Friday, January 27, 2006
Mario Lemieux Retires
Mario Lemieux has been one of my favourite NHL players for as long as I've followed the Penguins. The way he could just undress any defending pair and then beat the goalie like a rented mule was wonderful to watch, and I've got a whole DVD full of such highlights. But finally, after 17 seasons (only 5 of them with more than 70 games) and pretty much every injury possible to a hockey player (except for the old ruptured testicle), Mario has decided to call it quits.
I'm now extremely grateful that I had a chance to watch Mario play in Pittsburgh. He didn't score a goal while I was watching (although he did assist on a Crosby goal), and he was definately nowhere near his prime form, but it's something that I've always wanted to see before he retired.
Now I just hope that the Pengiun's new ownership finds away of keeping the Pens in Pittsburgh. Or at the very least, moves them to Vegas (a good excuse to do the west coast of America).
I'm now extremely grateful that I had a chance to watch Mario play in Pittsburgh. He didn't score a goal while I was watching (although he did assist on a Crosby goal), and he was definately nowhere near his prime form, but it's something that I've always wanted to see before he retired.
Now I just hope that the Pengiun's new ownership finds away of keeping the Pens in Pittsburgh. Or at the very least, moves them to Vegas (a good excuse to do the west coast of America).
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Travel Log - Day 0 (Flights)
(note: if you get bored reading this, or any other travel logs - a few Chuck Norris Facts might help. i.e. Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice)
I've (finally) decided to find the time to share my honeymoon holiday experiences with this limited audience. As we managed to get through a lot in the 18 or so days, I've decided to blog each day as one entry. I was going to wait until I had a desk on which to put my computer (for comfort reasons) before starting this - but I also want to blog before I forget all of it. Here it goes:
Bell's mum drove us to Melbourne airport nice and early, so we could have lots of time to wait. Our flight set off at 12:20pm (midday), we were to fly for something like 15 hours and would arrive in America at around 7 in the morning. I figured I should try to sleep as much on the plane and I wouldn't have to worry about all those bologna stories about "jetlag".
The plane was actually nicer than I had thought I would get in economy class. TV screen on the back of each chair and a modest amount of room (I could actually stretch my legs out most of the way). While waiting for the evening meal, we watched the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake, which I didn't like much at all - Gene Wilder's version is safe.
After the evening meal (airline food wasn't too bad) we watched Cinderella Man - a very good movie, though I'm not the only person that questioned the choice of title.
Believe it or not, this is the view of America from the plane
When we finally landed at LA airport, we had around 2-3 hours to kill before our flight to New York. First thing we did - visit McDonalds. Even since I was a kid and my aunt brought home a McDonalds menu from Thailand, I dreamed of travelling the world sampling crazy McDonalds meals such as a Samurai Pork Burger. Although now McDonalds isn't my number 1 priority for travel - I still wanted to check out the local fare.
So from the McDonalds in LA Airport I bought a vanilla milkshake and a sausage, egg and cheese McGriddle. Firstly, in Australia we have McDonalds thickshakes. In America, they are "triple-thick milkshakes" which are actually thicker than our supposed thickshakes. But when the confused Australian accidentally orders a thickshake, the helpful McDonalds employee looks at him like he'd asked for a small serving of frozen abortion offcuts (with no ice). Secondly, the McGriddle would be very nice - if it wasn't for the wierd, pancakey / syrupy, floppy and sweaty bun - which probably best resembles Peter Griffin's man-rack.
McGriddle me this - who the fuck eats these?
When we got onto the plane destined for New York, we remembered what our travel agent said about Thanksgiving time being busy. The plane was packed, mainly with noisy families. I was seated next to a old, overweight, smelly man - which made the 5 hour flight seem like sitting through an Avril Lavigne concert. This was definately the worst flight of the trip - and by the time we arrived at JFK airport - I felt like complete shit, which was odd as I thought I had left all of that in the airport toilet (to my upmost displeasure).
So we finally arrived at JFK at around 8pm and got to our hotel room at around 10:30pm - 28 hours after leaving our house in Melbourne. Our first impressions of New York - cold!
Our "view" from our New York hotel room
I've (finally) decided to find the time to share my honeymoon holiday experiences with this limited audience. As we managed to get through a lot in the 18 or so days, I've decided to blog each day as one entry. I was going to wait until I had a desk on which to put my computer (for comfort reasons) before starting this - but I also want to blog before I forget all of it. Here it goes:
Bell's mum drove us to Melbourne airport nice and early, so we could have lots of time to wait. Our flight set off at 12:20pm (midday), we were to fly for something like 15 hours and would arrive in America at around 7 in the morning. I figured I should try to sleep as much on the plane and I wouldn't have to worry about all those bologna stories about "jetlag".
The plane was actually nicer than I had thought I would get in economy class. TV screen on the back of each chair and a modest amount of room (I could actually stretch my legs out most of the way). While waiting for the evening meal, we watched the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake, which I didn't like much at all - Gene Wilder's version is safe.
After the evening meal (airline food wasn't too bad) we watched Cinderella Man - a very good movie, though I'm not the only person that questioned the choice of title.
Believe it or not, this is the view of America from the plane
When we finally landed at LA airport, we had around 2-3 hours to kill before our flight to New York. First thing we did - visit McDonalds. Even since I was a kid and my aunt brought home a McDonalds menu from Thailand, I dreamed of travelling the world sampling crazy McDonalds meals such as a Samurai Pork Burger. Although now McDonalds isn't my number 1 priority for travel - I still wanted to check out the local fare.
So from the McDonalds in LA Airport I bought a vanilla milkshake and a sausage, egg and cheese McGriddle. Firstly, in Australia we have McDonalds thickshakes. In America, they are "triple-thick milkshakes" which are actually thicker than our supposed thickshakes. But when the confused Australian accidentally orders a thickshake, the helpful McDonalds employee looks at him like he'd asked for a small serving of frozen abortion offcuts (with no ice). Secondly, the McGriddle would be very nice - if it wasn't for the wierd, pancakey / syrupy, floppy and sweaty bun - which probably best resembles Peter Griffin's man-rack.
McGriddle me this - who the fuck eats these?
When we got onto the plane destined for New York, we remembered what our travel agent said about Thanksgiving time being busy. The plane was packed, mainly with noisy families. I was seated next to a old, overweight, smelly man - which made the 5 hour flight seem like sitting through an Avril Lavigne concert. This was definately the worst flight of the trip - and by the time we arrived at JFK airport - I felt like complete shit, which was odd as I thought I had left all of that in the airport toilet (to my upmost displeasure).
So we finally arrived at JFK at around 8pm and got to our hotel room at around 10:30pm - 28 hours after leaving our house in Melbourne. Our first impressions of New York - cold!
Our "view" from our New York hotel room
