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A birthday at Upland

These different capacities

My buddy around the way had a major milestone birthday the other day, right after we’d gone swimming over at Steel’s.

So, the Firecracker and I rushed home – already stuffed – to change to meet up with them.

The party was in a restaurant across the street from Alison’s office, so I had a few moments in my head, but we’ll just end that part of the story there.

When we arrived, the Maitre’d brought up to the lower level, which my friends had taken over for the party.

The Firecracker and I got to sit with the birthday boy, which I was super flattered by.

Me: I met Dave like 27 years ago.
Him: No, it was 24 and a half years ago – I know this because we met the day I started at this company and I’m coming up on 25 years soon.
Me: (laughing) I stand corrected.

Tried my best to not eat that much at Steel’s because I knew the food here wouldn’t disappoint…

…and it assuredly didn’t.

I was asked to say a few words, so I did.

This woman once said, Good things happen slowly, bad things happen fast. You don’t really know who’s gonna be important in your life and how life is gonna unfold until years go by. And somehow 25 years have passed. There are at least four people in this room that didn’t exist when we first met….I knew him [first] as a co-worker, and then my drinking buddy in the neighborhood – (to kids) we drank a lotta water – now I see him as a father, as a husband, and all these other things and it’s wonderful to see. It’s wonderful to see your friends in these different capacities that you didn’t know they were capable of.

Everything I said was true.

(c) Ken Landau

RE Mike was there, along with his wife, and so many other people that I met throughout the years.

I gotta say, the very best thing about getting older is the friends that keep you company along the way.

There was a killer premium open bar but, ever since the Surgeon’s party, I’ve been wary about overindulging…

…although I did cheat a bit on my no/low-carb rule and had a touch of cake.

There’s a lot more that happened but those are all other people’s stories so I’ll just say that we had an amazing time.

The Firecracker and I took a long walk from the East Side to the West Side, stopping at Madison Square Park to look at the tree…

…and take some pictures.

Her: Thanks for always including me to these kinda things.
Me: (puzzled) Of course. We’re a team.
Her: (smiling) I like that.
Me: Plus, I like to show you off. You’re super hot.
Her: (laughing)

Location: home, sans kids, cooking for the Firecracker
Mood: chilly
Music: We got talking about the past, I even made you laugh (Spotify)
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Swimming in the sky

Sweating garlic

My buddy Steel has a swimming pool in his apartment building just like my sister-in-law does.

And just like her place, it’s way up high in the building so there are some spectacular views everywhere.

So, the other day, the Firecracker and I headed there with the kids to hang out with their kids.

View from the swimming pool

The kids all had a grand time…

…but Steel is also one of the best cooks/bakers I know.

His kid had garlic knots the other day and wanted him to make some for him. So, he did and they were amazing.

He was not stingy with the garlic.

Me: (sarcastically) You know, I think you could have put in even more garlic.
Him: (showing me the mixing bowl) I was gonna put all this in when I decided against it.
Me: I’m already sweating garlic.

Afterward, he also ordered some Dave’s Hot Chicken for us all.

While he was doing all that, I was trying to fix a laptop, to no avail as I didn’t have the right parts.

Steel, meanwhile, decided to bake two rustic loaves of bread from scratch.

How that family isn’t a million pounds is beyond me.

Maybe they swim a lot?

The Surgeon and his kids were there so I finally got to tell him what his party did to my stomach and vacation.

Me: I literally left my DNA all over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and that ship because of you.
Him: (shrugging) I’d do it again.
Me: Harumph!

Ended up taking Steel’s laptop back home to try and fix and he gave us one of the two loaves he just baked to bring home as well.

Me: We can’t take that.
Her: (shrugging) It’s fresh homemade bread. I’m taking it. You don’t have to eat it.
Me: We both know I don’t have that kinda willpower.

In any case, as fun a time as we were all having, I had to run to my other buddy’s birthday party around the way.

I’ll tell you all about it in the next entry.

Location: The gym, for the first time in months.
Mood: sore
Music: standing out here, soaking wet. Could you just let me in? (Spotify)
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A pre-holiday party

Freedom, yeah!

After Alison died, I really retreated into myself and made a lot of new connections, most of which are gone now for one reason or another.

But I continued to be invited out to things by my friends, despite my usual reluctance to leave the house.

With the Firecracker, though, I feel like I’m back in the world again.

To wit, The NFL Player invited us all to his pad for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner party so off we all went.

Thor was also there, which made for some interesting conversation.

Thor’s Wife: I’ve had a few drinks, so I was wondering if the stereotype is true.
Firecracker: (showing up) What’s the conversation?
Thor: We’re talking about Logan and his [stuff].
Her: Oh, that? Pleasantly surprised. Not all stereotypes are true.
Thor: Yup.
Me: I asked you to keep that to yourself, Thor.

Needed a lot more alcohol after that as that was the topic of conversation for longer than I woulda wanted.

Having said that, I stuffed myself silly as there was an entire tray of smoked brisket.

Legit, I regret that I ran outta room to put more of it into me.

The NFL Player lives right on Central Park West with a killer view of the parade path.

This meant that, on the walk home, the kids got to run around in the streets – which were closed off – and fully took advantage of that.


My kid is yelling, “Freedom!!!” here.

It was a great night and everyone went home completely stuffed.

But Thanksgiving was the very next day and my family was coming over for the very first time, ever.

Location: my desk, wondering if I should take the gig
Mood: ache-y
Music: If legends are loud and built to stand out (Spotify)
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BBQ downtown

Never a bad thing

On the heels of dinner with my college friends, I also had two nice dinner events prior to Thanksgiving.

The first was with the Firecracker and her family. They’re all huge fans of Korean and Japanese BBQ, so we all headed downtown to Gyu-Kaku in Astor Place.

Me: I’ve been here before; it used to be a Korean restaurant like 15 years ago. I guess Gyu-Kaku took over the lease and make it Japanese.
Him: Makes sense, everything’s already done.

We ended up doing the all-you-can-eat option and that worked out great as the food was excellent and my appetite remained on point.

Me: I’m gonna order more food before we run outta time.
Her: (after I ordered) You ordered FOUR plates of food? We’re all stuffed.
Me: Oh, those are just for me.
Her: You’re gonna eat four plates of food by yourself?
Me: Looks that way.

And I did.

Wanna say that she was impressed but I’m not sure that’s the appropriate adjective to describe how she felt as I ate four full plates of food on top of all the other food we ordered.

We also got a beer tower to round things out, as well as some sochu…

…and the kids – and Firecracker – got s’more for dessert.

Her: So, you’ll eat four additional plates of food but you’re gonna draw the line at s’mores?
Me:…yes? I do have some standards.

All-in-all, it probably wasn’t the best night for my waistline but good for everything else.

If nuthin else, it was more memories for the kid to have.

And that’s never a bad thing.

Location: the kid’s jits class, sitting on a pillow for my back
Mood: old
Music: Every day I’m gonna celebrate, even when it’s not that sweet (Spotify)
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Big Apple Circus, Pt 2

44 years between shows

The rest of the acts were all equally amazing.

There was the acrobat that dangled above the hard floor without a net…

…and then reappeared later to hang off her partner’s neck.

Me: Man, my back hurts just watching that.
Him: (laughs)

Oh, speaking of backs, on the walk there, we were all getting drenched, but it was also destroying my back sitting there for a solid hour.

Me: (to the usher) Hey man, I’ve got a crap back. Can I do some squats in the hallway?
Him: (laughing) Sure. Sorry to hear about your back.
Me: (nodding and starting to do some squats) Yeah, I’m sorry to say it. Getting older stinks but is still better than the alternative.

There was only one animal act (dogs) versus what I remember as kids, but otherwise, it was still a lot of what I remember as a kid.

There were jugglers…

…tightrope walkers…

…aerialists…

…and clowns.

The boys were dying laughing with the clowns.

Walking home was absolutely brutal because the rain plus sitting for two hours destroyed my back.

But it was all worth it because the kids were so jazzed about seeing the circus for the first time.

Me: What did you think?
Him: I loved it! Can we go again?
Me: Sure, maybe next year?
Him: A whole year!?!
Me: Hey, I waited 44 years between shows.
Him: 44…?! Wow…you’re so old.

Location: about to head out to Japanese BBQ with the Firecracker’s family
Mood: beat tired
Music: sometimes the truth is harder than the pain (Spotify)
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Big Apple Circus, Pt 1

His first circus

It’s been months since it rained here in the big city but the night it began to rain for three days was the same night that I brought the kid out to his first circus.

You can see the very top of the big top in the center.

I remember my first circus – this is me with my brother and his friend.

I think I’m about seven in this – and just starting to get chunky.

I’d won four tix to the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center with absolutely killer seats.

The thing about the BAC is that they played in two places growing up – just a few blocks from my parents home in Queens and the literally across the street from my law school.

I remember for years walking past these signs on the way to or from Law School and thinking: Maybe someday I’ll check it out.

And last week was that day.

Unfortunately, the Firecracker and her kid couldn’t make it, so we invited one of the kid’s classmates.

To say that they loved it is an understatement.

Pretty much the whole night:

Him: WOW! How did they…?
Friend: DID YOU SEE THAT?!

The last time I was in the circus was 1980 – 44 years ago (!!).

Back then, this was my absolute favourite act – although in the version I saw the guys rode a motorcycle in it!

And the acts were pretty much all amazing, like this contortionist…

…and these guys who were doing some pretty intense flying moves.

But this entry’s getting super long so I’ll continue this in the next one?

Until then, here are two more quick videos:

Location: home, trying – very unsuccessfully – to block out the jackhammers outside my window
Mood: annoyed
Music: In the pouring rain, putting back the pieces of a broken dream (Spotify)
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Court Papers

And then lunch in Chinatown

Her: It happened!
Me: What?
Her: My papers! The judge signed off on everything, we’re done!
Me: Sweeeeet – I’ll head down with you so you can grab a copy.

The Firecracker’s been involved in a legal matter for the better part of a year now and it was finally resolved last week (in a manner that made her happy).

So, early the other day, we took a train down to the court house together to get an official copy of everything.

Managed to get a copy and get out the door in less than an hour.

Afterward, we walked down to Chinatown to get some food.

Along the way, she noticed a cute little bookstore:

Her: OMG, that’s the best name: Yu and Me Books!

While we didn’t stop in, we did stop to get some cherimoyas, which are essentially Asian pawpaws.

They were $10 each so basically the same price as a domestic pawpaw.

Afterward, we made our way to a local greasy spoon.

Me: Could we get everything in takeout containers? We have to eat and run.
Waiter: Sure thing.

The Firecracker had to dash back to work so she left while I made my way back to work, belly full.

Not a bad way to spend a morning that involved heading to court.

Location: standing in front of my desk, wondering when my hip won’t hurt
Mood: okay
Music: It’s not over. You’re not your mistakes (Spotify)
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Hanging out at JP’s pad

Something adult-like

Me: Do you wanna hit up the Morgan Library and Museum?
Her: Is it a museum or a sit and read kinda place?
Me: I think a little of both? It’s been ages since I was there last. I forgot who I even went with

Whenever the boys are away, the Firecracker and I scramble to do something adult-like since we always have factor in entertaining the kids otherwise.

We didn’t really have any set plans so just randomly got tickets to the Morgan Library and Museum.

I was coming in from dropping the kid off in Jersey so we met outside the museum.

It was a quick line so we were inside in no time.

Me: Crazy that someone once lived here.
Her: I think that this is actually an enclosed courtyard – I think these are two separate buildings they combined.
Me: Whoa, I think you’re right. (shaking head) Man, that is a crazy amount of scratch this dude had.

The actual library stuff was like something outta a movie.

Her: I’m waiting for Belle from Beauty and the Beast to show up with a book in her hand.
Me: Of course you are.
Her: Listen, I’m whimsical and romantic. There’s nothing wrong with that.

She even found some really cool Dickens and Chinese stuff.

Side-by-side to boot!

We also went to the mezzanine to admire the view – again, this was someone’s house once (or at least the outdoor space of someone’s house).

Wild.

It was gorgeous inside but there really wasn’t all that much to do so we spent probably an hour there at most.

Me: I’m ready to eat.
Her: Me too!

We walked a few blocks and ended up at this relatively empty Persian joint called Miraj Healthy Grill.

While they had some odd decoration choices…

…the food itself was on point.

Her: Man, the number of pictures I have of you with that face.
Me: I can’t help it – I love food.

I not only ate everything on my plate, I ate everything on hers. The food was excellent.

Me: OMG, I’m so full.
Her: Wow, you never say that.

Afterwards, we took the long way home and enjoyed a nice night out as two adults.

Me: Did you have a good night?
Her: Were you there? Then yes.
Me: (laughing) Thanks, I’ll take it.

Location: court, again.
Mood: annoyed
Music: drinking in the dark, I don’t know where I wanna go (Spotify)
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Movie Premier: Gladiator II

(c) 2024 Getty Images

Cray Rachet

Scenic Fights got an invitation to a pre-release screening of Gladiator II the other day.

I got picked to go pretty much just because it’s walking distance from my pad.

So, the other night, the Firecracker and I got dressed and took a little walk to the movie theatre.

We arrived and immediately queued to have our pictures taken.

The main picture above is the Getty image that we took.

I asked the gentlemen to not be so much taller than me but, clearly, they didn’t comply.

While she was queuing, I went to get us drinks.

Me: Can I get a Gladiator for my date, and I’ll have the Roman Empire, but toss in like two shots of vodka for me?
Bartender: You got it and good choice with the vodka.

It was really pretty good.

Afterward, we took our pics and then went to the other room for food…

…so much food.

The Firecracker managed to snag one of these cool little Colosseum popcorn buckets.

My producer asked me to get as many shots of myself as I could but the lighting in a movie theatre leaves a lot to be desired.

Speaking of leaving a lot to be desired, the flick itself was pretty good – I was surprised what a good job they did linking it up to the original that came out close to a quarter century ago.

The issue was that we were sitting next to possibly the most rachet group of influencers out there.

They were clearly suffering from Main Character syndrome with zero interest in the film – they were just talking loudly and texting the whole time.

Luckily, they left with 1/3 of the film to go – like I said, they had zero interest in the film.

All-in-all, it was a nice night out with the Firecracker and a good excuse to get dressed up.

I told her that we needed to get invited to a premier like for The Killer, which was awesome.

Her: That was fun!
Me: I thought so – our seat partners notwithstanding.
Her: Can’t win them all.
Me: Evidently not.

Location: court, again.
Mood: annoyed
Music: drinking in the dark, I don’t know where I wanna go (Spotify)
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Hot pot with a buncha hapas, Pt 1

What’s a Hapa?

A hapa, in Japanese, has traditionally meant someone that is half Japanese and half something else.

Other Asians, like myself, have co-opted this term to mean anyone that is half-one race and half-another.

So, my son is not technically a hapa but I call him that.

In any case, after a lotta back-and-forth – and because alla our significant others got along so well – Bryson, the Frenchman, and I finally agreed to meet up for another dinner, this time at Bryson’s.

There, I marveled how the hapas completely outnumbered the only three people there that weren’t hapas – namely, myself, the Firecracker, and the Firecracker’s kid.

What I found the most interesting was that the Frenchman (French/Japanese) married another hapa, Tess, (Chinese/Caucasian), while Bryson (African-American/Okinawan) married another hapa, Nikki, (African-American/American).

And Bryson and Nikki have three hapa kids, while the Frenchman and Tess have two hapa kids.

The kicker is that some of the hapa kids were dating…other hapas!

Me: How do you all keep finding each other?
Bryson: We’re everywhere!

I’m finding this to be true.

Always wondered if the kid was gonna end up with an Asian like me, or a Caucasian like Alison, or something else entirely.

It never occurred to me that he might end up with another hapa.

Based on what we were seeing with the kids, that seems more likely than I had originally thought.

In any case, the food was so amazeballs that I felt it deserved its own entry, so I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Oh, and I’ll explain what’s going on in the picture above as well.

Her: Everybody point at Logan!
Me: That’s really not…ok, I see this is happening.

Location: my apartment, showing the boys how to escape an American lock.
Mood: parched
Music: We ‘bout to elevate, getting up and getting down (Spotify)
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