Happy New Year, New Month, New Day, New Hour...

I'm sure you've read about new year's resolutions, lists of bests and worsts of the past year, and all that mumbo jumbo on other blogs. Well, I'm not about to be one of those other blogs. 

It is indeed a new year. 2008 has left us. But honestly, so what? It happens every year. One year goes and another one comes. It's really not any more exciting than the calender turning from March to April. In fact, I have end of the month parties regularly. I get bags of balloons, confetti, party hats, noise-makers, and random circus animals at the end of every month. I often invite long estranged or hardly related family members to these parties, and any other random people I can find in the neighborhood. 

And, if end of the month parties were not enough, I also throw end of the week parties, end of the day parties, and end of the hour parties. Some turn out to be bigger than others, but all are worth it. It's fun to celebrate turning a new leaf. Whether that leaf is an hour, a month, or a year, all I can say is it's fun.

I'm also celebrating the end of this blog post. Come join me.

Delta Swindlers

Well we're going to have to get a little more regular again on this blog. I can make the excuse that I've been traveling, but that's pretty lame because you can usually use the internet just about anywhere. It comes down to priorities. And this blog was just not one of them as I was in Brazil, and as I am now up in my hometown of Duxbury, Massachusetts. 

I got back friday afternoon and left the airport shortly after noon. It wasn't supposed to happen like that. I had a flight that was supposed to get to DC just after 10am. In Sao Paulo I got into a Delta line that I thought was destined for my connection in New York. After waiting about 10 minutes I asked one of the airline people if it was the line for New York. To that my response was, "No that line closed already." So I said, "What are you saying? I'm still here before the flight has taken off, I was misled to think this line, which is apparently for Atlanta, was for New York, and now you're telling me I can't get on my flight?" Then she said, "Well you can either leave the airport, or go to the Delta desk and see if you can still get on your flight." So I went to the Delta desk. The guy there informed me that I had to be there an hour before take off to check in, and that I missed the plane. Then I said, "First off, I was here prior to the hour, I was misled into thinking I was in the right line, and...the plane that you say I cannot board is still here." Well, that got me nowhere. He said he could re-route me through Atlanta, putting me on stand-by for a $250 flight change fee. Whoopee! Out $250 because of their stupid system and mistakes (All these conversations took place in portuguese - angry, ill-tempered portuguese).

Turns out Delta is pretty sleazy. What they do with this 'lock the flight an hour prior' allows them to have extra space on their plane so they can swindle more people who show up late for an earlier flight into paying more to get to their destination. For instance, I was quote on quote "late" for my flight to NYC, so for another $250 they could put me on standby for Atlanta. Those who missed some other flight prior to NYC, who were on standby got my seat. Those who foolishly didn't know about the hour before lock down with Atlanta lost their seat to me and others like me - for a hefty price.

So I had to do some things before I left DC, and didn't end up leaving until 3:30pm to drive up to Boston. On a friday, that is probably the worst possible time to leave. I got stuck in between DC and Baltimore for 3 1/2 hours. A trip that should take 8 hours took me close to 11 hours. But, two Dr. Peppers, singing along to my new Brazilian CDs, and talking to myself for an hour and a half kept me from driving off the road. Mind you, the flight from Brazil was 9+ hours and then another 2 from Atlanta to DC. I was running on dregs. But, all in all good times. I went to my buddy's wedding on Saturday, and I've been visiting old friends around Massachusetts this weekend.  Good times.

Surprise from São Paulo!

I know that I am supposedly taking a hiatus in Brazil, but given the statistics from google, I wanted to assure people that I am still around and that Enrique is going to do a smashing job with the blog while I am here. I also wanted to type this using some of the portuguese accents that are built into the keyboard.

Yes, I am retarded. That is quotable. I am fascinated by foreign keyboards. This one is no exception. I am currently sitting in my friend Mario's office in Santo André, a municipality just outside the capital of the state of São Paulo which just happens to be São Paulo. It's similar to New York City except NYC is not New York State's capital. It is odd how it's not, but at the same time, NYC is not really representative of New York state. NYC is representative of itself and the world financial capital. Albany on the other hand is smaller, and sits in upstate New York, which is funny because anything that is not NYC can be considered upstate New York. Wow. Tangent.

So now for the portuguese portion of this post: Eu queria usar os acentos legais desta tecla. Para poder fazer isto, vou usar palavras como estas: estações, furacão, rodapé, econômico, e vamos lá hoje à noite. Ok I think that's about enough. I don't know how many of you actually understood any of that, but it was entertaining for me. So, if everyone stops reading my blog, that's their problem. I won't be missing out, only they will. Come on, bilingual, multi-faceted, co-authored, satirical blogs are awesome. If you think otherwise you are stupid. Deal with it.

Red Sox vs. Yankees

The Yankees didn't become a storied franchise until Boston foolishly sold Babe Ruth to them. The team with more history from the get go was the Red Sox.  The Red Sox had 5 World Series victories prior to 1918. How many did the Yankees have? None. We give them our best player, all of a sudden they win some. So don't tell me we're just bitter and have never been nice to the Yankees.  

On another note, after Johnny Damon opted to play for the Yankees for more money that the Red Sox were offering after 2005, the Yankees haven't won a series. The Red Sox won the last one in 2007. Silly Johnny (you looked better as Jesus). In fact, the Yankees haven't won since 2000. Of course it's only an 8 year drought as opposed to the 86 year drought Boston had, but with a little faith from the Fenway faithful, we might be able to extend New York's bump in the road.

But, before I go deep into this, let me remind you that I have nothing against New York. I love Mets fans. I even tolerate Dodgers fans (a team that used to be located in Brooklyn, but got moved to LA). But, I cannot tolerate Yankees fans.  I speak in general, because I have some good friends who are Yankees fans, but they, to me, are legitimate. A lot of people are just fans because they like the hats, they think that 'being from New York' is a good enough reason, or they had a boyfriend who was a fan. Those are all lame rationales. The real fans have Yankee blood, are die-hard at the games, and would get into a fight for any reason with a Red Sox fan. And, the same goes for any fan of a Major League team. But, even with the die hard Yankees fans, who would you pick to win in a fight:

a) a team who has won 26 World Series titles, feels entitled to win every year, buys whatever player looks best for exorbitant sums, and has more celeb and wall street fans, or - 

b) a team who has only won 7 World Series titles, had an 86 year drought (where it came very close a couple times only to be cursed), and whose fans are pub owners, dock workers, and a smattering of southies?

I think I take the more punished fan base with more blue collar types. Boston fans can beat the crap out of Yankee fans. Think about it. Do Red Sox fans fear being pummeled in New York if they go to cheer on their team? Now, thinking in the reverse, do New York fans fear going to Boston to cheer for the Yanks? The answer to the first is an obvious no, but the second is an obvious yes. Fenway is a smaller park, and sits deep in the heart of Red Sox Nation. In New York you still have Mets and Dodgers fans, and the people are more apathetic about their team. They've become desensitized because of their success. They feel entitled. And until that attitude stops, they will not win.

There is a reason the Yankees are called 'The Evil Empire.'

Pictures taken from: here and here and here.

Nina's Original

There is a little pizza place not from from my house. It sits right next to an oh so popular hot dog stand called J-Dawgs. The place is called Nina's Original. And believe me, it speaks volumes about the place.

Nina's Original is an escape. An escape to my true home, the east coast. In particular, at least in this case, New York. You see, Nina and her husband who run the place are New Yorkers, and so is the pizza. The pizzas are made right there just like you were eating a pie in Brooklyn. The diameter of each pie is at least 2 1/2 feet, the crust is thin and the toppings to choose from are many and distinct.

When I drop by I am greeted by my name, usually strike up a conversation about anything that's on my mind, and Nina makes me feel at home. I generally order by the slice, putting on sweet and hot sausage and onions with some pineapple, or some other great combination, and I finish it off with a smooth Chinotto.



True to their Italian form, Nina's carries San Pellegrino sodas. They have Aranciatta (an light orangish beverage), Limonata (a lemonade type beverage), and Chinotto (a slightly aged, cultured taste, orange beverage). My preference as of late has been the Chinotto, but I'd say it takes a bottle or two to acquire, and you have to shake it up first. But, believe me, it's well worth it.

In the back of Nina's Original they have a Projector and cable so you can watch movies and whatever game is on. And in fact on one of the nights during the NBA finals when my TV was missing the AV cables (thanks to a brother of mine), I went to get some pizza and share my plight with Nina and her husband. They were all too kind and first offered their projector and room after some people finished a movie, but then seeing that it might take a while, they tried to scrounge up some AV cables for me. After they couldn't find them in the restaurant they said they could run home and get them. I of course was grateful for their efforts, but declined. However, the story tells quite a bit about the character of Nina and her pizza place. They are courteous, down to earth, helpful, and my kind of people. And, even better, they serve great pizza.