I'm going to let everyone in on a little secret. I've had a picture up on my blog for the past year and a half ("About Me" on the right -->) and no one has actually asked me about it and I've never really volunteered any information about it. I think there is only one person who knows the background on that picture, and he rarely reads my blog. It's kind of an inside-joke picture. Much to my amusement, I've heard rumors that people think that it is a picture of me. It's not! But after I put the picture up there and laughed at it, I looked closer and realized that, coincidently enough, that guy could almost be my twin. He probably needs braces and jaw surgery as well. I actually got the picture off of the website mulletsgalore.com and it celebrates the business-up-front, party-in-the-back haircut of my childhood in the 70's and 80's. But, I repeat, it is not me. I have never been, nor will I ever be, a big enough fan of RATT to wear a t-shirt :o) . I have never had, nor will I ever have, enough hair to grow a mullet.
J. Riley, still laughing at the picture.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Diamonds in the Rough
A few years back, Paul scored some of us some killer tickets for a Jimmy Buffet concert back in Mountain View, CA, after which I became a big fan and a wannabee "parrot-head". Concerts seem to do that to me, you know? Well, Paul's back at it again, this time scoring tickets for a Neil Diamond concert at Madison Square Gardens tomorrow night. This causes everyone to reflect on Jason Biggs, Steve Zane, and Jack Black's performances in "Saving Silverman", possibly one of the best movies of all time. If you don't agree with me, you're wrong. That's all I can say about that. But tomorrow night's concert is going to be great and I look forward to starting a busy weekend.
It's been a busy week for me, though not in a traditional sense. Usually my Wednesdays and Thursdays are filled up with going to the gym (and eating sushi, if Alan calls), but this week I've been at New Team Leader training for New York Cares, my volunteer organization of choice. It's pretty basic stuff and I actually enjoyed some of the stuff that we did last night. Fun team-building exercises like the game "Traffic Jam". Anyone ever played it? Plus, they throw in free pizza - which is nice, but I think I'd rather stick with sushi on these nights of the week. I'm watching my figure, as usual....
I'll be staying busy this weekend as well. Paul still has a rental car from his work upstate, so the plan is to go up to the outlets outside of town and do some mega shopping at the mega shopping center. I haven't bought new duds in months, so this is my final chance to freshen up my wardrobe with a few new items at stellar prices before rental cars become a figment of my imagination (once Paul and Cathy leave and go back to California). That should keep us busy on Saturday.
On Sunday a friend of mine is having a Chilean barbeque fund raiser down in a garden in Brooklyn. Latin music, Latin wine, Latin food, (Latin girls?) - you better believe I'm on it! I've been dwelling on what kind of meat I should bring and what I should marinate it with. Tenderloins are always good, and I've got some chicken breasts in the freezer. I've volunteered to be delegated the position of chief photographer, so stay tuned for some pictures on ye old website...
J. Riley, finally got to bed early last night (first time this week).
It's been a busy week for me, though not in a traditional sense. Usually my Wednesdays and Thursdays are filled up with going to the gym (and eating sushi, if Alan calls), but this week I've been at New Team Leader training for New York Cares, my volunteer organization of choice. It's pretty basic stuff and I actually enjoyed some of the stuff that we did last night. Fun team-building exercises like the game "Traffic Jam". Anyone ever played it? Plus, they throw in free pizza - which is nice, but I think I'd rather stick with sushi on these nights of the week. I'm watching my figure, as usual....
I'll be staying busy this weekend as well. Paul still has a rental car from his work upstate, so the plan is to go up to the outlets outside of town and do some mega shopping at the mega shopping center. I haven't bought new duds in months, so this is my final chance to freshen up my wardrobe with a few new items at stellar prices before rental cars become a figment of my imagination (once Paul and Cathy leave and go back to California). That should keep us busy on Saturday.
On Sunday a friend of mine is having a Chilean barbeque fund raiser down in a garden in Brooklyn. Latin music, Latin wine, Latin food, (Latin girls?) - you better believe I'm on it! I've been dwelling on what kind of meat I should bring and what I should marinate it with. Tenderloins are always good, and I've got some chicken breasts in the freezer. I've volunteered to be delegated the position of chief photographer, so stay tuned for some pictures on ye old website...
J. Riley, finally got to bed early last night (first time this week).
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Nomads
I'm stoked, my medical insurance is going to cover my jaw surgery in circa 2006! That's cool!
There's some interesting characters who "live" on my street. I've already talked about the white trash appearance and actions of some of them, but did I mention the nomad? If you've visited me during a reasonably-temperatured time of year (i.e. not winter!) you may have seen this character. Shoulder length blong hair, tan work boots (NOT Timberlands, which are fashionable among certain ethnicities), jeans, flannel shirts, he has all the attributes that a construction worker has. But does this guy work? I don't think so. Every single morning I walk out the door, I see him sitting on a stoop leading up to one of my neighborhoodly buildings. And every single day I walk home I see him sitting on a stoop leading up to one of my neighborly buildings (usually plucking his guitar)- but it's always a different stoop!! I have no idea where he lives because every day he's on a different stoop. I've considered unplugging my headphones and asking him what's up, but he's kinda scary looking, like he might be a psycho (gee, we don't have any of those in New York, do we? ;o), so I usually opt to continue listening to that last Def Leppard song before I get home.
There's lots of stuff with kids going on these days, what with my future niece/nephew being born soon and friends and cousins having twins. And I wonder about these kids, especially the twins. How closely can you correlate their childhood behavior (as babies) to their character when they grow up and mature? For example, my cousins' twins each have very unique personalities, one of them being very mellow and quiet, and one being more...active, we can say. I would expect that as they grow up, one of them would be more shy and the other much more outgoing, but I don't know if that is necessarily the case. So someone should start blogging about their kids so that in 15 years we can look back (like a journal) and have some sort of case study on this.Just a thought....
J. Riley, No I'm not going back to school to become a childhood behavior major.
There's some interesting characters who "live" on my street. I've already talked about the white trash appearance and actions of some of them, but did I mention the nomad? If you've visited me during a reasonably-temperatured time of year (i.e. not winter!) you may have seen this character. Shoulder length blong hair, tan work boots (NOT Timberlands, which are fashionable among certain ethnicities), jeans, flannel shirts, he has all the attributes that a construction worker has. But does this guy work? I don't think so. Every single morning I walk out the door, I see him sitting on a stoop leading up to one of my neighborhoodly buildings. And every single day I walk home I see him sitting on a stoop leading up to one of my neighborly buildings (usually plucking his guitar)- but it's always a different stoop!! I have no idea where he lives because every day he's on a different stoop. I've considered unplugging my headphones and asking him what's up, but he's kinda scary looking, like he might be a psycho (gee, we don't have any of those in New York, do we? ;o), so I usually opt to continue listening to that last Def Leppard song before I get home.
There's lots of stuff with kids going on these days, what with my future niece/nephew being born soon and friends and cousins having twins. And I wonder about these kids, especially the twins. How closely can you correlate their childhood behavior (as babies) to their character when they grow up and mature? For example, my cousins' twins each have very unique personalities, one of them being very mellow and quiet, and one being more...active, we can say. I would expect that as they grow up, one of them would be more shy and the other much more outgoing, but I don't know if that is necessarily the case. So someone should start blogging about their kids so that in 15 years we can look back (like a journal) and have some sort of case study on this.Just a thought....
J. Riley, No I'm not going back to school to become a childhood behavior major.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Milbloggers
An interesting article on the use of blogs by soldiers who are serving in Iraq:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/milblogs.html
Some of the blogs are interesting because you don't have to deal with the media's bias and editing. You can hear it - or, rather, read it - from people's mouths (fingers) on the frontlines....
I have a stye on my eyelid today. It's painful and I know what's going to follow after the swelling goes down. I guess my eyelid health issue hiatis is over now. Hopefully I can deal with it before I go on vacation in two weeks....
J. Riley, my eye hurts.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/milblogs.html
Some of the blogs are interesting because you don't have to deal with the media's bias and editing. You can hear it - or, rather, read it - from people's mouths (fingers) on the frontlines....
I have a stye on my eyelid today. It's painful and I know what's going to follow after the swelling goes down. I guess my eyelid health issue hiatis is over now. Hopefully I can deal with it before I go on vacation in two weeks....
J. Riley, my eye hurts.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Brace Yourself for Brace-Face
After talking to the oral surgeon and my orthodontist, I am going to make the plunge. My dental railroad tracks are going to be installed on September 10th. I guess all the good food that I eat here in NYC will be that much better since it can now stay in my mouth for a few extra hours until I have a chance to water-pick it out. Ahhh....water picks, sore jaw, open wounds on the interior of my lips and mouth - reminds me of my youth. Guess I'll have to be more careful with the beer bottles this time around, though. And I really feel sorry for my fellow diners, I can't imagine that this will speed up my record breaking eating patterns....
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Snap, Crackle, Pop
So yesterday I suffered a horrific rollerblading injury. Well, that might slightly melodramatic, but I did get injured somehow. And I'm pretty sure it was rollerblading, though it could also have to do with having your standard male bad-posture at work. I had a terrible "somethings wrong with my spinal cord" feeling in between my shoulder blades. Of course, having worked for chiropracters in the past, I Am a big fan and dug up my referral that Summer's chiro gave me a few months back. Of course it's a long haul to get from the Bronx to mid-town Manhattan, but I made the trip later in the day and got the full assessment done on my back. It's confirmed - I'm a mess. But I got fixed up and now I can actually move my neck more than 20 degrees each way. Sweet!
Yesterday I bought tickets to come home for Christmas for a few days. Unfortunately, I won't be able to stay in town long enough to see my dad's half of the relatives thanks to the skimpy vacation policy offered by my employer. But if anyone else is in town, let me know in six months and we'll meet up :) .
Not only did I buy plane tickets yesterday, I also made a major, crucial purchase to help me deal with this impossible weather. Just like BSD is considered God's OS by geeks, I purchased God's Umbrella from Hammacher Schlemmer in midtown. This thing has a whopping 58 inch coverage area, dual-ribbed metal supports (for his and her pleasure), and a patented vented mesh wind dispersal system along with the lifetime warranty. This puppy could keep any geek and his pony-tail and sandals dry in the worst weather the city has to throw at him or her. Oh, and it's a compact design, just 22" long. Bring it, Mother Nature, I'm ready.
Friday I have an interview with my volunteer organization so that they can validate that I'm not some strange, anti-social, neophyte person and am capable of becoming a team leader for a monthly activity. Actually, based on that definition, I might have some problems passing the test!!! ;o)
J. Riley, bringing you up-to-the-minute coverage on my midweek activities for once!
Yesterday I bought tickets to come home for Christmas for a few days. Unfortunately, I won't be able to stay in town long enough to see my dad's half of the relatives thanks to the skimpy vacation policy offered by my employer. But if anyone else is in town, let me know in six months and we'll meet up :) .
Not only did I buy plane tickets yesterday, I also made a major, crucial purchase to help me deal with this impossible weather. Just like BSD is considered God's OS by geeks, I purchased God's Umbrella from Hammacher Schlemmer in midtown. This thing has a whopping 58 inch coverage area, dual-ribbed metal supports (for his and her pleasure), and a patented vented mesh wind dispersal system along with the lifetime warranty. This puppy could keep any geek and his pony-tail and sandals dry in the worst weather the city has to throw at him or her. Oh, and it's a compact design, just 22" long. Bring it, Mother Nature, I'm ready.
Friday I have an interview with my volunteer organization so that they can validate that I'm not some strange, anti-social, neophyte person and am capable of becoming a team leader for a monthly activity. Actually, based on that definition, I might have some problems passing the test!!! ;o)
J. Riley, bringing you up-to-the-minute coverage on my midweek activities for once!
Monday, August 08, 2005
Twins
Friday night was supposed to be a grand soiree of unimaginable proportions - music and drinks at the National Design Museum right up the street from me. The weather has been nasty this summer, very hot and humid. However, we have had some great weather as well - but not on Friday. Instead, the weather forecast told us that our outdoor event was going to be blasted with rain, thunder, and lightning. As cool of an effect as that would be, I didn't exactly have that in mind when I planned the event. So, after loitering down to the museum and taking out our umbrellas to protect us from the elements, we decided to postpone at the last minute and wait for a more pleasant Friady. Which was actually okay, because there was only going to be like three people there anyway :-\ . So much for a grand soiree of unimaginable proportions! We'll get there eventually, though.
So instead of that event, a few of us decided to go get some sushi at one of my favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants in my neck of the woods - Poke. There's enough space for about 15 people and it is a BYOB job, so Paul and Cathy got to free up some space in the refrigerator by sacrificing their Sapporos to the sushi gods. For that, we were grateful! After eating our little hearts out, everyone was going their seperate ways, so I headed downtown to meet up with Sean and his friend Arianna. I met them down at Local, which was a standard mid-town bar full of standard mid-town folks celebrating TGIF. It was an okay scene, but nothing too special. Standard would be a good word for it. Afterwards, Sean and Arianna got some dinner at a diner called Madison while my stomach gladly digusted the rolls I'd devoured earlier. Arianna took off to go back to Jersey in her sweet Jetta GLI (6-speed!) and Sean and I cabbed it home for an early night back home - or so we thought....
Back in our neck of the woods, we decided to have one more cocktail at a place across the street called Uptown, which is one of two places on the Upper Easy Side that is sort of trying to do the downtown scene. It's really not too bad of a place, kind of loungey and dark and lots of red colors. While Sean went to use the facilities I kinda wandered around to see who was there and I got into a conversation with a British girl. Then her friend came back from the bathroom and I found out that they were twins - even though I couldn't tell. I insisted that they weren't twins cuz their hair was too different and stuff and they were very appreciative. I guess everyone had been coming up and asking them if they were twins (and blaming them for us being in Iraq, Tony Blair, bla bla bla, etc.). They were stoked that I didn't think they were twins. In any case, Sean came back and we all got into some nice discussions - me talking about how I hate Manchester United soccer (they were from Cheshire, which is a Manchester suburb) and Sean taking the sister outside to smoke a few dozen cigarettes together. I found out that the girl I was talking to is, naturally, getting married - on WEDNESDAY! Typical luck for me! She kept apologizing for the fact that I got stuck talking to her rather than to her sister, but it was all good. Her fiancee was out at his bachelor party that night so they were at Uptown drinking a few cosmos and chilling out. The sister (Christine) had been in town for a few days from England, while Michelle lived a few blocks away with her fiancee. They were very friendly lassies and we all got along well but Christine had had a few too many cosmos by that point and, against our better judgement, we picked up their tab (ouch! A few cosmos? Try a few more!) and sent them on their way home.
Half of Saturday was spent recovering from our late night on Friday, but around 1:00 Sean and I went to get some greasy food for breakfast and reflect on stories from the night before. Afterwards, we wandered a few miles down Third Avenue so that Sean could pick up his metrosexual supplies at Aveda. It was a wonderful day outside (of course, a day after my soiree was planned for) and the temperature was perfect.
Saturday night I went to the New York Liberty basketball game at Madison Square Gardens with Paul, D, and D's mom. D's got season tickets right next to the players and had hooked Paul and I up with some free tickets and managed to get seats right next to them thanks to some strategic seat-hijacking. Smoothe one, and thanks for the tix D! Being that the New York Liberty is a WNBA team, the players were all females who could kick my butt any day. And one of them, from Belgium apparently, was basically my twin. Same face shape and profile, blonde hair, tall(er than me), it was pretty funny. And strangely awkward!
Sunday was a domesticated day for me, doing loads and loads of laundry, grocery shopping.....and watching football (NOT American football). Arsenal was playing Chelsea in the Community Shield game that marks the start of the English Premiership so of course I had that DVR'd so that I could watch it later in the afternoon. And, thanks to a combination of factors, I got hooked back into some geeky stuff and spent a significant amount of time administrating a few FreeBSD servers back in California for some friends of mine. If you think Windows is a lot of work, I have a new OS to introduce you to ;o) . I also fell in love with some music that I have, though I didn't realize it until Sunday. Those of you who have access to my music would do well to download my Stan Getz collection. It's all Brazilian/Samba jazz music and it is unreal! Check it.
J. Riley, 17 days before liftoff to Eastern Europe!
So instead of that event, a few of us decided to go get some sushi at one of my favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants in my neck of the woods - Poke. There's enough space for about 15 people and it is a BYOB job, so Paul and Cathy got to free up some space in the refrigerator by sacrificing their Sapporos to the sushi gods. For that, we were grateful! After eating our little hearts out, everyone was going their seperate ways, so I headed downtown to meet up with Sean and his friend Arianna. I met them down at Local, which was a standard mid-town bar full of standard mid-town folks celebrating TGIF. It was an okay scene, but nothing too special. Standard would be a good word for it. Afterwards, Sean and Arianna got some dinner at a diner called Madison while my stomach gladly digusted the rolls I'd devoured earlier. Arianna took off to go back to Jersey in her sweet Jetta GLI (6-speed!) and Sean and I cabbed it home for an early night back home - or so we thought....
Back in our neck of the woods, we decided to have one more cocktail at a place across the street called Uptown, which is one of two places on the Upper Easy Side that is sort of trying to do the downtown scene. It's really not too bad of a place, kind of loungey and dark and lots of red colors. While Sean went to use the facilities I kinda wandered around to see who was there and I got into a conversation with a British girl. Then her friend came back from the bathroom and I found out that they were twins - even though I couldn't tell. I insisted that they weren't twins cuz their hair was too different and stuff and they were very appreciative. I guess everyone had been coming up and asking them if they were twins (and blaming them for us being in Iraq, Tony Blair, bla bla bla, etc.). They were stoked that I didn't think they were twins. In any case, Sean came back and we all got into some nice discussions - me talking about how I hate Manchester United soccer (they were from Cheshire, which is a Manchester suburb) and Sean taking the sister outside to smoke a few dozen cigarettes together. I found out that the girl I was talking to is, naturally, getting married - on WEDNESDAY! Typical luck for me! She kept apologizing for the fact that I got stuck talking to her rather than to her sister, but it was all good. Her fiancee was out at his bachelor party that night so they were at Uptown drinking a few cosmos and chilling out. The sister (Christine) had been in town for a few days from England, while Michelle lived a few blocks away with her fiancee. They were very friendly lassies and we all got along well but Christine had had a few too many cosmos by that point and, against our better judgement, we picked up their tab (ouch! A few cosmos? Try a few more!) and sent them on their way home.
Half of Saturday was spent recovering from our late night on Friday, but around 1:00 Sean and I went to get some greasy food for breakfast and reflect on stories from the night before. Afterwards, we wandered a few miles down Third Avenue so that Sean could pick up his metrosexual supplies at Aveda. It was a wonderful day outside (of course, a day after my soiree was planned for) and the temperature was perfect.
Saturday night I went to the New York Liberty basketball game at Madison Square Gardens with Paul, D, and D's mom. D's got season tickets right next to the players and had hooked Paul and I up with some free tickets and managed to get seats right next to them thanks to some strategic seat-hijacking. Smoothe one, and thanks for the tix D! Being that the New York Liberty is a WNBA team, the players were all females who could kick my butt any day. And one of them, from Belgium apparently, was basically my twin. Same face shape and profile, blonde hair, tall(er than me), it was pretty funny. And strangely awkward!
Sunday was a domesticated day for me, doing loads and loads of laundry, grocery shopping.....and watching football (NOT American football). Arsenal was playing Chelsea in the Community Shield game that marks the start of the English Premiership so of course I had that DVR'd so that I could watch it later in the afternoon. And, thanks to a combination of factors, I got hooked back into some geeky stuff and spent a significant amount of time administrating a few FreeBSD servers back in California for some friends of mine. If you think Windows is a lot of work, I have a new OS to introduce you to ;o) . I also fell in love with some music that I have, though I didn't realize it until Sunday. Those of you who have access to my music would do well to download my Stan Getz collection. It's all Brazilian/Samba jazz music and it is unreal! Check it.
J. Riley, 17 days before liftoff to Eastern Europe!
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Pita Bread
If you ever find yourself wandering in my neighborhood and have a massive craving for some pita bread so that you can make yourself, I don't know, an organic pepper-turkey and swiss cheese sandwich, I highly recommend you checkout Likisatkos (don't worry, I can't pronounce it either) grocery store on Lexington between 87th and 88th Avenue. They sell bags of 4 Damascus Bakeries whole-wheat pitas that are resealable and extremely soft and fresh for the low price of $1.99 . I just made myself a pitawich with organic pepper-turkey. And swiss cheese.
I've been thinking about adding a new feature to the right-hand-side of my blog - things you might not know about me. Might be kind of fun to add random tidbits about myself there....
Not much has gone on this week, just been studying a lot....
The J. Riley, I may go make myself another organic pepper-turkey pitawich. With swiss cheese.
I've been thinking about adding a new feature to the right-hand-side of my blog - things you might not know about me. Might be kind of fun to add random tidbits about myself there....
Not much has gone on this week, just been studying a lot....
The J. Riley, I may go make myself another organic pepper-turkey pitawich. With swiss cheese.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
To Iron or Not To Iron? There's No Question!
Friday night no one was around, so I wasn't going to do much. I was watching Toy Story (can you believe I hadn't seen it yet?) and at about 10:30, my email/webpage system administrator /friend Vince called me from the West Side because they are in town from LA for a wedding. They had just finished dinner (and a few cocktails from the sound of it) and were ready for their NYC night on the town. So I changed out of my PJs and put on some of my duds and jumped in a cab for the West Side. I picked them up and we headed down to the über-sleek, hidden lounge underneath the Coffee Shop in Union Square. The funny thing is that Vince's girlfriend had actually eaten at the restaurant before but had no idea there was an über-sleek lounge underneath. It really hit the spot for them - and so did the silky-smooth mojitos.
Once we were well lubricated, Vince was ready for a club, so we headed downtown further to my preferred neck of the woods - the Lower East Side. As I continue to explore this hipster paradise, I continue to identify cool places to hang out. We came across one place I've wanted to check out for a while - Libation. It has interesting write-up reviews, so we went inside and thought it was a pretty neat place. Loud, racous, stylish, and good music all created a fun environment, so we did a little carpet-tearing up and hung out for a while until Vince's girlfriend Jonlyn decided that he needed some pizza and some sleep. Demonstrating my lack of experience in pizza locations other than those in my immediate vacinity, we headed up to the Upper East Side to my neighborhood pizza joint and partook in some traditional NY-style pizza before they cabbed it back to the West Side to their hotel.
The next day, Vince called and said he had a lot of fun and was paying the price for it. But he was still a trooper and went with his mom and girlfriend to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is nearby me and which I am a member of. So I met up with them and we explored some of the world class exhibits inside. (Luckily) I arrived late and the ladies had just finished viewing the Chanel exhibit, so we were on to the Matisse exhibit instead. Vince's mom knows a lot about this stuff, I am pretty much an ignoramus when it comes to it. But I still enjoy it. After the little tour, we had to get some food, so we went to Madison Avenue and came across Zabar's E.A.T. cafe. We had some brunch food there and the French Toast was to DIE for. Their fresh baked bread (that tasted like Angel Food cake) soaked in butter with some raspberries and syrup was amazing. Wow. I might have to go back there and splurge another time.
They headed home for the wedding and I headed home for a three hour napster. At night, I went with Alan and Andrea to a nearby Turkish restaurant called Beyoglu and ate some great organic chicken with rice pilaf and of course sides of yogurt and hummus. We had to eat in a hurry, though, because we were going to see Walk of the Penguins, a National Geographic movie about the emperor penguins in Antarctica and their life's journey every year to mate and reproduce. It really is amazing and they did a good job of adding personification (showing human-like emotions) with the penguins. A very cute, very informative movie. It's a good movie for outdoor type of people interested in some crazy animals.
Today was a nice, warm day outside, somewhere in the 80's, not too humid, a real nice day. I woke up at 7:30 (I don't know what my problem is - it's Sunday!) and after slouching around my apartment for a while actually went rollerblading at about 8:45am - before anyone else in the city was awake. I swear, the streets are empty at that time, no taxis, no traffic, nothing. It was kind of nice, though. So I headed to Central Park and did the BIG loop this time, a whopping three miles with peaks and valleys throughout. A nice way to wake up my stiff lower back. I broke into a nice sweat, even though it was very cool outside, thus accomplishing the morning's mission.
I was supposed to have a blind date for the Chelsea vs. AC Milan soccer game today, but she called me about an hour before our meeting time and flaked on me. Gee, I'm glad I set the day aside for the game. So I decided not to go at all. And I'm glad I didn't pre-purchase the tickets, I woulda really been up the creek if that happened.
Well everyone else was busy for the afternoon. So I cleaned my kitchen and apartment up - usual Sunday activities. But I was done by 2:00 and it was awesome outside. I tried going to the park and reading but got bored and fell asleep on the astro-turf instead. I cruised home and decided that the best activity I could become entralled in would be....ironing. I bought the sizing spray a while back and after my first attempt, I gave up because my shirt turned out so wrinkly still. This time, armed with my sizing spray, encouraging emails and checklist instructions from the two preceding generations of mothers in my family, my $15 iron, and an abundance of time, I went to town on my closet. And I gotta say - I am one badass ironer now. It took me a while to figure out where the creases should and shouldn't exist and how to arrange my two and a half foot ironing board on my kitchen table, but I got the hang of it and I'm stoked about that. I got so enthralled in the activity that I did about four shirts out of my closet. And note to self - even though dig the Zara styles and fashions much more, I gotta hand it to Banana Republic for making shirts that are much better quality and turn out more crisp after the ironing. Not that that's going to stop me from buying another Zara button up for $10 when it's on sale, though!
Cost savings? Around $7. Awesome, gosh.
And that $7 saving, compounded weekly over the lifespan of my shirts, will come in handy over the next few years. Yesterday I visited an orthodonist that I found by googling around New York and trying to find someone decent. I was impressed with his credentials (he speaks Hungarian, as well as three other languages) and his experience (the poor guy was in Operation Iraqi Anarchy with the Marines). Oh, and he's published books (in Hungarian, no less), graduated with a masters from an Ivy League school, does lots of volunteer dental work in natural disaster-affected areas, teaches at Columbia, writes research papers on the subject, etc. etc. So I figured he was worth taking a chance on.
His opinion on my ortho requirements weren't too different than the doctor I had consulted with in the Bay Area before I moved out here, but there were some key differences:
1.) Explanations: He actually explained to me the health ramifications if I did not have the most serious concerns addressed with surgery. He carefully explained the surgery I would need (including the recovery time, down from 6 weeks to a whopping three days!), the options that I had instead of surgery, and correctly identified my (minor / "well hidden") lisp (told you Paul, Cathy, D, and Brie!). Bay Area doc explained to me how my face isn't proportional right now and how much better I would look by having the surgery - thanks for the confidence booster. One point for NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor.
2.) Q&A: He had confident answers on all of my concerns, including issues such as the effects of my tongue thrusts, the chances of getting the surgery covered by my medical insurance, etc. etc. Bay Area doctor volunteered to see me again if I had more questions. Two points for NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor.
3.) Receptionst: NYC doctor had a tall, thin receptionist from the Czech Republic. She came from Ostrava, CZ and of course I went ahead and mentioned that I know they have a good soccer team there called Banik Ostrava and she was amazed (It is quite random - maybe even concerning - that I know such things) Apparently her husband is a Liverpool fan as well. Bay Area doctor's receptionists didn't have an accent, so were probably locally farmed. Three points for NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor.
4.) NYC doctor looked at my shirt that said "Oakenfold" and asked me if it was a Paul Oakenfold shirt. Yes, it is. He's a progressive trance DJ and how does he know that? Because he's a fan as well. I don't think that Bay Area doc listens to progressive trance in his free time. 20 points for NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor
5.) His office is on the 12th floor on Central Park South and when you're sitting in the victim's chair, you have a full view of Central Park. Bay Area doc had a windowless consultation room, if I remember correctly. Well, whatever the view was in the Bay Area, I'm sure it wasn't Central Park. 21 points NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor.
As you can see, I liked this doctor a lot. I've seen plenty of orthodontists and this guy seemed very sharp and answered all of my concerns with excellent explanations. The cost for the ortho work alone is quite a lot, but not anymore than any of the other orthos I've talked to. So the next time some of you see me, don't be surprised if I'm in braces....
J. Riley, ready to invest in my face after my vacation to Eastern Europe.
Once we were well lubricated, Vince was ready for a club, so we headed downtown further to my preferred neck of the woods - the Lower East Side. As I continue to explore this hipster paradise, I continue to identify cool places to hang out. We came across one place I've wanted to check out for a while - Libation. It has interesting write-up reviews, so we went inside and thought it was a pretty neat place. Loud, racous, stylish, and good music all created a fun environment, so we did a little carpet-tearing up and hung out for a while until Vince's girlfriend Jonlyn decided that he needed some pizza and some sleep. Demonstrating my lack of experience in pizza locations other than those in my immediate vacinity, we headed up to the Upper East Side to my neighborhood pizza joint and partook in some traditional NY-style pizza before they cabbed it back to the West Side to their hotel.
The next day, Vince called and said he had a lot of fun and was paying the price for it. But he was still a trooper and went with his mom and girlfriend to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is nearby me and which I am a member of. So I met up with them and we explored some of the world class exhibits inside. (Luckily) I arrived late and the ladies had just finished viewing the Chanel exhibit, so we were on to the Matisse exhibit instead. Vince's mom knows a lot about this stuff, I am pretty much an ignoramus when it comes to it. But I still enjoy it. After the little tour, we had to get some food, so we went to Madison Avenue and came across Zabar's E.A.T. cafe. We had some brunch food there and the French Toast was to DIE for. Their fresh baked bread (that tasted like Angel Food cake) soaked in butter with some raspberries and syrup was amazing. Wow. I might have to go back there and splurge another time.
They headed home for the wedding and I headed home for a three hour napster. At night, I went with Alan and Andrea to a nearby Turkish restaurant called Beyoglu and ate some great organic chicken with rice pilaf and of course sides of yogurt and hummus. We had to eat in a hurry, though, because we were going to see Walk of the Penguins, a National Geographic movie about the emperor penguins in Antarctica and their life's journey every year to mate and reproduce. It really is amazing and they did a good job of adding personification (showing human-like emotions) with the penguins. A very cute, very informative movie. It's a good movie for outdoor type of people interested in some crazy animals.
Today was a nice, warm day outside, somewhere in the 80's, not too humid, a real nice day. I woke up at 7:30 (I don't know what my problem is - it's Sunday!) and after slouching around my apartment for a while actually went rollerblading at about 8:45am - before anyone else in the city was awake. I swear, the streets are empty at that time, no taxis, no traffic, nothing. It was kind of nice, though. So I headed to Central Park and did the BIG loop this time, a whopping three miles with peaks and valleys throughout. A nice way to wake up my stiff lower back. I broke into a nice sweat, even though it was very cool outside, thus accomplishing the morning's mission.
I was supposed to have a blind date for the Chelsea vs. AC Milan soccer game today, but she called me about an hour before our meeting time and flaked on me. Gee, I'm glad I set the day aside for the game. So I decided not to go at all. And I'm glad I didn't pre-purchase the tickets, I woulda really been up the creek if that happened.
Well everyone else was busy for the afternoon. So I cleaned my kitchen and apartment up - usual Sunday activities. But I was done by 2:00 and it was awesome outside. I tried going to the park and reading but got bored and fell asleep on the astro-turf instead. I cruised home and decided that the best activity I could become entralled in would be....ironing. I bought the sizing spray a while back and after my first attempt, I gave up because my shirt turned out so wrinkly still. This time, armed with my sizing spray, encouraging emails and checklist instructions from the two preceding generations of mothers in my family, my $15 iron, and an abundance of time, I went to town on my closet. And I gotta say - I am one badass ironer now. It took me a while to figure out where the creases should and shouldn't exist and how to arrange my two and a half foot ironing board on my kitchen table, but I got the hang of it and I'm stoked about that. I got so enthralled in the activity that I did about four shirts out of my closet. And note to self - even though dig the Zara styles and fashions much more, I gotta hand it to Banana Republic for making shirts that are much better quality and turn out more crisp after the ironing. Not that that's going to stop me from buying another Zara button up for $10 when it's on sale, though!
Cost savings? Around $7. Awesome, gosh.
And that $7 saving, compounded weekly over the lifespan of my shirts, will come in handy over the next few years. Yesterday I visited an orthodonist that I found by googling around New York and trying to find someone decent. I was impressed with his credentials (he speaks Hungarian, as well as three other languages) and his experience (the poor guy was in Operation Iraqi Anarchy with the Marines). Oh, and he's published books (in Hungarian, no less), graduated with a masters from an Ivy League school, does lots of volunteer dental work in natural disaster-affected areas, teaches at Columbia, writes research papers on the subject, etc. etc. So I figured he was worth taking a chance on.
His opinion on my ortho requirements weren't too different than the doctor I had consulted with in the Bay Area before I moved out here, but there were some key differences:
1.) Explanations: He actually explained to me the health ramifications if I did not have the most serious concerns addressed with surgery. He carefully explained the surgery I would need (including the recovery time, down from 6 weeks to a whopping three days!), the options that I had instead of surgery, and correctly identified my (minor / "well hidden") lisp (told you Paul, Cathy, D, and Brie!). Bay Area doc explained to me how my face isn't proportional right now and how much better I would look by having the surgery - thanks for the confidence booster. One point for NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor.
2.) Q&A: He had confident answers on all of my concerns, including issues such as the effects of my tongue thrusts, the chances of getting the surgery covered by my medical insurance, etc. etc. Bay Area doctor volunteered to see me again if I had more questions. Two points for NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor.
3.) Receptionst: NYC doctor had a tall, thin receptionist from the Czech Republic. She came from Ostrava, CZ and of course I went ahead and mentioned that I know they have a good soccer team there called Banik Ostrava and she was amazed (It is quite random - maybe even concerning - that I know such things) Apparently her husband is a Liverpool fan as well. Bay Area doctor's receptionists didn't have an accent, so were probably locally farmed. Three points for NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor.
4.) NYC doctor looked at my shirt that said "Oakenfold" and asked me if it was a Paul Oakenfold shirt. Yes, it is. He's a progressive trance DJ and how does he know that? Because he's a fan as well. I don't think that Bay Area doc listens to progressive trance in his free time. 20 points for NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor
5.) His office is on the 12th floor on Central Park South and when you're sitting in the victim's chair, you have a full view of Central Park. Bay Area doc had a windowless consultation room, if I remember correctly. Well, whatever the view was in the Bay Area, I'm sure it wasn't Central Park. 21 points NYC doctor. 0 points for Bay Area doctor.
As you can see, I liked this doctor a lot. I've seen plenty of orthodontists and this guy seemed very sharp and answered all of my concerns with excellent explanations. The cost for the ortho work alone is quite a lot, but not anymore than any of the other orthos I've talked to. So the next time some of you see me, don't be surprised if I'm in braces....
J. Riley, ready to invest in my face after my vacation to Eastern Europe.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
The Daily Sweating Show with Jon Stewart
At the end of last year, Paul had discovered that we could get tickets for one of TV's most informative programs, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The tickets were free, the only problem was that you had to sign up for them far, far in advance. So back in December, I signed up for some tickets in July, 2005. I picked a random date and we got our tickets. That date ended up being July 26th, yesterday. It was a stroke of genius picking that date because Tuesday is my night off from the gym and things at work are relaxed enough right now that I can take off a little earlier than normal to get in line (as the shows are all overbooked). So I got down to deep Hell's Kitchen yesterday afternoon at around 4:00 to wait in line for an hour and a half so four of us could see the show. Paul and Cathy joined me and since I had an extra ticket, they brough one of their co-workers who I'd met previously. If you've seen the news, you know that the weather here hasn't been ideal for standing outside for a few hours - it was around 95 degrees out yesterday, though the humidity was tolerable. Nonetheless, we finally got in the show at around 6:00, at which point my shirt was soaked with sweat. I felt sorry for the people sitting next to me until I remembered that we had FREE TICKETS to see an awesome show!
It was really neat - they had a comdian guy come out prior to the show to make fun of people in the audience and get our laughter going. After him, the host of the show, Jon Stewart, came out to talk to the audience for a bit and answer questions we had. He is hilarious and I really recommend you check out his show on Comedy Central. The show itself was classic Jon Stewart and one of the better episodes. It featured discussions about the recent space shuttle launch, including two men holding different rockets in their laps talking about "strapping into this thing" and about what a few thousands pounds of thrust could do. Take a picture and visualize the scene and you'll laugh. There was also a special report on the gayification of NASCAR and an interview with an interesting fellow that featured good editing work. You gotta see it to understand what I'm talking about. But it was great to see the show.
This weekend AC Milan is coming to play Chelsea FC at a stadium in New Jersey. Every summer we get the opportunity to see some good teams come to town for friendly soccer matches, so it's not something I want to miss. I think I've got someone lined up to go with me, though I'll have to wait for this weekend to make sure she's going.
In other social news, I've scheduled another festivus on a Friday this summer to attend the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Center's Summer Sessions, which is similar to the event at the Guggenheim where I celebrated my Name Day back in June. You get to go into the museum and check out their stuff and then sit out back in the fenced in gigantic lawn with seats and umbrellas and sip on cocktails. Should be a fun little get-together, I'm looking forward to it.
Finally, I've made some last-minute preparations for my trip to Poland at the end of August. I'm going there for Ewa's (from SF) wedding to her finance Brendan. After much discussion with Ewa today, I finally realized that I'm not in college anymore and that I can probably stay at the four-star, $90 Sheraton that is located in Central Warsaw for a night rather than staying 15 minutes away from everyone else at the local youth hostel. I LOVE youth hostels, and if/when I go back to Warsaw, I will definitely stay there. But I'm gonna splurge for a night since we will be staying in Warsaw the night following the wedding, which means I'm probably going to want a comfortable bed ;o) . Plus, Ewa says it's (and I quote) "down on Nowy Swiat which is a hella nice street with lots of shops and hot chicks". Oh yea, she said something about it being right near the tourist attractions, too.
Tomorrow I will be going to the NewYork DMV to get a new driver's license, as mine expires. I have mixed emotions about this because I've been looking forward to being an official New Yorker (at least, according to the state) and having proof of my residency for the future. But, at the same time, it is going to be sad to lose my California license and the picture of me when I was 16 and had a full head of hair. I mean, I look like I'm 10 in that picture! 5'8", 110 lbs (1.73 meters, 49.9 kg for my foreign friends). This license dates back to the pre-John-Hancock-inspired-signature days. We're talking like 12 years ago! I think I'll get a photocopy of it before the DMV workers force it from my Kung-Fu grip....
J. Riley, back to sweating in my room
It was really neat - they had a comdian guy come out prior to the show to make fun of people in the audience and get our laughter going. After him, the host of the show, Jon Stewart, came out to talk to the audience for a bit and answer questions we had. He is hilarious and I really recommend you check out his show on Comedy Central. The show itself was classic Jon Stewart and one of the better episodes. It featured discussions about the recent space shuttle launch, including two men holding different rockets in their laps talking about "strapping into this thing" and about what a few thousands pounds of thrust could do. Take a picture and visualize the scene and you'll laugh. There was also a special report on the gayification of NASCAR and an interview with an interesting fellow that featured good editing work. You gotta see it to understand what I'm talking about. But it was great to see the show.
This weekend AC Milan is coming to play Chelsea FC at a stadium in New Jersey. Every summer we get the opportunity to see some good teams come to town for friendly soccer matches, so it's not something I want to miss. I think I've got someone lined up to go with me, though I'll have to wait for this weekend to make sure she's going.
In other social news, I've scheduled another festivus on a Friday this summer to attend the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Center's Summer Sessions, which is similar to the event at the Guggenheim where I celebrated my Name Day back in June. You get to go into the museum and check out their stuff and then sit out back in the fenced in gigantic lawn with seats and umbrellas and sip on cocktails. Should be a fun little get-together, I'm looking forward to it.
Finally, I've made some last-minute preparations for my trip to Poland at the end of August. I'm going there for Ewa's (from SF) wedding to her finance Brendan. After much discussion with Ewa today, I finally realized that I'm not in college anymore and that I can probably stay at the four-star, $90 Sheraton that is located in Central Warsaw for a night rather than staying 15 minutes away from everyone else at the local youth hostel. I LOVE youth hostels, and if/when I go back to Warsaw, I will definitely stay there. But I'm gonna splurge for a night since we will be staying in Warsaw the night following the wedding, which means I'm probably going to want a comfortable bed ;o) . Plus, Ewa says it's (and I quote) "down on Nowy Swiat which is a hella nice street with lots of shops and hot chicks". Oh yea, she said something about it being right near the tourist attractions, too.
Tomorrow I will be going to the NewYork DMV to get a new driver's license, as mine expires. I have mixed emotions about this because I've been looking forward to being an official New Yorker (at least, according to the state) and having proof of my residency for the future. But, at the same time, it is going to be sad to lose my California license and the picture of me when I was 16 and had a full head of hair. I mean, I look like I'm 10 in that picture! 5'8", 110 lbs (1.73 meters, 49.9 kg for my foreign friends). This license dates back to the pre-John-Hancock-inspired-signature days. We're talking like 12 years ago! I think I'll get a photocopy of it before the DMV workers force it from my Kung-Fu grip....
J. Riley, back to sweating in my room
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