Riding High

I'm still basking in the afterglow of the Mets 6-4 come from behind win last night against the NL Wild Card leading Phillies. The win moves the Mets 1/2 game behind Philly and the Marlins for the Wild Card lead (the Astros are tied with us as well).
It's too bad that I was at work so I didn't see the game but had to rely on the internet and phone updates from my buddy Rocco. When I refreshed my yahoo page after the 7th inning I jumped out of my seat when I saw that Ramon Castro hit the go-ahead 3-run homer to put the Amazin's ahead. He has been so clutch lately it's hard to believe but he's making it easier for Mets fan to envision life after Piazza.
I must say there's nothing like the drive home from work, on the LIE, listening to the FAN after a huge Mets win. I was eager to chat about the game with my friends later that night but for some reason my internet connection was screwed up, which left me somewhat frustrated. No big deal, I'm still riding high off of the win and can't wait for Pedro to do his thing tonight.

Speaking of frustrated. How bad does it suck to be Andy Roddick? To get bounced from the U.S. Open in the first round on your birthday has to be the worst. But to add insult to injury American Express, one of his sponsors, spent a ton of cash on an ad campaign featuring him with the tag line: "Have you seen Andy's Mojo?" Yikes! I guess we won't be seeing him on VH1's Best Week Ever any time soon.

Fire Island

For those of you that haven't been to Fire Island I definitely recommend it. Aside from parking and ferry fees, the day and a half I spent there was quite economical. I can't believe it took me so long to check it out. It reminded me a lot of the time when I went to visit my buddy Jay in Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard only on a slightly smaller scale.
I went with Rupe Saturday afternoon on the 1:30 ferry. We were hoping to get there earlier but he tried to wait for his friend Betsy to shake off her hangover from the night before. Too bad, I've heard a lot about her and was looking forward to meeting her. It was just as well since it was cloudy all morning and I was actually able to get some things done around the house before we left. By the time we got there the sun made it's way through the clouds signaling our arrival.
We stayed at Bong and Katie's house, they rented it out with some of their friends for the week, which was ideally located by the ferry dock. Along with the proximity to the ferry, it was just a stone's throw away from the beach, the bar (The Casino) as well as the general store.
As soon as we got there the drinking started and before I knew it Bong was making me drink out of a funnel. I hadn't done one of those since college, setting a dangerous precedent for the rest of the day.
It ended up being a gorgeous Summer day and aside from the drinking, I managed to eat my share of hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken. Now that's what I call living! I also managed to do some swimming which probably wasn't a good idea considering I was pretty buzzed by then. As the day slowly became night the drinking increased as everyone at the house was getting ready for the next phase of the day: going to the Casino. Unfortunately as we all tried to drink our fill before getting to the bar I started to feel a little nauseous. Maybe it was the beer, the food, the sun and the swimming. Whatever it was I knew was I wasn't going to be in top form once we got there.
As it turned out the bar wasn't as happening as we had hoped and me, Rupe (who wasn't feeling that great either) and our buddy Cliff ended up heading back to the house before Bong and his pals did. Which brings me to the only bad part of my visit, along with Rupe and Cliff I had to crash out on the floor on the ground floor of the house. That was tough since I had an on again off again headache at that point and at around 2am the rest of the house mates made their way back from the bar to do even more drinking!
At least Rupert had his Aerobed, I swear I came really close to trying to roll him off of it to see how long it would take before he realized that I had bogarted it from him. Meanwhile me and Cliff had to make do with our sleeping bags. At least his was relatively new, mine clearly had seen better days. I dug it out of my gargage the night before and wasn't looking forward to using it. I have to hand it to Bong, Katie and their friends, they were like rock stars that day. It reminded me of the days when I used to be able to abuse my liver like that and not have to worry about the consequences. Unfortunately those days are a lot further in the past than I want to admit. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night.

We woke up early the next day to an overly overcast sky and for a little while it looked like me and Rupe were going to join Cliff on an early ferry back to Long Island. He had to catch a flight later that evening so he had an excuse but for me I wanted to try and stick it out there since I didn't know when I'd be back. Unfortunately for Cliff left the skies opened up shortly after he left and me and Rupe ended up hanging out on the beach with Bong and some of his pals that were able to get up.

Weather Reprieve

I never thought I'd be so glad to see overcast skies as I have been the last 24 hours and boy did we need it. Hopefully we can have a few more days like this before the weekend. The reason why is because I'm planning on joining Bong, Katie and all of their friends on Fire Island and would like the sun to return just in time for all the festivities.
This would mark the first occassion I've ever been there which is pretty amazing since I've lived on Long Island most of my existence here on Earth! It should be a good time and I'm looking forward to one last beach blast before the Summer ends. There are couple areas of concern: 1) I won't know too many people there and 2) everyone there figures to be, on average, approximately 5 years younger than me. If anything those 2 factors should make for an interesting weekend considering the fact that there will be no shortage of alcohol and we'll all be partying at Katie's house. I'm hoping that I get in some beach volleyball games in as well before things get too out of hand.

But before I get too far ahead of myself I need to get past this week at work. Hopefully it won't drag out too long.

Dog Days

Man this heat has been absolutely brutal. But I guess it could be worse, I could still be in the city, which is ironic since I am hoping to work and live in the city sooner rather than later. In addition to the heat though, I woke up Saturday morning with my right knee bothering me. I've tried to stay off of it but it still hurt whenever I bend it, forcing me to walk around like I have a friggin peg leg. What makes this injury so beguiling is that I have no idea how I suffered it. The last time I went to the gym was on Thursday and nothing bothered me afterwards. Maybe I'm just getting old and these nagging injuries are a sign of things to come. Thinking about that really bums me out but I guess there's nothing I can do about that so I might as well suck it up and just deal with it.
To add insult to injury I am still devastated by the way the Mets lost yesterday. With Pedro pitching a no-no into the 8th I felt a slight tingle of apprehension crawl up my spine. That's what comes with being a lifelong Met fan, you begin to expect that the worst thing can happen when it appears everything is going in theri favor. And sure enough not only did he lose the no-no they ended up losing the damn game as well. Pedro gives up 2 hits and they still lose!
I was talking to my friend Greg Bell, another Met fan, and told him that between the Braves running away with the division again (with a cast of no names no less) and told him I feel like a battered wife. Then he comes back with the line of the day: "yeah the Braves are like Ike Turner and we're like Tina." Needless to say I'm not sure if I can take too much more of this.

Computer Woes

I just wanted to let y'all know that I've been experiencing some computer problems the last few days which is why I haven't been updating as frequently as I would like. But after consulting T and Jake (along with Melissa) at the Diner, I'm happy to report that those problems have been rectified (for the time being) and I am now back in business.

Unfortunately, it's rather late right now so this will be short posting but I'll make up for it tomorrow.

I dream of Mischa

It might have been the bottle of filipino brandy that I was forced to partake in at Uncle Bon's house because when I got home last night I passed out and had the weirdest dream.
From what I can rememeber, at one point I was getting into a pimped out, black Cadillac Escalade and waving at several hipster looking people whom I didn't know but in the dream they were acting like they knew me (ever that happen to you?). They were getting into their own car while I was riding with Mischa Barton, whom I had the fortune of sitting next to in the back seat, as well as Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson! To add to the weird factor of the dream when we all got into the car Tommy was driving and none of us thought that was a bad idea! He was yelling at people on the sidewalk and they all yelled back because they recognized him and asked him where he was going? I was curious to know myself and was tempted to ask Mischa but she was talking to the other guys in the car on her cell phone, giving them directions.
The next thing I remember we pull up to some nondescript building that looked like a run down hospital. But after closer inspection and following Tommy and Co., it was some speakeasy type club that I never would've found on my own. We glided past the large line that was snaking out of the basement of the building and were greeted warmly by the large gentleman standing in front of the velvet rope. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I didn't feel just a tad 'cool' rolling into a hip club with Tommy Lee, Pamela Anderson and Mischa Barton especially when we were bombarded by the papparazzi's light bulbs that also annnounced our arrival.
The music was thumping with the newest 50 cent sending the crowd into a frenzy. Unfazed by the rhythmic chaos goin on around us, Tommy, Pam Mischa and the hipsters made a bee line for the VIP area and I did my best to keep up since I'm not used to running with this type of crowd. Several king sized beds overlooking the dance floor awaited us as well as an insane amount of alcohol.
After taking in the scene below and all around us I looked over and noticed Mischa typing furiously on her Sidekick to one of her friends. Curious to see what she was up to I decided plop beside her and ask her what she thought of the club. When she looked up to talk to me I was caught off guard by how beautiful she was and how large her eyes were. I couldn't help but be drawn in by them and was dumbstruck. She said that she was so glad I was able to make it out tonight and she was just telling Olivia that I was there and that she should meet us.
It's funny how fast things can move when you're dreaming because before I knew it I was flanked by Olivia Wilde and Mischa Barton on a king sized bed inside the coolest club I've ever been in, my biggest OC fantasy coming alive right before my eyes!

Unfortunately that's where everything goes haywire and all I can remember is bits and pieces of the rest of the dream. It involved Tommy telling all of us that he and Pam wanted to go somewhere else and me wanting to stay. He got mad at me and told me to "Then find your own damn ride home you ungrateful punk!" I tried to apologize but he wouldn't let it go. He stormed out with Pam trailing behind him and Mischa and Olivia were pissed. Then the dream shifted locations and we (Me, Mischa and Olivia) were at this swank hotel in L.A. called The Standard. They asked me why I was so mad at Tommy and I tried to tell them that I wasn't and it was just a whole misunderstanding. Then all of a sudden Mischa's publicist comes out of nowhere demanding to know who the hell I was and reprimanding Mischa for not returning her calls. She was going on and on about how this PR disaster was going to be a bitch to clean up because Mischa should know better than to be hanging with Tommy and some 'unknown' fanboy. I took exception to being called a fanboy but before I knew it Mischa was leaving with that damned publicist and Olivia was leaving with some dood from One Tree Hill.

Man I need to lay off of the brandy.

Payday

There's nothing like pay day is there? And when you've been woefully underemployed like I have it can seem like a damn holiday. I have to admit that I was a bit restless yeserday morning anticipating whether my direct deposit account was set up in time. I must've woken up every 5 minutes until it was around 11am and then just gave up and got dressed. Sure I could've alleviated any doubts by calling up my bank but that would've been too easy.
When I made it to my branch I steadied myself, expecting to see the dreaded $8.68 still left in my checking account. For some reason I've been more comfortable 'hoping for the best but expect the worst' lateley. In fact it's been so long since I've used my bank card it took me a minute to remember my PIN number. Alas, my worries were unfounded as I gazed upon my gloriously updated account. At that moment I did my best Scarlett O'Hara impersonation when when I dropped to my knees and declared, " As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again."And if it wasn't for my ailing hamstring I probably would've performed a ghetto version of Riverdance.

Speaking of my hammy, it's the left one that's bothering me, after dealing with this injury for the last few days I think it's safe to say that I have a new found respect for what Jose Reyes must've went through last year. No longer will I right it off as a trivial injury because I've lived it now.

Welcome Back Potter

I'm about 100 pages into the latest installment of the Harry Potter saga (about half of which I got done at work) and it's going along rather nicely . In the early going I noticed something rather peculiar. I might be mistaken but this is the first time that I can recall where any of the books didn't start with Harry at all. Without giving too much away, he doesn't appear until the 3rd chapter. For me it was a nice change of pace and with every page I am reminded why I have been such a fan of the series. Can't wait to read a few more chapters before I hit the hay.

Speaking of hitting the hay, I'm going to make sure I don't stay up too late like I did last night. Like an idiot I stayed up watching poker; first on ESPN for the 2005 WSOP satellite event in Atlantic City and then I flipped over to Bravo for Celebrity Poker. Before I knew it it was 3:30 am and was cursing myself for letting my poker obsession get the better of me.

So Sore

Watching Conan O'Brien, relieved that my Monday is finally behind me. Messaging my sore legs which are a result of incorporating lunges in a long overdue leg workout yesterday. I'm not that surprised that I'm sore considering I've never performed them before in my life. On one hand I'm glad I am this sore because it means that I worked my legs hard enough to stimulate sufficient muscle growth, which in a perverse way is kind of gratifying. The aforementioned lunges definitely did the trick, working parts of my legs that I haven't worked in quite some time. On the other hand it was difficult just getting out of the seated position. Whether it was getting into and out of my car or getting up and replacing tapes at work it was quite an ordeal. And whenever I walked I felt like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, waiting for some compassionate soul to squirt some oil in my knees to keep me going. My left leg in particular is more sore than my right which probably means I need to work on my form in order to insure that I'm not favoring one leg over the other.

Well, enough leg talk, I'm off to bed. For now I'm going to hold off on the Ben Gay.

Shocker

As I was getting ready to post this blog my friend IM'd me, using one of his various alias', that Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for steroids today. What a crazy turn of events, the timing couldn't be any worse. Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg were inducted yesterday into the Hall of Fame, a place where I thought for sure Raffy was going to be one day. He just notched his 3,000th hit a couple of weeks ago to go along with his 500+ HRs, to become only the 4th player to ever accomplish both feats.
Instead of being remembered for what he did on the field he'll be known for lying what he put in himself off of it. Not to mention lying to Congress off of it. Remember when people said there should be an asterisk next to McGwire's name when he passed Maris? Raffy's is goin to be so big that it will eclipse his whole career now. Just when you thought baseball was starting to get past all of this nonsense, something like this happens that leaves a rotten taste in the mouth of the fans.