Sporting the color of a lobster

Okay….. Okay…. Okay…. I do know better but what can I say. Three times this summer I let myself get sunburned. I know it’s not good for you, I know it is avoidable, and I know I should always use sun block. In fact I did use sun block the first time. It just didn’t last long enough. On the 4^th of July weekend I went out on the boat for the first time this year, and probably the first time in two summers actually. It was a great time. I really just went to ride around. My sister got up and did some water skiing, as did my dad, and her BF. Though the BF had one of the funniest ways of water skiing I have ever seen. He doubled over at the waste locked his knees together and looked like a horse jokey! But he did stay up and for a good amount of time. The reason I got sunburned wasn’t my dad insanely trying to through me off the tube, even if I did take a drink or two the sunscreen was water proof. No it had to do with the fact that I expected to be out for two to three hours and instead we were out for five to six hours. I just had too much sun and didn’t use enough block. So I spent a week bright red looking like a cooked lobster.

The second time I this summer I burnt was actually just dumb. It was JC bachelor party and we went golfing south of PL. Had a great time. The problem is CQ and I started drinking. Actually we didn’t let the drink girl pass by once. By the time we had finished the front nine we weren’t 3 sheets to the wind but maybe 2 to 2 in 1/2. sheets! We weren’t golfing all that well anyway so we proceeded to hoot, holler, and cause a general ruckus. A Lot of fun to say the least. Colin at one point tried to drive our cart over JC’s cart! That didn’t really work out either. All in all it took us probably 4 to 4 and ½ hours to finish the course and I just wasn’t in the state of mind to put on sun block. So once again I looked like a lobster for a week or so. Though to be honest at least it didn’t peal much this time so I had that going for me which is nice.

The final time I got burned was last week. Again the catalyst was golfing. Which I have to say I am probably one of the worst golfers ever! I would have to guess at my handicap but even with a positive spin it would be in somewhere in 80s at best. This time it wasn’t an outing for a bachelor party, or even golfing with friends. It was a work sponsored event for networking. Everyone in the office gets a chance to golf with a partner and practitioners aligned differently in the firm. I was the most junior person in job title but there was a new hire that was a senior consultant from the Strategy practice. Lucky for me everyone else was a poor golfer as well even if I was still the worst. Though the partner did make a few shoot that were absolutely amazing, but he was pretty in consistent and sent plenty into the weeds as well. We had to pick up the balls a couple of times to move on as we were taking to long. So I have to say it wasn’t drinking or the amount of time we were on the course. No it was just pure stupidity. I thought I had a good enough tan base and didn’t think the sun was that strong so I just didn’t put it on. I didn’t feel myself burn until it was to late. And again and to this day I am a nice bright lobster red! So I have learned my lesson again…Like Baz Larman (sp?) says I will make sure to always use sunscreen!

Red’s Game

While Cincinnati is currently 4 games out of second place in the National League Central Division, it wasn’t but a month and ½ ago when they were consider unstoppable and in first place. During this time I got the chance to attend a game in their new and gorgeous home stadium over looking the river that separates Ohio and Kentucky. This stadium put the wonder-blunder that is the Metrodome to shame. I think after going to see a game in an open stadium of the caliber of Cincinnati’s, Twins baseball would be much improved. The drive to Cincinnati from our normal location was only about an hour and ten minutes and we stayed in Cincinnati at the Hilton, a converted 4 star from years before. All in all it was a great game.

The design of the stadium seems to take inspiration from many different places and has a lot of different elements that really keep it from having an overall theme. Though compared to the dome, it actually has personality. The colors were typically the team colors all of the seats and appointments were red or white. The general architecture was very open and though there were a lot of people it did not seem crowded. As you enter the park there are several nostalgic appointments statues, plaques, and displays. There are the general baseball decorations as well, large concrete baseballs along with the shapes of balls and bats all over. Inside the stadium was typical and really nothing special. In the outfield there was a mock paddle wheel boat that launched fireworks whenever a Red’s player hit a homerun. Other than that the stadium is just a very open setting with high angled roofs that allow for the best outdoor experience.

There were several different seating options from the expensive lower level seats to the club level (where we had seats) to the several different types of sky boxes, to the upper deck nose bleeders. Much like the Excel center in St. Paul the stadium was designed for the best possible view experience and there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. I especially liked the fact that the seats faced the field instead of strait out. That means that our seats were turned toward home plate instead of facing the outfield. The seats themselves were larger than most stadiums (at least on the club level) and spaced out so you didn’t feel like you were sitting on top of the people to either side of you. Another great part of the club level is a large glassed in Bar/Restaurant area; it is filled with comfortable seating and large TVs that are displaying both the game in the stadium as well as other sporting events going on around the world.

The game it self was pretty uneventful. The score was less than five runs between both teams. There were a couple of double plays and a few homeruns – pretty typical stuff. My Project Manager was the real entertainment. He had been a season ticket holder in the past but quit buying them when the rates were doubled so the Reds could acquire Ken Griffey Jr. Since that point he has been jaded about the Reds and tends to heckle a lot more then he is willing to chair. Many times over we heard him shout out to Ken Wiffey Jr about this or that. It was more fun to listen to him yell about what was going on in the game than to watch the game itself. Especially considering that he is normally the most professional – though not reserved – person you may ever meet. It is always interesting to see your boss acting in new and crazy ways.

One of the coolest things about the stadium was the beer guys. And not because I love the beer guys at all sporting events or because I wasn’t the one who had to pay the guy! No, it was cool because they used a different method than I have seen at any other park. Instead of a guy (or gal) walking up and down the stairs yelling cold beer, cold beer here, GET YOUR BEER HERE!! There were actually people more like waiters (now again this was the club level so I am sure you get extra special treatment) who came around an took your orders. In fact that is all these people did, they had handheld wireless systems that they entered the order on and recorded payment with. Then the order is zapped through the air to some centralized location where it was put together and handoff to a food runner. After a few minutes you got you whole order beer, dogs, candy, chips, whatever. This was nice because you didn’t have to go anywhere and you didn’t have to wait for different people to come by. Plus it was cool because I love technology and the wire handhelds are something I have never seen used at a sporting event.

The other interesting part of the game was actually the trip to the park and lodging. The only reason I say this is because the hotel was built in the twenties and recently modernized so it had all the amenities and comforts with great art deco features. The rooms were a little small but very comfortable. It was at least as nice as the Grand Hotel in Minneapolis. Now it is pretty much a strait shoot down I75 from Dayton to Cincinnati and to be honest it was pretty uneventful. There was however a very large church just a few minutes out of Cincinnati. This may sound pretty common but this is the first church I have ever seen with a statue of Jesus in front of it. And not just any statue, this one was two stories tall in the middle of a big pond! It was one of the craziest things I have seen. Now I personally don’t really think that is appropriate, but then I don’t live in that area or go to that church. So I guess live and let live. But it was still a crazy site.

Oh BTW the Reds lost that night. Bummer

Dining Around the World

One of the best things about New York (Yes 6 weeks later I am still writing about the same vacation, don’t worry I am almost out of material) is the restaurants. Now I have read that per capita the Twin Cities area actually has more Restaurants per capita than New York or Chicago but the big difference I think is Variety. I have already written about China Town and Little Italy but you can get Italian or basic Asian food anywhere. Therefore two things amazed me while in New York. First was all of the eclectic dining available and the second is the RB was actually willing to try something different and exotic everyday. This was great! I very much enjoyed some experiences that were new to me.

Starting the very first night we tried things that were different. We started out with the rule that we would not eat at any chains or someplace that we could go at home. In time square this actually limited us but once a few blocks away we found great places. The first place we went to was a Brazilian restraint on the west side. We had walked all afternoon and were quite hungry. The restaurant was very nice, decorated in a modern style that was low key with some hanging blue lights. Our table was next to an open door so we were in the shade but still next to the sidewalk action. The food was amazing, black bean soup to start, an authentic Brazilian mixed drink, and then some spiced chicken. They used very different vegetables and sauces and it was very good. I would be willing to try something similar in any town.

While we did try some authentic New York deli, ate some hot dogs from vendors, and ate a couple of typical American meals most of the food we ate had roots elsewhere in the world. We had Tia food in China town and Italian in Little Italy, the Brazilian food the first night, on the east side in a business district we ate at one of the best Indian places I have been, and our last night we had Caribbean at a place the Usher frequents with his kids! Every night we had one plan and ended up doing something else; Caribbean instead of steak, Indian instead of Sea Food. Each place was incredibly unique had a lot of character.

What amazed me more than the variety of the food that I ate was the food that I didn’t eat. Besides the different types I mentioned there were Ethiopian, Greek, Chinese, Sushi, Vegetarian, Steak Houses, Fish Markets, Persian, French, Russian, Pizza shops and other various eateries that we saw and didn’t have time for. It was also interesting that we never had a long wait at any of the establishments, most of the time we just walked in. None of them seemed all that busy. I do have to say that for the variety of dining with in walking/short train ride distance is unmatched in any city. You truly can dine from any cuisine that could be found around the world.

Don’t Be Too Adventurous after Dark!

So last night I decided to take a run and get some exercise. Normally I leave the hotel and follow a sidewalk around the mall and down the road for 1.5-2.5 miles turn around and return to the hotel. The problem with this route is that you must cross at least one busy road. I have already almost been hit by a truck pulling a long trailer and a garbage truck. Therefore I wanted to find another route; possibly a large loop around the mall that starts and ends at the hotel. I think this is a good Idea. Still do actually. The problem is I don’t know the area very well and maps aren’t going to be a great deal of help. So last night I decided to try a new route. Of course after living in a city for more than 5 years I am used to streets being laid out in a grid. I had completely forgotten about the fun twisty, winding, and unnavigatable roads in suburbia.

So I started out kind of late. That was my first mistake. It was already dark. I ran part of my normal route. Out of the mall and down the road around the mall. After I had passed the mall instead of going strait I decided to turn right at a stop light. After ½ block or so this road started to turn right, it looked to be a 90 degree turn, so I took another right to continue to head in what I thought was the same direction. Then the new road twisted and turned a bit. It seemed to be going in the same heading and I could easily back track on is so I kept running. So after a while the road started to turn to the right further and I figured to continue going in the same direction I should take a left. There is a pattern developing at this point that I should have stopped.

Each road, at this point, that I took made some funny turns and got me partially turned around. Then I would assume to continue on that I should make a turn and run down another road. At first this was ok because I could back track. But there was another problem there were no street lights and the houses had little lamps in the yard that provided just enough light to keep my eyes from adjusting to the night. So I could only see at best shapes and very quickly I was unable to remember important features about my surrounding. This is a problem if you want to back track because you are unable to recognize where you came from in the first place. So in typical Matt fashion I just pressed on making the assumption that I would run into some sort of main road. Hmm. The problem with this assumption is that you can’t continue in one direction easily because the roads go every direction!

Now to add to my predicament, I had not wallet, ID, Cell phone, money, or anything of use. I had my hotel key and the running clothes on my back and that was it. I really didn’t want to go up to a stranger’s house and ask for help yet. I figured I could do that if the situation – which BTW was that I was lost in suburbia around midnight – didn’t improve within a hour or so. Yes I am that stubborn, if I get into trouble I like to try to find a way out if possible, at least for a while. So I just kept going in what I hoped was the same direction. Eventually my legs didn’t want to let me keep running so I did have to start walking though I had no clue where I was. After a while I felt pretty lost and didn’t really know what to do. But since I didn’t need to be anywhere until morning I figured the worst case would be that I took me a few hours to find my way back or to get help

So finally after running for a total of 35 or 40 minutes and walking another 10 I saw a commercial building through the trees. I had to walk through a trail someone had made with a truck or off-roader but finally I came out into a strip mall area. I was still very very lost though. The area was at an intersection of two roads, real normal, strait, semi-busy streets. I did what anyone in my position would do. I picked one and went left. After walking on sidewalks part of the way and through ditches part of the way – because the side walks disappeared for blocks at a time – and 20 minutes had passed I ended up back at the main road I had originally deviated from. Wehewww. So there rest of the trip back to the hotel was easy. All in all a 25 minute run turned into almost a 2 hour trip! I guess it is not very smart to be too adventurous after dark in a strange town.

$17 or $170?

A couple of years ago at Christmas my brother and I were flying to my grandmother’s house for the holidays. Two days before Christmas we got stuck in Detroit for more than a day. When we finally arrived in Virginia the airline had lost our luggage. So after a couple of days we decided to buy new gear. I bought a really nice new suit case – knowing I would soon be traveling a lot – that retailed for about $350. The brand of the bag is Atlantic and my reading on the internet suggests that people seem to like the brand. Over the last couple of years it has held up fairly well. Unfortunately it failed on the trip to New York. We didn’t realize what was going on at first it seemed like something was stuck in the wheel housing. So we just pulled it around and forced it. This was a pain though because roller bags are supposed to Roll! Finally on the way back to the airport to go home I flipped the bag over and took a look. The entire wheel bearing was shot. There was latterly nothing left.

This kind of torqued me off because this was supposed to be a decent bag. If I wanted a throw away bag I would have gone to Wal-Mart and bought and American Tourist bag. So I drug it the rest of the way home. At first I though, come on there has to be warranty. So I looked it up on line. Nope. So then I figured – well it can’t cost that much to fix it. Well as it can! And I would be with out a bag for up to 6 weeks in addition to paying for shipping both ways. Forget that. So my next option was to buy a new bag. I figured I could find something on sale for like $170. I really didn’t want to go out and spend that money for the second time with in two years. So what to do, what to do. Looking at the wheels I noticed they looked very similarly to the wheels on rollerblades/in-line skates. So I thought this might be an option. So I took the bag apart and took the good wheel shopping.

First I went to sport authority and looked at new wheels. Wheels cost $10. But they don’t come with bearings. To buy bearings and wheels either in different sets that you assemble or preassembled costs at least $45. I only wanted 2 wheels though and I didn’t want to waste $45 dollars if it didn’t work and still have to pony the $170 for a whole new bag. So I did the most reasonable thing I could think of. I went to play it again sports and bought a used set of skates for $17! I took them home, pulled two wheels out and put then in the bag. In all honesty they don’t fit perfectly, and the slide a little from side to side where the old ones didn’t. But it worked, and believe it or not the bag actually rolls better than it ever did! Also even if these go bad in a year I have 3 more sets of wheels on the same pair of used skates! What a great deal!. I was and am pretty happy with the fix.