Went to see the new George Clooney movie, Up In the Air, with my folks and their friends yesterday. I thought it was a fantastic movie, one that made you think and one that definitely hit home with me. In many ways, my life is very similar to the character played by Clooney, always on the move, living out of a suitcase, finding the most efficient ways to travel, and at times somewhat emotionless, lonely, and isolated.
But hey, it's a job.
This movie made me stop and think for a second. My life moves fast, sometimes faster than I want it to. My lifestyle? Even faster. Living for every moment like it was my last, learning from all the trials and tribulations encountered on this rollercoaster we call "life", embracing all the power that is knowledge from lessons past on and lessons learned. These are the things that make us "wiser for the time" which made me think of this song, a favorite of mine by the Black Crowes.
"Ask me, 'Why another road song?' Funny but I bet you never left home."
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
It Hurts Every Sunday
Ever make a bad decision that haunts you for a long time afterward? Well, I have. Back in week 9 of the NFL season, I traded Brandon Marshall off of my fantasy football team for Steve Slaton. Since then, Slaton has served as backup running back, become injured, and labeled out for the season. Marshall, on the other hand, has gone nuts scoring touchdowns and just broke an NFL record today with 21 catches. I lost 2 matchups as a result, games I would've won had I not made that trade. I may lose this week because of it too. I'd also be in 1st place in my league which awards about $3500 for the 1st place finisher at the end of the season. Now I'll be lucky to break even with a 4th place finish. I'm reminded of this every fucking Sunday. For this reason and this reason alone, I really cant wait for the NFL regular season to be over with.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
I Have Found the Fountain of Youth!!
Today I turned 32 years old. Yeah, I know. Big effin deal. The strangest thing just happened though. I just received my renewed drivers license from the DMV down here in good ol' Miami. Funny thing is that the picture that I took for my license when I was a young whippersnapper at 23 years of age is on my new license and its good until the year 2018!! I'll be FORTY ONE at that point!! I also had my eyesight fading away around the time that my former license was issued, so much so that I had to squint a little bit when they gave me the eye test when I went to get my first Florida license. I guess after you pass one vision test that you are grandfathered in to the "awesome eyesight" club!
It's so awesome knowing that I've found the Fountain of Youth that Ponce de Leon spent years looking for. And to think, all our buddy Ponce needed was a DMV...
It's so awesome knowing that I've found the Fountain of Youth that Ponce de Leon spent years looking for. And to think, all our buddy Ponce needed was a DMV...
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Some Art Basel Luv
Today I decided to head down to Wynwood to check out Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog's Gastropod for a late lunch. The triple decker slider stuffed with pork belly and the short rib hotdog did more than just cure my hunger pains, that's for damn sure. After stuffing my face, we walked around the Wynwood area and checked out various galleries and street art. I really enjoyed these street signs.
Dieting is un-American
Sobriety is un-American
When the Bombs Start A-Fallin', Dont Come A-Callin'!
As if you needed validation...sinner
Check out more cool photos of street art in Wynwood at my buddy @djkmia's flicker here
Monday, November 23, 2009
Quest for 50
Travel, travel, travel. Seems like I'm always on the run (cue the Kravitz). This month has been pretty epic for travel though. Epic in the sense that this weekend I was able to knock off my third of the 14 untraveled states left on the list on my quest to visit all 50 of the United States.
I started November with 14 unvisited states left on my quest for 50, that number including Hawaii and Alaska. Earlier in the month I went to Tennessee and there aint no place I'd rather be (cue the Dead). Well, there are plenty of places I'd rather be but the bbq pulled pork sandwich I had at Golly Whoppers at least made me I was happy I was there at that point in time. I just wanted to make the Dead reference. A week later, I was headed to Minnesoooota, as the locals would pronounce it. Didnt really get to see the full Mall of America but I did have a few good meals, one being a burger that was almost better than the one I had at Burger & Beer Joint recently. This puppy had a burger patty with shredded lettuce, cheese, pulled pork, AND bacon on top of it!! My sales rep and I ate at a couple of sports bars out in Minnesota and the food was surprisingly good as was the service, something you never really get here in Miami.
The last state knocked off in November was Biloxi, Mississippi. This trip was pure pleasure though, no work involved. Why Biloxi? Good question. As I may have stated a few times on this blog, I love to gamble. The MGM group knows this because I have their players card and play often at their casinos when Im in Vegas. Well, they decided to mail me a postcard offering a free flight, transportation, and hotel for 2 nights for me and a companion to check out their Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi. At first I ignored it because it seemed like one of those "too good to be true" deals. Then, they called me and left a voicemail about the promo and sent another postcard. I called my cousin, who also loves gambling as much as I do, and asked him if he was down to go. They had also been sending him postcards and calls about the deal so we decided we would each take one of our buddies and head to Biloxi for a dudes weekend. I'm not going to go into detail but lets just say that it was a full weekend of over-the-top debauchery. Extravagant meals, a lot of drinking, and a lot of gambling. Oh, and I got shitfaced and fell asleep at a blackjack table for about 10 minutes which the casino staff all got a great laugh out of not only on that night but when they told me about it the next day as well. I had no recollection of that. Yay!
Biloxi was a great time with lots of hilarious memories. The casino was actually really nice and probably the closest outside-of-Vegas casino that I've been to that actually resembled a Vegas casino. The only buzzkill of the trip was that we didnt get to take a drive to New Orleans on Saturday, mainly because the rental car company had no vehicles but also because none of us were in any sort of position to drive, let alone sit in a car for 2 hours. Louisiana is one of the 11 states I now have left to visit. Wouldve been nice to knock that one off but oh well. There's always next year...
I started November with 14 unvisited states left on my quest for 50, that number including Hawaii and Alaska. Earlier in the month I went to Tennessee and there aint no place I'd rather be (cue the Dead). Well, there are plenty of places I'd rather be but the bbq pulled pork sandwich I had at Golly Whoppers at least made me I was happy I was there at that point in time. I just wanted to make the Dead reference. A week later, I was headed to Minnesoooota, as the locals would pronounce it. Didnt really get to see the full Mall of America but I did have a few good meals, one being a burger that was almost better than the one I had at Burger & Beer Joint recently. This puppy had a burger patty with shredded lettuce, cheese, pulled pork, AND bacon on top of it!! My sales rep and I ate at a couple of sports bars out in Minnesota and the food was surprisingly good as was the service, something you never really get here in Miami.
The last state knocked off in November was Biloxi, Mississippi. This trip was pure pleasure though, no work involved. Why Biloxi? Good question. As I may have stated a few times on this blog, I love to gamble. The MGM group knows this because I have their players card and play often at their casinos when Im in Vegas. Well, they decided to mail me a postcard offering a free flight, transportation, and hotel for 2 nights for me and a companion to check out their Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi. At first I ignored it because it seemed like one of those "too good to be true" deals. Then, they called me and left a voicemail about the promo and sent another postcard. I called my cousin, who also loves gambling as much as I do, and asked him if he was down to go. They had also been sending him postcards and calls about the deal so we decided we would each take one of our buddies and head to Biloxi for a dudes weekend. I'm not going to go into detail but lets just say that it was a full weekend of over-the-top debauchery. Extravagant meals, a lot of drinking, and a lot of gambling. Oh, and I got shitfaced and fell asleep at a blackjack table for about 10 minutes which the casino staff all got a great laugh out of not only on that night but when they told me about it the next day as well. I had no recollection of that. Yay!
Biloxi was a great time with lots of hilarious memories. The casino was actually really nice and probably the closest outside-of-Vegas casino that I've been to that actually resembled a Vegas casino. The only buzzkill of the trip was that we didnt get to take a drive to New Orleans on Saturday, mainly because the rental car company had no vehicles but also because none of us were in any sort of position to drive, let alone sit in a car for 2 hours. Louisiana is one of the 11 states I now have left to visit. Wouldve been nice to knock that one off but oh well. There's always next year...
Friday, November 20, 2009
Untitled in B
This one was posted over at my food blog, Blind Tastes, but I liked it and wanted to post it here since this site gets far more action from readers...
She was an elusive one, always busy when I spontaneously popped into the neighborhood. A real Miss Popular type and although I had grown tired of competing for her attention on previous attempts to meet her, I was willing to give it one last shot. Besides, my friends thought she was sexy as hell.
I planned to meet her at the bar. A friend of hers told me that the game would be on there so it was a perfect scenario for me. I watched as she moved around the bar, each patron sizing her up and dreaming about their favorite ways to dress her. She is hot after all. Most people get caught up in her her appearance and dress but not me. I like her with as little makeup as possible with plenty of exposed flesh and minimal accessories, though sometimes I like when she gets all dolled up in something sexy. I motioned to the bartender who sidled up and asked how he could assist me. Some intimate quality time with her was all I needed. It had been a long day and I was drained. She would help me find my inner peace again.
I sipped a bottle of suds to take the edge off while I waited for my chance to romance her. When one didn't cut it I popped a second while peeking at the game on TV, still waiting, growing more hungry to be with her. It was then that I saw her floating gracefully across the bar. She was advancing towards me, her chest slightly exposed to give everyone a view at what they would be missing while she was with me. To top it off, she was wearing one of those sexy signature outfits - a silky scarf of American cheese covered the prime angus flesh left exposed by her open sesame top, bacon dangling across her chest, with a bourbon bbq sauce by her side. I had heard that she called this outfit, "Thunder Road", and it was apparent that she came to bring the thunder.
With her now in front of me, I wasted no time on foreplay and chose to ignore her skinny fries. Instead, we just went at it. Right there. At the bar. In front of everybody. She squealed with pleasure as I devoured her, each bite into her flesh releasing her seasoned juices, sending them dripping down my chin. Her bacon was a perfect balance of crisp and chew, making me lust for her even more while the bourbon bbq sauce kept things sensually sweet. At one point she submitted herself to a sprinkling of Tabasco, letting me know she was there to please. And damn did she wear it well. She shuddered as I finished her off, leaving nothing but a trail of bbq sauce dripping over her exhausted skinny fries.
Our passionate affair ended almost as quickly as it had began. A wink of a last bite of her sesame buns and she was gone. I tossed the bartender a fifty and told him to keep the change. She had been worth waiting for. I grabbed my beer, took a final swig, and then headed for the door. I'm not sure when I'll have the chance to see her again, or if she'll even be available, but I know that there will be a "next time"...
Many, many more.
The Thunder Road burger can found at:
Burger & Beer Joint
1766 Bay Rd
Miami Beach, FL 33139-1414
(305) 672-3287
She was an elusive one, always busy when I spontaneously popped into the neighborhood. A real Miss Popular type and although I had grown tired of competing for her attention on previous attempts to meet her, I was willing to give it one last shot. Besides, my friends thought she was sexy as hell.
I planned to meet her at the bar. A friend of hers told me that the game would be on there so it was a perfect scenario for me. I watched as she moved around the bar, each patron sizing her up and dreaming about their favorite ways to dress her. She is hot after all. Most people get caught up in her her appearance and dress but not me. I like her with as little makeup as possible with plenty of exposed flesh and minimal accessories, though sometimes I like when she gets all dolled up in something sexy. I motioned to the bartender who sidled up and asked how he could assist me. Some intimate quality time with her was all I needed. It had been a long day and I was drained. She would help me find my inner peace again.
I sipped a bottle of suds to take the edge off while I waited for my chance to romance her. When one didn't cut it I popped a second while peeking at the game on TV, still waiting, growing more hungry to be with her. It was then that I saw her floating gracefully across the bar. She was advancing towards me, her chest slightly exposed to give everyone a view at what they would be missing while she was with me. To top it off, she was wearing one of those sexy signature outfits - a silky scarf of American cheese covered the prime angus flesh left exposed by her open sesame top, bacon dangling across her chest, with a bourbon bbq sauce by her side. I had heard that she called this outfit, "Thunder Road", and it was apparent that she came to bring the thunder.
With her now in front of me, I wasted no time on foreplay and chose to ignore her skinny fries. Instead, we just went at it. Right there. At the bar. In front of everybody. She squealed with pleasure as I devoured her, each bite into her flesh releasing her seasoned juices, sending them dripping down my chin. Her bacon was a perfect balance of crisp and chew, making me lust for her even more while the bourbon bbq sauce kept things sensually sweet. At one point she submitted herself to a sprinkling of Tabasco, letting me know she was there to please. And damn did she wear it well. She shuddered as I finished her off, leaving nothing but a trail of bbq sauce dripping over her exhausted skinny fries.
Our passionate affair ended almost as quickly as it had began. A wink of a last bite of her sesame buns and she was gone. I tossed the bartender a fifty and told him to keep the change. She had been worth waiting for. I grabbed my beer, took a final swig, and then headed for the door. I'm not sure when I'll have the chance to see her again, or if she'll even be available, but I know that there will be a "next time"...
Many, many more.
The Thunder Road burger can found at:
Burger & Beer Joint
1766 Bay Rd
Miami Beach, FL 33139-1414
(305) 672-3287
Monday, November 16, 2009
New American Airlines Terminal at MIA
As the shuttle pulled up to the terminal, I thought the shuttle driver had chosen to drop us off on the baggage claim level. It just didnt look right - no cars jammed into the curb dropping/picking up passengers, no employees crossing the streets to get to the employee bus, no typical mess that is Terminal C/D at MIA. After looking around and confirming we were indeed on the departure level, I realized that this was the long-awaited Terminal A/B open for business.
American Airlines now has its own area all to itself and its huge. Check-in counters as far as the eye can see. Of course, everything still manages to be a total clusterfuck with First Class being all the way at the end of the hall and multiple departure terminals and security checkpoints. I checked in at the First Class counter and was told my gate would be E2. Great... That meant I had to hoof it all the way to the farthest departure terminal from where I was at. The woman behind the counter told me to use the Terminal E security line in case the others were full. The C/D line was pretty short, so I went to pass there but I was stopped by the typical rude MIA employee who told me to use the D/E line because it would be "faster". Yeah, OK. Terminal E is the International Terminal and its usually mobbed this early in the morning. Lucky for me it wasn't too bad and I made it thru in about 15 minutes.
It was nice to see a Starbucks up and running in the new concourse check-in area. Another one looked to just have been finished and setup right outside the old Terminal D check-in area that now sits empty. Now if they could only get some Starbucks on the OTHER side of security. I was flying out of Terminal E and the breakfast options were Pizza Hut or some Cuban pastries. I'd rather starve than eat that crap. Not that Starbucks is that much better for breakfast but at least they make a decent chai tea.
Another nice new feature at the American Airlines counter was labeling bags as "Priority" for those of us who hold status with American. Waiting for bags at MIA takes FOREVER, so hopefully this miraculously speeds up the process of retrieving bags upon landing. I'm waiting to see what happens when I land in Minnesota, today's travel destination, to see if the labels have any effect on bag retrieval there.
That is if the bags make it there, of course...
American Airlines now has its own area all to itself and its huge. Check-in counters as far as the eye can see. Of course, everything still manages to be a total clusterfuck with First Class being all the way at the end of the hall and multiple departure terminals and security checkpoints. I checked in at the First Class counter and was told my gate would be E2. Great... That meant I had to hoof it all the way to the farthest departure terminal from where I was at. The woman behind the counter told me to use the Terminal E security line in case the others were full. The C/D line was pretty short, so I went to pass there but I was stopped by the typical rude MIA employee who told me to use the D/E line because it would be "faster". Yeah, OK. Terminal E is the International Terminal and its usually mobbed this early in the morning. Lucky for me it wasn't too bad and I made it thru in about 15 minutes.
It was nice to see a Starbucks up and running in the new concourse check-in area. Another one looked to just have been finished and setup right outside the old Terminal D check-in area that now sits empty. Now if they could only get some Starbucks on the OTHER side of security. I was flying out of Terminal E and the breakfast options were Pizza Hut or some Cuban pastries. I'd rather starve than eat that crap. Not that Starbucks is that much better for breakfast but at least they make a decent chai tea.
Another nice new feature at the American Airlines counter was labeling bags as "Priority" for those of us who hold status with American. Waiting for bags at MIA takes FOREVER, so hopefully this miraculously speeds up the process of retrieving bags upon landing. I'm waiting to see what happens when I land in Minnesota, today's travel destination, to see if the labels have any effect on bag retrieval there.
That is if the bags make it there, of course...
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