1. I'm off tomorrow for the other side of the world -- two weeks in Seoul, South Korea & Beijing, China. Gonna make a big presentation, eat lots of weird things, see some interesting sites (especially in Beijing, where I'll go to Tienamen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall, among other places), and probably lose about 15 pounds due to the inevitable gastrointestinal system rebellion to come. I'm psyched about the trip, and losing a few pounds wouldn't hurt either.
2. I was up until midnight last night so I could get seats for my 12+ hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo tomorrow afternoon. Wife & I snagged a two seat row in a 2-5-2 plane configuration. It's coach, but it's a United flight, so there will be more legroom than normal to boot. Woo hoo!
3. Ever wonder why the exit row is always snagged before you get to change your seats? Here's a little-known secret of the airlines: you can't wait until the morning of the flight to call in to change your seat assignment. Start calling at midnight the night BEFORE your flight leaves, because that's when the airlines' computers open up all the seats they're holding.
4. Decent TV thought #1: I used to not be a big Kyra Sedgwick fan -- I still think Mr. Bacon is a bit odd looking -- but I like her in "The Closer," which offers up enough twists to keep things interesting throughout.
5. Decent TV thought #2: Anthony Bourdain's new show on the Travel Channel -- "No Reservations" -- is good TV. He's the author of Kitchen Confidential, a Chef at a French restaurant in NYC, and sort of the Iggy Pop of cooking. Put it this way: his theme song is done by the John Spencer Blues Explosion. This week he went to his old stomping grounds -- Northern New Jersey -- and pretty much tracked my life in North Jersey. He grew up about 20 minutes from my house (and about 5 minutes from where my mother now lives), we went to the same high school, and he went to a bunch of restaurants & places I used to go to as a H.S. student, or when I'm back in town. Good times. They even had a whole segment on Korean food, since the town where my mom lives is now very heavily Korean.
6. While waiting for midnight, I watched the first half hour or so of "Basic Instinct." Man, Sharon Stone circa 1992 was a top 5 of all time hottie.
7. The joy of raising a boy. Last night, around 1:30 am, my 18 month old son woke up bawling. So my wife had to go in to check on him. She starts yelling for me from the other room. Apparently, during the night, he had pulled off his PJ pants (something he'd never done before), ripped off his diaper, and peed all over his crib. The whole bed was soaked. It was as if he had a 25 oz bladder or something. He was very proud of himself.
8. That Top Spots link was interesting. My top 6 turned out to be Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Boston, MA; Eugene, OR; Baltimore, MD; & Hartford, CT. Honestly, I wouldn't mind living in any of those places, although I'd never really considered the Northwest that strongly before.
9. Don't burn this place down while I'm gone. I look forward to returning to regale you with unusual tales from the Orient.
This post was edited on 8/11 11:50 AM by FormerPosterif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
2. I was up until midnight last night so I could get seats for my 12+ hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo tomorrow afternoon. Wife & I snagged a two seat row in a 2-5-2 plane configuration. It's coach, but it's a United flight, so there will be more legroom than normal to boot. Woo hoo!
3. Ever wonder why the exit row is always snagged before you get to change your seats? Here's a little-known secret of the airlines: you can't wait until the morning of the flight to call in to change your seat assignment. Start calling at midnight the night BEFORE your flight leaves, because that's when the airlines' computers open up all the seats they're holding.
4. Decent TV thought #1: I used to not be a big Kyra Sedgwick fan -- I still think Mr. Bacon is a bit odd looking -- but I like her in "The Closer," which offers up enough twists to keep things interesting throughout.
5. Decent TV thought #2: Anthony Bourdain's new show on the Travel Channel -- "No Reservations" -- is good TV. He's the author of Kitchen Confidential, a Chef at a French restaurant in NYC, and sort of the Iggy Pop of cooking. Put it this way: his theme song is done by the John Spencer Blues Explosion. This week he went to his old stomping grounds -- Northern New Jersey -- and pretty much tracked my life in North Jersey. He grew up about 20 minutes from my house (and about 5 minutes from where my mother now lives), we went to the same high school, and he went to a bunch of restaurants & places I used to go to as a H.S. student, or when I'm back in town. Good times. They even had a whole segment on Korean food, since the town where my mom lives is now very heavily Korean.
6. While waiting for midnight, I watched the first half hour or so of "Basic Instinct." Man, Sharon Stone circa 1992 was a top 5 of all time hottie.
7. The joy of raising a boy. Last night, around 1:30 am, my 18 month old son woke up bawling. So my wife had to go in to check on him. She starts yelling for me from the other room. Apparently, during the night, he had pulled off his PJ pants (something he'd never done before), ripped off his diaper, and peed all over his crib. The whole bed was soaked. It was as if he had a 25 oz bladder or something. He was very proud of himself.
8. That Top Spots link was interesting. My top 6 turned out to be Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Boston, MA; Eugene, OR; Baltimore, MD; & Hartford, CT. Honestly, I wouldn't mind living in any of those places, although I'd never really considered the Northwest that strongly before.
9. Don't burn this place down while I'm gone. I look forward to returning to regale you with unusual tales from the Orient.
This post was edited on 8/11 11:50 AM by FormerPosterif(GetAdminCookie() != 0) {document.write(' (Revisions[/URL])');}
