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!