Midnight Mass

I used to go with my mother every Sunday to mass. A long, long time ago, my family switched churches because of more convenient mass times. The church we switched to was very progressive. They had a mass on Sunday nights for teens and their families. That mass practically had a rock band as a choir. Everyone involved in the mas except for the priest, ushers and Eucharistic ministers were teenagers. When the Giants were in the Superbowl in the early 90's, the priest had a Watchman (remember those?) with him and he would give updates on the game during the service.

It was during this time that I became more aware that mass seems like a show, put on for entertainment. Everything is scripted, there is a stage (the altar), singing, and as a friend puts it, "Catholic Calisthenics". Their mass was very polished. It was slick. This church was in an affluent community in New Jersey, so they had all the toys, and I noticed. They had a lighting designer come in and adjust the lighting. Their audio was second to none. The Choir area had several hanging microphones, a monitor mix system, and was acoustically isolated. The priests (called celebrants and presenters) were given wireless microphones. PZM boundary microphones were put on the altar so you could hear the pouring of the wine and the breaking of the host clearly. The whole church was taken into account when speakers were hung. Like I said, their services were slick.

Last night I went to Midnight Mass with my parents. They've since moved down to a shore community and things couldn't be any different. (I should also mention that due to my work schedule and the NBA's penchant for playing basketball on Christmas I haven't been home for Christmas in at least 6 years). First off- Midnight Mass down here is at 8pm. I have a problem with that. They even call it Midnight Mass. Shouldn't Midnight Mass be at I don't know, Midnight? Secondly, I'm not sure where all the people were. At my old parish, they have their excellent musical groups start caroling at 11pm. This means if you want a seat for mass you have show up by 10:30pm. If you're not in the church by 11pm, you're standing in the vestibule it's that packed. Last night, we wanted to get there early because their carols started at 7:30pm and with my dad's back wanted to make sure we had a seat. We arrived shortly after 7pm, and their was no problem getting a seat. In fact, the church never got more than 1/4 full at any time during mass.

The church surprisingly has a similar layout to the one I was talking about. Both probably built during the 60's, they are large and wide, not your traditional church layout with only a single aisle down the middle. That's where the similarities ended. The musical group was awful. Granted, I can't sing or play a musical instrument, but I know that. I'm not going to subject others to it. There were a handful of good voices in the choir, but they were drowned out by the organ and the other singers who happened to be in the pick up pattern of the 2 microphones in the front row. Whenever one of the singers with a good voice would go for a solo to one of the microphones, their voice was too powerful for the microphones, and the small PA speakers they had mounted in the walls behind you couldn't reproduce the frequencies they were singing at accurately. There was a lot of distortion and clipping going on. The violin player never was on the same page as the singers or the organist.

With the way they had the speakers laid out, there was a lot of feedback when the priest would talk. The majority of speakers were facing TOWARD the altar. This doesn't take a genius to figure out. From that point it was down hill. Needless to say, I was back at my parents from Midnight Mass at 9:15pm.

A different Life

This morning I was riding down in the elevator of my hotel at 5am. When I got on there were two very attractive, very drunk women. I was bundled up for the elements today (-1 windchill currently and dropping) and had my credential around my neck. They were asking if I was going to the game. I said yes, I was going in to work. They giggled and said that they were going to the game as well, but were going to sleep first.

I've often wondered what it would be like to be one of those people. We're always going in early, and invariably, there are people going to bed when we're going in to work. There are also people already tailgating when we're going in to work. I often wonder what that would be like.

The kicker of the story was- they were very happy I wanted the Packers to win, and they were actually at the wrong hotel. Ooops.

Quick Travel Stats as of today for the year

This isn't quite complete yet, but...

Flight Distances		Flight Time		Flights
In Miles 79,947 In Kilometer 128,663 Earth Circumnavigation 3.21 x Distance to the Moon 0.335 x Distance to the Sun 0.0009 x		Hours 198:03 Days 8.3 Weeks 1.2 Months 0.28 Years 0.023		All 71 Domestic 71 Intra-Continental 0 Intercontinental 0 Other flights 0

Booking classes:	Economy	20		Business	1		First	42
Seat:	Window	35		Middle	0		Aisle	7

My Nemisis: Keys

For those that don't know- I lose keys a lot. (or temporarily misplace them)

The stories are many- in college, an staff member threatened to put attach a 1" tape reel to them to help me know where they were. The thinking was that it'd be hard to lose them with that large ring attached to them. There is the story (twice now) where I left the keys to the rental car inside the truck, and it wasn't realized until the side of the truck was in, and all packed up. Someone (not me) locked the doors to the rental car with the keys in it. Luckily, the small window in the back of the car was broken somehow, and we were able to unlock the door from there.

I was just reminded tonight of perhaps the best story however happened last year over Thanksgiving. We were in Dallas and had a leisurely lunch at a lovely steakhouse. As we went to leave, I couldn't find the keys. I asked around, and sure enough no one had the keys. We looked all around the booth we were sitting at, and they were no where to be found. We thought maybe they fell out of my pocket when exiting the car. We walk back to the car, and TG just starts laughing. Somehow, when I parked the car, I managed to NEVER TURN IT OFF. The car was sitting in the parking lot for a 90 minute lunch outside of Dallas unlocked and running the entire time.

Tonight we went back to the steakhouse, and I got a bunch of ribbing, but I had the keys in my possession the entire time.

Slingbox, oh how I love you.

This is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I honestly don't know how we've gotten along with out it for so long. For those of you who don't know what a slingbox is go here for details. The basics- it lets me control and watch anything I can on my home TV on my laptop when I'm on the road. Why would you ever need that you're asking. Well, for starters, when the hotel that you're staying in only has 12 channels, and there really truly is nothing on TV. This allows me to have all of the channels I pay for at home with my in my hotel room. Granted, You do have to watch them on your computer, but It is pretty damn cool. A second benefit- If there's a show coming on that I want to record, I can control the DVR from my computer. I can also watch the shows that I have on my DVR while on the road. If I'm in say Kansas City, but really care about what is going on at home, I can watch the local news from home this way.

This device is currently for a niche market, but I predict it will take off.

The Mac and Cheese Secret

Since the Macaroni and Cheese was received so well tonight by the Lady in Red, I thought I'd share the ingredients to it so others may share in my Mac and Cheese. I never said it was healthy, but damn is it good.

8oz Macaroni- I prefer DeCecco Pasta, but this is up to you.
1/2 stick butter
4 TBSP Flour
1 Cup Milk (I go with skim)
1 Cup Cream (the reason I go with skim milk)
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar cheese- Buy good cheese in a block and shred it yourself
1/2 Cup Bread crumbs.

Heat the over to 400

Cook the pasta as usual.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter, and then add all the dry ingredients except the bread crumbs.

Stir in the milk and cream a little at a time, making sure you are always stirring.

It is very important to always be stirring the pot with this.

Let this cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. If you don't stir constantly, you won't be happy with the results.

Add the shredded cheese a little at a time, allowing it to melt before adding more cheese.

When all the cheese is melted and after the pasta is drained, pour the pasta into the saucepan with the cheesey goodness. Make sure to stir/toss to get them all covered.

Take the Macaroni mixture and put it into a baking dish.

Cover the top of the macaroni with the breadcrumbs and cook for 20-25 minutes. The top will be a golden brown when it's done.

What happened to me

I just realized when I was getting undressed at the hotel that I've become an Under Armour person. EVERYTHING I had on today except for my shoes and gloves bore the Under Armour logo. My underwear (the 6" inseam Boxer Jock), my leggings (the ColdGear 1.0 Base Layer), my shorts, my snow pants, my t-shirt, my fleece, my jacket, and yes even my socks. I had an Under Armour Beanie on as well.

All of these products fit me well and are very comfortable to wear. They are practical for me to be outside working in as they allow movement and warmth, but don't allow me to overheat. I'm ok with this, but I can't believe that this is what has happened to me.

Cabo vs. Mac and Cheese

I'm a firm believer everything happens for a reason.

I was planning a trip to Cabo for a few days this week after some meetings. I would have Wednesday-Friday available to go to Cabo. I had no one to go with. I would have traveled in on Wednesday, and I would have had to travel back out on Friday afternoon, so I only would have been there for one full day. My office already booked me a flight home on Tuesday night and back out on Friday. I couldn't get a reservation with all of my accumulated points at the hotel that I wanted to. I was leaning towards not going.

I'm chatting with The Lady In Red, and we're talking that things were progressing nicely between us. In our earlier conversations I mentioned that I made damn good mac and cheese. She and I were conversing and if I don't go to Cabo, we're both free on Wednesday. We mentioned that we should definately meet up again, and I'm thinking this is the reason that everything is conspiring against me. Obviously The Lady in Red needs macaroni and cheese.

Full Size

On Friday when I went to pick up my rental car, imagine my shock when my Full Size SUV waiting for me was a Ford Freestyle. It was started and getting warm for me, but as soon as I saw it I went to the service counter to see what my other options were since this was clearly not going to be large enough for me and my colleagues. It doesn't help matters that the rate was 89.99 a day. Even though it's not my money, I'm not going to pay 89.99/day to drive a Freestyle. (My apologies to those who drive Freestyles, but they're not for me) The gentleman behind the counter was very nice, and realized the sham that was being pulled on me. They didn't have any SUV's cleaned, and had the Freestyle, a 4x4 clean and ready. They were thinking that I wanted a 4x4, not necessarily an SUV because of the predicted bad weather here. I explained to him that I needed to fit 4 people my size and luggage in this vehicle, so I needed a Trailblazer or Explorer, and I'd even pay the upgrade fee for an Expedition (knowing they would probably just give it to me). They offered me a few other small 4x4 cars, all of which I turned down, as well as a Hummer. Yes I turned down a Hummer. Actually it was an H-3, and believe me, they're small. After telling them I wasn't in a hurry and I'd wait for a little bit for them to clean an Explorer, I drove off the lot 15 minutes later in a Ford Explorer.

Unfortunately this is a growing trend. Somehow, rental car companies are now considering a Chrysler Pacifica, a Montero, an Escape etc as full sized SUV's. They consider a Ford Taurus, a Ford Focus and a Honda Accord a Full Size car. I think that in their efforts to be more environmentally friendly, they're trying to steer people to smaller cars. Perhaps they're looking out for me and trying to help me save money on fuel. They don't understand that I NEED the larger vehicle. I don't care about the fuel expense. If we get a larger car, we can save on the number of cars that we get, which in the end, saves money.

Sleep Study

So last night I went for my sleep study. For those of you who don't know me, it is rather odd for me to be having so many weird things like this going on at the same time.

I reported to the sleep clinic at 9pm as instructed and had to fill out some paperwork, and then was shown to my bed room for the night. It had a good feel about it in that it wasn't a generic hospital room or anything like that. It had a bed, nightstands, dressers and a TV. I was told to change into my night time clothes, which for the purposes of the study was shorts and a t-shirt. Typically I'm a boxers and t-shirt guy or less, but the shorts and t-shirt works just fine.

Next, the technician came in to wire me up. First were sensors for each of my legs to measure limb movement and then two bands across my chest to measure respiration. Next she started to take measurements on my head, making marks on my scalp where various sensors were to go. She then scrubbed the skin around where she was going to put sensors. Next up was putting glue at these spots, and then affixing the sensors to my scalp at these locations. My face was the next to get the treatment with senors placed at my temples and below my eyelids, on my jawbone. Then sensors were placed on my chest for an EKG to measure heart function.

I was then told to get into the bed, and the final two sensors were hooked up- a sensor that went into my nose to measure air flow, and a sensor on my finger tip that measures the amount of oxygen in the blood. I'm not sure how it's able to measure that without piercing you, but I'm OK with it. After these sensors were on, I was plugged into the computer and had to go through a calibration procedure with the technician to make sure all of the sensors were working properly.

I was then left to my own devices (keep in mind there's a camera in the room shooting me at all ties) to fall asleep. I finished watching the show that was on TV and the news through the weather like I would want to do if I was home. As uncomfortable as those sensors sound, I was able to fall asleep rather quickly. My nights sleep was as most of mine have been lately, awakening many times through out the night seemingly for no reason, lying there for a little bit and then going back to sleep.

When I woke up like this at 5am, I was told that they had enough data and it was time to go. It took about 20 minutes to get all the sensors off of me, and then I was left to fill out a questionnaire about my sleep that night, get dressed and go home. I got home just as the sun was coming up and promptly went to bed. I woke up around 9:30 or 10am.

I'll get the results from the sleep study in 5-7 days.

The Lady in Red

If there was a second, super secret blog, I think this belongs in it. But there's not, so oh well.

I met the Lady in Red for drinks on Monday afternoon, and I was expecting things to be a little awkward at first considering how we know each other. I couldn't believe how wrong I was. I had arrived a little before her since where we met was closer to me. I was sitting next to annoying guy at the bar who was telling me about his gas problems, how he started eating spinach and all sorts of crazy things. This was at 3:30 in the afternoon.

The Lady in Red walked in and rescued me from him. She had mentioned that she looks good in red. She was right. We retreated to a back table and after getting the waiters attention, ordered a drink and started chatting like old pals. We continued to chat for a few more hours, enjoying a few beverages, and a lovely salad and mozzarella stick dinner. Well, she had the salad, and we shared the mozzarella sticks. They weren't that good, but the company was great. I think we could have stayed for hours, but she had to get home to tend to much more important matters.

Have a Good Sleep...

I had an incredibly full day yesterday. I had to get up early (for me) and bring the car with no name (that is it's name) to get some work done on it. Afterwards, I went to a pulmonary specialist since I've been having problems getting the deep breaths. I figured I should get that checked out and not just chalk it up to the asthma. My lungs were functioning perfectly normally at that time. He said that they sounded clear. They drew blood to run a full panel of tests since I've also been unusually tired lately. He is thinking that I may have a sleep disorder.

He said i have large tonsils and a large neck, and yes I am overweight so that does make me a candidate for sleep apnea. He's not convinced that's my problem though. He ordered a sleep study for me, and said it usually takes a month or two to be able to get in to get it done. Then today, I got a call from the hospital saying they had a cancellation tonight and asking if I was available. I said yes, and they called the insurance company and it was approved and it's a done deal. I can't imagine how someone can sleep well hooked up to all sorts of wires. I'll be there tonight, and report back tomorrow on how it went.

Add a trip to my parents for the night last night to get X-Mas decorations out and that's a full day.

Continental's Response

This was received back from Continental less than a day after I sent my original email to them. I never got an automated response or anything like this. It's great to see a response so quick and seemingly honest from a company nowadays.

Dear XXXX:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding your flight from Chicago. Your email came to the attention of Corporate Customer Care and, I appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

I regret you found our flight attendant to be less than helpful when trying to find space to stow your carry-on bag in the overhead compartments. Please know that our planes have some of the largest over-head storage bins in the industry but carry-on space is limited and available on a first come first serve basis. During peak travel seasons, we may ask customers to check their intended carry-on luggage at the gate just before boarding. Normally, if we are operating a full flight, we will gate-check carry-on luggage for safety reasons.

I am deeply concerned about the behaviors of the gate agent at Midway Airport, as you described in your letter. The service you received is not typical of what Continental Airlines expects from our employees. Our airport agents are expected to provide a friendly, efficient service, and I regret this is not what you experienced. Your comments will be included in a monthly Customer Care report that is distributed to senior management. I am confident that every effort will be made to locate the employee involved and that immediate corrective action will be taken.

Thank you again, XXXXX, for bringing this situation to our attention. Customer service is one of our top priorities and, the only way for our company to improve is to know where it is failing. We will use your feedback for future coaching and training.

We value your patronage as well as your opinion and, look forward to welcoming you back onboard soon.

Regards,

XXX XXXXX
Customer Care Manager

Please tell me....

Why did I wake up at 2:15 in the morning, and why can't I fall asleep?

An Open Letter to CAL

I'm sorry to do this, but I have to express my displeasure with the way in which I was treated on flight 1145 from MDW to EWR this morning. I was sitting in seat 1B, a bulkhead seat. I was on a phone call and chose not to board right away when first class was called, but about midway through the boarding process so I was not rude to anyone by being on the phone while getting on the plane and getting situated. The flight was fairly full, but not completely full. I had one carry-on, the same Travelpro computer bag I always carry with me. When I got on the aircraft, they were turning away rollaboard suitcases as I have often seen in the past. As I get myself settled at the seat, I go to put my bag in the overhead bin, but everything is completely fully in my area since someone who is sitting much further back in the aircraft has just put their rollaboard and small duffel bag in the last remaining space in the first class overhead bins. Yes, if I had boarded the aircraft earlier I could have used this space, but I chose not to. Putting my back under the seat in front of me is not an option since I am in a bulkhead seat with a small cubby cut out for more leg room (thank you for that by the way), but clearly marked "No Stowage".

I asked the Flight Attendant if the bag (again, a small computer bag) could be placed in the closet for take off and landing and was quickly told no. She made a cursory search and said that my bag would have to be checked. I was not happy about this, considering it is my ONLY carry on bag and has items in it such as medicine, work identification, keys, my passport and travel documents in it, not to mention the computer, but if there is no space, there is no space. I was told by the gate agent that this was my only option, and she started to take the bag from me. I told her I'm sorry, but I have to take a few items out of my bag before she could take it. I was going through the bag, not really wasting any time, and about 20 seconds later I was told that she had to take the bag at that time. I again said i just need a minute more to make sure that everything I needed that was valuable was out of the bag. She responded with "Well you're just going to have to go on the next flight because I have to close the door now." We were not past our departure time. If she had taken me off the flight, did she really think that would help get the flight off on time? I can assure you if that happened, that would have been the last Continental flight I would have flown. I finished going through my bag within the next 30 seconds and my bag was snatched from me and the door remained open for at least another minute or two. As it turns out, I realized after my briefcase was gone that I left my keys in it. I also now have to carry all of these items loose to baggage claim to get my bag since this was my ONLY carry-on.

I have feared that this very thing would happen to me for some time now. I do not know that this is what happened in this case, but something I have seen before is the flight crew puts their bags in the overheads right at the front of the plane at the bulkheads because it is convenient for them to get at. Unfortunately, passengers seated at the bulkheads are unable to put anything under the seat in front of them, so they are the ones who need that overhead space the most. The other culprit here is people bringing several carry-on's. I'm not going to say that I've never had more than the allowed carry-on bags, but that's only been a handful of times. In the winter time when you have someone with three carry-on bags plus putting their jacket in the overhead bins, it's no wonder how the bins get so full so fast.

Not once through this whole process was I rude or combative in anyway. I have been flying 100+ flights a year for over 10 years and roll with the punches fairly well. I don't think that it's right to have been threatened with being removed from the flight because I took a minute to take out items which I could not have gotten by with out. On the whole, your airline does things right, and much better than the others. I have flown as an elite member on other airlines when I lived in different cities, and Continental generally has the best service hands down, which is why I was so surprised at this situation. Ironically, of all the flights I have taken on your airline and all of the situations I have been in, I believe that I have only written one other time, and that was also regarding a flight out of MDW and exemplary service shown by the flight and ground crew.

Male Grooming Products

I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point over the past few years, I've given into the craze. I no longer wash with just soap and water. Now I have to use a body wash gel for men. I have changed nothing about my washing procedure other than swapping in the Axe for bar soap, but I end up much cleaner. I should actually say, the wash cloth ends up much dirtier. I'm beginning to think that thre is some sort of chemical reaction between the body wash, water and human skin that turns the wash cloth to a dirty color immediately. It has other benefits too, I like the smell, and it is not nearly as drying as regular soap is.

For my shampoo, my first choice is Paul Mitchell's tea tree. After you've used that, everything else is just shampoo. If you haven't tried it, you really should. It feels like my head is getting a massage while I use it. The tingly sensation is amazing.

Last year while traveling I ran out of shaving cream or lost it or something. I went to the hotel gift shop, and all they had there was this foo-foo stuff caled Kid Glove Shaving Gel by Sharps. Since it was all they had, I had to get it. I have never used anything better. I haven't been able to find it anywhere else. This year, I'm back at the same hotel, and made sure to buy some. I haven't had a shave this close since last year. I never thought that something so simple would make a difference. I'm now hooked. I've been to the website, and will be buying much more.

While I don't think I'll ever be called a metrosexual, I'm starting to act like one with all the product I now seem to need to get by on a daily basis.