In a way related to what PatentlyJersey described in his most recent post, I'm even more excited because the Phillies are the only Philly team I can stand. I'm hoping that this good karma will spill over, causing the Eagles to finish 6-10.
Finally, I grew up exactly one hour from NYC and one hour, 40 minutes from Philly. However, I can't think of anybody from my home town who rooted for Philadelphia (although my mom's new next-door neighbors inexplicably have a Red Sox sticker in their bedroom window). This always surprised me. Even though Philadelphia sports fans are traditionally miserable, self-loathing, and foul-smelling, you'd think SOMEBODY would want to be that... anyway, we'll see if this changes, what with front-running and all.
***************************************************************
Halloween, which is always a fun time to watch drunk 20-year-old girls parade around in glorified G-strings, is upon us. This time of year, I like to think back on Halloween costumes of yore. There was middle school, where I successfully pulled off the costume equivalent of back-to-back-to-back home runs (or, if you're not a sports fan, the Ph.D., M.D., and M.B.A. degrees. ::snort::).
In sixth grade, I dressed as Judge Lance Ito. In seventh grade, I was a fundamentalist Arab terrorist* (*NOTE: As I mentioned in my last post, 1996 was a different and more innocent time. Can you imagine what a horrible idea it would be for somebody to try this now? They'd be shot in the street. What a little shit I was.) In eighth grade, I dressed as a pimp, and somehow convinced the two biggest guys in the school to dress as my prostitutes (they were my friends, and I was a conniving little bastard even then).
Then in high school and college, I thought I was too cool for school and didn't dress up very much for Halloween. (My bad.) However, I've had a Renaissance of late, in many ways but most importantly with regard to Halloween costumes. Who could forget my 2006 Han Solo? My Academy award-winning 2007 "Zombie businessman" performance? This year, I dressed as a member of the "Blue Barracudas," one of the teams from the early 1990's Nickelodeon game show "Legends of the Hidden Temple".The show involved physical challenges, trivia, a stone Aztec god named Olmec, and a kick-ass temple filled with guards that would take your pendants if you were unlucky enough to encounter one of them. It was generally awesome in every way, and I actually like to wear my "Blue Barracudas" shirt around campus, even on non-Halloween days. It's kind of an inside joke; if you know the show, you really get the reference. If not, you're kind of dull.
******************************************************
The Damaged, Inc. team recently visited Atlantic City for a night of gambling, merriment, and mirth. I took the casino for $215 in blackjack winnings, most of the time sitting with PatentlyJersey and sometimes with Brainpan. My play was solid; I was rewarded on 2 or 3 double-downs, I made good decisions playing second-base most of the time, and I was lucky enough to encounter a good dealer or two along the way.
I don't understand why gambling has to involve far-out-of-the-way places. For example, Atlantic City is (to my knowledge) the most accessible gambling locale on the East Coast. Even as such, it takes at least 60-90 minutes of frustrating, two-lane slow driving to get to AC from any major city. (On weekends as well as on weekdays, lots of old people with nothing to do hit up AC.) And don't get me started on Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun. Those casinos are located in areas which resemble the middle of South Jersey, which is even worse than the South Jersey coast.
In its own sort of dilapidated, weird way, however, the trip to Atlantic City is a lot of fun. There's a lot of banter, a lot of getting pumped up. Every so often, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor comes on. For the right type of competitive person (e.g., a gambling addict), nothing comes close to AC excitement. Let's go back some time.
Stay classy.
No comments:
Post a Comment