Angus Brian Quirk

The little guy finally decided to arrive! I guess the process started about 4:00am on December 23. Mindy woke up with some cramping/contractions that were more intense and quite regular, compared with the other contractions she had experrienced over the past couple of weeks. She had an appointment with her mid-wife at 10:00, so we figured it would be perfect timing to see what was going on. So, we were both a little flat, confused and disappointed when she was told that no dialation had occurred. Her advice was to go home and wait...it could stil be a few days yet and made a follow up appointment for 5 days later.

These contractions continued throughout the day, 10 minutes apart. At about 6:00 that night, we told the kids that we would let them open their Christmas presents the next morning. This way, we would be sure to be around as we had to figure things COULD happen any day now. Of course, I am guessing this was just the trigger he needed as at about 8:00, they started to get much more intense and were only about 5 minutes apart. At about 10:00 we called a friend over who had offered her services to watch the girls and we all waited together until about midnight. I then made the statement "Things are not moving any more quickly now and we could spend all night sitting here awake, only to THEN have to go to the hospital the next day in any case. Perhaps we should get some sleep as tomorrow will likely be a big day for you.". Of course the additional meaning behind these words was : "I don't know about you but I am exhausted and could use some sleep. Tomorrow will likely be a big day for me.'.

I got about 3 hours sleep, Mindy about 3 hours less than this (but at least she was resting) before she woke me to tell me that they were getting stronger. After walking around for a bit, they were now coming about 3 minutes apart and so we decided to leave for the hospital. I guess the Christmas morning for the girls will have to wait!

Nothing is every easy it seems. You would assume that driving at 5:30am on Christmas eve would mean that you would at least get a clear run through...well, about 10 minutes from the hospital, all traffic was stopped for an accident on the road. We must have waited there about 10 minutes. The good thing was that we were about the 5th car from the front so IF things had become worse, we could have easily spoken to the police to help us out. As it turned out, they cleared things quite quickly and we were on our way.

We arrived towards the end of the nurse's shift which was a good thing for us. The nurse on duty could be described in any of the following ways - surly; short; abrupt; disinterested...but I think "complete bitch" probably works best. I understand she was at the end of a 12 hour overnight shift...but there was really no excuse for her attitude and manner. We were quite glad to find her shift ending at 7:00. The replacement, Arlene, was an older lady and was amazingly nice, helpful and friendly. Soon after this, Tina the midwife arrived and examined Mindy. Progress was being made!!!

Slow progress however...it was hard to watch - Mindy was really working hard but things were not happening particularly quickly. From 11:00 - 1:00, she was having very severe contractions and when checked again, no further dialation had occurred. Tina then gave us a couple of options. She had seen this sort of thing before and after 33 hours of contractions, pretty much said that Mindy was flat out exhausted and her body was not responding to this. We could continue to struggle but the chance of success were quite low in her view due to the length of time she had spent there already. So there were two options - a c-section, or to use pitocin in combination with an epidural to help her rest and let her body continue with the process. We tried this route figuring that the worst result would be a c-section in any case...so it was worth a try.

Two hours of this and things were ready for pushing. Mindy was able to get a bit of rest and I fell asleep in the chair as well, despite all of the coffee I had been chugging all day. The pushing did not last too long actually, maybe 45 minutes. It is truly the most amazing thing to watch. Once you can actually see something happening it is almost over! A few particularly big pushes and there was a head...one more push for the sholders and there is your baby! Born on December 24 at 5:22pm, 9lbs 5oz and 21 1/4" long, so not as big as Fiona but certainly a solid bloke. Mindy was in OK shape, obviously sore and tired but obviously this is to be expected. A few pictures, some video and then I had to leave to get the girls. Unfortunately, due to the swine flu, there was a "no children" visiting policy at the hospital, so they would have to wait a couple of days to see their brother.

Vacation Update 1

Things accomplished so far on my time off...

1) Throwing my back out. I think this was as a result of lifting a haevy bin of firewood but who knows. Hurts like hell though. Have been pretty much out of commission since Saturday but it is now starting to feel a little better. Mindy and I make a fine pair right now - my back and her front. Still no movement on the baby front...better be something soon.

2) Lying on the couch. This is kind of as a result of (1) but also a sought after time-off-work activity in its own right.

3) Watching movies. Nothing too exciting...saw The Matrix again and am subjecting Mindy to Ben Hur right now. She was not impressed when after 90 minutes she noticed on the DVR that there was STILL another 2.5 hours to go!

4) Sleeping. This pretty much happens whenever I lie down on a couch which as a resuilt of all of my other activities, has been a lot of the time.

Also...not that I have ever been one for fashion and have NEVER favoured form over function however today was a turning point in my life I think. I purchased two pairs of flannel pants and a pair of slippers to make my "hanging around the house" time even more comfortable. I feel like a whole world has now been opened to me. I am now in couch potato heaven. Mindy is already at the point of knowing that probably for the rest of her life, she will be seeing me in flannel pants and slippers. I think this is a vast exaggeration - like I would ever wear these in summer!

Year End "To Do" List

Finish up all work for the year - Done!
Two weeks of vacation/holiday time booked - Done!
Cricket on - Done!
New baby born - ....

Still waiting for the little fella to make an appearance. We thought something MIGHT be happening last weekend but nothing yet. He is moving a lot though, Mindy is hoping that he takes a hint that there is not that much room in there now so he may want to leave. Of course, it is absolutely freezing here now so no wonder he wants to stay in there. Hopefully the next update will bring some news!

Baby Shower

On Sunday some friends threw us a surprise baby shower. I knew that this was going on and Mindy had a few suspicions (I am not a good liar I guess) but neither of us knew the details.

All of the details were covered - cars parked away; people out of sight so we did not know who was going to be behind the door. When Mindy saw her friends, balloons, cake etc she started to cry...so I guess it was a surprise for her! Our best friends from the area were all there with their kids. A total of 12 adults and 16 kids were there so it was a full house.

Assorted games were played - drinking beer from a baby bottle; passing a baby doll around without using your hands; cutting a string as a guess about how big Mindy's belly is (winner of this game - me! I guess I had an advantage). Some finger food, a few drinks, some lovely gifts and a cake rounded off the afternoon. I think everyone had a great time, we certainly really appreciated it, particularly Mindy, who was the main "attraction" of the day. Thanks to all involved and a special thanks to Holly and Gary for pulling it together and hosting.

Today is actually the due date...still no sign of anything so the wait continues.

Turkey Time

Thursday was Thanksgiving, the best holiday of the year. I was telling Mindy about why it is so great - "I love it...nothing but the essentials. It is all about eating, drinking and football". The problem was that exactly as I was saying the word "football", she was saying the word "family". A quick addition "Oh yeah, and family" at the end did not appear to cut it.

Mindy's brother Ben with his family was coming up from Virginia on Wednesday night, getting in at around 2:00am. Fortunately, I had the cricket to keep me busy! Not much to do after this other than get them all situated and get a few hours of sleep.

Thursday morning brought some preparations for the big day. There were going to be a total of 15 people for the day - 8 adults and 7 kids - so we needed plenty of food. Ben brought up his turkey fryer so he and I took care of frying up our 19 lb turkey. Also, the 15 lb ham was in the oven and the sides were getting cooked. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes and beans were all being taken care of. In addition Gary (and family) brought a pork loin while Phil brought along his Mac 'n' Cheese to share (and 4 delightfully large bottles of Belgian beer).

So...serveral bottles of beer later and after some whisky tinged egg nog and after much watching of football, things wrapped up. Quite a successful afternoon's entertainment.

Friday was our turn to be tour guide, bringing Ben Adria, Ben and Chase into New York for the day. The place was PACKED with shoppers and I think it might have been a lot for them to take in, especially with a two year old. However, I think they enjoyed the experience.

Saturday brought more beer and football, this time of the College variety. Went over to Gary's to watch Florida stomp FSU in their annual rivalry game. Always a good time.

Sunday was a beautiful day, perhaps the last one for a while. We went down to the local tennis courts with the girls and let them have a hit around. After this, Naomi and I went for a walk in the local nature centre (Fiona wanted to stay at home). A relatively early night brought closure to a relatively busy and very enjoyable weekend. Now just a few weeks until Christmas and other than a birth of a kid, nothing much else in our future!

NYC

Last weekend we decided to spend a night in New York with the girls. The baby is due in a couple of weeks and we know that after he comes there will be a few things to do to keep us busy, making these kinds of things difficult.

The bus got us into the city about 10:30 and the girls were ready to get to the hotel. We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square courtesy of my Marriott points accrued while travelling. First thing into the room brought their usual hotel routine. Head for the drawer, get out the Bible and Book of Mormon and start jumping on the beds. Not quite sure what the fascination is...I truly think it is the feel of the pages or perhaps it is just habit from past visits. This kept them happy until lunch time, always a good thing.

We found a diner not too far away. Mindy and I had steak sandwiches and the girls ate hamburgers. Naomi really has quite the appetite. The burger was huge and she demolished it like that skinny Japanese guy attacks hot dogs! He might have some competiton in a few years. next stop was the highlight of the weekend for the girls...the American Girl Doll Store. They already had an American Girl Doll each courtesy of a friend who grew out of them...but they really wanted to pick their own dolls out. For anyone unaware...the dolls are set in different historical periods and there is a whole story built around each of them. There are books, accessories etc to embelish the story. Naomi wanted to get Felicity, who was set in 1774 while Fiona had her heart set on Julie from the 1970's. After messing with them a little bit, making it seem like we were not going to get them a doll...than making it seem like one would get a big one and the other just a minature doll (we had to get something out of the experience ourselves), we got the dolls. They were over the moon and we knew we were set for the rest of the day.

We caught a cab back to the hotel. Fiona seriously was wondering when the driver would start asking us questions as on "Cash Cab". A little more playing in the room before we hit the M&M store just up the street. 3 floors of M&M merchandise and M&M's of course. We purchased some M&Ms from the "mix and match" area. It was obvious that this was an excellent marketing trick. The bags would fill VERY quickly and you were charged (quite a bit) by weight, so it was not a cheap place to go. Still, it was fun and the girls enjoyed it I think.

We then grabbed coffee and hot chocolate and sat in Times Square, relaxing for a while...but the girls were quite ready to get back to the room and their dolls. I was dispatched to find some Indian food for dinner. Apparently, there are no Indian restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel but I found a food cart that looked quite decent - the "Biriyani Cart". I ordered a few things but the girls (all 3 of them) found it too spicy. I of course, did not...and so demolished both dishes like someone was about to take them away from me. My mouth was on fire...but no subsequent heart burn - normally a sign of decent food actually. I went back down and grabbed some pizza for the girls and then we retired for the night.

After getting almost no sleep (the beds were too small) we wandered around picking up a few things for breakfast...but it became pretty clear that the girls were done so we got the 11:00 bus home. The afternoon was spent chopping up pallets for firewood and getting the girls their 2nd H1N1 Flu vaccine. Now they are both protected (kids need two doses apparently) so hopefully we can avoid getting sick. Seeing the complications some people suffer is enough to make me want to ge thte protection...even more so with Mindy being pregnant and obviously when the baby is around.

Now just counting down the hours to Thanksgiving and a 4 day weekend. Mindy's brother and family is visiting along with a few friends from around here so it should be a fun few days.

The Second Part of the Weekend...

Sunday was rugby and Metallica day.

Watching us draw with Ireland was painful. We had chances to put the game away and could not do so. Why did we feel the need to kick the ball to them all, especially with a malfunctioning lineout. Crazy. At least we did not lose but I think we missed a golden chance to crack the Grand Slam...still, not losing is OK considering the rest of the year.

Then, lunch with friends before I headed into New York for Metallica at the Garden. Met Tim before the show at a bar nearby - "Stout" and proceeded to slam beers. Then Tim suggested we try a high alcohol beer - "Delerium", which was a Belgian Ale showing an alcohol content of 8.5%. Now my goal was to get smashed before the show...but I did not want to spend the show running back and forth to relieve myself so this provided the perfect vehicle. The beer was actually pretty good, it reminded me of a wheat beer. Pretty easy to drink. So 6 of these, a couple of Harps, 3 shots of Jager and then another beer at MSG and I was good and ready for the show...

...and WHAT a show it was. Two hours of intensity, great songs and headbanging. I have a large bruise on my left palm...I am assuming it is from punching it during the show. They played a bunch of classics along with their new stuff, no problems at all with the set list, would love to see them again but I think their tour is wrapping up. The stage configuration was interesting as well. Stage was in the middle of the floor with microphones all around so at times you would have them right in fron of you and then they would rotate things around. Had the effect of making you feel more a part of the action as there was always something happening right in front of you. The crowd was awesome and were totally into the whole experience. Show highlights for me were "The Shortest Straw"; "Fade To Black"; "Broken, Beat And Scarred"...but no dead spots at all.

For posterity and for any interested fans out there, their set list was:

That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
Creeping Death
The Shortest Straw
Fade To Black
Broken, Beat And Scarred
My Apocalypse
Sad But True
One
The Judas Kiss
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Dyers Eve
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Encore:
Last Caress (Misfits cover)
Trapped Under Ice
Seek & Destroy

The First Part of the Weekend...

Saturday morning was supposed to be Fiona's last soccer game. Unfortunately, like a lot of her games this year, it rained and they cancelled it. We met at the park for a team photo and for the coach to present the girls with their trophies. Fiona was REALLY happy to get a trophy, engraved "2009 - Fiona - Rainbow Butterflies". Not a bad trophy, complete with a spinning soccer ball. She insisted that we keep it on the shelf with my cricket trophies but she has asked me to get it down for her a few times to play with the ball.

Then we ducked off to Naomi's yoga class. I had not seen this before and it was pretty cute to see her do the moves. Straight from yoga to our guilty pleasure for lunch - "Five Guys" - for a top class dining experience. For a quality hamburger, it is tough to beat I have to say. The girls love it as well so every now and then it will be a part of our balanced diet.

Saturday night was the Unity Charter School "Family Fun Night", a social fundraising evening at a roller rink. Neither of the girls can skate. I cannot skate. Mindy CAN skate but was not allowed to due to being pregnant...so, we had both planned to simply walk around with the girls helping them. After a few trips around, Mindy was done...something about it being difficult when you are pregnant I guess. Seriously, it was an effort and was uncomfortable for me, let alone leaning over all night with a pregnant belly. After a while, Naomi was beginning to get the hang of it - she was able to drag herself around on the wall which let me help Fiona. They both had a blast and so I would say the night was a huge success.

Halloween Drinking

Busy times last weekend. Friday night I caught up with a couple of work friends from a prior client. Beer and bad (for you) food was consumed, much laughter was had.

Saturday began with Fiona's soccer. She scored a breakaway goal, her 2nd in total but I think the first one simply bounced off her leg the right way! This one was quite satisfying for her and you could tell she was quite excited and proud of herself. She is certainly improving with every game and she really seems to enjoy it so I am glad she is playing. Saturday night was Halloween night. Naomi was a witch, Fiona was Poison Ivy and they both scored huge piles of candy for their efforts. In addition, at the local town parade, both kids received prizes for their costumes (most kids did, but it was still a thrill for them). After they were put to bed, I went out with some friends to watch the World Series baseball game at a local bar. Beer and bad (for you) food was consumed once again. Shame about the result but it was certainly a fun night.

Sunday afternoon brought a drive to Morristown for a birthday party for someone in Fiona's class at school. The girls enjoyed the bowling and pizza...I simply enjoyed the pizza! Sunday night was busy with some work stuff - it was a handy weekend to get back an extra hour from Daylight Saving time ending. However, now it gets really depressing, basically driving home in the dark every night.

Listening to much Metallica in preparation for the upcoming concert. I abslutely love their latest CD, the best thing they have done in 20 years and brings me right back to the reason I got to like them in the first place. Upon reflection, there was about a 5 year period from about 1989 - 1994 where they dominated my listening time. However, now I am happy to report that I am back in the fold once again and loving it...Mindy is perhaps not as pleased.

21st Century

This weekend we joined the world of Hi-Def TV. I had resisted for a while because my TV was about as Low-Def as you could get...but due to an upgrade we now had the capability if we wanted it. Of course, we had so much junk on our DVR that getting rid of it seemed like too much of an effort. However, we had a problem with the DVR and so took the opportunity to replace and upgrade.

I really had no idea about how poor the picture used to be back in the old days. Wow. It is one of those things that once you get used to it, it would be tough to go back. I spent a lot of the weekend simply switching between the two feeds and marvelling at the improvement. It really does not take much to amuse me these days.

Other stuff...enjoying the few nice days left, took the kids to the park on Sunday. The weather is starting to close in and it will not be long before we are stuck inside for much of the time (lucky we now have hi-def). Also, much listening of Metallica's "Death Magnetic"...a great album for any fans of the band, their best one in 20 years I think. November 15, MSG - can't wait!

AC/DC For The Last Time?

On Friday I drove down to Washington DC to see AC/DC yet again on this tour. A good friend from Virginia met me for the show so it was fun to catch up again as well.

As to the show, it was the best of the 5 shows I have seen. Of course, the backstage stuff at Giants Stadium put that one WAY over the top...but for the show experience itself, this was number one. The boys had a month off before this show and they were all full of energy and enthusiasm. Our seats were also amazing, literally 10 metres from the edge of the stage. Brian seemed to camp out right in front of us for much of the show. Angus, of course, was running all over the place! Anyone out there who has a chance to see them on the tour, make sure you do. You might never get the chance again.

So, ranking the 5 shows I saw on the tour:

1) Washington DC - Full setlist, great energy from the band, fantastic crowd and excellent seats.
2) Giants Stadium, NJ - Full setlist, great stadium experience and a great crowd. The seats in DC simply put that show into first place.
3) Izod Center, NJ - Awesome crowd and pretty good seats. For whatever reason they were not playing "Shot Down in Flames" and "Dog Eat Dog" at these shows...so 3rd place as a result.
4) Charlotte, NC - Probably the best crowd energy of the shows I saw, although DC was right there as well. Only problem with this show was the view. Top tier and on the side. No issues hearing them however!
5) Wilkes-Barre, PA - First show of the tour and amazing seats but this was the only show where they were a bit flat. Whether it was rust after their layoff or that they might have been sick or something is unknown, but something was not 100%. Throw in them not playing "Shoot to Thrill" as well and it is a clear choice for 5th place. Having said this, getting to see their kickoff show was pretty cool, being among the first to see them play the songs off their new album live. A good show but not a great one.

It was a great 12 months of shows...I guess it is time to let them go to Australia for a while! A side benefit of the tour is that my wardrobe has been well and truly updated with a stack of new t-shirts, sweat shirts and even some baby gear for the coming arrival. Have to start them out early!

Next up on the concert calendar - Metallica at MSG in November...and Pearl Jam are touring as well so I will certainly catch them at some point. On a related topic, Peral Jam's new album is very good and getting better with each listen.

No Second Prize

It is almost a week later and I guess I am over the Eels loss. They were not the better team on the night but if we had not let that one bomb fall into Inglis' arms, the game might have finished differently. That one moment killed our momentum and even though we scored late to get back into the game somewhat, it was not enough. Next year is looking good with a few additions and most key players returning but time is running out if we are to get a championship for Hindmarsh and Cayless.

Seems that too often at this time of year I am looking forward to the next season. Having said this, it was an amazingly exciting run to end the season and if we can play consistently all year, 2010 might actually be the year...

Old Dogs v Young Pups

Yesterday was our club's annual Old Dogs v Young Pups match, dividing the club along age lines and having an afternoon of cricket, drinking and shit stirring. Bragging rights for the year are at stake so the importance of winning cannot be understated.

This year, for the first year, I was an Old Dog. We had a decent team but I think the young blokes would have been favoured heading into the match. There was also the spectre of rain about threatening to derail proceedings but we were forced to take our chances.

After losing the toss we were sent in. First ball I faced I edged the ball through the vacant 2nd slip area and got off the mark in a somewhat dubious fashion. Next ball, Eddie carved one straight at cover and was caught, so not off to a great start. Peter and I put on a decent stand, consolidating the innings and gettting us back on track. After he got out I had partnerships with Matt and Jerome and was eventually dismissed for 56 in the 31st over. However, this does not really tell the full story. Over the course of my innings I was dropped 5 times, providing me with much amusement and many opportunities to remind the youngsters how crap they were. Rain started to fall during the final over of our innings but we finished it out and ended up with a score of 164 from our 35 overs.

Sadly, the rains did not stop and despite John's best efforts, there was nothing that could be done. We consumed the beer we had at the ground, retired to the pub for more beer and pizza and called it a day. In fact, this was my last game of the year, so I am now looking at a long winter "off season" to put this year behind me and get into decent form for 2010. Overall, personally, it was a poor year. I scored two 50's and a few other OK knocks, but should have done better. As for my bowling, well, I might have lost the plot there. I will give it one last crack to see if I can find it again but not being able to practice and playing relatively infrequently...along with getting older I guess, have ll taken their toll.

I am now awaiting the broadcast of the Grand Final, 4 hours to go. Go the Eels!

The Eels

The Eels have pretty much been all that is on my mind for the past month, especially the last two weeks. Beating the Dogs last weekend was fantastic to see and even qualifying for the Grand Final is quite an achievement considering where we were 3 months ago. One more game to go...I think it will be a tough one. Playing a solid, experienced side is the biggest threat to the way we have been playing and Melbourne certainly fits this. I will be watching the delayed telecast over here on (my) Sunday morning so hopefully the result is a good one. 1986 was far too long ago!

WSL Final

Saturday marked the day of our cricket league final. Our league, the WSL or World Series League has been running since 2001, named by a prior captain with a sense of humour. Our opponent on the day was our arch-enemy, Columbia University. We have had a history of some chippy games with them over the years, this year's fixture where they beat us on their field was no different, so we were all well motivated to put a beating on them. The Mad Dogs have had a good record in the WSL, winning it two of the last 3 years but wanted to get the trophy back in our keeping. Columbia have made 4 straight finals...would it be 4 straight losses???

We lost the toss and were sent in...we know they liked to chase so this was no surprise. We started OK, they bowled well but were a little erratic with a lot of wides as well...but after about 9 overs we were 3/35, with our three biggest hitters back in the shed. I was still there, scratching around but it seemed that just when we were getting a partnership going, we would lose another one. I ended up being the 5th wicket to fall in about the 20th over but by then, I knew we had enough batting to get us to a decent score. However, we did leave it quite late to make a run - Anand (#6) and Woody (#8) put on a nice partnership, Woody cashing in with a few big hits. He eneded up getting a quick 38, Anand a more patient 35 but this was enough...with some further scrambling to get us to 185 from our overs. I was quite happy with this. 180 was my target score aand I think we could defend anything over 140 if we bowled well, so now it was over the the bowlers...

Things started well for us. We had Prasanna bowling spin from one end and Bert, our West Indian "nasty fasty" coming down the hill. This really put them onto the back foot. Both picking up early wickets and Bert hitting one of their players in the helmet, sending him to the hospital for a scan. Despite going very well, the plan was to bowl Prasanna for 4 overs only, then save him until the end. We then had Anand and Neil to both bowl spin from that end and rotate the quicks from the top end. Well...Anand bowled his 7 overs, finishing with figures of 6/10! And the game was all but over. A final wicket to Woody finished things up and we had rolled them for 40! Bert was bowling very quickly, probably the best I have seen him actually. He demolished them in the final two years ago as well...seems to save his best for the big games.

We really had all things covered in this match...Prasanna - leggie; Anand - left arm finger spinner; Neil - right arm finger spinner; Bert - pace; Woody and Nick - medium pace seamers...and more options as well. It was so nice to smash them and shut their mouths. Their injured player returned after the match. I made my "you got a brain scan and they didn't find anything" joke...but he didn't get it of course.

So, then to the celebrations. First, a group shot in front of the scoreboard - wanted that to stick in the memory. Then a few beers and some pizza at the ground before we all departed. Nothing too crazy, I guess that is the problem having players from such a large area. In the end, a perfect afternoon of cricket...and a better result.

Mindy can now see the light at the end of the cricket tunnel. One more game in two weeks, our intra-club challenge: "Old Dogs v Young Pups" match. Loosely an Over 40 v Under 40 match, but normally the dividing line is a couple of years younger than that. I think this year I have crossed the median line to be an Old Dog, we will see how things work out once all of the availabilities are in. Having seen Bert bowl on Saturday, not really looking forward to facing him actually!

Your Life...Sold for $1

Mindy saw a advertisement for an estate sale in our local area. One of the items for sale was a freezer, which would allow us to store even more crap in our house. Upon arrival, we were told that it was broken so not for sale anymore but since we were there, we decided to take a look around.

I made myself at home, enjoying a cup of coffee they offered and we proceeded to look around at the stuff on offer. Most of it was cookware, books and a few items of furniture. We found out that the prior owner had recently passed away at the age of 93 and I guess most of the stuff had already been claimed by her relatives. We bought a few pieces of pyrex cookware that Mindy thought she could use. I like to keep her barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen, so this should help. There was a really annoying Asian lady who was haggling like it was her job (perhaps it was). "How much for the iron?". "$4". "I will give you $2". I think I would have kicked her out if I was them, there was just something really crass about her manner.

As we were driving away, we were both thinking the same thing...I guess this is how it ends for all of us. Eventually, someone is going to go through all of your crap and sell it to annoying Asian ladies for virtually nothing. It struck me as sad that the furniture, nick nacks etc that you collect over your life will all be sold off to people who don't know or care about the history and memories that they represent. That pretty much depressed us for most of the drive home, then the rains came in and washed out cricket on Saturday, the Orioles and Redskins got thumped and almost all was lost...

...but the Eels beat the Dragons in the League! This is a HUGE deal, keeping alive their season and as an added bonus, ending Manly's season. Things are rolling well for them now after a horrible start to the year, if they keep playing this way, they have a chance I feel.

In other news, this past weekend was my 20 year high school reunion. Unfortunately I could not attend but got to hear an update from Daniel and see lots of pictures on Facebook. It looked like I missed a great night but hopefully there will be other future gatherings that might coincide with a visit home at some point.

Long Weekend...Longer Week

Last weekend was Labor Day, the traditional end to summer. Managed to see a lot of friends and get some drinking done so had a good time. Firstly though, Saturday morning brought the Tri-Nations to my computer screen. Great win by the Wallabies and really pleasing to see us play for the full 80 minutes with intensity and without the stupid mistakes that cost us in the other weeks. The rest of Saturday was spent with the Ryans eating chinese food and relaxing at home.

Sunday brought a visit to Phil and Allie, grilling and drinking some beer. At the end of the night we all played the wii, which, sadly to say, was my first time on this game system. I am horrible about adopting technology, gadgets etc but I think we were convinced enough to make this a part of the kids Christmas list (with a few games for us thrown in of course). It was strangely a lot of fun smashing Mindy over the head with a wooden stick in the game. The girls did a great job of bowling and we all really enjoyed it.

Monday was beer and pizza with the Howells. Very pleasant afternoon on the deck while the girls all played together.

Unfortunately, now I have had WAY too much stuff to catch up on during the week. Throw in the extra project I am working on in the evenings and I am really paying for it now. Should be somewhat back to normal be next week, I hope.

37

Turned 37 yesterday. "Celebrated" by spending the day at work, followed by dinner/cake with the family and some friends who dropped by. Some beer was also consumed of course but nothing too extreme, at my age, not sure I can drink that much anyway! Gotta keep in prime physical condition for the cricket final in a few weeks... :-)

David and Mindy Get Into A Fight

Our quest to correct poor behaviour in society is neverending and sometimes a burden. On Saturday, a situation fell right into our laps, forcing us to act. We started the day by going to Iselin NJ for some Indian food before heading to Ikea to buy Fiona a new dresser. Ikea on the weekend is a nightmare. Idiots everywhere, some walking slowly, some walking quickly but all of them pretty much in the way. It was made even worse because they are renovating this Ikea and so the people were crammed into an even smaller place.

So, we were almost done, just had a couple more things to grab when a manic was almost RUNNING through the store, pushing a shopping trolley/cart (depending on where you are from) jam packed with stuff including an ironing board sticking out the front making it virtually impossible for him to see anything. He came quite close to Fiona, missing her by no more than a foot, and had he hit her, it would have done some damage for sure. As if on cue, Mindy and I both yelled at him, not sure exactly what Mindy said but it was along the same lines as my clever "How about you slow down" effort.

This got his attention, he stopped, turned around and said "Did I hit your kid? I knew exactly where she was.". Mindy had walked away about this time, taking the kids but I had to continue the conversation. He then added "Maybe you should put your kid on a leash". Now, Fiona was maybe 2 feet from us at the time of the "incident", hardly roaming around the store but in any case, he was really missing the point. "It doesn't matter whether you hit her or not, it is still dangerous to go that fast." and then I followed up with the "checkmate" to my argument "If you are driving around a neighbourhood at 100 mph it doesn't make it safe just because you don't happen to run over anyone.". I saw him pause, just for a second, as I think he realised he was being a tool. I then added "Just calm down a bit" before turning to leave...to which he added "You calm down!", I guess to try to get the last (stupid) word. I like to think he was pissed off for the rest of the day and in any case, the mere fact of having the conversation cost him any time he would have saved by rushing.

We both felt happy that another person had been educated but our quest is far from over.

Friday Poker

Friday night was poker night! A home game at Kevin's normally involves a few decent players so it can be a tricky table to play. On this particular occasion I think I played quite well and took advantage of a nice piece of luck as well.

The format was $0.50/$1 NL Holdem. Ended up +$200 for the night which was the 2nd best effort at the table. My biggest hand of the night involved playing Q-9 of Hearts, calling a small raise from the Big Blind. Flop brought Q-6-4, two Diamonds on the board. I checked and called a small bet from Kevin. Pot was probably about $35 at this stage. I was unsure if my pair of Q's was good but figured waiting for the next card would be a good idea. Next card was the Q of Diamonds, bring a possible flush to the board. Again, I checked and Kevin made a small $15 bet into the pot. I was a little concerned about this bet. It did not look like a bluff from him, so I was kind of thinking he might have me beaten at that time, maybe the flush, but more likely a better kicker to the last Q. However, $15 into a now $50 pot with 3 Q's was too good to resist, so I threw in my money. Last card...a 9!!! Now, I had a full house and the best possible hand. All of a sudden I was hoping for him to have A-Q or a flush...I bet $35 into the pot and Kevin raised me with his last remaining chips. I called and he announced "Full House", to which I replied "Me too" and showed the Q-9. He had 4-4 and had me beaten all the way until the last card...certainly a bit of luck but also perhaps showing the reason why slow playing big hands can get you into trouble. Wish I could have taken the money from someone other than Kevin but I was certainly not going to give it back!

Ashes Post Mortem

We only have ourselves to blame. I think we were a better team then England which makes the loss even more ridiculous. Unfortuntely, too many batting collapses, some poor selections and erratic bowling led to this fate.

So, what to do for the future? Ponting and Clarke clearly will still be the core of our batting. Clarke should go up one spot to #4 as he is really batting well. North, also has done well this series and deserves his place. Hussey probably did enough in this last match to retain his place for the short term but he is out of chances and any repeated failings will certainly see him get dropped. I think I would still give him the flick but guaranteed the selectors retain him for a while yet. He has had a great 4 year run in the side...but as the #4 ranked test side, we should be really thinking of the future. I would drop Hussey, move Clarke to #4, North to #5 and have Watson at #6. How can you have an opener who gets LBW as often as he does? Hughes needs another chance and as soon as Jaques scores some runs for NSW, Katich will be out of there as well. All of these players are on notice...failure will not be tolerated.

Haddin clearly is the keeper. He had a good series and is obviously the best we have.

Bowling is a big worry. Things were great when Johnson was firing but you cannot be the leader of the attack while being so inconsistent. Hilfenhaus and Siddle have been solid but until Johnson gets it back, we probably need Lee there as another strike option. This would be to get us through the next 12 months...and to see if Johnson would find his form. I cannot believe Bollinger is the next option. Bracken must have slept with Andrew Hilditch's sister or something...not quite sure why he has been written off as a test bowler. Tait is a head case and Cricket Australia have done an amazing job of giving him the shaft, I doubt he will ever be back. Our spinners look shocking. Where are all of the 25 year old kids who took up spinning 15 years ago while watching Warnie? Hauritz is decent but never going to roll a side but he might well be the best option there.

Big troubles to get back on track. The sooner we get some young blood into the side, the better.

How about this for a team for the Gabba test in November:
Jaques
Hughes
Ponting
Clarke
North
Watson
Haddin
Johnson
Lee
Siddle
Hilfenhaus

Then...after the WACA test, drop the worst bowler for Haurtiz on the spinning decks. Also, Watson would be on his last chance. Any injuries or form slumps would see him get the axe as well.

They will never do it, but I think this might shake things up enough.

Bachelor Week

Mindy and the kids are off for a week visiting her family in Virginia. I tried to talk her into taking the dogs as well so I could really relax but I got a "You're kidding, aren't you" look and so felt like it was wise to drop the subject.

Friday I caught up with an old work friend for dinner and a few drinks. Saturday was day 1 of a cricket double-header, a rare event these days. Fairfield CC were the victims. We scored 228 from our 35 overs and knocked them over with 10 overs to spare for around 150. I was batting well until I decided that I would challenge the notion that moving your feet is actually helpful and simply allowed a ball to slam into the pads and onto the stumps. I guess all of those coaching books are on the right track. Sunday was a game against our old foes from Waterbury. This team always comes with two or three massive tonkers and a bunch of spastics...so you might have a scoreline that reads 5/100 after 25 overs and then finish up with 7/250 from your 35. Our small ground is tough to defend when they get in. Well...when I bowled, I got ABSOLUTELY caned however did have a catch dropped off my bowling which would have helped things a little. They ended up 170 all out from 22 overs...two blokes scored about 130 of these between them. We were able to simply chip away at the total and were always on target. I mishit one that got caught but the match was never in doubt. So two wins on the weekend...could do worse I guess.

Mindy is enjoying Virginia it seems. The plan is for her to come back on Monday so it will be a week of online poker, TV prison documentaries (Locked Up Abroad; Locked Down; Hard Time...all great stuff) and some reading to pass the time.

Farewell To Nan

Sunday was a sad day as it marked the end of Mum's visit. On these occasions, the worst part is the dragging out of the day as you kind of wait for the time to leave for the airport, all the while knowing it is coming.

The goodbye happened in two stages, firstly with Mindy and the girls at the house, which was quite sad for all. We had debated whether to bring everyone to the airport but we saw little point in putting everyone through the drive only to be faced with a farewell a couple of hours later in unfriendly surroundings.

Upon arrival at the airport, Mum was told that she might have a chance to make an earlier flight so we made our farewells and she was led away in her wheelchair. She would want me to add here that she COULD certainly have walked, but at her age, the last thing she needs to be worrying about is getting through the airport.

The house was a lot quieter without her there...not that she has a loud voice, but I think it is fair to say it is a constant presence! :-) Next time we see her will be in Australia, probably sometime in 2010 (details to be worked out).

As of right now, Mum is still in San Francisco. I was to find out later that not only did she not get a seat on the earlier flight but her scheduled flight was delayed just enough for her to miss her connection to Sydney. I managed to track her down today and spoke to her. She is doing well, just a little anxious to get the trip behind her. She should be back about lunchtime on Wednesday (Newcastle time) when hopefully she will spend the afternoon resting and relaxing. Of course, anyone who knows her will realise that in reality, she will spend the afternoon collecting and processing 8 weeks of mail, unpacking, washing and drying clothes, putting suitcases away, calling all of her friends and family and cleaning the house! Can't teach an old dog new tricks.

10 Years!

Friday (August 7) was our 10 year wedding anniversary. Amazing how quickly time has passed, it really does just feel like yesterday when I was having onion hamburgers an hour before the ceremony, a choice that was not perhaps the wisest one I could have made.

Taking advantage of the Nan baby sitter, we hit a local Indian restaurant for lunch. We took the time to reminisce about the past 10 years and I think we figured out that quite a lot has happened over that time, from the major events (Naomi and Fiona) to the minor things that I guess are only meaningful to us. Following lunch, we had coffee at the bookstore before returning home. We spent the rest of the afternoon with Nan and the girls, hitting the park to let them (the girls, not Nan) ride their bikes. It really was a nice, relaxing day.

Of course, the best present of the day was waking up to the news of the cricket score. I am not sure if Mindy shared my excitement however. Glad to see us FINALLY sticking it to the Poms. Hopefully we will remain in form for the next test as well and finish things off in style!

AC/DC++

As soon as tickets went on sale for the AC/DC show at Giants Stadium, I was online, getting the best possible seats. A few days before the show, I received an email from a friend in my cricket team, who was good friends with a member of the touring staff for AC/DC. He told me that he might be able to arrange some sort of backstage tour for Mindy and me. I was of course quite interested in this but was not sure about exactly what this would involve, although I was told that it would NOT involve meeting the band.

On the night of the show we had arranged to get there by 6:00pm and we met Neil and Simone and were given guest passes allowing us to go backstage. At first I thought that it would simply be some sort of catered event, which would have been fine, considering the weather was horrible and getting to sit down for a while was a huge bonus. However, at about 7:00, we were taken up to the back of the stage. Firstly to "stage left" where Angus keeps his stuff. There was his rack of guitars and equipment box. It really was hard to believe I really was seeing this stuff, it seemed quite surreal. Then, up a flight of steps and onto the stage. It was quite incredible to look at at the arena, even largely devoid of people, it was an amazing sight. Looking straight up, there was the "Hell's Bell" prop. Heading around the back of the drum kit and there were the cannons, still without their barrels but all in position ready to go. Then there was the huge "Rock 'N' Roll Train" that breaks through a wall at the start of the show. All of this was quite amazing. We then headed down the other side of the stage that belonged to Malcolm. Saw his guitar rack and equipment box, before leaving the area. I was then given a handful of guitar picks from Angus' stash, a setlst and tickets for the backstage buffet. We were then able to eat and drink in airconditioned comfort, hitting our seats right before AC/DC hit the stage.

And as you would expect, they put on an amazing show. Highlights: Dirty Deeds; Rosie and TNT I would have to say, but the whole show was great. Certainly the thrill has not diminished with show #4...and have tickets to see them again in Washington DC in October. I have to guess this will be the last show but I guess you never know.

It's A Boy

Kid #3 is officially on the way. Actually, I guess, it has been officially on the way for a while but now is the time for it to become common knowledge. Mindy had the 20 week ultrasound on Thursday and confirmed that we have a boy on the way. Everything else is progressing well and so that is the main thing. The due date is in mid December. We are certainly happy about the boy news...something different and due to the age difference (Naomi will be 7 1/2 and Fiona 5), the baby would not be a play buddy for the girls in any case. Mindy is excited to get some boy clothes and the girls are really happy that they will not have to share their toys! We are also pretty close to finalizing a boy name...and since agreeing on a girl's name was looking increasingly unlikely, this is another huge plus for us as well.

Wicked

On Sunday we went into New York to see Wicked on Broadway. This was Mum's big request before the trip, along with letting us sweep the floors, cook meals and do dishes!

Our seats were quite good, in the middle of the left section, about 10 rows back. The show was quite good, the singing was fantastic, costumes great...pretty much what you would expect from such a production. I also thought the story was quite interesting and clever and a different take on the backstory to the Wizard of Oz. The one criticism I would have was that for me it seemed like they tried a bit hard to cram stuff into the story. I want to read the novel that the show was based on as I think this might help put things into perspective. Still, it was very enjoyable and would recommend to anyone passing through the area.

Friday = AC/DC at Giants Stadium...a little different show than Wicked (I hope!).

SH- Words

On the weekend, Mindy was helping Naomi with her reading. They were working on SH- words and Mindy, in an attempt to find some real examples said: "Like what daddy does in the mornings...he takes a SHower and he SHaves". As she was saying this, I think she knew where it was going...and...on cue, Naomi helpfully adds "And he SHits as well!".

So, both of our kids have dropped "s-bombs" in the past year but I have to say they used the words correctly and as long as they understand when it is inappropriate, I really don't mind.

Too Much Sport

Last weekend was setting up to be a sporting dream come true. The Ashes test at Lord's; rugby v NZ and our local NY Ashes match as well.

Well...the Lord's test was shocking. Too much horrible bowling gave the Poms a good start and we never fully recovered. The umpiring did not help but we only have ourselves to blame for this one and hopefully we can get things going again soon. You have to reckon Stuart Clark has to come into the side in some way...can we drop Johnson???

The rugby was almost worse as we really threw this one away. Bombed opportunities and a few key moments cost us the game that we should have won. We have a few weeks to get over this one but I was very disappointed in this result.

So, it was up to us to beat the NY Poms in our annual Ashes game. I did OK in the field - took a catch and got a wicket...but we have a lot of players who turn out once a year and we leaked about 30 runs more than I think we should have through bad balls a wides. They ended up with 192 from their 35 overs. In our reply, we lost a few wickets but I was able to get a few partnerships going. The one key moment happened about 1/2 way through when I called for a single and the runner hesitated before being run out. There was certainly a run there so it was quite frustrating to end this partnership in this way. I had to up the pace at the end and ended up stumped for 66, leaving us with about 20 to get. We needed 12 from the last two balls and our keeper sent one into the trees to give us a chance, however, a big swing and miss at the next one left us 6 runs short of the total. It was a great afternoon though and we will be looking for revenge next year when we do it all again.

Car Trouble

On Thursday I was driving a few blocks from work to meet the family for lunch, simply minding my own business, listening to Cold Chisel when out of nowhere, I caught something in my peripheral vision, causing me to duck. A split second later there was a huge crash on the roof of the car and I saw a large object bounce off the back. There was nobody in front of me so I am assuming something flew off a car coming in the opposite direction. I was in heavy traffic so could not stop...but when I got to my destination saw a dent in the roof and a large white scratch. Upon my return, I saw what it was...still lying on the road...a huge plank of wood. Sure, I was not happy about the hit I took but had to be glad that it was not a fraction of a second earlier, causing it to hit the windscreen. All in all, not too bad actually.

Fast forward to Friday. Going out with the family to run an errand and a complete IDIOT enters onto the main road from a shopping mall. I figured he was just getting up to speed on the shoulder, planning to merge in behind me...well, he proceeds to simply drift into my lane. I lay on the horn which then sets him off. Apparently he felt strongly that I should have assumed he was going to cross a lane into moving traffic. He then pulled back over and so I passed him and he yelled something else out of the window. The payoff came when he drove past me taking an exit where he went to yell something at me again. Completely on cue, without any prompting, Mindy and I both threw him a big grin and waved, I am sure driving him nuts. He really was completely in the wrong and a complete idiot...with anger issues as well. Glad to ruin his day.

On the weekend I was able to buff out the scratch so now just left with a small dent...which will likely remain there for a number of years (i.e. forever!).

Engelbert Humperdinck

On Thursday night I took my mother out for a date. I found out that one of her favourite singers, Engelbert Humperdinck, was playing a concert in NJ. It was a total surprise for her, I did not tell her anything about the nature of the evening. The first she knew about it was when she saw his name on the billboard for the theatre and her reaction certainly made it all worthwhile. I had thought she had seen him before but this was her first time apparently...

The crowd was pretty much as I had expected. A full crowd of 50 and 60 ish year old people...and a few older than that. There was a full wheelchair section and lots of people with canes and walkers. However, that did not stop them from getting into the vibe of ths show. It is funny - no matter what the performer, there is a group of hard core fans that know what is about to happen. They knew when to rush the stage when he pulled up a volunteer from the crowd. And believe me, watching a bunch of 60 year old women rush the stage is quite an interesting sight! The volunteer was placed on a chair and serenaded, included getting straddled and given a full mouth kiss. It was quite the sight!

In general the show was exactly what I expected. A Vegas lounge singer type show, with old standards and a few newer songs thrown in. He is in his 70s but still has a great voice and knows how to work the crowd. His standard "Release Me" was thrown in at he end of the show and he came back for a couple of encores, finally finishing with "My Way". Mum really enjoyed the show, singing along to the songs she knew, which was quite a few of them. Probably the most interesting and disturbing statistic for the night - count of panties thrown on the stage...2...which is really 2 too many I think!

Week at Home - Part 2

Thursday night brought the re-appearance of an old friend from Richmond. Phil has been living in NJ for a while but we never seem to be able to line up our schedules. Also, he has gotten to know Mum from her previous visits out here so it was nice for her to see him again. It was great evening with some NZ wine supplied by Phil and a donation to the girls of a kids' cricket set which the girls have loved playing with in the back yard.

Saturday was July 4 and we chose to invite over some friends for a BBQ. In the end there were 13 adults and 11 kids in attendance so plenty of food was needed. As always, I overcooked but better to have too much than not enough. Chicken wings; chicken; steak; lamb; sausages; hot dogs and hamburgers were all eaten in some way but more importantly much beer was consumed and good company was enjoyed. The kids playing in the yard at night with some glow sticks while we relaxed on the deck we a great way to end the day.

Sunday was a friendly cricket match against Fairfield. We had a decent team and I suspect they were missing a lot of their regular players. Unfortunately we lost the toss as it would have been nice to bat first...but we ended up simply rolling on with a steady stream of wickets. I was back to bowling after a month off and did well actually, picking up two wickets and getting dudded out of a 3rd when the bloke SLOGGED it into the keeper's gloves only to be given not out. Unbelievable! We let them bat all of their 13 players but even then they could only manage 105. I was batting at #6 but was not needed...we got the runs 2 down with 20 overs still to go. A nice, relaxing day but would have enjoyed a more competitive game a little more.

Week at Home - Part 1

I spent the last week off work, kind of on holiday but doing some remote work as well in and around the other activities...

Monday was spent mainly working from home but with a nice diversion for lunch. Famous Dave's was the fantastic destination for our meal, exposing my mother to some American cooking. BBQ ribs, pork, corn, baked beans, coleslaw, corn bread and some fries made for quite enough food. Mum actually enjoyed it (I think), which is a good thing.

Tuesday brought the unexpected (but welcome) early arrival of the work crew to build our new patio under the deck. Since the deck had been build, the part of the yard we like to call "underneath the deck" was a horrible of mixture of mud, rocks and junk that we chucked there. Considering the deck is about 8 feet off the ground, there was a chance to use the space for something a little nicer, so a paver patio was decided upon. For a while, I toyed with the idea of building it myself...but decided to go with the professionals. A good thing I did too. Figuring that it took 4 guys all day to build it and we can work out exactly what would have happened to me:

Minimum time - 4 days (based on their work). Add in the fact that they actually know what they are doing and have the right tools...I guess we are now up to about 7 days. Then throw in the prospect of bad weather over that time causing delays and some more time of me spent in complete disillusionment about how much work it was and we are at about 10 days. And I would assume it would be right about then that I would give up and call someone to do it anyway...

The finished product was very nice, in fact, surpassing our expectations in every way. It was also nice to get it done before the weekend as we were planning a BBQ for the July 4 holiday. The kids love it as well and have spend a lot of time riding bikes down there.

On Wednesday, we went to the Bowcraft amusement park near our house. Basically it is like a "Newcastle Show" / "State Fair" type place for rides. Lots of small metal things that spin a lot. now I love coasters, but I HATE rides that simply spin you around. I cannot see the point and end up feeling a little worse for wear after the experience. There was one ride there that killed me - a stiupid balloon ride that I went on with Naomi. It looked quite harmless but the combination of the rotation of the arms and the spinning of the "balloon" was a killer blow. I was able to soldier on and finish out the day, which was over by about 2:00. Nan had a nice time but it was a lot of walking and standing for her and I think this was about her limit. Top ride for Naomi (and me) - the Drop Zone, where you simply get hoisted up and dropped a few times. Nothing scary but great for Naomi. Top ride for Fiona - the toy boats...about the tamest ride in the park. She is going through an age where she has lost her nerve a little I think, a few years ago she was unstoppable, I guess, now she is smart enough to know how poorly made a lot of those rides actually are!

Wednesday night was spent with Holly and Gary at a fondue restaurant. I had never done anything like that before and it was a lot of fun. Not the kind of thing that you would do every week, but certainly a nice change for a normal night out. Thanks to Nan for babysitting and giving us the night. A lot of animals were consumed - lobster; shrimp; chicken; pork and steak. All good. The highlight was the dessert, dunking the cheese cake in the melted chocolate was certainly worth the wait.

Scumbags

Played cricket on Saturday against the scumbags from Columbia University. A horrible bunch...actually most of them are OK but a few rotten apples always seem to spoil the bunch. Sadly we got done...but we are all well motivated to ensure that we get into the final to hand them another defeat then when it really matters. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I was totally stuffed with a horrible LBW decision...seriously bad. Our #3 was run out off a deflection when backing up. Throw in a couple of loose shots and we ended up paying the price for scoring about 25 runs too few. We bowled OK but they had one batsman who held things together for them and won them the game. Revenge is sweet...looking forward to another crack at them later in the year.

Other than this, Mum's visit is going well. Not a lot we are doign but it is nice that she can spend some time with the girls and relax. She is enjoying the warm weather, not so keen on the American food! Today, we took her to a pork BBQ place and she enjoyed that, so we are making some progress. The biggest irony of all of this is that she spent much of the first 20 years of my life imploring me to try different foods...now whe is unwilling to try them herself!

I am working from home all of this week so will be spending some more time with her this week. A few possible activities planned, will have to see if they pan out.

School's Out

Today is Naomi's last day of school. I have been driving her to school every day as my work is literally around the corner. I am hopeful that I will continue at Colgate for a while yet but you never know, so I took a moment today to talk to her. Pretty much, I tried to be the sensitive father and told her how I enjoyed her beong my "car buddy" this year and how I will miss her not riding to work with me. I then added that I might not be working at Colgate after the summer but if I am I will get to take both her and Fiona next year. She then went downstairs and I had a shower.

After I was nice and clean, Mindy came up and said "You know what is going on down there?"..."Naomi is bawling about how she wants you to stay at Colgate and drive her to school next year". She was fine by the time we left and she will have a nice day I am sure. This kinds of sums up her personality - quite sensitive, emotional and sentimental...I am assuming she gets this all from Mindy!

Mother

Mum arrived safe and sound on Thursday night. Her flight was only 20 minutes late into JFK which for JFK is actually early! I had a little brush with fame while waiting for her to come through. I was standing there and all of a sudden I noticed someone walk through the gate that I recognized. I took another look and was convinced that it was either Harry Kewell (Aussie soccer player) or his identical twin! Still, out of context like that, you are never sure if you are right...however, my suspicions were confirmed when he walked up to a limo driver holding a sign stating "Kewell". I actually have "met" him before a few years ago when he played for Liverpool and their team came over here for a series of exhibition matches.

She is doing quite well considering the length of the trip. She was looked after in wheel chairs through all of the airports and we took it really easy this weekend. On Sunday, I think she was largely over the jet lag and was feeling back to 100%.

Saturday was supposed to be a cricket game but all we could do was stand there, watch the rain fall and call the match off. Shame as we had a good team lined up for the match.

Sunday is Father's Day in America. Mindy and the girls baked a cake to celebrate and we also went to lunch with some friends. Sunday afternoon was spent in the garden, taking advantage of a break in the weather to dig out another garden bed and transplant some more seedlings. Hopefully this new location works out well, it is down the bottom of our yard and will get plenty of water there, we are just hoping there is enough sun to get everything to grow.

All in all, a really nice weekend...Monday always seems to come much too quickly.

Poker Frustration

Friday night was poker night. A group of friends and a few others got together for a night of Hold 'Em poker. I was happy wiht how I played but still ended up behind on the night...all because of 3 hands:

1) Saw a flop with J8 of diamonds, flop brought 3 diamonds...first player to act shoves; I call and then the next player calls as well. First player had a flush also...but worse than mine. Other dude had the A of diamonds. Turn was a blank, river was a diamond of course giving him the pot and costing me $100. His "Ha! I win!" comment was perhaps a little lacking in proper etiquitte. :-)

2) Got it all in with KK over TT ... T hits in the window and I don't catch up...costing me $80.

3) Called a bet on the river with two pair...up against the nut straight that he BS'd on the flop...costing me $60.

Considering all of this, the fact I was $60 down on the night was not too bad actually! A fun night overall, despite these events.

Saturday morning was mainly dedicated to cleaning up, running errands etc...and recovering from the massive lack of sleep. Saturday afternoon brought Naomi's belated birthday party, an indoor art and craft place. It was mainly frineds from her class at school who were there and all seemed to have a good time. It was quite nice to let others worry about the cleanup and entertainment for a change.

Sunday was spent at a friend's house for a BBQ. A nice, relaxing afternoon talking and having a few beers on what eneded up being a really nice day. It is back rainy and cold again today...hope things are OK for cricket on Saturday.

Mum arrives for her visit tomorrow. We are all quite excited and looking forward to seeing her. Hopefully she gets some rest on the flight and is in good health when she arrives. Also hope the vegemite, snakes and other Aussie stuff she is lugging over here makes it in one piece!

Chisel!!!!

Mindy either likes or has grown to like many of my favourite Australian musical artists:

AC/DC - I have a picture of her wearing glowing devil horns at a concert...so no issue there
Midnight Oil - She likes tall, bald Australians (thankfully)
The Angels - She, like me, wonders why they did not make it bigger outside of Australia
Cold Chisel - She hates Cold Chisel...

Now, thanks to an article mailed by a friend back home about Don Walker's new book, I have been on a massive Cold Chisel kick lately. I have been pretty much been playing them non-stop for about a week now and she is totally sick of it. All of their stuff is great in its own way, even their most recent album they made after reforming (which sadly is 10 years ago now...can that be possible?).

The trump card I am playing is that I have Naomi as a captive audience every day for 40 minutes while driving her to school. Naomi is a rock fan and has developed a taste for Cold Chisel's stuff. Fiona also has come to the correct opinion as well. Mindy will be a tough nut to crack but either she will come to our way of thinking or be quite miserable. The other day, Mindy was driving Naomi home from school in my car...the first thing Naomi says when she gets in - "Can you play Cold Chisel?". Mindy was horrified at having to listen to them for the 40 minute ride. Another great comment the other night, Naomi proclaimed that she likes Cold Chisel more than the Jonas Brothers! That's my girl!!! Not sure how long it will last but I am appreciating it while I can.

Cleaning, T20 and a Hangover

I promised Mindy that I would help her this weekend and get some stuff done around the house. I had an invitiation with some friends for dinner and a movie on Saturday night, so I had lined up all day on Saturday for cleaning to pave the way for a night out. This was before I realised that Australia was playing in the T20 WC on Saturday..."fortunately" due to our almost complete ineptness, watching the cricket did not really take much time. The last half of the afternoon was spent cutting grass; digging in the garden, relocating a tree in our yard and generally getting sore and filthy.

On Saturday night a few friends went out for dinner, drinks and then to see the new bloke flick - "The Hangover". All in all, I enjoyed the movie but certainly it was not a classic. I think most of the funny scenes and overall concept was pretty much covered by the advertisement.

Sunday was a major day of cleaning avoidance, helping instead by going to Ikea to get a new dresser for us, a new dresser for Fiona and another toy-storage thingy. It really did take a while as Ikea is always a difficult place to navigate quickly. This was made worse as they were remodelling, so stuff was all over the place. Sunday night was left to frustrating Ikea assembly however, unlike most attempts, I actually managed to get it put together in the correct way.

Australia subsequently crashed out of the T20 WC after another horrible performance. We really need an overhaul of ths side to learn how to play the game. More focus on the slower bowlers, both spinners and medium pacers; axing a couple of batsmen for more dynamic players (Mike Hussey has to go); Luke Ronchi should be in there as the keeper and I think we need to think about chasing occasionally...we just don't seem to be able to restrict sides these days. It is no longer satisfactory to say "it is just T20"...we need to figure out how to dominate this form of the game as well. Only bright spot is that we will be well rested for the Ashes, which truly is what really matters!

Easy Like Sunday Afternoon

Spent a relaxing afternoon on Sunday eating from the grill, drinking a few beers and playing some cards. The weather was amazing so good to enjoy it while it lasts.

Now it is only 2 1/2 weeks until my mother arrives, much preparation to be done to ensure we are ready for the visit. Next two weekends will be cricket free to ensure we get everything done in time!

Have been watching a great show - "Locked Up Abroad". Each week tells the story of someone who gets nabbed for a crime while overseas. Anyone contemplating committing a crime, smuggling something etc should watch this show, if it does not scare you straight, nothing would. This and of course the new season of "Deadliest Catch", which, for reasons I cannot fully explain, is one of the most addictive and compelling shows on TV.

Aggression

Driving home from work on Friday, there was a maniac truck driver. He was driving 80 miles an hour (speed limit is 65), honking at anyone who was driving more slowly than him and passing in the "slow lane" of the 3 lane highway we were on. It was quite ridiculous actually.

However, right at that moment, I passed a sign - "Report Aggressive Drivers, Dial #77". I called and was put through to the State Police who took down a description of the truck, the licence plate etc and said they would follow up on it. Not sure if he got a ticket but I imagined him getting pulled over and told to slow down by a cop which considering the hurry he seemed to be in, would have certainly ruined his day.

Saturday brought the 3rd Mad Dogs WSL game for the year...and we are now 3-0 with 3 crushing wins. In all 3 games our opposition have been bowled out for less than 100 but this was the biggest win of the year. Westchester batted first and we took a series of regular wickets without there being a major collapse. In the end, they were bowled out for 83, a score we knew we could chase. Of course, I got one of the few truly good balls they bowled - one angled in on my pads that swung late to pitch on middle and hit off. I was the only idiot to get out as we knocked off the runs with about 15 overs to spare. Things are looking good for us this season. All other teams have at least one loss and we are well on the way to qualifying for the final after missing out last year.

The game finished nice and early, so early in fact that one bloke on our team suggested a 10 over match to finish out the day. That idea was shouted down by a group of us already enjoying the beer and ready to head out to the pub for a few more. I mean, seriously...what was he thinking???

Cricket and Drinking

This weekend is the Memorial Day long weekend. We get Monday off work which pretty much marks the beginning of summer. When asking about what a co-worker had planned for the long weekend I was told that he planned to install a sprinkler system; wire his house for high speed internet and a whole series of other errands. I remarked that it is amazing how much you can get done when the first two items on your "to-do" list are not "Cricket" and "Drinking".

Saturday was the cricket part of the weekend. We were playing our 2nd WSL match of the season and wanted to continue our good form. Additional motivation was the fact that we wee playing Columbia University, typically a bunch of wankers who have made the final in our league for the last 3 years (getting beaten every time...twice by us!). Batting on a tricky pitch, we lost a few early wickets but were managing to keep the score ticking along thanks to a few wides, some aggressive running and cashing in on the odd loose ball. I was done in by the pitch - had a ball stop on me and played an incredibly poor shot as a result. We did have a couple of nice partnerships and got our total to 163 from our 35 overs. I always thought that it would be enough and so it proved. We never let them put together a partnership and by the drinks break we had them at 4/70 after 17 overs. The game was kind of still in the balance so it was key that we started well...so I guess us taking 3 wickets in the first 7 balls after the break would qualify. At 7/70, the game was pretty much over and they limped to 100 before getting bowled out. A few beers after the game ended a quite enjoyable afternoon.

Sunday brought the drinking part of the weekend. A BBQ at Gary's house involved much beer; cooked meat and great company. Mindy drove home and I crashed in bed, waking with the expected dry mouth and splitting headache.

Monday was a day with the family. Running up and down the street helping Naomi learn to ride her bike and trying to avoid the parades etc that are always held on Memorial Day. Not that I am against Memorial Day...but the parades end up being incredibly dull and pointless actually, with the main participants being local kid baseball players and firemen. Feeling pretty tired after Sunday so we will likely have a relatively early night I guess. I know the kids are pretty much out of it and will certainly crash when we put them down (I hope!).

Old Dogs Triumph

The Mad Dogs scored a victory in the first WSL match of our 2009 season. The victims were a group of largely young guys from Fairfield county. Our home pitch is quite tricky, slow, low and inconsistent early in the season and so we were not happy about losing the toss and having to bat first. Keith and I were very cautious but managed to advance the score to 52 before losing the first wicket. In fact, I was also dismissed in the same over but this was a solid foundation for the rest of the team.l We eventually limped to 133, which was likely to be enough but you never know...

Well, they batted as you would expect young guys to play, and ended up 5/50 after about 12 overs. A steady stream of wickets continued, punctuated by one decent lower order partnership, before the were eventually bowled out for 97. Beer and pizza after the game were all the more sweet as a result.

Philly Wrap Up

My annual pilgrimage to Philadelphia for a 4 day cricket festival is now over. The end result was that our team had 3 wins, 2 losses and a rain out. However, the teams that we beat were pretty bad so the record flattered our performance a little. A combination of missing a few players and having a few others underperform, yours truly being a prime offender. In fact, I not only played the worst game of my life on Friday...but cannot imagine how I could play any worse. Bowled two shocking overs, dropped FOUR catches and was bowled for 6. now the only positive was that I did get a good ball, so I can live with that...but the catches drove me nuts. I normally would not drop 4 in a season, let alone in a game, so hopefully my quota for 2009 is now well and truly done.

The dinner on Saturday night was a lot of fun. I got well and truly blitzed on red wine so that makes any evening a lot of fun. Derek Underwood was the guest speaker, a really nice guy, but not the best speaker. However, what was a lot of fun was that after the dinner, we all went back to the hotel bar, and got to spend about an hour talking to him...just Derek and the Dogs. I made it up to my room at about 2:30 (I think) and grabbed a few hours sleep before waking up for the Sunday morning game. Clearly, 3 hours sleep was nowhere near enough so for once in my life, I was glad to see grey skies and rain everywhere. Staggering down to the lobby, I located some team mates and found that the game had in fact been cancelled. I spent the next few hours sitting in the lobby, chatting and drinking coffee while moving through the "still drunk" and into the "hungover" stage. It was then time to head home, grabbed a quick, late breakfast and hit the road, getting home about lunchtime.

All in all, a lot of fun for the 4 days, I just wish we all (and me in particular) had played a little better...

Birthday Girl, Sore Boy

Today is Naomi's 7th borthday. Amazing how quickly time has passed. The celebrations began at her school - Mindy and Fiona brought in fruit treats for her class. We then all went to lunch at one of her favourite places - Qdoba. Mindy baked a cake for the evening and we had a small family celebration at home. She is getting her ears pierced as part of her present, that will probably occur in the next couple of weeks...unless she has 2nd thoughts!

Also today, Tito had to have surgery on his paw. There was a tumor or infection growing there that did not respond to antibiotics...so it had to be removed. He seemed to come through OK but is clearly in some discomfort. We have been carrying him around but when he has tried to walk, he cannot put any pressure on it. However, when some food spilled in the kitchen, he was dragging himself around on it to try and get a few grains of rice! His instinct to be a total pig overrides his instinct for self-preservation apparently!

I am now done with the week and am heading to Philadelphia tomorrow for the cricket festival. Derek Underwood is the festival guest this year and I am hoping for another beer sponsor to chip in a few donations as well. Our team is decent but we are missing a few key players. However, if we play our best we can challenge the other teams I am sure...if not, we will do the best to consume copious amounts of food and drink. In fact, we will do this in any case.

Dog Day Afternoon

Saturday was the first game of our 2009 cricket season, a friendly match against Yale. I had thought that Yale was a university but judging from how old their players looked, it appeared we were lining up against a number of 15 year olds! I guess I am a part of the old-fart club. So youth or experience, who would triumph? Never in doubt! We batted first and put up 209. I contributed about 15 before getting one of the few good balls they bowled all day I think. In the field, I took a catch, got a run out and took two wickets so it was a good day. The bowling is still a work in progress, hoping I get back in form soon.

The weather was wonderful, warm but not humid, with a nice breeze. Mindy and the kids came along and, as always, 3/4 of the family had a wonderful day! Fiona picked up a splinter and then launched a tirade aginst the township of Greenwich for putting wood chips in the playground - "Why can't they make it grass everywhere?" was shouted angrily in the direction of the offending section.

Sunday was a party with friends to celebrate the First Communion of their eldest daughter. It was blazingly hot so I spent much of the afternoon indoors, drinking Polish and German beer and socializing. It was a lot of fun. I think we developed a loose plot for a movie involving a Honda Civic, a FedEx truck and Kate Winslet. "18 Wheeler" is the working title, coming soon!

Pulled up a little sore after cricket but generally feeling OK. All set for the Philly Festival, starting on Thursday.

Our New Radiant Barrier

In the summer our top floor gets amazingly hot, mainly because of the fact that the attic gets even more amazingly hot. The floor of the attic is insulated but the surfaces get so hot that there is not much it can do. I did some research and found out that a "radiant barrier" might give us some relief. Basically, this is aluminium insulation, stapled to the underside of the roof, intended to reduce the radiant heat transfer between the roof and the rest of the house.

I went to the hardware store with Fiona to get the stuff, figuring that 6 25' x 4' rolls is what I needed. This proved to be JUST enough to make it REALLY awkward to get it out of the store. I was pushing it across the road towards my car when I realized I did not have my wallet. Not being sure if I left it while checking out or dropped it, I tried to go back quickly and of course the insulation was falling all over the place. So I was trying to keep everything in place, pick up the dropped insulation, get back into the store AND stop Fiona from being hit by a car! Eventually I managed to get back and was told that it was in the lost-and-found at he front desk. A nice relief - everything was still there and so we could then get on our way.

I then had to install the stuff. Of course, we have an amazing amount of junk in the attic and so the task was made much more difficult as a result. Also, even though it was not too hot today, the attic was already quite hot. Throw in the dirt / dust in the floor and it was a messy job. The actual installaton was not too bad. Cut to size and staple with a staple gun. However, having to get down low meant getting into the dirt and dust and getting completely filthy. I think by the end, I was getting the attic more dirty when I would sit down. About 5 hours later and I pretty much had finished. I need to swap out one roll for a smaller roll tomorrow and then have probably 30 minutes more work to get it all done. I then had a shower, then a bath, then another shower but now feel human again.

Hopefully it will help. The weather this weekend will test it out - I think we are going straight from winter to summer again. Cricket will be a challenge tomorrow I think...

Genius

We have a few dead spots in our lawn, due to some shade issues and a few other assorted causes. Last year I bought two bags of grass seed and being a smart bloke, bought one bag for sunny spots and one for shaded areas. I did not get a chance to throw the seed down last year but jumped on the chance last weekend with the warm weather. I prepared the surface, got the first bag and put it all over the yard (the sunny areas) and left the shaded area for the 2nd bag. As I was getting the second bag I noticed that I had used the shady grass in the sunny spots and was left with the "sunny grass" for our shady section. Genius! In the end I simply threw down the seed there and figured I would see if it takes. What I am expecting is for the shade mix to burn off in the summer and the shady area to get overtaken with moss again...but who knows, perhaps something will stick.

The weekend also brought our final practice before our cricket season kicks off on Saturday. Still quite rusty but looking forward to the challenge! Philly festival is just a few days away, which is pretty much the highlight of the year. Hoping for good weather.

Massive Score

Last night I saw my friend Donough, just back from visiting Ireland with his family. He brought over a souvenir for me - a Munster rugby jersey. Now anyone who knows me will know that my wardrobe is pretty much a collection of sporting jerseys and concert t-shirts and this new addition will certainly be a part of the rotation. So far as jerseys go, Mindy is fine with it. I think the blue and red is an improvement from the various combinations of green/gold; green/yellow; blue/gold; blue/yellow that I normally wear.

An Appropriate Easter

By chance last week, Mindy saw an advertisement for a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, playing at the NJ Performing Arts Center. She got tickets for Sunday, then realized that it was Easter Sunday! I guess technically Good Friday might have been more appropriate but this was close I guess.

Starring as Jesus was Ted Neeley, who played the role in the original movie. I am guessing he is about 64 now, so clearly he has changed a bit. A few times he seeemed to struggle to get all of the notes but he still can clearly sing and after 35 years of playing Jesus, had little trouble in slipping into character. Perhaps a little of the God Complex has rubbed off over the years. There were some aspects of the play that were very good and a few that we did not like so much, however, overall we had a good time. We all agreed that the best singer in the cast was the "Mary". The girls really enjoyed it as well. They were quite familiar with the music and were quite interested in watching all that was going on during the show. Fortunately they gave them booster cushions so they had no trouble seeing all of the action.

This was a nice way to end a week off...now back to business as usual.

Yin and Yang

After a relatively "feminine" type day (art museum and Indigo Girls), I took the opportunity to address this situation on Saturday. 10:00am on the dot, secured good seats to AC/DC at Giants Stadium for July 31. Then, jumped in again and got OK seats to see Metallica in November for a newly added show. Especially pumped for AC/DC again but having never seen Metallica in concert, am quite looking forward to that as well.

Life balance restored!

Philly Day 2

First thing, tried to get tickets to a Metallica concert at Madison Square Garden. I jumped on as soon as they were onsale and was given two tickets in the top tier. Thinking that this was not satisfactory, I tried again and was told that there were no more tickets available. Somewhat disappointing...

We then all left for a day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is a huge museum, made famous by the "Rocky steps" out the front (and perhaps some artwork inside). Mindy and her sister were the drivers for the day and we managed to see a good chunk of the museum before the kids ran out of steam. I had a rant about some of the exhibits in the Modern Art section, one piece was a series of stripes on fabric and was described as being indicative of his technique of using stripes. Are you kidding me? We left in the early afternoon and headed back to the hotel to rest up before the concert that night.

Friday night was pretty much the reason for the detour to Philly...Mindy had tickets for the Indigo Girls. Not exactly my style of music but I don't mind their stuff and their concerts make for great people watching opportunities. Driving to Upper Darby was interesting...to say "not the best area" would be way too kind! At one point Mindy commented "This is like the projects". I corrected her..."No, this IS the projects!". We were glad to find a parking space on a main road, figuring that there was at least a slight possibility that our car would still be there upon our return. The Tower Theatre was actually a really nice venue, once you were inside.

Mindy purchased one of everything from the souvenir stand. Luckily, one of the items was a bag, so she could easily carry everything else. We then sat through the opening act, a moderately entertaining female acoustic guitarist, pretty much what you would expect from their show. Then to thunderous applause, the main act took the stage. Mindy loved the show. A lot of stuff from their new album and of course, their better known songs. They certainly do what they do well and we both enjoyed the night and Mindy especially had a great time. In a real bonus, the care was still there, and we made it home safely to the hotel.

Franklin Institute

Today we went to visit the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia. We hit the place as soon as it opened and were able to get through a few of the exhibitions before the crowds got too big. The hit with the kids was the giant heart, so much of a hit that we walked through it 3 times! Going up and down all of the small passages and staircases made for a nice workout.

After this, it was time for our Imax file - Grand Canyon. I thought it was really good, showing soem of the wonderful scenery from that part of the world...but also quite depressing as they spoke of the problems with the river systems out there and how humans are pretty much crapping on the world. Makes me want to give up drinking water to do my part.

We then saw a 3D movie on Sharks (kind of boring actually) and then had to go straight to the Galileo exhibit. I guess this was also in keeping with the Indigo Girls theme of the weekend. The exhibit could have been a bit better I thought but had some cool artifacts from that period. I think we might have enjoyed it more if we did not have to be rushed through by the kids. We then finished up with a sports exhibition before realizing that the kids were at the end of their rope and had to leave.

Food had to be obtained, I thought we should try to grab an authentic Philly Cheesesteak, it seemed the right thing to do. I had heard of both Geno's and Pete's, apparently these are a couple of the more famous cheesesteak restaurants around here. We asked the girls for their opinion...and so we ended up taking a 3rd option - Pizza Hut! Fiona was quite angry in the car - I think she was hungry and tired, a bad combination. She was particularly annoyed by the wrist band from the museum for some reason. Her quote of the day was to shout out: "I hate museums because of these wrist bands. They are not even smart!". A few slices of pizza and some breadsticks really did the trick for her mood. Hopefully we can get a cheesesteak tomorrow.

We then simply went back to the hotel to hang out...watching Judge Judy; Cash Cab etc to pass the time, the kids are making stuff out of modeling clay and everyone is happy. Big day tomorrow at the Art Museum, not sure how long everyone will last but we will give it a go!

Vacation I

Virginia has been a lot of fun. Spending a lot of time hanging out, relaxing and eating. On Monday night went to a sports bar to watch the college basketball championship game and drink some beer. Success on both counts. Crushing victory for UNC which was the desired resuly. Last night was dinner with Mindy's brother and today we are packing up before our trip to Philly. Still not sure exactly what we are planning to do there (aside from Mindy's concert) but there will certainly be something to do. Mindy's sister is coming with us so there will be plenty of company and a bit of help with the girls.

All Clear

Got the all clear from my various skin doctors. Nothing sinister in the "stuff" they removed and all stitches are gone. After this, I had a few errands to run and then had to wrap up my works stuff before our vacation. I was still quite exhausted after the NBA evening but we found the time to go to Holly and Gary's for some beer and Indian food.

Saturday was spent hanging out at the house, preparing to travel...and driving to Virginia. We rolled in at about 10:00pm - Mindy spent some time with her family while I watched UNC crush Villanova in the college basketball. The sleeping arrangements are Mindy in with her sister and me on an air mattress with the kids...so I will not be really sleeping that well for the week.

Sunday has been very relaxing. I took a morning nap and we went out to the shops and for lunch. I grabbed a copy of the new Pearl Jam 10 - reissue, with the original disk; a remixed disk containing the album plus 6 bonus tracks and a DVD of their 1992 Unplugged performance. All quite good, as you would expect!

Free Beer and Food (and basketball)

On Thursday I had the opportunity to take a free ticket in the SAP box for the Philadelphia 76ers v Milwaukee Bucks NBA basketball game. Getting to see an NBA game for free is certainly a good way to spend an evening, however, the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink catered affair really puts it over the top!

There was a carload going from my current project, we arrived about 6:15 for the 7:00 game and carefully selected a parking space near what we thought would be an exit gate. This was designed to avoid any issues at the end of the game with crowds leaving the venue. Inside the stadium, we were met at the box by our hostess for the night. She directed us to the roast beef; chicken tenders; hot dogs; sandwiches; pretzels; pop corn and cakes on offer...and also, the refrigerator where the beverages were kept. After a quick scan of the brews on offer, a request was placed for some additional selections but we took advantage of what was there for now. The four of us put a nice dent in the food table as well as downing as many beers as we could as quickly as possible...or at least, that was what I was doing!

Eventually the rest of our party arrived and the game started. The seats were quite good but we were all really only 1/2 watching the game, concentrating on socializing and drinking. At half time, they brought the pizza around, like we had not had enough to eat. Towards the end of the game was the dessert cart with cakes, pastries and other sugary things (I selected a fantastic cheese cake slice) and then following this was the ice cream cart where you could build your own sundae. I knew when I had had enough and declined this (and concentrated on the beer). The game ended with a Philly victory so the crowd was happy. Although, not as happy as us when we were told that we could stay and drink for up to an hour after the game ended. I think we were the last people out of the stadium, a brilliant strategic move that avoided any traffic issues! Of course, our car parked by itself n the far side of the parking lot looked a little silly.

The drive home was uneventful and I managed to grab a few hours sleep before being woken up at 5:30 by my lovely daughters!

(Almost) All You Need Is Love

We have been on a massive Beatles kick lately, started by Fiona who is learning a routine to "Yellow Submarine". We have probaby heard the song about 1000 times in the last week, but we are allowed to play other Beatles songs occasionally as well.

The other day All You Need Is Love was on. When Fiona heard the song she frowned and commented: "What about toys and dresses and clothes?". I guess love alone does not cut it for a 4 year old!

Sliced Up

Pretty much spent Friday getting sliced up by doctors or waiting to get sliced up by doctors. It started at my skin doctor to get two small moles removed. Nothing too bad here - two shots of lidocaine and all was good. So then I had time to go home, hang out for an hour before returning to a different surgeon to remove a cyst from my back. Apparently it was too big for my skin doctor to remove in his office, which I thought was strange but whatever...

So I show up, simply expecting to have this other doctor remove it in his office...well...it turned out to be kind of like a "proper" surgery. It was done in a proper operating theatre, there were 4 nurses assisting, monitors on my for heart rate and blood pressure, quite a lot of overkill I thought. The only part I felt was the lidocaine again, but this time, due to the quantity used, it was a lot more uncomfortable. Still, it is magic stuff - once it took effect, I could not feel a thing. I guess he was cutting away at me for about 30 minutes and he showed me the offending cyst, about the size of a marble I would figure.

Now I am healing up and dealing with follow up appointments etc. It feels good to have it done that is for sure.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching us lose at cricket and also watching many college basketball games. Overall, I am quite happy with the cricket side. I think that we will lilely be playing in England without a spinner, probably an attack of Johnson, Siddle, Clark and Lee will do the trick. In fact, I don't think we have much choice about this as we don't have other decent options. Katich, North and Clarke will fill the spinner role for now and we will have to hope there is some 18 year old just ready to burst onto the scene.

A Day And Night At The Museum

The last couple of weeks have been amazingly busy, both with work and leisure stuff. Colgate has been keeping me quite busy during the days as we get towards the end of the first quarter and some of the stuff we promised to get done is falling due. In addition, in the evenings, I have been doing some extra work testing the next release of my company's software. I don't mind the work - it is interesting to see the new features that are coming out and it helps you learn a lot about how it works. However, the combination of the two has led to a lot of late nights.

Last weekend did not really help the fatigue. A little bit of cleaning on Saturday morning followed by lunch at our local Indian buffet...then off to Atlantic City with a few friends for a night of poker. We arrived at the tables at 5:00 and played until 1:00, arriving back home at about 3:30. It was a lot of fun and a successful venture, finishing $130 in the plus columm after the night. I actually would have won more if not for a few unlucky cards that prevented me from winning a few bigger pots - having the nut flush and then having a 4th suited card hit the board to freeze the action; having the nut straight and getting someone "all in" only to find they have the nut straight also and having to lay down the 2nd nut flush after the 4th flush card hit (again) relegating my hand to 3rd best. Fortunately these did not cost me too much money, but could have certainly won a lot more had things worked out a little differently.

The prearranged plan was for me to sleep until 8:30 before rushing around and getting ready for ou trip toe the American Museum of Natural History. I was a little suprised when Mindy woke me at 7:30 to "see if I wanted to eat breakfast". Her comment was that it was only 30 minutes earlier than we had agreed. Strange...I figured that there was a whole hour between 7:30 and 8:30 and for me that would have been 20% more sleep! So, I decided to get up and get on with the day.

We drove into the city, arriving about 10:00. You can normally find a parking spot on the street at that time and with the "Fit" we should have a lot of options open to us, even with my very limited parking skills. We toured a few rooms showing some space exhibits and also the African and Asian mammal halls, before meeting a couple of friends at the Imax Theatre. The show was called "Wild Ocean" I believe, but it would have been better to call it "Sardine Fishing". It was really quite uninteresting I thought and the girls did not enjoy it much either.

From there, a few more exhibit halls and an overpriced, poor quality, cramped and rushed lunch were to follow, then off to a butterfly exhibit. They had created an indoor environment for them, nice and humid, and so it was a good chance for the girls to see a lot of butterflies up close. Fiona did not like the humidity or the smell, so Mindy left with her. Naomi had to be almost dragged away. After this, came the highlight of the day - the Cosmic Collisions show in the planetarium. This was really well done and a must see for anyone going to the museum. Naomi was still talking about it today.

After arriving home, we then watched the somewhat appropriate "A Night At The Museum". The girls (Mindy included) really enjoyed it, I had seen it before while trapped on a plane to somewhere. We then packed them off to bed, watched some episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and crashed ourselves. Looking forward to another week packed with work leading into the cricket on Thursday. Sleep can wait another week I guess.