We Can't Wait til the Weekend Come

I had a great, fantastic, amazing weekend. I am really hopeful for the future and the direction of the most important thing to me. When the time is right there may be details.

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

I finished season one of Heroes last night. I really like this show. There are a couple things that I take issue with, but I can see why this was one of the best new series of last season.

There is something about superheroes and superpowers, that intrigues little boys when they are young. Most of the time they grow out of it, but there is something about this show, the presentation of superheroes in the real world, that is really interesting to that inner child. These characters can be related too. Most of them seem like they could be walking around today, and no I don't think they really are. The way their abilities are woven into the modern day, this is the way I want to see superheroes. There is realism. The story does not take place in Metropolis or Gotham, it takes place in NYC and Vegas, real places that I have been too.

I also really like some of the characters and story lines. I love the Hiro character and I find Mika interesting, though the Nikki/Jessica thing is a little bit odd with the scope of the show. One of the things that I do find interesting is that they kill off tons of characters. At this point we have already lost two of the main characters and numerous side characters.

I am interested to see what happens in "Volume Two" which we got a teaser for at the end of season one. I generally thing that second seasons have the ability to be better than first seasons, because, when done right, we do not need to spend all of the time on back story. I also want to see if they tie back to some of the early story lines, like Claire's friend Zach and Parkman's wife and soon to be child. If this happens I am really excited for season two.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to Del I Go

So yesterday I was trying to meet up with my mother to get some mail and other things that I left at home the last time I was there. The plan was that Mom and Little T, my sister, were going to drive down from the Valley and I was going to drive up from the Mills, we would meet in the middle (yeah, I think that will be the last time I ever try to shorten those names). Things did not work out the way they were planned at all.

I left work and called Mom... she was so sweet... "Oh Ryan, it is to early, we just got onto 95" great. We decide that I was going to call when I got to the super duper expensive toll in MD. I did that. She was at the casino. I thought ok, well if she leaves within 10 minutes then we can meet at the designated rest stop (classy, I know). No Problems.

I called her again when I got to Delaware. No answer... not good.

She called back and I was already past the rest stop, heading to Delaware Park, the casino she was at only to fine out... SHE WENT TO CHESTER DOWNS.... seriously. Little T and Mom were losing money in the ghetto without being held at gunpoint, and they were 45 minutes away from me.

I decided to go to a restaurant that we had gone to while I was working at Chase, Potstickers. The little place is really good, a nice bar with cheap martinis. Mom and T finally showed up we had a really good diner and I got my things.

Chester Downs Seriously

OC Recap; No not that OC

So I have returned from my venture down the shore with our version of the Rat Pack (I am Dean Martin) and I must say, it was a good time and well needed.

Here is the recap. Friday I grabbed Elan at the MARC and started down. We of course stop at one of the best places on the trip, SONIC. We just got Cherry-Limeades, but they were supper good. We chilled out on the patio on the bay with Dam and Bailey the rest of the night and headed to bed for an early morning.

Actually the morning started much earlier than I would have expected, as Dom woke me as he left to get groceries, it was 6:30am. WTF??? But I cannot complain, cause he proceeded to come back and make breakfast for all of us. Pancakes and bacon... not to bad. From there we headed to the beach.

As a small interlude I would like you all to know that I am a little bit pale and have already had pieces of skin removed from my body, just in case. It was a beautiful day and I had both an iPod and a good book. Off we went to the beach and clearly my SPF 45,000 did not do the job, cause from the neck to the waist I am burned to a crisp. Later that night we grilled out at the house. Again, Dom worked his culinary magic.

Next was Putt Putt, which is one of my favorite tins to do down the shore. When I was a kid I loved Putt Putt, but mom and the rest of the fam kinda hated it, so I was not the Putt Putt King that I knew I could be. Well, we ended up playing two different courses on Saturday night, through some nefarious methods, and amazingly i won both games. Under par and feeling proud. Watch our Tiger, I am on my way. Check us out at the Old Pro Course

We finished up the night with some Ice Cream from the place that Dom used to work and watch "This Film has Not Been Rated". The flick is really, really good and I would recommend it highly.
Sunday was pretty slow, we grabbed an amazing breakfast at the Bayside Grill and then headed back to the area. I once again knocked off quite a few podcast off the old iPod, but it was actually a really nice drive.

It is back to the workweek until the next big weekend. Yay Workweek.

They are 1337

So I was reading Google news this morning and saw that combined Bary Bonds and Ken Griffy Jr. have a combine total of one thousand, three hundred thirty seven home runs combined. Being the geek that I am I had a little chuckle. Being a baseball fan, it is pretty amazing to have seen these two over the course of their careers. Tonight we will get the treat of seeing them on the same field, batting 3 and 4 in the lineup. It should be good. Make sure you watch.

Ocean City part Deux and Turkey

Well, we are trying this again. Lets hope it goes better. Elan, Dom Brian and I will be making the trek "down the shore"

In other news, the other day was July 4th (I am sure none of you noticed). After spending the day in DC, I headed home to Baltimore. Knowing that I had no food in my apartment I began to ponder the culinary possibilities that I could partake in. I did not want to hit one of the numerous fast food experiences that are oh so close to my apartment. I was looking for something a little bit healthier and alot better tasting. I decided to head to Safeway and see what I could find. I was walking in the meat section, where I don't venture all that often, and happened upon some turkey cutlets that were pretty well priced and looked good so I grabbed them and some other odds and ends. I get to the register and the woman who is checking people out has, by far, the strangest makeup I have ever seen. Here I lids have stripes of Blue, Yellow and Green. I assume that the makeup matched the fingernails, and not the other way around. Anyway, turns out the turkey cutlets were placed in the wrong spot and were like five times as much, so i said forget that and just got a whole turkey breast.

Now, I am not sure if you caught this, but I just said I had bought a whole turkey breast. I spiced it up, threw some carrots and celery around it (cause that is what you are supposed to do right?) and put it in the oven. Hours later the little button had popped and I must say that I am quite impressed with myself. so I have had sandwiches for the past couple of days. Turkey, Pear and Brie... delicious.

So I have begun to watch Heros, and I must say, I am impressed so far. There are some times when the effects are a little cheesy, but there is something about the series that has really drawn me in. I like the Hiro character alot, but could do with out the Ali Lauder story arch. I do like that her husband is "Big Brother Iron Man" from Drumline... my own guilty pleasure.

Well, A good weeked to come. Have a good one everybody :)

An Interesting Start to the Week

Hello Folks,

Let me start by saying I have a brand new favorite Pizza. My sister works at Bertucci's and I went there for lunch yesterday. I had the Lestina pizza. Mushrooms, roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. It was amazing. Plus my sister was serving me, which is kinda nice after years of personal annoyance she put me through. I did tip her very well.

I also rocked my fantasy baseball league this week. I don't normally toot my own horn, but I scored a league high in points for the year... but we will see what happens in the long run.

Monday has brought some interesting news as well. The things that has hit me the hardest is that one of the members of the Sogeti team is leaving the company. Our Delivery Manager is moving on after about 10 years of service. It was a little bit of a shock to me, and the other person I told about it. This is the second person of our management team to leave since I came on in March. I really like Harold and am hopeful that he has greener grass ahead of him.

Well, I am hoping that work will pick up beginning tomorrow morning, we will see.

UPDATES: Dad is doing really well. She is coming here. Janice and I are talking. My commute is great. I think I am heading to DC for the 4th, and I WANT AN iPhone

Week in Review

Sorry for the lack of posts folks. Early in the week I was hit with a little stomach thing and later in the week I was hit with a little bit of the lazy bug, but I am back.

It has been an interesting week, so lets give a little bit of a rundown.

Saturday, I know that is officially last week, my friends Elan and Brian and I went to Mike's Crab house near Annapolis. This is one of the best parts of living in Maryland, though going to Mikes does remind me of you know who, we had a great time.

Monday night I went to watch Raw, as I normally do (I know... big dork) and just a couple minutes before I read that Chris Benoit had died. I was surprised by this, but as the facts have come out it is really sad. First, yeah, I have read a ton of the coverage. It is a little bit like a Car wreck. I don't want to read, but I just can't turn away. It is sad to know that he committed these gruesome murders and took his own life. There is never a strong enough reason for someone to take another life, and even less to take your own. I hope that they are all in a better place and my thoughts go out to all of the individuals effected.

I got to attend two baseball games this week, Tuesday and Wednesday. Both were Yankees vs Orioles at, Oriole Part at Camden Yards. First the park is still amazing. Camden years was built something like 15 years ago and still seems to be the gold standard for ballparks around the country. I have also seen games at AT&T park in San Francisco and Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philly. You can plainly see where designers borrowed from different aspects of the parks. I will say that they are all much better than the Vet and I am glad to be able to cross them all off my list of parks I have been too.

Anyway the games were both really good. Tuesday night was with my company, Sogeti. We had Hot Dogs (with Bologna on top????) and bags of snacks given to us. It was a really good time. But Wednesday was the big day. UMBC had a bullpen party at the stadium. Ninety minutes before game time you can come to the park and have some decent food and cheap beer for free while watching batting practice. All was going great and then it happened. Roger Clemens. Yup, Roger Clemens. He started to warm-up in the bullpen, and I am literally feet away from the guy. It was an amazing experience just to see this guy pitch from that close up. I can see why batters are intimidated by him. He is very big and can pitch very fast.

Dad had another operation, but got some good news. I am not sure I understand it all, but I will have more info and ideas about his spirits soon.

Onto more things that happened this week. umm.... that is about it actually. A good one over all, still hoping for good news as always. Have a good one folks.

Arrested Developments

No, I have not been arrested, but I have been watching this show and it has been great. I will be honest that when I first started watching it on TV many months ago, I didn't give it much of a chance, but it is great. I am almost through the first DVD of Season One (I fell asleep during the last episode). If you get the chance, pick this one up.

Gym Class Heroes

So there are two reasons for this post. First is that I have been listening to this band, Gym Class Heroes, and I have to say, this is one of the best groups of this generation. They have a really good mix of beat and message. Intelligent Pop. Plus, being the techie that I am i appreciate the pop and cyber-pop references that they make. This group is signed to the label created by the lead singer of Fall Out Boy, and I think they found a winner.

The second reason is that I to hope to become my own version of a Gym Class Hero, though there will be no class, so really just a gym hero. I have been able to get to the gym three times this week, using the treadmill and the bike. It has been invigorating. I can keep this up. it has not been to much of a challenge. If I can keep upping the levels of the workout I am going to be in much better shape in just a couple pf months, but I guess it is not that hard when you come from such a low level.

I am going to try to post a couple things today, so keep your eyes out.