Just Another Birthday

So today is my birthday and I decided to try and keep it quiet here on the boat. We are in transit from Newfoundland to Norway so the personnel on board is a minimum. Unfortunately the Medic is an avid user of Facebook and he happens to be one of my friends on there. The result was an un-kept secret:

Can't be annoyed with a delicious cake though...

Sandy

This is posted a little later than I had of liked but when I originally wrote it we were without power, water (such a sob story...) and I completely forgot to post it when we recovered:

The day of the storm was like any other rainy day. The Girl had gone to work in the morning but arrived home just after lunch. We decided to venture down to the Hudson River to see if it had broken its banks. On arrival we were surprised that the fences had been moved into place to close off the water front. As all New Yorkers would do we squeezed through a gap in the fence that had presented itself. There were still joggers and quite a number of people doing the same as us.

As the water began to break the banks we took some photos and wondered how much more severe the weather would be getting. Soon enough the cops were rolling along telling everyone to leave the area and go home. I now realise all the hype in the movies, "move along, there's nothing to see here," was not an exaggeration of actual events.

When we got home we cooked ourselves a massive nachos and opened a bottle of wine. After this we skyped the celebrant for our upcoming nuptials, but unfortunately the power went out around 8pm. The start of our real life "Revolution." As crazy as it sounds I was actually a little excited to be in the middle of New York City during this time. We could see the lights of uptown in the distance that had not been affected, however looking out from our apartment window we saw a sight unfamiliar to us - the city that never sleeps, in complete and total darkness...

Day 2 (Tuesday): We got up a little late thinking that the power might have been restored. We had seen earlier reports that the power would be switched off for 12 hours to prevent any long term damage. Alas this was not the case and we later found out that they didn't switch the power off at all and a substation had been flooded, frying all the circuits. If I was a voting man the Governor and Mayor who so blatantly failed to live up to this promise would be on the chopping block (and I encourage all New Yorkers to think the same).
 
For some reason I had grabbed a halogen lamp from my vessel the trip before that served us well in our bathroom (that has no windows). Surprisingly the water was still hot and flowing freely, how I wish I had savoured that sweet sensation a little more. We decided to walk uptown for some food taking in some of the devastation that had occurred.

When was the last time you saw people lining up to use a payphone?

32 blocks later we were back in civilisation. The only noticeable difference was a lot of the businesses had put up signs stating "restrooms for customers only." Due to the devastation and suffering that people had endured a few blocks away, this to me was appalling. I took notice of which ones were the offenders in case a future opportunity to avoid or slag off presents itself.

We called into a couple of bars just above Midtown for some lunch / dinner and recharged all of our devices. The girl was going into work the next day (fortunately her building has power) so we called it a night. Unfortunately getting home proved a little trickier than we anticipated. The subway, being flooded, was out of action and the taxis that pulled over refused to go below 30th St. It was a little disturbing that they thought something bad was going to happen to them in a region that had no power. Eventually someone accepted us and we made it home at a reasonable time, discovering that we were now without any water to match the electricity.

Day 3: The Girl was up early to head to work and have a shower at a gym up town before she got there. I decided a trip uptown was necessary to use the bathroom / have a shower. Walking 30 blocks for a bowel movement gave me a new perspective on the benefits of modern day society. I'm sure the days of old a bucket emptied in the street would have sufficed however being the current times I figured this was probably unacceptable.

It was surreal how many other people were making the pilgrimage along the Avenues out of the "dead zone" as I liked to refer it. It was the beat down and unhappy mood that one would expect but more of a matter of fact, somewhat jovial feeling that was projected. I too found myself with the same positive spirit. Until I reached the edge of the "dead zone" to be greeted with the "for customers only" signs that had annoyed me a day earlier.

Time was running short so I decided to chance the closest watering hole for my pit stop. As I entered and made a beeline for the loo, the barman held a hand out and said "sorry pal, for customers only." I kept walking and with a beaming smile replied, "yes I'll have a Sam Adams please. I'll look at a menu as well." After finishing up I promptly walked past the full pint waiting for me at the bar and said to the bartender, "sorry but this place just doesn't have a friendly enough atmosphere, so I'll be leaving now." My exit was haste and I legged it up the footpath in case he wanted some sort of repayment from me (although I have since been told if I didn't touch the beer they cannot charge me by my regular barmen). The name of this pub is "The Molly Wee Pub" and I encourage people to boycott.

The afternoon consisted of me finding a gym that the girl had arranged for me to take a shower in without any charge or hassle (it amazed me how big the chasm between the kindness of people in hard times was) and generally enjoying walking around in civilisation. I met the girl and we went to our old local bar on 54th St for  a fun evening. After we got home we were greeted by an impromptu halloween parade, the main one being cancelled earlier in the week, that was traversing up Bleecker St. It seemed the spirit of the city lived on.

Day 4: The late night socialising, cancelled any need for me to be worried about the lack of power - sleeping through the rest of the day proved a viable option to living in the stone age. Much later the afternoon consisted of another gym visit and a rendezvous with the girl for dinner. My nocturnal instincts took over and a late night session proved a fair substitute to a night in darkness. From what I remember, the girl left at a reasonable hour, while I stayed around for a bit longer. Apparently this little bit longer turned out to be all night as I managed to sneak into bed around the time the girl was getting up to go to work.

Day 5: Tiring of the lack of power and water, the frustrations of the Girl and myself were at a boiling limit. Fortunately we had the opening game of the basketball season to go to, the Knicks hosting the defending NBA champion Miami Heat. After 5 days of a much disrupted life we both were looking forward to it. During my walk up to Madison Square Garden, the power came back on for as I reached 14th st. An almighty cheer rose up like the Empire had just been defeated by the rebellion. I turned in my tracks only to be disappointed that 14th st was as low as the power reached and the Village was still in darkness.

The Knicks took the hardship of the city on their shoulders and won this encounter with a very good display of teamwork and self belief to put some welcome cheer in back our spirits. It was fantastic to forget about our situation for a night and we continued the celebration well into the small hours of the next morning.

Day 6: We woke up late morning the next day to a disappointing powerless routine. It wasn't long though before the power came back on, followed soon after by the water. It was a welcome change to have a shower, albeit cold one, in our own flat. The hot water was restored later that evening. Not since the first night we moved into our flat had we been so happy to be sitting there. Our lives had been restored but the memory was deeply engrossed of what we had gone through.

Reflecting back now, we had endured it relatively easy compared to those who had lost lives, homes and possessions. Some people will remain without power until Thanksgiving. Rather than destroy the spirit though, it seemed that the city had a shared resilience to come together and help each other (well most of us). Our doormen had no way to get to or from work when the bridges and tunnels were closed yet they slept here in the building taking alternative shifts to keep the entrance ticking over - it was such a comfort to know that people like this take pride in there position.

Hopefully the city can learn from this experience and move forward in a positive outlook. We certainly have come through this a stronger team, which will keep us in good position for next near. It's planned to be a big one for us...

Dallas - the city full of celebrities...

The girl had to head to Dallas for some high financing deals with J.R and co (probably), so I got to tag along and see what the city had to offer. This basically meant I would be sitting by the pool sipping cocktails and frequenting the numerous bars around our hotel. What else can you do in 40+ degree heat?

Monday afternoon I found myself in the hotel bar chatting with the bartender and enjoying my soft taco / beer combo. One of the hotel staff members came op to me and asked if I was the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. I enquired if I looked like the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and was met with a positive nod, as she added "you don't sound like him though." I apologised that I wasn't in fact the owner of the Dallas Maverick much to her disappointment. Perhaps she was thinking of some free season tickets? Anyway see if you can tell us apart below.

A couple of beers later, it was still just myself and the bartender talking crap, a well dressed chap came out from the restaurant and stopped at the bar. Being the polite (perhaps a little intoxicated) lad I was, I gave him a friendly greeting. He responded and we had a brief back and forth. He was mildly interested in an Australian living in New York, I questioned him whether he was in town on business. "I've got a show on tonight," he replied with little interest. I was a little intrigued in this but let it pass in an attempt to keep the gentleman at ease. After a few more back and forths with the barman and I, he left some cash for what I thought was his bill, and departed with a "take it easy."

Soon after, to satisfy my growing interest, I asked the barman if the guy was famous. He gave me the full low down of the local rapper: Nelly. Admittedly I had barely heard of him, so whipping out the iPhone I soon had pulled up his bio. Clearly his on stage persona was in contrast to the well spoken, well dressed man of a few moments ago.

To top off the afternoon, I had finished up and was pulling out my wallet to fix up the bill when the bartender explained that Nelly had taken care of it for me. I was rather chuffed as I headed out to meet the girl for dinner.

Philly!

The girl and I decided to head to Philadelphia for the weekend so I could sample a Philly Cheesesteak - and yes it certainly tastes better in this city! What else is there to do in this famous city? Well I licked the Liberty Bell (it tastes like pennies), ran up the steps to the museum (that was made famous in the first Rocky movie) and crossed the finish line of the triathlon. No, seriously I did. In fact I crossed it before any other competitor did. The race wasn't being run until the next day but you get my point here. Anyway, if you have the means I highly recommend coming to check it out.

A Scotsman, Irishman and an Aussie walk into a bar...

...and proceed to get a a little drunk over a game of football. The Aussie gets back to his hotel around 2am and starts packing for his 6am flight.

Melo time

Some of you who may know that my favourite basketball player is Kobe Bryant. He has often been compared as the modern day Michael Jordan (the blogs light up with this heated discussion), and regardless of peoples opinion, is one of the greatest players at the end of the game. It's all about the 'clutch' baskets he scores in the final minute of the fourth quarter. When the game is on the line, it becomes Kobe time. He demands the ball, an isolation and dominates his defender with a long range drive, pull up jumper or fade away. It's incredible to watch and his reputation has become folklore. If the Lakers are close at the end of a game, there is always a chance, however fleeting, that they can win.

Now I have become a fan of the Knicks it has become rather obvious who the heir apparent is in the trail of Kobe's greatness. The Knicks very own superstar, Carmelo Anthony. He had started a reputation of his own over in the hills of Denver. I had seen these so called heroics against meagre opposition in a meaningless game and was less then impressed. Then he decided (or I should say 'forced') to take his talents to South Beach the Big Apple. Noticeably at the start of the season Amare Stoudemire was the man in the fourth quarter (he was the NBA's highest point scorer in the 4th quarter of games for the first half of the season) but after his injuries and the firing departure of Coach D'Antoni, it fell on Melo's shoulders to reign supreme once again. With Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin (New York's newly crowned saviour) on the sidelines Melo became a force to be reckoned with. None more so than yesterday's game at the Garden when he showed a vocal Sunday afternoon crowd why this was his city, his town:

That shot was legen.....wait for it......(I hope you're not lactose intolerent)......dary! This sent the game into overtime - my very first one at the Garden (it's awesome when you get another 5 minutes of basketball absolutely free)! And just to prove this was no fluke he decided to repeat the brilliance at the end of OT as well:

Un-freaking believable! With a hand (literally) in his face he pulls up for the most exciting basketball moment I have been there in person to witness. The crowd went up as one, chills ran up my spine into a buzz of ecstasy. That's what you hope for all season. Be a witness to one of those moments that you will tell everyone who will listen about but can never quite explain. This confirmed my belief that Melo could fill the mantle once owned by my hero, and in the fourth quarter of any Knicks game, I'll be setting my watch to Melo time.

Technologically Boozing

The Girl and I hit D.C. for the weekend to take in the sights (most of the National Mall was being dug up), museums (the section of the Smithsonian that housed the movie memorabilia like Dorothy's ruby slippers was closed) and other attractions (the International Spy museum had a queue that spanned half the block and appropriately avoided). As such we booked ourselves into a nice tapas style restaurant called, Jaleo.

The food was outstanding but the novelty had to be the iPad 2 they provided you with to browse and purchase the wine. It was a very cool thing to do and ranked this particular establishment a gold star for trendy venues in D.C.

A Blast from the Past

On my way to St. Johns (Newfoundland) for a couple of work meetings, I was diverted to Halifax to spend the night. As frustrating as this was it allowed me to catch up with an old friend I had sorely missed...

Unfortunately my flight was boarding which meant there was very little time to knock 'STU' off his mantle at the top of the high scores but rest assured if there is ever a delay again, I will be losing a few Canadian quarters in pursuit of the top rung. "Quicksand, fumes, toxic waste, its all ours!"

The room full of dirt

If you ever happen to stroll along Wooster St just below Houston make sure you take the time to check out the bizarre room known as 'The Earth Room". I do not know what is symbolizes or represents. All I know is that the display has been there since the year I was born. That in itself is remarkable.
(Walter De Maria, The New York Earth Room, 1977 - 141 Wooster St)

Any Given Sunday

It's that time of the year when the "World" (that is the USA) goes wild for the end of the football season - the Superbowl. We went to watch it in our old local bar (Character's) as we knew it would be a great atmosphere and we would be more than well looked after. The NY Giants had been undefeated since the middle of the season when they had a fairly poor 6-5 record. It was a rematch of the last time the Giants had won the Superbowl in 2007 and again they were largely the underdogs. Putting that aside they came through with an awesome display of grit and determination to beat the NE Patriots and crown themselves as 'World Champions'.

The crazy thing about the day was the number of women who had come to the bar to enjoy the celebrations - not to watch the football but the halftime ads. It was hilarious how they gawked at the screen when they commenced, laughed at the smallest idea of a pun and invigoratingly clapped when the commercial was over. It will never cease to amaze how over the top excited the US gets over an advertisement.

Don't go in the Water!

During rather long stretches on board the boat, we have to watch some tedious operations that the ROV's have to do. Surveys are especially bad and I don't know how the pilots keep themselves awake during it. Occasionally during these ops there is a "WTF?" wake up moment that you ponder to yourself, "did I just see what I think I saw?" Luckily I can look back through the data for confirmation. Here in all it's glory is the Great White Shark we saw off the coast of Norway. I was sceptical at first because the water temperature here is less than the ideal 12 - 18 degrees you usually find them in, and to the best of my knowledge Norwegians are not good eating. That being said these sharks do enjoy eating whales which is part of the Noggie diet, so it is possible this taste is what brings them to the colder waters.

Anyway I sent the photo through to one of the Gelflings who is a somewhat expert on all matters shark related and after an initial response of it being a bronze whaler (knowledgeably quoting: "blamed for most worldwide attacks on people"), he took a second examination and came to the conclusion that in fact it was a Great White Shark. This impresses me greatly as I was barely able to distinguish that this aquatic creature was probably a shark.

This becomes my coolest ROV sighting from this boat, replacing the seal sighting in the North Sea in August.