Do You Believe in Miracles?????

Ok so maybe it wasn't THAT big of an upset but it was a hell of a game. Just finished watching USA/Canada in the Olympics and it was everything that makes hockey such an amazing sport. Some thoughts:

-When played at its highest level, hockey is better than every sport, and I say this as someone who considers baseball his favorite sport. The speed, hitting and amazing skill that these guys show is just off the charts.

-You could say that on paper, Team USA is the 4th or 5th best team in this tournament (behind Canada, Russia, Sweden and possibly Finland) however I used those two dirty sports words....ON PAPER. There's nothing that can win a hockey tournament, whether it's the Stanley Cup playoffs or the Olympics, better than a hot goaltender and Ryan Miller was outstanding tonight. He's been the best goalie in the NHL all year and if he keeps it up, the US will definitely walk out with some kind of medal, maybe even the gold.

-Even though they can't fight, these teams have been crushing each other with nice, clean hits. The US team has been hitting everything in sight from the drop of the puck against Switzerland.

-Although Drury and Callahan were great tonight, I still think Kyle Okposo should be on Team USA.

-Love the jerseys that the US has in this tournament. The throwbacks from 1960 were excellent as are the blue ones. Especially love the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" stitched into the wrists.

-It has to kill Canadians that the US beat them at a sport which is religion to them but 90% of our population cares nothing about. I guess there's a reason we're the USA and they're Canada.

-"USA! USA!" is a classic sports chant. Not a classic? "CA-NA-DA!" Sorry guys it just doesn't work.

-No one is a better play by play man than Doc Emrick. The knowledge, passion and enthusiasm add so much to an already amazing experience.

-I basically love all Olympic sports (except cross country which is just boring) but nothing is better than Olympic hockey. Having that much talent, playing for their countries on a bigger rink is fantastic. The first game today (Russia/Czech Republic) was great and I'm sure the last one will be too (Sweden/Finland). Unfortunately it's back to work tomorrow so I'm going to bed soon.

So now the US wins the group and gets the extra day off while Canada gets Germany. The final week of this tournament is going to be great with it all coming to an end next Sunday afternoon, hopefully with the Red, White and Blue finishing on top.

Avatar

When Avatar first came out, I wasn't very interested in seeing it. After hearing more about it and realizing that the last 3D movie I saw was "Captain Eo" starring Michael Jackson, I figured I would check it out. Unfortunately Kate wasn't interested, so I had to do what any (sad) normal (lonely) person would do: go to a matinee by myself on a Friday afternoon.

I usually try to have some theme or story running through my blogs but this movie really didn't do all that much for me so here are some random thoughts:

-The film was visually amazing; everything else was just....eh (with shoulder shrug)

-So it's the highest grossing film ever which leaves me a bit confused. If that many people saw it then it MUST be good right? (herd mentality after all) After seeing it though, I barely categorize Avatar as a good movie forget it being a great movie. So then what is it? It's the perfect movie for its time: looks great, not much else there.

-Giovanni Ribisi really did a great Ari Gold impersonation in his role of the evil corporate guy. It's as if he just watched the box set of Entourage to prepare for this role. I wonder if he did that same thing with "Life Goes On" when researching for his stellar turn in "The Other Sister."

-If this is a front runner for Best Picture then this truly was a weak year for film. I haven't seen "The Hurt Locker" but I would have to imagine that it's a better movie than Avatar. Hell I would put "Inglourious Basterds" ahead of it. I respect what Cameron did with the technology but I just don't think it was that great.

-Were we supposed to feel bad for the Navi? I was more upset that I gave up candy for Lent and had to get popcorn, the lesser of the movie snack choices.

-They had some 3D previews including "Piranha 3D" which is about killer piranhas attacking swimmers at a beach. This movie looks atrocious. The worst part? Richard Dreyfuss is in this movie...about a fish....that is threatening the safety of swimmers.....at a beach. Did he forget he was in JAWS?!?! Should we be concerned about the mental and financial well being of Dr. Leo Marvin? Equally as bad? The movie poster I saw for "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" the sequel to the 1987 Oliver Stone film, except instead of Charlie Sheen as the young hot shot it's.....Shia LeBeouf. What did he do to get all of this work?

-CAPITALISM! IMPERIALISM! I get it Mr. Cameron, America is evil. This gives some perspective as to why this movie has done so well overseas (it broke the world box office record weeks before it broke the domestic record)

So to sum it up, Avatar made a lot of money.


Yup.

2.12.05

Kate and I first met each other when working at Fordham. Now, we were also students at Fordham at the same time (me an '02 grad, Kate in '03) but Kate studied and I drank, so it wasn't until we worked together that we met. Just a few months in, Kate and I became friendly and soon we had entered the phase that Kate calls "courting." We shared stories about our families, our shared Irish heritage -Kate telling stories about drinking whiskey, me making casual comments about the IRA- and the many common people, places and things that made up our lives.

Fast forward to February 11th, 2005. I invited Kate out to see Shilelagh Law at Connolly's. I also forgot to mention that my two best friends and my sister/future brother-in-law would be there as well. Strike one. We hung out for a bit, watched the show and soon it was time for Kate to head home. As she got up to say goodbye, I stood, said goodbye and sat back down as Kate made her way towards the door. Soon she was gone and my friends were asking me what I was doing. "Why didn't you walk her out?" Strike two. Throughout my life, I have not exactly been a ladies man and this incident immediately made me question myself. Did I blow it? Why wouldn't I just walk her out?

Well, even with this faux pas, Kate and I made plans to hang out the following day. I did some work on campus, went to the basketball game and then made my way over to her old Bronx apartment behind the Jolly Tinker. We hung out for a while but neither of us made a move until finally it was time to go. As I left we said goodbye, we kissed. I made my way back to Long Island, nervous and excited as a 7th grader, and the following day I was on a plane to Florida for work. What a guy! Blow her off and when you do make a move, disappear to Florida for a week....well done. We talked throughout that week, we soon were dating and we haven't been apart since.

We've shared amazing times together from the craziness of the Chief's Dinner to a quiet night at home. We've been to thirteen states, two foreign countries and Montauk 50 times. We've eaten Dairy Queen in Stratford, Carvel in Stewart Manor and Italian ices in Forest Hills. We planned our wedding, bought our apartment and (barely) lived to tell the stories.

When August 1st rolls around, I imagine that I will get a little nostalgic thinking back to our wedding. We had an amazing day and our anniversary will always give us a chance to think about when we started our new life. However, when I think about my wife and the amazing life we have together, I always think about back to February 12th, 2005.

It's now February 12th, 2010. I'm off to have dinner with my wife and this time, I'm going to walk her out.

Let it Snow

(the view from our window)

During fourth period yesterday, while I was completing my daily round of yard duty at school, I received a text message from my wife. "You have tomorrow off." While the possibility of a snow day had raced through my mind all day, I hadn't considered it becoming a reality. When I asked whether she was messing with me, Kate replied with a screen cap of "Eyewitness News" that confirmed the beautiful truth. Tomorrow was going to be a snow day.

There are few things that can make an adult feel like a child. For some Christmas does the trick; for others a softball beer league brings them back to their youth. For me, it's all about a snow day. Everyone can remember the snow days from their youth. First the 5 day forecast mentions snow, then you start hearing about possible accumulation numbers and finally, the day before the storm arrives and all you can think about is no school. You wake up early the next morning and flip on the TV in hopes of hearing the good news. Once you hear that school is cancelled you rejoice and start making plans for how to celebrate this joyous event. Sledding, snowball fights or even the always fun snow football game.

When the principal announced the cancellation over the PA, my kids broke out in applause and cheering. Although I didn't cheer along with them, I was celebrating on the inside; happy for them that they would experience the aformentioned joy of a childhood snow day but also happy for me that I would get to have an adult snow day. Throw in the fact that Kate would also have the day off and I was as happy as any of my students.

The following picture was taken at 5:30:



Not 5:30 AM. That's 5:30 PM.

Our door has been locked like this since we went to bed last night. We haven't even thought of leaving today. On most days this would be viewed as lazy and slovenly, but on a snow day it's totally acceptable. I was in my pajamas until 4 o'clock. Who does that? Well someone who has a snow day that's who! (Although if I were being totally honest, I would disclose that I did the same thing when Kate went home to Connecticut last Saturday....maybe I am lazy) Kate and I love each others company and both really enjoy relaxing at home. For us, snow days as perfect.

We got out of bed around 9:30 (late for us), had breakfast and watched 1.5 hours of Game Show Network including Match Game, Family Feud (Ray Combs edition) AND $25,000 Pyramid. SNOW DAY! Thanks to hitting the grocery store the night before we had plenty of drinks and food so we made a great child-like snow day lunch (see pictures below.) SNOW DAY! Since then we've each done some work, watched a little TV and overall had a great day. Throw in that we still have dinner, the Islanders game and "Modern Family" and the snow day (now snow night) still has a lot to offer.

Mayor Bloomberg just announced that schools will be open tomorrow. While I was hoping that we might somehow get another day off, I had such a great day today that it makes the disappointment a little better. Snow days are bonus days in life. Whether you spend them sledding, shovelling or shutting yourself in, snow days are a great day. For now, we'll enjoy the rest of the night and wait for the next time we get the chance to lock ourselves in, watch 30 year old game shows and enjoy the times that make life a little bit better, even if it's just for a day.

Some photos from our snow day:

(Child's Snow Day Lunch)





(Adult's Snow Day Lunch)



(73rd Road)