Month: April 2008

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School Daze

We were talking today at work about being kids and elementary school. I’m always surprised by people not really remembering who their teachers were. For me, it’s apparently a sign of a good childhood or I just have that sort of memory. Actually, school bored me to death. I hated it, it took away from my time I could spend watching TV. That’s a subject for another blog though.

Anyhow, I easily rattled off all of my teachers. Here goes for those who care:

Kindergarten: Miss Otto
1st – Mrs. Welday
2nd – Mrs. Elzroth
3rd – Mrs. Glessner
4th – Mrs. Renninger
5th – Mrs. Elzroth (yep, the same one from above, she was a great teacher!!)
6th – Mrs. Carpenter
7th homeroom – Mr. Zimmerly
8th homeroom – Mr. Schultz

I still remember all of their first names as well. You could probably quiz me on my high school teachers as well. I know them too.

Go figure, I remember the teachers better than some of my classmate names.

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What You Didn’t Know About “Amazing Grace”

My college professor, Larry “Greybeard” Heiner, sent me a link to this video in a recent e-mail. I’m sure you’ll be just as surprised by what Wintley Phipps has to say about the song “Amazing Grace”. I know I was enlightened.

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Coffee Chaos

Since I’m working mornings, an ugly monster has reared its head back into my life, McDonald’s breakfast. It’s truly a guilty pleasure. It doesn’t help my diet but I don’t eat all of those cookies, cakes and sweets like I once did. I guess it’s my comfort food. It has been for years.

My friends know I don’t drink coffee but I’m happy to get mom2amara a cup of joe when I go to McDonald’s for breakfast. She tries to give me a couple of bucks but if I can’t buy a co-worker an occasional cup of coffee, I have to check my budget.

This morning, I was talking on the phone, driving and honestly, eating some breakfast. So far, I multi-task fairly well. When I turned the corner of East 30th, over went the beverage carrier tray. The coffee spilled all over my floormat. It was coffee, nothing sticky or smelly. I somewhat even liked the aroma of the java. I decided to bring the floormat to my place for some cleaning. I checked out underneath the mat and realized none of the coffee had seeped through.

Here was my surprise, the floormat apparently prevents a bunch of liquid from soaking through to the bottom. It’s weird because the bottom of the mat looks like fabric, not rubber or plastic. What looked like three-quarters of a cup of coffee washed out of the floormat.

Gotta love those Honda engineers for designing a floormat designed to keep liquids in the mat and away from the carpet lining my CRV.

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Cleveland Spring..

On Friday, we hit 80 degrees and my A/C kicked on and off all day long. It was about 78 degrees in my place.

Today, the temperature is barely hitting 50 degrees and my apartment is about 68 degrees. The windows don’t keep much of the heat or the colder air inside my apartment.

I love that Spring is here. The Flats actually appear alive with all of the snow gone and trees blooming along Elm and Washington streets. I can’t wait for the upcoming RiverSweep 2008. I hope all of the volunteers clean up a lot of the trash that litters the area around my building. I’m still trying to find out what’s going on with the property across the street. I’m hoping we’ll get to clean it up and make the area look better.

I know everyone wishes the sun were out today but since I’m working mornings for now, I’m actually glad the occassional dreary day comes along. It helps me get some rest without all of the sun blarring its way into my place. I need some of the rest after catching this cold. I’m excited that I’m kicking the bug and I’m feeling about 80%.

This weekend, I’m going to the Foundation For Community Betterment’s fundraiser. A lot of my friends are going to the big event. Which reminds me, I have to get my tickets today. You can find out more about the event here.

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“Roller Boogie”

I went down to my neighbors’ place for what Stacie planned as a game night. She loves the game, Cranium, and I’d never played it. Her boyfriend, Josh, and I watched the ending to “Beerfest” and then Stacie started talking about her favorite movie, “Roller Boogie”.

The film stars Linda Blair (of “The Exorcist” fame) as a rich girl whose parents basically ignore her so she rebels and takes up roller boogie. In case you didn’t know, that’s rollerskating and dancing at the same time. Think of ice skating and disco mixed together and you’ll get the picture. Blair meets the best roller skater in town. He’s somewhat a nerd and doesn’t really fit into her social scene. They, of course, fall for one another and he teaches her how to roller boogie.

There’s also a subplot of a mall developer who threatens the owner of the roller rink if he doesn’t sell the place. The group of roller skaters all band together to save the rink and send the bad guy off to jail.

If you’re looking to see what people shouldn’t have worn in 1979, check this movie out. Cher, in one of her weaker moments, sings about “Roller Boogie” The rest of the cast are unknowns with the exception of Beverly Garland, and James Van Patten.

Believe it or not, the movie is on DVD, Stacie has a copy. There’s even a soundtrack. It’s out of print and never released on CD. There is a website dedicated to the movie. (I told you, Stacie!) It has a bunch of the mp3’s so Stacie can enjoy the music of her favorite movie.

I was actually thinking during the movie what I was going to tell everyone I did on Saturday night but instead of telling a white lie about something exciting, I’m deciding to come clean with the embarrassing truth, I watched “Roller Boogie”.

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The Flats

When I talk to someone who doesn’t live in Cleveland, they seem to ask me “Are the Flats still a happening place?” Sadly, I have to tell them the east bank isn’t what it once was. Vacant lots sit where nightclubs once stood. Places like Fagan’s, Jimmy’s, Have A Nice Day Cafe and River’s Edge are closed.

Of course, it’s all in the name of new development for a project masterminded by Scott Wolstein. A mix of business and residential buildings will hopefully occupy the former entertainment district on the east side of the Cuyahoga River. On the opposite side of the river, the Powerhouse complex still thrives with Howl at the Moon, Rock Bottom Brewery, Windows on the River and Improv. From my window, you can see the impact the poker tournaments have brought to the Jacobs Investments owned property. I’m seeing more cars every weekend.

With summer coming, people will pack the patio at Shooters. Christie’s parking lot is always filled. Several other nightspots seem to do well. I’m seeing life here on the west bank. I think it’s helped by the fact snow isn’t covering everything and the leaves are adding some green to the scenery. Stonebridge and the Apartments at Nautica are close to capacity. That means people are embracing the idea of living downtown.

This is a crucial time in Cleveland’s history. So many of the industrial rust belt jobs are gone, many people have left the area to seek employment elsewhere. Cleveland needs projects like those proposed by Stark Enterprises, Wolstein and Zaremba. The Medical Mart also could breath new life into Cleveland.

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Cold, How I Hate Thee..

I’m trying to kick this crazy little bug that’s making me feel about 25%. Going to Target for medicine proved a real trip. A jar of salsa fell out of the cart and onto the floor, smashing all over the place. God’s way of saying don’t buy that?

I got Advil Cold & Sinus which made me feel a lot better last night. Big props to Molly for opening up her medicine cabinet and hooking me up with some OTC’s last night. I took the Sudafed (which didn’t do much), I took the Nyquil (which didn’t send me to sleep for that long until I woke up not being able to breath.) The Advil had me feeling good this morning at work, which is all I’m asking for. I can’t miss work, we’re in ratings.

I’m sucking on a Cold-eeze, I’ve taken my multi-vitamin, my vitamin C, I’m well stocked with Ricola (Big ups to my Swiss brethern) and I just had a bowl of chicken noodle & rice soup.

This bug ain’t got much of a chance… I hope…

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Sexiest Woman Named

FHM Online named Megan Fox the world’s sexiest woman. She tops last year’s title holder, Jessica Alba.

The world’s most Googled woman, Britney Spears, almost didn’t even make the top 100. I’ll let everyone else guess why.

You’ll remember I mentioned the 21-year-old Fox after I saw the movie “Transformers” last year. She’s gorgeous even with the tattoos. I’m not a big fan but I’ll make an exception this once. By the way, she currently lives with fiancée Brian Austin Green.

You can find the 100 Sexiest Women in the World for 2008 on FHM Online (http://www.fhmonline.com/). FHM said nearly 9 million votes were cast for the 14th edition of the annual poll.

On an unrelated note, my new can’t-get-the-song-out of my head tune is Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse – Valerie. Yahoo it, you’ll love it!

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Sick & Tired

Literally, I’m sick and tired. I had to leave work early this morning because this cold bug has gotten the best of me. It came out of nowhere and hit me like nobody’s business. I tried to get sleep yesterday but the cold prevented any real sleep. I came home and got about three hours of sleep this morning but it’s tough when construction crews are working outside of my window.

Tomorrow is the first day of the May book. I need to be on my best form because on this schedule, it’s very easy to get behind in the sleep department and become exhausted. They call the May ratings period one of the most important because we don’t have another true book until November. This year will be different because People Meters are coming to our Cleveland market.

I digress though, I told someone this morning that I’m shocked that I got sick because I take vitamins, workout everyday and am eating more healthy than ever.

I watched an interview recently with Dr. Michael Roizen who said basically it’s tough to do anything for yourself, whether it’s working out, quitting smoking or dieting. He says you have to have a friend prop you up and you have to do the same thing for them. You know Roizen from Oprah’s show. I agree because working out with friends help keep you on schedule, however, I’ve become so addicted to exercise, something feels not right when I don’t do it.

That’s all for now because I’m exhausted…