Bringing the Drama

last Friday night was finally the night of the Greek Fest 5k that I’ve been waiting for since at least April. the closer it got the more i found out about the festival; the gyros, the baklava sundaes, etc. i was STOKED about the food. I’d never had baklava, but I have seen my friend Alton make it on his show Good Eats.

i found my friends before the race, and we waited out the 1 mile run. the 5k was going to be at 7:20 pm. the race starts and the gaggle of people is kind of jog/walking really slow, so i broke out onto the other side of the neutral ground (median). i got back onto the right side of the street once i got some open space. the course was down and back along the bayou, which was nice cause they had recently repaved the road so it was nice and smooth. the race started and i was a little over a mile in when the guy who was in first raced past on the other side. I have no idea if he was Kenyan, but he could have been.

the only thing that bothered me about the race was the end. they had men go on one side and women go on the other. i was sprinting the last part of the race and passed a whole bunch of people. then the problem, they had one person handing out these slips to write your time down on, and the lady doing so in the men’s line was really slow about it. most likely they just didn’t have enough people doing it. so there was about 10 feet to go from the finish line to the stopped people. i was running all out to finish and then had to come to a screeching halt. It was a little dangerous.

After the finish line fiasco, I happened upon my friend Melanie’s husband Chris and we stood to watch people finish. We also talked about commuting and running. Kind of made me wish I lived in NOLA, but it’s too expensive for me. After venturing over to the festival, we made our way to the free beer for runners. By the time I made it to the beer truck, Chris had disappeared. I got my beer though, and remembered Corey (the keeper of my car key) said he’d be over by the place they were selling beer. There were probably 4 of those places, but I walked around and luckily he spotted me on his way back to the spot. I thought the festival was closing at 9 pm (which it did on Sunday), and it was 8:22, so I rushed back to my car (parked 5 blocks away) to get money for the gyros and baklava sundae I had been pining for all week. I got back and stood in a really long gyro line. Why did they only have one place to get gyros? I was in line next to these girls who were taunting people in the calamari line because they were disgusted by it. I hope they were just drunk and not stupid, but I think it may have been a little bit of both. By the time I got to the front of the line I decided I wasn’t just getting one gyro, so I bought two.

I was able to get in the sundae line by 8:55 and the line moved pretty quick so I got my sundae by 8:58. I went back to where my friends were and devoured the first gyro. I was very hungry. Nothing closed at 9 pm though, so I had pretty much been worrying for nothing. The gyro was fantastic, as was the baklava sundae. the sundae was definitely delicious enough to live up to the hype. It was a great night hanging out with friends and eating amazing food. i wish there was stuff like that more often.

(side note: after talking about the baklava sundaes, i have been challenged to make some for the first Saints preseason game in August. i accepted the challenge.)

so the other night after the gym, i stopped off at the store. i perused the seafood section cause i had seen something in the circular about Scottish salmon. i saw the salmon, but they were selling big giant fillets and i didn’t want to buy that much at once. however, before i walked off i saw they had a single fillet of Amberjack wrapped up. intrigued, i picked up the fillet and thought. i had never grilled Amberjack before and i’ve only really had it in restaurants. how would it come out? i’ve made different fish, but nothing really from scratch after an unfortunate incident with cayenne pepper. i didn’t want to make it like i make catfish, but i bought it anyway figuring i’d figure something out.

i googled for recipes but didn’t find anything that interesting. even Mario Batali’s recipe was just kind of “ehh”. i got home last night (Thursday) and tried to search one more time and came across a relatively simple recipe that involved olive oil and seasoning. yeah, okay, i’ll use a version of that. i had read about how soaking fish in milk takes away some of the ‘fishy’ taste, so i put the fillet in a bowl and poured milk over it, flipping it over every few minutes. then i took the fish out and rubbed some olive oil in, and seasoned it with salt and pepper and Zatarain’s. then i decided to get crazy and added some balsamic vinegar dressing. i made sure the fillet was covered and hoped the seasonings would take.

after a difficult time getting the grill lit, i went outside and put the amberjack on. i did about 7.5 minutes on each side. i pretty much hoped though, that the seasonings wouldn’t sink through or off as it grilled. did they have enough time to soak in before grilling? how would the texture be? all worries were set aside when i went out and tested it. flaky and not dry. the end result is shown below.

it tasted fantastic. not fishy, and enough of the seasoning to not over power anything. if i see another single fillet again i won’t be having to think about it, i’ve got a recipe to use.

i had a pretty crappy day at work yesterday. Nothing really bad like having to deal with KCOG or anything, but just having stuff to do, and you need some help with it, but no one has the time to help you. I hate those kind of days. I had been emailed a spreadsheet, but in order to work it, I needed help with it. Being able to use the spreadsheet would solve the issue of putting together a presentation for some analysis I have been working on. It was pretty much the last link for what I was going to do. I couldn’t get any help though, because other people who did know were also working on presentations. ARGH. I did the best I could with what I had and called it a day. I was hoping for a better day today, and it was much better. I was able to get the presentation done, even got a sparsely populated report done that I wasn’t sure about. I got an email about a part I’m trying to design with White Shoes, but the email didn’t really need to go to me. Linked from the email though was a report in the format of something I was doing, and it was already finished. I was able to see what a finished version looked like, and was able to get two reports done today. They looked so much better than before. I was pretty excited about them at the end of today. They’re still pretty green as far as information, but at least now they look presentable.

On my way home I heard on the radio about a truck driver who decided this afternoon during rush hour to jacknife his truck on the Twin Span. There are two other routes to get home, and I was taking the one less traveled. On the radio though, the DJ suggests them to which I told him to shut his mouth. There’s no need to direct more people to the backup route before I take it. Traveling the backup route today though I saw where they are filming The Expendables. So basically there’s a giant blockbuster movie filming near my work. It is very cool.

On my way home today, I stopped by the store to pick up a few things. I loaded everything in the refrigerator and then got changed to go run. I heard the fridge make some noise, but it wasn’t anything that scary. It wasn’t like the clicking sound I heard last time. I still was a little worried because when I opened the doors, it didn’t seem cool enough. I didn’t hear the compressor kick on or anything, and I heard water draining (!!!). I took off the grill part and checked the coils. They were pretty filthy, and the water draining was going into the drain pan. Still though, nothing was happening with the compressor. I grabbed the shop vac and cleaned off the coils as best I could. I googled for some answers in case I was going to have to FIX THE FRIDGE MYSELF AGAIN but didn’t find anything. A few minutes after I had vacuumed the coils, the compressor kicked on and everything went back to normal. I was so relieved. I had just bought all that fresh food, and two of the last sixers of Abita Strawberry. Think of the beer!

Of course, by the time fridge resolved itself, it was 8:30. So I’ll go run tomorrow, which is okay because I’m running in the Greek Fest run on Friday. I’m kind of excited about that btw, and hopeful for some cold beer and a gyro post race.

Today’s fun fact for the day was connecting my job and the movie Top Gun. This morning I saw a video on CNN that was a sort of interview with the current Shuttle commander (they blasted off earlier this afternoon). He talked about how as a Navy pilot, he was chosen as one of the pilots to help out filming Top Gun. Not only that, but he was also the pilot who ‘communicated’ with the MiG at the beginning of the movie. You know the scene, where Maverick and Goose were inverted helping promote East vs West relations (here it is dubbed in I think Italian). That guy who’s finger keeps Cougar from being shot down is currently rocketing towards the Hubble Space Telescope as the shuttle commander. Awesome. He’s also got a badass first name. Right on.

The past year or so, I’ve really gotten into watching soccer, specifically EPL. My friend Jacob’s gone hard core with it, so I’ve gone to watch the games live at a pub in NOLA with him. Then last year I got invited to play in a fantasy league so I had to learn the players and teams even more than I had before. The way the league works is the winner gets a jersey of their choice paid for by the previous year’s winner. That would mean this year Jacob will buy the jersey. Currently I’m leading, and I’m constantly checking EPL news whether it’s on ESPN or BBC. Not so much for the free jersey, but to win something that’s such a new found love and to beat guys that know way more about it than I do.

Anyway, so lately I’ve been thinking about the game I went to last year when I went to Europe. When planning the trip, I told Lori I’d like to go to a game if we could. She was able to plan our trip that we’d make the Sunderland/West Ham game. It was incredible. Most people in this country have been to football games and everything, and football in Europe is pretty much the same thing, if you had the college intensity at a pro game, amped up a bit beyond that. Lori’s friends who got us the tickets were from Middlesborough, and they told us they couldn’t believe they were having to get Sunderland tickets. The opposing teams hate each other. I’m talking hatred like college teams hate each other. Pro sports really don’t have that type of rivalry at all. I mean, I know as a Saints fan I should hate the Falcons, but it’s not like I hate the university of south carolina.

The morning of the game we got dropped off at the stadium and it was cold and rainy. We walked over to a pub across the street to get some beer and hopefully not antagonize any of the Sunderland fans. Jacob is a big fan of West Ham, the day’s opponent, and I was kind of actually going hoping to see WH win. Luckily no one really asked us who we were pulling for, they just thought it was funny that a couple of Americans would be going to a Sunderland game. They didn’t really have any food at the pub, so we drank a couple of John Smith’s Extra Smooths (I was pretty much only drinking stuff I couldn’t get in the US) and headed over to the stadium.

It was pretty cold, and once we got inside, the concourse was packed. We got up to the concession counter and got some food (Shepherd’s Pie!) and ate it in the concourse. Mostly because it was cold and rainy and we wanted to stay out of the weather as long as possible, also you couldn’t bring food down to your seats. We go down to our seats and they are on the front row behind the goal! We were pretty much behind one of the goal posts. I think they were officially in the family section, because the hard core guys who chant and sing were at the opposite end. The West Ham supporters who had traveled to see the game were also on the opposite end of the stadium, surrounded by police. Even though we were in the family section didn’t keep fathers from heckling and cursing or their kids from following suit. I thought it was funny how they booed a member of the opposing team when he was injured. I always want to do that when I think they’re really milking the injury (which the guy was). Oh, and NO walking vendors! The concessions also closed during the game, so no one was getting up to go get more beer or food. It was actually great.

The first half was cool, and the score was tied at 1. West Ham scored first at our end of the field, then Sunderland scored at the opposite end of the field. The game was pretty much back and forth until the very end. During the game Lori took refuge in the empty concourse and I later joined her. It was pretty miserable, but we went back to our seats soon enough.

The game was still tied at 1 at the 90th minute, so they went into injury time. IT is basically the time the ref adds to the clock to account for things like injuries or substitutions since the clock is constantly going. A lot of people had actually left by this time, I guess assuming the game would end in a tie. Sunderland had a couple of chances but they missed. The thing about actually being there, is it’s hard to figure out how much injury time is, so the game could have ended at any time. Sunderland kept firing, and then just when you thought the game would end, they got a goal. The entire stadium (or what was left of it) went insane! By the end of the game I was hoping Sunderland would pull it out, so when they did in such dramatic fashion I went crazy too. Lori and I were jumping up and down hollering our heads off and then the camera guy turns his camera back towards the crowd. We managed to get on the BBC! (at least Lori did) We got on match of the day! this clip is part of the MOTD clip, and Lori’s in the green coat and I come behind her, about 0:25 into it. I have never been that excited for a game where I had no vested interest in either team. Come to think of it I’ve never really been that excited for a game many times. I’ve been to see games won at the end, but there were plays leading up to them, so you kind of knew they were coming. The IT goal had drama building for 30 minutes and close chances, but nothing to make you think “all they have to do is kick the FG now” or “they’re going to run a play to hit a 3 to win”. It was an amazing thing to be a part of.

Peter King wrote about a game he went to last month on his MMQB article a couple of weeks ago. It was cool to see someone else had a similar experience.

so lately i’ve been tracking my calorie intake over on Livestrong’s website on this section called The Daily Plate. it’s pretty cool. Chad had told me about it a while back and i started using it last week. it lets you put physical activity on there which subtracts from your calorie total. i’ve been steady around 1600-2000 calories before subtracting physical activity. when i added last night’s run, it subtracted 922 calories. nice.

i’ve been a lot more conscious the past few months about the things that i eat, esp eating out. there’s a Sonic that i pass twice a day and the past couple of weeks they’ve had the following up on their board: “Try our new Chicken Bacon Ranch on Wheat Bread”. back when Subway started offering their Chicken Bacon Ranch sub, i ate it a few times. it was great. it was Subway, so it had to be healthy right? nope. i found the nutritional info on the CBR sub and it had 30 grams of fat per 6 inch. whoa. a Big Mac has 29 grams. (on average your daily fat intake should be ~50-70 grams) i stopped eating the CBR from Subway. which brings me back to the Sonic. lately when i pass the Sonic’s sign, i got “oh, so the wheat bread saves you from the bad other stuff!”

Brett Favre might go to the Vikings. i’m sure after year’s of hating him and cursing his name, my Minnesota friends may be confused over what they should feel. i think it would be pretty awesome to watch Favre try to exact his revenge on the team that cast him aside. it’s not like the Vikings have a real QB right now anyway. would i be against the Saints signing one of the best QBs of the past 20 years who tore out my heart playing for the Falcons? depends on who they have at QB. right now, of course not, but when they were trotting out Billy Joe Tolliver as QB? hell yes! SIGN HIM MINNESOTA!

also, earlier today i thought what better way to commemorate 5 Margarita Day than with a 5 mile run? i had tried to run 5 on Saturday for my long run of the week and it was torture. don’t go running at noon when it’s bright, sunny, and 83 unless the humidity is less than 50%. tonight though, spurred on by the special day, i went out about 8 pm. i made it. i made it! of course, i appeared to have just gotten out of a pool with all my clothes on, but don’t worry about that. i have now extended my lead in the Nike+ challenge i issued that runs through America’s 233rd birthday. i was also going to do a shot of tequila, but decided against it instead for cold water.

the past two days i’ve had three separate “you went to the dark side, killed a bunch of Jedi, and your wife still died” moments. last night was a new episode of HIMYM (my favorite show). i saw on the preview that the yellow umbrella was going to be included in the show, so i was excited to see what would be the result of the yellow umbrella. when i saw what was included, i literally cried “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”, then i texted the same message.

then today, i get a message from Brandi about ACL Fest, which both of us were figuring out if it would be possible to go to. i had seen last week that the 3 day passes usually sell out after a month or so. knowing this i figured we had a couple of weeks to figure out finances, etc. but today, Brandi tells me that the 3 day passes are SOLD OUT! NOOOOOOOOOOO! in record time THIS YEAR! of course, right?

then after we bantered back and forth about how the one day passes for $85 were just crazy, she drops the news that Mute Math is now listed as playing. NOOOOOOOO!

in spite of so much NO today and last night, i took my final in my grad school class, so it is over. i’m not sure if i’ve passed yet, i’m just glad to have it finished.

1 – quiet birthday with a great friend in a bar, watching soccer, taking home free pint glasses
2 – went for a nice night run
3 – got everything i wanted to get done done; lunch with my aunt; saw Fast and Furious
4 – dinner with my family was great, hanging out with my newly married friends was great, but the best part was hearing my uncle called my dad for the first time in almost 4 years
5 – hang out time with jacob before the hornets game
6 – going to the gym in spite of it being late; attempted video chat with alisa, kari, and mike
7 – went for a run in the cold and my new long sleeve running shirt kept me warm
8 – hang out time with my aunt
9 – hang out time with my friend Zach
10 – going to the gym in spite of not wanting to; seeing people get arrested in my neighborhood!
11 – fun time running a 10k and seeing unexpected friends
12 – almost too much for one day, but i’ll say dinner with family eating things like oysters and baked alaska for the first time
13 – did my taxes and ended up getting a refund! (before doing state anyway)
14 – got better seats for Hornets games, faxed off my grad school hw, and filed my taxes
15 – first hand experience of democracy in action at a tea party
16 – good meeting at work, new assignment too
17 – caught up on The Office and saw this Cheetos commercial
18 – got a ton of yard work done this afternoon, then turned on the tv at dinner to see RotK on and the Battle of Pelannor Fields scene (a scene i had waited years to see in a movie) starting.
19 – annual family crawfish boil
20 – stayed late at work but it was to get something done for early the next morning; caught part of a dave matthews band concert on tv
21 – Andrey Arshavin scored 4 goals in one game, this is good because it helps me move closer to a soccer jersey for winning the fantasy league
22 – got the Fujita jersey i’ve been wanting for two years for more than half off; LSU baseball game with my folks
23 – safe flight to North Carolina
24 – lunch with Andrea, dinner with Mike and Kari, baseball game with Mike
25 – ZOO! Richard Petty’s front gate! Margaritas!
26 – safe flight home
27 – i got to hang out with my friend Jacob and laugh about the Hornets lack of heart
28 – laughed heartily at this week’s episode of HIMYM that i watched online
29 – good meeting at work this AM, went to the gym after work, picked up new Wilco dvd on the way home
30 – got a sweet parking spot at work and figured out a fix for when my iPod messes up the date on my Nike+ runs