Sunday, November 26, 2006

Thankgiving Weekend

My Thanksgiving weekend did not live up to expectations. I had plans, most of which never materialized. I was going to catch up on sleep, get ahead on my work, and have some fun with my parents gone.

The weekend started off well. On Wednesday I went to Bryant Park for the Ranger event at the rink, thanks to a tip from my brother. I got there early, and it was fun to see all the Ranger fans let loose on the ice en masse. The rain let up and the fun began. I went by myself and made some long overdue phone calls while I waited for the Ranger players to show up. I saw the players make their grand entrance. As they went onto the ice I snapped some pictures (I always carry my camera with me because you never know what will be going on in the city and I love taking pictures) which I do not think came out. The players went to the center of the ice and were immedietely surrounded so I just hung out and waited until they came off to sign autographs an hour later. I did get bored during the wait, but a group of us made friends with the security guard. He told me where the Ranger employees were giving out their paraphernalia and I grabbed some for my brother and some for my room. The masks were pretty cool. Finally the players came off for their break (more photo ops for me). I guess dealing with so many fans swamping you can be very tiring, but they were only on the ice for about an hour. Twenty minutes later they came back out to sign autographs. Two players, Hall and Pruka, stayed in my area and the other two, Oartmeyer and I'm not sure who the other one was, went ot the other end of the rink (where you had to walk all the way around). I made sure not to mention to the players that I was a Devils fan as they patientely signed autographs and took pictures with me. Note to those out there, when someone gives you a camera to take a picture don't give the camera back before the flash goes off to take the picture. I had to ask Hall for another picture because the first one was never taken, and he was very nice about it. It's too bad I'm already a Devils fan because I had a lot of fun and the players there were very nice for the most part. Although when I went to try and grab autographs from the other two players they were taking off their jerseys and as they walked by me I asked for a quick picture, but they said they had to follow the schedule and keep moving. They gave me an apologetic smile and looked like they wanted to stop, but as the people directing them kept walking. Oh well. I was not happy, but even though it looked like they wanted to stop I was not going to chase after them. I just let it go and made my way to the bus because by them my toes were froezen and I could not feel them.

This time the bus home had heat. (That morning my toes had froze while waiting for the bus which came late and when I finally got on the bus it was as cold as outside. There was no heat and the bus was 45 degrees. The driver had turned on the heat, but it was onls only blowing cold air for the hour plus trip. My teeth were chattering as I got off early because there was traffic in the city and I couldn't sit still in the cold. My toes took about 2 hours to defrost.)

Over the weekend I did watch some movies, none of which were any good. Shocker. I did not get much sleep. Thursday was a little depressing both outside and in. I crashed at my friends house, where I am considered one of the family, which was a lot of fun. On Black Friday I decided to take my sister shopping and we had to be out of the house before 6:30. Not so much fun and now I have more returns. Saturday night I finally sat down to do some work and someone called who needed an emergency babysitter. I couldn't refuse and ended up watching the late Devils game through bleary eyes. Today, after a late night I refused to get out of bed until after 10 when I got a call from my friend to help with her essays due later that day. I have been working on them all day, but deadline is really tomorrow so the work goes on. Oh and there was no massive party, unfortunately. Maybe next time.

Sports summery: Three straight Giant losses does not make for a fun intro to being a football fan. I hope to get tickets to a Devils game asap because I have not been to one since that first game (I am embarrassed to admit). I am also impatientely waiting for the Yankees so sign more pitchers, my preferences are to bring back Pettitte and Lilly.

More poetry coming soon.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Busy Busy

I apologize for not being as attentive as I should be to my blog in the last few weeks. My hours went from whatever I wanted to getting up at 5:30 in the morning and getting home at about 9PM. Weekends have also been a little crazy with family parties. So this post is just to tell you that I have not quit after my 50th post. This is just the beginning.

My parents are taking their first vacation without the kids. Finally! Although I did enjoy going to cool places. So now I have to go help them pack (to make sure they get there ;-) ). I will be back to posting regularly asap. And hopefully I will have that party I always imagined while they are gone. Can't wait. Also, there are some things that are on my mind that I have to decide whether or not to blog about and how to express myself.

Nothing major to blog about in sports yet. Maybe I will post on some of the deals being made and not made in baseball. One day last week I was walking to work along 5th Avenue and I noticed a female TV reporter with her crew. She was asking some men passing by a question, but did not ask me the same. As I was waiting at the corner I heard her asking the men walking if they were Yankee fans. Presumably she was asking about the bidding for the Japaneese pitcher. I was itching to go over to her and explain that I was a die hard Yankee fan and give my take, but I was stupid and talked myself out of it which I really regret. It really bothers me that they just assume that women can't be Yankee fans and just target the men, which I guess is understandable, but I have wanted to fight against that stereotype/assumption for a long time. That was my shot to help that cause and I failed by not stepping up and saying something and it really bothered me. I hope next time I will stand up and speak my mind and let my views be heard.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Looking Back and Moving Foward

Because this is going to be my 50th post I waited until I had some breathing time to sit down and write it. It is a huge milestone for me because I just started my blog on a whim. I was sitting at home after graduating college and I was in the midst of deciding what path I wanted to take in life. As I made life altering decisions I decided to try blogging as a forum to express my feeling on these issues and many others in the hopes that it would help me sort things out. This blog also allowed be to do some writing on the Yankees, Devils, and any other sports topics that caught my fancy. I didn't have many people to talk sports with on a daily basis so my writing allowing me to express my opinions, elation, and disappointments.

During these last few months I have been through my share of tough times, trials, tears, and finding a new resolve. I have chosen to take the path less traveled and follow my dream instead of others' expectations. I am still on a mission to finding completion. I can now end my search for a sports job, thank G-d, because I have found my dream job and my path in life. I can tell you it is not easy, the road is long and hard, you get a lot of NOs and criticism, and you have to be willing to give on making money right away. I will always run into people, including my parents, who will trivialize what I do even now that I found a good job, but I love what I do and that's is what's most important.

Some random notes. Last week when walking back to my Dad's office I say three fire trucks blocking part of the street. As I got closer I realized they were at my Dad's building and I got very nervous. It turns out someone called them because the lobby smelled of kerosene/oil. When I realized that there was no danger it was fun to see 30 (mostly very hot) firefighters checking out every nook of the building. I should have taken pictures, but I didn't think of it at the time. I made my way upstairs and made a quick stop in the bathroom and as I was washing my hands I heard male voices and radios. They knocked on the door and moved on. When I came out there were five firfighters checking the top floor we exchanged hellos and they left. Also, earlier in the week I walked my Abercrombie again on my way into work and say the model once again standing just inside the enterance. This time he was wearing his trademark low rise jeans paired with an open puffer coat to reveal his bare chest.

Finally, I would like to thank all my readers for coming by. Most of all I thank all my commenters for their support, advice, and opinions. It has been fun and this blogged has helped me through some of the tough times. Here is to more good times still to come, overcoming the challenges that lay ahead, and doing more to help make a difference in the world.