2005 – The Year in Review... Conclusion

October

I forgot to include this in yesterday’s post, because it appeared in my October Archives, but on the last day of September, I went to Great Adventure with Caren and Brad. Couldn’t leave that out!

And then October began. It has long been my favorite month because of the fall weather, my birthday, the baseball playoffs and Halloween. On October 5th, I turned 28 years of age. And my birthday also fell on the second day of Rosh Hashanah

from my blog entry of October 4...
It's now the year 5766. I just got back from temple where the tickets were mistakenly printed to say 5765. Temple, as always, is a grueling experience. Tamara hit the nail on the head last month when applying the Five Stages of Grief to the synagogue experience. First there is denial (It can't last that much longer, surely it will be over soon and we can go home to eat lunch). Then there is anger (Why are they still chanting? How many times can they give thanks to God?!?) Then there is bargaining (I'll take a bathroom break and then a quick walk outside. That should speed things up). Then there is depression (Sigh, they'll never get to page 420.) And finally acceptance (Well I only go these two holidays a year)

For my birthday, my brother got me a TiVo. If I didn’t watch too much TV before, I sure do now! The birthday was also celebrated with various friends at the off-Broadway show “Jewtopia”, at a dinner at “Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.” and at a house party in Astoria thrown by a Vassar friend who shares the same birthday.

Also in October, some of my comrades from Tuesday Night Trivia participated in a TV taping for VH-1’s “The World Series of Pop Culture.”

from my blog post of October 24...
On Saturday afternoon I attended a taping for the pilot episode of VH-1's "The World Series of Pop Culture." Picture teams of three in a quiz show where the questions focused exclusively on movies, TV and music. And if that wasn't enough, it was hosted by Pat Kiernan - morning news anchor for New York 1. (Love his "In the Papers" segment)... I thought that if I were a contestant, I would have done moderately well. For example, I knew the answers to some of the questions that they didn't, such as the insect that carried dinosaur DNA in "Jurassic Park" was the mosquito. But on the other hand they knew answers that I had no clue about, such as the name of the terrorist organization in "Die Hard."

The month concluded with two parties on Halloween weekend. Oddly enough, neither was a costume party. The first was an engagement party for Jay and Lisa. (Briar also was the first to use my sleeper sofa!) The second was a birthday party in Hoboken for Britta.

November

As November began, I imparted to my readers a very important lesson that I learned on Halloween.

from my blog entry of November 1...
I learned something this past Halloween. Eating lots of candy in the morning, followed by lunch at McDonalds, does not make for the most pleasant of afternoons.

The next weekend, I helped Ben and Tracey move into their new apartment in Astoria. Yeah, manual labor! And then I enjoyed watching the New York City Marathon! Part of the route in Brooklyn is right around the corner from my apartment building so I was out there to cheer on the runners and snap photographs.

from my blog entry of November 7...
Congratulations to everyone who participated in yesterday's New York City Marathon! I took advantage of living around the corner from 4th Avenue in Brooklyn to get a good, up close and personal look at all of the runners. Didn't see Bex amidst the 35,000 but I hear she survived it. Then I went into Manhattan later in the day to meet up with a friend and we watched some of the same runners in Central Park, albeit many hours and many miles later. Watching the marathon runners is inspiring and great fun.

Two days after the Marathon, Mayor Bloomberg was reelected. No surprise there. But the next week, I was invited to a party at Gracie Mansion!

from my blog entry of November 15...
Last night I scored an invitation to Gracie Mansion for a reception to welcome the Country Music Awards to New York City. It was my first time at Gracie and the place is quite swanky. Leading into the place I walked on a red carpet lined with paparrazzi. Nice! Now, I am not a country music fan at all and had to be told by my co-workers when I was standing next to someone famous. For example, while I was getting a glass of white wine, there was a very attractive woman near me who was garnering lots of attention from everyone else. I asked my co-worker Portia who that was. Her reply was "Leanne Rimes." Then there was an older guy in the same room who was also garnering lots of attention. My co-worker Bob gave me his camera and asked me to take a picture with him. Which I did. Afterwards I asked who I just took a picture of. Bob's reply was "Glen Campbell."

Around that time the wrestler Eddie Guerrero passed away and my blog got hundreds of hits a day from people doing Google searches for “eddie guerrero autopsy.” The only time I got even more Google searches was back in April when people were putting in search words likening the new Pope to the Emperor in “Star Wars.”

I hosted Tuesday Night Trivia for the fourth time in November, this time with the wacky and zany Jon C. as my co-host.

from my blog entry of November 16...
Hosting trivia was fun last night. I went into it thinking that it was getting old and it would probably be my last time hosting. But it was such a rush that I'll have to sign up to do it again. My co-host was a cool guy who was alot of fun to host with but he told a lot of intentionally bad jokes that turned the audience against him. One table took a liking to me in particular (they named their team "Phil Me Up!") and whenever my co-host started acting annoying they started up a chant of PHIL! PHIL! that was picked up by the rest of the 70-someodd people there. So that stroked my ego. In other words, I played the face while my co-host played the heel.

As November concluded, I bought a new TV set, celebrated Thanksgiving with my family, and inspired by the Marathoners attempted to start running!

December

On the first day of December, I attended Caren’s reading from her new book “Scenes from a Holiday.” Buy it on Amazon today! Then on the first Saturday night in December, I had two birthday parties in one night. Aren’t they always scheduled that way?

from my blog post of December 5...
First stop on Saturday was Nobi's party, held at Jappas 38, a Japanese kareoke bar in midtown. Nobi required all attendees to sing a one-song minimum. Now when I do kareoke, I only choose the most difficult songs with the most lyrics. A few years ago I did Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." And this past Saturday I did Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Snap back to reality, oh here comes gravity... Also at that party were several people from Vassar including Rouslan, a native of Kazakzstan. See, not only Borat comes from Kazakzstan! Then it was off to Brooklyn for Daryl's party at The Living Room Lounge. Good to see alot of people there including Jess, Brad, Sarah, Sydney, Britta, Ned, Matt and Lori.

One week later I found myself in Brooklyn Heights leading me to recall a memory from my childhood.

from my blog post of December 13...
Last night I had a nice dinner at the Henry Street Ale House in Brooklyn Heights. Right around the corner from the bar/restaurant is the Plymouth Church on Orange Street. That was a significant locale in the Underground Railroad. And right next to the church is an old home that I used to visit years and years ago. It belonged to an old friend of the family and I remember going there once when I was 5 or 6. I went to use his bathroom and in order to flush the toilet, you had to pull an overhead string. So I did but I possibly yanked too hard on it and the string came off in my hand. I then remember telling our friend that I broke his bathroom.

As the year concluded, I ranked my Top 10 TV shows of 2005. God bless TiVo. To recap, the Top 10 was Lost, Everybody Hates Chris, Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, Grey’s Anatomy, Rome, The Office, The West Wing, Survivor and 24.

And then there was the transit strike. Ah yes, the transit strike. I’m not going to copy and paste it. It was last week. You remember.

Then it was Christmas and Hanukkah with the family and that led us up to this week.

And that was 2005! Hope you enjoyed reading my Year in Review. Comments have been light this week but as someone said to me “That’s because we commented on this stuff the first time we read it!” Ah well, TV shows have occassional clip shows and so does this blog.

I wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year! Here’s to good things in 2006.

2005 – The Year in Review ... Part III

July

In the beginning of July, I vacationed in Boston! I spent the 4th of July there with Ben and his co-workers. If there’s one city to go on the 4th, it’s gotta be Boston. Forget NYC’s lame East River fireworks, I’ll take the Boston Esplanade any day.

from my blog entry of July 5...
I'm back from spending the past four days in Boston. Thanks to Ben for the company! A stay at the Boston Park & Plaza Hotel, meals and the opportunity to see the Boston Pops concert and fireworks show... who could refuse? Plenty of time was spent walking around the Esplanade, Harvard Yard, Newbury Street, Chinatown, the theater district, the Prudential Center, etc. And I have a new second-favorite baseball team - the Boston Red Sox. I caught the fever, hanging out with the locals, and bought myself a Red Sox shirt that I wore proudly. All in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend and a great getaway from NYC.

A week after the Boston trip, I had the first thing go wrong with my apartment. Namely, there was a water leak from the bathroom above mine, leading to a blog post that I titled “The Saga of the Water Bubbles”

from my blog entry of July 14...
I entered the bathroom this morning to take a shower and was greeted by the sight of water bubbles coming through the painted walls above the bathtub. Uh oh. Worst case scenarios flash through my mind - a pipe broke, they're going to have to break through the walls... in other words it'll be a huge mess. So I called my super and he checked out the bubbles. Good news! Nothing broke. According to him, the bubbles had dried up and what caused them was probably a huge spill in the apartment above mine. So he peeled away the paint where the bubbles used to be, will check on the water spillers above me and will call the building's painter to make my walls look nice again.

And after several more water leaks, they finally repaired the bathroom above mine and repainted my walls... one month later.

Also in the month of July I met blogger Tamara and provided moral support at her big film festival debut. At work I planned multiple, and I mean MULTIPLE ribbon-cutting ceremonies. And it was hot... really really hot, as exemplified in this classic blog post.

from my blog entry of July 25...
I have three excuses for not updating this blog as frequently as usual.
1) The heat wave has made me sluggish
2) I'm swamped at work
3) I'm too busy reading Harry Potter

Loved the new Harry Potter by the way.

August

In August I had my ten-year high school reunion. There was no ‘official’ reunion so a guy in my class reserved a Manhattan bar and spread the word through e-mail. It was interesting to reunite, if only for a night, with such an eclectic group.

from my blog entry of August 8...
Some of the people who I saw included...
Stacie - who told me that she had been reading this blog for quite sometime! One would say she's been 'lurking' around...
Dan - who is now bald with a goatee! Obviously, in H.S. he was not bald nor did he have said goatee.
Gina - who was the smartest person in our class, went to Harvard and is now lawyering it up. No surprise there!
Shiran - who I didn't recognize until he told me his name at which point I yelled "Holy shit, Shiran!"
Jane - who chastized me throughout the night for rejecting her Friendster request a few months ago.
Arthur - the senior class president who went on to West Point (for a bit)

And if it wasn’t enough that they had yet to fully repair the leaking water conditions from the bathroom above, my apartment simultaneously started experiencing electrical problems! Not just me, but a few apartments that were connected to the same line. So until the electrician made the necessary repairs, it was very aggravating. Consider that it was also 95 degrees at that time and you can see that I wasn’t a very happy camper.

With one month until the Democratic primary, I was rooting for my old boss, Anthony Weiner. I helped his campaign out a bit by rallying outside of the Time Warner Center before the NY1 debate and then I got to sit in the studio audience to watch the debate!

from my blog entry of August 17...
There was drama from the beginning with the question being : Would Anthony Weiner be able to make it? At 5:00 yesterday morning, Weiner checked himself into the emergency room and was diagnosed with a kidney stone. I've been told that this is one of the most painful conditions that a person can be afflicted with. Despite this setback, Weiner not only came to the debate, he excelled!

Also in August, I hosted trivia for the third time, this time with Jess as my co-host. I also saw Jess give a reading at KGB Bar, a unique venue!

from my blog entry of August 24...
Last night I hung out at KGB Bar with fellow communists and communist sympathizers. Well, not exactly. It used to be a communist hangout, back in the day when it was cool to be a communist. You know - before they were the "bad guys." Now its a bar and host venue of a reading series with lots of cool hammers & sicles and pictures of Lenin on the walls. And the walls are painted red with red curtains. Come to think of it, I should have ordered something with vodka in it.

The month also consisted of birthday parties for Bartow and Dave (those two were on the same night!) And I attended the U.S. Open tennis tournament – always one of my favorite events of the year.

The month closed with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. For only the second time in my life, I became physically ill just from watching the news. (The other time was 9-11)

September

As September got underway, it was becoming more and more apparent how messed up things were in New Orleans.

from my blog entry of September 5...
I know, I know, one should not joke about the terrible tragedy in New Orleans. But without laughing, the sadness and devastation can become unbearable. So I was thinking of the song in The Simpsons episode of "A Streetcar Named Marge" that goes like this : "New Orleans! Home of pirates, drunks and whores, New Orleans! Tacky overpriced souvenir stores. If you want to go to hell, you should make that trip to the Sodom and Gomorrah on the Mississipp, New Orleans!" That episode aired back in 1993 and I wonder if it will be pulled from syndication, much like the episode that aired in 1997 featuring the World Trade Center was since pulled from syndication.

But there was good news in the family as my cousins Russell and Lisa had a baby boy! I attended the bris. Poor kid.

The Democratic Primary happened and I proudly did some last minute campaigning for Anthony Weiner. I also went to his victory party! Well, it would have been a victory party if he actually won. But second place with 29% of the vote was a fantastic showing, particularly considering he was at 5% in the polls when the race started.

from my blog entry of September 14...
Ah shit. It's over. Anthony Weiner is conceding the race to Freddy Ferrer. To quote Charlie Brown yet again... "Good grief." But I still had a fun few days campaigning for the guy. To see him rise in the polls from dead last to a close second was a thrill. On Monday I attended a campaign rally in Carroll Gardens. Then yesterday I helped his staff distribute flyers at the Park Slope subway stop. After that I stopped by Tuesday Night Trivia at the Baggott Inn where I did some more campaigning. And then after that it was off to the Primary Night Party at Table XII. Thanks to some of my friends from trivia for coming along. The party was a nervewracking affair as everyone's eyes were glued to the big screens showing the tallies on New York 1. I spoke with Anthony's parents and some of his staff members and I was even interviewed by the New York Sun for being Anthony's first intern! It didn't make today's paper but I am indebted to Britta (my new publicist) for setting up the interview. And according to Daryl, who was watching the ABC news, I was seen on camera! So that was exciting. Although Anthony gave a speech indicating that his campaign would proceed, I could tell from his body language that the odds did not look good. So here we are, the next morning and he is conceding defeat. My guess is that he felt the odds were against him and that rather than fight an uncertain battle, he was motivated to promote Democratic unity, with the realization that it would put him in a better position for any future campaigns. Whatever his reasons were, he has nothing to be ashamed of. When this campaign started, Anthony had almost zero name recognition. Today, much of the electorate knows who he is and with 29% of the vote, many have a positive impression of him.

The end of September also marked the end of another baseball season for the Mets. But this time, they actually had a successful year! With a winning record of 84-78, they did good. Hopefully they can build on that in 2006.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the conclusion of my Year in Review : October, November and December!

2005 - The Year in Review ... Part II

April

April began with a bachelor party for my friend Jon. It was off to the Mohegan Sun for dinner, gambling and other celebratory activities. The weekend was concluded with a group gathering for WrestleMania 21 – a longstanding tradition.

from my blog entry of April 5...
A great time was had at the bachelor party. The bachelor enjoyed it and that was the most important thing. It was fun to hang out and spend time with the rest of the wedding party in advance of the big shin-dig next month. The party was then followed by an nVo tradition - WrestleMania. Although a competing Yankee game and a dying car thinned our numbers, the tradition remained alive! Hopefully we'll be watching WrestleMania when we're 90.

It was then time to get down to the serious business of packing and moving. On April 10, I moved into my new apartment!

from my blog entry of April 13...
During my week-long absence from blogland, I packed up all of my belongings, moved, and then (mostly) unpacked said belongings. And I am now officially a new apartment dweller. Woo hoo! So yeah, this past week has been quite busy. Busier than any week that I've had in recent memory. I did intensive packing on Friday night and Saturday. Boxes and packing tape are my good friends. I then made the big move on Sunday morning and although I was nervous about how it would go, there was no need as the moving company that I hired was remarkably efficient. They loaded all of my stuff into their truck in a half-hour and then it only took them an hour to get everything into the new apartment. And everything arrived in the same condition it was when they loaded it so no worries. Then on Monday I had to exchange an entertainment unit that arrived in the wrong color (!) But I was proud to then successfully assemble it myself that night. Yesterday I got my cable, phone and internet connected (the most important parts) and today I continued unpacking and assembling various items.

For the rest of the month, there was little on my mind except making the apartment nice and hospitable. When I felt the need to actually leave the apartment, it included going to Chris’ birthday party, seeing a WWE show at MSG, and hanging out in Astoria with Ben and Tracey. The sad part about April was learning of the passing of a guy my age who grew up near me.

May

May began with my attending the funeral of Eric (the guy my age who died). Then two days later, my dad had a serious eye operation but thankfully it went well. Dad did a good job in the recuperation process.

The apartment continued coming together as my couch and loveseat were finally delivered. It only took them about seven weeks!

Thanks to Jess, I discovered a very cool place in Williamsburg called Barcade.

from my blog post of May 14...
I also want to mention that I went to this amazing bar last night. It's called Barcade and it's in Williamsburg. They have every classic 80s arcade game under the sun! Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, Frogger, Punch Out, Centipede, Q-Bert (well actually Q-Bert was broken). It was paradise. And while I was there I made sure to get lots of quarters for my laundry.

A birthday party was held at Sarah’s apartment and I hosted Tuesday Night Trivia for the second time... this time with Caren as co-host. I also made arrangements to see “Star Wars : Episode III” on its opening day, as I have done with each of the Star Wars films.

from my blog post of May 20...
Well done, Mr. Lucas, well done. I was very satisfied with "Star Wars : Episode III." This could have been the entire prequel. Who needed the first two episodes? All they were was backstory for this movie and if you want to see the setup for the classic trilogy, it ALL goes down in this movie... There are criticisms of course but none of which should cause irreperable harm to the film, like they did the first two. For instance, Anakin’s ultimate descent into darkness could have been illustrated better by Hayden Christensen. And the dialogue between him and Natalie Portman was literally laughable. But what can ya do.

But the best part of May was flying to New Hampshire for Jon and Emily’s wedding. As a groomsman, it was my first time in a wedding party. Pictures of the wedding can be found in my May Archives.

June

June may have arrived but my mind was still in May, on a post-wedding high and for the month’s first couple of days I engaged in an e-mail thread with four of the other groomsmen that wound up exceeding 100 back and forth e-mails.

from my blog entry of June 3...
It's been a short four-day work week with my mind still in vacation mode. The wedding in New Hampshire was fantastic. Flew up in a tiny plane that had a 35-person capacity. Going up, only 13 people were on board so the stewardess asked us to change our seats around so the plane would be more balanced. Yeah, that was interesting. An hour later I was there to meet up with Briar, Bartow, Lisa and Alvin. And the 48-hour party began, culminating in a game of mini-golf on Monday.

Now that my apartment was furnished, it was time to throw a housewarming party. On June 11, I welcomed about 25 of my friends to my new place. Plenty of food and drinks were provided and it was a very enjoyable time. Pictures can be seen in the Archives for June 12th.

By now summer had arrived, which meant a new season at Coney Island. On the day that I received a nice raise at work, I was also invited to sit in my company’s luxury box at KeySpan Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

from my blog entry of June 22...
Yesterday was a great day. In the morning I learned of a highly beneficial financial transaction that will help me out alot. Then in the afternoon I was offered a seat in the Parks Dept. luxury box for opening night of the Brooklyn Cyclones. There was a free buffet dinner for all the VIPs including hot dogs, chicken, pasta, fried calamari and plenty of beer, wine and soda. But the best part was that sitting right next to me in the adjacent box, were Omar Minaya (Mets general manager) and Jeff Wilpon (son of Mets owner Fred Wilpon). I tried to overhear their conversation and get some good Mets gossip but alas was not able to decipher much. I did notice that they had a TV on in their box and were closely following the Mets game in Philadelphia. Fortunately, both the Mets and Cyclones won last night... a good day for the organization.

Finally, I’m sure that you have noticed that I do not talk about my dating life on this blog. However, I had one first-date experience at the end of June that is just too unique not to mention.

from my blog entry of June 27...
...on Sunday I returned to Queens for the second day in a row. No, it wasn't to see Billy Graham, it was to count trees for the ongoing Tree Census. Last week I met someone who had signed up to volunteer for the census and what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than exploring the streets of Woodside? And this is no simple count of "One tree, two trees, ah ah ah." There was a long form with multiple questions that had to be answered about each tree, such as what kind it is, what it's diameter is, are there any obstructions, is the soil level, etc. And we met lots of Woodside locals who were probably wondering why we were lingering in front of their property.

And there you have it! The first half of 2005. Stay tuned tomorrow for July, August and September.

2005 – The Year in Review!

January

2005 started in Hoboken, New Jersey, with a celebration at a bar that didn’t have any
cover charge but unfortunately did allow smoking. (Love that NYC smoking ban)

from my blog entry of January 3...
New Years Eve was a lot of fun. I spent it at a bar in Hoboken with Ben, Tracey, Tess, Malinda, Brad and Caren who stopped by for part of it. I have two observations about Hoboken – they still allow smoking in bars which was disappointing to someone who had gotten used to the cleanliness of NYC bars, and there are no streetlights on any of the corners – a death maze if there ever was one! But other than that I enjoyed my visit to Hoboken. Maybe I’ll go back again one day.

The other big social event of January was a Jets party at the Riviera Cafe. A huge group gathered to cheer on the Jets in their playoff pursuit. They lost though. However, now that the Giants have made the playoffs in ’06, a sequel party is being planned!

In the second half of the month, the temperature dropped and encouraged hibernating conditions. I watched tons of Simpsons DVDs and compiled a Top 10 list for Season 3. (My #1 episode was “Like Father, Like Clown” where Krusty makes amends with his rabbi father, voiced by Jackie Mason.)

I also started cleaning out my apartment in anticipation of a big move in the spring and found a note written to me 11 years ago.

from my blog entry of January 18...
Yesterday I was cleaning my apartment and getting rid of lots of old things. I came across a box of materials from high school including stuff from when I performed in various stage productions. Among the scripts and rehearsal schedules, I found a note written by fellow castmate, Maria Bova. The show was "Hello, Dolly" and we were rehearsing the scene where I played a court reporter. Maria wrote this note and slipped it to me during that day’s rehearsal. To find it 11 years later brought such a smile to my face and I’ve transcribed it below.
You are the guy who writes things down
Your smile is bright, no trace of a frown
That’s very good for your part
But don’t let it go to your head, that wouldn’t be smart
So keep doing what you are, that will be great
So so long Phil, we’ll probably get out late.
-- Maria Bova, 12/9/93

The other thing I should mention about the month of January is that it was cold. Really, really cold. This cold weather impacted my commute to work one day and further inspired me to look for a new apartment.

from my blog entry of January 24...
This morning I experienced the commute from hell. Allow me to explain. I arrived at the F train at Avenue U in Brooklyn only to learn that there was no north-bound service due to frozen track conditions. There was south-bound service though to Coney Island at which point we were recommended to take a Q or D into Manhattan. So I went to Coney, connected to a D, took it into lower Manhattan where I connected to another south-bound F with the intention of arriving at my 7th Avenue – Park Slope destination. Unfortunately the train terminated at Jay Street – Borough Hall and wasn’t going any further south due to the same frozen track conditions. Nice of them to tell us that! So I go outside, walk a few blocks to the 2 & 3 train station at Lawrence Street, take a south-bound 3 to Grand Army Plaza and then walk from Grand Army Plaza to my building in Prospect Park. Total time of commute? Three hours. Shame on the MTA for failing to inform commuters of the full extent of the track changes and shame on the media for failing to report them in their "morning traffic reports."

And you thought I complained about mass transit during last week’s strike!

February

In February, I celebrated the one-year anniversary of this blog!

from my blog entry of February 4...
Phil's Spin Zone is one year old today. Started on February 4, 2004, I didn't know if it would last but so far, so good! Special thanks to my readers. I hope to continue entertaining you.

The apartment cleansing for my move continued and this time I found an old notebook containing my diary from the 4th grade. My “original” blog, I suppose.

from my blog entry of February 5...
I've retyped the first entry, spelling errors and all.

September 15, 1986
Dear Diary,
A few weeks ago I built a culbhouse. One week later some girls wrote all over it. Thursday Joel, Leinord and I formed an army. Friday we had our first assenment. Leinord and I were playing in the culbhouse. One of my next door neighbors, a 12 year old kid started to hit the culbhouse with his skateboard. Then the girls were trying to sit on it but Leinord and I drove them away. Near Leinord's house he got into a fight with a 16 year old kid, it was called a draw. Then everyone went away.
- Philip

Then later on in the diary, I found this entry. The page was folded over and it said "Do Not Read." Here it is.

January 14, 1987
Dear Diary,
David likes a girl named Sally. A kid, Matthew Brown, also likes her. David wants to play a game of chess but Brown wants to fight. I'm writing a book on it. Who gets her? Who knows?
-Philip

The month continued with a Super Bowl party at Brad’s condo and an Academy Awards party at Sarah’s apartment. And for the very first time, I co-hosted Tuesday Night Trivia at the Baggot Inn!

from my blog entry of February 23...
Last night was my hosting debut at Tuesday Night Trivia and it went very well! (Except for the usual hiccups like misplacing a couple of teams answer sheets, etc. But all was corrected so no harm!) We had a good crowd of about 65 people with many new faces. One of the teams even selected as their team name "Phil, are you single?" (which I had to read out). Thanks to Barry for being a fun co-host and I look forward to doing it again soon!

I wound up hosting trivia three more times in 2005. But perhaps the most significant event in February happened at the end of the month when I went to Bay Ridge and started walking into random real estate offices, looking for one-bedroom apartments.

from my blog entry of February 26...
I went to Bay Ridge today to scope out the area. Plenty of bars, restaurants, supermarkets, shops, train access and a nice view of the Verrazzano Bridge. All I needed now was to find an apartment. I walked into the offices of five random realty offices (there seems to be one on each block!) I laid out my criteria : a 1-bedroom apartment in a rent-stabilized, elevator building with laundry facilities for hopefully no more than $950 a month. (I’d really like to avoid using a laundromat) One broker said I’d be able to find something like that but she didn’t have any at the current moment. Another bluntly said that it’s doubtful I’d find a elevator/laundry building for less than $1000. Another just had me fill out an application and said he’d get back to me. But thankfully there were two brokers who made time to show me around! Not that they showed me exactly what I was looking for but it’s a start.

Indeed, it was a start!

March

The month began with the engagement of my friends Lisa and Jay, to which I’m excitedly gearing up to attend their wedding this summer in Toronto!

from my blog entry of March 1...
First of all, I want to congratulate Jay Bartow and Lisa Annis on their engagement! Couldn't have happened to two nicer people. Lisa I knew from the dorms at Vassar - she lived next door to me. Jay I knew from our shared interests in politics, baseball, pro wrestling and Jewish stuff. We were the co-founders of the nVo. Although Jay and Lisa both knew each other at Vassar they didn't start dating until they reunited at their 5-year reunion. Best of luck to both of them!

BUT! The most exciting part of the month, and probably the year, was my finding an awesome apartment and signing the lease for it!

from my blog entry of March 10...
The building itself is in Bay Ridge, on Ovington Avenue (the equivalent of 70th Street) between 4th Avenue and 5th Avenue. It is one street block away from the R-Train stop on Bay Ridge Avenue. It’s also steps away from major shopping hubs on 3rd Avenue and 5th Avenue, which both afford a nice view of the Verrazzano Bridge as you walk down them. The building is pre-war, rent-stabilized, with an elevator and laundry facilities in the basement. My apartment is on the 3rd floor and there are 6 floors in the building. It has a very large living room, a large bedroom, a kitchen with plenty of cabinet and counter space, a nice-size eating area, a decent size bathroom, and a foyer with multiple closets. I had to slightly increase my desired price range by $50 a month but considering what I’m getting, it’s very worth it.
I’m very excited about this. There’s so much to do but the big weight of actually finding something has been lifted from my shoulders. Plus, many of you may not realize this, but this will actually be my first "real" apartment. For the past six years, since graduating college, I’d been renting my parents basement. It was a good way to save money for a while but the time had come to make a fresh start and start moving on with life. Can’t wait.

Then once I signed the lease, it was busy buying things to furnish the apartment! A sofa and loveseat (a gift from my parents), an armoire, an entertainment unit, a computer desk, mini-blinds. The whole process was so time-consuming that I actually suspended my blog! For about one week...

Stay tuned tomorrow when I will recap April, May and June!

It has been a rollicking week on my blog for comments. As of now, there were 7 on Monday, 10 on Tuesday and 14 on Thursday. I think that has to be a record. Thanks to everyone for participating! I guess that a transit strike and a ranking list of television programs inspires lots of emotions.

I want to wish all of my readers a very happy holidays including Christmas and Hanukkah. Although I never really got Hanukkah. It appears that us Jews only celebrate it to the extent that we do because of its proximity on the calendar to Christmas and so Jewish kids won't get left out of the present giving. But in terms of its significance as a holiday, it is not as important as say Rosh Hashanah or Passover. Nor is it as festive as Purim. Yet society as a whole does not celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Passover or Purim as much as it does Hanukkah. Maybe those other holidays just need better marketing.

Anyway, this blog is taking the weekend off. See you next week!

SECOND UPDATE : It is official! The TWU's executive board voted to end the strike. I just have one question for them. Was it worth it?

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UPDATE : The Transit Union's leadership has agreed to end the strike so that negotiations can continue. It is now pending approval from their executive board. If voted on, the trains and buses will be running tomorrow.

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Roger Toussaint, head of the Transit Workers Union, is a thug. So says Mayor Bloomberg and he is right. What is a thug? A thug is someone who takes advantage of poor innocents for their own selfish reasons.

Actually on a side note, "thug" was a nickname of mine in college. Some friends and I formed a group called "The Syndicate." I was called "Thug" or "The Notorious P.H.I.L." Other nicknames for people in the group were "The Boss", "Demolition Dave" and "E.Z. E" It's OK. You can laugh. I'll wait until you're done.

... waiting ...

Done yet? No? OK...

... still waiting ...

Allright, that's enough out of you.

So where was I? Oh yes. Roger Toussaint and the Transit Workers Union. They carry none of the Syndicate's grace and style, but they are thugs nonetheless. Because thinking only of their own self-interest, they have disrupted our lives, increased our expenses, shuttered and crippled businesses, and threatened the public health and welfare. And why are they even striking? Because they don't want to pay into their pensions. Well poor babies. The only reason that you have a pension is because you pay into it! No, this is not about pensions. It is about a stubborn refusal to accept a single concession. And it is also about their feeling disrespected. And yes, many of them are disrespected. They have to deal with a public that is often rude and demeaning. They have supervisors who discipline them harshly for the slightest infractions. And they have (literally) shitty bathrooms. But is any of that a reason to strike and take it out on the public who they serve? They seem to think so and that is why they are thugs.

Transit Strike : Day Two

For the first time in 25 years, New York City Transit is on strike. No subways. No buses. For many of us, no way to get around.

I stayed up until midnight, watching New York 1. Although it appeared very likely there would be a strike, the union had yet to vote to authorize one. So for the second time in five days, I went to bed not being definetely sure. Then at 3:02 A.M. I just happened to wake up and I turned on the radio. At that EXACT moment, the union was annoucing their decision to strike. Bastards.

But where there is a will, there is a way. I dressed this morning in many layers of clothing, anticipating a very long walk. Five blocks into my walk, I saw a yellow taxi cab. Mind you, there are NEVER yellow taxi cabs in Brooklyn - particularly not in Bay Ridge. But the strike has dispersed them throughout the five boroughs. I shared the cab with two other people - one who was also going to Park Slope, and another who was then going into Manhattan. Although convenient, I did not look forward to the prospect of paying cab fares twice a day for each day of the strike. So when I got to work, I saw a guy who lives not too far from me. I asked him if it would be possible for him to give me a lift home and he not only agreed but offered to drive me back and forth during the strike's duration. Whew, what a huge relief!

Although I lucked out, I recognize that lots of people are struggling to get around, especially in the frigid cold temperatures. I am very interested in hearing your commuting stories. Please leave a comment and let me know how you managed (or didn't manage) today.

Here it is. The post you've all been waiting for. It's Phil's Top 10 TV Shows of 2005!

You will notice that several shows from last year's list are no longer present. Each has a good reason. The BBC version of "The Office" wrapped up its run and is producing no new episodes. Likewise, "The Sopranos" had no new episodes air in 2005, although it will return in March, 2006. Same with "Da Ali G Show" which sadly had no new episodes air this year. "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" was still funny but there was no national election to drive it. "The Simpsons" had an off-year and its writers are duplicating plotlines they've already done many times before. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" also had an off-year. "The Amazing Race" was excellent in the spring but the fall's family edition was a big disappointment with minimal international travel. And "The O.C." just got really dumb.

So that means there are EIGHT new shows on the list. Without further adieu, here it is...

1) "Lost" - Must see viewing. Can't wait to watch it on TiVo. Must see it live as it airs. What's in the hatch? Who are the others? Where is Walt? What's with all the animals on the island? What is Ana Lucia's problem? So many questions!

2) "Everybody Hates Chris" - Chris Rock is a creative genius. This show is hilarious. And as someone who also grew up in Brooklyn during the '80s, it is very relatable.

3) "Entourage" - Another hilarious show with great characterizations. Each week produces a series of quotable lines. A vast improvement over its first season.

4) "How I Met Your Mother" - Neil Patrick Harris steals his scenes but no show better and more realistically depicts the NY dating scene. And I AM the main character, Ted.

5) "Rome" - Great historical fiction. The story of Caesar's conquests and assassination is told through the eyes of two fictional soldiers - a new version of Rosencrantz and Gildenstern.

6) "Grey's Anatomy" - Move over "ER". This is the best hospital show on TV.

7) "The Office" (U.S. version) - Not AS good as the British version but still funnier than most of what's on television. Steve Carrell brings a different dimension to the character that Ricky Gervais perfected and they master the faux documentary style.

8) "The West Wing" - After a few off-years, the show has been revitalized with the campaign between Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda. Tragically, John Spencer who played Leo McGarry passed away over the weekend so it will be interesting to see how the show deals with his death.

9) "Survivor" (Palau & Guatemala versions) - Still the best reality show on TV. 2005 produced two good versions with Tom, an NYC firefighter winning Palau, and Danni, a KC sports radio host, winning Guatemala. But both seasons were dominated by Stephenie who was the sole remaining tribe member in Palau and then returned for Guatemala where she came in second.

10) "24" - It's easy to forget about "24" since it airs from January through May but this year's version was as action-packed and compelling as any other. The show returns in January. Those opposed to routine government torture of terror suspects should be warned.

I went to work today. They didn't strike. They might strike though. On Tuesday. Maybe. Or not. Who the hell knows.

This reminds me of the Florida recount in 2000. Who won the election? What do you mean we don't know? I need to know!!! Same deal here. Are the subways going to be running? What do you mean we don't know? I need to know!!!

I really think the TWU made a huge tactical mistake here. If they wanted to garner any level of public sympathy, they should have struck when they said they were going to and while people had geared up for their contingency plans. Now they are asking the public to go through the uncertainty of another midnight negotiating deadline? It sounds like their leadership is confused and spineless - wanting to appear willing to strike but afraid of the penalties that they will incur if they actually do. The fact that many transit employees earn higher salaries and have better benefits and pensions than many of the New Yorkers who ride the trains, also reduces the sympathy factor.

Not that the MTA is blameless either. They are sitting on a $1 billion surplus yet they still cry poverty. And since is a state agency, where is Governor Pataki? Campaigning in New Hampshire. We know that Pataki stopped caring about being New York's governor but really.

Stay tuned.

STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!

I know that the right thing to say is that I hope there will not be a transit strike tomorrow. But my mischievous anarchist side really wants to watch the city experience complete chaos. For one day. Any strike lasting longer than a day would probably annoy me. I like Bay Ridge but do I want to be STUCK there? As far as going to work, it would not be likely to happen tomorrow. My walk would be 65 street blocks and 5 avenue blocks. Doable on a perfect spring day but in freezing December? Uh uh. Come next week, if a strike is still going on then I will consider other options such bumming a ride from my boss. And then there are the parties this weekend and other social plans that all have to be put on hold until we find out what happens. But for one day and one day only, a strike would be great fun.

It is done. I am officially a member of the New York Road Runners Club. Which means that I will receive a glossy, full-color magazine! Ooh. It also means that I can start thinking about putting a race schedule together for 2006. Fortunately, many of their races are in the 3-6 mile range and with enough practice in the spring, I should be able to handle that. I got a glimpse of their 2006 calendar and noted the following options. They are all in the morning and unless stated otherwise, they will all be in Central Park.

April 9 : 4 miles
April 23 : 4 miles
May 14 : 5K (3.1 miles)
May 20 : 10K (6.2 miles)
June 18 : 5 miles
July 15 : 5 miles
July 29 : 5K (3.1 miles)... IN SHEA STADIUM!!!!!!!
Sept. 16 : 1 mile ... along 5th Avenue
Oct. 1 : 1.7 mile (an odd distance...)
Oct. 29 : 5 miles
Nov. 19 : 4 or 5 miles

Something to look forward to while it's currently 15 degrees out there.

My uncle got through his operation allright yesterday so that is a huge relief!

I received a nice e-mail yesterday from a guy who found my blog by searching for the Nevele Grande - the Catskill resort that I visitied last December. He is taking his family up there for New Years and wanted to know my take on it. This guy is a real Catskill veteran. Although he said that he'd never been to the Nevele before, he had gone to the Stevensville, Kutshers, Homawack, Pines, Raleigh, and Echo.

Last night I had a nice dinner at the Henry Street Ale House in Brooklyn Heights. Right around the corner from the bar/restaurant is the Plymouth Church on Orange Street. That was a significant locale in the Underground Railroad. And right next to the church is an old home that I used to visit years and years ago. It belonged to an old friend of the family and I remember going there once when I was 5 or 6. I went to use his bathroom and in order to flush the toilet, you had to pull an overhead string. So I did but I possibly yanked too hard on it and the string came off in my hand. I then remember telling our friend that I broke his bathroom.

Another great Dilbert cartoon from my desk calendar!

Boss : Dilbert, I want you to write a letter to our new customer. I'll tell you what to say, then you'll go write it and I'll sign it. This way I won't waste my valuable executive time. It's efficient.
Dilbert : Yes, that's one possible outcome. Here's another. You'll keep forgetting to mention important things that should be in the letter. I'll be trapped in an endless loop of writing, tracking you down, getting criticized and starting over. Or you could simply write the letter yourself and save us both a huge hassle.
Boss : In paragraph one, say something like "Hi."

Congrats to Danni Boatwright on winning "Survivor : Guatemala" last night. I always thought that she'd definetely win if she made her way to the final two. And by winning the last immunity challenge, she did it, beating Stephenie by a dominant 6-1 vote.

My thoughts are with my uncle today who is having surgery this morning. And also for my boss's father who is also having an operation. Here's hoping they both go well.

Funny Dilbert cartoon from my desk calendar ...

Boss : I need you to do Ted's job and your own job until we hire someone.
Dilbert : If I do well, you'll make me do two jobs forever. If I do poorly, I'll get no raise.
Boss : I can't promise anything but there might be some verbal praise down the road.

Heh heh heh.

So things are good. Haven't updated this thing as frequently as I used to but that's because I'm focusing my energies in other directions. Like going out and working and watching TiVo and running. Well not exactly running. More like reading books about running in anticipation of running in the spring. Or at least when the temperature gets above 40 degrees and the ground isn't so icy. But I've decided that I'm definetely joining the New York Road Runners and participating in some of their races next year.

I'll try to be better about updating this thing but no promises. Things to look forward to for this blog : My Top 10 list of favorite TV shows for 2005. (My 2004 list was a big hit) And also, my 2005 Year in Review! That will probably come the last week of December. Stay tuned!

First blog posting in a few days. It was a fun weekend : saw "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire", watched the Giants win, and went to birthday parties for Nobi and Daryl.

First stop on Saturday was Nobi's party, held at Jappas 38, a Japanese kareoke bar in midtown. Nobi required all attendees to sing a one-song minimum. Now when I do kareoke, I only choose the most difficult songs with the most lyrics. A few years ago I did Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." And this past Saturday I did Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Snap back to reality, oh here comes gravity... Also at that party were several people from Vassar including Rouslan, a native of Kazakzstan. See, not only Borat comes from Kazakzstan!

Then it was off to Brooklyn for Daryl's party at The Living Room Lounge. Good to see alot of people there including Jess, Brad, Sarah, Sydney, Britta, Ned, Matt and Lori.

And when I woke up on Sunday morning, there was snow! More is expected this week. Winter has arrived.

And the Mets got a new catcher - Paul Lo Duca - a Brooklyn native!

I've been asked to plug the following event. I won't be able to attend but it sounds pretty cool...
DEBATE: "Is Dating Tougher for Men or Women?" The Anonymous Blogger vs. Hillery Borton (Moderator: Evanchik; Host: Seavey), at Lolita bar on Broome and Allen, Wed. Dec. 7, 8pm.

Awesome bits of dialogue from last night's episode of "Lost" :

Hurley : "So... Rose's husband's white."

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Big guy from the back of the plane : "Let me start from the beginning. Before Jesus, the king of Judea..."
Locke : "Wow, when you say you're going to start from the beginning, you REALLY start from the beginning."

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computer screen : "Dad?"

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Damn, this show is good. Made all the better by minimal screentime from Michelle Rodriguez's Ana Lucia character.