Yankee Clipper

Got back from NJ yesterday afternoon. G and I had a good trip - left Melrose @ 9:30am Friday and had an uneventful trip down, at least until we hit the Major Deegan @ 12:30. The weekend exodus had started, and it took about an hour to get from the Bronx city limits to the bridge. We got to our hotel @ 2...rinsed off, changed and headed over to visit my folks. Stopped at The Mana on Tonnelle Avenue for murderburgers and fries. Headed down to Hoboken to catch the Yankee Clipper ferry to the game. I took some photos, so here goes:

Manhattan skyline as seen from the Hoboken ferry terminal

G on the Yankee Clipper

Dad and daughter on the ferry

We met up with my college friend Dave and his GF Jill at the stadium...we originally sat down near the LF foul pole, but eventually moved over with them about 3B. Horrible game (and weekend) for the Yanks...they lost 10-6 and we trudged back to the Harlem River for the ride back to NJ. I would definitely recommend the ferry trip - got there a half-hour before the game and enjoyed the sightseeing up and back.

Spent Saturday doing the flea market in the Giants Stadium parking lot, and getting in some pool time at the hotel. G went to a birthday party with a family friend that night and I met some college friends at the XR Bar in Soho. Had dimsum with some friends Sunday and drove back in the afternoon.

Off we go

Heading out for NJ in about an hour and a half. Doesn't look like my laptop has a slot for the digital camera's memory card, so any photos might have to wait until my return. I will take a few pictures with my cameraphone just for safekeeping.

It looks like a great weekend - hot and sunny. Went out and bought my sister a new PC and spent the past 2 nights getting it set up. It has Vista loaded on it, so I had to ramp up on that OS...didn't see any bugs, but it's hard to reconfigure.

Anyway, I'll try to get something up tomorrow morning. Have a safe trip if you're on the road this weekend.

Running on empty

I've been dieting for about three weeks now - I find I do a lot better when I have a specific goal and date in mind. This time, I've been trying to get back to a 38 waist by the time I go down to Jersey this weekend. And the results have been good - I'm down to 38-1/8 this morning, been hitting the gym regularly and staying away from the candy/junk food.

The problem is I've pretty much run myself down doing this. I hit the gym yesterday and came out famished. My name for it is "the hungry horrors" - I got home and had some peanut butter on a toasted English muffin and a yogurt (which not-so-coincidentally has been my dinner the past few weeks), which held me until L. made some shepherd's pie from dinner. Today I've been hungry AND wiped-out, so I know I'm running on fumes right now.

Luckily, the trip is Friday, but I need to find some healthy snacks to get me through the next few days.

Birthday wishes

My good friend Arlyn is celebrating her birthday today. A gentleman doesn't mention a lady's age, but we will share this particular number for the next three months. Enjoy the day and know that your friendship with myself and my family is cherished.

Lazy Sunday

I figured I'd knock something out here before hunkering down to watch the Sopranos. It's been a rainy weekend...the sun finally came out here about 4pm. Outdoor work was out of the question, so i spent a portion of today trying to resurrect the PC I gave to my sister. No luck though...and rather than spend any more $$$ on it, I'll probably buy a new one for her and her kids. Nice guy that I am. :-)

I also headed up to Ourglass Wine for a tasting yesterday afternoon - it was nowhere near as crowded as the last one. Plenty of distributors though...bought two Argentine wines, a tempranillo and a bonarda/malbec blend. Ourglass is my favorite wine shop right now...Rte.1 north in Saugus, next to Jimmy's Steak House. I recommend it highly.

Spent Wednesday in a comedy of errors...was invited to the Tigers/Sox game by an old friend. I left that morning wearing a thin short-sleeved golf shirt and a rain jacket with no lining. Unfortunately, the thunderstorm that came through around 3pm was immediately followed by a cold front that dropped the temperatures about 20 degrees. I wound up buying a zip-up cotton hoodie to keep me warm in the bleachers; however, Mother Nature had other plans. Spent $25 to park my car at Landmark Center, had dinner at El Pelon (El Guapo burrito - excellent choice) and walked over to the Baseball Tavern to await my friend. By the time I bought my first beer, I saw that the game had been postponed. Long story short, wound up at the Pour House on Boylston St. and had a couple of beers.

Getting ready this week for the trip to NJ with G. We're going to the Angels-Yankees game Friday night, and I'm meeting up with some folks from Emerson College days Saturday night. Looking forward to it, particularly the ferry ride up to Yankee Stadium. Hope to have a lot of photos from the weekend.

Flying blind

I'm sitting here in the datacenter work area, without my glasses. Two weeks ago I accidentally stepped on them - I finally got them repaired (basically had a screw put in), but the frame is still somewhat bent. I tried to apply a bit of pressure to straighten them out, which wound up popping the screw out again. Now I have to swing by the optometrist and see if I can get them fixed, or spring for a new frame.

Sigh.

Anyway, still tired from the weekend. Will finish up the workday from home.

Spring has sprung

Tired and sitting on the couch with my laptop, waiting for The Sopranos to start in a half-hour. Was out Friday and Saturday nights, which doesn't help matters. Anyway, ran the mower for the first time this spring...the weather was finally rebounded from the cold we had the past couple of months.

Spent yesterday at Suffolk Downs - went out to bet a few races and get my Derby action in. What a nightmare: big crowd, not enough tellers and long lines everywhere. Twice I got caught in lines where tellers were arguing with bettors over tickets they'd punched. I literally had to walk away from the second line, as I couldn't take Dumb and Dumber trying to sort bets out. A big part of the problem is the presence of the once-a-year visitors whose knowledge of calling out bets is equivalent to my knowledge of quantum physics. And to cap it all off, I didn't cash a single bet; in fact, one of the horses I touted in the Derby finished dead last.

Keeping busy with work - starting to integrate more into the group in Dallas. I'm finding projects to keep myself busy while waiting to transition our servers to Dallas.

I'm beat - more to follow, soon.