood for reasons I do not wish to share at this time. I'm not usually this 'insane' when I travel. I have transcribed my Droid notepad text into the post below. BTW, next time I drive. :-)
I just got though Newark Airport security, and I'm sitting in the waiting area for my flight. Thank God, the security guard didn't call the FBI on me! I had a bottle of Diet Coke in my laptop bag! I know, it's my fault. I am well aware that you can't bring soda bottles through security, but REALLY! It's just a damn bottle of soda... At least the gentlemen was polite about telling me about my infraction. He held it up between his gloved index finger and thumb and said, "NOT ALLOWED!" He then proceeded to toss it in the trash. Lucky me, twenty yards after security there was a Hudson News where I could buy another bottle of Diet Coke for only $3! What luck!
...Now I'm on the plane an hour into flight. There are two annoying [CENSORED] sitting next to me eating stinky homemade food. They also had to ask for two snacks each from the flight attendant. Lady is on her second cheese blintz and Tera Blue chips. They're eating like its their last meal. I sure hope not. Maybe they know something I don't about this trip. Two kids in front and two kids behind. Little [CENSORED]wont stop kicking back of my seat. At least the screaming stopped. Why do people have kids? I'm glad my folks did, for obvious reasons, and I guess if people all stopped having kids the human race would end, but still...
... Twenty minutes later, and the brat is still kicking the back of my seat, the cabin stinks of farts or a dirty diaper or fumes from the lavatory. I'm on a flying school bus. The crazy old lady next to me, dressed in a baby blue velor jogging suit, is dancing in her seat while watching a mortgage refinancing commercial on the jetBlue TV. KID STOP [CENSORED] KICKING MY SEAT OR IN THE OVERHEAD YOU GO, [CENSORED]!! I want off this [CENSORED] plane. I have to pee, but I can't get out. I'm seated in a window seat because jetBlue gave my aisle seat away to some weird looking woman. They did this even though I reserved an aisle seat 7 weeks ago. [CENSORED]you jetBlue! My legs are cramping. I'm gonna die of a clot in my leg before this flight is done. I just know it.
...Ha! Some guy just bumped his head on the bulkhead getting back into his seat. DO IT AGAIN SILLY MAN!
... I think I have Uromysitisis poisoning . A rare and dangerous syndrome that you can get from holding in your pee. Seinfeld got it in an episode where they were searching for Kramer's car in the mall garage. I need to go. I could wake up the loons next to me, so I can get to the bathroom. I hope the weird woman is enjoying my aisle seat. I can't do it. I can't wake them up. Were making our decent. El Capitain will put on the seat belt sign soon. Its now or never.
...[CENSORED]! The crazy woman next to me wouldn't wake up. I guess it was the two smelly cheese blintzes, the bag of Tera Blue chips, and the chocolate chip cookies that put her out. I was up and ready to move, but she wouldn't budge and then "DING! Fasten seat belts please for our decent into..." Gotta shut off my Droid now. It could bring down the plane you know.
...On the ground now waiting for a gate to park this stupid plane. I WANT OFF!
...In the terminal FINALLY! Actually, it wasn't such a bad flight. It was on time and not much turbulence. I wonder what the nice lady next to me on the flight was eating. It looked and smelled delicious. Ah, there's a bathroom. Orlando International is so clean. It's good to be home.
Mets Trip: Wrap Up
My trip to New York to visit family and see my first Mets game at Citi Filed is quickly coming to an end. It was great to go to the game with my brother and friends and see the Mets win, but the Citi Field experience was completely underwhelming. To be fair, I've only seen Major League Baseball games in Shea Stadium, the old Yankee Stadium, and Tropicana Field. So, I don't have a large sample set to compare with Citi Field. With that said, I was not impressed with Citi, and I really missed Shea Stadium.
Shea was not that old. It's a crime that a structure was torn down after only44 years. Unfortunately, the economics of baseball made it necessary for the Mets to build a new venue, but I wish Shea could have been preserved or renovated for soccer or some other purpose. Shea was ugly, and there is no denying it. It was a multi-purpose, function over form, 1960s era behemoth. The mets and New York City could have made vast improvements over the years to Shea, but I guess they were focused on a new stadium and did little to make it a nicer place to visit.
I should probably give Citi Field another chance and come back to see another game before passing final judgement. You see, I grew up with Shea, and my opinions about Citi Filed are undoubtedly colored by sentimentality and sadness. I lived on the Port Washington Long Island Railroad line that transported me directly from my home town to Shea. I remember the first time my dad brought me to a game. I was in this dark hallway that led to a dark tunnel under the stands, and when I came through the tunnel into the stands I saw blue sky, green grass, and an ocean of people and orange and blue seats. It was breathtaking. As I got older and went to more games, I was never as impressed with this scene as the first time, but the sight of Shea before a game always gave me pause. For me, baseball is big and brash, just what New York is supposed to be. Citi Field is small and quaint and would be right at home in a small market baseball town. That 'intimate' feel was what the Wilpons were trying to achieve when the had the stadium designed, but as I stated in a previous post, this stadium seems to have more to do with a team that left New York for L.A. over 60 years ago than it does with my Mets. Citi Field is more about manufactured nostalgia than about the modern day New York Mets.
Citi Field is new and clean. It has wider seats and some more leg room. It is an inoffensive building with little to no warmth or charm. Food and beverages are insanely overpriced, and three of the four concession stands were closed in our section on the day I saw the Mets beat the Braves. There were no beer vendors in our section, and just a couple of hot dog guys. Tickets prices are beyond ridiculous. On that day, I was in no mood to wander the stadium. I hear that the area behind the scoreboard is cool, and I should have explored a bit more; perhaps that would have given me a better impression of the facility. Next time I come for a visit I don't think the loss of Shea will affect me as much, and I'll be able to do a better job of fully appreciating Citi Field, but with ticket prices being what they are it may be a long time before I come back to the house that CitiGroup built.
LIVE: Citi Field Impressions
Update: Long beer and food lines, no vendors, no love for the nose bleeders.
Like a shopping mall in Great Neck, Citi Field is clean and sterile. It could be in any generic park in the U.S. Nothing about it says Mets or New York.
On the positive side, I'm in the last row of Section 504, and I have to admit that the view is not bad at all. That's the positive of a tiny stadium.
Braves vs. Mets
Here we go! It's 9:30am, and I'm trying to get my brother's family, including a teenager and two tweens, corralled into the minivan. We have to drop one kid and the dog at the grandparents the make our way to Queens to drop off the girls and pick up the last member 'guys day out' gang. Then it's just a quick jaunt over to Citi Field to meet more friends and see the game. We'll never make it in time. Getting from Central Jersey to TWO destinations in Queens with only three and half hours to spare...not gonna happen, but we'll try.
I will be live blogging from my phone today, so wish me luck. I hope my Moto Droid is beer (and tears) proof. It is a Mets game after all. There will be beer and tears. My prediction: Mets 4, Braves 3.
Mets Trip
Mobile blogging from my Droid using the WordPress app. No spell check, this should be interesting. I reserve the right to correct misspellings and typos from my laptop later today.
Sitting on the plane at Orlando Airport, waiting for the flight attendant to tell us to turn off all devices for takeoff. I will be in NJ visiting family and then off to see Braves vs. Mets on Saturday at 1:10pm. This is my first game at Citi Field. I hope it surprises me. I am not a fan of this small stadium. Shea was ugly, but it was as big and loud as New York. It also looked like it belonged to the Mets. Citi looks like the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Note to Mets owners, the Wilpons...The Dodgers left town over 50 years ago. Get over it!
Time to stress out over the take off...not a fan of flying. Flying is fine, it's the crashing that I don't like. Gotta start my pre-flight OCD rituals. Let's Go Mets!
Top 5 Headache Home Remedies
NOTE: Author has NO medical education / training / certification. All content is purely anecdotal.
Below are five of my tried and true home remedies for curing a headache. Headaches have many causes: sinus pressure, stress, illness,etc. If you have frequent or severe headaches then go to your doctor! The list below is for the 'casual' headache sufferer only. These methods work for me, and they might work for you.
- Water. Many of my headaches are caused be dehydration. When I feel a 'dull aching' headache coming on, I simply dring a tall glass of cool (not ice cold!) water then rest for 10 minutes with my eyes closed. With this method, my headache will ease away nine out of 10 times.
- Food. Headaches can be brought on by hunger. Usually, in these situations, I don't feel very hungry, maybe a bit peckish (I could nosh), but not starving. To remedy the pain, I will make myself a PB&J. The jelly gives me quick sugar energy, the whole grain bread yields some complex carbs, and the peanut butter provides oils and protein. I find this recipie, combined with 10 minutes of rest will do the trick more often than not.
- Chill Out! It may just be a stress headache. Find a comfortable chair. Close your eyes and breath deep: slow inhale through the nose (count 1,2,3,4,5) and exhale through the mouth (again count 1,2,3,4,5). While you relax take an inventory of your body from head to toe. Make note of all you muscle groups, one by one, and activly relax each group. After five minutes you should feel better.
- Massage. For severe headaches, I will lay down in a dark and quiet room and rest. During these episodes, I feel pain behind my eyes and in my temples. Sometimes, I can alleviate the pain by probing my forehead, temples, and cheek bones (above my sinuses) for 'pain points'. When I find an area that causes my head pain to worsen, I will apply ligh pressure on that area or just adjacent. While breathing deeply and steadily, I press on the area for a moment or two and the pain is replaced by relief in that area. I continue to search for areas where the pain is more accute and continue the process until the pain is gone comletely or I fall asleep, whichever comes first.
- Combo. You have to get to know your body and listen to what it is trying to tell you. You need to learn the warning signs of an impending headache. Try to associate the type of heaache with the enviromental factors. At this point, I can pretty easily tell if my head hurts due to sinus pressure from an allergy, stress, or other factor. If you know the cause, it will be easier to apply the corret rememdy. When in doubt, try them in combination. Eat the PB&J with a cool glass of water then rest. When all else fails, take Extra Strengh Excedrin in combination with the above techniques. I hate to sound like a commercial, but nothing works better for eliminating a headache.
Of course, all of these rememdies work for ME! You need to find out what works for you. And remember, you shouldn't get too many headaches. If you are suffering from migranes and frequent severe headaches, there is a chance that there's someting more serious going on in your body. Make that appoinment with your doc. Just be sure to have some Excedrin on hand. Going to the doctor always GIVES me a headache: long waits in the waiting room, that freezing cold exam room, and paying the bill (breath deep 1,2,3,4,5).
Why So Sad?
I went to visit my family a week ago for Easter Sunday dinner. On the ride down, both the Rabbit and I were on cruise control. I felt numb. I95 is not exactly the Pacific Coast Highway,so I attributed my listless state to the listless State of Florida's roads. Soon after I arrived, my sister said I looked sad, and my mom asked me if everything was OK. "I'm fine. Just Tired," I replied. I had spent the weekend at the Parks, Universal on Friday night and Disney's Hollywood Studios all day Saturday. Walking around in the sun must have taken a lot out of me, I assumed.
After a delicious meal of pot roast, lamb, and potatoes I headed home to Orlando and then off to bed. A few hours later, I was in my bathroom with my head in my hands. I will spare you the gory details, but I was hit hard by the flu. For the next few days the thought of food made me sick. I couldn't stand for more than a few minutes without feeling like I was going to keel over. Remembering the advice of a loyal BackingIn.com reader, I called a friend and she brought over some regular Coke. Supposedly, the Coke syrup is supposed to have medicinal qualities for the tummy. I believe it was originally sold by pharmacists, colas that is, as a stomach remedy. I'm not sure if if helped my stomach (the Pepto Bismol and Tylenol probably did the most to alleviate my symptoms), but I was glad to get the high-fructose corn syrup goodness into my system. Ironically, I normally try my best to avoid the empty calories of sugary sodas, but the calories from the Coke combined with bed-rest were the only things aiding my immune system for couple of days.
Did I forget to mention the fever? I can deal with almost any 'normal' sickness, but the feeling of being hot while shivering is the worst. Nothing works better than Tylenol, for me, in dealing with fever, but even Tylenol can't fight off some fevers. On the upside, I did get to use my new digital thermometer a whole bunch. That thing is cool! (Look, I was bored and I couldn't get out of bed to use the computer. Cut me some slack here.) The neat thing about fever is that it is your body's way of fighting infection. Bacteria and viruses thrive at a body's normal temperature, so to make your body a less hospitable place for the bugs the immune system turns up the heat. As I was laying in bed shivering and waiting for the medicine to kick in and lower my fever, I thought maybe I should let myself have a fever. If I get rid of my fever with Tylenol, am I not just giving comfort and aid to the enemy? Perhaps the flu virus was in cahoots with Big Pharmaceuticals to keep us all sick! Luckily, my cat advised me to just take the medicine and get some rest and not think so much. Since she has yet to talk since I've gotten better, I'm going to assume that my talking cat was a fever-induced hallucination.
I'm all better now, and what have I learned from my latest brush with illness. First, my cat is a wonderful caretaker. Second, never take your good health for granted. It is a gift from God. Third, Disney's Hollywood Studios will give you the flu and keep you out of work for a week. I think that pretty much sums it up.
Downtown Pinot
Correction: April 1st, 2010. TheOther46.com didn't host the tasting, actually Lenn Thompson (from the New York Cork Report) in conjunction with the Finger Lakes Wine Country hosted. I told you I was a total Newbie. :-)
Last night I attended my first wine tasting in historic downtown Orlando. My good friend, and founder and editor of theother46.com, hosted a TasteLive.com event for Finger Lakes Wine Country. It was a very enjoyable evening, but more than the wine, I enjoyed the social aspects of the event, both personal and cyber. Our little gathering was but one of many around the country tasting wines from the Finger Lakes wine region of New York State. It was all coordinated via TasteLive.com, a site dedicated to bringing wine lovers together via social media like Twitter. Our little band of four (two experienced, two newbies including myself) sampled five unique Pinot Noirs from the Finger Lakes while our host tweeted the results.
I think I finally 'get' Twitter now. Using Twitter, we were able to be part of a virtual wine tasting event and get instant feedback from everybody. So, not only did I enjoy the company of my good friends while drinking fine wine and noshing on cheese and crackers, I was also part of a larger community of drunks connoisseurs all participation in the same event around the country.
We tasted five Pinots from the Finger Lakes region:
- Atwater Estate Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir
- Damiani Wine Cellars 2008 Pinot Noir
- Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2008 Pinot Noir
- Heart & Hands Wine Company 2008 Pinot Noir
- Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir
The Ravines was the hands-down winner of the night with the Atwater being the least enjoyed. The gang differed on placement on two through four. I really enjoyed the Damiani, the others...not so much. Hearts & Hands was a fan favorite as well, but I was fixated on the Ravines with the rest.
See what others had to say about the tasting on Twitter (#FLXwine, #TTL).
Can I Post From Droid?
I'm sitting here waiting for my Weight Watchers meeting to start, and trying to see if I can post using the WordPress app for Android. There must be something wrong with the scale here. This morning I was down 2 lbs, but during my weigh-in it was only 1.4! What a rip! My scale and the WW scale has always been 4 pounds different...today it is 4.6. I know I shouldn't scale watch too much, but damn I wanted my 2 pounds. I knew I should have purged before the meeting...KIDDING!!! It's a joke, relax! It may be water weight due to the fact that I worked out yesterday, and I'm sore. Right now I'm dreaming of a glass of red...only 2 weight watchers points. I wonder how many points for the bottle I wonder? KIDDING. It's a joke. Gotta go now, class is about to begin.
Unclean!
I like a clean home. I've tried to convince my mother and/or my ex-wife to come over each week and clean my place for me, but for some reason they always refuse. The keep saying selfish things like, "you're an adult now, son, and you must do these things for yourself" and "if you don't stop calling me, I'm going to get the authorities involved." Just kidding. I would never ask anybody to clean my home. Besides, only I can clean to my expectations. When the economy was better, I had a cleaning service and they did a wonderful job, but eventually my stinginess overcame my laziness, and I gave them the boot.
There are three major impediments to having a clean home. The first is my cat, the second is carpet, and the third is grout. My cat does a wonderful job at cleaning...herself. I guess that's why I like cats. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs...other people's dogs. Dogs are just so messy and smelly. My cat came equipped with a self-cleaning mode standard. She is so devoted to being clean that in the middle of chasing her favorite toy she will stop dead and start cleaning her chest fur. ("One, two, three licks...yup that got it, now where was that feather attached to the string? Oh never mind. Let's nap.") Yes, the cat certainly keeps herself clean but at the expense of EVERYTHIGN in my home. If I don't stay on top of things, cat hair will eventually consume me. It's EVERYWHERE! I've spent hundreds of dollars over the years on litter box technology just trying to figure out how to keep the damn litter in the box. I keep finding tiny little paw prints on my flawless glass-top range. She always denies involvement, but I'm pretty sure she's the one leaving those prints.
The coup de grace? One day my cat was outside on the screened-in porch when I saw her get into her wrenching position. It was fur ball extraction time. But wait! Why was she coming back INTO the house?! What the hell?! As I ran to pick her up and bring her back outside she began to blow. I was holding a little, furry Linda Blair spewing half-digested cat food and fur balls all over my rug! Why? Why would she come back INTO the house to vomit when there is a perfectly good concrete slap to throw up on outside ? And that brings me to carpeting.
There is no reason for carpet in the home. Unless you religiously practice the Japanese custom of removing your shoes EVERY time you enter your home AND you have no pets, there should be no carpeting allowed. Oh, how I yearn to have real hardwood floors covered in layer after layer polyurethane (the best substance in the world). Drop some food or wine or cat nastiness on poly-coated hardwood, and it just wipes up! Even better than hardwood is vinyl flooring. Laid onto the floor in one continuous roll with no seams, nothing is getting through this tacky synthetic wonder!
Now, if I can't have wood or vinyl then I'll settle for tile. I really like the look of tile, but the problem with tile is grout. In between each tile there lays a thin line of cement-like substance holding it all together. Grout is porous and holds all the dirt in which it comes in contact. Spill some wine on tile one night, and you better be prepared to get down on you hands and knees with a bottle of bleach and a scrub brush for the rest of the evening. I believe grout can be sealed with silicone or some other synthetic product. If this is true then 'tile sealing' should be part of the Constitution.
I must go now. It's been 10 minutes since I washed my hands, and the bacteria from the keyboard is multiplying on me exponentially! Again. Just kidding. I'm not that bad. I just like clean. And quiet. An no clutter. Wait! I think I just described the 'clean room' at the Kennedy Space Center. Perhaps I should lighten up a bit...nah!
