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!).
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, July 20, 2009
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!).
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!).
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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!
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!
Monday, July 6, 2009
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.
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.
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.
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