As I sit in the center of the baseball universe in New York, my beloved Detroit Tigers finished another season under .500. This has been the case for the since 1994. I must stay strong and continue to root for them even though they continue to lose. They had a lot of promise this year bringing in a bunch of free agents of decent caliber, but it did not bring them over the hump. I still question why they traded away two of their three closers during this season (Urbina and Farnsworth). Maybe next year.
This year was not only bad because of their promise. They were near .500 ball until the middle of August. They just gave up. Should Trammell stay? I would give him another year, bring in a quality pitcher to join Bonderman and we could have a possiblity of making the playoffs next year.
To add salt to the wound, the White Sox clinched a playoff spot at Comerica Park and celebrated with champagne at our house. I believe that is the first time that this has happened during the lost years. If I was a Tiger that would push me the next year and if I was Trammell I would use that next year during Spring Training.
Of the Detroit teams, I have a certain fondness especially to two teams, the Tigers and the Pistons. I am a fan of the Red Wings and the Lions, but my mood is not affected as much as the Tigs and the Stones. When the Tigers do make it to the World Series, I will be there with the same excitement as when the Pistons did two years ago.
My friend Mike is a huge Lion fan about as much as I am a Tiger fan. Him and I have a bet that we made sometime in the late 90s. The bet is who will make it to the championship round of their respective leagues. They don't necessarily have to win it, just make it there. The win owes the other a case of beer. Either of us would be happy if the other won.
Mike (and any fan of the Lions) has had an even longer drought than the Tigers in making it to the championship game - 1957. My dad was at that game. He even has a souvenir of that game - a piece of the bleacher that he set free.
So now I have watch the BoSox and the Yankees duke it out yet again. My only excitement is hoping that the Evil Empire does not make the playoffs and is stuck at home after October 2, like my favorite baseball team...
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Friday, September 16, 2005
Weekend in Baltimore
A few months ago, my sister moved from the highly religious area of Grand Rapids, MI to Baltimore. I decided to head down there for the weekend. I headed to Penn Station, NY at 6 on Friday and arrived at Penn Station Baltimore at 9. I do enjoy taking the train compared to plane at times. I found it much more relaxing and usually has better views than on a plane.
My brother-in-law, Kevin picked me from the train station and I went back to their bi-level house in suburbia. It was good to see family. That is the one thing that I miss is being near family and all my friends. So I cherish these times. My nieces and nephews were watching their favorite show, the Simpsons when I arrived. I gave them their Singaporean souvenirs. I showed my sister the photos from Singapore.
The next day started early. We headed to the Inner Harbor. My nephew wanted to go to ComicCon. As expected, saw some interesting characters donned in their favorite comic characters, Batman, Darth Vader, etc. My sister, niece and I did not go in. We headed to the Hard Rock for some brunch.
My niece had a soccer game. She's not a bad player. Her team, the Cougars pounced on their opponent 6-0. My niece made some sweet saves at goalie. She was very aggressive.
The rest of the day consisted of college football and moving furniture. The only day of the year that I root for Michigan State is because they are playing Notre Dame. Even though I went to Notre Dame High School, I still see them as a nemesis, similar to Roy seeing the Skanks as the Orioles nemesis. Michigan State pulled what the Wolverines could not do the previous week, beat ND.
The final day was spent down in the nation's capital. This was my first visit down to DC. I tried to focus on what I wanted to see. I was lucky to have Kevin, who has a very good knowledge of the drive down there and the places we passed along with the buildings and monuments. We focused on the National Mall. I saw the Lincoln Memorial. I didn't realized how big it was. I read his whole ingaural speech from 1864 that was on one of the walls.
After that I saw all three war memorials. We ended up going in chronological order starting with the Korean War Memorial. That wa the eeriest one of them all. The scupltures of the soldier were very lifelike and captured the feelings that they were going through. The next was the most famous the Vietnam War Memorial. While it was very simple, it was very moving, especially as you passed the people who were using a pencil to copy a friend, family, or someone else. There were veterans hugging other veterans. Lone people were crying looking at the names. Deep.
The final and newest memorial was the WWII. It was in an oval with every state and on a wall. On one side was the a memorial for the Pacific front and the other side was the Atlantic front. The kids were beat, so we headed back to the car and headed to George Washington University for some pizza at Bertucci's. I have to say it was one of the best pizzas I ever ate.
My brother-in-law, Kevin picked me from the train station and I went back to their bi-level house in suburbia. It was good to see family. That is the one thing that I miss is being near family and all my friends. So I cherish these times. My nieces and nephews were watching their favorite show, the Simpsons when I arrived. I gave them their Singaporean souvenirs. I showed my sister the photos from Singapore.
The next day started early. We headed to the Inner Harbor. My nephew wanted to go to ComicCon. As expected, saw some interesting characters donned in their favorite comic characters, Batman, Darth Vader, etc. My sister, niece and I did not go in. We headed to the Hard Rock for some brunch.
My niece had a soccer game. She's not a bad player. Her team, the Cougars pounced on their opponent 6-0. My niece made some sweet saves at goalie. She was very aggressive.
The rest of the day consisted of college football and moving furniture. The only day of the year that I root for Michigan State is because they are playing Notre Dame. Even though I went to Notre Dame High School, I still see them as a nemesis, similar to Roy seeing the Skanks as the Orioles nemesis. Michigan State pulled what the Wolverines could not do the previous week, beat ND.
The final day was spent down in the nation's capital. This was my first visit down to DC. I tried to focus on what I wanted to see. I was lucky to have Kevin, who has a very good knowledge of the drive down there and the places we passed along with the buildings and monuments. We focused on the National Mall. I saw the Lincoln Memorial. I didn't realized how big it was. I read his whole ingaural speech from 1864 that was on one of the walls.
After that I saw all three war memorials. We ended up going in chronological order starting with the Korean War Memorial. That wa the eeriest one of them all. The scupltures of the soldier were very lifelike and captured the feelings that they were going through. The next was the most famous the Vietnam War Memorial. While it was very simple, it was very moving, especially as you passed the people who were using a pencil to copy a friend, family, or someone else. There were veterans hugging other veterans. Lone people were crying looking at the names. Deep.
The final and newest memorial was the WWII. It was in an oval with every state and on a wall. On one side was the a memorial for the Pacific front and the other side was the Atlantic front. The kids were beat, so we headed back to the car and headed to George Washington University for some pizza at Bertucci's. I have to say it was one of the best pizzas I ever ate.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Goldawr 2005
Every year, a friend of Lynn's, Nick and two of his high school friends rent a house in Long Beach Island, which is about 2 1/2 hours away from NYC and host Goldawr. It usually ends up being a drinkfest on Saturday with plenty food. This year was a little different. I didn't look at the reservation until Saturday morning. Thank God I did look. The invitation was for Sunday only. It would have been a little awkward to show up early, if they had been there at all.
Since I didn't head out there, I decided to watch Ray that night. Jaime Foxx did do a good job. I felt like was watching Ray Charles himself.
Roy gave me the honour of using his car. I headed down there around 10. The weather was perfect. I arrived at around the same time a few of the New Yorkers arrived. We had a good time. I caught up with Nick, Laura, Tracy, Chris and a few of the other regulars to see how everybody has been since I had last seen them. I haven't some of them since last year's Goldawr. As usual, they had a good spread and I stayed way too late, but every minute was a blast. I wish Lynn would have been there...
Since I didn't head out there, I decided to watch Ray that night. Jaime Foxx did do a good job. I felt like was watching Ray Charles himself.
Roy gave me the honour of using his car. I headed down there around 10. The weather was perfect. I arrived at around the same time a few of the New Yorkers arrived. We had a good time. I caught up with Nick, Laura, Tracy, Chris and a few of the other regulars to see how everybody has been since I had last seen them. I haven't some of them since last year's Goldawr. As usual, they had a good spread and I stayed way too late, but every minute was a blast. I wish Lynn would have been there...
Monday, September 05, 2005
Movie Review: Crash (@@@@)
Crash was the best movie that I have seen this year to date. It makes you wonder is racism that extreme in the US. While I think that most of the stories were to the extreme, they were wonderfully intertwined and moving.
Don Cheadle put together a great cast. I thought Matt Dillon's role was awesome as well as Terrance Howard. I wonder as I have left an area where I was a minority in Singapore, do other societies have racism that the US has.
I grew up in the suburb of Eastpointe, MI (formerly East Detroit), a mile north of the the city with highest percentage of its population that is African American. I lived in a college with a house father who was my Grandmother's age and was so racist towards African Americans. He had lived through the 1943 and 1967 riots and his sister was raped by a black man. If that was you would you would feel that way towards black people? I am really not sure, but I would have to say that my outlook on African American people would change (as it would with any other ethnicity/race that did the same).
This is what happened to the people in this movie. Because of what they have seen in their evrey day lives and having experienced certain situations on a personal level, they became racist. This was a definite must see.
Book Review: Memorial Day (@@@@)
This book starts off with the main character, Mitch Rapp, a CIA operative, who reminded me a lot of Jack Bauer from 24, interrogating a suspected terrorist. He is very good at what he does and does not really care what he has to do or who he pisses off in order to get the information that he wants.
The book's main story has terrorists who works for Al Queda planning to blow a nuclear bomb in Washington D.C. and New York on Memorial Day 2004, coinciding with the ceremonial opening of the WWII memorial. Mitch's job starts when he head over to Afghanistan to find links to what is being planned and who is planning it. Throw in several political agendas, past histories between several characters, and following the path of the terrorists, you have a very good mystery. Vince Flynn did a very good job of creating some of the characters and making you love them or hate them.
All in all, it was a great book and you can't help but love Mitch and just when you think everything is okay, you are kept on the edge of your seats.
The Longest Day EVER!!!
I woke up as late as I could and Lynn walked me down to catch a cab to the airport. I was nice and tired, so that should bode well I try pass out in about 5 hours. If I couldn't there was the video all the way back to Portland. I arrived at the airport at about 5 am, which was actually cutting it close, being that my flight was at 6. I didn't have much leeway, but I did make it on time. My flight plan was a little more complex than last time. I was to fly to Tokyo, change planes and fly out almost immediately and head on a plane to Portland, OR. I would arrive there at 8, go through customs, and have a 4 1/2 hour layover, fly to Minneapolis, have another 2 hour layover and head to JFK and arrive at 11:30. In total, I slept for about 3 hours, watched three movies, read about 350 pages of the DaVinci code, and ate several sodium filled meals. Needless to say, I was glad to be on the ground. To tease me a little before arriving at the gate, the plane had to wait on the runway until another plane left the gate. I was lucky enough to have my back come out quickly so I was able to be the others to the taxi stand. I was looking forward to a full day of work the next day.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Day 11: Final Day in Singapore
We had to make it an early start because we had a long agenda, but it looked like the weather was cooperating with us. We headed to Sentosa Island, which is right off of Singapore Proper. We took a cable car. Our plan was to ride bikes around the island, which isn't that big. We arrived about 10, but the bike rental wasn't open. We walked to the next place that would have a bike rental, but we never found another. We did go for a pretty long walk along the beach. Before we knew it, it was 11 and we were running behind schedule. I figured that we had seen enough of Sentosa, so we stopped in the souvenir shop for some more gifts. I even picked up something for myself, a drum similar to the one used in Karate Kid II.
The afternoon would be filled with shopping on Orchard Road...and rain. Not a big deal, since we would be inside most of the time. We started a Tang's. Lynn bought a pair of shoes and I looked for some Liz Claiborne gear.
There was a lot of ground to cover, so we headed to several of the shopping centers. The Takashimaya center was the nicest one that we went to. It had a lot of high end stores and a huge food court. They had whatever type of food that you wanted. I also had a moonpie, which is a dessert. It was free sample so I tried different types, mango, chocolate, and durian. Durian is a type of fruit that has a distinct smell to it, bad. But when in Rome...well, it was definitely interesting and had a distinct taste to it, garlicy.
The rain slowed down, and so did the shopping. We hit a Border's so I could pick up some reading for the plain. I was all excited because they had The DaVinci Code in paperback, something I hadn't seen in the US yet. I am not a big fan of hardcover books because I do most of my reading on the subway and since paperbacks are usually more compact, they are easier to carry around.
The plan for the rest of the day was to do the the Singapore River cruise and then head to dinner. The weather had cleared up and it would be a good night to do the river cruise. Along the river there is this bungy ride. Lynn had wanted to do this the last time we were down here and I told her maybe next time. I was talked into do it. I was a little nervous at first, but I decided to do it. You are sitting down and it is like a giant sling shot that shoots you directly up and bounces you up and down a few times. They give you the option of taking your video home with you if you please. The anticipation is the hardest part because you don't know what to expect. Then, they throw an additional element, they shoot smoke at you. You can heard the bungy stretching out, and then boom, you're shooting into the sky. You go about 200 feet in the air and they you shoot back down. The third time down was the scariest because we were facing down. Now I know what it would be like to fall from a burning building! I am glad I did the bungy.
After my heart rate dropped. we took a leisurely cruise on the river. It was a really good time to go because it was twilight and all the lights were starting to going on in all the buildings. Even though it was a Sunday there were still plenty of people out at the restaurants. I also saw the national symbol of Singapore, the Merlion.
For dinner we headed to a cuisine Singapore is known for...Italian. Seriously, we had read good reviews about Michelangelo's, so we decided to go there. The service was so-so, but the food was delicious. I had this antipasto plate which had a mix of cheeses, olives, smoked seafood, and cured meats and for dinner I had a seafood pasta with a very spicy sauce. Lynn had a delicious gnocchi. They did a good job of influencing the food with a little Asian flare, as was the case with my main. They also had this Tandoori chicken fettucine that looked interesting, but not interesting enough to order, especially if I was going to be on a plane tomorrow. Lynn and I sipped our last drops of wine and enjoyed our last few minutes together until next month. It was as long as the time before I arrived...
The afternoon would be filled with shopping on Orchard Road...and rain. Not a big deal, since we would be inside most of the time. We started a Tang's. Lynn bought a pair of shoes and I looked for some Liz Claiborne gear.
There was a lot of ground to cover, so we headed to several of the shopping centers. The Takashimaya center was the nicest one that we went to. It had a lot of high end stores and a huge food court. They had whatever type of food that you wanted. I also had a moonpie, which is a dessert. It was free sample so I tried different types, mango, chocolate, and durian. Durian is a type of fruit that has a distinct smell to it, bad. But when in Rome...well, it was definitely interesting and had a distinct taste to it, garlicy.
The rain slowed down, and so did the shopping. We hit a Border's so I could pick up some reading for the plain. I was all excited because they had The DaVinci Code in paperback, something I hadn't seen in the US yet. I am not a big fan of hardcover books because I do most of my reading on the subway and since paperbacks are usually more compact, they are easier to carry around.
The plan for the rest of the day was to do the the Singapore River cruise and then head to dinner. The weather had cleared up and it would be a good night to do the river cruise. Along the river there is this bungy ride. Lynn had wanted to do this the last time we were down here and I told her maybe next time. I was talked into do it. I was a little nervous at first, but I decided to do it. You are sitting down and it is like a giant sling shot that shoots you directly up and bounces you up and down a few times. They give you the option of taking your video home with you if you please. The anticipation is the hardest part because you don't know what to expect. Then, they throw an additional element, they shoot smoke at you. You can heard the bungy stretching out, and then boom, you're shooting into the sky. You go about 200 feet in the air and they you shoot back down. The third time down was the scariest because we were facing down. Now I know what it would be like to fall from a burning building! I am glad I did the bungy.
After my heart rate dropped. we took a leisurely cruise on the river. It was a really good time to go because it was twilight and all the lights were starting to going on in all the buildings. Even though it was a Sunday there were still plenty of people out at the restaurants. I also saw the national symbol of Singapore, the Merlion.
For dinner we headed to a cuisine Singapore is known for...Italian. Seriously, we had read good reviews about Michelangelo's, so we decided to go there. The service was so-so, but the food was delicious. I had this antipasto plate which had a mix of cheeses, olives, smoked seafood, and cured meats and for dinner I had a seafood pasta with a very spicy sauce. Lynn had a delicious gnocchi. They did a good job of influencing the food with a little Asian flare, as was the case with my main. They also had this Tandoori chicken fettucine that looked interesting, but not interesting enough to order, especially if I was going to be on a plane tomorrow. Lynn and I sipped our last drops of wine and enjoyed our last few minutes together until next month. It was as long as the time before I arrived...
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Day 10: Sightseeing in Singapore
After heading to breakfast at the Plaza, we took a taxi to the Singapore Botanical Gardens. It was a hot one today! Let's see how much visiting the Botanical garden is worth. We went straight to the area of why I came here, the National Orchid Gardens. I had heard accolades about the Garden, so I felt this was a must stop. There were a lot of different orchids. I didn't realize there were that many types of orchids. We headed to the VIP area first. This area has different orchids named after famous visitors. No Bill Clinton orchid, but plenty of Asian leaders.
Next we headed over to Chinatown and stopped right in from of the Hindu temple. We tooks some pics in there. There was a sign at one point that said "Please respect the temple and do not go past this point." I chose to abide by it, but many different. I found that very rude. After leaving the temple we walked around Chinatown and checked out the street markets and bought a bunch of souvenirs for my family.
For lunch, we headed over to one of the hawker markets. Hawker stands are these food places where they serve different types of ethnic food for a very cheap price. Lynn and I had looked up the most famous ones so we knew what to look for. They were not hard to spot because they had long lines. I went to Tien Tien, which was known for its chicken rice. That's all it was was chicken and rice. But they did have this delicious sauce. It was a chili sauce with a splash of lime. It was really spicy! That made the meal. It was a little harder for Lynn to find something because she is vegetarian, but ate some bee bim bop from this Korean joint. I also bought this delicious honeydew soy drink.
We headed and did some more walking. We went to a wonderfully constructed Buddhist temple in Chinatown that was built with no nails in its main structure. I was very, very impressed with it. It was one of the best things I had seen in Singapore. We walked down to Club Street where they had these funky shops. One of the shops was a Puma store which had famous designers use the Puma design in the clothes and shoes. Really nice and really expensive.
Then we walked and walked some more. Then we were going to head back to her apartment. We took the MRT to Little India, which was near her apartment. I was really impressed with their subway system. Like everything else in Singapore, it was very clean. They let you know when the next train was coming. The doors were like the trams that I have seen in airports, with the glass doors that open and then the subway doors open. There were many cars, but there was not separation between each car.
Little India was like Chinatown, plenty of street markets. They had a food market which was very busy. There was also a flea market on the way back that had a bunch of ancient merchandise people were selling.
For dinner, we went to this Australian restaurant at the Legends Country Club, Poppi. It was the best meal that I had in Singapore. I had this twice cooked Gruyere souflet and the rack of lamb that was out of this world! The chocolate cake was out of this world also. It had a a really good view of the city.
Next we headed over to Chinatown and stopped right in from of the Hindu temple. We tooks some pics in there. There was a sign at one point that said "Please respect the temple and do not go past this point." I chose to abide by it, but many different. I found that very rude. After leaving the temple we walked around Chinatown and checked out the street markets and bought a bunch of souvenirs for my family.
For lunch, we headed over to one of the hawker markets. Hawker stands are these food places where they serve different types of ethnic food for a very cheap price. Lynn and I had looked up the most famous ones so we knew what to look for. They were not hard to spot because they had long lines. I went to Tien Tien, which was known for its chicken rice. That's all it was was chicken and rice. But they did have this delicious sauce. It was a chili sauce with a splash of lime. It was really spicy! That made the meal. It was a little harder for Lynn to find something because she is vegetarian, but ate some bee bim bop from this Korean joint. I also bought this delicious honeydew soy drink.
We headed and did some more walking. We went to a wonderfully constructed Buddhist temple in Chinatown that was built with no nails in its main structure. I was very, very impressed with it. It was one of the best things I had seen in Singapore. We walked down to Club Street where they had these funky shops. One of the shops was a Puma store which had famous designers use the Puma design in the clothes and shoes. Really nice and really expensive.
Then we walked and walked some more. Then we were going to head back to her apartment. We took the MRT to Little India, which was near her apartment. I was really impressed with their subway system. Like everything else in Singapore, it was very clean. They let you know when the next train was coming. The doors were like the trams that I have seen in airports, with the glass doors that open and then the subway doors open. There were many cars, but there was not separation between each car.
Little India was like Chinatown, plenty of street markets. They had a food market which was very busy. There was also a flea market on the way back that had a bunch of ancient merchandise people were selling.
For dinner, we went to this Australian restaurant at the Legends Country Club, Poppi. It was the best meal that I had in Singapore. I had this twice cooked Gruyere souflet and the rack of lamb that was out of this world! The chocolate cake was out of this world also. It had a a really good view of the city.
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