Tag: good things

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Sneak Preview: Thunderbolts*

The Bay…of Kips

Me: Dude – I got invited to a sneak peak for Thunderbolts for next Tuesday at 7PM. The Firecracker can’t make it; interested? Kips Bay at 7PM.
Him: Oh yeah can totally make it. Thanks for the invite!

If you read this blog with any regularity, you know I’m not really a movie theatre person.

But being part of Scenic Fights means that I get invited to showings all the time now.

Last week, I got to catch a sneak preview of the new Marvel flick, Thunderbolts* and, I gotta say, it was so entertaining.

Honestly, after Endgame, I’ve not really been all that interested in the Marvel offerings.

But this was free, and I like the Red Guardian and the Winter Soldier, so I went.

The Firecracker couldn’t make it, so I invited the Frenchman, who was happy to come.

It was playing at the movie theatre at a place called “Kips Bay,” on the East Side of Manhattan.

I have so many fond memories of that neighborhood because I used to visit my brother alla time when he was in med school and I was in college.

One of my favourite cuisines is Indian food and I still remember so clearly, my brother bringing me to a restaurant in Kips Bay where I had it for the first time.

Cannot believe that was – holy shitballs – 34 years ago.

Goddamn…

I digress.

The Frenchman was already queuing when I arrived.

I went ahead of him and managed to bypass the line – which you can see in the pic above was substantial – and float us in.

I went to wait in line to get some snacki-snacks but it turns out that I didn’t have to, as there was unlimited popcorn and unlimited drinks for us.

The movie itself was excellent, I gotta say.

Probably one of the more entertaining movies I’ve seen courtesy of Scenic Fights.

It was over two hours long, but the movie just sped by because it was so well-written.

I particularly liked that it touched upon mental health, which is a topic very near and dear to me – and it did it with class and heart, something very surprising for a comic book action flick.

If you get a chance, I would definitely see it.

Afterward, I dashed back home to spend a little time with the kid…

Him: (sleepily) You’re home. Did you like it?
Me: (quietly) It was good. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, ok, kiddo?
Him: (nodding) Ok, papa…night…

…and the Firecracker.

Her: How was it?
Me: Really good, actually. But I wanted to spend a little time with you.
Her: (smiles) Great.
Me: Made it home in less than 20 minutes!
Her: Even better!

Location: the gym, getting demolished
Mood: so tired
Music: don’t know where my path will lead, but I’ll follow my feet (Spotify)
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A trip to Kalahari

Oh, and a break-in

Was in bed the other night when I pulled up the cameras to just make sure the building was ok when I noticed someone looking very outta place.

Getting dressed, I went outside to catch this small woman – with this weird huge hat – taking out our vacuum.

We’d actually had two vacuums stolen in the past.

Me: Hey, can I ask why you have our vacuum?
Her: (gibberish)
Me: Not sure what any of that means. I’m gonna have to call the police.

I started to call when she took off running.

It was already midnight, and I wasn’t in the mood to give chase, so I just brought the vacuum back, made a round through the building to make sure she didn’t get into a unit, before finally crashed.

NYC always has something going on.

Barely got any sleep and the next day, we all took a trip to the Kalahari water park in Pennsylvania.

The kid was with my in-laws for Spring Break so we ended up meeting them at a Lowe’s parking lot convenient to everyone.

Soon, we arrived…

…the Firecracker got all the tix and such while I was the pack horse carrying alla the luggage.

It was ENORMOUS.

The kids had a blast.

And the food was markedly better than that at Great Wolf Lodge, the other water park we went to.

Although the kids still ate crap.

Of course.

Speaking of the Great Wolf Lodge, the main pic is actually from our trip to last time around, but the Firecracker wasn’t comfortable with letting people see her face just yet.

That, plus I didn’t get any good shots of us this time around.

Oh, like last time, we met up with the Surgeon and his family and friends there.

Everybody had a grand time.

We stayed the night… …which meant that the kids got a second chance to play the next day before we headed home.

Me: So, what do you think, was that a nice surprise?
Him: Yes! Can we come again?
Firecracker’s kid: Yeah! Next time, we can stay for the whole weekend.
Me: Only if you’re paying, kid.
Firecracker: Yeah, this isn’t something we can do all the time.

When I was their ages, we never had the money for stuff like this.

I’m glad that I can give the kid something fun to remember.

Think that’s all any parent really wants from a trip like this – something fun to remember and an experience we didn’t get to have ourselves when we were their ages.

Location: inhaling a ton of dust in my pad
Mood: dusty
Music: Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (Spotify)
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Making changes around here

The key participle

During the time between the Firecracker’s birthday and my own, I let myself have one piece of dessert, an absolutely killer paleo muffin/naked cupcake by my sister.

Whenever I go see her, she’s always nice enough to give me one of her baked goods – which are invariably awesome – and I knew I’d be having this for my birthday.

This is where I am, excitement-wise, right now.

Electrician: You want me to just wire it up or wire it up and install it?
Me: Wait, you can install this?
Him: (looking puzzled) Yeah. Why not?
Me: Well, alright!

Continuing the spring cleaning around here, I’m making a ton of changes to my back bathroom.

That bathroom had this super dark, brass – instead of silver – backed mirror that just about everyone who sees thinks is cool looking but wholly impractical.

Alison always hated it, and the Firecracker was never a fan.

Had meant to replace it for decades but never did.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I ordered a lighted LED mirror to replace it and was planning on having an electrician do the wiring and a general contractor/handyman install the mirror itself.

But he and his partner were able to both hook it up and install it.

Once things are settled, I’ll take a pic of the new mirror for you to see.

Making a lotta changes around here. I’ll put up pics when we’re done but my bathroom will (hopefully) look quite different soon(ish).

I moved into my building close to 30 years ago, which blows the mind.

Then, in 2004, my college buddy Buckley and I bought my pad and one of the first things we had to get was a shower rod.

That’s the one we installed some 21 years ago; it did its job all these years without issue.

Tossing it, finally.

It’s weird. It’s just an inanimate object that served a function.

Yet I hate change and like things to always stay status quo. Tossing it was more difficult than you might imagine.

But I’m trying my best to recognize that change is inevitable and it’s always better to accept change than fight it.

“Trying,” being the key participle here.

Location: listening to hammers in my back bathroom
Mood: trying to accept it
Music: love to go back to when we played as kids but things changed, that’s the way it is (Spotify)
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Logan’s 52

Looking down the ladder

Him: Sometimes it feels like everyone’s doing so much better than me.
Me: That’s cause you’re spending alla your time looking up the ladder at everyone that has more than you. You need look down every once in a while and see how much more you have than the rest of the world. 

This fella once said, We are what and where we are because we have first imagined it.

    • Living in Queens, there was once a time I dreamed of living in Manhattan.
    • Growing up as a fat kid, there was once a time I dreamed of being physically fit.
    • Being bullied throughout childhood, there was once a time I dreamed of living knowing how to fight.
    • Being a friendless kid as well, there was once a time I dreamed of having friends.
    • Being a fat, clumsy, nerdy, dude, there was once a time I thought I’d never be with a beautiful intelligent woman.
    • After struggling for years to have a kid, there was once a time I woulda given anything to have my son.
    • And I never imagined that I’d be part of a creative team that’s close to hitting a million followers…le wha?

I’ve found a lotta peace in my noisy brain these past few months because I’ve really been focusing on two things:

    1. That quote above where I realize that everything I have right now is stuff I once dreamed to have and then spent years struggling to get.
    2. Instead of being upset that I’m so far away from my next/latest dream, I’m realizing that I’m actually right in the middle of living the last dream I had.

I’m so grateful for all the things and people that I have in my life that I never thought I’d ever have.

Pretty sure that if 14-year-old me saw 52-year-old me, he’d be both shocked and impressed.

TBH, when I really think about it, 52-year-old me is shocked and impressed with my life.

We should all be shocked and impressed with our lives.

Location: earlier yesterday, Kalahari water park in PA
Mood: like I said, shocked and impressed
Music: looked great for nearly 53. Well, lucky you found me (Spotify)
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A joint birthday

A joint birthday at Pig and Khao

By the time you read this, I’ll be 52 years old.

Whoa…

Not only did the Firecracker live just a few blocks south of my pad when we first met, but she and I were also surprised that our birthdays were only a little more than a week apart.

So, this year, we decided to do a joint celebration in-between our two birthdays at Pig and Khao, just a few blocks from us.

My buddy Panda used to talk about how great the food was there, so I was looking forward to it – he’s a foodie and I trust him.

The food did not disappoint……although some dishes were pretty spicy for the Firecracker’s taste.

Me: I’m not sure you can eat this.
Her: (shrugs) Well, let’s find out. (a few seconds later, she turns red and coughs) Nope!

Luckily, the drinks were strong and cooling…

…plus, because it was our birthday celebration(s), they comped us some jello shots, which were fun.

But the star of the show was the ribeye steak we ordered, which – because it was our birthday celebration – I had with my first bowl of rice in at least a year.

Her: This coconut rice is amazing!
Me: God, yes. I can’t remember the last time I had a whole bowl of rice.
Her: Wait, your bowl’s empty, you’re eating mine. Hey!
Me: I’m just trying to save you a few carbs.

We ended the night with a dessert for her and a pickleback shot for me.

I think she may’ve enjoyed her selection more than I did mine.

Here’s hoping it’s the first of years worth of joint birthdays.

Location: the gym, trying not to get more injured
Mood: hoping
Music: don’t want nobody else (Spotify)
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Cutting weight

Summer’s coming anywho

Her: You know what, I’ll support you and do it too.
Me: Really? You – obviously – don’t need to.
Her: (waves hand) It’s fine. It’ll be good for me and us.
Me: Oh man, you’re the best!

Been on a hardcore keto diet for a few weeks now because my producer wanted me to cut a few pounds for an upcoming Scenic Fights shoot.

I figured, summer’s coming anywho, so I was fine with it.

And the Firecracker decided to help me by doing it as well, for no other reason than to support me.

She’s just great.

Case in point: She made this killer pesto chicken the other night for everyone.

Low carb and absolutely delicious.

All-in-all, I ended up dropping a few pounds really quickly because – between my usual cooking and hers, we were killing it.

Even managed to resist my mother-in-law’s mashed potatoes – which are so damn good – when I dropped the kid off the other day.

The Firecracker, however, took some cheat days like for her birthday, where she made herself a cupcake sandwich.

She was very pleased with herself.

Besides, she didn’t have a producer to keep happy.

But everything worked out because I ended up keeping him happy by losing exactly what I wanted to, showing up at the shoot, doing my thing and calling it a day.

Treated myself to a huge steak salad afterward.

We’re close to a million subscribers on our YouTube channel but we’re also having some cool stuff happen over at TikTok as well.

I’ll keep you in the loop.

Man…do I want some carbs…

Location: a cafe, enjoying the sun
Mood: slimmer?
Music: Mouth is alive, with juices like wine and I’m hungry (Spotify)
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Obviously, it’s a squirrel

Plus, a visit to an Asian market

Her: (showing me a picture) This one was taken in 98. What were you doing in 98?
Me: I’d already graduated college so…
Her: I was in seventh grade! You’re so old, Logan!
Me: Thanks…?

Seeing my mom is a coordinated affair.

The reason why is because she works and is also heavily involved in church, so my visits have to revolve around those two things with her.

But I also need to be mindful of my sister and nephews’ schedules as well because the kids all like to hang out together.

This means that I don’t get to see my mom nearly as much as I would like to but when I do, it’s usually a fun time, what with all the kids happy and excited to play together.

The Firecracker’s kid was a new wrinkle but, after my nephews met him last time around, and again for Thanksgiving, by this time, they all got along as thick as thieves.

In any case, my mom and nephews weren’t gonna be around for a bit, so I took everyone for a drive out to Long Island to kill a little time before we all met up.

Afterwards, while the kids were playing, The Firecracker and I went to go pick up some food.

We first stopped by a gardening store because I was looking for more stuff to plant around the pad.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything that I really wanted.

Then we went to the local Asian supermarket.

The Firecracker still finds that kinda stuff interesting, I think.

By the time we got back, we were starving.

The Firecracker really enjoyed my mom’s ribs so when we got back, there was a plate waiting for us.

Sister: I wanted to eat some, but mom said it wasn’t for me, it was for [The Firecracker].
Her: OMG, you should have had some.
Sister: My mom wouldn’t let me!
Me: That sounds like our mom.

We round out the day with my mom showing off her collection of broaches.

If you ever wanna get on Mamma Lo’s good side, get that lady a broach.

She literally wears a different one every single day, God love that woman.

Me: Is that a squirrel?
Firecracker: Yep!
Mom: Obviously, it’s a squirrel, Logan.
Me: (nodding slowly) Obviously.

Location: home all day, nursing my back
Mood: blargh
Music: I need something to wash out the pain (Spotify)
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The Firecracker’s Birthday 2025

Just a nappetizer

Her: I’m going to take a nap.
Me: A NAP?! It’s 6:21PM. How do you fall asleep at night?
Her: (shrugging) It’s never a problem. That’s just a nappetizer.
Me: Oh my god…

It was the Firecracker’s birthday, recently so tonight, we packed up the kids and headed to that Japanese BBQ place around the hood that we like.

Her sister and niece were available, so they joined us, my kid, and the Firecracker’s kid for dinner.

My producer for Scenic Fights essentially told me that I had to lose some weight, so I stuck to protein, fat, and rum and diet cokes all night.

All-in-all, it wasn’t terrible.

The copious amounts of meat swimming in butter didn’t hurt matters.

The kids were, decidedly, not eating keto as they filled up on dumplings…

…and eggrolls, which were all hits with them.

Seeing as my birthday is only a few weeks away, we got to talking about our (somewhat sizable) age difference, and how our childhoods were kinda similar but also, very different.

Me: Let’s do an experiment. Honey, quote that show you showed me on YouTube and see if she can guess it.
Firecracker: She’s gonna know. But ok. (pauses, affects a voice), “I’m so excited!”
Sister: (immediately) Oh, that’s Jessie Spano when she ODed on caffeine pills.
Me: (shakes head) That’s ridiculous. You two are ridiculous.
Sister: You totally missed that era of pop culture, didn’t you?
Me: So, it would seem.

The kids were more focused on their screens and the deep fried oreo cookies that we got for them.

 

Him: This is amazing!
Me: I told you you’d like it.

Everyone was stuffed but I legit coulda eaten another 2-3 plates of food.

But, I figured that I’m supposed to be dieting so I called it as we wrapped up.

Afterwards, we decided to walk the mile home just to work off some of what we just ate.

It was a good evening and everyone was happy, which is all you can hope for.

Me: Did you have a good night?
Her: Were you there?
Me: (laughing) Yup.
Her: Then I had a good night.

Location: 620 Amsterdam Ave, with lots of kids, protein, and drinks
Mood: moderately tipsy
Music: standing ’round this corner, tall enough to touch the New York sky (Spotify)
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Sneak Preview: A Working Man

The Screening Room

One of the perks of doing Scenic Fights is that we get invited to movie premiers and sneak peeks.

My first movie premier was The Killer in 2022, which I saw by my lonesome.

Then I saw Gladiator II with the Firecracker late last year.

Pac was supposed to catch a sneak peak of A Working Man with Jason Statham with his girl, but he couldn’t make it, so I took his spot.

This meant that, last week, after the kids were settled, we snuck off to The Screening Room at the Bryant Park Hotel to catch the film.

I’d been there a buncha times before since it’s close to my office, but never in the theatre.

After waiting in line…

…we made it to the theatre.

It was tiny, but clean and comfortable with large leather seats.

There were, at most, 20 people in the entire audience, which was cool.

While there weren’t mixed drinks nor passed hors d’oeuvres, there was a nice table of drinks and snacks, which was appreciated.

Grabbed some candy for the boys.

Me: It looks like Sylvester Stallone produced this film. Wait, he wrote it too.
Her: Oh, that’s interesting.

All-in-all, it was an ok film.

Pretty much every cliche in every action flick that both Stallone and Stratham were ever in showed up in the film.

Having said that, in terms of mindless fun, it wasn’t bad.

Afterward, we met a family that took the picture of the two of us you see above, in exchange for our taking a picture of them.

Like I always say, it’s nice being tourists in your own city.

Location: my old Kinko’s, asking if they could cut my dad’s book (no, they can’t)
Mood: weary
Music: Been sleepwalking an eternity (Spotify)
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Meathearts

Hearts, but not the chicken kind

Me: Has there ever been a thing I’ve made that you truly disliked?
Her: The chicken hearts.
Me: Was it the flavor, the consistency, or the general thought of them?
Her: Yes

Had to pick something up from someone in my nabe the other day and I laughed when I got to her door.

I live on the upper level of a small building and I’m always telling people to go UPSTAIRS and not DOWNSTAIRS to deliver or pick up anything.

Nine times outta 10, they’ll ignore or miss that information, and I’ll have to come to outside to get them from the downstairs area.

I’m guessing that this lady had something similar with people ringing the wrong doorbell.

The Firecracker is getting used to being with someone that enjoys cooking.

We have this arrangement, similar to mine with Alison, where one person cooks and the other cleans.

It’s been working out well.

Made her some Chinese tomatoes and eggs the other day and she was skeptical, but she and the kids loved it.

On that note, I’ve been watching this channel called Made by Lau, which I use to supplement the recipes that my mom and dad taught me.

Like all home cooks, my parents never had any recipes – they just knew how to make dishes, so the website gives me better measurements and ideas for changes.

Speaking of food, I forgot to mention that the Firecracker got me a heart-shaped box for St. Valentine’s Day last month.

Except – like the previous year – it was fulla dried meats.

Man, that girl knows me so well…

Location: the kitchen, making some killer ribs with her
Mood: stuffed and content
Music: There might be a part of me that I won’t let you keep (Spotify)
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