Since nothing terribly exciting happened last weekend, I’ve decided to offer excerpts that I thought were worth mentioning…and perhaps reading. I guess that’s for you to decide.
Driving 101:
Anyway, I was in dire need of an oil change last Thursday (went 2,000 over like a bad girl) and went back to Randolph (where I used to live with my family) to the garage that I’ve had quite a history with. Now the owner of my third car, the guys at Eli and Chris Shell have done so much for me over the years and couldn’t be nicer about it. Friends of the family, they have always been understandably very honest and fair and are nice enough to let me have an account there (translation, they allow me to make payments on big $ jobs, which with my 1987 Chevy Celebrity and 1997 Ford Taurus were a common occurrence). Now, I drive a brand new 2005 Toyota Corolla, which has only required oil changes since I bought it last June. Such a relief to have a reliable car!!
So I get the oil change and decide to get a car wash because my beautiful baby is dirty as sh*t. (That’s the only drawback of parking on a main street in South Boston, your car gets very ambushed by sludge, slush, and dirt with everyone driving by and splashing stuff all over it. Not to mention the bird poop my car gets torpedoed with when I park under this big tree on my street. Seriously, sometimes I think they have the runs because the spatter can get pretty violent. Gross, I know, but it’s the truth. They need to create some kind of seagull milk of magnesia or something).
Anyway, the car wash is just a few yards up the road from the Shell station. I drive in and notice all these cones set up, which I don’t realize until I’m almost through them that they are for when cars exit the car wash. When I finally noticed where I was supposed to enter, I back up to get around the cones…or so I thought…and proceed to drive forward. It was then that I realized I had snagged a cone and was dragging it across the lot!!!! Two young station attendants were prompted by the loud dragging sound and came over to assist me. I turned bright red with embarrassment while apologizing. One of them replies, "That’s okay. Girls like you deserve a second chance." Cheese-tastic!! But I would expect nothing more from a 16-year-old kid who works at a car wash.
The rest of the car wash goes swimmingly, except for when I try to reattach my radio antenna on top of my car in the drying station (outlined by the cones, of course). I’m of average stature, I like to say, and it was quite difficult. Took me about a minute and a half, but I got it on. Brilliant!!
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Doing my part in the war on Iraq:
Got to take my friend Kevin out for a night on the town Friday. This is a kid I grew up with and worked with in Randolph. He was nearing the end of his two-week break from his tour of duty in Iraq and Jacks and I thought we’d do our part as good American citizens and get him loaded before he had to go back Sunday!!
Anyway, the two of us had decided to go on our own pub crawl after I got out of my day shift early Friday evening and when I mentioned it to Kevin, he was ready to go. We started at my bar (Bell in Hand) and proceeded to The Tap, Blackstone Grill, Ames Plow (where I got my start bartending), and the Kinsale. Later, we cabbed it back to Southie and finished up at The Playwright. Lots of drinking, some unfortunate drama, but for the most part, it was a grand old time.
My favorite part of the night? Kevin getting bought a drink practically every place we went. And rightfully so. He wasn’t the one petitioning bartenders for free booze, I was. All I had to do was mention he was in the army and heading back to Iraq and people would throw drinks at him. Again, rightfully so. God bless you, Kev. See you at home for good in August!!
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Why I love and hate March Madness.
Loves:
1) The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The upsets and spoilers.
2) Hearing the stories behind the athletes and seeing them accomplish their dreams.
3) Competing in my office bracket pool with $150 on the line.
Hates:
Just one: Overachieving teams like Bradley and George Mason who mess with your brackets and allow people with no knowledge of college basketball to take the pot. That’s exactly what’s going down in my office, with a pair of 50-year-old moms in the running the show (one of which picked Air Force to play in the final game!!). As much as I like seeing the upsets, George Mason in particular, it’s just wrong to let people like this win our pool. It’s almost better to be less informed. If that’s the case, I’m destined to never win!!
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
My sports world's in turmoil.
Okay. I didn’t say anything when the Red Sox traded away fan favorites like Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar, and Doug Mirabelli.
I was gloriously happy when the Sox got rid of Edgar Rent-a-shortstop/Error-Renteria and although I felt a bit betrayed, I was even more happy when that no-good, craddle-robbing, Hollywood-starved, caveman Johnny Damon went to the Yankees.
But after the events of the last two weeks in Boston/New England sports, I simply can no longer keep quiet.
1) The Sox back-stab Bronson Arroyo and trade him to the Reds?
2) The Pats let Willie McGinest go to the Browns?
3) Famed Pats kicker Adam Vinatieri signs with the Colts?
Excuse me, but what the f*ck is going on here??
Let’s start with the Sox: When did Theo Espstein start taking lessons from George Steinbrener? I mean, I’ve loved this guy for the last three years. Used to even call him my husband whenever I read about him or saw him in a TV interview (sick, I know). I was devastated by—but supported—his decision to leave the Sox organization shortly after the end of last season and was THRILLED when he agreed to come back as GM just a few months later.
But since Theo’s been back, he’s been nothing short of miserable. He’s always so stone-faced in interviews now and his quotes in newspapers are such an "I-the-GM-and-don’t-have-to-explain-anything" tone to them. The guy is just not the same guy and I’m worried.
ESPECIALLY when he goes and did what he did this past Monday. After taking a home-team discount to stay with the Sox, rather than the arbitration that would have guaranteed he’d stay, Bronson Arroyo was offered up by Theo and Co. to the Reds and they took him. Theo’s all, "I gave him (Bronson) no guarantee that we wouldn’t trade him." While poor Bronson—a guy who never complained and took a discount to stay here because he WANTED to be here—gets the vicious blindsided slap to the face. I know of at least two guys (Manny Ramirez, David Wells) who truly don’t want to be here, yet we still have them.
Very poor move, Theo. To my knowledge, not even the evil Steinbrener has done something like that. And its a scary thing to think you are capable of doing not even he would do. Really. I mean, really. Get your head out of your ass and start acting like yourself!!
Now the Pats: All season long, free agent guys like McGinest and Vinatieri have been trying to make a deal with New England and have been getting the cold shoulder. Why? Why do you not give big dough to guys like McGinest (who, yes is getting older, but arguably had the year of his career last season) and Vinatieri (a kicker who won ALL THREE Super Bowls) what they’re worth? I know they don’t want to blow all their dough on a couple of guys who are not exactly spring chickens, but I just think they’ve proven how much they are worth and should be paid accordingly.
Furthermore, Willie signing with the Browns is not surprising, considering it gets him back with Romeo Crennel (our former Defensive Coordinator), but Adam signing with the Colts is a another story. To Pats fans, they are the Yankees of football. We hate them and until last season, we owned them. Why? We had a better defense, a better quarterback (Cut-that-meat, Peyton), and a MUCH better kicker.
Now, Adam is going to be kicking in a climate-controlled dome in Indianapolis and is probably going to lead the Colts to a Super Bowl title next season. You watch, it will happen. And what, we’re going to replace Vinatieri with Mike Vanderjerk? I guy who’s choked in big games virtually his entire career? Sure he’s 80 percent in Indianapolis, but the Pats play outside, in the cold, in the sleet, in the snow, in fierce winds. Not to mention Rodney Harrison will probably drop-kick the guy as soon as he walks through the locker room (that’s if his ACL is up for it). Vanderjerk is not a Patriot and should be their LAST choice. Like if he was the only guy on earth…but maybe not even then.
Argh. I’m just so annoyed by all of this. Maybe the Sox and the Pats are making all the right moves and guys like Wily Mo Pena, Mike Lowell, JT Snow, and Coco Crisp are going to have monster years. Maybe Adam will get hurt and won’t be able to kick anyway. I just think it’s strange that a town that has won as many titles as we have in the last few years would get rid of all the guys that made it happen. To quote former Celtics coach Rick Pitino: "The energy in this town sucks." And I couldn’t agree more.
I was gloriously happy when the Sox got rid of Edgar Rent-a-shortstop/Error-Renteria and although I felt a bit betrayed, I was even more happy when that no-good, craddle-robbing, Hollywood-starved, caveman Johnny Damon went to the Yankees.
But after the events of the last two weeks in Boston/New England sports, I simply can no longer keep quiet.
1) The Sox back-stab Bronson Arroyo and trade him to the Reds?
2) The Pats let Willie McGinest go to the Browns?
3) Famed Pats kicker Adam Vinatieri signs with the Colts?
Excuse me, but what the f*ck is going on here??
Let’s start with the Sox: When did Theo Espstein start taking lessons from George Steinbrener? I mean, I’ve loved this guy for the last three years. Used to even call him my husband whenever I read about him or saw him in a TV interview (sick, I know). I was devastated by—but supported—his decision to leave the Sox organization shortly after the end of last season and was THRILLED when he agreed to come back as GM just a few months later.
But since Theo’s been back, he’s been nothing short of miserable. He’s always so stone-faced in interviews now and his quotes in newspapers are such an "I-the-GM-and-don’t-have-to-explain-anything" tone to them. The guy is just not the same guy and I’m worried.
ESPECIALLY when he goes and did what he did this past Monday. After taking a home-team discount to stay with the Sox, rather than the arbitration that would have guaranteed he’d stay, Bronson Arroyo was offered up by Theo and Co. to the Reds and they took him. Theo’s all, "I gave him (Bronson) no guarantee that we wouldn’t trade him." While poor Bronson—a guy who never complained and took a discount to stay here because he WANTED to be here—gets the vicious blindsided slap to the face. I know of at least two guys (Manny Ramirez, David Wells) who truly don’t want to be here, yet we still have them.
Very poor move, Theo. To my knowledge, not even the evil Steinbrener has done something like that. And its a scary thing to think you are capable of doing not even he would do. Really. I mean, really. Get your head out of your ass and start acting like yourself!!
Now the Pats: All season long, free agent guys like McGinest and Vinatieri have been trying to make a deal with New England and have been getting the cold shoulder. Why? Why do you not give big dough to guys like McGinest (who, yes is getting older, but arguably had the year of his career last season) and Vinatieri (a kicker who won ALL THREE Super Bowls) what they’re worth? I know they don’t want to blow all their dough on a couple of guys who are not exactly spring chickens, but I just think they’ve proven how much they are worth and should be paid accordingly.
Furthermore, Willie signing with the Browns is not surprising, considering it gets him back with Romeo Crennel (our former Defensive Coordinator), but Adam signing with the Colts is a another story. To Pats fans, they are the Yankees of football. We hate them and until last season, we owned them. Why? We had a better defense, a better quarterback (Cut-that-meat, Peyton), and a MUCH better kicker.
Now, Adam is going to be kicking in a climate-controlled dome in Indianapolis and is probably going to lead the Colts to a Super Bowl title next season. You watch, it will happen. And what, we’re going to replace Vinatieri with Mike Vanderjerk? I guy who’s choked in big games virtually his entire career? Sure he’s 80 percent in Indianapolis, but the Pats play outside, in the cold, in the sleet, in the snow, in fierce winds. Not to mention Rodney Harrison will probably drop-kick the guy as soon as he walks through the locker room (that’s if his ACL is up for it). Vanderjerk is not a Patriot and should be their LAST choice. Like if he was the only guy on earth…but maybe not even then.
Argh. I’m just so annoyed by all of this. Maybe the Sox and the Pats are making all the right moves and guys like Wily Mo Pena, Mike Lowell, JT Snow, and Coco Crisp are going to have monster years. Maybe Adam will get hurt and won’t be able to kick anyway. I just think it’s strange that a town that has won as many titles as we have in the last few years would get rid of all the guys that made it happen. To quote former Celtics coach Rick Pitino: "The energy in this town sucks." And I couldn’t agree more.
Monday, March 20, 2006
God Bless St. Patrick...Love your holiday, man
Oh what a glorious holiday St. Patty’s Day is!! You have to love a holiday in which drinking is the No. 1 way to celebrate it!! (Of course, in my family, we do that with pretty much every holiday, but this one is actually expected and encouraged by all).
In South Boston, where I live, the Sunday after St. Patty’s Day is the event of the season. For more than 100 years, this predominantly Irish neighborhood has put on a massive parade to celebrate the holiday. Thousands of people from as far as Ireland have been known to descend upon our typically quiet (except for the occasional siren) streets to join in the festivities. For the past two years, I’ve lived directly on the parade route and have had a massive party, accordingly.
Yesterday was no exception and a good time was had by all. Rather than drone on about the entire day, I’m going to go ahead and give you some of the highlights:
Red Hot Chili Peppers -
So I decide to make homemade chili for the party so peeps would have something to eat. Long story short, I used dried chilies for the first time in an attempt to make it a little spicier than it’s been in the past. Not exactly a chili pepper connoisseur, I thought nothing of crushing the chilies with my bare hands.
Bad idea.
After a few minutes, I started getting a burning sensation all over my hands. After profuse hand-washing and a shower, the burning was a little duller, but persisted. Then I go to put my contacts in and OH MY GOD!! My eyeball literally felt like it was burning. Haven’t been able to wear them since. Went online and discovered the way to rid the acid is to soak my hands in rubbing alcohol. Between boozing all day long yesterday, I didn’t quite get that opportunity. Tonight perhaps. All I know is that I’ll never crush chili peppers with my bare hands ever again.
Chili was to die for, though. The suffering was worth it, I guess.
Dropkicks concert on wheels -
Those who aren’t from Boston might not know who the Dropkick Murphy’s are. Once a local favorite, the Dropkicks have only recently become famous with a string of radio-friendly hits. Anyway, for those who don’t know who they are, I’ll explain. They’re Blackwatch Pipes and Drums meets Green Day. In other words, Irish punk rock and flippin sweet!!
Every year they come home to Boston for five shows on/around St. Patty’s Day. This year, they actually played on a float in the parade and were again, flippin sweet. I’ve never heard louder cheers for a parade float in my four years of watching the event. (Girls flipping out over firefighters came close, but no cigar).
Ain’t no window high enough -
I have this great roof area on top of my building that is fabulous for events like the parade. But, my landlord has been doing repairs up there for the last several months and has locked it up ever since. I had advertised that peeps would be able to watch the action from atop the roof, but it was still locked on Sunday, so no dice.
Or so I thought.
Some of my friends from the bar decided to pry open the small window about 5-feet from the door, but a good five feet off the steps. That didn’t stop them, however, as they helped each other hop through the frame and onto the roof. I was just about to join them when the boys from the apartment downstairs received a call from our landlord telling him to get people off the roof. He was furious at them because last year, they had about 100 people up there. So there come all my friends, shimmying back through the window. It was a site I tell you.
Drunk Jackie Strikes Again -
Anyone who has been to a party with Jacks would know what I’m talking about. This is her own self-made phrase to describe her party antics…which I will not elaborate on. She’s my BFF and I just don’t do that. So buy the book, people.
***
That’s about all from the party. Everyone had a great time and I was so thankful to those who came, especially my long lost high school friend Jamie Miller-Spaulding. Great to see you, Kathie Lee (inside Cardinal Spellman High School joke).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Got this cool, and disturbing, e-mail from Jacks today about this site that tells you your theme song based on the date of your 18th birthday. Site is located at: http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/member/birthdayno1.php Check it out and tell me what your theme is. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some hits and misses from me and my friends.
Hits:
Me - One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey w/Boyz II Men (Those who know me can see why this is so accurate).
Elsa Allen - Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio (Elsa has lived in P-Town and Dorchester. Nuff said).
Nancy Milano (my mom) - Rock the Boat by Hues Corporation. (Oh, she's a boat rocker all right. In all the right ways, of course. Love you Ma!).
Misses:
Mark Goodman - Amazed by Lonestar (Never heard of the song or who sings it. We’re thinking it’s a miss, though).
Jacks - Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton (Jacks—to my knowledge—has never had her heartbroken, except every time the Red Sox flubbed up in the playoffs. It’s safe to say her heart has been unbroken since 2004, when Boston won the World Series).
Krissy (my sister) - My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. (Totally uncool song that does not even remotely describe my hip and funny sister. Big-time miss).
Katie-Belle - Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman by Bryan Adams. (Just no way this is accurate. No way this girl plays for the other team).
Boy (my brother) - Maneater by Hall & Oates. (Great song, but this is another miss in the sense that they are talking about a girl who theoretically eats men alive. But my brother would say it might be accurate in terms of him being a "six-foot monster" who will put you in the sharpshooter--one of his favorite WWE wrestling moves--faster than you can blink).
Anyway, check out the site and let me know your songs. Funny stuff.
In South Boston, where I live, the Sunday after St. Patty’s Day is the event of the season. For more than 100 years, this predominantly Irish neighborhood has put on a massive parade to celebrate the holiday. Thousands of people from as far as Ireland have been known to descend upon our typically quiet (except for the occasional siren) streets to join in the festivities. For the past two years, I’ve lived directly on the parade route and have had a massive party, accordingly.
Yesterday was no exception and a good time was had by all. Rather than drone on about the entire day, I’m going to go ahead and give you some of the highlights:
Red Hot Chili Peppers -
So I decide to make homemade chili for the party so peeps would have something to eat. Long story short, I used dried chilies for the first time in an attempt to make it a little spicier than it’s been in the past. Not exactly a chili pepper connoisseur, I thought nothing of crushing the chilies with my bare hands.
Bad idea.
After a few minutes, I started getting a burning sensation all over my hands. After profuse hand-washing and a shower, the burning was a little duller, but persisted. Then I go to put my contacts in and OH MY GOD!! My eyeball literally felt like it was burning. Haven’t been able to wear them since. Went online and discovered the way to rid the acid is to soak my hands in rubbing alcohol. Between boozing all day long yesterday, I didn’t quite get that opportunity. Tonight perhaps. All I know is that I’ll never crush chili peppers with my bare hands ever again.
Chili was to die for, though. The suffering was worth it, I guess.
Dropkicks concert on wheels -
Those who aren’t from Boston might not know who the Dropkick Murphy’s are. Once a local favorite, the Dropkicks have only recently become famous with a string of radio-friendly hits. Anyway, for those who don’t know who they are, I’ll explain. They’re Blackwatch Pipes and Drums meets Green Day. In other words, Irish punk rock and flippin sweet!!
Every year they come home to Boston for five shows on/around St. Patty’s Day. This year, they actually played on a float in the parade and were again, flippin sweet. I’ve never heard louder cheers for a parade float in my four years of watching the event. (Girls flipping out over firefighters came close, but no cigar).
Ain’t no window high enough -
I have this great roof area on top of my building that is fabulous for events like the parade. But, my landlord has been doing repairs up there for the last several months and has locked it up ever since. I had advertised that peeps would be able to watch the action from atop the roof, but it was still locked on Sunday, so no dice.
Or so I thought.
Some of my friends from the bar decided to pry open the small window about 5-feet from the door, but a good five feet off the steps. That didn’t stop them, however, as they helped each other hop through the frame and onto the roof. I was just about to join them when the boys from the apartment downstairs received a call from our landlord telling him to get people off the roof. He was furious at them because last year, they had about 100 people up there. So there come all my friends, shimmying back through the window. It was a site I tell you.
Drunk Jackie Strikes Again -
Anyone who has been to a party with Jacks would know what I’m talking about. This is her own self-made phrase to describe her party antics…which I will not elaborate on. She’s my BFF and I just don’t do that. So buy the book, people.
***
That’s about all from the party. Everyone had a great time and I was so thankful to those who came, especially my long lost high school friend Jamie Miller-Spaulding. Great to see you, Kathie Lee (inside Cardinal Spellman High School joke).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Got this cool, and disturbing, e-mail from Jacks today about this site that tells you your theme song based on the date of your 18th birthday. Site is located at: http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/member/birthdayno1.php Check it out and tell me what your theme is. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some hits and misses from me and my friends.
Hits:
Me - One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey w/Boyz II Men (Those who know me can see why this is so accurate).
Elsa Allen - Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio (Elsa has lived in P-Town and Dorchester. Nuff said).
Nancy Milano (my mom) - Rock the Boat by Hues Corporation. (Oh, she's a boat rocker all right. In all the right ways, of course. Love you Ma!).
Misses:
Mark Goodman - Amazed by Lonestar (Never heard of the song or who sings it. We’re thinking it’s a miss, though).
Jacks - Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton (Jacks—to my knowledge—has never had her heartbroken, except every time the Red Sox flubbed up in the playoffs. It’s safe to say her heart has been unbroken since 2004, when Boston won the World Series).
Krissy (my sister) - My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. (Totally uncool song that does not even remotely describe my hip and funny sister. Big-time miss).
Katie-Belle - Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman by Bryan Adams. (Just no way this is accurate. No way this girl plays for the other team).
Boy (my brother) - Maneater by Hall & Oates. (Great song, but this is another miss in the sense that they are talking about a girl who theoretically eats men alive. But my brother would say it might be accurate in terms of him being a "six-foot monster" who will put you in the sharpshooter--one of his favorite WWE wrestling moves--faster than you can blink).
Anyway, check out the site and let me know your songs. Funny stuff.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
I have to fight for my right to party...right?
After all those postings about my cruise memories, anything I post from here on in is going to seem far less interesting…at least to me.
However, I’m seeking some help in this post, as I will be in a bit of a pickle on Sunday and I need some advice. So, as some of you know, I live in South Boston. Every year on the Sunday after St. Patty’s Day, Southie puts on this massive parade to celebrate the holiday. (Southie is a predominantly Irish part of town and the event is an absolute blast).
Anyway, I live directly on the parade route on East Broadway and am hosting my second annual St. Patty’s Day Parade Throwdown. At least 30 people that I invited have confirmed, not to mention how many of my roommates friends will be attending. Parade starts at 1 p.m., but peeps will be getting to my pad around noon.
Massive drinking and partying commences and everyone has a grand old time. Sounds great, right?
Here’s the dilemma: I have a high school hockey team playing in a state championship game a few miles away at 4:45 p.m. BUGGER!!
So the way I see it, I have a few options, none of which are good:
1) Still have the party, but not drink, kick people out at 4 p.m.
2) Still have the party, drink, kick people out at 4, show up drunk to the game.
3) Still have the party, drink a couple of beers, stop drinking a couple hours before the game, kick people out at 4.
4) Still have the party, drink heavily, blow off the game.
5) Cancel the party, have a couple of beers while watching the parade by my lonesome.
6) Cancel the party, not drink, and ignore the parade and insanity outside.
God f’n damn it!! I really don’t know what to do.
The thing is, I NEVER cover hockey games, mostly because I loathe the sport. I know the basics, but don’t really understand the rules or what certain calls mean. In short, I would be lost covering a game and thus, never have in six years of reporting high school sports.
I have, on occasion, written a sidebar piece at big hockey games, like the one on Sunday. (A sidebar is an alternate story—athlete feature, etc.—somehow related to the same event). This is what I would write if I were to attend the game. Sure, I could call the coach on Monday morning and whip something up from his perspective, but this game is about the kids playing it and I would want to talk to them. I could get numbers and call the kids up Monday night, but it just wouldn’t have the same feel as it would if I were there, noting my observations.
I know I shouldn’t be this upset and perplexed about having to give up a day of drinking, but honestly, I am. Because I work at a bar on weekends, I often have to give up going to parties or going out with friends and it sucks. Also, most of my friends work at the bar, so any time we get a chance to all hang out and do something together, it’s a plus. My St. Patty’s Day Parade party presents one such opportunity.
I think I already know what I have to do, but I really don’t want to do it. I’m leaning towards No. 3, that way I’d have the best of both worlds. Still sucks, though!!
However, I’m seeking some help in this post, as I will be in a bit of a pickle on Sunday and I need some advice. So, as some of you know, I live in South Boston. Every year on the Sunday after St. Patty’s Day, Southie puts on this massive parade to celebrate the holiday. (Southie is a predominantly Irish part of town and the event is an absolute blast).
Anyway, I live directly on the parade route on East Broadway and am hosting my second annual St. Patty’s Day Parade Throwdown. At least 30 people that I invited have confirmed, not to mention how many of my roommates friends will be attending. Parade starts at 1 p.m., but peeps will be getting to my pad around noon.
Massive drinking and partying commences and everyone has a grand old time. Sounds great, right?
Here’s the dilemma: I have a high school hockey team playing in a state championship game a few miles away at 4:45 p.m. BUGGER!!
So the way I see it, I have a few options, none of which are good:
1) Still have the party, but not drink, kick people out at 4 p.m.
2) Still have the party, drink, kick people out at 4, show up drunk to the game.
3) Still have the party, drink a couple of beers, stop drinking a couple hours before the game, kick people out at 4.
4) Still have the party, drink heavily, blow off the game.
5) Cancel the party, have a couple of beers while watching the parade by my lonesome.
6) Cancel the party, not drink, and ignore the parade and insanity outside.
God f’n damn it!! I really don’t know what to do.
The thing is, I NEVER cover hockey games, mostly because I loathe the sport. I know the basics, but don’t really understand the rules or what certain calls mean. In short, I would be lost covering a game and thus, never have in six years of reporting high school sports.
I have, on occasion, written a sidebar piece at big hockey games, like the one on Sunday. (A sidebar is an alternate story—athlete feature, etc.—somehow related to the same event). This is what I would write if I were to attend the game. Sure, I could call the coach on Monday morning and whip something up from his perspective, but this game is about the kids playing it and I would want to talk to them. I could get numbers and call the kids up Monday night, but it just wouldn’t have the same feel as it would if I were there, noting my observations.
I know I shouldn’t be this upset and perplexed about having to give up a day of drinking, but honestly, I am. Because I work at a bar on weekends, I often have to give up going to parties or going out with friends and it sucks. Also, most of my friends work at the bar, so any time we get a chance to all hang out and do something together, it’s a plus. My St. Patty’s Day Parade party presents one such opportunity.
I think I already know what I have to do, but I really don’t want to do it. I’m leaning towards No. 3, that way I’d have the best of both worlds. Still sucks, though!!
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Barbados: How we love thee. Let me count the ways
Ahhhhhhh, Barbados. Jackie, Katie, and I simply couldn’t get enough of this Island. It was our second port on our eight-day cruise and we had heard it was the ultimate party-island. We had planned to be drunk-skied long before we docked and boy did we follow up on that plan!
Forever indebted to Jay…ski -
So we docked on Barbados around noon and took a shuttle bus over to the Bridgetown Port. With no excursion booked, our plan was to once again…Go to the beach. We looked on a map given to us by a Carnival worker and saw a place called Malibu Beach and asked a cabbie to take us there. "You don’t want to go to Glitter Bay Beach?," he asked us. "Is that one better?," I replied. "Much better," he said. "Okay, then, I guess we’ll go there," I stated.
We hop in the taxi—which was a van—and our driver Jay takes us, and five other people, to Glitter Bay. Along the way, he’s telling us facts and tid-bits about the island and graciously answering our every question we posed. Honestly, it was like getting a free tour. One of the most interesting things we learned is that people in Barbados can own their home, but not necessarily the land it’s on. Jay said if the house is not cemented into the foundation, it can be moved!! So bizarre!!
After about a 15-minute ride through the hills of Barbados, we arrive at Glitter Bay Beach. We each give Jay $5 bucks for the ride and he says he’ll come back and pick us up whenever we want. Flippin sweet!! We decide a two-hour stay would suffice. We walk through a little ocean front café to get to the beach and oh my gosh was it beautiful.
We sun for two hours and during that time-frame, the following occurred: Katie posed for a photo with a monkey on her shoulder. Local guys would not stop pestering us to buy some "Charlie". We met the most adorable toddler, Julie, who we later saw on our cruise ship. Met a nice couple from somewhere down South, who told us they had been hosed by their cabbie (Jay rules!!).
Jay arrives right on the nose to pick us up and on the ride back to the Bridgetown Port, he tells us more about the island and agrees to pick us up after we get showered and changed on the boat. Sure enough, he’s there at 5 p.m. to take us to a restaurant of his choice for dinner and we invite him to eat with us. We go to the Waterfront Café and have the best meal we had eaten all week. We paid for his dinner to thank him.
He then takes us over to The Boatyard, a bar we had heard about all week long and were told we HAD to go there. (At this point, Jay is now giving us cab rides for free). The place is jammed with 20-somethings and it’s clear it’s a total Spring Break-type bar. (More to follow on the Boatyard).
We’re there for about three hours and Jay stayed the whole time waiting to take us back to the boat…again, for free. The guy was the nicest, sweetest person we’d met all week and we all agreed that Barbados might not have been as fun had we not met Jay. He was the bomb!!
Strippers beware, thers'a new gal on the pole-
So, we’re at The Boatyard proceeding to get ham-skied. Katie hops up on a stage located behind the bar and starts to shake what her momma gave, clutching a stripper-like pole while doing so. Without warning, she jumps up and swings around the pole, prompting several men’s jaws to drop. "She’s done that before," this guy Don says to me (Don’s from Pittsburgh and was staying on the island. We became instant friends when I congratulated him on the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory). Katie assures him that she has had no such training in the art of pole spinning and proceeds to give it another whirl.
Well, I guess the first time was beginner’s luck, because Katie goes crashing down attempting this spin. Like the good-sport she is, she posed for a post-accident picture. Don decides to buy us a shot and I suggest a SoCo Lime (aka "Easy Living" for those in New Orleans). Well, the shot comes over and it’s ALL lime juice. I tell Don that he didn’t really get his money’s worth and he proceeds to ask the bartender to fix us four more. (Now, as a bartender, I would never suggest doing this, but to be honest, these particular liquor-pushers were horrible and therefore, Don’s request seemed reasonable).
This time, the shots are ALL SoCo, which I don’t mind, but apparently Katie did because she immediately threw it all up on her feet. She and Jackie run to the beach where more throwing up occurs. I run over with a cup of water and the security guy asks if she’s okay. I said yes, that she just had a bad shot. He asked why she was throwing up on the beach and not in the bathroom and I said because the beach was closer. (Was this guy really expecting Katie to weave through a crowded bar, up a flight of stairs, and into a bathroom stall? Just not possible.).
Katie comes back to the bar and says she’s fine and that a double vodka red bull will make her feel much better. Oh the things we say when ham-skied!!
If we ignore it, it will go away -
Back on the boat, leaving my stellar Karaoke performance behind and heading to the club (Medusa’s Lair) with Curtis, Katie is nursing her drink of choice (Crown and ginger). Five steps out of the parlor and she drops the glass. It absolutely shatters on the floor and we pause momentarily. Katie then states, "Just keep going. Maybe no one noticed."
This couldn’t be further from the truth, however, as the lobby full of people to our left (mostly filled with gray hairs) stood stunned with gaping mouths as we laughed it off and made a B-line towards the club. Classic Katie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A very short post to follow on Martinique and then my tales from my vacation will cease. Sorry if I’m boring you guys with all this, but I want to have full documentation of this trip. It was a once in a lifetime as far as I’m concerned.
Forever indebted to Jay…ski -
So we docked on Barbados around noon and took a shuttle bus over to the Bridgetown Port. With no excursion booked, our plan was to once again…Go to the beach. We looked on a map given to us by a Carnival worker and saw a place called Malibu Beach and asked a cabbie to take us there. "You don’t want to go to Glitter Bay Beach?," he asked us. "Is that one better?," I replied. "Much better," he said. "Okay, then, I guess we’ll go there," I stated.
We hop in the taxi—which was a van—and our driver Jay takes us, and five other people, to Glitter Bay. Along the way, he’s telling us facts and tid-bits about the island and graciously answering our every question we posed. Honestly, it was like getting a free tour. One of the most interesting things we learned is that people in Barbados can own their home, but not necessarily the land it’s on. Jay said if the house is not cemented into the foundation, it can be moved!! So bizarre!!
After about a 15-minute ride through the hills of Barbados, we arrive at Glitter Bay Beach. We each give Jay $5 bucks for the ride and he says he’ll come back and pick us up whenever we want. Flippin sweet!! We decide a two-hour stay would suffice. We walk through a little ocean front café to get to the beach and oh my gosh was it beautiful.
We sun for two hours and during that time-frame, the following occurred: Katie posed for a photo with a monkey on her shoulder. Local guys would not stop pestering us to buy some "Charlie". We met the most adorable toddler, Julie, who we later saw on our cruise ship. Met a nice couple from somewhere down South, who told us they had been hosed by their cabbie (Jay rules!!).
Jay arrives right on the nose to pick us up and on the ride back to the Bridgetown Port, he tells us more about the island and agrees to pick us up after we get showered and changed on the boat. Sure enough, he’s there at 5 p.m. to take us to a restaurant of his choice for dinner and we invite him to eat with us. We go to the Waterfront Café and have the best meal we had eaten all week. We paid for his dinner to thank him.
He then takes us over to The Boatyard, a bar we had heard about all week long and were told we HAD to go there. (At this point, Jay is now giving us cab rides for free). The place is jammed with 20-somethings and it’s clear it’s a total Spring Break-type bar. (More to follow on the Boatyard).
We’re there for about three hours and Jay stayed the whole time waiting to take us back to the boat…again, for free. The guy was the nicest, sweetest person we’d met all week and we all agreed that Barbados might not have been as fun had we not met Jay. He was the bomb!!
Strippers beware, thers'a new gal on the pole-
So, we’re at The Boatyard proceeding to get ham-skied. Katie hops up on a stage located behind the bar and starts to shake what her momma gave, clutching a stripper-like pole while doing so. Without warning, she jumps up and swings around the pole, prompting several men’s jaws to drop. "She’s done that before," this guy Don says to me (Don’s from Pittsburgh and was staying on the island. We became instant friends when I congratulated him on the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory). Katie assures him that she has had no such training in the art of pole spinning and proceeds to give it another whirl.
Well, I guess the first time was beginner’s luck, because Katie goes crashing down attempting this spin. Like the good-sport she is, she posed for a post-accident picture. Don decides to buy us a shot and I suggest a SoCo Lime (aka "Easy Living" for those in New Orleans). Well, the shot comes over and it’s ALL lime juice. I tell Don that he didn’t really get his money’s worth and he proceeds to ask the bartender to fix us four more. (Now, as a bartender, I would never suggest doing this, but to be honest, these particular liquor-pushers were horrible and therefore, Don’s request seemed reasonable).
This time, the shots are ALL SoCo, which I don’t mind, but apparently Katie did because she immediately threw it all up on her feet. She and Jackie run to the beach where more throwing up occurs. I run over with a cup of water and the security guy asks if she’s okay. I said yes, that she just had a bad shot. He asked why she was throwing up on the beach and not in the bathroom and I said because the beach was closer. (Was this guy really expecting Katie to weave through a crowded bar, up a flight of stairs, and into a bathroom stall? Just not possible.).
Katie comes back to the bar and says she’s fine and that a double vodka red bull will make her feel much better. Oh the things we say when ham-skied!!
If we ignore it, it will go away -
Back on the boat, leaving my stellar Karaoke performance behind and heading to the club (Medusa’s Lair) with Curtis, Katie is nursing her drink of choice (Crown and ginger). Five steps out of the parlor and she drops the glass. It absolutely shatters on the floor and we pause momentarily. Katie then states, "Just keep going. Maybe no one noticed."
This couldn’t be further from the truth, however, as the lobby full of people to our left (mostly filled with gray hairs) stood stunned with gaping mouths as we laughed it off and made a B-line towards the club. Classic Katie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A very short post to follow on Martinique and then my tales from my vacation will cease. Sorry if I’m boring you guys with all this, but I want to have full documentation of this trip. It was a once in a lifetime as far as I’m concerned.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Tales from St. Maarten
Sorry I haven’t been as good as keeping up with this blog as I would like, but I’m actually pretty busy at work lately. It’s tournament time in world of high school sports and that means going to three-four games a week. After this weekend, however, I am left with just one team (Marshfield hockey) and thus, have some extra time.
With the boat memories all wrapped up, I’m going to venture onto the islands. Jackie, Katie, and I cruised for three full days before arriving on St. Maarten for our first port day. It was an afternoon stay and we had decided to just go to the beach. We took a water taxi over to Phillipsburg, walked the boardwalk, and found a spot on the beach. So, without further ado, I give you my favorite memories from St. Maarten:
When I want something, I’ll ask:
Walking the boardwalk was an interesting experience to say the least. As a Bostonian, I am soooooo not used to people talking to you on the streets. In Boston, we walk the street with a purpose: To get somewhere and get there fast!! We don’t stop to chat with people, we don’t saunter along the sidewalk randomly stopping in the middle of said sidewalk to figure out where we are. We put our heads down and go with gusto.
So, needless to say, I was a little ticked off when vendors constantly asked us if we wanted things while walking along the boardwalk that lined the beach.
"Hello ladies, you want to jet ski?"
"Ah, beautiful girls, you need beach chairs?"
I don’t think I’ve ever said the phrase "No thank-you" more in my entire life!! And it didn’t stop here.
After settling on the beach with our chairs, female vendors walked the sand with hundreds of bags, sarongs, towels, jewelry, etc. strapped to their arms constantly trying to get us to buy something. Even when we were laying out with our eyes closed, they’d give us an: "Excuse me miss, you like?" We dismissed them politely with more pleasant "No thank-yous", but what we really wanted to say was "LEAVE ME THE F*CK ALONE!! I’M TRYING TO LAYOUT AND ENJOY THE SUN AND DON’T WANT TO BUY ANY OF YOUR CHEAP K-MART-STYLE PRODUCTS, YOU DIG!!!!"
You see, I am of the East Coast mentality. That is essentially, when I want something, I ask for it. When I need something done, I ask that it’s done. I don’t like to be harassed. I realize I was not in the United States and that perhaps these vendors need to sell on beaches to make ends meet. But I was on vacation, people, trying to relax and it was impossible not to with these annoying women stalking us beach-bathers!!
Canadian girls rule, eh? -
So with Jackie and Katie opting to ride the jet skis, I was left on the beach to fend off vendors by myself. That is, until we met the girls sitting next to us on the beach. Jenn and Becky hailed from Canada and were cruising with Carnival on the Valor (to refresh your memory, we were on the Legend).
They were two, loud, but very fun women who we met in the water while watching Katie "riding" a long, phallic-like floatation device just a few yards away. (I took pictures from the beach…and so did a couple of male onlookers behind me!!).
Anyway, we find out they were on the Valor and that this was their first nice day of the trip!! I couldn’t believe it. These poor girls had been cruising since Sunday and it was now Thursday. They went to St. Thomas the day before and it was 50 degrees out!! This didn’t stop hundreds of people from lining up to pay $100 to swim with dolphins, according to Jenn.
We chatted on the beach for a while, making fun of each other’s accents, before deciding to go to lunch together. While there, we learned Jenn repossessed cars for a living, while Becky was a photographer. Jenn had one daughter from a previous relationship and was pregnant with another child. Becky is the mother to two boys. By the end of the lunch, we were wishing they were cruising on our boat!! That would have been cool, eh?
When Katie drinks and others drive -
When we first walked along the boardwalk, we spotted a group riding along on those stand-up scooters that hit the streets a couple of years ago. Katie was fascinated and inquired about getting a ride. The man who rented them out told us he would be up and down the boardwalk all day long.
So, after sunbathing, eating lunch, and doing a little shopping, we decided it was time to get a little toasty. All of the bars lined the boardwalk on the other side of the beach, so the scene was great at all of them. We settled at this little bar that had great drink specials: two beers for $3. None of us were in the beer mood, however, so Jackie and I bought $5 frozen drinks, deliciously concocted by our bartender Janice. Katie was doing double Crown and gingers.
After two drinks each, we were pretty drunk-ski. It was at this time that we noticed the man with the standup scooter again. He was riding along with another group prompting Katie to yell out, "hey, when do I get my ride?" Looking back at her, the man answered, "Anytime!" while blowing a kiss. Seconds later, he was on the ground. Because his eyes were on Katie and not on the road, he had drifted to the right and into another scooter rider. He took flipped over his ride and landed hard on the boardwalk. This prompted cheers from our bar and some beach onlookers. The man was quite gracious and took a bow. Good stuff!!
Why you should pray you are not from Australia -
Now ham-skied after three drinks via Janice the heavy pourer, we decide to head back to the boat via a water taxi. As to be expected, we were loud and obnoxious as we bid adieu to St. Maarten. Katie then took it upon herself to ask EVERY passenger in an arm’s length: "Are you from Australia?" This was a question she had posed the entire week when speaking to someone with an accent of ANY KIND!! Everyone she had asked replied "No, UK." Needless to say, she was really disappointed. (Not quite sure what her fascination was with finding someone from Australia, but it was apparent everyday!!). She finally found a native from the Down Under a day later, but that story will follow in my next blog on Barbados.
That’s all from St. Maarten. Tune in tomorrow afternoon for a blog on Barbados, our favorite port of the trip.
With the boat memories all wrapped up, I’m going to venture onto the islands. Jackie, Katie, and I cruised for three full days before arriving on St. Maarten for our first port day. It was an afternoon stay and we had decided to just go to the beach. We took a water taxi over to Phillipsburg, walked the boardwalk, and found a spot on the beach. So, without further ado, I give you my favorite memories from St. Maarten:
When I want something, I’ll ask:
Walking the boardwalk was an interesting experience to say the least. As a Bostonian, I am soooooo not used to people talking to you on the streets. In Boston, we walk the street with a purpose: To get somewhere and get there fast!! We don’t stop to chat with people, we don’t saunter along the sidewalk randomly stopping in the middle of said sidewalk to figure out where we are. We put our heads down and go with gusto.
So, needless to say, I was a little ticked off when vendors constantly asked us if we wanted things while walking along the boardwalk that lined the beach.
"Hello ladies, you want to jet ski?"
"Ah, beautiful girls, you need beach chairs?"
I don’t think I’ve ever said the phrase "No thank-you" more in my entire life!! And it didn’t stop here.
After settling on the beach with our chairs, female vendors walked the sand with hundreds of bags, sarongs, towels, jewelry, etc. strapped to their arms constantly trying to get us to buy something. Even when we were laying out with our eyes closed, they’d give us an: "Excuse me miss, you like?" We dismissed them politely with more pleasant "No thank-yous", but what we really wanted to say was "LEAVE ME THE F*CK ALONE!! I’M TRYING TO LAYOUT AND ENJOY THE SUN AND DON’T WANT TO BUY ANY OF YOUR CHEAP K-MART-STYLE PRODUCTS, YOU DIG!!!!"
You see, I am of the East Coast mentality. That is essentially, when I want something, I ask for it. When I need something done, I ask that it’s done. I don’t like to be harassed. I realize I was not in the United States and that perhaps these vendors need to sell on beaches to make ends meet. But I was on vacation, people, trying to relax and it was impossible not to with these annoying women stalking us beach-bathers!!
Canadian girls rule, eh? -
So with Jackie and Katie opting to ride the jet skis, I was left on the beach to fend off vendors by myself. That is, until we met the girls sitting next to us on the beach. Jenn and Becky hailed from Canada and were cruising with Carnival on the Valor (to refresh your memory, we were on the Legend).
They were two, loud, but very fun women who we met in the water while watching Katie "riding" a long, phallic-like floatation device just a few yards away. (I took pictures from the beach…and so did a couple of male onlookers behind me!!).
Anyway, we find out they were on the Valor and that this was their first nice day of the trip!! I couldn’t believe it. These poor girls had been cruising since Sunday and it was now Thursday. They went to St. Thomas the day before and it was 50 degrees out!! This didn’t stop hundreds of people from lining up to pay $100 to swim with dolphins, according to Jenn.
We chatted on the beach for a while, making fun of each other’s accents, before deciding to go to lunch together. While there, we learned Jenn repossessed cars for a living, while Becky was a photographer. Jenn had one daughter from a previous relationship and was pregnant with another child. Becky is the mother to two boys. By the end of the lunch, we were wishing they were cruising on our boat!! That would have been cool, eh?
When Katie drinks and others drive -
When we first walked along the boardwalk, we spotted a group riding along on those stand-up scooters that hit the streets a couple of years ago. Katie was fascinated and inquired about getting a ride. The man who rented them out told us he would be up and down the boardwalk all day long.
So, after sunbathing, eating lunch, and doing a little shopping, we decided it was time to get a little toasty. All of the bars lined the boardwalk on the other side of the beach, so the scene was great at all of them. We settled at this little bar that had great drink specials: two beers for $3. None of us were in the beer mood, however, so Jackie and I bought $5 frozen drinks, deliciously concocted by our bartender Janice. Katie was doing double Crown and gingers.
After two drinks each, we were pretty drunk-ski. It was at this time that we noticed the man with the standup scooter again. He was riding along with another group prompting Katie to yell out, "hey, when do I get my ride?" Looking back at her, the man answered, "Anytime!" while blowing a kiss. Seconds later, he was on the ground. Because his eyes were on Katie and not on the road, he had drifted to the right and into another scooter rider. He took flipped over his ride and landed hard on the boardwalk. This prompted cheers from our bar and some beach onlookers. The man was quite gracious and took a bow. Good stuff!!
Why you should pray you are not from Australia -
Now ham-skied after three drinks via Janice the heavy pourer, we decide to head back to the boat via a water taxi. As to be expected, we were loud and obnoxious as we bid adieu to St. Maarten. Katie then took it upon herself to ask EVERY passenger in an arm’s length: "Are you from Australia?" This was a question she had posed the entire week when speaking to someone with an accent of ANY KIND!! Everyone she had asked replied "No, UK." Needless to say, she was really disappointed. (Not quite sure what her fascination was with finding someone from Australia, but it was apparent everyday!!). She finally found a native from the Down Under a day later, but that story will follow in my next blog on Barbados.
That’s all from St. Maarten. Tune in tomorrow afternoon for a blog on Barbados, our favorite port of the trip.
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