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The Island of Statens

All over the joint

It’s been about 11 years since I spent any serious time in Staten Island.

The last time I went, it was for Paul’s wedding, I was 41, and I looked like this:

Logan Lo and a buddy on the Staten Island ferry

Think I look roughly the same but that could just be me.

Now, outta the five boroughs that make up New York City, Staten Island’s the weirdest one as it’s cut off from the rest of the city’s subway system.

Instead, you have to take a ferry there, which isn’t terrible – if the weather cooperates.

In any case, the other day, I had to meet up with a client there so, right after I dropped off the kid, I took the train downtown to catch the ferry.

At the base of the ferry is The National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and it was the first time I’d ever seen a nun leave or enter it.

But I didn’t have much time to gawk as I had to make my appointment.

Here’s a time-lapse video of the ferry docking at the Staten Island side.

The meeting lasted hours – as did the work – but he’s a nice fella so it wasn’t terrible.

And it was interesting being there again. When I was in my 20s, I dated a doctor from there for a spell.

Seems like a million lifetimes ago.

In any case, was all over the joint doing work, before I wrapped up and dashed back to the ferry station to be in time to get the kid.

Was completely exhausted.

But the view woke me up.

Honestly, there’s little like the view of Manhattan from the water.

Although Govenors Island isn’t too shabby…

…neither is Brooklyn.

But, like I just said, there’s really no place like Manhattan, though.

At least, for me.

Location: up to my eyeballs in bills and paperwork
Mood: busier than a one-armed coat hanger
Music: we should get together – ride baby, ride (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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Don’t stop believin’

You did a great job

Remember last year when the kid played Hotel California for his school’s talent show?

Welp, this year, he played a cover of Don’t Stop Believin’.

Thought you might like to hear it.

I’m super proud of him – he did a lot of hard work to prep for it.

While there were alotta talented kids, I honestly thought he did the best job – and I think the organizers did too as he was second to last, before the group skit that ended it all.

His grandmother, Alison’s mom, also came in and sat for three hours watching other acts just to support him.

And the Firecracker came as well.

Three hours is a long time to sit on hard auditorium seats to listen to a buncha kids perform while waiting for your one four-minute act to play.

Firecracker: Man, you owe me – I’ve been to seven of his events and shows.
Me: God, that is so true…

Afterward, I took them all out to eat along with another family that had a kid play in the show.

I think that Alison would be so thrilled with and proud of what her kid can do.

I certainly am.

We couldn’t have asked for a better kid, honestly.

That is also so true.

Him: Did I do a good job?
Me: Nah, kid. You did a great job. Papa’s so proud of you.
Him: Yay!

Location: home, with a sick kid
Mood: busy
Music: Some are born to sing (Spotify)
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It only took 27 years

Everything takes forever

Me: I need a weapons area.
Her: You totally need a weapons area – you have so many!

Around late 2013, because Alison and I kept losing pregnancies, our lives just stopped.

It’s part of why I stopped blogging for a bit in 2015; because it was getting too hard to hide all the sadness and bad news that we kept getting.

Maybe one day I’ll tell you some of it.

Probably not, though. It still fucks me up to this day.

My kid helping with some baking I was doing; next to him are two of the three vacuums we had.

Of course, the bad news kept getting worse until it was the worst news we could ever imagine.

Our lives, just like the blog, was off schedule. All the plans we had and suspended, were suspended indefinitely.

One little thing was that, for 27 years, the radiator in my back bathroom wasn’t working.

The old owners disconnected it for some reason and Alison and I always said we were gonna hook it up again at some point.

As usual, life kept getting in the way.

But the other day, I decided to remove two of the three vacuums that I have in my pad, mounted on a wall – why I have three is a wholly separate story that I may or may not tell you about down the line.

Didn’t match at all.

Unfortunately, the paint that I thought would cover up the removal damage dried out after 15 years of sitting in my basement.

Me: Dammit!

So, I went to my local paint store and had them match the paint. It didn’t match well at all.

Me: GODDAMMIT!!

Cutting off a chip of the drywall, the second time around, they were able to match it relatively closely.

This then led to a chain of events that ended up with a plumber coming in the other day and hooking up the radiator in the back room.

Here, this 40 second video of Hal/Bryan Cranston more adequately explains what happened, as well as why everything takes forever around here:

There’s a lot more to it but lately I’ve doing stuff around the house that’s been waiting to happen for between 10-27 years.

Told Buckley – the fella I first bought the apartment with some 20+ years ago – about what was going on.

Me: Hola! I just had the radiator fixed in the back bathroom TODAY. Can you believe that I never changed it?
Buckley: Guten tag! I recall it didn’t work. Are you telling me it stayed broken until today? If so, that’s impressive.
Me: Yup, broken for 27 years until this morning at 11am.

Hopefully, 27 years’ll be my maximum time for letting things sit broken around here.

Then again, I suppose I’ve been broken for some 51+ years…

Location: my warm back bathroom!
Mood: warm!
Music: Feels like home (Spotify)
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Travelogue: Bahamas 2024, pt 1

A quick cruise to the Bahamas

The next day, we woke up and grabbed a cab to the Miami cruise terminal.

The main reason why I picked a cruise for the two of us was because it actually fit our schedule perfectly and we both love cruising.

It was a real quick four-day one on a pretty small ship but she was still pretty excited to go.

Unfortunately, while I was ok in Miami, by the time we boarded the ship, I was sick again.

I’m pretty sure that that French kid that was coughing up a storm while I was traveling back from NJ to see the Firecracker, got me sick.

In fact, that was one of the reasons I booked this cruise in the first place; I felt I missed out on a solid 1/3 of that cruise because I was sick.

Me: This stinks. The last cruise, I was out for the about a 1/3 of it, and this one looks like it’s gonna be the same.
Her: Sorry, baby. But let’s make the best of it.

So, we did.

Me: If nuthin else, I’m eating less than I normally do.
Her: You’re eating less? You’re still ordering all the appetizers and two entrees per meal.
Me: (puzzled) Yeah. Like I said, I’m eating less.
Her: (shakes head)

Unlike last time, it was pretty much non-stop eating, reading, and sleeping for me.

Which is my idea of a perfect vacation.

It didn’t hurt that the Firecracker was there with me.

My sleep was pretty awful the entire time because my cold ended up being the kind where you cough all night and don’t end up getting a single good night of sleep.

That was super annoying.

We didn’t do much, at all on this trip but I have enough pics to put them into a second entry.

So, I’ll see you for that.

Until then, here’s a cool video of our departing the port – it’s sped up 10X, so this is a ten-minute video in exactly one minute.

Location: evidently, the arctic
Mood: frigid and tired
Music: it was only us when it was only us (Spotify)
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Three holiday parties in one day, Pt 2

Still crashing parties

After I left the previous party, I hopped onto the train to head to the Lower East Side.

Got off at the wrong stop so I had to high-tail it about a half-mile in the freezing cold.

Kept marveling how much that part of the city had changed since my old days of hanging out in Rain’s pad downtown.

Some things don’t change, though. Like these people playing ping pong outside despite the absolutely frigid weather.

I was the third guy to arrive; it was just five of us because others in the group already had other plans.

It was still nice to see everyone.

We ordered a buncha dishes…

…but didn’t get the King Crab – which started at $500.

Luckily, the table next to us did:

Speaking of the table next to us, I ended up chatting up with some of them because they had more wine bottles on their table than I’d ever seen in the past.

Him: Try some (of our wine).
Me: Well, I’m not saying no to alcohol.

As for us, my buddy SJ’s been playing prank on our buddy Gar for years – years – now, where he tells the waitstaff that it’s Gar’s birthday.

Afterward, we hit up my fourth spot for the night, a dive bar right next door.

Me: What is that?
Him: A pickle martini.
Me: A pickle martini?!
Him: (shrugging) I like martinis. I like pickles.
Me: (nodding) Fair.

Stayed for just a single drink before I left to make the long trek home.

Slipped into the kid’s room and he stirred.

Him: (sleepily) You’re home.
Me: (whispering) See, I told you I’d come home and see you.
Him: (nodding)

By the time you read this, it should be 2025 – blows the mind, really.

I’m super behind with entries just because I’ve been so active lately and there’s so much going on.

Bear with me as I try and catch up?

Location: The aft of a ship, watching Miami go by
Mood: a little under the weather
Music: Every time you smell sunscreen baby, do you see me (Spotify)
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Showing up

What it means for a kid

It’s been a super-busy few weeks.

The kid had a party at his school the other day, so I went there.

I was just five mins late when I arrived.

He was so happy to see me that he yelled out, “Papa!” and then ran to me when I walked in; all the other parents and kids turned to look.

It made me think of alla kids whose parents don’t come to these things.

Him: You came!
Me: I said I would come!
Him: I know, I just…let me show you my diorama!

Don’t think that most people – myself included – really understand how much it means for a kid to have a parent show up for these types of things.

Hope that, when he’ll inevitably be mad at me, he remembers that I tried my best to be there.

@happiestofficial The moment she realised… 🥺 #fyp #foryoupage #showingupmatters #momlife #corememory #christmas ♬ Married Life (From “Up”) – Sergy el Som

On a different note entirely, I’d left a few things at Steel’s pad the prior week so we found ourselves back there again, with the kids swimming while I fixed a computer issue that was bothering them.

Of course, Steel cooked up a storm:

Him: These are some fried gnocchi with some sauce to dip it in.
Me: I’ve never had them before.
Him: Me neither but they sounded good.
Me: (trying one) Dammit, they are. I gotta stop eating so many carbs.
Him: Try a cookie – that’s a new recipe too – there are sprinkles on and in the cookie.
Me: Oh man…

Because of what happened at the Surgeon’s pad a while back, he bought a crate of an assortment of seriously top-shelf rum that I thoroughly enjoyed.

He also gave me a jar of oregano that was grown by a family friend of his in Greece.

Cannot describe how amazing it smells.

Went home and immediately made some Greek Lemon Chicken, which ranked among the best I’ve ever made.

All-in-all, it was a good weekend, although I am getting concerned with how much I’ve been eating these days.

I’ll fix that in 2025.

Location: waiting at my desk to head to two more food things – I’m gonna be huge soon.
Mood: thinking skinny thoughts
Music: Time moves fast and slow, changing not at all then changed before we know it (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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It was my mom’s birthday

Parthian Chicken

It was my mom’s birthday the other day.

We were originally all going to see some other relatives before we saw her for dinner.

So, I rented a car since it was the four of us: Me, the kid, the Firecracker, and her kid.

But, at the last minute, my other relatives cancelled, and it was too late to cancel the car.

Since we had it, we just went on a little car-ride to Ikea out in Long Island where the kid had their Swedish meatballs and I got (another) planter, this time for a lemon tree that Bryson got me.

The Meyer Lemon tree that Bryson gave me. He insists that I can grow lemons at home; the jokes on him because I am incredibly bad at getting plants to produce flowers or fruit.

Afterward, we drove back and I picked up dinner for everyone – it wasn’t a lot because most of us were full, including my sis and her kids.

It was still good, though.

Anywho, my mom’s getting older but still working because her job gives her joy.

I envy her, in many ways; she found purpose in her life that inspires her and keeps her active, both mentally and physically.

Feel lucky that she’s still around and gets to see the boy grow up.

This year will be the first year that we’re doing Thanksgiving at my place – the first time in close to 30 years of my being here (!)

So, I’ve been practicing making Parthian Chicken, which is a 1,500 year-old recipe that I got from a YouTube Channel I like called Tasting History.

It’s unlike any other chicken dish I’ve ever had because it has this spice called Asafoetida (“hing” in Indian groceries) and…well, it absolutely stinks.

As does the garum/fish sauce that is used to season it.

I bought this one. It does not smell good.

But the taste is just killer, and the smell essentially transforms into this really lovely thing after an hour of baking.

The Firecracker and I love it; her kid likes it, and my kid is less than thrilled.

Still, I think that it’ll be a nice change up from the usual Turkey and stuffing.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Location: standing in front of my desk because my back is absolutely killing me
Mood: guess
Music: Say you’ll be there, when I need you (Spotify)
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