Buffalo Bisons, or the Ricky Ricardo of mascots.

I'm glad to be home but at the same time I wish I was still hanging out with Kat but sadly she leaves to far away. At least this time she is only an hour and half flight away instead of 8 or 9 and I don't have to cross an ocean to get to her so that's an improvement.

On Friday, I left way to early to get to the JFK airport. According to mta.info trip planner it would take me about 1hour and 36 minutes to get from my apartment to JFK by subway/train. This also included a stop over in Manhattan. I found this absolutely ridiculous because, for those who don't know, JFK is in Queens and I live in Brooklyn. Brooklyn and Queens share the same island, so if I went the way they told me I would have to cross the bridge to Manhattan for 1 stop to come back the bridge into Brooklyn. Does that make sense? I know that is just how things work here. To get the tennis center in August, I did have to do that. Crazy! Anyway, I found another way that kept me in the same isle and took about the same amount of time. I just had to take an extra train. I get to JFK way too early but that's better then being late. Now, if you have a chance to fly Jetblue, do! They were awesome! They don't have a first class, so all those seats are taken out and everyone else's seat is moved up giving more leg room. I have short legs but it was still appreciated. Plus, every seat has it's own screen where you can watch 43 channels of Direct TV (including the Big 10 Channel Iowa fans) and XM radio. I didn't bring my headphones with me but I did watch ESPN. You really don't need sound to watch sports highlights. It's pretty self explanatory.

When I arrived in Buffalo, Kat was already there. She's such a good sister. We immediately go to the Original Pancake House and I got an omelet that was as big as my head. Oh yeah, it was good. Then We went this posh grocery store called Wegman's. The original plan for Friday night was our friend Elizabeth (who I haven't seen in like 3 years) and her girlfriend Becky were going to come over to make Scotch Eggs but Elizabeth was sick so that didn't happen. Well, as fate would have it, the snacks we bought would be perfect for us to take the drive-in. I can't even remember the last time I went to a drive-in movie theater. We saw a double feature of Eagle Eye (love me some Shia!) and the Dark Knight. It was great. We had to get some hot chocolate from the concessions stand because a) they guilt you into it and b) we were cold. It would have been nicer though, if the hot chocolate was hotter but I guess you can't have everything. Anyway, That was Friday.

Saturday, we both slept in to noon. I have to say, I didn't mean too but it had been so long since I had got a chance to sleep in because I have doing a lot of opens. So it felt good. That feeling didn't last long because Linda my landlord called and asked if I left any of water fixtures running. Of course this freaks me out because I could remember checking everything but what if I forgot something you know? It turns out that my toilet's flush master (whatever she called it, the handle) was stuck in flush mode so my toilet was constantly flushing. Even though everything turned out all right, it still freaked me out. So, to cheer me up we had to see some penguins. The Niagara Aquarium has penguins, as well as Seals and Sea Lions. There is a difference as Squirt the Sea Lion demonstrated to us. When you walk into the Aquarium, the first thing you see is the Penguins, Humboldt Penguins, and front and center were these two penguins going at it. We were like, are they really, oh yeah, they really are. It was funny. Kat and I will admit that when it comes to aquariums, we are spoiled but it was still a nice but small aquarium. Next we decided we would drive to Canada instead of walk across the bridge. After a series of questions, we were let into Canada and found a parking space. The Niagara falls is Big and Massive. You have to use both words to describe it because its truly Big and MASSIVE. We had lunch at this restaurant called the Edgewater's which is across the street from the Falls. Beautiful! From there we walked down the street to the Hershey's and Coke stores and had dessert and then home. Well, Canadians obviously don't want you to leave quite so early or they like fucking with Americans who have no idea where they are going because we followed the signs back to the US borders but they kept sending us around in circles until eventually we did get across the borders. The very attractive US guard pretty much asked us the same questions as his Canadian chum so we knew what to expect this time. We get home and are pretty tired. Why, we have no idea because we did sleep in until noon, mind you. Oh, well. We settled in and then decided to play our new favorite game of Camp Rock drinking game. Oh, yes Camp Rock!

Sunday, again slept in later then we intended. I wanted to go to Sephora. I know there are Sephora's in New York but they are all in Manhattan and I just don't get there that often so I figured since there are things I need from there, this was the best chance to go. After that we met up with Elizabeth, who was feeling better and pretty much hung out for the rest of the day. It was kind of like all day, just chatting way, playing with her cats and just having a good time. We made the scotch eggs. For those you don't know, a scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg, wrapped in sausage and then bread crumbs and baked. So good, finally the Scots have come up with something tasty! They were delicious!

Monday, Kat got up early to do homework. I got up a little bit later to pack. She went to class and I walked around the University at Buffalo. It's a nice a campus but it kind of reminded me of a business park. After that, we went to Anderson's for roast beef and then I came home.

So that was my weekend. I miss Kat already but she will be here for Thanksgiving! Yippee! I can not wait. I'll have to find a turkey!

USA USA USA

I'm back from Portland and it was awesome! And I brought back Katharine too. Now, I told my friend Fiona, I would do a Fiona-like report about the tennis. I don't think I can I do that because a) I'm not as funny and b) I don't remember everything. I should have taken notes but I will do my best. Be prepared. This is a going to be a very long post. You have been warned. First a few thoughts.

1. Portland is a really great city. Mom, Dad and I have never been there before and really didn't know what to expect. Yes, it pretty much rained the whole time we were there but it's the Pacific NW so that is too be expected. The people were very nice and answered all of questions. Our hotel wasn't very glamorous but it was a five minute walk from the arena and right on the light rail line and we were in the free zone so we could go downtown and back without any trouble. Definitely a city to put on your list.

2. Whose ever bright idea was to give out kazoo noisemakers needs to be shot. I mean seriously. I have given up on the thundersticks, as they have become a part of Davis Cup but if I have another kazoo blow in my ear I'm going to stick it down their throats! And I'm taking about the adults!

3. If you haven't been to a Davis Cup Tie then you are not a sports fan! It is the most unique sports experience in the world. To hear over 12,000 people chanting USA over and over gave me chills.

4. Does anyone know if Yevgeny Kafelnikov does commentary for Russian TV because I was sure I saw him.

5. I am an idiot. Not only did I forget to charge my camera battery before I left but I forgot to take my charger with me! So I didn't take as many pictures as I had hoped because I wanted to make sure my camera lasted the entire weekend but dad took lots of pictures too. So, it wasn't a total lost.

So, now on to the report. Our journey began last Wednesday after I got off work, Mom, Dad and I drove to Chicago. Yes, there are airports in Iowa but we had made arrangements for Katharine to come home and it's cheaper and easier for her to fly into Chicago then Cedar Rapids so we got to Chicago around midnight. Mom and Dad parked our car in the hotel's park and fly ramp and we went to bed. We didn't get much sleep because our plane left at 6:30am, so we had to get around 4 in the morning to catch the shuttle and check in. We all tried to sleep on the plane but they played Transformers. I really love that movie as cheesy as it is. So, when we got to Salt Lake City I was pretty beat. I did eventually fall asleep and missed the big showdown between Optimus Prime and Megatron but don't worry I own it so I can see it again. On our flight from SLC to Portland, we were honored with the presence of two different cross country high school teams who were going to Portland to compete in some Nike thing and unfortunately two girls from a school in Utah were behind us. I weep for our future. All I can say is thank god for headphones because they made my head hurt listening to them.

We arrived in Portland around 1 pm. We got our bags and then went to the information booth were the very nice lady explained to us about Portland's fabulous mass transportation system. For $2.05, you can go from the Airport to downtown and once we got downtown and stay in the free zone rides were free! This was good news because we didn't rent a car and now we didn't have to because our hotel was right on the rail line and were like a five minute walk from the Memorial Coliseum. Mom and spent hours trying to find a hotel in the same neighborhood as the arena and all the indecision and going back and forth with maps, we ended up with only hotel left that had rooms available for all three nights. The Inn at the Convention Center wasn't the most glamorous hotel in the world but it was perfect for us. It was a very popular area to be in, not just because of Davis Cup but on Saturday night at the Rose Garden Arena, Van Halen was playing. If only we had known, we could have seen the US win the Davis Cup and Van Halen in the same weekend! Anyway, back to Thursday, after we checked into our hotel, re beautified ourselves we set off to find the arena. We were pleasantly surprised that we did such a great job of finding our hotel. Then Mom and I did what we did best. Shopping. Not far away was the Lloyd Center. We dropped dad off at a bar so he could watch the Celtics place the woeful Knicks and we walked around. Now, by this time we had been up since 2 am pacific time and even though we all did get some sleep on the plane we were definitely tired so we didn't shop that long. We eventually joined dad at Sanford's restaurant's bar and had dinner. We got there in the middle of happy hour so we all had a couple of drinks or in the case of Mom, 1 glass of wine and had burgers to eat. We then walked back to our hotel and called it a night. Dad and I stayed up and watched TV and then turned in around 11pm.

Friday morning Dad got up early to exercises, Mom got us breakfast and I slept in. Typical We left for the day of competition around 11am. We got our t-shirts and walked around. I have to hand it to the USTA. They know how to put on the show. They had bands, jugglers and people walking around stilts. The atmosphere was a mixture of excitement and anxiety. The one thing I love about the crowd at a Davis Cup tie is that they seem to be more knowledgeable tennis fans then those who go to regular tennis tournaments. I really got the feeling that everyone there knew how big this was and how important it was to American Tennis. I'm sure there were a couple of casual fans who just wanted to see what it was all about but for the most part we were all there to see history. I don't know how to truly explain it because it is one of those things that you have to be there to truly understand it. We ate our hot dogs and popcorn and waited for the matches to begin. Before the matches started we were entertained by various performances from local Portlanders. Then was the opening ceremonies where the introduced the players, sang the national anthems. On Friday, there was a little boy who sang our national anthem. He was like 11 years old and his dad is serving and Iraq and well, mom and I just lost it. Andy Roddick played first against Dmitry Tursunov, who my mom now has a big crush on. It was a pretty routine match for Andy and a great start for the weekend. Then James Blake had a very exciting match against Mikhail Youzhny. I love James but he hasn't exactly been stellar this year in Davis Cup so when he lost the 3rd set we were all a little nervous but James pulled it off. It was exactly the start that we were hoping for, to be 2-0 after the first day. I wished I remembered more details of the matches but really is all a blur.

After the matches, we headed downtown for dinner. We had to do a little bit searching for a restaurant that we could all agree on. We found this Italian place called Pastini, I think, and it was fabulous! Portland is revitalizing their downtown and what I have seen they have done a great job. In Pioneer Courthouse Square was the annual Holiday Ale festival and there were people around the block to get in. We decided to pass but it would have been great to have gone in. After we ate, we headed back to the hotel and prepared for the doubles match.

Saturday morning, we all got up around the same time at Friday, made our way to the arena, had lunch and then got ready for the doubles match. The atmosphere was electric! With a win today, we would win the Tie and the Davis Cup for the first time in 12 years! Mike and Bob Bryan had a 12-1 record in Davis Cup going into the match, so things were looking good for us but it's Davis Cup and anything can happen. The Russians played Igor Andreev and Nickolay Davydenko, both singles players and you can tell that they were at times out matched by the Bryans. I have seen Davydenko played doubles before once in Cincinnati and I'm pretty sure he lost there too. Everyone was on the edge of their seats the entire match, especially the first set. The Bryans were a little tight if you ask me but who could blame them. This is the match they have been waiting for their entire lives! After they won the first set in a tiebreak, they settled down and won the next two sets pretty easily. It's amazing how the crowd can go from being on their feet cheering one minute and as soon as the player steps up the service line to serve, the crowd quiets down so you can hear a pin drop. After match point, the entire USA team bench ran onto the court and started jumping all over each other. It was amazing to see Andy, James, Mike and Bob hug each other but also Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri, who have been members of the team in the past but this week were practice partners, join in as well. Then they took turns running around the court with the flag and drench each other with Champagne. I can not even describe what it was like to be there when it happen. I really need a bigger vocabulary.

We were still on our Davis Cup high when we went to Powell's bookstore. Powell's is this huge independent bookstore in Portland's Pearl district. Now, since both mom and I work at a bookstore we didn't plan on buying anything unless we knew it was something that we wouldn't be able to get here. All weekend long it rained and on Saturday it was pretty bad. We were soaked so the first order of business was to get something hot to warm us up and in the grand traditions of bookstores, there was a cafe. We got our drinks and then explored the store. I know we didn't even get halfway through the store when we decided to move on. We got on the Streetcar to downtown and walked around Nordstroms, one of our favorite stores and then had dinner. After dinner, we wanted to check out the Christmas decorations in Macy's. Well, as it turns out Macy's bought out whatever department store in Portland and downsized the Christmas display to the dismay of everyone in Portland. I guess Macy's went on a spending spree this year because they also bought out Neiman Marcus and pissed off a lot of people in Chicago but I digress. We explored downtown some more but decided that we were tired of walking around in the wet rain and went back to our hotel.

In Davis Cup, they have this weird thing of playing dead rubbers or matches that do not count because after the Bryans win on Saturday the US had only won but I guess they have to play them because the tickets have already been sold and well, they don't want to give that money back. Bob Bryan played the first match against Igor Andreev. Bob doesn't play singles all that often and it showed during the match but he put in a good effort. After the match, they interviewed Igor and he was very funny. Lief Shiras (I think) asked him what the Russian team did last night and Igor said "We had a couple of shots!" It was really cute. Then James played Tursunov. I think James partied a little too hard because he started off a bit slow. I'm being nice, he started off really slow but he broke the first game of the second set and the crowd finally got into it. We gave him, what felt like a five minute standing ovation, and he just stood there and smiled. It was the turning point in the match and after that the tennis just got better. Even though the match didn't effect the result of the tie, we could tell that both guys wanted to win and it was a great match. Then came the trophy presentation, finally! It was pretty emotional seeing them get their trophies and poise with the cup. As a team they have worked so hard for this moment. I remember my first tie that I went to five years ago in Paris. At the time it was only Andy and James on the team. It has been truly amazing to see them grow as a team and in an individual sport like tennis, it is incredible the bond the boys have. They truly are a team.

After the tie was over, we eat dinner at a local burger joint and then headed to the airport. Like Saturday, it had been raining all day and the winds had picked up so our flight to Houston was delayed so we didn't actually leave Portland after midnight. At the gate, I noticed Mr and Mrs Roddick was waiting for our flight too. I was hoping that my dad wouldn't see them because as much as I love him he has the tendency to embarrass me and really, I looked awful from walking around in the rain. Yes, I'm vain. So we get on the plane, mom and I are sitting together and dad is in the row in front of us and who does she sit next too. Yes, the Roddick's. Figures. I guess I should not of worried because Dad was very well behaved. He introduced himself again, we had met them before and they remembered him and me, which was nice. They are truly nice people. Very nice and approachable people. There were other people who went to the tie on the plane too so we all had a group discussion about the weekend. It was fun going over all the matches and hearing what they had to say since they actually know the players and their families. To say, they were proud parents would be understatement. I was very glad to meet them again because for two people who have raised a superstar, they are very down to earth. Our flight was an overnight flight, as you probably guessed. It's never easy to sleep on planes but I actually got some sleep and even more sleep on the flight from Houston to Chicago.

Our flight into Chicago got in a little but after 10 am and Katharine's flight was supposed to come in two hours later. So we had enough time to get our luggage, go back to our original hotel and pick up our car. Thankfully, it wasn't covered in Ice because we had heard that while we were in Portland the Midwest, especially our portion of Iowa, was slammed with a major winter storm. For those who are not familiar with a winter storm, that is a mixture of rain, snow, sleet and ice. It must not have been as bad in Chicago then it was in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City because they was very little snow left on the ground and our car was fine. We loaded our suitcases, went back to O'hare but this time the International wing. Checked the boards to see the news on Kat's flight. It was going to be a little bit late and then we headed upstairs for lunch. We sat in the food court for about an half and hour before heading back down to arrivals and lucky for us and Kat, who flight landed earlier then expected because less then 20 minutes later she was arrived! How I missed her. We took her bags and her, put her in the car and home we drove. Kat had a layover in Dublin and the Dublin airport had a power outage so basically, they still had radar up to help land planes but nothing was going out. She didn't even have to go through customs really because they had not computers. Lucky for her she arrived at the tail end of the blackout because her flight was only late about 20 minutes. Thank God! On the way home, we all chatted about this and that. Kat told us about her Thanksgiving and what she and her friends had been up to in the last several days. We had dinner at Pancheros and now she has gone to bed and I am about to head out again and meet friends for a drink.

So that was my weekend. I wish I could have been more eloquent but like I said, there are somethings you just have to be there to truly appreciate. It was an experience I will never forget. Go to Portland, if you haven't been there before and if you want to see our team play Davis Cup, first round is in early February in Vienna against the Austrians! Or you could just watch it on TV! Thanks for reading my report. I will try to have pictures up later this week.

Oops, I forgot to post something last night. I was going to do it after work but we went out to Old Chicago and when I got home I was just too tired. Yesterday wasn't that busy. I think everyone got all their shopping done on Friday and Saturday and were using yesterday to get ready to go back to work after the long weekend. It's funny. When I wanted it to be busy it wasn't. So, you know, Today will probably be crazy because I don't expect it to be and I have several things I want to get done before this weekend! Yes, this weekend! The most amazing weekend of my life! DAVIS CUP! and KATHARINE! I don't know how Kat feels about coming home but I'm freaking excited! I've really missed her. I have cleaned my apartment in and got out some good dvd's and vhs tapes in anticipation of her staying here. Just one more week!! She did ask me what I wanted for my birthday and really her coming home is the best present I could ask for.

Maybe Christmas doesn't come in a store.

I'm sitting on my floor watching The Holiday (LOVE THIS MOVIE!) and trying to get myself psyched to get out my Christmas Tree. I figure if I don't do it now while I still have some holiday spirit in me then I won't do it. And that is what I hate the most about my job. Christmas used to be my favorite holiday of the year and now I just wish it get over with and done. Working in retail has really shown how materialistic the holiday has become. It is no longer about Good Will Towards Your Fellow Man but more of what can I give them to impress them. It's no longer about enjoying your time with your friends and family but worrying and stressing out about spending time with your friends and family. I really do feel like a Grinch but my goal is not to get caught up with other people's drama. Not to get to upset with customers who are rude or coworkers who complain. I want to enjoy the season for all it's worth. So, today I am going to put up my Christmas Tree and my singing penguins and later put on the Muppet's Christmas Carol and get into the Holiday Spirit!

In other news, today is my last day off before what will hopefully be a really great Week! Thursday, Mom, Dad and I are going to Portland for the Davis Cup Finals! USA vs. Russia! It's a tennis thing if you don't know. We are actually leaving Wednesday after work and driving to Chicago and leaving from there. This wasn't the original plan but it works out quite nicely because the Monday we come back, Katharine is meeting us there and we are going home TOGETHER! And then Tuesday, we all go back to work! My birthday is the Thursday after we come back (December 6, for those who want to know) And then that Sunday is my bday party with Jackie, who is also a December birthday! So now that I think about it. I have too many great things to look forward to be buried down in all this holiday no-spirit non sense. It's going to be a great Holiday Season! I can feel it.

Kat Returns!

KAT IS COMING HOME!!!! and this time is for real! After several false alarms it's finally official. Kat will be coming state side on Monday, December 3. She will be home just in time for the holidays! and most importantly, my birthday!!! Today, Kat and I hashed out all the details and made her flight reservations. Yippee! That weekend will begin with mom, dad and I in Portland for the Davis Cup Finals, US vs. Russia!!!! Tennis and Kat all in the same week!!!! Can you tell, I'm excited!

In other news, as many of you know, I have been trying to move out of Iowa City for awhile. Well, today was a big step in achieving that goal but since it's still very early in the process, I'm not going to say anything else. I don't want to jinx it. ;-)

Since the last time we talked.

Since my last post, I have been to the UK and back. I visited my sister, Kat, who lives in Cardiff, Wales. I wish I was still there because I really miss my sister. I guess I got spoiled living with her because I got to see her every day. Now it's more like twice a year. Not enough. We didn't do all that much. We spent a few days in London, a day in Bath and then an afternoon at the Museum of Welsh Life. Mostly we just hung out and spent time together. That's what I really wanted. I've been the island enough that most of the "touritsy" things I have already done and what I haven't done yet, that's Ok. I have my reason. Mostly I'm not interested or not going to pay that much to see it. I just wanted to hang out with my sister. Watch movies, go shopping, hang out a pubs. You know things we used to do at home. It was so wonderful. I can't wait for her to come home in April!

Now that I am back, I have to get serious about my diet again. The week before my vacation, I kind of took a vacation from my vacation. I basically went out every night, ate whatever I wanted and didn't even bother to exercise. I gained back 5 lbs! I was really disappointed with myself because after all that work to get to the 30 lb benchmark, I ruined it. While I was on holiday, I did lose 2 lbs but it wasn't because I was watching what I was eating but all the walking we did around London and Cardiff. I do this. I lose interest. I find that I can put in less effort and still get away with a little bit and I become content with that. Before all of this, I would have a nutrisystem breakfast and then a dinner but have a lunch out or have breakfast and then have lunch or dinner out. And I was still losing weight but not as fast as I was before. I know that early in your diet you lose weight faster but I'm not helping my cause by sabotaging myself here. My goal was to be at my goal weight loss of 60 lbs by June. That's not going to happen. I will be happy to reach the 45 lbs mark by then. I wanted to not look like a blimp when I went to the pool this summer and be able to wear a cute little tankini. At least I will look less a blimp this year. Anyway, Well I'm starting over. From today, I'm going to back to how I was on the beginning. I'm only eating my meals unless I am meeting friends. (Tomorrow, I'm meeting Anna and Stephanie for dinner!) I bought yogurt and bananas to have with breakfast and a bag of lettuce for lunch and dinner and new bag of frozen veggies for dinner. I'm going to exercise 4 times a week and I'm going go outside and walk. I'm going to do this because I am tired of being fat! I'm halfway to my goal now and I'm not going to stop now!