Meet the Mets

I'd like to take a little break from posting about my Spring vacation to share a few photos from last weekend.

Last Thursday, I was watching a Mets game at home, when a commercial announced that there would be a "Mr. Met Dash" after Saturday's game. All kids 12 and under would be allowed to run the bases ( On the same field that the Mets play on! ) after the game. The Mets have been having these promotions a few times a year for the last 15 years or so, but I hadn't taken the kids to a "Mr. Met Dash" yet.

When Michael saw the ad for the "Mr. Mets Dash", he immediately exclaimed "I'm under 12! I could do that!".

It was at that moment that I decided what our family outing would be that Saturday.

The day really turned out to be PERFECT. I imagine it's the kinda thing almost every baseball-loving Dad starts to dream about when he first finds out that his wife is pregnant. It wasn't the first baseball game I've taken the kids to ( It was Michael 5th game and Peter 4th game - BTW, the Mets are now 5-0 in games Michael gone to and 4-0 in games Peter has gone to ( Michael has been at every game Peter has gone to ). Michael's been to 1 game in 2007, 2 games in 2008, 1 game in 2009, and 1 game this year ), but I think it was the nicest ballpark trip we've had as a family. The weather was beautiful, we got there early enough to do all sorts of fun stuff before the game ( Like photos with Mr. Met - see the photo at the top of the post ), the Mets won, Peter is old enough to understand the game at least a little bit now, and the kids got to run the bases after the game! The boys even enjoyed getting to the game. We decided to take commuter trains to the game to avoid traffic and the hassle of getting into and out of the parking lot. One of the boys' favorite TV shows these days is called Dinosaur Train ( Click the link to the left to hear the cool Johnny Cash style theme song! ). The whole time we were on the train, the boys pretended they were on the Dinosaur Train ( Michael kept asking the conductor to say stuff the conductor says on the Dinosour Train show ).

Check the photos below to see how happy Peter and Michael were during the game.




Eventually, the game ended, and we got to go on the field. Of course, I didn't get to run the bases, but as you might be able to tell from the photo below, I may have been more excited than the boys to be on a real major league field. I felt like a little kid. I found myself touching the outfield fences and the warning track dirt, and gawking as we passed the bullpen and the dugouts.


After Michael finished his run, he would up milking his time on the field just a little bit more. There was a reporter interviewing some of the kids that had run the bases. Michael noticed the microphone and the camera, and instead of running back to Ruth and me after he finished, the little ham decided to edge in on the interview. He lingered around as the reporter interviewed some other kids, and as soon as those kids left, he grabbed the mic and started chatting away.

It's kinda amazing when you consider that just 3 years ago, we were still wondering if Michael was ever going to be able to speak well enough to converse with people. He's such a little chatterbox now. :)

Anyway, I posted a few photos of Michael's interview below.





Rich

Part 2 of "What I did on my Spring vacation"

After getting back from Cornell on Tuesday, we went to Medieval Times on Wednesday. In case you're not familiar with Medieval Times ( or it isn't obvious from the name and the photos above ), it's a dinner show ( lunch in our case ) that features Medieval nights, with stuff like jousting and sword fights. To be honest, I can't hear the words "Medieval Times", without thinking of the movie "The Cable Guy". Specifically, I wind up thinking about two Janeane Garofalo scenes:
This scene ( starting at the 20 second point ) ...



... and this scene ( starting at the 2:03 point ) ...



Of course, this is probably due to the fact that I've always been a big fan of Janeane Garofalo ( OK, I've actually always had a bit on a crush on her, as I've mentioned in this blog post and this video ), but I've had a hard time taking Medieval Times times seriously since that movie came out. Well, to be honest, even before that movie came out, I was never a big fan of all that sword and sorcery stuff ( Perhaps this is why I didn't like LOTR that much ). This may come as a shock to some of those I played Dungeons and Dragons with in high school, but I primarily played D&D for the sake of being social ( For some this reason this reminds me of a line from Judd Nelson's character in "The Breakfast Club" ( try to guess which one ) ). I also went to a few Renaissance Fairs with friends, but once again, I was going for the friendship, rather than for all the sword and sorcery stuff.

So, as you might have guessed, the trip to Medieval Times wasn't actually my idea. My aunt had gotten the boys ( and Ruth and me ) tickets to Medieval Times as a Christmas present, and we figured my week off would be a good time to go. In any case, even if I was really into the Medieval Times stuff, I knew I would enjoy it if the kids enjoyed it - and the kids certainly did enjoy it.

Before the show, we got the boys some toys swords. Look how happy Peter was to have a sword ...

Michael also was excited ....

.... which meant it was inevitable that they would have a little sword fight of their own before the show:

I won't bother to post a bunch of generic pictures of the show ( you could find that easily enough on your own if you are interested ), but I will post the picture below just to give you an idea of what the show looked like ( We had front-row seats! ).

As you can see, horses were involved. That was a bit of a problem for me and my allergies. Despite the fact that I took a lot of Claritin before the show, I was having a real hard time breathing by the time it ended. If I hadn't been having so much fun watching the boys react, I probably would have left the show about halfway through.

So, I did watch the show to the end, and all in all I was impressed by the show they put on. It wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but it was impressive to watch the "knights" clang they swords together so hard in "battle" that sparks came of the swords. Interestingly enough, that was the one part of the show that Michael didn't like. It scared him so much that he hid under the table while many of the sword fights took place.


He's a very non-violent kid. :)

However, he got a little bit braver towards the ends, and watched the entire final battle. As a coincidental bonus, the knight that represented our section ( The Black and White Knight ), was the winner that night, so the boys went home really happy.

So, while I don't think I'll be going again ( unless I can bring SCUBA gear, so I can breathe air that doesn't have horse hair in it ), I was glad the boys had a lot of fun.

I know my Aunt occasionally reads this blog, so big thumbs up on the gift, Aunt Barbara!

Rich

The Best Feeling in the World

I've been wanting to blog about something for about a week, but I've been too busy to blog. I'll get back to writing about my Spring vacation in my next post, but first I wanted to write about a specific moment in my day on Friday, April 9th.

I was walking from the train station to my home on Friday evening on particularly dreary day. The weather was cold and windy, I was feeling a little bit under the weather, and things had been really stressful at work. In additional to all that, I was worrying ( perhaps irrationally ) about my mortality. Without going into to details, let's just say I was worrying about "tumors" that had been developing. They turned out not to be "tumors" at all ( I was actually having a pretty bad allergic reaction to something unexpected. The allergic reaction was making my lymph nodes go nuts which led to painful "tumors", some of which were probably abscesses ( according to Ruth ( It's good to have a doctor in the house! ) ). After a week of avoiding the "something" and taking antibiotics and prednisone for a few days, everything cleared up ), but for a while I was worried about the possibility of dying of Cancer ( I'm 40 now, and my Mom was only 42 when she got the cancer that killed her at the age of 49 ).

So, in any case, I was feeling about as down as I could be at that point. However, that all changed when I got my front door.

I could hear them even before I opened the door ....

Michael: Daddy! Daddy's home!

Peter ( from the second floor of the house ): It's Daddy! It's Daddy!

Peter ( running down the steps ): Daddy, Daddy - you're home!

Michael and Peter ( crashing into the other side of the door ): Daddy! Daddy! Daddy's home!

Then, I opened the door, and the hugs started.

The next few seconds were a blur of hugs, but eventually Peter asked me to pick him up. I picked him up, gave him a big hug, and said "I love you Peter!". Peter responded with "I love you too Daddy!".

That, my friends, is the best feeling in the world. All my troubles evaporated when I walked through that door. My troubles evaporate at the end of every workday when I walk through that door. Walking though that door is almost always the best part of my day.

I feel so lucky to be a parent. I wish everyone could experience what it feels like. I don't think I'll every tire of it.

Of course, these moments are a little bit bittersweet at times, because I know my kids won't be so sweet and affectionate forever. However, I'll enjoy it while it lasts, and being around them will always make my heart happy. :)

Rich

P.S. I really hope I get to be a grandparent someday. While some people dream of playing golf or fishing during their retirement, I dream of spending my retirement caring for my grankids. My kids will never have to worry about paying for daycare or a nanny as long as I'm around.

Photos for Part 1 of my spring vacation

You want more photos? I got more photos! However, I should note that we were at Cornell at the least pretty time of year ( The best time is the Fall! ). None of the trees have leaves yet, and there isn't any pretty snow on the ground.

Corn Nuggets!!!


Peter and me at the burger joint in Collegetown.


Example of the prison-style anti-suicide fences that were placed on all the bridges.


The fence obscures nice views like this one ( We stuck the camera lens through a gap in the fence to get this shot ).


Ho Plaza


They didn't bother to put a fence on this little bridge.


The boys outside the A.D. White Library.


The inside of the A.D. White Library.


"The Fishbowl" at Uris Library. I did a lot of studying in this room back in the day. The room was pretty much empty on this day because it was the Sunday at the end of Spring Break.


Ezra Cornell


Andrew Dickson White.
See those red and white footprints? They lead from the Ezra Cornell statue to the Andrew Dickson White statue. The statues sit about 200 feet from each other on the Arts Quad ( Where most of the original academic buildings sit on campus ). There is a legend that if a virgin every walks between the statues when the clock strikes midnight, the statues will get up and switch places. Of course, this has never happened. ;)

The boys had all sorts of fun running from one statue to the other along the footprints. I think they did this about 7 or 8 times.


Our hotel room.


Peter looking out the window of our hotel room.


Michael having fun with science!


Another prison fence on a bridge.


The view from the bridge. There's no fence on the little bridge in this photo, but by the next day, they had closed that bridge down for the rest of the semester.


Michael and me walking towards Ruth's old dorm ( Balch Hall ).


Waterfall at dusk. This was taken from the little bridge I mentioned two photos earlier.


Obligatory shot of McGraw Tower.


Peter going to town on some ice cream at Okenshields.


Michael was really full after eating a MASSIVE amount of food, but ...


... there's always room for ice cream!


Prison fences on the suspension bridge.


View from the suspension bridge.


Ho Plaza at night ( Actually this was taken at about 5 in the morning. Ruth woke up early on Tuesday, couldn't get back to sleep, and decided to go outside and take some photos ).


Ho Plaza early in the morning on Tuesday.


McGraw Tower on Tuesday morning.


Another McGraw Tower shot.


Michael and me in a Physics lecture hall, just after class ended. The lecture notes ( about inducing currents ) were still projected on the screen. I was answering Michael's questions about magnetism.

OK, now I'm going to cheat a little bit. The photos below were not taken on our recent Cornell trip. They were taken in June of 2004, when we visited Cornell for Ruth's 10th reunion. I just wanted to post a few shots to show what Cornell looks like when the trees have leaves and the sky isn't always overcast.


Michael and me at Ho Plaza.


McGraw Tower in nice light.


View of the Arts Quad from the top of McGraw Tower ( The big white tents and the vans were there for reunion events ).


Baby Michael having fun at Cornell.



A Cornell gorge with green trees.


Sunset on North Campus.

Rich

What I did on my Spring vacation ( part 1 )

I've got a lot to say about my vacation. I think I'll break the stories down into several blog posts, partly because there is so much to tell, and partly because my laptop keeps shutting down because of an issue with the heat sink ( Perhaps I'll write about that later - I really need to get myself a soddening iron. ).

I'm going to start by telling you about the Cornell part of the trip, because I really want to talk about something Cornell-related today. Today's a bit of an anniversary for me. 19 years ago today ( April 6th, 1991 ), the following happened at Cornell ...

So yeah, it's been 19 years since Ruth and I started dating. When we visited Conrell last week ( We got there at about 11:30 AM on March 28th, and left at about 1 PM on March 30th ), we came across a lot of places that gave me fond memories of our time together at Cornell.

Sage Hall: Neither Ruth nor I every took a class in this building, but back when we were at Cornell, there was a nice dining hall in the basement of the building. Ruth and I met at that dining hall for lunch about twice a week during the month leading up to April 6th, 1991. At the time, Ruth had made it clear that we could only be friends. However, something that happened during those lunches must have won her over. I'll always look upon the building fondly as the place where I won Ruth's heart. Unfortunately, the dining hall no longer exists, but just seeing that building gave me a warm feeling inside.

Cafe Decadence ( Cafe Pacifica ): On April 5th, 1991, Ruth called me up and invited me to have dessert/coffee with her at a little dessert place called Cafe Decadence. I'm not sure if it officially counts as our first date, because she brought her friend Amy along. It may have been more of a tryout than a date, but considering what happened the next day, I guess you could say the tryout went pretty well. In any case, I was hoping Cafe Decadence was still there, and it almost was. The place has been renamed "Cafe Pacifica", and it seems to focus more on bubble tea ( those drinks with all the tapioca "bubbles" in them ) than coffee. However, the layout is roughly the same, and they still have an assortment of desserts. We didn't really have time to re-enact our first date ( impossible with the kids anyway ), but it was nice to see that the place was still there.

Large random rock near the Low Rise dorms: Ruth and I sat on this rock when she told me she wanted to go out with me. The rock was just a natural-looking rock back in the day, but now it's painted all red, white, and blue ( It looks like it was painted to celebrate Obama's victory ).

Balch Hall Archway:

Balch Hall is an all woman's dorm at Cornell. Ruth lived at Balch Hall during her Freshmen and Sophomore year ( we started dating her Freshmen year ). If a guy wanted to visit his girlfriend at Balch Hall, he needed to call her on the outdoor phone above ( pre-cellphone days! :O ) , and wait for her to come and open the door. I can't tell you how many times I happily waited under that archway for Ruth. Just seeing that phone keypad again brought back so many good memories.

Balch Hall is also significant because it's where Ruth and I had our first kiss. :)

Random path in the woods on North Campus: This path led to a little bench near a foot bridge. Kinda secluded - nice place to smooch. :)

2nd floor landing on stairwell at Robert Purcell Union: I can't really say what happened here, but it was nice. ;)

In other Cornell news not related to my 19th date-versary ...

1) We left our house at the crack of dawn on Sunday, March 28th, because we wanted to have Sunday brunch at a dining hall called Okenshields. We used to love to eat the made-to-order omelets, and I especially loved to eat tremendous quantities of chilled shrimp. Unfortunately, Okenshields in no longer open on Sundays. :(

Instead, we headed to Collegetown ( area immediately south of campus where most upperclassmen live ), to see if any of the restaurants we used to like were still there. Unfortunately, none of them were in business anymore ( the restaurant business is tough ), but we did find a burger place that served Corn Nuggets ( remember those, EZ! ). Corn Nuggets are little globs of creamed corn, dipped in batter and fried. YUMMY!!!!!!!!

2) We ate the rest of our meals on campus. The layouts of most of the dining halls have changed quite a bit ( Though Okenshields has basically the same seating arrangement ), but the food was still great and plentiful. The food was also a really great deal. At every place we went, they let our kids eat for free. Each meal was all-you-could-eat, and Michael took full advantage of this. He's a little under 60 pounds, but at each meal he ate about twice as much as an average 100-pound college girl would.

3) I sat in the back during a Physics lecture for about 10 minutes. That was pretty cool. There's still a part of me that wishes I had followed my heart and tried to do a Physics PhD, rather than being practical and doing Engineering ( Especially since my software development job has nothing to do with Mechanical Engineering ).

4) The area in front of Willard Straight Hall was renovated about 10 years ago with money donated by a family with the last name "Ho". The area is beautiful and is now called "Ho Plaza". It's nice that they honored the family that gave the money, but "Ho Plaza" sounds like the name of a red-light district. Can't you just picture a bunch of sailors on shore leave saying, "Let's head down to Ho Plaza to get some action!".

5) Cornell is known for it's beautiful gorges. It was always inspiring to look down at the gorges when crossing the many bridges at Cornell. Unfortunately, a large number of Cornell students have committed suicide ( 6 during the academic year, and 3 in month before Spring break (Ruth and I arrived at Cornell on the same weekend students were returning from Spring Break ) ) by jumping off the bridges. During Spring Break, the Cornell administration responded by erecting ugly "temporary" fences ( they look like the fences that you would put around a prison ) along all of the bridges. It really looks awful, and most of the students are not happy about it. Not only are the students reminded of the suicides each time they walk over a bridge, but now there view of the beautiful inspiring landscape is obscured. I know the Cornell administration means well, but I hope they come to their senses soon and take the fences down.

Well, I've got a lot more to say, but it's getting late ( 11:30 PM ). Stayed tuned for Part 2 of "What I did on my spring vacation".

Rich

Enjoy this

Wow. I'm just finishing off a week of vacation. I had a lot of adventures this week. I have a lot of photos I may or may not post, and a lot of stories to tell. However, I'm still too busy enjoying my vacation with my family to write a blog post yet. Until then, enjoy this video I just found on YouTube.

Edit: As long as I'm going to waste a post by being lazy and just posting YouTube links, I might as well post this enjoyable video as well:



Rich