Happy Holidays!

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

Well, thank goodness all that's over! It was a very busy holiday season. I can't believe I'm actually looking forward to New Year's Eve so I can stay in and relax for a change!

Christmas Eve, we rode out to Long Island (the ass-end of Long Island, it turns out) to spend the holiday with Frank's aunt and cousin. We had traditional Italian fish dinner on Christmas Eve, then baked ziti on Christmas. Delicious! Frank was upset that as soon as I met their dog, Pugsley, I threw Sam aside for him. Sorry, but Sam's a spaz, and RoseAnn hasn't been able to get that puppy under control quite yet. I'm sure someday Sam will be a treat, but right now, I'd much rather spend time with Pugsly, who knows how to behave.

Saturday we took the bus to Boonton to spend the day with my side of the family. Santa had already brought Gabi a ton of great presents, but she wasn't about to turn down a bunch more. Especially when the duck sponge I gave her with some crayons turned out to be just what she needed Who knew? Amy outdid herself as usual with the food, and despite her insistence that the seafood lasagna should've been hotter, it was still delicious. Unfortunately, Frank forgot his bag, so just as we were getting on the bus to go back to the city, we had to get back off and have Dad come bring us back to the house where we could get his bag and wait for the next bus. Sigh. Still, it was a great Christmas, and there are a ton of pictures like this one on my Flickr page. Check 'em out!

Happy Turkey Day!

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

Everyone gathered in Niskayuna for the family Thanksgiving feast. Wednesday night was the traditional lasagna (now vegetarian like my sister) for Alison's birthday, followed by ice cream cake and presents. She got the presents, but we all got cake! Unfortunately, my surprise revelation that I'd taken up running and was registered for the Ellis Hospital Cardiac Classic on Thanksgiving morning was spoiled because no one else was going! My brother had just run a marathon last weekend, and wasn't up for it, so my sister hadn't registered. Luckily, she offered to bandit the race and keep me company up until the end.

I was proud of myself for beating the 26 minutes and change I had hoped to run. According to the official results (which aren't actually that official because there were no chips), I did it in 25:42. Yay me! And since Thursday was my scheduled running day, it meant I still did my three miles and could eat Thanksgiving dinner without feeling guilty. (Sadly, my stomach has now conditioned itself to be satisfied with less food, so I didn't eat as much as in previous years)

There's a whole bunch of photos from the holiday up on my Flickr page -- just follow the link over there on the right!

Irony

So today at the dentist, the receptionist was selling candy for her daughter's school fundraiser. I'm pretty sure that's irony.

Thank You, Nintendo

Thanks to Nintendo's Wii Fit, I have currently dropped 30 pounds, and am in better shape than I have been since... um, well, probably forever. I now weigh around 153, which I don't think I have since college. And I know for a fact my abs never looked this toned.

Although, to be fair, that's not all Wii Fit at this point. I broke out my ancient videotape (VHS? What's that?) of Abs Of Steel, and have been doing that since Wii Fit only offers you one variety of crunches.

Still, while these jeans were always a little loose, they were never this loose!

So thank you to Nintendo for creating a videogame that made me really pay attention to what I weighed and what I ate and how I worked out. Sure, it might not be the best for a long-term physical fitness routine, but it's the best jumping-off point I've ever had. Trying to work out at home never stuck, and neither did joining a gym. It's a little embarrassing to think that it took a Nintendo game to get me into shape, but hey — with results like this, I'm not complaining!

The Muppets Take Brooklyn

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

Last week, I noticed some signs up in Brooklyn Heights saying that Muppets Inc would be filming something called "Letters To Santa" there on Monday, September 8, and the times were from 6AM to 12AM. Why they thought they needed 18 hours is beyond me. But I got off the train a couple stops early to pop over and check it out, and I got lucky enough to see them film one scene before they called it a wrap. They'd redecorated an apartment building in the neighborhood to look like a post office, and Fozzie, Gonzo and Sam the Eagle were on the steps, worrying that the post office had closed, and it was Christmas Eve and they had to return Santa's letters to him. (Naturally, Sam the Eagle reminded viewers that reading other people's mail was a crime, while Fozzie just worried he'd end up on Santa's naughty list for reading his mail)

So I basically only saw that one bit, then they wrapped. Fozzie and Sam disappeared, but Gonzo came over to thank the little boy in front of me for coming to watch. Thank goodness for the kid, or he might not even have bothered. Though honestly, I think I was probably more excited to be three feet away from Gonzo than the kid was! I don't know why I get so excited to encounter the Muppets, but I do. I can't help it. They just make me feel like a kid again. It's wonderful.

The signs only listed the one day, but I hope they'll be back again. I'm sure they shot more than that one scene if they were there all day, but here's hoping there's even more to shoot... maybe on another street closer to mine?

Women Drivers

Eades Family Reunion 2008

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

Every two years, we try to get the extended family together for a reunion, and this time, Matt and Ann Marie hosted out at their home in Buffalo, NY. It was an absolutely perfect location, with huge front and back yards for the kids to run around in, and a terrific playground setup. The only thing we could've used was a few clouds in the sky to cut down on the sun.

Everyone brought food to share, so there was certainly no shortage of eats. Everyone stuffed themselves silly on everything from grilled Elk to paella to Duff's famous Buffalo Wings. Yum! Of course, having lost 25 pounds over the past few months, I've gotten used to eating less, so my stomach wasn't really happy with all that I kept shoving in there... On the other hand, Colin and Elizabeth insisting that I chase them around the house certainly kept me active enough to burn off some of those calories! Where do kids get all that energy? I don't remember being that hyper! (Although I'm sure my parents would disagree!)

We couldn't have asked for a better weekend, and the photos on my flickr page prove that. Now the only question is who's hosting in 2010?

Spelunking In Brooklyn!

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

There's a tunnel below Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and every so often, you can take a tour of it. This summer, we found out about it in time and made a point of doing some spelunking in the middle of downtown Brooklyn. You enter the tunnel through a manhole located in the middle of Atlantic Avenue (they block off the traffic for you). There's a narrow tunnel that takes you to an opening where they've piled up dirt and made rickety wooden stairs (which is why you sign a waiver beforehand!) so you don't have to climb down a rusty chain ladder like they did when they discovered the tunnel back in 1980. It was built back in the late 1800s and went through a lot of drama before being sealed up by a politician who claimed it had been destroyed. There was a lot of information to absorb, so obviously it didn't all sink in. But they've got a website with more information and better pictures than the ones I put up on my flickr page... (Flash made everything too bright, and I didn't have a tripod, so all my natural-lit pictures came out dark and blurry...)

Frank & Lauren Tie The Knot

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

So Frank and I went to my friend Frank's wedding this Saturday. The ceremony was at Our Lady Of Hope church in Queens, and the reception was over in Long Island at Jericho Terrace. Man, that place is swanky! Crazy impressive spread, seven choices for dinner and a wide open bar. Yay for open bar! Giovanni brought his 87-year-old cousin Anna Theresa, and she was exactly as awesome as a feisty old Italian woman should be. Fun! The only complaint I would have about the entire evening was that the DJ played the music so loud that you could feel the bass in your chest. There's more pictures on my flickr page if you're curious!

A Fantastic Fourth!

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

Well, if it's the Fourth of July, it must be time for the combined festivities of Gabi and GG's birthdays! These two lovely ladies' birthdays fall during the same week, so they get gypped out of their own parties and have to share! But sharing is good.

The weather didn't really cooperate, but there wasn't any rain on the actual day of the party, so it could've been worse, and a good time was had by all. I've got tons of pictures on my Flickr page (link off to the side, there) so you can see all the fun. In addition to the family photos, I took some scenic shots of the area, experimenting with shutter speed for some neat effects, and even got in some shots of the fireworks. (Excuse the power lines -- ruining a perfectly nice photograph. Sigh)

Mermaids On Parade

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

Hey! So I went down to Coney Island for the annual Mermaid Parade.

It was a really nice day, not too hot, and not humid. Nice breeze off the ocean, but the sun was brutal, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The parade is the same collection of classic cars, papier mache floats and half-naked people in bizarre costumes.

I took some photos, but then my camera batteries ran out (knew I should've brought spares!) and I figured I should beat a hasty retreat after two full hours in the sun. The parade was still going on when I left -- no idea how much longer it went. Maybe they should start it earlier than 2:00 in the afternoon if it's going to run that long...

Storm Clouds

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

We were having some weather when I got home from work tonight, so I went out on the fire escape and up on the roof to get some shots. This one's my favorite. But after all the scary, dark clouds looming and sweeping overhead, it turned out to be a wash. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Some wind and a little bit of rain. But I got some cool shots for my flickr page.

DRAMA!!!

So today, I got up for work and left, normal as could be. I realized as I approached 175th St. that it was already almost 8:20, so I had missed the earlier bus to NJ and would have to wait for the 8:40. But it was at this point that I started feeling some twinges in my back, and I feared I was having a kidney stone attack.

I went up to wait for the bus, and the pain continued to increase in intensity, so I went back downstairs to sit down in the waiting area. As I sat, it got worse instead of better, so I pulled out my phone to call work and leave a message that I wasn't coming in after all. As I walked back down to the subway, I passed my co-worker Kambra, who wondered why I was going in the wrong direction. I explained that I was in a lot of pain and was heading home so that if I had to go to the doctor, I could go to my own.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out that way. The downtown A during rush hour is quite packed, and I squeezed myself into the very last empty seat I could find. I was in agony, and had to sit. There was no way I was going to be able to make the trip standing up. I basically sat there, doubled over, staring at the floor. Which was good, because I'm sure people were staring, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I was shaking, dripping with sweat, and mostly likely white as a sheet.

As we approached 59th St, I came to the horrible realization that I wasn't going to make it home to Brooklyn. It seemed to take forever to get to 59th St, and as soon as we did, I bolted off the train before I succumbed to the nausea. First of all, I didn't want to vomit on this woman's nice shoes (or myself), and second, I know how much I hate when a sick passenger delays the train. So the best thing was to just get off.

I'd always thought there were emergency call buttons on the platforms, but I guess not, because I didn't see anything. I had to stagger up to the booth looking like I don't even know what in order to cut in line and ask the clerk to please call me an ambulance. She ushered me back into the station so I could sit on one of the benches, and called the police. A very lovely woman wearing her nurses scrubs happened by at this moment, and tried to calm me down, and very kindly stayed with me until the policeman arrived. I hope karma does something nice for her very soon.

The cop took my info (as did the token booth clerk), and I endured the pain as I waited for the EMTs. At least the nausea was gone. I was very glad I hadn't eaten breakfast, as I only dry heaved into the garbage can. This was the point at which I found I had a light signal on my cell, so I called Frank to let him know what was going on, and which hospital I would be heading to. I guess I picked a pretty good station to get sick in, because St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital was only a few blocks away.

I liked my EMT because if I closed my eyes, he sounded like Chris Rock. He also took my information, and they drove me to the hospital. No siren, thank goodness. But hey, my first ride in an ambulance! At the hospital, they managed to get my information and get me a bed in the emergency room surprisingly quickly, but as my pain re-intensified, I really needed some help. I ended up doubled over in agony, and had to pull the curtains open to get some attention. Luckily a doctor saw me first and ordered me up an IV and some pain meds ASAP.

The morphine didn't really do too much, and they had to give me another dose. They weren't very good with the checking in on a regular basis to see how I was doing, I have to admit. Frankie arrived around here, and I was glad to have him there. Oh, and I had to remove the blood pressure cuff, because while I didn't mind it going off on a regular basis, at one point, it just tightened and wouldn't release. So Frankie helped me pull it off because I was losing circulation in my arm!

Turns out they weren't going to do any tests. They just wanted to stabilize my pain and send me home so I can see my regular urologist. So when a couple of interns arrived with a sonogram machine and asked if I would mind letting them practice scanning my kidney, I was all for it. They didn't see anything, though. At least nothing conclusive. No, for that, I had to go home and see my doctor. I called, and the earliest appointment was for tomorrow, but by the time I actually got home, I'd decided to just head over there and see if I could squeeze myself in. Luckily, he had just gotten out of the OR, so my doctor was able to see me, and send me for a CT scan that actually verified what the sonogram had shown, which was a 4-5 mm kidney stone wedged in my ureter. Lovely.

Now we're just hoping that the kidney stone passes on its own so I don't have to go back into the hospital to have anything done. Although my doctor says he'd like me to have the sonic wave thing where they crush the stone with sound waves. I've never had it before, and always wondered about it. But no, I hope it passes on its own. I just had probably one of the most insane days of my life. I don't need another one!

My Niece, The Disco Diva

So I spent the afternoon with my niece, Gabi, and as we were all coming back from the zoo, I she was singing along with the children's songs coming out of the car stereo. You know, stuff like "Do You Know The Muffin Man" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." But then, in between tracks, she busted out with a surprising rendition of a disco classic. So naturally, back at the house, I had to get her to do it again. Enjoy!

Being Metropolitan

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Originally uploaded by Wootinie

Frankie and I went to the Met today. That's the Metropolitan Museum Of Art, don't ya know. I haven't been in ages. Can't even remember the last time I've been. I really wanted to see the Roman exhibition, and after that, we wandered our way through the Egyptian rooms, then on to Chinese and Japanese art before checking out just a small portion of the European paintings. A little medieval art, then down to rest in front of the tomb, then a quick peek at the small American section and then it was back home again. Phew! And we barely saw half of what was available. Plus, a good chunk of the medieval art section was closed off, and that was the cool part with the armor and whatnot. You can take pictures of the permanent exhibits, but no flash allowed, so some of my shots didn't really come out that well. But you can see them over on my flickr page.

Work In Progress

Well, they're always a work in progress. I never finish anything. Seriously, ask anybody. I saw a co-worker had put up a photo of Debbie Harry that I recognized because it's my favorite photo of her. And also because I had attempted to translate it into a giant painting in college. The actual canvas is a thin cardboard box that measures like, 2'x3' or so. Naturally, I never finished it, but I wanted to post it here so she could see the painting. As you can see, I pretty much only finished the face. The hair is only roughed out. And the jacket is nonexistent. Ah well... I'm including the actual photo for reference here.

Junk Poetry

Sometimes I kind of enjoy the crazy junk E-mails that show up in my inbox. Like the woman who needs my help getting the inheritance her father left her. It's such a shame his business partner betrayed him and killed him, after all. The broken English is such a hoot. So imagine my delight when I opened up one called "simsim" to find a little stream of consciousness poetry following their sales pitch for pirating software. In the interest of furthering artistic expression, I present it to you here in full:

Nei Ho,

Are you a frequennt visitor of retaiil sooftware stores?

We know what you're overpayiing for:
- box manufactturing

- CD
- saalesperson salary
- Reent of shop spacee
- Year-too-year increasingg taxes in your counttry

Well, what for ?! You're able to downlload evverything legally NOW! Fabulouss range of sooftware and LOW prices will make you smile and save your money! Welcome to [oh no, I won't put the link in here!]

Moreover the rector's righthand man, ready to impedes thee
from the golden round, which fate 'em. I suppose if nathan,
the shipping clerk, mistress remained untouched by them,
being one the fruit which was upon the trees: but as they
o'clock. I hope nothing further has happened. And steered
toward the sound. The game path which he observed, with
a great steam i'll pay you well tents and huts. Manco pointed
to it with an expression before he was down again. Come,
my friend, said it was possible that in its oldspeak formenglish
is not sufficiently honourable for his ambition. Of commerce
in your kingdom. For this kind of oysters parboil'd, and
some cock stones. Fry the of my heart, light of my eyes,
oh, hear thy father's.

School Spirit

So I had a phone call from NYU last night. The girl started off asking me to confirm my address and ask for an E-mail address, but I knew what she really wanted. I feel bad letting them go on, but I also feel bad that these people have to do this, so I waited until she asked for a donation before I stopped her. She understood that it was hard for recent grads to make donations back to the university, and suggested maybe a smaller amount like $100. Um, a smaller amount would be $25.

She moved to the next talking point on her list, which was to bring up the statistic that apparently only 11% of NYU grads have given gifts, as opposed to other universities, where the percentage is around 40-60%. Well, duh. I mean, first off, NYU cost a fortune, so it's hard to justify giving them even more money, especially since most grads aren't going straight into a high-paying career. Also, NYU isn't the type of school that engenders any kind of community. I never felt any school spirit when I went there, and I don't think many others did, either. The "campus" is just a collection of scattered buildings around Washington Square Park, so it's not like the typical university campus where it creates a microcosm of society, bringing the students together. So without that kind of school loyalty, I'm not surprised they can only get 11% of their graduates to care enough to give back.

Besides that, I've got rent to pay!

Missing: Winter

So, um... what happened to winter? I mean, I'd gotten used to not having any snow in December. I can't remember the last time we had a white Christmas. (Then again, I can barely remember last week, so that doesn't mean that much, really)

But it's now the end of January, and we've had barely a dusting of the white stuff. How is that possible? Does this mean we're going to have winter in February and March now? Because we're not having it now. It's been in the 40s for far too long. And it keeps raining. They're saying it's supposed to pour on Friday. It should be a blizzard. But I have to keep bringing out the umbrella instead of a hat and scarf. Since I moved to New York City, I suppose I should be used to not getting those real New England winters, but it shouldn't feel like constant spring. I miss winter.

And not just because I'd like a snow day off from work. I just think winter should be actually cold and with snow on the ground. Call me crazy.

The road is long
There is a path
Sometimes
In the sand
Then it shifts
And the way is
Lost.

Some Thing

Well, for once, a movie managed to live up to the insane amount of hype that preceded it. Cloverfield is a smashing monster movie. It truly is Blair Witch-meets-Godzilla, with a small group of people trying to survive a monster rampaging through New York City while recording their plight on a digital video camera. As with most of these kind of films, the opening 15-20 minutes of character development (such as it is, which isn't much) are almost interminable as you wait for the action to start. But once it does, it never lets up. Not for a minute.

The effects are brilliant, and even more effective for the way they're presented. By only allowing glimpses of the monster, explosions and other assorted horrors as the camera flies around, your mind fills in the blanks, and that's always more effective than anything a CGI artist can come up with.

The only complaint I have is that the actors playing the underdeveloped characters are a mixed bag. Some of them struggle at times to make their dialogue sound "real" and improvised. And it doesn't help that the script can get pretty clunky.

But that doesn't really matter when the real meat of the film is the action setpieces and the monster's rampage. And that meat is tasty. Some of the people in our theater complained as the credits rolled, but if you want detailed plot exposition and a pat Hollywood ending, you went to see the wrong movie. I like 'em better this way anyway.

"She's Gonna Blow Him Away!"

Like an oasis of scripted television in the desert of reality TV and reruns, FOX has just premiered the new series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. No, it's not the best series (I'd much rather be watching new episodes of Pushing Daisies), but it's entertaining enough, and I'm just happy to see a scripted show on TV.

It doesn't quite jibe with the movies, coming just after Terminator 2. And according to the series' creator, Terminator 3 is now an alternate timeline. That's a little presumptuous to say that your TV series is supplanting the third film. Of course, any story involving time travel is going to be complicated. Nothing you can do about that.

I just don't understand why FOX chose to do a two-night premiere, blowing two episodes in one week when there's only 8 or 9 of them to begin with. Then again, they've got American Idol starting tomorrow, so it's not like they're really bothered about ratings for their other shows...

An Amazing Race

I breathed a sigh of relief at the end of tonight's Amazing Race. For the first time in the whole history of this series (at least as far back as I can remember, which with my memory isn't saying much) I actually wouldn't mind if any of the final three teams won. Don and Nick are my favorites, but Don is pretty old and slow and it would be kind of unlikely for them to come in first. My second favorites are Ron and Christina, who have actually grown during the race. Even though Ron hasn't changed his attitudes completely, I wouldn't mind seeing them rewarded. And although Rachel has gotten a little whiny towards the end here, she and TK are a relatively inoffensive team.

I'm just beyond delighted that Nate and Jen are gone. They did nothing but argue and yell at each other on the race, and I was sick of watching them go at each other. In their final interview, Jen said she didn't know what was next for their relationship, but I'm really hoping that they break up. They're just not good for each other. At all.

Yay for the best final three in a reality series ever!

Food For Thought

You know, sometimes you don't quite get what you paid for. I had a lunch today at a trendy Manhattan Mexican restaurant. It came recommended, especially if you're expensing the meal, with those prices. The guacamole is supposed to be a big selling point, but I thought it was too chunky and more mild than medium. And my meal tasted fine, but it was kind of greasy, and not particularly filling. But that's what you get when you eat at a trendy restaurant: small portions and high prices. Boy, it so wasn't worth that much. Not sure how it got such a good reputation.

Hey, at least the decor was nice.