Winter Wonderland

I just thought I'd show the photo above to give my blog readers and idea of what winters look like in Edison, New Jersey. Actually, the photo above isn't from this winter; it's from 3 winters ago ( taken on February 12, 2006 - we got 27 inches of snow that day ). I do have some much less impressive snow photos from this year on my facebook page, though I am planning to load some winter photos from the last three years on facebook when I get the chance ( I have folders full of photos with names like Winter 2005/2006 on my desktop - I just need to find the time to load the photos while adding captions to them. This should happen in a fews days ).
Oh, and my next blog post should be a relatively long one. I'll be doing one of those questions and answer thingys, and there's at least one question that I think I'll have a lot of fun answering.
Rich

Stranger on a Train

So, I was riding the subway on the way home from work tonight, when a guy takes a look at the JETS logo on my winter hat and says "Tough game, huh."
This didn't really surprise me. The JETS indeed had a very tough game on Sunday. The loss effectively knocked the Jets out of the playoff race, and for the 40th the year in a row, the Jets would not be going to the Super Bowl. I was aware that wearing a hat with a JETS logo that day kind of made me a target. I had already heard both snide and supportive JETS-related comments earlier in the day, so I wasn't really surprised by the comment this guy made on the train. What surprised me was what happened next. After he made the comment, I gave him a quick nod and turned back to my newspaper. However, this guy was nowhere near done.

Random Guy: I can't believe they didn't go for it on 4th down on that first drive of the game.

Me ( barely glancing up): Uh-huh.

Random Guy: That was 7 points right there. They could have had 7 points instead of 3.

Me ( burying face back in newspaper ): Uhh

Random Guy: And they should have kicked that field goal in the 4th quarter! That would have given them 3 more points. They would have had 13 points! That game should have been tied 13 to 13.

Me ( wondering how 7 + 3 equals 13 ): Uh-huh

Random: Heck, but they probably would have found a way to loose that game anyway. Ha Ha!

Me ( no longer able to hide the annoyed look on my face; trying hard not to make eye contact ): Uhh

Random Guy: It's all the fault of Brett Farve. Everyone else played good, but Brett Farve was terrible. I really think that ...

Me ( No words. No longer trying to be polite. I'm just ignoring him and reading my newspaper at this point )

Random Guy ( Turning to random lady he obviously doesn't know ): Hey! That's a nice Blackberry you've got there!

Random Lady (no words)

Random Guy: Does that get reception down here in the subway?

Random Lady (Looking away; quickly shoving Blackberry into her bag )

Rich

P.S. If I don't Blog or YouTube between now and then, Merry Christmas everybody! Perhaps I wasn't showing the greatest Christmas spirit in the story above, but as all native New Yorkers know, proper subway etiquette dictates that you keep to yourself and stare at random things to avoid making eye contact with anybody. I didn't make the rules, but that's what they are.

P.P.S It snowed a little this past weekend. The boys played in the snow a bit. Perhaps I'll load some snow pictures to Blogger and facebook in the next few days.

Old School Photos

Ah, 1992! The good old days when it was socially acceptable to wear neon green short-shorts ( and show armpit hair :p ). I spent a little bit of time tonight scanning photos from my college days. Most of them have Ruth in them, so won't find them here, but please feel free to check out the rest of the photos on my facebook page ( The album is called "The Scanner Files" ). If you are reading this, and you are not on my facebook friends list, just click the facebook link on the right and send me a friends request.
Rich

The Gospel of Vlogging

A few days ago, I tagged a few of my subscribers in the Left Handed Drawing Tag Game in the hopes that I could get one of them to vlog for the first time. Well, dawnpop has answered the call with this video. It makes me feel good to know that I have played a part in spreading the gospel of vlogging. Way back when, an Australian vlogger inspired me to start vlogging, so now that I've convinced somebody else to make a vlog, I feel like the circle is complete and my karma is kinda balanced and all that ( especially becasue Dawn is an Aussie ). In any case, I posted this so that those of you who read my blog can check out Dawn's video and offer encouragement. As far as I'm concerned, the world can't have enough vloggers.
Rich

Circus weekend

We went to the Big Apple Circus this weekend. I wish I had more pictures of the circus itself, but it's a relatively small arena, and you are really not supposed to take flash photgraphy during the show. We did take a few shots, but the boys really were not looking in most of them. The picture below was the best we could do.

We actually had pretty decent seats. We were in the first row of the second level, so the boys were able to see pretty well. It was a rather impressive show ( There was a pair of juggling acrobats who were doing flips and jumping over each other, all while juggling 8 clubs between them. There was also a guy who could throw huge vases in the air, catch them on his head, and make the vases spin and dance on his head only by twisting his head around.), but unfortunately we had to leave halfway through the show. About two acts into the show, Michael started asking "Is this over yet?", and "How many more minutes?". In any case, we had a good time while we were there. While we didn't get many good circus pictures, we did get some decent pictures on the train rides back and forth from the circus.

( Note: We made sure Michael was sitting down on the subway, but Ruth wanted to take one shot with Michael standing up holding the pole ).

Peter leaning into his Mommy.

Michael chillin' out on the subway.

This shot below was taken on the New Jersey Transit train back to Edison. Peter was wiped out after a long day.

The shot below was actually taken two weeks ago when we were waiting on line to see Santa. However, it was such a cute shot of Peter that I couldn't help but post it.

I'll try to have a more text-based post soon.

Rich

65 questions

Another idea which I stole from Shweta ( who stole it from somebody else ).

1. What's your name?
Rich


2. What is your favorite thing to wear?
Old T-shirts.


3. Last thing you ate?
Rice pudding.


4. One place you will NEVER eat at?
Any place that cares more about atmosphere and decor than the food. It's all about the food baby!


5. I say Shotgun, you say:
I'm driving!


6. Last person you hugged?
My son Peter.


7. Does anyone you know wanna date you?
Everyone I know is aware that I'm married.


8. Would you date anyone you met online?
Nope, because I'm a married fella.
However, if social networking sites had existed back when I was in
high school / college ( a long time ago - I turn 39 next month ), there's
probably a 100% chance that I would have dated ( and probably married )
somebody I met online. I was a very shy fellow, and I always had trouble approaching
the opposite sex. I think things would have been a lot different for me if something like
YouTube had existed back then. YouTube videos would have been a great way to break the ice
with people, and I think I would have had a lot more friends ( both male and female ) if they could
have "met" me via YouTube videos. Sometimes I think I was born about 20 years to early. Today's world
of social networking sites is exactly what I needed way back then.


9. Name something you like physically about yourself:
Being relatively tall can be quite useful. I can get stuff up on
high shelves!


10. The last place you went out to dinner to?
When you have two kids, you can't go out to fancy
restaurants anymore. The last place was probably McDonald's.


11. Who is your best friend?
That would be my wife.


12. What time of the day is it?
11:19 PM on Dec 2nd, 2008.


13. Who/What made you angry today?
Didn't really get angry today. I'm not a very angry guy.


14. Baseball or Football?
Baseball.


15. Ever gone skinny dipping?
Nope, and I don't want to.


16. Favorite type of Food?
So many. I love variety! I guess Asian food in
general would be at the top of the list ( Chinese, Thai, Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese - so many
choices in the New York City area ), but if nutrition didn't matter at all, I could eat pastries and ice cream
all day. Right now, I am craving some perfectly baked chocolate chip cookies with nuts.


17. Favorite holiday:
Christmas.


18. Do you download music?
Nope. I do not even own an mp3 player. All my music is on CDs I bought 15 years or more ago.
I guess I'm just a geezer in that regard.


19. Do you care if your socks are dirty?
Clean. I'm a bit of a neat freak.


20. Opinion of Chinese symbol tattoos?
Those are just silly, unless you actually speak the language ( Though I actually think
tattoos in general are silly ).


21. Would you date the person that posted this?
I'm not even sure what this means. I think a bunch of people have
posted this by now. I'm married anyway, and while questions like "If you were theoretically
single, would you date this person" might be fun to ponder, it's probably best for a married
person not to answer such questions in a public forum.


22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally?
Nope. I've been a serenader many times ( for just one person though - the woman
who became my wife - I'm not some kind of gigolo serenader who sings to all the lasses
in town ), but never a serenadee. :(

Oh, BTW, an example of a song I serenaded my wife with is "Till There Was You".
I sang this for her at our engagement party. I think this song has some of the most romantic
lyrics of all time.


23. Do you love anyone?
I love lots of folks, and I let them know it.


24. Are colored contact lenses sexy?
I think they are stupid. I think people should go with their natural eye color. Most people
who get these lenses are trying to switch from brown to green or blue, but I personally don't
think anything is sexier than a pair of beautiful brown eyes.

25. Have you ever bungee jumped?
Yup, and I'm glad I did. Now that I have life insurance, I don't think I'm allowed to do that kind of stuff anymore ( Well, I could, but if I died doing it, my kids would get nothing - so effectively I can't ).


26. Have you ever gone white-water rafting?
I'd love to, but it hasn't happened yet.


27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you?
I don't think I've ever been hit on, period ( Unless you count emails from stalker girls from my high school, and the occasional suggestive YouTube comment ). I've also never hit on anybody. Before I met my wife, there were really only 3 girls I had the courage to express my affection for ( 2 in High School, 1 in college ). In all three cases, I was pretty much the opposite of a smooth operator. I basically held my feeling in until I was completely obsessed with these girls, and then ambushed them with an "I love you!" message in the following ways:
1st High School girl: 30 page love letter
2nd High School girl: Flower and short love poem ( It was "Spring Flower Day" in High School ).
College girl: Long love poem
As far as my wife is concerned, she actually made sure I found out via the grapevine that she was attracted to me. After that, I proceeded to court her in a rather awkward manner, but nobody would say that I "hit" on her.


28. How many pets do you have?
None, I'm allergic to dogs and cats.


29. Have you met a real redneck?
I was thrown in jail by one in Texas ( See this link ).


30. How is the weather right now?
It's just below freezing outside ( I hate the weather in the Northeast USA ).

31. What are you listening to right now?
Nothing at the moment.

32. What is your current favorite song?
I have too many favorites to name just one, but my favorite recording of all
time is Roy Orbison's "Crying". It's a beautiful song, and Roy just might have had the most
beautiful voice of all time.

33. What was the last movie you watched?
Balls of Fury. I will never get those 90 minutes of my life back. :(

34. Do you wear contacts?
Nope. I sees good.


35. Where was the last place you went besides your house?
Work.

36. What are you afraid of?
Everything about my kids' future. You worry a lot as a parent.

37. How many piercings have you had?
Zero.


38. What piercings do you want?
None.


39. What's one thing you've learned this year?
I've learned that blogging can be fun!


40. What do you usually order from Starbucks?
I don't really order from Starbucks. About 10 years ago, I decided
to give up all drinks with caffeine. I did this for health reasons. I'm not
really religious about it or anything, so I won't freak out if I happen to consume
caffeine ( Chocolate has caffeine, and I'll certainly eat that! ). I just figured that
anything that artificially keeps you awake and increases your heart rate can't be
good for your health in the long run. When I gave up caffeine cold turkey, I went from
needing 6 hours a sleep a night to 10 hours of sleep a night. However, after 1 week, my body
re-adjusted, and I went back to only needing 6 hours of sleep.


41. What Magazines are you reading?
All of them! ( As Sarah Palin might say! )
Actually, I read The New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and WIRED.


42. Have you ever fired a gun:
Only if you count a BB gun.


43. Are you missing someone?
I'm always missing somebody. You can't be with all the people you love all the time.


44. Favourite TV show?
Too many choices to pick my favorite show of all time. The one that
pops into my head now is "Cheers", but it could be something else.
My favorite weekly program is probably MythBusters.
However, the show I watch the most ( every night at 8 PM ) is "Countdown with
Keith Olbermann" ( I also love "Hardball with Chris Matthews - I'm a big fan of political
commentary ).


45. Do you have an obession with WoW?
Nope.


46. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb?
I've had multiple people tell me I look like David Arquette
and Paul McCartney. If you check the "out of context quotes" on
my YouTube page, you'll see that one person asked if I was Paul
McCartney's illegitimate son.
These comparisons are probably the most accurate ( because so many people
have told me I look like Arquette and McCartney ), but the most interesting
comparison is the one people made to the "Preppie Killer"
The wikipedia link above tells the whole story, but in August of 1986, a
fellow called Robert Chambers strangled his ex-girlfriend to death while having
sex in a park. The story and the trial were big news for the next year or so, and
from that point on, at least 5 different people in high school told me I looked like
the "Preppie Killer".
.
.
.
No wonder I couldn't get a date in high school.

47. What celeb do you look like?
Hopefully not the Preppie Killer.


48. Who would you like to see right now?
Sometime I wish I could see my Mom again. She passed away
about two months after I got married. I feel blessed that she got
to see my wedding, but it's sad that she never got to meet her grandkids.


49. Favorite movie of all time?
The Shawshank Redemption. Every time I notice it's on TV ( and it's
on TV quite a bit ), I can't help but watch it until the end.


50. Do you find yourself loved?
I feel loved every time I hug my boys.


51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't suppose to?
Yes. I'm kinda a goody-two-shoes in general, but I aint no saint.


52. Favorite smell?
Fresh baked cookies!


53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn?
I actually like kettle corn, which is sweet.


54. What's something that really bugs you?
People who cut in line on the highway. You know
how sometimes the highway splits into two parts
and you need to be in two particular lanes to get where
you are going? Those lanes inevitably get all backed up, and
it winds up talking 30 minutes to travel the last 1000 feet before
the highway splits. The reason is takes 30 minutes is that certain
bozos think it's okay to travel in the fast moving lanes until the last
possible second, and then cut front of everybody else right where the
road splits. I hate those people. I take back what I said in question 13
about not being angry. I'm angry now.


55. Do you like Michael Jackson?
I was in Junior High School when he did his famous Moonwalk at the
Motown 25th anniversary celebration. The next day in school ( and for the next
few weeks ) everybody was trying to do the Moonwalk. I thought he was the
coolest guy in the world back then.
... not so much now.


56. Taco Bell or Burger King?
Taco Bell, but there are about a million other places
I'd rather get a burrito from.


57. What's your favorite perfume?
Not a big fan or perfume. Kinda makes me sneeze.
Also doesn't taste very good ( I'll let your imagination run
wild with that one! ).


58. Favorite baseball team?
Meet the Mets!
Meet the Mets!
Step right up and greet the Mets!
Bring your kiddies, bring your wife!
Guaranteed to have the time of you life!
Because the Mets are really socking that ball,
knocking those home runs over the wall!
East side, West side, everybody's coming down,
to meet the M - E - T - S Mets of New York town!


59. Ever call a 1-900 phone number?
Nope.


60. What's the longest time you've gone without sleep?
43 hours.

61. Last time you went bowling?
Probably a few years ago. There was always too much smoking
in bowling alleys for me, but now that smoking has been banned in
New York and New Jersey bowling alleys, perhaps I'll go back.


62. Where is the weirdest place you have slept?
I've always had a hard time falling asleep, so I don't really have the
ability to fall asleep in a weird place. I guess I've slept on the floor once
or twice while visiting friends in college dorm rooms, but that's not particularly
weird.


63. Who was your last phone call?
I called my Aunt Barbara ( my Mom's sister ) earlier tonight.
She left a message for me to call because she needed somebody's
address for a Christmas card.


64. Last time you were at work?
Earlier today.


65. What's the closest orange object to you?
Aside from the orange "Publish Post" button, it would
be some orange thumbtacks on the desk behind me.

Letter to Santa

Michael wrote his letter to Santa this past weekend.