Adventures in SF

What Happened To April?

2007-05-02T12:59:39-07:00

It seems like the month of April flew by... so I wanted to provide a quick recap of some things that have been going on out here on the west coast.

Russian River

Neil and I celebrated our (translation: my) success in Las Vegas by scheduling a weekend getaway to Russian River, which is about an hour to an hour and a half north of SF and located in the heart of Sonoma county. We stayed at the fabulous West Sonoma Inn, which was a very nice inn and we even had our own jacuzzi on a private deck! It's still the off-season so the rates were cheaper and it wasn't that crowded, but we still managed to have a ton of fun while we were there.

We met some friends that we've actually kept in touch with (they're also from SF) while going out to the Russian River Resort, a fun little bar with a pool and bad karaoke. Even though we're both attracted to the train-wrecks that often perform karaoke, neither one of us has the courage to ever get up and sign on our own. I think Neil should sing Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman" and I would probably sing Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" (i.e. "I like big butts and I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny..."

Anyway, we went wine tasting in Sonoma and walked around Healdsberg, which is this great town with cool shops, huge antique stores, and very nice restaurants. It was off-season so we didn't get to go canoeing down the russian river like we'd hoped but we'll definitely be back. There's even a softball tournament there later in August that we'll definitely have to go to, if we don't go back before then.

Softball

So softball has started. Although Neil and I play on different teams, we're sponsored by the same bar so our two teams do a lot of joint fundraisers and even practice together sometimes. We also go to the other team's games to cheer them on after our's is over (or vice versa). Unlike the Boston league, the games are only on Sunday and there is usually only 1 game per week (occasionally 2). After the games, you get invited back to the other team's sponsor (often a bar or restaurant) for a free drink and you invite them to your place for a free beverage. It can be pretty fun but can also be a long day if you're not careful!

Anyway, I like my team a lot. Everyone on the team is genuine and very friendly; definitely not too competitive, which I like. A lot of the players have come up from the lower division but there is a solid mix of players. For me personally, it also helps that I am much healthier and stronger this year so I feel much better while playing. I am hitting better, running pretty well and can even throw much stronger this year compared to the two years since having back surgery. I guess all the strength work I've been doing at the gym for my back is starting to help, although I do still have numbness in my leg. Still, it feels good to be playing softball with a bunch of good guys. Now, if we could just get a first baseman who can scoop my low throws, I'd be all set...

Gyms

The gyms in San Francisco are definitely a pet peeve of mine. I don't like them. I belong to 24 hour fitness, which despite it's name, are generally not open 24 hours a day. The one closest to us closes at 3 pm on Sunday! That's hardly 24 hours... While the gyms are relatively cheap compared to Boston (it is the ONLY thing which is cheaper here) they are not that clean and often too crowded. Like Boston Sports Club, 24 hour fitness has multiple locations. I prefer to go to the one near work but we're close to the one in the Castro, which is sometimes more crowded than a busy train and is jam-packed with guys wearing clothes too tight for their bodies. Not a good combination.

Most of the gyms do not even offer towel service or have cleaning supplies to wash the machines when you're done (probably why they're relatively cheap). The locker rooms are typically filthy lockers are often broken. I often feel like I'm back at the 100 year old Cambridge YMCA again. Maybe it's just 24 hour fitness in general and I will start shopping around, but it seems to be the most popular gym in the city.

SF Giants game

Neil and I went to our first SF Giants game of the season. On a cold, drizzly Friday night, we actually had the cheapest seats in the house ($11 each) and still had a great time! I can't say enough about AT&T Park other than the fact that it solidifies my belief that they should tear down that old barn they call Fenway Park and build a stadium where someone taller than 5'4" can sit comfortably without a pole in front of them.

A couple of things I love about AT&T park:
1. Every seat is comfortable.
2. Every seat has a great view.
3. All seats have cup holders!
4. So much room to walk around on the concourse, no bottle necks like at Krysten Harris' beer stand at Fenway when thousands of people have to fit through a single door way.
5. Concession stands everywhere, meaning short lines.
6. Nicer weather than in many other parts of the city.
7. They give away little souveniers every game. I got one of those big "We're number 1" fingers! I love those things. I was hitting Neil with it all night so I suspect he doesn't like them as much as I do.
8. New digital scoreboard that is amazing.
9. You cannot walk down the aisle to your seat in the middle of an at-bat. They have ushers there and you have to wait until the at-bat is over! It's like advanced civilization.
10. Ticket prices are affordable.

Things I don't like:
1. They pipe in music and noise to get people to cheer. I don't like being told when to cheer, but Giants fans seem kinda clueless so maybe they need it.

But everything else about this place is great. They even built the Giants' stadium in an area on the bay that actually gets some of the nicest weather in the city, unlike Candlestick Park which always had dozens of hotdog wrappers flying around the field because it was so windy.

Anyway, I don't think the Giants will be very good this year, the average age of the starting lineup is like 35 or 36 years old (not young by MLB standards). In fact, at one point, I looked up and saw a flock of buzzards flying over the stadium apparently waiting for one of the Giants' older players to keel over. It wouldn't have surprised me.

Well I bought tickets to a bunch of other Giants games (I got the Friday night package) so maybe I'll be there when Barry "Balco" Bonds breaks the home run record. Maybe I'll even catch the ball and become a millionaire. I do have tickets to a couple of games at the end of June, so we'll see...

Okay, I have more things to write about like our recent trip to LA, furniture shopping, and this weekend's visit by our good friends Kevin Hourihan and Jon Jones... so there's definitely more to come.

Zach Johnson Wins the Masters!

2007-04-08T20:01:14-07:00

Easter Sunday was exciting, not only because of the visit from the Easter bunny and the fun easter egg hunt that we had at the park outside of the palace of fine arts, but it also marked a momentous event: Zach Johnson won the Masters! While I am not a golf fan at all, it was difficult to avoid the hype and excitement surrounding someone besides Tiger Woods winning golf's biggest tournament.

It was also amusing to see our little Zachary turn to the tv everytime they mentioned "Zach Johnson" on tv and smile as if to ask "why do they keep saying my name?!" Then, he'd walk away and go play with his easter eggs. That's definitely more fun than winning the Masters to this 3-year-old.

ZACH JOHNSON WINS THE MASTERS!
- NY Times

Fantasy Baseball Draft

2007-04-03T16:47:16-07:00

For the past 15 years (at least), I have participated in Fantasy Baseball. Most recently, I've been in a 16 team league with a bunch of guys in Boston. I was originally introduced to the league by one of my good friends from college, Steve Brinkley. I've actually become friends with a couple of the guys in the league and I would invariably run into them at Red Sox games at some point over the summer, talk trade, and lament the fact that our fantasy teams were never as good as we wanted them to be.

Well, at the beginning of each season, everyone gets together to have a draft to pick the players. It's one of the best nights of the year to talk baseball with other guys, make fun of people's picks, and make decisions about what players you will be cheering for over the next six months. For some reason, it seems like I always end up eating cheese puffs on the night of the draft. Someone usually brings them and I end up eating them because I refuse to buy them any other day of the year. I have several years of baseball draft cheat sheets with orange finger prints all over them because I eat cheesy puffs each year during draft night. It's very strange.

This year was a little bit different because I'm obviously not in Boston to do the draft in person. Well, everyone met at the Sports Depot in Allston for the draft. It started at 7 PM sharp EST and I worked from home that day (it was a Friday) so that I wouldn't be stuck at work during the whole draft. This was a good decision because the draft took almost 5 hours and didn't end until nearly midnight EST!! This year, we did the draft online using CBS sportsline but I definitely missed the banter of making fun of other people's selections, although I know that I was ridiculed for one of my selections - and rightfully so - because there is a chat function and after I made my 2nd pick, I got a big "GONG" from my friend Adam who I usually heckle the most during the draft. A gong is bad.

Anyway, it's still fun to do the draft and pick the players you think will do well and I think I drafted a pretty solid team. Fantasy baseball has actually been a regular source of income for me over the years, having finished in the money 7 out of the 9 years I've been involved in this league, including winning the whole thing 3 times (turning my $100 entry fee into $500 to $1000... not too bad!). I drafted very solid pitching as I am a strong believer that pitching wins championships, both in real baseball and in fantasy baseball. I have very solid pitching with Roy Holladay, Ben Sheets, Flash Gordon, Jonathan Papelbon... and the guy I took with my second round pick, 20th overall: Daisuke Matsuzaka, from the Red Sox. I will be the first to admit that it was way too early to take him, but from what I've seen he is going to be dominant. Anyway, the success of my team will likely be dependent on how well Dice-K pitches this year... I guess I'm in the same position as the Red Sox in that regard.

So I'll be watching the Sox very closely this year as usual. Hopefully I'll win my fantasy baseball league again, which will pay for the MLB Extra Innings package I ordered. I can basically watch every MLB game this year on Direct TV for $150 for the whole season, including all of the Red Sox games. So even though I'm on the west coast, I'll be watching most of the Sox games, which is really no different than any other season. Actually, I think the only thing that feels different is that I didn't end up with orange fingers because I forgot to bring cheese puffs to the draft...

Back to Reality

2007-03-28T11:54:12-07:00

Now that my adventures in Las Vegas are over, it's time to get back into the routine of work, going to the gym, taking care of Zach, and spending my evenings watching some of my favorite tv programs. I just signed up for MLB Extra Innings to be able to get all of the Red Sox games (more on that later) but for now, I'm left with watching the tv shows that Neil also likes to watch, mostly American Idol, Lost, and a couple of others.

I admit, I like watching American Idol although I wouldn't necessarily watch it every week. Fortunately, Tivo helps cut down these 60-90 minute telecasts into a much more manageable 20-30 minutes. Now that I've programmed my tivo remote to skip in 30 second increments (to learn how, click here), it makes tv-watching so much easier and more efficient.

Anyway, I tend to lose interest in American Idol around this time because it's clear who will be in the top 5, for example, and who will go home over the course of the next month. I know there are a ton of opinions about who will do well and who should go home, so here's my two cents as well. Please note that I maintain the right to come back and edit this posting if I am dramatically wrong about any of these.

Who Goes Home in the Next Month or So...

Chris S. - The sideshow Bob look-a-like (the hair anyway) has been less than stellar. I think he goes home tonight.

Chris R. - He was riding the wave for a while but just doesn't sing well enough to stay for much longer. I like his personality and he totally could have been in 98 degrees or one of those boy bands. Maybe he still will be.

Phil - He is so average and his butt-kissing personality makes him very annoying. The eye makeup he had on last night actually made his eyes not stick out as much. There is no way he is still on the show by the end of April.

Sanjaya - I love the train wreck that he is! You just can't look away. He is so bad it is beyond embarrassing. The producers have realized that it is good to have him on the show and somehow when he comes on, I just can't wait to see how awful he is going to be this week. Complete train wreck.

Haley - She has continued to improve each week but just doesn't have anything that sticks out to make her a cut above the rest. It's clear the judges don't like her and she's definitely not good enough to win.

Potential Top 5

Gina - She was actually pretty good last night singing "I'll Stand By You" by the Pretenders. Perfect song for her. I can't help but think that she will develop a niche for herself and make it farther than she should.

Jordin - She continues to improve and definitely seems relatively mature for a 17-year-old (think about it, she's the same age as Sanjaya). I like her personality, but she won't win.

Mandesa, um I mean LaKisha - Has the booming voice, woefully lacks stage presence and confidence. I can't see her winning but I can't envision her not making the top 3.

Blake - I like Blake, mostly for the creativity he brings to the music. I also like when he brings his cute, gay friends to be in the audience too. He seems to have shed a little bit of his cockiness, but still has a slight edge to him which I really like. I generally like the songs he chooses and his various hair styles too (maybe it's the highlights).

Melinda - She is far and away the best one on the show, despite not having a neck. You should see me do my imitation of her with my shoulders past my ears. Seriously, she's phenomenal although the over-the-top facial expressions need to go as well. If she doesn't win, it will be because of her personality quirks rather than talent because it's not even close as to how good she is.

See, I've got it all figured out. No need to watch for the next month or so. Just like I had it figured out that UNC would win the national championship in college basketball this year. That is, until they missed 22 out of 23 shots at the end of the game. So, maybe you should watch American Idol, as long as you figure out how to skip all of those commercials.

Vegas Part II

2007-03-20T19:29:39-07:00

Friday March 16

Friday morning… the lines were even longer at the sports book this morning. It is absolutely packed at Mandalay Bay at this point, but it has already emerged as one of my favorite places to stay in Las Vegas. Because it’s so crowded, it is simply impossible to get a seat to watch the games on the various big screen tv’s in the sportsbook. Some people even sleep in the seats the night before to guarantee themselves a spot. To help alleviate this, they’ve set up an enormous tv and several other flat screens in the open, lounge area. Excellent decision by the management. Still, you even have to get at this backup spot an hour before the games start to get a seat there.

As I make my way down to this area (we sent Kevin down early to reserve seats... or he may have just been up early because he was still on EST, it seemed like he was up at 6:30 every morning), I love looking around and watching people drinking at 9 in the morning. Some went to bed the night before, some didn’t. You can spot the ones who didn’t, they’re wandering around like the Night of the Living Dead. And you wonder why the casinos give drinks away for free? Still, I follow my rule of never drinking before noon, grab a starbucks instead and settle in to watch the games. I think I ended up going 4-2 in the first half of the day, although my 2 losses were games I told Kevin to take. At this point, I am starting to think he is Mush… any game he bets is going to lose. Of course, he takes Notre Dame, a 3.5 point favorite, and they lose outright. Yeah, he’s definitely mush.

Around mid-day, I head off for a massage (no happy ending, so don’t even ask) and Neil and Kevin go to the pool/beach. Mandalay Bay has a pool surrounded by sand and a lazy river, further proof that Vegas is much more than just gambling. I eventually meet up with them, get some food (there is rarely time for food, if you haven’t noticed) and hit the tables again.

Kevin heads off to the Luxor to try his luck there. Neil and I sat atthe same table and he's getting much better at blackjack, but needs to improve his money management. You should never double your bet after winning one hand. Think about it, if you go 1-1, you’ll still lose money. We also played craps for a while, Neil’s favorite game.

I ended up losing at craps and winning at blackjack – usually it’s the reverse, but this trip was not a good time to be playing craps. For those of you not familiar with craps, it’s generally regarded as the most fun game you can play at a casino. It’s also not nearly as complicated as it looks on the surface. I actually believe that I didn’t find any hot craps tables during this trip because there were no crotchety old men rolling the dice. You can always tell who is going to be a good “shooter” and very few guys in their 20’s or 30’s are good rollers. You either need to find guys wearing gold chains, African Americans who do funky things to the dice, or old salty gambling veterans. If Morgan Freeman was ever at a craps table wearing bling, he would be the best craps shooter ever.

Anyway, I ended up going over to the Luxor, which is connected to MB. Kevin was there making friends with people cheering for Kentucky, I think he's still in search of his first basketball winner. It’s definitely a younger crowd there, mostly because it’s less expensive. However, the Luxor is nowhere as nice as Mandalay Bay and the tv they have in their sportsbook looks like it was the first big screen tv ever made, it may have even been a projector tv with squirrels running around inside.

While at the Luxor, something hit me, I came to thestunning realization of what a slot-slut Kevin really is. He loves playing the slot machines. Further proof that he is an 80 year old woman. Good thing he told me he never reads this… anyway, I play my first and last slot machine of the trip, it was a “cold machine” as they say. The best thing I can say about slot machines is that they no longer clank out coins, so they are generally much quieter than they use to be. Although the fact that they spit out tickets seems somewhat anti-climatic too. I would have liked to have seen some old lady (or Kevin) get paid out like 10,000 nickels. [Editor’s note: Kevin ended up hitting very big on one of those slot machines the next day]

After making our way back to Mandalay Bay and getting ourselves all pretty, we headed out to the Gypsy, a populargay Las Vegas dance club located off the strip near UNLV. Apparently, they made a ton of renovations and it turned out to be a blast, we had so much fun. Neil danced his a$$ off like he usually does. It has a great layout with two dance floors, but has a small, close-knit feel to it unlike the other major club in Vegas, Krave which feels like a big LA-style techno-trash warehouse. We ended up staying out pretty late but having a great time. Best of all, none of us lost any money.

Saturday March 17

Well the first round of games are over. I’ve watched more basketball over the past two days than one person should. Basically, if there are any gaps in timing over the past couple of days, I was watching college basketball. Saturday ended up being another winning day, although I lost my biggest game of the of the day when Butler upset Maryland. we also had another 93 degree day in Vegas. Definitely good times.

It is also St. Patrick’s Day today, which often goes unnoticed in Las Vegas unless you’re at one of the few casinos that acknowledges it. We were all a little tired from all of the dancing and drinking the night before, but Neil, Kevin and I decided to go for a walk along Las Vegas Boulevard (aka thestrip”). One thing about the strip, although another casino may look like it’s right next door, it will probably take 10 to 15 minutes to walk to it. Walking from one end of the strip to the other easily takes well over an hour. When it’s 90 to 100 degrees outside, you can work up quite a sweat... unless you take the newly built Monorail, which Kevin and I determined is simply impossible to mention without singing the Monorail song from the Simpsons.

We eventually stumbled upon an Irish bar right on the strip called Nine Fine Irishmen , although now that I think of it, I think Kevin led us there on purpose. They were having a huge St Patrick's Day party and we ended up having Irish lagers while the kilt-wearing bands played, various Irish men and women got drunk (redundant statement, yes) and everyone had their green shirts and pants on. Didn’t I move away from Boston to get away from all of this? As usual, St. Patrick’s Day was just another excuse for the Irish to get drunk… although I’m not sure what excuse they use for the other 364 days of the year.

We eventually made it back to the hotel and Kevin even hit a very big jackpot on one of the slot machines (clearly the luck of the Irish was on his side). He ended up flying out Saturday night; I was doubtful he was going to get on that plane with the shirt on his back... and we all know how cold it is in Boston. Neil and I ended up meeting up with a fun girl I work with (She actually lives in Vegas, so maybe my job will take me there too, haha) and we rolled bones for a while (translation = played craps). We lost again. I definitely needed that bling-wearing Morgan Freeman to show up because apparently Mr. Fuji no like game of craps.

We had a relatively uneventful Saturday night, electing to stay in and order room service instead of dealing with the thugs there for the boxing match held at the hotel that night (I have no idea who was fighting). Plus, we had to fly back early the next morning, which was okay. It's nice to get outta Vegas with the shirt on your back and a little extra money in your pocket. After all, it's only a 1 hour flight from SF, so there's always next time.

Viva Las Vegas!

2007-03-20T12:57:41-07:00

Wednesday March 14

The first observation about this year’s March Madness trip to Vegas, it’s much faster to get to LV flying from SF compared to Boston! While that may be obvious, the previous 20 times I’ve made the trek to America’s gambling mecca, I’ve been subjected to a 6 hour journey from the east coast. The one thing that is always cool about that trip is just how excited everyone is… people even cheer when the plane touches down in Vegas. Perhaps the 6 hour journey builds up everyone’s excitement. And for many, that includes 6 hours of drinking on the flight…. So maybe that’s it!

My flight arrived about an hour before Kevin’s (who was coming from Boston) and after going to pick up my rental car (the guy tried to talk me into a Hummer for $50 extra a day, but I passed), I made my way back to the airport. I think I circled the airport 3 times before finding my way back into the arrivals. I picked up Kevin, who is doing his Nicole Richie impression by looking borderline anorexic, and we then we headed over to Mandalay Bay and made it through a relatively simple check in process – the only decision to be made was whether I should give Kevin a room credit slip, which allowed him to charge whatever he wants to the room. Anyway, I gave him one and reminded myself to check the bill before we left (note to self: I still need to check that bill as who knows what he charged while I wasn’t looking).

We spent about 30 seconds in the room before going back downstairs to gamble. Normally, when I fly out to Vegas and gamble that first night, it’s the kiss of death. Probably because of the 3 hour time difference and it ends up being the equivalent of 4 or 5 AM EST… and you’re just so exhausted you make bad decisions like splitting tens (which I have never actually done, for the record). I guess living on the west coast paid immediate dividends because I ended up winning that night. Kevin, on the other hand, couldn’t even get the only guaranteed payout in the casino – the ATM – to pay out. Apparently, the beloved folks at Bank Of America had shut off his ATM card for making charges in separate states on the same day. Or something like that. Maybe Clisham is right, that bank does suck.

Anyway, it was a profitable night, but I had to be up early for the 9 AM start to the college games the next morning so we called it a night in order to get a couple hours sleep before the games tipped off.

Thursday March 15

I woke up around 8 am and headed down to the sports book to make my wagers… and encountered a line of about 200 to 300 people waiting to make bets. I’ve never seen the likes of it in all my years!

So, I’m standing in a Las Vegas sportsbook wanting to bet on the upcoming games, but there’s no chance that I would get to the front of the line by the time the first 3 games start, so let’s just say that the old fashioned methods of the telephone and Internet were the preferred resources I used. I still find it incredibly hypocritical that it is legal to be able to walk up to a window and hand my money to a stranger to make a bet on a college basketball game, but illegal to use the phone or Internet to do the exact same thing. I strongly believe that these laws are simply designed to protect the casinos’ interests. I mean everyone knows that state lotteries are the biggest scams around and they pay out only a fraction of what they take in… and then tax the winner on top of that! I am going to write a strongly worded letter to my congressman.

Anyway, I get my bets in and start out 3-0 in the morning games including a nice wager on Boston College and a couple of other easy winners. The rest of the day pretty much goes the same way. I end up 9-2 on the day. One of my losses was on Duke, who I knew would probably lose but I guess I couldn’t go against all those cute white boys from the school in Durham

I even made it to the pool that first day. Las Vegas was in the middle of a record-setting heat wave for March. It was in the low to mid 90’s (average temperature in March is 69 degrees) so Kevin and I spent a couple of hours at the pool. Anyone who knows Kevin realizes he was sunburn the minute he stepped outside. Actually, I think he got sunburned while watching the weather forecast on tv saying that it was going to be that hot. That’s what he gets for being Irish.

After the pool and lamenting the fact the we did not book a cabana (definitely would have been worth the investment), we headed back to the casino where I had more good luck… thanks to Mr. Fuji. Who is Mr. Fuji, you ask? Well, Mandalay Bay has these $25 chips with all different pictures on them from various events held there over the years. Apparently one of the events several years ago was sumo wrestling and this guy on the chip looked like the old professional wrestler, Mr Fuji and he brought me good luck every time he showed his face. When I needed to win a double-down hand, I brought out Mr. Fuji. When I had a larger bet up than normal, I brought in Mr. Fuji. He was my good luck charm! It like he was there to smash a chair over the dealer’s head every time I got into trouble. Good ol’ Mr. Fuji.

After a few more hours of basketball and gambling, it was soon time to head to the airport to pick up Mientkiewicz. Let me just say that the rental car paid for itself that night. The airport was absolutely chaos. The line for taxis was over an hour long. Baggage claim looked like one of those European soccer matches where everyone gets trampled to death. So, I picked him up and took him back to the hotel, where he promptly went right to bed. I guess Neil had a late night the night before… at work, that is. At least that’s his story, haha. That job of his is a killer. There’s no way I could work as much as he does.

So Kevin and I went back to the tables. I had Mr. Fuji on my side, Kevin had um, er, ah, one of the Mama Mia chips on his side? Clearly Abba chips do not bring the same fortune as former WWF wrestling managers. Although he eventually got the ATM to pay out, it was about the only thing that was a winner for him that night. Poor Kevin. Pun fully intended.

To take a break from the gambling, we decided to visit Rum Jungle, the uber-hip night club at Mandalay Bay. One thing that I absolutely despise about those places is the faux-lines they create, just to appear like they are crowded and extremely popular. Well, after voicing my displeasure about the ridiculous line to the lummox of a doorman, I ended up not making it into Rum Jungle. I’ve been in before so I knew I wasn’t missing much, just a bunch of scantily clad ho’s and $12 drinks.

So, I ended up going back to the tables and won some more money, mostly at blackjack. Are you seeing a pattern yet? Definitely a good trip so far. Kevin and I met up later on and called it a night relatively early (keep in mind that 2 am is relatively early in Vegas) so I could be fresh for the games the next day. You would think I was actually playing basketball the next day! Although I suppose I wouldn’t be out in the casino til 2 am if I had to play the next day, unless I was part of the NBA all-star team, of course (the game was played in LV just two weeks earlier and apparently half the hookers took vacation after that weekend).

Trains

2007-03-13T22:53:49-07:00

There is a funny little dynamic on the train that makes me laugh every time I get on the K train in the morning. Now that Neil lives here, I am lucky enough to get dropped off (actually I'm letting him use my car so it's more than luck) at a train station closer to work in the morning. On days when we don't take Zach to daycare, it basically cuts about 15 minutes off of my 25 minute commute.

Well, there are 3 trains that come by... K, L, and M. Whenever the K or L train comes by and I get on, there is a funny dynamic on the train. Because the train originates in the western part of the city, which has a very high Asian population, all of the people who get on the train first take the seats. Then, as the train makes its way downtown, people from a wider range of ethnic backgrounds then get onto the train. However, all the seats are taken by the Chinese riders. So, the train car has all Chinese people sitting down and all white, black and latins left standing. Kinda like some futuristic society where the chinese get to sit down and everyone else has to stand. I'm sure my friend Ray Shiao would approve. HA!

48 hours...

2007-03-12T10:49:21-07:00

No, not the Eddie Murphy movie or that tv show with the same name, I am counting down the hours until my trip to Vegas! Forecasts show it will be in the mid to upper 80's while I am there. This creates a dilemma: how do you combine enjoying the warm weather, watching college basketball, gambling, and all other fun things Las vegas has to offer (alcohol, hot nightclubs, the pool scene, maybe even shopping (nah), and more gambling)? I think the answer is to rent a cabana while at the pool at Mandalay Bay, which includes TV's with the games on and some cabana-boy service. I'm pretty sure that if I looked up heaven in the dictionary, that's what I would find.

By the way, prediction for biggest first round upset: Wright State (#14) over Pittsburgh (#3). Don't be surprised if Winthrop wins as well. Prediction to win it all: Univ. of North Carolina (currently 7-to-1 odds). Let's go Tar Heels!

Homework

2007-03-07T22:27:58-08:00

As some people know, Neil has been in school working toward his degree by taking a wide range of classes online. What I've found is that these online programs are actually quite legitimate and require a lot of time and effort on the part of the student. For the most part, Neil has been doing a great job on his own... that is, until this semester, when he was forced to take math.

So, I've been putting those math skills that helped lead me to get a 730 on my math SATs to good use lately, although after looking at some of the geometry and word problems for the first time, I had the feeling that I'd be more likely to get a 370 if I had to take them now! However, after reading through the textbook (which Neil does not do, he goes right to the assignment, grrrr), it all came back to me. So, at least one to two nights a week, we spend about 2 hours working on his math homework and I help him prepare for his quizzes. Sometimes I'll do the assignment first and then we'll compare answers. To his credit, he always wants to do the homework on his own. I generally have pretty good patience with him, which usually starts to wane about an hour into each assignment.

It definitely give me a glimpse into what things will be like when Zachary goes to school and has homework assignments. Not only does Neil wait until they night that everything is due to start the assignment, doesn't actually read how to do the exercises, and often struggles to grasp the concepts, I still need to figure out how to help him learn and work on being more patient. It's much easier said than done!

Speaking of Zach, he's been in Florida all week. Before he left, he asked if it was snowing in Florida, obviously thinking back to our last trip to Boston when it snowed. So, Neil and I have had a relatively quiet week. Now I have to get back to dividing fractions and finding the area of a trapezoid. Now if I could just remember what the hell a trapezoid is...

March Madness

2007-03-06T16:23:21-08:00

Next week is the start of March Madness, the annual NCAA college basketball tournament that takes place each March. It's one of the most exciting times of the year in sports because small schools that you've never heard of (schools like George Mason Univesity, Southwest Missouri State, Butler University) go head to head with the top college basketball teams in the country (teams like North Carolina, UCLA, Duke). Don't be surprised when Winthrop wins a game or two this year!

There are 32 games during the first two days of the tournament alone, including many last second finishes that all seem to happen within minutes of each other. If you could have 4 tv's going at once and be with tons of other screaming fans, that's where you would want to be. Well, that is exactly what happens in LAS VEGAS!

So, you can tell where this is going... where am I going to be for March Madness? You guessed it, Sin City itself. I've been to LV during this weekend several times over the years and nothing compares to it. The place is packed with gamblers, fans, and college students from all around including many form the California and Arizona schools there to watch all of the games. Because the games start so early here (9 am PST as opposed to noon EST), some people even sleep at the sports books the night before to ensure that they will have a seat to watch the games the next day!

The sports books located within the casinos are a great place to watch the games because you cannot only bet on the games but you can also watch ALL of the games on the multiple big screen televisions they have built in. Nothing compares to having 4 games on at once and people rooting for each side... you might be watching Duke vs. UCLA and then you hear people going crazy and you're not even sure what screen they're watching.

This year, I am staying at Mandalay Bay, which is definitely one of the biggest, nicest, and funnest casino on the Las Vegas Strip. I've never stayed there but I've gone over there multiple times because it's such a great environment. Now that the MGM-Mirage has bought out Manadalay Bay, I can stay there and get a dramatically reduced rate on the rooms. Of course, if you factor in how much I will likely actually spend on the room factoring in potential gambling losses (inconceivable!), then the cost is probably slightly higher. I'm feeling good this year though, having scouted out some of the west coast teams (UCLA is overrated), knowing the east coast teams like BC and teams like Toledo. I've been doing my homework.

Although I've typically gone to Las Vegas this weekend with my fraternity friends from college, they are actually going next weekend instead. Although the NCAA tournament is still going on that weekend, there are much fewer games so less hysteria. It's generally not as fun. It's also the weekend that Las Vegas hosts some NASCAR race and you've never seen more trailor-toting clowns wearing these gaudy, brutally ugly Home Depot and M&M jackets in your life. I am all set with being in Las Vegas during Nascar weekend.

What will make this weekend particularly interesting is that I talked my friend Kevin Hourihan into coming out from Boston, although he didn't need to be asked twice. Actually, did I even ask him once? I just remember telling him I had a cheap room at Mandalay Bay and next thing I knew he was forwarding his intinerary! And after much hemming and hawing and debating work commitments, Neil will also be able to go as well! It's strange because Neil definitely gets into college basketball as much as anyone even though he rarely has any money on the games. He even called the Florida Gators to win it all last year (at 25-1 odds at the time) early on. His pick this year is North Carolina, but it's only because he's infatuated with Tyler Hansbrough, the 7 ft sophomore for UNC who doesn't look quite as appealing after having his nose broken last week by a Duke player. His nose is a sign that March Madness has begun!

Shopping for Birthday Cakes in SF

2007-02-26T11:23:44-08:00

February 26th

Today (February 26th) is Neil's birthday. How old is he? Well, 3's are wild. Of course when I mentioned that this was his Larry Bird (33) birthday, he had no idea what I meant. I did discover that it is also Michael Bolton's birthday today as well. I'm not exactly sure why, but that seems kinda funny. Maybe they're twins? Probably not. It's also Erika Badu's birthday, I think Neil has a better chance of being related to her.

Anyway, I spent this weekend searching for last minute gift ideas and looking for a birthday cake to celebrate Neil's big day. I stopped by the Castro on Sunday to see what I could find. However, purchasing a birthday cake in San Francisco is not as easy it would seem. Anyway, here are some of the more interesting cakes that I encountered this weekend during my search.

The one on the left looked yummy... but then the one on the right caught my eye, but I wasn't sure how I was going to carry it home. There wasn't anything to hold on to... although maybe I was mistaken. Don't they have any normal b-day cakes here in San Francisco? Maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

So, I asked a couple of guys from our neighborhood and they suggested this one. I'm sure Neil would have really enjoyed it, but I decided against it. I'm sure it would have been a big hit though. Eventually I settled on a relatively normal cake but I had a little accident with it on my way home. I hope he doesn't notice!

Anyway, maybe we'll skip having cake this time around. There's always next year!

New Softball Team

2007-02-25T11:38:05-08:00

After returning from the winter bizzard in Ohio, I was greeted with a 77 degree day for softball clinic day. Basically, my trp back west allowed me to gain 70 degrees within 24 hours. A perfect day for softball. My only complaint about the softball clinic day was that I ended up getting a slight sunburn because I've never had to wear sunscreen in February before in my life.

San Francisco softball clinic day was organized into several different playing stations depending upon your positional preference (on the field, of course). The fields include several baseball diamonds so there is plenty of room for different softball activities. There was an area for infielders, one for outfielders, another for pitchers, and even one for people wanting to practice the fundamentals of throwing properly (this is where most of the catchers ended up, including Neil).

Both Neil and I ended up being "selected" by the same sponsor, representing the C and D division teams for the Pilsner Pups. Yay! It actually worked out great because our teams do joint fundraisers and both of our teams will end up a the same local watering hole after the games on Sundays. Neil's team is coached by a friend of mine who I worked with for several years at my previous job, Terry Sweeney. He's a great guy although I'm not sure he knows what he's got in store for him with Neil on the team. Maybe Clisham (who turned 40 this week, I feel obligated to point out) should give him a call to warn him... or at least be on call for Terry to talk to after Neil has his first run-in with some lesbian on another team.

We even had our first fundraiser this weekend, a beer bust that included jello shots and a raffle for various items including bottles of alcohol, gift certificates and an anal ring toss. Neil was extremely disappointed to not win this (check out the picture). Actually, so was I. Still, we each got to meet our new teammates, have some fun and sport our new Pilsner Pups shirts. It certainly won't be the same as the Brushbacks and it kinda makes me feel like what would happen if you got to see what happened if the Broken Hearts Club had a sequel.

My First Earthquake

2007-02-23T16:43:33-08:00

Friday February 23, 2007 3:46 PM PST, 3.4 on the richter scale

Imagine sitting at your desk on a Friday afternoon, wrapping up work for the week and thinking about the upcoming weekend. Maybe even chatting online with your friend Kevin about your upcoming trip to Las Vegas (details coming in my next post) when suddenly... a rumble and a shake, your computer monitor starts to vibrate, the lights flicker, pictures fall off the shelf, people start to scream.... okay, so none of that happened, but I did experience my first noticeable, San Francisco Earthquake! And it was very exciting!!!

It was definitely noticeable, everyone in my office immediately got up and started asking "Did you feel that?!" even some of the veterans who have probably experienced dozens of quakes were smiling with nervous grins. I was smiling from ear to ear saying how cool it was!

I quickly called Neil but he had no idea what I was talking about. Figures. Then I got an IM from Carrie who exclaimed "Did you feel that earthquake?!" She said that she thought a truck had crashed into the house while she was working from home. I believe it, everything did shake noticeably. Although I think I would have described it more like a Mini Cooper crashing into the building rather than a truck.

Of course, we immediately began to wonder what Zachary was doing when the quake of Feb '07 hit (it will probably not be labeled that, but I'm going for the drama angle). Apparently they had earthquake drills at his school, similar to what most skills have with fire drills, back in October when we first moved here. I guess Zach just looked at everyone like they were crazy as the teachers and kids practiced standing in doorways or hiding under tables or whatever you're supposed to do during an earthquake. Apparently Zach thought everyone just looked silly practicing their earthquake drills and he refused to participate.

Actually I'm not really sure what you're supposed to do during an earthquake. Let me see... during a thunderstorm you're supposed to stand under the tallest tree you can find, in a tornado it's the nothwest corner of the attic... in a riptide, you're supposed to swim with the tide - or is it against it? Hmm... what about an earthquake? Stop, drop and roll??? I was tempted to just run screaming through the halls when this one hit like that chaotic scene in the movie Airplane when they think the plane is going to crash. Maybe I should look into what I should do next time. Because one thing is for sure... there will be a next time.

The Blizzard Continues Eastward!

2007-02-14T09:05:52-08:00

Well it looks like the blizzard is heading east and will hit Boston today! HA! I guess this was kind of a big deal here. My company sent this note out to the other offices about the Toledo office...

"Due to Northwest Ohio experiencing it's first Blizzard since 1978 the Toledo facility was unable to process last evenings branch mail. Carriers were recalling their vehicles off the road to comply with local authorities who issued level 2 & 3 category driving conditions, which ban all vehicles from the roadways. Our sincere apologies, this situation was totally out of our control and dictated by the severe weather conditions. As of this morning Northwest Ohio was still under level 2 & 3 driving restrictions, based on local news reports these conditions should be lifted by mid day."

So I guess that explains why there was no one on the road last night...

Blizzard of 2007

2007-02-13T20:49:40-08:00

I moved to California, which obviously has many ramifications. One thing that I assumed that i meant was that I had no need to worry about snow squalls, nor'easters, or blizzards, right? WRONG! My fabulous trip to Toledo, Ohio has been interrupted by a blizzard! That's right... 10+ inches of snow, 40 mph winds, temperatures in the single digits. This is ridiculous, I can't wait to get back to California.

I am here for a week of training but my company actually closed early so we got to go back to our hotels... and do nothing. I mean it's a blizzard, right?! So what do you do during a blizzard? You watch the news to see all the car crashes, who lost power, see what's closed and how much snow you can expect. Everything in Toledo is closed. Everything except for the University of Toledo Men's Basketball game against Eastern Washington! Hmmmm.... well, after two hours of hunkering down in my hotel room, I realized there was no way I could stay in all night. So I decided to go to the basketball game!

I had driven by the University earlier so I knew it was only a few miles down the road. So, I hopped in my ghetto-fabulous Hyundai rental car, did a couple of donuts in the parking lot just for fun (my motto: if the rental car place give you a Hyundai, beat on it as much as possible) and headed off to the game. I figured it was a good chance for me to scout out the Toledo Rockets before going to Vegas for the NCAA tournament next month. And of course, I also found a way to make it financially interesting! Toledo was a 13 point favorite and I correctly predicted that they would come out flat in the first half, I mean there were 200 people in the stands, how excited could the players be to play this game?! Anyway, Toledo won... but not by 13 points! So, it was a fun and quite profitable night at the Toledo Men's basketball game, good times! Maybe my trip to Toledo isn't all that bad!

Are You Ready For Some... Softball?

2007-02-09T16:15:09-08:00

It's only early February, so why am I talking about softball? Well, the SFGSL (San Francisco Gay Softball League) has its annual clinic day this Saturday. Of course, it's not a tryout. But there will be representatives from the various teams there to watch you play and evaluate you, then decide whether they want to invite you on their team. But it's not a tryout.

I've been lucky enough to have a couple of teams ask me to play with them this year after having played with some people in the fall league and also from submitting my player information on the website. These teams include The Pilsner Pups, The Metro Angels, and the Moby Dick C-Men - how great is that name? - but I haven't made any commitments to anyone yet. I figure I'll go to Tryouts (er, I mean clinic day) and see what some of the people are like. So far, I've determined that each team seems to have an average of 6 guys with beards. It's bizarre.

Neil will be going to clinic day too. Obviously, whatever team selects him has no idea what they're getting into! Of course, he'll probably get more offers than me; they'll see his blue eyes, athletic physique, and the fact that he has on pants that are 4 sizes too small and they won't be able to resist. Well, at least we'll have each other to talk to at tryouts. Um, clinic day.

I still remember talking to Jon Jones and Kevin Hourihan at clinic day for the BSL three years ago. Hopefully, I'll have better luck meeting potential friends this time around :-)

I think my goal this year will be to meet some new friends, have fun in what seems to be a less competitive environment compared to Boston (I can't wait to see how Neil reacts to that!), and of course to win another rookie of the year award. I know, I know, it would be like when Ichiro won it when he came to the U.S. when he was 30 years old. No wait, my BSL award was like that. I guess this would be more like Julio Franco winning it after joining the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant company softball team. For those of you who don't know, Julio Franco is about 50 years old and still playing baseball. Well, I'm not quite there yet. Although after tryouts this weekend, I may feel like I am. Of course, I meant clinic day.

Watching the Super Bowl on the West Coast

2007-02-06T11:01:39-08:00

Watching the Super Bowl this past Sunday was an odd experience for a number of reasons. There are so many factors that made it such a bizarre experience, so I will just list them (in no particular order).

1. The Patriots weren't playing. The should have been playing in the big game yet again, but they weren't. Kinda sucked.

2. I had to decide whether to wear shorts or pants. It was in the upper 60's, I had played softball earlier that morning on a gorgeous day, and I ultimately decided to wear jeans with flip flops. I have never worn flip flops when watching the super bowl. Somehow, it didn't seem right.

3. I watched it alone. Actually not really. I met my friend James White ("aka Jamey") at a local sports bar in the Castro called the Pilsner which is pretty much the only gay sports-oriented bar in the area. They have a couple of flat screen tv's, pool tables, they sponsor multiple softball teams. Anyway, Neil went to see a double feature of Joan Crawford movies at the Castro Theater instead (do you think I could make this stuff up?) so James and I made friends with a bunch of people at the bar. For those of you who don't know James, he's extremely outgoing and makes friends easily. He's lived in SF before and is now out here for a 13 week assignment at a local hospital and is a great person to have here in SF.

4. The food. Like many bars, the Pilsner served food during the game. Except it wasn't your standard buffalo wings and other fried foods. Nope, in SF they served sushi, seafood, and vegetables. Somehow, it just didn't seem right.

5. The singing. So, after Prince performed his halftime show, the organizers at the bar brought out a karaoke machine. This asian female singer then belted out a couple of random tunes. She sang well into the start of the second half. Yes, it was strange. I still don't understand why she was singing in a bar at halftime of the super bowl. I don't think anyone knew why. I guess because it's San Francisco.

Well, I could go on and on about why this was kind of a bizarro super bowl for me (epitomized by Peyton Manning winning a big game). The good news is that it was a lot of fun, I met some fun people that I will probably hang out with again, and now I know what to expect next year.

Waiting in Line For Red Sox Tickets

2007-01-30T13:09:51-08:00

Red Sox tickets went on sale this past Saturday. No, I'm not just talking about games at Fenway Park... the Red Sox make their annual west coast swing through Oakland in June this year and I was first in line when they went on sale at 9 AM on Saturday morning!

Well, I didn't actually wait in line but I did log onto the A's website to buy tickets. Unlike in Boston where "server busy, try again later" messages haunt Sox fans trying to buy tickets for the upcoming season, I had no troubles at all.

I actually bought 2 tickets for all 4 games for the week of June 11th. My seats are all in the lower section behind home plate. I'm sure that Neil will go to at least one game with me. The real trick will be finding someone to go with me to the Thursday day game, which starts at 1 pm. I am already planning to play hookie.

I guess I have 5 months to become friends with someone who will skip work with me to catch the game, risk being seen by their boss on tv catching a foul ball, and spend the afternoon having a few beers and talking about nothing in particular. This is when I realize that all of my friends who would happily do this live 3,000 miles away. Hey Kevin H., what are you doing the afternoon of the second Thursday in June?

Run-In With The PO-lice

2007-01-25T10:49:48-08:00

The public transportation system in San Francisco offers both above-ground (trolley-type trains) and underground subway-type trains. The one that I take every day, the MUNI, goes above ground and below ground (it's kinda like the Green line in Boston). If you board outside, then you don't really have to pay. In fact, the only way to pay is to get on the first car and it's usually a pain n the a$$.

Well, I've been riding the train to work for a few months now and I quickly recognized that it's pointless to pay when you board outside. Still, more often than not, I gether up my coins and pay my fare in the morning and then get a "transfer" (which is basically a ticket that serves as both a receipt and lets you ride any bus/train for the next 2 hours). I've even purchased a monthly pass but I think I missed the 2 hour window you have to buy them earlier in the month... or I just decided not to wait in the 50-person line to buy one. I can't remember why I didn't get one this month.

Earlier this week, I was waiting for the train but of course it was late. So I walked over to Muddy Waters for a coffee. Yes, this is the name of the coffee shop... the name is fitting as it pretty much describes how the coffee tastes. *Sigh, I miss Dunkin Donuts* Anyway, I had my $1.50 in my pocket (originally allocated for the train) and instead used that to pay for my gasoline, er, coffee.

So, I eventually get on the train... and after 1 stop, suddenly the transit police board and start checking everyone's pass. D'oh! Do they give you a ticket (if so, how much)? Do they arrest you? Do they shoot you on site? Of course, I don't wait around to find out. I immediately get off at the next stop (which is now underground), thinking that I had out-maneuvered Ponch, Jon and the rest of the Chips cast.

But of course, it wasn't that easy. There are two more transit police there waiting in the station writing up tickets to unsuspecting commuters! I don't see these guys for 4 months and now they're like a SWAT team everywhere I look? So, I turn up the volume to my iPod and hurry past them, that way if they yell toward me, I can't hear them... It made sense at the time. Maybe it was the crappy Muddy Waters coffee clouding my judgement.

Anyway, I do a loop around the station, duck behing a couple of poles in the underground station, and hear the next train coming. Before making my dash toward the doors, I peek around the pole (a this point even the homeless guy in the station is looking at me kind weird) to make sure there are no more gun-waving transit police on the platform, wait a few more seconds, and then quickly board the next train. Situation averted. Of course, I was ready for a full-out chase through the subway, like in French Connection (is there a subway chase in that movie?) but it never really happened. Maybe next time.

Another Business Trip

2007-01-24T10:09:56-08:00

So one of the perks of my job is being able to travel to some fun places, like my trips to Brazil and Mexico in November. Well, I just got word that I need to go to research management training for a full week... in sunny Toledo! UGH! You have got to be kidding me.

Seriously, does it get any worse than that? We just had our annual sales meeting two weeks ago in Puerto Rico. I did not go to that (I am not in sales). No, instead I am going to Toledo, Ohio instead. WTF??? And for a week too! In February! Grrrrr.

To top it all off, there are no direct flights to Toledo (I guess it's good news that they have an airport, not that it will matter to me). In fact, because the flight options are so bad - I am actually going to fly through Detroit and then drive an hour to Toledo. Believe it or not, this was more appealing to me than the option they originally presented to me... leave Sunday morning, fly to Chicago, have a 4 HOUR layover, then fly to Toledo. Um, no. So I chose to fly to Detroit instead and then drive. Assuming I don't get mugged, shot, or killed (or all of the above) in Detroit, it's actually a much better option. Kinda like having your foot amputated is a better option than having your entire leg amputated.

So, if anyone's ever been to Toledo and knows of any fun places to hang out, let me know! Somehow, I don't think I will be getting many responses.

I'm Sorry I Caused the Patriots to Lose

2007-01-21T19:53:12-08:00

So Sunday set itself up for a repeat of last week... going to the Connecticut Yankee (see other post) to watch the Patriots game with a bunch of other crazy Patriots fans. Unfortunately, Neil had to work on Sunday and it looked like he was going to have to miss the entire game. Well, I decided that I would drive him in to his office and then go watch the game on my own.

It was a perfect day on Sunday, 68 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Zach had on his Tom Brady jersey and after we dropped Neil off at his office, we then hung out and spent some time by the water getting ready for the big game. I drove back into the city and dropped Zach off at Carrie's house and headed off to the Conn. Yankee.

Everything was going great... Patriots were up 21-3 and another trip to the Super Bowl was on the way. Now, I am a bit superstitious and I had calculated that the Patriots were outscoring their opponents 42-10 while I was watching the second half of the SD game and first half of the Indy game. Then, I got a call with about halfway through the 2nd quarter from Neil, telling me that he would be finished earlier than expected. Unfortunately, there was nobody in his office coming back into SF and neither one of us is really familiar enough with the transit system to know how he could get back into the city (bus? ferry? hitchhike? rent a bike?) without me picking him up. While these were all suggestions that I was contemplating telling him to consider, it wasn't like it was a 10-10 game or anything... so I decided to go pick him up.

Of course, I listened to the game on the radio while driving. Well, after the Pats let up a FG to make it 21-6 at halftime, I still felt comfortable with the decision to leave the Conn Yankee. However, after picking him up and driving back into the city, it just kept getting worse and worse as we drove. By the time I picked him up, it was 21-13. By the time we were on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge, it was 21-21. At this point, it was too far to drive back to the Pats-only bar and I didn't want to risk stopping off at some random sports bar, so we headed directly home.

I've watched enough football games to know that by the time that Reche Caldwell dropped that wide-open pass and the refs then failed to call pass interference in the end zone later in the same drive, the game was over. Both literally and figuratively. Well, by the time that all was said and done, a few expletives were dropped, some money was lost, and somehow the Colts are going to Super Bowl. Definitely not like last week. Definitely not like we've grown accustomed to as Patiots fans.

Am I overreacting to the bad karma I cause? Well, I'll never forget the time, 20 years and 3 months ago when I prematurely opened a bottle of champagne (although it may have been sparkling grape soda) in the 9th inning of the Red Sox-Mets game 6 (the Bill Buckner game) '86 world series. Against all logic and reason, I blamed myself for jinxing the Red Sox that October night. As did millions of other Red Sox fans (just check out Bill Simmons' Now I Can Die in Peace), I'm sure. Well, against all logic and reason, I am blaming myself for leaving the Conn. Yankee and all my fellow Pats fans that were there. At least we could have drown our sorrows together.

The silver lining in all of this... at least I won't have to endure the Boston media and ongoing coverage of this heartbreaking defeat on a daily basis this week. Also, did someone say that it's less than a month until pitchers and catchers report for spring training? I hope so.

One thing you can be sure of, if I am watching any Red Sox playoffs games there next October... I will have the bus schedule, ferry schedule, and bike rental places in Sausalito all memorized by then!

Have You Ever Wanted To Visit San Francisco...

2007-01-18T20:58:31-08:00

Well, now is your chance! Last week, JetBlue Airlines (the preferred airline of yours truly) announced that it was implementing a direct flight between SFO and Boston. This is the truly great news... both Neil and I have been using JetBlue to go back and forth for the past six months, but it flew into Oakland and not SFO. What's the big deal about JetBlue, you ask?

Here are my top 5 reasons why JetBlue is far superior to other airlines:

1. A tv at every seat. Yes, 40 channels of Direct TV that you control. Picture sitting on a plane for 5 to 6 hours. Would you rather have a tv or not?

2. More leg room. Yes, they legitimately have much more leg room for every seat. Other airlines like United and American are built like Fenway Park, designed for people shorter than 5'5".

3. Friendlier service. I can undoubtedly attest to the fact that the emplyoyees at JetBlue are nicer. Maybe it's because the employees haven't been in the industry for 40 years like some of the stewardesses at American Airlines, for example.

4. Shorter security lines. Checking in at Logan is much easier because they fly fewer flights and have their own dedicated area, so you're interacting with fewer people going through security at the same time. Shoter lines are good.

5. Better technology. Their web site is easy to use. Checking in online before your flight is very easy too. They are also the only airline that seems to recognize that I should not be on the "no-fly" list. I have to wait for clearance when flying on other airlines, JetBlue seems to know that I am not the terrorist-Paul Johnson that the TSA is looking for.

On top of the great news that JetBlue flies direct between the two cities, they are also running fare specials to kick off the new routes. Now, I have a friend... Let's give him the first name Jon. And let's give him a generic last name like Jones. Well, this fictional friend of mine is on the Internet all day, finding obscure articles and blogs from all over the country. He knows about random sites that offer promotions for things like winning free copies of the Brady Bunch Season 2. In this case, he found out that JetBlue is offering fares of $99 each way between Boston and SFO! It doesn't get much better than that!

So, go ahead and book your flight. Come to San Francisco. Everybody's doing it.

Running in SF - A bad idea

2007-01-17T16:10:41-08:00

So, I was riding the train home from work the other day... trying to figure out a time to go to the gym. Of course, it's been so long since I've been to the gym, I'm not sure I could even find it. Well, as I stood on the crowded train, I saw a sign for the San Francisco Marathon. More specifically, "we'll train you to run the marathon!" The sign had a URL (www.aidsmarathon.com) associated with it if you wanted to learn more about how to train to run the SF marathon or half-marathon in July. The spring training season begins February 3rd.

Hmmm... I've run a marathon before. And I could use some additional motivation to help me get back into top, physical shape. Okay, I probably need more than just motivation for that and the "getting back..." part is in doubt as well, but I think you understand where I'm going with this! Well, rather than blindly joining some training program, I decided to see where I stood in relation to actually being able to run a marathon. I mean, it was at least 7 or 8 years ago (more?) when I ran the Cape Cod Marathon.

Having had back surgery less than 2 years ago, I still have a fair amount of numbness in my left leg which makes running long distances a challenge (wah-wah!). And the term "long distances" is relative, of course. A mile sometimes feels like a long distance to me now!

Anyway, on MLK day, I took to the road. I dusted the cobwebs off of my running shoes and went for a run. The weather in SF is generally perfect for running (50-70 degrees, no humidity) and the weather was ideal on Monday as well. Everything started out well for the first 60 seconds... until I hit my first hill. Of course, I had to go up hill. I think that if I didn't have a slight 5 mph wind at my back, I may have tumbled backwards once I got halfway up the hill.

At one point, I saw an old lady in one of those motorized scooters go past me. I cursed at her and told myself that "slow and steady wins the race." She just looked at me, snickered, and muttered "when I was a kid, I used to walk up hills twice the size of this one on my way to school. And it was uphill... both ways." While I contemplated knocking her off the Lark or whatever she was riding in, I actually believed her.

Keep in mind that these aren't small-grade hills around here either, all the hills are at like a 45-60 degree angle, or at least they feel that way.

So, I got to the next intersection... and then there was another hill. By now, it's the toughest 3 minute run of my life. I think I'm ready to go back home. I'm not even sure that a pack of wild dogs chasing me would be enough motivation at this point and I've definitely stopped thinking about that absurd marathon in July. Anyway, I finished going up the next hill... and I'm starting to feel good because I'm thinking that's it's all downhill from here! Well, the thing that is so difficult to understand about running the hills here... is that it is JUST AS DIFFICULT to run down the hills!

Anyway, this whole routine of going up and down hills continued for the next 30-40 minutes and I finally made it back home. By the time I got there, I was waiting for Neil to run out with of those aluminum foil wraps. Of course, I'm still feeling the ramifications. For the past 2 days, my shins are still in constant pain and I'm sore sitting here right now. Damn hills.

Post-mortem: I've actually done some research about running in SF and I am convinced that all is not lost. There are some great spots to run in SF... by the Marina, near the Embracadero and in Golden Gate Park. The thing they all have in common: no hills. Of course, my legs are still wishing that I had done this research before hitting the road on Monday. Maybe that SF marathon isn't out of reach after all.

Patriots Country

2007-01-15T11:25:34-08:00

Another reminder of New England out here in California came in the form of the New England Patriots playoff game against the San Deigo Chargers. Being removed from the hoopla and daily media coverage in Boston, it was actually interesting to get a neutral, national media-perspective only on the matchup. Keep in mind that San Diego is about 500 miles and an 8-hour drive away from San Francisco so they really are two unique, independent cities. I am not even sure most of SF knew the NFL was still playing.

Well, it was clear the Patriots were going to get killed. They were 5 point underdogs to the superior Chargers. At one point, the announcers for the game were quoted as saying "The Chargers just look bigger and stronger... and faster than the Patriots." I started to feel kinda bad for the Patriots, having flown cross-country for this game. Someone on the Patriots was going to get hurt by someone on the bigger, stronger, faster 14-2 Chargers team. Maybe they should keep Tom Brady on the sidelines so he doesn't get hurt.

This can't be right. Haven't we seen this all before? Not once, not twice, but at least three different times? The Rams, the Steelers and the Colts have all been bigger, stronger and faster in past years. Well, I watched the first half at home and listened to the announcers feel sorry for the Patriots and realized I needed a change of scenery. Had it occurred to me earlier in the week, I would have even considered hopping on a Southwest Airlines flight and headed down the coast to GO TO the game. Maybe if this was a college bowl game, I could have taken advantage of the 1 hour half-time show to make it to SD in time for the second half. Sometimes, I still don't realize I live on the west coast or I would have gotten tickets to the game in the first place.

So, I had heard of a bar called the Connecticut Yankee. It is famous in SF for having a New England fan base and the menu (which is published online) includes a Larry Birdger and even a Wade Boggs sandwich (made with chicken, of course). So, I talked Neil into going, who was complaining before we even got inside... "I don't want to go ... I'm leaving if this place isn't friendly."

So we walked in and there were a sea of Patriots jerseys. Some classics too... A Steve Grogan retro jersey. A Lawyer Milloy jersey. Even a Tebucky Jones and Dan Klecko jerseys (I didn't even know they made such things). Ironically enough, I don't think I even saw a Tom Brady shirt! HA! Still, it leaves me hoping that I may be able to find a Stephen Gostkowski jersey afterall.

So, I don't need to tell you how it all went from there. Good karma, decent bar food (the Bill Buckner sandwich was actually pretty good), and absolutely terrible service made me feel right at home, just like being in New England. Somehow the Patriots managed to sneak by the bigger, stronger, faster (but definitely not smarter) Chargers team. Of course, it's time to get another taste of New England next weekend!! And yes, the Patriots are underdogs again.

PJ's Back

2007-01-15T10:10:20-08:00

Sung to Eminem's "Without Me"

Guess Who's Back

Back Again

PJ's Back

Tell A Friend...

Okay, so it's been a while since I've posted. With the holidays, being back in Boston for over two weeks, and Neil moving out here... it's been a very busy month. However, now that 2007 is here, this should be a time where I will be in San Francisco for an extended amount of time, without any travel in the forseeable future. As a result, more time for postings here! PJ's back!

A Taste of New England

There are several reminders of Boston and New England that I encounter on a daily basis. First and foremost is having Neil living with me in San Francisco. He actually came out a few days earlier than me in early January and of course, the apartment already had his signature flare to it by the time I arrived back in SF. Furniture was moved around. My "dogs playing poker" picture was nowhere to be found. New decorations spread throughout. All for the better, of course.

Our apartment isn't quite as spacious as it was in Boston (although the great neighborhood we live in more than cancels that out), but we've been rather creative with the spacing. I will dedicate another posting to our latest trip to Ikea and the various new additions to our apartment, including a full-size mirror that we put up on the wall that totally changes the feel of the whole apartment.

Oh yeah, I was talking about the numerous reminders of New England... Besides Neil, the most obvious has been the cold weather. Please note that cold weather is now redefined for me. "Cold" ranges from upper 30s to low 50s. I know, I'm going soft. However, it actually feels colder than that for a number of reasons:

1. Wind from the water makes it feel colder. San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides. Fortunately, we live in the middle of the city geographically, so it's actually not as cold. I work downtown and it feels much colder there because it's right on the water.

2. Buildings are not designed to handle the cold. Insulation does not exist here. Windows are typically single-pane and the buildings are simply not designed to keep in warmth. Many office buildings are converted warehouses and houses are frequently old Victorians or Queen Anne-style with high ceilings... making it feel colder than it should be.

3. A lot of the city is designed to be outdoors. Shopping plazas are often set up with an outdoor, open-air design. There aren't many in-door malls. In fact, most bars have an outdoor facility to allow smoking (you can only smoke in SF if there is a separate room with open windows or no ceiling). Some clubs even have no ceiling inside the building to allow for this. It's kinda weird. But you know what they say about smokers, they're a dying breed... I love that joke.

Okay, I need to go now... the Patriots are coming on soon. I hate how they're on so much earlier here. It's not easy justifying having a beer while watching the game when it's 10 AM. I said it's not easy... I didn't say impossible.