Philadelphia Soul – We’re Lucky Dogs

The Philadelphia Soul is an AFL Football team, for those that may not know.  I am a season ticket holder.  I have been now for a few years.  My wife and I go and have a great time.  We don’t get many dates out together much and this is one thing we both look forward to.

So we went to yesterday’s game and while in the main concourse we were stopped by a gentleman asking if we would be interested in “upgrading” our tickets.  I was skeptical at first, one because it seemed like an odd question and two, I really like where my season tickets are located.

The guy started to explain that we would be sitting down behind the end zone.  Again, I was reluctant because I have sat in end zone sections and I am not a big fan watching the game from those end zone seats because of the net and uprights that can be in your line of sight.  Then as the guy went through his explanation, I started to put two and two together and realized, before he even said the words, that he was talking about the two recliner seats that are part of the Aarons Lucky Dog seats that are in the end zone, below the uprights and the netting.  These seats are almost like sitting on the field. 

Of course my wife and I said yes and before the game started we were led down under the Wachovia Center and guided to the seats.  We then were introduced to Melissa (one of the game hosts) and briefed as to what will happen when she speaks to us and we are presented to the crowd.  My wife was nervous.  She is not someone that enjoys all eyes on her.  After our promo appearance we were able to relax and enjoy the game. 

I have to say that I always wondered what one had to do to win those seats and now I know that it is totally random and being lucky.  What a great way to watch a game. 

From those seats we saw tons of action, got close to the players and action on the field.  At the end of the game, for the last 3 minutes of the game, Soulman (the team mascot) sat with us and cheered on the Soul as the won their 5 game in a row this season. 

Rewatching the game (I DVR’d it) and putting it in perspective, it was not a very interesting game, it was a rather dull game.  Many penalties by both teams, Moten and Mance did not play well defensively for the Soul, in my opinion, and on field action was rather tame.  But being down there in those seats made it one of the best games I have ever attended. 

Thanks to the Soul for such a great promotion and giving to average fans the best seats in the house. 

When I Missed My Flight

I was thinking about the one time I traveled and got stranded in the Atlanta airport.  It was a great time if you can believe it.  We made the best of a terrible situation.

I had a flight from Miami to a connection to Atlanta.  I had made the connection in plenty of time but due to thunderstorms rolling up the East Coast, we were delayed.  The gate lady for the airline kept announcing that the flight was delayed and finally after 2 hours sitting at the gate waiting for boarding to begin I met a few people that were also from Philly and getting pissed at all the delays. 

Finally, the pilot came off the plane and I overheard him talking to the gate lady that according to radar, the storms are moving slowly and we are stuck for at least another hour. 

The gate keeper then announced that it was going to be at least an hour before the plane would board and that if we wanted to get something to eat we could but don’t stray far.  So this girl I was talking to and I went to the Wendy’s just 3 gates down and ate some lunch.  When we returned – 45 minutes later – the plane had boarded and taken off.  Without us. 

Needless to say, the girl and I were pissed.  We were not the only ones either.  There were about 5 others that did the same thing as us and went to get a meal.  Then the gate lady stated that we should not have left the gate area.  The group of us of course went nuts.  After much protest, the airline was able to get us all on the next flight – 8 hours later. 

So what was one to do?

The seven of us decided that since we had until 10PM until our next flight, we would make the best of it and we decided to play a game and have at least one drink in every bar in every terminal in the Atlanta airport. 

By the time it was boarding time the seven of us were blasted.  Looking back I am surprised that they even let any of us on.  By this point we were drunk, obnoxious and boisterous. 

The two hour flight home was uneventful but when we arrived in Philly we decided that we should go out some more and hit a few bars around town.  I met a few great people, unfortunately, after that night we never kept in contact with each other.   

Where Did Everyone Go?

Where has everyone gone?  It is like all of a sudden everyone stopped coming to this stupid little blog and posting comments and reading what I have to say.

 Is no one interested in me anymore?  Have I bored you?  Did I offend you in anyway?  What happened?

Truth be told, it’s not you, it’s me. 

I know, you’ve heard that line many times before but it’s the truth. 

I know, you’ve heard that line before too. 

But seriously, in this case, it is I that have been gone not you my 5 faithful readers.  But the fact that no one has posted a comment or inquired as to where I have been lets me know that I have been forgotten about.

How sad.

Anywho, in case there is one person interested, I have been traveling with work and have been stuck smack dab between the Hamptons and NYC.  It has been keeping me busy and when I am done with my classes I just crash in the hotel room and sleep.  Later this week I plan on taking the subway into NYC to have some fun. 

So there you have it, I am alive, and still posting and I will try to become more active again because I know that there are so many of you that enjoy my drabble. 

The Things We Do For Love

I won’t say that I did it under protest but I was not really 100% into getting the procedure done.  I was very apprehensive but I did it because my wife wanted me to get it done. 

I got my teeth whitened.  I went through the same vain procedure that the rich and famous go through.  I have to say that the results were great.  My teeth are whiter but it was not a quick and easy procedure.

I arrived at my dentist’s office and spent the next 2 hours in a chair that was not made for any person to spend 2 hours in.  I would rather sit in economy class on an airplane for 6 hours. 

I am not sure of all the exact dentist terminology or anything but basically they take some before pictures and then force this mouth opener thing into your mouth.  It looks like those torture BDSM devices that I have only see pictures of on the internet.  It was very uncomfortable, especially for 2 hours.  I felt like I could have swallowed an entire roll of Bounty Extra Quilted paper towels. 

The dentist then puts a lot of numbing lotion on your teeth and gums and then some cotton wads and then pulls out this laser gun looking thing and starts to zap your teeth.  This gun puts out some heat.  How do I know?  Where the dentist missed with the numbing lotion on the gums, I got burned.  And, with that thing shoved in my mouth to keep it open, it did not allow me much of a chance to talk, yell or complain.  Kinda makes me want to get one of those things for the wife and the kids.  The mouth thing, not the laser gun.

So for 2 hours I lay there getting cooked and my mouth getting stretched.  After it was all done I was instructed that I am not to drink anything of color.  As some of you know, I am a tea junkie.  Not being able to drink tea, hot or iced, is torturous for me.  I was never a big soda drinker and Kool-Aid is for kids.  Basically, I am reduced to water for 2 days. 

After the numbing agent wore off, slight pain started to set in and suddenly my teeth were sensitive to everything, hot, cold, liquids, air, my tongue, etc…  And since my teeth hurt, I had a headache too.  I came home from work and went right to bed, at 5PM. 

My wife is happy.  She thinks that it looks sharp. 

The things we do for love.

Another Award For This Silly Little Blog

I have won the True Blue Awardfrom Teeni over at Vaguetarian Tea Room for, as she puts it

” being a constant reader even when we don’t see eye to eye, for having a good sense of humor, and knowing how to be a true friend.”

I am honored to receive this award from her.  She is a great blogger and one that I read everyday.  I know that she checks in here from time to time too and I take great pleasure in knowing that she finds me good enough to read and tolerates my ramblings, let alone to hand an award to. 

 Thanks again Teeni

Chincoteague Va

This weekend the family and I went down to Chincoteague Virginia and searched out possible places to rent during the week of Pony Penning.

For those of you that don’t know what Pony Penning is, it is when the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department round up the wild ponies on Assateague Island, which is right across the water, and swim them across to Chincoteague where they will auction them off. This is for thinning the herd and for the fire department to raise money.

I have been going to Chincoteague for about 30 years now and I really have not been back for Pony Penning in nearly 10 years. I have been avoiding all the tourists. But now that my own family is coming of age, I want them to experience the event.  It really is something that everyone should experience at least once.

I have to say that I am looking forward to it. Like I said, I have not been there during a swim in years and I want to pass this down to my kids. My parents took us down there almost every year. My aunt and uncle have a place down there and we would all crash there. Then as more and more of us went, their house filled up and we had to find other places to rent.

The island is filled with history and character and there are little quaint shops and there is always something to do.  It is nice going down when there are no events happening on the island.  I know that their main source of income is tourism but there is something spectacular about going down when it is the off season.

One day, I am going to buy a house down there.

I love it. It is my second home.

I can’t wait for July.

How do you see it?

I have, I think, a very unique viewpoint on life. 

I am not a glass half full type of guy, or a glass half empty.  I look at that cup and wonder who the *&#@ left it there and why didn’t they throw it away!

My mind has often led to trouble arguments fights between my wife and I.  She has a hard time grasping how my mind works.  The same went for how I got along with my parents.  I just have downright different takes on things.  This works great for me though when I am problem solving or trying to be creative for work.  Day to day life though, it is entertaining.  To me anyway.

I am finding that this trait is making it’s way into the personality of my 8 year old daughter.  Just this morning, as she was being let off to school, I noticed that she didn’t have her bookbag.  I yelled at her to come back and get it out of the car and she very noncholantely told me she forgot it.  She then added that at least she won’t forget to bring it home this weekend.  (she has left her bag at school over the weekend in the past a few times)

One day, there was a neighborhood cat (she is a huge cat lover), that was hit by a car and still laying dead in the street, and she paused for a moment and then said that at least the big black birds will have some breakfast.

When my wife’s grandmother died a few weeks back, my daughters reaction was – I guess we won’t be haveing anymore chicken & dumplings.  (G-mum made the best!)

I can’t help it.  Her comments make me laugh because they are funny and they sound so much like things I say.  My wife thinks that she is rude, insensitive, uncaring and unconcerned about things but I know better.  I know that is just how her mind works.  It works like mine. 

Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Reading?

Do you ever feel like you are reading too much?  That everything you start to read you never finish?

That is me.  I think I have too much to read.  And I read everything.

Here is my current list…

1 novel – First Counsel – Brad Meltzer – still working on getting through this book

5 monthly magazines – Time, Newsweek, Wizard, Readers Digest and Big Backyard (for the kids)

2 trade publications (for work)

2 daily newspapers

 23 Monthly Comic Books

Blogs

Forums.

I keep many of my magazines in the bathroom.  Doesn’t everyone?  Anyway there is only so much time one can spend in there reading.  By the time I get done with any of the mags the next one has arrived in the mail. 

It is really getting to become too much for me.  I am having a hard time keeping on top of it all.  When I travel for work and have to fly or take the train, I get close to getting caught up on my reading.  But when I get home I get behind.  Too many activities to get any reading done.

I find that I am a news junkie.  I read the newspaper every morning, then I scour the internet for the latest news.  I read Time and Newsweek for the news too.  They will have articles that you just don’t find in the newspapers. 

I forgot to mention that I read to my kids too.  Usually in the evening, before they go to bed.  My daughter is reading well on her own but she will often join my and the son for story time.  I will read them books or an article out of their Big Backyard magazine.

Is this just another one of my odd compulsions?

or

Is there such a thing as being addicted to reading? 

Hello, my name is Idle Ramblings and I am addicted to reading.

Wake Me

This is one of those mornings where I really wish I had a pre-written post already in the bag and just be done with it. 

I don’t!

It has been a very busy couple of days.  Saturday was the Philadelphia Soul home opener at the Wachovia Center here in Philly versus the Orlando Predators and what a game it was.  The Soul dominated the game.  For those that do not know, the Philadelphia Soul is Philadelphia’s Arena Football League (AFL) team.  The team is also owned by Jon Bon Jovi.  My wife enjoys this very much.  I go to the game and watch the action on the field and she goes and watches JBJ.

After being out late Saturday, we spent the day running around like crazy before coming home to watch the NASCAR race and I cooked an awesome stuffed pork roast!  I do have to say this cooking thing is fun.  Maybe somewhere, in a past life (if I actually believed in such things) I was a gourmet cook. 

Monday, off to work and then the rush home to go to the Bon Jovi concert with the wife and daughter.  This was my daughters first concert and she had about as much fun as an eight year old could.  Daughtry opened for Bon Jovi (yeah, that American Idol guy) and he sounded pretty good but both my daughter and I knew the same amount of songs by him.  Maybe 3.  But he was OK.

Then Bon Jovi came on and of course he rocked.  I was a big fan of Bon Jovi when he first broke onto the scene in ‘83.  My wife loves the group.  My daughter got into it a little more but overall it was probably a little too overwhelming for her.

Needless to say, the three of us are dragging today.  Tired would be an improvement over how we feel.