smacky and bucky

Don't have a lot going on that's not routine. I took a sick day yesterday to take care of the baby while the little woman went to a military conference and schmoozed (I still have over 60 days of sick leave and one day of schmoozing with the right people can mean business for her company, while a day at my job is normally sitting in front of a computer and maybe saying five words to another living person, so it was a no-brainer to take the day).



What else? One of my favorite Caps hockey players is Matt Bradley. He's a funny guy in interviews, a great player who makes the flashier players look even better by opening opportunities for them, and he and his wife had a kid late last year, so we're in similar situations (except I'm not a hockey player... cough). Anywho, hockey jerseys aren't the cheapest things on the planet. The can cost $160 to almost $200. Enter everyone's best friend e-bay. That's where I was able to score this:
A new jersey with tags still on it, signed by Matt Bradley himself (and I've seen his real signature enough times to know it's the real deal). I was the only bidder, so I got it for under $100, shipping included. I really think the seller lost money on this auction, but I am not sad for her!


Finally, when you spend hours at a time holding a sleeping kid, your options for entertainment are somewhat limited. You can surf the web, but with only one hand free it gets tedious typing. You can watch TV, but hours and hours and hours of TV just makes me feel brain dead. Or you can read. What is good to read? Something engaging that you don't have to concentrate to much on, preferably in paperback, since you'll be holding it with one hand. Something such as this:
It's the (second) "official" sequel to the Terminator Salvation movie. From what I understand, the movie was not a big enough hit to merit a sequel, even though it was originally envisioned as a trilogy, so these novels are the only way the storyline will be continued. I'm sure Terminator will eventually be back on the big screen, but it will be a different story. I hope it's never going to be a "reboot" with some pro-wrestler as the machine and some "flavor of the week" actress playing Sarah Connor. Yuck! But on the bright side, Zahn is a good author (Hugo Award winner) with a knack for writing stories about original characters that take place in established universes, such as the Star Wars universe. And I can read it while holding a baby, so, bonus!

The Hotel Chelsea in New York City is for sale. For real!


Check out these amazing facts about the hotel:

(1) At completion, the Chelsea Hotel stood as the tallest building in New York, at 12 stories.

(2) Several survivors of the Titanic stayed for some time in this hotel as it is a short distance from Pier 54 where the ship was supposed to dock.

(3) Dylan Thomas was staying at the hotel when he died of alcohol poisoning on November 9, 1953.

(4) Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road while staying at the hotel.

(5) Sir Arthur C. Clarke wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey while staying at the Chelsea.

(6) Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, was found stabbed to death in their room on October 12, 1978.


You cannot overstate the historic value of this hotel. Check out who has stayed there HERE.

The list includes:

Literary artists and thinkers

During its lifetime Hotel Chelsea has provided a home to many great writers and thinkers including Mark Twain, O. Henry, Dylan Thomas, Arthur C. Clarke, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Quentin Crisp, Gore Vidal, Tennessee Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Robert Hunter, Robert Oppenheimer, Jean-Paul Sartre, Thomas Wolfe, and Charles Bukowski. Charles R. Jackson, author of The Lost Weekend, committed suicide in his room at the Chelsea on September 21, 1968. Dylan Thomas collapsed in Room 205 at the Chelsea on Nov 9th 1953 and died a few days later in hospital.

Actors and film directors

The hotel has been a home to actors and film directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Shirley Clarke, Cyndi Coyne, Mitch Hedberg, Dave Hill, Miloš Forman, Lillie Langtry, Ethan Hawke, Dennis Hopper, Vincent Gallo, Eddie Izzard, Hal Miller, Kevin O'Connor, Uma Thurman, Elliot Gould, Michael Imperioli, Jane Fonda, Gaby Hoffmann and her mother, the Warhol film star Viva, Melissa "Rocky" Matthers and Edie Sedgwick.

Musicians

Much of Hotel Chelsea's history has been colored by the musicians who have resided or visited there. Some of the most prominent names include The Grateful Dead, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Virgil Thomson, Dee Dee Ramone of The Ramones, Henri Chopin, John Cale, Édith Piaf, Joni Mitchell, Marty Connolly, Bob Dylan, Alice Cooper, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Nadia marie Belvanson & the valentines, Canned Heat, Sid Vicious, and Leonard Cohen. More recently, artists such as Madonna, Falco, Ryan Adams, Camden Blues, The Libertines, Melissa Auf der Maur, and Anthony Kiedis have spent time at The Chelsea.

My wife's b'day is 9 days after mine (and the first one was a few years after mine). We were tired and have a baby (which is a potential screamer at a moment's notice) so we decided to stay in and have dinner. We had pizza:



and I picked up a fancy cake on the way home from work:


She liked her gifts, but the one that got her teary-eyed was the birthday card I picked out for Henry to give his mommy.

Guess who turns five weeks old tomorrow?



Guess who scored the winning goal in overtime on Saturday to put the Caps over the Predators 3-2?

Back at work again. It's like I have a job or something! In lieu of passing out cigars, which has fallen a bit out of fashion as a way to announce your wife had a baby, L had the idea to pass out these instead:
We found a store in the area that carries them and we bought several dozen. I gave them to colleagues at work today and they were a big hit. The females were all "Awwwwwww, what a sweet idea!" and the guys were mostly "Ohhh, chocolate!"

Last night the Caps beat the Islanders, meaning they swept their first home series and their record is now 3-1. Yay!

My first day back to work was productive. It went by quickly because I got a ton of work done! Now I'm taking today off to take the kid to his one-month checkup in the morning and a dentist appointment for me in the afternoon.

Now then, pics!

We had a great time at the home opener for the Caps. They beat the NJ Devils 7-2! In the final five minutes, the Devil players got frustrated enough to simply start fights on the ice. There were at least four! How does long-time season ticket holder (and game show host) Pat Sajak feel about the Devils brawling? He does not approve...


I also learned the wisdom of patience, as Ovechkin's Team Russia Olympic jersey was on the clearance rack, reduced $70 off original price of last year. I actually had enough cash in my pocket for it!



Today is my final day at home with wife and baby (and today just because it happens to be Columbus Day). Wife is a little testy with me because she's anxious about losing her support during the day. Her mom is coming up tonight to stay a few days to ease the transition.

Tonight is the home opener for the Washington Capitals in downtown DC, and I'm going!
Meeting a friend beforehand for oysters and beer at Clyde's!

One of the wife's sisters is coming down from NYC today to see the baby.
Another of her sisters (and that sister's husband) is driving over from Maryland to see visiting sister (and baby again). I'll see all of them when I get back from the game.

Hmmm, I feel like this post needs a pic:

Been about week, I think? Time is fluid now. Yesterday I went to the Washington Capitals convention and had a great time (me and 6,999 other people!). Saw some friends and a lot of hockey players. Here's a pic a friend took of yours truly with Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin:

I love how I'm slightly out of focus and Ovi is looking at my friend before the professional photo was taken.

I also got a gift for the baby! And it was free!


The Caps have a full-size metal lunchbox (very old-school if you are old enough to have had one as a child. I had Star Wars and a Superman [Christopher Reeve movie Superman] lunchboxes back in the day). It's not available to buy yet, but they were tossing out free ones during the convention and a (taller) friend got two and gave one to me to give our boy. It's in his room now!

I was away from the wife and kid for eight hours yesterday, the longest we've been apart since he was born 20 days ago. I missed them! I took a cell phone pic of him before I left and showed him off.