Back to catching up on my Band of Brothers this month. I recently watched the remaining episodes in this miniseries (7-10.) Yup, I wrapped up the entire series, eleven years later.
Easy Company battles near Foy, Belgium, losing numerous men. The episode examines and questions the actions of 1st Lt. Norman Dike, the Company’s commander. He is eventually relieved by 1st Lt. Ronald Speirs, who becomes the Company’s new leader. Serving as narrator is First Sergeant Carwood Lipton, who attempts to keep the morale of the men up as they endure their trials in the forest near Foy, earning him a battlefield promotion to 2nd Lt. for his leadership ability.
Easy Company carries out a dangerous mission in Haguenau as David Webster (who narrates this episode) returns from a hospital. Together with new replacement 2nd Lt. Jones, he eventually (re)integrates with the other soldiers, whose experiences at Bastogne have made them weary and closed off from Webster due to the fact he didn’t try to leave hospital early unlike other soldiers in the company. At the end of the episode, Captain Winters is promoted to Major, and Lipton is officially promoted to 2nd Lt.
As Nixon battles alcoholism, Easy Company enters Germany. A concentration camp near Landsberg is discovered by a patrol. This site leaves many soldiers both shocked and disgusted at what they’re witnessing at the hands of the Nazis. The episode was based on the liberation of Kaufering IV in the area of Hurlach.
The company captures Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden, and also discover Herman Goering’s house. The battalion heads out to Austria where the end of the war in Europe is announced. While those with enough points go home, the remainder of Easy Company stays behind until the end of the Pacific War is declared.
Now that I’ve watched the entire series, what did I think? Heck, I thought it was pretty good. Being these were rented from Netflix, I didn’t get to check out any of the extra features. Still, an interesting HBO miniseries, excellent video presentation, and outstanding lossless audio that gets you in the thick of the story. I didn’t necessarily like each character over the course of the 11-hour miniseries, but I don’t believe we’re supposed to. It was interesting to get to know aspects of these characters, their perspectives and how they individually and collectively handled adversity.
Saturday night with no plans? Check? Random call to go out to celebrate Lesh’s birthday? Check? Sounds like a plan.
We got a call from our friend Sandhya, who was organizing a quick get-together for whoever was available to celebrate Lesh’s birthday. We normally all get together to celebrate, but April has proven to be a busy month. As her birthday was the 27th, a bunch of us were free Saturday night. We met up at Penang in Lodi. The restaurant serves both Malaysian and Thai cuisine, but we went anyway, and brought Josh’s Epi-pen just in case he had some contaminated food. By the time we got there, almost everyone was there. No worries. The food was very good, and the libations were large and in charge. Good times. I took four decent photos, so they are here below for your viewing pleasure.
So I’m 36 years old. Hmph. Big deal. To quote Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Neumann, “What me worry?”
Yeah, I’m 36. So what? Sure, in some respects, the body isn’t what it used to be. My left knee took a beating twice last year, but it’s okay now. My tailbone isn’t what it used to be, but I deal with the pain. I’ve got a lot of grey hair now, and it’s all over the place like weeds. What hasn’t turned grey on the top of my head is slowly disappearing, much to my surprise. I’m not as rich and famous as I thought I’d be by my mid-30’s.
Still, if you look at the picture below, you’ll note that life is pretty damn good. My wife is hot, loves me, and puts up with my shenanigans for some strange reason. My son is smart, funny, and pretty awesome. My daughter is cute, funny, and such a character. We’re not rich, but we get the things that we need, and go places together as a family. Most important of all, we have lots of fun doing it.
Life is good. Life is wonderful. Appreciate and cherish what you have. You could have a weird mustache or something.
Way back in the ealry 1980’s, I still remember when my parents signed up for…… cable TV. Oh, the multitude of viewing options. Besides watching Godzilla and kung-fu films on the weekends on Fox and WPIX in the New York area, I used to watch a lot of Nickelodeon, MTV, and Disney. Disney had a lot of cartoons, shows, and movies, including The Journey of Natty Gann. Now, if I remember correctly, this particular film wasn’t shown on the Disney Channel. It came out in the theaters, but it was heavily promoted on the Disney network. It looked interesting enough, but my parents weren’t about to take us to see a movie in an actual movie theater. We never did that sort of thing.
Well, 27 years later, I finally got to see The Journey of Natty Gann. Can you believe it? Of course, I still haven’t seen E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Goonies, and a host of other 80’s films, but I’m working on it. So, what’s this film about? Um, instead of writing up a whole summary, I’m going to excerpt something I read on the IMDB entry:
Natty Gann (played by Meredith Salenger) is a twelve year old Depression era girl whose single-parent father leaves her behind in Chicago while he goes to Washington State to look for work in the timber industry. Natty runs away from the guardian she was left with to follow Dad. She befriends and is befriended by a wolf that has been abused in dog fights, hops a freight train west, and is presumed dead when her wallet is found after the train crashes. Dad gets bitter and endangers himself in his new job. Meanwhile Natty has a series of adventures and mis- adventures in various farmhouses, police stations, hobo camps, reform schools, and boxcars.
That’s basically it in a nutshell. It was interesting to see this slightly more realistic depiction of the Great Depression (people complaining nowadays should really stop their bitchin’, seriously.) I didn’t think this film was particularly all that. The acting was alright, but I never felt all that invested in the storyline. While the “wolf” in this film (played by “Jed” the dog”) was okay, but I didn’t quite buy him being wild and yet so friendly. I suppose that’s what makes this more of a children’s movie. However, it’s not quite a children’s movie with the adult-ish themes that come up.
BTW, the film is only available in DVD, and it’s a pretty horrible transfer. Apart from the stereo sound, it’s pan-and-scan (yet they filmed all this great Northwest / Canadian geography) and the film quality is very grainy. Bizarre. It gives the impression that this film isn’t much beloved by Disney, so they rushed out a DVD transfer.
A “date night” and a movie night! What are the odds?
We’ve been rather busy with all the family activities that we haven’t had much “couple” time for ourselves. This Friday and Saturday, the kids went on their monthly pilgrimage to the nearby “Friday Nite Out” program, and the missus and I went out on the town. We hit a local bar/restaurant for early drinks (whaaaaa?), walked across the street to a Latin grill for dinner, then we relaxed at home to watch the latest episode of Fringe. Fast-forward to Saturday night after the kids went to bed, and we stayed up to watch Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) rented over Vudu. In hindsight, I wish I had rented the physical Blu-ray from Netflix, because I later read a review about the disc, and learned I could have taken advantage of the movie in 1080p/AVC, mixed in English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio. Ah well.
So, Mission: Impossible? This is the fourth in the Tom Cruise series. I was a big fan of the original Mission: Impossible television show with Martin Graves, Leonard Nimoy, Greg Morris, Lesley Ann Warren, and the rest. The first film wasn’t bad, but a little confusing. The 2nd film (the John Woo one) was over-the-top and nuts, and the 3rd film directed by J. J. Abrams wasn’t bad at all. MI 4 got lots of good reviews when it came out last December, but I couldn’t find anyone to go watch it with me in the theaters.
Interestingly enough, Brad Bird directed this film where Tom Cruise’s IMF team is disavowed after a mission in Moscow goes belly-up. After that, the rest of the folks with the Tom Cruise / Ethan Hunt character are on their own to stop the villain. The rest of the team is rounded out with Jeremy Renner Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton (whom I don’t know.) The villain was played somebody, and I didn’t think very much of the villain in this story. He was there, but you see very little of him. There wasn’t much development of what this villain wanted, except near-extermination of the human race. Did I give away the plot? Did it really matter?
Overall, I thought the film was worth seeing. Not for the villain per se, but the action is good, the story is decent enough, and the characters are interesting enough. It’s a fun little way to enjoy some action and adventure, intrigue, yada yada.
First vacation of the year, and it was well worth it. More expensive than initially expected, but still worth it to me. We all desperately needed the downtime. Not just downtime at home where we do a “staycation” but spend it doing laundry. An actual vacation where we go away, stay at a hotel, and have fun.
As usual, we had a mad rush up until Wed. So much work for us to finish at the office before we could turn on the out-of-office agents, then cleaning up, laundry, packing. We eventually left around 1pm after a brief-but-quick light lunch at home. The drive to Baltimore was quick and uneventful. Seriously, no traffic, no bad weather!
Once we checked in, we were pleasantly surprised at how nice our room was. Harbor view? Can’t be beat. Double beds, LCD tv, access to the Concierge lounge? Gotta love it.
View of the Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD
We chilled out in the hotel room for a few hours, then walked over to Roy’s, which is an upscale Hawaiian/Asian fusion chain restaurant. Nums and I have dined at a Roy’s restaurant or two in the past, so we were looking forward to this. We all ate like kings and queens, and we’re extremely happy that the kids were open to eat something other than the usual kids menu fare, e.g. chicken tenders, hot dogs, mac & cheese. One of goals is to get the kids to eat and enjoy a wide variety of foods.
Dinner at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion
Thursday
Josh and I
Thursday was our big visit to Washington D.C. We had a nice breakfast at the Concierge lounge, then picked up the car and drove into the Capital. Driving in wasn’t bad, but finding parking was a little difficult. We parked at a municipal garage somewhat close to the Mall, then hoofed it to the Smithsonian Castle. We took a short break to snack on cheese and crackers, grapes, etc, then made our way our destination: the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. Btw, I had no idea the admission was free. Our plan was to spend the afternoon checking out the exhibits with Namita’s old friend Patrick, catch the “Hubble 3D” show, then drive over to Virginia for dinner with Namita’s high school friend Barbara and her family.
Patrick and the Ipes
The museum was very good, much like I remember, but mentally draining. I think all museums are. Why is that? Namita and I were talking about it, and we hypothesized that it’s because of all the stimuli — chasing after the kids, the exhibits, the sounds, the crowds of people all around you, the ticking of the clock and trying to see all you can see, planning what’s next, etc. Hmmm, sounds like the stress of being a parent and taking your kids someplace is the real problem.
We had a late/quick lunch at the food court there (McDonald’s), Patrick made his departure, and we went back inside the museum to see Hubble 3D on the big IMAX screen. It was crowded, we got stuck in two different rows on the extreme right, but it was still good. After the film, we made our way out and back to the car.
We wanted to see the famed cherry blosssoms, but we couldn’t see much from the car as we left Washington D.C. We were next on our way to Virginia to meet up with Namita’s friend Barb and her family at their house for dinner. Barb and family ordered out, and we had a swell Tex-Mex dinner. The kids ran around playing, I had some beer, and life was good.
Friday
Boating in the Inner Harbor, Baltimore
Friday was all about hanging out in the Inner Harbor area around our hotel, and being a bit more relaxed. I went to the gym in the morning and ran 4 miles. I immediately went upstairs to meet the rest of the family for breakfast. I later freshened up, then we went for a walk in the harbor area. We did a 30 min jaunt on one of the peddle boats (I did all the peddling with my still-very-sore-from-running thighs.) We wrapped up with lunch at La Tasca, a tapas restaurant right on the water. I wouldn’t have thought the food would be very good, but it was decent.
After lunch, we split up. I brought Lily back to the hotel (after buying more snacks from the local CVS), while Namita and Josh drove to pick up our niece Sophia. She would be coming to hang out with us at the hotel pool for a while. After the pool, we all freshened up, then we all went to my sister-in-law Anju’s place for dinner and wine and all sorts of conversation. The kids would be sleeping over at their place, which I could only assume would be rambunctious.
Saturday
National Aquarium
Saturday was our last day. Namita and I woke up fresh, and packed up our clothes and everything else that needed to be packed. We’d be driving back to Anju & Sunny’s to pick up the kids, then we’d all get a quick lunch, then hit the National Aquarium. We had lunch at this Haute Dog gourmet hot dog stand near Towson, MD. Then we drove back into Baltimore, parked again, and hit the aquarium. Still pretty cool, much like I remember from the last time we went in June 2009. Finally, we took the water taxi to Fell’s Point, had dinner and drinks at some bar/restaurant. Ice cream at Maggie Moo’s, listened to some fellow playing the guitar and singing, and water taxi back to the Inner Harbor East area. We said our goodbyes, and went back to the hotel and car.
We took the kids for one last rest break in the lobby restrooms, changed the kids into their pajamas in the parking garage, and then we were off back to NJ.
And that was the big Baltimore vacation. Next vacation won’t be until Delaware in August this year, so it’ll be a long while until we get to relax again.
What the hell is wrong with me? Have I learned nothing since last year? I’ve gained about 5 lbs since last September. Last year, I learned the benefits of regular exercise, and also that my bad habits of snacking and eating large portions would be the death of me. When I get bored, I look for something to nosh on, and give me that thrill.
After the accident, I couldn’t work out for two months — doctor’s orders. Since then, I’ve been out of my groove. Even when I could go back to working out, I didn’t want to. Either I was too tired at night, or succumbing to the inertia. I also went back to snacking way too often. I’ve gone up to 180-181 lbs since.
The good news is that I’m still fitting into my skinny clothes, but I noticed the pants feel a little snug. How stupid am I?
Okay, it’s time to go back to basics. I wanted to get down to 165 lbs anyway. Time to do it. 15 lbs to kill this year.
Spring is here, and the kids had their first soccer games of the season. Not only that, but I coached both games, I think I know all of the kids’ names, and we have a good team of enthusiastic boys. It went well, considering the weather, and my limited knowledge.
Saturday’s game was tough due to the weather. Cold, light misty rain/drizzle. First game, so people I didn’t know were showing up trying to find the field and me. I had most of my team show up, and it turns out one boy who wasn’t on our team after all. I got there early, tried to keep each child cheerful and active (and give them their red team shirt) when they showed up. I have 12 kids on the roster. I introduced myself to the other coach, the ref explained some of the rule changes to both teams, and then we played in the cold. Ended up tying 0-0 at the end.
Sunday’s game was at noon, so we had to leave church early, but at least the weather was warmer. Most of the kids from Saturday showed up, but we ended up losing 0-2. I was still happy because the kids are enthusiastic and energetic. They need to start practicing together and work on skills.
Is coaching that bad? Nah. My biggest challenges are to develop fun, exciting, yet meaningful drills during our practices, and also successfully rotating kids to all of the positions.
Today is Lily’s 4th birthday. Of course we all had so many things going on today — busy days at the office, Lily had a soccer game @ 5pm, Josh attended his first practice with me, I was helping to run the practice, parents showing up lost and confused, etc. So all of this going on, and today is her birthday. We had a late birthday dinner at the local Perkins, but Namita and Lily had to wait more than 30 mins for Josh and me to get from the field to the restaurant. All of this going on, and were shortchanging her?
I ask, because at times I worry that we aren’t giving each kid all of the necessary attention at all times. Josh was an only child for three years, so he received all the attention he needed or wanted. We played with him all the time, we read to him for hours, etc. He got our undivided attention.
When Lily was an infant, and to some degrees as she got older, I worry that she got our attention when we could spare it. I don’t think we read to her as much as we should. We let her watch tv earlier than 2 years old (but fairly close though.) I think I personally spent so much time early on taking Josh to places like museums, or having nice talks on how the world works. Have we done that enough for Lily? We took Josh to Jamaica and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, but we’ve never taken Lily out of the country on an extended vacation.
I worry that I spend more time telling her what not to do, instead of encouraging her growth. I think it stems from us having these hectic days that turn into hectic weeks, then hectic months. We rely more on the kids to play with each other. To entertain each other, while we try to clean up, or finally take a nap, or make dinner.
I should be reading to her more.
My wife will probably think I’m blowing things out of proportion, but I have this nagging suspicion that I’m personally shortchanging her as a father. We’ve gotten her into dance class and soccer, which I think she enjoys, so I don’t think I’m a bad father.
I think I can do better for my little girl. I should start today.
I had my first soccer practice tonight. It’s also Lily’s birthday today, so it was a fairly busy day. I have to be in the office fairly early (for me), and bring my change of clothes, so that I can change in the restroom, then catch a 4:31pm train, and still make it to the field by 6pm.
The EWPAL paired me up for this Wednesday’s practice with another experienced coach, which was a wonderful idea. Although I had begun reading online about all of these drills, it was helpful to have one experienced coach with me. I let him drive the joint practice for both of our respective teams, and I assisted him with lining up the boys, helping to set up portable goals, and trying to absorb his knowledge.
In the end, we agreed that while this was useful, we had too many kids to together to do more joint practices. I will need to reserve/schedule some practice time and a field through the league.
