Mickey

Several of you have inquired about my dog Mickey, as I haven’t updated in a while. Here’s the latest:

• He turned 3 in April


• He’s now 9 ½ pounds (the diet isn’t going so well)


• He is going for walks daily now that the weather is nice (he doesn’t like to walk on snow, ice or anything wet)


• His favorite thing in the world is “Pinecone Hockey” – a game where we roll pinecones at him one by one and he stops them with his paw in the driveway


• He is on diet food, but he really likes an occasional spoonful of ice cream (now that the DQ is open)


• He brings his plate to one of us when he’s hungry and slams it down


• He still doesn’t like to go anywhere in the car (he thinks it’s a trip to the vet or groomer), so I’ve been taking him on some non-dog maintenance drives to restore his faith in car rides

Here he is going for a pleasant Sunday drive…

The Little Give

I'm a proud Lender at http://www.kiva.org/! This is an organization that provides entrepreneurs all over the world with the opportunity to seek small but meaningful loans from people who want to help.

I made my first two loans this week and it feels really good.

Here's the link to my lender page: http://www.kiva.org/lender/wendy1369

More info on Kiva:

The New York Times, March 27, 2007

“You, Too, Can Be a Banker to the Poor” “For those readers who ask me what they can do to help fight poverty, one option is to sit down at your computer and become a microfinancier. That’s what I did recently. From my laptop in New York, I lent $25 each to the owner of a TV repair shop in Afghanistan, a baker in Afghanistan, and a single mother running a clothing shop in the Dominican Republic. I did this through www.kiva.org, a Web site that provides information about entrepreneurs in poor countries — their photos, loan proposals and credit history — and allows people to make direct loans to them.” Watch the video

Considering a new hairstyle...

It's been a while since I last visited the salon. As such, my hair is a little longer than usual. I'm thinking of going with the polygamist/FLDS* style. What do you think?

*For those keeping score at home, the Members of the LDS church (often referred to as Mormons) are not associated with the FLDS in any way. LDS = people who love God, Jesus, etc., and conduct themselves as most people in our society do. FLDS variety = the ones who marry off their kids at 12, have a bunch of wives, live in compounds, and insist on dressing like Laura and Pa Ingalls.

The aforementioned style can also be easily altered into The Pet Detective Look. Just add a Hawaiian shirt and a smile!

My Line Up

I heart TV. Everyone has their favorite programs. Here is my line up.

Monday:
Little People Big World (see photo)
LPBW (New)
Dirty Jobs
Verminators

Tuesday:
Deadliest Catch
(Break)
Law & Order

Wednesday:
Big Brother
Real World
Real World
Men in Trees
*Lost will take the middle slot when it returns.

Thursday:
Survivor or Earl
The Office
(Break)
ER

Friday:
(Varies if I'm home)
Dateline
20-20

Saturday:
Usually outside or not watchin' the Tube

Sunday:
Dirty Jobs
Sports or Law & Order

** I also intermittently watch Deal or No Deal, Extreme Home Makeover, The Big Give, Chimp Eden, Man vs. Wild, Survivorman, Prime Time Price is Right, and anything else that catches my eye.

Boom-dee-ada

The best TV spot I've seen in a long time!

Vroom Vroooooom

My company is a shared sponsor of a race car. I'm not sure what the exact terminology of the racing organization this particular car is part of, but from what I can tell it's sort of an off-broadway version of NASCAR.

Anway, last week we had the car and the driver at one of our locations. I took advantage of the situation to get some pics of me in the car. See below for a) my competitive driver look and b) my victory lap look.

NASCAR (the big-time version) has always interested me. The whole subculture of people, the standings, the sponsorships, the pits, and of course - the wrecks. Attending a real live NASCAR Race is on my bucket list, but I'm in no rush. NASCAR fans are a tough looking crowd. I can wait till I've got a little more weather on my vessel and fit right in. ;-)

[No offense intended to NASCAR fans. All in good fun.]

Ok, so I'm officially a Yankee fan now. And I heart NYC.

I took a trip to the Big Apple last weekend. In my usual fashion, I had about a week's worth of fun in 3 days. It went like this. It started with a nice trip to the Jersey Shore on Friday night. It was a little chilly but it was such a bonus to get to hear the best sound in the world -- waves crashing on the shore. My friend and I had a great dinner on the shore at a little Irish place called Klee's. Here's a shot of me Under the Boardwalk. Saturday started off with two of my favorite things in the world. Waffles and art. Another friend made me waffles with his $350 Kitchen-Aid waffle maker. It turns the waffle over for you half way through the cooking cycle. That's what makes it so "special". The waffles could've been from an Ego box and I'd have been fine. I was having fun. He had some really cool artwork at his house that I really enjoyed. Also a Koi pond, some of the neatest Adirondak chairs I've ever seen, and a cat who sleeps on a stove. Here's a few pics.

A Cat on a Hot Tin Stove

After Waffles and Art, we headed to the City for a 2 hour cruise aboard the Circle Line. The tour took us all around the island, and we saw the bridges, ground zero, the skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and a whole lot more. It was really cool to see NYC from the water. Pics of this part of the trip:
From there the mission was to score tickets to a Saturday night show, get some dinner, and see some sights. We got tickets to a cool show called CURTAINS. It stars Niles from Frazier. They guy can sing! Who knew. Dinner was a lobster tail and a steak at a little place called The Oyster Bar. I also got to see the Hello Deli from The Letterman Show and a few other things. Here are pics from that part of the trip.

Hello

City Shots

Sunday I was up & at 'em early again for a 9am helicopter tour of the city. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. All the big stops, from the air ... Empire State Building, Brooklyn, Bronks, the Bridges, Central Park, Governor's Island, Ellis Island, the United Nations Bldg, Yankees Stadium, Laguardia, and "The Lady" (this is what the air traffic controllers call the Statue of Liberty). Just a few pics from this part:

Me with "The Lady" in the background

On the Ground

Another shot while in the air

Flying over the House that Ruth Built

The heliportAs if this wasn't enough excitement, the cornerstone of the trip was still to come. My friend and I then hopped on the 4 train to 161st Street.

I heart mass transit

Outside the stadium...Yep, Yankees Stadium. We had 2 seats behind 1st base in Row 1 (see previous post). I'd never been to Yankees Stadium before this, so it was truly magical. I couldn't take it all in fast enough. It was really cold, so people were in the team store snapping up $75 hoodies like they were $5. I splurged and got a really nice player jacket - the away game design. A couple of pics:

Jeter

My seat

Being on the front row, I got some great pics. We were also right by the 1st base line ballboy. While I couldn't convince him to give me a ball, he did fill up a little aspirin bottle with dirt from the field. It had a few grass clippings in it plus a sunflower seed! I had promised another friend that I'd send him some if I got it and I made good on that. But I kept the sunflower nut.

There were a few kids nearby us, so they were the logical choices for the ballboy to give the foul balls to. A little kid 4 seats from me got a ball and was all happy. But then the ballboys switched positions and the new ballboy gave the kid a SECOND foul ball. I was hanging over the tarp saying, "C'monnnnnn! He already has one!". At that point, the kid's dad looked at the kid and said, "Give it to her". Before I knew it, I was holding a ball from Yankees Stadium! It even has the Final Season logo on it. It was hit by Pena of the TB Devil Rays and pitched by Chien-Ming Wang.
Now before you go off on me for taking a ball from this kid, let me tell the rest of the story. A vendor came all the way down about 10 minutes after I got the ball I'll cherish for the rest of my natural life. She was selling NYY flags, blow up bats, and those stuffed-animal monkeys that you can make hug you with their long velcro arms.

I asked for a monkey, passed my $20 down the row, and endured all the jeers from people making fun of me for buying a MONKEY at a Yankee Game. I then handed the monkey over to the kid who gave me the ball and said, "Thank you for the ball. This is for you." He hugged the monkey and lit up like a Christmas tree. The dad then leaned over to him and said, "You see what happens when you do the right thing."

This is the kid who gave me a ball from Yankees Stadium. (See monkey in left hand.) There were some more kids around us and they all got balls too. One little redheaded kid told his dad, "This is one of the best days of my life." He couldn't have been more than 12. And at 39, I couldn't have had more in common with him at that moment.

The kid who, like me, was having one of the best days of his life

The Yanks won the game, and I got some GREAT shots. Including one of A-rod polishing his jewels. They played Sinatra's New York-New York at the conclusion of the game. I love that song.

We took the train back to our car without incident. We saw the Seaport and Ground Zero on the way out of the city. That big empty spot is certainly cause for reflection.

Sunday night was a really, really good italian dinner with some cool friends and some of the best cheesecake I've ever had in my life. Monday was back on a plane to Minneapolis.

There are some precious times in life when you're doing exactly what you want to be doing. This was without question one of those times. To quote a friend and co-worker who passed away from cancer but was positive till the bitter end, "Life is really, really good."

Absolute Yankees

So they’re closing Yankees Stadium after this year and opening up a new facility. Now, I’ve never been to Yankees Stadium, so naturally I have to go. Before all you Sox-haters start with your trash talking, let me explain. This is about history. Mantle, DiMaggio, Ruth … they all played there. It’s a backdrop to some of the greatest moments in baseball over the last 100 years. It’s something that even as a bean-loving Sox fan, is important and necessary to experience.

I’m going. This weekend. The Yanks are playing the Rays, so it’s not a historic or even compelling matchup, unless you factor in the Spring Training brawl a few weeks back. But that’s not what this is about. It’s about getting to ride the subway there. It’s about how the stadium smells. It’s about walking through Monument Park. It’s about getting a slice and a coke at the game. It’s about hearing Sinatra singing New York – New York after the game. Just taking it all in and knowing forever that I was there.

Oh and by the way, I think I’ll lean over and get myself some dirt from Yankees Stadium, because I’ve got seats in the first row right by the Yank’s Dugout. Also known as the Absolute Front Row. Field Championship Box Seats, Row A. Yep, right where Jeter himself warms up. How’d I get these seats, you ask? I just used my Red Sox charm and a few bucks. ;-)

I’m really excited about this and other things I have on tap for the year. I’ll post tons of pics when I get back. I’ve already got a list of requested shots, but I’m glad to try to get anything you want to see so just send a note or leave a comment.

Absolute Yankees
Absolute Front Row
Absolute Bucket List Item

Happy April 1st!

Four to six inches of heavy, wet snow. And I've got movers coming tomorrow. Nice. The duck waddling around in the slush did make me laugh, however.