Christmas and Other Sweet Things

As the food coma of Thanksgiving slowly wears off, and the temperatures drop below freezing, covering our sidewalks and streets in snow, much of America (and the World, for that matter) looks toward Christmas.  The Season of Hope.  The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  The Day that Santa Comes.  A Day Off Of Work.  And yes, Jesus' Birthday.  But if any of you are like me, then you undoubtedly love getting your Advent Calendar and eating a little piece of cardboard chocolate every day of December in gripping anticipation of the most joyous of all Holidays, Christmas.  Or Christ the Mass, as they say in Swahili.  Or is it Turkish?

This year Christmas came, saw, and conquered.  I mean that in a Carl Sandburg kind of way, in that it swept over the world "looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moved on."  Even with the current financial situation of so many families in the United States, people still found a way to enjoy themselves and come together in an otherwise rough time.  As all of you know, Christine and I decided to stay in New York/New Jersey for Christmas, in attempt to save vacation time and money for our wedding in May.  Even though we missed both of our families dearly, we managed to have a great Christmas. 

We started off the Holiday season by redeeming our Christmas present from Christine's parents to see White Christmas on Broadway.  This was almost directly adapted from the mega-hit 1960's classic of the same name, starring the heartthrob Bing Crosby.  It was guuud.  I'm normally not one to admit this, but I got really into the tap dancing numbers.  Call me crazy, call me Bill, but there's a'something about the foot tappin' that gets me every time.  Maybe it's the fact that I could never, in my wildest dreams, do what they do.  This show was a great way to get us into the Christmas spirit, even though Christine had been "rockin' around the Christmas tree" since Thanksgiving.  We also managed to make our way up to Central Park during the Holiday season, as seen through our picture with the snowy landscape in the background.

Christmas Eve was chill.  Both of us, seemingly unlike most of Manhattan, had to go into work.  I'm not joking in that it felt like a ghost town.  Ok, I'm joking. But seriously, there were, like, a lot less people out.  And even less in the office.  But s'okay, I just cranked up the Christmas tunes and rocked out for the short day, before heading to Christmas Eve mass.  I actually had fun at work.  I've heard it said you should never mix business with pleasure.  Really?  Well then, explain to me how a Putt-Putt golf company operates.  

After our lovely Christmas Eve dreams of sugar plum fairies and old St. Nick, we awoke to a clatter.  Not really.  I woke up when I felt like it, and made a cup of coffee and watched TV.  It was weird waking up this particular Christmas morn, because the gifts had been under the tree for 4 weeks, so there was no "surprises under the tree."  I wanted to run down the stairs and scream in pure, unadulterated bliss as I viewed the tree in all its grandeur, but seeing as I live in a single floor apartment on the bottom floor of a building, this wasn't really possible.  Instead, we cranked up the Christmas music yet again and opened gifts in a civilized manner.  After gifts were opened and spirits were raised even higher, my favorite Christmas breakfast of Bacon and Goetta was served.  New this year to the Christmas season was the video chat, which Christine and I held between both families on both Christmas eve and Christmas day.  That helped with the fact we were not in person at either Christmas gather, and it was great to see some smiling faces as we talked to everyone over the Holiday.    Check out their smiling faces on the video chats images below:

  

The rest of Christmas Day was spent preparing our Holiday feast.  Christine and I prepared an entire ham for dinner, seasoned with honey, apples, cloves and various spices.  We also made a delectable dish of organic green beans spiced with bacon, olive oil, and red wine vinegar, next to a plate of freshly mashed potatoes.  To sum up the meal: it was delicious.  The next day, we met up with some friends from Church up in West Harlem and prepared another delicious meal.  Leftovers were to had by all!  And to all a good night?  You can see the two marvelous dishes below.

     

Another trend this Christmas was one of movie watching.  We watched movies galore, including my favorite, A Muppet Christmas Carol.  Hilarious still, even after seeing it for about the 10th time.  It was a great Christmas overall, but families were still greatly missed.

Sports Predictions of the Week

On this fateful New Years Day, the start to what will surely be the best 2009 on record, the mighty Bearcats from the University of Cincinnati do battle with the wimpy "Hokies" from Virginia Tech in the BCS Orange Bowl.  This is the first BCS Bowl game for the Big East Champions; a bowl that will hopefully prove to be the start of a BCS trend for UC.  After talking with a few of the UC players this week, I'm convinced we're ready to do some serious work on the Hokies down in Miami, but it's going to be a defensive game.  UC 17 - VT 10.

Bearcat basketball starts up Big East play this week against Marquette, a current top 30 team.  After our lousy play and loss to Memphis, we need to get a good win under our belts and start off the Big East play with more confidence and swagger than we have in the past.  And also NOT live and die by the 3.  We all see how horrible it is when we die by it.  Look for a resurgance of the post play by UC (or else we lose).  UC 74 - Marquette 68 in a nail-biter.

Music to Bring in the New Year

Now that Christmas is over, you need some new music to resurge your Ipod.  And that same old stuff from 2008 is soooo over, so you're looking for something new, right?  Well, for this New Years celebration, you can pound in the classic hits like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" or "YMCA" or even Prince's "Party Like it's 1999."  This year, Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus will be bringing in the New Year.  I know, slim pickens for some of us, but I say we just don't care for one night and enjoy the sounds of teen love and angst as we forget the troubles of the past year!

Run of the Week

Anything on New Years Day!  The most popular day of the year to run is this Thursday.  The sidewalks will be crammed with people who swear that "this is the year, this year, I'm going to run every day!"  And I hope they all do.  But it's a great day to run anyways, and a great way to start out the year.  You'll see me out there!

As this is being sent through the airwaves on New Years Eve, I wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year.  Do whatever superstition your respective culture calls for, and lets hope for the best as we tackle another year!

On the Corner of 3rd and 29th

Ahh, yes, another weekend has come and gone.  Another week back to the grind, as they say.  With only one week until the most wonderful time of the year, life for most people is beginning to become a lot more hectic.  But here at Adventures, life is finally starting to slow down and relaxation for the holidays is beginning.  Unfortunately, Christine and I will not be leaving the New York area for this year's Christmas in hopes of saving vacation days and money for May's Colossal event.  Even though it will be nice to relax around the Holidays for a change, we both will miss our families and think of them during our eating fest and movie watching marathon on the couch.

Last weekend was a weekend of firsts.  We started off the weekend on Friday by attending the celebration of matrimony for my coworker and good friend, Omar.  Taking the non-traditional route, he and his lovely bride Joyce (what a fantastic name!) held only a reception open to the public, in which they rented out a local party room for 50 of their closest friends/relatives.  Our camera was unfortunately in the hands of 2 confused-at-technology people (Christine and I), and it took until we left the party to figure out why the pictures were blurry, so no pictures can be posted of our time at the Gadalla wedding.  Christine and I were a little hesitant of the event at first, since we basically would know 2 of the other 48 people at the gathering, but it turned out to be a great night.  Their friends are fun and hilarious, with impromptu speeches and laughter galore.  I finally met Omar's dad, who is himself a famed ancient Egyptian historian and former Civil Engineer.  Those two professions aren't usually synonymous with each other, but he makes it work, and does something to inspire a fellow Civil Engineer/writer wannabe.  

The other event of the weekend was the famed Crosstown Shootout, the epic struggle between the two Cincinnati basketball juggernauts, The University of Cincinnati and Xavier University.  If anyone even has to ask who I was rooting for, just take this simple comparison as my reasoning:

     or        

You be the judge of the more ferocious mascot.  A Bearcat would LITERALLY eat a musketeer, as it's common knowledge Bearcats love chocolate and wuss schools for dinner.  

Even with my obvious win in the mascot department, Xavier won.  I wasn't too happy about the game, or even our playing ability, for I feel UC could have and should have won the game.  I may have jinxed the Bearcat hopeful by not having my ceremonial 2 cheese coney, small 3-way, oyster crackers with hot sauce, and large southern-style sweet tea meal before the game, but our motley crew did go to a UC bar in anticipation for a big win.  I was surprised with an attendance of over 20 UC Alumni (including Ben and J-bomb, who get nods as plain old UC fans) at the bar, making a homey and inviting atmosphere to be a UC fan. 

 

Much to the chagrin of those present at The Hill (not to be confused with the MTV hit drama, The Hills), Xavier prevailed and bested our favored Bearcats in the 40 minutes of basketball.  Deonta Vaughn led the Bearcats with 39 points, and pretty much tried to win the game by himself, but we still fell short.  Story of our lives.  We left the bar and retreated home, but with added hope that this season and even next season will have more in store for UC than the past few.  As you can see to the right, Christine still got in the Spirit.  And above, Ben and I are pathetic.

Saturday also held the event of Christine and I going to Macy's.  I stress that if anyone ever plans on visiting New York during the Christmas season, stay as far away from Macy's as possible.  It was a madhouse.  People pushing, yelling, and buying all at the same time left me wanting to get out as fast as humanly possible.  But we both got very lovely watches courtesy of the Plageman's Christmas gift. (Thank You!!)  I'm amazed at the sheer volume of people that fit into the store.  You couldn't pay me enough to work there during the season.  Well, I suppose there is an amount....

Another exciting event was the purchasing of Christine and my wedding bands.  We decided this was as good of time as any to make this purchase, as the jewelry stores all have sales during the Holiday season, and it makes our Christmas gifts easy.  It was a pretty cool experience picking out the bands, and makes me wish the May 23rd date came faster than it already is. 

Week of Sports Predictions

UC 79  -  Mississippi State 68

I feel UC made a big step in their near win over Xavier, and Vaughn is a superstar, so look for him to drop another 20+.

Bengals 56 - Browns 49

Another shootout like the '05 game.  This one won't be nearly as pretty, with Fitzpatrick struggling with 6 TDs and 7 INTs, but Bengals will prevail for 2nd week.  They're out of the running for the #1 draft pick, so they might as well beat the Clowns.

UNC 100 - Whoever they play 50.

North Carolina is that good.  Hansborough or not, these guys dominate everyone in their path.  They'll only lose this year if they want to.  Duke, what up?  UConn, what up?  "The only team that can beat UNC is UNC themselves," is the lamest comment you can make, but it's a true one. 

Music of the week

The Fray - You Found me.  They found me, addicted to their music again.  To me, their guitarist can be likened to a subtle rainfall while you're trying to sleep.  Awesome, until you take it away, then dearly missed.  Ok, so that was a horrible analogy, but he's really good and I feel really drives the band on.

Run of the Week

Central Park in the snow.  Fun AND not crowded.  

Hope y'all enjoyed it this week.  I had fun living/writing it, so I only hope you had fun reading.  Next week is Christmas, so if we don't talk to you before then, Merry Christmas!!   We miss everyone and can't wait to see you all again! Y'all come back now, y'hear?!  

End of Year Music Issue

For the past 12 months in the great year of 2008, musicians far and wide have poured their hearts and souls out into accessible audio formats for the general pleasure and excitement of the public sector.  Here at Adventures in the Big Apple, we have toiled long and hard all year long to come up with what we feel are the "Top 7 music albums of 2008."  If you find yourself wondering what new music people have been listening to this year, or realized that you, yourself, need to "update your palette" when it comes to the music industry, look no further than here and now.    Why Top 7 and not Top 10?  Well, I've found that these are the 7 that I find most enjoyable.  I could have included 3 more to make an even 10, or even cut out 2 to make it a more exclusive Top 5, but I chose to just pick what I liked and put that number down.  So it's 7.  Which rhymes with heaven.  Convenient? It's up to you to decide.  (I also linked to their music in every review so have fun searching for it!)

7.  Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend.  This is what the cool New York kids are listening to.  When I hear the name "Vampire Weekend," I immediately think of 3 guys with hair past their ankles playing speed metal.  Well, this group couldn't be farther away from that category.  Call them sensitive, call them weird, call them whatever you want (they're from New York, so they're used to it) - they are a talented bunch.  I first saw them on a late night show, and saw their drummer going absolutely nuts to what I thought was pretty chill music.  I knew they were something I needed to get into.  They're also the hot topic in my running clique, and messageboards and music blogs throughout the internet can't get enough of them.  I have to agree.  It's a little different than what some people may be used to, so Myspace them first.  

6. Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger.  I'm addicted to Andrew McMahon.  I'll say it.  I'm not ashamed.  He has his way with words, in the Hemingway meets Lennon kind of way.  I'll join the throngs of teenage girls and emo boys who can't get enough of the former Something Corporate frontman.  I mean, the dude gets cancer, gets a transplant from his sister, and records an album right after it.  You can't help but hear it in the single Resolution - "I'm alive, I don't need a witness to know that I survived..." - he lays it on pretty thick.  This is a great follow up that I would recommend to any music fan out there.  It's definitely different from any Something Corporate record or his previous Jack's Mannequin record, but the guy sure knows how to write some catchy choruses and lyrics.  Check out the single here.

5. House of Heroes - The End is Not the End.  I'll admit, I never listened to their self-titled debut, much less even heard of these guys before this year..  But this album freaking ROCKS.  And they're from Columbus?  A mere 1.5 hour drive from my hometown?  I am mainly disappointed in myself for not reading the hype that surrounded their previous release, but excited to feel like I've come across a buried treasure of musical bliss to my ears.  (Kudos to relevantmagazine.com's The Drop that streamed their album in its entirety to my computer.)  Their debut single "In the Valley of the Dying Sun" was a hit on MTV and relavant.tv, and was a staple modern classic on radio stations throughout the continental U.S. (Hawaii and Alaska are "behind the times" when it comes to music.  No offense.)  I won't lie, they have a little place in my heart being from Ohio, but man, are these guys talented.  They kind of sound like a mix between Relient K and Switchfoot, which, in case you were wondering, are 2 of my top 5 favorite bands. Their name is pretty sweet as well, because it reminds me of Lord of the Rings or something.  I hope they continue to push the 'ol envelope with their sound, creating rock not yet imaginable, yet so perfect.  Go Ohio (minus OSU)!

4.  Hillsong United - The I Heart Revolution.  This actually isn't any new materical from the 'Blokes from Down Under,' but their powerful and creative release still got me excited about music.  Each song on the album was taken from a different show during their worldwide tour, which is pretty cool if you ask me.  From Toronto to Brazil, Tokyo to New Jersey, the worship team from the Sydney church of the same name provide a soundtrack for the new worship scene today.  Released later in the fall was a live DVD that showcased most of the songs and music from the album, along with footage of relief work and social justice issues the band faced during the tour.  Hillsong isn't a band that performs each night only to retreat to the bus and have all-night raves of Guitar Hero, they actually do something, which I feel warrants a nod in the "music of the year" in itself.  It definitely helps that they rock harder than I thought was physically possible on most of the tracks.  Whatever they do, they should keep doing it.  It's awesome seeing them jump and go nuts on stage - how rock SHOULD be.  Take a lesson, Metallica.  Download these tracks (legally): One Way, What the World Will Never Take, Take it All, and From the Inside Out.

3. Anberlin - New Surrender.  I was one of the lovers/haters of Cities, Anberlin's last release.  Although their new sound was electronic and hip and cool, I missed the passion and screaming from Never Take Friendship Personal.  Anberlin is one of those bands that surprises you with the way they rock hard and loud (The Resistance, Feel Good Drag, Disappear) and follow immediately with a softer, more accessible track (Breaking, Breathe), appealing to almost anyone.  This is their most overly spiritual album to date, and it oddly occurs with their first "big-shot" label release.  I wasn't expecting much more than a rehash of pop bands when I learned Anberlin signed with a major label, but this is a pleasant surprise and a breath of some very-much-needed fresh air to the world of Christian rock - where they show you can be creative AND in an act of worship.  Pick it up.

2.  Coldplay - Viva La Vida.  This was an easy choice, and the glamor pick of everyone else this year.  It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Coldplay is one of the most popular bands in the world right now, and it only takes one listen of their highly-anticipated 4th album to understand why.  I love their style and songwriting - it's so different from anything else, and it feels like you are watching an epic movie with events unfolding to an even more epic score.  My favorite track is "Yes," because it's a different twist to the normal Coldplay piano lick and high-pitched Chris Martin singing.  Martin starts off low and ends high in this intense, twisting rock piece.  I would have bet you your lunch money AND a pack of Skittles that this would have been the shoo-in for the Album of the Year, but that's why it would have been just a bet, and I would have lost like normal.  Because....

1. Jon Foreman - Fall/Winter/Spring/Summer EPs.  This is kind of cheating, as it is clear that Mr. Foreman broke his brilliance into four easily accessible EPs, corresponding to the four seasons.  For those of you who are new to Jon, he is the genius behind the alt-rock megaband Switchfoot, and cool enough to drop the 'h' from his first name.  And for those who've seen him go absolutely nuts in concert were probably in the same boat as me for his solo EPs: hesitant.  Don't get me wrong, I love Switchfoot's softer songs and acoustic ballads, probably more than the next guy, and I was overly excited about new material from Foreman, but I was more or less scared that he would let me down.  But he did not.  Oh, brother, he did not.  Jon touches on so many topics - from death and pain to renewal and joy to worship and praise.  And I'm not really even into to the whole "folksy-rock" scene that this falls into.  Maybe it has to do with my borderline obsession with the San Diego quintet, but I couldn't recommend his music more to anyone.  Brilliant.  

So that does it for this year's music list.  This is simply one author's humble opinion, but if you knew what was best for you, you'd take it for fact.  Tune in next week for more crazy antics, but enjoy the list as much as I enjoyed writing/listening to said music all yar.  Music is what makes the world go around - don't you forget it - and I'm happy to let you know what makes it turn the fastest.

Please leave me your comments, good or bad, you have of my list.  Also, leave your top music picks for 2008, because like the rest of you, I'm always up for some good music.

-Eric

Thanksgiving Extravaganza!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, this is the moment you've allllllll been waiting for.....the Thanksgiving recap! 

After we all have woken from our turkey-induced food comas and finished off the leftover apple pies, we begrudgingly make our way back to our respective normal lives and count down the days until Christmas (it's 23, by the way).  But here at Weekly Update, we cherish the holiday moments and use recent and current events as a muse to our blogging topics.  We've got a good one in store for you today, folks; full of mystery, drama, suspense, and even a few laughs. (ok, all that, except the mystery, drama, and suspense.  It sounded better with those words added, though.)

For those who didn't know, these three B-E-A-utiful faces graced our presence this past week.  For those of you who are asking yourselves who these faces belong to, they are: my sister Emily, my pops, and my mum.  One if by land, and two if by sea, they traversed through the rugged New Jersey Traffic and forged their way across the Hudson river to meet me along the eastern coast of Manhattan.  Hugs and kisses followed, along with a few endearing words and comments of how thin I looked.  I promise to everyone I'm eating well and often, I'm just back to being addicted to running again, and I have that whole, "oh my gosh he looks like he hasn't eaten in DAYS!" look going on here.  

Thanksgiving day itself was lovely.  We started off the day with a "treat" of sorts by going to the ever famous and oh-so-popular Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!  Hooray and Hurrah!  It was pretty fun - we found a dece spot to stand by 53rd and Broadway, so we could see the big floats go by (see Kermit the Frog directly right).  I think everyone enjoyed the float, and getting into that coveted "Christmas spirit!"  Although if you ask Christine, she's had it in her heart for quite some time now.  Thanksgiving dinner was the main event for Thursday, and it didn't let us down, as it rarely does.  We took a risk with going to the hotel's restaurant for Thanksgiving, but it turned out to be deliciously awesome.  A buffet is always something you want to have for Thanksgiving.  I live by a cardinal rule of Thanksgiving:  Fill up your plate with food until you feel like you are going to explode and the food has lost any flavor, then get a plate (or two) of desert.  I did just that, and paid for it later when I could hardly move off of the couch.  Glorious bliss.  

Friday we took our time getting ready for Black Friday.  We didn't want to be caught up in the insane pandemonium that America feels every year on the day after Thanksgiving.  And reading some news stories from the past weekend, I'm pretty glad we "missed out."  Surpringly, we ate food after a night of feasting, and even met up with a few of my father's friends at the always amazing John's Pizzeria with a Manhattan native who has made his new home in Cincinnati.  They were actually a hoot.  He was a Cuban man born in Washington Heights, and grew up in New York and Miami, deciding recently to move to Cincinnati.  Let's just say that there wasn't a quiet moment at the table, and I learned a great deal about New York and Miami, and the differences and similarities between the two.  It was a fun lunch, and we ended up spending a bunch of time at the restaurant, which was great.  We decided to "shop" down 34th street for like an hour and a few things were bought, a few wallets were opened, and a few feet were tired.  After shop-fest we made our way to watch a movie, which was also lovely.

Saturday was filled with teary-eyed goodbyes, last-minute grocery visits, and somber spirits as the family left wonderful New Jersey for Midwestern America.  It was a great visit, and we were so happy to have spent the holiday with family, but all good things must end, as they say, and until next time, as they also say.  

Run of the Week

Run from my apartment (119 Dodd Street Apt. 1R, Weehawken, NJ 07086 for those who love sending care packages and other monetary gifts) down to Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken.  This run, which I'll admit, I haven't run in a while, is such a great run and blah blah blah blah.  I honestly was just looking for an excuse to put this picture of Emily at the park up on this here blog and I reckon I did.  Enjoy.

Week of Sports & Predictions

What's that?  None other than the University of Cincinnati Bearcat football team was just crowned the Big East champion and is going to the orange bowl?!?!?  Holy hula hoops, Batman, that's crazy!  I seem to remember my first two years at UC when the football team lost more than they won and people seemed to not care about them.  Congratulations, footballers - your time has come.  Celebrate by purchasing the out-of-season Florida oranges and make some orange cream pie or something.  Or crack open a nice can of that ice cold Forida orange juice.  You deserve it.

Also Uc plays Hawaii.  Look for a shootout in the Aloha state.  UC 49 Hawaii 21.

Bengals 9 - Indianapolis 28 - Are you serious Bengal fans (myself included)?  I'm all for packing it up and calling it a season, then grabbing a top 3 draft pick and hoping he turns out like Carson.  Except for the Browns - I want to win that one.

Uc basketball - 87 UAB 81.  We'll beat 'em.  Let's! Go! Cats! Let's go Cats!  The game is supposedly on here in NYC, so I suppose I'll try to watch it.  We'll see, we will see.

Thing to do of the week

Jump in a picture with New York in the background.  How freaking cool do people look when they jump in a picture and do crazy and weird things with their hands with an awesome skyline behind them?  Please, never ask that aforementioned cool person what they were thinking while jumping, just silently wish that you were cool enough to have a picture taken like them.  I realize most people don't live in the New York area, but I say to them: How often does someone come right out and tell you how you can gain a few extra "cool points" by traveling up to New York?  And with gas prices down, it's worth the trip, so do it.

Thank you for reading and paying attention through the documented journey of Thanksgiving.  It was a different occasion than normal and although I didn't get to see Christine's family in person, we connected via webcam, where I provided an amazing web tour of my gorgeous apartment, bathroom and pantry included.  I felt like they were with me, sharing in the greatness that is Apartment Awesome.  Until next week, when I'm sure I'll come up with something else, I bid you adieu, and leave you with the following quote from the great Michael Scott: "That's what she said."

-Eric