Tag: Vacation

  • ODDS and ENDS: Tottenham Wins, Hiking, and Crypto

    (What time is it? SHOWTIME!!!)

    I have no faith in the sports teams I support. I blame the lifetime of following the Cubs for that. Yesterday, going in to the North London Derby, and even though Tottenham was playing at home, I was not confident that the Spurs would beat Arsenal. Clearly I was wrong, as the 3-0 win was rather resounding, and Harry Kane was playing like he had something to prove. Tottenham is still one point behind Arsenal for fourth place, and they have to win their final two matches, and hope that Arsenal ties or loses at least one match. Looking at the schedule, Arsenal is playing the more competitive teams, but Tottenham has a habit of playing badly against bottom of the table teams, which is what they will be facing in Burnley and Norwich. I still stand by, that if Tottenham doesn’t place fourth, thus not making it into the Champions League next year, Harry Kane is gone, and I will add that Conte will take off as well. So, there is a lot on the line.

    Tomorrow, Saturday the 14th, my little family kicks off Hiking Season 2022. I am actually very excited about this, as this will be our third year. I have a feeling that we are working our way up to going camping next season. (In fact, I was looking for a place to rent this summer for a vacation with the express purpose of being near hiking trails.) But in the meantime, we are aiming to go for two hikes a month through the end of October, and expanding our range to further from the City, and hiking trails longer that an hour. Soon, I’m going to be that guy that gets up at the crack of dawn on the weekend to get a jump on the day. Three years ago, I never thought I would be here, and excited about it as well.

    My crypto is tanking. But I will buy low and sell high. I have a cunning plan.

    (Say, don’t forget to like this post, or share it, or leave a comment. I got bills to pay, you know.)

  • ODDS and ENDS: FIFA Men’s World Cup, Easter, and Soup

    (Things I think…)

    The Men’s World Cup teams are pretty much locked in now. I know there are three play-off matches left to go, but, on the whole, the World Cup is set. I am glad that Team USA was able to make it in this time around. All they had to do was not lose to Costa Rica by more than six goals, so Team USA lost by two goals. It would have been nice to qualify with a win, but I’ll take what I can get. Also, it’s kind’a cool that all of North America will be represented; Canada, USA and Mexico will all be there. Which is a little bit funny as that Continental Trifecta will be hosting the 2026 Cup, and means they all get automatic bids as the host nations. I will be rooting for Team USA, but will also follow England. And I will keep my eye on Senegal; I got a good feeling about them. The only downside to all of this is that the tournament doesn’t kick off until November. I got eight months to sit on this, and do a grand amount of speculating.

    When my daughter got up this morning, she asked me, how soon till Easter? It’s almost here, and we, the wife and I that is, haven’t hand a single thought about it. We did talk, at the start of the year of getting out of town for that weekend, but I don’t think that’s likely. The kid, on the other hand, is ready for bunnies, and eggs, and going to see farm animals, and flowers, and candy. Lots and lots of candy. In my kid’s mind, I think she believes the year is divided up into periods where she receives candy.

    I like soup now.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Playing Dumb, Vacation, and The Next Stage of Life

    When I went to pick up my daughter from school yesterday, she was super excited to tell me all about these new Solar System facts she just learned! How the sun is a star, and Venus is the hottest planet, and Jupiter Saturn and Uranus and Neptune were giant gas planets, and Pluto was a dwarf planet, and on and on. She was bubbling over with how cool space was, and how there is an international space station, and that we send robots to the planets and even to a comet! And each new fact that she presented to me was in the form of a question; “Dad, did you know Pluto is a dwarf planet?” Well, yes I do know that, and I was alive when Pluto was considered a normal, regular planet. But I don’t say anything. I just smile and nod my head because I have come full circle. All the years I went rattling off facts to my parents, which I now see they clearly already knew, but they let me proudly prattle on. Now, I am being prattled on, but I see the excitement of learning in my daughter’s eyes. That feeling of the world being knowable and accessible at the same time.

    I want to go on vacation. As it starts to get warmer out, I have this need to get out of the City. It would be great to get away, even for a long three-day weekend. I like living in New York City, but I also love getting the hell out of New York City.

    Another friend of mine lost their parent last night. They put up a post on social media, and I commented, telling them how sorry I am, and love them. Sadly, this has been happening more and more often with my friends, and this isn’t due to Covid. This is life. Me and my friends are hitting middle age, and our parents are reaching the end of their lives. Before, when a parent passed, it was a rare and unexpected occurrence. Now, it is becoming a bit more common, as, sadly, this is the next stage in life. And these things happen in waves. First, we all got married, and then started having babies, and then there was the small divorce wave, followed by more babies and second marriages. Now, we are at the time when on parents start to leave us. I wish there was more I could do or say to my friend at this time. I do remember when my Ma passed, and I received many posts, messages and texts. It meant a lot to me, knowing that people cared and were still decent. I hope my friend is getting some comfort at this time from all the people that care for them.