Friday Five

The Excuse:

None needed. I've started taking a different tack when it comes to putting this together. I started typing this up on Tuesday, that way I can update it during the week as inspiration strikes. A quick review on Friday and away we go.

The Week:

I was in Morristown, NJ this week. From the moment I checked into my hotel there was no doubting where I was - the girl who checked me in was in her mid 20's, had on plenty of make up, huge hair and a very thick accent.

It was really the first time I had been back to the general area in NJ that I grew up in.^[1] I must say, I'm amazed at how at home I felt out here again. I have mentioned in the past that the East Coast always has a draw for me, but I didn't realize how strong that really was. The area, the houses, the people, the food, being next door to NYC. I am disappointed to be leaving to go back to San Diego.

Before anyone panics, let me say right now that Karin and I are not moving, have no plans to move, are not discussing moving. Besides - even if we wanted to move we wouldn't be able to unload our house. But there is a surprisingly large part of me that is still a Jersey boy.

I was able to get over to Manhattan three times this week - twice to visit friends - one who lives in San Diego but happened to be in NYC, and the other who I thought I had met in college but found out that I didn't - and once to visit family. It's always nice to be able to mix a little pleasure in with a business trip.

BTW, have I mentioned my love affair with Manhattan?

The Restaurant:

Oh geez. Which one to choose. I did not go to a single chain restaurant all week, it was all local flavor. Here's a quick snippet of each place I visited:

The Grasshopper Off the Green - A divey NJ Irish pub. A place full of regulars, bartenders who take good care of you, and decent (but not great) food. In other words, my kind of place. I did dinner there on Sunday night as I was in need of somewhere to watch the Chargers game, get some food/drink, and be a little loud.

Muse - A Greek restaurant that does very good sangria. The food was good but not great (did the humus to start and a chicken kabob for dinner).

Tir Na Nog - An Irish bar right across from Penn Station/MSG. Had likely the largest pork chop ever. Was very tasty.

Boom - A small little place down in SoHo. Very good food. They had a jazz band playing which was nice - except for the trumpet - small restaurants with little noise dampening to not need a trumpet playing at full volume.

Chinese Mirch - An Indian Chinese place. Fairly spicy. Very yummy.

The Exercise:

Go Me! I finally got back into the groove of things. At the gym 3 times this week, and I walked all over Morristown and a good amount in Manhattan.

Travel Note:

I have a Dell 1330 which is starting to drive me insane. On top of the problems it's been having (failed hard drive, failing fan), it also seems to be a target for spills - which I've mentioned before. This one caught me completely by surprise. We're cruising along at 35,000ft when someone in the row in front of me and to my left opens up the container of yogurt served with breakfast. Because of the pressure change, some yogurt comes shooting out and hits my laptop. I'm thinking I need to just keep it covered in a Gallagher-style plastic sheet.

The Five:

Five just miscellaneous items.

1. I had an eyebrow hair that had started growing wildly. Finally one morning (at the behest of my wife) I decided to pluck it. After recovering from the pain I came to the conclusion I could never make it as a woman.
2. Because I moved around so much as a child I always feel strange when things stay stagnant for a long time. I'm always looking for something to change - new apartment, new city, new job, etc. Outside of Karin, there is very little in my life that has lasted for longer than about 3 years.
3. I go in spurts when it comes to reading a book for pleasure. I'll sometimes just devour a book in about a week. Other times, I'll have it for months. I'm working my way very slowly through Bourne Supremacy. I need to get back into the groove again.
4. I have a thing for office supplies. I love shopping for office supplies. No idea why, but there are few things that make me happier than a trip to Staples or Office Depot.
5. I've only missed voting in one Presidential election, but I need to point out that it wasn't my fault. I tried to sign up to vote when I got my CA license. When the person was taking my forms, I remember her taking the voter registration form and tossing it into this little box off to the side. I remember thinking, "That's not a good sign." Sure enough, come November, they didn't have me registered. I filled out a provisional ballot which wasn't counted.

^[1]Our family bounced around quite a bit while growing up. When asked, my two brothers and I give three separate answers to the question "Where did you grow up?" I say NJ, the middle says NY and the baby says VT. It boils down to where each of us spent the majority of our time and graduated HS.