NYC Day 3 and Cruise Ship Day 1

Day 3 in NYC was mostly a half day to do what we wanted to do. I was so tired from the previous two days of running around the entire city, literally, so I just walked around the surrounding blocks that the hotel was near. The one thing that I was totally blown away by was the variety of stores and what you could buy. I found everything from really cheap iPods and unlocked 3G iPhones. Any cell phone that you could want, you could find in the area that I was in.

At around 10:30 in the morning, we headed back to the hotel, retrieved our bags and take them to the curb, while we awaited cabs to take us to the Carnival terminal. We all talked about various things about what we had seen and done over the past couple of days. Once the cabs came, we loaded everything and hopped in. It was a short ride, but it’s not very easy to traverse NYC because of all the one-way streets. When we get there, it’s another scenario of hurry up, wait, put your metal objects here, hurry up and then wait.

After a lot of hassle, running, and walking, the wife and I finally arrive at our cabin/home for the next five nights and six days. It’s smaller than my room at my first house and to give you an indication of how small. Take an average cubicle, expand by three feet in every direction and that is your living quarters. The bathroom was just about the size of one of our closets. The family at that time took a tour of the ship and it seemed impressive, until we found that there were only about five places that were fun (Casino, Lido Deck, Deck 10, Back Lido Deck, and shopping center) to be.

We ate a quick lunch and at 5:30 in the afternoon, I was again tired and exhausted and wanted to sit down, but a highlight of my week/weekend was coming up. The cruise-ship undocked and headed out to sea. From Deck 10, I could see the target of my camera: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. They were an awesome site for someone who had always seen them in movies and never in real life. This time, I saw them in a detail that I never thought I ever would. It was kind of uplifting to see the symbol of our country. At that time, I got the song “Proud to be an American” running through my head, and because I didn’t have my Zune, I couldn’t get it out until I fell asleep.

The rest of the night was pretty much just settling down and experiencing new things that I am very not used to. Namely, going to a 5 Star Restaurant and a home that moves up and down regularly.

NYC Day 2

Day two of being in New York City started with a bang. That bang was me falling on the floor because my feet were hurting so much from all the walking the previous day. Once, I adjusted, though, everything was okay and I was good to go. I put on my walking shoes and headed for our first destination of the day: The Chelsea Market.

There is nothing close to what The Chelsea Market has in Richmond, so I was surprised that my mother-in-law booked us on a tour of the whole market. I had no idea that shops such as these existed but The Chelsea Market is basically a small market where specialty stores (bakeries, sea food distributors, pastry shops, a place to buy vegetables, and various other stores that were all unique in thought and items that they sold) set up shop and do business. You’ll never find a national chain like a game store or McDonalds there, which is why it’s such a unique place to shop. My favorite store there was a place called the T Salon, where you could buy all sorts of foreign teas. They also had these seed like things that if you drop them into a clear pitcher of water, in two to three days they will blossom into flowers and the water will turn to tea. I bought a couple of those because that’s the type of cool flower I like (drop it in water and forget about it).

Once we left the Chelsea Market, our group visited Morimoto’s which was fun to see. The guide then took us on a tour of the meat packing district and perhaps the most seedy part of NYC (in broad daylight with a heavy police presence, though) on a tour of the shops around the area. It ended on the 15th floor of a building that had a great birds-eye view of that part of NYC and a swimming pool with models (not on the job, but relaxing) in bikini’s and waitresses just as hot with all the...(must stop typing because the wife will see this...)

After the tour of that area was over, the family (all ten of us: me, the wife, my in-laws [Grandma, Grandpa, Sister, Brother, Mother and Father-in-law] and my mother and sister) split up. My mother and sister went to see Stomp, while the remaining eight went east on a tour of America’s version of Mecca: Ground Zero. Everything about that trip was exciting, even the trip over there.

On our trip to Ground Zero, the eight of us took the subway that had A/C and everything was fine. The car wasn’t that crowded and everyone found a seat. Well, the stop prior to the World Trade Center stop, a pedestrian got off the subway, but left their bag. The bag was a plastic one that looked like it contained a piece of round cheese or something like that, but my sister-in-law (she’s only 15) started freaking out!!! “Is it a bomb? Am I going to die? I don’t want to die!!” Okay, I’ll tell you the truth, the same though crossed my mind, but I just didn’t let it be known until now. My grandpa-in-law started laughing and then egging her on by saying, “Do you hear that?” My sis-in-law looked at him and said, “What?” He responded by saying “I think I hear it ticking.” She nearly started crying. It was funny in hind-sight, but I wasn’t laughing then.

Anyway, after we got there, my heart was pounding. I don’t know why exactly, but my thought at the time was that, “I am actually here. I am actually at a place where nearly 3000 people died. I am actually standing at the heart of the worst national tragedy we have ever faced.” I then looked around and was very disappointed. The entire area was fenced up and a continuous tarp covered the view of the other side. I couldn’t see anything. But what I could see amazed me. Giant canes were EVERYWERE! There must have been ten or eleven of them. I got as many pictures of what I could, but there wasn’t much to see, except: a huge building near the site that had two cranes and scaffolding all around it (must have been hit by a LOT of debris that day) and the church that was right next to the Twin Towers.

The tour of the church was fascinating. As was the walk down Broadway catching the other landmarks there: Trinity Church, Wall Street, the NY Stock Exchange, and the Bull in the middle of Broadway. After that, it was a long walk back to the subway, but we got there and once there, it was time to rest. Once the car reached the hotel exit, me, the wife and grandpa-in-law got off to go to the hotel. The others stayed on because they were headed to Central Park. Once my wife found out she was running to catch up to the train, but it had already left. My wife wasn’t happy about that, but when she heard what happened to them, she was glad she didn’t go with them. When I got back to the hotel, I removed my walking/satanic shoes and lay on the bed.

I must have fallen asleep because a couple hours later I awake to a knock on the door. It was my mother-in-law (the one that went to Central Park). She wanted to know where my wife was and I told her I didn’t know. I then asked, “How was Central Park.” This was her answer, “Well, we actually missed our stop and ended up in Queens.” I looked at her with amusement on my face and then she said, “We got there eventually, but by then it was too dark to enjoy, so we came back.” So getting off the train isn’t always a bad thing.

After that talk, and 13,500 steps/feet, I decided to call it a night and went to bed.

Tomorrow, Day 3 in NYC and Day 1 on the Cruise Ship.

NYC Day 1

New York is one of the most diverse and interesting places that I have EVER been too. We all arrived on Saturday the 16th. When I first stepped off the train, I was surrounded by people, but I didn’t think much about it. I thought that it was just from the fact that a lot of people were on the train. After I got off the platform and into the Pennsylvania Station, there were still a LOT of people. Again, I didn’t think about it because it is a busy train station in a big city. I was carrying my very heavy bag and surrounded by people, and therefore didn’t notice the thousands of people on the streets of NY on Saturday! It was ludicrous how many people were out on the street.

The subway was an adventure all on its own. I first had to get a pass that had enough money for me and the wife plus my mother and sister. That wasn’t so difficult. And all those movies that had the NY subway in them...they aren’t lying! They are EXACTLY like you see them in the movies. The first car my family got into was hot as HELL and people in NY would walk into the car wait a couple seconds and then leave running. Me and the family just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. It turned out that the AC was broke in our car and that’s why everyone got off. When we finally got to our destination we got out of the HOT car and looked at the car in front and behind us were wall-to-wall people. I would have rather had the heat then the wall-to-wall people.

My first day in NY consisted of hopping on a subway (see above) for the first time and heading to Greenwich Village for dinner. Wow, talk about a different world. The Village, as they call it, is one of the most diverse places in the world. I saw more gay men and women than I have ever seen in my life!!! Not that I’m against homosexuality, it’s just that in the ultra-conservative Richmond, VA I hardly ever saw two women holding hands or kissing or sharing a bowl of pasta from the street. In the Village...they were everywhere and they were NOT one ounce ashamed of themselves. Another bit of culture shock were the shops. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you how many (male) gay porn stores I walked past, or how many shops openly carried bongs.

After dinner, it was off to the subway (in a subway car that had A/C) back to the hotel and then took a subway car to Times Square and the play Spam-A-Lot. Again, there were thousands of people all around. They didn’t wait for the pedestrian light cross the street and the drivers would rather run you over than wait for the next green light. The taxi drivers...don’t even get me started... Anyway, Times Square was AMAZING!!! Giant billboards, HUGE TV screens with news coverage, TV ad’s and other really cool advertisements. I saw the MTV studio, where the ball drops on New Years and a couple of other really cool things that I had heard about (and to tell you the truth, there were so many things there that I didn’t really catch the whole thing, there was just too much to take in).

Spam-A-Lot was a riot! And it was updated to include the trade of Brett Favre to the NY Jets. Once the play was over, we (me, my wife and my in-laws) hopped out of the theater and into a STILL BUSY Times Square...AT MIDNIGHT!!! There were STILL thousands of people and Times Square was lit up just like daytime. It was crazy! Yes, I know that NYC is the City that Never Sleeps, but come one! Anyway, we decided to walk back to our hotel, since it was only ten blocks away. On the way there, I got an awesome picture of the Empire State Building lit up and I THAT is when I found out that if you step in front of a moving cab, there is a chance he will not stop.

Finally, I got back to the hotel and after walking 14,100 steps/feet, I collapsed in the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Tomorrow, day 2 and more NYC.

Back From Outer Space

Well, I'm back from my week long trip off the grid. This past week has been so fun and so EXHAUSTING that me and the wife might need another weekend just to recover. I was asked by Furgus to take a lot of pictures, and guess what, I came back with 407 (I think). I won't put them all up on the net, but I will screen them, post them and then link to them from this blog. Please be patient. In the meantime, look for stories about the following:

1. My impressions of NY and Spam-A-Lot
2. Greenwich Village, Times Square at midnight, Ground Zero, and the Statue of Liberty
3. Awards, Honors and Happiness
4. Hell on Earth: The Bad Sides of Vacation in Unfamiliar Territory.
5. Why Canada Shouldn't Be the 51st State

Look for these stories but not in that order or headline.

Off The Grid and Out of the Country

I will be going on vacation and going completely off the grid from 8/16 through 8/23. Where am I going? I am going to two foreign countries both to the north of where I am. First, it's off to New York, NY. Now a lot of you might not think that it's actually a foreign country and in reality it's not, but since I've lived in Richmond, VA (a small city) all my life, New York, NY is about as foreign as you can get. There are probably more people living in the five boroughs of NY than there are in the Tidewater area of Virginia (I don't have confirmed figures on that, but it's my guess). Then it's off to Halifax, Nova Scotia which is located north of Maine...in Canada...you can't go too much farther north than that and if you continue going north soon you'll be going south. So, I'll be out of the area and in no way, shape or form will I be able to monitor e-mail, this blog, the Geezer Gamer website updates, and Geezer Radio blog. So, if you have any questions or comments, you know where to leave them for me. See you when I get back. :~)

Dear Jane Letter

A while ago, I went off on a tear and called a couple of people a moron for their actions. First it was Jane Wells for printing something on her blog about how the PS3 would win the console war just because her son wanted one. Then I called her son a moron for actually trading it in and his reaction at GameStop. Well, I was wrong to do that and in doing so, I proved that I, myself am the moron. I hope that Mrs. Wells and her son can forgive me for my rudeness.

But I do want to defend myself. The reason for my angst is that for every disaster in which one person kills someone else, a video game is usually blamed. Video games in this decade are the rock and roll of the fifties and sixties. Never mind that it’s considered by some people (including myself) as a form or art. Never mind that the average age of a video gamer is 35 years-old (according to the ESA), when the uninformed media says its for only sex and violence obsessed teenagers. Never mind that some game sales are more than that of a movie (i.e. Halo 3, again according to the ESA). The uninformed media is the group that is responsible for spreading the miss-information about video games, and it has to stop.

Now, Ms. Wells’ report is definitely not as bad as Fox News’ coverage on Mass Effect, but it still goes to show you that sometimes, a good story meant to warm the hearts can in fact anger the masses.

Can't Wait

I have a very special Geezer Radio coming up tonight. I hope it goes well.

I do have a funny story to share with you today. Two nights ago, it was 4 in the morning and I was fast asleep. I wish I could say that I was dreaming that I was Hugh Hefner and had three girlfriends, but the truth was that I was dreaming about being on an air-craft carrier with jell-o for planes (it makes no sense, but do they ever?)...Anyway, I was dreaming away when a hand shook my shoulder. "Honey, I can't find the covers." I don't know if I was at a good karmic center or what, but I, without complaining, walked around the bed.

Eventually, I found it on the floor next to my wife's side (she must have kicked it off in the middle of the night) on the floor. I picked it up and placed it back on the bed and she muttered "Thanks...". By the time I got back to my side of the bed and comfortably in the bed, my wife was back to being asleep and she had the covers wrapped up around her. I tried to get some of those covers, but she had her iron grip on it and I wasn't going to struggle too much because I just wanted to get back to sleep. Well, in the morning, I was freezing but didn't say anything...until last night. My wife, of course, had no memory of the event...does anyone else have this problem?

Whoring My Way To 15,000

Last night, I achievement whored my way to 15,010 GamerScore. Yes, I know what I did was sleezy, but I liked it. I used my mad gaming skills to get 910 points out of the possible 1000 points, and that along with 100 points from Golf: Tee It Up (including the Hole In One achievement) put me up to 15,010 total gamerscore. Do I feel sleezy, no. Do I feel like I actually achieved something? Yes, because I could have just played the story line and received 320 points like my wife, but instead, I went the extra mile and got it!

Next Week & A Couple Other Things

I just wanted to warn everyone one that next Saturday (8/16 - 8/23) I will be out of contact and out of town. I might get some internet connectivity, but I make no guarantees.

Also, Geezer Radio will be taped this Wednesday and I have scheduled a MAJOR interview (not going to tell you who it is, though). Spark and I will also be talking about...well, you'll just have to listen in to find out.

I wanted to tell you a funny story of my wife and what she used to think of me playing with other women over Xbox Live, but I don't think it would be a good thing for me to do. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have more to talk about.

I Must Have

Do I need to explain why I would want one of these?